"What Feminists Can Do For Boys" - By Jessica Valenti
After reading this article, I had to admit that I agree to the contents within the article. "One of the many political ironies of our time is that feminism's most powerful cultural movement has coincided with the rise of extreme misogyny," as stated by the author really got me got me interested. Feminism can be simply defined as the belief that women and men should have equal rights and opportunities. On the other hand, misogyny refers to hatred of women. These two topics are on two different sides of a coin.
In the article, Valenti stated how the society has been supportive in giving more access for the females to have life's possibilities wheras there aren't much given for the young males. Valenti considered boys becoming easily influenced by misogyny due to this. I have to agree with the author on for this matter. If the society treats the young males with the same way we treat the young females, we can at the very least reduce the amount of misogynists.
Jesscia Valenti has realized a problem in our society and helped offer a solution. I believe that Valenti has justified her point in what the feminists can do to help the boys. If the society can speak up for the young girls, it certainly can start speaking up and acknowledging the young boys. We, as a society, need to start with fixing the way we teach the young males in order for the females to be free and equal.
This week one article that spawned from a photo caught my eye. It was about a Common Merganser mom with her babies. At first you may think this is lame, it surprised me the number of babies that were following it. The man who took the photo counted 76 babies! This only happens under really specific circumstances. That is why this man in Minnesota rushed to take as many pictures as he could. He said that this happens because of a day-care system that some birds have where the moms give their babies to a more experienced bird. It is just crazy to think that these birds do some of thew same stuff we do and that we have commonalities between each other.
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Looking at the world through a lens treated with filters of sexism, racism and politics, it is difficult to see improvement, as minute as they are. When flipping through channels or skipping through newspapers, the all too familiar “harassment accusations” stares at us, mocking us. In such instances, it’s simple to watch and wait for these filters to be wiped off the lens completely and altogether. However, being so fixated on this perspective hinders us from noticing smaller, more specific problems that gradually resolve. In “Forget Suits. Show the Tattoo. Female Candidates Are Breaking the Rules”, Zernike not only exposes the imperfection of sexism within our society, she also offers a step towards a solution. Zernike follows several political women who are not only breaking through sexism and stereotypes, but using their negative experiences as points to change and grow from. For example, Democratic candidate for Congress, Abby Finkenauer, discusses the financial strain she grew up under. She uses past hardships from her family’s life to drive her proposals to help the people who are experiencing the same difficulties. As humans, we instinctively look for the imperfect and flawed in order to try to fix it. But in doing this, we develop a sense of cynicism that does not look past the bad to see the good. Zernike’s article reminds us to not overlook small achievements and to be proud of the progress we have made in resolving a biased mentality set hundreds of years ago.
The article "The Google Translate World Cup" caught my attention this week. The World Cup is a soccer tournament for many countries in the world, so there would be many different languages. With all the people coming to stay in Russia, the security, hotel employees, and other hospitality workers would need a way to communicate the foreigners who all speak a different language. To move around these language barriers, workers were using at Google Translating device to speak to others. Many of the people attending the matches had these devices also, so that they could take a picture of a menu or sign and the device would translate it for them. This device is a great way for communication with foreigners and could be used at many world wide events in the future.
"Fred Rogers and the Loveliness of the Little Good"
I’d never heard of Fred Rogers until recently when the documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” came out. We rushed to the movie theatre as soon as my parents heard about it. There, I witnessed a daughter handing her father a tissue and everyone (including me) wiping away tears of gratitude for Rogers' influential presence.
Why am I so touched by a television show I have never watched? David Brooks explains that it was Mr. Rogers “radical kindness” that moved people to tears, but this phrase is too abstract. Sure, Mr. Rogers was extraordinarily kind, but it was the quality of empathy he incorporated into his show that moved me. He touches children’s hearts and put into words their concerns through Daniel the puppet. In the Land of Make Believe, we experience a whole different world, where minds can wander and temporarily escape the realities of the world. At a time when black people were being removed from public swimming pools, Rogers invites a black man over to bathe their feet together. Mr. Rogers blends the elements of reality and fantasy to create an influential and heart wrenching show.
Brooks only briefly mentions the correlation of the show to today's world. Our nation is beginning to forget these values of love and instead be egotistical. This is why so I and so many others spent an hour and thirty four minutes weeping. We miss these honest qualities. Can’t we have a beautiful day in the neighborhood once more?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/18/sports/referee-parents-abuse-videos.html
What interested me most in the times this week was the article on referee abuse. The reason this article was so interesting to me was because I deal with referees fairly often and their job can be very tough at times. However, certain decisions they make can make the people that even understand their position full of rage. Refs are constantly being accused of choosing sides and favoring teams when it comes to some of their calls, but this is going too far. Referees shouldn't have to feel unsafe or violated coming into a game or an arena. They should be respected when doing their job. Many people no longer want to referee or even learn how to referee after watching the verbal and physical abuse that may come with it. I love how parents are posting videos onto sights shaming this harmful behavior because it is making a positive impact. Also creating signs using flashy supplies is drawing attention and raising awareness to these harmful actions taking place.
Recently I listened to a lecture on the use of marijuana by those undergoing chemotherapy, and learned that cannabis is a Schedule I drug because it no accepted medical value. The article "V.A. Shuns Medical Marijuana", explains that the VA is stuck in a "tangle of red tape" because of marijuana's federal classification, and therefore cannot conduct any studies on the use of medical marijuana in relation to post-traumatic stress disorder. Despite this setback, many veterans do find ways to access medical marijuana in order to cope with "the Big Three" - pain, sleep, and anxiety - according to a former Navy SEAL. However, cannabis can react with some prescription medications, which many veterans are thrown in treatment for PTSD. Because of the uncertainty surrounding this issue, more research must be done to understand the effects of medical marijuana, specifically on PTSD. In the midst of an opioid crisis and a mental health crisis, all efforts must be exhausted to address these problems. What interested me most about this article was how the author noted that the push for more research on marijuana is not only coming from liberal areas, but also from generally conservative groups and military academies. We clearly owe it to society to understand this issue in all of its complexities, for the safety and health of veterans, who should trust their doctors to be given safe medical treatments.
This week, what interested me most was this video showing a clip from the new movie, Jurrasic World: Fallen Kingdom and explaining how the movie was shot. I think this is very interesting because movies like this, where there are so many computer graphics that play such an integral role in how the movie does, it is extremely difficult to make the movie perfect. No one wants the movie to look too fake or computer generated. Personally, I am interested in how these sort of movies are made because it is crazy to me that it is mostly just computer graphics. Not only that, but how the actors are able to perform without being able to actually see what we as the audience sees. This movie is also a remake of the original classic that I watched a child and to see how much things have changed and grown over the years because of such amazing advances in technology is really amazing. I think it’s so interesting how people have come up with this idea of drawing and designing things and making them really come alive on the big screen.
https://www.nytimes.com/video/movies/100000005967143/jurassic-world-fall...
Solomon Ilands Dispatch
Seaweed farmer David Tebaubau was forced to move from the island he had only moved on to 14 years ago. This interest me because the fact that people are forced to move from their homes is a very sad thing. I myself have never experienced that but if I were in their position it would hurt me a lot because leaving something you cherish is always a hard thing for anyone. He was forced to leave his home because water had engulfed it and made it inhabitable. The only reason he still lives near there is becuase of the seaweed l. Since he is a seaweed farmer he must live near seaweed to earn money and not starve. This is a very saddening experience for him and I hope that he will find a better place to live.
There have been many debates whether there is any type of life on Mars. Whether it was years ago or recently, scientists and people of the public are interested in learning more to see if humans would be able to survive there. In the article, “A Watery Lake Is Detected on Mars, Raising the potential for Alien Life,” The two authors discuss that there is definitely water there. Scientists that they interviewed said that these bodies of water on Mars show resemblance with underground lakes on earth. They said that even if there was no life there before, that it can probably be maintained there. Since scientists have been studying Mars they have been thinking about sending probes to the moons of Saturn and Jupiter to see if there are really salty oceans underneath thin shells of ice. This article interests me a lot because not only is the population getting bigger everyday, someday there might be so many people that we will start to run out of space. Even though this could be many years away, its still good to think about options for other places to live, and this is a perfect opportunity. Every time scientists study Mars, they figure out more and more, and soon they will have enough information. 2012 was the first time they found any type of water or water particles on Mars and I remember being around 8 years old and people talking about how cool that is. It's six years later and we keep getting new information that is mind blowing. Imagine what will happen in the 6 years.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/26/world/africa/800-migrants-spanish-enc...
An article that interests me from this week would be the article “Hundreds of Migrants Storm Fences to Enter Spanish Enclave in Africa.” I’ve been always interested in stories about migration, including migration which are unsafe, such as people risking their life to get out of their own home country North Korea. I always watched videos about it, read articles about it, and learned about it. The article talks about how hundreds of migrants are getting to the other side of the fence to get in Europe by climbing the high wired fence, or make holes in the fence. Total of 21 people, including migrants and police officer, has been hospitalized. With police guards trying to hold back people who goes over the fence, many people have been trying to cross the Mediterranean sea with unsafe boats. I’m really curious about how the number of people migrating has increased exponentially, three times the amount than the same time of last year. If the government or people in charge don’t start to make action, more people will start to get hospitalised and might even lead to death. Its really interesting that all they do is just ban people from crossing the fence or the sea. There must be a reason to people doing this, and there must be a solution to it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/18/opinion/trump-children-border-immigra...
"When Did Caging Kids Become the Art of the Deal?"
It was big news when Donald Trump separated young kids from their parents, and essentially jailed them. To make matters worse, his wife- Melania Trump, had a scandal with the phrasing on her clothing while visiting one of those detention centers. All rumours and scandals aside, you have to think about this issue through the lenses of the kids. Rumours get forgotten after months at most, but the scars those kids got will last a lifetime. They don’t deserve to feel the panic and the fright. They don’t need to worry about such things yet. They need to be waiting for Santa Claus to come or the Tooth Fairy to leave some change under their pillows. Here’s the deal- I will never be in that situation because my family is well off in my own country. I was talking to this woman on the plane who was a volunteer in Vietnam during the Pol Pot era. As she talked I realised peace is needed- it’s such a cliche thing to say, but it’s true.
“Psychology Itself Is Under Scrutiny”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/health/psychology-studies-stanford-pr...
The article I chose to read this week drew me in with a shocking title which, upon reading the article, does not seem to be shocking at all. The field of Psychology is constantly evolving and changing with countless new studies being conducted each year, but disproving past research can be just as revealing as creating a brand new study. Many scientific findings were created in opposition to formerly accepted beliefs about the field. In AP Psychology I learned a lot about one of the studies mentioned in the article, the Stanford Prison Experiment. Phillip Zimbardo had a group of students act as guards and another group act as prisoners in a mock prison. In this experiment Zimbardo showcased the impact of authority on personal behavior. The prison guards abused the authority they were given and some prisoners were hurt both physically and psychologically by them. Because this study would now be considered unethical, some believe its findings are not provable. I believe that although this experiment cannot be reproduced due to ethical restrictions, it should not be discarded by psychologists until there is valid and reliable evidence to disprove it; however, they should also attempt to recreate it in a more ethical way. I plan to consider the possibility of scientific findings being disproved as I continue to learn about science in school.
This Week in the Arts:
Panorama, Andrew Solomon,
‘Be More Chill’
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/arts/panorama-festvial-andrew-solomon...
What interested me the most this week was in the theatre category, it was an article about an Off-Broadway show titled "Be More Chill". I personally know this show very well, "Be More Chill" is one of my favorite shows. What interested me the most about this article was to find out what the New York Times had to say about it. The show came out three years ago and on their professional debut, the New York Times claimed that the show was "meh", not good but also not bad. Three years later the NYTimes writes a new article addressing the growing popularity of the show by fans finding the music online and falling in love with the show. That's all they state, they do not reaffirm their previous statement about the show being "meh", and they also do not give a new opinion about it.
What the Mystery of the Tick-Borne Meat Allergy Could Reveal by Moises Velasquez-Manoff
In this article, we learn about a newly discovered allergy caused by tick bites. This very recently revealed meat allergy could help scientists get a better understanding of how allergies work and why tick bites are suddenly causing these strange reactions.
The discovery of the meat allergy was a very important discovery because of what it teaches us about allergies. Before the meat allergy was recognized, the prevailing medical wisdom was that an allergic reaction to meat from mammals was extremely unusual. This new discovery now upends many of the long standing assumptions about how allergies work. As explained by Dr. Maya R. Jerath, “The meat allergy really has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of food allergy, because it doesn’t fall under the umbrella of our paradigm.” Basically what this means is that it is very unusual and didn’t fall into the pattern of other allergies. This meat allergy caused by the tick bites effects you after you've eaten red meat and proceeds to give you hives and make you pass out, similar to the effects of other allergies.
I chose this article because it's an important discovery in the world of allergies and allows scientist to be more knowledgeable about how allergies are caused. It teaches us that we don’t know as much as we think we do and similar to the recent discovery of a meat allergy we are learning new things everyday.
“How Elite Schools Stay So White”
The world revolves around money. Money determines which schools maintain their elite status and who gains admission into elite institutions. In the admissions process of elite institutions merit comes behind something students often can’t control: money.
This article explains how white students have numerous advantages at elite schools, through programs of geographic diversity, athletics, and alumni parents. These white students fill many of the seats at elite institutions, leaving Asian-Americans and underrepresented minorities (URM) to compete for the remaining spots. However, instead of uniting against white privilege, Asian-Americans often protest against the benefits URM have when compared to Asian-Americans, as in the Harvard Case.
However, this article fails to consider the monumental role that money plays in elite institutions admissions. What is valued in admissions is what the elite can consistently succeed at and what can be achieved from expensive test tutors and essay counselors, all things that money can provide. Having money means that students from elite families don’t have to worry about paying for their next SAT test and can focus on improving themselves, rather than helping their family. Having money means that wealthy students can study abroad in summer, rather than get a job. What is not valued as much in admissions is what the elite fail to provide but less-wealthy applicants can provide: a unique perspective.
Growing up as a Girl Scout and participating in STEM for girls events, for people to be feminist was an expectation and was the only ideal I had. Reading the article “What Feminists Can Do For Boys,” I was overwhelmed to read that some boys have begun to feel inferior to the growing feminist culture resulting in some becoming misogynistic, blaming girls for their problems through extremist misogynist online websites.
The fact that what we do for a ‘good’ cause seems to be causing the reverse effect is shocking. However, after some thinking, it did come to me that there were extensive programs for girls to follow their dreams, and in some classes, especially math and science, many teachers do favor girls, just because there aren’t many of them. Some boys must have concluded that when girls do better than them, it was because they had more support, which makes sense. It is indisputable that if one is in a better environment than the other they are to do better.
Nevertheless, I do want to point out that feminists actually support equality of genders, but when that goes beyond new era of when boys are being treated inferior may emerge. However, unlike women, who in the beginning, did not consider the fact that they were discriminated, men, who have held power for most of human history, seem to react differently, in the way of a ‘comeback.’
Feminists need to realize that they have to not only raise women to be with men but also raise both men and women higher to be equal.
“Losing Yourself in a Good Book”
As a kid, reading was my escape route, the blinking exit sign, an open door. I would grab a book and savor the delicate pages, like they were candy. For a few hours, I wouldn’t have to worry about friendship troubles or classes: I could disappear off the face of the Earth, getting lost in the world of fiction. Then, I received my first cellphone.
Now, there have been bad readers for centuries. This article notes that we can’t blame the phone for not understanding a text. But the distraction of the device makes it hard to lose yourself in books, even easy ones, if you haven’t taught yourself to resist the temptation. Because I hadn’t, iron chains looped around the open door, and reading no longer helped me escape. Through Snapchat, I knew where my friends were at all times. Suddenly, I was addicted. Drama from the school-day rushed back, and every vibration startled my hands to pick up the phone. Crunched for time, I frequently chose to catch up with my friends rather than open a book. Yet this article, describing how reading can help us widen our viewpoints, save us from isolation and hardship, and how best sentences can orient us, “like stars in the sky” made me want escape the world in a good book, like I had done years before.
Alas, all I can do now is put my phone away and start to read, but I thank this article for reminding me that there’s always time, even on busy days, to open a book and find your place within the words.
"Google Researchers Are Learning How Machines Learn"
Google is leading the path in a world where artificial intelligence is now not unheard of to the average person. It is inspiring to imagine that something that would be considered science fiction less than a decade ago would be turning into reality before our eyes. While still in its beginnings, Google is researching neural networks and are trying to find out how machines come to their conclusions.
Virtual personal assistants are growing in popularity, as they found their place in millions of smartphones that most people carry with them every day. Artificial intelligence is used to learn about the user in order for the machine to come up with the best solution or answer. Researchers at Google use a computer’s ability to recognize objects in images through patterns and colors to determine exactly what every neuron does in a neural network.
Understanding how the machine comes up with an answer will show us the mistakes in the process and how the mind of a computer works. There is no doubt that machines will be taking over lives completely in the future, despite it being almost impossible to live without for the modern generation. It is not anymore the issue of whether artificial intelligence can be used for complicated problem-solving tasks, but rather if we can afford for artificial intelligence to make a fatal mistake.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/26/arts/music/xxxtentacion-robert-allen-...
This week I was interested in reading an article about the third suspect who kille XXXTentacion. The reason why I wanted to read this article because i was concerned and I wanted to abserve the picture to see how people fel tthat day.
The police officer found the third suspects who killed XXXTentacion. The suspect's name was Robert Allen. He is 22 years old. The police pressed charges and took Rober A. into custody. Appearently, Robert A. wasnt the only one who was arrested that day. The mens are named Michael Boatwright and Dedrick William 20. Michael is 22 years old and Dedrick is 20 years old. The other suspects whokilled XXXTentacion left plenty of clues to find out the other suspects hiding. In the article, I'm reading shows a picture of fans going to his funeral on June 19. The fans look sad and even a fact that they still miss at this day. Another thing is when the suspects approached XXXTentacion they were armed and were trying to rob him. The fourth suspect wasn't caught yet but is still hiding in Florida.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/learning/summer-reading-contest-week-...
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is an emerging face of the Democratic Party; this should concern the party as a whole. The emergence of a phenomenon known as “Democratic Socialism” is what Ocasio-Cortez other Democrats are starting to call themselves.
It is quite alarming to note how the Democratic Party has changed. President FDR believed that Americans ought not to rely on government-given subsidies. However, the Democrats have shifted far left. This is evident when Democratic Socialists claim healthcare as a human right, or when they sponsor tuition-free public colleges. Like all Socialists, Democratic Socialists believe in increasing taxes by a substantial amount on the upper-class. However, even such tax increases is not enough to pay for the delusion of Democratic Socialists.
For the party, it means less of the moderately liberal position offered by Nancy Pelosi and Joseph Crowley, and it is an emergence of socialism combined with an outcry for social and political equality.
In the end, despite this stunning victory for Ocasio-Cortez, was it truly a win for the Democratic Party?
This interested me most in the Times because it is truly remarkable to see how the power of voting enables us, the people, to elect officials. Although Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may have policies that are very controversial and have a clear opposition, her journey to where she is now is quite stunning, and she has the potential to drive even further.
“Harvard Is Wrong That Asians Have Terrible Personalities”
Ever since I was a kid, Harvard has been my goal. However, it this article has opened my eyes to the ever-growing wall that I must overcome in order to be admitted into America’s most highly esteemed university. Even without the so-called “racial bias”, with a 5.6% admission rate, Harvard is almost impossible to get into. Only less than 6 out of every 100 students that apply to the school are actually admitted. Despite this formidable statistic, I have come to know that “impossible” and “almost impossible” are two very different things. I have always believed that with enough hard work and devotion, even I could be among that 5.6% of students that accomplishes the impossible or rather almost impossible task of being admitted into Harvard University. I now know that this is not the case. No matter how hard I study, work, or practice, the fact that I am a Korean-American may already have stopped me from accomplishing this childhood dream.
To that I say, “Bring it on”.
Harvard’s undergraduate admission can hold all of the racist bias they want. In Korean culture, a commonly depicted phenomenon is a student receiving a nose bleed after a long night of studying. However, instead of being seen as an inconvenience, it is seen as an achievement, a testament to your hard work and perseverance. I feel like this not only embodies our studies but the mindset that we must hold when faced with such a massive ordeal.
"Taking Away the Phones Won’t Solve Our Teenagers’ Problems" was the article that I found most interesting this week. This article gives us a new (grown up) view on the “screenagers” problem. Just like the writer, I also believe that the phones are not the cause of the anxiety and depression that got very more popular among teenagers over the last years. The phones are not the cause of those problems they are just the reflection of those problems. I believe that anxiety and depression are side effects of bored and lack of challenge that cause that. At this time, the teenagers do not have anything to challenge themselves and they get bored easily. As a result, they lose the meaning of the things that they are doing. Losing the meaning can cause to depression and the phones are just "get away" ticket. This kind of technology designed that way so it can distract us from the outside world and help when you are bored. Because of that, a teenager who has depression more likely to be on his phone for more hours then a teenager who does not have a depression. Influenced by the technological age our parents can fix or prevent much more than they parents could, what cause to the strangulation of independence that a teenager needs. To get away from all that problems the teenager goes to his phone, what makes his phone the to distract the pain from the anxiety and depression who caused by other things. In that case, the phones are not the problems, they are just a signal for it.
Skylar
The article that interested me the most this summer was The Mystery of End-Of-Life Rallies. This article stood out to me because I have, on numerous occasions, witnessed the importance palliative care. When I heard that palliative care potentially helps patients have one last interaction or "rally", I was reminded that my friends and family members who have been in the hospital under palliative care were treated well and may have had another spark left them because of the comfort they were given. Palliative care is by definition care that is given to improve a person's quality of life who has a life threatening illness such as cancer. I recently found that a passion of mine is helping others, which is why I am considering entering the medical field. I had never considered palliative care previously because I typically associate it with death and loss. However, after reading this article, I realize that palliative care is not something that I should associate with bringing death but rather a service that comforts people so they can leave this world relaxed. This article has opened my mind up to alter my perception of palliative care from negative to positive. The article includes stories about people who near their death have "rallies" where they make odd requests or simply interact with others for the first time in a long time which in my opinion, is a miracle.
Ever Wanted to Get Revenge? Try This Instead
https://nyti.ms/2O2nz9x
I always appreciated movies and books where protagonists revenge to the perpetrators because it was a moment of refreshment when I saw the main character’s facial expression full of triumph after the payback. Of course I learned that maltreating others for their wrong action cannot be justified. However, why did it appeal to my nature when the character succeeded their vengeance? Even if it was wrong? Through this article, I became aware that I only had a one-sided perspective on retribution. This article quoted that, “The 17th-century English poet and orator George Herbert was right: Living well is the best revenge.” If we were able to redirect our focus from mistreatment to using the feeling of anger as a motivation for the improvement of our lives, it would be the foremost repayment. Not only would it prevent negative consequences, it would also help the person orient their future in a positive way. If we cannot desist from revenge, why not make it a device to benefit ourselves and not harm others? From now on, the other aspect of revenge has become one of the ways to deal with the exasperation I receive.
Oblivion Versus Closure
An engineering student, Islam Dabbas, has finally found the courage to try and make a change in the Syrian government, but he gets thrown in jail to be brutally tortured. One day, he is protesting to improve his country. The next day, he is bleeding and pleading to officers to release him or at least see his mother. His family was wondering about how he was doing, fantasizing about his return, and hoping for the best.
Unfortunately, Islam Dabbas died on January 15, 2013; however, his family heard about his death just last week only because a family member tried to file for a government document.
This happens all the time with numerous Syrian citizens every day, yet most people around the world are oblivious to these hardships. Hundreds are being captured, tortured, and killed due to the belief that any human being can make a difference.
According to “Hundreds Died in Syrian Custody, Government Acknowledges” by Ben Hubbard and Karam Shoumali, people can’t get confirmation of how a loved one perished or even if he/she even died.
Therefore, we must stand up to Bashar al-Assad’s poor ways of leading Syria and show the innocent Syrian civilians that there can be a brighter tomorrow if each person stays true to his/her goals.
This article interested me in the New York Times because I will make sure to never take my first amendment for granted and always fight for places that are not so fortunate to have such unalienable rights.
An Extremely Detailed Map of the 2016 Election
The results of the 2016 Presidential Election can be a touchy subject. Everyone knows that Hilary Clinton won the popular vote by a wide margin of nearly 3 million votes. However, the Electoral College gave Donald Trump the presidency by a comfortable margin of 76 electoral votes.
But, how could this happen?
When examining the map you see a lot of red. But when taking a closer look, you notice why Clinton won the popular vote. In Democratic strongholds such as New York and California, Clinton won over Trump by millions of votes. But, in reality it doesn't matter how many votes she wins by because she only needed one more than Trump to win all the electoral votes of these states.
Conversely, Trump won his strongholds in Texas and Oklahoma by less than a million votes each. What propelled Trump to the overall win wasn't the sheer number of people who voted for him, it was who voted for him.
The fate of the election was in the hands of the swing states. Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan were of particular importance because these four states held the most electoral votes of all 12 swing states. Trump won: Florida by 120,000 votes, Pennsylvania by 68,000 votes, Ohio by 454,000 votes, and Michigan by only 11,000 votes. In all four, Clinton won counties housing each state's largest cities, but Trump won almost every other county. These four states gave Trump 83 electoral votes and shifted the entire election in his favor.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/opinion/sunday/smartphone-addiction-t...
The article, “Taking Away the Phones Won’t Solve Our Teenagers’ Problems” by Tracy A. Dennis-Tiwary caught my attention because phone-usage and technology are a big part of teenagers’ lives. Many parents disapprove of phone-usage for their children to avoid problems millenials are facing, such as addiction, anxiety, mental illness, depression and etc. Although some research show that excessive usage of phones lead to such problems, there are barely any direct evidence that proves of this statement. Teenagers use phones and devices to escape harsh reality and avoid feelings of stress. Phones and social media is a way for them to cope with their anxiety but immoderate usage can lead to addiction. As the article notes, “this strategy has more negative emotional consequences than positive ones.” With that being said, we should figure out a way to make phones less addictive and as the article suggests, dedicate more resources to address these problems. The writer states that “Just blaming the machines is a cop out, a way to avoid the much more difficult task of improving young people's lives so they don't need to escape." I believe this is a necessary point to make, because getting rid of phones is not the solution to the problems of millennials.
“The Google Translate World Cup”
Every two weeks, a language disappears completely from the face of the Earth. The world’s linguistic diversity has been cut in half over the last 500 years. While the article states that developments made to translation applications will alter the “future of how we travel,” there are far more significant ramifications: it changes the diversity and forms of human expression itself.
Language translation tools like Google Translate are functionally quite useful. Yet what drew me into this article is the fact that I can’t help but feel worried and sad about the future. Is it our destiny to be monolingual beings? With the death of each language, so too dies a unique ability to organize our thoughts and feelings.
At the end of the day, it is obvious that technology has its benefits. If we perceive of translation itself as an obstacle to communication, our only wish is to eliminate it. Yet there is joy in translations. The imperfections of non-native speakers are often beautiful sources of unintentional poetry. The Tower of Babel rises, but to be honest, I’m rooting against it.
"Getting Real About Periods, Childbirth, Menopause and More" -Maya Salam
You're in the middle of a maths test when you ask the teacher if you can use the bathroom. You walk there to only realize: Oh shoot. I don't have a pad. This is what has been happening at my school and frankly every female in the world. So many of us are under such pressuring situations where we are out in the middle of class and have to scavenge sanitary pads.
I have heard numerous accounts on how girls in my school were stressed of not having pads-a basic necessity. Realizing this veiled issue, I initiated the Pad Initiative which aims to provide school-funded pads in all female bathrooms at our school. By planning and proposing for months, our initiative achieved our goal of implementing school funded pads for every bathroom. Yet as much as our work has been a success, the question always remained: how impactful is this for the community? For the world?
This article reminded me that efforts to listen to the voices of women on their health must continue to strive for changes to happen-no matter how small or large. Sure, the Pad Initiative may be just a mere local effort, an undertaking that most people are oblivious about. But this piece prompted me to understand that there is no effort that is unworthy if it endeavors to listen to the silenced voices, to empower the women around us. In a time wrought with oppression, it is crucial for us to listen to every single voice-both the loud and quiet.
"Please Take My Son’s Wallet"
In 2012, I became friends with a guy who went to the same Sunday school. We'll call him John. John and I, two antisocial queer kids, connected easily and by high school, we were best friends.
But things took a turn when John lost his father to cancer. He was depressed and saw drugs as a way of escaping himself. Then, one night, he ODed.
The EMTs were able to restart his heart, and it was a wake-up call for John's family and me. His mother got him in a rehab facility, and I opened up about my feelings.
But John started to blame himself for his addiction, the stress he had put on his family and me, and losing control. So he decided to do something in an attempt to take back control.
A week after the funeral, I got a call from his mother. She needed help cleaning out his room. Going back to his house was hard, going into his room was harder. I would find something that reminded me of some time we had spent together, and I would just start bawling.
When I finished boxing everything up, his mother said she had rented out a storage unit and handed me a key. I thought she was cold. Who just hides every evidence of their son's existence? But this article helped me understand the mindset of a grieving parent. I realized after reading it that I hadn't taken her perspective into account.
I went to visit her and talk things over. We discussed the past and learned to embrace it. We then paid a visit to a little storage unit just outside of Newark.
" A Large Body of Water on Mars is Detected, Raising the Potential for the Alien Life"
I chose this article because every since I was a little kid I've been fascinated with space and the idea of there being life beyond Earth. Mars has now been questioned for a long time of having water on the planet, which may lead to having life. The article says that there are possibilities of microbes residing in a liquid lake on the planet. Although we cant confirm that there is life in the lake because the lake has to have a large amount of salt concentration to be able to remain unfrozen in Mars's cold climate. So even though it's not the likely, the thought of one of my dreams from my childhood becoming closer to reality is amazing to see. One day we can hopefully find life outside of Earth, till then I'll keep dreaming.
How Not to Let Your Phone Ruin Your Vacation https://nyti.ms/2NK3DHw?smid=nytcore-ios-share
I was interested in this article because I feel like everyone can really need this. People really get so attached to their phones that they completely miss out on the vacation they spent so much money to go on. We all take pictures and want to Snapchat our adventure but you should keep it at a minimum like only pictures.
"How France won its second world cup title"
Congratulations to the french team and the country of France for this achievement, but i"m here to talk about the Croatians. The hard work put in to get to the finals ids highly respectable. Sadly they came in 2nd next to France.They had a really good chance they just gave up easily stopped goals early on. In my opinion getting second place is worse then getting last. This is because hope is a dangerous thing, the hope of winning and it doesn't happen kills you. I know this from experience in a very similar situation. I played varsity soccer for my high school. This year we became sectional champions for our section. After sectionals we had to do our regional qualifiers. We won the first two matches and got to the finals. In this game we scored an easy goal early on and halfway through the game they scored an equalizer. After that it was a stalemate and the game went in to Overtime and we were going on golden goal rules. Five minutes into OT we conceded a lackluster goal and all that hope hit us in the face. I learned the lesson hope is dangerous first hand (Shawshank warned me).
Review: 'Doctor Atomic' Brings the Bomb Home to New Mexico
Zachary Woolfe
As I was skimming the “New York Times,” a familiar name stuck out. “Doctor Atomic.” I recognized it as an opera by John Adams. I'm a clarinetist and happen to be playing one of John Adam's smaller works, “Gnarly Buttons.” I was intrigued. Maybe it would help with my preparation. It was an interesting story, just not in the way I'd imagined.
“Doctor Atomic” sounds like a fascinating opera. It's playing, appropriately, in Santa Fe, just minutes from Los Alamos, where the A-bomb was created. Though it deals with the nuclear tests of the 1940s, many of its themes hold true today. The power, and horror, of the bomb is still one of the driving forces in geo-political conflicts – nations such as Iran and North Korea striving to develop it, and others trying to stop them.
Adams' work also spotlights racism – the military refused to let scientists tell Native American communities downwind of the bomb site about the upcoming test, to warn them to evacuate. I feel sick reading that, and sick that not much has changed. Native Americans today are threatened by oil pipelines that if completed, would destroy places of tremendous cultural importance; they face socioeconomic bombs.
There have been protests, but they haven't solved the problem. Perhaps “Doctor Atomic,” an opera, harnessing the power of words and music and deep emotions, is what the world needs. What it needs to reveal the insanity, and stop the tests.
‘Pizza Delivery Man Detained by ICE Is Freed by Judge’
I wanted to know why anyone would detain a pizza guy. I read the headline and envisioned some hilarious circumstance that led up to this big misunderstanding, but I read on and learned that the pizza guy, Mr. Pablo Villavicencio, was detained after delivering to a Brooklyn army base for being undocumented. Instead of the hijinks I hoped for, it was an ordeal going on since summer started for us, and only now is it being resolved. I read through the events and was glad that Judge Crotty allowed him to stay while he applied for permanent residency. The judge asked, “Is he a threat to the country? A flight risk? Don’t they have to justify it?” And I agree. In the judge’s order, it states in plain English that he has no criminal history, pays his taxes, and takes care of his family, like any good citizen would. If we followed through on the deportation, did we really just divide a family over a pizza delivery? Sending him back to Ecuador would be unwarranted when he qualifies as, “...a model citizen.” It isn’t fair to punish someone with harmless intent the same way you would a criminal, especially at the cost of family.
“The powerful are doing what they want,” Judge Crotty said during the hearing, “and the poor are suffering what they must.” Families are forced apart. Good people are turned away. No one has to suffer yet we make them anyway. And as far as I’m concerned, it helps no one.
The World Cup is a soccer event that takes place every four years. The most recent one took place this summer in Russia. World Cup 2018 started off with 32 teams all fighting for a trophy to win for their country but in the end only one was victorious. France beat Croatia in the final 4-2 to lift the trophy in the Luzhniki Stadium with millions of people watching. France's very own teenage star Kylian Mbappe won Young Player of the Tournament while Croatia's midfield maestro Luka Modric won Player of the Tournamant. The next World Cup takes place in Qatar and millions can't wait to see if they're country will lift the trophy.
Taking Away the Phones Won't Solve Our Teenagers' Problem
Todays millennials have an addiction to phones. To tell you the truth, I am one of them. Everywhere we go teenagers are on their phones taking selfies or are on social media. Many teens capture the moment while others are living and experiencing. I am the type of person who captures the moment and i often regret not experiencing the moment. Little kids at the age of five are getting addicted to phones which is bad for their eye sights and mental health.
Social media causes distractions to the world and causes drama amongst people also lost communication to the world. Teenagers do not know what is going in their daily life and people are not true to themselves due to social media popularities. People worry about how many "likes" they receive which isn't something we should be worrying about.
Often, parents take away the phones because they realize that it is an addiction and believe that it will solve the problem. They are wrong. Taking away a teenagers phone causes them to become rebellious because they are so use to having it. Dennis-Tiwary said "teenagers go online to avoid feelings of stress, depression and anxiety, and we also know this strategy has more negative emotional consequences than positive ones." Based on this quote I understand why parents feel the necessity to take the phone away but to teenagers it's a way of escaping the reality that they do not want to face.
Crunch. Each bite echoes off the walls in my unusually silent house. Why is my house so silent? Because it’s 2 a.m. and I’m still not done with my homework. Every few seconds, I can feel my eyelids drooping as my eyes roll back inside and my head takes an unexpected dip to my desk. If it wasn’t for my faithful companion sitting beside me, I probably would have fallen asleep hours ago. But those oatmeal cookies have never failed me. After all, an occasional midnight snack is a harmless way to keep my energy up, right?
Wrong. “When We Eat, or Don’t Eat, May Be Critical for Health,” an article by Anahad O’Connor, transformed my entire perspective on the significance of what time we eat rather than just what we eat. As soon I started reading, questions began to race past my mind: Is it possible that even a salad could be considered unhealthy if eaten at the wrong time? Is my whole life one big lie? All I knew was that unless I wanted to rapidly gain weight, I had to put an end to my untimely meals and turn my life around.
I’ve never been much of a dancer, but even I could tell that my circadian rhythm was off. For all these years, I had been taking advantage of my internal biological clock, consciously ignoring my body’s constant messages regarding sleep, food, and exercise. And thanks to O’Connor, I now have the perfect opportunity to get my life back on track. But, I think I’ll start after just one more bite…Crunch.
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"‘See Ya Later, Suckas!’ The Obituary of a 5-Year-Old Boy in His Own Words" by Christene Caron
The article that interested me the most this week was an article about a young 5 year old boy, Garrett Matthias' obituary. Mattahias suffered from rhabdomyosarcoma and sadly passed away. Throughout Mattahias' battle with cancer, he seeked treatment at a hostpital in Iowa City. The hospital's staff was a huge fan of Garrett and his positive aditude. The article reportively does a grear job of capturing Mattahias' personality. As Garrett was such a positive young child he wanted his ceremony to be more happy then sad. He even said in reference to his funeral, "I want five bouncy houses (because I'm 5), Batman and snow cones." Although Garrett's death was so sad a tragic, he still had a very bright out look on life and comforted his family with this joyful celebration. This really touched my heart because even though Garrett was so young he had such a positive outlook and understanding of his death.
Taking Away the Phones Won’t Solve Our Teenagers’ Problems
By Tracy A. Dennis-Tiwary
As teenagers we understand this problem the best and purposely chose this article just to support what's written. Personally, I'm not much of a phone addict but I see some of my friends which uses their phones too often. The truth is that almost every class is almost guaranteed to have at least someone that is always on their phones even during class.
"We already know that teenagers go online to avoid feelings of stress, depression and anxiety, and we also know this strategy has more negative emotional consequences than positive ones." This is the bitter truth behind phones and why they are popular these days. Stress.
“Jimmy Fallon Jabs at Trump’s Changing Story on Putin Meeting”
Television shows are well like and viewed by millions of people each day. As a result, people on television have a substantial impact on society. For instance, Jimmy Fallon, a late night talk show host, used his platform to discuss the significant meeting that occurred between Trump and Putin. It is interesting and comical how Fallon bantered at how Donald Trump kept altering his statements regarding his meeting with Putin. By doing this, Fallon was able to entertain people while simultaneously educating them about modern matters.
Even though the “Tonight Show” and the news are both broadcasted late at night, viewers are more likely to stay up to watch the “Tonight Show” instead of the latter. It is crucial to be aware of what is happening in the world, so it is pleasing that Fallon informs viewers, who might not watch the news, what is transpiring. In addition to this, he is also helping by lighting up the mood about something that can sometimes be depressing. Lately, watching the news has become more and more stressful for American, especially when it comes to news about Donald Trump. Some people have become blasé about the president of the United States’ actions. Although the news may not be favorable, society still must stay knowledgeable about current events. Jimmy Fallon deserves praise for doing just that.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/science/thank-you-notes.html
“You should actually send that thank you note you’ve been meaning to write” by Heather Murphy caught my attention as I was scrolling through the New York Times. The way the article itself was written was very interesting to read and I absolutely enjoyed it. Everyone was taught by his or her parents to always say ‘thank you’ as an obligation since young, but as we grow older people have not continued on this habit as much. People do say 'thank yous', but not as much as they should since they are too scared of what the recipient would think. Would they think I am over doing it? Would it be too weird since we are not as close? Questions as such cloud our thinking everyday but rest assured as the recipients do not think that way and they would be delighted to receive our gratitude according to the article. I can see why 'thank yous' are important. They are important because even if it is just a small gesture, the recipient would be glad that they had helped someone somehow. ‘Thank you’ also keeps us from taking people for granted, but it must be used for the right cause as it can start to lose its meaning if you do not mean it. 'Thank yous' really do mean a lot and from now on, I will be saying it much more than before and would even send out some letters of appreciation from time to time. Thank you for letting me comment on the annual Summer Reading Contest.
Article link:https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/17/climate/india-heat-wave-summer.html
It has been getting hotter and hotter since summer officially started in late June in most places around the world. In India, there has been an issue with temperatures and amount of heat increasing, especially during the summer season, in the past recent years and is only worsening. The hotter India is getting, the more it's population is suffering while India's government is essentially doing nothing to help its population survive through high temperatures. People, especially the poor, are working full time outside in the heat in order to make a living. Trees are being cut down for the construction of new roads in order to lessen the traffic and bring in more tourism. Although jobs such as cutting trees are helping to grow India's economy, they are not helping to better the public health of India. As the carbon doixide rates exponentially increase due to the cutting of trees and the use of polluting factories, India's temperatures will only getter hotter. The large amount of heat is causing health issues for many in India. People may eventually die due to these abnormally high temperatures and the polluted air. There must be public health legislation enacted in order for climate change to slow down in this region. For example, public bus transportation should be encouraged to be used more often so that the amount of pollution from cars would decrease.Little changes may make a big difference.
The article "Attacks on Roma Force Ukraine to Confront an Old Ethnic Enmity," demonstrates the incredible complexity that ensues from supporting foreign governments in armed conflicts. The article details how, in response to the Russian annexation of Crimea, the United States has supported Ukrainian nationalist groups in their fight against Russian military aggression. However, these same groups have recently turned their attention to harassing an easier target: Roma. The nationalist groups threw rocks, squirted pepper spray and burned down tents in their attempt to 'clean their city of Roma,' which sparked criticism from otherwise supportive western nations. These recent developments are extremely tragic but represent a common occurrence in U.S. foreign policy. After World War II, the United States has frequently responded to enemy nations guilty of human rights violations or illegal military actions such as the Russia, Syria, and Vietnam by lending support to armed opposition groups. But nearly always these groups incorporate radical elements for which the US government has little understanding. This invariably places the United States in a difficult situation as aiding opposition groups is often justified by arguments of moral superiority all the while the US ends up backing groups openly engaging in putrid acts. Unfortunately, this moral conundrum will persist as long as the United States continues to accept the role of the world's policeman.
“What Feminists Can Do for Boys”
The article appealed to me the most this week was “What Feminists Can Do for Boys” by Jessica Valenti, the author of six books on feminism. This article was interesting because there were many issues within feminism in Korea. The generation of young, especially men got the idea that more problems were made and their problems became worse due to the progress of women protesting and fighting for gender equality. Boys face many problems such as stereotype of being a real men. In Korea, few months ago, there were a few problems with several feminists with wrong mindset that female is better than male. It caused a number of problems that were attracting most people’s attention in Korea. I could learn more about how the actions made by the wrong mindset can affect so many people.
Every fourth year as of 1930, there is an exhilarating event that amalgamates communities from across the amiable world. Though it may sound political in the previous statement, it is indeed not political but rather than a straightforward yet complex, thrilling sport. This extravagant event is identified as the World Cup. The most recent World Cup happened not too long ago actually. It began June 14, 2018 and was determined on July15, 2018 that France was the best national team on the pitch and tournament. In the article “How France Won Its Second World Cup Title” written by Andrew Das, the author explicated the situation with France winning their second world cup title. Evidently, it is an immense accomplishment winning the nationwide tournament since the France national men’s team was swarmed with supporters and attention the second the team landed in their homeland. I appreciate the tactic the New York Times authors use when describing and writing stories such as these athleticism, which is also why I was most interested in the New York Times’ this week. I thought it was fascinating that the New York Times was able to teach me, a loyal soccer player and fanatic, more details and particulars from this very important victory. The Times is undoubtedly unadulterated in all their writing topics and I also admire that the system does not limit themselves to breaking news stories like a murder etc… This article truly taught me something new and valuable and cannot be compared.
"Endless Gaming May Be a Bad Habit. That Doesnʼt Make It a Mental Illness."
I was running, but they were close behind, like sharks that have smelled the blood of their prey. I was scurrying as fast as I could back into safety... or so they thought. They never noticed two of my my friends hiding in the bushes..
And that’s why my mom knocked on the door, pointed out that it was after 3am, and demanded me to get off of my computer and get to sleep.
Reading this article took me back to the time I was obsessed with games. I had little notice of my surroundings and my priorities were twisted. The moment I came home from school, I would jump on my bed to play video games endlessly on my laptop. The concept of homework never really stuck, but the negative consequences of not doing it did.
This article made me realize that definitions about terms like “addiction” matter a lot. I’m tempted to say that is not an addiction, because nothing chemical is happening. Yet there’s something really bizarre about the fact that gaming makes a certain region of the brain---the bilateral cuneus---thicker than non-gamers. That thought alone makes me more eager to read than to boot up another game of Fortnight. Yet… as I near the end of this article, I have my game controller sitting conveniently in my lap...
"Raising My Child in a Doomed World"
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/opinion/climate-change-parenting.html
The title of this article caught my attention in an instant, especially in the world we are living in today. I was fascinated by how this mother instantly thought about how her newborn daughter's future because of all the current issues of the world. And this mother is right about this because unfortunately the way this world is heading we will be extinct in no time so I can understand her concern bringing a child into a world that is bound to be destroyed in the near future. We have so many problems in today's world from economy to climate change and unfortunately more and more people are not having children because of climate change. As it stands, my generation will be the one to see what to do in this situation.
“New Alzheimer’s Drug Slows Memory Loss in Early Trial Results”
This week what had interested me was the advancements in the medicine field, and how this new drug called BAN2401 is slowly getting rid of Alzheimer's. What really intrigued me on this though was that my great Aunt is suffering from Alzheimer’s, and knowing that they are making improvements so then other people won’t be as bad, and hopefully it will be completely gone. The way that the medicine works is that it reduces the plaques in the brain. This medicine is showing promise in solving the issues of Alzheimer’s. “.....the drug may be the first to successfully attack both the brain changes and the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.” To show how well BAN2401 is working they did a trial with 856 patients and they all had an improvement. The results were great especially for the patients who were taking the high doses. “Of the 161 patients in the group taking the highest dose, 81 percent showed such significant drops in amyloid levels that they “converted from amyloid positive to amyloid negative,” Dr. Kramer said in an interview,”. Although there are positive results coming back they say it will still take a few years to let be open for the public. BAN2401 still needs to go through all of the after phase processes for it to be allowed to the public. This is what interested me this week because it had to do with the advancements of the BAN2401 for Alzheimer’s, and it could quickly become the end of Alzheimer’s.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/nyregion/9-11-victim-nyc.html
An article that quite interested me this week is "Keeping Its Promise to Families, New York Identifies Another 9/11 Victim". The 9/11 terrorist attack nearly happened 17 years ago, which still leaves the remains of the victims being unable to be identified. The latest to be identified is Scott Michael Johnson. With only a bone Mark Desire states that, "his team had tried to identify the bone half a dozen times over the past 17 years ." Thanks to the new and advanced DNA testing they were able to overcome the challenges of extracting more of the DNA to be tested and identified. The breakthrough of identifying Scott Michael Johnson was this Wednesday, 7/25/18. He was 26, a financial worker, and the 1,642 person out of the 2,753 people who lost their lives in the attack. Mark Desire, his team, and colleagues are still putting their efforts into helping identify others for multiple families who've been waiting to hear from their lost ones.
Url:(https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/learning/summer-reading-contest-week-...
WEEK 6:
What had interested me this week, is the Trump “situation” regarding allegations of some interference or “meddling” from Russia on our 2016 presidential election. It had been a very commonly spoken situation in which some had alleged that during the presidential election, that for Trump's vote gain, Russia may have decided to take matters into their own hands and interfere with the vote counts. Now this is a quite bold allegation for one to make, however I my opinion what may have almost confirmed or brought further questions on the authenticity of the allegations would be president Trump's tweets. T be quite frank, the fact that our president spends so much time on the social network Twitter is rather bizarre to me in general.
Social media is a very sharp double edged sword and tool for our societies time. It's the best source for spreading news, however not all may be true. Yet the question of reliability of certain sources will always remain in question. Which is why president Trump should probably stop making such rigorous claims online whilst hiding behind a screen and spend more time actually speaking up for them like a professional. Without the proper platform to share thoughts and responses, its expected for one to lack trust of claims given, hence the downfall of the wall of trust in words stated.
NY Times - The Rape Jokes We Still Laugh At
What interested me the most in The New York Times this week was a video of a man explaining what had happened to him during his time in prison. His name is Rodney Roussell and what had happened to him was multiple occasions of rape inside the prison walls while he was doing his time for breaking the law. Why wouldn’t something along the lines of a man’s dignity being stolen from him catch anyone’s eye? Why is it so common to make rape jokes about people going into prison without a thought even crossing your mind of how terrible that must be for them? No one deserves to be raped, not even prisoners. Prisoners are people too, and no one should have to have their humanity taken away and be forced to accept it. Not only did other cellmates use him for sex, they also passed him around and sold him for $20 worth of commissary items. Why is the awareness of sexual assault not included in prisons? There is no justifiable reason as to why prisoners don’t deserve to keep their dignity. Prisoners being raped is not some sick, dark joke. Rape is not a joke.
When reading the Times this week I came upon an article that exactly modeled the ways in which we as humans ignore the environmental impacts of technology.
In the article "Faster Than the Speed of Sound, but at What Cost" by Hiroko Tabuchi, the author explains the up-and-coming supersonic jet industry which is nearing commercial production. The jets cut travel times in half and provide luxury, all at the price of a business class ticket. Initially these supersonic jets seem like the saviors to the perpetual problem of air travel, however a closer look reveals that the jets will have four times the carbon emissions than that of a regular passenger jet. The number of carbon emissions over the past 20 years from aircraft have been growing linearly, but now with supersonic jets on the rise, the number of emissions is expected grow exponentially posing a huge problem for the environment and ultimately to us as humans who depend on the environment.
What really made me love this article was how it evoked a stream of thoughts in my mind. As I mentioned before, humans will always strive to increase efficiency wherever possible, but as resources get increasingly limited, the environmental cost for that efficiency skyrockets. The article left me with this puzzling thought, and changed my view on how progress should be made in the world. We should always strive to improve, but the improvements should be designed to work in harmony with the environment, not against the environment.
It Came From a Black Hole, and Landed in Antarctica
Drawn to the article just by the name itself, what I found interesting about the article was the subject of what it was talking about. Essentially, it boiled down to a quasar, a super-massive black hole, launching a particle called a neutrino at the speed of light and it passed through the ice in Antarctica, setting off various detectors stationed there. This captivated me to no end because it reminded me that there were many wondrous and mysterious things in our universe, with the human species still barely scratching the surface. It made me envy our descendants in a way, because we ourselves won't get to travel across the breadth of space or observe these marvels close at hand. That being said, I'm not sure it's even possible for space ships to travel from one solar system to the next; however, even if we are confined to our solar system, we would still be able to observe the universe at large.
Taking Away the Phones Won’t Solve Our Teenagers’ Problems
Teenager deal with many problem, some small some big. Mental health being one of the bigger problems. The way teens are dealing with the issues are going on the phone. Phone have become a release from reality and they are able to escape from everything that they deal with. People blindly say that 'kids are addicted they should just put it down' but there is a bigger issue that they are not realizing. If parents are actually concerned about the addiction they should see why they are on the phones instead of just pointing fingers. This article interested me because I am a teenager and I am on my phone a lot and my parents are always nagging about it. As far as I am concerned I do not deal with any mental illness but I able still able to relate on a different aspect.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/opinion/climate-change-parenting.html
"Raising My Child in a Doomed World
This article gives a direct and honest outlook to what we and generations to come will have to face with grim consequences. With current state of climate change, as the article puts it: "It’s not unreasonable to say that the challenge we face today is the greatest the human species has ever confronted." and soon we will have to face it.
Raising a child in the current state of the world is difficult. How do you explain to your child that the childrens books depictions of diverse animal life is no longer possible because of a mass extinction we created? How do you explain the truth of today's world to a child? You really can't. All you can do is commit to what you've brought them into. To teach them to live ethically by "understanding that our actions have consequences", to take responsibility and to put forth the effort to reduce the suffering. As well as an important note, to live ethically in these times is to live knowing our existence here is one of it's kind, to understand that at any moment it could be destroyed.
The author goes on to say she teaches her daughter to be kind, to care, to be resilient, to fight for what's right, etc. Ending with "I need to teach her that all things die". It's holds true for us too, for being something we all need to come to terms with eventually, in a doomed world.
On “Sex Abuse Victims Join Hands, Accept Courage Award at ESPYs”
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/07/18/sports/ap-us-espys.html
The 2018 ESPYs empowered women in many ways, including Olympian Chloe Kim taking home three awards and racecar driver Danica Patrick becoming the first female host. However, the most impactful moment of the show occurred when more than 140 women stood together to tell their stories as survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of Larry Nasaar. Aly Raisman, Tiffany Thomas Lopez, and Sarah Klein led the group of survivors as they accepted the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, in an emotional moment where every survivor stood together, hand in hand.
As a young woman in today’s society, I could not help but to be moved to tears by this presentation. My entire family had our eyes glued to the award show because of the strength these women portrayed, even through the television screen. Their courage to speak out has impacted countless lives, including mine and my sisters’, in ways that we will never find out, and I am grateful that they have helped spark a movement to protect women everywhere. When watching the ESPYs live, I remember hearing Sarah Klein say that if speaking up would help at least one person, then it was worth it. I can assure her that she helped and inspired me.
"Raising My Child in a Doomed World"
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/opinion/climate-change-parenting.html
The title of this article caught my attention in an instant, especially in the world we are living in today. I was fascinated by how this mother instantly thought about how her newborn daughter's future because of all the current issues of the world. And this mother is right about this because unfortunately the way this world is heading we will be extinct in no time so I can understand her concern bringing a child into a world that is bound to be destroyed in the near future. We have so many problems in today's world from economy to climate change and unfortunately more and more people are not having children because of climate change. As it stands, my generation will be the one to see what to do in this situation.
“‘Fake News’ Goes Global as Trump, in Britain, Rips the Press”
The belittling of journalism has become a permanent fixture of Donald Trump’s presidency, so commonplace that we have become entirely desensitized to it. His outrageous rhetoric casts the media as out to get him, a claim that fuels his supporters’ anger and further damages the merits of honest reporting. Simply stated, Trump views the truth as an obstacle. Delegitimizing the press creates confusion and distrust in the public mind about what’s real and what isn’t. I am tired of Trump labeling facts as “fake news” just to save face. He is the leader of the most powerful country in the world, but you can never tell from the childish way he attacks the press to shield himself from negative coverage. Discrediting any source that provides inconvenient truths, whether it be CNN or a U.S. intelligence agency, is dangerous to our democracy and should not go unnoticed.
What interested me most in the Times this week was "In India, Summer Heat May Soon Be Literally Unbearable" by Somini Sengupta. The problem of global climate change is one that becomes increasingly more dangerous the longer that we go without making large-scale efforts to counter it. Not only that, but the damage we have caused is largely irreversible, which gives us all the more reason to prevent future harm to our environment. This story, and reports like it, highlight the necessity for immediate and measurable change in our society. We are living in a world where legislators, who are elected officials, are ignoring the immediate life threatening problems that we as a society face, and telling us that either the problem doesn't exist, or that the conversation about fixing it cannot be had. This ignorance does nothing but further deteriorate the state of our world, and ruins our chances of preventing a future cataclysmic state. This article is proof that we must continue to fight against that ignorance, for the people who are suffering directly now, and that we must make a change in the state of our world, else we lose it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/style/new-york-people-watching.html
We live in a face paced world. We get information that used to take days to be received, in a second. Everything is within one click. It's truly amazing until we get overwhelmed by it all. With new issues arising rapidly, we can't help but hold our breaths because it seems to drown us in them. Sometimes we just need to stop and remember to take a breath.
Looking around me, with even the most mundane things of people, became my breath of air. It grounded me. Often times I move through activities to activities throughout my day like I'm skimming the directions on a test. Thinking that if I pause, time will slip away and there wouldn't be enough for the next problem on my test, or rather, next activity on my to do list. So when I looked up and saw the world breathing and doing their daily chores, I was reminded of the simplicity in life. There is a certain beauty in nothingness.
Darcie Wilder, the author of the article, simply described fragments of her day, in the things she saw and heard. It wasn't anything special, but it spoke volume. It's a busy world that never stops to moving. But when I finally paused to watch it, that's when it started to turn.
This week, I read an article discussing how the Trump administration is handling and to say I felt a variety of emotions is an understatement.
