Documentary feature
“An Inconvenient Truth”
I am not sure what significance this has been it won an Oscar.
Go figure...
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
Study Questions: Grizzly Man
I am not sure I can respond to Dr. Hepworth's questions in an objective manner. I don't really view myself as a conservationist though I have been involved with efforts involving conservation. I don't agree with the approach Treadwell took in his efforts at conservation. At the same time, I have to give him credit for giving his efforts the college try.
I gained some insight from our conversation we had Wednesday in clsas. I like to think that I see things but when we discussed the movie in class, I realize some of my views are fairly well polarized and I don't see beyond my own nose. Therefore, some of my responses to these questions will be based on what I heard in class and my fresh perspective on Treadwell's efforts at conservation.
Treadwell, as others pointed out in their discussion, viewed himself as the savior or protector of these particular bears. This strikes me as true, to a certain extent, if the number of poaches went down while he was 'on watch'. He only visited the island for part of each year, however, so if the numbers went up after he left the island to return home, he was their protector. Perhaps a flawed way of looking at this but it's only a blog.
The bears were certainly not Treadwell's friends, though I suspect he may have felt very differently. As I pointed out in class, I saw that the bears were farly intolerant of Treadwell's presence, as noted on many occasions throughout the presentation. Treadwell was encroaching on nature in the purest form by actually interfering with the natural instincts of the bears. In the movie, the one reasonable footage I saw was during the bear brawl, where Treadwell waited until the end of the fight before approaching and long after the bears had left. Smart move, so he wasn't stupid, by any means. I don't necessarily think that naming bears is a bad thing. People associate things by recognition and I believe it would be perfectly natural to name that which you identify with.
As I pointed out in class, Treadwell no doubt raised awareness of the bears in Alaska. Through his public engagements and appearances, he was certainly an integral part in fund raising activities for the Grizzly People, though to what extent I am not aware without further resarch. With a public image so notorious and extravagent, I am sure the Grizzly People welcomed many contributions from supportes throughout the United States, Cananda and the world, no doubt. However, I am sure he offended just as many people, if not more, through his actions in Alaska. As I said earlier, I do not agree with the way in which Treadwell went about his conservation efforts as it pertained to the way he was filming his documentary and his interactions with wildlife, including the coyotes which frequented his campsite. Desensitizing wildlife in this way makes them much less wary of humans and can only lead to eventual trouble, in many circumstances, once the natural distrust has left a wild animal.
I gained some insight from our conversation we had Wednesday in clsas. I like to think that I see things but when we discussed the movie in class, I realize some of my views are fairly well polarized and I don't see beyond my own nose. Therefore, some of my responses to these questions will be based on what I heard in class and my fresh perspective on Treadwell's efforts at conservation.
Treadwell, as others pointed out in their discussion, viewed himself as the savior or protector of these particular bears. This strikes me as true, to a certain extent, if the number of poaches went down while he was 'on watch'. He only visited the island for part of each year, however, so if the numbers went up after he left the island to return home, he was their protector. Perhaps a flawed way of looking at this but it's only a blog.
The bears were certainly not Treadwell's friends, though I suspect he may have felt very differently. As I pointed out in class, I saw that the bears were farly intolerant of Treadwell's presence, as noted on many occasions throughout the presentation. Treadwell was encroaching on nature in the purest form by actually interfering with the natural instincts of the bears. In the movie, the one reasonable footage I saw was during the bear brawl, where Treadwell waited until the end of the fight before approaching and long after the bears had left. Smart move, so he wasn't stupid, by any means. I don't necessarily think that naming bears is a bad thing. People associate things by recognition and I believe it would be perfectly natural to name that which you identify with.
