My Appreciation of Change

My Appreciation of Change

 

The communities we grow up in tend to define us as the people we will attempt to be as we go through life.  These communities are within our family, friends and our cities/towns.  We are raised with different values based on the communities we are a part of, and appreciate different things based upon those same ideals.  It is what makes us unique, and what brings us together.  We do not necessarily have control over where we are raised, but have the opportunity to decide where we will live as we raise our own children, or gain experience from life.  I moved to my small town of 5,000 people in Preston, CT when I was 11.  I moved from Brick, NJ, growing up on the beach and loving every second of it, immediately feeling trapped in a town that had one stoplight, one gas station, a little red schoolhouse, and I was about 30 minutes from the beach.  It was a reality check to see farmers actually milking cows and understanding the hard work that was necessary to make the farms that help guide the country actually work.  Then 7 years later, I was led to the opportunity to change me geographical location again.  Initially I was drawn to big cities, especially several schools in Boston, but could not see myself living there, loved to visit, but not live.  This led to me to schools outside of big cities, while still being close to home, leading me to Sacred Heart University.  It resided in a nice town of Fairfield that had a great reputation on my side of the state, and I expected it to be beautiful.  I once again experienced a reality check-- I realized I was only half a mile from the biggest city in CT, and one of the most struggling ones as well.  I knew of Bridgeport, as it is often on the news for violence and people trying to find a way, but did not realize its proximity to where I would be going for the next four years.  It was a culture shock visually, buildings upon buildings lining the run down streets, with some so deteriorated they no longer had roofs, or had suffered a fire and there was no motivation to rebuild or knock down what was left.  At home, the community gathered immediately to help a family who lost their home, remembering their dog’s lives and raising money to build a new home.  I had obviously seen these things before traveling-- but now I felt connected, it was now a piece of my community.

             Home for me begins when I exit the highway, turn right and make my way toward town, down a wide country road, welcomed by a ‘Welcome to Preston est. 1612’ sign, reminding me I am ‘almost’ home.  “Almost’ home meant I was two left turns, a right turn down my driveway, and approximately 6 miles from my front door!  Timing this route could nearly be impossible, at times I might find myself behind a tractor, or in a line of vehicles with out of state license plates heading toward one of the casino’s that lie just outside of my town, or just enjoying the drive with my windows down and the aroma of ‘cow manure’ --- if you can consider it an aroma.  Preston has a population of about 5000, but every day there are many people just traveling through on the main road to get to the casino.  The two main intersection roads in town meet at the firehouse, leading you to the center of town.  There is one gas station, a strip of stores, a convenience store, a bank, and a feed and grain store.  Right next to this is the elementary school, which is soon to be the K-8 school for Preston.  Behind the elementary school is the bus depot, and the biggest farm in Preston directly to the left of that!  Everything is close, but far at the same time.  We are surrounded by larger towns with big grocery stores, but it takes about 20 minutes to get there

          Now, as a Nursing major I find myself traveling daily to Cambridge Campus, but driving their every day still allows me to have more gas at the end of the week than I ever would at the end of the week at home.  Preston does not have their own high school, neither do seven other towns around us, so everyone has the option to choose where they go.  Most choose to go to NFA, Norwich Free Academy.  This was about 17 miles from my house.  I enjoy being so close to things now.  Being able to drive a couple miles down the road to the grocery store is a nice change.  I have become much more comfortable with Bridgeport now that I have been here for a couple years, but at first, it was nerve wrecking, simply because it was not my community or my culture.  This scene is much different from what I am used to.  As I explored Bridgeport for this project for instance, I experienced interesting things.  First, the real hidden beauty in Bridgeport.  The architecture in some areas is amazing, the views of Long Island Sound from some of the parks, but the parks are run down with graffiti and bars barring people from getting in or vandalizing the area, more than what has already been done.

          Down the road is a sort of sectionalized housing, with rows of buildings the same color and the feeling of despair throughout the community.  That was the most shocking -- it feels like a struggling place.  Feeling this makes me wonder how it must be to live here, yet do they know this is a struggling life?  The people of these communities are born into these situations, and do not know any different.  Similarly, some have or feel they have no chance to escape the situation they are living in, while others simply have no hope.  

              This is so very different for me.  I wonder why this happens and then reflect on the fact that there are over 6,500 people unemployed in Bridgeport, and that is as of 2000.  There are approximately 33,000 families, 7549 of which have both parents working, and a median income of 39,571.  The median income of Fairfield County is over 70,000.  There is money here, but not in the places, that needs it most.

