Young Herding

I have never understood the appeal of books. Personally I have never enjoyed reading and don't know why people do. I suppose its just something used for entertainment. Some people watch movies, play sports, play video games, and others read books. So what exactly is the appeal of reading a book? Do you get involved with the characters, putting yourself into the story? Do you just like hearing the stories? Is it to further your vocab and literature skill? I really have no idea. I guess this is more of a polling post then a cultural inference. When i was younger i used to have to do A.R. which stood for like acedemic reader or something like that. But basically i was required to read so many books in each quarter and i hated it. However, some people already liked reading books so they would have like triple the required amount by the time the quarter was over. Actually a lot of school is like this. We have required classes and why? Shouldn't the student get to choose what he wants to learn about? Shouldn't it be what interests him? Instead we are forced to take certain classes that we may hate which could greatly affect how we do in school and ultimately life. Is this fair? What do you think?

posting to the blog (#6)

What does it say about American college students that this blog has been so busy the last few days when it was so slow for most of the quarter?

I just crunched the numbers and each person has contributed an average of 5.23 posts.

Seeing how this is Tuesday. the last "safe" day to post and have it count towards your grade, will this be the last post to the blog?

Obama

America has a new president. With our new president, it seems everyone is looking forward to change. Obama is the face of change and the American people trust him. Why is this? Why do we trust him? He hasn't done anything to help us yet. The economy is down, and troops are still in Iraq. I've asked many people how they feel about our new president and most everyone agreed that they trust in him and believe he will lead us to a bright future. Last week he was the first president ever to appear on a late night comedy show when he appeared on Jay Leno. I happened to catch his appearance late after work that night. He seems like such a humble down to earth guy, chatting about playing basketball at the White House, how could you not like him? Is Obama the face of change because his the first African American president? Or do we really believe he will have an impact and fix all the problems America is running into? I like the guy, he's young, fresh, and ready to tackle the challenge. What do you think?

wedding pictures

My twenty-eight year old niece is getting married in May. I just received the invitation in the mail. The invitations were hand made and a photo of her and her fiance was included with the invitation. My entire family is very conservative so to say that if they saw a piercing on one of their family members that wasn't in the typical area of the earlobe they would freak out. My nieces fiance has multiple piercings throughout his entire body and is very well noticed in the picture. My brother is a deeply religious person and feels very strongly that piercings should be on womens ears and that if men have their ears pierced they are gay. Any other piercings would mean that they were in a motorcycle gang.
My question to you all is she dating and marrying the person just to get back at her father for some reason or could it be true love? Hard to tell when she is doing the exact opposite of what she knows he would like her to do.
I know when I got married I wanted my parents to accept my husband into the family. But I also know that sometimes no matter who you marry it will never happen. What are your thoughts.

So by now, we were supposed to have at least 5 posts on this blog. I had hoped to write several posts, but in the mist of writing I lost the motivation to elaborate and expand my thinking to make it worth the readers while. I guess my words were lost in translation because week after week I couldn’t write something I felt was worthy of a post. Don’t get me wrong I did indeed comment a lot on other posts, but just never could force myself to share a post.

I shall blame it on class… haha. I talked a lot in class discussions, and so making a major blog post seemed at the very least, tedious. Considering I already shared a lot of my feelings and opinions, I find it hard to post about something else. At any rate, this is my attempt to make a magical and stirring post.
If everyone remembers (or even knows what I’m talking about) around Christmas time, the wee bit of controversy the Atheists caused on buses in the Seattle area (and other major cities). These buses had the logo “Be good for goodness sake” in huge letters on them. This offended many people including (obviously) religious, God fearing people. It’s no secret I am a Christian. What has me confused about Atheists thinking is that they belief people should just be good, help others and be nice, for goodness sake? Well, what is “goodness”? What is the root of good and bad nature if you don’t believe in God or a Creator?

The problem with this thinking is its claim that even without religion or belief in God, people should just be “good”. If there is good in this world, then there is also bad… So, if you do not have your belief in God being good and Satan being evil, how do you judge your “moral compass”? There are many theorist and logical people who say that humans would be “bad” given the chance, because it’s in their nature.

But that aside is it truly possible to “Be good for goodness sake”?

flu shots

I have always been one to fight getting a flu shot. There are two reasons for this. One I hate needles and the other is I feel it is useless. They are injecting a serum consisting of the previous years flu into your body. Every year the flu evolves and we can't get a vaccine for the upcoming year. Also they tell you that it won't prevent you from getting the flu but will lessen your symptoms. I strongly disagree.

Two Fridays ago my 7 year old son came down with the flu. He is still out of school as of today. He got the flu shot. This last Saturday I came down with the flu and am now four days later ready to get back to work. I did not get the flu shot. My mother in Law had the flu for three weeks. She also got the flu shot.

I don't know about anyone else but I see a definite pattern here. Tell me your thoughts and experiences.

What is too big?

I was watching the news one day last weekend and discovered that the city is trying to pass an ordinance on the heigth and flashiness of a businesses sign to signify who and where they are. The ordinance will also include banning all digital reader boards. They are saying that these are big distractions for a driver and it will limit the amount of wrecks that occur on our roads. This may or may not be true.

In this era that we live in everyone is trying to outdo everyone else. The bigger, the flashier, the better. Even if they do get this ordinance to pass there will always be something bigger or better that people will come up with to get their business seen before someone else's. What do you think?

Heavy Metal in Baghdad

This morning I happen to stumble upon a random documentary in the eternal play list of channels that I am provided. This movie is Heavy Metal in Baghdad.

At first I was a little shy about clicking over to this movie, but without nothing else to watch I clicked my remote. Though I am not a follower of the metal genre I do appreciate the fact that it has some of the most mathematically and musically intensive styling of modern music.

During this documentary the band Acrassicauda is followed around. This is to date the only metal band to come from Iraq. The documentarians follow them around from the early days till they relocate to Syria to escape the fighting and pursue their dreams as Metal Heads.

I found this to be an interesting because not only are they the only metal band, but for a nation often believed to be quite conservative their were people who loved, not only the band, the entire metal genre.

So, does this interesting musical find, change your thoughts on the music scene of the Middle East?

BLOOMSDAY

I was just signing up to run Bloomsday and I thought how strange it is that every year about 50.000 people run or walk Bloomsday. So I looked some facts. I think it is kinda cool. Do you?
I found the following on the Bloomsday website. http://www.bloomsday.org/
*May 1, 1977, over a thousand runners participated in the inaugural Bloomsday Run.
*Founded by Don Kardong
*1996 the event reached its all-time high of 61,298.
*The average runner brought in $241.42 (including spectator expenditures)
*Direct Economic Impact: $9,576,959.64
*Since 1986 more female Runners than Male runners.
*About 60% from Spokane 35% elsewhere in the U.S 5% out of country
*117 people have ran and finished every Bloomsday - Mostly men including -Don Kardon
*Place Men Women
1. $7,000 $7,000
2. 4,500 4,500
3. 3,000 3,000

Founder Don Kardong chose the name, which is a joining of Spokane's favorite flower to the word James Joyce scholars use to describe the day events in the novel "Ulysses" take place. Confused? Intrigued? Read on...

According to Kardong, a road race is an odyssey, not unlike the one Ulysses endured in his return to Ithaca after the Trojan War, a journey described in great detail by the Greek poet Homer. In 1917 James Joyce wrote "Ulysses" about one day in the life of a man (Leopold Bloom) in Dublin, Ireland. Bloom spends the day wandering through the streets of Dublin in a rough parallel of his Greek counterpart Ulysses, and that day (June 16) has become known to Joyce scholars and aficionados as "Bloomsday."

