The Bible

In a post-apocalyptic world I would choose to save the Bible for future generations. Others may not agree, and I do not want to offend anyone who does not have the same beliefs that I do but in my opinion, the Bible is the most important book in existence. The Bible and religion is what many people around the world base their lives on and live by. Without the Bible, people would not be aware of the word of God and would be walking lost in this world with no faith to guide them. Future generations should have the same opportunity to read the Bible like we do today, if we chose to.

Favorite Movie

Trying to think of what my all time favorite movie is is tough.There are too many to choose from. So, I guess I'll go with one of me and Madison's favorites, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I'm a big fan of Johnny Depp and he is amazing in this movie. Watching the movie, it would be easy for anyone to believe that Depp is not really Depp, but a strange, genius candy inventor that has umpa-lumpas for employees in some crazy, magical candy factory. I love the story line itself. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the original make of this movie, is good but the remake with Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka is better to me personally. It is directed by Tim Burton, so you automatically know it is a little darker than the original. The characters are have such distinct personalities and are played out so well. I love how all the umpa-lumpa's are played by one person and have such sarcastic attitudes throughout the entire thing. I also like that in this film it gives a little more history into the private life of Willy Wonka because it makes it a little more interesting. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is an entertaining movie that has a good story of a poor little boy who has nothing but hope and family and in the end is given the most successful candy factory in the world. I do let Madison watch this movie although I know there are a few parts that are a little mature for her age but she really enjoys it too. It's a great movie!

Technology

Technology is developing and changing everyday. How do we keep up? One day you go out and buy the newest, greatest, smartest cell phone on the market and by the end of the week they have come out with something new. This blog reminds me of the commercials that show someone buying some new electronical device and then somehow they are shown that what they just purchased is already outdated. I think that technology, like everything else in this world, has its bad and its good qualities. On the negative side, technology is expensive making it unaffordable to for everyone to have. It also replaces people in the work place. Companies see machines doing the job better than people doing the job because that is that much less coming out on their payroll and more money in their pockets. In some ways, technology seems to be taking over. My grandmother made a comment just the other day about how she doesn't know what people today would do without computers and cell phones because they run our lives and in some ways I agree with her. On the positive side, I think almost everyone would agree that all the new technology makes our lives easier. I have a computer, a camera, a recorder, an alarm clock, games and a phone all in one device: my cell phone. How great is that? When I'm on the go I can check my email, get on Facebook and be easily contacted by anyone who needs to get ahold of me. Technology definetly can make our lives simpler but as far as better? I'm not totally sure.

The Flowering Arches by Claude Monet

Publish Post

My dad has always had an interest in art and he passed that interest along to me. I saw this painting back when I was in elementary school and have loved it ever since. It is called The Flowering Arches by Claude Monet. Monet is one of my favorite painters. It was painted in 1913 and hangs in the Phoenix Art Museum. I have yet to see it in person. One reason I love this painting so much is because of its obvious beauty. The roses covering the arches, the water and waterlilies make for a beautiful scene. It looks like it would be a very romantic spot although it was actually built to cover a railroad, making it not as romantic. He did multiple versions of a lot of different settings such as Waterlilies, Haystacks and the Japanese Bridge and out of all those pieces of art, this one always stands out to me. This painting me wonder whether this particular place had special meaning to Monet. This painting being so beautiful is also mysterious to me. Monet was an amazingly talented artist and had so many gorgeous paintings. Many of them were painted of his own family and on his own land in Giverny, France. His house where he painted and had his gardens are now a museum in France and I would love to be able to see it someday. Out of all the amazing paintings, this one has always been one of my favorites.

