In the first article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, Nicholas Carr makes the argument that our minds are not going but they are in fact changing because of our increasing use of the internet. Simply reading a text is becoming more and more difficult due to a lack of focus. It is hard and almost impossible to read a text throughout without losing any concentration. Online research techniques, such as Google, are linked directly to this problem. Research without using internet would take a lot more time, having to search through actual books to find what was being searched. This idea almost seems crazy when you have such an efficient, fast and easy way to do your research. However, it has had a negative effect as well. Our brain is not being exercised as much as it would be if we didn’t have the internet. Our minds are not used to having to read long texts because the internet is able to do what we want it to do in just seconds. The brain will work the way it has been trained to work. It can forget old ways and develop new ways to think. “Our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged.” Personally, I know I’ve come across many instances where I lost all focus in what I was reading. Why read when knowing how much easier it would be to just look up a summary online? This easy access to such an effective tool is at fault for people’s way of thinking. It is almost like our minds have become lazy, relying only on the internet. You don’t even need a computer to have such access. The majority of people with cell phones, do in fact have full access to internet on it. This idea may have been insane 50 years ago but it is possible now and extremely useful. If you need to Google something, you can do it in a second. The internet has destroyed the traditional way of using our minds to think.
In the article, “The Internet Is No Substitute for the Dying Newspaper Industry”, the argument is almost the opposite of the first article. Carr expresses how the internet can be viewed positively for the acceptance of direct and faster information although it does have its disadvantages as well. Hedges thinks that the internet is not an advantage to us at all. Chris Hedges believes that the internet is not equal in conveying what a newspaper can, yet the internet is taking over. In newspapers, writers fulfill the job of reporting, which bloggers or any other writers on the internet fail to do. “The majority of bloggers and Internet addicts, like the endless rows of talking heads on television, do not report. They are largely parasites who cling to traditional news outlets.” People who use the internet for any sort of writing are an annoyance to the world of reporting, according to Hedges. I strongly disagree with his ideas. The intention for any blogger or internet writer is not to replace newspapers, but just to simply express ideas. We use the newspaper to obtain a certain type of information and we use the internet for other information. The internet provides so much more that newspapers cannot, however a newspaper cannot be replaced because of its tradition and substance.

The Onion

On the surface, The Onion’s purpose is to mock current events for humor and entertainment. However, on a deeper level, the onion seems to try to make current events funny to bring out the exaggerated truth. The first story that I read was “George W. Bush Chuckles To Self Upon Thinking About How He Was President Of The United States For Almost A Decade”. Obviously this falls under the complicated category of politics, making it a very opinionated article. The title alone is humorous as the writer makes fun of George W. Bush and his presidency. Even the quotes of George Bush seem to be exaggerated, emphasizing the way people made fun of the way he talks. Throughout the article, Bush uses very short simple-worded responses, which fulfills the stereotype people gave him over his eight year presidency. It seems as though it is pretty easy to indirectly express an opinion through these funny stories. Making fun of an event in an intelligent way articulates an opinion. Even if the story is somewhat serious, the humor helps bring out a more laid-back feeling to current events.

personal story- news story

The sounds of all my surroundings were muted and all I was able to hear was the loud sound of my inner thoughts. I breathed heavily with a nervous smile on my face. "Everything will be just fine...as long as you don't trip and fall. Just keep that smile on your face and if you happen to mess up just act as if nothing happened", I advised myself. I felt the need for reassurance being that this was my first performance in such a public place. It was Greek night at Athens Square Park, where hundreds of people were gathered curiously, awaiting to see what's next. I heard the words I was dreading the whole day, "...and now welcome our next dance group, the Kolokotronei!". The dancing started and all I was able to see were hundreds of pairs of eyes watching my every move. The fear slowly faded away as we started to dance Stamna (a traditional Cypriot dance-The story told in this dance takes place in an old-time Cypriot village. It is about a young girl going to a fountain to get water and as she is there a guy comes to flirt with her and accidentally scares her, causing her to drop the vase of water she is holding, making it shatter into pieces). It was my turn to drop the vase and at that point exactly, every one of those pairs of eyes faded. They didn't matter anymore. What mattered was the music of the dance and the fact that I was dancing this for myself, not for the audience. The feeling I had was unexplainable which is exactly what makes it special to me. The place where my parents came from is what makes me who I am. The dancing reminds me of how I define my identity and how important it is to me. Everyone in that audience was just watching some kind of Greek dance, but to me it meant so much more. It is what makes me an individual. So, who am I? I'm a proud Greek-Cypriot American trying to keep my culture alive.


Culture Onstage
Astoria--- On August 10th, a culture night was held in Athens Square Park in Astoria, NY. It consisted of a variety of different cultures expressing themselves through performances, including a Greek dance group, the Kolokotronei, performing traditional Greek and Cypriot dances.
“Don’t be nervous and remember to smile”, said Mr. Demetri to his dance group right before they were prepared to approach the stage. The dancing soon began as hundreds of people gathered at the park curious and excited to see this distinctive performance. As the routine went on, the dance group performed a traditional Cypriot dance. In this specific dance, one of the girl dancers throws a vase onto the floor, breaking it as a result of her fright and shock when a boy tries to dance and flirt with her. This dance is representational of teenagers’ lives in villages of Cyprus from the past when relationships happened in secret.
Once that vase hit the pavement of the stage the crowd cheered, being that this was nothing they’ve ever seen before. Not only was this night intense in tradition and culture but it was also extremely powerful in sharing the Greek-Cypriot culture with the audience. “You can tell that the dancers’ hearts were in the dance”, said Stefani, an ecstatic member of the audience. “It was an amazing performance”, she added. The experimental culture night at Athens Square Park was a great success and will surely continue to be an annual event.

