Writing it all down....

Yesterday, I finished up my 7 day food journal, trying to write down everything I ate in specific. I wound up with a fairly simple list of foods, pretty much unwavering for the majority of the week. Although I have been keeping a food journal such as the one we were assigned to do already, I still came to realize several things over the course of the last week. Other than just showing ones calorie count and general eating habit, this journal showed me how little I've actually been eating lately, in comparison to before I started dieting, at least. It's amazing how I've been able to stay conscious some of the days... eating only jerky and oatmeal and all...

After reading the article entitled 'Taste' Mr. Cope gave us in English, I also realized how much some people appreciate food as an experience, rather than nutrients. The people in the story seemed to live for food, not eat food to live. I do feel like both the culinary expert in the article and myself have something in common, however: we both take food too literally. In the instance of the food expert, he analyzed the wine in the story to the extreme, as if it weren't food at all, but rather an art piece. In my case, I eat food based on the nutrients,not on how the food actually tastes. This food dilemma makes me wonder how many people are like me, or even like the culinary expert. I feel as if everyone has an eating problem, either thinking too much or not enough. Either way brings eventual discomforts in life, which makes me wonder: what is the midpoint?

The answer to this question is going to linger on my mind, but as of now, it's bed time

An Obamaian Era

The trampoline we call the economy.

As I was feasting upon my oatmeal this morning, I watched the NASDAQ crash 100 points within ten minutes of the New York Stock Exchange opening. As this is seemingly now commonplace, I proceeded to take another bite of my breakfast. As the news progressed in it's daily routine, I noticed something peculiar, the price of gas was dropping... I wondered why such a thing would happen in such a dire time. Upon listening, I discovered the demand for oil has dropped drastically (A written version of what I heard is hyper linked to the picture on the left).

I worry now that this has occurred, as there's no way gas can drop from nearly 4 dollars a gallon to 2 dollars and some change in a few months without a serious catch. Sure demand dropped and prices along with it, but doesn't that imply that once the prices reach an all time low that people will begin buying again? I feel this price plummet will worsen our current oil crisis, while padding the stock market with just enough money to raise prices once again, only to start the same cycle anew.

This drop in oil price can mean nothing good. Yes, we shall have extremely cheap gas for a month or two... but the prices are going to skyrocket and throw the economy on its knees again, and possibly even worse off than it is now. And on top of economic pain, we are going to feel the effects at the gas pump. I already tried to fill up my tank yesterday, only to stand in line behind ten or twelve other furious customers. People either need to learn how to keep conserving gasoline, just as if the price were still 4 dollars, or horde the discount fuel and learn that the price will spike to record highs...

This economic crash is leaving so much in our everyday lives crippled. All of these little numbers we see on TV everyday are now effecting the way we go about our lives... I never thought that these stocks would bring such a profound effect to the everyday. Hopefully soon, something will cushion such a crisis, because these low gas prices and sales everywhere are just the catch to something horrendous.

Click here for a link to an interesting video about the effect of the gas prices on our local providers.

I don't know if I'm having bad luck or what....

I honestly think blogger has something against me... I post, but then where did the post go? Obviously not onto this blog... it took me 3 HOURS to realize where all these posts I've been making have gone to the 50% of the time. Apparently, I had a blog from 2000 that is linked to the same account as this one... and all of my posts were going to that blog instead of this one... fun stuff...
Anyways, I deleted that blog and hopefully all of my posts will arrive safely at this blog...
I may be able to code a mean website... but blogging is not my niche...

Climbing out of the mainstream and into the river of truths

Just the other day, I decided our school's Fall break would not be complete without at least one day of binging on Youtube videos. Though I do believe I lost several parts of my brain to the process, I did manage to find some beneficial and intriguing media in the process. In particular, I came across this video:



I learned something new from this single video, something not even the hundred Rick Roll videos before it could compare to. I saw a part of our society, a part of many societies that wanted to take the world around us by the collar and report the truth. I saw people who didn't want to accept mainstream media; I saw people like me, who want change. The change I believe we all want might not come from legalizing ferrets, marijuana and the ability to purchase tanks, but rather from changing the way the world sees the rest of the world. I mean, instead of seeing "We are winning the battle in Iraq!" maybe we can see the destruction and the other side, as shown in the video. This is exactly how I feel the media should be faced with, the truth as shown by those living in it, not by a single reporter.

If y'all want to check out any reports from people around the world, outside of the mainstream, click on the link after the break:
Video Republic

Going green starting to wilt my patience..

