Um So Like Ya...

     So I was sitting in class this week and I was like listening to people talk, you know, about uh their opinions on stuff that the teacher had asked about. And then this one girl raised her hand and was like saying all this stuff but I like could barely even pay attention to what she was saying because like all I heard was the word like. And then um this other guy raised his hand and it was like all I heard was him saying the word um. Isn't that annoying?
    This week I decided to count the number of times people said "like" while we were having a class discussion. I counted a total of 179 unnecessary likes before I gave up and decided I couldn't count anymore. I started to think about all the times that I say "like" or "um" during the day, and I have to admit I say those words a lot. My parents always try to remind me not to say like as much and I never understood why until I listened to the way people talked in school. I found that when people used words such as like or um it was extremely distracting. Their thoughts were broken up by the words and it also made their opinion seem less valid. If they had to make constant pauses while talking, their opinion did not seem as strong or as well thought out as those who did not need pauses to collect their thoughts.

     Interestingly enough, the same day that I counted likes my teacher talked briefly about the word "um" during class. He mentioned how some one had thought at first that the word "um" was used by people because everyone had such a vast vocabulary of words that they were pausing to try and chose the perfect one. After further research however he changed his idea of the word "um." He decided that the word, put simply, meant "shut up." It's a way for a person speaking to let the listener know that they are not done talking. Even if they pause to take a breath or think, they'll say um so that the listener knows they're not allowed to start talking yet because they still have more to say. I thought this was interesting and also very true. It started me thinking on what I thought the meaning of the word like was when people used it unnecessarily. There are two ways that I would describe the ways people use it. People use the word like when explaining what someone said, "She was like 'I don't want to eat that.'" It's substituted in for the word "said." Another way is when people are not sure of something, "Can you pick me up at like 5?" They don't know if they want to be picked up at five exactly or perhaps after, hence the "like" is added.
     Overall, I understand that its hard not to use these words, but I think its a bad habit that everyone should try to break. Used in moderation these words can make sense, but otherwise they are can be frustrating to the listener.
What do you think are other possible meanings of the words like and um? Can you think of any other words we use too often?
     

The Meaning Of Life

     This morning as I was eating breakfast, I reached across my kitchen counter to grab the only part of the newspaper I ever read, the comics section. Skimming through to find the comics I like to read the best, I landed upon Broom-Hilda. A picture of the comic is attached below as well as what the characters say in case anyone has trouble reading the picture.

 "Irwin I'm trying to develop a philosophy of life. A phrase thats sums up everything in a neat little handbasket of words.

Something applicable under any condition.

The key to life in a nutshell"
(Broom-Hilda).
"Yawn. I'm going to get something to eat" (Irwin).

"That's IT!" (Broom-Hilda).


At first I just enjoyed the joke implied by the comic, that the "key to life" is "going to get something to eat." I eat all the time because I swim a lot and need a constant flow of food to keep my body healthy during swim season. I absolutely love food, so the idea that the point of life was to simply eat was quite amusing and appealing at the same time. However as I thought more about the comic while finishing my breakfast, I realized there was some truth to it.
     The majority of our lives is centered around one thing and one thing only, food. Its not just a way of sustaining life, its a thing we use for comfort, entertainment, religion, and creativity. There are new tv shows being created everyday centered entirely around food that people love. I know, I myself have spent countless hours watching shows on the Food Network Channel. Also, different religions and cultures are very specific about the foods that they eat and cook daily. If someone goes to church there are times you'll be ask to eat and drink bread and wine. However its not simply just bread and wine, it represents the blood and body of Christ. Furthermore, even most holidays are centered around food. Thanksgiving has turkey, Christmas has ham, and Halloween gets all the candy. On a simply a daily basis eating is important to every culture. Meals are a time in which everyone must stop what they are doing for awhile, relax, and usually converse with friends or family.
     Food means many things to many different people and since its such a normal part of our daily existence its sometimes hard to notice the impact it has on us. Eating has become much more than just simple activity needed to sustain life. Our entire lives revolve around food.
So is eating food a good philosophy to life? Does it sum it up in a nice little handbasket? I think the key to life in a nutshell is that we need to go eat food.

