American Literature Via Wykes

The Last Day the Man Talks

2010-08-30T22:58:00.001-05:00

this is dead;

The last thing about the last thing said

a goodbye and a hello

to times so far a head

can't even think them yet

which hasn't been there.

we would show you;

You would show us up:

looking for the last lost trail -

might be better/might be a fuller cup.

Do you see

at least that you don't see

at least then you know your search might end

where ours did; the ones ahead by time's design,

for in some things there is no end,

and in others, nothing but.

IF you come to where we all are sooner or later

(hope you come here sooner)

Stopped at the edge of one limit by this unseen limiter

Peering out,

Please note the nebulous notions not yet near

In time, your youth nearly spent, yearning here

will yield yields you cannot now know.

what I'm trying to say is interest

is in the eye of the eyer;

Nothing is of little note but that which is not noted.

the world's a narrow well with no bottom,

and your mind

has

fallen

in.

Requirements for Your Blog

2010-04-30T08:54:00.006-05:00

Create links on their pages, some of which must use words instead of raw URLs.
Create at least one picture or iframe on their page.
Create a link or an iframe to a Google Docs file.
Remove any of the preset gadgets that their site doesn't need.
Show evidence of a design concept; a pattern that they use to order their site.
Use links IN THE BODY OF THEIR TEXT in their blog post.
Use at least one picture in their blog post.
Provide a link to at least one downloadable file (can be from Google Docs)
Use traditional grammar, spelling, and punctuation throughout
Comment on the website of each other student in class.

You will be writing a short paper explaining the purpose of every element of your page. Your purposes don't have to be "important", they just have to BE. This paper has no specified length; it is done when you have finished explicating your site. You may post this paper to your blog instead of turning it in in paper if you wish.

The project is due May 20th.

Where do we go after death?

2010-03-17T22:38:00.006-05:00

Have you ever seen a movie that when people die they go through a tunnel towards a light? Is this actually true? One of the most interesting question about life that sometimes you might not be able to answer is life after death. Is it real? Where is it? Or what is it look like? After I have been researching, I found out that most of the answer is based on religious beliefs.

According to my research, most of the American people that is Christian believe in Jesus Christ. They believe "The good people go to Heaven and the bad people go to Hell." People who believe in God and trust in Jesus to save them go to be with Jesus in heaven. People who do not believe in God or who trust in their own goodness to save them go to Hades. Non-believers are thrown into the Lake of Fire along with Satan and his demons. Believers will then spend eternity with God in the New Jerusalem. So, we know that there are only 2 places we can go after death which is Heaven and Hell. There is no specific definition of heaven and hell but Heaven represent an eternal happy life where Hell is the opposite.

While Buddhist believe something slightly different. They believe in reincarnation. The life after death depends on your karma (your good and bad action in this life). Your karma will also effect your last thought that will determine your next birth and or the reincarnation. You might be born in the heaven or hell or you might come back as a human again in new life as a new person. And it is also possible that you might be born as an animal too. After your next life there will be another next life. The only way you can stop this wheel of suffering (Samsara) is following the instruction of the teaching of Buddha to become enlightened and enter the state of nirvana. The easier way to say this is if we do good things more than bad things in this life you probably have a good life after death.

The similarity between this two religion is what you do in this life will effect your life after death. And they are all encourage you to do good things. But regardless to all that religion beliefs where do you think you going after death? Maybe it is going to be a whole new world or born in other planet or we just disappeared? What if we never die and it happens to be that our body turns off while your mind still awake and walk around like an invisible soul? Our imagination can go on and on. We can see some of our imagination, thought, and beliefs about life after death are being put in many sources like movies, music, literature or etc. So many different answers can’t be all right, but they all may be wrong. Who would know the truth? Where do think you will go after you death?

The Issue of Morallity

2010-03-17T21:57:00.000-05:00

Many people in this nation would readily admit that there is a problem with modern standards and behavior. Many are disgusted at the laws we are passing. Many more are disgusted with the conduct, or in some cases lack thereof, exhibited by our country's leaders. Many want to see things change, but the true problem is almost never addressed.
Why the sudden plunge in behavior and standards? In all probability, it wasn't so sudden of a change. Our society has been gradually worn away. It all started with the very first fluctuation of moral standards, whenever that was. As soon as morals were demoted to a matter of personal opinion, our fate was sealed. We are now on an almost irreversible path to self destruction, much like ancient Rome. As soon as you remove the source of absolute moral truth, things will go downhill.
Many people argue that the only sources of morality are religion and personal opinion. I don't disagree. While there are some natural inhibitions we follow by instinct, most of what we know as far as right and wrong comes from religious teaching. However, this doesn't change things. We still need an absolute source of morality. In fact, America's original laws were all based on the Bible and Christian morals. This wasn't discriminatory, it was logical. People of other religions could still practice as they wished, since these laws were common among all religions. No murder, no stealing, no cheating, etc; these are basic laws. The problem came when we started tampering with them under grounds that they were too strict, discriminatory, or unconstitutional. Granted, some laws such as those allowing slavery had to be changed. But if one looks into the reasons for racial equality, they are mostly Christian. So these changes were merely an improvement on our laws, moving us closer to religious morality. The opposite is true with laws allowing gay marriage, abortion, and the like. These are the laws moving us away from morality, these are the issue and a contributing factor to our nation's overall state.
I am not saying that we should be a theocracy, or even go so far as to impose strict Christian laws. Freedom of religion must always be maintained. What I am trying to say is that religious morality should be the predominant guideline in lawmaking. It's obvious that a law requiring people to go to church, or save sex for marriage, or tithe to a church would be way too far. These are laws unique to Christianity, and so making them national law would be infringing freedom of religion. But ignoring a basic law like “don't murder,” which his common to all major religions, is a bad idea. The legalization of abortion, for example, did exactly this. We are slowly lowering our standards, and if we don't stop, we won't have any left.
We need a definite source of morals. This doesn't necessarily have to be the Bible, but there has to be something we bass our laws on, and Christianity is what we've started with. Failure to stop this decline will result in the downfall of our country, and possibly the world.

Movies In America: Avatar

2010-03-17T21:08:00.003-05:00

The movie industry plays a huge role in the American culture. Many Americans spend some of their time watching movies at home or going to the theater to see the new releases. Obviously, because of people’s attraction to movies, the movie industry makes a lot of money. So why do certain movies make more money than others and what makes people so attracted to certain movies?
Let’s take a look at Avatar, released in December of 2009. This movie won three Oscars and made about $212 million dollars (http://www.examiner.com/). What attracted people to this movie?
Avatar tells the story of a paraplegic marine, Jake, who is taken to Pandora on a mission to try to get the natives of Pandora (the Na’vi) to move to a different place. The Na’vi people don’t want to move because they live in peace with nature. The Na’vi people worship their goddess, Eywa, who is a huge tree (like Mother Nature). Everything revolves around Eywa. Because everything in Pandora revolves around Eywa, they don’t want to relocate and it makes it hard for Jake to negotiate with them. While trying to negotiate with the people of Pandora, Jake finds himself attracted to the princess and learns the ways of the people who live there. He is then torn between doing what his mission intended and doing what is right for the people of Pandora.
Avatar is essentially showing that nature is the root of all things and technology is destroying it in a way. This is shown by our “Go Green” supporters in the United States, who were most likely the reason for Avatar becoming so popular. Avatar supported their idea of preserving nature and using its resources. And yes, other people who aren’t “Go Green” supporters did watch the movie and help them make so much money, because it was a great movie but the majority was probably those who are “Go Green” supporters.
Avatar might have made a lot more money if the idea of technology destroying nature wasn’t so prevalent. This might have turned some of its customers away because they didn’t agree with the story and the message they were portraying. I believe this is why certain movies in America become more popular and make more money than others. We, as Americans, are very opinionated and are allowed to believe in whatever we want to believe in and if the producers in the movie industry want to survive, they must make a movie that will appeal to the majority and this is very hard to do in the American society today. Producers end up making sequels to other movies or they make a new movie that is very similar to one that already exists and no one wants to see that. People want always want something new, that they haven’t seen before.
Many people are interested in many different things and the producer will never make a movie that every person in the United States will want to see even though the movie industry plays a huge role in our culture. Watching movies is a great American past time and movies are entertaining. But, in this case, Avatar appealed to a vast majority of people in the United States because many people are “Go Green” supporters and it also appealed to the youth because it was shown in 3D. This is a movie that people would watch over and over again because it is so interesting and there wasn’t a movie produced like it before.

American way of making history

2010-03-17T20:39:00.003-05:00

America is one of the most powerful leaders in the world. they have economical power and international one at the same time. They have numerous population and huge lands. And these surrounding conditions helped America get the power. However, they also are evaluated as a high level and their culture is very influential. so American cultural power is easily shown to our Korean country. For example, their music, Hollywood films are very popular to Korea and eastern countries. American style foods are also well know to us as MacDonald, KFC, TGI Friday, and etc. above all, America has cultural comparative power in the history. Many Korean people curious about this opinion. When we comparing their history with ours, American history is absolutely shorter than Korean history. American history is only few hundreds. but Korean history is more than two thousand years. what's happening here? why korean history can't be regarded as good level as American history? From the Vietnam war, Koreans can find the reason why Amercan has historical power.
From the beginning of the Vietnam war, American didn't have any right to participate. It was a simple war between France and Vietnam. But, America participated in the war for the purpose of protecting Vietnamese from communist. At that time, there was cold-war between USSR and the U.S. so that the U.S. used "Domino theory" for making necessity of participating. America insisted that the slump of Vietnam would spark a global wave of communist triumphs. Moreover, Americans always had won other wars for example, Korean war:) before the Vietnam war. They were sure to win aganist Vietcong. Their enemy, Vietcong, already was supported by almost Vietnamese people and government people. More than worse, American troops were hard to distinguish enemy from villagers. They had to kill the civilians even though they were children. After America was defeated, they were still insited that they did right thing and instead of their guilt, Americans blamed Vietnam. For example, Ho-Chi Minh was knowan as a [person without a father] at that time. In short, dominant culture of the USA justified their reason of the war though America was defeated.
After some decades, new thoughts and voices about Vietnam war came out in the USA robert McNamura. He admitted that American imperialism made the Vietnam War more serious and it sacrificed many American young ppl and Vietnamese. Furthermore, Bob Kerry revelaed his true experiences and opinions about Vietnam War in newspapers and television screens. He said that he was very shameful about his war experiences. He described that his Navy seal killed innocent women and children while on a mission in the Mekong Delta. He aslo mentioned a story about free-fire zone where Americans were too aggressive. McNamura and Kerry's attitudes were absolutely in contradicition to dominate ideas. Nevertheless, these men bravely began to admit American unrighteous and insisted that American apologize Vietnamese for their sin. From these Kind of brave men, different idea about Vietnam war steadily was produced in American society. American thinks about the war again. This is aganist theory.
History is like a pyramid. If u see a pyramid on the side, you would think the pyramid as a triangle. But if you see it on the top, you would think the pyramid as a square. so throughout these all sort of view, you can guess the real shape of pyramid. Just as pyramid, history also needs various and different point of view to understand of get the right direction. Compare with Korea, Amerca has some ppl like Bob Kerry, and ppl who suggest different point of view aganist main ideas. Their attitude develops their own history. That's why American have high level of history even though they have short period of history.

2010-03-17T20:38:00.001-05:00

Why is the world becoming overwhelmed with major problems like poverty, pollution, war, and pollution? Many agree that we are experiencing a "world population explosion." They believe the world's growing population is the result of these major problems we face everyday.
The difficulty is that blaming these problems on "too many people" is not right. Although the world's population continues to increase, and while population was once increasing too rapidly in some areas, international birthrates have now begun dropping.
---According to Ben Wattenberg, "never have birth rates fallen so far, so fast, so low, for so long all around the world." According to the 1996 revision of "World Population Prospects," a reference book published by the United Nations, the global "total fertility rate" (or the average number of kids a women has) has dropped from 5 in 1955 to 2.8 in 1997. That number, in countries ranging from Thailand to Cuba to China to the U.S., is still growing smaller to this day.
We should not be worrying about global warming in the near future but of a global nursing home. Consider what has and still is happening in Italy. Italy's “total fertility rate” is now estimated to be below 1.2. That means that Italy will increasingly be populated by older adults and senior citizens. Which really is fine, and actually good in certain aspects like crime rates, but it also may further damage things like the economy, the social safety net, and the country's tax base.
In this country alone, the little open land we have is quickly being paved over. Suburbs that used to stretch miles beyond city limits now pile shopping malls, fast-food restaurants, and used car lots. It seems that we are running out of room.
If you think America has too few residents, your wish for more people is being fulfilled. Population projections show that by 2050, we will grow from our present 270 million people to about 350 million. If we think overcrowding in our schools and cities as well as traffic jams that provoke road rage and high urban crime rates is a problem now, we have not seen anything compared to the near future.
There are certain countries mainly in Scandinavia and a few in Southern Europe where population growth rates have stalled. But overall, the world's population is growing by 80 million people per month. India alone is adding 18 million people to the world's population on a monthly basis. And in the 95 percent of the world where population growth rates are staggering poverty and squalor still dominate.
How are we to deal with this over thriving population of people? In American alone people are desperate for any kind of job that has a regular amount of income to their home. What are we suppose to do when we continue to have more people living in the U.S. but fewer jobs? I am hoping that something changes and changes soon because the thought of the government stepping in on another aspect of our lives is a scary thought. Before we know it we are going to be forced to give children up for adoption because of another government rule and regulation.

http://en.wikipedia.or/wiki/Overpopulation
http://www.peopleandplanet.net/pdoc.php?id=3364
http://www.iisd.ca/journal/davis.html
http://xahlee.org/Periodic_dosage_dir/t1/20040607_mutce_prenu.html

Teen Pregnancy

2010-03-17T19:59:00.002-05:00

Teen pregnancy seems to be a pretty big deal in our society. How much effect does the media have on this situation? Why do some girls become pregnant? Why is it a big deal? Well when we can all go to a volleyball game, walk down the street, or turn on the television and see a pregnant teenager it is a big deal.
Girls get pregnant for various reasons. Some girls may be desperate to keep their boyfriends from leaving them. Others are looking for someone who will always love them and not leave. (It's true.Watch the Maury show!) Some girls may want attention of some sort, but many teen pregnancies are simply “mistakes.” We should all remember it does take two to tango, so boys are to blame as well. It is not hard to wear protection. Condoms are probably the best way, other than the fool proof method of abstinence, to prevent them from becoming fathers. It takes a few seconds to prevent pregnancy, but it takes 18 years to pay the price for your “mistakes.”
What does media have to do with teen pregnancy rates, which are surprisingly at their lowest point in years? Well, Teen Mom, 16 and Pregnant, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, and The Pregnancy Pact are all over the television. Movies like Juno do well at the box-office. The media thinks they are trying to show the hardships of teen pregnancy, but they are exploiting these young mothers and could POSSIBLY be encouraging some girls to become pregnant. I’m sure you have heard people say “I wanna be on 16 and Pregnant, Bentley is soooo cute!” Yes most girls probably are not serious, but there is a second season of 16 and Pregnant, so some girls and they are not the only ones, did not learn their lesson from that show.
Some people may be wondering why teen pregnancy matters to them, but it does affect you. Billions of dollars of government money is used to help pay for these young mothers and their children to live daily. Many of these teen moms fall into the poverty bracket, and the government shovels out millions of dollars in prevention education. Also if the girl decides to get an abortion at a free clinic, someone has to pay for it somewhere along the line. (HintHint: your parent’s tax money pays for these government programs.)
So every year about 750,000 teen girls will get pregnant. This rate is lower compared to the past, but it may be rising in the future. Teen pregnancy may not seem like a big deal, but it really is. Eventually WE will pay taxes to cover the costs of these pregnancy programs. Eventually WE will have children, hopefully when we aren’t children ourselves, to educate about sex and preventing pregnancy. Teens should be taught at home about means of prevention. I just want to say I’m not bashing on girls who get pregnant, but I think it’s wrong for our society to not really have a problem with it.

All statistics found:
http://www.pregnantteenhelp.org/articles1.html

TVs influence on American Culture

2010-03-17T19:49:00.000-05:00

Movies and TV shows are a big hit in modern day America and are one of the more powerful influences on young American lives. Everyday Americans watch a movie or show and think that just because it is on TV that it is alright for them to do what they have just seen. For example, you watch a show with some women that just bought a restaurant and within days it is brand new because some cool looking popular chef got it going and made the food and outlook amazing. Life does not work like this and if you think that your going to be able to do this then you are very wrong. Young teens also like to watch shows that have teen pregnancy in it and that makes it seem like it is not hard at all to have a baby and support yourself. One of the major shows that does this is One Tree Hill. This television show has young teen mothers and fathers that have normal everyday lives with normal drama like every other person, but they have a kid as well that takes very little to take care of. Now I am one-hundred percent sure that this is not true and a lifestyle that these characters are living in this show is so ridiculous that you have to be crazy to believe that life is that easy. You may think that no one thinks life is this easy with a kid and a house, but in fact I have heard young people say that this show is pretty true and accurate. This statement is very embarrassing to hear, because of the stupidity that it holds. My point that I am trying to state is that this show is a bad influence on young Americans, because we believe so much crap that we see on TV and read in magazines that it should just not be on TV. One show that maybe should be allowed on TV is the television show 16 and pregnant. Now even though it is kind of bad in showing that there are moms and dads that are only 16 years old it has some good parts to it. One good part to this show is that it shows you the truth in to what will happen in a situation like this. This shows presents that if you are pregnant that it sort of ruins your plans in life and that financially things will become very hard to deal with. Now because young teens watch so much TV we might as well watch something that is actually true not something that is fictional and tricks some to believe there is truth in it. Today’s world is really sad in all the television that we watch and media that we read in magazines that rip peoples lives apart. I believe that today’s culture has really been shaped by the TV shows that we watch as well as other sources such as the magazines and video games that we play.

Concealed Firearms In America

2010-03-17T18:16:00.002-05:00

A gun is a violent item to own, but a gun is also used to protect your loved ones when they are in danger. In todays world there is more crime on the streets than there has been in a long time, so we need to protect ourselves from crime in the United States. More states are making it legal to carry a concealed weapons in the United States, and this has brought their crime rates way down from what they used to be. There are only two states that still make it illegal to carry a concealed weapon, and they are Illinois, and Wisconsin. In the states that passed the law to carry concealed firearms their crime rate went down to 8.5 percent, and their rape went down to 5 percent. These statistic show that Illinois, and Wisconsin should consider making it legal to carry concealed firearms to reduce their crime rate to a lower percent. Lets say if you were working late and you were walking to your car and a man came out from behind a building with a knife, and said that he wanted your wallet. There are two solutions to this problem, one being that you had to give him your wallet because you never had a firearm on you because it is illegal in your state. The second solution to this situation is that you pulled out your firearm and scared him off, because he new that he would be in trouble if he stuck around. When Colorado was deciding on passing the law to make it able for people to carry concealed weapons their main concerns were that the crime rate would double its original percentage, but after a while they started seeing the changes in the crime, and those changes were that the crime percentage was reduced in half. Now the debates in Colorado are how big have the benefits been since they have made it legal to carry concealed firearms. Many left wing Americans claim that the constitution does not promote the use of personal firearms. However, in a Supreme Court case, District of Colombia v. Heller, the highest court in the nation said that it was constitutional right to allow Americans to not only own personal firearms but to carry them as well. Those that disagree use outdated and bias statistics to prove their point. Gun laws only hinder those that obey them, most street gangs trade guns, like they trade narcotics, there is not a permit being shown or a background check given. These are all good things, but they are not taking guns away from dangerous criminals, they merely hamper those that follow the law. If states like Wisconsin and Illinois adopted these laws society would benefit greatly. When interviewing criminals in prison their biggest fear in right to carry states are that anybody could have a gun. That lady that they would try to mug could be carrying a handgun in her purse. Society is split on which is safer, but just because people can carry does not mean they will, it just means they can. American society needs to not fear the innocent that have guns, but instead fear those that will still get the guns even with stricter laws. You can find all this information at www.nraila.org/Issues/factsheets/read.aspx?ID=18

St. Patrick's Day in America

2010-03-17T15:00:00.037-05:00

Everyone loves St. Patrick's Day. You are able to party, drink and be with your loved ones. It is a great holiday to remind yourself of who you are, no matter what nationality. St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17. This is his feast day and the anniversary of his death, which was in the fifth century. St. Patrick is also the patron saint of Ireland. The Irish have looked at this day as a day of holiness for over 1,000 years. It occurs during the season of lent. Traditionally, Irish families would attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon.

The St. Patrick's Day traditions came to America in 1737. That was the first year St. Patrick's Day was publicly celebrated in America. The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in the United States on March 17, 1762. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City. This helped these men to reconnect with their Irish roots. Over the next 40 years, Americans became intrigued by Irish patriotism. Americans prompted the rise of "Irish Aid", which held annual parades featuring bagpipes and drums. Later in 1848, there were several New York Irish Aid Societies. They all got together and decided to have one big St. Patrick's Day parade. Today, that parade is the world's oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States, with over 150,000 participants. Each year, almost 3 million people line the 1.5 mile parade route to watch the procession, which lasts around 5 hours. Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, and Savannah also throw parades with between 10,000 and 20,000 participants.

In Chicago, every year on March 17, people take part in dyeing the Chicago River green. The tradition started in 1962 when city pollution control realized that green dye could be a fun way to celebrate the holiday. That year they put about 100 pounds of green vegetable dye in the river, which happened to make the river green for an entire week. Now, they only put about 40 pounds of dye into the river to reduce damage to the environment. Chicago historian's claim that it was their idea to dye the Chicago River green, but some Savannah Natives believed that they came up with the idea in their town. They point out that in 1961, Tom Wolley, the mayor of Savannah, had plans to dye a river by them green for St. Patrick's Day. There happened to be rough waters that day so they could not dye the river green. They never tried again.

Today, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by people of all different backgrounds in the United States, Canada, and Australia. St. Patrick's Day has been celebrated in other locations such as Japan, Singapore and Russia. North America is home to the largest productions. Many people believe that this holiday is just meant for partying with your friends and drinking. However, St. Patrick's Day should mean a lot more to everyone. It should remind us of where we came from and to be proud of it. Although St. Patrick's Day was founded by a man in Ireland, America loves to join in on the fun too!

"St. Patrick's Day." Www.history.com. 2010. Web. 17 Mar. 2010.

Going Goo-Goo for GAGA!

