The London Fog

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On Valentine’s Day my Boyfriend and I were walking around Downtown when we suddenly saw a huge foggy-like cloud behind us. By the time I pointed it out to him, we had turned our heads to admire it (both of our hometowns are in Central America so snow is new to us). Suddenly a huge airstream of snow, wind and extreme cold hit us. We both ran to the nearest Starbucks (the one locates behind Mclannahan’s) and I thought it was the perfect time to try something completely new from the Secret Menu. I quickly fired up my phone, searched for something that would catch my eye and found “ The London Fog Tea.”

London Fog is based on Earl Grey Tea Semi Dry Misto, which is basically brewed grey tea with half steam milk and little foam, two pumps of Vanilla Syrup and two pumps of Caramel Syrup. Note that this is the recipe you would give to your barista for a Grande London Fog, in order to order your beverage in a bigger size you would have to order the drink with an additional one and a half syrup pumps per cup “upgrade”. The London Fog Tea is quite tasty, it reminded me of a vanilla-foamless-latte because of its smooth texture and lightly sweetness. In fact, the beverage itself did not taste like tea. If I were to try it with my eyes closed I would of most likely confused the beverage with a Vanilla Latte, so if you’re not a big tea drinker or you don’t like overpowering tea flavors I would highly recommend ordering The London Fog during these cold days.

Sadly though, The London Fog is not as healthy of a beverage as I wished it were because of its Earl Grey Tea base. According to the Starbucks Website, a Grande London Fog Tea contains 180 calories — from which 40 are from fat—, 2.5 grams of Saturated Fat (12%), 150 milligrams of sodium (4%), and 30 grams of sugar. Overall, from a nutritional perspective, The London Fog can range any where between 100 and 1250 calories, and can contain up to 18% of saturated fat, depending in the size of your choice. Even though The London Fog is technically a tea, this beverage does contain 40 milligrams of caffeine, which means that you will still feel that energizing “boost” you get after drinking a cup of coffee. Nevertheless, I would describe this tea as a calmer one since the amount of caffeine in it is somewhat balanced. In other words, you would feel a relaxing walking sensation, rather than the boost you feel when you order a Macchiato, which contains two espresso shots and gives you a 5-hour energy booster sensation. Overall, I think The London Fog Tea is a great way to keep warm and awake during this cold Central Pennsylvania days if we disregard, or keep track, or our daily calorie consumption.

Work Cited:

Starbucks Corporation. “Earl Grey Tea Sweetened With Vanilla-Flavored Syrup and Steamed Milk.” Nd. Np. Web. February 18, 2015

Starbucks Secret Menu. “The London Fog.” Nd. Np. Web. February 18, 2015

Class Activity: Malcolm X & MLK Question’s

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Malcolm X Questions.

Malcolm X’s rationale for the creation of the Organization of Afro American Unity (OAAU) was to ensure that the African American population unified, obtained respect and re-created self indent through the OAAU charter – self defense, education, social and politics & economics. Through out his entire speech Malcolm stressed the importance and duty of the Afro-American Community to set a representation in he state without the help of the white population because the establishment of this community lied upon themselves not upon the white community. Therefore, by doing such the entire Afro-American community in the US would unite and recreate itself in order to establish representation among America and the rest of the world.
I think that the self-defense policy was a way of giving African Americans equality throughout the population and also a way of ensuring that African Americans gained the human rights they deserved. As he stated in his speech “If you have a dog, I must have a dog. If you have a riffle, I must have a riffle. If you have a club I must have a club.” Self-defense and equality go together, and in order for African Americans to reach that equality they wished they needed to establish a self-defense policy because in a world where no equality is found among the lines of protection, than there was no equality.
I think that education was a big segment of both speeches, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, because they both agreed upon the idea that you cannot emerge as a society without basic education of your ethnicity on both, national and community level. In other words, both of these activist’s believed that in order to allow African Americans to enter society they must educate whites about African Americans and educated African Americans as themselves. Also, Malcolm X stressed the importance of giving African Americans the respect they deserved in the educational system itself by allowing African Americans to enter the history books as more as just a “cotton picker”, and have African Americans professors. Malcolm X urged the need of entering the educational system in order to enter society and the system itself.

