An Eclectic Blending of Ideas.
LIVEWIRE
www.fsuvoice.com
Pg. 6
FALL SEMESTER November, 2006
THE VOICE
Cell Phones Taking Over Daily Lives
By: Anca Stefan
The Voice
There's nothing like a brisk autumn
walk through the FSU campus. Our trees,
old witnesses of time, stand tall above brick
buildings, the air is chill and fresh and
someone is apparently going through a stri
dent marital dispute right behind you. Po
litely, you turn around; to make sure you're
not ignoring your co-pedestrian in case she
is struggling to address you. But your smile
turns awkward and slightly perplexed:
although your name is not Martin, she
stares you in the eye, startled, and a little
vexed that you would so rudely intrude in
her conversation. She walks alone, no one
beside her. Is she talking to a shadow, a
memory? Is she reciting an obscure ode to
Marriage or asking rhetorical questions of
the Autumn Winds? As far as you can tell,
there is no communication gadget in sight
and when she finally understands your con
fusion she casually points to her right ear,
and her lips round a few silent syllables:
It's my BluTooth.
I see my friend Shannon pensively dig
ging into a cheesecake at a local coffee
shop. How nice to see you, I say, as I walk
over. She gestures, with a smile, that I hold
on. She's on the phone.
I'm talking to my mother, discussing
culinary tactics for our planned Thanksgiv
ing dinner. One second, she says. Do you
mind me calling you back? I have someone
else on the other line.
if antennas are the "it" things of the
hour, then have earlobes become obso
lete? Is technology dissolving our social
skills? And if we would rather opt for
phone conferences and web-cam visits with
friends, will our visual and hearing senses
evolve while our tactile abilities atrophy?
While technology is making physical
distances sWr'inW, \We empty spheres we caW
"personal space" seam to grow uncontrol
lably. The mailman is now too busy listen
ing to his iPod to say Hello when he hands
out the mail, and a majority of customer-
service relies on the high-pitched diction
of a computer-generated voice. In a world
dominated by machines, is there, then, any
meaning in being the proud possessor of
"people-skills" or are we naiVe to continue
teaching our children the Please and Thank
You without which we could have never
survived?
The Pew Research Center conducted a
survey of adult cell users. More than a third
say their cell phones have enabled some
type of unwelcome intrusion in their lives:
• 24% of cell-using adults report they
often feel like they have to answer their cell
phones even when it interrupts a meeting
or a mea
• 22% believe that "too many"
people try to get in touch with them be
cause others know they have a cell phone.
• The reasons for this become clear
when cell owners describe how they use
their phones: Fully 52% of all cell owners
say they keep their phone on all the time
and 81% of cell-only users say the device is
always on.
• At times, mobile phones are used
abet some white lies: 22% of cell owners
say they are not always truthful about ex
actly where they are when they are on the
phone. Younger users are much more likely
to say they are not always honest about
where they are: 39% of cell users ages 18-
29 say that.
• Spam Was invaded cell phones, too.
About one in six cell owners (18%) report
receiving unsolicited text messages on their
phones from advertisers.
• Asked if they had used their cells
to vote in contests that had appeared on
television, such as "American Idol," 8% of
cell owners said they had done that.
• Cell phone use is encouraging
people to reallocate portions of their time
and their communications patterns. Many
use their phones for spontaneous "calling
around" when they have free time on their
hands. They make these spontaneous calls
when they are traveling, when they are
waiting in line, and when they are walking
down the street. It is likely this is adding to
the volume and flow of communication with
• Cell phone use is changing the
character of our public spaces. It is now
possible to be sitting on a train or walking
through a park and hear some of the most
intimate details of strangers' lives because
of the way they are chatting on their cells.
To a great many people, this comes as an
unwelcome consequence of their use of a
mobile phone. Cell phones are blurring
the boundaries between what is public and
what is private.
• Cell phone use is changing expec
tations about when and how others are
available to us. These results show how
much cell owners have a love-hate relation
ship with their phones. On the one hand,
they like that they can reach out to others
no matter where they are. On the other
hand, they ore sometimes not too happy
that others - perhaps including their bosses
and work colleagues - can reach out to
them at any place and time.
The facts and data above were ob
tained here: http://www.pewinternet.
org/pdfs/PIP_Cell_phone_study.pdf
About the Pew Research Center and
Pew Internet & American Life Project
The Pew Research Center is a nonpar
tisan "fact tank" that provides information
on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping
America and the world. It does not take po
sitions on policy issues. The Pew Internet &
American Life Project is one of the research
organizations at the Center. It examines the
social impact of the Internet and other com
munications technologies.
XVlP Rloplc a Fomm For FSU Expression
VVJ-XLv^J. o UXvyv^iV send submissions to: livewire@fsuvoice.com
TROUT
By: Clara B. Jones
Glacial silences distort the paths of caring
and create instead an icy wilderness of life.
S_S_* McSM PSMS_»
we have “hit,” but skillfully retreated
into rocky habitats
returning by some weeping urge
toward what we hope is real.
Seasons cycle memories that change
without our notice
untO the stream-bed dries
exposing curves and angles invisible before.
I have arid faith in deserts and you.
Sentiment buys nothing on the desert.
The ecological extreme
will buy no other rule except its own.