2010-03-16T23:52:00.003-05:00

< >Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, was born on March 28, 1986 in New York City. She has now become a pop icon in the American culture. Stefani has acquired the household name, Lady Gaga. Her fame has become an epidemic starting in 2005 and she still is working her way up the fame ladder. Lady Gaga has created a new music wave that she believes her goal is to revolutionize pop music. Besides Lady Gaga’s music inspirations her fashion choices have had an incredible impact on American culture. Whether that be a good thing or not she has created a new style that some cannot comprehend.
< >Lady Gaga hasn’t always had the amazing confidence she has now. She attended a private Roman Catholic school. Lady Gaga once stated that she was “very dedicated, very studious, very disciplined”. Also she also claims that she “didn’t fit in, and felt like a freak.” When Lady Gaga was 17 she had an early admission to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She improved her song writing skills but eventually pulled out of the school to focus on her music career. Lady Gaga had a rough start with her different music record companies trying to get signed. She did drugs and preformed in Burlesque shows. Her father highly disapproved but she was going to make her way to the top.
< >You may ask where she found the name Lady Gaga. Her music producer Rob Fusari compared Queen’s Freddie Mercury to the same style she was creating. One day he texted Stefani a hit Queen Song “radio gaga” but mistakenly auto fixes changed radio to lady. She decided that Lady Gaga was perfect. She told Rob to never call her Stefani ever again. You may also ask where she got her fashion. It was started off by her performing partner Lady Starlight. After they broke major fame at Lollapalooza in 2007 Lady Gaga became a hit. Her fashion was her breaking impact on the music industry. The main thing that brought Lady Gaga’s fashion to fame was ‘no pants’. Her fashion team ‘Haus of Gaga’ has helped her create and design her next outfits. Besides Lady Gaga’s fashion her music is just as powerful. When she became a hit her first singles were “just dance”, “poker face”, and eh, eh (nothing else I can say). Some other chart toppers have been great songs such as “love game”, paparazzi”, “beautiful, dirty, rich”, “the fame”, “money honey”, “boys boys boys”, “brown eyes”, “telephone”, and “speechless”. Her musical inspirations have been Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Freddie Mercury, late Michael Jackson, Grace Jones, and more. Lady Gaga’s only recorded albums have been “The Fame” and “The Fame Monster”, which she now calls her fans “little monsters” as an inspiration from her own album. Her music tours have been The Fame Ball tour, and The Monster Ball Tour. Lady Gaga’s amount of awards won is 54. She has been nominated 115 times for a multitude of awards in America and outside the country. Not only is Lady Gaga helping her fans by creating powerful music and inspiration fashion she has helped many people in need of something. She has impacted Americans by being an impact to the gay community and fighting for equal rights on several occasions. She has also donated $500,000 to Haiti. She has also raised $160 million to fight AIDS and HIV. Lady Gaga’s fashion, music, and her willingness to give to others has made her an American icon.Check Lady Gaga out at http://www.ladygaga.com/telephone/#

Vampires and the American Twist

2010-03-16T23:42:00.001-05:00

Vampires are mythical creatures that have surely become a giant part of American culture or society. The myth of the vampire (from which I know) started with Vlad the Impaler, or Dracula. He was the Prince of Wallachia in Romania. He was part of a heavy resistance against the Ottoman Empire. He had some successes but he is most well known for his treatment of enemies. He often impaled his enemies on a stick, which is to say, he left a sharp pole in the ground and left his enemies upon it (I’d use a picture but it’d probably be edited :[ ). He then left the bodies to rot. This creates a very cruel and terrible image for the vampire to follow.
Vlad was the inspiration for one of the most well known vampires of all time, Count Dracula. As we see in the quintessential vampire book, Dracula, the vampire is a black arts studying, cunning, sneaky, and blood-sucking creature. He has super natural strength, shape-shifting powers (he can turn into a bat, a rat, a wolf, vapor, and fog), cannot be harmed by conventional means, and can be rejuvenated by the drinking of blood. He was said to only be killed by decapitation and a wooden stake to his heart. He often appeared as on older fellow but grew younger as he drank more blood. He did have flaws as he was; weak in sunlight, driven away by crucifixes, garlic and sacramental bread, and not able to pass over running water unless it is at low or high tide.
As much as these vampire traits have been established, the American culture now sees the vampire in a completely different light. Instead of the terrifying murderer Dracula, we now have vampires like Edward Cullen. Edward has the same basic traits of Dracula as he has supernatural strength and ability, craves to drink blood, and he is affected by sunlight (sparkling = weakening?). But the image of the vampire has been tainted so that now teenage girls want a vampire to protect them and be their lover instead of the murderous rage of Dracula. This is a good example of how American culture and entertainment works. One good book (I’ve never read Twilight but I can assume that it is a good book for entertainment purposes) can change the outlook of one of the most famous and iconic characters in all of mythology. I may be speaking for myself, but after Twilight came out, I have never seen so much vampire material like movies, books, and television shows.
I’m not saying that this is a totally bad thing. I am open to change and do believe that things evolve over time for the better. I just want to know if this new type of vampire is for the better. Have vampires changed enough that the “Cullen” vampire be its own archetype of mythical creature versus the Dracula type? This simple idea is based completely on opinion, and with American individuality, we know we can get a lot of varying opinions.

Video Games and the Youth

2010-03-16T21:13:00.005-05:00

Every day millions and millions of people sit down to play video games. Some for 5 minutes, and some for 5 hours. Every second people are playing video games, they could be doing something else. Something more productive. People who play video games constantly tend to be people without jobs, have a bad work ethic, or even sometimes students who should be doing homework. The people who play video games the most are actually the youth of today. They should not be wasting some time on a video game. The youth of today should be learning many new things, things that could help them later in life. The people playing video games could be doing much more productive things such as homework, reading, hanging out with friends having a social life, playing an instrument, playing a sport, just pretty much anything that does not involve sitting in front of a television for long periods of time.
No I am not saying everyone who plays video games are lazy and should be doing something else because a lot of people who do play video games just play them for entertainment for a little bit after they have what is needed to be done, done. I am just saying the people who do not have a job, go try to find a job. Those who should be doing homework to get good grades, get the homework done so they have time for entertainment such as video games. Yes the youth has more free time then older people and they usually do get their stuff done, but why should the kids spend every day on video games when they could be learning some great things such as an instrument or a sport or even a language that could help them later in life? Not only are the video games holding them back from doing their work, but most video games that kids play are very violent that kids could easily pick up on. Kids of today tend to be a lot more aggressive then how people from my age and older i am sure. Aggressive is not always and usually is not the best way for kids to be.
The youth are not all to blame though. The parents who let there kids play it every day and not make them go do something productive, are just if not more to blame for the youth and their almost obsession to video games today. The parents can easily say, "Stop playing and go outside!", or "Get all of your homework done and read for half an hour so you can play some video games." The kids parents could try to put a little more effort into their kids' minds so they have a better brain and mind so essentially they can also have a better future. Who knows, maybe their kid could turn out to be the world's best guitar player! I am not saying parents are bad and are doing the wrong thing, I just believe it would be better for kids to be more productive and active to be a better person. It just all starts with people acting on there actions.
No not all people who play video games are being corrupted, and no not all kids who play video games are aggressive and not very productive, but yes there are a significant amount who are. There are too many who could be doing so much more with their time then sitting around pushing a couple buttons watching a screen. The youth should be learning and doing things that are going to help them be healthier or smarter or anything. I say yes to cutting back on video games.

We can see all kinds of people!!!

2010-03-16T20:15:00.006-05:00

The United States open their citizenships to other people who are from different countries. This country is also established by many different immigrants. Majority of Americans moved from England. However, there are a lot of different minority imigrants moved to the United States. Therefore, we can see other countries cultures in everywhere in the United States. For example, foods, holidays, and religions are a little bit different from traditional America culture.

First, we cannot tell that there are a lot of traditionail American food. Steak and mash potatoes are from England. Pizza, pasta, and french fries are from Italy. Hamburger and hotdog are from Germany. Taco is from Mexico. As you can see, many foods what we have been called as a American food were come from other contries and have been changed a little bit to nowadays' American.

Second, there are two major holidays such as Thanksgivin day and Christmas. Evnen though there are no national holidays, there are a lots of special days depends on the other ethnics. Whatever holidays or not, they are big of big deal not only to a certain group but also to other people. andSt. "Patrick's day" is celebrated by Irish-American. "Day of the Dead" is celebrated by Mexican-American. "Dyngus Day" is a Polish-origin holiday so that it celebrated New York, Indiana, Michigan, and North Dakota. "Midsummer" is celebrated in Minnesota and other Scandinavian-American areas. "Von Steuben Day" celebrated by German Americans. Of course, at the first, they were celebrated by their own ethnics. However, by passing of times, people have been mixed with other peoples. Nowaday, people celebrate other special days from other countries.

Third, there are a lot of differents kinds of religions. Christians(Puritans, Quakers, and Roman Catholics), Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Unitarian Universalism, Native American religious practice, and no religion.

American is the only country that have all kinds of peoples so far. Therefore, it has a lot of difficult cultural shock. However, it is the only one country who have a ability to understand deepper of other peoples. It teaches us how to get along with other peoples. We can undergo every cultures(a little bit) by meeting other peoples.

Technology Overload

2010-03-16T20:15:00.004-05:00

Every day countless Americans spend some of their time watching television. There are many people who complain about the amount of time children spend in front of the TV, whether they are watching a movie, playing a videogame, or watching a television show. People complain about this, and yet they keep providing us with new technology which allows us to spend more time watching TV.
There are some Americans who spend so much time in front of the TV that they neglect their responsibilities. There are some students who do their homework while watching television, which results in them not doing as well on their homework because they were distracted and concentrating more on the TV than on their homework. Some of these students do not complete their homework at all because they were distracted, and put if off until the next day which causes them to rush to finish their homework on time. There are also some children who would rather spend their day sitting on the couch watching TV, than playing outside or spending time with their friends. Because of this, many kids are sitting in front of the TV, eating snacks, and not getting the exercise they need, which contributes to the obesity problem in America. These are all results of the allure of television, which people continually complain about.
Children also grow up watching cartoons and other popular children’s shows which introduces them to the idea of watching TV at an early age. Instead of constantly being outside, playing games with friends, or reading a book, they prefer to watch TV because they have grown up with the stimulation of television. If a parent doesn’t want their child watching so much TV, they should limit the amount of time their child spends watching TV at a young age so that when they are older they aren’t so dependent on the TV. They will realize that there are other, more entertaining, things they could do, and responsibilities that come first. Parents who complain about children spending too much time in front of the TV should also stop providing their children with new games, movies, and devices.
People complain about these things, but they continue to provide us with new ways to watch TV. With the technology we have today, there are numerous ways in which we can watch movies and television. A person can watch TV on their computer, laptop, iPods, and even on come cell phones. There are also portable DVD players and DVD players in some cars so that people can watch movies while they are traveling. With all this technology, how do people expect us not to use it?
With all this new technology around us, it is very easy to become distracted. Although it is not right for a person to neglect their responsibilities because of this technology, it all makes preparing a presentation, writing a paper, or completing a project seem extremely boring. Because we have grown up with all this technology surrounding us, it gives us the idea that we have to have the next best thing.
People complain about the amount of time children spend playing videogames, watching movies, and watching TV. Some people do spend too much time watching TV and in turn they neglect their responsibilities, but more technology keeps being made available which causes even more distractions and even more ways for people to watch TV. With so much of this technology around us that allows us to watch TV, whether it is on a computer, on a laptop, on a cell phone, on an iPod, or in the car, it is difficult for the American people who always want the next best thing to be entertained with anything less.

Bliss in Ignorance

2010-03-16T19:19:00.005-05:00

If you go to school you assume you are able to sit in a desk. If you get on a bus you assume that you are able to sit where ever you want. If you own a gun you assume that you won’t be arrested. What if one day somebody walked up and told you that you could not sit in your desk. What if they said that you were not a loud to sit in that spot on the bus? What if they said that you were not a loud to have that gun in your possession? Most people would react as if that person was crazy. I believe that most people would react this way because the majority of people assume that they have rights. It would be correct to say that all citizens have rights, but does anyone ever think of what it cost to gain those rights?
In 1776, America (the 13 colonies) declared their independence from Britain. After fighting for years to gain their freedom they finally won the war. In April 1782, the Commons voted to end the war in America. Peace articles were signed in Paris at the end of November 1782. The war was officially ended in 1783 by the signing of both the Treaty of Paris and Treaties of Versailles. Finally on January 14, 1784; the United States Congress of the Confederation ratified the Treat of Paris.
In the presidential election of 1860, the Republican Party, led by Abraham Lincoln, campaigned against the expansion of slavery in states in which it did not already exist. Republican victory led to the secession of seven Southern states and within under a year hostilities between the divided country rose. Not too long after tension escalated and violence ensued as people started fighting. In 1865 the Civil War was officially considered ended. Over the course of the war 620,000 soldiers and an unknown amount of civilians had been killed.
In 1914, World War 1 started and in 1939 World War 2 started. World War 1 resulted in over 20million deaths and World War 2 surpassed that with more than 70million deaths. These two wars together amassed the greatest amount of casualties ever in history.
So again the question is; do we think of what it cost to gain the rights that we have? Does anyone think about how many lives were lost and destroyed because of wars that involved protecting our rights? My guess is that the majority of people have become so used to the idea of them having rights that they don’t think about how privileged they are to have those rights. I think that it’s time that people stop taking everything for granted and learn why they have what they have. I think that people need to realize that there are people out in the world fighting everyday so that people like us can have our rights. I find it sad when people take everything that they have for granted and complain every day about their life. So unaware to what it really took and what it still takes to make sure that our rights are protected. I think that this was best phrased by Thomas Gray’s poem, Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College, where it said and I quote, “Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise”.

Zero Is a Size

2010-03-16T14:51:00.004-05:00

Today the media is promoting women of a bigger size. We are starting to become more comfortable with most women being bigger and curvier. Plus-size is popular!
According to http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/homerealestate/package.jsp?name=fte/clothessize/clothessize, the average size for women is 14, the size in which plus-sized clothing begins. This is a good thing because it makes women feel comfortable with their own body, but what about all the assumptions of the women of a smaller size, the assumptions that “zero is not a size” or that women of a smaller size are just anorexic. Well zero is a size. There are many women and girls in our country that are simply small, skinny, or petite, and do not have a disorder. Why do people make these assumptions? Can women not simply stay fit, eat right, and look petite?

These assumptions of women of a small size number being anorexic or bulimic comes from women, specifically models, being too skinny and women that are so self-conscience of their body that they diet to the extreme. These conditions are very dangerous and are the cause of the assumptions and stereotypes of petite women. However, who defends the women that are a size zero and are not anorexic, bulimic, or on an extreme diet? Who defends the women that are just built small and can eat whatever they want and yet not gain weight? These women are still being told by people that they need some curves or some meat on their bones. Women with little curves and hardly any meat on their bones tend to be looked down upon because of this stereotype. Fashion labels have even banned size zero models and models with a body mass index under 18 from their agencies. Yes, the small size of some models is disturbing, but why ban a model for being a size zero? Just because you are a size zero does not mean you are anorexic. You can be a size zero, one, or two and still look healthy. The same goes for women that are a size 14. Just because you wear that size does not mean you are fat.

What matters is not the size number, but being healthy. For women who are naturally small, even finding “fashionable” clothing can be a hassle where stores generally cater the larger sizes. Women who are naturally bigger have a hard time finding clothes of a larger size, as well. Our society tends to place women into two categories: fat or skinny. Where is the normal category or the in between category that many women fall into? In reality, this category exists. Women with a pear shape, hourglass shape, ruler shape, and an athletic shape all exist. People in our society need to rid of the stereotypes of the size of a woman. Women should be comfortable in their own body and they do not need the pressures the media and society puts on women. All women are different and each woman has their own size, even zero.

Untitled

2010-03-11T15:36:00.003-06:00

Lately, at Aquin, teachers who assign inappropriate literature have become a problem that many would like to change. The majority of students don’t want to be forced to read books that make them uncomfortable, or don’t want to read them in a catholic high school classroom. Although the author has the right to write whatever he feels and the teachers have the right to think some books should be read for the student’s enrichment, I also believe that students should be warned and have their opinions taken into account.
This is an example of a book that the juniors were made to pay for and read in one of their classes at Aquin Catholic high school:
“Balls, when I thought like you, Alvah, I was just as miserable and graspy as you are now. All you want to do is run out there and get laid and get beat up and get screwed up and get old and sick and banged around by samsara, you f****** eternal meat of comeback you you’ll deserve it too, I’ll say”
“That’s not nice. Everybody’s tearful and trying to live with what they got. Your Buddhism has made you mean Ray and makes you even afraid to take your clothes off for a simple healthy orgy.”
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
This book and others like it have been taught in classrooms at our school and both students and their parents are beginning to get sick of being ambushed with disturbing literature that seem to have no educational point. If there is something particular in these works that the teachers want to show, isn’t there an option with better taste?
In America, there is something in the Constitution that Americans are proud of, and that is the freedom of speech. This includes making literature what you would like it to be, even if it is offensive or has no point but to be crude. This right doesn’t cover what we should be taught morally in a school focused on both academic and spiritual teachings. Several teachers tend to take it farther than most student and parents comfort zone.
There are other ways to teach students about a particular thing that forcing them to read something beyond their comfort zone and offensive to their beliefs. It’s sad that teachers at a Catholic school feel they should defend literature they assign when it is as crude or worse as the excerpt above. This isn’t about teaching inappropriate things to students, it’s about teaching inappropriate things to students in a Catholic school.

Ghosts, Real or Hoax?

2010-03-11T13:11:00.013-06:00

As one takes a trip to the movies, a popular genre to watch is "horror". This type of movie ranges from slasher flicks, to monster movies, to even psychological thrillers. One of the most popular types though is the "ghost film". This consists of a spirit, either demonic or human in nature, terrorizing the living to the extremes. Where did this idea come from though? Let's try to find out.

The idea of ghosts has been around since ancient times. While there is much speculation on the exact time when these undead spirits first came about, the general idea is that they first were thought of by some of the earliest people - such as cavemen. Most people who think about ghosts imagine a comical figure, to some a "floating bed sheet" with eyes cut for the head.

In the United States alone, ghosts are a very popular idea. When we go to most American-made horror movies, they involve ghosts. Many authors, such as Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft write extensively on ghosts, and become very popular because of it. The common idea of a "campfire story" in our country usually involves either human murderers, but more popularly ghosts. Does this make it real though?

Phasmaphobia is the scientific term for a fear of ghosts. People experiencing this phobia have symptoms of anxiety when watching horror movies or telling stories that feature ghosts. They also can see ghosts in places where most normal people would otherwise not, such as a supermarket or a school. (http://phobias.about.com/od/phobiaslist/a/phasmaphobia.htm). Some people believe that this phobia could relate to a general fear of death, but for many it is just limited to ghosts.

Why then should we, as a collection of "normal" people, believe that something so irrational as ghosts are real? Well, to these "Phasmaphobia" patients, these ghosts are something very real indeed. To them, they exist everywhere. From their beds, to their televisions, these ghosts appear to them as very much existing spectral beings. Is it too farfetched for them to be right though? You have to decide that for yourself.

Besides Phasmaphobia patients, many people see ghosts in other places. Just googling the word "Ghost" can come up with literally hundreds of supposed ghost pictures, ranging from realistic to nearly laughable. These pictures can either be some people's claim to fame, or actual believers trying to spread their message. While some take these pictures as proof of the afterlife, most consider them to be simple hoaxes.

EVP is another thing that many people look to as proof to ghosts. EVP stands for "Electronic Voice Phenomena". It is when general recording equipment supposedly picks up a paranormal voice; a whisper or phrase from "beyond the grave". The supporters of EVP say that it is ghosts that attempt to communicate with us humans from beyond the grave, and can only do so via extremely sensitive radio equipment. Non-believers state that it is simply hoaxes; nothing more than the people trying to fabricate actual proof. Either way, EVP is one of the more popular forms of "ghost proof", gaining popularity in many movies and television shows.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_voice_phenomena)

Thirdly, "ghost sightings" occur everyday around our nation. There is not much to explain here; people either "see ghosts" or think they see them. Unless you experience this phenomena yourself, it's hard to believe these people who say they've seen it. I myself swear I've seen a ghost, but most people shrug of this idea as falsehood.

Do you believe ghosts are real or a hoax? After looking at all the "proof", we must make the logical decision for ourselves. Never in our history has something so greatly affected our horror culture as to take something, perhaps even a myth, and root it so firmly into our minds as the truth. Whether or not these ways to prove the reality of ghosts are hoaxes or not, we know for sure that ghosts are, and will forever be part of our society.

Discipline or Discrimination?

2010-03-10T20:02:00.004-06:00

The reality of life is the everything is not always fair. Does this justify the reasons that teachers, parents, and other figures of authority in America are commonly biased towards good children rather than ones that misbehave? Are there real motives or is it just another form of disguised discrimination? There are usually two results of favoritism; it either makes a person or breaks a person. This issue is most common in America, where children have more freedom to speak their mind and to act however they feel.

A common reason that adults say they pick on certain children is because they know that the child can do better and has potential. The adult believes they are trying to ensure a better future for the youngster who has not yet committed to their future. The elder may be applying more attention to someone who may not always want it or appreciate it. This causes the child to reject that person and tune them out because they seem annoying and nagging. It can also trigger the child to have even more negative feelings and further their misbehavior. They will begin to act out more or will feel discriminated against. Those feeling can lead to destroying relationships with authority that are vital for the youngster to have to live a functional life in the work force and personal relationships.

The other viewpoint is that of the children that are well behaved. They may feel obligated to claim superiority over misbehaving peers and cause more pain to the already troubled children. The well behaved kids may also feel ignored when all of the attention is focused on the others. They may feel their accomplishments are being ignored and strive for more attention. They will feed off the idea that acting out gets attention and begin to misbehave like the other children. Their belief is that they will achieve equal attention, even if it is negative.

Children in America are most likely to behave with such rebellion, because the United States provides the most freedom than any other country to its people. Kids are free to do as they wish, with no legal punishment involved unless they break a law. Parents also have restrictions on their punishment to their children, because they can easily be charged with crimes of child abuse.

The real question is the motive behind why the authoritative figure is condoning the child. If they simply dislike the child but make excuses to cover their actions toward that child it is all simply a plot to inflict the misery upon them. This could be an underlying issue for mental and physical child abuse and favoritism throughout the world. It also helps create a strong division between the generations of today which, in turn, will cause families to less often see eye to eye.

