An American Studies Blog

Blog Reflection: 4th Quarter

2010-05-25T19:55:00.001-07:00

After completing this past fourth quarter of blogging I have made various adjustments to my blogging style. Most importantly, I have much more frequently began blogging posts that often analyze and present my critical thinking. One of my latest posts, "T.V. Segregation?", exemplifies a post that presents my beliefs on what 'segregated' T.V. networks' effect on society would be. Last quarter, when asked to do a similar reflection, I chose "Super Bowl Ads: Are They Worth it?" because that post related to class discussions of advertisement's development in America. While the post did relate to class discussion, it displayed little analyzation. This past quarter I developed more thorough analyzations in my posts, and will continue to do so in blog posts that will follow. I also maintained the principle of relating blog posts to class discussion by re-capping some of Mr. Bolos' "T.V. Tokenism" presentation and referring to it in my post.

T.V. Segregation?

2010-05-23T17:37:00.000-07:00

Recently in American Studies class Mr. Bolos presented his views of "TV Tokenism". He led a discussion in which we discussed the limited appearance of minority groups, and also the symbolic inclusion of minorities in some network dramas solely to appear as if the shows have a diverse cast. One key point raised was that African-Americans rarely play leading roles, if ever, in network dramas. The validity of this prompted me to hypothesize why that is. Surely, there are African-Americans on television, but compared to whites, and particularly on network dramas of mainstream channels (NBC ABC and CBS) there are none playing a leading role. Take a look at the Office's cast to the left, and notice the two people of color have very minimal roles, and the third person of color plays the role of a custodian.

At the same time, channels such as BET feature all African-American casts without the inclusion of a single white. However, this is a cable channel and is not viewed nearly as much as a show on any mainstream channel, and consequently does not attract a significant white audience. Strangely enough, white audiences do seem to be attracted to shows that portray people of color as foolish or ignorant. Unfortunately, many black sitcoms portray the "silly African-American " stereotype, for instance, the Amos 'n Andy Show -- which was widely popular among whites and blacks. (That show was finally taken off the air after protests from the NAACP). The following are a few lines of script from the an episode of the show:

"Amos: We is supposed to call dis man at nine o'clock tonight. His wife say dat he wouldn't be home till 9 o'clock.
Andy: Well, yesterday when it was nine o'clock, my watch was eight o'clock an' I didn’t change de time on it. Now today dey stahted dis daylight savin' bizness so dat make my watch two hours off.
Amos: Well, den, it's ten o'clock den, aint it?
Andy: We was supposed to call de man at nine o'clock.
Amos: Den we is a hour late, aint we?
Andy: Not if de man's watch is wrong, we aint.
Amos: Dis heah's de biggest mess I done ever got in."

Andy and Amos are unable to figure out a time issue related to daylight savings. This show was characterized by such silliness, that essentially was an attempt to appeal to a larger white audience. The producers of this show knew many whites would find it humorous to portray African-Americans as ignorant and simple-minded.

We must consider as a society the effects of this television segregation. Some whites could develop a biased and racist view of minority inclusion in network dramas. These people could possibly perceive blacks as they are presented in such sitcoms and could easily be disinclined to, for example, live in an African-American community. Some whites would avoid socializing with these groups in everyday life. Because of this segregation, over time, white audiences have become comfortable seeing blacks in all-black sitcoms but not in all-black dramas, as these do not reinforce common stereotypes. By choosing to the limit the appearance of African-Americans in dramas, and include them often times in sitcoms, are these networks deliberately supporting racist beliefs? What end result do these network's actions have on our society?

Future News

2010-05-23T16:49:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, many of us American Studies students attended James Fallows talk "Media and Democracy". Fallows discussed the evolution of newspapers, as companies are moving away from print and beginning to publish their news online. Fallows quoted a colleague of his that said he liked printed compared to online news because flipping through a newspaper can yield a sense of doneness. More importantly, after the evolution to online news is complete and the printed news is extinct some will have difficulty receiving news. There are many people without a computer or internet access that would be potentially unable to receive their news from an online subscription. Essentially, I believe that because not everyone can afford the most current technology they should not be unable to keep up to date with current events in our nation. However, printing companies will only work in their own best interest. Unfortunately, if they believe they have a stable amount of subscribers they will undoubtedly begin to publish online and eliminate print. This is because "for a paper the size of The Washington Post, which prints about 700,000 papers a day and 1 million on Sundays, that could be an annual savings of more than $110 million, with newsprint at $625 per metric ton and rising." Fallows also stated that in terms of costs, printing newspapers is more expensive than paying the salaries of all the newspaper's writers. Eventually companies will cut the costs of printing by eliminating printed newspapers all together, and profits would be made through the sales of subscriptions to online publications. Could this leave less fortunate people without access to news? Do these people unable to afford online publications still have a right to access some sort of "news"?

What's Over?

2010-05-18T11:28:00.000-07:00

Having completed Junior Theme, I have realized many things about the research process and writing process as a whole. In a five to seven page paper like our junior theme, there is simply not enough room to include everything and everything about a given subject matter. I would have liked to expand upon the effects a pregnant mother has on their child before the child is even born. However, smaller unestablished paragraphs would have distracted the reader from more important points that over arched numerous subtopics. The research process could have continued for months if not years, and the short period of time we were given to research was nowhere near the time we could have spent researching our topics. Pediatricians dedicate their lives to answering a question that I attempted to answer in a seven page essay. The process could continue, researching and generating new body paragraphs or reasons for the rise in childhood obesity in America, however, this would be a book not an essay. I can appreciate the depth and significance of this problem in America, and while I have created what I believe to be good explanations, there are an unlimited number of alternative ways I could have went about answering my why question.

