Television: The Plug-In Drug

Winn, Marie. "Television: The Plug-In Drug". Essays Second Edition. 2007. 457. Print.

Many households in the United States own more than one televesion. In the exerpt, Winn explains how the televesion has practically evolved into our families. Today, the television has had a big role in family togertherness and the impact of television. Some families have habits that are related to television views.

"'Television will take over your way of living and change your children's habits, but this change can be a wonderful improvement,' claimed another commentator.'No survey's needed, of course, to establish that television has brought the family together in one room,' wrote The New York Times's television critic in 1949."

I agree that television will change children’s habits but I don’t think it is a good one. A lot of the television shows from the past are no longer broadcasted on television shows today. Although the shows are far different from two dimensional cartoons, the messages are still the same. Young children are easily captivated by the shows that are shown on TV. For example, when I visit my younger cousins that are two and three the TV is always on. Even when they are not watching it, the show still plays. Whenever they pass by the TV at a given point they stop and watch until the show reaches a commercial break. Because they were so focused on the TV before the commercials, they sometimes do not realize the show is over until there is an advertisement on TV. I think TV shows do this on purpose so children ask their parents for a toy or crayon kit or something like that. In a way it is a smart business move for the advertisers, but children can become really transfixed on a particular item that they want. When the commentator stated that TV will change children’s habits, they were right.

Can You Hear Me Now?

Turkle, Sherry. "Can You Hear Me Now?" They Say I Say. Ed. Gerald Graff. Norton and Company 2009. 270-281. Print.

Technology seems to be improving every year. With the improvement of technology, people have also been changing every year. Today, many people are wired in with their electronics and this article explains that we are tied in with our devices. Nearly everyone who goes to CSUN owns a mobile device which they use to check email and Facebook.

"The plain represented themselves as glamorous; the introverted could try out being bold. People built the dream houses in the virtual that they could not afford in the real. They took online jobs of responsibility. They often had relationships, partners, and even 'marriages' of significant emotional importance. They had lots of virtual sex."

In the online world, it is very easy to become someone who you really are not. There are hundreds of online video games that allow you to create a character and become someone you really are not in real life. Sure it is what makes it a game, but sometimes a virtual character can reflect the real player behind the controller. When I was younger I used to play a video game called “Halo 3” on Xbox Live. Me and my friends used to always talk to each other with our headsets and kill the enemy players. A lot of times during the match, our teams would talk a lot of trash to each other. It did not matter what age you were, as long as you are playing, you are going to hear a thing or two. Although it was fun for us to talk trash to people across the country, many people took offensive of some of the language involved. Luckily though, the company invented an ignore button that would block all communication of a person with whom you did not want to communicate with. It is crazy to believe how far video games and communication has come since the Nintendo and I hope there are huge improvements in the future.

My Facebook, My Self

Helfand, Jessica. "My Facebook, My Self". 2011. Print.

The passage was about the real privacy of Facebook. Even though some people do not have a facebook of their own, they are still capable of being viewed on the web. Some feel Facebook is a very easy way to stalk people and get to be friends with anyone."

"Even if you are super-careful---ell, even if you don't have a Facebook account yourself-say you find yourself at some random party where there's someone brandishing a mobile phone. And that someone snaps your picture. Soon thereafter, somebody with a Facebook account "tags" you and there you are-whammo- your questionable behavior rendered spectacularly public."

This thought of Facebook can seem a little ridiculous. Although it is very possible to be involved on a picture and tagged, the chances are they aren't going to know the people you know. In addition it would be difficult to be in a picture taken by a mobile phone because the quality for most picture camaras aren't that good. Besides that however the possibilty of someone seeing your picture is very possible. Whenever I surf the web and login to my Facebook, there are usually a lot of posts by people i do not know very well. Sometimes I go to their page and look at their pictures and there are so many random people. There are millions of users on Facebook and it is interesting that nearly every person who has an account is searchable. With Facebook, it is very easy to see updates of everyone and anyone. It is also easy to see pictures of random people and videos people share with them. Facebook to me is a very interesting website. Nearly  anyone can keep in contact with people on in one website. With an account you are able to talk, send pictures and video, and even find people you don’t know.

And Yet

Graff, Gerald., Birkenstein, Cathy., Durst, Russel. They Say I Say and "The Decline and Fall of  Declinism." .New York: Norton, 2009. Print

Chapter five explains how to tell which side a speaker is taking. Sometimes listeners do not understand which point the speaker is taking and there are key words to listen for to view their side. The chapter also explains how to explain your position more clearly.

"When writers fail to use voice-marking devices like these, their summaries of others' views tend to become confused with their own ideas- and vice versa."

My English class in high school used to have socratic seminars very similar to what we do in English 155. After I read the above quote from the reading, my first thought was that our class had a problem of understanding each others' viewpoints. A lot of times during discussion, a classmate would ask the other what position they were taking. This chapter of the reading really motivated me to take a position and explain clearly why I chose that side. When someone speaks out their opinion it is important to have an understanding of what they said, and then clearly explain whether you agree or disagree. During our seminar it was easy to understand which position someone was taking. Our class did well picking sides but there were only a few occasions when I did not understand which position they were taking. I believe our next discussion together will be a lot better than the last. A lot of the reading from the book helps me get a better understanding  of how discussions should be reviewed. After practice and more reading, I think the next discussion we have as a class will be really interesting because every one of us will know how to respond.

A Stigma That Never Fades

"A Stigma That Never Fades" The Economist. The Economist. Print. 8 Aug. 2002.

The reading was mostly about the prison systems of the U.S.Throughout the text there were statistics and numbers about the number of prisoners and the rate at which they return to prison. According to the print, people that are released from prison are most likely to go back to prison because they are uneducated and some of them still have some sort of drug addiction.

