The article that interested me the most was the one titled "President Admits Trump Tower Meeting Was Meant to Get Dirt on Clinton". The interesting part of this article was the fact that ever since the election everyone is finding out different things Donald Trump did during the time he was running for President. Why this interested me is because we call him our President, the person who is supposed to lead us in the right direction and follow the law but here he is coming out and saying that he technically broke the law. There seems to be evidence that he may have broken the law because it is "illegal for a campaign to accept help from a foreign individual or government".
“Google Employees Protest Secret Work on Censored Search Engine for China“
This week, I read an article entitled about China’s measures to censor information from The search engine, Google. This particular article interested me because it showed how the core foundation of our country, the Constitution, is taken for granted. Countries like China raise generations with specified information that is preapproved by the government. It prevents controversial ideas from circulating in society and changing the status quo preset by the government.
To most citizens of a democratic society such as our own, government censorship comes as a shock, a direct attack on our most basic rights as citizens. As citizens, we are told to create and learn from new and profound ideas, despite how radical they might be at the time. For example, civil rights, women’s rights, lgbtq rights, child and senior rights, etc. have come from far fetched ideas that just enough people could see were a good thing. These ideas were never censored,so they could grow.
The reaction of Chinese people to this ordeal shows the growing sphere of influence regarding democracy and the free world. According to the article, 1400 Chinese citizens signed a petition urging the members of Googles Chinese headquarters to be “more transparent” with the information they were censoring. Also, there has been a push for working class Google employees to help determine which pieces of information were ethically sound for the public.
The article that most interested me in the Times this week was called “Why Sitting May Be Bad for Your Brain” written by Gretchen Reynolds. It interested me because it talked about the blood flow to our brains and how sitting for long periods of time can slow the flow of blood to our brains. In the article it says “Getting up and strolling for just two minutes every half-hour seems to stave off this decline in brain blood flow and may even increase it.” This means that just walking around school or work every couple of hours can increase blood flow to the brain and be beneficial for our health. The second thing that I found interesting was when the author was talking about how there are researchers who are testing men and women by having them sitting for long periods of time for one day and then getting up often the next day and comparing the blood flow to the brain. “As they had expected, brain blood flow dropped when people sat for four continuous hours. The decline was small but noticeable by the end of the session.” This means that although the difference was small, there was still more blood flow when they got to walk around for a couple of minutes, and less when they were sitting at the desk all day. After reading this article I now know about the importance of getting up and being able to walk during and after long days of sitting, and how important it is to have good blood flow to the brain at all times.
"La Liga Will Bring Regular-Season Matches to America"
This article by far interested me the most week in the New York Times because of my love for European soccer. The author of the article mentioned the idea of spreading the presence Spanish soccer to the United States, which I believe is a fantastic idea. Soccer has just started to become more of a popular sport in the U.S, and I think its a great market for La Liga to capitalize on. The World Cup will soon be held here in the United States in 2026, making the market even better to capitalize on. Having regular-season matches in the U.S, will have fans more interested for the World Cup and could create many new soccer fans. I also just love the idea of soccer being more popular in United States. The head of La Liga believed, since the major U.S leagues are having their matches in popular cities around the globe, why can't La Liga do the same in the United States? I completely agree with his statement and I do not think he could have said it any better. I do believe the presence of European and Spanish soccer needs to be greater in the United States.
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This article fascinated me. It discussed one of my favorite subjects, space.
I see space as something we as humans know so much about, yet at the same time we barely know a thing.
It is a known fact that space has intrigued many scientists and researchers for centuries, from Galileo Galilei to Neil Armstrong, humans have studied what makes our world work the way it does.
The launch and the parker probe let us know more about what breeds life into our planet.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/technology/china-generation-blocked-i...
The increasing usage of technology has become a increasing problem for society. Ranging from the addiction which we all suffer to the laziness that derives from the constant thoughts bout pur phones. Due to Chinas overwhelming population I understand why many tech compaines would like to gain a foothold but instead its like a cliff with no handles. You cant go anywhere when you try. China has become a large competitor between the U.S in terms of technology. Also due to the restrictions of its communist party within their government, there is little that people can do. Google may try to attempt the censoring of their search engine but would that really influence them to accept it? With their ideological ideas in place, there is a tight grip holding onto China. There is little tech companies from outside could do to penetrate inside China.
Indonesia Earthquake: At Least 98 dead, 20,000 Homeless
This article interested me most this week because of the determination of the Indonesian people to repair and get back on its feet with what little resources it has at its disposal. The Earthquake hit last Monday, and leaving a series of aftershocks that were as serious as 5.4 magnitude in strength. Natives and tourists were all scrambling to flee, as ships leaving the ports tripled, and flights were doubled. people were nervous to go back home, out of fear of more aftershocks. Throughout the week search and rescue teams were hard at work, recovering the dead and retrieving those trapped by the rubble. This system has been progressing without foreign aid. The process reminds me of what hurricane relief is here in the U.S, as homes were decimated by the most recent hurricane in Florida, and they are still recovering. All natural disasters are hard to rebound from, but Indonesia is doing a fine job.
“Don’t Let TripAdvisor Kill Adventure”
With the ability to plan an entire vacation before leaving your house, I believe that in the age of TripAdvisor reviews and Yelp ratings there is a lot of pressure to have the “best vacation ever.” However, planning out all elements of a trip can lead to a lack of spontaneity and may cause people to miss the less-popular but still interesting sites.
I believe that one of the most important elements of a vacation is the ability for all parties to be flexible. No matter how meticulously planned a vacation is, something will always go wrong. Therefore, it is important to remember to visit places that look interesting to you, even if they don’t have very many reviews online.
On a recent trip, my family and I got stuck in traffic around Portsmouth, NH. We decided to get off the highway and do something in Portsmouth. Driving around Portsmouth, we eventually stumbled upon the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion, a fascinating piece of architecture from the 18th century. We got a private tour of the mansion and learned a lot about Portsmouth and the mansion.
Although it is important to plan out hotels and see some of the more popular attractions in a given city, always be willing to try something new. Don’t feel pressured to visit every top destination in a citysimply because everyone else is, visit the attractions that look most interesting to you. Remember that this is your vacation, not TripAdvisor’s.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/31/us/politics/3d-guns-trump.html
With the rise of technology today, the creation of anything one can imagine becomes easier by the year. 3-D printing gives people access to personalized objects that they can make at home. They can make anything, but "anything" can lead to the producing of guns.
As much as I respect those who want to be able to defend themselves, supporters of gun rights should be aware that other citizens should know who has a gun. Protection is double-sided. As stated in Shear's article, these plastic guns can make it through metal detection and be produced at home under the radar. New scanners that can also detect plastic would just cause more of a hassle for those simply trying to get through, and the process of replacing scanners across the country in public places, such as airports and venues for public events, would be time-consuming and costly. On top of that, there are no obvious ways to regulate the production of 3-D printed guns. Sure, now everyone is able to defend themselves, but now anyone can own a gun. As much as I would love to believe in the good in people, I can almost certainly say with confidence that such readily accessible weapons would probably be used more for bad than good.
Have you ever had the misfortune of finding yourself being attacked by a troll on the internet?
We live in a day in age where technology is constantly progressing. It seems that companies such as Apple or Samsung are releasing the ‘latest model’ phone every month now. However, with a worlds worth of information at our fingertips, some choose to entertain themselves by trolling in the comments.
In the article, “Internet Trolls Have Won” we get a look at a group of haters we are powerless to control. Trolls are people online who feel no sympathy commenting nasty things to others. The worst of it all is that researchers say there is nothing we can do to stop them.
Having come across trolls myself in the past, I’ve learned the important lesson that in some cases it is better to let someone be angry and ignore them rather than engaging. Not only is this important for the internet, but in real life too. People are not always the kindest and I believe that in most cases it’s better not to let a measly comment, especially one on the internet, ruin your day. Trolls aren’t worth the trouble, and don’t deserve the attention they’re seeking when writing the comment.
Though it’s impossible to put an end to trolls, we can take precautions against them. One way we can do that is by the ability to report inappropriate comments about place the responsibility into the companies hands. Don’t let what people say on the internet control you, learn to ignore haters.
'Weaponized Ad Technology': Facebook's Moneymaker Gets a Critical Eye by Natasha Singer
We knew that the evolution of technology would inevitably be used to influence consumers to buy products and services on popular social media sites through microtargeting, however, this takes campaigning to a whole new level. The invasion of user data through their location and preferences and the microtargeting process that essentially creates a virtual voter profile is detrimental to voter confidence and knowledge of their running candidates. The fact that the government can use microtargeting to not only gain access to information through social media worries me deeply, especially since they can use this process to discriminate between voters and target ads specifically for the discriminated that could deter them from voting at all. Russia’s seemingly racist and corrupt approach to voters in 2016 through microtargeting in benign-seeming ads destablizes the entire voting process as we know it. If the U.S. continues to familiarizes itself with those same immoral and unprincipled techniques, people could be looking at propaganda and online campaigns in an entire different way and could even disinterest racial and gender groups who are continously being targeted and discouraged to vote. However, Facebook's attempt to reduce advertisers' power in targeting voters through ad costs and voter demographics is a giant step towards reparative progress in online campaigns.
-Libby BHSAP2018
Students Pour Into Dhaka’s Streets to Demand Safer Roads
By Julfikar Ali Manik and Maria Abi-Habib
One highlight about this article that I found the most interesting was that the middle and high schoolers were the ones who stood up and started the movement for safer roads. Following after this was when the university students joined the movement, which created two opposing sides and resulting in violence and injury.
History often repeats itself and I think this can be a clear example of that. The educated students rise up to fight for what’s right. Because they are educated, they understand where injustice lies and how to fix it. Not only is real change occurring, but they are inspiring other people to try and figure out what is going on in terms of realizing the corruption and how it’s affecting their lives. In contrast, there were also students who were pro-government and were fighting against the people for safer roads. This just furthers displays the corrupt environment in parts of Bangladesh. But as more police opposition causes violence with the students, it has said that more students may be encouraged to come out to not only fight for safer roads but also to fight corruption and poor governance.
Additionally, it is interesting to see the students take to social media to let the world know what is going on. I still think that it is too early guess how this will play out, but the whole process of this protest can definitely reflect what life may be like there.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/technology/google-employees-protest-s...
Google Employees Protest Secret Work on Censored Search Engine for China
I found this article most interesting in the times because I know many people who live in China who go to my school and who I have met in different places. I previously knew how China restricts many web features to civilians including many forms of social media and internet search. This year I even read about how the government censored Winnie the Pooh images. I personally think that this is extreme and google did the right thing by pulling out of China as a protest.
However, after reading this article, I found out that google is trying to adjust their search engine to the terms of China’s strict government. As I would have expected, the workers protest the ethical concerns about this decision. Personally, I see both sides of the argument. On one hand, it is ethically wrong for Google to give into the censorship of the Chinese government, as this censoship often violates rights that us Americans consider essential. However, as a company, Google has to always try and maximize their profits. Thus, this decision must have been a complex one for Google, and depending on the outlash, it may or may not stay.
‘Crazy Rich Asians’: Why Did It Take So Long to See a Cast Like This?
When I sit in a theater watching a mainstream film, I rarely see Asian actors or actresses starred in it. As a child, I simply admired a movie’s story plot without taking the cast’s predominant race into account. Now, I know that there is more behind fairy tales and superhero action in the cinematography world.
This article speaks to me because it hints at a divergence from the film universe I know today. I have watched films that cast white celebrities as Asian characters and wondered why Asian celebrities weren’t cast instead. I have watched films that portrayed Asian characters with stereotypical “Asian” traits and wondered if that was really how the rest of the world viewed Asians.
Each time I saw these films in theaters with a majority-Asian audience, I felt a strange mixture of dismay, indignance, and concern. As a Korean-American living in Seoul, Korea where the film industry exerts a great influence on the population, I have always worried that the media’s misrepresentation of Asians may be molding Asians’ subconscious perceptions of themselves, including mine.
In today’s society where representation is crucial, the endeavor led by director Jon M. Chu is impressive because it not only introduces greater diversity to the film industry but also helps redefine the Asian identity. Perhaps in the near future, I will be able to walk out of a theater not disturbed but rather empowered.
The article that interested me the most in The New York Times this week is "Largest King Penguin Colony in the World Drops by 90%". This article is about a colony of king penguins in Île aux Cochons, or, Pig Island. In 1982, this colony was considered as the largest king penguin colony in the world, with over than 500,000 breeding pairs of penguins, but now it seems that the population has dropped in 90%, leaving only 60,000 breeding pairs in the island. So far, the researchers can't tell what caused this disappearing.
Species extinction and global warming are something that I've always been concerned about, and that's why this article is the one that interested me the most this week. Even though the researchers don’t have a one clear reason they think caused this disappearing, I can think of one: lack of awareness. I don’t mean to point at someone and say "This person didn’t watch the penguins for thirty years, therefore he/she is to blame for their disappearing." All I want to say is that it seems like people forgot this big colony, and only remembered 30 years later, when 90% of them are gone. I think that we should treat this penguins' colony (and other animals as well) like we treat an old friend. Most of us are no longer in touch with our childhood friends, but we still call them once in a few years and catch up, and that is what we should do with the penguins. I just don’t want to wake up in 30 years and find only 15 breeding pairs on this island, and maybe even less.
Friendly Foxes’ Genes Offer Hints to How Dogs Became Domesticated
https://nyti.ms/2vRQmpX
I love foxes. When I say it, people would be surprised and ask me why do I love foxes. Why not? They are just as cute as dogs and cats. People often relate foxes with the words: cunning and duplicitous. But I do not concur with their idea; I do not think we should use those negative words to describe animals. Being vigilant, playing dead, and concocting deceptions are methods they utilize to survive. How can we blame them for being smart?
I believe foxes can be friendly like the fox from The Little Prince. I thought foxes can be domesticated, but I did not expect it would be related to genes. Although I learned that genes decide our appearances and physiological functions, I did not trust it can feasibly shape our personalities. Since the scientists had found the pattern in foxes, it might also occur in humans. Maybe we would be able to apply the result to reduce crimes by referencing people’s genetic tests.
I am interested in studying genetic, though it often causes a plethora of ethical problems. I always intuit there is something important hide in our genes. Moreover, I think we need to understand ourselves thoroughly before exploring the universe or abysmal sea.
The article "‘Weaponized Ad Technology’: Facebook’s Moneymaker Gets a Critical Eye" by Natasha Singer talks about the danger and problems in microtargeting. Microtargeting is directing certain messages to a very narrow population segment in social media like Facebook.
Microtargeting is only possible because Facebook knows everything about us: who are our friends, what we like to eat, who we vote for etc. By using free services like Facebook, we knowingly allow the dangerous practices like microtargeting exist, as the famous sentence states: "If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold." This phrase acknowledges the simple fact the most of us don’t understand - free services aren’t free! We pay with our information and habits, to the exact purpose of microtargeting: to have someone, somewhere, directly sending messages to certain people like us he likes to influence.
We cannot blame Facebook for allowing this practice – this is what Facebook is designated for. We signed on a contract with Facebook, and now we are paying the price. The next time, we should understand better what we are giving up on by using one of these "free" services.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/17/smarter-living/talking-about-failure-...
I remember in middle school how teachers would fly through lessons without a single question being asked, and requests for volunteers to solve problems were met with tense silence. It seemed like we were all afraid to say the wrong thing, to seem slower than the other students, or to hold the class back. Now, however, we are more open with our opinions and our attempts to solve problems despite the risk of failure. Recently, I went to leadership training for marching band where we learned to come together to discuss our problems and failures, and share experience in order to help one another. Like in the classroom, we depend on one another to be vulnerable in order to grow as a group and as individuals. In our group, we are allowed to be open about our weaknesses and concerns without the intimidating presence of a supervisor, which in turn leads to a more efficient and relaxed workplace and program. Being able to talk about our failures and offer our own experience can turn a failure into a learning moment instead of an embarrassing, repressed memory. I chose this article because it is relevant to the growth of any learning environment or group. Despite sounding simple, being vulnerable can be difficult especially in front of other people. However, it is a necessary step to help us learn from our mistakes and be proactive rather than reactive.
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/08/16/us/ap-us-medical-school-free...
I found this article very interesting because it shows the future of this country. Our country is filled with student debt just because a piece of paper is, for some reason, necessary to show how smart you are. It is great to see that N.Y.U. is seeing the importance that medical school has in our world.
Doctors are vital to keeping people alive, but when they are under the pressure of student debt they go to higher paying fields. With the price of going to medical school it is almost impossible to think that doctors, who took out student loans, can apply for anything but the highest paying fields of medicine.
Though, N.Y.U. still has the issue of having the funds to ensure that students can have free tuition. It is only a matter of time before they are government subsidized due to necessity. Even the City of New York partially subsidizing the school could allow doctors to work for city hospitals, some of which are the equivalent of hostiles, and actually heal people.
This implementation of free tuition is just a peek at the future of this country. There are so many students who are suffering from high amounts of student debt. This typically stops them from getting married, buying a house, buying a car, and having children. All of these things hurt this country’s economy. Soon the government will have to start making college free or less expensive in order to save the economy.
This week I read “Elon Musk Confronts a Fateful Tesla Tweet on Excruciating Year”. Honestly, I was very surprised to see that Tesla was going private. I was even more surprised to see Elon Musks condition and just how stressed he was. Elon Musk, made his company, Tesla, which was originally a very small company, into a very large and wealthy company. With that, Elon Musk did also face some problems. According the the authors of the article, Elon Musk was sick of some of the investors that believed that Tesla’s shares will lose value. He blamed these “short sellers” for most of his stress. The hard thing is that Elon Musk dedicates 120 hours a week for his company and sometimes spends days without his family. In fact, the authors of this article stated that he almost missed his brothers wedding because of his work. His company was just taking too much time from his personal life. It was quite sad to see the CEO of Tesla face such dilemmas. Anyways, As I said earlier, I was also quite surprised to see that Elon Musk had decided to privatize his company. Honestly, his company was doing well but by privatizing it, he may be able to reap some more benefits. Elon Musk may be able to gain more profit and achieve his long term goals for the company in an easier manner, although,I hope he has correctly acquired the money to do such a thing. I would honestly love to see Tesla grow and make our future better, but maybe Elon Musk should take a small step back and take care of himself.
bengal11jaden011402: The Self-Driving Car Industry’s Biggest Turning Point Yet.
This week I read "The Self-Driving Car Industry’s Biggest Turning Point Yet" because it interested me. I have always been amazed and interested in technology because I just think it's amazing how us humans have evolved and expanded our horizons so much. I think it's intriguing to know that a hundred years ago some of the stuff we have now wasn't even a thought back then. I was surprised a little that i enjoyed this article so much because usually I only read sports articles. But the talk of new advancement in technology is something I just gravitated toward. The article talks about self driving cars. Things like the different kinds of self driving cars, what some of them are used for, and the issues they have. It then goes on to talk about how this "self driving car movement" is influencing the automobile market today. Overall, I enjoyed this article, even though it wasn't about sports.
'Asian August' Comes to Hollywood, but Will it Last?
As a Crazy Middle Class Asian, I feel compelled to watch "Crazy Rich Asians." Based on the trailer, most of the characters do seem like they are of Asian descent, but my widescreen Asian eyes could have failed to notice an Emma Stone-like actor, whose pasty white skin and flaming red hair apparently makes her Asian. Maybe she was trying to act “white on the inside, yellow on the outside”, similar to a line from the film.
As the article questions, I have been skeptical about whether this push for diversity in entertainment will persist. The Netflix film "To All The Boys I've Loved Before" stars an Asian and “Insatiable” casts an awkward, nerdy Asian teen, these attributes characteristic of typical Asian stereotypes. It seems like we’re off to a good start, Jon M. Chu calling this month “Asian August.” Are we going to have “Native November” too?
Apart from the dreadful historical timing to “Native November”, the entertainment need not attribute a certain group with a month to dedicate representation to. All ethnicities should be represented year-round. This article was the Sriracha to my Pho because it shed light to the lack of representation of the Asian community, something that is often overlooked. Asians are still subject to de facto discrimination, made evident by the crude jokes made towards them. It should never be okay to ridicule one’s penis size or assume no woman wants to date Asian men on national media.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/well/family/family-vacation-memories-...
“How Your Brain Morphs Stressful Family Vacations Into Pleasant Memories”
Once reading this article I thought about all the family vacations I have been on. There were dozens of disputes and disappointments but when being brought up only the fun, happy times are talked about. If one of the bad moments were to be brought up we would all just laugh at it. I also thought back to my school field trips. I find it fascinating how the human brain is able to put aside negative thoughts or replace them with positive ones.
It reminded me of another post I had read on this site revealing pregnant women do not remember the pain of child labor after giving birth. I have never been pregnant before so I would not know whether this was a true claim or not but it made me think back to any major accidents I had. I assure you I do not remember what it feels like to have a sprained ankle or fall off a rickshaw in Bangladesh.
I liked how this post was able to explain why negative thoughts are put away and how to create more positive thoughts for a fun and relaxed family vacation. I'll remember not to have too many events planned in one day and get enough shut eye time for everyone next summer.
Personally, the article that interested me the most was "We Use Sports Terms All the Time. But Where Do They Come From?". Everyday, we all throw common idioms around like they're nothing, but none of us really know the meaning behind them. These phrases' denotations mean nothing close to the connotation we have given to them. Most of the terms spoken about in the article I did not know the meaning too myself, but I especially didn't know they originated from sports. The one that amazed me the most was that New York City's most famous nickname, "The Big Apple," actually originated from horse racing. Millions of people use this term regularly and have no clue what it means. I myself live in New York City and I never even thought about the origin of the nickname. I especially did not think it came from horse racing of all things. This is an article that I know I will remember, as the information I learned from it is something I will carry with me forever. I now have a whole lot of fun facts to bring up in my next conversation.
On A Free Press Needs You:
Critics of the modern press argue that the media industry’s favorite subject is itself. Tragically, we are at a time where newspapers have no choice but to keep covering news and freedom of speech. But it’s true; it depends on the people to sustain the press and uphold democracy.
A Free Press Needs You deeply resonated with me because of my experience serving as an editor at my high school newspaper. Growing up in a liberal suburban town, I often felt that teenagers were shielded from the national and regional political divisions under the guise of academia. In the wake of post-2016 movements like Me Too and Never Again, the members of the newspaper sought to bring awareness to local events and perspectives that reflected the nation’s turmoil. This gave us hope. We found that our work made a difference, and the newspaper was ultimately able to work together with the school government to create more support for students.
Still, this experience taught me that the newspaper is truly a voice for the mass. As the NYT Editorial Board wrote, “news reporters and editors are human”, and serve to represent and work together with readers. If that trust between the media and the people is severed, freedom of speech and democracy no longer exists. Being involved with school newspapers, whether it is through reporting or just keeping up, is so important for students, who carry the power of democracy through the course of their education—and in society.
‘Dr. Bumbum,’ Brazilian Plastic Surgeon, Is Charged in Patient’s Death
People tend to have strong opinions on plastic surgery (good or bad), but regardless this article was a clear reminder of its dark side. The marked matter indicated here is how dangerous illegally performed procedures are, but why is this becoming such a prevalent issue in the first place? Strict standards of beauty, the pressure to conform to them, and the exploitation of those should be explicitly discussed.
People don’t only desire an ideal appearance anymore—they feel as if they need it, and they will ignore health and rationality in order to achieve the perfect look. Plastic surgery itself is not bad, but feeling as if you’re nothing unless you look a certain way, is toxic. Not only does it cause us to make rash decisions, but it allows immoral people to take advantage of our frail mindsets.
I used to blame those who opt for cheap, “immediate”, and precarious procedures, but after grasping society’s demands and our covetous nature, I’ve developed a different perspective. It should not be the victims' faults that they were misled. Yes, they should have been wiser and warier, but more crucially, surgeons shouldn’t have acted on their greed. On the surface, a cheap but illegal surgery seems beneficial to both parties, but do people have no fear?
Now—I admire the fearless, but trusting sketchy advertisements and luring in this credulous audience are both far from the fearlessness that deserves applause.
Judge Blocks Attempt to Post Blueprints for 3-D Guns
As a student myself, I find it disconcerting that articles about gun violence still exist. In light of the mass shootings that have occurred in schools lately, I find it absurd the idea of the government even contemplating the idea of releasing blueprints for three-dimensional guns. If the blueprints are released to the public, guns would become even more accessible. In fact, three-dimensional guns pose more risks than conventional guns since the government would not be able to track the printed guns. People can simply print their guns at home, so there is no certainty one would go about registering them. It would enable one to construct a plastic gun that metal detectors cannot distinguish. One solution the supporters proposed was that we should install detectors that can also recognize plastic guns in public places such as schools. I can’t imagine going through detectors in school every day and security checking through my belongings. This would only provide inconveniences and create distrust among students. The justification provided is that according to the first amendment, citizens have the “freedom” to own arms. Would one be able to say that to a person whose sole purpose is to kill? Is this also freedom? If the possession of guns were completely illegal, students would be able to walk to school, not doubting their schoolmates and also not fearing for their safety in a place that ought to be a safe haven for learning.
The article that caught my eye this week is called "4 Tips for Protecting Your Trip During Hurricane Season." This is because when I travel I want to be prepared if a hurricane interferes with my travel plans. As soon as a hurricane is in the works, it’s too late to purchase travel insurance, so planning in advance for potential disasters is necessary. The first tip is to check your hotel and airline policies. Some hotels have hurricane guarantee offers that give refunds and rebooking options. Airlines will often rebook your flight without an extra charge for storm-related cancellations. The second tip is to don't delay. As soon as a storm approaches, it’s too late to purchase travel insurance. Therefore, not delaying on getting travel insurance and getting it sooner will be more beneficial as it can help you down the long run. The third tip is cruises require extra coverage. Therefore, make sure your insurance policy has a Missed Connection benefit, which will cover additional transportation costs should you need to join your cruise at another port. The fourth tip is to secure important documents. Most travelers bring important documents with them on vacation, but in an emergency situation, they can get lost.That’s why leaving copies of these documents with someone you trust before your leave will make life easier for when you return home. In other words, this article interested me this week due to it provided crucial information about traveling when a hurricane occurs.
“Djokovic wins in Cincinnati, Halep's Match Suspended”
I lost my tennis match 0-8. A loss that I could not forget this entire summer. I was ecstatic to finally advance to my middle school League Championships. Yet much earlier than I had anticipated, it was all over.
I pondered. Why did I miss such basic shots, shots that could have granted me an easy win? I sat on the bleachers mentally replaying every point of the match, until truth dawned upon me. My opponent had surpassed me mentally. Yes, it was my frustration that dug me into a deeper hole with every passing minute of my match.
I took to the internet. What can I do to improve my game? How do professional players keep their calm while playing for extremely high stakes?
That’s when I came across this article, and I loved it because it helped me resolve my confusion.
Novak Djokovic has played in the Cincinnati Masters tournament five times and has never won. This losing streak would indicate to most people that Novak needs to improve physically, however he points out that tennis is also a mental game. Anticipating the opponents’ moves, pinpointing weaknesses, and winning the mental jousting that goes on between the players during a point is critical for victory. Each loss should fuel your burning desire to win.
Now when I go out and play tennis, my mind will be racing every second, calculating every shot on the court. There will be no room for frustration. Every missed ball will help me become a better player.
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“The Orca, Her Dead Calf and Us”
The human race in a positive state can be a compound of compassion and empathy towards its members, billions of people flowing under the same thought and mind. At its lowest, it initiates war and struggles with self made loss, battling with those that share the same blood. Though, the tendency to shield our eyes not only from ourselves but from our actions towards the natural world is where the true rift of humanity lies, and the tragic story of Tahlequah only adds to a stack of manmade misdemeanours. The cost of fish is not just in currency format, but in the lives of the animals that we take from, as we can see here from Tahlequah’s calf’s malnourishment. While we consider seafood to be a luxury, to the ocean dwelling creatures such as the featured orcas it is a primary source of nutrition.
Take Earth’s leading species off the high horse known as humanity, and you are left with living things such as other animals that of which we have damaged the ecosystems of. Not only does this hurt them, but the damage done to the environment will come back to us as well, and our future generations. Life on Earth started in the ocean, therefore so did we; we do not have the right to harm it.
The human race at its very finest shows understanding and care for all, even the creatures that dwell in the seas and beyond; As part of the younger generation, I would like to believe that we still maintain and work towards the ability to achieve our best selves.
When a starstruck eight-year-old-me read that Elon Musk founded PayPal, Tesla and was the swashbuckling man behind SpaceX, I had assumed that he was just naturally smarter than us: a privileged magician who could snap his fingers and achieve his dreams without an ounce of effort. But articles like “Elon Musk Confronts an Excruciating Year” paint an entirely new picture, and we need more write-ups like these to uncover the other side of celebrities. Musk was definitely born with gifted intelligence and a wicked sense of creativity, but that takes absolutely nothing away from his bottomless work ethic.
This belief that our greatest heroes are where they are because they were “born to be” is ridiculous. But this mindset is a familiar script, whether it be Mr. Musk himself or how some say the incredible Lionel Messi is where he is solely through natural talent. We never hesitate to show off mind-blowing records and successes from athletes, artists and entrepreneurs. But we don’t show the backstory: the painstaking, meticulous and bloodstained hours our seemingly untouchable heroes endured.
In my opinion, the effects of biased representation are devastating. Many times have I looked at another’s seemingly effortless achievements and simply accepted that I could never do that. But in truth, that supposedly divine human also went through countless hardships, and the great thing about humans is that we can all suffer and put in the effort to become the very heroes we aspire to be.
Same-sex marriage, transgenders, and etc. are things that violate the words of the Bible and the majority of people stand by those words. This can lead people who own businesses to refuse to serve someone who falls into that category just like a baker named, Jack Phillips, did. He refused to bake a cake for a woman who wanted it to be pink on the outside to represent her birthday and blue to represent her transition, but Phillips refused to because of his religious beliefs. Phillips had done this before when he refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. Honestly, I do not believe this behavior should be accepted anywhere no matter what. In my opinion, religion and business should be completely separated. One should be professional about other peoples beliefs and the way they chose to live. Denying the service to someone because of your beliefs is disrespectful because the person working should know they are working for the public and in public, there are a diversity of beliefs that one should respect. Although, I do understand Jack Phillips' stance to refuse to bake these peoples cakes because it must feel like he is betraying his god and the Bible. In addition as Phillips stated it does, in fact, violate his first amendment right to be forced to serve these customers, which it does. I think that Jack Phillips should have made the cake because it would have shown off a better facet of his being a Christian yet still respecting what his beliefs oppose of.
The article that interested me the most this week was ‘Please Let Me Join Your Heist’ by Karen Chee. I found this article to be funny, quirky and just a spontaneous article that made me happy. I read the title and was confused at first because of what it implies, a bank robbery? I questioned. But I clicked on it and saw the photo attached and that’s when I realized this was not to be taken seriously and the article was all in good fun, a real thief probably wouldn’t draw a cartoon bank robber. I also realized in her name title, Chee is a comedy writer. But anyways this article was a list of what she could bring to the table to help and things she was good at that may be useful in a heist. Turns out she was mediocre and just like the rest of us, human. She was good at treading on water yet she also ate cheeseburgers and that’s exactly how I feel. I liked this article because it was obscure yet relatable.
The article that sparked interest in me was the blunt titled "Make Your Daughter Practice Math. She'll Thank You Later", by Barbara Oakley. The findings and truth of the beginning paragraphs are astounding to me. The barrier created between girls and math is a prominent factor starting as early as elementary schools. I remember condemning fractions as evil since fourth grade and can say that personally, Oakley's statement of it being a "quick path to disliking and avoiding it" has proven true as I move into regular's pre-calculus, alongside AP Literature, a true difference in rigor since like many girls, I have found strength and more comfort in language and reading, and less in math. Some say math is something one just gets. Of course, I do know more than a handful of girls who can do mathematical equations without breaking a sweat, but I can't shake the feeling that self-doubt can often lead to giving up, which needs to be avoided for all girls. The rise of women in STEM is too important not to be seeking more and more young girls in any way to learn and become inspired, is worth the extra math question. I definitely know I'll be urging my sister to. Because as cheesy as I thought it was, all the work is worth it, especially when studying for SATs and what not. Even if it's a snooze fest like trigonometry.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/smarter-living/how-to-turn-toxic-emot...
"Ever Wanted to Get Revenge? Try This Instead."
By: Caroline Cox
Everyone has come across a person that has wronged them in their lifetime, it is natural to want revenge and that is why I found this article the most interesting in The Times this week. You often hear the phrase, "Just let it go," but sometimes this is really hard to do and in oder to get over the feeling sometimes you feel the you need to make the other person feel the same way. The emotions that tend to cause this rage are not necessarily bad and it is our instinct to want to act out when you or someone else is hurt. How we deal with this feeling is important, sometimes the anger is not the problem it can just be expressed in the wrong way and unintentionally be hurtful. Instead of taking revenge out on the person, we can examine ourselves by being the bigger person and instead of seeking revenge we can learn from the experience. Although revenge may make you feel better about the situation in the moment, it can make letting go of the issue harder. By being the bigger person it shows that you have power over yourself and and you can control how you feel and another person does not. By remaining in control of our toxic thoughts we can save a lot of time, trouble, and anger that could come up. Always think before you act about how your decision could effect you in the future.
'Crazy Rich Asians’: Why Did It Take So Long to See a Cast Like This?
By Robert Ito
After seeing this article title I was instantly attracted. I first heard of this Hollywood movie with the Cavs consisting only of Asian actors a few months ago. I knew that in many popular movies, Asians are rarely cast as co-stars, let alone main leads. Surprisingly, I found that “the last time a major Hollywood film set in the present day showcased a majority Asian cast was a whopping 25 years ago, with the “Joy Luck Club” in 1993.” Because the movie wanted mainly asian actors, Mr. Chu, the director of the movie, made his online pitch, searching for Asian actors that would play every single part in the movie. However as roles were considered, the writer's questioned if Asians could play another’s race. Some disputes started between actors in the siding and a half white actor to be cast into the movie. The dispute was settled when Jamie Chung, among others, apologized in criticizing Mr. Chu’s decision to cast Mr. Golding.
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2018/08/07/sports/07reuters-esports-madd...
This week I read "Madden NFL 19 Championship Series to Feature $1.255 Million Prize Pool" by Reuters and found it very interesting. This year a esports event for Madden the football video game will be having a large tournament. Over the years I have played my fair share of Madden games and have poured time into the franchise. This article really took me of guard however because i never knew this was a competitive sport where you can win money. I find it interesting that as we stray from traditional sports in the media we fell back on a sport that is extremely popular in the media already. EA sports the company who creates these games was able to make millions through video games based on real life sports and make millions. Now people are able to compete in sports through a video game and compete for money. 1.255 million dollars is a very large amount of money. People could make a living now off of playing sports on video games instead of playing the sports in real life, and many people have figured that out. This article shares that roughly 3 million players have competed in these tournaments showing just how large the fan base is for these types of games. I just find it crazy how video games are beginning to form very solid and high paying careers through many ways. Whether it be streaming or competing in tournaments video games are giving the chance for players to profit.
"Finding It Hard to Focus? Maybe It’s Not Your Fault"
By Casey Schwartz
This article turned out to be a sight for sore eyes.
For a long time, I've become increasingly aware how much technology takes away from my life. There was a 3 month period where I did not have a smart phone at all. At first, I felt left behind---doomed to an existence where my friends would go on posting, never for my eyes to see. It took some time before I finally saw the futility and time-draining nature of social media. By the time I was offered a new phone, I wasn't sure I was ready to give up my newfound liberation. It was refreshing to read this article because not many people around me seem to understand how spending time away from your phone can be liberating.
Before reading this article, I had no clue that Instagram and Facebook introduced services that allowed their users to limit their time spent on the platform. I'm in complete support of such services, however they can only do so much. An alarm clock can't prevent you from hitting the snooze button over and over again, you have to make the decision to roll out of bed. Just like an alarm clock, these services can't stop you from logging back in right after they've timed you out.
What I hope is for my generation to see is that the sun doesn't shine in your phone screen, and that the only one who can give you back more of your life is you.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/05/sports/trump-lebron-james.html
What qualities does one normally associate with the President of the United States? Noble, honest? A role model? Aware, just? We seem to be living in a time in this country where citizens are looking everywhere except the White House for comfort, for hope. And, many people out there are doing much more good for their communities than the President seems to be doing for this country. Specifically, athletes. LeBron James made news recently with his I Promise School in Akron, Ohio, which guarantees free tuition, means, transportation, bikes, and college tuition for those who graduate. An incredibly plausible deed for his community who's kids are mainly offered drugs and street life. Trump then took to Twitter to reply to some of the comments James made about him in an interview with Don Lemon, saying, "Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart, which isn’t easy to do." Growing up, when teachers or parents asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up, there were usually two answers that I would give: a firefighter or the president. Someone who helps people or someone who leads people. That is what I wanted to do. So, for me to see our President bashing a man like LeBron James for whatever reason makes me wonder what we value as a country. Is it hiding behind Twitter and hating on others success, or is it fixing this country from the ground up?
Sometimes I wonder why people have such vastly differing opinions from each other, despite possibly living reasonably similar lives. The article ‘The Children at the Trump Rallies’ helps clarify this phenomenon.
What it boils down to is parents having a major influence over the way their children think and act. The young a child is, the greater the influence. Using myself as an example, I would say children only really learn to follow their own ways of thinking around their teenage years, and accept that this is an ok thing to do.
For this reason, parents ought to be very careful about who or what they themselves are influenced by, and which of the influences they pass on to their children. Parents expose the often hateful influences of a person like Donald Trump, for example, walk the dangerous line of raising their own flesh and blood to be just as hateful and harmful to those around them they view as lesser than themselves as the man himself.
I, for one, find it very frustrating to see adults pass on many hateful characteristics of past generations to people of my age or even younger. My generation is more tolerant of potential dividing factors such as differences of sexuality and race than ever before. Therefore it is saddening to see adults such as those mentioned in the article exposing their kids to the outdated, intolerant ways of their own generation, and holding back tolerance in general.
Parents, consider letting your children think for themselves.
The article that was most interesting to me was "Aretha Franklin, Indomitable 'Queen of Soul,' Dies at 76." This article is most interesting to me because an icon has passed away and we should all pay our respect towards her. In a musical career of more than five decades, Aretha Franklin had more than 100 singles on the Billboard charts. But more importantly she freed more singer to let there voices be heard. She faced many obstacles from being judged because of the color of her skin to her being a woman. Aretha opened more doors for other who got inspired by her music. So for Rest in Peace Aretha Franklin, you will be missed.
"All We Want to Do Is Watch Each Other Play Video Games"
Often as a child, I lived day to day in a competitive mindset. Whether it was trying to become the best out of all my friends at a sport, or trying to outscore them at my favorite video game, I always spent my free time brushing up my skills and perfecting every aspect through training and practice. Today, it is the norm for gamers to be alone and watch their favorite game being played by a complete stranger on the internet.
With any sport, the social aspect of watching a game together with friends or family is why watching athletes compete is so entertaining. With the sport-like attributes that video games display, countless gamers enjoy spending hours on end doing nothing but watching a stranger on the internet play a video game. It is the enjoyment of experiencing the perspective and thought process of someone else that makes such a once thought “mundane” activity popular among millions of kids, teens, and adults.
This article caught my attention because as the community in recent games such as “Fortnite” keeps expanding in a staggering fashion, I think of the possibility of this hobby being turned into a desired career path for our future children. As movie theatres decline in popularity, they will be replaced with Esports arenas for gamers to gather in a community and create a future where gamers are idolized by everyone.
“The Marines Didn’t Think Women Belonged in the Infantry. She’s Proving Them Wrong.”
Each day women strive for success in areas previously denied. And each day, those who obtain this success make history – not because they want to be the first or best or gain recognition, but because they have a dream and choose to follow it. Marie Curie dreamed of chemistry. So, she became a scientist. Sally Ride dreamed of space. So, she became an astronaut. For Marina A. Hierl, leading a platoon on the front line was the dream. For Lt. Marina A. Hierl, leading a platoon was the reality.
When reading this article, I was inspired and intrigued by Lt. Hierl and her character. Humble and driven. She reminded me of my own friend whom has since joined the naval academy, showing much promise and potential. As I think about these two young women, I gain a growing sense of confidence in my own abilities to succeed in a still male dominated society. They have taken any and all excuses away and have opened my eyes to see past the limits. I have since been motivated to follow my dreams to the fullest extent.
Women such as Lt. Hierl make me question why the Marine Corps had fiercely opposed the integration of females into combat in its past. Only recently was it announced that women would no longer be excluded from combat roles. Why deny able bodied women, willing to place their lives on the line to serve your country? Female or male, we all are fighting the same war, on and off the battlefield.
"Arrested, Jailed and Charged With a Felony. For Voting."
In America, voting is a right. Every citizen is granted the ability to vote for who they want in office to represent themselves and the people at large. The fact that not all Americans can vote is disgusting and goes against the ideals of this nation. Even more disgusting is the fact that nothing has changed with the laws that are in place.
The article follows the story of the "Alamance 12": people who unknowingly voted illegally and are at risk of being convicted in North Carolina. Nine of the twelve voters are black, which shows the communities these laws are affecting the most. The disenfranchisement of African Americans is a part of our country's history, and it is a cause for outrage. The article explains how these oppressive laws are being compared to laws from the Jim Crow era by local civil rights groups.
Everything from the article's unbelievable title to its solid argument appealed to me. The author utilized emotional personal accounts from people who accidentally voted illegally, which evokes sympathy from the reader. A pattern of behavior is set and showcased from these accounts. Also highlighted in the article is the preposterous nature of how voting with felons is handled. In many of these cases, the felon was never told their right to vote was taken away from them.
The article ends with a man's promise to never vote again. This morose ending is effective and emphasizes the reality of this issue.
In the article, "President Admits Trump Tower Meeting Was Meant to Get Dirt on Clinton" by Michael D. Shear and Michael S. Schmidt, we learn more information on the imfamous meeting that happened between the presidents son and a group of russian agents. Originally, Donald Trump Jr. had told the media that the meeting was simply about Russian adoptions and what-not, however, his own father seems to have called his bluff. On August 5th, the President tweeted on his personal twitter that what the meeting had been really to uncover dirt on his then political revival Hilary Clinton. The reason that this is article had interested me this week is because it is truly remarkable how much crazy is really happening in tgis administration. The fact that the President then after justified his sons actions by saying it was "totally legal" and "done all the time in politics" is questionable. Regardless, the truth of the matter is that his sons actions are infact not "totally legal" and sooned rather than later the President and his son will inevitably realize this.
An article that grabbed my attention is "Transgender Girl, 12, Is Violently Threatened After Facebook Post by Classmate's Parents" by Christina Caron. I have been raised in a tolerant and accepting environment but I know that's not the case for many children.
In my Native American culture, the social constructs of sex and gender aren’t limited to two genders. Unlike traditional cultures that historically inflicted binary categorization on people, Natives view gender and sexuality as fluid social constructs and shifting between genders is accepted. We believe that we are all imbued with both masculine and feminine natures and that some people receive the “gift” of being “Two Spirit”. Rather than shunning them, “Two Spirit” people are revered and considered sacred because they have the perspective of both genders.
While modern society purports tolerance of all gender choices, hatred still exists. The violent Facebook posts this week attacking a transgender student in Achille, Oklahoma show that hatred still exists and there is a continued need for education about the origins of sexuality and gender identity. We need to help others understand that they are as much a part of our genetic make-up as hair or skin color.
All children regardless of gender or sexuality deserve to grow up in a world where they are free to live openly without fear of stigmatization or persecution.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/us/arrested-voting-north-carolina.html
This week I read an article about a father who was put in jail for illegally voting in the 2016 presidential election. Not only was he put in jail, but he was also charged $2,500 for his bail bond. However, this was not the first case in his county. In fact, eleven other people were arrested for the same thing. It turns out that in some states, including the one where these people live, if you are on parole or probation for felony conviction, you are prohibited from voting. If you just so happen do be in that circumstance and choose to still vote, you could be charged with up to two years of prison time.
After reading this article, I had mixed emotions about whether or not this should be allowed. For starters, disqualifying someone's right to vote is unconstitutional. Also, In some cases, taking away a person's ability to vote due to a felony, there could possibly be a slight decrease in crime rates. On the other hand, if more and more people are prevented from voting, the results could be different than if everyone was allowed to. Additionally, if everybody was allowed to vote, especially in presidential elections, the people could choose they believe will best enforce laws which will help keep crime rates down.
Overall, this is a very controversial topic that may never be settled. But situations like these allow people to voice their opinions and make a change in the world.
"Driving 2,130 Miles for a Haircut"
Snyder's story of going 2,130 miles to rediscover herself reminded me of the time when I went eight to rediscover love.
My story started with three words: "I love you." It wasn't what I expected my best friend to say, and I wasn't ready for it. I looked at him for a second then ran out the front door. It wasn't how he expected me to react.
I called the train station and got a ticket to Brooklyn. The plan was to stay at a friend's place for the night.
The train ride was rather peaceful until I started thinking about love. I thought about what my friend was probably going through and felt awful. Then I started thinking about my past relationship. How everything started well but took a few sudden turns for the worse. But when the voice over the train's intercom reported our arrival, my only thought was to get moving.
I got to the door of my friend's apartment and took a breath. I knocked, and the door opened. My best friend was on the other end. I still don't know how he got there before me.
"We should probably talk about what happened earlier," he said.
That was the last thing I wanted to do, but he deserved it. We sat in the room, and I told him everything.
"That's okay. I won't give up. We'll find a way to make it work."
When he said that, I knew he was the perfect guy.
We headed back to the station, laughed about the craziness of that afternoon, and watched the sky as the sun retreated and gave way to the stars.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/07/opinion/self-harm-cutting-teenagers.html
As discussed in this article, there are many misconceptions that come along with self-harm. Cutting does not necessarily mean that a person is suicidal and I began to understand this when I was in the eighth grade. As an awkward teenage girl, I often felt out of place and bullied by my peers. I remember considering cutting my wrists, wanting to see my own blood. I wanted to feel pain, because that’s what I believed I deserved. Despite this, I never once wanted to die.
This past year, I began noticing that my fellow students and even a couple of my closest friends had scars or fresh cuts on their wrists. This greatly troubled me, as I always believed that people who cut or harmed themselves were sad and kept to themselves, but these people seemed so outgoing and happy.
It is noticing scars, or discovering the harrowing stories of others that have made me realize that self-harm is a very prominent issue in today’s society. Reading an article such as this brings light to an incredibly serious issue that many struggling teenagers can use to understand why they harm themselves or why other do the same.
Through personal experience and learning about the journies of self-harm survivors, I have come to the conclusion that I would much rather spend my life being kind and showing love to my friends and family than spend it harming myself. You never know the struggles that others are trying to overcome.
Surprise Gift: Free Tuition for All NYU Medical Students
New York University is not the first university to offer free tuition for its medical students. Nevertheless, this ongoing development is important. Medical students at universities all across the United States are beginning to receive the aid most of them need in order to graduate medical school without crippling debt from student loans. This is significant for a multitude of reasons. First of all, this would allow students from households with average to below average annual incomes to even consider the possibility of attending a medical school. In 2013 the median total cost to attend a private four-year medical school was $278,455. This number is unfathomable to a majority of American families as the median household income as of 2016 stands at just $59,039. Secondly, the next generation of medical professionals will be able to begin building up the funds they need in order to purchase valuable assets or begin saving for retirement immediately following medical school. The average debt accrued by a medical student after attending a four-year medical school is $190,000 which heavily burdens the student for many years following graduation. By removing the $55,000 cost of tuition, NYU is one of many schools that are actively working to help lessen the financial stress on its students.
As a junior in high school who is seriously considering pursuing a medical degree, seeing this news is great for both me and my family.
This week, I read “California Fire Now the Largest in State History: ‘People are on Edge’”. The article is about the record-setting wildfire in California, which has burned more than 600,000 acres of land. Not only is this one fire larger than any other fire recorded in the state’s history, but it has also been accompanied by many other wildfires around the California this season. People believe that these fires were so big because of the way that we treat the environment. The article caught my attention this week because I had been hearing about the massive fires. Before reading the article, I didn’t know much about the situation. When I first became aware of what was going on in California, I had been seeing people around me struggle with their own situations. Hearing about the wildfires on top of that really caught my attention. It reminded me of how much prayer this country needs, and how we should be thankful for every moment of every day. Even when there are fires surrounding us, there is still good to be found. Even though the raging fires seem impossible to overcome, there are still people who are willing to sacrifice their lives to try to save the lives of people in the area. People aren’t giving up when these fires keep raging, and when possible mudslides could be headed for them next. Instead, they’re fighting through it, and doing whatever they can to protect the area.
This week in the Times I came across an article that it very scary and interesting for me. It was " He Begged on TV for His Family's Return. Then He Was Accused of Killing Them.". You have to be a very cruel person to do what Mr. Watts did. What really bothered me about this article was that they really didn't say why the family was murdered, like if Mr. Watts was having problems with his wife and kids. Even if he was having problems in his marriage murdering innocent people is not the way to go he could have gone with the legal way out and chose a divorce. It just goes to show you that you can't always trust everyone not even your own family members! I do think that Mr. Watt reacted in the way that he was devastated that none of them returned home to try and cover up his tracks in the whole thing. I can't imagine how the rest of the family feels about him being accused of murdering his wife and two daughters, but my thoughts and prayers go out for both sides of the family. It's so disgusting to see how easy people can lie and do horrible things these days. Soon enough there won't be anymore of these surprising stories open to the public because it will just be an occasional thing everyone expects from people. We should never have to be scared of a person we know so well turning on us, but after reading this article I think I need to pay more attention to the people that bring positivity into my life rather than negativity that could ruin everything.
The article that I thought was interesting was " Areatha Franklin Indomitable ' Queen of Soul ' Dies at 76 because I didn't know why people where so upset why this person had died but then I found out that she was a role model and an amazing singer she sang " Respect" witch I thought stood for equality and touch on the topic of feminism she also received more than 18 grammy awards u don't get that many with out making an impact shes was so good she was placed on the list for 100 greatest singers of all time she was a very accomplished women and im sad I did know who she before she passes away
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/13/t-magazine/freshwater-surfing.html?rr...
Has your location ever prevented you from doing something you loved? Young aspiring surfers struggle with this question if they do not live in a typical beach town. When someone lives in a city or in the midwest, their dreams to be a surfer seem out of reach.
They seem to struggle with the idea of thinking outside of the box. There is no need to fit a stereotype or live in a certain area to pursue something, which, in my opinion, is not stressed enough. Growing up my dream was to be a professional surfer, but I was discouraged. I was lucky enough to learn to surf in Australia and found local surf spots in Maryland to pursue it. Now, that is exactly the purpose of freshwater surfing. Get out there in a safe spot in a river or lake and practice. Do not allow stereotypes deter you from pursuing freshwater surfing.
Specifically, this article taught me about problem-solving. Not living in a beach town weighs young surfers down. It should be teaching them to figure a way around it because it would lead them to greater things such as freshwater surfing or anything else that they may ever venture to accomplish. It is hard, but it has positive aspects. Never give up on your dreams because there is a minor setback. Try again until you succeed.
‘Crazy Rich Asians’: Why Did It Take So Long to See a Cast Like This?
2018 is THE year. With the release of Marvel’s Black Panther back in February to Crazy Rich Asians coming out just two days ago, America has experienced a wave of representation in the entertainment world. This article caught my interest because as an Asian American, I was awfully proud when I found out that Crazy Rich Asians was becoming a Hollywood movie with an all Asian cast.
I discovered while reading the article that it’s been forever since Hollywood came out with a movie that had an all Asian cast, the last being 25 years ago with The Joy Luck Club. It’s so hard to grasp the notion that it took us 25 years to make another movie with this type of cast. Asian Americans, along with other minorities, are often underrepresented in TV shows and movies, but this movie, along with the Black Panther proved otherwise.
Crazy Rich Asians has a powerful message. It deals with representation, not only in the entertainment world, but also society as a whole. We’re constantly moving towards a state where people are learning to accept and include one another as is, and I think it’s a very beautiful thing. Representation, in all aspects, is powerful, and I’m just proud of how far we’ve gotten as a society. I’m looking forward to the improvement and opportunity these types of movies bring to us, and most importantly (as of now), I’m looking forward to watching Crazy Rich Asians in theaters this weekend.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/14/health/lyme-disease-vaccine.html
This week the article I read was about lyme disease and how there isn't a vaccine for it currently. Just by looking at the title, this article immediately caught my attention because as someone who has had lyme disease, I think that it is crucial that the vaccine should be improved upon and put back on the market. Although experts say that people can use bug spray and insect repellant to avoid tick bites and lyme disease, it is not always possible to spot the tick or the tick bite right away. When I got lyme disease, my tick bite looked like a swollen mosquito bite instead of the bulls-eye doctors tell you to look for. The worst part was the excruciating joint pain and the pounding headaches that never went away. The scientists who are skeptical of this lyme vaccine and claim that "lyme can be controlled if people are vigilant" are misunderstanding how painful lyme can be, because it's not always possible to spot the tick or the bite. Even though it has been over a year since I got lyme, I still have the after effects of joint pain. In addition, although the original vaccine (LYMErix) was not 100% effective in people back in 1998, I think that doctors should work to improve this vaccine and out it back on the market especially since recently more and more people are getting lyme disease.
The show ‘Sex and the City’ came out just over twenty years ago, yet it is still a sad relevant for every person in this society as it was back then. In the article “It’s An It Girl: The Birth of ‘Sex and the City’”, readers are given the chance to read interviews from and about Candace Bushnell, the author of a newspaper column in The New York Observer. Her series of columns became a book in 1996 and later a television series in 1998. The show completely revamped television, and even New York. It spoke about topics seen as provocative and normalized important conversations. It showed New York as one of the greatest cities in the world, one where you can truly be yourself. Candace Bushnell, like the main character Carrie Bradshaw, lived in Manhattan to be surrounded by the arms of the city. Bushnell said “There wasn’t constant angst... ‘What’s going to happen to all of us whose lives aren’t following the script?’” The truth is, it is all a chance of fate. Even by following a script, things change. By pulling a Carrie Bradshaw, by understanding your self worth and carrying yourself with confidence, you will make it. Even in a city as crazy as New York, New York.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/05/world/asia/bangladesh-students-protes...
For as long as I've lived I have taken the United States' traffic laws for granted. I have always felt safe in a car, knowing that the biggest threats to me were drunk drivers or ice on the road. This is why hearing about Bangladesh was such a shock to me. Thousands of people killed in a single year due to traffic accidents alone? It seemed almost unreal when I read it, but there it was. So I was glad when I read about students protesting the laws, but that happiness turned to sadness when I saw what the protesters' government was doing to them.