Junior Theme Update

2010-04-30T10:09:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't read my last couple posts, my topic for the junior theme is childhood obesity. With the due date approaching fast, there is still lots of work to be done. My interviewee, a Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University is going to be unavailable. Conveniently for me, he offered to meet May 6th, the day before the paper is due.
Other than my interview trouble, I keep finding new subtopics within my portions of my thesis map which all could stand alone. The first reason I am outlying to explain the increase in childhood obesity is the increase in fast food consumption nationwide. Within this issue, however, I have various decisions to make. I could expand upon the unhealthiness of the foods offered at such places, write about the sudden and dramatic increase in soft drink consumption (McDonalds Coca-cola syrup sales are the highest in America), or the fast food chains being opened in high schools nationwide.

2010-04-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

After continuing to research juvenile crime in America, I have decided to take a different route, in selecting a new topic altogether. While there are undoubtedly plenty of juveniles raised in single-parent families, this is a correlation not a causation of crime. Juvenile crime was on the rise for over 2 decades, but it hit its peak in the mid 90's. Since then, from petty crimes to violent crimes, the overall crime rate in America has plateaued. I considered researching why the crime rate has decreased since the mid 90's but wasn't too interested that approach. Contrary to male crime, female crime, in particular, violent female crime has shown a slight increase over the past twenty years. However, female crime is almost 90% of the time non-violent crime, and less than 1/5 of all crime in America. There really is no link between criminal physchology and the topic I decided to research- childhood obesity. I had considered writing about this dilemna originally as it is certainly a prevent issue in America right now. The life expectancy of children born after 2000 is shorter than that of their parents. Type 1 diabetes, once thought to be an adult only form of the disorder, is now becoming more prevalent among children. The topic is one that will hopefully assess the crisis in America, and will create reasonable solutions to this problem.

Junior Theme Update

2010-04-07T12:04:00.000-07:00

For the last couple weeks of American Studies class, we have been researching topics of interest in a seemingly never ending attempt to create a why question. Initially I had no idea which theme my paper would be; sports, political, media, etc. I am fascinated by physcology, and came across an interesting article online about the physcology of criminals. This topic became one of interest to me, and I continued to search in the library for books that pertained to this topic. Upon further research, I read an article that presented a narrower question that I saw potential in for a "Why" question. It brought to my attention the controversy of the insanity claim. The defense used by criminals in hopes of lessening their sentence, or not facing a death penalty. However, this defense is used in less than 1% of criminal's trials, and there is no trend in recent years to further investigate, i.e., a sharp increase or decrease in the usage of this defense. Refocusing on criminal physcology I looked for a new topic within this field, with a little more relevance in the present day. I found an interesting article that over the last 30 years there has been a sharp increase in children being raised by singles parents, and that children raised by single parents make up over 70% of inmates in state junvenile detention centers serving long-term sentences. Likewise, the studies showed additional statistics that were very striking: children in single-parent families are 20 times as likely to end up in prison and 32 times as likely to run away from home. The numbers vary from source to source, but the general consensus is that we have a sharp rise in crime that is held responsible by children in single-parent families. Take away 70% of crime from America today, and are society would be much safer then it is today. This topic yields a few question I can't help but wonder; why the sharp rise in single parent families, and more importantly, why the increase in crime for these juveniles in single-parent families?

Favorite Blog of 3rd Quarter

2010-03-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

This past quarter our American Studies teachers instructed us to write blog posts that had the intention of relating to class discussions and class themes. One such post I created that I believe accomplished that task is "Super Bowl Ads: Are They Worth it?" This post related the class discussion of advertisement's development America, as it included a commercial from this past Super Bowl, and applied it to the theme of advertising. The post raises a new question regarding advertisement, which is whether or not the increasing costs of advertisement, in particular commercials, pays off in the long run. In other words, are companies able to generate profits despite the expensive rates of $2.6 million for 30 seconds on a T.V. spot for the Super Bowl?

Super Bowls Ads, Are They Worth it?

2010-03-21T12:51:00.000-07:00

Recently in American Studies class, we have discussed advertisement and its affect on the consumer. Looking at an ad for a sock company from the early 20th century, our class saw how drastically magazine advertisement has evolved through the present day. Ads nowadays have significantly less text, and choose promote sexual humor more than ever before. Today, we also see an alternative form of advertising everyday-commercials. Commercials are a unique form of advertisement as they increase sales in a much more visually appealing fashion than a more traditional magazine or newspaper ad. However, commercials come with a price. CBS sold more than sixty slots charging around $3 million for a 30 second slot. This doesn't include the costs for producing the commercials. This is why there are no low budget companies advertising during the super bowl. Still, are these costs worth it? Worth what? Ideally, a company hopes that their commercial will increase sales to the extent that they will make a profit after paying for the T.V. spot. One particular Super Bowl commercial that caught my attention was the following Doritos ad:

Although its too early to tell how Doritos sales will fluctuate in 2010 from this ad, Doritos reported that after their 2007 Super Bowl advertisement, their sales increased by 12%. Their ad this year may drive another significant increase in sales, as it will be remembered for the boy's comedic line "Keep your hands off my momma, keep your hands off my Doritos," one that will keep consumers laughing. Consumers are more inclined to buy a product they think they will enjoy or a product they would like to associate themselves with. Of course, not all commercials are as catchy as this Doritos one, and companies can invest alot of money in their commercial's production and T.V. spot, but not observe an increase in their products sales. This is why more traditional forms of advertising are probably more beneficial for smaller companies wishing to advertise their products without going out on a limb and purchasing T.V. spots for commercials. Which form of advertisement do you see as most appealing? The more "conservative" text-based newspaper or magazine ads, or more sexually humorous T.V. commercials? At the same time, which of these two advertisement forms do you think increase sales more efficiently for a smaller scale business owner?

