Completed Group Project

App. 5 hours

Although it took a very long time to finally finish our group project, we finally did. Of course it came down to the last day before we made serious progress on our project, but we did spend pretty much the entirety of the day (As a group) working on the project. That included researching extra information, finishing up scripts for interviews and announcements, and recording our actual video. I think for the most part our group project turned out alright, if there was one area that our project lacked it would have to be the fact that it just was not that entertaining. Aside from that, I thought it was very informative and we did a good job providing the right facts and statistics.

Group Project

This is a little old, but here is our Group's proposal;

Group Name: Save the Women Foundation

Group Members: Breanna Hayden, Joel Linzey, and Neal Renner

Purpose: Purpose is to inform, educate, and call to change the problem in Cambodia involving sex-trafficking and its effects on us and the world.

Thesis: The Way to stop the problem of sex trafficking in the world and particularly Cambodia is to educate the people and call for the people to actually care about the subject to make a change.

Audience: This particular subject will be geared towards people who do not know about this problem and didn’t know it was going on in the world and people who care about people’s rights and being able to make their own decisions.

Modes and Media: We will use iMovie and make a video about A Call to Change and The More you and know and speak about the subject and what needs to be done. This method will be helpful in telling our purpose because it is straightforward and will be easy to understand and with this particular audience it will tell them about what we are doing and maybe speak to the ethos side and they will think about how terrible it is. Perhaps use other forms including audio of us interviewing people and get their view on the subject and how they think it affects us in the United States, this will appeal to the senses and make you think.

Plan: First we will gather all the information that we can possibly find about the subject to make sure that we know what exactly we are talking about. Every group member can help on this aspect and we can all make a database together. We also need to find different people of different backgrounds to interview about the subject, we need to write a script that we are going to perform through and record, add text and audio to it and make sure that it is recorded right and everything that we need to be on it, is. We also need to discuss our presentation and the order and showing of what we are going to do.

Purdue Basketball

As I mentioned earlier, I am a huge Purdue basketball fan. I realize I go to Ball State but I have followed Purdue Basketball for my whole life...and Ball State Basketball is not good, at all. Anyways, Purdue has started the season out great at 6-0, with 2 big wins over #12 Tennessee and Wake Forest in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. So far the absence of Lewis Jackson has not, seemingly, affected how Purdue has played. Looking at the rest of Purdue's non-conference schedule it looks very possible that the Boilers will make it to conference play undefeated, with maybe the toughest game left being at Alabama. With Wisconsin upsetting Duke (Previously ranked 5th in the nation) last night, and thus clinching the Big Ten's first victory in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, Purdue will probably take Duke's number 5 spot in the country in the latest rankings. With Michigan State losing rather convincingly to N.C. and Purdue being the last undefeated team left in the conference, it is looking more and more like Purdue is going to be the team to beat in the Big 10, which also may just be the best basketball conference in the nation this year. BTFU!

Group Project

For our group project on Sex Trafficking, one of the things I am doing to help out my group is writing a hypothetical interview for a sex trafficking victim. For the interview I made sure to answer questions such as; how the victim got drawn into the sex trafficking trade, what the victim may go through during a regular day, the effects (both mentally and physically) of being a slave to the sex trade at such an early age, and why the victim cannot just escape the trade, among other questions (and answers).

Song

I somehow came across this song over the weekend, and after listening to it for a couple times I really like it. This is an underground song but the lyrical ability of all the artists on this song is crazy. The song content is pretty violent/perverted and controversial but if you listen to how good the lyrics and wordplay are on this song (especially ems part--he actually got investigated by the Government because of his verse but lyrically his verse is amazing) its easier to overlook the actual content. 50 cent also makes a guest appearance although I am pretty sure D12 (Rap group) originally made this song. By the way this song is uncensored (and raw).

