This Is Sickening

This morning I awoke to Mike and Mike in the Morning. During their breaks, Sports Center has 2 minutes to spit out all of the Chicago sports team's scores. However, instead of scores, the first thing the man on the radio barked that Derrick Rose had someone else take his SAT for him so he could get into Memphis. I think that this is an overlooked blow to Memphis, U of Kentucky, NCAA basketball, the NBA, and even the Bulls. There's no excuse for a substitute to take a test for anyone else, no matter who it is! Is anyone supposed to be above the law? NO! Is Derrick Rose an immortal god? NO! There is no reason at all that both he and his former head coach should not be penalized, fined, and suspended to the fullest extent for this type of infraction. Academic Integrity is more important than Athletic Integrity any day of the week. This is an insult to all of the basketball world and reinforces this sport as the most corrupt sport in America.

When I Read

When I read a book, I want to read for the story and not pick apart the story. I'm very much enjoying Gatsby, but every class we talk about the book, I feel like we tear the book apart to the point where it is no longer fun reading the book. I know that in English class, we are supposed to read critically, but to me it tears the book apart when we shred away the story and look more for meanings than understanding the novel. We look for every parallel, contrast, symbol, and foreshadowing meaning we can. To me, it ruins the book because people start making predictions about the story and then the book is not fun anymore. When we read Huck Finn, to me, it seemed like a more relaxed read and that there was not much reading into the story as it was making sure everyone understood what happened in the last few chapters. I'm fine with saying that "this" represents "X" and "that"represents "Y," but I really do not want to read into the book so far that I can see the fibers that make up each page. I want to see a story for what it is and not making interpretations for what "opening a window" means. In the end, I think that some connections that have been made are very far fetched and have started to make Gatsby very undesirable to keep picking up.

The Last Full Week

Well here we are. This last full week will be the hardest week due to the amount of work that we will receive in the next few days for a last-minute boost to our grades. I'm not sure how to react to the upcoming summer. I mean, we've been in school for so long and have learned a lot, but we haven't had a lot of time to ourselves. How will you respond to all of the free time you are about to receive? I'm definitely looking forward to turning off my brain and not looking at the world critically for the next seven weeks. Honestly, through the whole school year, I haven't understood the meaning of looking through the world critically. I just look for what can be improved. I'm not a huge "why"question asker or thinker. Don't get me wrong, I do have my moments of brilliance, but I just don't see myself asking why to people all summer long.

Why Are We Still In This?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

A couple days ago in Iraq, an American soldier, from Texas, opened fire and killed five other American soldiers. The U.S. Army has announced that this is the single deadliest soldier-to-soldier conflict since the initial mistake of invading Iraq. I don't understand why this happened. I mean, he was at a mental health clinic in Baghdad and they let him have a gun! Is our army stupid or something?! When a junkie checks themselves into a rehab facility, do the doctors let him keep the drugs? NO! Secondly, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, one in six soldiers come home with post-traumatic stress syndrome. In addition, many of these people, such as this killer, didn't receive help which he clearly needed. I strongly believe that we have made matters worse for us in the middle east and that we have destroyed Iraq and it will only be rebuilt by the Al Queda. In the end, this is truly a disaster that could have been avoided.

My Flag

While playing sports when you grow up on the north shore of Chicago, you start to accumulate ribbons and trophies and other memorabilia of seasons that you have played on different teams. So what does this have to do with the flag being important to me? I saw a documentary on the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team and realized how much the U.S. needed to win that game to pick up American spirits. I have these medals hanging just inside my room and whenever I see them, I think of that great game which boosted our pride in America and started to throw us into the America of today.

I truly love these medals. To me they mean more than any trophy I have received over my years. The ribbon makes me feel as if I'm out there on the ice with the 1980 team because of the American "red, white, and blue" on it. However, like I have said in class, though I don't have any pictures of it, when I see the full American flag, there's only one thing I think about and that is the firefighters raising the flag over the wreckage of 9/11. I feel mix emotions of happiness that this flag has brought to people, but sad because I know what terrors this flag has flown over like 9/11. 