The other day, I was traversing the rocky hill we call the internet. After clicking every one of my bookmarks, checking my email and hoping there's more than two dollars in my bank account, I decided to check out the KION website for the latest news. After reading about the recent stabbings and chaos that occurred in Salinas over the last few weeks, I stumbled across this lovely link, the KION Going Green site. At first glance, I thought to myself how it's pretty cool that our local news station is trying to help the environment, but after thinking about this concept more and more, it began to grind my gears a bit...
First of all, I found the overall hypocrisy of such a concept quite confusing. A news station, who is using more energy than an entire lower class neighborhood in Salinas trying to promote green living? Kind of odd if you ask me... and if you've ever seen one of the news vans around town, you may notice another hypocritical action. These vans are RUNNING constantly, using gallons of diesel fuel to make a simple 10 minute clip for the station. So these stations are telling me to buy a new fridge to save energy, when they're going to using 20 refrigerators worth of fuel in 10 minutes? Honestly, I'll do my part to go green, but I rather not hear how to from a source that is more of a brown...

19th Stabbing...

So as of writing this bog post, there have been 19 shootings/stabbings in Salinas this YEAR. What is happening to the world? Why are so many people destroying the lives of so many others? In my opinion, it's a simple answer, really. There is a drug problem in Salinas, and it's not just the users who are affecting the community. It's the distribution. It's the sales. Gangs are vying for control of
'turf' to sell their goods. What's causing the violence is greed, the greed to make more money for themselves and the rest of their 'family'. These people you see being shot and stabbed, they are trespassing on these families land... this may sound a bit extremist, but it's true. Sure drugs and gang activity are illegal, but it is NOT going to stop such a deep rooted community. That's exactly what a gang is, a community... a family. And when one family crosses a rival family, violence ensues. The police are looking at these homicides as mere assault, as ruthless violence towards another innocent life. But if one thinks about the situation from a gang member's perspective, that innocent life seems much more hostile. That life could end one of your family's; they are trespassing on your familys' property. It's self preservation that's causing this violence.

Now this is going to sound quite idealistic, but something of the sort needs to be done. A middleman has to intervene between these rival gangs and create a cease fire. Gangs are made of people too, they has morals, they will listen if someone helps them out. They don't WANT to kill others, it's for protection. But something has to be done, or otherwise this turf war is going to continue, and more life is going to be lost, guaranteed.

The plague we call the news

Every morning, I wake up at 6, sluggishly drag myself out of bed, make breakfast, and proceed to sit down on my couch, turning on the only thing that crushes the effectiveness of coffee on my mood: the news. Honestly, I don't watch the news only for the information it crams into our minds, only to be spewed out at the next person you see in order to prove your exquisite knowledge of Barack Obama's favorite cuisine... I watch these broadcasts as entertainment. No, I'm not a super-political beast, nor do I follow foreign affairs as a seagull would a french fry... I just love watching what corruption the media has become. Sure, the political aspect of the news is well... news, but then the broadcast gets to it's "Breaking News Stories" with explosive 3D effects and epic whooshing noises. Good lord... something terrible must of happened, right? Well yes, something did happen; a man was shot by his son in Oregon during a heated fight. Now sure this is news, but telling the entire nation this tragic instance? I believe this may be a little over the top...

Now here's the kicker: I come home later that same night, expecting to be greeted in a manner such as, 'Oh hello son, how was your day?' or merely a overthought 'Why were you out so late?', but no... I get a 'You better not shoot your dad like that kid on tv... you're showing the 5 signs they showed on the news...'

So at this point I smirk and head to my bed-chambers (had to say that at least once), wondering if perhaps more than just my mom had thought of this one instance as a sign of a mass father-son slaugter-thon. Perhaps every mom now keeps a knife under her pillow, waiting to defend her partner when their blood crazed offspring attempts to tear into his father... what has this world come to? People are being scared off in the millions by one channel on national tv, because some kid had an over the top moment, that unfortunately ended up in a death... because of ONE reporter, people all over the nation now think their kids are crazy. Media is corrupting a nation. And people buy this garbage, because station X is 'The number one source of national news' *cue corny whoosing noise, followed by the logo... I feel like I'm watching the world end in some blockbuster movie, not watching everyday life go on. Half of what these reporters are saying is so exaggerated, it makes eating fast food scary, and eating vegetables a trip to hell. If I eat a big mac, my life will be decreased by 15 minutes? If I eat lettuce, I'll be eaten alive by microbes?? Garbage... if only we can have news that matters, not filler gossip that sparks more fury than something even a presidential candidate had said... my lord, what a corrupt nation.

I'll wrap my rant off fairly briefly, just with a simple word of advice. Anyone who reads/watches/ hears the news: please don't go bananas over a shooting or a bad batch of Cheerios... your son or your breakfast have almost no chance of killing you... please, go vote or something...