     Another image that resounds within me is that of this homeless man.  I did not want to be too creepy and try to get a better picture, but he was eating his soup or whatever it was, so slowly and carefully.  Almost as if, he just never wanted it to end.  Standing outside the liquor store, with clothes that look like they have not ever been washed, I wonder what his story is.  By me, in Norwich you might find one or two homeless people, living under the bridge.  Here it seems they are a normality, society doesn’t care they are there, and they don’t care if they are seen because they have no voice left and have nothing else to lose.  He had a couple backpacks in a shopping cart on the other side of the door and he would walk back and forth holding his soup and pause – I wonder what he thinks, how he goes on every day.  

          As I have begun to pick apart Bridgeport and Preston visually. I thought it was important to bring out some of the statistics that seperate them even further. For instance the population of Bridgeport is 137,298 , whereas Preston is a mere 4,995 strong! This obviously contributes to the amount of families that exist, the median incomes, unemployment rates, and the amount of people in the workforce in general.

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This is the Preston Trading Post.  It was actually a trading post for many years when
Preston was first established.  Today it has become sort of the local furniture store,
However, items are ordered through catalogs.  It is also the wood furnace place, the
odds and ends store as well with different trinkets.  This is also the beginning of the
road my house is on!  The key landmark guiding all who visit that they are on the
right path:)

The amount of people in Bridgeport that are unemployed, 6,682, exceeds the amount of people that live in my town, with those unemployed in my town equaling 85. 
It is very common in Preston that one of the parents stays home, or has a part time job; with increasing amounts of both parents working over the years, yet the number of families with both parents in the workforce is approximately 145 out of 1,358 families and 1,286 people not in the workforce at all.  In Bridgeport, this number is much more dramatic with 7,549 families having both parents in the workforce, out of 33,042 families, and a hugely more significant number of 40,409 people not in the workforce at all. 
               The piece that completes the puzzle in a sense of understanding why the quality of life is so different is that the median family income in Bridgeport is 39,571, a number that is 48,000 dollars less than the median family income in Fairfield County (77,690).  In Preston, the median family income is actually slightly higher than the New London County median salary of 59,857, at 62,554.
In Preston, there are many entrepreneurs, but we also have large companies around that sort of fuel the economy.  Farms are not as big of moneymakers as they used to be, but we are lucky enough to have Electric Boat, 2 casinos, Pfizer and many other companies that provide stimulation for the area.  We are close to major towns, but most of Southeastern, CT is made up of quiet farm towns with people that go about their day as they need-- to provide for their families, there is not much of a distraction from those ideals.

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Almost every teenage girl starts her first job here!  It is Buttonwood Ice-cream
Farm.  People come here from hours away, especially in the summer when
they have the Sunflower for Wishes; they grow thousands of sunflowers, and then
sell them, as well as have hayrides and raise all the money for Make A Wish.
They raise incredible amounts of money, and everyone is drawn to the amazing
homemade ice cream they make, right in the back, from the milk of their own
cows.  I myself had the opportunity to help when I worked here. 
It is the best ice cream around, and on a nice summer day, each of the 7 windows
will have lines all the way down to this stonewall in front, all day!  Delicious!

        Bridgeport is in a much different area, where they have a huge amount of people in a bigger city, but an area that does not necessarily have huge corporations that can help out the little man. Fairfield county is very wealthy, but much of that wealth is divulged from jobs and professions that stem from New York City, wall street, or high profile jobs that require years of education. For the kids in the Bridgeport, as a result of their parents working hard to provide for their families, are not always given these opportunities because they are forced by natural law to begin working at a young age to help the family with bills. I never had to experence these things, though I had a job at 16, I was able to keep my money for myself or to pay for myself to do things. 
Though I could never picture myself living in Bridgeport, I am sure that a Bridgeport teen could never imagine themselves in my situation either. These stats really make me think I am fortunate to be where I am from, and for my parents to have been as succesful as they were in establishing their own business, but I cannot say that a Bridgeport teen would want to change their life because perhaps they appreciate all that they have, or could not picture their life different from living close to everything they need.
         This is when I am grateful for going to school close to an area such as this; these images remind you of the individuals in this world who have nothing and still get up every morning.  I hear people complaining that they cannot get the newest BMW or the nicest electronic, when people do not have clothes to wear.  My small town of Preston sometimes leads me to feel sheltered, though I volunteered at the soup kitchen in my youth and my parents provided thanksgiving dinners to the needy throughout my life, I have never experienced poverty to this level.  When a family’s home is lost, the entire community rallies to build a new home and provide the family with shelter and clothes to wear, here I homes that are torn apart daily, and instead of doing something, it seems to be more of an advertising opportunity.  They put up large signs to get the attention of others that may have suffered the same fate, and this is right off Main Street near the hospital, not even deep into Bridgeport.  This is a very different situation for me to see -- experience that my new ‘community’ has provided, helping me appreciate more the community, I have at home.  My service learning in a local school allowed me to understand and appreciate this culture even more.  When I was in elementary school we were lucky enough to have a new school built, but it was not necessary to have a guard at our entrance, or security guards in the hallway.  In Bridgeport it is.  Not all of the children experience the same youths, but many are forced to grow up very quickly or do not have the opportunity to experience a full youth as I did.  Some of these children have barely been out of Bridgeport, and I have been able to travel to countries near and far.  How is this fair?              

