Entry# 7. English 101 Blog

Overall I have to say that I did enjoy blogging. It was something different. I would definitely do a blog post over an essay any day! I enjoyed doing the self generated entries more than doing an entry about a specific topic because this allowed me to choose topics which appealed to me. I do feel like I took this blogging seriously. I'm not going to lie I mainly took this assignment serious because of my grade, but I also took it serious because it was a pretty cool assignment. When we did the first assignment about the different types of blogs, I preferred reading personal blogs over professional blogs. I found the Shooting Allens blog to be so cute! Some of the professional blogs were a bit boring but there were some that grabbed my attention. I would definitely consider doing a personal blog outside of the classroom, one similar to the Shooting Allens blog; Mostly pictures and some writing.

Just by doing a blog post and reading other posts I was able to take in new information. For example whenever I did a self generated entry I did a little research on it to know what exactly I wanted to write in my blog entry. For instance, on the last blog post I did about Chicago I did some research on the sculpture Cloud Gate and on Wrigley Field. Of course I picked topics that interest me. Even the entries that I had an assigned topic to write about, I did a little research on them as well. Also reading other students blog entries I was able to learn new things about a certain topic. 

 

 I do feel that this assignment was useful. It's a great way for students to learn new things by writing about something that they find compelling. In addition with blogging students can share their thoughts about a topic they choose to write about and share their thoughts about other topics other students have blogged about as well. And of course blogging can help improve writing skills and help students focus on their audience and tone. Which will also come in handy for other writing projects!

Entry #6. Chi-Town

Amazing place. If you ever want to get away from the Arizona heat this is the place to visit. They don't call it the windy city for nothing. The mornings were in the 70s or 80s, but the nights were colder like in the 60s or 50s. So many cool places in Chicago to go visit. I felt like I had so much to see in so little time. We stayed at a condo in Greek Town. There is so much more to do over there than there is here. I wish I could have stayed a little longer.

There were so many people, many of them tourists. One of my favorite places my friends and I visited was Millenium Park. It is spectacular. I'm jealous that we don't have any parks with stunning architecture, sculpture, and landscape design like this one. My friends and I were excited to see the Cloud Gate, also known as the Bean. The 110-ton sculpture was made by using highly polished stainless steel plates which reflects Chicago's famous skyline and clouds above. This sculpture is among one of the largest of it's kind. It is 66-feet long by 33-feet high. So many people from all over come to this park to see the Bean.    

                                                       

Another place my friend said was a must go to place in Chicago is Wrigley Field. I'm not much of a baseball fan but I'm glad my friend made us go. This baseball stadium was built in 1914 making it the oldest National League ballpark, the second oldest active major league ballpark, and the only remaining Federal League park. It was a really cool experience.

Other places to go/see in Chicago

• Navy Pier

• The Field Museum

• Art Institute of Chicago

• Museum of Science and Industry

• Try Giordano's pizza, it's delicious!

• Willis Tower SkyDeck

And many more! 

             

Entry #5. Food Inc.

Food Inc. is a real eye opener about the food industry. So much goes on that many of us are not aware of because the big food companies don't want the public to know. Just as disappointing, is the the fact that the federal government has been involved in this for years. You would think that the government is supposed to protect us instead of keeping this a secret. The images shown how animals are treated in the film Food Inc. are disturbing. These big businesses only care about profit and not so much for the consumers or the way animals are treated. Chickens are being raised in half the time they were in the 1950s. These poor animals are given antibiotics for rapid growth. Because they are rapidly growing their bones and internal organs can't keep up. They can only take a few steps before falling because they can't handle their weight. As for the cows at factory farms, they stand ankle deep in their manure. So sad and disgusting. So if one cow has E. coli others can get it too. E. coli outbreaks have become more frequent. What is just as disgusting is that ammonia hydroxide is used to clean the meat to help kill the E. coli. Like I said disgusting! No animal should be treated this way.  

I was aware that many product contain corn. By looking at the label you'll that many foods contain corn. Corn is cheap so it is overproduced. Scientists have tried to come up with more uses for it. Corn is one of the top three GMO crops which are grown in the United States. Of course it's going to be in so many products. Not that I think it's good. The film mentioned that the average grocery store has 47,000 products in it, which make it seem like there is a large variety of choice. The truth is that there really isn't. Most processed foods contain corn.   

It's important to know what we put in our bodies and how it can affect us in the long run. Which is why i'm glad this movie was made, so the public can see the truth with what goes on in the food industry and to know what exactly it is that we eat. Everyone should care about where our food comes from because it affects us all. The film states that the average consumer doesn't feel very powerful; however, it is the opposite, we can change this system by demanding good wholesome food. This is absolutely true, we just need to care enough to make the change. If we were able to do it with the tobacco industry, we can certainly change the food industry.   

