What Civic Action Means to Me

"Civic action" is not something that is clear to everybody. Although I fully understand it, many do not. I truly believe that we were put on this earth for a reason and that we should do our civic duty and be men and women with and for others. I believe that many people are too concerned and into themselves and tend to forget about what humanity is. To be human is to promote social justice as well as civic duty.

Many people are age believe that they have more problems then reality entails. For example, being stressed out about a tests isn't really a "problem". Although it may seem like a big deal to a college student, in the whole scheme of things, it's no big deal. Civic action puts things into perspective as well as allows us to really appreciate the important things in life. It allows us to be able to distinguish between a need and a want and be fortunate for what we have. Yes, we all take things for granted sometimes and that's okay; for it is human nature. By carrying out civic action and being a humane citizen, we can really distinguish our "problems" from the real PROBLEMS in the world.

Civic actions requires one to step out of his or her comfort zone and allow the uncomfortable to become the comfortable. Civic action requires one to go out of his or her way for someone or a population who really needs it. It is something that is important to humanity as well as for the development of the self. Civic action is a great way to help out the world a little piece at a time.

Some things that I think that would help this course be improved would be to create a service-learning aspect to it. Nothing gains experience like going out in the real world. Maybe have 2 classes and make one an optional service-learning course. Also, I think that we should have a semester long project about something that relates to civic duty and social justice, This would definitely help the course a lot :)

Attached is a link for a YouTube video on Medical-Veterinary Civil Action Program in Africa .. check it out :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hknYckzBpo

My Take on the TED Talks :)

I absolutely loved the TED Talks! No words can describe :) This was a first time thing for me and overall I was very impressed and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I liked to listen to everyone else's as well because everyone had a different topic to speak about. I thoroughly enjoyed sitting through them as well as giving my own speech.

To be honest, I doubted myself as to if I chose the correct topic to do my TED talk on as I was watching everyone else's. I am a science major and this definitely was obvious as I was giving my talk on Hospice. Overall though, I was very satisfied with the way in which my talk went because although my topic was very different then everyone else's, it was still my own and hospice is a very big part of my life. My goal was to make people aware of the issues that hospice forms as well as try to get the word out. I would do another TED talk any day!!

Hospice ethics presentation

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Hospice ethics presentation

View more presentations from lp384531.

Lisa Polera raises awareness to the unaware

Lisa Polera takes a stance to discuss a topic in which no one has discussed before. She argues how much communication has been lost in the world of hospice as well as the ethics involved in the field. While trying to raise awareness on a topic that many people are unaware about, she also will enlighten and help others to enlight on the subject of hospice and ethics.

WATCH THIS!!! Surrogates Trailer Link!

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/surrogates/29481/video/the-surrogates-trailer-no-1/25345095001

Surrogates: The Novel to Film Adaptation

I've always been an avid reader. I can usually finish a pretty big book in about 2 days. Nerdy huh?! I've also always found that 10/10 times I enjoy the novel better then the movie. Sometimes, if I enjoy a book a lot, I won't see the movie because I liked the book so much and I don't want to ruin what I think happened by watching the movie. I know.. even nerdier! As for the Surrogates, the movie let my expectations down. A book like the Surrogates is different from what I usually read. I like to read biographies and fiction but I never read comic books. Although I was a little hesitant at first to read it, it exceeded my expectations. Because I usually don't read books in comic form, it was a little hard for me to follow at times, but in the end I really enjoyed it.

As for the movie, I was a little disappointed. I always like books better so I knew I would be a little disappointed when I watched the movie. In my opinion, books are always better then the movie and I felt like the novel portrayed the story-line better then the movie did. Although the visuals throughout the movie definitely helped me to picture what the surrogates and the people would actually looked like, I like to use my imagination. Because this story-line deals with technology so much, I was actually looking forward to seeing the movie because I did want to see what these surrogates would look like and how they would act and move. Overall though, I did like the novel better.

For the Surrogates, the novel to film adaption was interesting. There were both many similarities as well as many differences. The biggest difference between the two was that in the movie, the wife does not kill herself. Also, the book left out a major part; in the movie, the reason that the couple is obsessed with their surrogates is because they had lost a child. This was not mentioned in the book and I was very surprised because this was such a big part of the story-line.. or so I thought! Another difference between the novel and the movie was that in the novel, it seemed as though all the characters were fat and ugly. I don't know if it was just my imagination of if this was really how the characters were supposed to be portrayed but I felt like they were a lot better looking in the movie then I imagined them to be. Another difference between the book and the movie was that the movie did a better job of showing how the people with the surrogates actually became their surrogates. An example of this would be the people putting on those "goggles" when they were taking the part of their surrogates. This was something that I did look forward to seeing on film because I wasn't sure about how it was supposed to be portrayed in the novel. A novel to film adaptation is good for a novel such as this because it is so good to visualize it.

