A Useful, Everyday Routine

"Try This: 'Elephant Ears' Massage Helps Kids Perk Up"
Melinda Fulmer, The Los Angeles Times
Published on April 6, 2013
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-try-this-kalish-ears-20130406,0,1249825.story

Kids have the world's energy inside of them and they sometimes do not know how to calm down, relax, and concentrate. One can try punishing the child, yelling at the child, or doing all sorts of routines to calm him down, but do those really help? What if there was a simple way where children can calm down while becoming perked up to learn? Well maybe there is a way and children can even do it themselves. Kids' expert Leah Kalish demonstrates in a video a way where kids can relax and be ready to learn. This simple routine only requires fingers and ears. It is called the 'Elephant Ears' routine. All a child or adult needs to do is get her fingers and start massaging the top of the ears, slowly working downwards. This routine works well with both children and adults, by calming them and relieving their anxiety. "The gentle massage around the outside of your ears stimulates the energy meridians in the body, Kalish says, waking up your senses, so you're less distracted and anxious and can hear and think more clearly" (Melinda Fulmer, The Los Angeles Times). This routine also comes with its own riddle that makes it easier to remember.

Here is the link to the video:
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-try-this-kalish-ears-video,0,6026234.premiumvideo

Molestation and Rape Should Be Stopped

"Willowbrook Teacher Accused Of Molesting 3 Teenage Girls"

Joe Mozingo, The Los Angeles Times

Published on April 26, 2013

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-teacher-molest-arrest-20130426,0,3134331.story

Molestation and rape are starting to become huge parts of our society. An action that once was almost as horrible as murder is starting to be looked at as a joke or 'not a big deal'. Do people honestly think that they can get away with touching and feeling others without their consent? Do they think they will never get caught? Do they think such actions are okay? The consequences of molestation and rape need to be more clear to people because clearly they are not understanding by watching others receive punishments for it, since they are doing it themselves. A fifty-five year old teacher, named Juan Cardoza, was arrested for molesting three teenage girls at the ages of fourteen and fifteen. It was said that these events had taken place at the New Designs Charter School. "The L.A. County district attorney's office filed four felony counts of lewd acts with a child and one felony county of annoying and molesting a child. Cardoza is being held in lieu of $320,000 bail" (Joe Mozingo, The Los Angeles Times). Hopefully this teacher receives the punishment he deserves and this can be another wake up call for everyone else who has thoughts of molesting or raping others. 

No More Fire!

"Monrovia Brush Fire 85% contained; all evacuation orders lifted"
Carlos Lozano, The Los Angeles Times
Published on April 21, 2013
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-monrovia-brush-fire-85-contained-all-evacuation-orders-lifted-20130421,0,2637290.story


The smallest idea can lead to a huge discovery. Massive fires are usually started by the smallest of substances. They can start from a non put out cigarette thrown at the ground, a piece of paper burning, or a burning dish in the kitchen. A Monrovia brush fire had started Saturday morning. It was started by a gardening tool that was being used for brush clearance. The fire was starting to burn more than 100 acres of land. Fire officials had no other choice than to have fifteen streets evacuate. Even the bears were evacuating! The fire had threatened about 400 homes, but luckily now, eighty five percent of it is contained and there are no more evacuation orders. Fortunately, nothing was damaged and one firefighter just had a minor injury. Firefighters, however, are still working on maintaining the rest of the fire in order for the residents to return safely to their homes.

Could There Have Been More?

"Ed Davis: Boston Marathon Suspects May Have Been Planning More Attacks" 

Published on April 21, 2013 

Huffington Post 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/21/ed-davis-boston-marathon-bombings_n_3127208.html?ir=Politics

Due to the bombings at the Boston Marathon, many suspicions and thoughts have been arousing among all. Ed Davis, a Boston Police commissioner, stated how the Boston Marathon suspects might have planned more attacks. Davis stated how all the explosions found might have meant that the suspects were going to continue attacking other people. Other than all the ammunition found, other explosives and homemade grenades were also found. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is hospitalized with a serious condition, although his older brother, Tamerlan, got killed in a shootout with police a few days ago. The two are accused of placing the bombs in Boston. The FBI is planning on questioning Dzhokhar once his condition becomes better. If the two were not caught, who knows what future attacks they might have had planned. There are plenty of evidence proving that the two were in charge of the bombings held during the Boston Marathon. Now that they are found, hopefully the people of Boston recover. 

