Yeah sorry. The Rick Perry and Ugly Sweater post is supposed to be the work of a seperate week.
These small not real posts are to fill the week void my large post took care of. Have some music.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
omg dis is my favorite song evaa
My post about Craigslist was over 1200 words, or equal to 3 blog posts. I promise you I put as much effort into it as I would with three posts. I'm just going to post two videos so that I have the proper number of posts.
I like Coldplay.
Blast from ze past.
I don't really like Rick Perry, but he isn't as offensive as you think he is.
This is the controversial advertisement but republican candidate Rick Perry. Perry is the current governor of Texas and is known well for his openness about his faith and has recently been under some fire for a comment made in his recent commercial, Strong. The ad was intended just for Iowans, but was caught by the national media when it began to stir controversy. This commercial plays at least three times while I watch KCRG channel 9 news in the morning before school. Each time, I'm put off a little by a comment he makes...
"I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a Christian, but you don't need to be in the pew every Sunday to know there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school."
The obvious controversy is started over Perry's belief that there is "something wrong when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school." Perry doesn't try to hide his opinion with learned words, or even try to imply it. He outright says it in plain, moderately casual speech so that every American watching his commercial knows what his stance is. The video currently has 21,433 likes, but this is crushed by the 670,123 dislikes. All of these dislikes came from people hearing the word wrong in conjunction with "gays can serve openly in the military".
First, let me say that I believe Rick Perry does see something wrong with gays serving openly in the military. Play the clip over again when he says the phrase and listen to the way he speaks. There is a slight hint of loathing in his voice when he addresses the fact that this is allowed. You can infer from Perry's conservative political views and religious stance (openly very religious people are more often than not un-supportive of gay lifestyles) that he probably does not support gays serving openly in the military. If that offends you, you have a legitimate reason to dislike him. The way he says "gays can serve openly in the military" can qualify you to dislike him, and you don't have to vote for him.
However, that isn't exactly what Perry was trying to say in this ad. He isn't commenting that its wrong for gays to serve openly in the military, he was commenting that its wrong for gays to have to freedom to serve openly in the military but students are not allowed to freedom to celebrate a religious holiday in public schools. Do you see the difference? He is trying to compare the two, saying that if we allow such freedoms in one institution, why not the other? That is the argument he is trying to bring to light. Perry's Strong commercial is supposed to spread his message of "making America strong with faith". While I personally take very liberal political views, and don't agree with Perry's opinions, its important to understand the arguments made by other politicians. If you are going to argue your point on why you don't like Rick Perry, you need to understand what he is really trying to say. Because gay marriage and rights are a hot topic right now, making any sort of comment about gays in a negative way will bring any politician under fire, and surely Perry will lose some potential voters because of the misinterpretation of this advertisement.
"I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a Christian, but you don't need to be in the pew every Sunday to know there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school."
The obvious controversy is started over Perry's belief that there is "something wrong when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school." Perry doesn't try to hide his opinion with learned words, or even try to imply it. He outright says it in plain, moderately casual speech so that every American watching his commercial knows what his stance is. The video currently has 21,433 likes, but this is crushed by the 670,123 dislikes. All of these dislikes came from people hearing the word wrong in conjunction with "gays can serve openly in the military".
First, let me say that I believe Rick Perry does see something wrong with gays serving openly in the military. Play the clip over again when he says the phrase and listen to the way he speaks. There is a slight hint of loathing in his voice when he addresses the fact that this is allowed. You can infer from Perry's conservative political views and religious stance (openly very religious people are more often than not un-supportive of gay lifestyles) that he probably does not support gays serving openly in the military. If that offends you, you have a legitimate reason to dislike him. The way he says "gays can serve openly in the military" can qualify you to dislike him, and you don't have to vote for him.
However, that isn't exactly what Perry was trying to say in this ad. He isn't commenting that its wrong for gays to serve openly in the military, he was commenting that its wrong for gays to have to freedom to serve openly in the military but students are not allowed to freedom to celebrate a religious holiday in public schools. Do you see the difference? He is trying to compare the two, saying that if we allow such freedoms in one institution, why not the other? That is the argument he is trying to bring to light. Perry's Strong commercial is supposed to spread his message of "making America strong with faith". While I personally take very liberal political views, and don't agree with Perry's opinions, its important to understand the arguments made by other politicians. If you are going to argue your point on why you don't like Rick Perry, you need to understand what he is really trying to say. Because gay marriage and rights are a hot topic right now, making any sort of comment about gays in a negative way will bring any politician under fire, and surely Perry will lose some potential voters because of the misinterpretation of this advertisement.
Ugly Sweaters
As the Holidays are soon approaching, the time to don our gay apparel is now! And what better way than with the ugly sweater, which is almost as traditional as eggnog and tinsel. Common in this time of cheer is the "ugly sweater party" which fosters a competitive environment of who can find the most hideous sweater. Most ugly sweaters are acquired either from older relatives or from thrift shopping at stores like Goodwill and The Salvation Army.
Qualities of a good "ugly sweater"
Pattern:
There are essentially two types of ugly sweaters, sweaters with abstract patterns in awkward clashing colors and sweaters typically associated with your grandma, usually donning cats, dogs, Santa Claus, reindeer, snowmen, snowflakes, angels or messeges of love like "its snow wonder I love my grandkids!" (yes, I have a sweater from Goodwill that says this. Grandma sweaters are more appropriate for the holidays, while your abstract patterned sweater is good for any time of year you want to feel like a hipster. (although, grandma sweaters are pretty hip too, when worn properly).
Fit:
Although your sweater might be awkward, it shouldn't fit you awkwardly. You will pull look and master the art of the ugly sweater if you choose your sweater carefully, fitting you right will bring more attention to the pattern and less to how your shape is engulfed by this massive clothing item. This rule may be broken if the sweater is exceptionally ugly, and must be displayed regardless of how it fits you.
How to find the right ugly sweater
Secondhand stores like Goodwill and The Salvation Army are a haven for these outcast sweaters. At one time, they may have been a fashionable thing to wear. I was born in 1994, so I don't know if the world was at one time populated with holiday cheer and crocheted love in the form of the sweater. These sweaters were given new life when the ugly sweater became a symbol for ironic cool when the ugly sweater party was invented and hipster culture began to spread. The stock of high quality ugly sweaters runs low when you approach the holidays, as these parties tend to occur more often in the winter months. The solution: stock up in the spring and summer, when the sweater section is barely touched. Then, you can get your holiday shopping done early.
Qualities of a good "ugly sweater"
Pattern:
There are essentially two types of ugly sweaters, sweaters with abstract patterns in awkward clashing colors and sweaters typically associated with your grandma, usually donning cats, dogs, Santa Claus, reindeer, snowmen, snowflakes, angels or messeges of love like "its snow wonder I love my grandkids!" (yes, I have a sweater from Goodwill that says this. Grandma sweaters are more appropriate for the holidays, while your abstract patterned sweater is good for any time of year you want to feel like a hipster. (although, grandma sweaters are pretty hip too, when worn properly).
Fit:
Although your sweater might be awkward, it shouldn't fit you awkwardly. You will pull look and master the art of the ugly sweater if you choose your sweater carefully, fitting you right will bring more attention to the pattern and less to how your shape is engulfed by this massive clothing item. This rule may be broken if the sweater is exceptionally ugly, and must be displayed regardless of how it fits you.
How to find the right ugly sweater
Secondhand stores like Goodwill and The Salvation Army are a haven for these outcast sweaters. At one time, they may have been a fashionable thing to wear. I was born in 1994, so I don't know if the world was at one time populated with holiday cheer and crocheted love in the form of the sweater. These sweaters were given new life when the ugly sweater became a symbol for ironic cool when the ugly sweater party was invented and hipster culture began to spread. The stock of high quality ugly sweaters runs low when you approach the holidays, as these parties tend to occur more often in the winter months. The solution: stock up in the spring and summer, when the sweater section is barely touched. Then, you can get your holiday shopping done early.
 |
| This is what heaven is like. |
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Craigslist 'Missed Encounters' make me scared of the general public.
