Blog 39

Trick-or-Treat is on Sunday for my neighborhood at home in Powell. I’m going to stay in Powell for a little bit on Sunday because my roommate and I will be driving back from OU and I just want some down time with my family when I get back from OU. I’m excited to pass out candy to the little ones that come to my front door. I have never really passed out candy before because I’ve always been the one Trick-or-Treating or at a Halloween party or something else that enables me from passing it out. I’m also excited to see all of the little kids costumes. I remember when I was little, I loved dressing up and going door-to-door to get my candy. I would always race my friends up to the front door. I also remember that Trick-or-Treating always became a tiring task. I would be so excited for about the first 10 or 15 houses, then I would just crash and burn. Then I would get excited again when we got home and poured out our pillowcases or pails full of candy. My favorite candy is Reese’s and I would always want to trade the candy that I didn’t like for those. Everyone knew that Reese’s were my favorite so sometimes they would just give me them since they are my favorite. I’m also excited to see the little boys next door because I babysit them over the summer and I haven’t seen them since the last day I babysat them! They are the cutest four and two-year-olds you will ever see and they always have the coolest costumes for Halloween!

Blog 38

I’m finally going to see my best friends ever tomorrow! I’m so excited because I get to see them and I’ll be down at OU celebrating Halloween! Nothing beats that. I’m going to be a black cat. I know it’s so original but I thought it would be nice to just put together a costume and buy accessories rather than a whole costume. So I just bought black cat ears and some black makeup to draw my nose and my whiskers. I’m mad thought that it’s going to be chilly. I guess the high tomorrow night is 40 degrees! Why couldn’t it have been like last weekend? It was perfect weather last weekend. But of course, it has to get cold when I’m going to be in a strapless dress! I’m also excited to see my friends because my one friend that goes to OU lives in her sorority house and I haven’t seen it yet. I’ve only seen pictures of her room but I can’t wait to actually see it in person. It’s going to be so crazy down there. My friend told me that there are going to be 50,000 policemen down there for the weekend. She said that the police horses have been out since Wednesday this week. 50,000 policemen is such a crazy number! That’s almost about how many people that attend Ohio State University! That many people for just one weekend. I still can’t get my head wrapped around that. So excited to actually go out when we’re all done getting ready!

Blog 37

So today has been a busy yet very productive day! I woke up around 9 and studied math until I had my exam at 11:30. I think I did pretty well. I was confused on one of the problems but hopefully I’ll get some credit for writing things down. After my exam, I came home and studied for my Spanish oral exam that I had at 1:30. From my teacher’s comments and reactions to what I was saying it seems like I did well. My exam was in Hagerty Hall so I decided to use some of my commuter swipes and go to the Union for lunch. I ate my lunch in Woody’s. I forgot how neat that place was! So after my lunch, I came back to my apartment and talked with my roommate for a little bit because I was just so done with doing schoolwork. Well, that didn’t last long because I’m now writing my blogs for the weekend because last weekend I was kind of forgetful! I can’t wait until I have my ARP paper turned in and then it will finally be the weekend and I can go celebrate! This seriously has been the week from hell. I’ve had so many exams and papers due, it’s not even funny. So tonight for Halloween, my roommates and I are being risky business. I can’t wait to get dressed up and roam around campus. I love getting dressed up for Halloween and seeing what other people are going to be.

Blog 36

“But Daddy! I really want the black BMW convertible, not the white SUV. SUV’s are ugly and ‘mom cars’,” said the almost 16-year-old as she made a huge scene in the car dealership by huffing and puffing and stomping her feet. Needless to say, her father was less than happy with his daughter; however, with the fakest smile, he politely said to the car salesman, “We’ll just stop by another day.” The daughter stormed out of the dealership, swearing loudly, making an even bigger scene than before. Here is a little taste of a similar situation that occurred on one of MTV’s My Super Sweet Sixteen episodes. (You might have to copy and paste this link into a webpage). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90HhZ-pyC2Y. Ridiculous right? Here is a girl who is getting a brand new Lexus convertible for her 16th birthday. Let me repeat. HER 16th BIRTHDAY! Most people her age get hand-me-down cars; some don’t even get cars when the turn 16, let alone a brand new Lexus convertible. What is completely idiotic about this situation is that the mother of this moronic child just sits back and listens to her daughter bitch about how she “completely ruined” her birthday. Wah wah wah. Imagine if you were that mother dealing with a child like that. I can tell you that I would never let my child embarrass me like that in front of people. I can also tell you that I probably will not be a parent that purchases a brand new Lexus for my daughter on her 16th birthday.

