“One of the worst earthquakes in decades struck central China on Monday, killing nearly 9,000 people, trapping about 900 students under the rubble of their school and causing a toxic chemical leak, state media reported”(http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gBr_dOzJ9Pnc_U9gSgtTgE-cR-KwD90K8VFG0). I feel an earthquake of this magnitude is devastating. It takes the lives of many people and causes problems for the families who lost a loved one. “The 7.8-magnitude earthquake devastated a hilly region of small cities and towns”(http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gBr_dOzJ9Pnc_U9gSgtTgE-cR-KwD90K8VFG0). A tragedy like this may takes years to overcome. “Landslides left roads impassable Tuesday, causing the government to order soldiers into the area on foot, state television said, and heavy rain prevented four military helicopters from landing”(http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080512/ap_on_re_as/china_earthquake). If the earthquake itself wasn’t bad enough, the events to follow only made things worse for people who lived in the area. I can’t imagine the kinds of conditions those people are dealing with and I wish them the best of luck in recovering from this major event.
China Earthquake
Homework: 5/13/08
1. I Like using photoshop because it allows me to change the format and color of pictures as well as alter and delete sections of the image.
2.Yes, because in magazines the people inside all seem “perfect”.
3.To me “perfect” means the person is flawless. Society visualizes the perfect woman being pretty, tan, skinny, and having a perfect face. For men the visualize a muscular, tan, handsome guy.
4. The pros of photoshop are that it allows you to change a picture to enhance things and hide blemishes and faults within the picture. The cons are that some people use it to alter the picture too much trying to make the person in the picture look perfect. They end up making the picture look fake and take away the true beauty of it.
5.Social expectations are that you must be very skinny and good looking. You can’t have any fat or flaw in your appearance.
6. I feel that not everyone fits these expectations and most people aren’t supposed to fit it. God made us all different for a reason. It our differences that make us unique.
7.No I don’t think all the famous people are as perfect as they seem. As we saw in the powerpoint today, many celebraties have faults within them but the photographers edit and cover up their flaws.
8. Photoshop can make a person look skinnier, have clearer skin, remove wrinkles from their face, change hair color, make someone look tanner.
9. I think these alterations are bad, because the end result isnt the same as what the person really looks like and people shouldn’t be embarrassed about the way the look. People aren’t all perfect and we’re not meant to be perfect.
Homework 5/6/08
1. Grayscale conversion and add quick color tints.
2. Create new fill or adjustment layer.
3. You can compare it to the original picture.
4. B.
5. Black conceals and white reveals.
6. Black.
7. The color chips switch.
8. A smaller version of your original portrait.
9. Next to the grayscale conversion.
10. In the adjustment layer
1. The young man in the picture is Matt La Porte.
2. The author of this article is Barbara La Porte.
3. This young man died at Virginia Tech last year on April 16, when an assailant took the lives of 32 people, Matt being one of them.
4. I felt it must have been very hard on the author, Matt’s mother, to write this article. As she mentioned in the article, when she heard the news of the shooting that occurred, most people assume if was just something that occurred and that it is no big deal. It was however a big deal for Matt’s mother,family, and friends when they heard the news that he had been killed.
5. Yes, I have said “What if” before after something bad happened. I settle my mind from the circle of “what ifs” that pass through by thinking I did what I could and there was no way I could have predicted what was going to take place. It must have happened for a reason.
6.The author’s thoughts on the “circle of forgiveness” is a positive way to turned such a negative tragedy into a learning experience. His family no longer gets angry and has learned to forgive and pray for others.
7. ” If we confront the past, we are able to work on the healing power of forgiveness and move to the future” and ” What’s the chance that this is going to affect me?” are two powerful lines of enlightenment that the author displayed in her writing. I stopped and reread them because after reading them it made sense that with the first quote, people can’t dwell on things that occurred in the past. They can’t change what has happened and instead need to move on with their life and look ahead to what is still yet to come. The second quote made me think that it is true, most likely whatever happens won’t affect me but theres a chance it still may affect me. If I’m lucky enough to have it not affect me though, it has to have affected someone and I can only imagine how it will change that persons life.
8. My overall feelings on this article are that Matt seemed like a good kid. He didn’t deserve to die but things happen in life that seem unfair and unrealistic but happen anyway. People can never expect something to happen but must always be prepared in case it does. Matt’s family didn’t expect to find him dead but they did and had to move on with their lives. As much as they regret it and feel they should have done something to change it, what happened was unpredictable and the family has learned to forgive and move on rather than dwell in the past.
- What is global warming? Global warming is an increase in temperature on the earth’s surface. Naby people recognize that it is a big problem but yet still consider it to not be a major concern.
