Dreaming

Melissa Prell
Sheila Allard
Written Communications
7-May-10

Dreaming

Dream Machine, you would think it would make your dreams come true. But that is not it; it is making the worlds dream come true, to be cleaner. Pepsi Cola and Kiosk Manufacturing have introduced the Dream Machine, which will help with recycling. The big blue and white machine looks like an ATM and will be placed in supermarkets, public parks, and gas stations. The Dream Machine is not going to just help the earth but also your pockets. Whenever you put something into the drop box you will have to push a few buttons and get a receipt and points will be calculated on the internet. Once you have earned so many points they can then be redeemed for prizes at the host venue or Greeenopolis.com. But it is not only good for you but also others. Pepsi Cola has agreed to donate funds from every bottle to the Entrepreneurship Boot camp for Veterans with Disabilities, a program that offers free training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post 9/11 veterans with disabilities.

According to Givmodo a gadget guide, “Pepsi hopes to increase their bottle return rate from the current 34% to 50% by 2018.” (VanHemert ) But I think it will take effect much faster. As soon as the machine gets out into the area, people are going to want to try it. I sure can’t wait to start using one. It is new, big and blue who wouldn’t want to try it out. With the economy going down and people losing their jobs people want to save money, college students can finally have a place for all the beer cans and get money for it. So I think it is going to start working well. Soon we will keep “millions of tons of plastic that will be kept out of landfills” as stated by Corporate Social Responsibility a green web site. (Rheannon)

According to Jeremy Cage, the chief of marketing is leading the company's Dream Machine initiative. Discussed how the partnership with WMI (Waste Management) will allow them to make a big mark on the nation by putting the kiosks into communities around the world. He also stated that “Sixty percent of households have access to curbside recycling, but only 12% of public spaces have recycling facilities, so when consumers are on the go, they end up tossing the bottles into the trash." (Rheannon) When I was reading this article I was amazed by that percentage. I do not think it takes that long to put something in a bin instead of out the window. When I was a child we always would collect all the cans and take them in for money and that would be our allowance. But I think kids are just getting lazier these days and don’t want to pick up their trash.

All together I think the Dream Machine is going to be a big hit. It is going to help our world and other people. Pepsi Cola has teamed up with “Waste Management, Keep America Beautiful, Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, and American Corporate Partners.” (Facebook) With all these companies working together I think it is going to work out great, new jobs and saving the world how much better can you get.

Go Green

After reading the Energy & Environment article in the New Your Times, I thought, about when I go home on weekends and, I always see trash laying on the side of the road or interstate. And I think to myself is it that hard to throw your garbage away when you get home. Some people say they don’t wasn’t to pay for the trash bags, but there are garbage’s all over. Wal-mart has no got smart and put garbage cans out in the parking lot so you don’t even have to walk that far to throw your McDonalds bag away. To me I think people are just getting lazy.
The article talks about a way to get children involved with going green. F. A. O. Schwarz has created a new toy called Peat the Penguin. The soy fibered plush toy teaches green lesson and “is an ardent supporter of recycling, reusing and reducing waste.” (Kaufman, para 4)

PepsiCo. Is also created the “dream machines” which will recycle kiosks. The machine is to increase the recycling rate of beverage containers by about 36 percent nationwide. According to Pepsi more than 200 billion beverage containers are produced in the United States each year, filled with PepsiCo products like Mountain Dew and Aquafina.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/business/energy-environment/22earth.html?hp

When I attended the Comedy at the Westerns Lunda Center I was filled with laughter by, Bernie McGrenahan’s. I am a big fan of comedy and was looking toward attending this show. I thought it was cool how he put his program together. Bernie didn’t just jump in and talk about drug abuse. He started out with some jokes. My favorite would have to be the toilet paper one. About how they always have the set covers and when you punch out the middle it rips in half. And when you lay all the little squares of paper down and one falls in they all follow after. In addition the joke about the Amish was good. He was on the Late Night show and talked about how the producer said he could not tell the joke. And Bernie said, “How would the Amish ever know.” It was so funny to me because I live in the area where there are a lot of Amish. After a few more jokes he started talking about how he abused alcohol and drugs. He talked about how he would tell jokes to the officers once they pulled him over. And the why he abused drugs in his life. He had to leave college and retune home to live with his parents and depended on going out and drinking. He lost his baseball scholarship and his future. When he moved home Bernie realized his little brother also had a drinking problem and tried to confront him. When he got sick of fighting with him he went to the bar and his little brother ended up shooting himself in the hart. He left his parents, sister and twin brother with no answers of why he did it. His twin brother has a disorder and Bernie loves taking him out. Every time they go out he always says, “you came you came,” unlike when he was drunk and didn’t care or show up.

