Week 14: Harry Potter :)

What I read for pleasure is two words: Harry Potter. I love all of the books and have ready them two times and also love the movies. The happiness I receive from these novels is beyond great!

I didn’t start reading Harry Potter until the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was published. I cheated and read that book first. It was the start of my new found obsession. I was addicted. All I would ever do was read them and watch the movies. Just about a month ago I found a smacking deal at Costco (the best place in the whole entire world); all six movies together were on sale for 35 dollars. SO CHEAP! It honestly made my day :).

Reading for pleasure is very important to me because it allows me to escape this world and enter into a new one where I can imagine the characters to be just how I want them to be. It lets me realize that reading is a great thing and not always so boring like a history textbook could be classified as. No offense to history but when one chapter takes me two hours to read it becomes very hard to keep my brain focused. However, when reading for pleasure there is no certain number of chapters I have to read or certain quiz I have to take; I am solely reading for pure enjoyment.

How this pertains to writing is looking at the clean sheet as something that you can make into your own masterpiece through the words that you write. Reading for pleasure allows my brain to relax and writing should also. It should allow us to relieve stress as we write whether what is on our mind, a research paper, or a letter. We are able to put our own words onto the page and truly make our paper ours.

Les Mis and Harry Potter

So the only thing that I have read “for pleasure” in the last twelve months is a condensed English version of the book Les Miserables, and technically I haven’t finished it yet. Over the summer I was pretty much booked out thanks to an onslaught of required readings my final semester of high school. Then came BYU, with fifty hours of homework a week, plus swimming, class, and if I found some time to eat or talk to people I jumped at the chance. I do think reading for pleasure is important. If you have the time, reading a book can let you escape into another world. I always enjoyed leaving my problems behind for half an hour to read about the problems that other people are having, even if the characters are fictional. I think that is why I enjoyed the Harry Potter series so much. When I picked up a Harry Potter book, I could just forget my problems for a couple of hours and think about what Harry should do. Because the plot was based in a fictional universe that I had never been to, I didn’t understand anything better than he did – until the later novels anyway – and therefore felt comfortable trying to analyze his problems and attempting to create potential solutions. I do not know if I have ever been able to change how pleasurable any one writing assignment is for me. I try to choose an interesting topic, but after that I do not think I can alter how much I will enjoy the assignment. If I get to give my own opinion on something that I am interested in and have significant, logical evidence to back my position, chances are that I will really enjoy writing my paper. If I am writing a paper that has a topic of no interest to me and drags on aimlessly forever, I will want to kill myself before I finish it (i.e. my Junior Research Paper on a book that I hated). Reading for pleasure is much different than writing for pleasure. I can pick up a good book anytime, if I think I have time to actually read it. On the other hand, I will probably never write a sentence if I don’t feel that it is absolutely necessary for one reason or another.

Week 13: Literacy

Literacy is the ability to read and write. I would expand this definition to: The ability to feed a growing curiosity, satisfying it all the while. For example, I imagine walking into a library. I walk towards the nonfiction section, divided into general broad categories. What do I want to learn? There are cookbooks, which inspire me to try cooking. There are those how-to books, for practical law stuff and financial stuff, the kind of stuff that you hear about but don't necessarily understand what it is when you're so young. There are foreign language books for French, Chinese, Italian, and Spanish. There are even books commentating about current events in the US, like the war in Iraq. Upon looking at these various topic of information and more, my curiosity is ignited. It's like my curiosity is a pleasantly light stomach, ready with plenty of room to devour decadent desserts (as opposed to being so stuffed that you can't enjoy another bite). It's like, the more knowledge I "eat," the more satisfying feeling I get, just like eating 15 Reese's cups (no holding back). Getting mentally exhausted from happily reading late into the night is like being stuffed with all my favorite foods: pleasant and ready to drift off into blissful sleep.

As for the writing side of literacy, it's okay, I guess. It's the means of reading: something has to be written for it to be read. Writing is a great outlet when I write in my journal. It's fun to read back on, and a great way to get memories stored to be relived over again with each re-reading. I love reading some of the funny things that happen in life, and my comments. It is almost like enjoying a work of fiction or a bedtime story, but way more vivid, since I can remember actually being there and remember details of the 5 senses instead of just imagining. There are benefits to writing to persuade people; I'm probably biased towards reading just because writing to an audience with care takes some work.

