Best of the Best

For the past few free choice blogs I've written on more serious topics. So this week I'm going to write on a less controversial subject that's a little more lighthearted, although still important. The topic: my girlfriend and how she's the best one you could ever have. I guess you could say I have a "slight" bias on this subject, but I also bring a strong argument that will easily back up my emotional bias.

For starters, i will talk about the part of her that makes her most beautiful: her personality. most importantly, she is a godly girl with strong moral standards. In today's world, girls with such character are few and far between; someone who can distinguish right from wrong, accept mistakes, and work hard to improve them. She is kind: always letting me know how deeply she cares and wanting the very best for me, and showing this in both words and actions. She always knows how to comfort me with her calm, soothing voice and soft, gentle touch. She is very mature: has goals and strives to meet them as best she can. But she also know how to joke and be funny and spontaneous. She is extremely smart and talented, especially when it comes to her career in fashion design. And the greatest thing about her personality is her understanding nature, which makes it so easy to open up and talk to her. I can tell her anything and I know she will listen without judging. She knows more about me than anyone else, including friends and parents.

Next up, her physical features. Although not as important as her personality, her physical features are definitely a a factor of why she is the best. Her hands are soft and smooth and I hold them every chance I get. Her eyes are an amazing green-blue color that always seem to shimmer. When she was younger she broke her nose as a cheerleader and now it's a little bigger than it was. She of course doesn't like it, but I do because they make her, her. She also has this really cute laugh that only happens when she finds something really funny. She is fit and exercises many times a week to keep in shape. And the thing I enjoy the most is that she doesn't wear a lot of makeup. She has natural beauty and makeup just covers this. Of course she has other attractive physical features, but I didn't think it necessary to mention these.

The greatest thing about her, is I have absolutely no one to compare her to. We are each others first relationship, and that's what I love so much. We're not tainted with the ability to compare each other to previous relationships. I would not have this any other way. So without a doubt in my mind, I can truly say that she is the best girlfriend I have ever had.

If It's Science, Let It Prove Itself

For this weeks text response blog I read the article "Florida's Darwinian Interlude" by Ben Stein. In this article he talks about how Florida actually proposed a bill to "make it illegal to allow teachers or students in public schools to discuss any hypothesis about origins of life or the universe except that it happened by accident." This was quite startling, because I had not heard of this until I read the article. At first, I was slightly stunned, and as I read further I became somewhat upset.

The idea of trying to pass a law making a hypothesis, which, has a multitude of flaws and unanswered questions, as Mr. Stein points out, the only legal option of our origin to talk about is absolutely absurd! States have already been successful in banning any other teaching of our origins besides Darwinism, this isn't necessary. As Mr. Stein points out, since none of us can reproduce an answer to our origin, aren't any hypotheses worth considering. This leads me to believe that people are getting more and more narrow minded and only wish to consider the potential answers they deem worthy and ban the rest.

How Narrow-Minded Are you?

I do not believe in macro-evolution one bit, which is why this article came as such a surprise to me. It is true that you cannot fully prove where our origins came from, nobody was there and made a record of it, unless you believe in creation, which I do. But to try to, in essence, make one hypothesis the only legal option, is a complete infringement on "freedom of inquiry," which is "part of freedom of speech." Mr. Stein says that eventually this part of the legislation was "omitted," bringing slight relief to the subject. I had always know that schools have increasingly pushed evolution into their curriculum, but this article brought light to an entirely new advance. I don't expect everyone to believe the same as I do, but please respect me as well by not passing laws forcing me to believe your way.

This article definitely seemed to be against the hypothesis of evolution. This was easily seen by the opening questions and following sentence. I could sense from the tone that the author seemed to be slightly on the defense, which is totally reasonable when talking about such suppressive legislation. I think the author did a good job of bringing to light this controversial law. He showed the importance of being able to think freely for one's self and having the freedom to believe the way see fit. All-in-all, this article left me with very somber thoughts and feelings.

