"Animalcules and Other Little Subjects"- Mark Smith

Mark Smith is really, what is the word, obsessed? with life. He has trouble explaining his "satisfaction with the animalcules" because he cannot get others to agree with how much he loves life! He is so intrigued by it all; how the living organisms form, how they live in an ecosystem, how they thrive. Honestly, I was like his wife when he was trying to explain to me how life is. Oh please! I do not care about what you see through a microscope; I have other things to do. Or like his wife had told him "I am very glad you found a new species of rotifer, and I love that you can get such a kick out of it, but I am going out now to work in the garden. Please don't call me again." Then, to try to persuade others to love what he loves, he brings a species to a Christmas gathering to show his nieces and nephews! They laugh!!! They do not care about how much he cares for these animalcules, or they do care about the fact that he cares...but they do not care about those animalcules. Do you understand what I mean?
His awe of how the sediments settle in the jar, and how each rock is its' own world is a bit annoying to me. He is doing what a writer is doing, talking about what interests him, but wow. He explains too excitedly and with much detail, which is a good writing technique, about these animalcules. The details he gives should be for topics which can interest many people; these small molecules, not many people care about. Although, of course, obviously, there are people who are interested. I really do not know what else to say about this, except that his information about all of the small living things were very overwhelming to me. One thing I did get from the article though was that there are worlds inside of worlds. I guess I cannot really just care about the world I live on, I have to be conscience of the other unseen worlds around me...

Benjamin Phelan, "How We Evolve"

Phelan is worried that humans will become extinct soon, because we are not going to be able to adapt to the catastrophes that are changing the world we live in. "The global climate is changing too violently for DNA to respond by fiddling around with heat regulation and hair thickness; forests everywhere are being clear-cut too quickly for their inhabitants to adjust, so food chains are coming undone...and a nuclear disaster would constitute a catastrophe many orders of magnitude greater than what nature could really absorb." Could he convey how upset he is any more than this? Phelan even adds what Ehrlich said about evolution "The fate of our civilization, and maybe our species may be determined by the next five generations. So I don't give a shit what's happening to our genetic evolution." Ehrlich does not care about how our genes have to adapt to the changes, we need to make changes. Phelan agrees with this when he says we need to "avert a self-inflicted extinction." Our decisions, our actions, are the reasons for this downfall. We need to change our ways in order to help the world grow stronger, and to allow us to evolve.
I believe that in order for us to evolve, we must be able to live through catastrophic events. We do not need to change physically, in order to prove that we have evolved. Our minds can evolve; the way we think and the way we make decisions to help one another can show how much we evolved. We are not primitive beings who only believe in "survival of the fittest." We care for others and want them to succeed and live happily and healthfully, so we try our best to help. This is an example of evolution. We do not need to lose our useless pinky-toes to show that we have evolved. We need to overcome the natural disasters that we helped bring about, and show that we can live through rough times with the way we are now.

Ethics of Change- Reverse Outline

What should we do about climate change?
-science, ethical, should, conflict, questions

Climate change raises a number of ethical questions
-future generations, evaluate, change, respond, death

Many ethical questions can be settled by common sense
-philosophy, harm, equipped(potential to change), victim(future generations), compensate

Climate change will cause harm
-tropical distress, climate statistics, shortages, deaths, change in climate, estimations

In going about our daily lives
-everyday life, pollution, we each contribute to catastrophes

Ethics of costs and benefits
-conservative living, weighing costs and benefits, pros and cons, natural disasters

The ethical basis of cost-benefit
-costs, comparing and contrasting costs, economics, reactions, ethical vs. unethical, urgent

Those two issues are connected
-future vs. present, discount rate, value

The richer future
-material goods and services, value, diminishing marginal value, maximize well being, prioritarianism and utilitarianism.

Market Discount Rates?
-well-being less valuable in old age than in youth, catastrophic outcomes, ethical as well as scientific problems, work to resolve them

John Broome, "The Effects of Climate Change"