On a different note, when I have traveled to different countries, I notice that there are still more American flags per square feet on the little patch of land that is the U.S. embassy than the surrounding country has in its entirety. I'm not sure what it is with Americans and our flag, but we seem as though we just cannot get enough of it! Next thing you know, people will be sleeping with their flags. Seriously though, U.S. citizens take so much pride in the stars and stripes that it makes me feel proud of this country, that we can all agree on one thing, we have a pretty cool flag.

Today in class, we talked about the American Flag and what it means to us. When Walt brought up the O'Reilly Factor, he said, and supported the statement that we should support the government no matter what they do. I think I may have blogged about this subject before, but I cannot even begin to agree with this statement to say the least. You see, our country was formed on disagreeing with our mother country, England. You cannot tell me with a straight face that we should blindly follow our government into anything and anywhere just because "if you disagree with what your government is doing, you're unpatriotic." That's just not true. If people believed this in the 1770's, we would all not be here today. Also, people that truly believe this statement truly fall in the category of a communist because in communist countries, you cannot speak your mind. In addition, our country was also founded on debate so why should we discontinue debating on our government? We shouldn't and this statement is out of line and very foolish. END OF STORY!

My Junior Theme Interview

I'm worried. You see, when I interviewed Rep. Mark Kirk, I asked if he could be recorded. In response, he said that he would prefer not to be. My question now is will people believe me that I interviewed him or will people just have to take my word for it? It feels a little like I'm undermining the interview part of our Junior Theme. Also, what would CQ Researcher go under in Noodle Bib?

I'm The Newest IBM Worker

Have you seen the IBM commercials lately? I'm sure you have because they are on EVERY SINGLE CHANNEL! I feel as though I'm the Scottish doctor when I say that I have too much information that can be processed at this moment. However, unlike him, it's not medical related, it's the information on my Junior Theme. I have 2 books which I need to skim, I have 8 newspaper articles, 3 magazine articles, and 1 NPR transcript I have to go over. YIKES! Could somebody please tell me how to approach this so I can retain the necessary info and cut out the "fluff?" I also haven't had my interview yet either so when that happens, I'll probably be so deep in info that I'll have to give up time to work on other class work because I'll need to process the J.T. info. The only upside to this project is that I'm enjoying working on it.

A Righteous Battle

If there ever was a war in the last 10 years that America should part take in, it would be the Somalian pirates. Now, after they have taken over many vessels, one American, we finally retaliate. I believe that this should have been stopped after the first time pirates tried to board a cruse ship heading for India. I don't understand why we wait for these things to happen before our country gets indirectly attacked. I commend Vice Adm. Bill Gortney to order his men to kill the Somalian Pirates. I believe that the U.S. should set up a naval blockade from any more ships getting caught in the pirates cross-hairs. I also think that we should send a sub there to sink the pirate ships that keep on attacking practically at will. I know that this is a very drastic measure for me because I'm generally a pretty passive person and will let things go, but when the time calls for it, which it does now, we should strike and defend all ships in that area.

They Caught On Quickly

With the controversy of Sarah Palin and her daughter and her baby, some, including most Alaskans, believe that Palin is exploiting her daughter to boost her political career. All I have to say is that if this is true, the uneducated moron should not ever be allowed to hold office again because that's about as low as you can get. I can't believe that Palin would over expose her daughter just for her political career. It's just unbelievable. The American public currently knows more about Bristol and her life then we do about Sarah. I'm just beside myself that she (even though she is only alleged) would exploit someone else just to get your uneducated butt in office.

For The Love Of It!

As the Junior Theme takes over AS class, we have to pick a topic in which we would like to study more about. After a few periods in the library and talking to both the teachers and a few students, I still remain pretty clueless on what I'd like to learn more about. My problem is that I get on an idea and then after about 5 minutes of researching the topic I get bored. They're just not that many "Why" questions that interest me for a long time besides why are we here. If you have a suggestion, please give me a list of ideas.

