A Burned Out Star

   If you have been in any kind of association with the world of pop culture recently, you would have caught at least some kind of glimpse of the unrecognizable face of who many know as an innocent kid actor, Amanda Bynes. After her retirement as an actress she seemed to have disappeared from the public eye for quite sometime. This was true up until recently photos and videos of her surfaced everywhere of her almost naked, with a shaved, bleached head, random piercings, and completely intoxicated out of her mind. Since then, it has been reported that she has been through all kinds of legal trouble, from getting caught smoking, to throwing a bong out of her apartment window.

   It's also been reported just how extreme the difficulty has become to reach out to her, as she's just completely out of it all the time, and has been mentally taken over into a person that just can't communicate with anyone. Her parents have tried negotiating with the court some kind of settlement to send her to a mental institution, however it's been said that they don't have the correct conditions needed in order to do that.

   To me this was completely shocking. I remember her as being someone I never thought would fall under the cracks of Hollywood considering she chose to leave it. It just seemed absolutely unbelievable to see her looking like that after her last healthy public appearance as an actress a year ago. This made me really think about the actual consequences that come with the idealized, dream of excessive wealth in America. This tragedy has happened with almost every child star: Lindsey Lohan, Britney Spears, etc. Is the fame, glory, and wealth given to you really worth what many have turned out like in result? Why is wealth such a strived for thing in America when in truth it could ruin someone in the blink of an eye?

Privacy is Appreciated

   The other day, our class was able to take a small field trip to the Kenilworth beach, also known as "The Kenilworth Water Department." We took pictures of what we viewed as signs of social class and reviewed them as a class. Some of the observations/photos that were taken that stood out was the incredibly elaborate elevator they had put in place for handicap people, the attractive and immense front gate and entrance of the beach as well as the extremely maintained surroundings and patio beach area, and the intricate landscaping of it all. Another characteristic that was reflected throughout the beach was the idea of privacy and exclusiveness. Some examples of this were the immense gates fencing the beach off from the public, the sign saying "Kenilworth Sailing Club Members Only", and all the privately owned boats chained up. Just being there you really felt a sense of being exclusive and secluded, from all the different kinds of intentional as well as non-intentional restrictions throughout the beach.
  However, this weekend I was able to drive downtown and pass by the public beaches located closer to the city. The difference between them and the Kenilworth Beach was enormous and not something I would usually notice. These beaches seemed almost completely open with no special gadgets and entrances the Kenilworth Beach featured. No parts of these beaches seemed exclusive in any way, and everything about them seemed to be more shared by the public, not privately owned for an individual.
   I think this tells you a lot about social class as well, and the feelings and ideas of privacy being valued can be reflected through the upper class. Where as the lower class doesn't fence off and seclude themselves in as many aspects.
   Do you agree with this? Is this a typical theme reflected through the Social classes in American Society? Comment below.

The Highly Anticipated Film of the Year

   The day finally came. The Great Gatsby, one of the most highly anticipated films of the year was finally released. Because it's one of the most famous American novels written, because of the copious amounts of money that was spent on the production, and because of the A-List choice of actors and actresses for the film, the movie's arrival was awaited with great expectations. However, would F. Scott Fitzgerald approve of all this glamorous and lavish treatment for the production of his book?
   In the actual novel, Fitzgerald clearly expresses his opinions toward the idea that wealth and materialism are things that destroy moral values and will therefore ruin a person and their dreams. He highlights that the empty pursuit of wealth and the dollar is only fueled by things like greed. He believes that there is a certain hollowness to the upper class in our society, and describes them in ways of being inconsiderate and careless. Overall, his attitude toward the pursuit for wealth and materialism brings out the worst in people and in actuality is what is demoralizing and ruining our society over time, as the American Dream is decaying more and more. And because of all the glamor and materialism this movie expresses as well as the ridiculous amounts of money spent on it, I believe that one of the main themes of the novel I explained above that Fitzgerald was trying to get across is almost being mocked in the film.
   In class we went over some of the individual components of the film and how costly they were: the tiara Daisy wears to one of the parties, and the wardrobing of the film. The tiara alone is a $200,000 purchase from Tiffany's, while the wardrobe for Gatsby, Daisy, and the other characters is taken care of by the very expensive brand Brooks Brothers, and the famous designer, Prada. These two factors of the wardrobe alone really reflect just how focused on materialism and elegance this movie was.
    What do you think? How do you feel Fitzgerald would've reacted to this? Do you think it's a little ridiculous to spend that much money on a film, especially when the main theme in the book is how bad money is for society?