Craglist is a website that reeks of desperation and is a reflection of how unintelligent some human beings really can be. I first heard of it when I was watching an ABC news report on an undercover prostitution sting using Craigslist to bait criminals. (I watch a lot of TV, okay?) This kind of gave me a set opinion about what kind of website Craigslist is like. I was waaaaaaaay too sketched out to actually look it up for fear of somehow being arrested.
The other night I was watching American Dad, and the show mentioned a section of craigslist called "missed encounters." I had never heard of it before, but the description given on the show made it sound like someone would post if they met someone in public and then wanted to somehow gain contact with them again. It seemed desperate sounding at first, and overly optimistic that the person who you are trying to contact with will actually read it. And then, if the person isn't completely disturbed, you would be lucky if they even bothered to reply. The creator of this section of Craigslist probably envisioned a romantic side of it, someone seeing the love of their life and trying to pursue them and get their attention, only to miss them slightly. With no way to contact them, they write an entry into the "missed encounters" section and hope somehow they will find the one they were looking for. I mustered up the courage to open up Craigslist, which itself is very sketchy looking. The entire site is void of any kind of color scheme or design, all you see is a page full of links.
While "missed encounters" does serve this purpose, the actual results are both creepy and hilarious.
ASSUMPTIONS
The author could potentially be a normal guy, someone who would choose a coffee shop for lunch as opposed to some sort of fast food restaurant. Of course, this is just me speculating and trying to interpret every possible emotion in these strange messeges. Obviously he isn't a normal person in the first place if he was too afraid to talk to this poor woman and instead preferred summoning her online.
WHERE IT TURNS CREEPY
Although this post ranks mild on the creepy scale, some of the language used would put me off if I was the lady in question and came across this post. "...but a didn't see a ring." Its normal to be curious and maybe take a glance at the woman's finger to see her marital status, but making a comment about it is strange behavior. Something about the way he mentions them "locking eyes" makes me think he is some sort of strange hopeless romantic.
PERCENT CONNECTED WITH REALITY
50%
Aside from the deduction for even using the "missed encounters" section of craigslist, the writer is at least aware that the woman probably doesn't frequent craigslist. He ends with "worth a shot.". You can hear the sadness in his voice when he admits defeat with this line.
ASSUMPTIONS
Desperation. This guy was driving down the street and decided that the pedestrian he passed would be an ideal mate, as opposed to trying to contact someone he was actually within earshot of.
WHERE IT TURNS CREEPY
The whole thing is creepy. This is a prime example of what is disturbing about 'missed encounters', you can just express your feelings for complete strangers. The internet is full of weird things like this, but a mainstream website like Craigslist really brings attention to how scary some people in society are. You could be walking down the street and without knowing it some stranger could write an ode to their love for you.
PERCENT CONNECTED WITH REALITY
20%
He tries to identify the woman with slightly more specific details about her than the previous post. This guy obviously has to be a little lost if he thinks this woman walking down the street would be appealed by knowing some guy driving by while she was walking wrote this all about her. Basically, everything posted on this website gives you a whiff of what delusion must truly be like, living in a world where you can choose your partner of the street either out of complete ignorance that she knows you exists or desperation to such a degree that everyone you encounter (or see in the rear view mirror of your '98 Ford Taurus)
ASSUMPTIONS
Oh, good lord. This is the post I originally encountered that inspired my desire to write about this topic for my AP Lang blog. This kind of mortifying stupidity makes me scared of the general public. Somewhere, not too far away (unfortunately) the person who constructed this post is walking the earth, leaving ambiguous missed encounters that tell you everything about the poster without any details about them written. This person is somewhere else, man.
WHERE IT TURNS CREEPY
It never turned creepy. It was born this way. Lets break it down now:
"you were with your kid."
To analyze this to death and then (is beating the dead horse an acceptable idiom?) beating the dead horse by trying to convince you its even creepier than you thought before, the image that plays in my mind is some poor , disturbed gentlemen glaring from afar at some unfortunate woman with her child, unaware this predator is lurking in the background.
"..so I didn't introduce myself..."
The composer lacks the social skills to go up to the (unfortunate)person he is interested in and introduce himself like how a functional member of society should do. Instead, he chose to just linger and watch the woman get a good old-fashioned American meal for her and her child and then express his interest for her on Craigslist.
"...if your single email me."
Well first, the improper use of "your" is a pet peeve of mine, so some lack of formal education of the composer is implied. What is missing from this desperate and completely unlikely to be successful attempt at contacting this woman is an actual description of her beyond she was "with her kid". The odds of the composer coming in contact with the woman are slim to none. First, in the unlikelihood that some woman would be intrigued by this post and reply, the chance still remains that it isn't the woman he is looking for, as the only qualifying characteristic is that they were with their kid at this McDonalds at an unspecified time. Then again, I'm sure any reply to this is good enough for the composer. McDonalds is the place to pick up chicks, ya know.
PERCENT CONNECTED WITH REALITY
None.
The other night I was watching American Dad, and the show mentioned a section of craigslist called "missed encounters." I had never heard of it before, but the description given on the show made it sound like someone would post if they met someone in public and then wanted to somehow gain contact with them again. It seemed desperate sounding at first, and overly optimistic that the person who you are trying to contact with will actually read it. And then, if the person isn't completely disturbed, you would be lucky if they even bothered to reply. The creator of this section of Craigslist probably envisioned a romantic side of it, someone seeing the love of their life and trying to pursue them and get their attention, only to miss them slightly. With no way to contact them, they write an entry into the "missed encounters" section and hope somehow they will find the one they were looking for. I mustered up the courage to open up Craigslist, which itself is very sketchy looking. The entire site is void of any kind of color scheme or design, all you see is a page full of links.
While "missed encounters" does serve this purpose, the actual results are both creepy and hilarious.
ASSUMPTIONS
The author could potentially be a normal guy, someone who would choose a coffee shop for lunch as opposed to some sort of fast food restaurant. Of course, this is just me speculating and trying to interpret every possible emotion in these strange messeges. Obviously he isn't a normal person in the first place if he was too afraid to talk to this poor woman and instead preferred summoning her online.
WHERE IT TURNS CREEPY
Although this post ranks mild on the creepy scale, some of the language used would put me off if I was the lady in question and came across this post. "...but a didn't see a ring." Its normal to be curious and maybe take a glance at the woman's finger to see her marital status, but making a comment about it is strange behavior. Something about the way he mentions them "locking eyes" makes me think he is some sort of strange hopeless romantic.
PERCENT CONNECTED WITH REALITY
50%
Aside from the deduction for even using the "missed encounters" section of craigslist, the writer is at least aware that the woman probably doesn't frequent craigslist. He ends with "worth a shot.". You can hear the sadness in his voice when he admits defeat with this line.
ASSUMPTIONS
Desperation. This guy was driving down the street and decided that the pedestrian he passed would be an ideal mate, as opposed to trying to contact someone he was actually within earshot of.
WHERE IT TURNS CREEPY
The whole thing is creepy. This is a prime example of what is disturbing about 'missed encounters', you can just express your feelings for complete strangers. The internet is full of weird things like this, but a mainstream website like Craigslist really brings attention to how scary some people in society are. You could be walking down the street and without knowing it some stranger could write an ode to their love for you.
