Thursday, November 21, 2013

E cigs are in and Cigarettes is out

 
 
In the past years or so we have seen many people with E cigarette in their hand than a roll up paper tobacco. The E cigs was market to consumer in 2007 and has become really popular. E cigs don't have the same tobacco law as regular cigarettes so any one who is under the age of 18 can buy one without being ID. Why are they so cool? Well they don't have any tobacco because it all vapor smoke.
 There is no research on E cigs to see how healthy they are compare to regular cigarettes, but it still have almost the same toxin and is still very addictive. So in other words it can still kill you until proven otherwise. One thing why a lot of people like this is because of the different flavors that you can buy for it.

You won't smell bad any more. your kids will love to come to you now. Another reason is that it is cheaper to buy one then to buy a pack of cigarette twice a week. Cigarette price has gone up so much in the last year and so people are turning to other solutions and the E cigs are one of them. The only thing you have to change is the thing that holds the oil every month to two,and that is only about $4 to $5. One more thing you can smoke this almost any where because most place like bars and clubs had banned smoking inside. Now they will let you smoke them inside.
I don't beleive in smoking because I hate the smoke and the after smell, but i guess this is better smelling the flavors of the oil than the smoke. What do you guys think of this?

Ps4 Vs. Xbox One

Throughout the years, gaming has becoming larger than was ever thought possible. With new consoles coming out every generation or so, there is no sign of gaming slowing down, but only getting bigger. Generations, companies like Microsoft and Sony have produced the newest and best products keeping themselves as the lead rivals for the gaming world. Both companies have given us the latest in their consoles called Xbox One for Microsoft and also Sony's new PS4 (Play Station 4).

Bigger than ever before would just be a simple phrase to use to describe how powerful these new consoles have become. Slim and futuristic like, these consoles have definitely raised the bar in the competetion.

Every gamer has their own opinion on what's the best between the two, but honestly, they both have their advantages and disadvantages. The Microsoft has really tired to push their Xbox onto a whole new level of multimedia entertainment system, providing more social media and other apps giving it a more modern push. Seeing this being done to the Xbox is not too much as a surprise  because more and more products now a days are resorting to that same system with more options with the internet.



PS4 has definitely pushed to make their product faster and better quality instead of the streaming apps, even though they can do almost the same as the Xbox, it just doesn't offer as much but will add more throughout the next year.

PS4 and Xbox Ones will have the majority of their sales from the loyalties of their past customers and friends around with influence. Seeing that both consoles have their plus and minus, history will show itself again who will be the victor in sales.

Ps3 history: Over 80 Million
Xbox 360: 80 Million
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360
http://www.vg247.com/2013/11/06/ps3-sales-pass-80-million-worldwide-4332-titles-on-system-to-date/

Red Cross helps Phillipines-Typhoon



The Phillipines are having a rough year. The typhoon that hit the Phillipines was a level 5 hurricane, almost as bad as Hurricane Katrina when it hit New Orleans. Many Red Cross companies from around the world has been helping out with people still stuck there.

Red Cross from Los Angelas has done a bake sale. They united with Los Angelas best chefs and bloggers to help. 35 LA's best restaurants and more than 25 local food bloggers came to help support. The name of this bake sale is called "Eat My Blog Charity Bake Sale"

Why is LA helping out? It's because most of the Fillipino population are living in Southern California outside of the Phillipines, and they are helping Red Cross to fund money for their families and friends.

Best of Luck for the bake sale!

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Rewards For Doing the Right Thing

Often times you hear about people getting recognized for being outstanding citizens by doing something very generous. One news story that recently came up was a young boy, Joey Prusak, who was working as the manager of a Dairy Queen in Minnesota when a blind customer came in. That customer dropped a twenty dollar bill and a woman behind him simply picked it up and put it in her pocket.
Joey confronted the woman and asked her to give the man his money back and when she refused he kicked her out of the store, told the blind man what had happened and then paid for his Dairy Queen using twenty dollars out of his own pocket. Joey is now being recognized by the president of Dairy Queen and random customers are coming in to give him twenty dollars for the kind act he did. What Joey did was a great thing but it was also the right thing. When did it become unusual for people to show these acts of kindness and when did they not become a regular thing. Americans have stopped trusting people and not giving people enough faith to do the right thing that when someone does something that should be recognized as normal it is made out to be a heroic act instead. Simple things as holding open the door for the person behind you, or giving back someone their money they have dropped is now becoming something people see as generous when it used to be apart of peoples everyday lives. People who did not practice these kind acts were seen as rude and now it is seen as normal. Will we ever be able to go back to trusting strangers and having these kind acts be normal again?


