Sound and Fury

There was one main argument in Sound and Fury that broke into different pieces of other arguments. The main argument was whether a cochlear implant was a good thing or a bad thing. The two families in the film had different views on the cochlear implant. The family with hearing parents, Chris and Mari, did want their son, Peter, to get the cochlear implant. The family with deaf parents, Nita and Peter, did not want their daughter, Heather, to get the implant.  This whole issue came back down to the concept of how the deaf culture was perceived by both the parents.

Looking into the family with Peter and Nita, they were strongly against letting their little girl get a cochlear implant. At first, they were curious to find out what positives could come out of the surgery, but their love for the deaf culture took over and helped them make their final decision. They did not think the cochlear implant left enough of the deaf culture in their child. They saw kids who no longer signed and instead talked almost to the same capability as a hearing person. Since so many people in their family were deaf, they wanted their daughter to be able to sign.  They also feared that her love for the deaf culture would fade. They thought that since she would be able to hear, she would lose interest in her true self which is being a deaf person. I found this very interesting. Being able to hear, I don’t think I can truly understand how important their culture is to them. I personally saw deaf people as having a disability, but they believe they are just the same and just learn in different ways. This was very cool to hear and changed my vision of the deaf culture. I now do not see them as having a disability, but I do still think life is harder being deaf. There are some activities in the world that require being able to hear and without having that ability they are missing out on job opportunities and other hearing activities.

The other argument came from the family with Mari and Chris. They strongly believed in giving their child peter a cochlear implant. They realised that the best time to give him one was when he was the youngest possible age to get one that way he would have the best chance to develop the best possible hearing. They argued that even though Peter was deaf, they still wanted him to get a chance to be able to hear and have all the opportunities of a hearing person. They believed they were not taking away his deaf culture. He would always be deaf, they are just giving him the option to be a part of the hearing culture as well. I personally side with this choice. The other family with Peter and Nita believed that the a deaf person should not be exposed to the hearing world then they would be considered “not accepting of the culture”. I disagree with this. Even though the cochlear implant gives the child the ability to hear sound, they can’t hear perfectly which will remind them that they are deaf. Also, the implant can be turned off which would make the child deaf again and have to use sign language to communicate so it wouldn’t be forgotten. Also, I was surprised to see how many jobs deaf people can actually get with hearing people, but there will always be those jobs they for sure can not get. The cochlear implant gives them that opportunity to have that job.

Overall after watching the film, Sound and Fury my vision on the deaf culture changed.  Living in a hearing world, I never would think that someone who is deaf could function so well. To my surprise the deaf culture is very good at reading and writing and can actually get jobs in the hearing world. I liked how the film included the deaf people using sign language then added the voice in the background to let hearing people understand. This is a good stylistic choice because it allows the movie to be seen by both the deaf and hearing world. If another parent had a deaf kid or if they were deaf themselves, they could understand the film and get information from the different examples of why or why to not support the cochlear implant.

Fear of Cucumbers

Most people fear creepy crawlers or haunted objects that appear in the dark, but I fear the oddly colored, innocent looking vegetable—a cucumber. A vivid memory of being forced to eat one sticks with me every time I see or smell one. It was a normal night at the dinner table. My family ate mash potatoes, my favorite, and chicken. The house smelled of a warm thanksgiving aroma that drew you to the kitchen. I couldn't think of anything that could possibly make this dinner bad. My mom called my brother and I and within seconds we were both seated and waiting patiently for everyone one else. Once everyone had sat down I grabbed my fork and knife, ready to dig in. Without even noticing I dug into my mash potatoes. The smell of the thanksgiving meal had never smelt better. Bite after bite the meal got better and better. I continued to scarf down my meal until a hint of a smell I feared snuck its way over the thanksgiving aroma. I looked down at my plate in slow motion to see the innocent green vegetable staring at me. Instantly the tree bark, sour smell took over the tasty thanksgiving smell. I all of a sudden didn't feel so good. How could I have gone the whole meal without noticing the horrendous smell coming from the cucumbers? I looked at my mom who was biting down on her cucumber that instant. She loved cucumbers and always wished my brother and I did too. I reminded her that I hated cucumbers and that I was just going to throw them away so why would she put them on my plate. She stared at me and smiled and said, “Not tonight you aren’t. You are going to eat those cucumbers before you leave this table.” This was my worst nightmare. The smell was getting stronger by the minute and I started to feel light headed. My family began to finish up and leave the table. I sat there glaring at the cucumber that sat in the middle of my plate. I held my nose shut to block out the nasty smell. Three hours had passed and I hadn't even attempted to eat the stupid vegetable. My mom came back and gave me the option to eat it with another food that was left on the table. Then and there I wished I still had some leftover chicken or mash potatoes to accompany the cucumber as I ate it, but all that was left was carrots and grapes. I told myself to just forget about the smell and eat it as fast as I could. I threw it in my mouth and chewed as fast as I could. The texture gave me chills and I swallowed as quickly as I could. I shoved five grapes in my mouth to follow the cucumber, but nothing was making it better. I ran from the table straight to the bathroom where I brushed my teeth more than three times. I will never forget the torture of eating that cucumber that one night I thought was going to be the best dinner as it turned into the worst dinner ever. 

Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke

My friends and I this summer definitely found ourselves singing Blurred Lines in the car, and not once did we think of the potential message behind it. It was a catchy song that you heard on the radio about 2-3 times a day in the summer. How could a song that was played so much and be so catchy have a bad meaning behind it? This was my initial reaction to Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines. I simply ignored the words and continued singing the song along with my friends. After reading these articles, I have some questions about the song, but I do not think the song is necessarily "Rapey". 

An editor at NPR Music, Frannie Kelley states, "Lyrically, it's problematic, but I feel like so many pop songs right now are problematic". A lot of songs these days are on the edge and pushing the normal boundaries making people more uncomfortable. I don't think we can treat this song any differently. Yes, it was a hit song so more people heard it, but it was still published and it had to have been liked by people to get the rating it received. Also, the lyrics "I know you want it" are stated multiple times which don't directly target sexual consent. The women are given the change to react in the lyrics as well so the decision is going both ways even if it seems like it isn't. 

I do think that this song has it moments when things are taken too far. I never pictured any bad things when I heard the song, but as soon as I saw the video it changed my perception of the song. If it is a well known song the music video should be for everyone to enjoy. I wouldn't want my kids to watch the video even if they loved the song. I think the video is degrading to women as it clearly show that the men are in control of the women, but I don't think rape is the main message. I think it has a lot of open ended areas where the audience can chose the outcome. Overall, the song crossed some boundaries, but a lot of songs do these days so it doesn't deserve the label of being "Rapey" though it shows signs of being degrading to women. Sooner than later, I bet some limits will be put on what songs can imply.

Autobiography of a Face

Imagine trying to live a normal life with half of your face missing. It's impossible. People stare at you all the time breaking down your self confidence fast. This is the life of Lucy Grealy. A brave young girl who never thought her life would change after being hit in the face by a kickball one recess. That one kickball game caused Lucy to later head to the hospital in pain to find out she actually had cancer in her jaw. With little help from her father and mother, Lucy faces life changing surgeries while she lives in the hospital. But on the other fun side of the hospital days, she never fails to find someway to cause trouble with the nurses or her best friend Derek. There comes a time when Lucy needs to face the world with her "new face" where she takes on every struggle bravely. There are times when Lucy questions her "new face" and wishes she were normal again. She never gives up and stays brave throughout every situation. Later on, Lucy meets new surgeons who work miracles to her face bringing her closer and closer to that normal life again.

I would recommend this book to any audience that is looking in the career field working with cancer, someone who wants a heart felt story of someones life, or simply someone looking for a short read that keeps you wanting to turn the pages. I loved how this book not only talks about all the challenges Lucy faces, but her reactions and how she deals with those challenges. She often talks about loneliness and the pain of feeling different which can relate to many different life scenarios. That way many readers can relate to the story even if they are experiencing a totally different issue.

Reading isn't my first choice for an activity, but I really enjoyed reading this autobiography. It was easy to read, yet introduced me to new words to add to my vocabulary. Also, with an interest in the science field I loved hearing about all the procedures Lucy had to undergo and all the medical help she was given. Overall, Autobiography of a Face was a very unique book based around a remarkable person who deserves to have her story heard.