PERCENT CONNECTED WITH REALITY
20%
He tries to identify the woman with slightly more specific details about her than the previous post. This guy obviously has to be a little lost if he thinks this woman walking down the street would be appealed by knowing some guy driving by while she was walking wrote this all about her. Basically, everything posted on this website gives you a whiff of what delusion must truly be like, living in a world where you can choose your partner of the street either out of complete ignorance that she knows you exists or desperation to such a degree that everyone you encounter (or see in the rear view mirror of your '98 Ford Taurus)
ASSUMPTIONS
Oh, good lord. This is the post I originally encountered that inspired my desire to write about this topic for my AP Lang blog. This kind of mortifying stupidity makes me scared of the general public. Somewhere, not too far away (unfortunately) the person who constructed this post is walking the earth, leaving ambiguous missed encounters that tell you everything about the poster without any details about them written. This person is somewhere else, man.
WHERE IT TURNS CREEPY
It never turned creepy. It was born this way. Lets break it down now:
"you were with your kid."
To analyze this to death and then (is beating the dead horse an acceptable idiom?) beating the dead horse by trying to convince you its even creepier than you thought before, the image that plays in my mind is some poor , disturbed gentlemen glaring from afar at some unfortunate woman with her child, unaware this predator is lurking in the background.
"..so I didn't introduce myself..."
The composer lacks the social skills to go up to the (unfortunate)person he is interested in and introduce himself like how a functional member of society should do. Instead, he chose to just linger and watch the woman get a good old-fashioned American meal for her and her child and then express his interest for her on Craigslist.
"...if your single email me."
Well first, the improper use of "your" is a pet peeve of mine, so some lack of formal education of the composer is implied. What is missing from this desperate and completely unlikely to be successful attempt at contacting this woman is an actual description of her beyond she was "with her kid". The odds of the composer coming in contact with the woman are slim to none. First, in the unlikelihood that some woman would be intrigued by this post and reply, the chance still remains that it isn't the woman he is looking for, as the only qualifying characteristic is that they were with their kid at this McDonalds at an unspecified time. Then again, I'm sure any reply to this is good enough for the composer. McDonalds is the place to pick up chicks, ya know.
PERCENT CONNECTED WITH REALITY
None.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Toads?
I want to see if I can write about something completely random and make it sound interesting. I admire the writers at http://www.cracked.com/'s ability to do this, so I'm going to exercise my writing muscles and go for it! So in desperation, went to Wikipedia and clicked random article.
Unfortunately, my random article was " ジャイアニズム ～お前の物は俺の物～ (Gianism ~omae no mono wa ore no mono)". I have no idea how to even write about that. I'm really not THAT talented.
So I clicked a few more times before I found something easy.
So meet the Marine toad. He's coming to invade your town.
Marine toads, or Bufo marinus is also known as the cane toad. The marine toad is fairly large in comparison to other toad species. It varies in color, but can be found in gray, light green, green-brown, forest green, and beige. Its bumpy skin contains poison glands. A marine toad tadpole is poisonous to many animals if ingested. The marine toad lives almost completely on land, only venturing in the water to breed. The marine toad has a moderate tolerance to salt water, and can be found in some coastal estuaries.
But theres a dark side to the marine toad.
Seriously, this thing is ridiculous. I kinda of was impressed with how good this thing is at surviving and just obliterating everything else. Marine toads use little discretion in choosing their meals. They gobble up small rodents, reptiles, birds, amphibians, and if they please, pet food and household garbage. Basically, if you leave anything outside, the marine toad will eat it and then probably give birth to 50 other toads in your backyard just to laugh at you. The marine toad has no natural predators, because the marine toads appetite is so large, it has been introduced to many regions as a form of pest control, most notably against the cane beetle. The marine toad now can be found in Australia, the Carribean, The Phillipines, Fiji, New Guniea, and the United States. Its ability to adapt and reproduce is allowing its population to slowly expand in these areas.
I found a really creepy section at the bottom of the wikipedia article. "Uses". Apparently the marine toad is sold as scary merchandise. I don't know why.
Unfortunately, my random article was " ジャイアニズム ～お前の物は俺の物～ (Gianism ~omae no mono wa ore no mono)". I have no idea how to even write about that. I'm really not THAT talented.
So I clicked a few more times before I found something easy.
So meet the Marine toad. He's coming to invade your town.
Marine toads, or Bufo marinus is also known as the cane toad. The marine toad is fairly large in comparison to other toad species. It varies in color, but can be found in gray, light green, green-brown, forest green, and beige. Its bumpy skin contains poison glands. A marine toad tadpole is poisonous to many animals if ingested. The marine toad lives almost completely on land, only venturing in the water to breed. The marine toad has a moderate tolerance to salt water, and can be found in some coastal estuaries.
But theres a dark side to the marine toad.
 |
| bum. bum. bum. |
Seriously, this thing is ridiculous. I kinda of was impressed with how good this thing is at surviving and just obliterating everything else. Marine toads use little discretion in choosing their meals. They gobble up small rodents, reptiles, birds, amphibians, and if they please, pet food and household garbage. Basically, if you leave anything outside, the marine toad will eat it and then probably give birth to 50 other toads in your backyard just to laugh at you. The marine toad has no natural predators, because the marine toads appetite is so large, it has been introduced to many regions as a form of pest control, most notably against the cane beetle. The marine toad now can be found in Australia, the Carribean, The Phillipines, Fiji, New Guniea, and the United States. Its ability to adapt and reproduce is allowing its population to slowly expand in these areas.
I found a really creepy section at the bottom of the wikipedia article. "Uses". Apparently the marine toad is sold as scary merchandise. I don't know why.
 |
| why. |
3 things you should know about Breaking Bad.
1. A show about drugs doesn't encourage drug use.
When I became fascinated with this show, I had to look on the internet for more information about it. Random facts etc. etc. Breaking Bad focuses on a cancer patient and overly qualified high school chemistry teacher, Walter White, making methamphetamine to support his family. Throughout the show, he is tangled up in the complex and dangerous world of the drug trade. When my Mom first saw me watching this show, she immediately expressed a little concern. She thought that if I got too into watching Breaking Bad, I would think meth is cool. This show actually does the opposite; it makes me terrified. After reading the book Methland, I was already probably too familiar with it. The dangers Walter faces trying to support his family are constantly a part of the plot line, making a life of crime not too appealing.
2. The character of Walter White could combat Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris is kind of a cliche "tough guy", but do you see what I'm trying to say? Basically, Walter White can only be summed up in one word: bad ass. Throughout the beginning of the series, Walter has a sort of reckless abandon that makes for excellent television. Diagnosed with progressive lung cancer, Walter doesn't see much of a future for himself and kind of does whatever he pleases, only restricting himself when he needs to do whats best for his family. He is an incredibly book smart character (and sometimes displays hidden street smarts). My favorite clip to display how awesome Water White is comes from season one.
3. Bryan Cranston is a great actor.
What immediately drew me to the show was the acting that brings Walter White to life. Bryan Cranston was hired to play the role. Cranstons other notable role on television was playing Hal, the dad on Malcom in the Middle. I'd have to imagine that being kind of an interesting audition. The dad on Malcom in the Middle is such a lighthearted character, quite the stretch from the image Walter White is supposed to portray. The versatility of Cranston is definitely what landed him the role. The best displays of Cranstons acting don't come from his dialogue at all. In fact, the momemts where you are most tuned into the show are where you are focused on the subtle changes in his face in reaction to something.
When I became fascinated with this show, I had to look on the internet for more information about it. Random facts etc. etc. Breaking Bad focuses on a cancer patient and overly qualified high school chemistry teacher, Walter White, making methamphetamine to support his family. Throughout the show, he is tangled up in the complex and dangerous world of the drug trade. When my Mom first saw me watching this show, she immediately expressed a little concern. She thought that if I got too into watching Breaking Bad, I would think meth is cool. This show actually does the opposite; it makes me terrified. After reading the book Methland, I was already probably too familiar with it. The dangers Walter faces trying to support his family are constantly a part of the plot line, making a life of crime not too appealing.
