360 Degree: Obama Presidency

There has been a sense of pandemonium for the last several months as a result of the historical occasion that that was the Obama Presidential Inauguration. With Obama president, it seems as if most people have become more optimistic about U.S. politics. But is it going to be all that gravy? I mean, look at our current state, our country is fighting two wars, one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan; our economy is going down the drain, and it seems like we might have to go through another “Great Depression.” As much as I want to be optimistic, I can’t help but think of how to combat this monstrous burden bestowed upon President Obama. However, if there was ever a person better qualified for this job is our current president. Not only does he have the right mindset, but he is also trying to level the playing field by allowing both parties to discuss and share their points-of-view. Although President Obama has some tough tasks to combat, I feel like we are in good hands, knowing that our president will accept the best counter to these tough times not just what the Democrats agree upon. With quite a bit of determination and pride I feel like President Obama will be able to pull us through these tough economic times.

Connection: Obama & MLK Jr.

With the presidential inauguration over, the media has broadcasted many similarities between President Barack Obama with that of Martin Luther King Jr. King’s philosophy of life and liberty have influenced Obama tremendously as seen through his landmark inauguration speech. With that said, there are many more comparisons between MLK and Barack Obama. Obama’s speech itself was very similar to that of what MLK delivered in his famous I Have a Dream. Not to mention the fact that Obama also used many of MLK’s “catchphrases” such as “I have a dream” and Lincoln’s “Four scores and…” Aside from the actual speech, Obama also showed respect and a connection to MLK by choosing the same exact setting for the speech, the Lincoln Memorial. With that said, the major connection was evident through Obama’s speech in which Obama alludes to MLK’s dream for a coexistent species without any prejudice and racism.

Metacognition: 1st Semester

Over the course of the 1st semester i utilized visualization as a really great method of remebering things as well as thinking things through. When i visualize i'm able to forsee the future in a way. At least get my mind aware of whats happening. For instance, when i'm reading a novel, I try and visualize what is going on in the book to really get a good sense of what is going on in the novel. With that said, I've also realized that looking at from different perspectives allows me to get a better sense of the same situation. I think that has also forced me to think a lot harder at regular things such as the pipe picture. At first, I simply thought it was a pipe, but lookign at it from a different perspective, you notice that it is also in fact a picture of a pipe. That little deal, helped me realize that there is many more ways to look at things than I have perceived. Moreover, when thinking in different perspectives, I'm able to become a lot more creative, because I simply understand things better from viewing things in different situations. All in all, I feel like this semester was a great experience because I learned a lot of valuable tidbits and lessons that will be helpful later in life.

Blogging Around

Jason:
I completely agree with your article on iMedia, about David Sides and how his music is expanding the range of music to the youth. Personally, I felt the same way that you did. I originally hated the song " Buy you a drank" because it sounded cheezy and the singer's voice was altered but after hearing David Sides' cover of the song, I really appreciated the song a lot more since I could fully hear the notes and the melody playing without and disruption.

George:
I agree that the media plays an important part of our lives, and it even regulates it at times. I learned about the "Quiz Show Scandal" after Mr. Ferguson showed us a clip about it, and I feel like it really opens my mind, and now i begin to question certain aspects of media such as the validity and truth behind these types of shows.

Research: Creation of the World

Reading Sophie’s World I’ve come to realize that one of the major philosophical questions that seems to stem from every topic is, how the world got created. After doing some research, I noticed that there were several different theories of how the world got created, but the leading theory is that of the Big Bang. Most scientists are beginning to accept the notion that the Big Bang created everything. But that seems very peculiar. How can something come from nothing? According to the Big Bang model, the universe used to be a hot dense initial condition at some finite time in the past. After the Big Bang, the hot and dense initial condition continues to expand forming the universe. Now you might ask yourself, how is that possible, you are just speculating? Well, somewhat. Scientists have proven that are universe is expanding by noticing that star parallax, and studying cosmology. However, for now the Big Bang is just a theory, but the scientists at Cern, in Switzerland are trying to find the “God particle” that would permanently prove the theory of the Big Bang. All in all, I personally seem to believe in the Big Bang theory partly because it has some scientific reasoning, but also because it makes the most sense to me. However, I will not discredit other theories because I feel like they also have some pros and some cons dealing with the creation of the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_bang

Change of Mind: Sophie's World Philosophy

When I realized that our class was going to read Sophie’s World in was disgruntled to say the least. My impressions of philosophy were not quite enthusiastic to say the least. At first I thought that philosophy was just something older people do as a hobby in their free time. All in all, I thought that it was a boring subject filled with hard questions, and “outside of the box thinking.” However, after reading the first few chapters I was really moved by what I was reading. I realized that philosophy wasn’t just a worthless subject; I found it to be quite interesting even though the tough questions were still there. Now as we continue to read Sophie’s World I have found more appreciation to the matter of philosophy and its roots. It was really interesting to read about philosophies beginnings and how it ties into almost every aspect of our lives, from nature to how we got to living on this planet that we call Earth. I also realized that philosophy is much more than just reading, it’s different from all the other social studies courses. Like Socrates pointed out, discourse and conversations point at the heart of philosophy. All in all, I found Sophie’s World a pleasant gateway to a subject that I was never really interested in due to the fact that my perception of philosophy was quite negative, and when I think about it, I never really gave it a chance to interest me.

iMedia: MGMT's "Time to Pretend"

"Time to Pretend" by MGMT is a great expression of our current generation. MGMT incorporates all the trials and tribulations of our culture and has created a masterpiece reflection of the current youth. The first few lines in “Time to Pretend,” “I'm feeling rough, I'm feeling raw, I'm in the prime of my life. Let's make some music, make some money, find some models for wives” addresses the teen mind and really does a good job of stating what most teenagers think of themselves and their future. Moreover, MGMT tries to express the feeling of invincibility that teens tend to think that they have. After the first few lines, “Time to Pretend” addresses the drug culture that is also prevalent in our society. I’m not saying that this is the 70’s but I’m also not going to say that there are no drugs whatsoever in the teen world. Furthermore, the next few lines tend to reflect on the senior in high school. The song notes about ho teens start to think of their future, their majors, and their professions. Afterward, the song incorporates a more relaxed type of feel as opposed to the stressful days of a teenager. The song notes of the reminiscence process of the early adults and how they look back to their youth and remember their fond childhood memories. Afterwards, “Time to Pretend” goes along a more stoic path which incorporates the overcoming of these memories by continuing to live your life. It seems as if the band is trying to convey a sense of resilience towards the youth by stating that even though things get tough and stuff happens that you did not intend to happen, you must continue to fight and you must continue to overcome otherwise you will just be another lost soul. The ending to “Time to Pretend” is very gloomy because the band almost makes it seem like whatever happens in your life is just destiny and that you have to deal with it no matter what. All in all, “Time to Pretend” is a song that tries to convey the meaning of living. Its best if you live each day at a time, otherwise life will fly by and you will miss a lot of memorable events that occur during your youth years and I think this song is just trying to reinstall that notion.

LINK: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/m/mgmt/time_to_pretend.html
(This link provides the lyrics as well as the music video from Youtube)