Group Project

November 12, 2009 20 minutes

Our group project is going to focus on sex trafficking. We decided we wanted to make a video or some other multimedia device. In the video, we want to show statistics of how many are affected and show the video possibly from a "sex trafficking victims" point of view. We still have more to discuss but this is just a start. We might do a video, maybe something like this;

International Problem--North Korea...the right citation

I accidentally cited the wrong source on my North Korea post. The correct citation is;

Lankov, Andrei "Changing North Korea." Foreign Affairs 88.6 (2009): 95-105. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 4 Nov. 2009.

Mexican Drug Cartels

Broder, Jonathan "Drugs and Violence Too Close to Home." CQ Weekly 67.10 (2009): 534-542. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 3 Nov. 2009.

Illegally imported drugs from Mexico into the States has been going on for a very long time, but that was back when the majority of drugs being smuggled was marijuana or heroin. Today, the Mexican drug cartels have increased in size and what they supply (now they supply Marijuana, South American Cocaine, Meth, and Heroin). The Mexican drug cartels are making more money then ever which has allowed them to purchase more weapons, better transportation (submarines, private jets, helicopters), and has given them more bribing/ authoritative power in Mexico. The Mexican Government has responded by sending in their military to areas that have been ravaged by the cartels, but the cartels are fighting back---and winning. This article focuses on how threatening these cartels could be to not only Mexico but also to the U.S.. Broder suggests that if extreme measures aren't taken to stop the drug cartels then Mexico could quite possibly become a, "narco-state", or in other words, a law-less country run by Mexican drug cartels. If this were to happen then, according to Broder, America will also be in great danger, most notably the Southern states such as California, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico.

International Problem--North Korea

Kapp, Clare "South Africa failing people displaced by xenophobia riots." Lancet 371.9629 (2008): 1986-1987. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 3 Nov. 2009.

This article focuses on North Korea and what lies ahead of them in the future. For the past two decades North Korea has been conducting a nuclear weapons program which has forced the rest of the world to keep a watchful eye on Kim Jong II and North Korea. Just recently it was discovered that North Korea performed missile and nuclear tests within the past few months. Obviously action must be taken, but how America should go about it is, of course, up for debate. Clare Kapp categorizes the U.S. policy makers into two categories, "In considering the North Korean nuclear question, U.S. policymakers and experts typically fall into two camps. The optimists believe that negotiating with Pyongyang will set North Korea on the path of Chinese-style political and economic reforms, help it become a "normal state," and convince it to abandon its nuclear ambitions. The pessimists insist that only relentless pressure will cause Pyongyang to denuclearize. The optimists (such as Christopher Hill, who once led U.S. negotiations with North Korea and is now ambassador to Iraq) favor talks and compromise. The pessimists (such as John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations) prefer coercive sanctions."

But what is not as heavily reported is the fact that North Korea relies on its nuclear weapons program very heavily, "Pyongyang cannot do away with these programs. That would mean losing both a powerful military deterrent and a time-tested tool of extortion. It would also relegate North Korea to being a third-rate country, on a par with Mozambique or Uganda." The important point to note here is that if North Korea simply stopped their nuclear testing they would almost instantly become just another 3rd world country. An alternative approach would be to attempt to reform the North Korean economy, similar to what the Chinese did. The problem with this is that North Korea would have to ease up on their stranglehold of their own civilians (censorship, mainly) which would result in many citizens fleeing to their Southern counterpart (South Korea). Realistically, major reforms would probably cause North Korea to fall flat on its face, but after that initial fall things would begin to change for the better.

International Problem--South Africa

Dugger, Celia W., and Alan Cowell "South Africa Weighs Plan To Shelter Refugees." New York Times 29 May 2008: 12.Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 3 Nov. 2009.