              The point of this essay of course is not to compare financial situations; I am just pondering the point behind it all.  I myself will never have the total and complete answer, for some it is if you work hard, you deserve it and if you do not you will never get it, for others it is our system’s fault that the cities are the way they are and the suburbs are so successful.  For me the answer has simply become -- play a role in their life.  Volunteer when you can and just show someone similar to the homeless man on the street that there is hope, and there is someone that cares for him.  I have found that for myself, my small town background of everyone working at the same ice cream shop, and graduating middle school with 48 kids in my class, has led me to understand that though I am lucky, I cannot be ungrateful.  Our community at Sacred Heart University, built upon the foundation of giving back has driven me to do so.  I am grateful for all of it, my small town back roads and our one cop town, to driving down Main Street in Bridgeport full of different religions and cultures.  It should be appreciated.  Because no matter how different the areas we come from are, we all have the same goal and desire in life, to be happy and healthy, and it is our responsibility to give to those who cannot find it themselves, or feel there is no hope left at all.

Preston v. Bridgeport



This is the Preston Trading Post.  It was actually a trading post for many years when
Preston was first established.  Today it has become sort of the local furniture store,
though items are ordered through catalogs.  It is also the wood furnace place, the
odds and ends store as well with different trinkets.  This is also the beginning of the
road my house is on! The key landmark guiding all who visit that they are on the
right path:)

As I have begun to pick apart Bridgeport and Preston visually.  I thought it was important to bring out some of the statistics that seperate them even further. 
For instance the population of Bridgeport is 137,298 , whereas Preston is a mere 4,995 strong! This obviously contributes to the amount of families that exist, the median incomes, unemployment rates, and the amount of people in the workforce in general.
The amount of people in Bridgeport that are unemployed, 6,682, exceeds the amount of people that live in my town, with those unemployed in my town equalling 85. 
It is very common in Preston that one of the parents stays home, or has a part time job, with increasing amounts of both parents working over the years, yet the number of families with both parents in the workforce is approximately 145 out of 1,358 families and 1,286 people not in the workforce at all.  In Bridgeport this number is much more dramatic with 7,549 families having both parents in the workforce, out of 33,042 families, and a hugely more significant number of 40,409 people not in the workforce at all. 
The piece that completes the puzzle in a sense of understanding why the quality of life is so different is that the median family income in Bridgport is 39,571, a number that is 48,000 dollars less than the median family income in Fairfield County (77,690).  In Preston the median family income is actually slightly higher than the New London County median salary of 59,857, at 62,554.
In Preston we have large companies around that sort of fuel the economy.  Farms are not as big of money makers as they used to be, but we are lucky enough to have Electric Boat, two casinos, Phizer and many other companies that sort of stimulate the area.  We are located close to major towns, but most of Southeastern, CT is quiet farm towns with people that go about their day as they need to to provide for their families, there is not much of a distraction.


Almost every teenage girl starts her first job here! It is Buttonwood IceCream
Farm. People come here from hours away, especially in the summer when
they have the Sunflower for Wishes, they grow thousands of sunflowers, then
sell them, as well as have hayrides and raise all the money for Make A Wish.
They raise incredible amounts of money, and everyone is drawn to the amazing
homemade icecream they make, right in the back, from the milk of their own
cows.  I myself had the opportunity to help when I worked here.
It is the best ice cream around, and on a nice summer day, each of the 7 windows
will have lines all the way down to this stone wall in front, all day! Delicious!

Bridgeport is in a much different area, where they have a huge amount of people in a bigger city, but an area that does not necessarily have huge corporations that can help out the little man.  Fairfield county is very wealthy, but much of that wealth is divulged from jobs and professions that stem from New York City, wall street, or high profile jobs that require years of education.  For the kids in the Bridgeport, as a result of their parents working hard to provide for their families, are not always given these opportunities because they are forced by natural law to begin working at a young age to help the family with bills.  I never had to experence these things, though I had a job at 16, I was able to keep my money for myself or to pay for myself to do things.  Though I could never picture myself living in Bridgeport, I am sure that a Bridgeport teen could never imagine themselves in my situation either.  These stats really make me think I am fortunate to be where I am from, and for my parents to have been as succesful as they were in establishing their own business, but I cannot say that a Bridgeport teen would want to change their life because perhaps they appreciate all that they have, or could not picture their life different from living close to everything they need.


I have put some more pictures in of my area, I am working on getting pictures of Bridgeport, it is a little bit more difficult because at times I feel a little creepy taking pictures with tons of people around watching me! Haha but I will share with some thoughts as I compile them.

Welcome to Preston!

Good ole Preston!

