Friday, July 23, 2004

About my name....

 In my opinion, a person's name is important. It is a kind of fate. In Korea, people tend to be influenced by the meaning of their names. As I mentioned above, a person's name is important. Therefore we usually ask our grandfathers or grand mothers to name our babies because old people have a lot of experience. Some people ask professional name givers to name their children, especially people who are traditional. On the other hand, some parents choose names because they want to give their children special characteristics. For example, my grandfather gave me my name for this reason. The meaning of my name is simple. It means go through the universe together. I think he gave me this name because he wanted me to have a flexible and open mind.






Wednesday, July 21, 2004

Robot Toy

  If I were manufacturer, I would sell a robot that could be controlled by a remote. They are amazing. Generally, children are curious, and it is important to stimulate their imagination because they are our future. Surely, girls don't like robot products; however, most boys do. Therefore, the marketers of robot toys would target boys because boys have more desire to have this toy. Then, how does the seller target them? I think it is easy. The best method is to use movies or sports players. Children tend to be impressed by  cartoon movies. If the seller made a robot that appeared on the cartoon movie, children might buy it. A sports player could also make them want to buy it. If sports player who is popular come out at the store, children would want to buy that product because a sports player is a hero for them.

Tuesday, June 29, 2004

About genetic engineering

If we genetically engineer all our babies, the world will change in a negative way. For example, we will lose our individuality. Also, we will tend to pursue perfection. If all people are perfect, we won't need to compete because there will be no standard to judge how well we do things. As for the ethical problems, it will cause many problems. In order to make a perfect baby, we may need a lot of money. Some people will be able to do it, but others won't. Therefore, society may be divided into two parts; perfect people and imperfect people.

Saturday, June 19, 2004

People's opinions.......

I asked my roommate Kevin who is from Michigan what he thought of the death penalty. He said that he was against it. He feels that people can change, so he doesn't think it's right to kill some one for killing someone else.

I also asked a friend's roommate, a girl from Michigan, whose major is music what her opinion was. She said that it depended on the crime. If someone committed a horrific crime, she thought that person should receive the death penalty.


Death Penalty

 People who kill another person must be punished. Taking a human life is wrong. It is necessary to punish them. Of course, it must be done based on law, but the death penalty is unavoidable in order to maintain a just society. We often say that it is a necessary evil. We are controlled by laws, and we cannot ignore the law. So, I'm for it. Sending murderers to jail is not enough. To be sure there will not be victim, we must execute the murderer.



Wednesday, June 16, 2004

About obesity.

I recommend you read this article, What causes obesity? It's an interesting article about obesity. I have always been curious why some people have a tendency to gain weight easily; whereas, others don't. Why is that? This article talks about the role of genetics, food, and physical activity in causing obesity. I learned something new. It's a good read about this problem.




Tuesday, June 08, 2004

Folk tale~

Once upon a time, there lived a man who had a warm - heart. He was a woodcutters, and he was poor. He had to take care of his parents. Cutting tree was the only way to make money, so he used to go to forest to cut down trees.
One day, while he was cutting a tree near the pond, he dropped his ax in the pond by mistake. He became anxious. Because if he didn't have an ax, he could not earn money. He started to worry about his parents.
" How will I take care of my parents?
Suddenly, the god of the mountains showed up from the pond. The god of the mountains asked him.
" Why are you sad?"
" My ax fell into the pond. If I don't have my ax, I won't be able to earn any money." he said
" I am willing to bring you your ax
The god of the mountains said and disappeared. The god of the mountains soon appeared with a gold ax.
" Is this gold ax yours?" the god of the mountains asked.
" No, It isn't." he answered.
The god of the mountains disappeared again. He came back with a silver ax, and asked him
" Is this silver ax yours?"
The woodcutters answered, " No, it isn't."
" Then, is this old metal ax yours? " the god of the mountains asked too.
The woodcutters answered, " Yes, it's mine, absolutely. Thank you. Thank you so much."
The god of the mountains said with a smile, " you are very honest. I will give you all three axes as a reward."
The god of the mountains gave him all three axes. The woodcutters was very happy. He and his parents lived happily ever after.








Monday, June 07, 2004

Influence Of English.

 English has influenced the word I use in my language. When I talk with my friends, I usually use words from other language. We have gotten used to using foreign words, especially English. We use English words in our daily life. Let me give you an example. When we talk about food, we use foreign words like ketchup, sauce, and mayonnaise. We also use English words when we talk about clothes; for example we mark our clothes with western letters XL,L, and S. These letters are western ones, and they show size. When we talk about transportation, we just use the English words such as taxi and bus. However, we don't say train, airplane and subway. We use our Korean words. So, we use a lot of English words and expressions in my country. I think this is also true in other countries because the world is getting closer and closer to being like one country for them.