Annotated Pains

So after about 10 minutes of trying to log in and finally remembering my password, I completely forgot what I was going to blog about. Shucks, at least I have my annotated bibliography to keep me awake. If only I had some sort of vacation to catch up on work.

blogblog

Is it just me or is the Mercury News website requiring you to log in to view articles now? Anyway, back to hw..

"San Jose's East Side high schools consider plan to save sports"

This article was posted about a month ago regarding the possible plan to save sports in the East Side Union High School District. If any of you are not aware, or are not from the area, most of the high schools in this area are part of the ESUHSD. This is includes Silver Creek, Oak Grove, Andrew Hill, Evergreen Valley, Independence, Piedmont, and so on. These high schools make up for a good portion of the public high schools in San Jose and unfortunately, there is not enough funding in this district to support athletics.

Initially, the Superintendent wanted to eliminate all sports in general in order to balance the budget between teachers, administrative staff, maintenance personnel, etc. Because of the amount money that was cut from the district, there have been unfortunate sacrifices that are being put in motion, one of them being sports. Now the decision has not been officially established but it seems relatively grim for the world of athletics in the east side.

However, not all hope is abandoned to yee who enters the east side. Apparently, some sports can be saved. There would have to be an enormous effort in fundraising by students along with parents in addition to a $100 fee for participating. Despite what actions can be taken to save athletics, it appears that water sports will get canned regardless of the fact that most water sport teams cover their own transportation.

This seems a little extreme and a bit unfeasible but in my opinion, if there is any chance to save sports, it must be taken. Anybody who knows the communities in the East Side knows that there are not white picket fences in the majority of the neighborhoods surrounding the high schools. There are gangs, drugs, alcohol, amongst other negative influences that can be imposed on the average high school student. Having sports is a way to positively occupy our youth and if sports are not going to be provided in the East Side, there better be an increase in law enforcement.

Blog ch. 5 p 115. - ADOVAH

ADOVAH - What relations toward others do religious affiliations, practices, and beliefs often encourage, and how do those relations shape advocacy?

Religious affiliations, practices and beliefs often encourage relations toward the same group. Usually, actions are taken to help or benefit that community. Toward others, it may encourage sharing knowledge of what you believe and practice in hopes of enlightening or maybe even converting.

Religious affiliations do shape advocacy because if you are affiliated with a certain religious community, you are more prone to be influenced by that community as far as what you believe is right or wrong and what you are willing to speak out for. The community you belong to, whether it be large or small, plays an integrated role in advocacy..

In the ADOVAH website, you can see how the Jewish people in the group were all working toward the same goal of helping and shaping the community. They were able to feel comfortable amongst eachother doing what they set out for.

Editorials Blog - SJMN

The "Editorial: Valley Cities make progress on green building standards" brings light to a new movement - the green movement. The green movement is making its way across Santa Clara County's 15 cities. These cities have agree to meet the building standards of the LEED Silver standard for new or renovated public buildings.

The movement will help make more efficient use of water, land, and energy and discourage wasteful building practices. Communities will benefit in the sense that there will be a significant reduction in green house gas emission, the water supply will be stretched, and the new standard will help save about 20 percent of operating costs over the businesses' lifetime. All cities of the Santa Clara county will set different minimums but they will all use the standards of Build it Green and LEED(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Many of the buisnsses have agreed with the central idea of "what's good for the climate is good for business."

I think this is a fantastic idea. I just hope it does not fade out like the last big movement that came out of the bay. Green house gas emissions is a ever popular issue and if buisnesses want to be viewed positively, they must act sensitively to the issue. From a global standpoint, any step taken toward a solution is generally a good one. This may not have the effect of adjusting a standard for a more harmful element such as automobiles but still, its in the right direction. Hopefully, if all goes well, more people will catch on to the buildling standardards and before we know it, the whole country is living green.

Editorials Blog - SJMN

At first, I was so certain global warming was a reality. I mean as an average American receiving the average knowledge, I still feel pretty confident that global warming is a reality. However, after reading this article, it made me a little skeptical as to what degree global warming has reached. (No pun intended)

This article brought to light a former astronaut who has a legitimate scientific background to support his claims. He says that global warming is not as intense as many scientists make people believe. Apparently, many scientists are building up the severity of global warming because of the need for grants. If they speak out against global warming, politicians and such will pull their funding.

Now when he puts it that way, it makes sense in my mind. I personally cannot say one way or another that I can prove anything. This article merely gave me another perspective.

In a related article, a question was asked, "Could it really be true that a single large volcanic eruption launches more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than the amount generated by all of humanity over history?" Mercury news responded with "Greenhouse gas emissions from volcanoes make up less than 1 percent of those generated by today's human endeavors."

The volcano article can be seen here.

In addition, here is a related discussion regarding "Is Global Warming Real?

Editorials Blog - ch. 13

While reading chapter 13, I started to think about the though process that I generally go through upon reading any article. When I read,my thought process can be vaguely summarized as, "This is what its about, the author sounds this way, and I feel this way." There are factors that cause my mind to identify those things but they are generally overlooked once they have made their impression. Chapter 13 helped me understand why.

For example, typically, I don't consider how or why the author is an authority - I just figured that since they are in the paper, they are reputable. The first editorial analysis helped point out why this was. It also helped me understand that the lengths of the sentences play a role in how the article is meant to be read. This is also later introduced in the final editorial.

In the editorials about affirmative action, I was able to see more so how a picture can make a huge difference. After reading both sections, I considered how I would view each article had I removed the picture or, which I thought was more interesting, switched the pictures. How often do you see articles with white Americans speaking for affirmative action and articles with African-Americans speaking against it? What would you think?

When I got to the last editorial, I was relatively happy to be finished reading. This feeling was accompanied by a relaxation that was brought by the article. The serene image and the imagery the author used created a sense of peace despite the conflicts of what is going on globally. In all honesty, it made me want to go to the wilderness. It also reminded me of the movie "Wild America". Growing up, this movie made me very eager to learn and explore the natural world because of the adventure the characters went on.

PrintAssignment

Is San Jose a little out of shape? This piece titled "San Jose: Fit or Fat?" in the Metro brings to light the never ending issue of health. According to a recent Men's Fitness article, San Jose isn't fairing to well. It is listed as the 15th fattest city in the nation but in Women's Health and a Men's Fitness last month, San Jose ranked highly for health and fitness.

When I chose this piece, I was under the impression that by the time I finished reading, it would be established that San Jose is either Fit or Fat or possibly both. I think the author's reasoning for choosing the topic was to either show how San Jose is both Fat and Fit or to show how sources may show different results. This is made evident when both studies are revealed and show different results.

This article was more so confusing than providing any clarification as to the question of if San Jose is either fit or fat. There is only one study dont by Women's health and two by Men's Fitness. This makes me question as to why they did not include the second Women's. Is there possibly something that will do more than confuse the reader? It is not provided which brings me to the next conclusion. This must be to show how San Jose is a combination of both. If the studies are reliable and valid, than San Jose is both Fat and Fit. By leaving the definite answer at the end out, the reader is made to think what is possible.

Overall, this piece was not very good if clarification is what you seek. The author tries to incorporate a cheezy pun at the very end but it does not really hold much water. This article's title is a little misleading because it implies two options which usually end up with a choice between two. The was frustrating because of how out of the two options picked, the reader is left with more choices than they started out with. Fat? Fit? Both ?