The 7-1/2-mile odyssey through the streets of Spokane was dubbed The Lilac Bloomsday Run, combining Spokane's moniker "The Lilac City" with the premise of Joyce's novel, which is that ordinary people are involved in unassuming and yet heroic journeys every day of their lives. A citizen who travels 7-1/2 miles on the first Sunday of May encounters trials, hazards and monsters during his or her odyssey through the Lilac City before ending up ba

So there is an organization called Invisible Children and really everyone should know about it. This group of high school students set out to Uganda and discovered this entire group of children that were being captured and turned into child soldiers. The things these children had to go through are unbelieveable. I personally think that everyone should have to watch the movie in order to be aware of some things that are going on outside of our own country. I've been thinking lately about how often we are so concerned with our own personal lives and the problems we have and how we forget to look outside of our own lives and pay attention to what other people might be going through. Too often I think we forget that chances are someone else has a much bigger problem and maybe we should start to do something about it...just like this group of young high school students put together an entire organization to help save the lives of innocent children...

Culture about Culture.

It seems like our society is fascinated with culture, and we create culture that makes fun of culture. Meaning, we have shows like Saturday Night Live and The Flight of the Concords, which parody many things.

Saturday Night Live has been known to parody...everything. From News and Sports shows to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And The Flight of the Concords has parodies of David Bowie, New Zeland culture and Australian culture, and many other things.

Why do we love shows like these? Is it just that we like making fun of our own culture and/or other peoples' cultures? What do you think our society's general sense of humor is these days?

SNL Digital Short - Iran So Far Away
http://www.hulu.com/watch/16771/saturday-night-live-digital-short-iran-so-far

Flight of the Concords - Bowie's in Space
http://www.hulu.com/watch/16771/saturday-night-live-digital-short-iran-so-far

Response to Grand Finale

This entire class is built on analyzing anything and everything around us. I think there is a definite problem with looking too closely at things around us. However, i do think that it is wise to be aware.

As i think about our society as a whole, I feel disgusted and ashamed somewhat to be a part of it. Look back just 50 years at our society. What do you think about when you do this? I think about the modesty of our society. The one piece bathing suits with shorts, courting a girl (does anyone know what this even means anymore?), purity, and many other things that aren't seen near as much in todays society. Why is it that we have fallen so far away from good morals and decency? There is definitely something wrong with the society we live in today. I dont know who or what is to blame or if I should even look to blame. Maybe this is just humanities nature. If so, then I dont want to know what we will be like in another 50 years.

Horror Films.

I for one, can't stand horror films. They disgust me to no end. And I'm sure many of you disagree with me at this point.

One thing that has always bothered me about these films is that they seem to completely desensitise people to gore, terror, and cruelty. I think it's part of the reason why we are so careless these days when it comes to hearing about real-life death and horror. I realize that some people enjoy suspense and being scared with their movies, but what I don't understand is why the movies have to be so awful and graphic. I see no point in having slasher movies as entertainment. What's the appeal?

A friend of mine recently told me about her trip to a horror film that just came out. In the movie, there was apparently a graphic rape scene, and many audience members were doing things like laughing and cheering on the rapist. What the hell? Is this the type of mentality our society has come to? Where it's completely normal and okay to have things like murder, rape, and terror? I feel like if there weren't these types of movies, there would be much less murder and etc., because people would be much more disgusted with the idea.

What are your thoughts on the subject?

Television and kids

Television is popular. Watching television is the leisure activity of choice according to the Bureau of Labor statistics with the average adult watching 35 hours a week. This leads me to believe that watching television and spending time involoved in virtual worlds whether it be online or through video games is taking place of what used to be family time and social gatherings. Has interactive parenting taken a backseat to allowing technology to parent and entertain our children? The average child between two and five years of age spends three and a half hours a day watching television. While I believe television is not bad in itself, I believe it is the amount it is used. I think it is crucial for kids to get out and and run around. Are parents now a days using television as a babysitter instead of as a special treat?

Relationships

I moved into my apt. in Sept. Living in here is e new thing for me. I can hear my neighbors and even one's conversations. I've been having problems with one particular one. Her bedroom is on the opposite side of mine. I've never seen her, but from what i hear and what I'm told there is a young boy over there and a man that is not on the lease there every night. I've had to make a couple complaints because only late at night when I'm sleeping she gets in these ridiculous screaming at the top of her lung fits at this guy. The cops have been called a few times and I've even heard him hit her. Friday night at about 1 am I was sleeping and of course got woken up to her screaming. Normally I can ignore it, but this was the worst I've ever heard. This went on all night. I had been advised to call the cops if this continued but I'm such a wuss and would fear I was wasting an officers time. The yelling went on till 10am the next morning. I got fed up and tried to call my manager and told them she was saying to this guy she would kill herself if this guy left her. So, my manager said a had to call the police. I did reluctantly but felt better in the end. I'm very worried for this child that's supposedly living there. What I don't understand is how this guy stays when he's being yelled at every single day he is over there. Every day she is screaming bloody murder. Could it be that women aren't the only ones that have a hard time leaving a man? Why would this guy stick around just to be yelled at? He makes his own money and has his own place. Listening to their argument seriously upset me the rest of the day because the situation is so depressing. Why do people let their lives get so miserable?

Festival of Color

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123679036911896947.html

About a week ago, when I was searching through the Wall Street Journal Online for an article to do for my Business class, I fell upon this article. It's about the festival of Holi, which the Hindus in India celebrate during Spring. It just got me to thinking about what kind of holidays we celebrate. All I could really think of, we celebrate peoples' births, deaths, and whatnot by stuffing our faces with food and/or getting smashed.

I just wonder why we don't have a holiday more like this one, the Festival of Color. It just reminds me of painting with your hands, but getting it all over you -- and the people next to you. What a great way to welcome in the change of the season with such bright colors. As well as getting back in touch with your childhood. Instead of getting into a water fight with just pure clean water, the water would have colored powder in it; and would get your victim not only be soaked, but would turn them into a temporary rainbow. I find it very fitting for welcoming in Spring. What do you guys think?

Insanity and Art.

This is a topic I've had most of my focus on in this class. There was a revelation I had at the beginning of the quarter, and I decided that we, as consumers of Art, often times like to think that the "insane" artists make the best art.

Case and point: Daniel Johnston. He is a musician and artist, and has a severely debilitating mental condition known as manic depression. He is very interesting though, because his music and art (to put it lightly) is not always in the best of quality. But so many people LOVE him and his work. At one point in his career, he was being compared to The Beatles and Kurt Cobain was wearing the t-shirt of Daniel's album, "Hi. How Are You?"

When I showed a painting of his in class, most of the reactions I got were disgust and distaste. And I believe one person said something along the lines of, "My 5 year old could have painted that." Yet the painting was being sold for $1,500. Some paintings of the same quality and price were even sold out.

I just think it's intriguing because, there are tons and tons of musicians and artists that have work with quality a hundred times better than Daniel's, but aren't famous at all. It just seems like this guy showed up, went insane, and became a hit. He didn't spend years perfecting his songs or art, and he didn't spend thousands of dollars on high quality equipment.

Your opinions? Why do you think Daniel got so famous? Do you agree with the statement: insane artists make the best art?

Daniel Johnston - I Had Lost My Mind
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46HEC4brycA

I miss the 90s...

And I'm sure many of you do, too. You know what I mean. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Boy Meets World, The Backstreet Boys, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Sega... good times.

