Koren combines the linguistic mode and the aural mode to better describe the golden record. She begins by describing the sound recordings and their purpose with words, but she realizes that words can only go so far. The inclusion of the audio sample gives the reader a better understanding of the readings. Koren uses both the linguistic and aural mode to communicate her ideas in a more effective way.

Koren also effectively uses the spatial mode. This mode is sometimes less obvious. The organization of the text requires use of the spatial mode. Koren grabs the audience's attention with the large image of the man holding the golden record at the beginning of the article. Throughout the article Koren includes links to other pages that further describe a topic or provide credibility to a statement. Koren ends the text with the audio sample of the record, which is the main subject of the article.

Koren uses the aural mode at the end of her text by including a sample of the sound recordings included on the golden record. The sample helps communicate the sounds included on the golden record. The sample contains a short section of all the tracks on the record, such as greetings in different languages, sounds of nature, and diverse musical pieces.

Koren uses the visual mode in her text by including a large image of a man in a lab coat and gloves carefully handling a golden record. This gives the reader the impression that this golden record is important and valuable. The image helps communicate Koren's description of the object to her audience.

In Koren's article on the vinyl release of the sound recordings included on the Voyager Space missions, the linguistic mode is important, as it is used to explain what the purpose of the sound recordings were and why the the public should be interested. However, because the topic of the article is sound recordings, the aural mode begs to be used. The audience is able to more fully understand what the sound recordings are by hearing samples of the recordings themselves.

Similar to how a tv commercial is carefully designed to effectively convince an audience of their claim, Koren uses different modes of communication to effectively inform her audience of the release of the Voyager sound recordings on vinyl to the public.She first uses the linguistic mode to describe what these sound recordings are (greetings in different languages, music from different cultures, and sounds from Earth). Koren also uses hyperlinks within the text that lead to other articles that further explain a topic, such as NASA denying Carl Sagan a copy of the sound recordings. In addition to the linguistic mode, Koren uses the visual mode by including, at the beginning of the article, a photo of a man in a lab coat and gloves holding a golden record. This helps convey the importance of the Golden Record. Later in the article, Koren uses the aural mode by including an excerpt of the audio included in the remastered edition of sound recordings.

Koren is able to successfully communicate her ideas because she uses the concept of combining different modes. The reader gets a better idea of what "The Golden Record" is with Koren's inclusion of images and sounds to supplement her writing.

Koren's article also uses a variety of different forms of text. The sound recordings and images and links to other websites would technically be considered "texts," just as the written words would be considered part of the text.

Koren's article is multimodal because she uses linguistic, aural, and visual modes to communicate her message. The article includes a title and words, which is the linguistic mode, but it also uses images, the visual mode, and sounds, the aural mode.

My supplemental text for this reading was "Forty Years Later, the Golden Record Goes Vinyl," an online article written by Marina Koren. Koren's article is about the sound recordings included on the original Voyager space missions, sent to space in 1977. Last year, for the first time, the original cassete tapes were used to produce vinyl copies of the sound recordings.

In the last paragraph of the piece, Haltman writes about the study of material culture being a more exploratory process rather than explanatory process. I believe this is what Cline was doing in his article on the machete. He was exploring different cultures' meaning of the machete.

Cline, John. “What Is a Machete, Anyway?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 21 Oct. 2013, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/10/what-is-a-machete-anyway/280705/.

In the last paragraph of page eight Haltman writes about the "simplicity of freely choosing an object..."(Haltman, page 8). In Cline's case there was no freedom in choosing an object. Cline wrote the article to give more information on a certain incident.

Cline, John. “What Is a Machete, Anyway?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 21 Oct. 2013, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/10/what-is-a-machete-anyway/280705/.

On page seven in the last paragraph Haltman says that an analysis of an object should not necessarily be an argument, but should have a claim and present information. Cline seems to do exactly this in his article. He presents historical evidence of the machete being used as a weapon and a tool, but does not argue as to whether or not a machete should be seen as either in today's world (Cline)

.Cline, John. “What Is a Machete, Anyway?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 21 Oct. 2013, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/10/what-is-a-machete-anyway/280705/.

