Hey everyone... I am finishing up my Ted Talk on Windows Movie Maker and I need some help. How do you insert a picture and still have the audio play while the picture is showing? I have looked on YouTube and all over the internet and can't figure this out

Now that I have some time to get on here and post a blog or two about the things that have been discussed over the past few weeks, I would like to talk about the great video game presentation given by Joe and Casey. I thought the entire presentation was well put together and you both did a very good job of supporting your views on the topic. I would like to however respond based upon the other end of spectrum when it comes to video games and violence. These are just some of my humble opinions in the topic area and I am in no way trying to bash anyone else's views on this.. I would just like to express my view. The first computer game that was brought to our attention was centered around the stereotypes of illegal Mexican immigrants. I believe that it could be offensive to some but I was kind of raised on the idea of "sticks and stones." Being raised this way has allowed me to learn to avoid getting caught up in the "small" things such as jokes and things of that nature. I saw this game as someone's awful attempt to make fun of a group of people that tend to catch a lot of slack anyways. I see this game as kind of humorous not because of the message behind it but because of how something as simple as a video game can create such a stir. If this game was focused on making me the center of the joke I would do my best to almost laugh it off and move forward with my life. Maybe that is the "jock" side of me coming to the surface... There is no shortage of jokes being thrown around a college locker room and if I was to storm out as soon as my name was used as a punch line, I wouldn't have made it four years on the baseball team. Respectively I think that some people, not all, are a little to sensitive at times. I would also like to discuss video game violence and the effects that is has on children. Doing some brief research I was able to see that there has been no scientific connection between video game violence and the violence level of kids. In reality how can a study prove that a child is violent or aggressive because they play Grand Theft Auto? Correlations have been found instead that have determined that violent video games do not make kids violent, instead kids that have a predisposition to be violent are drawn to these games to seek out the violent entertainment. I tend to agree with this statement as well. If an individual feels the need to attack an elementary school I believe that person to have a mental instability that is in no way linked to violent video games. I have personally spent a large chunk of my day playing Call of Duty with some buddies and in no way shape or form felt the urge to attack someone. Why? I am able to understand that the things being portrayed in the video game are fantasy and that things to not operate like that in the real world. The same goes for the Grand Theft Auto games. I feel like people want to blame anything they can before pointing the finger at themselves. If a child is considered violent by no means can that child be labeled depressed or mentally ill; let's just blame it on the video game he/she might be playing. I find this kind of talk to be ridiculous. Someone may feel the need to replicate something they see in a video game but in no way does the violence in the game create a violent person. "Violent juvenile crime in the United States has been declining as violent video game popularity has increased. The arrest rate for juvenile murders has fallen 71.9% between 1995 and 2008. The arrest rate for all juvenile violent crimes has declined 49.3%. In this same period, video game sales have more than quadrupled." I found this statistic while doing some brief research on the topic and thought it to be pretty interesting given the "correlation" between violence and video games. I also believe that parents need to be more involved in monitoring their child's time in front of these games. If there is such a big issue regarding a Call of Duty game or a Grand Theft Auto type of game, DON"T LET YOUR CHILD PLAY THEM. If you choose to allow your child to play a game of this sort you should sit down with them and explain that everything in the game is fantasy and does not reflect how the world works. Again, I respect everyone's opinion and am in now way trying to bash others. I just stand behind my views on this topic and felt like explaining them in detail.

I will start by saying that I'm extremely picky when it comes to food. I know what I like and dislike and usually go with a restaurant that I'm familiar with. My Mexican food favorites pretty much stop at Taco Bell and I wouldn't even consider that real Mexican food. A few teammates and I decided to give Los Amigos a try last week. I have heard good things about the place so I figured I would give it a try. I went in thinking I would order my usual choice of a steak quesadilla or a nacho dish. I decided to go with a Chimichanga with Mexican rice. First of all the thing was the size of my head which pleased me as I tend to eat large portions. It took me all of about 15 minutes to eat the entire plate of food and rice as it was delicious. The one thing that I really enjoyed other than the food, was the authentic Mexican feel of the place. Everyone that worked there fit the mold and there wasn't one thing about the restaurant that seemed Americanized. Los Amigos was a 100% authentic Mexican restaurant. The waiters and host's were all extremely polite which made the trip that much more enjoyable. I would definitely recommend this place to you guys.

