Blog 21; An Inconvenient Truth

An Inconvenient Truth is Al Gore's effort to alert us about global warming, in a forme of a documentary film.  Through enjoyable humor, he describes the consequences and potential future of our planet if we don’t pay attention to rising global temperatures due to human activities. The point of this film  is to educate us about the poisoning of our atmosphere and ozone layer by the rising  amount of pollution and carbon dioxide which we all have produced.

Besides the fact that our atmosphere and environment are being altered, Gore talks about how weather is affected, hurricanes are getting larger and more violent, giving Katrina as an example which grew up after passing through the warm water of The gulf of Mexico and hit New Orleans in a devastating way. Apparently, everything in our world is interconnected, while some countries are suffering from harsh droughts and heat others are flooding. The great mount Kilimanjaro‘s snow cap has diminished as well as glaciers are starting to melt, Greenland in the way to collapse, involving a rise in sea level that could possibly impact the low level coastal communities. Al Gore blamed consumerism in the industrialized nations for potentially injure our atmosphere and not sacrifice in order to alive this crisis.

Another major problem that causes Global Warming is population. More people signify more food, and more transportation systems. That means more methane and more burning of fossil fuels, and more agriculture becoming in more pollution. Throughout the 150 years of the industrialized age, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased out of the chart. Over the same period, the level of atmospheric methane has risen by 151 percent, mostly from agricultural activities such as raising farm animals and growing food. We are constantly taking advantage of our natural resources and giving nothing back in return.

He also encourages the viewers to explore for references and information on how every individual can help to curb the CO2 emissions. Nevertheless, one of the main challenges is reducing the burning of coal. This is perhaps the most difficult cause nobody wants to confront the richer nations that lead and base their economy on fossils and its derivate. Everyone wants to keep living the same comfort, which are thanks to the energy stored in such fuels.

What we can possibly do as individual in the meanwhile is creating alternatives to reduce our own gas emissions, little thing that could make a difference such as driving less, recycling every time we have the chance, consuming organic food, eating less meat, buying fuel efficient appliances and vehicles. Vote for political parties committed to real change, who compromise with changing our environment and solutions to pollution. 

Blog 20; The Story of Stuff and Labor

Planned obsolescence is a policy of planning or designing a product that won’t last a large period of life. After certain period it won’t work or become obsolete. It benefits the producer because it keeps the consumer buying the same product or its replacements. The responsible of this business strategy is our economic model. Producers decided shortening the efficiency and products life to cheap the prices and improve their sale. Nowadays, designers purposefully limit the quality of products while companies employ our best minds to create a product that fills the criteria that they demand and not what the consumer demands.

The potential beneficiaries from Planned obsolescence are the producers, because it keeps the consumer buying and demanding the product or its replacements. Even though, in some cases the product still works but the consumer is socially pressured to buy a new one that just came out to the market. Fashion pressure stimulates demand. 

Our planet is the one who suffers the consequences of planned obsolescence. The resulting waste is of course deadly for the environment. Our planet is not unlimited; we should start pressing the producers to recycle their own waste. We cannot afford this policy just to encourage growth, as it results in over proportional damage to both the planet and the consumer.

In my personal experience Planned Obsolescence is a new word, but the fact was around my head since a long time ago. It is notable how manufactures are able to put a ship in a printer to record the quantity of copies that have to be made and then stop and send an error message. My cellular is only a year and is not working properly already as well I have been pressured by my friends to change it.

To be continued.....

Blog 19; CAT-W/Sleep Dealer Injects Sci-Fi into Immigration Debate

Sleep Dealer is an extraordinary film that tells the story, in the near future, of a young Mexican guy named Memo, who grew up attached to a homemade radio that was intercepted by U.S. military commanders. His father like others Mexican villagers were forced to buy water from mechanical robot on their own river that now belongs to The United States. Memo Flied to Tijuana looking for job in cyberfactories. He got nodes all over his body to become a remote worker, someone who works for The United States but doesn't receive the benefits he is supposed to.

The movie is the perspective of Alex Rivera, who wanted to recreate a film about the future in a third world country, involving the discussed immigration story. At a certain point, the world resembles more connected than ever but, unfortunately, that’s not the truth. We can see in the movie a border dividing the dream of hard-working people who deserve a better situation.