Back to school shopping is one of my favorite times to go shopping with my mother. Yes, I still get giddy when I buy school supplies, however, the back to school shopping I’m talking about is for new clothes. I like “collecting” certain things for my wardrobe. One of the items I collect are shoes, the other are jeans. However, I’m kind of picky when it comes to those two items. I don’t want to sound like a brat, like the girl in the youtube video I posted for my other paragraph, but I like to buy designer jeans and shoes. However, unlike the brat, I work for my things. Yes, my parents will buy me some things, but things that they think are too pricey or ridiculous because I don’t need it, I buy for myself. I’ve learned over the years, that Mommy and Daddy will not be buying me things forever. However, as I wrote in my other paragraph, I don’t think some children, like the brat, realize how lucky they are. Some people get cut off from their parents right when they graduate from high school, others have parents that help them out and pay for college and other nice things. I’m very lucky that my parents are paying for my college, etc, but I can tell you I would never act like the brat. I always take into account that my parents a so generous to me, and I never really take any of the things they do for me, for granted.

Blog 35

For my two Common Place articles, I read “Comfort Food” by Morgan Glaze and “Classes, Finals, Friends, and Cancer: The Life of Future College Students” by Shelby Veppert. I liked both of these papers; however, I really liked “Comfort Food”. I can easily relate to what Morgan’s friend went through. I think most girls can! There are some days where I don’t always feel pretty or I’m just down on myself and turn to my two favorite men in the world: Ben and Jerry. Yes, my favorite kind of ice cream is Ben and Jerry’s Half Baked. If you have never tried it, I highly recommend going to a grocery store near you and purchase a pint of it. I can eat almost a whole pint in one setting, but on to talking about Morgan’s paper. I can’t believe all of those statistics she mentioned in here paper and how affective they were. I think it’s amazing how many people get plastic surgery because it will “make them feel better about themselves”. I understand, like Morgan said, if you have DD boobs and want a reduction because they can really put a strain on your back. However, I don’t understand, and think it’s absurd, that people get plastic surgery to make themselves comparable to others, mostly celebrities. I think Heidi Montag is a disgrace. How can one person get 10 different procedures in one setting is beyond me. And I don’t even think she looks that pretty after all of those plastic surgeries; she looks worse! I think it’s horrible that some girls have to feel that way about themselves.

Blog 34

So in class today I thought that working in groups was very helpful when it came to picking my topic for my Commonplace paper. I had some really good ideas about different things about greed, others about ideas or things from the episode that I’m writing my Analytical Research Paper or just other ideas bouncing off of the episode. After talking with Grace, while in the groups of two, I narrowed what I want to write my paper on down to two of my ideas. I either want to write a story about being put into other people’s shoes or a satire the importance of money in today’s society. I think it would be interesting to write about being put into other people’s shoes. I’ve always wondered, myself, what it would be like to walk a day in someone else’s shoes. I think it would be neat to “be” someone else for a day and discover what they do because everyone’s life is unique and different. I also think it would be neat to do a satire on the importance of money in today’s society. I was co-editor of my yearbook for two years in high school so I had to write all different kinds of writings for the yearbook. A satire on the importance of money would be neat because I was thinking about poking fun at Hollywood, Bel Air, New York City, 90210, etc. I was thinking about writing about plastic surgery and what people “buy” in order to make themselves look “good”.

Blog 33

This week is going to be a super busy week that is why I’m doing this blog today a day early! I will be writing my English paper this whole week, hoping that I can write a paper that is well written! I have a Spanish test on Monday and Chapter Monday night. Then on Tuesday I have a math quiz and paper homework due. Tuesday night I’m getting dinner with one of my best guy friends that I haven’t seen in a while. At 8pm on Tuesday, I have to be at the Kappa house for the first formal rush event. I have no idea how long I’ll have to be at the house for! On Wednesday, WebWork 4 for math is due. I can’t stand WebWork. It’s annoying to work out all of the problems on paper then have to insert the answers on the computer. And most of the times, I have the correct answers; I just get confused as to how to enter them into the computer. Thursday I have my regular classes then I will be studying my butt of for my math midterm, which takes place on Friday morning. Friday morning I will take my midterm and be done for the week! Once I am done I am going to celebrate like crazy because it’s Halloween weekend. I’m staying at OSU on Friday night then going to OU for the craziness of Halloween! I’m so excited for this week to be done and hopefully I do well on all of my assignments.