John Broome says "The costs of mitigating climate change are the sacrifices the present generation will have to make to reduce greenhouse gases. We will have to travel less and better insulate our homes. We will have to eat less red meat. We will have to live less lavishly." Basically, in order for the future generations of people to live "better lives", we must presently stop ourselves from overindulging and we have to be considerate of the people of the future. We cannot just think of the present and live in the moment, as many of us do. You have all heard "We only have one life, we should live it to the fullest". Well, this is a selfish thought to Broome because then we are not thinking of others, only ourselves. When we only think of ourselves, then we tend to harm others. "...sometimes you cannot avoid harming someone, and sometimes you may do it accidentally without realizing it. But whenever you cause harm, you should normally compensate the victim." Since we are causing harm to the future generation of people, Broome suggests that we change our way of life to incorporate the needs of the future. We cannot just worry about the children that are living now, we have to make the world a better place for the children who will be born in the next years.
The money market displays how people think; in terms of how great the benefits are now, compared to later. If we take care of the children now, then there will be less sick elderly folk later. If we can become wealthy now, then who cares about being rich when we are old and wrinkled? We are in a state of mind where we just want to live for the moment, because this is the time when we experience many things and want to enjoy every moment of it. People are afraid of what will happen in the future, that they would rather just enjoy the time now, in kind of a "been there, done that" mentality. If anything happens, at least they got to do what they wanted, right? This is a selfish way to think, but people will be people and this is just how the world is. Not everybody will live for a long period of time. Not every child that can be born, will be born. There has to be natural disasters which will affect birth rates and the lives of people. As harsh and as sad as it may sound, that is life. I believe that whatever happens, happens for a reason. People see the benefit of living their life now, concerning those who they love; rather than the people in the future, people they do not know and will not know. We cannot help everybody though, we can only do so much and help those that are with us now. We are not super heroes, when our time is up; it is up. The future generations of people will be able to take care of themselves. Just as we have faced many problems, people in the future will face problems. Whether the problems occurred because of past decisions or not, they will fight through it if they want to live. We, in the present time, should worry about what is affecting us right now. We will not live 100 years from now; so when we deal with our problems, only then can we help others.

Blogging is...

For me, blogging is a writing experience that I feel is useful, but that can get annoying to work on at times. I would rather just talk about what I want and bring up discussions about the dilemmas of everyday scenarios instead of writing about, for example, what Shakespeare wrote in his play. I want to be able to write what I want, and still get the credit for my blogs- creative writing! Overall though, I cannot complain too much. I have gotten feedback from students and the professor which helped improve my writing. Also, having to write about the scientific articles has made me focus more on what the articles are about and it has made me better understand what I read. I think after this though, I will just stick to writing on my spare time, in the privacy of my journal ;).

Are You a Writer?

I am a writer, I am! Anybody who expresses their thoughts onto a sheet of paper, I believe, is a writer. To write a piece, involves the use of a pen or pencil and paper. The only difference there is between writers is how well he or she expresses their thoughts; but as long as you put something onto a sheet of paper, you are a writer. Maybe you are not a famous writer, but none the less you are a writer whether you like to write or not.

We are in an era of creative destruction

"What happens when you go into one of these periods is that before you get to the point of reconstruction, things have to fall apart." John Elkington said this to Michael Specter after telling him that "We are in an era of creative destruction." This is one of a few things I could agree on after reading this article. Everybody needs to go through the rough patches, and low times in order to recover, heal and then value what we lost. If we always have whatever we want, then we will never know what it is like to lose something. The fact of the matter is that everything, before we know it, will be gone. In order to prevent us from completely wasting a source, we need to suffer a bit, if I may so, and learn to live with a little bit or none of the resource. That will teach us a lesson about rationing and being conscientious of how much we use. This in turn will help us have the resources for a much longer period of time. I think the concept of food miles is also a very smart idea. The emission of carbon from airplanes, trains, trucks, etc. is disastrous and the more we consumers (of the states) buy from across the world; when we have the items right here in our own states, the faster the world will succumb to global warming. We need to either A.) by fruits and vegetables that were locally grown or B.) Plant our own produce! That would use much less packaging material and less carbon would be emitted since food miles would not rack up.
I believe that each and every one of us contributes to global warming. I just believe that my carbon footprint is just not as large as other peoples' are. One reason I believe that I DO contribute to global warming is because I buy clothing online. I love the convenience of having the items sent to me, and being able to find great deals online. The consequence of this pleasure is that the clothes I buy are being transported to me from Ohio, California or whatever other state by brown UPS trucks that emit black, nasty smoke. The smoke effects us all, and is burning more holes in the already "wedge of cheese"-like atmosphere we have. The exhaust is seeping through our nostrils and into our lungs. Those of you who have asthma, me included, tell your lungs I am sorry for the pain. You do not deserve to suffer because I do not want to go to the mall and walk around aimlessly for hours. That being said, and after reading the article- I will try to not shop online as much as I do.

Just Add Water!