What happened? Why did none of these things stick around? Maybe I'm just being too nostalgic, but these days, it seems like we've gone from light hearted boy bands and witty T.V., to profane rap music and shows like Hannah Montana and Celebrity Apprentice (I HATE that show).

Why do you think the American media advanced this way? What caused this cultral advancement towards the more profane and mind-numbing media we know today?

our economic meltdown

Right now we are in the worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression. Every week it seems like the economy is getting worse. What is it that has gotten us into this position?

It has to do with the fact that average savings rate among Americans is -1% annually and the average amount of credit card debt is $8,000 per household with a credit card. Our politicians are saying that people need to go out and spend money to get ourselves out of the recession because that's how we got out of the Great Depression. But will this actually change anything or just postpone the economic pain? Right now we are in a recession/depression due to our huge levels of debt, so how will spending money fix the problem? It will just add to the debt that we have and Obama's plan to spend a trillion dollars will only add to the national debt and ultimately make our economy worse even if it improves things a little in the short run. It's like putting a bandaid on someone who's hemorrhaging.

I think this is due to the mentality that we have as Americans that we can find happiness by having lots of material things. If politicians where to tell people to save money they would become unpopular but is this what we need now?

What is your take on what is happening and what do you think would make the economy better for the long haul?

Discipline; Who decides?

Discipline. Save the rod spare the child. Who's job is it to ensure a child is properly raised so that they may succeed when the time comes to try out the world on their own? Can any one person delegate who's responsibility it is? Awhile back I read an article on a lady in Congress attempting to make the spanking of children illegal. This blew me away, first of all there is no way that could ever be delegated and second, had she nothing better to do than try and raise everyone's children?

I have a friend who works in a daycare and for awhile discipline was a non-existent word. The children were to merely learn on their own through natural consequences and the teachers hoped that they would just end up good people. When you are three years old and you punch your classmate to get a toy; generally it works and without any opposition they will continue this behavior through the adult years if they are not taught early on the difference between right and wrong. Again, many would argue who can define right or wrong? But the point I am trying to make is that sometimes we need to do things we don't want to in order to achieve a greater end.
If smacking a kid on the butt helps them learn not to punch their classmate, do it. In the long run they'll be thankful. I think it's time we toughen up and do what is best for our children.

I'm Sorry Britney

A friend recently showed me this song by a well known Christian artist by the name of Bebo Norman. The song is him apologizing to Britney Spears for tearing her down and the stones we have thrown. His song also offers encouragement telling her that there is a love greater than what she is going through. I found this song interesting. I found it interesting that a fellow muscian took it upon himself to write this song apologizing to her. I personally love the song. One of my favorite lines is " We sell the beauty but destroy the girl." How true is that? Why is it that we are so intersted in other people's lives? I think maybe we are so interested that we take away any type of human connection to the famous, that we start viewing them as idols. As symbols of fame and beauty rather than people. Do we sell the beauty and destroy the girl? I think so.

Is Disney Notty?

Disney has worked its way into the hearts of parents and children alike. Even to this day I love watching Disney movies. Every time I watch one I pick up a new scene with subtle adult humor. Most of this humor is so subtle that it is subliminal. Im not going to go into detail but im sure that most people know about this. I feel that this humor is a good thing. It makes parents want to watch movies with thier children. Most likely there are parents that want to watch Veggie Tales, but count me out.

Legalizing Marijuana

The topic of legalizing marijuana is a very hot topic in congress these days. This is a very well supported notion, legalizing marijuana has been a contraversial topic for nearly 40 years. The push for legalizing marijuana keeps getting stronger and stronger year after year. Increasing numbers are proving that Americans are serious about legalizing this drug. I feel that alcohal is a much bigger deal than weed. Many more deaths come from drunk driving than high driving. Should weed be legal?
Even popular musicians are coming straight out and saying in thier lyrics saying that they smoke weed.

"I was gonna go to class but then I got HIGH" (Afroman)
"I got the bad weed blues" (Bone Thugs)
"One last dance with Mary Jane" (Tom Petty)

Global Warming

"I'm a PC and I'm ..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhre2C4THT4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHaUc0cFKt0

I don't know how many of you seen these new commericals by Windows and their Windows Live Photo Gallery commercials, but to me, they're absolutely shocking and scary. I'm going beyond the fact that Windows is showing us that this new program is 'so easy, a kid could do it.' At their ages, I was playing dollhouse, tag, four square, kickball, basketball, and whatever else. To think kids that young could grasp concepts like editing photos on the computer and making slideshows that you can stream through the TV, I just can't get my head around it. I can barely figure out how to post on this blog correctly, let alone do the stuff they're able to on the computer, on the commercial.

I was just curious on anybody else's reactions to seeing these commercials.

Alcoholism

What is the deal with alcohol? Does it improve anyone's life anywhere or have any positive effects? Maybe it does but i can't think of any. So why is it that we even have alcohol? The government attempted to get rid of alcohol but people continued making it, just in secret. As a result, the government made alcohol legal again. I have a hard time understanding why alcohol is so widely consumed all over the place. It doesn't taste good, it's not refreshing, it causes damage to your body, it impairs your judgement, and many other negative side-effects. I am not saying that i have never drank alcohol, but if you asked me why i did it i really wouldn't have a great answer for you. I would say i drink socially, meaning basically that everone esle is doing it so why not? Ya... that's where the old jumping off a bridge saying comes into play. I think that just the concept of alcohol shows how self-destructive humanity is. Why is it that we care so little about ourselves? I would like to hear what any of you have to say on this topic.

Should Religion Be Forced?

I grew up in a non-religious family. My mom and dad don't go to church but my dads side of the family is rediculous. They all go to church three or four days out of the week! I think there are so many things that they could be doing with their time. I could see once a week maybe, but the difference between them and me is I never had that forced upon me. My dad had it forced upon him and he moved out of the house at sixteen, that and other reasons. I feel that this is why so often you see pastor's son's and daughter's out getting into trouble. They are looking for a way to rebel against the parents that pushed religion down their throats. I am lucky that I never had it forced upon me. If people are going to find God they should make the journey on their own.

Is it right to force a religion on your child? If you knew that your child didn't want to believe should you still force them to go to chuch?

Whitewashing in American Films

If any of you have younger siblings or friends with younger siblings you probably have heard or have watched 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' on Nickelodeon.

Here is the basic breakdown of the show:

"In this epic, the world is divided into four nations: Water, Earth, Air and Fire. Within each nation is an order of masters possessing the ability to manipulate their native element who call themselves Waterbenders, Earthbenders, Airbenders and Firebenders. The most powerful bender in the world, and the only one who can master all four elements, is the Avatar – a reincarnated being that is born into each nation in a cycle.Aang, the long-awaited Avatar, is called upon to lead the fight against the vicious Fire Nation to restore balance in his war-torn world. Aided by his flying white bison, a protective teenage Waterbender named Katara (Mae Whitman) and her bull-headed warrior brother Sokka (Jack DeSena), Aang proceeds on a perilous journey to save the world while sometimes shaking off his heavy responsibilities so that he can enjoy being a kid." - AWN Headline News

In January 2007, Paramount Pictures took on the task of making this immensly popular television show into a live action movie directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

As the movie went into casting, some problems arose in the form of racism and ignorance as the four main heroic characters were filled by white American actors, not the Asian's they had been created to represent. What made it even worse was even after the white actors were cast, casting directors decided to make all of the vilianous characters (aka the bad guys) Asian, Inuit, or of South East Asian descent.