Blog 32

My mom’s 50th birthday party was last night. She actually turns 50 today! Since turning 50 is kind of a big deal, my dad wanted to throw her a huge surprise party this past summer over July 4th weekend so that all of our family, friends and people from work could come. My dad and I had started planning the surprise party last May. I bought all of these cute “Over the Hill” decorations and balloons and designed the invitation and printed it on cute balloon-decorated paper. My dad went to Kinko’s and printed out about 150 invitations. He mailed them all out and we thought this party was really going to be such a nice surprise for my mom. Well, when I came home for the summer from school, my mom got really sick. My mom never gets sick; she’s a really tough old dog. So on the third day of calling off sick from work my dad decided to take her to the emergency room. Turns out my mom had to get an emergency appendectomy. Our family friend is and ex-ER doctor and he said that a normal appendix is the size of a pinkie finger and my mom’s was 10 inches long that’s how infected it was! I didn’t really know how serious her condition was; she had to take off work for three months for healing time so obviously we had to cancel the party. So last night, we obviously didn’t have 200 people at our house, we had around 75, but we had a nice party for my mom.

Blog 31

So today was the Buckeye game. I was excited because my cousin, from Youngstown, came to visit this weekend, so I got her a student ticket and she borrowed my roommate’s BuckID and we snuck her into our section. She had never been in the student section before, and honestly it’s so different than sitting in any other section. Before coming to Ohio State, my parents always get season tickets so I would sit with them. Obviously their tickets aren’t in the student section so my first game, last year, was definitely an experience! She said she had fun in the student section because everyone was so rowdy. HAHA we decided to leave a little bit before halftime, though, because it was raining a little bit and we didn’t feel like sitting in the drizzle. I personally think drizzle is the worst kind of rain. We went to get my car in the Union garage because I brought my car down to campus for the weekend and we went back to my house in Powell for my mom’s 50th birthday party. My one best friend that also sits with me during football games came with us to my house too. When we got to my house, the score of the game was 42-0 or something like that. When we left the stadium it was 28-0. That was insane; I don’t think we should be the number 10 team. I think we’re much better than a number 10 team so hopefully we’ll go up in the rankings on Sunday.

Blog 30

So after my math lecture, my roommate and I had nice “bonding” time. We went to Potbelly’s to have lunch because we were both starving. Potbelly’s is neat because they have the most random decorations all throughout the restaurant. I always find something new every time I go in there. So anyway, we got turkey and cheese sandwiches and just sat and talked for a while. Then after lunch we went to No Tan Lines to go tanning. We go tanning a lot. I really like to tan because I feel so good in the “sun”. I’m obsessed with the sun. I know tanning is fake sun but it makes me feel good because summer is my favorite time of the year. So we tanned and then went back to our apartment and showered because after I go tanning I always smell burnt. It’s a gross smell; my body smells burnt and my hair smells horrible. HAHA so after showering we had to wait on our other roommate to get out of her exam to go to the mall. When she got home we went to Polaris to go shopping and to just get out of campus. I wanted to find a little, plain black dress for my black kitty costume for Halloween; however, that was a complete fail. I thought Forever XXI might have something, but they didn’t and instead of going to “look” for a dress, I ended up buying tons of clothing that I probably didn’t need. I need to stop spending money like that!

Blog 29

Please help me integrate these quotes :)

Greed is a complexity. There are many things that go into why a person becomes greedy; greed is connected to other things that make a person want to be “greedy”. Some people are greedy about objects; others are greedy about people. Whatever it is that people are greedy about, they know what they want and that is why they are greedy. “Desire for objects expresses our psychic existence in relation to external reality in all its manifestation; and, in this sense, desire has no limits. Our desire for objects invests psychic meaning in our world,” (Levine, 131). When some people want something they desire, they will do anything to get it, even if it means hurting others while in the process of getting it is what they want. Jayne had the desire for an object: money. He knew that money is what he desired for and would let nothing get in his way. He also really didn’t have any idea what it was he would be suffering from because of his actions. However, because some people have such a high desire for a certain thing, they don’t step back and look at the bigger picture and realize what will happen if they obtain what it is they desire. “We are guilty, then, for the consequences of our greed, and it is this guilt and these consequences that we fear,” (Levine, 137). Some people, though, understand what it is they will be suffering from; however, they still go through with getting what it is they are greedy for.

