Post 5: Opposing Online Articles

School Uniforms have been a hot debate for quite some time. One side argues that requiring school uniforms will diminish peer pressure when it comes to making clothing choices and it will be easier for students to get ready in the morning by eliminating the need to select an outfit for the day. The other side of the argument states that requiring school uniforms restricts the freedom of students and that the cost of uniforms is often more of a financial burden then buying "street" clothes for everyday wear.

The first article, from pbs.com entitled "School Uniforms", is a very convincing article because it includes the testimonies from students supporting the notion that school uniforms make life much easier for them. The article then goes on to show the prevalence of school uniforms and how more and more schools are electing to implement this policy. Finally, this article offers a concession to the other side which strengthens the pro-uniform argument.

The second article from Buzzle.com entitled "Facts Against School Uniforms" was much more difficult to read than the previous article. Arguing against school uniforms, this article was very informative but I found myself getting distracted by the grammatical errors instead of focusing on the author's main points. Although there were many errors, the main points were addressed and the arguments were valid.

If I hadn't have had an opinion before reading these two articles, I would have sided with the first one because it was far easier to read and the arguments were listed in a logical fashion. However, I personally do not support school uniform policy because it limits the rights of the students. Adults are trying to encourage students to behave in a mature manner and it is impossible for students to grow and learn to make healthy choices if all of their decisions are made by adults.

Peer Response to Chang's Blog

In Chang's Blog, he discussed the differences between fake shrimp and artificial shrimp; which is a mixture between cod and real shrimp.

Personally, I have never even considered the fact that shrimp are artificially made. Much like many other types of food that are modified to be able to be preserved longer or cheaper for the consumer, these artificial shrimp also contain chemicals and preservatives that, over time, can be very harmful to the consumer.

The article that Chang reviewed stated that the huge amount of artificial food is becoming a leading cause obesity in America. I do agree with this article because I think that the reason the rate of obesity is rising is because Americans have turned to a steady diet of artificial food. I do believe that it is very hard, if not impossible, to completely avoid foods with preservatives, or some artificial ingredients in today's society. I think that as Americans we should attempt to reduce our intake of these foods and eat them only on special occasions instead of on a daily basis.

As for the shrimp, I still think that they are delicious and I agree with Chang when he says that he can't taste the difference. Because I don't eat shrimp on a daily basis, I don't have a problem with eating artificial ones once in a while. The battle against artificial foods is only a matter of moderation.

Post 3: Preparing A Meal

The meal that my friends and I prepared for this blog article certainly was a wonderful one! It was a lazy Sunday night and we decided that making a home-cooked meal would be a great way to finish out the weekend. We decided on homemade mashed potatoes and chicken along with green beans and chocolate cake for desert.

To begin preparing for the meal, we all agreed on what we wanted to make and then took a group trip down to the grocery store to pick out our ingredients. Along with the main ingredients, we also purchased various salts and other things to enhance the meal that we were about to prepare. After purchasing our food, we headed down to the kitchen to begin cooking the meal. Although there were many things that we needed to complete the meal, the preparation went pretty quickly by dividing each task among the 4 of us. I was in charge of the mashed potatoes and I decided to make them a little bit more special by boiling them still with the skins on and adding a variety of extra ingredients such as cream cheese and whipping cream to make them taste even better.

After each one of us had taken the time to prepare our dish, we sat down to enjoy our delicious meal. Clean-up was again divided among the group and each person took part in cleaning up and storing the extra food. I found that I really enjoyed this eating experience because I was in the presence of people that I really enjoy spending time with and we were all able to work together to accomplish our goal. We were in no particular hurry so it was quite refreshing to take our time in preparing our meal.

I am very much in agreement with Michael Pollan when he argues that American have ruined what is originally supposed to be a wonderful experience. Instead of savoring meals and taking the time to enjoy them, we have turned into a fast-paced society that is constantly on the go. And with all of those changes has come the fatty, over-processed foods that we are so familiar with. According to PewResearch Center Publications, the number of adult Americans that claim to enjoy eating a meal has dropped from 48% in 1989 to 39%. I think that this is a very reflective trend of society in that more americans are eating much more food, but the enjoyment is just not there. Families are no longer taking the time to sit down and enjoy a meal together, but are always constantly on the go. I think that if we want to truly become happier and healthier, we need to slow down and enjoy food the way that it was meant to be enjoyed: made by hand, shared with friends, SLOWLY!!!

Peer Review of Andrew's Blog

In Andrew's latest post, he discussed the effectiveness of the "Got Milk" campaign, particularly with the addition of Miley Cyrus as the campaign's latest endorser. As I child, I can always remember seeing the latest celebrity with a milk moustache, on a poster in our school cafeteria. While the effectiveness of this advertisement dwindled as we moved into high school, it was still always present.