What Bangladesh is doing to these protesters is just awful. These students just want to feel safe in their own country by protesting and helping to enforce traffic laws; and in response they are beaten and gassed. It's almost unreal that something like this is actually happening; it feels more like something out of a dystopian novel than reality. The fact that the protesters have stayed strong despite the government's pushback is a great testament to their strength and devotion to their cause. It's inspiring to see these students refuse to back down and keep pushing for change. I wish the best for them.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/07/opinion/deafness-cochlear-implants.html
Just about anyone can turn out to be deaf, maybe the next generation in your family or in two generations. The article I read, “Between Sound and Silence” by Irene Taylor Brodsky and she shared her own story about the cochlear implant. She is a daughter to deaf parents and a mother to a deaf child. Her son was four years old when he couldn’t hear anything anymore. He got his first implant at the age of four and got a second one on then other year at then age of eight. This reading reminds me of my friend’s younger brother. He was born without hearing and he had to get a cochlear implant to be able to hear. He was given his first implant at the age of two years old and once his wound recovers he had his second implant. Now if I were to have a child myself with a hearing loss, I would accept to have him get surgery and have an implant so he has the ability to hear everything. Since Brodsky has two generations in her family with hearing lose she has two perspectives of the implant. Her parents got implants at the age of sixty-five and according to her as a daughter, technology has made it easier for the deaf people but as a mother she has this fear and thinks about what surgeons are going to be putting in her son’s skull. As always we should get sources from liable people or things, that’s what she did and made up her mind to have her son have an implantation to have the ability to hear.
Donald Trump and the Black Athlete - Micheal Powell
In the wake of everything that Trump has done, I can't say this surprises me. I've always respected Lebron James for his athletic ability. Despite being moderately aware of the NBA, and sports in general, his name comes up as someone who has achieved great success in his profession. Conflict like this always seems to show people's true colors, and in other instances, where such butting heads between powerful and influential figures would expose controversy, in this case, it made me aware of this talented athlete's strength of character. He chose not to fight back, his mission to support the children of Akron, providing tuition, a bike, and so much more.
This program the first of its kind in public school history, and instead of supporting this charitable act with thunderous applause, our president, has insulted the man, demeaned him, and has refused to support it in any way. This is not an issue of left and right, its an issue of empathy. There is no reason for such behavior, and no reason to not disaprove of this plan. At risk kids, are being given an opportunity to excel, in fields of STEM and Libreal arts, and all because a man who worked hard to make the best out of an unfavorable hand, can now give back.
If this doesn't prove his outright racism, and inability to think beyond his silver spoon and white complexion, I don't know what will.
"When White People Call the Police on Black People" - Daniel Victor
The feeling that police personnel are more of threat than a force of protection is haunting, yet commonplace among the Black community.
Daniel Victor addresses how frightening it is for Blacks doing nothing unlawful get profiled due to their skin color and questioned by law enforcement. He adds that Blacks have gotten so used to these situations that it has become routine. He reinforces that fact by reporting testimonies from Blacks who were just minding their own business but were stopped by police for no reason.
I myself being a young Black male, feel the overwhelming crushing pressure of fear seeing police cars and officers in close proximity. This fear however doesn’t stem from a guilty conscience, but from a fear of ending up like many other Black men who have been beaten or gunned down by officers. It is drilled into Black youth at an early age by our parents to put it bluntly, “Although the motto say “Serve and Protect”, they ain’t talkin’ bout you”. From my experiences, along with ones shared with me by my Black friends, the black version of “The Talk” is a life or death matter that is retaught to us every day.
Being Black trying to operate in public and lead normal lives is but a fantasy because the entire Black community acknowledges that wherever we go, someone is watching our every move. That is why the issue discussed in this article needs to talked about in order for a change to ever happen.
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/08/15/sports/ap-bby-little-league-...
As mid august comes around the little league world series comes into Williamsport, Pennsylvania for its annual tournament. Teams from all across the country and the world come to compete to be crowned the champion of a little league and go down in the record books. As a past little league ballplayer and baseball enthusiast the excitement in watching 12 year olds play at an extremely high level is thrilling. Long home runs, pure love for the game, and the best of sportsmanship come out on the highest stage of little league baseball. This year like the past few Japan the prior champions come in as strong as ever and with major support back home. Coming into this year's tournament Japan has run over its competition scoring 45 runs over a four game stretch to capture the asian championship. With a 16 team field also including strong teams from New York and Venezuela we are set up for another great tournament filled with drama and impressive baseball. One day I hope to not only cover the little league world series for ESPN but be able to coach my own kids to a chance to participate in this tournament. Another great year of baseball is upon us and the oppurtuinty for baseball immortality will soon be decided.
The article that was most interesting to me this week was " A Generation Grows Up in China Without Google, Facebook, or Twitter" by Li Yuan. The reasoning behind my chosen article is how much of an eye opener it was to me. Originally I believed that our social media platforms and search engines were used all around the world but this article explains how China has it's own versions with more censorship. Not only do they have their own versions but they have also blocked all of the original websites. At first I thought that China was attempting to hide it's citizens from the world but in reality Chinese citizens don't feel a need to access those platforms. This was very surprising to me due to the fact that most of the world can't live without these platforms. Even when given the opportunity to bypass the censorship the Chinese students found no need. The part of the article I found most interesting was that when Chinese citizens leave the country they begin to use Google and the more popular social media platforms. They then explained that the Chinese platforms had no use outside of China. To me, this is a major flaw to the popularity and use of the censored Chinese platforms.
Article: Signs of the Apocalypse at the Hammer Museum
By: Jori Finkel
I really like art. That’s what interested me in this article this week. The art in this museum is nothing like I’ve seen in any other. The artist who goes by MPA makes cool out of the ordinary sculptures. One of her most famous and recent ones called “Faultline”. She took inspiration for this piece from an interpretive standpoint on politics and social fissures, but also on more literal ones like the fault line that runs through her home town, Twentynine Palms.
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/08/13/arts/ap-us-film-crazy-rich-a...
After seeing all the trailers and promotions for the August released "Crazy Rich Asians", I was filled with excitement and anticipation for the movie. Knowing that Asians were not always well represented in Western films, I thought that this movie was a milestone for myself as well as other Asians around the world. The hype that the movie was receiving also made me extremely proud that everyone was so accepting of this new concept of having an all Asian-American cast.
After reading this article, however, my perception was changed. Although the whole world is talking about how Asians are finally becoming more represented in Western culture, we are failing to realise that there are still minorities within those of Asian descent that are still not properly represented. I was glad that this article brought more awareness to this issue, and I agree with what Wu wrote; "For those who don't feel seen, I hope there is a story you find soon that does represent you. We're not all the same, but we all have a story." I am still proud of this milestone in Hollywood and Asian-American history, and I hope that in the future, more attention can be brought to all sorts of other ethnic minorities as well.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/us/catholic-church-abuse-vatican-stat...
This week I read an article about the Catholic clergy allegations in Pennsylvania. This topic particularly interested me because I myself am Catholic and this has been in discussion in the community for a while. Allegations like these appeared years ago. However, during that time, many Catholics opposed those allegations and fought against them. However, this time around, all Catholic American's around the United States united together in order to act upon the illegal acts. Since these allegations were of acts that occured almost 40 years ago, the priests in Pennsylvania cannot be prosecuted. People now want the statutes of sexual abuse crimes to be changed so priests that have committed these acts can be charged no matter how long ago it occurred.
An article this week titled “In Chicago, One Weekend, 66 Shooting Victims, and Zero Arrests”-this title already says a lot. This violent outreach happened on a Sunday midnight between 12-3 a.m. 66 citizens shot and 12 of which have died. It is honestly truly saddening especially just when Chicago’s notorious crime/shooting death rates have decreased over some time, only to be sparked forcefully and painfully again for remembrance. I pray and send my condolences for Chicago vitctims and loved ones who have been lost in the terrible incicdent. Knowing that the victim is still out there just makes me frustrated and I hope the police put him capital punishment.
“Donald Trump and the Black Athlete”
Lebron James and his foundation recently announced that they have created the “I Promise” School for underprivileged children in Ohio in order for them to have a quality education. Also, they will provide the children with meals, a bike, a helmet, as well as give their families access to a food pantry. On top of all these magnanimous acts, they have also promised full scholarships for all graduates of the school to the University of Akron. Despite this, Donald Trump chose to post a tweet calling James and Don Lemon stupid. This interested me more than anything else in the times this week because it is indicative of the refusal to acknowledge the hugely meaningful work of certain underrepresented people, in this case African-Americans, in others women or Latinos. This dismissive attitude that has become normal in our society and culture is truly detrimental to the fabric of our nation as it serves only to pull us apart from one another. The author of the article points out that it is perfectly fair for one person’s opinions to vary from another’s. But, instead of addressing the issues constructively or acknowledging the others philanthropy and good deeds of the other person; currently, the most common course of action is to simply demean the other party. This is so detrimental to us today because it only serves as an attempt to silence and disregard people as well as pull attention away from the validity of their arguments and acts.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/09/opinion/do-songs-of-the-s...
This article mentioned how in the 2000s, music became all too similar, but how that standard is now shifting back towards diversity and that shows in the top summer hits.
It's reasonable to say that the younger generation has some significant part to play in this shift back. Most, if not all of us, grew up hearing more than one genre played regularly, either in our houses through our families, or on the radio. Hip-hop, R&B and other genres had become more mainstream, and we had been naturally exposed to them a lot more than the generations before us might have been.
Music and the sharing of it is also an integral part of most teenagers’ lives. We’re constantly recommending songs to our peers, making playlists for our friends, or screenshotting what we’re listening to and posting it on our stories for hundreds of people to see. All this sharing and exposure that we have now has made us more receptive to different types of music. If you ask most teens what they like, you’ll be hard-pressed to find many that restrict themselves to solely one genre.
We are now allowing ourselves to genuinely seek out and enjoy more than just one type of music played on the radio, and that’s clear in the way the hits are changing. We can only hope for the charts to become more diversified as we keep finding more music to love.
The article that interests me this week is Kate Conger and Daisuke Wakabayashi's passage "Google Employees Protest Secret Work on Censored Search Engine for China". It presents a discussion on Google's plan of returning its search engine back to China. However, it also demonstrates Google's employees' concern over the company's moral compass. The article begins with the detail of the protest and discusses two events -- its use of use of banned search app, Dragonfly, and its contract with Pentagon about use of A.I. relating to weaponry -- of the company that involves ethical measurements. These two events and the company's leader's unclear answer evoke the employees' questioning about the company's moral compass.
To me, this article is really related because I have been grown up in China and been familiar with Chinese governmental censorship. I personally observed that most of Google services is not available in China but available in USA. I believe some Chinese companies has already developed many well-developed engines that are not worse than Google, so I am not enthusiastic about Google's returning. Nonetheless, what I do see is that people really need to keep their moral compass as technology as well as competition is growing in our society.
This week in the Times I came across an article that had a very shocking title that reads "Incredibles 2 Moviegoers Warned About Possible Seizures". Although I did not see the new Incredibles 2 movie I have heard all good things about the Disney/ Pixar film, so this was a shock to hear. I believe that many movies could cause seizures from the " sequence of flashing lights" if someone were to be suffering from epilepsy like Mr. Gardiana. I think it's just a crazy thing to think about that the human body can be affected by something as small as flashing lights in a movie. If I were in this situation I would at least think I would be getting a response back from the Walt Disney Company even if it was just a message hoping that I would get better soon. As for the warning that was supposed to be available to people with health problems before watching the film, it does not seem very clear that there was one before Mr. Gardiana experienced 7 seizures in one night after the movie. So that is definitely something that people should be more clear about, which is the warnings and possible affects the movie could have on you. I would still love to go and watch Incredibles 2 even after hearing this story because I have heard all good things about it, and no one else should be scared they should just be cautious going into a movie knowing that you have health issues. It sucks that a fun night out turned into a scary experience for Mr. Gardiana.
The article I read is "Indonesia Earthquake: At Least 98 Dead and 20,000 Homeless". I found it very upsetting on how this tragedy caused at least 20,000 people homeless. It interested me how the earthquake can be felt by the island of Bali, which unfortunately caused 2 people to die. I think its so sad how some people did not want to return home, because they were traumatized from the earthquake. I hope that everyone who was injured recovers very quickly and those that lost their homes find a safe place to stay.
Jane Austen’s First Buyer? Probably a Prince She Hated
What struck me the most about this article was the underlying classic assumption that women should take pride in being acknowledged by men, on account of the male sex being more established or reputable. As someone raised in a liberal environment, I found it outrageous how the King and his librarian patronized Jane.
I believe that feminism can be defined as women empowering each other and creating a united front against misogynists. Jane Austen did exactly that when she expressed her support for the King's wife, and again when she did not react to the King's appreciation as other women of the Georgian Era would have. Perhaps that why there is a continued fascination for the willful woman that is Elizabeth Bennet, as she is so much like Jane herself.
This article prompted me to consider how a female novelist’s social commentary may have played a significant role in educating women on their right to equality. Today, feminist movements continue to gain support and fervor as instances of wage gap decrease, and more women speak out under #MeToo. Though equilibrium is still far from being achieved, the world has come a long way in pursuing a gender-fair society.
By upholding her morals and ideas through both actions and words, Jane has taught following generations of women to always stand by each other and to never bow before self-entitled men. I will forever take inspiration from the unshakable Jane Austen.
Title: How to Have Better Family Meals
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/make-most-of-family-table
This week in The New York Times, I was most interested in an article about the benefits of families eating meals together and how to do that. I choose this article, because as I looked for an article I wanted something positive, and this is one of the few positive ones I was able to find. This article discusses that in most homes today, families eating meals together is not common. Although not eating meals as a family, is not a life ending situation, it provides plenty of positive factors to a child's life, that they should be slowly incorporated into more homes. Children are this worlds future, and we should be trying our best to help them live the best life possible, and having meals with their families is just that. The article mentions how most families do not have family meals because of time, but continues and says that family meals don't have to be a full cooked meal. The article explains that even if a family sits down to a small snack or to a late night dessert, it will have the same affect as sitting to a whole meal. The article just wants to make it known that families sitting down to dinner has a positive reaction in children's lives and even in adults lives.
"In Kiki Challenge, Muddy Indian Farmers Show World How to Groove"
Despite world conflicts and all that goes on in society, a song and dance can bring the world together. Not only have the two Lambadipally farmers recreated the dance with oxen instead of outside a car, they have shown smiles with struggle. We, as a community, take for granted the lives we live: the easy access to everything at our fingertips, the world at our hands, and the opportunities that we let go to waste.
The two young men in the video are 24 and 28 years old. Instead of working in a store or bank or looking for a career, they are farming rice in order to make money and feed their families. However, they used the form of tansportation they're used to in oredr to recreate the internet's phenomenon and went viral. Not all remakes of this "Shiggy Challenge" went viral, but there's did. Why? They were poor and they made an impact on how people see those who are less fortunate. Not only that, but they took something "bad" and made something "good" out of it. A simple post like that can open the eyes of those who are fortunate as well those who are not as fortunate. People like myself can see the real living conditions we hear about and see how they are happy while we sometimes get mad over simple things they wish they had. And, the less fortunate can see that no matter what living conditions, you can make the best out of it and put a smile on your face as well as the people around you by being positive.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/14/well/doctors-male-female-women-men-he...
Recently, there's been news that Tokyo Medical School has been reducing the exam scores of female applicants so that more men would attend their school, which is why this article first caught my attention. Although women are typically more empathetic than men, it surprised me how drastically their differences presented themselves in the real world, and can go as far as affecting mortality rates in hospitals. I found the results of this study fascinating, and it lead me to further question this topic. What exactly are the causes of these differences in treating patients? Can it simply be explained by saying that women are genetically wired to be more empathetic, or can we find an answer in studying how treatment of women in our society contributes to their extra attention? Can we find similar behavior from both genders in other fields? This study and article has the potential to open doors to countless other studies investigating the behavioral differences between genders, their causes, and how they play out in our lives. Hopefully this information will at least give those who underestimate the capability of women, similar to those who altered the test scores at Tokyo Medical School, a second though about the importance of women in the workforce.
The article titled, “Our Hubris Will Be Our End” was the most interesting to me this week. The dooming and mysterious title of the article instantly sparked my interest. I related to the scenarios that the author described in the beginning; we as humans have become so accustomed to the comforts that we experience in our daily lives. Many of us do not even think twice about having easy access to clean drinking water, air conditioning, transportation, and so much more. Hundreds of years ago, none of these luxuries would have been overlooked and most of them did not even exist. This article reminded me to never take these comforts for granted. Also, the article expanded on the idea that everything we know about the world today could be completely different in the future. Our world and our lives are so different from that of the people who lived thousands of years ago. It is fascinating to imagine what the world will be like millenniums from now and how humans will adapt to it. Land that cities thrive on could be underwater, and ocean floors could be resurfaced. The future world could be just as different to us as our world is different to the people who lived thousands of years ago. This article made me realize that the world is always changing and evolving, and it will never be the same as it is at this time. I believe the underlying message of this article is to live in the moment and never take anything for granted, because it might not be there tomorrow.
This week I read an article " He survived an Overdose. Now What?" which was very interesting to read about and is related to a huge problem across the country right now. This problem includes drugs, that can lead to an overdose and in this case it was with heroine caused by the occasional use of pain killers. After reading this article I have not only realized how much drugs can really affect your body but how you really don't have much control over your body after becoming addicted to something. For Andrew he got very lucky that he was found, heart still beating after he overdosed. For most people they are not lucky enough to get that second chance at life after putting the deadly chemicals into their system. But just because Andrew lived does not mean his life is back to normal with a healthy body. Im sure looking back for Andrew he probably realized how he should have asked for help before he overdosed and caused himself to be basically watched by his parents or other adults the rest of his life. Andrew's story should really encourage other people going through hard times with drugs to find the help they need to get better before something serious happens. I can't imagine how Andrew's parents feel when they have to watch their kid learn how to walk or talk again due to drugs that started of as something so simple as pain killers. It's a very scary thing to hear the reality of drugs and no one should have to go through something like Andrew did.
"He Survived and Overdose. Now What?" By Daniela J. Lamas illustrates the life of Andrew Foote, an overdose surviver of heroine. His body is heavily impaired due to the damage caused by his brain that was starved of oxygen for over 30 minutes. He was a star football player, the oldest of four siblings, and the son of two loving parents, yet he fell down the road of drugs--a very deadly trap. While he says he is happy to be alive, his parents often contemplate "Is this a good life? "Is he happy?" He is suffering the consequences of his addiction, and will continue to do so for the rest of his life. Andrew Foote will most likely never be able to eat without a feeding tube, never use his hands, and never talk clearly again, all at the hand of drugs.
The story of Andrew is truly heartbreaking, yet people find it hard to feel sympathy for someone who put it on themselves to live this way. While this holds some truth to it, many do not come to the realization that addiction is a fatal illness that must be brought to an end. This worldwide epidemic has cost millions their lives, and only seems to be worsening. A life like Andrews' can be preventable, but in order to do so, more awareness, support, and money must be used in the fight against addiction. Unfortunately I have seen people close to me have their lives taken away by drugs, while others are forced to face the battle addiction everyday. Drugs have the power to completely alter your life--don't let it happen to you.
“Guarding the Throats of Broadway” by Corey Kilgannon: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/08/nyregion/guarding-the-throats-of-broa...
As a theater and journalism student, I admit that any article with “Broadway” in its title will catch my attention. But when I eagerly read Mr. Kilgannon’s Character Study of a Broadway otolaryngologist who keeps patients onstage and upbeat despite their E.N.T. issues, it resonated with me on a deeper level.
When I was in middle school, I didn’t pass my hearing test. A shock to my family: at home, I watched TV, sang loudly to the radio, chatted over pizza and ice cream. At school, it was a different story. I sat in the first row, straining to hear my teacher. At auditions, I struggled to take cues by reading lips.
I was taken to an otolaryngologist, who diagnosed eardrum inflammation due—surprisingly—to food allergies.
My ‘prescription’ was a diet reset and frequent otolaryngology visits.
Following my kind doctor’s regimen improved my hearing within a year. I passed my next hearing test. I regained the confidence to audition, too.
I chose this article because its behind-the-scenes glimpse of Broadway wellness was delightful to read. It also brought back my childhood auditory issues in a rush of poignant memories.
Mr. Kilgannon respectfully championed the rigors of performing arts, and showcased the life-changing power of compassionate healthcare. I hope both of these messages resonate with the Broadway community, students, and beyond.
Confronting Asian-American Stereotypes
Growing up as a Chinese-American, I found that people would automatically assume I was either a math prodigy or a computer geek. They could not be further from the truth. I would sooner curl up in a corner with a good book than calculate a function's derivative, and code looks like nothing more than meaningless symbols parading across a screen to me.
I have heard every manner of presumptuous and offensive labels. Insults range from descriptions of Asians being "one-dimensional and lacking personal skills," to the often satirized comparison of floss to eye-width. Though I have never let these derisive comments faze me, the same cannot be said for many others.
I chose this piece because I can testify to the fact that these prejudices are pervading Asian-American households as well. I witness the effects every day, as Asian parents hold their children to outrageous standards in the hopes of transcending these spiteful stereotypes. It devastates me to watch as my own friends attempt to dissociate themselves from their ethnicity in order to shed the supposedly shameful labels that come with it.
I remain grateful that I was born and raised in a place where people are doing their best to be rid of these prejudices. I am proud that I come from a culture that is known for the value it puts on education. I hope that other young Chinese girls growing up in the US never doubt themselves because of where they come from and what they stand for.
Parkland Shooting Suspect Lost Special-Needs Help at School When He Needed It Most
I chose this article because it interested me about a teenager name Nikolas Cruz who was in need of help but no one caught on. This is a very sad topic that I myself do not like to talk about but it gave me interest to read and write about. On February 14, Nikolas Cruz took an AR-15 assault rifle to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida and ended up killing 17 students and staff members. It was one of the saddest school shooting that hurt a lot of people and began to discuss about it in jobs, with family members and at schools. Nikolas was in need of help but did not receive any when the school did not respond to his request. Nikolas was seen with an educational specialist who tried to convince Nikolas to transfer to Cross Creek, an alternative school for students with emotional problems. As an adult he chose to stay at Douglas High School where he wanted to graduate with his classmates. Nikolas was showing signs of what he was capable of doing by himself needing someone to walk with him to use the restroom or just go somewhere around school so he wouldn't do anything. It was an interesting article to read about and was interesting to know more information about how this lead to the massive school shooting.
Like what I assume is a majority of teenagers, I don't have a NYT subscription. But also like most teenagers, I have a Snapchat account. As a result, that’s where I get almost all of my news: from the Snapchat Discover tab. However, when faced with a choice between “41 Things Guys Secretly Do That They Don't Want You To Know About” (sorry, Buzzfeed) and real actual news, I tend to go with the latter. As a result, I’m left with The New York Times as my only option.
To directly answer the question I’m supposed to be answering, (I might not get credit in my English class if I don’t) the article that grabbed me the most this week was “War Without End” by C.J. Chivers. I was riveted right toward the end. My generation has been hearing for literally our entire lifetimes about the Afghanistan War: about it being over, about it starting up again, about it being necessary, about it being evil. As a result, we tend to tune the entire subject out. This article, however, managed to cut through the noise, and tell a human story that cuts through the obfuscatory rhetoric to a simple reality. American soldiers have been putting their lives at risk for way too long, and it’s only when they get there that they realize they’re not fighting for anything grander than survival.
I sometimes wonder if the articles that make it to Snapchat are the ones that are important, or the ones that Snapchat users will enjoy. This article has shown me that there can certainly be both, thanks to the NYT.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/us/arrested-voting-north-carolina.html
The article in The Times that interested me the most this week was called "Arrested, Jailed, and Charged With a Felony. For Voting" by Jack Healy. Keith Sellars is the name of them man who was charged. He was driving home from dinner with his daughters one night when he got pulled over for running a red light. The police officer then proceeded to do a background check and came back with the news that there was a warrant out for Mr. Sellars arrest. The warrant was for the crime of illegal voting. He was arrested for a crime in front of his daughters that he didn't even know that he had committed. If he is convicted of this crime, then he will face two years in jail. This article really caught my attention because I believe that there should be no such thing as illegal voting. Every single person living in the United States of America should have the right to vote no matter what. It doesn't matter if it's legal or illegal. Everyone living in the U.S has the right to their opinion on who they think should be president of the nation that they are living in. Also two years is a long long time to be jailed for a "crime" that really isn't a big crime. I believe this law needs to be changed so everyone can have a right to their own opinion.
The article that interested me the most in The Times this week was "Designing the Death of a Plastic" by Xiaozhi Lim.
Plastic is a material that I encounter every day whether it is through plastic cups or plastic bags. If I were to walk throughout the sidewalks of busy New York, I would certainly find multiple pieces of plastic garbage on the ground. While also polluting the streets that I walk on, it has also affected marine life filling up oceans with disgusting plastic. That is why this article appealed to me because throughout my life I have seen the problem and now there might be a possible solution. I have heard ideas such as banning grocery bags before like the article also stated but not the idea of creating a self-destructing plastic. While the world fails to recycle their plastic this self-destructing plastic might save the world's creatures from plastic garbage.
What is interesting is how it is light that destroys these plastics. It makes me wonder how these plastics would be destroyed in a safe condition and how they would make sure that these plastics won't become unstable while they are in use. It is also interesting to see some of the other challenges that these self-destructing plastics are facing especially economically, where they have to find ways to make this new type of plastic cheap enough so it can be used as commonly as regular plastic. This article was interesting because it showed me a new way to solve the world's plastic problem
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/science/plastics-polymers-pollution.html
“Designing the Death of A Plastic”
I’m sitting in the backseat of my car and peering out the window when I suddenly notice a glimmer admidst the greenery that lines highways in suburban New York. A closer look and I realize that the glimmer I saw was a piece of plastic, more specifically, a plastic water bottle.
In recent years, Americans have developed a strong sense of “throwaway culture” because we are not aware of the dangerous effects of piling landfills, and frankly, most of us don’t care. But here’s why you should: Space on Earth is finite, as well as resources like water and fossil fuels. Landfills also pollute environments by leading to toxicity in environments after rain and produce large amounts of methane (a greenhouse gas and cause of global warming). That’s why depending on landfills is not a sustainable solution to the trash epidemic wreaking havoc across America.
Plastic is a large fraction of trash in landfills and damages marine ecosystems so I believe that with science and technology progression like U.V.-degrading plastic, life on Earth can be more easily sustained. This goes along with the moral obligation that companies have to take responsibility for the waste they put into the environment. But for now, Americans need to be aware that although we do not think twice about our trash, we should think about our health and safety for us and our posterity.
We all know that feeling when the alarm begins sirening and we slam on the snooze button almost automatically, desperately craving five more minutes of rest before facing the busy day ahead. As a high school junior, I know sleep deprivation all too well. Balancing sports, drama practice, and several hours of homework nightly often forces me to push my bedtime later and later just to squeeze everything in. On weekends I almost always sleep in several hours past when I’d typically wake for school, further butchering my already unstable sleep cycle. Additionally I struggle with insomnia, decreasing my sleeping hours even more so. Often times I find myself struggling to keep my eyelids from shutting in the midst of a class lecture, or even tempted to fold my arms on my desk and rest my head down upon them during a test.
Clearly my sleeping habits have had a negative impact on my academic performance as well as my life in general. As stated in “An Underappreciated Key to College Success: Sleep” by Jane E. Brody, quality and quantity of sleep are as much if not more of a factor in the success of college students as alcohol and drug consumption, yet colleges across the board don’t seem to be prioritizing education on the topic for their students. Sleep deprivation is an epidemic among college students; the numbers don’t lie. Colleges have no excuse to fail to educate their students on strategies for improving sleep cycle, something so instrumental to the success of any student.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/opinion/weight-loss-body-positivity.html
Congratulations. We have made it to the 21st century. The time where the more curves the better. The times where people can let free. But it is also the time that talks about weight loss being unhealthy. What we don't talk about? The effects being curvy can have on your inner health.
While it is good to feel confident in your body, Kelly deVos argues that losing weight isn't all that bad and is not something that should be shamed. DeVos is a 41 overweight woman with type 2 diabetes. She argues, that if she put more work into losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, she would not have to worry about the risk of death because of her disease.
Devos' daughter is one who talks to her mom about everything. She found it hard to communicate her struggles of wanting to lose weight to her mom, because she had a feeling she would be shamed.
Maybe, the media today is teaching young girls the wrong meaning. Instead of glorifying curves and dehumanizing weight loss, there should be a clearer message out there for all women. Every women should feel comfortable in their body. But that doesn't mean they should feel guilty for wanting to put a couple pounds off. Losing weight isn't always a bad thing. Everyone has different body types and goals. If you are curvy, great! But, if you feel yourself starting to get out of control you shouldn't be ashamed to start a diet. The main thing is, be confident.
This week in the Times I came across an article " Transgender Girl, 12, Is Violently Threatened After Facebook Post by Classmate's Parent" and this interests me because of how cruel people can be today and this was just another example. It amazed me that a seventh grader goes through these things just for using the girls bathroom, and it is even more surprising that a parent goes out of their way to call out the seventh grader over social media. With kids being in school the worry for parents is usually related to children being bullied by other children, but now we have to worry about parents bullying children and putting them down for no reason. Parents should not be shocked when they hear their kids say something about how they don't wanna go to school because the environment can most of the time be very cruel and if you don't " fit in" school could be a very different experience for most. I feel horrible for kids who are different like this little girl Maddie. No kid should have to go through something like this and I'm sure her life isn't already easy for her when she is around all the kids at school. This article not only showed me how hard it is to live your life how you wanna live it nowadays, but it encouraged me to be a better person to other people especially kids at school. I think everyone should put themselves in Maddie's shoes and try to understand what she is going through before you post something on social media.
This week in the Times, I was most interested by the story of a happy family that was soon brutally killed. Yes this week a family, Mr. and Ms. Watt, as well as their two kids, were brought up to the public, but not for good reasoning. The two girls and the mother mysteriously disappeared, and was later told by the father to "come home soon." But little did they know that the father was actually the problem. Mr. Watt was later arrested for killing all three girls and actually was said to admit to the crime he had committed. The same day he was arrested, he was also fired from his job which makes complete sense considering his deceased wife and kids were found at his work site and close to where he worked. Now Mr. Watt is going to court and is being held in jail at the moment. This article was really interesting to me because I think people like that who can just kill their whole family are really messed up and they don't realize how their actions will affect other's in terms of upsetting family members and having life long enemies from that crime. If I ever knew someone personally who committed that kind of crime I would be so disgusted and would lose all respect for that person. I could never ever understand how someone could kill another person, let alone their whole family. It was so random to, it doesn't seem to add up. If you are really that unhappy with your family, why wouldn't u just get a divorce and end the problem the legal way.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/world/asia/indonesia-earthquake-lombo...
The article that interested me the most this week was about the massive earthquake in Indonesia. It is very upsetting seeing many people and tourists homeless and injured due to an earthquake. People are suffering from medical care and are in critical condition. These people have lost everything and just have each other. We should all try to help and send supplies to the people in need during this hard time. Even the little things matter.
“Argentina’s Senate Rejects Bill Legalising Abortion”
Although Argentina is a predominantly Catholic country, there are certain unfortunate conditions that Argentina meets that makes it suited for the legalisation of abortion. For example, Argentina has a whopping 14.6% of babies who are born from mothers 19 or younger. Although there are cultural differences between Argentina and a country such as China where pregnancy is expected only after marriage, 14.6% is a large portion of the total babies born and 17 out of 18 teenage mothers in Argentina are in poverty. Contrary to situations in the United States, orphanages don’t have the same resources as those in the U.S and there aren’t as many parents who are willing to adopt in Argentina. As a result of the 67% of teenagers living in poverty, teenagers are not able to continue their education in school and thus cannot develop responsible sexual behaviour. In fact, 20% of girls who become pregnant in Argentina do not finish primary school. The debate over abortion in Argentina should not be a matter of religious principles and where the Pope is from. It should be a matter of focusing on improving the education for teenagers in Argentina and allowing for them to secure a safe future that would eventually lead to having children who can follow the same path. If Argentina fixed this problem, abortion wouldn’t have to seem like a viable option to protect children.
“Transgender Girl, 12, Is Violently Threatened After Facebook Post by Classmate’s Parent”
Reading this article, I cannot go without saying this. I am disgusted and mortified. A young girl’s life and safety at school has become jeopardized after a group of adults have threatened to assault and castrate her because she is transgender. She is only 12 years old and has become a target of a hate-driven witch hunt. Bullying and harassment towards transgender individuals is something that can be expected amongst student peers, but these harsh intentions coming from grown ups is deplorable and extremely terrifying. The behavior they displayed is eerily reminiscent to the demonstrations against the integration of black students into public schools in the 60s. The opposing group’s mindset was as repulsive and backwards as the intentions coming from the Facebook group, Achille ISD Parents. It is difficult for myself to comprehend how a group of adults, who most likely have their own children, intend to violently mutilate a child. They felt the right to refer to Maddie as a “thing” and a “maggot”. How would one even consider themselves to be a moral and decent person after attacking and dehumanizing a kid?
No one deserves to encounter such vile remarks like Maddie has, and I offer her my support. It is never acceptable to harass a child and it only goes to show how much of an insensitive human being you must be.
"When White People Call the Police on Black People" - Daniel Victor
The feeling that police personal are more of threat than a force of protection is haunting, yet commonplace among the black community.
David Victor addresses how frightening it is for blacks doing nothing wrong or unlawful get profiled due to their skin color and questioned by law enforcement. He adds that black have gotten so used to these situations that it has become routine. He reinforces that fact by reporting testimonies from blacks who were just minding their own business but were
Personally, the article that interested me the most was "We Use Sports Terms All the Time. But Where Do They Come From?". Everyday, we all throw common idioms around like they're nothing, but none of us really know the meaning behind them. These phrases' denotations mean nothing close to the connotation we have given to them. Most of the terms spoken about in the article I did not know the meaning too myself, but I especially didn't know they originated from sports. The one that amazed me the most was that New York City's most famous nickname, "The Big Apple," actually originated from horse racing. Millions of people use this term regularly and have no clue what it means. I myself live in New York City and I never even thought about the origin of the nickname. I especially did not think it came from horse racing of all things. This is an article that I know I will remember, as the information I learned from it is something I will carry with me forever. I now have a whole lot of fun facts to bring up in my next conversation.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/04/us/carr-fire-ar-ul.html
This week in the New York Times the article that interested me the most was 'A Fire Tornado Hit Their Neighborhood. This Is All That’s Left.' This article showed the amount of destruction and devastation one neighborhood in northern California has faced during the wildfires. This article showed many before and after photos of objects or parts of homes that were destroyed by the fire tornado. These pictures aren't able to exhibit the true devastation the people of these towns are facing, but it gives an insight on how dangerous wildfires and other natural disasters can be. The photos showed how strong the fires were, for example, showing a before and after photograph of a children's slide when it came into contact with the flames. It also gave us the point of view of a man who had to evacuate his home when the fire was coming his way. Thankfully, he got out safely, but it talked about the chaos in the town as everyone was trying to escape with their important belongings. All in all, this article showed the destruction in a northern California town after coming in contact with a wildfire and a tornado in a descriptive and efficient way.
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This week i chose to watch “When Loud Music Turns Deadly.
This video interested me because of how often these things happen. Not even a month ago I heard that a black teen was shot by a white police officer. I think it’s crazy how we have been fighting for equality for centuries but people still end up killing people of color over basically nothing. This person decided to kill someone because they misheard something. They decided to kill someone because they thought that they saw something. These kinds of things happen too often. If those were white teens in that car none of this would have happened. The man would have just kept driving, but because of all of the stereotypes that are forced upon people of color -especially youth- he made the choice to take a life.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/business/elon-musk-interview-tesla.html
Elon Musk has been having a hard time lately, citing this year as the hardest it has ever been for him. He says he has been working up to 120 hour weeks, and recent problems have had major negative impacts on his life.
Many of these problems stem from Tesla, where false promises on twitter have landed Elon in hot water, and he has had to spend a lot of time in the factory with his cars trying to reach production goals. In the interview, he even shed some tears over this.
What interests me about this is the fact that CEO of a multi-billion dollar is making himself so vulnerable. I am interested to know if this is simply a stunt to put Elon in a better light. After all, Elon, and partly Tesla, have been experiencing heavy backlash and criticism lately. This, after some of his comments and the situation in Thailand from around a month ago.
If this is not a stunt, however, it is also interesting to me that Elon has been putting so much into his company to the point that he is enduring 120 hour work weeks. That shows extreme dedication, to the point that he is putting his company before his health.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/09/science/foxes-tame-genetics.html
An article that interested me the most was ''Friendly Foxes’ Genes Offer Hints to How Dogs Became Domesticated''. The reason this article peeked my interests was how scientists were breeding foxes and domesticating them like dogs. They only would breed the friendly foxes so they could pass on their genes so their offspring would also be friendly. But they would avoid breeding aggressive foxes so their aggressive personality wouldn't be passed down. Some of the foxes have became so tamed that some foxes like being around people more than an average golden retriever. Its interesting to see that the way these scientists are taming the foxes is the same way our ancestors tamed wolves.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/style/face-tattoos.html
This article first interested me because I am always curious about new styles and trends that are becoming popular. Another thing that interests me is body art. Face tattoos were always something that people thought were not ordinary or normal. It is surprising to me that something such as face tattoos is now becoming more popular within the public including celebrities. As we all know, celebrities have a major influence over people and can start trends that wouldn't otherwise be accepted. It will be interesting to see if face tattoos will become more popular and accepted now that well known celebrities have them as well.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/world/asia/india-kiki-challenge-oxen....
This article interested me the most because it shows the effects of popular culture in the world. The song "In My Feelings" by rapper Drake blew up as social media starts have created and influenced the use of the "Kiki" challenge. In this challenge one dances and walks along to the camera movement and the hit single by Drake. It spread like wildfire all across the United States as celebrities and people all over the country added their ow touches to the challenge. The phenomenon was spread through social media and became a part of popular culture. This challenge spread all over the world as betrayed in the article. It shows two men from India attempting and nailing the Kiki challenge. This is n example of globalization and ow many small things can bring the whole world together. It shows how small things such as songs can unify people.
“Transgender Girl, 12, Is Violently Threatened After Facebook Post by Classmate’s Parent”
Reading this article, I cannot go without saying this. I am disgusted and mortified. A young girl’s life and safety at school has become jeopardized after a group of adults have threatened to assault and castrate her because she is transgender. She is only 12 years old and has become a target of a hate-driven witch hunt. Bullying and harassment towards transgender individuals is something that can be expected amongst student peers, but these harsh intentions coming from grown ups is deplorable and extremely terrifying. The behavior they displayed is eerily reminiscent to the demonstrations against the integration of black students into public schools in the 60s. The opposing group’s mindset was as repulsive and backwards as the intentions coming from the Facebook group, Achille ISD Parents. It is difficult for myself to comprehend how a group of adults, who most likely have their own children, intend to violently mutilate a child. They felt the right to refer to Maddie as a “thing” and a “maggot”. How would one even consider themselves to be a moral and decent person after dehumanizing a kid? I stand alongside Maddie to offer her my support. No one this young should ever encounter such hideous spite.
Article title “Surprise Gift: Free Tuition for All N.Y.U. Medical Students”
By David Chen
Response written by Regina Lufrano
This article talks about N.Y.U giving out scholarships to Medical students and as a student looking at colleges and careers, I think this is a wonderful idea. School is expensive. Colleges can charge up to $100 to apply- and no refunds if they reject you. If you go to private college, well good luck, because unless you’re a genius or wealthy, debt is tagging along for the rest of your life. We’re talking debts with a minimum of $100k. That’s not even considering graduate school. How are students supposed to keep up with owing banks this large sum of money? Especially if employers require several degrees, working a minimum wage job simply is not going to cut it. Now, we can’t forget the banks have really high interest rates for students, which makes no sense because students have jobs that don’t pay a lot, leaving them in debt for at least a decade.
Making graduate school, medical school, law school and all other graduate type schools free or more affordable can prove to be beneficial to students. Such benefits include not being in debt until you’re forty with a family. I chose to respond to this article because I believe this is important to the future doctors of America and grad students all over the country. It’s also REAL news and is actually relevant to a large variety of people.
The article I have chosen is called “California Fire Now the Largest in State History: ‘People Are on Edge.’” This article talks about tha California fires that have been happening and the effects that they have had. It goes into detail on what people have gone through and the amount of resources spent to contain it.
This subject is important to me since this fire is taking place in my state. California is my, and many other’s home, and seeing it being set a blaze is something that I can’t ignore. I have lived the Golden State my entire life, and while there have been fires in the past, non have been this big or devastating. While it’s not happening near where I live, it’s still a threat and could easily spread to where I am. Californians are losing their homes because of this fire. It’s hard to watch people who are also from your state be put in this condition. I do hope the fires cease soon.
"Google Employees Protest Secret Work on Censored Search Engine for China"
Recently I flew to China to visit my grandparents and I experienced firsthand the issue this article discusses. Google and the presence of censorship.
Censorship is prevalent throughout China, especially on the internet and more specifically Google. "China has the world’s largest internet audience but has frustrated American tech giants with content restrictions or outright blockages of services including Facebook and Instagram." This means that though China has such a large internet presence, they are unable to experience the internet the way an average American internet user could.
Google employees have recently started to protest an apparent secret project employees were unknowingly working on that would allow China's government to censor internet information from its citizens. This is important and relevant because companies as large as Google should be more transparent with their work especially to its employees in regards to more ethical functions.
The article "Face Tattoos Go Mainstream" caught my interest this week as I've seen many artists get face tattoos in the past year or two and I believe it's an interesting was for someone to express themselves. Many may consider it controversial as some believe it is wrong and ugly while others think it is cool or unique. Personally, I believe it's not for everyone but if you like to use tattoos to express yourself it may not be a bad idea. Since it is permanent though it is a trend that few may follow and it may never hit its peak in popularity.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/14/us/animal-shelter-pets-rescued-vacavi...
All that has been on the news recently has been about the California wildfires and its getting worse as the days pass by. This article, however, has made me relax as I can see that everyone is taken into consideration, including the animals. I also like how its the California Police that saved the animals, as it shows that they do care about the animals that were caught in the fire. It worries me that thousands and thousands of acres are being burnt, and lives are being risked everyday. What also worries me is the air pollution the fires are causing. Just last week I went downtown and I noticed the clouds of smoke surrounding the city. The sun was red, covered in smoke and as I looked at it a wave of worry washed over me, reminding me of the world I live in today. Reading this article however, has made me feel better as I now know that the animals are being taken care of and they are not being forgotten. I hope these fires get put out soon, as there are people, and animals, that want to return to their homes.
"How to Block and Report Spam Calls and Text Messages"
I was thirteen. I was uninformed. I wanted virtual coins that I could use to buy dresses in my favorite computer game. It all seemed so simple at the time: fill out a form with no credit card required, and get a thousand coins deposited into your fictitious bank account. I happily obliged to this request, never once considering why it was so easy to get these coins which usually cost real money. I filled out my information, hit enter, and received the coins I desired. It wasn't until later that day that I realized what I had just done. I began to experience an onslaught of spam phone calls. It seemed that every five minutes I was declining these obnoxious calls, and despite blocking as many of the numbers as I could, the calls didn't stop. Even today, three years later, I have not experienced a decline in calls. In fact, the calls have gotten smarter. Instead of random numbers, I am being harassed by callers with the same first six digits of me, trying to trick me into picking up. Seeing this headline was for me, like seeing a beacon of hope in the distance. I finally received new information to help eliminate these calls which have plagued my life for the last three years. Hopefully, by implementing these strategies, I will be able to reclaim the phone number I naively pimped out those years ago.
“The Trouble With Vacations”
Honor Jones creates an argument that vacations can be a waste as people use them to get away from their regular lives instead of making themselves better. The argument is then supported by personal and general examples the author has come across. Jones gives personal support by talking about how vacations are not as great as they seem. She lists many bad experiences to show how vacations can be waste. Jones then states that she could have used that vacation time and money to better her real life. This persuades the reader to think about her argument as most people would likely disagree because of their love for vacation. She then counters these type of people who desire vacation and says their love for vacation is because of working too hard. She cites a book with many testimonies of people who do not like their job and says people want vacation because they feel their jobs are pointless. This allows the reader to see her side of the argument because Jones knows many people are in this category. She then furthers the argument by saying that vacation is only temporary and people will be back to their regular lives once it is over. Then, those workers would push themselves harder, knowing vacation will come again, tiring themselves out in the process. Jones then closes the argument by giving an example of how her father, who was a hard worker, would be home with her enjoying his ordinary days because he wanted to, not to get away from work.
Single-PayerHealthCareinCalifornia:Here’sWhatItWouldTake
California found itself on the political vanguard in America regarding healthcare this year when all the major Democratic candidates for its governorship campaigned on promises of bringing single-payer healthcare to the state. Since Bernie Sanders' presidential run in 2016, such ideas, once restricted to the political fringes, have permeated mainstream discussions. And now, while its possibility as successful legislation may be well into the future, viable candidates such as those in California are helping to give it hope.
Beyond healthcare policy, this is indicative of a positive trend that has begun recently in American politics; that is, our growing comfort with ideas like single-payer that contradict our country's historical commitment to capitalism.
While most of Europe and the rest of the developed world adopted social policies such as universal healthcare and heavily state-sponsored higher education, America's self-identification as the opponent of radical leftism in the Cold War turned us from the crusaders of human progress who ushered in the post-World War II era into staunch defenders of conservative capitalism. We shunned state intervention into healthcare, education and even transportation as anti-American, simply because of their contradiction with our view of free markets. But now, with a new generation of voters and progressive candidates, there may be hope for a more reasonable political future.
I found the article "Make Your Daughter Practice Math. She’ll Thank You Later" to be very interesting. It said that having your daughter practice math routinely can open up many opportunities for her. Studies have shown that girls often are more proficient in reading and writing compared to boys, but both boys and girls are around the same level of skill with math. However, girls tend to think they are bad at math and therefore they don't practice it often and loose the skills that they had in it. Parents should make sure their children, especially their daughters, practice math outside of school. Building up math skills helps with creating more opportunities for careers in STEM.
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“California Fire Now the Largest in State History: ‘People Are on Edge’ “
This article interested me the most this week since I live in California myself. I’m very concerned with what’s happening currently within our state, especially since the fire is not only damaging nature and people’s homes, but also killing living animals and people as well.
Although this may be the largest fire in state history, I still hope that there will be a stop to this, so no more people nor nature will be affected.
"F.D.A. Approves Generic EpiPen That May Be Cheaper"
This article interested me because i had not previously know a lot about big pharmaceutical companies. It's a shame to see the EpiPen grossly inflated when the use of it is to (potentially) save someones life. I am glad to see the F.D.A approve a new, cheaper alternative. They are especially important to children, and the upcoming school season. This new, cost effective EpiPen (100$) is doubted to come out before the upcoming school season, but we can only see. It is reported that 2.4 million children have had a life-threatening attack, a new, cheaper EpiPen is the perfect solution to the ongoing crisis due to the six-fold inflation of the current EpiPen. (600$)
in the article "You Got the Flood Warning on Your Phone. Here’s What the Damage Looked Like" it talks about how in new York and in new jersey. it shows video evidence of how the flood even clogged under the bridge and showed how the red jeep or SUV was being pushed and was making even more mess like how their was a lot of twigs or branched making some sort of barricade but still water flow through. this is interesting because where I use to live theirs lots of flooding.
Article: Parker Solar Probe Launches on NASA Voyage to ‘Touch The Sun’
This article interested me the most this week because we are continuing to make progress in space travel. In my mind, i’d never even thought we could go remotely close to the sun, but now NASA have sent out a probe that is going to touch the sun’s atmosphere. Furthermore, (and more importantly) NASA is going to collect data and learn about solar winds. This could provide us with enough information to learn how to protect our planet from a potential explosion on the sun that propels solar wind into our atmosphere. That could cause a mass power outage for months, if not years. It’s hard to think of how we would handle having no power for such a long time. Exploring deeper into space and learning new things is always exciting, especially with the attempt at flying to mars being right around the corner.
"California Fire Now the Largest in State History: ‘People Are on Edge’"
California wildfires hits close to home for me. Fire seasons are normal occurances in California, however this year the fires seem extrememly bad. Living in central California, the entire month of July meant smoky days with terrible visibility and air quality that prohibited outside activity. Family members and friends have been called away from home to help fight the devastating fire. A cousin of mine was one of these people as she kept track of the fires to help direct the firefighters. The fires of California not only affect family, but homes and infrastructure too. Personally, I have a cabin that has been threatened by fires in the past and I know it would be devastating for me to lose it. Being only a cabin, it is hard to imagine the extreme devastation of the people who lose everything including their homes in the fires. Wildfires are not something that will disappear in the near future but hopefully their effects will be lessened in the years to come.
2 Blasts, a Stampede and a 'Flying Thing': Witnesses Tell of Attack on Maduro
In case people didn't a;ready know, Venezuela is a very and place to be in right now. their economy has been crumbling for a decent amount of time. When Mr. Maduro took the stage to speak about these problems and begin the process towards a resolution, an explosion rang out. the interesting part of this was that the object that was used during the attack was a drone. This then marked the first time that a head of state had been targeted with an assassination attempt with a drone. It was very clear as to why the president, Mr. Maduro had been targeted. Since he had been re-elected, he began to institute policies that would allow for the government to crush the unrest that was in Venezuela causing 100 deaths and 3,000 people being arrested. Another very interesting thing about this was the second blast that had occurred during the president's speech. after this, the national guardsmen that were supposed to be protecting the president ran away and went into cover so that they would be safe from the explosions, while leaving the man that they were supposed to protect completely exposed. The drone that had exploded was never meant to explode. It was supposed to fall into the street, but then it malfunctioned and collided with the building. The president did survive the attack, but there were several guardsmen that had been injured.
“Trump Revokes Ex-C.I.A. Director John Brenan”
In 1989, thousands of protesters assembled in Tiananmen Square, rallying against the Communist policies of the Chinese government. What the protesters did not expect, however, was the violent reply; Chinese troops swept through the square, murdering civilians and students alike.
Fast forward twenty-nine years, and President Trump has just revoked the security clearances of past CIA director and critic John O. Brennan. However shocking, this is far from the first time Trump has tried flushing government leaders; over the past year and a half, he has fired officials like James B. Comey, Andrew G. McCabe, and Sally Yates. And connected to these people lies a common thread; each either criticized Trump or helped develop the case for Russian election interference.
There is more beneath these actions than just hatred or hurt; they reveal a man incapable of taking criticism and echo similar movements in the past, like the massacre at Tiananmen. In this democratic day and age, Donald J. Trump’s steps to silence detractors are decidedly autocratic and must not be tolerated.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/technology/infowars-alex-jones-apple-...
My favorite article this week was the article "Alex Jones and Infowars Content Is Removed From Apple, Facebook and YouTube." While I do not agree with any of Alex Jones' opinions, I feel that his websites and accounts should not have been removed. His opinions may be wrong and distasteful, but he should still be allowed to share them online as he chooses, as long as it doesn't directly violate the law. Despite the horrible things he says, his opinion should still be allowed to be shared, under the second amendment, and if we decide to silence him, where do we draw the line? If we deem it ok to silence others for their unpopular opinions, it will decrease our general knowledge and cause more ignorance in society, as new thoughts would just be instantly denied and crushed into the ground.
Since I first saw the 1998 film at the ripe age of two years old, my favorite movie has always been and continues to be Mulan. Although it’s a Disney cartoon, this film was pretty progressive for its time. Not only does it feature a cast of Chinese characters without playing up offensive stereotypes for a cheap joke, but the majority of voice actors are also of Asian descent. However, as I grew up I realized that a film like this wasn’t hard to come by in Hollywood. In over a decade I hadn’t seen another movie that featured Asian characters who weren’t the funny sidekicks or running a nail salon. This is why I was fascinated by Robert Ito’s article shedding light on the lack of opportunities for Asian actors in Hollywood. For an industry that thrives off pushing boundaries and tackling hard-hitting issues I find it very hypocritical for many directors to shy away from minority actors, especially those who are Asian. Furthermore, as if it’s not horrible enough that they refuse to focus on a unique storyline for Asian characters, but often times directors choose to white-wash these authentic Asian experiences that resonate with millions of people. Crazy Rich Asians has broken this cycle of shying away from Asian narratives and will hopefully pave the way for many similar films to follow suit, as Ito describes in his piece.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/08/opinion/wildfires-california-climate-...
I thought this article was interesting because I live in an area where forest fires are not prevalent so it was interesting to read about a place that is affected by them. Before reading this article, I had heard that California had been struck with another forest fire. Reading this article gave me a clearer insight on what happened in California, which I found pretty interesting. It also piqued my curiosity in forest fires that have happened in the past. It also talks about how the Earth has been ablaze more often than in the past. The article talks about how climate change is making the Earth's forest fires worse every passing year. The forest fire that I looked into also shown smaller impact than the one in Cali.
All in all, this article has been a great insight on forest fires in general and the forest fire that happened in California.
'Crazy Rich Asians': Why Did It Take So Long to See a Cast Like This?
First of all, I've been very excited about 'Crazy Rich Asians' for a while now. I first caught wind of it on a news website, and from that point on, I was scanning every social media website that I had, for signs of this movie. Recently, coverage has been blowing up, so I figured it was just a matter of time before 'Times' covered it. I was scrolling through this page, when I found the link I was looking for.
You may be wondering why I was so excited for this movie. The answer, I'm Asian. After 'Black Panther' came out, I began to realize how few Asians I've actually seen on the big screen. To be honest, I've lived in a sort of bubble my entire life. I didn't see myself as different. I never really looked at myself in the mirror, and thought, "Hey, you look different than those kids you're friends with!" Then, I turned twelve. I started noticing little things. My mom started pressing the idea that I was Asian, and that I had to represent our race. I had to show the world that, "Asians can do this too!" I started to feel disconnected. I figured I would never get a leading role in any major production or super hero film, (which was something I had wanted to take a gander at) because I was Asian. I thought the only careers someone like me could have, were ones that made a lot of money, and made a big difference. I hope this movie will open new doorways, and bring new opportunities to me, and the ones after.