Growing up with immigrant parents from Mexico and Central America, I was told stories of how my mother had to hide behind boulders in the hills of her ranch to avoid being stolen by soldiers, and how my father had picked up 3 jobs, by the time he was 15, to support his family. Neither of my parents were born into privelege and faced plenty obstacles to come to the United States in hopes of a better life, so although I haven’t experienced first hand what it’s like to cross the border alone, I feel sympathy for these children. They are human beings, seeking refuge and safety by crossing the border, only to be faced with cruel treatment. The children stuck in camps, separated from their parents, mean no harm to anyone here in the states, yet they’re being treated as wild animals. I find it heartbreaking and I truly hope the officers that have harmed these children reflect on their actions and question what reason there could possibly be to put a child through that type of experience. My prayers are with the children trying to return to their parents.
What Do Novels About Evil Children Say About Us? - Ruth Franklin
I found this article extremely intriguing as its title seemed to really hit a place close to home in my heart. Upon first reading the writing, I completely agreed with the idea of the endless possibilities that a baby could hold. However, I was not completely sold on the article until the author explained how these novels related to the current issue of gender inequality. Every single one of those books ended up with an oblivious dad who worked more than he spent time with his children and a mom who ultimately held all the blame and suffered.
Face it. Everyone has thought about getting married and having children at one point. I know for sure that ever since I was a little girl, I've always dreamt of the perfect wedding with the perfect man and beautiful children to spend the rest of my life with. I always had this confidence that no matter what, my child would be perfect in my eyes. Well, that was until I was introduced to a book by the name of The Bad Seed by William March. I was traumatized. The book left me with countless nightmares and fears that I never knew I had. This article was no different. Not only did it deepen my fears of parenthood, it also deepened my disappointment. I began to realize that every family around me included a stay-at-home mom and a workaholic dad. I can't imagine how much pressure all parents go through, but I wish they continue to raise their child with unconditional love.
https://nyti.ms/2OhMZ30
This article from Christina Caron was an eyeopener. I already know a decent amount of information concerning climate change, since it has become more prevalent in modern day. However although I’ve heard about the issues concerning biodiversity if we don’t fix the issue, it still doesn’t seem as real as it is. Reading this article made me contextualise what the future may appear to be. The author talked about a recent study on sea bass that showed how future carbon dioxide levels may affect vital functions for them. I think I found it so eye opening as the effects the carbon dioxide had on them, seemed drastic. Such as impaired sense of smell, which the article mainly focused on, and the comparisons made to humans needing smell. Senses play a vital part in how we interact with the world and the thought of losing them seems insane. To think that eventually species could lose something like this, due to humans, really stuck out to me. Although the study definitely isn’t 100% certain and is only a glimpse at what could happen, the article showed to me how much stacking evidence we have to protect our world. I hopefully think with all this information we can start taking larger actions towards the future to save and protect our planet.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/opinion/climate-change-parenting.html
The effect of the deterioration of Earth on the future generation is something that I have thought of before. The fear that your child will grow in a world that might be unfit sooner or later for them, I think, should be an increasing concern. This article really grabbed my attention because I previously thought of what the future of a child from 2050-2100 would be like. Although, my idea of the unfit world expanded greater than just climate change. However, the author does bring good ideas of how the world might be worse in the future, which really piqued my interest. For example, right now its is no surprise that our country is politically divided. If current division escalate to greater problems like war or civil conflict, there will definitely be fear in parents to conceive a child. Another concern that the author describes is the world's climate. Because of carbon emissions, in the future we will see uncertain global climate patterns unpredictable biological adaption, as mentioned by the author. This potentially can harm a child, which no parents want. Overall, this passage gave me a great insight to what a parent fears about the upcoming state of the Earth for their child.
‘New Clues to How the Biggest Dinosaurs Got So Big’
In the modern age of technology and instant gratification, knowledge of the Earth’s past has become increasingly scarce and underappreciated. While future advancements are key to our evolution, it is crucial that we remember to learn from the past as well. The reign of the dinosaurs lasted approximately 186 million years, and, on the cosmic scale, human life cannot even compare.
Every so often, the world of paleontology is struck with a groundbreaking discovery that changes the way we look at these fascinating animals. In this NYT article, Nicholas St. Fleur tells of a new theory regarding the growth patterns of some of the largest dinosaurs, the sauropods. With new fossil evidence in the form of a 200 million year old, 10 ton sauropod named “Ingentia Prima”, scientists have discovered that the class of giant dinosaurs did in fact exist in the Triassic era, a time when dinosaurs were only first appearing and thought to have been rather small in comparison.
This means that these “first giants” would had to have grown extraordinarily fast. These early sauropodomorphs are now theorized to have grown in a cyclical and seasonal pattern of quick yet substantial bursts. In contrast, later sauropods grew at a constant rate until adulthood due to their evolved trait of elongated necks which allowed easier access to food. This article proves there is still much to learn regarding evolution from our greatest predecessors.
I am interested in the video story about how Russia is interfering with world. This may include elections or international relations. These include NATO and under mining former Soviet states like Latvia and Lithuania. In addition to this, these may include the Russians making themselves look big by hosting global events like the World Cup. This will make the Russians feel like everyone is undermining their violations towards human rights and for global isolation. Finally, the Russians use tactics like hacking to mess with foreign/domestic relations and elections, like leaking emails which gave secrets of the DMC.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/arts/music/demi-lovato-hospitalized.html
This week in the times, I learned that the beloved former Disney Star, Demi Lavato, was rushed to a hospital in Los Angeles for a drug overdose. Despite coming from the innocent beginnings of the Disney Channel, the star had dealt with struggles with substance abuse as discussed in her music. Currently, Ms. Lavato is stable and is recovering from her relapse after six years of being sober. Scares like this in Hollywood bring light to and remind us of how real the opioid epidemic really is in the United States. While it sheds light on how the epidemic is such a relevant issue in our country and how it needs to be solved, it also reveals a side of the people's reactions to it. The media always has such a negative response to average people that struggle and battle with opioids on a daily basis, and lack true sympathy for them. People struggling with opioids are stereotyped as terrible people, however, when someone in the public eye goes through an incident such as Demi, it receives a whole other response. Lavato has received constant comments throughout the media of people expressing their thoughts, concerns, and prayers for her at this time. Where are all of these same thoughts and prayers for the other thousands of people that overdose because of the epidemic? I feel that overall this situation with Demi Lavoto not only sheds light on the opioid epidemic itself, but how people respond to it.
Forget Suits. Show the Tattoo. Female Candidates Are Breaking the Rules. By Kate Zernike.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/us/politics/women-candidates-midterms...
A friend of mine once asked me why feminism mattered anymore. At the time, I’d spluttered some response and assured him a three page essay would be arriving soon, but I later sat down and thought about it. In a liberal community like mine, was feminism really necessary?
It took a few years, but eventually I’d get my answer. I’d get my answer in the form of gym classes where the girls stood back and let the boys play with the ball. By way of girls who stayed silent and let the boys talk first. Girls who attended parties wearing dresses and high heels, while the boys walked in with sweatpants and sneakers.
I’ve realized that modern feminism is less about overt sexism, and more about breaking the rules. They’re not stated rules though - they’re more like lines drawn in the sand, but it takes a conscious effort to cross them.
That’s why this article interested me. Female candidates are crossing those lines, breaking those rules. It won’t happen all at once, but they’re rewriting guidelines.
I have faith. If enough women breach those boundaries, then one day girls won’t have to think about chasing after the ball, or being the first to speak. They’ll just do it.
“Everyone Has an Accent”
My mother came to the U.S. not only with the desire to give me a better future but also with a heavy Indian accent. It’s the accent that made me who I am today, the accent that helped me with my math homework and comforted me when I cried. For me, it’s perfect.
As I grew up, though, I noticed smirks and giggles following my mother’s speech. I remember seeing an online ad that offered courses to “Get rid of your Indian accent today! Feel like a better American!” Knowing that there were courses designed to help people “get rid of” their accents suddenly made my mom’s pronunciation seem embarrassing.
The hierarchy for accents became apparent at school too. Dull English sentences were transformed into something hilarious when said in a non-native accent. As students burst out laughing, I’d wear my unaccented English like a shield and say “Oh I don’t talk like that, so I'm not offended!” I lie, though; even if I don’t talk like that, my family does.
This article not only put into words what has been a daily struggle for me but also gave me the strength to fight it. As the author puts it, “no one speaks without an accent,” so I shouldn't be embarrassed of the one that raised me. The Indian accent will always be a part of my family identity, and I wouldn’t change that for anything, not even if it would make me feel like a better American.
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“What Migrants Are Fleeing” from The Daily
https://nyti.ms/2IpZJk4
With Mexico's tightened control over illegal migrants, Azam Ahmed wanted to see what a Central American migrant's journey has become. He joined a group of 10 migrants on their perilous trek through Mexico, and with them he walked 30km a day, encountered smugglers, and hid from the authorities. It was incredibly eye-opening for me to hear about, and evokes my deep admiration for the great lengths he went in the name of journalism. Ahmed was fully committed to understanding the reality of their hardships by immersing in their experience.
Ahmed revealed, out of the 10 migrants, some were robbed and some had died, only 2 made it across the border. I had to consider the difficulty of a journalist's uninterfering, objective role, to know you cannot act on sympathy or injustice you feel because any interference or help given would create distorted portrayals of the true situation for listeners.
I have noticed first-hand immigrant stories are usually told by adults who arrived as children years ago and do not remember much detail. People who have crossed the border recently are, understandably, unwilling or unable to share details of their journey. So, I deeply appreciate and respect what Ahmed has done to shed light and provide amazing insight on this. It allowed a middle-class Asian girl like me to better understand the hardships faced by struggling Central American migrants!
5 Ways to Keep Cities Cooler During Heat Waves
To my surprise, heat waves pose a large threat to the health of many. Cities such as NYC, can be dreadfully hot, especially during the summer months. Due in part to the quantiful concrete and asphalt scattered about cities, temperatures soar. Compounded by this, a phenomenon called the, “urban heat island effect,” can result in temperatures 5°F higher than that on the mainland during the day and up to 22°F higher at night. Moreover, this severe disparity in the climate causes many to fall ill. As such, it’s clear that various measures should be taken to prevent further damage. Trees have been found to aid in this issue. Not only do trees provide shade from the sun, but the evaporated water from their leaves has the ability to lower temperatures. Another strategy is to allow for more wind to blow through scorching areas. “Tree-flanked arterial roads,” namely, ventilation corridors manage to promote the flow of wind throughout cities. Yet another tactic to combat the heat is to simply paint roofs white. In many urban areas, buildings are often covered in darker colors, thereby increasing the temperature. Effectiveness varies from climate to climate; however, with that in mind, it may be worth a try in cities facing devastating heat waves. I find it incredibly saddening that as many as 650 deaths each year can be attributed to the heat. It is in the best interest of the people for improved heat-resistant conditions to be developed.
"In Praise of A.D.H.D."
Leonard Mlodinow's piece--combining heartfelt and informative text--describes his decision against medicating his son's ADHD. In doing so, he also masks many of the realities of the disorder.
"In Praise of A.D.H.D." argues that hyperactivity is an increasing characteristic in society, catalyzed by rapid communication and information made available by technology. Mlodinow concludes that in this setting, individuals with ADHD will thrive, as their minds are wired in a very similar way: non-stop activity.
However, this idea functions under the assumption that a non-stop brain in a non-stop society allows for synergy. Alternatively, and in my own experience with ADHD, the chaotic state of both my mind and the world aren’t cohesive or complimentary. ADHD feels like harsh television static in one ear and a swelling ringing in the other; the cacophony of information and thought always compounding.
Medication for ADHD has a sweeping effect on the diagnosed individual’s life. For many, the first experience of taking such medication is comparable to someone putting on glasses for the first time. Everyday experiences through the lens of hyperactivity are vastly different from what most take for granted.
The same medication that Mlodinow argues is unnecessary can bring the mind to rest, silencing the cacophony. This provides an opportunity for those experiencing ADHD to function properly in a high-paced society, not rob them of a perceived advantage.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/health/psychology-studies-stanford-pr...
As I was reading this article, I was shocked and amazed at some of the social experiments that have been conducted in the field of psychology. I personally have always been amazed and fascinated by the study of psychology. So, I was naturally attracted to this article. I was very interested by the social experiments mentioned in the article, and did some further research myself. What I found especially interesting was the marshmallow experiment and the theory of delayed gratification. I thought it was very interesting on how children who received delayed gratification were more likely to succeed later in their life than those who needed instant gratification. Another point I found interesting was that the field of psychology itself is changing. For example, when scientists repeated some of the same experiments mentioned in the article, the same results were not found. My take on this is because the human mind and human behavior is changing over time. Also, I think that human behavior is subjective to each individual person, therefore, every person exhibits their own unique behavior making it hard to generalize when talking about psychology. I feel that the change in the field is good. Science is always changing and new ideas and concepts are being thought up every year, especially in the field of psychology. This is one of the main reasons I find psychology so intriguing.
Ever Wanted to Get Revenge? Try This Instead
By Caroline Cox
For the past nine months I have been recovering from a reconstruction surgery that took place last August. My ACL within the center of my knee was completely torn apart, which took away my ability to run and play sports.
Even before I was injured, I was self conscious of my athleticism, health, appearance, and confidence. I just began sports such as tennis and volleyball that was slowly allowing me to get stronger both mentally and physically, but I couldn't shake away the false appearance I tried to portray when I knew I wasn't good enough. So after my injury, I felt relieved to have an excuse out of everything and all expectations. However... my relief didn't last long.
During recovery, giving up was the easiest way out of the pain and the time that went by too slowing with little to no results. Even though my friends and family understood, I was aware they saw that I was weak. They made jokes and comments. I asked my friend to run with me, and she said she didn't have to run because all she had to do was walk next to me. I couldn't take it any longer, so I tried harder. I would run, sweat, anything to get stronger. I wanted revenge.
This article interested me the most to not use my negative thoughts to hurt others as they hurt but to continue to work hard to better myself as I show everyone how they underestimated me and what I can do. I am the strongest I have ever been and will continue to get stronger.
“A Watery Lake Is Detected on Mars, Raising the Potential for Alien Life” By Kenneth Chang and Dennis Overbye
Mars interested me the most this week.
I love the planet Mars, you can even say it’s my favorite planet in the galaxy. After reading this article and learning that there is a possibility of life on Mars gives me so much hope for the future. From all the movies with life on Mars, to the actual research being done, it’s about time we’ve made some progress. I do not want to live on earth for the rest of my life if the way things are going now, stays the same.
The world around us is insane. People are being attacked verbally and physically, the environment is slowly dying, and I am not having the time of my life. Being surrounded with all these horrible things happening does not equal a good life. If I could live on Mars I would. I would live there to get away from all the drama in the world and it would be a fresh start, a new beginning to hopefully wonderful things.
Imagine all the new research being conducted and all the new information we will receive. We will learn the ins and outs of Mars which will give us new ideas on how the world works. In conclusion, life on Mars means the possibilities are endless.
https://nyti.ms/2NH75mw
Although I've always been aware of the fact that kids these days aren't spending as much time outdoors as I believe they should be, I did not realize how true that very statement was until I found from reading this article that pediatritians are actually prescribing parks for their patients. The article "Writing Prescriptions to Play Outdoors" by Perri Klass really hits home the truth concerning the youths in our society and not to mention those concerning our society in general. According to the article, a great portion of parents agree that time spent outdoors is healthy for their children, yet they are hesitant to allow that to happen because of their fears that have been molded by unpleasant occurrences in today's society. They would rather have their children indoors, glued to a screen and safe than outdoors exploring the natural world blossoming beneath their toes. I was a little saddened while reading this article because the outdoors played a huge role in my childhood. As a child, I would voluntarily go on walks in my backyard and construct flimsy nests for squirrels, and my mother would often assist me, rather than forbid me to play outside because of the fear of her child being injured or approached by a stranger. It's not a bad thing that doctors are giving their patients a prescription to go and enjoy the parks closest to them, and it is beneficial, to say the least. Doctors understand the importance of the outdoors (especially to a child) more than anyone else.
This week, the article “Amazon’s Curious Case of the $2,630.52 Used Paperback” caught my interest. Online shopping I engage in frequently, and Amazon's strangely high book prices perplexed me. This article cleared up some of those questions that I had, such as how much of that revenue the actual authors receive (very little) and how many people buy such books with astronomical prices (a surprisingly decent amount in some cases). The fact that 600 dollars is a popular price point for these books is also intriguing. Personally, I have mixed feelings, since it is sad that authors are not getting monatery credit for these books sold at extremely high prices, but there is the flip side, where the people that do buy at these prices are not “smart shopping”. They do not look at alternative sellers, leading them to pay this much money, and while granted, some of that has to do with the way third-party sellers market their used books, one would think customers would do a bit more research before dropping that amount of money on a book.
I don’t think this should be illegal as it is part of America’s free market, although it does not particularly help the economy since the money isn’t being cycled back to the creator. Amazon still offers sellers with reasonable prices and is considerably popular, so I doubt these anomalies will affect their reputation. All in all, this article brought to light some facts I was unaware of and a serious look at this seemingly strange occurrence.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/science/mars-liquid-alien-life.html
I have always been interested in astronomy and love to learn more about it. There are also things that I find interesting and mysterious yet I feel frightened learning about and extraterrestrial life is one of them. In this article, scientists and astrobiologists talk about how they could envision lifeforms such as microbes living under in the water under the ice on Mars. I definitely find the fact that other lifeforms aside from our own exists somewhere in our universe ,but my visions for extraterrestrial lifeforms are different. I think to myself about how far have they grown as species, how long they have been existing, and how advanced is their technology and civilization. The more I think about it, the more interesting and frightening the creatures of my imagination become. Most people would say such an image of extraterrestrial lifeforms as that doesn't exist. However, I definitely think that it's a possibility because there are billions and trillions of galaxies and stars in our universe and the odds of other life forms existing in even one of them is likely very high.
"Demi Lovato Is Said to Be Hospitalized for Dug Overdose" Growing up in today's society, a world taken over by technology, it's hard to maintain a true sense of actuality. The majority of the younger generation is being brainwashed by toxic social media, as celebrities and users tend to put out a false image of reality. However one celebrity who remains humble and honest is, former Disney Channel star, and grammy nominee, Demi Lovato. She is open about her struggles with addiction and mental health, and shines a light on such important issues that many steer away from even acknowledging. Her vulnerability--which most celebrities lack--has helped many seek help for their personal struggles. This past March she celebrated being six years sober. Unfortunately, addiction is an illness that will never go away, as temptation will always be present. I was devastated to hear about Demi's relapse and overdose. I was shocked because she has been so vocal about how important getting help is, and has been so hardworking with her sobriety, but then again addiction has many ups and downs. I am glad to hear she will be okay; I know she will get back up and be even stronger than before.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/26/travel/what-to-do-in-traverse-city-mi...
If you love cherries, you will love Traverse City Michigan. An amazing little fact that I found out about this area, is that 74% of the country’s tart cherries are grown in Michigan. There are also many wineries and many outdoor activities. They also hold the Traverse City Film Festival, which draws a huge crowd. Sounds like a great place to visit.
My ninth grade history teacher altered the way I perceived the world by suggesting, “You can predict the success of a country based off of how they treat women.” Although defining a country’s success so simply feels foolish, I have failed to find an example that proves him wrong. A pattern is prevalent in the world: countries that deny women their rights never prosper like those that do not.
We can infer that countries with sexist people also have an old fashioned culture, and that that same culture subsequently bears other old fashioned beliefs—none of which are conducive to success. Women’s rights, seemingly insignificant to obtaining status as a world power, have proved themselves entirely significant.
In “Where a Taboo Is Leading to the Deaths of Young Girls,” Jeffrey Gettleman explains how in Nepal, and girls are banished from their village, forced to live in secluded huts during menstruation—all because female sexuality is seen as impure. The tradition has led to the deaths of hundreds of women because the huts are notoriously unsafe. The government fails to stop it.
The disregard of women as people illustrates the evil side of some Asian cultures—where men are celebrated and women are shamed—and perhaps presents an answer to why Nepal is so underdeveloped. We are reminded of how much work still needs to be done.
As Americans, we have immeasurable privilege and must use our voices to stand up for those who never had the opportunity to stand up for themselves.
The New York Times article that interested me most this week was the article "Psychology Itself Is Under Scrutiny," which talked about previously famous and influential that have been unable to be replicated. For example, the marshmallow test and the concept of ego depletion have produced different results the second times they were conducted. This is important because, in a scientific study, the results must be replicable and not contradict the discovery. These rules, however, vary immensely for psychological studies because of variance that can be caused by different subjects and their personal conditions. The large variance in a psychological study can also leave a lot of room for the manipulation of the study and its results. And, because of the large impacts that psychological studies can have on how rules are formed, it is important for them to be accurate.
This week I read an article on How the French National Soccer Team won their second world cup. France was triumphant over Croatia. This topic was very interesting to me because I am a big fan of soccer and especially the World Cup. Watching these two teams put on a skills show was truly remarkable. France's first victory came back in 1998 on home soil. France got their goals from an own goal, a penalty scored by their captain Antone Griezmann, a goal from their youngest player Kylian Mbappe, a 19-year-old star, and their star center midfielder Paul Pogba. France beat Croatia 4-2 on July 15 to end off the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
"Disney Fires 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Director Over Offensive Tweets"
Well how easy could it possibly be to lose a great position to rack in a ton of money? James Gunn has shown us, and that everything we say whether in person or social media is given significance, and in this case, fired.
Bad mouthing or offensive commenting in general never works out well and will most likely put you in a worse position than before, especially if you're in the spotlight. If you make offensive comments in public or social media, it would set a bad impression of you and the people associated with you on others, and there would be consequence. You could also relate this to cursing in school, and it would easily get you a referral or detention or any other price paid. Racist jokes also qualify for this and sometimes, the next day of school, I'll see one of my classmates gone and in ISS because of making a racist joke. I'll go home sometimes paying the price for bad mouthing and wonder how celebrities or well respected people who talk bad or offensive pay a much bigger price.
This article interested me on how easily a person could fall from the sky and land flat on their face because of one thing they say. It really showed how much power our voices have, and intrigued me into seeing how much more potential power we possess with our words. Instead of carelessly saying things without considering what might happen afterwards, we should be wary of what we say and not trip on our own words.
Emergency Charging Options on the Road
BY: J. D Biersdorfer
Bengal11Mohammed206007
In 2018, everyone seems to have a smartphone in their pocket. From little kids to very old adults they all have this mini computer in their pocket. Smartphones have come along since its first start. As smartphones and phones in general grow and become more and more developed one problem still exists and that is keeping them charged and powered up to use. For travelers, this is a bigger issue. In most cases, travelers forget to pack their charging cable or their adopter with them. This article explores the means and ways some travelers have found to charge their devices. Some have found that almost all flat screen TV`s have a USB port to plug in. This USB port is meant to be used for data transfer but it also charges the phone for those who have forgotten their adopter but remembered their cable. However, this is slow and take a quite amount of time but it gets the job done.
"Fred Rogers and the Loveliness of the Little Good"
I’d never heard of Fred Rogers until recently when the documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” came out. We rushed to the movie theatre as soon as my parents heard about it. There, I witnessed a daughter handing her father a tissue and everyone (including me) wiping away tears of gratitude for Rogers' influential presence.
Why am I so touched by a television show I haven't watched? David Brooks explains that it was Mr. Rogers “radical kindness” that moved people to tears, but this phrase is too abstract. Sure, Mr. Rogers was extraordinarily kind, but it was the quality of empathy he incorporated into his show that moved me. He touches children’s hearts and put into words their concerns through Daniel the puppet. In the Land of Make Believe, we experience a whole different world, where minds can wander and temporarily escape the realities of the world. When black people were being thrown out of swimming pools, Rogers invites a black man over to bathe their feet together. Mr. Rogers blends the elements of reality and fantasy to create an influential and heart wrenching show.
Brooks only briefly mentions the correlation of the show to today's world. Our nation is beginning to forget these values of love and instead be egotistical. This is why so I and so many others spent an hour and thirty four minutes weeping. We miss these honest qualities. Can’t we have a beautiful day in the neighborhood once more?
An article entitled “Demi Lovato Is Said to Be Hospitalized for Drug Overdose” by Joe Coscarelli discusses a recent incident involving the famous singer and actress, Demi Lovato. Growing up, I had watched shows which Demi acted on and had listen to most of her music. Overall, Demi’s reputation as a Disney star certainly made her addiction much more shocking, but she was extremely open about the issue and discussed the treatment she received. Recently, she had released a song entitled “Sober” explaining how she was no longer sober after almost six years. This event was unexpected and many celebrities continued to post on social media, supporting Demi and sending her their best wishes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/sports/world-cup/france-vs-croatia-fi...
This week I chose an article about the world cup. It particularly strikes my interest because my life is constantly affected by soccer. My dad was a D1 player and I grew up on the fields. I always imagined myself being a professional, or at least playing in the women´s world cup; that was up until I realized how much actual work and dedication goes into that. The athletes for national teams are incredibly devoted to their sport. Every move they make is based on their sport; what they eat, how much they work out, almost all of there time, and endless putting off of other social events. They put so much into the sport yet still remain humble. Fans are seen tearing each other down and boasting about the victories, but the players rarely do. Not only did france win the game but they stayed humble, which showed character both on and off the field.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/sports/world-cup/france-vs-croatia-fi...
Like every other one, the 2018 World Cup was full of surprises and produced some of the most exciting games, stunning goals, and glorious celebrations. The 2018 World Cup final was fought between the two most deserving teams: France and Croatia. This world cup I watched many of the games and now with an older perspective, I find them more interesting and special as these games only come around once every four years. Since the end of the world cup, I haven't thought about it very often again but reading this article brought back the excitement I felt before this world cup and new excitement for the next world cup. Four years may seem like a long time but soon enough, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be right around the corner. Hopefully I've saved up enough spare change by then to buy a ticket to a game.
"Raising My Child in a Doomed World"
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/opinion/climate-change-parenting.html
This article specifically stood out to me because of its fervent title. It is alarming to see our precious world to be described as "doomed." In his article, Roy Scranton tells readers that there are some people who are afraid to have children because they believe that it to be "selfish and environmentally destructive." People should not have to worry about wanting to have children because of the environmental situation that the world is in. Because people are extremely concerned, this tells us that we, as a whole, as humanity have to do something to reduce and hopefully prevent exceeding climate change. Just because climate change has the word "climate" in it, it doesn't mean that we are not the ones who are causing it. Climate change involves our usage of fossil fuels. We need to realize how much harm that we are causing to our earth. If we do not stand up for an ethical way of life, then our world truly will be doomed. I do not want men and women to be afraid to have children because of the environmental conditions. Instead, I want them to celebrate life and to "be fruitful and multiply" like the Lord said to. God gave us life, and a beautiful earth to live on, but how can we show our gratitude if all we do is continue to destroy its beauty? If we can prevent climate change, then we can stop the world from being doomed.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/30/fashion/balenciaga-t-shirt-shirt-soci...
Today, the article that interested me most was an article about an unusual designer shirt by the company Balenciaga. The shirt, developed by designer Demna Gvasalia, is formally labeled as the T-shirt shirt. Essentially, it is a T-shirt with another button up shirt attached to the front. From reading the article I have concluded that peculiar or rather bizarre products gain a lot of attention. For example, Balenciaga previously fashioned a more luxurious version of a cheap Ikea bag which was also controversial. I believe the shirt gets almost all of its publicity from social media. When something this foolish looking presents itself in front of millions, people will feel the need to post their opinion on it. Many people seemed baffled by the concept of the shirt, but not as much as the hefty price tag. Those who are willing to spend their money on these ludicrous things most likely purchase it because of how exclusive social media makes it seem. Anyways, the strategizing of many billion dollar companies is quite remarkable. They know that what they are putting out is odd and valueless, but people will still buy it because of the labels and bragging rights. To be completely honest, though, everyone is sometimes drawn to something because of the status it may give you, and I'm no exception. In conclusion, though, the idea was quite comical, but not as funny as the reactions.
E.U. Fines Google $5.1 Billion in Android Antitrust Case
-Adam Satariano and Jack Nicas
Throughout my daily life, I use a Samsung s8 phone, powered by Android. I use google multiple times throughout the day, which is a large part of my academic and daily life, never realizing that Google's search engine is automatically included in Android software. When I came across this article, I was surprised to see such a large amount of money fined towards Google concerning Android's system. After reading, I discovered that Google forces "handset makers like Samsung, Huawei and HTC to make its Google Search and Chrome browser the default services on Android-based devices in order to gain access to other Google apps." This is one of the arguments against the fact if Google abuses its power on phone companies. Now, European authorities are , for example, demanding that Google must allow phone companies to create their "own versions of Android software," in an effort to create a more level field for all handset manufacturers. The alternate is that google may be the best search engine provided.
We’ve defeated smallpox, polio, and malaria, but Alzheimer’s has eluded our best attempts at finding a cure, remaining one of the world’s leading causes of death. As someone who has witnessed the crippling effects of the disease firsthand, I felt hopeful after reading the headline “Promising Alzheimer’s Drug Attacks Brain Changes and Symptoms.” But upon reading that “making the drug widely available to patients could take years,” my heart dropped.
The harsh reality is that getting treatments into the hands of the consumers takes time. Before a drug is approved in the United States, it must pass through multiple barriers, including repeated clinical testing; though many drugs pass initial trials, fewer pass a second, third, and even fourth. Scientists must also research other properties, including toxicity and optimal dosage amount. The final product and all prior procedures must then be scrutinized by the FDA.
While many of these measures are necessary, there is also a significant amount of red tape that keeps potential cures at bay, sometimes even for decades. Though it may be unethical to approve drugs prematurely, is it any better to keep a cure from those who need it?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/10/sports/ronaldo-juventus.html
Sometimes you expect players to leave their team to join another team. Well, did you expect Cristiano Ronaldo to leave Real Madrid? I mean, I didn’t. Turns out Ronaldo is leaving Real Madrid to join Juventus. After being there for nine years, Ronaldo has finally decided to go. I’m sure fans wish the famous soccer player the best of luck over at his new team.
There have been many occasions where it seemed Ronaldo was leaving the team, but now he has finally decided to actually leave. In “Ronaldo Leaves Real Madrid to Join Juventus,” Rory Smith explains the choice Cristiano Ronaldo has made to take the next step in his career. He is being sold to Juventus for a price of $110 million, but the cost of keeping him on the team is even more. Juventus will be paying $360 million as giving Ronaldo $35 million a year for every year he’s there. Ronaldo said his goodbyes to his teammates and fans in Madrid. He appreciates everyone on and off the team who has done anything to help in his career. Real Madrid thanks Ronaldo for helping to make the team better and being a great example for “next generations.”
This interested me because I didn’t think Ronaldo would leave Real Madrid, I mean at least not yet. I’ve only known him to be on Real Madrid for the majority of my life. I sure didn’t expect him to go to Juventus either. I also didn’t know he may have planned to leave before this opportunity.
What interested me from the New York Times this week was the article “In Town With Little Water, Coca-Cola Is Everywhere. So Is Diabetes”. This article is by Oscar Lopez and Andrew Jacobs. San Cristóbal De Las Casas, Mexico is were this article takes place. Maria del Carmen Adabía is a resident of this town which is one of Mexico’s rainiest regions but, only has running water two times a week. Portable water is so scare in San Cristóbal. In a mountain town southeastern from Chipas some neighborhoods have running water a few times a week. Since water is hard to find and sugary drinks like Coca-Cola are easier to find and is cheap residents drink Coca-Cola instead of water. Residents drink up to more than two liters, or mote than half a gallon of soda a day. Because of this mortality rate in Chiapas is 30 percent higher because of diabetes between the years 2013 and 2016. “When l was a kid and used to come here, Chamula was isolated and didn’t have access to processed food...Now you see the kids drinking Coke and not water. Right now diabetes is hitting the adults, but its going to be the kids next. Its goint to overwhelm us.” Said a doctor of a clinic in San Juan Chamula Vicente Vaqueiros. My thoughts on this are if there is hardly any water and are very thirsty and all they can find that fits there economic price is Coca-Cola then thats what they have to live with. Now that bad thing would be if there was water and they decided to drink soda instead that would be all bad.
The article by Natasha Warikoo attracted my attention because the topic of affirmative action has always been one that could stand to impact me and others like me both positively and negatively, depending on context. As an Indian-American, many students of my ethnicity tend to go into STEM fields, particularly those geared towards engineering and software. It’s nearly a known fact in our community by now that getting into a college for those careers will be difficult. I want to go into an arts field. As of now, there aren’t very many South Asians in those fields, and that might make my chances of getting into my desired colleges higher.
Even considering this, I believe Mr. Blum’s method of trying to get rid of affirmative action is not only unfair, but divisive. Acting as if Asians, like myself, are being personally targeted by affirmative action creates an unnecessary and stronger divide between the many different communities of color. The law doesn’t attempt to target us, it helps other groups, like Black and Latinx students, that we should be standing with.
What we should be fighting against are the lasting systems in place that keep many elite schools mostly white. The article mentions ‘legacy privilege’ and the idea of ‘merit’, along with many other examples of how whiteness in elite colleges remains the most idealized reality, even though it may be subtle. Instead of dividing people of color, we should be breaking down these systems and forms of privilege.
While watching South Korea take down the world champions at the World Cup, I will admit that even I had a flash, just a dream of leading my country to football glory. To have my simple signature be worth thousands; to create everlasting memories by just taking a picture; to earn the mouth-watering salaries of professional footballers.
I was fortunate enough to never have to worry about my next meal; imagine how compelling this dream would be to a young six-year-old on the outskirts of Paris. “Kylian Mbappé and the Boys From the Banlieues” paints the picture of Île-de-France, a region on the outskirts of Paris filled with crime, riots and terrorism. Here, millions of children dream of being the one to shake off this perception of the banlieues.
But football’s an incredibly tantalizing dream only to be achieved by an impossibly select few. “We give you the list of those who turned professional, not those who tried but did not,” says Mohamed Coulibaly, coach of a French youth club. The sheer volume of talent in the banlieues cannot overshadow how many of these kids have been forced to football by a lack of alternatives; those who sacrificed education to play football find themselves in a treacherous no man’s land when they fail to make it. Instead of glorifying once-in-a-lifetime players like Kylian Mbappe as plausible models for success, we should see the bigger picture and provide multiple career paths for our youth; only this will serve the destroy the stereotypes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/science/mars-liquid-alien-life.html?r...
The article that interested me the most was "A Large Body of Water on Mars Is Detected, Raising the Potential for Alien Life." This article has been interesting because scientists and many other researchers have been talking about the planet Mars in the past and how it has no water. Recent research shows that their was a liquid pool of water found, which leads to the assumptions of having life on Mars. One may not believe this, but after looking at the southern plain picture of Mars that is provided, one will believe that by chance there can be water and maybe life on Mars. The picture is very realistic. The temperatures are in the negatives which does not allow ice melt, therefore the scientists declare that the salt in the ice allows it to melt. If there was life on Mars would there be any chance of redeveloping it? In the future can Mars become identical to Antartica or would there be actual aliens? Ones curiosity leads to their own assumptions or thoughts, which are interesting to know about. We can just think and wait for the upcoming events.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/26/world/middleeast/syria-detainees-dead...
The article that interested me the most was "Hundreds Died in Syrian Custody, Government Acknowledges." I never thought that a government would do such a thing. The parents of the people in prison were waiting with many Hope's of seeing their child and after about approximately five years they figure out that their child is no more. The government hid this news for so long and some ofthe parents even break laws so they can just see their child. One mother bribed the officers so she could see her child. For parents this is like death. The documents have shown that the deaths have occured many years ago. Therefore one would believe that the brutally treatment is coming from inside the prison which is very harsh, harmful, and also causing death. Otherwise, why would a government hide such news for so many years and make it into a big mess. The families want to see their families dead body for the last time, but they are unknown. This is a very big deal and some will not be able to handle this, however they still except people to move on. If they wanted this th en they would have told everything before. This is a complicated situation for the families which may cause some ups and downs in the government.
The Virtues of a Summer Job
With college admission rates plummeting to record lows, students in the U.S. are scrambling to polish their applications in hopes of being admitted into top schools. At my high school, I’ve seen kids take extra summer classes, join research programs, and enlist in summer camps to build their applications. I'd expected summer jobs to be high on the average student’s list - but they aren’t.
When I read that the proportion of teens employed over the summer has plunged in recent years, I realized that disinterest in summer jobs isn’t unique to my school - it's a national trend. It's puzzling; pouring chemicals from one test tube to another is one thing, but jobs teach skills that are more valuable than most things a research program can offer. From building a skill set of patience, endurance, and respect, to influencing our career choices, employment has proven to be invaluable. The fact that they're on a decline among teens reveals the overwhelming “college culture” of high school - fear of the admissions process has forced students to no longer try new things.
In our mad dash to be the "brightest," we’ve forgotten to embark on the journeys that enrich our character. Summer camps or extra classes aren't useless, but our growing desire to tweak our actions for college have blinded us to unique prospects. It's only when both students and universities realize this will we able to build a motivated, experienced society that this nation needs to grow.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/18/sports/referee-parents-abuse-videos.html
Sports have consumed the lives of many young children, teenagers, and adults in our society. Sports mold young children into becoming independent, disciplined, and build character within a person. Sports games are watched by many family, friends, or just simply a fan of the sport. The game is intensely watched by a referee who makes the calls on a play. Some fans may not always agree on the calls made. Violence has occurred at many sports events due to upset parents about a call that was made by a referee. Young referees receive training at young children’s sports events. Not everyone is perfect and may make mistakes, but sports are such a vast influence in many lives today. Young children’s sports games have become as important as professional sports games. Parents may get out of hand with other parents or officials. Creating a facebook account of the incidents that occur is smart because it shows how adults act in front of others which impacts the young children playing sports. Sports were created to build character and teach young children important life lessons, and parents make it a contest of who’s kid will be better during the games. Sports are great for young children to stay out of trouble and get exercise. Parents should realize the impact they have on their children’s lives, and take it into consideration when watching their kids play a game they love. [email protected]
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/11/science/giant-dinosaurs-evolution.htm...
"New Clues to How the Biggest Dinosaurs Got So Big"
I've always wondered how these creatures were such outliers in size. Sometimes its hard to believe they were even real with some dinosaurs weighing up to 70 tons. Recently researchers have found an early dinosaur who grew in seasonal spurts opposed to a more slow progressive growth. This new found species was said to be one of the first early giants weighing about 3 tons. This species began growing huge necks and forelimbs. They continued to develop until they reached the size we now them as. I now understand the way in which its bones develop. I just find it hard to believe thats these enormous dinosaurs lived off a herbivorous diet, the amount of energy they require can only be imagined.
These stories of evil children, of murderers and psychopaths, makes me think of my parents. Each time they yell, scold or ground are they afraid that I will be the next bad seed. You always hear of them from time to time. The kid who told his shady friends that his parents were rich and they got kidnapped or the other horror story that called in a fake bomb threat for fun.
I am a daughter. I am a teenager. I can be rude, loud, or obnoxious. I impose my will sometimes, all the time. I don't want much but what I do want I want it now. Does that make me the bad seed that everyone will hear about for the next 20 years?
I think subconsciously every kid has the fear of not being good enough, of being a horror story, or just simply disappointing the people who raise us. It doesn’t matter which one of my friends I talk to the African American, the 1st generation Indian, the caucasian whose parents are born and raised in the South, or the guy who lived in West Chester his entire life. That fear is rooted deep and its universal.
Is this a part of society that's hidden in some shadowy crevice that everyone knows about but ignores? Is a uniting factor of the world that's something to laugh at? Should parents emphasize or ignore the bad seed stories? I have no idea, but I know that the questions that come from this article are important ones.
The article that I chosed this week was What to do if you spill on your Laptop. I chosed this article because I have a laptop so I could know what to do. It’s talks about good things you should do and the bad thing you should not do. An example of a good thing to do if you spill water is to take the battery off. Then a bad thing that we meant to do is that we don’t turn off the laptop and we should turn it off quickly. Then the other good thing we should do is that we turn it upside down and let it drain. Then you take a dry cloth and wipe up any extra liquid from the surface of the laptop. The perfect amount to let a computer drain is 24 hours. If you have work to do at least let it drain 4 hours the least. This is why i chosed this article.
Mesut Ozil’s Exit From German Soccer Team Stokes Debate on Integration
I picked this article as one that interested me because Mesut Ozil is one of my favorite players and I am appalled to see that racism still exists and that it is being directed toward one of the critical members of the team. For people to question his loyalty to the country simply because he took a picture with a political figure from another country is simply shocking.
I believe that people are entitled to their own opinions and political perspectives. However, sport is a way to dissolve the divisions between different people and to unite all people. This is especially true of the World Cup, a quadrennial tournament celebrating the sport and bringing together players and fans from across the globe.
I was also interested in this article because it brought up the idea of people “being different races” depending on their sporting achievement or lack thereof. Ozil’s statement, “I’m a German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose” shows that people see him in a different light depending on if he wins or loses. I believe that this form of scapegoating happens quite often, and it is unfortunate to see that even in 2018, racism is still present. I hope that Ozil sends a clear message to the DFB, the sport of football, and to the world.
https://nyti.ms/2LEUEdy
This article interested me because I am someone who loves receiving and giving handmade cards. The givers of thank you cards often underestimate the positive effects of the card. The warmth and gesture of expressing gratitude to someone else can make a bigger difference than most expect. I found it interesting how the card givers often overestimate how insincere the note may appear or how uncomfortable it will make the recipient feel. We overestimate the potential negative effects, but underestimate the potential positives. A small investment of our time to show our gratitude and appreciation for someone can truly bring a greater impact on their day than we may think. It's vital for us to show our appreciation to the people that we love and treasure. Small acts of kindness can make waves and have a meaningful impact on those around us.
Growing up I was told to save money because for generations my family has been high school or college dropouts due to financial issues. I have been dreaming of attending the UCB pre-med program. Two articles from the New York Times wrote about colleges and the likelihood of my acceptance interested me. One focused on a college dropout named Andy Blevins, the other on UCB; Blevin’s story demonstrates a problem in our educational system. Lawrence Summers, Harvard’s president stated ¨the most serious domestic problem in the United States today is the widening gap between the children of the rich and the children of the poor.” California’s University system promises to give the chance to admit all students, but this doesn’t always include their top academic schools such as Berkley or U.C.L.A. Rejected students are offered an option to attend a ¨less-sought after campus[es] such as… Merced... which have the highest percentages of Latino students” (Whittaker). Colleges like Merced or UVA are offering a community to Latinos; as a Hispanic, I would want to be offered the same opportunity as everyone else, rather than having to attend a less academically strong school. As I read both articles it didn’t only inform me about the obstacles many students face, but it made me more determined to be the first in my family to attend college.
You’ve Heard of Berkeley. Is Merced the Future of the University of California? Max Whittaker
The College Dropout Boom David Leonhardt
Parents Behaving Badly: A Youth Sports Crisis Caught on Video
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/18/sports/referee-parents-abuse-videos.html
This interested me this week because of the personal experience I have with this topic. Although my parents have never done this, I did play sports starting when I was very young so I do know how some parents behave at their children sports games. In this particular incident these parents are being absolutely ridiculous and not appropriate for the occasion. These parents are the reason that new referees quit within the first years of the three years, which in the future could lead too not having youth sports. My personal experience includes parents screaming at referees from the stands and parents even getting kicked out of sporting events. Also, the coaches teach these children to have sportsmanship conduct and to be respectful of other players and coaches, but why do the parents get a free pass and not have to act respectful. While teaching our youth to act like this, the parents are not setting a good example for these children for the future. Overall, I believe that parents needs to act more appropriate at youth sporting events especially when there own children are there.
Taking Away the Phones Won’t Solve Our Teenagers’ Problems
By Tracy A. Dennis-Tiwary
I have been thinking about using smartphones recently after listening to the speech of Gary Turk, the poet of the famous poem “Look Up”. He talked us about how looking down on the smartphones affect our lives. Recently, I’ve wanted my parents to restrict my time of using electronic devices, even after reading this article I still believe that smartphones are bad for teenagers life.
It is true that taking away the phones won’t solve all teenagers problem but it will solve at least some of their problems. First of all, the teenagers will study more if they didn’t have their smartphones, they will have nothing to do at home and it will lead them to study more. During the summer break I started not using my smartphones so much times, and I think that I’m studying more than before. It might be just me but I strongly believe that it would be helpful for me and others too.
However, on the other side, by taking away it will not solve the teenagers problems because the problem that the teenagers have are the problems of the relationships with their friends. If you took their smartphones, they would not be able to contact with their friends and people who are not online regularly would likely to be the target of the bullying. Therefore, by taking away the smartphones, it will break the relationships and make the problems worse.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/world/americas/mexico-coca-cola-diabe...
We have an obesity epidemic happening in America right now. At the same time, parts of Mexico are facing a diabetes crisis.
Diabetes plagues the residents in the Mexican town San Cristóbal de las Casas. Yet, they are clearly poor; they have limited access to running tap water, and sometimes, the tap is non-potable. Their rivers are infected from improper sewage treatment. How can these poor residents, then, possibly have diabetes? The answer is quite simple.
In Chiapas, a Mexican state that includes San Cristóbal, Coca-cola is not only more plentiful than potable water, but also almost as cheap as water. As a result, it often replaces water when it is not available: residents drink an average of 2 liters of soda a day. The state is thus afflicted with devastatingly high mortality rates from diabetes; over 3,000 people in Chiapas die from diabetes every year.
Reading Oscar Lopez and Andrew Jacobs's article made me realize that poor people don't have to be skinny and bony to be malnourished and unhealthy. We have a somewhat similar problem, here in America, too: obesity is plaguing the poor. Fast food is not only substantially cheaper, but also more caloric than the veggies at the supermarket. Of the two, calories are more essential than nutrients. The result are obese poor people, and many people, with only a quick glance to spare, would doubt their poverty status because of their obesity.
An article I was interested in this week was “You’ve Heard of Berkeley. Is Merced the Future of the University of California?” written by Jennifer Medina. The article talks about the University of California, Merced campus, and its importance to the Latinx community of California.
UC Merced is very different from its more well-known campuses, UCLA and UC Berkeley. Its main differences are its higher acceptance rate and a lower graduation rate. Another big difference is the focus of this article: UC Merced has a 53% Latinx student body, which is huge compared to UCLA’s 21% and Berkeley’s 13%. It helps students who have never gone to college feel less out of place and more comfortable. Students like Ms. Tatiana Acosta, who didn’t imagine going to college but was able to after being recruited into the Upward Bound program, which is run by UC Merced. It also makes day-to-day living easier, in the case of Mr. Jason De Leon, who tended to throw in tiny bits of slang when speaking Spanish to other students.
I found this article interesting because I’m able to relate to it so well. As someone living in a primarily Mexican household, I have a lot of expectations and pressure on me to do well in school. I’m also the first in my family to attend college, and a campus like UC Merced would help the transition from high school to college be smoother. It would also give me a sort of home away from home, because I’d be surrounded by a lot of Latinx people.
'See Ya Later, Suckas!' The Obituary of a 5-Year-Old Boy in His Own Words by Christina Caron
Starting off this article was, for obvious reasons, incredibly sad; a 5 year old boy losing his life to a horrible disease. But as I continued to read Garrett Matthias' story, I was filled with joy. Hearing how happy and positive he was about everything, despite what he was going through, made me realize something very important. Everyone could learn something from this little boy. Most people get angry and sad, with everything and everyone, when things do not go as they had planned or wanted. But, we should try to remain positive and be humorous instead of sitting around and being miserable. Everything about Garret Matthias' joking, happy, and funny personality truly touched me, and taught me to always fully enjoy my life despite any troubles. I think he is very inspiring, especially for his age and we should all take something away from his story.
“A Large Body of Water on Mars Is Detected, Raising the Potential for Alien Life”
Welcome to Earth. Wait. But who exactly is coming? Or better yet, what’s coming?
Recent findings of a watery lake by a group of Italian researchers show that humans may be a step closer to finding alien life on Mars. Since life as we know it cannot exist without water, this finding is encaptivating.
It’s interesting to see how aliens are so fictitiously described by entertainment media. For example, Hollywood suggests that aliens are beasts that will wreak all kinds of havoc. In “Independence Day,” they have tentacle-like appendages. In “E.T.,” they have irregularly large heads. In “Avatar,” they are blue. These motley images of aliens have become the mainstream perception. However, science, as astrobiologists claim, tells a different story.
Contrary to popular belief, the most likely version of alien life is microbial. In fact, biologists studying Antarctica claim that a body of water similar to the one found on Mars exists on Earth, where microbes are teeming. While some may be disappointed by this reality, the science behind the life’s survival can be equally interesting.
Chang and Overbye’s article was especially engaging because it doesn’t busy itself with myths. In fact, it actually refers to and corrects previous alien fantasies the human race has been preoccupied with. Indeed, the idea that life exists elsewhere is truly awe-inspiring, even if it doesn’t mean alien invasions.
https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/europe/100000006022185/wildfires-kil...
This week I chose the video " As Wildfires Burn in Greece, 'Despair and Death Everywhere'" I found this video interesting because a few days ago I over heard some reporters on the news talking about this situation. Not knowing what exactly this story was about I decided to watch this video to learn more information on this topic. So basically there was a huge wildfire in Greece that pretty much destroyed everything in its sight. It was hard to watch the video because people were crying and hugging one another. They also said in the video many people have died and others are still trapped! The video also showed a birds eye view of the damage that was done on Greece. The ground was just completely black. It was covered in ash and remains of whatever was there once before. The effects this wildfire had on Greece is devastating. In the future we must create a way to some how have better control over situations like these.
[email protected]
Mesut Ozil’s Exit From German Soccer Team Stokes Debate on Integration
I picked this article as one that interested me because Mesut Ozil is one of my favorite players and I am appalled to see that racism still exists and that it is being directed toward one of the critical members of the team. For people to question his loyalty to the country simply because he took a picture with a political figure from another country is simply shocking.
I believe that people are entitled to their own opinions and political perspectives. However, sport is a way to dissolve the divisions between different people and to unite all people. This is especially true of the World Cup, a quadrennial tournament celebrating the sport and bringing together players and fans from across the globe.
I was also interested in this article because it brought up the idea of people “being different races” depending on their sporting achievement or lack thereof. Ozil’s statement, “I’m a German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose” shows that people see him in a different light depending on if he wins or loses. I believe that this form of scapegoating happens quite often, and it is unfortunate to see that even in 2018, racism is still present. I hope that Ozil sends a clear message to the DFB, the sport of football, and to the world.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/science/mars-liquid-alien-life.html?
Science, as well as life in our universe, has always been exciting to me. That's why the article "A Large Body of Water on Mars Is Detected, Raising the Potential for Alien Life" was what interested me the most in the Times this week. This article explored how there had been radar measurements conducted recently that seem to indicate an underground liquid-water lake on Mars. With these new findings made by MARSIS, a satellite designed to probe the underground portions of Mars using radar, talks about the possibility of finding life on Mars were inevitable. As a student who may be going into science as a career, the possibility of life being found on different planets is a very inspiring prospect. Reading of how scientists are able to determine what is under the surface of Mars without even being on the surface is truly amazing, and just thinking about finding life on a different planet is something that I find to be incredibly exciting. This article sparked my curiosity, and is what interested me most in the Times this week.
This week's article that interested me the most was "Amazon’s Curious Case of the $2,630.52 Used Paperback" by David Streitfeld. After reading the article about the issue Amazon was dealing, I decided to see if this issue was still present on Amazon's website. It turns out that they still have an issue with dealing with the books. There were two different listings for the same exact books, yet they charged completely different price points. The first listing cost $9.99, which was the actual cost of the book, while the other listing charged $610. I did more research and found out that some of the products on Amazon that aren't even books had two different listings: having one charging an outrageous price. What interested me even more was that Amazon stated that they monitor price listings for the product, yet they still have some third-party sellers who list their products for an outrageous price. I believe that Amazon should have a stricter oversight on how third-party sellers list their items.
This week in the New York Times I gained interest in reading “The City’s Buried Treasure Isn’t Under the Dirt. It Is the Dirt” The article described the soil beneath the ground of New York City. The article states the soil to be from around the first Ice Age. Professor Cheng, a geologist at Brooklyn College explains on how the last glacier from the Ice Age advanced the the northeastern part of the continent, now New York City. Professor Cheng goes on to say that the glacier deposited sand and silt which are now 300 to 400 feet deep in parts of Brooklyn and Queens. It’s interesting to read how the soil is said to be the cleanest in the continent and to read how an organization is already working collecting the soil for better understanding as well as to put it for good use. Mainly for producing food, improve storm drainage, and to counter global warming in a surprising manner in which the soil takes in carbon from the atmosphere. Another interesting point is how there are scientists from around the world coming in attracted by the soil. The article points out how there is air and water pollution which are most visibly threatened but we don’t take note on the contaminated soil that is found beneath which may have as much or even more value than the soil found in New York City. “Dirt, suddenly, is somewhat glamorous,” catches my attention to value the soil beneath for it’s amazing attributes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/17/climate/india-heat-wave-summer.html
Since I was little, I’ve been terrified by the idea that someday Earth will be uninhabitable. It started with me hearing the simple fact that some day the sun will grow too big and the Earth will become uninhabitable. This was a completely irrelevant fear for a five year old whose life could not possibly be affected by this event. However, my fear became much more rational as I learned about climate change. This article is about real places on the planet that are becoming uninhabitable at an alarming rate, a fear turned to reality, and it caught my eye. People are dying of heat in cities in India while our government is refusing to implement policies to reduce our carbon footprint.
This article discusses an important point; that global climate change more negatively affects people in developing countries. The heat forces people, especially those who earn a living by working outdoors, to skip days, even weeks of work. When they don’t work, they don’t get paid: it's that simple. Many people will risk their lives and work in dangerously high temperatures just to make enough money to sustain themselves and their family. While only a small portion of the world suffers from these deadly temperatures at this time, it is the actions of the rest of the world that are causing this crisis. It is our responsibility as a world power to set an example and create laws to lessen our negative impact on the environment.
"Taking Away the Phones Won't Solve Our Teenagers' Problems"
This article interested me the most this week because I agree with the statement that taking away technology from teenagers will not heal their mental illnesses. I think that instead of taking our technology away, we should find ways for it to help us with our problems. As someone who deals with anxiety, I don't believe that being on my phone has caused my problems or made them worse. In fact, I think that in some ways it has actually helped. Having my phone gives me the ability to connect with people who struggle with the same problems. These are people that I may not have met just walking down the street or in the halls at school because I wouldn't have known they were struggling like me. Going online gives teenagers a place to express their emotions and find other people who are feeling the same way. It allows us to find people who we can talk to about what is going on in our lives and the world. It makes it easier for us to find new friends and connect with people from all around the world. However, even though having our phones is a good thing, it becomes a bad thing when we become addicted to them. I think teenagers being on their phones and finding people like them to talk to is a good thing, but I also think it is good for us to talk to people live and in person. Our phones help remind us that we are not alone, and knowing this, we should go out into the world and talk to those like us in our communities.
https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/americas/100000006017183/isolated-in...
Isolated Indigenous Man Filmed in the Amazon
This week in the times I found a interesting video titled "Isolated Indigenous Man Filmed in the Amazon." This piece interested me for many different reasons. For one reason, I never really heard of a man that is still living like he is in a tribe. So I was curious to discover more about this topic. Another reason is that the opening picture was of a wild looking man cutting down a tree. That picture sort of shocked me a little, because I have never seen that before. My last reason is that I have always been fascinated with tribes and how they live and survive. This past week in the New York Times I discovered a clip called, "Isolated Indigenous Man Filmed in the Amazon."
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¨Taking Away the Phones Won’t Solve Our Teenagers’ Problems¨
It is no secret that my generation has a close relationship with technology; we are called the iGen. Consequently, talk of addiction to smartphones and screens has been everywhere recently, and many are wondering if our extreme screen time has any correlation with the higher levels of anxiety and depression in today's teenagers. In the article, psychology professor Dr. Dennis-Tiwary contemplates weather taking the phones away will solve teenagers problems.
After concluding that smartphone usage correlates with, but may not directly cause mental illness, Dr. Dennis-Tiwary suggested that the anxiety found in today's teens may actually stem from the uncertainty they are facing in many aspects of today's world, and that smartphones offer an escape from the anxiety prompted by this uncertainty. So, in her eyes, the only solution can´t be to take the phones away, or make them less addictive/negatively impacting, but to solve the underlying problems that drive teens to the screens in the first place.