Healthy School Lunches Face Tough Taste Test

With the school year approaching fast, the debacle of school lunches being healthy yet tasty will arise again. Just a couple years ago you could walk up in the lunch line to the counter to find, yummy greasy Pizza Hut pizza at least one day a week. The menu changed in 2012 when the nutritional guidelines refined. They required more fruit and vegetables to be served and a switch to more healthy items. The main focus of this change was to target childhood obesity. In order to solve this problem, school would have to switch their lunch programs to be healthier which doesn't come at a low cost if it isn't being used.
The author of this article tackles the controversy over the expenses for these healthier lunches. Some schools are saying that the program is too expensive to run on their own since kids are not buying, therefore they are not using the healthier program. Which at first was not an option, but recently the School Nutrition Association allowed for school to have the right to opt out of the program if they couldn't afford it. Some schools loved the idea of the program and used it as long as they could afford it. Kids on the other hand didn't like the idea so once they heard about the change, they took total advantage of their school's open campus option. Many schools lost money due to this and were forced to not use the healthy program anymore because of expenses. Other schools with  lower incomes thrived with this program because they couldn't afford to drop out of the program and run on their own.
Personally, I think that the healthy lunch program is a great idea. Our generation has it too easy. We are beyond spoiled with everything in life. We need to be okay with change even if it doesn't sound good at first. Yes, everyone loves Subway and their grande java chip frappuccinos, but they are spending just as much on those items as they would be at school. We have to be open to new options and find the best in them. It's hard to eat healthy but once you start doing it daily it will become second nature. We won't even know the difference between white and whole wheat bread because we will have only been introduced to one. Even though the meals won't taste as delicious as a Big Mac they will benefit you in the end. You will actually save money from not eating out and reduce the risk of obesity. On an emotional level, this article angered me at points that students were that against eating healthy they were willing to go to crazy levels to find their way around the system. It makes me worried that people are so against eating healthy when it's a serious problem in the world today as child obesity increases.

ACL Tears In Female Athletes

If you were to ask me where and what your anterior cruciate ligament did three months ago, my response would be in your knee somewhere and I have no clue what it does? This was not the best answer since one of my favorite sports is soccer. Girls’ soccer holds the number one spot for causes of tearing ACLs. This would have been helpful to know before I tore my ACL in this last spring season of soccer.

The authors of this essay bring up a great point. Kwon and Iverson uses facts and studies to express the importance of limiting the amount of ACL tears. Iverson states that at the varsity level 1:100 females tear their ACL compared to 1:500 boys who tear their ACL. With such a high ratio, Kwon and Iverson believe that it is time to make a pre-training period before someone starts their sport to prevent the amount of ACL tears.

I agree with their main point in this essay. I had little knowledge about ACLs and how severe they really were. With the risk being so high, I think it is time to start making ACL strengthening mandatory before your sport. Just like concussion testing this short two to three week period of doing 5-6 exercises at home could prevent so many tears. It would get athletes ready for their sport even if they weren't at a high risk before. It is better to be safe than sorry when you know the recovery period for a torn ACL post-surgery is 6-9 months. 

Also, the author's of this essay wrote in a factual manner. They used facts and studies to back up their main arguments. I like to read these essay's because I can look at the supporting evidence to make my decision if I agree or disagree. Overall, I agree with the author's message that more precautions need to be taken before sports to build up athletes' strength because it really is a life changing injury. 

Will Men and Women ever be equal? Gloria Steinem and Margaret Fuller

Gloria Steinem and Margaret Fuller may have two different personalities but both address a serious topic that not only the United States, but the whole world has been battling: will men and women ever be equal? As we learned in history class, men were the chiefs in the household and hold more authority over women everyday. Women were looked at as the care takers and men provided safety and money. In the 1900s I believe this perception of women had changed. Women started realizing they were just as strong as men and they too could get jobs and provide for their family in different ways. 

Margaret Fuller wrote a very detailed article on this topic. It was quite difficult to understand at times, but it set the scene of how women and men were ranked back in 1840s. She explains that women were looked at as the "weaker party" and should even be given "legal protection" even. She also brings up the point that "all men are privately influenced by women". I agree with this statement. If men didn't have women the household would fall apart the children would be raised differently and not have as much attention from their parents. Lastly, Fuller states "her circle, if the duller, is not the quieter". This implies that even though their efforts may be ignored and not appreciated, they are more important and will help more in the end. Overall, Fuller isn't fighting for women to have men's jobs, but instead have their jobs be more appreciated since men really couldn't survive without the help of them. 