Who Needs an iPad?

2010-03-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

Apple has began to take orders for the much anticipated iPad. All pre-orders were offered free shipping although customers were not allowed to purchase more than two iPads, as Apple wants to be certain that when their new product hits the market there won't be a shortage. Many are debating whether or not the iPad will be as revolutionary as the iPod was to the MP3, now controlling 70% of all MP3 sales, or the iPhone which was the first of its class of "smart phones." Some project the iPad as simply an oversized iPod touch, lacking a phone feature the iPad wouldn't be so innovative after all. However, analyst Katy Huberty predicts that iPad sales will reach six million this year. Pesonally, I wouldn't have much use with this new gadget. I have an iPod touch, and would prefer to use a computer for the "innovative" activities the iPad constitutes, (Word Processing, Browsing the web, etc.). If the iPad contained a phone feature maybe it could be of more use, but even then who wants to use a phone thats 9.7 inches long, and weighs in at 1.5 lbs? There is one place I could see this device placed where it would florish- the family room. Replacing morning newspaper, one could read the news on their iPad touch, listen to their favorite music, or catch a podcast. It seems like with the iPad, everybody could find something they would enjoy to do. At the same time, many are comftorable with reading the physical newspaper, watching their T.V., or listening to their radio. These activites can all be accomplished on a single iPad, and this is why the device has potential to reach six million sales within its first year of release, and also revolutionize the tablet, laptop, and iPod.

Obama Brand: Women's Progression

2010-03-08T19:53:00.000-08:00

On March 8th, President Obama alongside First Lady Michelle Obama, noted the progress women have made in the United States and also the obstacles they continue to face. Although the White house event was meant to mark the progression of women through the time at present, it also served as an unpleasant reminder to women of the struggles they continue to face in our society. By dedicating a day to tracking the progression of women, our nation is also marking the lack of progression of women. In other words, if they are progressing, what is their progression being compared to? The status of men, of course, which implies women in America are not regarded as fairly as men are. Obama admitted, "we must also face squarely the reality of the present -- a reality marked by unfairness, marked by hardship for too many women in America." President Obama shared various statistics that clearly displayed the inequalities between the sexes in America. Women earn only 77 percent of what men earn; one in four women becoming victims of domestic violence; women making up more than half of the U.S. population while occupying only 17 percent of the seats in Congress. The President's reality of the present diminished his attempt to mark the progression of women in our society, leaving Americans wondering if Obama's intentions were truthfully to note the obstacles that still stand in their way.

First Lady Michelle Obama, happily waves at her audience. President Obama, however, seems unconvinced. His thoughts on marking the progression of women consist of one overarching dilemna; there will are many obstacles women face.

Tilikum Enraged

2010-02-24T19:41:00.000-08:00

12,000 pound Killer whale Tilikum, snatched its trainer from the poolside platform, at SeaWorld in Orlando Florida. The whale thrashed around underwater with the woman in its jaw killing her in front of a terrified audience. This was the third time the animal has caused a human death. An alarm sounded, and audience members were removed from the stadium, and the park was closed immediately. It has not yet been confirmed whether the trainer, Dawn Brancheau died from the thrashing of the whale, or drowning. An audience member described the event as "Terrible. It's very difficult to see the image." Tilikum has been involved in the death of two previous animals, and so many are concerned that the whale should be relocated or put to rest. What would you do if you were in control?

Winter is for Snowboarding, Summer is for Ping-Pong?

2010-02-16T18:12:00.000-08:00

This past saturday, I was in the car listening to the 720 WGN afternoon radio show host's take on the Olympics. He argued that the winter olympic games were much more appealing to him than those held in the Summer. While I'm sure his opinion may have been slightly biassed with the start of the Vancouver winter games this past week, his views were thought provoking. The summer games, (over simplifying) consist of: track and field, synchronized swimming, ping-pong and Badminton. While the winter games include skiing, snowboarding, hockey, and speed skating. The summer games are simply pathetic. Who wants to stay indoors to watch synchronized swimming during the summer? I want to be at the pool, at a barbeque, not in my living room watching table-tennis. During the winter, however, I could settle for some big air snowboarding competitions, and of course, the luge. The winter games aren't receiving the recognition they should be for their intensity and competitiveness. Which games do you prefer, summer or winter?

Referen-dumb

2010-02-07T21:28:00.000-08:00

This past Tuesday residents of the New Trier township district rejected the $174 million plan. At school, I have been disappointed in the selfishness many students are expressing; that we (class of 2011) wouldn't personally benefit from this proposal. Whats truly problematic for the voters is how excessive this $174 million plan was. School planning and Management Magazine reported in 2009, that this plan would spend roughly $56,000 per student. With $56,000, I'd rather buy a brand new Mercedez-Benz E class. The construction for this project was a proposed $300 per Sq. foot. Naperville High school, built less than ten years ago, spent only $187 per Sq. foot on its construction. No way was this plan worth that kind of money. Many things in the plan were luxuries, rather than necessities. Underground parking? Is is that difficult to walk from your parking spot to the school in the chilly weather? This plan had no empathy for the tax payer either. Property taxes have rose while our house prices have decreased. This would continue to happen, as the plan would furtherly raise taxes. The board should revisit the plan, and create something more modest, a plan residents are able to afford.

