Meaningful Pictures

    When discussing photography in class, I knew that the selfie would rear its ugly head into this conversation. Personally, I don't get the whole fascination. The only reason I have ever taken a selfie is for the ACT Registration because I didn't want to go through the effort in asking another person or looking for a picture. It really hinders the potential of a picture. A photograph can express how you view the world and truly show some unique perspective or something beautiful. When taking a picture, you should take time to set it up and treat it like a work of art. Instead, teenagers are using Snapchats to send each other pics of their middle fingers. (I saw a girl do this in class for the entire 2nd Semester- No joke) Pictures and Video, for the most part, give us an accurate representation of what happened in an event and really helps to set the scene. This is especially prevalent in the news, where pictures help to truly reveal what happened and what the effects are. A few weeks ago, I had the unique displeasure in watching a North Korean Newscast(In English of course) void of all pictures. It was just a guy yelling at me and I didn't really get anything from it. The only reason I could get any information was because the BBC set the context for me. Contrast this with the various blogs from North Korea showing pictures of empty hotels that are filled with food. They convey the unequal distribution of wealth and North Korea's manipulative government much better than a simple blurb of text. Here are some pics that I am pretty proud of.

Way too interesting

    When talking about the ACT, people often try to console teenagers by saying that the reading passages are selected because the test writers believe that these topics interest us. After taking the ACT, I think that these passages may in fact be too interesting for us to read. The Discussion about the Bessemer and open-hearth methods for producing steel was absolutely riveting. Colvin and Juthe deserve a Pulitzer, a Cadlecott, and a Newbery. My first reaction to reading this piece was that I am not worthy to read this. It was simply beautiful. The eloquent metaphor "The action is exactly similar to what happens in a firebox under a forced draft," simply tugs at my heart strings. If the ACT cannot read bubble 12 of the ACT reading section due to the tear stain, blame this metaphor. Every high-school student knows exactly what happens in a firebox under a forced draft so we completely understand this metaphor and can relate to passion that these authors have for the elegant process of "charging molten pig iron into a huge, brick-lined pot called the Bessemer converter." Additionally, the connotation of the word "pig" implies bacon which is often cooked on a stainless steel pan. Whoa. At this point, I had to take a five-minute break because the author of this piece melted my brain like molten pig iron. I had plenty of time because 35 minutes is a really long time for one section of a test. No one every complains about the ACT time limit. I came back from my break refreshed but was unprepared for the next awe-inspiring piece-A little girl's magical journey with her cow. At first she is playing with her cow but she looses Bessie in the labyrinth of a prairie. We feel her suffering and agony as the 30 seconds it takes for her to spot her camouflaged and compact black-and-white spotted behemoth of an animal seem to go on forever. The relief and joy I felt when this girl, whose name is way too important for me to remember, is similar to the joy that I find when I find a paper clip on the floor. It was not only beautiful. It was cathartic. At this point, I was too emotional overwhelmed to continue taking the test. The test that could possible determine my future was not as important as my desire to convey my emotional turmoil due to the emotional roller coaster as a result of the ACT reading. It is not right to make these passages so beautiful and interesting. The passages must be checked in order to make sure that they don't improperly affect the students psyche as these cathartic passages may cause students to break down with emotion and fail the ACT. 

Stagnation

    In Chet Raymo's piece, "A Measure of Restraint," he depicts truly how dangerous progress can be. Using the example Marie Curie's discovery of Radium, he illustrates the detrimental effects of scientific inquiry. The discovery of Radium opened up a whole new world in chemistry both good and bad. With radiation, we can now treat cancer but radiation is so dangerous that we could kill also kill ourselves. Adrienne Rich eloquently described Marie Curie's death by radiation as the result of wounds which "came from the same source as her power." Raymo's tone remains caution throughout and with his thesis, "The unexamined quest for knowledge is hemmed with peril," advises his audience to remain vigilant while on its quest for knowledge. However, some people let themselves be paralyzed by the fear of progress. While Raymo describes the "immortal" long-term effects of transgenic research, we must also think about what we could accomplish. The bio-luminescent gene that was transplanted into a tobacco plant could potentially be used to identify and target cancer, the second leading cause of death in the U.S. By carefully continuing to research this field we could conquer many diseases. Furthermore, it is imperative that we continue to progress because staying stagnant is much worse than the side effects of progress. In G.B.B.E., we learned about the Red Queen Hypothesis which states that we must evolve in order to survive. At first it seemed quite strange, but as we evolve everything else does as well. In order to maintain our position at the top of the food change, humans must continue to advance. Looking at the picture below, the Red Queen must continue to run faster and faster or "evolve" in order to stay in the same position. In order to survive, we must develop new vaccines to kill mutating viruses. In order to survive, we must tame the harsh, variable environments around us. While the risk of progress is great, the risk of stagnation is much greater.