Alex Jones and Infowars Content Is Removed From Apple, Facebook and YouTube
The article about the removing content from Alex Jones and Infowars is very interesting. The reason being is that there are so many angles that the story can take. It is possible to talk about the slippery slope of banning people from media. Or to talk about how internet companies have such a broad reach over news politics and culture. Another angle that this story can take is how removing Infowars from these sites has created a much more loyal fan base as well as introducing the content to those who would otherwise not have heard of it. Regarding the so called slippery slope of banning content from these sites it is important to note that many companies banned Infowars for hate speech. The companies that did ban Infowars had every right to regarding their terms of service. Where the controversy in my opinion arises is the fact that hate speech is very difficult to define. If language is regulated it becomes difficult to maintain free speech. If pressure is put on social media platforms to get rid of other content creators citing hate speech where is that line drawn? A differing opinion to some could be considered hate speech. If that idea gains traction, then social media companies seem forced to remove that content. Therefore people who have the minority opinion are nervous about public outcry citing hate speech, forcing them off social media platforms.
Letter of Recommendation: Used Clothing
I started thrifting almost five years ago. I like the adventurous feeling that comes with it and the unique pieces of apparel I can find. Whenever I get something from the thrift store, I never really think about its "past life" or owner, until that one time.
My friend and I went thrifting in Jerusalem. I found the perfect pair of overalls I was looking for and noticed a small orange tag with the number '403' in black inside of them. As a girl that lives in a kibbutz (a traditionally based agriculture collective community in Israel) since the day I was born, I was very excited!
I find this tag interesting and exciting because in my kibbutz, we also use these kind of tags. We use public laundry services and every family have a small permanent colored tag with a number on it. They mark their clothes with it and they have a cubicle with the same tag, that way the laundry workers know where to put the clean clothes and the locals can locate their cloths.
Nevertheless, the writer of this article Daniel Fromson write, "…used clothing isn’t just used, but rather soaked in the lives of the living and the dead." I find this quote interesting because similar to Fromson; I started to wonder too about the previous owner of my "new" and wonderful overalls.
Finally and unlike Fromson, I don’t have any information about the owner except the small orange tag. However, I have so much more connection with this pieces of clothing because of it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/upshot/opioids-overdose-deaths-rising...
This week I was interested in the article by Margot Sanger-Katz about the increasing number of deaths from overdoses. The article, “Bleak New Estimates in Drug Epidemic: A Record 72,000 Overdose Deaths in 2017” talks about how the epidemic is a nationwide problem. Drugs are being abused and the death toll is higher than any number from car crashes, gun shootings, and H.I.V. This problem is occuring because Americans are using more opioids, and also many drugs are being made more deadly now. The government has been recording these deaths and doing research in the past years on putting money into programs that can help these drug users in a better way. The article also says how some more common drugs such as cocaine and heroin may be mixed with strong synthetic opioids like fentanyl to produce more deadly drugs, depending on different parts of the country. Thousands of overdose deaths have been recorded in the last few years, but recently the yearly numbers have been decreasing. People are hoping that there will be more helpful associations started and that the decreasing number of deaths in the last year will continue to decrease in order for this epidemic to slow down.
The article I read this week was “The ‘Zombie Gene’ That May Protect Elephants From Cancer”.
Despite all of the advancements in technology that have been made in the last twenty years, doctors, scientists and researchers are still racing the clock to find a cure for cancer. Approaches today, using modern medicine, for example chemotherapy, are solutions using chemicals to target and kill cells that divide fast within your body. Unfortunately, with killing the bad cells, healthy cells such as skin, hair, and nails are also killed. This course of action cannot be considered a cure because of the uncertainty of the patient’s survival even with this treatment. I feel this article is important as it brings forward ideas about how the human body works by studying discoveries within animals such as this gene in elephants. When understanding how this gene works and which animals have it, this could also lead to a cure. A cure which would be natural and less harmful to the human body.
Alex Jones and Infowars Content Is Removed From Apple, Facebook and YouTube
The article about the removing content from Alex Jones and Infowars is very interesting. The reason being is that there are so many angles that the story can take. It is possible to talk about the slippery slope of banning people from media. Or to talk about how internet companies have such a broad reach over news politics and culture. Another angle that this story can take is how removing Infowars from these sites has created a much more loyal fan base as well as introducing the content to those who would otherwise not have heard of it. In regards to the so called slippery slope of banning content from these sites it is important to note that many companies banned Infowars for hate speech. The companies that did ban Infowars had every right to in regards to their terms of service. Where the controversy in my opinion arises is the fact that hate speech is very difficult to define. If language is regulated it becomes difficult to maintain free speech. If pressure is put on social media platforms to get rid of other content creators citing hate speech where is that line drawn? A differing opinion to some could be considered hate speech. If that idea gains traction, than social media companies seem forced to remove that content. This is why people who have the minority opinion are nervous about public outcry citing hate speech, forcing them off social media platforms.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/us/parkland-florida-nikolas-cruz.html
"Parkland Shooting Suspect Lost Special-Needs Help at School When He Needed It Most"
The Parkland shooting greatly impacted views on gun control. This case proves that signs are showed before the acts are committed. The schools should have gone into further depth on his mental issues. Clearly, they noticed something wasn't mentally wrong with him before anything happened. Things carelessly looked over such as this are what lead to mass shootings. Of course I am not blaming his decision to kill 17 kids on the school, but I do feel that it could have somehow been prevented if it had been payed more previous attention. More details that went without notice were his social media posts. He made it very clear that he wasn't mentally unstable yet very interested in military-used guns. Gun providers need better background checks before they sell any guns. If only someone had noticed something was seriously wrong prior to the shooting, 17 innocent lives could have been saved, and families and friends could be living happily together.
This week, what interested me the most in the New York Times was this article talking about older Americans having to file for bankruptcy. I think the reason this article caught my eye was because it is such a common misconception that the elderly will be cared for after retirement by social security or their retirement plans such as a 401 K. However, this is not the case for many Americans and even after retirement, many elderly are forced to work in order to make ends meet. The rate of older Americans filing for bankruptcy has increased dramatically since the 1990s. And for many of them, filing for bankruptcy just is not enough to get back on their feet comfortably. This article really helped me to think about something that I did not think about before. For all of the retired workers in America, so many are not able to live comfortably. It is so disheartening that nowadays, even the elderly who should be relaxing are having to go back to work or file for bankruptcy. This article was not something I ever thought about before or even had any idea about. I always assumed that the retired were living very comfortable but now, my eyes are opened to the harsh reality.
“What Happens to #MeToo When a Feminist Is the Accused?”
Why did Reitman wait so long to accuse Professor Ronnel? Is he just in it for the money or to discredit a public figure and what they stand for? When supporters of the #Metoo movement start to ask these questions, they legitimize those arguments, and delegitimize the cause that they stand for. This movement was created with the thought of those without a voice; the person who has been silenced and stripped of a right to feel violated and feels a need for justice. This article illustrates a scenario perfectly tailored to fit those seen throughout the #Metoo movement: a man/woman in a position of power takes advantage or violates a person below them. That victim fears retaliation, ridicule, or some other means of invalidation and so they wait until they can come up with the means or courage to seek justice. It shouldn’t matter who the person in power is. Even if Professor Ronnel is guilty of everything she has been accused of, that does not discredit her entire life. Ronnel’s legacy and ideals do not have to die with these accusations. People are complex and imperfect. This story shows how people see leaders of any movement as infallible. This should not be a moment to decide to call all accusations “fake news’ or on the other hand, to lose all hope, but a moment for those who believe in the movement to self-reflect.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/07/opinion/stem-girls-math-practice.html
The article that interested me this week is "Make Your Daughter Practice Math. She'll Thank You Later" , By Barbara Oakley.
This article reminds me, when I was little, I used to suffer with math, and I used to hate it. Then my parents started teaching me math, and they even taught me math of a higher level than mine. This is how I started to be one of the best students. Then the math was easy for me. Now my favorite subject in school is math. Math is very important in our life, we use math almost for everything, and we can also find math almost everywhere. I also agree with this article, and i think that this article can be helpful for people who read it and hate math.
In Kiki Challenge, Muddy Indian Farmers Show World How to Groove
I can open up any social media network and, most likely, there will be at least one "In My Feelings" Challenge playing in my feed. The song and dance has gone viral thanks to the internet and people all around the world have been posting their own variation of it.
Trends like these show how much the internet can bring the world together. People can live in two separate countries and still connect with one another through such lighthearted challenges. It's fascinating how we can speak different languages, have different races, and live hundreds of miles apart but still bond over a single dance.
Through the internet anyone can communicate with each other no matter how dissimilar they are. As a result, the world has gotten smaller and meeting new people have gotten easier. Online, there is a diverse group of people but all are welcome and treated as equals. For example, even if a person doesn't understand English, he or she is still able to participate in the "In My Feelings" Challenge.
This video reminded me of how connected everyone is. We no longer live in a world where Europeans only interact with Europeans or Americans only meet with Americans. Social media platforms and the web now allow anyone from anywhere to contact and reach out to one another. We can send each other silly pictures, videos, messages, or maybe even another Kiki Challenge.
Is there a way to incorporate math and Puerto Rico education and their need for humanitarian aid from Hurricane Maria? Well it may seem impossible but not for this 6th grade teacher. This week I read an article titled "When School Gets Real: Teachers Connect Classroom Lessons to Current Events" by Katherine Schulten. Teachers from around the country were asked the question of how they connect the current events around the world with their curriculum. Amongst them was Shakera Oliver who showed how she had her students problem solving solutions for rebuilding after the immense debt that Puerto Rico was in. She was able to connect a very large issue to help her students understand the impact the hurricane had while still being able to teach everything that she was required to teach. Other people like Hayley Breden have a different approach. She makes a point that, "...the more I’ve learned about issues and events in our nation’s past, the more questions I have about our present." She uses this as a guiding light to get her students to start discussing problems about how power and privilege shaped America. She also gets them to to talk about how in what ways our society still hurts from oppression and what we can do to live up to the "American ideals of freedom, equality and opportunity". This is a different yet unique way to stir up conversation. Even though these are only responses from two teachers, it still shows that these teachers are making a very big impact in the world.
"Bleak New Estimates in Drug Epidemic: A Record 72,000 Overdose Deaths in 2017"
The title of this article caught my eye because of personal family relations to the topic. Both cousins and an uncle have been touched by this epidemic, one coming within inches of death. Because of my connection, I decided to read it through and was not surprised by the majority of what I read. It's not uncommon knowledge that opiates are being laced with cheaper drugs to increase weight, and it's not surprising that fentanyl is killing people off like Pennywise from IT. However, it's shocking that overdose rates in Massachusetts have actually decreased by 10% from 2016-2017.
This information is amazing, but it's so incredible, I almost don't believe it. It's odd to me, that as a 16 year old, I only thought this epidemic could get worse. I've seen the effects, it's enough to make even the smell of alcohol nauseating. I never would have imagined that the overdose rate has decreased by so much.
Naloxone (Narcan), decreasing prescribed opiates, and increasing education and treatment of highly addictive drugs has done wonders for this epidemic, but will it be enough?
Nothing scares a teenager this day in age more than the thought of someone they love overdosing. Why is that thought in our minds? And how can we prevent overdose from happening to the people we love most?
”Google Employees Protest Secret Work on Censored Search Engine for China”
Google, a well-known company, is famous for their popular used search engine. I stumbled upon this article which featured China’s controversy with their search engine. What really interested me was that Google, the company behind the most famous search engine, stepped into the China problem. When I first read the article, I was shocked that Google was behind the censored search engine. Many of Google’s employees were outraged. NYT has covered the problem before and calling it “morally incorrect.” I was really shocked how Google is behind such a morally incorrect project. Not only did Google create this project, but it was also part of another project and helped China. To me, Google just sounds like a shady company now. Not only that, but Google stopped answering on their social media accounts after the amount of backlash. Right now, Google is in a terrible situation and will be in a worse situation if they do not fix this. Of course, Google will try to fix something, but until then Google will continue to receive tons of backlash due to their recent projects. Even their loyal employees are protesting their acts. On the contrary, some of Google’s employees actually agree with Google’s agreement with China. The employees stated, “the protests have done little pressure to China.” Ultimately, Google really needs to think more carefully about their decisions as it could lead to utter chaos.
The article that interested me the most this week was "Aretha Franklin Indomitable 'Queen of Soul,' Dies at 76.
This article interested me simply because of the title. Aretha Franklin is someone my grandmother and mother would talk about time to time, saying she was a beautiful singer. She touched the hearts of many people when she sang. Aretha was known as the Queen of Soul and will always be an icon. She was very successful. This article shared a lot of info about Aretha that I didn't known about that I believe was very interesting. She won 18 Grammy Awards, she was the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and had many more accomplishments.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/obituaries/aretha-franklin-dead.html
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/08/technology/personaltech/internet-trolls
"The Internet Trolls Have Won. Sorry, There’s Not Much You Can Do."
Internet trolls have always been a source of pain and displeasure for users of the internet. Posters and commenters thatdo their best to annoy and infuriate people by being needlesly provocative, belligerent and cruel can make using the internet quite a pain at times. And as the article says, they can be hard to avoid. However, I think the author's fundamental view of this subject is wrong: he suggests that we should try to solve the seemingly impossible problem of trolls. I say that to attempt to stop these people would do more harm than good, and the best thing you can do is just roll with the punches. First of all, you can ignore them. If you know people are trying to annoy you, you'll do best to not let them by not acknowledging them. Alternatively, you could recognize that the outrageous things these people say are often not sincerely held beliefs. When you realize this, it makes the bad things a lot less offensive. In fact, I'd recommend you just assume this most of the time, if for nothing else than your own sanity. But also, there would be consequences to censoring trolls. The internet is great because it's so free and open, and any censoring, even if justified, can be a slippery slope to targeted censorship. The way I see it, people being edgy and offensive is the cost to having such a free, unrestricted platform.
"Aretha Franklin Had Power. Did We Truly Respect It?"
By Wesley Morris
As a personal fan of soul music, I was devastated to hear the unfortunate passing of Aretha Franklin. Famously known as the “Queen of Soul”, Franklin was an iconic singer-songwriter, and pianist who never failed to amaze her audience.
The eighteen-time Grammy Award winner's most memorable song is said to be “Respect”, which was originally written by the late Otis Redding, a popular Motown artist. However, although the intended meaning of the song was suppose to be about love, Franklin's rearrangement talked about power.
Ms. Franklin has not only inspired millions, but also strongly targeted women rights and feminism. "Respect" instantly became an anthem for fighting civil rights and equality.
Franklin's messages though her song lyrics has helped people push through tough obstacles, and granted women a voice to be heard. Throughout her career, Aretha Franklin urged for respect, and eventually received what she had been fighting for.
Growing up, all I was ever exposed to was the intoxicating and overwhelming presence of superheroes. My father grew up idolizing them, then passed on the torch to me, to relive his own childlike astonishment at their feats of greatness. These god-like individuals have gained popularity over the years, moving from comics, to television, then onto the big screen. Superheroes have been known to spread their ideals of peace and justice, but there seems to be more to what they influence than what we originally thought.
In the article, “Why Are We Obsessed With Superhero Movies?” author Mark Bowden interested me with his opinions on the ever-growing franchise of the superhero movie business. One of the points he brought up was about the battle between good and evil. In superhero stories, it’s practically required for good to triumph over evil, even if that means that “superheroes and villains persist in hurling large objects at each other long after it is clear this has no effect.”Also, superhero movies tend to use current events to draw in larger audiences and help make it more realistic. Some topics that have been covered in recent movies are racism, oppression and corrupt governments. This sheds light on issues that can get forgotten in the ever changing news. Superhero movies are not only a way for people to come together to see good triumph over evil, but also where we can see the problems we face every day in society, and learn to work together to create a better world.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/05/world/asia/bangladesh-students-protes...
Protesting has achieved great things in history. Whether it be the founding of America, the fall of the Berlin Wall, or India's independence from Britain, the act of rising up against the unjust has been prevalent in achieving greatness. Oftentimes, however, we do not view the hardships that those who participate face, rather only the end goal that they had achieved. In Bangladesh, thousands of students had took to the streets to protest unsafe roads in Dhaka, where 2 students lives had been taken. The response from their government was disheartening. The police were sent out, beating down crowds and jailing students. Their internet speeds were drastically decreased so they could not spread word of this great injustice. The most important tool we have against their corruptness is our memory. This article might catch our attention for the meantime, but once we forget, we go on with our lives, while others still remain in suffering. We must remember to support those in need, as our passing glance at a headline is not enough to end the horrific nature of violence against these peaceful protests.
As a personal fan of soul music, I was devastated to hear the unfortunate passing of Aretha Franklin. Famously known as the “Queen of Soul”, Franklin was an iconic singer-songwriter, and pianist who never failed to amaze her audience.
The eighteen-time Grammy Award winner's most memorable song is said to be “Respect”, which was originally written by the late Otis Redding, a popular Motown artist. However, although the intended meaning of the song was suppose to be about love, Franklin's rearrangement talked about power.
Ms. Franklin has not only inspired millions, but also strongly targeted women rights and feminism. "Respect" instantly became an anthem for fighting civil rights and equality.
Franklin's messages though her song lyrics has helped people push through tough obstacles, and granted women a voice to be heard. Throughout her career, Aretha Franklin urged for respect, and eventually received what she had been fighting for.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/opinion/sunday/losing-my-son-to-readi...
As the son of Ukrainian immigrants, I’ve always struggled with the English language, unable to twist my tongue around complex words or form eloquent sentences in English. From a young age, I always knew that something was different--I pronounced words strangely and my vocabulary more was limited.
And so, I turned to books to improve my English. I would retreat into the furthest corners of the library and submerge myself into the latest books—a tale of pirates searching for lost treasure or a young princess preparing to rule a magical kingdom. These books satisfied my young mind's curiosity and imagination. But something was missing; I wanted books that would stretch me, books that would help improve my English speaking and writing skills. And so I read even more, trading fairy tales and pirate stories for novels on real life stories of adventure and discovery, triumphs and failures.
And soon, I found myself lost in the pages of these books. On my quest to improve my English through reading, I had distanced myself from my family. Instead of greeting my mother after a long day of work, I was in the library, fixated on another story of heroism.
And that is why this article stuck with me, because, like the author, I too used books as an escape and soon realized that I was escaping not just from my struggles, but also from my family. Improving my English was not worth losing my family.
Today in The Times, I read “The Scientist Who Scrambled Darwin’s Tree of Life.” I found it fascinating that a new type of microscopic creature named, archaea, was found in extreme environments. They are single-celled, lacking parts of a bacteria, with no cell nucleus. Also, they consumes carbon dioxide and produces methane. These organism fall in their own category. They are not bacteria, and they are not like everything else that is living. The article spoke about a scientist called, Carl Woese, who compared the RNA found in organisms’ DNA with other organisms to find out how they connected in an evolutionary way. He then used this idea to propose changing Darwin’s tree model of evolution with two main branches to three branches. Also, Charles Darwin had the branches diverging. Woese wanted to create a diagram where organism were passing traits across species and interconnecting. This shows how even staples of science can change over times as technology advances and as great minds come up with new ideas to progress it. Amazing!
Reflect on this, in 1800s American women lives were completely dominated by the male. Their only purpose being to seek a husband, birth children and serve the man. Now fast forward to today 2018. American women control their own lives, our society has birthed several female leaders that embody the sense of confidence and power, women have worked towards for years. From mega-singer Beyonce to political powerhouses Hilary Clinton, women have come along way not only in America but in several different countries across the world that broke free of patriarchal ideologies, and accepted men and women as equals. Although we champion the success of women all across the world, there are still countries in which women are unfortunately fighting for that level of freedom, Saudi Arabia being one of them. Saudi Arabia’s strict restrictions against women has set them behind other countries vastly. However recently Saudi Arabia began slowly breaking away from these strict restrictions, the first Saudi Arabian Fashion Show being one of them. Women’s fashion all across the world has influenced culture widely. The Saudi Arabian Fashion Show not only allowed female designers to display their pieces but it allowed them to creatively express a new sense of fashion that may defy the standards of SA culture. When you think of fashion shows, you think of Paris, Italy, and New York, which places such an emphasis on how important the Saudi FS was, by highlighting the progression of women in SA culture.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/us/transgender-oklahoma-school-bullyi...
A 12-year-old girl gets attacked on Facebook by childish parents about her being transgender and using the girl’s restroom instead of the faculty bathroom.
In an article written on August 15, 2018, they reference a Facebook post made by parents that have kids that attend a public school in Achille. They make it apparent that Maddie, a girl new to the school, did not know where the faculty bathrooms were, which were the bathrooms that she was supposed to be using, so she used the girl’s restroom. The article also reports that not only was Maddie cyber bullied by parents, her parents were verbally assaulted. The day after, the school shut down for two days for protection of the kids.
I believe that based off of this article, the adults were acting childish toward the girl and her family. The adults are provoking their kids to be bullies toward Maddie by acting like this. I agree with the family’s decision to get an order of protection against the original family that made the attack because now the family cannot abuse them in any way, shape or form to hurt the girl or her family anymore.
Although I do not connect personally to this story, I do feel for the family and their children because no one deserves to be treated like that. In any case the person, or child in this case, is still a person no matter if they are transgender or not, so they should be treated just the same.
The Catholic Church rarely hesitates to critique the actions of millions. With the Bible as artillery, the leaders of the church constantly proclaim that we follow the “truth,” and thus control mankind. Any action against His word, they claim, is a sin.
However, the Church illustrates that they do not practice what they preach. “Catholic Priests Abused 1,000 Children in Pennsylvania,” says that for the past seventy years, the Pennsylvania Church has been hiding over 300 cases of abuse, with victims including a boy harassed as a baby to a girl raped by a priest after she had her tonsils removed. Church leaders knew about these occurrences, yet covered them up for fear of negative publicity. The institution of the Church proves themselves hypocritical and cowardly. How can one preach God’s word, yet dismiss the disgusting actions of their own? How cowardly must one be to forget their moral code simply out of fear of the press? Self-preservation proves itself the only motivation, reputation imperative, and justice irrelevant.
Unquestionably, homosexual relationships and sex before marriage are sins according to the same man who raped a young girl—the same man who has no difficulty publicly preaching sex as blasphemous but has abundant difficulty admitting their own errors.
The abusers must face retribution for their actions and must lose their positions. Bridging the gap between clergy and people is equally as critical—we must create a conversation to prevent abuse.
“The Internet Trolls Have Won. Sorry, There’s Not Much You Can Do.”
The main thing that interested me about this article was that the author seemed to despair about the current state of the internet when I instead saw it is a hopeful and productive space. Additionally, I was confused about the fact that a statement like “our faith in the internet may erode until we distrust it as much as we do TV news” could come as a surprise or even still be true after all of the years that have passed since trolls started trolling.
I thought this because, from the time I was little, my parents and my teachers had stated the classic line “don’t trust anything you see on the internet.” And though the line seemed kind of harsh, I admit that I’m better off having heard it and taken it to heart. If anything, the people who “cave to their temptations to lash out” online have helped me better understand people in real life and readied me for the potential bullying I would face in school. I learned early not to respond and didn’t have to worry about getting into a fight or losing the respect of my peers through a gossip war. There was just something about an anonymous battle online that seemed to reveal how truly dumb we were being.
Because of this reason, I can honestly say that the internet trolls can be beneficial if you are willing to learn from their mistakes and, unlike what the article states, people who learn will be the ones who have truly won.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/world/europe/gay-afghanistan-man-asyl...?
The article that interested me the most this week was about a teenage boy who was denied a place to stay because of stereotypical assumptions made about him and his sexuality. The LGBTQ community has grown lately and is a controversial topic to talk about. I personally have mixed feelings about this as a Catholic. However, every person deserves respect despite their sexuality. This boy was leaving the country where he lived because of possibly being punished for who he is. He tried to find an asylum to stay at in Austria and was rejected. Afghanistan, his home is strictly against LGBTQ people and they will receive five to fifteen years in prison. He has chosen to stay in Austria in hopes of security. I couldn’t even imagine having to hide something about yourself and not feeling safe where you live because of it. I couldn’t imagine having that burden to carry around and finally being relieved that you’re safe but being told you don’t meet the standards to stay. Nobody deserves to feel that way. Everyone deserves respect and acceptance for who they are. That is why this article interested me in particular. There are over seven billion people in the world and not one of us is alike or ever will be alike. We are all different and unique in our own ways and that’s how God made us. It’s 2018, we need to start accepting others instead of tearing them apart for who they are.
“How Your Brain Morphs Stressful Family Vacations Into Pleasant Memories”
Having recently returned from a family trip, this article’s discussion of our mental perceptions of vacations immediately caught my attention. I have frequently noticed a contradiction between the idealized concept of a perfect vacation and the rushed, stressful reality of it. When reminiscing about a trip as a whole or looking forward to the next getaway, I tend to view it as a sort of automatic escape to paradise, but when trying to recall specific memories, the first things to come to mind are delayed flights, sibling bickering, and long hours in the car.
I was surprised to learn that I am not alone in these feelings. In fact, there is a valid reason behind them: people are so eager to have a positive, valuable experience that they manage to convince themselves of just that. The idea of spending quality time with family in an exotic place is enough to nullify the less-idyllic reality.
Initially, these findings fascinated me mainly because they concisely explained a phenomenon which I had wondered about for years. I eventually realized, however, that much more value could potentially be gleaned from this knowledge. If we are capable of tricking ourselves into having a good time merely by believing we ought to, why should this ability be limited to vacations? Could school, work, or chores be turned into tolerable or even fun experiences simply through having a more positive mindset?
This week an article titled, "Should You Choose a Female Doctor?" interested me the most. The reason this article interested me the most is because of all the statistics and facts that they shared through out the article and how they helped me as a reader figure out what type of doctor I like the best. Even though I did enjoy reading the article, it also brought some questions and skepticism about whether or not what they were saying was one hundred percent true. Even though they had reliable sources it kind of felt like the facts that they shared were reworded in ways that helped the argument and proved that women are better primary care doctors than men. This article put a lot of thoughts in my mind and it made me really think about who I like better as a physician. Also the article is based one hundred percent on facts but what about the people that just prefer the same gender as they are, if they are not comfortable with a doctor of the opposite sex should they still go to one? This article is trying to sway you to use a female physician even if they say that men could possibly do a good job too. Even though I have some questions, overall I really enjoyed this article.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/arts/music/respect-aretha-franklin-de...
Aretha Franklin’s career was undoubtedly one of the most successful careers in music to date to the point where Rolling Stones named her best singer of all time. Her powerful voice and her ability to grab the attention of a wide audience gave her the status that she has in the music industry. She had the ability to transform the meanings behind songs such as her widely known song “Respect” which originally was a love song written by Otis Redding and completely changed the meaning of that song making it a song of both racial and feminist empowerment. She asserted herself through her music, and as mentioned in the article seemed to be a “call to national arms” during the years of the Civil Rights movement. Because of all of these things Americans were able to connect with the singer in a way that they weren’t able to with other artists at the time. Americans truly did respect Aretha Franklin for her personality and her talent.
I wanted to learn more about the life of Aretha Franklin, as a result I chose to watch “Remembering Aretha Franklin” by Natalie Reneau, Jon Pareles, and Natalia V. Osipova. I have been interested in Aretha Franklin ever since she sang with Carole King at the Kennedy Honor Awards. I quickly noted her powerful and captivating voice and was mesmerized. Ever since I have been interested in learning more about Aretha Franklin but never seized the opportunity to do so. Furthermore, She was known as the “Queen of Soul”, the video expressed, “They started calling her the queen of soul in the 60s, and nobody argued”. Aretha Franklin had an indisputably amazing voice, as demonstrated in songs such as “Think”. This single describes a warning shot in a relationship, and was one of the few songs Aretha Franklin wrote. In addition, I found it fascinating to learn, “Aretha Franklin had more than 100 singles on the Billboard charts.” Some artists struggle to get one hit on the Billboards, this was clearly not a challenge for Aretha Franklin. To continue, apart from singing, she was also involved in the Civil Rights Movement, throughout the 60s. She was close to Martin Luther King, and her song “Respect” was an inspiration for both women and civil rights. Therefore, Aretha Franklin was not just a singer, she was an inspiration to both music and culture, and one to be remembered.
“Trump Wields Power of His Office to Punsih a Critic”
This article really interested me because Trumo removing John Brennan’s security clearance basically admits his collusion with Russia. President Trump had no real reason to revoke this security clearance as the article mentions, saying “Clearances are typically revoked for cause, because of a security concern like alcoholism, financial problems, health concerns, or the mishandling of classified material.” Since Me. Brennan doesn’t have any of these problems, his clearance had no reason to be revoked and it’s just Trump trying to silence someone who helped start the Russia investigation. Trump didn’t even follow correct protocol when revoking a security clearance, showing he is abusing his office and making a mockery of his own office and the nation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/07/opinion/stem-girls-math-practice.html
"Make Your Daughter Practice Math. She'll Thank You Later." This article interested me on its views on how gender affects learning capabilities. As a male I always felt that I was better as math and science than I was at english and writing. I've been used to having that one definite answer, rather than having to express and elaborate on certain ideas. I was surprised that this article pretty much said that it had to do with gender and also learning strategies. The author explained that teachers should be more interactive and I agree with that to a point. However, I do feel that STEM jobs are taken mostly by males and women should feel like they have an equal right in that department.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/08/opinion/wildfires-california-climate-...
For someone who has spent her entire life on the East coast, West coast wildfires can seem like they are a fiery world away. However, as the temperature of the world continues to rise is it possible that these dangerous blazes may start knocking at our door.
Wildfires destroy forests, homes, business, lives, and release dangerous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It is scary to think wildfires can affect the health of lungs, the smoke and particles people inhale can cause lung cancer. A small change in wind can send fires speeding in a new direction catching people evacuating in the dangerous flames. Countries are now going as far as to include special building requirements in fire-prone areas. The truth is humanity has the ability to reduce the intensity of wildfires, and if we do not change they will affect all of us. Everyone needs to practice fire safety and reduce our carbon footprints to prevent our shared earth from becoming an earth ablaze.
“Something Not Rotten in Denmark”
I’m leaving for a European excursion soon, and I’m pleased to say that my first stop will be in the socialist hellhole of Denmark. The food’s good, the people are nice (and easy on the eyes) and there’s less of a political furor whipped up around the word “socialism.”
Just like its counterpart, the word “communism,” “socialism” within itself is not a dirty word, nor is the concept. It’s just the fact that that word has negative connotations with certain people, people who shouldn’t have obtained power in the first place and who have enforced regimes run rampant with corruption. However, conservative media outlets have turned the word from a mere political ideology to a word any gun-toting, beer-swigging American should be revolted at upon hearing the first letter. This is a startling example of illusory truth and how a simple word being repeated constantly can change the preconceived notions of an entire nation.
Having a Socialist regime doesn’t make you immediately corrupt, nor does having a capitalist regime make you a saint. Nobody looks back at Stalin and claims that the Communist regime itself made him an unpopular leader. It’s how he spun the ideology into his own personal bloodbath, which made him so hated. The point is, despite all the science and geography, people make politics. Despite stigmas around certain words, good people will be more likely to accomplish good things, no matter which ideologies bind them.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/technology/personaltech/security-wifi...
Since I always have my phone when I go out, I wanted to learn more about the safety of connecting to free Wi-Fi networks. When I found the article "The Security of Cellular Connections" by J. D. Biersdorfer, I was surprised to find out that people make free Wi-Fi networks to steal your personal information.
By using your personal data connection instead of connecting to random Wi-Fi networks, you can avoid losing any valuable information. Even though personal data connection is safer than random Wi-Fi connections, it can still be infiltrated. Researchers found vulnerabilities in the 4G LTE technology, but it would take a lot of effort to infiltrate a phone using a personal data connection.
If you want to protect your personal information when using a random Wi-Fi connection, the safest option is a virtual private network or VPN. A virtual private network encrypts and secures your connection. This makes it difficult for others to take personal information. Cellular networks such as Verizon and AT&T announced a new 5G network, which will hopefully fix any security issues and prevent any personal information from being stolen.
The Self-Driving Car Industry’s Biggest Turning Point Yet
The article that interested me the most this week was about self-driving cars. It’s pretty cool to think about not having to worry about driving. In a few years self-driving cars will be perfect and more common than they are right now. In March there was an accident that killed one person involving a self-driving car. The company Uber was responsible for this car. This really makes people think if self-driving cars are safe or not. I think that in the future after they are perfected they will be trustable. I believe that whatever the problem was will get fixed for sure and a problem like this won’t happen again. I think self- driving cars will prove to be safer than human drivers.
"Donald Trump and the Black Athlete"
After reading this article, I realized how much power President Trump possesses in a single Tweet, and that may not be the greatest thing. Our President is known for having little to no filter and can say things that can surprise citizens at times. President Trump can write a paragraph and send it out, notifying followers and spreading his thought world-wide within minutes. So the second that Trump tweets something out that seems a little outlandish, millions of people around the globe are already texting and talking about what had occurred. After this tweet was posted, people began to view our president as a bigot and a racist, when this is a completely inaccurate description. Morgan Freeman had once said, "The only way to end racism is to stop talking about it." When President Trump insulted LeBron James, he would've said what he said despite the color of James' skin. People immediately jump to the conclusion that he insulted this athlete because of his skin color, continuing this Country's greatest conflict, slavery. If we want it to end, we need to stop talking about it and stop creating false accusations.
This week, the article “Oscars to Add ‘Popular Film’ Category, Creating Questions” by Brooks Barnes caught my interest. One of my favorite things to do every year is watch the Oscars. I knew the telethon hadn’t been doing so well in the past few years, with their dropping ratings and increasing length, and seeing a new category being added seemed like an interesting idea, especially one titled “Popular Film.”
I like this for two reasons. One, it makes the Oscars more relevant for general viewers, and two, because popular movies that critics tend to snub will get a spotlight at the prestigious Oscars. This had actually caused a change in the Oscars before, when the 2008 Christopher Nolan movie “The Dark Knight” was excluded from the Oscars despite being very popular even among critics. In a direct action the 2009 Oscars widened their selection of movies to ten.
While I understand that more artistic movies, like 2018 best picture “The Shape of Water,” deserve a spotlight and recognition, it’s also important to recognize the work that goes into the blockbuster movies that aren’t as popular at the Oscars despite doing well in the box office. For example, “‘The Shape of Water,’ had sold about $60 million in tickets at the time after playing in theaters for 14 weeks. “Black Panther,” by comparison, took in $202 million over its first three days in North American theaters alone.” Despite the current backlash, I believe the new category will be an excellent addition to the Oscars.
Climate Change Is Complex. We've Got Answers to Your Questions.
By: Justin Gillis, Illustrations by Jon Han
How can we help stop global warming? I was interested in this article because I personally wanted to know what I could do to stop global warming. The first thing you can do to stop global warming is tell your family and friends. Some ways you can stop global warming are to turn lights off when you are not using them, unplug things that don't need to be plugged in, drive less miles and ride your bike to the store that is close by, waste less food, and eat less meat. In fact, taking one less plane trip a year could do as much to help climate change as all those things put together. If we conserve energy then we will release less carbon dioxide and then the carbon dioxide won't trap the heat in the atmosphere. In the future if we all use electric cars then there won't be as much pollution because electric cars don't release carbon dioxide and we can stop global warming from getting worse. We need to start getting more of our energy from clean sources such as the wind turbines, hydroelectric dams, and solar panels. If we don't stop global warming then ice caps will melt, flooding many coastal cities; many animals and plants will go extinct because of the climate change; and we will have drastic weather effects. Let's all help do our part to save energy and reduce the effects of climate change.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/05/world/asia/bangladesh-students-protes...
This article interested me this week because of the stunning violence surrounding something that here in America, would never need to be discussed. Safe roads and orderly traffic seems to be one of the major factors in the expanding U.S. and creates great economic structure with commerce and travel. It’s sad to see that in another country full with beautiful people just as important as ourselves, that life gets slowed down due to dangerous roads and huge death tolls. There seems to be no explanation to why thousands would gather to protest and block streets after an epidemic has been noticed. One person dying is enough for a change, let alone thousands. The fact that the officials in Bangladesh have compared traffic accidents as ‘not as bad’ also brings to mind that they really have no plan to fix this situation other than to ignore it. Thousands in the streets are calling attention to the problem the governments corruption has caused and their response is to angrily ask for the people to stop. Without uproar there will be no change and that is why America stays on top, because we listen to the people and allow for change and difference.
“In Kiki Challenge, Muddy Indian Show World How to Move”
The In My Feelings challenge other know as the Kiki challenge is another challenge everyone is doing all around the world. It has gone viral last month when Drake released the song “In My Feeling”. Everyone dances to the beginning of the song where it say, Kiki do you love me? Are you riding? Say you’ll never ever leave form beside me. Cause I need you... This challenge is one of the more dangerous challenges because everyone is jumping out of there car while it is running to do this challenge. But it is still fun to do and I will admit my friends and I have done it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/07/us/california-fires-mendocino.html
This article popped my eyes because my sister lives in the southwest, in close proximity to the wildfires. She currently lives in Phoneix, AZ, but three years before now she was living in the danger zone, known as California. My sister primarily resided in San Diego area, where the Cranston Fire is currently occuring, according to the article. Although the fires today seem formidable, even when she lived in the area, wildfires were transpiring. One day, in the summer, cases were so extreme her boss made everyone leave work in search of a safer location. My sister did survive though, making an escape 350 miles east.
It seems like the wildfires increase degree every year. As I learned from the article, it is due to climate change. As the climate gets hotter, conditions ideal for wildfires persist and even worsen, creating the chance for further destruction and potential deaths. Within one year, wildfires have killed "40 people". If these fires continue and have the potential of becoming more vicious, more lives are at stake.
Firefighters are doing everything they can to hinder the wildfires, but it has been proven difficult to even contain the fires, especially with a limited amount of resources. Plus, putting out fires with gallons of water generates the chance of mudslides. This year, " more than 20 people were killed in mudslides."
Still, firefighters are doing what they can to lessen the destruction.
Google Employees Protest Secret Work on Censored Search Engine for China
We all know Google is the definition of a perfect workplace. Suited with an environment that anyone would dream to work at. Just what doesn’t Google have? And that is why this article caught my attention. Seeing how workers suddenly protested against Google was mind-boggling. Google has, “traditionally been more responsive to employee concerns and more transparent about future projects and inner workings than other major technology companies, inviting questions from workers at its staff meetings and encouraging internal debate.” Google was always known for open-minded, so it makes sense for workers to feel worried and doubtful about the company
This article shows just how important it is for a company to always be transparent and to let their workers know exactly what the company is planning on doing. By being open and encouraging, a company can help build trust with their workers which is exactly what Google did; however, that trust was broken. By not allowing their employees to know what they are doing, this raised suspicions and fear within the workers. The workers want to make sure that the company they are working for, and the work that they are doing is beneficial to everyone Any relationship can be broken with a simple lie or secret and it is vital to tell the truth. Google needs to tell its employees everything that is on their mind so that their strong relationship can be built again.
“D.J. Durkin’s Program Under Scrutiny as Maryland Parts Ways With Strength Coach” By: Jere Longman
As a fan of college football, I was shocked when I had heard that this happened. A player dying from workouts, at least to me, seemed like a huge deal. Before this I hadn’t heard about any of other cases, 3 since 2013 according to the article. Hearing the tragedy of Jordan McNair’s death, has made me a bit more weary of what happens in college football. I had always figured that the blue collar type of determination and work put in by players and so heavily pushed by coaches. I was wrong.
After hearing the testimonies of this article about different kinds of diminishing behavior that goes on in the Maryland football program, I have since determined that this needs to change. I’m not arguing that hard work shouldn’t be a part of the training in football. I’m arguing that things such as belittling players by having them eat candy bars in front of the other players while they work out, or making others eat till they vomit for the same reason, or verbally diminishing players after they pass out should not be allowed.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association has gotten into a lot of trouble when regards to the safety, and treatment of players. As a new fan to college football, it appalls me how little regard for the players the NCAA has, sure I’ll still support my favorite college teams, but it fills me with dread that to do so, I'm supporting this despicable organization.
In a world where I have grown up in the majority, I have seen myself represented in every form of media. If I want to see a white person on television, all I have to do is tune into any given channel. However, the article "'Crazy Rich Asians': Why Did It Take So Long to See a Cast Like This?" challenges that norm, and proves to Hollywood that we need more diversity in media. According to the article, "The last time a major Hollywood film set in the present day showcased a majority Asian cast was a whopping 25 years ago." The last time a major Hollywood film set in the present day showcased a predominately white cast was most likely last week.
Growing up white, there are many aspects of life that are easier for us. We are very privileged, and a majority of that privilege remains unchecked. We have opportunities that many others do not. However, a movie with a majority Asian cast opens up doors for many overlooked actors, as they get their foot in the door of a typically white washed room. We live in a world where white woman (Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johanssan, etc.) are more likely to be cast for an Asian role than actual Asian actors. With movies like 'Crazy Rich Asians' and 'Black Panther', movies with storylines that are typically riddled with white people are showcasing new talent and providing a platform to minorities, which, by this point, is rightfully deserved. Of course, Hollywood still isn't perfect, but this article shows that it's making progress.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/style/face-tattoos.html
"Face Tattoos Go Mainstream" written by Steven Kurutz was the most interesting article of the week to me. The fact that so many different opinions and theories surround a topic as simple as a tattoo is very strange to me. The article gives multiple viewpoints from different groups in society, which vary on a subject like face tattoos. For example, people of older generations like my grandparents might see face tattoos as related to criminal activity, while I see it as someone's choice of body art. Most kids my age would agree that a face tattoo is just a choice someone makes and that it does not define who they are or make them any less of a person in any way. The article describes how our society is very quick to judge someone with face tattoos, already deciding in our minds that they are a certain type of person. Personally, I think each tattoo someone gets probably has a deeper meaning to them, and is something only they understand, therefore there is no reason for me to judge them. The article also gives opinions from tattoo artists, who think it is a rite of passage to get a face tattoo, and not just anyone should get one. Similar to this, many rappers associate themselves with face tattoos, so much to the point that less popular rappers will get face tattoos just to fit in. I disagree with the article in that face tattoos will never be a mainstream feature about your average person.
This week, the article "Surprise Gift: Free Tuition for All N.Y.U. Medical Students" by David W. Chen immediately caught my eye while I was browsing through.
New York University has decided to cover tuition for all of its students in the medical program. "What!?" I thought, it was just too good to be true. However, the reason for this gift was simple. Too many students were leaving with heavy debts weighing over their shoulders, therefore, the students all pursue higher paying occupations in order to pay back that debt. However, this leaves the jobs in being pediatrics and such to stand unpopular.
In the medical world, every medical professional is needed in order to ensure the well being for all. If things such as debts are going to weigh down others by making them work higher paying occupations, we may lack the family doctors we need.
This truly is a gift. Students can now pursue a path at NYU that they would like without the pressure of needing to earn enough to pay back debt.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/style/dating-apps-online-men-women-ag...
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Men are trash. Period….. Ok you know what fine, not all men. After all, Obama is male. Still that doesn’t change the fact that we have a huge problem in America, you might even call it a disease, an epidemic of sorts: Men just don’t know how to behave around women. This article made me, an adamantly agnostic person, shout up to the heavens to ask why, just why. I know I’m being a tad melodramatic but that’s simply because I have to make up for the total lack of response from some people. Has it really become so commonplace, so mainstream to see young women sexualized in media that we don’t blink an eye when we’re told a 50 year-old man would rather date a woman whose 18 than someone their own age? Large age gaps aren’t cute, they aren’t attractive, and they shouldn’t be as common as they are. This article reaffirms what we’ve known for a long time, we need to change the way we are raising our boys. We need to teach more boys that it is okay to cry, it is okay to be sad, it is okay to be happy, and most of all, it is okay to be vulnerable. So remember men, before dating or even interacting with women, Ask yourself WWOD? What Would Obama Do?
I read the article titled “The Age That Women Have Babies: How a Gap Divides America” by Quoctrung Bui and Claire Cain Miller because I have never yet heard of this seemingly insignificant thing applying to a larger society. I always knew that the age someone decides to start a family greatly affects their own life, but I never thought of it dividing the nation. However after I read the article, I realized how this is an endless cycle separating different social classes. Studies found that women with a higher income tend to have children later, after they graduated from college and established their careers. Women who don’t go to college have children younger, as they consider starting a family the best beginning to their adulthood. This immediately puts the children whose parents waited at an advantage, as their family has the money to pay for activities and sports, which in the long run affects their likelihood of getting into college. I think it is important that we utilize this information to inform young people that it is important to try to get an education or establish their careers before starting a family because it makes it more likely that their children will be successful.
Finding It Hard to Focus? Maybe It’s Not Your Fault
Every day, I find myself back to where I was a minute ago, checking my phone. It’s become such a habit, turning on the screen to see if any new notifications have showed up, that I don’t consciously notice I’m doing it. My phone becomes a whole different world that I can jump into, endlessly scrolling through Instagram until the day is over and nothing important has been accomplished.
This article shed light on a problem I recently began to notice the severity of. We are all so wrapped up in our phones, giving our attention to the advertisers who need our consumption to fuel their companies. Apps create new ways to grab and keep our concentration for as long as possible, such as Netflix’s auto-play after each episode of a show, allowing you to keep binge-watching for as long as you don’t feel like closing out. The internet is the new guilty pleasure, that can spiral into a never-ending addiction.
Phones are no longer fascinating, new technology, but devices we feel vacant without. We all experience an almost interminable need be constantly connected. But for what? To see that one new funny meme? To be the first like on a friend’s post? Almost everything on our phones is so superficial — likes, follows, Snapchat streaks — and we need to start to see that our extreme affixation with our phones is not healthy or worthwhile.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/us/chris-watts-kills-pregnant-wife-da...
Chris Watts 2 daughters and 15 week pregnant wife went missing earlier in the week, Chris did an interview on his home porch begging for his wife and daughters to be found. “Shanann, Bella, Celeste, if you’re out there, just come back,” Mr. Watts said, staring into the camera. “If somebody has her, just bring her back. I need to see everybody, I need to see everybody again. This house is not complete without anybody here.” On Wednesday night Chris was arrested and accused of killing his family which he later confessed too. This article was so heartbreaking, it was so hard to believe that he killed his family and still proceeded to do an interview begging for his wife and children to come back when he killed them.
The article that stood out the most this week was Michael Powell's "Donald Trump and the Black Athlete." The article focuses on racist remarks that came out of Donald Trump. He commented on Don Lemon's interview with Lebron James by saying how Lemon made Lebron sound smart even though it isn't an easy task. This comment not only targeted the NBA player but instead targeted those of different color by questioning their intelligence. Trump believes in a white supremicist ideology that everything a white man does is better than a black person which is not the case. It's a shame how history has progressed so far in reaching a place where everyone is equal despite skin, race, and gender, but there are always some people who hinder the movement and in this case being Trump. He refuses to accept universal equality and this will create bigger problems in the near future.
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2018/08/14/technology/14reuters-usa-immi...
We're living in a time of great fear. Whether this is fear due to the current administration, or concerns over the environment, there are many things to become aware of. As soon as I saw this title my eyes grew to the size of the moon filled with concern.
At first, I was in utter disbelief at the fact some people in society can tread upon the Bill of Rights in the way that they did. The fact that our founding fathers put the freedom of speech and press, religion, and the right to assembly as the First Amendment shows just how important it must be. Our society still has to question how much freedom we should be allowed after 229 years of ratification of the Constitution.
Of course, much of this stems out of the way the current administration is running our country. They use many red herrings to hide the truth of their actions. This restriction just drives us to search for the real revelation behind the secrecy. We as citizens have to investigate everything.
As a young adult, my opinion and participation in politics will greatly impact my future. As I am also in AP gov at the moment, learning about what is occurring around me is very key. I am always keen to learn how to further protect myself, especially because I don't have white privilege. Arming myself with information like how this government policy works and how activists are fighting it enlightens me as a citizen.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/03/opinion/americans-are-terrible-at-sma...
This week what interested me was the article about small talk. I can say that I am not good at small talk. I find it awkward and uncomfortable at times. In this article,though, I found out why Americans don't lean towards favoring small talk. A lot of people think the conversation with an acquaintance needs to be deep and personal. When in reality it can be a short little random chat. Finding out this exact reasoning is the main reason I chose to read the article. I find myself trying to ask general questions that almost everyone uses. The repetitiveness can get really boring and ultimately lead to nothing further to talk about, once the question is answered. I really want to learn how to make lighthearted conversations and not go on and on about something no one really cares about. The point of small talk is to familiarize yourself with an acquaintance, not learn their life story in one conversation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/opinion/sunday/drug-overdose-survival...
Overdose is a topic that can silence a conversation. After hearing about it, many people feel awkward and usually sad. However, most people think you either just die or return back to normal. Sadly, the harsh truth is that survivors do not always return to being "normal." This was the case of Andrew Foote, a heroine, and opioid addict. Due to the effects of his overdose, Andrew needs to eat out of tubes and cannot speak clearly. Stories like Andrew's really put the effects of overdose into the spotlight.
Personally, for me, this story is really moving. I know people, and some my age, who have overdosed and haven't been normal since. I want Andrew's story to be shown to kids all over the country, so they can learn about the harmful substances they are getting into.
The article i read this week was called “Should you choose a female doctor?”. I found this article interesting because i didnt think the gender of a doctor had anything to do with their quality of care to patients. Growing up, the doctor my parents loved the most was a male. He explained everything very well and took his time with his patients. The article explins that from studies done it shows that most male doctors are not known to do that, i guess mine was one in a million.
On the other hand I do see where female physicians can be better listeners and caretakers for their patients. My current dermatologist is a great doctor and i never feel rushed to end my appoinments with her. If i wanted to she would sit there and talk to me abount everything. She thouroughly adresses concerns i have and explains wha i can do at home to help myself. While the dermatologist i tried out before her was horrific. He had terrible bedside manor, i said why i was there, he asked about 3 questions, made a diagnosis and was done and sent me on my way. It was a very abrupt doctors visit to say the least and I was not a fan.
“Face Tattoos Go Mainstream”
Tattoos have always fascinated me, I’ve dreamt of getting one since I was a teenager. Nevertheless, I never truly understood the reasons behind them and why people wanted to experience the pain of needles digging into their skin. As years have gone by, trends have changed. Face tattoos have emerged and recently become popular, inspired mostly by rap artists and musicians. For the most part, I disliked them and thought they looked strange. After reading this article, I actually did get a clearer understanding of why people choose to get these ink creations. Many people who possess face tattoos want to express themselves and showcase to the world who they really are. Society has also become more accepting with this type of body art, which hopefully only continues as time goes on. Nobody should be able to judge anyone else on their own attributes and body, people should be able to feel comfortable in their own skin and satisfied with what they choose to do. Face tattoos give us an opportunity to set ourselves apart from one another, each of us are able to represent ourselves and artistically express our emotions, thoughts, and whatever else goes through our minds.
The article that interested me the most in The Times this week is " ‘Crazy Rich Asians’: Why Did It Take So Long to See a Cast Like This?”. This article is about a very much anticipated movie, ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ being the first movie to have a majority Asian cast in the last 25 years. It tells the importance and the struggles of finding the perfect all-Asian cast for the movie. The director of the movie, Jon Chu, sent out a video casting call, asking for any Asians interested in being part of the significant movie to send in two-minute videos. Since it has been so long since an all-Asian film, there was a huge response to his video. However, problems came up about who exactly should be able to play which roles due to each characters cultural background. This article caught my eye instantly. Considering that I recently saw this movie a day ago, I see why it was so important to the director to make sure the cultural backgrounds match. Although the movie had a typical plot, the actors made it so much more real. I think what made the movie so wonderful was not only the love story but the cultural meaning as well. The actors made the movie highly authentic. This movie is also a huge step toward progress in representation. There are very few movies and shows that have non-white actors. I think this movie will help that change. Perchance better diversity in movies and shows won’t happen overnight, but this movie should show we are on the right path. ([email protected])
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/29/world/asia/malaysia-child-marriage.html
I found this article interesting because it shows us the different practices of Religion and how different it is from being catholic. An 11 year old girl was forced to get married to a 44 year old man because it was a practice, I find it very interesting to learn about other religions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/technology/infowars-alex-jones-apple-...
As companies like Google and Twitter become more influential in our everyday lives, an increasing amount of people are going to internet sources to obtain their information, whether they need to find local news, catch up on the political scene, or learn a new skill. Since the internet allows for anyone to put information out to potentially massive audiences, it was inevitable that someone like Alex Jones, who holds many controversial opinions, would find their way into the limelight. Jones's opinions are so controversial, in fact, that four different tech companies have taken action to remove media posted by him. Discussion has taken place on whether companies should be able to censor users like this, and I felt this was a really important and interesting topic. Since these companies are private companies, I feel they should be able to select what content is hosted on their sites, though only things that violate the terms of use should be taken down, else mass censorship becomes a risk. Jones tended to speak hatefully in appearances on his InfoWars podcast, which I think gives the companies the right to purge his content, as it seemed to serve no constructive purpose. In the future, I am curious to see how tech companies handle their massive influence over how people receive their information. I would like to challenge them to use it for good, as well, not for private reasons.
I find the article, "The 'Zombie Gene' That May Protect Elephants From Cancer," the most interesting because although cancer is still an ongoing issue for humans, other mammals have evolved and have become protected from it through their genome. In addition, it is interesting to read about the possibility of another species, with mutated versions of some of our genes (p53 and LIF), holding the answers to the cure for cancer or new and more efficient treatments to help the patients. For instance, the article discusses that elephants have the p53 gene, but have a mutated version and 20 times the number humans have, which allows them to efficiently initiate the death of a cell that contains damaged DNA. Therefore, while our cells respond to p53 by attempting to repair the damaged DNA, the elephants' respond to their mutated version by destroying it, which ultimately prevents damaged DNA from being passed down or replicated. Additionally, it is interesting to see how a slight mutation can lead to another chain of reactions. For example, the article states that p53 activates the mutated version of LIF, LIF6, to produce proteins that destroy the damaged cells. It does so by penetrating the membranes of the mitochondria,which causes it to release its contents, poison, and kill the damaged cell. Overall, it was intriguing to read about how the mutations in elephants' genes can prevent cancer, and how further research can lead to treating and curing cancer within our own species.
The article I chose for this week was “‘Crazy Rich Asians’: Why Did It Take So Long to See a Cast Like This?”. The title caught my eyes because I heard many positive feedbacks on the movie and will be seeing it very soon. Crazy Rich Asians is the first movie to have a large Asian cast in the last 25 years. The creator of the movie expresses the difficulty of finding an all asian cast. The director sent a message out to attract some asians to be apart of the cast and luckily he received a lot of responses. One of the biggest concern with the casting was with the lead actor Henry Golding because he is half white. So the cast felt like they were “white washing “ the movie.