Entry #3. Too Dependent on Technology

Wow what a bunch of lazies! But who am I to talk, I take advantage of the fact that todays technology can be very easily accessed without having to do much work yourself. For instance, when doing a research paper I can just use google instead of checking out a book from the library. Why not if it's more efficient that way? That's exactly what this clip from the movie Wall-E is trying to demonstrate. Technology has progressed so much over the years that it has caused people to become more lazy or too dependent on it. We don't really have to do much ourselves because we are surrounded by technology which does a lot if not everything for us. This clip is showing what our future may possibly look like. To think that our future may possibly turn out like this, is disturbing. How can someone live like this? 

 

The people in the clip don't even need to move to get what they want. They have servicebots who do everything for them. They also have the flying chairs which takes them wherever they desire. That explains why they are overweight and unhealthy. Today many children, adults as well, stay inside watching t.v., playing video games, or something that involves some type of technology, when instead they could be outside doing some sort of fun physical activity. This would be a lot more healthier. Not all, but there are many individuals who care about their health an fitness. Therefore as much as technology does advance and people become more dependent on it, I doubt it would get this bad in the future for humans.

Another thing I noticed was that the people in the movie clip do not actually spend time together physically. They "hangout" with their family or buddies virtually. This is common today, it's easy to just message someone through any social network or text message. If it's something or someone that truly matters you will find time for it. Plus, face to face conversation is always better than a conversation through message. Can you imagine a life with no interaction between individuals and the only way of communication was the same as in the clip? Don't get me wrong the way technology has advanced is great, however it should not take over your life.

Entry #2. Adopt don't buy pets

Very disturbing how animals are treated in puppy mills. I've seen too many videos of how animals live in these puppy mills and it's just sad. I've always loved dogs but I didn't really think much of any of this up until I got a dog of my own. "The sole focus of puppy mills is profit. Many dogs that come from puppy mills are born with health, behavioral, and socialization issues. Puppy mills are inhumane, breeding dogs are neglected, starved, and left without any medical care". These poor animals don't get to live a normal happy life. Instead they are stuck living in these horrible conditions. Every animal deserves a good home.

http://www.thepuppymillproject.org/learn-the-truth-about-puppy-mills/ 

All reasons to adopt rather than buy. Adopting pets saves lives.

Entry # 1. Blogs, Blogs, and More Blogs

Some blogs are great and others are ehhh. The ones I happen to find the most interesting to read are the personal blogs. Although, there are some professional blogs which I do find to be compelling as well. Here are some blogs you may possibly find interesting or not. You decide.

http://postsecret.com

Its purpose:

"PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard."

This is a really neat idea. You can share your secrets with lots of other individuals worry free because it's anonymous! Also, this is a great way to get something that's been on your mind out there. Something that you have been wanting to share with someone but felt you couldn't in fear of being judged. 

http://www.tmz.com

Most people are familiar with TMZ. Made to share celebrity gossip and news strictly for our entertainment. Though, their stories are not always entirely true. Also, much of what they post is the latest celebrity scandals. They want the public to react to these videos or stories they post, which usually is a negative one. It's almost as if they want to ruin these celebrities reputations. Some of these recent scandals would be a video of 15 year old Justin Bieber telling a racist joke. Another video that had people talking for days was the one of Jay-Z physically attacked by Beyonce's younger sister Solange. Just wow. 

http://fairlanguages.com

Great blog. Focuses on giving information, tips, or resources for language learners. It can be useful for teachers or tutors. 

"Fair languages' mission is to offer guidance and product reviews for self learners and professionals who want to offer new ways of learning to their students".

Introduction Practice Entry

Hello everyone! my name is Yesenia Quintero. I am 22 years old. I've lived in Glendale my whole life. Both my parents are from Mexico, so I also speak Spanish. I have two sisters and I am the middle child. I am the tallest of my two sisters and I am also taller than both my parents. I have two dogs. One is a Pomeranian and his name is Cottonball. The other one is a half Pomeranian and half Chihuahua, her name is Gigi. They are my babies. I'm obsessed with my dogs. I ❤ my family.

  

My goals for school are to get my Master's in Special and Elementary Education. I just completed my Associate's in Elementary Education. I plan on starting the NAU Teacher Education program part of the Glendale extended campus in the Fall of 2014. In order to get into the program, one of the requirements are that I have a 3.0 GPA for English. I just need to raise my English GPA.