Undeserved Cruelty

I hate to end these blogs on a serious note, but I recently read an article that really upset me. It was about a 2 year old girl (the photo shown on the right was released by her grandmother) who was killed by her mother and stepfather. This little girl had done nothing in her short life to deserve any pain or suffering. I don't understand how anyone can harm a child. If the mother was that unhappy with having a child then she could have given her up for adoption. There are plenty of families waiting for and wanting a child. She would have found a good home with a loving family. I can't imagine how this woman will live with herself knowing what she has done to a human being she brought into the world. Also, once she decided to kill her child, why she would make the girl suffer so much. The killing described was brutal and not quick. The parents intended to end her life, so I don't understand why they couldn't take mercy on the daughter and at least not torture her. There are so many tragedies such as this that occur every day. The reasoning people have to justify their actions are incomprehensible to me. There are options for parents who don't want or can't take care of their children. I have relatives that have adopted children so I know that the screening process is extensive and people have to truly want a child in order to be given one. If parents who aren't prepared for their children only thought to let their child be given to a willing family, many lives would be happier. The article is at http://www6.comcast.net/news/articles/national/2007/11/26/Child_s.Remains/?cvqh=itn_baby

Indian Food

Most of the time I know what my food is and what to do with it since it's usually all American/Italian food that I've grown up with. There were a lot of Indian kids in my high school. One time they wanted me to come with them to an Indian restaurant in Chicago to try some of their food with them. They were sure it would be way too spicy for me and it would be fun to watch me try all these new foods. I had wanted to try some of the foods they always mentioned so I went even though I was likely to make a fool of myself. The foods we order I couldn't quite pronounce let alone remember the names of. However, I do remember that we ate some kind of chicken and bread with a lot of different sauces. It was good, but definitely spicy. We had made sure to order food that was somewhat mild however, so I was able to eat it all. I felt a little lost when all the food was brought out though. My friends knew exactly what to do, but I didn't know what sauces went with what foods and how the foods were meant to be eaten. According to my friends though it wasn't spicy at all! Overall, it was a good experience. A little awkward at times, but it was fun to see a different culture and be the one who was learning knew things!

The Best Moments

I find that the best moments of my day are the unplanned, little moments that make me laugh. Even if I have had a long, rough day a stupid remark from a friend makes everything better. Most of these moments arise from someone saying something completely ridiculous. A good way to get people to make these comments is with the game Catchphrase. In trying to describe words people get very creative. In an effort to guess the words some very random ideas emerge as well. People just shout out what comes to mind before they think about it. One of my friends the other day gave the clue for avocado as what guacamole is made out of. My other friend actually shouted out guacamoles (he's one of the guys in the picture)! Right away he realized how ridiculous his suggestion was but it was already out there. It was the funniest moment of the night. Sometimes these moments consist of a nice thought. A friend calling me out of the blue just to see what's new or to say hi. One thing that always improves my day is an unexpected good grade on homework or an exam! Anyways, I have learned to appreciate these small moments more now that I'm away at school. My friends and I don't have much ability to get around and go out so we occasionally have to be creative with our entertainment. Those are the moments we remember and that really make a difference in our daily life.

Children from Brothels

Zana Briski's feel shows many details of the children's lives. In my opinion, the children are too young to understand what they are revealing about their lifestyles. Therefore, I would not consider them able to give consent, but the parents could okay their participation in the film. However, their life is not as uncommon in their mind so they might not have minded sharing the living conditions of the brothels. They have probably not seen people with much better lives than they have. With this narrow range of experience, the kids probably wouldn't realize how extreme their poverty is. In this case, it seems that her goal was worth displaying these kids lives. She can inspire help for children in their position, which enables them to go to school as well and find a way out of the brothels. Her portrayal of them shouldn't harm their future in any way or their families so its purpose can be fulfilled without bad side effects. People who feel sympathetic to them might even send them more help based on the film. The success of the film is determined by the amount of support it generates for the children from brothels. The organization she was able to found, and the money the children received for their photos for their education are all indicators that her film was a success.

My food for one day

This is probably not the best day to blog for my food consumption since it is a Sunday. This means I slept in late, so I had no breakfast at all. For lunch, I had pasta from the dining court with a cinnamon roll and coke. Then for dinner, I went to Harrison grill and ate popcorn chicken with buffalo sauce and a fuze. At some point I ate some pretzels as well and drank some water, but that was about it. What I ate was most likely genetically modified in some way. The chicken I ate probably ate corn at some point. The breading on the chicken would also probably be in some way genetically modified. The pop I drank had corn syrup in it too. Sadly, the only form of fruit I had today was in the fuze drink, which is only 5% juice. My food was most definitely fast food. The cafeterias wouldn't function very well if they cooked anything slow! None of the food I ate would need to come from very far away. The farthest I would think would be Florida for that 5% juice in my drink. It was probably not the healthiest way to eat, but at least I didn't eat a ton of junk food. On a normal day, I would probably have had a more rounded dinner from the dining hall. I try to eat somewhat healthy, especially since my exercise is down to a minimum here!

Distractions

While doing homework assignments or studying, I find it very easy to get distracted. When I'm working on the computer is the most difficult time. I have the internet, my e-mail, games, and good old-fashioned solitaire. I'll tell myself that I'm only going to play one game or for just five minutes, but that always turns into more. Without some slight background noise however I space out. Usually I need the TV on, but it needs to be something I've seen before or I'll end up focusing on the show. The best choice for me is probably to listen to music. I don't have to pay much attention to it, but it keeps me in the present. Assignments that aren't very difficult or are short get dragged out when I can't focus. I may have to start going to the library when I need to really get work done. Even in my lobby I run into people I know and get side-tracked in conversation. My final distraction would be my roommate. We fall into conversation at the times that are most inconvenient. I'm glad we get along well, but we may have difficulties if we ever try to study together. True it's usually me who starts the conversations, but it still keeps the work from getting done. The picture is us at the football game (we won this game)!

Food for thought

All the readings we have done have made me think twice about my eating habits. I don't think I will change what I eat, but I am definitely more aware. Unfortunately, I am very used to eating meat and will most likely continue to do so. Until I do my own grocery shopping I can't make sure to eat meat that wasn't created in the stockyards. Fruit and vegetables I can more easily switch from unknown heritage to organically grown. It is not hard to come by and usually not a lot more expensive. I can tell my mom when I go home to try and buy more organically grown fruits and vegetables as well as meat not from stock yards. She might not be too pleased about this since my sister somewhat recently became a vegetarian. As I'm eating meat it does make me a little worried about what I might be eating. The new knowledge from these readings definitely does not encourage me to eat more meat. I have also began to notice the corn in everything. When I glance at the ingredients on things I'm about to drink or eat I now notice some form of corn about to enter my body. The fact that it is hard to tell where many things come from anymore is slightly unnerving. However, the way I have always eaten and my food preferences will probably override the arguments that we have presented against eating certain foods. Old habits die hard.