Blog Assignment #6: Carte Blanche

I was horrified but mostly amazed when I watched TV last Sunday.
”We want to show another side of prostitution” Louise Bratt says, editor-in-chief for Veckorevyn, in Nyhetsmorgon Söndag tv4 (25-11-07). In the latest number of Veckorevyn, there was an article about “The happy whore”. Which side of prostitution does Veckorevyn want to show, I wonder? It doesn’t been notified of when Louise is being interviewed. But with consideration that they have put a glamorous picture and done the whole article with a lot of glam, you can work on the supposition that they want to show the “glamour” that comes with the job (?). How can a teenage-girl-magazine publish an article that means that prostitution is something great, glamoros and a job among all other? As long as you have the power and can decide for your own.
I don’t believe that “the happy whore” exists. I do not even think that it exist a concept for this meaning. It cannot be any single people that become happy of lasting prostitute? I mean, come on, should it sound the same if it was male prostitute they were talking about? Forget it; men wouldn’t be happy by selling their bodies for money. Why, why, why should women be that then?
“I am not quite content with this article” Louise also says - Always something.
Prostitution will never be a woman benefit. Therefore isn’t such an article suitable in a magazine that claims that they are on the female side.
I do not read Veckorevyn longer but I am sincere amazed over what it cover. What will happen next?

Blog Assignment #5: Contact

One thing that I especially thought was interesting in this book by Carl Sagan, is his attempt to combine religious views with modern science.
I wouldn't say that I self am a religious person - I question God as almighty - I rely on science consequently. Therefore I recognize myself in the main character, Ellie. She's a radio astronomer and is very suspicious against religion and wants proof to believe in something that isn't explainable. When the selection comes to which person shall have the honor to travel in the machine, and meet the extra terrestrials, is she one of them. The reason why she isn't picked as number one is because of her religion thoughts. The stab that select whom that shall travel feels that it should be a person that can represent all mankind and their religions. She tries hard to convince the religious side that religion is inferior science. Pastor, Palmer Joss, think she's wrong and starts to affect her standpoint against the unexplainable. Maybe science and religion can exist side by side?
After her journey to space, she has to prove that she met aliens because none of her technical equipment had worked. This is easier said than done, how can you prove something so challenged (even if you as one person felt it as real) without being judged as mad? Ellie had been amazed by the aliens’ technical skills and what they had achieved. But even such superior creatures haven't the answer to everything. As we have the question: What's the meaning of life?
I think it's a fascinating idea that science and religion can be represented as two sides of the same coin.

Blog Assignment #4: Seen Any Good Films Lately?

Pan’s labyrinth

This is a non-English speaking movie and was nominated for an Oscar for the best foreign language film in 2007.

The year is 1944 and the civil war in Spain is over. An eleven year old girl named Ofelia, who is fascinated of fairytales, travels with her pregnant mother out on to the countryside to visit her stepfather, the cruel and brutal captain Vidal. He’s a follower to Franco and has the mission to supplant the last rebels who are hiding in the forests and still fights for freedom and mankind’s equal worth. During her first night in her new home Ofelia meets a fairy that takes her to an aged overgrowned labyrinth. Here waits a faun for her and he reveals her real identity; she’s the daughter of the king from a furtively lower world kingdom. She has to carry out 3 tasks if she wants to return and meet her real father.

The movie is divided in to two. First the story about Ofelias´s tasks in the fantasy world – or is it real? Than the external world, which is no more tempting, the mother´s fragile health and the housemaid´s double life.

Pan’s labyrinth is a dark and cruel story. This changing between fantasy and historical drama are skilled balanced over the genres. The interpreting is open: is it an unusual chimerical child´s escape from the tough reality or is it happening “for real”?

The movie is extraordinary beautiful, well-played and cruel and dark but not without hope. I loved this film; it’s gripping and magical and won’t leave anyone unaffected. See it and escape in to another world for 2 hours.

Blog Assignment #3: Video Game Addiction

I think I was about 6 years old when I played a video game for the first time. My older brother, who was ten, had got a Nintendo 8 bit in birthday present. The first video games were Ice Climber and Super Mario Bros. I feel a little bit nostalgic writing about this. Not in order that I played a lot, it just that it reminds me how fast the video game industry develops. I still think that the Mario Bros games are the best video games of all time (even if it's in 2D).

Today I don’t play video games so much either. In itself, I do own some video games for Playstation 2: 6 games of Singstar and 1 Dancing Stage Max. These games are just party enhancers. I also own a Game Cube where I play Mario Bros games. And of course I have some PC games as well. I don’t have time to play often though; there is no time for playing in my hectic schedule. Because I think it’s more important to socialize with your friends and to exercise your body in real life than playing that you do so in the virtual world.

My little brother played WoW for a short period when he was about fifteen. I think he did play because all of his friends did so. They had like weekends were they were playing LAN days and nights. I thought he was a moron.

Why are people playing so much then? I think it’s an easy escape from reality. You don’t need to use your imagination because someone has already done it for you. And you don’t need to spend much time to put an effort to be entertained.

