When will we wake up? When will this nightmare end?

Friday, I had gone through my normal routine of a busy school day, and walked out the door with relief that it finally was the weekend. For 20 students and 6 adults in Newtown, CT this did not happen. When I first heard the news before track practice, I hadn't fully digested what had happened. Runs normally provide an outlet for all of my thoughts and emotions. They give me the opportunity to forget the trivial problems I have throughout the day. Instead, I mulled over the implications of what had just happened, I was crushed. I am the oldest of 5, with 2 brothers and 2 sisters. I have seen all of them progress through all levels of the school system. Currently, one of my sisters is in third grade at Shady Grove Elementary. I can remember the vibrant halls of the school and the air of excitement which accompanied every day. My sister, unlike myself, is incredibly disappointed when she misses school. She loves to learn, she loves the elementary school experience. Elementary school fosters core values for every individual, it makes everyone what they are today. For all of the survivors of the shooting, their innocence is gone. Those children will never get to walk the halls with excitement, happiness, and enthusiasm.

When I envision the horror that ensued within the hallways of Sandy Hook Elementary, my stomach lurches. I am filled with intense feelings of sorrow, pain, and even anger. These young individuals had a whole life to live, they will never get to experience the joys to which we are all expecting to experience in our lifetime. They will never experience the joys of graduation(whether it be elementary school or high school). They will never have first kisses, proms, or weddings. They will never have the opportunity to explore the world for what it is. 6 years is not enough time for any life, the list of what they could have had experienced is nearly infinite.

Additionally, there is the pain for every family. I tried to imagine how much pain I would have felt should I have lost my sister, or any of my siblings for that matter. To have such a strong family tie severed so quickly is excruciatingly painful, it is an irreparable scar. I would never recover, never. I would think that they had not died in peace, those children left the world in horror. Those teachers who risked their lives, like Victoria Soto, also left the world in horror and uncertainty. The reality is incredibly painful, no one should ever be put through such torture. This has influenced me to take a long hard look at the gun culture in the US and how such events are even possible. In the past, I found that gun control would not help significantly and was in favor of what is known as "concealed carry" laws. I reevaluated my views.

America has been hit hard with the events that unfolded over the past week. It has been a wakeup call to the excessive amount of violence that fills our country. Within my short lifetime, I have heard of murder everyday, and the fact of the matter is, that most of us have been desensitized to such violence. It has become commonplace to our culture. In Philadelphia(pop. 1.5 million), the area where I live, there were about 9,000 murders over the course of 23 years. Over 75% of which were at the hands of a firearm.  In the US alone there were 8,775 deaths by firearms in 2010. That is almost 3 times the amount of casualties(2,996) from the 9/11 attacks EACH YEAR.

Now, lets look at the statistics from other countries. In Japan(pop. 127 million), where firearms are completely forbidden, there are 2 murders per year. In Canada, our northern neighbor, the murder rate is 1/5th of ours. Obviously American culture is incredibly different. It is ingrained in our minds, that we are a gun lovin', gun totin' country and that shows in the statistics; we are the country with the highest level of gun ownership.

We will never be able to move away from owning guns. Our nation will always push second amendment rights, it is sacred ground. Put simply, I see nothing wrong with hunting. If that is your hobby, then stick with it. But, where everything comes into question is when we take a long hard look at the sources of mass shootings. First off, I would like to put forth a map of school shootings around the world.

