Chew On This: Everything You dont wanna know about fast food.

 "The food we eat has changed more during the past thirty years than during the previous thirty thousand years." People in America are getting fatter by the minute and it's not solely for lack of exercise-it's because of the food we eat. In the book Chew on This by Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson there is an exploration of today's fast food industry and how its changed us. Because of the convenience of cars, people can now dine on the go. In today's fast-paced, tightly scheduled culture, time is money and a meal that can be held in one's hand at the wheel on the way to somewhere or one that can be prepared in three minutes or less is better and far more satisfying than a meal that takes up too much time and energy in the day.

This book is an informative young adults book.  It teaches about the health hazards that fast food creates. I was actually hoping that the book would change me more. I wanted it to turn me off of fast food entirely. But a lot of the facts didn't surprise me. The book really drawed me in and I wished it was a little longer.

Bowling for Columbine Review 5/5

Bowling for Columbine by Michael Moore

The film Bowling for Columbine was about gun violence in the US vs. other countries. It sympathized the victims of the Columbine shooting and addressed the leader of the NRA, Charlton Heston. In the film, Michael Moore traveled to his own home town of Flint, Michigan and visits a school where a six-year-old boy shot a six-year-old girl in class. Heston inappropriately held a NRA rally only 48 hours after this event. He did the same after the Columbine shooting. When Moore visited his home and asked if he wanted to apologize to the people of Flint and the citizens of Columbine, he heartily refused. I really liked the film and already recommended it to others.

Chew On This Chapter 1 Review 4/29

Chew On This: Everything You Don't Want to Know about Fast Food by Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson

The Book Chew On This is an informative book about today's fast food world. The book is similar to a documentary and focuses on McDonald's food and its side affects. I have many friends who have only had fast food once or twice in their lives and it seems bizarre to me. I grew up on McDonald's and Burger King and every other main fast food brand.  Don't get me wrong, my mom cooks a hot meal very often, but no one wants to cook every day. Not ordering a pizza or stopping by Taco Bell after a visit to Wal-Mart would be insane!

Newsletter Project Overview

I have recently read the article The Achievement Gap: Will My Best Be Good Enough? by Andrea Lopez. This article was about Andrea's experience taking an SAT workshop on the UCLA campus. She talked about how she felt insecure and behind the races in knowledge. She felt like she was fulfilling the stereotype that Mexicans don't do well in school. When they moved to the English section, she really felt like her vocabulary was way more limited than the others. Then, she went to past graduates from her school and felt better.

Our 8 Weeks

Over the past 8 weeks, we have all progressed greatly in our writing. I, for one, actually like writing now and have begun to like to do that in my free time.

I have learned to analyze stories better and find the symbolism beneath them. But, I have also learned that you can over analyze things and you shouldn't look into things too much. That's unnecessary.

The Robber Bridegroom by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Symbolism in "The Robber Bridegroom"

 This short story has a lot of symbolism in it. There have been many versions written of it. In this version by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, A bride-to-be pays a visit to his bridegroom's cottage. When, she gets there, she gets two different warnings about her future husband. On comes from an old woman, calling him a murderer. But, even before that, she gets a warning from a parrot. "Turn back, turn back, you young bride. You are in a murderer's house."
 I think that the parrot is a symbol. I think that it represents the girl's conscience about this guy. Even before she arrived, she didn't want to come. But, if it weren't for her curiosity, she wouldn't have saved the old woman's life- or more importantly her life.

Blue Beard

We all have read the classic stories of Cinderella or heard the stories Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. But, not all fairy tales are as light as this one. Some are very dark. One of which is the story Blue Beard by Charles Perrault. This story is really different from The Little Mermaid. I really recommend this story to everyone-who is not a child.  Blue Beard is an intense story about a wife who has to overcome her officiousness.

A lot of today’s fairy tales tell the same moral. But, these stories are to be told to children. It seems like people don’t want their children to be exposed to murder and blood in the storied they read.

The moral of this story is that curiosity leads to trouble if its not contained. Once satisfied, the desire goes away, but it always ends up hurting you.