Blog 28

I really love this time of year. I love fall. I love all of the colors of the leaves. It’s so gorgeous. Although the summer weather is my favorite, I do have to say that this chilly weather with the sunshine is very nice. My mom makes the best pumpkin cookies ever. They are the most delicious cookies during this time of year. She brought a whole, big Tupperware container to my apartment and they were all gone in 2 days. I love wearing my UGGS everyday because I could literally live in those things. They are probably the most comfy shoes I own. I don’t really understand why guys think they are so ugly? I think they are great! I also love this time of year because I love dressing up for Halloween. I went to OU last year for Halloween to stay with my best friend who goes there. I’m going to OU again this year and I’m so excited because I haven’t seen my best friend that goes there in forever! Last year I was a sailor; however, this year I have no idea what I want to be. I don’t know if I want to buy a costume like I did last year or if I should just make my own costume and just put some random things together. This is kind of a little problem considering Halloween is, not this weekend, but next weekend. I need to figure out what I want to do soon!

Blog 27

So today has literally been the busiest day EVER. I woke up this morning around 9 am and started to finish my Food Science and Technology project that is due tonight by midnight. Then I ate Apple Cinnamon Cheerios (my favorite kind of Cheerio) with my roommate for breakfast. After breakfast, I did more of my FST project until I had to leave my apartment to go to my math tutor. I left for my math tutor around 11 am and had a tutoring session from 11:15-12:15. I really am not a fan of 152. I worked on paper homework with my tutor and we started to look at the WebWork project 1 and it looked extremely difficult. That class is so much fun… not. After tutoring, I had math recitation from 12:30-1:18 but I decided today to just collect my quiz and paper homework from last week and leave because my TA was doing problems that I already had completed and knew they were right. So I left class early and went to Oxley’s for lunch. I was so excited to get a meatball sub and wedding soup when I discovered that Oxley’s doesn’t take swipes from 10 am – 2 pm. I thought it was some kind of joke but the guy looked at me like I was crazy and proceeded to tell me that the sign was, in fact, true. So then after Oxley’s I went to English class then bolted from English straight to my apartment. I had to finish my FST project and submit it into Carmen. Then I had to hurry and get ready for Formal Pledging tonight for my sorority!

Blog 26

My roommate and I woke up around the same time and she came into my room and told me that she had a hilarious dream about us last night. She said that I was hurt and was in a wheelchair. (You have to know that I get hurt, I always say I wish I had a wheelchair to be pushed around in. I know it’s not the best way to handle being hurt but I would never want to use crutches). So anyway more about my roommate’s dream. She said that she was pushing my in the wheelchair to go watch our friends’ soccer game. She said that she was pushing me really fast on purpose and all of a sudden my wheelchair got caught in a hole in the grass. After my wheel got caught, I apparently was flung out of my wheelchair and landed on the grass. She said that I fell in front of the whole soccer team and all of the fans. I literally died of laughter when she told me this because I could totally see her doing something like this to me. You have to know my roommate and I to think this is funny because we have a funny/weird sense of humor. Other than that funny story that made my day, today was just another Monday. It was a fun-filled day of classes and eating and library-ing it up. Oh yeah and on the way back from the library, it poured. Wasn’t a fan of the rain because I didn’t have my umbrella, my rain jacket or my rain boots.

Blog 25

So after I decided to write my blog yesterday about how much I hoped that the Buckeyes would win, I guess I’ll write that I really hate Wisconsin. I honestly didn’t think that we were going to lose that game. I’m extremely upset because I really wanted the Buckeyes to go undefeated this year! I was yelling at the TV like a mad woman last night. And my guy friends even cooked out for my roommates and I. They made us cheeseburgers and I ate two of them. They were amazing. The cooking out was the best part of the game. I guess I’ll also write about what I’m doing today. Right now, I’m watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians. I really love that show because all of the girls are so entertaining. My roommate is making us lunch. She’s making us Four Cheese Rice-A-Roni. It is the best rice ever. I think I might also have a turkey and cheese sandwich. I am extremely hungry today for some odd reason. There’s a Keeping Up With The Kardashians marathon on and I am so happy because the new episodes normally air on Sunday nights at 10pm and I’m normally doing homework at that time so I’m glad I can finally catch up and watch the episodes that I missed! The rice that my roommate is making is almost done so I should probably conclude this blog for today. I’m so excited to stuff my face since I didn’t have breakfast this morning.

