3b Beaches

1. Contains a title using the format listed above .25 points: 3b Beaches
   
2. Contains a web link to your locations. (eg you can use the tools in your blog where you paste your work; there is a little icon that looks like a link) .25 points Half Moon Bay News, Ocean Beach News
   
3. Contains an explanation regarding how this component (any aspect of it; eg content of videos, content of websites) connects to your study of humanities. .25 point: What do you think of when you think of the typical Californian lifestyle? Or have you ever seen one of those commercials promoting to come to California? It is commonly seen that the beach is a big part of our Californian culture. Being the "lazy bums" we are, all we do all day long is sit on the beach, get tan, and surf. Of course, this is a common stereotype that is true to only 5% of Californians. Although it's safe to say many of us do love to visit the beach every once in awhile, we do not spend the majority of our time there being lazy. But still, it is perceived in other places that part of our culture is being a beach bum. I also believe this is one of the reasons California is so often envied. Going back to the "California" commercial, the people in the commercial keep talking about how everyone thinks life in CA is one big vacation. The actress then says "It's really a lot of work." We get up early, it's a long drive to the office, we have board meetings (physically showing a surfer on a surf board), LOTS of board meetings. The irony of this commercial is that all these actors are saying how "hard" work here is, but yet they're being shown doing the things that they love - riding bicycles, surfing, mountain climbing, basically playing around. WE are the ones who are putting out the "lazy" stereotype that others perceive us as, via commercials like this! (See the commercial here)
   
4. Contains the following elements that will be used in upcoming projects for analytical purposes:

1. What are some assumptions/stereotypes you think people have of each location: 1 point: I think the paragraph before this goes into more detail, but to sum it up - people from out of state have the assumption/stereotype that we are Californians are just "beach bums" all day. Ocean Beach is located in San Diego, CA, so many people assume that the weather is always sunny and hot, there are always tons of people there, and the surf is amazing. All of these things could be true. Half Moon Bay Beach, which is located near San Francisco, probably has the same rep, because people think all beaches in California are typically the same.
   
2. List 3 things that make each location similar: 1 point 1. Both locations are prime spots for surfers. Even the Ocean Beach website says that "locals equate OB with surfing". And Half Moon Bay (besides maybe Salmon Creek) is one of the most sought out surfing spots in Northern California. 2. Both locations are obviously, in California. 3. Both locations have many spots near them for hotels and resorts, making them both a prime tourist destination. Ocean Beach has Ocean Beach Hotel and Ocean Villa Inn nearby, and Half Moon Bay has the Beach House Hotel and Half Moon Bay Inn.
   
3. List 3 things that make each location so different: 1 point 1. I think the weather is the biggest differential factor between these two beaches. In San Diego, the weather is known for being sunny almost year round. On March 13th 2009, the temperature in OB is 63 and sunny. Northern California beaches are known for getting quite cold and windy during most months of the year. On the same date, Half Moon Bay's temperature is 63, but windy and overcast. 2. Uses of the beaches. On Half Moon Bay's website they seem to talk a lot more about salmon, and how the shortage of salmon this season is hurting fisherman. On the OB website, I couldn't find anything about the salmon shortage. This makes me think that Half Moon Bay is a big location for our sources of food, while OB is mainly a "party" beach. 3. Fatality rates. On the HMB website, there is an article regarding the investigation of a surfer who died there. The body was found on Sunday, and although they are not sure how he died it's said the conditions the day he went out were windy and rough. The OB website did not contain anything to anyone who had died recently. It seems as if the big difference between these two beaches are the safety. OB seems to be more kid friendly, the sunny weather and easy going waves helping the situation. But Northern Californian beaches have a bad rep for being very dangerous - growing up here, one of the first things I learned was to never turn your back on the ocean.
   
4. Questioning: What else would you like to know about these places? When completing the question section, lead your audience into the question by stating a fact you do know, yet you still have the related question. This way, both your audience and you will have an educational experience. .5 point: I discussed fatality rates in the differences question above - but I do not know the actual fatalities of each beach individually. I tried looking it up online, but could not find any specifics. I would like to know just how common it is to get pulled out to the dangerous ocean here in Northern CA beaches, and if Southern CA beaches are any safer.
   

5. Using your classmates work from last week, tell us one thing you learned from 1 student. Is this one thing some common experience you share or some experience that is completely different than what you experienced? Is this one thing related to our class theoretical foundation and if so, how? Is that one thing related to historical or cultural context of this country or a different one? Link that persons blog to this entry (eg cut paste that blog entry here) . .5 point: I learned from Cathy that Rome is also called the "Eternal City". I figure this is because it has such a beautiful history to it and a lot of past that can teach us about our future. This is an experience different from my own - I personally did not review Rome as a city and also have never traveled there myself - learning about this city is a very new experience for me. This is related to the foundation of our class and has a lot of do with the historical and culture context of THEIR country, Europe. Cathy's blog