Sleep Dealer is an attempt to use science fiction to describe how would be future of third world people. Future where not just human-machines are connected but human-human interface.  Due to technology, Americans already have closed the border and still have the capacity of constructing buildings, picking up their fruits, taking care of their children without any of the immigrants in their territory. However, the culture doesn't change; we still see the differences, poverty, abuse and exploitation.


This is the story that never ends, the dominants taking advantage of the minority. Industrial Technology is constantly changing the aspects of society making the relationship in between countries hostile and uneven. It seems like if we are permanently creating new forms of exploitation and oppression behind the excuse of new opportunities to rise in the social structure and succeed in America.

Blog 18: Sleep Dealer; privacy in the Internet age.

                                                                                                                                                         

The transmission of data via the Internet requires the control or mandate of privacy of who might access the information. A large number of experts within the field of Internet security and privacy believe that such privacy doesn't exist. Actually, we might think that our private information is being broadcast on purpose. As a matter of fact, the risk of displaying your information through the Internet is increasing due to the quantity of gadgets and social pages that require our private information in order to allow us to become members or join them.

Everyone must pay attention to Internet privacy for several reasons. We conduct part of our live online, we go shopping, banking and socializing online. All this involves introducing our personal information onto the Internet. Theft online is growing at an alarming rate, because we transmit so much personal information. The simple fact that the internet’s success has been built on a protocol called HTTP (Hyper Text Convey Protocol) which is very simple, quick and efficient it unfortunately transmits everything into clear text. This particular issue makes  anyone who intercepts this data can easily monitor our movements. The big question is:  How do we keep our privacy intact while we surf? There are critical points that we must pay attention to: 

Cookies: 

Small text files that are stored on our computers to record accounts and improve browsing. If we are concerned about Internet privacy we just need to erase these records, temporary Internet files and images stored on our personal computers. 

Hiding Internal Protocol address (IP) :

Every time we visit a web site it will record our IP address in specifics logs. Everything we ԁο, download and look at in the Internet is recorded in a log that саn be tracked down to a specific computer via the IP address. To solve this we need an anonymous deputy server. Setting the deputy server between our PCs and the web sites we visit will hide our IP addresses so it cannot be recorded.

Encrypting Web Browsing: 

This is the mοѕt vital for real privacy during surfing. All browsing is conducted in clear text, in fact the most detailed and complete list of all our online activities exists in our ISP. Because of this, governments in all Europe ensure having access to logs anԁ ISPs. They are legally bound to store them for up to two years. But if we encrypt our connection these anԁ all other logs browsed are unreadable. 


E-mails:

Do not open any emails you receive from unknown persons. Sometimes you may receive links to click; there is a chance of losing your privacy if you click on the link. Try to get the details of the website you receive or do a research in Google about the site.

Log-out:
Remember to log out of you online accounts after you have completed your work; this will help you to keep your privacy online.

So far, through the Internet it is fairly easier to find someones home address and telephone number, the closest relatives, and where we work with a bit of Internet detecting. Therefore, we neglect our privacy when we disclose information on social sites such as face book or tweeter. We use to inform people when we go on vacation, go to zip a coffee and how long we are going to stay, making it easier for someone who wants to robe us or assault us. Sometimes we divulge our personal information just for pleasure, ignoring the risks we are attracting.

Blog 17: Reflection

Food marketers make us eat whatever they want us to eat. We are targeted to consume what they suggest us. As in the matrix, The Truman Show and The allegory of the cave we are relegated to do what somebody else wants us to do, we are controlled and not able to see the reality, we just want to eat.

If we compare The Matrix and the food Market, it takes us to the point of the blue and the red pills, we have the choice to select healthy or junk food. The blue pill reflects the easy way like junk food, is easier to stand in front of a counter and ask for a meal with French fries and soda is a pretty quick service than going home select vegetables and whole healthy food and start cooking paying attention to fats, calories and carbohydrates which represents the red pill.