MLK Questions.

MLK began to refrain the discourse around his activities involving civic disobedience as a consequence of allowing segregation to grow as much as it has. I think that MLK’s argument is very similar to the argument that Malcolm X stressed with a small twist, since MLK approaches the situation in a subtler Christian manner by trying to find equal guidance among races. I also think MLK’s approach was somewhat smarter since he presented his argument with more sincerity and even gave an almost ironic apology at the end of his speech.
1. I think that the non-violence approach made by MLK was crucial since it truly allowed African Americans to rise above the violent approaches the white society was taking at the time. Therefore, he becomes more credible and sympathetic among society.
2. I think that both, MLK and Malcolm X, were trying to confront a movement that was composed of tensions. Thereby, I think that Malcolm X was more successful in reaching its approach because he was more direct and direct his message in a subtler manner for those who he was targeting. In contrast I think that MLK was successful in approaching the clergy men, which were the main audience, but not as successful to approach those side groups that could of also been his potential audience.

Red Velvet Frappuccino

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Before getting started on this weeks passion blog, I will address a couple of questions that where posted on last weeks blog (“The Cinnamon Toast Crunch Frappuccino). I have only tried the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Frappuccino because it is one of my favorite cereals, but if I were to try another of the Starbucks Cereal Beverages I would most likely try the Fruity Pebbles Frappuccino. Also, if you want to browse some secret beverages of your own, perhaps a Pink Starburst Frappuccino or a KitKat Frappuccino, all you have to do is go to www.starbuckssecretmenu.net (this website is also always cited at the end of my posts) and go to your nearest Starbucks and order each of the items that compose the beverage of your choice (I know it’s tedious, but I promise it’s worth it).

With that being said and with Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I thought it would be appropriate to pick a Valentine’s Day Treat-like Frappuccino to uncover this week. The beverage I picked was the Red Velvet, or Red Tuxedo, Frappuccino because usually when I want a treat Red Velvet is my number one pick, and I also rarely get served bad tasting Red Velvet treats. Unfortunately though, this time my Red Velvet Treat ended up being a Red Velvet Disaster. I am not going to lie, the taste of the Frappuccino was very good, in fact, I could literally taste a chocolate-like taste in my mouth. Yet, after a couple sips of this beverage I felt like I needed a shot of insulin and a liter of water. If you are the type of person who loves extremely sweet chocolate I would highly recommend this beverage, since I am pretty sure that it will take care of that sweet tooth. However, if you absolutely want to try this beverage, but aren’t sure if you can handle the excess sugar, I would recommend getting the Red Velvet Frappuccino on a tall (12 oz.) cup. I would also recommend making your Frappuccino somewhat “skinny” and avoiding the use of any toppings like whipped cream and java chips (this is perhaps the reason of why I did not enjoy this beverage as much).

In order to order the Red Velvet, or Red Tuxedo, Frappuccino you will need to order a half White Mocha and half Regular Mocha Frappuccino, and ask for it to have either one pump (for a tall version), two pumps (for a grande version), three pumps (for a venti version) or four pumps (for a trenta version) of Raspberry Syrup. As always, you have the option to top your beverage off with some whipped cream, but because I chose this specific item with the purpose of it being festive I topped it off with whipped cream and some java chips (which added a nice little crunch to my drink).

Many of you may be wondering what makes this item so sweet if it relatively does not has as many ingredients that may add on to the sweetness as other beverages. The answer is somewhat simple since Mocha is coffee language for delicate and fine-grounded coffee that contains either chocolate powder or chocolate extract. Therefore, by ordering a half White Mocha half Regular Mocha Frappuccino as your base, you are technically ordering a half white chocolate half regular chocolate drink and adding additional sugar with the Raspberry Syrups and whipped cream. However, do not misinterpret me, this beverage does not taste bad. The Red Velvet Frappuccino is quite tasty I just think it’s a little too sweet to enjoy!

Work Cited: “Starbucks Red Velvet Frappuccino.” Starbucks Secret Menu. Starbucks Corporation, nd. Web 07 Feb. 2015.

