Ratings

For my last passion blog of the year I want to rate in order of my favorite to least favorite T.V shows that I have watched over the semester for this blog. I hope this will be a helpful tool for you to come back to if you are even in need of some new entertainment on Netflix!

1. Bones- The best show I watched this semester for my blog was definitely Bones. It combines my two favorite things, science and drama. I like that there is a lot of science and investigation that goes on throughout the show, but I also like that you can follow the personal lives of each character.

2. Revenge- Revenge is a close second to Bones for me. I love the drive that the main character, Emily Thorne/Amanda Clark has. The show brings you into the life of the wealthy and shows the corruption and conflict that can happen in their lives. It is a darker show, with a lot of heavy emotions but definitely something worth watching, I can’t wait for the third season to come to Netflix!

3. How I Met Your Mother- I liked this show because the episodes are shorter and full of comedy. There are so many dramatic and intense shows these days I like that How I Met Your Mother is a change of pace from all of that. Sometimes you just need a good laugh!

4. Friday Night Lights- This is definitely a show people can get tied up in. You really see into the characters’ lives and emotions. I do not like how the camera is set up to look like someone is taking a home video though, I tend to get a little woozy when I watch shows like that.

5. Once Upon A Time- This was the show recommended by my trainer. I liked that idea of a classic fairytale with a twist to it. I do not like how cheesy they make the fairytale part of the show though. I think they could have done a better job at interpreting the fairytale into the show.

6. Gossip Girl- This show is a classic girl drama show. I’m guessing very few boys watch it. Although it is an extremely popular show, and all my friends reference it, I don’t really understand the hype about it. It seems like the classic drama filled lives, possibly over dramatized lives, of any teenager/pre-adult.

7. Pretty Little Liars- Although Pretty Little Liars’ popularity set of a chain reaction of shows with similar plots, like The Lying Games, I was not fond of the show. I also do not like scary shows or movies, and this is definitely a thriller with a lot of creepy scenes. If you are looking for a little scare and drama this is your show.

8. Orange is the New Black- This was definitely my least favorite show from this semester. The scenes are just too uncomfortable for me to handle, I would not want my parents catching me watching this type of show.

Overall I loved this assignment throughout the semester I got to explore my new Netflix account and now I have multiple new shows lined up to watch over the summer. I hope my blog helped you find a new show to enjoy too!

Civic Issues- San Joaquin River

I am going to talk about a problem with rivers that hits closer to home. A river in California called the San Joaquin River was recently named the most endangered river in America. It runs from Sierra Nevada across the Central Valley toward the San Francisco Bay. This river is one of the main water supplies for farming in California. This makes it very vulnerable to overuse.

The river has been rapidly drying up in the last few years. This year with the drought that California has had, really puts the San Joaquin River at risk. The main reason the river has been drying up so quickly is due to excessive diversions. The river’s water is so crucial to everyday life and farming in California that everyone wants piece of it. Wanting the water to be closer to them, companies have tried to expand how far the river spread, by increasing the paths it takes. This seem like a good idea, but in reality it just causes the river to dry up faster because it becomes so much more shallow, when people try to spread it out.

Another reason the river has been drying up is due to all the dams and levees that have been installed in the river. While some companies have been trying to get water to come to them, others down stream have been slowly watching the river dry up, because it can no longer reach to their area. More than 100 miles of the river have dried up because of selfish companies and wasteful people taking more than they should.

Everyone wants the water for different reasons, irrigation, fishing, and drinking. Due to the lack of water as late the hot debate of where the water should go has increased. There have been pushes in legislation that want to try to improve the river and hopefully get it back to how it once was. One main idea that was passed around was to change the crops that the farmers plant. If they change to lettuce, which can survive better in wet and dry climate, than the currently grown trees that constantly need water no matter what the climate is, then the farmers do not need to use as much water. This will increase the amount of water that can be distributed to other needs.

A big concern with the water in the San Joaquin River, is not only the amount of water but also the quality of the water. Many people use this water to bathe in, drink, and wash their food with. Although the do not do it directly in the river, like in most cases I have talked about so far with river damage, there is still a major concern with health issues. As the water amount has been decreasing the quality and filtration has decreased as well. Without proper movement through the river the water become still allowing for bacteria and other infections to grow in it without much attack against them. If the amount of water in the river does not increase I guess is that the quality of the water will get even worse, probably to the point where it is unsafe to drink or wash your clothes with.