Blog 24

Today is the big day! It’s a big day because the game’s on tonight! I’m excited to watch the game tonight because I’m cooking out with some good friends. I love cookouts during fall football games like this one tonight! I absolutely love Buckeye football, especially on home game days. Even though tonight’s away, it’s still fun, but nothing beats going into Ohio Stadium and watching a good game of football with over 100,000 other people! I love tailgating with all of my friends and family. Eating and drinking are some of my favorite things, so why not do it with the ones you love, right? I love how intense the crowd gets during games, and nothing beats sitting in the student section. Although, I have to say that I’m kind of upset with where my seats are this year. I’m further up in the stands than I was last year as a freshman. I find it kind of odd that as a sophomore I would be up further than last year? I’m kind of nervous for tonight’s game. (I always get nervous before these kinds of games. Actually I always get nervous before any Ohio State game. I’m weird, I know. Wisconsin isn’t that bad. I mean their ranked 18th but still. Last week, Alabama was ranked number 1 in the country and South Carolina was ranked 16th and they still beat Alabama. AH! I really hope that we can pull this win off and stay ranked at number 1.

Blog 23

My roommate and I absolutely love to watch Disney Channel when we are just trying to relax in our apartment. There is this new show called Fish Hooks that just started airing a few weeks ago. I am actually watching it right now while I eat dinner. At first it looked kind of dumb, but after watching the first 10 minutes it’s actually a mildly entertaining show. There are many different characters that have different accents and outfits that are really funny. It is mostly a cartoon; however, there are bits and pieces of real images that pop up in and out of the episode. It’s a very colorful show so I can see how little kids love watching Disney Channel because all of the colors help keep their attention. Also, the way that the fish characters talk and act is easily relatable to the young teen crowd in society today. It is really entertaining to hear these conversations and to think that I used to act the way that the characters are on the show. It makes me feel mature and good about myself that I have grown out of the drama-filled lifestyle that fills high school. The show was obviously based for more of a younger crowd because of the scenarios and behavior that are represented in the television show. I do have to admit, though, that after a whole episode the show got kind of annoying. I am not sure if I would chose to watch it again unless there is absolutely nothing else on tv.

Blog 22

In the ninth episode of Firefly, “Ariel”, Jayne’s actions towards River and Simon were acts of dehumanization. During this scene, to him, River and Simon were just mere objects rather than human beings because all he cared about was receiving his end of the deal from the Feds. Because he decided to sell out River and Simon out to the Feds, Jayne wasn’t really thinking clearly with the fact that River and Simon’s lives could’ve been seriously affected or put in danger; he wasn’t looking ahead at the bigger picture and thinking about what they potential consequences could have been. He didn’t think about anything or anyone else but himself in this situation. The creator of this show, Firefly, wanted to show that desirable objects can get the best of anyone and make people do unethical things to others without realizing what the consequences would be. Because he was so greedy, he lost all self-control and ultimately that is what led him to sell out River and Simon. “The self-interest connected to greed becomes both self-denial and an attack on others. This leads to the paradoxical conclusion that pursuit of self-interest connected to greed, rather than finding the self as its end, serves only to affirm the loss of self,” (Levine, 132). Although Jayne has never really gotten along with River and Simon, he, as an overall person, would not have sold them out had money not been in the picture. However, because he did sell them out, he feels guilty at the end of the episode for what he did to them.

Blog 21

Let’s be honest; money plays a huge role in today’s society. As much as people don’t want to admit it, money is extremely important. “In twenty-first century corporate life, the idea of avarice is also associated with a greed for power,” (Long, 248). So not only do people want money, they also want power because with money comes power. Money and power can become a very dangerous combination because both enable a person to get it is what they desire. “Money comes to represent the power to buy all that is desired,” (Long, 250). Because Jayne had such a strong desire for money, he thought that the money could change him. While negotiating the deal with the Feds, one of them said to Jayne that he would “soon become a very rich man”. Right then and there, Jayne probably thought about all of the things he could do with that money. A “very rich man” equates to having and doing extravagant things: cars, houses, vacations, and parties. Now, Jayne might not have been thinking that far into the future but he had to have been thinking of something extravagant when he decided to go through with his plan of selling Simon and River out to the Feds. Because of the desire for this massive amount of money, Jayne ultimately lost his self-control. “Greed taken into action is popularly seen as an exemplification of the break-down of self-control,” (Long, 248). When a person loses their self-control, they are more than likely to make mistakes that might end up making them deal with serious consequences.

Blog 20

Greed is a complexity. There are many things that go into why a person becomes greedy; greed is connected to other things that make a person want to be “greedy”. Some people are greedy about objects; others are greedy about people. Whatever it is that people are greedy about they know what they want and that is why they are greedy. “Desire for objects expresses our psychic existence in relation to external reality in all its manifestation; and, in this sense, desire has no limits. Our desire for objects invests psychic meaning in our world,” (Levine, 131). When some people want something the desire, they will do anything to get it, even if it means hurting others while in the process of getting it is what they want. Jayne had the desire for an object: money. He knew that money is what he desired for and would let nothing get in his way. He also really didn’t have any idea what it was he would be suffering from because of his actions. However, because some people have such a high desire for a certain thing, they don’t step back and realize what will happen if they obtain what it is they desire. “We are guilty, then, for the consequences of our greed, and it is this guilt and these consequences that we fear,” (Levine, 137). Some people, though, understand what it is they will be suffering from; however, they still go through with getting what it is they are greedy for.

