I Need Your Help!

Like Dr. Stiltner said in his comment to one of my posts, I would love comments from the class about fast food. How much fast food do you? Why do you eat fast food? Just in general what are your thoughts about fast food? You can post whatever you want me to know about fast food. I would really appreciate it! Thanks! =)

Fast Food Outline

As I talked to Dr. Stiltner, we came up with an outline for my paper.  I am going to start with writing about how Americans like fast food and as fast food as grown, Americans became obese.  The questions is with fast food is...is fast food to blame for all the obesity and health problems in Americans?  I then will explain about the health problems (calories, fats) in the United States today and how big the portion sizes are within the country.  The next paragraph will about how much the public eats and why.  Then I will explain about the kids and how it is affecting their health.  The next paragraph will be about what the industries say and do, and to sum my paper I will explain if eating fast food is free choice or should the government get involved and regulate how much Americans eat a day or even a year.  I am excited to write this paper and cannot wait to research more about fast food.   

Interviews with the Family

Over Easter break, I interviewed my sister, my brother, and my mom, and each person had similiar, but different things to say about fast food.  My mom was raised in a different generation then her children, so she was telling me when she was little fast food was a treat and she did not have it a lot.  Now a days, fast food is not a treat, but something that is being abused in a way and every day by many families in the country today.  Parents go to fast food because it is quick, easy, and cheap; it will be on the home for parents and some parents say they do not have time to make dinner so fast food will do for dinner. My brother thinks that fast food has become addictive. Some people cannot go a day without having fast food, and in many cases since fast food is on every street corner people can go to a fast food place every day. It is sad to see how fast food has grown in the years and how many people in the country today are obese or overweight. Many people know that they are obese or overweight yet people will not go to the doctors or excerise to lose weight. I asked my family if fast food continues to grow what they think the future will look like. They all said there will be more obese and overweight people. Since parents are role models for children and influence children, once my generation becomes parents they will be influencing their children meaning they will be going to fast food places. My generation has grown up on fast food, and some people do not see the harm in going.  Fast food is okay in moderations, but today's society abuses fast food places. I learned a lot by interviewing my family, but once I get back to school I plan on interviewing my friends to see what they say about fast food.   

Deeper into Fast Food

Yesterday I made a small outline for my final paper for this class. The outline is a rough draft and needs some fine tuning, but it gives me a start to my paper. I want to start the paper with how the fast food industry started (using Fast Food Nation (the book)); where fast food started and why it become so huge for our country. Then I am going to explain about how Americans became obese/overweight because the fast food industry became big in our country (our fast food influenced Americans and each generations differently). More and more Americans today eat fast food then they did in the past which can be proved with statistics. This is just a brief outline and I plan to add a lot more, but this gives me a start. I also will be doing interviews with some close family and friends and will ask them multiply questions about fast food. Stay posted!!

Fast Food Nation (the movie)

I just finished wacthing the movie, "Fast Food Nation" and I was very disturbed and I could not believe my eyes when I watched this movie. The movie was not on the whole book (the book is two parts and the movie was on the second part). The movie showed the meat factory and how the workers and the meat are treated within the factory.  The workers and the meat are both treated with no respect. There is so many germs within the factory and the workers do wear golves and helmets, but that does not stop the workers from getting cut from the machines or the knives they use to cut the meat. I have not decided if I am changing my focus on the workers in the meat factory or keeping to my original topic about Americans and fast food. This movie shows the viewers inside the meat factory and was a good movie, but if you want to watch it I will warn you it is violate and there is a reason the movie is rated R. This movie turned around my views about fast food.

