Kickin It Old School

The loud and obnoxious beeping of the alarm clock jolted me up and out of the comfortable position i sustained throughout most of the night. Its 8:45 in the morning and 45 minutes remained until my first class of the day. The lion-like mane that was my hair looked as if i had touched an electrical circuit that sent 10,000 volts of power to my skull, triggering my hair to rise in unison. I quickly bathed myself, covered my body in my newest KISS shirt, wiggled my Converse shoes upon my feet, brushed my teeth and fiddled with my hair. After about 20 minutes of getting ready, I grabbed the newly bought yellow Walkman off my desk and took off to class. In my first class our teacher showed us a VHS on the concepts of communication. He was excited to use the brand new television set that the school had just ordered only one week previous. Our professor carried on his boring lecture for an extra 5 minutes after it was suppose to let out. After my unentertaining first class I headed to the library to work on some homework for some upcoming classes. FGCU's library was equipped with the finest computers on the market. Computers had turned into a worldwide phenomenom and although they werent the prettiest and fastest machines, they certainly did the trick. The library was packed to the point where a seat was unavaiable, so i took a type writer from the front desk and proceded to write my paper that way. I ran into my buddy Steve there and we discussed briefly where we would be watching the very important USA vs. Soviet Union Olympic hockey game, which was showing on a local television channel later that night. Our conversation was cut short by the fact that he had to catch his next class. On the other hand i didn't feel like attending my last class of the day so I walked back to my dorm and immediately started playing my roommates new ATARI videogame system. Galaga was the only game he owned which was totally fine because it kept me busy for about 2 more hours. It was now 5 o clock in the afternoon and I was getting hungry. My roommate, who happens to be very wealthy, has one of the only cell phones on campus, so he ordered us pizza from a local italian restaurant. It was getting close to gametime by the time the pizza arrived. For those who didn't have televisions, the game was only being shown at the FGCU Student Union Ballroom. I caught a ride with Steve over to campus. Students filed into the ballroom one after the other. The thrilling and entertaining game lasted for about 3 hours and ended with a "Miracle". The US pulled off the upset over the powerhouse Soviet Union! Students were going crazy! After the game, Steve took me back to my dorm. I studied some Biology notes before suddenly dozing off into the night.

The Search For The Skunk Ape Tutorial

In Module 1 of the tutorial I found very basic information that most students should already know if they are at the college level. It talked mainly about where to find information on the Skunk Ape whether that be in an encyclopedia, newspaper, magazine, journal, etc. Module 2 gave a synapsis of how internet sources like Google and Yahoo, can be misleading and can get you lost while researching. Encyclopedias, library databases, and scholarly journals are definitely your best bet if you want to find accurate and up to date information. Module 3 goes into great detail on using library databases for research. Module 4 informed me about the negative effects of plagiarism. It also went in depth about citing our work. All the skills talked about in this tutorial are crucial if you want to get an A grade on your next research paper. Before even going through the whole tutorial I already knew a good amount of information regarding this subject. The tutorial did clear up a lot of other questions that I needed answered. Mrs Vallier did a good job in Comp 1 talking to us about this information. Im sure all of her classes are professionals when it comes to databases and researching subjects. I myself need to get better at using book, magazine, and newspaper sources while researching.

Avatar 3D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FcaRebb-bM
Producer and Director James Cameron really goes all out in this action packed, 3D thriller. If you are looking for a movie with special effects and 3D scenery and colors like nothing you have ever seen before then this is definitely the movie for you. Avatar is a movie about a war veteran who loses his legs in battle. As an Avatar he is given a second chance. Through his DNA he made into one of blue creatures called an Avatar. Transported to the Avatar planet called Pandorum, he is told to study about them, learn there ways and try to settle a debate they have between the humans. The more he is there the more comfortable he grows with his Avatar body and the people of the Na'vi. The humans decide to attack the Na'vi people because under one of there all important trees they have a very expensive mineral that is worth a lot of money. Overall, Avatar was the best movie ive ever seen. Go see the movie and you will see what i mean!

