Monday, April 26, 2010

Intro to "The Evolution of Dental Hygiene"

Did you know that if you don’t take care of your mouth, it can lead to major dental problems like gum disease or gingivitis? Since of this, you should follow your dentists’ order and clean your teeth daily. You should be aware of the benefits and draws backs of proper dental care and poor dental care because without the right direction, it may lead to serious and server mouth problems and may also be a health factor. With all the new technology out there, electrical toothbrushes being one of them, have been a success to the dental field by providing patients’ with the tools to clean their teeth’s in a more sufficient way. Electric toothbrushes changed the way society felt about how to properly clean teeth’s. It provided people with a way to clean their teeth’s by using a mechanical toothbrush that was able to reach areas of the mouth that normal toothbrushes couldn’t reach and it also helped to prevent unwanted diseases more effectively.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

"Java Man" vs. "Toys"

In “Java Man” by Malcolm Gladwell, Gladwell writes an essay that researches caffeine. Although he does a phenomenal job, he tends to go off subject with his writing and looses me at times. Gladwell does a great job at going in dept with vivid details about his research on caffeine and how the idea of it changed over the years. He also does a good job about the history part of the essay because it tells the reader how his idea developed and how it was then and now. The last thing he does well is how he writes about the distinction of coffee and tea, but I think they’re pretty much the same thing because they are prepared alike and drank alike. They just have so many similarities to differentiate every last different ingredients from one another. Where Gladwell tends to lack in terms of his research is how he rambles throughout the essay. They’re so many things he could cut out to make his essay way better in a layout structure and let the reader be more drawn to his writing. Another aspect where it was unclear was how he talks about caffeine, but he doesn’t talk about it enough. He needs more focus when it comes to being more clearer and mapping the essay out better, but all in all, it was a really good essay and I enjoyed reading it.

Now in “Toys” by Roland Barthes, Barthes talks about French toys and how they shape young kids in today society. He does a good job when referring to the example, but even though he talks about toys, his essay isn’t balance well enough and he kind of goes off topic. Like how he first talks about how they shape us, and then he talks about the appearance of them. He needs to pick whether he wants the reader to know the appearances of the toys or how they shape us. The other thing that bothered me in his essay is how he states the differences in wood toys and mechanical toys because I though his essay was going to talk about how toys shape us. I just think he needs to pick one specific topic and stay with that like Malcolm Galdwell did in his essay titled “Java Man.” Where would I start if I was in charge of editing this essay and making have a clearer topic, Well, I first would change the title to fit the structure of the essay and then I would focus it more on one specific issue to have a clearer layout.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

"Describing the Third Photograph in Ephron’s Essay"

In Ephron’s essay titled “The Boston Photographs,” describes a series of photos that are displaying a tragic incident which illustrates a young woman and a child falling off of an escape ladder of an apartment building. Although, I would like to explain each and every photo as I see them through my eyes, I will only explain the last photo which is of the young woman and child actually falling off the balcony just before hitting the pavement. I think the third photo is probably the most tragic image of all three photos because it shows the woman and child just before hitting the ground, and it displays the horrific image people do not want to see because it shows “death” in the act; they, the woman and child, should have their story broadcasted because this can happen to anyone and who knows if the family of the woman and child are letting the images being published to inform others about this tragedy. All and all, I think that the images should be broadcasted to inform the public about this tragedy because this can happen to anyone in the world and I know that these people, the woman and child, would want their horrific death out there for people to understand and recognize that these images are to inform the public about how tragedy can manifest in all different types of situations, but its not to degrade or be disrespectful to the victims, but instead, inform society about tragedy.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

"The Boston Photographs"

