Since Spring Break is coming soon I figured I would discuss it. I found an article that was written in USA Today a while back and it talks about all of the college kids taveling to other states/countries and the amount of alcohol,drugs,and sex their having. It also mentions how hotels will have certain deals and good prices in order to attract a lot of people. Overall critics are saying that the promoters are the ones to be blamed for all of the madness that goes on during Spring Break
The reason I picked Spring Break was because as a college student and knowing other college students the main reason to travel is for the sun, alcohol, and opposite sex. Some of the beaches that get bombarded with tourists like Cancun and Florida coasts have so many people that the beaches get trashed. I can't imagine walking on a beach the next day and stepping on a beer can thats semi buried in the sand. Spring Break can really damage our enviroment with the trash and all the drunk idiots causing mayhem and in the ocean with all the junk that could possibly float around in it.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Take Home Final: Relationship with Food
Spencer Grummel
Samantha Mudd
English 151
14 March, 2011
During this quarter and our food week especially, we have talked about sustainable foods and what "good" and "bad" foods are. There are so many different types of food in the worlds, and also many variations of foods on our healthy food pyramid that tells us what we should be eating on a daily basis. Our nation is the fattest nation in the world and people know why but yet nothing has been done to change it. That reason is from all of the horrible food that people eat like fast food. I’m not saying that eating fast food once will kill you but when you choose to eat it every day, that’s when it will catch up to you quickly. A solution to our obese nation would be to start decreasing fast food places and increase organic and whole food markets. I remember growing up and my mom always saying, "You have to eat your vegetables before you can leave the table". As I have grown up I have witness why easy things like eating vegetables can become so important. Throughout my life I have critically changed my eating habits, seen the different ways foods can be processed, and have seen the role food plays in our society.
When I was younger I never really cared about what I was eating or drinking, but since college has started I have learned a lot of pros and cons about specific types of foods. In high school I used to eat fast food and drink iced tea by the gallon and think nothing of it. Now I can barely look at a McDonalds sign without my stomach turning just the slightest bit. Ever since I got into college I have made it my mission to try and get into better health and not gain the infamous "Freshman 15". Unfortunately I have gained some of that 15 but I also have made sure that I work out every day, so I’m not sure if it’s from lifting or from poor choices. Being in college, you definitely have to have self-discipline and have to make sure you eat healthy because you won’t have your parents here to cook meals for you. So it’s up to you to get the essential daily foods. My winter quarter I have made it a goal to myself to eat healthier, and that means more fruit and greens and less fried foods and pizza.
The current health topic that’s getting nutritionists all worked up is High Fructose Corn Syrup and discussing how horrible it actually is for you. HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) is a top ingredient in making iced teas like Brisk. Having taken human biology and learning about foods and how each type of foods react to your body differently has really opened my eyes and made me check to see what it is I’m actually consuming. I feel proud of myself when I stop and take the time to read the ingredients of foods before eating them. Sometimes products will have a healthy comment on the front like "No trans fats", but you have to look to the ingredients and the nutrition facts to actually see if there are any Trans fats. Marketers are smart like that so they let you think that you’re eating something kind of healthy but really you’re still eating junk, unless you read the label. My brother is pretty good at noticing what he puts in his body. He spent a lot of his college career studying to be a physical therapist but then later decided to change his major to exercise physiologist. Apart of that is community health and that’s where he gets to run programs and inform people of healthy eating habits to try and get people aware of the obesity rate in America. He always says if you can exercise and eat right, then life will come a lot easier to you because you always got your health. Going along with that, you should always know what you are consuming and how it’s made.
After watching Food Inc. that has, and always will, affect my perception of how the fast food industry is better at cutting corners and ripping people off then actually producing a decent product. But the thing that really gets under my skin is that they act like nothing is wrong with what they’re doing. If someone finds a chicken head in their box of chicken wings, there is a problem. If you have been put on trial after trial from people claiming that your food is horrible for their kids, there is a problem. Personally if things don’t change with these huge food corporations within the next 2 years, I see them consuming up other food markets and all that will be left is fast food or junk food. Now I have worked in a kitchen/dining room for over 5 years and a lot of the food isn’t what I would call homemade. Almost all of our vegetables are frozen and then thawed out and steamed to be ready. The problem with steaming vegetables and not cooking them properly is that while steaming them they lose a lot of their natural vitamins and minerals. Other foods that we make are sloppily made because of laziness and it’s not always the healthiest for the people we serve. But overall I would say that everything is ok to eat and the food is fresh. Hopefully things will change for the better and not the worse.