The created an uproar among Avatar fans as they watched their favorite characters from the show get made from their original concepts into Caucasian look-alikes with no background or reason for being there.

As of now there are hundreds of petitions and thousands of letters being sent to both Paramount and the director of the film asking/pleading them to re-evaluate their casting.

My question is, why does Hollywood find that replacing characters of color or ethnicity with Caucasian-Americans is better? I would have thought America was past the "Yellowfacing" side of Hollywood, especially since these are the same people that may have voted the first black president into office.

Why are all Asians evil? Can't there be ONE good role for someone not only of Asian ethnicity but of any other ethnicity in American movies?

This situation just proves that racism is still around in America and will be for quite a time to come.

The Grand Finale!

Taking into consideration that the class is over now, I wanted to take this humanities class into discussion. We have talked about analyzing our world and breaking it down so that we can see that our lives have been constructed off of societies wants and needs, and that perhaps all of us are being manipulated to follow the mass majority.

But could there be a problem with looking to closely at everything that happens within our lives? Could breaking everything down that we have constructed our lives on really benefit us or would it be more of a hinderance? A constant reminder that we haev no control over our lives, and that everything around is a possible threat towards our individuality?

The White Light

I suppose death is a fairly popular topic considering the fact that a multitude of people on this blog have already written about it. I am not going to analyze whether or not heaven or hell are real or about the interpretation of our creation. These are all very broad topics that I feel can never be proven until maybe we actually die ourselves.
But this poses the question for those who have had near death experiences, and how much of what they experience is real or a figment of their imagination. The one thing that you will hear most everyone say when they come out of that 10 year coma or those who have been revived, they all say "we saw the white light at the end of a tunnel".
I don't know if I can honestly believe that there really is a light in a tunnel that we are supposed to follow in order to go to heaven. There is obviously many psychological and scientific factors that can play a role in these images. Some could say that the trauma to the body caused a multitude of minor shocks or electrical currents that overstimulize the brain that can cause extreme flashes of brightness (kind of like when you look into a light and look away and you still see the light flashing behind your eyelids). And there could also be the fact that since so many have said to have seen the light that maybe our subconcious part of our brain automatically starts pushing that image into the forfront of our minds during cases of trauma.
I would like to hear what others have to say about the conundrum of the "white light"

Online Gaming vs. Online Dating

This topic stems off of my original topic about online dating. In the class we discussed about the type of people we tend to stereotype who do online dating, and whether or not online dating is a positive or negative influence upon society. I personally felt it was more of a hinderance on a human psychological standpoint. How many people become so ingrained with online relationships that they forget how to do human interaction and most times will than avoid it. But I was a little pived about a comment made in class about how online dating is crap and is not something that people should be doing and how it is all a facade that people create to lure others in. This may have some truth to it but what usettled me was how this comment was taken into comparison with IRP (interactive?role playing) games. IRP's are online communities where people can create stories, play games, or chat. The comment that was said was how IRP's are so much better and that you can really have an honest and detailed relationship with someone...ROLE PLAYING GAME! This is a game where you PRETEND to be someone else; I fail to see how this is any different than online dating, as a matter of fact IRP's can be seen as being a more negative way of communicating because of the fact that none of the things others know about you is true, it is all a lie that the person has concocted to create their idealic character. Perhaps I may have misunderdstood or don't understand the details that accompany role playing games, but if this is so than I am all ears to others opinions on the matter.

To Whom We Are Attracted

Does anyone else wonder what makes you truly attracted to a person in a sustained relationship?
The reason I ask is that, although I did not realize it when I began my relationship with my first or present husband, is that they are both avid readers. They are nothing alike in a million ways from personality to physical appearance and yet they have both actively read about a quarter of their free time in relationship with me away! I love to read, yet it is not something in a spouse that I ever consciously looked for. I wonder what traits other people look for in a significant other that they may not be aware of. I have heard of people that would not date someone that is not a reader, I had not ever thought about it.

Stem cell research

For my "show and tell" i wanted to talk about stem sell research, since i was absent that day i thought i would blog it.
President obama signed a bill allowing stem cell research to receive federal funding, something that hasn't been allowed in the last 8 years. It is a very controversy subject. There are pros and cons to each side.

THE DEBATE
All researchers must consider the ethics of their research. They must consider whether the positive effects are likely to be significantly higher than the negative effects.
The controversy surrounding stem cell research has both very positive consequences and very negative consequences, thus leading to a intense debate.
The stem cell research has already given us knowledge which has increased our standard of lives. Most famous is the bone marrow transplantation which treats leukemia, lymphoma and other inherited blood disorders.
In the near future, treatment for Diabetes Type 1-Patients and Advanced Kidney Cancer are the most likely candidates to arrive at the marked if the research is continued.
But there are also some serious concerns about the research: Up until now, human abortion has been needed to get proper material to study.

Cons
"We should not mess with human life."
Some argue that stem cell research in the far future can lead to knowledge on how to clone humans. It is hard to say whether this is true, but we have seen devastating consequences of other research, even with good intentions, such as nuclear research.

Pros
Stem cell research can potentially help treating a range of medical problems. It could lead us closer to cure:
Parkinson’s Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease
Heart Diseases, Stroke and Diabetes (Type 1)
Birth Defects
Spinal Cord Injuries
Replace or Repair Damaged Organs
Reduced Risk of Transplantation (You could possibly get a copy of your own heart in a heart-transplantation in the future)

My health instructor is constantly telling us that our generation will have to deal with alot of controversy issues.
What are your opinions on this issue?
If it was up for a vote, how would you vote?

Boybands Aren't Dead

At least in Asia they aren't.

In Japan, China, and especially South Korea, boybands have been, and probably will be for quite a time to come, the main source for music in the popular genre.
In Japan boybands like, KAT-TUN, Arashi, SMAP!, HeySayJump, and EXILE have been around between 5-10 years and they are still dominating the Oricon Charts and stealing all the #1 hits.
In China, Fahrenheit (yes that is how it's spelled), and Quest are also dominating the charts and rank the highest in netizen approval ratings.
In South Korea there are enough boybands to last a lifetime, such as, DongBangShinKi (whom you may remember my presentation about), Super Junior, SHINEe, BigBang, SS501, 2AM, FT-Island, Fly to the Sky, SG Wannabe and many many more.
DongBangShinKi (my favorite boyband who I am not ashamed being a fan of), are the most popular boyband ever to come out of Asia, their Korean fanclub claiming more than 1 million people, while their Japanese fanbase is at 980,000 as of December 2008.

My question is, why is it that America in-particular seemed to give up on the boyband craze/music and "move on" to what we claim to be more "mature" music.
What makes music written and composed by a boyband so taboo here all of a sudden?
Girl bands are still okay though boybands are still constantly made fun of and people are led to think they are just full of talentless good-looking men who prace happily around the stage.

Note: I do understand that American boybands, such as N'Sync, weren't exactly the most talented bunch of guys around, but you still have to admit, you can't help but groove to "Bye Bye Bye" when it comes on the radio.

Gamers

I'm sure many of you have heard of playing Halo 3 Live. Basically you can sign in online and play this video game with people from around the world. I focus on Halo 3 because i myself have an account and play this game sometimes with friends when i go back home.

My question is why has video games gone to the point where we need to play online with people we don't even know. The entire game is built around killing the other team or other individuals, and whoever gets the most kills wins. I think that just this game says a lot about our society and i can formulate a few questions. Does the basic premise of the game (a kill equals a point) desensitize the gamers to actual death? Does the game make the gamers more violent? Is the game dangerous in the sense that it might become too much a part of our life?

