Assignment 16: Horray for Hollywood

It's not quite Oscar season, I'm sure we'll get to that though, it is however that time when movie studios parade out their Oscar contenders.  So for this post I'd like you to go to the movies.

Actually you can just watch at home but I like the idea of you telling your parents that you HAVE to go for a homework assignment. 

Please pick one:

1. I'd like you to pick a genre or director and watch two films by that director and then compare/contrast the two in whatever way you deem appropriate.

2. Go see a film and submit a review of that film on rotten tomatoes.  Once you post, link the post in your blog so I can read it.
 

Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday, January 11 at 11:59 pm

Speech - Adrian Wyllie

edit: It looks so short here.

    War. The ultimate death sentence. We all know the effects of these cataclysmic events. If you look at an aerial map of a city in the middle east, you will see rubble. Bleak, grey rubble. People live in this rubble, rubble that used to be schools and homes and offices and markets.

    Earlier this year, I wrote a blog post hypothesizing a digital way to wage war, to prevent the destruction we see in the middle east. I disagree with this now. I now see war as part of what makes us human. You don't see war in nature, only fights over territory. But we as humans have surpassed the stage of fighting for survival, we now invest our time into things like speech, and the arts.

    We have had troops in Afghanistan for thirteen years. Thirteen. That's older than my sister. Now I propose a new idea. I have a feeling many of you will like this idea: a new, international holiday. This day, of which I call the day of peace and tranquility, is a day of cease-fire, no fighting happens on this day.

    This is a day for helping those caught in the middle of those wars. To help the people living in that bleak, grey rubble. I think this is due and proper. This is something all nations need, a day to celebrate life, and to help those on the edge of loosing the thing that is most valuable to them.

    We here, in this room, have voices. A quote from Sun Tzu, in his book, The Art of War, reads, “Every battle is won before it is fought.” Every battle has two outcomes, a side winning, and destruction. We have the power to try to minimize that destruction. So now I ask you, help me make this day real. Help this international cease-fire day pass. Thank you.

Speech - Kevin LaZur

If you were to visit the UK Chandler Hospital or the Kentucky clinic, you might see a machine named “Bot 1” or “Bot 2” rolling down the hallway. These box-shaped robots serve the purpose of carrying lab materials from one building to the other. They can call elevators, automatically direct themselves through the hallways, and would stop and give a polite “excuse me” if they detected someone is in their way. Should we be scared that robots already behave exactly like the common, orderly office worker? We shouldn’t; we should instead get comfortable with this growing idea of giving robots a place in our human society, because Bot 1 and Bot 2 are just the beginning.

Robots have more potential than transporting items from point a to point b with added politeness. For decades humans have dreamed of sharing a world with androids that can function autonomously. This vision is expressed by directors and authors, for countless books, TV Shows, and movies have been made in which robots can be important, righteous characters such as in Star Wars and Wall-E. In addition, movies have also been made about dystopian societies in which self-aware robots ultimately lead to humans’ demise such as iRobot and Terminator. Both of these predictions about the future of robotics are a bit extreme, but the main idea is that eventually we will live with robots, and not above them. And right now we are on the cusp of human-robot interaction.

Robots can interact with humans by exhibiting responses to our actions. Dr. Cynthia Breazeal from MIT created a bot named Kismet, which showcases the possibility of emotional responses in machines. It is structured to have all the basic human facial features, eyes, mouth, nose, etc. Kismet can recognize a variety of social cues from visual and auditory inputs, and responds by moving its gaze and making a fitting expression, so if you were to yell at Kismet, he would shift his gaze downward and make a pouty face.

So why would we want to research how to make robots respond to humans? This isn’t just about the specific act of responding. Smiling when someone acts nice, or raising your eyebrows when you are surprised, these responses are dictated by emotion. Our emotion has 3 components which are cognitive, physiological, then behavioral. We detect stimuli or “sensory input”, and route this information through complex neural circuits in the brain, which then influences our behavior and our speech. Research on sociable machines such as Kismet is about programming robots to have certain behavioral and verbal responses to different stimuli. The stimuli is the cognitive component of emotion, and the response from the android is the behavioral component. But consider that the way robots process this sensory input might bear resemblance to human physiological processes. In order to know more, we would need a more complex robot than is possible right now.

How are we going to create this complex robot that can respond to any and all of the limitless scenarios one can experience in our world? Hod Lipson and his team at Cornell have an interesting idea. In an experiment, they gave a task to a small android with 4 legs, that resembled a robotic spider. The task was to develop a way to move itself. First, the spider bot created a self model by seeing what it was physically capable of. Once it created this model, and realized what it looked like, its goal became to move its parts in tandem with one another to create movement. Through trial and error, the robot can efficiently learn the best possible way to move itself.  As humans, we spend many of our infant years learning how to do this very same thing.