Just as the complete pancake mix, or complete Duncan Hines Chocolate German Cake mix, all we need to do to make something resourceful is add water. The cakes will give us that sweetness everybody loves, a little bit or a lot of it. Water is needed to help the plants grow; which help shelter many animals. Water quenches our thirst when we are parched after a hard day of working, or a long game of basketball. Our body is made up of around 60% water; the world 70%. Water is everywhere, but water is nowhere as well. Some people have no clean water to drink at all, while others overuse it. When you leave that shower running, or the faucet dripping. That is a waste of water. All you need to give life, is add water. Life is given to a pot of dirt that buries a seed, and a new creation is made when water is added to a concoction of sweet powders and flavors. Water is a necessity, all you need to do is add water; everything else is taken care of.

Writing Center

The writing center was a wonderful resource for me to take advantage of. My first essay grade was not as great as I expected it to be, so for the second essay I went to the writing center again. This time, I went in without starting anything; I wanted a blank tray to be filled up with ideas and all the help I could get. The tutor and I immediately started to throw ideas on the plate and I became so excited to start the essay because I had so many ideas that could be linked together to make a sensible essay that tied in with the stories. We first added the pretty, fancy details of the meal, the essay. She helped me incorporate the sonnet in the essay by comparing the speaker to Viola and she helped me by giving me a lot of information, enough to write a paper. There were so many quotes and a lot of evidence from the two sources to add to the display that when I finally had to get to the meat of the story, the thesis statement, it was well prepared and fit snugly on top of the plate on top of all of the fancy, pretty details. I highly recommend going to the writing center, maybe even before you write the paper you need to write. Then, go after with your finished product and revise. A blank plate can be easily filled when you do not know what you want to prepare. The first step is to get all of the details in, and then work on the display of the essay. My tutor helped me create a great meal, we took it a step at a time.

Do we create what we observe through the act of our observations?

Roebke wants to instill in us that what we see is not the most we are able to know. We can only see the surface, a fraction, of a whole object or subject and get a taste of what it is about; but not a full understanding of what it is about. In order to grasp what a subject is fully about, we need to look beyond the physical appearance and move past the assumptions and judgments, and know what the subject is about as a whole. What we see influences us to perceive in certain ways, but what we see, again, is not the whole story.
Roebkes' "The Reality Tests" was great at showing proof, but that proof was overwhelming! There was so much information, it was hard to take it all in and use the information to express what I feel about the article. The general statement is evident though, that there is more than the eye can see- but how do we create what we observe? I am still confused about that.

Greedy People Nowadays

What is the meaning of being greedy? How about what we Americans do everyday. Have you ever wanted a new phone; but already have a recently updated phone? Or how about a new iPod? You now want the red iPod Nano instead of the purple iPod that you have, but it is your birthday right? So it is OK. Plus, the red iPod has a larger screen, it has a video camera and oh look here, it holds more songs and videos than the recently purchased purple iPod. Whatever the splurge is, being greedy means that you want more and more non-necessities; then you make excuses about why you needed to purchase these items. It is my birthday! I worked so hard this week, I deserve a treat! and the best excuse ever...it was on sale! If it is your birthday, how about you buy a little less, or instead of buying unimportant things such as handbags and sunglasses, you buy clothes since you actually need clothes, nobody wants to see you run naked in the streets OK? Even if you do go to that $300 a month gym. A bag is a bag, they are all the same! How differently can your $500 bag hold your things compared to your $50 bag?
Then, if you believe that you deserve to buy something because you had such a difficult week; buy the things you want that will not break your bank. Do not go for the $100 shirts, look for the unique, even pretty $20 shirts. You could easily find less expensive shirts that look fit for a celebrity and will not clean out your wallet. A double-plus! Be careful with the sales, these are the tricky ones. People tend to buy more because it is not too expensive, but that is being greedy too. You are buying things just because you might like it later, or just because it is cheap and it is an offer you could not refuse. Just think, you are being greedy if you spend thousands of dollars on an outfit. You are also being greedy if you are buying things that you do not need, you are wasting money. People in third-world countries have little or nothing to wear, or cannot afford to buy little knickknacks, just because it was cheap. Save your money, but do not hoard it. Better yet, buy gifts for those you love. Your generosity would be appreciated by many, then the next time you go for that Prada bag, you will not feel that greedy because as much as you buy, you give to others as well.

