History of a Public Controversy

**Wrote this before we decided to change the topic**

For our project we decided to do standardized testing. We are going to focus on SATs and ACTs because they are nationwide and there is a cost factor involved. We are planning on doing what looks like a newscast stating all of the pros and cons of standardized testing. There is a movie on the college board that shows a man stating why people should take the SATs. We are going to mimic the overall idea of their video and use it as a way to inform the audience about our topic. We will show many different statistics on what different colleges look for and what are some benefits and drawbacks to taking the SATs and ACTs. Mike was going to be our newscaster and inform the audience about the SATs and ACTs. We were going to use the one-button rooms to make it more realistic. All of the facts would be presented.

**Change of topic**

We have since decided to change our topic of standardized testing to the well known Chi Omega picture that has recently surfaced on the internet and has since made national news. We are going to start out with the history of Chi Omega and then talk about the racially insensitive photo. We will then talk about the positive and negative things that Chi Omega does. We are planning on conducting interviews to see people’s reaction to the picture and see if the picture insulted them. We will also use the Rodney Erikson letter that was sent out today stating the opinions of Erickson and the Board of Trustees. We will also interview people to see what punishment they think should take place for this incident and any other comments that people have about this picture.

Posted in wip | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Catfish King

Every summer, my family going down to a very small town in Texas called Atlanta. There is absolutely nothing to do there but eat. There are a few quality restaurants located in Atlanta and Catfish King is one of them. David Beard started out in Hughes Springs, Texas, where he dropped out of high school at the age of 14 because his family couldn’t afford to buy him shoes, but now he is the CEO of Great American Foods Corporation. David Beard opened his first restaurant in 1969 in a shotgun style building, which seated 120 people and rented for $150.00 per month. The restaurant was located on Highway 155 near Ore City, Texas. When cooking the catfish, David Beard, or his brother, Jerry, would haul the live fish from Arkansas or Louisiana in large minnow vats in the back of their pickup trucks. David Beard also did the cooking while his relatives worked the rest of the restaurant. In 1974, David Beard bought 10 acres down the road and built a 13,500 square foot restaurant that would seat 550 people. The David Beard’s Catfish Village continued to flourish so David Beard decided to open his second Catfish Village restaurant in Longview, Texas. David Beard now has fifteen restaurants in 3 states. This restaurant serves the best catfish and homemade hushpuppies I have ever eaten. They offer other thing on their menu such as, chicken, shrimp, oysters, chicken fried steak, and steak. Overall, I give Catfish King 4 out of 5 stars.

Posted in Passion | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Dora the Explorer Movie Trailer

Dora the Explorer movie trailer

Since we have been watching all of these movie trailers, I thought I would share one of my favorites! I have a secret love for Dora the Explorer because I love Spanish. This movie trailer is hilarious and if they actually made a movie about it you bet I would the first one in line to go see the midnight premiere. It starts off with an infinity orb being taken and Dora is the one to save it. Swiper is the one that takes to orb and Dora goes on a quest to find it. This movie trailer is great because it is hilarious because they incorporate the Spanish phrases that Dora uses in her show. They also have Dora asking the audience where Swiper is and if they can see him. It is really amazing how they can pull these specific features from the show itself and incorporate it into a movie that seems like it could realistically be made into a movie that many people would go see. They are able to make to movie seem like it is actually coming out during the summer. There are many ties that they use to make this movie seems appealing, most of the comments on it are “I would totally go see this movie” and “you bet I’d watch this movie.” They use a lot of action shots to make it seems action packed. They also use have words go across the screen such as; suspense, action, and language skills. It is almost the same thing as The Shining but the opposite way where now they show Dora the Explorer as a spy working against Swiper in an action packed thriller. I am actually kind of bummed that it is not going to be an actual movie, but I thought that it was interesting to share.Dora the Explorer movie trailer

Posted in rcl | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Earl of Sandwich