Challenge Accepted

      Once upon a time, Children were forced to work in deplorable conditions, while everyone else fell "asleep", unaware of this injustice. Children still could be working today, if not for the efforts of Florence Kelley to reform the lax labor laws from the Gilded Age. Kelley utilized a strong rhetoric and logos to convince her audience that granting women suffrage was the only way to end the injustice. Florence Kelley depicts the children that are forced to work as Jesus-like figures: pure and innocent. Kelley illustrates the pain that little, innocent boys and girls ",just tall enough to reach the bobbins," had to endure and contrasts this with the evil "deafening " mills that they have to work in. Additionally, Kelley's strong diction reveals the disgusting evil of child labor. The oxymoron "Pitiful Privilege" to point out that the children are the last ones to benefit as they are robbed of their childhood; the free spirit telling them to dream of pink elephants and cotton candy is lost as children become "breadwinners." War diction such as "enlist," "freeing," and "toil" effectively characterize the movement to free children as a crusade and implores the National American Woman Suffrage Association in Philadelphia to enfranchise the mothers of these poor children in order to free them. 

The ACT

        When reading Virginia Woolf's "Death of A Moth," I couldn't help but think of the ACT, which sucks. It might be due to the fact that the ACT is this Tuesday or that my Mom has been bugging me about it everyday. Woolf's message reminds me a lot of how these standardized tests work. Like the moth, you can really only put your best effort forward and hope for the best. There is no cheat sheet, there is no list of answers. The moth couldn't control the conditions that it was born in, like most of us can't control the questions on the test. The moth is limited by the room that it inhabited. The walls prevent it from leaving and exploring the free world but the windows taunt the moth by showing it the unattainable. In this case, the unattainable represents the iconic 36 that most of us won't be able to reach. We are also confined by walls but in this case that is our scoring potential. All of us can't be perfect scorers and are limited by our own intelligence and test taking skills. Personally, I find it hard to focus for the duration of the test. I love that the SAT is divided into short sections, but the ACT is just painful to take. Despite these obstacles, we try anyways just like the little "insignificant" moth.

Guys, Good luck on the ACT, SAT, AP Exams, and any other standardized test that you may have to endure.

Hindsight

        This week, we read two pieces based on a Dad's relationship with their children. "Shooting Dad" by Sarah Vowell describes the father-daughter relationship while "Arm-Wrestling with My Father" by Brad Manning describes the father-son relationship. Both Vowell and Manning weren't able to really understand why their Dads treated them in a specific ways until much later. It is often said that "Hindsight is 20-20"(Even for Carol, who didn't wear her safety goggles and now doesn't need them) and both these stories Vowell and her Dad have butted heads over guns for the longest time. Vowell thinks that she and her dad don't have much in common and attempts to reconnect by accompanying her dad in testing a cannon. Being a journalist, Vowell decides to bring her complex recording equipment. Only when an unsuspecting hiker comments on their experiment does Vowell realize how much she and her dad have in common. Vowell exclaims "Oh. My. God. My dad and I are the same person." Manning undergoes a other type of revelation after many years. When Manning finally beats his Dad in arm wrestling, he rethinks his entire relationship with his father. He realizes that his father is growing old and that he will now have to take care of his father. He is finally able to see how much his dad has done for him. Only recently, I have been able to see Dad has done for me. My Dad, like Manning's father, is getting old. A few years ago, he had to undergo back surgery and it was a big change. Things that my Dad used to do were now arduous tasks for my sister and I. I finally appreciated what my Dad has done for years without demanding anything.  In hindsight, I bet Carol regrets not wearing safety goggles.