Lastly, a strange mix of reading and writing I enjoy is reading about creative writing. Mostly, this is interesting because I like reading fiction that I enjoy, so it's fun to understand what makes fiction good for when I try to make up my own stories. It's like mythbusters in a way: learning the elements of fiction also applies to fiction on TV and in movies, so when I see really good movies, I can identify what specific plot device I enjoyed about them (although it's been a while and I can't think of specific stuff- I read about character development a bit). It's also nice to be able to understand why I don't enjoy a movie: I can say that it had a plot that relied on a coincidence (like a person dying in a car crash, being cliche) which doesn't make for that intriguing of a plot in some cases.

One of my favorite things to read about fiction is Mary Sues and Gary Stus. These are characters that seem to be "perfect" and it's pretty funny to read about them: Chances are, every writer has made a character like that before, so it's relatable. It's fun to wonder, is Harry Potter a Gary Stu? In some ways, yes. Mary Sues and Gary Stus aren't always a bad thing, but they are fun to poke fun at. :)

(Week 13) Literacy: (n.) The ability to....

Literacy is generally defined as the ability to read and write, but to me it is so much more than that. Yes, reading and writing is important but the two together hold no real importance in our lives without understand of what is being read or written. Comprehension has a great significance in the definition of literacy. We communicate with one another these days through reading and writing more than we ever have in the history of the world. Our understanding what is being conveyed to us or what we want to convey to other people makes all the difference. Words are an amazing tool that we have be blessed to have at our disposal. Each word has it owns place in literature and can redefine our perceptions of so many things.
Literacy is language and the use of language in reading and writing. To be literate in one country is not the same as being literate in another. I’m not talking about language barrier but rather the way in which words are used. For example, in our country, we use the phrase ‘I don’t care’ when asked about our opinion or our preferences on something. In Spanish, ‘I don’t care’ is ‘no me importa’ which literally translated means ‘its not important to me’. This phrase in Spanish is portrayed the same way ‘I don’t care’ is in the U.S. to say that phrase it its Spanish version comes off as being offensive to many. Our comprehension of our very own languages and their use in our lives is different among people and cultures. Literacy, with my added definition of its need for comprehension, is then different all around the world. It is truly amazing.
Literacy in my life has made a great impact on me. I love to read and I do it all the time, whenever I can. My love for books has lead me to learn and appreciate things so much more than I did before I began reading as much as I do now. Of course, a lot of that comes with age and personal experience, but I attribute a lot of my knowledge to what I have read; whether that be in a newspaper, magazine, book, journal etc. I am thankful for literacy because it is not only a way to communicate, gain understand, and even expand my imagination, but it is a way to preserve those things long term, something the world didn’t ever think would be possible thousands of years ago.

Week 12- Makeup Week- Favorite Foodski :)

What is there not to like about cookies when they are warm and just melt in your mouth? I am so thankful that the dutch accidentally made “koekje” or “little cakes”- what are now known as cookies. Cooks back in the day would use a small amount of cake batter to test their oven before baking a cake. The marvelous thing that happened to result from this practice was the single-serving size cookie. The Dutch popularized the cookie in the United States. Years later, in the 1930s, an innkeeper in Massachusetts with the name of Ruth Wakefield ran out of nuts while making cookies. Thank goodness for this tragedy because she decided to substitute chunks of a chocolate bar instead forming the Toll House Cookie; in other words the famous Chocolate Chip Cookie. The delicious, smooth chocolatey bite delights my taste buds. Just thinking about cookies makes my mouth drool!

However, the best cookies in the world are chocolate chip oatmeal cookies; a summary of my childhood. They are also known as the “DiGiovanni’s Tradition.” At least three times a month my family would gather in the kitchen and makes several batches of our favorite cookies. These chocolate chip oatmeal cookies made the bond between my family grow stronger. Now when I make a visit home to Texas during BYU breaks, the first words that come out of my siblings’ mouths are “Who wants to make the DiGi’s cookies?” Whoever said sweets cannot bring happiness was wrong. I sincerely smile every time I think back to those cookie making days in my California kitchen where flour was draped over the granite counter top. I love thinking of many memories of my childhood and how I have made it to where I am today. Honestly I can say that the legendary chocolate chip oatmeal cookies not only gave my taste buds a treat, but also filled my heart with the love I share for my family and the memorable times we spent together making them.

