Guaranteed To Make Your Day

The holiday season is always said to be the most wonderful time of the year. For me, that means Christmas time. Starting December, the holiday spirit takes over. I am super into it; decorating the tree, gingerbread houses, holiday movies (mostly Elf, probably the best Christmas movie of all time) and so much more.

I think sometimes the holiday season can bring out the selfish sides in people. It is kind of inevitable, because you always wonder, What am I going to get this year? Am I going to get what I asked for? Everyone has those thoughts. But, the holiday season is also about giving. That can be the best part of Christmas. Giving someone a gift they really wanted, and seeing the look on their face. Especially little kids.

I saw a commercial in one of my classes last week, and it made my day. It is probably the cutest story I have ever seen. It is not so much a commercial, but a great story that West Jet Airlines pulled off. In the video, they focus on one flight and all the passengers on it. When they check in their boarding passes in the machine, there is a video of Santa that asks every passenger what they want for Christmas. They answer with one thing they want, and get on their plane - not thinking much of it. However, while they are in the sky, the airline has people in the city they are flying into go and get every single thing that the passengers wanted. They get them before they land in that city, and wrap them all. Then, once the plane lands and the passengers go to baggage claim to get their luggage, they get the greatest surprise ever. Instead of their luggage coming out of the baggage claim, they each have the one thing they wanted for Christmas wrapped and sent out. The shocks on everyones faces made my day.

I think oftentimes people can get lost in the holiday season, in terms of what to buy, what they are going to get, and other things. It seems like everyone moves a hundred miles per hour during the month of December. But it can be very refreshing and fulfilling to take a minute and enjoy the holidays, and not get caught up in the stress of things. You can witness things like these, and it can lift the stress and help you remember what the holidays are really about.

Honoring Events The Right Way

This year, December 7th was the 72nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. With it being such a big part of the history of the US, many people were mentioning it on social media. Many companies sent out tweets about the day as well. One of the companies that tweeted about Pearl Harbor was Campbell Soup's SpaghettiOs. The tweet they sent out ended up getting them into some trouble, and social media exploded. The tweet is to the right.

Many, many people expressed their anger on twitter, saying how offensive the tweet was. They thought it was absurd to use a mascot for the brand to represent an important moment in our nation's history, that is not to be joked about. The tweet was only live for about 10 hours, because the company took it down soon after they put it up. They then released an apology, saying, "We apologize for our recent tweet in remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day. We meant to pay respect, not to offend."

This is not the first time that a company has tweeted out something that has not been taken well by social media users. I did some more research, and found out that AT&T has also recently gotten into trouble for tweeting something about 9-11 that didn't seem respectful. They tweeted out a picture of one of their phones showing a picture of the lights shining where the World Trade Center would be. This tweet is to the left.

A lot of the reason tweets like these have gotten companies into trouble is the hidden promotions they have in them. It almost seems like, to me at least, that the goal of the images is to notice the logo of the company, or the product, and not actually remember our history. I think this shows that advertisements and promotions in America today have become overwhelming. Companies will go to any extreme to advertise their product. It seems like all they really care about is the money. It is like what we talked about in class today, about how TV shows are only made based whether or not advertisers think that people will watch, thus watching the commercials. I think that it was wrong for these companies to use these important dates in history as a scheme to promote their products, but I think it is what America has become - a money making machine, and it is inevitable.

Portrayals of Prejudice In Media

I spent my long weekend catching up on some TV shows I hadn't been able to watch during the week. One of those was New Girl on Fox. I personally love New Girl; I think it is really funny. But, I was watching one episode from a couple of weeks ago, when the cast, at some point ends up at a police station. One of the characters, Coach wants to go in to confront a police officer about something. But one of the other main characters, Winston, who is African American, doesn't want to. He says to Coach, "Hey, did you hear the joke about the two white guys and two black guys walking into a police station? The white guys walked out."

We had been talking about prejudice against prisoners in class last week, and this just happened to catch my attention because of its relevance to the issue. In class, one of the questions we had asked was, Who do police profile? According to the NAACP, of the 2.3 million prisoners, nearly 1 million are African American. They also say that there are 5 times as many whites using drugs as African Americans, but African Americans are put in jail for drug offenses at 10 times the rate of whites. Why is this?