From this image, it is blatantly apparent that the US has been hit hard with school shootings in comparison to other nations. I can recall many mass shootings off the top of my head; Columbine, Virginia Tech, Gabby Giffords, Aurora Theater Shooting, the Sikh temple in Wisconsin, the mall shooting in Oregon, and now Sandy Hook.  Here is a map of shootings since 1999(last updated with Aurora shooting, starting with Columbine):

It is incredibly apparent that we have a problem here in the United States. We can NOT continue to run our country with the same model in place today. Many would argue that these individuals must have obtained the weapons illegally, there is no possible way they did this under our law. The shooter in this recent attack obtained the weapons from his mother, who were purchased legally. Of the 142 weapons obtained in mass shootings since 1982, 75% were obtained legally. I was particularly struck by the graph below:














What use is it for the general public to be armed with assault weapons? The shooter in Sandy Hook had used a Bushmaster .223 semiautomatic assault rifle. The same weapon used by the 2003 DC snipers(which resulted in 10 deaths).  This is the consumer version of the AR-15 used exclusively by the military. The medical examiner in charge of investigating the deaths in Newtown has claimed that all the deaths were at the hand of the Bushmaster .223 from close range. The Aurora, CO shooting also involved a legally purchased assault rifle. In this day and age, what is the point of having such weapons? I understand that the general purpose of the second amendment is to ensure that individuals have the opportunity to revolt against the government should it go awry. But in the modern era, there are so many checks and balances in place, that our government could never go to the extent of requiring an armed revolution to eradicate it. In fact, the government is far too powerful to begin with, that a revolution would be nearly impossible. The argument that assault weapons and quickly reloading weapons with large magazines should be available to the general public is irrelevant, and quite frankly out of place.

With the eradication of assault weapons, one step in the right direction would be present. But, many still believe they should have the right to defend themselves. Would concealed carry solve the problem? When studying attacks in the past, it seems that many would not even be able to defend themselves in time. Mass shooters act quickly and are ready to die. They normally kill themselves by their own hand. The shooter in the Newtown attack moved quickly, the first call of the start of the shooting came about 8 minutes before the call that the shooting had ended. Chances are, a concealed weapon held by one of the teachers would not have been able to solve the problem. Many individuals would be in shock when placed in such a dangerous situation. Killers are ready to kill, many individuals have a hard time justifying killing another being, even when their life is at risk. It is simply human nature.

With the recent reevaluations of our gun laws, many opponents of more regulation say that "guns don't kill people, people do." Guns are the tool which allow the people to carry out such heinous acts. Regulation on guns would help reduce access to the tools. But, we must also address the individuals who carry out the attacks. First, violence is certainly prevalent in the media, but putting blame on video games is simply shortsighted. The real problem lies in the television networks and other news outlets. Following every shooting, media outlets clamor to the site of the attacks and drop everything. For days, they provide 24 hour, around the clock coverage. Suddenly, the shooter is everywhere, his name spreads around the country. Many individuals look for publicity and attention in today's society. Why should we continue to give it to shooters? It only causes lonely, angry, and emotionally insecure/unstable individuals to carry out acts which give them attention. It needs to be the media outlet's responsibility to give much less attention to the shooters, to bring down the coverage. Otherwise, many hopeless and angry individuals will continue to thirst for media attention through committing horrific acts. Roger Ebert, an acclaimed film critic said the following regarding violence and the media following the Aurora shooting;

   "I think the link is between the violence and the publicity. Those like James Holmes, who feel the need to arm themselves, may also feel a deep, inchoate insecurity and a need for validation. Whenever a tragedy like this takes place, it is assigned catchphrases and theme music, and the same fragmentary TV footage of the shooter is cycled again and again. Somewhere in the night, among those watching, will be another angry, aggrieved loner who is uncoiling toward action."

We, as Americans are faced with an incredible dilemma. Our own president, was reduced to tears and could not continue his speech in front of hundreds of representatives from international media. I appreciate the fact that our president is a human being, and he is able to show that in the face of the world. Following the Gabby Giffords shooting in Arizona, Barack Obama vowed to follow through on the promise on working on a solution to quell the violence in this nation. Because it was his first term, Obama was reluctant to take strong action. Now, in his second term, Obama has an incredible amount of freedom to push his belief and bring influence. Obama said,

"As a country, we have been through this too many times. Whether it is an elementary school in Newtown, or a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin, or a movie theater in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago, these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods and these children are our children. And we're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics."