I honestly revised this paragraph before I even wrote it. By reading everybody else’s comments on how they changed their blog, I already had ideas in my head of the organization I wanted to follow. I had to change a few words here and there, but thanks to ya’ll I did not have to do a whole lot! Hopefully it was not too shabby of a blog!

Week 12: Locks of Love

What if there was a kid who had permanently lost their hair, so it could never grow back? They may have lost their hair due to a disease, such as cancer? They do have the option of getting a wig. But let's say that there was a young 10-year-old girl who played soccer. Would she really want to wear a wig, always worrying about it falling off? Perhaps every day at school, she worries about the wig falling off and humiliating her, or worse, what if other kids decide to play a prank and pull it off at recess? For these kids, there is a solution that will not compel them to avoid sports, and not cause them worry during school. The solution is a high-quality hair piece from the non-profit organization, Locks of Love.

The hair pieces that Locks of Love provides are made from a mold of the child's head, so the cap is a custom fit, vacuum-sealed. So, kids can play sports and run around at recess without worry. Even more, they can shower and swim with the hair piece still on. It is also removable by breaking the vacuum seal at the temples.

The recipient can choose what color and length of hair they want. Then, strands of donated hair is injected into the silicon base, which is a skin-tone color that the child can also choose. Where does this hair come from? One hair piece takes 6 to 10 donated ponytails, at least 10 inches long-- 10 inches would make a jaw-length hair-piece since 2 inches are used in the manufacturing process.

Why not use synthetic hair? Synthetic hair cannot be colored and it can't be flat-ironed or it will "diffuse" (ehow). Also, human hair can last up to one year with proper care, but synthetic lasts only three months. Human hair will fall flat when it gets wet, like normal hair, but synthetic will retain it's posture-- although this makes synthetic hair convenient to maintain, it would seem to be unnatural looking. Overall, human hair will grant these kids in need a chance to live a normal life just like you and me.

So, what can we do to help this non-profit organization? We can help by donating hair (non-bleached and non-colored, because the chemicals would react in the manufacturing process) : and you do not even have to donate lengthy pieces to help. I'll describe ways to help in terms of hair length.

One can help by donating 0 inches of hair by donating money to help pay for the custom hair pieces that would retail around $3,500 - $6,000 each: Locks of Love will give them for free, or a lower price depending on financial need.

One could donate less than 10 inches of hair in a clean, dry ponytail or braid. It won't be long enough for a custom hair piece, but can be sold to help pay for the costs.

One could donate 10 inches of hair, which would be enough to make a jaw-length hair piece.

One could donate 15 or more inches of hair, which will give recipients the option of choosing a longer-lenghted wig.

So, the next time you are getting a hair cut, why not consider forming a ponytail to cut off instead of letting it get thrown away? If it is under 10 inches, if it's long enough (I don't know the minimum for selling) it might be able to help the costs of Locks of Love hair pieces. It takes a little bit of time to send it in, and if everyone did it, the benefits can add up. Let's help these children live a great life full of everything life has to offer.

* For details about how to send donations/etc., visit the Locks of Love website.

Works Cited

http://www.locksoflove.org/

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5011197_hair-vs-human-hair-weave.html

(Week (12) Faith and Truth

My grandmother often sends my siblings and I articles she had been reading on LDS.org that cover a large range of religious topics. One of the many she sent us this week was called Faith and Truth. As I read through the article, a lot of things popped out at me. I thought for the free blog topic this week I would share with you guys some of the things I picked up on.
When I think of faith, I generally think of something that is more often hoped for than actually known to be true. For me personally, though I have faith in the truthfulness of the gospel, I never had ever directly seen the correlation between faith and truth by definition. In actuality, faith and truth are rooted in the same Hebrew translation. I should have understood this by means of having faith in Jesus Christ or God our father. Both are true, living beings in which we have faith of their existence and power.
Prior to reading this article, I hadn’t understood the parallel between the word truth and the name Jesus. Where I had once believed truth to come from that of Jesus, they are actually synonymous words- one in the same meaning. This is easily exemplified when Nephi writes, “I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus.” Jesus is not merely the origin of all truth but he IS truth. This truth is an accumulation of many aspects of his godliness: knowledge, love, grace etc. This idea is encompassed in the definition of truth found in D&C and the definition of Christ. In D&C it states, “And truth is knowledge of things as they are, as they were, and as they are to come” whereas Jesus is referred to he “which is, and which was, and which is to come.” The meaning of these two things sheds light what truth really is. When we have faith in Christ, we are brought directly to the truth. This whole concept is important to grasp because it is through truth that we are saved and capable of living with our father in heaven and our beloved brother again. Knowing the truth is to know god, through which we are set free.