As I pointed out in class, Treadwell no doubt raised awareness of the bears in Alaska. Through his public engagements and appearances, he was certainly an integral part in fund raising activities for the Grizzly People, though to what extent I am not aware without further resarch. With a public image so notorious and extravagent, I am sure the Grizzly People welcomed many contributions from supportes throughout the United States, Cananda and the world, no doubt. However, I am sure he offended just as many people, if not more, through his actions in Alaska. As I said earlier, I do not agree with the way in which Treadwell went about his conservation efforts as it pertained to the way he was filming his documentary and his interactions with wildlife, including the coyotes which frequented his campsite. Desensitizing wildlife in this way makes them much less wary of humans and can only lead to eventual trouble, in many circumstances, once the natural distrust has left a wild animal.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
MLA Style Citations Link
I was required to purchase the book but there are resources availabe on the Internet for MLA Style Citations. By the way, I'm not going to site my sources. [Doh!, I kill myself, sometimes...]
MLA Citation Style
http://www.liu.edu/CWIS/CWP/library/workshop/citmla.htm
Write Source: MLA Style
http://thewritesource.com/mla.htm
MLA Citation Style
http://www.liu.edu/CWIS/CWP/library/workshop/citmla.htm
Write Source: MLA Style
http://thewritesource.com/mla.htm
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Thoughts on Tim Treadwell - Grizzly Man
I appreciated Tim's work and his film and I'll certainly rent the movie for the conclusion. I have worked with the Wolf Education & Research Center for the past several years and sympathise with his desire to educate the public about the brown bear and ecology in general.However, I believe Tim went too far with his work and he paid the ultimate price for his lack of discretion. He knew the posed based on his approach to his work. Will we be somehow compelled to feel sympathy for Tim or his cause or will we view his work as more comediac than anything else? I found myself chuckling more at his antics during the film rather than having his video and images making me stop to think about brown bears in their natural habitat.
To a great extent, I agree that Tim's interaction with the bears were highly inappropriate at times and Tim may have caused more damage to the bears than good. When I hear people talking about Tim I hear words like 'crazy' or 'stupid' and not endearing words like 'pioneering researcher'. There are other ways to educate the public without living with bears as Tim did. Documentary photography, in my opinion, is most effective when you allow the subject to act natural - National Geographic and Discovery are prime examples of wildlife documentary style to be emulated. Tim certainly crossed this line and based on what I saw, the bears, on more than one occasion, communicated their discomfort to him. He appears to have lost touch with reality near the middle of the film. He really appears to have lost touch with society. His walking rant about why women didn't appreciate him was a prime example that perhaps he should have stepped back and taken inventory on his approach and perhaps, his life in general. Simply put, Tim appears to have gone mad in the wilderness.
It is unfortunate that Tim lost his life attempting to be a do-gooder but the path he chose left little margin for error. He paid the ultimate price and he can't do any more good for the cause due to his tragic end. What is most tragic about this story is the loss of Amie, who had a intelligent and responsible fear of bears.
What a shame...
Here is a link to the incident report on Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard
http://www.yellowstone-bearman.com/Tim_Treadwell.html
Monday, February 12, 2007
Who is this guy?
I am not really smart enough to grasp what Snyder suggests without asking some pointed questions in response to his writing but he seems to be suggesting that the Catholic (and perhaps the Mormon) church is encouraging us to have babies in order to increase the prosperity of the human race. Did he say that?
If he is suggesting that we need to somehow limit how many children a woman has, beyond education in less fortunate (or developing) countries, I think Snyder is a bit irresponsible and I'm certainly glad I didn't suggest it. This is definitely a way to make an awful lot of enemies in an awful hurry.
We have a few choices to make as far as how much our planet can sustain while we are all healthy. Humanity is growing at a rapid pace, there is no doubt. I see an awful lot of compassion, however, as it pertains to those who are less fortunate.
For those countries who cannot sustain their own population through traditional means, there always seems to be help. Adoption for foreign children is at an all-time high and I believe it is, unfortunately, a booming industry. We seem to take care of our own kind.
I do advocate educating those who might not have been taught about birth control and making those 'tools' available to those who do not have technology, such as birth control, available to whomever would like this assistance.
On the other hand, to question the Catholic (and the Mormon?) faith? Wow! This guy, when he wrote this, had a larger set of kahoonas than I do.
