What makes gamers keep gaming?

New trend this year do involve video games that grasp the attention of not only 21-year-olds but it went down in between 14-18 and such teenage groups are addict to playing these kind of games. Its interesting that the article mention game activities are similar to real-life activities suchs as overcoming obstacles, achieve specific goal and solving problems but the question that comes to mind is: Is it any helpful to the youngsters and the 21-year-olds who are into playing video games? How effective is it on their daily lives? I believe these video games are taking up much of their time when they have more improtant things to do like completing homeworks and focusing on school. Although, some parents tend to put it away during school days but it has a negative impact on kids. Parents tend to say "No video games on school nights just on the weekends" or "if you are doing good in school then you can play as long as you want". I tend to think this is not a good way of having them concentrate on school because they might just attend class for the sake of playing the video game. Its best if their is a  limited time on weekends for playing since some tend to play as long as they want and forget about completing their homeworks. Its something to think about for the sake of the kids though. Some kids tend to talk about it in school instead of paying attention in class. These days its interesting how new technology has changed so much in the world and has a huge impact on people. Although its just a game but their are cases where gamers tend to imitate what comes on the game in real-life. They have the habit of studying every move they use on screen for the games and apply it to real-life whenever they are playing around with friends or family members. Perhaps, thats the reason why they would always put a notice saying "PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME" on some games but gamers nowdays hardly listens they want to try everything out in their own way. It is always better for parents to stick around whenever their gamers (kids who loves to play video games) are playing and make sure they pick out the games that can give them positive actions and something to learn from. I've read some critic on the impacts of video games and I tend to agree with some of them when they advice the parents to be sure to be present everytime their gamers play a game.

Trip to Dole Plantation (Another Field Trip filled in)

Last Saturday on the 4th i was suppose to attend the last class field trip but i was working and i couldnt make it. I work at Kamaaina Care and we took our school age kids to the Dole Plantation for the whole day to occupy their time and have them get an experience on the Dole plantation and where pineapples originated from in Oahu. Dole Pineapple Plantation is a very popular attraction that introduces over thousands of visitors a year to Oahu. Its a tourist complex consists of a gift shop, ornate gardens and a dole maze (which we tried so hard to figure out whether we should take the school age to go have fun going through the maze or not). Dole Pineapple Plantation's educationl tour emphasizes on agriculture, the history of pineapples in Hawaii and how it has changed fromt eh old day to the modern day. It offers tour at reasonables prize but since its on Kama'aina Care, we took the tour for free because the kids parents pay for everything. I've never been to a Dole Plantation that is why i went with the school age because i want to check it out and im so glad i did. If i hadn't go with them i would miss out on all the fun we had that day. We took the school age and most of them couldnt wait to get there. Its perfect for all ages so me and my othe co-workers think its best if we take the school age over there it'll be a great experience for them since most of them never been there. We usually take them to the zoo, water-park, diamond head to have fun but this time we took them to the plantation and i couldnt keep my eyes of them having so much fun. They offered us chopped pineapples for the school aged to taste and eat. The plantation was really neat and well organized. The workers there did a tremedous job in creating that place. Everything looks clean and it made me think that its a way of making their money producing pineapple to be sold to get money. It was a great visit though. We took a walk through its mini-gardens to get a close look at a variety of crops and plants being grown on the North Shore of Oahu. It was really awesome and im thinking of visiting the place again.
Aside from tour, the pineapple garden maze caught my attention. Honestly, i love playing maze games that comes on newspapers or maze books but never in my life have i've seen in person. Now that i went with the school age last saturday i couldnt believe my eyes. It was my first time seeing a maze in real life and how it looks like. I've heard stories about people getting lost in the maze which frightens me to take a shot at it but i was still shocked at the size of the maze. Its like once you enter it you'll be lost forever or something. Well those are just my personal thoughts but im sure if anyone take a shot at it he/she will find their way out. Once we got to the maze two of our school age  boys begged us because they wanted to go through the maze and we were suprise that they find their way out. The amount of school age kids we took that day was 20 altogether but only six had the courage to try out the maze with one of our co-worker. The tour guide explained the maze to us. He said that the pineapple garden maze was built from 11,400 Hawaiian plants. Visitors can practice their navigational skills while having fun seeking the six hidden stations located within the maze. Also, he mention people getting lost in the maze as it covers 2 acres and contains 1.7 miles of pathways. It usually takes 30 minutes to walk through the maze but i was never interested. Its better to wait for the kids then get lost in the maze and have them wait for me. I just though its not a good idea for now because we brought the kids along. It was good seeing them have a good time and it was a great experience for me to visit such an interesting and amazing place. I wanted to go back to try the maze myself but i'll see if i can fit it in my schedule or maybe when school is done. As the kids are running off and into the maze it was really tempting and as much as i wanted to followed them i didnt. I still got the expression of "please dont get lost in there" keeps kicking me in the head so i stayed and waited for them. We left the plantation 15 minutes after it was closed. One of the workers informed us that we can have 15 more minutes because they can see the kids are having so much fun. After our visit we went back to Makaha Resort (where we worked) and waited for their parents to come pick them up. It was great listening to them laughing, smiling and telling their parents that they had so much fun at the dole plantation and that they want to go back just for the maze. I, too, want to go try it out and hopefully one day i get to visit there and walk through the maze. Im glad i took the chance to visit the dole plantation on a work basis and i had so much fun too.