This article discusses what the South African Government was planning on doing about the thousands of refugees who were fleeing from the mobs attacking foreigners. The South African Government was faced with two options; setup camps for the refugees, or do nothing. Obviously when the article was written the decision had not yet been made by the South African Government, but the author(s) still attempt to weigh the pros and cons of refugee camps in South Africa. The article cites a relief official, who chose to remain anonymous, fearing, "that the camps could become rife with conflicts and sexual violence." Another downside to the refugee camps, according to Ms. Cornelis, is the poor sanitation which will lead to sickness and disease, which could possibly spread very quickly in the temporary camps. The article also discusses how poorly these foreigners are treated by regular South Africans, "provoking the resentment of some South Africans who see the outsiders as threats to their own jobs and well-being.".

NBA preview- Bulls

Chicago Bulls- The Bulls are entering this season hoping to advance further in the playoffs after last year's heartbreaking loss to the Celtics in the first round. If the Bulls are planning on making it past the first round of the playoffs they are going to need answer some early question marks. Obviously Derrick Rose is going to get the job done at Point Guard and I believe John Salmons will replace the loss of Ben Gordon, but Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, Tyrus Thomas and Kirk Heinrick will have to have productive seasons. Deng needs to regain his touch that he had a few years ago, Gibson needs to prove he can play in the NBA, and Thomas and Heinrick just need to play efficiently. I think Deng and Heinrick will have good seasons, but I have doubts on whether Thomas and Gibson will be good enough for the Bulls to do any damage in this year's playoffs. Looking at the Bulls schedule and the strength of teams in their conference I think they are a lock to make the playoffs, but as far as being a real contender for the NBA title the season we'll just have to wait and see.

FIFA 2010

This past week FIFA 2010 was released, and not a moment too soon. Ever since I started playing FIFA 09 I have been hooked. In general, the FIFA soccer games are excellent; realistic graphics and game play, a deep season mode, intense PK's, and a variety of scoring celebrations, among many other things. FIFA 2010 takes what has made the series so successful and essentially just adds more detail to the game. FIFA 10 is better then the previous games in that the game play is faster yet flows much smoother. Some other new features in the 2010 game; updated jerseys, updated players and teams, new celebrations, different camera angles on corner kicks and goal kicks, and more team strategy options. I haven't tried the season mode yet, so I am not sure what new features have been added there, but after playing just a few exhibition games it is easy to say this is by far the best soccer game on the market.

International Problem

Evans, Ian "Refugees fight to stay in one of South Africa's last, battered camps." Christian Science Monitor 31 May 2009: 9.Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 18 Oct. 2009.

This article discusses a current refugee problem in South Africa. Approximately one year ago angry mobs targeted foreigners living in African townships and "brutally" attacked them for 2 weeks straight. Due to the attacks on the townships many foreigners fled their home and went to the safest place from possibly being attacked again; South Africa. Many of these immigrants are from neighboring countries such as Zimbabwe and Mozambique and have no where else to go. Unfortunately these immigrants quickly became hated because they were, "stealing" jobs from poor South Africans. To cope with this problem the government put the immigrants in temporary camps until the violence subsided. By now, most of the camps have been discontinued as much of the fighting has died down, but their is still one operating camp housing immigrants and the government wants them to be shut down. The problem is that it's still way too dangerous for the remaining immigrants (from Somali and Congolese) to return to their home country. The city council has gone to court in order to try and evict the remaining residents of the camp but lawyers for the local camps are trying to "stave" off these efforts. Immigrants living in the camps have been struggling to live peacefully as the locals have sent death threat, attacked, and even raped the refugees. But even with all of the adversity the immigrants are facing they still feel it is safer then going anywhere else, where the would probably be killed.

I hate Winter

The weather the past few weeks has been pretty miserable; rainy, cold and windy. I know it is still only Fall (I think) but this recent weather has reminded me just how much I hate Winter. Winter time means being cold all the time, and that is going to be a lot worse now that we have to walk to all of our classes (actually, walking in general is going to be unbearable). It means less sun. It means not being able to wear comfortable clothes (as in basketball shorts and a fresh white tee). It means no more outdoor sports, who wants to go outside and throw the football when your hands are too numb to catch it anyway? Winter is going to bring along even more sickness, which is about the last thing anyone wants to hear with the Swine Flu epidemic. And considering how modest Indiana's past Summer was, and how cold it is already, it seems like we might be in for a very nasty Winter. The only thing I like about Winter? Spring Break is right around the corner.

