Blog Project Week Six: T.I.

Blog Project Week Six: T.I. Apology

Rapper T.I. made an unusual type of apology earlier this month. He was
recently released from prison, violated his probation and has returned
to prison, he gave this statement from there. He was sentenced to
eleven months with charges and parole violation charges, only five
months after leaving prison for federal weapons charges. Instead of
simply saying he is sorry, T.I. explains how this is all a part of
what he does to make his music, and does not listen to the people who
dislike him for it, but only the people who support him. Is T.I.
really giving an apology here? Does he expect his fans to continue
supporting him, regardless of the amount of times he goes to prison?
Does he show any regret at all? And if not, is this just cockiness? Or
something more? And is his attitude acceptable?

http://www.sohh.com/2010/11/ti_silences_haters_if_i_never_went_to_pr.html

Blog Project Week Five: Southwest Airlines

On February 13, 2010 Actor-Director Kevin Smith was kicked off a southwest airlines flight because he was deemed a "security risk" because he was so fat that he needed two seats but they only had one available. Smith responded with a flood of tweets bashing southwest. He tweeted " "So, @SouthwestAir, go f*** yourself. I broke no regulation, offered no "safety risk" (what, was I gonna roll on a fellow passenger?)" When he later boarded another flight, he posted a picture of himself in the seat, writing, "Hey @SouthwestAir Look how fat I am on your plane! Quick! Throw me off!" " (http://abcnews.go.com/WN/kevin-smith-fat-fly/story?id=9837268). Southwest responded by posting an apology to Smith on their blog. (in case you don't know, Kevin Smith is famous for his role as 'silent bob' in the movies 'clerks' and 'mallrats'. the character 'silent bob' never says a word in the films). Is Southwest's apology less sincere because they titled their blog post "not so silent bob"? Does Smith even deserve an apology since he usually bought two seats? Should Southwest apologize for upholding thier policies?

southwest's apology: http://www.blogsouthwest.com/blog/not-so-silent-bob

Week Four: Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps is a winner of multiple gold medals in swimming competitions during the Olympics. There was a photo taken of him smoking marijuana out of a bong while at a party and this became a large problem with the media. He then posted the blog, linked below, to help bring his image back from the mistake. Do you think he seems very sorry from the context of his blog? He used correct grammar and punctuation; does that make his blog less sincere? Does he seem more sorry for his actions or is he just sorry for getting caught? Should people expect a 23 year old to make all the correct choices in life? Do you believe he is telling the truth when he says he will never smoke again?


http://www.swimroom.com/?page_id=3&cat_id=4&post_type=2

Blog Project Week Three: Mark Cuban

In sport, tension rises between fans who are extremely loyal to their teams. Recently Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas mavericks, told Kenyon Martin's mother that her son was a "thug." It started as a "smart ass comment", but escalated quickly. Below is an apology from Mark to both Kenyon and his mother.
What caused Mark to apologize? Was this a legitimant reason for apologizing? What reasons make apologies more sincere or believable? Is offering a suite and dinner to Kenyon's family a good gesture or a slap to the face?

http://blogmaverick.com/2009/05/12/an-apology-to-kenyon-martins-mom-2/

Blog Project Week Two: Kanye West

First, this blog is actually from a newspaper article and not the actual blog site. His actually blog site requires you to pay money or join his group. So please only read the blog and not the article. His blog begins about halfway down the article.
Kanye West is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He has released several albums including: The Blueprint, The College Dropout, Late Registration, and Graduation. He has won several awards such as MTV’s Hottest MC in the game and a total of 12 Grammys. During the 2009 VMA award ceremony, Kanye West ran on stage after an award was presented to Taylor Swift for the Best Female Video. He began to protest that the award should have been given to Beyoncé saying “I'm sorry, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time.” Later, Kayne West posted an apology to Taylor Swift. The blog, however, has since been taken down, and the only way to actually see his blog is from news articles. It is written in all caps and is simply a string of sentences expressing his feelings.
Did writing in all capitols help or hinder the sincerity of his apology? Should we blame him for speaking his opinions? Do you think that there were some unnecessary comments? If so, which ones? From reading his apology, can you conclude that he's truly remorseful?
http://www.mahalo.com/kanye-west-blog-apology
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/09/kanye-west-apologizes-to-taylor-swift-.html

Blog Project Week One: Michael Vick

Title: Michael Vick blogs: "My heart hurts...To think of what I've done..."
url: http://tinyurl.com/2fqjuv6

Michael Vick is a professional quarterback who played for the Atlanta Falcons before serving 21 months in prison for operating an illegal dog fighting ring. He went to jail in 2007. After he got out, he published this blog. Vick says that he is sorry for his actions and that he is going to launch a campaign in collaboration with the Human Society soon. He talks about the remorse he feels and how writing this blog is a challenge he is going to have to face. Similarly, the challenge of redemption is also one that he takes on at the end of the blog. Is there sincerity throughout the blog, enough for redemption, or did it feel forced? He seems to have also fallen from grace in his own book, what kind of objectives do you think he has for redeeming himself in his own mind? Does this blog, his actions with the Human Society, and his jail time give enough reason to "forgive" and give Michael Vick "a second chance," or are his actions too inhumane to be forgotten? And does his fame and his relation to football affect his redemption? Would an ordinary person be treated the same?

Welcome to our class blog!

Welcome to our class blog! This is where our class will identify, read, and discuss blogs written about second chances. The featured blog might be about a person who is trying to make a new life, or about a company or entity which is trying to restore its public image after misfortune. Each Monday or Tuesday, the facilitators will locate and profile a blog, and respondents will have from Wednesday until Sunday night to discuss what they read on the featured blog. For prompts, please see "The Blog Project" on Carmen. It is not necessary to stick to the prompts; this is a place for candid, public discussion and you are not limited to these questions. This is a place for conversation and communication, so replies to comments are encouraged.

I'm looking forward to reading the blogs and comments!