What Lipson and his team have proved is that robots don’t need to be controlled in order to adopt new behaviors. They instead need to have self awareness in order to control itself. If you let a machine make mistakes, but give it a goal, it will be conditioned to eventually perform the best possible way of reaching that goal. Now let’s say our goal is to create a robot that can have social interaction with other humans. We can give the robot every response we know, but we cannot control what is said to it. Through this same concept of reinforcement we can allow the robot to learn how to interact with humans through trial and error. When they detect an emotional response from whomever they interact with, the android will learn that that is the effect of his behavior on the human. Like a child, a robot can learn correct social behavior through enough exposure to other people. We just need to allow it to be self aware.

Some people do not want robots to reach this point. There exists a selfish fear of robots, where people do not want intelligent robots to be able to act fundamentally the same as humans. Philosopher Emil Cioran addresses this fear beautifully by stating that “Man is a robot with defects.” Robots can never learn the drive to be human. The biological motivations that tell us that life is our privilege and death is to be avoided at all costs. The social motivations like the need to excel and be proud of our accomplishments, and the need to care for others and to also be cared for. Robots do not possess life. They have no need for self-actualization in society. So we shouldn’t be afraid of robots becoming intellectual equals to humans. Instead, we should be afraid of robots surpassing us.

But do not fear the progress of artificial intelligence, instead embrace the opportunity it presents. Automatons will adapt faster than us, and we want to cooperate with them in order to reap the knowledge from these machines we bore into the world. By working on sociable machines this early, we are already creating a degree of communication between robots and ourselves. We are giving them the social tools they need to maintain societal bonds with humanity once they can compete with our physiological complexity. Do not be afraid of these machines which are unburdened by mortality.

   

Speech final: Max Kaufman

Legalization                                                                                          Max Kaufman

                Marijuana must be made illegal. A vicious plant, marijuana is the first step towards modern day enslavement. Marijuana addicts suffer from boughs of violence, insanity, murder, and even suicide. This soul destroying menace deeply rooted in hell, causes wild derangement and eventually a horrible death. What kind of world would we be creating for our children if we allowed this satanic plant to remain legal?

 [Long pause]

          Now that I’ve caught your attention, most of you are aware that this is not the case, if you weren’t aware of this that is perfectly fine. The true but hard to stomach truth about Cannabis is that the most common side effects are red eyes, a dry mouth, dizziness, and the urge to consume various foods including but not limited to pop tarts, Oreos, chips and or dip of any kind, cereal, and ice cream (especially when in sandwich form). Needless to say obesity rates would not be helped if marijuana were to be legalized. I propose that the United States should legalize medical marijuana and it should be viewed by the nation as a medicinal product.

          Switching to a historical note, let me start by saying that people did not always believe that marijuana was bad. In fact its use has been traced all the way back to 7,000b.c. It is just within the 20^th century that marijuana has been made to be a bad thing.

A man named Harry J. Anslinger back in the 30’s saw the federal bureau of narcotics as a wonderful career opportunity. As an ambitious man he realized he could create a problem along a solution. So he latched onto the idea of marijuana. Attributing it to causing white women to seek sexual relations with other races, and other ridiculous things without any facts to back him up, Anslinger was quite obviously manipulating the American public. He did this with a film called “Reefer Madness” to which much of my argument against legalization was taken from. When you get a chance google this guy, some of stuff that he said is pretty funny now.

          Anslinger along with several other racists and exploiting businessmen are responsible for the negative stigma that follows marijuana.

          Now, with the constant struggle against awful disease it seems ridiculous that we still cling to these stigmas, when it could be a viable treatment for such illness. A discussion on youtube between Piers Morgan and Dr Sanjay Gupta addresses the medical viability of this plant. Here you can see, first hand, as medical marijuana cures a patient of chronic painful spasms of the diaphragm almost instantly, a feat that proved incapable of many strong and damaging drugs with side affect lists 10 times as long as the one I listed before. 

          Now you some might say that legalization will only result with more widespread use in children and teens. But in the American Journal of Public Health it is said by two PhD researchers that recent studies related to legalization in states like Colorado have given us no reason to believe that marijuana use in teens has gone up.

It might be shocking that more than 1 in 3 adults have tried marijuana but I believe that the removal of common misconceptions about cannabis could lead to less teens trying it out in the first place.

But for those who choose to use marijuana to treat chronic back pain or induce a hunger previously stolen from them by chemotherapy, who is Anslinger to tell them they can’t.

Lastly marijuana sales if made legal could become a huge source of wealth. It was estimated by Huffington Post that legal marijuana sales in 2014 would become a 2.14 billion dollar market; growing even faster than the competitive Smartphone market, imagine only if sale was permitted nationwide.

Overall cannabis has the potential to provide many health benefits, with very few negative side effects, and it was previously made illegal for reasons not factually backed up at all. It is for these reasons that I propose the United States legalize marijuana.

