Entry #4: A Small Recap of My Blogging Experience

Well, blogging has definitely been a new experience. Before the blog project, I never really thought about blogging anything. Now I feel that I am addicted to blogging even though the course isn't over yet. I took blogging seriously, mainly because part of my grade depended on it. 

What I learned from blogging is that if a person's blog has a topic that is interesting and entertaining, people will read it. Sometimes, escaping the seriousness of life means poking some fun at it. I just hope my funny blog posts put some smiles on people's faces. I have also realized that there are many people who prefer blogging in different forms whether it be a social media account or a website similar to Blogger.

Since blogging was part of this course, I found blogging to be useful for improving my writing style. I found out I like satire, and I like having an audience. It's a new outlet for expressing myself that I probably would not have tried it had it not been part of this course.

The only thing I would suggest to my English professor is that he should use former-student blogs that he thought were really good and use those as examples for future students on what a casual/professional blog looks like and what he's looking for.

For those who have been reading my blog, thank you. This has definitely been a new experience for me. I am a little sad that the blogging is coming to an end for my English 101 class. However, I am definitely thinking about keeping this blog as a hobby so I can continue writing satire that people will find humorous and engaging. To say thanks again, watch this video below.

That's all I have to say for now. Hope you have enjoyed my blog! 

Hillary, America's Biggest Political Babysitter, Getting Her "Tweet" On

Last week, the former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joined Twitter, one of the biggest social media sites in the world. For Clinton, it's someplace she had never visited before (other than outer space).

We know that she is very addicted to looking at her cell phone, even when its not the appropriate time or place to do so. Having a Twitter account would only make her more addicted than usual.

According to her official Twitter account, she describes herself as, "Wife, mom, lawyer, women & kids advocate, FLOAR, FLOTUS, US Senator, SecState, author, dog owner, hair icon, pantsuit aficionado, glass ceiling cracker, TBD...".

She also wanted to put, "Under-appreciated, disgusted with men, babysitter of adult male babies/referee for childish male politicians, and the 'brains' behind the Clinton family". However, only 140 characters are allowed on Twitter, so she couldn't add more about herself.

It kind of makes one wonder why she wanted to get a Twitter account to begin with. Perhaps getting a Twitter account made sense because the family is on there (such as taking pictures with her grown-up daughter), or maybe it's part of the strategy for a possible run in the 2016 presidential campaign.  

But earlier today, Hillary Clinton had a recent coffee date with longtime friend and former supporter Ron Perelman. They chatted and gossiped about current events, including her decision to finally join Twitter.

Clinton told him during their coffee outing, "You see Ron, the reason I got a Twitter account was not because I wanted to. Instead, I believe it's the best way I can keep my eye on my husband, Bill. I get suspicious about what he's doing all the time, which is horrible considering I had to keep my eye on all the other male babies running this country. It was bad enough when he was president; that scandal came out of nowhere from his political enemies, and the other about that slut. Now I'm hearing about his so-called illegitimate, bi-racial son he supposedly had with a hooker from Little Rock back when he was Governor of Arkansas. I'm sick of hearing about affairs and love children, so I'm keeping my eye out to make sure nothing else is going on. After all, a Twitter account and a polygraph machine are going to become important tools in my life particularly since I live with America's favorite sex addict."
Perelman answered back, "Understandable."

Although that seems to be the reason, Hillary Clinton hasn't updated her Twitter much. Hopefully, now that Hillary is on Twitter, we expect her Twitter conversations to go like this:

Or this:

Or maybe even this:

And especially this:

 Nevertheless, the Twitter community welcomes her to this new version of her full-time job as detective and babysitter of not only her own husband, but also to the crazy "bundles of joy" - I mean the politicians in her life.

Disclaimer: the following blog post is satire. I do not hold any credibility to this fake story.

Entry #3: Is Eating Fast Food Really Worth It?

In my English class on Thursday, we watched the film Food, Inc., a documentary about where our food really comes from and what dangerous chemicals and toxins are in the food we eat. From watching that documentary, it made me think about fast-food-chain restaurants operated here in America. The fast food franchises run on a business scale that is apparently convenient for families and the fast food industry financially. But with all these health scares that appear in the news, is it really worth eating the food at these fast food restaurants?

The problem with the fast food industry is that the fast-food-chains are really devoted to making a profit from their restaurants nationally (or internationally) than the health of their customers. They know that families nowadays don't have the time to sit down and enjoy a home-cooked meal with each other, nor do many families like to go out to a formal, sit-down restaurant due to finances. Purposely, the food at a fast-food restaurant is cheaper. Plus, they know that children want to eat food at fast food restaurants, so they try to make the kids' menu "healthier" in order to convince parents that their children are eating something that is considered nutritious. As long as people are patronizing the businesses, these fast-food-chains don't care about quality and nutritious food ingredients.