After reading Gloria Steinem's article "If Men Could Menstruate", I can truly say I had never thought about this idea. Her point was given in a creative and funny way. She brought up the point that if men could menstruate "menstruation would become an enviable, worthy, masculine event". Women are still looked at as the "weaker" or "less valuable" role in society. No matter what struggles women face, they always fly under the radar. Men on the other hand, make it known to all the struggles they are facing which isn't bad just a different take on life.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

I find myself on Google everyday, sometimes even more than once. I love the easy access to tons of information and the ability to have any kind of question answered in a heartbeat. I never once thought how getting information that fast would ever be at a disadvantage to me. This article by Nicholas Carr made me question if getting tons of information quickly without lifting a finger was really the best way to learn and expand my knowledge of topics. Clive Thompson explains this by saying, " The perfect recall of silicon memory can be enormous boon to thinking.... but that boon comes at a price". "They supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought. Clive Thompson believes that "the Net is chipping away his capacity for concentration and contemplation". I can relate to both of these, when I read articles on the internet, I tend to lose focus a lot faster since I am just reading random information and didn't have to spend any time finding it. Compared to reading a book, I have to find the right chapter to lead me to the best information which may not directly answer my question but give some background to the topic.  

Though Google gives extraordinary amounts of information in a matter of seconds, I would have to agree that Google is making us stupid. Looking back at all my research projects from fourth grade and below, I used books and hardly any internet sources. I can remember spending so much time flipping pages through numerous books to find a small piece of information for my papers. The research process was much longer, but the positive was that I could trust that the information I was gathering was true. I could site the source easily and see all the sources that were involved in the making of the book. Also, by using a book, I gained other learning skills. I could navigate through chapters by looking at the table of contents. I could use clues from certain pieces of information to lead me to other ideas for my papers as well. At times when I would use Google, I would get more than 50,000 results. How is it possible to trust all those results and find the best one? Also, some of those online articles would be more than 20 pages long without any guidance of a table of contents to find the information I wanted. Many times I would find myself just skimming the pages until something jumped out at me. Bruce Friedman had this same problem, "I've lost the ability to do that. Even blog post of more than three or four paragraphs is too much to absorb. I skim it". 

Overall, Google does provide a great amount of information in a short period, but that information is just given to you after a simple sentence in the search bar. I think it's time to bring back the totally reliable books and encyclopedias for research. Not only will knowledge on subjects broaden but the skill of navigation too. 

The Ethics of Living Jim Crow

The Ethics of Living Jim Crow opened my eyes to a whole new view of the racism against African Americans in the US. I had never heard of "Jim Crow" before and when I looked it up, I was surprised to find out that it was not a person but a set of unreasonable laws that separated the white and black people of America. It set up a system that classified the white Americans to be first class and the African Americans to be second. Some churches would even teach their followers that white people were the chosen ones, and African Americans were placed on this earth to be servants. After learning more about Jim Crow laws, it gave me a better appreciation of all the struggles Richard went through and how he handled them.

In school we learn so much about Civil Rights and all the terrible treatment African Americans endured over the years, but we never always get the straight facts from an African American who experienced it. Having this autobiographical sketch told in first person, I was able to see a different take on all the chaos and cruelty that occurred during the Jim Crow laws era. Though all the stories that Richard told were very extreme, one stood out in particular. The story where Richard got a flat tire on his bike and a white man offered him a ride. I was excited to read that a white man was finally reaching out and helping Richard, but of course it was too good to be true. The fact that white Americans cared so little about what happened to African Americans bothered me so much. I noticed how each little story shared the theme of being reserved and trying to blend in and never stand out. Richard pre-thought each move to make sure he wouldn't be intruding with the white Americans. He also made sure to know his limits when it came to approaching people or even riding his bike at night. He was always walking on egg shells and needed to be ready to react in the proper way even if it was the fairest.

Today, I think that the Jim Crow laws no longer exist, but there are still struggles that African Americans go through each day. Rather than physically being abused during the Jim Crow era, I think they are mentally abused today. For example, whether joking or not the n-word is still used today in high school even if it is in a joking way. Even though laws have been set, I still see a separation between the two races. Hopefully, this will continue to improve in the future, but I definitely think we need to keep progressing towards full equality.