Week 11

When asked about my favorite food I find it very hard for me to choose just one, and my favorite food often changes. However, as of lately the something that tops the list is a simple, but tasty hamburger. There are many toppings that can go on a hamburger, and I prefer practically all of them when I am enjoying one. For example, ripe and juicy tomatoes, crisp lettuce, sour pickles, and even onions. Hamburgers alone are great, but they're even better when there is a side of perfectly cooked and season fries to go with it.
The history of the hamburger goes a long way back; there are various accounts of “hamburgers” stretching back to the 15^th and 16^th centuries, but these were not even close to the same “hamburgers” that we see today. The first appearance of a hamburger on an American menu was back in 1826 on the menu of a restaurant named Delmonico's, in New York. Even though this is the first appearance on a menu there are many speculations as to who actually invented the hamburger. There are people who say it was a coincidence and that vendors ran out of sausage for sandwiches and were forced to use beef instead. There are also others who believe that a young man started selling sandwiches, made out of meatballs, that could be eaten on the run, and these sandwiches would eventually evolve into the hamburger we know today.
Whatever the story is, I'm just glad somebody was able to come up with such a good tasting piece of food. I love hamburgers, there are so many combinations of different toppings and ways to make them, they personalize the way we eat.

While fixing up the rough draft I pretty much rearranged everything a couple of times trying to get it to sound right. I also fixed a few sentences and moved some of them around. I even go rid of some sentences that didn't fit, but also added others that I felt needed to be there. There were, of course, grammatical errors that I had to go back and fix also.

Week 11: Onigiri

Some Japanese food, like Sushi, is well-known in America. But some popular Japanese food isn’t very well known in the western world. One Japanese food that isn’t very well known in America is called “Onigiri.” Onigiri are rice balls shaped into a circle/triangle, filled with a filling such as a pickled food or salmon, and wrapped with seaweed. Onigiri are also made with some salt so they aren’t bland.

Making onigiri was an activity of my Japanese culture class in high school. The rice was cooked in a rice cooker, and the resulting starchy steam smelled so good at the end of a school day. We dipped our hands in water to prevent the rice from sticking to our hands (which it did anyway). We carefully morphed the rice into a ball and wrapped the salty crispy seaweed around it, enjoying it coming to life and sticking to the rice as it gained moisture. These cute little rice balls have been a part of life since long ago in Japan’s history.

Onigiri has a simple but long history, dating back to earlier periods when there were warriors (a.k.a. samurai). In earlier periods, onigiri were made for samurai to eat while they were outside. The reason they were made to eat outside is because they are convenient to eat and carry, like finger food. Onigiri are still convenient in modern-day Japan and have been lovingly hand-made because they are portable, but that’s not the only reason they are popular.

Onigiri have also gained popularity in Japan because they are now mass-produced and available in convenience stores at a great price, and because they have a homemade touch. They are widely available thanks to the new inventions of machinery. However, the seaweed on the onigiri would wilt, so it is packaged separate from the rice so you can wrap it on yourself before eating. In addition to coming packaged, it is also becoming a popular dish of cafés. Either way, “when you have onigiri prepared just for you or add the seaweed wrapping yourself, you get the warmth of the personal touch,” (Great Balls of Rice!).

Overall, these rice balls are cute, portable, and can make you feel special for eating them because of the care that goes into making them.

***I added the paragraph about making onigiri in my class into the beginning after I wrote about the history. I paid attention to the flow of old information to new information. I also expanded the 4th paragraph topic sentence to include the "homemade touch" idea. Overall, I think writing like this added clarity but seems more redundant. Maybe there's a balance I should try to achieve, in general.***

Works Cited

"Great Balls of Rice! Classic Snack Gets New Lease on Life." Web Japan. Japan Information Network, 21 July 2003. Web. 18 Mar. 2011. http://web-japan.org/trends01/article/030121soc_r.html.

yummmmmm..