According to a study conducted back in 2007-2008 by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 17% of American children and adolescents were reported to be affected by obesity, and this rate was triple what the rate was only one generation ago.

Even though these fast food giants believe their restaurants can throw in random ingredients and pass it off as food to the general public, it could potentially backfire on them. For example, if people were able to discern that their meat was made of something other than regular meat, such as pink slime or horse meat, a majority of people would be outraged and they would never want food from fast-food-chain restaurants again.

I can understand eating fast food once in a while; on the other hand, eating fast-food daily as a regular habit has consequences, especially with kids. It's not just obesity that's becoming a problem; there are other health risks too such as a person lowering their energy levels, lacking proper nutrition, and damaging their own heart and liver. The health of the entire nation as a whole is at risk, but unfortunately, not every person will want to change their ways of eating if they feel forced to.

There are other films dedicated to unhealthy eating of fast food such as the documentary film Super Size Me, where director Morgan Spurlock ate McDonald's food, super sized, for 30 days. In this clip, Spurlock is eating (and throwing up) super sized burgers and fries from McDonald's. This was made in 2004, back when McDonald's had a "super sized" option for their food.

It is really up to an individual whether he or she chooses to maintain a healthy lifestyle or not. As for me, I already look after my own nutrition, go out exercising, and choose carefully what I eat. Besides, I'm probably not going to look at food the same way again.

Donald Trump to Edward Snowden: "You're Fired!"

All the recent news coverage about the latest updates on the leaks can easily distract the average American from paying attention to the enervated drama of the Kardashians to Taylor Swift's current relationship status (and don't forget Tim Tebow!). Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former NSA contractor, was revealed to be the man behind leaking information about the government spying on its people through phone calls, emails, and social media websites. Currently M.I.A., maybe this man might never be seen again. Perhaps the world would like verification if Mr. Snowden is even a naturalized, United States citizen... or at least Donald Trump wants to know.

Shortly after the announcement that Edward Snowden was the whistleblower behind the scandals, Donald Trump called in Fox News Channel's morning show Fox & Friends on June 10th to say that Edward is "a bad guy" and that he believes the man is nothing but a grandstander. Off the air, he made comments to the show's hosts via telephone about how he wanted to see Edward Snowden's birth certificate. He additionally stated that he did, however, tried contacting Edward because he wanted to make amends with him. He wants the 29-year-old whistleblower to mail The Donald his birth certificate proving that he's a United States citizen, and as a reward, Edward will be allowed to donate $500 to the charity of his choice so he can prove to the public that he's not a bad guy at all. (This information was obtained through NSA's controversial program PRISM.)

"I think this guy would have been fun to poke around with," Trump told the three hosts of Fox & Friends in a recorded phone call off-the-air. "I would love to come up to him, point my finger and say, 'You're fired!' just to see him go crazy as it would be enjoyable for me."

Although many people are bothered by the terrible news, no one could ever be as bothered as America's favorite grandstand master himself, the beloved Donald. With all the media rage, one can't blame him for not being able to think straight. This never-before-seen released footage shows our poor Donald building up all his frustration on Sunday afternoon, hours after the whistleblower was revealed.

For those who worry that Trump might never be the same, don't fear. He'll make his comeback by jumping on his Twitter account and make fun of the whole situation while blaming the president for the timing. Not to mention the fact that The Donald loves attacking people, from comedians like Bill Maher to even President Obama,  as that makes it part of his legacy. As Trump had once stated to the world, "As long as there is somebody else to bash out on, everything's okay."

But if there's anything interesting to come out of all this, here's something. Edward Snowden went from being a high-school dropout to a system administrator inside NSA in Hawaii, making $200,000.  At least The Donald should give Edward credit for thinking big, something that The Donald often likes to do himself.

Disclaimer: the following blog post is satire. I do not hold any credibility to this fake story.

Entry #2: The Social Media Bandwagon

Ah, social media. The biggest technological craze to happen in recent years, and the membership on these social media sites keeps growing as I type. Social media affects many people because of the way communication is distributed, whether it be an important message from a family member or just to say hello to a friend. But perhaps the most important use of social media in our society today is how businesses are marketed based on social media factors.The video below demonstrates the main cause.

I believe that this video about how social media is changing the marketing structure in business advertising would be interesting in my English class because not only are we talking about technology in general, but also how technology has influenced our lives, even in what we buy. With the use of social media, every Facebook page we like and Twitter account we follow helps advertisers target us on our social media pages so that they can convince us to buy products from a certain business.


