To Blog or To Write?

How is blogging different from writing essays? Blogging is different from writing for several reasons. First, with blogging, you type. You do type when you write essays, but at some point, everyone writes too--like in the peer review process for example. Second, blogging is much more informal than writing an essay is. A blog entry is like a small insight into what the blogger is thinking. Another difference is that blogs are not really edited and dissected and analyzed as essays are. One really important thing that blogging has taught me which I can use when I write my essays is that if done correctly, a lot can be said in a little as opposed to a little being said in a lot--you do not need paragraphs and paragraphs of text to relay a minute point.

Cap & Trade: Good or Bad?

I took an AP Environmental Science course in high school, so I knew the logistics of the issue. In writing this paper though, I definitely did some more research to solidify my knowledge base on the subject. Cap and trade is basically a policy where the nation has set a cap, or limit on the amount greenhouse cases that can be emitted into our earth's atmosphere. The most common greenhouse gases are dioxides including, but not limited to Carbon Dioxide, Sulfur Dioxide, and Nitrogen Dioxide. As we all know, greenhouse gases are harmful because the emission of said substances into the atmosphere has been scientifically proven to deplete the ozone layer and accelerate global warming.
With the cap and trade policy, companies can purchase pollution permits so that they can pollute within reason. Companies that foresee falling short of their allotted pollution have the power to sell their permits to other companies. This is where environmentalists think that the policy is no good and has the potential to be manipulated and misconstrued. They are under the impression that some companies will pollute well within reason while others will pollute obscene amounts because they have purchased the permits of other companies. What the environmentalists against the policy do not see however, is that companies who pollute over the national standard are harshly fined. In general, no one wants to be slapped with a fine no matter how wealthy or how powerful the entity is.
If the policy were put in place, about 17% of pollution would be eliminated by 2013 and about 83% would be eliminated by 2050! That alone is incredible. Not to mention that if this policy were put in place, many new green jobs would be created and there would be more opportunities for scientists, inventors, and entrepreneurs to develop new, cleaner ways of doing things. Cap and Trade is an excellent policy that should be put into place immediately. Here is a link to a video that helped me solidify my stance on the topic.

My Museum

Think about it. Everyday, we use pottery and ceramics and don't think twice about it. We use mugs to fill our cups with morning coffee or tea, we use bowls to eat out oatmeal, drink out soup etc. Our use of ceramics is one of the things that separates us as humans from animals. Using things like cups and bowls and mugs as opposed to eating without the aid of these items makes us civilized. I think that pottery and ceramics in history is a really interesting topic and should be the subject of my museum. With my proposed museum entitled, The Museum of Pottery and Ceramics, I hope to educate the public about ceramics and pottery throughout the world and in our human history. My museum would have an exhibit about primitive ceramics which shows a map of where the art first started and spread, an interactive exhibit/AV room that would show a video about how ceramic pieces and pieces of pottery are made, an area for kids and adults alike to touch clay at its various stages in the firing process, and an up and running ceramics studio taught by professionals in the field. It is palpable that the general public has simply lost touch with the art. My museum would hopefully make people more aware, teach people about ceramics and pottery, remind them of ceramics and pottery as art as well as function, and hopefully inspire them.

Museum Exhibit Critique

When looking for an exhibit to critique, I visited the California Science Center. The science center featured an exhibit called "America I Am" which walks viewers through Black history in America. It chronicles the trials and tribulations of slaves all the way to present day and the triumphs and successes of Blacks in modern day. It shows how the culture has grown through struggle and hardship and how oppressed Blacks rose up to accomplish great things. The exhibit was quite informative, but I did not really learn anything new. For me, it kind of reinforced history and events that I have already learned and heard about. I appreciate the fact that the exhibit highlighted the issue though.
On a separate note, I feel that the exhibit should have been located in the African American museum as opposed to in the California Science Center. It just felt a little out of place surrounded by a tight-rope bicycle exhibit etc.

Apology Post 2

With all of the bad press that Toyota has gotten lately, and with the 34 deaths and thousands of injuries sustained because of faulty parts and vehicles, and apology is definitely necessary. Although President Akio Toyoda (grandson of the founder of the auto company) issued several apologies via press conferences and congress appearances, I feel that the apologies have come both too late and too soon--to late in that problems with Toyota products are not new. They are new to us, the general public, but cases of Toyota's malfunctioning have been happening for over a decade. On the other hand, I say that it is too soon for apologies because we as the general American people or even more specifically, the Toyota owners out there need to come to terms with all of this. Toyota owners can choose from three options of coping. First, they can ignore reports of Toyota in the media and continue driving their cars, second, they can do independent research and learn if they drive an affected product, or third, they can stop driving Toyota vehicles altogether.
As an owner (now ex-owner of a Toyota), I felt quite betrayed at first when reports of problems in the product became publicised. I see Toyota commercials almost daily about either the Prius (main car affected) itself or about how safe Toyota is. Up until these reports of deaths and accidents came out did I believe that I was safe and protected. As an individual affected by this, I think that I deserve an apology. I think that this apology should be in the form of a letter and as money to cover the cost of damages sustained when my car malfunctioned. I have only personally talked to a few others who too were affected, but I think that they too as well as everyone else who has been affected would agree with my ideal apology.

Toyota Controversy and Apology by Akio Toyoda

For the past couple of months, Toyota has been bombarded with bad press because of countless recalls and problems with their hybrid vehicle called the Prius. Towards the end of last year extending to the beginning of this year, there have been recalls on the Priuses made in 2008 and 2009. Problems with them included brake failure, problems turning off and turning off and problems with the accelerator. These defects have caused mild to catastrophic loss and damage in some cases. While reports of this came out, Aiko Toyoda, president of the Toyoto corporation ignored warnings about recalls and faulty parts. Why? He, along with many business associates figured that since only a few cases were reported that it would not be cost-effective on their part to remove the defective models from the road and the market as a whole. I have heard of all the cases in the media and felt blessed that my family (owner of Prius) was not affected, but we were. I was in ours with my father. We were backing out of our driveway when the brakes failed and we accelerated and crashed into the curb. We were lucky in that we were not out in the open road and did not sustain any serious injuries. We called Toyota and reported the problem, and corporate said that since there were not any other occurrences that they would delay their visit and inspection of the vehicle. As of now, our car is back at the dealer where we purchased it and my father has been driving a (non-Toyota) rental car ever since. For links on this issue, click here, here and here.






Above are images of ad space that Toyota purchased off of the Pasadena 110 freeway as it approaches the 101. Toyota had their people plant the iconic image of the sun that is synonymous with their third generation Prius. After reports of fatalities and accidents came up as a result of faulty Toyota products, guerilla artists took it into their hands to change the happy ad space into a somber, makeshift memorial honoring the 34 that have died as a result of malfunctioning Priuses.

Critical Thinking in Architecture

When people think of critical thinking, most automatically associate it with when they had to think critically in either an English or a writing class. Although we do think critically in English etc., we also think critically in many other disciplines. We think critically in science (creating hypotheses, analyzing data), in music (breaking down notes and key signature of music to determine tone, considering historical context when thinking about when songs were written etc.) and even in architecture. In architecture, we use critical thinking whenever we tackle a new project. We have to constantly think of the placement of required programmatic elements (spaces for designated activities e.g. living room, family room, restroom, outdoor space etc.) We cannot place these spaces randomly, we have to think about it and determine what ordering and circulation of spaces makes the most sense.