A Stand Still

   Very recently, it was released that Professional basketball player, Jason Collins, has come out and publicly announced that he is gay. Although being gay is extremely more commonly accepted in our society today than it used to be, this was seen as a huge turning point in the progress of American History just because Collins was the first professional basketball player to have ever come out, and one of the very few professional athletes to have come out in general. However, can it really even be recognized as a huge spike in the progress we've made in this nation?
   In the CNN article further announcing Collins's coming out, they describe the large amounts of praise he received from people all over the country, including a congratulatory call expressing "support" and a feeling of "being impressed" by someone as recognizable as President Obama. I agree that yes, all this support and praise for Collins is amazing and really shows just how acceptable our society CAN be. However has it really made the progress we think it's made? The article discusses further that one of the reasons Collins decided to come out was because of the Boston Marathon bombing, and to live in complete honesty because something could happen like that any second. He also claimed he wished someone could've "already done this"so it'd be easier, but because that's not the case he decided to.
   These examples further illustrate the idea that in actuality not much progress has been made at all, and makes me question if there are many other athletes who are like Collins, and still don't feel completely comfortable enough to be the person seen as "different" and come out. Because there are so few athletes who have come out, that emphasizes the doubt I truly have for this progress as well. Because if the few that have actually come out however admitted that they still did feel uncomfortable and wish someone else had done it before them, I would imagine there may be others feeling the same way of still not completely being accepted in to our society.
   What do you think? To what extent do you believe this progress we claim to be making is actually real? Do you feel as though things haven't been making the progress people believe it has or want to believe it has? Do you feel that these imaginary lines separating certain kinds of people from eachother still exist? Comment below.

An Unreachable Dream

   As we are finishing up the novel The Great Gatsby a particular parallel I took notice of and thought was important in order to understanding the book was the image of the green light at the end of Daisy's dock that Gatsby always is looking longingly at. To me I saw this as representing Gatsby's hope and dreams for the future. As it lights up in the dark, I saw it as what ultimately guided Gatsby through the darkness as a guide light for hope and safety. And ultimately for him, this future reflected through the green light he hoped so much for and waits patiently for for so long is just representing Daisy. Many think that it's the idea of her he loves, however, personally I think when you wait for someone for that long and you've liked them through even your child hood it must be actual love, and not artificial. Also because I think this green light symbolizes the hope Gatsby has for Daisy, the idea that she's almost guiding him through the darkness seems genuine to me. However don't get me wrong, I 100% believe that Daisy isn't exactly only in it for the love but for the money just because Fitzgerald has portrayed her as someone who has become so demoralized by the idea of wealth and power. However, because Gatsby is so self made and he worked to become what he is now, he isn't some artificial person like Daisy.
   I also think that the green light is ultimately standing for the American Dream because Gatsby's quest for Daisy is so closely related to it. In a line on the very last page of the book this is further illustrated, "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter-- tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... and then one fine morning-- so we beat on, boats against the current, born back ceaselessly in to the past."Here I read it as how the American Dream is reflected through the situation Gatsby has with Daisy. For all Americans, if you believe in something so much and always have some kind of hope or dream in it no matter what it is, in this case it's something you're wishing for in the future that's happened in the past (Daisy and Gatsby being together), if you keep on trying harder and harder for it, according to the American dream you should find success; however, in this case the idea of the American dream has been demoralized and decayed so much by the greed of wealth in the book that it's saying no matter how hard you tryyou'll keep trying however you won't be going anywhere "your boat" will be "going against the current" very unproductively and will be caught up in the past and not moving on in to the future. Which is what happened with the aspired dream Gatsby always held for Daisy.
   What do you think about this? Does this theme commonly come up today in American society? Do we seem to be stuck in some kind of cycle and not moving on from things in the past, or making mistakes that have been echoed in the past?