Church get-together every last sunday of every month (Field Trip Alternative)

Not being able to attend field trip on Sunday due to going to church i was asked to use one of my church experience or church functions to fill in for my field trip. For every last Sunday of every month our church in Kunia called "Vaipuna o le ola" in translation in english its "Fountain of life." The Reverends from each  church included our Reverend put together this get-together that is held in Kalihi to talke among themselve about the status of church functions and how everything is going on. The get-together only has three different churches attending. Involving in this get-together are the church from Waimanalo, Honolulu, Kalihi and my church. The idea is to hear about the concern from other churches and tend to help them out and provide whatever they need such as food, money or anything. For someone who just moved here and experience something like this i was surprise yet motivated to not miss it because its interesting how they keep up with the religious status and church functions. In relation to the course, religion and environment stood out the most because i can see that everyone are working together and trying to keep everything balance and that not one church would slack off. I was grew up as a Christian and im so proud that i was brought up in a religion that fits the kind of person i am. I tend to help out with those who needs help and atteding this get-together i can see that people do care about one another and they would never leave them behind to catch up. They rather help out to make them stand equally with them in church activities and religious functions.
During thanksgiving, we always have a morning prayer in our church to give thanks to our heavenly father for his blessings upon us each and everyday and after the prayer, we would gather food (Samoan food only) from different church. For this event, we dont use imported goods such as meat, pork, etc. We believe its better to give thanks offering everything from the land and the sea because its the first and only thing Samoan people depend on long time ago before imported goods were invented. So, for that gathering we only used taros, bananas, breadfruits, etc. from land and different kind of eaten sea species we can get for the offerings. It really interesting how other church contribute with a large amount of offerings to complete our traditional way of Thanksgiving. I really enjoyed attending it because not only do i get to experience how its done i can see that the cycle of life does work the same way in the religious field. I mean, people go church to worship him and thank him for his neverending love,care and blessings upon us each and every day. In return, he nourished the land and sea for enough food for the people to survive. I had a great time atteding it and i wont miss any of it because not only its interesting to watch how people communicate and interact i can also see them working together trying to build their religious activities to make sure everything is going okay with not only one church but all the other churchs who are attending the get together. I am thankful that i was given the opportunity to use my church activity to be one of the alternative for the field trip. I really appreciate it.

Guest Speaker: Trisha Allen on Tattoo Revival on Polynesia

     Guest Speaker Trisha Allen had an interesting discussion with us on tattoo basically about hawaiian tattoo and what they represent. For someone who doesn't know much about hawaiian tattoo it was interesting hearing her talk about the origin of tattoo and how its transformed to modern style while keeping the meaning of the tattoo. She talked about culture and its what we perceive the world today. Most patterns shown on the slideshow are patterns represented by ancestors and its passed down to generations and generations. What really caught my attention was her explanation on mourning for the death of Kamehameha. People have to go through pain during his death. She talked about how people should mourn to show sorrow for his death and it must be done through these three things: burn themselves, knock out a tooth, and cut off finger. This was my first time hearing it so i went home still thinking about it. I believe its just the way things are given that he is was the King and everyone must obey and respect him in every way they can. I really dont know much about hawaiian tattoo but i do know about Samoa tattoo which i think its kind of different from tattoos that i've seen on the slide show that was protrayed on screen that night.
    In Samoa (both American and Western) has two most popular and most important tattoos that carries the tradition on culture. Male has their own which is called "Soga'imiti" (Samoan Tatau) so as the female and its called the "Malu". The male tattoo is for Matai's or their sons and the Malu are for their daughters. If so happens that a Matai dont have a daughter, the family will consider having one of his niece to complete the family tradition. These two tattoos are only use in families who have High Talking Chiefs not just a tattoo for
men who just want one.
 Male Tattoo (Soga'imiti):