Dr. Karowe presented a very interesting lecture on Monday regarding the global warming issue. I entered class not knowing much about the subject aside from the fact that indeed the earth is being affected by this phenomena. The first thing that impacted me upon listening to the facts was the issue regarding the energy from the sun. There is much debate regarding whether or not we are receiving more energy from the sun and if this is playing a major role in the warming of earth's temperature. I learned that over the time period discussed that indeed the earth has warmed fastest while receiving a lower amount of energy from the sun. This immediately led me to believe that humans are playing a much larger role in global warming then originally thought. Dr. Karowe then gave us this statistic; 95% of the increase in earthly temperature is a result of humans. The burning of fossil fuels and forest clearing being the leading role players in that stat. I also appreciated the portion of the lecture that provided ways in which we can begin to minimize this climate change. So often we hear of all of these complaints and people continue to contribute to global warming without realizing it. It is nice to know that there is a group of people who are adamant about making positive changes in order to sustain the earth we live on.

Traveling as much as I do for baseball gives me the grand opportunity of eating at any and every fast food place in existence. I will admit that I probably consume more fast food than I should but how can you turn down some chicken nuggets after a long day on the field?? This brings me to the irony of these same fast food places... they have some of the slowest service in the nation! Places like McDonald's and Taco Bell were created because of the appeal they had to people knowing that their meal could r=be received quickly. The don't call it fast food for nothing right? Now-a-days you can drive up to any McDonald's and see that they have two lanes in the drive thru. I don't know who made that brilliant decision because all it does is slow down an already slow service. I can see that it allows more cars to pass through and thus increases the amount of money being made but I don't want to sit in line for 30 minutes waiting for my food. Some teammates and I walked to a Taco Bell that was near our hotel this past weekend and came to find it completely empty. We figured that we would be in and out of there in 20 minutes; WRONG! It took Taco Bell 20 minutes alone to come up with our orders...! You can't keep a handful of hungry ball players waiting on their extremely unhealthy food when they have been craving it all day. (We tend to get a little cranky when we're hungry) Fast food places need to take a page out of the Jimmy Johns handbook and start taking it up a notch!

The further I read the more interested I become in the way Ernest Hemingway writes. He writes in a way that is very short and to the point. Early in the book he describes the way in which he begins his work with the most simple sentence he can think of and goes from there. He goes into more description of how he writes in the chunk that I have just read. He referred to his ability to deal with hunger as he works and how writing while he is hungry makes him a better writer. He feels as though he is able to notice smaller details in things around him when he is hungry. I took this as he is more focused on his writing when he is working on an empty stomach. This characteristic of Hemingway I found to be odd. Writing is his craft and being able to perform in that craft better when he is starving was interesting to read about. Another thing I found interesting in this portion of the story was the conversation Hemingway had with Miss Stein about the generation of that time period. She refers to it as the "lost generation." She felt very strongly that all of the men in this generation were drunks and then in turn were worthless.

I was a little hesitant to begin reading A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway simply because I'm not a huge reader. I have heard so much of his work and kind of thought that it might not reach into something I was interested in. After the first 50 pages I will say that I am pleasantly surprised about what I am reading. The story takes place in Paris and is told through the eyes of Hemingway himself. It describes his day to day activities throughout the city and goes into great detail about the unique bars, restaurants and shops he often visits. Only 50 pages in and I can tell that Hemingway loved to drink, he often described the various wines or other beverages he enjoys throughout the story. Hemingway is very descriptive in his writing about the various things he comes into contact with this was evident in the very first chapter as he describes a beautiful women he notices at a bar. His writing instantly puts an image of what this women could have looked like into your head and I think this is one of the qualities of this story that I have enjoyed. Hemingway puts you directly into Paris with his various descriptions of the cool, damp, and bare sky of the winter time. I also noticed that in just the first 50 pages he visits a number of interesting and cool places. These places included various bars, museums, shops, and even the horse track. It is because of these qualities that I looked forward to reading the remainder of the book!