Over break I was able to take some pictures of my small town. Being that we are entering the summer, you are almost always guaranteed to end up behind a farmer on his tractor traveling through town, as my intro picture so nicely shows you! "Town" for me consists of one real stoplight, one gas station, a firehouse down the road, a small convience store and a Feed and Grain store where you can find all of town on a Sunday afternoon! Next door is the biggest farm in Preston, Woodmansee Farms, next to our elementary school. When I attended our elementary school we had about 11 classrooms with an old gym, and it literally looked like an old school house, they have upgraded quite a bit since then! Our school stands alone in the middle of town, no buildings around it, except the bus depot that sits behind it, one main road that runs in the front, very different from the Bridgeport schools where students walk home every day! I will add more with some more blurbs about my town as I collect and go through them, and begin my comparison of Bridgeport.  It feels like I live a million miles away from this area!

Finding Meaning in Loss...

Going into sophomore year of High school I lost one of my very good friends, Larry, to sudden cardiac arrest. He was fifteen years old and one of the healthiest and most active kids I knew, truly an inspiration to all he met. It was very hard for me and my friends, and our entire highschool communit I deal with his death. But instead of just moving on we immediately knew we needed to do something in his honor to make sure is situation that may have been prevented by a piece of equipment never happened again. I have embedded this video my classmates and I made, which we won a contest for, and it became the face of a national organization for a year. I am not personally in the video but they are dear friends of mine from highschool and we all worked very hard for all the video discusses. My group of friends and I along with an incredible advisor, along with Larry's parents worked diligently for 2 years to get legislation passed to help prevent another family and group of friends from feeling the pain we felt, and still feel today. I just hope to make all of you aware of how important it is to become AED and CPR certified because something like sudden cardiac arrest does not discriminate or hit certain age groups. We all serve each other and ourselves and it is important that we can always be prepared to help those around us as we would want those around us to be able to help us

Suu Kyi wins Myanmar election

I wanted to share this article with the class.  I am not sure many people are aware of the situation but Myanmar had been under military rule for about 50 years, with no existence of democracy in the country.  Suu Kyi is a woman, nobel peace prize winner, and the opposition leader who actually won a seat in the Myanmar Parliamentary today.  She actually had won a seat in 1990, but instead of giving her the seat the government placed her under house arrest and refused her any power or rule, sending a signal to the country.  Suu Kyi bravely continued her fight to bring democracy to the country and break down the barriers existing between Myanmar and the rest of the world.  She began campaigning for this position in 2010 and her victory, despite the suspected rigging of voters and lack of strict system- partly because of the excitement of the country to vote- she had at this point been awarded a seat, with an overwhelming margin of victory.  This is a huge step for this country, providing incredible amounts of hope for the citizens and their future, as well as symbolic for the world, not only was a woman able to achieve this, proving that strength and perseverance are essential to success, and also the hope for democracy in the world today.  I encourage you to read the article, Party: Suu Kyi wins Manmar election to learn more about this country and this brave woman's situation, and if not I hope I was able to tell you about something you  may not have known about :)

Photo/Final Essay

My interest lies in utilizing pictures of my hometown and pictures of Bridgeport, comparing the areas via poverty level and accessibility of needs, though very different areas they are less than an hour apart.  I am from a very small farm town in southeastern CT, where there are long windy roads and the scenery is beautiful, we have one gas station, a small convenience store and one restaurant in 'town' for us. Depsite having the opportunity to travel and see different areas of our country and the world, I really have never experienced or seen poverty first hand as it is in Bridgeport.  I think doing a photo essay using photos to express the differences, in addition to words that would express facts and reflection on the issues that clearly exist with such drastic differences existing in such a small distance.  Obviously this is clear just from Fairfield to Bridgeport, but I love where I am from and would love to be able to share it, while also highlighting important issues that we should be aware of.  Any feedback would be great, thanks!

Comments on my Hitch piece

Just wanted to put a post up letting everyone know that my piece on Christopher Hitchens is accessible on the left side of the page.  You are more than welcome to leave comments directly on the page, or here if it is more convenient! Thank you for any feedback :)

Photo Essays

I wanted to follow up my previous post with some examples of photo essays used by magazine sources.  TIME especially utilizes these, there are several examples of different takes on the world and situations involving the different areas explained through these essays- if your interested take a look :)

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519,00.html
- what the world eats

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2061413,00.html
-protest/rage in Syria
http://www.sweet-juniper.com/2009/07/feral-houses.html
- a bit of a different approach involving nature and feral houses in detroit

There are many more, they are becoming increasingly popular due to our love for our technology and are great ways to tell stories, when words cannot describe something seen!

