Some Kinda Blog

Comments on everyday issues and other blogs

     Ok, the request for the week deals with F.D.R.'s "Day of Infamy" speech or Churchill's "Battle of Brittain" Speech. We can write on one, the other, or both. Both have to do with war, and both offer inspiration for the people of the state. They both also portray their enemy as dark, sinister, and evil people. I'm not arguing, the enemies were pretty sinister, but perhaps not quite as much as the speakers said. Churchill stated in his speech that if the British people did not defend their empire and go to war, the whole European continent would, "sink into the abyss of a new dark age made more sinister". Now this comment says alot about the enemy, and demands a call for arms by the British people.

     F.D.R.'s speech has more to do with terrorism, often times one of the many comparisons to September 11th made by the people. Just as in John Ashcroft's speech to Congress following September 11th, F.D.R. was quick to point out the sudden and deliberate attacks made to the United States, and stress the need for a maintenance of peace. Just as John Ashcroft and the whole Bush organization has tried to promote throughout their war campaign, F.D.R. urged the people to do whatever it takes and spend as much time and money as possible to end the threats: "no matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their riteous might will win through to absolute victory." There was one major flaw with his speech, he promised to "make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again." He was wrong, dreadfully wrong. The double attacks on the Twin Towers prooved F.D.R. wrong, and showed that this same process used to begin World War II with the Japanese. If this did not stop the terrorists now, will repeating our steps in this war stop these evil people in the future? I have always heard that if one does not learn from history, one is doomed to repeat it. The truth of this saying is up to the public to decide.

posted by: rooster7944 at 02:21 | link | comments |

     Who hasn't heard the phrase, "Don't forget to take your vitamins?" Vitamins are an essential part of our lives. They can be taken in the form of supplements, or obtained from eating proper healthy foods. We as a people, however, neglect taking our vitamins. The web site vitamin-insite.com offers information, tips, and sale of vitamins. Vitamins are not only essential for daily life needs, they can help cure disease, boost the immune system, or provide more energy to carry out daily life.

     The people at Vitamin-Insite.com admonish those who are thinking about trying out the bogus miracle-pill manufacturers: "The vitamin industry is largely unregulated, and some unscrupulous manufacturers market their products as miracle cures, magic weight-loss formulas and the fountain of youth in a bottle. Be wary of grandiose claims." Vitamins that are essential for daily life are Vitamins A, D, E, K, C, Choline, Thiamin(B1), Riboflavin(B2), Niacin(B3), B6, Pantothenic Acid, B12, Folic Acid, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Fluoride, Iodine, Iron, Selenium, and Zinc. Most of these vitamins are included in a multivitamin, so finding a good multivitamin is of highest import.

     Some diseases are actually caused by vitamin defficiencies, such as scurvy(a Vitamin C defficiency), and depression can be treated using vitamins and herbs like St. John's Wort, Calcium, and Magnesium. Vitamins when taken in proper amounts do much good for a person hollistically, so don't forget to take your vitamins!

posted by: rooster7944 at 16:18 | link | comments |

     Once again, the time has come to review a blog of choice. Today, the lucky winner is Moonglow, writer of the blog The Jelly Donut. Moonglow is truly one of my favorite writers I have found so far, and I love reviewing her work. Her Tuesday March 15th entry entitled "Centerless" caught my eye, mostly because she began her entry with such an eye-catching phrase: "Here I am again feeling like a twinkie without its filling." I knew it had to be a good one. She goes on to relate her life-long dream of being a hero, saving anything she could. She relays stories of her past when she saved stray animals.

     Moonglow attains empathy from the audience and shows her humility in her statement, "Believe me...I am no saint.  I was doing it more for me than for anyone else.  Somehow with each animal I saved, I was saving myself." She then opens up to the audience with the introduction of her autistic son. She expresses her despair that she can not save her son, and the audience is left to sympathize. "I used to wake up in the morning with the dream that I would save him somehow.  I didn't even know what that meant.  I just knew I had to...do something.  I woke up again and realized...I am not Jesus...I can't walk on water.  And some things are not possible" she states. This is a very strong quote, and makes the audience feel her pain.

