response to Kevin's Tim Tebow post

This post is in response to Kevin’s blog post about Tim Tebow and his endorsement of a pro-life campaign advertised by Focus on the Family, a pro life Christian organization. While I did not see the video, I checked out the homepage for this group and it seems that the organization is a non-profit Christian group focused on helping families via redemption and several missions and principals that are rooted in Christianity. The only concern I have is the actual impact the company is having and where they are getting their money form. While it is no secret that the catholic church is incredibly well endowed, I am still not sure where the funding is coming from to propagate this organization on the grand stage that is the super bowl. And not only did they seize an incredibly expensive slot, they also organized for Tim Tebow to endorse their company. And while I don’t disagree that he is an applicable candidate for this organization, I simply wonder how much he was paid. If this organization is spending so much money on advertising, how much money are they delegating to the families who contact them? I see this organization’s advertisement as a taken opportunity to protest abortion. While I don’t disagree that all people are entitled to their own opinion, I have always felt that these opinions should stay rooted in said person, and to impose one’s ideals onto another or say I don’t know about 106 million people is absurd. Now I am not sure if this company is simply trying to get their name out to people and families so that they may be helped, or if they are simply propagating the Christian ideals through their organization. Either way, I hope some good is coming out of Focus on the Family, and that its members are helping more people than just themselves.

demonstration speech

After viewing my demonstration speech, I realized that my introduction was slightly lacking and that I could have related my topic to the class a little more. Starting off I used the same hand gesture a few times in a row and this kind of a start to a presentation can set a negative tone over the whole speech. But for the most part, I thought my speech went quite well. My enunciation was good; there were never any times when I couldn’t hear myself on the video. I also kept eye contact with the class throughout the entire speech. I thought my visual aids were effective and that the power point sufficiently supplied the visual information needed for the class to understand my topic. It was a little long and I realized that the time constraint would become an impending problem the minute that I chose to show the class how to build a wooden canoe, but I think that the topic made for a good speech nonetheless. Along with my introduction, I would change my conclusion in the future if I were to give the speech again. It was slightly lacking and I didn’t put much thought into it. I think any more of a relation I could have created between the class and my canoe would have made my speech that much better. Overall I thought I did a fine job with the demonstration speech project and I was able to actually stand the sound of my voice on camera for some reason.

Prepare a Meal

Last week, I went to the market below lucky with my friends Mike and Kevin. We were planning on making a meal for the night after I proposed the idea. After about a half an hour of contemplation we decided on the cheapest macaroni and cheese and hot dogs. This meal had been one of our favorites throughout the years and the anticipation of our blast from the past was accruing. So to the Sellery kitchen we went after renting a pan, a bowl and a spatula from the front desk. And about a half an hour later, we had created the meal we envisioned and became quite hungry in the process. Creating this meal was relatively easy and quick; this obviously is a plus for any college student or person for that matter. We then proceeded to gorge ourselves on the overly processed, easily ingested concoction. Upon finishing the meal and cleaning up the small mess we had made, we all began to feel the effects of our meal. I was incredibly full and could almost feel the noodles expanding in my stomach. I gained an overall feeling of satisfaction from the fact that I received such a full feeling after spending so little money. This fact however conflicted with the knowledge that the hot dogs and cheese sauce are overly and industrially processed materials that are not the most beneficial foods for my health. My knowledge was somewhat supported by an article I read online about sodium nitrate in hot dogs. I also read Michael Pollan’s article about the food we eat and how the “innovations” of food are unhealthy and I found that I agree with most all of what he says. I just wish that I was able to eat more the way he describes and I am confident that next year it will be easier for me to do so.

Respnse to Jake's Tiger Post

I read Jake’s blog post about Tiger Wood’s endorsement and sponsorship with Gatorade. Jake discusses the relationship between Tiger and Gatorade in the past and the legitimacy of the relationship. I agree that a golfer endorsing an energy or electrolyte replacement drink is slightly ludicrous, but I think that Gatorade simply picked the most popular athlete they could. And it could be argued that their slogan, “is it in you?” is actually very fitting to the situation. For although tiger does not physically exert himself in golf the way other professional athletes do, he must be mentally sound. I think that Gatorade is simply hoping that people will associate the qualities they saw in Tiger with Gatorade and indirectly have a very positive connotation about Gatorade. I think that Tiger shows an apt demonstration of mental athleticism, a form that may very well be the most important aspect of athletics. For without being mentally focused, the most athletic person in a sport will not be the most influential. So I can understand why Gatorade chose Tiger besides his immense popularity. This does not negate the fact that golf is not the most physically taxing sport in which an electrolyte replacement drink would be most prominent in, and I hope that the general public realizes this slight fallacy. However, the recent actions Tiger has taken take a toll on Gatorade’s tone. I imaging that Gatorade is only hoping that the public chooses not to associate such actions with its company. Overall I agree with the points that Jake made.

Real vs. Fake food

Growing up, my family always had organic foods around and I guess I simply grew accustomed to natural tasting foods. But now in college, I don’t have access or the money to the rather pricey (in Madison at least) organic food. One of these foods is natural yogurt that we received from a local organic farm. I always enjoyed these yogurts even though sometimes they were slightly inconsistent in taste. Throughout the years I of course tried the typical Yoplait or Go-Gurt brands but they were a little "fake" tasting to me. Now in the dorms, I have the choice between Yoplait and Sugar River Farms’ yogurt. At the start of the year, I had Yoplait. I tried the “Thick and Creamy”, “Whips” and normal strawberry Yoplait flavors. The Yoplait all tasted fine, but they seemed slightly un-natural. They were homogeneous and very creamy, which is a stark contrast to the thick and heterogeneous yogurt I was used to. For nutritional values, the best equivalent to the organic yogurt I had found was the Sugar River yogurt. The Sugar River yogurt has more fat but is made only from cream line 1 % yogurt cultures and strawberries, while the Yoplait contains grade A milk, strawberries, high fructose corn syrup and an ingredients list that is far too long to include. After reading some of IDOF, I trust the sugar river much more and I find that I like the taste more, even though it is more expensive. I see myself staying away from the Yoplait yogurt in the future and sticking to more natural forms of dairy products. One link that I found is an article about Sugar River Dairy products. It describes the way they make their products and the environment in which they are made. Here’s the link: Sugar River Farms.