Juicy Claims (Blog #9)

1) In today's world, I see that a lot of people walk around blind. Is it technology? Or is it the social networking sites that instead of bringing friends closer only keeps them more apart?

2) I always hear that long distance relationships never work out. Is it really the distance or is it the that the couple don't want it to work in the first place?

3) Movies, commercials or even magazines can have influences on teenage girls on how to dress, look or even feel.

Is Google Making Us Stupid? (Blog #8)

In Nicholas Carr’s article “Is Google Making Us Stupid” he talks about how Google is taking over our brain and how we count on the website to help us find even the simplest things. At least that’s what I got from the first 2 pages. Unfortunately I could not focus on the rest of the article. I’m not really sure why, but I think it has to do with the fact that he uses a whole bunch of examples just to get his point across, and most of the examples I could really care less about. I actually liked one of his examples it was the one with Friedrich Nietzsche and him with the typewriter. I like the way how he was losing his eyesight and how he learned how to type and just by closing his eyes he can type his words from his mind to the sheet of paper. It really fascinates me how much our brain can do when we lose one sense, we can enhance another part. Overall, I could not keep up with this article, it is actually way to long and has too much examples if just by putting only a couple it can actually just be 2 pages.

The Power of Hello (Blog #7)

In his essay “The Power of Hello” Howard White talks about how a simple hello can be powerful. He tells us the day his mother told him, “You let that be the last time you ever walk by somebody and not open up your mouth to speak, because even a dog can wag its tail when it passes you on the street.” That phrase has stuck to him ever since he was 10 years old. That phrase is really true. When you do walk by a dog it always wags its tale, and in dog language that does mean hello. But I love the way how he talks about how saying hello can change a person’s mood. When I say hello to someone random they do get a smile on their face. But, not when it’s a person in a really, really, pissy mood and it just annoys them even more. Maybe, in the back of their mind they do get a smile. Saying hello can also spark a conversation that, according to White “a pathway into their world, and it lets them come into mine, too.” I believe in that.

Facebook in a Crowd (Blog #6)

“Facebook in a Crowd”, by Hal Niedzviecki, was about him and Facebook. He didn’t feel connected with his friends on Facebook, so he decided to invite them to a party. Of course none of them came, besides one. I saw it coming. When I was on Facebook, I got invited to a whole bunch of things and never went. Why? Because I didn’t care to go…I know those people, but do I want to hang out with them…no. That is why I went through my friends list and deleted almost half of the people there, who I didn’t know and who I didn’t care to even know. I think I added them in the first place was because I wanted to get to know them through the internet. Not face to face. Usually I’m shy when I first meet someone so it was a better alternative. Then I became obsessed with Facebook! I was constantly on it, refreshing my feed, to see what else is going on in people’s lives. Ever since the New Year’s, I have quit Facebook! Of course it isn’t deleted so yes I go on for about 2 min. every once in a while. But I am no longer obsessed with Facebook! I am done!

iPod World: The End of Society? (Blog #5)

Out of the two readings I was more interested in reading Andrew Sullivan’s “iPod World: The End of Society?” This reading was about how the today’s society is becoming less involved on what’s going on around them. In the beginning of the reading Andrew talks about walking in New York and as we all know it is busy. People are always either walking or riding their bikes, but they also have their iPod’s on. I myself like to listen to music when I’m out and about. It’s not because I want to tune out the world, it’s because I like to tune out the cars. They are too loud! And it distracts me to look at the cars because I hate looking at a car and person is just staring at me. The person is just staring and it is annoying!! Mind your own business dude!! I don’t see a reason why it’s bad to tune out the world though. Some people don’t have the money to get a way and go to a Hawaii or somewhere just to tune out the world. That’s why we have music. It’s my own playlist. The songs that help me relax, that helps me understand what I’m feeling. But it is also good just to sit out and listen to world once in a while.

Superman and Me (Blog #4)

I absolutely love reading writings of Sherman Alexie. In this particular writing he starts off by talking about his dad and the love of books that he has. He also talks about how he learned to read, how he figured out what a paragraph meant and what he thought about them. I would never have thought as my family as a paragraph, or Cottage Grove a part of a paragraph in the United States. I just love how he thought of paragraphs that way. Sherman Alexie is a great writer. He grew up in a reservation, and the way he talks about them, they really don’t have high hopes of becoming someone. If you do than you are considered an outcast. It is really tough growing up in a reservation, but he made a difference. He is trying to change the way natives in the reservation sees themselves so they as well can be someone, and not feel like an outcast or be ridiculed by the other Indian kids. I don’t think I will ever be tired of saying this but I really loved this story of Sherman Alexie, he is a great writer and I just love how he stood up for himself and made a life outside of the reservation.

Shitty First Drafts (Blog #3)

                I love this reading, Shitty First Drafts by Anne Lamott! It speaks the truth. She talks about how people think that the best known authors out there can just a write a paper in a snap! But in reality they can’t. What Anne talks about is that they take their time, and they write shitty first drafts! They do more than one draft, to the masterpiece. I love one of her quote that says, “You just let the childlike part of you channel whatever voices and visions come through onto the page. If one of the characters wants to say “Well so what Mr. Poopy Pants?,” you let her!” Funny quote! I remember one time I did exactly what she said; I did shitty first drafts and a lot of them, and got an A. So I had the confidence in writing a paper. I put them off to the last minute and with my confidence I wrote a paper in 30 minutes. I thought I wrote an awesome paper. Boy was I wrong! I got C’s and D’s. I was really disappointed. After that I can’t even write a paper until the due date. I find no reason to do them early because I don’t have confidence in myself to write them. But I am going to change that. I am going to do what Anne says, and write shitty first drafts!