The documentary Fresh changed my perspective on healthy eating. I had always thought that eating healthy was fruits and vegetables, and that's all you needed to have a beautiful, healthy body. I was wrong. Part of health is where our food comes from. How healthy can we be is we eat chemicals on a day to day basis?
Fresh promotes healthy eating and buying from local farmers versus big, industrialized factory farmers. It celebrates the local farmers who make up America and continue to grow despite being chased out by big companies and brands. The whole point of Fresh is to show the view how American farming has changed and the rise of industrialization in American farms. How fresh can you food be if it was raised on chemicals and came out of a factory's conveyor belt?
It is a film designer for foodies; people who care about their food and want the best out of it. This younger generation of eaters want quality control in their food and to know where it came from. Being designed for this audience, it make sense that the movie's prime tone is serious when it comes to the factory farms, but switches to a friendly, happy family vibe when it moves onto the local farms being portrayed.
I was shocked by the difference in our farms from how they're advertised on tv. People genuinely believe in the red barn and open green fields. Fresh showed me that the reality of our farms are far different. Our farms our smokestacks and mechanical jails. There is nothing fresh about the food we eat, and there is nothing we can do about it. 90% of our food comes from one place.
myth
reality
vs.
This movie not only awakened me, but also millions of other people. Documentaries like this should be seen by all. The people of America need to know what they are eating and where it comes from. It is important that Americans have a choice on what they eat. If you want to eat healthy, you should be able to. Everyone deserves a choice. Watch this film for yourself so you can make that choice too. Learn to eat healthy and visit a farmer's market. Supporting local farms and businesses increases state revenue rather than investing into big business. Give back to your local community and take a chance by trying some healthy organic food.
The fight for quality control of ground beef began in 2012 when ABC began news coverage of a meat product affectionately nicknamed "pink slime". The technical name which the meat industries use for it is "lean, finely textured beef". Used as a filler for ground meat, this product is composed of meat trimmings and ammonia to make it safe to eat. It used to only be use in dog food and oil before the USDA saw it fit for human consumption. Now, lean, finely textured beef ails the U.S. and contaminates our supermarkets. The quality of the meat we consume is so low that other countries including Japan, China, and European countries ban the use of American beef.
Part of the problem comes from how American cattle are raised, slaughtered, packaged, and shipped out. There is very low quality control which allows suppliers to get away with products like pink slime. Defenders say it is 100% natural and safe to eat, but are you ok knowing that the U.S. food industry is letting you eat something once fit for only dogs? Are you ok with an industry that lets 70% of all processed meat products to contain this filler?
It's concerning that the U.S. meat lobby believes they can get away with this and that our health and well being is traded away for a quick buck. Can it get any worse? Will meat control ever improve in this country or will the meat industry continue to get away with this?
On my last free write entry, I wrote about strange models and fashion. Today I would like to talk about an artist, someone who've I followed and admired her art for years. The one and only Saccstry.
Today, I'll be showing you her surreal, cute drawings, but be warned, for anyone who follows the link to her blog, many of her images contain graphic violence and deformities. Her art is beautiful in a creepy way and she inspires me to want to be more creative with my work, and not be afraid to be strange.
They're watching
Saccstry is a successful, online, female artist. The strangeness
of her work is what draws her fans into it as well as the impressive amounts of detail she puts into her work. The cute, alien/doll hybrid characters she draws pulls people into her work. Sometimes, when looking at the small, tiny girls she draws, you can feel them watching you, judging you, preparing to devour you alive. Rarely can art invoke such fear and fascination at the same time, which is why I chose to discuss her art. Alive and full of colors, yet dead and cold to the touch. It's amazing how such a contrast can be united into one work of art.
I search for artists who can bring a unique perspective in a medium over saturated with the same old same old. There is always a place for the new, and Saccstry brings it. While much of her work is gore, she also has many beautiful pieces that can give a new perspective on art and creativity. Here is a small handpicked selection of what I am talking about.
How do you feel looking at her art? are you intrigued? Weirded out? Even a little scared? Needless to say, no matter what emotion you felt looking at her art, she is an incredible artist and once again, I have been drawn in by the explicitly strange.
Before the invasion of smartphones in everyday life, in 2008 Disney decided to spread a new message concerning the environment and the expansion of technology. They did this through the traditional Disney way: film. Wall-E was a full feature Disney/Pixar film focusing on the mess humans left Earth behind and how their new lifestyle of consumerism and technology addictions had led to an oblivious, obese population.