As a teen, I am concerned about how much time my friends and I spend on our phones. I believe that the addictive part of the smartphone is social media, and while it can be very amazing and connecting, I also see it fostering lower self esteem and many mental illnesses. Ergo, I agree that we need to solve the anxiety prompting issues of world, but we may need to find a mentally healthier escape in the meantime.
“Dying Organs Restored to Life in Novel Experiments”
Human life is inherently fragile, as all life is. Practically every person is familiar in some way with the seemingly endless ways our bodies can tragically fail. Among the various grim medical conditions that commonly occur as a precursor to death most infamously includes strokes and heart attacks. Considered to be highly fatal, it came to me as a pleasant surprise when I recently learned from the article “Dying Organs Restored to Life in Novel Experiments” that there was a promising new medical breakthrough involving mitochondria which could be capable of restoring dying tissues, providing a method for treating these two lethal conditions.
The prospect that a transplant of mitochondria has the ability to diffuse across cells and "revive" those very cells is mind-boggling. The number of possible medicinal applications in both the civil and military fields is unfathomably large. With enough time and funding, I’m confident that mitochondrial transplants could become the next biggest medical breakthrough, easily rivaling organ transplantation in significance. Perhaps I’m being too naive in assuming the effectiveness of mitochondrial transplants, but with a rising number of successful trials, it’s hard to deny its potential. In the following years as new advances in science and technology are made, I know I’ll be eager to see if mitochondrial transplants become a part of the cutting edge in medical treatment.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/13/business/think-positive-climb-out-of-...
In the article, Seema Jayachandran talks about the programs she has found to limit or improve poverty. They all have to do with the idea of making someone being more optimistic about their life and future. These programs also help people in poor areas achieve a higher education so they will not fall into poverty.
I first chose this article because of always hearing about poverty in school. They teach us that it is a real issue around the world, but I wanted to learn how people can escape it.
This article really interested me because I had never thought about escaping poverty this way. I always thought you could escape poverty by just going out and getting a job, but I never thought about how your state of mind affected your financial well being.
I agree with the idea that having a positive outlook on life will get you further in life. I think there should be many more programs helping out people in need.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/science/thank-you-notes.html?ref=nyt-...
As I read this article, I was intrigued with a study two psychologists did where 100 people wrote short letters of gratitude to a person that had positively affected them in some way, rather than sending a simple “thank you” phrase. The study showed that it took less than five minutes to write the letters, and the letter recipients were reported “ecstatic”, with a happiness rating of four out of five on average.
While many people today send out generic store-bought thank you cards after an event, I still follow the old tradition of writing short and sincere gratitude letters. My mom had instilled the importance of sending gratitude letters in me at a young age, often refusing to let me open gifts I had received on my birthday or a holiday until I had written a thank you letter to each person whom I had received a gift from.
It’s common to believe that a heartfelt letter of gratitude will be undervalued by the recipient; however, this is never the case. After sending my gratitude letters, I often receive replies back with people thanking me for thanking them! Don't feel nervous about sending a sincere thank you letter the next time someone gives you a gift or helps you out in a certain way. You will be surprised that investing a short amount of time into writing a thank you letter is one thing that will always make someone’s day.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/world/americas/mexico-coca-cola-diabe...
The article in the Times that interested me the most this week was called "In Town With Little Water, Coca-Cola Is Everywhere. So Is Diabetes" by Oscar Lopez and Andrew Jacobs. San Cristobal De Las Casas, Mexico is one of Mexico's rainiest regions but still the amount of drinking water the residents receive is very scarce. One of the residents said that they only receive water once every two days and when they do the water is so heavily chlorinated, it's not even drinkable. Because of this huge issue, many residents are forced to drink Coca-Cola because it can be found easier than bottled water and it's around the same price. This really caught my attention because water is an element that is necessary to life and the fact that people actually struggle to find water on a daily basis is shocking to me. Water should be something that you shouldn't really have to look for, it should always just be there. Since the residents living in this region don't have water, they drink Coca-Cola on a daily basis and that is obviously very very bad for health and this is causing many people to have diabetes. Diabetes is a very severe condition and it can even cause death. This problem of people not having water needs to be resolved as soon as possible or many innocent lives will be lost.
Parents Behaving Badly: A Youth Sports Crisis Caught on Video
Young Athletes’ parents watching their children from the sidelines are notorious for being aggressive and rude towards the referees for calls they believe to be faulty. It’s a well-known fact to virtually anyone who has spent more than five minutes observing a game with young athletes playing. It is almost always the parents that cause any sort of conflict during games.
But, the fact is this. They are parents. They care about the success of their children, and the reason they get so upset is that they believe their child was judged unfairly. It is their caring and protective nature that makes them behave like such hooligans. The parents in these videos are merely standing up for their children, for what they believed to have been mistakes made by the referees.
I disagree with soccer referee Brian Barlow’s method of dealing with the parents’ harassment. I think that publishing videos of their behaviors online, a place that video will remain forever, is public humiliation that they don’t deserve. Unacceptable as their behavior is, it comes from a relatively good place, and if the purpose of posting the videos is to hold the parents accountable for their actions, then the better option would be to simply show the videos to the parents instead of posting them for all to see. Barlow’s method seems unnecessary, as I think there are ways to deal with the parents’ actions without the use of public humiliation.
"What Feminists Can Do For Boys" by Jessica Valenti
Feminism is defined as the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. Feminism has made a lot of progress in the last decade. Women can now vote, have jobs, hold and own land. According to the article, one of the bigger successes of feminism was creating a second culture where women and girls don't have to succumb to the pressures of society.
Women have many support outlets that men don't. If a women feels bad about her body, she can turn to the body positivity movement or read a feminist blog of magazine. Boys and young men who are struggling have no where to turn to. Sarah Rich from the Atlantic stated that "While society is chipping away at giving girls access to life's possibilities;boys don't get the same opportunity." This summarizes that boys don't have the same support as women do.
Jordan Peterson is a Canadian psychology professor who doesn't call students by their preferred pronouns. Jordan also claims that sexual harassment wouldn't be a problem if women didn't wear makeup to work. Even today white male leaders in government, corporations, and institutions outnumber women. For a long time, feminism has focused on sexual assault, reproductive rights, harassment and so many more. Issues don't hurt women, men do because they have a preconceived hatred of women. If we don't create support outlets for men the world will never be equal.
When on sites like the New York Times that are dedicated to news, you're more likely than not to see stories about bad things going on in the world. Those areticles, however, aren't really the ones that catch my eye. An article with the title "What Do Novels About Evil Children Say About Us," however, does get my attention, because it poses a question.
This week in the times, the aforementioned article was the most interesting thing I read simply due to the fact that it got me thinking. The premise of the article can quite obviously be guessed after reading the title. However, the article's in-depth analysis of what "bad-seed" stories truly reflect in the real world is fascinating. Although parents are able to influence their children through setting examples, good or bad, they ultimately can't force their child to become anything. As individual human beings, we have the free will to choose to do whatever we would like with our futures. Although a parent may want to see their child go one way in life, they may very well end up going another. Books about evil children aren't exactly my cup of tea (I'm not really all that into horror), they certainly have a deeper level of meaning that I never would've known had it not been for this article. It was the article that interested me most this week because it taught me something thought-provoking about the infinite possibilities of childhood.
https://nyti.ms/2mKHfT4
People tend to give advice, but rarely do they take it. "Be the change you want to see in the world." Why yes, it is a somewhat overused quote that very few follow. One of them is a young swede, who stood in the face of adversity to save someone for their sake, not hers.
She is inspiring; she reminds me that anyone can change life for the better for someone else. Revolution is not done in grand acts, but with small ones. It is not done from stopping oppressors, but with making it very, very difficult for them to function.
America was, is, and always will be built on change. Change is the American dream. Past Americans tore families apart and swept them under the rug of reservations. Past Americans made immigrants prove their liberty in internment camps out of paranoia. Past Americans kept slaves. As a country, we can be the change we wish we had been and apologize through our actions. Elin has no need to be civilly disobedient other than her own morals and her own conscience. Not only her, but in this article pilots are mentioned for refusing to fly such passengers. It is pointed out that nothing done there is illegal. It is just a choice to make for each citizen who feels compelled to stop unethical acts.
I know I will stand on the right side of history. I will aid local refugee groups in any way I can. Right now, I can only do so much.
Well, what's your excuse?
-Rhiann J.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/sports/world-cup/france-vs-croatia-fi...
As a World Cup Enthusiast, this article entertained me because it seemed impossible for me to imagine two teams this powerful, to go against each other and have an outcome not determined by just a bad day. On that day I thought to myself, why does it matter, why am I even watching when all players are so good it's incomparable. This article opened my eyes to something different, it highlighted Frances and Croatia's reaction to make the game seem less about winning. France didn't even understand the importance, as a direct quote "we didn't even realize what they did." Croatia's reaction was to just say to hold their heads high, no specifics about winning or losing. However, then the article talked about the trophy ceremony and quoted players and the want of winning emerged at the end, players dreaming of sleeping with it and I felt that vibe that I felt at the beginning of the match where all that mattered was winning. Overall, I enjoyed the articles way of not making the game all about winning, while still highlighting the celebration and the passion behind the sport
Everyone Has an Accent
It was something akin to a mixture of humor and annoyance that I felt towards my peer's exasperation in Spanish class one day. “Ugh, why can’t everyone in the world just speak English?” This outburst reflected a mindset of many Americans—people of other nationalities should be expected to spew out perfect English whenever necessary. In lieu of broadening our own cultural horizons, Americans often rely on others to bridge the language gap. We’ve made out English to be a holy golden key, required by every soul desiring success.
That was a bit dramatic, but it is a reality that many people have realized, and therefore learned English. Yet, not even perfectly knowing grammar, sentence structure, and slang is satisfactory. As soon as non-native English speakers open their mouths, they’re stamped with biased labels,“positive” or not. Speak with a dash of a French accent? Alluring, and mysterious. Have a tinge of a Spanish one? Uncivilized, and odd. These labels translate into deciding factors for job applications, and more. We continue to hold non-native English speakers to a made-up standard while forgetting the acceptance us Americans are shown while trying to speak their languages.
In summary, this article expertly ties together the privilege bestowed upon native English speakers with our unfair assumptions of people without it. Next time you want to scoff at someone's "accent", let’s remember the fact that they probably speak more languages than you.
A Large Body of Water on Mars is Detected, Raising the Potential for Alien Life
Extraterrestrial life has always been a fascination for countless generations of humans. Little initiative has ever truly been taken to discover, because it always seemed so out of reach. It is truly interesting that all of a sudden, new information is arising on the issue of aliens, and we may see an answer in the next few years. While humans have always waned to contact alien life, many never truly thought about what's next. If aliens are contacted, that could mean extremely huge changes in the focus and functions of Earth. A discovery like this would truly be one that will forever be remembered, and is mystifying to imagine. So many of the worlds problems would disappear if we had access to other planets, new technologies, and new opportunities. Some may argue that issues like these should not be a primary focus, but the countless possibilities make it hard to resist seeking results. The greatest mystery of all time may finally see its end, but so much is still undetermined. Alien life is so close to human grasp, but nobody is willing to take full initiative to discover the unknown. Maybe soon answers will be found, but until then, we can only keep searching and learning.
Olivia DiSanto
Week 6
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/sports/world-cup/france-vs-croatia-fi...
The article that interested me the most this week was "How France Won Its Second World Cup Title". The reason it interested me the most this week is because I love playing and watching soccer. After reading this article it seemed as if France was the best team in the tournament overall and many people wanted them to win. When reading this article “Luka Modric, who was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s outstanding player. Said that “Unfortunately, some clumsy goals swung it their way.” After watching that game I completely agree with him. France was ultimately mentally better as well, and for those reasons they ended up scoring 4 goals.
Swedish student stops afghans deportation by refusing to sit
As a young teen i see less people standing up for what's right. In this article that's exactly what this women does. What she did was very admirable. First of all we know why these people seek refuge so why send them back to the place they are running from . I wonder sometimes how government officials can sleep at night knowing they sent someone to their death. Peoples fears of migrants are unreasonable. We fear they are rapist but that exist everywhere. Why are we fearing it from other people? If you don't like migrant why say your country is open to them
"The U.S. Can No Longer Hide From Its Deep Poverty Problem"
I agree on the view that the US should focus much more on its domestic poverty problems than the international ones. This does not mean that the US does not need to care about the international charity, but that it needs to establish domestic problems as the priority. Without the domestic poverty resolved, the US economy will eventually decline. The domestic poverty will lead to less GDP and less GDP will lead to less financial aids to other countries.
To overcome this, the US first needs to focus on identifying the number of the domestic poor considering the discrepancy in prices and needs among the countries. So many poor people die because they are unknown. Living with thorough indifference, they are unable to find any charity or financial support. We need to figure out exactly who is suffering in where and to what degree. A clear identification will enable the government to precisely calculate the state of poverty and establish vital relief schemes. Also, the US government needs to inform its citizens about its severe domestic poverty. Without the public attention, the poverty problem cannot be alleviated. A clear identification of the poor and societal attention would be the answers to the salvation of the economic calamity.
"Parents Behaving Badly: A Youth Sports Crisis Caught on Video”
The title of this article specifically caught my attention since I’ve been surrounded by sports almost my entire life, as well as the drama that comes along with it. Over the years, I’ve seen violent fights break out and heard offensive words be exchanged. Surprisingly, parents and athletes don’t brawl with one another, they actually tend to bicker with the referees. Officials and Referees are crucial to every sport and hold high authority, but many people still choose to disrespect them anyways. These people are often discredited, event though they usually are volunteers that are willing to help make sure rules are followed and enforced. Watching the videos inserted in this article and learning about the situations that occurred completely disgusted me. Many spectators, players, and coaches also forget that these referees are just human as well. They will make mistakes and make calls you may not agree with, but that is no excuse for the actions of any angry individuals. Being an athlete myself, I have repeatedly witnessed officials being harassed and called out. I have even seen a parent go after a hockey referee in a parking lot after a game, attempting to throw hands and physically assault them. I believe that as times progress, this situation will only worsen if correct punishment is not handed out. People need to realize that these are just games played by their kids. Nothing more.
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"Texas Company Cleared to Put 3D-Printed Gun Designs Online"
With the technology offered in this day of age, not much is impossible. In the article "Texas Company Cleared to Put 3D- Printed Gun Designs Online," it describes that the government has allowed the Defense Distributed company to publish blueprints for 3D- printed guns on the internet that are easy to access and download.
This article was able to give sides of the argument for the authorization of "downloadable guns." On one hand, some find that the guns are an extreme danger to society because of the lack of metal in them. Without metal in these 3D-printed guns,they are able to be carried through metal detectors with out a single trace. Another argument was that these guns do not require the normal background checks that are required when purchasing a metal gun. On the other hand some say that these guns are too expensive to make and criminals are just as likely to steal a gun than to attempt to 3D- print one that may possibly disintegrate after the first round. Both arguments were shown in the article.
I chose this article because I appreciated the fact that both sides of the argument were shown in the article. It is able to get rid of the biased attitude and give the readers facts, not opinions. I learned a lot about the new and upcoming technology and was able to create my own opinion based on the facts given in the article.
Missing Pages From Malcom X's Autobiography Turn Up at Auction
By Jennifer Schuessler
The article that interested me this week is about the uncovering of Malcom X's autobiography's missing pages. As mentioned in this article, the revelation of text from the missing pages brought up the question of whether or not it was really 3 chapters missing. This caught my attention because these are valuable pieces of history being sold just so an excluded group of people or person can make themselves look important for owning such a significant artifact. Throughout the time these people or person owns the said artifact, it can be damaged. In the case of Malcom X's autobiography, the owner of the unpublished pages can attempt to copy either Malcom or Haley's writing to later make the public think this was their original writing and force a certain viewpoint into their mind, or it could go the other way and they could remove certain pieces of the writing from the pages. Objects such as this should be handed over to professional analysts and historians. I don't believe the situation mentioned in this article is being dealt with the right way and I don't believe this is how a critical piece of history should be treated because it is a glimpse into the past we never knew about, and the world deserves to hear it.
"Comic Book Publishers, Faced with Flagging Sales, Look to Streaming" By Gregory Schmidt
Since I was born, I have been reading comic books and have become the person I am because of them. I got into comic books from my father, who has been collecting comics since he was my age. From time to time, we would go to the comic book store to pick up our comics, but as the time progressed the stores seem to get emptier and emptier; so it was no surprise that when I read this article that it would bring up the decrease in physical comic sales. What interested me most about this article is how DC Entertainment is creating a streaming service for not only their comics, but also their shows. The idea of the streaming service is to reach readers who wanna read comics, but don't live near a comic book shop or don't have one where they live. Another possible reason is that we now live in a digital age, where people can buy anything online on sites like Amazon and watch anything on services like Netflix,Hulu,HBO Go and Amazon Prime. In my opinion, I think it's a smart move for DC Entertainment since they have become a big part of many people's child hood with their comics and shows they've created.
The post “How France Won Its Second World Cup Title” by Andrew Das caught my eye after I watched the World Cup Final. I was interested because I predicted the final to be between France and Croatia. I was rooting for Croatia but that excitement soon turned to nail biting worrying as Modric concedes an own goal and Frances scores a penalty in the first half to make it 2-1. Half way through the second half, surrounded by disappointed Croatian fans, I realize that was it. The fact that this was only France’s second World Cup victory seeing how good their teams have been was kind of surprising. The most interesting thing about the game was the nineteen year old Mbappe,who is three years older than me,has scored four goals in the World Cup with one in the final, and is making 20.5 million more than me.
“Save the People’s Beach at Rockaway”
This editorial argues about the lack of effort New York’s leaders put into trying to save the city’s beaches. The article is focused around the Rockaway Beach, which is closed for the summer due to erosion. The author incorporates many beautiful descriptions of the beach, along with its surroundings to help the readers understand how valuable the place is. The author says, “That beach...is one of the crown jewels of New York City, leaving anyone who visits marveling at the idea that such a thing could exist just 20 or so miles from Midtown Manhattan”(“Save”). With these words, the author can display the concept that the beach is a treasure that must be preserved, allowing for the author to sway the readers into agreeing with the argument.
In addition, the article includes many facts about the actions that the leaders of New York City have done to solve the erosion dilemma. The author then provides much better solutions for the problem, effectively place the leaders into a bad light. The Rockaway Beach is a popular attraction for the city, with small businesses along with the Rockaway Boardwalk which the author uses as another reason why the beach must be protected; to keep the shops running and turning the Boardwalk into an investment. As far as money is concerned, the readers learn how much money is lost due to poor effort and with that, along with all the other techniques above, the author is able to sway many people to his/her side.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/26/well/how-to-help-a-teenager-be-colleg...
The article "How to Help a Teenager Be College-Ready" is, unfortunately, very relevant to my life at this moment in time. In order to become fully functional human beings, teens need to take responsibility for their health, schoolwork, and basic adult tasks. Reading this article, which I actually planned on reading a few hours ago, I thought about how everything it said had to change matched my junior year perfectly. My mom dragging me out of bed each morning, my late nights doing homework (after my daily four-hour naps), and my fear of asking questions were all acknowledged. There's a lot of room for improvement in my life, but thankfully, I can see that there's room for improvement in many teens' lives. Everyone has to learn to grow up eventually!
Putting off school assignments and college visits may make it feel like I can avoid the future, but time waits for no teen. My seventeenth birthday just passed, which means that (a) summer break is halfway over, and (b) there's only a year until I become a legal adult. This college-applications-are-so-soon/I'm-so-old fifth-life crisis made me realize that I have to get myself together—fast. Reading and responding to this article about taking the initiative is me taking the initiative to get my work done. I thought it was fitting for my situation, and hopefully, it can help teens everywhere embrace the future.
We all want to live healthy lives and with the help of good eating habits, we can achieve that goal. In the article, “When We Eat, or Don’t Eat, May Be Critical for Health”, the author, Anahad O’Connor, explains how our bodies function best when our eating habits are aligned with our circadian rhythm, the internal clock in our bodies that tells us when to wake up, go to sleep, and eat. Disrupting this pattern can lead to weight gain and bad metabolism. Our organs “shut off” at night because the lack of light causes our brain to release melatonin to prepare us for sleep. When we eat late at night, we may experience fatigue because our organs are forced to operate when they should be dormant. Human studies have shown that it is best to eat a big breakfast, a moderate lunch, and a small dinner because our body’s ability to control our blood sugar is best in the morning and bad at night. Observations on nighttime shift workers, who are used to eating and sleeping at odd hours, have shown that their shift has lead to obesity, diabetes, certain cancers, and heart disease. A study was conducted on a group of mice that were split into two groups. The first group was given high-fat and sugar foods to eat whenever they wanted. The second group was given food on a time-restricted schedule. As a result, the first group became obese and sick while the second group did not. The study has shown that it is best to maintain a proper eating schedule.
This season, the Yankees are a powerhouse in the MLB and evidently high contenders to win the World Series. With young rookies like Aaron judge and didi gregarious, and also veterans such as C.C. Sabathia and Giancarlo Stanton, the potential to win a championship is there. However, as the trade deadline has come closer and the Yankees have fallen back from the Red Sox, it has come clear that they need a better starting pitcher in their rotation. With Sonny Gray’s era plummeting to 5.34, the Yankees have found it best to acquire J.A. Happ today, July 26.
The interesting part about this article to me was how little the Yankees have to pay this year for an all-star pitcher that will help them win the World Series. Although posting a 4.18 era this year, Happ has gone 10-6 this year and has been able to put up good numbers in his career against the Boston Red Sox. Through all of this, Happ was named an All-Star this year. With all of these productive stats, the Yankees were able to acquire him for little to nothing, losing a minor league prospect and Brandon Drury, a good player that had no spot on the team. They only have to pay him 4 million this year as the blue jays cover the rest of his contract. Hopefully Happ will be a productive acquisition.
Ever Wanted to Get Revenge? Try This Instead
Gabrielle Sherrick
July 26, 2017
Something that has always sparked interest in me is the idea of revenge being sweet to people. Humans seem to love getting back at someone and hurting them when they’ve been hurt. When finding an article about this topic by Caroline Cox, I was very intrigued. While reading I found out how the idea of human nature is a reason why so many people want revenge. It can be very hard dealing with emotions, especially after someone we care about hurts us. However, negative emotions can have an unhealthy tole on a person. With the thoughts of getting back at someone, lots of anger and spiteful emotions are bottled up in a person which can be very unhealthy for someone's mental health. In the article when learning about how anger can drive most people to accomplish something really let me look back on my life and think of what’s fueled me. Anger can be used in positive ways instead of just concentrating on one person and one thing to get back at them. A quote from this article that really hit me was “We can’t control when toxic emotions flood our minds, but we can control what we do in response to them.” By taking an emotion like anger and using it as determination to become better, or be stronger is a much better method that concentrating on something other than revenge. By reading this article I know now how to become a better person, and to help my friends deal with thoughts of revenge in the future.
The Latest Hot E-Commerce Idea in China: The Bargain Bin
From first glance this article relates to many of us. There have been multiple occasions where I would simply buy a product because it is cheap. What’s the loss? It’s cheap. There’s no harm done, and if it turns out to be a faulty product, who cares? It’s cheap, “It is all so inexpensive, though, that he said he didn’t mind the occasional misfire.” There really is no good reason for why we buy cheap things. It has just been ingrained into our head from when we children. Growing up in an Asian family I’ve always been taught to select the freshest fruit, or the cleanest toy, or the cheapest toothbrush. Why? Because I have to get my money’s worth, and this mindset has always been with me throughout my life.
“The Latest Hot E-Commerce Idea in China: The Bargain Bin” made me realize just how influential this mindset is. Thousands and thousands of people spend money on these cheap products on Pinduoduo because they also want to get their money’s worth. Rather than spend $10.00 on a trashcan, you would want to get a lower quality, cheaper trashcan since they have the same function, and that is why Pinduoduo is so popular. By selling cheaper products that have the same functionality, although bad quality, still gets the job done and your wallet heavier. And if the product breaks, just buy another one. Who cares? It’s cheap.
In San Cristobal de las Casas, the lack of potable water has a direct connection to the overconsumption of soft drinks and diabetes. Drinkable water is one of the few necessities in life, and these people are forced to supplement their need for water with Coca-Cola, which is not okay. Over the past few years, diabetes and heart disease rates have risen drastically and the people of this small mountain town have had enough. On the edge of town, a huge Coca-Cola factory seems to overwhelm the residents of San Cristobal's hope of ever having clean water. These citizens feel helpless because Coca-Cola pays a very small amount for their access to water, and everyone else doesn't even have access to water, only Coke. They protest, saying that the soda is killing them, but still have no drinkable water even though it is the government's responsibility to fulfill their citizen's basic needs. Through all this despair, some good has still come out of it because many believe that soda has some healing effect on the sick and there are ceremonies in place based around soda. Femsa, the major distributor of Coca-Cola in Mexico, blames genetics and not soda consumption on the people's diabetes, but this is still a major problem that should be solved. All people need clean water and there is no excuse for soda to be an outright substitute for it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/sports/world-cup/france-vs-croatia-fi...
“How France won its second World Cup title”
In this years World Cup, France and Croatia went at it in the finals. The World Cup was held in many cities in Russia. The Russian President, Vladimir V. Putin, was there to award France the World Cup trophy. The final score was 4-2, with France in the lead. The first goal was shot by a French player and knocked in by a Croatian. The second goal was a incorrect call by the referee, he gave the ball to France instead of Croatia. A French player had said “We did not play a huge game but we showed mental quality and we scored 4 goals anyways.” This has taught me to always play mentally and never give up. This was France’s second World Cup Win and the last time they won was in 1998. The thing that I found most interesting was that France’s the head coach had won as a player in the 1989 World Cup.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/books/review/zoje-stage-baby-teeth.html
This week I decided to write about what novels about evil children say about us. In the 50's a book called "The Bad Seed" picks out certain characteristics and actions often seen in normal, everyday misbehaving children. Now with all of the media and more television parents and more of society have become more paranoid that their little golden child is a little bit more of a problem child. Then the question pops up asking if the child is born evil or if the parents raised the kid that way. We also get to thinking about our own children and how we raise them and bring them up in the world. We them realize that there is no true right way to raise a child. Each human is completely different and they all grow up in different situations. Diversity is what drives the human race, it is what we thrive and grow upon. We all grow up in different situations and we all are completely different people, some of us are just a tad bit evil.
“Writing Prescriptions to Play Outdoors”
Technology has allowed for many major medical advances to take place in the past few decades, but it also may be harmful for many young people’s health. Technology is taking away from the time people spend outdoors. Richard Louv wrote a book about this problem, calling it a “nature-deficit disorder.” In Louv’s book, he discusses many scientific studies that show the benefits of being in nature. Dr. Robert Zarr is a pediatrician in Washington, D.C. who has begun a nonprofit, called Park Rx America, geared towards patients that are “nature-deficit.” Park Rx America’s website allows doctors in certain states to research parks near their patient’s home and write a “prescription.”
I found this article particularly interesting because I know many people who cannot get off their phones sometimes. While it is convenient to be able to text or call if I need to reach someone, it can become too much very quickly. Often people will become obsessed with their technology. This can lead to many serious illnesses, such as anxiety or depression. Having access to community parks is an option that many people seem to forget. Parks have many activities that are better, and arguably more exciting, than staring at a screen all day. Also, daily exercise can help relieve some of the stress that people feel due to school or relationships. It is time for everyone to take full advantage for the wonderful parks that are provided to them and go outside.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/18/sports/referee-parents-abuse-videos.html
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The article that interested me the most in the Time this week was “Parents Behaving Badly: A Youth Sports Crisis Caught on Video”. I chose this article because if seen parents behave badly by yelling and screaming at referees. I wanted to see what the article had to say about it. Never would I have thought it was parents fighting. These parents were fighting because of a 8 year old soccer game. This seems crazy to me because they are 8 and aren’t going to be getting college scholarships or being winning a trophy from this game. From this article I learned that the younger the age the more aggressive the parents will be. This one referee named Brian Barlow started a Facebook page where he would post these types of videos where parents would be fighting. To show the harassment going on at the game and to raise awareness on why youth sports are short on referees. Now whenever there is a fighting breaking out parents are trying to stop so it won’t be recorded and posted. This would be embarrassing on their end therefore causing them to stop. From this article I learned why this is happening and that it is resulting in a shortage of referees.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/books/review/zoje-stage-baby-teeth.html
Different stories that include "evil" children have many mothers questioning how their newborns will face the future and if the way they soon will live is based on the parents. Stories mentioned including, "The Bad Seed," by Willliam March "Sharp Objects," by Gillian Flicks, and "We Need to Talk About Kevin," by Lionel Shriver worries mothers because they believe they are the ones who lead their children to their future paths, which could either be a positive future or a negative future. Ruth Franklin describes that in many stories, the father is not usually there, which means he does not pay attention to the child as much as the mother. The mothers are the ones to realize the problems occurring with the kids. They show us the close connections that children have with their mothers and a less of a connection with the fathers. Franklin also writes that a question usually asked is, “Are some children simply born evil? Or do their parent make them so, through abuse, neglect, hypercriticism or overinvolvement?” Mothers feel the blame for the children's actions because of how they raised their kids, guilt about their kid's behavior because they weren't set to parent yet, and fear for how their kids could be reflections of them and see how they as people are. Franklin includes how the greatest fear about people is if mothers cannot understand our own children, can anyone understand anybody as human beings?
As a teenager who has often taken up the debate over technology, the title "Taking Away the Phones Won’t Solve Our Teenagers’ Problems" immediately caught my eye. And it was accurate in explaining how phones have affected us- teenagers- as a whole. I'm someone prone to bouts of strong anxiety and I do spend most of those anxious periods either burying myself in mindless apps or scrolling through websites or idly texting my friends. This, as the article says, is easier than facing the root of my stress.
Conversely- or, perhaps, because of this- I see the rationale for limiting screen access. I can’t count the hours I waste online, just wishing I was doing something more productive. iPhones, much like Pringles or Oreos or other lab-created snacks- are designed to continue drawing consumers back in to a point that is detrimental to them. We use screens, like we use comfort food, as a respite from our problems. Parents limit their kids’ junk food intake to keep them healthy; why not do the same with screens?
That isn't a question I know the answer to. Nor do I want the answer to be yes. Understand, I'm vehemently against parents taking children's- well, older teenagers- phones "for their own good". I can argue about how it limits autonomy of people just a few years from adulthood and how it cuts them off from a vast social world crucial to development. But then there’s the thought in the back of my mind- am I just saying that because I too am a teenager, addicted to her phone?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/well/doctor-patient-waiting-regular.h...
As a teenager who wants to become a doctor one day, I feel like what Dr lamas do is extremely helpful for patients. I believe that being a doctor means not only curing people when they're your patients, but also keeping in touch with them about their health in the future. After reading this article I found out that being a doctor is not just giving them medicine but having a long term doctor -patient relationship with them.When the doctor prescribes the medicine to the patients, the job of them feeling better might get done but relationships with that person will not happen.Sometimes it is easy to forget the real reasons why people would become doctors and how much of being a doctor who keeps in touch could affect the patient in a good way. After reading this article, it reminds me again how important doctors are to some patients and keeping in touch could mean alot to them.
Who Was the Real Lorax? Seeking the Inspiration for Dr. Seuss
By: JoAnna Klein
Did you know that the Lorax was based off of a monkey? The patas monkey to be exact. It all started when Dr. Seuss' wife suggested that they go on a trip to the Mount Kenya Safari Club to clear his mind since he was experiencing writer's block. I found this interesting because I never know what to write about. I never thought Dr. Seuss would get writer's block because all of his stories are so magical and he is so creative. I also never thought much about the Lorax as an environmental conservation story and enjoyed it so much as a child that I didn't realize I was learning about protecting the world we live in. Now as I read it again I can look at it much more closely, knowing the inspiration behind it.
“Why Does Congress Make Taxpayers Pay Hush Money?” - The Editorial Board
The commentary “Why Does Congress Make Taxpayers Pay Hush Money?” by The Editorial Board, entails the argument that The U.S. Senate is working to hide several sexual harassment cases among its members in Congress from the public eye. This is indicated by the certain methods the author involves, as the tone of the article remains cold-hearted and judgemental every time The Senate is discussed in addition to the several techniques displayed.
The argument that The U.S. Senate is continuously working to hide sexual harassment among its Congress members from public eye is supported by techniques that work to persuade the audience towards the author's approach. This is completed by relating real-life occurrences, such as the #MeToo movement, in order to demonstrate the importance of this issue, including metaphors which compare The United States Senate to The United States House of Representatives in terms of reference to a filling versus a root canal to portray right versus wrong, and raising speculation upon The Senate's behalf; such as when the author plainly stated, “If lawmakers can't even do right by their own, how can we expect them to do right by the nation as a whole - on this need or any other?” However, further analysis of the argument provides support that this is, indeed, a justifiable claim due to the inconspicuous acts The Senate has concluded in relations with sexual harassment.
The article “The Trouble With Vacations” (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/21/opinion/sunday/trouble-vacations.html... interested me for a few reasons. Most people would say that vacations are important and that people need a break from their responsibilities to relax. Despite this, the article builds an argument on the fact that vacations make people want to get away from their lives, which, according to the author, “doesn’t seem healthy”. I believe that vacations are needed. After all, being stuck in the same schedule for the rest of your life can be both boring and tedious. People need time to relax and do something they enjoy, and they can be less stressed when they return to their work.
“The U.S. Can No Longer Hide From Its Deep Poverty Problem"
The terms ‘America' and ‘poverty' rarely go together; so naturally, my eyebrows shot up as soon as I saw this article's title. Deep down, I automatically associated wealth and fame with the U.S., and penury and misery with places like Africa. So where did this perception come from?
Unconsciously, we have all been brainwashed by American media — movies, books, and news — to think that the U.S. is supreme. This is why most people assume that America is powerful enough to solve its own problems. In the media, The U.S. has always been flaunting its wealth and abilities, not begging for financial support. So instead of aiding those who didn’t appear to need it, our hearts instinctively went towards underdeveloped nations that obviously required our help.
The truth is, no matter how strong a country may be, some issues need to be tackled with the support of others. Look at Sweden, for example. Despite being the eleventh-richest country in the world (only four ranks below the U.S.), it did not hesitate to ask its neighbors for help in putting out multiple forest fires that occurred recently. According to the Swedish media, the help received was “the European Union’s biggest effort on record to help a member state fight forest fires”. If a country calls for help, the world will listen, no matter what image people have of that country. The same goes for the U.S.. It is not too late for America to let go of its pride.
“Israeli Law Declares the Country the ‘Nation-State of the Jewish People’”
The Israelis and Palestinians have been at conflict with one another since 1948, and not much progress has been made to end the dispute. Last Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel passed a law that recognizes Israel’s existence as the “nation-state of the Jewish people.” This recent development has been both praised and criticized. A common concern among critics is that the legislation neglects to mention democracy and equality, something that they believe violates Israel’s 1948 Declaration of Independence. There are also concerns that the new law will upset the balance between the country’s Jewish majority and Arab minority. While the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has a long and complex history involving many controversies on both sides, it appears to me that this new law is indeed discriminatory. Seemingly small changes like downgrading Arabic from an official language to one with a “special status” may sound harmless, these acts build on one another and lead to “discrimination against Palestinian citizens and legitimizing exclusion, racism, and systemic inequality” according to Adalah, a legal center that campaigns for Arab rights in Israel. Hopefully in the future more steps will be taken towards reaching a peaceful resolution to the conflict, instead of increasing tensions between the Israelis and Palestinians.
The Deep Sea May Soon Be Up for Grabs
By Julie Packard and Chris Scholin
How can we know more about other planets than the planet that we live on? The article states that researchers know more about Mars than they do about the Earth’s ocean floors. We have more knowledge about a place that is light years away compare to what is surrounding us. Creating new technology is no longer an excuse for the lack of investigation of our oceans. There are many advances in technology that allow scientist to manipulate data, the problem not creating tech rather creating a new way to operate it. Technology recently tested in Antarctic waters should be utilized as much as possible in other parts of the world as well. Now that the technology showed innovative ways of looking at the water, who knows what else could be uncovered with the new machinery.
In my opinion, studying Earth’s ocean should be a main priority in current day research. How can we live on a planet that we do not even fully understand? Scientists should be investing more time for research that could completely change the way humans live their lives. Deep down in the uncharted waters could be the solutions to some of sciences unanswered questions. Explorers need to accelerate their understanding of the depths of our seas, in order to prevent impending threats. Protecting and examining our oceans should be a main priority, so researchers can understand the unknown before it is too late.
“The US Can No Longer Hide from Its Deep Poverty Problem”
United States. As soon as we hear those two words being uttered out of someone else’s mouth, our minds instantly picture three things: the gateway of success, the country of the dreams, and the land of the free. Who would’ve known that in this ever-so-perfect country that millions of citizens live off a mere $2 per day?
Underneath the flawless illusion that the public sees, the most urgent yet unsolved problem goes neglected and unseen. No one knows about the destitute 43 million people who barely survive on the inland farms of California or the Mississippi Delta. Or even if they live in the absolute harsh condition, the government frames those who are impoverished as people who are more fortunate than impecunious individuals of third-world countries. That’s exactly why indigent Americans who make up for a significant fraction of the population suffer through this never ending vicious cycle— because no one acknowledges that there is a problem to be resolved in the first place.
It’s time for us to see past the city lights of New York or the multi-million dollar companies of America, and focus more on this peril issue at hand. It is only then when truly, America becomes the land of dreams.
"Psychology Itself Is Under Scrutiny"
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/health/psychology-studies-stanford-pr...
In this article, it is discussed how psychology as a scientific field is coming under fire for some of the monumental experiments that shaped it such as the infamous Stanford prison experiment. Like all other sciences, psychology and its practices have undergone substantial changes as understanding deepened, making it difficult to accurately recreate some experiments.
It's fascinating to me how psychology's ties with the public opinion shape the field as a whole. People seem to have much more profound connections with information about how they themselves function than with hard sciences. While this creates great interest in the field, the sensationalization of certain findings such as the Stanford Prison Experiment could sacrifice an accurate understanding of the topic at hand in place of its widespread notoriety.
I'm curious about how regulations and peer-reviewing operate in psychology. These are both incredibly important in reducing the risk of error in studies, which can be all the more important when discussing a topic so close to us. The field coming under fire for inaccuracies in studies is, in my eyes, a great thing. Change and overhauling are imperative to the progression of science as a whole, especially when talking about a field investigating something as complex as our function and motivations as human beings.
“Yosemite National Park Evacuated Amid Threat From Fire”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/us/yosemite-national-park-fire.html
Two summers ago, I spent nine days backpacking in Yosemite National Park, which soon became my favorite corner of the world. I enjoyed sunsets and sunrises, the fresh air, and the breathtaking views. This article caught my attention because it spoke of how the park was evacuated due to the threat of the Ferguson Fire. It saddens me that visitors will not be able to enjoy the park as I did, with the Ahwahnee Lodge closed, campgrounds deserted, and a blanket of smoke covering some of the park’s most well-known landmarks. No more sunsets or sunrises, just smoke-filled air and a cloud of grey over El Capitan and Half Dome. With so many fires happening in California, rising temperatures may be a cause, as evidence cited in the article shows. Having a sacred place like Yosemite threatened by climate change just illustrates how we must take action to save our world before it is too late. Climate change is very real, and its effects are taking place before our eyes. Yosemite National Park is a recent victim.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/arts/music/demi-lovato-hospitalized.html
The article that interested me the most in the New York Times this week was “Demi Lovato Is Said to Be Hospitalized for Drug Overdose”. I have looked up to Demi Lovato for such a long time. She was in my favorite movies and TV shows when I was younger and I enjoy her music. When I heard that she had a relapse and was hospitalized, I was very sad and disappointed. Demi was hospitalized on Tuesday afternoon. The article talked about how she has been sober for the past six years. Also last month she just released a song called “Sober”. In the song she talks about how she is sorry and how she wants to get better. I am happy that she is very open about her sobriety and how she wants to get better. The article also talked about how she woke up and how she is very thankful for all the support she is getting. I think the article was very well written. It was very open and explained the situation very well. I send my love and support to Demi and her family and I hope she gets the better soon and gets the help that she needs.
This week in the times I found an article named “A Pie to Cut Through Summers Heat” by Magaux Laskey the utmost interesting. Laskey speaks on how when Bill Smith was growing up and vacationing in Atlantic Beach with his family lemon pie was all the rave. He explains how all menus were the same, including several variations of sea food, and every restaurant his family ate at lemon pie was a staple. It had been rumored by locals that eating dessert after a seafood dinner would make you ill. With that in mind when Smith was asked to create a desert for the Southern Foodways Alliance dinner lemon pie was the first thing that came to mind. When no restaurants would give up there recipe he came up with his own. I found this article interesting because of my love for food, especially sweets. Smiths lemon pie recipe sounds dazzling and scoop of Jeni’s Splendid ice cream that mimics the taste would be the cherry of top!
"How France Won Its Second World Cup Title"
This France's second win since 1998 when they had their first win on home soil. Croatia had been lucky to survive three knockout rounds consecutively, which lead to lucky wins for them, but that did not help them when it came to this game and France being the better opponent. France used the their opponent against them when they had to, which allowed them to play stronger and better against their opponents. Everyone on that team will be remembered as creative champions, with outstanding talent and efficiency. The team played their best and had true team spirit when it came to winning and taking the ball form the opponents. The French team not only rejoiced in their win, but also back home thousands joined in on their success with a huge ceremony to follow their arrival of getting home with the World Cup trophy in hand. They showed the world that they were willing to work hard enough to win, and work together as a team of one strong group of individuals. They learned how to work the ball together, with incredible passes, crosses, and shots on goal. They came into every game they played very confident with even greater success and strive to play better with each new game that was ahead of them. They truly showed that they were a team of outstanding individuals that showed all of their talent on the field and left nothing behind with their success in winning the World Cup.
"From the Start, Trump Has Muddied a Clear Message: Putin Interfered"
Through the past two years that President Trump has been in office, issues of false claims versus fact seem to serve as a backbone to all political arguments. It is very strange for me to imagine that evidenced, proven fact can be successfully argued against, and skewed to favor a completely unsupported argument. Recent events concerning Russian meddling outlined in this article point out just a few examples of President Trump backpedaling on seemingly concrete conclusions made by white house employees that Trump claimed previously to support and trust. Jarring attempts by Trump and white house representatives to replace fact with falsehood for possible personal gain give me a clear idea of the current climate in American politics. This article further allowed me to establish my belief that those in powerful political positions show first and foremost be acting on what benefits the American public rather than themselves, something that clearly hasn't been practiced by most prominent politicians.
"What Doesn't Kill Him Makes Him Stronger"
The article “What Doesn’t Kill Him Makes Him Stronger,” discusses the idea that President Donald Trump is taking advantage of being called out as a liar rather than being reprimanded for his actions. The author of the article, Charles M. Blow, is clearly against the president and what he stands for politically, as seen in the tone and structure of the article. Based off of this observation, it can be determined that the purpose of this editorial being written is to persuade the reader that Trump and his administration are lying and continuously avoiding the consequences that would normally occur for any other president. The author supports his claims by pulling sources and statistics from news sources and articles. This backs up his statements and shows the reader that there is factual evidence to support what the author is trying to convey. In the article, the Blow writes, “What is the operational framework of a society when the truth ceases to be accepted as true?” His use of rhetorical questions is an effective way to get the reader to begin thinking about the subject at hand and allows him to set the stage for his argument. The author also brings up recent events like the scandals with Trump and the claims of him having affairs and his sexual harassment as a way to once again support the main idea of the article. Blow writes that these scandals and lies are getting out of hand and become “just another breach of faith, protocol,
Review: "Taking Away the Phones Won’t Solve Our Teenagers’ Problems"
It is an undoubtable fact that in today's society, phones, especially cellular, have become ubiquitous, addicting, and essential. Everything is done on these portable supercomputers. They are communication tools, foster learning, offer navigation when lost, but worst of all, they are a major distraction. When dealing with uncomfortable situations, such as riding public transportation, waiting for friends to arrive at the football game, or family dinner with nosy parents, phones offer solace and comfort. Why make awkward eye contact with strangers when you could stalk your favorite celebrities, watch shows, or engage in a multitude of isolating activities that are deemed better than the current situation? Not limited to just cyberbullying, phones offer anonymity and something to hide behind.
However, I do not believe that cell phones are the sole reason that teens are seemingly more anxious than ever before. Adolescence is seminal, developmental, and difficult for every generation.
For better or worse, phones are here to stay. Beneficially, phones offer incomprehensible access to information and communication. Yet, if we see friends hanging out without us, or if they do not respond right away, then we can have irrational anxiety. If we compare our own lives to others' posts, we can feel unhappy about our own lives. It is crucial to be able to put the phone down sometimes and engage in the real world.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/books/review/zoje-stage-baby-teeth.html
The article that interested me most this week was called "What Do Novels About Evil Children Say About Us?" This article caught my eye because I love to read novels, and the idea of "novels about evil children" seemed bizarre. After reading the article and learning that there are apparently many books about evil children such as killers or school shooters. I have not read books with an "evil child" that was that prevalent before, so this was interesting to me. One of my favorite things, however, was how the author tied these strange books into real-life scenarios. The author wrote: "the deepest fear may be the most existential: how little we ultimately understand other human beings, even our own children." That stuck out to me because it made me realize that no one can know every single thing about someone else, not even your best friend, your spouse, or your own child. Overall, the connection between this strange type of novel featuring evil kids and the reality of parenting and the relatively limited understanding we have of others.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/sports/world-cup/france-vs-croatia-fi...
“How France Won Its Second World Cup Title”
There was a lot in this article that I found interesting. I would consider myself someone who follows the World Cup and keeps updated on the teams who are still in and who's been eliminated. I enjoyed how they gave a play-by-play description of the game for those who didn't get to watch the game live or at all. My favorite part of the article is where they showed the statistics at halftime, where Croatia was losing to France 2-1, and showed it was really either team's game. Even though France was up a goal, Croatia led in shots, corners, possession, passes, and even accuracy (although France did end up winning the match). I also enjoyed how they added a 360 video of the scene in Paris to show the celebration of those routing for the France team to give you a good idea of how connected they were to the match. I personally didn't care who won the match, but I did somewhat want Croatia to as they've never made such an appearance in any World Cup such as this one. I will definitely stay updated with the next World Cup in 2022, and hope another unexpected team makes it as far as Croatia again as it definitely makes the tournament much more interesting.
What interested me most in the Times this week was how hundreds of Syrian people that had been placed in custody for protesting against the Syrian government had ended up dead while being detained. The families were never initially notified of their passings and no explanations are given now that the families are finding out about their loved ones fate, in some cases, years after their deaths. It is the confidence of the government leader Mr. Assad acknowledging that those that opposed him, that their uprising is over. This is interesting to me because as this would never happen in the United States as we are less tolerant of human rights violations. Our freedom of speech that we have been afforded by our Constitution allow us to peacefully protect. The main story of this topic was a man named Islam Dabbas, who was taken into custody after protesting. His family paid bribes to see him and after awhile they were cut off for no reason. After not knowing what had happened to her son, the mother figured out that her son had died in 2013 after a relative filed for a government registration document. I find it hard to believe that the government would not alert the families of a death. I am appalled that the people of Syria would ever elect a leader that would cover up murders of those that oppose him and never allow their family peace of notification or release of the deceased.
I was most interested in reading the article titled “In Town With Little Water, Coca-Cola Is Everywhere. So Is Diabetes.” by Oscar Lopez and Andrew Jacobs. I chose to read this article because I knew the article would address so many important issues just after reading the title. I predicted that the article would mention the water crisis and problems with an unhealthy diet. An area in Mexico has no drinkable water and, with a local Coca-Cola bottling plant, most residents have turned to soda because of its cheapness and availability. This has caused a drastic increase in victims of diabetes, increasing the mortality rate from diabetes by 30 percent. The Coca-Cola company has access to the area’s best water sources because the federal government tends to favor the plant’s owners. The people of the town have begun to fight back to have their need for water filled before a corporation. According to Martin Lόpez Lόpez, a local activist, “They [the Coca-Cola company] take our pure water, they dye it and they trick you on TV saying that it’s the spark of life. Then they take the money and go.” The article leads the reader to the conclusion that something has to be done about the water crisis because it is really taking its toll on public health.
"A Mother Glides Beautifully Across A Minnesota Lake, With 76 Ducklings in Tow"
Being sent to preschool or kindergarten as a kid is very common. Mothers and fathers don't have time to supervise their child because of conflicting work hours. Daycare is a familiar solution for busy parents. But it is not only limited to people, ducks also have their own daycare, called a crèche.
This fact made me realize how much people can have in common with animals. Humans are always looking down on animals because we are known to be the most intelligent living creatures. But in cases like these, it makes me realize how similar humans and other animals can be. Ducks know that older and more experienced ducks can nourish their chicks. Th female ducks have motherly instincts to protect their own and even others. These actions and feelings are close to how humans act.
It is interesting to see the similarities people can have with humans. No matter how different the physical features look and how much humans think they are smarter and more superior, there will always be resemblances like this that will make me question the differences. Are we more different or similar to animals? Can animals feel all the complicated emotions humans can? How much of their actions correspond with ours? Only more research on the topic will reveal the answers to these questions.
In Town with Little Water, Coca-cola is everywhere. So is diabetes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/world/americas/mexico-coca-cola-diabe...
I believe that it is important for people to drink water for hydration but what I do not understand is what is taking so long for the leaders to help the citizens to at least keep hydrated. Because there are nothing to drink, people are having to drink coca-cola instead of water. With drinks costing cheaper compared to water bottles, it is shown that people prefer the sugary drinks than water. Consuming a large amount of sugar can lead to diabetes. People do not realize how serious diabetes can be because they do not focus on the consequences, but the moment they are filling their "hydration". Diabetes can lead to damages of body parts, heart attack, and furthermore death. I believe the country should make a change for citizens to at least save a few amount of people rather than the population rate slowly dropping.
“The U.S. Can No Longer Hide From Its Deep Poverty Problem”
Some people think that poverty is only serious in third-world countries such as Nepal or Pakistan. However, what many do not know is that the US has a deep poverty problem, with over 3.2 million people living less than $1.90 a day.
Many might think that South Korea might not have much people in poverty because its stupendous buildings and technology, but that is not the case. About 2% of Korea, which is about a million people, live in penury. However, compared to the US, which has about 12%, that is not huge. In the US, over five million live in extreme poverty out of the 40 million that are poor. Still, comparing to Korea might be unfair because of the population disparity. How about China? Surely with a smaller surface area and a larger population, the numbers would be more than the US. Actually, China has about 30 million penniless people, which is about 2% of its population. It is staggering that the US has more indigents than China, yet according to the Human Development Index, the US is more developed.
To discover that the parts US is the state of poverty startled me. Before I read this article, I assumed that this “Land of Liberty” is an affluent country. After I read this, however, I started to believe that the US is not such an utopia after all. Perhaps this impoverishment is because of the huge gap between the rich and poor, but this should be something that needs to be addressed promptly.
"Parents Behaving Badly: A Youth Sports Crisis Caught On Video." As someone that has played on private baseball teams and a high school basketball team, I have witnessed outrageous comments and profanities directed towards referees and umpires, most of the time undeservedly. The solution proposed by Brian Barlow, however, is not one that I find most sensible. His action is offering a $100 reward for video footage that shows a fan or coach harrasing (possibly physically) an Official. The reasoning behind this is that it would help to visually explicate the behavior that certain fans may be participating in, and cause them to stop. I do not agree with this. My solution would be to put in place new rules that were stricter on fans and/or coaches that participated in behavior that harrased officials or acted in a violent demeanor towards them. It would be stated as follows: The first time an incident occurs results in a warning, the second offense results in the ejection of the individual from the play area for the remainder of the sporting event, and a third time results in the banning of the harasser forever. This may seem a bit harsh, but it would provide more of a punishment for this unacceptable behavior than just taking embarrasing footage of the aggressor. I found this interesting because of everything stated above, as well as the fact that I have witnessed parents and coaches of my team enact harrasment towards officials, and it was absolutely ridiculous.
- Gabe_GHS_2018
I was in utter dismay when I sat down on my couch a couple of Sundays ago to enjoy some early morning sports and I saw that France and Croatia were playing in the World Cup Final. My initial thoughts lead me to believe that this should be an easy victory for France. Then I realized; where are the powerhouse, dominating countries such as Germany, Argentina, Brazil, or even Portugal? (just to name a few). I was then quickly led to believe that Croatia must have battled through an excrutiantinglly difficult path to make it to this point so maybe they are more talented than I was giving them credit for. Turns out that wasn’t the case and they had, for the most part, smooth sailing to the final, which meant it was inevitable that they would meet their maker at some point. The article I dove into this week summed all of this up for myself and explained how France won their second ever World Cup title. While there was certainly a handful of other countries ahead of France in terms of who had the best shot at taking home the title, the members of France’s National Team did not allow this notion to discourage them. The team, led by star players Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann kept their eyes on the prize and certainly cannot be discredited for the feat that they accomplished this summer. While this story may not be considered the most newsworthy in the world of sports this summer in the USA, it will surely be recognized around by the plethora of soccer fans around the world.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/opinion/climate-change-parenting.html
The article that interested me the most this week was "Raising My Child in a Doomed World". The reason for that was because this article talks about global warming and politics in the future and how it will effect the next generation. These topics are appealing to me and I've always wondered the future of global warming and how will all living things survive. Personally I believe this is one of the reasons why the baby population is decreasing. Adults do not want to see children in the future suffering because thing will be completely change. The politics will literaly destroy us and the weather will melt us too death. Also not to mention technology has became insainly powerful that it can demolish us with robots and other things.
“The U.S. Can No Longer Hide From Its Deep Poverty Problem”
This article brings to light the extreme poverty that some people of the United States currently faces, and argues that Americans should focus more on helping their own people rather than those of other developing countries.
While Americans should not solely focus on and recognize the needs of people in faraway countries, it is still a fact that the people of those countries require more assistance. There are many reasons behind this; one being that although there are people in the United States that are just as poor as the people in countries such as Afghanistan or Syria, the living conditions are significantly better in the U.S. than that of undeveloped, war-torn countries. In a country such as India, the streets are filled with violence, rape, and slavery, and it only continues to get worse and worse for the less wealthy. Even in the worst parts of the U.S., there are at least police or other authorities protecting the area; and unlike a lot of countries, the U.S. actually has clean drinking water.
I say this not to disregard the poverty that the U.S. deals with, but to prove that it is a different level of support and assistance that the people of those countries need compared to those of the U.S. Poverty can not only be measured by the salary that one earns per day. There are other necessities to life than just money.
“Museum Tours for People Who Don’t Like Museum Tours”
What’s the only stereotype stronger than young people only being entertained by their phones? The stereotype that old people complain about it. This article about how museum tour companies are adjusting to the new century seems to perpetuate this generalization, like the thousands of other articles about how an old American stand-by is being spoiled by technology. I kept reading, however, and found that this article is refreshingly different. First of all, it poses a solution, suggesting that museums shift their experience for the twenty-first century. The solution, narrative tours that allow people to connect and interact with the art, truly find the root of the issue, which is that people do not know how or why they should view art and other artifacts at museums. This article and the tours it describes realize what a lot of other aging institutions have not yet grasped: young people shouldn’t feel like they have to change themselves in order to enjoy a practice or institution that older people tell them to enjoy. Instead, that institution or practice should change in order to be more enjoyable for young people. Despite this, many of these institutions are far more resistant to change than museums seem to be. There always seem to be those that want their institution to persist in American culture, yet also never change from the way it was in their youth. This article proves that they can’t have both.
Oregon Judge Rules in Favor Of Transgender Students in Bathroom Case
This relatively short and straightforward article discusses a lawsuit involving parents, students, and a high school in Oregon. The case started when one student at this high school came out as transgender and asked to use the bathrooms that corresponded to his identity. When the school acquiesced, parents and students who disagreed with this policy sued the school.
Yay, bravo, they’ve done it again. Another school has made the controversial and noble decision to grant basic human rights to all of its students. How charming.
