Nikki's Mental Exploration

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This is my class's music video.  Everybody in the class had to post a picture of what they did on the weekend.  Steffanie is the one who is pictured with her boyfriend and her pitt bulls.  She loves her pitt bull's and swear they are the sweetest puppies alive.  She also has another dog which is a chow chow and retriever mix, which is not pictured. Also there is a picture on here of a yorkshire-terrier dog.  This is Anita's dog.  She met her dog at the park, and has had him for almost a year.  The quality she does not like about her yorkie, Shia, is that he pees and poops everywhere where he shouldn't.  Anita likes to take her dog to play with her sister's dog, Ginger. 

Apparently this class is full of dog lovers!

<div class="dipity_embed" style="width:600px"><p style="margin:0;font-family:Arial,sans;font-size:13px;text-align:center">Immigration on Dipity.</p></div>

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Nikki_Art_Midterm.mov (603 KB)

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Budget cuts have been made to the Los Angeles Public Libraries. 

Los Angeles is dealing with a budget crisis that has effected public institution all over the city.  I am a frequent visitor to public libraries, and that is one institution I do not want to see further changes.  I already do not think the library is open enough hours, or enough days a week.  Also citywide people have been affected by the recession where people depend on a valuable resource such as the library.

According to the Los Angeles Times article "L.A. Libraries are cut to 5 days a Week," Antonio Villaraigosa’s appointees voted to cut the number of library hours.  The library will be on a five day a week schedule, instead of being open six days a week.  The library will be open from Tuesday until Saturday.  The Los Angeles times also reports a little over 100 people who work for the Los Angeles Public Libraries have been laid off.  This has caused a surge of city concern.

Southern California Public Radio article "Cuts force LA Public Libraries to Close Monday," reports that a protest occurred in front of the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles.  The people involved in the protest included laid off library workers, current library workers, and supporters.  Over one hundred people appeared at the protest.  KPCC also reports that city leaders cut hours regardless of 30,000 signatures being gathered by library supporters.  The library is a place to get information for free, and does discriminate between the wealthy or poor.

According to LA Weekly's "City of Airheads"article, 90,000 young people a day visit one of the city’s 73 public libraries.  Los Angeles has made more of a cut back to their public library system than other large cities dealing with budget cuts.  Los Angeles’s central library is closed two days a week.  Cities like Dallas, San Diego, and Houston their central library is closed one day a week.     

The yearly budget for Los Angeles County’s public library system $75,902,051 for fiscal year 2010-2011.  The library budget has not been cut by last year however many library resources were cut; the budget for fiscal year 2009-2010 is $75,463,926. 

There are a few interesting facts about Los Angeles Public Libraries.  In the Los Angeles Central Library there is an adult literacy center.  That teaches adult to learn to read.  Also when the central library closed due to arson fires in 1986, the opening day of the new central library attracted over 80,000 visitors. 

If you want more information about the Los Angeles Public Library and the budget cuts feel free to check out these websites, Los Angeles Public Library, and Save the LA public Library.

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Bike_Project_310.mov (1.53 MB)

We interviewed a few students at CSUN why they choose the transportation that they choose.  Also how are they dealing with the record breaking heat in Los Angeles the past week.

Shalini Banana Wafers is not a good product.  The wafers were heavily spiced, and of low quality.  For all I know, I am not even eating bananas in the first place.  You cannot blame me for wanting to try banana wafers, because I thought it would a bit like bananas.  This product does taste better the more you eat it, but it is still nothing amazing.  I would pull a lot of other snacks off the shelf before I would choose this product.  I can see how someone might like this snack, but I would say the general public will have a problem with the taste of the wafers.    

Shalini Banana Wafers, a product of India, suffices as a vending machine snack.  This product is more for comfort eating while on the go or at home.  This Indian food product is nothing worth raving about, there is nothing special about this product that would make me go out of the way to buy the product.  However, this product has the classic effect of at first it tastes odd, but the more you keep eating it, the better it tastes.  Leading me to believe someone acquires a taste for this product, it is not universal.   

The heavily spiced product is a blend of Bananas, palm oil, pepper and salt.  The lovely thing about this product, is that there is no chemicals in the product.  This is something that is always seen in products with a long shelf life.  There is no mystery how this product is made or whether this will cause an early death, the consumers knows what they are dealing with.  A downfall of this product is the spices completely cover the taste of banana.  It tastes like salt and pepper.  I know some people who love the taste of salt so I would highly recommend this product to them. Why market something as Banana wafers, if the end product does not taste like Bananas?  Indian food is typically heavily spiced.  This is something that I have to consider, but Bananas, the main ingredient, never made an appearance.  The texture is odd, I have a feeling the bananas were dried, or freeze dried before the product was fried to make a sort of chip. This gives the appearance the product is stale to the American consumer.    

This will be a product I will eat if I was on the go, needed something that will not spoil, and needed to suppress a sodium craving.  I believe the taste for this product is acquired and not something everyone could handle.  If you are looking for an adventurous food product I would try the Banana Wafers.  If you are looking for a good quality snack, I would pass and grab a bag of potato chips.  

It scares me to adapt to a new environment.  The thoughts that go through my head of everything that can go wrong, ruins the new experience.  I usually adapt well in new environments just the adjustment period can be hell.  I can easily get a long with different social groups, and cultures, because I have appreciation for differences in people.  

When I was a bit younger visiting my family in Greece was definitely a new environment for me.  I have been born and raised into the culture, but I had been Americanized.  My grandparents in Greece work in agriculture.  Meaning they raised their own food, and kill their own food when they need it.  There were no shopping centers, or markets near by my grandparents village.  This was an area where the primary form of transportation is donkey, and the restrooms are outhouses.  This was very unusual for me.  I was going to a Greek village from a consumer based society.  I lived in a large house, there were cars in the driveway, and a market down the street.  It was a definite culture shock, but I learned to adjust...slowly but I adjusted.  I might have screamed at a chicken or two getting their heads chopped off, but I learned that it is the only way my family can get food.  I learned to appreciate the things that are handed to me, and appreciate my culture, and the idea that there is so much I think I need, that I do not need.

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