little brother

Like many others in the class, I don’t consider myself an avid reader. When we were assigned “Little Brother” I was a little apprehensive that it would be another required read that the teacher thought was beneficial, but in reality had no connection to any of the students what so ever and luckily I was wrong. Technology and I have never really been close friends, so I was a little uneasy when I found out the subject was technology based. In high school I did a research paper on 1984 so I’ve done a lot of research on the subject and I find security pretty interesting. 

Although the theme of the book is interesting, there are parts of the book that get pretty slow. When the technology subjects get too mixed up and complex I admit that I start to fade out. I truly believe the government should watch suspicious activity, but there is a very close line between too far and keeping us safe. Torture in my opinion is completely out of the question. 

big day

Today is a big day in the lives of people who hold the city of Nashville, Tennessee near and dear to their heart. I happen to be one of those people and have been awaiting this day since May 3rd. On May 1st Nashville was hit with one of the worst natural disasters in its history. The city was flooded and there was billions of dollars in damage. One of the local treasures that was ruined by the flood was Gaylord's Opryland Hotel. Opryland is a longstanding tradition that is most magical at Christmas time. Locals were heartbroken when there were rumors that Opryland would be unable to open until 2011 after being hit by the flood. After $200 million in reconstruction the beautiful Nashville landmark reopens on November 15, 2010. Each year the hotel is decked out with $2 million dollars worth of Christmas lights to create one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen. They also offer a whole package of events that makes up "Gaylord Opryland's A Country Christmas". Other seasonal events at the hotel include ICE, Radio City Rockettes, Snow and a trip down the Cumberland on the General Jackson. After living in Nashville for 18 years the Country Christmas show has become a necessity for the holiday season. It's one of my holiday traditions and if you find yourself in Nashville this holiday season I encourage you to stop by Opryland and see it for yourself. What are some of your favorite holiday traditions that you look forward to all year long?

http://www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylord-opryland/a-country-christmas/index.html?intcmp=go-pl=lNav-cid=acc

photoshop

Photoshopping is not a new concept for our generation. I recently read an article on magazines that are temporarily banning photoshopping to make a statement that photoshopping has been taken to a level that is starting to ruin the business. Magazines and advertising agencies can completely change the way their models look like. For me I don't understand why companies would hire top notch models when they are just going to photoshop the whole time. They could save a lot of money if they just got an "average" person and completely changed them on the computer. I completely disagree with the concept of photoshopping. I also believe there is a difference in photoshopping and retouching. In my opinion retouching is taking out the few hairs that are out of place or fixing spots on someone's face and photoshopping is changing their body shape, hair color, or face shape to make the person appear "more beautiful". This is not only the case with women models, but the same thing is done to male models. It is teaching this generation that anything less than perfect is not good enough. How do you feel about photoshop and companies retouching images? Do you think there is a difference? Do you think the whole thing is unavoidable in the advertising field? Have you seen any of the before/after pictures?

Teach for America

After starting my TED talk paper I have started to do some research about projects that are geared to make life better for the less fortunate and programs that are dedicated to turing their life around. One that I have always loved is the Teach for America program. Their goal is to improve education for those who are less fortunate to hopefully improve their future so they can make a better life for themselves. They claim that by the 4th grade kids from low-income families are most likely two to three years behind those of high income families. They also say that only half of students from low-income families graduate by or at age 18. Children who grow up in low-income families are stuck in a cycle that they can't get out of. It's definitely not the children's fault and there is no reason they should have to suffer the consequences. Teach for America's approach to solve this problem is to hire well qualified teachers who are willing to put in massive amounts of extra and specialized work and place them in urban communities to teach and help those children reach high academic goals. They believe with good dedicated teachers they can reverse the education gap we have in our country. My number one goal after graduation is to be accepted into the Teach for America program and start to turn around this educational gap we're facing. How do you feel about education differing dramatically in different cities within the United States?

I-Search

I started working on part one of my I-search project and after watching the video a second time I think I’m going to have a different approach to the argument than I originally intended to have. Personally the most interesting part of this argument is how money is running the way we feed our neighbors locally and internationally. For restaurants, farmers and food companies the amount of money they are brining in affects them more than the effect they are having on their fellow population. I hope to do research to prove that our world is run by money and hope to present ideas to change the way people view food security and the ways they help their neighbors no matter where they live. I hope I won’t come across the problem of not being able to come up with enough actual facts to support my argument. An argument like mine is based almost 100% on real facts with people in our world and it would be very hard to prove my argument without these valid facts. With proper facts I feel it will be easy to present an effective argument on how our food system is run by greedy companies and how it’s ruining our human family. What are your thoughts on companies like McDonalds being one of the most profitable companies internationally, but also being very responsible for the obesity epidemic that is sweeping our world. Do you think the companies are more to blame or the consumers who chose to buy their goods?

obesity+hunger

I really found myself interested in this particular TED talk. The concept of food security has aways intrigued me and have have grown up with a family and lots of friends who are involved in different local food security organizations. After listening to Ellen Gustafson's talk it really astounded me that there are just as many obese people on earth (the majority coming from America) as there are starving people on earth. She explains this is because the idea of farms is changing in America and products are starting to include more sugars and trans fats than they use to causing a new generation of obesity. Even at UT we don't have to go far to see how things have changed in the foods we eat. There are fries, pizza, fried foods, a 24 hour IHop, slushies, soft serve, etc all located just in Presidential courtyard! It's unfortunate that unhealthy food has become the choice for most families because it's cheaper and coke is cheaper than milk so that's what they send with their kids to school for their lunches. I already support Gustafson's FEED program and have a FEED bag, but her idea that we can change hunger and obesity all in 30 years is very optimistic. GMOs are becoming very popular and organic foods are becoming unreasonable for most family budgets. I'm excited to start this project on food security mostly because I'm planing on being an elementary school teacher and one of her main focuses is on school lunches and how they can really change a life.  What do you think about the connection between obesity and hunger?

Boys and Girls Club

I'm planning on being an Elementary School teacher so recently I've been looking for ways to volunteer around Knoxville with children. The Boys and Girls Club of the Tennessee Valley takes in kids ages 5-17 who are enrolled in school. The Club is open after school and throughout the whole summer. For underprivileged kids in the area the Club provides them with a safe place to have fun and get a lot of opportunities to grow, learn, and give back to their community while meeting new friends. They offer a wide range of activities for the kids including everything from homework help to sewing classes to sports teams. Not only do they provide activities for the kids, but also mentoring is something the club strives for. Specifically the Club has a program called “Women in Philanthropy” that encourages women to be leaders in their community. The girls in the club are exposed to women who are established leaders in their professions and teach the girls to develop those characteristics in themselves. Their annual philanthropy event Purses with a Purpose helps to fund the opportunities that are given to the girls at the club. Volunteering at the club is very easy to do! You can select the age group you feel most comfortable working with and pick which kind of work you are most interested in. The Club has volunteering options for every interest. They need tutors, coaches, music leaders, chaperones, craft instructors, etc. You simply give them the hours you would be willing to work and they fit it into your schedule. You can volunteer once, for a semester, or for years at the Club. The Club not only offers great experiences for children in the Tennessee Valley region, but also great experiences for adults who chose to be involved in such an amazing organization! I'm planning on adding some volunteer hours to my schedule and I encourage you to do the same if you enjoy children.