Now that I have read the whole book I can say that it had a lot of my attention at times, whereas other parts were not as interesting. I was impressed with the resiliency of Katniss and Peeta throughout the games. The situations that they found themselves in were very tough mentally and physically but they always seemed to keep their cool. I still found myself scratching my head when learning of how the kids killed one another but I guess that is why this book is so unique. I recall the time when the remaining tributes were racing towards the cornucopia to collect backpacks loaded with important items and Thresh saved Katniss by crushing the skull of a girl. Reading about kids killing each other just isn't something that is typical for books. I don't believe I will read any of the other Hunger Games books as I wasn't that impressed with this one but I will say that I really enjoyed portions of it!

I have been impressed at how quickly I've been able to make my way through this book. Like I said in an earlier post, I haven't seen the movies let alone read the book so it has been a nice read so far. I have been more focused on picking up on the plot of the whole story and trying to figure out the point behind all of the twists and turns within so I haven't focused on comparing the story to modern day issues. The chapter discussing the training in which the tributes had to go through was interesting to me. Each tribute has a different set of skills that will come in handy once the games start so reading up on the different things they had to do during the training sessions was cool. The most exciting part of the story was obviously the start of the Hungar Games. As I started the book I didn't expect to read about kids killing one another right from the start but that's what happened. Katniss was noticeably anxious about the start of the games but I also thought part of her was calm knowing that Peeta was on her side. As the games went on I was impressed at the poise in which Katniss carried herself especially when she realized the career tributes had teamed up. She seems to have a strong survival instinct in tough situations and I predict that to come in handy as the story unfolds!

I will be honest in saying that I have never seen any of the Hungar Games movies or read the books... I'm probably in the minority with that statement. I had a basic idea of the plot behind the story but wasn't quite sure how I would like the book. After reading the first five chapters I'll say that it has my attention. Having the story set in the future kind of reminds me of movies such as I-Robot or I am legend. I was interested in the event of the Hungar Games in which a male and female from each district are essentially thrown into the wild and asked to compete and survive against others from the surrounding districts. I look forward to reading more about the events that unfold in the Hungar games and the lengths that each person is willing to go to survive!

I have heard so much about this book over the years and have yet to read it until now. Making my way through the ranks of higher education I have constantly heard about the vivid and cruel images of the slaughterhouse that is the focus of the story yet the first couple of chapters sound very optimistic. Jurgis comes to America in search of work knowing full well the benefits of moving to America. To the eye of the well informed, a job in the slaughterhouse may not have been one to go after. This is where I was caught off guard by the optimism in which Jurgis has when taking the position. Packingtown did not sound like a pleasant place to live but Jurgis was determined to provide for his family and it is this quality that made me an early fan of him. He must have had doubts when he began working in the slaughterhouse but he knew that it paid much better than any job he had in his homeland. I'm beginning to wonder about how long it will take the working conditions to catch up to him, how long will until the cruelty starts to wear on his mind? I am very interested to continue reading the book!

Food waste is a definite and huge problem in America. It feels as though Americans spend more time throwing away food than exercising! We sit here behind a mountain of food and fail to realize the harsh life that thousands of people across the ocean have to face. Why should we be ok with throwing away tons and tons of food that can be used to sustain and support life elsewhere? Why should garbage men drive around the country and pick up ones unwanted food that could be used for a greater purpose? Commodities such as garbage men, landfills, trash cans, dumpsters, etc are things that many Guatemalans for example, have never heard of. Here is to the old saying; "Ones man's trash, is another man's treasure." That is why the "waste not, want not" proposal will be effective immediately. No longer will a person be able to walk outside to their trash can and toss away a bag full of food; there will be no trash cans! Garbage men will no longer be in existence, landfills will disappear and dumpsters will vanish. Where does the country turn to now? I am sure that the country will not want to see piles and piles of garbage stacked in neighborhoods across the nation. The average person will not want to turn their swimming pool into a personal dumpster. Americans will now have two options; buy only what they need from the supermarket to rid themselves of wasted food entirely or take what is not consumed and give it to those who are hungry. No longer will an individual work for extremely low wages to produce food that winds up in the dumpster. No longer will that same person go home hungry because this new proposal will begin to rid the country and eventually the world of hunger.