Honestly, I’m happy. I really am. But it’s exhausting to read about the same situation over and over again, and still feel a sense of pride and accomplishment every time. I shouldn’t have to be excited every time I see a headline like this. I don’t like living is a world where small, human rights victories that should never have been contested are making the news. And I can make assertions all I want, but it won’t change the fact that roughly half of schools still don’t have inclusive bathroom policy, and I will still feel a leap of joy every time that number decreases until it disappears. Growing up in this decade is wonderful- I love witnessing societal shifts and growth and the ending of a dark era- and it’s also draining. Ever impatient, I feel that sometimes progress should be expected and demanded, not celebrated.
The video that caught my interest this week was "Anatomy of a Scene: A Quiet Place," which was narrated by director and star of the movie, John Krasinski. I recently watched "A Quiet Place," and was incredibly impressed with the detail put in to make the movie so interesting. In the video, Krasinski explains the opening scene, where the first "big sound" of the movie is made, and the consequences of it are established.
As the family walks through the woods, Krasinski's use of sound creates an eerie and foreboding tone. In close ups, you can hear the soft sounds of breathing and of clothing rustling, while wide shots are nearly silent with the quietest breeze in the background. This effect makes "A Quiet Place" stand out from other horror films because silence is predominantly used to signify danger. The silence in this movie is omnipresent, and therefore, so is the danger.
Another compelling part of the movie was actor Millicent Simmonds, who played Krasinski's character's daughter Regan, who is deaf. Her deafness is an important part of the story, and is the reason why her family is able to survive without speaking: they know sign language. In this opening scene, Krasinski's narration describes how, when the camera is focused on Regan, they "pull" the sound. The movie goes absolutely silent. It puts the viewer right in Regan's place.
By setting up the movie with a terrifying tone and dire consequences through sound, Krasinski has created an unforgettable horror film.
“5.3 million” is the population of Americans suffering in poverty, which is 1.7 percent of the total population. This statistic, however, is not high compared to that of Pakistan where 15 percent of the population scrub along. Pakistan’s penniless people survive with $1.90 whereas Americans poverty starts with $4.
In this article, the comparison that author proposes is amiss. The article introduces a chart which analyses the poverty rate per country. A flaw, however, is that only developed rich countries are included in the category. This draws the reader’s attention away from underdeveloped countries. Therefore, it illustrates an image of America in famine.
America possesses laws which ensure the basic human rights, Pakistan, on the other hand, does not have such protection. Suffering from poverty, adults are forced to provide labor in low-cost prices in which basic human rights are vanished. Furthermore, even young children’s basic rights are readily violated, and no less than 11 million children are working in hazardous environments, risking their lives.
“5.3 million” is not a unregardable number. I agree with the author’s assertion about American poverty, but we must keep a balance between national and international support. Imbalance is the road to defeat in the war against poverty.
“Nike Says its $250 Running Shoes Will Make You Run Much Faster. What if That’s Actually True?”
By: Kevin Quealy and Josh Katz
This week, the article that interested me the most was “Nike Says its $250 Running Shoes Will Make You Faster. What if That’s Actually True?” So what if running shoes made you faster in a race? What kind of affect will it have o. Your overall performance? Well, Nike the shoe brand figured it all out for you. From recent race reports and shoe reports from Strava a fitness app, shows that runners ran 3 to 4% faster in these shoes compared to other runners wearing normal tennis shoes. And a little bit more than 1% faster than the next best running shoe. Are the “Vaporflys” worth the $250? ([email protected])
One article I read was New Audio ‘Items’ Given to Prosecutors in Cohen Case. It has been reported that “parties” withdrew claims of attorney-client privilege involving 12 audio items. In January 2018, it was reported that prior to the 2016 general election, Michael Cohen paid pornography actress Stormy Daniels to conceal an affair with Donald Trump, whom was married at the time. Michael Cohen eventually admitted to paying Stormy Daniels $130,000. Cohen was accused of violating campaign finance laws. On April 9, 2018, the FBI raided Cohen’s office at the law firm of Squirre Patton Boggs as well as his home and hotel room in the Lowes Regency Hotel in New York City. Material was seized. Michael Cohen is under criminal investigation. On July 20, 2018, claims of attorney-client privilege were withdrawn and 12 audio recordings were handed over to prosecutors. Michael Cohen has not been charged with any crime. Would this destroy Donald Trump’s presidency? Some may say that it doesn’t look good for him. Others, however, might seek to put aside whatever man Trump was prior to the 2016 election. Back in 2011, according to Stormy Daniels, she was approached by a man in a parking lot and told to leave Trump alone and threatened. Michael Avennati said that he believes that the man could’ve worked for Trump indirectly. So it would appear that even then Trump had some strong loyalty towards him.
What interested me the most in the Times this week is the "What's Going On In This Picture?" from May 14, 2018 where several men can be seen being handcuffed while drinking milk while being watched over by a soldier in the army. I believe that these were innocent men and maybe parents that were arrested for innocent crimes or for things that they did not do but the government had deemed it as unconstitutional when their acts were anything but unconstitutional.
“The U.S. Can No Longer Hide From Its Deep Poverty Problem?”
We have a stereotype to think that in rich countries there will be less poverty; however, that is not the case. In America, poverty is immense the number is still growing day by day. People are laying on streets homeless, losing jobs, losing families and losing money.
The health of the American citizens has not been much better either. The number of obese people are increasing, heart disease mortality rate is gradually increasing, and suicide rates are increasing.
Both of those questions are down to one thing: education. First, people in America and around the world are so brainwashed that countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal are very poor and need help. They are poor, they do need help, but America needs to realize that its own country is poor and needs help, too: the drastic difference between poor and rich make it even harder for poor people to live in the developed country of America.
Secondly, many people in America has only received high school education, making it arduous for them to get hired with a job with a decent pay, which creates a tougher circumstance for them to live in cities such as New York and Los Angeles where a great quantity of money is needed for survival and have and maintain a family.
If everybody had the chance to go to university and receive education, America and the world could have a life with less poverty and strong health.
“In Mozambique, a Living Laboratory for Nature’s Renewal”
This article is very interesting because it covers several experiments that scientists run in order to help the animals in their park. They fed a pack of wild African dogs everyday in order to help them grow in numbers and become stronger as a pack. The scientists held the pack of dogs until after their pack leader gave birth to new pups. Afterwards, they released the dogs back out into the park to live free lives which was a great thing to do especially since not too many people would even bother to do this. The scientists also take care of many of the animals in their park and use the animals for experiments such as bringing different species of animals into their park to have more of a variety of animals in their park. The most impressive part of their work in this park is that they keep taking care of animals and run experiments despite the civil war that is happening around them. The worst of the war happened towards the beginning when people would slaughter elephants for their tusks and they killed animals such as lions, hyenas, birds, and others for sport and many more animals died from starvation. Then they started to replace and add more animals with the help of Mr. Carr. He brought in hundreds of more animals after people stopped killing the animals and by bringing back and adding more animals, they started to attract more tourists for the park. It’s amazing to see people come together to save a park.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/arts/music/demi-lovato-hospitalized.html
"Demi Lovato Is Said to Be Hospitalized For Drug Overdose"
Can you imagine a life without millions of 911 calls each day? Well, I sure can't. Drug overdose has played and continues to play a major role in society. In most cases, overdosing on drugs has developed due to addiction. From this, the question arises: Is addiction an illness or a choice?
In this case, pop singer Demi Lovato has put her life at risk because of drug overdosing. Sounds cliché, right? That's why I chose this article. Demi is not the first pop-singer to overdose. And the worst part is, overdosing has been an ongoing problem for decades. The reason I found this article most interesting is because New York Times' writer Joe Coscarelli took the time to address Demi's newly written song "Sober." This song was written about Demi's struggle with sobriety... and here she is. In the hospital for overdosing on drugs. There are rumors, but no one knows exactly what happened. New York Times solely gave out information they knew was true.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/05/business/china-us-trade-war-trump-tar...
This topic has been in the back of my head for weeks. And being a Chinese-American, I have heard both sides of the argument. So far, most of this trade war has just been threats and trying to scare the other nation into negotiating to their terms. But since Trump actually put tariffs down, and China following back, it became a reality. Now both sides of the political spectrum are engaging in something that might just devastate both countries. Its not doing any damage to them themselves, but rather those who work in those sectors that have tariffs put on them. In my city, the prices of cherries have dropped by half, and soybean prices have dropped to their lowest point in 10 years. On the other side, many chinese farmers are now forced to stop planting corn and start planting soybeans more, to fill in the gap that was once imported. They
should stop this absurd war and focus on more important things that will actually help their country. And to end this i would like to quote Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, “For every dollar spent on an item labeled “Made in China,” 55 cents went for services produced in the United States.”
https://nyti.ms/2mDBtTk
The Endangered Species Act has been protecting the habitats of animals in danger for 45 years. It was passed by Congress in 1973, when people were more or less on the same page when it came to using the power of the government to protect these species. This act was responsible for bringing many types of animals back from near extinction, including our very own national bird, the bald eagle. If it wasn't for the Act, the bald eagle might be extinct today.
Despite all this, there are people today who want to weaken the Act. They want to make it easier to take species off the endangered species list and harder to put new species on the list. This is because they believe that the Endangered Species Act is restricting he progress of the American economy. Without it, companies would be free to use the habitats of animals nearing extinction for things such as oil drilling and construction.
We have no right to take the land of animals that may be wiped off of the earth soon to use for our own benefits. Doing so would prove the selfishness of humans. We would rather destroy the home of a species close to dying off than simply just let it be, as long as the end result benefits us. Maybe it isn't our responsibility to look after the rest of the planet, but at the same time, we shouldn't be contributing to the demise of other beings. It's time we show a little empathy and humility, and remember that we are not the only ones that need this planet to survive.
“Psychology Itself Is Under Scrutiny”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/health/psychology-studies-stanford-pr...
The article I chose to read this week drew me in with a shocking title which, upon reading the article, does not seem to be shocking at all. The field of Psychology is constantly evolving and changing with countless new studies being conducted each year, but disproving past research can be just as revealing as creating a brand new study. Many scientific findings were created in opposition to formerly accepted beliefs about the field. In AP Psychology I learned a lot about one of the studies mentioned in the article, the Stanford Prison Experiment. Phillip Zimbardo had a group of students act as guards and another group act as prisoners in a mock prison. In this experiment Zimbardo showcased the impact of authority on personal behavior. The prison guards abused the authority they were given and some prisoners were hurt both physically and psychologically by them. Because this study would now be considered unethical, some believe its findings are not provable. I believe that although this experiment cannot be reproduced due to ethical restrictions, it should not be discarded by psychologists until there is valid and reliable evidence to disprove it; however, they should also attempt to recreate it in a more ethical way. I plan to consider the possibility of scientific findings being disproved as I continue to learn about science in school.
“The US Can No Longer Hide From Its Deep Poverty Problem”
There’s something appealing about the United States-- the prominent symbol of democracy, the hub of innovative entrepreneurs, and the mecca of job opportunities. But it’s unfair and naive to apply these ideas to each corner of the country.
Beneath the glorious painted depiction of wealth and opportunities, are the 18.5 million Americans living in deep poverty, living with less than $4.00 a day. How is it possible for a nation to have such a high poverty rate along with 540 billionaires, a staggering purchasing power, and one of the most expensive house rents in the world?
Perhaps, it’s only a misrepresented perception. The lives of America’s impoverished are meticulously hidden by the media and the government. The homelessness in California, discrimination in the South, chronic neglect on Native American reservations, and the high unemployment in the West are all masked by the success of major city names like, “New York” or “Los Angeles.”
The article,“The US Can No Longer Hide From Its Deep Poverty Problem,” provides an insight of the harsh reality of the Americans living in poverty, suggesting an unthinkable illustration of the daily hardships many have to face.
This is the reality for all developing countries in the world, and it is too, a fragmented part of America’s reality as well.
Throughout most of the summer, I have worked at a summer camp. Every week, there is a new mixture of kids, some of them new to the camp and some of them have been there many times. One kid, Freddy, has been coming to the camp almost every week and stands out more than most kids. Freddy is very smart and comes up with very unique ideas, he also has ADHD and autism. Most of the time, he is a great kid and seems to enjoy being there. There are, like most kids his age, instances when he seems to be having a difficult time. Though I like this kid and do not usually have trouble with him, there are times when I wish I could connect with him more. "How to Meet Autistic People Halfway" by Vikram K. Jaswal and Nameera Akhtar informed me how his mind works and how I could help him. Jaswal and Akhtar refuted the studies saying those with autism did not care for being sociable. After spending many weeks with this kid, I couldn't agree more. While occasionally Freddy needed a break or would get in trouble, he was still social with other kids and got along with most people. Many autistic people don't make eye contact when speaking and have different behaviors than most people, which make many people think means the person is disinterested. Instead, Jaswal and Akhtar make it known that those with autism do not intend to seem impartial and do want to socialize. "How to Meet Autistic People Halfway" modified how I perceived autistic people and how I will interact with Freddy.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/opinion/sunday/smartphone-addiction-t...
This week the article "Taking Away the Phones Won’t Solve Our Teenagers’ Problems" by Tracy A. Dennis-Tiwary interested me. In modern society, many people own at least one smartphone. Teenagers are one of the most common users of smartphones; they use them to talk to their friends, to play games, and to go on social media. Many parents see a connection between this high usage of smartphones and an increase in anxiety and depression, and research does show that there is a correlation between high smartphone use and anxiety and depression. However, there is only a correlation, meaning that it is not proven yet that overuse of smartphones causes anxiety and depression. The author states that teenagers today have to cope with many problems, such as worse economic prospective and uncertainty. To cope with these problems, teenagers would look to smartphones. While this has negative consequences by itself, taking away phones would not cause the problems to go away. I was interested in this article because it provided a perspective of not just supporting the reduction of the usage of phones, but also addressing that just taking away phones would not fix anxiety and that it is necessary to fix underlaying problems.
“In Mozambique, a Living Laboratory for Nature’s Renewal”
This article is very interesting because it covers several experiments that scientists run in order to help the animals in their park. They fed a pack of wild African dogs everyday in order to help them grow in numbers and become stronger as a pack. The scientists held the pack of dogs until after their pack leader gave birth to new pups. Afterwards, they released the dogs back out into the park to live free lives which was a great thing to do especially since not too many people would even bother to do this. The scientists also take care of many of the animals in their park and use the animals for experiments such as bringing different species of animals into their park to have more of a variety of animals in their park. The most impressive part of their work in this park is that they keep taking care of animals and run experiments despite the civil war that is happening around them. The worst of the war happened towards the beginning when people would slaughter elephants for their tusks and they killed animals such as lions, hyenas, birds, and others for sport and many more animals died from starvation. Then in they started to replace and add more animals with the help of Mr. Carr. He brought in hundreds of more animals after people stopped killing the animals and by bringing back and adding more animals, they started to attract more tourists for the park. It’s amazing to see people come together to help a park.
NY Times - The Rape Jokes We Still Laugh At
What interested me the most in The New York Times this week was a video of a man explaining what had happened to him during his time in prison. His name is Rodney Roussell and what had happened to him was multiple occasions of rape inside the prison walls while he was doing his time for breaking the law. Why wouldn’t something along the lines of a man’s dignity being stolen from him catch anyone’s eye? Why is it so common to make rape jokes about people going into prison without a thought even crossing your mind of how terrible that must be for them? No one deserves to be raped, not even prisoners. Prisoners are people too, and no one should have to have their humanity taken away and be forced to accept it. Not only did other cellmates use him for sex, they also passed him around and sold him for $20 worth of commissary items. Why is the awareness of sexual assault not included in prisons? There is no justifiable reason as to why prisoners don’t deserve to keep their dignity. Prisoners being raped is not some sick, dark joke. Rape is not a joke.
This topic has been in the back of my head for weeks. And being a Chinese-American, I have heard both sides of the argument. So far, most of this trade war had just been threats and trying to scare the other side into negotiating to their terms. But since Trump actually put tariffs down, and China following back, it became a reality. Now both sides of the political spectrum are engaging in something that might just devastate both countries. Its not doing any damage to them themselves, but rather those who work in those sectors that have tariffs put on them. In my city, the prices of cherries have dropped by half, and soybean prices have dropped to their lowest point in 10 years. On the other side, many Chinese farmers are now forced to stop planting corn and start planting soybeans more, to fill in the gap that was once imported. They
should stop this absurd war and focus on more important things that will actually help their country. And to end this i would like to quote Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, “For every dollar spent on an item labeled “Made in China,” 55 cents went for services produced in the United States.”
How To Meet Autistic People Halfway
Vikram K. Jaswal, Nameera Akhtar
Currently, I'm in the boy scouts. As an older scout, many of the younger boys look up to me. I think that is one of the best things about programs like boy scouts. Younger kids get to hang out with and be treated as equals with the older kids. I know it was for me in my first few years. So normally, I try to be friends with every kid in the troop no matter their age, and they're all friends with each other too. Its a good environment to be in and a second family to trust and rely upon. But when one of the member's younger brother with autism joined the troop a few years ago, a new challenge was presented to the older kids.
It was very tough at first. We had a ton of trouble getting him to do anything with the other boys, that includes playing games. He never really seemed to want to talk to anyone either. But I kept trying and eventually made some break throughs. After he started talking to me I was astonished at how unbelievably smart and funny this kid really is. And to this day he still amazes me. And it has been my greatest pleasure to teach him, watch him earn badges and ranks, play games with other kids, and most importantly be treated as equals with the other boys.
The article talks a lot about the phycology of autism, as well as how people should treat people with the disorder. I hope this information will benefit me and others to help make people with autism feel more included.
"US Won't Recognize Crimea Annexation; Trump-Putin II Delayed"
Many critics in America are still picking apart every word from the meeting Trump had with Putin in Helsinki. I certainly am. The interesting article "US Won't Recognize Crimea Annexation; Trump-Putin II Delayed" covers a specific topic that hits close to home.
In 2014, Russia forcibly annexed Crimea from Ukraine and continues to engage in a hybrid war on Ukraine's eastern border. While this may not directly affect me, my family is Ukrainian. Recently, my mom's school friend's son passed away fighting for Ukraine at the young age of 20. Remembering this, it infuriates me that Trump has even 'suggested that U.S. opposition to Russia's annexation of Crimea' be reconsidered. I would like to think that America is not the corrupt country here.
In addition, the article mentions that Trump claims the Minks Accords made "to settle the Ukraine conflict is the right path forward," but the whole point of that was to stop the fighting at the border between Ukraine and Russia. Instead, the violence continues to fester with at least 15,000 deaths occurring and over 1.5 million refugees fleeing.
I may not know every detail, but I do know this: people are dying in Ukraine and other countries for absurd reasons and no solutions seem to be working. It saddens me that our world has claimed to come so far from the barbaric ways of the past and fail to see that it's not completely true.
"In India, Summer Heat May Soon Be Literally Unbearable" By Somini Sangupta.
In this article we see the impact that massive heat waves can have on third world countries such as India. I personally was intrigued by this article because deaths due to heat are such a common occurrence and need to be stopped. Examples are given of what people endure in the heat including near death situations. This causes visits to the emergency room because of fatigue, nausea, and heatstroke. Many workers need to take an occasional day off of work, loosing an entire day of pay because of the conditions they are forced to endure. If current global warming trends continue, by the end of the century, the heat and humidity may reach levels that prevents the body from cooling itself. Many have taken the steps to help these countries like handing out waters, posting safety tips, and parks are kept open in the afternoons. Much more progress is still need to be made but main obstacle is money.
"Mesut Ozil’s Exit From German Soccer Team Stokes Debate on Integration"
In many ways I have always seen soccer as a sport that brings people together. Most recently, at the men's World Cup the internet was flooded with pictures of countries coming together to support their team in its quest for victory. But when Mesut Ozil’s comments were released, I quickly learned that maybe sports aren’t as unifying as I thought.
Ozil, a star for the German national team, announced his retirement, explaining that he had long been a victim of “bigotry and hypocrisy”. He was born in Germany to Turkish immigrants and throughout his life had faced negativity about his culture and identity. The most powerful part of the article for me is when it quoted Ozil saying, “I am a German when we win, but an immigrant when we lose.”
The article about Ozil was eye opening for me. I wanted to believe the photos. I wanted to believe that even though the United States is divided on immigration, maybe there were other countries finally coming together. However the world clearly still has more coming together to do.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/opinion/sunday/everyone-has-an-accent...
In the article, the author described many of the unhealthy fascinations people have with accents. From his perspective as a linguist, he expressed biases we have towards other ways of speaking and how we consider our native accents to be the “right” way to talk. Ultimately, our accents are based on geography and they are a superficial way to judge people.
Growing up as an Indian American teenager in mostly white communities, I am used to hearing the New Jersey accent. Needless to say at home, my parents speak English with an Indian accent. As a child, I grew up seeing media’s portrayal of people with Indian accents. Often used for comedic relief, shows like “Jessie” and “Phineas and Ferb” ridiculed the Indian culture overall with a target on the accent. These shows made me more sensitive to criticism about Indian accents. As a young person, I didn’t want to be different. So, I went through a phase where I tried to rectify my parents into the “correct” way of speaking. Looking back, I realize that they are grammatically correct and that their accent doesn’t measure their fluency in English. Besides, in India, my relatives say that I speak Hindi with an American accent! It is all about the perspective!
Ultimately, the more we mock other people on their differences, the more we move back as a society. Our differences make us unique and keep us interesting and we should focus on embracing the them.
The article I found most interesting was “Brett Kavanaugh is Trump’s Pick for Supreme Court” written by Mark Landler and Maggie Haberman, Published on July 9th, 2018. The article is about Donald Trump’s Supreme Court choice, which was Brett Kavanaugh. He is a republican judge which makes the author believe that cases such as Roe v. Wade or same-sex marriage would be overturned because of this pick. The authors are also concerned with the balance in the supreme court. I chose this article because I am interested in politics and news like this usually catches my attention. I enjoy reading about political current events. I disagree with the author’s prediction, for the supreme court would never repeal acts like these today. I think Kavanaugh is a reliable, smart option to be put in position in the Supreme Court. The authors believe that the imposition of another republican judge will ruin the balance of power in the Court. However, the supreme court has been unbalanced before, leaning left. This is the process, the system always works itself out. For every Governmental decision, someone is unhappy.
This week I read an article titled "Heat Wave Scorches Sweden as Wildfires Rage in the Arctic Circle".
This article immediately interested me because I am curious about the impacts of climate change and current events around the world. I learned that Sweden is experiencing low rainfall, causing water shortages. This leads to dryness which then causes wildfires. This is a significant issue because this area of northern Europe usually doesn't experience wildfires of this intensity.
I knew of other situations involving drought and wildfires around the world such as the California wildfires and the water issues in countries such as South Africa and India. I never knew that a country like Sweden could be experiencing similar problems. I never would've thought their climate could get so dry for this problem to occur. However, I now know this is not the case.
This article made me more aware of what other countries are facing in regards to extreme weather, and had now made me interested in reading other stories about this topic!
“In Mozambique, a Living Laboratory for Nature’s Renewal”
This article is very interesting because it covers several experiments that scientists run in order to help the animals in their park. They fed a pack of wild African dogs everyday in order to help them grow in numbers and become stronger as a pack. The scientists held the pack of dogs until after their pack leader gave birth to new pups. Afterwards, they released the dogs back out into the park to live free lives which was a great thing to do especially since not too many people would even bother to do this. The scientists also take care of many of the animals in their park and use the animals for experiments such as bringing different species of animals into their park to have more of a variety of animals in their park. The most impressive part of their work in this park is that they keep taking care of animals and run experiments despite the civil war that is happening around them. The worst of the war happened towards the beginning when people would slaughter elephants for their tusks and they killed animals such as lions, hyenas, birds, and others for sport and many more animals died from starvation. Then they started to replace and add more animals with the help of Mr. Carr. He brought in hundreds of more animals after people stopped killing the animals and by bringing back and adding more animals, they started to attract more tourists for the park. It’s amazing to see people come together to save a park.
Taking Away the Phones Won't Solve Our Teenagers' Problems.
By Tracy A. Dennis-Tiwary
Every day around three o'clock teenagers across America come home from school. I know when I come home the first thing I do is sit down and go through my phone. At the end of a long day it helps me unwind. There has been many debates about how much time teens spend on their phone and if it is bad or not. In this article, "Taking Away the Phones Won't Solve Our Teenagers' Problems", Dr. Dennis-Tiwary states that phones are a way for teens to escape the world and I agree.
Dr. Dennis-Tiwary's article talks about problems facing teens today such as mental health. She believes that mental health isn't caused by phones but that phones are used as an escape from a person mental health. I disagree with this. I believe that a factor of bad mental health is social media and cyber bullying.
When I get home I want a few minutes to take my mind off all the homework and extra circulars I have to do that night. Taking away phones will send teens like me into a panic and that is why teens need other stress relievers. Dr. Dennis-Tiwary suggests limiting time on phones will help teens stress while also stopping our addictions to screens. This is a great idea because I and many others are attached to our phones. This has been a substantial problem as more people are becoming addicted to their screens. Limiting times on phones is a great way to help our problem with screen addictions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/sports/jerry-jones-anthem.html?rref=c...
During the 2017 NFL season, there were many protest from players for varying reasons during the national anthem. Consequensely the National Football League has announced new rules stating that it’s the team’s decision whether they allow the players to protest or stand. Most of the teams, like the 49ers and Jets, have allowed the players to make their own decisions to stand or kneel during the national anthem. While Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones, has said the complete opposite. He wants all Cowboys players standing during the anthem and that it is part of their policy.
If I was placed in the shoes of an NFL owner my choice would be to allow the players to do whatever feels right for them. Our country believes in the freedom of expression and I believe that everyone should be allowed to express their beliefs. Many argue that knealing is disrespectful to those who have lost their lives to make this great country. But the irony is that the men and women, who lost their lives, were fighting so we would be able to freely express an opinion and belief.
In Town With Little Water, Coca-Cola Is Everywhere. So Is Diabetes.
The reason that this article caught my eye is that I love sugary drinks, like Coca-Cola. I know that this drink is bad for me, so I have been trying to cut back on it. The part of this article that amazes me is that Coca-Cola is easier to get than water in this town because of little rain. In my life, it is definitely much easier to get water than Coke. The downside of the ability to get Coke easier than water is because too much of it can cause diabetes. Many people in this Mexican town most likely have diabetes because they drink a lot of Coke. Some people may think that Coke is better than nothing to drink, but there are many different health risks from drinking too much of the soda. One is that it can shorten your lifespan. Many people in this town feel that the Coca-Cola company is taking their water and using it to make the drink. They have no choice, but to drink and then they receive the many health effects. One lady in this town thinks that the Coca-Cola helps to heal people in the town. This could be true for small sicknesses, but it causes many other illnesses. The company helps the economy of the town by employing some of the people that live there. Some people still want the plant to stop the distribution of the product. On the other hand, there isn’t much else in the town to drink. The water that is accessible there, has a lot of chlorine in it. Coke is taking over the town and the people there.
This week the article entitled, "Clean,Sober and $41,000 Deep in Out-of-Pocket Addiction Recovery Costs," by Lela Moore interested me the most. This article spoke about how long the process of recovery for people is. The article states, 'It takes eight years, and four to five attempts at treatment..." This process is time consuming and expensive. Though some people got away with not paying a large amount, others had to pay $41,000.
This article interested me this week because becoming addicted to alcohol or drugs can take away years of your life and cause you to be deep in debt. Even if you don't have to pay thousands of dollars you can lose years of your life in rehab facilities and meetings. Struggling with an addiction causes many people to feel anxiety and depression. These can cause people to put themselves in life threatening situations and potentially make bad decisions. I mainly enjoyed and was interested in this article because it reiterated my thoughts on being safe and smart. I found this article inspiring and interesting.
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In the article at https://nyti.ms/2LvcDQ9, we learn that Israel’s ruling coalition has ratified a new basic law which promotes the Jewish people above all others, and completely avoids any mention of democracy or equality - principles enshrined in the nation’s Declaration of Independence. Despite its obvious bigotry, the policy’s successful passage through the uppermost echelons of Israel’s multiparty government reflects a broad trend of increasingly rightist politics around the world.
In fact, the political shift we are seeing in Israel has already played out in almost every other major power. In China, a jingoistic dictator seems determined to revive ancient Sinocentrism - at any cost. In Britain, the populace has voted to isolate itself socioeconomically from Europe. Even in democratic, free America, the president promotes immigration bans on Muslims and literal wall-building along its borders. This shift from the liberal politics of the late 1900s is so staggering, we often lose track of how far along we’ve come - until we receive news of a nation abandoning its egalitarian roots for new discriminatory policies.
Ultimately, I chose this article because it reminds us that, at a crucial crossroads in world history, we have chosen a path of protectionism and populism instead of egalitarianism and internationalism. Did we make the right choice? Only time will tell, but it is critical to realize that the farther we advance along this route, the harder it will be to backtrack.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/science/ancient-romans-whales.html
Ancient Romans Hunted ‘Sea Monsters.’ Were They Whales?
The most interesting article I read this week discussed the recent discovery of currently endangered whale species' fossils in the Mediterranean. The article notes that these whales are not currently found there, but Roman literature suggests that the "sea monsters" fishermen caught could have been gray whales or North Atlantic right whales. As a member of the archaeology club at my school, I find developments in the field of archaeology fascinating, especially when they can be applied to other disciplines. Perhaps understanding why these whales are no longer present in the Mediterranean could help scientists to better understand the causes of their current endangered status.
Fashion’s Woman Problem- Vanessa Friedman
I was stunned to learn the extent to which gender bias in endemic in the fashion industry. Since the majority of fashion houses are geared toward women, one could reasonably presume that fashion would be one of the most female-friendly industries. Yet despite the degree to which fashion is marketed towards women, men ultimately hold the industry’s reins. It is dismaying to know that only 14 percent of major brands are run by a female executive.
As a future fashion designer, I am dismayed by the current situation. I sensed that gender bias might be a rveality, but I never suspected it would be this bad. This makes me want to voluntarily abide by my own policy: as a male in the industry, I should counteract this bias against women with my own bias in favor of women. In any company I join in the future, I will look to hire as many women as I can.
“Greek Fire Brigade Says Death Toll in Wildfires Rises to 74”
The article on the fires in Athens interested me the most because of how tragic it was. I visited Athens when I was younger and it was a beautiful city to hear about all the land has been burned up and how many people have lost their lives, it makes me interested on how the fires started. This is one of the worst wildfires on record At least 74 people have been killed in wildfires raging close to Athens since Monday. [email protected]
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/health/psychology-studies-stanford-pr...
This article peaked my interest because I heard about the Standford Prison experiment prior to reading the article. The experiment was so renown that there was even a movie about the experiment. I was shocked to find out that the guards were coached to be cruel. It was crazy to see that this experiment has been going on for this long. You would think that a lot of people would be debunking it but it just got exposed now. The people who have a PhD in psychology much think that they wasted their time studying on these experiments since their statistics are flawed. This article changed my view on famous renown psychology experiments. Now I don't think I can trust these studies since for all I know all of them could be flawed. Imagine having a hair product that says "animal cruelty-free" but they lied and did, in fact, abuse the animal.
"Writing Prescriptions to Play Outdoors" by Perri Klass.
My first impression of this article was “Wow! That’s great!”, but as I read further, I realized that it is sad in certain ways too. Since my birth year is during the early 2000s, I remember both life before technology (other than TV) and after. Ever since I was little, I was only allowed to play in my garden and that was the closest thing to nature for me most of the time. Fortunately, since my parents love to travel, I get to explore nature almost every school break. I remember they'd always tell me stories about their youth and how they would always go outside to play all day which often questioned me why I couldn't do the same thing. And of course, they'd give the good old reason about how there are so many cars in the city and how dangerous stranger danger is, which I did not get mad about because I knew they were saying it for my own well-being.
These days, technology development has advanced so much that it is so easy for people to communicate with each other no matter where one is: every conversation is one text/call away. Also, kids have so many ways to entertain themselves indoor by playing video games and going on the internet without becoming bored. Still, it's very important for everyone to connect with nature once in a while because there are so many advantages to doing so. It is not healthy for anyone to stay indoors all the time; we weren’t built to live out our lives staying inside.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/opinion/dna-nature-genetics-education...
“Everyone starts with a blank slate.” A cliché mantra my dad would always echo whenever I came home upset and emptyhanded from a second-grade spelling bee or a middle school golf tournament. My father believes that all experiences, both favorable and unfavorable, will undoubtedly shape my life in distinct ways.
So, I was taught my entire life to believe my brain was pliable and capable of change. But, scientists have known for years that genetics and its traits are permanent—even our intelligence and IQ levels are set for life. But to be told that certain people will inevitably have lower chances of attending college, simply based on their disadvantaged “fixed” genes meant my father’s favorite advice that was now my life motto is flawed. It meant that not everyone is able to start off with a blank slate and that the gap between the genetically privileged and the underprivileged is unavoidable.
With current issues in our nation focused on and exacerbated by race, sex, and income, I want to believe that there are outlets of science that can possibly aid in eradicating socioeconomic issues such as the lack of equal education and poverty. This article provides just that.
And, while I am unsure if I wholly agree with the article and its claims, I do think the article’s original purpose is significant: to foster a scientific research goal of presenting everyone an equal “blank slate” for education.
"New Alzheimer’s Drug Slows Memory Loss in Early Trial Results"
This article caught by eye this week because I know Alzheimer's has long been a disease that has no known cure or effective treatment and has negatively affected the lives of many families around the world. Alzheimer's is a progressive disease that weakens memory and other various mental functions. This new drug was "able to both reduce the plaques in the brains of patients and slow the progression of dementia" and "may be the first to successfully attack both the brain changes and the symptoms of Alzheimer's." Although this drug shows promising results in its early stage testing, there is still a ways to go in order to determine whether this drug is truly effective.
Personally, I have experienced first hand how it feels to have a loved one with Alzheimer's. It is not a fun experience especially with the thought that they may one day forget who you even are. This news of a new drug that has shown results in slowing memory loss is a blessing especially among those who have experienced Alzheimer's directly.
This week I decided to read the article titled “See Ya Later, Suckas!’ The Obituary of a 5-Year-Old Boy in His Own Words” about a 5 year-old boy who sadly passed away from cancer. The interesting thing about this boy was he didn’t want to have a sad funeral. He wanted a “Carnival-like atmosphere”. He wanted 5 bouncy houses, Batman, and snow cones. This is interesting for many reasons. First, this 5 year-old who barely saw life wanted his friends and family to have a great time at his funeral instead of being sad for him. He wanted them to be happy about him going to a better place than to be sad in losing him. He understood that his death would be tough for his family and friends so he decided to make it fun and enjoyable. This, I feel, shows his true bravery and wisdom. The second reason this article intrigued me was his bravery towards the subject of death. I think that most people in this situation would’ve become highly depressed in knowing they’ll pass soon but this young man was very optimistic and said “I am going to be a gorilla and poo at daddy!”. This statement is as impressive as it is silly. The fact that he was joking up until his death shows his true courage. My great-grandmother was ill and in the hospital. She had only hours to live and was still her self making jokes and having fun. This little boy reminds me of her. Joyous and vibrant in their final hours It is an utterly terrible thing to lose someone, but if that person is at ease then you should be too.
Article: Stateless and Poor, Some Boys in Thai Cave Had Already Beaten Long Odds
This article caught my eye because of its interesting title. I hadn’t really thought much about the kids stuck in the cave except that they were soccer player. But it turns out there’s much more to their story.
Hannah Beech explains that many of the kids in the cave are “stateless,” that they came from another country but don’t have documentation from any country. She highlighted one boy in particular, Adul, who played an important role in the rescue, because he spoke English. He was able to speak to the British divers that came to save the soccer team.
It’s important to note the stories of the people behind news stories. Like the soccer coach that was also with them, who had once been a Buddhist monk, and taught the boys to meditate in order to stay calm. Knowing their backstories helps us to really understand them, to be able to empathize with them more.
The article also discusses the political importance of the event. It seemed to bring a sense of nationalism to the town where the boys were from. Thailand’s military was also put into a good light, because of their help in the rescue mission. The monarchy also got involved, important because the king had rarely before interacted with the public.
I thought one of the most inspiring parts of this story was that of the coach. He gave up his own food in order to help his kids, a lesson in selflessness that we all can learn.
"How to Meet Autistic People Halfway"
By Vikram K. Jaswal and Nameera Akhtar
My older cousin was diagnosed with Autism when he was a three-year-old after his parents realized he perceives, thinks and moves differently than the average child. During family gatherings, it seemed to me that he tried to isolate himself from the rest of the group. To me, "How to Meet Autistic People Halfway" was an eye-opening article. I now understand how my cousin may have wanted to interact with our families, but had trouble showing it.
According to the article, people with autism may seem not interested in other people, but, after recent studies, this claim is incorrect. More importantly, people need to understand that everyone with autism acts differently. They need to understand autistic people do isolate themselves, it does not mean that they are trying to; it is how their body is hard-wired.
My cousin has trouble communicating with the world. He cannot speak in sentences. He cannot write well. He cannot express his feelings. Yet, he is not an antisocial human. He does seek social interactions, in the same way, other people desire interactions.
What interested me the most was how the article addresses this disorder. The authors never put down autistic people, instead, they expressed how they are misunderstood, and how we should take time to understand people with autism. They do have feelings, and they do want to interact with other humans.
"An Extremely Detailed Map of the 2016 Election"
When I saw this interactive map pop up front and center of the New York Times homepage this morning, I knew I was in for a treat. Not just because of the graphics and the ability to see any precinct in the United States, but because of how wrong my perceptions were about how many people voted for Trump.
I thought that it was just the Electoral College since he won the big states, that helped him win. But when I saw this map, it was all to my surprise. The blue (Hillary Clinton) were mere freckles compared to all of red (Donald Trump) in the US. It was especially thought-provoking to see that Virginia, my state, was mostly red. Virginia is considered a purple state which means it could go either red or blue in elections (although most of our state voted for Trump in the 2016 presidential election, our governor, Ralph Northam, who was elected in 2017, is a Democrat), I didn't know how many people actually voted red. As it turns out, a lot.
Fairfax County, where I live was a small speck of blue in a sea of red. Fairfax is in Northern Virginia, near Washington, D.C, which was blue. But in the south, where the Appalachian Mountains are, it was overwhelmingly red. I was also under the impression that California was almost all blue, when in fact it's only around the Bay Area.
Thanks for the article to any of the authors and people who were involved in the design of the map. This was very eye-opening for me.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/science/mars-liquid-alien-life.html?r...
This article caught my attention due to the mention of “Alien Life” which is a topic that fascinates me a lot. I appreciate the fact that the article doesn’t outright say that there are aliens on mars since many people think of aliens as the green little monsters that are evil. The article instead introduces the idea as there is a possibility for “microbial life” which is much less daunting to our ears. This way of putting it makes the idea seem much more realistic and way less frightening for all of the people who think of aliens as cruel monsters that movies and tv shows portray them as. I also like how this article proves that there is so much more for humans to learn about and that it is important to keep exploring and researching so that we find out more big discoveries like this! There is so much information that we have no idea about and it’s crucial that together we discover as much as we possibly can. I hope that this article helps to open more people’s minds about life outside of Earth. I can’t wait for the day where we find a whole other civilization of organisms similar to us living galaxies and galaxies away.
"What is Sadness, and What is Depression?"
-Jennifer Finney Boylan
A worrying trend in recent years is the increase in the suicide rate, especially among teens. Is it because the media shows only what is "desirable," thus making anyone who is "less than perfect" feel ashamed for not measuring up to the standards they see in magazines? Or is it simply because they feel they have to present a brave face to the world instead of showing how they really feel? In this article, the author relates her experiences with depression and sadness and tells how these emotions are especially dangerous to teens. I agree that teens are susceptible to the lies depression places in their heads. After all, we all want to fit in, and nowhere is that desire more apparent than in our teenage years. When teens find themselves in the shadows, with few friends, or when they feel the need to hide their flaws is when their mind begins to tell them lies. I believe in the times that anyone hears these voices, they need to speak confidence into themselves. If that fails, they need to reach out to others and share their feelings. If they had someone to share their thoughts with without being judged or put down, I believe the suicide rate would decrease. However, if they tell someone about it, they are often not taken seriously. Therefore, it is important to always be there for your loved ones and be willing to listen and provide support.
This week the article that I found most interesting was “ What if a Study Showed Opioids Weren’t Usually Needed?” This article described how scientists are proceeding with an experiment using two variables in giving patients relief with pain. The goal in this experiment would be to eliminate or limit the amount of opioids given to teenagers and the population in general. Opioids are a highly addictive drug that is prescribed when a serious injury occurs but the downfall is that people get addicted. These trails that they are acting on was interesting to me because if we are able to limit the amount of addictive drugs in replace of a not as strong and less addictive drug we can keep people from dying and also limit the amount of crime.
What interested me most this week was the article, "Parents Behaving Badly: A Youth Sports Crisis Caught on Video," written by Bill Pennington. This article interested me because it talked about the violence towards the referees in sports by parents. I have been in multiple soccer games and can understand with the feeling that the referee called a wrong thing but being angry at someone and acting out in anger is so different. The games are entertainment and for fun for younger kids getting mad at the referee and hurting the referee when that referee could be still in elementary school so wrong that is hurts my head to think grown men and women done this. I am glad the action is being taken place through media and within law. According to Goodrich who has a referee association, " loses about 40 percent of its referees each year, forcing zealous recruitment of new officials." Meaning that this behavior has caused people to quit and stop refereeing. This caused a low number of referees with multiple games meaning they are tired and meant do bad calls and with the sidelines behavior, more violence. This needs to stop. This is the reason this the article I had the most interested in.
They Vowed to Fix the Subway a Year Ago. On-Timed Rates Are Still Terrible.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/nyregion/nyc-subway-delays-failure.html
The title of this article got my attention because I was also concerned about the subway service for the past years. Over the past few years, even though hundreds of millions of dollars and a lot of workers had been placed for repairing the service, there is clearly almost no significant major changes that had been improved. This article, “They Vowed to Fix the Subway a Year Ago. On-Timed Rates Are Still Terrible", well summarized how workers had been mainly focusing on the construction, not the actual improvement in their subway action plan. Whenever I went to the subway station, I could not breathe well because of the polluted air; I had to hold onto my breathe until I was in the subway. Another reason this article inspired me was that this article talked about how the subway rescue plan is being blocked by the funding. Before I read this article, I thought the governments were providing the finance for any repairing services. However, now it is clear to me that workers and the governments are trying their best to fix those problems of delayed trains.
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/07/17/us/ap-us-immigration-separat...
An Associated Press article, “Immigrant Children Describe Treatment in Detention Centers,” confirmed many people’s concerns: Trump’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policy of separating children from their parents and putting them into detention centers is cruel and inhumane.
Recently, the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) attested to the irreparable harm that family separation can cause, stating that “this type of highly stressful experience can disrupt children’s brain architecture … [and] can lead to lifelong health consequences”. It is beyond stressful: the cold cages, lack of sleep, hunger and filthy bathrooms described in the article amount to torture.
For the past several years, I have worked with autistic children and young adults, and am worried. A disability rights organization for autistic individuals issued a formal statement on June 18, stating that “abundant evidence shows that undergoing severe trauma such as family separation and incarceration can and does cause disability in and of itself”. More importantly, children with autism spectrum disorder may react more severely to traumatic experiences, and parent involvement is crucial for them.
In a world that is appalled by Trump’s zero-tolerance policy, the call for reform has never been so urgent. Children, especially those with autism, need their parents to grow and develop properly. This abuse must stop.
The entire title and premise of Jessica Valenti's Opinion are false.
On July 25, Valenti published an article called "What Feminists Can Do for Boys". She claimed that all boys are eventually drawn into misogyny through "hucksters peddling get many-quick platitudes and dangerous online extremist communities". Valenti later pushes her belief that men do not seek out "spaces" where they can grow as people. Even though there have been many examples of these spaces; however, most of them get shut down by radical feminist groups. An example would be the Detroit men's rights conference. Feminist Valenti then continues to claim that "issues don't hurt women, men do".
She utilizes her article to mislead readers. She assumes that without intervention, all men grow up to be harassers and rapists. Not only does she fail to mention the fact that men make up the majority of all suicides and other key details dealing with men's rights, but she also titles her article incorrectly. Valenti uses a clickbait title to lure in people who believe that she is suggesting allocating resources to helping men deal with abuse and suicide issues. In the end, it was all a misdirection. The entire article talks about all men growing up to be misogynistic, but to claim that all of the women's problems are the man's fault is misandry in itself.
“43 Hours, Circling Fins, No Boat: All for the Shark Week Glory”
For the past week I have been vacationing in Maine with my family. There has been a lot of talk about “Shark Week”. This article interested me greatly. It was about former British Royal Marine who had a profound fascination with sharks. James Glancy had the idea to bring himself and his friend Paul de Gelder out into the Pacific Ocean at the wreck site of the U.S.S Indianapolis, which was sunk by Japanese torpedoes in the 1940s. At this location, out of 900 initial survivors, only a little over 300 ended up making it to the shore alive. Many of the victims were believed to have been killed by oceanic whitetip sharks. That location didn’t work because the oceanic whitetips are a threatened species and there are very few left there. They decided to move the location to Cat Island in the Bahamas where whitetips are still found. Glancy and de Gelder spent 43 hours out in the open water and wore lifejackets during the night in case they were to fall asleep. The two men acknowledged that this experiment may have been dangerous, but they were also attempting to eliminate the myth that sharks are insane animals that are just going to kill you when you enter the water. I found the article very interesting because the two men were risking their lives and had some very close calls with the sharks, so it was a thrilling experiment to read about. That, among other things, made this article a very compelling read.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/arts/music/demi-lovato-hospitalized.html
"Everyone's going through their own battle... so you should be nice to all people." This quote is a divine example of expectation vs. reality in the USA. You would think that people would be more understanding and caring to others... but this usually doesn't happen until someone messes up.
This Tuesday, Demi Lovato, a famous pop singer, was rushed to the hospital after reportedly overdosing on drugs. According to the article, Demi "was known for her big voice and confessional nature". Many people did not expect the singer sober for 6 years to suddenly overdose on drugs... but I did.
Us, as a country, failed to recognize the nothing but oblivious signs that Demi was destined to hit rock bottom. She wrote a song called "Sober". This song confessed that she was no longer clean. But in my opinion, I feel like people ignored it thinking she would get better. She didn't, as she almost died. In my opinion, if we want to help others, everyone has to take a stand when they see this kind of warning sign. She is not doing good. She is struggling. Instead, we left her on her own, until she couldn't hold on anymore.
Nobody would have ever Demi expected her to break her sobriety. It really shows how no matter how happy or healthy someone seems, on the inside they could be extremely broken. Check warning signs and find help for struggling people. These tragedies need to stop. May Demi have a safe recovery.
"Thai Team Tells of Cave Rescue, Apologizing for All the Fuss"
The article that interested me most this week in the New York Times was one of the more recent updates on the soccer team who got stuck in a Thailand cave. Ever since the news started covering this story, that's all that's been playing in my house. After so much suspense, it was so nice to read a pleasant ending. The fact that the team acknowledged the loss of the retired Navy Seal who died trying to help them was so heartwarming, and even more so was the fact that all 12 teammates and their coach are alive and healthy now. Truthfully, this could have ended very badly, and their healthy state is a miracle. Though they don't happen often, miracles happen just often enough to believe in them, and this was that time. The team sat there trapped in the cave for over two weeks, tired from trying to dig themselves out and starved due to no food. To stay hydrated, they had to lick condensation off of the cave walls. Just that is dangerous, not the mention the long, tight journey through the tunnel to get the boys out. By going slow and steady, divers were able to get everyone safely out and that is amazing. The boys in a news conference apologized to their parents, the passed Navy Seal’s family, everyone who spent time on helping them. All I can think is how truly astonishing it is that all of the boys and their coach are safe and healthy, and it's so relieving to read that a scary situation had a happy ending.
Andrew Russo
How France Won Its Second World Cup Title
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/sports/world-cup/france-vs-croatia-fi...
It's about time France won their second cup in my opinion. Last world cup they made it to the final and lost to Portugal, which came to me as a complete surprise, while Portugal did have many star players at the time including Cristiano Ronaldo, I thought that France would destroy them. Especially with the talent of Pogba, Griezman, and many other key players. From the beginning of this world cup, I thought that Croatia stood no chance, but they ended up putting up a very good fight. France secured an early lead off of an own goal. Perisic then scored for Croatia 10 minutes later to tie the game. They soon found themselves behind one more time after a very controversial penalty kick. This was the first penalty kick in world cup history to be conformed through video referee assistant, (V.A.R.). This made the score 2-1 in favor of the French. Pogba and M'bappe both scored for France later on in the game, one being another record breaker. M'bappe is the youngest player to score in the world cup since Pele. Later in the match, Llorris, France's goalkeeper, allowed a very sloppy goal, making the final score of the game 4-2. Overall it was a great match to watch, filled with a couple of newly set records.
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2018/07/24/us/24reuters-usa-court-guns.html
This week I read the article "U.S. Gun Control Groups Seek to Block Distribution of 3-D Gun Blueprints" by The Times. I was immediately drawn to this article after reading the title. As a student and a common sense gun legislation activist, seeing that our government is considering allowing people to 3D print weapons is something that fascinated and confused me. The idea of disposable guns, to me, is completely illogical. In the article, the author mentions how the co-president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence stated that the government, having previously fought against this, took a complete 180 with this settlement. I was shocked to see headlines stating that we may soon live in a country where disposable guns are allowed.
In all honesty, I was dismayed to see that the 3D printing of guns could soon be a reality. This article helped me learn about the unified efforts that are being carried out by multiple groups in order to put a stop to disposable guns before they even start to be printed. My reaction to this article is an example of why we should continue to educate ourselves on what is going on in our government. If we do not read about cases like these, then we will not be able to participate in actions to stop them. This article helped me get a better understanding of what our government is choosing to do about gun issues across our country.
Both of my parents are immigrants. It’s shaped who I am but not how I’m treated. It's not simply because my parents crossed the border legally. Nor because my father recently became a citizen. It’s because I’m white. Unlike several of my immigrant peers and friends of color, when I’m asked where I’m from, I answer “New Mexico,” and they’re satisfied. I've never faced further probing to be stereotyped, but I’ve witnessed my friends endure questions like,“But, where are you really from?” or “No, where were you born?” It’s clear that many white people are uncomfortable with the growing diversity in the United States.
The hatred towards immigrants in America today is fueled by lies and myths. After reading “Return of the Blood Libel” By Paul Krugman, It became apparent that the blood libel and the myths created by anti-immigration supporters are eerily similar. The Blood Libel began in the middle ages, and Hitler used it to further his own agenda during the Holocaust. The myths spread by the blood libel and the rhetoric used by politicians today create the fear that drives prejudice and racism.
Anti-immigration supporters believe that immigrants are here to steal their jobs and rape their daughters. When in reality, all they want is to give their children an opportunity for a better life or get away from abusive homes or unsafe areas. As a country, we need to realize this and own up to our mistakes. We need to help the people seeking asylum, instead of turning them away.
Did the Trump Administration Separate Immigrant Children From Parents and Lose Them?
The debate over how illegal families should be treated when apprehended has been raging for some time now, and this article sheds some light on some information that puts more fuel to the fire. Many people feel like the separation of children from their families is immoral. On the flip-side however, people feel like their isn't a choice. What else are we to do with these children while their parents are being prosecuted? It would be too dangerous to send them back alone. However, we as nation with the vast size of borders, should come up with a much better system to where the DHHS does not lose track of 1,475 children, and also so children aren't given to people with malicious ideas in mind.
Eric Hargan, the deputy secretary for DHHS "expressed frustration at the use of the term “lost” to refer to the 1,475 unaccounted-for children." He believes the department’s office of refugee resettlement attempts to call the families, which are not required, 'are now “being used to confuse and spread misinformation."'
Mr. Hargan also stated that 'sponsors cannot be reached because “they themselves are illegal aliens and do not want to be reached by federal authorities.”' A better system will hopefully be created so children are returned to trustable people, like the child's parents, and not to human traffickers. For example, a 2016 report showed procedures failed to keep kids from human traffickers.
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E.U Fines Google $5.1 Billion in Android Antitrust case
I found this article to be interesting because of Google's rapid expansion and massive international branding. As a result of Google's economic dominance in Europe, the EU decided to fine a record breaking $5.1 billion due to "unfair" practices in the use of the Google search engine with Google's smartphones. Although Europe's antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager, claims that Google denied rivals the chance to innovate and compete on the merits, it's justifiable because the major smartphone OS's are from the US and none of them are from anywhere else. This is justifiable because Google has been able to power smartphones with gradual innovation and more choices for everyone. Google's situation doesn't even compare to the case in 1982 when AT&T was absolutely dominating the market because of its cheap and reliable service. Google's operating system for smartphones can be found in a range of prices from brand such as Samsung to Motorola. The use of Google is not only expanding by it's increasing popularity, but also by the expansion of its branding in areas such as Apps and brands that use Android. I believe the E.U didn't genuinely fine Google because of its dominance but to take advantage of its popularity. Silicon Valley contains the world's major and innovative technological companies, contrary to the situation in Europe.
"Annoyed by Restaurant Playlists, a Master Musician Made His Own"
Have you ever disagreed about what music to play? How about at a restaurant? In the NY Times article, “Annoyed by Restaurant Playlists, a Master Musician Made His Own”, it introduces a musician by the name of Ryuichi Sakamoto. This musician was so fed up with the music being played at his favorite restaurant….so he created his own playlist to be heard.
Mr. Sakamoto has a liking for a Japanese restaurant in Murray Hill. He pays frequent visits to this restaurant, and, although he greatly enjoys the food that is served there, he absolutely hated the music that was played. He finally couldn’t take any more of this music, so he finally contacted the chef about it. He believed that the music had no thought put into it, and he offered taking over the job of choosing it, therefore he could enjoy eating there more. He offered to do this job with no pay, and the chef agreed. Mr. Sakamoto didn’t have a huge desire for letting people know about this, so not many people noticed that he had taken over. Sakamoto created specialized playlists for the restaurant, leaving out any of his own music.
This article interested me because it made me think. If restaurants focus their attention on different jobs, such as cooking and dishwashing, why should they pay any less attention to picking the music? I do believe that people could enjoy eating at certain restaurants more if they enjoyed the music being played too.
Nights Are Warming Faster Than Days. Here’s Why That’s Dangerous.
In the article I read, I learned that global warming is more effective today than it may seem to be. Heat waves have affected people all across America this July. Temperatures have not only been high during the day, they’ve also been high during the night. Summer nights have warmed at almost twice the rate of temperatures during the day. When temperatures don’t decrease during the night, the human body does not have a break from the high temperatures. Heat waves cause the most deaths in America than any other natural disaster. These high temperatures effect the elderly, young children, and people who are sick. Those without air conditioning are effected the most. The increase in temperatures is not only affecting America, but is affecting the world. I chose this article because I am interested in environmental science. I thought it was interesting how something as simple as the nights getting warmer could negatively effect so many people.
"Swedish Student Blocks Afghan’s Deportation by Refusing to Sit Down on Flight"
This week I read about a student activist that literally stood up against the deportation of an Afghan man. Elin Ersson, the Swedish student, did something that I think everyone hopes they would do when they find themselves in a situation like that, but they just end up letting something horrible happen. I was interested by this article because it shows others that there are people brave enough to help speak up for those who may be ignored, especially if they are being ignored because of their race, religion, or even their sexuality. I also think that seeing people like Elin Ersson in the news can help spread the idea that resisting deportations and just standing up for people isn’t that impossive. I see this article as a way to show people that change is possible. It’s people like Elin Ersson that give hope to people that are seen as different because of some negative stereotype associated with only one part of their whole personality.
I read the article "Psychology Itself Is Under Scrutiny" this week. It explained that many psychological studies have been looked over again, and many studies have been proven to not be as solid as once thought. However, sometimes replicating studies can be hard, since there are more ethical restrictions than there might have been in previous years. When the studies can be replicated, if they do not pan out like it did previously, it can be very beneficial. Instead of just completely dismissing the idea, the mistakes help to improve and fix anything that needs it.
[email protected]
https://nyti.ms/2uTTMIf
Despite the fact that smartphones are a relatively new technology, few people would consider not having one. Everyone you see probably has a phone. It has become a societal expectation. Some use phones for work, some for communication, and some for entertainment. The best part? All this is available in a device smaller than 6 by 3 inches.