Dark Echoes of the Past

   Like 9/11, April 15th, 2013 will be another date in American history that will never be forgotten. The bombings on that day during the Boston Marathon were able to not only destroy the lives of many people physically, but also emotionally, as horrific events and unwanted emotions from September 11th seemed to resurface back into our nation.
   As the article from CNN linked above says, "if September 11th, 2001, was the day our innocence was taken, then April 15th, 2013, is the reminder that it is never coming back."To me, in this quote, the meaning of "innocence" they are referring to is characterizing America as having ignorance and a lack of knowledge that the possibility of something as terrible and threatening as 9/11 could happen to a nation as powerful as them. It's saying that although this chosen ignorance was initially taken away after 9/11 occurred, if for some reason Americans still thought or chose to believe that something as terrible could never happen to a country like them again, the Boston bombings should've entirely stripped them from those feelings and given a "new reality" where "it can't happen here" is brutally replace by "it can happen anywhere" (CNN), including the United States. So, in reality this great sense of American pride that every citizen shares seems to slowly be decaying as the ignorance of being thought of as untouchable is being replaced by a sense of newfound paranoia.
   This paranoia I feel like eventually brings out negative values. Although I strongly agree that these kind of tragic events do bring our nation closer together and "unite" us, they also will cause distance and mistrust between each other. For example, since 9/11 and it is now further seen through the Boston bombings, people tend to alienate and become suspicious of certain groups of people in our country, specifically American Muslims. In a Huffington Post article, it describes an American Muslim child where a deep, building sense of "fear of guilt by bogus association is embedded". It says that when these events of terrorism occur, another "layer of fear" is added on, the fear that "they will be blamed" and looked at differently.
   After reading this I really began to question this constant notion of "progress" our nation claims to be making, and saw a decline of fundamental American values seen through the American Dream. People come to America because they think that they will find better opportunity and equality. However, the fact that this specific group of people actually feels the opposite and unequal toward who they thought of as fellow Americans contradicts the idea of progress as a nation as well as the values we take pride in as Americans. What do you think? Has this sense of paranoia built up in our nation created stronger invisible lines between groups of people? To what extent have American values been overlooked at and the search for the American dream seem more like a myth in times like these? Comment below.

The Lollapalooza Quest

    I think it was a few weeks ago in class when we had the short discussion on what people really went to Lollapalooza (the music festival in Chicago) for. Mr. O'Connor questioned the percentage of people who actually went to the event for it's purpose, to go for the music... versus the number of people who just went to say they went there, or went because they saw it as more of a social scene rather than a place to appreciate your favorite musicians. 

    Coincidentally, the sale for a regular 3 day pass happened to come out this week, on April 1st. Since I have been a regular goer to Lollapalooza for the past couple years, I had been waiting in great anticipation for this day this entire year. However, things went a little differently. 

    How the sale of these tickets work is that first there are two very early rounds of 3 day passes that sell to the very lucky people for a ton cheaper than regular price, however are impossible to get because of the incredibly small amount of them. And then, a couple weeks later, the regular priced one day and three day passes come out. For these regular priced tickets, obtaining them has never been an issue, as they usually don't sell out until a about a month after they first come out. However as I was saying, for some reason this year, you were considered one of the lucky ones if you managed to get your hands on a regular 3 day pass, or even if you managed to get the one days. I'm not exaggerating when I recount just how impossible it was to get them this year: They sold out in less than the first 3 hours of release, all of them. It was one of the most unexpected things that's ever happened. So then I had to go on Stub Hub in order to purchase a 3 day pass which was just over the top expensive.

    However, this really made me question what was so different about this year than previous years? What kind of people are buying all these tickets? Is it just the two groups of people Mr. O'Connor brought up, or is it maybe another kind trying to buy in bulk and make a profit?

    Through these groups of people we are able to see certain American values reflected. For example, for those who buy in the bulk, their main concern is the pursuit for the American dollar. Additionally by doing this, they will ultimately find contentment through this newfound wealth and feeling of success after eventually making a profit from others. Or for the people who go there merely for the social scene, their version of success is buying this ticket and ultimately accomplishing the goal of being able to say they went.

    Do you see this key principle of the American Dream, hard work and doing whatever it takes to succeed, relate to what has been going on here in some sense? To what extent do you see this occurring if so? Why do you think there was this sudden incredible spike in the demand for tickets? Comment below.

   

A BIG, FAT, Shocking Issue

   

 While researching for my junior theme, on the subject of why has there been a rise in eating disorders in our society today, I came across a very shocking piece of evidence that helped support my claim on why changes in the media and advertising in Western society I thought have contributed the most to the rise. The piece of evidence I found was a study done on girls on Fiji's main island after the introduction of American television. In the article, it tells us that in Fijian culture, being bigger as a women was what was looked at as attractive and the "ideal" look. However, after the introduction of American television this completely changed and the ideal bigger look that had been apart of Fijian society for years was completely forgotten in a matter of days. It was replaced by what girls in Western society believe to be ideal, the frame of a girl who is extremely below average in weight. It was reported that girls on the island started worrying about their weight and body image, and eating disorders which weren't ever heard of before started to rise and come up... dramatically. 

   The influence this unrealistic image American media constantly advertises clearly must have a huge roll and impact on the amount of eating disorders that have risen today. Because of the easier access people have to social media through technology they are constantly being exposed to this image. And if it has the power to change a societies traditional ideal looks in a matter of weeks of first being introduced it must be pretty powerful, especially for girls like in Western society who have been exposed to it everyday since they were born.

   Why do you think the media continues to advertise this unrealistic ideal body even after research has been done and it's been proven that it has such a negative affect on women everywhere? To what extent do you feel as though reaching perfection and success is seen as an American value and is reflected in the current issue today?

Too good To Be True?