Causes Effect

The internet is a global system that connects people to the world around us. The internet has helped and wrecked our lives in many ways.
Effect not spending time with family
Kids spend more time on facebook of myspace. Parents look at email all the time and not watching their parents. People get addicted to the games and gambling on line.
Effect getting information faster
If you are working on a paper or need a phone number you can look it up. There is an easy map access and you can look where you are going live.
Effect getting connected to people
You can stay in touch with family throw email. And find old friends talk to people in a different state or country.
Effect there is a lot of availability for children to get to bad sites
Children that don’t know better can get on and see things they should not. People can hake into your commuter and your child my start talking to them thinking nothing is wrong with it.

What will happen as a result of the internet getting bigger and more available

http://news.stanford.edu/pr/00/000216internet.html
this site talks about the disadvantages of the internet and how it has affected or lives in the world. It talks about how people do live in real life.

http://antipoetic.blogspot.com/2007/01/impact-of-internet-on-our-lives.html
Also this blog talks about the internet and how people in India don't even have it.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VDC-4R172S0-1&_user=10&_coverDate=09%2F30%2F2008&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=6f3c7e3473fb39689b49dc264c967017
talks about the difference about males and females using the internet and who uses it more.

Creativity

Sir Ken Robinson, a speaker at the Ted conferences shard his outlook on how creativity is used in the school system. Creativity is exploring you mind and showing who you are. We express our creativeness in our life every day by what we were and the way we talk or act. But I think the school system needs to bring more classes into the curriculum dealing with the arts. If schools can put more classes in that deal with being healthy and more gym classes, then why can’t we have classes dealing with the arts? And I’m not just talking about just adding another drawing or music class. Why not add a photography class or drama class that is not just a club. The problem with clubs is time; kids in sports do not have the time to go to classes, practice, and then a club meeting, it is too much stress. But the problem with adding these classes comes with teachers and time in the day. Art classes are not required to graduate so a person who wants to get into a good college is not going to waste time sitting in a class they would like. They are going to try to cram as much knowledge into their brain with good grades to get accepted to a good school. So why don’t schools require at least one year of art classes.

MARCH

Well it is that time again, March. I love March for many reasons; it is my birthday, it gets warm, spring break, and my cousin is getting married. First my birthday, I am turning nineteen on the fourteenth. I don’t know what we are doing yet. I do know that I am going out with some friends to Applebee’s. I have never gone out to eat on my birthday and I’m excited. As for getting together with family that may not happen this year. My oldest brother Charlie lives in Chicago. And with all that is going one with school and getting things around for my cousins wedding it is going to be busy. In addition the bay before my birthday is the Royall youth wrestling meet. I love to go and get together with everyone and talking. As well I have many little cousins and friends with kids that wrestle and it is so much fun watching them. After my birthday is spring break, time to relax. I wish that would happen. We do not know what we are doing for table decorations or in the hall for the wedding. I am starting to freak out. There are so many things I would love to do but it would cost a way too much and we don’t have the time. Other than working on the wedding for spring break I am going to lie down and rest up, because I have been sick almost all semester and can’t get over it. I also don’t want to be sick for the wedding on the twenty-seventh. After spring break it will be back to classes. Once I am back for two weeks it will be wedding time. I am so nerves. We have rehearsal at three and then have to decorate the hall. I hope all goes well because I don’t want to be up all night. Other than my busy life there are twelve other birthdays in my family that are going on and we will be celebrating. So I am sorry if I’m cranky some days but that is how my life is with all this stress right now.

I wish

Three wishes. If I was granted three wishes to make the world better it would be hard to pick which three I would want to use.
My first wish is that all the pens, markers, and canyons that get thrown away at stores because they are missing a color or broke will be donated to the Boy’s and Girls Clubs. I work at the Hamilton Club and it is hard to color when half the markers don’t work because they get used so much, and we can’t afford new ones. Or a cap gets left of the marker; it is hard to make sure all the caps are on because you have to watch all the kids to. To accomplish this wish I would ask all the stores to donate the markers and canyons that they just throw away. I would also ask people to donate their old colors to the clubs. I would make a commercial that could be shown on TV to help prompt and tell the stores what I’m trying to do.
For my second wish I would like all high schools to have new computers that work faster. I attended a small high school with hand me down computers. When we where to go type a paper it would take us up to ten minutes to get on to the computer. I wish that the state will donate all their computers that are a year or two old to the schools. It is hard to work on a slow computer and get things done. And when education is very important I would think we could have faster computers. Children need to learn how to use them because everything is be transferred to computers.
For my last wish I would like to see every child have a coat and gloves to ware. Where I work I see kids without a jacket when it is freezing cold outside. It is too cold for them to be running around. It would help lower the amount of children being sick at schools. I would like the stores to donate the coats they don’t sell. Give yarn to nursing homes so the ladies could make gloves to give the children.