Et tu, Brute?

Caesar is lying on the floor, surrounded by bloodthirsty senators

He is stunned. He has an incredulous look on his face as he is stabbed to death by those that had claimed to be his “friends.”

 He is Caesar! He is the Leader of Rome and Conqueror of the Gauls. They have the gall (or Gaul) to challenge him?

The Senators are merciless. They stab, pull their blades out and repeat. Caesar’s blood splatters everywhere, coating his robes and the conspirator’s blades. Caesar’s eyes plead for mercy, for pause. The Conspirators stab, pull and repeat.

 An idea strikes Caesar. He looks for his best friend, Brutus. Surely, Brutus will help him. Alas, he could not have been more wrong. Caesar meets Brutus’s gaze just as Brutus is poised to stab Caesar yet again. Caesar’s face falls. His gaze is full of anguish and heart break.
Brutus, His compadre, His amigo, His frater, is literally stabbing him in the back. Caesar is puzzled. Why would his friend do this? He had only wielded the power for a few weeks and had done nothing with it. Brutus was not one to be moved by power. Or was he?  Caesar can not comprehend that his best friend could betray him like this and with his dying breath, Caesar utters “Et tu, Brute?”

What?

    This week, we talked quite a bit about Marginalization and how racial and ethnic groups were marginalized in the U.S. Now, the Olympics are designed to promote Unity, bring the world together, and fight against discrimination but how do they hold up to that standard when they ban the 2nd most populated country from competing? 

On Friday, my family and I are watching the Olympic opening ceremony and wait for India to march in the parade of nations. But India didn't. At first, I thought that someone skipped them and obnoxiously commented "Well, Somebody's getting fired." I soon forgot about it, but then the "Independent Olympic Participants" began to march and I came to the realization that they were Team India. So I grabbed the computer and Binged it. It turns out India was banned because they had kept corrupt officials in their ranks. Now corruption in India is not surprising; in fact, it is kind of expected. It really happens all the time and it is pretty embarrassing.  For example, take the Commonwealth Games. In 2010, India hosted the Commonwealth Games. They were a failure. My family and I went to Delhi two weeks before the games started and on the road where the bicycle race was supposed to take place, there were pot holes everywhere and bricks out of place. This was due to the corruption in the organizing committee. Instead of spending money to make sure that events could take place, the committee in charge spent 9 lakhs per treadmill and 4 lakhs per AC Unit. 9 lakhs equals 900,000 rupees which equals 14450.4 US dollars. 14450.4 dollars for One treadmill. When asked to justify these purchases, the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee said that the treadmills were from Germany and came with a German technician and acted like that justified everything.       However, I still don't think that it is fair to ban a country for corruption as nearly all bans are reserved for human rights violations like South Africa 40+ years ago. It doesn't really punish the corrupt officials as much as it punishes the athletes that have worked tirelessly and the people of India that haven't really done anything wrong. I feel that it is wrong to ban India when other countries have only been banned after committing heinous crimes that make corruption look benign. There is talk that the ban may be lifted before the games are over and hopefully the Indian athletes will be able to compete for their country. 

 

Our Champions

       When our favorite team and athlete win the national championship, they don't just become the champion; they become our champions. We take pride in our athletes as their successes become our successes and their failures become our failures.

Maya Angelou and her family rooted for Joe Louis as if they were his brother because he was black. Because he represented them. When Joe Louis was on the ropes, Angelou compares it to every time that white people have hurt them. From a black man being lynched or a white woman slapping her black maid. It becomes more than about a fight between two men; it becomes a fight between two races.

That's what makes Sports exciting. When we take a side and take pride in our players and our team. Games are boring when there is nothing at stake. We want bragging rights and want our city to be declared the best. If our team wasn't the Detroit Lions, I wouldn't have watched them go 0-16 and become the laughing stock of the NFL. If our team wasn't the Detroit Pistons, I wouldn't have watched them become worse and worse going from National Champions in 2004 to not being able to even win 30 games in 2012-2013. I hate all teams from Ohio and love my Michigan teams. I don't think I would watch football or basketball or any sport if I was just curious about which team would win. No, I want to root for my team or root for the team that I dislike the least.