Power will Consume us All

Fat Man bombing on Nagasaki 
One of the most devastating types of power is nuclear power. Nuclear bombs like Little Boy and Fat Man have shown a good example of what humans are capable of. Death tolls around 60,000+ deaths for Fat Man and 90,000+ deaths for Little Boy.
The advances in technology has come a long way since. With the spread of technology, anywhere and anyone can have control of nukes. We know that nuclear warheads are produced and kept hidden from the public to avoid public outbreaks. Some nukes are also kept under a deterrence, a nuclear deterrence. One of them is U.S and Russia.
The military doctrine that an enemy will be deterred from using nuclear weapons as long as he can be destroyed as a consequence; "when two nations both resort to nuclear deterrence the consequence could be mutual destruction."
Yes it's possible for humans to blow each others to smithereens, but it hasn't happened yet. Are humans able to handle the raw power of destruction? We have yet to prove ourselves. Will we be able to set aside our differences? We have yet many trails to face.

Are Electronic Cigarettes a Healthy Alternative?

Smoking tobacco cigarettes has continually become less attractive and unhealthy within todays culture. In the 1970's around 40% of people smoked tobacco cigarettes, today only 19% of the U.S. population are active smokers. With the decline in cigarette smokers, quitting has become a trend, and so has the electronic cigarette.

Many tobacco smokers started because they thought it was a way to look cool or fit in with a crowd. With the abundance of health risks associated with tobacco smokers, the desire to become smoke free has increased. Quitting smoking methods are available everywhere for cigarette smokers, but the one that strikes me as odd is the electronic cigarette. How does this help you quit smoking if you still have the hand-to-mouth motion and you are inhaling pure nicotine vapor? Many people claim they have become more active and healthy after using an e-cig but the facts are unclear. The FDA claims that they are not sure that it is safe and that studies have not been completed when concerning the inhalation of pure nicotine.

Also, whats up with being able to smoke e-cigs inside? Although there isn't any smoke or burning, there is still nicotine vapor that is being released into the air and other people can inhale it therefore making it second hand vapor. I mean if some countries like Canada and Mexico have already banned electronic cigarettes, shouldn't we take a second look? Not a lot of research has been done and nobody can prove they're safe.

As a cigarette smoker myself, I feel it is a disgusting habit and i want to quit. Do you think the electronic cigarette will help wean people off tobacco cigarettes or is it just a new way to smoke?




Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Is black friday shopping a thing of the past?













    Black friday shopping can be great, but there are many problems that come with it. Black friday shopping is meant to held midnight following thanksgiving, but thats not the case anymore. There are stores opening before midnight on the night of Thanksgiving. That wouldn't be called black friday then, it would be black thursday because stores are technically opening before friday even starts.  Back friday is a day of great deals on many expensive things, but is it worth the hassle of getting them? As you see in the top left picture there is a little girl who was pushed to the floor, because people don't look before running through the crowd. Shopping on Black friday can be very dangerous not only for children but for adults and teens also. There are people who camp outside these stores for hours and ruin their thanksgiving for this day, and there are fights that break out every year and the police have to get involved. For some people all this is worth getting something for cheaper then retail price, but for most it's not worth the troubles. When going black friday shopping make sure you know what you'r getting into. The bottom right picture is of all the people rushing into at a store for shopping on black friday. Is it worth it to you?

Lazy...Or Productive?

In todays society we rely a lot on technology. Is buying things online being lazy or is it actually saving time and money?
 
A lot of people like to buy things online because when they receive their order "its like Christmas" or "A Gift to Yourself from Yourself". Not only is it fun to get but many stores have items that you can only buy online. Also, when buying clothes online, almost always they have a range of sizes.
 

As seen in these pictures, stores have sales that are ONLY online.

Here's the thing the holiday season is upon us and people hate dealing with big holiday rushes at the stores. There's too many people, often items you want are out of stock or sold out and to top it off you wait in long lines. Many people don't have the time to do this while planning everything else for the holiday festivities. Shopping online is easy, all people have to is click on an items and add it to their cart! Even if they don't have the money for it now, many sites have a place they can save items to called a "wish list".



But does our society go to far with online shopping?

Now days people can order their groceries online...is this lazy or productive? One sight that is pretty well known is Schwan's. They have an extensive menu with many products and they deliver straight to your home.














They even have a menu for special diets...

Is buying your food online any different then clothes or gifts?


