Queen Elizabeth Sails into Town

          Since I was little, it was always a dream of mine to play princess for a day, so this article caught my attention. As I read, I realized that this article was not about Catherine Middleton nor Prince William, but it is about a cruise ship. The new and improved Queen Elizabeth sailed into Boston on September 22, setting the bar for future cruise ships to come. The Art Deco accents and white-jacket servers that strolled the floor created a throwback to the '30s and ' 40s. I love the idea of going back in time and boarding one of the classiest ships that ever sailed across the Atlantic. The new vessel pays homage to previous ships by including the original ship's bell and newspaper clippings of famous passengers that sailed on the original Queen Elizabeth.
          Erin Ailworth writes with such enthusiasm and insight that at first I believed that she had been on the ship before. Ailworth knew her audience, sailors and travelers in the New England area. Focusing on how much money the travel industry brings to Massachusetts, she believes that cruise ships like the Queen Elizabeth should come more often. "The cruise industry today brings to Massachusetts more then 330,000 visitors annually... who spend $26 million in local restaurants, ships and other tourists attraction...", which leads to a better economy and hopefully a better future for Massachusetts. Ailworth is very impressed with the ship saying, " Nearly three football fields in length, the ship is capable of carrying 2,068 passengers and 996 crewmembers on 16 decks. Amenities include a 6,000 volume, two story library...five restaurants, a pub, a buffet room, a casino, a ballroom...", this is not a ship, it is a five star hotel that floats. The article does not analyze as much as it informs the reader about the magnificent ship. If I ever get the chance, I would love to set sail on the Queen Elizabeth!

http://articles.boston.com/2011-09-23/news/30194936_1_cruise-business-cruise-industry-queen-elizabeth-cruise-ship

The Breathtaking World Under the Sea

          "Ariel, listen to me. The human world, it's a mess. Life under the sea is better than anything they got up there", could this statement from a Disney movie be true? Megan Cytron, from Salon.com, believes that it is and I would have to agree with her. I enjoy swimming and when I swim down the little inlet located at Black's Beach on Cape Cod, I always stop and hold my breath to take in the silence and to look down at the hermit crabs that scutter along, trying to fight the current. Though the hermit crabs never win, I always know that it is much more peaceful under the water than in the crazy world that we live in. Black's Beach is only accessed by boat which allows you escape the everyday hustle and bustle of the suburban life. Cytron focus' on saving the coral reefs that bring her peace. I agree with Cytron, these little pieces of peacefulness need to be protected because they are just to beautiful to be lost.
          Cytron knows her audience very well. Her target audience is nature lovers and conservationists. Her writing style is casual, but very persuasive. She uses bright and cheerful adjectives to describe the world wonders that live under the sea. Cryton informs the reader by including knew information that they might not have known such as, " Rising water temperatures and ocean acidity levels, runoff and overfishing are wreaking havoc on these habitats...".  Her final line, "warm crystal-clear tropical seas fringing remote sandy islands or coastlines -- are what most of us have in mind when we cocontemplate the word 'paradise'", was a perfect way to close her argument.

http://www.salon.com/life/trazzler/index.html?story=/mwt/feature/2011/09/25/trazzler_slideshow_coral_reefs