Anika’s Blog

maybe because its spring time and everything looks green and clean but i have been getting more and more aware about the environment and the world at large. (see my last blog about story of stuff) my boyfriend and i had lunch on sunday with our friend who is from costa rica. he nannied at the house i know nanny for and he decided to remain in this country for a while anyways.  He told us all about this concept called economic hitman. they are covert, secret individuals hired by our government  to take advantage of third world countries in order to make our country richer. it was insane! he said that costa rica is one of the most stable and well off countries south of the US. until recently, it had refused free trade with the US. all the countries that agreed are now collapsed (nicaragua etc) the us said that if they didnt agree to free trade, fine, but they would no longer be able to trade with the us, their main market.  so they agreed and now the govt can no longer provide services for its ppl. for instance, water is free, electricity runs about one house to be 4 bucks a month, cells phones 6 bucks a month, etc. with the new deal, the govt now has to give ALL companies who provide these cheap services money. which is fine but that now includes american buisnesses, such as walmart. (again “story of stuff”) it was that or NO money to everything. so now verizon is going to move in there, walmart, everyone and destroy costa ricas infrastructure. the country also has bountiful natural resources which the US will take and leave costa rica with practically nothing it all sounds crazy but it is absolutely true. do research.  i delicioused the url to the book: confessions of an economic hitman. im bummed im getting so interested in all of this now that i am so close to graduation. i wish i had taken more poli sci and international relations courses. in addition to some sociology classes on race in which i learned how the US has destroyed numerous third world countries under a guise of help, this conversation opened my eyes more big time.  i just wanted to share so that maybe it could have the same effect on more people.

Todays discussion got me thinking about picture books and “chapter books” and finally regular old grown-up books :)  Pictures are the way to make kids interested in books. give preschoolers books with no pictures and they wont even give it a chance.  I remember in like second grade when the sophisticated kids moved onto “chapter books” that had one picture a chapter or so and then finally moved on to chapter books with no pictures. well now that was advanced!! what is it about pictures, (thinking about our comics discussion) that makes a book seem like a lighter/easier read or more entertaining? i think its fascinating to think about since they have comics for ALL ages.  apparently adult comics are more complicated then i ever cared to notice with the bolding of certain words, their size, etc.  but its most likely that adults would not read the text of comics on their own without the artwork and wouldnt appreciate the artwork without the text.  its  a package deal WITH the pictures. still there is a childlike connotation for some reason that all comics carry simply because they include pictures/artwork. IIIIiiinteresting…..

I am doing my project on serious online dating sites, specifically eharmony.  i know some friends who met, married and now have a couple children and a happy life because of eharmony.  these people would have probably never met before because they lived a few hours from eachother and led very separate lives. the wife was widowed with two of her own children already and the husband is extremely shy and hadn’t dated in years. the site let these individuals transcend all of these would be barriers.  eharmony has also built a trusted reputation unlike many other dating sites who’s only aim is to get people sex. people on eharmony are mostly looking for–at least they say they are–a serious relationship and/or a lifetime partner. I think it will be an interesting topic b/c its just another way the internet lets us do things that were never before possible before them.  online profiles/Im/other forms of communication are completely different from old fashioned, face to face interaction.  I want to explore the success so far of eharmony couples as well as any negative effects there are of beginning a relationship online.

im open for any further suggestions

 this system was created in order to “warrant full pursuit by an enlightnemed society if there could be shown a reasonable approach and some plausible benefits” to solving the complex problems that grow more complicated and urgent by the day. they apparently help man apply his native skills but nowadays its seems like we are using our native capabilities less and less and handing the reigns over to the computers. i wonder if we use just as much of our brains today as before the invention of computers or if computers have merely helped us to use our brains more efficiently.

I think the most fascinating thing about this chapter was the idealism that these individuals had in the human potential to create something great. They had great ideas and had the optimism that they would one day exist and be implemented. Though Bush’s all of predictions have not come into existence yet, the fact that he was willing to envision them way back then is astounding and commendable. it is absolutely crazy to see how much improves every five years in the technological world. Why not dream up something crazy? It will no doubt/likely be reality in the future.