"Wildland fires are part of a feedback loop that relates to global climate change. When trees and grasses burn, they release carbon dioxide, thus adding to the greenhouse effect and raising the risk of future heat-stoked wildfires." This is very interesting to read. Given the effects previous wildfires occur and with droughts happening the risk is even higher for wildfires to begin and start. Predicting when they would happen I guess is hard to say but at least we can figure out WHERE it would happen next i suppose. "Where drought does strike, the risk of wildland fire soars. NCAR takes a multidisciplinary approach to address this concern. "

I read this article that the evoke site has provided in the womanswatch feed link they provided with a bunch of other links. This story really stood out for me. A woman is standing up for what she thinks is right despite ridicule and harsh opinions she is getting from her community. She used to practice female mutilation in thinking it was for the practice for her Islamic religion. Its like a female circumcision. "In the Afar region, women have traditionally been subjected to the most severe form of the practice, infibulation, usually between the ages of seven to nine. In some districts it is carried out within the first few days after birth. Infibulation involves the entire removal of the clitoris, the labia minora and labia majora, followed by sealing of the wound, which leaves only a small hole for the passage of urine and menses. Figures show that 63.2 per cent of women in the Afar region have undergone infibulation (some people are now practicing a less extreme form). The practice leaves the girls with severe pain and trauma, shock, haemorrhage, sepsis, urine retention, ulceration of the genital region, and urinary infection, among other complications. Obstruction and tearing during sexual intercourse or childbirth is common." She now stops due to the seriousness that it is very bad for woman to get such treatment and can affect their bodies negatively, along with the main reason it doesn't support her religion.

"The report from the office of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand shows a dramatic 55% rise in the need for emergency food relief statewide, and a 75% increase in New York City overall. The number of emergency meals provided to the city's hungry has jumped in every borough since 2006, with the Queens tally topped only by that in the Bronx, which saw a 110% boost. In Brooklyn the jump was 75% and in Manhattan 62%. The smallest increase was 29% for Staten Island." This is something that I couldn't believe. Are these numbers really true? I mean there are these many people who need food in my area? I mean I know in Queens I have seen many homeless people and food drives all around the city but I never knew it was due to the fact because there are these amount of people who need it. Its sad and shocking and I think I am going to start putting in my two cents and try to hep out. I think I will start volunteering at a food drive or something. This is crazy how people are in hunger like this.

"Within the hallowed halls of academia, one of the best futurists is Mike Boehlje at Purdue's Center for Food and Agricultural Business. He sees three types of technology at the farm level that are in the process of coming to market: technology to manipulate growth processes of plants and animals, technology for monitoring and measuring systems, and automated process control technology. On its own, each area is significant, he says, but it's their coming commercial convergence that will bring the most significant change." This is very cool to read. In my previous bookmark on diigo, I talked about how technology in general can't really help farmers, especially the whole idea of the cell phone but this... this is interesting. Going forward in providing this for farmers sure as "heck" can help farmers. I mean this is what farmers need correct? More of their supply to sell, how they are going to sell it and well pretty much the time it will take to sell it. The faster they get their money the better. I sure hope that farmers don't have to pay a lot of money to get this advancement or at least will be able to get their hands on it somehow.

"A phone can be used to call for help in a medical emergency, find information about crop prices, enable cashless transactions and banking services, or simply save someone from making a long journey when the only option is to visit in person. Professor Jeffrey Sachs, a leading development economist and director of the Earth Institute, has said: "The cellphone is the single most transformative technology for development." This is interesting. I know that smart phones help give so much information now a days; its like having a laptop fit your pocket. Just pull it out and have information given to you by simply looking up what you need to know. This would seem great for farmers to have but given the prices of owning a cellphone and paying the rate plan is kind of expensive. Especially for farmers who are poor. In Africa, times are very tough and there is a lot of poverty over there. "Matthew Elesu, 27, wearing an Arsenal shirt, explains that he buys a car battery from the town of Soroti for 150,000 shillings (£48). The journey there and back costs 4,000 shillings (£1.28), four times what it was only a couple of years ago. Elesu then charges 400 shillings (13p) to charge a phone, which usually takes four hours. The margins are slight. "I make money, but only enough to buy some bread," he says." This shows how even cheap technology affects the money farmers could make. Its a cool idea to help farmers but in the end it does little to no effect in my opinion.

"With these frightening predictions in mind, we need to try to heat-proof our agriculture. That can be accomplished by using crops that have proved resistant to extreme heat - like sorghum or millet - to breed hybrid-crop varieties that are more capable of withstanding higher temperatures. We'll need to drop any squeamishness about consuming genetically modified crops. Unless we can tap the power of genetics, we'll never feed ourselves in a warmer world. But we'll need to act quickly. It can take years to breed more heat-resistant species, and investment in agricultural research has shriveled in recent years." This is a great way to get ideas going to test what can work and what won't work in these tough times. We have to figure out ways to continue growing crops through these harsh and terrible weather conditions. We have to be smart and conduct new ways. We need this. Really badly. Its the only way we can help the starving people around the world and how we can help farmers make good money in more than one season.

The food hunger crisis is a big concern for me now because its very sad and horrifying to believe that this is actually happening as I type this. I could never imagine what kind life this could be because I have been so lucky and blessed with the life I have. In a way, even though I am just a middle/average class type of person, I feel very rich and spoiled compared to these helpless poor people who are starving around the world.

