That Blank Digest

Explosion at the 500!

2012-02-27T19:24:00.000-08:00

DAYTONA, Fl. --

If you've been watching the race, this is sure going to be a memorable one. After a day of raining, the race finally was able to kick off. That is, until EXPLOSIONS. With just 42 laps to go, driver Jan Pablo crashed into a truck containing jet fuel used for drying the track.

Luckily fire fighters were on scene to help put the fire out, but the driver of the truck needed to be airlifted to the hospital.

Montoya was unharmed in the incident.

Crews are working now to clean up the fire and the subsequent damage in turn 3.

We will have updates as soon as they are available. As of now, there have been no official news reports from the Daytona 500.

Important. Please watch.

2012-02-04T16:33:00.001-08:00

Affection is a Waltz

2012-01-31T17:00:00.000-08:00

Things were very different in the early-to-mid-1900s. The family dynamic of the time was much different than the family dynamic of today. Virtually every family at that time was a single income family—the father was the bread winner, while the mother stayed at home to raise the children. This very traditional lifestyle made inter-family relationships unlike what they are today. In My Papa's Waltz, Roethke uses an ABAB rhyme scheme combined with alternating good and bad connotations to create a tone that exemplifies a father-son relationship in the earlier half the 1900s.

To fully understand My Papa’s Waltz, it’s important to remember that this poem wasn’t written today. It isn’t a modern poem. This is important because without reading it in the proper context, it may seem like a poem about child abuse. This simply isn’t the case. When read in the context of the time that it was written, it shows a much more loving family. Without knowing that it was very common of the time for a father to work all day, every day, and then go to the bar and have some whiskey before coming home, lines one and two “The whiskey on your breath / could make a small boy dizzy” could come across very negatively. The key component in identifying that the speaker in this poem enjoys the time he spends with his father is the tone.

Roethke writes this poem in a way that almost sounds like a verbal drunken-waltz when read aloud. He accomplishes this with a skillful use of an ABAB rhyme scheme, which creates a sense of verbal swaying, much like that of a waltz. Instead of using strictly one syllable rhymes, like breath/death and shirt/dirt, he adds some two syllable rhymes as well such as dizzy and easy, which really embodies the back and forth swaying of a waltz. The number of syllables in each line is another clear indicator of an imperfect waltz—almost every line has six syllables but there are a few with seven. These lines show the stumbling (or miss stepping) of the tipsy father.

Another significant way that Roethke creates the tipsy tone is through the use of words with good and bad connotations. There are many words in this poem that might push the reader towards a feeling of child abuse, such as “death,” “unfrown,” “beat” and “scraped” their positioning with words of good connotation neutralizes and overcomes the bad connotations that these words carry. Saying “But I hung on like death:” (line 3) implies that he doesn’t want to let go of his father while they romp around the kitchen. There are two other lines that have the same implications. “My right ear scraped a buckle” (Line 12) shows that the speaker is hanging on so tight, that his ear is up against his father’s belt buckle, a clear sign of affection. Roethke even ends the poem with another similar line “Still clinging to your shirt” (Line 16). Had there been any abuse or any implications that the speaker didn’t enjoy the time with his father, after all of that, he wouldn’t have been still clinging. Romp is another word with a good connotation. Romping, which is defined as to frolic or to play boisterously by Princeton, would never be used to describe something that wasn’t enjoyable.

The tone of My Papa’s Waltz paints a vivid picture of a son who enjoys spending every possible second with his father. Papa (which is a much more loving pronoun than say, father) comes home from late at night from work, a little drunk. The speaker can smell the whiskey on his breath, but doesn’t care. He instead gives his dad a big hug and they begin to romp or play around. Their waltzing knocks a few pans off the shelves, and the mother gives a frown, but does nothing to stop the playful dancing of father and son. The playing eventually ends and Papa brings the child to bed where the child doesn’t want to let go. Without the proper tone, this poem could have been easily taken is a much darker sense. Did he really beat the kid on the head, or was he keeping a drum beat? The reader knows that it was a playful encounter between a loving father and son because of the tone Roethke creates using the rhyme scheme and alternating connotations.

A little video about ACTA

2012-01-28T19:15:00.000-08:00

Here's a little video about some things you need to know if you enjoy the internet.

You Laugh You Lose!

2012-01-14T09:38:00.000-08:00

You Laugh You Lose Facebook Logo

Hey guys, I know we've been neglecting TBD recently. I apologize. I've got over a months worth of content ready to pump out, but our new project has been taking up a majority of the time recently. That project is YouLaughYouLose.Net. It's a great little funny pictures website.

I'm not too great at plugs.. but seriously, check 'em out, pump their social buttons a few times for me, and drop some comments in their comments box. :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T06:50:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, just wishing you all a Merry Christmas on behalf of the That Blank Digest writer's squad. I figure I'll give you some information on what's coming up on TBD.

Well, if November was Modernism Month, then January is going to be History Month. @PoliticallySane has given me a ton of great history related stuff to work with. Most of it is quite too long to put into a single post, so I'm currently (and by currently, I mean "going to after Christmas") working on splitting his 'books' into lengths that are actually postable. Expect some stuff related to the Medieval times. Other than that, I'm going to keep it a surprise.

Enjoy your Holidays, and be safe!

Drink Tea, live forever.

2011-12-13T00:47:00.000-08:00

Alright maybe it isn’t that great, but never-the-less, tea is a very healthy beverage option. In fact, throughout the East, tea has been regarded as the key to the three most important things in life: health, happiness and wisdom. Ancient wisdom should never be taken as scientific fact though. That’s where western science comes into play. In recent years, western scientists have studied and are discovering some of the many health benefits of drinking tea. The list of benefits is simply astounding. Tea can not only encourage weight loss and help lower cholesterol, but it can also bring about mental alertness and help fight many of the most glaring diseases that plague us here in the States. Specifically the big three: heart disease, diabetes and even cancer. Not to mention tea’s apparent antimicrobial effects.

Noted tea drinker, Katherine Tallmadge, MA, RD, LD who is also te spokeswoman of the AMA (American Dietetic Association) states that “there doesn’t seem to be a downside to tea.” She goes on to say how much better tea is for you than say coffee, a very popular morning beverage. A major reason for this is how tea is good for your heart, but also because it contains much less caffeine.

