True Power's Curse

For years, humans have set out to live as long as possible in hopes to make their lives truly count. In Vonnegut's short story “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” he explores the multitude of down sides that living forever would bring. In Ridland’s poem “Age Looking back on Its Youth” he also speaks to the repercussions of  having something so powerful.The most significant downside that Vonnet explores is over population of people, “... the world wouldn’t be able to support twelve billion people if it wasn't for processed seaweed and saw dust” (Vonnegut 226).

Not only is processed seaweed and saw dust disgusting, but having to eat that would not be the only dilemma that would have to be faced with a constantly growing population. Lack of both space and raw materials would be two other problems that would go hand and hand with people living forever. The two protagonists, Em and Lou, experience such problems, “Hard to believe there used to be all that space between cities”(Vonnegut 225), they are baffled at the idea of there being such a thing as countryside. Another mind boggling concept to them is the abundance of raw materials in the past, “You didn’t have to wait for somebody to die to get a bed or chairs or a stove or anything like that…. Gee whiz, that was nice, before they used up all the raw materials”(Vonnegut 226). Can you imagine how terrible it would be to have to wait for someone to die just to get something as common as a chair???  Em and Lou have very little in terms of amount of space, food or number of possessions; however, they do still possess the power to live forever which is a nontrivial thing.

For years, humans have set out to find ways to remain alive for as long as possible. Both Lou and Em have such a power right at their fingertips, all they must do is drink a substance that has become quite obtainable, “ I wish it was made of something real expensive and hard-to-get instead of mud and dandelions” (Vonnet 224). The first line of Ridland’s poem “Age Looking Back on Its Youth” speaks to exactly this relationship between having a truly powerful gift while at the same time having nothing. “We had so little, yet we had so much:” (Ridlands line 1). This balance of a power mixed with a curse that both writers acknowledge in their works is what brings to two pieces together.

Just Die Already!

Death and ageing are some of the darkest and most important parts of life. “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” by Kurt Vonnegut and “After A Greek Proverb”, a poem by A.E. Stallings, both show a similar theme of death and ageing. Vonnegut’s short story is about a large family who live together in a small apartment in the distant future. This family has more problems than the Kardashians, and a lot of their issues are because of a futuristic anti ageing drug which they all take. Gramps, the oldest member of the family, takes this botox-on-steroids so often that he is over 150 years old! Gramps is the Donald Trump of the incredibly cramped apartment; if anyone in the family ever tries to question his actions, they're fired! Well, they aren’t really fired, they're just eliminated from Grampa's will, which has the potential to change the life of anyone in the family. The behavior of each family member towards Gramps determines what he or she will receive from the will. The climax of the story occurs Gramps removes his straggling family from the apartment through arraigning their arrest. Gramps then is seen preparing to purchase and even more effective form of the anti-ageing stuff, continuing his pursuit of everlasting life. Throughout the story, the author’s thoughts regarding death and ageing are pretty clear. The family depicted in the story are seen as being desperate for Gramps to go. Through this conflict the author is satirizing death itself, which is in reality always tragic for family members who are affected by it. He is also expressing his thoughts regarding the inevitably of ageing, and how he believes it to be a natural part of life. In the society of “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow”, due to the huge amount of old people overpopulation has reached uncontrollable levels, and taxes are at record high levels due to pensions. Additionally many once common resources have completely disappeared. As one of the family members, Em, muses, ““If we just had a car, like the folks used to in the old days, “we could go for a drive, and get away from people for a little while. Gee—if those weren’t the days!” (Vonnegut 224) A.E Stallings has similar views on death and growing old to Vonnegut. In “After a Greek Proverb”, Stallings makes many bold statements  about the fact that life is temporary, encouraging the reader to make more of an effort to live in the moment. She exemplifies this by ending multiple stanzas in her poem with, “Nothing is more permanent than the temporary.” (Stallings 5) Overall, the themes of death and ageing outlined by A.E Stallings in her poem “After a Greek Proverb” do a great job of mirroring those of Kurt Vonnegut in “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow”. Both writers believe that life has an end and is a temporary process that is meant to end with natural occurrence of death.




Vonnegut's overcrowded world may look something like the above concept design.

When a Broken Past Tries to be a Bright Future

When a Broken Past Tries to be a Bright Future

By: Max Patel

Lyrics that appear in “Small Bump” by Ed Sheeran reflect the exact same thoughts that the mother in “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan is depicted feeling. An example of this is the lyric of the repeating pre-chorus: “I'll hold you tightly, I'll give you nothing but truth. If you're not inside me, I'll put my future in you.” This shows how the mother loves Jing-Mei, her daughter, and is only pushing her as hard as she is in hopes of helping her attain a brighter future. She, herself, is the only piece of history that has survived from her broken past, leaving her with nothing to use to raise Jing-Mei with. This is explained with the line, “If you’re not inside me, I’ll put my future in you.” Her daughter is not “inside her” because her daughter is not obedient the way she wants her to be. They do not connect enough to feel like parts of each other has been ingrained within the other. Instead, the mother feels like Jing-Mei is almost foreign. Because the mother both no longer has a future to hold on to, and doesn’t feel the strong bond with Jing-Mei she hoped she would, she desperately throws her love at Jing-Mei in ways that Jing-Mei doesn’t understand or appreciate by giving her all the opportunities she can to succeed. Another way to interpret the lyrics and text is that the mother’s horrible past has left her with a dull future revolving around Jing-mei, so she is in turn putting all of her dreams into her daughter hoping that she will come to be her great accomplishment. Her future.

