As ridiculous as this may sound in our current internet friendly world, before this class I didn’t even know what the word “blogging” meant.  At first I was a little skeptical about blogging since I wasn’t really sure how to do it, however, with some practice and interest in different articles it became very interesting for me.  It seemed to become a non-stressed assignment where you could actually write about something and give it your personal opinion. Although my blogs may not have been the best, there are a few that I happened to like…

Most Effective Blogs:This blog about Cancer was definitely one of my more emotional blogs. In my opinion this was one of the most important blogs I wrote about because it was something that was so close to my heart.  It was very inspirational to read about someone battling cancer and the strives they were taking to overcome the disease and not let it overcome them. I think that this blog was one of the most relatable topics to people because with Cancer becoming such a widespread disease almost anyone could relate to this because they know someone who has battled this illness.

Another blog I was proud of was this blog about something that is definitely becoming more widespread throughout society, homosexuality.  I thought that this blog was interesting because it was about Tim Hardaway, a professionl basketball player, who said very hurtful things about a fellow gay basketball player.  I think this was important because in our current culture we should not be as racist and segregated as past generations were.  In my opinion, there is no reason why homosexual people should be treated badly, unfairly, or in any negative way just because of their personal choices. This blog brought an important issue to the table and showed how ridiculous some of our even most admired professional athletes can be.

The final blog that I think was very effective was this blog about the importance of honeybees.  I had no previous knowledge of the significance of honeybees before reading this article, however, after I read it I had a completely different understanding of how important they are in our entire foodchain.  I think this blog brought to light how we as human beings need to be protective of nature and value everything because the majority of things, even a tiny little bee, can have major effects on the rest of our lives.

Ineffective Blog: Even though no one really likes to admit their faults, I think that my first blog about the New York Yankees player Bernie Williams was too much of a personal discussion, rather than an important topic.  Besides it being my first ever blog, and how short it was, it didn’t really prove any importance to another reader.  Although the link provides a reader with a fun website for yankee fans, it didn’t do much other than that.  I guess I got the bad one out of the way on the first try

Comments: I think that the ability to comment other people’s blogs was definitely an interesting and fun thing to do.  It was a good eye opener to be able to read about what other people found interesing and learn a little bit about our classmates personal tastes.  I also think that it was helpful to have others leave comments on my blogs.  One comment that seemed significant to what I took from the experience of blogging was this:

“Very important topic. I too went through a very close family member going through breast cancer, before she was 40! She found it herself and went for her mamogram 3 months early because she found a lump. After having both breasts removed they told her if she was to wait for her appointment(only 3 months difference), the cancer would’ve spread through out her body and would’ve killed her within the year! So what i am trying to get to is, check yourself and give monthly exams, if you find something-get to the doctor! Early detection is the best thing you can do for yourself!”Comment by Shannon — February 22, 2007 @ 10:56 am

 I think that this blog seemed rather significant because it showed how effective this blog was in relating to people on the most personal level.  It also touched on another topic that I didn’s even write about — early detection and getting tested.

Overall, I think that this blogging experience was a positive one because I was able to try something new and get my thoughts out there.  Although I don’t if this is something I will continue to do in the future it certainly is something that I have learned from.

I decided to write my blog about the importance of honeybees  and the increased rate in which they are dying that could completely devastate our human food meals.  Honeybees are so important in our food process because they “don’t just make honey; they pollinate more than 90 of the tastiest flowering crops we have.” 

“In fact, about one-third of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants, and the honeybee is responsible for 80 percent of that pollination, according to the U.S  Department of Agriculture.” Even cattle, which feed on alfalfa, depend on bees.  This is something that is completely astonishing to me because it’s something that I didn’t know.  Who ever knew that a tiny little thing like honeybees could be so important in a larger effect of so many foods?

Kevin Hackett, the national program leader for USDA’s bee and pollination program said that the honeybee problem is ” the biggest general threat to our food supply.”

Scientists are struggling to figure out what is killing the honeybees, and early results of a key study this week point to some kind of disease or parasite.  Scientists stated that, “Even before this disorder struck, America’s honeybees were in trouble. Their numbers were steadily shrinking, because their genes do not equip them to fight poisons and disease very well, and because their gregarious nature exposes them to ailments that afflict thousands of their close cousins.”