“Faustian Economics" by Wendell Berry

Berry says that we Americans are greedy and wasteful because we believe that everything we have or acquire, is limitless. We do not think about the consequences of overusing resources that are very quickly diminishing, instead- we think of ways to circumvent the problems instead of deal with them. Let us talk about the problem of fuel for our cars and homes, not only is gas almost all gone; but it also destroys the environment and the atmosphere. Instead of fixing the problem of overusing the resource, people come up with the idea of using corn to produce the fuel needed to start our cars. I believe that Americans think that they have so many resources and possibilities to use things to their advantage, that if there is not...there are other resources to take its place. So when corn is finally too expensive to grow and use, as that effects what some animals eat, to what we eat, then what will be used when corn can not be used anymore? We Americans with our smart intellects will think of something, they really are using their resources to the max if I may say so.
Berry also uses many other writers data to support his theory that we are greedy. He talks about Marlowe's "Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" and the Declaration of Independence about how it says that humans are monstrous because it is innate; it is a trait needed to allow us to live in this dog-eat-dog world. Berry uses a lot of information he learned from other people to prove that Americans truly are wasteful and greedy. He uses data from writers, from an artistic standpoint, the Declaration of Independence, old folklore and from historical research. The point he is trying to make is backed by a lot of evidence from a broad spectrum of resources, not just from what he sees himself. The evidence validates what he says more than what he may have said on his own with no other data.

Writing With or Without Fear

What I think of Jacques Derrida is that he is an intense writer. I mean, if he fears that what he writes is blasphemous and "inadmissible" then by God, I think he is taking his work real seriously! Yes, yes, he is a writer...but I do not believe he should really care about what others think of his work and who he criticizes and what he opposes. Look, there will always be people who do not agree with everything you say, but that is what communication does- it allows everybody's thoughts to pool together so everybody learns. If we did not know what Derrida thought about a certain subject, then we would only know what we know. That does not teach us anything, we are not pushing ourselves to learn, even though what Derrida says might not be what we would like to hear. I never had anxiety about what I wrote, I want to hear the constructive criticism and want to know how others feel about a certain topic themselves. It is boring just to know how I feel, what kind of conversation can start if I reject everybody's ideas? Or if they reject mine? There would be no agreement or disagreement, there would be no talking it through. No learning. This is why I do not get nervous about what I write, if you want to talk about what I wrote- talk to me. If you do not like it, that is OK. I will not have the same thing to say as you, but hey you never know. Writing is a powerful thing that can initiate many conversations, but also problems. Derrida knows that; that is why he gets nervous when he writes what he thinks.

Language is a Slippery Vehicle

Language is a slippery vehicle that moves every which way with the turn of a wheel, or in language; the change of a word. Language has a lot of fluidity and can be used to steer a conversation anyway the driver wishes to go; it is never constant and in any moment it can change direction so fast nobody would even know. Language, like a vehicle though, can only go so far as a vehicle can only go so far until it hits a dead end. Robert Haas describes the limit of language in his poem "The Problem of Describing Trees." There are many ways to describe a beautiful tree that "glistens like aspen" but then when you stretch out all of the words that you could possibly use, how much more can you say? There is a lot you can say then about all those traits, and you can come up with even more things! Rodney Jones in "Hubris at Zunzal" describes how saying something without thinking is similar to dumping sweet coconut milk into a large ocean, then thinking of the mistake and trying to scoop it back up, or trying to retract your words. Language is useful for conversation and human development, but it can also cause problems between people when to hurt others. To both of these poets; language is a powerful thing that can describe so many images.

Collaborative Learning and the "Conversation of Mankind"

We all do it; this it that I'm referring to is the collaboration of ideas. We add a little bit of what we know, to a little bit of information that she, he, they and you know; and it all pools together to give a lot of information that can be useful. This collaborative learning has been around for years and still thrives, because it is indeed useful. Information given by a group of people with many different ideas and levels of intellect; is more beneficial than getting information from one person who is smart; that one person will have his own way of thinking and nobody is completely right. If the information is from only one source, how can we be sure it is truly correct? Another benefit of collaborative learning is that while yes, we learn more because we learn new ideas from others, we can also solve problems much faster and with more ease.
Bruffee explains the benefits of collaborative learning when he talks about the group of medical students who examine a patient, compared to one medical examiner who examines the patient on his own. "What she [The researcher M.L.J Abercrombie] found was that students learning diagnosis this way acquired good medical judgment faster than individuals working alone." Students who worked in a group could find a diagnosis faster than a student working alone.This makes sense, because every member of that group could provide knowledge that they have and use that to help them with their dilemma, where as the individual would have to use the only knowledge he has and then go on to do extra work and find out what others have to say about it.
This collaborative learning is also exemplified in our class setting, when Professor Lay makes us peer review, or do the ink shedding. We each add our insights to what one person already knows to make a whole list of ideas and make something big from the little information we had at the beginning. It enriches all of our minds because it teaches each of us something new; what may be old to one of us may be something entirely different and new to another person. This is how we all learn from each other, collaborative learning.