Fast Food Facts

Here is a link to facts about fast food. There are many which surprised and put me in shock.
http://www.vivavegie.org/101book/text/nolink/social/supersizeme.htm

Further into Fast Food

I am still trying to decide how I am going to write this paper.  There is some many ideas I have, and some much I can talk about I need to figure out a way to organize and condense my information.  I really want to interview 3-4 people about how they feel about fast food, do they eat fast food (how often), and why they think Americans today rely on fast food today. I hope to start on those and put it on my blog soon (probably start it this week and hopefully get it on my blog by Easter break).  I think it would be cool to interview people and see there point of view.  I also would like to have someone try eating just fast food for a few days, but I will have to find someone to complete this task.  I really am intrigued by this topic and I hope I can pull off a good paper.  With the help from my friends and family, and the research and reading I do, this paper could be interesting and a good paper to end this semester.

My PI Essay

My tab for my PI essay is on the side of my page. Just wanted to let everyone know just in case people could not find it. =)

Fast Food Nation

I read the book Fast Food Nation, but I did not know there was a movie made based on the book. Here is the trailer and I do plan on watching the movie to see how it compares to the book.

Super Size Me

As I continue to research about fast food and obesity I found a trailer for Super Size Me.  This movie was very interesting and shows how people today have fast food every day; they depend on fast food. Here is the trailer of Super Size Me which explains about the movie.

Brainstorming my Thoughts

I have a few ideas on what I want my paper to include, but I do not know exactly what style or how I am going to approach this paper.  In my economics class in high school I read the book Fast Food Nation and watched the movie "Super Size Me."  I want to somehow include both the book and the movie.  The book talks more about how fast food started and the movie is more about how fast food is bad for you.  I am thinking about starting my paper off about how the food fast chain started and then go into how Americans see it today; how everyone eats it almost everyday since it is quick and cheap.  As I research more I hope to figure out the style and angle I will write this paper.  Fast food has grown throguhout the years, and is getting bigger as more years past. There is not anyday when you go out of your house that you do not see at least one fast food place.    

Dinner with Pope Benedict XVI

The sun was shining in my face while I walked through the streets of Rome, Italy. I looked at my watch to see the time and I realized that it was already 5 o’clock.  Only 30 minutes until I have to be at the Papal Palace where I am meeting Pope Benedict XVI.  I quickly pulled out my map, so I could look up where the Papal Palace was located.  I wish the pope had given me direction, but I did tell him over the phone that I knew where I was going.

            Following the map was harder than I thought, but I made it to the Papal Palace with 2 minutes to spare.  The building was old and it reminded me of a castle.  I opened the big doors and walked down the hall.  Pope Benedict told me upstairs and the second room on the left.  I walked up the stairs, and then as I turned into the room, Pope Benedict was sitting across the table.  The table was long and the chairs with tall with fancy designs around them.  He welcomed me in with a big smile across his face.  As I entered the room, I noticed the walls of the room were painted with reds and gold’s.  The walls told a story about Jesus’ birth, and the feelings Mary was going through as her son was being born.  I sat down at the table and there was plenty of food for a seven or eight people.  Does the pope think I am going to eat all of this food?

            The pope handed me a plate of chicken, and as he was handing me the plate, I realized he was wearing all white and had white buttons on the top of his outfit.  How does he keep his clothes so white, thinking in my head?  As I started to eat, he started to talk to me about his years before a pope and how he decided to take the religious path; he described to me God’s call to him to take the path of a religious life.  He spoke with elegance and grace, and every word that came out of his mouth just put me in awe.  I have never heard anyone in my life talk like he talks. 

As I finished up my meal and as he finished up his talking, I looked at my watch and realized it was 8 o’clock. I had been here for 2 and half hours with Pope Benedict.  He sat up, so I sat up and pushed in my chair. He took my hand and shook it firmly, and then escorted me down the stairs and out the door.  He told me he had a pleasant time, and I welcomed anytime. The dinner with Pope Benedict went very well, and for the rest of the night I walked around Rome with a smile on my face.   

"In this place of horror"

One of Pope Benedict IXV's famous speech is called "In this place of horror."  He was the second pope (Pope John Paul II) that visited a death camp (Auschwitz Camp).  I read his speech and his speech was moving and powerful.  Until the Pope John Paul II was for the Polish people when he was at the camp, but Pope Benedict was for the Polish people.  He knows the people are in distress and in pain, but God will always be with them. His final word, he ended from Psalm 23 which went like this "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.  He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff - they comfort me ... I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long."

