Body Image

Our culture has a huge focus on our physical appearance. One of the primary concerns in todays culture is weight. Everyone is concerned with how much they weigh, which is odd because we are the fattest country in the world. They're calling it an obesity epidemic. I love the way one comedian talked about it. He said that a convorstation between our generation and our grandkids would go something like:

child: "Wow granda the obesity epidemic, how did you survive?"

grandpa: "I dunno Jimmy it was tough, there was cheesecake and porkchops everywhere"

I'm sure I didn't get the exact wording on that, but it was something along those lines. Everyone wants to be skinny but most people just don't have the self control to eat right and exercise. Some people say that the increase in weight could decrease our average lifespan by five years. This is the only thing that could be affected by our weight though. Studies have shown that the way we look can have a huge impact on our jobs. One study found that", for women, a 1% increase in body mass as measured by the body mas index results in a 0.6 pertentage point decrease in family income" (Armour 257). You're job is affected by other aspects of your appearance too. Darlene Jesperson was actually fired from Harrah's for not wearing makeup. Another study found that CEOs are, on average, 3 inches taller than the average man.

Why is appearance so important in our culture? It puts a huge stress on people, especially women. Shouldn't we have better things to worry about than what we look like?

annotated bib

Gentile, Douglas and Craig Anderson. Violent Video Games: The Newest Media Violence Hazard. . 16 Oct. 2003 New York: Oxford University Press. 15 Oct. 2007 This is a great 22 page PDF document on the negative aspects of violent gaming. There is a very wide range of information. The document contains everything for how much time children spend playing games, to how much of these games are violent, to how these games affect those that play them. The document also contains some interesting charts and graphs. There is a lot of information in this document and I could probably write an entire paper using just this one document.
Dill, Karen and Craig Anderson. Violent Video Games Can Increase Aggression. 15 Oct. 2007 This is a shorter article that describes the way violent games affect behavior. The article discusses specific ways in which the increase in aggressive behavior has been identified. The article also discusses why a video game may be more harmful than a television show or another form of media. I can us this article to support the argument that violent behavior in games translates to violent behavior in real life.
Craig Anderson. Violent Video Games: Facts, Myths, and Unanswered Questions. 15 Oct. 2007 This article debunks myths about the research process of the affects of violent video games on behavior. The article presents arguments against the research one by one and disproves them. The article also manages to go into some of the affects of violent games and who the games have an effect on. The article is useful in multiple ways. I can use it to validate research and present more facts on the effects of games.
McLean, Bethany and Doris Burke. Sex, Lies, and Videogames. 22 Aug. 2005 Fortune. 15 Oct. 2007 This article focuses on a game company called Take Two. This company owns the infamous franchise called Grand Theft Auto. The article discusses some of the “bad” things you do in the game, and why the company has had such a struggle with the game. The article also talks about some of the legal problems the company has had in real life, which includes lawsuits and tax evasion. I can use this article to show the gaming industry in a negative light, and show what kinds of terrible things kids are doing in today’s games.
Entertainment Software Rating Board. ESRB Game Ratings. 15 Oct. 2007 This is the official sight of the ESRB. The ESRB gives games ratings and decides how old you should be before you can buy a specific game. I can use this sight to give details on anything related to how games are rated, and what happens once they receive a certain rating.
Vance, Patricia. Pro & Con. Oct. 24, 2007 Congressional Digest. February, 2005 <> This article was written by the president of ESRB. It gives her take on why games are rated the way they are. It gives a more personal perspective than the ESRB website does. This article can be used to justify the way games are rated. It can also be used to shed light on exactly how many really bad games there really are.
Jenkinson, Michael. Bloodshed, butchery, and video games. United Western Communication LTD. Oct. 24, 2007 <> This article expresses the affects of violent video games on those that play them. It talks about some of the grotesque images seen in some games. It also mentions that some kids are actually becoming addicted to video games, and that these addictions will only increase with technological advances. The article also says that improved graphics make it harder to distinguish fantasy from reality. This article can be used to show that kids are in essence, becoming addicted to violence.
Walsh, David. Video Game Violence and Public Policy. Oct. 24, 2007. This article gives more support for the argument that video games increase violent behavior. It gives logical arguments are to why video games would cause more violent tendencies than television or movies would. Negative behaviors, such as a decrease in the tendency to help someone, are also listed in the article. This article can be used to show why games are such a threat and why we should be worried about them for more reasons than just violent behavior.

SWA #8

The youth of today obsesses over video games. Kids spend hours online discussing them, researching them, and even playing them. Violence is a huge part of these games and it greatly affects the minds of these young kids. It increases aggressive tendencies and in the cases of some games, encourages sex and drug use. Video games are corrupting the youth of today and must be stopped.
The topic of violent video games is something I feel very passionately about. The words you read above don’t express my opinion on the issue. I actually believe that video games are somewhat healthy and aren’t in the least bit harmful, aside from the fact that they probably play a part in the growing waistbands of my generation. Instead of writing a paper on my viewpoint, I plan to write a paper exploring the opposing views. My paper will show how violent games such as Grand Theft Auto and Doom have corrupted the youth of today.
My audience will be all those that play violent video games. I will show them that they need to stop playing these games while they still can, before they act on the violent urges they get by playing them.

Gentile, Douglas and Craig Anderson. Violent Video Games: The Newest Media Violence Hazard. . 16 Oct. 2003 New York: Oxford University Press. 15 Oct. 2007
Dill, Karen and Craig Anderson. Violent Video Games Can Increase Aggression. 15 Oct. 2007
Craig Anderson. Violent Video Games: Facts, Myths, and Unanswered Questions. 15 Oct. 2007
McLean, Bethany and Doris Burke. Sex, Lies, and Videogames. 22 Aug. 2005 Fortune. 15 Oct. 2007
Entertainment Software Rating Board. ESRB Game Ratings. 15 Oct. 2007

Smoking Bans

How have bans affected health?
How do bans differ from county to county?
How have bans affected businesses?
What exactly does the ban say?
Can people smoke outside of buildings or is there a certain distance they must maintain?
Are provisions made for Hooka bars and smoking lounges?
Are provisions made for bars?
Have the bans had any affect on tabacco sales?

My Card

I made a card that read "I'd rather play Guitar Hero than learn the real thing"

I made it on a notecard and drew a picture of a guitar hero guitar.

I know I'm not the only person like this. I wasn't really trying to make a point though. I guess if you really looked into it you could try to pull out an unsaid meaning but I didn't have one.

I cried for Anakin Skywalker at the end of Star Wars Episode III...but not for the tsunami victims.

I can relate to this postcard. I didn't actually cry for either party. but I still felt a stronger emotional connection to what happened to Anakin than I did the Tsunami victims. I know where the author is coming from. The text obviously states that the person cried for Anakin but not for the Tsunami victims. There are implicit claims as well. I think that there in an implication that the person feels bad about this. They are also making a claim about the human race in general. I beleive the person knows that they are not alone. I felt kinda bad after reading this, but I know why it happens. The Tsunami victims are just another face on the news. We actually know Anakin's story though. Its the difference between a friend and somebody that you see around the halls once in a while but you don't know there name.