First of all when thinking of blogging we have to look at the name. Blog. Blogging. Blogger.Blog.The name speaks for it self. Kuddos to whoever thought of it. As a matter of fact,let me google that real quick.
GOOGLE SEARCH ANSWER:The term "weblog" was coined by Jorn Barger in December 1997. The shorter version, "blog," was coined by Peter Merholz, who, in April or May of 1999, broke the word weblog into the phrase "we blog" in the sidebar of his weblog.
Ok, now that we have that covered, lets get back to the basics.
I think that blogging was a great idea to use as a tool in the classroom. It allowed me to express myself freely and conveniently from the comfort of my own home.It also allowed me to learn more about my classmates and their opinions.It was like having a conversation online. The topics we were given to blog about were attention grabbing topics. I always felt that I had something to say and I enojyed the sense of liberty I felt when blogging.As a student I felt more engaged to blogging than lets say writing a paper because it was less restricted.
Sure, I would continue updating my blog.There are always fresh new topics to write about , and its something entertaining to do when I have some extra time on my hands.
The Marshmallow Shooter ! This clever pump-action device shoots sweet, edible miniature marshmallows over 30’, and it even has an LED sight that projects a safe beam of red light to help locate a target for pinpoint accuracy. The easy-to-refill magazine holds 20 marshmallows for fast, nonstop action. It can be yours today for only $24.95. Thats like 3 hours of pay for a minimum wage worker!
This is exactly what our Professor is talking about.These things just keep wasting my time! The typical stupid holiday junk that should have “Buy Me, You Stupid Mark” etched into their undersides. These are the hollow products that maybe get taken out for a couple of times that day then rot in the basement until spring cleaning six years down the road — ending up in the nearest landfill.
A battery operated bug zapper. Enough said.
Chirstmas Trees
Ok the other stuff was fun, but now lets get serious.How can I forget this one. I mean, when we think about Christmas we think about gifts and lights snow and all of that other stuff. But is that what Christmas has really come to be about?Is it really worth it to kill our trees just so we can have another Holiday decoration? How wastefull and selfish is that? They just end up on some street corner early morning January 1st anyway.
So I did exactly that. Went on google and typed in awesome green blogs and this is what I came across. The website http://urbangreengirl.wordpress."This blog aims to tackle the everyday problems that we face at an individual level, from the products we buy and the food we eat, to the ingredients we put on our body, how we consume, how we clean, and so on".This blog offers awesome tips and advice on how we can empower ourselves and educate ourselves about the practical ways we can protect and preserve our environment.
Upon snooping around this site I also came across another awesome green website http://green.cbc.ca/. This website offers alot of awesome information. From different acts of green a day like removing window air conditioners in the winter to,to fun facts, and tips and ideas of what we can do at the individual level, even some feedback of what some of our favorite celebrities are doing.
With all the different religions in the world there is one thing that I have come to notice that they all have in common, and that is faith.
Whatever religion you choose to practice ,there is a connection with that religion and its beliefs that allows you to have faith in that religion.
I enjoyed our last class because it was interesting to learn about the different religions and their connection to the enviornment. I also enjoyed observing other people's power point presentation skills. We have some natural speakers in the classroom, I have to say.
I also loved my little gift at the end of the Daoisim presentaion.Very clever.
At the Museum of Natural History the dinosaurs are always my favorite part!
This trip brought back a lot of memories of the trips I used to take back when I was a skinny little tom boy fourth grader chitting and chatting my away around the museum with friends (dying for snack time of course).
But this time it wasnt just the dinosaurs that caught my attention. It was all the information. Wow! So much information and so properly organized, clear to read and to understand.
I was really impressed walking and reading from exhibit to exhibit writing notes on my cellphone ( which I thought was pretty cool,and I thought to myself, damn... too bad we didn't have these back in the fourth grade LOL).At the bottom after every reading was a little summary of what you read, what you can do about it and they different ways you can get involved, which I thought was pretty neat.
