Otilio

Otilio 1.Is Your Lunch Causing Global Warming? by Elisabeth Rosenthal (The New York Times Upfront) Date: January 18th, 2010. 2.Jump in the Fire by Dave Mustaine (Guitar World magazine October 2010) Afterlife by Richard Bienstock (Guitar World Magazine October 2010) 3.Was it worth it? The end of U.S. combat in Iraq (The Week magazine September 3-10, 2010) 4.Who Needs Harvard? (Time Magazine; August 21st, 2006), Staring Down the Censors by Oliver August (Wired magazine 15.11) 5.U.S. Turns to Waivers to Address Talk of Dropping Health Coverage by Reed Ableson. [|//The New York Times//], U.S. Tries to Calm Down Pakistan Over Airstrike on It's Borders by Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt. [|//The New York Times//] The Obama White House: An Inside Look by David E. Sanger in Washington D.C.(The New York Times Upfront Jan. 18, 2010) America and the World: The Challenges Ahead, by Patricia Smith (The New York Times Upfront Jan. 18, 2010) 1.I'm thinking about many new procedures being put into place around the world that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For example they now make some farmers inject manure into the ground as opposed to just throwing it on top of the soil. This makes the manure work more effectively and reduces the amount of greenhouse gases released by the manure. I was so interested in this story that I decided to do a presentation on this topic in my biology class. 2.I am also thinking oh how tragic the music world can be. This past year has been a tragic year in music with the deaths of [|Paul Grey] of Slipknot. [|Jimmy "the rev" Sullivan] of Avenged Sevenfold, and the death of former Black Sabbath front man [|Ronnie James Dio]. 3. I finished readying an article on how China has tried harder and harder to try and censor the internet, and despite all their efforts they have still failed. the have recently enacted a firewall know as the great firewall of China A.K.A. the [|golden shield project]. yet despite their efforts hackers have still been able to find a way around it. The internet has no doubt already changed our world, but it seems that it will very soon that it will effect government as well. Things are no longer going to be censored so easily and thus people will be much more rebellious 4.I Found the article on colleges and why Harvard and certain Ivy league schools are a bit over the top. I enjoyed reading about people who've found schools that were much better for them than the ivy league schools would have been. This has also greatly influenced me with my decision on what school I wish to attend. 5.Certain Health care insurers have been talking about dropping certain coverage plans as a result to the new health care reform, including children plans. As a result the government has been offering out waivers so that these large insurers won't simply stop covering the people with these plans. I find this very interesting, obviously the transition will from private insurance to public health care will be a very bumpy one. It is already starting to get "bumpy" and the law isn't going to be in full effect until 2014. I am also thinking about how effective or ineffective it would be to implement public health care into the U.S. We have already socialized many things including school, Police departments, why not health care. My class has been talking a lot about this recently because we also just finished watching Michael Moore's documentary [|Sicko]
 * What I'm Reading Now**
 * What I've Read**
 * What I'm Thinking About**

___ Quarter 2

10-14-10
 * What I'm reading:** U.S. Uses Attacks to Nudge Taliban Toward a Deal
 * What I've read:**
 * What I'm thinking:** It's hard to believe that the U.S. has been involved in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban for nearly 9 years.It's definitely a challenge to fight a guerrilla group, mainly because you don't know who you're fighting. How are you supposed to tell an insurgent from a civilian. The U.S. has definitely gotten themselves into quite an ordeal here, but they have handled insurgent groups before such as in Colombia. In efforts to try and get the Taliban to agree to peace talks the U.S. has been air striking many bomb making plants, but apparently the air strikes have had the opposite effect and only caused more motivation in the ranks of the Taliban. Hopefully, the U.S. finds a solution to this problem quickly.

10-26-10
 * What I'm reading:** Jump In The Fire by Mac Randall (Guitar World Magazine: February 2008)
 * What I've read:** U.S. Uses Attacks to Nudge Taliban Toward a Deal
 * What I'm thinking:** It's kind of inspiring how some people are able to overcome challenges despite the odds. Some people are just really unlucky but they keep with it and eventually they succeed. This article is essentially about how unlucky two guitarist are and despite their runs of bad luck they continue doing what they do and because of that they prosper. At one point they really landed a record contract but they got unlucky and the band split up. Yet, they moved on and worked vigorously and were able to get through it. It's the kind of story that makes you feel like you can do anything if you give it enough effort.


 * What I'm reading:** //The Wind-up Bird Chronicle// by Haruki Murakami
 * What I've read:** U.S. Uses Attacks to Nudge Taliban Toward a Deal, Jump in the Fire by Mac Randall (Guitar World Magazine: February 2008)
 * What I'm thinking:** I recently started reading the book //The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle// I haven't really gotten too far into it yet, but I've developed some good feelings about it; It definitely seems like an entertaining book. The book itself is very strange to put it simply and I can't really think of any other way of describing it. It's only been the first chapter and there's things going on that make no sense, but not in the sense of you can't understand what's going on; it's quite simple to understand what's going on you just don't really know why it's happening and it invokes your curiosity.


 * What I'm reading:** //The Wind-up Bird Chronicle// by Haruki Murakami.
 * What I've read:** U.S. Uses Attacks to Nudge Taliban Toward a Deal, Jump in The Fire by Mac Randall. Pg.5-58 of Wind-up Bird Chronicle.
 * What I'm thinking:** The book has gotten a bit more interesting although there are some parts where it lags. In particular there is a certain part that really interested me. Apparently he sees a fortune teller or something of the sort. This fortune teller tells him "The law presides over things of this world, finally. The world where shadow is shadow and light is light, yin is yin and yang is yang, I'm me and he's him. I am me and/ He is him/ autumn eve. But you don't belong to that world, sonny. The world you belong to is above or below that." (pg.51) I really don't comprehend this but i find it very interesting, perhaps it means that the narrator is different he isn't what he looks like as compared to other things which are what they seem. Nonetheless the book is starting to pick up and despite it's oddities I find it interesting, it's so odd that you want to get to the end just to figure out what the heck is going on.