Group Blog post

Richard Nguyen

Asia

Hector

Our group decided to do The Walking Dead as our group project to relate it to Chris Hedges the Walking Dead. The Walking Dead is a show about people who are thrown into a war to survive in a world against zombies, and we relate it to Chris Hedges' book War is the Force That Gives us Meaning.  The first scene is when the sheriff is thrown into the world of zombies as he wakes up inside the hospital from his coma. This scene relates to Chris Hedges' book becasue of the destruction of culture, where it erases seperate individual's differences, and comes together to fight a common cause. Also becasue it appeals to one of the three rhetorical appeals, which is pathos, how they see themslves, and they see what situation they are in and decided to come and work together to fight the zombies.

  Another scene is when the two groups, the hispanic gangbangers and the sheriff's friends, try to fight against each other to get the guns. This appeals to the seduction of battle, where whoever gains control of the guns gets the power. This is a logos rhetorical appeal because their reasoning for getting the guns is the power to control over one another. In other words to control and give orders to those who are weak and helpless. Lastly, the final scene is when the hispanic gangbangers reveal themselves as  just custodians and nurses, who stayed behind to protect the elderly and sick. This appeals to the the cause of war, where war finds meaning in death, and the cause is mainly built on the backs of victims, portrayed as always innocent. But in this case, the cause is mainly built on the backs of the innocent elderly and sick patients left behind in the hospital. This appeals to ethos,how they see themslves, pathos,how they feel, because they know they are weak but they look to themselves as the caring for staying behind in the hospital to take care of the sick and elderly. Also they feel sympathy for them as well because there is no one else left to take care of them in a zombie apocalypse. Thats how The Walking Dead appeals to the three rhetorical appeals, and realtes to Chris Hedges' book War is the Force That Gives Us Meaning. 

Group assessment

Group Assessment.

 Richard Nguyen

Hector

Asia

Our group project was to compare and relate a TV. Show to one of the two books we read in class. We decided to go with the show called The Walking Dead and relate it to Chris Hedges' War is the force that gives us meaning. While we were discussing which TV show to do as our project, we all had great ideas, but when I threw the idea of using The Walking Dead, we all thought it was a great idea and decided to go with it. It was pretty easy picking our three different scenes to represent to project, and to be able to work with each other on this project. Asia broke up the project into pieces, like a puzzle, and we all chose our own parts to complete the project on. Asia decided to do the conclusion, Hector decided to work on the intro, and I decided to work on the blogs. But apparently we mistook each other to do one group blog, instead of doing each individual blog. So I decided I would help out whatever way I can for both the intro and the conclusion. If we had any problems with doing our parts, we would ask each other for help to push each other through to complete it. The only other problem we ran into was that Asia had never seen The Walking Dead before. But that was a quick fix because as soon as she started watching it, she got hooked, and began to have fun doing this project. This helped motivate our group to do this project because if you have doing something then more motivated you are to wanting to do it. So in the end, we were able to finally complete this project, and hopefully be able to present it with minor mistakes as possible.



Essay #4 The stage in a process



The Training Stage in MMA

Richard Nguyen

There is a lot of blood, sweat, and tears that martial artists, or also known as fighters, go through to prepare for a fight in a tournament. But what you may not know is what goes through the mind during each stage of training for the fight. Most of the stages that fighters go through are mostly a challenge to the fighter's state of mind, not to be confused with the term mind set. A mind set is the mentality of the fighter before he or she goes into a fight, while the term, state of mind, is what the fighter is thinking under the strain of training and fighting. One stage of training I like to focus on is the cardio work out to strengthen the fighter's endurance, and the strain it has on the mind and body. Cardio work out is the make or break point in a fighter's workout because it challenges the fighter's endurance to keep up a good challenge to his or her opponent. So the fighter would be able to keep up a good challenge for his or her opponent, and not be able to back down.

One particular cardiovascular workout that I will talk about particularly, and is most relatable by most people in general, is jogging. To be specific, I'll talk about a cross country type of jogging exercise, similar to the kind of exercise you would do in a high school cross country athletics team. But to give you a base of comparison, a cross country race is about three miles, but in a training exercise a fighter must run a longer distance in each exercise to increase his or her limit, and have a higher breaking point. A fighter that I will be talking about, hypothetically of course, will run about five miles. And this is on a track that is filled with turns and hills to test the fighter's ability to conquer obstacles, and was able to finish with a goal time of less than fifty minutes to finish the track. Otherwise, he can't cut it; it's that simple. If the fighter isn't able to finish this track, then he has no hope for sustaining a long endurance in a fight.

