Blog 12

The most interesting concept of the importance of play would have to be how it can affect the development of a child. Play is very crucial and needed within every child's life, they cannot physically, socially and mentally develop as well without it. Play also creates imagination and inventiveness in children, thus creating smart and true-thinking adults. The importance of play allows children to release energy and after play they are able to focus more.

Blog Post 11 (free choice)

My free choice blog is going to be about what has been concerning me lately. I know we all have seen these new zombie movies and shows and some people believe that someday there really will be zombies. I have been doing some research and I know that there are many places that have been doing chemical tests on people and animals. It scares me to know that we are capable of creating almost superhuman...humans! The army tried to get a law passed for a certain drugs that makes the people that fight for our country, stronger. They would have been able to last 2-3 more days of fighting with a bullet wound, whereas now, you could die immediatley. In addition to that, I have been worried about the blackout and social unrest that could possibly happen. Will we all be prepared if that happens? Don't get me wrong, I am not into all that scientific stuff but let's be real. I am not sure how I would react to something like that if it were to happen. It is not neccesarily going to happen but it is up in the air and I think that everyone should be prepared in their own way. We should also beware of Obamacare's plan to put a microchip in everyone with their identies on that chip. We will get rid of credit cards and our information will be on that. I don't believe that will ever pass in congress but as we can see, our government is forgetting that we are supposed to be the "land of the free" Do we really have freedom?

Blog Post 10

"Each time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others.. he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of opression and resistance." -Robert Kennedy Page 141








This quote is very meaningful and is effective because it is showing how if there is just one person who can go after something, it can create a ripple effect. When you can gather one person, who gathers someone else, the group keeps growing and this can be useful when you're trying to make a difference and improve the world. America needs more of these types of people who do those types of things. I believe if our people stood up to our government that way, we would be a better country. If we can all come together as one and create a mighty current, the idea might succeed. The idea of creating hope is incredible and can bring so much effort.

Blog Post 9

My first memory of play in Elementary school was very exciting. I wasn't too sure what to expect because I was becoming older and everything was new to me. I do remember looking around at all the equipment in the play area and having no idea where to start. My plan was to make sure I tried everything to see what I liked best. I witnessed kids on the swings, sliding down slides and climbing up ladders. What caught my eye was these bars that were horizontal and you're supposed to swing from bar to bar to get to the end. So I decided to ask my teacher what it was before I went to go investigate for myself. She told me they were called monkey bars! I immediatley ran over to them and started going. I loved the monkey bars because I had such great balance and good arm strength. This became my first amazing memory of play in Elementary school.

Blog 8 What makes a really good bad guy?

The article "What makes a really good bad guy," explains how in certain movies there may be villans but have good motives. An example of one would be like Bane in Batman, he covers himself up and keeps a mask on to hide his weakest spot. But it turns out that he had a weakness for Talia and he had no fear of dying. Bane had a purpose as well as The Joker and The Joker's purpose was to keep humans from reaching a destructive depth in life. The theme of this article is to show how bad can be mixed in with good. I was surprised about the Bane/Joker analysis because I never looked at those villans that way. I didn't disagree with any statments made in the article and I thought it gave me a new perspective on how bad can be portrayed.

Post 7 Gender and Social Media

With both readings on gender, they both talk about how there are female/ male stereotypical roles. Gender changes over time and what people think about each. Johanna Blakely is very passionate about studying the impact of mass media on society with the seperation of genders. In her video she talks about how women are portrayed in social media and always made out to look better, more defined and more sexual. This is common because it's the way people want to see the female gender. The other author, Brian Hardison talks about how games and technology are created to show a more appealing utopia. This leads to the seperation of real world and gaming world. The creation of these games shows genders "jazzed up" meaning men are muscular and women are curvy, tall and skinny. Most people strive to be this way so it makes it more  of fantasy. The paired readings go hand in hand in talking about the pushed idea of sexuality within genders.

Post 6- Video Games

In the pair two readings its really incredible how both women using video games and gaming as a subject for promoting playing. Usually most people look down upon video games saying they do nothing but fry kids brains. Well both women have valid points in each article on how gaming can improve life skills and can help us solve world problems. I was skeptical about starting to read these because I am not a video game supporter myself. I personally think video games have no real-world relation whatsoever. It is simply solving a problem in a utopia, which is not the real world and in the real world you must step outside of your element. Video games not being one, in my opinion. I did enjoy intaking the knowledge from both though..

