news log #11

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_spider_man_fall

Summary: The man who does the stunts for Spider Man along with two other characters in the Broadway play, "Spider Man: Turn Off the Dark" fell about 31 feet during a performance where he has to rescue Spider Man's love interest, Mary Jane. The injured actor, Chris Tierney, was admitted to Bellevue Hospital Monday night. He has minor injuries and is expected to be fine.

Response: This play has been having problems ever since its preview last month. There have been many technical glitches along with pauses in the play that were unexpected. Also, another actor has been injured before during a performance of this play. I believe that they should practice more during rehearsals and make sure that everything is stable and in good condition. They should be ready to expect the unexpected. Yes, anything can happen, like the harness snapping like it did in Tierney's condition, but something like that can't be overlooked. The crew should be checking these types of things over and over before and after each show, especially when performing something like Spider Man.

news log #10

 http://www.aolnews.com/2010/12/17/childrens-singer-takes-on-tsa-with-protest-tune/

"Children's Singer Takes on TSA With Protest Tune"

Summary: Buck Howdy, a Grammy-award winning children's song writer has released a song about the TSA and their pat-downs that has annoyed the administration. The song talks about having to take off your shoes and walking through metal detectors and having to stand up against a wall, simulating the pat-downs done at airports. The TSA is obviously unhappy about it. Furthermore, Howdy has written songs about how bad children will receive "cow pies" in their stockings for Christmas. 

Response: I think it's a little inappropriate for Howdy to be writing songs like this for kids. First of all, the TSA isn't something that children really worry about. It is funny that he's writing about something as dumb as poop for Christmas, but it is a tad inappropriate. He shouldn't have won an award as big as the Grammy's for the album of children's song he wrote.

news log #9

http://www.aolnews.com/2010/12/16/lapd-to-release-180-photos-in-grim-sleeper-case/?icid=maing|main5|dl1|sec1_lnk5|31964

"LAPD Releases 180 Photos in 'Grim Sleeper' Case"

Summary: Photos were released from a crime scene from the home of a 57-year-old man suspected of being involved in the murder of numerous victims. All victims were either African-American or prostitutes.  The case has been going on for over twenty years, and the victims are yet to be identified.

Response: Murder is a horrible crime to commit, and considering most of the victims were African-American, it makes it even more horrible because the murderer was racist. People can be terrible and are unaware of how wrong what they do is. Racism is a terrible disease and unfortunately, there is no cure.

news log #8

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/science/space/02star.html?_r=1&ref=us

How Many Stars? Three Times as Many As We Thought, Report Says

Summary: Scientists have reported that the amount of stars in the universe has been undercounted. However, the surge in the number of stars is actually due to the amount of dwarf stars in the universe. Scientists say that they cannot actually count the dwarf stars because they don't have the same amount of mass as other stars. The number of stars now being revealed also reveals the fact that there are more galaxies out there, waiting to be discovered.

Response: I find this information very interesting. The fact that there are way more stars out in the universe could mean possible life sustaining land, or new resources. Also, there are new galaxies in the universe now, and that means that they could possibly be explored. It's amazing how much we don't know about the place we live in.

News Log #7

"Nude photos and cruel messages, teen digital dating abuse grows"

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/10/26/teens.digital.dating.abuse/index.html

Summary: Allyson Pereira recalls her sophomore year in high school, when her boyfriend abused her via email, instant messaging, and MySpace. He then broke up with her, and a month later, changed his mind. He requested that she send a nude picture of herself to him, and then they would get back together. Allyson feels foolish for have making that mistake-- after sending him the picture, her boyfriend sent it to others in the school, and the two never got back together. Allyson, now 21, was later featured in the MTV show "A Thin Line" and spoke about the pain she went through. Studies have shown an increase in acts like these: digital abuse, like sexting, or uploading racy photos to the Internet to humiliate a person. 

Response: Sexting and sending nude photos is one of the most disgusting and humiliating acts for a person to commit. It causes people to have no respect for you, and in the end, nobody will remember you from before the messages. You'll be remembered as the girl or boy who sent that picture, and you'll be labeled. A teen feels the need to give in to this pressure either to be liked or to fit in. Peer pressure is one of the worst things about school and life, and we should all try not to give in.

