Thank You for Smoking and High School English

Jordan Nicosia

Class Global Issues

July 6, 2014

Thanks for Smoking 

Thank You for Smoking was released around March of 2006, it is a satire covered up as a comedy.  Although there are many serious issues  in the film, such as smoking, different facts in politics, and being a role model for his son, It was a great film to entertain. The jokes though are defiantly connected to the people in society. Since it's connected to society it makes people laugh more. These fictional situations reflect our society as a whole, especially in the stupidity that is shown in our politics and lifestyles today. 

This satire gives the people watching examples that affect people though the character of Nick Naylor, who is a lobbyist for Big Tobacco, a group comprised on the top tobacco industries.  In an opening scene he accepted his position on the issue of smoking by saying that Big Tobacco cannot benefit from the death of a teen-ager who developed cancer from smoking cigarettes. Nick’s position may seem uneasy and harmful to people that have lost loved ones when considered, but with his  speech and his confident personality he is able to convince his audience not to listen too closely to his argument.  Nick Naylor’s character speaks understandingly about the positions he represents. The director uses him to cause laughter through his kind appearance. 

The chief executive of Big Tobacco and Nick’s boss, shows a more immature  approach to the topic of smoking. “We don’t sell Tic Tacs, we sell cigarettes. And they’re cool, available and addictive. The job is almost done for us.”  This speech brings the audience’s attention to the reality of the issue and to reconsider it. The director's objective in making the film was not to comment on the controversial subject of smoking. In an interview with The News Tribune’s Soren Andersen Reitman said that “Thank You for Smoking” “is not pro-smoking. It’s not anti-smoking”(Andersen 3). As the quote has displayed, the director has a large role in this satire. Smoking, however is also a serious issue that our country and world are facing at the moment. Nick Naylor’s character also uses the subject in a satirical way. “The message Hollywood needs to send out is ‘Smoking Is Cool!’” With an audience that has strong opinions about smoking, as most of America do. These quotes can be seen as a social description and brings attention to a more serious issue.

Although Naylor’s ironic statements are able to keep his truth from the public, in the context of the film this strategy gives the real public a chance to see our society in a different light.  Naylor is successful in his job because of his argumentative skills.  “When you argue correctly, you’re never wrong.”  This statement and Naylor’s actual arguments are ironic because there is a reality present, there are facts and supported opinions from both sides, but when you change the direction of understanding these do not need to be considered.  Then one side appears to be right and the reality of the situation is ignored.  The quote shows that the director created an indirect satire because his characters and their actions relay his messages to the people and help spin facts and smoking in general.

It seems that this film was almost not even intended as a satire because of the great importance placed on entertainment.  However, the meaning of this movie is personal, like many other things in life.  Personally, I believe that this film could be considered a strong satire because of the reaction it can create.  Laughter is not always meant as a sign of happiness or celebration and in this case it is used against ourselves.  There are aspects of our society that could be fixed but mostly go unaddressed, such as drug dependency and biased news coverage.  Since the individuals in our society are not perfect, we all have our vices and political biases, neither is our society. I believe this film displays the weaknesses of our society in a way that they can be recognized but also enjoyed and I would not change any aspect because I believe this combination is able to motivate change in this crazy two sided world. 

Last one FOO REAL THIS TIME

Jordan Nicosia

Class E

June 12, 2014

Marine Bio

This right here is a picture of the marine food web. This shows how all of the animals rely on others for survival. Every organism has their own niche. A niche is sort of like a clique or a group of the same types of organisms.

Plankton: Plankton are a diverse group of organisms that live in the water column and cannot swim against a current. They provide a crucial source of food to many large aquatic organisms, such as fish and whales. Without the plankton many of these animals would not be able to survive because many fish rely of other fish for food and if the ocean fish don't eat then the whales and other larger fish will suffer.

Types of Plankton:

Phytoplankton , autotrophic, prokaryotic or Eukaryota algae that live near the water surface where there is sufficient light to support photosynthesis. also, cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates and coccolithophores.

Zooplankton, small protozoans or metazoans that feed on other plankton and telonemia. Some of the eggs and larvae of larger animals, such as fish, crustaceans, and annelids, are included here.

Bacterioplankton, bacteria, which play an important role in organic material down the water column

The oceans harbor a wide variety of living organisms, each exhibiting adaptations for survival in their particular marine niches.  First  compare and contrast representative members of the major marine animal phyla in terms of structure, adaptation, lifestyle, and evolutionary history.  Then analyze the relationship between structure and function in the living organisms studied this semester Ocean Fish:

Ocean fish are just the fish that live in the ocean; these are one of the main providers for all of the other creatures. Pelagic fish are a main fish in the ocean. These fish usually travel in schools. This is important for the other fish because they need food to eat.

All organisms have different adaptations such as what they eat, where they live, who they fit in with. Over time fish have changed drastically, between their physical appearance, adaptations and much more. They have changed with their looks a lot they have evolved a lot over time with how they protect themselves and their schools around them too. 