It’s also interesting to note that different teas appear to have different health benefits, even though they’re all derived from the same plant, Camellia sinesis. There’s not much more that they have in common though, as they all use different flavonoids. The antioxidants are in the flavonoids, so differentiating can make for drastic changes to healthiness.

In green tea, which is made with steamed leaves, has a high EGCG (an antioxidant). EGCG has been linked to the prevention of swelling of organs, such as the bladder, stomach, lungs and the breasts. EGCG seems to be the healthiest thing ever (hyperbole) because it also helps to burn fat, prevent clogging of the arteries. It also even can help prevent Alzheimer to Parkinson, and even help prevent stroke. It’s a real wonder drink.

The other tea blends aren’t necessarily as healthy. They’re also not as well studied, so it isn’t easy to say. That isn’t to dismiss their unique benefits though. Rather than steaming the leaves, to make black tea, the leaves are fermented. The fermenting process is what gives black tea the highest caffeine content of all the tea blends. It’s also interesting to note that black tea is the basis for most instant teas and flavored teas (think chai). Black tea can also reduce the risk of stroke, but this next bit is the most interesting. Black tea ‘may’ protect lungs from damage caused by cigarette smoke. So if you’re going to smoke, black tea might be a good idea for you.

The other tea blends are even less studied. White tea, being both uncured and unfermented has the strongest anticancer ability – when compared to the other teas. Oolong and Pu-erh teas have shown that they may reduce LDL cholesterol. Herbal teas are even less studied. While some have been done, all that’s been shown is a reduced amount of antioxidants, and scientist are unable to support the claims made by the beverage industry that herbal teas can help you lose weight or keep you from catching the cold. This is not without exception though. Chamomile tea can help prevent nerve and kidney damage. Hibiscus has been shown in one study, that when consumed three times daily, lowers your blood pressure. Instant tea is not included in anything that I’ve said thus far. Most of the time, instant tea will be 99% sugar, 1% tea (hyperbole). So, be sure to check the label to avoid falling into that trap.

Almost as great as it’s health benefits, are its lack of health risks. Literally, with tea, there are only a few potentially unhealthy things. The FDA actually warns against “dietary” teas, and teas that claim to kill pain. The teas that make those claims have often lead to come with harsh negative effects, such as kidney problems, liver problems and bowel problems. Sometimes even death. To keep yourself safe, keep on the lookout for these ingredients: Lobelia, Chaparral, Germander, Willow bark, Ephedra and Comfrey.

Overall, tea is an excellent beverage for any diet. It’s absolutely amazing antioxidant properties, combined with its benign negative effects; make it a must-drink for anyone concerned with their healthiness. Be it by reducing your cholesterol, protecting you from stroke, keeping your liver healthy, or any of the other positive effects that tea boasts, drinking tea will make you live longer.

Final weeks of classes.

2011-12-05T23:14:00.000-08:00

Just checking in, to let you all know that I'm still alive, etc. I've just been very swamped balancing school and work, and other things. Mostly school. Finals are next week, projects are due this week. So much work to get done.

This is my apology! I wouldn't expect anything until probably the 14th. Maybe I can pump out some stuff prior to that, but I doubt it.

It's been a few days...

2011-11-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

What's up digestors? It's been a few days here. Just wanted to give you some information!

1) We're still alive.
2) We're not blocking again.
3) We're probably playing too much League of Legends instead of working. (Haha, I kid. But for real, this game occupies my time off.)
4) We've got a couple interesting projects in the work. I'm not great with HTML, so they're taking longer than they should.
5) The changes will make the digest more like we envisioned it originally
6) Yes, one of the big things is a new blog.
7) We're excited.

Until then, check out this new Regina Spector Song.

Peer pressure.

2011-11-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

Peer pressure is the power that peers have over each other to bend someone’s will, to get them to do something they would otherwise never think of doing. Everyone has been put under its hypnotizing spell—myself included. The evils of peer pressure have had a drastic and long-lasting impact on my life.

So there I was, eight years old, in third grade, riding the school bus. I had the window seat, as I liked watching the scenery go past, and my best friend occupied isle seat next to me. He was both a year older than me and a grade ahead, but it never bothered us. Either I was mature for my age, he was immature for his, or some combination of the two. Whichever it was: it worked out great. Dave and I spent hours upon hours together after school, playing lazer tag, or video games.

“So Jonh,” he said with a smile “my birthday is coming up, I’m having a sleepover party this weekend, are you coming again this year?”

“Of course!” I responded, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, not after how much fun we had last year.” His previous birthday party was great; I can still remember it vividly in my mind. He had invited me, and four other mutual friends—we had a blast. From water balloons to giant ice cream sundays, we did everything.

“Oh, and I’m going to invite a few more people this year, we’re going to have a lot of fun,” Dave continued with his still-gleaming smile.

“That’s... cool. See’ya then!” I yelled as he was getting off the bus at his stop. In truth, I was a little uneasy about the idea of more people going to his party. What if he invites people that I don’t know? What if they don’t like me? What if… etcetera. I decided that I would trust my best friend’s judgment, that we were going to have just as much fun as last year, and there was nothing for me to get myself all worked up about.

When I awoke the next morning, my Mom took me shopping for a gift for my friend. I got him the best water gun I had ever seen in my life. It had a “water base” you could hook up to your hose, and it would fill your gun for you just by pushing the nozzle of the gun into the base, and you never had to pump! It was pretty much amazing.

It was finally time for the birthday party-sleepover-extravaganza. I arrived about a half hour early, because he was my best friend and I wanted to be the first to wish him a happy birthday. He appreciated the gesture, and started showing me all the cool stuff that his family had gotten him. He was as happy as a dog whose owner had just returned from a long vacation. Jumping from gift to gift; telling me all about each one, with that same gleaming smile still on his face.
And then the guests started to arrive.