Why do parents push their kids so hard?

The outside world is brutal. Talent, and most importantly, education is considered the only way out of misery and poverty (https://www.concern.net/about/our-programmes/education/why-education-important) To survive, many people have to get an education and nurture their mental abilities, or to work on talents from childhood. Parents can, therefore, push their young children too hard to success. But is this the only reason some parents over-drive their kids to prosperity? According to Amy Tan’s short story, “Two Kinds,” about a mother pushing her daughter to become a prodigy, the parent’s motivation was her terrible past, and competition with friends. Lots of parents want their kids to succeed and stand out in order to impress others or those who look down upon the family. In the song “Stand Out” from “A Goofy Movie,” the artist sings, “Til mine is the only face you see gonna stand out til you notice me.” He says he wants to be famous so that he can be noticed by his crush, who has most likely being ignoring or underestimating him. Plus, the short story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, shows the mother bragging to a friend, as mentioned before, “Our problem worse than yours. If we ask Jing-mei wash dish, she hears nothing but music. It’s like you can’t stop this natural talent” (Tan 215). In the end, she sets her daughter up for a talent show that did not go very well. She did this mainly to settle a rivalry. One of the main reasons, hence, that some parents push their children is to excel higher is to settle scores with others.

Finding Motivation for your Resolutions

We’re not even two weeks into the new year and, already, we're losing motivation to carry out our resolutions. We set great intentions, long-term goals, and personal improvements for the new year. What we don't do, however, is outline exactly how we're going to continue to stay motivated.

This article discusses the difference between motivation and intention. Intention is a deliberate, conscious goal, like what we set as resolutions for the new year. Intention requires some sort of motivation to carry out. Motivation is an unconscious force, one that people seek to fulfill in their everyday lives. If we have a set intention, how do we find our motivation?

The author supplies a somewhat unsatisfactory answer. He states that, by following meditative exercises, it is possible to eventually align your motivations and intentions. This is a long-term, unreliable solution. It won't help us gain motivation for a New Year's resolution, much less anything we hope to accomplish within the next few months. It is not an active answer, nor does it provide anything other than increased self-awareness. It is more effective to find an alternative way to consciously motivate yourself, to be self-aware enough to pick out individual motivators. It could be money, fame, sex, praise, service, thrill, justice, or whatever gets you going. When pursuing a specific intention, such as exercising as a New Year's Resolution, add an element of motivation. Perhaps, if a motivator is money, make a bet on who can workout everyday the longest with someone who is pursuing the same intention. If a motivator is belonging, join a group fitness activity, such as crossfit or a running club. If a motivator is accountability and pride, it may be beneficial to tell many people about the set intention, and provide frequent updates.

It is undeniably beneficial to align intention with motivation over time to allow these things to occur organically in the future. However, pertaining to the present, spinning your intention to include an element of motivation may be the most actively effective solution.

The Unfair Media Criticism of Donald Trump

On January 7th, The Atlantic published an article titled, “Trump Is Turning American Companies Into Reality-Show Contestants”. Obviously, all news regarding our President-elect is of the utmost relevance, and this article is not without a title can easily grab the attention of a reader. The focus of the beginning of this article is a tweet from Donald Trump saying that is important that Toyota does not move their factory to Baja, Mexico. This is a poor way of presenting the easy case to make which is that it would be beneficial to keep the company located in the United States. Clearly, the president-elect could absolutely have handled this in a more mature and composed way. However, Donald Trump is attacked unfairly, when more often than not, he does not deserve such treatment from anyone. It is necessary for any society, especially the United States to rally around our leader and stand by his or her actions, because that is a requirement in order for a successful democratic state. The unwarranted and harsh criticism of Donald Trump is way out of line and needs to be controlled immediately.

Suffocating the Public

Pollution has plagued this planet for centuries, but only recently have we taken notice of horrific effects. Pollution is responsible for countless deaths of not only humans, but animals and plants alike. In china, the air pollution levels reached record highs in the last couple years, and the people noticed. If nothing is changed immediately, China will continue to experience the costly repercussions of pollution.

    Due to the Chinese burning coal as their primary source of energy, the air quality has decreased dramatically. Pollution has reached unprecedented levels and china pays the price by losing 1.6 million citizens every year due to air pollution (qz.com). The Chinese need to understand the benefits of environmental regulations, despite taking a loss in economic profits. They will be able to live healthier, longer lives by practicing environmental sustainability. Sustaining profits should not mean jeopardizing your citizens. The world should look towards China as a model of the extreme consequences of letting pollution run rampant. China should be the motivation that countries need to help reason environmental regulations. Ultimately, it is a worldly issue. We all live on the same planet, and we will all face the consequences of knowingly destroying our planet. The world needs to be able to recognize the blatant signs of environmental change and to take measures to avoid environmental disasters, such as China. China’s biggest mistake was not addressing the issues of pollution when they first began to see the effects. To continue to exponentially grow their economy, the Chinese government opted to ignore the glaring signs of environmental deterioration. Now that the citizens are experiencing the ramifications of the pollution, people like Dr. Zhao Xiaogang have started to speak out. Dr. Xiaogang is a lung surgeon, who treats more patients than ever due to the horrific air conditions, wrote a poem about the effects he has personally seen. As enough people voice their concerns, it has begun to force the government to change, but not at a rate fast enough to make serious change any time soon.

