The Penny

As the value of the dollar has slowly gone down over time due to inflation there is a coin the has become almost worthless, the penny.  It is only worth 1/100 of a dollar, and it can't buy anything unless   you brought 99 other friends to go with your first penny (assuming that the lowest price good that is actually useful is only worth a dollar.)  In fact, the only real use a penny or pennies have is to make change that doesn't end in a 5.
This is what stands in he way of getting rid of a practically useless coin, making change with physical currency.  However, if people all together stopped using paper and coin currency all at once, then it would be possible to lose the penny without causing any real problems.
Maybe if there wasn't a thing such as inflation, and the value of the U.S. currency stayed around where it was during the 1930s or earlier, then the penny would be worth keeping.  However that is not true, therefore we must wait until paper and coin currency becomes obsolete and electronic money in the form of debit/credit cards takes over, which is happening right now.

Social Media

Many of us who were born in the Millennial generation use social media, either a Facebook, Twitter, or whatever else there is to interact with other friends and exchange information through virtual communities on the internet.  It is also how a lot of young people receive news and current events right next to watching The Daily Show on Comedy Central and reading The Onion.  I don't think social media has a particularly positive impact on modern society, especially with how it changes social interaction, tends to skew facts, and turns young people into ego-maniacs constantly posting and tweeting just to get more "likes," as if they have any actual value.
Although social media allows us to communicate with friends who may be far away from our own location, and chat with a larger audience, it makes us become more isolated from others and diminishes a sense of community in our social lives. In my opinion, social media has the potential to turn us, if it already has not, turned us into a bunch of isolated weirdos who only speek over the internet.
Social media allows us to say whatever we want, and this ultimately leads to factual information becoming misinterpreted and incorrect.  It's kind of like the game telephone.  As the information is reposted over and over again, some of what was originally said will be changed unintentionally due to miscommunication and people putting their own opinion into the original information.
Social media can turn those who are avid users into ego-maniacs, constantly reposting and retweeting information in hopes of getting more people to "like" their status.  In all reality "likes" are not worth anything and it just shows that however many people clicked a button next to something you wrote.  I guess it's a way for people to try to become celebrities without having to actually work.  But it's not like you actually have to work to become a celebrity.

Politics: Why do we Take it so Personally?

In today's world, it seems to be very easy to offend some one.  It is also pretty easy to piss some one off by talking about politics, especially if their beliefs are contrary to yours.  This makes it very difficult to discuss the issues our nation faces today, whether it be healthcare reform, immigration reform, partisanship, national debt, and same-sex marriage. The problem is we choose not to be open to other ideas and opinions and just dismiss them.  This leads us to believe that our own opinions are right and everyone else's are flat out wrong. 
Another problem that causes taking politics so personally is that we take it way to seriously.  Even though a lot of the issues mentioned above are serious issues that must be dealt with, individuals, especially those who are very partisan, take these issues very seriously and can get offended very easily and quickly.  This is also connected to the former reason, we lack openness to new ideas and have a very hard time altering our opinions.
If we do in the near future let go of our partisan views and strict loyalty to one ideology, we will be able to discuss these political issues and make it easier to solve them, as it will be easier to compromise some of our values in order to accomodate those who have values different to our own.  Hopefully discussing politics will become something we can have friendly debates over and not heated arguments that make us mad at each other.  It is up to us if we want this to happen.    

Entitlement

In modern society many of us today believe we have a right to something, whether it be a tangible asset or service provided to us.  But why do we have this belief? or more importantly, why do you deserve said entitlements?  There are many individuals that believe just because they exist they deserve whatever entitlement it might be.  This usually comes in the for of social welfare, where tax dollars from the state are given to individuals who either don't make enough to be financially stable or just don't want to work at all.  It also comes in the form of health insurance, usually for the sick and elderly. To me, it seems insane and completely unjustifiable to say that just because you were born, you deserve such services.  Entitlement does make more sense if you did something to deserve it like paying taxes over a long period of time.  But that brings up another question, why should the state even provide entitlement services to us in the first place? One might say it is because we pay taxes, but I don't believe paying taxes is a good reason. In fact, I don't believe the state should even provide entitlement programs to us at all. The tax money we pay should be used to protect us (military defense, law & order) and help people become more productive through public education.  Programs that take care of us only make us lazier and less productive in that we don't have any incentive to work hard when we can simply live off of welfare money.
But what about the elderly and those who can't take care of themselves?  Well as cruel as it sounds, too bad.  Taking care of retirees is a huge burden on society that cannot be sustained through government programs.  It's not like they will be living on this earth for much longer.
Having a sense of entitlement is bad for the mind and only makes us weaker as a species.  We simply cannot expect everything to be given to us.

