Good guys and bad guys... an editor's perspective on Egypt

Editing can make all the difference, as shown in the pictures above.  The "peaceful" protestors are seen here, confronted by the faceless antiriot police.   I do not know much about this, but at first glance, it seems that the police are like robots.  They have no faces and come in rows, like machine work.  The people, women and men alike, are colorfully clad and unarmed.  To the eye untrained by AIS, this picture is a fully true depiction.  It's a clear picture, right?

Well, it's more complicated than that.  I looked closely at the "good guys" and zoomed in.  The seemingly all good civilian force is more diverse than that.  Please refer to the pictures above.  The left, a woman in pink, is asking for peace.  On the right, a woman in the same "good" crowd, stands close fisted and seemingly yelling.

Even though I do not know the full story of what is going on in Egypt, I know it is complicated.  Not everyone on the "peaceful" side is all that peaceful, and I cannot believe that the police are ruthless.  My thoughts are with ALL those impacted by the goings on in Egypt.  TIME reports via photoessay at http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2044357,00.html.  Let me know if you find any more subtle details from these photos.

In Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior

An inspirational man is honored today.  More than a day off of school, today is a day for reflection.  A Metablog post on a grand scale, to put it simply, occurs every year on the third Monday of January.  Here we see the dream he dreamt in 1963 in front of 250,000 people in Washington, D.C.

For more information on this inspirational human being, please refer to his biography from the Nobel Peace Prize, of which he won in 1964.  Here is the article.  One passage that struck me:

In the eleven-year period between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles

Even if you are busy, please make time today, or any day you have the chance, to pay homage to the man with a dream.  If you would like to learn more, I found these links very informational:

-While in jail in 1963 for violating an Alabama law, he wrote this letter: Letter From a Birmingham Jail
-PBS' page on MLK, includes a feature film, interviews, maps, and more: Citizen King
-Founded by his wife, Correta Scott King, a "living memorial": The King Center

Metablog

This is my third try on this Meta blog.  Writer's Block has abounded.  Then I realized- I don't even know what "meta" means.  So I referred to the handy-dandy Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and found that "meta-" means "occurring later than or in succession to" or "transformation."  Well, that's a start.


Personally, I measure transformation by comparing the first and last of a series.  My first post this quarter, "A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words",  discussed a photo we analyzed during class.  It dealt with perspective and the inevitable editing all art undergoes.  My most recent post, "Six Dead, One Moment", talked about the shootings in Tuscon, Arizona.  Both posts displayed pictures, but were different in their presentation.  The latter acted as a news report more than analysis, while the first was almost completely analysis.  I cannot say that I have gone from all analysis to all explanatory: that would not be true.  I can say, though, that my posts are more varied.  As stated in my first quarter reflection:

The topics of my posts share a common theme: me.  It may seem conceded, but what better can an author comment on more truthfully than themselves? 

I usually only talked about topics that impacted me personally.  With lightening fast news reports, social media networks, and constant communication amongst people coast to coast, few events do not impact us personally.  During the first quarter, I emphasized this personalized world.  This quarter, yes the events impacted me, but I focused more on overall impact.  To offer an example, I refer to my "Facebook 'Friends?'" post:

The New York Times reported on cyber-bullying.   (HERE is the article)  It tells the stories of teens both as targets and bullies.  

Rather than referring to a tough childhood memory of my own, I referred to a national epidemic: cyber-bullying.  I did discuss my own in other posts this quarter, but far less often than first quarter.  I accredit this change, thinking of the larger world rather than my own, to the topics we have discussed in class.  Reading The Crucible, The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, in addition to seeking more worldly experiences on my time, has expanded my outlook.

Perhaps the most clear example of my expanded view is my most recent post: "Six Dead, One Moment".  Through independent research, I presented factual information.  I then analyzed the situation, changing the article from a solemn one to an inspirational (I hope!) one.  The complexity of the post, which was relevant to all audiences, is my strongest post this quarter.  PLEASE REFER TO THIS POST FOR GRADING, IT IS LINKED ABOVE TWICE.

