Assignment #3, week 13

Why has our realisation about the climate changes been so slow?

First I like to make the bold statement that it hasn't just BEEN slow, it IS slow!! And I think it has to do with the fact that we are so eager to maintain and proceed with our current lifestyle, that we block out those things that would force us into leaving this lifestyle behind.

Another reason that can make our realisation slow, is that we know how far back our world's history goes, and how short a time WE are here. This fact might result in that we think that it doesn't matter what we do, "the harm is allready done" or "there's nothing to be done anymore", so why bother? These thoughts can be an indication that we don't have much belief in our selves or in our fellow human beings, we choose to not put as much blame on our selves as we probably should. Some researches show that cows' farting are a greater danger than our factories gas outlets, but cows' have allways farted, so that can't be right, or can it?

Which ever the reason might be for our slow intake on the magnitude of our lifestyles effect on this globe of ours, I must say that we all need to wake up!! It's so easy to start with little things like using ecological brands when we can, use a textile bag instead of those made of paper or plastic, or why not recycle, start a compost, switch the lights off when we're not in a room, shower instead of taking a bath and so on...There are so many simple things we can do to make our impact on the planet as small as possible. on top of this, we can make a huge impact, in a positive sense, by making demands to politicians and company owners!!

So, what are YOU willing to let go off for the sake of hanging on to a healthier planet Earth??

Assignment #2, week 11

This assignment made me realize that I'm not following as many series as I used to about a year ago. At that time I just HAD TO watch CSI (both the original series AND the spinoffs), I watched Desperate Housewives and Medium (and some other series that I don't remember the names of right now)...on top of this I was, and still am a sucker for America's next top model. Nowadays however, I watch CSI New York and I try to make time to watch the re-runs of ANTM (America's next top model). But I have to say that the TV is more off than on these days and I think it has to do with the fact that our family tries to do things together when we are at home, since we spend so much time away from each other.

So, why do I watch these series then? For CSI it's easy to say: I just love Grissom and his somewhat awkward way with people. I also find it fascinating to see how crime scene investigators work, and how they can solve crimes that seem impossible to even understand the course of events for. An other aspect I find intriguing is the psycological one, how the characters are influenced by the crimes they are investigating and how their relations to one another change throughout the series. The reason why I watch ANTM is somewhat the same as for CSI (psycological and social relations), but this time it's also my fascination for the real problems and how the girls in the house behave when they live so close together with people they don't know from the beginning. The interplay between the girls can be really interesting and I find it especially interesting to see that it's most often the worse sides of the girls behaviour that surface more and more, as the series proceeds.

My personal reflection about TV series in general and why we watch them, is simply that they let us escape from our real world for a moment. They let us see something different than what we see at home or at our jobs/schools every day. Furthermore I think that anyway some of us watch series that in some way connect to our beliefs in life or our view on things in this world (like, for instance, Medium in my case , I'm convinced that there is more to this world than meets the eye!). In other words, we watch series and programmes that make us tick! What makes you tick?