Survival is no luxury of choice—but function—
where chance competes with necessity for life;
where the ultimate replaces the mechanism
and ceases to be a dream;
where the difference between freedom and wil
derness
is preserved in form and silence;
where poetry is but a promissory note
one is unable to repay.
A Woman is A Tamed Beast
By: Makeda Carr
A woman is a tamed beast.
Tamed because her form makes her desirable,
subservient to man
But the natural state of woman is powerful.
Much hate, rage, love, heavenly, evil all put into
a form that was created too perfectly.
The original woman is omniscient and a warrior.
Nature itself knows that blind goddesses cover
and nurture and destroys this earth.
Women are very much like her earth beautiful,
comfort warmth today. Tomorrow, her imrelent-
ing fuiy gathers no regret.
The women of today only smelled their power
and just began to see the picture again.
How she became lost? I do not know. Her beauty
is her strength and her love is her creation and
destruction.
Women are the original leaders
One day we will return...
Soul Food;
The Ethnic Food of
African Americans
By: Reginald J. Eadie, MD
Guest Columnist
According to Webster, an
ethnic group relates to a group or
race of people that are classified
according to their commonalities.
Their culture can be understood
by observing their race, religion,
and social beliefs. As far as the
African-American culture is con
cerned, one would first consider
any American of African (and es
pecially of black African) descent.
A specific uniqueness about the
African-American culture is that
it is, at times, described as being
one with soul. That is, it is thought
to have a strong spiritual com
ponent to the music (e.g. Negro
Spiritual), food, dance, etc.
"Soul food" is the ethnic food
of the African-Americans. Soul
food has also been known as
the "slave's cuisine" and "good
times" food. Nonetheless, this
type of food has been part of the
African-American culture since the
early 1400's.
In order to properly define
"soul food", one must first learn
about its history. Traditionally,
African people would eat grains,
legumes, yams, sorghum, water
melon, pumpkin, okra, greens,
eggplant, cucumber, onion, garlic
and a small amount of fruit. Meats
would be served sparingly, as
the average African ate a mostly
vegetarian diet.
When the slave trade began,
it was also the start of a change
in the diet of the African people,
and the beginning of "soul food"
as we know it today. Aboard
the slave ships, the slave master
would feed the slaves only the
left over foods. The enslaved
African became accustomed to
eating a small serving of meat
(soiled fishes), rice (covered with
a slabber sauce), beans, and
vegetables. Historically, this meal
was their first exposure to a diet
high in salt.
On the American plantation,
the African was again forced to
eat a "new plate." Their previ
ously healthy African plate was
quickly replaced with an un
healthy African-American dish.
The slave's diet consisted of the
Master's (and his family's) throw
away foods. The vegetables were
the tops of turnips, beets, and
dandelions. Eventually, new types
of greens (e.g. collards, mustards)
were being cooked by the slaves.
Now, the meat (pig's feet, ham
hocks, chitterlings, pig's ears,
hog jowl, tripe, and crackling,)
became the main dish. If they
were lucky, they would be given
generous portions of greens and
molasses (as dessert). The com
mon drink included lemonade or
iced tea.
The slave's diet evolved even
more into this modern day "soul
food" after we became the plan
tation house cooks. The skill and
creativity of the slaves yielded
plates covered with fried chicken.
In addition, sweet potatoes (in
place of the African yams),
apples, peaches, berries and nuts
were becoming the preferred
taste.
Dinner time, if granted to the
slaves by their master, was a time
when the slaves would gather
after a hard day of work. They
would eat their "good times"
foods and teach their youth about
their wonderful life back in their
motherland.
It was this "well appreciated"
and "master-minded" soul food
that gave rise to many popular
dishes found in restaurants across
America. These popular dishes
include hush puppies, gumbo, gut
strut, croquettes, pot likker and
many more. Soul food is even
served in other ethnic restaurants
in the form of appetizers and
desserts.
Soul food, as we know it
today, is more than just a plate of
creativity. To the African-Ameri-
can, it is a symbol of tenacity,
hardship, unity, blessings from
God. Even now, it is eaten by Afri
can-Americans on a regular basis
or during special gatherings (i.e.
holidays, funerals, and parties).
Soul food is an outward sign
of the inward grace of African-
Americans. Soul food restaurants,
to me, are businesses that exist
only because of the selfishness of
the slave master and the creativity
of the slave. They are monuments
that represent the birth of the
African American culture.
With the African-American
culture continuing to place a
strong emphasis on financial,
spiritual and educational gains,
a healthier "soul food" is now
emerging. Vegetable oils have
been substituted for lard, chicken
for pork; baked chicken for fried
and simple fresh fruit for the cob
blers and bread pudding.
African-Americans must
respect themselves and their
soul food enough to utilize it the
way in which God intended; for
survival. This includes post-slavery
survival. The indigenous African in
America has to take the respon
sibility to cook, serve and eat
righteously. No longer should we
fill our bellies (and our children's
bellies) cow's meat, pig meat, or
improperly prepared and cooked
meats.
Soul food is the conduit be
tween African-American families.
Let us not let it enslave us.
‘Reginald J. Eadie, M.D.
is a Board Certified Emergency
Medicine physician who for the
last 10 years has dedicated his
time and research to eradicating
overweight and obesity.
Dr. Eadie has published
several articles and describes
the solution to proper eating and
weight loss in his book entitled
How to Eat and Live Longer which
will be available for reading in
early 2007. Visit his website,
www.eatandlivelonger.com, for
more info.
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