In the story titled, "The Boston Photographs," by Nora Ephron talks about photojournalism and how hard it is to them to give the public vivid details about harsh times that may not be appealing to many. Also, many disagrees with these photos, saying how they exploit people in this minor, but who can say that these photos exploits these people? Are the families complaining? Maybe they just wanted to inform the public about their tragic loss. I think they have the right to give their own opinions about these things because the newspaper cant always be focused on the positive things of life. There are tragic stories out there as well. I think Ephron balanced her story out very well because she used names and newspapers to make her point. I like how she kind of jumps back and fourth with her own opinions that goes alongside with the photos that she is talking about. In recounting the reactions to the photograph, there were three stories…
The 1st story about the women and child being rescued by the fireman on the escape ladder. The 2nd pictured showed the fire escape slipping off the building. The child had fallen on the escape and seemed about to slide off the edge.
3rd picture showed the women and child in midair, falling to the ground. The response around the country was enormous, and almost all of it was negative. I don’t see why they’re mostly negative thoughts about these images, because this could happen anywhere at anytime around the world, and wouldn’t you want the public to be inform of this minor, but big deal? I know I will because these images are just being blown out of proportion. For defending the pictures, Ephron gives many examples, but the one I want to state is Thomas Keevil of the Costa Mesa Daily Pilot who printed a ballot for readers to vote on whether they would have printed the pictures. I know if I had to vote to tell people if I would of printed these pictures, I would of vote yes, because these pictures aren’t hurting anyone and I don’t see the young lady’s family complaining. Who knows, maybe they wanted these pictures to be broadcasted, so the public can know and understand that these things can happen to anyone and any given day. Ephron balances everything well and explains everything with much details that we need to know. I loved her layout, how she jumps back in fourth to give us her examples and opinions about the photos.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

"Why College is a Waste of Time and Money"

In the essay, "Why College is a Waste of Time and Money," Caroline Bird talks about how college is a waste of time and money be illustrating her ideas throughout the essay in vivid details, so the read can follow clearly. I was told to come up with two ideas that are effective, and two ideas that are ineffective. Although there were many ideas to choose from, I finally picked the ones I think are the best in the essay.

The first effective idea: “By 1970, colleges and universities were spending more than 30 billion dollars annually… According to estimates made by the economist Fritz Machlup, if we had been educating every young person until age 22, the bill for higher education would have reached 47.5 billon dollars, 12.5 billon more than the total corporate profits of the year.I think this piece of evidence is effective because it states and describes how colleges are wasting the corporation funding on students who probably don’t want to be in school, they just go because they are pressured to by their peers, society, and by their parents. This piece of evidence doesn’t say if these numbers come from highly financial troubled families, or by families who are kind of financial challenged. I will really like to know more about this idea that she states.

The second effective idea: “But bad as it is, college is often preferable to a far worse fate. It is better than the drudgery of an uninspiring nine-to-five job, and better than doing nothing when no jobs are available.” This is an effective piece of evidence because its talking about how students are just going to college because they have nothing else to do, or they don’t want to work a boring nine-to-five job. This goes with waste of time because these students will only put in little effort and probably end up flunking out of college anyways.

The first ineffective idea: “But when students rebelling against the Vietnam War and the draft discovered they could disrupt a campus completely, administrators had to act on some students complaints.”This his nothing to do with the main topic of this essay which is how college is a waste of time and money. I got absolutely nothing from this piece of idea. I totally don’t think this though goes with the essay… Do you??

The second ineffective idea: “All across the country, I have been overwhelmed by the prevailing sadness on American campuses.”What is she trying to say?… That American college students are more sadder and that they don’t speak up as much as other colleges around the country? This idea has no relevance with the main topic of this essay, because who knows how many colleges she went to, to determine this point of view. She could of only went to like two colleges to make this judgment. Who really knows. I just don’t see this having anything to do with her essay.

The last thing I wanted to talk about is how she states and give evidence of people and how they talked about how they “blew” their money on college and stuff. I don’t think I’m blowing my hard working money on college, because it’s a personal experience and it will better develop me in the future to succeed at my dream job. Which is, becoming a Dentist!!!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

"Where Heaven and Earth Touch"