Speech - Sam Flomenhoft

Sam Flomenhoft

This past summer I visited Costa Rica. The first thought you have after getting off of a four-hour plane ride is “wow, boy is it hot.” And it is, it’s very stuffy and humid and uncomfortable as you wade through the thick air into an air-conditioned tourist van. After that, your next analysis of the tropical country comes to you as you peer out of the windows of that air conditioned tourist van: Costa Rica is green. And finally, after you’ve spent a couple of days there, you’re last observation: it rains a lot.

This is an observation I had about halfway into my two-week trip. It rained at least once a day, at the same time everyday, with some “unscheduled” rains mixed in. Any person coming from a normal climate in the United States would come to the same conclusion, that yes, Costa Rica rains a lot. Yet, even as much as I had thought it rained while I was there, it wasn’t enough.  Around 2008, concerns were voiced that the amount of rainfall in Costa Rica was diminishing, and those numbers have only gone down in recent years. If in fact, rainfall continues to decrease, this would have major negative effects on the country environmentally and economically.

Certain species of the country depend on having an excess of water for mating season; an example: the golden toad. Male golden toads gather in puddles of water left over from heavy rainfalls, and wait for female mates to come, where they mate, lay their eggs, and the lifecycle continues. But over the past three decades Costa Rica has started seeing a decrease in rainfall, and as a result, we have seen a direct correlation in the decrease in the golden toad population. The golden toad is one small example and its disappearance has little impact on the rest of the ecology but if Costa Rica continues to have insufficient rains more species will follow and further disrupt the rainforest’s balance.

The reduction of rainfall in Costa Rica not only has environmental implications but it also affects the economy, which relies on tourism and agriculture. As the rainforest dies, Costa Rica will become a less popular destination, decreasing the tourism industry, which according to Princeton University’s website, accounts for almost $2 billion a year. The loss of this major input of money into the already small economy would devastate Costa Rica. Moreover, many farmers are dependent on the annual flooding of their fields to grow rice. Less rain means less floods which leads to failing rice crops and eventually to further destruction of the economy.

If this isn’t enough it gets worse. Costa Rica is one of the greenest countries in the world, producing an estimated 80+ percent of its energy from hydroelectric power. Rivers and lakes producing this power are shrinking due to the decrease in rainfall. Less water will lead to lack of energy in the future, which inherently creates its own problems. The point is, diminishing rainfalls in Costa Rica have large and lasting impacts and not just on the environment. But the question is what can we point to that causes this climate change? I’m sure most of you already know where I’m going with this: Global Warming.

The alarming deterioration of the Costa Rican environment is part of larger climate change impacts worldwide: the shrinking of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the recession of the glaciers in Canada, the melting of the polar ice caps, to name a few. To most of us, these seem like problems far away from home that we don’t need to worry about, but we have problems here in the United States too; for example the California drought this summer. In fact, multiple studies indicate it was the worst drought California had seen in 1,200 years. Adding on top of that, problems elsewhere can still affect us. The melting of the ice caps will lead to an estimated 20 feet rise in sea levels worldwide, which would submerge many coastal areas including most of Manhattan, proving this isn’t a problem we can’t ignore.

Further consequences of Global Warming include, well, Global Warming. All ten of the hottest years recorded in history, have occurred in the last two and a half decades, as Al Gore points out in his documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth”.  With temperatures increasing, our polar ice caps are melting, further increasing the Earth’s temperature because ice reflects light and heat, while water absorbs it. In addition, the disappearance of large ice sheets is creating problems for many species, such as polar bears, which use them to rest in between long stretches of swimming. With nowhere to rest, we are starting to see the first cases ever of Polar bears drowning.

Not only are polar bears going extinct, so are all types of species. We are currently in the second greatest period of extinction since the dinosaurs, and last time I checked, that didn’t go too well for them.  The World Wildlife Foundation says that between .01 and .1% of all species go extinct a year, which, depending on how many species there are (scientists have different estimates), is anywhere between 200 and 100,000 species a year. Now maybe we shouldn’t be alarmed, there have, of course, been five other periods of mass extinction in geological history, but none could be solely attributed to one species like this one can be attributed to humans.

In 2006, when Al Gore released his movie “An Inconvenient Truth” there were a lot of people who “didn’t believe” in global warming, or denied it, but today most people have accepted it, so I’m guessing my speech so far has only defined the magnitude of the effects it has had. Still, it is clear that climate change is a problem and it will only get worse. Yet, there are still those who believe Global Warming is not a problem worth fixing, or that global warming is no longer fixable.

For starters, Global Warming is a problem worth fixing. My first appeal to everyone would be just out of sentimental value. I’m not sure how many of you have been to a rainforest, or seen glaciers, or explored a national park (or any other exotic place), but I and others who have done these things can assure you that it is one of the most amazing things you will ever do. And as Global Warming and its worldly impacts increase, the opportunities and availability of these experiences decrease. So to everyone who truly loves this world and wants to continue to be able to experience the diversity and wonderfulness of nature, I implore you to fight to save earth, and helping end Global Warming.