College

So after a couple weeks of being in college I kind of feel like it is overrated. Yes their are a lot of parties and drinking and drugs and all of that but I already feel like my everyday life is the same...going to classes, studying or playing videogames, trying to find stuff to do in the dorms, staying up late for no reason and then going to sleep. I guess that is what High School was like to except it was the exact same thing everyday (at least for me). I know everything will improve as the year goes on but as of now it definately seems like college is overrated.

Best Peer Review Question

I feel like the best question on the peer review sheet for our synthesis/ analysis essay is the one that asks about the most important part of your paper; the thesis. Here's the question,

Does the first paragraph end with a thesis? Rewrite it below. Does the thesis make an argument about the significance of a literary element at work in the song? What is that literary element? In your own words, how is this literary element important to the writer’s interpretation of the song’s “hidden” meaning?

This is the best question becasue it makes sure that the author's thesis contains everything that the professor is looking for. Also, I think every paper should have a good thesis for this assignment becasue on the sythesis part you have to relate that thesis to Ishmael Baeh in the book, A Long Way Gone. The question also makes sure that the peer reviewer is doing his/her job by analyzing the thesis to make sure it contains everything that the quaetion is looking for.

KOL Concert

So over the past weekend I went to see the Kings of Leon at the Verizon Center. The concert was a great time of course but the Kings of Leon put on an amazing show, they played some of their popular songs which was nice but they also played some of their lesser known songs and that was even better. I am not a huge KOL fan, I just started listening to them over the Summer, but I am glad I decided to go. I would strongly recommend watching the Kings of Leon live.

Colts

So after four games in the regular season the colts have yet to lose. I know that the colts always start the season well but I was not expecting it this year with the loss of Marvin Harrison and the age of the offensive line. Its not only Peyton Manning who has outperformed expectations but the young receivers as well. The Colt's defense has also stepped it up a notch. If the Colts keep it up then this could be a very successful year...I dont want to get my hopes up too soon seing as it is just the beginning of the year.

Song Lyrics

I think this might be the song I choose to analyze, it's called Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town, and it's by Pearl Jam (90's Alt. Rock band).

I seem to recognize your face
Haunting, familiar, yet I cant seem to place it
Cannot find the candle of thought to light your name
Lifetimes are catching up with me
All these changes taking place,
I wish Id seen the place
But no ones ever taken me
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away... (2x)

I swear I recognize your breath
Memories like fingerprints are slowly raising
Me you wouldnt recall, for
Im not my former
Its hard when youre stuck upon the shelf
I changed by not changing at all, small town predicts my fate
Perhaps thats what no one wants to see
I just want to scream...hello...
My God its been so long, never dreamed youd return
But now here you are, and here I am
Hearts and thoughts they fade...away...

Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away... (2x)
Hearts and thoughts they fade...away...
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away... (3x)
Hearts and thoughts they fade...

I think this would be a great song because their is a lot of figurative language and many good lines in this song, and a good message.

Fantasy Football Team

After my fantasy football draft, I was pleased with who I drafted, but after the first week I think I could have the best Fantasy team in Indiana. I have Drew Brees at quarterback (passed for 6 TDs last week), Chris Johnson and Ronnie Brown/Kevin Smith at runningback, Calvin Johnson, Dwayne Bowe, and T.O. at reciever and Kevin Boss at Tight End. I am well on my way to winning my league, which means a lot of extra cash in my pocket and bragging rights over my friends for a whole year. This team is going undefeated.