Maid of Honor, it is not an easy job, but it is fun. My cousin Joleen asked me to be in her wedding, and a month later she didn’t just want me in her wedding but be her maid of honor also. So I didn’t know what to do. I never have been in a wedding, so I went to the internet. There is so much that goes into a wedding and with me working and starting college it has been a hard time. But the wedding is in March and the shower is coming.
In my spear time on the weekends I handmade all the invitations, all ninety of them. With pink and turquoise as her colors it was fun to play around with to come up with the perfect design. Then it was time to plane what to have to eat, and come up with the games to play. I looked and looked on so many web sites to find the perfect games. I decided on the name game, where you cannot say what is on you name tag. And Price is Right, where I went to Wal-Mart and find different item to buy and the guest had to guess what the right price was.
The day of the shower finally came, and I was sick but the shower had to go on. I got to the hall and we had to decorate and get all the food out. People started to arrive and we served the food. Then we started the games. We started with Price is Right and I lost the recite to the game. So we had to impervious, everyone had to remember all the items on the try. It worked and we were saved. After the games we opened all the presents. After three crock pots and two toasters we were all done. Now it was just clean up time, and taking all the gifts to the apartment. I was exhausted and got home and sat down and had some punch. Bad idea, I was allergic to something in it and broke out. I thought it was my medicine the doctor gave me so I kept drinking it. On top of being sick I was all broke out and tired. I can’t believe that I got throw the week alive. All I do is sleep and type this paper, so good night I’m taking a nap.

Voices of Men

I attend the play called “Voices of Men” by Ben Atherton-Zeman at the Lunda Center last Tuesday. The play was based on men’s violence against women. I have seen some plays like this, but Ben’s performance was a lot better than others. He used different crops and mad it fun to be there.
When I first arrived I heard a bell ringing every twelve seconds. He later explained that every time he had hit the bell a woman was being abused or raped. That was shocking for me; I knew it happened but not that much. Then he showed use a video of Rocky in one of his movies pressuring a girl to come in and have a seat. When the film stopped Ben came out dressed up as Rocky. He acted just like him and asked use what he did wrong in the tape. When we saw the video clip again there was a counting on the bottom of the screen telling every time he asked her to come in, and all the different whys he did ask to come in. He explained different situations that he would work around to get the girl to say yes. After the Rocky clip we watched another clip but this time it was James Bond. Just like the first time he came out dresses up as Bond, and acted just like him. But, with this act he asked why the victim stays. There are many answers to the question I think. If they are being abused and told no one will ever won’t them. If you are told so many times that no one will ever love you, you will begin believing that person. Or if the person threatens you or your family, and you can’t get help. There are many reasons why a person stays in a relationship, not because they won’t to but, because they don’t know how to get out or get help. In Ben’s last act he came out as Austin Powers. With using Austin he explained how women should be treated. In many of Power’s movies he says “Yea baby” but, a women does not like being called different names. They have a name for a reason so someone can use it. Also a women has the chose to look and do what she wants, she does not need a man to tell her what to do.
I think Ben did a great job in this play. Violence is a big problem and with unemployment at the rate now it is more common for someone to get abuses. Please help our community stop it. Men go out and buy a white ribbon to have on your shirt to show you care. Speak up when you see someone getting hurt and don’t stand back. If you see something stop it.

