Deconstruction of an Ad.

Advertising is everywhere; whether you like it or not it will always have an impact on your life. Many people try to ignore advertisements, and because of that, advertisers are constantly trying to find new ways to influence people. It’s almost as if they are always chasing after the public. They surround the world, and are essentially responsible for how the world has evolved over time. During major national events, advertisements are always increased, to simply get more press on their product that has to do with the event. For example, during the season of college football and other major sports, you will see an ad on it on almost every channel on your television. This specific ad I saw online, and it represents the Beijing Olympics of 2008. The picture is of Josiah, a major cyclist in Malaysia, China who is biking out of a FedEx express box. The ad is simply saying that for over 20 years, FedEx had delivered there and now has 76 flights a week serving all the major cities and every province in mainland China. "So whatever it is you're shipping, you can rely on FedEx." I thought it was a very creative and artful way of advertising their company at the Olympics.

Hunger Banquet

This was my first year going to the hunger banquet, and it was totally not what I had expected it to be. There were many negatives and positives. After entering in with your ticket, each person had to draw out of a bucket a piece of paper which said if you were upper class, middle class, or lower class and then you had to sit according to what you were drawn. upper class had tables that were a lot nicer, the middle class had tables with chairs to sit, and lower class had to sit on the floor. upper class had a full nutritious meal, middle class had rice and beans, and lower class had rice and water. there were 2 student speakers and one adult speaker. All of them basically explained how there is enough food to feed every man woman and child in the world but we just do not resource it and handle it wisely. We act like we are scarse on food, when we have more then enough for no one to starve. I learned a lot on other peoples perspectives about the issue of starvation and hunger in the world. It was interesting being segragted according to your class. I was placed in the middle class, so my dinner was just rice and beans. Which at the end I was starving and had to go get more food somewhere else. If anyone else attended the hunger banquet say which class you got placed in and what you learned...

Obama's victory speech in Chicago

Obama's speech to hundreds of thousands of supporters in Chicago on Tuesday night was one of the most widely-watched and repeated political addresses in recent history. After watching his acceptance speech I gained a little more faith in him as our new president. His speech I think definately made everyone more hopeful, and those who did not vote for Barack Obama to finally see how he is extremely dedicated and honest about his goals and plans. My favorite part of his speech was when he said, "The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America — I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you — we as a people will get there.”

voting experience

I personally chose to not vote this year because I agree with both candidates. It was too hard to choose between the two. All my family members are republicans however, some voted for Obama this election. But, I am from Oklahoma and voting results have shown that the state is for McCain. I like both candidate's positions on education, amendment 48, and women's issues. Although, I do not agree with/support Obama's tax plan. And I strongly support McCain's health care plan. This year's election was extremely difficult to choose between the two presidential candidates because they both are so strong and would both make wonderful changes. The election is showing that Barack Obama has taken the lead (right now it's 102 to 34), however I am mostly hoping that Sen. McCain gets elected president...

Education:

As we know, The No Child Left Behind Act, which requires public schools to meet test standards to receive federal funding, was signed into law in January 2002 and was the first major legislative victory for the Bush administration. It remains controversial as do measures to provide funds for students who want to choose private schools. Here is what John McCain and Barack Obama are saying for their position on this issue of Education:

McCain stated, "We need more charter schools. We need vouchers where it's approved by the local, state school boards. We need to have, clearly, home schooling if people want that … We need to reward good teachers and find bad teachers another line of work."

Obama stated, "Advocates ensuring access to high-quality early childhood education programs and child care opportunities, recruit well-qualified and reward expert, accomplished teachers. Make science and math education a national priority. Reduce the high school dropout rate and empower parents to raise healthy and successful children by taking a greater role in their child's education at home and at school."

---Which do you agree with?

Sen. John McCain says "we're coming back," despite being behind in the polls

As we know, our future depends on the final days of the campaign. "With your help, we can win. ... We need a new direction, and we have to fight for it," McCain said, urging voters to volunteer in the final hours of campaigning. With two days left until the election, Obama holds a 6-point lead over McCain, 50 to 44 percent, according to CNN's average of national polls. And six percent of respondents said they are still undecided... In Columbus, Ohio Sen. Barack Obama said, "Don't believe for a second this election is over. Don't think for a minute that power will concede without a fight. We have to work like our future depends on it in these last two days, because it does." Obama also continued his fight to tie McCain to the current administration, calling attention to Vice President Dick Cheney's endorsement of the McCain-Palin ticket. He said, "I'd like to congratulate Sen. McCain on this endorsement, because he really earned it. That endorsement didn't come easy." Obama then added, "Do you think Dick Cheney is 'delighted' to support John McCain because he thinks John McCain's going to bring change? Because he thinks that somehow John McCain is really going to shake things up?" Obama also said that Cheney knows that with John McCain, you get a twofer: George Bush's economic policies and Dick Cheney's foreign policy. But you know what? That's a risk that we can't afford to take.

Trick-or-Treater Shot to Death

In Sumter, South Carolina this halloween, a 12 year old trick-or-treater was shot and killed by a 22 year old man by the name of Quentin Patrick. The 12 year old's family had just stopped by this lit up porch to get candy after a halloween party down town. The kid was wearing a ghost mask and as soon as he rang the door bell, the 22 year old shot at him with his AK-47 at least 29 times through the walls and front door. Quentin Patrick has told the police that he had been robbed and shot at before, so he was not about to let it happen again. He has been charged with murder, three counts of assault and battery with intent to kill, and one count of assault with intent to kill. Although his attempt was to just protect his family inside from being robbed again, he should have thought of other ways than to just shoot down the first person to ring his door bell that night. To read the full article view the website : http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/11/01/halloween.slaying.ap/index.html?iref=hpmostpop