Ishmael Beah

 I was really glad I decided to go to the, "Meet the Author," with Ishmael Beah. I was expecting Ishmael Beah to very boring and too hard to understand, but it was actually the complete opposite. Beah was not only entertaining but also extremely informative. Listening to his own words seemed to have a deeper meaning than just reading words from a book by an otherwise complete stranger. Before I listened to Ishmael speak I had always figured he had intentionally wrote the book so it would be published but that wasn't true at all, he wrote it because he felt he had to release all of those memories onto paper and also because he felt the media in the U.S. was covering it the wrong way. Ishmael took it upon himself to give the Civil War in Sierra Leone a "human face," and by doing so he brought the pain and suffering of Sierra Leone back home to America. I was also glad to learn he is a big Bob Marley fan, because Bob Marley is the man.

COD 4: Modern Warefare 2

Alright, I don't know if I wrote that I liked video games earlier but I am a pretty big gamer. I play almost any sports game (Madden, NCAA football, fight night, FIFA, basketball games, etc.) and also some shooting games. Although I don't play shooting games as often I do get into  the Call of Duty games, mainly Call of Duty: World at War and Cod:4. But those games have both been out for sometime and Infinity Ward is ready to release their next installment of the very successful franchise, which is COD Modern Warfare 2, which is supposed to be one of the best selling games of all time, if not the best. I have been waiting for the release of this game ever since I found out another Modern Warfare game was coming out. Infinity Ward does such a good job with both the campaign and Xbox Live and I expect this upcoming game to excel in both. I am really hoping that Modern Warfare 2 will somehow integrate another Zombies mini-game on live. The Zombies mini-game on COD: WAW was addictive and extremely popular not to mention somewhat strategic. I have spent nights playing both Zombies and team death match and cannot wait for the release of Modern Warfare: 2.

Home-sick???

I don't really know why but for some reason I have not felt home-sick one time since I got to Ball State. I'm not sure if this is a bad thing or a good thing because almost all of my peers have either already gone back home or seen their family at least once since college started. And most people have said that they are a little home-sick. I have kept in touch with family and friends but most of the time only through texting, and this seems to be fine by me. I feel like I have already adjusted to college life pretty within the past few weeks. I don't even plan on heading home until fall break, if that's the next closet break we have, I'm not sure. I guess it will be good to see everyone again, but it has felt nice to finally be away from home and being able to do what I want without the hassling of parents or siblings.

NFL Season

As I said in the, "About Me" section, I am a big NFL fan. I try to follow most of the stories during both the off season and during the regular season. But, unlike the ESPN analysts and all other "NFL experts" I actually know what is going to happen in the upcoming season. If you do not want to know what is going to happen this season then stop reading. Here are some of my bold predictions for the 2010 season.

* The Bills will make the playoffs- T.O. will open up the offense enough to allow Jim Edwards to have an above average season and the running game with Marshawn Lynch will be very productive. (Although Lynch has been suspended for the first couple games).

* The Lions will win a game- Kevin Smith (the running back) had a great rookie season behind a bad offensive line and terrible quarterback. Now the lions have Matt Stafford and an improved O-line. Plus they have Calvin Johnson, one of the NFL's best and most athletic receiver.

* The Steelers will be good...again- Unfortunately for everyone else the Steelers will be just as good, if not better, then last year's team which one the Super Bowl. They return just about everyone who played a somewhat valuable role on the 09 Steelers team. Plus Mike Tomlin is a good head coach and still very motivated and Big Ben hasn't been riding motorcycles lately. But, even though they will be better then last year, they will not win the Super Bowl.

*The Colts will not make the playoffs- Losing Marvin Harrison will hurt, but what will hurt even more (especially for Peyton) is the diminishing skill that the Offensive line used to have. A few years ago the Colts had one of the best, and most aware/intelligent offensive lines in the NFL but they are getting older fast and won't be able to do what they have been able to do so well in the years past; protect Peyton.