Article link:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/learning/summer-reading-contest-week-...
The earthquake that hit Indonesia was quite devasting for the country's natives and also for the tourists who were on vocation in the country. Although it is not reported that any tourists have passed away due to the horrendous earthquake, tourists are fleeing the country in fear. Many villages have been destroyed due to the natural disaster, leading to homelessness for many natives. Due to the fact that Indonesia is located in the Ring of Fire, earthquake and volcanoes are prone to occur regularly in the country, but this eurthquake has caused significantly more causualities than other natural disasters that have occurred in the country. There are an estimated 98 causulaties. The after shocks of this earthquake have also contributed to the amount of casualties, which have been randomly shaking the country and causing unexpected disturbances. Natives who have been affected my the earthquake are currently seeking shelter. These people are in horrible health conditions due to injuries from the earthquake. My condolences go out to the families who have been affected by the natural disaster and who have been displaced or have lost loved ones due to the earthquake.
"‘Weaponized Ad Technology’: Facebook’s Moneymaker Gets a Critical Eye"
With election season just around the corner, candidates who hope to run for a position in our government begin to use a process called “microtargeting”. This process tracks down people who are most interested in the ad contents. Now, companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter are allowing microtargeting to occur on their sites so candidates can be in touch with their voters. Most recently, Russian groups have been found with ties to microtargeting in American elections. They have been using microtargeting to track down non-white voters and steer them away from voting in the first place. However, what the Russian Kremlin group did in 2016 was what surprised me the most. The Russian group paid Facebook to direct an ad at people interested in African-American culture, history, and various other topics. Once they found those people, they made statements which would make people more inclined to vote such as “Black girl magic!”. But when the election came around, claims such as “No one represents Black people. Don’t go to vote” were released. To avoid history repeating itself, Facebook has changed their rules and removed almost one third of microtargeting parties in May of 2018. They have also removed the feature to allow advertisers to block a certain group of people on one specific ad, so now everyone can see one advertisement and cannot be directed towards one group.
“Venezuela Cuts to Fight Inflation (Zeroes From Its Currency, That Is)”
This week what interested me was the article on the Venezuela and its economy. This had me interested because I knew that the economy was bad, but the president has this plan to save it. His plan is to recreate the currency, and get rid of some of the zeroes. He hopes that this will then lower the prices of the items and help the economy. There is an issue in that plan, economists thought about the plan, and they think that this change would only be a cosmetic change, and not help the cause. Then another economist believes that this will either make it either the way it was or worse. Even shop owners are worried one shop owner has changed the prices over 40 times this year. Another shop owner is scared of what is going to happen, so he isn’t opening on Monday when the new bills come out. But the issue that the countries income hasn’t been doing well, their income is oil which had a mismanagement, and lost 1.2 million barrels in July. What made me interested was knowing what the state of the Venezuela is in, and to see if the plan would help or hurt them.
“You Know Who the Tax Cuts Helped? Rich People”
Republicans said they would help the country economically since there is a struggle for people that “live paycheck to paycheck”. The items on the list that the voters had to look forward to was a higher salary, an uproar in investments, and a shortage in taxes that would pay for itself, thus meaning nobody would suffer. With the author stating this in the introduction, they used the failures to come through with these pledges as argument to prove the loss that average citizens face, but that the wealthy gain. The writer used graphs, statistics, and facts to prove, how not only are the newly made changes only beneficial for those of more wealth, but how it may miss those aspects as well. First off, a statistic shown was about the little to no progress seen in the raise of wages over the last year, the numbers show the lack of money the everyday workers are receiving when they were guaranteed more. To go along with the data, the author provides a graph that can visually show the reader what the statistics say. For example, one graph shows the investment percentage increase with the new plan, however workers won’t be investing billions of dollars, a business will, thus meaning the wealthy are at an advantage. Lastly, the new plan cannot be helpful towards the wealthy either since the numbers show the tax cut cannot pay for itself. The mistakes are noticeable and all that matters is that they are resolved before lives get hurt.
The article that interested me most this week was F.D.A. Approves Generic EpiPen That May Be Cheaper by Sheila Kaplan. This article caught my attention because I have many friends who have EpiPens, and I know how expensive they can be. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA makes the generic EpiPen. The current makers of the EpiPen are Mylan, and they have raised their prices sixfold since 2007. The F.D.A. accused EpiPen's manufacturer Pfizer for failing to report malfunctions in which patients became severely ill or died after the device did not work. In conclusion, a generic EpiPen would lower the cost of a life-saving device, and help improve a national drug shortage.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/health/epipen-generic-drug-prices.htm...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/world/asia/india-kiki-challenge-oxen.... "In Kiki Challenge, Muddy Indian Farmers Show World How to Move", was the most interesting article in this week's Times. Lately this song has been VERY popular with all ages around the world... the challenge consisted of people dancing outside of the car while it was moving. Not in these Indian farmer's minds though... the fact that they used the ox intrigued me and got me thinking that places around the world may not have the modes of transportation that I have access to everyday! Being able to participate in this challenge with what they use to get around everyday in their village is shocking to the public, and a reason why the short clip has gone viral.
"After a Director Dies, Friends Finish His Life’s Work: A Zombie Musical"
by John Anderson
A zombie musical is an curious idea for a movie. When I began reading about the late Ryan McHenry's plan to produce such a film, I was a more than a little skeptical of how it would turn out. The idea seemed like it could easily turn out awful. However, in the hands of the right director, it could work, and according to McHenry's team, he was the best guy to do it.
McHenry and his team began producing a short titled "Zombie Musical" in 2014, though McHenry sadly passed away a year later, before its completion. However, in the years since, the rest of the film's team finished the project, which has been circling numerous film festivals. A commercial release of the feature is planned in November.
What struck me the most about this article was the film team's determined attitude. While never directly discussed, it is clear that the team had a strong desire to finish the project, as they expanded their staff and even found a new head director to ensure the project reached completion. Additionally, the feature will be put under the new director, John McPhail's, name, which I personally found to be very big of the team. Of course, Ryan McHenry will still receive acknowledgement, however the team wanted to stress that the film belongs to McPhail.
This film is worth sharing, partly because of its story, and partly because it looks very, very good. An easy smash hit- creative- and funny.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/style/face-tattoos.html
Of these available articles, "Face Tattoos Go Mainstream" instantly caught my eye. As a teenager with very reasonable parents and a very good upbringing, this title intrigued me since the very prospect of a tattoo at all would be inconceivable to me without a stern stare from my entire family come the holidays. However, the title is slightly misleading. When it refers to face tattoos being mainstream, it is referring to them gaining a slightly larger footing in some areas. Since tattoos in general are considered taboo in many workplaces, they as a whole are not extremely common. Even less common are tattoos in areas which are very prominent, such as the face. Now back to the title, I felt slightly mislead by word mainstream since they only notable examples of public figures with facial tattoos were rappers (and Justin Beiber) or athletes. All of the rest were of younger people who are also in non mainstream lines of work. So initially I was slightly surprised and interested by the title of the article, however having read it I wish that it went along the lines of reality. Something similar to "Face Tattoos becoming more prominent in the tattoo world" rather than such an outlandish claim. prior to reading the article I would not expect my school principle to show up with at tattoo on his face and having read the article that mentality is still there.
Article: ‘Argentina’s Senate Narrowly Rejects Legalizing Abortion’
This article interested me primarily because I didn’t know Argentina was voting on the issue of abortion, and secondly because I was curious about the responses of the supporters of the law. I am Pro-Life, and was relieved to hear that it didn’t pass, especially since Ireland recently made abortion legal. But I wanted to hear the stories from the supporters, to understand the feelings of both sides.
The fact that this proposal got so far means that a lot has changed in the region. Argentina is a primarily Catholic, and therefore conservative, country. But just like in the US, different views have been spreading. The feminist movement especially has made its way into many places. And many of the supporters of the legalization of abortion were feminists. The law was almost passed; that i n itself shows how much the opinion of the public has changed. The state is growing farther from the Church, which could mean in the future laws like this will pass.
The Church, however, took a strong stance against the proposal. In recent years the Church has realized that they need to take a stand and vocalize their beliefs about abortion, which they did.
Only the future will tell if things will change in Argentina. The next thing to begin to change will most likely be the connection between the state and the Church, and time will tell if that connection weakens or grows stronger.
I chose the article “Designing the Death of a Plastic.” This article caught my attention because I believe climate change and the effects are one of our World’s biggest problems. In this article, Dr. Feinberg is researching ways to create a degradable plastic. The main issue with plastic pollution today is that it is created to be as durable and long-lasting as possible. This is bad because when it is thrown away, it has no place to go and starts to build up in the landfills and the ocean. Plastic is popular because it is so cheap and is easy to throw away, and that is why creating unzipping polymers with weaker plastic will allow for easier recycling. Dr. Narayan, is looking for a quicker solution to the single use plastics by using biodegradable products instead. This can combine food compost and all of the packaging that is involved as well. This article also proved an interesting point that the idea of recycling is great but if sorted incorrectly, it will still go to the landfill. As well, unzipping polymers are completely recyclable but they have to be properly sorted too. The EU and other cities have proposed ideas of banning the single use plastics but in order to save the planet, everyone needs to work together to come up with the best solution. It is not acceptable that our trash is destroying not only our environment, but the ocean’s as well. If this proves anything, it is that it is time to create a better option other than plastic.
The article that immediately caught my eye was "Face Tattoos Go Mainstream". Lately, I have been seeing more and more celebrities with these tattoos. However, when I was younger it was such a taboo place for a permanent tattoo. I remember looking through magazines and watching interviews on television and no celebrities were seen rocking these tattoos. In current society, many rappers have these face tattoos. But it is not just rappers, it is also models and people of other professions. Surprisingly, there are even famous females with their faces inked who make their appearance regularly in the media. It shocks me how society can be so against something, but later on, accept it and be proud of it years down the road. In the article, one man even mentioned that if he were to see someone with a face tattoo a few years ago, he would walk on the other side of the street. Obviously, he is joking but it still comes to show that people with face tattoos used to be looked at differently and given certain stereotypes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/us/arrested-voting-north-carolina.html
Lawmakers have been refusing some people the right to vote, which is very troubling to hear.
In many states, such as North Carolina, it is illegal to vote while on probation or parole. Offenders who are convicted can face up to two years of jail time, even if they weren't aware that they were voting illegally. People who support the ruling that felons shouldn't vote state that they have bad judgement, which is what got them into trouble in the first place. This system doesn't seem all too fair.
There are some other states, such as Vermont and Maine, who DON'T strip felons of their voting rights. If they allow these people to vote, why can't states like North Carolina do the same? In addition, everyone is victim to bad choices, not just criminals. Some citizens can vote for whoever they desire, even if their choice is completely illogical to others. Also, if lawmakers don't make it legal for felons to vote, they should at least make it easier to understand that it's illegal for them to vote in the first place. Everyone's a citizen, and a crime shouldn't strip someone of their rights.
Currently I'm 16, and I sometimes make rash decisions. I'll be able to vote in the next election, but I don't usually pay attention to politics, meaning that I'm probably just going to vote for whoever. I'm quite confident in saying that there are others just like me who would make similar choices.
Bengal12Alex191044
"Indonesia Earthquake: At Least 98 Dead and 20,000 Homeless"
This article interested me the most this week because it shows the struggles of people outside of the US. Indonesia clearly went through very difficult times through this earthquake. For 20,000 people to lose their homes, this must have been massive and devastating. You would think the people would be upset from this tragedy, but judging from pictures and videos, they seem to be coping with their losses and showing their gratefulness to be alive.
"A Reckless Scheme on Auto Emissions" written by The Editorial Board provides an important thought process which will be likely cast aside by the Trump Administration.
The Editorial Board published an opinion article detailing the Trump administration's decision to hurt the 2012 agreement dealing with fuel efficiency. They claim that this will cause more emissions and provide no true upside to the working class American people. Not only is the Trump administration attacking Obama's 2012 agreement, but they are also attacking the ability of California and other states to set stricter standards due to air pollution issues.
The Editorial Board produced a strong opinion backed up with facts.
Trump officials believe that decreasing fuel efficiency would increase safety and reduce traffic accidents. This is directly counterclaimed by the Editorial Board which utilizes evidence from scholars and statistics to prove that the officials' thesis is complete nonsense.
I disagree with the Trump administration that dealing with climate change isn't important. It should be very clear that if left unchecked, carbon emissions will cause devastating natural disasters for generations to come. It may be that the administration is only thinking about the past when it comes to their science policy, unfortunately.
“A Generation Grows Up in China Without Google, Facebook or Twitter”
This article grabbed my attention for two reasons. First, as a person without a social media account I was interested how do other people live without “normal” level of connection to networks. Second, being a Russian citizen, I hoped to compare some aspects of life in XXI century China and Russia.
Surprisingly, I found myself familiar with the position of the teenagers in the article. In fact, the phase “I don’t need it”, that many non-users of Facebook and Twitter say, explains my stance as well. Why would you text people when you have got friends to hang out with in your area? I understand that it may be very tempting - I myself experienced this feeling when many of my friends talked about their social media – but the amount of time it consumes is not worth it.
It is a whole different story when we are talking about taking personal liberties from the people. When I lived in Russia, I faced similar restrictions although they were less harsh. These limitations were more political than informational, meaning that it was dangerous to criticize the government, but people still had the access to the Internet (including Google, Social Media, etc.). It was not comfortable, but it was livable. This situation in China is very sad and in several aspects is even worse than in Russia. I hope the conditions there will become better as every human should have the freedom of speech and access to information.
"Bots And Propagandists Are Just Part Of The Problem. The Bigger Issue Is Your Brain"
By: Katy Steinmetz
In today's world, the internet is overflowing with "fake news" that attempt to brainwash the public into believing false information through careful manipulation that even the smartest of us aren't immune to. What I found interesting was that the author mentioned an article that seemed professional and credible on the outside (professional-sounding organization name, the web address ended in .org, citations seemed credible) but underneath the superficial features was a horrendous, scheming organization. This story is shocking since students are often taught to trust .org and .net articles when doing research since these websites are usually government or non-profit websites that provide unbiased information with positive intentions without the thought of gain or manipulation. Many news organizations such as Fox News and Breitbart News provide biased and false information. This quandary of who to trust is "the equivalent of a public-health crisis" (Alan Miller). How are we supposed to trust anyone if we can't even trust the highest authorities? However, there is a solution. By bringing awareness to "digital pollution" people will be informed of the toxicity of the internet and coalesce as a society to tackle this issue together. Though a small step, uniting together as a society is the dire first step to escaping our doom.
This week, I read the article, "California Fire now the Largest in State History: 'People are on Edge,'" by Tim Arango and Jennifer Medina. This was very interesting to me because of how these fires have become large enough to have firemen sent from New Zealand and Australia to help deal with them. More than 13,000 firefighters have helped put these fires out just this season. They have such an impact on everyone in California that the Coast Guards and firefighters can not even wait for someone to report a fire; they have to see it coming and be there waiting for it. I feel as the fact that these fires have become the largest in state history definitely has to do with global warming. Many factors along with the fires, such as warm weather on the East Coast lasting well into the fall season, leads me to believe that global warming is a prominent issue for the human population as a whole that we need to deal with. This article brought this idea to me, which is why reading about the California fires was the most interesting article that I have read on The Times this week.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/31/science/king-penguin-decline-antarcti...
I found it very interesting how scientists know so much about the patterns of King Penguins on Pig Island, even though they only have satellite images and no one has been there in 36 years. This makes the facts in the article questionable because the data that they are comparing is not the exact same. For example the original count in 1982 was taken in person, but the current data is only taken from satellite images so the two can not properly be compared. In the data, it says that the penguin population increased after the El Nino but then decreased significantly to bring the population to the point that it is at now. The article also says that the penguins relocated to a different island and it states the specific amount of pairs of King Penguins on the new island. While this information is likely, it is also unlikely that scientists could know such specific information with such little data. Until scientists go to Pig Island during fall of this year, we will not know the true population in comparison to the population in 1982.
“Can Airport Workers Pull Out of a Financial Nosedive?”
The article, “Can Airport Wokerts Pull Out of a Financial Nosedive” by the Editorial Board gives the Board’s opinion on the low pay job bloom and in particular the situation with the Board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The authors of the Board believe that minimum wages must be raised and that a resolution to raise the minimum pay for airport employees to nineteen dollars an hour.
The Editorial Board did a great job of finding evidence to support their stance, even going to the airports and asking employees how they felt about their pay. As it states in the text, “You can see the sadness on his face when he says that his pay is so low that, even with occasional jobs as a bouncer, he cannot afford the fees for the summer football program his son loves.” This real life testimony makes the reader really sympathize for the workers and therefore also create their support for higher hourly wages. On top of a few testimonies the article is also filled with facts on how the resolution to raise the pay would work showing the reader that the process would be implemented in a five year process and showing the reader that the New York and New Jersey airport industry would only be miniscually affected economically by this pay raise. In conclusion, the Board explains their opinion through facts and testimonies in a way to sway the reader to believe their opinion.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/11/movies/eighth-grade-review-bo-burnham...
According to Manohla Dargis, "Eighth Grade" is a touching film that focuses on an ordinary teenage girl and the monotonous yet ever so important actions of a girl through her preparation for high school. In a world full of social media and fake perfection, Kayla, the main character, struggles to find herself. Her unpopular YouTube videos that she makes are important for her growth and understanding of maturing.
I agree with Dargis in her interpretation of the film. Every video serves as a life lesson. The videos are diary entries that she can go back and watch to see her progression in life and express herself in a place where she is comfortable. Throughout the movie, Kayla comes to realize she does not have to try to be someone she is not. The film is an excellent representation of teenage years in the 21st century as it is a realistic representation rather than most fantasy high school movies.
As a teenager I understand the social media pressures shown in the film. I see people trying to fit in by pretending to be someone they are not on social media and around my school. I enjoyed and relate the story of "Eighth Grade", as it captured the true nature of the journey through teenage years.
This week I read the article, "When the Menu Says 'Organic,' but Not All the Food Is" by, Priya Krishna. I decided to read this article, because frequently I've eaten at all "organic" restaurants. And, since there is no real way to tell what is organic and what isn't I found this article appealing. This article discusses how a man, who had, had surgery and needed to eat more organic meat, had been eating at a restaurant that said their meat was all organic. When he saw a frozen meat truck pull up he was told the meat was 75%-80% organic. As it turns out, no restaurant has to tell the truth on weather or not their products are completely organic. Then, it goes onto say how the use of all organic product has become widely popular currently. This article was very interesting and I enjoyed reading it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/opinion/sunday/the-orca-her-dead-calf...
Of the Articles available this week, "The Orca, her Dead Calf and Us" immediately caught my attention. For the first part, the title alone instantly demanded my focus. A title as jarring as that shot to the forefront of my sight and broke my heart. In addition, this article told the story of a mother Orca whale, whose calf lived about 30 minutes and proceeded to keep the calf above water for 10 days. This was perhaps the very saddest thing i have heard in quite a long time. While some would try to comfort the more compasionate with words like "the whale was simply unaware" or would provide the timeless: "It's just an animal" response, the fact of the matter is that whales have highly developed brains, are self aware and it is more than likely that this mother whale was mourning her dead baby.
At this point in the article I was quite upset by just about all of it. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that we are most definitely the reason her poor little calf died. The calf did not have enough blubber to float in the water; this was because of the malnutrition of the whales in that region (and all over) due to over-fishing. This is what we have done to the world. The article ends with a call to action to help save the whales from this again.
The article that interested me the most this week was “The ‘Zombie Gene’ That
May Protect Elephants From Cancer” by Carl Zimmer.
Based on their size, elephants have tons of cells which increases their chance of having a mutation that will lead to cancer. I was surprised to learn that elephants get less cancer than humans do. According to a team of researchers, elephants have 20 copies of p53 genes that respond to damaged DNA, while humans have only one copy. I learned that the p53 gene activates LIF6 gene that kills damaged cells. This discovery is revolutionary because it could help inspire scientists to find a cure for cancer.
I found this article interesting because it reminded me of another article I read about elephants at risk of extinction. Elephants fascinate me with their ability to empathize, communicate and mourn. I thought “How could anyone harm an elephant?”
After learning about the “zombie gene”, I think elephants need to be protected more than ever. This “zombie gene” ironically revitalizes dead cells, which saves elephants and could save humans. Now that elephants are even more valuable, I hope this discovery is enough to save these beautiful animals.
This week I read "‘Crazy Rich Asians’: Why Did It Take So Long to See a Cast Like This?" by Robert Ito. As an Asian-American myself, this article instantly interested me. Through different social media platforms, I could tell that this upcoming movie gained many interest from others. The majority of the cast are Asians, which is not viewed much in Hollywood. The last movie produced in Hollywood, with a mostly Asian cast, was the "Joy Luck Club", released in 1993. Not only is Hollywood known for discriminating Asians in their films, but whitewashing also occurs in Hollywood movies. If a character in a movie is supposed to be a specific ethnicity, I don't understand why they feel the need to change the character. The article also discusses disagreements occurring around one of the main cast members,Henry Golding. Since Henry Golding was only half Asian, many controversies surrounded the argument. Many people believed that the cast should only consist of full Asians and not mixed Asians. In conclusion, we should appreciate the new upcoming movie for allowing Asians to finally be represented in Hollywood.
"In kiki challenge, Muddy Indian farmers show world how to groove"
It's crazy to me how far internet can bring things. The fact that a challenge made in the us went worldwide is amazing. "A comedian named Shiggy then posted a video of himself dancing exuberantly to the song on a deserted nighttime street, in a pink sweatsuit. That video went viral." I bet when Shiggy made it he didn't expect it to blow up like it did, but now his challenge is being done all over. I never expected someone would do it with oxen instead of a car. The internet is such a big outlet for comedians to express themselves. Someone literally can live off of posting videos online. His video gave him an opportunity to meet so many people such as drake and have celebrities with lots of clout do his challenge. It's crazy how anyone can become famous over night. I wish i could be one of those people.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/09/opinion/do-songs-of-the-s...
“Why Songs of the Summer Sound the Same”
By Sahil Chinoy and Jessica Ma
Picture yourself driving throughout your hometown, windows rolled down in the warm summer heat. The radio is loud, and you are listening to the new songs that have released that summer. The music is euphoric, as it seems to be every summer. Through further research on the patterns of every song that had been considered a “summer song”, the authors of the article I had read cracked the code on why these songs make us feel the same way.
The article that interested me the most this week was “Why Songs of the Summer Sound the Same”, due to some luck that I had just come into. This week, I had won two free tickets to the Billboard Top 100 Music Festival and have been researching the artists and songs that are going to be performed. Every summer song has a similar pattern, designed to make the audience feel a certain way. It also intrigues the audience to listen to these upbeat, loud songs. One producer in particular creates the many of the top hits that have been considered “summer songs”, all along the same musical pattern. The artists included on the setlist to the music festival are people that have created “summer songs”, causing me to think if this was done on purpose to target a certain audience; Teenagers that love the upbeat sound of the summer.
A Generation Grows Up in China Without Google, Facebook or Twitter by Li Yuan
I enjoyed this article because I thought it was intriguing to learn about how and why China’s internet system is different than my own. This article explains that for the past decade in China, foreign websites such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have been blocked and replaced with the country’s own versions that are meant to serve similar functions, but with censorship. Doing this allows China to promote its own value system to its citizens and keep out Western liberal democracy. One person, Shengjian, said that a family friend told him the websites were blocked because they were not appropriate for the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Doing this has led to many young people living in China who do not even know about these websites that Westerners are so familiar with, and most of them do not seem remotely interested in them because they are used to the ones they already have that do almost the same exact thing. I honestly think that this seems to be a little controlling and personally wouldn’t want websites to be censored in this way for myself, but the idea of a country making their own applications to censor and block values they don’t want their people to have is interesting, especially because the citizens themselves don’t seem to mind it.
Bengal9Jennifer082504
The article that interested me the most in the times this week was "Kroger Tests Driverless Cars for Grocery Deliveries" by The Associated Press. Recently, Kroger designed a driverless car that can take groceries from their stores directly to the customers home. I found this quite interesting because I like the idea and I can see it thriving. I liked the idea that the car only opens to a certain code because that way they know the food made it to the right place. It was interesting to see how other big companies such as Walmart are trying to incorporate today's technology into their businesses. I am quite fond of this idea, however, I think there are huge competitors such as Postmates and Uber that can easily outshine newcomers. Postmates allows their customers to order groceries with the push of a button. I would much rather see a friendly face at my door than a car without a driver. In the article, the author also mentioned how some Walmart's are offering a self-driving car service to customers who order online. These cars will pick up the customers and drop them off at Walmart to receive their online order. It is similar to Uber, however, no one is driving the car so it may make the customers feel safer. On the other hand who feels safe in a car that drives itself? Overall, I think the idea could use a bit of tweaking, but I think it can be quite helpful to those who are unable to get groceries themselves.
Although I have been exposed to classical music for my lifetime, I only started appreciating its beauty about a year ago. When I read the article, “Curious About Classical Music? Here’s Where to Start”, I was reminded of how I came to enjoy this genre.
In the article, Tommasini recommended attending a many live performances such as symphonies, ballets, and operas. Ironically, although I had much exposure to all of the above, they were of little influence to me.
What I found most helpful was visualizing classical music. For example, whenever I heard or played the Moonlight Sonata, the manic, agitated, yet steady pulse of the left hand gave me the image of someone running at a furious pace. With the right hand, melancholy melodies contrasted with clashing chords, resembling a weeping wind interrupted by sudden thunder. By combining these visualizations, I no longer thought of classical music in terms of notes, but rather as an open-ended narrative.
Additionally, by developing my own interpretations of certain pieces, I was able to connect with music on a more personal level. Such pieces included the Goldberg Variations, a work that is seemingly simple and vague; the composer put very few indications on how the performer should play. Thus, I could freely combine my own temperament and style with the notes, allowing me to discover and express the hidden complexities and character of not just the music, but also of myself.
During this week as I read through the New York Times, the article in the health section: “Why Sitting May Be Bad for Your Brain” has interested me the most. The article mentions how sitting for a long period of time slows the blood flow with in our brains. Scientist have done studies that show when people sit for more than two hours their blood flow decreases. Just a few minutes of walking and light exercise can fix this problem. This made me think about school and how being a student we sit in classes for hours and just by walking for two minute could help restore the blood flow to our brains to help us not be so tired. Studies have also shown how sitting to long can affect one's posture and slackening in the legs.
Just by reading the title, I was able to make connections to my own daily life. It made me think of how often I personally sit for more than thirty minutes straight throughout the day without taking the time to get up and walk or stretch. Coming home from a long day at school I will sit in bed and do homework for hours without moving. I think that if everyone took the time to realize how much they sit in the same spot during the day and added just a few minutes of exercise, it could make a healthy impact for your body.
Week 9 ~ 7/16/18
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/07/opinion/stem-girls-math-practice.html
What interested me in the times this week was an article titled, "Make Your Daughter Practice Math. She’ll Thank You Later." This article caught my attention because growing up I always struggled with math. I think girls feel insecure about whether they can do specific things or not. In this article, it states that if girls simply think "I am not good at math. I can't do it" then they will not succeed in math. But if parents work with their daughters so they feel confident enough to say "I can do this" then they will succeed. Girls, in fact, have the same ability to do just as good as boys in school. If students think they are better at English than math. It doesn't necessarily mean that they are bad at math. This could ultimately lead the girls to maybe wanted a career in the STEM field.
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Article: "Students Pour Into Dhaka’s Streets to Demand Safer Roads"
This week in the times I was fascinated by the protest currently occurring in Bangladesh. The wondered how driving laws in countries like Bangladesh have been such a joke. whenever watching a video of the traffic it looks like a chaotic mess and the fact that the government has turned a blind eye is baffling. One would think that enforcing traffic laws would be a priority for a government, increasing economic growth, while decreasing injuries, pollution, and congestion. Unfortunately, the obvious answer to such negligence is corruption. According to Dari Kahn, a young student, the problem can be attributed to officials receiving bribes to gain “some illegal benefit”. This, to me seems very vague. Who would want to bribe government officials to not enforce road laws? Regardless, it seems the citizens have had enough.
Not enforcing such laws may have been acceptable decades ago, but Bangladesh has a rapidly increasing population. The country has a population of over 160 million, all crammed into a mere 57,000 square miles. It seems that the increasing population density has finally caused unrest. The people want order and responsibility from their government. The government has used tear gas to disperse protests, while in other cases obliging to the enforcement of the laws via the citizens. The Bangladeshi government is in an unconformable position, ironically being forced to govern their own roads
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/style/face-tattoos.html
Oh, face tattoos. Who could ever stand to cringe at a beautiful face so tastefully imbued with ink? As it turns out, a lot of people can. From your siblings to your kids, your horrified mother, and quite possibly, your own boss, there's a whole spectrum of folk out there who are, in more lenient words, disinterested in your facial art. I found that this article called to me especially, being the son of parents who wouldn't dare to deface their own skin, yet also the sibling of two sisters and a brother who continue to patron their favorite tattoo artists well through their 40's! The complexity of this topic is endearing to me, if not slightly comical, because out of the millions of pictures that exist online of people proudly sharing their ink, only two opinions on the matter remain: you're either one of those people that's for or against it. The rise of face tattoos in mainstream media takes the moral debate of inking to the next level. The A-list celebrities you stan and even your nextdoor neighbors are rocking some new and unexpected aesthetic. Conversation is being ignited, like "Are face tattoos the new wave of meaningful self expression or are they just downright gross? And who am I to be the judge of that?". The reason why I enjoyed this article is because I know it challenges readers to form their own opinion on the matter, ultimately enriching the discussion of tattoo culture in our society at the same time.
“A Dream Ended on a Mountain Road: The Cyclists and the ISIS Militants”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/07/world/asia/islamic-state-tajikistan-b...
As I read about Jay Austin and Lauren Geoghegan, the first thought that leapt through my mind was that people are amazing. I don’t mean the two cyclists, but the girls who gifted them with flowers in Kyrgyzstan, the security guard who helped take them to a campsite, and the Moroccan family who shared a taste of its culture with them.
These acts of kindness reminded me of the time a woman gave my family a ride back to our car when we got lost in the snow on a trip to Reno, or the time a woman helped me in the New York City subway after I incorrectly swiped my card. Even in unfamiliar surroundings, support can come from complete strangers.
Despite the final malevolent act the bicyclists encountered, it was greatly overshadowed by the care, generosity, and warmth of the people who extended a helping hand to the couple along the way. I believe that the two adventurous travelers would still have continued to believe that “there’s magic out there, in this great big beautiful world.” Perhaps we all need to embark on our own journeys, no matter how dangerous, to find the same goodness these cyclists witnessed.
“Between Sound and Silence”
By:Irene Taylor Brodsky
What interested me the most this week was an article called “Between Sound and Silence”. In this little documentary they interviewed a handful of people and they explained how being deaf has affected there life. And how hearing improving devices have evolved through the years. They explained how when they sometimes met people they did not know that they were hearing impaired and would often ask where they were from because of their “accents”. They explained the struggles of trying to find a job, or when they were little how school was a little bit harder for them. Others explained how they don’t think school would have been much different if they had better hearing.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/07/us/california-fires-mendocino.html
This article on the wildfires currently ravaging California caught my interest because I've been so concerned in the news brought about by the fire these past several weeks. I believe that this fire brings about so many other factors that need to be addressed currently. In this article, scientists described how these fired are raising even more intense concerns about the causes leading it and the results that will ensue following the fire.
The scientists interviewed for this article say that it is not a surprise that the fires have become more intensified over the past several years because as a population, we are consistently emitting more and more CO2 and other gases, all while we use up our other resources in our constant pursuit of strengthening our species. Scientists are also concerned that these fires will ruin the already ashen grounds and soil of North East California, which will presumably cause large mudslides later this year.
I believe that these problems have always been concerning to our species, however, new news like this is only heightening the urgency of our situation; we have abused our resources and now we need to find a solution to help prevent further damage to us, other species, and the earth. I thoroughly enjoyed this article because I think it shows us how urgent this situation is.
In Kiki Challenge, Muddy Indian Farmers Show World How to Grove https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/world/asia/india-kiki-challenge-oxen....
This article interested me the most from this weeks New York Times articles because it shows pure joy that people all around the world can bond over. Dancing is a way as humans we have created connections all over the earth, just through a beat and a famous groove. This shows when the dance originated from Drake's "In My Feelings" song in the United States, but through connections of the internet and social media, muddy farmers in India are doing the dance challenge to create some pure fun while doing something as gross and hard as working on a muddy farm with cows. No matter the person doing the Kiki Challenge, every single person is always expressing themselves and their personalities show through as individuals and their feelings of joy and happiness are able to overcome anything, including the hard work featured in this video. Also, I am a dancer, so I love watching other people dance online, and I like to learn new dances as well and be able to connect with others through dance, because it is a passion of mine.
"Trump Calls Omarosa Manigault Newman 'That Dog' in His Latest Insult"
When I first read this article, I was shocked and in disbelief at the words I was seeing on the page. What surprised me the most was hearing that the man who is supposed to be representing our country was the very one tearing down the people that make it. It's difficult as someone who started taking interest in politics during Obama's presidency to see the grace and eloquence of his words and actions become the brutal tweets and acts of intimidation that accompany Trump's presidency. The article helps to highlight how Trump has consistently used his power to take jabs at each minority. The only thing that has made this bad situation worse is that people are enabling and trying to justify a behavior that if done by anybody else would get an appalling reaction. The press secretary's response was even mentioned in the article saying something along the lines of he was being equally malicious towards all races so it wasn't as harmful. This under no circumstance should make such a racially and humanly inappropriate comment ok which is why it got the much needed attention it needed in the article. Luckily, Manigault refuses to let Trump's words stop her and she will continue to speak out and promote her book about her time in the White House. I was glad to have read this article because it made me aware of the more deeply rooted comments Trump has made and allowed me to view them from a different perspective.
The article "Brazilian Plastic Surgeon Is Charged in Patient’s Murder" by By Manuela Andreoni and Shasta Darlington on August 16, 2018 interested me because it really shows us how far we are really willing to go to meet these almost impossible standards. Lilian Calixto made an appoitment with Dr. Denis Furtado, who is also known as Dr. Bumbum and Dr. Backside, to reduce the amount of wrinkles on her, so Dr. Denis Furtado injected her woth a dose of PMMA, but the dose was too much. This also brings attention to the doctor because as a doctor, you should want your patients to be healthy and live life to their fullest so if you're dealing with their body, you should focus on the details, don't just skim through the process, take your time and realize that there really should be no shortcut when caring or treating someone. The thing that shocked me most was the fact that Dr. Denis Furtado's girlfriend acting as his assistant even though she has no medical experience. This is not right. You should be able to be seen by people who've studied medicine and worked hard for their career, not just someone's wife. Everything about this incident is wrong. He wasn't even supposed to be practicing medicine in the state he was in, Rio de Janeiro. He stated that he did not commit a crime and that is wrong, he is a practicer of medicine and as such should pay attention to every detail because this is someone's life in your hands and they're relying on you to do your job correctly.
This article, written by Daniela J. Lamas, caught my eye within an abundance of titles mostly because it was about a subject I had never thought about before. The first quote in Lamas’s article said by the mother of the victim is “People think that if you overdose on drugs, you either die or you’re O.K.”. I found this interesting because I never realized how drastically overdoses can affect people’s lives. The article is about Andrew Foote, a “golden child” who was a star football player with an attractive swagger. In college, Andrew began sliding into a dangerous heroin addiction which led to a nearly fatal overdose in 2014. Barely surviving, it took Andrew five months to slowly recover enough to go home. At age 29, he requires around the clock care by his parents and is not able to eat without a feeding tube or use his hands or talk clearly. Even through it all, his parents refuse to place him in a nursing home. I found this interesting because they prayed that they would do anything if he survived the surgery and treatment, and now they are spending the rest of their lives taking care of him. It makes me wonder how many people would be willing to completely change their entire lives in order to protect a loved one. I found it interesting how much decisions like Andrew’s can affect not only yourself but the people around you as well.
Link: https://nyti.ms/2MaJA8f
Like many other people, I have food allergies. Specifically, peaches and apples. However, I was not born with these allergies, but these allergies randomly appeared out of nowhere as I grew older. I was proud of not being allergic to a single thing, but after these allergies caught up to me, I felt the struggle. Real hard. Because of the reactions I get, I have EpiPens prescribed to me so I am able to stop my reaction when I accidentally eat something that contains these foods, but there is one HUGE negative. The price of these EpiPens.
The article “F.D.A Approves Generic EpiPen That May Be Cheaper,” interested me because the article stated how there is now an alternative to the EpiPens, made by Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, which can save so much money for the people that use EpiPens. Personally, I am very careful about what kinds of food I eat, which leads to me not using my EpiPens for periods of up to three years. After the EpiPens are not used, they just go to waste, which means that my mom wasted thousands of dollars by buying something I ended up not using. This situation is similar to if one buys an $800 iPhone 7, and never uses the phone, but ends up recycling the phone to buy the $1000 iPhone X.
With the new generic EpiPens, that have “lower costs,” and not “overcharged,” people with allergies will be able to not feel the guilt when I am throwing away the unused EpiPens, and maybe use the money to get allergy shots instead.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/sports/sports-cliches-metaphors.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/sports/sports-cliches-metaphors.html
As an athlete and someone who's interested in both history and language, I found this article about the origin of sports terms to be very interesting. I had heard and even used some of the terms that were referenced in the piece, but others were not as relevant. I found the one referencing "Out of Left Field" to be particularly interesting, since I've been a softball player and baseball fan since I was 9 years old. The meaning of this "sports term" always seemed fairly obvious to me, but the various possible origins - such as that there was a mental hospital behind left field at the old Cubs' stadium from the late 1800's to the early 1900's, and that from that position, patients could be heard making bizarre comments - was definitely unexpected. I found the origins behind the rest of the idioms, such as "throw in the towel", interesting as well. I would never had guessed the expression came from fighters ready to surrender their boxing match. I wonder if there will be new terms created to replace the current ones in the future.
I read this interesting article, "Losing My Son to Reading." The title captured my eye and grasped my attention because the author used the word "Reading." This is because I am a huge fan of books and reading. And when I saw the title of the article that contained the word "Reading" I just had to read it. While I was reading through this piece the most interesting part was how we were children, and we did do not cherish the moments our parents taught us skills, like reading. It is so eye-opening how we view the littlest moments.
"The Age That Women Have Babies: How a Gap Divides America"
It is not uncommon now that we see a correlation in women excelling farther in their education and starting families much later in life. It makes sense that rather than spend thousands of dollars on raising a child that money can be spent on raising a career. Not, to say that women who have children in life much earlier are less educated or don’t have successful careers, simply that the workload is heavier when balancing motherly duties and business woman. While it would be interesting to see other factors that contribute to mothers having children later in life, I took the article for what it is--a reiterated wake up call.
Being a 17-year-old in this generation, I think teens and young adults are constantly reminded of the repercussions that will follow by having unprotected sex such as unplanned pregnancies, STI’s, and overall a predetermined future filled with debt and unhappiness. For one, based on my experience in sex-ed courses, adults would spend far more time stressing the negative outcomes in conceiving children too early (debt, STI’s) rather than, focusing on the positive benefits of waiting later in life (not necessarily until marriage) but for an individual’s own personal gain--like an education. Personally, I think it will be far more effective if adults explain economically and socially how much teens and young adults can achieve in life by putting off being to-be mothers and fathers.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/sports/sports-cliches-metaphors.html
Idioms, puns, and everything in between have always been an interesting aspect of the way we communicate. Why is it that we use words to imply things other than their dictionary definitions? Why can't words simply be invented that replace certain figures of speech? We've become so accustomed to these figures of speech that we can't just stop using them; they're their own part of our vocabulary, beyond words themselves.
I'm not an avid sports fan myself. However, it is undeniable that many figures of speech have come from the sports world. This article introduced me to the origins of figures of speech I've been using my whole life. I never knew "Hands Down" originated from Horse Racing of all things. Whether you're a sports watcher or not, it's undeniable that sports have had a huge impact on global culture. Figures of speech are such an important day-to-day part of how we communicate, and many of them derive from sports. Heck, the Olympic Games is a sporting event that is able to bring people together on a global scale. Communication is essential to our lives as humans; it's something we use every single day. Figures of speech feel as though they're almost ingrained into our minds as a part of communication. Whether you're a sports fan or not, your life has almost certainly been impacted by the culture sports have created over the years.
The article that’s caught my eye this week was “Alex Jones and Infowars Content Removed From Apple, Facebook, and YouTube. This had me like a fish on a line as soon as I read the name Alex Jones, like many others I had seen short clips of the insane man screaming that it was all a hoax with a face redder than a tomato and like most other people laughed at him. After that I looked into his podcasts to see what all this yelling was about and was very shocked to find just how diluted and conservative this man truly was. Even though I don’t number among them I have always supported the L.G.B.T.Q community and freedom and acceptance of Muslims in the US and this man said the most horrible things about these people while calling such horrible tragedies like 911 and the Sandy Hook shooting a hoax. When I read this title I was very glad that they are trying to deal with at least some of his hatespeech, he had enough followers already believing his crazy theories and needed to be quieted. I also was thinking how many people would call this a breach of Freedom Of Speech rather than containing the spread of harmful misinformation and blatant hatespeech. On a certain level I do agree this is a breach in Freedom Of Speech because under the constitution Alex Jones does have a right to spread his ideas and opinions however he pleases. The reason I think the companies were right in doing so though was that he spread blatant danger lies and stated them as facts rather than opinions.
How to Have Better Family Meals
https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/make-most-of-family-table
This article in this week of the New York Times seemed interesting to me because all of the members of my family are extremely busy, and overall we have a nice, family dinner once, if not zero times a week. When all five members of my family do get together, it is considered forced and slightly miserable. This article explained how t we should make an attempt to get together more often because it will encourage good behavior and create a better relationship with our parents. This article also explained how to create an enjoyable environment for us to enjoy each other's company by making the food at home and maybe even have the children help out in making the meals.
The way technology impacts and connects our world is a truly amazing thing. The fact that a single internet challenge can bring people from all over the globe together, or that a single video can change someone’s world is mindblowing.
When I saw the video of two Indian farmers doing the Keke Challenge, my eyes were opened, as I never really understood how much the internet connected people. It amazed me that a challenge I have watched numerous times is the same thing people from the opposite side of the world take part in.
In addition to opening my eyes to connections I have with others around the world, this story made me realize just how powerful a single video is. The farmers, originally from Lambadipally, India, were featured on television, due to a video that was only thirty eight seconds long. The video, showing the men doing the challenge alongside oxen, replacing the moving car often seen in the challenge, was enjoyed by the public and as a result, the farmers became known globally.
Overall, this article has introduced me to the true power of the internet and that one thing can change someone’s life if shared enough. Most importantly, I've learned that people, no matter where they are from, are not really that different after all.
Losing My Son to Reading
Everyone reads for different reasons: relaxation, research, completion of a school assignment, etc. However, to me, reading is much more than simply a way to relax.
I read to explore. Books serve as gateways to new worlds and reading them gives me the ability to explore these worlds and take peek inside the writer's thoughts. Apart from being a way to explore, books provide comfort in times of sadness and hopelessness, and can completely change a person's mood. However, all these benefits of reading books would be completely useless if I didn't know how to read.
I remember learning to read;my mother use to read "Winnie the Pooh" books to me every afternoon after I came home from school. Coming home and reading with my mom was my favorite part about afternoons. It soon to became some sort of daily ritual for us. However soon, I had to read books for school, and doing so with my mom became difficult. I eventually began reading on my own, but I couldn't help but miss our daily ritual. However, later on I had read enough books to start a new daily ritual: a discussion about books that we had both read.
The reason why this article interested me, was because I could relate to the other side of the story. I never wondered about how my mom felt when we stopped reading together, and this article was a great way of gaining perspective on how she would've felt. The article gave me another perspective on that upsetting yet later beneficial childhood occurrence.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/technology/china-generation-blocked-i...
What would we do without our precious Facebook, Snapchat, and Google? It's simple; we find replacements.
China's "Great Firewall" blocks many Western sites and social media in order to ensure the country's social stability. Consequently, many Chinese people are uninformed and disconnected with the rest of the world. But it also reveals that in the absence of Western social media platforms, other social media platforms arise. And even though these platforms are different, they, like ours, are very addictive. My cousins are attached to WeChat, an extremely popular social media app that can not only receive and send messages and share videos, but can also transfer online currency, scan QR codes, and even serve as verification for public Wi-Fi hotspots. It's so prevalent and accepted in China that it is not unorthodox to pay for a haircut or even your groceries by scanning a QR code, which is something Google Wallet and Apple Pay can only dream of. The firewall has limited political discussion but not innovation, and it seems to me that their lives aren't that different than ours.
It's food for thought: what would happen if we didn't have social media? China reveals that that wouldn't happen: social media has established its permanence via its convenience and ability to connect people.
Article: Aretha Franklin, Indomitable Queen of Soul, Dies at 76
I'm going to miss Aretha Franklin so much and she was one of the best singers I've ever heard in my life. She is a legend and I'm going to remember her forever. I've always wanted to meet her in person. My favorite song by her is Respect and I love the lyrics to the song. My grandma looks just like Aretha Franklin. She is the Queen of Soul and she was an amazing person. I hope I become a singer just like her and I hope that I have soul just like her. She was so talented and she is one of my role models. When I'm older, I want to be just like Aretha live life to the fullest and having a beautiful soul.
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Let’s play a game. Which of these is not like the other? The David, The Mona Lisa, or The Molinari. Award yourself one hundred points if you guessed C: The Molinari. It is not a sculpture or a painting, but a man who delivered the first major victory in golf for Italy. Francesco Molinari competed among champions, such as Justin Rose, Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth in the British Open in Carnoustie, Scotland and seized the win on Sunday, July 22, 2018. This article fascinates me because Molinari’s victory was so unexpected yet so welcome. Whoever said that the eagle does not concern himself with a field mouse was dead wrong. This field mouse ran off with the cheese and left the eagles in bewilderment. What is even more astounding than his winning is that he competed on such a challenging course while the weather was less than ideal. Jean Van De Velde had this to say, “I think Carnoustie showed its teeth today. Hats off to Francesco, because he really played well.” Clearly, Molinari lets his game and his peers do the talking for him. He not only won the day, but he made history. “Italy will host the cup for the first time in 2022” Molinari went from being a guy I never heard of to Italy’s golf savior. He has obtained a place for himself in Italy’s unique golf archives and his name will never be forgotten.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/22/sports/british-open-francesco-molinar...
How to Write a Good College Application Essay https://nyti.ms/2KkIaTy?smid=nytcore-ios-share
I was interested in this article this week because I feel that college application essays are very important and tho I may have two years until I graduate high school those years will go by fast.
https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/make-most-of-family-table
The article that interested me this week was "How to Have Better Family Meals". This article caught my eye because my parents and three siblings have meals together around once or twice a month. Despite this, my family seems to be almost the complete opposite of what the article says about families that rarely have meals together. The article describes some of the benefits of families having meals together as children drinking less soda, lower rates of obesity, lower rates of substance abuse, school behavioral problems, better grades, higher reading scores, and better vocabulary. I drink soda around five times per month, most of the times being when my family stops at a fast food place on a long road trip. My three sisters and I are not obese and have high grades in school. My younger sister skipped a grade and one of my older sisters was valedictorian of a large class. All four of us are very good readers and have wide vocabularies. Last year I think I got around five questions wrong on vocab quizzes (fourteen questions each) given in English class every six school days through the whole year. I do agree with the article though that I would probably eat more vegetables if I had more meals with my parents.
"In Chicago one Weekend 66 Shooting Victims, and Zero Arrests"
In Chicago this past weekend 66 people were shot (12 of which died). Due to the significant amount of shooting victims this weekend, you would think the Chicago police would have made some arrests. Unfortunately, they have not. As I am sure you know, Chicago has one of the lowest rates of solved murders than any other major city in the country! So we can suggest that most of the victims' murders will never be identified. This is unfortunate because the families of the victims' deserve answers and closure. Since 2016 crime was decreasing in Chicago and the once amazing city seemed to be bouncing back. However, after this past weekend, it is hard to believe. I was interested in this article because it is interesting to see how other states handle certain circumstances. [email protected]
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/style/face-tattoos.html
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The article that has interested me the most in this weeks New York Times is “Face Tattoos Go Mainstream.” Some of the most popular artists of our time such as Justin Bieber and Post Malone are all sporting face tattoos. I love the idea of face tattoos for the rap and pop genres of music. I feel like it brands some of the most talked about singers and rappers of today’s music. There can also be cons to these tattoos. Some young kids are “looking up” to their idols or “trying to be like” their favorite singers and getting these face tats. Also, some kids try to get them to become big on social media, which, in my opinion, is not a good reason. Most kids at that age don’t know for sure what they are going to be when they get older and depending on their job, it would cost even more to get them removed.
Are Targeted Ads Stalking You? Here's How to Make Them Stop
By Brian X. Chen
I found this article interesting and helpful because I hate seeing targeted ads and always have wanted them to stop. I find it creepy that an ad for the item I just searched for is constantly making its way to my social media page, and other websites. I agree with the author when he says he'd rather see a random ad than a targeted one, because such specific ads make me feel like I'm being followed--they're an invasion of privacy. I understand that marketers find this the most efficient way to sell their products, but personally it does the opposite. When I see a targeted ad from something I perhaps searched the night before, I don't just see it once--it pops up continuously--and it never fails to frustrate me. These "stalker ads" should be optional for consumers, with a known way to turn them off. I've been looking for a way to stop these annoying ads. I was so lucky to come across such a beneficial article, and I'll definitely be using Chen's great tips.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/technology/china-generation-blocked-i...
A Generation Grows Up in China Without Google, Facebook or Twitter
Living on a world that is now very social media based, reading an article about people having completely different social medias, who are also living at the same time as myself is very refreshing. A community in China is censoring all social media platforms from other countries. China has made its own social medias that are only different in the sense that the the government can censor what is put on them. What is truly shocking is that the chinese people are completely oblivious to what the people in the United States are using for social medias. The government has the ability to look up everything people look at and the people are content with just being able to use the internet. I wish that Americans had the same mindset.
Lately, I’ve seen many attempts at the Kiki challenge. I’m dumbfounded when I see the people who perform the routine flawlessly, but I also have watched many failed attempts. The head title, “In Kiki Challenge, Muddy Indian Farmers Show World How to Groove” immediately caught my eye. The Kiki challenge has become well known all over the world in that matter of a month, and has even changed lives. To me, it’s crazy how a brief dance could change someone’s life. In the article it says that, Anil Geela and Pilli Tirupati who are from a village called Lambadipally in India, filmed the Kiki challenge while they were plowing paddy. The video was posted on the internet and was a big hit on Youtube. As a result of the famosity on You tube, these two men are making guest appearances on television shows. Lambadipally, India now has a totally different view by outsiders then what it actually is. According to the article, the village has no paved roads and the nearest railroad station is miles away.
It also surprises me that something so small can spread around the world so fast. The Kiki Challenge is not an important new story or a really urgent problem that our world is facing today. People are doing the challenge in India, which is on the opposite side of the world. All in all, I enjoyed that article this week, because it allowed me to relate myself and the rest of the world. Something that I was watching online, someone else was watching thousands of miles away.
"Italy Bridge Was Known to Be in Trouble Long Before Collapse"
This article talked about the recent collapse of a bridge in Genoa, Italy. The bridge that fell was a major crossing over the Polcevera River and connects the eastern and western halves of the city. The bridge collapse took thirty-nine lives and recent investigations show that parliament was being informed that the bridge had structural problems and was possibly extremely dangerous. As this is not the first bridge to have collapsed in Italy recently, however, it was the most catastrophic, many of Italy’s citizens are watching their government very closely to see how they will respond to the situation. Also under fire is Autostrade per l’Italia, the operating company of the highway upon which the bridge was located.
The people in this community are receiving financial aid but are very worried about where their taxes are going since the money certainly isn't being used for road repairs and maintenance. In most cases, governments are in charge of making sure that their citizens are safe and happy, well-cared for. The death of thirty-nine of their citizens should highlight an issue to them that they need to increase their focus on safety. Otherwise, they may have some very upset people to speak with.
This week the article that interested me the most was "We Use Sports Terms All the Time. But Where Do They Come From?" This article interested me because I use some of these terms normally, but I never knew the backstory behind them. For example, I had no idea that the phrase "hands down" comes from horse racing. Similarly, I never would have guessed that "Back to square one" comes from soccer. I think it is interesting that so many common phrases originated from things that I never would have guessed.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/opinion/sunday/losing-my-son-to-readi...
As I started reading this article, I expected it to be mostly about the authors child, and how the books his child read were starting to cause him to think differently than his father. I was surprised when, instead of it being completely about his child and what books the child was reading, it was about himself and how his perspective on the books he read as a child has changed as he became a father. While I was reading this, I thought about books I read as a child; if I were to go back and read those books now, would I see them differently than I used to? Would I understand the issues the authors were disguising as reading for children? Or if the book was above my level, would I now understand what the author was trying to tell us, the readers, to do?
https://nyti.ms/2MaJA8f
Like many other people, I have food allergies. Specifically, peaches and apples. However, I was not born with these allergies, but these allergies randomly appeared out of nowhere as I grew older. I was proud of not being allergic to a single thing, but after these allergies caught up to me, I felt the struggle. Real hard. Because of the reactions I get, I have EpiPens prescribed to me so I am able to stop my reaction when I accidentally eat something that contains these foods, but there is one HUGE negative. The price of these EpiPens.
The article “F.D.A Approves Generic EpiPen That May Be Cheaper,” interested me because the article stated how there is now an alternative to the EpiPens, made by Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, which can save so much money for the people that use EpiPens. Personally, I am very careful about what kinds of food I eat, which leads to me not using my EpiPens for periods of up to three years. After the EpiPens are not used, they just go to waste, which means that my mom wasted thousands of dollars by buying something I ended up not using. This situation is similar to if one buys an $800 iPhone 7, and never uses the phone, but ends up recycling the phone to buy the $1000 iPhone X.
With the new generic EpiPens, that have “lower costs,” and not “overcharged,” people with allergies will be able to not feel the guilt when I am throwing away the unused EpiPens, and maybe use the money to get allergy shots instead.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/07/opinion/deafness-cochlear-implants.html
This article, written by a mother of a deaf child (and the child herself to deaf parents) discusses the technology of cochlear implants. The current matter of the situation was that when this seemingly revolutionary technology was created, it was met with backlash, as the article states "Some deaf people bristled at the implication that they needed to be “fixed” with an implant.". Understandably, I myself would not understand the implications of the protesters beliefs for I have never had such an experience. But imagine, living your entire life without a sense of hearing, becoming used to a silent environment because it's all you've ever known. Now imagine, having the opportunity to experience this previously deprived sense. It would be traumatic in a way. All the sounds you've never heard flooding in at the same time. Though to us it is normal, everyday occurrence, the simplest sounds that we tune out as background noise would be intense to those with these implants. The author mentions that her parents were "bewildered" yet "even annoying" after having living life without it for so long, the brain does not necessarily know how to react to this unlike performing the implantation earlier on in one's life.
