Millennium Goals

The goal that seemed to catch my attention was the goal to Achieve Universal Primary Education. School is something that's extremely valuable, because knowledge is what perpetuates a society. We as Americans often take our free education for granted. I know that I do, because words aren't enough to describe how ready I am do be done with school. There are so many kids that would give anything to have what we do. Without education we would have nothing. Promoting the ability to learn should always be a priority.

Research Topic

Going into this I had no idea what to write about, but after reading a multi-genre paper titled Happily Ever After in the Media, I got an idea. This piece highlights the stereotypes that are embedded in classic fairytale's. While I do believe that in some cases these princesses can give children a false sense of reality, I don't agree with what she writes. The majority of the example and claims that she makes are overly based on feminist beliefs. I agree that no woman should be dependent on someone or something, but in this she takes it too far. Fairytales are called fairytales because they're not applicable to real life. She argues that because of Princess movies, little girls believe that they'll never have to do anything for themselves, and that if they find prince charming that they will live happily ever after. Yet she provides no examples of how it's had such effects on children. Her work has made me want to do real research on how these fairytales influence children. I don't believe that they instill such stereotypes, but I'm going into this open minded.

Start Something That Matters

One of my favorite ideas was Good Spread Peanut Butter. They created something that you don't have to rely on involvement for. Everyone loves peanut butter; it's a practically a basic kitchen necessity. So when people buy this peanut butter they're giving back to people in need, whether that's their intention or not. It's not that I think people would ever be opposed to helping those in need, just that this makes it easier for people to do so.


Momba was one that appealed to me because it's something that would be useful to me. I'm not in college yet but even as a high schooler I think it's a great idea. Having those random things that you'd never think to by during your normal trip to the store available at the ready like snacks in a vending machine would be great. Not only on college campuses, but in the work setting as well. Sometimes we just don't have the ability to make a quick run to the convenience store.

I have kind of mixed feelings about Half 4 the Hungry. I think the concept is great. It could help with obesity in America, while eliminating wasted leftovers and feeding those who need it. The issue is that I don't think it's realistically possible. Americans simply love food too much. The obese people the intention is to help wouldn't be the ones giving up half their meal. Plus there's no way for the person giving up their meal to actually see how its helping. The concept is great but I think there's a few kinks that need to be worked out.


Answers to Mycoskie's Questions

If you did not have to worry about money, what would you do with your time?

I'd probably travel the world to learn about different ecosystems and animals.

What kind of work would you want to do?

I'd work with animals, and people. I wish that people better understood animals and the impact they can have.

What cause would you serve?

I'm not sure what specific cause I'd serve. It'd be something exciting though.

Article 1 Response

The article included the explanations of many commonly made grammatical mistakes. I was more aware of some of them than others. Some of them, I found to be confusing. For example, he writes, "When you're writing about a non-true situation — usually following the word if or the verb wish — the verb to be is rendered as were." He follows this with the example "If Hillary Clinton was were president, things would be a whole lot different." Then he includes, "If you are using if for other purposes (hypothetical situations, questions), you don't use the subjunctive." Which he follows with the example of " If an intruder were was here last night, he would have left footprints, so let's look at the ground outside." Both sentences include a reference to a hypothetical situation using the word "if." I don't understand why one requires the word "were" while the other requires "was."
The thing that stuck with me was one of the least explain. The subject of when to use "I" versus "me," in situations such as "Joe and I went to the fair." rather than "Joe and me went to the fair," is something that I truly began to understand a few years ago. The way I've always remembered it is to say the sentence with out the other person. For example, the proper sentence would be "I went to the fair." not "Me went to the fair." Or if I was going to say "There's a picture of Gracie and __." Which is correct: "There's a picture of me." or "There's a picture of I." So, in that case you would use "me" not "I."


I probably made multiple mistakes in my grammar in this post, but I tried. Plus, everyone needs a little irony in their lives, right?

