Thursday, August 30, 2012

Conference Title


Hi bloggers! Tonight I would like to talk about the championship game for the Big Ten Conference.  It is absolutely ridiculous that the best teams are not necessarily the two teams that go to the championship game. With Ohio State and Penn State ineligible to win the Leaders Division due to violations, Wisconsin is now the favorite by 3 games!  That means they could go 8-4 and still go to the championship game. That is absolutely ridiculous.  The Legends Division has Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, and Nebraska all going for the division title.  There could be two teams that finish 10-2 while Wisconsin finishes 8-4 and one of the Legends teams would be denied a shot at the Rose Bowl.  I propose a win/loss rule that is imposed within the Big Ten stating: Any team that has 3 conference games shall lose their automatic qualifier to the championship game.  Instead, a comity will decide the final team to enter into the championship game.  This is a compromise on both sides.  It keeps the automatic qualifier with a catch that you have to win 6 conference games.  The championship game is meant for the top two teams, not the top teams in a division.

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School Lunch

Hey bloggers, I would like to talk to you today about the recent changes of the school lunches in Cedar Rapids.   As you know, there has been a big push to get junk food and sweets out of the vending machines and lunch lines.  Before you go blaming Michele Obama and rioting about the changes, take in these statistics.  One third of American children in 2010 were considered obese.  In 1965, that number was five percent.  The children defined in these studies were between six and twelve years old.  That is a gigantic difference that needs to be addressed by the government.  Children are not to blame for being obese.  They are young and not able to make their own decisions.  It is up to the government to provide a healthy option that does not add excessive weight to the child.  Another study done by F.R.A.C. (Food Research and Action Committee) showed that children who grow up in poverty are twice as likely to become obese.  It’s not the kid’s fault that they are going up without proper nutrition.  They can’t help what their parents make.  It is up to the government to ensure that all kids have access to fruits and vegetables in school.  They need it.  The government is not doing this to punish high school students, they are doing it protect the health of our future.  So before you go rioting or blame Michelle Obama for changing the district menu, think: Do you really need a piece of cake?

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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Who am I?


          Who am I? As you read my blog you will see that your thought of a person is based heavily on your perception of them.  Psychology plays an enormous role in our daily lives and yet we pay little attention to it.  The words I use to describe myself will frame your perception of me as you know it.
          My name is Jonathan. The meaning of your name can really describe a person. Whether good, or bad, you are named what you are for a reason.  I was named Jonathan after my uncle Jonathan who died when he was only two.  In honor of him, my first name is Jonathan.    Jonathan in Hebrew means Gift from God. A gift from God is very general.  It can be as simple as you are on this Earth, which is the gift, or the fact that you will be the one to make a huge change in the world.  I guess what I do will determine the interpretation.
          I am an athlete who loves competition. I am a football fanatic.  I am an Iowa Hawkeye fan.  Hawkeyes are my heart and soul.  I go to every Hawkeye football game and try to be the loudest fan on every opponent 3rd down. I am also a swimmer.  In the winter, I wake up at 5 am to jump in a cold pool and swim.  After school, we get right back in the pool.  We crush through 6000 yards a day in hopes of improving our time.  If I am not playing or watching sports, I am usually thinking about it.      
          My thinking tends to shift from subject to subject.  You can see it in the writing above.  I look at things logically and analyze the facts. I look at numbers and tend to make decisions based on my mind over my heart.  I love math and proving equations work.  I think theoretically for fun and to make others think.  People call me the devil’s advocate because I will argue both sides just to make you provide evidence for your side.
          I like to go to the garden and plant flowers.  On Mondays, I water the roses.  On Tuesday, I water the petunias.  Wednesday is saved for the bleeding hearts.  I water them at exactly 3 p.m. every day.  I plant them every year on March 29th. September 21 is my favorite day of the whole year.  It is the day I get to pick my flowers. I go out at noon with scissors and cut each flower individually until every stem is cut.  I place them in water in my room and enjoy the smell and sight of the flowers for days.
          That was a lot to take it.  I want you to go back when I say and read each one like it was the only thing written for the post about me.  First, go back and read paragraph 2 alone.  You might get the perception that I am a little pompous and haughty.  That was the goal.  Now read paragraph 3 alone.  You might consider me to be a sports guru who loves sports more than anything.  This is most likely due to the connotations placed in the paragraph.  Such words and phrases as fanatic, crush, and thinking about sports tend to lead you to think that I am a sports guy.  Move to the paragraph 4.  After you read this paragraph, you may have thought that I was a logical person who likes to argue.  You might have come up with the word nerd or geek.  It is common for this to happen because of the association we place with phrases.  Many times when a person says he likes proving math equations right, we automatically assign him the title of nerd.  There are a lot of phrases that people say that spark associations. For example, what’s the snack that smiles back? Everyone will answer goldfish because their brain associates those words to goldfish.  Let’s take a look at paragraph 5.  When I read this, I saw a very organized person who always liked to stay on schedule and have a specific time for everything.  It also might sound a little feminine because it talked about enjoying the smell and sight of flowers.
          So how much of this is actually true? Maybe half of the details were true.  That’s not the point though.  The point is that there are so many ways to perceive someone that it makes a question like “Who am I?” impossible to answer.  Who am I to my parents? My friends? My enemies? You are perceived as a totally different person based on how you act to the person.  I leave you with this. Next time you meet someone, think about how you would like to be perceived.  

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