A recent study by Paul Johnson and Paul Kenny suggested that junk food consumption alters brain activity in a manner similar to addictive drugs like cocaine and heroin. After many weeks on a junk food diet, the pleasure centers of rat brains became desensitized, requiring more food for pleasure. After the junk food was taken away and replaced with a healthier diet rats starved for two weeks instead of eating nutritious fare. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junk_food

Blog 16: Let them eat fat

Fast food companies are increasing their targeting in the poorest areas of the country. In effect, the main consumers of that low nutritional food are low-income residents who don’t pay attention to fats as long as they eat and get satisfied. Low-income consumers should follow more dietary recommendations to eat healthier such as grains, less fat and sugar. The community must be impacted by advertisements and suggestion on the availability and cost of healthier food.

Fast food corporation’s developers found a target in those low-income consumers and their need of finding cheap food on their way home or after school. In addition, fast food restaurants got innovated meals enlarging it with the famous supersize, which means getting the double of soda and fries potatoes. Customers think they are making a good deal “supersizing” the meal for just 79 cents, but they don’t realize at the moment the price they will pay by putting their own health in jeopardy.

A diet high in sodium, calories, carbohydrate and fat saturated results in health problems such as high blood pressure, anticipated diabetes and circulation disorders. In consequence, being the consumers the low-income population the cost goes on the public Health Department. Customer and common people don’t take in count that a diet high in glucose and fat saturated will harm their health faster and easier than cooking at home. Having an appropriated and balanced diet people would live longer and wouldn’t crowd hospitals.



The main solutions to this problem are regulation and education. Those corporations pay high salaries to developers to market and position their products, the same way; they should find developers and Scientifics to improve the quality of their food, to make it harmless to the customers. In addition, education is a critic point in this situation. Uneducated people don’t eat healthy because of their ignorance; as a result, they get sick easier becoming an elevated cost to Health Department.

Blog 15: The meatrix (Processed Food)

The Meatrix is a short film that emulates The Matrix. In this audiovisual Morpheus is a Cow who chooses a pig named Leo and took him into a family farm and informs him that corporations are changing the way the farms used to be. Morpheus offered Leo the blue and the red pill. By taking the blue pill, Leo can remain at ease in his current situation, or by taking the red pill, Leo can see just how far the rabbit hole goes. He chooses the red pill, and followed the same situation of the real movie “The Matrix”.

Most of the food Americans eat have been treated or processed. The treatment for all the food we eat consists in compound substances in order to change the food before it is sold for human consumption. These additives might include preservatives to extend food life and colorings to change the aspect and dietary supplements, such as vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and other supplements. During the food process some other additives intervene, such as chemicals pesticide, hormones, antibiotics and others elements to feed the animals before being slaughtered. Even though, food has been treated it might harm our health. Many people are considering going meatless, in order to reduce the risk of chronic deceases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. 

On the other side, animals designated for food have a horrible living situation. They are raised in industrial units without any comfort, suffering, stressing and getting sick. The process of slaughtering and animal most be quick to improve the production of meat by doing that factories fail in stunning animals before the process begin and the result is cows being hung when they are still alive. Many famous restaurants have claimed to modify the standards in order to stop animal cruelty in big farms and factories.

Blog 14 The Meatrix

Why do you think the makers of The Meatrix films used The Matrix as the basis for their arguments?

The connection between The Meatrix and The Matrix is based on the following question:  Are we being controlled by the food industry to eat what they suggest us or shall we find a way to feed ourselves better than meat?

What possible connections could the food industry have to the ideas in The Matrix and, by association, the themes of this course?

Blog Entry 13: CAT-W The red and the blue pill

The Matrix is a film released in 1999, staring by Keanu Reeves. It describes a future where computer systems control the world against humans, making them perceive a simulated imaginary world as a reality. Thomas A. Anderson (Keanu Reeves) lived a double life working as a Computer programmer in a system development company, at the same time is a clandestine hacker with the pseudonym “Neo”. He was intercepted by the agents of The Matrix that are resembled by computer programs able to feel. He was forced to collaborate with them but he refused. Later on, Neo, looking for an answer, met Morpheus. Morpheus called him "The One” and offered him the alternative of two pills: the blue and the red.


