Newspapers vs. Websites

The blogger wisco88 wrote a very interesting blog about newspapers vs. the internet. I wrote a comment on it. Write your opinion and see what I wrote Here

Losing TV

A fellow blogger wrote a great post about TV and what happens when we lose the ability to watch it. I left a comment so see what I wrote....TV...an addition?

I'm at Lefty!

Throughout elementary and middle school, I was always very strong in English. I was very good and reading and writing; however I dreaded math and science. Math required much more studying and hard work than writing did. I used to be able to sit down and write about anything without a problem.

My brother, who is four years older than me, was the exact opposite. He was always very strong in math and science but struggled in English. He could solve any math problem that was given to him, whether or not he had seen that material before; but he had problems writing papers.

Now that we are both in college, we have traded places. He loves to write and is very good at it. In fact, he is an English major at the University of Texas at Austin. As for me, I love math. It makes sense to me because it has an exact answer and there is no room for debate. I’m looking at being an accounting or finance major.

So how did this happen? I find it interesting as we grow our thinking completely changes. I have moved from right side of the brain to the left. It is very hard for me to sit down and write this blog, for example. To be honest, I have been sitting in my friend’s room for three hours with my laptop in my lap with a blank word document open the whole time. For my friend, she is an excellent writer. It comes very naturally to her and she writes fantastic blogs.

So how do math people make a good blog? I have written other blogs but they have not been very good. I have tried but nothing seems to bring out good conversation. Any tips?

U Wanna Txt?

I find it amazing that there was such a technology boom in my generation. From the years 1989-present, technology has soared. My brother owned the very first Nintendo in about 1990 and now in 2008 my family owns the Nintendo Wii.

Texting also shows the advancement of this generation. Walking around campus, I see everyone either talking on their cell phone or texting. Don’t get me wrong, I am a texting addict. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard my parents ask me “Why don’t you just pick up the phone and call someone…it would be so much easier!” But parents don’t understand that just sending a quick text is so much easier than picking up the phone. My logic is that calling someone just to ask what time the movie starts would be a waste of a phone call and honestly an awkward conversation.

To give the older generation some credit, my parents have learned how to text message. They still don’t understand the concept of a text message but at least they know how. What I find funny is that they treat it like an email, always signing it “love, mom” or “love, dad”.

We bought my granddad a cell phone just in case of an emergency. It is a very easy phone to use considering this model isn’t made anymore. We taught him everything about the phone and he understood perfectly. However, do you think it is out of the box yet? Of course not. He still prefers to use his phone that still has a turn dial.

There are just things in life that older generations will never understand about us (texting/cell phones, for example). Maybe that is why our generation is always criticized for doing something good, as Greenberg states in his article. Critics don’t understand why we do what we do, like play on the computer or text. It doesn’t make sense to them so they criticize us for it.

Passion vs. Praticality

One of my peers, a fellow blogger, wrote a great post about pursuing her true passions in life, or pursuing a degree with more practicality. I have strong feelings about this post since I was in a situation like this myself. See what I wrote here

The Obsession with Fame

Have you ever noticed how much we obsess over celebrities? If you really think about it, it’s insane!! We buy magazines to read about famous people and what is going on in their lives. We talk about the latest gossip with our friends about who’s who in Hollywood. Now don’t get me wrong, I am very guilty about this. Just the other week, I bought a magazine because it had Matt Damon and Patrick Dempsey on the cover and I am a huge fan of both. But why do we do this?

When thinking about it, we always talk about famous people and how glamorous it must be to have that lifestyle. But in reality, how great is it? Sure, the perks tend to be lots of money, great clothes, top-of-the-line cars, huge houses, and famous friends. However, I was talking with my friends the other day and we all decided it would be a huge burden to be in the limelight 24/7. The paparazzi would follow you all of the time. There would be no privacy to this otherwise fantastic lifestyle. Some celebrities even go crazy because of this issue.

Well, after looking at the negatives, I would not want to be a famous person in today’s world. However, if we cannot become famous, we worship the famous to a very extreme extent. Take the infamous Brittney Spears for example. We have been with her every step during her mental break down because of the magazines and TV shows broadcasting the news. We sit, we watch, we gossip-it is an ongoing cycle.

I could talk about my opinion on gawking of the famous all day. However, that will not stop me or anyone else from finding out the next juicy gossip in Hollywood. So, why do we want to know so much about the celebrities’ personal lives?

The Purpose of Blogging

To me, blogging is a great experience. I blogged last semester and I learned a whole new way to write. I was forced to think very critically and open my mind to the world around me, not just my life as a college student. Posting comments to other blogs also forced me to think "outside the box". I had form opinions of subjects that normally I would ignore. Just like Andrew Olmstead, I enjoy being able to meet other people "virtually". It adds a sense of community being able to connect and share opinions with others we have not met. Sometimes, we are intimidated to say what we think due to the person’s status, looks, etc. However, through blogging, intimidation is not a factor at all.