You Can't Always Get What You Want

Amy Tan’s short story Two Kinds tells the struggles of a young Chinese American girl who is unable to live up to the the lofty expectations her mother has set for her in an attempt to achieve the American Dream. The narrator’s mother believes her daughter can become the next child prodigy, showcased on screens around the nation due to her extraordinary skills. However, while the narrator realizes that she has the potential to become America’s next child sweetheart, she simply wants to live a normal life. This leads to the narrator and her mother clash constantly over the narrator's lack of motivation. The more the narrator’s mother pushed for perfection and starved for stardom, the farther apart she and her daughter grew. The narrator started to feel that her mother did not see her as a daughter, and simply viewed her as an expensive investment that was not paying dividends. After one especially hard piano practice, the narrator pronounced, “Why don't you like me the way I am? I'm not a genius! I can't play the piano. And even if I could, I wouldn't go on TV if you paid me a million dollars!" (Tan, 213). The pressure had finally gotten to the narrator and from that point on, her relationship with her mother rapidly deteriorated. The narrator continued to half-heartedly practice piano without achieving results, and because of this her mother became increasingly disappointed with her daughter until the final boiling point, a concert at the local community center. The narrator performed in front of the families of her community and proceeded to play her entire song out of time and with the wrong notes, leading to embarrassment for her and her family. This embarrassment was so great that her mother stopped the narrator from the playing the piano and allowed the piano to simply sit in their living room and collect dust. Ultimately, this removal of piano from the narrator’s life allowed her to develop her own interests and go on to live a happy and successful life of her own. As the Rolling Stones sing, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.” (Jagger, You Can’t Always Get What You Want) These words resonate with the narrator's mother because, even though her daughter did not become the child prodigy that she had hoped for, her mother realises that at the end of the day her daughter was happy and that is what matters most.   

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

The short story “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow”, by Kurt Vonnegut connects to the song Forever Young, by Marian Gold, . In the short story, the Schwartz family have been living together for a long time. They have a sort of potion that allows people to stop aging and stay the way that they are for as long as they want. In the song a line goes, “ youth is like diamonds in the sun, and diamonds are forever young.” This relates to the story because this potion is keeping the family young and healthy. Another line from the song that can connect to the story is, “heaven can wait, we're only watching the skies.” Lou and Em Schwartz are “young” compared to a lot of people that are living on Earth. In the beginning of the story they are standing out on a balcony and Em said “Sometimes I wish folks just up and died regular as clockwork, without anything to say about it, instead of deciding themselves how long they’re going to stay around.” She is pretty much saying that once people have the power of living forever they realize that maybe they don’t need it and living knowing that one day they will die is a better way to live.

Smog: A Threat to Human Lungs

If you travel to China or Korea in April, you’d barely see anyone walking outside--and if you do, you’d see something like a tiny face bandaged in an over-sized white mask.

From http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/19/asia/china-smog-red-alert/

Springtime marks the start of the dreadful sandstorm season in Southeast Asia. This, along with the year-round smog, makes it very difficult to breathe without wearing a mask. As kids living in Seoul, we’ve been constantly reminded at home and in school to cover up our faces as much as possible when going outside. Growing up, we’ve become so accustomed to the polluted spring air that a sky without dust and sand and pollutants was bizarre. This is probably why no one in China really understood how detrimental air pollution was to their (his or her) health--not until Dr. Zhao Xiaogang, a Chinese doctor working at Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, discussed the relationship between smog and lung cancer. According to an article in Quartz Media, Dr. Xiaogang’s eight-line poem, written in the perspective of cancer, effectively addresses all types of factors that can cause lung cancer. His poem drew attention not only to the known carcinogens but also to factors, such as smog, that had once been neglected in the country. Dr. Xiaogang was brave in that he attempted to inform the public of a serious problem, risking the possibility that he might be punished by the Chinese government. (According to the article, the Chinese government tends to stay silent on issues that may target them (it). In the case of smog, if people become increasingly aware of the dangers associated with air pollution, they may blame the government for investing in factories that produce dangerous chemicals and pollutants.)

Whether Dr. Xiaogang’s poem will induce Chinese policy makers to shut down factories still merits more discussion. But because his poem gained so much support in a country where freedom of speech is highly limited, Dr. Xiaogang deserves to be praised.

Click on this link to read Dr. Xiaogang’s poem and/or to read the article about it.

https://qz.com/880752/a-doctors-poem-is-going-viral-in-china-and-raising-awareness-that-smog-surprise-is-a-cause-of-cancer/

You're telling me to walk away?

