Research Project Idea

How is China's industrial growth and cultural expansion influencing other nations, specifically the United States.  Have sentiments regarding Chinese immigration changed much since the early to mid 1900s?  Although legislation like the Anti-Coolie Act and Chinese Exclusion Act have been reversed, do we see similar bills trying to be passed today?  The primary concern seems, in our day and age, that the United States will fail to be the most powerful nation in the world giving way to an over populated, over industrious, and over zealous China.  I think it's fair for people to be afraid of this rapid change.  I for one AM chinese (well Chinese-American), and I fear for this idea postulated by the masses that China will one day "take over" like a swarm of locusts or something. 

Sample Annotation

PAINFUL PAST ON DISPLAY; Chinese American Museum remembers Angel Island

Maria L. La Ganga. Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, Calif.: Jul 19, 2010. pg. AA.1

“Painful Past on Display; Chinese American museum remembers Angel Island” is a powerful article written for the Los Angeles Times in honor of a new exhibit on display at the Chinese American museum in Los Angeles.  The author focuses on a few specific case studies to provide the reader with a general idea of what the time period was like for immigrating Chinese.  The starvation, incessant interrogations, and horrid living quarters are a few things mentioned in the article to attempt to paint a picture of what the Chinese immigrants experienced.  A true grasp of the horrible experiences could only have been achieved via actual participation; however, the museum provides a respectable window into the lifestyle of those seeking a better life in the U.S.  Talking about a particular individual Charles Wong, who immigrated into California via Angel Island, the author focuses on the life changing implications photographs taken from the exhibit had on Mr. Wong.  It invoked suppressed memories and brought back feelings of guilt about his long dead brother who failed to immigrate alongside his family.  This article would be an excellent source for writing about Chinese American history and the gateway Angel Island represented into Californian citizenship.

Masters of the Universe

I’ve realized over the years that being a human being doesn’t come with a lot of perks.  We don’t have claws, impressive strength, sharp teeth, an exoskeleton, or any of the cool things we see in the rest of the animal kingdom.  Unfortunately, being human means accepting a carbon-based, fleshy body with limited knowledge about the world around us.  All we really have to rely on are our opposable thumbs and an overly developed brain that, often times, does more harm than good. This regrettable lack of omnipotence has only added to my curiosity of what other people are doing around the world.  Fortunately for me though, our predecessors and peers have come up with ways to keep us a single, global, community!  Thanks to the internet, television, and magazines, we can stay up to date with the ridiculous antics of our fellow brethren around the world.  

At any given moment, there are a few billion people in the world each doing something potentially unique and potentially retarded.  Some are saving lives, some are taking lives, most are starving (unfortunately) and a few are shamefully misrepresenting the nobility of the human race.  Today’s post is going to focus on a few ridiculous headlines and recent news that I find noteworthy as it pertains to our sometimes silly existence as human beings.   

Let’s start off slow.  In a headline I found off MSNBC’s website, the article title reads: “Irish premier denies being drunk, hung over on air”.  First of all, this doesn’t help the stereotype about Irish people and drinking.  Secondly, one would think that the night before an important press conference or radio interview, the Prime Minister of a country would refrain from bar hopping.  But who am I to say that severe inebriation isn’t the key to pulling a country out of debt and turmoil.  A quote from the article immensely adds to the hilarity of the story:

               

Asked by a reporter for TV3 about speculation he was struggling from the after effects of late-night drinking, Cowen replied curtly, "That's ridiculous." He also criticized the question as being "uncalled for."

One opposition politician, Simon Coveney of Fine Gael, tweeted that Cowen sounded "halfway between drunk and hung over."

In another story that I found to be humorous, a journalist writes about an escaped spider monkey from a San Antonio animal sanctuary.  After a severe storm that damaged his pen, the monkey, a one W.C. Fields escaped into the neighboring suburbs of San Antonio.  President of the sanctuary, Stephen Tello, announces to the press that "You can tell he's lost…” "You can tell he's scared, doing a lot of vocalizations. So, we really have a scared, hungry primate." Fine. Except the article then immediately says: “The Express-News said the animal stayed out of reach of sanctuary staff by climbing trees, and traveled almost six miles on Monday alone.  Residents have spotted the primate near homes and in some garages, the WOAI report said.”  That doesn’t sound to me like a monkey that enjoys his “sanctuary”.  It would rather starve and travel six miles in a single day, then let them take him back to the “pen”.  After reading this article I couldn’t help but ask myself: Why do we as humans insist on tormenting all the cute, little animals in the world?

Finally, as a crowning jewel to this blog post paying homage to our occasionally asinine tendencies as people, this last news headline is short and straight-forward.  “Alleged police impersonator pulls over detective.”  

“Detective William Zambito was driving home from work at about 4:30 a.m. when an unmarked car with flashing lights and sirens stopped him. When Zambito told Alfaro-Marquez he was an off-duty officer, police said Alfaro-Marquez fled the scene.”

