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.

EXTRA CREDIT

                     

       Three years after the massive tsunami took over northeastern Japan, the government is building the biggest anti-tsunami barriers ever.The sea walls look as if they were built like  "the Great Wall of Japan,"it streches around 230 miles and cost nearly $8 billion.The wall is designed to protect places like the small port city of Kesennuma in Miyagi perfectly. With its huge hills, white fishing boats and seafood market, Kesennuma has the pleasant nautical feel of Seattle. The original restaurant washed away in the March 11, 2011, tsunami, along with the rest of Kesennuma's historic waterfront.The city's rebuilding has been slowed down by controversy over the sea wall, to be built along the inner harbor. Residents and business owners say the originally planned nearly 17-foot-high sea wall would turn this quaint seaport into a prison.

Planktons

1. Of the articles you read, which one do you think provides the most accurate and unbiased story? The first one 2. What is the story being told in 2010? That Plankton aren't super important but they are needed. 3. What is the story being told in 2013? Planmkton are much needed or our ecosystem will be dinished. 4. What is the concern about phytoplankton populations for all articles? Why? That if all of them die off then the ecosystems will die down. 5. How are phytoplankton populations measured? A meter is described which measures the volume of water which has passed through a silk net which may be either towed or lowered and raised vertically. 6. What is the conflict? How does this affect us (people)? It would effect us when were all hungry and theres no food because theres no Plankton left. 7. What do you think? I think this is very true and everyone will eventually suffer from this.

goodrich fishy blog

 Our class did a project on a food web of marine life. In this activity i played an Squid. The squid eats other smaller organisms but is mainly food for sharks. If the squid was to disappear from the food web then the anchovey  population would shrink a lot, while the organisms that squid eat would grow a lot.  In class we also did another assignment where we viewed diatoms through a microscope.By doing this lab we learned a lot about diatoms. We learned that diatoms have a very good reflective quality about them. We also learned that diatoms are used in toothpaste, filters, pesticides. Energy Flow There are different tropic levels and as you go up the food chain you find that there are bigger and bigger animals that are at the top of the food chain. Human Impacts Humans can disturb the marine food web by over hunting. If they over hunt one food item then it could upset the whole balance of the food web and cause one organism to perhaps go extinct. This would cause a collapse in the whole system.If one organism goes extinct then that could cause a massive growth in another population of organisms and then that causes a whole disturbance within the system.
<-------------------- SGOODRICH Fishy ;)

My lovely blogger that I never wrote bad things about

1.        Look at the direction of the surface currents in the oceans and at the direction of the wind. What evidence do you find that wind influences the direction of the surface currents in the oceans?

the evidence I find in the surface currents are they always move south of what were suppose to go. The Coriolis effect is helping the winds.    

2.       What pattern can you see in the direction of the global winds? Look at global winds near the equator, in the middle latitudes, and in the polar regions.

The pattern i saw is that the winds always go up and down so the polar regions are colder and the heat rises. so the equator is like the top. 

3.       Notice the location and flow of warm and cold ocean currents. Why do you suppose that currents flowing toward the equator are generally cool while currents flowing away from the equator are warm?

the closer the water is to the equator the more likely it is to become extremely hot and the cold water go up towards the eastern part of the world because the hot water is getting rid of the cold water. 

Look at the black outline map of the world and the world maps of average ocean currents and average winds in January and July.  Locate your assigned study region on the black outline map of the world and draw a box around it.

4.      Using Google Earth, trace the flow of water from your study region. Start upstream at the source, then move downstream through your study region to an ocean, noting the names of bodies of water and the regions through which it passes. 

the bodies of is the Merrimack river. and the Atlantic ocean. 

5.       Using the world maps of average ocean currents and average winds to guide you, draw the pathways of wind and water into and out of your region on the black outline map: from where it meets an ocean, across that ocean to other continents, to around the globe. NOTE: You may want to use pencil at first; then use different colored pens or pencils to distinguish wind direction and water currents from each other.

6.      Write the geographic names of regions along the water's pathway and through which the wind passes.

a.       What are the regions from which wind blows into your region? Write down real geographic names (for example, write the name of a mountain chain, not just "mountains").

b.      What might the wind be bringing into your region? Think about the places the wind is coming from, what happens there, what lives there. Think about dust, insects, tiny seeds, smoke, air masses of cooler or warmer temperatures, and moisture. Be specific in your responses.

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c.       When wind blows out of your region, what region does it blow into? Again, write down real geographic names.

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d.      What might the wind be carrying out of your region? Is it the same as what it brought in? Be as specific as you can about what is being carried, and where it goes.

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e.      What are the regions from which water flows into your region? Write down geographic names.

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f.        What might the water be bringing into your region? Be as specific as you can.

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g.      When water flows out of your region, what region does it flow into? Again, write down geographic names.

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h.      What might the water be carrying out of your region? Be specific.

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