Assigned entry #2/Resorting to name-calling

    Gun control is a fiercely debated topic. But if during any debate you resort to name-calling you're probably not helping your side. Such was the case when talk show host Piers Morgan said to a guest on his show "You're an unbelievably stupid man."

Piers Morgan

     Piers Morgan is a British journalist,author,television host,and talk show host. In January of 2011 he debuted as the host of Piers Morgan Tonight on CNN. The show bills itself as an interview show that is "unpredictable,lively,challenging,fun,entertaining".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1Z5dqK0aPk&feature=player_embedded
     On the episode of his show aired on December 18th 2012, Morgans' guest was Larry Pratt,who is the Executive Director for Gun Owners of America(a gun rights lobby organization). In the above clip,Morgan is asking Pratt questions but quickly becomes agitated and cannot wait for Pratt to finish responding. At 5:16 of the clip is when Morgan loses his remaining semblance of professionalism and calls his guest stupid. Morgan is still emotional later in the evening and tweets that he is "still seething".

Piers Morgan ✔ @piersmorgan

Still seething after tonight's show. Just can't understand the mentality of those who insist the only answer to #Newtown is MORE guns.

4:24 AM - 19 Dec 12

     It has been said that "He who frames the questions, wins the debate".In my view, Morgan loses on two fronts. One, because he is the host and has the chance to frame the questions but doesn't have the patience to wait for answers. And two, because he resorts to name-calling.
      I believe Morgans' frustration stemmed from his inability to examine the issue at anything other than at surface level. During the exchanges he harps on one statistic(murder rates by guns). Pratt acknowledges the numbers and attempts to put things in a larger perspective, which is what adults discussing a complex issue should do. Morgan quickly realizes he is not prepared for this debate and does not even attempt to discuss the points Pratt brings up. Morgan figuratively brought a knife to a gun fight.
      Regardless of where you fall in the debate on gun control I think this has shown a good lesson. If you have a strong opinion on something ,be prepared to discuss it rationally.   

Assigned entry #1-Learning about blogs

     When it comes to blogs, there's such a wide variety that there really is something for everyone out there. So to give a simple "thumbs down" to the idea of blogs would be disingenuous in my opinion. Some of the blog categories would be: personal,professional,and corporate.They can be so varied and complex that it is difficult to describe the person looking at it as simply a "reader" because some blogs have audio. I will describe that person as a "visitor".
     Our assignment was to look through an assortment of blogs and discuss three of them. As I perused through various blogs I felt most of them had at least something interesting,and overall some were well done, some not so well done.Since the number of blogs is virtually endless I wanted to focus on what I consider to be the most important factor. It should be a worthwhile experience.Every effort should be made so that the visitor feels they got something out of it. Therefore I decided to compare "apples to apples" and look at three blogs of the same category.
     In the "corporate" category the main purpose of blogs is to increase business. So they should be targeting customers and potential customers.Whole Foods descibes themselves as a "natural and organic grocer".There aren't any Whole Foods near me and therefore I'm not a customer, but I did like the blog. There was coupons, recipes,and even an article about a film festival that was started by Whole Foods. I found the page design to have a relaxed look and easy to navigate.  http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/whole-story/
     A page that I didn't enjoy was Ebay. I think basically everyone knows what Ebay does but I tried to find a mission statement or description by attempting to navigate through the website but to no avail. They are a company that helps people buy and sell all kinds of items.I'm not a customer but I love the concept because it helps people be "green" and frugal. Sometimes those concepts are at odds. I hope that Ebay and companies similar to them do well,but when the link appeared on my screen it caused my head to jerk back a little. It was far too cluttered and difficult to make sense of. I stayed on the page trying to adjust to it. Upon closer inspection I noticed all the entries were from 2008. Obviously there has been no effort to maintain make this blog. http://ebaychatter.typepad.com/
     A page that was a complete letdown was the collaboration between Bank of America and MIT. Every link that I clicked on sent me to the homepage website for Bank of America. At first I thought the wrong link had been pasted but the page clearly says Blog in very large letters at the top. Now due to the purpose of a corporate blog there will be some blurring of the lines with a customer service page but there were no articles or anything that could be considered a blog. http://message.bankofamerica.com/futurebanking/
     So there you have examples of how three different companies presumeably with the same goal  (to service customers and potential customers) handle their respective blogs. Is is a shame that more companies do not utilize their blogs more effectively. As I have explained,they lose out on the opportunity to increase their business and simply end up wasting their time and ours.

Introduction/practice entry

       At age 42,I decided I needed to start my life over. So, 21 years after dropping out of college and working in the "real" world, I went back to school. Quit my job,shortsold my house, and started renting a room from a friend. This is my second semester back, last semester was difficult getting my brain working at the capacity I need to learn. .
       Right now I am thinking about earning a nursing degree but am not completely decided.  I have some time to decide while getting through prerequisites. There's a lot to choose from in the medical field right now.
       Being a "starving student" has really cut into my hobbies and social activities, but I know it will be worth it in the long run. So I don't have much time or money, I still do what is most important and rewarding to me. That would be staying in shape by training in Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu(a ground based martial art) and I also help teach the kids classes where I train. For me,staying in good shape is mandatory. And as far as helping teach the kids, I'm old enough to know that life goes by really quick, you have to make an effort to do something good and important while you have a chance.  

I'm in the back, yes I'm not much taller than some of them even though they are 12 and under... hey stop laughing :)