In the third paragraph of page six Haltman describes the importance thinking about how an object signifies its meaning. Cline writes the machete was a symbol of terror during the Rwandan Genocide because it was used to kill millions of people. This effectively explains how the machete was a symbol of terror in Rwanda.

Cline, John. “What Is a Machete, Anyway?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 21 Oct. 2013, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/10/what-is-a-machete-anyway/280705/.

In the last two paragraphs of page five Haltman describes the process of deducing meaning from an object. It is a very fast process. Our deductions are influenced by our current culture, so our deductions could be wrong because the object comes from a different culture. In his article, Cline talks about his own exposure to machetes being used as agricultural tools. He would at first associate a machete as a tool rather than as a weapon, however in some cultures this symbolism could be wrong.

Cline, John. “What Is a Machete, Anyway?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 21 Oct. 2013, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/10/what-is-a-machete-anyway/280705/.

On page four Haltman writes about the importance of word choice when writing about an object. A reader's view of a culture will be based on the writer's interpretation, and word choice heavily influences interpretation. Cline seems to write in a light-hearted manner, at times almost comedic, to maintain a more informative approach, as opposed to taking a stand on the arrest of the man carrying a machete (Cline).

Cline, John. “What Is a Machete, Anyway?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 21 Oct. 2013, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/10/what-is-a-machete-anyway/280705/.

The last paragraph of page three is a quote from Jules Prown on describing an object. In Cline's article a brief history of the machete is given, defining its original purpose as an agricultural tool in 16th century Europe. However, it was soon also used as a weapon, creating a different meaning for the tool (Cline).

Cline, John. “What Is a Machete, Anyway?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 21 Oct. 2013, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/10/what-is-a-machete-anyway/280705/.

I chose John Cline's article "What is a Machete, Anyway?" as my supplementary reading. The article addresses the arrest of a man who was carrying an unconcealed machete in public. Cline writes about the history and cultural symbolism attached to the machete, pondering whether or not the machete should be considered a weapon (Cline).

Cline, John. “What Is a Machete, Anyway?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 21 Oct. 2013, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/10/what-is-a-machete-anyway/280705/.

In the first paragraph of page one, Haltman writes about the importance of asking certain types of questions when researching a cultural object. In his article, Cline asks what the machete meant or symbolized to various cultures over time (Cline).

Cline, John. “What Is a Machete, Anyway?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 21 Oct. 2013, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/10/what-is-a-machete-anyway/280705/.

On page two, Haltman is describing Jules Prown's analysis method. Prown says that the most expressive objects are embedded in polarites, such as life and death or acceptance and rejection (Jules Prown). In Cline's article the machete is symbolized in multiple ways in different cultures, such as a weapon in a revolution or an agricultural tool (Cline). In a revolution a machete could symbolize the polarity of power and lack of control. A group revolting is seizing power from an authority.

Cline, John. “What Is a Machete, Anyway?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 21 Oct. 2013, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/10/what-is-a-machete-anyway/280705/.

I think the author's inclusion of a brief history of the machete helps support his claim that the machete can have different uses. Cline, the author, shows the machete's use in history as a tool and its use as a weapon. The machete was originally created to be used as a tool, but its meaning has evolved over time. It can now just as quickly be seen as a weapon.

The statement about the horror movie is interesting. Peoples' perception of the machete can be greatly influenced by media and entertainment sources. Personally I do not come from an environment were machetes are common tools, however I have seen movies were machetes are used as weapons. So, when I see a machete I first think of it as a weapon rather than as a tool, but that does not mean that is how everyone else sees a machete.

The topic of public safety is interesting. What should a person be allowed to carry, if anything? Inevitably a situation like this will arise. What is considered a weapon? A machete could certainly be used as a weapon, however its main use is as a tool. A recent problem has been cars. People have been using their automobiles as weapons. This can and has caused many deaths, however I do not see the government banning people from driving cars any time soon.

1968 was a year of protest. The topic of violent vs. non-violent protesting comes to the table.

I wonder what this street will look like in another 50 years?

Conspiracy theorists say Stanley Kubrick helped fake the moon landing; he directed a film of a fake moon landing.

I did not know there were riots after MLK's assasination.

It is interesting to learn about what was going in Prague in 1968. I have mostly learned about the U.S. and Vietnam during this time period.

This guy is totally new to me. I've never heard of him before.