And I thought the quotes right before reading all the information was so brilliant.This is a good one from Albert Einstein that caught my eye(and my mind).
"We cannot solve the problems that we have created with the same thinking that created them".
I also read about the fish poisoning with cyanide in Asia which I thought was really sad. I knew there was a huge demand for fish, but I never knew that they poisoned the coral reefs so they could catch the fish.It's really sad.
I also noticed that Madagascar is the worlds fourth largest island in the world, reminded me of the movie.Just thought I'd mention that. LOL
I also found some interesting facts about water like 97% of the earths water is salt water and 3% of that is fresh water, and of that 3% , 1% is actually what we use.So wow, its not as much as we might have thought it was.I googled around and found this interesting chart on just how we use and depend that 1% in our daily lives.
Then as I keep walking I bump into that HUGE tree stump! Standing in front of it I felt intimidated by nature.
As I kept walking following the cool little map on the floor we went to the last exhibit. I felt kind of weird because those apes really looked liked humans. It made me think about the never ending debate of evolution and creation.
I enjoyed stepping out of the classroom and into the museum to do some hands on learning.It was nice.
I decided to do my research paper on Environmental Justice for Bayview Hunters Point, San Francisco. I thought it was pretty interesting to find something like this going on in our own backyard.Just take a look at the serious toxins found in the air in this report.
Air Quality The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) estimates that of the 39 pollutants they measure in San Francisco neighborhoods, the highest concentration, 20pollutants, was found in Bayview Hunters Point10. Air quality is impacted by a variety of different sources including diesel and gasoline vehicles traveling on highways 280 and 101, noxious fumes from the Southeast Wastewater Treatment Facility, pollution from the PG&E Hunters Point Power Plant and the Mirant Power Plant which is less than a mile away, and air emissions fromhundreds of industrial activities, most notably those located in the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. PG&E’s Hunters Point Power Plant, by itself, discharges almost 600 tons of pollution into the air each year including PM10 particles, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and volatile organic compounds11.
This is a little but more about Green Action.These guys are tuff stuff. Just take a look at their mission statement: http://www.greenaction.org/org/mission.shtml
"The pervasiveness of our consumerism holds a seductive kind of mob mentality."
This is an interesting statement.We are obedient seduced consumers!
Chris Jordan's photographs tell the story of just how crazy money has made us.
I found the photogrpahs heartbreaking and at the same time "oddly comical" as well.
And as for the dumpster diving... mooky chick? Oh my gosh, was she hilarious or what?
"Dumpster diving is cute anyone can do it" ....uhh, I dont know about using the word "cute" (LOL), but dumpster diving does seem pretty...interesting, minus the germs and the rotten smell of the dumpster.Maybe if there was a way for someone to do the dumpster diving for you and then sell it.I dont mind buying second hand things as long as they were gently used and in good condition.
This is hilarious.Shannon23n from Minnesota writes:
Funniest and scariest time i had was behind a thrift store in MN around 5:30 a.m. I was in this dumpster finding all kinds of neat stuff, I was trying to grab as much as i could before i hopped back out to leave, it was real windy so i closed the lid execpt for a small opening, it was kinda chilly so i was also looking for some gloves, found this really shiny object and started to pry it out when i heard this noise ,so i stopped ad listened for moment then continued pulling and yanking then all the sudden the dumpster made this really loud clashing sound and then it started thrashing around, so i threw open the lid to find the garbage truck forks starting to lift the dumpster, the driver about had a heart attack myself included, I jumped out and walked over and said i had lost my cell earlier when i made a dropp off and asked if i could have few more moments to try ad find it, he just nodded yes with is jaw still dropped , so i went back over and dug around a bit trying to calm my heart rate, then finally walked over and said thanks then bolted right out of there
While on the Dumpster Giving Blog and Guide page, This statement caught my attention: "Supermarkets throw away a disgusting amount of food on a daily basis. Food that could be going to local people who are hungry and homeless".
