Writers and Copyright

            For my text response, I read “The Digital Library Plan: But Not at Writer’s Expense” by Nick Taylor. In this article, Nick writes about how he feels that Google’s new project of having books online is unfair. As a writer, he feels that it is taking money away from the publishers and the writers.
            After reading this article, I see where Nick Taylor is coming from. Authors write books and get them published for their living. Google’s argument says that the writers and publishers should be happy because it will increase their exposure and could possibly lead to more book sales. As this is true, I feel as if that is not completely fair. Sure, it is increasing exposure, but if the book is online for anyone to read, not many people are going to go out and buy it. This in turn means that the author is not receiving money for it.
            Along with Google, some libraries are doing the same because the copyright protections have technically expired. They claim that the amount they are having available to the public is “fair use”. I feel that “fair use” is just the right amount of information that the reader may need, meaning they do not need to purchase it.
            As I feel this new project by Google and libraries is beneficial for me as a college student, needing to find research, I think it is definitely taking money away from authors. This is authors’ jobs and income, and if I am getting to read their work and use their information for free while I should be paying for it, I see that as unjust.

Freedom of Speech

I read the article “The Schools Are Destroying Freedom of Speech” by John W. Whitehead. There were two different examples he used in the article to prove his point that public schools are taking away the first amendment (freedom of speech). The first example was about a young man whom they unplugged his microphone because during a speech he mentioned how the school was like a prison. The other example was about a young woman whom they unplugged her microphone because during her valedictorian speech, when she was supposed to talk about her “success story”, she talked about her religion and Jesus Christ.

I believe these were two extreme cases. The schools should not have unplugged the microphones, especially for the young woman who was sharing her experience and success. It was her story to share and her own way of success. Whether or not her peers agree with it, it is what helped her and that is what the speech is about. Being public schools, I understand they are not supposed to talk about religion because of the variety of students attending, but to take away from her sharing is not right.

For the most part, I feel like most public schools do not take the subject of religion and slight negativity as far as these schools did. They may get punished for using a curse word, but there is no reason to get punished over what you choose to talk about. It is not like kids are walking around pushing their religion to others and pushing them into believing it is the best. Honestly, kids barely talk about religion so there is no point in getting so upset over it and making someone stop on a very important day of theirs.

Obama Starting the Next Holocaust?

            As I was scrolling through Facebook a few days ago, I came across a post that caught my eye. One of my friends posted about how Obama and the government had purchased one billion plastic “coffins” that would hold up to five human bodies. She was also talking about how this was some sign of the next holocaust and Obama was planning to kill us all.
            I looked into this and looked through a few articles. A couple of the articles that went along with the theory stated that the government had bought the “coffins” in case there was a huge revolution on America. They would disarm each person, and said that any person who seemed like a threat would be put into a FEMA camp. The other article I read said that these plastic bins are in Georgia and have no connection with the government at all. They are “grave liners” and are used to put around coffins, not to initially store the body in them. The manufacturer, Vantage Products, used that area in Georgia to store them and they have been there for about six years.
            This whole conspiracy theory is a little ridiculous to me. I do not follow or keep up with politics and the government, but it seems ridiculous to me that people believe our president is going to harm us. I know it has happened in other countries, but we are America, and we stand for freedom and are a place to go that is not like any of those other unfortunate countries that are put to that. I believe our president would not do that to us, and I think it is right that we trust and at least have faith in him, because he seems to have faith in us and the country, so why not return the favor?

Living the Barista Life

                This summer, I took a job at the Pere Marquette hotel as “gourmet coffee attendant” and worked just about every morning at the coffee bar. I learned how much I love making coffee, and am learning more about it every day. From there, I took a job at Starbucks here in Peoria, and learned even more about how many different coffees and drinks there are. I do not know exactly what I want to do with my career, but hopefully someday I will own a coffee shop and enjoy coffee daily like I am able to now.

                Making drinks and making so many combinations of different drinks is such a fun experience. I get to talk to my customers, see how their day has been, and learn what is happening in their life (if they’re willing to tell me, of course). Since it is coffee, and some people believe it is “addictive”, many of my customers return daily. Not only do I make their coffee, I have almost become friends with them. Students here at ICC will see me in the hallway and wave at me, and the only reason they know me is simply because I serve them coffee each day.

                As I think about it, it’s hard to believe I have such a passion for doing something so small, like making coffee drinks and serving coffee. Although, learning about the different ways beans are roasted and has their own tastes is interesting. Combining different syrups and flavors with different types of beans and espresso drinks is very interesting as well. I sincerely enjoy each and every moment I am at work though, and enjoy every customer I serve. 

Social Media and it's Privacy

I read the article “On Facebook, Biggest Threat to Your Private Data May Be You” by

Jacquielynn Floyd. In the article, she brings up a point about Facebook users becoming touchy

over their different privacy settings in the terms of service. She spent a lot of time talking about

the unnecessary statements and happenings people post about. She stated, “How can we expect

somebody we don’t know to safe-guard our privacy if we think so little of ourselves?” One of

her concerns is that people do not know what parts of them are private and which are public.


She brings up many decent points, but I do believe that people post unnecessary

happenings because they know it is private. It is on the internet, so it is not completely private;

but the way that Facebook has their settings, it would be private to anyone the user is not

friends with. Because it is private, and the only people that are able to see what the user posts

are the “friends” of the user (whom the user approves or denies), people post what they think

is funny, exciting, or anything that they believe their friends might enjoy. As far as people not

understanding what is private and what is public, I disagree with that as well. There are many

different types of people in the world. Some people are more open than others are, so as far

as some people not understanding which side is private or personal is solely on what kind of

person they are. I believe they would say any of the stuff they post in person, as well as on their

Facebook page.

Does Reading Make You a Better Person?

After reading the article, “Does Reading Make You a Better Person: How Fiction Relates to Our Mortality” by Cody Delistraty, I came to the conclusion that I do not agree with it. I do understand some of the points he brings up. For example, he says that when you read, you learn about every aspect going on in the characters’ lives. As you read, you do know everything going on for the most part. His theory was that because you read this, you happen to be more in touch with it so you can think that way about people in real life as well. I believe that is true to an extent, but I do not believe that anyone who reads will automatically think that way. For the most part, reading is something people do in their spare time, a hobby. It is not particularly a “lifestyle”, so I do not think people are going to take what they read in their books and apply it to life and how they look at the world. For some people this may be true, but I know that as I read, I read to enjoy it. I finish a book and know that it is fiction, therefore it is not real. Some books have very real scenarios that one may be able to apply to life, or “live by”, but it is after all fiction for a reason.

It is a very interesting concept, and the study shows that reading may make someone a better person, but I do not believe it is accurate for majority of people who read.