Final Paper: The Meringue Recipe

When we first encounter Ray, the main character of “Just Add Water”, he is sitting in the toll booth where he works. He is repeating the phrase: “would you like a receipt? Don’t forget to take a mint!” over and over to his customers. For most of us, a repetitive, mindless, and boring job like this would be bad enough. We then learn that he lives in Trona, California, a dilapidated and nearly abandoned town in the desert. We see his situation as being unbearable and wonder how he continues to wake up every day to this situation. However, for Ray, its not as bad as it looks. Ray is an eternal optimist. His positive affect means that he can take his situation and make the best out of it. This is unlike many of the other residents of Trona, many of whom became addicted to crystal meth and have no hope that things will improve. In Ray’s case, his point of view creates his own more positive reality despite how outsiders would see it.
As the film continues, we see that Rays situation is even worse than we could’ve imagined. His home life is a mess. His wife is despondent and refuses to leave the home, and his son is a delinquent with anger issues and a tendency towards crime. In addition, his town is run by the local drug dealer, who restricts electricity when anyone on the block misses rent. Yet, Ray remains hopeful. In his mind, this will all pass, Trona will return to its former glory, and all will be well. Ray even proceeds to pick up litter around the city. Of course, things do not immediately get better. In fact, Ray discovers that his wife has been cheating on him with his brother since the beginning of their marriage, and that his son is actually his nephew. Still, Ray maintains his positve outlook. It is easy to see how this attitude of optimism has led him to the path he is on. His neighbors have not fared so well. They have given up on any hope they had of having a better life, and have turned to drugs and alcohol instead of trying to better themselves and remain positive.
One reason that Ray has managed to remain hopeful for the future is his love for the local Rite Value clerk named Nora. Ray and Nora have been friends since childhood and have been secretly hiding their love for each other all of these years. Through small acts of kindness towards each other, they have maintained a platonic but still flirtatious relationship with each other. Ray always leaves her his change despite his own problems and Nora often hides certain foods in special places in the store just for Ray. We also discover that Ray has been carrying around photos of Nora in a tin box for years. He remains hopeful that one day they can be together. While Ray is unable to act on these feelings while he is married, we see the relationship between Ray and Nora evolve shortly after his wife leaves him.
After Ray’s wife and son/nephew leave him, Ray decides that it is time to make his own reality the reality for the whole town. He sees his son/nephew employed by the drug dealer and knows that the city needs a change. He believes that he can make Trona the tourist destination it had once been and restore the town to what is once was. After finally gaining the courage to ask out Nora, he devises an elaborate plan to run the town drug dealer out of town. Ray gathers up all of the residents and friends of Trona and together they get the drug dealer out of town and into jail, and to get the drug addicted residents into rehab. Miraculously, the rain that has eluded the town for years returns. The film then fast forwards to nine months later. Nora and Ray are expecting, as well as are many of the other residents. Also, Trona is no longer the run down abandoned city that it once was. It has been returned to its roots as a tourist destination and Ray and Nora have opened a successful restaurant. Through this, we see that an individual can change things for the better. For years, Ray’s positive outlook only affected his own reality, but when he made the choice to actively resist the negative path his town was taking, he was able to improve the lives of everyone around him. Ray was able to create his own reality by maintaining his values and opinions about the world around him despite difficult situations.
In Joshua Roebke’s article, “The Reality Tests”, Roebke argues that we create what we observe through the act of our observations. Scientifically, he explains how every time we measure or observe something, we are changing it. Roebke also explains how every action affects other particles. Just as we change the properties of objects by scientifically examining them, we have a social impact on the things we observe every day. Even before Ray made the decision to actively resist the downfall of the city of Trona, his small observations and decisions had a positive impact on the world around him. Choosing to stay positive in his situation created a more stable environment for his son/nephew as well as inspired others, such as Nora, to maintain her positive outlook. Had Ray chosen to give up on his dream of a better life, his son or himself may have become drug users, or may have just never had an opportunity to change the community for the better. Looking at Ray’s situation, many of us think that his life would have been unbearable, and that we would have left Trona altogether. Ray also could have done this, which would have led him to be in an even more different situation. Instead, he stood by his dreams, especially with regards to courting Nora, and was able to help others. His positive attitude inspired even the most far gone residents of Trona. His determination and positive outlook affected the entire city, and together they could work to create their own reality. Both Roebke’s article and the film “Just Add Water emphasize how an individual can change his surroundings just by looking at them in a certain way. This is true in both physics and in our everyday life, as demonstrated by Ray’s ability to save the city of Trona, California.
In Wendell Berry’s article “Faustian Economics”, Berry also thinks that the way we view the world has led to the current global situation. He believes that our desire for personal advancement and power has created many of the environmental and social problems that exist today. Unlike Ray, he says that most of us are greedy and not concerned with conservation and global improvement. He believes that the only way that we can reverse the damage done to the planet is to change our entire way of thinking. Imagine if Ray, instead of working to repair his situation, simply abandoned the city of Trona and went on to bigger and better things. This would have negtively impacted everyone living there, and probably would have prevented the city from ever being saved. In the same way, he says that instead of constantly striving to be better than others, we need to band together to reinvent our reality. Our current social values such as greed and the desire for endless knowledge about the world has made us into the wasteful society that we are today. While I do not necessarily agree with Berry’s proposed solutions and his use of biblical references, I do believe that the current situation of the planet is a direct result of how we view our role on earth. We have created our own current reality because we view things in this way. Like Ray, Berry is an optimist. He believes that we can all change how we think about the world and can actively make changes that have a large positive impact on both the environment and the way we interact with each other.
I believe that it is accurate to say that we create what we observe through the act of our observations. This is true in our own individual lives, such as with Ray, in science, as in Roebke’s article, and also globally, as stated by Berry. From all of these medias, we can understand the importance that our individual views and choices affect the world around us. No though or action is completely independent of another. This means that we have the power to make drastic changes just by altering the way we perceive things. Whether we want to save a town, prove quantum mechanics, or save the environment, it all begins with a willingness to acknowledge the power of our individual thoughts. Ray should serve as an inspiration to those who feel trapped in a situation. We should use his positive outlook and hope for the future, as well as the decision to actively work to make improvements, to change situations in our everyday lives. By realizing the power that we have when we make observations, we can all be more aware of our impact on the world around us.