Stereotypes

Stereotyping is a factor that all humans live with throughout their lives. They stereotype, while being stereotyped. Stereotypes can be created by one's race, gender, age, religion, actions, and a variety of other aspects. Questions that make people wonder how stereotypes arouse can be such questions like "What factors contribute to such prejudice and how?" Hearing different stereotypes at school, at work, on television, from parents, from society, all contribute in one's prejudice opinions. If a friend, peer, favorite television actor, or parent makes a remark about a specific group of people, that statement can stay in one's mind and create such an opinion on the specific group. The next time that person sees one of the same group, he or she will remember the remark and connect it to a person of the same group.
     Another question that can arouse about stereotyping can be "What can you change in your own life to overcome habits of stereotyping?" One cannot judge one person based on a remark about someone from the same group. If one wants to avoid habits of stereotyping, he or she should not allow generalization to affect him or her, and must understand a person for whom he or she is, before judging based on what another one of the same group is like. Everyone around the world is equal and created the same way and in this world for a specific purpose. Stereotyping is wrong and everyone should be classified as one whole, not separate groups.

Peace Needs To Be Made

"Two men fatally stabbed and shot outside Downey sports bar"
Published on March 17, 2013
The Los Angeles Times
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/03/two-men-fatally-stabbed-and-shot-outside-downey-sports-bar.html

Lives are being taken away day by day in creul, unmannerly ways. Late last night, outside a sports bar, two young men around the ages of thirty were stabbed and shot. There had been a fight at the parking lot of a restaurant and when police had arrived, they found two men lying on the floor with stab wounds and they had been shot. The victims were taken to a hospital and were pronounced dead. The suspects had driven off but it is unclear how the fight began and who was involved. Everyone needs to be careful with their choice of words or actions because it may lead to fights that lead to death. Stabbing and shooting and killing are not games and should not be taken as jokes. In this case, the suspects would probably be in full blame, but maybe the victims had started the fight that led to their tragic deaths. Whatever the case was, two men ended up dying and matters like this should be taken quite seriously.

Driving Under the Influence

"Driver, 21, suspected of DUI in crash that killed her passenger"

Published on March 10, 2013

The Los Angeles Times 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/03/dui-suspected-passenger-killed-garden-grove-crash.html

Driving is a serious matter and can be dangerous at any times, especially when the driver is driving under the influence. It was about three thirty in the morning, in Garden Grove, when a car was headed north on Brookhurst street. There were three people in the car, the driver being twenty one, and one of the the passengers was in her twenty's. The statement said that the car ran off the road and hit a telephone pole, crashing into a building. One of the passengers was killed instantly and the driver and the other passenger were taken to the hospital. The police suspected the driver of drunk driving. The government cannot emphasize this any more. DUI is illegal and dangerous to the driver and his or her passengers. When people are drunk or are not in normal states, they should not drive. Driving under the influence automatically puts the occupants of the car in danger. One should not drive under the influence, or be in a car who's driver is under the influence. "No other information was given. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Investigator Adam Zmija at (714) 741-5847" (The Los Angeles Times). 

Thinking Positively vs Thinking Negatively

"Study: The Health Benefits of Pessimism
Published by Monte Morin, The Los Angeles Times
Published on March 1, 2013
http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-pessimism-benefits-20130301,0,6108812.story

One may think that by being optimistic, every aspect of their life will be for the better and nearly nothing can have a downfall in their lives. However, a recent survey showed how individuals who had been optimistic all their lives suffered more in their old ages. More optimistic individuals suffer disabilities than pessimistic individuals. This is because when one thinks only the positive, they do not realize that their lives can also be tragic. They do not think about any difficulties life can offer, therefore they do not find a need in improving a certain aspect in their lives. On the other hand, pessimistic individuals understand life's difficulties and find faults in their lives more often, having them fix certain problems instead of overlooking them. This survey was done on different age groups. The younger age group was more satisfied with what was to come of their future. The middle aged group already could predict what their future would result in. The elderly mostly had better lives than what they had expected. However, the pessimistic elders had a longer life span and lesser disabilities than the optimistic ones.