Now there are some to whom the sentimental argument doesn’t matter, who don’t care about nature, but only about the well being of the economy and their financial state. And to them I would point out that what is good for nature is good for the economy. According to Al Gore in his documentary, the car companies that started making more energy efficient and environmentally friendly cars (Toyota and Honda) did exceedingly better than those who didn’t (Ford and GM). Likewise, if we can find a way to harness solar power more efficiently, it would be a much cheaper energy than the fossil fuels, which are our most common energy today.

Furthermore, using the finite amount of fossil fuels in existence is leading the economy towards turmoil. We, as a people, are not looking for other sources of energy hard enough, and as a consequence, when the fossil fuels run out, which scientists estimate will happen this century, we will be left with no alternative forms of energy. We’re pushing our economic woes down the road, and piling them up in a landfill (such as we do with our trash), that years later will come back to hurt us more than we could ever imagine. Whether you decide global warming is an issue worth spending time and money to solve because it helps the economy or because you love nature, it is an endeavor worthwhile for everyone.

 And for those of you who think Global Warming is an unsolvable problem, its not, and there are many steps you and I can take to help reduce it. The obvious solution is to try to help thin out the ozone layer (which is trapping heat on Earth) by reducing our “carbon footprint”.  Anyone can do this personally by having a more efficient car, buying less stuff, recycling more, using LED light bulbs as well as many other solutions that can be found on the Union of Concerned Scientists website (uscusa.org). If every United States citizens made these efforts, our carbon emissions could be reduced by up to 20%.

The best solution to global Warming would be to find alternative energy sources such as wind power or hydrogen fusing and you can help this cause. There are ways to donate money for research to be done, or you can lobby for this research to be important. If we can show our national leaders that finding sustainable energy is important to us, they will listen. It will change their agendas and we can have the funding and intelligence and full support of the United States in curing the Earth. I know it seems impossible to solve this enormous problem but in the words of Margaret Meade, “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; in fact it is the only thing that ever has.”  So I leave you with this final thought, this final plea:  don’t ignore this speech and don’t ignore global warming. Go home today and make the changes in your life. Tell others to make the change; just get the word out there so that ten or twenty or thirty years down the road, we’ll be well on our way to overcoming Global Warming, and so when one of you goes to Costa Rica, you too will think “wow, it sure does rain a lot.”

Works Cited

"Economy of Costa Rica." Princeton University. Princeton University, n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

Sunstein, Cass. "Solution Aversion: When the Answer Hurts, We Just Don't See the                        Problem." Lexington Herald-Leader 14 Dec. 2014: F2. Print

"Global Warming." Union of Concerned Scientists. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.

An Inconvenient Truth. Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Perf. Al Gore. Participant Media, 2006. DVD.

United States. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Working Group I. Fifth Assessment             Report (AR5). Vol. V. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Www.ipcc.ch. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.

Assignment 17: Speech

Post your speech!

Last blog of the year! Huzzah!

Full text of speech - due Friday, December 19th at 11:59 pm.

Gates - Speech

The Decline of Higher Fidelity Sound

Gates Sweeney

            As an avid music listener, I can say that I have a nice big collection of music, and that my collection of music is in what most people would consider “high quality format.” In digital terms, that would be considered 320kbps, or in analog, a lot of money. Digital being CD’s and stored iTunes files, analog being vinyls, or records. With technology getting better every day, our accessibility to music is phenomenal. We have access to free music that is most of the time very high quality, but there is one problem. We don’t hear that quality.

            You see in our society, we are blinded from what is called “Higher Fidelity” audio. As      televisions, computers and mobile devices get better and better, companies tend to leave audio out. Now you may be thinking that companies like HP have introduced laptops and phones with “Beats Audio” inside, but the reality is “Beats by Dre” is merely a logo and a simple computer adjustment. Which in result your brain thinks “wow, this sounds really good.” Now don’t get me wrong, Beats makes very nice products that do beat many of the low end audio alternatives, but they are much overpriced. Back then, seventh grade me chose to save my money and purchase the original Beats Pros back in 2010, which set me back $400. I enjoy my Beats very much, they’re somewhat comfortable and very durable and I haven’t had any problems. There is one problem I do have with Beats though. They are convincing the public that it costs them hundreds of dollars to have access to high quality music. I’m here to tell you today that that is not the case.

            I would say that most of you have a smartphone, and with that smartphone came a pair of little earbuds. If you have an iPhone, they’re called Ear Pods. These ear pods can be very handy. They have a microphone as well as volume controls and a play/pause button. If you’re going to be making calls, these are perfect for that. If you choose to listen to music, they are okay if you have nothing else on you, but if any of you own a pair of nicer ear buds or headphones, I’m sure you can agree you’ll never plug those cheap earbuds back in again.