As we move past this tragedy, I think it is time that America takes a long hard look at itself. I ask Obama to be strong in his belief on gun control. I ask Republicans, like myself, to work across party lines to find a viable bipartisan solution. I ask politicians to do their job by finding a solution which can ensure a better and safer future for everybody whether it be in the realm of mental health, gun control, or the safety of our schools. I ask the media to reevaluate itself. Is that Pulitzer really worth invading the privacy of victims and giving attention to individuals who have committed unfathomable tragedies? I ask the NRA to reevaluate itself. Put yourself in the position of the families affected by this tragedy. Would you rather trade your weapons for the lives of many victims of mass murder?

The divisive question of gun control has been an incredible issue in this nation. Finding a solution to this ongoing problem is certainly not going to come easily. If we never try to work on curing this disease which has plagued our country, the situation will only continue to get worse. I never want to think of the possibility of losing any of my friends or family to the hands of a murderer. The beauty of America is our democratic system. When we cooperate and work together, much can be accomplished. It is time to change, to come together, to ensure a better and safer future for our country.

Sources Used:
http://www.juancole.com/2012/07/58-murders-a-year-by-firearms-in-britain-8775-in-us.html
http://cdn3.standard.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/max_800/2012/07/20/story-mass-shootings-web-146689.jpg
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/mass-shootings-map?page=2
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/kristof-do-we-have-the-courage-to-stop-this.html?ref=opinion
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ToHuoOmnXR4/UMyuOMkeJLI/AAAAAAADp6A/hfixOS1I1s8/w497-h373/SchoolShootings.png
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/special_packages/inquirer/Philadelphia_Homicides_1988_2011.html
https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/07/02-5
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/a-land-without-guns-how-japan-has-virtually-eliminated-shooting-deaths/260189/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/files/2012/12/gun-own-rates-oecd.jpg
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/opinion/weve-seen-this-movie-before.html
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22194021/full-text-obama-speech-after-connecticut-school-shooting

Could this upcoming supreme court ruling provide a definitive stance on gay marriage?

As someone who has spent numerous occasions looking into the constitution of the United States, I have taken a very strong stance on gay marriage. When a country was founded on the basis of the separation of church and state, I fail to understand how it is even reasonable for the government to define marriage as a man and a woman. Recently, the supreme court has decided to look into the legality and validity of proposition 8, a California proposition which brought a definite definition to marriage as between a man and a woman. Proposition 8 has been under incredibly heavy scrutiny since its narrow passing and now could be possibly completely shot down. Many proponents of gay marriage are anxiously looking to this decision, hoping that a definite answer can be provided. This opinion piece by Walter Olson published in USA Today questions how important this case may actually be. Olson argues that the Supreme Court is likely to make a very slight decision, one which won't be decisive enough to settle the issue of gay marriage. There are two specific pieces of legislation being scrutinized in the supreme court, proposition 8, as previously mentioned, and DOMA(Defense of Marriage Act). Olson believes that DOMA is likely to be deemed unconstitutional and proposition 8 is up for grabs by a small margin but will probably go the California voters as was previously defined in Hollingsworth vs. Perry. I find it unfortunate that such a situation is possible. When looking at a constitution from a strict POV, there simply is no way that marriage should be restricted. The United States is the supposed land of equality, and until the government acts as such, I fail to agree with such an assumption. In the future, it is my hope that the government takes an assertive stance on this controversial issue and sets the record straight. There will always be individuals who have a skewed and blind perspective and fail to see the injustices of restricting marriage rights. Hopefully, there is a transition where the majority of Americans decide to support marriage equality and take the initiative to truly provide equality for each individual regardless of sexual orientation.
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2012/12/07/gay-marriage-supreme-court/1755135/