Third quarter, I hope to regain the personal connection to posts while still maintaining a worldly view.  Please leave comments with your suggestions as to how to achieve this goal.  Any blog is a team effort: author and readers.  Thanks for your continued viewership!  It is much appreciated!

Help me prevent this from happening! :)

Six dead, One moment

This morning, our principle came over the loudspeaker to call for a moment of silence in honor of those lives lost and otherwise impacted by the Arizona shootings of the past weekend.  Unfortunately, this is not the first time Dr. Doher has said a few words and brought us 4,000 students together in silence.  During regular morning announcements, it is the rare classroom in which every student listens-- but judging from my advisory and those of my friends', today was different.

The situation in Arizona certainly qualifies as tragedy.  A disturbed man, a Mr. Jared Lee Loughner, killed six people and injured many others.  Among the dead was a nine year old girl, a Miss Christina Taylor Green.  It is hard to imagine such hardship; and I cannot.  I am lucky to not know personally a victim of any sort of murder, in fact I have not faced any loss so far in my life.  Even though I can't fathom their pain, my thoughts go out to both the families of the victims and that of the killer (as they, too, are suffering).

Christina Taylor Green

It saddens me to think that all I have done to console those experiencing such great pain is forgo a minute of my morning.  Am I turning my back on a neighbor?  We do, after all, live in one country, on one planet.  On the other hand, I am hundreds of miles away from Arizona.  Personally, I feel that one minute, though it is respectful, is not sufficient.  All loss cannot be recognized individually, because then we would have no time to enjoy life!  But this, a massacre, deserves it's just dues.  Therefore, I keep the victims in my prayers not just this morning, but now as I write this and for the days to come.  I won't feel sad, rather thankful for the life I have.

There is no light without dark, no day without night- and this situation is certainly a dark one.  That means that the contrasting light will seem that much brighter: enjoy the light of life, and remember that the sun rises every morning.

For more pictures regarding the shooting (not gory), please refer to this NY Times report.  Thanks.

Livin in da 'hood- Childhood, that is... (sorry, I had to!)

Today we discussed the myths of childhood.  I am guilty of putting childhood on a pedestal- where I think of only the fond memories in my backyard with water guns, BBQ's, late nights culminating at 12 am instead of the now common 3 or 4 am, and the pink tutus that seemed a part of me.  Rarely do I think of the bruises resulting from falls from the monkey bars, the less than perfect girl scout meetings, and the monsters under my bed.

This may seem like a downer of a post, but there is a lot that kids deal with that is overlooked in hindsight.  Kidshealth.org listed some of the problems kids face HERE.  Something I know impacted me personally was the burden of worry.  (Kidshealth.org on this topic HERE)  By no means did my home conditions provoke worry, quite the contrary- I come from a very loving and supportive family.  By nature, whether I am 5 or 65, I am a worry wart.  A memory of mine...

I am in sixth grade,  standing in line at the airport to put my shoes on the conveyer belt for scanning.  My mom and school group got ahead of me in line.  Never before had I been to an airport- let alone the second busiest in the world, O'Hare.  The lie seemed to stretch three miles between my mom and me.  My face turned red and the tears weighed on my bottom eyelids.

O'Hare is scary when you're only 4 1/2 feet tall! 

On the Mediterranean in 2006- after successfully navigating customs.

Obviously, I am still here- so my mom and I were reunited!  That does not undo the fear I felt at that time.  The fact that this memory is strong in my memory shows that I have been blessed.  Huck Finn- he's not so lucky.  His father, as depicted on page 18, wants nothing but to keep Huck in his supposed place: "if I catch you around that school I'll tan you good."  Huck had it rough- a fifth grade (about) education, a drunken and abusive father, and a below 

poverty level lifestyle.  My experience was still scary.

If you had the boogie man living under your bed, or got stung by a bee, that still stinks.  Huck may have had it worst, but that doesn't mean one situation should be belittled.  Life encompasses childhood, adulthood, tears, and laughs.  Best of luck to Huck in the rest of the book!  His childhood is NOT all fun and games.