"When I was a child growing up in Zimbabwe, my grandmother used to go to the same one-acre plot of land each day and work long and exhausting hours. When I asked her why she put herself through this, she replied: "This is how I wake up every day, this is how I survive." I am now in my twenties and my grandmother is still out there on her plot each day. She continues to till her field with a hand hoe, using seed saved from previous harvests, and applying a teaspoonful of fertiliser per maize plant. Her working hours and type of inputs have remained the same over the years; however, the yields have been declining drastically. " This is a very sad article to read about. It's too bad that these type of things happen in other parts of the world. I feel so spoiled and bad compared to these people. I'm so lucky and blessed to have the life that I have and that things are sometimes just handed to me and that opportunities are everywhere. I hope these type of lives will one day be over so that everyone can live a wonderful and fruitful life instead of having a hard working life like this.

Interesting game. Reminds me of the Sims or Civilization; games of such nature. Will probably play again later. Strategy is key!!!

Interesting post on the zombie phenomenon

This podcast was very interesting to listen to. It deals with the grossing effect of extreme horror as it explores how people love to watch films like these. It brings the question who are the REAL crazy people in this world? David Poland, a film critic says that after watching Hostel II, he felt that, "I think that we've crossed some sort of line." The special effects and improvements in film today have created horror to a whole new level with new genres. However many horror film directors have different views. Rob Zombie takes the idea that its all for thrill rides and its like "taking the sex out of a porno movie... Its hallow." Eli Roth takes it as a reflection of the "horror" he sees in the news. "While we were recording the score for the first Hostel, I turned on the television, and Hurricane Katrina was on," Roth says. "[There were] bodies floating down the street, reports of people raping and shooting - and the police quit! Look around the world, at what happens when you're in a society where no one's looking and no one's paying attention and you can do whatever you want: People revert immediately to this state of killing." "In spite of the laughter, Brottman, a scholar, she says "extreme horror might be a way of examining the core of what makes us human." Figuratively speaking, of course."

Recent studies have shown that this also effects gender roles and what each gender is "supposed" to do in watching a horror film. "There's a great set of studies done here at Indiana where they had a male and a female watch horror films together, and when the female was a part of the experiment the male would watch it if the female appeared uncomfortable, squeamish, unhappy with the content, then the male enjoyed the movie more and rated the female as more attractive," Weaver said. And vice-versa: If the man appeared frightened, the woman would enjoy the movie less, and find her companion less attractive."

I came across another piece of information a couple of days later which dealt with more theories of why people love to watch horror films. This news article titled "Why Do People Love Horror Movies? They Enjoyed Being Scared" by ScienceDaily states that new research suggests "horror movie viewers are happy to be unhappy." Investigators generally use one of two theories to explain why people like horror movies. The first is that the person is not actually afraid, but excited by the movie. The second explanation is that they are willing to endure the terror in order to enjoy a euphoric sense of relief at the end. However researchers Eduardo Andrade and Joel B. Cohen have argued that those two theories are incorrect. Horror movie viewers are happy to unhappy because in their book, their "novel approach to emotion reveals that people experience both negative and positive emotions simultaneously -- people may actually enjoy being scared, not just relief when the threat is removed. As the authors put it, "the most pleasant moments of a particular event may also be the most fearful."

What I noticed most about "Searching for the Main Street Pimp" (http://www.mappingmainstreet.org/#route=8818_6367_1&city=8818&image=6365&nav=pathview) was that it was a story filled with heartbreak and joy. I never would of thought that the main street pimp had passed away. I remember passing by him all the time after school when i would either go home to take the bus or to hang around Flushing. I remember the first time when I met him, he was wearing an interesting outfit that reminded me of a pimp. I tried to take a picture of him with my phone but I didn't want to seem obvious so I was trying to be sneaky. However he got me and instead of getting questioned which i feared He smiled and yelled "Hey! You ain't getting my good side yo!" He posed for a couple of pics and then off he went to go do whatever he needed to do. When Helen, Rayon and Andrea went searching for the main street pimp i was anxious to see what they would uncover. Getting the main street pimp into my head got me thinking so much on where he had been. It really was boggling my mind. However of course, the end of the podcast gave everyone the answer that to me was unexpected. The Main Street Pimp had passed away about a year ago. Another part that I was shocked to hear was the sickness and conditions he had. Besides the fact of being very ill and having physical problems, he was also a schizophrenic. That was very hard to take in. I never would of guessed that. He seemed so happy and so fun. Never would i expected a man like him to have gone through so much. I thank the podcasters Helen, Rayon and Andrea for bringing this story to us and I look forward to their next stories on radio rookies.

Although its TV not film its good to know a little bit of everything. This blog post is a great story on how he made it to where he wanted to be with a lot of hard work and enduring a lot of things. Its all about starting small and working your way to the top. "Do a mediocre job amazingly," Mahmood said. "Be the best copier. Make the best coffee ever." Everyone should read this. Its a great story.

This is a great article that deals with director Brett Ratner, a big time Hollywood movie director who discussed his life on how he made it to the top. Its great to read and the advice he gives is great for future successful filmmakers as myself. Its a great "boost-up" to read if any of you filmmakers ever feel down and feel all is lost.

i believe this is a a brief summary of the book when looking at the abstract section of this page when you go to the link. All about Film budgets and discussing whether or not its necessary for a movie. Its just bits and pieces of things that are good to read hear and there so you know more about this industry. I am very serious about filmmaking. As you can see thats all I ever talk about when I'm on diigo or youthvoices. I am convinced that this is what I am going to do in life.