From reading this, I have learned about a technology I didn't understand, the reality behind it and it's users, as well as some insight to the deaf community.
Article: ‘Designing the Death of a Plastic’
Despite most of the science being lost on me, this was a fascinating article. To sum it up, scientists are looking for a way to make a stable, sturdy, plastic that’s also easy to break down. Because plastics became so popular as a replacement for long-lasting materials like steel and glass, they are now causing harm to the earth because they’re not being broken down. So to begin to try and fix that problem, scientists have found a way to make “unzipping polymers.” When exposed to a light, or a certain temperature, the polymers inside the plastics will begin to break down, therefore destroying the plastic.
I think this is amazing. I always advocate recycling, and try to minimize waste in my house. Hearing about these new types of plastics give me a lot of hope for the future, that we are going to be able to fix the problem that we started with plastics.
The article also mentioned other great initiatives, like the movement to ban plastic straws, and the creation of compostable utensils. But I think the most important thing they mentioned was the fact that consumers still have to know how to recycle. It’s very important that consumers are knowledgeable about recycling, and know what things can and can’t be recycled. Oftentimes people just throw things in the trash because they don’t know if it can be recycled, so it’s always important to double check before throwing something away.
“Feminists in Line for Free Lipstick”
Something that interested me the most this week in the New York Times was found in the opinion section titled, “Feminists in Line for Free Lipstick”. As a young teen with a minor makeup obsession, I can go on and on about my lipsticks and lip glosses. I talk about all the different shades of reds and pinks that I own, matte or glossy, or even the different brands that I own. Lipstick is something that pulls an outfit together, and can make any makeup look complete. Something that I always struggle with when looking for lipsticks is the prices of each tube. From liquid lip paints to the solid tubes, lipstick prices make it hard to find the perfect brand. For nice lipsticks, MAC’s brand is more on the “cheaper” side with prices as 18.50 while brands like Tarte or Two Faced can range from 20 to 24. Some brands, such as DIOR, sell their lipsticks for $37, which is very expensive for most people. When you walk into Sephora or Ulta, your ready right away to go spend however much money on a lipstick that you can. If you’re looking for a reasonable price, and pretty good quality lipstick, I recommend going to the drug store. I believe that any kind of lipstick that you get, either being expensive or cheap, this is what makes us girls, girls!
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/03/opinion/pink-tax-feminism-lipstick.html
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“Cruises Are So Uncool They Are Cool”Michael Ian Black
As a guy who is drawn to the sea and its many pleasures, the title of this article felt like a stamp of approval. Most people roll their eyes when you talk about cruises; however, this article refutes all that negativity. Michael Black is refreshingly witty as he slams the typical naysayers like, Dan Salztein, who took a cruise and promptly decided that ‘It hadn’t seemed like my bag.’ Black fires back in this article, ‘ Your bag?... My dude, it’s a Disney cruise, not Burning Man.’ Black’s comment underscores everything I love about cruises. They flat out exist to relax in ordinary comfort and not apologize for it.
Black also articulates how cruises equal civility. Few arguments are heard on board, and people are forced to politely coexist. He describes the extreme sociability of a cruise environment: “A megaship, by its nature, fosters a kind of cultural détente among the various tribes within its hull. There is no other way to enjoyably commingle in tight quarters with so many people. And when you do that, when you suspend all judgment, when you ease into the easy, a cruise can be the best vacation deal going.” Black’s observation made me reflect on my own cruise experience, and I could not recall a single altercation during the whole week. Therefore, this article supports what I already know and entices me to pursue another cruise in the future.
The article that was most interesting to me this week was, " A Generation Grows Up in China Without Google, Facebook, or Twitter" by Li Yuan. The reasoning behind my chosen article is how much of an eye opener it was to me. Originally I believed that our social media platforms and search engines were used all around the world but this article explains how China has its own versions with more censorship. Not only do they have their own versions but they have also blocked all of the original websites. At first I thought that China was attempting to hide its citizens from the world but in reality Chinese citizens don't feel a need to access those platforms. This was very surprising to me due to the fact that most of the world can't live without these platforms. Even when given the opportunity to bypass the censorship the Chinese students found no need. The part of the article I found most interesting was that when Chinese citizens leave the country they begin to use Google and the more popular social media platforms. They then explained that the Chinese platforms had no use outside of China. To me, this is a major flaw to the popularity and use of the censored Chinese platforms.
Transgender Hollywood Seeks Recognition, and Not Just Roles |
This week, I read the article about Transgender Hollywood fighting for more diversity in Hollywood films. They were mostly trying to make the point that if a main character is transgender, the role should be played by a transgender actor. They said specifically at on point that if a transgender does not play the part and later shows up on the red carpet not as the 'gender' they were playing, that then it seems just like a costume and that transgenders aren't real. I thought that that was a really good point, because I've noticed that most films/TV shows from Hollywood don't have that much diversity, which I would like to see. There's already the slight representation of African Americans, Mexicans, and Asians, but that's not all of the diversity there is.The mentally disabled and just disabled in general. That's why it specifically interested me to read about a new type of diversity entering the scene. I now get to see something that I just found out about like a year or two ago. I didn't know that transgenders existed, and with an episode of 'Good Luck Charlie' where there was a set of lesbian parents, I didn't understand that girls dated girls or that guys dated guys. I had never heard of that before. Once I finally learned, it was nice to see them represented in TV/films. I haven't seen a movie focused on a transgender yet, but I want to. I'm excited to have read this article and know that those movies exist.
What Happens to the #MeToo When a Feminist Is the Accused?
This article interested me the most in the New York Times this week because it planted a question inside my head: "could the #MeToo movement be dragging itself down?" After Avital Ronell was accused of sexually harassing the N.Y.U graduate Nimrod Reitman, many of her fellow professors and feminists came to her aid, writing letters to the college board in high regard of her esteem within the professional community. However, strangely enough, it feels like we've seen this before, but instead with male figures of power and women being the people who have been violated. Mr. Reitman used a Title IX law to accuse Mrs. Ronell of sexual harassment, and now the fact that some feminists claim it is "disappointing" that he used Title IX to accuse Ronell is hypocrisy. The women supporting Avital Ronell are putting a bad name on the #MeToo movement, a good movement with a good cause. These women need to realize that they are doing the exact thing that they are trying to fight, and that some people will see that and generalize the whole #MeToo movement in itself based off their actions.
-Dylan Roy GHS
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/14/world/europe/italy-genoa-bridge-colla...
It's crazy to see how much can change in the course of a year. Exactly one year ago: August 16, 2017, I embarked on my first trip to Italy with my uncle and cousins. Our first destination was Genoa because we have relatives that live in Rapallo. Naturally, when I saw this article, I was immediately intrigued to read all about what had happened. I was astonished by the fact that I recall traveling over this bridge this time last year. It's devastating and unfathomable that 37 lives were taken in the collapse of the structure. I'm thankful that my family is safe, and I feel so sorry for those who have lost loved ones. One day when I return to Genoa, I will hopefully feel safe in my travels going over a stronger and safer bridge.
https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000006045906/rashida-tlaib-...
This week on the New York Times I found a video called, "I Will Uplift You’: Rashida Tlaib’s Emotional Primary Victory In Michigan." I chose this video for many unique reasons. For one, I am from Michigan and this is the place where Rashida Tlaib got elected. Since I am from Michigan anything concerning it makes me want to educate myself more and it fascinates me to know that I live in a great state. Rashida is inspirational to me because she is always believing in her self. She is going to be the only Muslim women on the congress which is so great for her and the world. This week on the Times I chose a very fascinating video called, "I Will Uplift You’: Rashida Tlaib’s Emotional Primary Victory In Michigan."
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/style/drag-festival-wigstock-lady-bun...
Have you ever heard of Wigstock? No? Well neither have I. This week in the times I found an article about a drag queen festival that takes place in New York especially interesting. It all began in 1984 when a group of drag queens left a Club in Manhattan and performed spontaneously in Tompkins Square Park. For around fifteen years this festival took place annually in honor of New York’s L.G.B.T society. Sadly, in 2001 after if had rained at the festival for the previous two years Wigstock died and became nothing but a memory, until now. Although mini Wigstocks were held in Tompkins Square Park over the last few years the real thing is back! Wigstock will be back along with several drag performances this labor day weekend.
In the article, “Google Employees Protest Secret Work on Censored Search Engine for China”, the controversy surrounding Google's involvement in media control is addressed from a nonpartisan standpoint. After thousands of employee protests, the multi-billion dollar company has finally addressed the growing issues of transparency in their workplace, and their contribution to foreign censorship.
After having pulled out of Chinese affairs in 2010, Google designed their new engine project, “Dragonfly”, to comply with the oppressive rules of the Chinese Government. However, the workers who built the search engine did not have a full understanding of what they were developing. Google hid the final product of their work from them, therefore not allowing them to comprehend the ethics and morals that went along with the release of the engine.
Google’s deceit and dishonesty is disgraceful, especially considering the dire situation that they acted upon. Such a mainstream American company should have standards for themselves and be willing to set an example for others. Not only did Google go behind their employee’s backs, but did so for a corrupt cause.
American companies such as Google should take pride in the freedom of speech we have in our own country that allows all voices to be heard. The prospect of helping to silence those in any country should not even be considered as an option.
This week the article, “Oscars to Add ‘Popular Film’ Category, Creating Questions”, caught my attention as I realized I have not been paying attention to the Oscars in recent years. I have felt that the Oscars have lost touch with the masses, as often the most heavily marketed films and most popular actors aren’t award winners. Instead, niche films are selected that many viewers have not heard of, causing viewer disinterest and a general decline in views.
One reason for this pattern is that the most talked about actors are no longer known exclusively for their efforts on the screen. Often they achieve fame by way of social media or other careers such as wrestling and music. These actors receive more public attention despite sometimes lacking acting talent. The Oscars have decided to try to increase viewership by creating popular film awards, which will often center around these popular actors or simply action heavy scenes.
I believe this strategy will bring in more fans, as more people will recognize the popular movie award winners, however it may cause the Oscars to lose its identity. The Oscars will no longer be simply about talent and quality, and for this reason an Oscar may not longer be a respected award. My suggestion would be to forget about what viewers want and to give the awards to the highest quality movies and actors. This may force the Oscars off of television, but I believe it is more important to honor talent than to get the attention of the masses.
Trump Calls Omarosa Manigault Newman "That Dog" in His Latest Insult" By Michael D. Shear and Eileen Sullivan
Donald Trump, known for his offensive comments has yet again insulted another. This time he has called Omarosa Manigault Newman "That Dog". This of course isn't the first he has called someone this and it saddens me. As the leader of a nation, insulting people is something that should never happen. It is unprofessional and embarrassing to anyone who stands with him. This article talks about a couple other things. It talks about the many other people Trump has talked bad about, why, and how people react to it. Another topic the article touches on is the things Trump says about African Americans. He has questioned LeBron James intelligence, called Don lemon the dumbest man on TV and insulted many more. No matter the race, profession, or political party of the person being insulted, I believe this behavior should stop.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/14/us/politics/trump-omarosa-dog.html
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“A Watery Lake is Detected on Mars, Raising Potential for Alien Life”
(Kenneth Chang and Dennis Overbye)
Everybody is drawn to the idea of alien life, so the title of this article hooked me instantly. Mar’s proximity to Earth makes the planet the ideal locale to play out many science fiction fantasies of our collective imagination. While the lake is not a definite finding of life, it holds promise of life. “Jonathan Lunine, director of the Center of Astrophysics and Planetary Science at Cornell University, who was not involved with the research, said the finding transforms Mars from a dusty old planet to yet another ocean world in the solar system” Defining Mars as “another ocean world” knocks out the horizon, giving way to imaginary city states in space. The fact that there even is a debate elevates the importance of the whole topic. It means that a future on Mars is worthy of debate. An intriguing point about the lake is that it presents similarly to some on Earth, “the body of water appears similar to underground lakes found on Earth in Greenland and Antarctic.” It is not that difficult to make the leap from life in an icy lake here and life in an icy lake there. Science is one of my favorite subjects precisely because there is so much yet to be discovered. Chang and Overbye prudently include voices on both sides of the debate, but the final thought does sound on an exciting note: there is enough data to warrant exploration.
“Between Sound and Silence” by Irene Taylor Brodsky
When I was in 8th grade I participated in our high school’s drama production The Miracle Worker, and my sister played the role of Helen Keller. Being both blind and deaf, it allowed our cast to put into perspective that in reality people are born and live this way. Having heard sounds all my life, to lose that privilege would affect me immensely, and I am grateful I haven’t had to experience the loss of hearing. The cochlear implant sounds as something that seems so promising but also so dangerous. Having the possibility to obtain hearing once again or the first time can be life changing, for the better or worse. Like the author’s parents who got their implants at 65, sound was exciting at first, but having lived your life in complete silence and have it taken away could also bring about anxiety and irritation to continuous noises. I believe getting the implant at an early age may be best so children can get used to the implant and the sounds it assists them to hear. After a long and hard decision as to whether the author should allow her son to undergo the surgery while hearing the disapproval implants were in many other areas and understanding the literal procedure that would take place, the author’s choice was admirable. She wants her son to have the best experience of life with both worlds, and like in her article, he can use the cochlear implants and still be able to sit in silence and learn his own sign language.
"The Children at the Trump Rallies"
An odious hatred so divisive and vicious has been incited in our great nation, and with every passing day it moves upwards along the scale of intensity, further and further away from any chance of being miraculously omitted from our society, but still Trump and certain opposing media sources continue to play ping pong with a ball composed of negativity instead of Celluloid. Hatred and anger require two sides. However, the Liberally biased piece entertains the idea that a Trump rally is some sort of villainous meeting where hatred is of the essence with innocent children in the thick of it, and it most certainly can be so, but is the Liberal media and supporters of the other side squeaky clean themselves? I cannot even begin to fathom the slightest notion of how many times the name Trump and the word Hate have been uttured in relation to each other in my mostly liberal town. Odds are if I were to change the channel to CNN on my family televison with my little sister mere feet away, I would see Trump's name shrouded in negativity. I found this article interesting because this topic of hatred in politics affecting society at a deep level has become existentially prominent. The frequency of how often I am judged for what I believe in, and witnessing hate due to the nations current political state is beginning to reach a climax, at least in my eyes. And now innocent children are being exposed to this hatred? Absolutely absurd.
- Gabe_GHS_2018
'A Peace Icon Moves to New York, Where 'Everything Is Safer''
The picture of Mr. Arteaga in the preview of the article automatically grasped my attention. While I'm sure he is much more talented, I also play the violin. I thought it was a very powerful article because, despite all of his odds, he stuck with what he loved and became extremely successful.
"I played my way through my country's collapse." Mr. Arteaga also went against his family to pursue his passion. "And I played during the 2017 protests, where the national guard shot at me with rubber bullets, threw tear gas at me and destroyed my violin." The resistance he has towards all the obstacles being thrown at him is truly honorable and inspiring.
A very important point to take away from this article is that music is a very powerful thing. It was proven here time and time again. Even with all the problems he faced, he didn't stop doing what he loved, he pursued it even if it meant leaving his own country. While music is very important and can basically alter peoples' lives, it's not just music that can do that. If you are passionate about something and want to pursue it, there's no reason why you can't.
In conclusion, do what you love and don't let anything stop you.
"Jocks Rule, Nerds Drool"
In the article "Jocks Rule, Nerds Drool", Jennifer Wright claims that certain stereotypes are outdated. While the basic principle of her argument is strong, the way she presents it is ultimately ineffective. Rather than stating that not all nerdy people fall into the 'nice boy' category and showing how stereotypes are often inaccurate, Wright hypocritically says that nerds have evolved to become 'overdogs'. Wright even says herself, "If I see someone in a Batman T-shirt, I no longer assume they're a sensitive soul" (Wright 1). Is it fair to classify nerds as insensitive? Defining nerds with a new stereotype renders the argument futile.
There is also the argument that the boys who are the jocks, who are typically seen as mean, "seem pretty great by comparison [to nerds]" (Wright 2). This is associating jocks with a positive stereotype yet, it makes nerds seem like the bad guys now. Wright mentions that the jocks, like Stephen Curry have done a lot to help people. Yet, the argument fails to mention that these jocks are also known for bad things. Just like certain nerds are attributed with kindness, some are not so sweet. It is difficult to argue that the nerd stereotype should be redefined because of the actions of some people. While the idea that "nerd culture has subsumed popular culture" (Wright 2), might be true, the idea of getting rid of an old stereotype and replacing it with a new one is essentially a step in the wrong direction.
"Documenting 'Slavery by Another Name' in Texas
Just this week in The New York Times, the Editorial Board wrote a piece exploring the cruel, overlooked struggles of African Americans at the end of the 19th century. Following the Civil War, the nation re-established itself in a period of Reconstruction. Although new political policies and state projects looked great on paper, the Board argues that this era was actually one of crime and suffering, especially for African Americans being forced into labor eerily similar to slavery. By utilizing eye-opening evidence and support from highly-credentialed writers and historians, the authors make a strong case in condemning the time period following the Civil War. “By the 1880s, more than a third of Texas’ inmates were engaged in 12 of the state’s 18 sugar plantations” (2). The piece continues by explaining racism played a major role in this revival of slavery. “The Texas inmate population was whiter than in other southern states, but owing to racist stereotypes, whites were given more favorable work assignments” (3). Negative language and grimacing facts were also strong aspects included in the argument that slavery survived the Civil War. However, the initial suggestion that Americans were ignorant to this brutality until 1991, or the hint that Texas and the entire country do not already recognize this period as a shameful part of American history, is the Board’s weakest point of rationalization in this persuasive editorial.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/style/face-tattoos.html
Along with quotes from several others in his article about face tattoos, Steven Kurutz has realistic points about face tattoos.
In the article "Face Tattoos Go Mainstream," facial tattoos are named and described by several people, including tattoo companies and artists, "job stoppers." They explain how many job opportunities are unavailable to those with tattoos on their face. While that used to be an area of the body that it was completely unimaginable to have a tattoo, with the progressing years, more and more ideas are becoming doable. However, many tattoo artists will still try to talk people out of a face tattoo, and hopefully save them some jobs.
I believe that while they are a cool, exotic idea, facial tattoos are not practical for every day life.
Many new things are unique these days and people do have the right to express themselves however they may choose, tattoos are a permanent expression and it is likely that the person could change their mind, especially once they see how many people will not hire those with facial tattoos.
A lot of famous people today who show up a lot, especially musicians, have tattoos on their face. Musicians such as Post Malone, Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, Justin Bieber, 21 Savage, Lil Xan, and many more have and inked up face, ranging from birthmark size tattoos to the whole face being covered. When people see famous musicians wiyh face tattoos, they begin to believe it is wise.
ttps://www.nytimes.com/video/arts/music/100000005428231/aretha-franklin-death-obituary.html?&module=tv-carousel&action=click&pgType=Multimedia&contentPlacement=0
This week I choice to watch a video titled, "Remembering Aretha Franklin." It fascinates me to learn about more new topics that happen around the world that I usually don't talk about. For example, Aretha Franklin is someone who is famous that I don't usually talk about or learn about, but I definitely know who is she is and what she does. When I saw this video I automatically wanted to know more about this, because Aretha Franklin is a very inspirational women who started her career in Detroit, Michigan and that is where I am from. I don't usually hear things about Aretha Franklin every day, so hearing this made me want to educate myself more on this topic. It interests me to educate myself on new topic that happens locally or internationally that I don't usually hear about.
“Americans are terrible at small talk”
“Yep.” That’s what I thought when I read the title of this particular nytimes article. I instantly hoped that this title came along with a hilariously awkward story, so I clicked on it. The truth is I agree, 100%, with how hard should it be to make light conversation with another human being? The logical answer is, not hard at all, but if you’ve ever tried it, it’s not as easy as it sounds. I recall having a particularly odd conversation with a drivers training instructor named Christopher, who left me with a hilariously awkward story of my own. He was a nice guy, he was laid back and calm, didn’t yell, and encouraged my driving. About 15 minutes into my hour long drive I realized that Christopher was quite the character. I was entering the freeway and he said something but mixed up a few words causing sentence to make no sense what so ever. He responded to his mistake by saying “Christopher, you cray!” The girl observing and I shared a few looks in the rear view mirror, and tried to suppress our laughter. It might have just ended there, but no. Christopher thought our laughter meant that we enjoyed him talking to himself, so for the rest of the drive he kept referring to himself in the third person. He was a weird guy, some might even say “cray”. Long story short, small talk sucks and no one is at it.
"Marine Mammals Have Lost a Gene That Now They May Desperately Need"
Since the First Agricultural Revolution, humans have been able to survive across the world by growing crops, increasingly with the use of technology. But a variety of sea mammals may not be so lucky in these advancements.
In this article, Carl Zimmer did a remarkable job in analyzing a genetic threat that could kill many species of marine mammals. One of the things I enjoyed most in the article is that rather than just telling the readers a comforting lie, the article use multiple pieces of scientific evidence to show people the truth.
However, what makes this article truly my favorite is that it brings to light how pesticides will continue to hurt sea mammals. Can you imagine a future where our grandchildren will never have had the opportunity to pet sea lions at a zoo or see orca whales in person?
The article inspired me to learn more about this, I decided to look up more information. After my research and the article itself, I now have a better understanding about how our actions hurt sea mammals. So, in conclusion, this amazing article helped me understand this real threat, consider ways to help these creatures, and to see that the decisions we make for whatever reasons can hurt others, so it is important to protect all life, and when a threat arises, help protect them. As Dr. Nathan L. Clark says in this article, “[These threats to sea mammals are] too important not to pay attention to.”
This week I read an article called "Face Tattoos Go Mainstream" by Steven Kurutz. This article really interested me the most in The Times because it was an article talking about how face tattoos are becoming more popular than they normally are. I feel like if you were to get a face tattoo 10 years ago a lot of people would have probably judged you because face tattoos were normally looked down upon. Now many celebrities and musical artists have tattoos on their face and so I think that people may be becoming more accepting of it. Even though many more people are getting tattoos on their faces some tattoo artists stated that the idea of getting a tattoo on your face will always be looked down on. I find that statement interesting because I feel that just because you get a tattoo somewhere that's not normally a common place to get a tattoo, you shouldn't judge someone by it. I think that people should be even more open minded and not judge a person by looking at their tattoo and where it is located.
“Science Alone Won’t Save the Earth. People Have to Do That.”
Climate change, habitat loss, and widespread extinctions are just a few of the many environmental challenges we face today. While it may seem like we just have to wait for someone or something to solve all of these problems or rely on science, that is not the case. We as humans have to be the ones who want to talk about and address these issues although they may be controversial. That is why this article caught my eye this week. It explains the lack of talking about what kind of planet we want to live on and a better future for generations to come. By adjusting our expectations of a future we can attain, it can become clear that science is not the answer to everything. In the end, humans decide the future we want for ourselves. While change can start with a simple discussion, it was mentioned in the article that those who benefit most in this world need to step up and make a difference as well. With everyone on the same page for a better future, we don’t need to overcome limits of the natural world, we need to strategize more effectively while working with the world we have today. We have the potential to make this planet a much better place than it is today. This is the planet we live on. We should be proud of what it can become not only for ourselves but for the other billions of people that will live on it in the future.
Article: ‘Crazy Rich Asians’: Why Did It Take So Long to See a Cast Like This?
A hugely anticipated movie, ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ is the first movie to have a majority Asian cast in the last 25 years. Robert Ito summarizes the importance, and the struggles, of finding the perfect all-Asian cast for the movie.
The director of the movie, Jon Chu, sent out a video casting call, asking for any and all Asians interested in being part of the momentous movie. Considering how long it’s been since the last all-Asian movie in Hollywood, there was an enormous response to his video.
But problems came up surrounding who exactly should be able to play which roles. The most concerning involved the lead actor off the film Henry Golding. His mother is Malaysian, and his father is white. There were complaints that casting a half-white actor felt like the white-washing seen in other films before. But many people retracted their statements, and Henry was chosen to play the leading male.
To me, this movie speaks as an immense step toward progress in representation. There are a lot of statistics that show how few movies and shows have non-white actors, and I think this movie will help those statistics change. If the movie does well, it will push many studios to cast their own movies with Asian-American leads. Perhaps better diversity in movies won’t happen overnight, but as this movie proves, we’re headed in the right direction.
In the article Face Tattoos Go Mainstream by Steven Kurutz, I found it interesting that most people who get face tattoos are either rappers or gangsters because I didn't realize how taboo face tattoos are. In my own mind, face tattoos feel more common than they are. Being exposed to modern media has not helped that thought. Face tattoos, in my opinion, aren't as bad as people make them out to be. Tattoos are considered unprofessional, but I don't believe they make people look dangerous. At some point, we might have to let go of the belief that face tattoos and tattoos in general are taboo and unprofessional. With new generations of people going into the workforce, we may have to accept that people want to express themselves on their bodies without being judged or called unfit for a position. For now, those with tattoos on the neck and above will have to continue with their "unusual" lifestyles and their "unconventional" jobs. Although the article itself doesn't give me much hope for advancing on the topic of tattoos, thinking about the situation gives me hope that we may eventually learn to accept them in the western culture.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/31/science/king-penguin-decline-antarcti...
King penguins are the second largest penguin species in the world and they have faced a large population decline. I picked this article for this week because i was interested about what was happening to this penguin species and see if they're becoming endangered or not. They penguin's lived on Pig Island and had a population of 500,000 but due to factors like climate change, and resources the population had decreased. The article say's that "Since then, by closely examining three decades of satellite images, researchers have concluded that there are just 60,000 breeding pairs left on the island." This is a huge decrease, and in the span of 31 years 441,000 breeding pairs have died. The article also say's that "It’s not clear why the colony did not recover. Dr. Weimerskirch said the possibilities include some kind of infection or parasite affecting only animals on this island; predators like feral cats devastating nests; or, perhaps there was so much competition for resources in the giant colony that only the hardiest creatures could survive." These factors on the colony made it really difficult for the colony to bounce back and reach a level population. As of now scientists don't have that much research on how to deal with these penguins but they will do so soon.
I think “How Slender Man Became a Legend” by Gabe Cohn is the most interesting article this week. A lot of the articles on the NYTimes website tackle big, serious topics, so to see one on the infamous internet legend Slender Man was a little bit surprising. I really enjoyed reading this because, even as a fan of the legend, I wasn’t quite sure where it had started or why, for that matter. I found it really interesting to know that I am not alone in enjoying the mild fear that legends like this give people. It was also cool to see how this spread in the age of the internet. It made me wonder how long it would take for something to become so popular before the internet
The article that interests me the most is "Make Your Daughter Practice Math. She'll Thank You Later." This article talks about one subject that I really hate--math. Originally, I firmly believe that boys are generally better at math than girls. After reading this article, I knew that this is not true, girls are at the same average as boys, but they just have another big advantage--better reading and writing skills. This advantage actually becomes the thing that discourages them the most. I feel the same way for most of the time. I always think that I am better at writing than at math. Now I know that I am really good at math too, and I just lack practices. I think my parents made a good decision to make my sister start learning math earlier, and I think she will benefit a lot from it in the future. For me, I will start to practice more and more, and I will stop viewing math as a "horrible thing" anymore.
"Should You Choose a Female Doctor?" -Tara Parker-Pope
This article was the most interesting article I have read this week in the New York Times. One of the first lines of the article caught my attention. Tara Parker-Pope wrote, "Whether your doctor is male or female could be a matter of life or death, a new study suggests.... mortality rates for both women and men were lower when the treating physician was female.." I found this very interesting because I had wondered what difference between male and female doctors explained this study. I already know that women are typically more empathetic than men, but I didn't think that it would play a big part in medical care and saving people's lives. I had just thought that all doctors would give the same procedure or care. The article states that female primary care doctors took more time to listen to patients and didn't interrupt as much as male doctors. This makes sense, the longer a doctor listens to their patient, the more information they gather about the patient and their condition, then the better they can do their job in providing the right care.
After reading this article another thought came to my mind. Generations ago, and even a little now, women weren't encouraged to become doctors because it wasn't considered a 'women's job'. However now, there are more female doctors now than ever. I found it interesting, and slightly funny, that now it is proven that having a female doctor increases your chance of survival.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/30/technology/self-driving-cars.html
If you had the choice to drive yourself or allow a self driving car to drive you,what would you do? In the past few years, self driving cars have come a long way from being just a crazy idea to close to a reality. In the next few years, self driving cars will be perfected. For now, they are still an imperfect technology. Last March, there was an accident that killed one person that involved a self driving car. This has caused more attention to focus on self driving cars.
Uber, the company responsible, has been suspended from using self driving cars with people in them. This raises several concerns. Should people trust self driving cars? I think the answer is yes. The problems arise from the companies claiming to have made more progress than they have. There are companies, such as google, that have already opened consumer businesses. This could be a bit soon, but several of the accidents that have involved self driving cars have been caused by reckless driving by actual human drivers. If all of the cars on the road are replaced by self driving cars, this problem will go away.
This is relevant in my life because I will be getting my driver’s license soon, and if self driving cars take over the roads, it will be useless to have a license. I believe that self driving cars are the future of transportation. They are safer and more efficient than human-driven cars, and will prevent many accidents.
"Shalane Flanagan Will Defend New York City Marathon Title at Age 37" by Lindsay Crouse.
Shalane Flanagan has, for me, become an inspiration in my running career. As an American high school student, one cannot help but notice how attention is often directed to international athletes, especially from Western African countries, specifically Ethiopia and Kenya. Watching Shalane Flanagan beat out three of the most accomplished female marathoners of all time, including two multiple-time world champions and world record holders inspired me to work harder and showed me that there is hope for an American in a distance world dominated by Western Africans. Although I have no reached that level myself, I have seen other American high school, collegiate, and professional runners be able to compete and win, most notably Shalane winning the New York City Marathon, Matthew Centrowitz winning an Olympic Gold medal in the 1500 meter run, Des Linden winning the Boston Marathon, and Galen Rupp getting second at Boston in 2017, and winning the Chicago Marathon, a World Marathon Major, in 2017. Seeing the accomplishments by Americans is important for all American runners, and especially influential on high school level athletes.
In the article " A Generation Grows Up in China Without Google, Facebook or Twitter", China is censoring all social media platforms from the United States and abroad. China has made its own versions of the medias, but has changed them so that the government can censor what enters and exits every one. The government can see what people post and send, which can eliminate a lot of cyber bullying and such. Many of the Chinese people are unaware of the different kinds of search engines that people in the United States use such as Google and the different kinds of social media such as Instagram or Snapchat. It is not vital in their country to be so secretive about what they send it search up. The government can look everything up and they are content with just being able to use the internet. Americans need to be thankful for what they have, such as this amazing technology generation that we have right now.
The article that interested me the most this week on The New York Times was “Argentina’s Senate Narrowly Rejects Legalizing Abortion”. Argentina as a country are very religious (mainly Catholic) however someone else’s religion shouldn’t get in the way of a woman having a choice. The world as a whole has been progressing with women’s rights and I feel this is a step back. Church and state should be separate and ironically Argentina has freedom of religion imbedded in their constitution so why is Catholicism getting in the way of women getting the rights they deserve. Women are dying from complicated and unsafe abortion. Not only this but if they went to extreme lengths you could bring up the cruel murder of a 14-year old girl by her boyfriend that could have easily been avoided if abortion was legal in the country. How do you know things like that won’t ever happen again? People should not be dying for a religious belief that not everyone believes in. I really hope that the activists keep pushing for their cause and that abortion gets legalized very soon and that this shouldn’t discourage them to keep going.
“The Earth Ablaze.” Not only is the earth plagued with crime and poverty, but the earth is actually on fire. Throughout the world, the concerns of the consequences of these now widespread flames continue to climb, intensified by the fact that even before peak fire season, record breaking numbers are on path to emerge. The increasing number of wildfires are the curse from global climate change, which provides optimal conditions for deforestation and the destruction of various natural resources.
This article especially hit home because the Carr conflagration in California is knocking on my Aunt’s home town of Redding California. I have been to Redding and I have seen its beauty, and to hear the news that an enormous fire is looming outside Redding’s doors is terrifying. Also, in July, I visited Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies and witnessed the mountains scarred with dying pine trees, which are caused by the mountain pine beetle. The climate has changed considerable, allowing these beetles to survive where just a decade ago, would not. This impact from climate change is a big contributor to the high fire risk currently present in the park. I even talked with a local whitewater raft guide who said that the townsfolk predict that by 2020, the land surrounding the town of Jasper, will be lit with flames. Without global awareness of the causes of wildfires, one day, your very home may be the next to have its door knocked on by the fingers of flames.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/business/dealbook/indra-nooyi-women-c...
It is insane to think that in a time of such female empowerment, the amount of women in chief executive positions is actually declining. However, the article states that this number is decreasing due to a lack of qualified female candidates and constant criticism.
This shows that this gender imbalance is so much more deep-rooted. When a high positioned women promotes another deserving woman, it is viewed as favoritism. It is no wonder wonder that women don’t ascend to such positions due to such over-scrutinization. I disagree with the author in stating that the glass ceiling has been shattered; it was never broken in the first place.
However, I am firm believer that no position should be handed to someone, it must be earned. A company can’t be run solely based on diversity requirements; this takes away value in the achievement. Instead, the spotlight should be put on the very beginning of a typical person’s journey to success: education. Schools should encourage not just women, but other minorities to challenge themselves and foster leadership skills. Raise children to think outside the stereotypes that limit us. When women do reach such a position with their own merit, they should be provided with the same support system as a man to thrive in their position.
The glass ceiling is far from being shattered but I have faith that one day, with time, it will be demolished.
"How Dangerous Are Italy’s Bridges? Even After Genoa, No One Knows"
This article stood out to and interested me the most this week for many reasons. As the son of Italian immigrants, Italy means a lot to me as it represents a second home. Luckily, none of my Italian relatives live in or where in Genoa when the Morandi Bridge collapsed. However, the news of this tragedy further hit me as I, not too long ago, was driving across this bridge while on vacation visiting my family this summer.
As I have been learning more about this very unfortunate event, I have seen the out pour of responses. Many, including Genoa-born international soccer stars, have sent their prayers to the victims and their families. However, another response which was mentioned in this article was from Italian politicians and citizens who are arguing and pointing fingers. Although I believe that if someone is responsible, they should be punished; I think a better use of time and energy would be for politicians to figure out a way to create laws about infrastructure regulation. The fact that the government does not oversee the maintenance of bridges, but rather leaves it in the hands of companies is not the best option in my opinion. I do not believe that companies would put people's lives at risk, but if they find a way of saving money they would probably take it. Italy and its governing officials need to set their arguments aside and make sure they minimize the risk of a tragedy like this occurring again.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/technology/infowars-alex-jones-apple-...
Alex Jones and Infowars Content Is Removed From Apple, Facebook, and Youtube by Jack Nicas
This article mentions what I believe to be one of the most necessary and important conversation of our age: the role of tech companies in the censorship of material. We have given companies like Facebook, and Alphabet absolute control over what we see online and they have been very libertarian in their ideals of censorship and control, but with the wave of truly false news and hate that now seems to dominate the internet, it seems as if the time has come for some kind of censorship. This case of censorship of Mr. Jones not seems both deserved of by Mr. Jones and necessary for the good of the online community. Infowars is awful and should not exist - that is clear - and yet, I find it very difficult to trust that with the tool of censorship the great tech companies will always work for the good of the community. If that was truly the goal of Alphabet and Facebook, then we would not be bombarded with advertising every time we log on and our data would not be harvested and sold without our knowledge. So we must discuss and decide the role of these massively powerful companies in online censorship and establish rules and regulations for them or who knows how far they could reach.
This week, I read an article called “An Underappreciated Key to College Success: Sleep”. This article discussed the importance of getting a good night rest - an idea that is very unfamiliar to the modern teenager. I will admit, I do not get nearly as much sleep as I should; after going through all my classes, attending meetings and practices, then coming home to finish work and study, it seems as if there is no time for sleep at all. Therefore, I was able to relate to the students referenced in the article and I also learned a lot about getting more sleep. I also found it interesting that the article was written by an elderly lady with grandchildren. That background of the author helped me understand why she is so passionate about kids getting more sleep.
Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/science/plastics-polymers-pollution.html
While the rate of innovation in engineering plastics that can break down is not at an incredible speed, it is fascinating to see the progress that is being made and the possible applications of both biodegradable and "unzipping" polymers. In the wake of a recent movement to eliminate plastic straws from circulation, there are innumerable other fronts on the battle against pollution, each with its own little niche.
Consumers are not the greatest at taking action in recycling plastics (as only 10% is estimated to be recycled overall), so new solutions like the ones being engineered by polymer chemists are imperative in working towards reducing the impact of the 90% of plastic that ends up in landfills and strewn across the earth's landscape.
I found it interesting while reading though how one of the chemists stated that packaging plastics-which often are most associated with pollution- are not a viable consideration to be replaced by unzipping polymers due to the cost. Maybe the biggest obstacle in replacing plastics is how insanely cheap they are, and this further proves that. As time passes though I wonder if biodegradable or unzipping plastics will become commonplace enough so that prices are driven down and packaging plastics can be replaced with more environmentally-friendly solutions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/sports/sports-cliches-metaphors.html
Growing up around sports, lingo such as, "The goalie stood on his head" and "throw in the towel" are constantly being used. However, much like most people, I had no idea why these phrases were worded the way that they are. Obviously the goalie wasn't standing on his head, yet everyone knows that it indicates he had a very good game. With this, I was instantly intrigued by this article as I searched for some sort of explanation. As it turns out, phrases that you wouldn't commonly associate with sports actually started off that way. Universal phrases such as "hands down" surprisingly started with sports. While I was surprised at first, I later began to realize the connections that are all over our vocabulary that relate to sports. It would appear as though such specific phrases such as "out of left field" would only relate to sports, they have slowly morphed into phrases that can be used in multiple context. While the actually reasons behind the phrases may not be important or significant, I found it very intriguing to understand how formations of phrases ease into peoples everyday vocabulary over time. It also made me to wonder the context of other words and phrases. It is crazy to think that someday words that are currently trending will soon be lost in origin as more and more begins to circulate. I believe this ability to create is truly why words are one of the most fascinating aspects to study
The article that interested me the most this week was, “How Slender Man Became a Legend” by Gabe Cohn. When I was a kid, my Slender Man was the boogie man. I used to get scared he’d be under my bed, in my closet, everywhere. Just like Slender man. But, once you grow up you start to forget and no longer be afraid of those made up things. I’m not saying Slender man is fake or not real but, personally I’ve never believed in him. I do know a old phone game that me and friends used to play called “Slender Man” did scare me. But I was never afraid of him and I’m still not. Like the article said, Slender Man has blown up on the internet. And I agree one hundred percent. There is a movie about him that’s coming out his year! He still exists in the media and he might not go anywhere. Myths about Santa, Easter bunny, Slender man, boogie man, you name it, has been kept in our mouths for centuries. The question is, do they actually exist? There are pictures of Slender Man in the back of pictures. Articles in the news paper with information about him. It seems like some people don’t stop believing, but is that a bad thing? If we did stop believing in these things, maybe they wouldn’t exist? In my article, there is a picture with children at a local park. In the way back is a tall, faceless man, in all black. Supposedly, the same children went missing, is it coincidental, or could Slender man possibly be real. Who knows what dark and disturbing things lurk out in our world.
Mac_GHS_2020
"Is True Crime as Entertainment Morally Defensible?"
Upon reading the title, “Is True Crime as Entertainment Morally Defensible?”, I immediately thought “I love True Crime, how could it possibly be immoral?” and continued to go through mentally pardoning each point she had made, possibly proving her even more. Her arguments were extremely strong and stayed aligned with her initial point, without straying to untied edges or subjective opinions.
Her main point is that writers of True Crime shows dramatize and subjectively place blame, changing the viewers opinion on what may or may not happen. She even went as far to say, “Producers often have their own theories prior to investigation… [and] To support these preconceived notions, creators can even manipulate evidence by omitting, under analyzing or changing inconvenient yet crucial facts.”(Chestnut 2). In one hand, by leaving out or not completing the full story the authors are leaving their audience room to continue investigating on their own, but this does not pardon them from withholding the truth and that should be recognized. Points like these help in proving that these shows may be hurting the victims, but that’s where the one fault in her argument was. She stated that many families do not want the attention falling on their cases but in many true crime shows, these families do interviews supporting the idea that they want awareness of situations their loved ones are in so that other people can avoid that in the future.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/technology/infowars-alex-jones-apple-...
Alex Jones and Infowars Content Is Removed From Apple, Facebook and YouTube
I like this article because it shows into the minds of giant companies and what they dislike. Before this article I did not know who Alex Jones was and I also did not know what he did to get blocked by giant tech companies. I found out that Alex Jones is the internet’s notorious conspiracy theorist which is a subject that I personally enjoy. Conspiracy theories force you to be creative with the evidence that has been presented to you. Although I like conspiracy theories I thought Jones took them too far. He has said that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax which is not case. One of the main reasons that tech companies have started going against people like Jones is because of the 2016 election. Many parties blame the tech companies for their platforms releasing misinformation. I see that tech companies are now becoming a major target for parties because they can reach of a lot of people. Politics are going more online than ever and fake information will be there. Tech companies are being targeted by lawmakers for this which I believe is wrong. Alex Jones has one of the many people who have been removed for these types of actions. I do believe that Jones should filter things that the public does not relate to. This was a good read which shows the power of politics and tech companies.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/technology/infowars-alex-jones-apple-...
I decided to read this article this week because I had heard about this on social media and wanted to see if I could find out more this week on the situation. My personal opinion is that Alex Jones'/Infowars' videos and podcasts shouldn't be getting blocked on mainstream media, mainly because of freedom of speech and the fact they should be allowed to voice their opinions. Obviously many of his opinions are unpopular and can easily be rendered offensive, such as his claim that Sandy Hooks was a hoax (as mentioned in the article), but I still don't believe they should be censored. The thing about this article that interested me and surprised me the most is that Facebook removed four of Alex Jones' accounts; one of which that had 1.7 million followers, and YouTube terminated his channel which had over 2.4 million subscribers. Spotify also removed a podcast claiming the reason was because it violated their rule of hate speech. Another thing in this article that caught my interest is that Donald Trump was once on Alex Jones' show and despite the fact he has claimed multiple times that the government staged the Oklahoma City bombing, Trump still claimed Jones' reputation as "amazing". In conclusion, I personally believe he shouldn't be censored even though I (and the majority of people) don't agree with what he says as he has the rights to make whatever claims he wants.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/08/technology/personaltech/internet-trol...
As someone who spends a decent amount of time on the internet, Brian Chen’s interested me but also unrelatable with the corner of the internet I find myself in. There is no doubt that internet trolls exist, but the thought of protecting myself from internet trolls has never occurred to me as an issue, and I attribute that to the fact that I either place myself in communities with some degree of anonymity, like Reddit or Steam, and refuse to post on traditional social media, like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Many would argue that with more anonymity, comes a more chaotic atmosphere where people will say more inflammatory things due to the non existent consequences of one's words, but I think that the opposite holds true. The more you attach a person to an online nickname, the more meaning a comment holds. A stupid comment becomes a personal attack, and a troll becomes more powerful, as he or she can cause real damage. With anonymity, rather than having a person attacking another person, it becomes words fighting words, which distances the user from the toxicity.
Even without implementing anonymity, one can still distance themselves from trolls. The block feature exists for a reason, and the way content is curated means you generally find content that you would enjoy. If you still find yourself surrounded by trolls, perhaps you should examine if you are one of trolls.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/world/asia/indonesia-earthquake-lombo...
The article that I picked for this weeks New York Times is Indonesia earthquake: at least 98 dead and 20,000 homeless by Richard C. Paddlock and Joe Cochrane. This 7.0 magnitude earthquake on the island of Lombok took 98 lives and injured 236 people and left at the least 20,000 without homes. This article interested me because I am interested in historical events For example I did two of my articles about historical events. I did my first article on Hurricane Maria and my second article about a missouri duck boat crash. Many people feared the idea of sleeping in their homes. Many slept in cars, fields, and even the street. Another reason this article interested me is because it talks about how tourists came from vacation and about how hotels were packed because some tourists were without a place to stay. Most residents were off the island shortly after the disaster happened. Many people were forced to leave as the huge earthquake which was felt even from nearby islands could have caused tsunamis and the aftershocks could still be deadly. Finally this article interests me because I am interested by natural disasters such as tornadoes hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes. For example to reach my accelerated reader goal I read books about topics such as the one above. This event was a tragedy and traumatized many people. The earthquake left many people homeless and took people from there families.
"Trapped in 99-Million-Year-Old Amber, a Beetle With Pilfered Pollen"
The article of this week is of the discoveries in science. As one who is passionate of the natural world, these publications are of great interest. They offer a way for people to learn of the world around them and even how humanity is advancing.
Today it is common knowledge that bees and butterflies pollinate flowers. But plants existed before both. Plants like cycads, fern like with cones insted of flowers, were thought to be pollinated by beetles like they are today. The discovery of a beetle with pollen from a cycad plant from 99 million years ago is the strongest evidence yet for the theory. Thus leads to the probability of beetles have been the pollinators of the world since the Triassic, millions of years before bees and butterflies first appeared.
With this, it gives a bit of backstory to the partnership of insect and plant seen in gardens and faded in biology textbooks and children stories.
I read the article about Pope Francis declaring that the death penalty is unacceptable. I believe that Pope Francis made the right decision. The church has stated, in the past, that it is acceptable in dire need. The Pope has put his foot down and said that it is unacceptable. I am against the Death Penalty and I believe that it is no way for someone to die. There are so many factors that play when deciding a person’s fate. There are also accounts about how people were falsely convicted and they still died. After the fact, the government had to make “amends” to the loved ones relatives.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/world/europe/pope-death-penalty.html
I found it interesting how many classes pastry chefs have to take to become a professional pastry chef. At the beginning the only reason I read this was to see how hard it is to make my favorite dessert, chocolate. All the things a pastry chef makes are so complicated and yet of course delicious. Some desserts are more complex than others for example, in just a one layered dessert there is pineapple caramel with macadamia praline, and it is amazing how many different flavors can be fit into one dessert. Who knew that chocolate and pastries were so hard to make?
What I found most interesting in the times this week was “Ever Wanted to Get Revenge? Try This Instead.”
In this article by Caroline Cox, she says how it can be unhealthy to get revenge.
She says that revenge may seem nice, but it actually may prevent one from moving on. The want to get even tends to “anchor that person in the past”. Instead of getting revenge, one should move on in a positive way. It helps let go of negative and toxic feelings.
I say that this is true. The best revenge is to show whoever made you want to get revenge, that you’re a bigger person than them and you’re unbothered by whatever they did.
For example, Taylor Swift got bullied as a kid. She decided she was going to prove all her bullies wrong and now she is famous. Many celebrities have this backstory.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/05/world/asia/bangladesh-students-protes...
In the last two weeks, students in Dhaka, Bangladesh have begun to protest the unsafe roads and poorly enforced traffic laws. Safety on the road for drivers and passengers has been a prevailing issue for the last few years in Bangladesh. It was reported that close to 23,500 people were either killed or injured in 2017 due to ineffective implementation of laws. This eye-opening article highlights the dangerous conditions on roads and public plea for change.
At the end of July, a bus driver lost control while driving and ran over people waiting at the bus stop. When two students were reported dead, protests began. While reading this article, I realized that law enforcement on the road is often taken for granted, whether it is for speeding or jaywalking. Hence, to improve conditions, people are fighting against the lenient laws that allow drivers to skip traffic lights and stop signs.
As the protests continue to grow larger, it is interesting to reflect how students began this movement. Over the years, there have been many student-led movements that have gained momentum and caused positive change, and this one is no different. Students in Bangladesh have continued to make their voice heard and have established that safety is something that no one should compromise.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/science/plastics-polymers-pollution.html
The article that I read was called "Designing the Death of a Plastic." This specific article captured my attention because I am very interested in protecting the environment in any way that I can. That is why I was hopeful when I came across this article. Plastics, as everyone knows, are enemies of the environment. Before I read this article, I had no idea what an "unzipping polymer" was, but now I am confident that this new plastic technology could be the answer in replacing the current disposable plastics. By creating a plastic that be both durable and easily broken down, we may be able to save the Earth as well as the ability to use plastics safely. Even though this new technology is in early stages of development and is currently expensive to produce, I believe that any step in the right direction is a victory for the world.
This article is one of the prime examples as to how theatre can open a new world to everyone. Having same-sex couples in an Rodger's and Hammerstein classic is a risky move that can upset a lot of people, but proves to be a stroke of genius and is a prime example of how the theatre is an open and safe place to be unique.
Our world is ever changing and evolving, and we are realizing that we need to change and differ our views from those of the past. Performing art like this is helping that change, and showing the world that it is okay to take risks. The article itself states that Rodgers and Hammerstein took risks in all their plays, so it only seems right to continue those gambles. Any theatre company will tell you that this is a place where everyone is accepting and being different is encouraged. When trying to green light a pitch like this, it makes since for producers and owners to be wary. R&H is a classic duo who will always be remembered in the theatre world, but it is important to make sure it stays relevant. Everyone is a critic, and it is impossible to never offend or upset anyone with these ideas, but we need to keep stretching the boundaries of musical theatre. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/theater/oklahoma-same-sex-oregon-shak...
"Starbucks to Stop Using Disposable Plastic Straws by 2020"
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/09/business/starbucks-plastic-straws.html
What interested me the most in the Times this week was an article that discussed how people are taking action to help the environment. All throughout the summer, I have noticed people have been trying to use less plastic straws; In restaurants the waiter/waitress would not automatically give me a straw with my drink, at home my mom purchased stainless steel straws and stopped buying plastic ones, and on my trip to Costa Rica my tour guides were very strict about not using plastic straws. I understood that single-use plastics are harmful towards the environment, including straws, but why has not using plastic straws become so popular now? This article answered my question by saying that while waste is being processed, plastic straws often get "lost or diverted", ending up polluting oceans and landfills. To advertise the movement of using less single-use plastics, Earth Day this year was centered around ending plastic pollution. Furthermore, many non-profit organizations have been formed worldwide to strive for a cleaner environment in the future. Larger, well known organizations such as Starbucks and McDonald's are advocators for this movement, too.
The New York Times article that interested me this week was “Why Sitting May Be Bad for Your Brain” by Gretchen Reynolds. This is interesting to me because I have sat for hours. Another reason is I sit forty five minutes at a time in school. Sitting for hours slows the blood flow to our brains. This could affect long-term brain health. To prevent this, getting up for at least two minutes helps brain blood flow. Drops in brain blood flow can cloud thinking and memory temporarily. Long-term declines have higher risks of neurodegenerative diseases, like dementia. Not only does sitting for long periods of time affect your brain, but also other parts of your body. Blood flow in the legs declines as well. Brain blood flow actually rises when you take walking breaks. This was tested in Liverpool where they tested people who sit in an office all day. It was apparent that brain blood flow slightly decreased when sitting for four hours straight. This article has made me more aware of how long I am sitting for and that I should take more breaks. Hopefully this easy change will positively affect my health in the future.
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https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/make-most-of-family-table
I am a strong believer in the necessity of family time at the dinner table. It honestly shocks and saddens me to know that there are families out there that aren't as close as I think a family should be.
My family has always been very close and I know that it has had a tremendous impact on my life in the uttermost positive way. Throughout my entire life they have always been there for me through thick and thin, and I know if I ever had a problem they would be the first people I would go to. And whenever something happens to me or I feel upset or angry I can always consult with my family for guidance with no hassle. My mom, dad, brothers, and sister have always and will always be my favorite people. I feel as though every family should be that close. Close enough that when someone makes a certain change in expression or response, one already knows something is wrong.
And I definitely think a lot of bonding is done at the dinner table. Sitting down and enjoying a warm home-made meal or a quick snack after a long day is a great place to connect and share ideas and express love and happiness. Sitting down with my family always improves whatever mood I’m in, and when I do I have a better day than the times I don’t. My family's funniest, sweetest, and happiest moments come from when we're at the dinner table. I most certainly will cherish all those amazing memories for the rest of my life.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/08/technology/personaltech/internet-trol...
The internet can be a place of harassment and a place of hate, but such negativity is the price we pay for the use of a platform built on freedom of speech. Tech companies should always have the right to decide what content is acceptable to host on their platform, just like users should always have the right to avoid domains containing material they do not wish to view.
Avoiding hurtful comments on the internet is not difficult, but many people throw themselves into the spotlight through the use of social media directly tied to their identity without any pseudonym or veil of anonymity. The line "how do we protect ourselves?" seems satirical when the answer is so obvious: Don't read the comments.
I'm not saying the laws don't apply to the internet—of course they do. Harassment, when it has real-world consequences, should be grounds for prosecution. However, if a tech company wants to create a platform which encourages unrestricted free speech it's their choice. People often say (or post) things that others disagree with—that they might be offended by—but this is the reality of life.
Privately run organizations are allowed to censor as much or as little as they want—the danger comes when pushing for government intervention. If the United States implements loosely defined laws against offensive speech, your voice may be the one being silenced.
Not many subjects can bring countries together. Certainly, politics can indisputably be used to connect most countries, but politics is not the most comforting subject. Better yet, music unites everyone. No matter where one lives, one’s gender, or race, everyone can bond over music. Even as infants, lullaby songs are sung to them to calm the infants down. Even now, music can be used to lower stress and anxiety levels. The world can thank the creation of music to artists who construct melodies and lyrics to make up songs today. Iconic artists today in the United States can consist of Beyoncé, Rihanna, Lorde, Drake, etc.… Recently, Drake released an album that people have crazed about, and in the album, there is this song that instantly became exceedingly viral. People dance to its lyrics and it is seen everywhere now! In the New York Times video “Two farmers have become an internet sensation in India after performing the Kiki Challenge alongside their oxen,” there are two men who are not from the United States dancing to this trendy song. When I viewed this video, my eyes really opened to see how the world is tied in so many ways. I realized that everyone enjoys music and dancing, it is not a weird American thing anymore, it is a universal seen norm. nowadays, anyone could hear the phrase “Kiki, do you love me?” and know it is the song “In my Feelings’ by Drake. This video is the reason of why I was interested in the New York Times this week.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/well/move/why-sitting-may-be-bad-for-...
