Human Interest

Perspective on suburban life 

It is difficult to change the junk food and convenience food culture in one generation. 

This was really surprising , it is amazing how education effects every area of our lives .

It was interesting to read about Modi's run for prime minister- I recently read a TIME magazine article about him, his original platform, and his subsequent work in office- and to see so much of Obama's run for office in Modi's struggle. Modi's support among his own caste, traditionally one that has been discriminated against in Indian society, is not at all different from Obama's support among the African American community. It goes to show that, for all our differences, people are a lot more alike then we'd care to think. Beyond that, it was interesting to see how much power the old caste system continues to hold in Indian society, much like the issues with race that Americans continue to struggle with within our own society. Appeals to different castes have been employed successfully by politicians and other forms of media; I once read that the most popular Indian films are often love stories revolving around "forbidden love" between two members of different, opposite castes. In a society that is so rich and complex, with hundreds of different languages and beliefs, it is so easy for lines to be drawn and for differences to be focused upon in a negative light. Happily for India, it has come a long way to address these problems and to move forward. While not perfect, India's future looks bright.

i dont understand how a country like india that is mostly modern and on the world scale can still have such an ancient system of labeling people be such a prominent practice in their society, i hope modi gets elected so he can start to eliminate this

Thanks Seth Dixon!

Several character traits could be empasized using theses videos. The wheels in my mind are turning!

This article is connected to human geography by agriculture. We talk and learn about agriculture every day in the class room. I feel like this article is a eye opener to the naive mind of people who do not live in or around food desert areas.

This article/scoop is very intriguing and cool to read. It goes along with the topic of agriculture and describes the 11 facts that it bares about food deserts whether those facts are good or bad. Overall, I liked this scoop because of the 11 facts and the detail that was provided with them.

Illinois has been stigmatized by many negative nicknames such as "Killinois," "Shot-town," and "Chiraq." Urban crime hs always been a problem in the city of Chicago, and the most remarkable areas are on the south side of Chicago. High unemployment, poor neighborhoods, and lack of parenting/mentoring, and failing school districts all contribute to the number of young people turning to steet crime in order for survival. With so many gangs acitivities on the street, Chiraq is a city of violence and war. Chaos on the street and the killings of many innocent people increasing, government  officials needs to react with strict regulations in order to stop this violence. Poor economic status has played a significant role in the deterioration of the city. Citizen who were once classified as middle have become a part of the poor class. The relocation of housing projects in proximity to wealthier communities has instilled fear of the expansion of gang violence and activity within residents of these communities.

Unit 3: Cultural Practices and Processes

This article is about how Chicago's many nicknames represent its culture and people's sense of the place. Many people have began to call Chicago by the name of "Chiraaq" and mixture of Iraq and Chicago. This is due to the violences in the city and resemblence to the action in Iraq. The nickname’s power, politically, is the way in which naming functions as a form of shaming and the name has been advertised on shirts, posters and even songs putting it into the category of pop-culture. As suggested in research, place names are not confined to official nomenclature on maps, but also include competing, vernacular systems of naming. Chicago’s many nicknames provide insight into the different ways that people frame and reconfigure the image of the city for the wider world.

This relates to unit 3 because it deals with vernacular regions and popular culture. The different names of Chicago are often not defined with a definite boundary of the city, rather an individuals opinion or idea of the area. They are often very vague with the names such as "Paris on the Prairie" that not only include Chicago but neighboring towns and cities as well. Or the opposite, where the name "Sweet Home" may only be referring to a portion of the city rather than the entire city of Chicago. The names, such as Chiraq, also fall under pop-culture when they become a widely known idea and are adopted by many sources. The advertisement and use of the nickname in songs and merchandise shows the wide range of distribution for the nickname. The use of the word is often changing and will be popular for a short period of time as popular culture is always changing. 

(North America post 3)
Built upon from class today, this article discusses the hardship many Appalachian families are feeling as the coal mining business continues to evolve and industrialize. Although coal was the major 'boom' behind many of these towns, the 'bust' hits more than just those laid off by the industry. Like a chain reaction, other families and their businesses suffer; less income leads to less eating out leads to less income for restaurants, and it goes on and on.  This article is also good at showing that geography is more than spatial and economic: on certain levels, it's also relational, personal, cultural, and historic, giving residents strong feelings behind their decisions to stay.

This video really shows the relationship between sense of place versus economic geography. Even though the town is no longer the rich mining town it once was, the remaining residents still cling to the past and their sense of identity remains strong. It demonstrates that cultural heritage is a powerful factor that can remain long after dramatic economic changes. Even though there are few opportunities left in the town and the majority of its young people leave for greener pastures, some residents still identify so strongly with the area that they are willing to do whatever they can to revitalize their town.

This is relevant to early posts about coalfields in West Virginia.

unit 7

I believe that absolutely no one is surprised that right before an international event, the hosting city is cracking down on its problem areas. I am skeptical of the Brazilin governments  promise to develop the long neglected Favelas. After Rio finishes hosting the 2016 Summer games, the government will once again neglect the Favelas. There will no longer be an incentive for the government to care about the favelas. The eyes of the world will be off the  city and things can return to normal. The only losers in this equation are the actual residents of these slums. Once again the promise of better days will ripped  from them. An added injury is that there informal economy will have been destroyed. While life in an informal economy is hard by any measure, it is still a way of making a living. The increased police presence will destroy that way of life and replace it with empty promises.  

We see this all the time at our Walmarts in Fresno!