The blue pill would return him to his life, the fantasy. The red pill would take him into the hole to see what is inside and learn the truth about the Matrix. Neo took the red pill, and suddenly his body was connected by tubes and cables to a mechanical tower. Morpheus explained to him the entire situation. Neo was taken to the real world where everyone was imprisoned by machines. Neo went to the Matrix and faced the agents. Agents made many attempts to kill Neo, but it was in vain. Neo was the elected to end the war in control over the Matrix.


The movie depends on the hypothesis of an illusory reality, which is advanced and simulated. They offered the red pill to those who wanted to escape from The Matrix. Because of  this, I would definitely have taken the red pill and go on a physical reality instead of a fantasy. Even though, real life can be unexpected and painful, at least it has more meaning. If we live in ignorance, anyone can possibly use us for their purposes and consequently control us. We should search for enlightenment instead of living in ignorance.



If I would be in Neo’s position, I’d take the red pill and dig into the hole to see what is inside. Regardless how painful it should be. Everyone has the right to know the truth about life. It involves all concepts, such as religion, scientific projects and politics. There is no doubt that Neo didn’t accept the truth easily at the beginning,  but  he got the ability to manage it. He broke the rule of society by confronting what was supposed to be the reality. He had the choice of taking the blue pill and to go on like a normal person in a peaceful world. In contrast, he took the red pill and saved the world.

Blog 12 Reflection and Evaluation

Until this point, I've been doing some progress on the purpose of this class.  I’ve done all my essays and summaries, analyzed the movies and intervened in discussions.   My interaction with my classmates has given me the chance of upgrading the themes of this class. So far, I’ve been making an effort to pass this class satisfactorily attached to the program.

I think the way Mr. Smith created and conceived this program is innovating and original. It gives us the chance to develop abilities in multiples areas such as philosophy, informatics, English and religion. This is an integrated class module. Besides that, there are some weak points which I really need help with; I categorize them as follow:

Vocabulary enhancement:  sometimes I get speechless and lacked of argument about some topics.

Words connection: Happens when I have the exact words to redact but I don’t find the way to put them all together and make sense.

Self-experience:  We were told to give personal experiences on essays; I don’t like displaying personal experience unless is extremely necessary.

Conclusions:  Sometimes I’m finished with the conclusion and then another idea comes to my mind, is there any way I can write another idea without affecting my final conclusion?

If I compare my essays from the beginning to the ones I ‘m able to do now, I can tell the difference, but still I know I need some improvement. These are some of my weakest points that I know so far, I would like to fix them before the final exam.  

Blog 11: The danger of reality TV

Reality television has revolutionized our minds. The importance of competition, lack of education and the preference of image over ability are being promoted by marketers as the most important values to our society. People who lead reality television pay attention to rating. The contestant who keeps rating in the highest position and mesmerized the public wins the competition, regardless how smart or educated his opponent can be. If a contestant keeps the audience captivated, it assures his permanence in the reality show. Education has been relegated to a second place.


Timothy Sexton states that reality TV promotes the old belief that competition is the key to success in a capitalist economy. Reality TV shows reinforce the idea that life is nothing but a competition that we continually engage in with each other. (The danger of reality TV. Buzzle.com).

                                             To be continued...........

Blog 10: Claim, Reasons and evidence

When I was seeing the movie, I felt very excited. I also felt

involved in the movie too. Even though I know this is a movie but who
knows probably this could be a prediction? I guess we will know the
answer if it happens.

                                                                       Carmencita Zubieta.

This claim reflects one of the biggest concern of humanity. Everyone wants to know the secret of humanity. How are we going to be eliminated from the earth? What happens after we die? And how is going to be the end of the world? Are only a few questions, but still nobody has the answers. There are many people who guess according to their imagination, others trying to revolutionize and some others just taking advantage on weak people.

Watching The Matrix there are many subjects that make us think and confuse prediction and fiction. Therefore, they are based either on prophesies or the bible. These kinds of prediction have not been controlled by experts, and are disputed by most of the people, including Scientists and skeptics.

On reflection, I enjoyed watching The Matrix, but it remains to me just like another science fiction of the cinematography industry.  Something unproven is not a prediction for me.