At first, starting off on a run, the fighter feels at ease, without any stress whatsoever. Starting off with a nice easy jogging type pace to conserve energy, for use later in the run, because he or she knows it will be a long training session. But how much energy can the this fighter muster up to finish this course is the biggest question in his or her mind right now because in a fight the opponent will try to use his or her energy wisely to win. In this case, the fighter is conserving energy to conquer the hardest obstacles he or she will encounter in this course. Such as the finally reaching the two mile mark, in the five mile course, and starting to feel an emptiness of energy while still needing to complete the rest of the run. Then slowly approaching to a two kilometer high, and very steep that the fighter needs to conquer, starting from the very bottom. The massive hill will test how the fighter's motivation and determination to finish the training course. By now the fighter's mindset is either eager to conquer the hill, excited for a challenge, or is amazed by the huge hill, and is at his or her breaking point. About eighteen minutes later, the fighter finally fought his or her way to the top, and conquers the massive hill with two miles left to finish the course. Right now the fighter is having a short lived victory in his or head from conquering the hill as motivation to finish the training course. This contributes to my overall opinion because the fighter will have to find motivation in a fight to keep his or her spirit lifted to not give up. For example, if the fighter wins the first round in a fight from the judges, it tells the fighter he or she has a chance of winning, and gives the fighter motivation to keep winning.

Unfortunately the last task to conquer before finishing the course is running through a series of turns in the course, which resemble a sidewinder snake. This will test the fighter's problem solving skills as to how he or she will complete the last part of the course. Fortunately the fighter kept a calm mind through the hill, and solved how he or she can finish the training course faster. Instead of simply running through each and every turn, the fighter decided to cut through each turn, running on both of the road and rock covered pavement. This allowed the fighter to get to the last stretch of the track to finish the course. Otherwise known as the kicker, the fighter kicks it into high gear, and uses the energy he or she has left to finish it under the fifty minute mark. Finishing under the fifty minute mark is a goal for the fighter, to accomplish a feeling of self-victory of surpassing his or her limits. If the fighter finishes under the fifty minute mark, it tells the fighter the he or she has accomplished a goal, and gives the fighter self-motivation to win in a fight.

With a heart beating three times the normal rate, breathing excessively gasping for air, and the finish line creeping faster to the fighter in his or her sight. The fighter finishes the five mile course in an amazing triumph of self-victory in less than fifty minutes at forty-five minutes exactly. The fighter is over joyed with excitement for completing training course, and is congratulating his or herself in amazement from not giving up through the course. That the fighter was able to complete all the challenges within the course without attaining a bit of doubt whether or not it could or couldn't be done.   

  But What if a fighter doesn't make it past this one stage of his or her MMA career? The truth of the matter is that many fighters find themselves dropping out at this stage more than the others. The reason for such a phenomenon is because they aren't able to handle the mental strain when their body's start to feel drained of energy. If the fighter starts to feel doubts, and starts wanting to give up, then most likely they will and lose the fight. The fighters who do stay in the game are usually the ones who have the heart and the mental strength to overcome all obstacles to win in a fight. This is a make or break point to test the fighter if he or she has the heart and mental strength to do whatever it takes in training to win.        

Essay #3: Redefine essay BTSC

Marijuana Redefined

Richard Nguyen

Let me first point out the obvious, and basic facts. Marijuana is a hemp plant that contains an ingredient called tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as delta-9-tetrahdrocannabinol, which is the main component in marijuana that makes people have a "high" feeling in their body. This chemical is found in the leaves, buds and flowers of the marijuana plant.  Despite the fact that it is less harmful than most other drugs, including tobacco and alcohol, it is the most common drug people are arrested for possessing. But marijuana wasn't always illegal to begin with; in fact it was first legal when it was first introduced to America. Let me give you a quick lesson on how marijuana started from being legal, to illegal, and back to legal again in some certain states. I want to give this lesson because most people gorw up and learn what marijuana is by doctors and the stereo types that people give it before actually understanding the background of marijuana. In other words, one must understand and be educated about something before one can make his or her own judgement.