* The Patriots will win the Super Bowl- I hate saying that just as much as the next person but Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are going to be more motivated then ever to show the world that they are still capable of winning the Super Bowl. The Patriots play best when Belichick can convince his team that no one believes they can win and he won't have a problem doing so this year.

* Other thoughts- 

-The Arizona Cardinals will not make the playoffs, continuing the common theme that the losing team in the Super Bowl will be bad the following year.

- Jay Cutler, along with the Bears, will be a complete let down this year. That great defense they used to have is getting older, Jay Cutler's head somehow keeps getting bigger, and Devin Hester is not EVER going to be a productive go-to receiver.

-The Texans will win the AFC South and make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Andre Johnson is amazing, Steve Slaton is good enough, and Matt Schaub will start to play like he should have been playing last year if not for injuries.

- The Cowboys will not make the playoffs. They lost T.O., which is not a big deal seeing as he has single handedly destroyed 3 teams, but Tony Romo won't have a receiver he can just heave the ball up to. Roy Williams is not a comparable replacement to T.O. leading to Romo's interceptions to go sky rocketing.

- Chad OchoCinco will keep himself in the news...one way or another

-The Vikings will win the NFC North. Not because of Brett Favre but because of the best running back tandem in the NFL, Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor.

Possible Memoir Topic

I have already reflected on this story/memory in English class but I might use this as my topic for the memoir essay.

I was in 7th grade when I first "went out" (as we called it back then, also known as dating) with a girl. Back then having a girlfriend meant very little in the long run but was a huge deal in the eyes of myself and my peers. We decided one night to go see a movie, since that is what couples are supposed to do. So, after at least an hour of trying to convince my mom not to go to the same movie that we were going to be at, I got the O.K. to go to the movies. Of course I couldn't drive at the time so I had to meet Abi (that was her name) there. We decided to watch, "Jersey Girl". I honestly had never heard of the movie and I really didn't care what it was about because I was faced with many other problems heading into the movie, the most important one being if I should hold her hand during the movie. We sat in the back corner and I was starting to get worried during the previews. After much thought about what my next move should be I finally decided to just put my arm around her right once the movie started. I thought that was the best move since my hands were probably sweating. Well, after we got about 30 minutes into the movie I started to notice, slightly at first, a pain in my arm and to go along with that, my arm began to fall asleep. I thought that if I took my arm down she would take it the wrong way, so I decided I would just have to tough the movie out. If you would've asked me what the movie was about right after the show I wouldn't have been able to tell you. The only thing I could think about was my arm and how bad it was hurting. I have never wanted a movie to end so badly without even knowing what the movie was about. By the end of the show I finally got to stand up and put my arm back into a comfortable position. Out of pure happiness I let out a big sigh of relief which was followed up by, "You could've put your arm down earlier."

Favorite Movies

Aside from the Usual Suspects here's some of my other favorite movies in no particular order. 

-  Friday Night Lights or Remember the Titans

- American Gangster

- Office Space

- Scarface

- The Bourne series

- James Bond movies

- Goodfellas

- Collateral

- Shawshank Redemption

- Vacation

I know I have left out a lot of other good movies but those were some of the first ones that I thought of first.

About me

Hi my name is Joel. I went to Harrison High School in West Lafayette (Purdue), Indiana. I played football at Harrison and intramural basketball. I like hanging with friends, playing videogames (xbox live), and going to parties. I am currently undecided but might major in sports administration. I also listen to a lot of music, mainly 90's alternative such as Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but I also like modern alt rock and some of eminem's old stuff. My favorite movie is the Usual Suspects and my favorite TV show is the Office. I am still a huge Purdue Basketball fan...they're definately going to the final four this year. I love watching football (college and NFL) and basketball (mainly college basketball). I have lived in Buffalo, New York, Rhode Island, Louisville, Kentucky, and McAllen, Texas, which is where I was born. I also like going to concerts...I will be going to see Lil Wayne this weekend (I actually hate lil wayne im just going with friends) and I will be going to see Kings of Leon later on this year.