Final Blog Post

Tonight I read an article on New York Times website called Beyond Them and Us: Films About Israeli Arabs by Robin Pogrebin.  This article was about how a woman by the name of Carole Zabar is heavily involved in a cause that informs people of the truth of the Israeli Arabs.  They seem to have a bad reputation from the Holocaust and all and she is aiming to change that reputation of them one person at a time.  She says, “I want people to see Israeli Arabs as human beings,” she said. “Not just as human beings — as citizens that contribute to the vibrancy, the cultural life of Israel”.  I feel this is a very strong statement that is not to be pushed aside.  Her method of informing the people of her beliefs is by hosting and sponsering a film festival titled The Other Israel Film Festival, which is a festival in which she shows films of what real Isreali culture is like.  Through doing this it will give people a much clearer explaniation of what they really are like, and realize there not these horrible people make them out to be.  

Outside Reading Blog 9

This weekend I read of course the Odyssey, and I also read People Magazine on the bus ride to Camp Castaway.  The article I read was titled 'Improve Your Sleep' by unknown and gave four different products that can help improve your sleep!  The first one they described was, take a warm bath.  By taking a thirty minute soak before you go to bed at night, you will just sleep like a rock because you are so relaxed from the bath.  They also recommend products such as Origins Calm To Your Senses bath salts and EO bath salts.  Secondly, give skin a soothing scent, this Sleep lotion it's called is a lotion that has soothing herbs and scents in it which help you relax.  Vanilla, lavender, and chamomile are all examples of what's in this soothing lotion.  Third they discuss discover relaxing oils, which talks about how if you add a drop of these little scented oils to either shampoo, your bath, or lotion and massage it into your body or leave it next to your bed you will take in the scent and instantly relax.  Which allows you to sleep much heavier and healthier.  Lastly create a calming bedroom was the topic.  Through just making your bedroom have a cozy feel with a spritz of aromatherapy will make you want to go to bed, and enjoy sleeping!  This article really helped me learn many ways to help my sleeping patterns and get the most out of the hours that I can.  

Teenage Heroes final (heroes in a box project)

When I first sat down to do my Heroes in a Box project I was trying to think of a topic that I could easily relate too.  The one that primarily popped into my head was female athletes, then female musicians, and finally I landed on the idea of teenage heroes!  I choose this one because I am a teen and there are so many stories out there of teens doing great work that I have never heard of.  As I dug deeper into the artifacts of this topic I found that teenage heroes can be broken down into two main categories, silent heroes and recognized heroes.  One is no better or worse then the other, just different.

Silent Heroes

The book Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce is a story of a girl named Keladry of Mindelan who has finally achieved her life-long dream of being a knight.  While fighting in battles she did some quite remarkable things, she would go to the bad guys 'base' and free knights from her side.  She would sneak in and pretend to be a maid for the bad guys and then free the good guys from the cells.  Keladry of Mindelan is a great example of a hero who wasn't given any honors or awards of what she did.  All she received in return was the praise and thanks from the people she rescued.

My Hero

by Keri

You may not consider yourself, But you may very well be A leader, a winner, For all the world to see. In the eyes of others, You are a martyr. You have received recognition, And you have worked harder. But why ? Why all the praise? I have done nothing but kept my word, To a dear friend who needed me, In every incidence that occurred. But friend, I tell you, you are a hero. You helped me see the light. When I had no eyes, You saved me, and you were my sight.

This poem was written by a teenager last year and to me is a really powerful message.  It is another example of a silent hero, the author describes how even just being a good and faithful friend to someone call qualify you as a hero.  Also that most of the time one does not realize that they are a hero in someones eyes but really and truly you mean so much to them.  

'Hero' By: Mariah Carrey

(sorry! the embedding wouldn't work)

This is a video of Mariah Carrey preforming her song 'Hero' and she is a teen who 

wrote this powerful song about  heroes. To me the song means that everyone has a

hero within them somewhere, and it's just a matter of finding it and using it. Even

when times get tough and you feel like there is no hope left, dig down deep into 

yourself and you will find that there is a hero within you.

Recognized Heroes

Teenage Heroes commended for Bravery

This article was published in a California newspaper and is about how teens from

California saved a young girl from a car crash. She was stuck in the car and the

teens got her out safely. The picture is them when they were being commended

for their brave actions.

