Filipino Dessert Galore

Hey everyone! So this is the final blog post assigned to us in English 5. It's been real fun being able to express your thoughts and opinions with others. After contemplating many ideas for my last blog post, I thought to myself, "What better way to end than with something sweet". That's right fellow readers, today we're going to be talking about some authentic Filipino desserts that are just down right exceptional.


Have you ever wanted something ice-cold, refreshing, and sweet with a unique blend of flavors? No I'm not talking about snow cones or ice cream, oh I'm talking about halo-halo. This Filipino dessert combines the various flavored coconut jello cubes with shaved ice, evaporated milk, shredded young

coconut and ube flavored ice cream. The flavor of all these ingredients contributes to the uniqueness of this dessert which can be  found in different asian Filipino markets such as Chow King, Red Ribbon, and Jollibee's. This sheer look of this dessert alone is enough to make heads turn. There are different types of halo halos that are customized to your preference. As a child I was always given the whole "shabang"(everything on it) of ingredients, which contributes to how I like my halo halo when ordering one.










Not in the mood for something cold? Have no fear! Turon is here! Turon known as "banana lumpia" is a Filipino dessert made with sliced bananas, sugar, egg, and a spring roll wrapper. Once the sugar coated banana is encased within the spring roll wrapping and bound together with a whisked egg, the turon is then deep fried until crispy and golden brown. This treat is guaranteed to satisfy that sweet

tooth with its crunchy sweet exterior and soft rich banana encased within. An eye catcher at family gatherings, this dessert will keep you coming back for more.











Last but not least we have the decadent leche flan which is one of my personal favorites because of its unique variations in different parts of the world. Leche flan is essentially a custard dessert made of evaporated and condensed milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla extract. This mixture of ingredients is mixed

and steamed until firm, finalized with a layer of caramel sauce. Extremely rich and light, this dessert is delicious after those heavy meals. As a child I had always seen leche flan at parties, which encouraged me to eat dinner as fast as I could to eat this amazing dessert.







I hope you enjoyed Late Nights with Leonard! This is Leonard Yalong, signing off for one last time!!!

Analysis of "Nuclear Waste" by Richard A. Muller

The article, Nuclear Waste, by Richard Muller discusses the dangers of nuclear waste and his criticism of how important figures are handling the situation. Nuclear waste is the leftover nucleus of elements that were split and the result of nuclear fuel. Muller explains that because of the nuclear waste's half life we are left to decide where to place this waste, resulting in various debates. Muller criticizes that people are not considering the effect of placing the nuclear waste in the deepest parts of the earth. Instead of focusing on guaranteeing that the nuclear waste will be kept safe and isolated for 10,000 years, Muller makes the argument that people shouldn't just focus on absolute containment. Muller claims that we have to just account for 1% that all wastes should leak out making the storage problem seem tractable.

Overall I believe Muller's argument to be very persuasive and reasonable. He makes very effective claims by using factual evidence and statistical analysis. Muller takes account some of the other ideas by people used to solve the nuclear waste issue and critiques them. The article follows the cause and effect organization, giving a background of the subject before going into detail. Muller uses his own research to come up with a solution that instead of accounting for an absolute containment of 10,000 years; we should just focus on a more feasible answer such as guaranteeing leakage every 300 years. The article "Nuclear Waste" by Richard Muller uses many examples to support his claim and its effectiveness shows throughout the article. That's all for today. This is Leonard Yalong, signing off!!!

Violent Video Games: Blurring the line of fantasy and reality

This news article by Mike Jaccarino, an editor for Fox News, discusses the potential threat of violence in video games and its link to mass murders by ordinary people. These ordinary people had a blurred sense of reality by playing violent video games and as a result had begun to re enact scenes of violence towards innocent people. The video games analyzed by Pssociate Professor Bartholow of University of Missouri, showed a promotion of rewards when participating in its violent nature. The article provides many example of school shootings by those who had played video games such as Mortal Kombat, Doom, Call of Duty and Counter Strike.