“Alfaro-Marquez was arrested at his home. Police recovered two badges, handcuffs, a pellet pistol in a holster and a Drug Enforcement Agency baseball hat and shirt.”

There truly isn’t much to comment on regarding this story.  If anything it tells me that perhaps life has become TOO comfortable for some to bear.  We’ve mastered the art of survival and now some have turned to becoming menaces to society.  I find it hard to imagine that people had much else to worry about two thousand years ago other than dying for whatever reason.  People could barely find enough food on a day to day basis much less find time in the middle of the night to pull pranks.  

All in all, I hope this post lets you take a mental step back and truly appreciate what an intelligent, noble, and admirable species we’ve developed into.  People like the Irish Prime Minister and Mr. Alfaro-Marquez truly make it easy for the rest of us to keep our chins up high.  Keep on keeping on, world!

Trifecta

“Hello, World”

Sitting here in front of my laptop, childishly smug about owning my very own slice of internet realty, I feel an overwhelming sense of optimism.  I’ve somehow managed to land my very own public diary without any prior screening for blog-owning worthiness and a sinister sensation comes across me.  I feel like a boy who has found his father’s old slingshot in the attic.  Except, instead of pigeons in the backyard my target will be all you out there in blog land.  From now on, this will be a place of literary ventilation, cognitive regurgitation and (hopefully) genuine reflection.  Being a student open to new ideas, cultures and experiences, I have developed a thirst for perspective.  Of course, perspective is a painfully vague word left alone.  In my case, I’ve recently learned to appreciate a special kind of perspective brought about by travelling and connecting with those who live completely different lives from my own.  After studying abroad for a semester in Chile I realized how sheltered my life really was.  I developed this unnerving concern that my view of the world was manufactured via movies, friends, and an often times faulty education system.  For once, I felt like “Ten things I Hate About You” and “Predator” had tragically failed to prepare me for the real world.  For a short while, I felt trapped inside a self fabricated world of comfort like the plot to “The Matrix” or “Truman Show”.  A bit melodramatic I know, but it gets the point across.  Luxuries I had taken for granted like sanitation, proper lab equipment, ample food, and even the knowledge that I would not be stabbed walking home were often times absent in my time spent abroad. The rest of the world is and can be very different than my bubble encasing Southern California and I wished to expand my horizons; absorb what the world had to offer, and listen to the stories from those around the globe.  In a more practical and immediate alternative however, I’ve decided  research current medical agendas, lending a hand to local organizations, and even being more outgoing with my peer and faculty.

I am currently a third year biology student at the University of Southern California pursuing a career in dentistry.  It dawned upon me recently, as I sat banging my head against my desk, that I lacked a vital driving force to persevere though the gauntlet of classes my degree had cruelly placed before me.  The hopes of a future adorned with golden railings, lavish cars, and a trophy wife proved to be enough incentive to get me to this point in my life, however, making a difference in the world (as cliché as it sounds) has finally edged out wealth as the number one reason to become a doctor. 

After hearing a few testimonies and flipping through photo albums of friends who had travelled overseas with churches and humanitarian organizations I realized that helping people was a very concrete way of gaining perspective and gratification.  I too, wanted to provide simple yet necessary aide both locally and overseas.  I started off small and donated a few Saturdays of the month to feeding the homeless around Los Angeles.  My experience soon extended beyond providing them with food.  I realized shortly after that a simple sandwich or cup of soup could lead to life’s stories, thoughts on literature and politics, or even projections of Laker basketball.

Through this blog I will make profound epiphanies about my niche in life, realize my place in this universe, and produce insightful inquiries about our world.  Realistically though, I would be completely content with documenting significant realizations, my ephemeral emotions, and my ever changing outlook on life.  I have high hopes for both you the reader and me the author.  If all goes well, this small corner of the internet representing the chaotic bee hive of cognitive processes known as my brain, will both entertain and enlighten those of you who continue to read.

“Profile”

                Bart de Graaf is a husband, father, and travel enthusiast.  His blog, “Bart’s Travel Blog: The Never Ending Process of Discovering Latin America.” Is an insightful and entertaining look at his experiences travelling from one Latin American country to the next.  He documents each of his expeditions that he takes with his wife and daughter, and accounts for almost every aspect of travelling that he takes in while experiencing new places: sights, smells, culture, history, ambience, locals, etc.  Bart blogs about once every two weeks but seems to travel year-round.  While searching for travel blogs I could model my own after, I failed to find a blog as encompassing and engrossing as Barts’.  In an entry he dates June 20^th 2010, Bart recollects about his trip to a small town in Columbia (http://bart-cat-travel.blogspot.com/2010/06/colombian-adventure-beginning.html).  It is evident that his primary concerns are the country’s notoriety as being hostile and dangerous to outsiders.  He focuses on the changes that have taken place recently that refute this notion of a turbulent country but in a manner that remains objective and unbiased by his other experiences.  What impressed me the most during this entry was his knowledge of Columbia’s past and current events.  June 20^th happened to be election day for a new president, a leader that was to take the place of Alvaro Uribe (a very unliked previous leader) and Bart proceeded to interview the locals and ask their opinion on the new candidates.  This initiative and thirst for perspective is what I wish to emulate in my own life and blog. 