As American's our society has become so reliant on other forces, whatever is easier, must be "better".  But as people do we need that aspect of social involvement with other people? Or do we need to learn to manage our time better?









"Where in the World is Thanksgiving?"



We all know that Christmas is on its way we have seen the evidence of its arrival in stores and on television. We all get wrapped up with the holiday spirit and we forget about Thanksgiving. Is Thanksgiving slowly being eliminated from American Culture? The only thing that is keeping this holidays head above water is the massive sale called Black Friday. I have noticed holiday decorations and products being put into stores much sooner than I remember when I was a child. I have even witnessed Christmas décor before Halloween! I think that we all need to take it easy on Christmas and slow down and remember that Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful and spend time with family. Many people are already decorating their homes for the Christmas holiday when they still have not hosted for Thanksgiving. As much as I love cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies I too must remember it is still a little early for Christmas. So let’s put frosty away for another couple weeks and remember this is the time to be thankful for what you have.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Hockey City Classic coming to Minnesota

On September 3rd, the University of Minnesota announced that TCF Bank Stadium will be hosting a doubleheader of outdoor hockey on January 17th.  The Gopher womens hockey team will be playing the Minnesota State Mavericks at 4:30 p.m., and then the Gopher mens team will be squaring off against the Ohio State Buckeyes at 8:00 p.m.  The Gopher mens hockey team actually played in last years Hockey City Classic as well.  They played the Wisconsin Badgers at Soldier Field in Chicago,Illinois.
With the Hockey City Classic just less than 2 months a head of us, you might want to hurry up and get your tickets now! Tickets have been flying off the shelf so far.  With how hockey crazy us Minnesota are, I don't see that changing.  Speaking on behalf of Gopher hockey fans, we are more than pumped about this game.  Having a big game at TCF Bank Stadium on Friday night against long time rival Ohio State is going to call for an exciting game atmosphere.  The stadium will be loud and rockin', and all you'll see in the stands is a sea of Maroon and Gold! And maybe some red...Go Gophers!


The One That Lied Its Way

What kind of person would call their own child ugly, and be horrified with they way their child look?


Jian Feng, a Chinese man successfully sues his wife for being ugly, after he had found out that she had undergone $100,000 worth of plastic surgery.

Jian Feng had started accusing his wife of infidelity after the birth of their daughter, because he said he could never be the father to an unattractive child. Jian told Irish News "I married my wife out of love , but as soon as we had our first daughter, we began having marital issues. Our daughter was incredibly ugly, to the point where it horrified me." But after DNA tests proving that he was the father, his wife finally came clean and admitted to having about $100,000 worth of surgery done to herself in South Korea before they ever met.

Feng sued his wife for not telling him the truth about the plastic surgery and duping him to believe that she was beautiful. A judge agreed and ordered her to grant him $120,000.

Yes although she should have came clean before they ever got married, who would have known the outcomes of the child's appearance. There's no control over how the kid would turn out to be. Two very beautiful people could "have" a not so attractive looking child together and vise versa.

Winning that $120,000 wouldn't help with the fact that he has an "ugly" kid. 

What would you have done if you found out your spouse had plastic surgery to make her/him more attractive? 
THE TRUE BATTLE: WHICH ONE DO I ANSWER?

Have you ever taken notice to which phone you truly answer the most? I was walking around my house, and i was in a zone writing music. My friend noticed that i was completely ignoring my home land line. He proceed to ask" Are you not going to answer the phone"? Which inspired me to write this blog. Is technology revered differently among generations? I have seen my mother on that relic in technology for hours conversing. Myself on the other hand hates using the home phone. I view it as a reminder of me being an adult, because I only handle business on it. I also share the same outlook on the postal system as well, the only thing good about the mail is receiving money to pay the bills that come with it. Though there is a problem of over using your cellphone. Cellphones allow me to continue with my day. My question to you is land lines really necessary besides the use of  911? Maybe its my youth and adaption of technology that wants to do with land lines but can you blame me?
Brandon Bryson

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Where is Humanity??????????