IRB Post 3: The drastically conflicting character of Steve Jobs

In my previous posts on Steve Jobs, I raved primarily on how Steve Jobs had somewhat of a tiny upbringing and was passionate about what he did.  The "bad side" of Steve hadn't been exposed at this point. In this section, Isaacson strays away from the chronological progression which had been used in Steve Jobs. Instead, he inserts small sections which delve intricately into interesting yet more minor topics. The two most intriguing topics which Isaacson delved into were the relationship between Bill Gates and Jobs, and the section on Jobs' romantic pursuits(which were shrouded in secrecy until this biography). The fantastic attribute of this textbook is the use of interviews which are tangential to the topic itself. Of course, Jobs and Gates were primarily quoted in the section, but so were many engineers from Microsoft and Apple which had looked at the relationship from the outside. This provided a more three dimensional perspective of the relationship between the two which simply could not have been achieved through just the insight of Jobs and Gates. This section showed that there was a much more mutual relationship between Gates and Jobs than would have been expected. They both depended on each other's successes. The relationship section portrayed a much different side of Jobs. Perhaps the most interesting part was seeing the opinions and thoughts from the women who had dated him. This showed Jobs as a romanticist, something very contrasting from the uptight business character Jobs had been developed as during the beginning chapters.
The greatest insights these small subchapters provide, is the fact that they add greater depth to the chronological story as a whole. The small tidbits derived from each subsection carry through the life story of Jobs and can be traced back. Overall, Isaacson is able to provide a full embodiment of Jobs, where you could see everything from Jobs' perspective and the people who affected and worked with him. I began this text was a very strong understanding of the textbook history of Jobs and Apple. But seeing this whole new dimension is incredibly captivating to the reader. Isaacson certainly kept in mind the audience of this book, by appealing to both the Apple history newbies and the buffs. This simply is not a normal chronology of Jobs' life, it is a window into his world with vivid and excruciating detail. I have been intrigued throughout, questioning the public opinion of Jobs. If anyone were to make a comment on Jobs, I sure hope that they at least have read this biography. Experts on science speak about science, but only after they have learned from textbooks. This is essentially the textbook for Steve Jobs, and should be required reading for anybody who intends to speak about him.

A divided government: The dark art of "filling the tree"

America is at a crucial point in its history, where every political action carries incredible weight. As stated in my earlier post with the political cartoon, it is crucial that our nation moves forward by working across the aisle rather than continuing to gridlock. This article provided a different perspective on the source of gridlock within the senate. In fact, it showed that this is not even a new occurrence, that gridlock has been occurring for years. It simply has been growing in magnitude. This article published in the NYT and written by Jonathan Wiseman, begins with an explanation on background of the issues plaguing the senate. The concept of "filling the tree" is introduced. This has been a strategy utilized by the majority of the senate(primarily the democrats) over the past few years. "Filling the tree" is matched with strong filibustering on the part of the republicans. This has left senate in a stalemate, where even the simplest legislation requires a supermajority to pass. Wiseman presents the information in a very unbiased manner remaining neutral. Both perspectives are presented equally, where many seem to have claimed the senate itself has always been incredibly gridlocked. Wiseman also pulled information from political science majors to explain the perspectives. Not only does this establish a sense of ethos and legitimacy, but it also provides a greater sense of persona and color to the text. The interviews assisted in my understanding of the topic. The use of a graphic also assisted in showing the drastic increase in the use of the dirty political tactics. The graphic is below:

The top line is a representation of the number filibustering practices and the bottom line represents the use of "filling the tree". Below the line graph is a representation of the majority and minority parties for each senate. This clearly shows the dramatic shift in use of dirty tactics and really struck a nerve in my mind. Hopefully in the future our nation is able to overcome the political pandering and to come together as one productive unit.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/us/politics/new-senates-first-task-will-likely-be-trying-to-fix-itself.html?pagewanted=1&hp&gwh