            So let me introduce you to a few products that will change the way you listen to your music forever. The Panasonic RP-HTX7s for example received a 4 star “excellent quality” rating on CNET reviews, while the Beats Studios got the same exact rating. The only difference that I see here is $340. The Panasonics are still very stylish and are on sale at Amzon.com for $41. A step up from the Panasonics are the Audio Technica ATH-M50x’s. These headphones are by far the best pair of headphones I have ever listened to, and they cost around $150. Still an enormous difference from the Beats.

            Now if you aren’t interested in headphones, but rather earbuds, there are many other budget options to choose from. The Panasonic RPTCM125K earbuds are said to be the greatest sounding pair of earbuds ever made. They do make earbuds for professional musicians that cost thousands of dollars believe it or not, but these Panasonic earbuds are only $15. That is so cheap that you could literally walk around your home and scrape up change and in an hour you could get yourself an amazingly sounding listening device to go with your amazing music. On the higher end of earbuds, you can get the JayBird Bluebuds X Sport. Which are wireless, yes wireless earbuds (like Mr. Logsdon’s) that have a really nice sound quality and are compatible with any sports not involving water. They go for about $150.

            Taking a step into the next level of sound quality opens new doors to instruments and vocals you’ve never picked up before in your music. You will have a greater and greater experience with your music depending on how nice your equipment is. Music was originally intended to touch your emotions and influence you. I’m sure many of you have songs for every emotion. Whether you’re sad, happy, excited or relaxed, there’s music that will suit those moods. The artist composes their music with the intent for you to hear all of it. You’re paying for so much more than the limited sounds you hear with your earbuds.

            When you lose the subtle sounds in the music you listen to, a little chunk of passion dissipates into nothing. Your music is incomplete with low end equipment. Don’t settle for less. Invest in your music and experience more.

Thank You

Speech- Olivia McCrary

Speech- Olivia McCrary

It is difficult to write a persuasive speech about animal abuse because it is simply not possible to prove that animals are important. No matter how hard you try to tell people that it’s wrong to harm animals, some people will always disagree. That’s why animal abuse exists.  

It seems pointless and silly to talk about the violence against animals when I could have chosen to talk about one of the many important problems that actually affect humans. But that’s exactly why I’m talking about this. Because it doesn’t affect us directly, we don’t care.  The rights and feelings of animals have been forgotten. Animal abuse may not be the worst issue the world is faced with today, but it is important nonetheless. Maybe it’s not a priority, but it should be.  When was the last time you saw anything about endangered species or animal testing on the news? People have simply forgotten that this is a real problem too. Everyone knows about animal abuse but not too people bother to do anything about it.  I’m not trying to claim that this is the most significant thing to worrying about, but imagine how bad it will get if the issue continues to be neglected for decades to come.  

I realize the deaths of animals aren’t a big deal compared to the countless deaths of people that are victims of violence across the globe and that are starving. People want to save people before they save animals. I completely understand this. But we shouldn’t wait until after every other problem is solved before we worry about animals because solving all the world’s problems will never happen.  We should start caring now. Sure, this particular problem doesn’t have an easy solution. But that’s because the solution is for all animal cruelty to stop completely.  Putting an end to all violence against animals isn’t going to happen immediately- it will take time.  

If you don’t see anything wrong with the abuse of animals, I don’t think I would be able to convince you otherwise. If it were that easy to prove to people the value of animals then animal abuse wouldn’t exist. So, I will not attempt to convince you of the value of animals but instead of the severity of the issue.

The animal cruelty that is present in our society today appears in many forms- some direct like poaching, animal testing, and the abuse of household pets. Some are indirect but equally harmful such as habitat destruction and pollution. Some forms of animal cruelty are things you wouldn’t really expect, like animals being kept in zoos.   

Other than lead to the deaths of innocent creatures, the cruelty has had a serious effect on certain species- some that are endangered and some that have just become endangered because of it. The current total of endangered species is 16,306. 16,306 species are nearing extinction. This number has increased since last year and will increase next year and the year after that. In addition, another 25,109 species are highly threatened and could easily become endangered.

Whether you value animals or despise them, facts are facts. Animal cruelty exists. It has existed for hundreds of years and, like a disease, it will continue to exist and cause harm unless a cure is found, unless the cruelty stops.

The best way that you can help this situation is to spread awareness about animal abuse. The people responsible for the cruelty are not going to stop what they’re doing because they don’t care about animals. But other people can stop them. By spreading awareness, people will start to think about this issue for once. The first step in ending animal cruelty altogether is making it a priority. Actually putting an end to all the abuse is out of most people’s control, but talking about it is definitely not.

Now that I’ve provided you with the facts- now that you know the truth- let it motivate you. The severity of the issue is undeniable, but it’s up to you to determine its importance and place in your life, your thoughts and your actions. Even if you completely disagree and you couldn’t care less about spreading awareness of animal cruelty, I hope that I have at least informed you about an issue that you wouldn’t have cared to learn about on your own. Even if you never think about this ever again, at least you thought about it for 4 minutes.