Sometimes I wonder if food places like Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Burger King, McDonalds, and other fast food places have always been treating their meat terribly. Some of these fast food places have been open for close to over 50 years and have they been doing things the same way since they’ve been open? Food Inc. showed the horrible process that food corporations go through to get their meat; that process included cramming cows into small tight pens with manure everywhere with the smell of a rotting body and then slaughtering these cows without the slightest bit care for any sort of disease. How can’t this be noticed by more people and brought to the attention of society?
Or maybe the real question to ask would be why should society care? I believe it is society’s right to know what goes on behind closed doors and actually know who their food is being processed. We are the ones eating the food so it’s only fair to know what we’re putting in our bodies. When Warren Taylor came to our class and spoke, the very first thing I noticed was how ambitious and passionate towards his work that he was doing. I thought to myself how could one guy get so excited over milk? Then I realized it wasn’t just about milk, it’s about society as a whole and our overall health. He found happiness in his work because he was more worried about other people than himself and by doing that he became successful. It’s not about making money, for Warren it’s about making a good product that is better for people, made the correct way, and can change people’s lives in the long run.
Samantha Mudd
English 151
14 March, 2011
During this quarter and our food week especially, we have talked about sustainable foods and what "good" and "bad" foods are. There are so many different types of food in the worlds, and also many variations of foods on our healthy food pyramid that tells us what we should be eating on a daily basis. Our nation is the fattest nation in the world and people know why but yet nothing has been done to change it. That reason is from all of the horrible food that people eat like fast food. I’m not saying that eating fast food once will kill you but when you choose to eat it every day, that’s when it will catch up to you quickly. A solution to our obese nation would be to start decreasing fast food places and increase organic and whole food markets. I remember growing up and my mom always saying, "You have to eat your vegetables before you can leave the table". As I have grown up I have witness why easy things like eating vegetables can become so important. Throughout my life I have critically changed my eating habits, seen the different ways foods can be processed, and have seen the role food plays in our society.
When I was younger I never really cared about what I was eating or drinking, but since college has started I have learned a lot of pros and cons about specific types of foods. In high school I used to eat fast food and drink iced tea by the gallon and think nothing of it. Now I can barely look at a McDonalds sign without my stomach turning just the slightest bit. Ever since I got into college I have made it my mission to try and get into better health and not gain the infamous "Freshman 15". Unfortunately I have gained some of that 15 but I also have made sure that I work out every day, so I’m not sure if it’s from lifting or from poor choices. Being in college, you definitely have to have self-discipline and have to make sure you eat healthy because you won’t have your parents here to cook meals for you. So it’s up to you to get the essential daily foods. My winter quarter I have made it a goal to myself to eat healthier, and that means more fruit and greens and less fried foods and pizza.
The current health topic that’s getting nutritionists all worked up is High Fructose Corn Syrup and discussing how horrible it actually is for you. HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) is a top ingredient in making iced teas like Brisk. Having taken human biology and learning about foods and how each type of foods react to your body differently has really opened my eyes and made me check to see what it is I’m actually consuming. I feel proud of myself when I stop and take the time to read the ingredients of foods before eating them. Sometimes products will have a healthy comment on the front like "No trans fats", but you have to look to the ingredients and the nutrition facts to actually see if there are any Trans fats. Marketers are smart like that so they let you think that you’re eating something kind of healthy but really you’re still eating junk, unless you read the label. My brother is pretty good at noticing what he puts in his body. He spent a lot of his college career studying to be a physical therapist but then later decided to change his major to exercise physiologist. Apart of that is community health and that’s where he gets to run programs and inform people of healthy eating habits to try and get people aware of the obesity rate in America. He always says if you can exercise and eat right, then life will come a lot easier to you because you always got your health. Going along with that, you should always know what you are consuming and how it’s made.
After watching Food Inc. that has, and always will, affect my perception of how the fast food industry is better at cutting corners and ripping people off then actually producing a decent product. But the thing that really gets under my skin is that they act like nothing is wrong with what they’re doing. If someone finds a chicken head in their box of chicken wings, there is a problem. If you have been put on trial after trial from people claiming that your food is horrible for their kids, there is a problem. Personally if things don’t change with these huge food corporations within the next 2 years, I see them consuming up other food markets and all that will be left is fast food or junk food. Now I have worked in a kitchen/dining room for over 5 years and a lot of the food isn’t what I would call homemade. Almost all of our vegetables are frozen and then thawed out and steamed to be ready. The problem with steaming vegetables and not cooking them properly is that while steaming them they lose a lot of their natural vitamins and minerals. Other foods that we make are sloppily made because of laziness and it’s not always the healthiest for the people we serve. But overall I would say that everything is ok to eat and the food is fresh. Hopefully things will change for the better and not the worse.