What's interesting about this article is the way I believe the readers will take this information rather than the content. We have all heard how delicate the human body is and this article supports the fact that people need to take care of their health frequently. People can stimulate a healthier blood flow when short, but consistent, breaks are taken. I am sure people who have read this article have heard of something similar to this. Yet, how many of those people have actually taken this advice? While we may never know for sure how much of an impact this health tip has had on the individuals, we can see how society as a whole has ignored it. How common is it to see employers encouraging their employees to take short breaks? Do school districts advise teachers to do what they can to take care of a student's long term health or do what will seemingly improve grades? In our busy world where work is the top priority, it is only common to see many ignore the message of articles tell people to take a break.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/movies/slender-man-timeline.html?hpw&...
This week I was interested in reading,"How Slender Man became a legend." People aren't really scaried of Slenderman but afraid of what they don't know about him. First started a decade ago when a blur was there on a picture of a childrens' playground. Slenderman was seen with a black suit with tentacles coming out of his back. After there was a missing child saying it's like she disappeared in thin air. A few years later Slenderman made another appearance in a YouTube of him stalking the cameraman. After that many people made similar videos of them seeing Slenderman. A gaming company then made a Slenderman game which turned out to go very viral.
The reason I was interested in this was because I had played this game and I thought it wasn't going to be mentioned again.
"We Use Sports Terms All the Time. But Where Do They Come From?" This article caught my eye as I heard someone say "You'll knock that essay out of the park" earlier today. This article went into terms used on a daily basis that people may not know was from sports. Most terms come from baseball, boxing, and horse racing. These were the most popular american sports in the 1800s when these terms first came into use. Some also came from cricket, soccer, and lawn bowling. These terms started as simple sports plays but turned into daily use slang when news papers and book authors started using them as metaphors instead of their intended sports meanings.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/09/science/marine-mammals-pesticides.htm...
I found this article about marine life interesting to read, as It showed how we have to take into consideration the progression of species around us and how we can affect that. The article talked about how marine mammals not producing an enzyme as well as human pesticides could make them more vulnerable to being harmed. I think I found this interesting because growing up I was always fascinated in Marine Biology. Humans in general seem to be fascinated by this type of sea life, such as with tourist attractions like Sea World. Yet seldom do we consider our effect on the species that we like to admire so much. I think this article indirectly raises awareness to how our actions don’t just affect human life but the life of animals around us. We have become adapted to living with different species yet the possibility that we can lose common species doesn’t seem so real. When there is a firm connection between humans and other species. I definitely think that although this article is a good starting point, it shows how there is such much unknown to us in this world. We are eager to explore and learn more, but how much we don’t know pushes how careful we must be to our planet and make sure to nurture it.
The article “The Scientist Who Scrambled Darwin’s Tree of Life” was interesting to me since reading the title. Everyone has learned about Charles Darwin and his ideas that affected the world and it’s living organisms, but to read a title like this changes the idea. Of course Darwin created the idea of natural selection to prove the point of organisms changing to adapt to the environment in order to survive. Though the first thing to mind was that the scientist didn’t seem to change a huge part of the “Tree of life.” The article states that the scientist found a “third kingdom” living material, which in my opinion that doesn’t change the tree it much rather gives a new area to study when discovering new organisms that fall into the category of which the archaea falls in. The background given on the archaea is that it was confused to be a bacteria. I think that this opens doors for scientist to keep going into the microscopic world with new technology to find species that belong in the new third kingdom or simply create a new kingdom as the archaea did. The article in general was interesting including the background knowledge from the subject of the natural selection idea. This helped me going back to subjects refreshing my brain to continue reading on leaving me intrigued with the subject. As well as including new subjects I never heard of, at the end of the run the archaea might just change the way the world sees other organisms.
“Trapped in 99-Million-Year-Old Amber, a Beetle With Pilfered Pollen”
The thumbnail was what drew me to the article because of how disgusting yet beautiful it looked. I personally dislike bugs, but I alway enjoying looking at bugs encased in amber because of how harmless and fascinating they are in that state. The fact that they are well preserved is captivating because they are like a piece of art, but they also hold a great deal of information. In this article, scientists came to the conclusion from the preserved bug that beetles were pollinators along with bees and butterflies. In fact, they were pollinators even before bees. The information overwhelmed me because it disproved the normal concept of bees and butterflies being the main pollinators. I thought it was interesting to learn about beetles even if I am not a fan of them. This articles shows that there are many misconceptions in the world that the human race does not know about or realize and that there many things out there waiting to be uncovered. Even a little thing such as an ancient beetle could hold an immense amount of information.
New Sentences: From Drake’s ‘Survival’
“Who is on your Mount Rushmore?” I’ve never actually witnessed an interchange about this topic nor have I delved into the subject matter before. I guess my generic answer would have to be my parents, friends, etc., which is entirely true, I adore all of them. But, in terms of specificity, my answer changes drastically.
Drake’s new album is truly a gem (at least I think so), coming from a drake fan for multiple years. I guess the public would not think of him as the "philosophical" type, but one may be surprised. The line, “My Mount Rushmore is me with four different expressions” was certainly given a second thought by me on a Sunday afternoon. Despite Drake being considered quintessential by many teenagers, he too experiences the more negative side of the wide range of emotions our minuscule face muscles allow us to express. Can you guess what was on his Mount Rushmore? His most exquisite modulations, joy, melancholia, anger, and pain; the basic productions of his chart-topping success.
This got me thinking of my so called Mount Rushmore’s. I can’t say I disagree with drake, but I was striving to be original. I ended up spending hours thinking of my quartet. In the end, I would have to say my various personalities make up my Mount Rushmore. I behave distinctively in certain situations, whether I am with my friends, parents, teachers, or the general public. Ultimately, that is who I am; that’s what makes up my mountain.
"In Kiki Challenge, Muddy Indian Farmers Show World How to Groove"
Most teenagers today in the United States have heard of the "Kiki Challenge". Personally, I've seen a number of Kiki Challenge videos online and even a few being made. The Kiki Challenge consists of a person or two dancing outside of a moving car to the song "In My Feelings" by Drake. Most of the videos are filmed on an IPhone in the United States of an American teenager. But, this video of Indian farmers doing the challenge is the complete opposite. The Indian farmers are completely muddy while dancing to the song in a soaking rice field next to their oxen, instead of a car. They are trying to be part of this internet dance craze that has clicked worldwide. Out of all the Kiki Challenges I've seen, this video has impacted me and interested me the most. It reminded me that all people around the world are the same. Everyone wants to be part of the internet and to social with one another. It doesn't matter if you are a 15-year-old who lives in California, or in this case two Indian men on a farm. We are all the same inside and I think privileged people, including myself, forget that sometimes and it should be acknowledged more.
https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/make-most-of-family-table
I thought this article was interesting because it relates to my personal life. It's hard to find time for a family to have meals together. Especially when one kid plays soccer multiple nights a week, and the other kid does theatre almost everyday after school. Parents work so they can provide for their kids, but sometimes it's harder to provide time. This article states some good points about how family meals could occur during breakfast, lunch, or dinner. My family typically only eats together at dinner time, except on the weekends when we try to eat together as much as possible. If my family tries to arrange time to eat dinner together at least three times a week, I think we would all get along better throughout the stressful weeks. When families don't see each other often enough, they grow apart and it's more difficult to make conversation with each other. If a family sits down and eats, or plays a game together often enough, the bond grows and a deeper connection is made within the family. I am going to encourage my family to eat together more often, even if it means we might have to pause the homework load for a night.
Article: Google Employees Protest Secret Work on Censored Search Engine for China
This week while reading through the headlines of the Times, I decided to look into the technology area to catch up on current developments in the world of tech. And after searching for something interesting, this article caught my eye and I decided to look into it, and after reading it, my perception of Google has been widened. Beforehand, I only knew that Google had pulled out of China years ago due to censorship issues. However, this article has given me insight into how Google runs in the background and its ethics policy and that is why this article is one of the most interesting to me this week. This article in a way has broken a perfect image to me. Before, Google, to me, was a company designed to spread easily accessible knowledge to everyone who wanted it. After reading this, I now realize that Google is similar to nearly every other company in that it chooses profitability over following an ethical path. One of the founding points of Google was to allow everybody to have access to all knowledge, yet by creating this censored search engine specifically for China, the company has chosen to go against one of its founding principles in favor of getting more money from one of the largest internet consuming audiences. Hopefully, Google will return to following its founding principles and not create the censored search engine but only time will tell.
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/05/us/politics/trump-tower-meeting-donal...
I find the investigation into Russian election interference and collusion extremely fascinating. Top members of Trump’s campaign are suspected of working with Russians to influence the 2016 presidential election. It is totally unbelievable that all this is happening… or is it? It is widely believed that corruption runs rampant throughout the US government. Why would these events be such a surprise?
With more news about corruption and collusion coming out daily, I just cannot understand how people can still support Trump and his administration. There have been several cases of Trump tweeting things he shouldn’t- such as admitting that the meeting between Trump Jr. and a Kremlin-connected lawyer was for political purposes. Considering Trump tweeting habits, and the large amounts of evidence discovered by the Mueller investigation, it is only a matter of time until Trump himself is on the stand. This issue likely goes beyond what anyone could imagine- more corruption will be exposed as the investigation goes on. This will be a Watergate 2.0, a political event that goes down in history.
Largest King Penguin Colony in the World Drops by 90%
By: Karen Weintraub
To most people, a topic about penguins might not seem interesting or appealing. However, I have grown up knowing penguins as my favorite animal and have always loved the weird qualities about them. Because of this, I was drawn to this article eager to find out what was going on. It is sad to know that a colony of penguins is decreasing so rapidly due to natural causes such as climate changes. I will be looking into this topic further and trying to see if any scientific progress has been made to find a fix for this event. This was all happening to a group of penguins that were identified as king penguins. Based on my own knowledge, and confirmation from this article, I know that these penguins are the second largest species only the emperor penguins. If the smaller species of penguins are fine, I would want to know why the larger species would have more trouble in their own environment. I am glad I read this article and now have further knowledge about my favorite animal. I hope a solution is found so that penguins can thrive again despite this bump in their path.
Is 'being kept alive' the same as living? In Helen Ouyang's recent article, "My Patient's Sisters", she discusses a past patient she worked with who was on life-support, and whether or not it was worth keeping her alive. This patient had no mental capabilities left, even after hearing this news her family decided to continue life-support. Through years of experience Dr. Ouyang came to the belief that doctors, not family members, should have control over when to end a patients life-support. I disagree completely. Most people today have close relationships with their families throughout their lives, determining them the most suitable to make crucial decisions. Also, everybody has different beliefs and religious traditions. It would be impossible for every doctor to be able to accommodate these factors for each individual. People would argue that it would be selfish to keep someone alive when there seems to be 'no hope'. However, technology is always advancing and new medical advances are discovered everyday so recovery should always be a goal.
Life-support is a controversial topic that continues to be discussed between medical professionals and family members everyday. People have to make these life or death decisions all the time, and although they are difficult, they should still have the right to decide on behalf of their loved ones. In conclusion, doctors should be there to help the patients and their families, but not make decisions for them.
Indonesia Earthquake: At Least 98 Dead and 20,000 Homeless
I chose this article because I did not hear of this at all on the news or anyone talking about this extremely devastating event.
Since this was such a severe occurrence in Indonesia I feel as if the United States should be taking more action to help because I could not even imagine what the people of the area are going through right now. Especially the tourists because they were probably thinking they would not be able to ever go home. It is relieving to hear none of the tourists were reported killed. Even though almost 100 people died because of this there was also new life brought in to the world, as the Indonesian Red Cross said they had helped deliver a baby and the mother had named it "Gempa", meaning earthquake. This shows there is always some good that comes out of the bad.
I 'reviewed' the article, "At Home in the Jungle, Everything Is ‘Alive and Has a Spirit’". This articles photos and dialogue opened my eyes as I was viewing how we, as humans, are more surrounded by life than we really think. To mamy these photos might not mean anything, to others who see these as I view them, reality becomes an entirely new world. A world filled with new wonders, extraordinary events, remarkable landscapes, and full of life. I would also prefer to mention that these photos truly hit me where the heart is and have become a sort of stopping point for my experience of just closing my eyes, breathing in, then out as tensions are released and inspirational thoughts are able to soar. In the end, I hope for anyone who just needs to calm down, relax, and just breath, really does take their time to view photos and imagery that really interests their feelings as a person, as they should hopefully get tempation to do something more, do something great.
The Secret to Ant Efficiency Is Idleness
There are, what, over 7 billion people on the Earth? That seems like a whole lot, especially when you factor in that the countless people who you have passed by in your life, never to be seen again, only make up a minute fraction of the human population. Now, think about this: the other species on Earth substantially eclipse the size of our own. It’s hard to comprehend how many other beings on this Earth are just trying to get through the day. When Netflix is buffering, or when you crack your phone, it may seem like these issues are the most crucial in the world. The entire Earth appears to revolve around you and your slow WiFi. In this moment, no one thinks about the billions of others who are having complications as well. However, I can almost guarantee you that absolutely nobody is thinking about the struggles of other organisms, especially something as tiny as an ant. While your show is loading, an inconceivable amount of ants are working extremely hard to build their hills. There are far more tired ants than angry owners of a broken phone, yet it is something that seems trivial and even stupid to be talking about. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we all need to put our issues into perspective. For how important and exclusive our concerns may seem, there are nearly an infinite amount of other living things having their own struggles; don’t forget the ants just trying to build a home.
Our days are luxurious, repetitive cycles. We wake up every morning, and drag ourselves to whatever bathroom is closest to the bed in which we slept. We then proceed to brush our teeth, dress ourselves, drink our coffee, and begin our days. Life is precious. We never quite know what we have until it is taken away from us. For most, it takes a loss, such as the natural disasters occurring in California, to truly grasp the fact that everything from the cloths on our backs, to the roofs over our heads are gifts we should cherish every day. Tragedies like the California Wildfires should display to mankind that the lives we live and take for granted can upturn in the blink of an eye.
In ”California Fire Now the Largest in State History: ‘People Are on Edge,’” by Tim Arango and Jennifer Medina, the authors speak of the immense number of firefighters who have assisted the destruction, and the even more significant amount of destroyed land, but then reveal to us that this shattering information “does not even begin to tell the story of the challenge…” Readers can already imagine the severity of the situation through the given numerical facts, as the subject matter then goes from just another headline, to something they truly feel for. However, when it is suggested that even this information cannot depict the horror of the California Wildfires, this article gives us readers no choice but to pauses our pattern-like lives and appreciate every aspect of them.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/09/world/americas/argentina-abortion-vot...
The article that caught my interest was called “Argentina’s Senate Narrowly Rejects Legalizing Abortion”. As a woman, reproductive rights are an important topic to me and is a current issue of today. Argentina is a country that is split on this issue. Abortion is currently illegal in Argentina, it is only allowed in cases of rape or in the interest of the woman’s health.
Many unsafe, illegal abortions are performed in Argentina since the government is hesitant to allow any abortions, even in cases of rape. In a recent article by the Huffington Post, “Up to 500,000 illegal abortions are performed in Argentina every year, according to Sandra Hoyos, an organizer with the National Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe, and Free Abortions” Making abortions illegal forces women to turn to risky abortions, since they have no other option.
Even though Catholicism and religion play a role in this, I believe that it should be legal and it should be up to the individual to decide what they want to do. I think that it is immoral to force beliefs onto someone. In my opinion, it is not right to force a woman to have a child if she does not want to, or if it risks her health. Overall, I think that activists should push forward and help Argentina legalize abortions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/19/opinion/trump-diplomacy-state-departm...
Since the day I was born, the USA is the country we all admire, the greatest democracy in the world. If there is one country that can solve the world’s problems, it is the USA. However, after this year, my point of view has changed. The USA needs a strong state department, as mentioned in the article and as general Mattis said, “If you don't fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition ultimately”.
The withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran as well as from the Paris agreement presents the USA as a country which does not keep its promises. The division in the USA causes the current president to destroy the work of the former one and the credibility of the USA with it.
Moreover, the trade war will destabilize the world’s economy, including the USA’s. This action will cost the USA’s companies, which will lose investments (due to the unstable economy it brings) and buyers in foreign countries (due to the rising prices as a result of the retaliation). This shows the USA as an irrational country which others cannot make a deal with.
Overall, those actions have damaged the USA’s image. This damage weakens the USA, its soft power and the relationship with its allies. This is why the state department needs to be strong, especially now. President Roosevelt once said “speak softly and carry a big stick”, the USA shouts.
What interested me the most in the Times this week is “Take a Vacation From Exercise? Your Body May Not Thank You” (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/01/well/exercise-break-vacation-metaboli... This article was of interest to me because I have not been getting much exercise at all lately. I am starting to get back into working out, but still getting in to the flow of it. I was interested to know how my body is going to react to restarting exercise.
Throughout this summer my activity level has decreased. For three days after my last Regents exam I played basketball every day, then had my first summer league game. After that my only activity was twice a week, once at summer league, and once at open gym. Once summer league ended I did basically nothing active, open gyms stopped because the gym floor was being redone. I am trying to get my self-motivated for my senior year of basketball, but all the other collage and SAT stuff can be overwhelming. I just need to think about my goals individually, not all at once.
The article gave me some motivation that I will be able to gain back what I had lost, since I am still young, I fit with the college students in the study, who were able to come back from a break of exercise in a few weeks. This contrasts with that of the test groups of higher age, which took longer to recover from the activity vacation. Unless I have aged many years in the past mouth, I should be ok.
Indonesia Earthquake: At Least 98 Dead and 20,000 Homeless
This article caught my attention because the east coast of the United States does not ever get earthquakes. This is a major cautasturfy and I did not hear much about it at all. I would be terrified if I were a tourist during the time this earthquake was happening. I feel like if this article had more of what tourists had to say while all of this was happening, it would really show the danger and fear that everyone is going through. Having to hear people say that sleeping outside is safer than being indoors is terrifying in itself. The pictures really helped me visualize the damages that could happen with the extraordinary power of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. I also feel like that hearing that all flights and ways to safety are basically jeopardized and not guaranteed is something that would make me never want to travel anywhere that could have natural disasters, like what happened to Indonesia.
This week I read, "Make Your Daughter Practice Math. She’ll Thank You Later."
This article especially intrigued me because I myself struggle with math and I wanted to see what, if anything, I could do to help others. From previous knowledge about this topic, I have read that it's important to encourage girls to practice math from a young age and are encouraged to take on STEM careers, as there is a lack of women in STEM careers. However, I surprised to see no mention of it in this article and how the author took a different and in my opinion, the better approach to the topic. The author discussed about the problem of how in schools teachers and educators try to make learning 'fun'. I understand that they want the better for their students and I also sometimes understand better through the 'fun methods', some kids learn and adapt to new information differently. Ultimately I believe students should explore and try different methods of learning a new subject and figure out what works best for them. I personally struggled with math throughout my education and still do sometimes. However, I have learned that having confidence in yourself and staying determined are crucial parts of learning.
In the article " A Generation Grows Up in China Without Google, Facebook or Twitter", China is censoring all social media platforms from the United States and abroad. China has made its own versions of the medias, but has changed them so that the government can censor what enters and exits every one. The government can see what people post and send, which can eliminate a lot of cyber bullying and such. Many of the Chinese people are unaware of the different kinds of search engines that people in the United States use such as Google and the different kinds of social media such as Instagram or Snapchat. It is not vital in their country to be so secretive about what they send it search up. The government can look everything up and they are content with just being able to use the internet. Americans need to be thankful for what they have, such as this amazing technology generation that we have right now.
Recently, many people have reported that the battle for female equality is largely won. In many aspects, this is true, but after reading “When a Female C.E.O. Leaves, the Glass Ceiling is Restored”, I realize that there is still more progress to be made. Today, only 4.8% of chief executives are women, pay gap is still prevalent, and there is still a lack of opportunities. Additionally, women who have climbed the ladder are still walking on eggshells, scared to promote other women out of fear that their motives would be questioned. This article interested me because the women who have broke the glass ceiling are idols to young women, like myself, looking to do the same in the future. It’s eye opening to know that even though the public promotes gender diversity, the corporate world continues to struggle diversifing the development pipeline. Once a woman breaks the glass ceiling, her replacement is virtually always a man. However, that is not intentional, for it is simply because there aren’t more women qualified for the position. The pipeline is a crucial part to permanently removing the glass ceiling because if there are more women with the capability to advance, then opportunities can be granted. Hopefully future generations can say that gender inequality is an object of the past, but as of right now there is more to do. As a young woman aspiring to one day break the ceiling, I hope that more women can be offered opportunities because the pipeline changed and diversified.
While reading through articles this week, I found that 'With the Week of HIs Life,' Stefanos Tsitsipas Bursts Into Tennis' Elite" by Curtis Rush was particularly interesting. I can see why Rush describes Tsitsipas as "big" and "bold", because he stands at 6'4 and has long hair. Tsitsipas has already beaten the likes of Novack Djokovic and Alexander Zverev, he is still only twenty years old. At the begining of last year, Tsitsipas was ranked No.168 in the world. He is currently ranked fifteenth which is crazy. He was brought up by a Russian mother and a Greek father, and has played tennis since the age of three. Very early on his mother taught him the importance of a strict training schedule, while his father quit his job to travel with him as a junior. Only a few years ago, Tsitsipas almost drowned at sea while swimming with a friend. The waves and current pulled him too far out and was having trouble staying alfoat. His father came to the rescue and was able to pull him to saftey. After this near death experiance, he completely changed his ways, and had a new perspective on both life and tennis. Now Tsitsipas plays with no fear on a tennis court, and has a new understanding of when to go for your shots and a time to hold back. As a tennis player myself, I understand the pressure of serving for the match, or staring down match point. This article has helped me understand that there are bigger things in life then winning or losing in tennis and to always remember that.
“Elon Musk Is the Id of Tech” by Kara Swisher
https://nyti.ms/2OGy95D
“There is no great genius without a mixture of madness” - Aristotle
Whether it be a ludicrous work ethic, or a fervorous passion to succeed, all geniuses can seem crazy. A great example would be Elon Musk. He is a highly driven intellectual and a genius in business and marketing. Despite his intelligence, many question his sanity because of his erratic behaviour and random twitter outbursts. In the NY Times article “Elon Musk Is the Id of Tech,” Kara Swisher addresses the issue by looking at what he has done and might still do.
Swisher initially characterizes Musk as a sarcastic, impulsive, smart-aleck, especially in interviews with reporters, and says he is “Not crazy like a fox, but crazy as a loon.” Taking his ideas to the streets with luxury electric cars by Tesla and to the skies to colonize Mars through SpaceX, Musk is viewed by many as a visionary. But, this author suggests he has built these hallmarks of innovation mostly on a whim.
Later, Swisher admits she doesn’t believe Musk is really crazy. Perhaps his outburst (bordering on slander) in the Taiwanese diver story was due to internal pressure or a tough week on the job. What makes this so interesting is how any person, from blue collar worker to high ranking executive, can be affected by sudden mood swings, possibly leading to social media outbursts like a twitter rant.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/05/world/asia/bangladesh-students-protes...
One of my biggest pet peeves is hearing adults refer to “the teens these days” as if we are any lesser than them. Every generation of teens is affected by the events and culture surrounding them at that point in time, whether it be a time of struggle or of peace. In my opinion, our current generation of teens is amazing; we’re growing up in a time in which acceptance and equality is blossoming.
The article “Students Pour Into Dhaka’s Streets to Demand Safer Roads,” speaks of the ongoing protest taking place in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This story intrigued me because I love to see that people who are my age and even younger are making a difference by standing up to their corrupt government officials and trying to make their country safer for everyone. This protest is a very admirable act shown by these students by taking matters into their own hands to bring change in their society.
Teens have been portrayed to have an inaccurate reputation of being lazy and unreliable, but when a group of students come together to fight for something they believe in, it’s amazing to see how much of an impact they really can make. It is teens and students like these who bring about change in ways adults are too scared to. It’s the students like these who should be portrayed as role models for the next generation of teens.
This week in the New York Times, I read an article titled, “Shahidul Alam: A Singular Voice in Photography for Dignity and Human Rights” by James Estrin. In this article, a Bengali photographer named Shahidul Alam, was violently beat and arrested for voicing his opinion on how the government handled student protests earlier this month. Living in America, I am used to the idea of free speech and human rights, so I’m often blindsided by how other countries treat their people. The harsh treatment he was given for stating what he thought was wrong, shocked me, especially since the government’s actions toward the peaceful student-led protests were violence as well. This treatment of people is not okay, and can not be tolerated. Stories like his need to get out there more, and it saddens me that news like this is barely getting the attention it deserves.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/31/opinion/columnists/race-republicans-d...
Before I read this article, I was already in some sense aware of how relevant race was to the Republicans campaign in the age of Trump and how quickly it changed things. However, I had never thought about how it in turn aided the Democratic side as well. Trump and his party ran and won by appealing to white Americans, who make up a whopping 68% of the vote, who had felt threatened by the fact that our country’s previous president was a black man. Due to this fact, Trump took this sentiment of fear and built his entire campaign upon it, constantly reminding whites just how white they are and creating a collective identity that continues to push whites more onto the conservative side because that is the side they believe has their race’s best interests at heart. Just because Obama was black, even though he had one of the least racially centered campaigns in history, the issue of race sprung up once again and when it did Trump took advantage of it immediately. I never considered however that while Trump and his administration can use the issue of race to scare whites into voting for them, that Democrats can also use the issue of race in their favor. They have to build a diverse coalition so they can win too, which means driving the issue of race and racial equality just as hard as the Republicans drive their
I found the article "how to have better family meals by Tara Parker-Pope" interesting because my family is one of the most important things to me. I was also intrigued because it had to do with food and that's one of the best ways to get a family together. Me and my family happen to relate to this article very much and as I started reading there were different things that I either agreed with or my family already does it. For example, I agree that its important to take advantage of the little bit of time you have to get everyone at the table, in your family, to nourish their bodies minds and souls. I also agree that when you eat with your parents there's more fruits and vegetables involved and less soda, at least in my family. This entire article had very helpful tips on how to make meals with your family healthier and happier, so that and the fact that its about family is the most interesting to me.
The article that caught my attention was ''In Chicago,one weekend 66 shooting victims and zero arrests.''
First let me start off by saying i wish the best to victims of the shoot and the two 17 year old left dead.I hope that justice is served to these families and that the killers are caught.I believe that are government has to do a better job with protecting people and the safety of our people.This tragedy occurred from Friday at 6 pm to Sunday at midnight . In the time span that the first bullet or call came in the area should have been stacked with police to avoid any other conflict because there were people of all ages.I can't imagine reading a story of a bunch of children left dead in a mass shooting. I am having a hard time comprehending that the police had no connections with shooting or any arrest with about 530 people being shot in a 3 hour span including 14 children . One major thing to point out is that this occurred in a area with high gang activity and high levels of crime.we residents of our cities and the law enforcement have to be more alert of these areas and need to send out police daily to patrol and record anything suspicions. our people in the community need to rise of and help the police to as many clues as they can get to solves these crimes.
In the article, “California Fire Now the Largest in State History: ‘People Are On Edge’, I learned that houses are starting to burn down. Also, people are starting to get killed.
California Fire Now the Largest in State History: 'People Are on Edge'
This article, by Tim Arango and Jennifer Medina, explains the current situation involving the fires in California. This article shows the power of the fires and how many people are needed to fight it. This article grabbed my attention due to the fact that the fires are occurring in California, and that I have been to some of the places that are in danger.
This article also related to me on more of a personal level. A couple of years ago, a fire started in some mountains. The fire spread rapidly and my family was forced to evacuate. I remember thinking that I my house could have burned down. I was very young at the time and did not understand the full circumstances, but it still affected me. I know what these people are feeling and I am sorry they have to go through these tough times.
I read this article about the rising problems in baseball and how within this next season there will most likely be more strikeouts than hits in the major league. The talent is rising significantly within the major league and it is almost making the situation worse. The number of fans attending the games is slowly decreasing because the excitement in the games is way less than it used to me.
I really enjoyed this article because growing up I have gone to an Atlanta Braves game every year. They are always so much fun between the hot dogs, the peanuts, and all your typical ball game foods. My whole family goes and we enjoy the game regardless of the hot sun beating down on us. My favorite part is when the ball comes flying back and I want to catch it, but know that it never even comes close to me. This article was very interesting because it made me think that my fun family tradition may be dying off. Along with the upsetting realization, I learned more about baseball than I ever knew. The average pitching speeds of the pitchers is extremely impress and when I compare that to the average speed that I drive I wonder how any human could possibly throw a ball that fast. This article brought knowledge to me that I never even considered while also allowing me to reminisce on events that I will never forget.
The article “The ‘Zombie Gene’ That May Protect Elephants From Cancer” really intrigued me. It is very surprising that such a behemoth has less cancer than humans. I never expected the next breakthrough in cancer research to come from elephants. But this just goes to show that the biggest advances come from nature. Nature has the potential to offer solutions to many of the biggest problems facing our society.
What intrigued me was the unusual amount of p53 genes. The gene p53, a tumor-suppressor gene, works to suppress tumor growth by restricting and controlling the cell cycle. Normally, this works very well. The cells with mutations get killed and the body resumes its homeostatic environment. This is in the case of proto-oncogenes. However, when p53 is mutated, this results in oncogenes. Oncogenes do not restrict cell cycle properly and many mutations occur. These rampant mutations amount to tumors which can metastasize and form more tumors.
Elephants are a surprising case. Becuase, since they go under many more cell cycles to get to the size they are, we expect them to suffer more “hits” which are mutations. However, it seems that abundance of p53 help blocks these mutations from forming tumors.
I think that this can help us understand the nature of cancer much better. I believe that the next step is to look at other animals. For example, sharks are known to be immune to cancer, which is also very surprising considering the leviathan sizes they can get to.
With her analysis of cochlear implants, Irene Taylor Brodsky questions the effectiveness of these devices on the deaf community- a deceptive opinion that degrades their usefulness.
In her document "Between Sound and Silence", Brodsky looks at the cochlear implants, a device which improves hearing for the impaired, with an alternate view that focuses on the changes in lifestyle. She suggests that the surgery can change the way people interact with the world and each other, therefore also causing a split from their deaf community. Changing human experiences, she argues that these circumstances raise an important question in the implants' real worth.
I disagree with her claims as these advances in audiology provide an incredible improvement to the quality of life. Sound is a vital sense that handicaps the communication and ability of individuals without it. Thus, those who receive the surgery to instill the implants will be given greater opportunities of achieving success. Despite the worries made by Brodsky, there should be no debate in the implication of essential devices.
In a world where STEM research has created numerous solution to issues around the world, it would be dimwitted to prevent oneself from improving his or her quality of life. Although the way an impaired human perceives the world will change, these adjustments will allow each person to live with a more lively lens. Without the cochlear implants, individuals will be left in the quiet of deprivation.
"Consumers Struggle to Find EpiPens"
“Don’t they understand how much we need the medicine?” my brother asked. For families like mine living with severe food allergies, the FDA’s recent warning about a shortage of EpiPens was alarming and frightening. This critical device offers vital protection against potentially fatal allergic reactions. EpiPen, made by Mylan, is a portable epinephrine auto-injector that can stop an anaphylactic reaction.
This is not the first crisis patients have faced over EpiPens. Last year, patients struggled with the affordability of the drug due to Mylan’s high pricing, and now they are faced with a life-threatening lack of availability. Roni Caryn Rabin’s article describes recommendations from Food Allergy Research & Education, an advocacy group, calling for action by the FDA and insurers including approval of the production of new auto-injectors and insurance coverage for different drugs. Consumers should add their voice to this call for action. Advocating for manufacturing reforms can elicit change from the responsible parties. Spreading awareness through education and supporting alternative drugs can increase protections for such vulnerable members of society. Consumers, advocates, government and pharmaceutical companies working together toward a mutually beneficial strategy offers hope for a successful relationship. Unfortunately, the alternative could be devastating and as warned by Dr. James Baker of FARE, “this is a life and death issue.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/arts/music/demi-lovato-hospitalized.html
I was interested in this article because Demi is a childhood star fro disney and its crazy to see someone grow up to be addicted and not sober anymore, she almost died. Its a good life lesson for everyone to not do drugs.
I interested in the article “How to Have Better Family Meals”
This caught my interest because recently, I am not having the enjoyable meals with my family. We cannnot eat breakfast together because we go to the school or work in different time. As the lunch I eat at school so I am not able to eat with family. We eat dinner together however, normally we watch television while we eat and do not have time to have conversations.
From this article, I learned how important the family meals are. I haven’t told what happened or studied at school and I knew my parents want to know about these. I will stop watching television while dinner, and chat with family instead.
In Kiki Challenge, Muddy Indian Farmers Show World How to Groove
By Jeffrey Gettleman and Suhasini Raj
I watched a video of two Indian Farmers doing the Kiki challenge. For those of you that do not know what this challenge is, it is when the song “In My Feelings” By Drake comes on and you have to get out of your car while its moving (not fast, just rolling), and you have to do a dance to the chorus. This challenge has gone viral! I chose this article/video because, I thought that it was so interesting that the challenge has gone all the way to New Delhi. The video was so cool because, it incorporated two men doing the challenge but not in the way we all think it was… they did it next to their oxen in mud up to their knees. It is amazing how one simple thing like this dance can bring happiness to people of all cultures. I selected this because, I have done this challenge with my sister and her two friends in a neighborhood with no cars around (so it was safe) but, we all had fun doing it and it is crazy to know that people all around the world are doing the same thing in their own unique ways. Amazing to think that such a small little thing like this can bring so much joy in somebody’s life.
A FREE PRESS NEEDS YOU
“Insisting that truths you don’t like are “fake news” is dangerous to the lifeblood of democracy. And calling journalists the “enemy of the people” is dangerous, period.” This week, an article that stood out to me was A FREE PRESS NEEDS YOU by The Editorial Board. Living in Trump’s America, “fake news” is probably something you will hear at least 10 times a day; among younger generations it’s pretty much a meme. But sometimes thinking of it as a meme, especially since it is so strongly associated with Trump, takes away from the danger of the words, “Fake News.” A particularly interesting quote that the article shared was from Thomas Jefferson, “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” Although politicians will not always approve of the criticism they receive, facts in journalism is essential to a democracy. Depending on political preference, the news being an outlet of truth may upset some people especially if their opinions are shown in a negative light. Nonetheless Americans have to see the necessity in free press. Without free press, we don’t have checks and balances in media and news; click-bait articles on Facebook cannot replace in-depth reporting in the news media. In an age where the truth is often debated, the most precious commodity is the value of America’s free press.
In the article "A Generation Grows Up in China Without Google, Facebook or Twitter", the Chinese people are unaware of the addiction Americans and other nationalities have for the worldwide social media platforms. Their country blocks the popular apps and websites, that we, as Americans, believe we cannot live without. As advanced as China is, they understand the harm that social media can cause for the population. Americans are too busy looking at their phones to realize that not everything depends on the tiny screen that they're looking at. If only we could take a look around and realize that we can do so much more in life than stare at a phone screen, people could do amazing things in this world. Maybe America would be better off without social media and be able to do better things around th is world.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/07/opinion/self-harm-cutting-teenagers.h...
For years people have been told that we should not talk about self harm, suicide, or any form or mental illness for that matter. It seemed as though if it wasn't talked about, it didn't pose a problem. Although not talking about it, as many people have expressed, only seems to make things worse. I think that this article, along with "Sharp Objects" (the show referenced in the beginning of the article) and others like it are a good stepping stone to start the conversation about mental health and how to better take care of yourself.
“More Strikeouts Than Hits? Welcome to Baseball’s Latest Crisis”
When you think about the history of sports, they’re are several things that probably come to mind. The amazing players, coaches, teams, and so much more. But when you compare sports today to sports now, it seems as thought the two are on completely different calibers. Growing up, my dad would always tell me about how much sports have changed since he was a kid. From the pace of the games, to the size of the players, things have immensely been altered. The reason I picked this article, was because it reminded me of my dad, and the things he tells me when we watch baseball together. How the pitchers got faster, the hits go farther, but still, he liked the sport better then, as oppose to now. Every time I ask him why, he always says how the games were more enjoyable when he was a kid, because it looked like the players were having more fun, and were putting 110% effort into every game. Although this might just be my dads opinion, it is something that has always stuck with me, and immediately crossed my mind when I encountered this article.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/16/arts/music/madonna-birthd...
60 times madonna changed our culture
"men hate each other because they fear each other. They fear each other because they don’t know each other, and they don’t know each other because they don’t communicate with each other, and they don’t communicate with each other because they are separated from each other.”
I chose to start with this quote because it talks about how easy it is to hate people who are diffrenet based only on prejudices and not on real acquaintance with this group of people.
On my response I will be talking about Madonna's contribution to the LGBT community, Madonna was one of the first artist which have supported the LGBT community in the 90's. From talking in her songs about being free and happy with who you are. To talking about AIDS and why it is wrong to treat AIDS patientst like trash, and talking in her concerts about LGBT rights and about how they desreve equality just like the black people and like women.
Madonna is very controversial and she is not afraid to stand on her own belifes and showed it in many ways whether to publish a book which shows nudity in a diffrenet way or a music video which shows a same sex kiss.
In conclusion, Madonna had a crucial impact on the LGBT community because she was thier voice when nobody else was, she showed the world that being different is something you should celebrate and not fear of.
In her own words Express yourself
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/07/opinion/deafness-cochlear-implants.html
There are many unique things about people, like the color of one's hair or eyes. What about how they hear? In the video I watched today, I heard stories from both men and women explaining their condition. Throughout the video, most of the people had a device called a Cochlear Implant, a device that helps deaf people receive sound. The women in the video had such wonderful voices! One woman in particular truly caught my eye. She wants to give people a different perception on what being deaf really means. She feels that without her implant in, she isn't herself. However, another woman in the video explained her struggle with, of all things, a hearing test. She explained how she was to sit in a room knowing she wasn't good at something. That took a toll on her. Some men also had struggles. For example, one man was dating a hearing woman, and whenever she would call him he would make some excuse not to talk to her. He didn't want her to know he was hearing impaired. But when it came time to becoming boyfriend and girlfriend, he told her the story of how he was born with hearing loss. These stories really opened my eyes. This makes me want to learn more about deafness and how to bring more awareness to it. I hope others out there can use this video to show people that it's okay to be different.
[email protected]
The article that interested me the most this week was "Between Sound and Silence". This article talked about the continuous advancements being made in the technology for deaf people. There has been a debate about whether making implants to help people hear is saying that these people with hearing impairments need fixing. However, I believe that technology is only there to help them, not to insult them in any way. I could never imagine what it is like to be death, but I can imagine that it would be pretty scary at times. Not being able to hear anything going on around you would be pretty frightening to me. I think it would also be pretty awful to not be able to hear music, or the sounds of nature, or the voices of the people that you love. For me, I would want to have a cochlear implant so that I could experience all of those wonderful things. However, I could also see how it could be pretty life changing if you were to get them after you have heard nothing for many years. It would change everything about the way that you live, and for some that could be amazing, but for others it could also be a little scary or confusing. You would have the ability to change whether you can hear or not in just the matter of a few seconds. I don't think people who choose to have cochlear implants should be shunned because they are simply trying to experience the world in a way that they never had the chance to before. I think it is a great opportunity for all deaf people, especially the kids.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/28/opinion/sunday/my-gay-voice.html
Why don't we accept people the way they are? Why does any form of exclusion still exist? And why can't people show who they really are and have to hide their real personality behind an unfamiliar face? These were questions that kept popping into my head during this week and through them, I found this article. Through these questions I read and experienced what it feels like to be the person hiding behind a different personality.
In his article "My Gay Voice," Guy Branum talks a lot abut fitting in or changing oneself to be able to fit in. And this is something people shouldn't have to do. Nobody needs to change anything about themselves to be a part of this world. The people who can't accept others being "different" have to change something about their thinking. We live in this world all together and we should accept each other because we all are different from one another and this is important because it's what makes each one of us unique.
When you take a look at the world it seems all bright and we sometimes overlook the iniquities. In some places it is forbidden be gay; in these countries it's forbidden to love who you love and the people being gay have to pretend to love the opposite gender only to not be an outsider. People have fought against this exclusion and we must keep doing that to make the world a free and peaceful place for everyone. Nobody wants to be excluded because of whom they love.
“Starting in Los Angeles, Body Scanners Come to Subways and Buses”
Many people fly everyday and when they go through the airport, they see the extensive security. Flying is one method of transportation, but trains and subways is another. With how people have acted in the world today, I feel that it is important for there to be this type of security in the subway and bus systems. This could also be extremely helpful for people who like to travel, but are afraid of flying. Even though this system is really only starting in Los Angeles, I know the idea will spread. It has to New York where two stations have the screeners installed. The safety of people needs to be brought everywhere because everyone deserves to be safe, and live their daily lives. Many people may feel that it makes the process longer to have the body screeners. This means they may not want to have them. Since they are scanning people while they are far away, another concern is that they might not be able to know what is or what is not a weapon. Many other people may feel that they are necessary and worth it taking longer. They will help people to feel safe while on subways and buses. These devices can scan many people at one time, so they won’t need to worry about the security as bad as airports. It will, however, take more time than just walking on the transportation. There has been many incidents on subways and buses, so this is a step towards stopping these people before they do something terrible.
Article: Aretha Franklin, the ‘Queen of Soul’, Dies at 76
As an African-American passionate about her culture, I grew up knowing about Aretha Franklin’s song “Respect”. As Jon Pareles mentioned in his article, Franklin spoke for all under appreciated women in her song, especially African-American women, teaching us that we deserve respect and should be treated with such. “Respect” was the song that went through my head each time I felt disrespected, insulted, or underestimated by society. “Respect” was my anthem.
Although I have “Respect” on replay, I never truly knew the artist behind the song. Earlier today, when I heard that Aretha Franklin died, I did not know what to feel. I only knew her through one song, and it did not feel right that I should mourn her. So I decided to learn more about the woman who has inspired me to be the woman I am today. Pareles’s article opened my eyes to the successful and beautiful life of the “Queen of Soul”. I learned how Franklin went from a little girl who taught herself how to play the piano to an eighteen-Grammy-Award Winner.
Aretha Franklin has taught me that not only do I deserve respect, but I also deserve success . Through this article, I saw how Franklin traveled through her life with ambition, never believing that she deserved anything less than what she received. Franklin has truly taught me to never accept less than what I deserve.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/us/young-and-naive-rose-strauss.html
This article talks about sophomore Rose Strauss was called out by a politician for being “Young and Naive” while speaking out about her opinions on relevant issues at a town meeting. The article argues of how young adults can make a change by speaking their mind and trying to make a difference in the world. The argument is strong giving an interview of Rose, stating more of her opinions, showing she has strong views and opinions larger than some politicians. This article really interested me because I believe that more and more people within younger generations are beginning to be care about politics and making changes but are being hindered by older generations. Change is possible with enough people coming together for one cause but it’s even more difficult when people are just blocking the path to success.
"The Orca, Her Dead Calf and Us"
It is human nature to look for ourselves in others. We are social animals after all - and empathy is key to communicating with our kin. It’s how our Neolithic ancestors survived without the modern luxuries we’re granted today.
This sort of “pack bonding” is not limited to just other humans. Several pets have been welcomed into homes across the world. Any pet owner would tell you that they have a deep relationship with their animal. This view has been reflected in pop culture for several years; dogs in particular earning the title, “man’s best friend.” All this has been established without being able to directly communicate with our furry companions; it is built on the backbone of empathy.
Perhaps it’s this empathy that caused the death of the southern resident orca calf to resonate so deeply with me.
Like humans, orcas are incredibly social and have sections of the brain dedicated to processing emotions. In fact, the emotional sector of the brain is proportionally larger in an orca’s brain compared to our own. Not only are these creatures physically imposing, they are also emotionally powerful. This adds all the more weight to the corpse of the young calf, carried by the mother whose child did not even live to be an hour old. Even if we cannot truly communicate with the creatures who we share the earth with, a mother’s grief is universal, and her expression of grief has touched the hearts of many.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/05/world/asia/bangladesh-students-protes...
Learning that students like us in a whole other country are protesting against dangerous and corrupt transportation services interested me the most. After a fatal bus crash due to careless bus drivers racing, Bangladesh students take action into their own hands. By blocking public roads these kids are taking a huge risk for their own safety and yet they still continue to do so and shows how courageous they are. Despite facing government retaliation these protesters continue to fight for what they believe in. Even going to the extent of starting their own checkpoints to validate each and everyone's drivers license to ensure another tragic incident does not happen again. The fearlessness that these students project everyday is what made me so interested about this article.
Article: The Impolite Pleasure of People-Watching
This particular article caught my eye because I love to people-watch. I find it extremely relaxing, and an entertaining pastime, to lose yourself in someone else’s life. In an article well-stocked with photos of the streets of New York, Darcie Wilder shares her thoughts on people-watching, and the thoughts she has while she people-watches in New York.
She mentions that it is more rare to catch someone people-watching because of the availability of the cell phone. It is our go-to when we’re bored, and we spend time looking at the screen instead of the world around us. I agree that the prevalence of cell phones has decreased our interactions with real people, but many of us still can appreciate the need to take a break from the screen.
This was not an article chastising cell-phone users, however. In fact, it seems it’s main goal was simply to share the interesting thoughts one can have throughout the day, thoughts brought on by people-watching. Wilder shares her own contemplations of a day spent traveling the streets of New York, showing how relaxing and, quite simply, how fun it can be to be stuck inside your own head.
I thoroughly appreciated the contemplative style she wrote it in. the writing itself seemed as if it would fit in an old-fashioned book with black and white pictures, and it added greatly to the overall tone of the article. It made me want to sit and enjoy the pleasure people-watching brings.
In the past year, my family has been trying to reduce the amount of plastic we use. My sister drove this initiative after taking AP Environmental Science. We did things like bring our own reusable bags to the grocery store and opt for metal water bottles instead of disposable ones. For this reason, the article "Designing the Death of a Plastic" grabbed my attention this week.
Although we recognized the harm plastic causes to the environment and we tried to cut back on its use, it is hard to completely eliminate it considering how many everyday products use plastic. This article, however, highlighted the possibility of an alternative to plastic that is just as durable, but self-destructs in a way that makes it more environmentally conscious. This idea is amazing. Think about the implications of perfecting this kind of product. We could potentially eliminate one of the largest sources of pollution that our earth faces to date.
We have been told that we should do all we can to preserve our planet ever since we were old enough to understand the detriments it faces. Of course, we all want to, but there are very limited ways to do so considering how few things can be recycled. The ideas presented in this article change that by giving us a way to finally reduce the amount of plastic we use. We no longer have to sit idly by as our planet experiences constant pollution. When this technology is fully developed,we can take an even more active stance in preserving the earth.
I chose to read The Super Bowl of BeeKeeping this week.
At first the headline caught my attention- as a bug fan from a young age I had fond memories of watching clear sections of hive at museums, often dragging my mom, (although maybe happy for a break) and watch for hours.
As I read however I saw connections that made bees endearing to me in a new way after all these years, in the eyes of these apiarists, they were civilizations themselves.
There’s no mistake that honeybees have had a definite hit over the years, and the imbalance in weather and the ecosystem that human civilization has created has most likely hindered these tiny queendoms. It’s an interesting consideration to see that as one world suffers, the other does. The article illustrates the caring yet worrying relationship with beekeepers, traveling with colonies to pollinate, trying new methods, and continuing a family livelihood. The bees themselves help pollinate essential food in the world. In general however, it’s hopeful to read about people helping bees in this close unique relationships with the caretakers.
It’s incredibly cool how two intrinsic societies affect each other, how the problems that seem to doom one is helped by the other, and it’s a comforting thought to me at least. Human society often considers itself alone in existential struggle, but maybe it’s important to recognize the interconnection beetween us, and our smaller, adorable, yet sometimes cross, friends.
Review "Transgender Girl, 12, is Violently Threatened After Facebook Post by Classmate's Parents"
This week while scrolling through the New York Times website, I came across this article. The story followed a 12 year old transgender girl named Maddie who had been threatened with horrific acts and punishments due to which bathroom she used. This article really interested me because for the first time I actually acknowledged how poorly one can be treated if they are transgender. I found the way those parents threatened Maddie disgraceful and disgusting. Grown men and women acting like animals, joking with each other about disfiguring the body of a 12 year old. Maddie is just a child, a child that has been through way more than any other 12 year old I've ever met, and to see an innocent child attacked by adults is truly upsetting.
I just can't understand what is going through the heads of these parents when saying such terrible things. Most of the people that posted their opinions online are parents themselves, so assuming that these parents love their children, how are they capable of expressing so much hate towards another. I don't know if these parents are scared of change or don't understand whats happening, or if they simply just have aggressive and violent thoughts. No matter what the circumstance, it is unacceptable to say those things to a child and those parents should feel ashamed.
I live in Washington, D.C. and recently, my family had guests over from California. We visited the National Mall and I saw a memorial that I have never seen before in my life. It was dedicated to the women that served in the Vietnam War. It was tucked away in a secluded area near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Not many people know about this memorial since it is more hidden compared to other monuments that are dedicated towards men.
I read “Rebel Women Are Coming to a Public Monument Near You” by Maya Salam because I believe that there are many historic women that should be appreciated by the public. There are so many women from the past that have not been recognized for their incredible achievements. Men have mainly had memorials dedicated towards them. Yes, these male figures are very accomplished, but when is it going to be the women’s turn to be honored?
Many women from the past wanted professional status, racial and social equality, and sexual freedom; same as women today. They paved the path towards these changes and we should pay homage to them. As a woman, it is sad that I do not know much about the female figures that have helped the country that I live in today.
Since this issue has been brought up, many states are creating statues, busts, or monuments to commemorate these remarkable women. I am glad that women are finally getting the recognition they deserve.
The article:The Secret to Ant Efficiency Is Idleness, caught my attention this week. The intelligence and instincts of animals and insects have always interested me, so this article was an easy choice. To find out that ants are very good problem solvers was quite shocking to me, as I knew ants were smart insects, but I didn't know they were that smart. In addition, this article probably explains why ants find their way into houses, and escape humans so quickly and efficiently!
Link:https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/science/ants-worker-idleness.html?act...
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/16/arts/music/madonna-birthd...
The article that interested me most this week was “60 Times Madonna Changed our Culture”. Madonna is a powerful woman who has helped shape our culture and way of thought in the world nowadays. She was one of the first women in the industry to break down the walls that cage women into a feminine and gentle persona. Madonna also openly portrayed same-sex couples in her music videos. This helped to normalize and support the LGBTQ+ community, which is something that had not yet been done. Madonna was one of the first artists in mainstream media to support the LGBTQ+ community and be an outward feminist, which changed the music industry forever. If Madonna never broke down the barriers she did, our culture might still be the sexist, racist, and homophobic environment it once was. This article interested me because it showed the effect just one person could have on our culture, and how that person can help shape the world into a better place.
“More Strikeouts Than Hits? Welcome to Baseball’s Latest Crisis”
When you think about the history of sports, they’re are several things that probably come to mind. The amazing players, coaches, teams, and so much more. But when you compare sports today to sports now, it seems as thought the two are on completely different calibers. Growing up, my dad would always tell me about how much sports have changed since he was a kid. From the pace of the games, to the size of the players, things have immensely been altered. The reason I picked this article, was because it reminded me of my dad, and the things he tells me when we watch baseball together. How the pitchers got faster, the hits go farther, but still, he liked the sport better then, as oppose to now. Every time I ask him why, he always says how the games were more enjoyable when he was a kid, because it looked like the players were having more fun, and were putting 110% effort into every game. Although this might just be my dads opinion, it is something that has always stuck with me, and immediately crossed my mind when I encountered this article.
Today I read an article titled "Gunfire Erupts at a School. Leaders Offer Prayers. Children Are Buried. Repeat.", by Dan Barry.
I was interested in this article because I wanted to learn more about what is continuing to occur with mass shootings and other peoples opinions about it.
This article reminded me that we are all getting used to so many mass shootings that we aren't shocked or surprised when another one occurs. Our society has done many things from protests to letters to rallies but yet there is still no change made.
What really stood out to me from this article is how we are almost living in a routine when it comes to mass shootings. When they occur, people know what to expect. Thoughts and prayers, people injured and dead, and then they forget about it very quickly. This should not be occuring.
The article provides a quote from a women named Sharon Risher who's mom was shot dead during a bible class in S.C., in 2015, "'People will rally, and they will voice their opinions on social media about how sad it is and how they're praying,' she said. 'But in the next month or so it will be gone. And those families, like me, will have to deal with the devastation of our lives while everyone else moves on.'" The people who have power to make a change, including our president, still haven't made a change, resulting in many more mass shootings and devastated families, like Ms. Rishers.
This routine needs to come to an end. Thoughts and prayers won’t save lives.
"Alex Jones and infowars content is removed from apple, Facebook and youtube"
It is definitely interesting to see Apple and these social media company erasing Jones' content. The freedom of speech has been a big controversial topic. The companies act of regulating their users is of course justified, it's their companies, but the debate lies on whether it's morally justified or not. Many like politician Nigel Jones, think that the freedom of speech should always be the priority. I disagree. We are however environment shape us, in an age of information, if we don't filter out the hatful and false contents, what will the future generation be like? Do we really have freedom of speech of we derive our information from someone like Alec Jones?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/us/los-angeles-metro-body-scanners.html
This article that's about Los Angeles getting body scanners is what interested me the most this week. The article talks about how they are the first city to get body scanners for public transportation such as subways this week on Tuesday. I think that is such a great idea to do because airports shouldn't be the only major thing that's secured for transportation. Because there's a lot more ways of transportation that terrorists have access to, especially in major cities. With major cities building a stronger security for transportation comes a better and safer way for people to travel, because these body scanners can detect explosives and weapons, so the people on the trains, buses etc. can be safe and so can the rest of our country and world.
"Losing My Son to Reading" by Viet Thanh Nguyen talks about how reading gave him a sense of independence at a young age and how his son exploring literature is a monumental moment in his life too. I could not agree more! The thrill that you get from a book that you are genuinely hooked on is bliss. Personally what I love most about a book is when it expands my perspective or teaches me a valuable lesson that I can apply to my own life. Teens may argue that playing video games is more fun than reading books but, I disagree. Any person can take away something great from a book and that is what makes them extraordinary. Mr. Nguyen grew up with immigrant parents working long hours to support the family. So, he spent hours of his time reading and it gave him a sense of independence. Now he has a son that is interested in different books and Mr. Nguyen happily provides him with an abundance of them. Mr. Nguyen explains that "Seeing my son reading, I realize he is taking one step further on his own road to independence, to being a border-crosser, someone who makes his own decisions, including what he reads and what he believes. Perhaps that’s why seeing him read on his own is tinged with melancholy.". Even though his son read on his own Mr. Nguyen recalls that when his son asks him to read a book to him, that it is the sweetest words he has ever heard. Stories like these are worth retelling.
