Goodbye technology - Entry #11

I've always wondered what exactly blogging was, what do you do? What do you write about? How do you begin? I began blogging for this class and I actually liked it. It gives you free power to write about what ever you want. I took this experience seriously. Aside from being a grade this assignment taught me how to understand rhetoric and helping me work on my writing. I also learned what detail to add and what to leave out. I'd say that the blog's were much easier to do then essays and I got to know my classmates and their interests a bit more. I'd suggest that we have 2 assigned entree's where we talk about whatever the teacher assigns, and then a free write sort of entree, this way we as a class can work more on content and rhetoric. This class sped by so fast and its easy to fall behind, but you learn a lot in this short time. I actually learned a lot about myself and what to avoid next time I take this class. I'll probably be using this blog next semester, so until then.

A Pimp With a Heart - Entry #10

Dennis Hof has more then 500 woman working for his Brothels in Nevada. But he didn't make news for owning a brothel, instead it was for being a pimp with a heart. A brothel, for those of you who don't know, is a house where men can go to visit prostitutes. At Hof's Moonlite Bunny Ranch Brothel many of his employee's came into this line of work for one main reason; College. Trying to get an education costs an arm and a leg these days, which has led many woman into these kinds of jobs.

Many of these woman have racked up to $40,000 in student loans. Hof said that 18% of his workers are in debt due to these loans. This inspired Him to begin his student loan program. The student loan program is where Hof reviews how much debt a worker is in and they decide how much percent he will match. For many of the girls he matches back 50%. One of his workers, Krissy Summers, was in debt by $45,000 and after working at the Moonline Bunny Ranch she was debt free in 60's days. In just 4 months, Hof has helped 6 of his employees get rid of their debt. But there's something particular about Dennis Hof. Unlike other "pimps" Hof promotes education. He helps his workers start school, pay it off, and then he helps them with finding a job for what they went to school for. And of course his business man side comes out, he always has open arms if they ever want to come back.

Dennis is an reminder that you can be a businessman and still be able to help others out. Even with him working in such a terrible industry, he's still trying to help someone out. 

Pink Slime - Entry #9

It seems as if the food that's being sold to American's just keeps getting worse. McDonald's had gotten exposed for several things lately; The main one being that they sell fake food. They sell something called pink slime. It looks exactly how it sounds. I watched a video about the pink slime. In this video the reporter brought up a great point. The reporter said that Americans will eat anything. And sadly, I must agree with this. It's like people don't care what they eat at all anymore as long as it's cheap and convenient. The F.D.A has been letting anything slide. A certain number of rat feces and hair is aloud in our food. Excuse my french,but if you're letting rat shit into my food what the hell else are you allowing me to eat? 

In the video the reporter also compared European food to American food. I've been to Europe several times and every time I would eat my stomach wold get very upset. My stomach had gone from processed meat and dairy to natural foods. The food tasted much better and was actually fresh. Many places in Europe won't allow U.S meat because it's not considered real meat. I've recently been doing a lot of research on food and how to get back to eating fresh and healthy food. It's pretty difficult to find out where to get natural and healthy foods. And not the kind where the label just says its healthy. The research shows how bad our "food" has gotten. I don't know about you, but I will not eat anything that has the word slime in it. It's time for a change 

Food Inc (EC)

I decided to watch a movie called Food Inc. This movie has forever changed my views on what i'm consuming. It's about a reporter who begins to unveil whats really going on with our food supply. First he reveals how animals DNA are being engineered. He explains how the chicken now grows in half of the time it traditionally did and that the chicken has been modified to have larger breast, because consumers prefer white meat. Cows are fed corn, because it's cheaper and it makes them bigger much faster. However this creates a problem because a cow's body is not made for a corn diet. So how do companies fix this problem? Antibiotics. They inject animals with medicine so they aren't over-contaminated.  

These animals are locked in cages where they can barley move. A cow, chicken, and pig usually are running around on a farm. Instead chickens are thrown into a small but long and dark hallway that remains locked. They are injected so much that they can not walk or even move; They only sit. Many die due to the conditions and some even feed on the dead  ones, who most likely have a disease. Those chickens are then fed back to us. A cow will always stand and only eat. They get huge. The movie shows a worker personally opening the cow's stomach as it eats so she can take out some of the contamination. The pig lays on its side for its entire life in these "farms." They only eat and give birth or are just fattened up. This, to me, is beyond disgusting and cruel. The worlds population exceeded the amount of agricultural that's able to be produced, however this industrialized food is a terrible idea. The sick animals being fed to humans will eventually just make the humans sick. 

In this film it touches on GMO being labelled; They're not labelled because people aren't educated enough on GMO'S, so this will be a waist of food and damage sales. However I say that people would not buy the food if they were educated on what GMO does to the food and to your health. It angers me that the world is basically being lied to by greedy corporations like Tyson and Monsanto. I wonder if they eat the food they produce? 

The word food and engineered disgust me. Food should be natural, but instead is filled with bacteria because of the antibiotics that are put into the animals. This movie, food inc, also touched on how much rat feces and hair is allowed into food before its deemed "unsafe." I think everyone should be educated and informed on food that goes into our bodies. Instead people have no idea what they're eating. Or what about the people who are aware of whats going on but don't know what to do about it? It's much easier to ignore it if you don't know how to fix the problem and more convenient. But it's important we know and we fix this. This food is what gets people sick, unhealthy, or contributes to the growing obesity in America. If you want to live a healthy ad long life you should do some research on your food. Or maybe you're like me and are already aware but you're not sure what to do. With modern day technology it's so easy to find a way to fix your problem. You can google an all natural, non GMO farm near you. Or find a grocery store that doesn't sell or support GMO'S. Its time to make a change in our food and it's time to stop allowing factories to lie to us about what they're feeding us. 