Here is the link to his speech:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2006/may/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20060528_auschwitz-birkenau_en.html

More about Pope Benedict XVI

Throughout this week, I continued to find more information about Pope Benedict XVI.  Although this was not his first book he wrote, "Introduction to Christianity" was an important book that explained about how theologians have a hard time taking about God to the younger generations.  He quoted, in his book, a story by Kierkegaard which was called “the clown and the burning village.”  It was a good comparison to explain how theologians feel and how people see them in life.  I did not read the whole book, but I read the first couple of pages and the book was interested.  I would definitely enjoy some of his books that he writes and I am excited to learn and read more Pope Benedict XVI.  

Here is the link to the book I was reading:
 http://books.google.com/books?id=LJlkwvExekkC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false 

Quotes

I found this and the quotes from this website made me smile.
http://sayingimages.com/tag/tumblr-pictures/

Another Look into Pope Benedict XVI

As I continued to look up Pope Benedict XVI, I found some really interesting information about him and more speeches and homilies he wrote.

This article describes Pope Benedict's life:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/biography/documents/hf_ben-xvi_bio_20050419_short-biography_en.html

Here are some of his speeches:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2012/january/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20120127_dottrina-fede_en.html
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2011/april/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20110416_ambassador-spain_en.html
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2010/august/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20100829_schulerkreis_en.html
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2008/march/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20080321_via-crucis-colosseo_en.html

Here are some of his prayers:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/prayers/documents/hf_ben-xvi_20110327_fosse-ardeatine_en.html
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20110202_vita-consacrata_en.html#I_entrust_them_to_the_Blessed_Virgin_Mary
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2010/december/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20101208_immacolata_en.html

Here are some of his homilies:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20120202_vita-consacrata_en.html
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20111231_te-deum_en.html
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20091231_te-deum_en.html
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2008/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20081231_te-deum_en.html

Smile

                 

When I saw this it made me smile!! I hope it makes you smile!

The Look Out

As I was sitting in the Mohag I saw many interesting and intriguing people.  Every person was unique in there own way.

Person #1: A boy in his red hoody was eating a crispy and a crunchy hawaiian pizza. He has a big cup of some kind of liquid, and sits alone in the Mohag. While eating he watches other people come in and out of the Mohag.

Person #2: There is a girl with a pink hat on and her hat has a pink bow on it.  The rest of her outfit is black and white, so her pink hat stands out from the rest of her outfit.

Person #3: A girl with a bright pink shirt eating dinner with a bunch of other people. She has a long ponytail which is pretty high on her head.  She sits back in her chair while having a conversation with the people at the table with her.

Person #4: There is a girl with a red scarf. The scarf pops out because the rest of her outfit is dull colored. She walks with confidence as she passes the booth I was sitting in.

Person #5: Tucked away in a booth, a boy with a black shirt on looks at his computer. As people walk by he does not look up or move. He stays put in the same position.

Pope Benedict XVI

            Being a Catholic defines a big part of who I am in life today.  I go to church every week either with my friends when I am at school or with my family when I am at home.  At school and at home I am involved within the church for example I am a lector at my church at home and I am a Eucharistic ministry at school.  I make sure my faith is during the school year; I could not get through a week at school without going to church on Sunday.  I chose Pope Benedict XVI as the public intellectual person I want to research because religion and being a Catholic as I said earlier is important to me; without religion there would be a part of me missing in life. 

            Pope Benedict XVI has written a number of books.  Some of the books are about specific saints such as Saint Paul and other books are about Jesus.  Each book Pope Benedict writes is special to him, and he puts his best thoughts into the book he is writing at the time.  The books reflect on what the facts and his feelings about Christianity.  Some examples of his books are Friendship with Jesus, A Study Guide for Jesus, and Light of the World. I have not read any of his books, but I am sure that a few of his books were interest me if I decided to read them.  Pope Benedict XVI has many good qualities to him, and with his knowledge about Christianity and Jesus, I am sure to learn new interesting facts about my religion that I am so closely too.

