Well, faithful readers of my blog to whoever is actually reading this silly little blog of mine (besides Mrs. Powell; hi, Mrs. Powell!) - this is my final entry.
The last part of this blog assignment is to read and respond to 4 other blogs, and so I'm just going to post the links to those responses in this entry.
Blog Entry #6: Bigthink.com: Conversations about the BIG questions
What do you think we should all be doing to improve the world?
"Well the answer is love. You get the question. No we have to . . . We have to have . . . We have to understand that we are a community. We have to understand we are a nation. We have to understand we are a world. And we are all part of a greater concept than generally we have time to think through. People are working too hard. They’re caring about their kids. They’re caring about their job. They’re caring about their parents. They’re caring about Boston Red Sox. They’re caring about other kinds of issues. But we are a community, and we have to understand that we, in this sense, have responsibilities. And we have to keep them . . . keep those front and center in our minds and hope that there are people all over the world that are understanding that, and that are going to help us try and make this a better place for all." -Ted Kennedy, U.S. Senator
I couldn't agree more with Ted Kennedy's answer to what we should all be doing to improve the world - we should all be loving one another. I really do think that people need to put others first in their minds if we're going to successfully make the world a better place for all. Everybody needs to be more selfless.
On the other hand, I don't mean to be a pessimist, but I do not think it is possible for everybody to love one another; at least, not with the way the world is at the moment.
Loving one another is a concept that we are all often reminded of constantly, especially because we (the Mary Ward community) are a Catholic community. Sure, in theory, this concept makes sense... but in reality, do you honestly see it happening everywhere for everybody? I know that for a pessimist, I'm pretty optimistic about the idea, but it really is easier said than done. The world is a big place.
I think that Ted Kennedy's answer is the best answer to the question of "What do you think we should all be doing to improve the world?". I simply cannot think of an answer that's as good as his. What else could we possibly be doing to improve the world? Loving one another is very general, very broad... maybe not all of us have to feed the hungry in Africa, but it is much better than hating one another.
On another note, I really like the concept of Bigthink.com, but our dear beloved Youtube will always outshine it. When I clicked the link to view the website for the first time, I was excited to watch some intelligent, thought-provoking discussion... but I wasn't as interested in what the site had to offer as I thought I would be. It's sad, but I didn't really care for some of the issues that I saw on the front page. It took me a while to decide on a video to respond to for this blog entry.
Youtube's concept and approach is very simple, and is very open-ended for everybody... which is why its attempts to reach people will always be more successful than any 'intellectual' website like Bigthink.com. There is always something for everybody on Youtube.
Mary Ward's Art Show this year, Ec(h)o, was another success. I really wish I had some of my photos to share, but I guess I'll just note all of the highlights and whatnot that I experienced while setting the show up, while the show was going on, and while the show was being taken down.
Before the show began, most of my energy was focused on finishing that storybook in time. At first I had my doubts about finishing it in time, but I'm going to be very upfront and honest - the quest unit incentive really did the deed for me. If it was not for that extra unit, I would not have motivated and pushed my group so much (haha, sorry Iriss & Verno!). Anyway, thanks again, Mrs. Powell & Ms. Largo. :)
Not only was I trying to finish the storybook in time, but I also had my fine arts course to work on too! I was supposed to get in my 'leaf drawings' and my 'Me Tree painting' in, and I am proud to say that I got at least the latter ready for the show. The art show rush drove me mad this year. I don't remember ever being so stressed during Recollect!
Anyway, eventually the stress subsided, and the show began... and I don't know. I didn't feel the same sparkle I felt during last year's show, which is strange because I had more work in this year's show than last year's. I was disappointed that the show did not have as much work as I anticipated. Not to say the quality dwindled - there was a lot of excellent art work displayed during the show, I'm sure the Planet Cafe was very successful, and it was fun to watch people perform on the mini-stage in communications. I was also disappointed that some of my comm tech assignments - the hybrid and the collage - were not displayed because I was looking forward to seeing those up. I was actually very proud of those two pieces.
One regret I have about this year's show would be the fact that I did not get as involved as I was last year. Perhaps that was the reason why I enjoyed it far more less. I don't think I was as enthusiastic about this year's theme compared to Recollect. I recall basically living in the basement during that whole month of April and the beginning of May, and having a dozen security shifts.
I really do wish I enjoyed it more (and I also wish I got my hands on a green eco-friendly Echo shirt), but what can you do?
Blog Entry #4: Are You a Right Clicka or an iBook Flippa?
I'M A RIGHT CLICKA! But only because of their convenience and the fact that they are so affordable. Oh, and because my computer is so old, that Macbooks didn't even exist when I bought it. Nor were laptops even common. At all.
Before I did more research on Mac vs. PC and watching the video (the song is totally stuck in my head, by the way), if someone had asked me which one I preferred, I would have picked a PC.
But now after reading my friend Jessica's blog about the battle of Macs vs. PCs, and compiling some research, I'm leaning a bit more towards a Mac, that’s for sure.
Some of the pros include: - The design. Whoever says that Macs don’t have a pretty snazzy design, must be kidding themselves. - It’s fast & easy to upgrade the RAM and hard drive of a Mac.