Blog 19

Another article that I read was titled, “The Attachment of Greed to Self-Interest” by David P. Levine. Levine is a professor at the University of Denver. He argues, “Though prominent in shaping our thinking about self-interest, the part played by greed is as often denied as acknowledged. The denial of greed expresses the ambivalence it provokes, which stems form the danger it poses or seems to pose. This danger stems, in part, from the link between greed and destructiveness.” So I believe that Levine thinks that people know that greed exists however some deny and some acknowledge that it is there. Then he goes into saying that those who deny that greed exists are the ones who are going to be put into “danger”. He also says “Greed represents an aspect of the desire to live. … By its very nature it is endless and never assuaged; and being a form of the impulse to live, it ceases only with death.” So I believe that Levine thinks that for some people greed is a way of life, a desire in order to live their lives. Also, he says that greed is endless. I believe this to be totally true because once you start to become greedy; it’s hard to stop being greedy. I think it’s kind of like an addiction. You always want more and you are never really ever going to be satisfied. I wonder if this is why Jayne is always looking out for “better” jobs. I think Jayne has the mentality that he will never have enough and never be satisified.

Blog 18

I read another one of my articles titled “Greed feels good, so watch out” by Kerry Hannon. Hannon writes for USA Today. Hannon interviewed Jason Zweig, author of “Your Money and Your Brain: How the New Science of Neuroeconomics Can Help Make You Rich.” Zweig believes that there is a battle between your “brains” when it comes to making money. He says, “There is a battle between the ‘reflexive brain’ (emotional-driven biological circuits that make us crave rewards) and the ‘reflective brain’ (analytical circuits). Your brain becomes intensely aroused when you anticipate a financial gain: ‘Your brain treats potential investing (or gambling profits as a broad class of basic rewards, like food, drink, shelter, safety, sex’ or drugs.” So I think that Zweig believes that anticipating the financial gain is more “fun” than actually receiving the money. I think this ties really well with Jayne because he was obviously very excited to get his money from the Feds because it was a more amount of money than Simon’s job. I think Jayne got to wrapped up into the idea of making more money and that ultimately cost him getting arrested. So I think Zweig would say that Jayne’s “brains” were battling and ultimately his “reflexive brain” won. He was so emotionally driven to get the money from the Feds that, I don’t think, he realized what his consequences were going to be. I also don’t think he really realized what his actions were going to do to Simon and River either.

Blog 17

I read one of my articles titled, “Is Greed Good?” by Christoph Uhlhass. This article was mostly about eBay. What it takes to “survive” when purchasing items off of the website. I don’t really that information about eBay will help me, however, there were some good quotes about greed and the economy that I think I might be able to use. The article defines an economic man (Homo economicus) as “a rational, selfish person who single-mindedly strives for maximum profit.” I think that Jayne fits this definition, while he definitely does not seem to be the sharpest crayon in the box; I think he knows what he’s doing when it comes to benefiting himself and making others look bad. I also thought this quote was good, “People not only try to maximize their gains but also watch to see that they get roughly the same share as others: they are happy to get one piece of cake as long as they next person does not get two pieces.” This definitely ties to Jayne because in episode 9, he wants to make sure he gets the most money possible. That is why he decides to rat out Simon and River because the Feds made him a better offer than Simon. This quote was good as well, “Circumstance also sculpts behavior, studies have revealed, regardless of natural character traits or values. That is, whether a person is competing in a market of strangers or negotiating with a partner can make a big difference in whether fairness, reciprocity or selfishness will predominate.” I like that because I feel Jayne was selfish when he decided to go along side with the Feds.

Blog 16

I read one of my articles titled, “Is Greed Still Good?” by Deborah Solomon. Solomon is a writer for The New York Times magazine. Originally, I thought that this article would explain why or why not greed was still good; however, it didn’t. It was an interview between Solomon and movie director Oliver Stone. Stone’s movie “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” recently hit theaters. 75 percent of this article probably won’t help me with my paper and my argument; however, there was a quote that I liked of Stone’s. Solomon asked, “In the new film, Gordon Gekko, the disgraced financier, turns out to be a softie trying to reconcile with his daughter, a left-wing blogger,” and Stone replied, “I wouldn’t say that he has gone soft, but he certainly has matured, and he suffered. I think the movie is very much about family. If you’re a coldhearted person who just admires money, you’re not going to get anywhere.” I really liked the part of his answer about if you’re a coldhearted person that just admires money, you won’t get anywhere. I honestly believe this is true. That quote, I believe, really explains Jayne. I believe that in episode 9 (the episode that I’m writing my paper on) Jayne really is a coldhearted person that only wants money and doesn’t care about his “family”, Jayne’s family being Simon and River. I think that the money from the Feds got to Jayne’s head and he didn’t realize what the consequences of his actions would be.