My favorite food in the whole wide world is a hot fudge sundae!! Every year since I can remember my parents have taken me to get a hot fudge sundae for my birthday! These sundaes are not your normal sundaes, they are GIANT and made perfectly every time! The perfect sundae is made layer by layer. It starts with a cold creamy layer of vanilla ice cream followed by a warm rich layer of melted fudge. These layers alternate to the very top of course, and then it's topped with a thick layer of whipped cream. Then the sundae is sprinkled with nuts and topped with a maraschino cherry! Thank heavens for the person who invented this delicious treat. Although, no one has been able to agree on who that wonderful person is. We do know that they came about around 1890. Around that time a law was passed in some places in the mid-west that banned soda on Sundays. So, for ice cream shops the only options left were ice cream and syrup, which gave the treat its nickname.. ice cream sundae.

The first time I wrote this it was really random and a lot of the phrasing sounded really awkward. There were also a lot of mistakes with my spelling as well as my grammar. It was very choppy and did not flow in between explaining the sundae and then giving the history.The rewrite made it possible to organize what I was trying to say and make changes!

Week 11

I love food. Food is so great. There's nothing like eating something that tastes great and is good for you. My favorite kind of food is definitely pizza. I enjoy variety in all things, so variety in food is a big deal for me. Pizza offers many different kinds of variety for me. There are various breads, meats, cheeses and veggies for one to choose from in order to make that perfect pizza combination. Not only is there much variety for what your pizza contains, but there are various restaurants and chains that offer different styles and types of pizza. I enjoy partaking of pizza that is not always the same and that is made differently. Pizza has originated from Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cultures starting in about the tenth century. Pizza was considered a dish of the poor and was not considered to be a kitchen recipe for many years. The ingredients for pizza have evolved over the many centuries, mostly changing when it was brought to America.

I can't remember when the first time I had pizza was, but it must have been sweet. My first taste of it was probably a big turning point in my life, due to the fact that I used to be a very picky eater. Pizza opened doors for me. A nice hot slice of cheesy, spicy pizza sounds good right now. This dish probably made me be more willing to try other foods throughout my childhood. In trying other foods I might discover something new for my taste buds that could possibly be just as good as pizza.

I found some major improvements from my first writing to this revised one. It is amazing how many little errors I noticed. Second drafts are wonderful and make a huge difference. This is why I enjoy the peer reviews that we do in class. I moved so many sentences around in my first draft to make this post make more sense. I moved my history of pizza part around a couple of times trying to make it fit in the best place in conjunction with my more personal stories with pizza.

Week 11-Pasta

My favorite food is pasta. Pasta is generally accepted and being an Italian food. Thank you, Italy. The two basic categories are dry pasta, cooked without eggs and able to store for up to two years, and fresh pasta which must be eaten within a few days. It is made from wheat and some types of pasta have other ingredients, like eggs, added in. When made from scratch, noodles are made by preparing a dough, cutting it into strips, and putting it through a pasta grinder that evens and thins the strips. The noodles are then left out to dry and then boiled. Isn’t pasta cool?? Pasta is so fun to eat too! And there is like…a million different kinds of noodles. You can choose from manicotti, penne, ditalini, fettuccine, rigatoni, ziti, fiori, rotini, tortellini, gnocchi! Just to name a few. There’s stuffed pasta, long pasta, skinny pasta, shaped pasta, wheat pasta, and even designer pasta. I can honestly say that I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to a restaurant that offered pasta and ordered something else. Pasta has never failed me. Whether it’s Kraft Macaroni & Cheese or one of everything at Brick Oven, pasta is always a good choice. Any kind of pasta will do, as long as it’s served with a white sauce. Not red. The only times I can remember not liking pasta were when it was served in a marinara sauce. I’m not a fan. It’s so tomatoey…Alfredo sauces are so superior in every way. Remember this next time you’re at a restaurant, imagine that big plate of toasty warm pasta served with garlic bread and meatballs coming your way. It won’t take long for you to figure out what you’re ordering.

It was kind of hard to make pasta interesting to read about, thus the tone I used in this. I know it’s unprofessional and far from academic. However, anyone reading this probably figured out that I freaking love pasta. That was my main intention. I organized it by topic: History and facts about pasta, types of pasta, and my opinions about pasta. Now go eat some pasta.

