Global Warming? That is Sooooooooooo 2006

     Sigh... yet another writer who claims there is a catastrophic environmental issue that mankind is to blame for. Before getting into the meat of the article, I'd like to point out that Schulman is a script writer and an Internet Web site designer, not a scientist. She is someone who writes for magazines, not scholarly scientific journals. Schulman claims that "earth is within two degrees of its warmest levels in one million years". Upon further research into the archives of The National Academy of Sciences, I found that the warmest levels in Earth's recent history were between 900 AD and 1300 AD. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but it's to my understanding that Vikings did not drive around in gas guzzling Hummers in Greenland back then. This is my problem with journalists. They report on what they think is relevant in a format that will be the most enticing to readers instead of doing in depth empirical reporting. It is not exciting to say that Earth is going through regulatory climate changes as it has throughout its entire existence, but if you say "GLOBAL WARMING IS A CATASTROPHE THAT WILL DESTROY LIFE AS WE KNOW IT", people will probably stay tuned to listen. A funny little tidbit of information is that in the time between the 1950s and the 1970s, the media reportedly largely about an impending Ice Age. I could go on and on about actual facts that debunk Schulman's little essay but I will not continue. I'd just like to point out that all this essay consists of is a cute little analogy comparing mother earth's climate to a feverish child, but, while the writing element is appreciated and delivered in a form easy to understand, the idea that the author tries to convey is steeped in nothing more than popular media subjects so that it can be relevant enough to be published in some magazine and for that reason I cannot say I respect this author's message.

College Kid in a Factory? Well That's Silly.

     Andrew Braaksma touches on some very relevant points in his essay. The notion that education is the key that unlocks the door to opportunity is always relevant in a day and age when budget cuts target out educational system. Thankfully, I graduated from the public school system before things got really bad and the fact that Hofstra doesn't have a football team is something I hardly find myself upset over. While on the subject of sports, I find interesting that when high schools are faced with a budget cuts, no one ever thinks to cut sports. Would it not be simple to do community based sports programs instead of the school paying for them? Instead, these schools fire teachers and assign larger classes to those that remain. This is, of course, is just a side note (After all this is a blog, right? I can vent just a tad).
     Braaksma also points out the anxiety these workers experience knowing that they could wake up tomorrow and no longer have a job. We are still struggling with unemployment rates in this country. I come from Nevada, a state that holds the highest unemployment rate at a startling 13.4 percent. My mother works in human resources at UMC. Now as much as I love my mother and have faith in her work ethic, the fact of the matter is that her job could be cut very easily. Whenever my mother would come home with a sort of dismayed look on her face, I always worry that she has been fired.
     While looking at the newspaper and seeing the many people who don't have jobs is additional incentive to get an education, nothing motivates you more to live a better life for yourself than to watch your family struggle financially. I suspect Braaksma did not really experience this motivation and as a result, his essay can come of as a bit insulting to students who have not functioned in the work place to this degree. I get the feeling he's calling me shallow for not having worked in a factory. "Waiting tables is selfish. Work in a factory to gain a real appreciation for education." While I realize that this is not what he's saying at all, it brought up an interesting point in my mind. What truly motivates students to pursue a higher education? Is it the potential for a higher income? Is it for the actual learning experience? Or is it because in some socioeconomic classes, its just an assumption that kids go to college. If the latter is the case, how do we motivate others to feel the same? You got me there.

Doodles of a Bored Boy

I Say Manufactured Humor is Still Humor... That Was Supposed to be Funny...

Do people actually read those magazines lying around in hospital waiting rooms? Holy crap Hilary Duff is pregnant? When the hell did that... Oh, I guess people do read them...maybe... if they're bored. So there I was, not reading People magazine, in a nameless health clinic in some nameless area of town. You can tell at first glance that the walls in our tiny area were attempting valiantly to be white, but fell short and ended up some sort of faint yellow; almost like a legal pad that's been out in the sun for a year or two. My buddy Scott and I have been sitting for probably a week at this point, at least it feels like it. We're here to get physicals and shots before we both head off to college. I'm heading to New York and Scott is off to Reno. I think we'll be fine. We've been good friends for so long I couldn't imagine something as silly as distance ending that. I'm more worried about Scott and is freaking dog. He loves that thing. He may or may not stuff it in a bag and sneak him up to college. Poor dog. The tired looking receptionist leaves her perch with a squak (or a sigh, can't remember which) and hand us both a clip board with a form on it. The form asked, rather politely and respectfully, that while we were being seen by the physician, if we would like to get tested for HIV/AIDS. I figured, "Why not? I'm already here, it's free, and better safe than sorry." Scott, on the other hand, seemed offended. "Why would they even ask me this? Do I look like someone who gets involved in that crap? I'm a good kid, I don't fool around with needles and whores." He wasn't lying. We were both pretty decent kids. We both had been sexually active with maybe one or two girls each, but far from what some consider "whoredom". I suppose HIV/AIDS is something that only happens to people dirty enough to get caught up in all that. I still had to hand in my form that showed I requested the procedure. I checked it off in pen after all.