News Log #6

"100 Candles on Her Next Cake, and Three R's to Get Her There" 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/health/19brody.html

 

Summary: Esther Tuttle, age 99, is months away from her 100th birthday. She speaks about what keeps her going and how the doctors help her and other centenarians stay healthy and strong. In the past twenty years, the number of centenarians in the country has increased by almost 60,000 people. She believes she's lucky to be living this long. Her secrets? She does yoga each morning, and takes a half an hour walk before eating a well balanced breakfast. She keeps up with her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. She lives with her friend, her husband having passed away in 1988. She eats healthy meals and keeps up with her daily routine. She truly is a good example of how people should live.

Response: Mrs. Tuttle is someone to look up to. She has good, healthy habits and follows what the doctors tell her. When I get older, I'm going to do just what she does. My father, who is almost 58, eats a balanced meals, exercises by playing golf and doing yardwork every weekend, and follows his doctor's directions. Both my dad and Mrs. Tuttle are examples I'm going to follow for when I grow older. Mrs. Tuttle really has her priorities set straight and elderly people should try their best to follow examples like her.

News Log #4

"Y U Luv Text, H8 Calls"

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703673604575550201949192336.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_LeadStoryNA 

Summary:

Rates for calls on cell phones has gone down a significant amount since last year. More people are starting to text- in the second quarter of 2010, people ages 45 to 54 sent and received 323 texts a month; a 75% increase. An average teenager (13-17 years) sends and receives about 3,339-- more than 100 messages a day. Why do people text more instead of calling? It's quicker, easier, and is cheaper. However, text messages cause misunderstandings-- you don't hear the person's tone or inflection, and people can get upset. Furthermore, people get text message alerts from websites like Twitter and Facebook. Text messaging costs less than calls, and a lot of carriers now offer unlimited texting for lower monthly rates. Texting can take over peoples' lives, but is it the more popular form of communication?

Response:

I don't find this shocking at all. More people now have cell phones-- nine years ago, the only people in my family that had cell phones were my mother, my father, and my sister, who was leaving for college at the time.  Younger kids today have cell phones-- kids as young as eight years old. I got my first cell phone around ten years old, because I was home alone more often and my mother wanted a way for me to reach her. I barely knew how to text. At first, I used my phone to call my family members. Now, I use it to text my friends and I still call my family members-- mostly my mom, sister, or grandmother. My father uses his mainly to communicate with my mom and for work. My grandma barely uses hers; mainly for the same reasons as my dad. My sisters and I both text more than we call, and my mom uses both methods evenly. As a teenager, I text more than calling because it's easier, and it's faster.

News Log #3

 "Too Young For School, but Ready for Irony"

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/12/health/12irony.html?scp=1&sq=irony&st=cse

Summary:
 Studies show that young children today are starting to use ironic remarks-- even though they don't quite understand what they're saying. A study was conducted on numerous families in Canada, each with two children, and both parents.  It showed that the children mostly used hyperbole or rhetorical questions. When involved in a fight, however, children used rhetorical questions and understatements ("I'm just a little bit angry with you right now"). Kids use hyperbole a lot to exaggerate injustices done to them by their parents-- like when they don't receive allowance. Doctors think that this can be a helpful tool in self defense and for understanding when they're older, but some people think differently.

Response:
Children, overall, are starting to become more and more influenced by their parents, what they hear on TV, and what they hear at school. This is harmful to them-- they are using a type of language that they don't even understand in most cases. Their attitude has become bitter and sassy. Their parents just accept it, when their children are really too young to know what they're saying. Whose fault is this? TV, classmates, older classmates, adults, and ultimately parents.

