Space Travel December 5, 2006

HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) — NASA’s plans for returning people to the moon — an objective called for by President Bush in 2004 — includes establishing a permanent outpost that would be used to prepare for a manned trip to Mars.

NASA wants permanent moon base – CNN.com

This article is about how the government wants to establish an outpost on the moon that would be permanent.  From this outpost astronauts would be able to prepare for trips to Mars.  To maintain the outpost astronauts would have to use the moon’s natural resources.  Scientists believe that this could all happen by the year 2020, and that by 2024 there could actually be a continuous human presence on the moon’s surface. 

I think it is so cool how we are able to do the things we can today.  Technology is the United States’ future so I think this outpost is a great idea and it will help launch even more technological advances and space exploration.

Blogged with Flock

Quarterback Apologizes November 27, 2006

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Michael Vick’s frustrations with fading playoff hopes and unexpected insults from home fans caused him to flash an obscene hand gesture on Sunday.

SI.com – NFL – Vick apologizes for obscene hand gesture to fans – Monday November 27, 2006 4:19PM

This article is about a football player Mike Vick and how he made a hand gesture while on television.  He is a quaterback for the Falcons and has been really frustrated with his losing team lately.  Walking off the field after a loss the crowd was booing them, and one male fan in particular said something to him which set him off to make the hand gesture.  He has apologized for the incident and isn’t getting into any kind of trouble.

I think what Mike Vick did was wrong.  Millions of people are watching the football game on television and see everything that goes on.  If children were to see the hand gesture they may start doing it themselves.  Professional sports players are supposed to be role models to younger kids and this act just isn’t showing a good role model.

Blogged with Flock

Global Warming November 21, 2006

WASHINGTON – Animal and plant species have begun dying off or changing sooner than predicted because of global warming, a review of hundreds of research studies contends.

Report: Global warming killing species – World Environment – MSNBC.com

This article is about how global warming is creeping up on us sooner than scientists had thought.  Due to this rapid global warming, many species of animals that rely on cold weather are going extinct and/or have been migrating further north to survive.  This shows how within the next 50 years we are going to have a big problem with animals going extinct and we will be living in a different kind of world.

This kind of news really upsets me because I love animals, and I don’t like hearing about them dying.  I really believe that humans need to do something to slow down the process of global warming, like taking better care of our environment.  If there is a God, he is obviously trying to tell us that WE ARE DOING SOMETHING WRONG and that we are ruining our Earth.

Blogged with Flock

What a Shame November 15, 2006

FORT CAMPBELL, Kentucky (AP) — One of four U.S. soldiers accused of raping an Iraqi girl last spring and killing her and her family pleaded guilty Wednesday and will testify against the others

Soldier pleads guilty in Iraq killings – CNN.com

This article is about how four U.S. soldiers raped a 14 year old girl and then killed her and her family.  The family lived in Mahmoudiya, which is a village 20 miles south of Bahdad.  Barker was the only one of the four that have pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty.  Green, one of the other men, was sent home from the Army before the rape and murder became known because of having a “personality disorder”.  It is not known whether or not the death penalty will be put on him.  The four men thought out the whole assault while drinking whiskey and playing cards.

This goes to show how fighting in a war and being in another country totally different than the one you grew up in can affect who you are.  Soldiers tend to act differently and more barbaric because they think that’s how they are supposed to act in a time of war.  I think it’s horrible what they did to these innocent people and that something definently needs to be done about it.

Blogged with Flock

Nickel and Dimed pg. 1-121 November 12, 2006

This book is about how the author, Barbara Ehrenreich, goes about understand poverty.  She is a writer that thought of the idea that a journalist should live the life of a person living full time in poverty to see how these people make it in life. They would see if making today’s minimum wage is enough to afford a place to live and get food.  Unfortunately for her, her boss suggested that SHE be that journalist.  She was not too happy about this but through her experiences she has learned how hard it is working at these low paying jobs.  This experience has also shown a bad side of her. She says multiple times how she would never actually let herself be out of money because she doesn’t actually want to fully live the lifestyle of poverty.  She also says how she is so “overqualified” for these jobs. She quotes, “there was no way I was going to experience poverty or find out how it really feels to be a long term low-wage worker.” Her objective was just to see “whether I could match income to expences…”  This shows her side of how she looks down upon people that live in poverty and how she would NEVER live that way.