Second Half of the Semester

After looking around the internet and brainstorming throughout the week I think I would like to attempt an essay more creative as suggested.  I am intrigued by the idea of a photo essay specifically.  I have done some internet research and it is interesting the approach individuals take toward it, and the powerful message or interesting message that is often delivered as a result of the placement or structure of the images.  I am not entirely sure of what I would like to focus on yet, I would like to get creative perhaps in comparing something, two areas, situations, through pictures, as they say pictures say a 1000 words.  I am still looking around and doing research on where exactly I will focus, but I am excited for the opportunity to take on a bit more creative writing aspect.  I am enjoying the ability to avert from the traditional structured academic essay that we are so used to writing and think it would be a great experience to dive into a new area!

My meeting with Christopher Hitchens

I anxiously tap my heel on the hardwood floor while sitting at a table at a fine restaurant in Manhattan, near the office and New York home of Christopher Hitchens.  He has recently become an official U.S. citizen, at the age of 58, and just today spoke of how great this nation was, despite being attacked for being a non-believer.  He has yet to find out he will develop cancer soon and recently quit smoking, only to begin again in 2 short years when he writes his next memoir Hitch-22.  I am awaiting the arrival of a man I am intrigued immensely by.  I go over extensively the questions I may ask him, how do you defy the odds and stand your ground, how do you write so fearlessly; what is your opinion on Rick Santorum? (Knowing the likely answer, I still would question to see/hear the reaction!)  The questions pile up; I wonder how I will pick the brain of such a multifaceted man.  I nibble on the bread, just barely as my nerves are getting the best of me, wondering if he will even show, do friends of friends actually show up at dinners? 

Soon I hear a bit of commotion from behind, a man with a British accent speaking briskly with a hearty laugh; I turn of course to find Hitchens talking it up with the maître-d’.  When I made the reservation, I was told that he enjoyed this restaurant, but of course, he would be what seemed like best friends with every person who worked there, immediately requesting that the best bottle of red wine be brought to his table.  He has a sport coat on, with a striped button down shirt, the top two buttons unbuttoned, with his hair terribly combed over like usual, with a bit of a wave to it and reddened cheeks.  I am in awe; to me he is such an out of this world person, likened to big foot in my mind.

As he arrives at the table he introduces himself to me, I feeling inferior, am an eager friend of a friend receiving the opportunity to meet with him, in this case even dine with him.  Hitch welcomes me with a huge smile on his face, I nervously shake his hand, mine clammy his hand feeling hardened from the thousands of cigarettes he has smoked over his lifetime, yet expressing a sense of gentleness as well.  As we take our seats, he asks to make sure I had not been waiting long.  He quickly explains that he was held at his office by a phone call of a colleague picking his brain on the role Prince Charles will play when he becomes the King of England.  His opinion of course is known and with a quirky laugh and a snarky comment that indicates his belief of his uselessness, I begin to laugh as well.  My nerves have vanished, I see his 5 foot 9 stocky build and realize he is just another person, though intimidating on television and in his writing, he is a caring person that welcomes me as a guest at his table, rather than the other way around. 

I wondered before he smiled and welcomed me graciously if he would bring up the fact that he had about six interviews on different news networks today, or be in a bad mood as a result, perhaps showing the demonizing anger his writing sometimes perpetuates, or others portray him to have.  However, despite the anger I saw in his eyes toward the woman on the news this morning who challenged him so fiercely, he brings no anger and resentment to the table with me.  I then quickly realize the set of questions I struggled to accumulate did not matter they were frivolous.  The conversation began to  flow freely and quickly as it would, beginning and ending with a bit of quirky sarcasm that is fluent to him, with the help of red wine, I knew a truly wonderful dining experience had just begun.

Adele - Someone Like You

So the boy in this video, Charlie, is one of my roommates friend from home and his voice is amazing! I am a HUGE Adele fan so I was skeptical at first but I love this rendition of it.   They are college students like us, and do these on their own. They actually appeared on Ellen for it a few months back for this song and in January for their Need You Now video togther. He has other songs on his own as well- I encourage you to check him out, I enjoy his music and hope others do too. Enjoy :)

My P.I.

As I research and learn about Christopher Hitchens, I have found it useful to utilize YouTube to truly grasp the presence he has.  In addition to these videos of his various antics, I have also found some sites that I believe will be useful in formulating my paper on him. 
One of the best so far is a site referred to as Hitchens Zone, which compiles many of the articles he himself had written over the years from topics on Iran, to Sarah Palin's presence. As well as articles others have written about his work during his life and postmortem.

Another site that does a similar job of compiling different topics he has touched upon is found on The Browser, a site that compiles many of the articles around the web that it finds to be the most interesting. 

Christopher Hitchens wrote for Vanity Fair, and here is an article that he writes about Jacqueline Kennedy , which I simply just found interesting, it is a reaction piece to newly released conversations with Arthur Schlesinger Jr. 

I have just begun to divulge many of his ideas and thoughts that he possessed, these are the sites that I have found to have the most information, now I just need to reflect on what I read and choose a direction to follow him in. I suppose this is a task easier said then done.