Pro Bowl Move

2010-01-31T20:43:00.000-08:00

The 2010 Pro Bowl was moved to Miami from Honolulu, Hawaii, where it has been played every year since 1980. The game was held in Dolphin stadium, where the Super Bowl will be held next sunday. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had the following rationale for the move, "We are looking at alternatives to strengthen the Pro Bowl." I appreciate the NFL's attempt to strengten the Pro Bowl, historically it doesn't get any attention following the Super Bowl. But, questioning the success of this alternative, I don't think holding the Pro Bowl prior to the Super Bowl truly strengthened it. Infact, it may have weakened it. A pro bowl game is played by the best players in the NFL, and is supposed to be a game that fans should long to watch for, as superstars are featured at all positions for both teams. Holding the Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl, limits the ability for players on a Super bowl team to participate in the Pro Bowl. Take Peyton Manning for example. Arguably the best Quarterback in the NFL, and undoubtedly a superstar, he won't be playing in the Pro Bowl which is supposed to feature the NFL's greatest players. Imagine an NBA All-Star game without Kobe Bryant, or Lebron James. It's simply unnattractive to a football fan. The move was also meant to build hype the weekend before the Super Bowl. "Moving the Pro Bowl to the Sunday prior to the Super Bowl can add even more excitement to Super Bowl week, one of the most anticipated weeks of the year," said Frank Supovitz, the NFL’s senior vice president of events. I personally didn't tune in to this year's Pro Bowl, so I turned on ESPN tonight to try and catch some highlights. I know the game couldn't have been too exciting, as the reporters first recapped NBA action, and then moved onto bowling coverage.

Osama to Obama

2010-01-24T17:59:00.000-08:00

In an audio message released Sunday to the Al-Jazeera news channel, Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden explained, "If our messages had been able to reach you through words we wouldn't have been delivering them through planes." What's the big deal, bin Laden has been hiding in some cave in Afghanistan for the past decade, he's powerless now! Well, that's definitely not what bin Laden wants us to believe. bin Laden, allegedly endorsed the failed attacks of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on Christmas day. Spokesman P.J. Crowley said, "He's trying to continue to appear relevant" by holding himself accountable for the attack. bin Laden went on to say that Americans don't deserve to live in a secure and peaceful nation, and that "God willing, our raids on you will continue as long as your support for the Israelis continues," bin Laden said in his message. bin Laden said that the "heroic warrior", Abdulmutallab's attack was intended to confirm previous messages meant to be interpreted after the September 11th attacks of 2001. Nearly 3,000 lives lost, I'm having trouble understanding what additional messages he wanted to confirm. Since, Abdulmutallab's attack failed, is there another attack on the horizon that we should be weary of?

Check out this link to listen to audio tape released to Al-Jazeera news channel, Sunday, January 24th. (It's translated, don't worry).

Favorite Blog: 2nd Quarter

2010-01-11T18:18:00.000-08:00

My best post for this second quarter was "Shhh! It's Supposed to be a Secret!". Apart from being a mandated blog that our teachers wanted us to write as an assignment, I captivated a good analyzation, displayed my bias, in a well crafted humorous post. After closing in on our first semester of American Studies, blogging has truly another form of writing for me. There are essays, poems, and blogs in my mind, all distinct forms of literature. This blog assignment inspired me to dissect a story that was read to me close to a hundred times as a child. Some may say this was an easier blog to write, since the scope was predetermined, but I couldn't disagree more. Yes, we knew it had to be about secret messages in childhood stories, but the boundaries were endless, and I showcased my creativity in the content of the blog, and its presentation was applied carefully.

My blogging process was different than last quarter. This quarter I began by finding an interesting topic, usually odd news I wanted to discuss. Last quarter, I generally found all my sources online, but I promise you, I looked through the Tribune with blogging in mind on multiple occasions this past quarter. Another thing I did differently was writing my blogs in word documents, and uploading them to my Blogger at a later date. This eliminated the rushed feeling of blogging I get while typing right into my "New Post" box on blogger.com.

I think blogging this quarter has established itself as an insightful way for students to participate and communicate with each other outside of class.

2010-01-11T16:19:00.000-08:00

After reading Mr. O'connor's last blog post, "Kid Stuff" I was interested with some of the comments classmates, or blogmates were writing about the post. Somehow, Mr. O'connor's post was tangentially connected to something quite interesting; how in horror films children are used to "sing rhymes and give a creepy effect." Criticize me for blogging about a comment, but it deserved a post of its own. A young child singing a nursery rhyme. Right? What's so scary about that? My response mentioned a horror flick that uses this technique to scare the audience in my response. I hate to quote myself, but this was the heart of my argument, "One particular horror flick, "Nightmare On Elm Street", starring Johnny Depp, utilizes this technique to leave the audience with nightmares of their own for days to come. In the movie, Freddy Krueger kills those that are asleep

...the children, who sing the following version of in hopes of protecting themselves from the killer. "One, two, Freddy's coming for you. Three, four, better lock your door. Five, six, grab your crucifix. Seven, eight, better stay up late. Nine, ten, never sleep again. The unusual mixture of children and their singing voices, which suggest innocence, and peace, is juxtaposed by the lyrics in which they sing. These lyrics convey a theme of death, and evil. Its especially effective as the children's song is an altered version of the famous nursery rhyme "1, 2, Buckle My Shoe".

Sticking to the theme of horror flicks, why do audiences scream for mercy when a girl doll's eyes roll? Is the notion of something be possessed, that frightening, or is the doll- a small figurine of a young girl (a child), impacting our perception of something we otherwise wouldn't conceive as being so scary. Could it be that because the doll is symbolic of a child, and knowing that it is lifeless, the eyes moving suggests its controlled by an evil spirit? It seems silly to think about, as there really isn't anything too scary about a doll moving its eyes. Yeah, its kinda freaky, but its just a doll, not scream!