College Major’s Influence Over Athletics

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Universities are always criticized under the notion that college athletes take easier classes, or major in easier subjects in order to keep a scholarship-eligibility business venture. In fact, this subject has caused so much controversy that it has motivated scholars to preform studies on college athlete majors, and has also forced sports organizations, like the NCAA, to pass new laws that ensure higher graduating rates and higher GPA expectations over athletes (USATODAY, 2008). Nevertheless, as this argument continues to expand many researches have found that perhaps the problem with the university – athlete feud is not the standards that the university implies on college athletes, rather than the small range of major choices that the university offers (Time, 2012). As David Pargman, a psychologist professor at the Florida State University, states on his article “End The Charade: Let Athletes Major in Sport”:

“Why do we impose upon young, talented and serious-minded high school seniors the imperative selection an academic major that is, more often than not, completely irrelevant, to at least inconsistent with their heartfelt desires and true career objective: to be professional athletes?” (David Pargman, Florida State University)

As Pargman goes to argue, perusing a degree on sports should be no different than perusing a degree in an art related field, such as film, music or dance. After all, in today’s society getting a job as an engineer is as competitive as getting a job as a dancer. Regardless of the degree you obtain, the likelihood of landing the job you desire is decreasing and therefore the likelihood of obtaining a job in a similar field of your specialty is increasing. Therefore, if statistics provide evidence that after graduation you will enter a job-seeking-lottery regardless of your degree, why shouldn’t Universities allow athletes to peruse a career in their main field of choice rather than an erroneous major such as fishery studies? For example, Luke Stocker (a former college football player from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville) majored in leisure studies in order to maintain his sportsmanship eligibility (WSJ, 2010). From a more professional perspective, world famous basketball player Michael Jordan majored in geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill while taking classes such as tennis and elementary geography. As Syracuse University student Dylan Malagrin stated to USATODAY: “coaches and academic administrators in the athletic department might be strongly encouraging students to take easier majors or to chose an easy major.”

A study preformed by David Biderman to 1,104 college football players all over the country showed that the most popular major among athletes were found upon the college of Liberal Arts, mainly the majors that are relation to sociology. Also, as expected, most of the college athletes chose to major in a sport or health related majors, which only further proves David Pargman argument (USATODAY, 2008). Overall, the study showed expected distributed numbers among colleges of liberal arts. However the most sticking finding of this study was the fact that out of 1,104 college athletes across the nation only one Vanderbilt Student, Chris Marve, was perusing more than one major. At the time of the study, Marve was triple majoring in human & organization development, sociology and special education (USATODAY,2008). Then, if studies provide evidence that today the educational system is failing to stretch common grounds to athletes, why is it that they are not treating them as they treat art majors?

Currently, Universities across the nation grant students credits by completing physical education activities, like the tennis class Michael Jordan took at UNC, and require students to complete a General Education Health Requirement that can be fulfilled through physical actives. Today, Universities acknowledge the importance of physical activities and health related knowledge. Thereby, if the educational system is aware of such, the educational system should also be aware of the importance of allowing students to expand their passion over sports by allowing students, specifically college athletes, to major in sports the same way they allow a theater enthusiast to major in theater performances. Perhaps, if the educational system granted students with the sports major opportunity, the university-athlete controversy would not exist, more and lager scholarships would be granted and all students would be guarantee to graduate with a degree about a subject they truly love.

Work cited:

Biderman, David. “Why Football Players Don’t Speak Spanish.” WSJ. Np. 16 September 2010. Web. 07 Feb 2015.

San, Gregory. “Should College Athletes Just Major in Sports.” Time. Np. November 27 2012. Web. 12 Feb 2015.

Upton, Jody & Kristen Novak. “College Atletes Cluster Majors at Most Schools.” USATODAY. Np. 19 November 2008. Web. 05 Feb 2015.

The Breakfast Beverage

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Usually when I wake up, two completely different scenarios can happen. I both wake up and become a dream for the sugar-like-food-industries (like Lucky Charms or Coco-Puffs) or, I wake up and simply do not feel hungry, but binge eat sweets all morning long. Logically, when I saw that Starbucks offered cereal-like-flavors in its secret menu I absolutely lost it and decided to try one. The secret menu offers an abundance of cereal flavors, from captain-crunch to cookie crisp, I’m pretty certain you find almost any cereal you think of. Nevertheless, that morning I decided one of my all-time favorite cereal flavors as a beverage – A Cinnamon Toast Crunch Frappuccino. At first I was somewhat scared. I mean, the idea of having a cereal flavored drink doesn’t sound very pleasing off the bat. However, what is life if you don’t do thinks outside of the box?