That’s when the situation took a turn for the worst. I didn’t notice it at first, but every single guest was older than I was—not just a couple months either. At least a full grade ahead of me, sometimes two! You know that game where you pull sticks and whoever pulls the short stick loses? Well, I felt like that short stick. Fortunately for me, the feeling didn’t last long. The “cool” older crowd treated me as an equal, even though I was an outsider. I was at the top of my world, being accepted by the coolest kids at school, and all day everything went well. All my worries had been for nothing. Dave had been right—we were going to have a lot of fun at the party. We did the water balloon fight, the giant ice cream sundays, Dave showed off that new water gun I bought him. It was another great birthday party-sleepover-extravaganza.
Then came nightfall.

The sun went down, and the moon replaced it. It got dark—and fast. We went inside; took our sleeping bags to the basement; told ghost stories by candle light. After sharing our spine tingling tales, we blew out the candle and went to sleep. Or, tried to. I had just remembered that I was afraid of the dark! Those ghost stories certainly were not helping the situation either. So, I did what any normal third grader would do. I took out my blanket. Boy, did that calm the fears. Little did I know that my fear of the dark was about to become the least of my worries.

One of the big kids noticed that I had a little blankee, and it really got him going. “How did we think he was cool when he has a blankee!?” The kids roared with laughter.

“No guys! I really am cool! I promise!” I quickly rebutted. The insisted that I should prove it and that the only way possible was for me to tear up my beloved blankee into pieces. Perhaps the biggest regret in my life is that I did it. I succumbed to the pressure for the sake of being “cool.”

How the Florida Constitution works

2011-11-22T12:00:00.000-08:00

There are five different ways to propose an amendment to the Florida constitution.

1. The first way to amend the Florida constitution is Proposal by legislature. To make use of the first method, the proposed changes must be agreed upon by 3/4ths of the membership of each house of the legislature in a joint session.

2. The second way to change the constitution in Florida is by a Revision commission. Every twenty years, starting at 2017, 37 members will join together to make any needed changes to the constitution. These members are: the attorney general of the state, fifteen people selected by the governor, nine people selected by the speaker of the house and nine more selected by the president of the senate, and three people selected by the chief justice (with the advice of the other justices). Then, the governor selects one of these people to be the chair of the Revision commission.

3. The third way is called Initiative. The people have the power to propose any changes to the constitution that don’t interfere with the government’s power to raise money. They may do it by Filing their proposed changes with the custodian of state records once they’ve received a number of signatures – the signatures must come from electors in one half of the congressional districts of the state and must be equal to 8% of the votes cast in each of such districts respectively and in the state of a whole in the previos electors election.

4. The fourth way is by use of a Constitutional Convention. This power is reserved to the people, and will cause a revision of the entire constitution. It’s started by a filing with the custodian of state records via petition—declaring that a convention is wanted. Again, it must be signed by electors in one half of the districts, but this time 15% of the votes cast in the previous elector election. Then, after the next general election, the electors must vote as to if a convention is required, and if more than 50% vote yes, a convention is held.

5. The fifth and final way to change the constitution is via a Taxation and budget reform commission. Starting in 2007, and then every twenty years, a taxation and budget reform commission will meet. The commission consists of eleven members selected by the governor (who may not be members of the legislature at the time of selection), and seven members selected by both the speaker of the house and seven selected by the president of the senate (again, none of those 14 members may be members of the legislature at the time of selection). The job of the commission is to review the sax structure, the budgetary process, the revenue needs and expenses of the state, the productivity and efficiency of the state and to review policies of the ability of the state and local government to tax and adequately fund government operations.
Battle for the Ballot

The initiative method of constitutional upheaval is a very complicated one, but also the most frequently used both in Florida and across the country. It makes it possible for the people of a state to get potential amendments on the ballot, and into the eyes of the public. It has become increasingly more popular in recent times, even turning into an industry. Since 1970, the average number of initiatives on a ballot has doubled, and firms are coming out of the woodwork who hire and pay (sometimes per signature) people to find support for the initiatives.

The recent boom in the initiative market has lead to quite a few problems. With the corporate machine working towards a goal, it makes it easy for those with money to get something on a ballot. Unfortunately, making it harder to get an initiative on the ballot would kill the purpose of the process in the first place – to allow grassroots organizations to get what they want on the ballot, on the ballot – and would hardly hinder the money machine. It hardly helps that to change the process required for an initiative to make it to the ballot requires voter approval, and that voters are very unlikely to vote to make it harder for their own voice to be heard. Another problem highlighted by the article is fraud. These people who get payed-by-the-signature have found several clever ways to trick people into signing multiple petitions from the use of copy paper to telling them to “sign here, here and here” when in reality, they only should have signed one, and some even go as far as opening the phone book and forging names.

Despite the problems with the process, it remains to be, and will remain to be, a growing and very popular way for people to have their voices heard. States are passing laws to punish those who practice fraud, and are manipulating the details of the process that don’t require voter approval. Some states have even outlawed the ‘pay-per-signature’ practice, forcing an hourly wage on the signature collectors. Even though the process has flaws, it’s impact has been seen and will continue to be seen in Floridian politics.

Aye aye, the almost extinct animal

2011-11-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

The Aye-aye is an odd but amazing creature, once classified as a rodent. This amazing primate is on the verge of Extinction, with only an estimated FIFTY still living in the wild. I believe that there are three reasons for their endangerment is 1, deforestation 2, farmers in Madagascar (along time ago) killed them because they looked like an omen of evil creatures 3, and they can only have a child every two to three years.

The Aye Aye

The scientific classification of the Aye-aye is as follows. The Aye-aye is in the Kingdom of Animalia, the Phylum of Chordate, and the Class of Mammalia, The Order Primates the only member in its family Daubentoniidea, the genus of Daubentonia, and the species of Madagascariensis. This makes its scientific name Daubentonia madagascariensis, now try saying that ten times fast
The nocturnal Aye-aye spends about 80% of every night moving and searching for food. Their diet primarily consists of beetle larva but they will also eat; some insects, coconut, sugar cane (witch they steal from farmers gardens this sometimes gets them shot), bananas, dates, eggs, mangoes, and will accept cooked rice when offered.

