Emo, Photo, and Lego (it's a bad joke)

The first thing that stands out to me as an ethical appeal in my observations of Chili's was that when I went in on a Sunday afternoon there was a family with young kids sitting at a table in the bar. This stood out to me because as I walked by it seemed as if this was a normal acceptable thing to do for these younger children to be eating in the bar with their parents. I found this to be representative of the fact that Chili's was PG enough to have children sitiing in an area as controversial as a bar and not cause any sort of a fuss.

Something else I saw as an ethical appeal was a little different from the first. It came in the form of a photograph on the wall next to the booth I was seated in. The photgraph was of a father and son, again showing the family-friendly aspect of the attempted representation, but it seemed to be a bit dated, and they were wearing Elvis wigs. I would go so far as to say that the fact that this picture was taken at least 10 to 15 years ago might suggest that the restaurant is a well established chain that has been in business for awhile, but that it is also saying that there is a fun family atmosphere in Chili's.

The fun, family atmosphere is something that plays into the emotional argument as well. However, I found this argument to be more of something they wanted people to think rather than something they actually portrayed. Maybe it's because college kids don't tip well, but I found on more than one occasion the hostess was a little cold. I also noticed that a large number of there employees have tattoos in noticeable places which doesn't exactly contribute to the emotional atmosphere that they are going for.

The logical argument I have seen there has a lot to do with their prices. The lure in this instance is to suck in the customer with a large, quick, and fairly priced meal. This is obviously a logical argument since many of us have been to the discount restaurant only to find that their food is terrible, or the opposite end of the spectrum where the food is wonderful and you end up paying way to much for a meal. Given the good deal, the atmosphere and the food it is a reasonable choice.

Unit 1: Chili's

I chose to use Chili's as my focus of the public space topic. This was appealing to me because I find myself spending a lot of time there anyway. I tend to go there often with a friend of mine during football season to watch the game and have a drink. Another reason I chose it, outside of familiarity, is that there is a lot going on inside, meaning lots of different things to view and use as it's argument for it's service and it's target clientele.

So far I have been there to take notes on two different occasions. The first was on a Thursday night and the second was over Sunday lunch. It was interesting to see that what I expected was not necessarily the arguments that Chili's was making upon studying the actual restaurant. I expected to find a single/college-aged crowd, an established theme, and Mexican feeling decor. What I am finding is more of a southwest flair paired with a lot of young families and no real set theme.

I do feel like their target audience is what I initially said, the single, college-aged crowd, but that it tends to draw in others by it's location and it's prices. The young families that were there at the times that I made it may have been included in Chili's target audience as well. So it may be helpful to say that the target audience is young twenties ranging to early thirties.

Some of the preconceived notions that I have are already taking a back burner with my two visits, but I am trying to write down my knee-jerk reactions and then analyze if they came from me or the actual restaurant when I go back through them. Hopefully I don't get too much in the way of myself making good observations.

... PS something is going screwy with my formatting. Please forgive me

Iauguration Address

The inaugural address began with, “my fellow citizens” this seems like a typical thing to say, but in viewing it from the aspect that he is making an argument to convince that he is relate-able and also attempting to speak to his audience he is setting up the parameters of things to come that may not be easy for people who disagree to swallow. The President went on to described himself as humbled, grateful, and mindful. The emotion argument his emotion as he stood before the mass of people

“Forty-four Americans have given this sacred oath,” this is an example of his argument to inform. This is either notifying people of the fact or is solidifying a a heartfelt connection to a pure number. The way it is presented and the fact that it has the described affect is genius. Another argument to inform was spoken of when Obama mentioned the crisis that the nation is in. To this he included war, economic crisis and a crumbling of confidence in the government to bring about positive change. This specific argument to inform showed his audience that he was willing to address the hard issues to be faced and not just let them slide.

Some of the arguments made by the President of past present and future were really compelling, but also begs to be dissected. The thing he said that was an example of past was that Americans were "remaining faithful to the forbearers’ ideals and true to the founding documents." That struck me since I have often wondered what many of the founders would think if they could see how far this nation has come through what decisions. Another argument geared more toward the present and future is when described a looming fear in people, “that America’s decline is inevitable.” To this he spoke of a nation rebuilding itself and, to crudely paraphrase, that there needed to be a present change in attitude in implementing “hope over fear."