Sometimes I wonder if food places like Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Burger King, McDonalds, and other fast food places have always been treating their meat terribly. Some of these fast food places have been open for close to over 50 years and have they been doing things the same way since they’ve been open? Food Inc. showed the horrible process that food corporations go through to get their meat; that process included cramming cows into small tight pens with manure everywhere with the smell of a rotting body and then slaughtering these cows without the slightest bit care for any sort of disease. How can’t this be noticed by more people and brought to the attention of society?
Or maybe the real question to ask would be why should society care? I believe it is society’s right to know what goes on behind closed doors and actually know who their food is being processed. We are the ones eating the food so it’s only fair to know what we’re putting in our bodies. When Warren Taylor came to our class and spoke, the very first thing I noticed was how ambitious and passionate towards his work that he was doing. I thought to myself how could one guy get so excited over milk? Then I realized it wasn’t just about milk, it’s about society as a whole and our overall health. He found happiness in his work because he was more worried about other people than himself and by doing that he became successful. It’s not about making money, for Warren it’s about making a good product that is better for people, made the correct way, and can change people’s lives in the long run.
Take Home Final: Seeing My Future
Spencer Grummel
Samantha Mudd
English 151
16 March 2011
The future, what about it? You can try anything and everything you want to stop it, but it’s still going to come. Matter of fact the future is here now. Everything that you do in the present will affect the future in some way, shape or form. That’s why I try and make sure that every day I wake up I embrace the day with a positive attitude and a smile on my face. Right now I’m sitting in my dorm room typing this essay and thinking about how to get the words out of my head and onto the computer. With every word I type it’s slowly determining my grade, and that grade is what will help me proceed through the course of education to pursue my goal. When people set goals, I feel like sometimes they set them too low. For example, “I want to lose 10 pounds this month”. Don’t get me wrong I think being fit is a great goal but on the other hand my overall goal in life is to help as many people as I can before I die. I say the perfect job for helping people and getting their lives back on the right track was to be a police officer. But that’s just a goal for later when I do get a job; so honestly I can’t say where I’m going to be in a couple years. The future is something that cannot be predicted no matter what people say. So hopefully, I will be successful in a career that I love, our country will have fewer issues and headed towards a positive future, and overall the world will be a better place to be a part of.
In order to accomplish my number one goal in life I figured that I needed to go through at least 4 roadblocks in the future. Those roadblocks are, graduate college, join or skip the academy, get accepted into the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), and be successful. Currently I am on the right path to succeed in that first monumental step, but I still have 3 years and a quarter left (hoping for the 4-year plan). As of now I need to look further into the academy and what all of the details are with joining or not. If it is not necessary to join the academy then I will try to start off and applying to different police departments in Columbus or near it. I have gotten the opportunity to shoot with Delaware officers and absolutely loved it. I owe every chance that I have gotten to work with real police officers and ask questions to my mom. She is a big reason why I chose to become a cop; she always taught me to be selfless and worry about others. Another thing she taught me while I was supposed to be cleaning with my brother was that things get done a lot faster and better with cooperation. When I pulled all of these attributes together it made me want to have the ability to work with a team of guys to “take down the bad guys”. Drug Enforcement Administration (or Agency) provides just that. You get to work with a small team of guys to go around and look for drugs that are being trafficked. If my plan works out and do get accepted to be a part of the DEA then my goal will almost be complete. Lastly, I also want to be successful. Now success can be defined in many different ways to a variety of different people. My definition of success is to be happy with myself and the people I interact with. I ask a lot of my friends what they want to be in life and how they define success. And almost every answer is, “I don’t know, I just want to be rich”. Money is always the last thing on my mind whenever I hear the word success. To me I feel like that is the saddest and most pathetic answer you could possibly say. Then my follow up question that I ask is, “So what are you going to do if you get stuck with a job that pays well but you can’t stand doing the work and hate it?” The most common response, “Uhhh I don’t know”. I guess the point that I am trying to prove is that you don’t really know where the future is going to take you, so you should always be prepared with a plan on where you really want to be in life.
