100 marathons in 100 days

 

                                           Video:  Man runs 100 marathons in 100 days

 

Recently I came across an interesting story.  Daren Wendell has just ran 100 marathons in 100 days to raise money and awareness about the need for clean water in certain parts of Africa.  During his incredible journey, Daren went through 30 pairs of running shoes.  Yikes! I could not imagine how tough it would be to run one marathon, let alone 100 consecutively.  I think that it is amazing that he would go to such great lengths to help other people out when most people won't even hold a door open for someone.  Daren has restored my faith in humanity and reminds me that helping others is something that we should always strive to do.  Not that everyone should run 100 marathons to help others out, but we should definitely make it a point to help people in need.

The Future of Nuclear Waste

In Richard Mullers' article Nuclear Waste, he argues that nuclear waste is going to be one of the toughest issues that future presidents will face.  Muller also raises some interesting questions on the safety of nuclear disposal.  As someone who knows nothing about the topic, I found his argument to be ineffective.  There were just too many science and math terms such as half-life for me to really get interested in his argument.  If Muller would have stuck to layman's terms, then I think that I could have grasped his message a little better.  Even though his argument failed to lead me to a conclusion on what I think about nuclear waste, I must admit that the article did make the future sound a little scary.  From the second I read the word "danger" in the first sentence I immediately pictured a future full of post-Chernobyl disaster conditions.  Besides the instilling of danger, Muller's argument didn't really do anything for me.

Is technology a homewrecker?

While doing some research for my argument essay I stumbled upon an article about how technology affects family communication.  In this article, Barbara Sorensen states that technology allows for families to keep in touch via social media and texting, but that one-on-one communication is suffering.  She also points out how television and other technologies have made it easy for families to sit down near each other and not talk for hours.  I completely agree with everything that Sorensen says in her article.  The reason why I agree is because I see it happen all the time.  Even though my family communicates a lot, every once in a while we will all be glued to our phones for a period of time without saying a word to each other.  This is something that I also see happen to other families, especially at restaurants.  It is sad that many people don't make it a point to enjoy each others company.  As an avid social media user, I think that we are better off with technology but I still don't like its repercussions.  Enjoying the company of the people around me is something that I make a point of and others should too.  Just because you use technology that doesn't mean that it has to run your life, which is a point that I think Sorensen would agree with.  Sorensen emphasizes how parents need to control social media so that it doesn't get in the way of family communication.  I think that Sorensen has the right idea in mind on how to fix the communication dilemma.  If more people could understand that they need to take control over technology and how they communicate with family members, then maybe then the decline in communication skills wouldn't be such a problem.

Calling All Dreamers

During spring break I had the pleasure of visiting Disneyland.  As I stood in the middle of Walt Disney's  creation, I was amazed at how one man's vivid imagination could lead to building something so incredible. Being at Disneyland reminded me of how important it is to have a good imagination.  This is something that many people ignore.  The school system is definitely guilty of not putting an emphasis on the importance of imagination.  Even though many teachers think that they allow their students to use their imaginations, they don't realize that the guidelines and their styles of grading put chains on students' thoughts. I think that more teachers should put aside some time in their busy curriculums to allow students to do any creative activity  that their hearts desire.  Also, these activities should be graded based on participation and not how well the students do.  If this change could happen, then maybe we would find more Walt Disneys in this world.  People just need to understand that a good imagination can do a lot for this world.

Robots are taking over the world

In Sherry Turkle's TEDTalk she discusses how society is so glued to their phones that they don't even know how to be alone.  She explains how the second we are alone, we pull out our cell phones for forms of connection.  This is something that I see happening all the time and it's something that I'm guilty of.  The only difference between me and most people I'm around is that I won't pull out my cell phone while someone else is talking to me.  One of my pet peeves is when I go out to dinner with my friends and they are all fixed on their phones, while simultaneously having a conversations.  Even though it is rude to be focused on your phone during a conversation, I don't think that people do it to be rude.  Its become a habit so strongly programmed into most teens that they don't even realize they're doing it.  As Turkle puts it, we are becoming robots.  I wish that more people knew when to put away their phones because it would be nice to have a real conversation.

Should Alcatraz Island Re-Open It's Penitentiary?

Over the weekend I had the privilege of visiting Alcatraz Island.  Alcatraz Island used to have a fully operating federal penitentiary, which housed the most vile criminals who had caused enough trouble to get kicked out of other prisons.  At one time, the famous mobster Al Capone even had to serve time here.  From what I saw in the cell house, the prison was fit for the worst criminals.  The cells were small, lacked privacy, and did not allow for a large variety of hobbies.  The solitary confinement cells were even worse because there was absolutely no source of light in them.  Some may think that Alcatraz was inhumane, but I think that many of the inmates deserved to be there.  In my opinion, it is a place fit for murderers and those who choose not to conform to prison rules.  Even though it was closed down because it costed much more to run than all of the other prisons in the United States,  I still believe it should be re-opened.  Evil people shouldn't be allowed to reside anywhere near the general public.

Loving mother on the outstide, cold-blooded murderer on the inside

As I was about to navigate from msn to YouTube I noticed the headline Mom convicted of killing son, 5, by poisoning him with salt.  Before I even read the article I was immediately disgusted by the headline.  Lacey Spears, the mother of 5-year-old Garnett-Paul Spears, was found guilty of poisoning her son with salt through his feeding tube.  She was seen as a loving mother who was always by her sickly son's side until a video surfaced of her and Garnett going into a hospital bathroom and him becoming very ill afterward.  Though the evidence to put  Lacey Spears behind bars exists, it is still very hard to believe that a mother would do anything to harm their child.  It is sick that she only pretended to be a good mother so that she wouldn't get caught for killing her son.  People like her don't deserve to be called a parent and they definitely shouldn't have children in the first place.