I did some research on this subject, and came across an article in which they talk about criminal injustice. They quote Michelle Alexander, from her book The New Jim Crow: the Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. She says, "The drug war has been waged almost exclusively in poor communities of color, even though...people of color are no more likely to use or sell illegal drugs than whites". According to studies done, white students use cocaine or heroine at 7 times the rate of black students, and use crack 8 times the rate of black students. I personally believe a big part of the reason African Americans are targeted so much more than whites is the media. So many TV shows portray their criminals/villains/bad guys as African Americans or Hispanics. There are many shows on primetime this year in which the villain is acted by a Hispanic or African American. What the media does is put a face to the bad guy/villain, and if that face is so often one of color, that is what we will start to believe is true in real life. Because these portrayals have been around for such a long time, it has become almost engrained in your mind. Therefore, maybe not purposefully, we start to imagine most criminals as African Americans. This has kind of sent our prison system into a downward spiral, because they are faced with the major issue of racial prejudice.

Do Wishes Really Come True?

I wrote my blog last week about Batkid, the kid diagnosed with leukemia that had his one wish granted. After writing it, I was still very interested in the topic of Make-A-Wish foundation. In past years, my gymnastics team would always go to a gymnastics meet in Gurnee that was called the "Make-A-Wish Meet". Every year, there was a representative from the Foundation that spoke to the crowd and the teams right before competition. They would tell stories of kids, and the teams competing would always raise money to give to the Foundation at that meet.

I decided to do a little bit more research after my last blog. Especially after reading the Batkid story, which is a great story, I started to wonder, What about all the other kids? What about the kids that are sick that don't get a wish granted? What about the kids that don't know about Make-A-Wish article that San Francisco spent $105,000 to grant his wish. While this is great for this one child, I think they could have maybe picked something a little bit smaller, and used split up that amount of money to affect more than one kid. It seemed unnecessary to me, to spend all that money on one kid and one wish.
foundation? I'm sure there are hundreds, if not thousands of kids who don't get their wish granted. I read in an

I then went onto the Make-A-Wish website, and discovered how they determine which kids get wishes. First, they have to get a referral from a doctor for a kid who is between 2.5-18 years old. The child also has to have a life-threatening disease, in order to get a wish. The child then gets to pick a wish, and hopefully the grants that Make-A-Wish have make it happen.

It is crazy how specific the process is. It's almost like there is a checklist, and each kid has to go through and check off each requirement in order to be able to apply. I had no idea that the process was like this. I never thought about the process, and basically thought that this stuff just happened, out of nowhere. But, now knowing what I do, I wonder about all the other sick kids that don't get wishes granted or don't know about the wish system. Do they get their hopes up for something, and it doesn't happen? If so, do they see these other stories in the news and get jealous or sad that they don't get to experience that? As great as Make-A-Wish is, I think you can still find faults with it.

Batkid Saves The Day

When I got home from school on Friday, all my mom kept talking about was "Batkid". It was blowing up on social media. Basically, a kid named Miles Scott, who had leukemia, had wished to be Batman for a day. So, Make-A-Wish made that happen. They, with the help of pretty much the whole city of San Fransisco set up a series of events and obstacles for Miles, who was dressed as Batman. He went around town in his Batmobile (Lamborghini), saving different people and doing different challenges. He saved a woman who was trapped on the train tracks, stopped Riddler from robbing a bank, stopped a kidnapping at the zoo, and much more.

He even got Barack Obama to reach out to him from the white house. He sent a video message saying, "Way to go, Miles! Way to save Gotham!" Thousands of people came out to watch it all happen. Traffic was stopped, people flooded the streets. It's safe to say was a huge day in San
 Fransisco.

Some of the people that came to City Hall to see Batkid.

First of all, I think this is the cutest thing ever. This kid had battled cancer for almost all his life, and had finally beaten it. It is totally fair for him to be a child again for this one day, since his childhood probably was not any fun at all. This was this kid's one wish, and people made it happen. I think this shows America does have compassion and does some really great things. When people put their minds to it, they can make anything happen. I think that if America puts their mind to more topics/issues, maybe not in the same realm as this, they could really make a difference. Americans have this drive inside of them - when they want to do something, they do it. I think this day in San Fransisco is a testament to that.

Left: The special "Gotham City Chronicle" edition the San Fransisco Chronicle printed for the day with the story on the front page. Right: Miles Scott, Batkid.

Equality For All - Or Only Some?