In my personal experience with the game, I have found that some of these questions have truth. I don't think that the game has desensitized me personally. I view the game as being just a game and sort of on its own plain where it isn't effecting "reality. However, i have found that the game can effect stress levels and make gamers quite angry. I am not sure if this is a result of just being a bad loser or if the game actually makes the gamers more violent.

I am interested in your views on this topic. Is this not an issue or does it hold some concerns for you?

Nothingness

Death. This is something that we all think about. Some believe that you go to heaven or hell. Others believe in reincarnation. Some believe that if they martyr themselves for their god, they will have fourty virgins waiting for them in paradise. You can never really know what happens until you die and can see for yourself. You have to just have faith and believe.

I, myself, don't have a solid opinion or belief. I have pondered the idea of nothingness, but that is quite honestly one of the hardest concepts I have tried to grasp. As humans we never really know what nothingness is. I immediately think of blackness, but that is still something. In nothingness, you would just cease to exist. You would have no more concious thought. It would be like an eternal, dreamless, sleep--or thats how I would imagine it.

My questions for you are 1) What do you believe, and 2) Do you think my interperetation of nothingness is accurate? If not, what do you think it would be like?

Many Children on Assistance

In reference to one more reason why "octomom" bothers us I think has a lot to do with her being on assistance. I have known a mom with many more children than she should have had. She was a single mom to six children from six different dads and did not use protection. She lived in a shelter in Nashville, Tennesse with all of her children. She did not have the money to move out of the shelter, but did have the money to buy Nikes for all six kiddos. I knew her for six months and she just stayed at the shelter. The "octomom" taps into the feelings that this mom also gave me, someone who just does bizarre things and has a lot of children. Do you agree?

The Story of Stuff

(Click on image to be linked to the site, the movie is about 20 minutes, I highly recommend it)


The Story of Stuff is a documentary about all of the 'stuff' that we take in and dispose of on a regular basis, at its core it is a criticism of the current system of business in regards to environmental and social responsibility as well as the morality of a consumerist culture. It packages a lot of complicated and interrelated issues into a nice 20 minute movie (as opposed to months reading dense texts), taking the viewer through the motions of the entire cycle of our consumer goods; detailing the extraction of raw material, the production of goods, the distribution of goods, the consumption of goods, the disposal of goods, and finally what it would look like to positively change the system and the role you play in it.

Since it is a fairly broad collection of topics I'll let the discussion be open to what you would like most to talk about. Basically I want to know what you think about the ideas presented in the film and what they have to say about our culture. If you don't feel like watching the whole movie I would encourage you to make sure and watch the Consumption chapter, this focuses mostly on the role Consumerism has to play in our world. I definitely agree with what they present and would love to see society change for the better and allow for a more sustainable and socially conscious existence. However I am perhaps a little too cynical when I look around and very much doubt that there will be a unified and concerted effort to sacrifice luxury in the name of equality.

Your thoughts?

Kid Crazy

Last week in class we discussed the "Octomom" and how horrible she is for being so selfish through her children. Until her story nobody ever lashed out about people in our society having too many kids. The TLC network seems to be going crazy over families with more then average amounts of kids. "John and Kate plus 8" is a very popular show. I myself watch it often. The kids are so cute and they make me laugh. John and Kate have one set of twins and a set of sextuplets. There are other shows on the same network like "17 Kids and Counting." This show is interesting to me as well though I'm not sure why. This family is slightly different than John and Kate because all of their kids were conceived and born naturally. I just saw a preview for a new show called "Table for 12." This show is supposed to be similar to John and Kate because they have two sets of twins and one set of sextuplets. I will probably check this show out as well. My question is, why does our culture love to watch families with tons of kids on reality shows. What makes it so interesting? Couldn't a normal family of five be interesting? As far as the "Octomom" goes, I think she is just producing kids to fill some weird void in her life. It's wrong because she doesn't provide a father figure for her children and she has extremely limited resources to financially provide for them. I don't think that the state should stop giving her money because it's not the children's fault that mom is so irresponsible. Maybe the state should take the children away? I'm not sure. Splitting them up probably isn't a good idea, and giving her more attention for her situation is exactly what she wants. I think shows like "John and Kate plus 8" are more acceptable because there are two parents and the families seem pretty stable.

The Simpson's

When we discussed The Simpson's in class I found it interesting that many were not allowed to watch the show. My parents thought The Simpson's was one of the best shows on TV. There didn't seem to be any discussion about whether or not kids should watch it in my house. This was Family TV night once a week as I was growing up. I have two younger brothers and I don't think any of us thought of this as a big deal. I knew some of my friends couldn't watch certain ratings, but The Simpson's didn't seem like a big deal. I think the question becomes is it good for parents to censor the shows their children watch? Where is that line between sheltering your children too much and letting them see too much? I am interested to see how others feel about this issue, if anything.

Desensitization

Scanning through the front page of CNN.com recently was rather shocking to me. Alongside several headlines like:

"Five die in Miami murder-suicide"
"Austrian to plead guilty to rape"
"NFL player hits, kills pedestrian",

there are headlines like:

"'Race to Witch Mountain' casts a spell at No. 1"
"Space shuttle set for Sunday launch"
"Flight attendant raps, passengers clap"

Are we so desensitized that we can read a story about horrific deaths or crimes and then move on to read an article about Disney's new movie success in the box office with it having no effect on us whatsoever? Are we now completely unmoved from seeing headlines like these? Has war and violence permeated into our lives to such an extent that it is just commonplace? Is it something we just dismiss (or attempt to)?

I'm curious to hear what others have to say about this.

David Bowie and Your Sexual/Relationship Boundaries.

So, this may seem a pretty weird topic, but I think it's kind of interesting. And funny.

Recently, my girlfriend and I have been talking about certain celebrities and what we think of them. She says she would definitely leave me for David Bowie, or Bret and Jemaine of The Flight of The Concords, if the opportunity was presented. Her argument is, "Well, who wouldn't?" After saying this, she then tries to get me to admit that there are celebrities that I would leave her for, regardless of my sexuality. She doesn't understand why more guys don't admit that they'd get it on with David Bowie and other celebrities of his status. I find it pretty hilarious.

This absolutely has to do with how average people put celebrities (and basically anyone of a more attractive status then they) atop pedestals. My argument against it is that I don't really hold anyone in a high enough regard that I would do anything for them if they walked through my door. Realizing how distant of a reality this would all be, I usually just say, "Fine, fine, I'd [have relations] with David Bowie."

I'm interested to see, are there any/many celebrities that you would do anything for, regardless of your sexual orientation and relationship status? If so, why? Do you believe it's okay for people to have these types of views on celebrities?

objectum sexuality

"Imagine a life where, as a woman, you crawled from your warm, empty, bed on a November morning to watch your husband be publicly executed. His crime? Existence. This is what happened to one Swedish woman. Her husband was the Berlin Wall, and on November 9, 1989, she was traumatized as her husband was brutally destroyed with hammers, and she felt absolutely destroyed as she watched people tear chunks from his body."

I just learned about Objectum Sexuals, people who are sexually orientated towards objects. They're typically women with Asperger's syndrome (which is on the autistic spectrum). They have a hard time having relationships with people and instead fall in love with objects, like the Eiffel Tower or Berlin Wall. They even hold wedding ceremonies in which they marry these objects and they claim to be intimate with them.