In a study of honeybees and beekeeping, “University of Montana bee expert Jerry Bromenshenk has surveyed more than 500 beekeepers and found that 38 percent of them had losses of 75 percent or more.”  This is a very significant loss and one that the general public should be worried about because it eventually will have a major impact on our daily food intake.  Scientists believe that this will not be a simple answer to find for the honeybee probelm however they are continuously working on it to develop a solution.

I’ve decided to write my blog about a late breaking story that is occuring locally.  I found an article that descibes the events in Margaretville, NY.  The events in the article describe how a 23 year old man, Travis Trim, shot and killed a New York State Trooper and woonded two others. Trim was able to steal a minivan and drive to a farmhouse in Margaretville, where he was exected to be inside. Just recently, as I was watching the local news they had reported that a fire had erupted in the house Trim was thought to be in.

Out of this controversy many people are questioning whether or not New York State should have a death penalty  law.  Currently there is not one, however many believe that if a person kills another trooper or law enforcement person then they should be charged with the death penalty.  When speaking of the death penatly the article stated, “Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said his chamber would approve legislation next week to bring it back for the killing of police officers and prison guards and in cases of deaths caused by terrorists.

Obviously there is still alot about this story that needs to be uncovered, but who should choose whether or not a person should get the death penalty? It’s definitely a terrible crime that has been commited and the trooper who was killed in the line of duty leaves behind a wife and a 7 month old infant, so should personal effects be thought of when penalizing a criminal? 

Only time will tell what the outcome of this story will be…

I chose this article “It’s like when 9/11 happened” for my letter to the editor, but I think I should write about it again because it’s an article that everyone should read. I saw it on Salon and it’s really just an interesting topic about the Virginia Tech Massacre. It’s a really sad thought, but probably true.

The article discusses how VA Tech Korean students are feeling now, since the gunman at their school was also a Korean.  Many Korean students fear their lives because Cho Seung-hui, the alleged gunman, was a permanent
U.S. resident who was born in
South Korea.  Two Korean students wanted to attend the Convocation on the Virginia Tech campus, however, friends warned them not to because “it could be a bad situation.”  The article relates back to the events of September 11 when much of our country was afraid and held the Arab culture responsible for the events of only a select group.

This sadly enough brings a negative aspect to our country. Think about it, a time when we should all pull together and support one another for the terrible event that occured, we are making other people of the same nationality as the gunman feel fear when they did nothing at all.  What kind of impression are our citizens making if we are stereotyping others and making them worried the way they are.  I would hope that those who are angered at the entire Korean culture realize that it’s an individual who made the decision to hurt all of these people, not an entire race.

I had hoped that our country could learn to join together through a situation like this, not make things worse.

This has been quite a controversial week for radio and tv personality Don Imus.  I’m sure everyone has already heard about this but he made some very inappropriate remarks about the Rutgers Womens basketball team.  I found this article on Salon that talks about head coach of the Rutger’s team and her response about the mean comments. 

In her response head coach C. Vivian Stringer said, “There is a bigger issue here, It’s more than the Rutgers women’s basketball team. It is all women athletes. It is all women. Have we lost a sense of our own moral fiber? Has society decayed to such a point that we can forgive and forget because you know what, it was just a slip of the tongue? I’m going to suggest that bright, thinking people give thought before they speak.”  I think that this is a really eye opening thing because it’s true now a day that some people really don’t think before they say something out loud. I completely disagree with what Don Imus said and I think it’s really sad that there is still this much racism in the world and that a popular man would say such hurtful things.

Don Imus has apologized several times for the things that he has said.  I think that they are supposed to meet together so that he can apologize in person. I’ve heard lately that he has been taken off of the air by MSNBC and suspended from the radio for two weeks.  I think that maybe he was caught up in the heat of the moment when he made these derogatory comments, however I don’t know if an apology is enough. What do you think?

When searching in Salon, I found a really interesting article about Florida giving voting rights back to committed felons.  A new law has been restored in Florida that will give convicted felons the rights to vote, hold elected office and serve on a jury; however, the law still says that certain types of violent offenders will still have to apply, but will no longer face a waiting period.

 It’s estimated that Florida has 628,000 felons.  This is such an interesting topic because of the controversy that Florida held with the 2000 presidential election. The article stated, “Of course, the issue of civil rights for felons was particularly heated in Florida, where just before the 2000 election voter rolls were purged of thousands of supposed felons who were, in fact, not felons at all.”  The article then went on to say, “if felons in Florida had been allowed to vote in 2000, former Vice President Al Gore would have received some 60,000 additional votes, thereby swinging the state, and the election, to Gore.” 