Hayden Panneteire Saves the Whales 

This video is about how Hayden is involved in saving the dying whales in the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California.  She went there and cleaned up and did what she could to help. This is significant because clearly whales dying wouldn't directly have anything to do with Hayden, but she went above and beyond to help save them.  To me, this makes her a hero.

Family Saved From Burning House by Teenage Heroes

This article is about how a boy named Reece was in the building dropping something off for a friend and the building caught on fire.  As he was trying to escape the burning building he found two little children who were frightened and didn't know what to do.  Reece went in and got them to safety just minutes before the whole building fell to ashes!  Reece is a teen hero because of his bravery while rescuing the children.  This is important because without Reece, those children probably wouldn't have lived.

In conclusion teenage heroes come in all shapes and forms.  They can be male or female, old or young, modest or bold, and thought out or lucky!  That is what made this such a fun project, you learn so much about real people of today's US and what they have done to contribute.   I hope to one day be someone's hero, weather I'm a teen or not it would still be quite the honor.

Outside reading Blog 8

I currently read an article entitled 'Report Studies Chronic Absenteeism in City Schools' by Jennifer Medina, and it was about how over 90,000 students in the New York area elementary schools are missing total over a month of school a year.  This means that about 20% of New York's kindergarten through sixth grade students are missing an average of 30 days a year of school.  This is statistic is unbelievable! The author reported, "The situation was even worse in older grades — 40 percent of high school students and 24 percent of middle school students were absent for at least one month — but the report focuses on elementary schools because absenteeism among young students is less widely discussed even though it is believed to worsen over time and lead to dropouts."  It just blows my mind that people can miss that much school.  Though the article did discuss how it is harder for under privileged and living in poverty were the ones making up most of the statistics.  It is hard for them to get to school everyday with all else that is going on at with their families and/or themselves.  After the administrators read these numbers they decided they needed to take action with the elementary school students.  There plans of action  were very simple, to make school a fun and place where students were excited to come everyday.  A place where students felt welcome and felt safe.  Once they focused on this idea, it started working and along with making the attendance policies are a lot stricter, the number of absentees is much smaller.  

Teenage Heroes

Lady Knight (Protector of the Small) (Mass Market Paperback)

Teenage heroes commended for bravery

Teenage heroes come to rescue of disabled man

Family saved from burning house by teenage heroes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWlS8Oerx8o -Mariah Carey: Hero video

Hayden Panettiere for the Whaleman Foundation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOzIA6zCsKQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wadBQcTNvzE-Justin Timberlake at golf tourny

Outside reading Blog 7

This weekend I read an article from the New York Times Online called 'A Golden Dollop of Motherly Comfort' by A. O. Scott and this article is a review of the recently released movie 'The Secret Life of Bees'.  This book is one of my favorite books of all time, so I am really excited to see the movie!  By reading this review makes me want to see it even more now, the Times gave it a pretty positive review.   Also I love Dakota Fanning, she is such a cute girl and would fit the part of Lily Owens like a glove.  She is an actress that I can connect too, which shows that she has a lot of talent.  Although I am a little unsure about Queen Latifah playing the role of August.  To me Queen Latifah is a loud, funny, and gregarious, which is not the personality of August.  Hey you never  know though, she may play her just wonderfully.   

Outside Reading Blog 6

In the Mpls., St Paul Magazine I again read an article titled 'First Families of Architecture' by Linda Mack.  This article was about three different couples individual stories about architecture in the Twin Cities area.  The first couple is John and Sage Cowles, they together were the master minds behind the architecture of Spring Hill, The Guthrie (see picture), St. Croix family farm, Walker Art Center, Washburn loft, Shubert Theater, University of Minnesota's center for dance and the flash electric house on 247 10th avenue south.  All of these buildings are beautiful buildings that are known for their architecture.  The second couple Ken and Judy Dayton were the architects for Southdale shopping center, Ferndale Road house, IDS center, Orchestra Hall, Metrodome, and the Lake of the Isles house.  All of these buildings are very noble forms of architecture and places Minnesota is really proud of.  Lastly Penny and Mike Winton have contributed to Minnesota's architecture by creating the Rand Tower, Stillpond, Rapson House, Johnson House, Gehry Guesthouse, Wells Fargo Center, Weisman Art Museum, Redeemer Baptist Church Renovation, and the Mpls. Central Library.  All of these places are astonishing places that have had a lot of thought put into them thanks to the Weismans.  After reading about all of these great accomplishments has inspired me to consider becoming an architect.   