Steak

People have been eating beef since they figured out how to graze and butcher livestock. But when it comes to beef, there is only one way to enjoy its maximum potential and that would be in the form of a well-cooked steak. The best steaks come from the hindquarter cuts of a cow. There are several classifications of meat, the most important being the USDA evaluation. If the USDA gives a selection of beef the grade of “Prime,” you know you have found yourself a good piece of meat. I personally prefer my steak somewhere in that medium medium-rare range. That places the internal temperature of the meat at around 145 F when it is finished cooking. I love steak when it is warm, tender, and juicy. I really don’t care how large my selection of meat is, my priority is to be able to savor each bite to the fullest of its potential. People who order and eat those forty ounce steaks are missing the point in my opinion. I don’t have anything against them, but how much you enjoy your steak shouldn’t be measured by how much meat you can eat, or how fast you can shovel it down. Rather, I believe that every morsel of a great meal will be appreciated and enjoyed by the partaker, not quickly throw down into a bottomless and never satisfied pit of hunger. I first began to enjoy a good steak when I was a pre-teen. I began my relationship with food like all other children who enter this world. First I drank milk, and then expanded my horizons progressively to foods that were more solid. I have a very interesting relation with dairy products. Milk, yogurt, and ice cream, are just some of the delicious members of this food group. I developed a particularly strange attachment to cheese as a child, an attachment which has recently displayed itself again. I think I will enjoy a mission in France, where people place a high value on the quality of dairy products such as yogurt and cheese, as well as the simple things such as bread and vegetables.

My first draft was significantly different than my second draft. In the first draft I rambled aimlessly about my topic and its history. As I thought about my history with food, I simply listed off foods that I liked as I thought back through my childhood. Obviously my second draft is a little more formal and conveys a more direct and comprehendible message.

Week 11: The Cheeseburger

A meal that is representative of a turning point in my life is the introduction of crab into my life. At first the thought disgusted me, but upon trial during a vacation to the Oregon Coast at the age of 10, it instantly became a lifetime favorite of mine. Another turning point in my life, food-wise, would be when I first started ordering food at restaurants that weren’t hamburgers. Cheeseburgers have been my favorite food ever since I can remember, and it’s is all I ordered growing up. I ordered spaghetti one time in place of my burger, and regretted it. Nonetheless, I found it a stepping stone of diversifying my food choices. Upon some quick research, it may interest the masses that the hamburger originated in the United States and Germany and that the term “patty” is never used in the UK! Exciting stuff, eh? It can be served as pork, turkey, or tofu patties or a combination of meats, but is normally served in the beef form. Crisp lettuce, fresh tomato slice, thin onions, and a hybrid of mayo and ketchup are the elements that are optional to my favorite food: the cheeseburger. However, required are two lightly toasted bun halves, which serve as the security blanket to encompass the, also required, succulent beef patty. American cheese settles atop the patty, but has reached a temperature that lowers its viscosity and permits the free flowing of cheese whichever way gravity feels. No combination of ingredients can imitate such euphoria as does the cheeseburger. This is a meal that I simply love. Other than this meal, the meals I’ve loved have been those that were outside my comfort zone; crab, sushi, and a sandwich with questionable lunch meat. They are the most memorable and have all turned out delightful. I have only hated one meal, and that’s because it caused violent food poisoning; curse family reunion tamales.


At first i began with the description of my favorite food, but after revising I decided to open with the meals that were represented as turning points in my life because the topic of "meals" is more general and then i could eventually lead to the specific topic of hamburgers.I also moved the research portion of hamburger to right after the turning point section because it didn't flow well to read facts about hamburgers after a savory description of hamburgers. Then I transitioned into all kinds of meals i enjoy and left the meals I hate at the end. Because i thought it was funny to end on.