"The High School We Can't Log Off From"
I'm not too proud to say that i spend hours each day on social media, especially twitter. Regardless, that habit explains why after clicking onto this article, i was honestly captivated. The author claims twitter allows and rewards users for acting with "teenage behaviors", and she even compares twitter to a high school. I concur that twitter allows and rewards users, but not that it can be thought of as a high school.
The author says that twitter gives adolescents and other users this "audience" that they envision having, along with reinforcement through likes, comments, and retweets. Author Jennifer Senior says that twitter turns adults into adolescents, which is seen through our very own president, Donald J. Trump, who is both famous and infamous for his nonstop unbelievable tweets.
All of this is true from my view as well.
However, she claims that like high school, twitter users "divide into tribes and bully to gain status". This, does not prove to be necessarily true, as i have seen people rise to twitter fame without needing to "bully" or be in a "tribe", as she put it.
Interestingly enough, she adds that she realizes twitter isn't all bad, and can be used to spread important information and support causes.
This raises the question, do the positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to utilizing twitter?
In any event, with the use of social media being so controversial, this article on twitter was such a great read.
Should You Choose a Female Doctor?
This article drew me in because of my interest in the medical field, and as a young woman I was curious about how my gender might influence the way I treat patients.
The author describes differences between female and male doctors and how they interact with patients. Most female doctors spend additional time with their patients; getting to know them and their challenges. Conversely, male doctors spend less time. I think this is a crucial difference. A doctor who is a good listener makes patients comfortable which helps them open up about their problems and may reveal issues that could have been missed. However, spending extra time with patients is not always beneficial. When female doctors spend a lot of time with their patients, it throws off their schedules, frustrating people who are waiting. And giving patients more time to talk can result in excessive time to get to the point of the visit, increasing the time it takes to diagnose the problem. Weighing the pluses and minuses, I still think the benefits of taking time to listen to patients and make them comfortable is well worth the risk of wasting a little time getting to the point.
"Parkland Shooting Suspect Lost Special-Needs Help at School When He Needed It Most"
Nikolas Cruz, the teenager, who shot on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. When I came across this article, I was intrigued because I have always felt immense dislike to this person. Ever since the incident, I have considered him to acted immorally. But, after reading this article, I am slowly taking some blame off of him in my mind. But not all of it. I still feel that there is no excuse to his actions. However, I partly blame the school for this traumatic incident. If, only if, he ever received the mental health care he really need, maybe, just maybe, the shooting may have never happened.
We don't know what would have happened. But maybe we can try to have new policies like offering mental health care when necessary. Or having better gun laws. All we know for sure is that there can be something done to help reduce the frequency of these incidents happens. Not prevent. But, lessen the number of incidents.
The video that interested me most this week was 'Touching The Sun', by Dennis Overbye, Jonathan Corum and Jason Drakeford.
The thumbnail caught my eye first- it was the sun, shooting gasses out from the corona. I enjoy learning about space, so I clicked on it. I learned that Parker Solar Probe will be the first spacecraft to ever touch a star. The probe will spend the next 7 years in space and it will pass closer to the sun than any other mission. The most interesting piece of information I learned about the Parker Probe was its high-tech heat shield. It protects the shield from the radiation and intense heat of the corona and allows the spacecraft's instruments to operate at room temperature.
As the Parker Probe passes the sun, it will become the fastest machine ever built by humans. It will go speeds of 430,000 mph. The probe is also the first NASA spacecraft to be named after a person- Eugene Parker. Eugene Parker is an astrophysicist at the University of Chicago.
The corona is the sun's outer atmosphere and it is also hundreds of times hotter than the surface of the sun. The reason for that is unknown to scientists.
These are all reasons that I chose this video. The final sentence of the video was a great way to end it- But we're learning. And scientists learn more and more about the sun and our solar system, the further and further out into space we will be able to explore with space probes like the Parker Probe.
One of the first things I was taught when learning photography was that, under a lense, even subtle choices can be rendered significant. In other words, seemingly simple characteristics can tell stories without being physically vocal.
But what happens when photos’ stylistic choices aren’t so subtle? Though I knew images held immense power, I didn’t know that they could psychologically influence the public in a negative manner until I read “When We See Photographs of Some Dead Bodies and Not Others”, by Sarah Sentilles.
At initial thought, death and photography don’t considerably overlap. But Sentilles explains that much like the news, photos can be selective of the stories one wishes to tell and to hide. As an Asian American whose default setting is to advocate for her own visibility, it never occured to me that increased media showcasing could be negative. However, Sentilles found that while photos of dead American soldiers are rarely seen, photos of foreign victims are almost displayed, instilling the mindset that these casualties are insignificant.
Though Sentilles’ article focuses on specific instances, it applies universally. Photos can be easily manufactured, which sometimes causes their subjects to lose their substance, but this article shows the influence in the way we display images. As an amateur photographer, I hope to apply the lesson this article has taught me: that there is power and importance in the visibility—and invisibility—of pictures.
Scrolling through the New York Times articles, my attention was pulled by the article "Illinois Sues Trump Tower Over Wastewater Discharged Into the Chicago River." Not being one to involve myself too much in politics, I was curious as to why an entire state would sue the president's hotels. I found it shocking that, with all of the up close news the media promises, I have not heard about this. The article title suggests that waste was dumped into the Chicago River, however the article states that it was "millions of gallons of warm water..." To me, a person who is uneducated on the subject, this did not seem as drastic as waste being dumped into the river. However, there were many more factors going into this lawsuit than first meets the eye. Trump Tower "has failed to submit the results of studies that... show the effect of the building's water intake system on the Chicago River and its fish..." The fact that these results were supposed to be submitted in 2013, and still had not been submitted, is concerning. Beyond this, Trump Tower lacked the permits necessary to comply with environmental laws. This all seems for a lack of caring done by Trump Tower, and it puts a poor notch into the belt of how the US may view their president. The problem seen here is more of people acting, not caring how it will affect the environment. With the way that people are treating the world on a global scale, it's possible there is going to be an extreme decrease in the quality of life- soon.
Jocks Rule, Nerds Drool by Jennifer Wright
I’ve always had an unconscious stereotype that nerds were smart underdogs while jocks were arrogant bullies, especially thanks to growing up on Disney movies. Although I know I shouldn’t reinforce the stereotype, it’s still my immediate default. This article interested me because it tapped into my subconscious of equal thinking for so-called nerds and jocks, even if the article itself was degrading nerds.
Jocks Rule, Nerds Drool was a fresh breath of air among the many political articles, with a fun title and picture. There were famous examples of humble and gracious “jocks” who raised money and supported good causes. There were also famous “nerds” who were accused of assault and being discourteous to heroes. While the examples did change my perspective of old nerd and jock stereotypes, I question the author’s call to change stereotypes. In a perfect world, there’d be no stereotypes or clichés. The best course of action in the real world wouldn’t be switching nerd or jock reputations, but forming our own ideas of people.
Upon review and observation, most people at school are smart and nice, no matter what their hobbies are. Athletic teams work together like family, and work as hard to win competitions as they build friendships. This is true of academic clubs also; the Math Club builds team bonds like sports teams, and most members play sports. The world can’t be divided into just jocks and nerds, there are many other people.
This week, the article that has peaked my interest is “Curious About Classical Music? Here’s Where to Start.” This article interests me because classical music is the centerpiece for any and all modern songs, no matter what genre. Another reason why this article interests me is because classical music is often one of the first performances for anyone who is new to an instrument, as I have been somewhat engaged in instrumental classes and have played a piece or two of classical music. The final reason why I was interested in this article is because classical music is so shrouded in mystery and confliction, debate and argument, and it is nice to get some clear answers about such a topic. The article gives an array of “frequently asked questions” and informs readers the answers to these questions. Questions such as: “What exactly is classical music, and what differentiates it from other musical genres?” and “Will reading about the historical era in which a piece was created help me appreciate what I’m hearing?”
It’s great to listen to classical music, and I personally agree with the notion that we should all take a moment or two out of our day to go back and listen to classical music. It would be simple with technologies such as YouTube, recorded tapes, and other sound recording technology that has developed over the years.
I was fortunate enough to be born and raised into the family that I have. This week, upon reading the article entitled "A 'Generationally Perpetuated' Pattern: Daughters Do More Chores," written by Claire Cain Miller, I realized what a great childhood my parents were able to give me. As a child, chores were not enforced very strictly in my house. My parents knew both me and my brother well, and trusted us to clean our rooms on our own time, without them telling us to. And it always did happen.
Both my brother and I had the same amount of chores; we would each clean our own rooms, keep our spot at the table clean and clean up after ourselves when we made a mess. We took turns doing things like taking out the trash, washing the dishes, vacuuming, dusting, etc. My parents made sure there was an even distribution of labor between the two of us.
This article caught my interest due to the blatant unfairness in the amount of chores between girls and boys. It not only opened my eyes to inequality at home , but it gave me a newfound appreciation for how my parents raised my brother and I.
This week in the New York Times I read the article, "Meet Iceland's Whaling Magnate. He Makes No Apologies." I found this article very interesting because I think that it is crazy that people in Iceland are allowed to hunt endangered species. This article explained the life of Kristjan Loftsson. Kristjan owns a whaling company that kills innocent whales for their meet and fins. The government of Iceland is even behind what the whale company is doing. If people continue to hunt endangered animals, we will be left with nothing and it will all be human's fault.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/13/sports/carmelo-anthony-houston-rocket...
As far as signing a superstar goes, this would have topped headlines in 2013. Carmelo Anthony, entering his fifteenth NBA season, is limited in productivity. For the first time in his career, last season Anthony was a third scoring option behind fellow allstars, Russell Westbrook and Paul George. Having averaged a career 24.8 points per game, Carmelo experienced a lack of ball control. This was unordinary for the natural scorer. Entering Houston coming off of his worst season for both points and assists, and third worst in rebounds, nobody can be quite sure what he can provide. As the “primary replacement” for Trevor Ariza, Houston should immediately take notice to a significantly less skilled defender in Anthony. While Carmelo Anthony may still be a household name, his productivity appears to only hinder whatever team he is playing for.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/world/americas/mexico-coca-cola-diabe...
I found this article interesting because it shows us how people San Cristobal de las Casas are trying to stay alive without that much water. Soft drinks are more available than water so people just drink that but it has caused many to get diabetes, every year 3,000 people die of diabetes in San Cristobal.
https://tinyurl.com/y9wp72vy
Despite the fact that this film features a majority Asian cast- something Hollywood hasn't seen for decades, many detractors continue to deride the film for failing to hit all checkpoints.
I know firsthand the disparity between the 'equal' diversity within Singapore versus the omniscience of the Chinese people residing there. As a previous immigrant in Singapore, I viewed the proud & niche communities, unfortunately through an impossibly high language barrier & the foreign culture that I came from. I also saw that a large majority of my schoolmates were Chinese as well.
Given that Mr. Kwan honed in on an ethnically Chinese & affluent family in Singapore and spent very little time discussing the presence of minorities, I believe that it was within the best interests of Mr. Chu to adhere to that focus, rather than working on a presentation that encompasses the entire population of Singapore- a feat beyond the scope of the work itself.
Could there have been more meaningful representation of minorities in the context of the novel and by extension, the film itself? Of course. However, given that the film itself is a huge step in & of itself, too many people are demanding challenging tropes that exceed the limitations of the film itself.
Critics need to understand that this is a small but crucial step- there will be chances to take bigger ones once films like 'Crazy Rich Asians' pave & pioneer a way for more Asian works to be under the spotlight.
https://is.gd/QOudc4
I've grown up thinking that criminals, murderers, thieves, rapists were the definition of terrifying, of bad and dangerous. I've realized how wrong I was. In this world only the strong survive. And this so called “strong” aren't killers, or infamous criminals. They are people who can twist how we think, to change our mind and will.
Throughout the article I've realized how potentially dangerous and manipulative Trump really is. I'm not sure whether to feel relieved or on guard. Having a sly president who is cunning is beneficial, but it leaves us to not be able to trust Mr. Trump, and to always be vigilant for a new trick. At the same time I admire Trump for being able to pull this trick. It gives me a visual of “innocent sheeps in a dog-eat-dog world.”
These “Mesmerists” are truly amazing and definitely dangerous. It made me realize that I am currently an innocent, naive “sheep” and to really live and survive in this world, I too must become a mesmerist, a hypnotizer. It made me realize that I am not in the real world, that I'm still protected by a thin layer of innocence. And when that layer breaks, I'll be in “the strongest survives world.”
his week I decided to read the article “When a Female C.E.O leaves, the Glass Ceiling is Restored” by Andrew Ross Sorkin. This article caught my attention because I am interested in studying business, which is a field that tends to have less women, and I wanted to learn about the role these powerful women played as C.E.O.s. After reading the article, I realized the significance of the title. Currently there are a few companies who have appointed women to be in positions of power and have “broken the glass ceiling” that has in the past separated women from sought-after jobs, but most of these companies replace these women with men. The title shows how these companies rebuild the obstacles other women will have to face if they seek power in the company. When asked about the problem, many powerful women say they fear they would be accused of favoritism if they picked another woman to work right under them, even though men never worry about being accused of favoring men. This causes a man to be next in line after his female boss leaves the company. The issue proves that gender prejudices still exist in companies with female executives. It is important that our society doesn’t settle for “good enough” just because a company has one woman in charged with many men being trained to replace her as soon as she leaves. Whether a person is male or female, their gender should not make it more or less difficult to acquire a position of power.
I read an article called Reality TV Star and Trump Aide Taped Her Firing in the Situation Room by Maggie Haberman. Omarosa was Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison. On December 13, 2017, the White House announced the resignation of Omarosa, effective January 20, 2018. Omarosa wrote a book called Unhinged, criticizing the Trump Administration. The book was set to be released on August 14, 2018. Omarosa has corroborated a rumor that Trump was recorded using the N word on the set of Celebrity Apprentice. On August 12, 2018, Omarosa was interviewed on NBC Meet the Press. The ethics and legality of Omarosa’s actions has come under scrutiny. Some are already convinced that Trump is racist. Some, however, have suggested that some statements cited to support this assertion were taken out of context and Trump has denied making a reported particular inflammatory remark in January 2018. I’ve thought about how some might react if such a tape were released. In 2010, a tape was released in which Mel Gibson uses the N-word and makes other offensive comments. Did this cost much support he still had after the 2006 DUI incident? I still don’t think I’d object to the release of any such tape of Trump though.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/us/arrested-voting-north-carolina.html
Arrested, Jailed and Charged With a Felony. For Voting.
It is extremely unpleasant to hear of the difficulties that the Alamance 12 had to face after casting their ballots. While growing up, I have always been taught that voting is my constitutional right and duty to serve as a United States citizen. Now that I am coming closer to the voting age, I know that I will participate in this year's midterm elections. To be stripped of your right to vote has to be one of the most defeating punishments outside of prison. As a resident, they are required to pay taxes that are created by the leaders in our government. However, to have no input in who the leaders of our government are is similar to Great Britain and their colonies. The quote by Mr. Holman, "Even when I get this cleared up, I still won’t vote,” he said. “That’s too much of a risk.", especially resonated with me because I recently learned that the United States has the lowest voter turnout of any democratic country. Without people like Mr. Holman voting, then the voter participation in the United States will continue to fall throughout the years.
New DNA-testing technology, which reveals your heritage and biological family relationships, has opened opportunities to learn more about yourself and your background, and in many cases, uncover deep family secrets. This week in The New York Times, I read an article written by Gina Kolata, “With a Simple DNA Test, Family Histories Are Rewritten”. Kolata’s article attracted my attention because my very own family histories have been ‘rewritten’ through DNA tests. Most of my family members through my dad’s side of the family completed the Ancestry DNA tests. Of course, the results showed our family ties to each other. My father’s aunts who were DNA tested recognized they were matched as an aunt to a woman they never met before. Flash forward two months, my family met new family members we would’ve never met without DNA testing! Kolata writes in the article, “If DNA testing has the potential to shed light on new family relationships, it also can muddy those that had seemed settled.” In my family, these tests ‘muddied’ our relationships to one of my grandfather’s sisters. The results connected my grandfather and his, or we thought, sister as a ‘first cousin’. No one knows any explanation for it, and no one who could give us an answer is alive. Despite the results, family is the people who you are closest to and love the most.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/sports/sports-cliches-metaphors.html
Growing up around sports, lingo such as, "The goalie stood on his head" and "throw in the towel" are constantly being used. However, much like most people, I had no idea why these phrases were worded the way that they are. Obviously the goalie wasn't standing on his head, yet everyone knows that it indicates he had a very good game. With this, I was instantly intrigued by this article as I searched for some sort of explanation. As it turns out, phrases that you wouldn't commonly associate with sports actually started off that way. Universal phrases such as "hands down" surprisingly started with sports. While I was surprised at first, I later began to realize the connections that are all over our vocabulary that relate to sports. It would appear as though such specific phrases such as "out of left field" would only relate to sports, they have slowly morphed into phrases that can be used in multiple context. While the actually reasons behind the phrases may not be important or significant, I found it very intriguing to understand how formations of phrases ease into peoples everyday vocabulary over time. It also made me to wonder the context of other words and phrases. It is crazy to think that someday words that are currently trending will soon be lost in origin as more and more begins to circulate. I believe this ability to create is truly why words are one of the most fascinating aspects to study
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/us/politics/trump-news-media-collusio...
For me, one of the things that is most associated with the trump's presidency are the words, "fake news". In a nutshell, these words mean that the media has claimed something to be true but actually fabricated the story. The clime that the media is laying to the public is very common in the words of politicians today. For me this is terrifying and here is why:
Saying that the media covers "fake news" and then leave it shows that the politicians believe that the public is stupid, that they can just feed as with a spoon and we will take it without any questions. If we will take a look at trump tweets we can see that he does not provide any evidence for his clime, and from that other hand the press provide more than just a tweet. We do not see the CNN tweet, "trump and Russia has secret relationships". Instead, there are evidence, like the secret meeting in trumps towers and the investigation runs by the special counsel on trumps relationship with Russia. Politicians need to understand that they cannot just say stuff and we will follow them, they need to provide reasons and proofs. And we, as the public who elect them need to demand those things. Otherwise, we will end up with a world in which it does not matter if there is a freedom of speech because we will not listen to those who call out and asks questions and bring dotes to the surface.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/us/parkland-florida-nikolas-cruz.html
It is interesting to me to learn about backstories to tragic events so that's why this article stood out to me. The Parkland shooting is one of the most tragic school shooting in the world. Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people on February 14. Many people do not know that he had a series of mental problems. It is very surprising to me that someone would sell a gun without having a clear background check on the person and the school did not try hard enough to help a kid with mental problems. It even says in the article "They are the latest in a series of lapses by federal, state and local officials who came in contact with Mr. Cruz during his troubled teenage years but failed to take actions that might have prevented the shooting."
In "Brazil's Military Strides Into Politics, by the Ballot or by Force", Londoño and Andreoni explain a brewing crisis.
The authors say that retired military officers, many of whom still have strong ties with the military, are trying to run for political offices. They mention that many of these officials advocate a military cleansing of the democratic government, which they see as corrupt and beyond reform in its current state.
Although the idea of the military cleaning up a corrupt democracy seems appealing, it could only end up in a disaster. Intervention could do the opposite of fixing the government. It is easy to foresee the military intervening in the government and refusing to give up the power that they seize. Who says that the military will be any less corrupt than the existing government? How do we know that such an intervention won't take Brazil back to its days of military dictatorship?
The issue of a military intervention is most relevant than it has ever been in this century. In past few years, multiple democratic nations across the world have become increasingly authoritarian. It is a chilling thought that the world could revert back to a state in which authoritarianism is more common than democracy and it would be a dire mistake to let that happen. It can be prevented if people in countries like Brazil vote against politicians who advocate this "solution".
“Those Long Security Lines at Airports? They May Move Quicker Soon”
This week, I found this article the most interesting. When I read the title, I was very excited by the prospect of shorter airport security lines. I really hate standing in those lines. Last year, my family and I went on a trip to Florida. We made sure to get to the airport early enough to have extra time after the security check. After we checked in our bags, we went to the security, Unfortunately, there was some sort of delay or hold-up at security. By the time we got to our gate, the flight had already left without us. It was very disappointing because we were really looking forward to going to Florida. Also, my mom was also very upset since my grandparents came with us and they had to wait for a long time for nothing. With faster security lines, this might not happen as often and more people will be less frustrated with airport security checks.
In the fight for legalizing abortions, Argentinian feminists are doing the right thing.
In the video "How the Abortion Debate Is Playing Out in Argentina", traditional Argentinians are scornful of abortions and only provide them when a woman is raped or the pregnancy threatens her health. Abortion is still illegal despite the efforts of the Argentinian feminists after a recent vote.
The fact that Argentinian women even have to fight is wrong.
Abortions should be legalized simply because it is their body, But if the conservatives need more reason than that, then how about that the 2018 poverty rate of Argentina is 25.7%? Women in this group who are pregnant are forced to bring their child into poverty, and are ridiculed for acknowledging that they cannot provide for them and considering abortion. Furthermore, according to "Journal of the American Medical Association", it's predicted that a fetus feels pain at 27 to 28 weeks.
This is why the feminist protests are important. The women in the video state that they are excited that the protest got this far, and that it is the type of progress that cannot be undone. The law may not have passed, but the Argentinian women will be heard.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/well/move/why-sitting-may-be-bad-for-...
The article I chose was "Why Sitting May Be Bad For Your Brain". I became super interested in this article because at first, I was like, "Wow! Can it actually be bad sitting for long periods at a time?" Research states, "sitting for hours without moving can slow the flow of blood to our brains, according to a cautionary new study of office workers, a finding that could have implications for long-term brain health". It also says, "Past studies in people and animals indicate that slight, short-term drops in brain blood flow can temporarily cloud thinking and memory, while longer-term declines are linked to higher risks for some neurodegenerative diseases, including dementia." So what is being said is if you sit and don't get up for hours, that can be very bad for your brain and blood flow. It can also lead to problems later in life like dementia. This was very fascinating because I go to school and all we do is sit for around seven hours straight. Yes, we get lunch break and recess, but that is not enough for seven hours. So actually sitting in our sits in class could actually mess with our brain and blood flow. It could also cloud our memory and be very hard to think. Since this could become a major issue, schools should every thirty minutes stop all classes and let their students just walk around the building or outside for five minutes. Our brain just might thank us years from now.
"Aretha Franklin, the 'Queen of Soul', Dies at 76"
The iconic Aretha Franklin is constantly being recognized as the Queen of Soul, but in my opinion she was that and much more. Finding out this morning that she had passed away from pancreatic cancer saddens me given she was someone who I still look up to to this day. The legend herself inspired generations of talented singers, songwriters, and the millions touched by her talent and heart. Being raised religious and finding my passion for singing through church choir, at a young age I found a major respect for Soul and Gospel music. Later discovering icons such as Aretha Franklin herself, helped me further grow as a singer and as a young female.
This article remembering Ms. Franklin's legacy specifically interests me, because the author highlights her strong messages portrayed throughout her lyrics. The author of this article, Jon Parales, states that a selection of her top hits "defined a modern female archetype: sensual and strong, long-suffering but ultimately indomitable, loving but not to be taken for granted." When I say that Aretha Franklin was more than the "Queen of Soul", I mean she truly was an important activist of equality for genders and race. As far as my knowledge goes, she was brought up in terribly difficult times for the black community and music was such a popular, unifying force. Aretha Franklin's impact will continue on this earth and her legacy will remain for countless generations to come.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/02/health/self-harm-teenagers-cdc.html
I found this article interesting because it talks about a topic that normally people don't want to discuss because it is a very personal thing but it needs to be talked about because as a society we can't have boys and girls harming themselves because they are stressed or they are getting bullied, self -harm could lead to suicide. If you see someone harming themselves don't be afraid to tell someone, you could save their life.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/10/dining/addiction-recovery-restaurant-...
Rob and Diane Prez owners of Saul Good Restaurant hired 13 employees over the past 10 years, they all died from an overdose on heroin. The Prezs wanted to do something about it because they saw people that they cared about dying from an addiction, so they opened up DV8 Kitchen, it is a restaurant who hires people in treatment for addiction to get back on their feet. I found this article interesting and heartwarming because usually when people see someone with an addiction they don't do anything about it and it is nice to see people who are willing to give them a chance at life again.
My name is Yael Ben Hur. I am sixteen years old girl who studies at the Israeli Academy of Science and Arts. I chose the article "Unable to Stop Flaming Kites, Israel Moves to Choke Off Gaza Commerce" by David M. Halbfinger.
As a child, I feared to introduce myself on the internet as an Israeli. I was scared that my nationality and religion would make people judge me because of the way that my country displayed in other countries' news. Now, after I've grown up a little bit, I realized that people who do not like me for who I am, are not worth my time. However, it still bothers me that Israel is displayed as a ruthless country which abuses human rights. I want to show the world that this isn't my country and I want to show the world how it's blind to things that happen in Israel.
For the past few months, a big issue has concerned Israel. The flaming kites. The only article that had the words "flaming kites" in its title was about our response to that terror. Over 30,000 acres of nature reserves burned. Families live in bomb shelters with their children. Over 1,000 fires were lit. Meanwhile, our world judges Israel for trying to stop this terror. The world thinks that Israel is too harsh on Gaza.
I chose this article because it shows the discrimination that I feel that there is towards Israel. People don't know what has been going here the past last months yet they keep judging us. They should understand what happens here before they comment about our response to terror.
https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/make-most-of-family-table
Having family meals together strengthens the bond of a family but it also has many health benefits, according to The Family Table. In the US 70 percent of meals are eaten outside the home, having a meal with your family can lower rate of obesity in children because the food that adults provide is usually healthy than what a child would tend to eat if he /she had to pick what to eat for dinner. I found this article interesting because it shows you pros and cons of eating at a specific time with your family, for example, if you and your family decide to eat together at breakfast one pro would be that everyone is together at the same time and a con would be that morning are rushed with school, work etc...this article definitely makes me rethink family dinners and how important they are to maintain a strong family.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/07/arts/design/syria-prison-artist.html
Being that I was born in Egypt, I know about the devastation and tragedy in Syria and the Middle East that resulted from the Arab spring in 2011, I’ve seen in myself- however I was lucky enough to immigrate to the USA before it got arduous. I understand that some are not as fortunate as me.
This article was well-written and engaging. However, it was not just the admirable style and structure of this article that made me resonate so much with it, it was the emotion I felt behind the words and art of Azza Abo Rebieh. She is an astounding example of courage.
When I think back to my Syrian friends and neighbors who no longer can recognize their own country, I often get upset, I think about the disarray and brutal reality of the Middle East, especially Syria. Despite this, when I see positive articles such as this one, I get a sense of hope, because we are speaking up and raising awareness about the people, this is not about religion or politics this is about the people. Although that might not stop the corruption and war, it can bring everyone together to find something we all have. It shows humanity and that makes me feel a fragment of hope for our future.
"Carmelo Anthony Officially Signs with the Houston Rockets" by Marc Stein
This is significant in a sense of how insignificant it is. Carmelo Anthony is no longer an elite player in the NBA. Looking back last season when he averaged 16 points a game shooting a mere 40% from the field, it is clearly evident that Carmelo is no longer one of the league's greats. He will have no effect whatsoever on the Rocket's success because quite frankly, Carmelo does't do much to help teams anymore. If anything, he helps his team lose more games than win. His inability to take good shots needs to be corrected, but the time for that is long gone. When I learned that my favorite basketball team, the Heat, had interest in him at one point, I became scared because the Heat have no need for this loser. Even though the Heat do not have a good small forward, I'd still take whoever we have over this sorry excuse of a player, Carmelo Anthony. The Rockets made a huge mistake signing Carmelo. Although they needed a new small forward to replace Trevor Ariza leaving, they could have just worked with who they have or signed Joe Johnson. The only smart thing behind this signing is how Carmelo signed for the veteran's minimum. Instead of improving their chances to beat the Warriors, the Rockets have done nothing but hurt them.
Revealing the lives of black fathers
This article made me smile from cheek to cheek. In the society we live in today, it is very typical for people to think or assume that a majority of black children don't have a father present in their lives. Being black myself, when i tell my peers that my parents have been married for 20 years and that my father is very present and active in my life, they always seem shocked or happy for me as if me having a father is rare. This article was so refreshing to read, It is satisfying to know that people acknowledge the black fathers that are in their children's life. It means so much to give credit to the fathers that are doing their part and being there for their kids physically, mentally, and emotionally.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/03/opinion/trump-rally-maga.html
The climate of the United States is increasingly violent, particularly politically. This became most evident during the 2016 presidential election, when rallies and campaigns began to resemble riots. Damon Winter is a photographer who covered the campaign of Donald Trump. Once the violence of Trump's rallies was established, Winter focused his coverage on parents and their children attending the rallies. He writes about the heartbreak felt by seeing young people exposed to such hatred and violence.
Winter continues to follow gatherings in support of Donald Trump almost two years later. He questions the humanity of the parents of these children, wondering how they could support a man who purposefully separated over 3,000 children from their families. These people who inevitably feel a strong bond to their children should be even more empathetic towards these families, however somehow continue to support the separation.
Exposing children to this type of violence, discrimination, and overall hatred is a form of abuse. An upbringing in this tainted society will brainwash the youth and perpetuate the cycle of intolerance and anger.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/technology/infowars-alex-jones-apple-...
The top tech companies' decision to oust Alex Jones and his content is very interesting because it shows the companies' efforts to suppress fake news. Everyone talks about freedom of speech but it gives rise to the debate on where the line is drawn. Mr. Jones constantly violated policies and made hateful statements on his channel. Although I don't support the choice of the tech companies, I also don't endorse hate speech and spreading it through multiple social media channels. This is a very recent and rising problem because of social media followings.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/us/chicago-weekend-shootings.html
In this article, authors Richard A. Oppel Jr and Amy Harmon first displayed the truly violent nature of the crimes and how it affected each of many victim's families. 'John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital on the city’s West Side was so busy that all but immediate family members waited outside for updates on their wounded loved ones, embracing and in some cases kneeling.' However, the article later goes on to say most of the shootings took place in areas of highly concentrated crime and gang activity. Although Chicago has seen a significant decrease in crime over the past few years, the first 5 days of August have had more gun violence, according to the University of Chicago Crime Lab. Though the city is heading in the right direction in terms of decreasing gun violence, city officials and the community itself has still not found the very root of the problem. There is no trust nor dependency between the police and the people. In an area of gang and police brutality, the ordinary population is too scared to say anything to an officer when they know something regarding a crime. This contributes to Chicago being one of the lowest crime-solving areas in the nation. The community is only as good as the people in it, and everyone needs to act in order to make a change. Eddie Johnson, police superintendent says, "We need everyone to come to the table with less talk, but with more action."
https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/make-most-of-family-table
The article that I chose this week was how to have better family meals. I chose this article because I wanted to know how to have better meals with my family and healthier ones too. I thought this article was very interesting because it had many interesting facts that I didn't know about. Did you know that studies show that children who eat daily lunch with parents are more likely to be overweight. I hope you enjoyed this article as much as I did and ask new questions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/world/asia/indonesia-earthquake-lombo...
Earlier in the month, Indonesia was hit by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that killed 98 people and left 20,000 homeless. The airports were filled and so were hotels all across Indonesia. I found this interesting to see how much a earthquake can impact a country also reading all of the stories that individual people told and how its affected them personally. Some people refused to go home because they were so traumatized by the event.
The article that I picked this week was "U.S. Wants Students to Learn Bleeding-Control Methods to Prepare for School Shootings". I felt that this article was important because we as students should not have to learn how to deal with a shooting after it has happened. As a country, we should be learning how to prevent this situation. This article is implying that shooting will still continue to occur at schools but instead of finding ways to prevent them we are finding ways to deal with the deaths of children.
“Science Alone Won’t Save the Earth. People Have to Do That.”
Climate change, habitat loss, and widespread extinctions are just a few of the many environmental challenges we face today. While it may seem like we just have to wait for someone or something to solve all of these problems or rely on science, that is not the case. We as humans have to be the ones who want to talk about and address these issues although they may be controversial. That is why this article interested me the most in The Times this week. It explains the lack of talking about what kind of planet we want to live on and a better future for generations to come. By adjusting our expectations of a future we can attain, it can become clear that science is not the answer to everything. In the end, humans decide the future we want for ourselves. While change can start with a simple discussion, it was mentioned in the article that those who benefit most in this world need to step up and make a difference as well. With everyone on the same page for a better future, we don’t need to overcome the limits of the natural world, we need to strategize more effectively while working with the world we have today. We have the potential to make this planet a much better place than it is today. This is the planet we live on. We should be proud of what it can become, not only for ourselves but for the other billions of people that will live on it in the future.
In the Times this week I read an article about " Any Weight Loss Can Be Healthful, but More Can Be Much Better". This was an interesting article for me because I have always been really into fitness and doing things for my body that help my health. I also liked this article because I saw it as a type of encouragement for people to lose more weight than they originally planned on. As we know when people want to become fit they can do it in ways that is healthy and allows you to lose the fat fast and make you physically look better, but maybe we should start focusing on the amount of weight we lose . This article explained the benefits of losing more weight rather than just a certain amount and they found that as your percent of weight loss goes up within a year this lowers your risk for metabolic syndrome. To be completely honest when I hear people say they want to lose weight they usually put a certain number with it like 20 pounds, or 15 pounds because that's the amount of weight they can lose to make their appearance change. After reading this I think people should think about how much weight they could lose not only to change their appearance, but to help their health out! Many people have a goal of how much weight they wanna lose but it's never impossible to stretch that number a little more just to see greater benefits for your body. Lastly, I think the people who did this research wanted to make it very clear to others that any weight loss is good for you so keep going!
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/18/us/school-shootings-2018.html
This particular article caught my attention and interested me the most due to the level of importance of the issue. School shootings have become such a frequent thing and as this article states , it has become so common that most people don't even remember all of them.
To be quiet honest I did not even know of half those shootings before reading the article. The matter has to be dealt with more seriously because with every shooting there are lives that are taken or damaged. Gun control should be much stronger and to get a gun license should be made much more difficult and realistic , because any child between the age 10-19 should not be having easy access to guns or any harmful weapons incase of an emergency for obvious reasons.
Everyday there are children in the US probably going to school with a great fear of the possibility of a massacre due to the fact that it has become such a common thing. No child should live in such fear. Schools should improve their security and regularly monitor their students that may show any unusual or aggressive behavior at school.
The fact that most people don't even know of these deaths is actually very sad because those people and children's deaths where and are unjustified.
The topic of school shootings should be shared more and be taken more serious because the people that have died deserve a voice.
This week, what interested me most wasn’t quite an article or a piece of recent news, but a love story from this spring.
No one has a “perfect” love story like those that are portrayed in romcoms or TV dramas. Yet it seems that the majority of romances shown in fiction are dramatically "fated" to be. Don’t get me wrong, I adore a good cheesy romance. However, it’s very refreshing to see a modern take on love, complete with Black Mirror, insecurity, and dates at Olive Garden.
This piece from Ali Elkin shows love as it really can be— awkward, fresh, and tentative. This view on love comes from a very personal and truthful place, which is a stark contrast to the idealized notion of the “perfect” relationship that’s so often on display in fiction. In this selection, the author details her concerns in a long-term relationship, and how the couple moved through those concerns. It’s the kind of story that happens all the time in real life; there’s no clean and perfect cinematic reunion or declaration of everlasting love while the orchestra swells underneath. It’s optimistic and hopeful, but in an honest way. It deals with problems rather than glossing over them. It acknowledges that love can make one feel insecure or intimidated, but that eventually you have to accept that you are enough.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/style/when-love-seems-too-easy-to-tru...
This week I was most interested in the article relating to abortion. It was the " Restrictions on Abortion: It's Not Just the South". The topic of abortion has been a big one around the country recently, with people creating an opinion of wether or not we should allow women to basically choose if they want to bring another human being into this world. My opinion on this whole thing is that yes abortion is wrong, but in certain cases I could see why a woman would consider it. For example, if a woman were to get raped she may not feel comfortable having the baby or for some people it may be because severe birth defects were found before the baby is born. After reading this article it seems that in most states it is very hard to get an abortion because of all the restrictions. It also mentioned that women across the country could be entirely out of reach from somewhere that allows you to get an abortion in the very near future. I do not think this should be allowed considering women should be in full control of their own bodies and what they do with it. I wouldn't encourage someone to get an abortion, but I could definitely understand why a woman would get one if it was for one of the examples I gave. It is a very touchy subject because we are talking about killing an innocent human being but there are certain situations where I wouldn't see it as being a horrible and cruel thing. It's very sad to think that any woman would ever have to worry about getting an abortion.
While scrolling through the top stories of the week one article in particular caught my attention. The article was “In Chicago, One Weekend, 66 Shooting Victims, and Zero Arrests” by Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Amy Harmon. It was heartbreaking to see a city reach such a level of violence in the short span of 48 hours. With this in mind, I chose the article so I could take an in depth look at the circumstances within Chicago that could lead to such harrowing statistics.
The weekend was very out of character for the city. Since 2016 Chicago has noticed a substantial decrease in gun violence, but during the first week of August gun violence was higher than it has been in years for that week in particular. In the article it said, “The violence reached a peak early Sunday, when 30 people were shot in a three hour span”. This means that one victim was shot about every five minutes. These victims varied from 11-years-old to 62-years-old and they all were at various locations including a funeral and a block party. No one in Chicago was safe from gun violence during the deadly weekend.
After reading the article I hope there is a change made so that the citizens of Chicago never experience a weekend like this ever again. It is more important than ever for people to acknowledge what is not only occurring in Chicago, but in areas all over the US and make the necessary changes to provide people with a life where they do not have to worry about being the next victim of gun violence.
'Crazy Rich Asians': Why did it take so long to see a cast like this?
After reading this article, I was left questioning a lot. For as long as I can remember, almost all of the popular films and television shows advertised heavily in the media have featured mainly caucasian actors and actresses. People have been conditioned to think that this is the norm and that Asian actors and actresses are only present when they are portraying stereotypes for comedic effect. I myself am not of Asian descent so I can not even begin to fully understand the effect this lack of representation has had but I still find this fact extremely saddening. I grew up being able to see so many actresses that looked just like me but so many children of color don't get that same opportunity. I hope that all the buzz and publicity that this movie is getting (and other films like Black Panther featuring huge casts of primarily colored people) will make people realize that lack of diversity in the media is a big problem and that it's holding us back from other advancements like seeing more LGBTQ characters. Overall, you have to celebrate that things are finally improving but you also have to wonder how it has taken this long.
I wouldn't say what I read about this week was interesting but I want to pay my respects to the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin. Aretha died today from pancreatic cancer at age seventy-six. She has been taken from us way too soon. She brought people so much joy and passion. I gained so much inspiration from her as a young women such as from the song "Natural Women". Her vocals were amazing and her talent is beyond compare. I know she will live on through her music and her family as well as her many many fans.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/science/beetle-amber-cycad.html
"Trapped in 99-Million-Year-Old Amber, a Beetle With Pilfered Pollen"
By Nicholas St. Fleur
My interest in this article stems from the fact that life continuously evolves in order to fill niches in the environment. For the example, the boganiid beetle discussed in the article at one point having the role as one a pollinator for cycads. These cycads were gymnosperms, meaning that their seeds were in direct contact with the air and that their main mean of fertilization is through pollination. The beetles would fly from cones of a male plant, brush against the pollen when trying to eat, then deliver the pollen to a female cycad as they keep going from plant to plant. This relationship between insects and plants has existed as long as both organisms have co-occupied the planet. However, as time progresses different insects and plants carry on the tradition of being the pollinator and pollinated, respectively. Nowadays, this tradition is carried out mainly by pollinating butterflies and bees along with common flowering plants. This seemingly endless relationship that has spanned a decent portion of history is just one of many fascinating things that life is capable of doing without any interference.
The article that interested me the most this week was 'Alex Jones and Infowars Content Is Removed From Apple, Facebook, and Youtube' by Jack Nicas.
Why?
Before reading this article, I have never once heard about Alex Jones. The only conspiracy theorist I have heard of is Shane Dawson. Not going to lie, I have seen a couple conspiracy videos shane has out on youtube. However, this article has really opened my eyes to realize that I really shouldn't believe every little thing I see on the internet.
I know parents and teachers tell you all the time not to believe everything you see on the internet. Us teen do not listen. Although, the article really caught my eyes with the talk on false information shared with the millions of people who watch this man, Alex Jones.
He is currently getting sued for defamation of a company he talked about in a negative way. I think that is appropriate in this case. If I was a part of that company and represented that company, I wouldn't want anyone who has millions of viewers to hear false information about us and cause chaos over people not coming to our company anymore and other drastic things.
I think I will be keeping up with this lawsuit because it interested me quite a bit.
"Why Sitting May Be Bad For Your Brain" by Gretchen Reynolds
This week, this article caught my eye because school is right around the corner, where most of our time is spent sitting at a desk. This article mentioned many great points, such as not moving slows down the flow of blood to the brain. However, a little movement every hour can be so beneficial to this issue. Studies have shown that sitting too long can cause short-term or even long-term damage to the brain, such as, slower memory and possibly dementia. Many studies have been done such as men and women were fitted with headbands to track the flow of blood through their arteries that are supplying blood to the brain. They also breathed into masks to test their carbon dioxide levels at different points in the day. This article was overall very interesting, and I believe very important because of how many people sit at a desk everyday.
I was most interested in the article "Why Sitting May Be Bad For Your Brain". Throughout the school day students aren't prone to the achey feeling of sitting down on the hard chairs in the classroom. What I never came to realize was that sitting down all day could actually effect the way students perform in school. Brain cells need oxygen to survive and when you sit down for a long period of time oxygen isn't fully produced like it should be. When sitting for that long you aren't getting any physical activity meaning that you aren't getting your blow flow moving which could greatly impact your success in school and even in work. The hardest part about making this change however is the fact that it's hard to move around all day in a school setting when most work requires you to sit in a desk. One of the biggest changes to be made would be to incorporate more movement and activities that require students to be active in the classroom but doing activities outside when possible or even standing for some activities. Research has even shown that by doing so your brain functions better and your performance is increased greatly.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/well/move/why-sitting-may-be-bad-for-...
Why Sitting May Be Bad for Your Brain
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I chose the article “Why Sitting May Be Bad for Your Brain”. The reason I chose this article is because many teens these days are on video games all day or just on their phone for hours sitting. From this article I learned that when doing nothing for a long period of time the flow of blood to the brain takes a longer time than when being active. The short-term effect of this is that the brain blood flow is slow; while the long term affect is having neurodegenerative diseases like dementia. All in all, to not have these symptoms in the lord run they did a test on people to get up every 30 mins and walk around for 2 minutes, this will prevent a decline in blood flow.
“Between Sound and Silence,” by Irene Taylor Brodski
I found myself struggling to agree with the concept this video was promoting, which was that Cochlear Implants can make Deaf people high functioning members of society and give them more opportunities. As a hearing person, I feel that it’s almost wrong for me to have such a strong opinion about this, despite my interest in American Sign Language, Deaf culture, and goal to become a certified interpreter as an adult. So what is my place to say how Deaf people live their lives if I’m not deaf myself? Since this is a video on the internet for anyone to see, I suppose I want to convey another side of the story to those now in support of giving all deaf people the “gift” of hearing. The Deaf have their own history, schools, language, and overall experience. They are not at a loss because they are Deaf, despite what the terms “disability,” “hearing loss,” and “impaired,” may infer. From this video, I’ve learned that there are many people who have had great benefits from the implant, but I hope to reveal that this is not the solution for every deaf person. Aside from cost, the surgery is also permanent and cannot be removed. While all of those featured seemed to be happy with their CI’s, not every Deaf or Hard of Hearing person must be “fixed” or altered in order to get a job, go to school, or interact with the world.
This week in the Times I read an article about " Parents Behaving Badly: A Youth Sports Crisis Caught on Video". This seemed like an interesting topic for me to read about because not only have I heard of all the cruel things said and done to refs during sports games, I also have noticed it while playing soccer myself. This poor treatment that refs receive is scaring away other people from wanting to get a job that should not be scary at all. Many people might not think of how all of this affects the kids actually playing the sport but it makes the game much harder to focus on when all you can hear is the parents screaming at possibly one bad call. I totally understand the amount of anger u may have when something is not called in the favor of your team, but the people playing and the people watching should understand that they have no control over how the game is called. Sports like soccer are meant to be enjoyed at a young age and I think all of this screaming and yelling from the parents is only making it less enjoyable for everyone. As for how this situation is being handled, I totally agree with some people who say that posting all of this to social media sometimes is a little harsh and there are other ways to continue to deal with the problem. I remember when one of the teams I played for had a bad experience with a ref and all we did was request that we never had him again, there wasn't anything posted to social media and it was ended there.
Article - Should Coffee Come With Cancer Warnings? California Says No.
Cancer is definitely not a disease to mess around with. According to World Cancer Day in 2013, 7.6 million people die from cancer each year. Author Tiffany Hsu recently released an article exposing the concern over the “coffee linked to cancer” issue.
Hsu states, “The basis of the coffee lawsuit is a California law that requires companies to warn consumers if they are exposed to hazardous substances in products.” By stating this, she implies the urge for us to be aware of the substances we put in our bodies. In California the fact as to whether coffee is a carcinogen or not is indecisive. Hsu complicates matters when she writes, “The reversal from suspected carcinogen to a benign cup of joe is partly the result of more comprehensive scientific research. But it also reflects a rising concern that a blizzard of cancer warnings has desensitized consumers to serious health hazards.” Her point is that when warnings are misused, people start to disregard them.
I’m in two minds about Hsu’s article. On the one hand, I agree that as consumers, we should be aware of any harmful chemicals that we are susceptible to ingest. On the other hand, wrongly imputed labels will only cause an increased oblivion to more serious labels. This issue however, goes beyond a highly caffeinated drink that may or may not cause cancer. This issue questions the accuracy of agencies in the US to keep the average person safe.
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/08/business/media/academy-awards-popular...
The 'Popular Film' category that is being introduced to the Oscars isn't only a bad thing like most people seem to believe. Like the article says, certain films, such as Black Panther, don't receive enough attention from award ceremonies, even though they have widespread success. Though we don't know the specifics of what the 'Popular Film' will entail, there should still be limits. I feel it should act like an honorable mention, for a movie that didn't receive any other awards. The category will probably bring back more viewers to the Oscars, because it won't just be a bunch of obscure films being given awards, like usual. In the end, the 'Popular Film' category isn't all bad.
The article "Richard Russell Stole a Plane in Seattle and Crashed It. How’d He Learn to Fly?" by Louis Lucero II and Melissa Gomez
goes over the story of one Richard Russell, a man who stole a Q400 Turboprop aircraft and managed to fly it for about an hour before eventually crashing it and dying. Mr. Russell's only experience with flying planes was from flight simulation games, and yet with only that kind of knowledge, he was able to perform aerial maneuvers with a plane that normal pilots cannot fly. Due to this situation, certified flight instructors and aviation experts were divided on how much video games or flight simulators could prepare someone to operate an airplane. In my opinion, I believe that they can prepare someone for most requirements of flying an aircraft, but not all of them. According to Ryan Barclay, the founder and executive director of Fly Away Simulation, “There is one major thing that separates simulators from real life, if you crash in the simulator, then you can reset it and start again.” I am really glad that he said this because it is kind of a warning to anyone that want's to copy Richard Russell that they could fly a plane, but they won't survive.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/07/well/how-to-avoid-burnout-in-youth-sp...
This article discusses specialization in youth sports and discusses a study that found that in most sports, early specialization is detrimental to a child’s chance of going pro. This is interesting, because typically, one would think that a child choosing one sport sooner would be good for their chances of outperforming their peers and going pro. However, this study showed that children who specialized earlier were more likely to get injured, which could harm their chances of going pro.
Another thing that I believe helps children who play multiple sports get better is that some skills are transferable from sport to sport. Hakeem Olajuwon played soccer growing up, which helped him quickly develop some of the best footwork ever seen by a big man in the NBA even though he only started playing at age 15. Another current example of this is current Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid. He played volleyball and soccer growing up, and he also started playing basketball at age 15 and developed into a legitimate NBA star.
In conclusion, through my own observations and the study mentioned in the article, playing multiple sports as a child helps a child’s chances of going pro. This is because children pick up useful skills such as footwork in basketball from other sports such as soccer or volleyball, and are less likely to get injured if they play multiple sports.
Nothing pleased me more than to see Anthony Tommasini’s article,“Curious About Classical Music? Here’s Where to Start” in the New York Times this week as a suggestion for young readers because I don’t believe this “art form”, as Tommasini calls it, is brought up enough. Classical music has impacted my life profoundly ever since I was a young child, and I really do believe that anyone can become intrigued with its complexity and beauty.
It’s clear to me that Tommasini has quite an advanced knowledge of classical music, shown by his recommendations of composers like Bartok, who are not as well known to beginning enthusiasts. However, based on the vibrant adjectives he uses to describe his favorite masterpieces in his writing, I can see that he does not believe, like many others, that classical music is “dead”, yet that it is alive and growing in popularity.
It’s difficult to describe how refreshing it is to hear Tommasini write about this type of music in the way that he does because as a young student, not all of my peers show the same outlook towards classical music as I do. It has become common for millenials to laugh at those who listen to Brahms instead of Drake, and I think a lot of the people who say they “hate” classical music, have never really stopped and thought about the talent it takes to compose a symphony. Tommasini’s writing is an encouraging motivator which will hopefully help classical music become what it should in the minds of youth throughout the world.
The article that interested me the most was, "Argentina's Senate Narrowly Rejects Legalizing Abortion" by Daniel Politi and Ernesto Londoño. For as long as I can remember, I have been passionate about people being able to choose what they want to do with their bodies, not the government. If there is an unexpected pregnancy where the parents are not ready for a child, they should be able to make the choice if they want an abortion or not. An unplanned pregnancy that falls into the hands of a financially unstable household can result in a struggling future for the child and family. The government should not be the ones who decide families' reproductive rights. Our bodies are not their bodies, they are our own. In the US, legal abortion is not widely accessible to women. The most recent survey found that 87% of all US counties have no identifiable abortion provider. If it is this difficult to get an abortion in the US, imagine the rest of the world, the parts of the world were there are little to no female representatives in their government. Some women around the world whose religion, country, or family does not support abortion risk their life to get an abortion. These operations are also expensive. Imagine living in poverty, getting pregnant, and then trying to raise a child who would grow up with little necessitates, all because the place where you live has outlawed abortions. Our bodies are not their bodies, they are our own.
This week I read an interesting article titled: "Review: 'Alpha' Explains How Man's Best Friend Got That Way." The article talks about the origins of the movie and provides a brief preview of the movie's plot. The author of the article, Glenn Kenny, provides the audience with a video preview of the movie, information about the plot, and an overview of the movie's director, stars, rating, etc. I was intrigued by this article because i have wanted to see it ever since seeing the first trailer. After reading this largely informal article, I am now even more confident that I wish to see Alpha.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/31/sports/lebron-james-instagram-nba.html
Growing up in this generation, social media has greatly impacted many of our lives. Most people use social media every day and some people put every second of our lives on at least one of their social media platforms, whether its Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, etc.
Many parents force their kids to get off electronics or don’t give permission for them to be on social media. This is because the idea of technology usually comes off in a negative way, especially to older generations. For example, individuals often associate electronics with laziness or being a “couch potato”. Although this can be true for some people, it is not true for all people and this article demonstrated this.
This article interested me because Scott Cacciola, the author of the article, showed that the use of social media is not necessarily a bad thing. Lebron James has reached a great level of success in his basketball career. Some even argue that he may be the greatest of all time but despite one’s opinion of him, James’s success has made him one of the most well-known athletes. This success came from years of hard work yet he is able to maintain a very large presence on social media. Currently, many other players are following his social media ways. This article subtlety questioned many of society’s judgements which drew me in.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/14/us/carey-dean-moore-nebraska-executio...
This article immediately caught my attention because I am from Nebraska. Execution isn't used often, especially in Nebraska. I was really shocked by this article because the use of fentanyl to execute someone seems so strange, especially with the whole opioid academic going on. I’ve always heard of using the electric chair or injection to commit an execution but the usage of a cocktail was very new to me. With all of the drugs in the cocktail, I was surprised that it took 23 minutes to execute Mr. Moore. Personally I think the use of fentanyl to kill is really disheartening because others are dying from overdoses on fentanyl because they may be addicted to other drugs like marijuana that may be cut with the drug. But I find that maybe if it wasn’t such an issue going on right now in the United States the method of using fentanyl for execution would be more widely accepted.
In "Brazil’s Military Strides Into Politics, by the Ballot or by Force", Londoño and Andreoni explain a brewing crisis.
The authors say that retired military officers, many of whom still have strong ties with the military, are trying to run for political offices. They mention that many of these officials advocate a military cleansing of the democratic government, which they see as corrupt and beyond reform in its current state.
Although the idea of the military cleaning up a corrupt democracy seems appealing, it could only end up in a disaster. Intervention could do the opposite of fixing the government. It is easy to foresee the military intervening in the government and refusing to give up the power that they seize. Who says that the military will be any less corrupt than the existing government? How do we know that such an intervention won't take Brazil back to its days of military dictatorship?
The issue of a military intervention is most relevant than it has ever been in this century. In past few years, multiple democratic nations across the world have become increasingly authoritarian. It is a chilling thought that the world could revert back to a state in which authoritarianism is more common than democracy and it would be a dire mistake to let that happen. It can be prevented if people in countries like Brazil vote against politicians who advocate this "solution".
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/business/coffee-cancer-warning-califo...
As a regular coffee drinker, an article linking it to cancer automatically scared me. The article claims that the drink contains the chemical acrylamide which is linked to cancer. A group in California wants all coffee to come with a warning about the cancer. That is plausible due to law "Prop 65" which requires all foods and drinks containing possibly harmful chemicals to be labeled as such. Although this seems to make sense, it also does sound a little excessive to have all coffee come with a cancer warning. However, more research put into the subject claims that coffee is actually not that dangerous to your health and actually has many benefits. California courts also ended up ruling that the drink should not have to come with a cancer warning. Finishing this article on that note allowed me to feel way less nervous about my regular coffee drinking. However I might still cut back a little just to be on the safe side!
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/13/business/turkey-lira-emerging-markets...