We need people, however, who are not afraid of expressing themselves. And at times, to express a shocker of an opinion, can hold value. I believe it stimulates curiosity and eventually, perhaps, it may institute change.
After my second child, I realized I wasn't exactly the best model for parenting and made a decision. At the time, I was not nearly as educated as I am not- but I still feel I made a decision based on some careful observations about my past and future.
It all boils down to either my understanding of myself or through knowledge of the implications of the future of my children and myself. Education is certainly the key but I'll hold those thoughts to myself and continue to do what I can for those less fortunate - when I am able.
I know this a weak stance and sort of stands in the middle but wow! I may not be smart enough to understand what it is Snyder is suggesting.
If he is suggesting that we need to somehow limit how many children a woman has, beyond education in less fortunate (or developing) countries, I think Snyder is a bit irresponsible and I'm certainly glad I didn't suggest it. This is definitely a way to make an awful lot of enemies in an awful hurry.
We have a few choices to make as far as how much our planet can sustain while we are all healthy. Humanity is growing at a rapid pace, there is no doubt. I see an awful lot of compassion, however, as it pertains to those who are less fortunate.
For those countries who cannot sustain their own population through traditional means, there always seems to be help. Adoption for foreign children is at an all-time high and I believe it is, unfortunately, a booming industry. We seem to take care of our own kind.
I do advocate educating those who might not have been taught about birth control and making those 'tools' available to those who do not have technology, such as birth control, available to whomever would like this assistance.
On the other hand, to question the Catholic (and the Mormon?) faith? Wow! This guy, when he wrote this, had a larger set of kahoonas than I do.
We need people, however, who are not afraid of expressing themselves. And at times, to express a shocker of an opinion, can hold value. I believe it stimulates curiosity and eventually, perhaps, it may institute change.
After my second child, I realized I wasn't exactly the best model for parenting and made a decision. At the time, I was not nearly as educated as I am not- but I still feel I made a decision based on some careful observations about my past and future.
It all boils down to either my understanding of myself or through knowledge of the implications of the future of my children and myself. Education is certainly the key but I'll hold those thoughts to myself and continue to do what I can for those less fortunate - when I am able.
I know this a weak stance and sort of stands in the middle but wow! I may not be smart enough to understand what it is Snyder is suggesting.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Defining Ethics
Ethics is described on Wikipedia as:
“.. a general term for what is often described as the "science (study) of morality". In philosophy, ethical behavior is that which is "good" or "right." The Western tradition of ethics is sometimes called moral philosophy. This is one part of value theory (axiology) – the other part is aesthetics – one of the four major branches of philosophy, alongside metaphysics, epistemology, and logic.”
The American Heritage Dictionary defines ethics as:
“A set of principles of right conduct. or A theory or a system of moral values. 2. ethics. (used with a sing. verb). The study of the general nature of morals and of the specific moral choices to be made by a person; moral philosophy. 3. ethics. (used with a sing. or pl. verb). The rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession.”
By either definition, I’ll take the word ethics to mean that set of values which, defined on a personal level, makes you feel guilty about something you know to be wrong, due to socialization or high moral standards.
Each of us are taught ethics while growing up, though admittedly, some of us have a different set of ethics, or values, than do others. Ethics can vary widely, due to ethnic background or religious beliefs, but humanity, as a whole, should expect to have a similar set of ethics, or values, that mankind have in common.
“.. a general term for what is often described as the "science (study) of morality". In philosophy, ethical behavior is that which is "good" or "right." The Western tradition of ethics is sometimes called moral philosophy. This is one part of value theory (axiology) – the other part is aesthetics – one of the four major branches of philosophy, alongside metaphysics, epistemology, and logic.”
The American Heritage Dictionary defines ethics as:
“A set of principles of right conduct. or A theory or a system of moral values. 2. ethics. (used with a sing. verb). The study of the general nature of morals and of the specific moral choices to be made by a person; moral philosophy. 3. ethics. (used with a sing. or pl. verb). The rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession.”
By either definition, I’ll take the word ethics to mean that set of values which, defined on a personal level, makes you feel guilty about something you know to be wrong, due to socialization or high moral standards.