Vermont

Our journey to Barre, Vermont had begun in the early morning with two fifteen passenger vans. And twelve people in each van it was a little tight with all of our luggage for a week. The first night we slept in the van, it was not conferable at all. But after the twenty seven hours drive and no showers we arrived at the church, Christ the Redeemer. But we were running behind so we didn’t have time to stop and go to the hotel. That night we meet with the whole church and all the nice ladies made use a nice hot meal. Once we were done eating and talking to the people we finally arrived at the hotel. Our second day was a busy one. We woke up and started are walk up the hill to the church. Once we got there and had breakfasts and started to decorate the two vans for a parade we were in. Our group also handed out pencils and cards that told about why we where there, and what we were going to do. Which was to spread the word of god. After a long walk we finally got back to the church and started planning for the week. We held a vacation bible school at the church, with crafts, lesions, and music. Everyone split up in there groups and planed the first lesson. After all of our planning we were let free to do whatever we wonted for the rest of the day. Most of us went back to the hotel and went swimming or plaid cards until we feel asleep. After little sleep we all woke up and got to work with our first day of bible school. I was in charge of arts and crafts. The first day we did finger painting with all the kids. It was a little messy but we were outside so that made it better. After our first day we took a trip to tour the area. We went to the Rock of Ages, a granite mill. We toured the grounds and took a bus up to a hill where we could look down into the mill. After looking at all the rocks we ended our day with worship back at the church. Day four was also a lot of fun. After the morning of vacation bible school we went to Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. We toured the grounds and saw how they come up with new flavors; I also went up the graveyard where they had flavors that are no longer made. But the best part of the day was trying the different flavors of ice cream, it was so good. Our fifth day was also packed, we have vacation bible school in the morning again and it was the last day we were with them. That night all the parents were invited back to the church to show off all the things they learned, their songs and crafts. It was a little said because you had to leave all these little kids and hope that they would come back to find more about their god. But the next day was a lot of fun. We traveled into Montpelier the capital in Vermont. Split up into groups and walked the town. I saw the capital and went to all the cute shops they had. It was a blast. After walking in Montpelier we went to Cold Cider Mill. Where I got to taste some of the best apple cider, and had some homemade maple syrup. It was our last day in Vermont. And our next stop was Buffalo, New York. Once we arrived we ate at a great Italian restaurant. And then went to Niagara Falls. One of the most amazing places I have ever seen in my life. We walked down by the bottom and right up to the falls, once back to the top I farther down. I and a friend found a path that went off the track and went on it. Bad idea for me I fell right on my butt, getting all muddy. But it was worth it. Once it got dark the lights came on and it was amazing. The colors looked so pretty. But after a long night we had to get up early in the morning to get back in Tomah the next day. It all started good the next day we were on the road again. Until a tire went flat on the van, it was horrible. On the middle of the interstate we had to change a tire. We lost a lot of time but made it up as we ate in the car. The trip was a blast from the times in the car to the Vacation Bible School. I got to see another part of the country that I would never see with all of my friends again. It was a blast and would love to go again. Mission trips are a fun way to meet and help people all at once.

Tinkering school

Have you ever looked back at what you had when you where growing up compared to now. Children these days have little cars, I pods, and DVD’s. I remember just playing bored games, or with a piece of wood and some nails, or house in the calf shed. It is amazing how much more children have now. Most children these days don’t even know how to use a hammer or a nail. But Gever Tulley is starting to change that with Tinkering school. Exploring your mind and using dangerous things. That is what the motto is at Tinkering school. Gever and his wife work to teach young children what a hammer, nail, and screwdriver are and how to use them.
Some children these days are so sheltered that they don’t even know what a nail is or have never touched a piece of wood. They don’t get out of the house and see what they can do with a plastic bag. In Gever’s video on TED he explains how children use plastic bags to make a bridge that can hold there own weight. Also he explains that everything does not always turn out the why it is to. Even after all the drawings and planning it does not work out, but the kids do not give up, they turn to creativity in paint and markers by making the project into a canvas.
One of the most amazing projects I saw on the TED video was the roller coaster. There are not many seven year olds that can go into their first day of school and say they built a roller coaster this summer. And not just a small roller coaster, but one that can have a person ride on it and works. This is one project that turned out great, seeing the smiles on the kids faces and the feeling that they achieved something.
Watching this video has made me want to go out to a camp and help. I love working with my hands and seeing the smiles on children’s faces. I am amazed about all the time and patients that the leaders put into the projects; it cannot be easy to work with 7 year olds when something does not go their way. It is amazing what Gever has done with his time and life and I hope that he continues to make more Tinkering schools.

ME

My name is Melissa Prell but my friends call me Mel. I come from a small town called Kendall in Wisconsin. I attended Royall high school graduating in 2009 with a class size of forty-four. I was the yearbook editor, football cheerleader, did wrestling stats and was in track and field until I tore the ligaments in my ankles. I have two older brothers, Charlie who lives in Chicago and Tim who lives at home. I also have a little dog called snickers, who is spoiled. I enjoy going camping out in the woods, scrapbooking, hanging out with friends, and watching movies. Also right now I enjoy help planning my cousins wedding in March that I am in. I work at Hamilton Boy’s and Girl’s Club. I love working with the kids because the always have something funny to say. If I am having a bad day it always changes when I attended work. I am now attending Western Technical College for a degree as an Administrative Assistant. I currently live in the dorms and drive home on the weekends to help out at home. With a small school and community it was different coming and living in La Crosse but I love it. I do not have to wake up at night and drive a half an hour to Tomah, I can just walk down the street.