Originality in Movies

There was a movie produced around 2005 and it is called Click. It is an Adam Sandler movie where his character, a middle class American working for a Real Estate firm comes across a universal remote that can pause and fast forward as well as other capabilities. This device does make his life easier, however, his excessive use of the remote ultimatly leads to his demise. This idea is unique in itself and does sound original, which is what I thought at first. However, I found out that the film actually rips off It's a Wonderful Life and Back to the Future Two. It seems that truly original ideas are hard to come by today, especially in the film industry. As decades have passed the number of original movie plots has gone down at a constant rate, which makes sence because as time passes, it becomesharder to come up with original ideas.
As a way to compensate for the lack of originality, movie producers simply remake the old version or create a sequel. Sequels are very common today, and just recently, there was a rumor that a second It's a Wonderful Life was going to be made. That was later found untrue.
With this new-found way of producing movies without having to think of new ideas, could we see in the near future remakes or remakes of remakes? And if that does happen it is likely that no one will even notice, because eventually the original will be so old that nobody will remember it. We also might see titles like Avatar 2, 3, or 4 with regards to movie sequels, like what happened to Starwars.

Globalization

If you have ever looked at the tag on the back of your shirt and it says "made in China," that is the process of globalization.  In fact, it is likely that the shirt was not just produced in China, rather the cotton for the shirt was made in the U.S., the textiles came from China, the dyes for the shirts coloring came from South Africa, and then the finished product was sent back to the U.S. for you to buy.
Globalization is the process of international integration of world views, products, ideas, trchnological advancement, and world trade. Basically it is the reason why you can buy cheap crap at the store and why you have to learn spanish in high school and college.  It is the reason why you can call a friend 6,000 miles away from you.
Many believe that this process is bad for us, and in some respects it is.  Global outsourcung, deforestation, overconsumption of natural resources, and pollution are a result of this.  However, if you live in a developed country, and are complaining about jobs being shipped overseas, you should realize that those jobs aren't the best, but if you don't mind working in a shoe factory rather than getting a career, I guess it is okay. Those jobs aren't really the best jobs. Technological change will also result in more efficient resource use.
In the end globalization will probably have a positive outcome. Its problems will eventually be solved just like the problems with industrialization were solved over 100 years ago.

Lying

When it comes to lying I have probably done it too many times to count.  Whether it be for avoiding punishment or personal gain I have done it.  I can't imagine that there is one person on this planet that has not lied at least once in their lives.
Most of us want to impress our friends or superiors, so we might "stretch the truth" in order to look better.  Yes, it is probably immoral and not right to do, but would you want to tell a potential employer about past events that might not look too good on a resume. So you either just dont mention it or simply lie about it.
Many other people may lie in order to avoid punishment. I mean, if you say you did your homework when you actually didn't do it and you try to finish it right when class starts, it's not like it affects anyone, that is if you get away with it. Now getting caught lying, that'sa whole different story that I don't want to get into.
The bottom line, even though we know lying is bad, we still do it anyway. That makes so much sence now does it?

New York City

New York City.  The Big Apple, The City the Never Sleeps, A City so Nice, They Named it Twice.  But is the Capital of the World actually that nice?  Most people would agree that it is or must be a pretty nice place judging by the cultural diversity, famous landmarks such as the Empire State Building, and its ability to produce some of America’s most successful artists and musicians like: Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, and Tom Cruise.  It is nice place to live or visit if you discount some parts such as cost of living, crime rate, homelessness, traffic, safety, and the consumption of resources.

In Manhattan alone, the average house price is around $1.3 million.  The national average home price is around $272,900.  That is a 76% difference and doesn’t sound too attractive to homebuyers.

New York City has a relatively high crime rate compared to the U.S. national average.  However, that is a common characteristic in big cities due to many factors such as homelessness, and the high cost of living, and the effectiveness of the police force.

Homelessness is another big problem the city faces.  There are roughly over 50,000 individuals who rely on public shelter in New York City according to the Coalition for the Homeless and that does not include the many thousands that sleep on the streets at night.  So don’t expect to see just a few homeless people when going to New York.  It’s likely you will see even more if you plan on living there in the future.