Observations Around Me

High heels and a slicked back pony tail make the young woman look like she means business, clearly determined  to achieve the task shes set out for. Does this girl think it is spring already with those strappy sandles  and light washed capris on? It is still 30 degrees outside and supposed to snow tomorrow! I am jealous of the girl in sweatpants that just walked by, she looks more than comfortable, no judging here.  The little curly haired brunette girl with a pink headband, white stockings and adorable pink dress is clearly excited to hand out her valentines to her classmates next week, discussing intensely with her mother which ones she will decide to purchase. Finally the old man that walks quietly and slowly, with a little hat and a cute little sweater, he holds the door for all that walk in behind him, polite as can be.  His appearance and actions make me question the thought that chivalry his dead, perhaps the young men walking past him as he holds the door can learn a lesson from his silent actions and pay it forward or remember to do so for others throughout their own life.

Hitch in Action

Christopher Hitchens is quite unique in many ways.  Reading his articles and watching clips of him can be mind perplexing, hysterical, and quite blunt, but one can always walk away learning or developing a new thought on that topic after reading or watching him.  I added a few videos of interviews with/of him, one is quite humorous showing his very blunt side as well as his ability to just say it like it is.  The other two videos discuss issues that are quite deep, yet at some point there also seems to be humor, just because that's Hitch I suppose.  Hope you enjoy his crazy/interesting/funny character that he embraces like no other!

"Name one" - Hitchens on Hardball

When Hitchens Gets Furious

Christopher Hitchens: No Deathbed Conversion for Me, Thanks.

A video to make you laugh- I Gave My Kids a Terrible Present

I know we are past the christmas season, but I am not sure how many of you have seen this. Some of the kids reactions are so funny and cute, while others are a little shocking (Yet still entertaining)! I also enjoy the trick or treating one, hope you enjoy the kids reactions as well and get a chuckle from it!

A heart-warming little girl

I stumbled across this article as I was poking around the health section of MSNBC today, and I was shocked at her story.  Allanah Shevenell is a 9-year-old girl who received a six organ transplant, the first of its kind in New England, and the first ever esophagus transplant in the world.  She is finally returning home after 3 months away, and though she is still on a feeding tube and TPN, she is integrating well back home.  The article is just a true testament to how far health science has advanced, and how important something as simple as a good attitude, as well as some incredible surgeons, can be to healing quickly and properly.  It serves as a reality check also, when we think we have had a bad day because we are overwhelmed from work or stress of friends, imagine being this 9-year-old girl, who at her age has already had to undergo an intensive surgery process, be away from home for more than 3 months, and still unable to consume real food.  She is a wonderful success story and her story excites me for what I have left to see as I enter Nursing field on my own, being able to experience and see such miracles happen every day.

Christopher Hitchens

I have chosen the late Christopher Hitchens as the public intellectual of my choice because he really intrigues me as a person and writer, an intellectual of his own.  Christopher Hitchens, known as Hitch, was a truly unique figure of his time.  Some of his ideas seem extremely radical, yet make perfect sense at the same time.  He was strong in his ideals, and did not waiver in them, writing strongly about things he did not like, and praising those that he did.  He was not a fan of religion, being an atheist, in fact as one reads it is understood that he despised it, yet he also believed in the 'life' of a human fetus.  He had no fear in challenging another, and considered his most prized predecessor to be George Orwell.  If any of us have read Orwell's 1984 we can understand how advanced and revolutionary Orwell was in his understanding and thoughts of authoritarianism and utilitarianism. Hitchens did nothing short of following through in explaining his own ideals in such manners.  Though a great amount of his work is controversial, including his critiques of Mother Theresa and Bill Clinton, much of what he says in some way as stated earlier makes sense.  Overall, he was a groundbreaking journalist, author, and essayist who stood his ground on issues that others criticized him for, yet he can be considered one of the last people to stand for what they truly believe in, and as an article, that I enjoyed reading about him described him as the last nonpartisan intellectual.  This is an article that I believe describes him and the influence on his work very interestingly.  Another article I have found interesting to give insight into the type of journalist, author, and essayist that Hitch truly was is written by Robert Asher titled 'Religious' Scientists and the Legacy of Christopher Hitchens.  Christopher Hitchens has boggled my mind in many ways, but his work is excellent and to me he is the ultimate example of a public intellectual that broke ground that most writers would not have thought of, paving the way for intellectuals to truly speak their mind, shaping the political and international world, in my opinion, for the better.