This is true, and it caught my attention because this reminds me of the time when I saw that an employee from a local bakery was throwing out perfectly fine bread.I asked him "Why do you throw it out why you just give it to the homeless"?He replyed that the bread wouldnt be considered "fresh" anymore and that his boss gives to the homeless on holidays.The funny thing was you would think the employees get to take the bread home, but they werent allowed to take it home unless they payed for it!
I found a similar blog about a woman who went dumpster diving in back of a bakery and just look at what she came off with:
Here is her blog : http://transformingsociety.blogspot.com/2007/11/dumpster-diving-panera.html
It is 6 in the morning. My grandmother takes a steaming cup of strong Dominican café con leche out to the porch and watches the street. She watches the trees , she hears the birds and smells the flowers. It is a wonderful quiet time.
Here it is 6 in the morning I’m probably still sleeping. There’s a feeling of rush in the New York City air. People rushing to get to work, people rushing in the street, people rushing to find a seat on the V train. Hardly any time for breakfast, maybe coffee on the go ( for others, I personally don't drink coffee, and have never tried it! Strange for a person living in New York City, right?)
I could spend hours pointing out the countless differences between life routine here in New York City, and the lifestyle back in the Dominican Republic. And I wouldn’t just be talking about the mosquitoes, lol.
Dominican people are humble, resourceful, supportive and resilient. I feel like we in the developed world are losing some of that due to our fast paced lifestyle. Coming from a highly developed country to the developing world has forced me to examine some of our beliefs and behavior patterns.
My experiences in the Dominican Republic have been enjoyable, for the most part, and have made me more humble.Life for me in the Dominican Republic allows me to actually wake up, smell the coffee, and then some. Besides the obvious cultural differences there is a difference between the way people live their lives over here, and how people live their lives over there. Life just seems, more... lived.
There is definitely a difference in how people spend their leisure time over in the Dominican Republic as compared to here in New York City. People know their neighbors and say hello. The youth is always involved in some type of outdoor activity, like going to the beach, or playing sports, and the small things we over look here in New York City become meaningful. Like dessert for example. Who even has time for that anymore? A Sunday might simply start off by inviting some close friends and family over for some dessert. Here in New York City... on a Sunday for the typical New Yorker? Well you might probably go shopping,sleep, or spend the day in front of the television (which is ok for those who watch TV, but I actually do not remember the last time I watched TV. I actually have an 11 month old son, and watching TV is the last thing we do together. I mean there are many pros in watching TV, there are many educational and informative shows but here in New York City some people have the tendency to become glued to their television sets.)
The main difference between New York City and anywhere else in the world for that matter is that New York City is the city of the world. New York City is a fast paced city that demands people to live fast paced lives. And in the mist of these fast paced lives people loose track of what’s really important. Spending time on the small things you otherwise wouldn’t have time for. And when I travel to the Dominican Republic I feel like all those small things come back to me, I guess that is why I enjoy traveling over there so much. It really does feel like you get away from the routine life we live here in New York City; in the United States.
I feel that people are so consumed by the responsibilities of life that they forget about what’s really truly genuine and so beautiful about life.
One day while I was watching Oprah ( which is what I would watch when I do watch television) she was interviewing Randy Pausch, a professor over at Carnegie Mellon University. He was dying of pancreatic cancer and delivered what is known as "the last lecture" to his students. It was his way of saying goodbye and leaving a message to the rest of us who are still here and living. The video was uploaded to you tube and attracted so much attention it even got to Oprahs ear. It is really an inspirational,touching, even funny video and I think that we should all watch and think about our lives and how lucky we are to be living and have all these small things in life. I think that after watching this video , people will learn to appreciate all the small things I’m talking about, all the small things we take for granted in life.
Here is the link, copy and paste. Still having problems with the links on my pc for some reason, sorry about that.
Over the last 25 years, the average global temperature has risen by 0.6°C. Hurricanes, Floods, Tornadoes, Droughts, Fires, even Winterstorms.
These are all the side effects of a mean red little man called heatwave. Why because this is where it all starts.