     If a man were to yell demeaning things at you while you were walking down the street, would you confront them? Ok. What if you were a girl? A teenage girl? Does your answer change? In a tweet from BBC World, stories of street harassment of women are documented for 72 hours. Reading about these incidents brings forward the question: when should one ignore it? and when is it better to clap back? Fortunately, these days, feminism is present enough in young girls’ lives to teach them not to take shit from anyone. But is that the best way to handle catcalling? Most parents probably wouldn’t advise their daughters to tell off the group of men that just yelled provocative things at her.  In a link below, a comedian, Paris Sashay, shares her experience with the assault she faced after ignoring the advances of two men who were following her after a gig. She didn’t say one word to them, and was still beaten. Imagine if she had flipped them off. Imagine if she had told them to “fuck off.” Stories like this are terrifying, but what is even more unsettling is the fact that if she had stood up for herself, she would have made it worse. All of this time spent teaching young girls to advocate for themselves is being put on hold for this one subject. So just walk away...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2015/10/22/a-d-c-comedian-was-assaulted-at-night-the-experience-could-shape-her-next-big-gig/?utm_term=.7f9a48cf8d60

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1XGPvbWn0A

Unobtainable Expectations

Both Beyonce and Jing-Mei share a similar struggle of never living up to others expectations despite how hard they try. In the song “Pretty Hurts,” Beyonce is living under the microscope of beauty pageant judges, who constantly “shine a light on whatever’s worse.” Her hair is never blonde enough, her boobs are never big enough, and her body is never thin enough. Although Beyonce tries to fix all of her imperfections and live up to the unachievable goals of the pageant world, they never seem to run out and it always wants more from her. In the end, Beyonce is left is a state of despair and self-hate because she isn’t enough despite all of her self-detrimental efforts. In Amy Tan's "Two Kinds," Jing-Mei also struggles with never living up to expectations in her quest to become a prodigy. Jing-Mei’s Mother believes that she must be a prodigy at something. Jing-Mei’s life becomes a series of tests to discover her special secret talent. As the tests progress and Jing-Mei fails to find a gift, she feels more and more like a disappointment because she isn’t living up to her mother’s high expectations. She says, “I hated the tests, the raised hopes and the failed expectations.” No matter how hard she tried to be a prodigy, it never worked out and Jin-Mei’s mother was always disappointed, similar to the pageant judges in “Pretty Hurts”. In both “Pretty Hurts” and “Two Kinds”, Beyonce and Jing-Mei strive for the goal of perfection, always falling short because perfection is an ideal that no one can achieve.  

The Cost of Living

The fundamental point of “Time to Come” by Walt Whitman is the inevitability of death, but “Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” shows a world where death has been cheated. However, death is a natural part of this world, animals die, trees die, and so must humans in order to maintain balance. In “Time to Come” there is a struggle shown between the man and death, but it is a losing fight. While the exact opposite happens in “Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow”, as humans have completely abolished death, because of that chaos breaks through society. Yet most people would still argue that the world is a better place with anti-gerasone. When comparing the two pieces of writing, both show pain. In "Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" one of the main characters, sue, expresses her opinion on life, "---" showing how life is a constant struggle in this new society, and how it is never ending. In Time To Come there is struggle, however it ends with death. Which side of the argument is favorable essentially falls to one’s definition of “living”. Would sleeping in a small apartment with a dozen other people be considered living? By some yes, by others no; meaning that the desire for immortality falls to each individual.

Air Pollution in China, the Big Bad: Response to Twitter Article

Article title: “A doctor’s poem is going viral in China and raising awareness that smog (surprise!) is a cause of cancer”

Reading about one of the most concerned issue in my country--air pollution--from a foreign perspective is truly painstaking. It is like someone whom you don’t want to admit your inferiority to has something over you. And that something is, as much as I would like to deny, undeniably true. Air pollution--one of the most concerned (well mostly by the citizens rather than the government) issues in China right now--killed 1.6 billion people in 2015--4,000 every single day. Just look at the air quality index on the right for the past few days. Any of these values are several times of America’s.

source:http://tianqi.2345.com/wea_history/54511.htm

But apparently, this striking contrast isn’t raising public awareness, for this kind of information often never reaches the public (thanks, Chinese government). The fundamental trade-off here is economic growth and public health, and it frustrates me that the government, despite its being ambiguous about the decision, is not giving up some part of the former while anticipating the air pollution issue to basically solve itself. Objectively speaking, China does need economic growth to keep up with population growth; however, it will only develop at the expense of the health of the current population. Instead of spending $320 billion subsidizing the already declining steel industry that contributes significantly to air pollution or removing posts that target the government, the government should move on and “provide fair opportunities for the industries of tomorrow” unless it is counting on air pollution for population control.