First let me tell you how marijuana was first used in the early Americas before it became a drug. Marijuana was first introduced to America as a material that was used for clothing and rope in the early 1600's. In Jamestown, during 1611, marijuana was grown because the English introduced it to them, and later became a major commercial crop alongside tobacco. Until 1776 many colonies passed laws to encourage farmers to produce Hemp, Virginia designed laws to compel farmers, fining those who did not comply. In fact by 1750 to 1799 the first president of the United States cultivated Indian hemp, which could also be used for fiber and medicinal purposes, on his farm. By the 1920's, marijuana started to catch onto the authorities' attentions because of the effects it has on the body. New Mexico was the first to outlaw marijuana, and then other states started to follow suit with marijuana prohibition laws; including Wyoming (1915), Texas (1919), Iowa (1923), Nevada (1923), Oregon (1923), Washington (1923), Arkansas (1923), and Nebraska (1927).

In other words since marijuana was medically, and scientifically proven bad for you, then it must be prohibited for all to use. But through time, many more people started getting inventive on how to grow, smoke, and even eat marijuana illegally to surpass the legal system. People doing these activities to go around the legal system were only adding to the idea that marijuana is bad for one's health and others'. By doing something illegally means to do also means to add a bad reputation for someone or something. In this case marijuana got a bad reputation by the people who were using it illegally. As time passes, the more people who illegally use marijuana, the more of bad reputation marijuana gets. In other words, because of the bad reputation, marijuana just got stuck being studied about how it is bad for the body instead of how it can positively help others. This adds to my argument because the reputation dubbed marijuana to be bad, and therefore left people deciding to leave marijuana to be viewed as a harmful drug. To some others, fortunately, this has change in some states in the U.S. where there are studies showing promise that marijuana can have health benefits.

Studies started to show promising advances in the medical field that marijuana can actually have some health benefits. Such as smoking medical marijuana can help reduce the pain in a person who has cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Also, not only to help with pain relief in general, with someone who has nausea or glaucoma. So far patients in California and in Colorado have claimed that medical marijuana has helped with their medical issues, and started to give marijuana a good reputation. If medical marijuana is proven to help those in need for medical purposes, then marijuana will start to get a better reputation for itself, and get legalized in more states than just California and Colorado. This would be how the idea that marijuana is bad for one's health to being able to help one's health.

Marijuana started off being a natural resource that was a good product to grow for the American economy, such as for clothing and rope. But later was viewed as a bad substance for people to use because of the people who misused it, and started to give it a bad reputation because of their actions. It was because of their actions that started the idea that marijuana could be nothing more than just a bad substance or drug. To add more to the growing idea that marijuana was bad for you, the government condemned it to be illegal for people to use. But now, thanks to the study in the medical field, there became ways to show that the idea of marijuana being bad for one's health can change into an idea that it has beneficial medical use. If people start thinking positive that marijuana can help people medically, then the idea that marijuana was bad for can start to fade away and have a starting point to help people's lives. So in conclusion, marijuana can start to have a change in the idea from: marijuana is bad for you, to marijuana can be helpful to you, by giving it a chance to see if it can actually be beneficial to someone's health.

Citation surces for Essay #2

"The science of marijuana how THC affects the barin." Scholastic Scope 9 Jan. 2012: Research Library, ProQuest. Web. 6 Feb. 2012.

Carly Weeks. "Marijuana may increase smokers' risks, study says. " The Globe and Mail 14 Apr. 2009,SIRS Researcher Online, ProQuest. Web. 6 Feb. 2012.

"Cannabis is useful. " The Hutchinson News 3 Jan. 2012, ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.

Sharon Kirkey. "Medical marijuana shows promise for pain; But scientists and doctors are divided on the medical value of smoking medication. " The Vancouver Sun 12 Dec. 2011, ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.

Essay #2 Arguing without prescribing

 Medical Marijuana: The Indecision Issue

Richard Nguyen

Many people have a lot of skepticism towards marijuana and its uses, whether it is for medical purposes or simply to get high. But mostly on impulse or the first train of thought, what many people have in mind at the very moment of hearing the word "marijuana" is that it’s an illegal drug that makes the smoker get high. It is common sense to dictate that marijuana simply makes people get high and have harmful effects on both the body and mind because it is also common knowledge. To be honest, that is what I have grown up to believe in. That is what I was taught defines marijuana, but there are others who argue that it is also beneficial to the studies of medicine as well. The main question that I want to ask, then, is this: "is medical marijuana actually beneficial to medical use, instead of just being a drug for many people to get high on?"