Blogged with Flock

College for Sale November 9, 2006

This story, written by Wesley Shumar, is about how colleges are using marketing to make their college look good, rather than focus on the actual educational qualities of the school.  One reason stated in the story of why schools are focusing more on advertising their schools as an image not by education is that “colleges are desperate for students and students are increasingly interested in colleges with good names, so the image of the university has become doubly important”.  Along with the want of more students, the universities want more money so image is what they care more about instead of the “content” of the school.  It’s a shame that these schools are caring less and less about the value of the education offered by them and more and more about the image of the school.  Seeing that univerisities are being focused more on image, they have been controlled by salespeople and marketers rather then traditionally the faculty running everything. Shumar keeps the story interesting and proves his points by talking about various college’s brochures and bookstores.

Blogged with Flock

Hunger as Ideology November 7, 2006

This story, written by Susan Bordo, is about how people in today’s world view men and women’s eating habits.  Susan Bordo believes that “we live in a time in wihch mass imagery has an unprecedented power to instruct”.  This is true.  People all around the world are looking to the media to see what the ideal person should look like.  For the longest time women have been the bigger focus of the media as to what they should look like.  Tall, thin, and beautiful.  Susan Bordo talks about how the media tries to tell women that to get this look you can’t eat.  Indulge a little is what women think is the right thing to do in public, which makes them binge eat when they are alone.  I think it is sad how some girls have to hide their true selves just to make themselves look better in the eyes of others.  Another idea that Bordo brings up is the role men and women take in eating and feeding others.  Women are the ones to feed their men to show their love for them while men get to eat it all up.  On the other hand woman do not get fed by man but eat in private.  This shows that by them feeding themselves is in place of the human love they are not receiving.  I have seen these kinds of things happen to other people, even myself, where a girl gets upset over her boyfriend and goes and eats chocolate or something similar to make herself feel better.  Today’s society really has changed for the worst.

Blogged with Flock

The Culture of Argument in a Chicago Neighborhood Bar November 2, 2006

This story was about a woman named Julie Lindquist.  She is a bartender at a bar called the Smokehouse.  Here she records people’s conversations so she can study them.  From her research she realizes that no matter what class you are a part of, once you are in the bar everyone is the same.  She came to this conclusion because everyone seemed to talk about the same problems of their daily lives.

One person in particular who attended the bar on a regular basis was named Jack.  He shared common interests with a political candidate Ross Perot.  He was so passionate about his beliefs that he put them towards his want of attention at the bar.  He got into heated arguments with others about his views, partly because he liked to stick up for his beliefs and partly so he could be the center of attention.  Being the center of attention would cause him to build up a status in society.  Lindquist believes that this is basically what everybody wants – to be a part of society.

Blogged with Flock

Follow the guidelines October 29, 2006

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A dormitory elevator that pinned and killed an Ohio State University freshman was overloaded, said authorities who have not determined whether the extra weight caused a malfunction.

Elevator that killed student overloaded – CNN.com

This article is about how a college freshman was killed by being pinned by a dormitory elevator.  The elevator was overloaded and the extra weight could be a factor in the malfunction.  The weight capacity of the elevator is 2500 pounds, and it was exceeded by 1100 pounds.  While the elevator was descending with its doors still opened, the young man was pinned trying to get back onto the 3rd floor.  He died immediantly.

I think this incident is a perfect example of why people need to follow safety guidelines, even if they seem like it’s okay to disobey them.  Some people don’t think it’s a big deal to not follow guidelines because they don’t think anything will happen, but in this case something did.  Someone died because of the weight capacity was exceeded.  This will make me think twice now about going into an overcrowded elevator.

Blogged with Flock

Attack of the Stingray – Again? October 24, 2006

LIGHTHOUSE POINT, Florida (AP) — An 81-year-old man was in critical condition Thursday after a stingray flopped onto his boat and stung him, leaving a foot-long barb in his chest in an accident similar to the one that killed “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin.

Man in critical condition after stingray attack in boat – CNN.com

This article is about how a stingray in Florida flopped onto a man’s boat.  As 81 year old James Bertakis was trying to put it back into the water the stingray stabbed him in the heart.  He did not die from the accident but is in critical condition.  Doctors say that he lived because the barb stayed in his heart, while Steve Irwin actually pulled out the barb when it happened, causing his death.

I think it is very strange how both of these “freak accidents” occurred within the same month.  It is especially unusual how they are happening because of stingrays, which are usually friendly and harmless animals.  Could they biologically be changing?  Maybe they are evolving over time to become more aggressive?  I think seeing how the Earth is changing, for the worst, it is affecting our planet’s wildlife.  I don’t know if this is possible, but there has to be some reason out there of why these once-known undangerous stingrays are now attacking.

Blogged with Flock