Masquerade With A Twist

With a budget of $100,000 for a party, what can someone possibly not do? If I were to throw a modern Gatsby style party I would definitely do a royal masquerade ball! I would rent out the Hollywood Skyline Mansion in Los Angeles. The cost would be approximately $3,200 for the night. That leaves me with more than $96,000 to spare. The cordially invited guests would be all of Rose and Alex Pilibos's eleventh grade along with a maximum of two guests they can each bring along with them. The dress code is formal attire but not just any kind of formal. Girls need to be dressed in long gowns along with their choice of masks. The boys need to be dressed in suits with their choice of masks. All costs for attire will be handed back to the guests. There will be one Chrysler 300 "American Liberty Edition" limousine sent to every three houses of the invited guests. The cost of this would come up to about $1,500. The guests will be dropped off in front of the beautiful mansion and their royal evenings will begin. The house shall be decorated with Renaissance theme and not one individual should look modern. The house will be covered in gold. Servers will be serving finger food, champagne, and wine to the guests. Guests are allowed to enjoy themselves in the main living room of the house and also the outside lounge and bar area. The bar will be serving different kinds of alcohol along with appetizers. The entertainment will be jazz music bands for the first part of the evening. Although this seems like a classy, peaceful, elegant evening, the night will not even be close to over. When the clock strikes twelve am, belly dancers will start entering along with a dj. The guests will be asked to take off their masks, get comfortable, and start enjoying the party they are used to. The guests are allowed to stay until seven am of the next morning, leaving three hours for maids to clean the house. I hope this party will be enjoyed. 

Prohibition

     In the 1920s an amendment was passed that banned use, ownership, and production of alcohol in the United States. This was the Eighteenth Amendment that was pushed by progressives who had a new and clean image of the government. Almost the whole country was against this amendment. Protests, riots, black markets, all arouse and people were demanding an end to this ban. The poor had absolutely no source in possessing alcohol. However, the rich were able to illegally have ownership of alcohol and smuggle it into their homes. The Great Gatsby was set in the 1920s, during the era of prohibition. Alcohol was difficult to get a hold of and people consumed it at every chance they received. Jay Gatsby, a rich individual who had means of owning alcohol, had extravagant events almost every weekend, in his mansion. These parties consisted of alcohol and that is mainly the reason why large amounts of people attended them. These events were opportunities for people to finally catch a hold of alcohol. The word was probably spread around that there is alcohol at these parties and that is probably the reason why most of the guests were uninvited and unknown to Gatsby. While these guests enjoyed the parties much more than Gatsby, Gatsby would just observe the events and host them, just to provide happiness to these people. Maybe he was against the prohibition and this was his protest against it.
     Also connected to the prohibition, Miss Baker told Nick how Daisy had had her first drink right before her wedding and was not used to it. This was probably due to the prohibition and Daisy had not seen alcohol ever before in her life. Also Jordan explained how while all the women would drink, Daisy would keep her morals straight and keep her reputation high. Even after the end of prohibition, Daisy continued to not drink because it was what she was used to and drinking seemed disreputable to her.

A Dog or a Hero?

"Dog Wakes Owners, Saving Them From Fire in Their Home"

Published on February 18, 2013

The Los Angeles Times 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/02/dog-fire-wakes-saves-family.html

     Some say a dog is a man's best friend. In this case, a family's dog was not just their best friend, but their hero, too. On Sunday night, a family woke up to the sound of their three-year-old pug barking and trying to grab their attention, in order to try to make them aware of what was going on. The dog smelled fire and sensed smoke and decided to tell her folks about it. The family later called an ambulance and due to early detection, the firefighters were able to put down the fire, leaving no harm to the family or most of the house.

     Some keep dogs for protection. Some keep dogs for entertainment. Some keep dogs in order to not be lonely. In the case of this article, this dog did her part in protecting her family. Dogs have a strong sense of smell and can prevent various troubles from occurring. This dog did the job of even the fire alarm and sensed the fire before the alarm could. So why pay extra for fire alarms when one can pay for one dog and receive the whole package? 