The key to fixing a behavior problem is to fully understand the child. It is best to look at their background of mental health, physical health, and learning abilities. Yelling, screaming, hitting, or insulting does not solve anything but creates negative feelings between people. Using patience and understanding is the best policy at first and if more punishment is necessary, so be it. Favoritism should never be shown, even if it is felt. Feelings of favoritism only provide something to use against someone in order to justify that their child is being discriminated against.

There will always be children that behave and misbehave, but perhaps the adults in the world can help reduce the negative feelings between the youth of today and authority. Young people in America need to know that they can trust an adult and confide in them. If they do not have that trust then they will depend on their own knowledge and may lead dysfunctional lives not having proper guidance. If they are treated wrongly because of their misbehavior, they will believe that the world is against them and will continue to worsen their behavior in their struggle. The way that authority in America treats kids today can change the future of our country, for better or for worse.

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

2010-03-09T22:13:00.000-06:00

In a recent commercial I heard on TV one night on the station ABC Jamie Oliver said that children of this generation have the highest rates of dying before they reach their parents’ age. The reason that statement was said is because of the way children eat today. The obesity rate for children is now 25% of children are obese; in 1990 the percentage of obesity for children was 4%. These percentages will keep going up if we do not stop them.
Only part of the problem is that children are getting fatter and lazier; children are also getting diseases earlier in life and not being able to have a normal life, ever. From 8 percent to 45 percent of children are diagnosed with diabetes have type II and 85% of the children that are diagnosed with type II diabetes are obese. When will this stop?
One man named Jamie Oliver has decided that he is not going to let this continue any longer and is going to stop the bad eating habits of children before it is too late. Jamie Oliver is going around to different schools around the world and changing the food students are served at lunch time, by serving the students healthier food that can still be to their liking. Jamie also plans to help families out also on the way. As he takes his journey he is going to be taping the whole thing and it will be aired on ABC so people in the United States can see how much obesity really is affecting our children. The television show is called “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution” the first episode will be on Friday March 26, 2010. To find out more about the show visit http://www.jamieoliver.com/tv .
Do you want to live as long if not longer than your parents? Than make a change! Look up how to check your BMI (Body Mass Index) and see where you are on the list. If you are at the right number on the scale than be like Jamie and help others out, do not bluntly say you need help but try and help someone if you are worried about them. If you are over or under the correct number on the scale for your body type ask for help. Everything is a lot easier if you have someone at your side trying to motivate you to do your best, someone will help if you just ask. Obesity is unfortunately a big problem of the youth today, support Jamie Oliver and follow in his trip around the world.
Too see more statistics about percentages on obesity go to: http://www.annecollins.com/obesity/statistics-obesity.htm
To learn more about the television show Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution visit: http://abc.go.com/shows/jamie-olivers-food-revolution

The summer time of Japan and America.

2010-03-09T16:44:00.015-06:00

If you heard the Summer time what you going to image in your mind. Car wash,ice cream,Ocean,a ghost story,camp,Hawaii,skydiving and play the game all day. It's depend for each people about what they wont to do it.

In Japan at summer time people think firework,fair booth,watermelon,feast, wind-bell,goldfish,ocean,diving,trip,fishing and Movies. Japan and U.S have difference of summertime.

In may Japan Starts to getting summer time and get hot. The temperature goes to 3o-35 degree Celsius and some are the cities raise to 40 degree. At the same time the may is the rainy season in Japan. It's a very cool and mild time to spend it. But the Japan has a own special staff call humidity. This is makes the serious problem. When the temperature and humidity goes up, the human body try to keep the normal temperature and get lost the high energy to the body.

After the rain season people that goes to ocean and swimming pool to have fun out there. This is the temperature goes highest point. A lot of house has the Tatami,air conditioning and fan to use to get cool. The end of the summer season the holiday call Bon Festival is come up. This festival is for holiday but the perhaps is go back home to play the ancestor graveyard. This holidays comes from traditional of buddhist. At the typhoon is comes and natural disaster happen to break through over to Japan.

　　　　　　　　　　　（Tatami)

U.S summer is the people got the long summer brake to go out. People goes out for trip to LA,Hawaii,many people go out of the states where they lives. But they are not get out the U.S. (doesn't count for Mexico). The same time always comes with natural disasters. The East cost and West cost and Hawaii is tsunami always and hurricane. The summer time are the sports and activity times. People goes to do their work with the ski,baseball,swimming,cricket,soccer. Summer brings enjoy to the people to make the smile faces. By the way high school baseball is most popular summer staff in Japan. The base ball has the MLB team is divide to NL and AL to each other to East,center,middle.

If you interest the base ball,I will take the vote for which team you like.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　 (Tigers!!)

Going for the Gold

2010-03-09T14:50:00.010-06:00

As the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games draw to a close, the United States once again topped all other countries in total medal count. Athletes such as Bode Miller, Shaun White, and Lindsey Vonn made headlines across the country by becoming the best in the world and standing atop the podium to receive the gold. But what about the other American Olympians - the ones we never hear about? Don't they deserve some media attention too?

As everyone knows, the media has its favorites. Numerous Olympic athletes are featured in magazines, newspapers, and television commercials before, during, and after the games. But what I've noticed is that the same select few athletes appear in the nation's media over and over again. These athletes get the most media coverage despite the outcome of their events. If they are victorious, they are praised for their accomplishment and if they lose, some excuse is given as to why they did not succeed.

America produces some of the greatest athletes in the world. American athletes compete in nearly every event of the Olympics. The bitter reality of the Olympics is that only three medals are awarded in each event. Many athletes do not place and therefore go unnoticed. These "lesser-known" Olympic athletes put in the same effort, training, and preparation for the games; however they do not receive nearly as much media attention.

Sure, these athletes do not receive the same glorified outcome as their fellow countrymen, however, they are still among the greatest athletes in the world. They should also receive media attention and praise for all of their hard work and dedication. I'm not saying that they should get the same recognition as the medal winners, but at least some media coverage is deserved.

Does the name Stacey Cook sound familiar? What about Lindsey Vonn? Of Course you have heard of Lindsey Vonn. Her name was plastered all over the 2010 Vancouver Games. She was featured in Sport's Illustrated, numerous advertisements, and appeared in many news interviews. It is less likely that you have heard of Stacey Cook. Believe it or not, she skied in the same downhill event that Vonn medaled in. But she was not a media favorite and therefore received no news coverage. Cook did not medal, but she's got to be pretty darn good to be skiing in the Olympics. (Cook placed eleventh in the event.) I think its time that we give all of our Olympic athletes a fair share of the spotlight.

I am not trying to take any glory away from our medal winners. They put forth a massive amount of hard work and dedication and are fully deserving of their medals. I simply feel that we should pay a little more attention to the other athletes instead of jumping ahead and picking favorites. When the summer Olympics roll around, I will be cheering on every American underdog and lesser-known athlete.

types of musics

2010-03-08T20:04:00.000-06:00

People like to listen some kind of music. Everybody has their own taste. There are lot of type music:

Jazz
Rock
Pop
Rap

Some musics can harm human brain, some of them can improve and can direct to look at the world purely. We know in the history rock and roll was a famous type of music in 1940s 1950s. And it became known as sexual revolution. Elvis Presley became known as a rock star singer. Rock and roll did not acquire its name until the 1950s. In the earliest rock and roll styles of the late 1940s and 50s, either the piano or saxophone was often lead instrument.

Pop music became very popular in 1985s. As we know micheal jackson .He was a pop king of Pop music. Everybody still love his songs. Especially I like Billy Jean.

Jazz music became popular in the early 20th century. The music of New Orleans had a profound effect on creation of early jazz. Many early jazz performers played in the brothels and bars of the red- light district around Basin Street, called Storyville. In addition, mumerous marching bands played at lavish funerals arranged by African American community. As we see here there is a fans for every kind of music types.

Hip hop however became popular in the 1980s- 90s. These times were became known golden age for hip hop fans and lovers. Rapping increased drastically increased in those years untill now. Nowadays Rapping songs one of the basic types of music around teenagers even middle age of people.

When I come to my conclusion listening music is good, but sometimes we should listen each other too.

2012, The End of the World?

2010-03-08T16:05:00.004-06:00

Many people believe in the popular belief that the world is going to end on December 21, 2012. Is the world really going to end in 2012? It's unlikely, but we know that we've all heard about the predictions. There has even been a movie about the end of the world in 2012, but is it really going to happen?

The Mayans made a prediction of the date of the end of the world. They had a deep understanding of mathematics and sciences like astrology. They were the first society to understand the concept of zero. The Mayans used math and astrology to form a 365 day calander. This Mayan calander so happens to end on the day of December 21, 2012. Some people believe that December 21, 2012 is the end of the world, while others jokingly laugh at the absurd and unusual belief.

Another prediction of the end of the world on this same date was made by Michel de Nostredame. Nostredame predicted that some huge space collision would end the world around 2000. If PlanetXNibiru is real, it may be heading towards the earth. It could potentially produce a huge tsunami and wipe out nearly everyone on earth.

In 1132 St. Malachy had a vision. Malachy saw descriptions of all of the popes that would serve until the end of the world. There was a total of 112 popes that were descripted to Malachy. These descriptions of the popes were all accurate, including the description of Pope Benedict XVI. The weirdest thing is, is that Pope Benedict the XVI is the 111th pope since 1132 when Malachy received the vision. The last pope is supposed to be an anti-christ. It is possible that there could be a new pope in 2012.

The Chinese also have a book called the "I Ching." This means the "ching" means book, and "I" means change, but "I" can also mean unchangeable. The "I Ching" book is a fortune telling book, and it has also been used as a prediction for finding the end of the world.
Four shocking predictions, but still no definative answer. Is December 21, 2012 the end like the four predictions above seem to say? I guess we'll never know. We'll just have to wait and see.

Sites used:
http://www.december212012.com/
http://www.nostrodames2012.com/
http://www.alamongordo.com/

F.A.D.

2010-03-07T12:08:00.007-06:00

As students today, we seem to spend a lot of time on the internet. We are either playing games, looking up information for homework assignments, checking grades, looking at pictures, reading up on our world, ex cetera, or on facebook or another popular social networking site. It is even the normative to do many of these tasks at the same time, but people don't seem to realize the addiction quality that sites like Facebook posess, and when their small addiction turns into a medical condition.

Facebook may seem like a great way to stay connected to friends and family, especially when your away at college, and it is, but 1 out of every 8 Americans suffers an internet addiction problem. It's not just the "porn people" or the "gamblers". It is everyday people like, Facebook users. To be diagnosed with having FAD (Facebook Addiction Disorder) You must meet the criteria of having 2 or 3 of the following 6 problems at any time during the last 6-8 month time period:

1/. The first thing is tolerance. This refers to the need for increasing amounts of time on Facebook to achieve satisfaction and/or significantly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of time. They often have multiple Facebook windows opened at any one time. 3 is usually a sign and over 5 you're helpless.

2/. After reduction of Facebook use or cessation, it causes distress or impairs social, personal or occupational functioning such as wondering why your Vista is so fast and improved etc. These include anxiety; obsessive thinking about what is written on your wall on Facebook etc.

3/. Important social or recreational activities are greatly reduced and or migrated to Facebook. Instead of sending an email you post a message on your friend’s page about canceling a lunch appointment. You now stop answering your phone call from your Mom and insist she should contact you through Facebook chat.

4/ This is getting serious if you start kissing your girlfriend's home page or a VRML virtual walk through a park is your idea of a date.

5/ Your bookmark takes 20 minutes just to scroll from top to bottom or 8 of 10 people in your friend's list you have no idea of who they are.

6/ When you meet people you start introducing yourself by following "see you in Facebook" or your dog has its own Facebook profile. You invite anyone you've met and any notifications, messages and invites reward you with an unpredictable high, much like gambling

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=62885203000

Facebook makes it seem like this disorder is funny, and is a good thing. They have over 500 groups you can join and online tests to see if you qualify as an addict and laugh about your daily dosages of facebook. (a link to the test http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=62885203000&topic=6681 ) Facebook also offers a 12 step service to recovery, but it is more of a joke than a serious matter. According to an anti-Facebook blog entitled, sickfacebook.com there are over 350 million people suffering with serious addiction conditions and their sites photo compares these addictions to that of a crack abuser.

Based on statistics from the site:http://www.modernghana.com/news/245903/1/infected-with-facebook-addiction-disorder-fad.html, they indicate that over 6 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day worldwide with 4 million status updates and 2 billion photos updated!! There are over 65 million active users and research also shows that an average of 50% of the people use their Facebook daily. Facebook comes in over 70 different languages and is a worldwide phenomenon that connects people from America, Africa, Korea, Europe, Ex Cetera...

The reason so many people are addicted is because they don't know how to answer the question: How do you know when to judge what's enough Facebook? My suggestion would be to refrain from 24/7 notifications on your phone, and keeping your laptop open all night waiting for comments or messages. Don't let Facebook be the first thing you check when you wake up. Test yourself and see how long you can stay away from Facebook, or specify a specific amount of time each day to be on it. It can be a great social networking website when used properly! You just need to know when it goes from a leisurely way to stay connected with friends to taking over your life, in a bad way.

Too Many Duggars?

2010-03-01T11:04:00.013-06:00

How many kids do you want to have when you grow up, one, two, or possible three? Well what do you think about 19 and counting? That is a lot of children, but that is how many Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar have. Married July 21, 1984 and not yet ready to have any children Michelle was on birth control. Four years later they had their first son, Josh. A little while later they conceived but Michelle miscarried. They then asked God to bless them with as many children as he thought fit. So many years later the family has grown to 21 all together, 19 children, Josh, Jana, John-David, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, Jedidiah, Jeremiah, Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn-Grace, and the most recent Duggar Josie. Michelle and Jim Bob have two sets of twins. Josie Duggar was born prematurely on December 10, 2009, she weighed a little over one pound. She is currently in NICU in Little Rock. Michelle and Jim Bob plan on having more kids if God will allow them to.

The Duggar Famliy *not pictured Mackynzie and Josie*

Michelle only had four C-sections and the others were born natrually. All of their names start with the letter J. The family is Conservative Baptist and have strong beliefs in homeschooling and limited Tv and Internet use. Josh Duggar was the first of 19 children. He is now married to Anna and they have a daughter Mackynzie Renee. Mackynzie is older than her aunt Josie by a few months.

The parents encourage their children not to date, but go through courtship. They also teach their children abstinist. Michelle home-schools her children and the older children help. The older girls teach their younger siblings how to play music. The Duggars raise their children using a buddy system, in which an older sibling is assigned to a younger sibling and assists in their daily care.

Their 7,000 square-foot house was built by hand by the Duggar family themselves over the course of three years with minimal assistance from friends, primarily in the form of instruction. The home was completed on January 20, 2006. The painting, decorating, furnishings, appliances and other finishing touches - such as a stocked pantry - were provided by Discovery Networks and corporate sponsors as part of the one-hour television special. The work on and completion of the house were the focus of a one-hour television special entitled "16 Children and Moving In."

So how many kids is too many? That is a question you have to answer for youself. In my opinion if they can support of their children then go for it, but 19 is really to much to handle. Some people say that the oldest children do more with the younger children do, they say that she teaches them and then goes to a room which the children can not enter without their parents permission. If you have kids old enough to take of your younger kids whats the point of having more children. Don't get me wrong I do know that the parents love every single child but why have so many?

Do you think Jim Bob and Michelle should stop having kids? Now take in to account that Michelle had preeclampsia and that it might happen again if she has another baby! My other hope is that they don't end up like the Gosslins. In America a family typically has two to three children. In times before families were averaged at five or more kids. Why is it that they so many people disapprove of the amount of kids they have? Why are we so interested in how many kids this family has? This is the way we are, we are simply fasinated by things such as this. What have we come to that we are interested in such meaningless things to us?

Talk About Hard Times

2010-01-12T23:09:00.005-06:00

The Great Depression was one of the hardest times Americans have ever faced. Many men and women lost their jobs. It was also extremely hard for families to find a source of income. In such a challenging time as the Great Depression, there where things that helped our country stay strong and not fall apart. Many of them are thanks to President Hoover and President Roosevelt dealing with the situation.

To better understand the Great Depression, we need to know and understand what its causes where. The 1920s brought the country great prosperity. Under President Calvin Coolidge, the Republicans took full credit for the economic boom. In 1928, after Coolidge declined to run for reelection, the Republicans nominated Herbert Hoover and the Democrats nominated Alfred E. Smith to run for president. Thanks to the great prosperity in the 1920s, Hoover won the election in a landslide.

The new President had great optimism of the future. Along with his optimism, many people invested in stocks due to a long bull market. This caused prices to soar. The bull market however, would soon come to an end as professional investors started to sell their holdings. As a result, the prices fell causing a monumental crash in the stock market.

On Monday, October 21, 1929, the stock market plunged. Later that week the market fell even further. Finally on October 29, over 16 million share of stock where sold. The stock market lost up to $15 billion in value. A total of $30 billion was lost.

Due to the stock market crashing, the nation's banks began to close. When the market crashed, the banks lost a surmountable amount of money on their investments. The banks then cut back on the number of loans they made. This put the economy into a great recession.

Since people did not have the money to buy crops and other items, there was a mass overproduction of many products. People's income was decreasing, and so their spending had to decrease.

There was also a loss of export trades. The Hawley-Smoot Tariff made the tariff rate the highest in American history. This hurt both farmers, and American companies.

All of these issues combined made life during the Great Depression for an extremely difficult situation. People with families who had lost their job struggled to get by. They would, at times, go hungry. They would stand in bread lines for hours to receive some type of food. Many people became homeless. Some would often jump onto moving trains and become hobos.

The Dust Bowl was another problem Americans faced. The wind would blow dust from the earth into the air. When the air settled, people would breathe it in along with of the dust. Some animals and humans died of suffocation. Many farms where withered and farmers had to give them away to the banks.

One way that Americans escaped from the outside world's problems was to find refuge in entertainment such as books, art, movies, and the radio. Among these, the radio and movies where most popular. Many Americans enjoyed going to the movies to get away from their problems. Meanwhile, tens of millions of Americans listened to the radio each day to stay informed of the different happenings occurring. Both of these things brought communities closer and helped them to grow stronger. Through great perseverance and willpower,Americans where able to make the best of their situations however bad they may have been.

While we may think that the economic struggles facing us today are troubling, they are nothing like the ones of the Great Depression. The problems that we have are actually quite small so far. As long as we can come together as Americans and stand United, I believe we will be able to overcome any issue that may arise just as we did during the Great Depression.

World War III...THE END

2010-01-12T21:07:00.004-06:00

Some say that WWIII now has begun. I say it began in 1979. The first thing that happened was radical Islam took over Iran, kicked out Shah and seized our embassy. The second problem occurred when Muslims fighting in Afghanistan started resistance against super power USSR. They defeated Russia and helped cause the break up of the USSR. Then September 11, 2001 happened. The things start to go downhill. The American entrance into the Middle East was stalled due to public resistance generated by failure in both Afghanistan and Iraq, Israel believed it must directly destabilize and/or control all Islamic fundamentalist states, or face certain destruction in the future.

Israel is in the process of controlling the balance of Palestine by simply killing or driving out all remaining Palestinians from their homeland. At the same time, it has begun war with Islam, Lebanon, and Syria. Since Syria and Iran have a mutual defense pact that also means Israel is at war with Iran. Iran has already pledged "support" for Syria and previously has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

When it comes to North Korea, they have nuclear missiles but no money, while Iran has lots of money but no nuclear missiles. They share a deep hatred of America. Do the math; it will soon be a terrible day to be an American.

For America it seems to be nothing but bad news. America wants to rule the world; indeed we believe we already do so. This is how the following countries stand: Iran wants Israel destroyed and the American puppet regimes removed from all Arab countries. Israel wants Iran broken apart and under its own control, along with every other Middle Eastern state. North Korea wants South Korea and the removal of American forces from Asia. China wants Taiwan, and long has wished to eliminate Japan and also would like to remove American forces from Asia.

Just like WWII, WWIII will have a Depression along with it. Just like WWII and Depression I, WWIII will be the only way to distract people from their economic troubles, cover the effects of Depression II and get economies going again. Just like WWII and Depression I, bankers will be the making a great living by loaning and selling to all sides and once again picking up small businesses, farms and houses for a fraction of their actual value.

The average American, who is dumbed down by a broken education system and distracted and lied to by a highly controlled media, is not aware of most of the ongoing situations that is very real in our world today. American Christians desperately want to believe the media and its lies about Arabs starting hostilities, with Israel for merely defense of itself.

Over the past couple months this topic has came up quite frequently between Fr. Bolger and myself when we discuss the usual topics. We have come to believe that there will be two possible scenarios when it comes to the near future and the next world war. First off it will be soon, possibly within the next 10-14 months. The first scenario is Iran will have its nuclear weapons built and will attack Israel. This would happen within the next 13 months. The second scenario is Israel uses their nuclear weapons to attack Iran before they finish their weapons. This will possibly happen within the next 10 months.

This is a very scary thing to think about. That is why many Americans don’t think about it, which is half the problem in the first place! If WWIII is to be avoided changes will have to be made, and made quickly. For anyone paying attention in religion class, Father explains it quite simply (my explanation was a little in-depth and possibly confusing, I apologize). Iran is in the development stage of building nuclear weapons, which is a bad thing when nuclear weapons are tied into everything I’ve discussed! If WWIII erupts I don’t know if the world will ever be the same because almost every large country has nuclear weapons at there disposal. Let’s just pray that we won’t be around when they are being used again.

“If the Third World War is fought with nuclear weapons, the fourth will be fought with bows and arrows.”

—Lord Louis Mountbatten

Everyone likes Big and Fast Food!!

2010-01-12T20:50:00.004-06:00

I'm from South Korea. This is the first time to come the United States.
There are several things that make me suprised. Especially food what Americans usually eat makes me suprised!!

Many fast food franchise are located in everywhere in America. Wendy's, McDonald, Cover's, DQ, Pizza Hut, Dominoes, KFC, Burger King, and so on. Many people enjoy to eat from these restaurants. Even I loves these places. I got weight 10pounds since I came America. I can control my diet but it is too hard to control what I'm eating because there are a lot of fast food around me.

I never seen that extremely obese people in my country. My country has many McDonald franchises. However, we are not usually enjoy this fast food. We know that these food make our health bad. Of course, Americans know that fast food is not good for health. Burgers made by mixed meats that consist of bad quality in the meat. French Fries fried by animal fat that include trans fat. Then, why they keep eating fast food? I still wonder why they like this food even they know that this is not good for their health.

