DA ALPACALYPSE

Is it bad I'm actually excited for the alpacalypse?

I mean really though, we have t-shirts, we're going to have an alpaca cake, what more could you want? I guess it helps that I don't believe the world is actually going end, though I would prefer it to be overrun with vicious alpacas rather than exploding or somehting.

If the alpacalypse really does happen, I probably won't be very prepared. My family would be set for a few days, but I don't take my mom for the type that will run through costco, pushing and shoving people to get to the canned food and water. We probably wouldn't last very long, but we certainly won't eat my dog, Coco, to prolong the inevitable.

Maybe our class should just stay as the commune, with Dex as our leader. He claims to know how to survive in this situatiojn, so we'll see how this holds. If we have to eat anyone, I vote him. After he teaches us how to kill squirrels and skin them, he will be of no use to us (I hope everyone reading knows I am JOKING).

I couldn't say what I or my family would actually do during the alpacalypse. I don't think we would be one of those families that books follow that make it to the end. We might be the friends, who move away or simply dissappear.

Children of Men

     I've noticed that the more recent movies about the future are very grim and are all about how the world falls apart and people go crazy or there's a corrupt government.  Well, in the future, according to "Children of Men," this all happens.  For some unknown reason, no one can have children after a certain point, and the whole world turns into chaos. Every country falls apart except for Britain.  A regular citizen, Theo, becomes involved in a project to save the one human, Keye, that somehow became pregnant in an infertile world.  This movie follows their dark journey to get to the Human Project, and virtually everyone except Keye and her baby die. 
     I thought this was a good movie, mostly because I haven't seen one like it, but very dark.  I don't understand why it was necessary to kill Jasper (and likely his tortured wife) and Theo.  They were the good guys! Only Keye and her baby survive, and we don't even see the end.  We don't see Keye making it to safety, or her baby growing up, or the fertility and sanity of the world returning (if any of those things happen).  When the movie ended, I just stared at the screen and finally said, "WHAT?! THAT'S IT?! THAT'S THE END?!"  But seriously, how can you end a movie like that? There's hope for a better world, but it just cuts off! I really hate movies like this.
     Although the ending dissappointed me and keeps me awake thinking, I still like the movie.  I like to think that everything works out, because I'm an optimist and I like cheesy, happy endings.  Sorry to all who like the creative, dark movies that end horribly!

My Feed

The way that this book, Feed, actually portrays the feed is completely negative.  The language itself bothers me in the fact that it is just all slang that diminishes the English language.  Also, the corporations controlling the feed to nothing to change this or help people like Violet who are hurt by the feed.  Not to mention that the feed completely desensitizes us as humans.  Titus isn't even sad when Violet dies.  This is not an okay reaction for a boyfriend to have when his girlfriend dies! But the seemingly normal part of the feed, the advertisements, games, and T.V., are personalized and some-what invasive. 
Thinking of something in my brain that actually advertises directly to me would be strange.  I think it would be bad for me because I don't have much will power when it comes to cools things I can buy.  I'm really lazy, so it would be easier for me to spend money when I don't even have to leave my bed.  My feed would probably have lots of advertisements for random gadgets that aren't necessary because I get distracted and like toys.  Unfortunately, this would make me spend more money and less time on School™.  Anyone else think that corporations owning school or clouds is strange?
Anyway, I think my feed would have a lot of soccer related stuff too.  I could shop for cleats for hours if I had the money.  Speaking of soccer, does the feed take away physical sports?   If so, count me in on the resistance.  I think the feed has many advantages, such as easy access to information, promotes shopping, and instant communication, but there are drawbacks as well.  There would be hardly any face-to-face communication, people would become "dumber" from less need to remember things, and it isolates people who cannot afford the feed.
Of course, there are more advantages and disadvantages than the ones I have mentioned, but I think in the end, the feed should be resisted.  Privacy will no longer exist and our world would completely change, mostly for the worse.  There are many advances we could make with the feed, but think about the ones we could miss because a machine in our brain does all the thinking we need.

