WHAT WILL BECOME OF US???

The need to be different from the stigma of overly paid bad actors and rappers. The ability to adapt to a sub culture and the ability to isolate yourself from the general population; this is exactly what this guy did not do. He has set himself away from the general population. He has no worries about being himself and letting go of what other people think. Too many times American culture has put a stigma across the nation to blend in and conform to what is expectable. Whether it’s doing everything in the fashion magazines or being a ‘Goth;’ way clothes, accessories and lifestyles conform to certain standards. This man has done the complete opposite. He has taken a life a tattoo’s and piercing to the ultimate extreme; a complete taboo.

To do something so taboo normally gets negative attention, but for the man in the picture it has spiked interest and even got him fame for his different look. The fame, in which he gained, was not from being a movie star, singer, or model, but for being himself and not caring what other people thing. Makes you think, huh? Why couldn’t every person learn from this man? It doesn’t mean that they should tattoo and pierce their face and body to the extreme but, to care about what they think about themselves and not what others want to think for them. So like this man, it all came down to letting loose and doing what he wanted with his body and his life, that has made him stand out to the American population; not conforming to society and the media.

Well, at least they lived a long life that didn't go un-noticed

I find it amazing that so many people find others’ life’s to be worth following. The primary example that really makes my point clear is the blog that I read. The blog was from a web site called city pages, under a section called ‘Corpus.’ In the blog, were more than a dozen people that had all died, but were still being remembered for what they had done in their lives.

These people were not just any people but, rather people that had helped contribute to American culture, technology, the movies, or even helped out when it came down to Civil Rights’ Movements. I read about people that had made costumes for movies and won, and people who had draw Archie comics. None the less, I read all of the individual stories on the blog with such ease that it made each and everyone very enjoyable.

While reading, I noticed that the stories of these peoples life’s was that the conventions were the things that made them all so easy to read. By every title of each “story,’ there was almost always a picture that could relate. For example, next to the story about Star Trek’s Abraham Lincoln character dying, there was picture of the actor. These pictures were nice since for some of the people, I had no idea who they were, so by having a picture I could see who they were writing about. If there wasn’t a picture right next to the titles, I could always use the Hyper-links provided through out the blog.

The Hyper-links were used very well throughout the blog. I also use pictures and hyperlinks too but, as far as hyper-links go, there was a lot more used in the blog I read. In just about every story there was no less than five hyper-links in each one. Everyone of these, was used to help support the story and helped me when I read something, didn’t know what it was, and needed to look it up. It was all right there.

Overall, I liked the blog that I read. I felt that while reading the blog, I could see why these people helped out in America. As I stated before, the people I read about helped with American culture, the entertainment business, technology, and Civil Rights movements. I also learned that while they contributed they also lived long lifes. This was a nice change overall to read about people who died and contributed, rather than stupid, celebrity relapses.

The Fabulous Life: Squirrels

Everyday we pass them. Everyday we feed them. Everyday we think how cute or how diseased. Squirrels; they are everywhere. From the beautiful forests around Leadville, to the busy streets and city lights of Denver. I decided to observe squirrels not because I like them or even if I was concerned about their well being living such a metropolitan. No, I chose to do squirrels because I couldn’t think of anything better to observe. After thinking for a while on what it was exactly I was going to observe about squirrels, I began to think about the metropolitan area and just how the little devils managed to survive.

Thus my observations will consist of : Behavioral differences, size and color differences, and how they interact with humans. Based off of these, I planed to document and see very different data based off the squirrels living environments and conditions. So, my hunt began.

I began my observations in Downtown, Denver on the Auraria Campus. Here many squirrels can be seen daily and are often surrounded by giggling, school girls, whom are naturally taken by they’re large dark eyes, and bushy tails. Little do they know that they are infested with rabies, and are not as cute and cuddly as they may think? It all started on Thursday morning around ten o’ clock, near the patio of the North Classroom. I sat under the shade of a fixed umbrella and tried to get as comfortable as I could in a fixed, wire, mesh chair. It wasn’t long till I had my first squirrel encounter.

Creeping up right in front of me was a very curious and very plump squirrel. I was very surprised to find that even if I did not have really anything at all, (only a notebook and a writing utensil) the squirrel seemed to act as if I had more. Something that was important to him/her. I soon realized that, that something that seemed to be expected of me to have was food. Not any type of nut, berry, or anything that you would normally expect squirrels to eat but rather, factory made, pre-processed human food. It was soon after that I realized that not having food for the squirrel was the only issue.