In the article “Could You Make It Through Dinner Without Checking Your Phone?” Claire Ballentine notices the frequent use of electronic devices at the dinner table. People who monitor their phones during meals talk less with one another. As a teenager who is constantly on his phone, I understand the urge to check for notifications. I also notice the decrease in conversation when I stop eating to look at my phone. It frustrates not only me, but also the rest of my family. And we all lose the laughter, understanding, and empathy that our dinner conversations engender.
In order to help people have a better dining experience, Marco Canora, the owner of the Hearth restaurant in Manhattan, provides vintage boxes that diners can put their phones in. Marc Lyons, a satisfied user of the boxes, expressed that without their phones, his family enjoyed their conversation more than when they were distracted by them. Although Canora’s solution is encouraging, the only people affected are those eating at his restaurant. Everyone else will still be confronted with the real problem: society’s addiction to phones.
“What to Do With a Perfect Avocado”
Although most people don’t think avocados are particularly interesting, I find Melissa Clark’s article, “What to do with a Perfect Avocado,” fascinating. She talks about avocados as if they are more than just mundane fruit, making them seem special.
Ordinarily, an article simply about preparing avocados and the difficulty of finding a ripe one wouldn’t be interesting. Nonetheless, Clark’s piece caught my eye. Her word choice in phrases like “mellow and creamy, avocados work well with pungent, bright flavors” and needing to “hide their disfigurement” brings life into the article. These expressions create a quirky uniqueness surrounding both Clark’s writing and the fruit.
Due to her style, I began relating how she talks about avocados to life experiences. For example, Clark’s need to hide the fruits’ “disfigurement” mirrors people’s need to hide their flaws. Furthermore, the general theme of searching for the perfect avocado reminds me of the struggle of looking for a genuine friend. I have cut into a seeming normal avocado to discover it is mushy and brown in the same way I have found seemingly normal friendships to be toxic.
Yes, I realize I’m probably reading too much into the article, but I believe how a writer connects with his or her audience through subject matter, diction, or style is what makes pieces intriguing. After all, how many people could convince you that your life story isn’t that different from an avocado’s?
"1 Hen, 76 Ducklings: What’s the Deal With This Picture?"
By Sarah Mervosh
The article and the photography that was taken in Minnesota both accommodates, they define the true beauty of the natural wildlife world that surrounds us everywhere. The photo describes a mother duck that is leading her little ducklings through the river, but what strikes me the most is the amount of ducklings there is. There were more than 50 ducklings following the mother. In my mind I tell myself like how does she lead that many ducklings of her own in this dangerous wildlife full of many different critters. This can be an usual siting but it can an extraordinary phenomenon within nature that you cannot see everyday. This really grabbed my attention and interested me to read this article and see the picture that was shown. It must be really amazing to see all those ducklings following their mother across the river as the are group together into one line. While reading this article and looking at the photo, I thought of my own parents and other parents, they are raising and leading their children to a better life for them. The parents also show the protection, support and care for their children. Mostly the picture can be define as love and care, nothing more can the mother do than just look out for her little ducklings, even if their is around 70 and roaming around. That motherly duckling has herself put into stress and responsibility looking out for her children.
This week, I read "Chemicals in Food May Harm Children, Pediatricians' Group Says", by Roni Caryn Rabin. This particular article interested me because the items listed as harmful are just everyday food and packaging things that people use without a second thought. However, there is now evidence that "certain chemicals that enter foods may interfere with the body's natural hormones in ways that may affect long-term growth and development" as written by Rabin. On the bright side, the pediatrician group stated "there are safe and simple steps people can take right now to limit exposures, and they don't have to break the bank". With that being said, I hope people take precautions when dealing with foods given to children as to avoid unnecessary contact with these harmful chemicals. This article has brought the dangers of certain foods and packaging items to the attention of me and, hopefully, millions of others.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/opinion/sunday/smartphone-addiction-t...
"Taking Away the Phones Won’t Solve Our Teenagers’ Problems"
I have always hated the stigma about smart phones causing mental illness. This article helped bolster my views on this subject due to how it very clearly stated that there was nothing that directly proved that smart phones caused mental illness. Smart phones, I believe, may play a part in causing mental illness, but I don't think it is the main problem. The article mentioned helicopter parents, and I myself have had some first hand experience. I could definitely see how overbearing parents can cause stress, and more problems that could lead to anxiety. As a teenager I can say that there are many more reasons for why teenagers today are prone to mental illnesses. I think that phones are an escape from reality and the pressures that we, as teenagers, face everyday. I think that it is important for adults to realize that smart phones are not the main issue,and adults need to recognize mental illness and the real reasons for why teenagers today are facing so many problems.
The journey of life is defined by experiences. We each forge our own paths and characterize ourselves by the moments that we have lived through. As the never-ending current of time sweeps by, these moments become ingrained in us as our cherished memories. But what happens when we lose these memories? This is a very real possibility for a large percentage of the population who are at risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
The very idea of losing our memories--and in turn our sense of self and identity--is quite frightening indeed, which is why scientists around the globe are currently tackling this issue head-on. "For Scientists Racing to Cure Alzheimer’s, the Math Is Getting Ugly" written by Gina Kolata focuses on a trial drug by Eli Lilly, which seems quite promising. However, they are faced with the horrifying truth that it is almost impossible to find enough participants to partake in trial runs. The resulting massive loss of funds and time has turned away major pharmaceutical companies from attempting a solution. This is a serious issue.
What are we to do when ingenuity is stifled by reality? In a situation like this, the most reasonable approach is to gain much wider public support for trial tests for potential drugs. We absolutely cannot surrender to failure and time. With enough patience and publicity, a cure will be found. It is foundationally ingrained within our society to look after each other and to raise each other up when we have fallen. This is the time to show it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/18/magazine/dirt-save-earth-carbon-farmi...
"Can Dirt Save the Earth?" By Moises Velasquez-Manoff
Who knew that a feasible solution to global warming was right under our noses, or should I say feet? The word "dirt" itself may not have a nice ring to it, but several scientists believe it offers an enormous amount of promise in keeping potentially harmful carbon emissions out of the Earth's atmosphere and into the ground. If handled correctly, dirt can actually absorb and store a significant amount of carbon from the air, eventually helping to curb the level greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
I had always imagined the ultimate "key" to minimizing global warming as some complex, intricate machine. Something exceptional. Something out of the ordinary. That probably explains what I found so seemingly intriguing about this article. The answer to probably the world's biggest threat was not some jaw-dropping wonder. It was something I had rendered useless since I was a four year old kid: dirt. The stuff that broke my fall when I fell off my bike at the local playground now had the potential to save the entire planet from an impending doom.
I now realize that every so often, it is not a matter of developing something entirely new, but utilizing the resources around you in an effort to create a healthier, safer, and more productive environment.
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"How Not to Let Your Phone Ruin Your Vacation"
This week, I was most interested in an article giving guidelines on how to avoid spending an excessive amount of time on your phone while on vacation. Throughout the entire article, the question in the back of my mind was “Why?” Not questioning why we should stay away from our phones, but why an article like this has to even exist. Even though I was questioning, I already knew why. Lately, people have been so consumed with technology that it has ruined vacations, education opportunities, and relationships. We’re so fixated on what’s flickering and swiping around on our phone screens that we’ve let so many things pass us by. Just the other day, my mother wanted me to ride in the car with my aunt to take her to a family member’s house. I had been there every day for the past week to spend time with them, and my mother was furious when she discovered I didn’t know how to get there. I’m as guilty as anyone when it comes to letting what’s on my phone keep me from knowing and seeing things that I need to know and see. The fact that a phone screen can actually keep people from enjoying things that they’re supposed to enjoy like vacations shows how severe our addiction as a population has become.
Isabella Santiago Bronx,NY
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/opinion/sunday/smartphone-addiction-t...
People think that phones are what causes teenagers to have anxiety and depression, but is that really true? I believe not because there isn’t any direct evidence that says that the phones causes any of these mental health issues. People are only makes this assumption because the year teenagers anxiety and depression spiked up, phones were being bought and used the most that same year. Maybe it’s that teenagers anxiety is increasing and the use of the phones is what calms and relaxes them. What parents don’t understand is that teenagers use the phones to keep themselves distracted and not into other things like being in the streets. Most teenagers that don’t have a phone or don’t use phones are most likely to be in the streets doing some negative stuff. Also, it’s now that toddlers don’t know nothing but using the iPads, iPhones, and Smartphones. When the toddler is crying the parent gives them the device and they’ll stop crying. If the toddler is using the device more than it’s supposed to then that’s when you question yourself, is this device going to lead my kid getting anxiety and/or depression. It just doesn’t have to be teenagers getting anxiety and depression it could be the toddlers too.
Samsung’s Record-Breaking Streak Is Ending. Blame Its Memory.
Samsung as we all known has done a great job on there phone side of things but its pretty bad to hear that they're latest flagship had there problems because reading an article like this one really tells the consumer to see if they want the upgrade or if they want to stay with the same phone.And this also contributes to the stock market and the people who want to start and investing because know there stock market would go down thanks to something that could possibly be avoided if they focused on there manufacturing yes now everything is good with the phone but this was a few weeks ago and this really makes the decision on if people should get this new phone and for some people this makes them keep their old one because it can probably be better and won’t have a problem.In all this article really helped make the final decision on getting the new phone which really helps anyone choice to get there new phone. By the end of this article this really gives knowledge to people so they can have a proper view on how to buys phones and what to look at whenever a new phone comes out.
https://nyti.ms/2O5erRP
This week, I read the article "It’s Not Just the Tampon Tax: Why Periods Are Political."
A lot of people who don't experience periods are very misinformed about them, and even those who experience them might not know a lot. This is why I think sexual education should be emphasized much more than it normally is in schools. Not being informed about these topics is very dangerous, and can lead to bad situations such as unintended pregnancy, spread of disease, even rape etc.
Tampon taxes, to me, should not be a thing. Tampons are important hygiene products, and access to hygiene products is instrumental in preventing health issues, and generally improve the quality of life. We are no longer in the medieval ages. Public health is valued, isn't it? That's why I think it's great that a movement like this to end tampon taxes exists.
As someone who is very passionate about the environment, wildlife, and ways to combat climate change, I was excited to find out there are teens just like me taking charge to make a difference. Reading the article “Meet the Teenagers Leading a Climate Change Movement,” I was inspired by the actions of Jamie Margolin, the founder of Zero Hour- an environmentally focused nationwide coalition.
Logistics director of Zero Hour, Zanagee Artis’s story also really resonated with me because I think I could employ similar ideas at my school. As a junior in high school, he started a sustainability committee and made huge improvements by getting his school to start recycling and composting food waste. Now as I enter my junior year of high school, I hope to accomplish something that will have a positive impact on our world.
Big oil corporations love to paint America’s youth as self-absorbed profligates all while getting environmental regulations slashed so they can get out of jail free. It’s imperative that everyone does their part now to limit climate change and live sustainably so we don’t inherit an uninhabitable world, but I am overjoyed that it is the younger generations who have taken up positions of power to spread the word. Sometimes it might seem like even the most inspired kids can’t change the world, but to quote Margolin, “We flipped the scenario as the underdog. We’ve proven ourselves,” she said. “We are on the verge of something amazing. We’re going to change history.”
The article that interested me this week was "More Women Deserve Statues in New York. Here Are 10." This article is really important to me because women have and still are being marginalized every day in many respects. These women have persevered through numerous hardships and still aren't given the recognition they deserve. Zora Neale Hurston made a presence on this list, and after I read her book "Their Eyes Were Watching God" it opened up a whole new perspective of women's struggle with sexism in history. All of the women featured in this list have shown through hard work that women can achieve anything they want to. Women have done a lot for our society and it is definitely time we recognize them more and teach our future what they've done for us.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/us/politics/sexual-misconduct-ohio-st...
Richard H. Strauss abused Ohio State athletes for decades. They nicknamed him “Dr. Jellypaws” for his intrusive physicals and lingering showers with the wrestling team.
Reading this article, I was baffled by the sheer number of Ohio State’s mistakes. How could its administrators repeatedly ignore students’ complaints? Were they unaware of what was apparently an open secret on campus? If not, were they even slightly disturbed by Strauss’s depraved “medical treatments”? I’m concerned that students’ wellbeing was deemed less important than the university’s reputation.
Further, I worry that Ohio State represents a larger problem. If you don’t believe me, read about Larry Nassar’s abuses at USA Gymnastics and Harvey Weinstein’s assaults on young actresses. Sex abuse affects people in all disciplines, and far too many powerful men feel comfortable abusing their subordinates.
I chose this article because I was disgusted. I simply couldn’t believe that Strauss traumatized students for over thirty years without consequences. Sex abuse scandals must be taken more seriously, especially when they involve young people. Congressman Jim Jordan should be held accountable for his complicity, Ohio State should reform its complaint mechanisms, and, if allegations are credible, they merit thorough and independent investigations. This must never happen again.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/science/ancient-romans-whales.html
[email protected]
The article that caught my attention was the article about the ancient romans and whales. I thought it was really interesting that the Ancient Romans knew how to kill these animals, and that we do the same thing today. It was interesting that scientists found the remains of whale bones and were able to identify them as such. This article was very informative and interesting to read.
The article “Nights Are Warming Faster Than Days. Here’s Why That’s Dangerous” was very interesting to me this week. It caught my attention because this summer seems to be a lot hotter and muggier than previous summers and I wanted to find out more about why. The article mentions that it is very dangerous that the temperatures don’t decrease that much during the night and that fact in the article stood out to me the most. When I read that fact I hadn’t paid much attention to the high temperatures at night. Also I didn’t realize that high nighttime temperatures are very dangerous to us. I learned that it is dangerous to humans because if our bodies are constantly being exposed to this extreme heat then we could overheat. Another interesting fact in this article was that having high temperature all the time was a big problem to landscapers who try to do most of their job early in the morning or late in the evening. When Earth doesn’t cool down it makes it really hard for these people to do their jobs since they are working in such extreme heat conditions. Then they also have a higher chance of having a heat stroke. After considering those details, this article really encouraged me to look more into trying to find simple solutions that will help slow down global warming. It is a big problem that needs to be solved so that we won’t have to worry about really hot summer nights.
“In Mozambique, a Living Laboratory for Nature’s Renewal”
This article is very interesting because it covers several experiments that scientists run in order to help the animals in their park. They fed a pack of wild African dogs everyday in order to help them grow in numbers and become stronger as a pack. The scientists held the pack of dogs until after their pack leader gave birth to new pups. Afterwards, they released the dogs back out into the park to live free lives which was a great thing to do especially since not too many people would even bother to do this. The scientists also take care of many of the animals in their park and use the animals for experiments such as bringing different species of animals into their park to have more of a variety of animals in their park. The most impressive part of their work in this park is that they keep taking care of animals and run experiments despite the civil war that is happening around them. The worst of the war happened towards the beginning when people would slaughter elephants for their tusks and they killed animals such as lions, hyenas, birds, and others for sport and many more animals died from starvation. Then they started to replace and add more animals with the help of Mr. Carr. He brought in hundreds of more animals after people stopped killing the animals and by bringing back and adding more animals, they started to attract more tourists for the park. It’s amazing to see people come together to save a park.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/09/arts/music/bach-cello-dane-johansen.html
Like Dave Johansen’s quest to achieve a natural rhythm in Bach as he hiked to Santiago de Compostela, the primary goal for me and other competitive musicians is to improve different aspects of our playing. Other musicians, however, play not to perfect their skill but to experience the joy of sharing music. One musician I met at Missouri’s Innsbrook Summer Music Academy showed me that there is more to music than improving one’s skills. Five hours before one of our Academy’s concerts, the great violinist Gilles Apap gathered a few of us students to rehearse an encore for the concert. Despite our worries that we wouldn’t have enough time to thoroughly prepare the music, Apap asserted that he didn’t care if we played well or not: he only cared that we would have fun sharing the music. Adopting Apap’s attitude, we let go of our anxiety and focused only on having fun. My initial fear that we wouldn’t do well was like Johansen’s frustrations when he had to perform with swollen fingers and no time to practice. Similar to Johansen, I was able to overcome my apprehension and enjoy sharing my music like a “gift.” I will long treasure the memory of the pure pleasure I felt playing the encore with friends. Going forward, I will remember that music is most enjoyable when shared.
The $3 Billion Plan
to Turn Hoover Dam
Into a Giant Battery
-Ivan Penn
As a teenager, I see the deterioration of our climate to not only be a problem of today, but largely as a problem of tomorrow that my generation will be forced to solve. As these problems of our ever changing climate begin to compound, our best bet is to start now.
The only way to slow down and stop climate change is to end our love-hate relationship with fossil fuels. While they may have been one of the great building blocks of modern society because of their high energy concentration, abundance, and cost, the pollutants released during their combustion are driving climate change today. Today we do have alternative sources of energy but many of them have a downfall, they can’t provide baseload electricity or minimum electrical demand. Our cities, schools, offices, and homes all need a constant source of power. It doesn’t matter where it comes from, but it needs to come from somewhere. When you turn on a light, the power company bumps up their electrical production by burning more fuel, but we don’t have that luxury with renewable energy. No one can just turn up the wind or reduce the cloud coverage. And because of this, we can’t truly cut fossil fuels out of our society until renewable sources are able to provide baseload electrical demands by storing excess power during peak production. This plan to create a giant battery will help us to take another step away from fossil fuels.
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Throughout the Vegas Golden Knights inaugural season, they were the team to beat. After my team failed, I was drawn to the Knights. They were succeeding as a franchise and even made it to the Stanley Cup Final. Their Cinderella story came to a close in game five of a best of seven series, when the Washington Capitals beat them out. That’s why the article “How the Team in Las Vegas Won Despite Losing” caught my attention. The Knights secured themselves a spot in history during their first season. But how they did it, was truly unique. When Stephen Paddock fired on the country music festival in Vegas, killing fifty-three people and injuring hundreds more, the Vegas Golden Knights assisted those in need. The team flooded out into the community thanking police officers and first responders donating blood and even tens of thousands of dollars to help the injured, their families and emergency medical workers. This outreach by the team cemented their relationship with the city. The Vegas Golden Knights started their first season strong, winning eleven of their first fifteen games. Soon the Knights logo popped up everywhere. Before game five began on Thursday, June seventh, the Knights honored everyone affected by the shooting and praised the undersheriff Kevin Mcmahil as the hero of the day. Although their loss in game five marked the end of their extraordinary first season, it also marked the start of a new era in the NHL.
"A Large Body of Water on Mars Is Detected, Raising the Potential for Alien Life"
The mystery of whether or not there is life on Mars has been questioned for a long time now. Although scientists have reported findings of large amounts of frozen ice on Mars, no solid evidence of liquid water on the planet has been found until now. I was interested in this article because I am one of the many who has a deep interest in the existence of alien life. The article stated how there are possibilities of microbes residing in a liquid lake on the planet. However, this is not a definite reality as the lake has to have a tremendous salt concentration to be able to remain unfrozen in Mars's frigid climate. It is only a matter of time before we get the right technology to actually confirm the existence of life on Mars. I am eager to see how the developments in space travel and the study of the red planet continue to lead to new discoveries. I chose this article because I like to keep up with the latest in advancements in astronomy and in the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/26/us/politics/trump-tweets-mueller-obst...
"Mueller Examining Trump's Tweets in Wide-Ranging Obstruction Inquiry"
I have always been intrigued by Trump and the things he's gotten away with saying over his twitter, and its definitely un-conventional considering he's the president of the United States. President Trump has a very strong influence around the World and through even his tweets can make a major impact on the World and people's thinking so I found this article very interesting. Mueller suggests that something that seems so insignificant such as Donald Trump's tweets actually gives him leverage in going around the law and making legal problems all on his own, something that we have not really seen before in a president and that what makes it so interesting and leads me to wonder if Trump keeps such a high profile on twitter purposefully to gain power or if everyone is reading too deeply into the meaning behind his tweets are I just thought this article was a good way of telling about the reaction to his tweets.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/well/doctor-patient-waiting-regular.h...
Coming from a family of doctors, I am always told that being a physician is a very rewarding job due to the daily opportunity of helping others. My mother in particular always tells me about the satisfaction that she receives when she not only treats her patients, but more so when she gets the chance to connect and build lasting relationships with them and their families. When I hear these wise words I typically nod without completely understanding it’s true meaning. However, after reading this article I realized the true meaning behind my mother’s words. The common process of referring a patient to a number of doctors/specialists will get the job done, but relationships won’t be built. Therefore, I’ve come to realize that being a doctor isn’t only about prescribing medicines, but also about comforting the patient and making sure that his/her experience in the hospital is smooth and efficient. It’s often very easy to forget about this aspect of the job, but as mentioned in the article, going the extra mile for the patient can mean the world to them. Overall, this article has really changed my perception about the role of physicians and patient care.
This week the article that I found to be most captivating this week was “The Transformative Nature of the Photographs of Diane Arbus.” It showed me why photography became known as an art form, and how Diane Arbus changed photographers focuses in their pictures. Ms. Arbus treated her pictures like art and made others think of them as art. It made me wonder what other ways do people not see art whereas the creator does. Most people at that time thought pictures where about the small details and photographers wanted to accentuate the things most people would think of as minor. We are told by the author James Estrin that Diane Arbus used her photos to bring an experience to its audience. Ms. Arbus used techniques to develop her pictures that others had not, she highlighted the mood of the scene in the picture, much like other artist do in their different media. Diane Arbus made the focal point of her pictures depict human abnormalities making, what some people may think of as disfigured or defective people, the “stars” in which give the photos their beauty.
https://nyti.ms/2AamNo3
Middle school, I finally noticed the cuts on my friend’s arms, the puffy eyes of the girl next to me, the stories on Snapchat. I saw what I had never experienced. I never heard the voice telling me I was nothing. I never saw that it was on 24/7 in the heads of those around me. I never heard the stories. I never realized that depression was all around.
I’m not living a sheltered life. I am sometimes overworked, unappreciated, out-of-place, but the voice in my head always tells me I am working toward what I want. I don’t know why people become depressed, I don’t know what can be done, but perspective can change what you feel. My goal isn’t for me to be always happy, but for me to live a life that benefits those I love.
We grow up believing the we are the center. We are unique, special, have a place, but we are not the center. If we believe that we are the most important person, the second we are forgotten we close our minds. Until we realize that there are billions of equally special people can we overcome the voice in our head saying we are nothing. We are not nothing, but not everything.
I think every teenager should read this article. Our favorite excuse is no one understands me, we need to understand that many others have gone through the same or worse. That others know better, know how to fight. We don’t know the difference of sadness and depression. We won’t know until we are helped. Humans were never meant to be alone, unloved.
"Parents Behaving Badly; A Youth Sports Crisis Caught on Video" By Bill Pennington
This particular video/article caught my attention in this week's time because I also agree that it is a crisis when parents get out of control during their kid's games.
A soccer referee named Brian Barlow created a Facebook page that only had clips of parents that were unruly and spectators at youth events in order to shame them. He even offered $100 to those who captured the moment and let him post it. Brian Barlow says, "I do it to hold people accountable...to identify and call out a small percentage of parents who nonetheless create a toxic environment at youth sports. It's a very visual deterrent, and not just to the person caught on video but to others who ask themselves; Do I look like that jerk?"
Because of this issue of parents being verbally and physically abusive, 70% of new referees in all sports are now quitting their jobs within 3 years. (National Association of Sports Officials)
Sometimes the parents are the ones that also need to check their behavior.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/us/police-shooting-justine-damond-min...
This article”Family of Australian Woman Shot by Police Sues Minneapolis”
really caught my attention of police brutality or killings
Police are supposed to help protect our towns, cities , neighborhoods, etc. They are not supposed to kill people. Sometimes, i wonder why would cops shoot and kill innocent people who did nothing wrong. The lawyer said”She saw something, she said something — and she got killed for it”. What did she see and say to cause police to kill her? Police have body cameras to record what they see, but they didn’t turn them off to see the death of this woman. They want the police to change to stop these killings from happening. You can’t fully trust everyone you see.
Police killings is wrong in many ways on how they are meant to serve justice for us. There are some places in the US where police killings can happen, mainly around Black Communities. Police are also being racist of their killings as well. Do you think you can trust them now?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/17/sports/soccer/usain-bolt-australia.html
Ever thought that the world’s fastest man would be joining a soccer team? I sure didn’t. Well turns out Usain Bolt has always wanted to play on a professional soccer team, and now it may be his time to do that. It may be weird going from the track to the field, but Bolt has been learning to better adjust. His speed may help but spending so much time from soccer has people questioning his skills. Will he reach his goal? Only time will tell.
In “Usain Bolt, World’s Fastest Man, to Try Out for Australian Soccer Club,” Jacqueline Williams explains Usain Bolt’s journey of working towards his goal. He played soccer as a child but decided to run track. Now retired since last year, he hopes to join a professional soccer team. Bolt tried out for many to teams before Australia, one being Borussia Dortmund from Germany where the coach thought he needed “more work.” Moving on from being turned down, Australia welcomed Bolt to a six week trial with one of their soccer clubs, The Central Coast Mariners. They think this is where Bolt can better show off his soccer abilities.
It interested me to see the change in sports of Usain Bolt. Never would I have thought that he would actually be playing soccer, I only saw him as a runner. It seems he always wanted to play soccer but instead used his speed as an advantage on the track. Maybe he can also use his speed as an advantage in soccer.
This week, the article that most interested me was "Taking Away the Phones Won’t Solve Our Teenagers’ Problems" by Tracy A. Dennis-Tiwary. I chose this article because it spoke the truth. Smartphones are virtually everywhere nowadays. Whether you're nine-years-old or ninety-years-old, you've probably owned/currently own a smartphone. Yet, the people mainly seen glued to one, are teenagers; meaning, parents often blame their child's phone addiction for failures and anxiety. But, the phone isn't the direct source of the problem. Sure, excessive smartphone usage can lead to anxiety and depression, but as stated in Dennis-Tiwary's article, "There is a lack of direct evidence that devices actually cause mental health problems." Also, teens often use their phones to escape their problems in the real world; I know that I for sure do. Also mentioned in her article, "At the same time, if smartphone addiction is a reflection of adolescent anxiety, cutting screen time may not solve the broader problems that drive teenagers to their screens. Just blaming the machines is a cop-out, a way to avoid the much more difficult task of improving young people’s lives so they won’t need to escape." Teens often turn to social media sites such as Snapchat and Instagram when they're feeling anxious for relief which is only temporary, but they wouldn't have to do that if their lives were less stressful.
[email protected]
The article that interested me the most this week is “In Town With Little Water, Coca-Cola Is Everywhere. So Is Diabetes.” In the article residents talk about the problem the state of Chiapas has with water. One resident explained how running water is scars as it is only obtainable 2 days a week, and even then the water is undrinkable due to the high amounts of chlorine in the water. This led to the problem the state has now and that is the level is diabetes due to residents turning to Coca-Cola instead of water since it is almost as cheap as water and is easily more accessible. Now people are turning on one of the bottling companies near them that provides them with Coca-Cola and other types of soft beverages. One complaint some of the residents of Chiapas had was that all of the money that they spend on the soda doesn’t flow into the state but into other states and back to the head of Coca-Cola, but some of the people here idolize it deeming it as a god. Others have even turned to if for medical reasons saying it cures illnesses. My opinion on this is the residents are just as much at fault as the bottling company is because they could spend they’re money on new ways to get water to towns and they don’t necessarily need to drink any soda but it is almost like a tradition to drink Coca-Cola and not all of the residents mind the side effects that come with drinking Coca-Cola.
The article that interested me most this week was, “Blood Pressure Medicine Is Recalled,” written by Shella Kaplan, published on July 16, 2018. The story is about the recent recall of the blood pressure medication valsartan from three companies in the US, due to the FDA's warning of the possibility of contamination with nitrosodimethylamine, which is known as a human carcinogen. All of the valsartan recalled was made by the same company in China, Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. Doctor Jane Woodcock, director of the FDA’s Center of Drug Evaluation and Research commented, “We have carefully assessed the valsartan-containing medications sold in the United States, and we’ve found that the valsartan sold by these specific companies does not meet our standards.” I understand the great number of people that depend on blood pressure medicines, which is why this article interested me most. The way the US ensures the safety of patients in comparison to how China and similar dynamics do is also interesting. This news makes me wonder if there is the chance that one of the many other ingredients in prescriptions made overseas can easily be tainted with dangerous materials as valsartan was. Perhaps more materials contained in medicines should be produced or filtered here in the US, where the FDA can keep a closer eye on the process to prevent this from happening again. Despite the danger this article warned of, it is relieving to see that the FDA caught the error and handled it.
This week I enjoyed reading the article, "When We Eat, or Don't Eat, May be Critical for Health."
For years, people have debated the best diet for our body's optimal health. However, nutrition scientists now believe that the timing of when we eat can be beneficial for our bodies as well. Author, Anahad O'Connor, argues that when we align our eating patterns with circadian rhythms, it tells our body when to wake up, eat meals and fall asleep. Human Metabolism follows a daily pattern, which involves many factors, including hormones, enzymes, and digestive systems.
According to Dr. Courtney Peterson, a professor in the department of nutrition sciences, "Dozens of studies demonstrate that blood sugar control is best in the morning and at its worst in the evening. We burn more calories and digest food more efficiently in the morning as well." In addition, a conflicting signal is sent to the clocks in our body that it is still daytime, when we snack late in the evening.
Therefore, the timing of when we eat, can have both positive or negative impacts on our body's daily routine.
"Many Genes Play a Role in Educational Attainment, Enormous Genetic Study Finds"
Imagine a future where high school drop rates can be manipulated to zero. Everyone is able to complete a secondary education which will have positive effects on poverty levels, income inequality and social mobility. This may seem like an over exaggeration, but the speed of scientific discovery is astounding.
This article was a roller coaster of a ride as the details laid out were both eye-opening and head scratching. So the gist is that geneticists have discovered that certain variations in human genes influence how long people stay in school. Why is this important? The aspiration for this kind of genetic research is that the the data can be used to gain a better understanding of what educators must do to keep children in school longer.
However, there still remains some colossal holes in the research. For example, the subjects of the study were all white people of European descent. Kind of like the Trump cabinet (apologies to my Asian sister Elaine Chao). In addition, when genetic variants attempted to explain differences in educational attainments among African-Americans, the predictions floundered.
As much more extensive research is clearly needed, I hope to one day read another article on the topic, but this time declaring a momentous success. Education is the great equalizer and perhaps the only way for all of us to coexist peacefully is for everyone to be sufficiently educated.
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This week I chose to read about the immigrants being turned away from the army. With the way most immigrants are currently treated in our country I was curious as to why they would want to protect and serve, for a country whose current president has made it clear he doesn't appreciate them. After reading I found out that many of these recruits are told they have to go threw many long process starting by filing for american residency and then they have to wait for various background checks in order to enlist with the army. These safety precautions make sense, however the amount of talented capable immigrants being turned down is alarming especially seeing as the army hasn't met its quota. The hoops these people have to jump threw are ridiculous especially in cases such as one Pakistani immigrant who dreamed of serving for our country. I feel that those passionate about serving should be allowed the opportunity.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/06/us/army-immigrants-discharge.html
The article that interested me the most this week was “Taking Away the Phones Won’t Solve Our Teenager’s Problems” by Tracy A. Dennis-Tiwary. After reading this article, I found it hard to believe that teenagers have become so dependent on their devices. Being a teenager, I realize that social media impacts a person’s mentality. Instead of making actual friends, people are more worried about whether their picture got a lot of “likes”. Phones have only increased anxiety within teenagers. I particularly found that when the article stated that “all things being equal, teenagers who use smartphones more often or in certain ways are more likely than their fellows to subsequently develop mental illness.” interesting. I never realized the impact my phone has on my life. Articles on the advancement of technology and the psychological impact on an individual interest me because the advance of technology is a controversial topic. I was interested in this article because it challenged my view on technology. I have always seen technology as beneficial because I am so used to having my phone. Even though phones are not the only thing contributing to mental illness. I have learned some restrictions need to place to keep them stable and capable individuals.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/well/exercise-makes-the-aging-heart-m...
I agree with what the author is saying in this article. I believe exercise is a necessary as personal hygiene as Dr. Levine said. It should be a matter if course to keep ourselves healthy. Starting exercise will definitely help live longer and fuller lives. Keeping the heart youthful prevents diseases and illnesses as you age. Whether you are a casual exerciser or a committed athlete, it helps than doing nothing at all. It's the commitment that people usually struggle with. When they don't see results immediately, they give up. Those that are just realizing what good exercising will do to you must understand it is a life long process. Committing to a healthy lifestyle will set them up for a brighter future.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/05/nyregion/carranza-specialized-schools...
In Asian countries like China, Japan, and Korea, perfect test scores are tickets to the best schools and gateways to promising occupations. Recently in New York, some Asian Americans have been protesting the proposal of removing the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test(SHSAT). They see the scheme as discriminatory against them. To them, a test is “the most unbiased way” for admission, and getting into an elite school is the top priority. Even though I can empathize with the protestors, I do not share their view. This proposal is not discriminatory as no admission quota is established for Asian Americans. The change in admission criteria will affect every single student in New York if the proposal is implemented.
Under the new scheme of admission, those who spend tons of money on SHSAT preparation will no longer have an advantage. Class ranking and scores on the statewide standardized tests will be the new criteria for admission. I think instead of narrowing the doorway to the elite schools, the proposal will provide more opportunities for all students.
In my opinion, we will never have a perfect system for specialized high school admission. The SHSAT only assesses the English and Mathematics ability of test takers. What about science and humanities subjects? I believe that if the mayor’s proposal is implemented, the system will still not be perfect; but it will be better.
"An Illegal Street Sport Takes a Country Holiday"
In the article, dirt biker Benjamin Charles can't enjoy his work without being associated with "crime" and "hate". According to Benjamin himself, he states that that's not who they are, they are just people trying to enjoy themselves. Bike rider cannot enjoy themselves, not with police around. There has been problems with bikers and polices around the nation. They even took it one step further when Baltimore Police created the Dirt Bike Violators Task Force. This is really unfair to people who just wants to ride bikes and have fun. As someone who enjoy riding, this is beyond exaggeration. Mr. Benjamin Charles has been arrest two times for dirt bike riding. Biking is like a kind of art, according to Benjamin.
Biking is very useful. It helps reduce stress. I can say first-handed that when biking you can just throw all your problems out the window. With a recent event in an racetrack in Philly, for bikers such as Benjamin, drawing over 400 bikers leads a question that Charles has on his mind. When over 400 bikers appear on the track he started a revolution." What do you call that?" said Benjamin Charles.
“How to Start Knitting (and Learn to Love It)”
I knit my first little patch about seven summers ago and much like many people Alanna Okun met, I am part of the group who learned how to knit once but was terrible and stopped. This article caught my eye simply because I want to start knitting and love it along the way. Seven summers ago, I made every mistake that Okun said not to make. I was obviously inspired by “pop culture and general wisdom” to start my grand project of a scarf, Okun was right, it took forever and I did not finish. I also could not accept that it was okay to be bad at knitting as it seems so simple. I was not trying to knit a scarf with anything “snazzy” or with patterns, I just really wanted to knit a scarf. With my “thin as dental floss” string I got from a little knitting kit, the project dragged on for about a day (that was a long time to be knitting for a ten year old) I gave up when I realized that knitting was not as quick as Muriel Bagge portrayed to be in the cartoon Courage the Cowardly Dog. After reading this article I learned that knitting is not for the faint of heart but for people who are ready persevere and learn from mistakes. This summer, eight summers after my last attempt, I’ll go find my LYS and take on the challenge of making a hat which may take a while, but this time I pray that it won’t end up like my scarf which ended in stitches after a short frogging session or become an U.F.O..
“How France Won Its Second World Cup Title”
This article interested me this week for obvious reason, one of the greatest international sporting events had just ended last week. France beat Croatia 4-2 in what was a battle for both teams but luck just seemed to be on the French side. I watched the game live and went through all the emotions as if I was right there’s in Luzhniki Staduim. I watched each of the goals go in and the final whistle blowing with French players swarming the pitch. I saw as the FIFA manager handed the golden trophy to the French team and the players celebrate in the downpour. I personally was rooting for Croatia as they were the underdogs but they could not pull it off. I was expecting one of the usual countries to win it such as Germany, Brazil, or Argentina but they all dropped out in the group stage. Just like the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil 4 years ago, I will remember this World Cup well and hope that the soccer spirit continues on to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
"‘See Ya Later, Suckas!’ The Obituary of a 5-Year-Old Boy in His Own Words"
Most of the modern news that I observe revolves around politics and court cases. Today's news can be very frightening, depressing, and disgusting to onlookers. It also seems very hard to stray away from reports that cause these feelings amongst their audiences. "‘See Ya Later, Suckas!’ The Obituary of a 5-Year-Old Boy in His Own Words," by Christina Caron, is an article that can incite mixed emotions. This article is about Garrett Matthias' obituary. Garrett lost his life to rhabdomyosarcoma, and this article shares his obituary. Throughout Garrett's battle with cancer, he remained cheerful, hopeful, and cracked jokes with staff at a children's hospital in Iowa City. Garrett's passions and interests are presented in his obituary along with his thoughts about his own funeral. Caron's article reveals Garrett's character. It is very hard to hear about Garrett's tragic battle with cancer and his eventual death. Although his demise can be very depressing, Garrett would not prefer to see anybody depressed or sad. Caron says that according to Garrett his funeral wasn't supposed to be a "solemn gathering." Caron cites Garrett's obituary saying, "'Funerals are sad,' his obituary said. 'I want five bouncy houses (because I'm 5), Batman and snow cones.'" Garrett's story can help to spread much positivity. Garrett would want everyone to keep fighting in their own battle and to always look on the bright side.
The article in the Times that interested me the most this week was an article by Andrew Das titled, "How France Won Its Second World Cup Title". I found the article to be quite interesting because as someone who avidly watches sports the recent World Cup was especially enthralling for me. The article detailed the different factors which enabled France to come out on top. The players, while quite young, proved to be especially creative in finding opportunities to score as well as successfully defend the goal. Moreover, several key VAR decisions helped France along on their eventual rise to victory. All in all, this article was very interesting and a great read.
New Trailer: 'Boy Erased,' With Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe |
This week, I read the article about the movie 'Boy Erased', which is based on a true story. The movie is directed by Joel Edgerton, and is based off Garrard Conley's memoir. The story is of a boy who is sent to conversion therapy because of his intolerant father. The mother is much more tolerant, but doesn't really stick up for him. Edgerton is said in the article to be nominated for 3 Oscar award categories. The article didn't say a lot about the movie itself, but more about the directors possible awards and what he's up against. I didn't like that it didn't talk that much about the movie. I was really hoping to learn more about what's going on in the movie and why they decided to make this movie. I'm happy that they are making this movie, but I wish there was more of a description about it. The article was a bit confusing to read, I got what I was supposed to out of it, but it was written like a history textbook. I was hoping for it to be a bit more interesting and not just information. Otherwise, I liked hearing about this new movie.
"No Charges for False 911 That Led Police to Detain Teens"
By The Associated Press
The topic of interest that I chose today is, "No Charges for False 911 That Led Police to Detain Teens" This caught my eye, because police brutality has hit our world hard the past couple years and it is being brought up more frequently. I was curious to hear another story.
This news story talks about four black teens in Minneapolis getting taken into custody for a fake 911 call. This call was made by a woman who falsely accused the teens of assaulting a man and carrying knives and possibly a gun. When police responded they pulled a gun and detained the boys. They were later searched and no weapons were found on the boys.
The woman that called 911 gave a fake name. This tells me that se was either trying to get these boys in trouble or she was being racially biased and tried to cover herself.
This reminded me of the time I drank cream soda with my friends at a park in town. The police showed up because someone called them saying we were drunk. They were calm and handled the situation very well. They never accused us of anything, they simply told us their side of the story. This is what needed to happen in Minneapolis. The officers needed to be calm with the teens and try to problem solve, not believe the person making the 911 call.
Racial discrimination is something that happens every day. It's something the should be resolved so future generations don't need to suffer like us. Be the change.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/upshot/what-if-a-study-showed-opioids...
The article “What if a Study Showed Opioids Weren’t Usually Needed?” interested me because I feel it’s important to showcase other methods of helping pain than going straight to pills. In the article, it was explaining how pragmatic trials are more beneficial by seeing how their method of soothing pain is directly affecting the "real world". The pragmatic trials often use less powerful pain medication, which is still somewhat harming the body, but it's better than taking the stronger pain medication, which is more addictive and harmful for the body. The main issue with the trials is that there isn't enough funding for them. If there were more funding for it, it'd show how opioids aren't the only solution for pain.
“Lake on Mars: Finding Stirs Hope for Life”
As a kid, I always wondered about the universe, and all that it contained. I specifically remember the day my 2nd grade teacher taught my class about space-- specifically the planets. Being 8 years old, I was convinced that other humans lived on those planets, and were just like us. It wasn’t until I got older that I finally understood how no other planet is like Earth, and can contain human-beings such as ourselves. Although I fully understand the science behind this claim now, I still always believed that the universe is way too big for for us to be the only livings things it holds. Although they might not be just like us, or perhaps no longer exist, I’ve always believed that life was/is still out there. As soon as I saw this article, my eyes widened when they spotted the words “hope for life.” After years of reading about failed missions on Mars to find any life, or water, it was so amazing to finally read a story about success. The smile that formed across my face, and the feeling of pure joy I felt after reading the words of the title, is what immediately drew me to this article, and is ultimately why I chose it. It really brought me back to my childhood, and reminded me of the hopes and dreams of my 8 year old self… which have finally come true.
Pundits periodically posit a new usurper threatening American preeminence. Damien Cave in the articled titled “A New Battle for Guadalcanal, This Time With China” highlights a geopolitical struggle occurring in a Pacific island nation. The masterful choice of Guadalcanal solicits a connection to this remote region as a result of the famous WWII battle. But our country’s history is replete with many analogous ominous predictions. After WWI some Americans naively feared the central planning of the Soviet economy would outstrip our chaotic capitalistic system. In the 1980s, Americans worried that the Japanese financial system, with its emphasis on long-term results, would prevail over our short-term focus on shareholder returns. Subsequently in 2002 as the European Union issued a common currency, experts warned this ‘juggernaut’ would displace America as the predominant economic power. But European nationalism intervened. In retrospect, none of these threats represented a serious challenge to our status and neither will China. The debt levels of local governments in China and the changing demographics of a rapidly aging population will delay China achieving the mantle of the top economic power. Therefore, the decision to fund large infrastructure projects in the Solomon Islands and similar locales should not be justified by motivations to thwart Chinese influence but instead be chosen on the basis of merit after thoughtful evaluation of prior outcomes for comparable projects.
The article that interested me the most was, "Obama Visits Kenya, Land of His Father, to Promote Local," by Mike Ives.
This article interested me the most because it is nice to see that there are good people left in the world. It is pretty fascinating how our former president, Barack Obama, went to Kenya, home of his father. Not only did he pay a visit to Kenya, he also donated money. Mr. Obama seems like a wonderful guy who is doing wonders as he finished his terms as president.
Mesut Ozil’s Exit From German Soccer Team Stokes Debate on Integration
On its surface, Christopher F. Schuetze’s article sheds light upon the racist and xenophobic undertones of Mesut Ozil’s unforeseen retirement from international soccer at the young age of 29 years old. As I read of his Turkish heritage, I realized that the German-born footballer had not been pressured into retirement by missed shots and incomplete passes. Instead, the article cites Ozil’s foreign roots and recent meeting with Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as justification for his national vilification and defamation.
I realized that the article exposes the fallacy of assimilation and integration for immigrants in Western first world nations. This omnipresent, yet typically unsolvable, crisis has left millions of immigrants across the world grappling with their racial identity. Being an Indian-American with parents who maintain their culture, I can attest to Ozil’s struggle of feeling accepted in the West and the hardships of being considered “foreign” in comparison to the predominant populace. This timeless dilemma has yet to be addressed by most governmental administrations and organizations and will continue to affect non-white immigrants across the West.
Not only does Ozil’s decision leave Germany with a weaker midfield and in search of an irreplaceable world-class footballer, but also demonstrates the delusional double standards of the West’s expectations for immigrants.
Walk Among Giants — Woody Included — at Disney World’s New Toy Story Land.
In my article, I learned about the new land attraction being brought to Disney World, Florida, in Hollywood Studios. Disney is bringing Toy Story Land to life on June 30th, 2018. (which has already passed since now.) Guests will be emerging into a world of imagination, where they will appear to have shrunk to the size of toys! It will feature two new rides, Slinky Dog Dash and Alien Swirling Saucers, one being a rollercoaster and the other similar to the Mad Tea Party (the teacups) at Magic Kingdom. This new land attraction will bring more attention to Hollywood Studios and so will their next upcoming land attraction, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, which should be opening in 2019. I was interested in reading this article because not too long ago, I was at Disney and was excited for this upcoming addition to the Disney Park. Sadly, I missed its opening a week before, but there’s always a next time! I’ve seen lots of videos and pictures of the land and I think it’s more than I could have ever imagined it would be.
"The Rise, Fall and Rise Again of Imran Khan Pakistan's Next Leader"
I was drawn to this article because I was interested in getting an idea of Pakistan's current political dynamic. Being raised in the United States, I wasn't really raised around the idea of shady and illegal political practices constantly occurring in my country's political affairs. However I realize that's not the case for some other countries around the world, and after reading this article I learned that Pakistan is among them. The article explains that during this past election that got Imran Khan into office, the Pakistani army pressured it's political figures to side with Khan. Khan was also able to get his hands on evidence that his opposing candidate for prime minister had stolen millions of dollars from under the governments nose.
In such a poor and in-debt country such as Pakistan, a good central leader seems key, however nobody seems to be doing anything or taking any action against the shady business going down. Would it even matter is someone spoke up against the threats and blackmail? It's Pakistan's own Intelligence Agency that's committing these acts.
“Beauty and Bleakness: The Efforts to Conserve Coral Reefs”
This article was interesting not just because of the information they had regarding coral reefs and their “bleak” future, but also the photographs.
The remarkable part of this whole article is definitely the photos. They show how nature can effect itself without the help of humans. I think that although these photos greatly depict the effects of nature, humans don’t help whatsoever. We need to be more concerned of nature and what’s happening on this planet no matter how far away it is from us because, either way, it’ll catch up to us and we’ll be effected greater in the end.
It’s weird to understand that as of right now, 2018, with all this advancing technology, we cannot control Mother Nature. Although, the photos also show the efforts of groups of people to help conserve these devastated coral reefs. I think that one small effort can drastically change the fate of these coral reefs, or of anything, for that matter.
Forget Suits. Show The Tattoo. Female Candidates Are Breaking The Rules.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/us/politics/women-candidates-midterms...
In this article, the increasing change in opinions and perspectives regarding female candidates is increasing and changing rapidly. The female candidates are expressing a different side to themselves and are trying to reach their voters in other methods beyond original. By using these more individualistic methods, the candidates are experiencing more positive outcomes for their campaigns. But the thing that really is remarkable about this change is the fact that women are becoming more free willed and independent in the public eye. bending the rules has certainly paid off, with the candidacy process itself changing. these changes help reinforce the idea that women's rights do matter and that women can do what they set their mind to. Even if that means "breaking the rules" a bit.
"43 Hours, Circling Fins, No Boat: All for the Shark Week Glory"
This article dragged my interest, though without much force. I have always loved sharks as my favorite animal due to there own style of elegance that can only be executed by mother nature. Sharks have always been seen as aggressive monsters of nature and have been a pop culture fan favorite when villanized for decades, starting with Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" and evolving into SyFy's Cult classic B-Movie saga "Sharknado." With all the bad publicity sharks receive, very few people can appreciate the miracle that they are. Sharks of been around as early as dinosaurs have, and still take high ranks in the food chain today. To read this article and understand the risks that people are taking to help enlighten people on sharks was incredibly satisfying, I could not help but grin. It brought me joy to read that two men were taking their lives into their hands to observe first hand, the lifestyle of whitetip sharks. The greatest of their observations was the lack of aggressiveness in these sharks. They would not be inconvenienced as to fight through a thin net just to feed on to men. I just hope that plenty of people either watched the experience on shark week or read this article so as to educate themselves on how sharks live. They do not wish to make our lives fearful. They simply want to eat, just like any other animal in this world.
The Trouble with Vacations by Honor Jones
While this article interested me enough, the photo for it was what actually caught my attention. I loved this visual abstract perception of working in a dull office job, stretching across the never-ending calendar, with only one bright spot of tropical vacation. The worker leans back in her chair and gazes longingly at the tiny vacation, ignoring her computer. It’s stereotypical for people to not think about the trouble with vacation, only the trouble of daily life and working, which the photo depicts quite well.
Honor Jones poses the question of choosing between more work and a little vacation, or less work and no vacation, and explains why she would choose no vacation. She chooses to make her kids and daily life a priority rather than giving them less time daily in exchange for short periods of traveling.
Personally, I love vacations, but I take them for granted. Each year my family plans a huge vacation and it’s always enjoyable. However, this year was the first time I thought about what I was missing back at home. While the break from home is much needed, there are opportunities at home as well as on vacation.
Vacation takes money, which doesn’t come from nowhere. You work hard for it at the dull office job, and sometimes the only reason you’re working is for the tiny vacation on your calendar. After reading this article, I was more considerate about appreciating vacation, while also spending more time with family at home.
The article "How Elite Schools Stay So White" by Natasha Warikoo and Nadirah Farah Foley took my breath away. As a rising junior, I often find myself staying up late at night and googling how I can get a leg up on my classmates in the trying, grueling, and sadistic college admissions game. However, this article opened my eyes to the fact that, even in politically-woke 2018, race and wealth still play huge factors in the college admissions process to the unfortunate benefit of the white race.
As a white student, I support a truly fair college admissions process, even it costs me admission into my dream school. Institutional biases have caused American minority groups to be marginalized and the college admissions process should correct this, not exacerbate it. In a capitalistic society like America, work ethic should be the only barrier to entry into elite universities. However, as the article mentions, a college admissions process which relies on geographic diversity and has a penchant for readily accepting disproportionately white "legacy" students, spits in the face of America's greatest promise: liberty and justice for all. In some cases, as the article mentions, it has even resulted in minorities being pitted against each other to the detriment of peace and equality. This message needs to be heard to ensure that such a perverse way of determining a person's future will cease to exist in a country which prides itself on its diversity and calls itself the land of the free.
"In India, Summer Heat Could Soon Be Unbearable. Literally."
This article caught my attention about how dangerous the heat actually is and not just a mild 90 degree anywhere but were heat is already prolonged to be existing and always will be. Many complain how hot it is but do we really know the definition of real 'heat'? In India, heat can affect anyone from poor to rich. This caught my attention because my mom has always told me if you don't work hard enough you will be working out in the different weather types.
But some work more than just hard and are still poor, either they did not have the right education or their families grew up like that. It makes me question why the government or anyone has tried to help these poor individuals who suffer most. And despite the fact that India is severely rising in their temperatures, and yet we are here complaining about the heat when we are able to afford AC, shelter, food and water.
I think the most us young adults and children could do is pass the word and understand the difficulties one is going through rather than their selves. We could also start up organizations and funds to raise up money to help aware the situation of how serious it is and create a way to reach out to these people in India who do not own the proper necessities. Most of the world tend to ignore situations, just take a look at the government! But as an individual, we can change that aspect and view of our society.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/well/writing-prescriptions-to-play-ou...
I have often thought about the babies being born each day, the new lives and people starting the next generation. I think about how different their lives will be. How even if we feel as if we are drowning in anxiety and pressure from all areas of our life, feeling as if we have to grow up and mature much faster than our parents did, the world seems to be getting even more fast-paced. The pressure from colleges, schools, family, and the world itself to do better, be better, become a well-rounded, unique individual is a lot for anyone to take. Not to mention the introduction of social media, allowing us to be aware of everything everyone does, we have a lot to deal with from all angles.
Even though life seems pretty difficult right now, what will it be like for the younger kids being born and growing up in this era? Instead of a blanket or stuffed animal, will kids be given smartphones as their gifts for coming into the world? Will elementary schools cut recess out of their daily schedules in order to make time for SAT prep, or college counseling? We already see less and less kids spending their summer break or time after school to play outside, instead playing video games or watching TV. That's why prescriptions to play outside are important. I feel the difference myself; going for a run outside is a lot more rejuvenating than watching Netflix all day.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/well/when-we-eat-or-dont-eat-may-be-c...
"When We Eat, or Don't Eat, May Be Critical for Health"
In this week’s Times I read about how our bodies function when we arrange our eating patterns with our circadian rhythms. This article caught my eye because I strive to stay healthy and I’m always eager to learn about good habits to stay healthy. Many people all around the world are suffering from obesity. It is multifactorial but the article points out some overlooked habits that might be the cause of many people’s obesity. Although science is helpful in focusing our attention to many health issues, sometimes it can be misleading and information might change with time. Therefore, it is crucial to use common sense and read reputable sources to attain such knowledge.
This week the article that interested me the most was "A Designer Store Where You Can Stay the Night". There was a couple of reasons this article interested me. One reason this article interested me was because it was new and exciting. Letting people rent a place where they could possibly buy furniture from is a new way to attract consumers. This can effect many people about what they buy.
The other reason this article interested me was because the owners had some complications before being achieving their goal, which made the the article inspiring.
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"Ancient Romans Hunted 'Sea Monsters.' Were they whales?"
In this article, author Nicholas Fleur gives us insights on archeological evidence of industrial whale hunt during Greco-Roman Time. There has been many poems about Roman hunting "sea monster", but now with paleontological evidence, we can be almost certain that some type of sea hunting took place during Roman time. What interest me is that what if the Roman weren't hunting whales? After-all, the poem refer to the creature as a monster, and whales are mostly not harmful to human. Maybe they were hunting for some actual ancient sea monster that had similar bone structure to whales? A live-fossil from the dinosaur era?
In all forms of athletics, there are limitations on what equipment participants are allowed to use. Equipment must effectively support athletes, while not giving them an unfair advantage over competitors. This advantage could range from the stickiness of a glove, to the buoyancy of a swimsuit. In this case however, the materials in a running sneaker are in question by Kevin Quealy and Josh Katz in their article, "Nike Says Its $250 Running Shoes Will Make You Run Much Faster. What if That’s Actually True?”
The Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% was released last year. A carbon-fiber plate is located in the sole of this running shoe, which is unlike many other popular running shoes. This plate is believed to store and release energy from the impact a runner makes with the ground, when in motion. The release of energy propels the user forwards, allowing the runner to use less energy while moving faster. This may just seem like a selling point for this shoe in the vast market of athletic footwear, but a clear trend has been seen in the performance of people using this shoe in comparison to any other.
Across the board, a New York Times study has prominently found that if Vaporflys were used in a race between people of the same skill, the person wearing them will be 3-4% faster than their competitors. If this doesn't classify as an unfair advantage, then how long will it take for the International Association of Athletics Federations to drop the hammer on unfair tech in running shoes?
This week, I read "In Narrow Decision, Supreme Court Sides With Baker Who Turned Away Gay Couple." The case of the religious baker refusing to serve a gay couple has become well known for its controversy. During a time when the topics of free speech, gay rights, and religious freedom have become fiercely argued upon, this creates a tricky conflict.
This case has been heralded as a "win" for the religious, stripped from its moral complications, and condensed to an anti-LGBT injustice. I can't help but be reminded of the person I saw at pride decked out in wedding cake regalia, their display completed by a red wagon toting a fake gay wedding cake. I can't blame their interpretation of the ruling.
What frustrates me about the Supreme Court's decision is that it only protects religious beliefs. If the case were made simply about protecting one's identity and free speech, it would not be sensationalized as a pro-Christian, anti-LGBT measure. While the baker's religious beliefs are his morals, the nonreligious have morals, too. It's unfair that one's ethics are protected solely because they're maintained by a religion while others may have to act against their own beliefs because they are not religious.
If one wasn't religious but felt that serving gay people was "wrong," as the baker did, would refusal of service then be discriminatory? Why is a religious baker protected in doing this, but not a nonreligious one? Why aren't gay people protected like religious beliefs are?
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/11/magazine/new-sentences-from-drakes-su...