To me, this is really an astounding find.  The man who is now our president could very well not be serving our country right now if this law had been passed a few years ago.  I do think it is appropriate to give felons their voting rights back because I believe that each person who is a citizen should be treated like a citizen and given their rights.

As a further discussion to our topic in class today I found an article that related to reality television and the common complaints associated with it.  This author explains that “one of the most common complaints about television — that it moves society in deplorable ways with all its sex and violence and general prurience — is also one of the most fraudulent.”  This article says that Hollywood TV is really a reflection of what we are like in society and what our interests are rate the shows of what become popular. 

The author also expresses the idea that through all of the reality tv shows out there, “Extreme Home Makeover” is the one with a positive message and it says more about us as a society than other shows like “Fear Factor.”  In addressing the Extreme Home Makeover in Colonie, the author says that the vast majority of the volunteers, you will never see on TV meaning that they are looking for something else besides three minutes of fame.

As a community the author believes that if reality tv is a mirror of the people, then most people will like what they see this week.  I agree. Regardless of the meaning behind the people’s volunteering, I would like to think that this reality tv show gives us a positive meaning. 

With our ongoing discussion in class over “torture” I found another very disturbing article.  Through salon I found an article “Judge: Wife beating is normal in your country.”  This article discussed how a woman in Germany attempted to get a quick divorce from her husband because he was beating her and threatening to kill her, however in Germany there is a mandatory one year waiting period before you can get a divorce, apparently regardless of the situation.  Since the woman was a Muslim the Judge told her that the Koran allows men to casgate their wives meaning wife beating would be common.   I think the author brings up a good point… she lives in Germany, why wasn;t she brought justice?? why is her religion put against her in a way and making her succesptible to this beating when she is obviously asking for help?? 

I think this is absolutely absurd and this judge should be ashamed of herself.  There is no reason why it should be allowed for anyone to harm another person especially with the threats this husband was making.  What kind of example is this setting to other Muslim women? especially those who are being abused and are now too afraid to seek help when they won’t get any justice anyways? 

Many people would think that March 15 is just another regular day, however, to basketball fans around the world they have long been awaiting this day — The beginning of the NCAA College Men’s Basketball Tournment.  I found through Salon a blogger who is very intense about this subject, so much so that he updates it frequently throughout the day.  This article gives an update as to who won and what went on in the games about twice an hour.  CBS has full coverage of all of the games, showing the games instead of their regular program.  One thing that this Tournament has caused all over is extreme betting among brackets.  I liked this blog site because it’s a lighthearted discussion about a fun sports event.  It’s nice every once in awhile to read something out of enjoyment rather then always seeing serious news stories.

I must admit I’m a huge basketball fan and find myself filling out brackets (although I unfortunately never win) but its kind of funny to think about what a big deal this has become.  I think this year is definitely important because a local school is involved, UAlbany.  Since this blogger’s article is so frequently updated it will be interesting to see what he has to say about our home town team. 

Now I know I’m off on a tangent and this doesn’t really relate much to this topic but today a man apparently turned himself in saying he was responsible for 9/11 and many other terrorist related attacks… I saw about a 30 second news story on this (which one would think would be a major event) and I’ve seen about two hours of basketball today — it’s strange to think what our importances are in this country.

I found an interesting article through Yahoo News about Katie Couric, a well known news anchor.  This article discussed how CBS hired a new producer to run the “CBS Evenig News”.  Katie Couric was very well known for her career with the “Today Show” and left that show to be the first woman anchor on an evening news program.  The article discussed how Couric’s first two weeks of the Evening news the ratings were great and now the CBS news program is in third place behind NBC and ABC.  Many critics believe the reasoning behind the ratings drop is because Couric does more commentary rather than actual hard core news stories.  CBS hopes that by hiring Rick Kaplan, a veteran in television, their ratings will rise with the Evening News again because viewers will know what to expect.

I really enjoyed Katie Couric on the Today Show because I think she had a really great personality, however I don’t know if the move to the Evening News was the best decision for her.  I definitely think she is qualified enough, regardless of what the critics think, but personally I enjoyed her light hearted personality with the morning news.  It will be interesting to see whether or not this new producer will boost the ratings.