Here is a link that lists his books that has written. His books are inspirational to many people.

http://www.ignatius.com/promotions/benedictxvibooks/

In this article Pope Benedict speaks to the general audience about St. Paul.

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20090204_en.html

This was said at the University of Regensburg.

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2006/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20060912_university-regensburg_en.html

Music

When I first saw this I could not stop laughing.  Music is more than half of my life and seeing this picture just made my day. I hope you find this picture as funny as I did!!

State of the Union

On January 24, 2012 President Obama made a speech to America stating the blueprint for the next few years for the United States.  His speech was powerful and he had many good ideas that he stated throughout the night.  He talked about teachers, colleges especially about the community colleges and how if those colleges get the resources, more people could go to college, and about the troops who came home.  Those are just some of the points that he talked about, and there are many more points that he brought up during his speech.  President Obama wants to make America better, and wants America to be successful in the future.  If he keeps to his ideas America could be successful in the present day and in the future.

            Although President Obama has good ideas, that does not mean he will stick to them.  I understand that he wants to make America better, but so did all the other Presidents before him.  Ever since President Obama has been in office, he has not done much and many people still do not have jobs.  When I was looking for a job over the summer a few years ago, I could not find one for quite some time.  The only reason I found a job was because my friends dad was looking for an employee, so I took his offer and I have been working at Cumberland Farms ever since.  President Obama is making it very difficult for people to find jobs.  He said he made more jobs since he became President, and that could be true, but in today’s society people are getting laid off and having trouble finding more jobs.  I also understand he wants to make more opportunities for people to go to college, but if he tries to help everyone who cannot afford college, the tax payers will end up paying for them and then the tax payers will not be happy.  President Obama has good ideas, but only a few people in the United States actually agree with his ideas.  Many times his ideas have the middle class paying more which does not make them happy.  Since the economy is not very good these days, people are trying to save money and have the middle class pay for more will not a good solution.  Many of the solutions that President Obama has do not resolve the problems in the United States. 

            I would support President Obama if he stuck to his ideas and his theories.  When he first became President, he said he had all these great ideas for the America and many of his ideas have gone down the tube.  I do not agree with his ideas, his theories, and his policies as a Democrat since I am a Republican and since he does not stick with his plans.  The State of the Union was a strong speech, but I wish President Obama had a more of a clear plan, and actually stuck with his plan.  I understand it is hard being President, but I feel that President Obama should try to actually stick to one of his plans since he is only in office for the next few months.        

Surprises

Throughout the past couple of days, there have been three events that have stopped in my track.  The first event was I found out that my youth minister from my church back at home is pregnant with her second child.  The next one was Saturday afternoon the men’s basketball team went into two over times and lost by one point at the end of the game.  The last event is it has been so warm later for example Sunday was 42 degrees and it is the end of January.  When is the snow going to come or when is winter going to start.  It has only snowed a few times and one time was in October.  All these events are surprises and have stopped me in my track.  My youth minister getting pregnant again, the men’s basketball was so close in winning, and there is no winter this year all through me off guard.  Last week was full of surprises and each one cut me off guard.  I wonder if more surprises will happen this week.

            Each event that happened last week was a shock to me, and I did not know how to react each event.  Each surprise I found out during the day and they each gave me the same reaction which was a surprise look on my face.  Also each event had me ask a question after I found out the information.  Will my youth minister have another boy or will she have a girl this time?  Is the men’s basketball team getting better?  Will it snow in April or will we just not get any snow this winter?  If there is no snow this winter, will it be a hot summer?  Each surprise that happened this week left me with an unanswerable question, and I hope that my questions get answered some day during this year.  With all the surprises that happened last week, I cannot wait to see what how many surprises will happen to me this week with it being the third week of school.      

