assigned entry #6 - Is blogging worth it?

In my personal opinion, blogging is a very good way for people to get their ideas out on to the world wide web. When people all across the world begin a blog, their point is to either share a personal enjoyment, or even inform the followers of the blog. There are personal blogs, and there are professional blogs. There are also blogs assigned to you for college projects... (hint hint;this blog), however no matter what kind of blog you're writing, there is always a certain group of people who you are trying to entertain. These people are called your audience.
In my opinion, i liked blogging, however the only thing i would change about the project would be to make it a more personal blog. The personal blogs are more fun to write because you can literally write them about anything. Everything from food to cars and soccer. I don't think i took this blogging project all that serious, but if English was my only class to take, then i would have wound up taking it much more seriously. Blogs are honestly alot of hard work to keep up and maintain! One thing I did learn from the blogging project was that people from all over the world are interested in blogging, and it's really interesting when you see that people from other countries are actually following your blog. I personally had someone from South Korea follow me, and I was like, "whaaaaaaat?!". I do believe that this wasn't necessarily useful for the class, however it definitely was something different, and something that was totally worth doing. Now I can say that I am a blogger! Chris, if there was anything to change about this blogging project, it would be to make it a personal project. I believe if you only had assigned entry dates with any topic by the choice of the blogger; it would motivate us to do the blogs on time and more often! However I'm really glad i learned how to blog, it was something worth learning!!

Assigned Entry #4 - Driving Lowered Cars

Many people all across the globe own a vehicle of some sort. Whether it be a motorcycle, car, truck, van, or even a motorized bicycle. However one of the most hated on types of cars in the world is lowered cars. People hate lowered cars because we have to drive slowly, carefully, and we essentially hold up traffic. But there is much more to the "low-life style" than people think. Having a lowered car is a personal preference to how a car looks. Everyone sees their car differently, and personally I like them low. There is something soooooooooooooooooo attractive to a lowered car, that every car I have had has been lowered. Many people believe that lowering your car totally messes it up, however that is the exact opposite of what happens. Contrary to popular belief, driving a lowered car can save you money on gas because it literally won't let you floor it or give it heavy throttle without damaging it. You also can't hurt your suspension with a lowered car because you must find ways to adapt to driving it, as seen on the video below.

Lowered cars are also not cheap, so one of my personal pet peeves are when people tell you that lowering your car is ghetto. Lowering a car has a lot more to it than simply dropping the body. There are countless hours spent in a garage, as well as hundreds of dollars in parts you have to buy. My first car, which was a 1993 Acura Integra had a lot of money put into it. I had money invested into wheels, tires, a handmade oil pan to avoid scrapes, new springs, shocks, and struts throughout the car. It was my baby, however since lowered cars have to drive slower than normal cars, some guy in a truck "didn't see " my turn signal on and plowed into the back of my car at 45 mph, which totaled my baby. If I was driving a normal car, i could have taken the turn at a normal speed, but instead, i had to slow down. That is probably the only bad side of having your car lowered. Just remember if you do decide to lower your car, make sure you have time to deal with all the hassle of having one as well! The picture below was my first car!

assigned entry #4 - Capitalism at its finest

Micheal Moore did a very good job on the documentary he made titled Capitalism: A Love Story. 

He had much emphasis on the fact that he believed capitalism was a wrongdoing by the government to Americans, and that it was his civil duty to stop it. In the documentary he actually goes to a few places and acts like he is going to rob them, or try to get the money that the government is essentially stealing from us. This was a very funny and entertaining movie, however some of his uncanny antics came out, and he could have gotten into some real trouble for what he did. In the scene where he went and took the armored truck and backed it up to that massive bank and acted like he was going to take the money back, if he would have done that in real life, without confronting the banks about it, he would've most likely been arrested. His film did use a very good way of getting the information out to the people. He had well trusted people such as mayors and general managers of companies speak out about what has been going on in America in the last 50 years, as well as almost completely unknown people talk about their points of view.