There are many sweet candies in America. I think all the Americans love Marshmallow. However, it is totally fat whih cannot lose if peope run three times around the world. This is not a good fat. As for me, marshmallow is too sweet to eat two in a once. However, Americans can eat sweet food well and enjoy them. Also they enjoy popcorn during watching television and movies. Popcorn is famous food for having high rate of trans fat.

They don't have real home made food, I think. They usually buy the ingredient that already made first steps. To make pumpkin pie, they by canned pumpkin rather than real pumpkin. To make cake, they by already mixed cake mix rather than by raw ingredients. Already made ingredients also included many sweet chemical ingredients. These make people's health bad.

However, teens or young adults still pretty skinny because they do excersise or move around alot than what they take nutrition. Whatever they are skinny, they will get weight if they keep eating these fast and fat food.

These kinds of food make me suprise. The food include many sugar and fat... And many Americans getting weight withouth notice.

Americans like to eat steak and potatoes with butter rather than vegetables. Therefore, they have unbalance in their health. They need to take vitamins to make up nutrients otherwise, they will have health problems. They need to try to eat more vegetables.

We need to start to eat healthy!!!

Undeserved Reward in Schools

2010-01-12T16:21:00.003-06:00

Posted by Mr. Wykes for Crane:

Educators and psychologists say we're bringing up a generation of people with higher “self esteem.” I say we're raising a group of aimless individuals who can't tell failure from success. All in the name of the avoidance of hurt feelings, the powers that be have decided that such labels are inappropriate, or that only “success” be used. They find it too demeaning to tell a student that what they've done is not acceptable or satisfactory, or even to admit another's work surpasses it. This leads to what we have now, a belief system where “everyone wins,” which is truly the same as everyone losing.

What these well meaning leaders are striving for is equality: equality and the removal of any way to rise above and be rewarded for one's achievements. When an individual is unable to gain extra reward or recognition for above average abilities and accomplishments, it is well known what happens.

Whatever group is doing the equalizing becomes yet another example of what happened to Communism. When poor work and exemplary work are equally rewarded, there is no reason to do well. If equal reward is given to a C student and an A student, why put in the extra work for an A? Drive and purpose is stripped from those who could aptly use them.

Fortunately, we aren't quite this far, yet. A straight A student who scored a 32 on the ACT will be accepted into a college far ahead of a C student who earned an 18. But we are moving farther down the road of equality. Look at all the opportunities that are given to failing students in public schools. It is literally illegal to expel someone for getting Fs, unless they do so until they are no longer eligible for high school. Why is this? Why can failure not be met with its just reward? If a student is not so handicapped as to be placed in special education, they have no excuse to fail school. In fact, such students could not fail if they only put forth effort, but now when they don't, there is always some way it isn't their fault.

The danger here is that we may soon apply this logic to the other end of the grading scale. For true equality, not rewarding high achievers is just as necessary as not punishing those who achieve nothing. This is where we are headed if we continue down this road. And the potential effect most don't realize is the destruction of our schools' efficiency. When the great goal of full equality is reached and all students will receive the same treatment for all levels of effort and talent, there will be absolutely no reason to work harder and do better. Just as in Communist nations, the output and productiveness of every person will be identical, which means it will all be mediocre. Equality works; everything is brought down to the level of the lowest common denominator.

This attitude of making everyone feel good about themselves no matter how they perform may sound like the politically correct and “kind” way of doing things. In fact, it is. But it isn't the logical and beneficial method. As long as there is varying reward for varying levels of aptitude and success, society will run as it should. But when the day of full equality dawns, I fear what will happen to our educational system and all that it effects.

Mood-altering Substance

2010-01-12T15:52:00.006-06:00

Music has become a big part of life since its creation. It has been used in many ways but none more common than to express our emotion and mood. If your feeling sad you usually play something with a slower tempo with depressing lyrics. If your feeling happy you most likely play something mid-tempo with lyrics that are very optomistic. Whatever your feeling at that moment usually determines what kind of music you would insist on listening to. If this is true than is it possible that the opposite is also true? For example, if your listening to R&B do you start to feel sad and depressed? To this question I respond by first saying that I think its highly possible that music can control what mood we feel. However, I don't believe that it has the power to completely influence our mood. Second, I want anyone reading this to think of a time when they were mad, sad, happy or whatever. If you were mad were you listening to country? Most likely you weren't because you were in a mood to listen to something with a stronger tone to it like heavy metal, hardcore rap, or rock. Whatever mood you were feeling your music choice most likely reflected the mood you were feeling. Does this then mean that we can blame music artist for the feelings that we get from listening to their music? The answer is quite simply no, because even though the music may influence our mood it doesn't necessarily decide what mood we're going to be in. However, in some places music has been banned because some people believe that it's a mood-altering substance. You might be asking yourself as to why someone would be stupid enough to do something as lame as this. The answer itself is more obvious than you would think. It is simply because people don't want anything to do with something that they see as a threat to their way of life or something that might be offensive to someone. The same thing happens everytime some new type of music comes up. It happend way back when rap and rock came into the business and it's happening now with a new type of rap music known as grime. Grime is a fast paced type of music that requires you to rap at extremely fast speeds. It's still relatively underground but has gained enough of a fan base for someone to hear it and find something offensive about it. So far complaints have come in about how it caused teenagers to experience aggresive mood swings and so called "episodes". Is it true that this music has enough power to truly influence someone so much that they experience mood swings and "episodes"? I would say that its very unlikely, but I suppose it might have some influences. However, any influences, if any at all, would be so small that I seriously doubt that it would really have any affect on anyones mood. So is it true that music can control our mood? I say no, but there is always a possibility. I would say that music is a strong contributing factor in putting us in a situation to feel a certain mood, but no more than that.

McDonald's or McNasty?

2010-01-12T00:18:00.005-06:00

The fast food industry seems to be a huge part of the American culture. People are just to busy to make a meal at home so they go pick up something from Burger King, Arby's, Dairy Queen, Hardees, Sonic, McDonald's, and many other fast food restaurants...but McDonald's is probably one of the most unhealthy fast food restaurants in the world today. It is very convenient, as most fast food restaurants are. People can just stop in and get food in about five minutes or less and the best part is...they don't have to go home and make a meal for their family! It sounds so great until you realize what you're eating and what you're feeding your family. Why do people rely on McDonald's and other fast food restaurants so much when they know its not healthy? Is it really cheaper than making a meal at home? No, according to http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fast-food/MY00574 making a homemade hamburger costs the same as going to buy from McDonald's. There are also many more benefits from staying home and making a meal. A homemade meal can bring a family closer and allow them to spend time together, it can also save the family money on gas. So why do Americans choose to eat McDonald's?

Most people these days work a lot and have a very busy schedule. This usually causes very little family time and time at home. Families who have a few kids that are in extra curricular activities sometimes don't have time to sit down and have a family meal prepared at home. This is where McDonald's and other fast food restaurants come in. They provide an easy way to get a meal that is fast and you don't have to do any work. But is the food they're giving you actually healthy and good for you? I think everyone knows that answer...the food isn't healthy. Sure they have salads and other healthier choices but do you really go to McDonald's to get a salad? No. (And by the way, their salads aren't even that healthy...one salad at McDonald's has 430 calories and 180 of those calories are from fat...you could get a much healthier salad elsewhere.) Didn't anyone learn from Supersize Me? The man in the movie was very healthy until he started eating at McDonald's...and he was only eating it for a month. He gained 24.5 pounds and his body mass increased by 13%. The french fries at McDonald's look exactly the same after letting them sit for a few months in a jar. See it for yourself! Do you really want that going into your body? Obviously McDonald's isn't healthy...no matter what you get.

But if people know that the food at McDonald's isn't healthy, why do they still buy the food? Is it because the food is good or because it is convenient and easy to get? I think it's both. People are to lazy to go home and make themselves a meal so they just stop at a fast food restaurant and pick something up. This is part of the reason Americans have become obese. Everything is given to you these days so why put work into it, right?

In my opinion, McDonald's has played a huge part in helping our country become obese...but it is also the people's fault too. They buy the product knowing it isn't what they should be eating...but its convenient so hey, why not? If you eat McDonald's once in awhile, its okay but people shouldn't eat there 2 or 3 times a week. It's not healthy and I guarantee that if most people were to see how the food was prepared, they wouldn't eat there anymore.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fast-food/MY00574
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Size_Me
http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/nutrition_facts.html

Transcendentalism and ...Buddhism?!

2010-01-11T23:08:00.006-06:00

After I have been studied about American Literature and movements, I found an interesting connection between religion and American movements. Based on my knowledge about Buddhism which is my religion, I see many similarity of Buddhism and Transcendentalism movement. They share many major beliefs together.

Transcendentalism was a group of new ideas in literature, religion, culture, and philosophy that emerged in New England in the early to middle 19^th century. It is sometimes called American transcendentalism to distinguish it from other uses of the wordtranscendental. It was emerged from Romanticism with the belief that human can transcend their physical.This belief is very similar to the Buddhism beliefs.Buddhist believes that human are the combination of body and soul. They believe that soul is the one who control the body. Actually, Soul can completely control the feelings too. Buddhist uses meditation method to develop soul in order to control the physical. The more strong your soul is, the nearer you can reach a religion's goal “ Nirvana” which is the status that you can separate your soul from your body. From this point, you might be confused about Buddhism. For making it easier is to say that Buddhist uses meditation to transcend their soul over their physical body.

Walden by Henry David Thoreau is a great work for representing the beliefs of transcendentalism. He left the city to live in the nature and wrote this piece.Walden is representing an idea of simple living and self-sufficient. It is the same way Buddha was teaching all Buddhist to live simple life and to be self-sufficient. Also the view of nature from Thoreau, he believed in intuition through nature. The same beliefs of Buddhist, for an example, many Buddhist monk left the city to live in the forest among the nature for meditating and find the intuition among nature.

Another piece that is a good representative for Transcendentalism is Nature form Ralph Waldo Emerson. This essay is the foundation of transcendentalism is put forth, a belief system that espouses a non-traditional appreciation of nature. He also singles out Buddhism and the belief that every good deed will be rewarded.

There is also some major different between Buddhism and Transcendentalism. As from the text of Nature :

“ I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God.” 

If we considered this quote to represent the beliefs of over-soul which state that everything and everybody shared the same one soul, then that is different from Buddhism that people have their own soul.However, If I cut the last sentence about particle of god out, then I see other meaning in the text in which the writer Emerson had been experience. I think that after he spent time with nature he somehow has an intuition that he become transparent and see the Universe. He used the word “Nothing” to describe himself. Actually, this is a very advance theory of Buddhism. The theory is that when human soul become very strong that we can separate our soul and body. We will see the truth that actually human is “Nothing”. Buddha also said about how he has an intuition through nature and the Universe. But this kind of thing is a very complicated and very hard to understand. It is for the high-level Buddhist monk.

I am sorry that the information above is hard to understand, boring and extremely confusing but I just want to show you how amazing these two groups from different side of the world and can share something very similar.

Drink As the Romans Do

2010-01-11T22:33:00.003-06:00

In American society, underage drinking is looked down upon and against the law. You must be 21 years of age to legally drink, purchase, or possess alcohol. However, America deals with an underage drinking problem. Legal drinking ages vary from zero to 21 across the world, the United States being one of the few with a drinking age of 21. Like most countries in Europe, Italy has no drinking age. I quickly learned that while recently traveling to Rome, Italy when bottles of wine were placed before me at dinner. It was a completely different experience. Having a glass of wine at dinner is part of the Italian culture, whether you are 12 or 21.

For reasons not important to this blog, I was not allowed to drink alcohol in Italy. When our Italian tour guide saw that the bottle of wine at my table had not been touched one night at dinner, he was offended. My friends and I had offended someone because we were not drinking the wine provided for us, something that is a big part of their culture and everyday lives. This is a scenario that I would have never come upon in America. A major difference in Italy having no drinking age and a drinking age of 21 in America is that in Italy, it is not as abused as it is here in America. In Italy, drinking is normal and education about alcohol is taught in the homes and at an early age, which prevents alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse in America is a significant problem and I think one of the reasons is due to the drinking age of 21. Alcohol has become a “forbidden fruit.” The more you tell people they cannot have something, the more they will want it. Alcohol is not forbidden in Italy which generally does not create a problem.

Should America not have a drinking age? The answer to this question will definitely vary, as there are many different opinions on this subject. Drinking alcohol is a part of many societies, including America. It is unrealistic to pretend that the youth in America will grow up in a world of abstinence. If America was to suddenly change the minimal drinking age law to no drinking age, things would start out badly. Alcohol would be abused and many deaths would result, so during my generation, I do not think this would be a good idea because it would be a culture change. Does a person under the age of 21 not being able to drink alcohol have an affect on our society? I think so, and I experienced that first hand while being in a country with no drinking age. I think it is wise to “drink as the Romans do.” Having a glass of wine at dinner would be different to us Americans under the age of 21, but it could be something beneficial and new to our culture, especially if we go about it in the way people do in Italy.

Wal-Mart, Good or Bad

2010-01-11T21:40:00.004-06:00

Generally when you think of a store that sells practically everything you need, and has low prices, Wal-Mart nearly always comes to mind. Just because Wal-Mart has the lowest price tags, it does not mean that it is the store to go to. Wal-Mart offers its employees poor benefits, low wages, and long hours. Wal-Mart also destroys jobs and small downtowns.
Most Wal-Mart stores have everything from clothing to electronics to food to hardware. They offer pretty much everything the people need and want. These items are also at the lowest prices. This price factor is very attractive to most people who need to save money, especially in the economy that we live in today, but saving money is not always positive in the long run. For every Wal-Mart that comes to a community, two supermarkets in the area are forced to close; due to Wal-Mart's overpowering size.
Wal-Mart also forces small clothing stores to close, and it practically destroys small downtowns. In the long-run, Wal-Mart destroys more jobs than it creates. This is a contributing factor to the rising unemployment rates.
Besides harming supermarkets, stores, and the economy, Wal-Mart also harms its own employees. The average Wal-Mart worker earns $2.12 less than that of the average supermarket worker. Wal-Mart workers usually earn $8.32 to the $10.40 that the supermarket workers earn.
Besides the low wages that Wal-Mart workers earn, workers also receive poor benefits and have high premiums. Sometimes, due to bad benefits, workers are forced to get healthcare through the government, or though their husband's or wife's healthcare plan.
As if that is not enough, Wal-Mart also forces workers to work extra long hours. Sometimes the extra hours are worked without receiving any pay. In my opinion, this is shocking, cruel, and unaccaptable.
Wal-Mart is a huge store. It is often crowded and noisy: chaotic. People must walk all over the large store just to pickup a few items. A simple shopping trip turns into a hassle. Some customers get fedup, and decide to go to a different store to do their shopping.
Wal-Marts from around the nation have been known for sloppy customer service. Customers get ignored, or simply receive the phrase "I don't know." Some employees couldn't care less about helping a customer. This factor also causes customers to go to a different store that may be a little bit more expensive, but has better customer service.
Wal-Mart has positives, like its low prices, and the fact that it provides nearly everything needed in only one store. It also has negatives. Wal-Mart destroys downtowns and other supermarkets and stores, has low wages for its workers, provides poor benefits, has extremely chaotic stores, and it destroys more jobs than it creates. In my opinion, the cons outway the pros. By improving customer service Wal-Mart's reputation could improve a small amount, but I think that we should not support Wal-Mart. Next time you need to go shopping, pick a different store besides Wal-Mart.

Sites used:
http:www.house.gov/list/press/ny09_weiner/041612walmart.html
http://goinside.com/99/7/walmart.html

2010-01-11T21:06:00.002-06:00

Have you ever traveled to a foreign country before? Could you understand what the people around you were saying? Did the people around you know English just in case you had problems understanding what they would say when they spoke to you in their dominate language?
Recently I traveled outside of the United States, and I did not understand the language that was being spoken around me. Fortunately the country that I was visiting dominantly knew English as their second language. When another person I was with asked how almost every person we talked to knew English they replied by telling us they have to learn the language of English in school as they grow up.
When people travel to the United States they usually know English, so they do not have a big problem with the language barrier, but if they did not know English what would happen? No one would be able to get what they are asking for because most people from the United States would not be able to help them. Why in the United States do we almost expect others to know English? It does not seem fair to the people that travel to the United States. Or even when people from the United States travel to another country in that we do not even try to learn another language when traveling, we automatically expect others to know English.
I feel that the United States should make it a law for every school to start teaching children a foreign language right when they enter school up until they leave school. When people come and visit the United States we should welcome them and try to accommodate to them, just as they do for Americans in other countries, most of the time. Americans would probably have to vote on one dominate language that should be taught in every school, and if the school is big enough it could teach other languages as well. The parents would have to pick what language they would want their child to learn when they enter school, if they are able to have more than one language at their school.
When talking to peers of mine they said that the dominate language that would probably be taught they said Spanish. If Spanish was taught you would be able to travel to Spain and Mexico for example and have no problems getting around. Even other languages such as Portuguese and Italian would come easier to understand if Americans were taught Spanish.
Yes, a foreign language is taught in high school IF the students choose to learn the language. If students were able to learn a language their whole schooling career it would stick to them longer and they would be able to learn the language easier, instead of cramming everything they need to learn about the language in four years of high school. Most students that take a foreign language in high school forget the material they learned within a few years.
So should America make it a law to learn a foreign language just like we learn math and science…

Tupac's Death

2010-01-11T21:06:00.000-06:00

I would like to talk about the essay that Barker posted on how he believed that Tupac Amaru Shakur is in fact still alive today. My belief on the subject is that American Society likes to morph stories to what they think will arise new and interesting subjects for people to gossip about for a very long time. This is what Americans like to do after all isn’t it? Talk about something abstract like that Tupac is really still alive and that his death really did not occur.
I personally believe with a lot of others that Tupac’s death did actually happen. In order for me to believe that Tupac’s death really did not occur then I will need hard evidence that he is actually alive like a interview or video of him in present time. After all Tupac is only a rapper that lived his life dangerously and had many enemies that were out for him. He would not have enough skill to hide himself this well for so many years and not be seen by someone who would report it so that person could become famous for discovering Tupac.
Another point to prove that Tupac’s death was actually real is his manager Robert Bloomenstein was questioned about Tupac’s song called R U Still Down? He was also questioned about Tupac’s appearance in three videos that he was in 14 months after his death. Bloomenstein’s response to these questions was “Tupac was a forward-thinking man. His performances in those videos were shot more than two months before his unfortunate ‘death,’ and in no way should indicate that Tupac is still alive.” http://cracked.com/article_15659_is-tupac-shakur-still-alive.html By this we can clearly see that Tupac was working hard before he died and was very busy trying to make a name for himself. It shows that Tupac had done many things before his death that were not yet released to the media. As time went on his manager and the people Tupac worked with had finished the material using other artists to finish songs and sell albums to get Tupac’s work out. To explain Tupac coming out with new songs every year he obviously was working on many songs at once and just never released them.
One last thing that I would like to talk about is that many say if Tupac is dead then how does he come out each year with a different tattoo each year. This is really a quite simple question to answer in the defense that Tupac is actually dead and does not get a new tattoo each year. It is called something called Photoshop. It is quite easy to take a simple picture and place a what looks to be real tattoo on his body. The media does it all the time with their magazines and pictures that they present with celebrities that makes them look bad. They do this because it gets a audience and makes them want to buy their product so they can make money.
To conclude this essay I would like everyone to know that just because you hear someone say something or read something that does not sound like it would be true then it does not automatically mean it actually true. The idea that Tupac is alive is quite ridiculous and hard to believe with information that could go either way. Whether Tupac is dead or not is completely up to you to decide and I guess we might not ever know the truth of what actually happened.

Procrastination

2010-01-11T20:36:00.006-06:00

I started a little late but that is what procrastination will do to you. Procrastination has become a big part in a students life be it that they are in high school or college. Doing assignments that are difficult or just plain pointless can lead to procrastination. This blog is a perfect example of students procrastinating we have 9 weeks to post a 500 word blog and it seems that most of the students have waited to the last minute. You a not alone, a lot a people procrastinate.

I really find myself procrastinating when I have to blog on the internet or study for a test or just doing homework because there are so many distractions. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, AIM, or just searching the web for something to do other than the assignment. It is really hard to focus on such a ridiculous assignment.

Procrastination is easy to avoid if you set your mind to doing the assignment. You can set a plan and make a goal. Think about the following how long will the assignment take, when is it due, make sure you stick to your goal, ask questions about the assignment, reward yourself when you finish. If it is a lengthy assignment take it one step at a time, take the assignment in parts(break it down). Do the hard assignment first, expect the unexpected ( you can't pick when something comes up), and most of all don't get distracted.

When you find yourself distracted just remember that the assignment is more important. Just focus on finishing the assignment and then go on the computer. Stay focused on the task at hand. Procrastination happens to almost everyone and it is very difficult to avoid. Just stay focused and remember what is important.

Homework and projects can be difficult. Just think the sooner you get the assignment the sooner you can do what you want to do.

UNDER PRESSURE

2010-01-11T20:33:00.004-06:00

Being under pressure to do things that isn’t what you want to do is apart of the world’s culture. I think that in America it attacks at all different angles. Pressure in America is also seen through all different age groups. It is preventable and also avoidable.
In the American culture pressure is apart of everyday life weather we know it or not. I believe that it comes at us all the time. In the American culture not everyone can understand the strain of hard pressure, because they are the interrogators of pressure. Everyone could be applying pressure to someone eventually, with out knowing it.
Pressure comes to us in many different forms. I think that being under pressure to do something that we don’t want to do, is the biggest strike. Also being under pressure caused by ones self is another form of pressure.
When you are putting yourself under pressure, people around you can usually notice. When you are pressuring yourself to do things you know is wrong it causes stress. When you add your own stress to a situation that’s when pressure builds up. When you build pressure on yourself it causes outside problems. By taking time to dilute your self inflicted stress, you could prevent migraines. Checkout Mayoclinic.com for information on pressure related stress.
Being under pressure that other people cause is much more difficult to prevent but it is avoidable. When people are being put under pressure they could be doing it on purpose. People get put under pressure for many different things. Such as sex, drugs, alcohol, fashion, sporting activities, school, and more. When being told to do something that you don’t feel you need to do, it can cause pressure. Being asked questions that can lead to things that are wrong, it could cause pressure. Having the best grades but its not good enough, can cause pressure. Also having bad grades and being told to be better than you can do, causes pressure. All of these pressure causing situations will occur eventually. Being able to relieve stress from pressure causing situations is a better way to live with less pressure.
All different age groups are attacked by pressure. From infancy through adulthood we are all under pressure at some time. Babies receive pressure from their parents to be the best. Children are under pressure by peers to be in certain sports and join clubs. Teens are under pressure to try things that could lead to a rough life style. Adults are under pressure to do all they can do for other people, and fend for themselves. Every age group is prone to pressure eventually because that is that is the American culture we live in.

