Cookie for me, Cookie for you

I gave my speech on how to make chocolate chip cookies. It was a fairly easy topic to give a speech on because I already knew how to make the cookies. Those are also some really good cookies to eat and they go great with ice cream, or in ice cream.
After reviewing my speech, I think that there are a lot of things that I did well and there are things that also need some improvement. I believe that the rate of speech was very good. It was slow and easy to understand and follow. I was also very thorough with my steps and directions. The introduction was very solid and introduced the topic very well. It gave a little history and background and added depth to my speech. The speech was also within the time limit of five to six minutes. Furthermore, I feel that it was very well organized. There was also a little bit of humor added to it to break the tension and I did not laugh when I said the jokes.
Unfortunately, there is still a lot of room for improvement. I sounded very monotonous while I was speaking and that is never good when giving a speech. Some of the audience was probably just ready to eat the cookies and was wondering why this guy was up there speaking. But hey, everyone got cookies. I also seemed a little uneasy up in front of the class and that was evident when I stuttered or lost my train of thought. I could have also made more eye contact with the audience, especially during my introduction.
Overall, it was a solid speech and definitely was worthy of the grade I received on it. I was happy with it and the cookies were tasty so all went well.

Breakfast with Tiffany

I live in Babcock House on University Avenue. We are a corporation that is tax exempt and very low cost, but that is not important. The best thing about Babcock House is having eight meals a week made for us by our fabulous cook Tiffany. She comes in to the house Monday-Thursday to cook and prepare meals for us. I have the luxury of helping out Tiffany on Mondays and Wednesdays. I usually don’t have to do a whole lot because she does all of the planning for the meals. She also orders all of our cooking supplies from Dierks-Wakesha Food Supply. All of our meals are made from scratch and I believe that Michael Pollan would approve. Tiffany definitely cooks by the motto “mostly plants,” which is a big part of Michael Pollan’s book.
When I help Tiffany out on Mondays and Wednesdays, I help her out from 11:00-12:10. In that time, I help do a variety of tasks. I set the table and do little odds and ends to help her out every time; however, this past Wednesday, I got to make some cookies all on my own for dessert. She was short on time and didn’t have enough cookies for everyone. I made chocolate chip cookies from scratch. I used semi-sweet chocolate that had to be cut up, rather than the usual Nestle Chocolate Chips. I used the recipe from the back of the Nestle bag. The cookies turned out well and everyone liked them.
I also helped her make the Vietnamese sandwiches that day which consisted of pork, carrots, cucumbers, and peppers. They are very healthy for us. With Tiffany here as our cook, it is not necessary to plan a meal because she does all of that for us. She makes sure we all eat healthy food.

Juju's Valid Opinion

After reading Jake's blog on Tiger Woods and Gatorade, I think that there are many valid points in his argument. Gatorade could have found many other celebrities to endorse their product. Football players or soccer players probably would have made more sense for the very reason that Jake stated; those sports require a lot more physical activity. Even a baseball player would make more sense to me; however, they chose Tiger Woods, a golfer. He was a very powerful voice in the sports world.
He still is a very powerful person, but he has lost a lot over the last five or six months. Tiger has gone from cloud nine to rock bottom. For reasons that we are all aware of, Gatorade has since dropped the contract with Tiger and he is no longer an advertisement for the thirst-quenching company. PepsiCo ended the Tiger Gatorade drinks in mid-November just before the scandal broke out. That was for economic reasons. They completely ended their partnership in late February.
However, I feel that this was a good endorsement for Tiger and PepsiCo. Tiger was a very big name in sports and just his name could sell products. The commercials that he did were always a very powerful tool and attracted the attention of many. PepsiCo, the owner and maker of Gatorade, used this to promote the product and it seems to have worked out. Gatorade is the official drink of most sporting events and is a favorite of young athletes. Tiger benefited and was compensated with money as well as more stardom.
I believe that Tiger will still be a big player in the advertisement world. He just needs to get back onto the golf course and make sure the only balls that he uses are the ones he puts on the golf tee.

Response to Jenn's post

I agree with Jennifer for the most part. She brings up a lot of valid points about Michael Pollan's book In Defense of Food. The Western diet has change the way of life for many people as the diet is created from a blend of cultures that merged and mixed. I agree that this has led to many health problems, the biggest one being obesity. Obesity also leads to many other health problems such as diabetes, heart problems, and respiration problems. This is also increasing our cost of health care and leading to more debt nationally.

Jennifer also states that nutrition is another cause of obesity. The Western diet has a very wide variety of choices of food to eat. There is a lot that is in all of the food that is causing problems.

There is no real sure answer or solution to fix the problem but there are some simple suggestions that Jennifer made. Consumers need to take responsibility of their food choices, understanding the benefit of real foods versus synthesized products. There is no doubt that choosing to eat healthy foods and getting regular physical activity has positive health benefits. The challenge now is how to inform people to make the right decision.

Carrie Underwood: an Idol for HSUS

Here is a celebrity endorsement for everyone. Carrie Underwood, American Idol winner and country superstar, has stated the Humane Society of the United States is her favorite charity. She grew up on a farm with a few animals in Oklahoma and has always had a deep passion for animals. Carrie Underwood also has a little dog named Ace that travels with her everywhere. She has been an advocate for HSUS for a few years now. Carrie Underwood is most outspoken about getting pets spayed and neutered to prevent unwanted pregnancies among pets. Another of her main platforms is sending the message that acquiring a pet has a lot of responsibilities as well. Many of the people just get a pet because it is cute looking when it is little. They are unaware of all of the responsibilities and the ten to twenty year commitment that comes with having a pet. The Humane Society of the United States has teamed up with Carrie Underwood and, together, they have made a website to help pet owners out and give them tips. I believe that this endorsement has helped out both of the parties involved.

This is a win-win for both Carrie Underwood and HSUS but I do not support this endorsement. I feel that the Humane Society of the United States is not a very transparent organization and the use misconception to sway public opinion. I realize Carrie Underwood is a vegan as well and has many of the same views as much of the HSUS brass; however, she grew up on a farm in Oklahoma with dairy cattle and HSUS is currently trying to pass a lot of legislation that is going to hurt dairy farms as well as pig and poultry farms. I think she is too far removed from her roots and has also fallen for the misconceptions that HSUS has placed on the table. For these reasons, I feel that this was not a good endorsement for her.