After watching Wall-E, I was motivated to change my lifestyle. I spent less time online, I tried to eat healthier, and be more careful with my trash. It inspired me to be more of an eco-friendly person. Later, however; after watching this movie, another theme that became more apparent to me. Part of an important message was the humans' obsession with technology and the consumer society they had created. Product placement was everywhere and it was such a core part of their life that they never realized it was there to begin with. All that mattered was buy "buy n' large" because you have to!
The humans spent everyday surrounded by technology and never had to get up. The movie proves a point that technology is helpful, but also destructive. Humans have lost the ability to walk thanks to the excessive amount of technology and don't even recognize each other by face. They won't even take the time to look at each other. Sound familiar? With modern day smart phones, the future of Wall-E is slowly becoming true. People rarely look at each other when their eyes are glued to the flat piece of technology in front of them.
At the same time, our phones are loaded with ads, We constantly have someone telling us to buy something we don't even want. Yet it's normal. We no longer question it and we scroll by it as if it's a normal, everyday occurrence. The people in Wall-E are the same way with the Buy N Large brand that even after they leave Earth, they don't notice how they are buying in to this company. It controls their entire society, and they're so absorbed in technology they can't be bothered to care.
How can we prevent the future of Wall-E from happening? The first step we can take is to spend a little time outside, a little less time on our phones and pay attention to the world around us. Become active in the community, be a hero. Don't be afraid to share your voice. Our future doesn't have to be like this, it can change if you make it change.
No matter who you are, when someone says the word "beautiful", a certain face comes to your mind. Maybe it's your partner, a friend, a girl you saw across campus, a model, or a generic stereotype. Yet how often do we challenge that word? What does it mean to be beautiful? According to Google
The first google image for "beautiful woman"
Images, a beautiful woman is thin, has a narrow, small nose, thick, plump lips, a slim face, angled eyebrows, big eyes, long eyelashes, pale irises, long hair and a body with lots of curves. Many won't argue with this generic beautiful woman, but a new trend has started among woman along with a wave of new age feminists. Many argue that all women are beautiful and finally the stereotype for beauty is changing. We're seeing plus sized woman, woman of color, all sorts of woman being put as beautiful. Our world is changing, but so is fashion. Today, I'd like to talk about a few strange, yet equally beautiful models you may not have heard of. Why? Because our world is strange, and we represent our world through our clothes.
To start off with our galleria of strange models, I'd like to introduce you to Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (real name: Kiriko Takemura) is a model who began her debut in Japan 2010. Being Japanese, you can tell things are going to get weird. She began her career as a fashion designer
but debuted as a musician in 2011. Since she debuted, she has released full three albums, and is the most well known Japanese musician/fashion designer to date. What
leads to her popularity though? Is it her cuteness, her never seen designs, or just how freaking weird she is? For those who want a glimpse of her weirdness, below is her debut song. I warned you, the video is weird, doesn't make sense, and looks like it came out of a Hello Kitty fangirl's fever dream.
Strange as her debut video was, she actually is a talented artist and has made many successful songs. Her music videos are always fun and artsy looking with a few really weird ones. Her clothes are also beautiful and there's no doubt that the woman is a genius. The fashion she specializes in is known as "decora" and "kawaisa". I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I do know one thing, her clothes are amazing. Have a look for yourself.
Of course, where there's one strange model, there will be another one. Music fans, you may know of Die Antewoord, and you know of the beauty that is Yolandi Visser.
Yolandi is a South African vocalist in a rap/rave group called Die Antewoord. If you want to get a sense of her fashion style, I would recommend watching the video before. Warning: the video below is graphic and contains violence, nudity and fowl language.
Yolandi's style, unlike the last model, varies from grown up barbie doll, to a possessed being. Yolandi made her debut as a vocalist in her band, and since the band started, has become famous internationally along with her peers. She became so famous that she and her fellow band members starred in the 2015 movie, Chappie.
Yolandi's fashion is evident even in the movie and the bring colors she brings give the movie life. Chappie is a dark film and is a constant emotional rollercoaster, without Yolandi, there would have been no help for Chappie. It was thanks to her self-named character that the movie brought a warm tone even during the saddest parts.
Creepy doll or the barbie no one wanted, Yolandi is a fashion inspiration with all her strangeness. But why is it that the strange is so fascinating? After all, it's always the new things that become the newest trends. 30 years ago, would a woman have dared worn a crop top? Now crop tops are the new skinny jeans. Fashion is brought about by someone being adventurous enough to be strange and different. We can't help but be drawn to these people. The new always fascinates us, especially things we don't understand. Maybe that's what compelled me to write about this.
Technology has headed a long way in the last 20 years, but with the advancement of technology, games are progressing. The classic hit rpg Pokemon is evolving, and not into a Charizard, but into something entirely new.