Blog 9 Telecommute Report-out

Through  the discussion of  "The Matrix" I had the opportunity to earn experience interacting with my partners and sharing ideas. It cleared up some of  the doubts I had about the movie context. Having this discussions may be a suggestion to others professors. Interacting is a good way to understand  instructions and procedures that sometimes are no pretty clear and at  the same time see someone else point of view about class topics.  

Blog 8 The Truman Show

Truman Burbank, (played by Jim Carry) has lived a fake life. Since his birth he has been watched with hidden cameras in a big studio. His neighbors and friends around him are actors who play their role in the most popular TV series in the world.

Christoff is the director who controls every aspect of Truman's life, even the weather.  He dissuaded Truman's needs for exploration by killing his father in a storm while fishing to instill in him a fear of the water, keeping him from knowing any other place.

Truman Burbank works for an insurance company, lives with his wife and has a friend who always pops in front of him with a six pack. He has no idea how he has been exploited. Suddenly he found his life very repetitive and decided to follow his instincts no matter how hard and how painful the result would be. 

Truman, himself, was not an actor. He was the only one playing honestly in the reality show. He reflects how humans are being controlled by the environment and has the need of exploring and stops living in a restricted world lead by someone playing God.

At the end he was given two choices: keep living in a comfortable world knowing is a fake life or face up the truth regardless being hurt and destroyed .Finally, he chooses the exit door leading to the outer darkness over the false sunlight in the dream that he leaves behind.

Eventually, if I would be given the same choices I would do the same. Even though I would be getting into a world which I know nothing, being a scary situation, I’d want to prove myself that nothing in my live can be predicted or managed by someone else.

Blog 7 Reflection and Evaluation

Think about what you have done well and what needs improvement? What challenges are you facing with this class? What do you think you need to know right now to move ahead? How did you feel about the CAT-W practice? What question did you get and how did you answer it?

I'm doing pretty well in this class. I have a great teammate, plus our professor challenges us with too much work which I appreciate, as a non-native speaker i need to improve the language.  During the first blog I was expecting a very difficult class, but right now I'm enjoying this class. I'm getting more writing skills but  I need more vocabulary, we are facing journalism and technology together which resemble to be update. 

I still feel unsecured about the CAT-W practice. Mine was about the chocolate and it's benefits witch I don't have any idea what it's benefits are. I expect after this class I'll be able to pass it without any problem.

Blog 6 - The allegory of the cave (Brainstorming)

Think about something u believed and was not true.

I had two false beliefs when I was little. The first one, was the existence of the three Magic Kings which is the equivalent in America to Saint Nicholas and the second one, was that I believed in ghosts appearing in the darkness.

I got very disappointed when I found out that the three Magic Kings had never existed. At the age of seven, it was a complete surprise for me. I wished I've never known that reality, but It took me longer to understand and realize the non-existence of ghosts. Still being a teenager I used to avoid being alone in the darkness. Now I realize it was very stupid.

When we are kids, we are compelled to do and see what adults command us, most of the times for our own good. Unfortunately, there are things that we don't want to face as a reality. We rather keep believing, maybe because is more comfortable not  to see  what's going on outside the  "cave".

Actually I dare to write and say that many people follow false beliefs just for fear to face the reality. Eventually, my thoughts go further and question myself about the non-existence of all those religious things instilled in us since we are born. From the fact that I believe in evolution, I started asking myself, what if we believe in God just for the fear that if "He" really exists will punish us for not believing, so we rather remain  in the cave and not doubt. What's the use of reading a book (saint Bible), according to someone without any proof.  Who is trying  to keep us trapped into the ignorance and take advantage of our pseudo intellectualism.

On reflection, I would love to keep my faith, just watch what is reflected in the wall and listen to the echoes of what people read on the Saint Bible, in other words, remain chained to those beliefs.  Apparently  my curiosity flies sometimes and takes me to explore outside of the cave.

The allegory of the cave is a metaphor, it has multiples interpretations. This is the one I give in my modest opinion. Please, don't let my mother knows that I'm losing my values and conventional thoughts. 