Considering that I know no one from Turkey or anyone that is Turkish, the collapse of the Turkish Lira really didn’t matter to me. But the more I read the titles, the more I got interested, and I clicked on this article to learn more. Turns out we have a lot to care about.
The reason why we must care is because of all the loans we made to Turkey. If the Turkish economy crashes, then there is no way for Turkey to give back all of the money they owe us and other countries. And America raising interests isn’t helping either. If Turkey collapses, then we would have something similar to Venezuela, which isn’t what we want to happen, considering what usually follows after a country’s currency collapses. Its effect would ripple across the Middle East and weaken the global economy. My idea is to have investors not back away from Turkey, but rather have them invest into Turkey to raise the value of its currency, which will be a win-win for the global economy, the investors, and Turkey.
On May 24th David Leonhardt released a piece, "The NFL is Being Anti-American", stating that the National Football League should not allow teams to punish players for kneeling during the National Anthem. Leonhardt claims that this action is unpatriotic and that the NFL is taking away the right of free speech. He goes on to say "Standing for the National Anthem is meaningless if it’s mandated, and such a mandate undermines the essential liberty of free speech.”
Players should be allowed to protest and have opinions in the NFL, but teams are also businesses and have the right to enforce a code of conduct. An example of such is in many jobs there are rules put in place to make sure employees can't sue an employer after being fired for not following job regulations. These players are getting payed a large amount of money to do their job and should be expected to follow rules established by team leaders.
This issue has become a very controversial and widespread topic throughout the nation. While I respect the players need to protest, I believe they are required to follow rules set by their employers and should do so.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/08/opinion/oh-the-humanities.html
As the modern society rapidly approaches the “technological singularity,” students are increasingly seeking opportunities to pioneer and innovate in the sciences and the enterprises, but are they missing out on the other side of the equation?
I found this article enlightening because it reveals the often-overlooked intrinsic values that cannot be taught by the sciences and business—conscience, empathy, justice, and most importantly, how our modes of thought have evolved and will evolve.
The humanities, in this day and age, is not only overshadowed by technocracy but is also often portrayed as an outdated and pedantic pursuit. It seems that the missing link cannot be reconciled just yet. In an insatiable “Apollonian culture,” filling the gap is harder than ever. The humanities and the sciences, for example, are different in nature—as demonstrated by the failed attempts by humanists to dissect “literature” like a specimen.
There has been an infectious apprehension and avoidance of the humanities. Too often do I hear “I can’t make a living with [insert humanities major here],” and many avoid the humanities simply because it “sounded” boring.
At the end of the day, we’re all human (at least for now), and how are we really going to progress if we cannot even embrace our humanity?
“What Happens to #MeToo When a Feminist Is the Accused?”
This case struggles with sorting out gender equality and power dynamics. Academic elite from around the globe have come out to defend Professor Ronell, a testament to how supremely powerful she is. The large power imbalance between Ronell and Reitman is common in sexual harassment cases. Still, these scholars, who call themselves feminists and supporters of the #MeToo movement, chose to shoot down the victim and support the accused.
The letter written by Dr. Ronell’s “feminist” supporters is appalling and horribly hypocritical. They state that Ronell is entitled to proceedings that treat her with "the dignity rightly deserved by someone of her international standing and reputation". Surely these scholars are aware that one’s reputation does not matter in a Title IX proceeding. So while Professor Ronell deserves a hearing that “expresses respect, dignity, and human solicitude," other “lesser” and unknown accused perpetrators can be subject to whatever is thrown at them.
The letter goes on to defend Ronell with irrelevant testimonials of professional accomplishment. These “feminists” commend Ronell’s talents to excuse her behavior while condemning those who do the same for male harassers. They cannot demand special treatment for Ronell because she is a woman and a feminist. The law does not only apply if the perpetrator is male; women are not above suspicion. Title IX exists to help everyone. So should feminism.
"A Year After Charlottesville, Disarray in the White Supremacist Movement."
It's strange to see an evil that we, as a country, spent so many years trying to get rid of arise on our soil. The people that many of us viewed as monsters are know the people that many of us are becoming. Seeing these far-right movements come to prominence in a country that we view as safe and free scares me. Although, it is also weird. It's weird that people who feel so strongly about what they believe in and people that are used to creating fear, are now the ones cowering. They spend all their time preaching their beliefs only to take steps back when others protest them in the same way they fight. It makes me wonder if they truly believe in what they are fighting for, or if they are only just hopping on a political bandwagon. I’m proud to say that the fight against this modern day evil is progressing. It proves that we will see a bright future, the way teens have strong opinions and are willing to fight for what they believe. People will say that we’re the “lazy generation” or that we’re too busy on our devices to do anything. We fight for the things we believe in and fight for our future and the future of the U.S, despite what other generations will say about us. I think that’s what is making our fight against white supremacy so effective. We’ve dealt with people’s protests and people trying to oppress our beliefs for years and it’s enables us to deal with movements like that of white supremacy.
The article “The ‘Zombie Gene’ That May Protect Elephants From Cancer” really intrigued me. It is very surprising that such a behemoth has less cancer than humans. I never expected the next breakthrough in cancer research to come from elephants. But this just goes to show that the biggest advances come from nature. Nature has the potential to offer solutions to many of the biggest problems facing our society.
What intrigued me was the unusual amount of p53 genes. The gene p53, a tumor-suppressor gene, works to suppress tumor growth by restricting and controlling the cell cycle. Normally, this works very well. The cells with mutations get killed and the body resumes its homeostatic environment. This is in the case of proto-oncogenes. However, when p53 is mutated, this results in oncogenes. Oncogenes do not restrict cell cycle properly and many mutations occur. These rampant mutations amount to tumors which can metastasize and form more tumors.
Elephants are a surprising case. Becuase, since they go under many more cell cycles to get to the size they are, we expect them to suffer more “hits” which are mutations.However, it seems that abundance of p53 help blocks these mutations from forming tumors.
I think that this can help us understand the nature of cancer much better. I believe that the next step is to look at other animals. For example, sharks are known to be immune to cancer, which is also very surprising considering the leviathan sizes they can get to.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/us/politics/parkland-students-voting....
The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have done great work in fighting for stricter gun regulations. I think that it is great that so many people are rallying for better and stricter gun regulations. I hope that the regulations they helped get passed make it harder for potential shooters to obtain guns. Schools should be a safe place for children to learn and spend their time, not a place where children are concerned about being injured or killed by a shooter. I think it is great that they are addressing more forms of gun violence than mass shootings, like domestic abuse and police brutality. Addressing the causes of gun violence is an important step in stopping gun violence. You have to get to the root of the problem to truly fix it. I find it amazing that people in my age group are inspiring so much change, that they are the leaders of this movement. I am glad that they are giving a voice to so many people who have been unable to share their stories and experiences.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/us/politics/gay-candidates-midterms.html
Now more than ever, there are members of the LGBTQ+ community signing up for office. As quoted from the article, "Ms. Davids is among more than 400 gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender candidates running for office this year — a record number, according to groups that track such data." Which means the number of people are growing by the years! While this is good in the sense that more people are running for office for different views and perspectives to the people, it's also a monumental progression that members of the LGBTQ+ community are becoming more confident to become a political leader, despite homophobic, transphobic, etc comments coming their way. There was a time where they couldn't even be taken seriously because of what they identified as, but 2018 was a great year for LGBTQ+ as a whole. No longer are gay men being seen as pedophiles, (which yes, was a thing. There was an entire ad video on it.) and those who are transgender are being seen as more as just people who "switched". I think this is a great achievement in America, that the number of delegates has risen to such a high number, and perhaps one day, everyone will look at the LGBTQ+ community and see them as just any other regular human being, instead of "weird" or "different".
http://nytimesnie.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
Almost one month ago today I went to see Mamma Mia 2 in theatres however; I might have been equally as excited for the previews of movies coming out. While snacking on popcorn a preview came on for a new movie called Crazy Rich Asians and it was all I could think about. Flash forward to this week while sitting down to do my entry for the contest, and I came across an article about the movie Crazy Rich Asians and I had to read it.
Before diving into the article about waiting 25 years to see a all Asian cast, I thought about how little you do see Asian actors regularly on TV shows or movies. This article just confirmed how true that is with the last all Asian cast being in Joy Luck Club 25 years ago. How is it fair that people who are not Asian are being cast for Asian parts, taking the opportunity away from the actors and actresses who should really be playing those parts? That is why I found this article interesting because the producers stuck to their guns and casted true to the book.
Title: "In Chicago, One Weekend, 66 Shooting Victims, and Zero Arrests"
This article in the Times this week interested me because I have family who lives in Chicago. To hear about this extreme violence and wanton death is disturbing to say the least. It leaves me with concerns over my families safety. My aunt, uncle, and two little cousins live there. Apparently, several of the victims were children, which further raises my concerns. I worry that my little cousins, who are two really sweet kids, might be next.
Also, not too long ago, there was a shooting at a school here in Florida.
It seems that we are now hearing about shootings every few weeks, and it is disheartening to hear that we are still having problems with it.
"Colorado Baker Sues Over Cake Dispute With Transgender Woman"
This article caught my eye in a sense of confusion. At first I questioned: "why would someone be denied a cake because they are transgender?". I went on to read that the baker, a very religious man, justified his denial to make a cake with the claim that gender is "given by god" and it is unjust to accept anything else. This whole situation ended up in court with the baker winning since there was no legality to force him to make a cake. This article really confused me, I really didn't understand why this would be a problem in the first place, after all it was just a cake. I'd hoped that people who choose to make such a brave and difficult decisions for themselves and for their own happiness could be accepted and loved for who they are, but of course everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and opinions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/business/coffee-cancer-warning-califo...
As a regular coffee drinker, an article linking it to cancer automatically scared me. The article claims that the drink contains the chemical acrylamide which is linked to cancer. A group in California wants all coffee to come with a warning about the cancer. That is plausible due to law "Prop 65" which requires all foods and drinks containing possibly harmful chemicals to be labeled as such. Although this seems to make sense, it also does sound a little excessive to have all coffee come with a cancer warning. However, more research put into the subject claims that coffee is actually not that dangerous to your health and actually has many benefits. California courts also ended up ruling that the drink should not have to come with a cancer warning. Finishing this article on that note allowed me to feel way less nervous about my regular coffee drinking. However I might still cut back a little just to be on the safe side!
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/08/technology/personaltech/internet-trol...
This article interested me because I enjoy playing video games, and I therefore often encounter online trolls. However, I do not agree with the author’s view that it is the sole responsibility of platforms to police their users. This is not because I am some free speech zealot, but rather because it is simply impossible in reality. However, what platforms do have a responsibility to do is to provide tools so a community can police itself. This can allow a community to form a set of laws and agreements which everyone follows, and gives them the capacity to kick those who do not. While this can become a problem if the laws written are draconian, even then the damage is minimal, as the worst that can be done is kick the offending member. Furthermore, without the ability to kick members, communities resort to harassment as a way to punish members. While nasty communities can still form, those communities collect the toxic members and give them a space to be toxic, while the only people they can hurt are those who are as toxic (and likely as thick skinned) as them. I have seen this model work. Discord communities, for example, have rules that every member is asked to read, and the moderators have the power to silence members, kick users and delete posts. Therefore, a collaboration between users and companies can efficiently combat online toxicity.
"A Generation Grows Up in China Without Google, Facebook or Twitter" by Li Yuan.
In my opinion, I honestly don't understand how someone can go through school without using the search engine Google. I use it for a lot of projects and other things during school, and it is super helpful. I also kind of like the fact that they grow up without many social medias, and when they find out about them, they don't really feel the need or want to use them. They think their society is better without a lot of social media. I mean they do use apps like Facebook or Twitter, but not nearly as much as us Americans do. A 14 year old in China realizes how social media affects people, because he made the observation about how a lot of todays music is about peoples complaints of society.
This week, I was most interested by "Oscars to Add ‘Popular Film’ Category, Creating Questions" since I think it illustrates the division between how we judge films. While, yes, blockbusters, can, and, have been for decades some of the best movies in a year, they aren't given any respect often by the academy at large. However, I don't think the Oscars are the best place for summer blockbusters, the Oscars exist because they allow more experimental, more artful movies to be greenlit. How do you get something like Boyhood, an incredibly risky movie made? You say it has the potential to win an Oscar. In addition, the article cites a lack in viewers for making this change, however, I'd look to change who hosts the Oscars. Repeating a host, much less a host like Jimmy Kimmel after the debacle that was the 2017 Oscars wasn't a smart move. Get someone with real charisma, someone with real passion for films instead of someone who either jokes about the president or drags the entire award show out for hours. As for what to do with popular films, I believe they should create their own show, the themes and audiences of two blockbuster is far more similar to each other than that of a blockbuster and an art film, as such, it only makes sense that they would have their own show. In conclusion, I don't believe popular films should be at the Oscars, they don't belong there, and the Oscars need to find better hosts in order to improve ratings
In the article “Largest King Penguin Colony in the World Drops by 90%” I was shocked to read that just the population dropped to about 90% in just 30 years. I was very interested as in why that might have happened… was it from their predators found an easier way to hunt them. But what surprised me more was that the first year that they count the penguins they counted them in person and that was when the population was very high. The other times that they counted the penguins it was more like a fly by on helicopter and by closely examining three decades of satellite images. I was relieved to read that the researchers are planning to visit the colony late Fall 2018 to figure out weather the reason was for competition of resources, diseases or relocation. Although out researchers are thinking that the biggest reason the population has dropped so much could be because of the recent climate changes. Although penguins aren't my favorite animal I still found it interesting and shocking that if one thing goes wrong it snowballs on after that. If the population of King penguins went down so low could the penguins predators be effected from it? If the penguins are dying off their prey which is mostly a diet of fish can get out of control and there may be an overpopulation of fish which makes it hard for the circle to continue.
In "Should Coffee Come With Cancer Warnings? California Says No," The World Health Orginization rated coffee as being "possibly carcinogenic." This interested me the most in the New York times this week because I would of never thought that coffee could lead to cancer. It even makes me worried because the fact that California was against putting warning signs on coffee worries me because my family drinks coffee and they have no clue. I also disagree with that because it's not fair to people who drink coffee and have no clue. They shouldn't have to drink something that can possibly kill them without them knowing. Even if it isn't that much of a risk, there is still no reason for people not to know what's in the daily cup of coffee. What also interested me was how the companies quickly changed their minds and decided not to put cancer warning on their products. I think they did this simply because of customer appeals. But people really deserve to know they are putting in their body and Judge Elihu M. Berle argued that point. Lastly, I found it interesting that they pointed out that tooth fillings contain Mercury and should contain warnings. In the end though they didn't end up putting a warning on coffee which I disagree with but, we can only hope that it isn't harmful like the food experts said. But across all the communities we can do our job to warn our family and friends about what their drinking because it's the least the world can do to make a difference.
I read the article discussing internet blocks in China. It is amusing to me to think about not having access to all of the information and ideas around the world that can be shared on sites like Facebook and google. It almost scares me too, to think that there is a possibility that my opinions that I have formed around information could be completely wrong because all of the information is false. I also can't imagine not wanting access to everything. Some teens in China seem unconcerned with that and I can't understand why. Before reading this article, I had always just assumed that everyone had access to things like Google and Facebook and it was shocking to learn that that wasn't true.
Indonesia Earthquake: At Least 98 Dead and 20,000 Homeless
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/world/asia/indonesia-earthquake-lombo...
8/17/18
No one can control what mother nature brings our way. There was an earthquake that landed down in Indonesia. It left many stranded and it also took a many lives away. This is very sad to see how many lives it took away and how many it left homeless and stranded because all of the hotels were booked up. No one can control what mother nature brings our way, but people can help others out. Many people have tried to help and rescue everyone that they could. Everyone is coming together to rescue the people who are stranded from the earthquake. The airports close by were working with the rescue crew by sending planes to the Island to help rescue the ones stranded. This is a very sad story that happened with taking so many lives away and getting lots of people stranded. I hope that everyone comes together as a community and get everything back to normal as soon as possible.
The article that interested me the most this week was "Face Tattoos Go Mainstream". That article interested me because I am familiar with many of the celebrities they were discussing in the article. For example, I enjoy listening to the music of the artists like Post Malone, 21 Savage and Wiz Khalifa. Therefore, it s interesting to see the stories behind the tattoos and also see how other people interpreted them.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/11/technology/personaltech/apple-iphone-...
This week, I chose the article "I Used Apple’s New Controls to Limit a Teenager’s iPhone Time (and It Worked!)" by Brian X. Chen. I chose the article because I am a self-proclaimed "phone-addict." Recently, the company Apple unveiled a new piece of software which can help limit screen-time for those who are addicted to their phones. As mentioned in Chen's article, "Inside the dashboard, you can create time limits for specific apps or categories of apps, like social networking or games. When you run out of time with an app, it locks you out." I believe that this is a smart move for Apple, because of the fact that teenagers are constantly on their phones and could sometimes use a little break from apps such as "Snapchat" or "Instagram." Apple has yet to unveil the "Screen-time" feature but, as mentioned in the article, "is set for release this fall." This feature seriously helped the "screenager" that was a part of the experiment. While using the technology, the teen reportedly was able to cut her screen-time in half. As an attempt to try and save time on certain apps she "would open her phone and just stare blankly at the app icons to avoid using up her limit on Snapchat." Through the use of this program, Apple might be able to help teenagers eliminate their addictions to smartphones.
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"South Korea's Leader Proposes Broad Economic Cooperation With the North"
Since I first got into current affairs, the North/South Korean conflict has always stood out to me as interesting. It is remarkable that one of the same people, that have gone through so much together, whether it be Japanese occupation or WWII, could be so separated by both physical and political barriers. In this article President Moon speaks of establishing a railway between the two countries that would help South Korea get goods off of the peninsula as well as helping the South and the North with beginning trade which the North's economy desperately needs. Like most, I was intrigued when President Trump met with Kim Jong-Un. Now it has been months and it seems like nothing has been accomplished. It is good that the South is beginning to play a greater role in the relationship between itself and the North. At the same time, if the South doesn't work with the US, these new economic policies could help the North without taking away any of their nuclear power. It is in the best interest of the three countries involved that they do work together so that they can all benefit from these new policies.
In his attack on the N.F.L. teams, David Leonhardt makes the mistake of telling a business how to handle employee misconduct.
In his May 24th piece, "The NFL is Being Anti-American" Leonhardt argues that the NFL should not allow teams to punish players for kneeling during the National Anthem. He claims that this action is unpatriotic and that the NFL is taking away the right of free speech, “Standing for the National Anthem is meaningless if it’s mandated, and such a mandate undermines the essential liberty of free speech.”
Players should be allowed to protest and have opinions in the NFL, but at the same time teams are businesses and have the right to establish and amend a code of conduct. Other institutions have codes of conduct and enforce those rules, so why aren't teams allowed to discipline players for breaking a rule that the owners have put in place? For example, in many jobs there are rules put in place to make sure employees can't sue an employer after being fired for not following job regulations. The NFL players are getting payed an exorbitant amount of money to do their job and should also be expected to follow regulations set forth by team leaders.
This issue has become a hot button topic around the country and the debate doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon. While I hope there is a middle ground where teams and players can come to an agreement allowing players to protest in some form, I respect the fact that teams have the power in these situations.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/08/technology/personaltech/internet-trol...
I disagree with the fact that there isn’t a lot a person can do to deal with the people who are harmful online. I have seen bots post messages advertising and it can ruin the app but the owner of the app doesn’t do anything to counteract them leaving them roaming free to post their ads in what was supposed to be a friendly environment. The amount of spam generated by the bots was very irritating and I no longer use the app. However I think there is a solution for people on these sites which is just not to use them. People aren't helpless and have to rely on the site to get rid of toxic people. Many sites have the option to block or stop communication from someone which is a simple method if you are being harassed or the comment is offensive. Another solution is that you just have to leave or not go to the site to stop the problem of the toxic people there. I do know that some people might have trouble giving up social media and rely on it to talk to people but there are other ways to communicate including talking to people face to face which is way more effective form of communication and leads to stronger bonds. I'm not saying using social media is bad but we shouldn't be as reliant on it as we are because people on the internet find it much easier to be angry and make fun of others because they don't have to be afraid of confrontation.
This week, I read an article titled "Why Are We Obsessed With Superhero Movies?" This article really grabbed my attention because I have seen every superhero movie that has come out in the past 10 years. Their out-of-this-world adventures and larger-than-life powers are something that has kept me entertained for so long. The author referred to these movies as "mental popcorn, meant to be rapidly consumed and forgotten." I agree with the first half of this statement. These movies are a great escape from today's world of tweeting presidents, among other things that we can't seem to escape. Rarely do they bring up divisive issues or anything controversial. The latter though, kind of upsets me. These movies are my past, present, and future. The first Iron Man movie came out when I was six years old, and I just recently watched Avengers: Infinity War for the sixth time, at seventeen years old. I think that shows just how much these movies mean to me. I've stuck to them for so long because they're so special to my family. My brother, dad, and I are some of the biggest Marvel/DC fans out there, and these movies really bring us together because it's something that we love to do. This era of movies is something that I never want to forget because of the great memories that it has created, and will continue to create for my family. That, at least for me, answers the question in the title, "Why are we obsessed with superhero movies?"
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/technology/china-generation-blocked-i...
It is interesting to learn about communist countries and how they run their own country. Before reading this article, I thought everyone used Google, Facebook, or Twitter as these websites are mostly universal. However, China blocks these sites as they are not “‘appropriate for the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics’” (Yuan). It is understandable that each country has their own system of rules, yet coming from a teen who grew up in a liberal country; it is hard to understand why the Chinese government would block them. People should have the ability to see everything and China blocking these websites is like they are hiding the truth from its citizens.
The way China runs its country reminds me of the book 1984 where an oligarchy called the Party controlled the lives of its citizens. The people who lived there were not allowed to think on their own which is similar to how the people in China growing up believe they do not need Google or Facebook, etc. because they believe that their own system, “Baidu” covers everything that is necessary. It is shocking to learn that most Chinese people are content and satisfied with their lives knowing that they are restricted from learning about the truths that the rest of the world might already know.
https://nyti.ms/2OzL2ym
As I scrolled through the main page of the New York Times an unfortunate acronym caught my attention. Everybody who is alive either knows about ISIS or has heard the horrid word before, but for people in the middle east, such as Syria, they never stop hearing it, and in fact live through it as well. When you have been born and raised in a privileged well developed country (America), you definitely take what you have for granted, from the roof over your head to the food on the table. When I saw this article it made me think of how I have not even thought about ISIS in probably about a year, but the Syrians throughout the article had been dealing with them for years and were forcibly oppressed by ISIS just because of their religion. There is no question that what ISIS has done to families and human beings (more so in the middle east) is dreadful, and I can't help feeling guilty for not having to worry. It could have easily been myself who was born in Syria and had to suffer at the hands of the jihadists, and a little boy or girl from Syria who could have been living a privileged life in the U.S., but obviously is not how life works. I guess all I am trying to say is we have to help and look out for one another, even if we are separated by thousands of miles, because at the end of the day we are all human beings earning to live our lives.
The article "Transgender Girl, 12, Is Violently Threatened After Facebook Post by Classmate's Parent" by Christina Caron is the article which intrigued me the most. The title intrigued me because the transgender topic is a controversial and popular topic. This specific situation is interesting because rather than the children bullying the transgender child, it is the parents. Even though the parents are cyberbullying the child, their point of view could be understood. That is what makes these situations so interesting, that both point of views can be understood by an unbiased perspective. Although the parents' words were somewhat harsh, they are just concerned for their children, who traditionally, are not exposed to transgenders. On the other hand, Brandy Rose is defending her child, as her child underwent a serious transition from a boy to a girl. This story is one that seems to happen more and more in modern society, which causes conflict, as well as unity.
@James DeCarlo Are you telling me that a parent threatening to castrate a young elementary girl is an "understandable" perspective? What is sensible about grown adults wishing to inflict harm on an innocent child? Almost none of those adults are concerned for their children (considering most of the commenters were not in that district) and they say those harmful words only because they are bigoted and do not wish to be educated. Read those comments again (disregarding the fact that Maddie is transgender) and tell me that a group of adults dehumanizing a child "can be understood by an unbiased perspective"..
“U.S. Set to Return Philippine Bells That Once Tolled to Mark a Massacre”
This article was the most interesting to me because if I hadn’t read this article I would have never known about it. History is long and winding so you never really hear about all of it. In school you usually learn about the really big wars or events that changed how we live today. If this massacre in 1901 was the biggest since Custer and his troops were attacked then why haven’t we heard more about it today?It surprises me that it has taken us 117 years to finally return the 3 bells we took as trophies to the Philippines. I feel that people should know more about their history and be more engaged in knowing how their country runs.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/05/us/politics/trump-tower-meeting-donal...
Donald Trump, a man with many controversies and many secrets to hide has unsurprisingly found himself in another scandal.
Despite my opinions on my 45th President I do believe that in this case he was so desperate to "win" and to "dominate" the game which is Politics that he potentially broke some laws just to get some dirt.
Like they say "Never underestimate desperate people, you never know how far they'll go." Politics overtime has turned into a giant pissing contest rather than a discussion on subjects that are important.
It disappoints me that in current times people are more concerned if our President broke a law and colluded with Russia then the fact that he broke morals and many peoples trust just to get dirt on a candidate. In my opinion I think the Trump family has a problem telling the truth, and now Donald Trump is dragging his son down with him. From what I learned from this article is that playing dirty will only get you in trouble.
One article that interested me was “Why Sitting May Be Bad For Your Brain” by Gretchen Reynolds. I was intrigued by this topic because I thought that it affected many people. Studies have shown that sitting too long can cause short-term or even long-term damage, such as, slower memory and possibly dementia. I think this is a topic that everyone should be conscious of because many people spend a majority of their day sitting at a desk. Unfortunately, people are unaware of the harm that they are doing to their body. This article suggests that if you are sitting for a long period of time, you should stand up every 30 minutes in order to allow blood flow to your brain. The author recommended setting an alarm for every half hour and taking a short walk if possible. Doing so can have a positive impact in the long run.
The article that caught my attention most this week was "Poetry is a Way of Being in the World That Wasn't Made for Us." Reading through the poems created by the minds of those labeled disabled was an enlightening experience. I have always believed that poetry was a universal language that everyone, regardless of any differences, could communicate with the rest of the world. However, I had never truly discovered the lengths of which that statement truly reached until I read through several poems of those I thought could not be more different from me. Reading through, I was enraptured by the powerful words each person had to express. They sounded like me. In this moment, I faced the reality of my true ignorance, but I was too enthralled to be embarrassed. Instead, I savored every word I consumed. My personal favorite poem was "ANXIETY MINDFULNESS EXERCISE, AMERICA 2018," by Ellen McGrath Smith. The poem followed her train of thought from the simplest things to deep ideas of her life. It was a humbling experience to be honored with the opportunity to read the poetry of others that society has deemed different, when they think just like me, express themselves just like me, and feel just like me.
Video - How the Abortion Debate is Playing Out in Argentina
In this video it shows the abortion debate in Argentina. Abortion is illegal in Argentina with the only acception of rape or the women's health. Since Argentina is mainly catholic there are a lot of people fighting against the idea of legalizing abortion.Although there are still feminist that want to legalizing abortion. The church is helping by making a program in poorer cities, this program consist of helping women with unplanned pregnancies understand that they aren’t alone and they can come to them instead of abortion. In my opinion i believe abortion is wrong and it should stay illegal because you're killing someone which is murder.
This year has been one of changes for me. Thanks to the internet, I’ve gotten to know more about my un-environmentally friendly habits as a ravenous consumer and have actually gotten to doing something about it. With dozens of articles on news outlets about the problems with using plastic straws and going zero waste, I’ve learnt about humanity’s dependence on plastic and its consequences. I’ve stopped using straws and avoid single-use plastics as much as possible ever since.
This heightened awareness about my plastic-using habits and the environment in general was what drew me to reading “Designing the Death of a Plastic”, aside from its interesting headline. I do recognise people’s need for them, and I’ve wondered if there was an alternative to eliminating them altogether to make the earth suffer less. This article has provided me with an answer: self-destructing plastic, a very interesting concept. I’ve also learnt more about some problems our “environmentally friendly” ways have, for instance the “shortcomings” of biodegradable objects.
I think that this article has spelled out our future. I hope that more people will read about this and be more aware about their habits, and that we all learn how to sort our trash so that they can be processed correctly. Perhaps this article is not really about designing the death of a plastic, it is about designing the resurrection of plastic, or giving it a makeover. Regardless, I do like the title and thoroughly enjoyed reading this
https://nyti.ms/2MseKYR?smid=nytcore-ios-share
The age of recycling might be behind us, according to David Bornstein, as many cities move to reduce recycle programs. The recycling might not be worth the effort after all.
In Bornstein’s article he shows how many of the products people recycle don’t actually get recycled. In fact he says that less then one third of the waste ever gets recycled. He also claims that most of the products recycled are contaminated and therefore are unable to be recycled. Bornstein talks to a representative of Recycle Across America, who agrees that recycling in America isn’t what it once was. They also talk about how to improve it with clearer signs on the bins.
While I agree that America has a serious recycling issue, I cannot fully agree that recycling is not worth the effort. The goal of recycling is simply to help the world be cleaner. Though not much is being recycled, every little bit helps with the cause. Teaching people the right way to recycle is one easy fix that they talk about in the article and it can really help.
The effort to continue the recycling programs in cities around the world might help to make the world a better place for generations to come.
I read: "What Happens to #MeToo When a Feminist Is the Accused?"
I find this an interesting article because feminism often comes under fire, for varying reasons -- some legitimate and some not. As something rooted in feminism, the MeToo movement is subject to the same criticisms and controversies. I am feminist, but not such a radical one, and accordingly my opinion is somewhat separate from either radical end. In my view, the MeToo movement isn't about feminism. It is rooted in feminism, of course. But it has risen beyond simply that.
While it is true that women are often on the receiving end of sexual harassment, and that some semblance of patriarchy certainly exists, harassment isn't only limited to women. We can all see the great work of Terry Crews who, despite being a man, was harassed and now attacks toxic masculinity. MeToo isn't about feminism, although that comes along with it because of the nature of sexual harassment today. It is about supporting victims, dismantling toxic masculinity, and stamping out sexual harassment no matter who it is directed at. If a feminist harasses a man, for the good of the very feminist values she espouses and for the good of MeToo at large, she deserves the same backlash and consequences as Harvey Weinstein or anyone else involved in the past iterations of the MeToo movement. It's non - question -- or at least, it should be.
I read “Why the Explosive Report on Catholic Church Abuse Is Unlikely to Yield Criminal Charges” which was about the legal barriers that is preventing priests that molested children from being charged. I am not interested in law but this article caught my eye because it was about people using money and power to get away with a crime. Religion also interests me, especially when people don't practice what they preach. This article discussed how many people want justice which is impossible since the church is buying politicians. It is strange that an organization based around doing good is too concerned about their public image to fix a problem. Religion isn't bad, it helps a lot of people but when high up figures in the church abuse their power the public stops focusing on the positive parts of the church. What I focus on is the hypocrisy of devoting your life to “saving” people by telling them how they should live and not living that way. What I dislike more than that is the use of money to not face the consequences or moving priests to a different state to protect them and not the child. It is disturbing that the catholic church cannot admit or fix its own problems due to a fear of losing popularity. It seems more like a business than a church.
Rosie O’Donnell and Chorus of Broadway Stars Perform Musical Protest at White House
When I read the words “Broadway” and “protest”, my mind immediately thought of Hamilton. Attend any political rally and I guarantee that you will find at least one Hamilton quote. Lines like “history has its eyes on you” and “immigrants - we get the job done” have made their home on cardboard signs, and rightly so: no one can argue against how important those quotes are right now.
Although I absolutely love Hamilton, I feel like I’ve become blindsided by this one show. When I read this article, I was almost surprised to see that the songs sang at the protest came from other musicals. I realized that while a single lyric from Hamilton may be incredibly relevant, shows like Les Misérables or The Sound of Music offer songs that demonstrate a different kind of strength. If you keep the individual aspects of a song - the lyrics, the melody, the instruments - together, they now contain a greater power to unite, because the song itself is undivided. You can’t compare the chanting of a single line from Hamilton with a crowd of Broadway stars and strangers belting their hearts out. The video at the end of the article is proof of that.
While Hamilton signs were still abound at this protest, there was one poster that read “Face the Music”. Utilizing the music, not a single line, is what I think will be the most unifying plan of using the Great White Way as a force to be reckoned with.
The article that I thought was the most interesting this week was "Parkland Shooting Suspect Lost Special-Needs Help at School When He Needed It Most" by Patricia Mazzei. It showed that the shooter, Nikolas Cruz, had mental issues and wasn't able to receive proper care. It is possible that this tragedy could have been entirely avoided if Mr. Cruz was given special-needs protections.
I believe that this article helps to prove that video games do not cause violence. In other words, many video games do not inspire people to commit violent acts, but many video games are inspired by violent acts themselves. There are many games that have violent themes like war, torture, slavery, and other violent acts, but I think most gamers realize that it is just a game is just for fun.
I chose the article “Jocks Rule, Nerds Drool” by Jennifer Wright. What was most interesting about this article was the fact that years ago people thought nerds were all innocent and that they never did anything wrong. My opinion on this is that sometimes people are too quick to judge people based on what they are wearing or on how they talk. Just like this article says, this stereotype doesn't fit all nerds or jocks. Some nerds are very kind and caring, but in recent years many of them are being accused by others of being abusive. Also, on the jocks side, many people thought of them as being the bullies to the nerds, but in fact many of them are very helpful to others. All in all, you need to get to know someone before you start judging them,and do not believe all the stereotypes that you hear about others. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/11/opinion/sunday/nerds-lebron-james-elo... [email protected]
Review: “Review: ‘Do You Trust This Computer?’ The Quick Answer: Nope”
As a child of the 21st century, technology has always been in my very hands as I grew up. Despite not owning a device of my own up until I was 10, I had developed a bad habit of using the smartphone daily, usually my dad’s, since young. Technology is undoubtedly an essential part of my life that I now cannot live without.
I chose this article due to its relevance to my life. Personally, I did not catch the documentary “Do You Trust This Computer?”. However, it’s content, as mentioned in the article, are issues that I discuss with my friends on a day-to-day basis. Heck, merely 2 hours ago, my friend and I were talking about how we would be unemployed in the future even if we have a doctorate because all the jobs would be done by robots!
Yet, like the article mentioned, there’s simply nothing we can do anymore. We have embarked on a journey that we now cannot stop, at least not without everyone on Earth ceasing their use of technology. Everyone knows the potential dangers of developing artificial intelligence, yet it is still something that everyone craves.
Coming across this article made me think that perhaps, just perhaps, I should be less reliant on the technology that has been so prominent in my life ever since I was born. Maybe, unlike what both the article and documentary mentioned, it’s not yet too late if we can stop now and simply be content with what we already have and stop pursuing our wants.
This week the article I found most interesting was "Does Jacob deGrom Need Victories to Win the Cy Young Award." The writer, Tyler Kepner, discusses the NL Cy Young race. The subject, as the title states, is Jacob deGrom's chances at the Cy Young award despite him not having many wins. As a Mets fan, I strongly believe that deGrom should win the award as he leads the NL (and all of baseball for the matter) in ERA by a pretty wide margin. Wins really shouldn't mean much when your determining who the best pitcher is in baseball as they are predicated too much on how much run support you get, and deGrom isn't getting much. As the article states, he has the 8th worst run support in baseball, so he really has been given no chance at a high win total. The number one criteria of what makes a pitcher good should be how many runs he lets up; when it comes down to it that's all that really matters as the fewer runs you let up the more likely it is for your team to win. This is right along the lines of what Mickey Callaway, the Met's manager, was quoted as saying in this article. The one thing I disagree with in this article is the writer's statement that Scherzer should be considered the leader because he is more dominant. Having more strikeouts and a better whip is pretty to look at, but ultimately he lets up more runs than deGrom. Furthermore, deGrom is further at a disadvantage as a pitcher as his team's defence is worse than Scherzer's. This year, deGrom should get the Cy Young.
New York City is Thriving. Why is Transport Such a Nightmare?
We all get it: Sitting in New York City traffic is quite painful. The yellow taxis with their blinking Broadway roof ads are anxious to get their tourists to Times Square. The typical New Yorkers are frustrated with their behind schedule dinner appointments. And that one New Yorker who chooses to ride the subway finds his subway coming to a stop because of a power failure, ultimately equating those culminating minutes to an hour delay.
Traffic, subway dysfunctions, inefficient transit routes, regardless of where you are sitting or standing, NYC’s public transport is not so amusing and everyone hopes to avoid the nasty rush hour periods of honking and braking. Crises and accidents must be fixed, and calls for a just, convenient system to mitigate the severity of these issues. However, we cannot fully obliterate NYC’s traffic bottleneck for two reasons: First, it’s impossible to prohibit the individual access of transportation in one of the most populated metropolitan cities. Second, the hustle and bustle is a part of NYC’s atmosphere. I cannot imagine this city without its screeching honks and stalling subway rides.
So the next time you’re drumming your fingers on the wheel and constantly looking at the time, take a glimpse of the traffic you’re a part of: the torturous congestion that makes New York City, well, New York City.
Designing the Death of a Plastic
A few years ago, in 2016, I visited some family friends in California. Until then, I had forgot about the drought that they were living in. The only drinking water, besides tap, in their household were plastic water bottles. Although it is one of their only options, because they should be limiting their water use, it will lead to negative results in the long run. The plastic used for the water bottles is almost never recycled, so it ends up sitting in a landfill, possibly for thousands of years. The water inside may be harmful as well, and contain chemicals that can hurt your body long term, because some companies worry more about profit than quality. If this new plastic becomes common, some people still won't be willing to recycle it, not because they want to hurt purposely the environment, but because they simply don't care or are too lazy. All of society's mindset should be changed for the better. In elementary school, we learned about the three R's. They are to reduce, reuse, and recycle, but now that we are older we have seemed to forget the importance of it.
“'Crazy Rich Asians’: Why Did It Take So Long To See a Cast Like This?"
When YouTube first introduced me to ‘Crazy Rich Asians’, I couldn’t comprehend why I was so astonished by the title. Then I began seeing news headlines about how it was the first Hollywood production with a mainly Asian cast since ‘Joy Luck Club’.
Asians have undoubtedly been under-represented – seeing as ‘Joy Luck Club’ was released 10 years before I was even born – but we have also been misrepresented. The handful of roles that Asians appear as have always been limited to “nerdy student #3” or “hero’s quirky sidekick”, leading to the same mistaken perception to be applied in reality.
Many people immediately assume that every Asian is the same nerdy character they see on the big screen. It surprises them that I don’t speak Chinese, get all A+s and play a dozen instruments. And every time their eyebrows rise, I feel as though I am disgracing the Asian title. But I should not be judged by how Asian I am; my race should be considered just a part of my identity, not the reflection of who I’m expected to be.
Not only is this movie a chance for the Asian community to be brought into the spotlight in the cinematographic world, but it is also a chance for us to be better understood in the real world. The mere existence of this movie is a win for the Asians – its wide range of Asian characters and personalities teaches the world that, believe it or not, we are not aliens. We are just Asian.
In "We Use Sports Terms All the Time. But Where Do They Come From?", Victor Mather describes common sports sayings and how they have become integrated into our everyday speech. The article interested me initially based off of the title and the subject. I began to think about about many sports sayings that I personally use and hear everyday, and I don't now where all of them come from. For example, the term "a wild goose chase" was originally used by Shakespeare and since has developed into an everyday saying. Another interesting saying is "out of left field", which we use to describe something unusual or crazy. This saying actual has an uncertain background, but it is suspected to have come from early baseball fields which had a deeper left then right so the weaker players played far back in left. There is also another suspected explanation that from 1893-1915 there was a mental hospital behind the cubs' left side wall. I found the speculated origin of "out of left field" the most interesting due to the second explanation. So many sports sayings naturally become common sayings in our everyday speech due to the cultural importance of sports in society, and due to many similarities between the competitiveness of sports and other aspects of life, like the competitiveness found in businesses and schools.
In Xiaozhi Lim's "Designing the Death of Plastic," Lim describes the development of a new type of platic. This new plastic is extremely interesting to me, because so far, polymers have been designed to last as long as possible, but that thinking has led to plastics being the leading pollutant in our world. Adam Feinberg is the leading engineer on this project, and has made wonderful advancements, including his plastic being able to break down under powerful white light. The amount of pollution in the world has always upset and concerned me, as I see it as a problem my elders have left for me to solve. I constantly think about the effect my actions will have on the environment, reading articles about global pollution levels, and ways to slove the growing problem in my generation. This article gives me hope for a better future, and relief that I'm not the only one working for a cleaner planet.
In my perspective, Israel is an eminent country that even too much hardship during the long history didn’t destroy its spirit. However after I read the article “ Israel, This Is Not Who We Are” on the NY Times, the positive image of Israel in my heart is shattered.
Israel is famous for its fate. Israelis, although undertook Nazi massacre, never gave up their belief in Judaism. In logical speaking, the purpose of any religion should be to serve good for humankind, to maintain an ordered society, and to push forward world’s development. However, religion is now being used as a weapon by the Israel government. In the name of religion, the government limits general civilian freedom and power, to force everyone in Israel to convert to Judaism. But ironically, most Judaists don’t accept these clauses. They thought Israel is gradually deviating from the classical doctrine.
What Israeli government did reminds me of radical Muslims, who regard themselves as orthodox Muslim to loot and slaughter. They take advantage of the doctrines that work to their favor and ignore the moral standards that are also emphasized in their religion. They torture those who stand against their belief, murder people of their kind, and become enemy of most people.
I am afraid that Israel government is down the same path as radical Muslims. Neither majority Jews nor the rest of the world want this. There’re still chances to fix it. I faithfully hope that Israel can remain a democratic Judaism country.
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"How Your Brain Morphs Stressful Family Vacations into Pleasant Memories"
In this article Nicole Slaughter-Graham writes about how there are two selves, an experiencing self and a remembering self. Although a family vacation can be stressful in the moment if plans go astray, Nicole argues that the remembering self will make out the memories of the vacation in a sort of highlight reel.
This article interested me because my family, especially my dad, has a hard time relaxing during a needed vacation. With six kids to cater to, my father rarely gets to do what he wants to do and you can tell by his passive attitude that he gets annoyed. But post vacation he always says in the car ride home, "Well that was super fun. Thank you guys for a great time."
Sometimes I find myself missing a vacation that I might not have enjoyed. I miss it because either the place itself is close to my heart or the time with my siblings was a surprisingly nice experience.
This article shows that although a vacation in the moment might not feel like a break, after it has happened you can enjoy the good memories that might have occurred here and there.
Next time you're on vacation try and think about how much you might miss the time once it's already happened. If you focus on the time being spent with your loved ones and not exactly what you're doing, you might enjoy your vacation a little more in the moment.
"A Generation Grows Up in China Without Google, Facebook, or Twitter"
Google. Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. Each of these sites are a part of life the young generation of America has simply grown up hearing about and using. Playing such a prevalent role in most Americans' lives, it's crazy to think that on the other side of the world, teens the same age as me have no clue what these platforms are.
I cannot fathom a life without Google. I use it for everything - looking up things to do when I am bored, helping me when I don't understand something in school. I use social media to stay up to date with my family and friends and share my life with the rest of the world. How could I survive without it?
America is lucky. Our internet is not tightly censored like that of China's. Our government does not control what people can read, view, and watch on the internet (although I am sure they wish they could).
Reading this article helped give me a new perspective on how the other side of the world lives. A life with constant censorship and filters that obstruct a person's right to think for themselves is normal for them. I can't imagine living in a world like that.
(https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/education/learning/writing-college-ap...
As the looming fear of college admissions time comes closer and closer, the more desperate I get to find advice about what I should be doing. Although I don't have to even start thinking about writing my college application essay right now, I was still drawn by the title, and figured there would be important information there I would need to know eventually.
In the article, I liked how the author said, "The essay is your megaphone — your view of the world and your ambitions." This statement excited me because it made me feel motivated to write about something I'm passionate about. Before reading this, I always thought that the essay would be the most dull part of my college application. I thought that I was going to have to write about subjects I would pretend to have interests in. But, after reading this article, I was motivated and inspired to be an "interesting contributor to that dinner table conversation."
"Richard Russell, Who Stole Plane Near Seattle, Raises Troubling Security Questions"
https://nyti.ms/2MiqblU
Richard Russell. That's probably not someone you knew a week ago. But now thousands on the internet know him for what he did. In short, he hijacked a plane. I know that sounds terrible, especially with all the terrorist attacks in the world today. But he only did it to harm one person, himself. after managing to get the plane off the ground. He calmly talked to air traffic controllers about how he loves the views and how he doesn't regret what he's doing. He expresses hate for his current job, and love for those he's leaving. But why would he do this? He was tired of society. The monotony of everyday work got to him and made him snap. But this is what I find interesting. He didn't take out this anger on his oppressors or abusers. Instead of shooting up the airport or doing other acts of blind rage, he simply wanted to "do a barrel roll." He didn't express anger towards anyone, all he wanted was for the air traffic controllers to "whisper sweet nothings in my ear." In a world of violence, instead of continuing the cycle, this man just wanted freedom for one day. And that is what he got. After the plane ran out of fuel, he crashed on Ketron Island 30 miles off the coast. He was the only one harmed. and that is what he wanted.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/14/sports/football/nfl-retirement-benefi...?
Over the last few years, we have seen the concerning results regarding effects on the body after playing in the NFL. From the life altering CTE, to physical disabilities, to depression and anxiety, the negative effects have been widespread and dangerous. When addressing these issues, many choose to blame it on the sport as a whole. Due to this, we are seeing enormous drops in youth football numbers around the country. To address the problems, the NFL themselves have tried implementing new rules in order to make the game safer. While this may seem like a step in the right direction for the multi-billion dollar organization, they have been incompetent with players safety for years. The article "He Signed the Denial Letter. Now He Helps Former N.F.L. Players Get Benefits" outlines the struggle that former players face and the lack of help they receive from the NFL. It also spotlights Paul Scott, a former employee of the NFL in the benefit plan. Scott left the organization in order to start up his own benefit system for former players. He felt as if the NFL was simply not doing enough to help these players and he would accomplish more on his own then he could under their control. The article describes the NFL's efforts to help their former players as: “Delay, deny and hope you die.” So while the causes of these problems remain, it is also important to place blame on the NFL for their negligence.
The article "U.S. to Restore Sanctions on Iran, Deepening Divide With Europe" caught my eye this week. to me, the US's attitude towards Iran is an anomaly. Iran do support millitant accross the middle east and developes nuclear weapons, but so does the US and to a greater extent. the US has thousands of atomic bombs and support millitant groups all across the middle east. there is no differentce here between Iran, the US, and US-allied Saudi Arabia. all of these are acting mercilessfully in order to gain as much allies and resources.
in conclusion, I believe that the US's behavior is deeply unjustified. all that the US does by imposing these sanctions is to hurt the people of Iran and its own american citizens.
In " Largest King Penguin Colony Drops By 90%" researchers' found out that there are only 60,00 breeding pairs left on King Island. This is significant because there used to 500,000 pairs. Researchers think that climate change may be why the population has gone down so much. They also think that disease and relocation may have affected the population as well. Part of the reason they started dying was in 1997 when an el Nino event made the weather hotter and pushed the birds food farther south. Because of this the chicks died before there parents got back to feed them.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/03/opinion/pink-tax-feminism-lipstick.html
This particular week I chose "Feminists in Line for Free Lipstick" because of the idea of women having to look in a certain way that has always influenced me (beginning childhood even).
I remember my mom telling me when I was little that simpler is beautiful and she encouraged me to never give up on this idea of the society that "powerful women have to wear lipstick". My mom was the best role model I could have, in the sense where she raised two children by herself while being a CEO at the company that both my parents build; and yet it was rare when she wore any make-up at all.
So, because of that, I grew up with the idea that women are as powerful as men and never once in my childhood I doubted it. Only at the beginning of my teenage years, I started experiencing situations where I couldn't play football anymore because of the fear of looking masculine and I started to reach make-up, not because of the need of creativity, but because I was afraid of looking other than perfect.
My main issue with the article is that in a subtle way reinforces the idea that a powerful female figure needs to be in correlation with lipstick (make-up) when in reality I feel like if a woman with high status would wear heavy make-up would have been considered unworthy of her status and sexualised in a "Barbie-style".
Make-up should be an option, not a necessity and don't get me started on the brand chosen by the author.
This week an article that interested me is "A Large Body of Water on Mars is detected, Raising the Potential for Alien Life". It has always been rumored or predicted that there could be some sort of life on Mars. And recently,"scientists have found a large, watery lake beneath an ice cap on Mars. Because water is essential to life, the discovery offers an exciting new place to search for life-forms beyond Earth." An Italian scientist announced that there is a twelve-mile wide underground liquid pool detected near the Martian Pole. It seems as if there is liquid there is a sign or an ingredient that life could had been there. Dr. Lunine also states that,"Without water, there is no life as we know it." With our imaginations as a kid or our own science fiction visions, of what Mars would be like if it had life as on Earth, maybe be true but in it's sub-staining past. Mars is covered with old gores, canyons, beaches, ocean basins and giant volcanoes.It's amazing that if life was present during the early times it may had moved down deeper.
Beyond Sound and Silence
I found this article interesting because my perspective on cochlear implants, like most people without a hearing impairment, was suprisingly different from people that are deaf. The majority of people would probably assume that the invention of cochlear implants is something great and that deaf people would agree. After all, why wouldn't deaf people jump at the chance to hear and make their life easier. I sure would. Except that is not the case. A lot of people that are deaf think the invention of cochlear implants is offensive because it implies they need to be fixed. Although I don't believe the implants were created with that malicious intent, I do see where those people are coming from. Being deaf is part of their identity, just like being Asian or a woman is part of my identity. If someone were to present a way to change my race or my gender, even if it would make my life easier, I would be extremely offended and repulsed at the idea of having a part of my identity being taken from me. Moreover, some people who got the implants found sound to be "bewildering" or "annoying." Before reading this article I never stopped to think about how all the background noises I am used to hearing could be irritating for someone who hasn't heared it all their life.
Overall, I chose this article as the most interesting this week because it led me understand a different perspective and allowed me to be more empathetic towards people that are deaf.
https://nyti.ms/2OR6EqV
Chores. Something many kids have done to gain some spending money from their parents. Yet, something as trivial as chores has been and still continues to perpetuate gender inequality. Though some may say that gender inequality doesn't exist, there is no doubt that women are not treated the same as men in the workspace and our society. The article mentions that boys tend to get chores on personal hygiene and outdoor work, while girls get indoor work or "traditional" housewife duties. This doesn't surprise me, but it makes me sad that for actions that should be taught no matter what, boys are getting paid. More than girls even! This would then contribute to the wage gap seen in many workspaces. Luckily, the article continues to say that the gap is lessening. What we keep on hearing about obtaining gender equality does not start in the adult world. It starts at the very beginning of life, in society's youth. But gender equality is not the only thing that we should strive for. Racial equality, LGBTQ+ rights, abortion rights, gun ownership rights, all these things we hear about in the news and more that might be debated over in the future. These are what we can start teaching youths all around the world about. Not later, in a couple years. But now. This is why this article had caught my eye and was the most interesting to me this week.
One article I found was very interesting was "After Children Die in Pit Toilets, South Africa Vows to Fix School Sanitation" By Kimon de Greef on August 14, 2018. This article caught my attention by stating that two children died drowning in a pit toilet. I wasn't aware of what a pit toilet was but then I did a bit of research and realized what it truly was. I was so oblivious of the conditions that these children had to live with. I believe that as a society we should help the South Africans create sanitary restrooms at school for students, because at the current pace they're going, it will take 19 years for them to fill the schools with sanitary restrooms, just in one country. We could easily reduce that to maybe ten years of we work together. We could also get support from other countries if they wish to help and maybe just maybe it could go from 19 years to five years. No one should have to go through these unsanitary conditions, but unfortunately they do. This, just like President Cyril Ramaphosa stated, is an emergency. We need to handle this problem so the children will no longer have to go through this because two children have died from this and at this pace, who knows how many more potential victims their may be. Keep in mind that their are aboyt 4,000 schools with these unsanitary pit toilets, just in one country. So let's work together for a better tommorow, and let's up these children not only survive but thrive.
Out of the articles on the New York Times this week I chose "Between Sound and Silence." This article appealed to me because I am interested in new technology that's solving problems that are present in our society today. Even though I am not directly affected by this specific problem it is still something that affects a lot of people around us even if we may not be able to see it. This article mostly spoke about the struggle of making a life changing decision not only just for yourself but also those you love. Irene also discussed that growing up there were people who hated the idea of getting a cochlear implant and would shun those who may have undergone the procedure to receive the implant. This honestly surprised me because I never would've thought that people would be against a solution to a problem that affects so many people. I mean I can't even fathom what it would be like to not be able to hear because it's something that I don't think about and it is something that I personally take for granted because I have never known anything besides being able to hearing fine. That being said I don't think that anyone should be shunned for making the decision to undergo a procedure to improve their hearing. For some people sadly I think that having any form of disability makes them think they are different in a bad way and it may be something that they come to be ashamed of. But in the end I think that only you can truly know what is best for your well being and your happiness.
The Age That Women
Have Babies: How a
Gap Divides America
I found it extremely interesting reading about the drastic difference in ages of women who give birth to their first child from 2016 and 1980. Back then, the average age was 21 and now it is 31. But, in present day, the ages are different all across the country. Although in Texas most women give birth in their early to mid twenties, while in New York women give birth in their early thirties. The statistics are evidence of how the role of women have evolved from even thirty years ago. Now, women are becoming more and more prominent in industries. Also, the increase of women who are able to receive a college degree and be educated today is unbelievable and amazing. Since women able to have these opportunities, they are pursuing a career first and then a family. I really enjoyed reading about the advancements women are making in the world today and that things have really changed from the past.
"'Crazy Rich Asians' Has Affluent Fans Opening Their Wallets"
This article drew me in because first, I really want to watch the movie, and second, I wanted to see in what way the fans are spending their money. This movie has been discussed a lot recently with having a huge casts of Asians, and as one myself, I am excited to see how they portray the Asian culture since it is not one that is usually out there besides Chinese takeout or Korean barbecue. This article talked about opening private screenings and people trying to promote the movie, focusing their attention to the Asian community, including the youth and adults. The article also talked about another recent movie, Black Panther, and how similar events happened for African Americans. I think overall the thought of the different communities coming together for the promotion of their culture is really good because they are trying to help diversify America more and trying to share what makes them different with the world.