DON'T Start School Later

I don't really feel like reviewing another article, but that was really the only idea I had so I thought I would write about this whole petition to start school later.

I don't agree with this and I don't think that it will be easy to sway me in the other direction so I'll try to give some of my logic behind this - I'm not saying it will make sense or anything though.

Reasons That I Don't Want to Start School Later

• First of all, if school starts an hour earlier than it will end an hour later.  Therefore, for high school students in CAP and Magnet, they will not get out of school until 4:00.  For me that would mean I would not get home until 4:30, for most of my peers it means 5:00 or after.  We have A LOT of homework and that hour we spend in school is lost, meaning it is no longer homework time, so we will be staying up an extra hour.  If you're following my logic, we really will not be getting any extra sleep.  Also, sports practices will not end until 6:30, meaning  that we would not get home until 7:00-7:30.

• This petition would make it so middle and elementary schools would start later as well because the buses wouldn't be able to get all three age ranges to school at 8:15.  Elementary schools would not start from 9:50-10:15, which is a HUGE inconvenience to parents.  My parents at least would not have been able to stay home that late.  Many parents need to get to work by 8:00 or 9:00.  They would be an 1-2 hours (even more in most cases) late to work, meaning they would have to stay late and not be able to be there when their kid gets home.

• The petition also says that this will allow kids to get more sleep.  But come on, lets be honest, kids will just procrastinate on their assignments that much longer.  Also, we're just going to stay up later than we normally would because we'll get to sleep later - again, we won't be getting any more sleep.  If kids want to get more sleep than it is their responsibility to do what they have to do and get themselves into bed at a decent hour.  It is no one's fault but their own when they claim that they haven't been getting enough sleep.

I have tons of more reasons for not starting the day later but those are my main ones.  Also, and most importantly, I don't want to start school later.  The afternoon is my time to do what I want to do.  A random hour in the morning is not enough time to let me have soccer practice, or hangout with friends, or go to a movie, or do some other thing that teenagers supposedly like to do.  And losing that time in the afternoon is not going to let me do those things either.

So there you have it.  Please don't make school start later.  Or at least not until I graduate - but even then don't do it either.

Another Passion Post, But its Not Really on a Passion

So this is my second post where we have to write about a passion or something of the sort.  Unlike many of my more inspired peers I will not be dedicating this blog to a certain topic, mainly because I can't really think of one thing to just write about for however long we have to do this.

Yesterday I was looking at different articles on sciencenews.org and I found this one called Fasting Hormone Helps Mice Live Longer, so obviously I opened it.

The author, Tina Saey, writes about a hormone called fibroblast growth factor-21, FGF21, that somehow increases the life span of a mouse.  The average life span of a mouse is about 28 months but 1/3 of the female mice producing FGF21 lived 44 months.

When certain species, like fruit flies and dogs, cut down on calorie intake but still maintain good nutrition, life expectancy is extended.  The hormone FGF21 produces a similar result to caloric restriction by hindering the reactions of a insulin-like growth factor.  This also increases life expectancy.

The mice who were genetically engineered to produce the hormone tended to be leaner and have better health.  However, some of the mice had a low bone density and some females were infertile.

Saey writes that scientists still don't quite understand how FGF21 works.  All that they know for sure is that it is made in the liver and is produces similar results to that of caloric restriction, but the only place the two interact is in the hormone interference of the growth factor.

So for those of you who are still reading this, I think that this is pretty cool. I find that even realizing that it was FGF21 increasing the life span is impressive.  And I think that what the hormone does is even more impressive.  And when scientists figure out how the hormone works, I'll definitely be reading that article.

I'm not sure if I need to make some sort of citation for this article, but I will, just in case, because I don't want to get sued or something.  So:

Saey, Tina Hesman. "Fasting Hormone Helps Mice Live Longer." Science News.
     Society for Science & the Public, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2012.
     <http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/345907/description/
     Fasting_hormone_helps_mice_live_longer>.

This New Post Assignment About My Passion or Something

So today I read this article from the Washington Post called Montgomery County students adjusting to healthier school lunches.  This article sort of inspired this post, but their only real connection is the main topic of nutrition and the role schools play in it.

I'm into the whole healthy eating thing.  I've read some books on different nutritional philosophies and how the human body was made to eat (small amounts of food throughout the day) and what it was made to eat (grains, with all their nutritional values still packed in there, and less than 3 ounces of meat and animal products in general a day, according to Mark Bittman).

Anyways, the point of this post is not to give some lecture on what you should be eating.  I just want state a sort of opinion on the issue revolving around child obesity.