  Everyone in Chicago it seems has jumped on the bandwagon to cheer on the Blackhawks as their winning streak continues and they maintain their status as the best team in the NHL. However on March 8th, one of the lower seated teams, the Colorado Avalanche, were able to break this streak and beat the Blackhawks for the first time in regulation, 6-2. And then the very next game, the hawks lose to Edmonton, 6-5. For many fans, this came as a shock and a disappointment, which it was. However, the streak had to end eventually, and I realized this kind of thing tends to happen a lot to sports teams. Including the hockey team that I'm currently on.
  Like the Blackhawks, my New Trier Girls ice hockey team was able to go undefeated in the regular season. It felt unreal to seem so untouchable and good that not one team could beat you, and truthfully I feel as though it can start to get to your head. As playoffs and state came a long, we thought our team was for sure a shoe in, and winning state wouldn't even be a challenge whatsoever, considering we beat every team possible. We started planning tshirts to wear before state, and playlists to play in the locker room before we even got there. However, for the first time all season, we lost, right when we needed to win. It was the semi finals, and in order to play at the united center (at state) we need to win that specific game, and it was against a team we've beaten multiple times. However, clearly the effort we put in didn't match up to their's and they beat us 3-2. It was the biggest disappointment for all of us and we all knew that being so cocky didn't help at all.
  Like the Blackhawks, I feel as though they shared mutual feelings. Because of the streak they had, becoming cocky is hard to avoid but it can really hurt a teams success. Just like they lost those 2 games.
  I almost feel like this scenario applies to everyday things in American society. Like doing homework or studying for tests, jobs, or any sport. Like when you do really well in a class and you stop trying as much because you don't think it matters, and then before you know it you begin to drop down.
  What do you think? Do you feel as though this scenario seems to repeat itself in everyday things throughout American society? To what extent do people see this in their lives?

A Constructed Beauty

  With spring break coming around everyone can't wait to just relax and get their mind off of things whatever their plans may be. However, for many girls, the weeks before this holiday are weeks of extreme hell. I know so many girls who have felt the need to go workout for hours every day while going on a juice cleanse for weeks of only 400 calories a day. But of course, this extreme diet and activity will only pay off in the end when they have their beach ready bodies to show off. However, why do they feel the need to be this way so much? What are they comparing themselves to that makes them feel like they need to go to this extreme?
  In our society today, there is this extreme pressure of young girls to fall under this constructed image of what people think is beautiful: the rock solid abs, the stick thin frame, the flawless skin, the lush hair... the list can go on and on, about what expectations need to be met in order to obtain this artificial beauty that is constantly encouraged and advertised everywhere. Through things like fashion shows, magazine ads, tv shows, movies, etc.
  The rate of eating disorders in the U.S. has risen to the extreme, even fourth graders are falling under the pressure to be this kind of impossible beauty our society is encouraging to be like.
  What do you think? Has this gotten a bit out of hand? What changes do you feel like would be effective in order to help the situation?

A New Kind Of Dress Code

  I looked in my closet this morning in complete frustration for something to wear... passing by shirts and sweaters I hadn't worn in months, but they just weren't right. Finally I picked something in a hurry, not satisfied at all with my choice, but moved on... knowing I would have to go online shopping sometime soon. Thinking back on that, I realized the clothes I had rejected this morning weren't bad at all, but just were a little old.
  We talked about it in class once this quarter about how New Trier, although the school doesn't have an official dress code, there is definitely some kind of dress code the kids follow on their own. There is a certain style, whether it be edgy, preppy, etc, that kids need to look in order to fit in and not be a complete outsider who looks different than everyone else.
  I think that although I may fall victim to some of these things, it is important for people to reject this "dress code" and wear what they really want to, no matter what that might be. It's important to always express yourself and not conform just because you feel like you have no choice. Being yourself is the most important thing you need to keep up, not the next new style people try to pull off.
  Although this is easier said than done, I feel as though this kind of thing doesn't only happen with New Trier. It happens in many other high schools and places as well. People try so hard to fit in, they may end up losing themselves in the process.
  What do you think? Does American society, like some of the kids here at New Trier, tend to conform in order to not be an outsider? To what extent is fitting in with the rest in some way an American value?