Oh Honey, You Don't Own Me

The peak of the song “You Don’t Own Me”, written by David White and John Medora, fits perfectly with the climax of “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan. The singer repeats the phrase “you don’t own me” at least twenty times throughout the song and even though Jing-Mei never expresses these exact words, anyone can understand that the child, under a lot of pressure, was suggesting that she’s tired of being forced to do things she doesn’t want to do. “‘I'm not going to play anymore,’ I said nonchalantly. ‘Why should I? I'm not a genius’... ‘Then I wish I weren't your daughter, I wish you weren't my mother’” (Tan 218-219). Throughout the story it is evident there is a lot of pressure on Jing-Mei and “You Don’t Own Me” accurately shifts the attention from Jing-Mei to her mother. The chorus “Don't tell me what to do / and don't tell me what to say / Please when I go out with you / Don't put me on display” (White & Medora), repeats twice before changing to “I don't tell you what to say / I don't tell you what to do / So just let me be myself / That's all I ask of you / I'm young / And I love to be young / I'm free / And I love to be free / To live my life the way I want / Just say and do whatever I please” (White & Medora). Jing Mei is sick of trying to become the prodigy child her mother wants her to be and confronts her, forever changing her life. The lyrics from the last chorus portray how Jing-Mei felt very well. She may not have wanted to be independent, but she wanted freedom from her mother, because she was just a child who wanted to live a normal life.

Absolutism: A Future

“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” - Lord Alton. Absolutism has left its mark on numerous countries including France, Russia, and China, and it continues to be used in multiple middle eastern countries. While absolute power may lead to a more effective government, a corrupt leader can cause a state to crumble. The short story “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” by Kurt Vonnegut provides an excellent example of absolutism weaknesses on a small scale. The story takes place 150 years in the future, in which a drug has been invented that is keeping the majority of the population from dying. Being the oldest and wealthiest of his family, along with owning the apartment in which he and twenty two of his family members live, a 172 year old man named Gramps wields all of the power in his house. His absolutist way of ruling is first apparent when his grandson’s wife says,
“I get so sick of seeing his wrinkled old face, watching him take the only private room and the best chair and the best food, and getting to pick out what to watch on TV, and running everybody’s life by changing his will all the time.”
The fear of being excluded from Gramp’s will, and the constant abuse of his power, makes the rest of Gramp’s family essentially his slaves. As seen in multiple societies throughout history, such as Russia, absolutism is often followed by revolutions or uprisings which then cause even more power struggles between different parties in the society. Similarly, after having enough of Gramps’ enslavement, one of his youngest relatives tries to assassinate him. After an attempt by Gramp’s great-grandson to save him being misunderstood for an attempted murder, Gramps decides to make it seem like he had killed himself, his will reading
“All of my property, of whatsoever kind and nature, not be divided, but do devise and bequeath it to be held in common by my issue, without regard for generation, equally, share and share alike.”
With Gramps seemingly dead, and no one having authority over anyone else, a fight for power, which ends with Gramp’s entirefamily being arrested, ensues. As is seen through the accurate depiction of absolutism in “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow,” absolutism forces everyone in a civilization to suffer the consequences of a bad leader.

2017: The Year of Positive Thoughts

Like quitting cigarettes, negative thoughts are not easy to stop having. “The Year of Conquering Negative Thinking,” by Lesley Alderman, states that this year people should try to have positive thoughts to minimize depression and stress. Humans evolve to contemplate bad experiences to avoid danger and to handle a crisis more quickly. Dr. Judith Beck, a psychologist and president of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy, said that negative thoughts come naturally to individuals because of genetics and to people that were bullied as kids. Physiologists say that negative thinking can be tamed, but humans are built to grow and learn from bad experiences. Dr. Beck said that having awful thoughts is acceptable, but having thoughts that come after are not reasonable. For example, Dr. Beck gave this scenario: “Your partner has left you for someone else. “My partner doesn’t love me anymore,” might be accurate, said Dr. Beck, but “No one else will ever love me,” is probably not.”  Dr. Beck’s point is agreeable. People should try to be more optimistic, but it is part of human nature to be defensive and think about the future including all situations.



Read the full article by clicking here. 

To find out if you are a positive or negative thinker, click here. 

Finding a Place Where Kurt Vonnegut and Paul McCartney Hold Hands

Both “Eleanor Rigby” and “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” describe the aim to find a place for human beings, either in reference to an emotional or physical place.   In “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow,” Vonnegut writes, “...there really used to be all that space between cities,” indicating that there is little or no physical space left on Earth to support the exponentially increasing population.  This lack of space creates a permanent search for privacy, individuality, and comfort.  The main characters find privacy and comfort, but the rest of the world continues to search.  Similarly, in “Eleanor Rigby,” the Beatles explain, “All the lonely people, where do they all belong?”  Paul McCartney, the main vocalist of “Eleanor Rigby,” sings about finding a place for “all the lonely people,” however, the main protagonist of the song, Eleanor Rigby, is able to live alone.  Physical space is not a demand in the song, instead, the Beatles sing about an emotional state.  The other character in the song, Father McKenzie, looks for people to “save.” McCartney even sings, “Why does he care?” proving that Father McKenzie’s emotional happiness comes from helping others, another indication that the place McCartney sings about is not physical.  While the characters in both stories come from very different worlds, they share similar goals and failures.  