Team Hoyt

Here is the website to the Team Hoyt webiste. I courage you to take a look at the website and learn more about Team Hoyt, and everything that they do.  Team Hoyt is a hero to me and a hero to many other people in this world!
http://www.teamhoyt.com/index.html

I Can Only Imagine

This video is a sad, but very inspirational video. This video is a story about Dick and Rick Hoyt.  Dick and Rick Hoyt have been a team for many years.  Together they compete in marathons and triathlons across the country. What makes this story so inspirational is Rick has spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. Rick cannot talk and has lived in a wheelchair his whole life meaning he cannot walk.  In 1977, Rick told his dad that he wanted to compete in a 5 mile run.  His dad agreed to push Rick in a wheelchair the whole 5 miles.  After that race, Rick told his dad that when he runs he does not feel like his is handicapped. Ever since that race, Dick and Rick have been competing in races, and they both have enjoyed every minute they compete in together.  This video changed my life and I hope when you watch the video, it changes your life too.

Going forward

I do not really know what direction I am going to take my blog, but I know that it will be inspirational and people will take something positive from my blog.  I enjoy inspiring people especially with quotes and pictures.  Quotes are one way I get through tough weeks or put a smile on my face or face of others. Also pictures are a good way to express how one feels. I want my blog to be simple, but catching to the eye by bringing color. I cannot wait to continue to blog throughout the semester.  

Beach

Whenever I hear or see the beach I feel relaxed or calm.  This blog just has a whole bunch of different pictures of the beach and things related to the beach. This blog just relaxes you and wipes away the worries one has.
http://indie-paradise.tumblr.com/

Inspirational Quotes

This blog has very inspirational quotes that touched my heart.  This blog was made for people who are struggling in life with depression, cutting, etc. Along I am not depressed and cutting, I have known people who have cut and have been depressed and it is a very serious matter.  I hope these quotes from this blog inspire people as much as it did for me to never give up in life.
http://theloyalarmy.tumblr.com/

Quotes

I stumbled upon this blog, and I really enjoyed reading these cute and inspiring quotes.  The blog is easy to read and the quotes are right in front of you; all you have to do is scroll down the page and read the quotes.  My favorite quote was the first one which is "If you work really hard and you're kind amazing things will happen."  That quote really inspired me by stating that hard work can pay off in the future.  I hope everyone can enjoy these quotes as much as I did.
 http://icanread.tumblr.com/

Lions for Lambs

Lions for Lambs was a different movie then I have ever seen. The movie had three stories being told throughout it, and somehow the three stories intertwined with each other.  Each character throughout the movie had his or her own opinion about the war on terror, and each character felt differently about the war on terror.  The journalist, who interviewed the congressman, had a hard time with the interview.  The congressman was opinionated and the journalist felt the congressman had his mind set on this plan; his plan was not taking the troops out of Afghanistan.  After the interview the journalist felt she could not write the article because of how opinionated the congressman was throughout the interview.  Politicians are opinionated, and when it comes to the war on terror politicians are stubborn and think they are solving the problems, but in reality they are hurting and destroying the other countries and the family’s life who have loved ones in the war.  President Obama said he would bring the troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan, and he just brought home the troops from Afghanistan, but many troops are still in Iraq; both Iraq and Afghanistan are still a mess and their country is not in peace.  This movie talked about a touchy subject that the country is having many problems with, and if I asked a few people about the war on terror there would be many opinions and arguments about the subject.  I do not follow politics and news about the war on terror, but I know enough to understand what is going on, and I feel like the politicians and the president are very disorganized; they are doing whatever plan comes to mind and hoping that plan works.  This movie showed many different opinions, and showed how each character reacts to the war on terror.  The movie shows the viewers that not everyone has the same opinion, and that everyone has an opinion.  Everyone should consider the opinion of others, and should not shut down opinions of other people.  This movie relates to this course by explaining that everyone’s opinion matter, and expressing one’s opinion is important.  It is important to consider other people’s opinion, but also make sure one’s opinion gets out in the world.  Opinions are what make a person, who he or she is in life, and helps define how he or she looks at life; everyone looks at life differently.