Here's a video if you want to learn more:




My question is should this be considered a mental disorder or a legitimate sexual orientation? Keep in mind that 50 years ago homosexuality was also considered to be a mental disorder; now we all know that it is not. Should Objectum Sexuals be provided with the same legitimacy that homosexuals have?

Making animals more human like.

I went to petsmart the other day, usually whenever I go I can see some form of clothing for dogs. Understandable since some dogs cannot keep warm on their own. But then I went down the collar and leash aisle, I was astonished at what I saw, pink leashes, collars with flowers, or Harley Davidson emblems on them everywhere! It seems that making animals more like us is on a swift upraise. Just a few months ago I found some collars with designs on them on a small little rack and then the rest of the aisle was just plain black, green, pink, or blue leashes and collars. Now it is a whole aisle! It’s not just dog items either, cats are getting clothing and little tiny animals have human like houses as well. My question is why do we seem to have this need to make our animals more human like? Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was rather cute when we got our second dog Repunzle from the pound and she came with a cute little pink color with diamond like studs on them. But still this sort of thing seems to be getting out of hand. It seems the longer we have (domesticated) animals around, the more we want them to be like us. Why? Is it just so we can try to understand them better?

Being an informed citizen

Relevant to our recent discussion, here's a blog entry (link below) by Mickey Kaus that discusses a recent political scandal and ends up arguing that "you can no longer be a well-informed citizen if you just read the Times and Post print editions. You have to go online." Do you agree?

http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/kausfiles/archive/2009/03/12/internet-the-silent-killer.aspx

You are Rich!

No, not in the Hallmark bullshit false-reality where wealth comes from the love of friends and family. We're talking cash, cold hard Benjamins. You are one of many of the wealthiest people the world has ever known. Doubt it? Need proof? Try this out.

Global Rich List

I was seriously shocked to see where I stacked up, based on my annual salary I am in the top 14.17% of the world (not even factoring the large contributions of support I get from my parents). If you have the time you should really see where you stack up, were you surprised where you found yourself? Why or why not? I'll give you a hint, because you have access to the internet and live in America it is a very safe bet that you are at least ball-parked to my own figure. Based on that what are the implications of your rating? Does the rich minority share any social obligation to the vast majority of the world (see image below) living on so little relative income?

Let's do some test numbers ($=Annual Income - %=Percent Richest People in World):
$365(dollar a day) - 91% (this is near to 10% of the world's population, 650,000,000 people)
$730(two dollars a day) - 60.28% (over half the world's population)
$1,000 - 44.1%
$3873.60(WA min. wage 40 hrs/52 wks) - 14.64%
$30,244(Avg. livable salary in Vermont 2008) - 7.01%
$47,500(The calculator maxes out here, obviously this is not the highest annual salary, though this percent houses 60,000,000 people) - 1%

Does that disparity warrant a reaction? Are we obligated, as the world's wealthiest nation, to do something to alleviate poverty? Or do we enjoy our prosperity and leave the rest of the world to live off our table scraps (or is that trickle-down?)?

False 911 Calls

Police said a woman made two false calls to 911 from an out-of-service cell phone - and told investigators she did it because she was bored. They booked a 20-year-old woman on Monday with false report of a fire and false report of a crime. They also booked her on two outstanding warrants for violating probation.

Police Chief Freddy Drennan said the two calls gave different addresses in the same area. Police answered a burglary call and police and firefighters answered the fire call.

Officers questioned a woman in a nearby yard. Police said she denied making the calls at first, then admitted making them out of boredom.
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Then last week I heard the local channel 4 news that a woman called 911 because Mcdonalds was out of Chicken McNuggets.

What is with these people? Do they not realize that they a tying up the lines when a real emergency might be happening? I wish they could charge them with something!
Also the people who will not pull over for the Police, Fire Engines or Ambulances.

Backgrounds

As many of you already know, because of my "show and Tell" that I am half Saudi Arabian. My mother is American and met my dad here in Spokane when he was attending EWU in the 80s. I was born in Spokane and have spent most of my life here. When i was five I lived in Saudi for a year and a half and again when i was 13 for two years. Though I have spent time over in the East I have always felt I am "all-American". I don't even speak Arabic (which now i regret because it's a beautiful and easy language to learn). People have always noticed that I might look a little different because of my natural tan or my facial features-I on the other hand never thought much of it. I've always felt like I fit in with my peers. When I see someone that has a similar background, as in they also have mixed parents, I immediately think that they were probably brought up with the parents values that is of another race. How stupid is that? I should be the first to know that it' s certainly not always the case! My quiestion to you is am I the only one being blind and somewhat ignorant in my thinking? Especially coming from someone that doesnt have parents from two different countries. Im interested to know what the reaction to people with foriegn parents is.

Numerals Used As Letters

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn45yuR8AyXSbT838tdfe33zEvI37aqFFzYUCL66NmXjfq2oyPbpPs4g8fxDC5EiTGBS8HQatHVAlg_fyx36b607sfzCBZZDoWpVPQ_k9j96tAdY-8tBj6zgvgAyiKyNmHGe0NPa55DHw/s400/Nicolas+cage+knowing.jpg

http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/7665/s3dvdad8.jpg


I don't know about you guys, but I have pretty much lived on the Internet since it came into being; learning all the new fads and whatnot after they, too, came into being. One of which, those in this interactive world call "1337," or "leet" speak, if you will. What it is, is substituting numbers for the letters they seem to look like.

What I have noticed in the past few years, is that a few TV show and movies have actually taken on this "language," if you want to call it anything. Couple of the ones that I remembered off the top of my head (and I'm sure there are more out there) is the TV show "NUMB3RS" and the movie that is either coming out in theaters soon or already has been and hasn't been out very long, "KNOW1NG." (links for picture reference)

I just wonder why you guys think they're doing this with the titles of their shows and movies? My thoughts are that they're trying to appeal to those who find their sole entertainment on their computers, that possibly would see this faint use of "1337" speak (laugh at it, like I did when I noticed these titles) and maybe would spark some interest, without any real background on the show or movie. What do you think?

Movies

I love watching movies. I'm not exactly sure why either, but for some reason I am just hooked. Even if it's a movie that i have already seen ten times before, once that movie is started I can't pull myself away. I often wonder if I were to add up all the time i spend watching movies, how many days or months i have wasted sitting in front of a screen. However, there is so much more out there then just movies. There are TV regualar programs, video games, internet, and so many other sources of pointless entertainment . It is scary for me to imagine how much time I alone have wasted. Now, try imagining how much time the world as a whole has wasted. Wow!

Today's society has made it so easy for anyone to get lost in a world that doesn't exist. How many people play games like Sims? Where all they day is create a virtual world that can potentially take them away from reality. You personally might think these people are pathetic but ask yourself what it is that your doing when you watch some fictional television show or play a video game. Almost everyone participates in this virtual world that society has created one way or another. I know I do. It's so hard to pull yourself away from something so easy and most of the time quite fun. How far is this going to go in today's society? I see this as a problem but maybe I am wrong. Is this kind of entertainment harmless?

Edward Cullen. I was online when and advertisement for the release of "Twilight" to DVD popped up and Prince Charming himself graced the front of the ad. Instantly I found myself thinking "Ohhh Edward." (inward smile). I'll admit it, I definitely have a crush on the character but would like to make it clear that I am in no way one of those fanatics, follow the actor around to get a lock of his hair types. But I admire the character, and I have a crush.