The State of the Union

This year's state of the union address came with much anticipation, wondering where the president would guide the country, and how he would approach conveying quite literally the state of the union.  Our country is dealing with huge problems right now, and we rightly so look to our president to help us understand how we will get out of this.  After watching the state of the union and reflecting upon it now, I am reminded of an article I read the next morning, describing the president as in a state of denial.  I almost would not understand how one could not seek such a thought after some of the statements he made Tuesday evening e.g. his statement regarding less government intervention in education programs, but more power to the states, which of course is a government in itself that controls much of education within the state to begin with.  The president is a rock in a hard place, what do you tell a nation of people who are waiting on your every word to solve everything, but the solution is so complex and perhaps not even understood yet, that it would be nearly impossible to discuss in approximately an hour.  Of course, I should state that it might also be difficult to disagree with many of the things the president did say, as most of what he said about the disagreements in Washington and the situations faced today do need to be converged upon and addressed accordingly.  Yet we can question his approach.  How much of this is actually possible?  It could be seen in many ways as the opening to his campaign, setting the standard for what he will use as his platform for the next 10 months.

My parents are small business owners that work almost exclusively with the military and government, priding themselves in being made in the USA, with stickers placed on every shipment that leaves the building.  They also make every effort to ensure that every piece they use to build a control box, or wiring harness that will go on a humvee or submarine for our military, is a product of the USA as well.  His proposition of giving tax breaks to those who keep their work within the United States sounds excellent; I think it is something that needs to be done.  Right now is the time especially since our workers are some of the hardest working people in the world right now, and their productive abilities should be seized as such.  Though I am optimistic of such propositions, it is hard to believe in his words or know that it will actually occur, because of the deep fissures that exist between legislators today.

Another important note to address as a college student I would enjoy his proposition for what universities should do in effort to receive funding, but I seriously question the substantiate of such statements.  It is difficult to guarantee such things in this economy, and is hard to believe when not only my own university is raising their intuition again, but also the state universities across CT are increasing tuition as well for reasons that are never explicitly clear.

Of course, fun will be poked at the politics that occur even at the one event, who laughs, who claps, who sits and who stands.  If the president opens with his strongest point or ends with his weakest, but there is a bigger issue to be heard.  Where is the state of our union truly headed?  We are in a very poor place right now and I use the poor because I do not know how else to describe the situation other than being nearly devoid of hope or surrounded by such poor societies, communities and people.  We are plunging further into it and I am scared when my parents speak of being worried about the future of their grandchildren who have not been born yet.  It is very difficult to agree on everything that needs to be done, but personal feelings need to be put aside and it just needs to be done.  I wonder when we will see it, if it is 4 or 20 years from now, and perhaps it is the unknown that is most intimidating.  Overall, the state of the union is always an important assessment as citizens of our country, though it is questionable about how much it tells us about the state of the union, rather than question that it may just be what a presidential candidate plans to use as his platform for the duration of his campaign.

Kittens, inspired by Kittens!

I am sure many of you have already seen this, but I just find it so funny and figured I would share it for those who haven't!

The Daily Show with John Stewart clip

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-january-25-2012/state-of-the-union-2012---hopin--mic-night?xrs=share_copy

- The site will not let me embed the video into the blog but I provided the link that brings you right to the video- Sorry for the inconvenience :)
     


Ever since highschool I have watched The Daily Show with John Stewart, it is definitely a guaranteed laugh.  Along with The Colbert Report it gives me a funnier persepective of the often seriousness of politics and news that we can watch every evening.  I generally try to watch clips from the previous nights episodes if I am unable to catch it that night and am usually laughing out loud at the things he comes up with and says.  Id love to know if anyone else finds his work humorous and just a lighter way to analyze what is happening around us.  In this case I have posted a scene from his show about the reactions of those at the State of the Union address.  He provides a humorous outlook on the events of the night and it is definitely a good laugh!

Assignment 1.3

I have a wide array of interests, from reading the news and keeping up to date on politics, to reading about fashion, watching sports, and reading advice columns, and the blogs I like to follow reflect that wide array of interest. I have followed tumblrs before this class, and thus one of my favorite blogs to follow is of that origin. I also have been guided by my future profession in the blogs I choose to follow, as well as my high level of interest in the science field, thus many of the blogs I have found interesting to read and follow involve some aspect of science or research. As I said earlier, I also am intrigued by politics, and with it being an election year there is quite a bit of excitement and blogging regarding the moves of every politician, as well as the motives of the party. This election specifically seems to be very interesting regarding the different methods being used by the candidates, as well as the candidates that are causing a stir in the field. I find it interesting and it is important to me to assess an issue from both sides of the spectrum before deciding my own stance.

A blogs success seem to be very dependent upon the preference of the individual reading the blog. It think that in many cases, blogs do not require a tight focus; rather they may concern a wider array of interests, yet still have a powerful impact upon the audience they are addressing. I have not decided what the precise focus of my blog will be, but it is important to me that I can address a wide audience, and perhaps inspires others to develop their own opinion on an issue they may not have thought concerned them. Encouraging others to share their thoughts is important and can help make a blog better, causing the discussion to go deeper can create a better understanding for all and a more rounded opinion that one can stand upon and defend themselves when challenged. That may in fact be my goal throughout this course and blog, to define my stance and know that I can stand up and defend myself, but also appreciate others ideas as well through a discussion of the issues that may be brought up.