I use to think that our country had a plan but when I step back and see all of the trouble we are facing like the economy, war (the Middle East and domestic struggles), poverty, and other issues; it is a very disturbing thing to look at. Our economy is in trillions of dollars of debt and usually when most people see a negative sign; it tells them that they can’t spend any more money because they don’t have any to spend. In addition to spending money, the United States is wasting billions on the problems in Iraq and Afghanistan. My solution for the money pool that is being drained would be to get our troops out of the Middle East. They have been there so long they have probably forgotten the reason they went there in the first place. With the large amounts of money spent on the war being decreased that would give us some of that money to use on America’s problems such as poverty. If we put more focus on our own country we can get a lot more done. But this is going to take more than just a couple millions of protesters; it’s going to take a little bit of something from everyone. John F. Kennedy has a lot of meaningful quotes that really hit down deep like this one, “One person can make a difference so every person should try”. If this quote turns into reality then I do believe eventually our country can flip everything back to the positives, but for now, it’s not looking to good. As much as I would love to hold my optimistic views and say were close to seeing a bright future, I have to be honest; I see the same dark future if we don’t find different people to run the show. The U.S. is the richest country in the world and yet we are struggling tremendously. So imagine if other countries like the smaller ones were having the same struggle we are going through? Where would they be? Or maybe a better question is would there be anything left?
Countries left with nothing and the world is in chaos. This reminded me of the popular discussion of 2012 and the end of the world. Especially in the United States, if things continue on the path they are on now this whole 2012 talk starts to shine a little brighter in my eye. In general everything that we have talked about in class (food talks, Michael Pollan and Wendell Berry stories, sustainability, green movements, etc.) has really broadened my vision and to look beyond what something like the media tells you. All I’m hoping for is that the end of the world doesn’t happen any time while I’m alive. It would be even worse if my generation was the reason that caused it to end.
But that’s getting too far ahead of ourselves. The key to having a positive future is to focus on the present and to take one day at a time. So many people get too caught up in thinking about what’s going to happen or what already happened, when the real issues lies right in front of you and is happening now. Deal with the future when it gets here, until then focus on the now. If the present was more focused on and worried about then people, a country, and the world will be better off in the long run when the future does come.
Samantha Mudd
English 151
16 March 2011
The future, what about it? You can try anything and everything you want to stop it, but it’s still going to come. Matter of fact the future is here now. Everything that you do in the present will affect the future in some way, shape or form. That’s why I try and make sure that every day I wake up I embrace the day with a positive attitude and a smile on my face. Right now I’m sitting in my dorm room typing this essay and thinking about how to get the words out of my head and onto the computer. With every word I type it’s slowly determining my grade, and that grade is what will help me proceed through the course of education to pursue my goal. When people set goals, I feel like sometimes they set them too low. For example, “I want to lose 10 pounds this month”. Don’t get me wrong I think being fit is a great goal but on the other hand my overall goal in life is to help as many people as I can before I die. I say the perfect job for helping people and getting their lives back on the right track was to be a police officer. But that’s just a goal for later when I do get a job; so honestly I can’t say where I’m going to be in a couple years. The future is something that cannot be predicted no matter what people say. So hopefully, I will be successful in a career that I love, our country will have fewer issues and headed towards a positive future, and overall the world will be a better place to be a part of.
In order to accomplish my number one goal in life I figured that I needed to go through at least 4 roadblocks in the future. Those roadblocks are, graduate college, join or skip the academy, get accepted into the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), and be successful. Currently I am on the right path to succeed in that first monumental step, but I still have 3 years and a quarter left (hoping for the 4-year plan). As of now I need to look further into the academy and what all of the details are with joining or not. If it is not necessary to join the academy then I will try to start off and applying to different police departments in Columbus or near it. I have gotten the opportunity to shoot with Delaware officers and absolutely loved it. I owe every chance that I have gotten to work with real police officers and ask questions to my mom. She is a big reason why I chose to become a cop; she always taught me to be selfless and worry about others. Another thing she taught me while I was supposed to be cleaning with my brother was that things get done a lot faster and better with cooperation. When I pulled all of these attributes together it made me want to have the ability to work with a team of guys to “take down the bad guys”. Drug Enforcement Administration (or Agency) provides just that. You get to work with a small team of guys to go around and look for drugs that are being trafficked. If my plan works out and do get accepted to be a part of the DEA then my goal will almost be complete. Lastly, I also want to be successful. Now success can be defined in many different ways to a variety of different people. My definition of success is to be happy with myself and the people I interact with. I ask a lot of my friends what they want to be in life and how they define success. And almost every answer is, “I don’t know, I just want to be rich”. Money is always the last thing on my mind whenever I hear the word success. To me I feel like that is the saddest and most pathetic answer you could possibly say. Then my follow up question that I ask is, “So what are you going to do if you get stuck with a job that pays well but you can’t stand doing the work and hate it?” The most common response, “Uhhh I don’t know”. I guess the point that I am trying to prove is that you don’t really know where the future is going to take you, so you should always be prepared with a plan on where you really want to be in life.