Ethiopian immigrants killed in Saudi Arabia. we do not know how many people died or arrested because we could not find information from right sours. how can  we trust media ? where are human right, Untied Nation, World medias, BBC, CNN, when we need just. Why the keep silent. When you read this post I know you will say what he talked about because this is hidden for all world. Readers we lost our innocent brothers and sister. we couldn't get chance in media to get ears. we cry in all social media to tell the
truth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Popping flicks of your food

One thing I really dislike is when you are going out on a date, or hanging out with friends and they  are taking pictures of their food and posting them on Insta Gram or Facebook . Most of the time the food don't look to appealing.   When you are on a date that would be  the worst in the middle of a meal and the other person is popping flicks. They are more worried about how many likes they will get instead of if there date likes them.  I have never experience this on a date myself but if it was to ever occur I would get up leave. Social media has truly taken over peoples lives. People cant put there phones away for 1hour to enjoy a meal.  Some of my friends are guilty of It and I drives absolutely crazy and it is embarrassing as well. I know it can be great advertisement for companies but it has it can be a little extra.
  

The Tale of Good Ole Mayor Rob Ford

This is the tale of Mayor Rob Ford. A Canadian businessman and politician, Rob Ford is the current mayor of Toronto, Ontario, Canada... only in title. How he remains in office is a miracle. As the current Mayor of Toronto only in title now, Ford is known for drinking with his constituents and stumbling around his city drunk thereafter. Several Months ago Gawker.com produced a series of posts wherein it was claimed their existed a video of mayor Rob Ford smoking crack, and that the video was for sale. Soon once the money for the tape was raised the seller mysteriously disappeared. However the series of posts had already been damning enough evidence for the public to demand an answer.
Eventually once forced to, Mayor Ford held a press conference where he admits "Yes I have smoked Crack cocaine" but that he didnt currently. Through subsequent press conferences Ford announced that he would not resign and that he would be in fact, running for reelection.
In recent weeks Mayor Ford has faced accusations of going down on a staffer where he replied that he quote "I didn't eat her pussy.. I have plenty to eat at home", a drunken and cocaine fueled office party on St.Patrick's day in 2012 and many other drunken shenanigans most certainly not befitting of a mayor. Ford has apologized for his comments and actions while asking for forgiveness and announcing that he will be rerunning for office and fighting the city councils actions against him. The City Council of Toronto has striped the mayor of his power but not his title and Mayor Ford has said he will bring them to court, not caring about the cost to his constituents. Surely still a major growing story who knows what else will become of "Mayor" Rob Ford.

Why Do We Love Zombies?


Why We Love Zombies
To be more accurate, I should say why we love the idea of killing zombies. Of course not every one is a zombie fan, but with a record breaking 16.1 million viewers of the premier of season 4 of the Walking Dead, its fair to say that a lot of people enjoy watching zombie apocalypse unfold. But what it is about these undead brain eaters that we enjoy so much? 


Sticking it to The MAN!
A theory that Sarah Lauro, an English professor at Clemson Univeristy who studied zombies while working on her doctorate, has about why zombies and zombie shows like the Walking Dead are becoming so popular is that we have become dissatisfied with our government or society. She theorizes that when we are dis-empowered by and dissatisfied with our government or society, we begin to feel like a mindless consumer of what ever they put in front of us, or in other words a 'zombie'. So by watching the few survivors of a zombie apocalypse blast the heads off these zombies and fight to not become one themselves, we can begin to feel like we are sticking it to the Man by refusing to conform to mindless, everyday life.


It's Just Everyday Life
In Chuck Klosterman's Article, My Zombie, Myself: Why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead
he states that one of the main reason why zombies are becoming so increasingly popular in our society is because our world is becoming more and more like a zombie offensive. That's not to say that the need to kill zombies has literally increase in our society, but our everyday lives have become very similar to that of someone surviving in a zombie apocalypse. We can relate to killing zombies so easily because it is very similar to completing our everyday tasks, day after day, over and over and over again. Zombies are easy to kill, one shot to the head at a time, the problems arise when we stop killing them or when to many come at you at once and they pile up, that is when the zombies overcome you. The same goes for our tasks in real everyday life, if we do them and stay at them everything goes smoothly, its when you neglect them or when to many come at you from no where at once that it becomes overwhelming.


Maybe a Combination of It All
Maybe it a little of everything! We can relate easily and that is why we get drawn in and so easily make a zombies apocalypse a metaphor for our lives. But along with the metaphor, we also see it as a freeing sensation from the bonds of our society, fighting off the mindlessness of consumerism with a symbolic shotgun in hand. Along with that, as Klosterman also stated, "Zombies are just so easy to kill", so why wouldn't we want to exchange our currently 'oppressive' and tedious society for a stress-releasing, zombies infested one? Not only then do you get to satisfy that primitive longing to kill without consequence, but you also perhaps get that opportunity to be the hero by mowing down that hoard of zombies and saving the day!