" Talk of the Town"

September 11th, 2001 will always be a day to remember for the United States. No matter what age you were that day, you could feel a sense of sadness in the air. I was four and a half years old and can remember very little about that day. My mom has told me stories that she was getting my brother and I ready for pre-school when she heard on the TV something about planes crashing into the World Trade Center. She watched the TV with big eyes and tried to take in as much information as she could. A wave of sadness entered the room. As a little kid and not knowing much about America's position with other countries, I could only go off of my mother's initial reaction. Today, I would feel a little different about the tragedy that occurred on September 11th, 2001.


After reading these two articles, I feel that John Updike and Susan Sontag have very different takes on what 9/11 did to our country. Looking closer at the two articles, both agree that 9/11 changed America in many different ways. Digging deeper, Updike and Sontag have different opinions if those changes were good or bad, whether we deserved them or not. Furthermore, John Updike states "risk is a price of freedom...with its failings, this is a country worth fighting for". Updike sees the good in America. He believes we are doing things right by having such great amounts of freedom for all, and taking that risk is worth it because that freedom is the best reward. After 9/11, I feel Updike felt hurt. The country that gave its people so much and seemed to be doing everything right had been greatly damaged.  America did not deserve such a tragedy.

On the other hand, Susan Sontag jumped to the opposite side of the issue. She brought up facts about how we have bombed Iraq many times and she questioned how many Americans knew about all those bombings. The part of her argument that shocked me the most is she actually described the terrorists as "...those willing to die themselves in order to kill others...they were not cowards". She was basically supporting their actions and that America or the "world's self-proclaimed superpower" deserved to be knocked around a bit. Later on she also mentioned that our leaders were driving the public the wrong way. They were comforting people and saying that everything would be O.K. but really it wasn't. Due to the bombings, our country would have to enter another war which no one likes to hear. Also, she states "Let's by all means grieve together. But let's not be stupid together". Sontag shows some sympathy for her country here meaning yes, let's be sad about all the losses we had, but there comes a point when we need to snap out of things and find the best solutions so these issues never occur again. America needed this tragedy to wake up and solve some problems.

Personally, I would have to side with Sontag. I believe that Americans experienced a terrible tragedy, but we asked for it. We are always getting into other people's business and not caring about what they are feeling. For example, Sontag talked about the bombings in Iraq. Not many Americans knew about those and about all the innocent citizens who died those days as well. When we are hurt we make sure the whole world knows about it. Sontag also states "Our country is strong....But that's not all America has to be". I believe this statement perfectly describes our country. Yes, we are strong and work hard to help others and protect our citizens, but is there a point when we should rein in our egocentric superpower and let other countries run themselves. I definitely think so.

The Building Blocks of Gabbie!
Hello,
Welcome to my blog! My name is Gabbie Taschwer and I will be a senior at MHS next year. I love to spend time with my family outside as much as possible. I have one brother who's name is Sam. He enjoys playing soccer with his buddies. My mom's name is Lori and my dad's name is Jeff, they both are very outgoing individuals who love to be around people.  Together, my family shares an interest for a unique activity called show skiing. Show skiing is basically water skiing just with a twist. The shows consists of high risk acts that keep the audience on edge the whole time. We spend our whole summers dedicated to this sport, and we train in the off season as well. My job involves show skiing at the Tommy Bartlett Show in the Wisconsin Dells. Show skiing has allowed me to experience the world and the cultures within. I was fortunate enough to travel to China with one of the USA teams back in 2010 and 2012. Traveling to China made me open my eyes to how fortunate I am due to where I live and all that is provided for me.

Although show skiing makes up most of my life, I enjoy many other activities in my life. During the school months, I participate on the volleyball and soccer team. This past school year, both of my sports teams were fortunate enough to win regional championships. It was incredibly exciting to participate in those two games.

When it comes to school, I am a visual learner and benefit from hands-on activities which help me understand the information as well as possible. I enjoy science and math classes the most and find that I am challenged the most in my reading and writing classes. Even though I find myself challenged in those classes, I always try my best and have a determined mindset to achieve the best possible grades I can. After high school, I will be attending a four year college looking at careers in the medical field. I have been drawn towards pharmaceuticals, and I have developed an interest for UW Madison after several college visits. I am very eager to see what the future has in store for me!