Acing Your Test on Miley Cyrus

Please excuse the name of this website where I found this article talking about a new college course about a class titled "The Sociology of Miley Cyrus." I thought the issue was too interesting to pass up.

The fact that there is actually a class at a prestigious school (Skidmore) offered about Miley Cyrus is embarrassing, but then again, why is this even happening? Miley Cyrus seems to have taken over the world. It makes me think about how social media played a apart in this take over.

Do you think in 1977 there was a class at universities about Elvis Presley? Probably not. This makes me think that pop culture has truly taken over the lives of the younger generation. I think that social media definitely helped with this. 

We are constantly reminded of what everyone else is doing, listening to and watching because of social media. This makes it a lot easier to discover what the trends are. I mean, really. Walk in to American Studies during 8th period and look at how many people are on their iPads checking instagram. Maybe if more classes like this were offered, we would think school was more fun. But is this information useful? Probably not.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Winter Vortex, Raindays, 60 degrees in the summer, is this Global Warming or is it just Chicago weather? I think the answer is pretty clear. The climate changes are staring everyone straight in the face in these past couple years and I honestly haven't seen that much press about what is going to be done.

I found an article that shows the government's planned method for action. One quote in particular stuck out to me as unusual as I read it: "Previously the IPCC was accused of being very conservative," said Gary Yohe, professor of economics and environmental studies at Wesleyan University, one of the authors of the report. "This allows them to be less conservative without being open to criticism that they are just trying to scare people to death." To me this is so confusing, why would the IPCC want to scare people to death? They would never exaggerate the effects of this problem so why would they ever hold back or be "conservative" with the issue? 

To me this is something that all Americans should be aware especially because of the worldwide effects it might have on the economy. I never thought about this part of the issue until I read this article. Of course the climate change is killing crops in tropical areas, making it harder for them to sustain a stable economy. 

I think that this issue is becoming bigger and bigger and something needs to be done. No one will be blaming the IPCC for over reacting once they see the issue has gotten out of hand and they can't go to the beach anymore.

Mo Money Less Fat

I've never really paid attention to the childhood obesity epidemic because it just never really became something that I saw everyday. The whole "nationwide obesity problem" to me, was basically just the reason why I have to take gym every year. Not to say that everyone around where I live is in tip-top shape, but I think few would argue when I say that obesity definitely isn't the number one issue to deal with in Winnetka.

Then I asked myself, why is that? Why is it that we don't see as many overweight people around here? I read this article where the author questioned if the claimed drop in childhood obesity was really legitimate. That is why I began to think about the habits that the mothers in the North Shore create for their children early on.

I babysit for a family of 3 kids every week. Their ages are 3, 5 and 7. When the mom runs out the door quickly giving me instructions she tells me that the kids have to be outside for at least an hour before coming in to have dinner. Dinner instructions are always the same, written on a post it in the middle of the kitchen: "WHEAT bread pb&J for Declan, ORGANIC mac n cheese for Didi and Karys, and SKIM, ORGANIC milk for Karys' bottle." I never argue because this is what I grew up eating too. My mom would never buy whole milk or anything other than non-fat, and now if I ever drink it my stomach hurts.

The kids never argue either because they simply have never tried anything else. How are they supposed to know that Kraft mac n' cheese is like, 10 times better than Annie's Organic? Even when they play outside everyday they get bored inside. I think it is because we are surrounded by moms who really don't have anything else to worry about besides this kind of thing, and we all have backyards to play in. Kids in a lower income neighborhood who have never been in a whole foods might not get the same benefits of pretty much dodging the bullet that is childhood obesity.

Where Do Your Snaps Go?

Everyone has heard about people's issues with the NSA hacking into personal files and using the information to "protect our country." But when does it go too far?

Snapchat is a messaging app that claims to delete all of its "messages," or pictures with words on them, after up to 10 seconds. Delete as in no one can ever find them anywhere, not even the person who sent them.  You are notified when anyone screenshots your pictures as well. I'd always heard stories about someone getting their picture screenshotted and distributed against their will, so clearly people are not okay with their snaps people shared.

The public public was outraged when the idea of their snapchats being erased turned out to be false. Many people the company for false advertisment. This article proves that there was a little more to the story. (http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/26/opinion/schneier-snapchat-wickr/index.html?hpt=op_mid)

Of course the government wasn't okay with this idea, I mean really, we're talking about America here. But seriously, why does the government care about our snapchats? I highly doubt there was anything interesting in investigating this type of communication. I was okay with the fact that they were looking at texts and calls because I can see how that could lead to a tip on a possible terrorist but snapchat? Really? I highly doubt anyone is sending a  5 second picture of their homemade bomb to their buddies.