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Superfund Sites: Not Super Fun


Until the 1970s, laws governing the disposal of hazardous waste materials were virtually nonexistent. Large corporations, such as 3M and Dow Chemical Company, were free to dump tons of waste materials in both landfills and bodies of water. The first law to regulate the removal of dangerous wastes was RCRA, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, in 1976. Then, in 1980, Congress passed the Superfund law, which provided for the treatment and removal of previously abandoned waste sites. Today, many of these Superfund sites still exist. Federal and state governments, as well as liable companies, have been slow to respond to the problem due to a lack of funds. 


A typical toxic waste dump. They are not hard to spot from a satellite-view map.

 There are thousands of hazardous waste sites all over the United States. Just over one thousand are still at the top of the National Priorities List. In Minnesota, there are currently twenty-five sites on the NPL. Of these, two are in Washington County—the Baytown Township Ground Water Plume and Oakdale Dump—and three are in Ramsey County—Koppers Coke, the MacGillis & Gibbs/Bell Lumber & Pole Co. site, and the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant site.

Elizabeth Copper Mine Superfund site in Vermont.

As more and more toxic landfills grow around the country, the number of people at risk for a plethora of unnatural health problems also increases. Cancer is often developed by those living in close proximity to a dump site. Children and unborn babies are at the greatest risk; their development can be greatly inhibited, even to the point of death. The variety of health problems associated with hazardous waste is caused by an equally large variety of contaminants. Lead, mercury, asbestos, dioxin, benzene, TCE, and carbon tetrachloride are only a handful of such pollutants. 


For a map of toxic sites, see <http://toxmap.nlm.nih.gov/toxmap/main/index.jsp>

This article provides a great example of an organization lobbying to prevent toxic waste reforms: <http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/09/09/13323/new-battleground-over-toxic-reform-american-chemistry-council-targets-states>

PS4 VS XBox One!

Video Gamers have talked about new generation consoles for over years since XBox 360 and PS3 came out. They have been talked about how the game system will change, graphic improvement, new type of video games that no one has played before etc...

Finally PS4 just came out today November 15th! And XBox One will come out in a week, November 22nd!

These new consoles will be a nice gift for your children, relatives or anyone that you share a lot in your life for Christmas gift! However, they cost a little bit too much as a gift you small kids.

XBox One costs $499 and PS4 costs $399. Compared to PS3 cost when it just came out (which was about $600), it's reasonable, but still it's a bit pricy.

Although PS4 released a week before XBox One and people imagine many people would buy it first because they are so excited for new generation console, XBox One release date is in thanksgiving holidays which I think it's better idea because gamers tend to have an idea that they would like to play games when they have enough time to play. When I was a hardcore video gamer, I did not play new game when I had only a bit of time. I would save for the weekend and enjoyed it during weekend (when I have more time) because I really hated to distracted by something.

From my point of view, I think XBox One focused more on online gaming, and PS4 focused more on offline gaming. Of course, you can play Online/Offline by using these consoles, but I feel like XBox consoles are more for online and PS consoles are more for offline.

So far, there are not any completely "New" stuff out for these consoles yet, but I believe they are making something really cool new type of video game for the consoles. However, graphic got better compare to the old consoles, which I think FPS (First Person Shooting) gamers love to see. I don't really have time to play video games lately, but I hope I'll have time to play these new consoles with friends soon.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Blackjack

Blackjack is also known as twenty-one and is the most widely played casino banking in the world. Blackjack is comparing card between a player and a dealer, meaning that players compete against the dealer but not any other players. This game is played with one or more deck with 52 cards. The object of the game is to "beat the dealer." This can be done number of ways. Get 21 on your first two card, reach a final score higher than the dealer without going over 21, let the dealer draw additional cards bypassing 21 and busting. When playing people can hit, stand, double down, split, surrender or even ask for insurance when the dealer have an ace face up.

      Later in the 1800 blackjack was bought to America where gambler embraced it, loving the challenge of overcoming the odds and beating the house. Whether you haven't gambled or not. Blackjack is a fun game to play and it's easy to play too.

Protecting Your Heart with the Flu Shot


The flu vaccine is recommended for anyone six months or older in the United States. It is recommended for people who includes of having heart disease. In a study, researchers looked at all clinical trials on flu vaccine from 1947 through mid- 2013 that included nearly 7000 people in their study.  The researchers concluded that those who got the flu shot were thirty-six percent less likely to have a heart issue than those who did not receive the vaccine. People with heart problems who gets the flu vaccine has a fifty-five percent of not getting another heart issue. Also the risk of fatality from heart disease were twenty percent lower for those who receive the flu shot compare to those who didn’t.