Why do you think directors use the doll to scare their audiences? What secret messages are conveyed by using objects other than children and dolls in film?

Shhh! It's Supposed to be a Secret!

2010-01-11T15:30:00.000-08:00

Originally Posted January 7th, re-posted:

When I grew sick and tired of Dr. Seuss books, my Mom picked up a copy of Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree”. At first look, I was startled by the scene portrayed on the book’s cover; a tree that seemed to be handing an apple to a young boy. When I was this young, before any training in American Studies course, and before being introduced to the “See, Think, Wonder” process, I never tried to derive any significance from the image. I never questioned Silverstein’s intention to perhaps, convey a deeper underlying message through symbolism.

Dusting off our family copy, I reread the story. Now, if you never read this picture book, you parents didn’t raise you properly, so go to your nearest Barnes and Noble and get yourself a copy! If you don’t live near a Barnes and Noble, here is a quick summary for you: There is a tree that loves a little boy. The boy would come everyday to play and eat the tree’s apples. As the boy grows older the tree is often alone, without the boy. When he does come, the tree asks him to play, but the boys says he is too old to play. He needs money to start a life of his own. The tree gives the boy her apples to sell in the city, branches to make a house, and trunk to build a house. Silverstein should re-name his story, "The Taking Boy." At last, the boy (now an old man) visits the tree and asks for a place to rest. She offers him her stump, and he sits. The tree is happy again.

Unconditional love is love one has for another regardless of the other's actions or beliefs It defines the story. Through referring to the tree as a female, Silverstein signifies the tree's mother-like role she plays with the boy. This is the type of love a parent shares with their child. If unconditional love is a love that definitively can't be destroyed by ones actions, then how legitimate is this love? Truthfully she can't be happy without any of her apples, branches, leaves, trunk and most importantly the absence of the boy. When the boy cuts down her trunk to use to make a boat near the end of the story, just after the boy left with her trunk to make the wood, the narrator says "And the tree was happy...but not really.” Ultimately the message Silverstein is sending here is that unconditional love can coincide with an authentic and passionate relationship, but as a child develops and eventually moves out on his own, he must not let his relationship with his parents deteriorate. Maybe he can no longer play, but he can still love. Silverstein ingeniously relays this message that he is trying to convey between the parent reading this story, and the young child listening to the story, in hopes they can maintain their genuine love for one another, to last a lifetime.

Shel Silverstein narrates his compelling "children's story"

The tree, willingly sacrifices for the boy, who accepts everything from her without thanking her. Can you relate to instances where you parents have willingly gone out of their way to make you happy, and despite their success you failed to thank them. They continue to love you though, and will continue to strive to make you happy, since you are their kid. Let’s hear your story. Comment!

I wouldn't say I like the book quite as much as this guy. Giving Tree tattoos, really?

Boy Robs Store

2010-01-10T21:09:00.000-08:00

In class recently, Mr. Bolos showed us a clip from the movie "Minority Report" which depicted futuristic technological advancements that we may be coming into contact with soon. Becoming more and more intertwined with technology, kids develop dependent on their gadgets, something very new to our society. I recently blogged about a boy who rang up a bill of close to $20,000 with his cell phone, and when the story made national news headlines, Verizon Wireless didn't ask for the money.

Kids these days don't seem to receive the discipline they need to grow to be wise, decision-making individuals that they need to be, as parental teachings are replaced by the influences and exposure kids receive everyday from various sources of technology; radios, iPods, TVs, Phones, and Xboxs.

Although this particular story at Yahoo isn't related to technology, it lets the reader know what this last generation of kids is up to. A twelve year-old boy was arrested for using a toy gun to rob a convenience store in Florida. The boy pointed a wood barreled gun at the clerk, and after demanding money from the register, the clerk handed over and undisclosed wad of cash. The boy was later found walking on a highway. I've driven on plenty of highways in my lifetime, and have never seen anybody walking on one. Shows how bold this kid must be, to stick up a clerk, and then walk on a highway with his toy gun and cash in hand. Reportedly the boy tried to run before being arrested by Police. Another, gesture of his courageous character, this boy seemed fearless. Where were the parents? They were never mentioned in the article, and it startles me that anybody could lack enough discipline, to do what this boy did. I'm not gonna go ahead and say that this boy must have been influenced by a violent video game to do this, but i will say that most likely a combination of influence from a variety of modern technology led to this boy's confusion and eventual wrongdoings. He seemed to simply not understand any better, as strange as that may sound. Parents should be unplugging those iPod headphones, shutting down the video games and disciplining their children.

For some reason, I don't think I would be as intimidated by a toy gun, as this store clerk was.

Warner to Retire?

2010-01-10T19:39:00.000-08:00

As huge sports fan myself, looking through my blog posts, I have come to a sad realization; I haven't blogged about football. Determined to relieve my sports writing crave, I found the following headlines over at ESPN. I idolized Kurt Warner for his iconic attitude on an off the field, his leadership, and success with both the St. Louis Rams, and the Arizona Cardinals. Completing over 100 touchdown passes with both franchises, Warner is a destined 1st ballot hall of famer. I am deeply saddened by the recent news that sources close to Warner say his next loss may be his last as an NFL Quarterback. The Cardinals are a playoff contender, fending off the Green Bay Packers today, in an offensive showdown today. The Cardinals won 51-45, in a career game for the 38-year-old. He threw for 379 yards, five touchdowns passes, and no interceptions. I have heard of great players wanting to retire at the top, as opposed to sticking around the league for years, and waiting for their skill to regress to the point where they can no longer compete like the superstar that athlete used to be. Walking out on the game early,when playing at a superstar level, leaves the player feeling satisfied. That may be Warner's mind set, but this game against the Packers showcased as good of a Warner as we have ever seen. Warner just led his Cardinals to the Super Bowl last season where they lost to the Steelers. He is simply not playing like a Quarterback that needs to face the end of his career. Earlier on this season Warner suffered a concussion that may have first made Warner question whether he should play another season. Do you think if the Cardinals don't win the Super Bowl this season Warner should change his mind and stick around for next season? Even if they do win it all, is he really ready to go?

