Tuesday, December 16, 2008
First Step in the Semester Reflection
For the H2O project, I am most proud of the way my partner and I worked together to come up with the end product of the beach reviews on InDesign. I liked the fact that it drew people in and at the same time they were able to know which beaches are the safest as well as the dirtiest to swim in. I feel like I'm making a difference in the fight to make the water cleaner and safer for both animals and people to live longer and healthier lives. The most interesting thing I learned from doing this project is the type of bacteria that is in the water. Before this project I had absolutely no idea what indicator bacteria even were and the types of sicknesses such bacteria can cause. This information was gathered mostly by going out to different beaches, taking the water, and then running it through different steps before actually figuring out what bacteria is present in the water. Of course my biology teacher gets the credit for teaching us students about the different types of bacteria and showing us how to correctly collect water so that we are better able to test it.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Whale Hunting
Who is "right" in the controversy involving whaling and the Sea Shepherd?
The controversy that involves whaling and the Sea Shepherd is a two-sided issue that deals with whether whale killing should be legalized or not. Judging from what I've read in the packet about Paul watson and his crew and the right to kill whales I don't think any of the sides are correct.
In the text it says. "Whaling is not banned, but it is not exactly permitted either-an ambiguity resulting from political compromise and shortsightedness." I think this would be confusing for those people who do go whale hunting because there's no real yes or no answer for such an action. However, when it comes to Watson's actions and what he did, then that's when the line should be drawn between killing whales just to kill them or because they're actually going to be used for something.
Martin Sheen said, "He's one of the gutsiest guys on the planet. I am just so grateful to him for his commitment and his courage and his daring and his humanity." I think all of these qualities are good to have, but NOT when it comes to the killing of animals just for the sake of killing animals. An issue such as this one should be dealt with by the people who make laws so that other people don't get the thinking that it's ok to go out and start killing a big number of living things.
Neptune's Navy
Paul Watson's wild crusade to save the oceans
by Raffi Khatchadourian November 5, 2007
The controversy that involves whaling and the Sea Shepherd is a two-sided issue that deals with whether whale killing should be legalized or not. Judging from what I've read in the packet about Paul watson and his crew and the right to kill whales I don't think any of the sides are correct.
In the text it says. "Whaling is not banned, but it is not exactly permitted either-an ambiguity resulting from political compromise and shortsightedness." I think this would be confusing for those people who do go whale hunting because there's no real yes or no answer for such an action. However, when it comes to Watson's actions and what he did, then that's when the line should be drawn between killing whales just to kill them or because they're actually going to be used for something.
Martin Sheen said, "He's one of the gutsiest guys on the planet. I am just so grateful to him for his commitment and his courage and his daring and his humanity." I think all of these qualities are good to have, but NOT when it comes to the killing of animals just for the sake of killing animals. An issue such as this one should be dealt with by the people who make laws so that other people don't get the thinking that it's ok to go out and start killing a big number of living things.
Neptune's Navy
Paul Watson's wild crusade to save the oceans
by Raffi Khatchadourian November 5, 2007
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Does Race Matter?
The question, "Isn't it time for the language to move on?" to me means that instead of judging someone by there appearance through our speech, we should think before we point out eachother's differences. It seems as though her question is making it very clear to her audience that humans today are so stuck in one position that maybe, just maybe we should switch our focus of language back to logic.
Throughout the piece of writing written about Obama by Marie Arana called, "He's Not Black," she is simply making the point that Obama isn't just one race, he is biracial. So for people like ourselves to just call him black because of what we see is a bit naive because we know the facts, we know he's African-American, but we still choose to call him black and like Arana pointed out, on the front page of the Washington Post newspaper it stated, "Obama Makes history: U.S. Decisively Elects First Black President." Personally, I think that what he's called, whether black or white, it doesn't really matter. I mean the fact that he is the first black man to be President I feel is a huge honor for African Americans who lived back then as well as now. However, I think that we could argue this all day until we turn blue in the face, but still have a personal preferance to what we what to call him. Race shouldn't even be our main focus. Why is it that an article is written about race when were trying not to focus on it? All it's going to do is cause our minds to thinking that every time we see someone, were going to try and place them in a race they really don't belong to, which I don't think is Marie Arana's motive at all.
She does a good job making the connection between her family and his family and how they are both biracial. She says, "Like Obama, I am the child of a white Kansan mother and a foreign father who, like Obama's, came to Cambridge, Mass., as a graduate student." When she makes this connection, it's clear to me as a reader that she has respect for his mixed being rather than bashing him. This shows me that the similarities one has with another human being is better than the putting down of a person because of their race or what they look like. So tell me this, does race matter?
He's Not black He's White
Throughout the piece of writing written about Obama by Marie Arana called, "He's Not Black," she is simply making the point that Obama isn't just one race, he is biracial. So for people like ourselves to just call him black because of what we see is a bit naive because we know the facts, we know he's African-American, but we still choose to call him black and like Arana pointed out, on the front page of the Washington Post newspaper it stated, "Obama Makes history: U.S. Decisively Elects First Black President." Personally, I think that what he's called, whether black or white, it doesn't really matter. I mean the fact that he is the first black man to be President I feel is a huge honor for African Americans who lived back then as well as now. However, I think that we could argue this all day until we turn blue in the face, but still have a personal preferance to what we what to call him. Race shouldn't even be our main focus. Why is it that an article is written about race when were trying not to focus on it? All it's going to do is cause our minds to thinking that every time we see someone, were going to try and place them in a race they really don't belong to, which I don't think is Marie Arana's motive at all.
She does a good job making the connection between her family and his family and how they are both biracial. She says, "Like Obama, I am the child of a white Kansan mother and a foreign father who, like Obama's, came to Cambridge, Mass., as a graduate student." When she makes this connection, it's clear to me as a reader that she has respect for his mixed being rather than bashing him. This shows me that the similarities one has with another human being is better than the putting down of a person because of their race or what they look like. So tell me this, does race matter?
He's Not black He's White
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