A Heavy Price to Pay

  I recently watched one of my favorite movies for the millionth time, The Pursuit of Happyness. It really does make me cry every single time. Watching the hardships this man, with the hardest job and no money, has to go through in order to care for his young son and wife who eventually leaves him will leave any viewer incredibly emotional. Whether it's the scene of the father giving his son one of the most inspirational speeches of the movie, or when the father pretends that the subway bathroom is a cave they need to sleep in in order to entertain his son while in reality actually having nowhere to sleep, it really touches the viewers heart and makes them care for the character. In the end, seeing the father finally succeed at the job he's been pursuing for so long and seeing him finally make money for him and his son and finally just being happy, make the viewer, like me, just be overwhelmed with happiness. However, after watching the movie so much it really made me think... does money actually really buy happiness? As much as people like to say it doesn't, in the movie it's what finally make these charters really happy in the end. Without money, everyone was so worried and miserable, but when he was finally able to make it, all his problems were solved and happiness finally came.
  Although this movie was based off a true story, I wanted to look at how poverty affected people today in our society. According to a Huffington Post article, 31% of people who were in poverty reported to having depression, while only 15.8% of people who weren't in poverty reported to having depression. Clearly this difference may imply that there must be some connection to money and happiness. It also states that, "those in poverty are twice as likely [to be diagnose] as those who aren't." This is giving us a more specific statistic of the way poverty and depression are linked to each other.
  What do you think? To what extent do you feel as though in our society today that money is able to provide happiness? Do you think there's some kind of connection between money and happiness and the expression "money can't buy happiness" isn't exactly true necessarily? Comment below.

A Social Circle Of Events

  Scrolling through instagram today it was the same old thing over and over and over again, the classic "Throw back thursdays" or should I say "#TBT's". Every Thursday the the users of instagram make it a weekly tradition to post a photo of themselves either when they were little or a memorable time they had in the past, but only on Thursdays... or else you're breaking the rules.
  This made me think about why things are the way they are. Who created this random weekly tradition that anyone who's anyone must follow? And why do people feel the constant need to have a photo ready by Thursday to be a part of the rest of the herd? It just really confuses me to think about how and why things get started and how they are spread so easily.
  It also made me think about a similar topic about how we all just love to share exactly what we do through photos posted to social media sites, and in this case, what we did in the past. I think I have been able to log on to Facebook or instagram every day to a whole new fresh feed of photos to stalk through. It sounds creepy, but everyone does it and find what other people do to be quite interesting. However, posting things publicly for the world to see I feel like has become an American thing that a lot of people value. Such as the photo example, and also through a website called twitter.... where you can send "tweets" or messages out to the entire public about your thoughts, opinions, and what you're doing at that exact time. You'd think most people wouldn't care, but in reality, it's what many people rely on for their source of entertainment. It's also like reading a gossip magazine... you're basically just reading about what famous people do everyday of their lives.
  What do you think? To what extent do you feel as though American people tend to put their lives out there for the world to see? And why do you feel as though they feel the need to do this essentially to fit in?

The Coloring Book of Today

  The other day when I was looking around me at the apple store, I started to notice all the young children running around playing with the iPhones and iPads. I started to over hear this one childs conversation with his dad, who looked around 7 or 8, about how for his birthday since he got a new iPad wanted a new case to go with it. They looked around until finally were able to find the perfect one for him. I then realized just how different it was from when I was a little kid, instead of coloring books and hide and go seek to keep us occupied, this generation used technology to keep them having fun. I then started to think about just how many younger kids I knew who owned these kind of things, starting with kids who were only in kindergarten... the first time I had a cell phone was 8th grade graduation.
  This also made me really think about just how much our society today depends on technology. Just thinking about one day of my life, so much I do is affected by technology. Everything for school I feel like I'm doing on the computer, I feel as though when I'm bored I just automatically resort to my phone to entertain me. Also I need my phone in order to communicate with people, if it weren't by my side at all times I feel as though I might get nervous that I had lost it or something. I just feel as though people in our society, including me, have become incredibly reliant on technology. And over time, that reliance is just going to grow and grow, if the kid's of younger generations are already using it.
  It's just scary to realize how much has changed in such a short period of time, and what that can mean in 10 years.
  What do you think? Has our society become way too reliant on technology? In the long run do you think this could help us or ultimately harm us?

An Underrated Weapon?

  The other day while I was driving my car out of the alley, out of lack of focus I managed to side swipe a parked car. Of course I got out, left a note, and waited for the call. However, while I talked to my enraged mom about it she kept going on and on about the what ifs, and "god forbid what if it was a child?" It really made me realize how a car is under-ratedly a really big weapon.
  The number of car related deaths in the U.S. is insane, and all of which can be prevented in some way. My mom always tells me how dangerous a car can be if you use it in the wrong way, and I never really listened to what she was saying until now.
  Hitting that car also made me think of that girl who was hit by a student that one night a couple years back, her entire life was completely ruined just because of that accident. She suffered from so many injuries and so much brain damage she was under so much watch just to make sure she wouldn't die. If I were someone who would've ever caused that kind of accident I don't know if I would be able to live with something like that. And the weapon used was something people use everyday without even questioning it, a vehicle.
  What do you think? Do you feel as though there should be some change relating to who can drive a vehicle? Are they too dangerous for anyone to just drive?