In Telushlun’s essay, “Where Heaven and Earth Touch,” discusses the “Speak No Evil Day” which is a day where “We” come to view others as individuals and realize that negative stereotypes of large ethnic, religious, and gender groups are unfair and untrue. It also provides a day where people can’t say hurtful sayings and thoughts about one another meaning… no- name-calling, rude remarks, hurtful words, etc… I think this day will never succeed efficiently because people cant follow the rules right. Like who does? I think people judge each other all the time because that what is what we do as a society. We judge one another. The concept is a good one, but not everybody will participate accordingly. Like people don’t even follow the rules when there’s the day of silence, and what about when we have to remain quit for the people who lost their lives, so we can live our lives. People cant follow direction well. I like the Golden Rule approach, speak about people the same way that you want to be spoken about. I know we don’t follow this judgment well, but at lease this may be a little easier to do because its not taking away a whole day and its very minimal. Just try to use your words differently.
To recap everything is by saying will the “Speak No Evil Day” actually happen? Will our society actually follow this rule? I highly doubt it because people don’t want to change themselves to please another person they probably wont know. Its like taking away their rights as human beings. It will never work in my eyes. We are a judgmental society, and if you can accept that, or cant handle it, you should try to do something about it, but don’t make a day that will take away from someone’s privilege to speak their minds. I don’t think I will be able to follow this day to be truthful because I tend to judge people on a day to day basics. that’s what I do, and I know many more out there that does the same thing. I judge others on how they act, rudeness, playfully, and maybe if they judge me in some way, shape, or form, I will judge them in return. I know its not right to do this stereotyping, but this subject is put out there by our society to eat up and use it on one another. So, will our society really change one day? Will we be able to corporate the “Speak No Evil Day” for just one day? Only our society will be the judge of that because we follow their “judgments” and rules.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

"Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A's" & "The Gender Gap at School"

The differences between these two passages are as follow- In the essay titled “Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s,” states many points that I found interesting, but I was only allow to pick 4, so they four I chose are…
“Some departments shower students with A’s to fill poorly attended courses that might otherwise be canceled.” I think this important and kind of true to an extent because some teachers will give the students who don’t show up throughout the semester better grades than the students who do show up to class everyday. I think they do this because they like the student, or they want to have a higher passing percentage then other classes. I think it all bad because if the student don’t deserve the grade, then they deserve the grade the get the, because I work hard for all my grades and I want to be recognized for it.
“Today, colleges of every stature permit them to appeal low grades through deans or permanent boards of inquiry.” I do see this happening all the time in college, and I had to do this once in college, but I had a ligament reason which was I was in a car accident the day of my final so I couldn’t take it. Everything worked out fine and I have no problem if a student has a good reason to petition the grade.
“The evidence suggests that students and parents are demanding- and getting- what they think of as their money’s worth.” This is interesting because I haven’t noticed this in college, but in high school this happened all the time because the parents felt that their kid deserved the grade which they didn’t really deserve. I’m sure this happens in college because college is expensive and parents and the student wants to get passing grades, so they wont have to pay again to retake the class.
The Johnson plan was an eye opener which states, “Recalculating the grade point average to give rigorously graded courses greater weight.” This is an useful information because I didn’t know they were trying to do this in some colleges. I find it heard to understand why the people who “adopted” the plan, want their names kept secret. If they agree, wouldn’t they not care about the backlash? Probably they really don’t want it to pass, but doing it for the higher demands. Students will shy away from these courses because they want to pass, not fail the class, and this plan will be a risk for many.
In, “The Gender Gap at School,” David Brooks give many examples that backup his point of view. The four I pick are as follow…
I found how Brooks talks about, “The three gender-segregated sections of the airport.” This is important because people may not know how the law works. Like, if someone didn’t know that a male cops cant search females, well now they know. This is very useful information.
Brooks states how, “Male and female brains work differently.” very interesting to me because I didn’t really realize how different males and females are from one another. I never thought to much about how different the brains can be from each other, but this points out many key facts that verifies its true.
Didn’t agree with Brooks on, “Nor should it be a surprise that men are drifting away from occupations that involve reading and school.” my profession and many of my friends are involved with lots of reading courses and school, so I disagree with him because I think that now-a-days professions that deal with men and women are intertwining with each other. Men are doing more with school related things now then back in the day, well that’s what I think.Dr. Leonard Sax makes an important statement which is, “Men and women can excel at any subject. They just have to be taught in different ways.” This is useful because kids out there can realize that it doesn’t matter what sex you are, but how you are being taught and how you study. I think that anybody can do whatever they want to do in life, if they really try at it and have that mentality set into their minds that they can achieve all there dreams in life.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

"Best Friend"

I think I should let you know about one of my favorite person in the world! And that is….. Kristina West. She is an amazing person and I’m glad to call her my best friend. Although I do have more she is coolest. Haha. I have known her for a long, long, time and I wouldn’t have it any other way. She is funny, nice, bright, loveable, single, smart, down to earth, and has a huge heart. If you don’t know her, you should meet her! She goes to Sacramento City College with me, her best friend forever.