I use to think that our country had a plan but when I step back and see all of the trouble we are facing like the economy, war (the Middle East and domestic struggles), poverty, and other issues; it is a very disturbing thing to look at. Our economy is in trillions of dollars of debt and usually when most people see a negative sign; it tells them that they can’t spend any more money because they don’t have any to spend. In addition to spending money, the United States is wasting billions on the problems in Iraq and Afghanistan. My solution for the money pool that is being drained would be to get our troops out of the Middle East. They have been there so long they have probably forgotten the reason they went there in the first place. With the large amounts of money spent on the war being decreased that would give us some of that money to use on America’s problems such as poverty. If we put more focus on our own country we can get a lot more done. But this is going to take more than just a couple millions of protesters; it’s going to take a little bit of something from everyone. John F. Kennedy has a lot of meaningful quotes that really hit down deep like this one, “One person can make a difference so every person should try”. If this quote turns into reality then I do believe eventually our country can flip everything back to the positives, but for now, it’s not looking to good. As much as I would love to hold my optimistic views and say were close to seeing a bright future, I have to be honest; I see the same dark future if we don’t find different people to run the show. The U.S. is the richest country in the world and yet we are struggling tremendously. So imagine if other countries like the smaller ones were having the same struggle we are going through? Where would they be? Or maybe a better question is would there be anything left?
Countries left with nothing and the world is in chaos. This reminded me of the popular discussion of 2012 and the end of the world. Especially in the United States, if things continue on the path they are on now this whole 2012 talk starts to shine a little brighter in my eye. In general everything that we have talked about in class (food talks, Michael Pollan and Wendell Berry stories, sustainability, green movements, etc.) has really broadened my vision and to look beyond what something like the media tells you. All I’m hoping for is that the end of the world doesn’t happen any time while I’m alive. It would be even worse if my generation was the reason that caused it to end.
But that’s getting too far ahead of ourselves. The key to having a positive future is to focus on the present and to take one day at a time. So many people get too caught up in thinking about what’s going to happen or what already happened, when the real issues lies right in front of you and is happening now. Deal with the future when it gets here, until then focus on the now. If the present was more focused on and worried about then people, a country, and the world will be better off in the long run when the future does come.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Eco- Event 6: Disaster In Japan
A couple of days ago, Japan went through on the worst disasters in the worlds history. Japan has gone through an earthquake, a tsunami, nuclear power plants exploding, and an estimated of tens of thousands of deaths. Dr. Musson who is the head of the seismic hazard at the British Geological Survey says that the last comparable tsunami was sometime around 869 AD. Other researchers have discovered that roughly around where the huge tsunami hit is where about one in 1,000 years will hit again. The article also talks about the other factors like the earthquake. The reason that the tsunami was so historical is because of the earthquake that struck just outside the coast of north east Japan. A professor from Georgia Tech University named Hermann Fritz said, "Nowhere in the world is as prepared as Japan - but in general you can plan for a magnitude 7 or 7.5 that happens every generation, but not anything in the 9 range".
That quote and the fact that this only happens about once in 1000 years got to me thinking about how far our world has come. If something like this was to hit a small country like it did to Haiti, I can't even imagine all the devastation that they would be going through. At least Japan is a well designed and somewhat rich country and can and will bounce back from this terrible disaster. But also after reading this article I can't not think about all the 2012 buzz thats circulating through the internet and other places. Maybe the world is coming to an end?
That quote and the fact that this only happens about once in 1000 years got to me thinking about how far our world has come. If something like this was to hit a small country like it did to Haiti, I can't even imagine all the devastation that they would be going through. At least Japan is a well designed and somewhat rich country and can and will bounce back from this terrible disaster. But also after reading this article I can't not think about all the 2012 buzz thats circulating through the internet and other places. Maybe the world is coming to an end?
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Eco-Event 5: If Dinosaurs Fought in the Civil War...
Take a look at this article.
I found this article on "stumbleupon.com" and as I was reading it I discovered that this is a theme park that was developed by a man named Mark Cline. He wanted to tell a story of how a group of Union soilders found a lost valley of dinosaurs and that they were trying to capture them and use the dinosaurs as weapons against The Confederacy. But the park is designed to show how The Union soilders "tried" to capture these 40-foot creatures.
