Blog #9: The Senses

Bombs Bursting in Air

Sight - I sit high in the stands; the crowd of figures milling around on the field; splinters of shrapnel; [cars] bumber to bumper; bombs on the horizon;
Sound - the tinny voice rings out; the bomb that exploded; rattled our shelter;
Feel - wriggling from my grip; tiny shockwaves;

Entropy

Sight - windows were leaking every time it rained; hair was turning gray; entropy [is like] the arrow of time; water flowing down a mountainside; the more pieces in the puzzle; the avalanche of disorders; Crystals and Snowflakes and Galaxies are islands of incredibly ordered beauty
Sound - the uneven vibrations screeched;
Feel - ice-cold air molecule; social institutions- like atoms and stars -decay;

Blog #8: Shooting an Elephant

Sight - Sneering yellow faces of young men; cloudy morning; the rifle was a beautiful German thing with crosshair sights; his trunk reaching skyward like a tree;
Sound- rang me up on the 'phone; we heard yells a little distance away; i heard the devilish roar of glee; the tortured gasps continued as steadily as a ticking clock.
Smell- prisoners huddling in stinking cages;
Feel- stuffy morning;

Blog #10: How to longboard

Similar to a skateboard, longboards are designed for smooth easy coasting or downhill slaloms at breakneck speeds. An experienced skater has precise balance on the board, familiarity with the board through practice, and more importantly courage. First things first you must learn if you are more comfortable riding with a "Standard," left foot in front, or "Goofy," right foot in front, stance. Once you have established your preferred stance, find a flat and smooth area to practice your balance, personally I love the feel of riding on a tennis court. The key to balancing on your board is to always keep your bellybutton over the board and keep your knees bent. Focus on these two tips until you are comfortable riding, maintaining speed and turning. As fun as it is to ride in circles on a tennis court, most longboarders love the smooth snowboarding feel of slaloming downhill roads as fast as they can, which is where courage is key. Going downhill requires nothing more than courage and practice, the only technique required to control your speed is winding back and forth making sharper cuts and curves to create drag against the pavement. After all, if you lose control you'll learn as quickly as I did that your face makes a great brake-pad when it comes time to stop!

Blog 6: The "Evil" of video games

Many critics and the media claim that public shootings in recent years could be the result of violent video games, but they are wrong. The individuals that shot fellow students at Columbine High school were known to have played Grand Theft Auto 3 and critics were quick to accuse the violence in the game for encouraging them to commit the crime. True, there is violence in the game, but if this game alone caused the men to shoot people at their school, why were they the only ones? Millions of other Americans have played this game and its sequels, but we don't see a million different cases like Columbine. The GTA series does not encourage violent crimes, in fact it clearly discourages it. When you drive recklessly or shoot anybody in the game, cops will arrest you. The more crimes you commit, the more cops that come and eventually the military will stop you. It seems obvious that violent games like GTA will not persuade individuals to shoot people in their community.

American Airlines

I certainly believe American Airlines has the right to choose whether or not to offer web pornography to it's fliers. Although, In my opinion they should filter web porn to be inaccessible to the passengers. I believe pornography magazines are offered in airport convenience stores, and besides it seems absurd that a passenger can not go the length of the flight without watching porn. Just wait till you land!

Blog #2

If Americans were made more conscious about what they were eating and how it affected their health, Americans could likely live much longer and healthier lives.

Policy Reform