Preparing for the worst: The growing survivalist industry

Sandy laid a devastating blow to the northeast US, causing widespread power outages and billions in damage. Accompanying this were gas shortages and scenes that would have been thought to be post-apocalyptic. This had left a great deal of fear within the thoughts of Americans, but that fear had already been present with many other Americans. Thus, the prepardness industry was born. This article follows the life of Ron Douglas, a suburban dad who started a preparedness company. From the beginning I was struck by the image chosen for the article. This image shows his fairly large family of 8 surrounded by an incredible spread of materials. Who has over 20 barrels of rice and solar panels in their basement? Ron Douglas does. The article starts off with a presentation of Douglas grabbing a coffee at Starbucks(seemingly breaking the persona of a typical survivalist.) An exposition explaining the industry itself is first presented. Then, a background is presented on how Douglas moved into the industry and what prompted his interest. The whole story seems to look at his life in an almost ironic sense. Most suburbanites would not be thought to be preparing for the worst as he does. By using this irony, the article attempts to smash the stereotypes often associated with an individual who is a survivalist; a rural conservative. This is also the aim that Douglas himself wants to create. He wants every individual to be prepared, regardless of political stance, and that was evidenced by the stark contrast presented by the booths at his expo. A local tea party delegation was present along with an organic juice company, two organizations you would never expect to see in the same room. This article was part of the NYT magazine and was written by Keith O'Brien, a frequent contributor to the Times. His use of interviews and imagery of Douglas' life provided great perspective on the character of Douglas. O'Brien was able to present  the aim of Douglas while still presenting background on the individual himself. His writing was very effective and concise. In the future, it will be interesting to see how relevant the movement remains.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/magazine/how-to-survive-societal-collapse-in-suburbia.html?pagewanted=1&gwh&ref=global-home

Political cartoon post election: exactly mimicking my thoughts

When browsing time earlier today, something in the political cartoons really caught my attention. Why is that? It is because the cartoon resonated exactly with my concern for the future of this country. Here is the cartoon in its full glory:

Source: http://ideas.time.com/2012/11/08/cartoons-of-the-week-november-2-9/?iid=op-article-cartoonweek

Our country is attempting to escape the economic depths which are at its deepest since the great depression. Yet, our congress has the lowest approval rating ever. This is caused by strong political divide between the GOP and Democrats. America has taken on an unfortunate mentality of "my team is better than yours." and this represents the failures and shortcomings of the American two-party system in this day and age. Politicians simply can not be bipartisan anymore. In Mitt Romney's concession speech he urged politicians to "work across the aisle", if Romney had run off that platform from the beginning he would have had mine and many other moderate's vote. But, the extreme right conservative base has restricted the GOP candidate's mobility. For the successful future of the GOP and America in general, a transition must be made, where compromises are made. Compromises built this country, and it is time to return back to thinking in the general well-being of this nation. This cartoon represents that great divide confronting our country. On the left is Obama and the democrats celebrating their win, which is appropriate. But, on the left the GOP is celebrating a loss. This right off the bat, creates a strong sense of irony. Wouldn't you want to reevaluate your party values if the election was unsuccessful, so the party could win in the future? Instead, the group is adding "gridlock" into the mix. Which implies the notion that the GOP-controlled house will block all forthcoming legislation to put the president in a negative light. Put simply; this is ridiculous. This cartoon incites anger within me, forming a strong sense of pathos without any real strong words. It incites fear, fear of a tomorrow marred with a lack of progress and improvement. The author's intended purpose was to show the division present, this then creates an assumption that our country will not move "forward" as was the campaign slogan for Obama, and will rather be stuck like a traffic jam. This cartoon was taken from the International Herald Tribune which is the global version of the New York Times, a very popular source for US politics news. This cartoon brings out the greatest disappointment currently present in the dirty game of politics, I can only hope that in my future my peers and I can rid this gridlock and bring unity to a great nation in need of an economic recovery.