Another difference between the novel and the film was that there were a lot more aestics in the movie. Again, it is a lot harder for a book such as this to portray exactly what the people and surrogates are supposed to look like and how they are supposed to act. Overall, I felt like although I always do enjoy the novels more, due to the fact that this particular movie had a lot or technological characters, it helped to visualize things by seeing the movie. I did enjoy the novel better but it helped for me to see the movie. Although the main story-line was mostly similar in both the book and the movie, there were some differences. Overall, although I did thoroughly enjoy the movie, I enjoyed the novel more because I like to use my imagination :)

Humanity: Continued

Here's a video for Habitat for Humanity...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m96pO6A8_Fc&feature=PlayList&p=3FAFC82BD9D7A1A9&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=14

Humanity: What It Means to be Human..

When I think of humanity, I think of the Jesuit ideal- Men and Women with and for Others. As corny as that may sound, it is what first comes to mind. Throughout college, many people get caught up in themselves- they get caught up in their own lives and forget about others. Although it may be easy to get caught up in the enormous amount of schoolwork that college demands, we must not forget that we were put on this earth for reasons beyond the benefit of ourselves. I feel that I have given my time to help others in need. Each semester at St. Joe's, I have volunteered in various locations. Although I know many people that give their times to help others, I know many people that do not. No matter how busy a person is, 3 hours a week aren't a lot. It may sound like it is, but in reality, these 3 hours can be made into something that is very worthwhile. Honestly, this is not to put myself nor others up on a pedestal, but yet to raise awareness to others.

Humanity to me is helping out our fellow humans. Again, I know it sounds corny but if you really think about the qualities that make us human, helping others should come to mind. Maybe it's because I've always done service or maybe it's because I always liked to help others but this is what humanity means to me. To Bruce Schneier, humanity is definitely being lost in today's society. Everything revolves around technology and this is not a good thing. We are losing our sense of self through this technological revolution and before we know it, all sense of communication will be lost.

Humanity also means accepting people for who they are (at least to me). In today's society, it seems as though everybody judges everybody else, and everybody feels as though they are getting judged by others. Although it may sound cliche, it is true. Society puts such a burden on people to be this "perfect" person. Life is not as perfect as we may want it to. Everyone is different and we must accept these differences. Whether it be the color of our skin, our socioeconomic class, or whatever it may be, we must accept everyone for what they are. I am so against plastic surgery and altering what God gave you. Humanity means to accept others for what God gave us as well as opening up our eyes, ears, and hearts for others.

Humanity is being open. Humanity is helping others. Humanity is accepting those for what and who a person really is.

Bruce vs. Nick and the Technological War

Ok so on Monday we read the article The Tech Lab: Bruce Schneier and then we watched the Ted Talk with Nick Bostron. They were both very different but yet similar in many ways. When I first read the article by Bruce, I got both a negative and realistic feeling. Negative because it was well.. negative and realistic because I agreed with mostly all that he was saying. Although at some points he took what he was saying to the extent, he was mostly right on the ball. In the first line of the article, "Welcome to the future, where everything about you is saved," I already could tell the kind of position he was going to be taking. He talked about how technologically-obsessed our generation is and I couldn't help but to agree fully with his thoughts. He basically goes on to say that because of this obsession with technology and all of the improvements in the past couple of decades, we will soon live in a world where we will no longer have the basic freedom of privacy and how conversation will no longer be like it is now. As he says, "Privacy isn't just about having something to hide; it's a basic right that has enormous value to democracy, liberty, and our humanity,".

On the other hand, during his Ted Talk, Nick Bostron spoke about things that I would never expect a public speaker to speak about. He took a more positive approach and spoke about our 3 biggest problems. He spoke about how aging is the biggest cause of our first problem; death. The next problem was about Existential Risk and how it is a threat to human survival. The third problem he spoke about was about how life isn't as usually good as it could be and that sometimes you have a great moment and you wonder why can't life always be like that. He also said, "There are ways in which we can change thins- not by taking things away but by adding." He also spoke about how we need to think about technology and it's profound impact on human nature.

