My New Japanese Relative

For all of you who haven't heard, my cousin Sean has married a Japanese woman (yeah she's actually from Japan, more precisely like 20 minutes away from Tokyo). What do I have to say to this? It's so freaking awesome!!!!! I mean how many of you guys can say you have such a culturally diverse family? Oh, I also have some Germans in my family but they're creeps because one asked my other cousin out... Anyway, Reiko is awesome. I so want to go to Japan tomorrow. Okay, on a completely different subject, my predictions for the Backyard Brawl? Greenup will get its butt kicked by Russell as usual, some people will do something stupid, and it may rain. Still, I wish the football players good luck... they need all of it they can get.

Technology Turning Chocolate into a Sweet Science

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/08/27/high.tech.chocolate.ap/index.html

Talk about pointless science. It seems that chemists are now getting involved in creating one of the most coveted of all candies: chocolate. First of all, who knew that you could make chocolate without actually using the things that usually go into chocolate such as cacao beans? Yeah, by simply combining molecules, you can make chocolate! It's kind of cool to think about when you're a nerd or a chocolate lover (both can be dangerous to your well-being). Anyway, these are the things I found most interesting about the article. You can make chocolate in a laboratory.There are actually people out there in the world (probably their own) who think that when choosing your chocolate, it should only be based on flavor. I would have to disagree, texture also plays a major role. Besides, I trust chocolate that has been made using some natural ingredients more than I trust chemical chocolate. I mean, can you think of what kind of chemicals go into that chocolate? And finally, out of the $18 billion worth of chocolate sold, $16 billion comes from the sale of dark and organic chocolate. This reiterates the point I just made about no one wanting chemically enhanced chocolate. Even though I don't really agree with the mind set of the chemists who make chocolate, I do have to admit that from a scientific point-of-view, this article is flipping awesome. I leave you with one question: If they can make chocolate from molecules, can they somehow alter it so that chocolate tastes wonderful but contains no fat or calories? It would be so amazing if they could. Why do I have to wait on someone else to do that for? Hey, I'll just do it myself.

John Mayer, I can help you!!!!!!

What has happened to the love of my life? Since fourth grade, I have had an unnatural obsession with John Mayer that has only gotten worse with time. I thought my life was over when I found out that my sensitive, witty pop/rock god was with Jessica Simpson. I mean, Jessica Simpson? I don't care how beautiful she is how can you even stand to be around someone that stupid?? Anyway, that relationship ended with John Mayer publicly dissing Ms. Simpson. And I thought to myself, "Thank you Jesus, you just saved John Mayer from certain death." After Jessica, John dated some other people nothing major and then he met Jennifer Aniston. First of all, she's ten years older than him. I mean I don't have anything wrong with that big of an age difference as long as the man is older than the woman (ahem Hugh Laurie and I lol), call me old-fashioned. I wasn't worried though because John is a player to say the least and Jennifer Aniston's biological clock has become a ticking time bomb, making her extremely clingy, something John Mayer doesn't need. Yet, the relationship grew and I started to worry with news in the air of a backyard wedding, etc. Finally though that relationship has flown down the pipes. Jennifer and John have split, but the split hasn't exactly been clean. You see, John siad that he broke up with Jennifer because they were, "at different places in their lives", yet Jennifer is saying that she is the one who ended it because John cheated. All I can say is this, John Mayer needs to stop dating celebrities and remain a bachelor for the rest of his life. Hey, it's worked for George Clooney thus far. But this is beside the point, no the main reason for this blog post is John Mayer's new look. One word: EWWWW!!! Okay, so maybe that isn't really a word but that's the only way I can describe the new buff, crew cut John Mayer. It saddens me... Dear John Mayer, the fans miss the old you!!!! :(

Arsenic and its Connection to Type 2 Diabetes

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/08/19/arsenic.diabetes.ap/index.html

1) I found this article while searching CNN for something interesting. We already had to worry about all the pollutants in our water, but now we have to worry about arsenic, which is poisonous and affects the production of ATP, a major force in creating and transferring energy among cells ? Even more upsetting is that arsenic doesn't only cause poisoning but also is said to be a factor contributing to Type 2 Diabetes. Although some argue the validity of the connection between arsenic and diabetes, it still remains certain that arsenic does exist in our drinking water. The only way to prevent ingesting large amounts of inorganic arsenic is to raise water safety standards. However, whether these standards would be taken into immediate effect or not would make all the difference. Water, one of the most vital elements of life has become deadly, kind of ironic isn't it?

2) I suppose this article was intended for an audience who has interest in pollutants and their effects on human health. I can tell this is the intended audience because of the attention paid to supporting evidence and the terminology used.

3)This article interests me because I am a science nerd. I love anything dealing with science and how it affects human kind.

4)I knew there were many pollutants in water which come from pollution but also natural sources. The pollutants in water only become a problem when high levels exist because they can lead to poisoning, cancer, and now, diabetes.

5) The three things I learned:

• Seafood contains nontoxic organic arsenic.
• Arsenic can get into drinking water as minerals dissolve, but it is also produced from coal burning and copper smelting.
• The United States lowered arsenic standards for public water systems to 10 parts per billion in 2001 because of known cancer risks.

6) Supposedly arsenic levels in water have caused health problems in other countries such as Bangladesh for many years. This leaves me with one question, if arsenic levels have led to problems, then why aren't more researchers studying the effects of arsenic on the human body. If arsenic can cause diabetes, what else can it do?

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Cierra

I believe this blog calls for a proper introduction. So, where should I start? I guess I should start with the most important.... MICHAEL PHELPS WINS YET ANOTHER GOLD, TYING THE RECORD HELD BY MARK SPITZ AND DOES IT BY BEATING CAVIC BY .01 OF A SECOND. This leads me to conclude one thing, Jesus loves Michael Phelps. As you can tell I am a Michael Phelps fan, but I'm not as obsessed as some people are (you know who you are). I suppose that's enough about Phelps, now for a little about me...

1. I hate the Jonas Brothers. Seriously, why does everyone love them? They have no talent and the only reason they are popular is because they took the Disney route. What is the Disney route you might ask? Well, it's how untalented people such as Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, and those losers from High School Musical become the envy or love of every thirteen-year-old in the world. I just don't get it.
2. I recently had a life-changing experience where I realized for the first time that I want to help people, especially the child soldiers in Africa and the poor souls in Darfur. I hope to raise money this school year to send to all the wonderful organizations dedicated to the cause. Most importantly though, I want to raise awareness.
3. Last but not least, you should know what defines me. To put it simply, it's Saturday morning and I'm making a blog for my anthropology class when I should be asleep. Enough said, I'm a nerd.