Another interesting part in the movie was the part where he went to the factory where the workers were about to get laid off, and he spoke with most of them. The best part about that whole story is the fact they still stood up for what they believed in, whereas most people would have just let it happen. In America, not many people stand up for what they believe in anymore. and to me, this was proof that there is still some good left in America.

Daft Punk hints at a new album?

Daft Punk is the undisputed face, or faces, of club music. They are truly pioneers of the way dance and club music has come to be today. One of the most bizarre things about this group however, is that they rarely reveal themselves. No one knows what kind of work Daft Punk is doing. Whether it be in their basement, studio, or perhaps outer space. Many people believe that the duo sit in an isolated space with blinking lights for hours at a time until music finds a way to enter their brain and then out into the MIDI boards and Synthesizers. Whatever they do, they leave no traces, no Tweets, Facebook posts, Instagram pics, nothing. Just the occasional tour dates. Pictured below is the iconic helmets that they wear for every single show.

Recently, the iconic dance/club music group daft Punk teased American audiences with a 10 second audio clip of what sounded like new recordings. It appeared as a commercial on an episode of Saturday Night Live, and left audiences all across America salivating with curiosity. Every Daft Punk fan knows that the last real 'studio' album that they did was "Human After all". However they have released 4 other albums, not entirely studio recorded. They did the "Alive 2007" album, which was a live recorded album. It was nothing short of amazing. They also released "Musique Vol. 1", which was a greatest hits album in a way. once again, Brilliant. Their most recent and probably most well known album in the US was the "Tron: Legacy" soundtrack. Their other album they released was a version of the Tron soundtrack that fellow electronica music makers had remixed. All of these albums were nothing short of an electric masterpiece. I pray to the Gods of dance music that this is the truth, and that this isn't just a rumor. I also hope that they plan on coming to America again before they "disappear", because they have only performed here one time in the USA in 2010.

Assigned Entry #3: Well done ASU

ASU has outdone themselves once again. What kind of student doesn't like the sound of less cost, less time, and more efficiency? With these new shortened classes that the University is offering, the student will be able to take the class, get the same exact material, but be done in 7.5 weeks instead of the traditional 15 weeks. One of the best appeals to students about this offer is the fact that they have an extra half of the semester to do whatever they may please! And being a college student, that literally sounds like the best idea ever, creating more time for work, which is much needed if you are going to pay for college on your own. You can also have more time to simply relax and enjoy the better things in life, other than college. The best part of this is that the tuition cost will be lower since the classes will be shorter in overall length. This gives the student a beak financially, and will also draw many more students to the University, since it is so price effective. I believe that ASU is going to see a significant jump in their student population as well as a jump in price intake. Arizona State University, I applaud you.

Breaking the Ice

Everyone has gone through the awkward moment when you first meet someone. Most people don't even know what to say, so sometimes they won't even say anything at all. Next time you're out in the world, don't be shy. Take a chance. You never know who you could be meeting. When I first met my now girlfriend, I had no idea what to say, so we just started talking about random things, and that was the best way to break the ice. Over a year later, we're still dating, all because of that random ice breaker I chose. If I never would have  taken that chance to break the ice with her, most likely I wouldn't be dating her. So the next time you're out at the bar, or the club, or just a little hangout or whatever, break the ice with someone new. You never know where it may lead you. If you need help to decide on what to say, check out the link below, and if you are not a member of Stumbleupon, I VERY STRONGLY recommend you join. It's free, easy, and addictive.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2MW4o1/:2bZhEwI5:SFsdGOmJ/jimhough.com/cf/ibquestions.html/