When the squirrel realized that I was trying to ignore it, and not paying any attention to it, the squirrel seemed to get upset and quite aggressive. The squirrels was no longer looking at me with intense eyes but, instead started to run right towards me, making little “chattering” noises. Scared I got up quickly and relocated the other side of the patio. As soon as I was repositioned and comfortable again, I noticed several girls moments after I left tossing tid-bits of food, and calling the squirrel over as if it were some type of domestic animal. The tiny squirrel than very quickly, without hesitation ran over to the crowd and began to eat away at the food with she had placed in her hand. That’s when it hit me. The squirrels were not being called as if they were domestic animals; they had become domestic animals.

It’s the type of people interaction that has molded the “city squirrel,” into a very well fed and kept animal. People daily are not only, hand feeding the animals personally, but setting out trash bins, and dumpsters with tons of easily accessible treats and goodies for the squirrels to much on. It is this type of adaptation to metropolitan areas that has made not only the squirrels’ social behavior different but also their appearance.

The squirrels that are often found in busy suburbs and major cities have adapted to their new living environment. They are not as tiny and cute anymore but rather have been able to evolve into larger animals. For example: the squirrels on campus have very large bone structures (like that of a small cat), have very plump bodies, and have lighter coats. These types of variables were all changed based off of human interference. In such a metropolitan area, the squirrels no longer face some of their natural enemies like they would in the wild. This means that, they are able to grow much larger skeletal frames, because they no longer have to hide in small spaces of climb as fast into high trees. Another human interference that has allowed the “city squirrels” to do so well is, the squirrels no longer have to hunt and forage for food, like they would in the wild. Since people supply “smorgusborges” in dumpster and factory made treats served from the palms of our hands, squirrels build up more body fat; food is always accessible and never without ration. The change in fur color also has to do with the lack of predators. If the squirrels with the light color of coats were to be placed into the woods, they would easily be seen among the dark forest foliage. Although, since the squirrels are not only lacking prominat predators, the squirrels also have to change coat color based off their surroundings. Looking at buildings, sideways, and the lack of vegetation, the environment is much lighter in contrast to the forest. Either way, the squirrels’ adaptations have helped it survive.



Overall, based on the behavioral and physical adaptations, observations can be made to determine a clear difference in the types of squirrels found in Leadville, Co. The squirrels in Leadville, Co. that I observed were very different from the ones in Denver. As a friend and I went to on the search for some, we decided to try our luck at a local campground. Based on the amount of people and all the food they bring I was sure that there would be plenty. This hypothesis was soon to be proven wrong. We waited for almost an hour and only saw one squirrel. As soon as we made any type of acknowledgment towards it, it ran off very quickly and into the highest parts of the tree. This was much different from the aggressive and curious squirrels that I had encountered on campus.

After catching a couple more glimpses of the Leadville squirrels I noticed that all around the they were much different from they’re family up north. These squirrels were extremely shy and wanted nothing to do with humans. Not even when I tried coaxing them with small, pieces of food. Not only were they timid but, unlike the independent, city squirrels, the Leadville squirrels seemed to communicate and interact as a group with one another, always on the look out for predators. These squirrels also looked much different. Always having to hide and climb away from predators it was clear that these squirrels did not have a leisurely life. They were much smaller and darker, to better hide themselves and, had smaller bone frames and were not as plump, due to the fact that they were always on the go looking for food. It was these types of observations that had made it very clear to me that the squirrels in Denver and other large cities, were not like their cousins in high altitude, rural, mountain towns.

Therefore, I had a very interesting time watching squirrels. I found that while, the squirrels are often seen to be the same exact animal, and they are in essence very different from one another based off of environmental and social conditions. The squirrels overall, in Denver, were more aggressive, and much larger than the smaller, and very timid squirrels of the high country. After looking at all the data I can conclude that the squirrels would have not adapted and become as different as they are if it wasn’t for human interaction. What once was a small wild animal, has now become the domestic city animal of Denver.

The Point of this was..........???

antidisestablishmentarianism
barista
conversate
douche
effect
flaccid
google
hubris
integrity
jackass
kinky
lame
metrosexual
nympho
opium
pneumonoultramicroscopic-silicovolcanoconiosis
queif
rancid
serendipity
tickle
ubiquitous
verbal
whipped
xochipili
zygostyle


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Squirrels?

What to write about? I know that many of us had this exact question in our minds when we first read this assignment. It took me a long time to finally think about what I wanted to write about. Most of the time that all this thinking was taking place…well actually, to be honest I couldn’t think of anything to write about. It’s when I was joking around with my friend about what to write about that I came to my funny, yet (maybe) quite interesting idea. It went something like this:

“I can’t think about anything to write about! I might as well just write about freaking squirrels!”