The Colbert Report: One Direction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ejgq0r0SEU

Stephen Colbert is known to satirize almost every aspect of society. In one of his episodes he decided to dedicate a segment to the amazingly talented, British/Irish boy band, One Direction. One usually dedicates a video or a novel to a beloved. Stephen Colbert decided to dedicate this segment to One Direction, not to express his love towards them, but to satirize their famous, hit song "What Makes You Beautiful". He begins by making fun of their name. He states how he does not want "a bunch of... telling America the number of directions we can go at" (Colbert). Then he starts talking about their number one song. He starts out by being sarcastic about the lyrics and how they convey a "great message" (Colbert). One part of the lyrics are "you don't know you're beautiful, that's what makes you beautiful" (One Direction). He contrasts between exaggeration and understatement because although he is exaggerating the simple meaning of the phrase, he is understating the whole song itself, by showing the audience that it makes no sense and is therefore pointless. He uses innuendo and verbal irony at the same time. He states, in a sarcastic tone, how the song gives advice to young women, but he implies how pointless and useless the meaning of the song really is. He uses distortion by twisting the real meaning of the lyrics and satirizing them. Colbert's main purpose was to instill common sense into the public that this hit song actually has no true meaning. He probably wants to change society's new idea of music and have people tell the difference between real and meaningless lyrics.

Thirteen and Pregnant

-"8th Grader Impregnated During Trip to 'March for Life' Event"
-Published on January 25, 2013
-The Onion
-http://www.theonion.com/articles/8th-grader-impregnated-during-trip-to-march-for-li,31038/

Abortion is a controversial topic. Some think it is one's choice and others think it is qualified as death and cannot be done by human hands. Thirteen-year-old Mallory Pickens was at the "March for Life" event fighting against abortion. What she did not know was that she was actually pregnant herself. Yes, thirteen years old, in the eighth grade, and pregnant! The night before she was with her church's anti-abortion organization and apparently she had spent some quality time with one of the members who is also thirteen. Unaware that the thirteen-year-old boy's sperm had won over one of her eggs, she marched on and had her anti-abortion thoughts passed through to the audience. Sources predicted that Ms. Pickens, being fully pro-life, will drop out of school, exclude herself from friends and family, and will suffer depression. Although abortion is wrong, only the parents of the fetus truly feel the situations they might be put through with a child, and all that can be changed in their own lives. For a girl who fought so hard against abortion, what decision might she make now that the issue of keeping and raising a child is in her hands?

Can Fast Food Possibly Become Healthier?

"McDonald's Filet-O-Fish, Fish McBites going all-sustainable"
Published on January 24, 2013
Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times

     There are 14,000 McDonald's chains nationwide. One can only imagine how many hundreds of thousands of people enter each store, daily. Customers consume the unhealthy, fast foods from these restaurants without even caring if it is healthy for them or not. However, if the customers are not caring what if the chain itself started caring? McDonald's decided to update their seafood into Alaskan Pollack fished in the wild. They are willing to pay the Marine Stewardship Council yearly, in order to have the permission to stamp their ecolabel onto their product packaging. "The Marine Stewardship Council awards the label to seafood products that meet its standards on fish stock health, fishery impact on the surrounding ecosystem and fishery management system" (Hsu). Since McDonald's is working this hard in order to have a label like this onto its seafood products, can it be for the public or for their own business? Hopefully it is for the public, because healthy and delicious calls for more and more customers.

A Story of Nature, Peace, and Comfort

It was a beautiful sunny morning and I decided to visit my aunt's house. The weather outside was amazing so I decided to sit outside and clear my mind. The pool's water fountain was on and the sound of the water hitting the pool seemed to calm me. I decided to sit and enjoy myself for about half an hour. A little wind began to blow and the beautiful pink flowers slowly fell into the clear blue water, the leaves began to dance and made a lovely sound, and the water was flowing like a river. A pretty squirrel walked by on the wire above the pool, stopping at one of the trees, and nibbling on the leaves. Birds began to sing and flew by in a harmonious group. I realized how much I had missed nature and all the beautiful components of it. Teens are so caught up in technology these days that they forget that there is more to life than just their cell phones or laptops. When I was a child, most of my hours were spent outside. Lately, almost all my hours are spent in my room. This experience taught me to spend a little more time outside and clear my mind from society. As I was finally relaxed and was enjoying my peace, the neighbor's dogs began to bark, which caused my aunt's dogs to bark, and suddenly I was hit back to reality.