United We Stand?

One article that really caught my attention was "Why the English Language Amendment" by S.I. Hayakawa. He argues that there should be an amendment that would make English the official language of the United States.  In his argument he points out that speaking English is what makes it possible for someone to engage in the American lifestyle.  Hayakawa emphasizes how making English the official language and not viewing the country as being composed of groups of immigrants would help make America more united.
Before reading this article, I had never given any thought to how important English is or why it should be made the official language of the U.S.  Now that I have read the article I see how essential the English language is to the American lifestyle.  I think that I take it for granted that I was raised speaking English because many immigrants come here and are eager to use the language as means of enriching their lives, while I never had to conquer a language barrier to have my life. Due to the fact that English is so important to America, I completely agree that there should be an amendment to make it the official language.  If it were made the official language, then I think that more people would want to learn it and view it as something to unify the country.  How could we ever be a unified nation if people refuse to recognize that speaking English is an important aspect of being an American?

Milk Life is anything but LegenDairy

 

Last year I stumbled across this "milk life" commercial.  It shows a guy breakdancing while milk flows out of his torso in a swirling fashion.  My initial reaction was to hate it because I was used to the previous slogan "got milk?".   I also thought it was very unconvincing that the advertisement is trying to get people to think that if they drink milk, then they will be able to breakdance and have milk flowing from their torso.  No matter how much milk a person drinks, they will most likely not be able to breakdance and they will definitely not become a milk dispenser.  From the extremely unrealistic concept of the commercial it is easy to see that it was intended to reach a younger audience, but I think that the people in charge of creating the concept should have addressed an older audience as well.  Older audiences are the people who actually have the money and the desire to buy milk.  If you gave a kid money to go to the grocery store, they would pick candy over milk any day.

Even though I found the commercial to be unconvincing because of its ridiculous concept, I'm still going to buy milk. It's an  important ingredient for most recipes and is a requirement for most baked goods.  I'm not going to stop buying something just because I don't think its commercial is very good.

The Odd One Out

Why Americans still use Fahrenheit long after everyone else switched to Celsius
During my elementary school days when my teachers began teaching how to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, I would always get lost on those homework assignments.  It always seemed useless to know this conversion because the U.S. uses Fahrenheit. Finally my homework made sense when my third grade teacher explained to the class that Celsius is used everywhere else in the world and that it could come in handy to have an understanding of it.  Since then, I have found it strange that the U.S. is the only country that still uses Fahrenheit.  It would make more sense for the U.S. to use Fahrenheit because the rest of the world does.  I know that it would be a difficult process to switch to using Celsius, but it would make things a lot easier in the long run.  If the U.S. would switch to using Celsius, then the whole world would be on the same page when it comes to temperature.

I Would Die Without Cheeseburgers

In Foer's article, "Against Meat" he recalls that the meats he ate during his childhood were an important part of his memories.  He also proceeds to convey that it is possible to attach those memories to a new handle.  While I agree that foods can channel important memories, I do disagree that those memories can be attached to anything else effectively.  Once I associate something with a certain memory, then that never changes.  For me, cheeseburgers will always remind me of relaxing Sunday barbecues and preparing meals with my father.  I don't think that I could ever associate those specific memories with anything other than cheeseburgers.  Cheeseburgers will always remain a comfort food because of the many memories I have attached to them.  There is not a single other handle that would accurately or effectively carry those memories for me.

Google is a student' best friend

Throughout my career as a student, many of my almost elderly teachers have complained about how they couldn't use the internet to help them with their school work or how they hated doing research in a library. Hearing about how they had to do their school work without websites, such as Google, always makes me cringe.  I couldn't imagine doing a research paper without the help of Google. I don't think that I would have gotten good grades throughout high school if it weren't for Google.  Even though some people think that society is too reliant on technology, there are so many things I wouldn't know if Google was never invented, such as how to play the guitar or bake.  Whenever I don't know something, Google is my lifeline.  We are better off than previous generations because of the technology that we have today.

Can you really call a modern musician a musician?

Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac
Earlier today I was on YouTube watching Fleetwood Mac perform their song Rhiannon.  Fleetwood Mac is one of the most famous bands of the 70's and it is easy to see why when you watch their live performances.  The had so much stage presence and they would just get lost in their own music.  They were also able to play their instruments better than anyone could ever dream of playing.  As I watched the video, I wished that today's musicians could be like them.  Now when you go to a concert the musicians are not able to play well enough and they need a couple of back up guitarists and singers even when they are in a full band.  When I see things like this I am left to wonder where all of the real musicians went and why the music business has such low standards today.

My Tedious Writing Process

Many people will tell you that the writing process begins with some type of pre-writing, but I beg to differ.  The first thing I do when I get a writing assignment is freak out.  I don't freak out because I think it will be difficult or that I won't get it done.  The reason why I freak out is because I'd rather be doing something else like watching Netflix.  After the freak out I begin to think of ideas for my assignment and imagine the structure it will have.  Once a sufficient amount of thought has been put into what I'm going to write, then I start to draft or write like a maniac.  After my first draft has been written, I proofread.  Even though your not supposed to do this until the end of the writing process, it helps me figure out what needs to be revised.  Then I revise, proofread again and try to turn it in as soon as possible because I never want to see the assignment ever again.  My writing process has been successful so far, but I need to work on not getting so attached to what I have written before the revision process.  Hopefully I will do a better job of this during this course.

Hello

Hello, welcome to my blog. My name is Moranda and I'm from Linden, California.  My interests include anything that involves movies and music, except for dancing because I have two left feet.  I'm writing this blog for English class and I have always wanted to see what it is like to have a blog.