http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ejgq0r0SEU
In the two and a half minute video, Stephen Colbert talks about the new British boy band, One Direction. In these two and a half minutes, these five boys get satirized by Colbert. He talks about them as a whole group and never as individuals. The main point of his video about the band is to show the audience how simple and nonsense their lyrics are for their famous song, "What Makes You Beautiful". Colbert is trying to make the One Direction fans "wake up"and not listen to the pointless songs that they are singing. He distorts some of their lyrics, and by taking those specific lyrics out of the song and isolating them, he makes it more clear on how those lyrics contradict each other. Being a good satirist, Colbert knows that distortion is a productive method of revealing flaws of other people. Even though he arranges all his thoughts in a funny way, he still gets his message across to his audience and satirizes his targets. Colbert does not only want us to know about One Direction, but he wants his audience to realize that most of the new songs are like the one he talked about.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Obese Salmon Unable To Swim Upstream To Spawn
Nov. 14, 2013, The Onion
http://www.theonion.com/articles/obese-salmon-unable-to-swim-upstream-to-spawn,30373/
After seven years of hard work, a chinook salmon gave up on swimming upwards to reproduce with other male salmon. The reason for this is quite unusual. The salmon was too obese to swim against the current in order to get to the place where it needed to spawn. Even though the currents were relatively weak at this specific spot, it still could not manage to swim against it because of its obesity. The salmon quoted, "But now I'm so fat I can't even leap out of the water to overcome a natural obstacle. And when I try, my fins are super sore for a couple days." This quote shows the frustration the poor fish is going through just to do its daily routine. Years of late-night snacking have made the fish what it is today."What kind of salmon gets stuck in rapids, for God's sake? A fat one, apparently. A big, fat, ugly salmon."It is clear that the situation of the salmon has not only affected its physical being but also its mental being. The salmon's appearance has deflated his self-confidence and self-esteem as well.
http://www.theonion.com/articles/obese-salmon-unable-to-swim-upstream-to-spawn,30373/
After seven years of hard work, a chinook salmon gave up on swimming upwards to reproduce with other male salmon. The reason for this is quite unusual. The salmon was too obese to swim against the current in order to get to the place where it needed to spawn. Even though the currents were relatively weak at this specific spot, it still could not manage to swim against it because of its obesity. The salmon quoted, "But now I'm so fat I can't even leap out of the water to overcome a natural obstacle. And when I try, my fins are super sore for a couple days." This quote shows the frustration the poor fish is going through just to do its daily routine. Years of late-night snacking have made the fish what it is today."What kind of salmon gets stuck in rapids, for God's sake? A fat one, apparently. A big, fat, ugly salmon."It is clear that the situation of the salmon has not only affected its physical being but also its mental being. The salmon's appearance has deflated his self-confidence and self-esteem as well.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Woman is Rescued After Falling Onto Subway Tracks in Spain
Lauren Frayer, Los Angeles Times
Yesterday, a normal commute for a woman went drastically wrong. In Madrid, Spain as a fifty one year old woman was walking close to the subway tracks, she fainted and fell onto the tracks. No one pushed her on the tracks but somehow she fainted and happened to be right by the subway tracks. Before the next train came to that specific part of the tracks, an off-duty police officer alerted the train driver about the situation. Another officer jumped on the tracks and dragged the unconscious body of the woman to the other side. When the media interviewed the police officer who dragged the woman out, she referred to her as "completely dead weight". Without the help of that officer the woman would have just laid on the tracks because she was not able to move herself. There was only eighty meters left between the train and the woman's body. Considering the speed of the train, that would take only a few seconds to go eighty meters. Without the quick thinking of the officer to call the train driver, that train would have gone over the woman for sure. After the woman was helped off the tracks she was immediately revived and taken to the nearest hospital to cure minor injuries.
Yesterday, a normal commute for a woman went drastically wrong. In Madrid, Spain as a fifty one year old woman was walking close to the subway tracks, she fainted and fell onto the tracks. No one pushed her on the tracks but somehow she fainted and happened to be right by the subway tracks. Before the next train came to that specific part of the tracks, an off-duty police officer alerted the train driver about the situation. Another officer jumped on the tracks and dragged the unconscious body of the woman to the other side. When the media interviewed the police officer who dragged the woman out, she referred to her as "completely dead weight". Without the help of that officer the woman would have just laid on the tracks because she was not able to move herself. There was only eighty meters left between the train and the woman's body. Considering the speed of the train, that would take only a few seconds to go eighty meters. Without the quick thinking of the officer to call the train driver, that train would have gone over the woman for sure. After the woman was helped off the tracks she was immediately revived and taken to the nearest hospital to cure minor injuries.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
2012 Was Among the 10 Hottest Years on Record Globally
On average, the global temperature was relatively high the past year. All the way from North America to Asia, people experienced higher than average temperatures. 2012 was on the top ten list of hottest global temperatures since 1880, when they first started keeping track of this statistic. The average temperature around the world annually is 57 degrees. In 2012, this average was 58.3. The 1.3 degree difference might not seem much, but the slightest difference in the temperature can have devastating effete on nature. Only by a one degree difference, the ice sheets in the north pole can melt which can cause two major problems; one being the habitat destruction of polar bears, and two, being the rise of water levels in the oceans. 2012 was the 36th year in a row that the global temperature was over the average by at least one degree. The reason for this is simple. Humans have been taking advantage of their environments and started to abuse it immensely in the past century. The only way this problem of global warming is going to be solved is if humans decide to go back to the way they were 100 years ago. Clearly, with today's standards, that is never going to happen.
