I just watched a documentary film related to the research paper I am doing recently. I again, I was overwhelmed. This film is called “Death on a Factory Farm” released by HBO channel. The film is about HFO’s undercovered investigation of Wiles Hog Farm and the followed court case. Part of this film was recorded by a hidden camera carried by an undercovred investigator. The film was based on reality and it was very graphic to watch. The Wiles Hog Farm was accused of animal abuses eventually. However, result on the court was more shocking than the story.

Youtube – Death on a Factory Farm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfiolWwzD94

Do you have habits? If you ask me a habit that everybody should try to develop, I would say writing journals.

According to Ericson Ay Mires, there are 5 reasons why you should writing journals:

1. Journals help you have a better connection with your values, emotions, and goals

2. Journals Improve mental clarity/help solve problems/improve overall focus

3. Journals improve insight and understanding

4. Journals track your overall development

5. Journals facilitate personal growth

Full article:

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/journal-writing-5-smart-reasons-why-you-should-start-doing-today.html

There is a very good way to improve your English speaking and listening – watching TV and movies. I mean programs from American cable and websites, and movies in American theaters. The only aid you have would is the “closed captioning”. The closed captioning is basically a synchronous subtitle technology that is commonly applied on television shows. The captioning might be inaccurate sometimes. But trust me, it is a great way to learn English. Because when you potentially pay attention to the difference between the subtitles and what you hear, which is a self-learning process. Besides, it is fun! Furthermore, when you are in a movie theater, there is no subtitles. The situation forces you to pay more attention on listening. If you are afraid to get lost during the movie, start from some simpler movies. Such as some animation movies, not cartoons. As I noticed the animation movie makers try to make the conversation in the movies simpler and more straightforward, which is easier for kids. Kids don’t like to hear complicated stuff for sure.

Anyways, get a TV service in your house or just go to a movie theater and pick something you would like to watch. It’s a great way to improve your English.

Gathering pictures.

Trying to make a draft on what I am going to say.

Picking up some video editing skills.

Not so stressed about it.

I had my car’s tank half filled 2 days ago. Because I thought $3.19/gal for regular is a good deal. Well, apparently I was wrong because the price dropped. The good thing was that I only filled half of my tank. So I filled the other half when I saw the price was $3.02/gal last night. However, when I was passing by the gas station on my way to class, the price board showed $2.98. I had not seen gas price lower than $3 for a long long time and I missed it.

This is really not a big deal. I might just spend 2 more dollars on gas. But some times it is just not a good feeling and you just want to complain about it.

Football is the most popular sport in America, for sure. However, it is not as popular in many other places of the world. For lots of proper who just started watching football, it looks like a bunch of big guys trying to tackle each other, especially the guy who is holding that ball. The game seems quite violent and dangers because there is so much physical impact in the game. But actually all the players are very well trained and protected by theor equipment and experience. And when you really understand the rules of footbal, you will see it is such a fun sport.

There are 53 active rosters on each team, 11 of them play on the field each time. Let us talk about the positions on offense first.

Quarterback: as I know, he is the “core” of a team. He catches the ball from the center when the offense starts, and decide wether to pass the ball to a wide receiver or a running back, or just take care of the play by himself.

Center: this guy is the one in the middle of the offense line. He passes the ball to the quarterback at the beginning of an offence.

Wide receive: they are always on the wide side of the offence line and ready to catch the ball passed by the quarterback.

Running back: they are the ones behind the quarter when offence starts. They get the ball from the quarterback and try to find a “hole” of the defense line to run through. Then they run as fast as they can to get a touchdown. And yes, they might be the fastest guys in the team.

Offence guard: the 2 guards are placed on eather side of the center, they protect the quarter back and the running back.

Offence tackle: the 2 offence tackles are lined up outside of each guard. They are protectors as well.

The duty of each position might vary depends on the play.

I am really used to say “What’s up” and “How’s it going” when I see my friends these years. I know it is basically just like a “Hi” or “Hello” in other languages, such as my first language, Chinese. However, when I hear people say it is kinda useless or silly to have such a long greeting, I get defensive. And it happens a lot.

Asking “how are you?” is the way that a person shows he/she is really being friendly. And it is really a nice thing to ask back. Even this entire conversation might only last for 2 seconds and it will hardly change anything if you don’t do it, this form of greeting might bring you some sort of positive energy in your busy and stressed life. So answer and ask back with a smile, do not just nod your head or make a strange sound that is hard to understan. You know what I mean, because I have done the same thing.

When you are trying to understand something in your life here in America, try to understand it in English, in the language where the conversation or event is s based on. Think in English, instead of translating it to your own language then try to understand. I know it might make things easier,  it may also change the meaning as well.

I am not a vegetarian. Meat is a major protein source in my food. I like grilling very much. However, I always have my choice for the meat that I am going to buy in the market. Maybe I have to spend a little more money, but I know what I am eating is better for me, and better for the animals. Also, I want people to know the animals hunted from the woods are not as poor as those raised in factory farms.

The hunted animals are killed in a very quick way by the hunters. They might suffer for several seconds, but this is it. How about the animals in the factory farms? I have to say the following contents might be horrifying for you.

According to new-harvest.org, “Factory farming has been labeled as the biggest cause of animal cruelty in the world.” The animals are raised in a very limited space through the most of their life time; they are under stress and fear; they are fed with food additives; they are exposed in overheat or extremely cold environments when being transported; their nature behaviors such as scratching and nesting are very limited; they are not even killed in a quick way….

It is true that human is on the top of the food chain. However, it is never our born right to treat all other animals as “food”, an object, and just torture them. Animals are living beings too! Moreover, if the animals you eat are not raised in a healthy way, do you think it is healthy to eat their meat?

I am not saying we all need to become vegetarians, what I am saying is that we need to consume our food with appreciation, and in a right way. If you do not know how to distinguish what kind of food you are eating, it is quite simple. Go grab some milk from Walmart and Whole Foods, and just compare what is on their packages, you will find something you never think about before.

There is a good movie to watch. Be careful before watching it because it might change the way you eat.

For this digital story assignment, I will try to make it a little fun to watch. I do not know so much techniques about video editing but I will do what I can.

The first part of the video is about my childhood. The story is a very major reason that makes me choose this filed I am currently studying.

The second part is about my life in Kansas in the last 4 years. (See the outline.)

2010-11 – New life in the U.S.. Culture shock, language, travelling, etc.

2011-12 – Division II football national champion. Friends.

2012-13 – Study. School experience.

2014 – present – Senior year. OSU.

The third part I would like to talk about my expectations about future.

Writing is never an easy task for me. Maybe because of my major, using pictures, charts, and tables are always my first choices when I am trying to explain things. However, outstanding writing is such a crucial skill for a person’s career. Especially as a graduate student who will do lots of research and writings before graduating.

I can see a lot of challenges for me in this 5901 class. As part of all these writing assignments, this blog thing would be my favorite. To be honest, I even do not Facebook or Twitter very often. Let alone a blog that might need more words in it. However, instead just one sentence of my status, this blog gives me more space to talk about what I am thinking, feeling, and experiencing. Maybe it is funny to say that I feel like my memory is not as good as a teenager any more. This blog would probably become my journal and keep my memories fresh.

Let’s get started.