The problem with the San Joaquin River is a primary example of supply and demand. As the supply diminishes that demand for it increase because it is a necessity of life. I think it is important though that the citizens that use the water realize how their actions can effect future generations drastically. Without freshwater, economies will crash, people will be forced to move, and the area around the river will become a desolate place.

Although there are pushes in the government to help this river out it seems like time is running low, just like the river, ironic I know. If there is any chance for this river to be saved action needs to be taken and quickly.

I also think it is important for the United States to realize, that even though our situations with water are not as bad as some countries we still have problems that we need to focus on. If we don’t we may end up like those other countries.

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/americas-most-endangered-river-reaches-tipping-point-n75836

Gossip Girl

Now I know most girls have watched and indulged themselves with the television series of Gossip Girl. I unfortunately am not one of those girls. My friends constantly reference this well known T.V. series, and I am always hopelessly lost when they do. I was one of the few girls until about 40 minutes that had never seen an episode of Gossip Girls.

This series takes place at a boarding school. From the pilot episode it seems that the story follows multiple students’ lives, and the secrets they hold. I feel like this is a show that you definitely get attached to the characters and completely divulge into their lives and stories.

Here are just some of the comments seen on Netflix about Gossip Girl:

“ADD SEASON 6!!!!! PLEASE, WE ARE ALL BEGGING, DON’T YOU NOTICE?! C’MON, PROBABLY 80% OF NETFLIX USERS HAVE WATCHED GOSSIP GIRL AND FELL IN LOVE WITH IT, AND THEN YOU ARE JUST CUTTING US OFF? TOTALLY NOT FAIR……..”

“Best TV series I’ve ever watched! I finished the whole series months ago but I can’t stop watching it! I keep watching old episodes because it’s so addicting!! Got my family into it as well!! Recommend it for anybody!! Love the drama, scandals, secrets and romances!! It’s so great!!!”

“Where is Season 6?!?! Please bring us Season 6! I’ve watched the Season, but I started to watch them all over again (because they are a bit addicting). Now I need to finish it off with Season 6 :)”

Thankfully for these viewers the final season of Gossip Girl, season 6, has been added to Netflix.  If you do decide to watch this you will definitely be putting yourself into a longer commitment, one that may not end even after finishing all the seasons, because you will be tempted to go back a re-watch the episodes! You will not be left hanging though, now that all the seasons are up on Netflix.

Now I have not heard of many guys enjoying or even attempting to watch Gossip Girl and from what I have watched so far this seems more of a television series geared toward women. Sorry boys, I will try my best to watch a pilot episode of a show for guys next week.

I agree with the 4/5 stars that Netflix has given Gossip Girl. It does seem like an interesting show, but I also feel like the common idea of it has been overused, and there are a lot of other shows, even on Netflix alone, that you can watch with a similar set up. I am going to reserve judgement though because I have only watched one episode and I know it take more than that to really appreciate and enjoy a television show.

If the show does not seem interesting to you, and you experience the same out of loop feeling that I do when my friends talk about it. I would give it a try, if not for entertainment, then to understand what all the references your friends make mean. 🙂

Once Upon a Time

The pilot episode starts in a dramatic scene with the prince riding a horse to Snow White trying to save her. It is the classic, prince kisses princess and is awakened, they live happily ever after. It seems like the normal cheesy fairy tale television shows. Then the show is brought to present day with a little boy riding the bus, reading the fairy tales. During the episode there is a constant transition from the fairy tale that introduces the series to present day. We learn that the boy riding the bus is Henry. We are also introduced to a women named Emma. She appears to be on a date with a man she met on the internet, but in reality she is just there to bust him for money he owes her.

Then Henry and Emma meet, Henry declaring that he is Emma’s son that she gave up for adoption years earlier. He wants her to come back to his house with him, and she eventually agrees just to get him off her hands. There are a lot of mysteries to be solved, especially this book that Henry keeps reading and swears that Emma is in.

This series only has two seasons on Netflix as of now so this series will not take too much time to burn through. It can be a short obsession 🙂 This seems kinda cheesy, but my trainer recommended this and swears it gets better! This show is a combination of multiple fairy tales, for example, Snow White, Prince Charming, Cinderella, Rumplestilskin, Beauty and the Beast, Pinnochio, Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, Ariel (from the little mermaid), Jimminicricket, Little Red Riding Hood and Rupunzel. All these fairy tales are included but with a twist in them, and a mix of modern day trends.

