Pizza, the New Vegetable

Child Obesity continues to get worse in America. Food is so easily accessible today that most people go for the most convenient foods. Unfortunately the most convenient foods are the foods have the least amount of nutritional value. This includes fast food, pre-packaged dinners, and microwaveable foods. School lunches have been huge topic lately. Attempts have been made to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into school cafeterias. Apparently, the standards in this country for what constitutes a fruit or vegetable is far different than what most would think. According to this article:

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-school-lunch-nutrition-20111128,0,1940936.story

“Under current regulations, an eighth of a cup of tomato paste is considered the nutritional equivalent of a half-cup serving of vegetables, since that's how much tomato it takes to make it…that "loophole" is what makes it possible for a slice of pizza to count as a serving of vegetables.” Therefore pizza with tomato paste is considered healthy to serve for school lunches because it provides a serving of vegetables. Not surprisingly the people who are against changing these standards are the food companies that make the pizza that is provided in school lunches. Children can not be expected to understand how to eat properly if the people who are suppose to guiding them and setting an example for them are telling them that pizza is healthy.

  

HIFF

Yesterday I went to the opening press conference for the Hawaii International Film Festival. It was exciting to be in a room full of real reporters asking relevant questions. After hearing all the speakers I am really looking forward to the films that are going to be showed. I reserved all my tickets this morning and here are the movies I'm going to watch: The Salt of Life, Samson and Delilah, The Kid with a Bike, The Bully Project, The Woman in the Septic Tank, A People Counted, and The Wife of Gegege. I'm going to my first showing tonight!!!

My only complaint about the press conference was that I could not seem to get a decent pic because we told to stay in the back.

Sexting

I had never heard the term ‘sexting’ before this summer. I learned that teens are using their phones to send sexually explicit photos of themselves to each other.  I also learned that if the person is under age 17 then it is considered child pornography and obviously it is illegal. Minors can be charged as sex offenders and have possible jail time. Clearly, this is becoming a serious issue because of all the new technology that is present today. I am sure a lot of parents do not know to teach their children about the possible consequences of sexting because it was not present when they were younger. Like I said, I just learned about this during the summer and I am 27. I know my mom would not know anything about it at age 48. A lot of parents have felt that the punishment does not fit the crime and some states are starting to ease up on their penalties. In June, under Florida’s new law: “a first offense is noncriminal and is punishable by up to eight hours of community service or a $60 fine. The second offense is a misdemeanor and the third becomes a felony, carrying a maximum five-year prison sentence” (latimes.com). Personally, I don’t think this will stop teens from doing it. A $60 fine is less than my first speeding ticket. I think now that everyone is aware of this technology the change needs to start with the parents. Parents need to have stricter rules about cell phone usage and they also need to explain the possible consequences of misusing this technology. Pictures on the web/cell phone do not disappear once you send it out, they have the potential to be around a long time and haunt you in the future. Ultimately, this problem is not going anywhere but maybe in the future we can figure out a way to make it better.

If you want to read the article about Florida changing their laws check it out here:

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/01/nation/la-na-1001-sexting-20111001

Vegetarianism

You are what you eat. I have heard this saying time and time again yet, it has never meant anything until now. Over summer break I made it a goal of mine to research the importance of diet in heath. I watched several documentaries including Food Inc, Food Matters, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead, Fork over Knives, and several others. I also went to the library to find books on the topic and found that my library was very limited. Some books I did find were The Food Revolution, Natural Cure “They” Don’t Want You to Know About, Skinny Bitch, Eat to Live, and a few others.  

At the end of the summer, in an attempt to add more fresh fruits and vegetable to my diet, I decided to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle. I can’t deprive myself of anything or else that will be the only thing I want. To avoid cheating I have told myself that if I have a serious craving and want meat, then I can eat it. Otherwise, I would cut meat out as much as possible. The most shocking part is that I was able to convince my husband to do it as well. He really didn’t have much of a choice because I do all the cooking but I was very proud he made the decision on his own. So far we haven’t eaten meat in 3 weeks! I think we deserve gold stars.

The hardest part about the switch hasn’t been living without meat. In fact, I don’t even crave it anymore! The worst part is explaining my decision to all my friends and family. Our society is so used to eating meat and dairy products that most people think it is unhealthy if you don’t. Interesting right? I find myself having to explain my decision to everyone and it's getting annoying. Hopefully that aspect of the switch will die down over time.  

MegNichols Bio

I was born in Concord, MA. I lived in New Hampshire for 19 years until I joined the military. I was in the Air Force for four years. I was stationed at Davis Monthan AFB in Tucson, AZ. Eight months of that time was spent in Kuwait on deployment. I worked the freight section of TMO. My job was shipping and receiving of parts. We shipped parts ranging from airplane engines, propeller blades, ammo, and hazardous material to tiny screws.

I have had to transfer schools a number of times because I have moved around a lot. I graduate in May 2012 with a degree in Multimedia: Digital Media. I would like my career to go in the web design direction. I hope to do an internship before I graduate. I am excited and nervous to start a new career.

I am a middle child. I have one older brother and we are about 1.5 years apart. I have one younger brother and we are 10 years apart in age. My college years have been so backed up that this year my younger brother is a freshman in college and I am a senior!

 My favorite color is pink. My favorite food is Kraft Mac and Cheese. I love Italian food! Normally on my time off I spend time with my husband site seeing, taking pictures, laying out on the beach, wine tasting, or exploring the island. My husband and I just celebrated our third year of marriage in August. I look forward to graduating and seeing what base my husband and I will end up at next.

Week 1: The Act of War

In the documentary “The Act of War” the audience sees the events leading up to the fall of the Hawaiian government. The film showed the Hawaiian perspective regarding the incidents that took place. From this perspective the audience feels a sense of sadness for the Hawaiians and sympathize with how they were treated. The perspective of the film has a very powerful effect on what “side” the audience takes when watching it. If the film had taken a different approach and described what happened through the American’s eyes, then the audience would be more likely to sympathize with them. This has been demonstrated through other films/TV shows like Monster’s Inc, Despicable Me, Sons of Anarchy, or The Shield. Film makers can use the power of persuasion to lead the audience to view events in a particular way and the viewers must be aware of that while watching such shows.   

Throughout time civilizations have been captured and taken over. Humans have a need for power and land is very powerful. The weaker will fall, no matter how noble their intentions are, it is the survival of the fittest. The original Hawaiians were very peaceful and extremely efficient with their time before white man ever stepped foot on the islands. The Hawaiians were too innocent and that would be their downfall. Foreigners should never be underestimated. Hawaiians had never seen this kind of deceit in humans so they did not know to guard themselves from it. The actions that took place were unfortunate and sad but they were unlike the actions that took place in many other countries throughout history. Is it right? Maybe not but it happened none-the-less. Americans may look back and regret what was done but that does not mean if they could go back and change what happened that they would. Clark Gable said it perfectly when he stated, “your like the thief that isn’t the least bit sorry he stole but terribly sorry he got caught.” Americans are sorry for how everything unfolded but are not about to give back what they took.