Each of us are taught ethics while growing up, though admittedly, some of us have a different set of ethics, or values, than do others. Ethics can vary widely, due to ethnic background or religious beliefs, but humanity, as a whole, should expect to have a similar set of ethics, or values, that mankind have in common.
Friday, February 9, 2007
Where does knowledge come from?
There are times I really hate to mention in conversation 'what I know' or what I think I know. Case in point. During our class discussion the other day, we were talking about our auto manufacturers an not being able to sell American cars in the Chinese market. Here is an example where I thought I knew something based on our discussion.
So I take my new found 'knowledge' and express a newly formed opinion. However, I find this knowledge needs to be researched a bit more. My co-worker, as he describes below, took little time to update me with a little more inforation.
His email follows:
Didn’t spend much time looking, but I couldn’t find a single instance where it is said that the US can’t sell cars in China due to any restrictions. Found lots of articles about the Chinese looking to enter the US market soon, but concerns about the quality are the main issue there. However, did find n MSNBC article (link below) talking about how GM sells more Buicks in China than they do in the US. Also, from USAToday, I found a table showing the top Chinese auto retailers, and GM is #1, Ford is also on the top 10.
Here is the MSNBC link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16268883/from/et/
Here is the table from USAToday:
Top 10 automakers in China, by number of vehicles made in 2006:
1. General Motors - 880,706
2. Volkswagen - 697,796
3. Hyundai - 397,207
4. Honda - 360,051
5. Chang'an - 345,786
6. Toyota - 306,632
7. Chery Auto - 287,700
8. China FAW - 287,590
9. Ford Motor - 255,642
10. Renault-Nissan - 238,639
Source: PwC Automotive Institute 2007 Q1 Data Release
Anyway, that is about all of interest I could find in brief search.
So I take my new found 'knowledge' and express a newly formed opinion. However, I find this knowledge needs to be researched a bit more. My co-worker, as he describes below, took little time to update me with a little more inforation.
His email follows:
Didn’t spend much time looking, but I couldn’t find a single instance where it is said that the US can’t sell cars in China due to any restrictions. Found lots of articles about the Chinese looking to enter the US market soon, but concerns about the quality are the main issue there. However, did find n MSNBC article (link below) talking about how GM sells more Buicks in China than they do in the US. Also, from USAToday, I found a table showing the top Chinese auto retailers, and GM is #1, Ford is also on the top 10.
Here is the MSNBC link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16268883/from/et/
Here is the table from USAToday:
Top 10 automakers in China, by number of vehicles made in 2006:
1. General Motors - 880,706
2. Volkswagen - 697,796
3. Hyundai - 397,207
4. Honda - 360,051
5. Chang'an - 345,786
6. Toyota - 306,632
7. Chery Auto - 287,700
8. China FAW - 287,590
9. Ford Motor - 255,642
10. Renault-Nissan - 238,639
Source: PwC Automotive Institute 2007 Q1 Data Release
Anyway, that is about all of interest I could find in brief search.
Would somebody tell me what the hell is going on?
I'm a little confused. I understand that [alleged] global warming could have affects which we don't really understand - we all agree on that, right? I find myself talking more and more about the subject of global warming at work with my co-workers, people I respect a great deal. This is great, right? Hey, at last we're all talking about it.
The debate centers around what is natural for Earth because, frankly, we are not really sure about Earth's 'natural course'. Are we having an impact on the temperature of Earth? Of course we are. However, statistics show that the Earth is warming at a rate of fractions of a degree over the last.. What? Hundred years?
Would somebody explain to me how the hell we are in a global 'warming' crisis but New York just got 8 feet of snow overnight? And have you looked at your electric bill this month for the Lewis-Clark Valley? Did anybody see the normal average daily temperature and last months average daily temperature? There is a 10 degree colder than normal difference! 10 degrees!
What the hell is going on and what am I supposed to believe? I'm shaky here. I want to do my part and will continue to do what my conscience tells me to do. However....