I am not sure about the 4.5/5 stars that Netflix give this show, I do not see it becoming that great of a show, but like my trainer said it gets better. I do not think that this will be a show an immediate hook for someone.

The actors that take part in the fairy tale scenes seem to be overdramatic and have weird facial expressions, but I am not sure if that is what the producers want but it seems to make it hard to really get into the show. The actors that are in the modern day scenes seem to be more realistic but they still do not play the roles well in my opinion, they seem to have a hard time expressing the emotions that the characters are suppose to have.

I personally do not think this would be a very interesting show for me, but there are some people, like my trainer, who love the show so its worth a try if you like fairy tales. If you are looking for something to base your opinion off of the show reminds me of the movie Enchanted.

Voting Rights Reflection

This paper was set up in a very clear format, with bold titles telling someone the main point of the next paragraph. It went from describing what the legislation was that he wants to talk about to its importance to Alabama then onto say why it was important to all of the US. To conclude the paper he describes a solution, which is how he calls his audience to action it seems. I personally like bold headings, I know we talked about how people usually read over them and they aren’t effective but I think in this paper they really help readers see where he is going with his ideas. The paper probably could have done fine without them, but I don’t think the titles hurt anything.

I think the first demographic was helpful, a little difficult for me to understand at first but overall it seemed relevant. The Texas map though seemed extremely unnecessary and not helpful in persuading his readers at all. It just didn’t give his argument any support really, he needed to add more to the demographic for it to be effective.

The paper did have some pretty good points and facts in it but it did not do a good job at persuading me. There seemed to be little emotion or passion in his paper. It seemed kind of flat which made it a little boring to read and less effective.

I want to make sure that everything I put in my paper helps my cause and isn’t just there to fill up space. I want my paper to be easy to follow but not so boring that people loose interest. I think one way I can do that is by putting in some personal experiences, and also adding in headlines.

Movie Time- Footloose

Ok so this week I kinda changed my topic of choice. I am going to focus on the movie Footloose on Netflix. Now I know most people use Netflix to watch television shows, but there are also a lot of good movie on Netflix. One that I recently found being Footloose. When I was looking through Netflix I was looking for the older version of Footloose, one of my favorite movies of all time! I ended up coming across the new version that was released in 2011. The older version which was released in 1984 is also on Netflix, so I ended up doing a little Footloose Marathon!

I have recently decided that both versions are in my top ten of all time favorite movies. I think they both have really good stories and meanings behind them. The thing I like most about the movies is that they make me want to get up and dance! (this might be dangerous to people around me because my dancing skills are a little rough)

These movies are both chic flicks, but I think they are both definitely a good choice when you wanna cuddle up one night and enjoy a nice movie. There are definitely some thrilling parts in the movies, with fights and tractor/bus competitions (depending on which version you watch).

Both movies have great acting in my opinion, and even better great dancing! I think one of the best things a movie can do for someone is making them wanna get up and express themselves, in this case people are motivated to express themselves through dance. Now I was obviously bias towards the first version of Footloose, but this new one brought back my excitement for these movies! I think creating new versions of classic movies is a risky business, why change something that isn’t broken right? That’s exactly how I feel about new versions, I usually don’t like them because they don’t do a good job at creating their own story and new actors for the same movies is just not ok with me for the most part. Like when they had to replace Dumbledore in Harry Potter I was outraged! I couldn’t get passed the fact that they weren’t the same person.

I think that this new version of Footloose, does a great job at recreating the story but also having enough personality of its own to be a great movie, not just a copy-cat. The fact that both versions of the movie have the same ratings, 4/5 stars, really says something about the new version. The new version is a story in of its own, it just happens to have the same story behind it and the same title as the old version. The producers did a great job a recreating this movie, I would highly recommend watching it, both versions!

Civic Issues- Miracle River? Or not…

A man claims that there is a river with healing powers in Nigeria. He says that the river was created behind him, after traveling far and wide on dry grounds. He believes that it was a sign of hope and healing. He told his relatives who then told others. Pretty soon thousands of people flocked to the so called “magical” water. They would bathe AND drink this water, hoping that its healing powers would cure their diseases. Multiple claims like this on have been made, all with similar results. This claim has to do with a river near a town called Nachi. Even though not one person since this man has experienced these healing powers, people still flock to this river in search for a cure.

The sudden increase in human population makes the water unsanitary, and does the exact opposite of what the people want it to do that come to the river. Disease is spread through the river and people become more sick. Many of the people who come to these rivers are poor and can’t afford medical attention. They hope that they found a free and easy way to get ride of their problems, but in reality they are just making their problems worse.