But then it occurred to me, how unrealistic am I being? I have this crush on a character who doesn't even exist, Noah too, from "The Notebook" is another popular dream man. But honestly, what's the point? And then I got to thinking, how many times have we heard a girl sigh "If only my boyfriend/husband/significant other would be like "Edward Cullen"...." and then I started to feel bad for the guys. Girls are funny, and what started out as a simple T.V. crush seeps its way into our reality and then we begin to have unrealistic expectations of our man. While women should hold men to a high standard we cannot let Edward or Noah stand in the way. It's like when men dream about having a 6'8 110 pound model on their arm, eventually they'll quit dreaming when they see the world around them is full of us non-model type. It's harder to see that men won't ever turn into a love-sick vampire for whatever reason.

I personally feel women have a harder time letting go of this fantasy and it can be harmful. How alarming/ dangerous is it the more fiction slips into our reality? When is too much enough and can anything be done about it or is it a phenomenon to be overlooked?

Breastfeeding

Rep. Tami Green's proposal to make breast-feeding in public places a constitutionally protected civil right. House Bill 1596 passed the House on a 93-0 and has been sent to the Senate.Posted by Joe Turner.

This law has been sent to the Senate here in Washington State as of March 4th. But many people do not realize that until a law is in place a nursing mom can be discriminated against for nursing in public! It is not indecent exposure to nurse in public, but there are not any laws keeping businesses from kicking you out for feeding your baby, how do you feel about this?

Floating cities? Legalizing marijuana?

I came across an article on cnn.com today about the possibility of a floating city within the next three years. They have a prototype and believe it is something we will see very soon. The first floating city they plan to make is going to be off the coast of San Francisco Of course this idea is intriguing in its own, but the part that sparked a debate in my mind was experiment with different forms of government on these cities. One idea the article brought up was legalizing marijuana. While I think it is a good thing to see if they may be better forms of government to employ, the pessimistic side of me thinks that this will cause problems between the "mainland" and the "island". How will people be able to draw the line when these two separate forms of government are located so close? Does any one else see that this could be a problem?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/03/09/floating.cities.seasteading/index.html

Truth?

We have been talking a lot in class recently about truth in our culture, discussing it with the common definition of truth, being "fact" or "actuality". Sure, you can declare something as true or false, but recently I discovered another context for truth.

This summer, I went to a camp in which the theme was "Truth". The intention of this event was to find our Truth. Truth was used differently here though. To find our Truth was to discover who we are, what defines us; to strip away all superficial layers. Truth was our meaning.

Granted, this was a church camp, but do you think that truth is really something we try to find within ourselves? Is it possible to discover your truth? Do you think you already have?

The Biggest Loser

The Biggest Loser is a show about obese people that go to a ranch in Texas to lose weight and see who can be the biggest loser. This season they decided to do another Biggest Loser Couples show. Each couple is closely tied to each other; Mother-daughter, best friends, husband -wife, etc. They compete against the other couples to see who can outlast who in various competitions and weigh-ins. They have the help of top trainers who tell them exactly what exercises to do and what to eat. In the first week, the heaviest contestant ever to be on the show, Daniel loses an amazing 30 pounds! When I saw this I was hooked. I have watched every episode this season online.

These people are an inspiration to other obese Americans. It sends the message that it can be done. Do obese Americans really need a show to motivate them to exercise and eat right? I think the answer is yes. Obviously they have been so unmotivated in their lives that they became overweight in the first place. The difference between the television show and real life is that it's not that easy. There isn't access to the support of the other contestants, free training, and food. What can be done for the obese Americans to make it easier for them to lose weight and become more healthy? The show seems to motivate obese Americans, but it is solely about entertainment. It doesn't give much insight into the kind of exercise to do, and food to eat to become more healthy. Obese America needs a show that does just this. I think to stop the epidemic of obese Americans, schools need to incorporate nutrition into the curriculum starting in pre-school.

Upset Diners

My husband and I were at dinner last night at a nice restaurant. Service was great, food was wonderful, and we were having a great time. Two women were seated at a booth next to us and really ruined the evening. The entire time they were there they were complaining. Complaining about everything you could imagine. The lights were too dim, they were offered to be moved to another table. They chose a bottle of wine, and said it was gross. Keep in mind they chose this wine. So they asked for another one, and the waitress complied. Since they only serve by the bottle here, that will go to waste. I think you get the idea, everything was wrong to them. At the end of the night the manager made a very nice gesture to come talk to them to see if they enjoyed their dinner. And even after the waitress accommodated their every need, they were saying how awful she was. In the end they had a big discount on their bill and were still complaining because it was expensive. I was so blown away by their attitudes and lack of consideration for other diners. I know they were just doing this to get a freebie, we had the same waitress and she did a really good job for both tables. It is just upsetting that someone so rude gets a discount on their bill while my husband and I pay full price.

Coffee Conflicts

Has coffee really become so addictive that it is like smoking a cigarette or having an addiction to drugs? The other day, I was in class and another student was coming in late for class. She was very disheveled and you could tell she was in a hurry. She apologized to the class for being late, but the line at Starbucks was really long. Myself, I was wondering where her priorities were, being on time for class, or getting a coffee.

I realize that caffeine is an addictive substance, but should it come between you and your education?

I am curious to hear what others have to say.

Obama/McCain

This is a picture on a building on Market Street that I found interesting. It brought up a lot of questions. Are we closing the gap on racism? The child seems to be asking for Obama's help, does this mean that he is supported by a younger generation? McCain seems to be cheering on Obama (this was painted before the election) almost as if he is proud to have an African American opponent.

I feel that this picture is showing us that we need a new outlook on our government. We have been running in circles for decades. This is our chance to hear what the people have to say.

I also think that we are closing the gap on racism, but that we still have a long way to go.

The most hated Bachelor

The Bachelor and Bachelorette are shows about single people who want to get married and compete against each other to win the heart of the Bachelor/Bachelorette. The Bachelor is about one man who picks out of 25 women and the Bachelorette is a woman that picks out of 25 men. I don't know if anyone has watched the lastest bachelor or not. Jason is considered the most hated Bachelor ever. Jason was on the Bachelorette last year and it came down to him and another guy and she decided that she wanted to marry him then at the last minute she said no and chose the other man.
So this year he was chosen to be on the Bachelor. When he was deciding on who to marry between the two women, Molly and Melissa, he first told Molly he didn't think she was the one. He picked Melissa and went on to purpose to her in the season finale.
Then after the six week mandatory seperation he came onto the after show and told Melissa in front of an audience of millions that he did not love her or want to be with her but instead wanted to be with Molly. Molly and him are still dating today because she was excited for a second chance with him, even though he had also dumped her in front of millions.
He also had a three year old son who he involved in the process and had him meet both women almost as if he was picking out his future mother.
What woman in her right mind would want anything to do with him after the way he treated them, especially since he had gone through the exact same thing last year? Does this seem real to you or is it a reality show gone too far?

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The New Kind of Dating

During show and tell today the topic of online dating was presented and I thought that it was extremely interesting. I think that it's crazy how popular online dating is. Yes, i do believe that it's true that some people do find the love of their life, but then I started wondering what ever happened to being patient and just waiting for that perfect person to come into their life. I think that people are so focused on trying not to be alone when really you should be fine being alone before creating a life with another person. Maybe this adds to why there are so many relational problems within our culture...

Are Science and Religion mutually exclusive?

This is one cultural phenomenon that I haven't actually thought about in a long time until today when I caused an uproar after making the statement that Ouija boards, astrology, etc work due to allowing people to access spiritual powers that we are capable of posessing. Seeing how I'm a "Math and Science person" I couldn't possibly believe that there is a spiritual world or that anything exists beyond the world that we can touch, taste, smell, and hear.