The Aye-aye uses it’s odd “bat like” ears to listen for insect larva moving and burrowing underneath the bark of tree. When the Aye-aye hears the larva moving it uses it’s teeth to chizzes of the bark then use it’s extra long middle finger to reach into the burrow hole and then spear the larva on its finger nail. The Aye-aye then transfers the larva from its fingernail to its mouth. None of the sources I found did not mentioned any natural predators, so I guess they are pretty high on the food chain. The Aye-aye also uses its finger in drinking; it uses it like a dog’s tong lapping up water. The elongated middle finger can be considered as an all Purpose tool. I don’t think the Aye-aye would be able to survive if its middle finger wasn’t as long as it is, because it uses it for hunting. Another tool The Aye-aye definitely needs are it’s teeth it needs them to chew and to bite the bark of during it nightly forage. If the Aye-aye had any enemies the teeth could probably be used for defensive purposes also.

The Aye-aye almost never spends any time with another Aye-aye or any animal for that matter. The only time they spend with another Aye-aye is when it is either mating or nursing a young during this time the female is dominate over male it only but it only lasts seven months.
The Aye-aye is a VERY solitary animal this leads me to believe that it doesn’t protect its territory but won’t leave a certain area. This area for males is about one hundred to one hundred ten square ha, but for females the area is much less at only about thirty-five to forty square ha.

During that day Aye-ayes sleep in nest that is about ten to fifteen meters off the ground. It is made of twigs and leaves, and takes about 24 hours to build. A new nest is build every five threw seven days. The nest is built in a fork of a large tree. “Lazy” Aye-ayes will sometimes use nests built by others if they are still in good condition. The Aye-aye primarily clings to branches and tree trunks with its claws to get around to find food. It will also make lengthy trips across the ground in search of a nice place for a nest.

As the most bizarre looking of all primates the Aye-aye has long and nimble fingers used for climbing, and the elongated middle finger is used for spearing larva and shoving it into its mouth. They have huge bat Like ears witch they us when listening for larva, a flat face, a huge raccone like busshy tail. Their fur coat is black and it is coarse and straight. Aye-aye’s have big teeth called incisors in the front of their mouth, but have no canines like humans have.

Some intresting information on my topic (Aye-aye) is that it is the only animal in its family just like humans, the only difference is that our closest relatives went extint and the Aye-aye never had any closest relatives. Also like humans Aye-ayes can have babies at any time of the year. Aye-ayes can only be found in madagascar so that is were there spicies name came from (madagascariensis) Some other intresting stuff is that they were thought to be rodants and are still mistaked for them. They also at one time were placed as the only animal in their order. The Aye-aye (to my knowlage) doesn’t have any programes to save it, but I wish there were because aye-ayes are very intresting animals.

List of works used

Aye-aye Daubentonia madagascariensis http://www.duke.edu/web/primate/aye.html

Aye-aye Grolier encyclopedia of knowledge Grolier incorporated Danbury, Connecticut

Aye-ayes area random fun http://hamp.hampshire.edu/~jwgF92/AyeAye.html

Daubentonia madagascariensis Aye Aye http://www.sunysb.edu/doit/icte/mammals/daubenronia-madagascariensis

After the First Death

2011-11-20T12:00:00.000-08:00

Evidence in the novel After the First Death shows that, although at first it seems as though Ben is narrating, it is in fact General Marchand, Ben’s father, who is narrating the story. One of the first and, in my opinion, the most intriguing of the clues leading to this conclusion I have made is when Ben’s mother calls him by his father’s name. Normally a slip like this would be easily ignored and quite normal considering everybody makes mistakes, but Cormier made it quite clear when he added several sentences explaining that Ben’s mother never mixes their names up and that it was nearly impossible that she had accidentally done so.

The second most intriguing clue is the final Ben-Father chapter. Ben’s father is having a conversation between himself and the Ben that still lives deep inside of him:
Ben: But I was always here. Didn’t you know that, Dad?
Father: Sometimes I thought you were.
Ben: You just didn’t look hard enough or deep enough.

This shows that Ben wasn’t really alive and could therefore be incapable of telling the story from his point of view. This explains the clue from the first paragraph. Ben’s mother had called him by his father’s name because it was really his father doing the narrating.

Another intriguing clue supporting this conclusion is when the “doctor” is said to look like an old college teacher of Ben’s father. If it really were Ben narrating and he really was attending college, why would there be a doctor? This is really, in my opinion, Ben’s father in a mental ward, not Ben attending the same college his father attended. This would explain why there’s a doctor and why he mentions taking pills.

This is the evidence I chose to support that Ben was in fact not narrating the story and it was truly his father speaking from his son’s point of view because he is mentally ill from sacrificing his son for his country.

Nick Nailer

2011-11-19T12:00:00.000-08:00

Nick Nailer, of Thank You for Smoking, is one of the most interesting and unique characters I’ve ever encountered in a fictional work. He has the hardest job in the world: being the public face of a conglomerate that kills almost twelve-hundred people a day. That conglomerate is known fondly as the tobacco industry, or “Big Tobacco.” He’s a vile, bloodsucking, mass murdering, profiteer who doesn’t mind twisting morality for his own benefit—and it makes for a very special character and for a great movie.

Every day, Mr. Nailer wakes up knowing what it’s like to be the most hated person in the country. And it doesn’t bother him one bit because he wants the money, the big bucks. In his own words when asked why he represented the vile industry, he whispered “Population control,” before going on to say “everyone’s got a mortgage to pay. 99% of everything done in the world, good or bad, is done to pay a mortgage. So, perhaps the world would be a better place if everyone rented.” Later in the interview, you find out that his wife has divorced him; he lives in his apartment, while his ex-wife (along with her new boyfriend) and his son lives in his excessively large, luxurious and expensive house, the beauty of which taunts me in my sleep.

Not surprisingly with a personally as cold and uncaring as his, Nick only has two friends. They are the representatives of the gun and alcohol industries, and probably the only people on the planet with personalities as pungent as Nailer’s. They meet every week, and call themselves the M.O.D. Squad, or Merchants of Death. During their meetings, they compare notes and brag about whose product killed the most people that week. Mr. Nailer wins the ghostly contest more often than not, and he savors the bitter-sweet victory.