Oprah Winfrey. More famous then Marilyn Monroe? Oh yes. She has an Oprah effect!

2010-01-11T20:12:00.005-06:00

America is a great country influenced by many people. There have been many influential people in the world and very famous as well. There is a difference between influential and famous, and I am just going to come straight out and say it, Oprah Winfrey is more influential AND famous then Marilyn Monroe. Sorry Oates, but not everyone knows what Marilyn Monroe did, or how she became famous as she did. Almost every sane person in America and even outside America know who Oprah Winfrey is and how she influenced the world in many ways. Even in American Literature.

Oprah Winfrey also came from a rough childhood. Her parents only had he because of a mistake and shortly broke up after she was born. She was forced to live with her grandmother because her mom could not take care of her. During her time with her grandmother, she was raped by cousins and was often beaten if she misbehaved. Her childhood was not all bad though; she was able to read at a very young age and started becoming a teacher's pet that got her some great scholarships that she took advantage of as best possible. This all led Oprah to of course well, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" which I believe started later in the year 1986.

The start of this show started one of the most incredible stories that any person, let alone women growing up of her time, has ever created. Oprah soon became a millionaire and had more money then you could ever ask for, and lets just say that Oprah is not the most selfish person in the world. Yes she does keep a lot of the money to herself, but all the things she does with it is INCREDIBLE. Making millions and millions of dollars a year, she gives over half to charity, and projects for the future that she believes will help the world. Did you know Oprah has opened up schools all the way in Africa for the children who are not even able to get an education? Oprah goes to many different countries throughout the world and is going to attempt to make the country just a little bit better. She does not even influence America, but also the entire world!

Winfrey is not only an influence with money though, she teaches great morals, always helping out, has magazines, and even has a book club that takes novels you have never heard of and instantly gets them onto the top selling list. Famously known as the "Oprah Effect." Her book club gives the author of whatever book is on her list usually millions of more copies sold. If you are on her list, your book is going to be read.

Not only is Oprah THE most famous person in America, but she is also one of the most if not the most influential person in America. She influenced American Literature but finding books that would often never been read, the becoming a book on the top selling list. Oprah Winfrey is much more famous, and MUCH more important then that of Marilyn Monroe.

difference between american schools and uzbek schools

2010-01-11T20:11:00.006-06:00

I am going to talk about american schools. I am taking some advantages being in America. The most interesting thing for me is that in American schools students are mixed to every classes. Juniors, seniors are mixed in one class and pass over information to each other. Juniors can gather some experience from seniors while studying together. Because juniors or sophmores can imagine how to get prepare for college. And most everyone who wants to enters the college should take a ACT test. Even they fail on exam they can retest the test by paying extra money. But anyway there is some opportunity to enter the college.

In our country however, In Uzbekistan schools are quite bit different. There are at least 25 students in each classrooms and they are not mixed. Schools are more strict. In class 9 th grades and 8 th grades study separately. But in America there is advantage side studying together in class. However, student can share more opinions each other in America. And students can discuss the classes more independently than Uzbek students. In Uzbekistan every student should wear uniform. Boys should wear on suits, white shirts, ties and girls should wear on white shirt and black skirt. These causes some awkward.

In American public school students are not able to wear on uniforms. And Uzbek students graduate school 9 th grade. Then they go to the lyceum like American high schools. In Uzbekistan students take a exam before entering the universities. However this all needs entering the University. Of course they pay attention school grades. But there's one thing if student take a test for entering university and fails, then he or she has to wait next year. There is no other opportunity. Anyway the best thing I like studying at Uzbek school is that students don't have to go teacher's classrooms, teachers look for students. And at Uzbek school's brake longer around 10 minutes between each periods and, there is the biggest 40 minutes brake at the middle of the day. At that time students can talk with teachers having snacks whatever they do. Students are allowed to go out at that period. Most students say golden brake. This one thing I like study at Uzbek school. I do like American schools too.

Difference of Korean and English

2010-01-11T19:20:00.002-06:00

English is most popular language in the world. and then Korean is one of the most unique languages in the world. Both of them, have many common and difference. In this post I will talk about difference of these two languages.
First of all, the biggest difference is word order. For example "I read the book" is English. and word order is subject, verb and object. However, "난 책을 읽는다","Nan chak eul ilk nun da" is Korean and word order is subject, object, and verb. It is the point that most Korean people feel hard to study English.
Second, Korean language has richer expression than English. For instance, "Hot" has many meaning of in English. One is people say "hot" when they stay in the room of high temperature. and another people say "hot" when they ate spicy food. I know there are more meaning than I know.However Korean language two different words in same situation.
When people stay in the room of high temperature, they say"덥다","Dub Da". and when people eat some spicy food, they say "맵다","Mab da".
Here is another example. when I lived with the American roommate last year, I made some korean food which is called "누룽지","Nu reoung gi". My roommate want to try this food, so I gave him some. and he said "It taste weird, but wonderful weird. So I really try to say "구수하다","Gu su ha da" in english. this words is one of the taste we have. however, English has not this kind of expression. English has only simple expression. English cannot express some korean expression. For instance, when they eat salty food, they just say "its salty". but We have many expression of salty.
In conclusion, I think English is very good language, especially when I listen to american music, that rhyme was perfect to hear. However Korean is the better than English. I love English too.

Blogging is a Waste of Time

2010-01-11T17:16:00.000-06:00

Blogging is a way for unimportant people to express their ideals. Most people don’t care about blogging and are fine with keeping their opinions to themselves or spreading their ideals elsewhere. Blogs usually contain people’s ideals and/or opinions on things. Expressing their opinions this way is mostly a waste of time for the author and is, in my opinion, pathetic. These bloggers don’t seem to have the drive in them to do anything else but type away in their safe little houses, instead of doing anything about the subject they‘re writing about.
Blogging is an activity that doesn’t require much enthusiasm and in some cases, not much thought. Some blogs are just people ranting about something they don’t like or appreciate without facts or solid opinions that make other readers relate to them. Therefore, blogging is a way to write about something without the worries of finding someone to publish the works. Without the hassles of publishing, people write whatever and don’t think about how it effects readers or how to make it better, because the bloggers lack the inspiration.
Another thing I believe bloggers should realize, is that no one cares about another persons opinions. Unless a person has extreme beliefs, which not many people are that unique, then no one really cares and/or wants to waste their time reading a multitude of bloggers blogging about the same thing, which has tiny variations in opinion, if any.
Even in the Aquin High School junior class, which is exceptionally small compared to many other high school junior classes, students don’t care that much to read all the posts. With around thirty classmates, many of which have been in the same class for about twelve years, most can’t or won’t take the time to learn about their peers. That is because they only care about and want to share their ideals, which a completely human response. This demonstrates that even people who know the bloggers and are assigned to read everyone’s opinion, can’t keep the attention off themselves that long.
The thing about blogging that rubs me the wrong way, is that it means more time on a computer. I hate writing things out and without a doubt, typing makes it easier, but to express our feelings, in detail, about something then post it on the internet.. Well, its certainly an American activity. People sitting on comfortable chairs, probably eating something and rubbing their fingers across the keyboard. It’s gross to imagine and many other more productive things could be happening instead, such as cleaning or exercising. Maybe even doing other homework.
Blogging is something that bored, unimportant, unmotivated people do to pass time and relieve thoughts on random subjects. I believe blogging is just as bad as pop up ads and online sexual predators. Blogging is so unimportant and a wasteful use of time, that it’s not even a word. Now I have to add it to my Word dictionary which makes me even more aggravated towards the existence of blogging!

Japanese & America Cultural heritage

2010-01-11T16:38:00.010-06:00

　　　　　　　　　　　 ↑(Horyu-zi)　 ↓(Statue of Liberty)

　　These days there are a lot Culture heritage in this world. Most of the Country has a own cultural heritage. Japan and America has are big and old Cultural heritage for each other. This time the topic is Japanese ancient temple call "Horyu-zi". The Biggest symbol of United "State Statue of Liberty"(I think I'm saying right). Now first Japan has a lot of ancient staff so I can't explain everything at here. But they still have a lot of staff in Japan Example "Itsukushima Shrine" it's a big shrine is on the sea, "Kingdom of Ryukyu" The big Kingsom had Okinawa for long time ago,"Kyoto". For America has lot's of staff to for example "Yellowstone National park","Grand Canyon",

The "Statue of Liberty" is made by 1886 and it's cultural at 1986. This statue is presentation at French people. Hight is 33.86m and 225t. The each part is made of france and they separate at 214 parts for each. The right hand is made by gold and the shape is been torch. About the crown there are 7 projection and those are mean for freedom 7 continents and 7 oceans. Now this is the big symbol of United State. At the near with Liberty island the Island name call Ellis Island there are over 12000000 people came in here to United State at 1892-1954.

The First picture is call "Horyu-zi" and this temple is oldest building with made by wood. This temple is made by 608 at Nara in Japan (by the way which I live). It's been heritage at 1993. This "Horyu-zi" is not a only about the heritage staff. The heritage staff are including around the temple too. This "Horyu-zi" has a amazing truth. This building is burn at fire for couple times at History. But this building never break at earthquake. Japan has a lot of earthquake during the year. couple time there are terrible earthquake at Japan. The Nara is far away but still cross to the center of the earthquake place and the houses are shake a lot. But this temple never broke it. One time it's broke a part for thunder because of this temple is tall. The people try to know why this temple is not broken for earthquake..... The result is never found it. Even Super computer too. This temple has a lot of riddle and 7 secret's. Those 7 secret's are..

1. In this temple the flog has only has 1 eyes. 2.There are no spider's threat in this temple. 3. There are no hole of ground for raindrops. 4. The top of this temple there are 4scythe is stick in there. 5. The monks seat is always sweat 6. There are 3 treasure box which never open. 7. There is the stone step which shape like fish which nobody understand why they are in there.

Every Cultural heritage had a back round for each country. The Statue of Liberty has independence day and Horyu-zi has the person name call Prince Shoutoku that he made the one of the person basic of Japan at 574. Each Country had a own history so that those history is treasure for these days.

FAME

2010-01-10T21:10:00.005-06:00

Do you remember a time when professional athletes became famous for their superb athletic skills and dedication? Do you remember a time when singers were known for their musical talent? Do you remember a time when movie stars were remembered for their stage presence and acting abillity? Do you remember a time when celebrities were looked up to for their good example and role model behavior? Believe it or not, there once was a time when celebrities were known for the good that they did.

In today's day and age that is no longer the case. Athletes taint the name of their sport through drug use and scandals. Sub-par singers become international sensations with the use of synthesizers and technology that has the power to make anyone sound good. Actors are better known for their drug use and personal lives than their latest movies. Ordinary people become celebrities for the outrageous and senseless things they do.

Nowdays people will do just about anything to get their "five minutes of fame." Take for example Richard and Mayumi Heene. They created a publicity stunt in which their six year old son, Falcon, was said to have floated away in a home-made balloon. The hoax attracted world-wide attention, and numerous authorities ranging from the local police to the National Guard spent hours and thousands of dollars searching for the boy. As it turns out, the boy was hiding inside of his house the entire time. Richard and Mayumi Heene not only obtained their "five minutes of fame", but also two jail sentences to go along with it.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balloon_boy_hoax#Incident)

Ordinary people aren't the only ones making fools of themselves and setting poor examples for society. Our so-called "celebrities" constantly shock us with their terrible decisions and mishaps. Kids look up to pro athletes such as Tiger Woods, Barry Bonds, and Michael Phelps. When these celebrities mess up by being unfaithful to their spouse, taking steroids, or doing drugs, they are setting a poor example for children and being poor role models. The fact of the matter is that these people are famous and are constantly in the spotlight. Fame comes along with responsibility. If people are willing to take on the glitz and glamour of being famous, they must also take on the duty of being a positive role model.

Reality TV shows are the largest producer of celebrities that set poor examples and are constantly in the spotlight for their mishaps. Shows such as "John and Kate Plus 8," "The Hills," and "Laguna Beach" are overrated. The "celebrities" on these shows are ordinary people. They do nothing exceptional besides causing unnecessary drama and allowing TV cameras to follow their every move. Why do we allow them to become famous? People need to stop idolizing over these "reality TV stars" and worry about their own lives.

America as a whole has put far too great of an emphasis on celebrities and being famous. If we didn't worship celebrities the way we do, they wouldn't be inclined to draw more attention to themselves and do stupid things. We should look up to celebrites for the good things they do: for their athletic abilities, their musical and theatrical talent, and their good works. Celebrities should also make a conscious effort to set good examples and be more careful of the things they do. If they are not willing to accept that responsibility, they should get out of the spot light. Only a small number of people get to be famous. Those that achieve the status of being a "celebrity" should use their fame and influence to their advantage. They should be positive role models for children and use their money and influece to help others.

"It's hard to stay anonymous in the spotlight. If you don't want strangers to recognize you in public, don't perform on stage or in front of a camera in the first place. Either stay in the shadows or stop complaining for the fame you asked for." - Duane Alan Hahn

Welcome to Your Life: ACT Style

2010-01-10T20:44:00.001-06:00

The ACT is the most basic college acceptance test. Most everyone who has a hope to go to college has to go through the stress and hassle of taking this test. Why do we have to do this?
College is a competition. You have to fight for scholarships, classes, and special treatment. The better you prove yourself with your GPA, ACT scores, school activities, and service hours, the better chance you have to get into an elite college or to receive a good scholarship. These simple factors can affect us in our pockets for monetary issues, our jobs, and even our social lives. This leads me to believe that the ACT might play too big of a role in college acceptance. One single 3 hour exam can change your future forever. A couple mistakes can stop you from receiving a full ride to the college of your dreams to having to shell out every dime in your bank account to go to the community college down the street. That is just too great of a weight.
I think that either the ACT should be slightly modified or that its importance is slightly lowered. The first problem I see with the ACT is the time limit. As our class just took a practice ACT, we all (or most of us) saw the effect of being rushed while trying to answer everything correctly. You can’t answer them correctly. The ACT is catered to those who work fast. Most people cannot work fast. In school we are assigned homework which we have almost an endless amount of time to do. Our tests always have a reasonable limit where we can work on each problem with enough time. Why then, in one of the most important tests in our life, are we timed? The ACT should either raise the time limits or even get rid of the time limits completely. If you don’t know an answer, waiting an hour won’t help you realize it. In this way, we can all logically think about each question and all have a fair chance.
My second solution is to lower the standards of the ACT for colleges. All other requirements you have been working on for all four years you are in high school. Why should one standardized test take preference over four years of your life? This idea is ludicrous. I think that the college’s own pre-requisite tests should be used. For most advanced classes you will have a test to take to see if you have the knowledge to take the class. Why can’t colleges have these same tests for college applicants?
No matter what I say or how I say it, the ACT will probably always be a large part of college readiness. We can only learn to take the test with confidence, practice, and a little bit of luck. We can practice time management and take practice exams to prepare ourselves. We can even take the test several times to assure that you did your best. As we all are preparing to determine our lives, I wish all of us good luck.

Elvis Presley: The King of Rock 'N' Roll

2010-01-10T19:28:00.026-06:00

We might not realize it today, but Elvis Aaron Presley changed music throughout the world. He was one of the most famous artists of the 1950's through 1970's. Our music would not be the same today if it was not for Elvis Presley. Elvis was born on January ninth, 1935 to Vernon and Gladys Presley. He was born in Tupelo Mississippi and was an only child. Vernon and Gladys decided to move their family to Memphis Tennessee in 1948, where Elvis graduated high school in 1953. Elvis became interested in music by listening to the gospel songs at his church and by attending Beale Street where he listened to R&B music. A year after he graduated high school, Elvis signed with Sun Records label, where he began his singing career. A year later, his contract was sold, and by 1956 everybody knew who Elvis Presley was. Everybody immediately fell in love with Elvis. The way he moved and the way he looked got the girls attention. However, he not only impressed the girls. Elvis could sing all kinds of different music including gospel and rock. Elvis definitely had a quality that everyone easily could fall in love with.

Elvis Presley had sold an estimate of over one billion records, more than anyone in record history. He had 150 different albums and singles that have been called gold, platinum or multi-platinum. Elvis did not just impress the United States, over 40% of Elvis' record sales have been sold outside of the United States. Elvis had at least 149 songs on Billboards Hot 100 Pop Chart in America, 114 were in the top forty. He also appeared on many television guest shows. He went on "Stage Show", "The Milton Berle Show", "The Steve Allen Show" and "The Ed Sullivan Show". Ed Sullivan once said he would never put Elvis Presley on his show but when Elvis appeared on "The Steve Allen Show" the ratings sky rocketed. Soon after, Ed Sullivan had Elvis Presley on his show. Elvis got paid 50,000 to make three guest appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and at the end of it Ed really enjoyed Elvis' company.

Elvis not only sang, he starred in 31 feature films. For a few years he was Hollywood's top box office draws. He also had 3 network television specials. Elvis' 1973 special (Elvis aloha from Hawaii) was seen by 1 billion to 1.5 billion people. It made television history and topped the number of people who watched the man on the moon. Elvis received 14 Grammy nominations from the National Academy and Performing Arts and Sciences. His three Grammy wins were from gospel recordings. In 1970 Elvis was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation. This was one of Elvis' proudest moments. This achievement is given to men who have done something outstanding, whether it is in sports, music, science etc.

As you can see Elvis was an amazing and talented person. America's music would be very different today if Elvis was never alive. Elvis once said: “Some people tap their feet, some people snap their fingers, and some people sway back and forth. I just sorta do ‘em all together, I guess.”

"Discover Elvis." Elvis Presley. Ed. Elvis Presley enterprises. 2010. Web. 11 Jan. 2010. .

America's Caffeine Addiction

2010-01-10T18:27:00.004-06:00

Every day there are numerous Americans who start their day off with a cup of coffee. These people drink their coffee before they leave for work or school or on their way there. Some of the daily coffee drinkers stop at a fast food restaurant or gas station to get their coffee. There are some people who don’t drink coffee, but instead drink an energy drink or a soda pop to start off their day. What all these people are after is caffeine.

The on-the-go lifestyle that is commonly seen in the lives of many Americans contributes to the need for caffeine. With countless activities filling their schedules, many Americans do not leave themselves enough time to get a sufficient amount of sleep. It is also easy to feel run down after having a full schedule without a break. As a solution, Americans boost their energy with caffeine throughout the day to keep them going.

The main source of caffeine in the United States is coffee for adults and soft drinks for children. The average daily intake of caffeine for adults is 280 mg. in the United States (http://www.caffeinedependence.org/caffeine_dependence.html). Drinking one to two cups of coffee per day is not very bad for a person, but drinking too much caffeine can cause negative effects.

By drinking large amounts of caffeine on a daily basis, Americans are causing themselves to become more and more dependent on caffeine. Some people drink caffeine continually throughout the day. There are some people who are so reliant on caffeine that when they do not have their daily amount of caffeine they may show withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, anxiety, and difficulty concentrating. Caffeine can also cause mood changes, problems sleeping, and health issues when consumed in excessive amounts (http://www.caffeinedependence.org/caffeine_dependence.html).

Americans are becoming addicted to caffeine by drinking so much of it. A little caffeine is alright now and then, but I think Americans should find an alternative way to make sure they have enough energy than loading up on caffeine. I think Americans need to cut down on some of the activities that fill their busy schedules to allow themselves some time to relax, which I believe would help them to stop feeling so run down. Another solution might be for Americans to go to sleep at a reasonable time so that they can get a sufficient amount of sleep rather than watching that movie or T.V. show. Eating healthy and exercising are also good alternatives. On the contrary to what a person would normally think, exercising actually provides a person with more energy.

Countless Americans drink coffee or an energy drink every morning to start off their day. The large amount of caffeine that Americans consume causes them to rely on caffeine for energy. It sometimes gets to the point where a person is irritable and does not feel well because they have not had their daily coffee. It is fine to drink a coffee or another caffeinated beverage, but it should not get to the point where a person has to rely on caffeine to get through the day. Americans should find other ways to obtain the energy they need besides consuming caffeine so that they don’t have to deal with the side effects of not having their daily dose of caffeine.

In Response to EFF IT!, EFF THAT!

2010-01-10T14:38:00.006-06:00

Why do people put so much emphasis on words? I think it’s crazy to yell at someone if they swear. Swear words are like all other words; they are small strings of letters put together and sounded out. I personally do not believe it is a big deal when people swear. I don’t think people should freak out when other people use a “bad word.”

Music, movies and literature all use explicit language and swear words. Would you put down a good book or album or turn off a good movie just because it swears. More than likely you would not. The only time I would turn a movie off for swearing is if the writer was attempting to offend a viewer with the use of foul language. A good example of a popular movie that swears copious amounts would be The Boondock Saints. This film uses the word F*** 246 times in 110 minutes. That averages more than twice a minute. Even though this movie swears that much it still became a huge underground hit after it was released on DVD.

Someone could miss out on fantastic literature or really good music just because it uses curse words. An imaginative piece of literature that uses foul language would be Snowcrash. The excerpt we read in class was really well written. It was incredibly creative and was one of the most memorable things we read in sophomore English. It swears a few times and of course some parent has to stir up a ruckus. If you didn’t know, teenagers swear. They have said whatever word or words parents disagreed with. I don’t think parents should get frazzled over a couple swear words. Again, they are just words. They do not bite. They cannot even physically hurt someone.

I do not think people should invest so much energy in censoring explicit language. Go worry about world hunger and poverty; those are much more important issues! I think language is just a floodgate into censorship as a whole. I do not believe censorship is a positive practice.

But getting back to the censorship of language or just the overall attitude toward swearing… I think people should be able to say whatever they want and not be ridiculed for it. We live in America, where we have freedom of speech. I do not believe anyone should give power to curse words.

What gives a word a negative connotation? Is it the mood you are in when you say it? Is it the emotion you express with these words? Or is it just that you were taught at a young age a certain word was taboo? If you want to scream F***, but you decide to replace it with FUDGE, would that not make Fudge a bad word. It’s the same when stick your middle finger up at some one. It is a finger! It should have no power over anyone. Words should not have an effect on someone.

Swear words are only bad because we as a society have made them “bad.” Swear all you want. It shouldn’t matter to anyone else.

