Blog # 6

As I wake up to my mother yelling for me to come eat breakfast, I realize it is going to be just another day in the beautiful Miami, Florida. The year is 1981 and I attend University of Miami, only 10 minutes away from my house. The sun is shining and the weather is sweet. I sit down and eat a bowl of Chex cereal with my family while my dad sips on a cup of coffee in front of the television, of course with a newspaper in hand. I decide to join him and change the channel to this new show called MTV. It just came out and it is absolutely my favorite show! Next I pick an outfit for school because it is my first day back after Christmas break. My mom let me get my hair permed two days ago so all I need to worry about is my outfit. I decide to wear my leather jacket, (with shoulder pads of course!) acid- washed jeans, aviator sunglasses, and leg warmers because it is a little chilly out.  I head over to school in my 1981 Pontiac trans am my parents just bought me on Christmas for getting good grades this semester. On the way, I jam out to Madonna who is my new favorite artist. My best Friend sends me a message on my beeper so I will have to call her when I get to campus. Life is simple in these times and people seem to be happy in my world. I walk into biology class and sit next to some of my friends. Everyone is talking about the computer that is sitting on the teacher’s desk because IBM just released this brand new pc. Our teacher begins by telling us the IBM 5150 is the new technology of the decade and this is just a first of more to come. The computer looks pretty big and the screen is kind of small but hey it’s a computer! We take out our textbooks and the teacher begins the lecture and makes us copy notes off of the chalkboard. After class, my friends and I meet up on the benches by the lake and enjoy a cold coca cola on this hot day. We decide to go to the movies and watch Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark. Steven Spielberg directs it and I have a huge crush on Harrison Ford so I can not wait to watch it! After the movie I return home and dinner with my family awaits me. My mother is big on family so she makes us all eat with each other every night! (I’d rather be watching TV) I have had a very long day so I will go to sleep early tonight for my 8 am class tomorrow.

Blog # 5

A piece of recent technology that I use daily is the Internet.  The Internet has changed my life, and that of many others. We can do anything there, from research to connecting with people. If it was not for the Internet, students could not quickly access information and have to refer to books like the old days. It also provides people with social networking opportunities such as facebook, skype, and twitter. In the recent Egyptian uprising, many of the phone lines had been disconnected so the only way for people to communicate with the outside world was through Twitter and YouTube. This helped citizens globally to realize what was going on in this country and provide a means of help.

Another important aspect of the Internet is that you can learn to do anything or find anything by just typing it into Google. It is as easy as that. Lets say for example I need to find a quick remedy to a jellyfish sting. All I have to do is search the topic on the Internet,  and I cure will pop right up, without having to go to a doctor. The Internet continues to technologically enhance our global population by providing fast information with the click of a button. It truly has become an important part of human life and has changed technology forever.

The world of the Internet has exploded since I’ve been online. In the future, it will become even faster and easier to access. It’s evolutionary, and there isn’t a question as to whether the Internet will continue to “be there” in the future. It’s going to be a huge part of our daily lives in years and decades to come.

Blog # 4 Taste of the World

Today was unlike any other day in Mrs. Valliers class. Instead of attending the traditional classroom, we were to meet up in the student union circle for the Taste of the World event for International Week. I had no idea what was in store for today and the total outcome of the event blew me away. Every type of food served came from a specific country and is indigenous to it. As I quickly make my way to the line, the first stop on the map is China, with its succulent eggrolls served with a side of duck sauce. This was definitely one of my favorite appetizers, because they were served hot and delicious! The sauce complemented the roll exceptionally with its hot and sour yet tangy after taste. Next were the stuffed pastries from Russia, which had a plain taste but were simple and delicate. My all time favorite dish however, had to be the crepes from France. Served hot with your choice of nutella, strawberries, cinnamon, or honey, they immediately melted in your mouth. Another country that I enjoyed was Venezuela. They prepared Tamales that were not your ordinary tamale. Yes, they looked like one, but the inside was quite different, like nothing I have ever tasted before. There was no meat; it seemed to be a cheese filling that was bland and tasteless. The German meatballs from Germany were exceptionally flavorful and complemented with a side of white bread. I ended the great buffet line with food from Latin America including, platanos, guava pastries, meat pastries, and rice and beans. I was raised on this kind of food being from Miami, and I really did enjoy it. It’s extremely hard to find good Latin food in Fort Myers and this event made it possible to find delicious native food.  Overall, I learned a lot from this experience because I now know which types of food are indigenous to each country that I had not previously known. I think everyone should attend events like these so they can get a taste of what other cultures like instead of just their own. It is exciting to explore the different kinds of food from different countries.