Read this weeks final page in Newsweek. "Nothing Americans can do will make a significant impact on the global climate while every 10 days China fires up a coal-fueled generating plant big enough to power San Diego. China will construct 2,200 new coal plants by 2030." (Will 72)
Are you kidding me? Would somebody tell me why I am putting on more clothes on, freezing my ass off, when the Chinese really don't seem to give a crap about global warming? I should crank up the thermostat and get naked, which is a hell of a lot more comfortable than putting this bulky sweater on.
Will, George F. Inconvenient Kyoto Truths. The Last Word. Newweek 12 Feb. 2007
<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16960409/site/newsweek/>.
Calgon, take me away...
The debate centers around what is natural for Earth because, frankly, we are not really sure about Earth's 'natural course'. Are we having an impact on the temperature of Earth? Of course we are. However, statistics show that the Earth is warming at a rate of fractions of a degree over the last.. What? Hundred years?
Would somebody explain to me how the hell we are in a global 'warming' crisis but New York just got 8 feet of snow overnight? And have you looked at your electric bill this month for the Lewis-Clark Valley? Did anybody see the normal average daily temperature and last months average daily temperature? There is a 10 degree colder than normal difference! 10 degrees!
What the hell is going on and what am I supposed to believe? I'm shaky here. I want to do my part and will continue to do what my conscience tells me to do. However....
Read this weeks final page in Newsweek. "Nothing Americans can do will make a significant impact on the global climate while every 10 days China fires up a coal-fueled generating plant big enough to power San Diego. China will construct 2,200 new coal plants by 2030." (Will 72)
Are you kidding me? Would somebody tell me why I am putting on more clothes on, freezing my ass off, when the Chinese really don't seem to give a crap about global warming? I should crank up the thermostat and get naked, which is a hell of a lot more comfortable than putting this bulky sweater on.
Works Cited
Will, George F. Inconvenient Kyoto Truths. The Last Word. Newweek 12 Feb. 2007
<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16960409/site/newsweek/>.
Calgon, take me away...
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Now THAT's what I'm talking about...
I am convinced I am going to like this class. Hopefully, scores are based more on spirited debate and participation, rather than the actual amount of homework I submit.
I admit, I am on auto pilot. I want out of school more than I'd like to share - face to face, that is. I took a different path through college, coming back to school after 15+ years of being in the work force. Things were going great then - WHAM! I lost my job. Such is life.
I am massively in debt now and I a scared. This big bill I'm going to exit school which is daunting and somewhat intimidating. My college repayment plan, added to my child support obligations - I fear I won't be able to get a job to support all this.
Ok, back to today. It was a great conversation. Personally, I wish we could just talk our way through this class. I have quite a bit of time to think and have no known limit of my opinions and observations, which I rarely hesitate to share to those who will listen. I guess my biggest problem is keeping my mouth shut sometimes. Do you disagree with what I say or think? All the better. I find it a great way to learn and grow. I hope, however, you don't take anything I say personally or get your feelings hurt. In advance, I apologize if you find this to be the case.
I respect you all and hope we will grow through our brief expoure to one another.
Ta-ta for now.
I admit, I am on auto pilot. I want out of school more than I'd like to share - face to face, that is. I took a different path through college, coming back to school after 15+ years of being in the work force. Things were going great then - WHAM! I lost my job. Such is life.
I am massively in debt now and I a scared. This big bill I'm going to exit school which is daunting and somewhat intimidating. My college repayment plan, added to my child support obligations - I fear I won't be able to get a job to support all this.
Ok, back to today. It was a great conversation. Personally, I wish we could just talk our way through this class. I have quite a bit of time to think and have no known limit of my opinions and observations, which I rarely hesitate to share to those who will listen. I guess my biggest problem is keeping my mouth shut sometimes. Do you disagree with what I say or think? All the better. I find it a great way to learn and grow. I hope, however, you don't take anything I say personally or get your feelings hurt. In advance, I apologize if you find this to be the case.
I respect you all and hope we will grow through our brief expoure to one another.
Ta-ta for now.
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