Iresearcher kickin' it at the blowling alley

After reading Iresearcher all I can say is that I want to go bowling right now. I thought this was a great introduction into the topic of the paper. I enjoyed the well integrated personal aspect of the paper while at the same time introducing each of the topic that was going to be discussed. It was not overwhelming, I thought each topic of research was casually introduced. Sometimes, when I read a paper the introduction can be congested with a lot of information squeezed into it, this was not the case. The sensory details were very good. A particular image that I had stuck in my head was the strobe lights and fog in the bowling alley while the music blasted on a Saturday night. Also, every time i go to a bowling alley I always wonder what it is like behind the lanes, how does the machine that resets the pins work? How does the ball return machine work? Each research topic introduced had me hooked I want to find out what it is like to be an insider of a bowling alley.

Writing II

For my first semester at Bridgewater State University we made blogs to express how we felt about previous readings in my English 101 class. As the semester was coming to an end, I decided to pick Nicole as my Professor again. So, now for my second semester this blog will reflect my work in English 102. I think it will primarily be about components that will make up my ethnography. At the end of the semester there will be a link to my website posted, so stay tuned to see a really cool ethnography coming soon!

Final Portfolio

http://english101portfoliobyjohncosta.weebly.com/

Old School Movie Reviw

Old School is my all time favorite movie that has me cracking up every time I watch it. I can easily say I have watched this movie 100 times over the years and it does not get old. The movie begins when Luke Wilson comes home from a business trip to find his wife having an orgy (which he was not invited to). Mitch (Luke Wilson) leaves his girlfriend and so begins the hilarious comedy. Where him and his two buddies Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell relive their young days.

This R rated movie is sure to have all adults laid back and relaxed watching a comedy that is to remembered. When I saw the previews to Old School I thought for sure it was going to be another Road trip or American Pie type of movie. After watching the first 15 minutes of the movie I knew for sure that it was going to set the bar high above any other movie that had a college atmosphere.

After watching this movie I cannot say that I have any complaints with any aspect of it. The audio was perfect. Each character was played by the appropriate actor or actress.  The plot taken place on a college was perfect as well. This movie would not have worked on any other setting.  I would absolutely give Old School a 5 star rating and suggest it to everyone that is of the appropriate age to watch it.

Obesity and where you come from

I have always thought that if a person was over weight or obese it was because that person could not control their addiction to food. However after reading Obesity and Race in America I have realized for many Americans they do not even stand a chance in beating the addiction for food. Obesity and Race in America has opened my eyes as to why so many Americans are overweight or obese. Race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status are all tied together in relationship to obesity. In less wealthy neighborhoods healthy foods are limited because healthy foods cost more money. Also, these less wealthy neighborhoods have fast-food restaurants everywhere. Fast-food restaurants are more convenient to get to than a supermarket that is going to carry the healthy foods that a person needs. Lastly, in these less wealthy areas, it is a harder challenge for children and young adults to get in an efficient amount of exercise these days. This is because people cannot afford cars and cannot get from one place to the other. Children cannot even play outside because of safety issues in these areas. After reading this and really thinking about it I became enraged. Almost every single day I hear something that has to do with obesity. Whether it is my parents,  a school faculty member, the news or even my own doctor. Everyone has something to say about how Americans are so overweight, however no ones gives sympathy for the Americans that cannot afford to eat healthy. And are forced to eat fast-food or junk food because it is cheaper. Everyone is so quick to judge why someone is overweight. Maybe if Supermarkets did not gouge the pockets of Americans we would all be buying healthier food.

Building a Great Paper

On Wednesday we discussed the reading about how to deliver a great paper. I thought these readings were really informative and are going to help me improve my work substantially. I think that everyone has heard of each topic that was introduced in the reading, but I do not think everyone knows how to effectively use each writing strategy to write a good paper. These readings really helped me to learn how to develop a thesis. A lot of the time when I write a paper my thesis is very weak. My transitions from paragraph to paragraph a very weak as well, and sometimes I think it makes certain parts of my paper not make sense. Also, I have been working really hard this year to work on my conclusions because I feel like I just write a few sentences that are not well written. I think I did this because I did not know how to effectively write a conclusion. Lastly, the readings taught me to create a great title for each piece of work. This year I have tried to incorporate a title for each and every piece of work I have created. I try to make a title that is creative,and does not give away to much so that i hook the readers in. Over all, I think these readings are going to help me develop a great essay for our next project.  Not only will they help me with the next project but they will help me with all my writings.

Group Projects

This week our English 101 class had our first group project. The class was split up into five groups and each group had to cover a topic. For example my group covered resumes. Anyways, so far in my first semester of college at BSU this has been my first group project. In the past few days I have learned a lot about working with others. First of all, when working with a group it is very important to stay on task. There is limited time to prepare a presentation and it is important to make it as effective as possible. Also, I learned that staying on task is essential to a group presentation because if it is not finish it in the time allotted during class it may  be difficult to finish it out of class. For example, I commute to school and work most of the time I am not in school so it was going to be tough to get back to the campus to work with my group. Luckily, we found sometime to meet up in the library. Another very important lesson I learned about group presentations is about performance. Always make eye contact. Be able to move around but do not move around such that it takes away from your presentation. When you are not speaking in your group do not be distracting. Lastly, practice the presentation. This is probably the most important part aside from the actual presentation itself. Something can look good on paper, but when it is live it may not be good. Practicing can avoid a bad presentation and allow for changes as well.

This is a great website I found with tips for presentations. Check it out.
http://www.aresearchguide.com/3tips.html