See Secret!

2010-01-10T10:02:00.000-08:00

Due to a few technical errors, I have re-posted this blogpost on

Monday, January 11th.

Here is a link to the updated post.

Cell Phone Radiation bad for you, no?

2010-01-07T13:05:00.000-08:00

Results from a study released on January 7th, counters the belief that the electromagnetic radiation being absorbed by the human brain having a negative impact on brain functioning.
The study was conducted on 96 mice, all of hwich were genetically modified, so that they would develop a sort of memory problem mean to mimic the traits characterizing Alzheimer's disease. A sticky brain plaque known as beta-amyloid produced by a harmful protein that is a hallmark of the disease. Post radiation exposure many mice were left non-demented- concluding that the electromagnetic celll phone radiation may not be so bad after all.

What's the point of government?

2010-01-04T20:37:00.000-08:00

As we all know by now, Nigerian man Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airplane on Christmas day. What could have been a Christmas Day massacre failed as Abdulmutallab failed to ignite his bomb. What troubles me, is that the U.S. had received information from the U.K. that Abdulmutallab had previous connections with extremist organizations. According to Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman, Simon Lewis, Abdulmutallab's name had been included in record of people who communicated with known extremists in the U.K. Officials had believe he was radicalized after leaving the country in early 2008. The point of government in our society is to provide protection for the people, and structure in our society, so that citizens can live their lives accordingly and pursue their wishes, living safely in the privacy of their own homes. Ideally, Government rids crime from our society. Realistically, government tries to rid crime from our society but has continuously failed to do so. This past Christmas Day the Obama administration caught a huge break, had the bomb ignited correctly, hundreds would have died and who would be to blame? Since reportedly the U.S. had every bit of information that suggested this man had extremist ties, why was he allowed to fly? Although he was not personally singled out as a known terrorist he had confirmed ties with extremists in the U.K. less than 4 years ago!

Get a Life!

2009-12-14T18:26:00.002-08:00

A 13 year old boy rang up quite a high charge to his father's monthly Verizon Wireless cell phone bill, an additional $22,000. Ted Estarija's son reportedly downloaded 1.4 million kilobytes of cell phone data last month, costing Estarija close to $22,000. The plan that Estarija was covered by did not allow for data usage, so each download was much more expensive then it should have been, had the plan covered data usage, and Estarija was charged more than $50 per megabyte of data, a menacingly high rate. Verizon Wireless eventually credited Estarija's account entirely, after the story made headlines at NBC. Now this begins to trouble me, as the younger generation, in particular teenagers, are becoming so endowed with technology. I have a friend whose little brother has an iPhone, and hes only a fifth grader. When I asked him about his phone, he replied that all the kids in his class have iPhones. What could a fifth grader possibly need an iPhone for? Oh well, I guess times are changing, and the youth is becoming more dependent on technology at an earlier age then ever. But downloading $22,000 of data over your cell phone in my opinion, (I hope you would agree) seems to cross the line. That boy needs to get outside, and go to a Borders to buy his music, not rack up his father's bill.

Get a Life

2009-12-14T18:26:00.001-08:00

Tiger walking away from Golf?

2009-12-11T13:11:00.000-08:00

Tiger Woods is undoubtedly one of the most successful athletles, if not the single most successful athlete of all time. So year after year he keeps golfing. Why? He loves the sport, the competitiveness, and he can't walk away from it. That's how it always seemed with Tiger, until now. An exclusive report from the British tabloid, The Sun hints that Tiger may have to walk away from golf. Tiger's wife, Elin, has reportedly given him a choice, in which he must decide between her or golf. "It's golf... or me." she said. Tiger may have to walk away from the sport to save his marriage, and for the sake of raising his two kids with his wife. Can you imagine Tiger walking away from Golf to save his marriage, or can you possibly imagine him choosing Golf?

Flying with Flu?

2009-11-23T16:56:00.000-08:00

A Texas couple recently featured in the Airline Biz blog of the Dallas Morning were required to pay a rebooking fee of $150 per ticket, when their six year old daughter became sick with the swine flu just a few days before the family was to fly on American Airlines. The original price of the tickets were 189$, so the rebooking fee would nearly double the cost of the airfare. The father objected, even offered to provide a note from the pediatrician as proof of swine flu. American Airlines refused to accept the note, and made the following statement attempting to justify their policy "American Airlines says that if someone chooses not to travel because of an illness or another reason, the value of their ticket is governed by the applicable fare rules, which may include a change fee. In those cases, the value of the ticket can be used for future travel, minus the fee. It's one of the risks people take when purchasing lower-fare tickets," said Tim Smith, a spokesman for the airline. Recently an informal poll from tripadvisor.com discovered that 51% of respondents are willing to fly sick with the flu rather than pay a flight rebooking fee. Considering how fast germs spread, especially in such small areas such as an airport or airplane, this is a remarkably high percentage. "The airplane is like a petri dish in the sky" said Rene Foss, a flight attendant for 25 years. Is it reasonable for airlines to temporarily waive cancelation fees for H1N1-infected passengers who have a doctor's note? At this point in time, people will choose to save money versus health, and this is not good for those air travelers that are flying healthy,as they risk becoming ill. What do you think airlines should do to control disease, and should H1N1-infected passengers be forced to pay rebooking fees?

