Pg. 166 Text Response

The article titled “Danger Is Their Middle Name", in our textbook, is written by senior staff writer Chris Sashawaty. In Nashawaty’s article he introduces the Eppers, a multi-generational family of Hollywood stunt people. He establishes their role in Hollywood history, while a photographer named Art Streiber captures their talents. To sum up the article, it gives readers a sense of not only what stunt people do but also of what’s at stake for their craft as film making technologies become ever more sophisticated. The family is so dedicated in their work that one stuntman from the family, named Kurtis Epper, and says “I’ll probably keep doing it until I can’t walk anymore- like mom”. Near the end, the article focuses on how stunt people aren’t really needed that much in the industry anymore. It’s more of a hobby. However, the Eppers family feels that movies will always need crazy men and women working in the shadows, doing crazy stuff that actors are afraid to do. They also feel that cars will still need to be flipped and people will still need to be set on fire. They’ll always be needed as long as movies are still in filming processes.

E-Cigs Are Safer Than Regular Cigarettes

For my argumentative paper, I’ll be dealing with the topic of E-Cigs. Some people think it’s safer than regular cigarettes and others don’t quite agree. This topic is meaningful to me because I have friends and family that smoke. Researching an alternative option for them could possibly convince them to start smoking safer cigarettes:  E-cigs.  This topic is relevant to everyone because we all have someone in our life that smokes cigarettes. My role as the writer is to convince the audience that individuals who smoke regular cigarettes should consider smoking E-cigs because they’re a safer alternative. My position is more logical because the facts behind them are convincible that they’re far better than regular smoking cigarettes. First, nicotine itself is not a carcinogen, and has roughly the same effect in the body as does caffeine, although it is believed to be far more addictive. Cigarettes contain a cocktail of carcinogenic and addictive chemicals, especially Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamines which are produced from curing tobacco (fermenting). The "juice" as it's called in e-cigs is generally comprised of water, nicotine, and propylene glycol, which is used in foods and cosmetics and most importantly is readily absorbed by the body; hence it will not stay in your lungs. Cigarettes contain "tar", a partly combusted plant resin which is carcinogenic, which does stay in the lungs and builds up over time, as well as stains your teeth. I would be careful about flavored e-cigs and those from China with low quality controls in juice production however.

Pg. 415 Text Response

The article titled “Letter to the Editor: Response to “The Ethanol Scam” in our text book, is an article written by Bob Dinneen of the Renewable Fuels Association. It was written in response to an August 2007 Rolling Stone feature article criticizing biofuels. In his letter, Dinneen observes that the editors and reporters at the magazine fail to understand “the complexities of world energy markets and need for ethanol and other renewable fuels.” Dinneen draws on evidence from published studies and government reports to support his reasoning. He stresses the inattention Mr. Goodell and Rolling Stone had prior to submitting their one side of the argument. He strongly feels they didn’t quite understand the role of renewable fuels like ethanol could play in our nation. I think a lot of times, people jump to conclusions about issues without fully being informed about the topic. Before declaring sides, people should definitely review both sides. I’ve had classes where we’ve had debates and I don’t like them. In a short amount of time, we’re expected to pick a side and defend it. I’m so indecisive when it comes to these kinds of things; I need time to fully understand both sides. 

Little Girls and Makeup

During spring break, my best friend came back to town along with her little cousin. Her cousin was only 9 and she wore excessive amounts of makeup. This girl had cakey foundation, bright eye shadow, heavy eyeliner, and lipstick on. Her eyebrows were drawn on too. I am not exaggerating when I say this, but her makeup was ridiculously heavy. It wasn’t cheap makeup either. My best friend is pretty good at makeup, so I originally thought that she had done it on her little cousin. This was not the case. The girl had done her makeup by herself and claimed to do it like that regularly. I was shocked. I think 9 years of age is too early to start wearing heavy makeup. Anything heavy before age 13 is too young. I found it tacky to see the girl with that much makeup. Apparently her parents didn’t care she wore that much of it.  It was more makeup than I wear. I started wearing makeup in 7^th grade; it was just light eye shadow and mascara though. After seeing this 9 year old girl, it made me wonder what causes young girls to want to wear makeup earlier than others. I think hormones, society, and media pressure girls these days to be something they’re not. Out of curiosity, I ended up asking my best friend’s cousin what made her wear makeup. She said she wears it so she can feel older.