Where Bruce Schneier seemed a little scared about what the future holds, Nick Bostron had a more positive and enlightening speech. He came off as more wise and excited about what the future holds. He touched on the fact that technology is not about if it's a good or bad thing, but yet the more important thing is how we use it. This seemed to go against Bruce's position in that Bruce takes the position that technology is leading us to a future that could have many negative outcomes. Where Bruce seemed to point out all the negative effects of technology, Nick did just the opposite. He spoke about how technology can help us with such things as individual improvement, intellectual capacity, cosmetics, vaccinations, etc.

Overall, both men spoke about their views on technology and although Nick spoke about more eccentric ideas, both men gave their point of views on the topic of technology. Where Bruce seemed to take a more scared and negative approach, Nick seemed more optimistic and pointed out the benefits rather than the negative affects of this technological era.

Andddd to go along with all this technology.. I attached a trailer from the movie 'The Surrogates".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwTJ7mCcFoY

Here's the link to our video.. WATCH IT!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/user/commethicsthesituati?feature=mhw4#p/a/u/0/jZsauG2z3B8

New and Improved :)

Wahoo!!!

Check out "The Situation's" new video. It is new and improved!! We edited it and made it even better. Our group decided to add music to give it a nice touch. Prior to adding the music, I felt as though it was lacking a little something. Although the music can be thought of as to be a little depressing, it is bittersweet. We chose the song Imagine by John Lennon because it seemed to fit the mood. Every time I watch the video, the song still touches me! I don't think that we could have chosen a better song to go along with our message.

We also added subtitles to "spruce" up our video. After watching other people's, we noticed that we needed to make some changes. I noticed that a lot of people did use subtitles in their videos and this made it look more professional and much cleaner. We decided to do the same with our video. The subtitles we added helped our video to look more professional.

We also cleaned up our transitions. They were not as clean-cut as they could have been in the first version and we knew that we needed to change this. Smooth transitions are the key to making a good movie and when the transitions are not clean, this can cause the video to appear and look somewhat sloppy.

Another thing that we added was credits at the end of the video. We thanked Jimmy for his time and telling his story. We also added all of our names to the credits.

Overall, I think that this is going to be a great version of our video. I will post the link as soon as we finish it. I hope that these changes throughout the editing process helped to "professionalize" our video as well as clean it up. This whole experience has been a great learning tool and I never thought in a million years that I would ever be able to make a movie!

Whole New Perspective on Life

This video project, that I was veryyyyy nervous about, actually turned out to be a great learning experience. Jimmy is the most amazing and inspirational person I have ever met and I cannot get over how much I took away from this whole experience. Throughout the making of this documentary, I have rethought everything! Whenever I complain about something little, Jimmy is always in the back of my mind. Never ONCE did I hear him complain and I am continually amazed at what a pleasant person he is. He is constantly going to the doctor and I don't know how he is always in such an upbeat mood.

When you meet and interact with someone like Jimmy, you feel as though you should NEVER complain EVER again. Even if you just spent a minute with him, you would understand what I mean. His optimism for life is contagious and everything he does inspires me. Because the AIDS constantly makes him feel fatigued, he cannot work a steady job. Instead of staying home all the time and complaining about his disease, which most people would understandably do, he goes out and volunteer close to everyday. He is such an amazing person and I feel like I should be thankful for all I have and never complain about anything ever again!!

We are now in the editing process as we speak. Being that we only had 2 weeks to find an inspirational person as well as get all the footage and edit, our time constraints are very close. The lab has had extended hours and that definitely helps a lot but it is still very hard to get this project done in only 2 weeks. We are getting very close to the deadline and we have about a minute and a half of the video done so far. We will most likely finish by today!!

Watch this attached YouTube video. It's about AIDs Awareness.

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=12824374298683265

PROJECT WHAT?!!!!

How Am I Going to Do It??!!!

Being that I am a technology novice, when we were told that we had to make a movie in 2 weeks I quickly got nervous. I have never taken a communications class nevertheless I have never made a movie. NEVER!!! I am a science major and this class is different for me (a good different!!) Being that I am used to taking biology courses, making a movie seemed like a foreign language to me. I am both technologically and computer illiterate. Although I was very worried about how I was going to put together a movie and find a subject within 2 weeks, it looks like my group is off to a good start.

WE GOT OUR SUBJECT!! We are interviewing and taping Jim, our subject, tomorrow!! Jim is an amazing individual who inspires others as he tells his story. Jim was diagnosed with AIDs many years ago and gives speeches about his remarkable life. He is an inspiration to all and once you hear his story, you will never want to complain about your life again. Last year, I heard him speak in my Psychosocial Aspects of Illness and Disability class. He brought tears to my eyes and warmed my heart. His story is truly amazing and just hearing how he deals with his disease on a daily basis is incredible. Jim is always happy and although life has thrown him a bunch of curve balls, he is the most inspiring and amazing individual I have ever met.