"A survey of Californian inmates found that half were functionally illiterate. Prison could fix some of those social disadvantages; usually it does not. So the typical inmate is released from prison with all the problems he went in with- plus a prison record that makes finding a job or a place to live even harder."

I don't see how prison could help change social disadvantages for inmates. Unless prisons become somewhat like schools, most of the prisoners will go away uneducated and with the same problem. Prisons should have some sort of system where they can educated and rehabilitate inmates which are most likely to be released out into the world. A lot of times people are reintroduced to the streets, only to be locked back in. However, if the inmate had some rehab before being let free then he would probably be okay instead of returning to drugs and violence. According to a statistic in the text, treatment rather than incarceration would reduce serious crime 15 times more effectively. That to me is a strong statistic and we should focus more on fixing these people rather than putting them in time out. If the people that are released from prison at least know what to do in the real world, most would have the ambition to change their life compared to one who wasn't in rehab. I think most inmates should learn how to cope with their problems in the real world so when they are released, they at least have some minimal knowledge of what to do once they are out.

The Meaning of 9/11

Graff, Gerald., Birkenstein, Cathy., Durst, Russel. They Say I Say and "The Decline and Fall of  Declinism." The Meaning of 9/11. Ed. Morris Berman. New York: Norton, 2009. Print

In this anthology by Morris Berman, a further truth is revealed about 9/11. Berman gave a deeper look into the reason why we started a war with Iraq. The U.S. had a military and we were willing to use it. Our war was againt Iraq with the help of Great Britain.

"If the U.S. were not preparing to attack Iraq, it would be preparing to attack another nation. The U.S. will go to war because it needs a country with which to go to war."

After the reading I became more aware of the 9/11 attack. The way I see it, the attack was more of a conspiracy than a terrorist attack. Our nation is a huge consumer of oil and areas like Saudia Arabia oil is abundant. Bush wanted to start a war with the weaker country so that we could gain either territory and/or the oil. Imagine how our country with fluorish with the black goo. We would be able to manufacture, sell, and have our nation prosper for all eternity! But at what price? According to a research team at Johns Hopkins there was a total of about 100,000 civilian deaths.(450 Berman) A lot of innocent people were killed "accidentally" in bombings. It was not fair for those people to die. My father fought in the military for twenty years and even fought in the war in Iraq. I asked for his opinion on the war and he told me "...we fought for the oil". Bush wanted to fight for the oil and make a lot of money for the States. After the attack of 9/11 Bush decided it was a good enough reason to go to war.

The Growing College Gap

Graff, Gerald., Birkenstein, Cathy., Durst, Russel. They Say I Say and "The Decline and Fall of  Declinism." The Growing College Gap. Ed. Tamara Draut. New York: Norton, 2009. Print

In this anthology Tamara Draut, director of the Economic Opportunity Program at Demos, explains an invisible gap between the educated and the people who want to become so. Today, many students who can afford to graduate usually do while the people who struggle to pay for school become less likely to succeed. Draut also mentions how school is affordable to some and why mainly the wealthy graduate.

"The paradox facing young adults today is meeting the demand for more credentials in a context of declining financial aid support and skyrocketing tuition. The more diplomas you earn, the better your chances of getting into the middle class and staying there."

After the reading I was very interested in knowing when the GI Bill was passed. My father was in the military for twenty years and thanks to his commitment in the military, much of my education is being paid for by the government. Without the bill I probably would not be able to attend any four year university in California. This quote really caught my attention after reading how diplomas ensure ones class in society. It is unfortunate to believe some high school graduates cannot afford to go to secondary school. I suggest education be everyones' right no matter what background. If our country has hope for a good future then the majority of people should be educated after highschool. Although some kids do need to go to work to support a family, most are still capable of having at least five units. In that sense at least everyone will have some education. Eventually more will become educated and as will the next generation. My solution might be a good one, it might not. Regardless however, if a future candidate for presidency proposes one I will vote for them. There is no possible way for our nation to prosper if no one is educated.

The Decline and Fall of Declinism

Graff, Gerald., Birkenstein, Cathy., Durst, Russel. They Say I Say and "The Decline and Fall of  Declinism." New York: Norton, 2009. Print.

Dowd ensures the reader that the United States is at a better being than most people think. While although our country may be in a small recession, many powerful U.S. companies bring in plenty of income to support our GDP. Companies like Coca Cola, Starbucks, Wal Mart, and others are exploding in many parts of the world.

"The converse, even in this global economy, simply does not hold. Although Americans are notorious for appropriating from other cultures, they are not flocking to British retailers, or buying Afri Cola, or logging on to some Euro-Google, or purchasing French PCs."

The reason i chose this quote is because i like the names of the fake brands of other countries. As funny as it is though, it is true. Not many Americans are purchasing items from other countries.Many U.S. companies are expanding over the globe and making more profit. It is incredible to believe we are in a recession even though we have companies like that of Wal Mart. Wal Mart has 2,700 stores outside the U.S. and are located in fourteen countries. In addition Wal Mart had sales of $344 billion in 2007. (408 Dowd) I would like to see what will happen to the corporation in the future. Personally I would hope that the corporation continues to grow and eventually contribute their money towards a greener earth.

After i read the quote i started to wonder if Europe has any companies that make computers. Not too many European software or hardware are seen on the shelves of stores nor are they on the television. That also leads me to think are Ipods and Macbooks on the shelves in European stores? I have never been to Europe before but i am pretty sure that Apple products are sold anywhere where people would buy them. In my experience nearly everyone i've met has an ipod are some sort of merchandise by Apple. Also, nearly everyone has an Iphone!