reviewing refuge

Terry Tempest Williams does an excellent job of one thing throughout the book. She can put me to sleep no matter how much caffine i have in my system. I opened this book optimistically thinking that it would have an interesting plot and story line after reading the description. I couldn't have been more wrong. She effectivly discusses issues and situations that couldn't further from what college students are interested in.
If i were asked to rate this book i would rate it a 3 out of 10. I would rate it a three only because it discussed cancer and the family issues surround a tragedy of that nature. Many many people can relate to that situation, but when she continues to go on and on about mormon history in Utah and the bird refuge Williams bores most of the audience. Williams is so well read on the variety and species of birds in the Great Salt Lake area she loses her audience continuously.
I feel like this book was just a way for Williams to express her views of life and indulge in her memories from huge landmarks in her life. I found that throughout the book she consistently shares her feminin viewpoint. She refers to "you" as she.
Besides knowing the flood point of the Great Salt Lake, this book has taught me, what i feel, is nothing,

Yucca Mountain

At the seminar tonight the speaker discussed the Yucca Mountain repository. The speaker quickly briefed the audience on what she would be presenting on and about how long it would take her to finish. As she stepped back to the computer i took a few seconds to see what the audience was made up of. The audience appeared to be evenly split amoung younger students and faculty and adults. None of the faculty or adults that were their seemed like they didnt get out very much. Eventually the speaker started her presentation. She discussed how nuclear energy was harnessed and how much we use in comparison to other countries around the world. She also discussed the specifications of the urananium used in power rods in the plants. Then she discussed how the nuclear plants are currently storing the used energy rods. The closer she got to her main point of discussion the less the audience raised their hands to ask questions. Lots of members of the audience ad notepads and pens and were vigerously taking notes. One man in front and to the right of me shook his head in agreeance with everything. One woman on the other hand seemed to be puzzled about everything that came out of the speakers mouth. I could tell by the way the woman was swaying her hand back and forth when she had a question and her large bag of papers that she came prepaired to argue. As the speaker informed us yucca mountain was chosen from 3 areas and found the most plausable of the three to build a vast nuclear containment area. It is in nevada about 80 miles from the south east border. Yucca mountain is a dry area and made up of very dense soil. Two very important factors for this facility. The facility is meant or storing used energy that the plants are not allowed to recycle by law. The facilities predicted maximum capacity is 70 metric tons of waste. Funny thing is that is how much exists in the world waiting to be stored right now. Predicted activation time for the facility is 2017 but it could be later that that even. There are still a number of problems that have to be dealt with. The transportation problems are going to be very difficult to solve. There is one way that is obviously the best way to transport the waste and that is by rail. But the nevada government wont allow the facility to build it. The Neveada government won't lend a helping hand to the project in any way. The Nevada government is putting up as many hoops as possible for the project. But the federal government is helping projecting leaders to jump right through them. The process in painstakingly redundent and eventually it will be completed and the progress underway. i could go all day but its 227 in the morning and im tiiirreeeeddd so good night.... p.s. Mr. Allen, if you would like me to go more in depth on the subject i would be more than happy to.

grammer and language mechanics

the mechanics of the english language are boring to say the least. they are repeatedly taught to students year after year after year. Some get it, some dont. It takes awhile for the english language to sink in. Even if you speak it. And by sink in i mean attain and successfully use it properly in society. i am not a big fan of mechanics but its required to properly understand one another. mechanics almost makes sentences chronological in your mind in a way.. example- the man kicked the ball through a hoop into the lake. In our head as we read it we can visualize what is happening.we see the man, because we hear it first. than we see him kicking, than we see him kicking a ball, than we see him kicking a ball through a hoop...etc. But if it is said-into the lake the man kicked a ball while going through the hoop the reader would be complately lost and it wouldnt be the image the writer wqas trying to convey to the reader. So as you can see it is iimportant to have good mechanics and grammer. without them things just dont make sense on paper.