Boondock Saints info-http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144117/trivia

Racial Profiling In Today's Airports

2010-01-09T15:42:00.002-06:00

In today's airports you have to do a lot of unnecessary security screenings, but they are not always unnecessary. The tests and screenings are really unnecessary when they are done on the elderly, and on the very young. The only people that need to have extra safety screenings done are people from the Middle East, and people with mental disorders. This may seem racist to these certain groups of people but it is not. This is not racist because if you look at past plane hijackings it was mostly always a person with a mental disorder or of Middle Eastern descent. I know we do not want to take the risk of another plane hijacking, but we need to at least bump back security so it is not so insane to fly to a different city. The only time that there should be a lot of security is when the person is from a different country, and when it is hard to understand what the person is talking about. On September 11, 2001, the guy that gave the terrorists their tickets to board the plane knew that there was something wrong about them and that he should have told security about the two terrorists, but he did not and it ended in a disaster. This is when we should use racial profiling in the airports around America. We should use all of our security on those kinds of people not on the people we know are not going to commit a crime. Everyone should go through a metal detector, however it is not necessary to search small children and seventy year old grandmothers. I have also heard that in some airports in the United States of America that they are making passengers do full body scans. These scans show every part of a persons body and they are a huge invasion of a person's privacy. This is going way over board and they should stop doing this because it is just not right and we need to stop this. The only time that they should use this security measure is when someone is from a different country or someone that is mentally unstable. Airports around America should start thinking about this because it is not just inconvenient for the passengers that are innocent and are planning to just fly to another city but its also a waste of time. Airports should think about using racial profiling and cut back security on people they know would not commit a crime and add security to those people who they think would commit a crime. It seems as if racial profiling would eliminate the need for innocent law abiding Americans, including children and elderly people from being searched unnecessarily. If this step were taken, flying could return to the quick and pleasant travel experience that it used to be.

Your Brain's "Buy Button"

2010-01-09T12:14:00.002-06:00

A questioning of Commercialism and its effects on the brain have been a question of mine in response to the New York Times article: "If Your Brain Has a 'Buy Button,' What Pushes It?" by: Sandra Blakeslee . If you don't have time to read the article from the link provided, to summarize, talks about the power of your brain and its loyalty towards brands based on commercials. Its studies show that people who have the same alert factor of satisfaction in the brain to pepsi and coke choose coke as their perfured beverage based on brand loyalty.

Recently corporations have been teaming up with neuroscientists to explore the brains reactions to advertisements and learning how to trigger what they would call our "buy button". They test our reaction to the ad, package, new product name, and design. They also use celebrity faces and songs to catch our attention and to associate with the product. These tactics are starting to play central roles in our behavior as consumers. It is motivating our emotions to feel good when we buy or use these products and rewarding our brain after we hit the "buy button".

When i read this article it has started to get me thinking, if they can target and partially control our brains through commercials and advertisements who says it will stop here? What happens when the government can hack into our brains and hit our "buy button" for new policies we would otherwise oppose? With literally no way to avoid advertisements and commercialism in our daily brains and new advancements on studies of the brain and how it works, i'm undoubtedly scared.

As humans we are vulnerable we fall into these traps easily. Children see a toy on television or in a store they automatically want it, and if parents see a way to save money they automatically tune in and are hooked. We need to learn why we want something other than going with our gut, because that is being influenced, without doing that were falling into a cloned lifestyle where our choices will be taken over.

We need to stand up for our freewill and not fall victum to this trend by being aware of the technology and how easily our brains are being hacked. Next time you see a commercial promising certain results, a new movie trailer, or just an advertisement for food take a step back and say to yourself, "do i really need to buy that, or like that". It may help a little, but sadly may be to late to question that because it is hard to say what your real decision is, and distinguishing between that and your brains "buy button's" decision.

"The Divided States of America"

2009-12-01T20:55:00.002-06:00

The Civil War helped shape part of American culture through the abolition of slavery. It seperated the North and the South into two very seperate worlds with a strong opposition for each other. This created stereotypes and hatred toward each side. After years of fighting in prejudice, the Union slid out with a fortunate victory. This close battle still leaves America questioning, what would have happened if the Union had not pulled through to win the victory over the Confederacy?

The idea of slavery to this day is atrocious. The inequality of men because of race or sex is unimaginable with how society has transformed today, but if the Confederacy had won the Civil War, slavery would be a harsh reality. Slaveholders would have control of many slave trades, and the cotton industry, along with many others, would be prosperous. The owners of these trades would be filthy rich and greedy. Powerful white men would likely flock to the South to invest in their own cotton or tobacco tycoons and make fortunes. Millions of African slave boats would ship out weekly. A laborious cycle of production and service would be maintained, not to mention the questionable moral issues.

America may not be America if the South had won the Civil War. The land would still be split into the Confederacy and the Union, not the United States. How many states would there even be? Would Texas belong to Mexico? Think of all the hatred and propoganda each side would have against each other. The North and the South will likely be bitter towards each other after the war, similar to the hatred shared between Muslims and Jews. The South could even force slavery upon the North or enslave Northerners themselves with the power they had after winning the war. Would there truly be freedom in America?

It would be impossible to imagine the capability slaveholders would have these days. The new technology and techniques of the ages would enhance their production. The question is, would many of these technological advances have been possible without the help of African Americans? So much of American culture and discovery has been influenced by African Americans. They play a major role in our music, movie, food, inventing, engineering, and sports industries. They influence the American lifestyle with their own diverse culture. African Americans have given this country a history different from any other country in this world. The United States is the first to have an African American president, an achievement otherwise impossible except for the victory in the Civil War.

If the South had won the Civil War, the world would be a much different place. Whether it would have been for the better or not is never for sure, but things happen for a reason. The equal society created among us today was the way it is supposed to be. It is always a reassuring thought to know that no matter how scary it is to think of how things could have been, that it is not the way they are.

Music: An American Fascination

2009-11-29T14:16:00.006-06:00

Whenever you switch on your television, or go to the movies, or sometimes even just walk down the street, something is always there. Whether it's the subject of a certain thing, or just providing ambiance to an otherwise quiet subject, music is a constant medium to daily life. Commercials play and you hear a catchy jingle behind the advertising of the product featured. At the movies, various musical numbers provide emotional cues to scenes of sadness, happiness, or anything in between. Even just driving in the car, most of the programs on the radio feature music instead of news shows.

Why is this though? Why do we, as a culture, enjoy music so much? There are many answers to this question. On a purely scientific standpoint, music has been proven to change your mood (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1428802/how_music_affects_your_mood.html). By listening to classical music, you can feel more calm, relaxed, and productive. On the other side of the spectrum though, people who listen to country music regularly have a higher chance of depression and suicide when compared to people who don't.

From a purely cultural standpoint though, it's all up to personal interpretation. Types of music that is popular changes with age and area, so no concrete statement can be said about what music is better. In the southern United States, jazz and country are more popular in the south, while rap and rock tend to have a larger audience in the northern regions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_the_United_States). You can see music's affect on how we perceive the people of each region though. When you think of someone from the south, what do you think? Most people would say something about country music. When you think of someone from any large city, a lot of the time people would assume they listen to rap or rock music.

Why can something like music affect the various way we think about people? As I stated before, music can affect your mood, so why would it be unheard of to affect your social ideas too? It wouldn't be all that hard to believe. Simple ideas about how people from a different area act would probably be easier to change then how you actually feel about something.

Another thing is, music can be a medium between different cultures. The way we hear a musical number is the same as anyone in the entire world hears it, despite living in different areas or cultures. In this way, you can see how music can connect people. It can bring us all together, help us see eye to eye, and show us that despite differences, everyone is the same when it comes to the simplest of things, music.

Marilyn Monroe.. Most Famous Woman?

2009-10-23T17:59:00.005-05:00

America is the best country in the world in my opinion, but what makes a great country? I believe that the American people are the reason why America has succeeded. Marilyn Monroe was without a doubt the biggest celebrity in the 1950's, but I also believe she is the most famous woman of the century. She was an amazing person in many ways, she could sing, act, & was undoubtedly beautiful. Her life had ups & downs but in the end, she was an inspiration to many men & women.
Marilyn Monroe's childhood was not an easy one. She was born to a mentally unsteady mother, not knowing who her father was. Later on, her mother was committed to an insane asylum and Marilyn was thrown into the foster kid life. Bouncing around from foster parents to foster parents, she married a neighbor young man when her last pair of foster parents were going to move away.

Shortly after Marilyn's husband, who she called Daddy, went away to serve in the military, she started working odd jobs. Once, a photographer came and took pictures of working women, he said she was a "photographer's dream". After, he sent other photographers her way and helped her find jobs to model. She divorced Daddy after five years of marriage to pursue bigger modeling dreams and within a year was on the cover of some major magazines. After being successful in modeling, she wanted to move on to something bigger and better, acting!

In the beginning of her acting career she married baseball player, Joe Dimaggio. They were together nine months and divorced because of his jealousy of her sexy reputation. Her third marriage was to playwright Authur Miller. For their marriage, Marilyn converted to Judaism. They only lasted four years and were said to have divorced for many reasons. Some being that she was cheating, doing drugs, drinking too much, and also that she had depression from several miscarriages she had, and the death of her costar, Clark Gable.

Marilyn Monroe was either the most important or one of the most important women of the 20th century. Even today she is known by almost everyone. Saying hear name immediately makes people think "talented" and "beautiful". I believe that people like Marilyn Monroe represent American in a way. Some may think that is a bad example, but I like to look at the good things she contributed to this country. Marilyn Monroe, I think, was the most important woman of the 20th century and will live on forever in her movies and by her reputation.

EFF IT

2009-10-22T21:15:00.011-05:00

You are walking down the noisy hallway at school and you hear someone yell "What the f***?!" at the top of their lungs. Without even realizing it, you continue on your way to your next class as if nothing happened. Halfway through class your teacher announces to you and the rest of the class that you all are assigned a one page essay due at the beginning of class the next day. The person sitting next to you exclaims in a low tone "Are you s****ing me??" Others in the class let out somewhat of a chuckle. The teacher hears the remark but instead of taking action towards the student and their vulgar language, she decides instead to scold them and forget about the problem along with the other students. While these may have been small issues of the usage of vulgar language, it leads to the much bigger issue of inappropriate language and its frequent occurrence in our every day culture.

Why is it that we feel the necessity to use such an inappropriate vocabulary day in and day out? Every day we hear curse words being used. It’s not anything new. Could the reason behind our modern day vocabulary be due to the fact that kids today have an enormous lack of self-expression? If you think about it, it is much easier for most teenagers to use an expletive rather than explain the purpose behind their own frustrations.

What most teenagers do not realize is that through the over use of profanity they reveal a negative connotation of their own personal characteristics and morals. Carelessness in their language shows a lackadaisical attitude towards their life in general. Not only does it prove them irresponsible, it suggests that they have neglect towards their own intelligence. It shows that the individual who chooses to use this language is irresponsible because they could not care less about what comes out of their mouth. No intelligent person would walk into a job interview and drop the F-bomb throughout the course of that interview. It would leave a bad impression on the person that is performing the interview. Why then, is it okay for the teacher to dismiss the student’s behavior without taking any appropriate disciplinary action? In doing so, the teacher is simply promoting the student to continue their terrible habit of using such language.

In the society that which we live in, we hear such crude and vulgar language everywhere we go, and in everything we do. It is an example of the negative and rash culture of our up and coming generation. If we as people are not fixing the problem when it arises, than we are just making it known that we approve of such vocabulary coming from the young people of our society. And if in fact we are telling them that it is alright, than they will continue to use this crass and pointless vernacular for many more years to come.

Colors That Kill

2009-10-22T20:54:00.006-05:00

Since the early ages of America, gangs have been prominent in the states. However, back then they weren’t so much gangs as they were rebels. In the old days they were referred to as outlaws, bandits, pirates and thugs. Those were the beginning days of Americas gang problem. During the 1800’s gangs weren’t too big of a threat. Most would commit a few small crimes here and there. All of that changed one day in December of 1865 when six men started a social club that would become one of America’s most powerful and feared gangs of all time. The year 1865 was the birth of one of the most famous gangs in American history the Ku Klux Klan. During the highest point in this gang’s time there were as many as three million members, but the gang’s untouchable attitude would soon cause the gang to destroy itself and nearly caused it to end entirely. The Ku Klux Klan, however, would only be the beginning of America’s gang problem.
In 1899 a boy was born by the name of Alphonse Capone and later would become one of the most famous mobsters of all time. It was because of guys like him, Johnny Torrio and Lucky Luciano that another famous gang would sky rocket its way to the top of gangs in America. Founded by Paolo Antonini Vaccarelli, The Five Points Gang, was like the minor leagues of the mob. With the help of second in command Johnny Torrio it became the most significant gang to form in the United States ever. A few years later Al Capone would be called to help manage Chicagoland mob territories. This would move Capone to Chicago where he would go down in history as the most violent and prolific gangster in Chicago, if not the most in the country.
In the early 90’s gangs started to take off with the arrival of new immigrants. Most gangs were formed in the poverty stricken areas of the country also known as the ghetto. The majority of the gangs and gang members consisted of Hispanics, Asians, and African Americans. This is the time in which gangs flourished and started popping up everywhere across the country. New gangs were forming daily and each with its own desire for power. Such famous gangs that were created during this time include: Vice Lords, Savage Skulls, La Familia, Savage Nomads, Rampers, Black Gangsters, Devil’s Disciples, Black P Stone Rangers, Gangster Disciples, Black Gangster Disciples and La Eme. By the late 1980’s and early 1990’s the drug networks were in full motion and drug importation from Southeast Asia and Colombia were at its peak. This is when street gangs developed into drug gangs with more businesslike operations and violence becoming a standard operating procedure for the gangs. With the rise of drugs and violence came the rise of super gangs( large , multi cultural street gangs) such as: Latin Kings, Bloods, Crips and now the biggest gang in America MS-13. Nowadays gangs are anywhere and everywhere. No matter where you go you will find gangs which means you will also find drugs, violence and murder. You can even look towards the media to find gangs glorified. Such famous gangsters include 2pac, Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Birdman and so on. Each uses their music to express themselves and their lives back when they were more profound in the gang life. You can even see how it affects the youth of the nation. More and more kids are trying to act, talk, and dress more “gangsta”. You can see from such things like these how big of an impact gangs have influenced our culture even if we didn’t know it.

Tupac Amaru Shakur, dead or alive?

2009-10-21T22:20:00.005-05:00

Tupac Amaru Shakur, or just commonly known as Tupac, is arguably one of the most influential hip-hop artists to ever hit America. Tupac has created true American Literature without even realizing it. He didn’t ever think he would be one of the greatest artists to ever walk the earth. Without Tupac ever performing, there would not be most of the music you see today and then one night, on September 7, 1996, Tupac was shot in a drive by outside of a theater four times. The theater Tupac was at was a public theater that people watched fights at. It was a very public place, and whenever Tupac went out, he ALWAYS wore a bulletproof vest. No matter what the circumstance he always did. So why did he take it off for this night where he knew he was going to be around a lot of people? Six days later after being on life support, Tupac was officially claimed “dead”. (http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/s/tupacshakur/tupacshakur.htm)

Did Tupac really die? I do not believe so. How is it that when someone dies, they can still make records? His first album after his supposed death was that very November of 2006. Yes the album could have been the one he was working on before his death, but why would his first couple of songs be related to a philosopher by the name of Niccol Machiavelli, who believed faking a death was the perfect way to contain enemies. In that album was a song by the name of “I ain’t mad at cha,” which in the video of that song is in heaven as an Angel. Isn’t that a little bit suspicious? Even more suspicious about that video is that in it, Tupac was shot coming out of a theater, very similar to how he died. Then just one year later, that very next November, Tupac’s album “R U Still Down” was released. The album was not the only thing that was released that November. How can it be that someone who is dead could be in three music videos 14 months after their death? Yes Tupac was an extremely skilled artist, and maybe he made these videos before his death and took until then to be released. Maybe the first two albums after his death were just in memory of him, but what about the third album after his death? Just another year after the second album in November of 1998, Tupac’s album “2pac’s Greatest” was released with SIX new tracks on it. Why were those six tracks not on the other twp albums that were released after his death? Also, how is it that in an album over two years after his death, Tupac has tracks talking about the movie Armageddon? And in another track Tupac congratulated the Denver Broncos on winning the Super Bowl? Both of those things occurred quite a bit of time after Tupac’s “death.” Also in a lot of Tupac’s songs, he talks about being buried. If he wanted to be buried so badly, why was he cremated ONE day after dying? And who is cremated just a single day after a murder case? I don’t know about you, but I think it is all pretty suspicious to me. Tupac: one of the greatest artists the world has known, the creator of hip-hop, a hero to many has not died. Not yet.

(http://www.trap17.com/index.php/tupac-shakur-alive_t20986.html)

Drug Culture

2009-10-21T21:49:00.005-05:00

When mentioned to most Americans, the phrase “drug culture” will bring thoughts of smugglers, violent cartels, street corner drug dealers, and back alley crack houses. But there is a new drug culture exploding before our eyes. It is an even greater legal drug dependency that grips much of America and it’s coming from behind a counter.
Medications have come a long way in past years. Today medications have provided many health benefits and have played a major role in extending our life spans. Modern medicine has become what it is today mainly because of our technological advances that help us better understand disease and sickness. Many Americans count on these advanced medications to rescue them from a lifestyle of illness. But in this generation there is a rise in drug abuse, and I’m not talking about heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines, hallucinogens, alcohol, marijuana, or even tobacco. I am talking about the abuse of prescription drugs. Prescription Drug Abuse, has been with us since doctors began prescribing drugs, but has become more common since the service of the “refill prescription”. Recent studies show that nearly 1.3 million Americans are abusing prescription drugs. Prescription drug abuse is usually overlooked by doctors.

There are many different types of prescription drugs in which people can become addicted to. There are three general categories of medicine in which are most usually abused in America. The Central nervous system (CNS) depressants are the first one. These medications include Valium and Xanax, which are used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders. Other common pills taken are painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin, Cocodamol which has the tranquilizer codeine in it, and even over the counter codeine based painkillers such as Solpadeine. The third category contains stimulants. Stimulants are prescribed to patients that have certain sleep disorders and even ADHD, and include drugs such as Ritalin and Aderol. Most prescription drug abuse is related to either tranquilizers or painkillers.

Main symptoms of pill addiction are an increased tolerance to the drug, so that the user needs a much larger amount to get the same effects they were used to before abusing the medication. More and more of the drug is required. This leads to many other problems. Long term effects include respiratory problems, seizures, irregular heartbeat, depression, or even death following a large dose. Other causes of these effects can come from being unknowledgeable about the medication or addiction. Addicts who mix medications, drink with their medication, or do both usually will be followed by serious internal damage, brain damage, or death. Last year, prescription drugs replaced heroin and cocaine as the leading cause of fatal overdoses.

When these medications are not taken responsibly by the person they were intended to help they are being abused within our society. A prescription written on a piece of paper by a doctor does not mean its safe. When prescribed responsibly, taken as directed, and kept out of reach of children, painkillers, anti-depressants, anti-anxiety meds, etc., can benefit the person in need. People in America need to be better educated about the effects and damage that can be caused by drug addiction.

Sadly our society is an unhealthy and over medicated one that is becoming dependent on our drugs and are always searching for the next “quick fix.”

LINKS: just add www. in front :)

addict-help.com/prescriptionabuse.asp

sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/04/040420213723.htm

nida.nih.gov/researchreports/prescription/prescription8.html

Rap Music: How does it influence today’s youth?

2009-10-21T16:23:00.004-05:00

(POSTED FOR CHERRYH)

Music is a huge part of today’s society. Either in the car, on the computer, or on the television, music is all around us. The question is though, is rap music harmful to our society? Today’s youth looks up to people they admire. They want to dress and act just like their favorite singer or dancer. This is not always a good thing. According to Associated Content News, rap music is all about money, fame and women. If you listen to a random rap song, usually the artist is singing about one of the three. Many young kids are dropping out of school to try and make it as a professional rap artist. As you could probably guess, most do not make it and often turn to illegal activity to obtain some kind of money income. Another reason rap music is harmful to today’s youth is how they portray women. They talk as if women are objects and should be treated with no respect. Today’s youth thinks that’s “cool” because their favorite artists treat women like this so they should too. The women in music videos and in songs that send out this message do not help with the situation either. Many young girls think it is okay to be treated like this because it’s in their favorite songs or music videos.

Rap music also affects the choices kids make about sex. According to Web MD, teenagers who listen to rap music and look up to rap artists are more likely to do these behaviors in everyday life. They are more likely to be involved in gangs, have children out of wedlock, and to disrespect authority. In a study, after interviewing 522 girls between the ages of fourteen and eighteen who spent fourteen hours per week watching music videos were three times more likely then girls who do not watch them to hit a teacher, over 2.5 times more likely to get arrested, twice as likely to have multiple sex partners and 1.5 times more likely to get a sexually transmitted disease, use drugs, or drink alcohol. When I read these statistics the first thing I thought of was why are artists continuing to rap about things that have such a negative influence on the youth of today? The answer is simple. According to The Coalition against Violence, the entertainment industry has invested billions of dollars into promoting rap artists with music influenced by gangs, gangsters and the pimp culture itself. Is this money worth corrupting the future of America?

As you can see, there are definitely some reasons why rap music is harmful to our society. In reality though, all rap music is not bad. There are actually some artists out there that rap about their problems and the issues going on in the world. They tell their listeners how they are feeling and what their life is like. I support the artists that rap about this because they can really connect to teenagers that are going through similar situations as themselves.

PAPA...PAPA...PAPARAZZI!

2009-10-21T15:47:00.003-05:00

(POSTED FOR OCONNOR)

Why do we obsess over celebrities? Is it because they write and sing our favorite songs, play our favorite sports, or because they're in our favorite movies? That could be some reasons to like those people. When an obsession becomes a job, it's a bit carried away. I think that given an opportunity to interview a celebrity and have that as a job would be great but "paparazzi" turn it into a game for more then just themselves. They've created a world full of lies about people. Standing in line at the store, accessing an email home page, or looking any place else on the internet I have found multiple things about some celebrity. Usually a picture is the first thing to be drawn to, and paparazzi know how to make it work. Seeing a picture can tell you an entire story about the person in the picture. The paparazzi can make people look really bad, and that's thanks to technology! many celebrities' careers have been poisoned by the paparazzi and their pictures. Just looking at some magazines can give off this image that ruins my thoughts about the person. If I'm on a website the picture usually says something inappropriate on the side. The comment that is so inappropriate can make the celebrity seem wrong in some ways.

this website has shown me pictures that make me think twice about some celebrities. Knowing that they don't have a great reputation in the first place I was not surprised. But when I saw the video screens I was in no shock at all. Paris Hilton was one of the first video pictures that I was drawn to. Paris Hilton defiantly is not friends with the paparazzi; they have changed her to be a party hard girl. Her previously shown television show doesn't make her seem like that at all. Even if she claims to party the paparazzi have made it over exaggerated. That shows the paparazzi and its power in America.