Tomorrow we are going into the city to a doctor's appointment with Jim. He is letting us sit in on a doctor's appointment and then we will interview him. He is also letting us come to tape his volunteer hours. He is truly an amazing individual and I am so excited to begin taping!!!

So I guess I have semi-conquered this challenge. I have no idea how to edit so this should be interesting but I guess my group members will teach me all I need to know. When life presents us with a challenge, we must take it head on and give it everything we've got :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VU7pUz7VlM

My Take on the "Ethnosphere"

When I hear the words "cultural diversity" a lot comes to mind. For one thing, my family is VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY Italian and although I usually am consumed by my strong, intense culture, I am able to experience cultural diversity pretty often. The first thing I think of when I think of cultural diversity is FOOOD! I love so many foods from different cultures. MMMMMMmmmmmm Chinese food, Spanish, Mexican, Italian, Japanese, etc. I also think that I exhibit cultural diversity in my clothing. I love Indian type clothing and bags. I also like to proudly support the Italian flag on my shirt every once in awhile.

I believe that encounter more cultural diversity then I do not. I always try to be aware of my surroundings and a big part of this is realizing that you never know where a person comes from or what his or her background is. This is not to say I haven't slipped every once and while, I mean, who hasn't? But I try to be aware of diversity, and this goes beyond just cultural diversity. Cultural diversity is an everyday part of life and I feel that we, as American citizens, should embrace the difference!

I feel like a lot of people truly do not practice or see cultural diversity in their lives. To me this is something that is very important and something that I value. As part of being an American citizen, I feel that it is important to be open to other cultures and diversity in all aspects of life. We must think outside of the box and accept others outside of our comfort zone. To me, people who do not experience cultural diversity do not step out of their comfort zone. This is dangerous and I feel as though it is our responsibility to be open to all experiences. We must embrace the diversity and welcome it with open arms. America is a melting pot and we are what makes the pot diverse.

Empire of Illusion

This is my first communications class ever so this is all new to me!! I had never before read a book like Empire of Illusion and I was so incredibly interested in it!! On Monday we went over Chapters 1 and 2. While the Chapter 1 group was talking about how obsessed we have all become with technology, I couldn't help but agree with this. So many times I have been without a phone, if I lost it or something, and I always feel like I am lost without it. But it's also very liberating and I have realized how attached I have become to all this technology. To be honest, I miss the old communication technique. No one calls each other anymore; all means of communication are through texts. My mom always jokes around about how spoiled this generation is and how they were able to "live" without cell phones, internet, etc. Although I like to argue I can't help but agree with her. It's ridiculous how obsessed with technology we have all become. What is this world coming to!

I could not believe some of the things that were in Chapter 2!!! So I just Youtubed these "Love dolls" or whatever they were. I can't get over how SICK it is that people actually use these. Talk about being obsessed with technology and being lonely and this is what you get. These dolls are like real women. Look at the link attached and you can watch a little video about them. The video said that these dolls were originally made for disabled men but now many people buy them for other reasons. I didn't know that they were originally made for disabled me and when I heard this, it opened up my eyes. I still can't believe that people who are obsessed with these will spend about $6,000-$7,000 on these dolls. It's disgusting and I think that it's a sick obsession that people need to seek help for. They do everything a human does, which I think is a bit creepy. Anyway, this book continually seems to amaze me and my group will be presenting Chapter 5 tomorrow!! Goodbye for now!!!!

Watch this.. it's crazy!

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

-Lisa

Billboard!

DARE TO DREAM...

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE

http://www.inspirationalquotes4u.com/

At first, my vision was to have a little boy staring up at a huge building with his back to the camera. After searching for a long time I could not find this image. I came across the image in my billboard while searching for the other one and I knew instantly this was perfect. My whole point of my billboard is to send the message that anything in life is possible as long as you put your mind to it. Every dream is attainable as long as one works hard towards it. Nothing is impossible and hard work and dedication leads to dreams coming true. Although there is a toddler featured in my picture, this billboard speaks to all and every age group. Whether someone is 99 or 9 years old, it is okay to dream. We can do anything we put our minds to. The link I provided is a link to famous inspirational quotes. This link serves to enlighten as well as motivate people to follow their dreams and hearts.

-Lisa Polera