New Favorite Blog

Blog Reflection

            I first saw this blog being discussed on a local TV show I watch on Saturday evenings, and was intrigued, but somehow in the midst of working a lot of overtime and juggling school, it was forgotten about…until today. At first, I searched for some kind of blog related to autos as I am in the auto claims business, but decided to write about something besides work.

            It wasn’t hard to find a blog relating to something that interests me. The hard thing was to narrow the choices down to one. After “googling” cooking blogs, the search was at an end as the blog I had seen on TV was at the top of the list. I recognized “The Pioneer Woman” immediately and went to the sight with anticipation of what I would find.

            I know this blog is not for everyone, but it is different and is a reminder of the great state where I was born and continue to live.  It has humor, as well as some great recipes for some good old-fashioned home cooked meals, and the author Ree Drummond blogs about her home life on a real working ranch. She also posts lots of photos of the ranch, her kids, the family dog, etc. If anyone is curious to see what life in Oklahoma is like, this blog is worth visiting.

            Although most Oklahomans do not live on big cattle ranches, this blog gives readers a taste of what it’s like to live in the wide open spaces, away from the big city lights, and what it’s like living with cattle, horses, and other farm animals on a daily basis.

            The colorful photos of an Oklahoma sunset or the photos of her yummy recipes will keep you mesmerized for hours (it did me). This is a blog about so much more than cooking and it even has comments about and photos of the “Marlboro Man,” in chaps. You’ll just have to visit the blog to see for yourself how Oklahomans live, eat, talk, work and play. Here is the link to “The Pioneer Woman” blog http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/.

Response to Robert Bringhurst’s “Why There Are Pages and Why We Must Turn Them”

            I agree with Bringhurst’s statement in his article that “a book is not a catalog or list; it has to make more sense than that” (21). Books are the reason humans have been able to evolve, whether it was from the oral form (storytellers) or the printed version (books, newspapers, etc), or most recently through the electronic version (eBooks, etc.).  He also writes “to those who know and love them, books are recognizable, as forests are, and cities, by their structure (branching and rebranching), their complexity (enormous), and their size (big enough to get lost in)” (21). This, I can also relate to, as I am of the older generation and have had books in my life since I was a little girl, and it would appear that I love them just as much as Bringhurst seems to.

            However, this does not mean that the old cannot learn new tricks. Even though I love the old fashioned way of picking up a good book to read, it has become very convenient in some respects to just start up the trusty little laptop and with a few mouse clicks and key strokes, find something to read.

            Do I think everything found on my computer (electronic media) is good? Of course not,  and some of the writing is just “ugly” as Bringhurst writes, but the electronic age is here to stay, and we must all progress/evolve with the times (24). It should not matter how the written word is printed, just so long as it is printed. Whether people pickup a favorite book, log on to those email or face book pages or maybe use a kindle to read, what should be important is that people make

time to read, because as Bringhurst reminds us “books exist because we want and need them”(21). Although, what he doesn’t take into account in his article is how easy the electronic age has made it for people to access books and that for some, it is possibly the only way that they have to read a book.

            With this “instant” access society has to books, reading may become a favorite pass time for more people, and maybe, just maybe, more people will be inspired to write something down or type something on the computer;  to pass on to future generations, as Bringhurst describes something of “literary value” (24).

Works Cited

Bringhurst, Robert, and Heriot Bay. "Why There Are Pages and Why They Must Turn." World Literature Today, 2008. Master File Premier. EBSCO. U of Oklahoma Lib. 16 Feb. 2011.

Response to David L. Hudson’s “Blogging”

            The First Amendment protects U.S. citizens’ freedom of expression and this includes speech posted on the Internet, and yes, I agree that this freedom should be protected. Schools should not have the right to punish a student for what they are writing on their own personal computers, on their own time, and away from school. However, I also believe that they (students) do not have the right to libel, slander or threaten anyone on the Internet. They could be sued or face criminal prosecution for any of these acts conducted by word of mouth, by any other written median or by physical actions, therefore, anything written on the Internet should be included as punishable.

 Hudson writes “…that if the expression takes place off-campus, school officials simply do not have the jurisdiction over a student’s speech,” and that the question of on-campus versus off-campus expression is very important (64). It is to be considered yes, but the sort or type of expression must also be taken into consideration.

I must ask this question, should parents take some or all of the responsibility for what their children are writing on the Internet? After all, they (children) are legally our responsibility until the age of 18. I believe if parents are not aware of what their children are doing, writing, or saying, then they cannot correct any improper behavior, and in today’s society some parents believe that ignorance is the best excuse for not holding their children (or themselves) accountable for any type of wrong doing.  If this is allowed by our society and the law of the land, students will never learn to be accountable for their actions. 

Works Cited

Hudson, David L. Blogging. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 2008. 6 February 2011

<http://libraries.ou.edu/access.aspx?url=http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/lib/sooner/Doc?id=10284452>.