My name is FINALLY called, and I proceed with all my fun shots and uncomfortable coughs. "Oh", glancing at his clipboard, "So you've decided to perform the HIV test?" He then pulls out what looks like a syringe, but it can't possibly be a syringe because it's terrifyingly massive! The doctor mercilessly stabs his needle into my veins. I try to fight, but I'm tied down all of a sudden. I cower and close my eyes. I used to be okay with slasher flicks before this, but never again. I was sure I was dead. I was dead. I died I'm dead I died I'm dead I died I died I'm dead I... Oh I'm okay. The doctor put a Gauss ball and band aid over my arm and sent me on my way. I walked out, not quite sure what had just happened. I made it a point to forget about it, and I did, at least until some rather bored sounding woman called me a week later and told me that I was negative. That was a relief. I don't think my friends could handle losing another pal to the same illness. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go feed Scott's dog. He's not around anymore.

The African American Divide... Your Point?

This article argues that the division within the African American population is problematic to the rights of the race. Call me easily distracted, but during the reading of this piece, I could not shake the idea that the boundaries and definitions of race are becoming increasingly irrelevant. The author goes into depth about all sorts of issues that obstruct the tendencies of  Civil Rights, etc. but to what purpose? While I appreciate the intent, I cannot see the sense in constantly trying to categorize and divide races based on a number of variables, let alone subdividing those groups. It's backtracking! That's all it is! Pointless dividing and labeling. There is no biological basis for race. None. These articles that try to explain these divides and put massive spot lights on only the differences casting shadows over our similarities serve no purpose. So I ask, what's the point?

Something About a Foreign Language?

I struggle to relate to people who are uncomfortable or offended by others using a foreign language in their presence. My question is, why? In what way does it tarnish your culture or hurt your feelings? It's a language difference. Transcend that barrier, be better than that. Sitting at the DMV, an woman of Asian decent began to tell me about her day in broken English. I could not understand her, but with a smile on her face like any other human being she shared her story. I managed to pick up on some of what she said, but most I could not. Should I have been offended that this woman could not speak English well? Of course not! She was a person talking kindly to a stranger. I find it admirable when people are in touch with their roots and are not afraid to express it in a respectful manner. Obviously, leaving others who are not bilingual out of a conversation is disrespectful, but those are isolated incidents. Public use of a foreign language is in no way hurtful to anyone. "Patriots" who believe that everyone should speak English are ignoring what makes this country great to begin with. 

Defining... Stuff (but more definitively this time)

In a perfect monogamous utopia, a relationship consists of a two peoples' physical and emotional interactions. But, unfortunately, it’s no longer the Puritanical Era of loving, thus people engage in “extracurricular” activities, i.e. cheating. Most people would define cheating as, "when two people are in a committed relationship and one of those people is sexually unfaithful to their partner." Sounds fairly accurate right? I believe, most of the time, this definition holds true. But, what happens when the circumstance isn’t so cleanly cut? Does cheating only mean a physical encounter with someone outside your relationship? What about cheating on an emotional level? Intending to cheat? Is it merely the “act of” that receives the Scarlet Letter? Imagine a man in a committed relationship with a woman. The woman is infatuated with the man, but the man's love and care belongs to another woman. Is that cheating? Picture two men in a relationship of the same nature and one of them uses a dating sight to talk to others. Is there another label for this kind of activity? Sometimes people can even "cheat" for the right reasons. Is it still considered cheating even though it's not nearly so evil? We see it in Hollywood all the time. A guy or girl is in a relationship with the wrong person. They then meet the right person and fall in love and go gallivanting off. Times are changing. The pious purity of relationships is seldom seen in today's dating or marital world, the introduction of technology has created other forms of encounters for people to access, and people are just generally seeking themselves outside an established relationship’s boundaries. And so, with this in mind, Facebook has introduced us to this modern dating era entitled “It’s complicated”.