"Nature"
Sitting in my balcony at the back of my house, I closely observed what I live in every day. As I looked to my right, I saw mountains that towered into the skies. As I looked to my left, I saw the flat city with all its cars and commotion. I felt that it is amazing how the terrain of the land can change so abruptly. One side being calm, green, peaceful and natural and the other side being polluted, grey, noisy and filled with machinery. There was a rose bush close by and the scent of the pink roses kept on hitting my nose from all the wind. Every now and then I kept on hearing cars, motorcycles, and trucks drive by my house and make a rumbling noise. When I looked directly forward, I saw my neighbor's blind pit bull which was barking at me. Somehow it knew I was there without even seeing me. Its non-stop barking was getting on my last nerves and disturbing my observation on the beautiful nature surrounding me.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Book I am Most and Least Likely to Read
From all the stories that were presented this week a few of them caught my attention and seemed interesting to me. The one that I would actually sit down and read with pleasure however, would be Gevo's book, Crocodile Hunter: The Incredible Life and Adventures of Steve and Terri Irwin by Steve Irwin. This book appealed to me because of the subject of the story. Since it is about adventure and making the most out of life, it seems like an interesting book to read. First of all, it gives the reader knowledge about animals and how they live. Other than that, it teaches the reader and important life lesson; do what you love to do no matter what. The book I had read was about mountain climbing, which is also an adventurous topic, so I think I will enjoy reading Crocodile Hunter just as much as I enjoyed reading my book.
Even though most of the books seemed interesting to read, there had to be some that I would never read unless I am forced to. One of these books would be George's book, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. From what I understood about the book, it did not interest me to a point where I would enjoy reading it. I would like to read a book that is adventure and action filled and this book has neither. I am sure that there are many people who would love reading this book, but I would not consider myself one of those people.
Even though most of the books seemed interesting to read, there had to be some that I would never read unless I am forced to. One of these books would be George's book, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. From what I understood about the book, it did not interest me to a point where I would enjoy reading it. I would like to read a book that is adventure and action filled and this book has neither. I am sure that there are many people who would love reading this book, but I would not consider myself one of those people.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Mexico Considers Marijuana Legalization After Ballot Wins in U.S.
Richard Fausset, Los Angeles Times
Mexico has a notorious reputation for having problems on illegal drug sales. The Mexican drug cartel causes numerous problems in Mexico and also for the United States. The border between Mexico and the United States has become a very dangerous place because of the drug wars. Many people die each year because of the cartel and even innocent people fall victim to this. After Washington and Colorado legalized marijuana within the state, Mexico is now considering legalizing marijuana as well. Even though legalizing marijuana will cause new problems to come up, officials think that the drug wars will be less violent and decrease the people. The new president of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, was against legalization in the beginning, but after seeing the two states successfully legalizing marijuana, he is now rethinking his strategy towards this new idea. It is a great deal to think about for Mexico. Throughout the years, Mexico has lost over 60,000 people due to the drug wars. Other than just the Mexican citizens falling victim, many tourists in Mexico who have nothing to do with the drugs get killed for no reason. If legalization of marijuana does what they think it will do, crime rates will decrease and people would be more likely to come to Mexico. This will be great for their economy and also raise the reputation of the country.
Mexico has a notorious reputation for having problems on illegal drug sales. The Mexican drug cartel causes numerous problems in Mexico and also for the United States. The border between Mexico and the United States has become a very dangerous place because of the drug wars. Many people die each year because of the cartel and even innocent people fall victim to this. After Washington and Colorado legalized marijuana within the state, Mexico is now considering legalizing marijuana as well. Even though legalizing marijuana will cause new problems to come up, officials think that the drug wars will be less violent and decrease the people. The new president of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, was against legalization in the beginning, but after seeing the two states successfully legalizing marijuana, he is now rethinking his strategy towards this new idea. It is a great deal to think about for Mexico. Throughout the years, Mexico has lost over 60,000 people due to the drug wars. Other than just the Mexican citizens falling victim, many tourists in Mexico who have nothing to do with the drugs get killed for no reason. If legalization of marijuana does what they think it will do, crime rates will decrease and people would be more likely to come to Mexico. This will be great for their economy and also raise the reputation of the country.
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