After seeing this, I got to thinking that what if dinosaurs where still alive? And I know that birds and other animals are considered dinosaurs, but im talking about the giant T-rexs. What would our culture do with something that big and how would we solve the problem of them walking around anywhere and eating anything they choose to. Knowing how our country works we would probably be successful at capturing them and stuff them all in some zoo type facility and deprive them from their natural habitats. But I guess that's about the only thing you can do with something that large. Regardless of what we did, I think it would be cool to see animals that big walking around.
I found this article on "stumbleupon.com" and as I was reading it I discovered that this is a theme park that was developed by a man named Mark Cline. He wanted to tell a story of how a group of Union soilders found a lost valley of dinosaurs and that they were trying to capture them and use the dinosaurs as weapons against The Confederacy. But the park is designed to show how The Union soilders "tried" to capture these 40-foot creatures.
After seeing this, I got to thinking that what if dinosaurs where still alive? And I know that birds and other animals are considered dinosaurs, but im talking about the giant T-rexs. What would our culture do with something that big and how would we solve the problem of them walking around anywhere and eating anything they choose to. Knowing how our country works we would probably be successful at capturing them and stuff them all in some zoo type facility and deprive them from their natural habitats. But I guess that's about the only thing you can do with something that large. Regardless of what we did, I think it would be cool to see animals that big walking around.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Eco-Event 4: Snow Storm for the Record Books
NASA captured infrared photos of a massive storm over the United States. And though they saw it we were all victims to one of the biggest snow storms since the 1950's. This storm was so large that it covered over 30 states and left 9 states under blizzard warnings and most of the states left with over a foot of snow. New York and Philadelphia recorded a combined 93 inches of snow with New York getting 56 of those inches. NASA says that this has been one of the nastiest storms they have ever gotten to witness on the face of the earth.
You can check out the video HERE.
When I first read this article and saw the picture of the storm sweeping over more than half of our country I became a little worried. I wasn't worried about Ohio's blizzard warnings, I was focused on the whole Global Warming issue, or as nice people like to call it Climate Change. The fact that in the summer or earth is getting hotter and in the winter their becoming more freezing and colder. This can all be looked at by the amount of air pollution and fossil fuels that are roaming around our atmosphere. If things don't change soon I can only wonder when the next huge storm is going to hit and if this one could possibly cover the whole earth.
You can check out the video HERE.
When I first read this article and saw the picture of the storm sweeping over more than half of our country I became a little worried. I wasn't worried about Ohio's blizzard warnings, I was focused on the whole Global Warming issue, or as nice people like to call it Climate Change. The fact that in the summer or earth is getting hotter and in the winter their becoming more freezing and colder. This can all be looked at by the amount of air pollution and fossil fuels that are roaming around our atmosphere. If things don't change soon I can only wonder when the next huge storm is going to hit and if this one could possibly cover the whole earth.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Eco-Event 3: A River in an Ocean?
In Cenote Angelita, Mexico a team of divers decided to dive into the near by ocean. And while they were down there, they found a underwater cave that looked interesting. They had no idea what they would find next. The diving team discovered a "river in the sea". At the bottom of this cave was a river that had surrounding islands and trees poking through. As the divers researched this "river" they soon found out that it was not water, and that it was a thick layer of hydrogen sulfide gas similiar to what can be found at the bottom of sewer water. Regardless of whether they redefined the laws of science this team of divers made an extrodinary discovery.
When I first saw this and took a look at the pictures I was shocked! I was thinking to myself, how could a river be in an ocean? Just by looking at the pictures, everything looks legit and it really does look like a river and some unexplained phenomenon. But as I got to reading I quickly learned that it was just a thick layer of gas. Even then I still thought that these divers made a cool discovery. To check out the pictures and article click here.
When I first saw this and took a look at the pictures I was shocked! I was thinking to myself, how could a river be in an ocean? Just by looking at the pictures, everything looks legit and it really does look like a river and some unexplained phenomenon. But as I got to reading I quickly learned that it was just a thick layer of gas. Even then I still thought that these divers made a cool discovery. To check out the pictures and article click here.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Eco-Event 2: Technology Helps Process Dinosaur Footprints
Scientist are using computers with 3-D modeling to understand dinosaur footprints. They have discovered that the for a animal to leave a everlasting footprint it depends on how much the animal weighs and some part has to do with the conditions of the soil. Scientist have found that since weight is a huge factor to leave footprints, that their could be so many more different types of dinosaurs that are unknown. So using this technology they can study land and it gives palaeontologists the chance to re evaulate over 100 million years of history. To see the full article, click here.