Twelfth Night Production

After watching Twelfth Night on Friday night, I got more insight about the story. Let me tell you though, I am glad to have read the story first and then watch the play, because it was a little confusing at times. Over all it was very well done. The scenery with the pillars and the spiraling staircase, the leaves and the platform was beautiful. Sir Andrew and Sir Toby were hilarious and hey Sebastian wasn't bad looking! One thing that I imagined differently when reading the story was Olivia's accent. I didn't really think of her having such a "southern" accent like that if I may, I thought it would be more...I don't know. Just not too thick of an accent, I had to really strain my ears and hear her out. Whoa, whoa! One other thing that I was thinking about throughout the play was, why was Sebastian's friend Antonio so intent on following Sebastian? Did he have a little thing that was more than friendship for Sebastian? Hmmmm...
The production was amazing and I thought every character did a splendid job, I'm glad that Hofstra provides us with shows like these and it's not just about partying and drinking on the weekends, yuck.

'Til next time,
Lita

Theme of my second essay

For my second essay, I want to focus on how Olivia could be spoken about in Shakespeare's first sonnet. The first sonnet talks about how the young man is too self-absorbed to want to pass on his genes and procreate, or to pass on the beauty. This could easily be referred to Olivia because even Viola said to Olivia in Act 1, Scene 5, lines 240-242 "Lady, you are the cruel'st she alive If you will lead these graces to the grave And leave the world no copy." Viola told Olivia that she should marry Orsino so that her beauty lives on [because beauty lasts only so long]. This sonnet would be perfect with my theme of roses and beauty lasting only so much, because as people get older their beauty wears down, except for George Clooney who seems to get more and more handsome as time passes by, but in general- beauty should be passed along and Olivia did not want that at the beginning of the play. She did not find any MALE she encountered, worthy enough for her.

Twelfth Night Presentation

"Beauty lasts only so long..."

Shakespeare compares women to roses; how beautiful they are and how frail they are as well. This song was chosen because the subjects each have two meanings, just as Shakespeare uses words in different contexts.

Una Palabra

Una palabra no dice nada
y al mismo tiempo lo esconde todo
igual que el viento que esconde el agua
como las flores que esconde el lodo.

Una mirada no dice nada
y al mismo tiempo lo dice todo
como la lluvia sobre tu cara
o el viejo mapa de algun tesoro.

Una verdad no dice nada
y al mismo tiempo lo esconde todo
como una hoguera que no se apaga
como una piedra que nace polvo.

Si un dia me faltas no sere nada
y al mismo tiempo lo sere todo
porque en tus ojos estan mis alas
y esta la orilla donde me ahogo,
porque en tus ojos estan mis alas
y esta la orilla donde me ahogo.

________________________________
Translation

A word does not say anything
And at the same time it hides everything
Just as the wind that hides the water
Like the flowers that mud hides.

A glance does not say anything
And at the same time it says everything
Like rain on your face
Or an old treasure map

A truth does not say anything
And at the same time it hides everything
Like a bonfire that does not go out
Like a stone that is born dust.

If one day you need me, I will be nothing
And at the same time I will be everything
Because in your eyes are my wings
And the shore where I drown,
Because in your eyes are my wings
And the shore where I drown

Working with Data from Shakespeare Concordance

1. What thematic strands have you located?

beauty...bloom...flowers...decay...rot...youth...growth...death...stench...

2. Where is the data you retrieved found? What is happening in context when Shakespeare employs this particular theme or image?

The data is found in Act 1, Scene 5 and Act 2, Scene 4. Act 1 uses flower to emphasize beauty, Act 2 uses flower to emphasize death. The rose is used to describe the beauty or essence of women but can also symbolize death in the sense that as soon as women blossom, as a rose blossoms, it starts to lose its beauty. The rose wilts, just as a woman ages and is not as youthful and radiant as she once was.

3. How does the data you retrieved support your first thoughts on Shakespeare's obsessive use of a particular image? What can you argue about Shakespeare's figuration?

Shakespeare uses images to convey meaning, but many meanings not just one. The use of the word flower was used as something beautiful as a woman or rose but then also something that rots or dies quickly, and is very frail. Shakespeare's figuration depends on the context of the story, but all of the words he strategically chooses have meanings that can be interpreted any which way you would like to see it.