The Need To Be Green

     For some reason I have been having been having extreme difficulties trying to think of a way to start this post. I have gone through about a million different ways to phrase it, and it never seems to turn out right. So finally I've decided to just write and see where it takes me.
     This morning my mom sent me a text telling me to "Come outside and get some sun." So I picked up my homework, brought it outside, and sat on a bench in my backyard to finish it. I felt proud, like I had bettered myself today by simply making a choice to step outside. This feeling got me thinking and I wondered, why nature made me feel better about myself. Why did more "natural" things in general make Americans feel better about themselves? I decided to focus on the food industries change to be more natural.

     Everywhere you looks nowadays, people are changing to try and be more "natural" with their food.  In grocery stores there are large organic food sections. Even the normal food sections in the store feature newer, "healthier" options. Frito Lay chips for example now display their "All Natural Ingredients"stamp on the front of all their bags. Also Sara Lee now has "Whole Grain White" bread, containing "No High Fructose Corn Syrup." The bread still looks the same, but contains none of the ingredients though to be unhealthy anymore. Although the ingredients are changing to become more natural, all the labels insist that everything still contains the "Same Great Taste!"Its not just the ingredients that are changing, its also the labeling. More shades of green, brown, and blue are appearing as the dominant colors in packaging.

Its unclear exactly when everything started changing and why. I think that with all the technology surrounding us today people have started feel uncomfortable with it. We live surrounded by artificial things (air, food, chemicals, etc.) everything is processed over and over again before it finally get to us, the consumers. People have started doubt the quality of the products we receive through this long process. With new organic products, people find they trust nature more to make their food great, not machinery and chemicals. Many people prefer to get their fruits and vegetables from farmers markets because then they know their food was produced naturally. Consumers feel better about themselves when they purchase more natural foods because it is now seen to be the smarter choice.
What do you think about this change to more natural food sources? Where else can you see examples of this need to be more green?

Set The Fire To The Third Bar

     This weekend I was hanging out with my friend in her room. We were talking and listening to her very vast music collection. The song Set The Fire To The Third Bar came on and I realized I had heard it before, like it, but had never known the title of it to be able to look it up. I asked my friend what the title of the song was and I have been listening to it since. I checked out the music video and felt it does an amazing job at enhancing the emotions of sadness and longing expressed in the song.

The video starts out with two different rooms, one black and one white. There is a woman in the black room and a man in the white room, however both are wearing the color black. Already you can tell strong choices have been made based on the simple but definite colors; the artists want you to know that these are two very separate rooms. There is a one-way glass mirror in between the two rooms. The woman is able to see the man throughout the song, but he is not able to see her. Also, she is occasionally in his room as well as her own, but she seems slightly opaque when she is in her room, as if she is not truly there.
     The song is describing the pain of losing someone you love. More specifically, the pain of knowing that you will never be able to be with them again. In this case, the woman is in the black room (to symbolize her being dead) and the man is in the white room (to show he is still alive). Both the man and the woman are wearing black, demonstrating that their both mourning the loss of the one that they love. The entire video expresses the struggle that neither of them can be with the other. The one-way glass is the most obvious display of that. A very powerful moment in the video is when they are both looking into it; the man is longing to see her again and the woman is yearning to be seen by him. Their hands and faces are so close, but can never truly touch because of the glass. Furthermore, there is a time when the man is trying to touch her fingers on the table, but they are just beyond reach. And later, the woman is standing next to the man but he never turns and looks her in her direction. All these instances demonstrate their need and also inability to be together. The irony of the lyrics is interesting as well. They say "I'm miles from where you are", yet technically their rooms are adjacent to one another. They are separated only by the extreme difference of life and death. Finally at the end of the video, the woman walks out of her room. This is showing how she is letting go of him, so that he can move on with his life.
     Overall, it is a beautifully sad song that anyone who has lost a loved one can relate to.
Here is a link for a full view of the lyrics: http://www.metrolyrics.com/set-the-fire-to-the-third-bar-lyrics-snow-patrol.html
Do you agree with the message this video is trying to send? Do you agree with my interpretation of the video?