Only a few things have changed

After reading "listing" i feel like a genius. Mainly because im not an idiot. Which is exactly what those college students have to be. But further more im dissappointed that the author blame it on the education system. The reason the common person/student doesnt understand those references isn't because our education system is failing and that its been dumbed down for them to understand, its because the common man has never had that kind of a literacy ever. It is iggnorant on the authors part to expect the common student to understand that when and editorial mentions that the president looked like he was wearing the emperors new cloths. Very few individuals have heard of the story non the less read it. And the disney version"the emperors new groove" doesnt count!!! common man has never been one to reference for literary works and stories. Complex similies and metaphores have never been a populartrend in commonman communication. If its in the wallstreet or usa today or newyork times it isnt for the common person. if it is in those than the reader is expected to have a broad backround of knowledge to inperpret and enjoy the writings. This is stereo typing, but its similar to stereotyping that catholics go to mass regularly. Generally lower income blue collar workers and there children dont have near as broad of a backround and are not as intellectual as middle and upper class citizens. Upper and lower class always have completly different viewpoints on everything so it idiodic to think that they can relate to eachother all the the time on a subject so different in their cultures. upperclass has private school with adequit well run extra curiculars and lowerclass has public school with after school programs with less than efficient employees and programs. Its just the way it is. i could ellaborate more but i would write a novel.
Now to address he slacker comment made by one of the students in the article. He is an ignoraimous. "why can't you people just talk like the rest of us" he says. well they could, but then nothing they descibed would live up to what hey knew it was. fireworks wouldnt be random explosions of radiant color over the ocean of onlookers anymore, they would be cool loud with colors over a bunch of people. See the difference???? i sure do. Words and vocabulary give experiences and memories so much more. Some would ask, how did this guy even get into college, well folks, its a lot easer than you think to sleep through highschool and get into college. And its true when the author says he doesnt want to learn what she has to offer, he doesnt, and part of the reason is because he didnt get pushed early on and he wasnt exposed to that type of literacy when he should have been, but most of it is because he doesnt care. And why doesnt he care you ask. well, to tell you the truth, its because learning just isnt alwasy the most important things on a college age mans plate. Hes got a lot to think about and he doesnt want to hassle with having to work to nderstand what his teacher is trying to get across to him. He just wants to understand and be done with it. So when he doesnt, this is where his frusttration comes from. He doesnt want to explore into the realm of unfamiliarity. he want s to stay in his comfort zone where he has control.
And the argument that the education system is to blame is false. The edu. system is always picked on because every joe shmoe thinks they can fix the worlds problems by going to what they see as the root, the publics education system. Wel the fact is its just not that easy. There are to many factors to calculate to fix anything that might be inhibiting society. Generally the school systems in this country should just be left alone. its up to the parents to teach what they dont.

Something to think about

Literacy to me is knowing and understanding certain catagories of jargon or speech. Just being able o comprehend and commicate with someone speaking that way. Certainly most parents are teenage iliterate and most teens dont want them to understand anyway so it works out well. I have all kinds of different literacies i think. Besides english and spanish, i can understand certain jargons from my different types of friends. Its good to be able to understand all of these different ways of communicating. It broadens your outlook on everything you come in contact with there after. The more experiences you have the more you are prepared for the unexpected. Having these literacies at your use allows a person to sit back and just observe how things are working around you. It gives you an understanding of it all. It all meaning life. So i guess i could say that literacy is an understanding of what is being communicated to you and around you. It is of major importance in our lives. Being able to communicate with others that are different than ourselves is key factor to be successful in today's world. You never know what or who you're going to cross paths with next so you should know as much as possible about how others communicate. Coming to college and being at purdue certainly is developing my literacies as well as adding a few to the list. And ofcourse my english class will help with that too.

sidenote-> I wish i was chinese literate, the chinese restaurant owners next door to me in my hometown always wanna talk, so i talk, but niether one of u understands what the other is saying. we just smile and are friendly to keep on terms with eachother.

first post ever!

hello my name is dan and this is my first blog ever so needless to say its my first on blogger .com