All organisms have different adaptations such as a shark and a penguin. Sharks are organisms that have developed over time. The picture below shows how the evolution of a shark has changed over time. This shows how the shark started out. It looks kind of like a dinosaur when it started out. Over time it evolved to having fins instead of feet, and instead of a long bill with teeth they now have a shorter snout with sharp teeth. Another animal that has evolved over time was the penguin. Penguins now live in cooler habitats and eat mostly fish that they catch in the ocean. Penguins have tall bodies and shorter beaks whereas years ago they had fatter and sat on their bottoms a lot and had a longer beak. All organisms have different adaptations depending on what they need and how their bodies adapt to certain climates and surroundings. All animals need different things to survive, that's just how it is. Without animals and evolution the world would not be where it is today, we need animals to survive.  

Climate Change

 Our earth's average temperature has risen by 1.4°F over the past century, and is projected to rise another 2 to 11.5°F over the next hundred years. Small changes in the average temperature of the planet can translate to large and potentially dangerous shifts in climate and weather. This is really bad for all the animals and humans. Humans are the main reason for this to be an issue. Humans have released large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The majority of greenhouse gases come from burning fossil fuels to produce energy, although deforestation, industrial processes, and some agricultural practices also emit gases into the atmosphere. This is extremely bad. We can make a difference by take steps at home, on the road, and in your office to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the risks associated with climate change. Many of these steps can save you money; some, such as walking or biking to work can even improve your health! You can also get involved on a local or state level to support energy efficiency, clean energy programs, or other climate programs.
 

LAST BLOGHHHHHHHHH

I think that the whale watch was amazing yesterday and that we got to see many cool amazing things. It was cool to get seasick and eat ginger cookies. The ginger cookies were gross so i bought 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and those were soooo good.  Except kaylin was allergic so i had to wash my hands, but i couldn't get out of the booth so i went under the table. That was interesting. After we finally got 26 miles out which we weren't suppose to go that far, we saw amazing humpback whales. These whales keep slapping there tails down and were making circles and eating fish they were gorgeous animals. The seagulls were pretty amazing too i mean there colors were a  pretty gray and white. I actually saw one poop too. Once we went back i went outside and started tanning but then i got sunburnt and went inside the boat and feel asleep with my main something Allie. we were tired.  The project was pretty boring and to be honest i really didn't finish it because i didn't  like it that much.

1. What are the benefits of the National Marine Protection Area system?   
2. What were the lessons learned from the process of setting Marine Protection Area designations at:

1. bottomfish recovery zones in the Northwest Straits (six were identified)?
2. California Marine Protection Act locations (eight were identified)?
3. Tortugas Ecological Reserve in the Gulf of Mexico (eleven were identified)?
1. What is the tagline of the Marine Conservation organization?
2. The Gulf of Maine is one of the _____?  most productive marine ecosystems in the world? [Explore Gulf of Maine]
3. What are the four top stories in the latest Nature Conservancy magazine? Identify the title of the article, the geographical area it focusses on, and the topic of concern.
4. Identify the Ocean Conservancy’s five aspects of its vision for a healthy ocean.
5. Describe one of the Ocean Conservancy’s solutions to an ocean problem.
6. What are the five conservation programs of the National Coalition for Marine Conservation?
7. How is the National Coalition for Marine Conservation different from other conservation groups?
8. How can Striper fishing be saved?
9. How can teenagers become involved in marine biology at the New England Aquarium?

field trip blog

Engineer Shah Selbe is developing ways to use technology, such as aerial drones, to address the problem of illegal and unreported fishing. I really have alot of respect for this man. Penguin Blog: Penguins are my favorite at the new england aquarium and i enjoyed reading about them on the website. Many of the penguins returned to their homes on the islands. It has been several months since the penguins were put back into the penguin exhibit following the completion of the Giant Ocean Tank renovations. Lead marine mammal trainer Paul Bradley has been working with Chacoda, or Chuck, for many years. Chacoda is a little seal.The pair have a strong connection, and Paul has taught him some impressive behaviors. I think the seal is really cute(: here is a picture

Friday 3/21/14

For this blog i am going to talk about the 3 labs i actually did. Credit to my amazing lab partner Lauren for the extra help. We do so much in your class. Our work ethic is outstanding. We found out Mrs. Goodrich went out to the beach in Salisbury and got us some fresh seaweed. We happened to find out a lot about the different types of seaweed, colors and textures. We found out that seaweed is either brown, green, or red, and someone wrote blue but let me tell you Ms. Goodrich made it clear there is no such thing as blue seaweed. We did a lab the first day after the long power point on seaweed, and it was about how many bubbles came off the seaweed in the tube.The purpose of this laboratory exercise wasto assist you in becoming more familiar with the taxonomy and diversity of the common plant members of intertidal and near-shore marine communities.Which clearly I figured out very well. The majority of the attached marine plants can be placed in four divisions of the kingdom Plantae. Three divisions – the Phaeophyta, Rhodophyta, and Chlorophyta – are collectively referred to as seaweeds. The fourth division, Anthophyta, is mostly terrestrial but also includes several species of seagrasses. These four divisions of common benthic plants are distinguished from one another by their different pigment systems and reproductive structures, as well as other structural differences. In these macroscopic forms, it is the pigment differences that are initially the most evident.The intertidal and subtidal zones are further divided into bands. This guide gives examples of common seaweeds found in the upper, mid-, and lower intertidal zones and below the low tide mark. Depending upon local conditions, bands of seaweed within these zones may be narrow or broad. Many seaweeds may also be found in more than one band.