Some More Vitamin D Couldn't Hurt

  I've recently seen some signs around the school that have been spreading the negative statistics related to bed tanning. For me, I'm definitely not a regular bed tanner, but I will get in my fair share right before vacation in order to get a nice base tan. Whenever I tell people this, they think I'm insane for even considering putting my body in to one of those machines; they says things like I'm going to get skin cancer, or terrible wrinkles in the long run. However, is bed tanning really that much worse or maybe even better than tanning in the outdoors? No one really has a serious objection to people doing that.
  I found an article online that was able to explain that in fact, tanning outside can be more harmful than tanning in a bed that everyone seems to swear they will never do. In the article it claims that, "Light emitted from tanning equipment contains approximately 40% less UVB rays, the most harmful type of radiation." On the other hand, while you're ever tanning outside, these UVB rays will be present. So, technically, these forbidden tanning beds could be considered a little more safer than the natural light you get outside.
  What do you think? Do you think those statistics are stating the truth? Do you feel as though sometimes in our society people will believe whatever they want to believe, and go with the common knowledge?

FINAL

Jesus called, he said he's sick of the disses I told him to quit bitching, this isn't a fucking hotline (What you think of Hayley Williams?) 
Fuck her, Wolf Haley robbing 'em I'll crash that fucking airplane that that faggot nigga B.o.B is in
 And stab Bruno Mars in his goddamn esophagus 
And won't stop until the cops come in 
I'm stabbing any blogging faggot hipster with a Pitchfork 

 In the year 2011, a new artist, Tyler the Creator, emerged with a song society seemed to absolutely adore called Yonkers. It quickly became very popular, as it won multiple awards, and topped the charts as number one. However, as we look more closely at the lyrics we realize something that most of society seems to ignore. Yonkers is an important contemporary artifact because it can be looked at as a microcosm to how society becomes desensitized to things that are normalized as part of our everyday life after a period of time, as time goes on we continue to break down our barriers more and more.

 In the lyrics, we can see in the first line Tyler puts down Jesus as someone who needs to stop, “bitching, this isn’t a fucking hotline.” The language he chooses like bitching, is completely disrespectful toward a prominent figure many in our society look up to, the message he’s trying to get across can be taken very offensively by most. We can also see that he chooses talk about other popular artists in a very horrible way using phrases like “faggot nigga B.o.B”; “stab Bruno Mars in his goddam esophagus”; and “stabbing any blogging faggot hipster”. Using the language he does to target specific people in our society I see as awful and almost a little scary, considering how it’s almost as if people support what he’s saying by promoting this song so much. The magazine, Rolling Stone even stated, "Somehow, all the bad vibes [in the lyrics] are mesmerizing." So somehow, society seems to be attracted to these words, instead of being taken aback. This common theme of being desensitized to explicit material can also be recognized in short stories shared throughout our society.

In the story we read The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas, it starts of describing the city and people as utopian saying, “people of Omelas are happy people” and “Omelas so far strikes some of you as goody-goody”. From the language the author uses to describe this city the reader can assume that there is nothing wrong with it and it’s regarded as a utopia. However, it then talks about a malnourished, miserable child in a small, basement room that no one regards as an actual person. The story says “they all understand that their happiness… depend wholly on this child’s abominable misery.” So it’s as if this child is such a normal thing everyone knows about and becomes even more ordinary over time, no one cares to question it. Like in our own society, taking the song, the language is so standard to hear that no one cares to look carefully at it and realize how offensive it really is.

In another story Adams this theme seems to come up again. After we read the story, we learned that the narrator (Roger) stood as the American government while his neighbor (Adams) stood to be Sadam/Iraq. In the story Roger regards Adams as acting inappropriately by “standing in [Roger’s] kitchen, in his underwear.” Roger reacts to his issues with Adams by ultimately lighting Adams’s house on fire with everyone still in it. Because it supposedly represents our relationship we had with Iraq, we can see how we seemed to react way to much and almost insanely towards what they did. However, because of how normalized it became to commit these injustices towards Iraq, most weren’t able to realize how crazy it actually was until we were able to look at it from another perspective, and through this story.

Even if we look back in our own history, this theme was still present. When regarding the Virgina Slave Code Laws, it talks about how African Americans should barely even be regarded as people, some of them read, “No slave may leave his master’s ground without a pass” or “Any slave charged with a capital offense will be tried without a jury.” However, each and every one of those laws treated slaves like they weren’t even human. But even back then since having slaves was such a normal thing, no one seemed to regard it as being at all inhumane. People were so desensitized to the fact it was so normal, these injustices were being commited without any real question.