There's More to Exercise Than Exercise

Yeah, we all know what exercise is and that it's good to do. But often times most people do not realize that there is more to exercise than exercise; a second half if you will. Some people would even go as far to say that this half is just as important, if not more so, than exercise itself. However, this part seems to be the most difficult part for people to follow, so they just neglect it.

I'm talking about diet. And by diet, I mean everything edible thing you consume, not a fad to lose 5 pounds in a week. I personally believe that your everyday diet is far more important than habitual exercise. Working at a gym, I see and hear a lot of people talk about how they come to the gym four or five times a week but are not losing any weight. Then you see them eating fast food and drinking soda. There's your problem. I'm not saying you can't ever have unhealthy food, everybody has cravings and cheats sometimes. The other thing is that sometime a healthy diet is all it takes. Just eating right, or at least cutting out excess amounts of fried foods and sugared drinks, can cause tremendous improvements in all-around health.

And it's not as hard as most people might think. Yes, you always have to be thinking about the things you are eating, but that becomes habit after a while. And contrary to what most people think, eating healthy foods can taste as good, if not better, than unhealthy foods. So exercise isn't just exercise in my eyes. Exercises is exercise coupled with a balanced diet. When you eat healthy food, your body feels great; you have more energy, maintain a healthy body weight, and and have a clear conscience knowing what you're eating is the right choice. If you've never given your diet much thought, try it. You might be surprised at the difference it can make.

What Is Beauty?

For this weeks text response blog I read "Social Lubricant: How a Marketing Campaign Became the Catalyst for a Social Debate" by Rob Walker. This article talked about the way women are portrayed in marketing ads. It specifically focused on the new ads from Dove and the changes that these have made. The author describes the new ads featuring the "Dove Girls," who are supposedly more realistic than the majority of female ads.

The author asks the question: are these ads positive or negative. At first, my reaction was to say "of course they're positive." After all, the "fake" women that are in most ads are damaging to what society sees as beauty. But, on the other hand, the author points out that, in the end, theses ads are still ads. They are still trying to promote a product with "practically naked" women.
This  made me think. what's better, ads using "unrealistic women," or one's with "normal" women? The author seems to take the position that the ads with "normal" women are better. He supports this with the reasoning that the ads with "unrealistic" women create unhealthy beauty standards. He goes on to say that they also give too much focus on outward beauty, suggesting that this is most important. When physical beauty is only a small fraction of true beauty. And I agree with this.

When I first started reading this article, I did not think it would be quite as thought provoking as it actually was. The author did a great job packing a lot of good thoughts into such a short article. You never really sit down and think about all the ads out there that use "fake" women to promote a product. I was not really aware of the "campaign for beauty" by Dove until I read this article. It's good to see a company realize the focus of ads nowadays is unhealthy and try to change them. However, the company does sell beauty products, which makes you wonder if this is all just another marketing scheme for the benefit of the company, not women.

Sex Here, Sex There, Sex Is Everywhere!

Warning: don't freak out about the title. For this weeks blog I decided to write about the increasing use of sex/sexuality in nearly every form of the media, as well the increasing desensitization regarding sex. This is a topic I have been thinking a lot about lately and am very passionate about.

Sex used to be held in such high regards, considered something sacred. It was an act between a husband and wife, consecrating their union, commitment, and love for one another. Today's culture has completely distorted this view. Now, sex has become something almost strictly for pleasure, fun, and even "experimentation." Kids are being taught about sex very early in life, being shown how to perform it "safely", and even being given the precautionary tools to do so. This has led to kids becoming sexually active in their early and pre teens.

It seems like in the past few years, sex has been added everywhere. Commercials use scantily clad women to entice men to buy a product, suggesting that if you use said product, you will attract these women. Even some commercials for women have started using this technique, making the argument that they could look like those women if they buy a certain product. Immodest women are also found abundantly in magazines, especially ones geared towards men, such as Men's Health. Not to mention that on most television stations, anything shy of nudity can, and most often is, used. You can also find these kinds of ads all over the Internet.