Drake recently released his new album "Scorpion" and in it he talked about several different topics. He made lyrics about his son and said that he was hiding his son from the world. In his lead track survival he talked about mount Rushmore. Mount Rushmore can be anybody that you pick. It can be Four of your hero's or four members of your family. Who is on your mount Rushmore? The article say's that "The question can be applied to Disney princesses (Ariel, Jasmine, Cinderella, Mulan) and Major League Baseball mustaches (Don Mattingly, Goose Gossage, Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers). It works equally well for backyard birds (cardinal, mourningdove, blue jay, robin) and Jelly Belly flavors (Buttered Popcorn, Toasted Marshmallow, Juicy Pear, Watermelon)." Drake, however, has no difficulty choosing at all. His Mount Rushmore includes four Drakes. I like that Drake chose himself because he picked four different phases of his life, each has a unique style. I would also pick myself at four different phases of my life as mount Rushmore and see how i progressed in life.
"The Playlist: Twenty One Pilots Jolt Awake, and 12 More New Songs"
One day I woke up to a notification in my e-mail inbox from twenty one pilots that they had released a new song. This took me off guard because having been a fan of them a little less than two years ago, it was surprising to think that they were finally coming back after such a quiet hiatus. This article made me listen to their new songs a few more times and listen to other new releases by other artists and I noticed that many artists released music that was a little bit different from their usual style. Twenty One Pilots has a completely new theme and a different sound while Childish Gambino's "Summertime Magic" and "Feels Like Summer" contrasts so much from his top hit "This is America". My personal favorite was "Eastside" by Benny Blanco (with Halsey and Khalid) because the music video was very attention grabbing. I liked how there were captions that gave the viewers a story and the music was also very chill and different in a good way. I also really liked "Fire Drills" by Dessa and Lonnie Holley's "I Woke Up in a ______ America". These two songs stood out to me because of how deep their meanings were. Dessa's song talks about how women are always told to be careful instead of to be courageous and strong which opened my eye to more gender inequality. I liked Holley's song because it shows the true fear and anger of him at all these issues with America. His tone successfully expresses his hard emotions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/science/mars-liquid-alien-life.html
Whenever I think about space travel or watch science fiction movies, I am intrigued by the thought that there could be other life-forms in the universe around us. When I found the article, "A Large Body of Water on Mars Is Detected, Raising Potential for Alien Life" by Kenneth Chang and Dennis Overbye, I wanted to learn more about the possibility of life on Mars.
I found this article interesting because scientists discovered a 12-mile-wide body of water underneath an ice cap on Mars. This lake on Mars shares similarities to underground lakes on Earth, which contain microbial life. Since water is essential for life, there is a chance that microorganisms could be in this lake. I was surprised by this possibility because Mars is a dry planet with low atmospheric pressure, which makes it almost impossible to live on Mars. Hopefully, in the future, we will develop the technology to determine if there are other life-forms in the universe.
"Rasing my child in a doomed world"
In this article, the author talks about the birth of there child and realizing she has "doomed her daughter to life on this dystopian planet." However, I completely disagree. I think the era that we are living in is an amazing time and there are so many revolutionizing creations that better our world. In the article I read the author basically makes it sound preposterous to be okay with the world we live in. I understand their point of view, but we all could say the same thing about the 1340's when the Black Death was around. Crazy enough the world evolved and we fixed the problems we had. If we go through life looking at the next few generations and feeling sorry for them and their futures, they will feel no reason to change or fix anything in the world because they were raised with the thought of this is just how it is. Instead, we have to show younger generations than us that they can and will make a difference and can change there tomorrows!
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"When We Eat, or Don’t Eat, May Be Critical for Health"
In the article, author Anahad O’Connor informs the public that health management is not only affected by what people consume, but when they consume it. The article illuminates the importance of consuming food in a descending fashion as the day progresses. However, it is not the specifics of their research that intrigue me as a viewer, rather the delivery of the information that allows a wider group of people to hear and accept its message.
Living in a country ridden with obesity, diabetes, and other health-related issues has taken a toll on my perception of health and fitness. I find myself delving into a variety of social media posts, hoping to develop the best method of maintaining my peak physical fitness. Through years of meddling on the internet, I discovered that influencers give instructions rather than guidelines.
Everybody's body is different and not every person looking for a healthy lifestyle will be able to maintain it exactly. The NYT post, unlike many other sources, provides research based on scientific studies that leads to a better diet. By providing general guidelines like “..eat their meals in a daily 8- to 10-hour window” (O’Connor) rather than, “eat your meals from 8 am to 5am,” it is is capable of affecting a wider group of people that may adopt the concept. In a world where everyone is being told what to do, it is better to give people information and let them act upon it in their own ways.
How I Made It Back To Church
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/21/opinion/sunday/how-i-made-it-back-to-...
Following my return from a week-long Baptist church camp, I came to realize how strained and one-sided my relationship with the Lord has been. Similar to Arceneaux in his article, “How I Made It Back To Church”, I grew up in church with my extremely faithful mother sitting me down in the pews and doing whatever she could to make me stay. She sent me to Sunday School, work camps and retreats despite my strong hatred of them. Being a Christian slowly became what felt like a chore and I started to dread being one.
Whenever I prayed, I would just ask the Lord to do things for me, to make my life easier and bless me. Of course, God would always come through despite me rarely using my talents and gifts He’s given me to praise Him. During camp, I heard everyone’s testimonies, hardships, and near death experiences they had to endure before re-dedicating their life around Christ. I never experienced any of those types of tragedies and I really didn’t want to wait for one of those to change my life. On the last day of camp, I prayed to the Lord to please use me to share the Gospel and do His good work. And upon coming home last Sunday, I attended a meeting that announced I would be one of the youth mentors who'll help teach younger church members and be a lead singer in the Youth Praise Band. Once again the Lord answered my prayers, and I am excited to serve Him!
The article that caught my attention this week was “Think Positive, Climb Out of Poverty? It Just Might Work”. Speaking from personal experience, pessimism roots from the notion that things can only go up if expecting the worst. Though it affects internal issues, I never would have thought that it would have any relevance in terms of poverty. The studies in the article prove otherwise. An optimistic mindset that advocates hope was shown to have a long-term positive effect on the test subjects as they worked to escape poverty. The inspirational films showed that even the most unfavorable conditions can be left behind if one actively pursues their end goal. Mentality is a major component in determining whether or not one will, or even have, a chance to reach their ultimate goal. Just like the film motivated the viewers to pick themselves up and work harder, this article may have the same effect on the readers. The right mindset accompanied by hard work is not a surefire route to success, but it is one of the best methods to pursue a goal no matter how far fetched it may seem. Reaching a goal should not be the sole reason for detoxing one’s mind as it will result in a rapid burnout and relapsing into negativity. The quality of one’s success means nothing if they emerge from the road leading there drained and miserable. Instead, optimism should be utilized throughout the process not only to inspire oneself but others, too.
"11 Year Old Girl Catches Piranha Relative in Oklahoma Lake"
I have been going fishing with my father for as long as I can remember. In all my years spent fishing, I have never caught anything rare, or had a fishing experience like the girl that I read about in the article. That is one of the reasons why this article interests me.
Swimming, fishing, or just boating in general has been such a big part of my life, that I have grown to develop great respect for all of Earth's lakes and the creatures that inhabit them. The reason that I am interested in this article is because it astonishes me that a human being can have such a blatant disregard for the ecosystem that they would release an invasive species into the wild, knowing that a habitat and ecosystem would be destroyed. Who knows what would have become of the ecosystem in Fort Cobb Lake if that 11 year old girl hadn't caught the invasive fish.
One thing is for sure though, it is nearly impossible to tell if there are more pacu in Fort Cobb Lake, so it is not a good idea to go swimming in there anytime soon.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/science/mars-liquid-alien-life.html?r...
Mars has been the subject of many books, movies, and, well, interest. As curious humans who are starving for signs of life on other planets, we have always been questioning whether Mars could have been home to life long ago. The dry planet we see today could have looked entirely different millions of years ago. This article provides us with ripe, juicy fruit – it reports that Italian scientists have discovered a salty water pool beneath an ice cap on Mars.
This discovery hits us with a slew of thoughts and emotions – does this mean that life really did exist on this planet? Sure, salty water alone may not be able to keep humans and all the animals we know of alive, but there is a chance that there was some strange species that could have survived the high salt content. The article tells us that there’s a chance that some microbes may be alive under the ice cap on Mars because microbes can gain energy by eating rocks. Although there’s not a lot of information known as of now, we can still expect to learn more things through further exploration. As someone who still has many years left on this planet, I'll be anticipating future news regarding this red planet.
"Forget Suits. Show the Tattoo. Female Candidates Are Breaking the Rules."
As a supporter of women's rights and a self-proclaimed feminist, I could not resist reading this article, which brings light to the differences women face when running for office in the crazy world of politics as well as the ways females are breaking out of stereotypes.
One section in particular that stood out to me talks about how voters will support a male candidate if they think he's qualified, even if they don't like him. Women, on the other hand, "have to prove that they are both qualified and likable."
This article shows that politics is yet another place where women are held to a different standard than men. Girls grow up watching boys get away with poor behavior because "boys will be boys" but when do boys stop being boys? I do not think it is fair that girls are held do a different standard all throughout their life, as this article points out in the field of politics.
I chose to read this article because even though I am not a huge follower of politics, I am not happy with where this country is at the moment. We are in a time where people are finally demanding that that the government changes. Women are already breaking stereotypes in how they appear in politics. Time will only tell if people will start listening to them and make the change this country deserves.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/29/science/ufos-aliens-space-travel.html...
Immediately this article caught my eye because it was about U.F.O.s. Alien life intrigues me for the fact that there is no way we are the only living organisms in the entire universe! The universe is too big for that. This article talks about a $22 million Pentagon project called Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program to investigate U.F.Os. The project was closed in 2012 but is now being revived asa a nonprofit organization. Overall, the talks about alien life brings wonder into my mind abut our mysterious galaxy and its mysterious ways.
"Raising My Child in a Doomed World"
If you were born as a woman on earth, I assume you have thought about having a child on your own in the future. This article has caught my interest by naming the title "Raising My Child in a Doomed World" since me myself as a woman have been worrying of raising my child in this chaotic world, where might get worse in the future.
The author of this essay, professor Roy Scranton has described vividly of how parents feel when their children are born. "When my daughter was born I felt a love and connection I'd never felt before: a surge of tenderness harrowing in its intensity". The author's choice of words has touched my emotion and taught me how my parents would've felt when I was born. However, its next sentence continues by mentioning the risk of having a child in this generation and how it will make the child's life tougher in the future. The author insists that some reasons are due to the change in global climate patterns, unpredictable biological adaptation and a wild spectrum of human political and economic responses, including scapegoating and war. As the author was listing these reasons I have learned more about the risks of having a baby and the sense of responsibility following to that.
Since the birthrate is recording the lowest world widely it proofs how much people are also hesitating having a baby and that it is not a thing to decide thoughtlessly.
“The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of Imran Khan, Pakistan’s Next Leader”
Ever since Donald Trump got elected to the highest office of the free world, political “strategery” (as SNL’s George W. Bush would say) has never been the same. Politicians worldwide have rethought the appeal of political correctness and whether people connect more with a dignified, diplomatic candidate or an honest populist one, the latter being known as a “strongman.”
When I read about Imran Khan, it helped me to understand how what we deem “Trumpism” is now being used worldwide to promote a plethora of campaign agendas. I recall an episode of Charlie Brooker’s incredible dystopian science-fiction “Black Mirror” anthology series on Netflix - “The Waldo Moment.” In this episode, a celebrity computer-animated bear named Waldo runs for office, reinventing himself as the “anti-establishment” candidate. He has big talk but little action.
Imran, Donald, and Waldo were all already in the public eye before running their campaigns. Imran was a sex symbol and iconic athlete who, just like Trump, used a populist agenda to gain the trust of the middle/lower classes. Trump used Russians, and Khan used the military to help get himself into power. The point is, the line between cultural icon and world leader is growing smaller, and we have to look beyond glitz and glamor when electing leaders, and analyze politicians at the moral level, looking for corruption in whatever form it might take.
Nia Wilson Had Big Plans. Then She Was Killed in a BART Station.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/us/nia-wilson-bart-stabbing.html?acti...
7/27/18
This is a very sad article because why would someone ever want to kill someone either by stabbing them or shooting them. Nia had no reason to be killed. She was getting off of the train with her two sisters and a man walked up to them and stabbed Nia and one of her sisters. They both were taken to the hospital, Nia didn’t survive but her sister is in critical conditions. Nia had big plans for her future. I don’t understand how someone could kill an innocent woman who did absolutely nothing wrong. Nia loved to be the best looking one out there, even if it was just a late run to the grocery store. Everyone loved Nia, she was a very inspirational, positive, kind-hearted woman. It is so sad to see someones life taken away so soon from them. Just because you are jealous of someone doesn’t mean you need to hurt them in any type of way. It is sad to see the way our society has become over the years. We all need to be nice and respect one another. The shootings all around the country need to come to an end. I hope that people learn from their mistakes.
"Taking Away the Phones Won't Solve Our Teenagers' Problems"
By: Tracy A. Dennis-Tiwary
This week what interested me the most was what one psychologist had to say about phones and teenagers. See phones were originally designed to bring the people outside, in and while it has done its purpose it has also brought people in, out. Because of phones teenagers are so engrossed in them that they don't talk to the people right in front of them. Which hindered parent and teen communication. We don't talk to our parents and we don't tell them what's going on, because we are so tied to our phone. Like what the author said when teens have problems instead of talking about it they go to the phones. We try to find an escape and what's worse is that most problems with teenagers do happen on the phone. On the phone, teens get hurt faster than in the real world. Someone can text a mean and powerful message and hurt us so bad that one thinks death is better. As well as on the internet or social media we don't have a lot of back up when things like this happen; because, on the phones anything can be made secret and no one would ever know. These problems are a source of anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts. Also teens do go to the phone to block out their problems which unintentionally blocks out everyone who can help. So yes, as a teenager I say taking the phones would be extremely beneficial.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/smarter-living/how-to-turn-toxic-emot...
When reading through the New York Times this week, I stumbled across an article titled "Ever Wanted to Get Revenge? Try This Instead." As all other humans, I am naturally prone to anger and the desire to retaliate when someone wrongs me. Throughout my life, I have always responded to aggression with aggression, anger with anger, and pettiness with pettiness. And the results rarely turned out well-for me or for anyone else. Seeking a change in this detrimental cycle, I read the article and found in quite interesting. The article quoted mental health experts and argued that using your anger when wronged productively. Not to get back at your adversary, but to better yourself and your situation. The author cited several examples of people doing this with immensely positive results. Many political movements began when people felt wronged and strove to change their lives instead of just getting back at one or more people. Rosa Parks didn't try to kill the police officer who arrested her, nor did any other great activist. Instead they turned their anger and hurt into motivation to do something greater. To change the world. While most situations in which we desire revenge do not end in in an event as large as an the Civil Rights Movement, this technique can be applicable in our daily lives. We can progress from being petty and angry to being productive and positive instead.
Does Fidgeting Counter the Harmful Effects of Sitting?
I spend most of my day sitting. Unfortunately, this is seemingly the norm for most people I know. While the environment in which I sit greatly varies according to the time of day-from being in a classroom to taking the bus as part of my commute-there's been one consistent habit I've failed to break for years now: tapping my foot. I've tried and tried to keep still, but it's almost morphed to become part of my identity at this point. Maybe more drastic than that is the numerous times I've been scolded and told I'm worsening my digestive system by being so jittery when I sit. No, I don't really see the connection either.
Well, to my great surprise, I stumbled upon an answer to a user-submitted question in the realm of being active while sitting. In reading the article, I was shocked to learn there is scientific literature on the very topic of incorporating movements while sitting. While I have picked up on the fact standing desks are becoming quite trendy, I never fathomed the dichotomy between moving and sitting would be an area for scientists to explore. My favorite part, however, was the emphasis on the increase in blood flow as a consequence of tapping your foot while sitting down. After all, it seems being jittery in my seat is only aggravating my blood flow, and not digestive system!
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/science/mars-liquid-alien-life.html?c...
This article interested be because I love to learn about space and science. The article I read about water on Mars, means that humans might be able to live there. This is exciting news, because humans have polluted Earth so much, and at one point it will be inhabitable. Throughout history there has been a vision of life on Mars, but the idea was originally deemed not plausible due to the lifeless looking surfaced discovered in probes. If there was once water on Mars then its safe to assume there may have quite possible been life there as well. If Humans do make it to Mars, there is no telling when the human race will end, or where it will go.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/11/technology/personaltech/apple-iphone-...
Nowadays, people of all ages spend their quality time on their smartphones and are becoming addicted to them. By developing a new feature, Screen Time, Apple made it convenient for all these troubled tech lovers who are struggling to resist their devices. This app has been experimented and the results turned out positive in being an actual help to limit screen time due to its features. Since it blocks a person from spending more time on an app after the limited amount of time, it literally helps someone to become productive with every minute they get for themselves. For those fortunate Apple users, this invention might just be the most beneficial one that comes in handy but that doesn’t mean the people who use androids should feel helpless, in my opinion. Yes, it has its benefits but after all aren’t we just being distracted by the invention with having to spend a lot time on using it and relying on it? When we should really be relying on ourselves because it’s just a part of being responsible and wise by knowing what to do without having an app to tell you what you’re capable of.
The article that caught my attention this week would be "How France Won Its Second World Cup Title" By Andrew Das. This article stated many facts about the team and how they came to win versus Croatia. Their coach Didier Deschamps, who was on the 1998 France team and won the World Cup, was one of the people to give thanks to, he led his team into the right path he led them to win their second World Cup. I believe this game was very interesting and was well played by both teams. Both teams put in a lot of hard work and at the end of the day the two teams were winners. There were 30 other teams wanting to be where these two teams were, one step closer to winning the World Cup. But France ended up winning it, Frances' players were well trained they had all the ability to win and they did. France had a team that pushed forward and knew what they had to do, as Andrew stated in the article. I wonder if the next team who wins the World Cup in 2022 will play as good as France did.
“The New York Yankees Are a Moral Abomination”
Today, I read the article that has interested me the most of any article in recent years. Author David Bentley Hart claimed the New York Yankees, the most successful franchise in sports history, were an “abomination”. What Hart may not realize is that the Yankees do business the right way, despite claiming in his arrogant diction, “the Yankees cannot help but be....a gargantuan and headless, organization.” I challenge Hart to provide more reasoning to that statement, other than telling the audience they have the most money of any team. For example, a team in the same market, the New York Mets, have nearly the same amount of resources as the Yankees do... yet, they’re currently 15 games under .500. The Mets payroll entering the season was nearly $150M, while the Yankees was just over $160M. A difference of roughly $10M shouldn’t result in the Yankees being nearly 30 games better than the team across town. The reason the Yankees are dominant in comparison to the rest of the league has to do with their terrific scouting department, loyal fanbase, and marketable homegrown players, rather than their financial wealth. They are currently second best in the league in attendance, and have the player with the highest selling jersey. The fanbase allows them to sign marquee players, and unlike other teams, they spend their money on the right guys.
"How to Start Knitting (and Learn to Love It)"
Two years ago I started learning to knit. I tried for months, and finally in a fit of rage threw my needles, where I promptly lost one and in my despair vowed to find it again only when I was ready. As I read the article, I thought I would finally find the answer to my knitting mishaps. I quickly found out that not even an expert could help me.
I had done everything right.
I started a project that was useful (bookmark), I set deadlines for myself, I accepted that I would be bad starting off, and learned all the techniques I need to start. Nothing had helped me from knitting my “bookmark” in on itself and tangling my needles every time I began to knit. The months I had spent on it were wasted on a project that I now know I couldn’t have completed. The article explicitly states that you "don’t even need that special crafting gene or superhuman dexterity" but I must have the special klutz gene or below average dexterity.
Alanna Okun, the author, says anyone can knit, but that’s probably because she’s never met me.
"The New Know-Nothings"
In this article, Jennifer Finney Boylan explores the widening divide from the Republican Party of Reagan and Bush and the "Trump Party" of the current administration. The Know-Nothing Party back in 1852 was both anti-immigration and its members denied the party's existence. In today's world a Republican president, by name only, has taken a bold move in his 'zero-tolerance' policy on illegal immigrants. This stance is more supported by populists, a group that stands with Trump proudly. Other Republicans have taken a more lenient position in the past, allowing workers to gain US citizenship. I am fascinated by Boylan's suggestion that the Republican Party has shifted with the new administration, enough for it not to be considered Republican by its own members. As a student in US History, the Know-Nothing Party was something we laughed at. It was unbelievable that enough people could be so against immigration, in a time where the main issue was slavery and the imminence of the Civil War. President Trump has made me reconsider the Know-Nothing Party as a direct connection to the president's current politics. The secret-society turned political party bears a resemblance to the covert relationships of many White House staff and the cover ups they lead in defense of Donald Trump. I would be curious to see if, in the near future, more Republicans are no longer finding themselves represented by the policies of the Trump administration.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/world/middleeast/israel-law-jews-arab...
This particular article interested me the most this week because I love to see current events happening in other countries besides America.Also, because this is totally different from what one would normally see in the news. Based on the multiple perspectives found in this particular article, I came to the conclusion that the law had good intentions. However, they just executed it the wrong way and mis worded certain clauses, such as the one demoting the former official language, Arabic, to a "special status," but stated Hebrew would be the new official Language. Once again, I can understand both sides' arguments which makes this an even more enlightening read.
https://nyti.ms/2OhMZ30?smid=nytcore-ios-share
To some, the ability to smell is the most disregarded and useless sense. While to others, it is very vital and important in their way of life. To me, the sense of smell is crucial because it helps me detect dangers, find toxic foods or materials, etc. In modern days, humans don’t really care about their ability to smell and it is being gradually more neglected.
Many living things rely on their sense of smell to find their foods, sense danger, or find suitable shelters. Fish are an example of this type of organism. They rely on their smells they detect to find their way around and find food. Their ability to smell is probably the most vital sense they have. We humans are intoxicating the waters and their habitats. With more chemicals, such as CO2, in the waters, fish would be less “alive”, and would not be able to detect things as quickly. Therefore, they would not be able to escape predators or find food as quickly as they would be if the waters weren’t polluted. This is an alarming situation that we need to be more cautious about.
I chose this article because it signifies the dangers we cause in the evolving, yet dying planet. It illustrates the effects our actions do to the waters and the rest of the Earth. If we were given to choice to either save or harm the planet, our lazy, careless minds would choose not to even attempt to save the Earth. This article says a lot about our modern society and our decisions.
‘Amazing Dragon’ Discovery in China Reshapes History of Dinosaurs’ Evolution
By: Jacey Fortin
This week what interested me the most was not political or filled with crazy gossip, but was focused on a new scientific discovery that changed the way we saw evolution for an extinct species.
Dinosaurs are a well known extinct species wandering earth long before humans. The have interested me since I was little because we knew so little about them, it caused me to wonder what their world was like. So, when I saw the article focused on them how a discovery in China changed old scientific ideas it instantly caught my interest. The articles talks about how originally scientist thought that diplodocoid a plant eater dinosaur similar to a brachiosaurus never was able to go to East Asia because it was believed to be cutoff, but a decade ago the first fossil of one of these dinosaurs was found in China. This caused the scientist who unearthed it to believe that one of its cousins evolved much earlier than originally thought.
As I mentioned earlier dinosaurs have always interested me because of the mystery of the past they create by just being dead. The other reason this article really interested me is I enjoyed the way it used past science previously learned about these dinosaurs and entwined it into the new information that was found. The writing of this article caused me to be interested too because it caused me to be want more, by using the mystery the undiscovered history left.
North Korea Starts Dismantling Key Missile Facilities, Report Says.
Since 2006, the world had been at the edge of a nuclear war between North Korea and the United States as it tested its first nuclear weapon. Tensions along the DMZ grew worse day by day as militarisation had increased drastically along the DMZ as North Korea started to act aggressive towards its rival neighbour, South Korea. However, under pressure from its Chinese allies, North Korea decided to pledge to demilitarise the DMZ and dismantle its nuclear weapons programmeNorth Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, met President Trump in Singapore, showing the world that North Korea can be flexible and cooperative as long as its communist regime is not threatened. A summit between North and South Korea was called. In the summit, both leaders met and crossed the DMZ to shake each other’s hands, officially marking the end of tensions between North and South Korea after over 60 years. North Korea has started to dismantle its nuclear weapons’ and missile’s test sites. I chose this article because as we all know; the world was at a brink of nuclear war, with everyone having the same question of “Is a war between US and North Korea imminent?” The tensions between North and South have finally ended after over 60 years. This could mark a peaceful and progressive beginning between both the nations. I think North Korea did a huge favor to itself from taking this big step and I’m sure it will be the best for everyone.
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"Demi Lovato Is Said to Be Hospitalized for Drug Overdose," interested me the most in The Times this week because it has been everywhere on social media, and I love her. As a kid I watched things like Camp Rock, Princess Protection Program, Sonny with a Chance, all things Demi Lovato starred in. To see that she had a drug overdose really surprised me. Now I am a fan of Demi but I'm going to be honest, I'm not a super fan. I would've been sad if she had died, and I'm sure me and millions of others are beyond thankful that she didn't, but I probably would've cried. I love her movies, TV shows, and music. If I really wanted to I could binge watch Camp Rock or Sonny with a Chance. Demi is so funny and talented and I am so grateful that she is doing okay with what has happened. I pray for her and her family.
"How France Won Its Second World Cup Title"
As a soccer player, I have been invested in the 2018 World Cup throughout the entire tournament. After seeing the success of the Croatian team, I definitely backed them in the final game, as they had shown extreme skill and determination. Seeing France win the game 4-2, the highest goal count in a World Cup Final in years, I was confused as to how the talented Croatian team was able to crack under the pressure, especially after the tough games they had just been through leading up to the final. This article peaked my interest just by the title, as they claimed to know the real reason for France's victory. I am normally skeptical of these types of articles because they tend to falsify the facts. However, I actually agree with the author's analysis. France was able to win because not only could they perform under pressure, but they were good on both sided of the ball. Their world class strikers were evenly matched by their defense, which allowed for them to succeed and the defensive and attacking third of the field. Therefore, I found this article interesting because it provided an accurate depiction of one of the most interesting World Cup Finals that has been recorded.
This week I decided to ead an article on Alzheimers disease. The article talked about how doctors have recently discovered a new drug that can stop early onset of the disease. The disease effects about 44 million people in the worl now, however with this new drug this number will go down significantlly by 2050. The drug gets rid of the plaque build up in the brain that causes dementia. This drug is a huge step closer to curing this horrific disease.
"No Storybook Ending for Serena Williams. Instead, a Wimbledon Title for Angelique Kerber."
Ever since I started playing tennis, I have become a huge fan of Serena Williams. This past week was the Wimbledon final and she lost to Angelique Kerber. I was rooting for her forever. When I was watching the match, I was screaming at the TV, "Come on, Serena!" "You got this!" At first, I was disappointed that my role model lost a Grand Slam.
However, slowly, I began to realize the great feat that she achieved by going into the Wimbledon final after taking a long haitus from injuries and a pregnancy. On top of that, her child was only months old and she missed watching her child take her first steps because she was training for Wimbledon.
After I heard her words after losing, I was moved. Her statement that she played for all the moms out there showed me that she was trying to prove to herself and the world that moms can do anything to set their mind to.
Even though she did not win, I consider her to be inspirational for the way she came back only 13 months after giving birth, even that with complications and reaching the final of a Grand Slam. I believe that she empowered many women with how she played and the reason behind her motivation to achieve her goals.
I related to the article "How to Meet Autistic People Halfway." My little brother was diagnosed with severe autism eight years ago, so I've become accustomed to the many misconceptions people have about autism; I'm used to people staring at him and writing him off as antisocial or uninviting in stores, parks, and even in church when he flaps his arms or stims in general.
I wish that people would understand that autism does not automatically equate with being a recluse. There are many things my brother can't do; he can't speak in full sentences, he can't tie his shoes, he can't write effectively. But he can operate the washer, help with the dishes, brush his teeth, and he gets everyone on his feet with his unremitting energy! The only activity he loves more than playing with his siblings and age mates is eating. He loves to make eye contact, he loves to play ball, he loves hide and seek, he loves running around.
I think it's important that people realize that autism manifests itself in many ways; not every autistic individual behaves like Ray Babbit in Rain Man or Shaun Murphy in The Good Doctor--my ten-year-old brother certainly doesn't. My brother doesn't always like to be hugged, he repeats words as his form of conversation, and he often stares at objects for a long time without saying a word, but he's a very sociable person and no one should use his diagnosis as a reason to think otherwise. He is many things: percipient, unique, energetic. But he is not antisocial.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/world/middleeast/isis-bombings-syria....
The article that interested me the most this week was "ISIS Bombings Shatter Quiet in Southern Syria, Killing More Than 200 People" by Ben Hubbard. The tragic bombings took place in southern Syria on Wednesday when four suicide bombers blew themselves up in highly populated areas including a vegetable market as well as a public square. Following the bombings, fighting broke out between Islamic State militants and members of neighboring villages. The most shocking fact in this article is the high death toll, which amounts to over two hundred people. Also, as a result of the violence, about one hundred and eighty people were hurt. This article interested me because I was dismayed by the violence taking place throughout the world. Due to other events taking place in both the United States and around the world, I had somewhat forgotten about the threat of ISIS. However, after reading this article I am more aware of the tragedies that people in other countries have to face and I am hopeful that the people of Syria will be able to recover from this event.
“How Not to Let Your Phone Ruin Your Vacation”
I found this article interesting because I have seen so many people at the beach or a museum who would rather be looking at their phones than enjoy their time on vacation. I find this disappointing because I feel like they would be more relaxed and have more fun if they forgot about their daily lives for a few days and enjoyed new experience and made new memories.
I agree with the article that people should predetermine what they would need their phone for and not use it for anything else. This would keep them from being distracted by their phones while on vacation. Also, taking pictures to remember the vacation and all the fun times is perfectly okay but posting about it right after taking the picture is not necessary. It is better to post if you want to after the vacation. Then, you will have fully enjoyed the vacation and will also be able to share your experience with others.
Sometimes, you also might not able to completely stay away from your phone. I think that if you set aside a few minutes before going to bed to check emails, texts, and social media, it will resist your urge to keep reaching for your phone.
I would like to start by saying that I am not, and never have been, a gifted scientist.
And yet, what interested me most this week in the Times was an article entitled: “Einstein's Theory of Relativity Passes Yet Another Test.” The article describes how a group of European scientists observed a star hurtling toward a black hole, and how “the black hole distorted the light waves” emitted by the star. The article states heavy objects warp “space-time,” which Einstein deemed the substance of the universe. Despite this being a simplified version of the theory, my summer-addled brain still needed some time to catch up. I could imagine both the black hole and the star, but I still had very rough conceptualizations of what Einstein’s theory and the space-time fabric of the universe really meant.
So I, a high schooler on summer break, did voluntary "research!" (Wow!)
Granted, after searching “Einstein’s theory of general relativity,” I searched “Einstein’s theory of general relativity for kids,” but that’s fair, if you ask me.
What astounds me most is how much and how little we know about the known universe. We can observe stars and black holes and celestial bodies millions of miles away, and theorize endlessly about it, but we’ll always be questioning, retesting, and re-theorizing. A little reminder of how small we are on this planet is always jarring, but sometimes, we simply need it.
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/07/26/science/ap-us-sci-einstein-w...
This week what interested me the most in the times was "‘See Ya Later, Suckas!’ The Obituary of a 5-Year-Old Boy in His Own Words." This article was about a fiver-year-old boy who had a rare form of cancer. Having cancer didn't stop this boy from being himself. He found the good in everything and continued to be the prankster he always was. before he died, he wrote about how funerals are sad and he didn't want his to be like that, instead he wanted it to be a celebration with bounce houses. I found this article so interesting, because this little boy is an inspiration. Although he was constantly in pain, and going through the hardest part of his life, he always found the good in everything. Something I think everyone should do more. We focus to much on the bad things, and let them ruin our days, but if we always saw the good, we would be happier people I know it. @[email protected]
“How Not To Let Your Phone Ruin Your Vacation”
This week, this article all about putting down your phone really interested me. Personally, when away on vacation, or hanging out with family or friends, I find that my phone really distracts me and takes away from these special moments. I found in this article, that in order to limit phone tine it is important to set goals for yourself. These goals can include setting limits for yourself or using your phone for more important educational uses. When on vacation, you should be enjoying everything around you, instead of being so consumed in your phone which this article really showed me. Because of this, it is important to put down your phone once in awhile, in order to live life to the fullest.
"How Strenuous Exercise Affects Our Immune System"
I love the feeling of getting stronger and faster after recovering from a hard run. But what I've learned is that difficult workouts only break down the body and it is in the recovery that I get better. Therefore, before reading this article, I've believed that my body is more likely to getting sick right after exercise since the body is broken down. Occasionally, I even got a sore throat when training in a new environment with different germs. I wanted to understand more about the effects of running on the immune system which is why I was very interested in reading "How Strenuous Exercise Affects Our Immune System" by Gretchen Reynolds this week.
When reading this article, it was nice to learn that I was not the only one who held this belief. In fact, for many years starting back in the 1980's, science and studies suggested that long, intense exercise would kill immune cells leaving the body prone to picking up diseases.
But as I continued to read, the article discussed newer research that gave more accurate explanations as to why I thought I was getting sick. Athletes tested in older studies who thought they caught a cold likely only felt a "short-term scratchiness." Plus, recent experiments done on mice show that their immune cells aren't dying after exercise but instead going to areas of the body that are most susceptible to germs like the lungs and intestines. Running makes the immune system protect the body.
"Taking Away the Phones Won’t Solve Our Teenagers’ Problems"
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/opinion/sunday/smartphone-addiction-t...
Out of many other articles on The New York Times, this one caught my eye immediately. I find this article relatable because as a teenager of this generation, we are known for the reputation of being addicted to our phones. Although it may not occur to everyone I think I can agree to the fact that the majority of teenagers are stuck in the world of social media. However, I believe we are not the ones to blame when some of us were born into this era of advanced and developing technology. In the article, it mentioned that smartphone addiction is a reflection of adolescent anxiety. In addition, teenagers are struggling with anxiety more than any other problems, maybe more than ever before.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/11/style/whats-the-best-soap.html
The article I read was called "Raising The Bar: When Did Soap Get So Complicated?" By Tyler Watamanuk. This interested me the most about the soap article was the large change in respect for soap over the last few years. There was a point in time where no one cared what kind of soap they grabbed they just grabbed some and put it in the cart at the grocery store. Now people actually look for the good brand of soap like Aesop and Byredo. These types of soaps really appeal to certain type of people like myself. I like to use good brands of soap because it really makes a person smell good. This interested the most because it shocked me on how many people nowadays actually look and see the brand of soap they get and to get some soaps that cost up to $20 and some saling for $5. After these expensive bars of soap hit the stores companies started coming up with liquid soap like body shampoo. This is when the prices really went up.
This also became a booming business and this showed how soap was to be taken seriously from then on out. This also interested me because it shows how not only soap was a big product and how many different soaps there were for many different uses. Also how liquid soap was a very mass-produced object. These are things that interested me and I'm really glad that I read this article it shows me how much soap has changed over time. I am glad I read this, I really learned a lot from this story.
I remember spending my summers outside when I was younger. Whether it was riding my bike around the neighborhood, swimming in the pool, or playing hide-and-seek with my cousins, I was always content to be outside. When I read “Writing Prescriptions to Play Outdoors” by Perri Klass, I felt nostalgic. In her article, Klass described the new concept of “prescribing nature”, which is proven to have numerous health benefits for children and teens. Klass emphasizes that nature is crucial for a healthy lifestyle.
Now, at sixteen, I do not go outside often. As society becomes increasingly inclined towards technology, many kids and teenagers, including me, spend less time outside and more time looking at screens. Apps and online games provide instant entertainment and endless content. Therefore, it is not difficult to see why kids prefer their devices over nature, which can seem less exciting in comparison. From a teenager’s perspective, technology, along with college applications, test preparations, and summer jobs, often are more important than spending time outside.
I agree with Klass that children should spend more time outside, enjoying nature. However, kids must be motivated and teenagers need to find time in their busy schedule to go outdoors. Klass’s article proves that although technology is relevant and influential, nature is necessary for one’s well-being. “Prescribing nature” for children and teenagers is a pivotal step in eliminating nature deficiency.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/well/writing-prescriptions-to-play-ou...
What interested me this week from New York Times was the article “Writing Prescriptions to Play Outdoors” by Perri Klass. This article immediately caught my eye because I have definitely noticed a change in kids’ childhoods. This is due to new electronics. When I was a child, I wanted to be outside all the time and with my friends. Now, kids are inside on their electronics texting their friends. Even though I am older, I’m being affected by this too. I definitely realize that I am outside much less than I used to be and spending sometimes hours on my electronics. Doctors are saying that people are nature-deficient. Where people spend 90 percent of their day inside. So, to help fix this problem, Dr. Robert Zara founded Park Rx America. This encourages all doctors to prescribe parks, including a duration and frequency. This prescription is usually targeted toward overweight children and stressed teenagers. Being outside more is beneficial because it is connected to positive effects on a wide range of health issues like obesity, diabetes, depression, anxiety, and more.
[email protected]
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/sports/world-cup/france-vs-croatia-fi...
The article that interested me this week was “”How France Won Its Second World Cup Title”. This article interested me because the World Cup is such a huge event, and its amazing that France managed to pull off a huge win against Croatia. The team was incredibly stunned, and said “We do not realize yet what we just did”, and then said “When we arrive later in Paris, we will realize.” The title is the first time France has won since they were on home turf in 1998. Didier Deschamps became the third person to win the world cup as both a player and a coach. He acted as a guiding hand for the young team, and was essential in their success. The team wouldn’t be known as elegant or creative, but rather, a team of exceptional talent and ruthless efficiency. Croatia scored first in the match, and the game became tied shortly after. Then, a history-making goal was played and the score jumped back to 2-1 with France in the lead. Croatia scored again, and then France managed to pull off two more amazing goals, giving them the win at 4-2. The FIFA president presented the trophy to the team in the ceremony afterwards, and the team was amazed. All in all, France’s second world cup title was an amazing event.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/science/mars-liquid-alien-life.html
I happen to believe that there is a very slim chance than humans are the only existing life forms out there. That's why when I came across this article, I was looking forward to reading it and after reading it I was surprised. The scientists were able to find not only a large body of water but also found microbes a few years back. Correct me if I'm wrong but, I believe that all lifeforms on Earth evolved from a microscopic cell. This is why, even if lifeforms do not currently exist on Mars, there is a possibility that they will exist in the future.
Science fiction novels regarding life on other planets have always intrigued me. Humanity cannot be the only living 'thing' in the universe. Due to the fact that humans know very little about space, there are endless possibilities regarding extraterrestrial life. I hope that one day, we humans develop technology that allows us to take space exploration to another level
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/science/ancient-romans-whales.html
Occupying a majority of Europe during the Classical Era, the Roman empire was vast and resource-filled. Even possessing territory in North Africa and Southwest Asia, the empire was wide-reaching and truly influential. With their fall, they left behind many bizarre things that went unexplored for a long time. With the research provided in “Ancient Romans Hunted ‘Sea Monsters.’ Were They Whales?”, a new oddity unfurls.
A research team headed by Ana Rodrigues performed several tests on a set of ten previously unidentified bones that were gathered from locations in Spain and Morocco near the Strait of Gibraltar. After DNA testing, it was revealed that half of the bones were from either gray whales or right whales, which are not currently present in the Mediterranean Sea. This implies that they formerly occupied the sea and its shores, probably in range of Roman hunting ships, unlike other whale species.
This information could be vital for the survival of the North Atlantic right whale. The North Atlantic right whale is going extinct, with only 450 recorded individuals left, due to commercial whaling. If it is true that these right whales were once in the Mediterranean, then there may be more bones we can analyze. By analyzing their DNA from these bones, we can learn more about them and how to save them. We have the ability to save these creatures, so we should put forth our effort to do just that.
https://nyti.ms/2mhlREE
When most people pass, you would commonly see the sorrow and wearing all black, but not this 5 year old. His name is Garrett Matthias. He was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a form of cancer. You'd think that a 5 year old wouldn't know what to do after he died, but Garrett knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted a carnival themed look; 5 bouncy houses, fireworks, snow cones, the whole 9 yards". He wanted to be part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and travel to Florida, but doctors told him that his illness was too severe. He instead, traveled to the Omaha zoo. But the trip was cut short, the cancer kept getting worse. The cancer eventually reached part of Garrett's spinal cord, losing his ability to walk. Garrett died on July 6. He was honored that Saturday. His parents called it a "Celebration of Life". He got his bouncy houses, cotton candy, and fireworks he was hoping for. His grandfather even built a 2-foot-long ceremonial boat adorned with a shield that Garrett got at a Renaissance festival. This article interested me because people should live their life to the fullest, just like Garrett. He never went a day without fighting. His battle ended short but he knew that his memory will live on. Hopefully, others can use this article to give them strength while either going through rounds of chemo or just having a bad day.
[email protected]
Review: BTS Becomes the First K-pop Act to Top Billboard Album Chart
The outfits, the photogenic-looking people, the poppy dance moves, & bumpy music. Music flows around the world by crossing language barriers, K-pop has done this for decades by appealing to the soul and mind. Additionally, the reason I found this article so fascinating is for BTS reminded me once again that dreams are possible no matter where we come from, or how many hardships we encounter.
The Korean boy group which consists of seven members opened at No.1 on the chart during the first release of their foreign album “Love Yourself: Tear” up against currently prominent Western artists. Persistent dedication due to the fans, referred to as ARMY, has been present since their debut date. The fan base goes beyond young women and men, for individuals of all ages share a great appreciation for their authentic music. Furthermore, BTS building use of social platforms receives endless support as it allows fans around the globe to connect and interact together.
It clearly was no surprise to no one when they won the Top Social Award at Billboard last May, with the excitement of the crowd they delivered a grateful speech both in Korean and English for the fanbase . As someone that deeply treasures and admires them, it is well known that their music explores the hidden meaning of youth, social issues, suicide prevention and self-worth with the objective that this meaningful messages can eventually reach others.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/us/migrant-parents-deported-children....
For the past few weeks I have seen on the news that parents were being separated from their children. This is especially heartbreaking when you realize that many of these children are less than 5 years old and do not know what is going on. This article highlights more than 450 parents who were deported without their children. Many of these parents do not speak a word of English and, without understanding, sign documents agreeing to be deported without their children. In my opinion, the government just wants to get rid of the immigrants and are taking advantage of them which is absolutely wrong.
My interest in this articles sprouts from me wanting to help immigrants. Helping is the exact opposite of what the government is doing. In my opinion, the government is making everything worse by scaring the children because they are not with their parents. It is incredibly sad that this was allowed to happen with. For the government it was easy to separate the families, but now it is very difficult to reunite them. This article also caught me in a difficult thinking position because I plan on being a father one day and I would not even want to wonder what it would be like to have my children away from me while they would still need of me. Lets just hope that there will be quick and easy solution to reunite everyone.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/13/opinion/losing-yourself-in-a-good-boo...
When I was younger, my mom would take me to the library once or twice a week. It was an easy way to get me involved in the world of reading. As time went on, I found myself finding less and less joy in books. All I see is a jumble of words that make it hard for me to get invested in this world the author(s) spent time on. I realized that reading can be entertaining if you find the right book. I wanted to read this article in hopes that it would give me ideas to motivate myself into finishing a book whether I enjoyed it or not. I'm tired of scrolling through my phone because I have nothing better to do when I'm home and can not go outside besides my backyard. I crave to find a book that I'll enjoy this summer. Anything from a crazy action filled sci-fi, to the gripping fear of a horror novel can be fun to read.
"As Greek Wildfire Closes In, Desperate Dash Ends in Death" by Jason Horowitz
The news these days has been largely centered on the politics and problems in the United States. In all of the US bustle, it is easy to forget about the problems that other countries handle constantly. I was reminded of the tragedy that other people face in “As Greek Wildfire Closes In, Desperate Dash Ends in Death” by Jason Horowitz. The Greek problems over the past year have been rough and relentless. They have dealt with immigration problems, constant riots, and economic issues. This was yet another painful reminder that the Greek people have had it tough over the past couple of years. This article helped me see past my personal bubble and the political struggle that our own country is going through. This article reminded me of the struggle that other people go through. This article reminded me that the United States of America cannot stop time while it figures out how to go about its own problems. This article reminded me of the ways that we can get caught up in our own personal world. The United States needs to look at its place in the world and decide what it wants to do about issues that are going on in different countries. The United States needs to focus on everything, not just two foreign policies in two countries. There are people that need our help, and we need to decide what we want the history books to remember us by.
“Inside China’s Dystopian Dreams: A.I., Shame and Lots of Cameras”
Today, dystopian novels like “The Hunger Games”, where society is perpetually watched and controlled by the government, have given constant surveillance a terrifying rep. But what if this concept became a reality? According to Paul Mozur, it very well may be in China’s distant future.
Though I’ve visited Beijing many times, I’m always appalled by the Chinese’s blatant disregard for rules. Here, traffic signs and other regulations are almost entirely ignored.
In an attempt to control the prevalent corruption in Chinese society, leader Xi Jinping turns to technology to improve surveillance. With plans to add to the 200 million cameras already monitoring the country, thriving surveillance companies, and little objection from the people put China on the path to becoming an authoritarian surveillance state.
While visiting the A.I company Sensetime’s Beijing branch, it was chilling to see technology advanced enough to analyze over ten different attributes of people and vehicles alike, identify a single face from millions, and trace the routes of thousands of targets at once. This is partly why was so intrigued by this article. No matter how frightening constant surveillance is, the thought of being monitored has proven to decrease rule-breaking and theft, and even prompted criminals to confess. So while this technology may be violating, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s capable of improving Chinese society.
‘Does Hollywood Need a PG-15 Rating?’
Growing up in a family of mostly males, I had spent many of my childhood years viewing action films, such as those produced by the Marvel, DC Comics, and Star Wars franchises. Although these films did include violence, guns, death, and suffering, I had the ability to comprehend that these were fictional films, wouldn't happen in real life. Upon reading this article however, I was not surprised to find out that many parents feel as though the violence presented in PG-13 movies today is not suitable for their 13 year olds. This is not because I agree with them, but because parents today blame other factors for affecting their children, rather than the truth.
The reality of the situation is that a PG-15 rating will not do much to alleviate the amount of violence that today's adolescents are exposed to. Kids who want to see violent action movies will find a way to do so. Restrictive ratings in the film industry have a very little control on America’s youth, as illegal movie sites are easier to access than ever.
Brooke Barnes explains the rating process saying "as societal standards change, so do the classifications.” The reality is our society is changing, and if adolescents don't witness unjustified murder in movies they will see the same kind of unjustified murder when they turn on the news. A PG-15 rating will not help protect or shield the children of America because the true danger is the violence present within everyday life.
Article Title - Breathe Deep: How the Antarctic Sea Spider Gets Oxygen
A species not commonly heard of, the Antarctic sea spider is certainly one of the strangest. Among some of its odd features include its immense size compared to other sea spiders and the location of several organs such as the genitals, which are located in the creature's legs. However, this article chose to focus on an even more peculiar feature of these animals: the way they breathe. These spiders do not have lungs or gills, and their skin, an exoskeleton, is too thick to absorb oxygen. So, how do these creatures breathe? It turns out there are several pores along the legs of these sea spiders, and oxygen is absorbed through there.
However, what interested me the most was when the author mentioned rising sea temperatures, and how they could pose a risk to the oxygen intake of these organisms. This made me think about how many other species, including this one, could be affected by these increasing temperatures. While some organisms would be able to adapt to these new conditions, others would inevitably die. This could lead to the extinction of that animal and a disruption in the food chain. For example, if sea spiders died out, animals that eat sea spiders would not have enough to eat, and those that are eaten by sea spiders would see a dramatic influx in their populations. This would cause catastrophe in this animal system, and I think we should push to find as many ways as possible to prevent this.
This article that interested me the most this week was “What if You Owned a Beach but Weren’t Allowed to Get to It?” Since I go to a private beach, the article caught my attention.
During the hot summer months, many people who live in warm areas look forward to cooling off at the beach and having fun in the sun with their friends. However, in some areas of California, wealthy people who live in private communities are blocking access to the publicly owned beaches. I found this article particularly interesting because since the beaches are public, anyone is entitled to use them. At Hollister Ranch, it is the people who decide who gets to use the beach and who doesn’t, regardless of what the law says.
Another particularly interesting section of the article is that the state of California and the government has done very little to fix the issue. The private beach-goers use lawyers and lobbyists to push the public out of their beaches, while the public beach-goers use the California Coastal Commission and Conservancy to earn their beach rights. Thirty-six years later they have finally made amends, but the public still have the short end of the stick. The public can now use the beaches, but they aren’t allowed to walk, bike, or drive to it. Instead, they must swim the 2 miles across the shores and squeeze themselves into a small stretch of the beach. Since the public make up the majority of the beach-going population, they should be the ones to own the larger section.
Why Your Brain Tricks You Into Doing Less Important Tasks
By Tim Herrera
July 9, 2018
Let’s be real, I am a highschool student juggling 2 sports and countless clubs/activities. Of course this article is going to appeal to me! Just like Tim Herrera, before writing this response I did so many unnecessary tasks. This entire day has been comprised of a speed session, jamming to music, eating, napping, a doctor’s appointment, and falling down a youtube rabbit hole. And eventually, writing this “last minute” entry. However, I have an excuse now; My brain is working against me because of something called the urgency effect! Everyday I find myself prioritizing the smaller (sometimes urgent) tasks in life instead of the important, deadlined tasks. This often leaves me stressed and anxious. Putting things off until last minute is a talent of mine but it needs to end. The explanation behind Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 2x2 box seems realistically helpful. There’s urgent vs. non-urgent and important vs. not important. I have a feeling that if I stick to this tactic, I’ll find myself worrying less and having more free time in the end. So I thank you Mr. Tim Herrera for giving me a goal worth working towards.
Often times, when we think of knitting, we make the mistake of assuming it is just something done by older people. Some immediately view it as boring just because it can be time-consuming and takes a lot of patience, while others attempt it but give up too soon, thinking it is too complicated. However, the article “How to Start Knitting (And Learn to Love It),” gave a different perspective on these common beliefs and rather encouraged people of all ages to give knitting a try, through many helpful tools and sources.
This particular article interested me because it gave a rather simple approach to knitting, instead of making it super complicated and discouraging those who might view themselves as “not crafty.” The author clarified terms and acronyms and gave many suggestions for any potential knitters.
Rather than just see it as boring immediately, people may take more time to develop an opinion about knitting after reading this article, and those who try it may end up actually enjoying it. Of course, not all hobbies can be for everyone, but I definitely think many others will find it interesting.
Sarah Mervosh’s article “1 Hen, 76 Ducklings: What’s the Deal With This Picture?” analyzed a recent photograph of one female duck and her brood of six dozen ducklings. A photographer caught the amazing scene while on a boat headed towards Lake Bemidji, Minnesota when he saw the large group of ducklings trailing behind a single mama duck. I agree with the photographer’s opinion: “It was mind blowing.”
But how is this possible? The answer is very simple: the mama is running a daycare system. Experts say that common mergansers, as well as ostriches, leave their babies in a nursery called a crèche. These crèches are led by one elderly female duck who has already had experience with ducklings and takes care of babies dropped off by their mothers.
As I write about the photo, I wonder if viewing this natural maternal process as a daycare system limits my perception of nature. If we anthropomorphize nature and its means, don’t we trap ourselves in an ego-centric solipsism? On the flipside, we only have the lens of human perception to view anything. In my mind, this photo evokes feelings of caring and compassion. In my mind, this photo reminds me of all the children separated from their families at the U.S. border. And in my mind, this amazing photo of one hen and 76 ducklings moves me to think about the relationship between love and nature. Do we as animals learn to love because of the actions of others? Or do we all just inherently learn to recognize affection as we mature?
"Meet the Teenagers Leading a Climate Change Movement" By Alexandra Yoon‑Hendricks
Seas overflowing, ice caps melting and turbulent weather worldwide, are in our future if action is not taking.
In the article, I learned that a group that shares a common belief, despite being young in age, can make a meaningful impact on the world. The group in this article is Zero Hour, founded by Jamie Margolin, a 16-year-old from Seattle, WA.
Zero Hour was started to enlighten people regarding climate change and to get help from the government to solve this critical issue. Through determination and perseverance, this youth-led group has now expanded.
One reason that I chose to write about this article is that it shows age not as a deterrent, but a social construct that does not limit one’s ability to impact the world. By showing teens doing important things, that could affect our future as humans, makes me, a fellow teen, feel empowered. Another reason is that it shines a light on a serious issue that has not been taken seriously enough by many people across the world. According to Pam Wright, an editor for the Weather Channel, almost 90% of Americans are unaware that climate change is a real threat. Zero Hour can help to remedy that.
The final reason I chose this article is that it demonstrates, that through the use of teamwork, the possibilities of making a difference increase exponentially. Like Helen Keller once said, “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”
The article most appealing to me this week was this article about heat and its effects on the people of south asia specifically India. I choose this article knowing about how hot it can get in south asia. Some important information from this article includes death being the result of the extreme hot weather and the effects this outrageous hot weather has,on the poor/unprivileged people in India. I think this article is fascinating because it helps us realize that countries around the world suffer from the heat and once we here in America complain about 90 degree weather it makes us ungrateful. We also are given the facilities of air conditioning but in countries like india its hard to even have that because according to the article the global greenhouse gas emissions work at a very slow pace. When people have to work in this horrible weather and do heavy physical labor it leaves them with no option but to get ill or sick. A really shocking fact is that it's getting worse. In my opinion it relates back to the effects of global warming on an overly populated country.
http://nytimesnie.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
The article that interested me in the Times this week was called "Lake on Mars: Finding Stirs Hope for Life" by Kenneth Chang and Dennis Overbye. I found this article so interesting because space is something so romanticized in movies and television shows however, the average person really knows little about it. When Mars in particular is brought up I think about an empty, dusty red planet. While reading this article, I found out that like most things there is more on Mars then just what's on the surface.
Italian scientists think they discovered a 12 mile long lake underground. But more then there just being water, the liquid pool is salty and touches rocks, these are all conditions that would be needed to sustain life like microbes. Undergrounds bodies of water like the one found on Mars are common to ones on Antarctica and Greenland, and scientists that study those lakes here on Earth are hopeful that the one on Mars sustains life or has in the past.
Reading this made me wonder if there may be life on a planet that was thought to be barren of water, could other planets that haven't been explored also have water? With a new discovery like this, things we thought to be true might not be, and our thinking must continue to evolve as our discoveries and knowledge of other planets does too.
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/sports/world-cup/france-vs-croatia-fi...
The article that interested me the most this week was the front-page news article on the France vs Croatia world cup final game.
This article was interesting to me personally because I love soccer, and I tired to watch every single World Cup match that I could.
Andrew Das, the author wrote passionately about every detail about the World Cup, from every minuscule detail to a total play-by-play of the entire match. He wrote from topics about VAR, a video assistant referee, to the celebrations that happened in Paris when they got news of the French victory. Throughout the article, what drew me in the most was when he talked about the referee of the match. I connected to this bit because I myself am a youth soccer referee, and I loved to learn about how the referee controlled the match, as well as using technological advancements to help him make the best call possible.
Along with that, I was also attracted to all of the players that the author talked about for 19 year old French player, Kylian Mbappé to the talented midfield of Luka Modrić from Croatia. From when I was about 7 up to 8th grade I played soccer for clubs, and still today, I like to play soccer as a hobby.
In general, this article was very well written and explained in detail every last nugget of information that I would ever need about the World Cup final.
I am excited by the prospect of reading more articles by this author.
"Taking Away the Phones Won't Solve Our Teenagers' Problems"
This week in the New York Times an article concerning an important item in my everyday life caught my attention. The item in question happens to be a smartphone. This article in particular caught by eye due an opinion that most people post teenage years do not agree with. The article begins by informing the reader of a new software Apple developed into order to please parents concerned by the addictive nature of smartphones. The software allows parents to shut off an app after the teen has spent a specific number of hours on it. As a teenager myself, I did not know this software exists until I came across the article. I also do not agree with this method as many who spend so much time on smartphones have other devices on which they are still be able to access the app.
The article goes on to argue that smartphones are where all the blame is placed for the increase in anxiety and depression among teens, but phones are just the place teens run to in order to escape those feelings. Phones are a distraction giving a person the opportunity to focus on something they enjoy even in a negative situation. I believe to help teens become less dependent on their phones researchers should focus more on the struggles they are facing each day that cause them to run to phones as an escape method. This article brought hope to me that adults are one step closer to realizing where the problem truly lies helping more teens eventually.