 Throughout history we are able to recognize that the American conscience has been influenced by corruption and unjustness to things that are deemed as normal, however when you are able to look at it from another’s perspective as something that really isn’t as normal; you are able to think about it more clear and see that a lot of things in our society aren’t as ordinary as they really seem.

A Lost Prisoner

I recently was able to watch this video from the New York Times that really connected back to when we were talking about Civil Liberties issues and Guantanamo  Bay. This video (I know is very long), discusses the death of a man, Adnan Latif, who was a prisoner of Guantanamo Bay, and was found unconscious and dead in his cell. The video goes over his last messages to his family, and in them he describes the details of what his life was like in the prison. He expresses how bad and torturous it was, and how he just wanted to die; he had pains all over his body and couldn't stand being there for any longer. The video also goes in to describe how he was cleared multiple times by the Department of Defense to leave because of the government's lack of evidence; however, the D.C. Court of Appeals "ruled that the government's intelligence reports alone were sufficient evidence" thus, he was kept there. Many sources think they might have just killed him there, however the U.S. military claims that he "died from a self-inflicted overdose of prescription medication complicated by acute pneumonia."

This story of Adnan Latif only represents one of the many prisoners who are being held in Guantanamo Bay for some unknown reason, and who's civil rights are being extremely violated while being kept there. In the video it also talked about how Obama pledged he would shut down Guantanamo Bay four years before Latif's death. This sounds extremely unfair for the prisoners who are held at the facility from an outsider's perspective. They are being held in a violent facility without any reason, and being constantly tortured, even though they may have done absolutely nothing.
This story really touched me of how unfair the system is, and how dishonest the government can truly be. Although the government may say it's all for good reason and national security, it doesn't seem just to hold people in that torturous facility without any reason for it.
What do you think of Adnan's story? Do you think any of it seems fair? What do you think are the reasons behind what really happens? Comment below.

A Lost Cause

Another gun accident has occurred once again, this time in the state of California at Taft High School. It was a 16 year old boy who decided to bring a shot gun to school, and claimed that he was targeting two other class mates who had been bullying him. However, through the act he ended up injuring more people than just those two kids. The sheriff said that he had planned the whole shooting the night before and stole his brothers shot gun to carry out the act.
I feel as though enough is enough, something needs to be done fast in order to prevent these tragedies from happening again and again. There have been so many shootings in the past year, and no action has been taken. I wrote on a topic similarly to this about the shooting in Connecticut, and feel the exact same was as I expressed before.
There have been many views on the subject, such as stricter gun control and investing more money into mental health. However, although this kid obviously had problems, it never said in the article he had anything psychologically wrong with him. Regardless, it was clearly very easy for him to obtain a shot gun from his own brothers room, and create havoc and destruction. Without that gun, the injuries that were caused that day would not have been able to happen.
All these things that are happening so close and so often is a cry for change, I was so surprised when I read this article because I feel as though these kind of stories keep popping up, however, no change has been taken place. I agree with Feinstein, a U.S. senator who quoted in the article, "But how many more shootings must there be in America before we come to the realization that guns and grievances do not belong together?".
Something obviously needs to change, what do you think should happen, what necessary actions do you think should take place? Do you feel as a society we tend to push these things to the back of our mind? Comment below.

The Right to a Brew

Over the break my family and I went to go visit my relatives up in Canada. While we were there, my brother kept going on and on about how excited he was to come back to Canada sometime soon after his birthday since he would finally be 19, and legal to drink. After he said that, I wondered why our drinking age is so high compared to every other country's in the world, being 21.
I feel as though it's almost unnecessary and barely a maintained law to have the drinking age at 21, there is so much underage drinking everywhere. The statistics are insane on how many young people get their way around this law, one reads, "By age 18, more than 70 percent of teens have had at least one drink."So clearly not that many people care about it enough to follow it.
There are also many pros to lowering the drinking age, which can be viewed in the link provided. One of which that stands out to me is the idea of turning in to an adult by the age of 18 in the U.S., the government claims you receive the responsibilities and rights that any normal adult would be given, however having the right to drink is not one of them. So, in reality, it seems as if 21 is the age where someone is seen as an adult in this country.
Also, it doesn't seem necessary to be completely different than most countries around the world. Especially our two neighboring countries on the north and south border, who do give their "adults" the full right to drink.
What do you think? Why do you feel as though the drinking age should be kept to where it is now, or lowered? Comment below.

How Far Does Loyalty Go?

Recently, the heart throb and teen sensation Justin Bieber, was photographed with what was believed to be marijuana.  After the photo was leaked, a frenzy of the hashtag "#cut4bieber" was circulating around twitter along with pictures of supposed fans with slashed wrists or bloody blades. This was supposedly an attempt by the fans to object against Justin's alleged drug use by harming themselves.