March Madness

March Madness is finally upon us and it couldn't have come any sooner. This will finally give everyone in the country a distraction from the economic crisis, War in Iraq, and all other kinds of news that send chills racing down the spines of the $38,000-$55,000 a year worker (this is what I'd call average). Here we go. Will it be another no. 1 seed that will return back to their campus with a shiny new trophy, or will a no. 2,3,4, or 5 seed upset the tournament and raise a new flag in their gym despite the odds? This is what the College Basketball lover lives for. As "Bracketology" emerges as an unofficial major in schools these days, will people start picking more brackets correctly? I for one cannot wait for the 1st round to occur. I love that all the upsets, the tears, and the celebrations that happen as an underdog triumphs over the favored.
However, I have a problem with the seedings of some of the teams. My first one is why in the world is Illinois seeded 5th? There can be no possible explanation why they are there. They will lose to Western Kentucky and people will call that an upset which is wrong because Illinois and Western are about the same caliber team. In addition, due to Duke's schizophrenia on the court, I believe that they should switch seeds with Villanova. I know it's not a big difference, but I think that it needs to be done. In addition, I have another switch that needs to be made between Marquette and Purdue. Once again, I know it's not big, but it needs to be done to stay more true to the talent of the teams.
I hope that this year is as much fun as previous years and I hope that there are a lot of early upsets.

Sudden Stop!

In class we have looked at pictures about "The Enemy" and "Women" as depicted in propaganda from WWII. My question is why do we spend so much time on each picture? What person will stop and look at a propaganda poster as closely as we did and stare at it for the amount of time we did while they walk down the street? I know for sure that most of our class wouldn't. I'm not sure about Mr. Bolos though. I could see him having his kids stare at a poster for a period of time and tell him everything they see in the poster. I'm just thinking if we should use that time to study Huck Finn or something else in that time period.

Rise To The Occasion

In the 70's, New Trier banned Huck Finn from all English classes. OK. However, the letter submitted from the parents' association that helped change the status of the book was locked away, and banned from the public's viewing. Why? Is New Trier ashamed of banning a book or are they just trying to stop a future argument from arising? I can't say for sure, but what I can say is that the document should be released for public use and viewing. This is not just because we have a choice to write an essay about the letter and banning of Huck Finn, but because the letter can be used for many other purposes such as- education, writing, analytical, and history. I'm not saying that it wouldn't make writing the essay easier because we have the paper at our disposal, because it would, but there are other reasons why having it locked up is a mistake. Realistically speaking though, New Trier, I'd guess, won't make the document public in the next 25-50 years, if they ever release it. Here's the real question- if the teachers, students, and maybe even parents got together and put pressure on the board, will they give up the document?

The Book Is Burning!

Today I was cut-off in class by Mr. Bolos when I was going to make a point of why I thought that Huck Finn should only be taught in a History class and not in English class. The main reason is because you have to get into the time period. English classes don't have enough time to take you through a History course all about the time period in which Huck Finn takes place. In AS, we took the time to understand the use of the language used in the story so the words don't seem that extreme. In addition, the characters are not that well educated and so they are using the "N-word" as a comma. Also, this book is a comedy and should not have been taken so literally because the basis of the book is hilarious.

OOPS!

Just when everyone thought that the MLB would be saved by new, "clean," power hitters, we are struck down. With Alex Rodriguez going down due to taking steroids, who can we trust in the MLB anymore? Pujols, Howard, or Ortiz? Our most sacred record, home runs, is tainted right now by Barry Bonds and now we have another "formally tainted" home run hitter on the rise to the record. If I were in Alex's shoes right now, I would get close to my friends who have been through this: Andy Pettitte and Jason Giambi and take all the advice I could get from them. Personally, I'm very quick to forgive as long as Alex just comes out and apologizes for it. That's when I drop the subject. I dropped it when Pettitte said sorry and I'll do it for Rodriguez too. Just come clean. That's all. That also goes for anyone else who have, either now or in the past, taken steroids or steroid-type substances.

A Blank Mind

I need new ideas for blog posts. You see, writing about what we talked about in class bores me because I'm not going to be the only person blogging about it. When the blogging assignment started back in September, I thought that it would be so easy and I would fill our 1 post and 1 comment requirement with no problem. Well, I was wrong. This post is about getting ideas for future blogs. I feel like the end of a Dirty Jobs show (Discovery Channel, great show, I encourage everyone to watch it) where Mike Rowe begs the audience for more jobs to do or the end of a Mythbusters (also a great show) where they ask for more myths. I'm sorry, but I'm out of ideas. Please respond to me!