2. The character of Walter White could combat Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris is kind of a cliche "tough guy", but do you see what I'm trying to say? Basically, Walter White can only be summed up in one word: bad ass. Throughout the beginning of the series, Walter has a sort of reckless abandon that makes for excellent television. Diagnosed with progressive lung cancer, Walter doesn't see much of a future for himself and kind of does whatever he pleases, only restricting himself when he needs to do whats best for his family. He is an incredibly book smart character (and sometimes displays hidden street smarts). My favorite clip to display how awesome Water White is comes from season one.
3. Bryan Cranston is a great actor.
What immediately drew me to the show was the acting that brings Walter White to life. Bryan Cranston was hired to play the role. Cranstons other notable role on television was playing Hal, the dad on Malcom in the Middle. I'd have to imagine that being kind of an interesting audition. The dad on Malcom in the Middle is such a lighthearted character, quite the stretch from the image Walter White is supposed to portray. The versatility of Cranston is definitely what landed him the role. The best displays of Cranstons acting don't come from his dialogue at all. In fact, the momemts where you are most tuned into the show are where you are focused on the subtle changes in his face in reaction to something.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Methland.
I recently picked up the book Methland, The Death and Life of an American Small Town. It was originally recommended to me by my 9th grade language arts teacher, Mr. Beatty. I actually bought it around that time but never got around to reading it. Watching lots of documentaries on Netflix had got me interested in nonfiction. What made this book even more appealing was that its based in Iowa! Well, kind of. See, this book is all about how meth has ruined small town Iowa and the lives of those who live there. Before I read this book, I didn't know anything about meth. It's a weirdly interesting subject. The trouble all started with the closing of the meat processing plant in Oelwein, Iowa. The majority of the city was employed by the plant, so there was a lot to be upset about. To cope with their unemployment, many citizens of Oelwein turned to using meth. The drug has a strong effect, essentially making a person out of their mind for long 12 hour stretches. Hallucinations are common. While under the influence of meth, a person also has extreme focus and energy for a long stretch of time. Some of the laid off employees found new jobs and and began using it to take long shifts. Meth kingpins soon owned the entire town, using the money they earned from selling to buy virtually every business in Oelwein and other similar towns. This book was really a shock for me to read, I had no idea this was such a problem in Iowa. According to statistics from Methland, the midwest has the highest meth lab seizures of any region. At the same time of reading this, I got into watching the show Breaking Bad, which is about a Chemistry teacher who begins to sell meth to support his family.
....but I'll write about that later.
....but I'll write about that later.
Ramen Noodles: food of the Gods (and poor college kids)
Oh. look I'm writing about food again! Sorry, I always do these blog posts around dinnertime so I'm usually thinking about food then. For the past couple months, I've eaten ramen noodles at least three times a week. They are kind of addictive in a way, probably due to the high salt content. I decided to write about them when they were mentioned in an episode of Breaking Bad (I'll blog about that show too). I'm going to write this post like you have never heard of ramen noodles before, just for fun.
One pack of ramen noodles costs about $.20, making them really popular with poor/college/poor college kids.
Another reason they are so popular is that they are easy to make. Ramen can be prepared in two ways: stove top or microwave. I prefer boiling water on the stove top because then I can feel like a chef without actually being a chef. I like to poke the brick (my research has informed me the term for the uncooked noodles is known as a brick) with a fork while it floats in the boiling water, because it also makes me feel very chef-like. Ramen is most commonly eaten plain, but I have seen it accompanied with saltine crackers, which is really good! I exclusively eat the chicken flavored ramen, mostly because the other flavors dont seem very appealing. Actually, there is a flavor called "lime shrimp". I think I just threw up. I don't trust packaged seafood.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Andrew Hanzelka should join show choir. (also I'm desperate for blog ideas)
Soooooooooooooooo I already wrote about show choir one time, and it was basically a shame blog post because I was tired and I felt I could ramble about it for the required word count. I'm going to do it again because I can. Show choir at Kennedy has gotten to a cult-like status. I've seen the hard work people put into their auditions, even friendships have been broken up by one friend making the group and one friend not being so lucky. People dedicate their high school career to show choir, and the audition pool for Happiness inc (varisty choir) sometimes exceeds 200. Because we have such a large audition pool, recruiting is never really necessary. The other day our director, Mr. Zielger, said something very unusual.
"If someone doesn't bring me Andrew Hanzelka by the end of the year, I'm going to hurt all of you."
Obviously, he was joking about the "hurting us" part, but it is very strange for Mr. Ziegler to go out of his way to ask for someone to join. Immediately, poor Andrew was bombarded by choir geeks relentlessly asking him to try out. I knew he was probably annoyed by this, but I thought it would be worth a shot to conduct a little interview.
So Andrew, why do you think people want you to join show choir?
Mostly for my body, but also apparently I have a good singing voice.
How often to do get asked to audition?
Probably four times a school week.
What do you tell them?
"Ehhhhh, we'll see.."
Why do you say that?
Mainly to get them to go away... I figure that if I don't give them a clear YES or NO answer, they'll shrug their shoulders and wait a day or two before they ask again
Do you have a random wacky comment or shout out you'd like to make?
I wish I could grow a mustache...
So I just wrote a blog post about some person I actually know, and I feel sort of creepy, and I bet you think I'm creepy. Well thats okay. I think we should all learn to leave Andrew alone on this issue, because he is clearly a very sensitive human being. If you keep bothering him about it, he would never join. The best approach is to subltly convice him to try out in April.
THE END.
"If someone doesn't bring me Andrew Hanzelka by the end of the year, I'm going to hurt all of you."
Obviously, he was joking about the "hurting us" part, but it is very strange for Mr. Ziegler to go out of his way to ask for someone to join. Immediately, poor Andrew was bombarded by choir geeks relentlessly asking him to try out. I knew he was probably annoyed by this, but I thought it would be worth a shot to conduct a little interview.
So Andrew, why do you think people want you to join show choir?
Mostly for my body, but also apparently I have a good singing voice.
How often to do get asked to audition?
Probably four times a school week.
What do you tell them?
"Ehhhhh, we'll see.."
Why do you say that?
Mainly to get them to go away... I figure that if I don't give them a clear YES or NO answer, they'll shrug their shoulders and wait a day or two before they ask again
Do you have a random wacky comment or shout out you'd like to make?
I wish I could grow a mustache...
So I just wrote a blog post about some person I actually know, and I feel sort of creepy, and I bet you think I'm creepy. Well thats okay. I think we should all learn to leave Andrew alone on this issue, because he is clearly a very sensitive human being. If you keep bothering him about it, he would never join. The best approach is to subltly convice him to try out in April.
THE END.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Mediocre about Halloween shows because I'm really tired.
The best part about October is definitely the Halloween. More specifically, the TV and movies that play during this time. I always loved Halloweentime when I was little because I loved the creepy feeling you get from them. I would be sad when Halloween ended and suddenly there was a huge lack of horror programming. I would fill that void when I was younger with shows like Ghost Hunters, A Haunting, and Are You Afraid of the Dark. I wish that TV had more shows like that on these days. The people who made A Haunting have another show now on animal planet called The Haunted, which is taken from "true" accounts and then dramatized. The only required element is that the story have an animal of some sort living with them at the time. Other than that, The Haunted is basically a normal human show that happens to be on Animal Planet.
One of my favorite movies when I was little was Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride. Burton is a master of animation and setting the tone for his movies. In this film, the living world is portrayed as boring and the colors are muted gray to make a more dreary feel. On the flipside, the world of the dead is very bright and colorful while still remaining slightly dark to fit the rest of the movie. I think this was a work of genius for Burton because he is very good at making the right picture.
Nap time.
One of my favorite movies when I was little was Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride. Burton is a master of animation and setting the tone for his movies. In this film, the living world is portrayed as boring and the colors are muted gray to make a more dreary feel. On the flipside, the world of the dead is very bright and colorful while still remaining slightly dark to fit the rest of the movie. I think this was a work of genius for Burton because he is very good at making the right picture.
Nap time.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Above the Influence doesn't do as great of a job as it should.