 

 

Kasnoff, Craig. "Endangered Earth – Promoting the Plight of Endangered Species and the Efforts to Save Them." Endangered Earth. N.p., 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2014. <http://www.endangeredearth.com/>.

Linzey, Andrew. Why Animal Suffering Matters. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.

Lowson, Kathleen. “I Want to Live.” All-Creatures.org. The Mary T. and Frank L. Hoffman Family Foundation, n.d. Web. 23 June 2014.

Rudy, Kathy. Loving Animals. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2011. Print.

Scully, Matthew. Dominion. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2002. Print.

Final Speech- Josh Strange

Kent Hovind, a creationist from Pensacola, Florida, quotes that Evolutionists and Creationists, each have on a different set of glasses, and neither are willing to take them off.  For the next few minutes, try taking your glasses off.  The goal of this speech is not to persuade you to one side but inform you of both sides’ arguments.  I’ll start by explaining each of the theories, and then explain some variations of each, and finally I’ll end by talking about why it matters.

Creationism supports the idea that there is a God.  Creationists believe that God created the Earth anywhere from 30,000 years ago to 5,000 years ago.  This belief has a lot of support from the Bible, specifically in the book Genesis, written by Moses about 1445 B.C. E. Most Evolutionists disagree with this because it contains an element of faith in the belief of a higher being outside the boundaries of time, space, and matter.  Creationists believe that when God created the Earth it took him six days to create the sun, the water, the animals, humans, and everything else created on the earth. They believed that when God created the Earth there could be variations in each animal over time, but that the variations had limits.  For example, a dog always creates a dog.  A big dog could create a small dog, a big dog, a white dog, or a black dog, but no matter what, it will always produce a dog.  After the creation of the earth, most Creationists agree that there was a great flood over the earth, occurring around 4,400 years ago for about 40 days.  The idea of a great flood is supported by petrified trees being found standing straight up in multiple layers of sediment that supposedly represent millions of years- according to Evolutionists)(information originally stated by Kent Hovind).This flood is not accounted for in the the Theory of Evolution, but is rather explained by a giant meteorite that crashed into the earth and destroyed most life on the planet.  After the flood, life spans became shorter, from 900 years to 90, and life was more difficult than before the flood.  The goal of humanity now, as described by Creationists is to recapture the environmental perfection similar to the Garden of Eden.

The Theory of Evolution supports the idea that there is no God.  Most Evolutionists agree with the Big Bang Theory, which states that all of the matter at one point in time was condensed into a very small area that was not measurable, and then the small area spun around so quickly that all of the matter exploded into what we now know as the universe.  After this explosion, Earth took about a billion years before it was cool enough for water.  The water was full of chemicals that over the place of time, around another billion years, eventually created the smallest form of life on earth.  After this time, life began to expand and expand into more and more animals and creatures like dinosaurs.  Then, one day a gigantic meteorite struck the earth and led to a giant explosion that ended the majority of the life on earth.  After the meteorite strike, many life forms controlled the earth because the dinosaurs had gone extinct.  Over the course of time many new animals and species began to emerge as many plants were available to the number of animals of the earth.  About 5 to 7 million years ago it is believed that the earliest forms of humans were starting to emerge.  Over the course of time humans have changed to adapt to their new surroundings.  We have become smaller, and many scientists agree that our brains have also become smaller; although that does not necessarily mean that we have not become dumber than previous forms of humanity. The Theory of Evolution was created by Charles Darwin and uses ideas such as natural selection as proof that Evolution exists.

Of course these are not the only two theories of how time began, but these are the two largest theories.  According to Kent Hovind, a majority of people agree that God had a role in creating the Earth.  Only 15% of people agree with Creationism in its entirety, and only 9% agree with the Theory of Evolution.  Another theory that is popular is that God created the world, but through the process of time, around 4.6 billion years (the age of the Earth as supported by the Theory of Evolution).  This theory agrees with the fact that there is a God, but adds a large twist to suggestion by Creationists supported by the Bible that says that God took only 6 days to create the Earth.  This theory acts on the assumption that God’s days are a different length than the days measured by Scientists.  This theory is the largest mix between the Theory of Evolution and Creationism, and is not supported completely by Science or the Bible, but is widely supported by many followers that wish to not take a definite side in the argument.

So why does this all matter?  For Creationists, it is the basis for morality.  If their theory isn’t correct, then there is no basis for morality- no way to tell right from wrong.  In the Bible, in the book of Genesis, there is a story after God creates the earth about the first two human beings.  Adam and Eve resided in the Garden of Eden, and God gave them only one rule- to not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, or they will surely die.  Of course, Adam and Eve eventually eat an apple from the tree and are banished from the Garden of Eden and eventually die.  But from this experience they learn the difference between what’s right and what’s wrong.  The Theory of Evolution has no basis of morality, so people can decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong.