At first when I read this article I found it interesting that our technology now can figure out what happened over 100 million years ago. I will always think that what an accomplishment our society has achieved. Also I feel like what else is left out there in the world that is undiscovered and if it will be discovered. Or will we have developed the technology to be capable of uncovering the hidden secrets of this planet that we live on. I have also had an interest in history and this article justs sparks it even more. There are still so many questions to be asked and hopefully our society has the people to answer them.
At first when I read this article I found it interesting that our technology now can figure out what happened over 100 million years ago. I will always think that what an accomplishment our society has achieved. Also I feel like what else is left out there in the world that is undiscovered and if it will be discovered. Or will we have developed the technology to be capable of uncovering the hidden secrets of this planet that we live on. I have also had an interest in history and this article justs sparks it even more. There are still so many questions to be asked and hopefully our society has the people to answer them.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Eco-Event 1: Yellowstone About To Erupt?
Yellowstone National Park has risen ten inches in the past 6 years or so, is this normal or not? According to some scientists they believe that this is normal for the park. They have noticed in their records that Yellowstone has a history for rising in one decade and then the next decade it will decrease back to about the normal size. But on the other hand, some believers see these sudden elevations to be a sign of another eruption coming soon. Go ahead and check out the article here and let yourself be the judge.
When I first saw this article I immediately thought of the movie 2012. In that movie, (if you havent seen it) the world pretty much comes to an end and its all from Yellowstone National Park erupting. Some people say that the park has the potential to be a "supervolcano" and could possibly be an apocalypse. Honestly I don't really know what to think about this except I hope that some movies never come true.
The Ridges Rhetoric Writing
One day my mom tossed me a book and said, "dont ask any questions, just read it and you'll thank me". So without arguing I began to read and I read about a man in the 1970's who was charger for raping three girls but had pleaded not guilty for reason of insanity. This man was forced to go to Athens, Ohio and was a patient at the Athens Mental Health Center. I quickly then turned to the front cover and read the title, "The Minds of Billy Milligan". Ever since then I was so interested in what Billy Milligan had to go through. So when I heard about this project I knew exactly what my topic was going to be, Athens Mental Health Center, otherwise known as, The Ridges. I started researching the history of the building and saw that there was a lot of information like being open for over 100 years, caring for thousands of different people, and now being ranked as one of the scariest places on earth. The main aspects I was trying to focus on were the unique history of the building, how to appeal to my audience, and how to fulfill the purpose of my promotional piece.
This project being a history project, I knew that The Ridges was going to be a good place to focus on. I had two reasons for choosing The Ridges as my topic, one, because I thought it was a unique spot because not a lot of people know that much about it, and two, because my mom went to school here at OU for sociology/social work and got to spend some time working with some of the patients at The Ridges and she told me so much about how she loved it. When I was looking for the history of the facility, I found two websites that were really helpful. The first one that I read talked about everything that has gone on since it opened until it was unfortunately shut down. The second site that I looked at told me all about the history of the buildings such as who built them, who designed them, who the architect was etc. What I was specifically lookin for was all the stories and any events that might have gone on at The Ridges and I found the first website to be more helpful. The thing that was kind of difficult was to find good information from when the building first started since it was over 100 years ago, so I did my best to find things that stood out like how many rooms there were and that the nursing school was inside the hospital. Personally a lot of the interesting facts happened later in history like the presence of Billy Milligan and the treatments that went on their. The one thing that stuck out to me and that may be weird to the people looking at my flyers was that the hospital changed its name over 9 times during the time it was open. When I saw all of the different names it had I felt like I had to put it on my flyers because I didn't know any other institution that has changed its name like that, so I thought that was an important piece of The Ridges history.
Some people like to see The Ridges as an empty mental hospital and some people like to think of it as a haunted facility. So I had to pick which audience I tried to appeal to with my flyers. I decided I wanted to attract people like myself who see The Ridges as both a top twenty scariest places on earth and also a history rich insane asylum. I have always enjoyed ghost stories/hauntings and have been strangely attracted to insane people like Billy Milligan. Through my flyers I wanted it to look somewhat creepy, so that's why I decided to pick a cool text font like chiller and as well as making it blood red. Since I made flyers I wanted them to be easy to read and put a lot of pictures and not have too much text, kind of like a power-point.