I understand how hope can effect people and when people are given just a little bit of hope that they will do anything they can to hold into it. I also think that it is unrealistic for them to believe that water will heal them, especially when they can see how polluted the water is. Scientist even showed people how bad the water was for them, and that it will only get worse. I think hope is a very important thing, but blindly following it is not the way to go. The drastic increase in infections and diseases caused by these so called “magical” rivers is a perfect example of this.

The people living in Nachi, the town near the river, are greatly effected by this flow of people as well. Yes the new increase in travels may help their town for a small period of time, but in the long run they will have many more problems on their hands once everyone leaves. They will have no freshwater to drink from, because the river will be so polluted, they won’t be able to farm because the soil is so infected, and there will be a great lack of animals in the area because they will all have either migrated away or died.

Now lets talk about how these claims effect the rivers themselves. The inflation of people visiting these rivers will cause the animals and organisms that live there to suffer as well. The lack of fresh water and a healthy ecosystem created turmoil in the animals lives and will most likely cause the species to die out. These effects can be awful for the environment surrounding the “magical” rivers. The land in the area will be infected with the polluted water and will not be able to grow plants properly. People need to realize that their “hope” is more harmful than they realize. Then need to realize the effects that they have, not only themselves and each other but also on the environment. A peaceful river with a healthy ecosystem around it can be destroyed within weeks from claims like these. If I were a river I would not want to be “chosen” as magical, because pretty soon there won’t be anything magical happening around me. The only thing that would be happening is disease and death.

The people making these claims also need to realize the damage they are creating. People can die is greater numbers because of this claim and they can destroy an entire area. Even though these people probably don’t realize the effects of what they say are I think it is important that they are informed. We need to do something to prevent claims like these from happening, they only cause disease and false hope.

http://www.popsci.com/blog-network/unpopular-science/danger-nigerias-new-miracle-river

 

How I Met Your Mother

Everyone has probably seen at least one episode of how I Met Your Mother. It is a well-known television show but I’m guessing most people don’t know what the overall story is, unless they have seen the first episode. The show is called How I Met Your Mother because it is about a guy, Ted Mosby, telling his kids a long story about the events that led up to how he met their mother.  Creative I know. The first episode really sets the plot up well.

It starts off with Ted wanting to tell his kids the story of how him and their mom met. There is a flashback to 25 years earlier. Ted describes how he met this girl after his two best friends got engaged. His two best friends are Marshall and Lily, who have been dating since the beginning of college. He goes into detail about how he saw her for the first time, and how he messed it up when he saw her again. In the end though the entire episode was not how he met their mother but how he met Aunt Robin. Robin ends up being another one of Ted’s best friend, who he loves for many years but then never ends up marrying her. Too much drama. It is safe to say that his kids were not pleased when they realized the girl their dad was talking about was Robin, and that the story wasn’t over yet.

This entire series takes place in a flashback of Ted’s life and everything leading up to how he met his sole mate. I think it is an interesting way to have an entire television show to take place, even though you sort of forget that it is in past tense when you are watching the show.

This show is definitely a comedy and has some sexual connotations but nothing too inappropriate. I think this is a good show for anyone who is looking for a good laugh or just needs some entertainment for a few minutes.

Every episode it between 20 and 30 minutes, so you don’t have to set aside a lot of time to watch one, but I have heard they are addicting to watch out. Although the episodes themselves are short there are 8 seasons, so if you get hooked this could be a long addiction for you.

I definitely agree with the rating of a 4/5 stars on Netflix. I think the show can give you a good laugh but it doesn’t really give much more than that. It seems like there are a few romantic moments, which are always immediately followed but a joke. There are no other aspects to the show besides the comedy, which isn’t a bad thing!

So if you are looking for a laugh or just something to do for about 30 min How I Met Your Mother is the perfect show for you!

Civic Issues – Lake Karachay

At one point Lake Karachay was considered one of the most polluted areas on Earth. In 1990 standing on the lake’s shores for just an hour would kill you, from exposure to such extreme radiation. Now this lake was not naturally full of radiation, we have the Mayak Production Association to thank. Mayak was a huge nuclear facility in Russia. For years this association was kept from the public’s knowledge, and for good reasons too (well not such good reasons, but reasons that were good for the company). This facility had multiple radioactive leaks and constantly dumped its waste into Lake Karachay. These mistakes effects thousands of people and the environment around them.