In this case, I believe that Miley Cyrus is a very appropriate candidate for this type of advertisement simply because she has drawn so much attention (mostly positive) to herself. This campaign is particularly effective among grade school and middle school-aged children because that is they audience that Miley is mainly trying to reach.

As she continues to expand her target audience, her advertisement could also start to have an effect on the high school population. So, I definitely agree with Andrew in saying that she is an appropriate spokesperson for the company.

Generally, I feel that celebrity endorsement is a cheap and easy way to get people to buy things that they don't really want or need but in this case, I really do believe that the "Got Milk" campaign is a worthwhile cause. If kids see the celebrities that they love and look up to making healthy choices, why shouldn't they themselves choose to live like them? Way to go celebs.

Post 4: Celebrity Endorsements

The fragrance "Halle" is one of the newest and most popular fragrances on the market today. Aimed towards women, it is a very natural fragrance and is meant to remind consumers of the beach. First released in 2009, it has become very prominent in department stores across the country.

It is not difficult to see why a woman would want to purchase this product, Halle Berry is a beautiful woman who appears to be carefree and sexy, both qualities that many woman wish to embody. She is a very successful woman and her lack of scandal in the public eye makes her even more of a worth candidate. I do believe that she is a very appropriate choice to endorse this type of product because she has many of the qualities that the main group of consumers (women) would like to have themselves. Here is a video advertisement for her perfume.

As of now, I believe that this will continue to be a very successful product as long as Halle retains her positive image in the eyes of the public. Her classic beauty will also aid in the sales of this product and that is a look that will remain classic for a very long time. Halle Berry is a wonderful choice for this product and I am confident that any other product that she chooses to endorse will be just as successful.

As beneficial as celebrity endorsements may be to companies selling products to mass consumers, they can also be negative as well. According to Jojo Moyes of The Independent Newspaper (UK), many celebrities don't even use the products that they endorse. This reflects horribly on the company selling the product eventually sales will suffer. Choosing a celebrity to endorse your product is risky business; choose wisely or you will suffer financially. As far as we know, Halle still uses her own fragrance but it seems that regardless of whether or not the stars use the products that they endorse, the public is willing to buy them anyway. This is a testimony to the "addiction" of America to celebrities. It is my personal opinion that these people hold way too much power over our lives. Afterall, they are just ordinary people, just like you and I. Some of them just make a little bit more money than we do. . . .

Personal Response to Anna's Blog

I recently reviewed Anna's Blog Post which examined the use of celebrity endorsements. In this case, Nicole Kidman is used to represent Omega watches. Because this product is very expensive and caters to a certain audience, I agree with Anna by stating that she is a very appropriate choice for this company. Nicole Kidman is a very classy Hollywood Celebrity and she is has always maintained a positive reputation. By selecting her as the face of the company, they are suggesting that the people who purchase this product are just like her: classy, independent and affluent.

Anna makes a good point by saying that representing the company with someone like Britney Spears would create a negative image for such a pricey product.

In my opinion, it is sad that celebrities have so much influence in today's culture. If a celebrity is seen with something, the rest of the public "has to have it"! However, this dependence puts advertising companies in a great position because there is every type of celebrity for every type of product. It all depends on the audience.

In the end I think Anna did a nice job of laying out the basics and addressing why Nicole Kidman is an appropriate choice to represent Omega watches. Personally, I hope that we can all learn to think for ourselves and eventually learn to do what we actually want to do, not what the media tells us to do.

Demonstration Speech Self Evaluation

Overall, I really enjoyed my demonstration speech and I found preparing and delivering it to be a very positive experience. When I watched my speech after giving it, I was happy to find out that I didn't leave out any important material and my explanations of the processes that go into making a clay cup were clear and concise. Throughout the speech, I could hear myself pretty well most of the time however there were times when I was demonstrating steps that I had my head down and it was difficult to hear me. As always, I could have used more eye contact but I thought the amount of eye contact I had was appropriate within the context of the speech. In the end I was very pleased because even thought I felt nervous at the beginning, I didn't think that that came across in the video. The only major aspect of my speech that I would change at this point would be increasing my volume and using a bit more eye contact. Other than that, I appeared confident and the explanations given were easy to understand.