Agassi, a Legend?

2009-11-11T10:02:00.000-08:00

Eight time grand slam champion, Andre Agassi, admitted his recreational use of crystal meth, during his 1997 season, in his new autobiography. It is worth noting, his drug use is not performance enhancing, rather, recreational. Agassi, widely acknowledged as an all-time tennis legend, successful multi-millionaire, had everything to lose in admitting his usage of the drug. Or did he have nothing to lose? Agassi won a gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics of 1996. However, in late 1997, his ranking dropped to No. 141, one of the most severe drops in ranking any tennis pro has ever done- equivalent to playing in the "minor leagues" of tennis. It becomes obvious now, why, in 1997 Agassi's tennis game became so much worse, a side-effect of his drug use. By 1998, Agassi jumped back up to a top 10 ranking, making the single greatest increase in ATP ranking history. A year later he won the French open, completing a career Grand Slam, and finished 1999 ranked No. 1. After his use in 1997, Agassi salvaged his career, and recovered into the legend he was destined to become. Why, 12 years later, does Agassi admit to using the drug? I'm not able to think of a reasonable explanation for Agassi's admission. He was not under persecution, or investigation. Is this his form of self-purification? Did he want to feel better about himself? This could have never been announced, and Agassi would go down in history as a tennis legend. Yet, he made a decision to tell everyone. His family, friends, fans, you and me. So how does our view of Agassi change? I would still say that he's pretty good at tennis.

Watch Your Step!

2009-10-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

The average car weighs just over 4,000 pounds. The weight without passengers of a school bus ranges from 22,000 to 28,000. When you add 84 passengers, say high school students, that adds up to 14,700 additional pounds, bringing the total up to about 42,700 pounds. Automobiles, are machines, and you must respect them. Nearly 50,000 people die yearly in the U.S. from car accidents. Carelessly jay-walking a city street could end you up in a hospital's emergency room, so watch your step. People underestimate the potential destruction a car or bus can cause. This video here shows a Russian man who was nearly flattened while crossing a street by a bus. Although he wasn't jaywalking, it seems that these laws aren't enforced by local police, and should be possibly revised considering how deadly automobiles can be. The penalty for jaywalking, in its most severe form is a mere ticket of less than $100. By making a more severe penalty, and punishing more people for violating jaywalking laws, we can hope to ensure more public safety for pedestrians on the streets.

Just a couple months ago, White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams was cited for jaywalking, as he crossed a street outside of a crosswalk near Safeco Field in Seattle. A control officer issued Williams a $56 ticket, nothing to Williams, and I'm sure he has commited the same violation since then. However, more severe punishment, and stricter enforcement would make people think twice about running across the middle of a street, and risking getting splattered by a 42,700 pound bus.

Man Eaten Alive by Crocodiles! (Almost)

2009-10-22T10:40:00.000-07:00

An Australian man spent 12 hours up in a tree, elevating himself from the danger of being eaten alive by the crocodiles that populated the river below his tree. The story says that the man was on his boat and fell asleep while he navigated through the crocodile-infested Lynne River of northern Australia. He awoke and found his boat was filled with water, and jammed under a tree. How could someone do something so careless, as to doze off to sleep while they are on a small boat, alone, going through a river of crocodiles? You either have to lack a lot of intelligence, or have to be a very lazy person, you can't simply "fall asleep". Regardless, he hid up in a tree for half a day, and was eventually rescued after activating his emergency radio beacon.

My Favorite Blog!

2009-10-20T10:37:00.001-07:00

So, what makes a good blog? A good blog, is one that provokes ones ideas, creatively, and freely. The author of said blog, must write all of his posts because he is attracted to the subject matter, not because his teacher prompts him to answer a question. The blog expresses the author's ideas towards the topic, and he does so in a creative fasion, and expresses his ideas freely, for the author writes what he strongly believes, not the opinions of others. Still a relatively new blogger, I want to reflect on my blogs thus far, and select one that I think, is most characteristic of what I believe is, a good blog based of my previous description. "Driving Text" voiced my belief that drivers are sending more text messages then ever while driving, and that doing so while driving is not safe. One generally thinks more mainstream, that driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs are dangerous, yet I thought about the affects of driving text, and found the studies with data that is able to back up my blog post, and support my argument. In doing so, I constructed my best blog thus far.

Boy in Box Makes Headlines

2009-10-16T13:08:00.000-07:00

Hot air balloon floats high above the ground, a six year old Colorado boy is believed to be inside. The headlines seemed like a promising story. Yahoo, AOL, MSN, FoxNews, had one featured story, with such headlines, leaving Americans countrywide wondering about this six year old boy. Later on October, 15, 2009, the date of the boy's supposed takeoff in his hot air baloon, the balloon crashed and the boy was not found inside. You would think this must mean that the boy never was in the balloon in the first place, what a relief! Specuators from various news networks interpreted it differently, saying the boy may have fell out of the balloon during its flight. They were wrong. The six year old boy was found hiding in a cardboard box, in the attic of his garage, according to Macomb daily. Lately, some topics on news shows seem unimportant, as if there is no purpose for their headlines, and that there is nothing beneficial, to their publications online, and their coverage on television. This story seemed to be a perfect example of that, and left me wondering, why is this so important, who cares? Then when it was released the boy was hiding in his garage attic, in cardboard box, I wasn't surprised. What do you think about this story, and shories like this, that seem like they have no importance. They are only slightly entertaining, and leave a person wondering, why?
Yahoo's Coverage

Why Grade?