There aren’t many people willing to twist the fibers of morality for his cause, but Nailer doesn’t mind doing just that. When confronted with a young boy who got cancer from smoking cigarettes on a talk show, he twisted the boy’s morbid condition to benefit tobacco. He called out the cancer researcher to the audience of the show, saying, and I paraphrase “the death of a customer would mean a loss in profits. How could tobacco want to lose money? A cancer death; however, would earn money for someone. Who? The cancer researcher. He’s the real monster.”
Thank You for Smoking’s Nick Nailer is a very special character. He has the honor of being one of the only main-character, protagonists who would be considered evil by traditional standards. It makes him an extraordinarily rich character, and he’s one of the few “bad people” that you get to know up-close-and-personal in any literary work.

Dear Future Daughter,

2011-11-18T12:09:00.000-08:00

Dear future daughter,

I know you don't exist yet, even as just a thought, but there are a few things that I would like to tell you about gender and society. There are going to be times in your life when you are judged by standards that were created hundreds of years ago. There are going to be times that if you don't live up to those [silly] standards, opportunities will not be made available to you. And for that, I'm sorry. Cross your legs, chew with your mouth closed, walk with your back straight, oh, and remember to always be beautiful. Now those are some of the things that society is going to require of you... don't let them be your prison. Play along when you need too, to get to where you need to go, but remember that these traditions are ancient, and that not everyone will hold you up to them. You don't need to hold yourself up to these unrealistic images of beauty, there isn't a woman in the world who can.

Webactivism

2011-11-17T22:24:00.000-08:00

I'm not usually an activist, but in this case, I'll make an exception.

PROTECT IP Act Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Do you really want congress messing with your internet? The same people that managed to lose money running the post office? The same people that developed our horrible system of public schools? The same people that ran our country into massive debt? Are these the people you want to control what goes on the internet?

I don't think so. And I know that I don't want them to threaten me with getting blocked.

So join me in my call to prevent government censorship of the internet.

Visit http://americancensorship.org/ to send a letter to your representative today!

Al(ien) Gore on the Environment

2011-11-17T02:03:00.000-08:00

It took me a long time to work through the obvious hiprocracy that takes place while raising awareness for global warming. Al Gore flys around the world in a privage jet telling people to conserve energy, to walk to work, to ride their bikes and to stop using thier toasters - because having toast with breakfast is simply not worth the devistation that would be caused with the melting of the icecaps. Alright, you cought me. I made that last one up. I know that I'm not the first person to publicly ponder this hiprocracy. How can someone who flys around in a private jet, a jet that polutes more in one hour than I will in one year, tell me to WALK to work? This just doesn't make any sense. In fact, it makes about as much sense as the coke addict telling people not to do drugs. But wait - that actually does make sense. Cocaine addicts have seen the dark side, they've lived through the horrors and devistation caused by the drug and they wouldn't wish those horrors on even their most hated enemies. This analogy leads me to only one possible conclusion - Al Gore has lived through the horrors and devistation caused by global warming.

Al Gore is not from this Earth. I'm convinced. This is the only reasonable explination for his strange actions. I mean, look at Mars. That planet is obviously the victim of over polution, which lead to the melting of it's ice caps, and the destruction of its ozone and the eventual evaporation of its water! Al Gore must be a martian in disguise to warn us, of his first hand experience, what being a pollution addict can do to a planet.

We must heed his warning.

Media, is it baised?

2011-11-16T08:23:00.000-08:00

Before we can explore deeper into the topic, we must first define a few key terms.

Media: The News, the press, the way people obtain information on everything.

Bias: Favorable treatment to certain politicians, policy positions groups and political outcomes.

There’s no doubt that some people within the media are openly and even unapologetically biased—on both sides of the political spectrum. Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh are much harsher to Democrats than that are to Republicans. On the other side of the fence, the New York Times is the opposite; often criticizing Republicans.

Those are not; however, instances of Media Bias.

The media’s “stated commitment to avoid partisan or political bias” only applies to the hard news—not editorials or commentaries.

Now, that doesn’t mean that different stations/papers/websites don’t tell the news in a biased way.

This is; however, very difficult to measure as most of the evidence is very anecdotal.

For example: The Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) has produced studies indicating that conservative think-tanks are cited more often than their liberal counterparts.

On the other side of the coin, the Center for Media and Public Affairs found that John Kerry had the most favorable coverage of any candidate in over 20 years.

The positive's of outsourcing

2011-11-15T00:46:00.000-08:00

There is a major problem in the country related to outsourcing. The problem isn’t the outsourcing itself, but how outsourcing has been villainized by the media and by many politicians. What began as a practice used to save the every-day consumer money on his shopping trips has somehow become viewed as an evil, wicked, practice that is going to cause every hard working, red-blooded, American to lose his or her job. The typical American citizen has been conditioned, by the media, politicians, school teachers, and just about everyone with a position of power, to hate the very thought of outsourcing; and that is a problem.

Outsourcing is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be, there are a lot of reasons to practice outsourcing. Exploiting comparative advantage, and cutting costs for the producer as well as the consumer are among the most important reasons. The company can produce a lot more of their product and lower their prices, which is good for them and us. Other positive things that are a product of outsourcing: less bad jobs and more good jobs, larger customer base to sell our products too, increased world influence and presence by having our companies supply jobs around the world, and a lot more.

A major part of the problem is how the word outsourcing is used - how it was framed in our mind by the media and by politicians. We only use the term “outsourcing” when jobs we like are being lost, and not just any old job. Take Trefler for example:

It is worth noting a problem with refining the definition of [outsourcing]. Most of us would be comfortable with the following statement: “Manulife is offshore outsourcing development of its new human resources software to India, while the plastic products industry is importing shopping bags from China.” Why is one “offshore outsourcing” and the other “importing”? In both cases, products currently made in Asia were previously made in-house in America, and in both cases there has been phenomenal growth over the past five years. There are no good answers to this question. (Trefler 39)

This is indeed a major part of the problem. They want us to think that outsourcing is bad. They want us to think that outsourcing is evil. So, in order to make us think how they want us to think, they only use the word when the practice is at it’s worst. When it takes the “good” jobs. And, they don’t use the word when a bad job that is lost to workers overseas. Oh, no. That isn’t outsourcing- it’s just importing.