The influenza vaccine is believed to protect against heart disease by preventing its influenza and its inflammation in which your immune system may make you ache and put you in pain. With the flu, ache, and pain inflammation, it can cause plaques in the arteries to burst.


Some people say that after getting the influenza vaccine, they would get sick from it and refuse to get it again. But if heart disease is preventable in this case then it should be an action to take. You can be one of those people who are less likely to get a heart disease with the continuation of getting the flu shot. Something that I would think twice on considering again.

PS4 -Offically Released


November 15 is the official release of the PlayStation 4 or PS4. For $399, you can get your hand on this amazing gaming console that got everyone waiting for a long time. The PlayStation 4 comes with many different features. The PlayStation 4 can still play Blu-rays and DVDs, but it won’t be able to play any CDs, MP3s, and any files form a USB external storage device.

                I think it can be a win/lose features because now a days many people don’t have CDs or MP3s, instead, people now are steaming music right from the internet.

                Other feature I think is cool is that there are entertainment apps that you can download such as Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon. I really like this feature because with apps like Netflix, I am able to enjoy a movie night with the family.

                Unlike like the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 4 require you to have a PS Plus account to play multiplayer. We know this is a bummer, but look at the bright side, it only $50 for the whole year unlike the Xbox 360, which I think is 30 bucks a months.

What do I think about the PlayStation 4 overall? I can’t wait for it!!! I have always been a fan of the PlayStation consoles, so with this one, I would say it'll top my X-mas list this years

Is Black Friday worth shopping???

Yea there might be good deals and objects worth saving money, but for the time period that they give you to buy things sometimes; it's not worth buying things.black Friday has so much chaos going on that it can be hectic trying to buy things.the prices sound good, but the long lines and rush that people put you through can make you really say forget this.there has been deaths, and fights for the deals they give on that day.i hate that they put a time period on it because it makes it more of a rush for people to get it. A lot of people will camp out in the freezing cold to be the first to get in the store.the store is all messy because people just throw things around, and me personally I hate to shop at a messy store. It's bad to have to go throw clothes or shoes or anything else that your looking for and it's in the wrong place.i use to not like the raffle ticket thing they do for Jordan's but it is so much better.i think they need to do that for Black Friday,because that is the most shopping day out the year.otherwise they need to share those deals a couple times out the year.why not? I think it will give every one a chance to get the deal but do it in a way that it tracks who bought what.its just being fair to a lot of individuals. Do you agree? I would hate to be a person that stood in line for a long time and wasn't able to get what I want.

Get Off Your Phone!

 
 Do you want to know one of the things that irritates me more than anything? Rude people who continue their phone conversations while they are in a check out line. I don't care if it's the most low class store ever or not, it's rude. I see it all of the time. Actually, I used to experience this far too much when I worked at Target when seven years ago. I would have people come through my line and have the nerve to tell ME to "hang on". I would seriously think "oh, I'm sorry...I thought I was the one assisting you, can't you make the phone call at another time"? I obviously never said any of that out loud but I sure wanted to.

I see it happen on a daily basis; even at the gas station. Are we that obsessed with our phones that we can't even put a call on hold for a few seconds to do a transaction with the cashier? As much as I love my cell phone, I do not text or talk on it while I am in line or when it's my turn to check out. Maybe it's just from working at a place that I would have people do this to me all the time that made me get so angry about it. Another place I see it at is subway. Okay, you are ordering a sandwich and they are kindly asking you what you would like on it but you put your finger out and say "hang on a second"...umm, what? I don't think that's very considerate.

Really, I just want to yell at the people I see doing this. Unless it's an emergency, get off your phone! Does this bother you or do you see it and just think nothing of it?

 


 
 
 

 
 

Pop Culture and Evolution- The Hunger Games

    There are many pop culture references and connections to the Theory of Evolution through Natural Selection in today's television, books, music and movies. With The Hunger Games movie breaking box office records, I could not contain myself but to hop on the bandwagon and read the triology of books written by Suzanne Collins. Beyond a fast paced, edge of your seat thriller, I saw the author's ideas of a future world from an evolution Biologist's point of view.

    The Hunger Games triology  is set in the future after the collapse and near complete destruction of  the world. The country of Paneshas arisen from the ashes of what used to be North America and it consists of a Capitol somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, and 12 Districts that supply the Capitol with all of the goods it needs. When the poor Districts tried to rebel, the Capitol took them down and created a yearly spectacle called The Games that is broadcast live like a reality show. As a reminder that the Capitol has all the power, each District is forced to send one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 that are chosen in a lottery drawing to complete to the  death in the Hunger Games arena that is filled with traps and other dangerous creations made by the Capitol for their entertainment.