Illinois has recently made it law for same sex couples to be allowed to get married. They became the 15th state to do so. This alone surprises me, because that is not even one third of the country that believes in equality for all. I believe that everyone is the same, it doesn't matter who they like or who they want to marry. This caused me do some research and digging, and I was surprised with some of the things I found.

I found an article that talks about how Texas, among a few other states is refusing to comply with an order from the Defense Secretary of the US that same sex military couples should be given the same federal marriage benefits as heterosexual military spouses. I found this to be astonishing. I believe this to be wrong on so many levels.

First of all, these people are supporting our country and fighting for our country. There is not really a stronger way to promote your patriotism and love for our country than to put your life on the line for it. But, why would they want to be in the military if by doing so it can negatively affect their family? If they have a family in need of marriage benefits, but they aren't getting them because their state isn't willing to provide them just based on the fact they are a same sex couple, why would they want to go support our country? Americans take a lot of pride in our country, and always have. But, if things like this are happening, I wonder if that sense of pride would start to fade for more and more people as time goes on.

The Defense Secretary has been quoted to say that the states not obeying this law are just "further[ing] prejudice". I couldn't agree more. By not encouraging equality, whether it be through marriage, marriage benefits or other means, it just causes a greater riff between groups of people. It would seem to be doing the opposite of what is being promoted in Washington, which is equality for everyone and legalizing gay marriage. I wonder if these few states will stay this way, or give in to legalizing gay marriage and allowing marriage benefits for military couples to all couples, and if so, how it will affect the residents of those states.

Effectiveness of Advertisements

It is pretty safe to say that Instagram is the latest social media app on the rise. It has tens of millions of users, and is still rapidly gaining popularity. I myself have an account, as well as all of my friends. I know very few people that don't have one, and that is usually because they don't have a phone that the app would work on. Instagram is the new "thing".

I recently read an article that says that Instagram is about to start adding advertisements to the app. They said it was "only a matter of time" for ads to start appearing. Personally, I always loved the fact that Instagram didn't have any advertisements. Nowadays, everywhere you look there are ads. There is always someone trying to get your attention so you will go buy their product. Billboards, TV/radio commercials, Facebook/Twitter/Youtube, etc. The list goes on. They are everywhere.

Moneymaking has become such a big part of America today. It seems like people decide everything based on money. They decide which job to take because of which one pays better, not necessarily which one they would enjoy more. Money is an important aspect to society, and I think that is inevitable. But, the constant advertisements and ploys to attract consumers are crazy and overwhelming. It makes me wonder if putting an advertisement out actually works and gets people's attention, or if it just something that businesses feel the need to do to keep up with every other business. Personally, I don't remember most ads that are on TV. And if I do, it is because they are funny or clever, but they don't necessarily make me want to go out and buy that product. Now that many not be true for other people, but I wonder if it is.

Do you think advertisements are truly affective? Or is it an unspoken necessity for a business? Comment below.

Addictiveness of Sugar - More Serious Than We Thought?

This weekend, I was talking to the little kids I teach gymnastics to about Halloween, and all they kept saying was how excited they were to dress up and get tons of their favorite candy. I think the candy is what every kid loves about Halloween. It is one of the few days in the year where they can really stuff their faces with sugary sweets. It got me thinking, because I am older and don't really obsess over Halloween anymore, what the health effects of that much sugar are.

I did a little research, and I came across this article that talks about how addictive Oreo cookies can be. Although it is not exactly Halloween candy, it is still a very sugary snack. In the article, they talk about a study that was done that proved how addictive Oreos were. They say that Oreos "may be as addictive as cocaine". Research that has been done shows that the addictiveness of sugary snacks like Oreos can have affects on the brain, which, they claim, is part of the reason that fattening foods are so addictive and obesity is a problem.

I think that unhealthy snacks like Oreos are very addictive, and are a big factor of obesity in America. America has been known to have an obesity problem, and I think food is a big contributor to that, but lack of exercise, among other things are also factors. However, I don't know if it is right to compare Oreos to dangerous drugs like cocaine and morphine. They have serious mental affects, and I don't think cookies could cause the same kind of mental damage. I am not saying that the addictiveness level of both is high, but I don't think it is fair to compare drugs and cookies as a whole.

Do you think this is a fair comparison to make? Do you think this is the main cause for obesity in America today? Comment below.