In 9th grade, the music department went down to Disney for a music trip. We performed in Downtown Disney in what felt like 110-degree heat. After performing we decided to venture into the many air conditioned stores throughout the little shopping center and we can across a little sandwich shop called the Earl of Sandwich. The story behind the café is that “in 1762, John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, had his hands full, literally. As First Sea Lord, he commanded the mighty British Navy and was a noted explorer. So he came up with the ingenious idea of putting meat between two slices of bread. Thus in 1762, the sandwich was named after its inventor, John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich. Now 250 years later, the current 11th Earl and the Sandwich family remain passionate about the world’s most popular quick food.” The Earl of sandwich has amazing sandwiches. Some of these sandwiches are “The Full Montagu”, which comes with Freshly Roasted Beef, Turkey, Aged Swiss & Sharp Cheddar, Lettuce, Roma Tomatoes &  the Earl’s Mustard Sauce; “The Earl’s Club”, which comes with Roasted Turkey, Smoked Bacon, Aged Swiss, Lettuce, Roma Tomatoes & Sandwich Sauce; and my personal favorite, “The Hawaiian BBQ”, which comes with Grilled Chicken, Roasted Ham, Aged Swiss, Fresh Pineapple & Hawaiian BBQ Sauce. Not only do they have fantastic food, they have an e-club that you can join which gives free you a free sandwich when you sign up and also give exclusive offers and a special offer on your birthday. Overall, I give the Earl of Sandwich a 5 out of 5 stars.

 

Posted in Passion | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Thanksgiving Table Discussions

To be completely honest I didn’t even know that there was a problem with talking about politics or religion at the dinner table. I do not remember any specific arguments at the dinner table when we talked about politics or religion, but I do know tat it was definitely discussed. I like is idea though, I think that it is hard to talk about anything that does not remotely tie to either something political or something religious. I know that my family does not avoid talking about religion or politics at the dinner table and I know we have had long discussions with other family while visiting with them. At another thanksgiving dinner, there was absolutely no discussion of politics or religion because the people that were having the dinner have very strong opinions that do not match with some of the other company. “Our affluent society produces an excess of everything except what we most desperately crave: meaning. Not meaning manufactured and sold to us, but meaning we create authentically, through dealing honestly with reality. Such meaning comes when in our everyday lives we talk with people — those we know and strangers on the bus. Those are the questions that never get answered definitively but which we answer contingently through constant conversation.” I think he is right, you need to talk with others about these large topics otherwise you will only get one side of the story. I think it is important to ask people of differing views why they believe what they do and see if they say something that I have never thought about before or that could alter my views on topics when someone says something that I do agree with. By having these conversations, it allows you to dig a little deeper within your own opinions to see why you think the way that you do and to understand the ideas of others.

Posted in rcl | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Greene Turtle

Over the summer, my friend and I go to Ocean City, Maryland. There are many great restaurants in Ocean City, but the Greene Turtle is one of the best. There are two Greene Turtles in ocean city and I have been to both. I have also been to the Greene Turtle in Rehoboth, Delaware. The Greene Turtle is a sports bar where you can watch your favorite teams take on their opponents. The first location of the Greene Turtle was opened in Ocean City, Maryland in 1976.  They have spread to other regions such as Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. They also have other restaurants in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and District of Columbia. They hope to spread all over the mid-Atlantic region. They have anything you could imagine on their menu. They serve burgers, salads, soups, ribs, sandwiches and desserts. Their food has always been delicious. At the Greene Turtle they also have a Mug Club. The Mug Club is when a customer buys a mug and they hang it on the wall and every time that customer comes in they get to drink from that mug. The mugs are numbered and they are the only ones that get to drink from that mug. When buying a mug, you get special discounts, member-only events, and exclusive offers. They also have tons of merchandise. They sell tank tops, t shirts, long sleeved shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, and sweatpants. They also sell blankets, bumper stickers, lanyards, and hats. You can also join the turtle club, which gives exclusive offers to its customers. Overall, I give the Greene Turtle 4 out of 5 stars.

