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. 

Reading Response #4: Brick By Brick

I've officially lost interest in Girls Don't Fly (more like I just don't have the time to read it). I've decided to start blogging about Brick by Brick, which I am reading for Marketing II. Mrs. Moore told us all to pick a book off the cabinet in the backroom. We would be reading for 20 minutes at the beginning of each class. Being engulfed in ad campaign project, I was one of the last few two pick a book. I honestly didn't care what I read; they were all books about how different people or businesses had made it into the world of marketing. So I picked the second book in the stack. The first was Happy Happy Happy By Phil Robertson, and I hear enough about Duck Dynasty from my little sister. So I picked up Brick by Brick by David C. Robertson.


One of the wooden ducks that the boy only used two coats of varnish on.

What I was expecting to be a boring book about marketing filled with lame statistics has actually turned out to be quite an intriguing book. The book is actually about the well known toy company, LEGO, and how it has survived so long. The author starts with the basic background information. The company was started in the 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen in Denmark. In the beginning they manufactured wooden toys. The company went though many hardships in the beginning including the death of Ole Kirk's wife, a fire, and the great depression. Ole Kirk had a drive to make toys that inspired kids imagination. The company operates on the idea that "only the best is good enough." This saying came from an instance where Ole Kirks son only used two coats of varnish, instead of three, on a batch of wooden ducks. He told his father that he was attempting to save money and that the ducks still looked good. He made the boy go back, get the ducks, and add another coat.
 It wasn't until later that the company made an attempt at plastic toys. At first it was far from a success. The book quotes the Danish toy-trade magazine, Legetojs-Tidende saying, "Plastics will never take the place of good solid wooden toys."  But obviously they were wrong. LEGO had a hard time with plastics at first but when they finally perfected the brick it took off. The company was very daring in deciding to eliminate wooden toys from their product mix which made up 90% of their products.
 I've really enjoyed learning about the company and how it has become the large toy empire it is today. Next time I have marketing, hopefully we'll find out how LEGO overcame their struggles with plastic.

Reading Response #3: The Lightning Theif

This week I decided to revisit one of my favorite books, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. It's the first book of a five book series. It's not exactly a series that is at the level we should be reading for this college level class. This week I just needed something a little more simple to pull me away from the exhausting world of school and work. (As you can see from the fact that I'm posting this just before 12am, I've been a little busy.)


These are the two main characters Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson.This picture is actually from one of the ads for the movie, but I do not suggested watching it. It's normal for producers to butcher books when

making them into movies, but this

one is REALLY bad. 

The Lightning Thief is a fictional book but still has a large amount of nonfiction references to mythology within the story line. The entire series is focused on one main character, Percy Jackson. Percy is the son of the Greek god, Poseidon. The series is about a group of kids, commonly referred to as "half bloods" meaning that they are all have one human parent and one no-so-human parent (most commonly a Greek god). The first book takes you through the basics with all the characters while Percy and friends try to locate Zues' lightning bolt in order to restore peace between the Gods. They battle many monsters and even take a trip to the under world.



The story gabs you from the beginning with the opening statement.

“Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.If you’re reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now.  Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life. 

Being a half-blood is dangerous.  It’s scary.  Most if the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.”

Throughout the book Riordan keeps this intensity going. You're always wanting to know more. It's the kind of book that you just can't put down. The thing that I love the most is the balance of fantasy, romance and adventure. The character development in the book is done so well that it's very easy to get emotionally invested in the books. He does an amazing job of mixing the world of Greek mythology into modern society.

While reading over this book again I was reminded that it most definitely is geared towards students that are... let's just say not seniors in high school. It's still a great series that I would recommend to almost anyone.

Reading Response #2: Girls Don't Fly

The story line has been pretty slow-going in the past few chapters. Not much has changed. Myra walked out of her job at the Ice Cream Parlor after getting into a minor dispute with Erik. Her sister moving in has become another stress because they are polar opposites. Much like how my sister and I are; yet another relation to the book. She's still dead set on saving the money to go on this trip to the Galapagos Islands.

