The book I chose was one that was mentioned in the Wisconsin State Journal one day. I saw a review about it and was really drawn to it. It is about a man name Louie Zamperini. Louie is a former Olympian and solder in World War II. Ironically, when I finished the book Louie passed away and now his story is being made into a movie by Angelina Jolie. I thought that this book would seem like homework but surprisingly it didn't! Once I started I could not put it down. And since then I have re-read it for fun. I am in no way fit to give a good representation of the book, but I will try my best!
The story of Louie Zamperini starts off in his troubled youth. Louie didn't have a place to fit in and instead of making friends turned to bullying. He picked up athletics to help get rid of his anger, but only got kicked out of any athletic team. That's where is older brother stepped in and begged their principal to let him join the track team. That's where Louie found himself. He was a beast in high school track and smashed any record he put his mind to. He got a full ride to USC for track and continued his track reputation from there. He was driven to go to the Olympics someday and that's exactly where he went.
After the Olympics he signed up to be a pilot after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He became a bombardier on fighter planes. During one horrific mission his plane went down in a fatal crash. Him and two of his friends were the only ones who survived. They survived on two rafts for almost 50 days on nothing but rain water and bird meat when they were fortunate to catch one. As they neared their 50 day they drifted towards some islands they didn't recognize. Within hours they were picked up by a Japanese boat. As the war raged on he and his friends were bounced back and forth between Prisoner of War camps. It was terrible reading all the accounts of which Louis was beaten for no reason, but inspiring to hear how he never lost hope.
There is much, much more to the story of Louie Zamperini! And I highly suggest it to anyone who has the time to read a good book. There are many twist and turns and it's hard to believe how much he went through! RIP Louie
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Thursday, August 14, 2014
If Men Could Menstruate
The articles by Fuller and Steinem come from different time periods, but both get the same point across. I never really gave any thought to these two articles so it was very interesting, new perspective for me. The article by Fuller was difficult to comprehend for me because it is from such a long time ago. One of the points from her article that I 100% agree with is that statement, "All men are privately influenced by women.." I think men should start to respect the female figures in their lives more. But are too "masculine" to show that they respect them.
The article by Steinem was humorous, yet it still proved a serious point. I found that the article by Steinem was much easier to relate to since it is more recent than the article by Fuller. Like I said before this article gave me a new perspective of thinking about what would happen if the roles were reversed. The idea of men menstruating is hilarious but also disturbing. Men would think of their menstruation cycles as a worthy event and " would brag about how long and how much." It would make it harder for women's rights to be as equal as to a man's because we aren't worthy enough to have such an "honorable" task as menstruating. Who knows maybe the government would give each man a week off of work while they were menstruating? Or they would blame some of men's actions on PMS? It's interesting to me to think about how the world would be if just one thing was changed. When you look at the world today women don't brag about their periods or think of themselves more worthy because of it. In the long run, I think today women and men are treated equal for the most part, but they are indeed different.
I also think that bringing up the topic of our differences can help us all appreciate the other gender more. Also, this can help us be more aware of the gender discrimination that goes on today still.
The article by Steinem was humorous, yet it still proved a serious point. I found that the article by Steinem was much easier to relate to since it is more recent than the article by Fuller. Like I said before this article gave me a new perspective of thinking about what would happen if the roles were reversed. The idea of men menstruating is hilarious but also disturbing. Men would think of their menstruation cycles as a worthy event and " would brag about how long and how much." It would make it harder for women's rights to be as equal as to a man's because we aren't worthy enough to have such an "honorable" task as menstruating. Who knows maybe the government would give each man a week off of work while they were menstruating? Or they would blame some of men's actions on PMS? It's interesting to me to think about how the world would be if just one thing was changed. When you look at the world today women don't brag about their periods or think of themselves more worthy because of it. In the long run, I think today women and men are treated equal for the most part, but they are indeed different.
I also think that bringing up the topic of our differences can help us all appreciate the other gender more. Also, this can help us be more aware of the gender discrimination that goes on today still.
Friday, August 1, 2014
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
The article "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" posed some very interesting points. However, the author, Nicholas Carr, seemed to me to be complaining more about the use of technology now a days than accepting it. I understand his concerns, "Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski." But I also think he failed to acknowledge how great the internet can be. Sure it may seem overwhelming and maybe even scary to some people just how much knowledge the internet shows but we can also adapt to it just like we did to the clock, printing press, calculator, etc.
In this decade technology has been more present in our lives than it ever has. For those who have a smart phone, the internet is right in your pocket. And for those who don't have a smart phone, the internet is just a couple key strokes away. In my opinion that scares a lot of the elders in our lives and that's why that people are so worried about what it is doing to our brains. "When we read online, she says, we tend to become 'mere decoders of information.' Our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged." I respect Carr's thoughts but to me I really don't understand this point. We don't read differently whether online or in a book. Reading is reading and if our goal is to read deeply while on the internet then we are capable of doing so. However, there are some things that I agree on with Carr.
On page 5 of this article the two founders of Google, Sergey Brin and Larry Page brought up the idea of artificial intelligence or an artificial brain. Brin said in a 2004 interview that "Certainly if you had all the world's information directly attached to your brain, or an artificial brain that was smarter than your brain, you'd be better off." This idea of having an artificial brain instead of your own attached to you haunts me. If we knew all the information the internet knows all the time I would go crazy. That idea is completely unsettling.
Even though there are many pros and cons to the internet, I think it is best if we learn to adapt to it just like we did with the clock, printing press, calculator, etc. Overall we won't know the affects of wide-spread internet use for a couple more decades since these past generations are the ones that are growing up with it.
In this decade technology has been more present in our lives than it ever has. For those who have a smart phone, the internet is right in your pocket. And for those who don't have a smart phone, the internet is just a couple key strokes away. In my opinion that scares a lot of the elders in our lives and that's why that people are so worried about what it is doing to our brains. "When we read online, she says, we tend to become 'mere decoders of information.' Our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged." I respect Carr's thoughts but to me I really don't understand this point. We don't read differently whether online or in a book. Reading is reading and if our goal is to read deeply while on the internet then we are capable of doing so. However, there are some things that I agree on with Carr.
On page 5 of this article the two founders of Google, Sergey Brin and Larry Page brought up the idea of artificial intelligence or an artificial brain. Brin said in a 2004 interview that "Certainly if you had all the world's information directly attached to your brain, or an artificial brain that was smarter than your brain, you'd be better off." This idea of having an artificial brain instead of your own attached to you haunts me. If we knew all the information the internet knows all the time I would go crazy. That idea is completely unsettling.
Even though there are many pros and cons to the internet, I think it is best if we learn to adapt to it just like we did with the clock, printing press, calculator, etc. Overall we won't know the affects of wide-spread internet use for a couple more decades since these past generations are the ones that are growing up with it.
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