Blog 15

I want to do my paper essentially on greediness when it comes to a monetary reward. Why people feel the need to put others lives in danger beats me so I want to research this topic a little more. I guess I could also tie in how karma can be the biggest bitch when it comes to this topic. I feel that karma is huge when it comes to this kind of thing. I want to find what makes people “pull the trigger” when it comes to these kinds of things. Maybe do a little bit of research about the way people think when it comes to money? I want to understand what makes people do these sorts of things and why they think it’s okay to do them.

Works Cited

Hannon, Kerry. “Greed feels good, so watch out.” Academic Research Complete.
USA Today. 10 Sept. 2007. 7 Oct. 2010.

Levine, David P. “The Attachment of Greed to Self-Interest.” Academic Search
Complete. Vol. 2. Issue 2 p131-140. Psychoanalytic Studies. June 2000.
7 Oct. 2010.

Long, Susan. “Greed.” Academic Search Complete. Vol. 15. Issue 3 p245-259.
Psychodynamic Practice. Aug. 2009. 7 Oct. 2010.

Solomon, Deborah. “Is Greed Still Good?” Academic Search Complete. New York Times
Magazine p18. 12 Sept. 2010. 7 Oct. 2010.

Uhlhaas, Christoph. “Is Greed Good?” Academic Search Complete. Vol. 18 Issue 4 p60-
67. Scientific American Mind. Aug./Sept. 2007. 7 Oct. 2010.

Blog 14

For my final episode I watched, episode 9 “Ariel” from Firefly. After I originally watched this episode, I thought it might be a good episode to write about because I liked the message that it was portraying. Then after discussing the things we discussed in class on Tuesday, I knew that I had to write about this episode! After watching the episode a second time, I picked up on some things that I didn’t realize the first time. (But isn’t that how it always is? HAHA) I definitely picked up on Jayne’s actions in this episode a lot more. At the beginning of the episode he seems very into the doctor’s plans for a job because it is worth a ton of money. However once he’s in the hospital with Simon and River, he leaves them alone in a room and talks to the Feds via an iChat thing. He tells the Feds that he has their “fugitives”. When I first watched this episode I was so confused because I had no idea who the “fugitives” were. But as the episode progressed, I slowly learned that Jayne had ratted them out to the Feds. I couldn’t believe this when this happened. I was so angry because I didn’t understand why he would turn his back on them in order to make a little more money. The Fed that Jayne talked to via the iChat thing even said that he was “about to become a very rich man”. It seems to me that nowadays people will do anything for money. Even if it means putting others lives in danger. Then at the end of the episode, Mal puts Jayne’s life is in danger when he discovers what Jayne did. All I have to say is karma is a bitch!

Blog 13

For the next episode of my choice, I decided to watch another episode of Firefly. I watched the 13th episode, “Heart of Gold”. The more I watch this show, the more it keeps me intrigued and I don’t want to stop watching it! I never thought I would say that because Sci-Fi is not my forte. Anyhow, during the episode Inara receives a call from a fellow companion, Mandy. Mandy needs the crew’s help because she knows there will be a battle and they are not fully equipped to fight. Inara explains this situation to Mal and he agrees to help the companions out. She needs help keeping this powerful man away from her “whore” house because he got one of her girls pregnant and he wants to keep the baby as his heir. Yet the man has a wife. If I were the wife, I would be furious that my husband got another woman pregnant, yet his wife seems perfectly fine that the baby is his. Why she is fine with it makes no sense to me. But during this episode, I discovered that Inara truly cares about Mal. After having sex with Mandy, Mal leaves her room early in the morning half naked as Inara is walking by. She cries after talking to Mal because Mal confesses that he had sex with Mandy. Then after all of the fighting is over and they are back on Serenity, Inara discreetly describes her feelings to Mal and says that she is leaving the ship! I don’t understand why she would leave if she has everything there? Is she leaving because she cares that much about Mal?