Dear Media,

One day I'm going to have a family. When that time comes I'm going to teach them that the reason we are on this earth is to ultimately create and be a part of a family. To reach this goal they're going to need to understand that a family was meant to be made up of a father, a mother, and their children. Not two dads. Not two moms. Not one dad. Not one mom. Not a bunch of parentless kids running wild through the streets of Tree Hill. How dare you put it in their minds that any of these options is more desirable or even equal to a traditional nuclear family? Your influence reaches far and wide, poisoning the minds of our society until it reaches those who make the laws in our land. The thought of my kids going to elementary school and learning about same-sex marriage as an equal alternative to heterosexual marriage makes me ill. I am not passing judgment on any individuals, however, I don't want my kids to be conflicted on where they stand on this issue because what they hear at home is the opposite of what they're taught at school. Media, you have done this. I may very well now face the difficulty of combating both the media and school in my children's beliefs. If my children enter into homosexual unions their chances of staying together are significantly lower than if they were in a heterosexual marriage. If a union is broken, the biological parent or legal adaptive parent will automatically get custody of the child. The other former partner gets nothing, not even legal visitation rights. I don't want this mess for my kids or grandkids. I realize that a divorce isn't a piece of cake either, but why add to the complications? The things shown on TV don't ever give proper attention to these complications or many other consequences for that matter. The social effects of being gay are occasionally looked at, if it adds drama to the show. But in my opinion being gay, for the most part, isn't even depicted as an alternative lifestyle anymore. Being gay or straight is portrayed as being as inevitable in society as have people who are white or black. I don't claim to know why people are gay. I actually have no opinion on the issue and even though I don't agree with homosexuality, I believe with all my heart that everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and respect. My kids will grow up knowing this, even if the media doesn't always teach it. However, they will also know that we believe in the traditional nuclear family, since media, you refuse to teach this as well.

Peace media.

P.S. This doesn't mean I don't love Modern Family...conflict of interest, I know.

Week 11

Dear dumb parents,

Although you may think you're doing just fine and dandy only watching PG-13 movies, you may be wrong. One of the most vital aspects to understand when discussing ratings and their debatable accuracy is "ratings creep." To be put simply, ratings creep is the change in content of lower rated movies, specifically them becoming more extreme over time, such as PG-13 movies now containing the more graphic violence or gratuitous profanity which would formerly only be in an R-rated film. According to the Movie Picture Association of America's (MPAA) frequently asked question guide, there are "no specific rules with which ratings are assigned." Although off handedly one may remark that PG-13 films can only contain 1 "f-word" and only a certain amount of sexual activity, a look at their actual guidelines reveals this to be simply a trend. They do indeed contain specifics such as R-rated films being the only to contain "sexually oriented nudity" or "the f-word in reference to sexuality in some form." However, the CARA ratings board within the MPAA is given complete liberty within broad terms such as these, and the majority vote of which rating to be assigned is taken, only to be reconsidered if under appeal by filmmakers. Essentially, the system is being exploited, resulting in the bar being pushed just a little bit further every time as movies contain more and more edgy content. As this brief summary of ratings creep has shown, using better judgment before letting yourself or your children watch even lower rated movies is needed. Perhaps try kids-in-mind.com 's more detailed, number based ratings system, to check the appropriateness of films before letting them into your home.

Sincerely,

Ben

Letter to my Senator

To the Honorable Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison:

Dear Senator Hutchison,

Greetings from the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. My name is Chad Sorensen. I am currently enrolled as a full-time student at Brigham Young University, but I am a citizen of the state of Texas. Consequently it is to you that I address my remarks.

Teenage pregnancy is a serious issue in society today. It is an especially serious problem in the state of Texas. Only Mississippi has more live teen births per 1000 teenagers than Texas does. Another point of concern is that women between the ages of fifteen and nineteen account for more than one out of every ten pregnancies in Texas. Something must be done in an attempt to combat statistics as startling as these.

It has recently come to my attention that research has been conducted which links teen pregnancies to the amount of sexual content viewed by teenagers. In a study published in 2008, in the journal Pediatrics, researchers concluded that teenagers who viewed low amounts of sexual content were half as likely to be involved in a pregnancy as teens who viewed high amounts of sexual content.

As a recent high school graduate, I do not find this statistic particularly shocking. The majority of my peers who were involved in sexual behavior preceded such behavior with a high intake of sexual content from various media sources.

Senator, based on the evidence noted above, as well as countless other studies and statistics that have been completed or are being conducted currently, I am suggesting that a change be implemented. We need a solution to better protect the youth of America, and more specifically, the youth of Texas, from the dangers of media sexuality. I am asking for your help in finding a solution to this current problem.

