Emmamarie15’s Weblog

I have mixed feelings about the newspaper being completely replaced by websites. On one hand I think that it would be a good thing. It is a lot easier to get the news on a computer, I am always on my computer anyways so it saves me a trip to the mail box. I have all the information I need instantly. It is easy to browse for certain articals instead of looking through pages. It would also conserve paper and would be better for the environment.

On the other hand I think that it would not be fair to people that cannot afford a computer. It would be a hassle to have to go to the library if you wanted to read the news. If there were a power outage I would want to know what is going on and I wouldn’t be able get on the computer to find out. I like being able to pick up a newspaper and just read it or do the su do ku and crosswords.

I think that if the newspaper died a lot of people would be upset. Especally older people that do not use the computer as much as younger people. I also do not think that you get as much from the web pages as you do in the newspaper. They often shorten stories and just give you the highlights.

If they stopped printing the newspaper than some people would consider it dead. The newspaper would die but it would still be the same thing just without the paper. It would be remediated into something new. However, I don’t think that would ever happen.

I love this time of year because it is all about spending time with family. Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorite holidays. I usually only see my relatives on holidays so it is nice to be able to spend time with them. Most of my family is spend out throughout the country. I have aunts, uncles and cousins in California, Florida, Oregon, Japan, South Carolina, Colorado and all around Michigan. My brother lives in Maine and my sister lives in New York. Although, not everyone can make it to Michigan for the holidays a lot of them do.

Before my Grandma passed away we would spend every holiday at her house. My Grandma would cook huge meals for 20-30 people. She was an amazing woman and a great cook! Now we have the holiday dinners at my house and my mom cooks for everyone. So many of my childhood memories come from the holidays. It is such a fun time of the year.

I agree with Keith Olbermann’s stance on gay marriage. I think that everyone either gay or straight should be entitled to same rights whether it be marriage or anything else. Many people believe that according to the bible marriage is only to be between a man and a women. I think that this might be true but nowadays society is changing and along with a changing society the laws need to change. The church, government and society’s standards are continually changing to adjust to the changing of norms.  

I don’t think that people that are gay have the choice to be gay or straight. My friend once said “Why would I want to be a part of one of the most hated groups in our country?” If in fact it is biological, then I think it is wrong to not let these people have the same rights as everyone else. Today, it is more acceptable to be gay. There will always be haters but in general people are less judgmental and more open to the idea of homosexuality.

The decision of letting gay people marry will not affect me directly so therefore why should I stand in the way of letting people be happy. It is their life and their decision. If it is considered a sin in the church than that is their decision and then they can make the choice to marry or not because it is their life, not mine.

I fully support gay marriage. In the Declaration of Independence it states that we have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If this is what will make someone happy then who I am to say that they can’t be happy. Gay marriage does not hurt anyone and most of the people that are against it are not affected either way. Our country claims to separate church and state. If they truly were separate then it would be legal in all states because everyone is equal and has equal rights whether they are gay or straight.

Communication has vastly changed over the years. It is now faster, more convenient, and more reliable. We can be reached at all times and we are always connected to our family and friends. Gone are the days when you had to go to a pay phone or even a phone at all to get a hold of someone. Not to mention have to write to someone and have to wait days for a reply. Today you don’t even have to leave your house to go to school or work. You can do it all on the internet using chat rooms, online course, or using telephones. This technology makes life more convenient and more flexible.

Before last week I have never experienced this form of remediated communication. It was a very different experience. I liked class on Tuesday better than class on Thursday. Tuesday’s class was better for me because I was able to think about my responses before answering the questions. I liked being able to do the work at whatever time I wanted. I had trouble on Thursday because it was hard for me to keep up with the conversation. It moved fast and if a looked away for a minute I would have to catch up. I also found it harder to talk in the chat room than to talk in the classroom. I like being able to see the people that are talking.

I think that this technology is going to change the way that work is done. It lets people have a more flexible schedule by being able to do their work when it is convenient to them. I think that it will help more people get an education and have a job. Some people are unable to go to school or work for various reasons. Some have children that they have to care for, some are physically disabled, some do not have means of transportation and others live in areas that are far from school and places or work.

I think that in the future most jobs will be able to be done in your home. I think that this is a good thing because I hope to one day have kids and I will be able to stay home with them and work at the same time. I think that this is good for employers because they are not paying people to sit around the office not doing anything. They pay people based on the amount of work they accomplish. I think that this will increase productivity and accountability.