Steve Jobs entry two: From the first encounter to the first polished product

Steve Jobs continues to deliver on its original hype with the next reading I completed. At first glance, I was incredibly surprised to see a biography at 500+ pages, it would seem as if the text was written as a textbook on Steve Jobs. As I progressed into the second section of my reading, I began to understand why the book looks so thick. The level of detail presented with each story in Steve Jobs is simply impeccable. As someone who has a great deal of background knowledge on Steve Jobs, it was incredible to see how much I never knew about him, and to see the small details, such as the fateful day when Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak met was really enlightening. It is no question that the author, Walter Isaacson, spent many days talking to Jobs about his life and the intricate details of every scenario. That being said, the book still seems concise, as I felt like I was flying though time as each story was linked together. Isaacson accomplishes an incredible feat in writing; providing a great depth of detail in an incredibly concise manner. This reading section went from the spawning of Steve Jobs longtime friendship with über tech-nerd Steve Wozniak. Wozniak is described in great detail as someone who was incredibly tech savvy, more so than jobs. They would then become the power duo, with Jobs being the business/marketing end, and Wozniak being the technical end. Isaacson described the couple through metaphors; "Wozniak would be the gentle wizard coming up with a neat invention that he would be more than happy to give away, and Jobs would figure out how to make it user friendly , put it together in a package, market it, and make a few bucks." (Isaacson 30) Isaacson also furthered the less-than-perfect character of Jobs. Many saw Steve Jobs as someone who was perfect from the start, but in actuality, Jobs had no real direction in life before Apple grew to its success(which began at the end of this section with the Apple II). Vivid imagery is utilized to portray Jobs' "experimental" period. Jobs would often take LSD, and went on a trip to India to discover himself. He came back a buddhist, a religion to which he held onto until his death. Perhaps the most interesting tool that Isaacson utilized in this section was intricate characterization of each individual that had an impact on Jobs' life. Isaacson split each chapter into specific sections which furthered the characterization of less-important individuals; such as his high school girlfriend. These sections also included interviews from the actual people themselves describing Jobs' own character. This really gave many different angles on Jobs, not just a one-sided perspective. Isaacson's book continues to impress and I can not wait to see how the rest of the story progresses.

Why are our brains so large?

How humans came to the point they are today is quite impressive, and is one of the greatest questions facing mankind. In this article, Michael Balter looks into the least understood and most complex human organ; the brain, and explores as to why it is so disproportionately large. When compared to other species, the human brain is significantly larger and has allowed humans to reign the earth. But, then, why do other animals not have the same size brain? The brain of our closest evolutionary relative is a chimpanzee whose brain is even 1/3 the size of ours. This article cites the "social brain hypothesis", which is the most widely accepted theory. Researchers believe that our complex social relationships are the cause for the size, as other species have much simpler relationships within their population. In fact, studies are being conducted to see if there is a direct correlation between brain size and a persons ability to be social(as shown by the number of facebook friends) But, a striking majority of scientists disagree with this theory as they believe it is incredibly simplistic and narrow. Alternative theories cite "social learning" as the main cause which would be the main force behind acquired foraging methods and tool discoveries. One thing is for certain; this is a massive question perplexing scientists which will always remain relevant, almost as complex as determining the origins of life on earth. This article was posted on slate.com which is a trusted news source created to bring up interesting and perplexing questions regarding primarily scientific issues. The author clearly defines the subject of the text by explaining the background regarding the human brain. The audience was also kept in mind as the author utilizes allusions to The Wizard of Oz and has a unique engaging style. Through the use of references to recently conducted studies, Balter is able to establish Ethos furthering his awareness of the audience. Overall, this builds an article that is effective in providing the current knowledge regarding the size of the brain in an incredibly concise manner, a stylistic approach which Slate typically employs successfully. Certainly, this question will be quite perplexing in the future, and may always be answered through theory rather than fact, but would we be asking such a question had our brain been smaller?
Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_evolution/2012/10/human_brain_size_social_groups_led_to_the_evolution_of_large_brains.single.html