My Blood Is Still Red

Myth- You'd think 50 years after the football Cardinals left Chicago, there would be little or no fans left here in the city and that everyone would have moved on to being a Bears fan. Truth- While listening to ESPN Radio 1000 and 670 The Score, they sent out reporters to the south side of Chicago to see if there are original Cardinals fans that still remain. There are many in fact. The south side/suburbs that are dominantly White Sox fans, believe it or not, are populated with lots and lots of Cardinals fans. 670 reported that during this week, Bear fans were a minority! That's right, the south side still bleeds red. Sort of surprising? Indeed.

Your Move.

Now with Pres. Obama in his first days in the high office, all eyes are on what, if any, campaign promises will he keep? Which promise will be the first that he'll grant? Personally, I believe he will act either on the shape of the economy or on the war in Iraq. I know that if I were president right now, I would be so over whelmed by the terrible shape of the world that I inherited from Bush that I would probably freak. In addition, the federal government is investigating "Gitmo" and trying to tie the Bush administration to torture. To what extent the charges will be, I am not sure, but the real question is should Obama block the investigation and pardon the Bush administration for anything that the investigation may turn up, should he act like an Illinois democrat and support the investigation and make the Bush administration not only suffer and ruin what reputation/integrity it still has, or should he just take a neutral course and stay out of it and let the investigation continue and potentially have a trial? Though there are arguments that could be made for every side of this issue, I believe that the safest course is just to stay out of it. If people go to jail, they go to jail.

Give It Up!

In the summer of 2007, I was in Vienna, Austria. It was a very lovely city. I highly recommend going there for a few days of your life. There are no words for how awesome the city is and how the city is old, but at the same new. They have the perfect mix.

This blog however isn't about how nice the city is, but rather about Mexico! You see, 516 years ago, Cortez and the Spanish Conquistadors took over Mexico. In the process, after Montezuma II died, the Spanish took Montezuma's headdress, the last authentic Aztec headdress ever made. The headdress is "made of over 450 bright green tail feathers of the quetzal bird, known as the crown of the last ruler of the Aztecs, Montezuma," ("No bilateral problems - except for Montezuma's crown of feathers"By Anne Dellemann). However, the headdress has a greater, sentimental, philosophical, historic, cultural, and spiritual meaning for the indigenous Aztecs that are still alive today.
Currently, there is a group of about 100 indigenous Aztec decedents in Vienna protesting the Austrian government. The Austrian government is thinking about giving the headdress back as a "gift," but to me, that would seem like an insult. I say just give it back. It's apart of Mexican history and is one of the most important pre-Colombian history artifacts.

I Have A RED EYE

Today in class, Mr. O'Connor showed us the front page of the newspaper called The Red Eye, the page, in white letters on a back background, stated "IS RACISM DEAD?" My answer in short is no, not even close. The article went on to talk about, wait for it, Barrack Obama. Racism is just in a different form than what we remember back from the MLK days. I sincerely believe that Americans are much more tolerant of color then we used to be. However, I strongly believe that our [America's] racial profiling, stereotyping, and religious tolerance has gotten much worse. Nowadays, many ignorant Americans believe that if someone is Muslim, they are automatically a terrorist. I just want to say "CUT IT OUT!!!" It's profiling like that that give America and Americans a bad name. I, for one, could not care less what the hell you are. If you want to be Muslim, be Muslim. If you want to be Voodoo, be Voodoo. If you want to be a Scientology worshiper, pay your fee and worship, just don't throw your beliefs on me, that's all I ask. In the end, please, don't profile or act like your better than another race because in the end, we're all the same-human. We're all the same species weather you like it or not so just deal with it.

Big Freakin' Deal

In class this week, on numerous occasions, talk about the picture of Obama in a bathing suit, on a beach in Hawaii. We also discussed that he was video taped and shown nationally playing basketball. The class went on to say that Obama is really the first president that has ever been pictured like this, on vacation, or at leisure. Now my point about this is that so what he's on vacation?! I take vacations. I was just in Florida and I don't see my picture all over CNN, FOX, MSNBC, or some other news station. So what's the big deal about it anyway?