Let me tell you, this has been one of the best impulsive decisions I have ever made!

My first impression of the Frappuccino was that it seemed normal. When I read the recipe and knowing the texture of the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal, I envisioned the Frappuccino as a hazel colored beverage that was going to be over-powdered on cinnamon sugar and drenched in sugar. Surprisingly enough this was not the case. The Cinnamon Toast Crunch Frappuccino looks at first glance like a regular Caramel Frappuccino with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar and no caramel drizzle. In fact, the beverage itself looks a little dull in my opinion (perhaps I think about it as dull because of image I had in my mind). Nevertheless, The Cinnamon Toast Crunch Frappuccino taste is nothing but far from dull. The beverage itself if very rich in flavor and the way it’s prepared allows you to taste different stages, or layers, of the drink. At first, you taste that nice sweet smoothness you expect any Frappuccino to have. Second, you taste a very subtle cinnamon flavor that burst in your mouth and stays long enough for you to enjoy the taste, but not long enough for you to feel overwhelmed. In a nut shell, the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Frappuccino taste exactly the same as the cereal, while still avoiding the overwhelming use of powder sugar and cinnamon sugar.

As if the taste wasn’t surprisingly enough, ordering this beverage is extremely easy as well. All you have to do is order a White Mocha Frappuccino, add Cinnamon Dolce Syrup (1 pump for a tall, 1 ½ pumps for a grande or 2 pumps for a venti), add Hazelnut Syrup (1 pump for a tall, 1 ½ pumps for a grande or 2 pumps for a venti), ask for some blended cinnamon sugar to be blended and, if you wish, top it with whipped cream and extra cinnamon sugar. If one day you’re feeling very adventurous and would like to have your breakfast as a beverage (literally) I would strongly recommend you to try the Starbucks Cinnamon Toast Crunch Frappuccino.

Work Cited: “Starbucks Cinnamon Toast Crunch Frappucino.” Starbucks Secret Menu. Starbucks Corporation, n.d. Web. 4 February 2015.

Athletes Academic Freud Scandal at UNC, Chapel Hill

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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) is being sued by former athletes due to “empty degree” allegations and is also currently under investigation by the NCAA due to Academic Freud Allegations. According to investigations, UNC at Chapel Hill has been enrolling athletes in fake classes and has been providing them with tutors in order to ensure the athletes eligibility for the sports program and therefore the University can benefit from the sports program proceeds. As former basketball player Rashad McCant’s states in his allegations against the University “You’re not there [the university] for your education, you’re there to make revenue for the college.” (McCart, 2014) As investigations continue, information has risen proving that UNC at Chapel Hill has been handing empty degrees to students for the past 18 years and that the number of empty degrees can go as high as 3,100.

Because the number of empty degrees is so high, many people may wonder how it was possible for the University to hide the evidence for such an extended period of time. To the surprise of many, this was possible due to the commerce that exists underneath collegian sports world. As former athletes state, the tutors they were provided would either write them or help them write a paper and in return the tutors received free merchandise and free game tickets. As Rashad McCant recalls, on the fall of 2004 he received a call from Coach Roy Williams, in which Williams solicited an immediate meeting to go over his current academic standing. That semester Rashad had received one A and one B on an two independent study courses, one C on a Introduction to Psychology course and one F on Algebra course, therefore he sought himself on the boarder line of academic suspension. Both, Williams and McCant, feared what an academic suspension might cause on the team and thereby Williams told McCant not to worry, “we will be able to fix.” (McCart, 2014) The following semester McCant was enrolled in AFAM classes (African American an Afro study courses), which at the time where famous among athletes for being a one-paper course, and received straight A’s. This did not only take McCant out of the risk of academic suspension, but also allowed him to be on the dean’s list. Similar to Rashad McCants experience with AFAM classes, numerous athletes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found themselves receiving external academic help, grade changes and forged faculty signatures in order to keep their eligibility. The academic fraud in which the player’s were engaged in caused no harm in their daily student life since “it was part of the program” (McCart, 2014) but once they graduated they found themselves in a tough position holding an empty degree.