3-D Color X-Rays Could Help Spot Deadly Disease Without Surgery.
I know a lot of people that have recently had to go to the hospital to get X-rays and have surgeries. After reading this article, I realized that, soon enough, technology like this will be used regularly. It interested me because I love helping people, and the more and more technology like this grows, more people will have a better diagnosis. The fourth paragraph says, “It really is like the upgrade from black-and-white film to color. It’s a whole new X-ray experience.” I really like that because all the regular X-ray machines and MRI machines are great for our times, but now a new, better technology is here. The 3D color X-ray will probably replace all of the regular technology not too far into the future.
The first picture in the article showed an X-ray of Dr. Butlers’ wrist, as well as the watch he was wearing. This 3D technology is amazing, and will help lots of people in the future.
The article that I was the most interested in this week was “Taking Away the Phones Won’t Solve Our Teenagers’ Problems.” I became interested in this article because I am a teen who, I’ll admit, goes on their phone way too much. I am also interested in this article because I’ve heard the stereotype that if teens didn’t have cellular devices, our reliance on the internet would be miniscule compared to what it is now and suicide rates would be lower. I’ve always disagreed with this idea, however I cannot speak for all teens. The last reason that I became really interested in this article is because I know that Apple has employed new mechanics to limit a teen’s usage time. The article brings up the fact that “there is a lack of direct evidence that devices actually cause mental health problems,” and that we teens have an “uncertain independence” because of overprotective parents attempting to fix all their children's problems, which directly impacts a teen’s anxiety levels. Mobile devices cause teens to “avoid feelings of depression and anxiety” which has more negative consequences.
I’ve witnessed this “anxiety producing” overprotection on one of my friends who constantly is pulled out of school because of her anxiety, and I can only assume that she’s constantly on her device while at home.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/sports/world-cup/france-vs-croatia-fi...
How France Won Its Second World Cup Title
By: Andrew Das
France, the new World Cup Championship won their second Title. France didnt score their first goal at 18 minutes, by Mario Mandzukic, which is a goal kick by Croatia. The next goal was scored by Croatia at 28 minutes, by Ivan Perisic. France scored the next 2 goals at 38 minutes and 59 minutes by Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba. France scored their last goal at 65 minutes and it was their last goal for the whole world cup. Croatia tried to comeback and the finally scored a goal at 69 minutes by Mario Mandzukic. France won their second title of the world cup history and this will never be a forgettable moment for France and their fans. Their coach said that," France played really well and they won by the same tatic that was done to every other team they had won."
Dear Parents
You may worry because of books like Baby Teeth, but you shouldn’t. If you show your child love and affection but also some discipline, your child will have a less likely chance to become a bad seed, in my opinion. As a child myself, I think that children are affected by how their parents raise them. So, if you raise your child with love and affection you shouldn’t worry a bit. For example, Suzette who was mentioned in the article was not taken care of and not shown love and affection she needed, and as a result she suffered from Crohn’s Disease and a complication during surgery. You may feel pressure raising a child but with the right attention your child will be ok.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/17/climate/india-heat-wave-summer.html
The article that has interested me the most in this weeks New York Times is “In India, Summer Heat May Soon Be Literally Unbearable.” I feel this article is extremely important because of the serious issues it causes to our worlds countries. It is so sad to hear of the devastating effects and health issues being caused by the 100 plus degree heat. Rising temperatures could diminish the lives of 800 million people. People in India and other neighboring countries have been through fatigue, nausea, headaches, fevers, heatstroke’s, extreme stomach pains, weakness and so much more just from the sun. I feel our country should supply India and other struggling countries with materials to protect their people from the sun and heat. Our country could at least help with the basic service problems such as a shortage of electricity and water. However, since 2010, local governments have done small things to help such as distributing free water during the hottest months and leaving parks open for workers to sit in the shade under trees. Hopefully our country can realize and take into consideration helping the struggling people of these countries.
[email protected]
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/books/review/zoje-stage-baby-teeth.html
This week this article brought interest to me just because there are so many movies and tv shows about evil children and it’s a scary thought, and I happen to love scary things. Children can act out for a certain number of reasons, and one of the reasons can possibly be the parents’ doing.
In this article we are asked if children are born evil or are they somehow changed by the parents’ actions towards the child. If the parents’ parenting skills aren’t good enough will the child turn out to be evil, or do genetics play a part? I personally believe that parents’ can play a part in helping create evil children. Although, so can other things, as in hanging out with the wrong crowd, and perhaps trying to follow someone’s footsteps who you saw on tv. Many things can lead to children turning out how we might not want them but the parents are not the only one to blame.
This week, I am writing on the fall of the Facebook stocks. As of Thursday, shares were 20 percent lower. Although Facebook used to be a well, thriving, social media service, with the rise of other social media such as Instagram or Twitter, the competition is extremely tight. For Facebook to become successful once again, Facebook will definitely have to change their format. However, if their stocks keep declining in the rate that they have been going in, Facebook does not have a very bright future ahead of them.
Ancient Romans Hunted ‘Sea Monsters.’ Were They Whales
New evidence suggest that the Ancient Romans were involved in the whaling industry. Thanks to rib fragments found in an ancient Roman city in what is present day Morocco, scientist believe that the Romans had all the means necessary to conduct in "industrial-scale whaling". The Romans were one of the most advanced nations of their time, so it isn't hard to imagine that they were pioneers of whaling. The rib fragments found belonged to the Gray whales and North Atlantic Right whales. There were also other whales in the area at the time, such as the fin whale, sperm whale, and many others.
The Romans were more than able to conduct whaling expeditions, but is still not yet proven if they did.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/us/yosemite-national-park-fire.html?h...
This week I found the article "Yosemite National Park Evacuated Amid Threat of Fire" very interesting. It really brought to my attention the effect that fires and heat are having on our nation. Because of the Ferguson Fire, many visitors had to evacuate Yosemite National Park putting an end to their vacations. Also, many people who live in the surrounding areas, like in El Portal, had to leave their homes. As someone who lives in New Mexico, and has had to evacuate my home before due to a fire I understand how the fires are affecting many people's lives. Although the Ferguson Fire has gained lots of attention the article shows that there are still many worse fires in some western states such as Oregon and Colorado. Air quality in these areas is also decreasing due to the smoke caused by the fires affecting people's health. Not only is our nation being affected by these fires, but temperatures are also at a record high this summer. Workers have been reporting heat-related illnesses and some people have died due to the extreme temperatures.
My students are trying to do the Summer Readin Assignent for class, but after four weeks they have been blocked from viewing any more articles. They have created accounts. Please advise, as their assignment is to respond to eight articles over the summer. Thank you.
@Grace Maneri
Yes, we apologize -- this was an issue for about 10 days, but we solved the problem last week, and I just retested it.
Your students should now be able to view any article they like, as long as they are accessing them from links on our site, like those we put in each week's Summer Reading call-out. (If they start clicking around NYTimes.com in general, the meter will start running.) Please write and let me know, though, if you run into additional problems -- [email protected].
Again, we deeply apologize for the trouble, especially because we know it meant teachers had to be inconvenienced in the middle of your well-deserved time off!
Israeli Law Declares the Country the 'Nation-State of the Jewish People'
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/world/middleeast/israel-law-jews-arab...
I chose this article because the country of Israel and its people have always interested me. I have always found myself fascinated with their extensive history. Since the beginning, the Jewish people have always been in conflict with another race for the land that was promised by God (which was Israel). In the days of the first Jewish communities, God made a covenant Abraham, one of his most devoted followers. This covenant was the first of many covenants that God made with the Jewish people. It stated that if Abraham's descendants continued to follow the Lord they would be given the land of Canaan, which is today known as Israel. Personally, I feel that the government is doing the right thing for all of these people because for centuries they have been moved from place to place trying to rest in the land promised by God, and they finally can. However, it can be seen as unfair yo the Muslim minority who also inhabit the land. Especially, because the land of Israel is special to both religions Actually, the land of Israel has religious roots in three major world religions: Judaism, Islam, and Catholicism. So, if the leader of Israel wanted to be historically accurate, he could say that Israel is the land of all people instead of singling out only one of the various religions that connect to it.
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“The Power of Positive People”
What I saw that made me want to write this response was a single quote, from a woman named Ms. Auerbach. It was, “Life is too short to be around negative people. I need people around me who care about me and are appreciative, and see the world as a glass half full, not half empty.”
And then I opened up Google Docs because though Ms. Auerbach will not see this, I still had something to say: just because someone is a “negative” person doesn’t mean that they don’t care about their friends.
What was written after that quote was something just as ridiculous. The articles says that they’re not trying to make us get rid of all of our “unhealthy” friends, but rather, they think we should spend less time with them, and more time with our positive friends. To me, this is just a lame excuse. It’s still saying that we should avoid negative people. Yes, positive people are great friends to have. However, some of our more “unhealthy” friends depend on us to help them get back on their feet during hard times. It’s cruel and selfish to leave people out because they’re not as optimistic as others.
What I’m trying to say is that maybe this whole article is wrong. Maybe the people we want in our lives are people who are caring and trustworthy. Who cares if they’re not the most positive people in the world?
“‘Simpsons’ Creator Matt Groening Says Debate Around Apu Is ‘Tainted’” by Dave Itzkoff
The article provides a summary of the debate over Apu, a character on “The Simpsons.” After this, parts of a New York Times interview with Matt Groening, the creator of “The Simpsons” are highlighted in which he discusses the character.
In order to truly understand the issue, I watched “The Problem with Apu”, the documentary that catalyzed a large amount of debate over the character. The documentary is hosted by Hari Kondabolu, an Indian-American comedian, exploring the problems and impact of Apu. Apu is an Indian immigrant who fits many South Asian stereotypes and has a stereotypical accent despite being voiced by a white person. Watching the documentary in light of Groening’s response to the New York Times is surprising because he does not seem to understand the problems of the character. The biggest issue with Apu is that the character appeared when there was practically no other South Asian representation in media, and Apu was a character making fun of these people. This spread stereotypes about South Asians and many people had no other prominent South Asians to change these views.
Groening believes people are just trying to be offended at something and are “picking the wrong battles”, however his view of the matter is rather apathetic. He sees the problem from the lens of a person who has not faced this type of discrimination before and does not understand the impact that Apu has.
Week 6 ~ 7/26/18
How Not to Let Your Phone Ruin Your Vacation
What interested me in the times this week was an article titled, "How Not to Let Your Phone Ruin Your Vacation." This article was interesting to me because personally, while I'm on vacation, it is very tempting to check my phone for notifications or refresh my social media. The key to not letting your phone ruin your vacation is to set some goals for yourself. Ask yourself questions like, "What do you want to spend your time doing?" or "what do I want to use my phone for?" If you make goals for yourself it will make it easier to stay off your phone and actually enjoy your vacation. Also, you should stay off your phone because you didn't travel all this way to just go on your phone. You can simply go on your phone while at home. Checking your phone is a distraction from what you are really supposed to be doing--enjoying your vacation. Another solution to staying off your phone is to delete the apps that you spend the most time on or hide them in a folder on your phone. If you don't see the apps on your home screen, you won't be tempted to check your notifications. Turning off the notifications or turning on "Do Not Disturb" can also help because you won't be staring at your phone waiting to see if your friends are texting you. Vacations are supposed to be like a "getaway" and if all you are doing is checking your social media accounts then what are you really getting away from?
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“In a town with little water, Coca -Cola is everywhere. So is diabetes”
Sugar is a huge health factor in not only the United States but the rest of the world as well. Sugar can cause many health problems especially diabetes. This is a very interesting topic because not only are there some places in the world that people don’t have access to a lot of water but they are substituting sugary drinks instead.
An even bigger problem is that the base liquid of all these sodas and drinks is actually water itself, meaning fresh water is being used to make very unhealthy drinks instead of just leaving the water in its most natural and helpful form for the existence of human beings. Instead people are being slowly killed by consuming these beverages. The water crisis is only going to get worse and big company’s like Coca-Cola and Pepsi are not helping the issue at all.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/travel/museum-tours.html
I have visited five different European countries in the past three years and my family and I always make an effort the visit the most popular museums of the cities. For example, I have been to the Louvre, the British Museum, the Academia, the Vatican Museum, the Rena Sofia, and etc. The hardest thing about visiting museums is that in order to understand the significance of the art presented, you have to take a tour. A lot of times my family will get audio guides and we will listen to a boring pre-recorded speaker as he gives facts on each piece of art. The article "Museum Tours for People Who Don't Like Museum Tours" by Elaine Glusac caught my interest because I would love to go on a tour that would allow you to have fun while interacting with the museum. The article explains how some companies such as Museum Hack and Take Walks offer interactive museum tours that are supposed to be fun for the participants. Some of these tours focus on certain aspects such as the evolution of women in history. Other tours focus on the art that is commonly overlooked and the significance of it. In addition, museums are also exploring other ways to make museum-going more interesting. The Dali Museum in FL offers a virtual reality experience in which you can be transported into the setting of one of Dali's surrealistic paintings. It is interesting to read about how museums are revolutionizing and how museum-going is changing.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/us/yosemite-national-park-fire.html
Yosemite National Park evacuated Amid Threat from Fire
By John Branch, Jennifer Merlina, and Henry Fountain
On July 25th,2018,A 3800 acre wild fire caused the destruction of Yositemite National Park's granite monoliths of Half Dome and El Capitan. This also caused all the visitors of the park to leave as well. A 45 year old local resident Heather Sullivan expressed his concerns about the fire. "This is my life and this is my home. This is heartbreaking," He said.
This article really peaked my interest because this national park is a significant monument of America. Though my home is very far from the states, I still understand the difficulties the victims of the Yosemite wild fire experienced. When I was young, my house was set ablaze while I was sleeping peacefully. It was sudden and heartbreaking. The fire caused our family to move from our home, Pyin Oo Lwin, to the capital city of Myanmar, Yangon. I hope the victims of the fire experience the feeling of "being home" again.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/science/mars-liquid-alien life.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience
This article was interesting for me because to find a large lake in Mars is a huge finding. This finding is amazing for me because it would be easier for people to colonize Mars for this shows that water would no longer be a big problem. But this also raises the question whether aliens might be present in Mar or not. The chances for alien living in Mars increases from the finding of lake because lifeforms need water to survive and this proves that lifeforms can survive in Mars.
"Billy Joel's Got a Good Job and Hits in His Head"
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/arts/music/billy-joel-100-shows-inter...
Billy Joel is one of my favorite musicians; I consistently listen to his music. I even saw his 50th consecutive show at Madison Square Garden over spring break this year. However, this article brought new light to how Joel operates behind the scenes. He states how he never reached above the bar he set for himself with any of his songs. As a fellow perfectionist, I am always trying to reach above the standards I set for myself, but only rarely just grasp at the level I want to be at. I want to keep pushing further, getting projects, reports, my developing skills, and my brain up to the bar, which seems like what Joel wanted to do with his music. Along with talking about his music, Joel was asked about the current political climate, and he primarily targeted Trump's anti-immigration policy, as his family was not able to immigrate to America during the rise of Hitler and the Nazis in Germany. Being a famous figure, stating his opinion has gained him even more respect, or at least, my respect. In fact, I was apart of a group projct in which we argued for the protection of the Dreamers under the DACA Act. That was one of the project I wanted to keep pushing up to the bar I set. After reading this interview, I see Joel as a very relatable personality, and will continue to listen to his work.
I recently read the article “Cindy Joseph, a Model Who Embraced Her Age, Is Dead at 67” by Daniel E. Slotnik. Cindy Joseph spent the majority of her professional career as a makeup artist. However, at age 49, she was discovered by a casting agent and began her modeling career. For the last eighteen years of her life, she modeled for large companies like Olay, Ann Taylor, Anthropologie, and Elizabeth Arden. Throughout her modeling career Ms.Joseph emphasized the importance of embracing your age instead of trying to disguise it. In 2010 Ms. Joseph founded Boom! By Cindy Joseph, which is a all natural cosmetics company that has products that work to highlight women’s ages instead of concealing them. Ms. Joseph strove to empower women to feel beautiful without having to look younger.
I feel as if Ms. Joseph’s mission is extremely important, because women have always been under the impression that you can’t be beautiful if you have any imperfections including age lines. Although there is not as many as there are when you are a teenager, many people still live with insecurities as adult, many pertaining to personal appearance. I believe that it is extremely important for Ms. Joseph’s ideals to continue to be spread so women will feel more empowered and more comfortable in their own skin.
“A Screeching Stop for Speed Cameras in New York City School Zones,” by Vivian Wang
This week in the Times, I was interested in this article because being a new driver myself, I have learned that most people in New England take the speed limit as a recommendation rather than a serious law. School zones are no exception, despite flashing lights or reduced speed signs. In NYC, the law permitting speed cameras to regulate speeds in school zones has expired. The speed cameras were not shut off due to public disagreements or lack of success. In fact, the cameras were said to reduce speeding during school hours by 63%. This is frustrating as both a student and driver because now precautions are needed to be taken to protect students as opposed to punish speeding drivers. In addition, students are already learning new techniques to protect themselves from intruders, so they should not have to extend to being cautious when walking to, from, or on campus due to careless driving. Now, instead of 140 active cameras in New York City, there are only 20 that will remain active until August (right as schools are starting again). My only hope is that more voices are heard and that the politicians involved in the New York State politics will put aside their complicated disagreements and consider the safety of their students.
New Alzheimer’s Drug Shows Big Promise in Early Trial Results
The article “New Alzheimer’s Drug Shows Big Promise in Early Trial Results”, written by Pam Belluck, was especially intriguing because it discusses the advancement of an ongoing fight to cure a disease that has long mystified many doctors. For over a century doctors have failed to find a successful cure for a disease that deteriorates the brain slowly causing undue pain for loved ones as well as the patient that has been diagnosed.
Although doctors have found ways that slow the progression of the symptoms in the past it has always resulted in dire side effects. This new drug is shown to be able to slow symptoms without any other unwanted side effects.
This article was so fascinating because it discusses an advancement that is so large for the medical community and one that they have been waiting years for. It also has the ability to change the lives of people all over the world and give them new hope for a life that is not defined by their disease. Most of all, it creates excitement for the future and stimulation to make new discoveries and ways to perfect this drug so that it can help all people who have been diagnosed. Even though this may take years to happen it gives doctors and patients alike something to look forward to.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/08/world/europe/chernobyl-nuclear-disast...
Chernobyl was the disaster that happened when a power plant had a nuclear meltdown which radiated the entire city.But even after the meltdown the radiation still lives and has been contaminating the milk of nearby villages and has been making people very sick.
There are kids in these villages drinking this milk and I agree that it is very sad and we need to do something quick.This radiation will keep contaminating livestock and resources and before we know it nothing will be safe to eat.Now in my opinion i feel like this could be a lesson for the united states to shut down nuclear power plants because at any moment this could happen to us but way worse and it will affect us in the same way.If we take down these power plants we can stop the amount of c02 that is going in the atmosphere and causing climate change.This is only milk imagine all the things the radiation could contaminate,our livestock our crops our fruits and then we will collapse because we won’t have anymore food to matian us as a country.Imagine all those kids and people drinking that milk and what it is doing to their bodies.Things like skin cancer are effects of radiation and if you get exposed to it,you will die.
"What Do Novels About Evil Children Say About Us?" By: Ruth Franklin
A child's social skills and ability to maintain relationships are sculpted by environmental factors, a major one being their parents. However, the way a child's brain is wired, and the way they receive and transmit information, is not something that parenting may alter. This article caught my attention for this very reason, I began to wonder why and how "evil" children display such inhumane behaviors, as well as why others do not.
This article referred to several pieces relating to evil children, such as William March's horror movie titled "The Bad Seed." In which a young girl was displaying psychopathic tendencies that her father was oblivious to, but her mother had witnessed. The mother begins to blame herself for the girl's behavior, possibly to lack of nurturing or care, until she uncovers that she is a descendant of a serial killer. This information establishes the fact that the young girl's behavior was not the fault of her parent's, but it was the way her mind functioned. With this, we can assume that the talents, strengths, and weaknesses of some children are their natural born tendencies, rather than ones that are acquired throughout their growth.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/world/americas/mexico-coca-cola-diabe...
"In a town with little water, Coca Cola is everywhere. So is Diabetes." was the most interesting story to me this week. Its sad to think that people are suffering with an illness because a company is using up all their water to make a drink that is harming so many people, I understand that Coca Cola having a factor could create jobs but not for everyone and they are putting peoples lives at risk.
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"A Fear of Lawsuits Really Does Seem to Result in Extra Medical Tests"
By: Margot Sanger-Katz
My mom is in and out of doctors all the time. She is constantly trying new medication or trying to get off of old ones and it is a vicious cycle that seems never ending. Not to mention, it seems as though she spends most of her time in doctors offices and hospitals receiving various tests, for various reasons. Not a single one of these tests has helped her for the past 12 years that she has been ill. This article caught my eye because of all of these reasons. Most doctors are so caught up in trying to keep up a good reputation and not face lawsuits that they aren't hearing the patient and their concerns. I know I am not a doctor, however when I am sitting in the medical office listening to my mom share her concerns with a trained professional and they tell her that her concerns aren't valid and send her away, it is hard to see her illness progress. Because it is completely understandable that doctors want to maintain a good reputation and not have to face lawsuits, we should all learn a lesson from it. We shouldn't get so caught up in the new technology we have and instead we should start focusing and listening to what real life people are saying. Of course new technology is great and very beneficial to the world but it also has many detriments, including the fact that we all are so used to relying on it that most of us lack skills in communication with real life people.
By now, I'm sure you have heard about what happened to Demi Lovato... On July 24th of 2018 (2 days ago), she was rushed to the hospital because of an overdose. Demi has been suffering for many years with addiction, bulimia, a personality disorder & etc. She’s been through so much… She recently celebrated being 6 years sober. But a few days ago she released a song called “Sober”, where she reveals that she has relapsed. Saying “Momma I’m so sorry, i’m not sober anymore.” Some may say that she was doing so good, so why now? Well, addiction isn’t something that can just go away when she wants it to. I want to let people know, that just because she relapsed, doesn’t mean that she’s any different. She clearly wanted to stop, and she did great by staying sober for an entire 6 years! As said in https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/arts/music/demi-lovato-hospitalized.html, “TMZ and NBC News reported that the patient...Ms. Lovato, 25, who has frequently discussed her struggles with substance abuse in both music and interviews.” The fact that she has been talking about it says so much. She’s grown as a person. Even though she wanted to stop, it just happened. Addiction is so difficult to deal with and I feel like people don’t know that. In her new song “Sober”, she says “I'm sorry that I'm here again. I promise I'll get help. It wasn't my intention. I'm sorry to myself” She tried so hard...She literally said that she will get help...She didn’t want it to happen. Lets just cheer her on.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/sports/world-cup/france-vs-croatia-fi...
This article is about how france won the world cup how they managed to do so and then the reaction at the end of the game to what all happened. So frace actually did it a few times before and this time they managed to do so again in 2018. They did this by fighting off is oppentes pushed it when it could and punished it when they could. After that they end up winning the world cup and they became champions again. This article made me feel good because you could watch it and get diverted while not worrying about the problems you may have. This could help my community because if they all find something in common they might not have all these arguments and fights and they might respect each other a bit more the same things go for the word because many people see the world cup to find out who wins. With events like this taking place we the best thing to do in our option is yo try to create something positive out of this to help us better in today's society. Also it's fun and everyone will enjoy it and have something to talk about.
This week in the times, the article "How France Won Its Second World Cup Title" interested me most. This article caught my attention mostly because of my interest in sports. The first thing I thought about when reading this article was how much hard work these players must have put into what they were doing to get in this position. Throughout the tournament France played with outstanding efficiency and executed every play flawlessly. In doing so every player knew there job and they played together as a team.This article taught me that to succeed there will have to be a lot of time and effort put into what you do and that is exactly what France did to win the World Cup title. @[email protected]
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/books/review/zoje-stage-baby-teeth.html
Sometimes children can say scary things, however, it is not their fault. Children simply repeat the things they hear because they do not know any better and when they do or say something bad, then the blames are placed on the parents. Minors' actions and behaviors are the results of their parents’ parenting skills. How these kids act reveal how great a mom or dad is good at raising their kids.
In the article, “What Do Novels About Evil Children Say About Us?” Ruth Franklin questions, “Are some children simply born evil? Or do their parents make them so, through abuse, neglect, hypercriticism or overinvolvement?” It is hard to understand what minors are thinking about nowadays with so many things such as the internet, social media, or friends that can influence the way they act. However the parents should be the people who know the most about their son/daughter because they are the people who are closest to the child. In my opinion, I believe kids turn out evil not because they were born evil. Infants are representations of innocence; when they are born, they are born with a clean slate because they have yet to be influenced by society. Kids turn out evil because of the lies society has told them. A mother or father can be great at parenting, but a child can still go down the wrong path because he/she trusted someone or something of bad influence rather than turning to his/her parents for help.
After examining the New York Times this past week the article ¨How Not to Let Your Phone Ruin Your Vacation¨ interested me the most. I was interested in reading this article because it focuses on a topic that many modern day people are familiar with; smartphones. This article points out that just one quick check on your phone turns into hours of scrolling on social media and the internet. Currently being in Summer, many families go on vacations and will bring their phones with them. However, the point of most vacations are to relax and enjoy a new scenery. So what's the point of leaving home if you're just going to be texting and emailing your friends? The article provides numerous solutions to this problem to help one enjoy their vacation.
In my opinion, I think a vacation is so much more valuable when a phone is not in your hand capturing everything one experiences. The reason why this article interested me the most was because of how this topic of obsessing over phones is neglected. I think people are too attached to their phones to understand how life can be so much more appreciated without them. The idea of putting down your phone and learning to get away from social media should be stressed a lot more than it is. In conclusion I think it would be a great idea for families to agree on limiting phone usage during a vacation.
“Ever Wanted to Get Revenge? Try This Instead”
By Caroline Cox
Throughout my time on this Earth so far; I’ve always liked the idea of revenge. For as long as I can remember there’s always been this scale in my head that weighs the actions of others against mine and when something outweighs the other It feels like I should even out the scale with a counterweight; which is probably why inequalities bother me as much as they do. So when I was younger I always thought that if someone were to wrong you it would be fair to swing the pendulum back but even though the thought is satisfying it isn’t always the right thing to do. I’ve been through many negative emotions that have to do with wanting revenge and the regret of not taking action but now I know that you need to think everything through from the start, for example letting things go could be the easiest solution as long as you won’t regret not taking action for years to come or you could take whatever revenge you wanted but while keeping in mind the repercussions that may come from what you have done, the cycle of vengeance is not a sight to behold. Sometimes you should take the time to understand where the other person is coming from instead of adhering to your personal hatred. Sometimes it is best to make sure the pendulum stops in the center instead of seeing it come back to you.
https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2018/03/14/science/space/stephen-hawki...
The universe is a large and diversified place. Few people make an impact through their ideas. However, Stephen Hawkings was able to achieve this feat, setting a standard in the world.
After viewing the slideshow on The Expansive Life of Stephen Hawkings, it was clear that Hawkings was able to voice his ideas to the world. Although he had a disability, he did not allow it to determine how he lived his life. Instead, he chose not to let his physical handicap cripple his spirits. This slideshow resonated with me because I really enjoy science, and just reading about Hawking’s impact on the field was touching. The included detail about Hawkings appearing in The Simpsons and Star Trek allowed the slideshow entertaining and more engaging.
Hawking’s did not live a limited life because he was able to push the boundaries even with his disabilities. His participation in a zero-gravity flight with his physical state was particularly surprising. He was able to dedicate his life to exploring scientific ideas and researching to learn more about them. For example, Hawkings discovered that black holes were not really black which made scientists question their original ideas. Without him, some of the ideas in the scientific field would not be challenged leading to some inaccurate information.
https://nyti.ms/2JU7MpX
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is well-known for one reason—its stars, which strive to celebrate famous entertainers and the greatest achievements of their careers. Though he may be better recognized by his presidency, Donald Trump is one of those famous entertainers; he had hosted a NBC show known as "The Apprentice". So when he got a star on the Walk of Fame back in 2007, few people complained.
However, as he was brought back into the spotlight due to the 2016 election, several people began to vandalize it in many different ways: smearing sauces on it, painting it, putting Bernie Sanders stickers on it, building walls and "Keep Out" signs around it, etc. Earlier this week, a man named Austin Clay shattered Trump's star with a pickaxe.
This is not the first time an event like this has happened (e.g. Bill Cosby's star), and the perpetrator was punished, but the situation intrigues me by leaving me with mixed feelings. While I have always been strongly against Trump, I do not think I agree with demonstrating hate by vandalizing an important monument. It is not like Trump himself built the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At the same time, they cannot just remove the star to prevent any more vandalism, since “the Hollywood Walk of Fame is an institution celebrating the positive contributions of the inductees". It would be like removing a piece of history.
“Fish Will Start Losing Sense of Smell as Carbon Dioxide Levels Rise, Study Finds”
For me, losing your sense of smell is not much of a problem. I could live without the glorious odor of my favorite fruit, the durian, and I wouldn’t mind being smell-less next time I’m in a Porta-potty at the state fair. Sure—having more aromatic foods might be less enjoyable, but that’s the extent of my losses. We sheltered humans take smell for granted, it’s perhaps the most neglected or underutilized of our five senses.
For other organisms like fish, smell is just as crucial—if not more—than sight or hearing. Fish nostrils act as a second set of eyes, a navigation tool stepping in for the lack of sight in the murkiest waters. And should acidity and carbon dioxide levels in the ocean rise high enough, we will inhibit their olfactory genes. We won't be inconveniencing these now smell-less fishes in a way anosmatic humans would be. We would blind them. And that’s something we need to put in perspective.
An impaired fish doesn’t possess opposable thumbs to use a white cane, and it can’t afford a seeing eye dog either. Thus, the seas become a stumbly free-for-all, a contest bent on seeing who’s the fittest to overcome smell-lessness, who can navigate without senses guiding you. And that’s an unfortunate future our oceans could face, and one that we must grapple with despite our own species’ disregard for olfaction. Who knew the noses of gill-bearers could be so vital.
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When We Eat, or Don’t Eat, Mat Be Critical for Health
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/well/when-we-eat-or-dont-eat-may-be-c...
Are you eating too much or just eating at the wrong times of the day? This article explores the many experiments done towards this topic along with the research collected. All evidence points towards the surprising results of health depending on your metabolic clock. Our metabolic clocks tell us to eat more in the morning and less at night. The article, through experiments, showed that eating more earlier in the day rather than at night can improve weight, lower insulin, reduce levels of oxidative stress, lower blood pressure, and improve overall health.
The author, Anahad O’Connor, did well in his research for this article. He presented multiple experiment with numerous circumstances including various testing groups. O’Connor definitively worked in order to put together an informative article for the reader. I appreciate the effort put forth as well as his conclusion of data. Furthermore, O’Connor took a new approach to the “dieting world” where he talked about timing instead of the aspect of what one eats. This article and his convincing tone may change people’s viewpoint, which I have found quite difficult to accomplish. Therefore, the article was well put together and rather compelling, making me believe what he is trying to prove.
The article that interested me the most this week what "What do novels about evil children say about us?". When I initially read the title I didn't really understand what exactly the article would be about, yet I was eager to find out. As I read further, I realized that this was about the doubts and fears of parenting and the outcome of their children. However, as a 15 year old, I am not a parent yet, and can't relate to these feelings being described. Then, I decided to look at the article in a different perspective, relating to the idea of how people's environments and the figures in their lives influence their future and character. In the article, the author described how disturbed children most likely turned out that way due to how their parent acted with them, either harsh and abusive, or not warm and nurturing enough. I believe that every factor within a person's life has an impact on their growth because they become programmed to think and feel a certain way due to their surroundings. However, this idea is way more complex then that statement. People also interpret and absorb everything differently, then portray these things in their character in all different ways. For example, sibling who live together with the same parents are within the same environment, however usually are completely different people. That is due to how each sibling uses what they learned from their parents in all different ways, and reveal it throughout different parts of their lives.
"The City’s Buried Treasure Isn’t Under the Dirt. It Is the Dirt." - by Richard Schiffman.
This article was very interesting to me because it points out how valuable certain substances are in places like New York City, which we take for granted in other, much more rural and suburban, parts of the country. In this case, that substance is something so simple as soil. Much of the soil on the surface is polluted with harmful substances such as lead. This can lead to common things like backyard gardens putting these substances into the air, and putting people's health at risk, unbeknownst to anyone.
What is now being discovered, however, is that soil under the surface is extremely rich, and has not been exposed to the many pollutants that the topsoil has been exposed to. This, combined with the high demand for rich soil has lead to a new city program that aims to provide rich, clean soil to the people who need it. This is a much greater alternative to burning fossil fuels to ship in soil from outside the city.
This all interests me because it shows one of the many small but impactful steps people are taking to preserve the environment. Not only is it less polluting to transport the soil within the city, but people are using the soil to plant gardens and testing the soil's ability to extract carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere. These small steps all add up to a cleaner environment.
I read, "New Clues to How the Biggest Dinosaurs Got So Big". This interested me because scientists have found a new species of dinosaur that is bigger than they thought dinosaurs could be at that point in time. It grew in small growth spurts instead of a gradual growth overtime. This is how it got to be so much bigger than any other dinosaur at the time. Scientist knew that it grew in spurts by studying the bones of the species.
Death is a scary concept to try to grasp. Seemingly everyone fears death because we are afraid of the unknown. However, in the article, "'See Ya Later, Suckas!' The Obituary of a 5-Year-Old Boy in His Own Words," Garrett Matthias is brave and unafraid in the face of his impending death. Garrett was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma at just 4 years old. He knew that he would not live very long after being diagnosed, so on many occasions, Garrett described to his family the way he wanted his funeral to be. He told his family that instead of a funeral, he wanted a carnival-like party, because "funerals are sad." He said that he wanted 5 bouncy houses and that he wanted to be cremated and made into a tree so that he could live in it when he was reincarnated as a gorilla. Garrett endured more than 30 weeks of chemotherapy and radiation before the cancer migrated from his temporal bone into the lining of his brain, rendering him unable to speak. He died shortly after on July 6. For his funeral, his family carried out all of Garrett's requests and had a "Celebration of Life" for Garrett which included snowcones, bouncy houses, fireworks, face painting, cotton candy, and spin art. I chose to read this article this week because I believe we can all learn something from little 5-year-old Garrett Matthias. I think we can all learn to be strong and brave in unfortunate situations and learn to make the best of situations that we can not control.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/30/well/family/parenting-the-fortnite-ad...
This summer has been a Fortnite marathon for me, so I found this article intriguing. I agree with what the author discusses here. She explains to the audience that Fortnite is very addicting, and it can steal numerous amounts of money from children. Therefore, parents should promote a system that can benefit both the child and the parent. I have fallen vicitm to this trap as a child playing video games. Parents should know when and when not to restrict the child too much.
The article this week that interested me the most was the article titled, "Taking away the phones won't solve our teenagers' problems" by Tracy A. Dennis-Tiwary, a psychology professor . I was interested in this article because it is a topic that I commonly deal with at home.
In Dr. Dennis-Tiwary's article she writes about the state of many teenagers' mental health and their relationship with their phones. This relates to me because I am part of this group and I definitely rely on my electronic devices a bit too much.
The article also touches on the parents and what many of them believe: that smart devices are causing mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, for teenagers. I found this part of the article interesting because Dr Dennis-Tiwary brings up a point that I think many teens, like myself, understand: that smart devices are a way to escape from stress, mental health problems, and more. As a "addicted" teenager what I find is that my phone and computer give me a place to laugh, relax, and be creative by allowing me to play games, watch videos, and listen to music at the end of a busy school day or week.
One last reason that I enjoyed this article is because Dr Dennis-Tiwary talks about both aspects and understands that smart devices do have negative effects but may have a positive impact on those that use it.In addition, she advises parents not to blame the devices all the time but to try to improve their child's life so they wont need to escape.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/07/18/upshot/nike-vaporfly-shoe... @[email protected]
This week in the New York Times, I was most interested in the article about how a pair of $250 Nike shoes could make you run faster. This interested me because I have always worn Nike tennis shoes but I did not think that they made me run faster, but that's because I never bought the pair of Nike shoes called the Vaporflys. There was many thoughts in this article on how these pair of shoes could be illegal in races or in sports because they do give you the advantage of running faster, but data has concluded that there are no signs of them being illegal and anyone can buy them, they are not just open for buying for some people. Therefore, because anyone could buy these shoes, they are fair game for any race or sport. In different marathons and races, any man or women wearing these Vaporflys shoes have resulted in running faster than anyone else that they are racing with who wore a different kind of shoe. For example, a man ran a marathon in just a regular tennis shoe and did not get the results that he had hoped for, but then in his next marathon, he wore Vaporflys and finished his race 8 minutes faster than he had at his last one. These shoes have a have a carbon-fiber plate in the midsole, which stores and releases energy to act as a slingshot in strides. It's pretty crazy to think that a shoe could make you run faster, but it is proven in people's marathon times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/learning/how-should-parents-teach-the...
Parents SHOULD teach their children all about racism and how its become out of hand or how it is not a good thing to do or say towards other people. Regardless if the person is “white” or “black” or “latino” ect because this world does not need more cruilty than it already has. These kids have to be told as much as possible and at young ages so they can understand the concept that not every “leader” is as stated because those people our children look up to are the ones doing the most damage. Like stated on the article the mom had to tell her child that racism is not a right thing to do. If we don't influence the tongue ones how will we ever become a “better place”?
Kids should not be in school learning about people like donald trump , george washington and other people that were not educated to the fact of racism . As though if these kids go to school and learn about racism and the actual way of our society they can have a bigger peripheral vision so that they can have a perspective on EVERYTHING and not just THEMSELVES.
Therefor kids should learn about racism everywhere they go. Home , school ect.
The article I’ve recently read talked about how the Miami Dolphins could possibly gain suspension for protesting the national anthem. Personally, I feel as if this team should not be suspended for taking a knee during the anthem. People have the right to believe whatever they want, and if they do not feel as if the national anthem doesn’t apply to them, then they should do what’s right for them. In some cases, many people take a knee or they will not pledge at all. Many people see this as disrespectful, but why? Why is it so wrong for someone to not take part in what they don’t believe or are against? No one should be forced to do or follow something that they don’t want. In this year with our new president Trump, many people are not happy of what America has come to. A lot of people who feel this way usually don’t take part in the national anthem, and that should be fine. There are many things/situations people opt out of because they do not believe and/or want to take part in it. Now since the Miami Dolphins could gain suspension, it has a possible chance of following the rest of their career. This is all because they didn’t take part in something they did not want to be involved in. Overall, if people want to protest the national anthem, who are we to stop them? America should be a free country like it claims it is, but right now it does not feel this way. We need to allow others to have more rights in doing what they want.
In this article it talks about how technology and smartphones are what are destroying/affecting teenagers lives. “Some researchers have gone so far as to declare that smartphones have psychologically destroyed a generation of millennials and are fueling the epidemic of teenage anxiety and suicide in the United States.” A lot of teenagers families think that taking away their child’s phone is going to help with anxiety and depression but it’s not gonna solve much. I do agree that teenager are on their phones a lot and that it affects their daily lives. But i do know that taking it away will only makes things worse since like once they know they are not allowed to do a certain thing it makes them disobey and make things worse. Teen with anxiety and depression that are on their affected them because that’s how they see things on the internet or whatever.
I also think that smartphones or phones are the only solution people think that is causing teens to have anxiety and depression and things like that. When that’s not the only things that is affecting teens, like it could be how they getting treated or being bullied or their surroundings. Phones and technology could be a part of it but it’s not what is causing it fully for teens. It’s just an easy way to “fix” things and not do too much work in figuring out what is causing teens with depression or anxiety.
You probably heard of boxing. A sport full of blood and hate. A sport where you throw punches in hopes of hurting your opponent and knocking them out. You probably never thought that this is a sport that can teach love. This article is about a women that never really had luck in love. She was once nearly raped and when she got married they got a divorce years later. This women never really trusted anyone after these events. She soon took up boxing. A bloodthirsty sport. She learned the basics. She learned that she had to hold her guard up in any situation. She soon used this to learn love. She never let her guard down and she never trusted any of the men she dated and this advice helped her.
Boxing has also taught her never to give up. In the worst of situations you must give it you all and you may come out victorious. With strong will and the desire the keep going you can always come out on top. This is an interesting article. A bloody sport teaching people how to love. Like people say, there is more to boxing then just punching people in the face.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/13/style/modern-love-what-boxing-taught-...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/sports/world-cup/france-vs-croatia-fi...
Croatia vs France. The FInal Showdown. The game was very competitive game between two of the best teams in the world. I was going for Croatia, I thought it was over when the score was 3-1 at (59’). I knew it was over when they scored once again at the 65th minute, and the score was 4-1. Then we finally scored and score was 4-2 we were just 2 goals away from being tied with France and then when Rakitic started just shooting it was just going too high and then it was over. France won the world cup.
I feel like Croatia could have done way better than they did that game but France got that 3 point lead and than many people knew that it was over and France was the real champions. Even I thought for a second that Croatia might come back when they scored at the 69th minute. With 20 minutes left in the game France was playing amazing defense and Croatia could not get anything off and the game was over and Croatia lost. France’s odds of winning the World Cup were the best. They had a 2/1 chance of winning. Croatia had the 4th best chance with a 11/2 chance to win the world cup. France had the best odds and they won.
I chose the article “ Parents Behaving Badly: A Youth Sports Crisis Caught on Video” by Ben Pennington. The reason why I chose this article is as a soccer player there has been many times where parents and coaches have acted inappropriate at games. I agree with what states are trying to do to stop this dilemma with the refs and fans. Also, refs are doing their best to call games fairly, and not favoring one team, but they are all human and make mistakes. In some instances people take their criticisms and actions too far. In addition, this facebook page for the parents to see their behavior is a great idea,so parents will see what they are doing and how many people can see this bad behavior. Lastly, this ref has had enough and is doing something to stop the abusive treatment by parent toward referees. All in all, refs are doing the best they can at their games, but many fans are not on the same page as them. [email protected] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/18/sports/referee-parents-abuse-videos.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/technology/amazon-used-paperback-book...
This article caught my attention because I saw multiple products online with bizarre price tags. As an AVID online consumer I made a habit of "Shopping Around" and I obviously compare prices. This practice allows me to save small amounts to spend on other stuff. While browsing multiple shops (as a bunch of tabs on my computer) I saw the same exact items with extremely contrasting prices which reflects the Capitalistic nature of this society. Although the practice is immoral and annoying, I believe that its fine for people to sell things at ridiculous prices as long as there are other vendors available that sell the SAME product for a reasonable cost. The important thing is that there are options for consumers, after all the current market is a magnificent free for all.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/world/americas/mexico-coca-cola-diabe...
The question to address in this article is "what interested you" but quite frankly the disgusting actions from the Coca Cola company in San Cristóbal, Mexico is nothing new from the corrupt actions that have been exhibited by many large corporations. A public health crisis caused by a dramatic increase in the incidence of Diabetes is linked directly to them, yet they continue to consider well-being over cash. In an area that receives little rain and possesses a failing well system is chronically deprived of water, yet Coca Cola still "extracts more than 300,000 gallons of water a day". After taking so much of their water, the company pays "a disproportionately small amount for its water privileges-about 10 cents per 260 gallons'. Coca-Cola has done nothing to differentiate themselves from any other corrupt organization with their immoral actions. They take nearly all of the water from San Cristóbal, do nothing to support the government in the pursuit of acquiring an effective water distribution plan, and then sells their Coca-Cola for a profit for what should be pure water that flows from people's faucets for free every day. Stripping an entire city of an elementary biological necessity like water, and turning it into sugary, diabetes-inducing soda. Coca-Cola has established a new low in the narrative of corrupt organizations, and at this point, I would expect nothing less from a large company.
In the article "To Stretch or Not to Stretch? Athletes Put It to the Test," Gretchen Reynolds asks a seemingly senseless question: Should we stretch before exercise?
As a year-round athlete (I run track three seasons and swim the fourth) I have been convinced of the miracles of stretching. Personally, I do "dynamic stretches." Reynolds remarks on the recent praise that dynamic stretching has received: "It was thought that such dynamic stretching should bypass any negative impacts on performance while helping muscles and joints to warm up and prepare for intense activity."
I was unprepared for what Reynolds said next.
A study led by Dr. Tony Blazevich tested the effectiveness of stretching. The results showed that the stretching component of the warm-up was redundant, and had no effect on physical performance. "[The participants] were just as swift, agile, powerful and lithe when they had not stretched as when they had," Reynolds explains.
But if stretching really has no impact on performance, why did the participants of the study expect dynamic stretching to help?
Mind over matter is the idea that willpower can push people beyond their physical limits. While it is a relatively new term, humans have used mental perseverance tactics for millennia. Buddha said, "We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think."
So, whether or not athletes stretch, maybe the true the variable behind their success is their will. In the meantime, I think I will keep stretching.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/13/opinion/losing-yourself-in-a-good-boo...
Books have always played a big part in my life. Whether I had to read from my science textbook or I was just reading for fun, I have always liked books. They would take me to a different city, state, country, or even a different world. All of my worries and cares of the world would be buried in the pages of the book. I felt like I lived in the time of the book and was a part of their community. Books have helped me get through a lot of tough life situations, whether they were with me when I was bored, upset, or frustrated, I always felt better after reading a nice book. I think that everyone should get the chance to read a book and that reading should be encouraged from a young age to increase to chances of that child to read in the future. If everyone could go to books for help with their problems, I feel as if it would make them feel a lot less anxious or depressed, and our world as a whole would feel happier. It would allow them to move from their current situation and move into a different one that may be more positive. I am so glad that I am able to read whenever I want and am so thankful for all that books have helped me with. I would not be the person I am today if it wasn’t for books.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/opinion/feminists-misogyny-patriarchy...
I am not a feminist. Why? Because I believe the feminist movement neglects the struggle that men face due to masculine ideals. Thus, the articles struck a chord within me, as Ms Valenti states, "Feminist ideas can help men" and "culture is failing boys". But Ms Valenti may have some misconceptions as she says "boys and young men who are struggling have no equivalent culture". Surely the 'culture' referred to is steeped in every aspect of our lives: concepts such as sexual freedom, respect for women, gender equality are plastered all over the media and the Internet. The problem is not the lack of education. Perhaps the problem is that there is conflict and confusion regarding chivalry and entitlement. Each woman is an individual. Some want their date to open the door and pay for meals. But by demanding that from a man, isn't one giving him the right to feel that he has power over women? To truly be on equal terms, a woman would have to take equal responsibility in the relationship but many women still expect a man to make the first move. Our old traditions and modern expectations contradict and trip up each other. So even though, Ms Valenti remarks, "issues don’t hurt women, men do", men cannot be completely blamed for their biases because of the double standard that society has imposed on them.
What caught my attention in the Times this week was "New Clues to How the Biggest Dinosaurs Got So Big." This article was interesting as it talks about how dinosaurs had different growing patterns. Some had gradual growth and others had seasonal growth spurts. These new facts about the ancient creatures gives us new insight to what used to rule the earth. Dr. Apaldetti was in Argentina looking fro smaller dinosaurs when she came across a new species she named "Ingentia Prima" or the first giant. These newly found fossils proves that the biggest dinosaurs appeared before the Jurassic period, which is what was believed before. This was an interesting read because with movies like Jurassic Park and Jurassic World more people are becoming interested in dinosaurs and these new facts teach us things many people would never have known about these extinct animals. The Times explained all the facts presented in the article in a clear and easy to understand way.
In the article “R.I.P Ivanka Inc.” by The editorial board the article talks about how she is closing down her fashion brand and how it was probably caused by the issues that everyone has with her father if you don't know who her father is his name is donald trump. He is the president of the united states and he is not the most favorite person.
Ivanka trump sadly had to close down her fashion brand there was nothing wrong with it the stuff was fairly priced and it actually looked nice but sadly because everyone has problems with her father she is forced to suffer because of the stuff that he has done. I feel like that is not fair to her she worked hard to make her stuff likeable so that people can buy and she did not deserve that.
I know that people have there opinions on trump and they did not want to be associated with him so they refused to buy her stuff. But in a way Ivanka has done nothing bad other than being her daughter she has done nothing wrong she has never said anything racist and has never said anything very controversial.
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/science/mars-liquid-alien-life.html?h...
I’ve been interested in the prospect of terraforming Mars since the ideas was brought into the spotlight to me. When debating whether or not terraforming Mars was a good idea a constant argument that was brought up was that “if we don’t know if microorganisms can survive on Mars how could we?”. My response to this would always be that there is no evidence against less complex, extraterrestrial organisms thriving on mars but really there wasn’t much evidence to support my point of view either.
With the article “A Watery Lake Is Detecte on Mars, Raising the Potential for Alien Life” by Kenneth Chang and Dennis Overbye stating that with the discovery of a lake which increases the chances of there actually being life on Mars it was like a personal calling. There was a time when people believed the Earth was flat and now we’ve evolved so much that we are on the border on making a tremendous discovery on the astrobiology front. The concept of life on Mars opens a multitude of doorways for our realm of possibility and it is simply exciting to think about being able to colonize Mars or at least study it with a deeper understanding of what opportunity the planet contains.
I read the article “The Google Translate World Cup.” This article showed me the importance of language and creativity communication because google translate helps people free m foreign countries be safe, make friends, or get where they need to go. This article interested me because it’s something mthing most people have access to on their phones. It can help many people from being in difficult or frustrating situations. I really liked the example they used in the beginning because it was easy to connect to and understand that being alone in a different country trying to communicate could be scary and hard. When the officer used google translate; it was easy to understand each other. This article was explaining about a helpful tool that not many people know about, but they would find it useful.
“A Watery Lake Is Detected on Mars, Raising the Potential for Alien Life“ By Kenneth Chang and Dennis Overbye
This article about Mars has interested me this week not only because of the newfound lake that’s been discovered, but also of the way that we are getting more clues on what life could be like on other planets.
Although this lake on Mars is saltier than any of our oceans here on Earth, I am surprised that there is even a body of water on Mars in the first place. Better yet, we may find more life forms on Mars and other planets if we try hard enough. I may not know a lot about the universe, but I still am fascinated by its wonders, and would like to learn more. For now, I hope that the scientists and researchers that worked hard for this are trying their best to find out what else could be out there.
Article:https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/opinion/sunday/smartphone-addiction-t...
I agree taking the phones away will not help at all but we need the phones just in case for emergency. I think getting rid of social media will help due to the fact that social media has cause a lot of teenagers to commit suicide and cause depression. When I use social media, I always use it in a positive way. I remember going on Instagram and I saw a lot of mean comments they said to a celebrity. I saw that and I was so upset. I don't understand why people say mean things to each other on social media such as someone saying they are going to blow up their school. I bet if Apple got rid of social media maybe the world would be a better place.
[email protected]
“What Surfing With My Niece Taught Me About Life” by Steven Petrow
Where there is water, I am there. Skimboarding, water skiing, and swimming occupy the better part of my summer. The title of this article hints at two of things I love: water sports and family. Yet, it also alludes to the idea that there is a hidden benefit to be had while frollicking on the waves of summer. The author, Steven Petrow, succinctly explains important life lessons to be understood while surfing: don’t live in fear; focus on the prize; fall hard and get up again. In order to adopt these habits, though, a person has to learn how to be one with time and space.
Petrow’s advice relates to almost any activity in life. “It’s like not thinking...you are in the moment.” Being present is hard to achieve. Often people are looking back with regret on how they could have done things differently, or they are looking forward, worrying about what is going to happen next. If a person can harness Petrow’s advice and apply it to work, school, and play, then life will be more joyful. It is like a concise manual for navigating life’s challenges with ease. Each day begins with a new list of suggestions on how to live, but the easiest one to obtain is to simply appreciate and acknowledge the wonder of the present.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/sports/serena-williams-angelique-kerb...
The article that caught my attention this week was, "No Storybook Ending for Serena Williams. Instead, a Wimbledon Title for Angelique Kerber," by Christopher Clarey. This is most likely due to my interest in tennis, and the fact that I was following this year's Wimbledon tournament in England.
Serena Williams has always been an inspiration of mine, not only because she represents the US, but because she has continuously shown strength and never gives up during tournaments. This article gave insight into what Serena had been going through in the past few years and how she recovered even though she had many obstacles, including giving birth. Furthermore, Angelique Kerber had commented on Serena's recovery and praised her for her strength through all her medical problems (pulmonary embolism, pectoral injury, etc.). For example Kerber stated, "It’s a huge thing for her, coming back after the last few months to being in the final."
I remember watching Serena play and thinking, how does she get stronger half-way through the match when it was going on for at least 2 hours so far? This trait had followed Serena throughout the years as seen through the point-of-view in this article which described her strength and game plan.
After reading this article, I still admire Serena, and I hope she continues to overcome her obstacles and become an even more significant tennis player in history.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/13/business/think-positive-climb-out-of-...
This week the article " Think Positive, Climb Out of Poverty? It Just Might Work." by Seema Jayachandran interest me because it talks about how people can be motivated through a psychological boost that they get from seeing something that relates to them and inspirational. It is common sense that if people see someone do something that is a positive morale booster then they are going to try to do the same. But in this case getting out of poverty is not easy. I'm interested that just by being positive can someone actually "climb out of poverty" or not. My opinion is that positivism one of the things that helps someone in poverty to feel psychological better but in long term it is no where near enough to get out of poverty. It is true that if you're positive and calm you make better decisions but in an environment where you are needed to worry about your needs positivism comes very slowly. It interests me that many programs out there that helps many different people in the world, can make a big difference because in a place where I live those kind of programs are still progressing. It is no where near the amount of help to get someone out of poverty. But, I'm sure that positivism can make a person in difficulties much better. In conclusion, it is interesting that positivism can help people in poverty but not enough to climb out.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/world/americas/mexico-coca-cola-diabe...
In this article, we learned about a town in Mexico that has soft drinks such as "Coca Cola" much more readily available than drinking water. The drinks are supplied by a local factory and are almost as cheap as water. This ultimately leads to a lot of health problems for the residents of the town.
What I found sad was the fact that there are some places in the world where man-made soft drinks are more readily available than purified water. Big global companies come in with their mass-produced "goods" and they advertise their products while completely ignoring the health risks that they might expose to a community. I've also read about a town in Alaska with a similar situation. There they even feed babies Coca Cola with a bottle.
I was really attracted to this article as I have always been curious why people like soft drinks. For me, I like the clean taste of water better. But in this town, you really have no other choice but to drink soft drinks because water is just so rare and expensive. People should have more easy access to drinking water or problems like this will only persist and rise.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/world/middleeast/israel-law-jews-arab...
The article is about the Nationality Bill, which is an Israeli Basic Law which specifies Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish People.This article interested me the most this week because well, look where I'm from. Some will say that this law is racict and causes apartheid. Others will say that this law is very important because that's how Israel was established in the first place- as a Jewish state.
I somehow find myself agreeing with both points of view. I can't argue with the fact that this bill offends entire populations. For example, the Druze, who fight for the IDF and feel betrayed by this bill, after sacrificing themselfes for Israel. Moreover, the Nationality Bill causes greater controversies, additionally to the many ones that already exsist in Israel.
On the other hand, Israel was established as a Jewish nation - state. It does not mean that anyone in it is inferior, it is just that this state has a Jewish character. That unfortunately, lots of people try to make everyone forget.
Israel was established as a Jewish and democratic state and those two Ideas sometimes go badly together. But in the end, I think that the Nationality Bill should't have been adopted, just because I believe that we shoulden't inflame the hatred between people. I really hope that some day, we'll be able to settle all the disputes and live a life when I don't have to say those things.
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Article link: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/sports/carmelo-anthony-houston-rocket...
I am reading the article, “Carmelo Anthony is Set to sign with the Rockets,” by Marc Stein and yes! I am super excited to see how Carmelo Anthony and the Rockets work this season out. It is a big chance Carmelo will be signing with them although he has not yet. In place for Trevor Ariza is great because he can score better than Trevor Ariza which will be a better third option for Chris Paul and James Harden to go to.