Do to some websites vulgarity I was unable to use there work. The paparazzi and the media as a whole have made sex their main topic. In America today sex sells to all age groups even if younger children don't know it their favorite television shows are filled with sexual humor and gestures. I have seen cartoon network use sexual humor on more than one occasion and that is displeasing. The paparazzi can't control television to any extent but that's where the media takes over for them.

The paparazzi have created this big power of lies and fear for the celebrities. The only thing that can be done is that people who are in the eye of America need to watch out. Even if in some cases like Tyra Banks that could not help it other people do stupid things just to be scene in the lime light. Tyra Banks had the power of her television show to fight against the paparazzi and eventually won with the truth. If you don't know Tyra banks was out in a swimming suit and paparazzi had taken a picture and destroyed her beautiful voluminous body with Photoshop work. Tyra as a former Victoria's Secret model most certainly was not fat. So the paparazzi lost against Tyra her incorrect pictures.

Jon and Kate plus Trouble...

2009-10-21T10:49:00.010-05:00

Jon and Kate Gosselin were married in 1999 and wanted to have children, but when Kate could not conceive they used In Vitro fertilization. They now have two sets of multiples twins Mady and Cara, sextuplets Collin, Leah, Joel, Hannah, Aaden, and Alexis. The family of ten have a popular show on TLC know as "Jon and Kate plus 8" The show is about the difficulties of raising two sets of multiples. The show follows the family through the trips they take and daily life at home. The twins are eight and the sextuplets are five years old.

Jon and Kate at a birthday party for the sextuplets

(TLC website)

Recently Jon and Kate have run into issues in their lives. Gossip magazines have their private life know completely to the public. The issues began in the March or so of 2009 Jon was supposedly caught cheating on Kate with a school teacher. Though the rumors true or not was is right for the magazines to publish what ruined Jon and Kate's marriage. On June 22, 2009 Jon and Kate announced on their show that they would be separating.

Their issues have yet to stop, their show was stopped until August 3rd when their 10 million viewers dropped to only 4.2 million to watch the return to find out what was going on. They no longer did their interview for the show together and Jon was barely in the episode. Kate and Jon both said that they want to do what is best for the kids. How is divorce the best for their eight children? They believed that staying together would put stress on their relationships with the kids. In early October TLC announced that the show has been officially changed to "Kate plus 8", Jon will only make guest appearances.

More problems continue to rise for the two. In October Jon removed a large sum of money from their joint bank account only leaving Kate with a reported one thousand dollars to support the now family of nine. When their court date came it had to be changed because the judge had lost his wife. One week later and several gossip websites and channels reported that Jon was order to pay back a certain amount that he removed.

I did this to prove that the media goes to in depth about things that we don't really need to know about. I wrote this blog without having to look at any sites, I would just watch their show or see it on several magazine covers. It's not right how magazines and television take personal problems and make them known. You could say it's their fault for having a tv show in the first place, but the viewers determine if the show stays or not.

We read gossip magazine, see it on the Internet, and watch it on tv. Why do we need to know if Jon cheated on Kate or if a celebrity does something outrageous? Do we really care? It is just to entertain us, we don't have to give celebrities attention. In the end that's all they really want...attention and we give them that.

Thai and American Culture

2009-10-20T21:57:00.007-05:00

Almost every country in the world have their own culture and traditional. Some are similar some are difference and some are the same. But we are all human being that need the same basic physical needs. We are all can feel happy ,sad, angry, hungry etc. Its interesting on how people live with different beliefs, attitude and behavior. For some people that don’t know what is Thai. Thailand or what we called “Thai” is the country located in the center of the southeast asia.

When talking about culture the biggest heading would be religion which play an important role in our lives. An old Thai culture almost all of it came from the beliefs of Buddhism which is the main religion and including 95% of population in the country,while the United States which the main religion is Christian and make up 78.5% population of the country. Christians believe Jesus is the son of God, God himself and the savior of humanity.The goal of Christianity is eternal life with God in Heaven, a perfect existence in which God's glory and bliss are shared. Buddhism is a path of salvation attained through insight into the ultimate nature of reality and based on the teaching of Buddha. The goal is to escape a cycle of suffering and rebirth by end suffering,achieve nirvana. There is a lot of difference in these two religion but the common thing is both are teaching and leading human to do good things. There is some different in religious that might surprised the American people which is,Buddhism due to religious discipline, Thai monks are forbidden physical contact with women. Women are therefore expected to make way for passing monks to ensure that accidental contact does not occur.

There is some old beliefs that still important to Thai culture today. The younger person shouldn’t touch or play with an elder person’s head its shown that you are being unrespectful and rude. This is because the Thai people consider the foot to be the dirtiest and fattest part of the body. Also the language that younger person uses to say to an elder person. It has to be a polite word too.

When comes to the language, American people speaks English which is the official language in United States and the main language in the world while Spanish is also the primary language spoken at home by over 34 million people. Thai people speaks their own language called “Thai” from the name of the country.

Popular culture including music, movies and sport is also the largest culture in every country. American culture has a popular styles of music which is including Jazz, Pop, Rock, R&B, Hip Hop and etc. Also the famous artist and the biggest music industry in the world. American Film is usually referred to in a generalizing manner as Hollywood. The center of the best film and movie stars from all around the world. American has the world best league of sports too including NFL, NBA, NHL, PGA tour, Grand Slam and etc. While mostly Thai popular culture are influenced by the western culture. There is only a few old unique culture such as Thai country music, Thai instruments( Thai flute, Thai Xylophone etc) and some Thai sport called Sepak takraw which resembling volleyball, except that it uses a rattan ball and only allows players to use their feet, knee, chest and head to touch the ball.

As you can see the different and the similarity of the two culture. There is no right and wrong but its just different.

What the Media and its Wisdom Have Done for Romance

2009-10-20T20:26:00.004-05:00

In America today, everyone is continually faced with messages regarding romance and love om everything from books and movies to music and advertising. Companies such as E Harmony guarantee us that we can find the love of our lives over the Internet. Movies of all types, not just those labeled as romances, almost always incorporate a cliche love story into the plot. We are made to think that successful relationships are easy and just happen because fate wills it. Unfortunately, this is almost never the case.
The media would like to have us believe that we can find that one person who is meant for us just by, well, blundering into them. And once we meet them, hardships will only occur in the beginning of a relationship, if they do at all. From that point on it will be smooth sailing into eternal bliss, a perfect ending, with little or no sacrifice or effort required. For the record, I am not opposed to the notion of each relationship destined individual having one person they are meant to meet, (on the contrary, I find that my faith fully supports it). But I refuse to believe that one can find and truly love this person so easily. As we often hear in a Catholic school, this country's divorce rate is 51%. This means that over half the people in this nation who think they have found the right person and marry them later decide they were wrong. Obviously, the romantic ideas we have been spoon-fed for decades have no applicable value.
I don't think all these people chose the wrong person, though I'm sure many did. A good number, perhaps a majority, of them probably found the right person and blew their chance. Hollywood's doctrine notwithstanding, relationships take huge effort and dedication. You don't just find someone and suddenly have it made. It takes selflessness, sacrifice, a priority of the other person's good above your own, no matter the cost. Anyone who starts dating and only aims to satisfy their own desires is not creating anything that will last. Also, you have to constantly make an effort to learn more about the other person, both to better serve them and to know for sure if the relationship can work. Obviously, as a junior in highschool, I don't have much experience in this area, but I think I have enough to tell that the media is once again preaching a false, misleading idea that sets millions of people up for failure and disappointment.
However, many have seen through this lie and gone too far in the opposite direction, turning away from serious relationships in favor of “casual dating.” They don't put any serious value on what they are doing, and simply date people for shallow reasons that can't and usually aren't expected to lead to anything permanent. This mindset also contributes to the devaluation of sex that Thompson described. Individuals just live in the present, striving to fulfill current desires and ignoring numerous long term consequences. These short, fleeting relations only hurt in the end, and one is left with an empty feeling that they believe can only be cured by another such endeavor, creating a vicious circle of emotional dissatisfaction and pain.
The media and current cultural mindsets have produced countless inaccuracies regarding romance and love, twisting something pure, positive and essential into a collection of trends and failed solutions. This collective mindset has done nothing but grievously hurt America, driving divorce rates skyward and making way for the derailing of multiple generations' chances at true success in this area. And not only that, but we are exporting this disease to the rest of the world, as we do with all our ideas. America as a whole needs to get over its chick flick addiction and need for the instant gratification of romantic desires if we are ever going to fix this devastating pandemic.

Media: Good or Bad?

2009-10-20T19:37:00.007-05:00

Do you ever wonder why the media is so appealed to celebrity people such as Michael Vick? The media knows our weak points as human beings. We like to see people such as Michael Vick high up on the totem pole and fall down to our own level. People enjoy seeing this failure because it makes them laugh and say something to themselves like your not so big anymore are you. Or it gives them something to talk about at work or school as well. It is not just Michael Vick that we have seen fall. There is a big long list of them such as Brittany Spears and Paris Hilton. It's not just these downfalls, but also things like Janet Jackson's halftime show. It is just things that we don't normally see that we like to read about or see on the news.

It is not just bad things that we as people appeal to though. We enjoy reading about great accomplishments like winning the super bowl or how extreme makeover is coming to help a family overcome tough times. So we are excited to see exciting things like this. I am not going to lie I enjoy reading about things like this to that add something that we do not normally hear or read about to our sometimes boring days. We like an extra zing to our day and these things definitely add them.

One problem that the media may also cause is the idea that some of the models and such are the perfect people and everyone should look like them. This shows some not so good things about the so awesome and fun to read media. It is pretty much telling young teenagers that they should be super skinny and they should change there entire appearance. So if they want to fit in this would be a good way to fit in. This would mostly be pointed towards girls due to the fact that girls are more worried about their appearance and what others think about them. I am not saying that guys are not the same because some are that way, but it is mostly pointed towards girls.

Another positive to the media is again it has a pretty good influence. So for all those commercials and ads that tell us the truth about smoking and drinking and don't hide anything from us tell us really about the negative things in the world. Also with reading about someone dying or being severely hurt in a car accident due to maybe drunk driving, as someone has already posted earlier, it would help us make better decisions with maybe to choose to drink or not. Maybe it would be something so simple as denying a cigarette from a friend and avoiding peer pressure. So again the media is not an entirely bad thing. It gives us the truth and sometimes what we should be doing in life.

As you can see there are many positive and negative views that you could have about the media. If you choose to read or watch these shows or paper it is fine as long as you know what is right and wrong. Your choices can affect your life in a very big way if your not smart. Do not let the media persuade the way you live.

Michael Jackson: The King of Pop

2009-10-20T19:05:00.007-05:00

The King of Pop, Michael Joseph Jackson, was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana to Joseph and Katherine Jackson. He started singing and performing in talent shows and recitals at an early age. Michael and a few of his siblings (Marlon, Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine) formed a "boy group" called the Jackson 5 in 1963. Their first single, “I Want You Back,” was number one on the Pop and R&B charts. It sold two million copies. By 1970, the Jackson 5 was very popular.

In 1971 Michael Jackson started his solo career at the age of 13. On August 5, 1979 Michael Jackson became the first artist to have four number one singles off one album. His popularity was quickly rising. Michael's album "Thriller" was released on November 30, 1982. It spent thirty-seven weeks at the number one spot on the Billboard Top 200 chart and became the highest selling album of all time, making history. On February 28, 1984 Michael received eight awards at the Grammys and broke many records. Michael's most influential video of all time, "Thriller," was nominated for Record of the Year and Album of the Year. Because of Michael's great success with "Thriller" and "Off the Wall", he became the biggest star of all time.

Michael Jackson had a huge international and cultural impact. He was the first black person on MTV to have a disco video "Billie Jean". This video saved MTV from losing some of its clients. At the time, MTV played music videos made by black people, or videos that had black performers in them, but they had to fit the “conventional rock” criteria. Prince and Tina Turner’s music fit this criterion.

Music is a huge part of the American culture. Michael Jackson broke many records. He changed the American culture greatly with his music, dances, and drive for perfection. Michael Jackson changed music. He helped people see that everyone is equal no matter what race you are. He showed that everyone has a certain type of talent. He showed his love and dedication to music like no other person did. Every time Michael was on stage, he would have a smile on his face because he loved what he was doing. He loved entertaining people and making them happy. He showed people that it was okay to be different. Michael affected the lives of many people. He inspired many of the artists we have today. Without the "King of Pop" we might not have some of our performers that are here today. Michael Jackson also gave to many charities, even though they weren’t publicized much. He didn’t give to charities because it might “make him more popular,” he gave to charities because it was something he wanted to do.

Growing up under the spotlight can lead to a rough life under the public eye. The media likes to make “hearsay” seem like the truth and some people will believe everything they read. Look at the accusations against Michael Jackson for child molestation, for example. People were all over that story. The media made it seem like it were true, but no one will really know the true story, except Michael. You have to admit, it would be pretty hard to deal with waking up every morning and seeing your name in the paper with something that may or may not be true.

After being under the public eye for a long time, Michael Jackson seemed to be “losing it.” He was being accused for many things, battling drugs, running out of money, and his career was fading. He overcame most of the accusations but drugs seemed to be a big problem in his life. Michael was addicted to prescription pain killers. On June 25th 2009, the legendary “King of Pop” died. He went into a cardiac arrest at the age of 50 in Los Angeles, California.

The death of “The King of Pop” put the entire world in shock. The man who had the first black disco video aired on MTV was gone. The man who changed music and dance forever was gone. Despite everything negative that happened in Michael’s life, which might have made people not like him, the world still mourned over him. Michael Jackson was well respected him for the music he made. No one has ever changed the status of pop in the world and no one has ever accomplished what Michael Jackson has accomplished in his life. He made people recognize that the biggest star could be a young black man and he broke many color barriers. Michael Jackson changed music. He changed the American culture.

Click here for a link to Micheal Jackson's famous music video "Thriller." (We are not allowed to embed the video due to copyright restrictions).

Resources:
Special Commemorative Issue Rolling Stones: Michael Jackson
XXL Presents: Michael Jackson - Special Collector's Issue

Drinking and Drving

2009-10-20T18:16:00.003-05:00

It was a Friday night in November when a young girl was invited to a bon fire at her friend’s house. She could not wait to get there and have a good time with her friends. When she arrived the party was already started. It was not the type of party she was expecting. There was beer everywhere. She was not a girl to drink. She found it gross and very dangerous.

Unfortunately, her best friend came up to her and handed her a beer and said “Let’s go, you can loosen up and have a good time tonight”. The young girl did not want to seem “un-cool” so she took the beer and started to sip it. She didn’t like the taste but after the first few gulps she started to not care about the taste anymore and became less nervous about the situation.

The young girl left the party thinking she was only “buzzed” and thought she could drive home perfectly fine. All her friends that she trusted to take her home were passed out or had already left and she needed to be home before her parents noticed she still wasn’t home at 2:00 A.M. So she got into her car thinking she wouldn’t have trouble getting home since it was only 10 minutes away. Though, when she woke up she was not safely sleeping in her bed but in the hospital. She had no idea how she got there, her mother was standing next to her crying while her father was hugging her telling her everything will be okay.

Drinking and driving does not just hurt the person that caused the problem. Sometimes the drunk driver runs off the road and hits something and hurts themselves and everyone that loves them but they do not realize that at the time. Other times the drunk driver hurts not only themselves and their loved ones; but also the love ones of the other drivers and passengers that maybe involved.

Drunk driving is a very big problem in America and has been for a long time. From 1982 to 2005 the percentage of deaths from drunk driving has dropped very much but is not completely fixed. In 1982 the percentage of deaths was 60%, though it has decreased in 2005 to 39%. The percentages for 2005 compared to 1982 is a great improvement, hopefully the numbers will keep lowering dramatically in the next couple years and continue to stay on a downward turn.

Drunk driving does not only hurt the people in the car(s), but others as well. Before you decide to drink THINK on what it can do to you and others. If you HAVE to drink make sure you can trust someone that will stay there with you and not drink to take you home safely. This problem is not only to the youth in America but also to adults as well. I used a young girl at the beginning to relate to the majority of the readers. Adults need to remember that they are not invincible as well. Some think they are “OK” to drive home but can get into an accident just as well.

Information found at:

http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/DrinkingandDriving.html

Marijuana: Why So Popular?

2009-10-20T16:02:00.002-05:00

(POSTED BY MR. WYKES FOR ROWLING)

Marijuana is the world’s most commonly used illicit drug, by far. Weed, grass, pot, dope, whatever you’d like to call it, it’s ready and available in almost every corner of the United States. It is found growing in homes, in the suburbs, and in the cities. It is also being smuggled into the United States from places like Mexico and Cambodia.
Marijuana’s main mind-altering ingredient is THC. It gives you the feeling of being “high.” The amount determines the drug’s strength. The effects of smoking marijuana are generally felt within a few minutes and the short term effects wear off within two to three hours. Marijuana induces a sense of well-being and a dreamy state of relaxation and feeling mellow that encourages fantasies and distorts perception. Users often feel an increase of hunger, or the “munchies.” Long term effects are not yet known but the THC can play a role in causing problems in the respiratory and immune systems.
Knowing this, then why is it so popular? Most of you reading this probably know the answer. It is relatively cheap and easy to obtain. According to the 1998 National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, half of all 13-year-olds said that they can find and purchase marijuana. Of teens surveyed, 49 percent said that they had first tried marijuana at age 13 or younger. The Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found adolescents who smoke marijuana are 85 times more likely to use cocaine than their peers that do not smoke marijuana. Many high school students sell marijuana to one another. Teens say that it is easier to get than beer or cigarettes.

Average Street Prices / Amount / Quality
$17.50 / 3.5grams / low
$88.75 / 28grams / low

Marijuana Prices, Chicago, 2000
KEY: [ Commercial Grades = CG Higher Grades = HG ]

Gram
$3-$5 CG
$7–$10 HG

Ounce
$50–$75 CG
$200–$500 HG

Pound
$900–$1,200 CG
$2,500–$4,000 HG

These charts are good examples of just how cheap you can get this drug. The use of hydroponic techniques, which is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil, in growing marijuana, is likely to have enhanced productivity, with a result of lower prices for consumers. The rural areas of Illinois provide an environment for the domestic growth of marijuana.
Where does the use of marijuana sit in our culture? Today many are proposing that marijuana be legalized. Advocates for legal marijuana say that a regulated, taxed marijuana trade could help boost some state’s economy. Their goal is to reduce the abuse of cannabis, the elimination of marijuana related crimes, and set up a grading system for marijuana quality and would ban additives. I think that legalizing marijuana will not be something that will happen in my generation. People that are pro legalization of marijuana probably won’t stop until they get what they want. Until then, it is important for our youth especially to be educated in its risks and what it is because people are growing it, buying it, selling it, and using it, even though it is illegal.

2009-10-19T17:40:00.003-05:00

murodjon khasanov

The Importance of the American Flag

2009-10-19T15:51:00.004-05:00

One of the most common symbols of American culture is the American Flag. They can be seen everywhere. They can be seen on houses on the way to school. They can be seen in front of schools, like Aquin. The flag is a symbol of hope, unity, and pride, but to some people in society today the reverence people should have for the flag and what it truly represents has been forgotten.

This last September, a few veterans came to Aquin. They talked to us about the importance of the American Flag. We were shown how to fold the American Flag properly. He also explained The Pledge of Alligence to us, word for word. This explained to the other students and me how important the American Flag really is to our country.

The American Flag is a symbol of pride and hope. It is a symbol of unity; the unity of the 50 states. It also represents all of the men and women who are fighting, and those who have died, protecting the USA.

After this, we were shown examples of how people had disrespected the flag. They showed us flags that were ripped and torn, but they also showed us flags that had images drawn, painted, or sewn onto them. These are just a few examples of how people disrespect the American Flag.

People have also used the American Flag to show their support for the country. On September 11, 2001 Wal-Mart sold a whopping 116,000 American Flags on that day alone. How does this compare? On September 11, 2000, one year earlier, 6,400 American Flags were sold by Wal-Mart. This really shows that when the country needed our help the most, the citizens supported it. http://www.sptimes.com/2002/09/08/911/911_for_the_record.shtml

Our country's way of displaying our flag is somewhat rare among the other countries. In many countries, such as Germany and Italy, their flag is rarely, if ever, displayed. In other countries, such as Norway and The United States, the flag is displayed where ever and whenever it is possible. http://flagspot.net/flags/xf-disp.html

When I was younger, my family used to host foreign exchange students in our home for a few weeks each year. One women, I do not remember where she was from, asked my mom why we display flags everywhere in our country. My mom told her that it shows unity and that we support our country. My mom was surprised to find out that she did not do the same in her country. The woman still could not grasp the idea. She said the she thought it was weird, and a bit tacky. She did not see the point in displaying your country's flag.

The American Flags is a symbol of pride, hope, unity, and it represents everyone fighting for the country. Displaying the American Flag at your homes show that you support the USA even if you do not agree with everything that the President says or does. I believe that everyone should display the flag at their home to show their support.

Sports: Pros and Cons

2009-10-18T22:32:00.001-05:00

Sports are a very big part of America and the world. According to the Washington Post, 55.2 percent of High School students are involved in sports. At small schools this number is even greater. Professional athletes are some of the highest paid and most respected (or least in some cases) in the world. People have parties and celebrate just to watch a sporting event on TV. The impact of sports on this nation is phenomenal.

Participating in sports is something that everyone wants to take part in. This can be very helpful in developing social skills like creating friends with teammates and even creates a sense of competition. Your entire life you will have to deal with other people. Some may like you and some may not. This is easily exemplified by your team or your competition in sports.

Discipline is a very important skill that can be developed while playing sports. In sports you need to arrive to practice on time, be prepared for anything, and be relied upon by your teammates and coach. You have to work hard with your grades in order to stay eligible. This is easily relatable to your job life. If you’re always late, disrespect your coworkers, and never get any work done then you should be swiftly fired.

An interest in sports may also lead to bad things. A first is a lack of interest in academics. You may just keep your grades high enough to play but always think sports first and school after. A typical stereotype for someone that plays a sport is that they are an arrogant jerk, also known as the jock. This shows that bad social skills may be developed if you regard yourself as physically better than others. This will get you nowhere in life because no matter who you are, there is someone more powerful than you.