Outside reading Blog 5

This weekend I read an article called 'Frugal Chic' by Brian Lambert in the Mpls., St Paul Magazine.  The article starts off saying "Where do tastemakers go for steals, deals, and meals? Our editors best sources are no longer an insider's secret."  This first line sums up what the article is about, it describes how people just love finding the bargains.  No matter if it's using coupons or checking the 'sale' racks but it's such a rush to snag a great deal.  Also it discussed how now with stores such as H&M, Target, and IKEA finding great chic merchandise for cheep is very easy!  On top of that, having these stores online makes purchases just a couple clicks away.  After I read the article I turned the pages and they had two different pages of inexpensive ways to furnish your house or yourself.  The first called 'Frugal Furnishings' which was the furniture and things for ones home, and the second called 'Frugal Fashion' which was the clothes and shoes for someone.  Both of these pages were full of very helpful information and great ideas.

Outside reading Blog 4

This week I was traveling to Philadelphia and while I was on the plane I was reading many different magazines.  I read everything from People, to Teen Vogue, to Lacrosse Magazine, to Health, to LAX monthly.  My favorite article out of all the magazines I read though was one in People about America Ferrera, it was written by Janice McKlenne.   The article was about how she has had such a successful career with the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies, and with Ugly Betty.  Really though, to have that much fame all happen within the past 3 years is quite the accomplishment!  Also the article talked about how America and her mother had become very close throughout her life because she was the youngest of six children all raised by a single parent, her mother.  One of her family’s requirements was to graduate from college.  Every one of her siblings had made it though with a college degree and she wasn’t about to give up the family tradition for acting.  Over all this was a very informative article, along with being very inspiring to people whom want to go after their dreams.  

Outside reading Blog 3

Tonight I read an article titled 'Recruiting Gone Crazy' by Alexander Flemmore in my Lacrosse Magazine.  This article was about how colleges are recruiting juniors in high school to come play lacrosse for their teams is entirely different then say six years ago.  Now-a-days aspiring girls are making phone calls, sending e-mails, joining club teams, playing high school leagues, making highlight videos, going to camps, spending weekends at colleges, working with personal trainers, etc., where six years ago most aspiring girls would just apply and get accepted!  The number of lacrosse playing girls has gone drastically up, and the competition has gone up with it.  It's not easy to get into a college just because you know how to play lacrosse.  The article also included different quotes from high school juniors about the recruiting process and how they feel about it.  Most said it was very stressful but worth it in the end.  My hope is to play lacrosse in college so this article really helped give me some insight into what it takes to do that.  

Outside reading Blog 2

This weekend I picked up the Health magazine again and read an article titled 'The amazing benefits of milk' by Rachel Nungrum.  In this article there were three things that doctors have proven that milk can do, (besides the obvious things such as gives you strong bones, etc. ).  The first thing they mentioned was that it was a great moisturizer for your entire body.  This is true because of all the vitamins with in milk such as vitamin A, vitamin B, and lactic acid.  Then it gives you a recipe to make a wonderful moisturizer out of milk, honey, and water.  Second they explained that milk is proven to be a good eye gel.  Who would have thought that by taking a cotton ball, dipping it in milk and placing it on your eyes it will get rid of the puffiness and the swelling in your eyes.   This works because of the fat that is in milk hydrates and penetrates the skin.  Lastly, they wrote about how milk is a PMS fighter.  Women who drink milk and get all the vitamins within milk are proved to have lighter menstrual cycles.  The vitamins create some sort of layer in a women's stomach, which results in less cramping during periods.  

Outside reading Blog 1

I currently just read a magazine article titled 'Do vaccines really cause autism?' by Audrie Gingerford in Health magazine.  It was about how over 5,000 females have filed court claims blaming vaccine makers for their children's autism cases, while the research says that they have no correlation.  In the mid-1970's the autism rate was about 1 in 470 children, and today it is about 1 in 150.  This is a very big increase for just thirty years.  On the contrary many children who are diagnosed with autism today would have been diagnosed as mentally retarded or as having a speech disorder.  This being said the number of autistic children today has increased, while the number of mentally retarded or children with a speech disorder have decreased.  Which is the opposite from back in the mid-1970's.   Researchers have done more research on this topic since a lawsuit was just settled about a young girl who was diagnosed with autism after she received a vaccine, and it still shows that there is no correlation between the two.  Though some people have a hard time believing this, but as of now there is no correlation between the two.