- Built-in “iSight camera”
- Faster than most regular PCs
- Safer from virus invasions and malware, in comparison to Windows. I swear, the first time my PC got infected, I died a little inside. The first time I found out that Mac’s don’t get infected (or at least, it must be hard for them to get infected), I was screaming, “HALLELUJAH!” inside.
Already these pros are pretty much enough to convince me that Macs are worth it. However, I don’t think these pros are exactly enough for me to fully convert. Another thought I need to bring up is the fact that I am not the one buying my own computer. I don’t really have a choice in the matter. I also like to stick with familiarity. So regardless of all of these pros, I’m still going to be a PC user (that is, assuming Macs don’t take over and I’ll be forced to convert).
Although Macs seem to be more superior, I truly am a “right clicka 4 life”. Sorry, Apple.
Blog Entry #3: Facebook & Education... a New Partnership?
After reading the two articles and the comments, I really got fired up. The whole situation for the university student is completely absurd; the student was definitely in the right. The professor's punishment was definitely out of line with those charges he filed against the student. A study group is a study group, whether it's on Facebook, in a study hall... anywhere, really. There will be and always will be study groups.
It starts in the 1st grade - students always discuss assignments, no matter what. I can say this because of my own experiences. "Hey man, what's on that chem test I missed last week?" It's nothing new. I would quote one of the comments posted for the article, but there are too many good points.
Facebook has the potential to be an educational tool. It would be extremely easy to get in contact with others and to share ideas. But personally, I'd prefer for it to stay as a socializing utility. If I need help with my work, I'll just ask a friend of mine personally instead of making everything all 'public' on Facebook. If somebody wants to create an educational tool, create it elsewhere. Also, I already think that Facebook has enough applications -- you can even play games on Facebook now. I think it gets a bit overbearing, and I really just prefer simplicity.
Also, one more thing - with incidents like this one at Ryerson University, I'm not really jumping at the opportunity to make Facebook an educational tool. People need to remember that not only students have Facebook accounts, but teachers as well. I don't want to risk anything, even though I know it's just an 'innocent study group'...
Downloading music for free? I'd be lying if I said I didn't support it. I enjoy downloading all of these things (but mostly music). It's most definitely convenient for everybody. Personally, I don't really feel bad about downloading it because I still buy CDs. Often I download music to see whether or not I will like it enough to buy the CD (if it's even available), and to find new music. If I do like what I hear, I'll definitely go out and buy it. But the problem is that a lot of the CDs aren't readily available at music stores because they are not mainstream enough, and I don't exactly make online purchases...
Another problem I have is that even if I buy a CD, the major label companies suck all of the profit made from the CDs. Do you even know how much of that $12-$15 actually goes to the artist? Not enough, that's for sure. Because of this, I have extremely mixed feelings about this topic. Which one is the lesser of two evils? Why, without downloading, I probably wouldn't know enough music to be able to buy anything, really. I don't think too much of it, because as I said earlier, yes, I still buy CDs. But not everybody does.
I think that there's more to the problem than just avid music listeners downloading. Perhaps they should re-evaluate where the money actually goes... and also, all of these companies suing people? I think that's nonsense. Might as well sue everybody you know, because nowadays there's hardly anyone who doesn't download "illegally".
Now, software's another question. How on earth am I going to get my copy of Adobe Photoshop CS2?! Not only does it cost quite a bit of money, but it isn't readily available either. Sorry, but I'm not dishing out that much money for it when I can get it for free.
While completing the ecological footprint quiz, I wasn't really expecting to have a big or small footprint. Just average. I'd already taken a ecological footprint quiz for grade 9 geography, and I wasn't surprised at all about my result.
According to the quiz, the footprint I leave on Earth is 6 global hectares. In comparison to the average ecological footprint in Canada, I feel a little better about myself to have a less than average footprint (the average is 8.8 global hectares per person). When I think of it this way, it definitely makes me feel less guilty about having a footprint of 6, because I think of other people who have an even bigger one (ignorance is bliss!).However, if I compare it with the worldwide amount, I realize that the lifestyle I have is worsening the earth’s situation in the littlest ways. In the quiz, I had so many global hectares added to my footprint simply because of the food I eat, and often I don’t even pay attention to where my food comes from. Just like my home, I do not decide on this.
If I could change anything about the way I lessen my impact, I’d change the food situation. Apparently my foot print is so big due to the way I get my food. I’d also walk more, and get a smaller house.
Although the quiz makes people aware of their impact on the earth, I don’t think that the website is all that helpful in bringing about change for the future. I’m sorry to say that I believe the majority of people (like myself) are eventually going to forget about the results we received on the website, and keep on living the way we live. Most people are at a “comfort zone” and do not want to change anything and get their hands dirty. With the way our society here is today, it’s hard to be environmentally friendly without giving up what everyone wants. For example, if someone decided to start planting ALL of their food, it is not likely that many others will, and there are so many other factors to consider. If we want a change for our future, we will need a dramatic one – something that likely will not happen.
Sorry to be a pessimistic, but only a small handful of people of the people who say they will help change things for the better actually end up doing something. Talk is definitely cheap.