Blog 5 Allegory of the cave

Plato describes prisoners who live in a cave chained since their childhood. They were completely fixed by their arms, legs and heads facing the wall, unable to turn their heads. Behind them there is a fire burning and a walkway. while looking at the wall they could hear echoes and see figures of men, animals  and objects that came from the walkway. As long as that was everything they could have ever seen and listened, it was their reality.

Plato renewed the story by releasing one of the prisoners. The prisoner would not recognize the reality. He could not name the objects that caused the shadows. He was dragged out  to the sunlight, but he was distressed, he still wanted to believe the shadows were the true. 

Blog 4 (Hype workshop)

Everywhere we turn we face with advertising in one way or another. Advertising has become an annoying situation. Ads appear in supermarkets, banks, street, store displays and television. Since we get up in the morning commercials are showing and convincing us to buy things we don't even need. Products are advertised as the thing everybody must have, to the point that people begin to feel they need to consume it. Products are advertised as the thing everyone must have, to the point that we need to consume it.

Aggressive advertising are annoying and most when they interrupt our life routine. My personal reaction when I get many choices, they confuse me and I'm more likely to refuse all of them. The more products I consider, the less likely I am to purchase anything. Marketers are also employing the principal audience by placing ads in the bathrooms. Ads in the mirror and urinals. They are being intrusive. The bigger factor of excessive advertising is showed most in TV and radio, where Advertising instead of decreasing is increasing.

There is a reality we have to post, publicity is essential for companies to be able to market their products successfully. Advertising is vital to the success of almost any business, but it is possible to get the exact opposite effect. 

Obviously The challenge of the future may be finding public and private spaces that are free of advertising. Everyday there is a new way to publish advertisements. There is no way to escape from them. Everyone is aware of the problem but no one tries to solve it.

I agree with Kale Lasn when he says on his article "Hype"   advertisements are a toxin, we are completely overwhelm by marketers trying to target people. They are so profound that can work even subconsciously and make us repeat slogans over and over.  

Blog 3 ( Hype Summary)

Advertisements have become invasive and annoying. From the moment we wake up in the morning until we go to bed, marketers are introducing commercials to our brains. Everywhere we put our eyes on  there is a commercial telling us to consume or buy something we don't even need.

As Kalle Lasn said in his in signs of life in the USA, everyday an estimated of 12 billion displays ads, 3 million radio and TV commercials are displayed into America's collective unconscious.

Buses, streets, Bank machines, there is no way to escape from such aggressive publicity.

Blog 2

• What did you get from thinking about annotations with the class?
  
  Annotation is important to get the main idea of the text. By this method we can connect and get familiar with the material. I use to mark everything i think is important in a text in order to retain the most possible information.

• What did you get from writing annotations for "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" with your partner?
  
  When I read about this assignment  we got to the point that we already can't live without it. We need to Google any concern or question we have, even though we learn less, remember less and understand less, we can't get rid of the advantages of having access to all the information i need. we are just adjusting to the convenience of changing the way we typically read to a more distracted and easy way. Goggling and surfing on the web don't develop our mind.

• What did you learn about the reading by annotating it?  

          How the use of electronic devices is distracting us from concentrating on readings.

• How may annotating make you a better writer? 
  
  Annotating I'm able to resume and get the main idea. It is much easier by simply underline or highlight passages I  get to the point of what is more important on a text

 

Blog 1 (Hype)

Every where we turn we faced with advertising in one way or another. Advertising has become an annoying situation. Ads appears in supermarkets, banks, street, store displays and television. Since we get up in the morning commercials are showing and convincing us to buy things we don't even need. Products are advertised as the thing everybody must have, to the point that people begin to feel they need to consume it. 

Aggressive advertising are annoying and most when they interrupt our life routine. My personal reaction when i get so many choices, it confuses me and I'm more likely to refuse all of them. The more products I consider, the less likely I am to purchase anything.

Marketers are also employing the principal audience by placing ads in the bathrooms. Ads in the mirror and urinals. They are  being intrusive.

Publicity is essential for companies to be able to market their products successfully. Obviously The challenge of the future may be finding public and private spaces that are free of advertising. 

Everyday there is a new way to publish advertisements. There is no way to escape from them. Everyone is aware of the problem but no one tries to solve it.