Blog Assignment #2: The State of the Planet

Climate change is a reality, and science confirms that human activities are heavily implicated in this change. That we must do something at the climate threat and the environmental issues, it realizes well most.But over the last few years a new environmental phenomenon has been constructed in this country - the phenomenon of "catastrophic" climate change.It seems that mere "climate change" was not going to be bad enough, and so now it must be "a catastrophe" to be worthy of attention.The reasoning is now characterized by phrases such as "climate change is worse than we thought", that we are approaching "irreversible tipping in the Earth's climate", and that we are "at the point of no return".

The emissions of CO2 in the world increased three times as fast in the beginning of the 2100 century than in 1990s. Now the emissions are increasing with over 3 % each year. That’s an more considerable acceleration than in the worst scenario FN:s climate panel pictured.

Climate changes with higher and lower temperatures have existed in centuries, long before humans started to use combustion engines. How can we be sure that humans are the reason behind the climate changes? Historical you can’t see such temperature changes as we have had the last ten years. Suchlike haven’t existed in the last thousand years. For earlier years you have to lean on indirect measurements and that increases the insecure. You can’t explain the observed temperature changes only with natural variations. You know this by measure the existence of climate gasses, aerosols and ground changes. Then you’ll see that they are increasing steadily.

I think that as an individual person you can do a lot in preventing the climate change and the harm of nature in generally. But of course doesn’t it create a big impact until a lot of persons do these things. Someone have to start this campaign and give other persons a wake-up call by giving them a big shake. You can start travel by bus/train/aircraft instead of driving a car. If you don’t have this opportunity of communication, you can choose to drive a car which has ethanol as fuel. And I think it matter a lot with pre-separation of source. The material recycling will increase and lower the energy consumption. I also think that little things like turn off your electrics equipment when not in use and using of low energy-bulbs will help in the long run.

I’m not the right person to predict the future of the state of this planet. It’s a precarious thing for me to do, when I’m only are a layman. But what I learn and what I’ve seen I know that something have to be done. We can’t take the earth resources for granted, they are running out. But I don’t think it’s a “catastrophic” and ominous climate change as media has pictured this issue. I think that if we shape up and distribute our primary products well our children also have the chance to experience four different seasons.

Blog Assignment #1: University Studies

My mom has told me that when I was a child I could amuse myself, I didn’t need a lot of friends. She had to check me in my room sometimes just to see that I wasn´t dead. It was so quiet. When she opened the door ajar, she saw me laying on the bed or sitting in a chair reading a book. I read a lot of books. I couldn´t get enough of knowing things.

Ever since I was studying at the upper school I´ve got towards what I thought I will become.
I´ve always had easy for mathematics and natural science (biology, chemistry and physics). I had it easy at school in general. But I didn´t notice this talent. I just thought that it wasn´t so way-out. I didn´t notice this until I saw my friends struggling with these subjects.

However when we should choose and candidate for what we wanted to study in high school I first said “I will never study natural science, no way!” I don’t know really why I thought so, maybe I was school fatigue or I wanted to follow the group majority. When the decision came close in, my heart said that I should choose natural science, and so I did. I also studied business administration. I enjoyed those 3 years studying and it was then I for the first time moved from my parents. I had to take more responsibility for myself, my home and my studying.

I have always had high demands on myself. I wanted to show everyone that I could do different things and do them well. I have always been restless and wanted many things to do around me.

When I was studying at high school, I didn´t know what I wanted to become, maybe something in biomedicine or chemistry, but never physics or technology. I thought our teacher in physics was weird and technology only was programming, a computer and me aren´t the best of friends.

After graduating high school, I candidate and was admitted for civil engineer at Chalmers University. I was confused, I didn´t want to be a technologist. But I had candidate and was admitted as one. (I think my father gave me a push at this direction because he is a civil engineer). I turned the suggestion down and decided to work a year. I moved with my boyfriend back then to Karlstad and started looking for a job, this was at year 2004. He had already got a job as a chef at one of the best restaurants in this town. It wasn´t as easy for me to get a full time job only 18 years old with no vocational education. I was frustrated, I didn´t got a job to go to every day. I could only sit at home waiting for the phone to call, so I could odd job. At this time I decided to apply to Business Administration A-level at Karlstad University spring 2005. When I was studying this A-level I noticed that I missed the advanced mathematics, but I enjoyed the Management courses. I deliberated with myself; in becoming what profession can I study both business administration and advanced mathematics? The answer was Industrial economics. I didn´t want to limit my options, I had opposed myself before, so I applied to the engineering program with a broad curricular base. It means that you study a little bit of four different alignments in engineering (Energy-and environment, Technical Physics, Industrial economics and Engineering technology).

It is my third year now and I enjoy it. I will decide this year in what alignment I will immerse, I aim for a Master of Science in Materials Engineering.

I do not regret studying at a University instead of working. Absolutely is the unemployment an important matter but I think that you shouldn´t limit yourself and be afraid to take a chance of a career in another country if the labor market is bad in your own. We are living in an international world. Of course sometimes I think it´s hard that I have to take a loan to study, it´s hard to survive with so little money each month in this country. But overall I think you gain so much more. I gain an education, to which I can fall back on, and which probably will give myself a higher salary then if I didn´t study. I will meet a lot of different personalities and persons at one place and broaden my social network. And I have the opportunity and chance to create my own career with the means the University administrates. But the most important reason of all I have the chance to work with something that I love to do.