Sports also have another side-effect. They are the party and betting aspects of sports. Betting is always a bad habit to have. Betting is illegal in many sports and it’s also advocated in others. Betting in the illegal side is hidden through things like fantasy leagues and the sort. They involve a group of people picking athletes to be on there team and they keep track of points that they earn in order to beat the other teams. This makes it seem like it’s fair competition but it’s just like betting.

The partying side of sports can also get out of hand. On many occasions, streets and towns have been utterly destroyed because of fan celebrations. Fans roam the streets drinking and partying. They flip cars and vandalize street signs and buildings. In 1994, a riot broke out in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada after Canucks lost to the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup finals, which resulted in a reported 200 people injured and 50 arrested.

Sports can be a very fun and exhilarating source of entertainment. We can learn some of life’s valuable lessons from competing and be led into some life lows by watching it. No matter how sports are looked at they will remain one of the biggest parts of American culture.

Information found at:

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=8086868

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/16/sports/200-injured-in-vancouver.html

Get Out and Meet People!

2009-10-18T14:32:00.005-05:00

So we have all seen it; people who cannot stop texting, people who never log off their computers, and friends who check Facebook every free minute they have. People rely so heavily on technology for "human interaction." Anyone can log onto a computer and create an account on a dating website, or they can make long lasting friendships on networking sites. Every time people get together someone has their phone out texting, talking, surfing the Internet. Can we no longer enjoy the people with us physically? Or must we find connections through a screen? I believe technology is hurting communication in America. There are many people who do not know when to put it away.

It used to be that adults yelled at their children for having their phones at the dinner table, now parents even have their phones out during family time. Teenagers have been seen texting in church and the occasional adult leaves for an emergency phone call. Now I am not saying cell phones are all together a horrible thing. Doctors have them in case a patient needs to contact them quickly. Ask people if they would live without their cell phone or hot water for one week, many would probably give up the hot water.

Their is actually a program in which an adult can record themselves reading a book and put it in an mp3 format so that their child can listen to them read at any time. I understand if a parent is separated by a long distance and wants their child to hear their voice, but there are workaholic parents who would rather record themselves than actually put the work away for twenty minutes to read to their child. Schools do everything online. Announcements are posted online and updated frequently, but for the people who don't log onto their computers hourly these may be missed. If it is not announced at the beginning of the school day I have no idea what is going on. When a college posts things online it is understandable because there are hundreds or thousands of students, but when a school holding less than 150 students posts everything online and doesn't always announce things, that is crazy.

Many people say the Internet is more convenient. You can pay bills online, grocery shop, Christmas shop, fall in love, find friends. Really? It takes ten minutes tops, to go inside the post office, buy stamps, place them on the envelopes, and drop them in a mailbox. You may even have to talk to postman, but it is so sad that people honestly cannot take the time to do that simple chore. The Internet has the possibility to make someone a shut in! You can order groceries online and have them delivered to your front door! If you want to meet people go to a club, go to church, go outside of your house! Where do we draw the line between convenience and avoidance?

My main point is that people should not rely on the Internet to meet people or avoid actual interaction. Don't use your phone constantly, you may miss the good times around you. Hopefully when we grow up and have families we can take time and read to our children.

What are the Chicago Bears doing?

2009-10-18T12:51:00.003-05:00

The Chicago Bears need to make a few changes on their team to become an even better team than they are now. The changes that the Bears need to make to become a successful football team are these. They need to pick someone up from a different team for the middle linebacker position. Hunter Hillenmeyer is a great outside linebacker, but I do not think he can replace Brian Urlacher at middle linebacker. If they fix this problem, they will be able to limit the yards that the running backs of the opposing team will have in a game, and it will put less pressure on Lance Briggs.
The next problem the Bears have on defense is their secondary. The main problem with the secondary is that they are getting beat by the opposing receivers on pass plays. Another problem, is that they need to start tackling players more on plays in the game and not letting them break tackles for big plays. The Bears should have resigned Mike Brown for another season as the safety because he was the kind of player where he whould hit you once and you would be on the ground. They did not resign him, so they lost a good player on defense that they needed this season.
Some more problems the Bears have are not on defense, but are on offense. The problems on offense are with Ron Turner and his play calling. The problem with his play calling is that he does not let Cutler throw the ball deep as much as he should. If he did this, Cutler would be throwing over three hundred yards every game instead of throwing for one hundred yards. Turner also needs to stop running Matt Forte up the gut and start running him off the tackle more. One more thing Turner needs to do is start calling more screens, and outside runs with Garret Wolf. If the Bears do all this on offense then they will let Cutler throw the ball for more yards and it will let Forte run the ball for more yards, and this will take pressure off the defense.
The Bears need to realize their weaknesses in all of these area and get better so that they can win more games. If they can fix their defense and get it back on track so that it is creating more turnovers and having more three and outs, by getting the offense the ball more it will help them out alot. The Bears have the talent to win the Super Bowl, they just have to use it in football games that they play. This season they look much better then they did last year, and if Cutler keeps managing the football games then the Bears should have high hopes for a Super Bowl win.

Drugs and Alcohol - Are they worth the risk?

2009-10-17T10:39:00.007-05:00

A sixteen year old girl is pressured to have a beer at a party. Three seventeen year old boys share a joint late at night. A little boy and his mother are killed by a drunk driver. The star quarterback is kicked off the team for posession of marijuana. These are all examples of teen drug and alcohol abuse in America today. Teens claim that using drugs and alcohol provide them with enjoyment and relaxation, but is it really worth the risk?

In recent years, the pressure on teens to use drugs and alcohol has greatly intensified. Teens are often found getting completely wasted at parties and sneaking drugs past their parents and authorities. So just what is it about drugs and alcohol that is so appealing to our generation? Perhaps it is the feeling achieved when one is high or drunk. Perhaps it is the fact that using these substances results in impaired judgement, causing the user to act in a ridiculous manner and partake in activities not normally done while sober. Or perhaps it is simply the fact that using drugs and alcohol is illegal. Teens constantly feel the need to push limits and go against what is right, so they are attracted to drug and alcohol use simply for the fact that it is wrong.

Drug and alcohol use may seem harmless at first, however it slowly turns into an addiction and becomes nearly impossible to stop. On top of their addictive nature, drugs and alcohol have an extremely negative effect on teens and can result in severe punishment. Teens who use drugs and alcohol generally have the idea that they will not get caught or punished, however that is not usually the case. Punishment for drug and alcohol use ranges from community service to being kicked off of sports teams to jail time. In worst case scenarios it can even result in death.

Our generation is beginning to experiment with drugs and alcohol at even earlier ages. This has led to greater peer pressure to begin using drugs and alcohol. The fact of the matter is that drugs and alcohol are dangerous and should not be used by teenagers. Sure, you can drink alcohol with moderation when you are twenty-one, but there is no reason to drink it before then. Teens claim they "cannot have fun without alcohol or drugs." I will be the first to tell you that that statement is incorrect. There are plenty of better things to do with your time.

Each and every teenager has an extremely bright future ahead of them and the potential to do great things, but too many of them throw that opportunity away on drugs and alcohol. Please do not do that to yourself. I have a challenge for all of you. Make a commitment to abstain from using drugs and alcohol. Have the power to say "No" when someone tells you to have a drink at a party or smoke weed with them. Above all, do not pressure others to use drugs and alcohol. I assure you, you are not alone in this. There is a great number of teens that do not drink or do drugs that would be glad to help you in your choice. Make the decison today to create a brighter future for tomorrow.

Skinny Size Me

2009-10-15T21:04:00.003-05:00

It is 5:30 AM on a Tuesday morning when Megan gets up, she is unbearably tired, but she eventually forces herself too get up and work out from the depressing thoughts she has about her body image. Megan wears a size eight jean and has a BMI of 18, which is a very healthy size but feels she is fat from looking at all the models on TV and her peers at school. This is not uncommon for teenagers in our society today. The constant strive to fit in and not stand out is so strong that in some cases all forms of happiness can be lost in attempts to conform to something such as being anorexic.

In our media today size-0 bodies are idolized. You can’t turn on the television without seeing a commercial with an anorexic sized model advertising her product, or a commercial promoting a weight loss program and pill. Why do we idolize these unnaturally thin women as our picture of “beautiful” and strive to make ourselves conform to this image? Why do we promote something harmful for ourselves that is ultimately a life threatening condition?

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 0.5-3.7% of women will suffer from anorexia in their life; 1.1-4.2% will suffer from bulimia, and 2-5% for a binge eating disorder. These rates make anorexia related deaths 12 times higher than other mental illness related deaths for women ages 15-24. This age range is also the age range targeted by the media through TV, magazines, and other forms of advertisements. They target this age because this is the age of finding your identity, and the TV hopes to “brainwash” you into believing obsessing about your weight, and using fad diets will make you ultimately happy. We need to realize everyone has different body shapes, sizes, and metabolism rates. Instead of sending the message to young adults and kids through the media that you need to change your body to look like a skinny celebrity we need to be promoting self confidence and loving your body just the way it is with a healthy appetite and adequate amount of exercise.

Today even modeling agencies have put bans on model companies having realized the effects of being too skinny and the message it is sending viewers. The World Health Organization’s have promoted stopping the acceptance of models with a BMI of 14.5 and lower since the tragic death of 98-pound 5’9 Uruguayan model Luisel Ramos. Ramos dropped dead on a fashion show in Montevideo, Uruguay on August 2, 2006. Her death was due to heart failure caused by anorexia nervosa. A BMI being held at 16 or lower is considered starvation by the World Health Organization, but everyday size-0 models still walk the runways with BMI’s of lower than 16, just like the media still promotes losing weight to be happy and fulfill all your life’s dreams.

Women think looking stick skinny is also what men want, but studies of anthropology show that men prefer women with a greater hip to waist ratio. Men are very visual and women generally try to make themselves seem as attractive as possible to males, but by losing weight and hurting themselves in the process they are ultimately doing the exact opposite. The greater the hips creates the bigger buttocks, and studies conducted by Harvard College show that men prefer women to be in the middle ratio and have some curves rather than be stick skinny. < http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~hbe-lab/acrobatfiles/profilewhr.pdf>

Evidence of anorexia is very alive in every community, and virtually every person knows its harmful effects, but still seems to strive towards it. Hopefully someday women can come to peace with their bodies, and know they are beautiful just the way they are. This day will not come easy with the media heavily promoting skinny models to sell products and weight loss fads, but I have confidence that through education someday we will come to realize it’s not worth it to hurt yourself. You don’t need to be a size-0 to be happy!

What’s the different of U.S food and Japanese food.

2009-10-13T17:15:00.004-05:00

If the foreign country people come to U.S and think about the U.S foods. U.S is 25 bigger than Japan also There are 4 standard time. The climate is different. If you go San Francisco it always spring and if you go to Miami it’s always perpetual summer. At winter time the NY is will be 40 and cold. There are many people came over from foreign country to U.S even the food culture too. If you have a frozen food every one can make speedy and tasty food. Of course each one sense of values are different for each origin.

If you divide the religion at U.S there are Catholic people and Protestant people. Protestant people is contract society and catholic are area society (I’m sorry if I get wrong) On the food Catholic is making the beer wine and cheese. 100 years ago in the “Little House on the Prairie” is description about American old west time. In this play the people try to make the preserved food for winter times. They likes jam. pickles and Team time the apple pie is on the table. Also they ate cornbread ,bean soup, Turkey. Now these days people normal eating pizza, Apple pie ,cheese cake , hamburger meat loaf , taco , steak , clam chowder fried chicken and Gingerbread house etc... U.S don’t get tax so much for food so I liked that point.

History of Japanese food.

The 1400BC-400BC the people doing food boiled, grilled. The tea and special foods are came to china Buddhism. This special foods are Buddhist cuisine. At the same time the Buddhism teach the don’t eat the animal (like cow, pig).

Heian period 794-1185 Japan got a lot of influence a lot to china. Karaage (soy-flavored chicken) and Natto (stick been) is coming out. Muromachi period 1336-1573 people made a food manners a lot and get use to it. This time Castella is coming out to the westerners people. Edo period People are eating lot of flavor Tempura, Soba, Sushi. This time sugar is just came out and people is making a lot of sweets too.

How about Japanese people eats. We usually eat lice or bread a lot. Usually we eat the Japanese foods are Sushi (We don’t eat California Roll so much) Sashimi (fresh row seafood made by fish) Soba (Japanese Noodles) Tempura (deep fried battered meat seafood vegetable) Omurice (omelette + rice) Hayashi rice (western style dish)

What the characteristics of Japanese food? First the usually Japanese foods are low fat and salty. Normally we are using lice, grain, vegetable,　been, fruit, fish, seaweed, chicken. Specially we are good to processing seaweed and soybean. Normally we eat raw fish and seaweed. The processing soybean is the most characteristic of Japanese food. We are not development at meat and dairy product so much yet. For flavor basic we use the stock , salt , soy sauce , soybean paste (which fermentation the soy been) sake, vinegar. To sweet use the Mizuame (water candy) , Mirin (rice wine) now these days we use the sugar too. A little bit of Canola oil, Sesami oil and don’t use the lard so much. The point is Japanese foods are use the water a lot.

How to set the table

Normally we put the lice, miso soup and something. 3 dish (One main dish and two side dish). People it what ever they wont eat first. But normally first eat pickled vegetables with rice then take the miso soup. Tea-ceremony dishes (la carte dish) are bring the one topic for each turn. It’s not like course.

Plates : We use the Lacquerware, porcelain, etc… staff and put the pattern on there. But these staff are relic. Normally use the chopstick, teacup (like deep cup) also we use fork, spoon, knife too.

"A Real Captain America"

2009-10-12T18:21:00.006-05:00

In the modern world, everyday heroes are admired. People show respect for people who show courage in jobs like the police force, firefighters, soldiers, and doctors. Should we be thankful for these people? The answer is an immediate yes, but can they truly compare to the heroes saving the world in movies, comics, and television? It seems America could use an invincible hero to come in and save the day. What if there really was a superhero that protected America?

When a "superhero" is mentioned, millions of controversies and stereotypes rush to mind. Would the hero have superpowers? Is that even possible? It is much more likely they would be an average person with some sort of extraordinary skill and technology. Would the government support the hero, or would they be on the James Jonah Jameson's "Most Wanted?" The hero could be either male or female. This could cause many sexist views in the eyes of the public and cause a division of allegiance to the hero. What if there is more than one hero? There is the possibility of a group or band, such as the X-Men or Justice League. The basis for a superhero in modern life is so absurd because of the many imaginations of the people in the world today.

The superhero would have an incredible amount of duties in America each and every day. There are governmental issues, and also the depressing state of the war. The hero could be used in protection against enemy forces. There is also the case of everyday crimes in American cities and towns. The hero would have to choose between being localized in a single location or a national force. This could cause the citizens to feel unfairness and inequality if the hero favors one location over another. Another issue would include transportation and how the hero would get to their destinations in enough time to rescue the cause.

Media and literature would be quick to adapt to a "real superhero" in America. The tabloids would constantly be filled with updates on the superhero's actions and accomplishments. They would also likely contain the hero's failures and faults. Millions of interviews would be requested with the hero to be published worldwide. Books would be written about the hero, such as biographies and even short fiction stories. Many new comics may be started about the "real hero," and they would have to be determined as whether they are nonfiction or not. The hero may even write their own autobiography in their old age.

An American superhero would alter the American culture as a whole. There would be a whole new symbol for American patriotism and bravery. The country would find a whole new source of dependence and many things in the nation would change. A new sense of security would rise about. The main question is whether America would change for the better or for the worst. Well, unless some brave hero steps up to the task, perhaps America will never know.

Instant Gratification- Good or Bad?

2009-10-11T13:23:00.004-05:00

In American culture, the idea of instant gratification is continually seen on a daily basis. We, as Americans, have learned that we should get what we want exactly when we want it. In some ways, being subjected to this way of life has made us lazy and impatient.

How many times a day do we hear or see a slogan that says, “Doing this will bring you instant gratification”, or “You can win instantly”? Instant gratification is seen in numerous ways: the internet, e-mail, fast food restaurants, game shows, etc. We use these things because we are too lazy to do things for ourselves or because the other method that we could use takes too long. For example, people go to fast food restaurants instead of making something themselves because they don’t have enough time to make something or they are too tired to do it themselves. Or, people nowadays just watch the movie because it takes too long to read the book.

In doing this don’t we lose some of the value of what things are? Sure, it might take you some time to make yourself something to eat, but usually wouldn’t it be a healthier choice to do this? And yes, it might take awhile to read the book, but in just watching the movie what important information from the book are you losing? These are the types of questions we should ask ourselves before we make the choice of doing what is the fastest or what takes the least amount of effort.

Sometimes the idea of instant gratification results in someone taking credit for something someone else did. One of the main examples of this is plagiarism. Through instant gratification we are too lazy to do things ourselves, and we think that everything should just be “spoon fed” to us, and that everything should take no effort whatsoever.

In my opinion, communication is one of the few things that have been improved by instant gratification. Instead of waiting for a letter to be sent so that you can talk to someone or find out what has happened in another part of the world, we have e-mail, telephones, television, cell phones, and the internet. These devices help us find out important information right away, which can be very useful. In spite of the good things they do, they also have their down sides. Cell phones, for example, allow us to get important information to each other, but nowadays everyone is always sending text messages instead of talking face to face.

Instant gratification can be seen as both good and bad. It can help us get things done right away, but that isn’t always a good thing. Also, it has helped us to become more advanced in technology from wanting to get information right away. Americans have a culture that focuses around people getting what they want instantly, but what we need to decide is if it is helping us or hurting us.

The Desensitization of Sex in modern American culture

2009-10-05T18:46:00.016-05:00

All we have to do is turn on the television or go on the Internet to find out what the media selling us. Here's a hint: its sex. More than ever sex has become a huge part of our media and culture. For the first time we are seeing more and more ads asking us if were lonely, sexually active, or are wishing to be sexually active. Commercials for condoms, male and female enhancement products, and personal lubricants plague our television, proposing to increase the experience tenfold every time you make love. Meanwhile, every time you log on to the Internet, ads for meeting single men or women (offering to help you "get laid tonight!!!"), or pop-ups offering pornography bombard your eyes, and, sometimes, ears now that audio has been added to many online advertisements.

The fact of the matter is, sex just isn't sacred anymore. Due to the subtle or outright assault by the media's use of sexual advertising, sex is in the same boat as video games. They're both viewed as offering brief entertainment, a sense of worth, (when you beat the game) and a relief from stress and tensions. Sex isn't meant to be a tool for us to entertain ourselves with, its an act that's supposed to be beautiful, sacred, and only with someone you love and who loves you back, completely. Catholics would argue that this carnal delight is only for those who are married, but the majority of us ignore that fact. And, why do we ignore it? I argue human nature. Sex feels good, period. It's in our nature to do what feels good as soon as possible and also as often as possible. But, we don't to destroy the ideas of love, tastefullness, and self-control in the process.

Though our sights can get muddled with all this stuff in our media, we need to get it straight what our goals are if we consider ourselves respectable. Like I said, sex can be a beautiful and amazing thing if it's between two people who love each other and keep the idea honorable in their hearts instead of an indulgent generation such asmine and my friends, who treat sex as if it were the most unimportant and passing thing in the world. I propose something unheard of to my generation; wait. Wait until you truly know you're in love with the person that you want to do this with. Don't risk your health and your self-respect by wasting this gift with someone you barely know or care about. Otherwise you might as well be throwing love away and all that love stands for. We can stay respectable in this sense as an American society. It's possible, it just takes a few changes. I talk to my generation when I say, don't listen to the media. Their best interest is themselves. Its been that way forever and it always be. We have the priviledge of having a Christian education. If nothing, our religion has tought us to value love above all other human emotions. Don't make a mockary of love by being an indulgent, perverse being by having sex with people you don't love or care about.

Now I will counter david's funny picture with one of my ownnnnn MUAHAHAHAHA!

(This user's picture was removed by Mr. Wykes due to its insensitive nature. Trust me on this one, it was funny and stuff. Just not appropriate.)

The Internet. A blessing, or a curse?

2009-09-01T22:24:00.005-05:00

In the modern age of cyberspace, any kid across the globe can hit a few keys and have all the information in the world at his fingertips. This is especially prevalent in the United States, where more than 70% of the population logs on the web at least once a day. One has to think then, "This is a good thing, right? Why in the world would having this all-knowing entity at our beck and call be bad?" Well, sometimes, not everything you find (for lack of a better term) should be found.

Because of the pure animosity of the internet, one is not held responsible for his actions. Any joe shmoe can log in, post whatever his mind can delude him into thinking, and write it off as truth. We see this often in our school systems; so called "Wikipedia-warriors" coming in with no actual knowledge of what the subject is about. Us as Americans are most likely more apt to do this, as we rely more heavily on computers and cyberspace then any other culture in history. We have all the libraries and museums we could possibly ask for, but instead we choose the path of the keyboard, logging on to fulfill our information needs, rather than visit these buildings.

You have to remember though, I'm not saying that everything on the internet is a fallacy. Some of the best things you could ever learn is waiting for you, lurking behind some website URL, or in a random trivia page. In order to find these "Oasises" of learning though, you have to do a bit of research. When you find a piece of info you think is true, make sure to cross check it against other, reliable websites. Obviously, you should probably trust an official Webster's Dictionary site over some random message board when pertaining to the usage of words.

And I'm not even going to start on the topic of viruses and the like.

But I've dragged on long enough about this, you guys would probably be happy (Insert picture here to distract you...look at the picture.....

(Lol I love this picture)

But the morale of this blog is simply this. Watch what you find on the internet, not all of it is out to help you.

Longfellow out.

The Meaning of "American Literature"

2009-08-10T23:13:00.009-05:00

Here's a question that bothers some people late at night when they're standing in front of the open refrigerator door, their midnight-snack run interrupted by an unwanted thought that has been nagging at the back of their mind all day:

- Just what does "American Literature" mean, anyway!? -

Now if that person happens to hold a degree in English, they may have some luck: they know they've got to understand each of those largish words separately (it's late, after all, and half their attention is focused on the cheese, inspecting it for mold). "Literature" is perhaps the easier of the two. To the English student, "literature" denotes a collection of art. It has connotations, too: "literature" is usually thought of as written art, and often considered to be somehow superior to other examples of the same art form(s). This means that "American Literature" must be a collection of American art, with an emphasis on well-written examples.

The only thing left standing in the way of the student's understanding is that first and more formidable word, "American." What does that mean? But it's late, and they've got the cheese in their mouth, and at this point most people shamble off to bed, their nocturnal hunger sated. Yet the refrigerator door is left hanging open, just like this question -

What does "American" mean?