Each theory has its own flaws and strengths.  If a theory was completely correct, then everyone would agree with it.  This debate has been going on for hundreds of years.  For me to summarize it in six minutes doesn’t it do it as much justice as it deserves. Evolutionists and Creationists each have on a set of glasses, isn’t it time we take them off?

 

 

 

 

Works Cited Page

• The Holy Bible. Grand Rapids Michigan: Zondervan, 2002. Print.
• Creation Science Evangelism. "Nothing vs. God." Faith vs Fatih - Which Do You Believe? Pensacola Florida: Creation Science Evangelism, n.d. N. pag. Print. Creation Seminar Parts 1-6.
• The Age of the Earth. Perf. Dr. Kent Hovind. Creation Science Evangelism, n.d. DVD.
• McDowell, Josh. The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict. Vol. I & II. Dallas Texas: Here's Life, 1999. Print.

The Ultimate Gift- Silvia Todorova

The Ultimate Gift 

Throughout life we are all waiting for something whether it is vitally important or something with no significance we are all in need of something we don’t have. 122,344 people, here in the U.S., are waiting for an organ. They stay on the organ transplant list for years without receiving an organ. This number goes up every 12 minutes. On average, 18 people die every day from the lack of available organs needed for a lifesaving transplant. These numbers can significantly go down with your help. All you need to do is become an organ donor after death. But first you need to be educated on this subject.  

Chris Barry, a transplant doctor said that the donor not only has a direct impact on the quality of life of the recipient, he or she also impacts the family and loved ones of the recipient, as well as their own family. The Donors family often experiences conform and closure in knowing that the tragic loss of their loved one can results in the renewal of other people’s lives. It’s the end of one life but it’s the start of helping many others. One deceased donor can save up to eight lives through organ donation and can save and enhance more than 100 lives through healing gift of tissue donation. 

So who can become an organ donor, well almost anyone can. According to the Document “Transplant” your medical condition at the time of death will determine what organs and tissues can be donated. Some people such as my dad, who as had hepatitis at one point in his life, cannot donate their organs because they are at a big risk of spreading the infection to the recipient. But as long as your organs aren't damaged they have the power of helping many people. According to Dr. Callender, minorities overall have a particularly high need for organ transplants because some diseases of the kidney, heart, lung, pancreas, and liver are found more frequently in racial and ethnic minority populations than in the general population. Similar blood type is essential in matching donors to recipients.  Some blood types are more common in ethnic minority populations, therefore increasing the number of minority donors can increase minority transplants. 

About half of the families who are asked to consider donating their relative's organs decline to give consent. By why if it can do so much good? Well, it’s important to note that's there is a big difference between stated public support of organ donation and the actual behavior of going through with organ donation. People simply are not educated on the subject. Many people haven't thought about it, or the ones who have don’t want to think about it. Nobody wants to think about dying so they   never get to registering to become an organ donor. The sad truth is that something can happen to any of us at any moment so it is important to start thinking about organ donation and get people talking about it. Let’s decreasing the shortage of donor organs, let’s educate the public.   

Ellen DeGeneres did an interview a while back with the mom of a teenage organ donor. Taylors' mom revealed that even though it was a hard decision to donate her only daughter’s organs she knew it was the right thing to do and what Taylor would have wanted. After seeing how many lives her daughter was able to save, with this amazing gift, she started an organization called Taylors gift to keep people talking about the cause and increase the number of organ donors. Today I urge you to not only to donate your organs after death but to also encourage and educate others. An article published by the Atlantic said that many religions praise organ donation, such as the Catholic Church and Pope Francis who sees it as a selfless gift. Donation does not in a way interfere with having an open casket service. Surgical techniques are used to retrieve organs and tissues, and then all incisions will be closed.  

 

 

Earlier this month I can across this the story of Matthew Heisler, a college student, who died back in March. He gave the ultimate gift to War veteran Tom Meeks, he gifted him with his heart. NBC covered this story of the Heisler family and Tom Meeks.  Matthew's dad, sister and mom, had the opportunity to meet Meeks and listen to Matthews' heart with a stethoscope.  I will never forgot the emotional moment when Matthews' sister said "The heart that I grew up with and, loved, the one I felt in all of my hug — it's still out there somewhere," she was right a part of her brother would stay alive. Not just his heart but his kidneys, liver as well as any other organs her brother was able to give.  As I was watching this touching story it dawned on me that not everyone that is in need of a transplant is able to get one in fact 6985 people are dying every year because they have to wait. This is unacceptable and completely preventable. We need to take action. Be a hero 8 times over and donate your organ after death. Live life, then pass it on.

 

 

Work Cited

Wen, Tiffanie. "Why Don't More People Want to Donate Their Organs?" The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 10 Nov. 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2014. 