Twelfth Night- Act II/Act III

Viola: I am the man (II.ii.25)
This line is important for its irony: indeed, Viola is “the man” whom Olivia desires, but more strikingly she is not a man at all! This discrepancy is the source of a major conflict in the play. Viola says it best in her next line: “Poor lady, she were better love a dream.”
-Taken from http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/psu08tn.la.rv.text.lpact2sc2/-
Viola is surprised that Olivia sent her a ring, and now knows that Olivia is in love with Cesario. Viola (Cesario) means that she is the man that Olivia loves, not Orsino. She will not take Orsinos' ring or accept his love, but will take Cesarios' ring even though he did not give her one. She wants Cesario, not Orsino.

Malvolio:...and yet to crush it a little, it would bow to me... (II.v.143-145)
Malvolio is reading the letter Maria wrote as "Olivia" and even though it does not exactly say "To Malvolio, my beloved..." Malvolio uses the clues given to make himself believe that Olivia was referring to him. People believe what they want to believe, and that is just was Malvolio did; he is in love with Olivia and wants her to be in love with him as well, so when he got that letter he automatically assumed it was from Olivia.

Viola: Then think you right. I am not what I am.
Olivia: I would you were as I would have you be. (III.i.148-149)
Viola says that she is not who Olivia thinks she is; a good young man. Olivia tells her she would want her (Cesario) to love her and to be like how Olivia wants her to be. As Olivia loves Cesario, she would want the mutual affection- but Viola tells her she cannot, but not explaining exactly why.

Dang iPod

For me, writing the small object/large subject essay was very entertaining and influential...what I mean is now I want to buy the new iPod Nano, the one with the video camera! How could some information and advertising make me want to ditch my beloved iPod and get a new, red, pedometer-including, video-recording, iPod Nano? After writing so much about how the iPod is cherished here, it made me think about how we as consumers just want, want, want and I do want more! I'll give the old one to my mother, that makes up for it right? As I researched about the iPod, I got to really see how popular iPods really are- millions of people own them. Yes, if you walk outside everyday, you WILL see at least one person with an iPod- but to see hard core facts about how in demand they are, it is astonishing. Not only do people own iPods, but Apple itself had run out of many iPhones because the consumer demand was so high, and not enough were made. I guess Apple didn't know that their phones would be that demanded... Writing this paper was very beneficial to my rambling and freedom of expression; it wasn't just "what did this author mean by this line?" or "how does this story compare to that story- don't forget to use your literary elements!" I hate those papers, and I understand we need to write those types as well, but the expressive ones are better. They are more flexible and you can tweak them to fit your preferences and as long as you put research and back up your data, you are good. So yes, iPods are great...but so are expressive-writing papers :)

Inkshedding Act II. iii. 4-5

"Nay, by my troth, I know not; but I know to be up late is to be up late."
-Andrew

After evaluating all of the responses to what this line may mean; I have come to the conclusion that what Andrew is saying, he does not know for himself. Andrew and Toby are so drunk, that they are speaking nonsense and do not even know if it is late or not; since it is past midnight and the alcohol has affected their sense of time. Andrew does not believe, as Toby believes, "that to rise early is good for the health." Andrew just knows that it is late, because it is past midnight...but could that mean it is early then, since it's technically the morning? All of the responses say that Andrew is just talking foolishly because the alcohol has distorted his processes.

A few things I'm perplexed about... ("Twelfth Night" by William Shakespeare)

1.) Why does Viola want to join Olivia's household as it says on pg. 10?

2.)How does Viola know Orsino...enough to love him? (pg. 22)

3.)Why doesn't Orsino get some courage and just profess his love for her by himself?

4.)I'm confused about the conversation between Maria and the fool and then with Olivia, what are they talking about? (pgs. 27-31)

5.)Why didn't Viola just pass on Orsinos' message to Olivia in front of her attendants and Maria? Why did it have to be so private?

6.)Why, after criticizing her, does Olivia begin to love "Cesario"? (pg. 43)

To Take Wildness is Hand- by Michelle Nijhuis (Abstract)