When marijuana was first acknowledged in the U.S. it was immediately illegalized and was seen as a drug by many citizens, and it also became an opportunity to make illegal money for drug dealers. These are the two main causes for all the states in the U.S. to illegalize it, and to automatically brand the substance as prohibited for all to stay away from. To this day, in the states in which marijuana is illegal, people have been smuggling and using marijuana just to get high or for pain relief. The issue here is that while medical marijuana smokers are smoking to gain the medical benefits, i.e. pain releif from chemotherapy, for their health issues, in some states, most doctors are still a little bit skeptical on how helpful the drug can be, so they don't endorse it or recommend it as much as regular medicine. Even though most doctors think that medical marijuana isn't helpful, there are still some doctors who think that medical marijuana is actually beneficial. In a quote, writer Sharon Kirkey says,  "But research into medicinal marijuana is undergoing a surge of interest, with more evidence emerging not only of its ability to ease human suffering, but also of its apparent safety.” (Kirkey, A4) This quote is a good example, by Sharon Kirkey, of how the medical field is still skeptical about the marijuana usage, even though it helps people beneficially for health reasons.

Yes, there is an interest of study into the usage of medical marijuana, which solves the problem of medical study of marijuana, but it still doesn't solve the problem of skepticism about the study and the uses for it. Mostly because of the common knowledge of what marijuana was originally used for as a drug, before scientists and doctors started to begin thinking of using it as medicine, and because of that doctors and other medical researchers were studying about the harmful effects of marijuana as a drug. Such as certain users or smokers will have different effects on the human brain. For example, young teens that smoke or use marijuana will show poor academic performance and might even get addicted to it. “But scientific research shows that there are risks, especially for teens. For those who use it regularly, it can lead to poor academic performance, or even addiction." ("The science of marijuana how THC affects the barin." 22)That is just one example of how many people discover about how marijuana can harm the human body. In other words marijuana just got stuck being studied about how harmful it is to people or the human body in general. While others started to have an opened mindedness for thinking that it can actually be beneficial to people.

The issue here is all about how people argue about their differences on the uses for marijuana. While one doctor or medical scientist is studying about the harmful effects of marijuana, the other is researching how beneficial it is to the human body medically. An example how medical researchers and doctors can contradict each other, is that they always find a new fact or issue about marijuana be to both beneficial and harmful to the body. While one doctor says "marijuana smoke won't damage the lungs of the human body." The other doctor says “marijuana smoke has harmful effects of smoking and greatly boosts respiratory problems." "Cannabis doesn't damage the lungs like tobacco smoke, which changes the small airways and causes long-term and permanent damage."("Cannabis is useful.”)"The disease, which is often caused by smoking, actually encompasses a few disorders, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. People with COPD often have difficulty breathing and shortness of breath, and experience increased coughing." (Carly Weeks. L4) I other words it is a way for both doctors and medical researchers to say that they are both half wrong all the time.

That mainly sums up how the medical study on marijuana works for doctors and medical researchers. To rephrase my point, doctors will always have an argument with each other, proving one person is right and the other is wrong; by discovering new material about marijuana and to disapprove each other's theorize about it. This causes an endless cycle between the two arguments to always discover new material about marijuana. But in my opinion, I cannot decide whether it is beneficial to human health or not because I cannot form an unbiased opinion. I have never smoked marijuana yet so I cannot say that I am able to form an honest opinion because I only know about marijuana through readings, and other people who have smoked it. But until I experience medical marijuana first hand, to fully understand the effects and benefits of it, I can finally have both sides of the argument to form a well-developed opinion of whether it is beneficial to human health or not.

Summarizing citation sources for essay #2

                     In the first citation or source is about a study in Canada about how smoking marijuana may increase health risks in patients to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is often caused by smoking, and has a some irregularities such as bronchitus and emphysema. Bronchitus is the infection to the bronchial tubes and is mostly caused by cigarette smoke, and emphysema is a disease in the lungs that is characterized by the air gaps or spaces in the lungs. These two disorders are just some of the added side effects to COPD when smoking marijuana or cigarettes, and they are one of the leading causes of death in Canada. The second source is about the study of medical marijuana, and that it can help with pain during chemotherapy for cancer patients. There are synthetic versions of the chemical compund THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) that is found medical marjiuana, or mainly marijuana in general, available for medical prescription use for patients. Although some patients who take the medications still get high sometimes but they are allowed to reduce or custoize the dosage, so they wont get high.

Marijuana may increase smokers' risks, study says
Carly Weeks. "Marijuana may increase smokers' risks, study says. " The Globe and Mail 14 Apr. 2009,SIRS Researcher Online, ProQuest. Web. 6 Feb. 2012.


Medical marijuana shows promise for pain; But scientists and doctors are divided on the medical value of smoking medication
Sharon Kirkey. "Medical marijuana shows promise for pain; But scientists and doctors are divided on the medical value of smoking medication. " The Vancouver Sun 12 Dec. 2011, ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.