Blog 12

For the next episode of my choice, I decided to watch episode 12, “The Message” of Firefly. At the beginning of the episode, it goes into a flashback seven years ago when Mal and Zoe are in battle. There is another guy, Tracy, with them and Zoe saves his life because he didn’t see one of the enemies approaching him. Then the episode goes back to the present time and Mal and Zoe receive Tracy’s “dead” body in the mail. Then the cops go to the mail station, where Mal and Zoe just left with the body, looking for Tracy’s body. After taking the body back to Serenity, Zoe discovers a recorder and Tracy said on the recorder that he only trusts Mal and Zoe to get him back to his family to have a proper burial. But why now? Why seven years later, dump your body to people that you haven’t associated with in so long? And how do you know you can still trust those people? Was he trying to set up the crew? Then Simon attempts to do an autopsy but as he begins to cut Tracy, he magically wakes up. Not going to lie, that part made me jump. Then it’s discovered that Tracy is smuggling human organs, trying to make money to put is parents on a nicer planet. I understand trying to give your parents a better life and all, but putting others in danger while trying to do it is not a smart idea. Honestly, I was really confused after watching this episode.

Blog 11

For the next episode of my choice, I decided to watch “Trash” from Firefly. I think it’s funny that the episode is titled “Trash” because Saphrine, or whatever her name is, I have discovered is an extremely trashy woman. At the beginning of the episode when Mal visits his friend and they are talking about his friend’s new wife, I definitely wasn’t expecting Saphrine to come out because the friend said her name was Bridget. I’m glad the friend didn’t stick with her though because she is a very sly person, I think. As the episode progresses, Mal decides not to leave her on the moon. Why? I don’t know because if someone tried to kill me and my friends, I would for sure leave them on a moon to fend for themselves. And why he decides to go along with her plan to make some money beats me. I would never trust her after what she did to Serenity. But apparently Mal thinks her plan is a good idea and while on the job something strange happens. The person they are trying to rob is another man that Saphrine is “married” to, except this time her name to him is Yolanda. I literally laughed out loud when this occurred because this woman is a complete joke. My question is how does she get with all of these guys? And how many men has she “married”? It seems like she is a traveling prostitute or something. I also don’t understand how none of these guys, except Mal, a smart enough to know that this woman isn’t their wife? I also laughed when Mal called her “Yo-Saph-Bridg”, since she has a thousand names.

Blog 10

For the next episode of my choice I watched episode 10, “War Stories”, from Firefly. I thought it was ironic that in this episode Wash talked about how Zoe always follows the captain’s orders and that she doesn’t really have her own opinion. It’s ironic since we talked about this situation of Zoe’s in class the other day; I didn’t really think that it would be talked about in an episode, I thought I was just more of an idea that the creator wanted us to be aware about. During the episode, Wash messes something up with the ship and says he did it because he doesn’t want to hear of another bonding story between Mal and Zoe. So in return, Mal lets Wash go with him on this “job” and the two men end up getting caught in a battle trying to complete the mission. I think it’s funny on Wash’s part because he was the one that wanted to see what it was that Zoe does with Mal and he ends up in one of the scariest situations. I also think it’s funny that Wash thinks that Zoe obeys everything that Mal tells her, when Mal says to Wash, “There’s plenty of orders of mine she didn’t obey… She married you.” In my opinion, from Wash’s facial expressions in the episode, he is bothered yet relieved that Zoe did this. In some odd way, I think Zoe and Wash are very good for each other because they balance each other out.

Blog 9

For the next episode of my choice I watched the 9th episode of Firefly, “Ariel”. When Simon describes his plan to make money to everyone, I found it funny that Jayne was actually going to go along with it, since Jayne can’t stand Simon. And when Simon and River and Jayne are in the x-ray room, Jayne actually seems like he’s worried about River. As the episode progressed, however, I was starting to think that Jayne had something up his sleeve. As it turns out, he did and was the one that called the feds on River and Simon. I feel that the “theme” for this episode is that karma is truly a bitch. Jayne thought that he would make more money by calling the feds than what Simon’s “job” would’ve paid him. But to his dismay, he too was taken by the feds with River and Simon and didn’t receive his money that he thought the feds were going to give him. Because Jayne was extremely greedy and looking out for himself, he ultimately could’ve gotten the whole crew killed. I don’t understand what makes a person feel the need to be that greedy when it comes to making money. What desires a person to put others under the bus in order to succeed? I understand that it’s a dog-eat-dog world, but I could never imagine putting another human being’s life in danger just to better mine a little bit. I think it’s ironic, at the end of the episode, how Mal puts Jayne’s life in danger just as Jayne did to River’s and Simon’s.