Space Exploration: A visual history

Space; something so vast, a place where humans will never know the full extent of. There has always been a natural fascination associated with space, and recently I had heard the news of Voyager I entering the interstellar space. This is quite an accomplishment as Voyager I would be the first man-made object to exit the solar system. So where have we concentrated our efforts thus far? This infographic provides a beautiful method for arranging all of the missions left from earth. I was astounded by the amount of information that could be derived from such a seemingly simple image. Several lines represent where the various missions have been to, and the orbits of those trips. The greatest concentration of lines wrap around the moon as the other 7 planets plus the sun are represented. I think this image carries even further significance when taking into consideration the current financial situation of the US. At this point in time, the US has cut down on NASA funding, which I found incredibly disappointing. NASA has accomplished fantastic and incredible things, and this infographic supports this view. This infographic is supported with sources on the bottom and is found on the largest infographic website visual.ly. It is extremely effective at illustrating its point and certainly does it in a beautiful manner as well.  It truly is incredible and powerful to see human achievement plotted in one image.

Comparing Payroll to Winning Percentage in the MLB

A common conception would be, that the more money is invested in something, the better it will perform. In the realm of sports, this would seem to ring true. In this article, the correlation between a team's payroll and win percentage is explored. This article first peaked my interest, because I know that the Phillies had the second highest payroll and did not even make the playoffs. This article was posted in Freakonomics, a blog which was spawned from the original text Freakonomics. On this blog, hidden trends in data are explored in-depth, similar to what the book had achieved. The author, David Berri, found that this year showed that having a higher payroll did not necessarily mean a successful team. This bucked the trend from previous years. But, he did argue that it was only not statistically significant 5 out of the last 24 years. Which is an incredibly low number. Berri argues that salaries within baseball players can be inconsistent with the productivity of many rookie players. This, therefore, throws off the statistics regarding the salaries of players. Berri utilizes anecdotal evidence to refute some trends. He also appeals to logos on multiple occasions when looking into trends, and causes the reader to reevaluate the trends in data. This thought process of evaluating numbers is the reason why Freakonomics is so successful, because it attributes real life to a set of numbers. Therefore I found that the article provided a great deal of analysis on the trends between salary performance, which was the intended purpose. 

Steve Jobs: A book which carries so much weight.

Following the death of Steve Jobs, many were looking for the release of Walter Isaacson's biography on the man himself. It was met with a great deal of anticipation and extremely high expectations. After reading the first chapter, I can say without a doubt that Isaacson successfully captures the essence of Job's that is required to write such a hotly anticipated topic. Isaacson is known for writing a great deal of other biographies, and before Steve Jobs he was known for his highly acclaimed biography on Abraham Lincoln. Chapter 1 of Steve Jobs  is aptly titled Childhood. In this chapter, Jobs provides a background perspective on where Jobs came from. It provided a perspective of a very troubled child, one who never really fit in. Jobs was found to be extremely intelligent though; in fourth grade he was found to have the intelligence level of a high school sophomore and was recommended to skip two grades. I really enjoyed this chapter as it provided a perspective on Jobs that I had never knew. The chapter was particularly enhanced with a great deal of dialogue. Some stories could be played out as flashbacks through Isaacson's mix of vivid imagery and first person imagery. The reason why this biography is particularly effective, is the fact that Isaacson had many interviews with Jobs before his death. This allowed him to really develop a full character of Jobs which plays out through the first chapter, and should throughout the rest. Isaacson plays out Jobs' life as if it was a fictional story, everything seems so vivid as if you were in Jobs' life yourself. I found his writing quite impressive, and was never bored. I really look forward to seeing how Jobs evolved over time, and to see the many different stories that were never revealed before.