LOVE YOU BESTIES! HAHAHA
P.S. there will be more on this person later, so stay tune!!!

"College Pressures"

In College Pressures by William Zinsser, he explains the four major pressures that we as college students go through each and everyday. Economic, parental, peer, and self-induced pressure are the ones that Zinsser states to be the main pressures he sees college students go through.

Zinsser states in his essay that he wants us to savor each segment of our education as an experience in itself and not as a grim preparation for the next step. He wants us to experiment, trip and fall, to learn that defeat is a instructive as victory and is not the end of the world. I totally agree with Zinsser on this because we need to fail and learn from our mistakes to overcome it and rise above it later on in life. Mistakes are there for us to learn from, not to tear us down. In college all students(the ones that want to succeed), push themselves to the edge and overwork themselves because they want to transfer to the top college in the nation or be better than their peers. Zinsser states that we are looking for that edge; something that will look better on paper if we were to compete with someone who are about equal. The other thing that I found alarming is how Zinsser talks about how some students go to college only because their parents want them to and society will perceive them better. They are obligated to “fulfill” their parents’ expectations. I think that the parents are only there to support their child in anything they do, and not there to push them into something that will benefit them(the parents). Parents are there for support that their child needs to succeed in their life. I really don’t believe that the parents have a say so in what their children want to do in life. Who cares if they are paying for the school, they have no right to tell their kids to go into a specific field because it will better suit the parents needs.

With peer and self-induced pressure Zinsser points out how when every other student is working harder and doing better, the only solution is to study harder still. We tend to do more than what’s expected from us because we want to be better than the next person in life. Society plays a huge roll in this because if you want to get accepted into your dream school you have to fight for your spot and beat out all the competitors. We are obsessed with studies, so we give up so many opportunities that come our way like one avoids sports and extracurricular activities because we want to focus more on our academic studies instead. I like how Zinsser states how we are worried about the values that are nurturing a generation so fearful of risk and so goal obsessed at such an early age. I agree a hundred percent!! that’s how society sees it also. Detours are good. We don’t need pre-planned roads to follow because there will be plenty of time to change our minds on the things we do in college. We don’t need a map to follow! We can make up our own map.CHANGE….. IS ALWAYS GOOD.

Monday, February 22, 2010

"An Animal Place"

In Michael Pollan’s “An Animal Place,” Pollan explains several arguments that doesn’t seem to mesh well with each other. He talks about how eating, wearing, experimenting, and killing animals are all things human beings do to survive. His ideas are all over the place because how can you say if you eat meat its bad, but then say if your going to continue to eat it live with your choice or change it. that’s not a clear thought because he states that when he was reading the story about the animal, he finished his steak! Did he change his choice, or is he going to live by what he thinks is right for him?
The Animal Liberation to protect animals is a great thing to have because even though I’m not a vegetarian and probably wont be, I tend not to eat meat that much. I’m a very picky eater and I just think its very inhumane to kill something that God created to live. I hated how Salain talks about how its easy for him to kill a chicken because it has no soul and aren’t God’s image. He’s a Christian? I think he needs to think about changing his religion because Christian’s are suppose to love and respect everything God created. I also like how Germany was the first nation to grant animals a constitutional right. that’s HUGE!!
Pollan contradicts himself through out this whole essay. I think he’s confused when it comes to this topic… He states that humans and animals are “equal” and the animals deserve the same consideration that humans do, but then goes on to say how they cannot feel pain because they lack soul!! How does he know what lacks something if he clearly lacks a heart towards animals. Oh yeah, he says that animals are unhappy, but again how can he determine that aspect of something that is a living thing? He will never be a vegetarian, so he should just stop and realize that no matter how much he tries, he will all ways love eating meat.
The thing that I found really interesting in this essay is this quote… “If possessing a higher degree of intelligence does not entitle one human to use another for his or her own ends, how can it entitle humans to exploit nonhumans for the same purpose.” this is really fascinating to me because even though we exploit nonhumans all the time, we do so because that’s the way our society sees it. We do these things because we need to live and that’s the best way we know how to. I don’t think its right, but we need to eat something to live each and every day and not everybody in the world would go vegetarian; but I just don’t agree with how the animals have to suffer when they die. They are put through Hell before they are slaughtered, and I just don’t agree with that death. Its very inhumane for us to treat a living thing like that.
No I don’t find this writing style effective because its just back and forth thinking and evidence that confuses me at times. His juggling is not done well and needs to have more clearer thoughts and ideas.
I will love to do an ad with PEDA because this issue needs to be broadcasted way more throughout the nation, so people can see how animals are being treated before they die and how they harshly live on some farms throughout the nation . Its just harsh!!I don’t wear fur, and that’s the first step I made to help out the animals because I still do eat minimal meats only because I have to live and I probably wont last with the whole vegetarian thing, so don’t call me a hypocrite! So if you do wear fur, you need to start to think about how that animal your wearing felt before they died.