This is where the article I read plays in.  The article talks about how some Montgomery County schools have been introducing healthier school lunches.  I am a big supporter of this, especially because I believe what kids eat at school is a factor in child obesity.

At my school, and at my past schools, the lunches have all been the same.  Greasy pizza (wet cardboard with stiff cheese), nachos (stale chips with oil), slurpees (wonder where those are made...) and so on.  None of these include essential nutrients, or seem particularly appetizing.  These foods, which kids consume once a day for 5 days a week, some more than that if they buy breakfast at school, make up a good percentage of kids' food intake.  These foods are not particularly healthy and they send the impression that these are the foods that one should regularly be eating.

I know this has been kinda disjointed and all so I'll try to sum it all up real quick: I think that if people really want to do something about the child obesity issue it needs to start in the schools, with the schools only offering healthy and nutritional foods, not just some "alternative" that kids are encouraged to take (or required to take but just throw away).

                                     Is this really the best they can do... really, what is that????

Image Source: Gross School Lunch

"Obama and Romney ready to enter the ring" Annotation

I annotated "Obama and Romney ready to enter the ring" by Kathleen Parker of The Washington Post.  Parker wrote about how Obama and Romney currently stand in the election and what role the debates will play for them.  She writes how Romney seems to have lost the majority of women voters and he has insulted the 47% of Americans who do not pay income taxes.  She also writes how Obama is lacking in how Americans view the United States and in his demeanor.

Parker keeps a relatively unbiased position as she reviews the presidential candidates.  I enjoyed this, for it allows the reader to see a fair evaluation of the candidates, instead of only seeing the highlights of one and the faults of the other.

Link to my annotated article

Dystopian Trailer Progress Report

While we finish up on our dystopian movie trailer script and get ready to film, I am creating a propaganda poster for our trailer.  Our movie premise focuses on how machines, specifically phones, are taking over the world.  That is why, in my poster, the central picture is of an iPhone.

I have completed the poster.   It is very simple, so that the central idea is not lost.  As can be seen, the central picture is an iPhone, and on both sides of the phone the poster displays the words "OBEY".  This is to show the machinery gaining control.

This poster will be used during filming.  It will appear as characters go through the motions of their everyday life, whether it be on TV, in a library, or just out on the streets.

Click here for a link to propaganda poster.

5 x 5 Video Project

This is my 5x5 video project.  It shows the walk I take to the bus stop each morning.

1. The first clip shows my feet walking up my street.
2. The second clip is a shows a road I have to cross to get to the bus stop.
3. The third clip shows the bus pulling up.
4. The fourth clip shows the bus pulling into the school's parking lot.
5. The fifth clip shows me walking into the school.

 I created my 5x5 when I was walking to the bus stop one morning.  I used a little hand-held video camera to shoot my clips and I edited my 5x5 with WeVideo.  We video worked really well for me.  It was easy to figure out how to use and easy to use.

I am really proud of my project, mostly because I edited it by myself and learned some basic editing skills while doing so.  I think that it turned out pretty well.  I found some good clips in the ones that I made and put them all together.

I don't really have any ideas for our next video challenge.  I have not really done any video classes so I don't know any typical film projects.  Maybe we add on to our 5x5 with an opening or closing credit and some music. 

Dystopian Trailer Critique

The Hunger Games. Gary Ross. PG-13. 2012
When 17 year-old Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is sent to fight to her death for the entertainment of the cruel Capitol, she uses the opportunity to ignite a spark and start a rebellion against those taking away the freedom of the people.

The trailer for Gary Ross' The Hunger Games is exemplary in its portrayal of a dystopian society, characteristics of the protagonist, and summarizing the movie's plot.  The first thing one notices are the characteristics of the dystopian society which are captured through the telescreens, images of everyone dressed in the same drab grey color, a fence separating the outside world, and so on.  Then one notices the outstanding personality of the protagonist, Katniss.  One sees her ability to hunt, her caring and motherly side, her slightly weaker side, and her strong will to achieve her goals and her courage.  Finally, as the trailer finishes, the viewer comes away with a sense of what the movie will be about.  Through a voice over, one learns what the Hunger Games are; through words one learns of the intensity of the games, and through snippets of dialogue one learns of the struggles the characters will endure throughout the film.

In my dystopian movie trailer I plan to show several shots of dirty, run down neighborhoods to show how the society is falling apart.  I will include pieces of dialogue from the protagonist to help develop who they are and to show what their hopes are to change the society.  Finally, I plan to use words to establish when and where the trailer is taking place and voice overs to help establish the plot.