Amber Rose Slut Walk- Entry #8

In a response to women being raped a police chief replied "If woman don't want to be raped then maybe they shouldn't dress like sluts." This sparked the first protest-march on April 3, 2011; Known as the Slut Walk. A slut walk is to make people aware that victim-blaming is not acceptable and that just because a woman dressed provocative doesn't mean it's okay to assault her. It usually involves signs similar to these:

But has Amber Rose changed the meaning of the Slut Walk? Amber Rose became a stripper at age 15 to support her family. She then turned to modeling when she began dating Kanye West. She later moved onto Wiz Khalifa. When their marriage failed he began criticizing her for being a stripper and for always showing her body, She was slut shamed by both of the rappers and people all over the world. Which prompted her to start her own Slut Walk in Los Angeles, California. Although Rose had similar intentions to previous walks, her slut walk has another meaning behind it, 

Amber Rose is known for owning her sexuality, She's also a pretty big figure in social media and in Hollywood. Rose is constantly posting revealing photos; From positing pictures in lingerie to wearing dresses that reveal way too much. Social media has gone crazy over her photos several times, naming her the reason that younger girls are growing up too fast and thinking it's okay to show your body at such young ages. 

Unlike original slut walks her's was about how woman should be able to be sexual if they choose and to stop slut shaming. She spoke about how her former boyfriend said he has to take 30 showers before he was allowed to touch his current girlfriend and her ex-husband posting nude photos of her. She talked about Woman should not be shamed because they've chosen to embrace their bodies. She also quoted that "a woman who has casual sex with people who she does not know does not give society he right to label her a whore." The entire point of her slut walk was to let society know it is not okay to label a woman for the choices that a woman makes with her body. Once again social media exploded. Many people have agreed that she is making a mockery of the original purpose of a slut walk; Instead of raising awareness she made it a joke with the chant "my p***y, my choice." This targets the double standard that it's okay for men to own who they are and who they want to have sex with, but its unacceptable for a woman to do it.  She also had the Aids Healthcare Foundation there, raising aids awareness. 

Do you think this exploits younger girls to think its okay to show their bodies or think it's okay to publicly announce their sexuality? Would you say that she is promoting society to be more open to woman who choose to embrace their bodies? Or do you think this is a joke and has taken away the sole purpose of a slut walk? Lets chat! Comment your opinions about a slut walk and what do you think about the points she has made.  

Fresh- Entry #7

When I was 16 I decided to become a vegetarian. Due to living with a family whose diet was centered around meat I was forced to stop after a few short months. After watching this movie Fresh I'm planning on becoming a vegetarian again.

This movie is about farmers who have stuck to their roots and have chosen to keep their farms and animals natural. Most farmers are being industrialized and moving into being factory farms. They do this by taking the animals from their natural habitat and confine them in cages where the hardly have any room to move. Pigs in factory farms will never walk or run, they will lay in a cage a few feet from another pig and continue to give birth until the farmer wants to dispose of them. They feed these animals corn to fatten them up, instead of grass like they should be eating. However this creates many problems for the animals. Cows have a small amount of E. coli in them, so the food and circumstances they live in makes this E. coli triple. So they feed them, and every other animal being genetically modified, antibiotics to take the E. coli levels down. 

This is such an important film. I personally believe that students should be taught about GMO'S, different ways of farming, and how that farming affects what you're eating. It's so easy not to think about where your food came or the steps it took to get there. But wouldn't you rather know what exactly you're putting into your body? Wouldn't you like to know that you get sick every time you eat a certain food you get sick it's because it's been morphed by a scientist? This film differs from other movies. Unlike other movies it isn't trying to push you into following their choices. They show you whats wrong with how farming has been going recently and what choices you have. It was well put together and very informative. I suggest anyone who wants to learn about what they're consuming to watch this movie. 

Facebook Addiction- Entry #6

As I sit here trying to finish my homework frantically my laptop popups telling me it has 10%. I get up to grab the cord to charge it and my aunt snatches it. She says she needs to charge her laptop. I explain I need it to finish my homework since it's due at 12. She responds with "Well I need to check my facebook." So ask me for it later. This is beyond crazy to me. Which leads me to my topic today; Facebook addiction.
 We all  know someone who is a social butterfly on facebook, but can not hold a simple conversation face to face. "We have also found that people who are anxious and socially insecure use facebook more than those with lower scores on those traits, probably because those who are anxious find it easier to communicate via social media than face to face," says Andreassen. People are using facebook and other social sites to get through their social anxiety. But what about people who don't have social issues and use it for games or other problems?
We all know someone who can't stay off facebook while they drive, talk to you, or even stay off it while at school or work. People who use facebook to play games get hooked just like they would to any other gaming site. Researchers in Norway did a study to try and understand facebook addiction. What they came up with is that people use facebook as an activity or find it easier to talk about their problems via facebook. People also use it facebook to forget their problems or as an distraction. Studies show that if people were not addicted to facebook they would find something else to obsess over.