That’s when a little light in my head went off. I’ll write about squirrels. I’ll write about squirrels in urban environments. Why not? I mean I see them everyday on campus, walking in the park, in the store parking lots, everywhere! Being that I see them everywhere I go I figure that I can observe their eating habits, size, and behavior towards humans based on their environment. I would like to try and see some type of distinguishable difference in the squirrels based on all these things, not just one.

I feel that this subject is a little weird and a little erroneous to some people, but the more that I think about it, it really relates to my biology major. In my biology major, I am currently learning about adaptive behaviors in species, based on their change in their environment. It all has a lot to do with genetic drift and natural selection; all things that relate back to theories of evolution. Thus, I feel that if I can relate my knowledge of these theories, I can use them in my everyday life to help my in my essay. Not only will I gain a new light in my major and in my observations, but I can learn about the animals around me. Just call me “Dr. Doolittle-ette”. Yes, soon I will be able to talk to the animals, live with the animals and relate to the animals. Well, maybe not all that.

Overall, I feel that this essay will be very funny for some to read but, also very enlightening. I know that it may even be a joke for some, and it was when I first started brain-storming but, I feel it really feel like it could give a lot of insight to the squirrels we see everyday. So in order to really make this observation essay worth it, I feel that I need to observe squirrels in three different types of urban environments. The first setting is going to be here on Auraria Campus at the North Classroom buildings. The second environment is going to be at a Cheeseman park here in Denver. Finally the last urban environment that I plan to observe squirrels at is going to be a local Denver supermarket. I really feel that I will find behavior adaptations based on each of these environments due to the amount of people that surround the squirrels, food sources, and places in which they live. I also plan to talk to a few biologists, which deal with animal adaptations. So even though this essay started out as a joke, I am actually really excited and anxious to observe squirrels. Happy squirrel watching to me!

Can You THINK for YOURSELF, or Do You Need the MEDIAto do it for YOU???

I don’t think, a day goes by that I where I’m not surrounded by people talking of favorite television shows, obscene commercials, something that the news stated from fact or even billboards or magazines. Now think about this for a second. These are all media-based elements that, in reality control our lives. We talk about them. Look up “clips” on the internet about them. Buy every magazine, every month. We even fear what we are about to hear on the news, but yet we can’t help but watch what new tragic, or horrific story the media has in store for us. The reason that I picked this YouTube video is because, I believe it is a perfect (or the most perfect) representation of the American Culture vs. The Media.

Before watching the video, many of us probably saw the opening scene. SEX. It was that glimpse of what was next to come in our video that made us want to watch it. Once again I prove my point; Americans cannot resist sex. In fact, when you really think about it, sex and the media go “hand in hand.” Based on many television shows, commercials, etc, the fact that sex sells starts the base of many media plots to become number one in American culture. Sad but true the news even uses this tactic. It seems like every time I turn on the news they are either determining the weather incorrectly, or building up to the big opening "Breaking News Story,” but it’s what gets them the highest ratings. Magazine companies are also great at doing these big, important head line grabbers.

Waiting in line at grocery store ( I’m sure we’ve all done it) there are always that pillar of magazines (just so conveniently placed) while you wait in the check out lane that you can’t help but glimpse at the cover, pick it up and begin “reading,” while you wait. But wait! You can’t even begin to read about the “great bedroom secrets,” until you have flipped through about twenty pages of adds for crap you don’t need. Smell like this. Buy this shirt; it looks good on the starving model, so it will on your Super sized American body. Drink this. Look this way and, BE SOMEBODY. How awful is this? It’s all these types of subliminal messages that we get bombarded constantly with. The YouTube video I picked demonstrates this very thing. The video is constantly flashing media based things, or advertisements that we buy into everyday.

Everyday we buy into these types of things which, brings me to a key point in my piece: Why couldn’t we just watch this video clip on TV or read something like it in a magazine or newspaper? The fact of the matter is, its this type of truth, that the media never wants exposed to the entire nation in such a public way. The fact that I watched this video online and not any of those other types of ways makes it, in a way, secretive. I know that the internet is a public place as well, but it’s the fact that I had to type specifically what I wanted to see on a site where people can create and upload their own “media,” was it possible. I would never have scene this on the opening web page for MSN. It took effort to be exposed to what every one of us has always known when it came to the medias efforts. So the next time you watch, read, or even buy something, think about how much of your time was spent thinking about it, and how much of the time was the media thinking for you.