As shocking as these number and allegations might sound, currently UNC at Chapel Hill is struggling even more since they are being accused of admitting the wrong students into their college as long as their athletic department reputation keeps receiving profits from their admission decisions. A current study made to 183 UNC Chapel Hill basketball and football players showed that about 60% of those athletes could only read material that ranged among the 4^th and 8^th grade level, that 8 to 10% could only read material below the 3^rd grade level and that only about 27 to 30% of them could read at a college level (Riley, 2014). The skeptical decisions made by the admission committee can also be seen by the simple actions that are embedded at the start of every basketball season through sports brackets, which portray the predictions of the experts at the beginning of every season. Every year it is expected to see the tar heels succeed because they have always had the best players in the court. Nevertheless, in the history of the University of North Carolina, no basketball player has ever been suspended due to poor academic performance. In fact, in the history of the University only one football player has ever been suspended due to poor academic performance. As investigation continues more information has been found that proves that the tar heels athletes are unable to preform as successfully in classroom as in the court without the use of any external help.

Work Cited:

Ganim, Sara and Devon Sayer. “UNC Report Finds 18Years of Academic Fraud to Keep Athletes Playing.” CNN. Cable News Network, 18 Oct. 2014. Web. 28 Jan. 2015.

“Rashad McCants: UNC Academic Freud Scandals Details.” Outside The Lines. YouTube, May 2014. Web 28 Jan. 2015

Riley, Naomi. “UNC Scandal Isn’t about Athletics – It’s about Empty Degrees. “New York Post. N.p. 16 Nov. 2014. Web. 28 Jan. 2015

The Butterbeer Frappuccino

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Currently my roommate is reading the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book, so I decided to commemorate Harry Potter by uncovering the Butterbeer Frappuccino from the Starbucks secret menu. As tasty as this beverage might sound it is probably one of the most tedious beverage’s to order because, as some of you may know, the items from the secret menu are ordered by naming what elements you want in your beverages (e.g. what kind of milk, how many shots of coffee, what type and how many pumps of syrup you want in your beverage etc.) rather than by name.

Once you are ready to place your order ask your barista for a tall Crème Frappuccino Base, but make sure not to “skim” the base by asking for soy or non-fat milk since whole milk is required for this specific beverage, then, ask for 3 pumps of caramel syrup, 3 pumps of toffee nut syrup and top your beverage with whipped cream and caramel drizzle. Please note that this is the recipe for a Tall (small) Butterbeer Frappuccino, therefore if you wish to order your beverage on a larger size you will need to adjust the syrup pumps by adding half a pump per size. For example, if you wish to order your Butterbeer Frappuccino on a Grande cup (medium) you would ask for three and a half pumps of each syrup, and if you wish to order your Butterbeer Frappuccino on a Trenta cup (extra-large) you would ask for four pumps of each syrup.

The Butterbeer Frappuccino texture can be best described as a marriage between a float and a slushy, which means it contains just the right amount of sugar for it to be sweet yet still remain smooth. In addition to its already curious yet sticking taste, the Butterbeer Frappuccino has some sort of “air” bubbles that give this Frappuccino a unique texture. However, because of its peculiar texture make sure to order it as a Frappuccino because if not your beverage will taste very unpleasant and overwhelmingly sugary. Thus if you really want your beverage to be in a more liquid texture rather than a icy-frappuccino texture, I would recommend ordering it iced since the ice might balance the over-powering sugar taste.

To be quite honest, there is no word I can think if to describe its flavor rather than yummy. For starters, its flavor is very peculiar (I at least, had never drank anything like it) it sort of resembles the taste of the butterscotch candy that comes in the golden wrapper made into a slushy-float. Additionally, the smoothness of the float and the clumpy sensation of the slushy leave a refreshing yet addicting taste in your pallet that makes you want to have more every time you sip your beverage. The Starbucks Butterbeer Frappuccino is indeed quiet a wizardly drink.

Works Cited: “The Butterbeer Frappuccino” Starbucks Secret Menu. Starbucks Coorporation, n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2015.