Nursing Your Sweet Tooth: A fantastic and effective infographic on America's consumption of sugar

Sugar; who doesn't love it? Virtually every individual in the world has a sweet tooth. In my case, I have a problem with consuming a great deal of sugary drinks, mostly caffeinated drinks. This image certainly hit home because of the message it was sending. The infographic is produced by a website which has a nursing program. The infographic itself provides a multitude of sources from respectable outlets and institutions. Incredibly startling statistics are provided by the infographic. Consumption of sugar has increased exponentially in America since 1822. The average American had consumed 42g of sugar in 1822, that is equivalent to only one can of soda in today's terms. The images provided show huge quantities of sugars in comparison to measly amounts from the past. This contrast really provides a perspective on how outrageous sugar consumption is today. The infographic's effect peaks at the end, where sugar is compared to be more addictive than cocaine. This suggests that America is hooked onto something more addictive than a hard drug, quite astounding. The appeal to emotions(pathos) is incredibly prevalent in this piece, as every statistic is really shocking. This causes the audience to question their daily consumption.  The infographic had an extremely profound effect on me, and had caused me to question my daily consumption of sugary drinks. Just looking at the list of complications caused by too much sugar caused me to cringe. The intended effect of this infographic was certainly felt.
Source: http://images.onlinenursingprograms.com.s3.amazonaws.com/nursing-your-sweet-tooth.jpg

iPhone 5: David Pogue's Take

The iPhone is a product which has seemed to be unsurpassed in popularity. As the new iteration of the iPhone arrives, iPhone 5, people are eager to see how it performs. In this text, David Pogue, a well-respected technology columnist for the New York Times evaluates the iPhone 5 and provides his perspective on the new device. Pogue is an emmy award winning technology expert for CBS news and has been writing for the New York Times since 2000. In his review, he gives the iPhone 5 high marks, but knocks it for the new lightning port which requires an adapter to function with older technology. Pogue's peice is full of rhetoric, which creates a solid review and really accomplishes its intended purpose of allowing the reader to evaluate the iPhone. In his review, Pogue provided many images/graphics to illustrate his points and support his opinion. These images furthered my understanding of his points. Additionally, Pogue utilizes a theoretical situation, of an "iPhone 101" which is also an extended metaphor. This metaphor served to refer to the iPhone's success as a class, a set formula and the new iphone was evaluated to see how it fit in with that formula.  It also could be considered a brief anecdote around which the review is structured. I believe that this metaphor really made the review successful, as I could connect with it, and the reasoning behind his opinion.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/technology/personaltech/apples-iphone-5-scores-well-with-a-quibble-review.html?pagewanted=all

Custom Organs: The new age of science.

   The human body is miraculous in so many ways, but even sometimes the incredible human body fails. In many situations, organs simply stop functioning, leaving individuals in very dangerous life-threatening situations. Often, these individuals are left with no options, although some modern inventions had been successful, such as the Jarvik artificial heart. But, these are simply machines. Scientists have now created something, that almost looks as if it is out of a scifi film, healthy organs created out of human's own cells. This is all created by the adult stem cells, which are extremely successful at rebuilding tissues. The stem cells build off of minute fibers called scaffolding. This technology is still extremely experimental and is costly. But, it could prove to be the a savior for millions in the future. This article is from the New York Times and is written by their science columnist, Henry Fountain. This article was mostly written to explain how technology is advancing and to show another use of stem cells and was meant for the typical reader of the New York Times. The author mentions a few examples of situations in which the technology has benefited individuals and refers to interviews conducted with scientists and recipients of the new science. The purpose was certainly portrayed and sent strongly. I gained an understanding of the new technology that has evolved and also understood how important it would be in the future. This, in my belief, was the purpose of the article, and the inclusion of the interviews with scientists and the recipients reinforced my understanding.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/health/research/scientists-make-progress-in-tailor-made-organs.html?_r=1