Gortmaker, Steven L., et al. "Improving the request process to increase family consent for organ donation." Journal of Transplant Coordination 8.4 (1998): 210-217. 

Bloom, Tracy. "Organ Donor's Family Listens to His Heartbeat in Vietnam Veteran After Lifesaving Transplant." KTLA. CNN, 27 Nov. 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2014. 

DeGeneres, Ellen. "A Powerful and Inspiring Story." YouTube. YouTube, 9 Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Dec. 2014. 

Transplant. Dir. John Smith. BBC, 2012. DVD. 

Callender, Clive O., et al. "Organ donation and blacks: a critical frontier." New England journal of medicine 325.6 (1991): 442-444.  pass it on. 

Speech - Jeb Brumley

With a growing number of health issues across the country and a lack of physical activity, Americans are in need of a new medium of exercise that is fun, feasible, affordable, and of course, healthy. Although it may seem like we have plenty of ways for people of all ages to get the exercise they need, like playing tennis, biking, or running, we often do not get the necessary physical activity for our bodies. Many types of exercise are too difficult or nearly impossible for people above a certain age to participate in because of joint pain and the fact that they are more susceptible to injuries. On the other hand, younger people in the United States spend a significant amount of time on social media and technology. So what activity can help solve these issues and help Americans be more active? Golf.

            Golf is a great sport for people of any type and will provide you with the exercise you need. It has been proven to prolong your life and stimulate your brain leading to better concentration and increased self-esteem. Playing golf is a great way to get away from most of the technology that distracts us each day and spend some time outdoors with your friends and family. If you start walking nine or eighteen holes on a regular basis, you can get an “optimal amount of endurance exercise for your heart” and boost your energy levels. In fact, eighteen holes, on average, equates to about five to six miles of walking in about four to five hours and includes all types of terrain and weather. You rarely need to worry about injuring yourself while playing golf, as it is usually leisurely and easygoing. Although golf is commonly played competitively, the majority of golfers play casually for fun and exercise. Anyone, male or female, of any age, can play. It is an activity that can be played within the first few years of your life, up until that the last few years of your life.

            Golf, like many other things people are unfamiliar with, is victim to stereotypes and false interpretations. This is why many Americans looking for exercise tend to avoid it and never give it a chance. They label golf as easy and claim that it doesn’t take any skill or athletic ability. Also, they state that it is very boring or that they don’t have enough money to play. Most of these people have probably never played golf and in reality, these ideas they hold against the sport are incorrect and lack credibility from those who do play. Golf is very challenging and requires a great deal of strategy and superb mental focus. Furthermore, golf is actually quite affordable and you will not have to spend thousands of dollars if you are looking to get started. A set of clubs will cost you a few hundred dollars and you can walk eighteen holes for about twenty dollars.

            Americans are very unhealthy when compared to the world and golf can become a great way to get the physical activity our bodies demand. With the thousands of golf courses across the United States, it should not be difficult to get more Americans participating. It is relatively cheap to get started and it is much easier to find time to play than you may think. In order to get good exercise through golf, it is not necessary to play a full round and spend a big portion of your day on the course. Playing nine holes takes about two hours and can go a long way for your health. If you can get some friends or family members to start playing on a regular basis, you may find you enjoy the game and you want to get better and play more often. Americans must be more active and become healthier and playing golf can help us relieve stress, exercise our body, and have fun.

            Americans need to change. We make up one of the unhealthiest countries in the world. A key to fixing this issue and transforming the United States is exercise. Golf is great exercise for people of all types to do to improve their health and enjoy themselves at the same time. It can become a route to change American health for good.

Sources

·       Forks Over Knives. Dir. Lee Fulkerson. Prod. John Corry. Perf. T. Colin Campbell and Caldwell   

Esseltyn. Virgil Films & Entertainment, 2011. Netflix.

·       "Golfing Can Be Good For You If Done Correctly." Health Information and Medical Information.

      N.p., 2004. Web. 12 Dec. 2014. <http://www.health.harvard.edu/>.

·       "Golfstinks." Web log post. Golfstinks. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2014. <http://blog.golfstinks.com/>.

·       Pennington, Bill. "Twelve Reasons Golf Is The Greatest." The New York Times. The New York Times,

            30 May 2010. Web. 14 Dec. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/golf/index.html>.

·       "Top10MostObeseCountriesInTheWorld." GlobalPost. N.p., 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

      <http://www.globalpost.com/>.

·       "Why Play Golf." Golfers Journal. Golfers Journal, 2013. Web. 14 Dec. 2014. <http://www.golfers-

      journal.com/>.

·       "Why You Should Start Playing Golf." Www.mensxp.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

      <http://www.mensxp.com/>.

·       "9 Reasons Golf Is Good For Your Brain." Brain Training Brain Exercise Brain Fitness by Brain

      Training 101 RSS. N.p., 2009. Web. 14 Dec. 2014. <http://www.braintraining101.com/>.