The growing use of social media causes business to shift their gears in order to advertise a product, a TV show, a company, etc. Businesses have their own websites, but now they must rely on social media in order to get traffic on their websites.

Overall, this goes to show how businesses can adapt to change in market structure in order to keep up with our society as we know it.

Of course, just because businesses are getting "social", that doesn't mean the people involved in businesses are getting social with each other.

President Obama: "I Don't Trust Journalists"

With all the raging news of government from media leaks to scandals, one would think that our current POTUS would like to remain quiet for a while. Not President Obama though; he's got some things on his mind.


In a press conference earlier this month, President Obama took his time off from all the current mishaps to answer questions, asked by many curious journalists, on his thoughts about these current events and the media in general.

"I'm in a war with journalists," he said in the room full of journalists the afternoon of the conference. "I'm sorry, but the feeling's mutual."

 Several questions were asked to the president about his administration, from secret email accounts to the ongoing misinformation about attacks in Benghazi."Secret emails," he hissed."As president, I thought my role was to be a leader, not play babysitter."

When asked about his own actions in the media recently, he simply stated this:
"The problem with being in my position is that even the silliest things that happen to me and this administration get taken out of proportion," he continued. "For example, I somehow get lipstick on my collar and the media is all over it as if there's some 'scandal' people need to hear about. I don't want anybody thinking I'm some sort of 'player', especially Michelle. Trust me, when she gets mad - I'm dead. As for people I know, I talked with Bill Clinton last week, and guess what? He called me an amateur! Even Mitt Romney told me, 'Oh, don't feel down about it. Just tell your wife it was an accident. That's what I always tell Ann.' Like I said - it was taken out of context. "

The next few questions in the press conference mainly focused on the IRS scandal, including the IRS holding a "conference" in Disneyland where many employees gathered for relaxation and fun - while the trip was paid by the American people with their taxes.

"You know what they say," the president said. "It's the happiest place on Earth."

But nevertheless, President Obama stated that they shouldn't have done that, noting that their actions will be considered greedy.

When asked about the Star Trek movie the IRS made, Obama replied, "Wait, they made a Star Trek movie? And they didn't ask me to be in it? Outrageous! They should have asked me. After all, I'm a GREAT actor! I played Daniel Day Lewis! I don't think any other actor in Hollywood can be proud to say that!"

The conference was called to a close when news of another scandal broke out in the administration office. President Obama left immediately, but was heard mumbling, "Why did I have to be re-elected for a second term?"

 Disclaimer: the following blog post is satire. I do not hold any credibility to this fake story.

Entry #1: To Blog... Or Not To Blog?

So, to blog... or not to blog? That is the question.

Whether we realize it or not, blogs today have an impact in society. Blogs can influence the way we think and react to current events, ideas, or even society. Since blogs can also come in the form of social media, I think it's safe to say that we all know one person is who is, at least, obsessed with Tumblr, Twitter, or Facebook.

There are so many blogs to choose to from, even if it's just to read for fun. Blogs can range in topics depending on the interest of the readers, and blogs can't always be credible. But hey, I'm not expecting blogs to be credible(unless of course, if the blog is associated with a news organization. I assume those blogs would have to be credible.... maybe I'm getting my hopes up too high here).

I prefer to read professional blogs over personal blogs. They can be informative about promoting a business or a product while keeping it professional. An example of a professional blog that I looked at recently is the Whole Story by Whole Foods Market. I definitely think they have some delicious recipes.

Sometimes when I stubble upon a personal blog on the internet, I realize that their blog isn't directed towards me. Although I don't like personal blogs that much, I do think that this blog, Hyperbole and a Half, is a good, personal blog to read. Yes, it may be a silly blog, but in many of the posts there's a "that's true" moment about every-day life in general.

As for me, writing blogs sometimes stresses me out. So let's lighten this up a bit, and I will end it with this video.

 

Greetings

Hello. My name is Kate Borrell. I recently graduated from Horizon High School. My four years there have been great as I had encountered many new friends and some pretty great teachers. However, I'm ready to move on from those memories and create some new ones while experiencing college life.

My interest has been around community service. For about five years, I worked with children between first through sixth grade at a local church. This year, I volunteered at St. Mary's Food Bank.
Also, I'm interested in performing stand-up comedy as a comedienne.

My hobbies from last year mainly included marching band(playing tenor saxophone) and performing in dance shows.

The reason I'm attending GCC is because it is a stepping stone from high school to a university, and that a community college can help me during my transformation into a mature, young adult. My main goal in attending GCC is to graduate with an associates degree in business two years from now and eventually go to a four-year university after that.