Great Writing

One of the best fictional writers, in my opinion, is Clive Cusseler. I liked action-packed books, but his were almost addicting, to the point that I felt compelled to read. I had to find out what would happen, and his introductions did a good job of raising my curiosity for the novels as a whole, and how they related to the overall plot. Below is the first two paragraphs from his novel Vixen 03:

"The Boeing C-97 Stratocruiser bore the look of a crypt. Perhaps the image was bred by the cold winter night, or perhaps it came from the gusting snow that was piling an icy shroud on the wings and fuselage. The flickering lights from the cockpit windshield and the fleeting shadows of the maintenance crew served only to exaggerate the chilling scene.
Major Raymond Vylander, United States Air Force, did not care for what he saw. He watched silently as the fuel truck drove away and vanished into the stormy darkness. The loading ramp was dropped from the rear of the great whalelike belly, and then the cargo doors slowly swung closed, cutting off a rectangle of light that spilled onto a heavy-duty forklift. He shifted his gaze slightly and stared at the twin rows of white lights bordering the eleven-thousand-foot Buckley Naval Air Station runway that stretched across the plains of Colorado. Their ghostly luminescence marched into the night and gradually faded behind the curtain of falling snow."

Reflection

One of my favorite experiences is my car. My car is my baby. I had difficulty learning how to drive since I had a concussion, but I got drive it more and get a feel for it. One of the best feelings about it is the independence it affords me, but also just driving with the windows down and the stereo on is one of the best memories of summer. Being able to work on something that has significance is important too. I take good care of my car, both in terms of maintenance in looks. I take care of the oil and change the air filters myself, and change other miscellaneous parts such as headlights, spark plugs, etcetera and then wax and buff the finish on the car. After I do this, I wipe down the inside using leather protector and plastic protector, it makes it look much better than it did without the protector. The way the car neatly sparkles in the afternoon sun after its been waxed is a little mesmerizing. So is the shiny hubcaps and the shiny washed tires after I’ve cleaned off the dirt and grime. Despite its small size, it is still my favorite car, much more fun than any suv could ever be. It is my Saab 9-3, it is my baby, it is Trixie. She’s had a few small issues with her computer and she doesn’t always run as smoothly as she did, she’s always reliable and fun to drive. She provides the serenity I need sometimes, and that makes all the difference. She relaxes me, and it’s something I wish I could do all the time. But there is more to life than just sexy cars and fast rides, which is why I wouldn’t want to spend my entire life driving, so I invest my time in other ways. But when I get that independence I enjoy it as much as I can.

Several political ads that show ad hominem

My political ad shows ad hominem because it is an attack on a person's character, rather than discussing or debating issues that he agrees with.  The definition of Ad hominem is that the arguments attack someone’s character rather than addressing the issues.  The book says its common in political discourse, and it becomes obvious when you look at the first block.  What does military experience have to do with running for office?  Maybe Joe Courtney didn’t want to go into the military because he didn’t feel it was necessary for him to succeed, or it didn’t fit in with the plan he had for his life.  Being in the military doesn’t necessarily make someone a better person either; why it matters is beyond me.  It’s simply telling me facts.  In the next block, it is more of the same; attacking character, only this time its Heather Wilson.  “More than $400,000 from Insurance and Rx Drug Interests” is attacking who she raises money from.  Any politician can receive any sort of donation from any company, any citizen, anytime, and anywhere.  No ifs, ands, or buts.  Its attacking her character by making it seems like a bad thing that she was able to work hard and raise that money.  In the third block, it says “rewards 12 million illegals.”  Now this is more of the same, but it’s also a very inflationary statement; we don’t know he rewards them.  It allows us to immediately draw a conclusion about his character, which is what the advertisers want; follows the ad hominem theme.  And for the fourth block, “voted against bonus pay for troops” is just a continuation of the theme.  One seeing that immediately draws a conclusion about his character that he is unwilling to reward hard work and dedication.  This follows the ad hominem of not addressing the issues while attacking the character.