Another large part of the problem is how uneducated the average American is on the topic, and how little they know of the reasons that company’s outsource. Sure, they know that the company wants more money, but that’s all they know. They know nothing of these other reasons: Cost reduction; A company is able to spend less money though outsourcing; thereby, reducing the total cost to the company and enabling said company to pass the savings onto the buyers of their product. (Engardio 2006) Cost Restructuring; A company is able to restructure their costs to allow for better market predictability. Improve Quality; A company is able to increase the quality of their product by outsourcing. Workers in other countries do a wonderful job manufacturing, and they simply do it better then we do. Increased Knowledge; A company has access to a larger pool of potential workers from countries all around the world, giving them access to more intellectual property and a wider range of experience. (Engardio 2006) Legal Reasons; A company can have their services provided in compliance with a legally binding contract with financial penalties to any employee who breaks said contract. (Rothman 2003) Operations Expertise; Outsourcing opens the door to channels of operations that already exist, ones that would be difficult, time consuming, and expensive to develop for one’s own company. Staffing Problems; Outsourcing gives access to a larger pool of talent and skilled workers. Catalyzing Change; A company can use outsourcing to help change the way it organizes in a way that their current employee base couldn’t do alone. Risk Management: Outsourcing can be used as a way to minimize the companies legal risk. (Roehirg 2006) Time Zone Exploitation; having employees all around the world has its advantages, being able to offer a service “all day, every day” is very simple when all of your employees live in different time zones. Avoiding Unions; In the United States, unions can make things very difficult for the employer, and unions do not exist over seas. These reasons are very valid, and when looked at through the eyes of the company, outsourcing doesn’t seem so bad.

Other unimportant, but positive effects of outsourcing include: developing the infrastructures of our host nations, increasing our world-wide presence, offering jobs to poorer countries, exploiting the workforce of countries more populated than America is, creating a population that is reliant on American companies for jobs or products. All of those things happen when we partake in outsourcing, and they’re all good for some group of people.

I decided to choose this topic, and slant the way I did, when I heard the lecture on comparative advantage in INR. Having a mental grasp on comparative advantage helps me see through to the positives of outsourcing as well. For example: Country A makes very good apple juice. It has the soil, the climate, and all of the perfect conditions to make apple juice. Country A could still make orange or grape juice, but it wouldn’t be as efficient as growing apples. Country A should just make its apple juice, and outsource the work required to make orange or grape juice, as apple juice is their best product. By using this concept of comparative advantage, we could focus on what we do best here at home, while using what other countries to best to our advantage. Fruit grows well in South America, so we should grow fruit there. Manufacturing is done best in places that have low-wages, so we should manufacture there. The examples could go on forever, but the fact remains: if we don’t have our companies in South America growing fruit, some other country would have their companies their growing fruit. One of those options earns us a lot of money. Which is better for the country?

Any worries that we’re outsourcing to any one country too much, and that we’re going to make them too rich goes against the “Ironclad Law of Comparative Advantage” which states simply: a low-wage country can’t continue to be a low-wage country for all of eternity. It is impossible because as their status rises, so does the value of the money in the country, which increases the cost of outsourcing there, which decreases the reason that people would want to outsource to there. Look at China, for example: China is starting to outsource its factories to other countries. This means that there are other countries that can produce stuff for cheaper than China can. How much longer will companies continue to stay in China? Not much longer. India is another interesting case study. Many of our technical service jobs and call centers have been sent to India. Since the start of this, the starting salary of a call center employee has more than doubled, and continues to rise. At this rate, it will be cheaper to bring the call centers back home in just a few years, or at least outsource them somewhere else.

Any worries that we’re outsourcing to any one country too much, and that we’re going to make them too rich goes against the “Ironclad Law of Comparative Advantage” which states simply: a low-wage country can’t continue to be a low-wage country for all of eternity. It is impossible because as their status rises, so does the value of the money in the country, which increases the cost of outsourcing there, which decreases the reason that people would want to outsource to there. Look at China, for example: China is starting to outsource its factories to other countries. This means that there are other countries that can produce stuff for cheaper than China can. How much longer will companies continue to stay in China? Not much longer. India is another interesting case study. Many of our technical service jobs and call centers have been sent to India. Since the start of this, the starting salary of a call center employee has more than doubled, and continues to rise. At this rate, it will be cheaper to bring the call centers back home in just a few years, or at least outsource them somewhere else.

Manufacturing Jobs are leaving the country, and other jobs are replacing them, as evident by the low unemployment rate. If these new jobs are better or worse, is yet to be seen, but expectations are high. If the low paying manufacturing jobs of the past are leaving the country, that leaves more room for people to get educated and to get a degree in a field of their choice, and to have a job worth having, something the third-world countries that we outsource too can’t possible attain at their level of development. Outsourcing, in a way, forces people into colleges, which is better for our society as a whole.

Outsourcing really isn’t as bad is it’s made out to be - sure, it has its negatives: job loss isn’t a good thing, having a lower job security isn’t a good thing either, but the positives outweigh the negatives tenfold. The reasons to practice outsourcing certainly justify having a few less jobs and a little less job security, after all who doesn’t want their money to go farther while in the grocery store, or shopping for holiday gifts?

Works Cited

Engardio, Pete. “Foreign Affairs - the Outsourcing Bogeyman.” Business Week. 29 Oct 2007 <http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20040501faessay83301/daniel-w-drezner/the-outsourcing-bogeyman.html>.

Roehirg, P. “Be on Governance to Manage Outsourcing Risk.” BT Quarterly. 2006. BT Quarterly. 02 Nov. 2007 <http://www.btquarterly.com/?mc=bet-governance&page=ss-viewresearch>.

Rothman, J. “11 Steps to Sucessful Outsourcing: a Contrarian’s View.” Computer World. 2003. Computer World. 05 Nov. 2007 <www.computerworld.com/developmenttopics/development/story/0,10801,84847,00.html>

Trefler, Daniel. “Serves Offshoring: Threads and Opportunities.” Brookings Trade Forums: 2005. Washington, D.C.