"Just Add Water"

In the focused free write we did before watching the movie, the phrase "Just Add Water" made me think of instant pudding or some other instant food item. After seeing the movie I see the phrase as meaning that one person can make a difference if they have the motivation and desire. 

Observations:

repeating "would you like a reciept? take a mint...", Ray works in a toll booth, Ray drives an old car, narrator-Danny DeVito, takes place in Trona, California: very hot, dilapidated town-used to be fishing resort, Ray is strapped for cash, Same routine every day, work, store, home, neighbor yelling, Wife has "issues", wont leave house, disheveled appearance. Son Edward- has anger issues, Nora works at store, Dirk, drug dealer-asks for rent, Rays mother in hospital

Inferences:

i think there is going to be a big change for Ray, i think there will be a change in Trona, maybe people/water will return, Ray is eternal optimist, his wife is nuts, maybe he will get rid of her or maybe hes too nice, Edward will get into trouble, relationship with Nora will continue and get more serious

Observations:

Edward takes dentures at hospital, Rays brother is upset, Wife gives icicle as dessert to Edward, Betsey- madame- Edwards graduation present- he ends up with a date with R'Chl'le, Photocopies $5's for rent- Dirk shuts off power on block when one person misses rent, Wife is sleeping with his brother, Edward not his son, wife and brother move out w/ Edward, Danny DeVito- opening the Chevron, Rays sister and mom kill each other in the hospital over recipe- buried together, Edward is working for Dirk, Ray tells him to stop, Dirk resists, Nora offers ray homecooked meal, eventually he asks her out and they do, Chevron opens, Ray stands up to Dirk, Dirk blows up Chevron and Rays car, Nora buys Ray a couch to "chat and things", Dirk turns off water and A/C again, Ray has a plan to get rid of Dirk- neighbors and Danny DeVito help and they save the town

it rains, Ray and Nora finally kiss, 9 months later- everyone is pregnant, opened a restaurant, serve merengue.

Infer:

Nora and Ray have been waiting for each other but Ray was too nice to leave his wife

Recalls:

This story is familiar because it is like a cliched fairytale, but i had no specific recalls. Danny DeVito makes me thing of "It's always Sunny in Philidelphia" <3,

The way I feel about blogging is...