     Moonglow also proves a good point: some things can not be changed. She never waivers from the care of her son, and now lives her life not trying to save him or fix him, but just to love him and care for him. The ending of her passage provides hope for the reader as well as for the writer herself.

posted by: rooster7944 at 16:00 | link | comments |

     The writer(s) of The Snark Tank provide reviews on all new American media. From movies, to tv shows, to pop culture news, they have it covered. The most recent blog was on the new season of Survivor. Survivor, for those of you who have perhaps lived under a rock for some amount of time, or frozen in an iceberg for twenty years, is a reality t.v. show where a cast of real life people are placed on an island and isolated from the rest of the world. They are forced to live off the fruits and wildlife of the island most of the time, and sometimes are offered crazy contests that have incentives, like peanut butter, or a snickers, as their prize. Pretty humiliating if you ask me. The whole concept is to entertain the audience by letting them watch these people struggle to survive in a harsh barren world. The plus side is, they all lose weight and learn how to camp very well.

     Anyways, I am getting off topic. The Snark Tank's review of Survivor is hilarious. The writer expresses his views on the people, and holds nothing back. He tells of some lady with a tatoo, whose bra is way too big, and she is way too fat, and compares her to , "watching jello with Parkinsons." If that isn't quite the comparison! He also reviews a couple other people on the show. The whit and humor presented in the reviews of The Snark Tank, offer the reader more than just a review, but a funny, interesting one. Those reviews are way better than the ones in the newspaper! I see the new Siskel and Ebert emerging!

posted by: rooster7944 at 14:04 | link | comments |

     The site this week prompts us to comment on our recent viewing of Bowling for Columbine, directed by Michael Moore. I enjoyed the movie. He did a very good job of keeping my attention by quickly jumping from one subject to the next with transitions that were not even noticable. He also illustrated a great problem in the United States of America, gun violence. We are the number country for deaths related to firearms use. Our statistics way outnumber any country, with the closest country only being in the 3 or 4 digit stat, and us surpassing ten thousand. This is quite the statistic! He tries to explain reasons for why the United States is experiencing such a problem, however, I found that he did not clearly present his reasons. He never stated himself what was causing the problem, he just let other people guess at it. Also, his jump from subject to subject did demand attention from the viewed, but I could not see how everything he presented in his documentary tied in. His thought process seemed very convuluted and hard to follow.

     Michael Moore did establish credit on his own behalf. He showed that he was a NRA member since he was a teen, and won many sportsman awards. He also showed information behind everything, including the NRA and its current president, Charlton Heston. The major problem I saw with the movie is that he offered no solution to the problem he was attacking. This greatly weakens his arguement-it actually makes it unqualifiable to even be an arguement. I firmly believe if someone is going to attack something, they need to state the problem, show proof of the problem, state reasons why the problem is occuring, and offer solutions to the problem. Michael Moore only did half of this. Thus, as an entertaining movie, I am going to have to give it an A+, but as an arguement and social action, a D-.

posted by: rooster7944 at 13:50 | link | comments |

     Sleep is a very important ingredient to a fully-funtional person, and being a full-time college student and full-time worker at a restaurant, I know the effects lack of sleep can have on a person. I try to get as much sleep as possible, but it is very hard to corroborate with my busy schedule. WebMD Health offers explanations and advice on achieving optimal sleep. Their article, "Sleep Dos and Don'ts", not only explains proper sleep, but also gives advice.

     The four general areas of sleep hygiene included in the paper include, "our circadian rhythm, or 24-hour cycle, aging, psychological stressors, and common social and recreational drugs." The circadian rhythm is a 24-hour cycle of day and night that we tend to repeat throughout our lives. Alterations to one's circadian rhythm can throw off one's sleep cycle, and the person can become deprived of sleep. After age 40, awaking in the middle of the night occurs more often, and can produce feelings of being unrefreshed. Stessors from the day have alot of influence on sleep. When one focuses on the demands of the day and the days to follow, it becomes difficult to fall asleep. WebMD suggest a ritual, "to break the connection between all the stress and bedtime...Combining this with a period of relaxation, perhaps by reading something light, meditating, or taking a hot bath can also help you get better sleep. And don't look at that clock!" Finally, recreational drugs like niccotine, caffeine, and alcohol have profound effects on the amount of sleep one receives after their consumption. Caffeine and niccoteine cause arousal in high doses, and make an individual awake from their sleep. Combining these with alcohol can have a synergistic effect, leaving the person feeling, "unrefreshed, groggy, or hungover."

