Should This I Believe be global?

Karl Fisch's This I Believe Goes Global - We Want You! explains why people write This I Believe essays. My class recently wrote these essays. Mr. Fisch explained that some people even like to broadcast their essays. His blog gives some examples of students This I Believe essays. Mr. Fisch wants "This I Believe" to be global. I already thought it was global. But it is only a essay we do in America. It would be cool to see what other people believe in across the world. I fully agree with Mr. Fisch "This I Believe" should definetly be a global thing. He also goes on to explain that he wants his students to "walk away from this experience realizing the power they have as professional writers as well as connecting to other teenagers and adults from around the world." When I was writing, editing, then rewriting again I took my time because my article could be somthing anybody could see. It was great writing my essay, just like it's when I write these blogs. I really want to see what other people believe in so i really hope National Public Radio's "This I Believe" turns global.

2012 End of the world or not. What's your take?

This week for my blog I was able to choose my own topic. So I chose to read an article about how the world is supposedly going to end in 2012. One of the articles I read was called "End of World Theories: Will the World Really End on December 21, 2012?" This article was by Jean-Claude Koven.

The specific date the world is supposed to end is December 21, 2012 around 11 at night. That's a really specific time and date. The article were answering a few major question that some people have been wondering about lately. One major question was "What Will Happen on December 21, 2012?" The article gave the statements, "time appears to move predictably from moment to moment forming the days and years of our lives. 2012 is a real date on our calendars and each of the possible scenarios can be seen to be advancing steadily toward it like racehorses to the finish line." Another thing this article talked about was that the "ancient cultures" shared the prophecy of 2012 during their time. Jean-Claude Koven said why most people were afraid was because they thought of what affect the end of the world would have on them and their loved ones. There are a lot of other websites that gave their take to this topic. The article gives some more websites you can go to. So many people have commented on Koven's article. Some wrote paragraphs, while others just wrote a sentence or two. The total length of all the comments combined was so much longer than the actual article itself. There are youtube videos and the movie 2012 that comes out November 13, 2009. This is such a big topic that worries and scares everyone.

I personally don't believe that the world will end. The world was supposed to end in 2000 too because it was the new millennium. All the computers didn't work because the people who made those computers made them so they wouldn't work for 2000. Maybe they thought it would be cheaper and they wouldn't be around long enough to fix them. Actually if I am correct they have a date about every year when the world is going to end. My friend Nichole Braun believes that it will and we argue about it a lot. But I take what she says and try to see it her way. What I can't stand is that my friend Valentina Gatica told me that people are quitting their jobs and that some people are even committing suicide. This is how scarred people really are. My other friend from a little bit earlier in the blog Nichole Braun told me about a TV show that talked about a lottery and the people who win will be the ones who survive. Again personally I think this is just a way for the people who are doing this lottery to get money. People might be scarred enough to do it to protect their families. Others are really paranoid and will buy the lottery tickets trying to save themselves. Patrick Geryl who is 51 quit his job as a laboratory worker for a French oil company and saved enough money to live up to December 21, 2012. But what will happen to him and the other people who quit their job if the world doesn't end? Will everyone turn homeless who spent their money and quit their jobs? Will this truly wreck their lives if the world doesn't end? Well then there are the religious people who are getting angry because they believe that only God can decide when the world will end. But how this entire thing started was because the Mayans ended their calendars. My dad, Richard Bribiesca, made a good point he said, "The Mayans couldn't make the calendar for ever. They have to stop at some point." I agree with him a hundred percent. I mean we don't make our calendars till the end of the year. Also in the year 2000 a few other ancient tribes and couture's ended their calendars too. So this is just like a repeat of that year. Nothing happened then and I believe nothing will happen then. My friend and I were joking around and agreed that the night of December 21, 2012 most people will forget it's supposed to be the end of the world and will just fall asleep. They will then wake up and that will be the end of that. This situation that we're in right now, even though it won't happen for another three years, is stressful and I can't wait for it to be over whether the world ends or not.

Texting while driving-BANNED

"Texting While Driving Banned for Federal Workers" was an article written by Matt Richtel. The article can be found in The New York Times. The article talked about how federal employees are not able to text while they drive anymore. This was called an order. The order said all texting would be banned. Whether they're driving in a government car or simply in their own car it doesn't matter. The employees will be using cell phones paid for by the government themselves. So the government can monitor them. The federal government is also banning bus drivers and truckers from using cell phones or texting all together. Well I thought the only main concern with people texting or using their cell phones while driving were mostly teenagers. The government made a law that makes it illegal for teens to be using their cell phones at all while driving. Why didn't they just make it illegal for anyone to be using a phone when driving, instead of singling out all teenagers? But making that law was a good idea in the first place. In the middle of the article the Transportation Secretary Mr. Ray H. LaHood said, "It sends a very clear signal to the American public that distracted driving is dangerous and unacceptable." That has been very clear for a long time, years in fact. The order takes affect as soon as possible or immediately. Rose A. McMurray explained that they would first have to define the two words "text messaging." The texting issue was the thing they mostly discussed about in the conference. With this all said and done will banning text messaging decrease the amount of accidents that happen in America?