League of Denial

I happened to catch a couple minutes of this movie over the weekend, called League of Denial. The movie was about the links between football and brain trauma/concussions. It was very eye-opening, to say the least. I have always known that football can be a very dangerous sport, and concussions were very common, but this movie definitely caught my attention. It focuses on a degenerative neurological disorder called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, otherwise known as CTE. It is a brain disorder that causes severe mental problems and often times leads to early death.

During the movie they talked about how the NFL tried to cover up all of the research being done by doctors about CTE. They didn't want people to freak out and have their kids stop playing; they wanted to keep the sport popular. However, the movie is told from the doctor's point of view. One of the doctors featured said that of the 46 brains of former football players she had studied, she diagnosed 45 of them with CTE. That is astonishing.

I think that the NFL had no right to try and cover up the head-injury problems. It should have been made public a lot sooner. They should have tried to find a way to alter the game, by adding more rules or changing rules, but they should not have just tried to ignore it. They should have taken responsibility. Since CTE was found in almost every football player examined, it makes me wonder if almost every football player that has ever played might have it too. This disorder causes mental problems, and often death. If the possibility that many NFL players have this, why should the NFL cover it up? Football is a big part of American culture, with kids all over the nation playing. America loves football. But, if football is causing such bad things to happen to players' brains, why should we keep playing the game the same way? They should at least alter the rules to help prevent bad tackles/hits.

Do you think the NFL should alter the rules? Do you think it is possible CTE has affected almost every player's brain? Or should we just continue the game the way it is and just expect the players to know the consequences of playing?

Article about movie: http://theweek.com/article/index/250743/frontline-how-the-nfl-covered-it-up-its-devastating-head-injury-problem

Readers Are Leaders

I am constantly reminded by my mom - "Read more! Readers are leaders!". And I try to get around to reading, but I don't read as often as I might like to. I find that to be a common trend among our generation - reading comes secondary to a lot of other things, which can be sad. Myself included, I think that our generation spends too much time on electronics (phone, TV, computer, etc.) and not enough time investing in a good book.

I came across an article in which the author talks about how he puts reading before almost everything else. He said that he is by no means a speed reader, but still can get through 3-5 books a week. That was shocking to me. I remember hearing that the average human spends approximately 7.5 hours in front of a screen. However, this guy seems to be the exception.

I think the amount of time Americans spend in front of a screen is unreal. We get so caught up in everything, whether it be the news or what's on TV tonight, and sometimes I think we need to give our eyes a break. We need to escape into a book, into a story. We need to give our eyes a rest. Technology has evolved so much over time that it seems to consume our life - we need to start reading more. Maybe not as much as the guy from the article, but it would definitely help give our minds a break to read.

Do you think that Americans should start reading more? Or does the evolution of technology mean we just need to keep up with the recent trends?

Article: http://theweek.com/article/index/250445/how-to-read-more

Are People Still "Keeping Up" With the Kardashians?

Reality television, over the past few years, has become increasingly popular. The list of reality television shows is never-ending: Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Real Housewives, The Bachelor/Bachelorette, etc. America has become obsessed with shows like these. One of the more famous ones is The Kardashians. It has already aired for almost 8 seasons. It has also resulted in multiple spin-off shows.

People used to be obsessed with this show. However, the whole concept of reality television seems weird to me. You sit down in front of your television to watch other people live their lives. Shouldn't you be outside doing something and living your own life? The majority of viewers have absolutely no connection to any of the Kardashians, yet they take time out of their days to watch them do things. It's great that these people are doing fun things, but why do we need to watch it on TV?

And it seems like some people are starting to understand that. According to the article attached, Keeping Up With The Kardashians has recently hit record low amounts of viewers. They lost almost three million viewers (4.1 mil in 2009 to 1.7 mil in 2013) in the past four years. The show is apparently on the brink of being cancelled. People just don't seem to care as much as they used to. It's shocking though how fast it gained popularity, and then how fast it lost that many viewers. It seems like the Kardashians have had their time in the spotlight, and people are starting to move on.

Do you think this will start to happen with other reality shows too? Will the E! Network keep the program and will it gain popularity just as fast as it did the first time? Comment with your thoughts.

Article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2443822/Kardashians-cancelled-Are-drugs-divorce-blame-E-shows-low-ratings.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

5,700 Square Feet

Earlier this week I went to the Cubs game. I am a big cubs fan. My family and I go to several games a year, probably double digits. This week was our last game of the 2013 season. I was sitting in the stands, looking around, and I realized that this was the last time I would see Wrigley Field the way it is. Wrigley Field is one of the oldest ball parks in America, and it has so much character. It is the only major league stadium with a non-electronic scoreboard, and is a big tourist attraction for people that visit Chicago.