The story of Rigoberta Menchu is one that makes you realize how fortunate you really are. I understand how much of a cliché that is, but it really got me thinking... Obviously you can pick apart just about every sentence of what was written and find something that makes the average person shake their head, however I was interested in how Rigoberta was brought up as a child. It was sad learning about the struggles of her parents/grandparents before Rigoberta was even born! So often in todays world you hear about families wanting to better the lives of their future children, that was impossible in Guatemala. The blame doesn't rest on the shoulders of her parents because they never had a fighting chance. The working conditions and the treatment of the working people in that country doesn't pose well for families. Learning of the struggles of hard working people makes you think twice about complaining when the alarm goes off in the morning. I often wonder about how people with so much going for them, can complain when there are thousands of people like Rigoberta suffering all over the world.

The idea presented in A Modest Proposal was a bit over the top, but it made me think about the underlying message of what was written. Swift describes the poverty in a part of Ireland and presents what he believes is an honest solution for it. At first glance one sees his idea as being absolutely ridiculous and over the top; but maybe that is the point? If we stop and look around at various parts of the country or the world for that matter, we notice the enormous amount of poverty stricken people. If you're like me, you begin to wonder about the possibly ways in which you could help these people. A Modest Proposal gave me the impression that drastic times call for drastic measures. Of course following the ideas of Jonathan Swift will not apply to the situation in modern times, I simply think you can apply the message behind it to the present day. The poverty around the globe is something that needs to be dealt with and if it means we have to "take off the gloves" to do so, so be it.

I had never heard of Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes until now, but I am happy that I have learned of this place! I firmly believe that doing something for someone who can do nothing in return is one of the greatest things a person can do. KLF is one of those places. It was established in 1982 by several local church congregations whose mission was to help those in need. Over time KLF has grown with the addition of many more church congregations, they now serve all of Kalamazoo County. Their services include help for those without a means to eat, assistance to the elderly as well as providing food packs for children in need. The website itself gave a very good overview of exactly what KLF is and does and I'm glad that I read through it. Places like KLF remind me that their are still plenty of good people in the world. I don't believe enough help is given to those who need it and places such as KLF should be constructed in every place possible.

This story was unlike anything I have ever read... Mainly due to the difficulty I had in following the events that took place. The word choices and sentence structure throughout the story made it hard to get a good sense of what was going on. I took away a few things from it however. It was interesting to read about the ways in which the slaves were treated. I understand that society was much different during that time period but it was shocking to learn how poorly some people can be treated. The feast itself was also unique. Reading through the descriptions of some of the things being offered to the guests made me thankful for the food that I consume now. The way in which Trimalchio made sure everything offered to eat was of the best quality was also interesting. The piece that discussed the use of exotic bees to produce top quality honey was pretty cool.

My essay is going to be centered around the obesity in America. When this assignment was assigned I knew right away what I wanted to write about. We have had many great discussions based upon our readings and videos we have seen. With that being said I feel as though every discussion has involved pointing the finger at someone else. Some topics including the slaughterhouse issues and greed of large food corporations rightfully lead to finger pointing. These are issues that need immediate attention. Another question that I have yet to hear a lot about is why are Americans viewed as lazy and fat? The answer is simple, we are! There are plenty of statistics out there that back this claim up in full. I will try to cover topics such as the lack of exercise in Americans today as well as the issues with fast food restaurants. I know that my essay may bring about some people who disagree with me as well as those who agree. I look forward to hopefully holding some discussions about these topics!

The facts about our food

I decided to watch Food Inc. and I actually found most parts of it to be quite interesting. The portion that talked about the impact that corn has on our food system caught my attention the most. The development of high fructose corn syrup has allowed for corn to become an ingredient in a large amount of the food we consume on a daily basis. Corn can be found in some form in foods such as Twinkies, soda, peanut butter and meat. Cattle were originally raised as grazers of grass but the cheap cost of corn has turned the tide on the meat market. A large percentage of cattle farms in America now raise their cattle on corn which in turn means that the meat we consume contains it as well. The section of the film covering the chicken industry was also an eye opener. I have heard about the move towards genetically modified chickens in the past but seeing it first hand was a little odd. I felt bad seeing thousands of chickens not being able to move due to their enlarged bodies. But at the end of the day the only thing that matters to these huge corporations is the money. It was a breathe of fresh air to see farmers running grass fed beef operations and naturally raised pork farms. I feel as though that is how food production should be done but is a rarity to see in todays world. Hearing from a farmer that truly appreciates the value of cattle and pigs reminds me that there is still some hope for the food industry. Based upon the film I think these types of operations will continue to push themselves upon the food industry to better improve the quality of our food. With all of this being said I still think it will be hard for me to turn away from eating meat or fast food but it for sure has me thinking about how often I choose to eat these types of things.