As much as I have complained to my friends about having to blog for one of my classes, I really don't find it that bad. Personally, I like writing things out by hand and being able to look at hard copies of my work. I know that everything is on the computer now but I like to keep my school work in a tangible form. Also, I hate when classes make me do nightly homework or assignments. I do things on my own time and usually end up losing grade points for not doing smaller assignments on time. I did like that the blogging was more interactive than other forms of homework but I am looking forward to returning to using my notebook for classes.

Focused Free Write- Are you a writer? Why or why not?

A writer is someone who chooses to write something and usually intends for others to read it. I do not consider myself a writer. I only write things when I am required to for class. I usually dont put a lot of effort into my writing and don't usually enjoy doing it. I dislike obscure paper guidelines and strict formatting rules. I would say, however, that I am a pretty decent writer. I can usually earn a good grade with minimal effort and I write quickly and effectively. I think papers are an easy way to get a good grade in a class. I do like to read, but haven't had much time for any books of my own choice because of all of my work for classes. Maybe this summer...

I dont know anthing about Quantum Mechanics

In Joshua Roebke's article "The Reality Tests", Roebke asks the question: do we create what we observe through the act of our observations? I dont have any background knowledge on Quantum Mechanics. From the article I was able to understand two things that quantum mechanics called into question. First, that the world is local/has no distant influences, and second, that the world is real/has preexisting properties. The next thing I got from the article is that recent experiments make this theory seem true, such as that every measuring device affects what it is used to observe. But as for the question do we create what we observe through the act of our observations, I can only think of this in a non-physics related way. I think that people create their own reality with their attitude and behavior, as well as perceptions about the world. Anyone with a tight knit group of friends knows that the individual presence of each member of the group affects everything from the mood, the conversation, and the activities of the group. Also, biased opinions can make a situation have a different reality for you and someone else. Everybody experiences the world differently. 

One weakness in Roebke's article is that the averge person can not understand what he is saying well enough to form an educated opinion of their own regarding the legitimacy of Quantum Mechanics. Clearly this article was intended for people with more knowledge than I have. I have no idea if this is what I was supposed to do with this article, I have purposely never taken physics.

"Big Foot" - Michael Specter

In his article, Michael Specter talks about the problem of global warning and different ways we can address this problem. Everybody has a carbon footprint, or an amount that they contribute to global warming. Many companies and individuals are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Many people consider "food miles" as a factor when purchasing food items. "Food miles" refers to the distance a product travels from the farm to your home. Food from supermarkets have an average of 27 times more food miles than food bought in local markets. Specter says that this is not an accurate way to measure how much emissions were produced because it doesn't take in certain factors such as land use, type of transportation, weather and the season. Specter examines different peoples ideas on how to reduce emissions. John Elkington, founder of an enviornmental consulting firm, says that "we are in an era of creative destruction". By this he means that the problem of global warming is so massive that soon people will be to overwhelmed and feel to helpless to address it. He says that this will have drastic effects on many of the institutions we rely on such as our political system. I think that while this is kind of an extreme viewpoint, it is not that unlikely. Our society has a lot of problems and carbon emissions is only one of them. I think that the energy crisis will put further strain on our already burdened government.

While I am aware that individual people can actively work to reduce their impact on the environment, I do not personally feel responsible for global warming. No one person is individually responsible for global warming, but no one is exempt from the obligation to try to reduce their impact when possible. It is not very difficult to find ways to reduce your impact without really having to make any major changes in your lifestyle. However, even these changes wont reverse the damage that has already been done. In addition to reducing carbon emissions we also need to find a substitute for fuel. Personally I cant do anything about this problem so I don't feel like I should feel bad about it. 

A Picture of Waste

Immediately when I hear the word waste I dread returning home from class. After getting a puppy on January 2, my entire life revolves around waste, excrement, to be exact. I wake up in the morning and clean up accidents around the house, and my time at home is spent monitoring the activities of my puppy looking for signs he needs to go out. I waste time, cleaning products, and endless amounts of paper towels cleaning up after my puppy. Now, with housebreaking, I find myself constantly thinking about when my puppy last went to the bathroom. Every two hours or sometimes even less I find myself outside hoping he will go. Im happy when he does and stressed when he doesn't. I also happen to be involved in the business of dog-sitting. So, in addition to my puppy, who needs constant supervision to avoid mess in the house, I also need to monitor other dogs to make sure they go out when they need to. Then I get to talk to the owners about their dogs going out schedule and the details of each outing. As of recently, my entire life seems to revolve around waste.