Pecha Kucha

The Pecha Kucha I chose to watch was titled "Minor Urban Disasters." The presenter, Ariel Schlesinger, explained 20 pictures of abnormalities in urban areas around the world. The majority of them being caused by the idea of "it's not my job." The visual presentation makes it make a lot more sense, so if you're interested, it's actually kind of intriguing and funny.
The presentation itself was made well, and the pictures were very eye catching. The presenter talked too fast at some points, occasionally creating an awkward pause between images. It was apparent that he was familiar with his topic, but what he was trying to say wasn't always clear. He seemed rushed. Overall the topic and presentation was good, but could've been better if it was rehearsed.
As for my own Petcha Kutcha, I think I'll be able to find plenty of useful images. Being that my presentation is on the pollution in China, a majority of the information is best brought to life using visuals. I don't mind this form of presenting, but it's not my favorite. Some images require more than 20 seconds of explanation while others only 3 or 4 seconds. It's too "cookie cutter" for my liking.

Gray Skies

In corresponding with Mark, one of the Chinese students that chose my autobiography, I was asked about my car. In my autobiography I mentioned that I bought and continue to pay for my own car and it's maintenance. This spurred him to ask the question: "It is expensive?" He follows the question with the statement "In China, the answer is ‘Yes’. And we don’t have extra time for a job, and, if does, the salary is a big headache, for the salary is too low." For me, my car makes my life significantly easier. I'm able to get where I need to be without having to rely on anyone else or having to worry about what the weathers like. So I began to wonder why students in China don't value a vehicle as a luxury the way we do in the United States. The answer is also within Mark's reply. He suggests that bikes are a more green alternative. In China, pollution has grown to astronomical levels.

China currently has the fastest growing economy in today's world. You know what that means: outsourcing and big industry. China emits more carbon pollution than any other country. The government has had to step in and limit the amount of pollution allowed. They have instituted ways to combat and attempt to reduce the pollution, but correcting the issue will take decades. In the past recovering the air quality has been nearly impossible for other counties. China has the capabilities to begin the switch to greener energy but the transition will be very difficult. The people are directly affected by the pollution and its a growing concern. On average, protests regarding environmental issues grow 29% each year in China.

It now makes sense to me why my gas guzzling car seems impracticable to Mark. It would only contribute to their already out of control issue with pollution. I've created a link to a website with many pictures with illustrations that really show some of the worst conditions in China. What came to mind when I was flipping though the images was a song that I had originally heard in Toy Story: A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. He highlights the beautiful things in nature. In China these sites are deteriorating. It made me realize that we need to appreciate the things that we have, and that I should consider getting a car with better gas mileage. The small things that we take for granted such as a blue sky, are things that a rarity for others.


Citations

Alec. "Pollution In China Is Out Of Control: 33 Shocking Photographs." All That Is Interesting. N.p., 27 Aug. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.

D'Almeida, André Corrêa. "Low Carbon Cities in China, Serious Challenges and Signs of Hope." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 08 Aug. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.

Mark. "Re:Anna's Autobiogra​phy." Message to the author. 7 Nov. 2014. E-mail.

Implicit Bias/Face to Face Response

Implicit Bias:
The took the Race ITA. I'm not sure how they figure the results to this test but I don't see how it gets the results it does. To me, I don't think there's anyway you can accurately measure ones views of another race; or really their opinions of any. I don't believe in yes or no questions, because there is always more to the story.

Face to Face:
Watching the Face to Face videos really open your eyes to a different perspective of tragedy. I feel like everyone knows that people have different views on situations, but the personal stories make it real. I enjoyed  the testimony from Amna Chaudhary. (Using the word "enjoyed" when referencing theses stories about tragic events made me uncomfortable, but that's the only word that came to mind.) She talks about what it's like being Muslim after 9/11.  She talks about the aftermath of the tragedy and what it was like living in a world that was, at the time, terrified of the Muslim community. She says, "we called ourselves as being put under house arrest for a little while because of what was going on in the country and the uncertainty of whether or not people on the street are going to react negatively to you because either you wear a scarf or you just look foreign." I can't imagine what it would be like to be afraid to leave my house because of a negative stereotype.