So the other day I was watching TV. I'm pretty sure all of my blog posts start out with this, or that I was eating. Obviously all I do is eat and watch TV, I mean clearly I am the epitome of childhood obesity. Anyway, I was watching TV when I saw this commercial.
If you didn't watch it, a girl goes to her friend's (maybe boyfriend's OOH LA LA) house and the events of their day is chronicled. They do very cutesy things together in this small town, and then the Above the Influence symbol appears. If you didn't already know, http://www.abovetheinfluence.com/ is a site with the goal in mind to prevent teenage drinking and drug use. It ran for a few months, but went largely unnoticed by me because it is just such a dull advertisement. The color scheme remains drab and muted throughout the entire commercial and the song has no dynamics to it. It completely went past me the first couple times I saw it. The target audience is teenagers just like me, and I, someone who actually pays attention to commercials, let it slide by me completely unphased. This is bad for the intended goal. I wasn't able to pay attention enough to understand the message that you can have an alright time without drinking and drug use. The commercial doesn't even do that right, because this time they are having isn't blown with excitement. I decided to go ahead and check the website out.
I'm not endorsing teenage substance abuse, but most amusing part of the website was the "comeback" section, which gives confused teenagers a source to consult on what to say when asked to participate in such activities. Some of the answers kind of made me laugh because they're so blunt and awkward.
"Lets smoke." "Nah, my Mom has better senses than a drug sniffing dog."
"Hey I snagged my younger brother's Ritalin, want some?" "No thats bad."
"I hate studying, lets just copy off someone." "No way man the teacher would catch us."
I couldn't help but chuckle at seeing someone simply saying "No thats bad" with no implied emotion and then walking away. It just appears so awkward and funny. Some of the suggested excuses would probably be very rehearsed sounding and actually used, making the poor kid feel more awkward than just saying no in his own way. For a site trying to prevent substance use, it doesn't do as great of a job as it should.
If you didn't watch it, a girl goes to her friend's (maybe boyfriend's OOH LA LA) house and the events of their day is chronicled. They do very cutesy things together in this small town, and then the Above the Influence symbol appears. If you didn't already know, http://www.abovetheinfluence.com/ is a site with the goal in mind to prevent teenage drinking and drug use. It ran for a few months, but went largely unnoticed by me because it is just such a dull advertisement. The color scheme remains drab and muted throughout the entire commercial and the song has no dynamics to it. It completely went past me the first couple times I saw it. The target audience is teenagers just like me, and I, someone who actually pays attention to commercials, let it slide by me completely unphased. This is bad for the intended goal. I wasn't able to pay attention enough to understand the message that you can have an alright time without drinking and drug use. The commercial doesn't even do that right, because this time they are having isn't blown with excitement. I decided to go ahead and check the website out.
I'm not endorsing teenage substance abuse, but most amusing part of the website was the "comeback" section, which gives confused teenagers a source to consult on what to say when asked to participate in such activities. Some of the answers kind of made me laugh because they're so blunt and awkward.
"Lets smoke." "Nah, my Mom has better senses than a drug sniffing dog."
"Hey I snagged my younger brother's Ritalin, want some?" "No thats bad."
"I hate studying, lets just copy off someone." "No way man the teacher would catch us."
I couldn't help but chuckle at seeing someone simply saying "No thats bad" with no implied emotion and then walking away. It just appears so awkward and funny. Some of the suggested excuses would probably be very rehearsed sounding and actually used, making the poor kid feel more awkward than just saying no in his own way. For a site trying to prevent substance use, it doesn't do as great of a job as it should.
Moccasins: my Grandpa predicts fashion trends.
I just preheated my oven to 400 degrees, and my goal is to see if I can write one blog post in the time it takes to cook this pizza. It will be quite a lovely pizza, a personal deep dish cheese. So hopefully that all turns out well.
I was really cold earlier and decided to slip on my pair of target moccasins. This is the generic cheap pair that LITERALLY EVERY GIRL OWNS. If you have ever been to Kennedy High School, you know what I'm talking about. I decided this would be an interesting topic to write about, because my grandpa has been wearing moccasins since before I was born, definitely before they were fashionable. Moccasins used to be on par with a pair of bunny slippers; you only wore them when you were in the privacy of your own home. With the rising popularity of Uggs and other sheepskin boots, moccasins soon found their place in fashion.
I bought my first pair sometime early last winter, before Christmas. The first day I wore them to school; pure bliss. My feet were so warm surrounded by fur, but with the lazy comfort of socially acceptable slippers. The second day I wore them, the fur on the bottom had flattened significantly. After about a month, there was hardly anything left but the shell. I continued to wear them, however. For my birthday (December 24th) my dad bought me a pair of very nice Ugg moccasins. To be completely honest, I was a bit mortified. My previous pair had completely fell apart within a month. Now I was presented with a $100 pair that would surely meet the same fate, right?
Wrong. Have you ever heard the saying, "you get what you pay for"? It really is true. If you buy a pair of $8 moccasins, don't expect a life companion. Moccasins are wonderful shoes that make your feet happy. The more expensive pair is going to benefit you in the long run.
I was really cold earlier and decided to slip on my pair of target moccasins. This is the generic cheap pair that LITERALLY EVERY GIRL OWNS. If you have ever been to Kennedy High School, you know what I'm talking about. I decided this would be an interesting topic to write about, because my grandpa has been wearing moccasins since before I was born, definitely before they were fashionable. Moccasins used to be on par with a pair of bunny slippers; you only wore them when you were in the privacy of your own home. With the rising popularity of Uggs and other sheepskin boots, moccasins soon found their place in fashion.
I bought my first pair sometime early last winter, before Christmas. The first day I wore them to school; pure bliss. My feet were so warm surrounded by fur, but with the lazy comfort of socially acceptable slippers. The second day I wore them, the fur on the bottom had flattened significantly. After about a month, there was hardly anything left but the shell. I continued to wear them, however. For my birthday (December 24th) my dad bought me a pair of very nice Ugg moccasins. To be completely honest, I was a bit mortified. My previous pair had completely fell apart within a month. Now I was presented with a $100 pair that would surely meet the same fate, right?
Wrong. Have you ever heard the saying, "you get what you pay for"? It really is true. If you buy a pair of $8 moccasins, don't expect a life companion. Moccasins are wonderful shoes that make your feet happy. The more expensive pair is going to benefit you in the long run.
And it was the greatest pizza ever.
Regular Show is pretty exceptional! (HA HA HA GET IT?)
So the other day I was just hanging out at my house and whatnot, watching TV. When I don't know what to watch, one of my first instincts is to turn on Cartoon Network. I've been watching it since as long as I can remember and just never really grew out of watching it. Cartoon Network appealed to me more when I was younger and gradually has been more interesting lately. This is probably because, in my opinion, the shows are much better. Probably my favorite of the new block of programs Cartoon Network has introduced is Regular Show.
This show is kind of difficult to explain. Basically, there are two main characters: Mordecai and Rigby. (Rigby is the raccoon and Mordecai the blue-jay.) It is assumed they are adults. They live a world of anthropometric animals that go on an average day-to-day basis. Mordecai and Rigby have average jobs working for the park, which they consistently slack at. Most of the humor comes from the interactions between Mordecai and Rigby, which is very childish but I just can't help but find hilarious. It's very hard to pinpoint exactly what is so funny about them, you really just have to watch a few episodes to get the collective idea. Everything is very overplayed with a sarcastic tone that just appeals to me. Here's a decent example:
That should give you a decent idea about the funny interactions between them. Probably the best running joke about the show is that every episode results in them either being sucked into another dimension or changing reality completely, only for it to be reset by the end of the episode. I think if the entire show stayed at the casual level it was at in the beginning, it would be kind of boring. The fact it slides into some ridiculous zone makes it laugh worthy.