Only seemingly carefree.

20-10 or 2,010. What do you think?

I know that it's not New Years yet, but it's getting pretty darn close.  Having learned about perilous times, stories and histories, and other monumental topics at school, it is difficult to think that the little things also make each day important.  Thinking about the draft during the Vietnam War minimizes a bad grade on a Spanish test-- but that test still impacted me.  Should we dwell on the past?  Do we really need to keep everything in perspective?

I mean, yes, the draft is more important than a test.  However, one cannot belittle everything besides life changing events.  Crying while watching The Notebook does not belittle crying over the loss of lives after the Haitian earthquakes.  All experiences are unique to those experiencing them.  It is difficult to decide what truly matters in a lifetime, or in a year.

After a little searching, I came across a video montage of what someone else thinks was important during 2010.  It included a lot of sports stuff, natural disasters, and some political happenings.  My fellow 1,000,000 viewers of the video may or may not agree on the degree of importance each event possessed.  As citizens of the world, we must acknowledge the feat that was rescuing 33 Chilean Miners from beneath the ground.  As Americans, we must acknowledge the feat that was bringing soldiers home from Iraq.  As Illinois-ians (??) we must acknowledge Blagojevich's conviction.  As Chicago-ins (again, ??), we must acknowledge the fact that- well, I'm sure something has happened.  The mayoral elections?  Oprah's last season?

What I'm trying to get at is that perspective means the world.  To me, the most important event this year was my grandpa going to and coming home from the hospital.  It wasn't in the news; no YouTuber made a montage about it; but it was very important and I won't forget it.  What was the most important time in 2010 for you?  Was it political and on the front page of the Trib?  Or did you win a soccer tournament?  Please feel free to share.  Happy (early) New Year!

Here is a link to the video I was looking at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0QXB5pw2qE

    

Facebook "Friends?"

Last night, I was helping out my mom's friend at a party.  She needed an extra pair of hands, and mine were available.  So I picked up plates and made sure ice buckets were not water buckets, ate some delicious holiday desserts, and went home with some pocket money.

In addition, I went home with a thought.  After part of the dinner order (for forty people) was discovered MIA, the hosts and helpers felt mutually embarrassed.  Forty hungary people and no pulled pork sandwiches!  Gasp!  My way of dealing with the problem was to stand as close to the wall as possible and not get in anyone's way.  It worked pretty well for my purposes.

The catering lady, though, did not share my luxury.  She had to call her boss, of only three weeks and a day as of yesterday, and try to explain the situation.  The party host, though, took the phone and explained herself (Please understand, this party host is very kind but was nervous and thus responded).  After three phone calls and many more furrowed brows, the food arrived.

At the end of the night, I thanked the caterer for all of her trouble.  Sweetly, she accepted the thanks and left me with the advice: "Enjoy being a kid, it may not feel carefree but compared to being an adult, teenage problems aren't that big of a deal."  Pretty common advice, but it resonated with me.

Almost 24 hours later, I'm still thinking about that: are teenage problems, in general, less stressing than adult problems?  Obviously, it depends on the case, but I cannot believe it.  I read an article that further strengthened my thoughts.

The New York Times reported on cyber-bullying.   (HERE is the article)  It tells the stories of teens both as targets and bullies.  One story involved a boy who didn't even use the internent for social media; three "friends" made up a Facebook and targeted the innocent boy.  On the impersonated account, the three boys sent hurtful messages to peers.  The boy #1 was blamed, as unknowingly his name was attached to hurtful remarks.  Seeing his son suffer from shunning, Mom took matters into her own hand.

Is losing friends, maintaining an awkward relationship with the mother that cared too much, and navigating the mystery to adolescent boys that is deodorant, easier than paying taxes?  Yes, it is exhausting to work two jobs; as it is exhausting to study for finals.  Kids, teens, adults, seniors: we all have problems.  Whether it be messing up an order or Logging in, problems are problems.  There are not kid problems and adult problems, there are people problems.  Here's wishing people solutions...