    The Mocking jay

    The most important new species in The Hunger Games triology is the mockingjay. These birds came into existence when female mockingbirds mated with the Capitol engineered jabberjays. We are first introduced to this new species of bird in The Hunger Games book when Madge, the mayor's daughter, gives heroine Katniss the gold pin with the mockingjay to wear as her token in the arena. There are also mockingjays in the arena where Katniss uses their ability to repeat songs to communicate with her ally Rue.

    In Catching Fire we see the mockingjay become an important symbol. Before Katniss enters the arena for a second time, she wears a dress created by Cinna that turns her  into a mockingjay after the outer layer burns away.

    The new species of bird is the most important in the book Mockingjay. The bird becomes a symbol of rebellion for the Districts, and Katniss finds herself becoming The Mockingjay as the symbolic leader.

   The Way the mockingjay evolved in this fictional world of Panem because of the Capitol that created a species of bird through artificial selection called the jabberjay. The jabberjay could spy on enemies of the Capitol and repeat conversations word for word back to them. The Capitol could use this infomration to stop any rebellion attempts. After the rebels in the Districts figured out the scheme, they would feed the birds information. The Capitol left the jabberjays, all male, to dide in the wild.  Instead of dying, the all male jabber jays began mating with female mockingbirds. Instead  of being able to repeat entire conversations , mocking jays would repeat entire songs. These birds helped Katniss communicate with her ally inside the arena.


   Tracker Jackers

   Tracker Jackers are described as genetically altered wasps. The Capitol was manipulating nature and speeding up the evolution of species to do their hard word. Tracker jackers will attack anyone who disturbs their nest and will follow them constantly until they have been stung with a venom that causes severe hallucinations and possibly death. Katniss uses the tracker jackers as a weapon in The Hunger Games when she is stuck in a tree because of the Career Tributes waiting to kill her below. She cuts a branch off the tree that contains a tracker jacker nest and it hits the ground near the Career, so the tracker jackers attack and run them off, killing some in the process.

  Muttations
 
  One last type of Capitol created killer is what Suzanne Collins called a "mutation". In the arena, Katniss and Peeta come face to face with mutations that look to be a mix of something like a wolf and their fellow tributes. This type of mutation tears the District 2 Tribute Cato to pieces.

  The book Catching Fire had a new arena that contained mutations that resembled monkeys. However, these monkeys had sharp claws and teeth that could puncture internal organs. When the Tributes make eye contact and quick movements, the monkey mutations attack and even kill the District 6 tribute.

  In Mockingjay,  mutations appear in the form of something that seems to be a human and lizard hybrid down in the sewers of the Capitol. These deadly creatures come after the Sharp Shooter Squad as they make their way to the President's mansion. The talon-like claws even tear apart some of the squadron before they can make it out of the sewer alive.

   Interesting Facts


Some facts about The Hunger Games movie is that it opened with $155 million, the third highest of all time on the weekend. The movie also had the biggest midnight opening ever for a non-sequel. Another shocking fact is that when the movie just had had a single weekend under its belt, it was close to becoming the biggest hit of 2012. The Hunger Games movie made an estimated amount of $500 million world wide. An interesting fact about The Hunger Games books was there was an estimated total of 24 million books sold around the world. That is crazy! The Hunger Games movie and sequence of books can relate to pop culture strongly because of the popularity worldwide The Hunger Games movie and books have gained from all of the people that are fans of The Hunger Games.


  Important Date!

  Just wanted to remind all of the fans of The Hunger Games that the sequel of The Hunger Games  called Catching Fire will make its debut on November 22nd! I bet you are as excited as I am to see the new Hunger Games movie! Below is a preview of the new movie!


                                         This a video showing the new movie The Hunger Games- Catching Fire
                                         that is making its debut on November 22nd! Enjoy!





   



Destination Procrastination

     We've all gone through or are going through some sort of school, and during that said time you've most likely procrastinated something. Our culture and really humanity in general seems to have this desire to push things off to the last moment. When I get home from school the first thing I do is kick off my shoes and figure out what to do next. Now the first thing I think of isn't homework, but I can justify that. I went through a long day of school so it makes sense I don't want to dive into some schoolwork right away. Watch some TV, do some chores, eat dinner and now it's time to finish my homework. Actually, just some video games before starting couldn't hurt. Alright that's all out of the way, just gotta pick up that pencil now. Hold on, I can't be a bad friend, I should see what everyone is doing and who wants to hangout. Alright it's 12:15 am, I need to start my homework... I wonder what's new on YouTube?