Posted in Passion | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Ideas for the next project

*This was written before we decided on our project idea*

For our history of a public controversy topic, we have many in mind. A few are the legalization of marijuana, the drinking age should be lowered, affirmative action, and capitol punishment. We have kind of narrowed it down to the drinking age and the legalization of marijuana. The drinking age there are many aspects you can look at of history. We can first look at when alcohol was illegal and people would find any way to either make it or buy it from someone who does. Then we can look at when it was finally decided that it would be made legal but you have to twenty-one years of age to drink it. Many people believe that the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen because kids that are eighteen and some younger are drinking now anyway and college students are also drinking even though they are underage. Also, many kids think its fun to drink because they know that is illegal. That is half of the fun of it. We could also look at foreign countries, where most kids are allowed to drink at the age of 16 and some countries even younger. We can look at some statistics to see what countries drink the most and what countries have the most kids getting drunk. For the legalization of marijuana, many states are looking into this because they can put such a heavy tax on it and make money that can alleviate some of the debt. Also, many people smoke marijuana while it is illegal so why not legalize it so that they can tax it and make money.

Posted in rcl | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

TED talk reflection

When looking back over my TED talk, I thought overall mine went well. I practiced my speech many times first by writing my whole speech out and then making an outline and then I kept condensing the outline until I could remember what I needed to say without the whole speech being written out for me. In high school this is not how I did speeches. I was told to have bullets of my speeches on my notecards but in the end I just ended up writing the whole speech out. It was more comfortable for me to write it all out and I also think that when I have the whole thing I can make more consistent eye contact. I practiced for many of my friends so they could give me critiques on my presentation. I practiced it a lot and made sure all of my point flowed. My only problem was that I did not meet the time limit. I practiced my TED talk multiple times and it was around the five-minute mark every time, so I didn’t think I would be under the time when I actually did it. I had one or two stumbles in my talk but overall I think it went pretty well. One of the main problems for me was having to memorize the whole talk because I usually am allowed to have a notecard or an outline. This was difficult because if I forgot where I was going, then the whole presentation would be messed up. Thankfully I did not forgot what I was going to say but I came up a little short on time.

Posted in wip | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Magic Card Trick with Science

For my RCL blog, I decided to watch another TED talk that seemed really interesting to me. I clicked on one about magic and it has a guy named Marco Tempest doing a magic trick with science. I learned a lot about a standard deck of cards. First there are four different suits to show the four different seasons. There are 13 different cards per suit to show the 13 phases of the moon. The two colors of red and black show the change from day to night. There are 52 cards to represent the 52 weeks in a year. If you total all of the dots on a deck of cards, the total is 365 for the number of days in a year. When he first started his trick he put on some type of glasses that would make the cards to all sorts of funky things. There was a computer that would recognize the cards and it would also talk. For his card trick he used technology to make some of the cards come to life or the cards would come off the table. He also made them disappear using the technology. It was very interesting to see this being performed because the people in the audience were watching it on a large screen and they got to see what his glasses were doing, but in real life the cards were just simply laying on the table the computer in the glasses is what was doing all of the work.

Posted in rcl | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Macky’s Bayside Bar and Grille

Last summer, my friends and I all went to the beach for “senior week”. The last day there, we decided to go to a restaurant called Macky’s. Located in Ocean City, Maryland, this restaurant was vastly different than any other I have been to. “Pam and Macky Stansell have been pleasing tourists and locals alike in the Ocean City, Maryland community for the past 34 years.  The adventure began in 1978 with the creation of Tio Gringo’s Mexican Restaurant and Cantina.  Where Tio Gringo’s was a Mexican cantina, Macky’s Bayside Bar & Grill embodies the “Good Life!”  After Macky’s was built. Their idea behind this restaurant was that, “Stepping through the door, our customers transcend into their own private tropical oasis.  The beautiful white sand beach is private, the bar is open air, and the umbrellas are free.” At this restaurant, you walk out on to a back patio and then out on to the sand where there are tables. If you want you can go put your feet in the water of the bay. “With Ocean City’s population growing week by week, Macky’s takes pride in its small town community feel.  Macky’s success over the past 34 years have allowed Pam and Macky the honor to give back to that community and donate over $450,000 to local charities.” We sat down, took our shoes off and put our feet in the sand. There are palm trees on the sand that provides light shade. When I looked at the menu, I knew exactly what I was going to get, Lobster macaroni and cheese! They also have many other types of food such as; shrimp, tuna, crab, and steak. Overall, I give Bayside Macky’s Bar and Grille 5 out of 5 stars for their great atmosphere and amazing food.

Posted in Passion | Tagged , , | Leave a comment