Five Dollar Eleven Inches

-"Subway Response To 'Footlong' Controversy: Name 'Not Intended To Be A Measurement Of Length'"
-Published by Cavan Sieczkowski on January 19, 2013
-The Huffington Post 
-http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/19/subway-response-footlong-controversy-measurment_n_2511316.html?utm_hp_ref=business

     Ever taken a measuring tape and measured a sandwich? A teenager named Matt Corby ordered a "footlong" sandwich from Subway and decided to measure it with a measuring tape, in order to prove it being twelve inches long. He measured eleven inches, took a picture, and posted it on the Subway Australia's facebook page captioning it "subway pls respond". The photo received over 100,000 likes and had more and more people measuring their own sandwiches, finding measurements like eleven or eleven and a half inches, instead of twelve. Subway Australia responded to Corby's picture claiming that "footlong" is simply just a name to the sandwich, not a measurement, and restaurants are not going to measure each time they serve their sandwiches. Apparently, Subway food distributors provide less food, while increasing their prices, each year. Not only have their breads' lengths shortened, their cold cut sizes have decreased by twenty-five percent. Although this issue might have brought confusion and devastation in Subway customers, one can be nearly positive that nothing can stop customers from visiting Subway to have a healthy and delicious meal, even if their sandwiches are a few inches short.

Favorite and Least Favorite Independent Reading Books

     While we were choosing our top five books to read for our independent reading projects, my top two choices were Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen, and Lucky by Alice Sebold. I chose Girl, Interrupted. Although I was satisfied with my choice, when I listened to Mariam's presentation for Lucky I had wished I could have read both books. Lucky was about a girl who had been raped and after all she overcame throughout her life, she managed to stay strong and considered herself "lucky" because she survived through all the obstacles life gave her and life could have been much worse. I am a girl and I may be able to relate to Lucky because sometimes men think they can do whatever they desire to women and they believe they will not be punished for it. Women are still not fully respected and men might be able to take advantage of them with their strength. Also, Lucky introduces an obstacle life can throw at you that God forbid might be thrown at me too one day. I do not enjoy books that just describe events from life. I enjoy reading stories and feeling like I am part of the settings presented in the books. That is also one of the reasons why I would choose Lucky.
     The book I would least likely read from the independent reading projects would probably be Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer which was presented by Arek. From what I understood from Arek's presentation, this book was about a man climbing a mountain and all the obstacles he went through while climbing it. It does not interest me if a man can climb a mountain or not and how he does it. I do not think the idea of this book is that special or interesting to be used as an entire plot of a book. His autobiography Into the Wild seemed much more interesting because it had more to do with his personal life. Probably because I like reading more personal things instead of random events like mountain climbing, is the reason why I disliked the book Into Thin Air.

King Starbucks

-"Starbucks Truck Sets Up Shop Next To Local Coffee Stand (PHOTO)"
-Published on January 11, 2013
-The Huffington Post
-http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/11/starbucks-coffee-truck_n_2458549.html?ir=Small+Business

     Starbucks is an international, popular, and massive business. Almost everyone around the world knows about it and has tried it at least once. It is quite known and has huge business and millions of customers. A recent photo taken in New York City shows how a Starbucks truck is put next to a coffee stand and immediately all customers become pulled towards the Starbucks truck. Starbucks does smart business. They moved to a location that already had a coffee stand, advertised and gave away free coffee, and automatically had customers running to them. The coffee stand that was right next to the Starbucks truck had probably only one customer. This article shows how symbols and propaganda that are known by many people grab people towards them like a magnet. The symbol in this situation is the Starbuck's logo that automatically attracted all attention. It is heartbreaking knowing that simple, not popular, and hard working businesses suddenly lose all their business because of a widely known, cheap, and smart company. Starbucks is such a huge business that it seems like it controls the world and overtakes all other coffee companies.