Ageing Population Woes

2011-11-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

Lets face it - our population is ageing. Advances in modern medicine continue to increase the life expectancy of Americans, which is now over seventy for both men and women alike. This increased life expectancy; unfortunately, is not all good news. Yes, we have longer lives, yes we get to spend more time with our loved ones before passing on, but, coupled with a declining birth rate, there are major political, social and economic downfalls that ensue when everyone is living longer lives.

On the political side, the elderly are the demographic that votes the most. They are already the most pandered-too age group, and their numbers are growing. While this is good for the elderly, this isn’t particularly good for the country, nor the rest of her citizens. Pandering of this magnitude can only lead to one possible conclusion: the only political opinions that really matter, are those of the elderly. The elderly don’t care about schools, they’ve already been educated. Cut school funding. The elderly don’t care about our roads, they’re not going to be using them for much longer anyway. Cut infrastructure spending. The elderly don’t care about things that don’t effect the elderly. They do; however, care about the increasing costs of prescription medication, and would like more money spent to reduce those costs. The elderly, the most active political demographic in this country, don’t care about things that are important to the countries future. Just thinking about how the pandering to this demographic is only going to increase over time is very frightening.

Socially, an older population means a lot of things. Unfortunately, not many of them are good.

Financially and economically, the issue of social security sets off a blaring alarm: What’s in store for the future of social security? Will I have to continue to pay into social security now, if I’m not going to receive its benefits in the future? How is it possible that a small, and getting smaller, group of working-age laborers can possibly support the large, and getting larger, group of social security receiving elderly? There simply can not be a long-lasting fix to social security that will benefit the youth of today who are just starting to pay into the system. That’s only one of many economic issues cased by the decreasing mortality rate. Another problem is: lower Gross Domestic Product, or GDP. Fewer workers, means fewer goods and services being produced, which means less money being earned, which means lower GDP. Lower GDP is bad for a country, this signifies a decline in the value of the countries currency, as well as a decline in world economic power. The negatives on our economy caused by a larger life expectancy are easy to see, and hard to fix.

There are many political, social, and economic drawbacks to living longer lives.

The power of love in Slaughterhouse-Five and House of Leaves

2011-11-13T00:42:00.000-08:00

If we deny love that is given to us, if we refuse to give
love because we fear pain or loss, then our lives will
be empty, our loss greater.
-Unknown

Love is a powerful emotion, perhaps the most powerful of them all. It can make or break men, driving them to the brink of insanity or pushing them to the top of their game. It’s both a motivator and a deterrent; both a blessing and a curse. When bestowed upon a once humble, indifferent individual his or her life is changed, for better or for worse, forever.

Perhaps even more moving than love itself is the power love has to change people, and the central role this “changing power” plays in novels. Particularly the role this power plays in both Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five and Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves. In both books the main characters are effected by love greatly, one driven to insanity and the other pushed to fame.

Navidson and Pilgrim are both heavily effected by love. Navidson and Karen are deeply in love with each other, but they aren’t loyal to each other. Navidson, a reporter always puts his adventuring spirit before his dearly beloved, and Karen responds by having multiple affairs. Pilgrim, on the other hand, never loved Valencia, his wife, but she was deeply and immensely in love with him. The situations that love puts both Navidson and Pilgrim in, making them feel empty at times and full at others, is a very large part of both character’s personalities.

In House of Leaves, Navidson’s feeling of emptiness left by his wife’s betrayal if symbolized as a house that’s bigger on the inside than on the outside; an obvious metaphor for a man distraught; his inner troubles are much larger than anything that could fit inside of a body so tiny in size when compared to his woes and inner void. The walls of the house shift more and more violently as Karen gets equally more and more upset with Navidson’s obsession with the house. Eventually, after the house, and Navidson’s obsession with it, cause them to separate the house swallows Navidson. Karen sensing that her true love is in danger rushes into the hallway that she fears and realizes how much she loves Navidson. The thought of the true love defeats the house, or fills the void, and she finds him almost instantly and when she does, the walls of the immense labyrinth dissolve. Navidson’s movie of the whole ordeal becomes a famous work of art, and its all because of the love that he and Karen share with each other. Love is crazy like that, it made the horrible situation that almost killed him, then it saved him from it and made him famous.

Billy Pilgrim has a similar story to tell. He marries Valencia, the daughter of a rich and powerful man in the line of work Billy wishes to enter: optometry. Billy never loves Valencia, even though she’s deeply and madly in love with him. When Billy’s plan crashes and he’s the only survivor she rushes to the hospital to see him and dies on the way, to carbon monoxide poisoning. Billy is never the same after this. He can no longer distinguish fact from fiction, present from memory. All he can do now is hope he can protect others from his sad fate, and he does so by prescribing corrective lenses for the soul: allowing people to peer into themselves and fill any emptiness, emptiness that
Pilgrim has to live with for the rest of his life.

These two characters have a lot of parallel aspects but are also distinctively different. While the both have pain caused by love, one’s pain comes from loving and the other’s comes from being loved without returning the love. Both men are very empty when things aren’t going their way, and Billy stays empty for the remainder of his life realizing that he should have loved his wife, a realization that came a little too late. The pain that is caused is a very central theme in both of the books, Billy’s “time jumps” and Navidson’s “house that’s bigger on the inside and on the outside” are both symbols of what love can do to men.

For better or for worse couldn’t be more accurate. It’s a vital line when getting married, and it’s the most uncertain. Will it be for better or for worse? It’s quite possible it could go either way, because love is the all powerful miracle and the malevolent execration.

I exist.