Female Tattoo (Malu) [above]

The way tradition tattoo works for Samoan, if ever the Matai or his son got the tattoo its a must for the daughter to get a malu whether she like it or not because its tradition and if the daughter refuse it will be an embarassment towards the family and they have to find their closest girl cousin to get the tattoo. A male tattoo does not stand alone whenever a Soga'imiti is complete the family has to talk among themselves and consider having a female get a Malu to be a pair with the Soga'imiti. I dont fully understand why it works that way but growing up with a Samoan tradition i was told that its just the way Samoan Culture works. Even in my family i have uncles and cousins who have these kind of tattoo and if you ask me i think i'll pass. Im not afraid to get on its just that it looks like hours and hours of pain. Anyways, like i said before i dont know much about polynesian tattoo but i do know about Samoan Tattoo. I believe each culture have their own style and way of tattoo just to keep that traditiona and culture within. I really enjoyed hearing about Polynesian tattoo especially hawaiian tattoo shown on screen because each patterns stands for something important. I was able to understand why some people would have a lot of tattoo printed on their body its because it stands for something they valued not just for fun. Although, tattoo back in the days are really unique in terms of their meaning and improtance people nowdays tried out other different way of tattoo. They tend to tattoo names of someone they loved the most on their skin which i think itscool and amazing. Perhaps people just feel like adding new trending to the tattoo style that was introduced to them back in the days. I had the opportunity to listen to a different perspective on polynesian tattoo and it was really worth listening to it.

Guest Speaker: Religion, Culture and Environment

Amazing would be the word that describe the lecture by guest speaker Mr. Daniel Anthony who took the time to come and share with the class his thoughts on religion, culture and environment. For someone to grow up with a strong balance in culture and religion it was interesting for me to hear Mr. Anthonys point of view where religion controls culure although he did clarify on the balance that lies within. I agree with him when he said that belief is a strong aspect of someone's life which I believe is true. This made me think of how I overcome my fear of what my family will think of me with what Im doing with my life. They always wanted me to be someone who will serve in the house of the Lord as in being a nun but my beliefs of teaching the future generation gave me the courage to be different. I told them that I believe in doing something different (which is becoming a teacher) and all of them refuses. They tried to let me applied for being a nun but I stick to my beliefs and applied for Hawaii Pacific University to further my education on being a teacher. Although, they treated me different after I told them about what I want to do; my acceptance to HPU change the way  they look at me. They were proud that I made it this far and that their pushing and encouragement toward Nun School will get them nowhere. I mean why do something in life that doesnt interest you? Its wouldn't be fair.People should not be able to accomplish something they don't want to just because they were told to do it from the begining. As Mr.Anthony states in class its good to have some great beliefs on things you want not because you were told or its a family tradition. In order to achieve something it has to come from the inside then work its way on the outside.
Aside from listening to his point of view the other area of interest that strikes me are the subject being discussed. Religion, culture and environment links together in reality. These aspect of life shapes the way we create our future. We are living in an environment that was there for everyone to survive on and to keep it as it is. I think this lecture made me realize that environment would be useless without the help of religion and culture. The cycle that revives around them balance out how it should be treated by the people. For instance, the idea of the environment being their for survival comes from both religion and culture. From a Christian's point of view on enviroment, people must respect the way it will be use (no more no less) and destroying it will not pleased the creator. However, it all depends on the kind of religion people serve because obviously others are still cutting down trees for lumber to be sold at the hardware store. Anyways, even though Mr.Anthony is from an ambitious family, he lived his life the way he wanted because of his beliefs not because he was told to. I got the impression that he is someone who believes in what he does and he doesnt need to go with the flow just because he was told to. I really enjoy listenting to the guest speaker and his point of view because its the kind of situation I can relate to and its not a bad thing to trust your instincts and do what you got to do to make life worth living for.

