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?