- Why do you think that Al Gore doesn’t want to talk about politics? I think Al Gore doesn’t want to talk about politics because he previously ran for president amd lost. Having already ran for president, many people want to know who he would vote for in the next election. I think Al Gore doesn’t want that kind of publicity.
- What is “An Inconvenient Truth”? “An Inconvenient Truth” is the name of his documentary video which won an Oscar and this past year, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
- How did Al Gore tailor his presentation to the Evangelical Christians? What did he add for this audience? Al Gore tailored his presentation to Evangelical Christians by adding in passages from the Bible. He also added for this audience, the voice of an astronaut stating phrases from the Bible, to his presentation.
- When are global warming commercials coming out? The commercials are coming out this week on broadcast networks and cable channels around the world.
- Do you think they will help people realize this issue? I think it’s a good start because the majority of people all over the world watch television and in showing these commercials, it will help spread the news.
- How do you feel about the way the Gore family is paying for this? The family is taking all the profits from the book and movie as well as the money he won for the Nobel Peace Prize to pay for this.
- Why do you think Al Gore’s loss of presidency was beneficial to his new hobby? He lifted himself up from his loss of presidency and moved on with his life. He used the old slides he had to create his slide show that turned out to be a big hit.
- How do you think that other candidates pick themselves up after a losing campaign? Many other candidates give up. Al didn’t give up, he fought back and made a positive comeback. He made tons of money whereas I’m sure the other candidates wouldn’t have gotten back up. They would have rather just given in and accepted they lost.
- Why do you think he won an Oscar and the Noble Peace Prize for his movie? I think he won an Oscar and Noble Peace Prize for his movie because he is trying to inform people of a problem that they know exists but doesn’t seem like a big deal now. Al Gore is showing the effects it will have in the future as well as possible solutions to help solve the problem before it gets worse.
- How do you feel about the training center that he will be building as an eco-friendly farm? I feel it is a great idea and a good way to set an example that people can easily do things that can help our environment.
- Do you think the Gores were doing the right thing when they bought that house? Yes, I think the Gores had a good intention when they bought the house. The were trying to spread a positive solution to the problem. They were proving that even a house such as theirs, which used a lot more energy that the average house, could decrease the amount of energy needed by doing a few simple things.
- What did they do to the house after it became an issue? The family added solar panels to the roof and tried doing everything they could to make the house use less energy.
- What do you feel is Al Gore’s message? I think his message was that global warming can be stopped but only if we choose to stop it. It doesn’t have to effect our world but if we choose to do nothing, then it will become a major problem.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism can be defined as
1. “the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work. (dictionary.com)”
Plagiarism is bad because the work you are submitting is not your own. Unless you cite your source, you can get into a lot of trouble.
Monday afternoon, Israel and Germany strengthened their ties with each other through a series of agreements. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s three-day visit marked the 60th anniversary of Israel’s creation. Cabinet members from both countries agreed on joint projects and to meet once a year. Israeli Prime Minister, Olmert, praised Germany for the great friendship stating “it is one of Israel’s strongest allies in Europe and its second biggest trading partner, after the U.S”.
Kamila McGinnis, mother of three children, lives in Timonium, Maryland. She wanted her 2 and a half year old son to begin using the toilet instead of diapers. Her son’s pediatrician told her she should leave him alone about it and when he’s ready he’ll do it himself. Kamila disagreed with her pediatrician. Parents should listen to what the doctors tell them in many situations however there are some where what the doctor says is more of their opinion rather than an actual fact. A few situations are at what age should parents begin taking away the pacifier, when they should begin giving the baby solid foods to eat, and whether or not the baby should be picked up and fed in the middle of the night when the baby begins crying.
Wednesday morning a mother threw her two children off the overpass of a freeway onto a highway below. Police say the mother then jumped off the freeway herself. Miraculously all three of them survived. The two boys that were thrown were not hit by any vehicles but that one had broken an arm. Their mother was hit by a vehicle and is listed in critical condition. Police believe the mother and her two sons had driving in a vehicle with a man. The two adults got into a big argument that resulted in the mother and her children getting out of the car and the man driving off.
March 2, 2008. 17 year old boy named Jamiel Shaw was attacked by gang members. Police say the gang drove up and had asked Jamiel if he was in a gang. Before he could answer, he was run over by the car. Jamiel Shaw Sr. heard gunshots and called his son’s cell phone to tell him to stay away from the area. His father soon realized his son was laying outside on the ground. When his father came running outside and saw his son’s body lying there, he knew he was dead. Shaw was a standout running back and sprinter for his high school’s football and track teams. He was a great kid. He had good grades and didn’t cause trouble. The death of Jamiel was a tragic loss for his family, friends, and other people in the neighborhood.
