Chapters 1 & 2 Questions

Chapter One:

1. Is it possible to create anything without incorporating some form of rhetoric? How?

2. Do you think verbal or visual rhetoric is more powerful? Why?

3. Which comic shown in the chapter do you think had the most powerful message? Why?

Chapter Two:

1. What examples of visual rhetoric does the Wesleyan website use? How did it influence you to come here, if at all?

2. Which strategy of argumentation do you think is typcially the most effective in ads? Why?

3. Do you think logos, pathos or ethos is/are(?) typically more effective when appealing to an audience? Why?

Karaoke at Bennigan's

Squeezing past the frazzled-looking families clustered awkwardly together with their small children at Bennigan's front door, your nose is greeted with the smell of cleaning fluid drifting up lazily from nearby tables and the scent of grilling burgers wafting from some hidden door to the kitchen hidden from view at the back of the restaurant. As you make your way to the dimly-lit heart of the restaurant, these smells quickly begin to disappear and are soon replaced altogether by the almost overwhelming smell of old alcohol and cigarette smoke.

At first, you may wonder why the majority of the restaurant's patrons have chosen to gather in this seemingly bar-like center, but in truth, it's here that the most fun is had. Every Friday night around eight o'clock in the evening, patrons of all types - fat, thin, blonde, caucasian, black, hispanic, young and old - begin the slow trickle of life into what is arguably the most entertaining and accepting place in all of Lincoln.

Staring around the small, glass-walled square of Bennigan's 'Karaoke Room' given over every Friday night to a warm, friendly man called Dallas, you're likely to see patrons laughing in small, tigh-knit groups off in the corners as they sip their BudLights, screeching at their lively, bouncing children to sit down as the kids shriek their excitement over who gets to sing what song that evening, and, more often than not, a group of seven or eight young men and women who've gotten an early start and are already falling halfway off their sticky, ketchup-covered chairs under the influence of their alcohol.

One by one, slowly at first but gaining in frequency as the now crowded Karaoke Room bustles with activity, patrons begin filing over to Dallas' karaoke 'office', consisting of a large speaker and a karaoke screen that periodically flashes images of a dancing Scooby-Doo or Microsoft Word Paperclip boogying to the background music in a colorful array of Halloween costumes. Slip after slip of brightly-colored paper litters the top of Dallas' desk, already cluttered with empty bottles and a large laptop that is given over to organizing every patron's dream karaoke moments into reality.

As a slow, steady country beat replaces the fast-pace of Katy Perry's claims to have 'kissed a girl and liked it', the karaoke room goes momentarily quiet as all heads turn to see the first brave soul begin his own rendition of 'I'm Going Home'. By the time the first verse has ended, the room is once again filled with the sound of over-enthusiastic laughter and catcalls on the part of more inebriated patrons who make it clear that they wish the singer really would make good on their promise of 'going home'. These calls are soon followed by 'boos' and 'shhh's from their neighbors, who glare unsympathetically at those audacious enough to insult their friends and colleagues who have proven themselves daring enough to put their own reputations on the line by singing so fearlessly in front of a group of complete strangers.

As a small black girl, eleven years old at most with long, wavy brown hair boldy struts to the karaoke stand, fewer glances are given over to the newest starlet as she smiles at Dallas and waves to her family. Children are off-limits to critisism on their voices, being more sensitive to harsh words and much more forgivable than inebriated thirty-some year-olds when flashing their widest, most innocent smile. This time, however, the crowd is pleasantly suprised to find that no false coddling will be necessary as the girl begins to sing 'Take A Bow' with enough vocal dexterity to put Rihanna to shame.

As it nears ten o'clock, Bennigan's 'finest patrons' have completely released the stresses of the week, be it due to the presence of friends, alcohol, or a combination of both, and laughter and music blasts out of the small heart of Bennigan's, filling the nearly deserted outer borders of the restaurant. Pings and blasts are heard in periodic outbursts from a gameroom nearly as invisible to Dallas' crowd as the small Karaoke regular and resident star Cameron sweetly croons out Britney Spears hits, making the crowd 'ooh' and 'aww' in turns at her amazing vocal abilities and her adorably innocent seven-year old countenance.

As eleven o'clock rolls around, the buzz of conversation has become almost deafening, and snippets of conversation can be heard from the more active storytellers, tongues loosened by a shot or two of Jagerbombs and tequila. Your mind spins as you struggle to follow every story, trying to capture every word and every image created by such overheard snippets as 'beat their heads in with her baton if they don't smarten up', '2x4... screaming... paramedic shears... 300 cops in 5 seconds', and beer-related renditions of songs from 'The Sound of Music'.

By midnight, only the die-hard karaoke loyalists and those too sloshed to find their own arm inhabit the karaoke room. One or two patrons dance off-beat and rather suggestively as Dallas takes the microphone for his song of the night, and exhausted waitresses begin their wipe-downs of the tables cluttered with dirty silverware, forgotten jackets and cold remains of late dinners.




Only a handful of people are left as Bennigan's closes down at one the next morning. Slowly, the 'regulars' wave goodbye to Dallas with promises to return the following week, and cabs or family members are called to escort home those now convinced they are either the world's greatest lovers or capable of flying. A few sad glances are flashed back towards Bennigan's as soft sighs permeate the still air, tokens of grief from those who know that the highlight of their week has come to an end. But as they climb into the Fords, Kias and slugbugs, a small smile lights their faces as they wearily make their ways home. Karaoke and familiar faces will be return again next week, and so will they.