Global warming is effecting our planet, and the health of trees is evidence of that. The Torreya Taxifolia in Florida that Connie Barlow studied showed signs of deteriorating the last half-century, and eventually death of the once- "vibrant and strong enough to use as Christmas trees" trees. Torreya State Park, where the trees once used to flourish is now "rich only in plant life and prisons, stupefyingly hot in summer and eerily quiet nearly all year round." Where the name of the park would suggest that it would have Torreya trees, it does not explains Nijhuis, because the trees have been dying due to the increasing temperature. Like all living things, trees need to be in a certain environment to live and grow strong and healthy, but these trees grew no more than a few feet tall and were very skinny- not big, tall trees you had in mind and usually see. The reason for all this says Nijhuis is because of climate change. Not only are trees dying, but animals and plants move toward cooler regions as well. They want to get away from all the heat, thus causing a major shift in direction, and a major change in the ecosystem. Many conservationists have tried to do their part to help, and continue to do so, but global warming is evident and there is no denying it says Nijhuis. So what do people think of doing for the Taxifolia? Well move it to another region of course. This caused much controversy, but after it had been done- it showed that many of the trees grew healthier than before. There's that idea, then there's burning the land to "restore" it and start anew. People do what they can, and believe that it's the best way to help- but who knows what is the most efficient way to help? Nijhuis says that we must all get together as a society and stop global warming from escalating, and we must. If global warming keeps escalating, the taxifolia tree, and many other living things, will diminish and eventually become extinct.

Virtual Iraq- Abstract

Sue Halperns' article "Virtual Iraq" describes the system of virtual reality games and how they help veterans of war overcome their fears of everyday living. [Virtual Reality therapy] "It requires the patient to revisit and retell the story of the trauma over and over again...[to] rid it of its overwhelming power...so that although the memory of the traumatic event remains, the everyday things that can trigger fear...are restored to insignificance." So little by little, with patience, patients like Travis Boyd* get to overcome their fears of socializing with people or going out or just living a normal life. They put on a headset that allows the psychologist to show moving images of, say Iraq, to expose the patient to what they fear. The patient will feel as if he is in the scenario again, as if he is really there in Iraq, or wherever the experience occurred. Slowly, the psychologist adds cars, then people, then more details such as gun-firing sounds, smoke, murders, etc. All of these sensory details help the patient get used to seeing it, they won't be afraid of something that triggers these memories (such as loud noises). The key to benefiting from this treatment is patience and exposure. The psychologist has to slowly add the objects that trigger stress to the war veteran; one day the soldier could just be sitting down in a bus, then slowly people would be added, and on and on until they reach the point of when the memory is disturbing to the patient. By that time, after going over it again and again, the soldier gets used to it and starts to understand that just because it happened once, does not mean that it will happen everyday, and they should not fear living the life they used to, a normal life.

High-Tech Trash (abstract) by Chris Carroll

It wasn't surprising to hear about how much trash humans produce, but I don't think about e-trash when I hear the word trash, I think garbage from the bathroom, kitchen, etc. I believed that all the phones we recycled were recycled safely- not shipped to places like Asia and Africa for people to sift through and sell for money; while increasing their chances of dying sooner because of all the toxins. THIS is a new "all-time low" I've heard about people, and it's disgusting. People are so greedy for money, that although they know the harm it does to sell electronics to under-developed countries, they go about and do it anyway.Someone told Carroll "All you can do is sell it to scrap people. What they do with it from that point, I don't know nothing about it." That's the problem with us, we don't care about how others are effecting our world if our hands aren't dirty in the end. Another man said "They said this stuff was all going to be recycled and put back into use. It seemed environmentally responsible. and it was profitable, because I was getting paid to have it taken off my hands." It seems as long as we benefit, we should only do our part and not worry about what happens elsewhere. Yes, some people don't know what's going on after they're done with their part, but it's our responsibility to be conscious of what's going on around us. If we are ignorant like this, it's only going to make our world worse. "It's not all that surprising things are coming full circle and now we're getting contaminated products back." Said Weidenhamer, but how far do we have to go before we realize that something is really, really wrong?

Lita*

Everybody, Please Shut Up

To shut the world around us up...that's the use of an iPod. When all we want to do is relax and not hear anyone but our favorite artists, we put on the tiny ear buds or humongous headphones and drown out reality. You can see it either as blocking your own thoughts, but I think of it more as keeping my thoughts in. The tiny, purple 3.6" x 1.5" device that's usually in my pocket holds more than just music. If it could record what I was thinking, it would need more gigabytes. The simplicity of ear buds is that you could easily pull them out of your ears when someone taps you back to reality, or if you just want to take a break from it just press pause. If someone calls your name...well how would you know? The tiny, "boredom-preventer" has entertained me for almost five years now and I plan to update the little bugger as it starts to wear itself out.

I have my iPod on wherever I am; walking to class, walking from class to class, walking from class to lunch with friends, walking from lunch to class, from class to my room…break…then back to my ears whenever I go and run or exercise or just take a walk outside. My iPod is on always if I am not inside. Why? Am I afraid to think about all that I would think if I didn’t have anything to occupy my brain? I can’t just listen to the birds chirp or cars drive by like I used to, now it sounds weird to me if I don’t have some sort of music reeling in my mind. I’ve become obsessed with my iPod, and it all started when I got my first iPod after high school graduation- I was never without one since then.