One of the things I've grown to enjoy about this book is how the author starts each chapter. At first I was unsure of it, but the further I get into the book the more intrigued I'm becoming. Each chapter starts with a definition. They always pertain to birds, and in some way the events in the chapter also. For example, tenth chapter begins with "homing: when a bird comes home after getting lost." The chapter is about Myra's older sister, Melyssa, coming home. Her and her boyfriend had a fight and he left. Between the stress of the break up and the baby she decides to take some time off school and come home. Another one I enjoyed was the word "irruption: when a bird shows up where it doesn't normally go." I honestly didn't even notice the relation of these words to the chapters until a few days ago but now that I have, the book has become even more interesting.



Sea Gull "Everyone thinks of them as trash birds, but not every bird would pick a field clean of crickets for starving pioneers." -Myra page 2

What I haven't been able to figure out yet is the significance of the birds. Nothing has indicated that bird are a big part of the story besides Myra shooing her bother's away from a seagull that they were trying to throw rocks at. I'm curious to see if the Galapagos Islands is where the bird significance will come from.

That's all for now, hopefully next time there will be more interesting things to share!

Reading Response #1: Girl's Don't Fly

I've barely gotten into Kirsten Chandler's Girl's Don't Fly and it already has me emotionally intrigued. In the very first paragraph of the first chapter the main character, Myra, describes to the reader her idea of the "perfect moment." The day dream is quickly interrupted by her little brothers. It leaves you wondering more about her and what she wants from life verses what she's getting. It's not long after that we are introduced to Myra's older sister and her boyfriend who are in town because they recently found out that they're having a baby. Myra's parent's are already on edge and therefore have pushed the responsibility of the younger boys onto Myra.




Her life is already a mess and the one thing she's looking forward to is her date with her boyfriend that's commonly referred to as "Prince Charming" by Myra's parents and sister. That night "Prince Charming," Erik, brought Myra flowers and then broke up with her. The author make's it very apparent as to how the break up affected Myra. She uses character responses to create an image for what Erik and Myra's relationship was like despite that they only interact as a couple once in the reading and it's simply to break up. When finding out about the break up the response from one of Myra's coworker's was "but you're the Dream Team. You're sweet and poor and he's hot and rich" (pg20). That's the general response when other character's heard about the break-up.




The Galapagos Islands

Erik and Myra being two of the most academically gifted and driven in the school make the upcoming competition for a trip for two to get to go do a research project on the Galapagos Islands for 8 weeks. This opportunity raises curiosity of what will become of Erik and Myra. Myra seems very intrigued by  the presentation and very driven to earn the opportunity.

It makes the book some what relatable because I think that at some point everyone wishes for that picturesque relationship. But the idea of losing it puts a new spin on your typical suspenseful love story. I'm eager to read more into how Myra handles the bumps in her road.

Almost 101 Things About Me

* I’ve loved animals ever since I was a kid and I have a particular interest in reptiles. I have more pets than is reasonable.

* Bugs freak me out, anything with more than 4 legs is not cute.

* My dog, Gracie, weighs more than I do.

* I got engaged to Kenneth Brown in preschool.

* As boring as it sounds, my favorite food is cheese pizza.

* I love everything about being outside.

* I love Disney movies more than it’s socially acceptable for any 17 year old to admit.

 * I’m a “test tube baby” meaning that I was conceived via donor insemination.

* Everyone in my family, except my mom, and even some of my friends call me Anna Banana.

* I’ve always been really shy, as a kid I spent my days with my grandparents and my older cousin, Levi, because I hated preschool.

* I have a large family and we’re all fairly close. Family means a lot to me. 

* Thanks to the Sesame Street character, Zoe, my favorite color has always been orange and I even went through a phase as a toddler where I only wanted to eat orange things.

* I currently have two jobs. One is at a family owned Mexican Restaurant known as Prima’s and the other is at a locally owned pet store called Pets Way (formally known as Pet Warehouse).

* My birthday is on Valentines Day. It’s a blessing and a curse because its a “fun fact” and people usually remember but it’s also on a holiday and often when I try to see a movie on my birthday, it’s sold out