My purpose for my promotional piece was to design something that was easy for audience to follow. I did this through creating flyers that were easy to read and understand. I wanted to make a timeline sense of feeling because I felt like you could follow the history of The Ridges the easiest that way. I also thought that my pictures and detailed descriptions of them could give the reader a good sense of the history of the buildings. I made 3 flyers and each on had a specific part in time for example, 1874 to 1943 was the first flyer and then 1943 to 1969, was the second, and lastly 1969 to present. The reason I made three was simply because on the second flyer I couldn't fit the rest of the information on it so I had to make a third flyer and that is why the times aren't evenly spread out. But after this I felt like this was a good idea to not try and cram everything onto just two pages and make a third one even if it wasn't as long as the first two. As I was looking up the information I saw a couple of short stories that involved The Ridges and I decided I should somehow include them in my piece. So I made a seperate part called "Stories, Hauntings, and all the above". This section includes just some of the ghost stories that surround The Ridges and other stories that involve the history of it. This part was personal to me because this is a reason why I'm interested in The Ridges and everything it has been through.
As of now The Ridges are closed down and is not an operating mental hospital anymore. But when it was, it was a fully functional hospital that treated thousands of different people and went through so many changes to try to stay afloat. Through all my research I learned a lot of information about the facility and tried to include some of my findings into my promotional piece. I feel like I completed the purpose and what I was going for, and that I attracted my audience with my piece, as well as promoted the unique history of The Ridges.
This project being a history project, I knew that The Ridges was going to be a good place to focus on. I had two reasons for choosing The Ridges as my topic, one, because I thought it was a unique spot because not a lot of people know that much about it, and two, because my mom went to school here at OU for sociology/social work and got to spend some time working with some of the patients at The Ridges and she told me so much about how she loved it. When I was looking for the history of the facility, I found two websites that were really helpful. The first one that I read talked about everything that has gone on since it opened until it was unfortunately shut down. The second site that I looked at told me all about the history of the buildings such as who built them, who designed them, who the architect was etc. What I was specifically lookin for was all the stories and any events that might have gone on at The Ridges and I found the first website to be more helpful. The thing that was kind of difficult was to find good information from when the building first started since it was over 100 years ago, so I did my best to find things that stood out like how many rooms there were and that the nursing school was inside the hospital. Personally a lot of the interesting facts happened later in history like the presence of Billy Milligan and the treatments that went on their. The one thing that stuck out to me and that may be weird to the people looking at my flyers was that the hospital changed its name over 9 times during the time it was open. When I saw all of the different names it had I felt like I had to put it on my flyers because I didn't know any other institution that has changed its name like that, so I thought that was an important piece of The Ridges history.
Some people like to see The Ridges as an empty mental hospital and some people like to think of it as a haunted facility. So I had to pick which audience I tried to appeal to with my flyers. I decided I wanted to attract people like myself who see The Ridges as both a top twenty scariest places on earth and also a history rich insane asylum. I have always enjoyed ghost stories/hauntings and have been strangely attracted to insane people like Billy Milligan. Through my flyers I wanted it to look somewhat creepy, so that's why I decided to pick a cool text font like chiller and as well as making it blood red. Since I made flyers I wanted them to be easy to read and put a lot of pictures and not have too much text, kind of like a power-point.
My purpose for my promotional piece was to design something that was easy for audience to follow. I did this through creating flyers that were easy to read and understand. I wanted to make a timeline sense of feeling because I felt like you could follow the history of The Ridges the easiest that way. I also thought that my pictures and detailed descriptions of them could give the reader a good sense of the history of the buildings. I made 3 flyers and each on had a specific part in time for example, 1874 to 1943 was the first flyer and then 1943 to 1969, was the second, and lastly 1969 to present. The reason I made three was simply because on the second flyer I couldn't fit the rest of the information on it so I had to make a third flyer and that is why the times aren't evenly spread out. But after this I felt like this was a good idea to not try and cram everything onto just two pages and make a third one even if it wasn't as long as the first two. As I was looking up the information I saw a couple of short stories that involved The Ridges and I decided I should somehow include them in my piece. So I made a seperate part called "Stories, Hauntings, and all the above". This section includes just some of the ghost stories that surround The Ridges and other stories that involve the history of it. This part was personal to me because this is a reason why I'm interested in The Ridges and everything it has been through.
As of now The Ridges are closed down and is not an operating mental hospital anymore. But when it was, it was a fully functional hospital that treated thousands of different people and went through so many changes to try to stay afloat. Through all my research I learned a lot of information about the facility and tried to include some of my findings into my promotional piece. I feel like I completed the purpose and what I was going for, and that I attracted my audience with my piece, as well as promoted the unique history of The Ridges.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Writing in Winter: Relationship with Place
Writing in Winter: Relationship with Place: "My relationship with 'place'? When i see that question, I see it as asking what is your position in this world? This is a very good questi..."
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