So I was literally devastated when I forgot my iPod at home this past week…I had to wait until I got home for the weekend to get it- thankfully it’s here with me now but do you know what I had to do this past week to get to class without silence? - Put some songs on my phone and blast it as I walked. Yup. Whoever I passed by, found out a little bit about me if they listened. Whatever, it was nice listening to music coming from the air basically (it was on speaker in my pocket), not just inside my head. It kept me occupied none-the-less and it allowed me to listen to my songs.

Apple has given in to what people want…for us to be in our own worlds when we want. We could drown out the voices of others calling us; our moms telling us to clean, our siblings annoying “the- you- know- what” out of us, and all the other people you just want to zone out on. People love music, and Apple knows that. So the Geniuses make devices that give us what we want, while making millions and feeding off of us. Still, if we pay for a place to get away to, why wouldn’t we be treated as cash cows?

"Is Google Making Us Stupid?" Abstract

We want to get straight to the point, don't get into all of the details if it's not necessary. We don't have time to sit down and read a whole page, when all we need is a couple of the sentences in the paragraph anyway. As Carr said "My mind isn't going...but it's changing. I'm not thinking the way I used to think....Immersing myself in a lengthy article used to be easy....That's rarely the case anymore." People rarely have time anymore to sit down and read long articles and lengthy research- so Google shortens the reading time, readers get the information they need and bam, they're done. That's it, next article. A con about all this agility and impatience, is that the readers are not able to stay on one article for a long time without being distracted- hyperlinks to other websites, pop-ups and ads. All of these barriers block us from staying focused on one thing, and one thing only. Google has influenced other traditional media as well. "Traditional media has to adapt to the audience's new expectations. Television programs add text crawls and pop-up ads, and magazine and newspapers shorten their articles..." Readers do not want to be bothered having to read everything, when they could be doing other things, and only want the main point anyway. This, in result, is turning us robot-like. We don't have our own ideas, we just take from the Internet because the information is readily at our fingertips. "As we come to rely on computers to mediate our understanding of the world, it is our own intelligence that flattens into artificial intelligence." Carr believes we're getting so stupid, that we can't even see that artificial intelligence is becoming more intelligent than us humans. Think about it...

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Is Google making us stupid? - I don't think so. We can't be stupid if we have so much technology in this world- people came up with the new gadgets- we invented these things with the intelligence that we have. Are we becoming more lazy?- Yes, maybe we are... I can't lie about that. Let me tell you though, when I don't know an answer to something- I Google the facts as soon as I'm near a computer. For example, today my friend Andrea was telling me and our other friend Ronald about how her father is from Spain- "Which region?" he asked, "I'm not sure..." hahahah. She didn't know where her father is from, so I suggested we Google the regions, and maybe if she saw the map and the names of the regions, something would come up. Bing!...Aragon. That's where her father is from. What I'm trying to say is that, so much information can easily come up in seconds when you Google something you want to know. Of course there are things you need to be wary of when you look up information, but think about it- if you Google, say, what appendicitis is, then link after link, a definition will pop up, and you could easily believe it. It's a fact from a legit website- dictionary.com? Princeton,etc. Now, if you want to go and Google something about your favorite celebrity and want to know if it's the truth- well...that's a little iffy. You can't believe everything you read. Where am I getting at with this? Information is easily at your fingertips whenever you have a problem, that makes you more knowledgeable. If you have a question that you're probably afraid to ask someone, you can bet there have been other people who have/had the same question, and you could find the answer. But you have to know, that what's true to one person might not be true to another. But this only makes you more intelligent because you learn that people have different opinions on topics, topics that are not as fact-driven such as what appendicitis is. For those of you who are wondering why I used appendicitis, well my baby sister is in the hospital for it and had surgery. I knew what appendicitis is, but whenever I don't know what a word means...shhh- I Google it on my phone. I don't have internet on my phone, nope- I text Google "What is...?" and I get a reply from them, and the word is usually from the Princeton Web dictionary. If I ever hear a word a person says that I have no idea what its meaning is, I discreetly look it up. We're learning, even though we do skim texts online here and there- we're still learning if we understand what the text means- it's just that we get the information faster and easier. I love Google; it's my homepage, my go-to for facts I want to find out, and very helpful with homework. If we're reading the screen, our brain is reeling- and if our brain is reeling we're using it and not becoming stupid. We learn everyday, don't worry.

'Til next time,
Lita*