Blog Post 6

            One thing that stuck out to me while reading Burke’s “Sucked Beneath the Tunnels of Las Vegas” was the idea that there is a whole other side to Las Vegas that no one knows about. When people go to Las Vegas, they focus on the towering buildings, vibrant neon lights, happening nightclubs, and monstrous casinos. No one focuses on the “hidden matrix of tunnels beneath the strip, the storm drains.” I personally do not think of the storms drain of a city, and I don’t imagine that very many people do. As Burke talks about the individuals who live in these storm drains, it becomes very apparent that these unknown people have their reasons for being down there. Whether it is a drug addiction, like Steven, Burke’s new acquaintance from the storm drains, or not having enough money to properly maintain, each person down there has their own story and reason for living in the storm drains. A thing that stuck out to me was Burke’s description of the blankets and “teddy bear” that he saw during one of his trips to the storm drains. I did not think there were any people living in the storm drains of Las Vegas, much less a child living down there too. People are so distracted by all the bustling buildings and action on the streets that they forget about the less fortunate people in the city. I think it would be very hard to ignore all of the attractions of Las Vegas and focus on the people living in the storm drains, especially since most people go to Las Vegas for a vacation or to party. When Burke talked about the possibility of having tours in the Las Vegas storm drains, it made me think of how many people would actually go on these tours. Would people go to Las Vegas because of its notation as sin city or would they go to meet the hidden population of the storm drains that had been kept out of the public’s eye?

Speech Critique (Prompt 5)

I think my attention getter was a very effective way to start my speech. The freshman 15 is something that mostly everyone has heard of and is a very serious threat for some freshmen. It drew the attention of a lot of people in the class and was a good way to start a speech about a gym, which is the most effective way to keep the extra weight off. I think I covered all of the points of my speech that were included on my outline. I got to everything that I wanted to include, and I feel like I did not exceed the time limit. I think I did a good job maintaining eye contact with the audience. There were a few instances when I would look away from the audience to check my note cards or look at a slide on my presentation, but other than that I felt like I had good eye contact. I feel like I could have transitioned between my main points better. It seemed like I jumped from one point to another and there was no flow between them. I also could have spoken more clearly. There were very noticeable points when I would stutter or not pronounce my words as clearly as I could have. I feel like it would have been easier to understand parts of my speech if I had spoken better. I could have elaborated more on my research plan. I used a broad statement to say that I would try to interview more people, instead of saying any specifics, like whom I would specifically try to interview or how I would go about doing it. I felt like my clincher was weak compared to the rest of my speech. It was not a good way to conclude my presentation, and I thought I could have made a better one if I had prepared more.