2011-11-12T01:55:00.000-08:00

Madden claims that “The brief quotes that open this section also give you some idea of the number of compelling ethical, political, and social arguments that are connected to faith and down” and at first I was doubtful. Upon reading the quotes; however, I was easily swayed. There are many powerful quotes in the beginning of the section on faith and spirituality; they are all truthful and eye-opening. The quote that helped me understand the readings in this section the most was definitely Edmund Burke’s quote: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Short and profound, Crane’s A Man Said to the Universe is a complex poem of few words. Its meaning is ambiguous, but when combined with Burke’s quote, it becomes quite influential. This poem personifies the cosmos, by giving the universe a condescending personality. When in response to man saying that he exists, the universe replies “However, the fact has no created in me a sense of obligation” which basically means that just plain existence isn’t enough. To be noticed man must do more than exist, he must exist for the good of all things, not just for the good of himself. Burke’s quote is an excellent summary of the main theme of this poem: if a good man only exists, and doesn’t attempt to do good, evil wins. The same general theme exists in both the quote and the poem. Simply being there on the sidelines is no way to live and no person deserves any credit for simply being there. By contrast unlike the quote, the poem doesn’t verbally state that something more than existence would warrant the attention of the universe, though based on the condescending tone that the universe uses with the man, it’s implied. The universe is kind of saying “Yeah? Well, try harder and I’ll care.”

Crane is the youngest of fourteen children in his family. This obviously had a drastic effect on his view of the universe. Having to compete with his siblings for the attention of his parents is very similar to all of mankind competing amongst themselves for the attention of the universe. I can easily see a young child saying to their mother “Mom! I’m here! Look at me!” A mother of one would probably say something like “Yes, and you’re my special little darling,” whereas a mother of fourteen would be much too busy to give attention to her children simply because they’re there. However, if the child takes action and does something good or prevents evil from happening instead of watching, mommy is very likely to take notice—Just as the universe takes notice if a man does something good for everything.

The good versus evil theme runs deep in Crane’s poetry. In another poem, he writes “I stood upon a high place, /And saw, below, many devils /Running, leaping, /and carousing in sin. /One looked up, grinning, /And said, “Comrade! Brother!“” This poem in combination with A Man Said to the Universe, opens up a larger glimpse into Crane’s mind. In this poem, Crane is watching without evil without taking action, and the evil thanks him. Crane’s calling them “devils” shows that he isn’t one of them, and that he’s against the sin that they’re ‘carousing’ in, but by doing nothing, by just watching from his high, safe, place, the evil appreciates his not getting involved. This poem also ties in with Burke’s quote very easily—I’d wager that Burke and Crane would have been friends as they share an extremely similar view of life, the planet, and the universe.

Donald Vanouse of Georgetown University had this to say “Crane seems to encourage the reader to enrich and re-evaluate ideas about patterns of action and thought. Crane asks questions rather than providing answers.” Crane attempts to pull out the good in people by letting them know that their lack of action is very insignificant on the larger scale. Burke’s quote, by contrast offers an answer. It says that the actions of a good man will counteract evil. Burke supplies the answer to Crane’s questions.

Without the quotes at the beginning of this section, these writings would be much more difficult to understand. A Man Said to the Universe is a very open-ended poem. If I hadn’t looked at it through the lens supplied by Burke, my understanding of the poem would have been limited, at best. The compelling social issues confronted by Crane are much easier understood with the help of Burke.

Lyric Analysis: Meet Virginia

2011-11-11T01:08:00.000-08:00

The song identifies its writer to be a citizen of Virginia who is either very learned in history or whom was alive during the independence movement in the colonies. Virginia, a tremendously influential colony in the late 1700's, was late to break its loyalty to the Queen. In the end; however, it was Virginia's own plan for independence that pushed the movement through the Congress and gave birth to the Declaration of Independence. The identifying metaphors begin with the very first line: "She doesn't own a dress, her hair is always a mess [...] she's beautiful." The line points out that Virginia isn't traditional, but is still beautiful anyway and this is very true of early Virginia. 'She' at one point printed its legal currency on tobacco, and a majority of its citizens "Smoke[d] a pack a day" which wasn't frowned upon by the Government they instead found "that beautiful." Being as influential as it was in the late 1700's, it "never compromises" but still generally goes along with the mainstream "babies and surprises" which are symbolic for what the average person

"[T]he Queen" with the word queen capitalized is a direct reference to the British crown, which Virginia initially supports. However after "Think[ing] about her scene" she reconsiders and gets ready to get down and dirty by "pull[ing] back her hair as [she's screaming]" that she no longer supports the Queen. The line “She only drinks coffee at midnight, when the moment is not right” further supports this. At the last moment, just as the independence movement is about to be shot down in congress, Virginia rejuvenates it with its caffeinated announcement that supports the independence of the colonies. "Her timing is quite - unusual."

The final very powerful metaphor lives within the line "her confidence is tragic, but her intuition magic." This line implies that Virginia puts her confidence in something that will be very difficult to succeed in, and that may have tragic consequences, but in the end her intuition to do so yielded a magical result. In history terms, this translates to the war for independence that followed in the days after Virginia announces its support for the independence movement. There was no way to know that the America's would win the war, there was only confidence and magical intuition.

Liar, Liar

2011-11-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

I believe in the power of lies; more importantly, I believe in exploiting the unlimited power that the ability to lie bequeaths upon the human race. This belief stems back to one of the most prevailing events in my memory: when my mother first explained why one person would attempt to deceive another. You see, we were late for my doctor’s appointment, and not just the ignorable ten of fifteen minutes late either. Big time late. More than an hour late. We had made, well she had made, a ‘minor’ miscalculation as to what time we should leave our humble home. Before entering the doctor’s office, my Mom instructed me to endorse her story that we had gotten a flat tire on the way to the office, so that we wouldn’t have to reschedule my appointment. Being a toddler, I of course had to drop the infamous ‘Why?’ bomb. The explanation shocked me, and the seeds that were sewn into the fertile fields of my young, easily influenced mind on that day still guide me today.

As I grew up, I perfected the art of deception. I became one with my inner devil and imprisoned that pesky angel that once squatted upon my shoulder inside of a cardboard box. The box was then sealed with duct tape and the box opener was thrown away. Without the interference of that angel I lied about everything. When I got caught, I lied some more. I was living the good life; there were no problems that couldn’t be solved with a simple lie. Forged parent signatures, forged report cards, free field trips, not having to dress out in gym class; I could lie myself out of a hedge maze.

[That Blank Digest] - 11/10/11 | EA

2011-11-10T01:01:00.000-08:00

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