     Sleep is very important for the individual's performance during the day. "Reducing sleep by as little as one and a half hours for just one night reduces daytime alertness by about one-third." Therefore, achieving optimal sleep is of great importance. Tips for getting a good night's rest include avoidance of activities other than sleep in bed, minimizing environmental extremes like noise, temperature, or light, avoiding naps and recreational drugs like caffeine, niccotine, or alcohol before bedtime, and exercise during the day and not before bedtime (this causes the body to feel more awake). If these guidelines are followed, one is insured to receive enough sleep to be a highly efficient and effective individual.

posted by: rooster7944 at 17:29 | link | comments |

      Library man posted a short paragraph or two on illegal immigrants. I am also unsure on the stand I need to take. Like him, I believe the U.S. government can do much more to catch illegal immigrants at the border. He made a wonderful comparison to speeders, "One is that the government enforcement of immigration laws is about as effective as the cop catching speeders...How many times have you been caught when you've been speeding?  Yeah, right!" This is very true. I speed sometimes, ok, alot of times, and I have only been caught once, ironically, in my neighborhood about two minutes away from my high school. Even then, my mom "new people", so my ticket magically disappeared. Lucky me. Immigrants test the lines, they try to make a break for it, and even if they are caught, the only punishment is being sent back over the border. It is sort of like a game of hide and seek, where if the illegal aliens can get to the base (over the border and on the way to green card heaven), then they win, and if they are found, well, its back to square one.

     He then goes on to take a stance defending illegal immigrants, saying that lots of good people are trying to get into the country illegally and that he personally knew some illegal aliens. I also know some illegal aliens, both of them attended public high school with me, and graduated. They were nice people, and somehow made it through the Hillsborough County Public School System without being detected of their true identity: an illegal immigrant. How that happened, I am not sure.

     The only words I have to offer on the regulation of illegal aliens are these: we must follow our government. The U.S. government offers ways for immigrants to legally become citizens, and tries to catch all aliens filtering their way over the border. Even though they may not be the most efficient at this, when they catch one, they have to go back. People like to sympathize for the down-an-out, a good example of this is the Elian Gonzales (spelling?) case. He was an illegal immigrant. Yes, his mom died trying to get him here, but they didn't belong here, so they had to send him back. He was a cute kid, and when he grows up, if he really really wants to, he can leave his dad in Cuba and come to America to try and obtain legal citizenship. It is not the easiest task, but he can do it. As long as we follow out government, we can offer an ambiguous stance, and no one can blame anyone personally for any problems. Then we can all just get along.

posted by: rooster7944 at 17:06 | link | comments |

     So the quote for this week reads: "Exploring race helps students learn to think and write clearly." I can not think of any way that knowledge of race correlates with clear thinking and writing. Exploring race may give better guidelines for political correctness, but not for writing clearly. Just because I choose to learn about a specific race or culture does not mean it is going to help me form clear thoughts to transfer to paper, or in this case, a blog.

     I believe that people should learn other cultures, maybe to include as influence, or to write specific articles on a certain culture or race. Doing this, however, will not help the writer think and write more clearly. The key to clear thinking and writing lies in the study of English, and much review and criticism of examples of literature. The book we were required to read in class, Style:Ten Lessons for Clarity and Grace, provides much better guidelines for being concise, clarity, as well as other writing enhancements, than any study of race could offer.

     Every person of every culture, or race, or background, has the right and ability to publish ideas on any topic of their choice. There are no limitations to any free person, however, unclear writing is not limited to one race: from caucasian, to african american, american indian, asian, and any other race in between, there have been unclear writers. There is no discrimination in the world of literature, so the study of race would not help one person learn to express their thoughts on paper more efficiently, but it would provide new knowledge into an unexplored world of another, and provide insight and perspective through eyes that the writer, perhaps, would never be able to experience on their own.

posted by: rooster7944 at 16:38 | link | comments |

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