In my opinion, there has always been an instance where frustration seems to consume you after being overwhelmed by the varying competition in video games. Many people face this frustration and it slowly dissipates. What it comes down to however is the violence of video games. Violent video games promote disruptive behavior, sexual profanity, etc. The modern day video games we know today such as Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty have all developed exponentially. The graphics and the characters become so realistic that you feel as if you are in the game, blurring the line between fantasy and reality. What unnerves me the most from the article by  Jaccarino was the quote made by one of many mass murderers, Devin Moore. He quoted, "Life is a video game, everybody's got to die sometime". Just hearing those words shows the mental disturbance violent video games have among the youth of this generation. Moore as described in the article has had no history of violence, until he started playing Grand Theft Auto. A game that is built on the premise of killing, robbing, and manipulating people. This reoccurring trend of killings shows that there might be a link to the violence in video games and its affect on the youth. That's I have for tonight. This is Leonard Yalong, signing off!!!

Wrassling!

When you think of wrestling, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? For most people, wrestling is associated with World Wrestling Entertainment also known as WWE. As entertaining it may be to see people jumping of ladders, hitting each other with tables and chairs; wrestling was actually a very serious sport. Originating in Greece, wrestling was used as a means to train its soldiers. This wrestling however was much more brutal than the wrestling we see today. Soliders were often beaten for losing in wrestling, some were put to death. Modern day wrestling has developed into different variations and has been an part of the Olympic Games since 708 BC. The different variations of wrestling are as follows: Greco Roman, Freestyle, Entertainment, Sumo, Folkstyle and many more. The type of wrestling I will be talking about tonight is Folkstyle wrestling.

As a former high school wrestler, I am very familiar with Folkstyle wrestling. Although I've only wrestled for two years, I've seen the dedication of people who partake in such an underrated sport. A lot of high school students saw wrestling as just a bunch of dudes rolling around on a mat but there was so much more to it. The technique, endurance, and strength you needed to have to play in such a competitive sport was tremendous. There were only three rounds in a wrestling match which lasted from a minute and thirty seconds to two minutes. Let me just say that those are the longest two minutes of your life in the wrestling ring. Now they didn't just pair you up with anyone to wrestling with, students were divided into different weight classes to ensure that everyone had an equal opportunity to demonstrate their technique, strength and endurance. The weight classes, in pounds, were divided as follows: 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 182, 195, 220, eventually making it to heavy weights which were 285. The rules were simple; win by pin or win by points. To pin someone, both parts of the shoulder blade had to be in contact with the mat. Winning by points meant you had to score with taking down your opponent, achieving near fall, and escaping. Taking down your opponent meant throwing them down without brutal force to the neck or over-strain of the legs and arms. A near fall was basically keeping one of your opponents shoulder blades on the ground for more than 6 seconds, awarding you points the longer you kept them down. Escaping is essentially escaping the control of the wrestler in top position. There were essentially three positions in Folkstyle wrestling: neutral(both wrestlers are in standing position), bottom(one wrestler is at bottom position, trying to escape) and top (one wrestler has to maintain control over the bottom wrestler).

As easy as the rules were, wrestling someone with the same weight as you yet varying in different body mass composition was very difficult. You had two opponents who were doing their best to take each other down. Technique was vital in planning your next move and being quick to do so. The rounds do take a toll on the body and wrestlers are subjected to the body's desire to give out. The mentality to keep pushing forward and draw energy from what you had left in your body, is what made wrestling an exciting sport. Wrestling displayed the will power of those who desperately wanted to win. I hope I was able to educate my fellow readers with an underrated sport that should be highly acknowledged. That's all for tonight! This is Leonard Yalong, signing off!!!

Isolation in a Digital Age

We are all connected through technology, but is this perk leading to a greater issue? In a Ted Talk presented by Sherry Turkle, technology has made us connected but we have become isolated as a result. Turkle evaluates her experiences with technology, beginning with her daughter and incorporates examples from her studies regarding mobile technology along with her studies from hundreds of people. Her main points are drawn from people's dependency to not be alone. All of us are subjected to what technology offers us in the form of three fantasies; putting attention where we want it to be, always being heard, and never being alone according to Turkle. When we use technology we become enveloped in the virtual worlds and avatars, advertising the relationships we crave as humans.

After watching this Ted Talk about technology's consequences, I am persuaded to take action and change my lifestyle regarding my use of technology. I know that it is easier said than done, but if we just take the time to spend time with loved ones, we can fill void of being alone. Turkle's research experiment where she presented "social robots" in nursing homes was an example that really drew my attention to how desperate we were to just have someone listen to us. These "social robots" that were designed to act as companions were treated as real people by the elderly that talked to them. These robots had no understanding about the concepts of life and death but were seen as empathetic by its speakers. What a world we live in where we turn to the illusions of social media to comfort ourselves, when the solution could just be hanging out with a couple of friends. We have lost the old fashion way of creating relationships and friendships and we choose the easy way of filling the void we have. I agree with Turkle's solutions to combat the issue of isolationism and that is to establish places for conversation, listen to what people have to say, and spreading the word to others. As Turkle explained, technology has made us vulnerable but we have the decision to redefine how we choose to live that matters in the end.