Blogging

Throughout this article, Michael Skube makes several points to distinguish between a blogger and a journalist. Journalists who get published in newspapers and magazines are considered to be writing for mainstream media. On the other hand, blogging is not fully thought of as mainstream media. Bloggers are overall free in their writing, being open to all opinions and ideas regardless of any censorship. Journalists are writers expressing their ideas but with “obligations” and restrictions. Skube makes a point that blogs are often for disputes and arguments. Bloggers’ intentions are to make a difference and speak out. The fact that blogging is such a free type of expression of ideas, Skube argues that they are just opinions and not evidence. It is purely a group of ideas that sometimes are not supported. Blogging is taking away from "reporting", which can be considered as the more formal way of sharing information.

In the article, “The Blogging Revolution”, Andrew Sullivan describes blogging as a job more than anything else and according to him, blogging can lead to a lucrative and successful job. In the article, “Blogs: All the noise that fits”, Michael Skube makes blogging seem the exact opposite of a job. He compares bloggers to journalists, leaning towards the idea that journalism is the more traditional job. Both can agree that blogging is effective being that it is on something so widespread, the internet. The free flow of ideas that blogs consist of, are nothing but the personal opinions of an individual. To Sullivan, the lack of censorship in blogs is a positive aspect. This allows direct information to be delivered to reader. The personal thoughts of the writer are expressed through blogs, giving the reader a sense of “the temper of their writer”. Contradicting this, Skube believes that blogs are not formal enough to have enough evidence to support any ideas. Blogs are only opinions yet journalism is well-thought out and appropriate to rely on for information.

I agree more with Sullivan’s ideas about blogging. Blogging gives everyone a fair chance to express their exact ideas without any restrictions or censors at all. Instead of being manipulative, like journalism is, blogging is real because it is clear that what is being read is solely the idea of some person. Factual information cannot be expected from blogs but more so the strong beliefs and viewpoints of an individual. Blogs allow people to make their own decisions and develop their own ideas. Journalism often sounds like factual information, not letting personal opinions be formulated. The openness of blogging gives the opportunity for someone to express themselves truthfully.

Me..

The sound of all my surroundings were muted and all I was able to hear was the loud sound of my inner thoughts. I breathed heavily with a nervous smile on my face. "Everything will be just fine...as long as you don't trip and fall. Just keep that smile on your face and if you happen to mess up just act as if nothing happened", I advised myself. I felt the need for reassurance being that this was my first performance in such a public place. It was Greek night at Athens Square Park, where hundreds of people were gathered curiously, awaiting to see what's next. I heard the words I was dreading the whole day, "...and now welcome our next dance group, the Kolokotronei!". The dancing started and all I was able to see were hundreds of pairs of eyes watching my every move. The fear slowly faded away as we started to dance Stamna (a traditional Cypriot dance-The story told in this dance takes place in a old-time Cypriot village. It is about a young girl going to a fountain to get water and as she is there a guy comes to flirt with her and accidentally scares her, causing her to drop the vase of water she is holding, making it shatter into pieces). It was my turn to drop the vase and at that point exactly, every one of those pairs of eyes faded. They didn't matter anymore. What mattered was the music of the dance and the fact that I was dancing this for myself, not for the audience. The feeling I had was unexplainable which is exactly what makes it special to me. The place where my parents came from is what makes me who I am. The dancing reminds me of how I define my identity and how important it is to me. Everyone in that audience was just watching some kind of Greek dance, but to me it meant so much more. It is what makes me an individual. So, who am I? I'm a proud Greek-Cypriot American trying to keep my culture alive.

"The Astoria Idea"

The immediate idea a person has when hearing of the town of Astoria is none other than just one word, “Greek”. To a great extent this word holds a lot of truth; however Astoria has come to have a diverse society. The population of Greeks as well as Italians in Astoria is enormous for such a small area yet just a brief walk down 30^th avenue will prove this to be wrong. Yes, there is a continuous strip of Greek cafes, restaurants and stores but it is easy to find people a different ethnicity. Astoria is loaded with Greeks but consists of Albanians, Indians, African Americans, Croatians, Mexicans, etc.

Astoria acts like a puzzle, each piece representing a different identity. Ditmars Boulevard is probably the most Greek it can get. It is highly impossible to live anywhere in that area without having at least three of your neighbors from a Greek background. Most of the Greek Orthodox churches are located in that area as well as Greek schools and halls for Greek associations. 30^th avenue, also known as the heart of Astoria, gets a bit more diverse as far as ethnicities go. Next is Broadway, where everything changes. Years ago, all of Astoria could have been considered simply Greek and Italian. Broadway distinguishes the merely Greek from the diverse variety. It is slowly transforming into a little-Manhattan. The majority of the inhabitants near the Broadway area do in fact work in the city. Many even moved there from the city because of the convenience of the N train in addition to the cheaper rents. This resulted in an obvious cultural diffusion among the town of Astoria.

Going further into Astoria, past Broadway, you can possibly encounter a famous actor shooting a soon-to-be best film of the year. Around 36^th avenue exists the infamous Kaufman Studios where many movies and TV shows are made. Because of the location of the studios, the streets of Astoria are often used for films to be shot. Have you heard of a Bronx Tale? Most of that movie was shot in, of course, Astoria.

Generally, whether you want to visit the Greek-town or hang around Astoria Park for a nice city-view, Astoria has plenty to offer.