However, it was later found out that the photos and trending hashtag were originally started by a website called 4chan, as an attempt to prank people and so they can "get little girls to cut themselves."

This caused an outrage among many people as well as fellow celebrities like Miley Cyrus quoting, "I really hope this cutting shit is just a bunch of punk ass haters that have nothing better to do & no one out there harming themselves."Or the Official Cancer twitter account, "#cutforbieber? Cutting is NOT something to joke about. There are people who are actually suffering from self-harm, this is so disrespectful."I think this is an incredibly sick joke and agree that harming oneself is a serious issue that affects many people and  shouldn't be joked around about.

This also isn't the only time users on 4chan have done something like this to him. Before this incident, users made another rumor about how Justin had cancer! The rumor spread everywhere, and another famous hashtag #Baldforbieber was created. Fans eveywhere started shaving their heads in support for Bieber, as well as pouring out their feelings over twitter for him. Finally, it came out that this rumor indeed was not true, and was another attempt by the users of 4chan to make a joke.

Cancer and self-injury both are not things to joke about, both being very serious and affect many people around the world. What is your opinion on this? Do you think Bieber should stand up to say anything about this? Why would 4chan even consider joking around about something so serious? Do you sometimes think our society is ran by humor and how well known your name is? Comment below.

An Overrated Test?

It was back to school after the long, phenomenal break and the minute I woke up Monday morning I knew it was going to be one of the worst days of my life, being a little dramatic. On top of being at school again, I had my first ACT class for 3 hours right after it. As I was sitting in the long 3 hour class, I felt doomed for. The ACT is something that everyone gets you so nervous for and perceives it as the deal breaker for getting in to the college of your dreams or not. And in this area, if you get anything which could be considered average or even high in other areas, it's like you failed.
Anyway, when you think about it, does it really reflect on where you stand compared to others? I feel as though the whole idea of it of identifying a student as one single number in which they stand under, is a little harsh. Sure there are other major parts in which colleges look at in the application to choose whether you're right or not, but your ACT (and SAT) score plays a major role in your acceptance.
I also feel as though it's not as completely standardized as they make it out to be. One major factor of the ACT that makes it so difficult for people, including me, is the short period of time they allow you to take the test in. However, there are some exceptions to those students who are able to have extended time. This I feel like is where the test becomes not as standardized. Of course there are those students who do really need it, but some students who get extra time I feel as though get it for the wrong purposes. Such as getting a day to take each test, and getting a composite score of 36, it just does not seem fair to others.
Overall, I feel as though the ACT is a little overrated, and I feel as though a score, a single number doesn't reflect on the kind of intelligence you have or the kind of person you are at all.
What do you think? Do you feel as though there should be some sort of change in the way these tests are ran and how big of a role they play? To what extent do you feel like our society is ran on perfection? Comment below.

Back in Action

FINALLY! An agreement has been made, and the NHL, after 113 days, is finally out of the lockout. Being a huge fan as well as a hockey player, this could not excite me more; and all the drama during the lockout days I want to just put behind me. However, when looking back on it, it's hard to just forget  about what happened. 

The lockout occurred because  a new agreement could not be reached between the player's union and the owners of the league's franchises before the NHL's collective bargaining agreement. In simpler language, the owners of the teams wanted more of the money the players were getting. However, the players were not willing to give that up to the owners, some more issues that were being discussed can be viewed here. 

One may think this is ridiculous and is a topic that isn't even worth discussing, that either the players should get the money they deserve for being the ones to play the game, or that the owners should get the money. It could go either way, hence why it was so controversial and discussed for 113 days. 

However, it was also an issue that seemed to reflect on the focus of professional sports now a days; to play for the money, not for the love of the sport. This was something that I'm sure the players as well as the owners were scared the fans would pick up on, and therefore lose some loyalty and respect they originally had towards the NHL; which would ultimately cause a lack of interest in supporting it, and result in a decrease in the NHL's revenue. The players even started putting out videos on youtube describing their love for the game, and how they wanted to get out their just as much as the fans wanted to watch them; but it wasn't their fault. 

However, many of the fans commented back in an outrage saying things like, "You know it's pretty sad that these guys say they love the game but when it comes to money they seem to love that more."  Basically saying that if the players really loved the game, they wouldn't care about the money. 

Although many of the fans, including me, are more than happy that the NHL has finally returned; I'm sure none of us will forget the issues and materialistic viewpoints the owners and players seemed to share. What do you think? Do you think money and success are things that overshadow the love of the game in our country? Do you really think that fans are people the players value as much as they say they do? To what extent do you think this issue of power and money consistent in other aspects of our lives? Comment below.