Carmelo Anthony’s career is falling off and joining the Rockets I believe will bring it up. Carmelo Anthony is my favorite NBA player and I hate to see his career slowly ending. I do agree that he has to understand that he is not longer the superstar of any team like he was on the New York Knicks. The league is changing and more young talent is going in. I’m young and I am able to watch all of these young college players and analyze them and see how they’ve become better or worse players. Carmelo has a big shot as he did with the Thunder, I’m sure this season he will make it count because this is his chance at reviving his career. I feel like he will take this chance and revive his career because he has more supporting players around him now. He has Chris Paul who is actually a playmaker and James Harden who does give up the ball and he is not able to get open. So in the end I do believe that Carmelo and the Rockets will be a great fit.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/world/americas/mexico-coca-cola-diabe...
the story on how a town in mexico called “SAN CRISTÓBAL DE LAS CASAS” has had less water in their town but more soda is really shocking. What has happened to the town is not the fault of the people but the fault of the coca-cola company which has moved into the town and has made the people in it only rely on soda. Soda can affect the health of those in the town causing diabetes. Sure diabetes can happen genetically but with the kids drinking all the soda there drinking now their kids in the future will have the high risk of getting diabetes as well since their parents have only been exposed to soda then they will pass their genetics to their future kids which is not a good thing.
"What Do Novels About Evil Children Say About Us?"
I read the article “What Do Novels About Evil Children Say About Us?” by Ruth Franklin. I think that the movies and stories and novels about creepy or evil children are just for entertainment. They shouldn’t be taken seriously. They are not supposed to make parents wonder about themselves, or make them worry about if they could do anything to make their kids turn out that way. They are just for entertainment purposes, in my opinion. Franklin also mentions that there are stereotypes in the stories. This is something that I, in a way, agree with. The mother always starts to notice something wrong with the kid. The father does not see anything. Then for some reason, the father goes away and is missing for half the movie. The mother is left with the child, and the child reveals their true selves to the mother. The father comes, and the child never reveals themself to him, making him believe that the mother is crazy or something. This type of storyline is present in a lot of horror stories. It is a bit stereotypical. The author also suggests that the storyline is always somehow the mother’s fault. I agree with this to a certain extent. I don’t feel that every horror film does this, but it does happen a lot.
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/07/24/us/ap-us-family-stabbed-the-...
The article “The Lastest: Sentencing Postponed for Teen in Fatal Stabbings” is a judge not being able to make a decision about a teen stabbing his family. She even postponed the sentencing. The court needs time to make a decision about the sentencing. The court date was suppose to be Thursday and then the court postponed it or August 9th. The suspect was 19-year-old stabbed his family and was guilty for it but the judge doesn’t know what to exactly do.
In my opinion I think that the judge doesn’t know whether to make the sentence longer or to make it enough. However, I believe that the sentence should be long because it’s a young man who killed his family. That’s something that you can’t be non-guilty of it’s a big crime. Killing family members is something that someone should be in jail for for life. This kid ruined his life because of something that he should’ve thought twice about. His family are now dead because of him. He’s been committing crimes since he was 16. Now he has in sentence for life without parole meaning there’s no way out. To conclude I think that the judge has more than enough time to sentence him because honestly he’s up to no good at all.
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/opinion/sunday/everyone-has-an-accent...
This opinion article is written by a man who speaks on different accents and how America perceives them. He makes it clear that everyone has an accent. Even those of us who were born and raised in America believe we don’t have an accent. To the rest of the world, we actually do.
I think that we really do all have an accent. Whenever I go to Jersey, or even the times I’ve been to California and Florida, people have told me I have a very strong “New York accent.” This also happened when students from a college in Alabama visited my school. It was weird because I saw THEM as having a strong accent. Then I really thought about it, and where you come from determines your speech. Like how here in the Bronx, “dead” is used for saying “really,” “brick” means cold, “brolic” means muscular, and the list goes on and on. It never occurred to me no one else from other places say that.
A new drug has been made that helps treat alzheimer’s.In my opinion that’s great but at what cause.Yes it’ll be great to treat alzheimer’s but will we all be able to afford it.The article states that is not complete but it looks like it’ll work treating it.But the thing is that it’s a drug.If you take what else can happen.What side effects does it have.With my knowledge of other drugs I know that s they make you see things and feel a type of way.But will this also be like that.Well if this does turn out good then it’ll be really good.The only problem though probably being the cost if it’s expensive.Imagine all the people that could get better.Their lives will become a little better.Now they are able to remember things clearly and have less of chance of losing that memory.Another thing that comes to mind is that since drugs are being used by people just for a good feeling or to get high.Will this drug end up being used for the same thing?This things we don’t know.But if it does become a thing we need to find a way to control that.Because yet again we know that this drugs actually treats the brain in some good way.But is that all that it does?Maybe there is some side effect that they don’t know.But all we can do is just wait and see.
"New Alzheimer’s Drug Shows Big Promise in Early Trial Results"
4 years ago, the scene that German national team held up the champion trophy deeply rooted in my heart. The sweaty and smiling faces of the players, were filled with all their enthusiasm for football.
However, when I read about Ozil’s exit from the German national soccer team, I am utterly disappointed, not only for his leaving, but also for the unfair treatment he received. When Germany lost the game and went back to their country, people vent their anger towards the soccer team, while media used racial topics to attack the players.
German players aren't the sole victims. Colombian players are haunted by death threats on Twitter. Similarly, team of South Korea was thrown pillows at during a press briefing held after its return.
It is sad that the World Cup is no longer the pure global sport event I once admired. It has turned into an excuse for overheated fans to vent their extreme emotions, often associated with death, humiliation, and racism.
Don’t we think it’s time to ponder over these events? Our passion about soccer should not end up in violent behaviors. We should stay close to the game itself, respect players’ efforts, and give space to players’ personal life.
“Mesut Ozil’s Exit From German Soccer Team Stokes Debate on Integration” has given me infinite thinking about sports and people. Ozil’s resignation is an act of helplessness. I hope his sacrifice of beloved career could evoke people’s self-examinations and bring the World Cup back to its original atmosphere.
My interest in neuroscience had me gravitate toward “For Scientists Racing to Cure Alzheimer’s, the Math Is Getting Ugly.” It was also the solemn, but brave gaze of Mrs. Staehr’s accompanying photo portrait that gathered me, recognizing the intimacy of her daily uncertainty. Mrs. Staehr is one of 5.4 million Alzheimer’s sufferers needing a cure and there are ambitious trials, including Eli Lilly’s TRAILBLAZER-ALZ study. However, recruiting and screening other patients and funding such trials might be the bigger impediments. Patients have become needles in a haystack for researchers trying to identify eligible, trial participants. I know it is still challenging to confirm Alzheimer’s definitively, particularly in early stages where treatment would be most efficacious. Admittedly, I am curious what effect Eli Lilly’s dual removal and prevention of beta amyloid will yield. These medicines, previously used as single agents, have not shown efficacy. Neither of the medicines used in the study target the overproduction of amyloid precursor protein, which when met with the beta-secretase enzyme yields beta amyloid, the primary culprit in disease progression. Still, I remain hopeful.
In the article, I had read the numbers, the probable percentages of qualifiable participants and considered how researchers are tasked with racing toward a cure. Yet, with an epidemic of sufferers growing, I am sensitive enough to know that it is so much more than just the math that is getting ugly.
"How We Lost the Sky"
As I look up into the sky sometimes, I marvel at what is up there. The endless sky and the fluffy clouds are not what concerns me. I reflect on humanities achievement of conquering the sky and providing us with tools that make life easier.
Although I enjoyed reading this article, I respectfully disagree with its premise. The sky is filled with military and spy satellites because the most advanced technology occurs in those fields. Due to barriers such as cost and maintenance, private satellites just don’t have the resources to compete with government satellites. Also, the use of the phrase “place of the gods” to describe the sky is naive and impractical as that means we must leave the air above us untouched. To hint that the sky is some sort of sacred area is just absurd, as the sky has so much to offer. When the oceans or the Arctic were first explored, there were no complaints about disturbing the beautiful blue ocean or the vast snowfields. Important research to benefit humanity was understood to outweigh any possible side effects of those journeys.
Mankind has always strived to go beyond its borders and with the lightning quick advancements in the technology of today, we have no other way to go other than up. The proliferation of technology must be carefully used as it can be used in negative ways, but learning or discovering something new has never been a bad thing. The sky has not been lost, but rather has opened us up to new possibilities.
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The article that caught my attention was" How France Won Its Second World Cup Title" I think it's amazing how France won its second world cup after going against Croatia after France was down 2 points they came back with those two points then they got another two overall with that last shot they managed to win there second world cup. I'm not the biggest soccer fan but when I heard the comeback France had I was really interested.
"Cyrano Behind Bars"
The article “Cyrano Behind Bars,” by Jesse Wegman, follows the organization Rehabilitation Through Arts, which introduces convicts to various creative arts in hopes of reintegrating them into society.
A prison’s duty is to reintegrate prisoners into society. When you make a mistake, no matter its magnitude, you must learn from it; crimes are no different. If we spend taxpayers’ hard-earned money to give convicts a slap on the wrist while omitting a crucial part of learning from a mistake- how to avoid avoid repeating it in the future- that’s a waste of money. Punishment is needed, but the bulk of taxpayers’ money should be going towards rehabilitation programs. Failing to rehabilitate prisoners properly will only alienate them from the outside world, causing them to keep returning to prison because they don’t have the necessary tools to function as a member of society.
I selected this article because it brings the ineffectiveness of prisons to light. The fact that separate organizations to rehabilitate prisoners further exhibits the futility of the American prison system; the prison system is so inadequate that people are willing to donate to separate organizations to do the prisons’ job. Mr. Scatamacchia puts it best when he says “...what’s to be gained by locking someone up and letting them rot? Because most people get out, and if we don’t invest time and energy into rehabilitating these people, they’re going to come out worse than they went in.”
“Carmelo Anthony is set up to sign with the Houston Rockets “
Carmelo Anthony has recently been traded from okc thunder to the Houston Rockets. Carmelo recently played beside the top scoring point guard Russell Westbrook and a great small forward named Paul George. Since the trade to Houston this upcoming season he will be playing with Chris Paul and ”the beard man” James harden . I feel like last season he was the slacker between the trio since the other two guys are such explosive players and feel the same for the upcoming season just because Carmelo is getting older and the games getting faster probably to fast for the veteran. I really believe if the great first pass player Chris Paul would easily role Carmelo into there scoring rotations but, I think it’s gonna be a struggle with janes harden since he’s score first type of a player. But for sure they are probably gonna be one of the most dominant teams in the east since lebron has been traded to a team on the west coast there’s that many stars on the west. So if they don’t play as well it’s probably due to not a lot of chemistry between them bringing in the veteran .
"Ibtihaj Muhammad: The Olympic Fencer Is Charting Her Own Path"
What mostly interested me this past week in The Times was the article regarding Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first covered woman to compete in the Olympics. I wear hijab myself, so when I first watched her competing, it was inspiring. However, this article delved deeper than that, because it did not simply talk about her success and fame. It exposed the resistance she faced from all sides. It was comforting to me, as a covered Muslim girl with a love for team sports, because it showed me that even when faced with obstacles and negativity from my peers, success is possible. In a world where female sports players are not as celebrated or paid as much as their male counterparts, seeing a covered Muslim woman make it so far is inspiring. I found myself forwarding this article to some of my friends, who I know have had similar issues regarding their hijab when they play sports. Hijab doesn't limit the capabilities of a woman and Ibtihaj Muhammad is a perfect example of this. After overcoming all the challenges she faced, she finally got the recognition she deserved, even in the form of a Barbie Doll. She changed the narrative for the Muslim Community in America, and empowered Muslim and colored women alike while doing so. I hope her successes will not soon be forgotten and will continue to encourage young Muslim girls to participate in the sports that they love.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/science/mars-liquid-alien-life.html?h...
Decades have passed with scientists trying to find life on Earth. Billion dollars were used on technology to find a potential source of water. Now, the article, "A Watery Lake Is Detected on Mars, Raising the Potential for Alien Life" by Kenneth Chang and Dennis Overbye, proves that life could be found on the planet Mars since scientist sighted water on it. The water body found on the Mars is similar to that of underground water on Earth, giving more proof that life could be supported there. Due to this, scientist came to a conclusion that aliens might be siting there. The observation can lead the curious people from Earth to visit there.
"US Eases Obama-Era Coal Ash Pollution Rules for Utilities"
It is always a heart-breaking moment whenever I see news like this. Pollution nowadays is like a noose tied around the neck of the humankind. And we are tightening it.
The Trump administration eased coal ash pollution rules for utilities. Although its original intention is to save the struggling coal industry, it comes with the sacrifice of the environment and the residents’ health.
I am a victim of Chinese air pollution myself. Growing up in the toxic ashy air, I was diagnosed of having childhood asthma. I was forbidden from playing basketball or soccer when I was in the elementary school because strenuous exercise could cause me to suffer from breathing difficulties. I was not the only child who was inflicted by the heavy pollution. Every week I went to the hospital for the inhaled glucocorticosteroid, I could meet several children who had already been frequent visitors to the local hospital for many years because of asthma. It is common in China because the bureaucratic government tolerates pollution in exchange for high GDP growth which looks good in government reports.
I am happy to see that other countries like America have stricter rules in regulating the emission of pollutant. However, when I saw the news, I really frowned. America is walking backward, and making the same mistake again. The tragedy once happened to me is happening to the American children. And it is still for the sake of money!
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/14/opinion/sunday/smartphone-addiction-t...
"Taking Away the Phones Won’t Solve Our Teenagers’ Problems"
I agree with the title itself. Taking our phones away won't solve teenager's problems. What adults should do to solve our problems is to teach teenagers to control themselves. Sure if we use the new software that apple came up with would work. But then the teenagers aren't learning to control themselves.When the teenagers grow up they need to learn to control and manage themselves and I think starting with their phones is a great idea.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/us/young-and-naive-rose-strauss.html?...
A Politician Called Her ‘Young and Naïve.’ Now She’s Striking Back.
The thing about our generation is that our daily lives revolve around social media. Information on events, both old and new, can be shared through any social outlet. That's why this article interested me so much. Rose Strauss had used the concept of social media to her advantage. Nowadays, teenagers like me, or young adults like Strauss are perceived as "too young" or "too naive" to understand politics, much less have a say in it. What Strauss did, however, she showed her competence of the matter she was trying to talk about and shared it on social media, gaining a massive amount of supporters. These "young" and "naive" kids are being informed more than ever, and now they are actively trying to make the politicians hear what they say. That's what's amazing about it, isn't it? Kids aren't oblivious to the world, they have a voice and they want to use it. Politicians are there to represent us, the people. Without that, there is no democracy. So when politicians do this sort of thing, we can't ignore it anymore. Something must be done, they need to stop thinking about how young we are and start taking what we say seriously.
I believe that the video: ‘I Just Simply Did What He Wanted’: Sexual Abuse Inside Immigrant Detention Facilities' was very interesting due to the fact I hadn't heard about it. Many teenagers and adults have given all their attention to their cell phones or tablets. Sexual harassment has been a very prominent conversation in social media, but when scrolling through social media or even a magazine you don't read about the women seeking asylum being sexually harassed but about the celebrities. I do believe they should also be talked about but I also feel people should know more on the subject than just the people they follow on Twitter. Sexual harassment is happening to all different kinds of people, famous or not it shouldn’t be left unheard. Why do the people seeking safety from the violence they've experienced get ignored? I believe all cases should be just as important and as serious. I find it interesting because the immigrations laws right now do interest me, between the families being split up, people getting deported I do believe that it should be easier for people to become citizens rather than hold them in these facilities and then send them go back to the violence they've escaped.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/magazine/big-business-gwyneth-paltrow...
As soon as I read the first line of Taffy Brodesser-Akner's profile on Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle brand Goop, I couldn't help but identify with her comical wariness towards wellness. The skepticism with which she reports about some of Goop's outlandish suggestions for better living—like the way she punctuates a line about frog venom psychedelic healing with "which, O.K.!"—told me her point of view without ever having to spell it out. And I couldn't have agreed more.
Then her perspective seemed to change. As Brodesser-Akner dove deeper in Gwyneth's world, she began to check all the boxes that Goop assured her it would check. She drank crystal-filled water, listened to the ocean and suddenly was anxiety-free. I looked at her transformation and thought, hey, maybe the same could happen to me.
And then, in the final two paragraphs, it all came crashing down. Brodesser-Akner reveals there is no 'wellness' because to continuously aspire for 'better' is to doom oneself to a life of unfulfillment. In the piece's final word, she finally spells out her point of view on Goop for us: "ridiculous."
This profile rang in my brain long after I closed my laptop screen not only because of its warnings against falling into an aspirational vortex, but also because of Brodesser-Akner's mind-blowing ability to take me on a mental journey that mirrored her own physical journey into the world of wellness.
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The article that interested me the most this week was "Several Snack Foods Recalled After Potential Salmonella Risk Identified". From the time when I was young, I have eaten Ritz and Goldfish. In fact yesterday, I was eating Goldfish with my friends. So, I was shocked to see that two of my favorite snacks were being recalled. According to the article, some Ritz products were recalled after a whey powder supplier identified a potential salmonella risk. Following them on Monday, was Flowers Foods and on Tuesday, Pepperidge Farm recalled Goldfish crackers. The companies did not know of the illnesses that were occurring, and only two people were announced affected by the snacks. With my new found knowledge of these snacks, I will try to avoid them until further notice.
The article "The Best Thing That Happened" captured my attention this week. In the article, a busy man witnesses an elderly man struggling to climb each step of a building while carrying a basket with his oxygen tank inside. The young man’s first instinct is to ignore him to get to a meditation session he was running late for, but stops and offers to help the elderly man. Joyfully the elderly man replies with "This is the best thing that's happened to me all day" as the young man explains "No, this is the best thing that's happened to me". This caught me by surprise because I did not expect the young man to go back and help the elderly man, since that's simply not the kind of world we live in anymore. Recently, it has been more common to help yourself before you help others. I strongly believe that in order for our world to be successful, it needs to be united. Unity can be built by doing the smallest things for one another, even if it takes a few moments out of your day. I continue to learn that life is short and you never know what might happen. Helping someone may be the last thing you do, and it may be the most important. Reading this article made me realize that by doing one good thing each day, you can not only make another person and your community more positive but you can make yourself feel motivated, generous, and more mentally healthy
"New Clues To How The Biggest Dinosaurs Got So Big"
By Nicholas St. Fleur
The reason why this article intrested me the most this week is because this is new information on dinosaurs and I really enjoy learning new things I didn't know before. Science reporter Nicholas St. Fleur wrote that the creatures scientists call "Sauropodomorphs" were long-necked plant eaters that were the largest dinosaurs, they were an astonoshing 100 feet long. Researchers found an early sauropodomorph that had seasonal growth spurts rather than continuous gradual growth like other dinosaurs. This new found species was
called "Ingentia prima" which was 33 feet long and was found by triassic period fossils. The later giant sauropods like the the titanosaurs, slowly developed big bodies which included elongated necks and forelimbs, smaller skulls, and thick trunk-like limbs. The Ingentia prima however did not have a greatly elongated neck and its legs were more flexible and bent rather than straight and pillar-like. In addition, the Ingentia prima lived 47 million year before its colossal cousins, the Brachiosaurus and the Diplodocus. I think Fleur provided alot of important information about these sauropodomorphs and since their fossils were found to be more than 200 million years old, that suggest that the biggests dinosaurs existed earlier than paleontologits expected. The information on early sauropodomorps also suggests that their growth rates are the reason why they later became so big.
The article that interested me the most this week is "In Town with Little Water, Coca-Cola is Everywhere. So is Diabetes". This article explained the crisis that is happening in a region of Mexico, involving locals having to rely on sugary drinks rather than water to stay alive. While they may be able to stay alive by drinking Coca-Cola, most of them develop life-style diseases such as diabetes. IN this region. there is a lot of conflict around this issue, because the Coca-Cola plant in the area provides employment for about 400 people. However, this plant uses a majority of the clean water in the area to manufacture the sugary beverage, not leaving enough drinkable water for the locals. The plant also pollutes the surrounding environment. While attempts have been made to solve this issue, no permanent changes have been made. I find it shocking that soda is easier to access and cheaper than clean water in this region. These locals won't be able to live a healthier lifestyle if this doesn't change.
The article that grabbed my attention this week was "'Access to Literacy' Is Not a Constitutional Right, Judge in Detroit Rules". It interested me because it makes me sad to think that there are still kids in the U.S that don't have access to a better education than what they're receiving. Without an education, your future is already determined by low-paying jobs. It's unfair that kids are born into poverty and automatically get fewer opportunities than those who are more fortunate. The fact that there are some kids who can't even read is even more shocking. Every child should be required a K-12 education and then let them decide what they want to do with their lives. Being told by an adult, who probably received a proper education, that you don't deserve an education because it's not "in your rights" is preposterous. The fate of education should be in the hands of students. They're the ones who understand the education system more than anybody. They should be allowed to say whether or not its a constitutional right. Not someone who hasn't been in school for years.
“Everyone Has an Accent”
The title alone of this article intrigued me because it is something I have thought about many times before. Although this might boggle your mind, to someone somewhere else in the world, you have an accent. One of the more interesting points that Roberto Rey Aguado made in the article was how different places reacted to different accents. For example, he said American students studying abroad in Spain had difficulty being understood due to their accents, yet the people there were just as kind as helpful despite the difference, however in the U.S., students from Spain tend to be stereotyped and discriminated against. That may seem extreme, but think about shows like the Simpsons which often use different ethnicities and accents as comedic jokes. How is this fair? In a changing world where diversity is growing, especially in the U.S., it is important to remember to accept everyone because even you, wherever you are, have an accent.
This week I was most interested in the article "A Watery Lake Is Detected on Mars, Raising the Potential for Alien Life". The study and exploration of space have always grabbed my attention since it could be our future. The possibility of life on Mars has always been a hot topic of discussion. Movies have been made, books have been written, and stories have been told about the extraterrestrial life that may have existed on Mars, but after the finding of a 12-mile "underground liquid pool" on the Red Planet, it may very well be true.
On Wednesday, Italian scientists detected a 12-mile lake through radar on Mars. Scientists were unable to find the thickness of the lake, but it was estimated to be approximately a yard thick. Co-investigator Robert Orosei, calculated there to be about tens of billions of gallons of water in the lake.
Director of the Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science at Cornell University, Jonathan Lunie stated, "if it is liquid water, the intense saltiness would make it hard for life, at least life as known on Earth, to survive in the lake"(Chang, 2018). This does not necessarily mean that life cannot survive in these conditions. A team led by professor of ecology at Montana State University John Priscu found microbes beneath a subsurface lake a few years ago. Scientists have been finding life in places we would never have expected, so there is a possibility for it on this barren planet.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/sports/world-cup/france-vs-croatia-fi...
The article that interested me the most this week was called "How France Won Its Second World Cup Title" by Andrew Das. I found this article intriguing because I personally watched the game and enjoyed it very much. The author starts off his article by declaring France as the World Cup winners and then proceeds to describe the accomplishments of certain players on France's team as well as Croatia's. The author included quotes from Croatia's team captain, Luka Modric, to describe how he felt after the game. This especially caught my attention because not only did it provided me an insight on how Modric felt but what went wrong for Croatia. The second half of the article gave detailed explanations of key moments that happened during the game. I thought that this would be extremely helpful to people who didn't watch the game but instead wanted to know the main highlights that led France to its victory.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/world/middleeast/israel-law-jews-arab...
As somebody of Jewish ancestry, this article caught my eye because it mentioned Israel nationalism; an idea that I fully support. While it is true that I myself am not Jewish, I understand their plight and sympathize with their constant struggle to exist. For the sake of my argument, it also does not hurt to mention that they are historically the world's most persecuted people. From their enslavement and exile from Egypt, to the gas chambers of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, to the Arab League that tried to "throw them into the sea", the Jews have always been fighting for their existence and way of life. I thought with the creation of Israel that anti-Semitism was deteriorating. But after reading this article, I know I was too optimistic. This article claims that this new law "omits any mention of democracy or the principle of equality" in an attempt to vilify the law. The article then goes on to state how it will harm the balance between Arabs and Jews. Yet the article makes no mention of the "balance" or "equality" in the fact that 74% of the Middle East is classified as being anti-Semitic (93% in the West Bank and Gaza; primarily Palestinian). With these facts in mind, next time the Israeli government passes a law benefitting Jews and not Arabs, please remember the Three No's of the Arab League: "No peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel and, no negotiations with Israel”.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/dining/apricots.html?rref=collection%...
A ripe, succulent, perfectly cut piece of fruit caught my eye, as I was browsing this week's New York Times articles and I came across "The Time for Apricots Is Now." I am a fruit lover. You name the fruit and I can tell you how to pick it so that it tastes best. I enjoy fruits of all types, and apricots are one of my favorites! According to this article, there is an excellent crop of rich and lush apricots this season, and this golden fruit is plentiful at New York’s farmers’ markets, but they’ll be gone before August. So if you love apricots as I do, hurry up and get some before they are gone. I know I will!
https://nyti.ms/2JWIzLE
I love Demi Lovato. I love her songs and movies. Her overdose is sad because it doesn’t seem like something she would do at this point in her life. She had problems in the past, and sang about her struggles with sobriety. I hope she knows she has fans who will help her push through. She was sober for six years and having career success – touring, popular songs. As a fan, I love Demi and always will. I never knew all that she struggled with when she was young, eating disorders, self-mutilation, bipolar disorders, which likely led to drugs in the first place. Thankfully she is awake and her story has a chance to end well. It’s going to take time to recover. In “Sober” she says, “ I lost some of my fans” she didn’t. She has support behind her every step of the way. If I could write her I’d say Dear Demi, Stop worrying about being a role model for others; take time to focus on your recovery, and mental health. We, your fans, will wait. We will continue praying for you because sorry, being sober, is a life commitment. [email protected]
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/arts/music/juice-wrld-goodbye-good-ri...
This week in the New York Times, an article titled "The Chart-Topping Deep Feelings of Juice WRLD" interested me most. Music, specifically rap and R&B music, is something I am very passionate about. I listen to music whenever I can throughout the day and I spend most of my free time listening to music. Juice WRLD is a new Chicago rapper I have just recently started to listen to. His song "Lucid Dreams" has been a Billboard Hot 100 hit. It was placed at number 3, until multiple songs from Drake's recent album Scorpion stormed the charts. He raps a lot about heartbreak which makes his music very relatable. Juice WRLD's music is not only enjoyed by rap and R&B fans. People that do not only listen to rap have an ear for his music as well since he raps about relatable topics. He has come to be one of 2018's biggest artists and is consistently in Spotify's top 5 of the weekly artist streams. He has recently been in the studio making songs with veteran Chicago rappers, G Herbo and Lil Bibby and is about to go on his own tour.
"When We Eat, or Don't Eat, May Be Critical for Health"
All human beings consume food, therefore it should be important to all of us. Naturally this article caught my eye due to the fact that I was eating a little bit of leftovers several hours after dinner and was curious. In the article, sleeping and eating patterns are compared to with the effects it has on your body in great detail. A few decades ago, researchers discovered that every organ has an internal clock, and how everything operates on a daily rhythm. This means that your body will want to accept food during a certain time in your daily cycle, studies show that your metabolism and blood sugar control is higher in the morning and early afternoon. Proving that eating a majority of your food in the morning is better for your health. While eating late at night sends your body mixed signals, and when constantly repeated can show signs of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. After reading this, I immediately put down my leftover spaghetti, mentally noting not to do this again. In considering the claim that eating later is bad for you, I would agree, it is proven to disturb the cycle of your body. Deciding when to sleep and eat really effect your health and now knowing when those times are, I hope that I can change and start having a slightly healthier lifestyle.
"Before the Holocaust, Jewish Suffering Had One Name: Kishinev"
Although I didn't read the book this article was based on, it was the most interesting and moving article I looked at this week. I'm Jewish, and although I do know more about my religion than many other people my age in my congregation, I had never heard about Kishinev. Of course, I knew about pogroms in a general sense. But while I knew they were bad, in the world I grew up in, they were always overshadowed by the Holocaust: THE thing that represented anti semitism. This article, however, was interesting, because it looked at a time before the holocaust, something I can't even imagine, and described how badly Jews were treated even before. To me, that was not the surprising part. I learned, as soon as I started Hebrew school at five, that people everywhere hate us, for no other reason than that we're small and different. What did surprise me was that I can't remember ever hearing the word Kishinev, where many Jews were killed and raped, and their property and synagogues destroyed. If this was how pogroms became known, how come I didn't know about it? It's strange, living in a post holocaust world, because everything seems to lead up to it. But hopefully, I can continue to learn, and I can find out more about my own history.
The Spider In My Life
https://nyti.ms/2ObKDCU
Our world slowly is being overrun by rich fools, global warming seems to exist now, more than ever, and it we're even destroying the world itself. But, the world keep on spinning, and our lives continue to move forward. At least, that's what the article says. In this story m, the writer talks about her eight-legged, desk neighbor: a spider. She talks about it as a calm "balm" against our burning world.
Even if NASA discovers aliens, or if thousands of people spontaneously turn blue, the spider, nature, and the world will go on about its business, as though nothing happened or will happen.
If I had read this article two years ago, I wouldn't have understood or taken interest in it, but now, as I hear devastating news every day, it seems to make sense to me. It's not their fault for being ignorant of our chaotic society, but that's what makes us value nature.
Ignorance is bliss. This quote popped in my mind as I read this article. Why?Blissfully, the creatures of Earth carry on their work, ignorant of our dying world, and that's what this author appreciates. The idea that Mother Nature will always be there and do what she does best, no matter what, really interested me. I guess, whatever we humans do, the world really does keep turning.
Gary Sanchez aggravates groin injury along with yankees fans
Another article I read for week 6 is the one about Gary Sanchez. No matter how bad you want to play in a sports game or if you want to do something and your not supposed to because of your injury you shouldn't risk it but the catcher from the Yankees Gary Sanchez took on his injury by playing in the whole game against Tampa Bay. A month ago Sanchez was sidelined because of his pain in his groin. Most of the time we like to act like we're not injured and just keep playing but it affected his team because that game the Yankees fans weren't happy with the way Sanchez was playing because that game they have no homers and that was the first time all season where they haven't had any homers. Even though Sanchez wasn't produced at the plate this season, he was hitting .188 entering into Tuesday's game in Florida. Sanchez' teammates knew something had been wrong with him but Sanchez would act like he was fine until after the game he was in the worst pain he's ever been in before. In conclusion, Sanchez played like a tough guy by not allowing the coach to put in their secondary catcher but now it's harmed Sanchez because he's very hurt now, his coach isn't to happy with him, and the fans are mad about the way he had played, but we all have our bad days.
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In Town with Little Water, Coca-Cola Is Everywhere. So is Diabetes by Oscar Lopez
This article first caught my attention by the irony of title: how could a town possibly afford Coca-Cola if they can't afford water? Isn't Coca Cola more expensive because it's a processed drink? After reading the article, I was shocked to find that there wasn't even a slight exaggeration in the title. This little town, located in Mexico, is among one of the world's top consumers in sugary drinks; although this sounds like a dream come true to a soda-lover, in this town it has been a nightmare. Growing up, I was taught that as long as you made the right food decisions, diseases such as diabetes could be prevented. However, it had never occurred to me that there are towns in which diabetes is an issue because soda is all that these residents have access to. Coca-Cola is more accessible than water. Shouldn’t it be the opposite way around? This article paints Coca-Cola in a new light I was not aware of before, as a company that only cares about their profit: in this case, at the cost of the resident's health. The residents have no other drinking options: it's a trap. In a world where access to clean water is still an issue, it's disgusting that company's are taking advantage of situations such as this one to sell their products. This town could easily solve their water crisis: but instead, the water is used to make the fizzy drink that is causing the diabetes crisis in the first place.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/14/business/autonomous-cars-enthusiasts....
The inevitable future of autonomous vehicles has been in the horizon for many years, and as it gets closer and closer to becoming a reality, car enthusiasts get more and more scared.
Robert Yeager, the author of the article, has presented two arguments for and against self-driving cars; there's the one based around pathos, and then the more optimistic one based around logos. The emotional appeal goes on to talk about how special owning a car was, fixing it up with your family, taking your autistic sister for drives, and how a car carries a lot of sentiments with it. The logical argument came mainly from the head of Mclaren, a super car manufacturer. His argument is that auto enthusiasts should embrace the technology, using it to enhance the safety of a driving experience with advanced technologies that allow a computer to take over once the driver makes an error. He also argues that technology can make for a much more pleasurable driving experience, allowing little aids such as showing the most efficient line on a track. The emotional appeal, while targeting a large target audience (myself included), has done nothing to really prove that autonomous vehicles are bad. The logical appeal has painted a bright future, using the future tense to make their target audience giddy. I personally believe that self-driving cars are the future, and that while the change may be difficult, it should be embraced.
This weeks article that I read was about Mr. Nassar wanting to sentence for a new judge. Even though Nassar has been found guilty not only by the judge but also by the parents and girls he had molested no one will not sentence him guilty. Gymnastics "doctor" Nassar was convicted of not only sexually abusing one girl but their was many young women that were just as young as 6 and he wants the judge to reconsider his prison term. He says that the judge wasn't fair towards him and used the sentencing hearing to send a message out about sexual abuse. The most recent judge sentenced him to 40-175 years in prison, so technically until death, but he thinks that since she wasn't giving him a chance in court that he thinks another judge will listen to his made up stories. All the judges know that if they bring in the young women he molested they will get the truth about what he had done to them to "fix their problems/pain." In conclusion now a days people like myself don't know whether or not to trust their doctors.
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"Youth Soccer Participation has Significantly Fallen in America"
By: Joe Drape
The article that interested me the most this week was "Youth Soccer Participation has Fallen in America". As someone who loves to play and watch the sport, it was disheartening to find this article. While reading this article it was striking to see how many children have stopped playing the sport over the past few years. Approximately 600,000 children have stopped playing soccer.
The decline of people playing soccer is affecting all leagues. One of the main causes of this is, club teams dominating the sport. These teams are so expensive and have such intense schedules. Many talented kids cannot play at this competitive level, due to the high fees. Lower-income families with capable players are not able to play because their families can simply not afford it. Only players with "rich" families are able to participate. All people should have the opportunity to play no matter what background they are coming from.
I chose this article because I love soccer and want more people to love the sport just as I do. Sports should be a time when all people can release their energy and have fun. I hope the soccer community can turn the decline around and make soccer more available and enjoyable for everyone.
The most interesting article to me in the Times this week was "New Alzheimer's Drug Shows Big Promise in Early Trial Results". Even though the FDA hasn't approved this as a legitimate drug to be used the break through in the studies is astonishing, and allows hope in those whos loved ones have the disease.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/world/americas/venezuela-inflation-cr...
This week in the New York Times, an article from the business section intrigued me. Business is something I would like to pursue a career in and for his reason i was actually interested in reading about the economy of Venezuela. Their economy is one of the worst in history in comparison to 1923 Germany and Zimbabwe in the 2000's. Its estimated to get even worse by the end of the year with a one million percent price inflation people are fleeing the country in hopes of having better economic and living conditions. Money is becoming essentially useless and restaurant owners don't know what to charge customer . The situation doesn't get made any better with their president who is set to stay in office until 2025. There is a lack of basic food and medicine and it will surely lead to the demise of the country. As I learn more about the world I would like to be able to actually think of a way to solve this problem and money others in relation to the economy of nations.
"A Watery Lake Is Detected on Mars, Raising the Potential for Alien Life"
The discovery of liquid lake below Mars's Southern Polar Cap interested me the most in the Times this week. An Italian satellite, Marsis detected tens of billions of gallons of water under neath the surface of Mars. This was made possible by Marsis's ability to use subsurface and ionosphere sounding to detect the differences in density and mass below the surface of Mars. This new discovery repeats the question, "IS THERE EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE???" The discovery of this lake will give us some insight. This underwater 12-mile long lake is not the only sign of extraterrestrial life. Many of Saturn's satellites have the basic pillars that are needed to support life. After all, even the most primitive life finds a way of surviving in the most hostile conditions. Take for example, geothermal vents underneath deep on the ocean floor where there are crushing pressures and scalding temperatures. In the years, to come expect more Times articles on break-throughs in out of earth life.
How One Tweet About Nicki Minaj Spiraled Into Internet Chaos
Nicki Minaj and her followers used social media to bombard a freelance writer with cutting insults and death threats. The writer’s crime? A tweet asking for more mature content from Minaj. This is disappointing behavior from a musician who cannot humbly accept music reviews.
Playing the saxophone has given me a newfound appreciation of criticism. An evaluation by the New York State School Music Association identified flaws in my playing that I was previously unaware of. Their insight let me correct my mistakes and grow as a musician, illustrating that constructive criticism can lead to improvement.
However, criticism is not easy to accept. Everyone has been angered by a judgmental comment at some point in their lives. What frightens me is how social media enables retaliation to an unprecedented degree. I fear that the influential will use their followers to stifle communication on the internet.
Our nation’s success is rooted in its diverse viewpoints and the freedom to express them. The #MeToo movement was founded by women who were fed up with sexual harassment. The Parkland students led the March For Our Lives to protest government apathy on gun control. Both the society we live in and the music we listen to rely on criticism and fresh ideas to advance. In today’s world of connectedness, those with power must value other’s opinions, even those that are contrary to their own.
I picked the article titled "Lily Jame Taps Inner Meryl for New Mamma Mia".
his article caught my eye with the words "Mama Mia!". I saw the new movie Thursday and was delighted with the cheesiness and concordance to the first "Mama Mia!". "Mama Mia! Here we go again" portrayed the perfect continuation of the life of Sophie, the only thing lacking, her mother Donna. The movie, however, offers flashbacks to the life of Donna, prior to Sophie, with the young Donna being acted by Lily James.
In the article, I was surprised to see the hesitation and nervousness of Lily James in playing a young Donna. She seemed a great fit for the role, filling Donna's reputation of spunk and courage. However, Lily James depicts that playing Meryl Streep's character were some big shoes to fill. James states she prepared for the task by watching the first "Mama Mia!" "thousands and thousands of times."
Despite Lily James's strain, I found her character a fit representation of the Donna portrayed by Meryl Streep. I enjoyed the movie and reading the inner thoughts of Lily James.
In “The Twitter Purge: How Many Followers Trump, Nicki Minaj and Others Lost,” authors Richard Harris, Gabriel J. X. Dance, and Danny Debelius describe how Twitter has decided to purge many “fake” accounts on its website, and how this is affecting large influencers. The authors explain how while many current celebrities have lost millions of fake followers due to the purge, these accounts probably aren’t purchasing followers but rather the spambots are programmed to follow popular accounts to appear more authentic.
The mere fact that Twitter accumulated tens of millions of bots on its website demonstrates something greater to me and that’s the extent to which society values social media. Someone who would spend money on extra followers for their account cares an extreme amount about how others see them via their social media profiles. We live in a world where how many followers you have on your Twitter or Instagram account is seemingly becoming more important than the connections you create in the real world.
Born in 2001, social media affects my daily life whether I’d like to admit it or not, and I have plenty of my own insecurities regarding it. Social media has become so engraved in our culture over the past decade that we don’t spend enough time analyzing the effects it has on society at its core. In reality it’s molded today’s society into one where we spend more time developing an alternative persona for ourselves than working on developing our actual selves.
Everyone and or most people idolize an important figure in their lives. Whether that be a loved one, a celebrity or even a fictional character. They convey strong messages and influence our perceptions on the lives we live. Well, as many media platforms have already shared, a Pop Singer by the name of Demi Lovato, has been rushed to the Hospital on Tuesday, July 24th, after a Heroine overdose. This artist has been featured in a decent amount of media platforms as a singer, actress and model for her clothing line "fabletics".
This traumatic news has conveyed a deeper message to me more than words ever could. Even though from any other perspective, Demi possesses all things in life that would make one stereo typically "happy". Fame, money, talent, beauty, and all things good, right? Well, these have little relation to the struggle one human can face internally. This woman had the courage to share her stories to the public, hoping to inspire those with similar issues and remind them that they are not alone. She shares to local media " I am sorry to the fans I lost who watched me fall again/ I want to be a role model, but I am only human."
No matter how good ones life may seem, as an outsider, you will never understand ones own mental struggles. Not only this article, but Demi has inspired me to always aim for love. Appreciate those who support you and support them in return. Be thankful for the life you live, and learn to love yourself before trying to give love.
"Lake Is Detected On Mars, Raising Potential for Alien Life." by Kenneth Chang and Dennis Overbye
A 12-mile long lake of liquid water has been detected under the polar ice caps, raising hopes that life could exist beneath the surface. The huge body of water exists about one mile beneath the southern Martian ice cap and appears similar to Lake Vostok, which was said 2.4 miles beneath Antarctica and contained more than 3,500 species. This subglacial lake, discovered by a ground-penstrating radar on the Mars Express spacecraft, is about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) wide and perhaps no more than a meter deep. Its discovery is the latest piece of evidence that suggests water was not only present on Mars in the past but is still flowing in some capacity today. The reason I am writing about this because I think it is interesting to know there is water on another planet then earth.
This week in the New York Times, the article I found most interesting was “Psychology Itself Is Under Scrutiny” by Benedict Carey. Since 2011, many psychological studies have been redone in order to check their reliability. It is normally found that the original results cannot be reproduced, and these changes in results are “inevitably... (due to) generational change and charges of patriarchy” (par. 4). And Carey also acknowledges that psychology experiments are not airtight. In the Stanford Prison Experiment, many of the “guards” took to their roles too well and began abusing the “prisoners” without being told to; however, these results are not normally recreated. But Dr. Baker states that we should “‘put everything in that’s an important part of our history, including the controversy’” (par. 23). Personally, I find the reformation of psychological theories to be needed in today’s society, since a large generation gap has appeared between the generations before the Millennials and Generation Z. As someone who has dealt with outdated psychological ideas, I see a large gap in the knowledge of psychologists today. Likewise, as society evolves, our knowledge must evolve with us.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/health/psychology-studies-stanford-pr...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/us/politics/trump-putin-meeting.html
The meeting between President Trump and President Putin at Helsinki brings into question the level of trust that runs not only between governmental agencies but within society as a whole. Trump challenged his own intelligence agencies' findings when he stated, "'I don't see any reason' Russia would be behind such interference." However, extensive research conducted by the United States shows that Russia influenced the 2016 election. When the leader of a country or organization takes office, it is assumed that he is going to have faith in the conclusions reached by his workers, which was not the case last week.
America was founded on the principle of balance of powers, where each branch of the government has a task and works together to ensure the smooth functioning of the country. When a single individual—especially the one at the top—decides to challenge this by going against the conclusions that have been reached, the integrity of the system and people's faith in it wavers. In the case of the president, this was evident in the public condemnation of his remarks and lawmakers scrambling to make sense of their leader's words. Aside from showcasing the distrust in the government, the article also brings to light the lack of trust affecting society at large. From the family to the community, we have to realize that working together and trusting each other is the best—and only—way to function effectively.
"To Stretch, or Not to Stretch?" By Gretchen Reynolds
It is a generally accepted principle that stretching is a necessary precaution for anyone preparing to exercise. Everyone has heard that taking time to stretch will improve results and skipping stretches can lead to injury. Since I run on a regular basis, I figured it would only be logical to take what seems to be undisputed advice. But according to this article, these common beliefs may be incorrect.
The original controversy was whether two types of stretching, static or dynamic, affect athletes’ performance. Coaches have been urging their athletes to stretch dynamically, despite the fact that there is minimal research proving either stretch more effective. For this reason, a group of scientists began a study hoping to verify which method of stretching has better results. But instead of finding the better approach to stretching, they found that stretching seems to make no difference at all.
The article provides an important reminder: We cannot forget to question the facts and ideas we have just assumed are accurate. We must challenge theories, otherwise these theories slowly evolve into facts. Whether the world knows the most productive way to stretch might not be crucial, but it is imperative we remember to test all assumptions. It is astonishing how many concepts we have simply regarded as factual. Imagine: If one study can change the way we view stretching, what can we accomplish by testing all of our theories?
The article that interested me most this week was “It’s 4 A.M. The Baby’s Coming. But the Hospital is 100 Miles Away.” The only hospital in Kennett, Missouri, had closed forever. Twin Rivers was one of the few rural hospitals that offered obstetric care. Kela Abernathy, who was expecting twins started having contractions around 4 A.M. She rushed to the nearest hospital but there was no obstetric ward. The nearest hospital with an obstetric unit was 80 miles away. She waited 25 minutes for an ambulance to come and took four hours to arrive there. She gave birth through cesarean section. Since they were premature, they needed to stay at the hospital. Abernathy had to travel 200-mile round trips to check on the twins and then back home to be with her two-year-old son.
This article was interesting because this mother had traveled a long time for her twins to be delivered safely, just because there wasn’t an obstetric ward near her. People there already have difficulty accessing medical care. It's even more trouble for expecting mothers who can’t find an obstetrician near them. Some obstetricians won’t aid mothers who are far into their pregnancy. Families in these areas cannot afford to take time off work to go get medical care more than 50 miles away. Rural areas have higher rates of maternal and infant mortality. These rates will continue being high until not only obstetric care but all medical care is easily accessible in those areas.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/well/how-not-to-let-your-phone-ruin-y...
How Not to Let Your Phone Ruin Your Vacation
By: Catherine Price
This entire article was written to help people get less screen time while they are away but I personally think that these tips could be used in everyday life too. This article caught my eye because phones have absorbed everyone's attention and some people don't even realize it. Every day for many hours people are just sitting on their phones doing nothing but playing on apps. Now I know playing on apps on your phone can be fun and a good relaxer but the amount of time we all spend on our phones has gotten way out of hand. I know people that will freak out if you touch or move their phone because they always need to see or know where it is at all times. I know technology is a greater part of life nowadays and sometimes it is inevitable to have to check your phone, but in those times of pure boredom or just "the fear of missing out" I really think that the tips in this article could be used very well. Reading this article made me reflect on my life and how much I use my phone and how much I see friends and family members on their phones and it blew my mind just thinking about it. Personally, I am going to try to start using some of the tips so I can live in the moment rather than living it virtually.
This week the article, “Taking Away the Phones Won’t Solve Our Teenagers’ Problems” stood out to me. As a teenager who uses her phone throughout the day, I’ve noticed that I’ve been using my phone for a considerable amount of hours a day. Apple has launched a program where you can limit the amount of time you are on your phone. Fortunately, parents, including mine, approve of this app as it will try to limit the habit of phone usage. Why would parents think phone usage is so bad?
There is no evidence that phone usage has any linking to mental illness. Statistics show that some teenagers use their phone in order to decrease their anxiety or depression. Almost all teenagagers have experienced stress or depression in their life, so as a result they need their phone to distract themselves from the real world. Whether your texting your friend, checking social media or watching netflix, using a smartphone can helps a person to fully function throughout the day. One can even say that going on your phone is like a break from life. Although phone usage is a good way to cope with hardships in the real world, it is important to know that too much phone usage can lead to addiction.
I chose this article because it interested me and now I know that phone usage isn’t statistically proven to cause mental illnesses.
“The $3 Billion Plan to Turn Hoover Dam Into a Giant Battery” by Ivan Penn.
https://nyti.ms/2LPCiDo
This article describes an innovative idea for making renewable energy for The Hoover Dam more practical. The basic issue is that the sun and wind cannot be coerced into making energy on demand. This creates shortages of power under some conditions and surpluses under others. Storing the energy in batteries is appealing, but currently not practical.
A lower tech approach may be the answer. The Hoover Dam operates at only a fifth of its maximum capacity to avoid flooding downstream areas like towns and wildlife habitats. But what if the same water could be recycled and fed through the turbines multiple times? That is exactly what the plan entails.
The idea is simple. Wind and solar power is generated without regard for energy demand. The excess energy is converted into potential energy by pumping downstream water back up to the top of the dam. When needed to meet high demand, more water can be released. The effect on downstream towns should be minimal, since the same water is making multiple trips through the turbines.
This idealized version of the process does not reflect all of the things that could possibly go wrong. Some residents worry about any changes in the water flows, since many depend on the river for drinking water and recreation. Before this project has a realistic chance of moving forward, these and other unforeseen issues will need to be carefully evaluated.
"The News on Drug Prices? Nothing Good"
The New York Times’ Editorial Board uses the article to show how the actions of President Trump have a positive effect on the large industries involved, and negative effects on the numbers of citizens in need of cheap medicines. After explaining that Trump’s administration prevented states from enacting a medical policy, the article reveals that “If states were allowed to circumvent this rule, they would be able to avoid paying for pricey new drugs that aren’t necessarily as effective as cheaper versions already on the market” (2). The author’s strongest argument against Donald Trump and his drug-pricing plan is, without a doubt, their explanation on how individual states are being withheld the right to choose their own drug policies. The audience feels sympathetic to the sick individuals paying too much for drugs, and less concerned with the financial state of huge pharmaceutical corporations. The author’s worst point of argument occurs when they resort to speculating whether an alternative plan could even be used to lower the cost of drugs. “...a policy that might actually make a dent in the drug-cost problem” (2). Furthermore, this same policy contains minimal evidence of effectiveness, and within different circumstances as the current issue. While this alternate policy would work for countries only requiring certain medications, the author’s proposal does not fit the criteria for reducing the cost for drugs of an entire country.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/arts/music/demi-lovato-hospitalized.html
Addiction is a terrifying concept. One can be addicted to many things-alcohol, love, somebody, drugs-the list goes on and on. As discussed in the article, Demi Lovato, a world-renowned singer was hospitalized after a drug overdose. Demi had been sober for six years before suffering a relapse.
This article discusses a very basic overview on the situation and allows readers to ache the singers' struggles that she had been fighting for years.
Addiction is a disease-it's not something you can have a great time with for a little while then just quit when you feel like it. It takes over you body and consumes your mind to the point when you're completely dependent on it. I know this because my godmother is an alcoholic. She's been addicted for years and as a result her husband and her daughter felt disgusted by her. Now she lives 14 hours away from them and lost all ties. That's what addiction does--it makes you someone you're not. It transforms you into your own worst enemy. It forces your loved ones to despise the person you've become. Addiction makes you a puppet on a string. It determines every single move you make and you can't even attempt to stop it.
Demi had been sober for a total of six years. Six long, hard years and it's heartbreaking that her demons won. She, being an international singer and a role model to many, has been suffering from the start of her career. Her story is motivation to all.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/world/asia/japan-heat-wave.html?actio...
This week in The Times, an article that interested me the most was called, “In Japan, Deadly Heat Wave Tests Endurance of Even the Most Stoic.” This article interested me because I never knew heat waves actually occurred frequently as much as it did in Japan. I thought it was outrageous that the temperature reached 106 degrees Fahrenheit one day and construction workers had to wear battery-powered fans to avoid a head stroke. As the article mentions that Japan is known for tolerating discomfort for them, the summer of 2018 has been too much for them and pushed their tolerance. This article also grabbed my attention into realizing how grateful I am to not be suffering in the heat everyday and visit public pools or amusement parks to cool down and take a break from the heat. It is not an everyday occurrence when family members or friends are rushed to the hospital because of heatstroke’s, so this article has most defiantly had grabbed my attention and fascinated me.
“Yosemite Wildfire Forces Thousands to Evacuate as Fires Rage Across the West”
During this scorching Summer, there has been a recent spike of fires appearing in our wilderness areas. The combination of dry air and dead brush is causing the chance of fires to sky rocket, making the situation very worrisome. Sadly to say, the arise of the fires like the terrible Ferguson fire in Yosemite National Park is just one of many fires ravaging states like Colorado, Oregon, and California. Burning hundreds of acres of land, these fires have a been very destructive to our beloved national parks and wildlife. Also, families that have developed in these lands have been having to leave there homes full of memories behind because of these destructive fires. Fire fighters are trying to do there best to put out these fires but every time they seem to put one out, another arises. In fact, my neighbor, being a fire fighter himself, has been contributing to ending these fires but you can definitely tell that the smoke and heat are draining him and probably all the other fire fighters working. This article definitely caught my attention because of how close to home these fires are. My family and I were actually planning on visiting Yosemite Park until we found out that the fires and smoke were just too overwhelming for visitors and that they were evacuating areas of the park. Fortunately, this heat wave in the West is coming to a close so hopefully that means an end of more fires arising.
The article that interested me the most this week is "Zero Tolerance for Zero Tolerance" by Emily Yoffe. The article talks about how America's policy of "Zero Tolerance" is being greatly misinterpreted and the most recent victims are immigrant families. This topic really interested me because I truly wanted to learn more background information on the whole issue with President Trump separating and deporting a multitude of immigrant families. I had heard many different stories about this debate but I wanted to know more information regarding the causes and roots of the issue. This article was able to inform me on events that I had no idea occurred and honestly had left me dumbfounded. I strongly agree with all of Yoffes ideas. She describes how the policy of "Zero Tolerance" is to be used only to an extent and nowadays the government is using this policy too freely. This system was put into place in order to stop very serious crimes such as the acts of serial killers, gang leaders, and sexual predators. Nowadays, people are using this approach to handle petty occurrences and causing more harm than good. This has caused an extreme amount of innocent people to be punished, and recently it has been immigrant families that fall victim to these actions. I strongly support Yoffe's ideas that she clearly expresses throughout the whole article and I believe that the way America is interpreting the policy of "Zero Tolerance" needs to be changed back to the system's original purpose.
Ever Wanted to Get Revenge? Try This Instead
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/smarter-living/how-to-turn-toxic-emot...
Revenge is something everyone has wanted at one point in their lives. Whether if they have done it or not, it is actually best to "let go" than to act out. Why this article interested me was because when someone wrongs us, as humans our reaction is usually "How can we get them back?", but "getting them back" isn't the best nor is it the healthiest way to react to that situation.
When someone wants revenge against someone so much, they can start obsessing over it, which isn't good for the person's mental health. That is why it is best to "turn your heel and walk away". In my opinion, if something bad that someone did to you bothers you that badly, I think you should be vocal to them about it. It's not gonna hurt anyone telling them how you feel about that situation and it would relieve that stress depending on if they react in a positive or negative way. If they react in a negative way, it's not even worth to give them anymore of your time.
It’s summertime. A chance to catch up life. It gives students the freedom to read without pressure, to read for fun. Maybe getting lost in a book will give you a chance to escape from the stresses of life or just provide you with entertainment. Reading is an opportunity to explore unknown worlds, place yourself in another person’s shoes, and reach points of realization that you could only encounter from within a text. It can be magical. I found this article intriguing because reading a good book has the power to change a person. It may just be small, like reading for a good story, but as Charles M. Blow said about his childhood reading that, “those books saved me: from a life of poverty, stress, depression, and isolation”. To some children, reading could save and distract them from the harsh reality of the world.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/sports/world-cup/france-vs-croatia-fi...
I was interested in reading this article because I watched almost all the soccer games during the world cup and I did not know that France winning the world cup was only the second time they had won.Also I wanted to read this article because In the article I was most interested by the fact the Kylian Mbappe age 19 is not the youngest player to play and score in the world cup. And that the youngest player was 17 Pele. I was surprised because 17 is really young to play in the world cup even on a national team.
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The 2018 FIFA World Cup was completely dominated by the Cup's underdogs. In the final, France and Croatia faced off in an action-packed, 90 minute game. At the end of the match, France reigned victorious with a score of 4-2, giving the country its second World Cup title. The article explains not only how the French players felt with their win, but also the reactions of the Croatian players. Quotes from the Croatian players reveal that they were not disappointed with the way they played and that they felt that they were the better team. This week in The Times, I was most interested in this article because I am a soccer player myself, so the World Cup is always a very fascinating event for me. This Cup was filled with many surprise successes from teams that were expected to be weaker. It was shocking that a country like Croatia, with a population of only 4.1 million, could reach the final and I do not think that many people expected that outcome. Personally, I was rooting for France in the end but I still have lots of respect for the Croatian team considering their circumstances. I found this article to be the most interesting in The Times this week since I was already intrigued with the subject prior to reading.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/13/sports/world-cup/google-translate-app...
I was interested in reading this article, about how google translate helped people communicate with each other during the world cup, because at first I thought it said google translate the world cup. And I wondered what google translated the world cup to be. Also I was interested because I love soccer and the world cup. What interested me the most in the article was how an app could help people communicate that are from different parts of the world and speak different languages. Especially how they do not have to learn a new language, look up the words, or have to understand others at all, they can have a conversation using a phone.
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