Comments for BP#6 - for students in the other 098 class

Please post comments on at least 8 blogs from the other class.  Answer the following questions in your comments:

1. Do you see both summary and reflection in the response/blog post?

2. Respond to the writer's (blogger's?) reflections. Give your opinions
  about their viewpoints.

3. Ask the writer (blogger?) questions related to their reflections.

Please finish these posts by the end of the weekend if you don't finish them in class.

Blog Post #6

Please write a summary and reflection about The Meatrix movies:

http://www.themeatrix.com/

Your response should include a small introduction and small conclusion, in addition to a summary of what we saw in The Meatrix movies and your reflection about it.

Think about the following questions to write your reflections:

• Did you know about the conditions of factory farms before watching these movies?
• Why are there so many factory farms? Why does the U.S. government allow such farms and conditions?
• Does this make you want to do research or know more about this situation?
• Do you think there is anything we can do about this problem?
• Why is it a serious problem? Why is it important to our families?
• Will you make any changes in your way of life regarding your purchasing of animal products? Why or why not?

Please post your BP #6 by Wednesday of this week (4/27).

Scroll Down for directions for Blog Post #4 and Blog Post #5

To my students:

Scroll down the page to see my instructions for Blog Post #4 and Blog Post #5.  I have posted other things that are relevant to our discussions about fast food, but these are not your assignments.

If you can only see one post, go to the bottom of the post and click on "Home" to see all the posts in my blog.

Regarding BP #5: if you had already posted some links to your favorite blogs, please go back and edit your post (use the yellow pencil icon at the bottom of your post) and add the other information, in addition to the links. You can also change the title of your post so that it is called "BP #5."

Regarding BP #4: you need to post your summaries from the lectures you attended on Thursday.

Have a nice Spring Break, and I'll see you the week after!

McDonald's to Hire 50,000 people

In this time of economic strife, when many businesses are needing to cut jobs, McDonald's is doing well.  They are planning to hire another 50,000 people!

See this brief story on NPR's website:

In 1 Day, McDonald's Will Hire 50,000 Workers

What do you think this means for McDonald's and how business is doing for them?

McDonald's Trying to Cash In on Locally Grown Food Trend

As some of us saw when watching the film "The Future of Food," many people are now choosing to buy only locally grown foods to be more green and avoid the fuel and transportation costs of importing food products long distances, which is traditionally what McDonald's has done.

Now, McDonald's is advertising that they are using "locally grown beef" in places like Canada, Ireland, and Italy.  See the article on this website:

http://www.burgerbusiness.com/?p=7052&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+burgerbusiness+%28%CE%B2urger%CE%B2usiness%29

The link above is a blog about burgers and the fast food industry, called "Burger Business"

Blog Post #5 - Links to Your Favorite Blogs

Please make BP #5 a way of sharing some of your favorite blogs with us!

Please add the links to a minimum of 5 other blogs (you can do MORE than 5, but NOT LESS than 5).

Here are some "rules" about the links you post:

1 - You need to give a brief description of the blog and the title of the blog IN ADDITION to the link to the blog. DO NOT just post links with no explanation.

2 - At least ONE of the blogs you link to must be ONE OF YOUR CLASSMATES.

3 - At least ONE of the blogs you link to must be for a blog that has something about fast food, or at least a blog post about fast food

4 - NO LINKS to any content that is offensive or cannot be shown to your mother. Or my mother. Or to a six-year-old child.


Here is an example of one blog listing - where I give (1) the name of the blog, (2) a brief explanation about the blog and its topics, and (3) a link to the blog:

EXAMPLE:

Daily Blog Tips

This blog has tips about blogging and what makes a good blog. It is mostly for businesses, but there are some good ideas for all bloggers.


http://www.dailyblogtips.com/

Happy blog-searching!