     That is a basic night for me and most likely many other students to some sort of degree. But why do we do this? When you think about it, it doesn't really make sense. I go to college to get good grades so I can get a degree and live a happy life; But grades don't always seem to be at the top of the priority list. Grades are very real, while video games are virtual. Yet many will become more concerned with the latest game over the latest assignment. Same goes for TV, there isn't really and reward for sitting on the couch and watching your favorite program, there can be relaxation and some intrigue but there aren't really any major consequences for not sinking teeth into a show like Breaking Bad. So why wait? Why not do the homework?

     Personally I feel it relates to the immediate distraction and gratification that modern mass media can provide. We are surrounded by amazing technology and can have access to practically anything at anytime. Is our current generation more lazy than a past one? Maybe, but there's so much to look up, so much entertainment to enjoy, and it's hard not to pull the trigger when you're glued to it. Schoolwork just doesn't have the same immediate impact and (god forbid) you have to think. It's actual intellectual work, you can't just sit idly and soak in the knowledge, you have to do it. But not only that, but the consequences and rewards aren't right there when actually doing the work. It's almost as if this disconnect in response time makes the person feel disconnected from the work and more concerned with instant reward or stimulus.

Dopamine Activity in the Brain


    At least this is the reason I think human's procrastinate, we crave reward and that release of dopamine in the brain. Homework simply doesn't fill our desires, but we doe know that we have to do it and that it is in fact vital, that's the only reason it gets done at three o'clock in the morning. I will admit that doing homework does have some sense of reward. Finishing an assignment early is great, relieves so much stress and it grants a sense of accomplishment like no other. So you know what? I think I'll do my homework early all the time now...unless there's something on TV that is.


StarCraft 2

          StarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment and released for Microsoft Windows on March 31, 1998. Many of the industry's praised this game as one of the best and most important video games of all time, and for having raised the bar for developing real-time strategy games. More than 11 million copies sold worldwide as of February 2009 and this is one of the best-selling games for computer. Starcraft's multilayer is particularly popular in South Korea, where players and teams participate in professional competitions, earn sponsorships, and even compete in televised tournaments. StarCraft 2 became the fastest selling real-time strategy game of all time, with three million sold in the first month worldwide.There are storyline on where you can play for each of the classes. There are only 3 classes. The point of the game is to use strategy and beat your opponent before they beat you.

          I used to be a competitive player playing this game everyday. I would come home after school and play this everyday. Game can take about like 20 minutes each. It all varies. There are millions of players playing right now. Especially in South Korea. I like this game a lot. And I think everyone should give it a shot. It's $40 to buy it. But I assure you it's worth it if you're a big gamer.

         For more information about this click on the link below.

http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/

League of Legends: most played online game.



           


         League of legends is a free to play competitive online game. The game was released in October 27, 2009, published and developed by Riot Games. Gamers take the roll of Summoners controlling powerful champions called into battle. The game play is consist of two team and both team has equal amount of players. The individual team must work together and win the battle. League of legends is one of the top most played PC game in the world! More than 145 countries plays League of legends in total of 70 million account, claim Riot Games. In average play hours every month is said to be over 1+ millions. Imagine that, it’s impressive. According to new data from DFC Intelligence in conjunction with XFire between July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012, putting League of Legends at the top, world of war craft second and Mine Craft third. Riot claims that League of Legends has 12 million players daily and 32 million active account monthly in 2012. Riot also said that 90% of players are male and the other 10% are females. 85% of the total of players are around the age of 16 to 30 and 60% are enrolled or have completed some college degree.

           I, myself, is a competitive player of League of Legends. On average, I play about 3 to 4 games daily on week days and 4 to 7 games on weekends if I am available. Each game play is approximately around 20 minute to an hour. In estimate, 3 hours every day times 5 plus 10 hours on weekends is around a rough estimate of 25 hours every week. There are millions of players who plays just as much or even more. The amount of hours spent on the arena is amazing which makes riots claim legitimate.

         I personally think League of Legends is an enjoyable free online game to play with friends and family or other summoners. You are welcome to give it a shot if you haven’t and roam the arena with powerful mages and knights.

For more information on League of Legends and download click the link below.
 http://na.leagueoflegends.com/