Big cities, especially one as big as The Big Apple will face tremendous traffic problems.  Even with its famous network of subway stations and trains it cannot prevent the many problems pedestrians and drivers face on the streets of New York.

Safety and the consumption of resources are other dilemmas faced by New York City and big cities in general.  It can be very hard to maintain the peace and bring in enough resources when there are millions of people that need them.

As you can see New York is obviously not the nicest place.  Whether it be living there or visiting there you will face more risks than visiting or living in a smaller city.

Sonnet 138 When my love swears that she is made of truth: Reflection

This sonnet describes the relationship between Shakespeare and his mistress, the dark lady.  Both partners in the relationship are lying to each other.  The man lies about his age and the women lies about her fidelity.  However, both the man and the mistress know they are lying to each other as if to flatter each other.

As the man grows older he becomes insecure about his age, he starts to lie about the fact that he is much older than his mistress in order to sound more youthful and inexperienced.  He also acts young by trying to make her think he is unsophisticated by believing the lies she is telling even though he knows she is lying.  The “Dark Lady” is lying about her faithfulness towards her relationship.  The man knows she is lying and she knows he knows she is lying.  This is almost exactly the same as the man lying about his age.

I found this sonnet to be very interesting in that both lovers are lying to each other just for the sake of flattering each other.  Even though they both know what they are both saying is not true, they say it anyway.  What can be said is that these so called “lovers” are only together to fulfill their desires of sexual pleasure as well as make the former.  Shakespeare’s use of words also makes the sonnet interesting by having words have two denotations.  Such as the word “lie,” which can mean not telling the truth as well as lying in bed with another man, which is clearly made known in the poem itself.

Shopping in Tuckahoe: Reflection

Shopping in Tuckahoe is a very direct poem as of reading it.  It’s about a mother and her daughter, the mother being the speaker, going shopping.  The mother is waiting for her daughter who is looking a pair of jeans and is taking a considerable amount of time to do so.  The mother makes a humorous remark at the beginning of the poem saying, “one could spend year in this parking lot waiting for a daughter to find just the right pair of jeans.”  However, she begins to become enticed by the deals being offered at the mall, garden related things such as seeds, husks, vines, and bare sepals in particular.  A great deal of imagery is used in the second stanza and on, especially when describing the things the mother is buying. 

By the end of the poem in the fourth stanza, it becomes less direct when the speaker makes a sarcastic remark saying, “By the time my daughter reappears, trailing her scarves of pink and green, she will be old enough to drive home alone,” implying once again that her daughter is taking a very long time finding “the perfect pair of jeans.”  I found this poem very easy to understand, mainly because it is relatively direct with only two shifts in mood.  Shopping in Tuckahoe is almost the complete opposite of A Hymn to God the Father by John Donne in terms of how direct it is, especially since Donne uses puns and religious references in the latter poem.

A Cartoon Character I Like

In the animated cartoon series, American Dad there is a character named Roger, who is a space alien resembling a grey (alien with grey skin and enlarged head) and the body like that of the alien in the E.T. movie.  He is wacky, crude, devious, and often misleads and finagles others to achieve his desires.  Roger also lacks all sense of social norms, social acceptability, and lawful behavior.  He's often seen behaving in ways that are depraved and cruel.  His depravity and cruelty are often delivered in combination with his typically lighthearted and carefree temperament.  This can be seen in the episode:  “Tears of Clooney,” where Roger adopts foster children to use as slave labor for his own private vineyard.  These characteristics are also demonstrated in the episode:  “Moon over Isla Island,” where he becomes dictator of a fictional island nation and demands extravagant services from the populous such as painting the island yellow.

Aside from these characteristics, Roger also has habits such as being very self-indulgent, drinking alcohol in excess, using recreational drugs (tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine, steroids, LSD, MDMA, and a variety of other illegal substances), eating junk food, and watching soap operas.  He also has the ability to excrete waste in the form of gold with encrusted jewels and float in water even when held down with weight.  Roger also possesses skills that include the ability to speak multiple languages, planning large-scale events, and move at lightning speed.

With all of these characteristics put into consideration as well as watching him in the show itself, Roger the alien is the funniest character in the show, American Dad in my opinion.  These characteristics and habits are obviously unfavorable in a real person, but when put inside a fictional cartoon character, they can be seen as very humorous, especially in crude and inappropriate comedy.