Over the summer the owners of the Cubs proposed a $500 million renovation plan, and it was approved. They want to renovate the entire ballpark, including adding a 5,700 square foot electronic scoreboard over the bleachers.

I am okay with the idea for renovating, but why add a huge scoreboard? The non-electronic scoreboard is what makes Wrigley unique. I love that part of the stadium. But also what I don't understand, is why do we need all these renovations if nobody goes to the games to begin with? The Cubs are really bad. I mean, really bad. They struggle to bring in a lot of fans to each game. So why spend so much money on renovations to a field that nobody goes to to begin with? I don't understand it. I don't see how they could make enough money in the next few years because of these renovations to cover that kind of spending. I think they should spend more time and effort focusing on putting a decent team on the field. Maybe that will attract fans.

This is a photo of Wrigley Field as it is right now. The electronic scoreboard would be put just to the left of the green one already there.

Renovations proposals: http://espn.go.com/chicago/photos/gallery/_/id/8870086/image/1/wrigley-renderings-marquee-view-proposed-wrigley-field-renovations

A One-Way Ticket

The other day I overheard some people around school talking about some new Mars trip people were signing up for. I had no idea what they were talking about, but when I got home I googled it and was shocked to find out more.

Basically, there is a project called the Mars One project, which is proposing to send about 40 people on a shuttle to Mars in the year 2022. But, the trip is one way. No one who is sent will return. They are supposed to land in 2023, and start developing colonies on Mars - which is why they have no way of returning. Over 100,000 people have already applied. 

Personally I was shocked to hear about this. I have read many articles in the past that talk about how much our knowledge of Mars has been growing and how this could definitely be possible in the future, but I never imagined it happening this soon. I think it really shows how much technological advancements our society has made recently, as well as how fast we have been advancing. I was also shocked to see how many people signed on already, knowing that they will not return. What if it doesn't work out? What if we are wrong about Mars being able to sustain life? These people will most likely never see Earth again - which I think is kind of scary! I find the whole idea crazy but also fascinating.

Article: http://nypost.com/2013/08/10/more-than-100000-apply-for-mission-to-colonize-mars-in-2022-40-picked-will-never-return/

Gender Inequalities

Every day my gymnastics coach brings his son to practice. He just kind of hangs around, and we play with him. I was playing with him today because he had a bunch of fun new toys. He had a dump truck and a few race cars. He asked me what I wanted to "be", and I said I would be the truck. He looked at me and said, "No you can't be that one because only boys can play with the big trucks." He is four years old.

I was a little stunned by this. But, once I thought about what he said, I started to understand it. Children are enculturated to play with certain toys. Boys gravitate towards trucks and sports, whereas girls gravitate towards dolls and playing "house".  Although maybe not parents intentions, children seem to be raised to think certain things are appropriate and certain things aren't depending on their gender. Parents have started to attempt to make things equal for both genders, but a division is still visible.

The Issues of Social Class in America

Entering junior year, college starts to haunt everyone's mind. Especially at New Trier, where there is a lot of pressure and competition when it comes to colleges. Colleges themselves have recently surfaced a lot of conflict and controversy - a lot having to do with costs, student debt, etc. I found an article about something that may have not been discussed as much, but is still incredibly interesting.

The students of Harvard have somewhat of a reputation for being wealthy people who may be used to getting what they want. At least that's what I gather when I hear people talk about Harvard. I came across this article that says students at Harvard Business School who are on scholarship money, or may not have as much money as the other students are being outcast, and pushed aside based on their class.

Class is a major issue in American society. Kids raised in an middle/upper class are reminded of how well off they are, and they don't have to deal with problems that say, a lower class family has to deal with. Because of this, the division of class becomes evident to them. Although maybe not intentionally, kids are enculturated to see the division of class and to reflect on it. People are seen differently because they grew up in a one bedroom apartment. Right now, it is somewhat inevitable in America. That is what is going on at Harvard. Kids that didn't pay the extra $20,000 are being outcast because they don't have the same amount of money as the other students. The division of class needs to stop, because the judgement of people based on their class and financial situations is not fair and not right. Although it won't stop overnight, I think that we should push ourselves to head that direction.

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/education/harvard-business-students-see-class-as-divisive-an-issue-as-gender.html?hp