Blog Post 5 Option #1

The video I watched was Kwabena Boahen, and his idea of creating a new type of computer. This computer would not have standard 0,1 coding, but it will model a retna which is a part of the brain located in your eye that sends signals. The computer will work and process information like a brain. Kwabena's goal is to create something that he believes will create less work with the complexness of our brains. He also brings up that we need to put more "Africa" into computers. I love this because it means we need to have more meaning, enthusiasm and imagination in our works. The theme is about creating new technology that mocks humans. I learned alot of new things from this article, i never knew that a computer took information, put it through a network and spit information out. I thought it was alot more complex than that.

Blog Post 4 Random

To start off, I am getting used to my first year in college. I am alot younger than everyone else as it appears... I graduated early, so I graduated one above my original class. 2012 was my year, by choice. I thought it would be alot easier for me to really begin my life early. I started working alot more so I could save money to move and go to my dream school. Obviously being home at a State College wasnt my dream plan, and I am not complaining, just taking another route to get to where I want to be. I may not always make the right decisions, and this one may not workout but I usually don't make too dumb of mistakes. Or atleast I try not to. I am really happy with the choice I made to graduate early. I never fit in in highschool anyways, im not a big people person. I enjoy my small circle of friends and wouldn't trade them for the world. College is probably not my cup of tea either but we all know the vision of "college" has been beaten into our brains since we were old enough to say the word. I like to do my own thing, but I guess at some point we all fall into conformity somehow. I plan on being a business major, in the marketing field. Although I don't particularly like to be around alot of people, I am very personable and could hold a conversation for days. I feel marketing and business is a great way to utilize my personality, forcing me to bring out my inventive side and persuade people. Beginning my fall semester I am taking Macroeconomics, Computer Applications for Buisness, College Algebra and English Composition. My classes are fairly easy and alot better than highschool. My teachers are also pretty cool and it's kind of funny how most of my professors don't even know my name. I like it though. This headstart on life has really made me grow and was probably one of the smartest decisions in  my life.

Blog Post 3

In "Once More to the Lake" E.B. White describes his trip to the lake and the details of traveling to Maine, summer after summer with his father. He goes into minute detail in describing what he sees and feels. This journey that E.B. goes on every summer has turned into a chain reaction. White begins to start bringing his own son to the lake and letting him live through what he did as a child. Before he takes his son to the lake, he has no idea what to expect. White is now an adult and is curious if things have changed or how they look now. The theme of memory presents itself and how the writer goes back and remembers all the things that meant the most to him and he was afraid he might have forgotten about the little things. White goes into the five senses and is very specific. Sometimes you realize that you take things for granted. Things that are important and the little things that make you happy in life. I personally can relate because I used to go to North Carolina every November and now I never go. I go back and think about everything I missed and try to pick out details that went unnoticed. I can relate to this story in many ways and the fact that E.B's dad watched him go to the lake every summer, now White gets to see his experience his summer at the lake.

Post 2 Champion of the World

In "Champion of the World," Maya Angelou goes into depth about every detail at a very important time in history. Not only was this a fight, but it was a white man and Joe Louis. An African American man. This fight was watched by every African American, waiting to see if the white's were going to come out on top. This fight had more meaning than just a win. This determined if African American's could pull through and gain ultimate victory. The theme of this chapter was victory and triumph. Overcoming of the hard times for African Americans. For once they feel victory and that they, defeated who was once their "masters." The tone can be described as on edge. Not one person knew what to expect, nor what would happened but all they could do was have faith in "the Brown Bomber."

Post 1 Mother Tongue

Reading Mother Tongue by Amy Tan was an example of how she grew up with her mother who spoke poor English, but to her seemed almost perfectly clear. It was HER mother tongue. Amy went through all her life hearing how her mother spoke and it was natural to her. Amy quotes later on that she catches herself saying, "Not waste money that way." This language was what was familiar to her, but to other people was broken English. This memoir was meaningful to me because I can relate in a way where some of my family and I have our own mother tongue. Most of my family beyond my parents is Italian and my Uncle actually came to Ellis Island when he was 15 from Italy. When we are all together we speak English but we say some words in Italian. For instance when we greet each other, we kiss on the cheek and my Uncle always says "Ah, Mi Amor," which means my love and I see that as normal. I look at that as MY mother tongue although other people may not understand. I never saw it as anything different because that was how I grew up and how I was taught. The theme in Mother Tongue is how versatile language can be. There is not one, correct definition for a mother tongue because everyone grows up differently. Then purpose Amy Tan     tries to convey is that what you grow up with and what you are used to doesn't always mean its right. There is a lot of realization in this story and how she picks up on her broken mother tongue that she never knew was broken. Mother Tongue conveys a great message that could apply to a lot of people and it made me realize that I also had a mother tongue.