HoW tO DEal wiTh STRESS

HoW tO DEal wiTh STRESS

Never allow stress to overwhelm your mind. Although at times anxiety threatens to take over, avoid the escalation of these feelings by focusing your energy on your body rather than your mind. Feel the environment around you, and notice where you are in the moment. This technique may seem strange, but it helps you escape the wild thoughts of your mind. According to the article: “A Simple Way to Stay Grounded in Stressful Moments” by Leah Weiss, “...our bodies are the quickest, surest way back to the present moment when our minds are lost in rehashing the past or rehearsing the future” (hbr.org). Combine this focus on your body with a deep, slow breath. Put your problems into perspective, relax. Just one breath can allow you to separate your panicked mind from reality. A single breath and awareness of your body and environment are the first steps to preventing stress from disrupting your life.

Why the polar bears won't cut it

The polar bears won't cut it

The key to combating environmental issues

🌲 In recent years, coverage on global and environmental issues has dwindled.  A decrease of sustainability recognition in the media has caused public disinterest. In the BBC article “Are we tired of talking about climate change?”, several political scientists address this issue, discussing why the public may be “sick” of environmental activism.  Psychologist Robert Grifford states that publicized effects, such as damage to polar bear habitats, may not be  “not close enough to our lives.”  He argues that humans tend to interpret information based on their own interests, introducing the idea that direct consequences will instigate greater change. Instead of highlighting natural impacts, it may be more successful to connect global issues on a personal level.

An example of this approach is the publicized poem “I Long to be King” by Dr. Zhao Xiaogang.  Unlike most activists, Xiaogang reaches his audience through art, and focuses his message on the human consequences brought on by air pollution.  The piece praises smog from lung cancer’s perspective, demonstrating the strength of the disease and the damage it may cause.  From the viewpoint of a cancerous cell, Xiaogang writes, “My people crawl in your organs and body/Holding the rights for life or death…” Through connecting a global issue with a human danger, Xiaogang provides direct and personal motivation to act on air quality.

Unsurprisingly, this new method of activism has proved to be a major success. In less than two days, the poem has gone viral, shared by thousands and supported by the New York Times.

Both Grifford’s statement and the success of Xiaogang’s work demonstrate that a new take on activism is both possible and beneficial.  The artistic and personal components of “I Long to Be King” may be the key in instigating global change. 🌲

Read the poem here: http://journal.publications.chestnet.org/article.aspx?articleid=2565057

Food for Friday: Thought for Food?

Introspection inspires motivation over time. Setting up intentions and creating a sense of awareness fall under the category of introspection, the examination of one’s inner self. These two concepts become motivation when you develop a sense of purpose. Motivation is defined as the moment when thoughts become action.

As written in the Tricycle magazine, being motivated is difficult but not impossible. By taking a few minutes to re-examine your values and dedication each night, you can achieve more goals and be motivated to set up new ones everyday.

The most important form of motivation is intrinsic motivation. If you're happy, you'll be self-motivated to improve, as hinted by the quote above. For instance, say you love playing the flute so much that you lose track of time when you practice. (That's a lot of time commitment.) Since you love playing the flute, you'll do it without anyone nagging you, and, as practice makes perfect, you'll become a better flute player. It won't feel like a lot of effort, too, because you enjoy doing it.

Avoid having the "New Year's Resolution Syndrome," where you set up goals that are fait accompli. As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry so cleverly said, "A goal without a plan is just a wish." Follow through your goals; make them happen!

You know, maybe adults want children to explore various fields of studies, so that the children can discover what they want to do, continuously be motivated to improve, and, most importantly, enjoy life itself. Food for thought, thought for food?

Ur not Dum

One major problem with not being comfortable with your outward appearance shown in both “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” (https://biblioklept.org/2015/03/03/read-kurt-vonneguts-early-short-story-tomorrow-and-tomorrow-and-tomorrow/) by Kurt Vonnegut , and “Immortality” (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/55751) by Leigh Stein is that people who do not value themselves can turn to harmful things, in an attempt to improve the way they feel about themselves. The main character in “Immortality” becomes obsessed with his image, and going to the gym. He talks about how he is encouraged by others who tell him “At the gym, they told me I would not die, I would only get sexier, and I believed them.” He is uncomfortable with himself, and wants to improve his outward appearance. There is of course, nothing wrong with that, unless it becomes obsessive. In “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow,” the cure for aging brings about more problems than the one it takes care of. The head of a family, an older man known as “Gramps,” becomes addicted to anti aging medication. He refuses to let himself pass on, and he continues to take up valuable space and resources in the family apartment. Just as the main character in “Immortality” becomes addicted to medication, working out, and mirrors in which he can check his outward appearance. Gramps develops problems with his family, and eventually schemes to have them all thrown into prison. All because he doesn’t like his wrinkles, wishes to be young again, and wants to live forever. The main character in “Immortality” loses all his friends, because, as he puts it “none of my friends could relate. They were jealous.” Both characters struggle with themselves and their images, and the failed resolutions of these struggles have terrible effects on them and those close to them loved ones.