Entry #2: Opinionated Press

On September 11th, 2012, The United States faced another disastrous incident resulting in the deaths of our own citizens. This incident was very, very lightly covered in the news, and in my opinion, the news was opinionated towards these attacks, because it would have made President Obama look entirely at fault. While researching this topic, not only did i find out that these attacks occurred on the soil of foreign U.S Embassies, which is an act of war towards America; however recent political changes in the Libyan government made it illegal to act upon these actions as an act of war. After reading multiple articles about this situation, I have found that only a few of them blame the president for this incident. Some reports even state the President took the day off, and wasn't even in the oval office while these attacks took place. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney even stated publicly that, "President Obama waited two weeks to call the attack in Libya "terror".". So basically what happened was, the president took the "day off", which no president has ever done in the history of the United States; and coincidentally the US Embassy in Benghazi gets attacked by a group of Libyan Radicals, whom under a new government, did nothing out of the ordinary. Then the president makes it look like he was under such grief, as it took him 14 days to call the act of the murder of US officials, an act of terror. There is way too much lee way in this incident to truly know what really happened.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/14/world/africa/libya-us-ambassador-killed

I believe this was an opinionated article because it makes President Obama look like the hero. "There's no doubt these are difficult days," said Obama. But he pledged that "the United States of America will never retreat from the world. Four Americans, four patriots, they loved their country and chose to serve it and serve it well," the president continued. "They had a mission and they believed in it, and they knew the danger and they accepted it. They didn't simply embrace the American ideal, they lived it, they embodied it: the courage, the hope and, yes, the idealism.We will bring to justice those who took them from us" Obama said. However many people believe that these attacks could have been handled in a much better way, if the president was actually in office when they happened.

Best Goal of 2012 (soccer)

The year of 2012 was a great one for soccer, having the UEFA champions League break records for most internationally viewed competition, as well as one of the most talked about events on social media. However this amazing goal by Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a sure fire winner for best goal of the year. The goalie comes off of his line to try and beat him with a header, but Zlatan strikes back with a ferociously accurate bike. As a keeper, I believe that he should have stayed on his line and waited for the defense to get the ball out of the backfield, as most keepers would do, however this day, Joe Hart, England's goalkeeper decides to be adventurous, and it ends up costing him. Even though the goalkeeper was way out of position, bicycle kicks are one of the hardest maneuvers to pull of, making this goal by far the best goal in soccer for the year of 2012.

Asssigned Entry #1 The World of Blogging.

I am fairly new to the world of blogging, and still pretty confused as to what the point of a blog really is. However I found it very interesting how many people actually maintain blogs. My opinion on blogs, is that it is a very effective way to communicate your interests and your passions across to the whole webiverse! I am very heavily into cars and customizing cars! So if that is something that you are interested in, check out http://supercustomcar.blogspot.com/ to see some cool rides. I'm also into soccer and grilling, so these are some other cool blogs to check out!

http://grillingandsmoking.blogspot.com/

http://blogs.thescore.com/counterattack/

About Me.

Hey ladies and gents, my name is Iain! pronounced 'E-N", not Lain. Believe me, many people call me that. I'm a freshman at GCC, this is my second semester attending classes, and I am still undecided on my major. There are way too many career paths to be chosen, and I am still unsure of what I want to do, so for now I'm just taking some random classes to try and find out what I want to do! 

I have a lot of hobbies and interests, so I'll just list a few. My number one hobby, and passion, is soccer.  I play goalkeeper, and play for GCC, and play on various club and indoor teams in the offseason. I've been playing soccer since i was about 8 years old, and don't have any intentions to stop any time soon! As far as other hobbies go, I play guitar, drums, bass, and piano. I am an avid music lover, and have an extremely broad variety of music to listen to. Some of my favorites are Social Distortion, Jack Johnson, The Offspring, Flogging Molly, MGMT, Mumford & Sons, Daft Punk, N.W.A, and many more. I love cars, & I also love food and cooking, as I am a frycook at a small chain restaurant named Freddy's Steakburgers! So take some time, and check out this blog! You won't be disappointed!