                The first thing that caught my eye was Bart’s visual layout of his blog.  With images of maps and longitude and latitude lines in the background of brown wallpaper, his blog immediately gave me a very “Indiana Jones” vibe.  This struck me as both a sign of enthusiasm and lightheartedness.  Two traits I feel make a truly avid traveler worth listening to.  Another thing that inspired me was his incorporation of photographs from his travels (http://bart-cat-travel.blogspot.com/2010/08/colombia-part-2.html).  Averaging about one photo per entry, the blog was immensely enhanced with these visual stimuli.  At its very core, however, Bart’s blog is phenomenal because it pays homage to how great and varied the Latin American world can be.  Although he focuses on a specific portion of the world, Bart is too detailed and thorough to allow his blog to become redundant or mundane.  For example, he provides exact distances, times, and weather to paint a picture of what his specific encounter was like rather than molding a general caste for his readers. 

The tone of his blog is informal yet still academic.  He never simply writes about his recreational experiences, but always dives into local culture and history.  Although Bart’s blog is not listed in Technorati.com, I feel his blog reaches a wide audience.  His writing style and topics easily appeal to anybody remotely interested in travelling.  Finally, what I am most drawn to in Bart’s travel blog is his thought process.  The author writes his entries during his travels so that emotions, sensations, facts, and thoughts are not lost before returning home.  Bart’s blog makes it impossible not to see a detailed visual of his travels, but more importantly it provides a cognitive window into his personality and life.  What I wish to take away most from this blog is the ability to apply his methodologies and approach to experiencing new things whether local or foreign.

“Voice Critique”

Tim Leffel’s blog titled “The Cheapest Destinations Blog” is a refreshing breath of fresh air in a smoggy world of cliché travel bloggers.  He himself admits to approaching his blog in an unorthodox and inventive manner.  He opens one of his earlier posts with the question: “Had your fill yet of insipid travel articles headlined ‘Top-10,’ ‘Best,’ and ‘Worst’?”  Tim realizes, as few people really do, that a blog should represent who you are.  Your ‘voice’ and stories are all you have to convey what kind of person you are.  Hopefully, that realization leads to a colorful and potentially insightful narrative of your blog.  Tim’s blog adopts an approach that serves to enlighten the reader about travel opportunities while at the same time humor and entertain.  The internet has eliminated the reason to continue reading someone’s thoughts if it fails to satisfy all your needs. After all, there are plenty of travel blogs on backpacking Southeast Asia and travelling Europe. 

Tim’s blog is unique because he strives to provide readers with an informative and helpful travel guide while at the same time entertains them with quips and witty remarks.  In a post on travelling wine country on bicycle, he adds “places where you don’t have to be a Spandex-wearing triathlete with bulging calf muscles to pedal from winery to winery. (Though there’s nothing wrong with that…)”.  At its very core, “The Cheapest Destinations Blog” is designed to allow inexperienced and less wealthy individuals travel and experience things otherwise inaccessible to them.  But as a bonus, Laffel manages to provide the occasional laugh or chuckle.

The writing style Tim employs is an informal and conversational tone.  He uses grammatical tools and diction that convinces the reader that he is a peer rather than an expert giving a lecture.  In all of his posts he address the reader as “you” which creates an intimate relationship.  His style of writing is fairly straight-forward; he doesn’t use sentence fragments or bulleted lists.  All of his posts are written in complete sentences and thoughts.  The author is also very good at invoking emotion and excitement.  His perspective on travelling and its almost therapeutic effects on the human psyche are concurrent with my own.  While referencing a blog he writes: “The Art of Backpacking blog has a detailed story on escaping the cubicle world. Michael saved $15,000 then quit his job and hit the road in May of 2009. He’s still out there…”  Leffel’s style of writing gives insight into his feelings towards travelling.  He titles his posts like “Quit Your Job, and See the World”, “Fighting Monks, Personal Landmarks, and Azerbaijani Tea.”  Reading multiple posts, it becomes evident how optimistic he towards any sort of travelling.  While writing about visiting a Mexican cemetery he adds that “Sure, that’s an odd sightseeing destination, but Mexican cemeteries are almost always fascinating, no matter what city you’re in.”  As far as tools go, Laffel relies primarily on his verbal accounts rather than providing a lot of pictures.  He occasionally provides a link to reference other bloggers, but for the most part Laffel focuses on his own thoughts and advice.  Laffel has a clear-cut example of a blog with a unique and personal voice characteristic of his own personality (or at least the personality he wants people to see).