News Log #2

 

"Gray, Gay...And Worried"

http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/gray-gay-and-worried/?ref=health 

Summary:

          Two gay men, David and Paschal, have been married for more than twenty years and reside in California. The two got married when same-sex marriage was allowed in California, but are now facing new problems as they get older. Many of the homosexuals that are in their older years came out at a time when being gay wasn't as widely accepted as it is now. David and Paschal aren't estranged; it's just that their nieces and nephews live far away. However, if the couple were to retire to the South, where Paschal used to live, and where it is less expensive, senior care facilities would be less likely to accept them, also. Furthermore, federal policies including married couples leave gays and lesbians out; Paschal's Social Security benefits outweigh David's, but the survivor and spousal benefits available to widowers would not be available to David. Thankfully, there are some associations and homes that support and provide care for aging homosexuals.  A few are Sage (Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Elders), Openhouse, Rainbow Vista, and Rainbow Vision. Sage, the oldest gay-servicing organization, is introducing a federally financed National Resource Center on LBGT Aging next month. Hopefully, services and organizations like these will brighten futures for aging gays. 

Response:

    Personally, I believe that this is astounding; aging homosexual couples are denied and alienated health care from nursing homes. Some gays and lesbians have to hide their sexuality because they won't be accepted. Gays are also denied financial support if something happens to their partner. I simply don't understand why the gay community is being singled out like this. However, there are organizations to help and stand up for aging gays' rights. The tolerance for homosexuality in our country will hopefully rise, and maybe even inspire other countries to increase their tolerance for homosexuality. We're all equal, and sexuality shouldn't be the reason to decline someone their right for care.

News Log 1

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/movies/22tulip.html?ref=arts

"A Director's Many Battles to Make Her Movie"

Under constant threat of the Afghan militants, Sonia Cole struggled to finish making her movie, "The Black Tulip." The film is a love story, set in 2001, right before the Taliban took power. It's about the Mansouri's, a Kabul family that opens a restaurant named The Poet's Corner. In the restaurant, artists and writers were motivated to use the open mic. However, they are not as safe as they think they are, and the Taliban punishes them, showing that they are not gone from Afghanistan. The whole movie was filmed in Afghanistan; miraculously, even with daily warnings and risks, no one from the crew or cast was killed. Ms. Cole says, however, that there was one incident that will forever remain in her memory: Zarifa Jahon, the woman who was supposed to play the lead, was taken in by militants, who cut off her feet. Other crew members left by choice, nervous and fearful of the threats that they were getting nearly everyday. Said threats went so far as a bomb blast at the hotel that Ms. Cole was staying in. Thankfully, she survived, and played the role of the mother of the Mansouri family, replacing Jahon. "The Black Tulip" is premiering at the Ariana Cinema Theater in Kabul on Thursday, September 23rd.

Response:
Ms. Cole was right to continue filming her move in Afghanistan, even after receiving threats and being attacked. She stood up to everyone opposing her, and finished her film. She overcame the obstacles and even after crew members left, Ms. Cole worked hard on the film. She had to leave behind her son, and her home in Los Angeles. She was confident and determined, and completed her job. While others may believe she is wrong to have done this, I believe that she took the right stand.

Top Ten Things That Make Me Happy

1.  Nutella cookies my sister makes
2. walking outside during autumn and hearing the leaves crunch under my feet
3. chicken noodle soup
4. the miso soup and tofu my dad makes
5. thunderstorms
6. the feeling that I get when I go to concerts
7. Christmas morning
8. being with my family
9. having talks with my friends late at night
10. when I make someone else's day

Practice Blog

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/phys-ed-can-exercise-make-kids-smarter/?ref=health

"Can Exercise Make Kids Smarter?" 

Summary: During an experiment last month, researches asked kids ages nine to ten years old living in the area surrounding the University of Illinois to run on a treadmill. These scientists were testing to see if exercising will make a child more intelligent. Before this, animals had been tested; after running on wheels, the baby rodents brains were indeed larger.
After the children were scored on their runs on the treadmill, they were then tested on cognitive skills. Following the test, the kids' brains were scanned using resonance imaging technology. In both this study, and an even newer study focusing more on complex memory in relation to exercise, the results showed that the children that were more in shape were indeed smarter.

Response: I believe that this study is extremely helpful. Most of today's kids barely go outside or exercise; they stay in the house, go on the computer, or sit for hours in front of the TV. Hardly do they study or put enough effort into their schoolwork. They develop this habit and stay with it. Their IQ drops, and their chances in the future are slim.
This article will hopefully inspire parents to tell their kids to get out more often and play outside or go to the gym. It shows that even ten minutes a day outside could give you an extra academic boost.