Monday, February 15, 2010

"The Trouble with Wilderness"

In the story "The Trouble with Wilderness," Cronon explains how the wilderness and the human race are one, and its far apart from the humanity. He states that we need to preserve the wilderness and keep it safe. He goes on to say how preserving the wilderness has been fundamental for decades; stands apart from humanity, but a human creation. A long time ago, the protection of the wilderness was to protect the nation's most sacred myth of origin, but now we treat it totally different. Were destroying it because we need it resources to live. He explains how following the Civil War more and more of the Nation's wealthest citizens was seeking out wilderness for themselves. People were becoming greedy. The wilderness offers us the illusion that we can escape the cares and troubles of the world. People just need something to free their minds from the stress and other problems they have in their lives.

After reading this, I found myself thinking about how much we benefit from the wilderness. Also how it teaches us, and how the wilderness needs no proof of presence in the universe, but for the humanity we do. We need the attention and we have to let others know about our presence. We just need to discover a "middle ground" to call home. We need to learn to honor the wild. That's pretty much what William Cronon was talking about in "The Trouble with Wilderness."
Well... that's what I thought he was trying to say. Read it for yourselves, and let me know how you felt about the story....
Peace out for now!!

Monday, February 8, 2010

How does Andrew Sullivan construct “What is a Homosexual?” As you analyze the structure of this piece, try thinking about where Sullivan ends his essay. Then, work backwards. What does he establish (and, most importantly, why) to reach that endpoint?

In the story “What is a Homosexual?” by Andrew Sullivan, he states facts and his own experiences with what a homosexual is. He talks about how people deal with their sexual orientation day-to-day. Also about his. He goes into detail about how every homosexual child will learn the rituals of deceit, impersonation, and apperarance. Many have to disguise themselves to fit into the "normal" society world that we live in. He also talks about how many have debated on the issue that homosexuality isn't a choice, but an orientation. I agree, because who can tell what a child will be when they are born? Noboday can! You can't say to a child when it's delivered that they will either be gay or straight. They(The kid) has to make their on assumption of that issue, and learn from their own mistakes.

working backwards to forwad in this essay. Sullivan talks about how homosexuals remain hidden and wrapped in theirt self-contempt. Which their emotional development is often stunted and late. He also states how they surround themselves in fields that go with their idenity. some never come out, because of it(jobs), and that's how they earn a living, so they have to "hide" who they really are. A lot of kids suppress their "natural emotions," and they find outlets to express themselves. like. music, theater, and art. Society isn't that much open to diversity when it comes to this topic. the society goes of stereotypes and discrimmination. I agree, because not everybody in this world will all get alone. Like discrimmination will always be their. Like, I live in a predominantly white neighborhood and there are neighbors that don't like my family because of our race. I just would like to say that you can't change people, they have to relize for themselves and change they way they think/act on their own terms.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Darwin's Middle Road

What is the primary concept Gould explains in “Darwin’s Middle Road?” As he explains this concept, what must he define and classify? What else does he need to explain the concept? And, finally, what do you think of his ideas?