Spring Blog # 2

The topic I have selected for my proposal/exploratory essay on the environment is the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol is the first international agreement to fight global warming. It was signed by 141 nations, including all European and all other developed industrial nations except the US and Australia. The agreement has sparked debate, with parties on both sides disagreeing primarily over the effectiveness of the Kyoto Protocol. Pros and Cons are abundant because of Grey areas within the binding agreement, which calls for countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the interest of slowing climate change.

One positive about the Protocol, is that its core principal is to work for the betterment of the entire planet, by ways of an international coalition. The need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is vital for the good of all life on the planet. With natural resources all but exhausted and machinery and methods of production still running on old and polluting practices, the necessity to search for cleaner sources of energy is something that the Kyoto Protocol Pros and Cons arguments do agree on. Something needs to be done for the better and soon.

But, there are some cons to this issue, because the Protocol fails to punish countries for not meeting emissions targets. Countries signed to the Kyoto Protocol are under no obligation to reach the targets set out for them, instead they only have to report the levels of their emissions and be seen to be implementing plans for future strategies against climate change. The level of Kyoto Protocol Pros and Cons vary, but this is one of the big sticking points over the effectiveness of the agreement. Another problem has been the cost of implementing green changes, with businesses suffering and having to pay higher taxes on commodities such as fuel.

Spring Blog # 1

An argument can be defined as providing convincing evidence for a point of view on a controversial issue and persuading an audience to agree with it. After reading this chapter, I definitely learned more about the concept of argument in greater depth.  Arguments happen everyday, from arguing with my roommates about who is going to make breakfast, to trying to figure out whose turn is it to take out the trash. But in order to make a valid argument you must make a claim, and support it with reasons and evidence. One of the most important arguments I have ever got involved in was when I got into a car accident 2 years ago. I was driving in Downtown, Miami and a taxicab ran a red light and we collided. When I got out of the car to go talk to the cab driver, he confronted me saying that it was my fault and that I had the red light. After hearing his side of the story, I knew there was going to be an epic argument. I needed facts to prove that I did nothing wrong and that I had the green light. Thankfully, there were two men that witnessed the whole incident and were on my side. This type of argument is best described as a one-to-one, everyday argument because it is a more traditional argument in which someone wins or loses. In my case, I won this argument and did not receive the ticket for the accident.

            A consensual argument in which both sides are agreeing is the most common for me today, especially in my classes. Dialect is an extremely important element for a good argument. In my journalism class, my professor Tom Hanson usually uses this type of argumentation, where two people participate as equals in a dialogue to try to discover what seems to be the best position on an issue. For example, last class we had to decide whether or not a football team should be added to the university. Those of us who agreed and disagreed had to argue on which position would be a better story for the eagle news. In this type of argument, there was no winning and no judge; you just had to voice your opinion. Learning that the team would be around $100 million to form and could possibly take another 7 years, our class disagreed with this story.

            In order for an argument to be successful, there must always be an issue, an arguer, an audience, common ground, a forum, and finally audience outcomes. A good argument, to me is one in which all parties involved, do not raise their voice and share only truthful and accurate information and experiences, and allow each other equal time to express their views. Argument in the form of a point you are trying to make is when you know that you have something valuable to share with others and you have done all your homework on the subject, this makes a good argument.