Of course there are several Constitutional issues that could arise if the government were to attempt to increase its regulation on the media. However, I do not think that voters would disagree that small changes could be implemented to help protect teenagers from the dangers posed by sexual content in the media. Perhaps a restriction upon the amount and type of sexual content that can be displayed in a show would help to slow the tide of the media onslaught that our youth are facing. Even if this is not possible, I am hoping that by bringing this issue to your attention that steps will be taken to help combat the problem of teenage pregnancy.

May God Bless You in Your Endeavors,

Your Concerned Citizen
Chad Sorensen

Dear Media,

WHAT do you think you are doing? Trying to make nurses look bad on national television. That is completely uncalled for. Thanks to your shows of Grey’s Anatomy, House, and ER the public’s perceptions of nurses are totally wrong. Nurses are not incompetent, ditzy, or to say the least non-existent. Nurses are not the doctor’s servant and handmaiden.They are the ones who take care of the patients constantly, checking their statuses frequently, and truly being the patients’ advocates. I do not appreciate what you are doing the the image of nursing. Not only are you helping contributing to the nursing shortage, but you are making nurses themselves feel like they are nothing. They are starting to have low self-esteem and are unconfident in their daily tasks. This prevents nurses from performing their activities with an assured mind. That in return makes a situation more dangerous for the patient. Also, it is said that if registered nurses were increased in the hospital so many more lives would be saved. Who would not want that to happen? Obviously you don’t want it to because of all of your bashes against nurses in your television shows. Another thing that upsets me and all of the nurses in the world is that you rarely ever have male nurses appear on your shows. This is showing the public that male nurses are frowned upon. Many people believe that male nurses are wanna-be doctors and are not smart enough to be accepted into medical school. This is horrible to think. Nursing is an awesome job and is an educated career. Nurses go through many years of school and are taught so much important information. They perform difficult tasks everyday and it is them who help save patient lives. The next time you decide to put another untrue thing about nurses in your shows, take a minute to think about it or give nursing school a try and see how it is truly hard and rigorous. Thanks for your time.

Mykenna DiGiovanni

Week 10

Dear Jimmer,
Have you ever been listening to music and singing along with the team and you suddenly realize what you are singing? There are so many songs that have a great beat and are fun to sing along to that have themes glorifying the use of alcohol and drugs. Peers are the greatest influence on the music that adolescents listen to. Teens are exposed to hours of music every day around 77% of that music makes reference to the use of these substances. Teens hear and see celebrities that they like singing about the fun that comes from this substance abuse and gain a good impression of the substances. When a time comes that these teens are confronted with using drugs or alcohol they remember the fun that they observed in the music videos and songs that they have heard. There are additional harmful affects that this music has on teens. Studies have shown that depression and aggression also increase as a result to music containing lyrics glorifying substance abuse. So Jimmer please for the sake of all of BYU please don't listen to bad music, and make good choices.

And, thank you for the big win, 52 points... UNREAL!!

Week 10

Dear Earnest,

The globalization of media has impacted the world. Many great new innovations have come about in the recent decades that have made it possible for you and I to be able to find out information instantaneously. I know that your are just as big of a sports fan as I am, and like to use certain media outlets to acquire information about your favorite athletes and teams too. Athletes are always being conversed about through television, radio, newspapers, and the Internet. So much of what athletes say and do affects the perceptions of you and I. The media makes all of this possible. Remember when we talked about Tiger Woods and that character Brett Farve? We said that those guys are idiots for the recent negative media attention they have been getting. The media has made our perception of these guys seem not as 'professional' as we thought they were. We looked up to these guys as kids but now we look down on them. Tiger is an adulterer, and Brett likes to send lewd pictures of himself to others. Dude, we had some really great heroes that we looked up to right? Not quite, my friend. The media has ultimately destroyed our childhood heroes and makes us look negatively upon them. It is good that the media gets out the truth so that athletes don't continue on with their horrible actions but the media should be a little more careful in what they broadcast to the public. The media should stop hounding on the stories of these athletes because it is ultimately giving the athlete more attention that they enjoy having. When you are a role model for children across the world you would think that you might want to conduct yourself in a matter that is appropriate for young kids that want to copy your life. This is why athletes should be more cautious in their dealings with the media. Every move they make or word that comes out of their mouth can be broad casted to millions in seconds. The vicious media, looking for any new breaking story, puts athletes on display to be negatively viewed by the public and its perceptions. There goes our so-called heroes...

Till we meet again Earnest.