I am excited to see where my blog brings me, what I will eventually learn from it from areas that I am unfamiliar with yet my classmates are passionate about. As well as acclimating myself with those that have discovered the power of words and understand how they achieved their success through such.

Some of the blogs I have found interesting so far are:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/

Professor Stiltner just recently posted this site, but my interest is high in it as it covers many different areas of politics.  The site concerns itself with the current race and discusses up-to-date information addressing many issues that are currently being delegated by politicians and items pertaining to those areas.

http://www.sciencenews.org/
Being a Nursing major I am very interested in new discoveries and advancements being made in the science field, and understanding how that may affect my own future.  This site has many blogs and articles that are concerned with both developing and new advancements being made following some throughout the course of their experimenting.  This site may intrigue even those who are not as interested in science as I am as it often has new advancements regarding our own lives that may intrigue one to learn more, or even just surprise you!

http://taylormadetodream.tumblr.com/
This is my best friends tumblr that I follow regularly.  She utilizes pictures and words to convey both silly and powerful messages that help keep life fun and manageable.  She regularly inspires me to be the best I can and pushes me to be better than I am now.  Without her I do not know where I would be, and I think her blog can inspire others to see the best in people or make their goals and dreams seem more achievable through hard work and dedication.

Assignment 1.2: Lions for Lambs thoughts and reflections

Lions for Lambs brings together the many perspectives of a very complicated situation into one focus.  I have found that as we examine the intricacies of the relationship between war and politics and subsequently our relationship within such topics we do often get lost as the student in the professor’s office does.  Though many of us have personal connections, with dear friends fighting in Afghanistan currently, many of us also feel this disconnect daily in understanding the magnitude of these situations and the roles they play within our own individual lives.  The film brings a reality about, the fuel that the media gives politicians and the government to feed information, and the role they play in how we react or feel about the situation as well.  We can think back to the Vietnam War, which was the first war that was broadcast on television.  Before that, much of our nation had a pride in our troops that we were fighting a war that we believed was always necessary because we personally did not see people dying and reporters openly questioning the point of the war.  In recent years, between the tragic events of September 11 forcing the war on terror and the invasion of Iraq we have seen this exact situation occur.  We have felt the media amp us up and make us feel as if the war is necessary and right and then gradually taking on a complete reversal, condemning the war and making us question what the purpose of it is all over again.  This whirlwind often leaves us feeling confused individually in how we should approach the war, or those involved.  This matched with the true power of the media often becomes a determining factor in swaying us one direction or the other. It becomes very frustrating, I find, for the individual to decide which path to choose, thus directing me to the relationship that the reporter, Janine Roth has with the senator within the movie.  Propaganda is key in so many situations in like this, and truly gives words existential power.

                Further, I think there becomes a cloudy area.  Often individuals forget in translation that no matter what we must support those that defend us.  We may not agree with what we are fighting, but the pride should always be there, the support must always exist.  Once again referencing the Vietnam War, when soldiers came home they were ignored and spit on basically, given absolutely no respect.  Many of these soldiers did not even voluntarily join the war.  Rather they were drafted defending the freedom we have today, fulfilling their duty as a citizen of our country.  Even further we should have the most respect for the soldiers today, as there is no draft and these men and women voluntarily enter the military to ensure that the draft does not occur again, and that we are not threatened or our nationhood breached as it was on that day in September 11 years ago now.  I think the film reiterates the ideas that we are a generally misinformed nation about the path we are taking.  Most Americans are satisfied with what the media feeds us and are not interested in exploring further or developing our own opinions on the issues.  This is easily seen daily in every aspect of our lives, not necessarily on purpose, but truly because the life we live for most of us are healthy and safe.  We forget that within our own nation we are fighting these issues because we are sheltered by our communities.  Most of us have not had to defend our property with a gun against intruders to our borders because we go there instead.  These barriers cause many of us to lead our lives blindly, rather than attempting to solve the issue, we are satisfied with life as it is and do not want to disturb that balance or peace that has been discovered.  I am not saying I am innocent, because I do this daily in my own life.  I often can find myself saying that I truly want to get involved in a cause and make a difference.  Though sometimes I am able to make that wish a reality, most of the time I am swept up in the work that I have and move past the emotional encounter I had and continue to live my life the way I had.  This film brought many of these thoughts to me through underlying themes that I think were meant to have a powerful effect on the actual reality of the lives we live.   Lions for Lambs made me question my own personal stance, rather than what other say or essentially tell me to believe.  We must see our future and understand the role we play, rather than succumb to just becoming another follower that simply goes with the flow.  We must attempt to make a difference, and be the difference.