Newspaper and the "N" Word

Albeit a positive editorial about the president, New York’s West View News ran a headline using the N word.

             Do you think the N word should be used in printed media? Please state why or why not.

Click the link below for more on the story:

http://news.yahoo.com/newspaper-runs-headline-referring-to-president-obama-as-n-word-003206434.html

Not playing kid games

Originally, video game consoles were marketed to children. Over time the games became popular with adults (some young people continued to play them into young adulthood). Video game makers saw this and expanded the market, including explicitly adult content (violence, sex, gore, drugs, etc). 

Women across ages have become more engaged in gaming as well. In the US market, gaming crosses sociological boundaries of race, gender, ethnicity and increasingly age.

From your experience or speculation, why do you think video games are so widely popular among ADULTS 21-45? 

Money, Expectations and Inheritance

In a recent interview, the singer/songwriter Sting (formerly of The Police), said he grew up poor near the Wallsend shipyards in England. At present, he has an estimated net worth of $300 million. Sting has no plans to leave any of it to his six children. He wants his children to have the chance to come up the way he did. The 62-year-old musician stated that he didn't want to "leave them trust funds that are albatrosses round their necks."

According to Sting, the issue of his inheritance might not come up at all, considering how fast he goes through his money. Sting has over 100 people he employs, and said in the interview, "There won't be much money left because we are spending it! We have a lot of commitments. What comes in, we spend, and there isn't much left."

Do you think Sting should leave some money for his children? Please state why or why not.

Virtually Sharing Food

One of the many social media trends is to post a photo a meal or food item. The June 5^th edition of the USA Today reports, “Food is the new cool.” 

If you do this, please give an example of what you posted and why. 

If you have NEVER uploaded an image of food to Twitter, Facebook, Instragram, Tumblr, Google+ , etc, please SPECULATE on why you think it is millions of people share pictures of food with the online world?

1st Blog for Summer Session: Celebratory Foods

Greetings!  During this summer session in Sociology 1101 we’re going to do a lot of talking about food. Here is a fun topic to get us going. In the United States it’s common place to celebrate special occasions with food. If you have just received GREAT news, what food and drink items or which restaurant would you choice to celebrate with family and friends?

Tattoos and the Body as Material Culture

Greetings!  Follow the link below for the blog question of the week.  If the link doesn't work. Copy it and paste it directly in your URL.
http://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/tattoo-blog/19095350/?ref=appemail

Tom

Cultural Celebrations

Greetings and Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!  Many customs, practices and superstitions are connected with this day and its patron. They include wearing green, attending parades and eating corn beef and cabbage just to name a few. 

Other than Hanukkah or Christmas, what is you favorite holiday and what custom, tradition or ritual associated with the celebration do you like the most?

Spring Soc Fest 2014

Greetings! Namaste! Chao! Saludos! Merhaba! Howdy!

What did you find most interesting about Soc Fest? Was it the display or story of a classmate, or was it information you discovered about yourself and your culture as you worked on the project?

Forever Young

A billionaire in the Bahamas has been taking stem cell therapy and is showing signs of reversing the aging process. He wants to invest in research for further use of stem cell therapy.

Here are the questions of the week. Please answer BOTH question.

1. Would you want to reverse aging for yourself? 

2. What are some SOCIETAL issues that might arise if masses of people were able to reverse the aging process?

Here is a link to more on the story:

http://www.newser.com/story/183059/billionaire-ive-reversed-the-aging-process.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=united&utm_campaign=rss_topnews

Good Old Boys

Greetings!  Please follow the link below to a short blogcast. Respond to the question at the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAZce244S7A

Final Word on the Weather

Greetings! Hopefully the messy winter weather is behind us. What has been the best and worst for you in the two icy events here in North GA?  Don’t include school was cancelled.

Worst: We had to postpone a trip to Florida.

Best: I absolutely loved some of the fall-out related to the weather and Valentine’s Day. My favorite is the link below which tells of a GA County that cancelled Valentine’s Day per the Sherriff’s Department.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/national/oconee-county-sheriff-cancels-valentines-day-due-t/ndM4S/?icmp=cmgcontent_internallink_relatedcontent_2014_partners2

Campus Carry

The legislation to allow for firearms to be carried on Georgia college campuses has been revived. The new concept is to change the language so that is no longer illegal for eligible parties to carry firearms on a college campus.

What is your position on the idea to allow college students to carry firearms on campus?

Here is the bill:

http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/display/20132014/HB/29

Men Behaving Badly

The Bakken oil region of Montana and North Dakota has created many labor intensive jobs. These positions tend to go to men. In fact, so many guys show up for work “man camps” have been established to accommodate the pool of male employees.

This mass of men brought along with it drugs, heavy drinking, violence and prostitution.

Other than the default answer of testosterone, why do you think that large numbers of men in a shared space over time leads to the use of drugs, heavy drinking, violence and prostitution?

Link to a related story:

http://www.npr.org/2014/02/01/265698046/booming-oil-fields-may-be-giving-sex-trafficking-a-boost

Eating Expired Food

In an effort to get a handle on the overwhelming amount of food that is wasted in this country, a new store and restaurant are opening to sell “expired” grocery items.

Do you think this concept will work? Please state your reason why or why not?

Would you shop/eat there?

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/01/22/trader-joe-ex-president-to-open-store-selling-expired-food/

1st Blog Spring 2014

Did you resolve make more money, to lose weight, get a promotion or to take the music industry by storm? Will your New Year's resolution become a reality?

Here is a bit of bad news: The odds are stacked against you. A few years ago, psychologist Richard Wiseman conducted a study of 3,000 people who had set New Year's resolutions for themselves. At the end of the year, a measly 12% had actually achieved their goals. Other studies show even lower percentages of success, with most of the failures happening in the first month (January).

Why do you think so few people keep their resolutions?