Video on Pineapple

What is the true cost of pineapple? That is the question needs to be taken into consideration since each supermarket have their own price. The narrator talks about her trip to Costa Rica and sees that they have their own problems to take care of, like the spillage of argochemical that goes in rivers and lead to the ocean. Its interesting to hear from different people in Costa Rica talks about how their live has change due to the spillage of agrochemicals fromt the Dole Company at Batan airport. Some of them have the same complaint on working hard to take care of their family and how things have change due to the spillage. One lady by the name Aidi (not sure if i spell it right) talks about how her heatlh came from great to ground. At first she was happy with her life that no illness was to reach her level of surviving however the spillage turn her life the other way around. Sadly, others talk about working hard to make sure his daughter has a shot at a good education and leading a good life. Seems like his daughter is his motivation of providing for their family no matter what.The others share with the watchers how hard it is to get a holiday off to go see his family in Niaguara. I was suprised to see that worker have to ask for permission to be off on holidays. Doesn't everyone deserve to be off that paticular day? Since were talking about Costa Rica i think they have a different interpretation of holidays.
Anyways, some companies do encounter these kinds of problems such as spillage or shortage on products. People working in large company deals with oil and dangerous chemical should be really careful with the work they do or else the mistakes they made will wipe out most lives in Costa Rica. The idea of using chemicals for growing plants has a take on its pros and cons. Its good that it protects the crop from pesticides but it might be dangerous for the crop itself. The usage of chemical on crops for fast growth and protection should be limited. Perhaps it makes work more easier but they should also consider the outcome of their decision of using those chemicals. Towards the end of the video the narrator did mention that the less people pay in Europe the higher the price people pay in Costa Rica. Is that fair? Aside from all the things shown in the video it all comes down to what the narrator says and i also agree with her. Its the supermarket and big traders who should set the price and put a stop at price war. They are the ones who can make the decisions and hopefully a price that will satisfy not only the big traders but the customers too.

Field Trip to Waimanalo

     The field trip to Waimanalo reminds me of the time when my brother took me to his work place. He works in American Samoa Land Grant. The imagery of the greenhouse, the pig stall, trees all over the place struck me when we walk around the farm. Its almost as if im walking through the Land Grant work site with my brother telling me about how they are able to contribute to enlarge the site for a better development of Land Grant. Its very much similar to what the tour guide lectured on. He told us that him and the crew are working hard each day for the betterment of the farm they are working on. By the looks of the tour, these people has done a tremendous job with the farm and contributing adequate ways to widen its development. The livestock and crops on the farm as the tour guide explain is a job well done for the workers and hopefully they keep up the good work. The tour guide allows us to take some ulus and avocados if we want to. Ulu and taro are the most common in American Samoa.
     However, by the looks of the farm, a lot of money has been spend on providing some of the equipments that helps get the work done on the farm. They also have a restauraunt called "Sweet Home" happens to serve the best meals. Most of crops used in the restauraunt for meal preparation comes from the farm. I thought this was a brilliant idea, that way no money can be spend on buying food products from other stores. Everything else they need comes from the farm. My brothers work place (Land Grant) does the same but since its a working site (which they do not own) they are able to harvest and give it to store on a price they offer. Whichever store interested to buy it they trade: they get the money, store get the crops. In addition, Land Grant always have a taste-session before they release it. This is held once on harvest week, where they invite people to taste the sample for free and they get feedbacks from the people. I only attended this twice and it was a great experience for me. Everything they put out for the session taste great and ready to be sold. Going on the field trip made me reminisce through old times when i was introduce in a farm site similar to the farm over at Land Grant. As far as the field trip, i had a great time and learn more about agriculture.

Video narrated by Jeff Johnson

      Watching the video narrated by Jeff Johnson got me thinking on how people go about finding themselves. Jeff Johnson and his friends have the same love for climbing some of the them its a hobby but for some its just to explore how it feels to be a climber. The narrator not only have a love for climbing but he also likes surfing. Its all about finding the things that he likes doing in life and as mentioned in class seeking happiness i would say this relates to the video. A group of friends doing what they love to do and what makes them happy. Aside from the narrator and his friends climbing, surfing and going on a journey for months, the imagery that strucks me the most was their stop in Rapa Nui for help. A storm on sea broke the sail of their ship but they kept going until they found an island called Rapa Nui. Jeff Johnson tells his audience that staying in Rapa Nui and discovering that island made him wants to stay there. The hospitality and warm welcomes that made them feel like part of the island.
     It was said in the video that if you love a place, you have a duty to protect. This is very true in so many levels. There stay in Rapa Nui was fantastic they were not short on things to survive. Their new friend Makohey showed them around and made them feel more at home. The Rapa Nui people even help them restore the damage on their ship and give them enough food for the continuous journey. The Rapa Nui showed them that money are not the only means for survival. Land and sea offers much more to survive in terms of food to eat and water to drink. Rapa Nui depends more on the land and sea for survival rather than money that comes from work. On the other hand, their stop in Rapa Nui was another way for Johnson and his friends to reconnect with nature and look at the world from another point of view. Instead of climbing huge mountains and surfing on surfboard there is more to life than that. As they stayed their, Jeff wanted to stay there but they had a journey to finish so they continue on. The video was easy to relate to because it gives the viewer so many reasons to strive for what they want, find happiness within their everyday routine, find themselves relating to nature and that every journey has a happy ending. I really enjoyed watching it in class.