In terms of my visual aid, I believe it was very effective in helping me communicate the steps of making a clay cup. It was a bit hard to see the different steps at times just because the slab of clay was on the table but it was very helpful to have all of the materials there. Next time, I would choose to hold up the pieces more often so that the audience could see them better or maybe I could pass around some finished pieces so that my classmates could have a better idea of what is going on.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed this speech experience and I would definitely choose to give another speech on this topic again. It is something that I am really passionate about and it was a lot of fun to show my classmates. I feel much more confident in my speech delivery skills and I look forward to improving those skills during our next speech.

Peer Response to "LSC Blog"

In my first peer response, I reviewed a blog posting on "Real Food vs. Fake Food" written by one of my classmates. In this blog, the food of choice was chicken noodle soup. Dominique compared the classic taste of homemade chicken noodle soup to the canned convenient form that we find so often today. This was one of those foods that I hadn't even thought of as being "fake" because it is the form that I grew up with. I thought that Dominique did a nice job of listing some benefits as well as drawbacks to consuming only the canned version. The additive MSG has been proven to cause weight gain and even though it's primary purpose is to enhance the flavor of the food, it is much less healthy than the real version.

The article attached to the post also did a nice job of reinforcing the notion that MSG is a poor choice of a food additive, even though is is a popular flavor enhancer. It was an article that came from a credible source and the information inside was pertinent to the article.

I personally agree with Dominique in that there are so many foods that are artificial now. Sometimes it is even hard to remember what the "real" version of the food tasted like. The side-effects of the MSG is also another reason that modified foods are not always the healthiest choice. Ultimately, the purpose of Pollan's article was just to make readers think in a different way. I believe he was effective in doing so because now I can think of dozens of different foods that have changed altogether. And I don't know about you, but I think I could go for some homemade chicken noodle soup!

Post 3: "Real Food" vs. "Fake Food"

Many Americans have made the switch from wheat to white bread and it is so commonplace today, that most of our generation has grown up with white bread. Advancements in science have made it possible for bread that used to be made solely out of wheat plant, to be created without the grainy texture. Those who decide to make white bread a part of their daily diet would say that it has a lighter, fluffier texture. There is a difference when it comes to taste but it is all about personal preference.

In comparison to it's natural counterparts, white bread has been stripped of the many nutrients that wheat bread contains. Although it is enriched for added nutrition, it simply does not provide the health benefits that wheat bread does due to the fact that the healthy parts of the wheat plant (the bran and the germ) are removed during processing. According to Dr. Oz on Oprah.com, whole grains are absorbed much more slowly by the body which means that they keep you fuller, longer. Wheat bread made of 100% whole grains has even been proven to lower levels of cardiovascular disease. So in the long run, although many prefer the taste and texture of white bread, it does not contain the neary the amount of nutrients that wheat bread does.

Personally, I think that there is nothing like the classic taste of good old-fashioned peanut butter and jelly on a nice slice of white bread. I think that the major reason that I decided to make the switch was due to tradition and also flavor preference. I think that this is also the reason that many Americans have remained in favor of white bread. It is doubtful that we will return to the sole use of wheat bread across America but the latest health crazes may leave people searching for the more healthy alternative.

Post 1: In Defense of Food: Agree or Disagree?

The way it all began. . .

The main idea of Michael Pollan's Book, In Defense of Food, is not to undermine the food industry, but merely to examine how American's have reached this point in terms of health and nutrition. He argues that we, as a society, have gone from ignoring traditional foods and methods of preparation to depending on artificially-processed foods foods containing all of the "necessary" nutrients. By reducing the foods we eat only to their "valuable" nutrients, we may be missing out on many of the benefits that come from ingesting the food as a whole. For example, if the vitamin C in an orange was all that was extracted from the fruit, the body would be losing many of the health benefits gained if the fruit were to be ingested as a whole.

According to Pollan and echoed by Dr. Drex Earle, Ph. D. in "The Age of Nutritionism and Pitfalls of the Western Diet", American's are constantly trying to come up with the newest and healthiest way to eat when in reality, we should be enjoying our eating experience much like the French. According to the French Paradox, meals are enjoyed and the eating experience is savored. Following this tradition also leads to much lower incidences of cardiovascular disease and obesity. So even thought the French may not be approaching eating the "correct" way, their ideas seem to be much more functional and healthy than the traditional American diet.

Even so, Pollan urges audiences to eat "real food" and to avoid products that make health claims. He states that "a health claim on a product is usually a strong indication that it is not really food". And how true that statement is. It is increasingly difficult to find food in the grocery store that has not somehow been fortified or altered in some manner but in agreeing with Michael Pollan, I feel that the best route for Americans is to abandon all of our fake, synthesized, so-called "foods", and return to what we have known for hundreds of years. Even though we may not be squeezing every nutrient we can out of these foods, it has kept us alive and well so far, and will continue to keep us healthy in the future.