This show is kind of difficult to explain. Basically, there are two main characters: Mordecai and Rigby. (Rigby is the raccoon and Mordecai the blue-jay.) It is assumed they are adults. They live a world of anthropometric animals that go on an average day-to-day basis. Mordecai and Rigby have average jobs working for the park, which they consistently slack at. Most of the humor comes from the interactions between Mordecai and Rigby, which is very childish but I just can't help but find hilarious. It's very hard to pinpoint exactly what is so funny about them, you really just have to watch a few episodes to get the collective idea. Everything is very overplayed with a sarcastic tone that just appeals to me. Here's a decent example:
That should give you a decent idea about the funny interactions between them. Probably the best running joke about the show is that every episode results in them either being sucked into another dimension or changing reality completely, only for it to be reset by the end of the episode. I think if the entire show stayed at the casual level it was at in the beginning, it would be kind of boring. The fact it slides into some ridiculous zone makes it laugh worthy.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
The Death of the Written Word.
Recording of writings has been with humanity since we have learned to write. We wrote things down to contain what our memories couldn't hold on to. As man has walked through the past thousand years, books have been there, holding our hand. Books contain the voices of the past, the ideas and personal thoughts that have kept a persons legacy alive. An author still lives on as long as there is someone to read his works. Humanity has fought wars over the written word. And today, the end of the book can be seen.
The death of the book has come in the form of tablets such as the iPad, Nook, and Kindle. While technology and progression is not necessarily a bad thing and is a natural part of life, I can't help but feel a bit of grief for the future of the book. Although Nooks and Kindles are still considered new technology, and more of a luxury item than a necessity, the effect on books and bookstores can already be seen. A notable example of this is Borders, a book chain that had been open with many locations across the united states for over 40 years. In an NPR report, the threat electronic books has put on bookstores is mentioned freqently.
Ms. SHERRI HAUBER: I think e-books hurt Borders. You know, on my iPad, I can get a book from Amazon
Mr. JANE FREIDMAN (Electronic Media Professor, University of Cincinnati): It's a big sign of the larger transition we're all making to digital books and digital reading devices. So we're probably going to see a further decline of the bricks and mortar stores, and further movement away from people reading print or paper books, and more people adopting digital reading devices.
GUERRA: Perhaps the most telling piece of news came in April. That's when Amazon announced for the first time since the Kindle was introduced that it was selling more e-books than print books in the U.S. But Freidman says that doesn't necessary spell doom and gloom to the book industry and to book culture in general.
I personally find it a bit depressing. There is an argument to be made that switching to electronic books will leave a smaller footprint on the environment due to less paper consumption, but you won't be able to beat the nostalgic feel opening a real paperback book.
My Grandpa, dressing like a hipster since 1930.
The other day was my Grandpas 81st birthday. My Mom and Brother and I all ventured over to their house to celebrate. I was happy to see my Grandpa, and then I noticed something that I found hilarious. My Grandpa, who absolutely has never tried to cater to fashion trends, was dressed the way a modern hipster would dress. He had a vintage plaid shirt tucked into his khakis while wearing a long, large buttoned cardigan and boat shoes (or sperrys). I thought it was kind of humorous and figured that hipster culture was a relevant enough topic to blog about. Its relevant to my "topic" I suppose because this culture of people is literally build out of what they wear and buy. Its actually a running joke about hipsters that "I bought this before everyone else had it".
I'm not sure where hipster culture began. It might have evolved out of grunge fans from the 90s or emo kids outgrowing their neon-pink skinny jeans and Hello Kitty t-shirts. Regardless, its a style of dress and attitude that has come to light more recently. More "hardcore" hipsters live in college towns after they graduated art school and currently struggle to earn an income selling postmodern art focusing on owls and cats. (I actually have purchased a piece of art from these poor souls.)
Hipsters do some things out of sheer irony. A notable example of this is wearing Bill Cosby sweaters because they are so ugly that they've become cool. Wearing sweaters like this is especially "hip" when they are very out of season, like in the summer. That sweaty forehead and reindeer sweater is a calling card for cool. Another notable example that I find hilarious is drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon beer simply because of how uncouth it is and its association with blue collar workers. I think it is really funny that this company has a profit margin based solely off of people drinking it to make fun of it.
I'm bad at ending things so bye.
 |
| Exactly this. |
I'm not sure where hipster culture began. It might have evolved out of grunge fans from the 90s or emo kids outgrowing their neon-pink skinny jeans and Hello Kitty t-shirts. Regardless, its a style of dress and attitude that has come to light more recently. More "hardcore" hipsters live in college towns after they graduated art school and currently struggle to earn an income selling postmodern art focusing on owls and cats. (I actually have purchased a piece of art from these poor souls.)
 |
| Art. |
Hipsters do some things out of sheer irony. A notable example of this is wearing Bill Cosby sweaters because they are so ugly that they've become cool. Wearing sweaters like this is especially "hip" when they are very out of season, like in the summer. That sweaty forehead and reindeer sweater is a calling card for cool. Another notable example that I find hilarious is drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon beer simply because of how uncouth it is and its association with blue collar workers. I think it is really funny that this company has a profit margin based solely off of people drinking it to make fun of it.
I'm bad at ending things so bye.
This article about smartphones is actually pretty stupid.
So basically, I didn't know what to write about. I linked CNN business to my blog for this purpose, because there is usually something kind of interesting going on for me to write about. I saw a link to this article Cell Phone Makers Target Teens. I thought the title was a bit peculiar, since this isn't exactly big news. Every company wants to target teenagers. They advertise the products themselves by just carrying them around. Teenagers are very impressionable, so if they saw one of their friends with some product, they'd be inclined to buy it as well. For the sake of writing the required amount of blog posts so I can get a good grade, and some day hope to go to college and not live in a box, I decided to read the article. The opening paragraph was fine with me. It spit out believable facts like "In just two years, the number of teenage cellular subscribers has grown by nearly 26 percent (that's a full 10 percentage points above the growth rate of 45- to 54-year-old customers for the same time period)" so at first I was buying this article. A voice in the back of my mind kept telling me that something wasn't right, because like I said, this is pretty old news. And then the line "So why not make a smartphone geared toward teens and tweens? After all, they're the ones who are driving some of the most advanced mobile trends." appeared, and the article was all down hill from there.
Actually, the death of this article came when the reader sees this picture. I honestly will cut straight to it, that is a laughably awful phone. Good lord, do you see that? Egg shaped and with awkward buttons, Helio's Ocean could be confused with Jitterbug phones. Jitterbug is a cell phone manufacturer with an elderly targeted market. Its phones are purposely created to be easy to use, with large buttons and a dollar bill sized screen. The Ocean is "being marketed towards teenagers". I don't think phone companies need to go out of their way to create phones teenagers would buy these days, especially with iPhones, Droids, and Blackberries dominating the Smartphone market. Teenagers are the most knowledgeable when it comes to how "gadgets" work. I'm asked very frequently by my college educated parents how to do what I consider simple tasks on their cell phones. Trying to make a less high tech phone and then marketing it to teenagers isn't going to be very successful. Actually, this kind of article would trick my Grandma into buying this phone. All grandparents are naive to things like this. I've received many "trendy" presents from them only to feign my excitement and then figure out how I can return it.
Want to know something funny? I realized this article was written in 2007 and was probably incredibly relevant back then. What I don't understand is why was a four year old article linked to the main page of CNN business?
#woops
Sunday, October 2, 2011
My first (but probably not last) post about show choir!