Guest Speaker: Kat Brandy's Presentataion

     The guest speaker we had in class by the name Kat Brandy has shared some interesting ideas in class while presenting her portion of the presenation with partner Mr. Henry Curtis. Kat's presentation comes as a suprise to me as she talks about people and the experement of student being inmate and guards. Kat mentioned that we are a web of life. The web of life can be a compared to how the world works and the connection of people to one another. People work together regardless of their cultural background to keep the world a better place. This goes together with what Kat mention about the experiment that they run witht the students. The experiment was to let the student perform as inmates and guards. She explains that the experiment went well.
      Another part of the presentation that i enjoyed a lot was her personal situation that she shared with us. I find it hard to believe at first when she shared on how she has gun pointed at her, mobbed so many times but still she manage to solve the situation. During the presentation that day she was one of the courageous people i've ever met. These are the kinds of things that deals with life and death situation but gladly she had a way with people. Also, i agree when she told us that people in prison want to give back but they don't know how to do it. In relation with class, its the relationship between people and their environment. Sometimes its our surrounding that can change a person. For example, when someone goes to prison that person is surrounded by inmates, dirty cells, and guards. Its very uncomfortable and that person can go through different kind of emotions but mostly scared and lonely. In order to connect with other people we have to help them out. It is our responsibility to help them find their way. Everybody wants to do something but not everyone knows how to do it. The youth today can make the wave and save a life. A wave that reaches out to other people who needed help and tell them that there help is on the way.

Vocabulary on decline due to fewer books

         Professor Nicholson states that parents should make sure their children must carry around a dictionary to help build up their vocabulary. I think his title should be "Vocabulary on decline due to modern technologies (phones,computers, etc.)." Although each classroom prefer the use of books, computers seems to make things easier for research and almost everyone are using it. Even students are using computers in school and at home. The problem presented is vocabulary on decline due to the specific use of phones and computers. Today, internet has provided the world of entertainment including muyspace, facebook, twitter and much more. The chatting language that everyone use are called "slang" or "acronyms". Its the kind of language that applies the use of inappropriate vocabulary (vocabularies that you can't find on a dictionary). The use of these words has cleared of the use of a vocabulary in the dictionary and its meaning. When people chat, text or IM each other, a lot of them tend to use short words for big vocabulary and it saddens most instructors that they might accidentally use it in writing. Professor Nicholson speaks on the use of dictionary to build up vocabularies in class is much required. Its the use of computers and interenet sites that declines the usage of vocabulary not books. A lot of books are being issued each year by famous writers and dictionaries are being upgraded but most people would prefer the use of computer rather reading the actual book.

Response to "The kids aren't all right"

     After reading this article the questions that bothers me the most was "are drugs really the answer?." Is this refer to drugs as in literally drugs or another term for prescriptions? The usage of drugs will depend on the diagnosis a child experience at a young age. Although, some doctors may give you prescriptions to help deal with the diagnosis but does it really help? Some does some doesn't so its on a be careful basis for the child for the reasons that not every child response well for the medicines taken. Plus, some kids may be allergic to those prescriptions. I disagree with the parents idea of taking their daughter to the mental hospital right away. They should try to solve the problem at home if there is no improvement than take her to the mental institution or to see a therapist. I personally think that the diagnosis of a child at a young age would come from their environment. It also involves the people who are responsible in taking care of her as she grew up, which in this case, her parents, siblings and her family.
     I think parents should look into dealing with the problem at home before taking them to the a mental hospital. The idea of taking them to the hospital makes it worse because they will feel that their parents don't love them anymore. When a child grew up in a healthy and happy environment, mostly likely that child will not be diagnose with antidepresent due to the fact that everyone in the family are providing for her. The whole family gives the child so much love,care,support and almost everything. As oppose to someone who grew up in an environment with lack of the following being mentioned before, the child will deal with such difficulties let alone diagnose with antidepresent. The feeling of not getting the support they want from home can be another reason why teenagers are depressed. Some feel that they are left out and that parents don't really care about what they are going through. These teenagers must get much attention from the parents so they will know that they do matter. Since these teenagers are diagnose at a young age, its better for the parents to reach out to them and get to know what really is going on with them. They must open up to them and if by any chance they can't really help it, then its time to see a therapist or take them to a mental institution.