Love Your Life To Death

Life can be over in the span of eight lines. Joan Murray’s poem “We Old Dudes” displays how Vonnegut’s interminable Utopian society in “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” is futile due to a lack of change. If everything is life a recurring experience, there is no chance to learn something new. Seizing the day simply doesn't exist. Thinking about how life is going to end, helps people make decisions that are important. The idea of life ending is what gets people to challenge themselves. “Depressed, Lou walked listlessly to the balcony edge, and looked up at the clean, cold, bright starts against the black velvet of infinity.” These characters have no end goal in life, and this small section shows what their life looks like. They stare at things and ponder upon meaningless things. These characters lives are useless because they have no direction. Once life ends a person can choose to believe whether their life was adequate or not. Love your life to death.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/detail/48676

Hidden History Revealed

While the establishment of Japanese internment camps post the Pearl Harbor bombing is sometimes ignored, it should be recognized because it illuminates another perspective of American history. Upworthy's article "In 1942, Japanese-Americans were placed in internment camps. Decades later, we can’t forget the lesson left behind" showed me that there will always be parts of history that will be kept secret. My teacher once told me that only the “winners of history” are the ones writing textbooks.

75 years ago, Lange was hired to photograph Japanese-Americans who were placed in the internment camps in the 20th century. The US Government did not want these photos revealed because officials thought it would give the nation a dishonorable image. Because of this, the Lange’s photos were locked away; however, they were just released last December. Do you think the actions by the US government were justified? Check it out with the link below!

http://www.upworthy.com/21-powerful-photos-show-what-life-inside-a-japanese-internment-camp-was-like

These photos should not have been hidden by the government because it is important to accept our history despite the morality of it. The age of discrimination against the Japanese-Americans post the Pearl Harbor bombing is looked at as a “scar” on American history. Though this part of history reveals a “damaged” side of America, it should not be tucked away. It was righteous to publish these photos to show the world that America can be flawed as well. Furthermore, the copies will help illuminate that humans must learn from history and past mistakes. Americans are ashamed of the Japanese internment camps just like many Europeans are humiliated by the concentration camps that the Nazis instituted. Even though the United States government hoped for the photos to stay undercover, it was vital that they were released, as a learning opportunity.

Help us out!

Making an impact is challenging when the audience is unwilling to listen. Minorities have been standing up for themselves throughout history but when their audience doesn't even consider their opinions, it's hard to make an impact. In any situation, trying to convince a close minded person is a challenge. It’s even harder, when the person you're trying to convince degrades you as a person. The race who receive the most respect are white people. They will be heard the most. “In group monitoring” amongst white people can make an impactful difference. In every conflict, there are bystanders that feel it's unnecessary or feel afraid to help out the victim. When it comes to racism, the bystanders will be listened to and their opinions will be considered. “In group monitoring” is a way to decrease racism and should be encouraged.

Raining Raccoons

Raining Raccoons

Once upon a time, the sky was blue and the grass was green. But one day, an evil, greedy monster called haze rampaged the cities and left its citizens trapped inside their own homes, praying to God for it to go away.

I was a toddler when I first heard of this monster. Going to school one day, the air was smoggy, so I thought it was fog. I opened the car windows to fantasize I’m the monkey king up on cloud nine. To me astonishment, my mom suddenly turned around and told me to close it immediately, saying, “it's haze!” Hearing this word for the first time, I was as clueless as a man which had never seen a car heard the word “traffic”. In Mandarin class, I’ve learnt the construction of Chinese character “haze” is rain topping the raccoon. Thus, I've envisioned haze to be raining tiny raccoons burning down my lungs.

Haze in Beijing

When this problem have just emerged, people responded with a cold, “other selfish countries don't like to see us soar, they're just lies to keep us down.” This attitude brought China to the present- a permanent sulphuric smell lingering in the air. Every breath people inhale tiny raccoons scratching, burning, destroying our lungs. The mere defence we have to fight against this monster are to wear masks which hug across our face and buy air purifiers which most people cannot afford. Air has grown to be a luxury. My morning routine has become checking the Air Quality Index every morning and praying to see a hint of blue sky. Yet everyday, I’m disappointed. The facade of lifestyle improvement and the greed for economic growth are exchanging for people’s health. The citizens can just stand beneath the shadows of pollution as the haze calls, “No one cared when I was young,But all fear me we when full grown” (Zhao, 7).

The Grayson Allen Dilemma

  Recently, Duke basketball player Grayson Allen was caught in his third tripping incident in a game against Elon University. He was suspended indefinitely by Coach Mike Krzyzewski and received harsh backlash from the media. This criticism was well deserved, but I do not think that Grayson Allen is a terrible person and intentionally trips people. He does, however, have an instinct to trip players when they run past him on the court. Vice Sports reported that “Coach K was sort of defiant in his words on the trip, acknowledging that what Allen did was wrong but insisted that “he’s a good kid,” despite these seemingly routine dirty incidents” (Newell). Coach K knows Allen better than almost anyone, and is adamant about how Allen has a good soul. At this point in time, Allen has two options. The first option, and the one most likely to happen, is that Grayson Allen receives help from people within Duke on his issues. He gets therapy or a yelling session that helps him get rid of his instinct to trip people in games. The second option is that Grayson Allen embraces the role as a bad guy. On past Duke teams, there have been white players who took on the role of villains. Christian Laettner and J. J. Reddick are the most notable examples. These players embraced their role as dirty players and used it to their advantage. They did not care that the whole world hated them. They used the hate as fuel and did whatever they wanted on the court. They used hate to generate attention and good media headlines. Grayson Allen would fit into this mold very well with his background and style of play. Despite this, Allen does not want to accept a bad guy position. Because of this, Allen is caught in the middle. He is a white basketball player from Duke committing dirty plays, but he does not accept the role as a villain. It would be better for basketball and Duke is he chose a side. If he turned good, then everything would be normal and Duke basketball would be focused again. If he turned bad, then he would generate attention and headlines for himself and Duke. All recognition is good, and the fans would love another bad guy in college basketball. Sooner rather than later, Grayson Allen should either embrace his position, or receive help for his problems.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7cTs4zpI3CQ