This weekend, Happiness inc had the pleasure of working with Brett Carrol, the director or Burbank High school's In Sync. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I'll explain it to you. I'm talking about show choir. Show choir is the epitome of "performing arts". A simple definition is that we form a group of boys and girls who sing, choose some songs that you think seem cool and then figure out some choreography (dancing). We begin to figure out our songs and choreography in the fall and get our show together before January. Then in the early winter the group travels to various schools for a competition, and judges decide who has put on the best show and then awards are given. But that is a very underplayed description. Show choir has obtained cult status. It has grown so far from what it originally was. I realized this when I talked to an adult that was in Happiness when they were in high school. I casually mentioned my practice schedule and the kind of commitment you make to show choir at Kennedy. She was very surprised at how huge it has grown. Most of this growth has occurred in the past ten years. To be completely honest with you, I have absolutely no idea why, but things are like that, just suddenly becoming popular. At Kennedy, the choir program has always been strong. Our varsity show choir, Happiness inc, has been very successful in the past couple years. Last season, they were ranked 10th in the nation out of 5,000 groups.
This weekend we had a camp where Bret Carrol, the director of Burbank's In Sync, gave us some extra vocal technique instruction. Bret is a genius. Burbank is one of the top groups in the nation. Burbank, from Burbank California, has an enormous budget for their show. They produce a show with an actual set and multiple costume changes. The physical part isn't what makes them so good, though. Its their director, who has taught a certain way to make the choir sing that makes it sound amazing. This technique involves changing a certain part of the tone to make the sound carry farther. The effect is amazing, it makes the sound blow you away.
Here is a clip of Burbank's Ballad and one of their other numbers, so you can get an idea what I'm talking about.
This weekend we had a camp where Bret Carrol, the director of Burbank's In Sync, gave us some extra vocal technique instruction. Bret is a genius. Burbank is one of the top groups in the nation. Burbank, from Burbank California, has an enormous budget for their show. They produce a show with an actual set and multiple costume changes. The physical part isn't what makes them so good, though. Its their director, who has taught a certain way to make the choir sing that makes it sound amazing. This technique involves changing a certain part of the tone to make the sound carry farther. The effect is amazing, it makes the sound blow you away.
Here is a clip of Burbank's Ballad and one of their other numbers, so you can get an idea what I'm talking about.
Most Chinese food is actually a lie as well.
This will be my second post tonight relating to food. I really just thought of my ideas for what to write about to tonight while eating dinner. My family brought home Chinese from HyVee. ( often referred to as HyChi by us youngsters) My very plain tastes forced me to order sesame chicken and a side of rice. While I was eating I noticed that my chicken was basically standard chicken strips like any restaurant sells dipped in some sort of fattening and kind of sugary paste-sauce. It made me wonder how accurate this was to what actual Chinese cuisine contains.
In the nineteenth century, Chinese immigrants emigrated from their homes in mostly southern China to California. San Francisco became a prominent place for the immigrants. Soon after the population grew, Chinese in San Francisco operated sophisticated and sometimes luxurious restaurants patronized mainly by Chinese. These places became popular with upper-class whites who saw it as a novelty place to go. However, the upper class were not used to the very foreign tastes brought over by the immigrants. To accommodate to their tastes, the restaurants adjusted their menus to suit them. One of the most notable creation from this time is Chop Suey, which is really any type of noodles with any type of meat. And people ate it.
Today, most "Chinese Food" is sold with some a panda or a Chinese character on its packaging. Everything on the modern Chinese restaurant menu has been created to suit the tastes of the fast food hungry American. Every item is very similar to every other item available. Chicken is prepared the exact same way, it just all depends on what kind of sauce it is coated in and then suddenly you have a "whole new dish." It's all a lie if you think about it. What we consider Chinese food is no more ethnic than Burger King or McDonald's. It is our own creation, not some kind of foreign delicacy. I'm not saying traditional Chinese restaurants can't be found in the United States, but I'm sure you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant that doesn't cater to the modern customers wants. This is good business practice though, just for the reason that not everyone wants to eat true traditional Chinese food.
Neither do I though, I had the sesame chicken.
In the nineteenth century, Chinese immigrants emigrated from their homes in mostly southern China to California. San Francisco became a prominent place for the immigrants. Soon after the population grew, Chinese in San Francisco operated sophisticated and sometimes luxurious restaurants patronized mainly by Chinese. These places became popular with upper-class whites who saw it as a novelty place to go. However, the upper class were not used to the very foreign tastes brought over by the immigrants. To accommodate to their tastes, the restaurants adjusted their menus to suit them. One of the most notable creation from this time is Chop Suey, which is really any type of noodles with any type of meat. And people ate it.
Today, most "Chinese Food" is sold with some a panda or a Chinese character on its packaging. Everything on the modern Chinese restaurant menu has been created to suit the tastes of the fast food hungry American. Every item is very similar to every other item available. Chicken is prepared the exact same way, it just all depends on what kind of sauce it is coated in and then suddenly you have a "whole new dish." It's all a lie if you think about it. What we consider Chinese food is no more ethnic than Burger King or McDonald's. It is our own creation, not some kind of foreign delicacy. I'm not saying traditional Chinese restaurants can't be found in the United States, but I'm sure you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant that doesn't cater to the modern customers wants. This is good business practice though, just for the reason that not everyone wants to eat true traditional Chinese food.
Neither do I though, I had the sesame chicken.
"Natural" foods are kind of a big lie
Basically, my inspiration for this came from one of my many trips to the fridge. I grabbed a can of Sierra Mist because I enjoy light pops such as 7up and Sprite (even though I'll take whatever is in the fridge). I quickly downed the can within thirty seconds and noticed something I hadn't before. The can was different than normal, a lighter color with bubbles and water all over it as apposed to the usual green and yellow stripes. The can said it was "natural" with other "natural flavors". It made me wonder exactly what that meant and if that made it any better for me to consume.
In short, it means almost absolutely nothing. The FDA does not regulate what it means for a product to be considered "natural". Sometimes this can be good. If a company sold, say, a bag of trail mix, they could put the word "natural" all over it. People would see it and probably consider it a better choice than a bag of trail mix without the word "natural" on it. In some situations, however, giving a product the label "natural" it can potentially jeopardize a persons choice in diet. For example, someone could purchase the "natural" Sierra Mist because they think it will be healthier for them. I found that the "natural" Sierra Mist has the same amount of calories and the same ingredients (carbonated water, sugar, citric acid, and potassium citrate).
I guess it isn't surprising that companies do this. Its really all about getting people to buy their product. Slapping "natural" on a label is an easy and very inexpensive in relation to the potential profit gained. The average consumer is not very intelligent. Using the right words or the right design on a product is all it really takes for a majority of people. These days, the average person doesn't have time to mull over the pros and cons of a particular type of soda, and often people don't really care because they could just go buy another 12 pack.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
"Only in America" a poem (I guess you could call it that) about the contents of my pantry.
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| My glamorous pantry. |
Only in America will you find two three cans of the exact same chicken noodle soup, but different brands.
Only in America will you find a 64 oz soda cup from a gas station that we will absolutely never use again because the fact it is sitting in the pantry and not the cup cabinet. Only in America is that unsanitary,
Only in America will you find Pop tarts, even though nobody in my family likes Pop tarts. Seriously, does someone want these? My Dad keeps buying them because he thinks someone will eat them but nobody ever does.
Only in America will you be able to buy a 2 lb cylinder of oatmeal.
Only in America will you find 3 half eaten bags of Tostitos chips.
Only in America will you find four boxes of granola bars, when again, no one in my family eats granola bars.
Only in America will you find a box of breadcrumbs. Seriously, my family bought a box of bread crumbs. "Why?" is all I can think to say. Only in America will you find three jars of peanut butter, two jars of Prego tomato sauce, and two jars of Nutella. These jars of paste/sauces have enough calories to feed my family by themselves, but yet we have them for no other purpose.
Okay "poem" over that was really awful. But my point is that in America every family has a pantry full of food that they don't need and hardly ever eat. In my household, we probably go out to eat twice a week, which makes less use for the food in my pantry. Personally, there is nothing in there I find worthy of eating right now. Most of what I eat is microwaved and eaten out of a box or prepared for me by a restaurant. I know that this is wasteful. Unfortunately, I'm not the only one who does this. America has become such a large consumer that consuming is basically all we know how to do. Since birth we have been conditioned to love material goods. When we decorate a room of our houses we consume more products like lamps and pictures and clocks and drapes simply so that the room is aesthetically pleasing.