Updated This I Believe Script

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I believe that books in its physical form are superior than any other form of text. Books in its physical form have a certain je ne se pas that transmits to readers that virtual books cannot not. Perhaps it’s the feeling of pride in between your hands when you noticed you are holding a significant amount of pages read, or the glorious sensation of pages being flipped, that virtual books lack of. I believe that books are supposed to be personal, not virtual; the only virtual part of book is supposed to be your own creations not what technology has created for you.

I will admit though, it does get weary to pay extra dollars for your favorite books and drive to your nearest library in order to emerge into a new adventure, as you know that your next book is hidden somewhere in the technological world and it can probably be found for a more reasonable price with the press of a button. But, is scrolling down and swiping your finger around back and fourth a screen as exiting and joyful as getting lost inside a maze of bookcases?

When did we get so obsessed with technology that even the simple task of reading now involves a charger and an outlet? As kids we were taught that two of the greatest inventions of mankind were the papyrus and the printmaking process because it allowed us to keep records more organized and efficiently, yet today we are over-looking history with technology. When did relying on battery supply and a compressed glass become more efficient than print? How is it that we believe that something that can easily run out of battery, or break and no longer supply our demands be better than paper and ink?

Today we are so centered in technological advances that we are beginning to lose trait of what brought us pleasure. As a child I remember reaching out for books and watching a hungry caterpillar pop out of one page and dive into the next, and I’m proud to say such because I doubt that the future generations will experience the same. The future generations will learn how to enable shortcuts to find out who are the new trending authors on the latest kindle version, but I will always believe that the moments I spent sitting down in the floor of the library skimming through a book in order to figure out if it followed my trend of story telling will be of more value.

I believe in technological advances, and I also believe in modernization, however I still believe that physical printed books embark readers in an adventure that virtualized forms of text are unable to supply.

Blog Topics

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I have finally decided what topics I will be blogging about. In relation to my passion blog, I will continue to uncover the secret menu from Starbucks. Every week I will find a new beverage (it could be a coffee or a tea), give a review and give you guys the home version recipe of the beverage. Also, I will try to relate the beverages I chose for the blog as much as I can to our daily and/or college life. For example, during the month of February I will try to find beverages that are Valentine’s Day inspired, and during finals week I will try to find beverages that are high in caffeine in order to help you guys stay awake and study. At times, I will blog about beverages that are not in the secret menu, but that you can personalize. Last semester, for example, I blogged about different ways you can convert the regular Hazelnut or Caramel Macchiato into a pumpkin or s’more Macchiato.

As far as my civic issue blog, I have decided to blog about Athletics in the Educational system. Recently, a controversy has risen in which many Universities have been found guilty of giving special academic treatment to athletes in order to polish their athletics department. Therefore, I have decided to blog every other week about topics in relation to this issue. For instance, one blog may be in relation to a specific university that pledged guilty and its sanctions, another blog may be about the statistics of student’s who have decide to drop out of college and purse a professional career because of the restrains they experience. However, with this topic I am not trying to attack the educational system, players or a specific University, rather I am trying to learn more and blog about the different points of view and cases that are related to this specific subject.

I Believe In Books

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When did we get so obsessed with technology that even the simple task of reading now involves a charger and an outlet? As kids we were taught that two of the greatest inventions of mankind were the papyrus and the printmaking process because it allowed us to keep records more efficiently, yet today we are over-looking history with technology. When did relying on battery supply and a compressed glass become more efficient than print? How is it that we believe that something that can easily run out of battery and no longer supply our demands be better than a good old-fashioned book.

Today we are so centered in technological advances that we are beginning to lose trait of what brought us pleasure. As a child I remember reaching out for books and watching a hungry caterpillar pop out of one page and dive into the next, and I’m proud to say such facts because I doubt that the generations to come will experience the same happening. The next generations will learn how to enable shortcuts to find out the new trending authors on their 6inch LCD screen kindle in white, but I will always cherish the moments that I spent sitting down in the floor of the library skimming through a book in order to figure out if it followed my trend of story telling.

I believe in fads and modernization, but I also believe that physical printed books are better than any virtualized form of text.

***Please leave any suggestions on how I can improve my project. Thank you 🙂