Barack Obama won the presidential election. I am partially happy with the outcome and partially worried. I like Obama and I think that he will make a good pesident. It is hard to tell if he is going to go through with all that he said in his champains. I know that our country needs change and I think he is the most likely to bring changes.

I am however worried about increasing taxes. I do consider myself a democrat but with the increase of taxes I am worried that it will hurt the middle class a lot. My family is in the middle class and that is who it will hurt the most. I am glad that he is helping to get our country out of this economic crisis but, high taxes could hurt families like mine. With my dad being a small business owner he worries about what will happen with Obama in office. 

Another concern of mine is that Obama will not give veterans the full benefits that they deserve. My boyfriend just got out of the army and he is waiting on his benefits to come though. I hope that with Obama being president that this will not affect he receiving his full benefits.

All in all I think that Obama is going to make a good president. I am glad to see an African American president. I am very pround of our country, we have come so far in the past 50 years. Many people never thought that they would never live to see a black man as the President of the United States, but it happened.

My favorite thing about Michigan is that we get to enjoy all four seasons. Spring, summer, fall and winter all have their ups and downs.

The leaves changing color, fall cothing, football games, halloween, cider and doughnuts are just a few things that I love about fall. I always get depressed when fall comes because it means that winter is coming soon. Once fall comes I realize how much I love it.

I love the first day of spring that you don’t have to wear a coat. The first day the sun is shinning after a long cold winter. Spring is always peaceful and pretty. Flowers are blossoming and the birds are chirping.

The only thing that I like about winter is snowboarding. Snowboarding is one of my favorite things to do. Otherwise its just freezing cold and hard to drive. I do however like winter holidays like Christmas and New Years.

Summer is always so much fun. There is no school and you get to spend all day outside in the sun. I love swimming and going out on lakes. There is outdoor concerts and many other really fun things. Summer is my favorite season. The only thing that I can think of is when it is too hot out. Other than that I love everything about summer.

Everytime I think of the cafeteria I get nauseous. I am not even overexagerating, I really do. I have always heard people complain about the food but I figured you don’t have to cook or clean, how could this be bad? The first couple weeks of school I liked it a lot. The food wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad.

After the first month I started to get tired of having the same things everyday. I have never eaten this many fries in my entire life. They serve mashed potatoes almost everyday. The majority of the food are all carbs. I really can understand how people gain the freshman 15. I wish they would have healthy options that tasted good. They have the salad bar but its always the same and I am really burned out on it.

Besides the monotonous food selections I feel that the food is full of germs. I am not a germaphobe but I am really disgusted by the food. What bothers me the most is the the tongs sit in the food. Many people touch the tongs and set them dow in the food when they are done. I do not know where their hands have been. People caugh and sneeze all over their hands and then it ends up in my food.

I can not wait to be out of the dorms next year. It will be more work having to cook and clean and probably more money but it will be worth it. I don’t think I would be able to handle to food in the cafeteria for another year.

My proposal for my sequence 3 project has not changed a whole lot. My meeting with Phill has given me a couple new ideas to add to my project. I have decided to use video for my project. I am going to record my boyfriend and his friends playing Halo and also the interviews with them. I am still trying to think of a way to make my project different from the others because it seems like a lot of people are doing the same thing.

I am still thinking of more questions to ask them but for right now they remain the same as last time. I am going to ask them what their digital identity is, how they created their digital identity, and how their digital identity differs from their real identity.To prevent repetitiveness I decided to ask each guy a different set of questions. I think that it would be boring if each answered the same questions because they will probably all have the same answers.  I will also include all of my  thoughts on gaming identities.

I am concerned about their willingness to participate with this project but if they are all willing I think that it will turn out well. I hope that I don’t have to bribe them into doing this.

I have not played video games since I was little. I have never liked video games, probably because I am not good at them. I have recently tried to play Halo 3 with my boyfriend but I can’t get the hang of it.  Everyday I have to watch him and his friends play games on XBOX 360 for several hours.

For the sequence 3 project I am going to interview my boyfriend and his group of friends that play video games. I will then make a web text that explains the different aspects of their gaming identity and the things that I find interesting. (If there is anything interesting) In my project I will express my thoughts about who games appeal to, who the audience is, how they have constructed their gaming identity and how their gaming identity differs from their real identity.