If you haven't heard about Nintendo's newest augmented reality project, you're going to learn. While Nintendo has done the augmented reality field before with the not very well known Pokedex 3D Pro, the announcement of Pokemon Go could change the way mobile games are done. Watch yourself, and take the time to watch a quick four minute discussion on the technology and news behind it.
The Pokemon Go Trailer
An analysis of the info gathered
Many now adults have positive memories of carrying bricks (the Nintendo Gameboy) in their hands, watching the 90's anime on 4kids, or the Pokemon trading card game. While some people moved on from the Pokemon franchise, the Pokemon franchise continued to evolve for its fans. It moved on to a color format with Pokemon Gold and Silver for the Gameboy Color, full art and pixels on the Gameboy Advance, a dual screen with optimized pixel graphics for the Nintendo DS, fully animated sprites, partial 3D, effects, and voice acting for the Nintendo DS in the early 2010's, and finally a full 3D Pokemon game for the Pokemon 3ds. In between the time of Pokemon XY, the fully 3D (and beautiful looking) Pokemon game, and Black 2 and White 2 (the only sequels in any Pokemon game and the only games with voice acting) Pokemon's first shot at augmented reality, Pokedex 3D Pro came out. Using the 3DS camera, players could track and catch pokemon and also view them in 3D. Now it seems as if that concept is evolving.
What is augmented reality though? I keep talking about it, but surely, it's not a common phrase. Google defines augmented reality as "a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user's view of the real world, thus providing a composite view". What this means is to have a digital image or video available in the real world. Here are some examples of what this looks like. Keep in mind these images are from before the franchise transitioned into full 3D and was for a system that didn't use 3D.
wild Pidgey on the loose
You've had a legendary encounter!
A giant Ninetails invading local shrines
Now that there is a visual understanding of augmented reality, I want to talk more about the new technology being introduced. The second video goes over the specifics, but I want to talk about the change that this could bring for fans old and new to Pokemon. People will be able to unite together, battle in real life, and the technology behind Pokemon Go could inspire many to travel, get exercise in ways that would be new to mobile gaming. Imagining going on a hike only to see a wild thorny Maractus in the desert or the elegant Sawbuck in a forest. This could inspire a new generation of kids to play outside again, something lost for America's most recent generations. Imagine being on campus and connecting with trainers, battling in real time and having a crowd watch. This is what kids have dreamed about since the first Pokemon game, and this technology can make that dream come true for many.
The Bluetooth watch that will be available for this game will allow users to catch pokemon like they would in real life, with a swing of an arm. Video games need to come to life, and what better than to bring one of the most traditional rpgs to a whole new form. After using the original attempt pokemon made at augmented reality, the Pokedex 3D pro, words cannot contain how excited I am for the evolution of the series. I've been a fan from the Gameboy days to the most recent incarnations.
What do you expect from Pokemon's mobile game? Do you have high hopes for a real life Pokemon game? What are you impressions? Please share your opinions below.
There was once a time where everyone and their mother had a blog. It was thought to be the future of the internet. People could be paid to tell the internet about their lives. Fast forward three years and Blogger has become a virtually dead website. Everyone has moved onto social media, or running micro blogs such as Tumblr. People now document their entire lives using Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Snapchat, voiding the need for real blogs in this day. The few who continue this lost medium have moved onto vlogs, video blogs on Youtube, where they can venture out to a wider audience. But are there still good blogs left out there? I believe so. There are still interesting blogs to find, and still interesting people are devoted to this form of media.
I prefer casual, light hearted, interesting blogs that focus on humor, For example, PostSecret. PostSecret is a blog where people submit their secrets and they're put onto photos with captions. Here are a few examples from the blog for people who have done enough blog reading for today. The blog often gets dark, so for people who have problems with self harm, suicide, and harmful thoughts, please do not read it.
I also love the strange and finding out new things. When I saw Dark Roast, I freaked. Science, sci-fi, fantasy, lists of the strangest things, it's everything I subscribe to on Youtube (minus games and music channels) with a hint of humor. For example, take the world's strangest theme parks, bizarre busses, or Victorian fairy tale art. It's interesting, but at the end of it, you feel more enlightened and feel as if you've learned something.
On my blog, I want people to find out more about things they don't know, to learn about what I find interesting. Then again, interesting is to the viewer. For example, some people may be interested in blogs such as Pink is the New Black. Nothing seems as boring, stupid, vapid or whatever adjective I can add in as this blog. While I hate and couldn't give a shit about celebrity gossip, for some people, it's a way of life. Maybe I shouldn't be so judgmental, because we each have our own tastes. And that's part of what this blog project is, experimenting with our own tastes and learning about each other. In the end, that's what it comes to. It's not about who has the best blog, the most interesting blog, it's about the learning experience that us as classmates will gain from each other.