Advertising

Advertising is everywhere. Televisions, radios, websites, clothing, billboards, magazines, newspapers... the list goes on and on of places you can find ads. I understand that businesses will do whatever they can to market their product but it's how they market it that is the problem. Madison, who is almost 4 years old, loves to watch Nickelodeon and Disney channel cartoons. I have no problem with her watching these cartoons except for when they show some commercials that are not age appropriate. If networks are going to show preschool age cartoons, then they need to make sure the commercials played during that time are age appropriate. Every now and then a good kids movie will come on FX. It's great that they play these movies to attract the younger crowd but at the same time they are showing previews for rated R movies and sexually oriented commercials. I don't agree with this. It's unfortunate that you worry what your child will see while watching an innocent kids movie. Children are innocent and impressionable and I believe that sometimes advertisers are taking away the innocence and giving children the wrong impressions of right and wrong. Not only are they doing this to children but to everyone at every age. Sex is used to sell everything. That's a common fact. But like we saw in multiple presentations today in class, there is an "invisible line" that should not be crossed yet constantly is being crossed. I think using sex to sell a fast food sandwich is ridiculous. In my opinion, it's senseless and untasteful. On the other hand, there are some advertisements out there that encourage good things like being active, recycling, helping others and eating right.

Facebook

I am a facebook user. I like facebook because it is a great way to keep in touch with old friends and distant family members. Because of Facebook I can easily keep in touch with two friends that have moved to Japan and Texas. I like being able to upload recent pictures of Madison and show off how cute she is and let family members who don't get to see her very often see how much she's growing up. I get on facebook quite a bit and I'll put up new statuses every now and then but in no way do I feel like I have to get on facebook everyday or my world will come to an end like some people do. I think some people get way too addicted to Facebook. They feel the need to put every detail of their day on Facebook. Personally, I am way too busy to update my status everytime I do something. I would rather spend time with Madison or go do something productive than sit on Facebook all day anyways. I also think some people put way too much personal information on their page. People need to stop putting all their personal business and airing their dirty laundry for the world wide web to see. I don't totally agree with employers searching potential employees Facebook pages. I know they are able to but I don't think they should base their decision on it. Although I do think when you're trying to get a job, you're not totally yourself and employers seeing your page might help them get to know you better on a personal level. Whether that's a negative or a positive thing is based on the person. Either way, the key is to not put things on Facebook that you would be embarrassed for just anyone to see! Facebook, like anything else you do on the internet, has its risks. You never know what kind of creep is out there searching your personal information. I think businesses and TV stations having Facebook pages is a good way to look them up and get more information on them or what's coming up but on the other hand it's annoying. When I first signed up for Facebook there was hardly any advertising. Now when you go to anyones page, there is a ton of ads and popups. Overall, I really like Facebook. I think it is a good thing if you use it the right way.

My Major

My major is psychology. I would like to specialize in child psychology and work with abused and neglected children. I always knew I wanted to work with kids but what made me decide to pursue  this career was one day out shopping, I came across a little boy who had to be younger than my daughter at the time, which was around 2, walking by himself. At first, I didn't hear or see anyone looking for him. When I was about to ask him if he needed help, I heard a lady scream "GET BACK HERE!" I knew it must have been directed toward the little boy. She found him so I walked away. Later in the store I ran into this mother again. Her little boy was not with her. Come to find out, my "mother-in-law" was with him trying to help him find his mother. It bothered me that this mother let her child run off around a store like that at such a young age while she continued to stand there and look at clothes. Maybe I'm a little overprotective, but I don't let Madison out of my sight when we're out shopping, too many bad things can happen in the minute you look away. Anyways, the little boy was brought back to his mother. Because he ran off again, she went on to scream at him in the store calling him terrible names that would be too inappropriate to repeat on here. Every time he tried to speak or started to cry she told him to shut up. I'm not one to judge, each parent has their own parenting styles, but I think calling your two year old an a**hole in public was wrong and my first thought was if this is how he is treated in public, how is he treated at home? A lot of customers in the store at the time stopped and looked around because the mother was causing a major scene. Finally someone stood up to her and told her talking to her small child like that was unacceptable. I just felt so bad for the little boy. He looked so scared and sad. It made me so sad to think of all the innocent children out there that are abused, neglected and abandoned by the ones that are supposed to love and protect them the most, their parents. Another reason is because my mom works at a foster care agency. She tells me the stories of some of the horrible things that have been done to these children and how they need help. I've been asked many times why I would want to do a job like this that would be so heartbreaking. My answer is I want to be someone who can make a difference in these kids lives one way or another. I want to help them. I'm not sure where this job will lead me. I hope to stay local because all of our family is near here. I don't know where I'll be in the next 10 years but getting there will be exciting!