Heatwave is cruel, Heatwave is MEAN. Heatwave does not care.He is hot and he is ready to end with a bang. But where does all his anger come from? It comes from the sun. Our closest star our closest enemy. We picked a fight with the earth, and its fighting back.
So what are heatwaves? Heatwaves are a period of unsually hot weather. In 2003, more than 35,000 people died in the heat wave that scorched Europe. In the United States, where the annual average number of deaths blamed on heat is about 175.Lets not forget the blackout people.Or what about the year 2005, the hottest year ever.
So instead of it just being hot, it becomes dangerous. Well if its hot we can always turn on the ac.But by using more appliances such as air conditions we leave the earth with nasty carbon emissions, which contribute to the deterioration of the ozone layer,and non the less, let the heat in. Con Ed came up with a great 100 ways that we can save energy and help reduce carbon emissions. Here they are : http://www.coned.com/thepowerofgreen/100tips.asp
There is too much on my mind about the complicated ways of the world. I cant seem to focus and write this blog.Ater watching the "The Corporation", it all just hit me.What is going on with the human race? Why do we constantly compete with one another because the brand of our clothes or what car we drive? Thinking about all the times I went out and was the "obidient consumer".Like damn, how did I get sucked in? This whole plot has been instilled upon me since my childhood, and I didnt really think about it until today.
Obedient little consumers. For no reason at all.
When I write I like to be as honest as I can be, maybe too honest. I happen to think that this class covers very real,very strong issues and that part of our blog assignment is to sit back,think... and be real.
SO...with that being said, lets talk about my passion....lol...
What is Darlene's passion? This question seems so broad to me.
Passion. Passion... What is passion. Something you are passionate about.
What am I passionate about?
I am passionate about love, I am passionate about strife. I am passionate about education, I am passionate about rights. I am passionate about people, I am passionate about life.I am passionate about conversations, I am passionate for imaginations.Everything I do, I do with my passion.And I want people to live passionate lives.
I do not know what I want to do with my life yet that will exalt this passion I have inside.I am on a journey without a map.
Number 1. I woke up from a really bad dream. Thank God it was only a dream, lol. Number 2. I brushed my teeth, and did not let the water run. Number 3. I got dressed and put some shoes on that didnt match. Number 4. I walked to the train and to my surprise my favorite sneakers were stuffed in my bookbag, so I change my shoes in the train =) Number 5. I went to 7 eleven and forgot to pay for the O at home magazine. I should go back after class, would you? Number 6. I found out in my Introduction to Mass Media class that a man in Canada beheaded a guy in a greyhound bus while he was sleeping, just for the hell of it =o ....? Number 7. After reading the O at home magazine I really want to go home and redecorate , LOL. Number 8. My phone dies during class and I didnt have a heart attack. Number 9. I eat a slicilian slice from across the street and just two days ago while I was eating at Joe's Pizzera ( famously well known as the best pizza in town) I went to grab the oregano and by mistake grabbed the pepper, and now absolutley LOVE pizza with pepper =D Number 10. I walked into a computer lab and chatted with my friend, Sammy Rodriquez, who is currently serving the war in Iraq. Number 11.I noticed my Poland Spring Water says it has a new Eco Shaped water bottle that uses 30% less plastic.its not letting me link for some reason but you can just copy and paste this link.http://www.polandspring.com/DoingOurPart/EcoShapeBottle.aspx Number 12.I stop at the vending machine and buy sugar babies for 75 cents. What happened to the good old days? lol Number 13.I reuse my water bottle, although I heard it is not very smart to keep reusing it because of the bacteria. Number 14.I walk into the class. I like this class, I like our professor, shes groovy =P Number 15.I am writing like crazy ,as the professor stated, because I am late on my blogs!
Honesty. Being honest is what makes us real. I like people who are laid back and know who they are and what they want out of life. I love being around people who love life and embrace life as much as I do. I like people that are honest, intelligent, trustworthy, confident, motivated, secure, sincere, open minded, fun, positive, caring, I don't like people who are selfish, self absorbed, negative, closed minded, or arrogant....
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