The drastic increase in radioactive levels caused, “a 21 percent increase in cancer incidence, a 25 percent increase in birth defects, and a 41 percent increase in leukemia in the surrounding region of Chelyabinsk” (grist.org). The towns and villages surrounding the area of the lake were almost destroyed because of the radiation. The Techa river, which got its water from Lake Karachay, was the source of water to many towns in the area. People were becoming severely ill, and when they ask the doctors they could not give them a true diagnosis, because the Mayak, which was the source of radiation was not public knowledge.

Like I mentioned before the company had multiple leaks and accidents. One accident caused the lake to dry up, and radioactive dust entered the air to spread the poison even further than it already had. Many people were finally evacuated after this but still too many were left to die from inhaling the radioactive air.

Finally in 2003 Mayak was shut down due to dumping radioactive waster into open water. The lake is now full of cement to prevent anymore damage to the surrounding environment. Techa river near the lake is still unsafe to consume, but there are improvements in the water more downstream in the river.

The things companies do and governments allow baffles me every day. The thing that surprised me the most was that the citizens in the nearby towns were completely unaware that they had a toxic dumping site in their backyard. Radiation causes damages to populations that last many generations. I read a book once where this same thing happened, and because the townspeople were exposed to so much radiation without knowing it, the women in the town became unable to carry children, it was a miracle if any child was born in that town. This disaster caused the town to collapse and die out.

I’m afraid that the same thing is happening to the towns near Lake Karachay, even generations later there are still mutations and rare diseases occurring in the town that cause great suffering. Those people had the right to know what was happening so close to them, because my guess would be that most of them would not have stayed. Yes that would have caused the towns to collapse, but they weren’t even on the map anyway at that time because the secret of the company would have been exposed if they had been. It would have been better if the people were given a chance to leave the dangers conditions, instead of unknowingly be poisoned all their lives.

Or even better yet, radioactive facilities should not be near enough to a population to have an effect on them. It was foolish for Mayak to locate itself in such close proximity to so many towns, and it was even more foolish of them to dump their wastes into the lakes and rivers causing even more damage. The fact the Russia had to completely destroy a lake, and entire ecosystem, to prevent further damage is disheartening. So many animals and plants lived in that area and now have no means of fresh, uncontaminated water. Where there use to be lush forest and thriving organism, there is now a cement filler whole with little life around it.

Bones

Bones is a drama filled with forensic science. I decided that after two weeks of going out of my comfort zone I would get back to the shows I’m use to. As a scientist this series is interesting and thrilling for me to watch.

In the pilot episode Temperance Brennan, one of the main characters, is coming back from a foreign country on a research expedition, unburying bones from ancient tribes. You quickly come to understand that she is a force to be reckoned with after taking one of the airport security guards down. Almost immediately you are introduced to two other main character. Seeley Booth and Angela Montenegro. Booth, as they call him, is an FBI agent and former soldier. He has a charm that is alluring to girls and almost impossible to resist. Angela is an artist, she is the free spirit on the show. They show this side of her when she flashes her boobs at an airport employee to get their attention. Another character you are introduced to is Temperance’s graduate assistant Zack Addy. Both Temperance and Zack’s intelligence is off the chart, which make them important assets to the shows scientific side.

Bones is very science based with a lot of drama intertwined. They main setting it the Jeffersonian where Temperance works in research. Her place of research quickly becomes an investigation lab when the FBI needs Temperance’s amazing ability of identifying bones to help them solve a crime. Every episode has a new crime while there are personal conflicts and problems going on throughout the seasons.

You do not have to watch the episodes in sequence to understand what is going on, although it does give you a little more insight to the characters’ personal lives outside of their professional careers. This is definitely not a show that you can get through quickly with eight seasons already made this will keep any Netflix viewer busy for awhile.

This show get a 4/5 on Netflix, in my opinion it should get a 5/5 but that is just my biased view. This show is definitely for people who love science and/or drama. Given that I like both in a T.V show this show is a great choice for me. I think the actors to a phenomenal job at playing their characters and creating a realistic atmosphere. This also may not be a good show for weak stomaches because there are a lot of gruesome scenes and views that they show.

Overall I think any would be entertained but this show, if you are more interested in the science aspect of a show I would not worry too much about watching the shows in order, even though Netflix makes that pretty easy. If you want to understand and focus more on the drama of the show I would recommend watching the episodes in sequence so you understand the continuous story going on in each character’s personal life.