2009-10-04T07:48:00.001-07:00

Initially, one may believe that grades are great! Great, in the sense that they give students direct feedback to their performance in their classes, let the students know how well they understand the material, and how they need to improve or maintain study habits (if they are doing excellently in a class). However, ever since high school I felt grades lost all of those legitimate purposes, and became material "letter" grades. You aren't a good student unless you have the "A" grades, and if you don't have the grades, your not as intelligent as the students that do. It seems like to students are more interested in acquiring that "A" grade than anything else, and that constant tests, and quizzes all assessed on a grade scale, now conflict with students abilities to focus on strictly learning class subjects matter, and not being distracted constantly by their grade. Students can relate to this example. Think of a time where you just get a test back, a scantron test. Students search their scantrons in hope of finding a "scantron error" or an eraser mistake, which triggered an incorrect answer, of course. What students don't realize is that they are victims of the grading system, that the one scantron error on a large test, doesn't make a difference in the grand scheme of their knowledge they take away from the class.

Why I'm Alive

2009-09-22T07:20:00.002-07:00

Why I'm Alive

Line Drive

2009-09-22T07:20:00.001-07:00

In early September, a 4 year old boy and his family went to see a Cleveland Indians minor league baseball game. They had great seats for the game, they were in the front row, only 10 seats away from the scrapper's dugout. A foul ball line drive directly hit the boy's head, who was sitting in his father's lap and talking to his mother. The ball came into contact with his head at such a fast speed that it caused a skull fracture, leaving the boy in critical condition. Reportedly, there were no nets to prevent these foul balls to hit fans sitting above the dugouts, there was only a cage net behind the home plate. Luke Holko is able to move his arms and legs, as well as blink his eyes, to show acknowledgement when he is spoken to. At this point in his recovery, he can't talk. Doctors at Akron Children's Hospital say he suffered a brain stem injury, that is healing. However, it could take months or years to find out how well he recovers. The family admits to having seen signs warning to "be aware of foul balls". There are also warnings written on the back of every ticket sold, essentially stating that if you come to a ballgame, you are doing so at your own risk. It can't be argued that it is the ballplayers fault for hitting a line drive into the boy's head, he couldn't have possibly done so intentionally. Is it fair to say that the stadium's was poorly designed, and did not take into account foul balls, and their potentially lethal consequences? Are the stadium's warnings on the back of tickets enough, to argue that the fans were warned of foul balls, and their risks, but still attended the game at their own risk?

Safe or sorry?

2009-09-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

There is an average 6 million car accidents annually in the United States. 40,000 of these accidents are fatal crashes. Reckless driving caused by speeding drivers, who may be drunk drivers, or preoccupied is the leading cause of an accident on the road. Its a policeman's job, his obligation serving the country to keep the road safe from these reckless drivers as best possible. Modern technology has made it possible for Police officers to use radar guns or laser unites to find drivers violating speed limit laws. Recently, there is a new Iphone app that allows drivers to live stream the positions of state troopers waiting with a radar gun or laser unit, so that other drivers can be aware of the speed trap and not violate traffic laws in those areas. "When, you're ready to hit the road. And once you're tooling down the highway, if you spot a state trooper or city cop lying in wait with a radar gun or laser unit, you just need to punch in "pound one" on your cell phone -- or dial a toll-free number. Other users are then alerted on their cell phones or PDA when they approach the same speed trap.'One great thing about that is that it's hands-free,' says Tenereillo. 'You don't have to be looking at the phone or even be holding it to be notified of the speed trap -- which, of course, is safer, because you don’t have to take your eyes off the road to be notified of the trap.'"
Ironically, The CEO Founder of Trapster, Tenereillo says the device is safe as it doesn't require the driver to take their eyes off the road to be notified of the speed traps. What is more dangerous, Mr. Tenereillo, a driver violating speed limit laws, bypassing police that are keeping our highways and roads safe from reckless drivers, or taking your eyes off the road briefly. I would rather have the police patrolling the neighborhoods and highways, arresting drivers violating speed laws, and recklessly driving, then selfishly using a program like Trapster.

Driving Text?

2009-09-04T12:48:00.001-07:00

There are about 354 billion text messages sent every year across America. Teenagers send the most text messages when compared to all other age groups. I know a lot of people, myself included, that send text messages while they drive. Most states began enforcing "hands-free" laws which prohibit the use of communication via cellular devices while driving, drivers are sending text messages to maintain the ability to communicate with their peers. However, nobody seems to pause to realize how dangerous it is to drive while sending text messages. In 2007, an estimated 12,998 people died in alcohol-impaired traffic collision, which involved a driver with an illegal Alchol level (.08 or greater). There were 41,059 total traffic fatalities in 2007, so these deaths constituted approximately 32% of the total traffic fatalities in 2007.

ABC News released this photo of a man sending text messages
while driving. Either hold the steering wheel, or don't drive!

The Transport Research Laboratory (U.K.) found that when people were sending text messages, while driving had their reaction speed reduced by 35%, which increases the chances of a crash. The research Lab tested drivers that were under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, and found that those that were drinking and driving suffered a 12% loss of reaction speed, and those that were driving under the influence of marijuana had their reaction speed reduced by 21%. Despite all the advertisements on highways, and on televisions saying "you drink, you drive, you lose.", nobody thinks about the effects of sending text messages while driving. Next time you are driving and your friend texts you asking where you are, think twice about sending a text in response. Wait until you reach your destination or at least at a stoplight, "driving text" decreases your reaction speeds by over 35%, almost 3 times as slow as those impaired by alcohol. It may seem silly, but, sending text messages while driving is proven to reduce the reaction speeds of drivers. Is it time for the creation of laws that would outlaw the use of cell phones to send text messages while driving?

My first post

2009-08-31T10:42:00.001-07:00

American Studies is awesome.