The further I dive into this book, the more eye opening it becomes. Throughout the first chunk of the book I was caught up in the inhumane treatment of the animals being sent through the slaughterhouses, I am now more awestruck about the conditions the workers are in. Not often should you have to fear for your life when you head into work,but that is exactly what these workers have to do. The managers of these places literally pay zero attention to the safety of the employees. When it comes down to it, money is all that matters to these people. Turning a profit ends up being more important than the life of a human being. Yes, slaughterhouses are not the safest places in the world regardless of whether safety regulations are followed. But the lives of the employees will be much better protected if these regulations and guidelines are followed! Cattle should not be falling from the sky like rain, pigs should not be kicking and screaming as they are dipped into boiling water; the list could go on and on. The lack of action by people in power has created houses of horror. Like I said in an earlier blog, this books has not and will not changed my opinion as a meat lover. I am curious as to whether it may affect other people in this way. Those people that are on the fence as far as eating meat may jump to the veggie only side following some light reading of books such as this one. Reading about places like this really makes you think about whether the meat you are eating has been properly cared for.

Slaughterhouse

I decided to take on the book describing what conditions could be like inside of a slaughterhouse. I've had previous exposure to the infamous book, The Jungle; so I thought reading more about the topic could be interesting. I love a good steak as much as the next person, this book has not and will not make me rethink that at all. I would like to say that some of the things that were described in the book were terrible. The one thing that rubbed me the wrong way was the USDA's lack of immediate action on the Kaplan Slaughterhouse. I learned that many times, incidents of mistreatment of cattle went right under the rug so to speak. Workers that had been interviewed described many instances in which they were moved to tougher jobs for complaining about the poor conditions in the slaughterhouse. It really rubbed me the wrong way to read about people in power taking no action on a facility doing horrible things to the cattle. As I read further into the book, I came across a portion in which parents described situations in which their children were affected by places like the Kaplan factory. It was humbling to learn that places like the Kaplan factory can severely affect families across the country. One mother described an experience in which her child passed away due to an illness brought down by bad meat. This made me think; how many more children have to die before permanent action is taken in places like this? There are plenty of guidelines that slaughterhouses must abide by, but some are just simply ignored. They are being ignored to produce more meat, they are being ignored to turn more of a profit. That fact makes places like Kaplan, a joke!

See food, eat food!

If someone asked me to describe my own diet I would respond with, "I am on the See-Food diet." I am not referring to a fish only diet but rather, one that consists of any and every food a person can eat. Being apart of the baseball team here at Western allows me the opportunity to constantly workout, lift, and exercise. My strength coach is constantly telling us to eat as much as we can as often as we can. Knowing I will not go a day without some type of physical activity, I tend to not pay attention to what I eat. I am a huge fan of sweets such as Oreos, Reese's Peanut Butter cups, etc. This sweet tooth of mine could come back to bite me in the rear one day but I tend to not worry about it. I rarely feel guilty about eating poorly knowing that I will end up burning off all of the calories in practice or in the weight room. I would say that my meal schedule is a little out of sync to the eyes of the average person. Breakfast is a rarity for me as I like to catch up on my sleep during the days that I don't have a morning workout. A regular lunch usually consists of a sub from Jimmy Johns or Subway on my way to practice. My class schedule usually runs right up until my practices so I rarely have time to get a full lunch in. I usually try to make up for my lack of eating during dinner. Most of my dinners will consist of some type of meat and vegetable. Rarely will my freezer not have some type of chicken breast or chicken tenders in it. Broccoli is my favorite vegetable, so that usually accompanies my dinner. Knowing that I haven't had a whole lot to eat during the day, I like to make large portions for dinner. The downfall to all of this is what I have to drink. Mountain Dew usually accompanies my dinner. I have heard so many things about how bad this soda is for you but I tend to brush that information to the side. I would like to cut back on the amount of Mountain Dew I have during the week because of how bad it is for me, but that is easier said than done!