#5 Arizona is causing its own demise

 Hello fellow adventurers! Today I read an article from earth.org about Arizona and its water shortage. Reading this and living in the state I already knew Arizona is kind of screwed. I decided to do a little research of my own. Like did you know that cement an asphalt that get direct sunlight can be as hot as 180 degrees Fahrenheit? 

     I don't know if you understand exactly what that means. In a state where they keep building houses with concrete fences, that means we are just building heat storage walls and knew asphalt roads that just makes Arizona hotter. Meaning people will need more water and will cause more of a shortage. It could just be me, but I feel like 360 days out of the year there are no clouds in sight meaning most concrete and asphalt are in direct sun light.

    Not only is that one problem, but the other is ore ecosystem. Arizona has some of the most diverse foliage ever seen. The reason? People thought Arizona looked to bland and brought in outside plants and trees. Well it takes a lot of water to keep all of these alive. People also try to grow grass here, that does not belong in the state.  

Imagine a state that has normal rain fall and temperatures that don't reach 120 degrees. Its very easy to maintain that lawn. Now imagine a lawn and how much water it must need to survive direct sunlight 8 plus hours in 120 degree weather. It takes considerably more water, but the state does not restrict whole neighborhoods to have Lucious green lawns.

According to Dr. Kevin Foster, he believes in less than 30 years Arizona will be to hot to live in at our current rate of house growth and I believe it. 

Until next time, I hope you roll a high initiative

Christopher Vining

Entry #4 My Favorite Book Series

 Hello fellow adventurers! Today I thought I would talk about one of my favorite book series. The Inheritance Cycle, also known as The Eragon books. Written by Christopher Paolini. 

I first read this book when I was around 18 years old. The thing that drew me to the book is at the time the author was around my age and he had my first name. Not the greatest reason to read a book, but hey its why I chose it. I read the book 3 times before the second book came out. I have now read the series more than 10 times all the way through. I love the world in which Paolini built, and his characters. I have been in love with dragons as long as I can remember. A book about a boy finding a dragon egg, and raising a dragon from a hatchling is something I have dreamt about. Unfortunately this series had a big issue when they tried to make a movie. 

This movie was horrendous, to say the least. Basically they took the names of all the characters and places, and followed maybe 50 pages of this 400 page book to make the movie. The CGI was bad and the acting was not much better. I had given up hope of them ever doing anything with this book series ever again.

Boy was I wrong. Now Disney is making a TV show about Eragon. I am very excited! The news doesn't stop there. Paolini has also come out and said he has written a fifth book! It comes out this November, and of course I already have it preordered. I will probably stay up until the book is finished the second it is in my hand. I hope you all take time to read this book and enjoy it as much as I do!

Until next time, I hope you roll a high initiative

Christopher Vining

Entry #3 Slanted Reporting... is it possible to write an interesting article with out opinion?

 Hello fellow adventurers! Today i figured we would talk about slanted reporting. What is that you ask? Good question. Slanted reporting is when a writer writes an article and gives their opinion through out the article. They example I figured I would use is this one. Rotten tomatoes is garbage. As the article says the writer talks about Rotten Tomatoes and how they have ruined movie watchers. They author gives their opinion multiple times in this article. It is very slanted in a negative attitude towards Rotten Tomatoes.

Now that you know what slanted reporting is, can a report be written with out giving an opinion? In my personal opinion I say no. Even when writing a scientific article is not the writer trying to prove their opinion? I know that is not as slanted as the article I linked prior, but still slanted in my opinion. I actually prefer slanted articles because they are more interesting to read which is the point. I believe you just have to read every article carefully, don't take everything they say as 100% proof. Be diligent and don't get caught up in their hysteria or excitement. Make your own decision. 

Enjoy reading your articles, news stories, and scandalous celebrity gossip. Just please remember most of it is slanted and you should read more than one article or research the topic yourself before making your final decision.

Until next time, I hope you roll a high initiative

Christopher