Blog Post #4 - Green Week Lecture Summaries

 

Four your fourth BP, please post summaries of the GreenEd lectures you attended on Thursday at LaGuardia during our class time.  You need to post **two lecture summaries.**

Your summaries should be at least 2 paragraphs:
1 paragraph summarizing what the speaker said
1 paragraph with your reflections about the topic

So to recap, 2 paragraphs:

SUMMARY + REFLECTION

Please add a few pictures (images) or links to relevant websites to make your summaries really interesting and blog-like.

 

More interesting blogs to see as examples

Engadget - Technology and gadget blog:
http://www.engadget.com/

Arch Daily - an architecture blog:
http://www.archdaily.com/

My Marrakesh - a blog about a guest house in Marrakesh, Morocco:
http://moroccanmaryam.typepad.com/my_marrakesh/

DisneyShawn - a blog about all things Disney from one of the "insiders" who works there:
http://disneyshawn.blogspot.com/

I Can Has Cheezburger - A blog with pictures of cats and strange spelling and grammar:
http://icanhascheezburger.com/

Sustainability at LAGCC and Green Week (next week!)

To view the projects and other information on sustainability that goes with our common reading (Fast Food Nation) this year, please visit LaGuardia's Sustainability website:

http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/sustainability/

Links to other blogs - look at these examples of the different ways blogs are used!

George's Employment Blawg (with a blog post about teens and fast food summer jobs):
http://www.employmentblawg.com/2007/teen-summer-jobs-rethinking-fast-food-option/

Decorah Eagles "Eagle Cam" - livestream video and blog about a new eagle family in Iowa - very popular now!
http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles

The Oatmeal - a blog with comics and guides (with a section on GRAMMAR!):
http://theoatmeal.com/tag/grammar

Serious Eats - A blog about cooking and fine foods:
http://www.seriouseats.com/

Pardon Me for Asking: - A blog from Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn (with a blog post about students visiting the Gowanus Canal):
http://pardonmeforasking.blogspot.com/2011/04/spence-students-visit-gowanus-area-and.html

More Than Heels - A blog about Fashion:
http://www.morethanheels.com/

My Damn Channel - a video blog (with a blog post about a race between a "big wheel" and an MTA bus in NYC):
http://www.mydamnchannel.com/Mark_Malkoff/Big_Wheel_vs__Bus/BigWheelVsBus_6922.aspx

The Meatrix!

Let's watch this video about the animal and meat industry.

http://www.themeatrix.com/

Blog Post #3 -

Please make your third blog post a small research paper on one of the topics we have been reading about and discussing in FFN.

Research news articles on one of these topics:

• fast food company history
• surburban communities
• problems with teenagers working
• bad working conditions for workers at fast food companies
• crime in fast food restaurants
• (or if you want to do another related topic, please ask me about it, I need to approve it)

Use the following websites to search for articles on the topic you choose:
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/

The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/home-page

USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/

The LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/

Colorado Springs Gazette
http://www.gazette.com/

The Orange County Register
http://www.ocregister.com/

Please write a short essay (at least 3 paragraphs) describing the information you found when researching and linking to at least 2 news articles that include information on the topic you are interested in.

• Write at least 3 paragraphs
• Include at least 2 links to different articles

You should write the paragraphs in your own words (not copying from the websites or articles) but you can quote from the articles.

Example of quoting:

This article discusses why people are protesting the plans to build a new fast food restaurant in Pleasant Hill, California.  According to the article, people say that "the chain 'will bring noise, pollution, crime, odors and traffic to their neighborhood." The people do not want to have the problems that the new restaurant could bring to their area.


http://fastfood.ocregister.com/2010/09/20/another-california-city-protests-in-n-out-burger/74122/


Example of paraphrasing (saying what the writer said in my own words):

Reporter Nancy Luna writes that the government had stopped In-N-Out from building a new restaurant due to problems it would cause for traffic in the town San Juan Capistrano.

http://fastfood.ocregister.com/2010/09/20/another-california-city-protests-in-n-out-burger/74122/