Coach Carter

Coach Carter, an MTV film starring Samuel L. Jackson, Rob Brown and Channing Tatum is based on a true story about Coach Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) and the Richmond High basketball team. Coach Ken Carter takes over the head basketball coaching position at a small, no named school called Richmond High. At Richmond, statistics proved that you were more likely to go to prison then go to college. From day one he took the coaching job under his rules. He made the players sign a contract saying that each player must attend class everyday and sit in the front row of those classes, they also must where suit and tie on game day and be fifteen minutes early to each practice. He believed that each player must maintain good grades and become a united team if they wanted to excel and be the best. Players immediately bought into his coaching style helping them get off to an undefeated season with only a couple games left. Carter then recieved the grades of the players after a tournament they had just won, and when he found out that most of the team had unsatisfactory, below average grades, he immediately proceeded to close down the gymnasium. They forfeited one of the games due to the low grades of the players, causing national attention throughout the community. The whole community was behind this team and didn't believe the team needed to forfeit the games due to grades. Coach Carter recieved some praise but a lot more criticism for his decision. This is a very inspirational movie similar to those such as Remember the Titans, Glory Road, and Blind Side. Coach Carter made it his job for his players not only to excel on the basketball court but also to excel in life. A MUST SEE!!

Less Privacy Is Good for Us (and You)

In Less Privacy Is Good for Us (and You), Amitai Etzioni, agrees that every person needs some sort of privacy in there lives. Privacy is an issue that many people have differences of opinions about. Etzioni believes that the doors to some private issues should be opened publicly. He thinks in the long run it will make our society better and stronger. Issues like public health and safety entail some rather justifiable dimunition of privacy. His example of HIV testing of infants is a great example of this. Many mothers are unaware they have the deadly HIV virus and since they are unaware, it is ultimately transferred and shared with the newborn baby. This is where the issue of privacy comes into play. Some women want to keep issues like this to themselves and in no way want to be told they have HIV. They can prevent there babies from keeping the HIV virus under two circumstances. The disease can be shaken from the baby if the mothers do not breast feed and are given AZT immediately. The most important factor to this is the agreement by women to be tested first.
Etzioni believes privacy should rely squarely on the Fourth Amendment. I don't necessary believe that he thinks privacy comes second. I believe he thinks that there are some issues that should remain private but there are also some issues that are private that should go public therefore benefiting not just ourselves but others as well. I agree with his statements more than i disagree.

Immokalee: From Rubul to Riches

From the late 1800s,until this present day, Immokalee is still seen by many as a small, rural community that people have never really heard of. People who moved to Immokalee quickly became in love with the agricultural haven and beautiful farming areas it provided. It was a magnet for those seeking this simple life. A new era is on the horizon for those who call it "my home." Today Immokalee is the heart of agriculture in southwest Florida and cattle raising continues to thrive as well. When Pearl Harbor occured in the 1940's, a demand for oil was imminent. Oil was found in Immokalee thus creating more jobs for the people who lived in that community. A casino was built in the Immokalee community and although people have their difference of opinions on it, it no doubt helps the community bring in much needed revenue. In order for Immokalee to expand the seminole tribe must expand as well. Change will continue to be the hallmark of the future for Immokalee.
The communities represented in this story are the seminole communities, the pioneering communities, the 20th century entreprenuers, farmers, etc. Immokalee is not that much different from where i grew up in Davie, Florida. Davie is also a small community that not a lot of people have heard of. It is very westerny as well, many people have horses cattle, and like the country atmosphere. I would say Davie is farther in development right now and they have more things to offer but i don't really see a huge difference in the communities. I believe Immokalee is a representative of the "old" American dream because the people in Immokalee live to have a family, provide for that family and they want to create a great legacy for their children to learn and excel from. The industries that drive Immokalees future definitely has to be the agriculture, farming and casino industries. So much of the community depends on the expansion of these industries. In about ten years I feel the Immokalee community will develop a lot more. I still believe it will take 15-20 years for it to be a major thriving community though. A lot of work still has to be done but people are very excited for the near future of Immokalee!

A Quilt of a Country: Out of Many, One?

This article talks about the cultural diversity in the United States throughout its many years of existense and what the people did to prevent any further damage. We didnt follow the fork in the road, we stayed on track and always looked toward keeping the American Dream alive.

The American people have been plagued yearly with many tough obstacles that we have had to overcome. Some obstacles we have perservered and some we have found defeat. But through them all we have always leaned on one another to get us back on our feet and start anew. Like a handmade quilt where every piece of cloth and linen uniquely connects itself to the other, where every end becomes perfectly knitted together; so was our country, bit by bit made perfectly. Many thought we would have folded after many controversial issues such as immigration and racism, but together we stood tall and stayed strong.