So, you might ask why I'm saying all of this? After all, I'm a guy, shouldn't I enjoy all of it? And the answer is a resounding no! Truthfully, it irritates and upsets me. With the increasing stress society puts on sex, it's nearly impossible for a guy to stay pure. I know it's a rarity these days, and actually looked down upon, but it's the way I was raised and what I believe is right. But when sex is presented as the "normal" or "cool" thing to do, how's a guy who's saving it for the wedding night supposed to feel? Now for me, the peer pressure isn't an issue. Thankfully, I've found a girl who believes the same as I do, which makes things a lot easier. I just wish that the media would stop its sexual bombardment. Just because a vast majority of guys don't care and enjoy it, doesn't mean we all do. If someone wishes to view sexual things, they can do so very easily in the privacy of their home, but I'd much rather not be subjected to it every time I pick up health magazine or turn on the TV.

The Only Trouble With Science, Is Science Itself

For this weeks text response, I read the article "Trouble Ahead for Science", by Doctor Kenneth Miller. Right off the bat this articles tone comes across plain and clear; antagonistic, harsh, and slightly sarcastic. Being someone who, in fact, does believe in intelligent design by an omniscient Creator, this article definitely was meant to demean those who believe as I do. Dr. Miller's opening words "American science is in trouble" was an outright insult. The tone of this article reveals that Dr. Miller's intended audience are those who have similar views as himself. This is because it is so belligerent towards intelligent design, that anyone who believes that way, such as myself, would be strongly offended, and likely to stop after the opening sentence.

But, all feelings aside, the author did create quite an effective article, even though an extreme bias can be seen. however, the extreme bias shown by Dr. Miller in his article, seemed to be a little counter-effective. This is because he seemed to show no consideration for the opposition and stated everything so "matter-of-fact."If the reader of the article were of the same viewpoint as the author, or even neutral, it would be very persuasive. The main focus of the article is on the movie "Expelled", and Dr. Miller attempts to counter many of the ideas in the movie. However, having seen the movie, it seemed like a calculated choice to pick on it. Although the movie does revolve around intelligent design, it was done in a somewhat sarcastic and taunting way itself.

In the end, the article was done very well in a rhetorical sense; making relatively good counterarguments, using effective tones, and presenting adequate amounts of documented data. However, the article was written in such a negative manner, that I had a very difficult time reading it, and as you can see, it evoked many defensive feelings. Therefore, this article was a complete failure to someone like me, because it was too aggressive and attacking. If the author would get rid of some insults and decrease the resentful tone of the article, I would be much more likely to respond positively.  

Hip-Hop: The Music of Violence

For this weeks post I read "How Hip-Hop Music Lost Its Way and Betrayed its Fans," by Brent Staples. This article talked about how Hp-Hop music has turned into music about "materialism and murder." (page 299) The main bulk of the article discussed the rivalry between Hip-Hop artists and the violence that has erupted over the years due to provocative lyrics. Staples described a couple instances in which rival artists got involved in violent skirmishes leading to shootouts, and in one case, the two artists were shot to death. This illustrates the violent behaviors of the Hip-Hop industry. The author seems to assert that this violence comes from rappers "embracing violence, illiteracy, and drug dealing as "authentically" black. He claims that this is what has led to the "narrowing of Hip-Hop music." This article seemed to show the violence in the Hip-Hop industry well through examples of violent outbreaks. The only thing is that he didn't seem to explain his title. He never came out and said why Hip-Hop fans have been betrayed. He spoke about how Hip-Hop used to have a wide variety of topics and has now focused on the violent side, but it seems like Hip-Hop music is quite popular in this day and age and many people thrive on the violent topics of the music. Staples ends his article by surmising that the era of Hip-Hop music is coming to its end because much of it is seen as "unacceptable" to the world. This assumption seems to be a little unqualified due to the large popularity Hip-Hop music has with the teenage group.