Is facebook good or bad?

This week I read the blog “Who Ya Gonna Call? ” this blog was written by Mr. Karl Fisch founder of the Fischbowl. This blog talked about a Business teacher by the name of Carolyn Orf. She is teaching her students about wonders of entrepreneurship. Carolyn Orf used facebook to find a guy she went to college with who started a few companies. Now a day’s many people find old friends using facebook, myspace, or things that are similar. But you may ask why you would want to have an account on facebook. Well you see they’re great ways to stay in touch with family and friends across the globe. I recently just got a facebook account. I soon began to realize how much I do love facebook. But I’m cautious about which people I accept as friends on that site. All people should be cautious when using sites like facebook or myspace. Well later on in the blog Mr. Fisch explained how Carolyn Orf was able to find and ask her friend Jason Shellen about coming into her class. He said yes and now is coming into her 5th period class. Anyone in her Business class, who doesn’t have any other priority during that period, may come to watch his speech. I find it cool how she was able to use this now common website to find her friend who she hasn’t kept in touch with since a wedding after college. So many people use facebook now that it can be technically called a common website. Karl Fisch at the end of his blog brought up a question though. He stated, “It's so darn easy that I'm wondering what everyone is waiting for?” That question right there is a good one. So I leave you deciding whether or not you want an account on facebook.

T-rex theory gets challenge by a fossil.

The T. Rex theory gets called out and challenged by a... fossil. The article was called "Fossil Find Challenges Theories on T. Rex" I read was in the New York Times. It was all about how the theory is getting challenged by something not alive. I wonder how that will do. The theory is “about the evolution of T. rex, which was about 5 times longer and almost 100 times heavier.” There was another predator before the T. rex who was roughly nine feet in length. But it only weighed 150 lbs. It was said in the article to live close to 35 million years before our “king of the dinosaurs” even walked on Earth. It was estimated to live 125 million years ago. But 65 million years ago the whole group became extinct. “The thought was these signature Tyrannosaur features evolved as a consequence of large body size,” Stephen L. Brusatte exclaimed. Then how’d did they become bigger than there so called ancestors? Wouldn’t that mean they would have to grow their skeleton to fit closer to the skeleton of the massive T. Rex. The “ancestors” of the T. Rex was called Raptorex. Well like people say “how could something so ‘small’ cause something so big?”

How students play school well.

I recently read a blog from The Fischbowl. The blog was called The Possibility of More. The blog was short but gave you links to some of the post that Jeff Krause put up that he is going to try to do for his American Literature class. I adore the topic sentence of the Possibility of More part 1. It stated, "As with all crazy ideas, it occurred at approximately 3 a.m. – the time when you can convince yourself that just about anything will work." It’s a great way to start a blog. Unlike how my blog just started. It’s true though if you wake up at 3 in the morning you’re bound to have at least one crazy idea. Something while I was reading just jumped out at me. It explained that kids will take more risks when they don’t have to worry about what grade they will get. This is true. As a student personally I’m bound to do more risks if I know that I get it wrong it won’t have a big effect. What I’ve heard a lot recently is how students know how to play the game of school. This blog like some of the teachers I have restated this statement. Just in a different way. This blog jumped out to me. I became very interested in it, which is why I'm glad I took the time to read it.

Which is better for your english skill technology or writting?

Is typing and using the computer bad for some people's english and writing skills? Maybe, well John Sutherland seems to believe so. He claimed that due to technology the "dehydrated language" is "bleak, bald, sad shorthand." While on the other hand Andrea Lunsford seems to think that "we are in the midst of a literary revolution." She claimed that before the internet most Americans never wrote anything down. Same with Michael Wesch's the Machine is Us/ing Us. In this he shows the many ways using the computer is easier in writing or in this case typing things down. Now a day's kids are mostly writing to an audience. But what i would love to know is the main difference in typing and writing. Besides the obvious writing utensils and keyboards. You'd still be writing or typing the same things down. The article was very interesting to me. Especially when it stated that "we think of writing as either good or bad." i thought about it wondering about the pros and cons and then i totally agreed with the statement. The whole entire video interested me because it showed the wonders you can do with a computer. But personally im torn between technology and just plain writing.