Why is this? Why should it have caused such an uproar when I made such a simple statement that lots of people would agree with themselves.

Tension between science and religion started in the medieval ages. At that point in time the Catholic church had most of the political and social power in the west. The introduction of science was a threat to the power that the Pope held and wielded as kings wielded their swords over peasants' heads. Galileo was imprisoned and died there because he refused to deny that the earth revolves around the sun. In more recent times, creationists are trying to get all talk of evolution removed from the schools and scientists like Richard Dawkins are waging their own war on religion by belittling anyone who is religious.

If God does exist and if he did create the world than we should be able to use science to see evidence of this in creation.

Why should science and religion be mutually exclusive things? Sure, for a couple hundred years there's been a rivalry between religion and science for who's right, but why should that govern our assumptions about the people that we meet on a day to day basis?

I think that part of the problem is also that science has progressed so far that it has left the general population behind. So now only the elite few know how most of our stuff works and what breakthroughs are happening since most people wouldn't understand if the scientists are even speaking English or not.

On the cutting edge of science, namely Quantom theory and mechanics, there is growing debate over whether or not God exists. Albert Einstein once made the statement that "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."

Do any of you have any other insight into this or any ideas of other causes?

Religious Nut's Ability to Speak Freely.

I came across this video a few months ago and it still makes me sick. This lady and her church which mostly consists of her family members, protest at soldier's funerals for religious purposes. Only recently has the Iowa govener put a bill into effect that says they have to stay 500 ft away. They hold signs outside these funerals with such statements as " You are going to hell." " Don't worship the dead." and the worst " Thank God for Dead Soldiers." Through her Fox news interview, Shirley a member of the West Burrow Baptist Church says she feels good for warning people that the wrath of God is pouring out on this nation. She mentions that one of God's weapons of choice is sending people's children home dead. She goes off on different types of people, including gays, soldiers, basically anyone not like her. The things she says absolutly disgust me. I come from a military family, if she were to show up at any person in my family's funeral or anyone I knew I would probably go crazy on her. I have no respect for her.I am also a Christian and the things she says about God and being a Christian makes me cringe. It embarrasses me that she calls herself a Christian and that she makes God out to be a hateful, awful, murdering God who takes pleasure in our sorrows. I completly disagree with every word she says. I think she is a sick twisted person. But the problem I have with this is that we do have freedom of speech in this country. Technicaly Shirley and her family have the right to say these things and to hurt these people with their words. So we have freedom of speech, but is there any common courtesy? Is there a point where freedom of speech is taken too far? Or are there no limits?

I have posted the hyperlink for the video on youtube, because I am technically impaired and it may not work here is what you can search it under : "Religious Protesting Nut on Fox News."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMhCDKxPjHU

Childhood Lost

Would you show your child this picture? Why not? (I'm assuming you said no...) I would really appreciate your opinion on this first question as well as on where I go with it, but essentially I want to know your views on the "sanctity" of childhood. A relatively new concept considering the age of humanity, why do we as a culture feel the need to "protect" our children from the often gritty and violent realities of the world?

Our recent study of children's lit. came to mind this afternoon as I was reading the news. For those not aware the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity for Sudan president Omar al-Bashir. This is huge. Though it has failed to make many front pages Sudan has been in turmoil and civil war for over 20 years, if you've heard anything about it you've most likely heard of the region of Darfur and the genocide that killed some 400,000 civillians and displaced millions. Essentially it's a mess and the international community has been remarkably silent throughout. But that's politics and politics doesn't interest me. What does concern me is the prevalent use of child soldiers that has escalated in the later and more recent stages of the conflict. It's a long story that I won't get into here, if you're interested in this subject I would recommend you look into it. (A good place to start would be an organization called Invisible Children, which provides the story of the displaced and abducted children forced into military work for a rebel militia in Sudan that opposes the government in the civil war).

Ok long story short that picture was drawn by a rescued child soldier during the rehabilitation process. There are tons of various drawings along this line that are recurrent among those involved in the conflict. These are just their doodles, this is their normal. They have only known violence and war. These children (most somewhere between 7-15) have killed, raped, and burned entire villages, sometimes even their own families. I don't know if I have a central idea that binds this together, I thought it was interesting how we were concerned about the content reaching our own children (or potential children in the future) yet these kids were denied their "normalcy" and will likely be unable to be rehabilitated into a functional role in society. Basically it pisses me off and I want to hear what you have to say about it.

Nazi Liberals Frantic Conservatives

I'll be honest; I'm hearing a lot about this economic crisis we are facing, I've seen how hard it is for my friends to get jobs, there are whispers about the "Next Great Depression", but I only have a very very very surface level idea of what exactly it is that we are facing today. But I stumbled upon this political cartoon and it intrigued me. Anytime Nazis are brought into the discussion it's serious; that's no light jab. The cartoon is labeled "Nazi Liberals, Frantic Conservatives." What do you think? Too much, too extreme, uncalled for? Or is there some truth behind it? Are the people who were fiscally responsible unfair victims being torn down by their dumb neighbors? I really don't know, but I wanted to hear opinions. :)

Mega-corporation Satirizes Self

Do me a favor; it will take less than two minutes. Watch this Coke commercial from the late '70s:



Have you seen it before? Compare this commercial, which is currently on the air:



I saw this a week or so ago, and initially I was intrigued by the clever re-do of the iconic "Mean Joe" Green commercial from my childhood. But the intrusion of the Coke "brand managers" was kind of odd, and I'm not sure what to do with it.

The commercial shifts, at this point, from a cute homage to the 1970s commercial to a satire of Coke's own status as a corporate hegemon, one that will aggressively sue (or otherwise attack) anyone who infringes on its territory.

My question...Can an entity effectively satirize itself? ("Satire" meaning something different, and deeper, than simply being able to laugh at oneself.) This commercial seems like it ought to work only if it were made by a separate entity (maybe RC Cola) that really does want to poke a whole in Coke's image of cola dominance.

Instead, one of Coke's divisions--Coke Zero--is pretending to be such a disadvantaged entity, engaged in mock-defiance of the Coca Cola Corporation's corporate dominance. This makes sense only if we image a viewer who didn't really know that Coke Zero is actually part of the Coke company. (For example, Coca-Cola once marketed a new brand, Okay Cola, that was supposed to seem a little alternative, and its marketing campaign underplayed the fact that Okay was a Coke brand.)

But, of course, every viewer does know that Coke Zero is just pretending. So what is the basis of the satire? Obviously, the Coke Zero guys who made the commercial don't really believe that Coke's corporate dominance is problematic; they're part of the same team. But I don't think effective satire can occur unless the satirist is sincere--OR unless the audience is persuaded that it's sincere. (Satire purposely exaggerates, of course, but the place it's coming from is sincere, and sincerely perturbed by the problem it exaggerates. Otherwise, it's ineffective.)

So: if this commercial works, it does so despite the fact that its makers are patently insincere in their satiric efforts; the audience, nonetheless, must have decided (for some reason) to go along with the pretense, to suspend disbelief, to pretend to be persuaded (against its own common-sense knowledge) that Coke Zero is engaged in some sort of guerrila marketing campaign that is taking aim at Coke.

I can imagine why the makers of the commercial would want to sell that message: they get the best of both worlds, a funny piece of satire (leading to unconscious associations between Coke Zero and a kind of cool anti-corporate-authority spirit) and an underlying message (which also sertves Coke's ends) that Coke is dominant and inescapable. My question is, why would anyone buy it?