Only in America.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
I give my unwanted opinion about the iPhone 5!
I figured this was a good topic so I could finally have a blog post with a real idea. So for the past few months I've been wishing I had a smart phone. I currently have the LG Banter Touch. I mean I'm going to be casually using my phone in class anyway so why not use the internet at the same time! PLUS if I had a smartphone I could probably procure some sort of blogger app so I can be all high-tech about my blog posts in this class. Posting from my phone would probably reduce the chore-like feeling of writing. My current carrier (US Celluar) does have smartphones, mostly just the blackberry and a few models of the droid. My Dad and his wife Kathy currently use Verizon, which carries the iPhone. I would be willing to switch providers to get this phone. (which says something about the power and popularity of Apple) If I'm going to get a smartphone, I want THE MOTHER OF ALL SMARTPHONES. I want the iPhone 5.
I heard that such a thing would soon be coming into existence one morning on the news, with the added info it would go to Sprint, offering unlimited data. I didn't really care if Sprint was getting the iPhone 5, but the news of the iPhone 5 arriving conveniently fits in with my plans to acquire a smartphone. Probably the most interesting part about the iPhone 5 is not the actual phone itself, but rather the cult following Apple products have. A simple google search of the word "iPhone 5" leads to obsession blogs, which are all pretty much the exact same blog over and over.
Notable examples include:
http://iphone5release.org/
http://www.iphone5talk.com/
http://www.iphone5specs.org/
http://iphone5world.net/
http://iphone5features.net/
http://newiphone5.net/
Depressingly, there are many more. Also, I found the hilariously named http://www.macrumors.com/ which shows the kind of cult following Apple products have. To throw another link at you, there is a derogatory term for those obsessed with Apple.
So yeah, the iPhone 5 guys.
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I heard that such a thing would soon be coming into existence one morning on the news, with the added info it would go to Sprint, offering unlimited data. I didn't really care if Sprint was getting the iPhone 5, but the news of the iPhone 5 arriving conveniently fits in with my plans to acquire a smartphone. Probably the most interesting part about the iPhone 5 is not the actual phone itself, but rather the cult following Apple products have. A simple google search of the word "iPhone 5" leads to obsession blogs, which are all pretty much the exact same blog over and over.
Notable examples include:
http://iphone5release.org/
http://www.iphone5talk.com/
http://www.iphone5specs.org/
http://iphone5world.net/
http://iphone5features.net/
http://newiphone5.net/
Depressingly, there are many more. Also, I found the hilariously named http://www.macrumors.com/ which shows the kind of cult following Apple products have. To throw another link at you, there is a derogatory term for those obsessed with Apple.
So yeah, the iPhone 5 guys.
This is a second awkward post.
Okay, this post is just going to be three awkwardly short sub-posts because I have a few things I can write about. Unfortunately, none of these things are solid enough to write about for the duration of an entire blog post.
SO FIRST ONE.
I am awful at naming things. I over-think things far too often and felt that whatever I named my blog would immediately cause second thoughts. I'm lucky I've never been bestowed the honor of naming a pet or baby (they're totally the same thing) because I would probably awkwardly run names through in my head and then change my mind right away. So I dubbed this blog "My Awkward Blog" or for the actual link "Kelsey's Awkward Blog" (someone already had the name :( ) (oh wow smiley/frowny faces don't work in parenthesis ) because I assumed that the idea of a school affiliated blog written by me would produce hilariously awkward results.
ALSO
I feel like even though my mild interest in the business world is a mature topic to base my blog off of, I'm already anticipating writers block/boredom. So sometimes I'll write about nothing (which you are either reading now or maybe you just saw a large enough block of text and then entered a grade. either way....yeah) or sometimes I'll go read a book and tell you stuff about it or watch some movie and tell you stuff about it or go do something fun/quirky and tell you stuff about it or try a new restaurant and tell you stuff about it.
SO FIRST ONE.
I am awful at naming things. I over-think things far too often and felt that whatever I named my blog would immediately cause second thoughts. I'm lucky I've never been bestowed the honor of naming a pet or baby (they're totally the same thing) because I would probably awkwardly run names through in my head and then change my mind right away. So I dubbed this blog "My Awkward Blog" or for the actual link "Kelsey's Awkward Blog" (someone already had the name :( ) (oh wow smiley/frowny faces don't work in parenthesis ) because I assumed that the idea of a school affiliated blog written by me would produce hilariously awkward results.
ALSO
I feel like even though my mild interest in the business world is a mature topic to base my blog off of, I'm already anticipating writers block/boredom. So sometimes I'll write about nothing (which you are either reading now or maybe you just saw a large enough block of text and then entered a grade. either way....yeah) or sometimes I'll go read a book and tell you stuff about it or watch some movie and tell you stuff about it or go do something fun/quirky and tell you stuff about it or try a new restaurant and tell you stuff about it.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
I guess this is my first post.
I already have written a decently vague description in the ABOUT THIS BLOG section. To reiterate what I wrote there, I basically have a really strange fascination with advertising, media, and marketing.
I think the best topic for my first blog post is to explain exactly why I think thats a good topic to write about.
To start off, I dont go home and obsessively watch commercials. I dont read blogs about new products or subscribe to business magazines or even read the newspaper. The way companies market products to consumers has always been kind of fascinating. Its very easy for me to observe living in America where products and logos are all around us. I think my first memory of admiring a company's marketing strategy (although I didn't think of it in that way at the time) was how McDonalds added toys to kids meals as an incentive for buying one. I would see commericals for the cheap plastic toys that went with whatever Disney movie I was obsessed with at the time and subconciously I would crave chicken mcnuggets and (what an American would consider) a small portion of french fries. Actually, I'm really hungry now and that sounds delicious. McDonalds is so successful at what it does I can crave it from writing about early memories of its marketing strategies.
I thought my interest for products and consumers would be an appropriate topic for my blog because I thought it would be a mature enough topic that I could learn a lot about it. I realized that since I am now at the beginning of my junior year I should probably have some of an idea what I'm interested in. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of other interests! I love to sing. I've taken private voice lessons for a long time and I practice mostly classical pieces. I don't doubt my abilities, but I know there is a slim chance I would be able to support myself as an opera singer. Products and advertising and consumerism in America will always exist, and it always expanding. I figured that would be an excellent field to take an interest in and that this would be a good place to learn what I really enjoy.
I think the best topic for my first blog post is to explain exactly why I think thats a good topic to write about.
To start off, I dont go home and obsessively watch commercials. I dont read blogs about new products or subscribe to business magazines or even read the newspaper. The way companies market products to consumers has always been kind of fascinating. Its very easy for me to observe living in America where products and logos are all around us. I think my first memory of admiring a company's marketing strategy (although I didn't think of it in that way at the time) was how McDonalds added toys to kids meals as an incentive for buying one. I would see commericals for the cheap plastic toys that went with whatever Disney movie I was obsessed with at the time and subconciously I would crave chicken mcnuggets and (what an American would consider) a small portion of french fries. Actually, I'm really hungry now and that sounds delicious. McDonalds is so successful at what it does I can crave it from writing about early memories of its marketing strategies.
I thought my interest for products and consumers would be an appropriate topic for my blog because I thought it would be a mature enough topic that I could learn a lot about it. I realized that since I am now at the beginning of my junior year I should probably have some of an idea what I'm interested in. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of other interests! I love to sing. I've taken private voice lessons for a long time and I practice mostly classical pieces. I don't doubt my abilities, but I know there is a slim chance I would be able to support myself as an opera singer. Products and advertising and consumerism in America will always exist, and it always expanding. I figured that would be an excellent field to take an interest in and that this would be a good place to learn what I really enjoy.
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