Future of Soccer

     In the short story, Harrison Bergeron, Vonnegut creates a society based on equality.  Those with any sort of talent, whether it be athleticism, intelligence, or beauty.  If our government were to put similar restrictions on people with talent to achieve equality, I would have the physical handicap of weight added to my body to make it harder for me to move.  As an athlete, I believe I have more strength than the average person; therefore, in order to make everyone equal, I would need weights that restrict me.
     I'm no Harrison Bergeron, but I believe a handicap would be necessary in the society he lived in.  The concern would mainly be my lower body (I have no upper body strength).  Since I play soccer, I assume the government would restrict my performance in the sport as well, like they do to the ballerinas.  Again, I might have weights on my legs to slow me down or reduce the length of my kick, but I may also have an earpiece to distract me as well.  If I were able to think better in a game than another person, equality would not exist.  The earpiece making noise every minute or so may hinder my playing, which, in 2081, would be a perfectly rational thing. The game would be much slower, in that everyone is just as good as everyone else.

Propaganda

     When you hear the word "propaganda", negative images may come to mind. Propaganda can be a bad thing, such as misleading advertisements, but propaganda can be benificial sometimes. It is described to be a spreading of information, whether that information is true or not. Commercials and other types of advertising are examples of propaganda; some have good intent to inform the public, while others just try to trick people into buying the product they are selling. Informing the public of national or international affairs is a very important kind of propaganda as it keeps people up to date on current events around the country and/or world. If given by a credible source about a relevant topic, propaganda can be a very successful way to update the public.
     Of course, there are many negative types of propaganda; the kinds that everybody sees most often.  Many times, people are smart enough to understand the difference between genuine information and rumors meant to deceive them, but there are times when the propaganda is so persuasive that it convinces you to believe in it.  For instance, the SPCA commercials with Sarah McLachlan show heart-wrenching images of abused, starving, or sick animals. These images along with sad music emotionally sways you to at least feel sympathy for those animals. Personally, I always have to change the channel when these type of commercials come on because they are so emotionally moving that I cannot watch without feeling bad. This is effective in what the goal of this advertisement is, but it can be considered a misuse of propaganda. Even though propaganda can serve as a food service to the public, there is so much of it that can mislead almost anyone. There is a time and a place for propaganda, and we have way too much of it in the modern world. 

Blog #1: Utopia

       A utopia is a general idea of the perfect society; however, our opinions of a perfect world may differ from one another because of our individual beliefs.  For example, religious views for almost everybody will be different, and therefore will result in different religions in each person's utopia.  This could cause conflict, and in a utopian society there is no conflict. In my opinion, a perfect world would include no disagreements or problems of any kind.  Of course, this is difficult to achieve, especially in the modern world.  Despite the impossibilities, I believe there are certain characteristics a utopia must have. Since seperation can cause conflicts, a perfect society should be united. Whether there's a government or not, it should all be central to this one society. Many other things must be consistent among the citizens of this utopia in order to truly be perfect. Religious beliefs (if any), a person's worth, and education must be the same to guarantee social equality and prevent conflicts. Wars can be started over religion, money and equality. If a place were to exclude any differences in those areas, many problems can be avoided.
       In my mind, there are certain things that must be addressed in a community to make it a utopia.  As I previously mentioned, a utopia should be unified. The religion should be the same or have no religion at all. This means people would have to agree on the one religion practiced. Also, an overseer is required to make sure the society is in fact staying a utopia. No one should have a higher power or social rank than anyone else, and everyone should have to work and they would be allowed the products they need in exchange for that work (rather than money). Crime would cease to exist but on the occasion that a crime is committed, an appropriate punishment will be issued. In most cases, extra work, like community service, will suffice unless the crime requires a more severe punishment. Technology within the society will be very simple; that is, only what is needed will be used. Landline phones and electricity will be basic things people will need, but nothing much more. Overall, a utopia should consist of a simple way of life in a tightly knit community. Problems will not exist and everyone will get along and be happy.