Duke Suspends Grayson Allen Indefinitely After Latest Tripping Incident - VICE
https://apple.news/APn0SW9LPRKqsl2SLt79GcQ

Comic Strip Analysis: The essence of Calvin and Hobbes

© 1995 Bill Watterson

In “Calvin and Hobbes,” Bill Watterson uses Calvin’s innocent naivety to make statements on human behavior. This is a running theme in successful comic strips: using simple situations to parallel real life dilemmas. We will be analyzing the above comic strip to demonstrate this point. The generic three-panel comic strip is usually structured like so: premise, conflict, and resolution or twist. This comic strip is no exception.

ACT I - The Setup
Hobbes starts the conversation by asking, “why are you digging a hole?” To which Calvin replies, “I’m looking for buried treasure” by digging a hole in the ground. This sets up the location, motivation, and plot of the strip. “Looking for buried treasure” often a phrase used to metaphorically describe entrepreneurs and inventors looking for the next big thing, in a similar way to a diamond in the rough.

ACT II - The Conflict
Calvin goes on to explain his findings - “a few dirty rocks, a weird root, and disgusting grubs.” These are objects that are easily found while digging, so the reader is made to assume not finding anything relatively valuable to be the conflict and not the result.

ACT III - The Twist
In the final panel, Hobbes exclaims, “on your first try??” In surprise, as if the grubs and dirt was valuable treasure. Finally, we arrive at the twist. Calvin reciprocates Hobbes’ excitement, stating that “there’s treasure everywhere!” Like the saying goes: “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” While to the reader, the dirt and grubs may not be of much value, in a child’s eye, it is an adventure like no other. In addition, this fits into the "entrepreneur/inventor" metaphor as well: while entrepreneurs and inventors rack their brain coming up with new ideas, they often overlook the obvious, which might be the treasure they seek hiding in plain sight.

55quotes.com

This comic strip captures the essence of Bill Watterson’s “Calvin and Hobbes” comic strips. While on the surface, the comic strip depicts nothing more than a child playing in his backyard, when you take a deeper look, you will find themes that almost everyone can relate to.

Beauty is Found Within

As people age and their physical appearance changes from flawless skin and coloured hair to wrinkled skin and grey hair, society considers them to be less attractive. However, society should not judge someone by their physical appearance alone; depth of personality and knowledge should be the main factor dictating one’s attractiveness. 

Society has created a standard by which people who do not look youthful are less beautiful. Anti-aging products, hair colouring treatments, and skin care cream sales are estimated to increase in revenue from 140.3 billion dollars in 2015 to 216.52 billion dollars in 2021 because older people feel that they need cosmetic products to make themselves look beautiful again (https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2016/10/26/882889/0/en/Anti-Aging-Market-Set-for-Rapid-Growth-to-Reach-216-52-Billion-Globally-by-2021-Zion-Market-Research.html). In fact, studies have shown that women in the workforce who wear makeup and look younger can make more than 30% more money than coworkers who do not wear makeup (http://www.forbes.com/sites/tykiisel/2013/03/20/you-are-judged-by-your-appearance/#19c74f1b30f0). The discrimination in the workforce against people who do not meet the ideal beauty standards results in less payment, so people who are aging feel the need to use anti-aging products to continue to make money.

In the short story “Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow” by Kurt Vonnegut (https://grade9english.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/tomorrow-and-tomorrow-full-text.pdf), it can be inferred that older people are more self-conscious about their appearance. A commercial stated, “Are you hampered socially by wrinkles, by stiffness of joints and discoloration or loss of hair...Well, if you are, you need no longer suffer, need no longer feel different and out of place” (Vonnegut 213). The commercial advertised super-anti-gerasone to people older than one hundred and fifty so that they will not feel like they are being judged by their appearance in public. Society has put so much emphasis on one’s physical appearance that products and cosmetic surgery procedures are being created to physically change people to conform to beauty standards. This info graph displays the use of anti-aging products and the cost of cosmetic anti-aging surgery (http://graphs.net/anti-aging-skin-care.html).

Society should equate attractiveness with one’s personality and wisdom rather than physical appearance. In Kathryn Clausnitzer Wilson’s poem “The Gift Wrap and The Jewel,” Wilson writes, “the years that spoil your gift wrap with other things more cruel should purify and strengthen and polish up that jewel” (Wilson 9-10). Wilson compares aging skin to gift wrap and one’s soul to a jewel. Aging will cause wrinkled skin, but aging should also make one’s soul richer and more interesting. People should not use anti-aging products because they are expensive and sometimes ineffective, and one’s soul, personality, and lifetime experiences defines someone more than their appearance.