Stephen Jay Gould writes about how Darwin explains Inductivism and Eurekaism. Darwin's odyssey towards the theory of natural selection supports an intermediate position. Why? Who knows. I was confused about the whole story, but it was very interesting and informative. The inductivist interpretation focuses on Darwin's 5-years aboard the Beagle and explaines his transition from a student for the ministry to the nemesis of preachers as the result of his keen powers of observation applied to the world. Darwin applies his thoughts about the world to open our eyes and see what he sees. He should define and classify the terms inductivism, and eurekaism, and how the connect with eachother and describe how much more different one is from the other. I think he could explain it a little better.

Why didn't Darwin have an evolutionary theory? I would like to know beacause his example of evolution is fascinating and incites me. The thing that I found the most interesting was how Darwin talks about the new species arising with prefixed life span, and worked his was to the idea of extinction by competition in a world of struggle.

I just think he needs more evidence to back up his point of view because while reading this, I found it to be lacking that one aspect it needs the most. I was also lost at times when he differs into different stories and observations.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Didion & Buzzell

Question: How do Buzzell’s blog posts fulfill Didion’s ambitions for the journal? What’s are major differences (if any) between the two mediums, as shown through Buzzell’s and Didion’s? How do you use electronic writing/texting/e-mailing/etc/etc/etc compared any differently than Buzzell’s blogging or Didion’s concept of journaling?


Buzzell’s posts are his own experiences and how he dealt with them. Buzzell writes in his journal to remember things later on, so he wont forget what happened to him that day. He writes to fulfill that void of being alone and not talking with people about his hardship during his stay in the war. Buzzell fulfills Didion’s ambitions for journals by writing things down the way he sees it. He writes in vivid detail about how car bombs go off, and how he can tell the different sounds of explosions because he grew to get use to them.

They’re really no major differences. The only difference I can come up with is that Didion writes about things that didn’t really happen, and if they did, it wasn’t the way she saw them happening. On the other hand, Buzzell writes about things he actually saw day in and day out when he was station in the time of the War. He writes to inform people how hard it can be to be in Iraq. All the ups and downs of the war. Like, Buzzell told a story about how an Iraqi gave him and one of his buddy a bag of ice. This shows that the war can bring out the good in people too, and not just the bad. He expresses good and bad times in Iraq.

I text all day long!!! I love texting. I text more than I talk on the phone because if you don’t want to hear someone’s voice, you can text them instead; also, with text messages you can reply back whenever you want. I think I depend on electronic writing more than what I need to, because its faster to type things than to write out things to me. Also, you can send the same message to multiple people at once and they will all get it at the same time. although you can do that in a hand written letter/message, but it wont be as efficient enough, fast enough, or very convenience like using an electronic writing program.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

"Consider the Lobster"

In “Consider the Lobster,” David Foster Wallace reports on the events of the Maine Lobster Fest and the thoughts those events provoke. What’s effective about his approach of exploring the ideas surrounding MLF? What’s not effective about the approach? What other thoughts do you have about how Wallace approaches the MLF?



In "Consider the Lobster," David Foster Wallace talks about ideas about the Maine Lobster Festival(MLF). He talks about how there's much more to know then most of us care about. He states in the 1800's, lobsters were called low-class food. Now it's a whole new world, where lobsters are considered to be for the upper-classes and not for the "poor" anymore. Wallace states that lobsters were once ruled to be cruel and unusual to eat, but not now, everybody enjoys to eat them now-a-days. Except me. I hate eating lobsters. I only had them about twice in my entire life, because I think it takes way to much work to eat them!! I just like simple foods, because I'm a simple guy. I never knew that lobsters are essentially called "a summer food!" I thought people ate them all year around, and that's why they got sick all year around when they eat too much of them. Ohh well I don't have to worry about that problem, because I don't eat them.



Wallace doesn't see that it's necessary for us to inflict pain on them in order to eat them. It's unbearble to watch them suffer while they are dying. I think that Wallace hates the idea of lobsters being boiled alive and thinks it's cruel for people to do so. other animals suffer in the same way, but this is how we as a nation survive!! other people kills and prepare or foods for us, and there isn't a whole lot for us to do on that note. We have to eat!! but I still feel bad for all the animals that have to die for us to survive. I found that the nervous system of a lobster is very similar to the nervous system of a grasshopper. That's very interesting, and maybe good to know? I dont know, but its kind of fascinating!