Let me know your thoughts on technology's effect on our communication! That's all for tonight, this is Leonard Yalong, signing off!

Yik Yak: An Anonymous Threat?

Throughout the years, social media has been constantly evolving. From the "Bulletin Boards" of Myspace, to the tweets of Twitter, and selfies of Instagram; a new social app has risen its way into popularity. A new social app that allows users to post messages anonymously without fear of being exposed. What seemed like a harmless social media app however has spawned a variety of vulgar threats, harassment, and abuse.

If you are not familiar with the app Yik Yak, it is basically an app that combines the functions of GPS and instant messaging. People are given the ability to socialize with others around them through different proximity. The basic app features post voting, popular topics tabs, a tab that measures the activity of the user as well as the ability to view other people's "yaks" in different locations. The controversy of this app begins with the cyber bullying among its users. Yik Yak's anonymous posting capability allows its users to make a variety of posts, but there are users who take advantage of this feature. Users feel as if they are protected behind this feature and as a result, comment posts of various vulgarity. Not all users post negatively but as a former user of the app, you can't help but see a vulgar post with each scroll.

From personal experience with the app, I can definitely see its ups and downs. Just last semester, I was browsing through the posts of Yik Yak before seeing a post with a lot of comments. There was a threat against the school with an exact date and time. I was skeptical at first, questioning if the post was just some sick joke or not. It turns out that someone reported this post to the school authority and they took action to ensure the safety of its students. People have the ability to write whatever they want without fear of consequence. I guess this can be a positive aspect for the app because it allows users to stay connected with each other in close proximity. The rest of the day browsing Yik Yak posts however, I was met with various posts regarding sex, comments about professors, and just people commenting on people they saw. If someone were to read a post and know for a fact that they were the ones being talked about, it would be not only awkward but also be considered harassment. The negative aspect of this app is that there is no way to point to the user of the vulgar comment, which leads to anxiety and paranoia for other users who feel they are targeted.
The question begins with, are the users to blame for the negative effects of this app or was this app just a bad idea from the start? Leave your comments below on your thoughts about Yik Yik. This is Leonard Yalong, signing off!

The Simple Power of Hand Washing

There are many things we as Americans take advantage of here in the US. Most Americans live in excess of water, food, and other utilities that other countries consider precious. After watching the speech, “The simple power of hand washing” by Myriam Sidibe, my eyes were opened to a precious commodity everyone takes for granted, soap. The purpose of her speech was to emphasize the use of soap in order to prevent sickness and cut down the risks of pneumonia, diarrhea, cholera, etc. Her attention getter was a statistic that got people’s attention through an emotional means. Sidibe described what the topic had meant to her as well as why it was important. Her presentation used some humorous interactions with her audience. Sidibe used a family in India as an example in order to give the audience an idea of the uses of soap in other countries. The use of soap, a commodity we take for granted, are bought by mothers to protect their families, a fact repetitively used to emphasize Sidibe’s argument. Sidibe had visited Ghana with the Minister of Health, which increases her credibility. She did not use note cards in her speech which allowed her to give more eye contact towards her audience. There weren’t a lot of pauses in her speech, so her speech flowed well as she enunciated her words and brought emphasis to certain ideas and statistics. Sidibe used many gestures while holding a soap bar and her body was upright showing confidence in her speech. The thesis and main points were easy to follow as she elaborated what the problem was, its history, background information, as well as a solution to combat this problem. The speech concluded with a emotionally pleasing conclusion. The conclusion provided no new information and re introduced the main points from the introduction. In the end of the speech Sidibe showed how much the topic had meant to her after explaining to everyone that she had a high degree in health in her country. Overall, she had a very persuasive speech that flowed naturally, appealed to all emotional standpoints, was structured nicely, statistically backed up and provided the audience with a commodity that although is common, is one of the most important inventions in combating epidemics. 

I recommend this video to people of all ages to consider twice when using commodities for granted. What seems plentiful in one country, is a precious commodity in another. Leave some comments below on some other commodities you think we take for granted or what you thought about video. That's all for tonight, this is Leonard Yalong, signing off!