🤷‍♂️

Hayley Miller and Arthur Delaney discuss what would take place if schools were to get cancelled due to the coronavirus. They focus on the economic consequences that would occur as a result of the closings, more specifically the effects the closings would have on families who are not financially stable enough to support this occurrence. Parents in this situation would have to make a decision on whether they leave their kids alone at home or with a sibling, or even take leave from work and risk losing their job. They predict that employment would decline by as much as 3 million workers due to the schools closings. Also, 48% of service workers do not have access to pay from sick days, so they would be significantly effected as a result. In conclusion, they believe that mass school closings is highly unlikely, and it may not be needed because children are extremely less susceptible to the symptoms of this strain of coronavirus.

I believe that although it is important to be aware of the potential disruptions to our everyday lives, the coronavirus has been extremely overdramatized by the media and health officials, and we should not be as worried about the future as we are constantly being told we should. I’m not saying the coronavirus is not a world issue, because it is and 100,000 humans infected is no small number. However, I believe that a combination of the lore of the black plague from the 1400s, and the constant implementation of a fear of a worldwide pandemic in forms such as video games or films creates an extreme sensitivity and instability as a result of any news of a possible outbreak, no matter the likeliness of a worldwide pandemic. A prime example of this panic is the current state of the stock market, as it has plunged over the last few weeks, the DOW dropping the most in one day since the 2009 market crash. Nevertheless, I agree it is important to plan for the worst case scenario, and families need to make sure that if schools do get closed, that they can keep their jobs, and still have a situation where their kids get the care they need.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coronavirus-school-closures_n_5e587016c5b6450a30bc4fe2

The illustrator of this cartoon is clearly leaning more left, and he is ashamed of the way the impeachment was handled, but thinks Mitt Romney’s defiance of his political ties is the one bright outtake of this situation. This drawing is in reaction to the Impeachment vote to acquit Donald Trump and both charges, and he is most likely conveying this message to people who agree with his beliefs on the matter. The purpose is to figuratively merge all GOP members besides Romney into a mob group, one that is out to keep power through intimidation and it conveys a feeling of criminality and crookedness. The subject is the vast difference between Mitt Romney and the rest of the GOP. Now, although I do agree that our government’s decisions are fueled more by party pleasing than morality, I also think it is shamefully wrong to twist this as only one party’s problem. This cartoon clearly depicts a seemingly corrupt GOP, that is only persuaded by party beliefs and is knowingly making the wrong decision, but good ole’ Mitt Romney is a Catholic with good values and he made the morally just decision, making him a good person and the rest of the GOP scumbags. But if the tables were turned, I strongly believe a vast majority of democrats would vote not guilty if the charged man was Obama and not Trump, and any democrat that voted against their party would receive the same type of reaction, but maybe on a smaller scale. Now this is not the case, so we will never know for sure, but based off what I see in the media, my assumption would most likely stay true. It is easy for people who are not benefiting from the current government to criticize the government for not benefiting them, and they can accuse them of becoming more of a mob than a political party because they are the majority, they are getting their policies passed. It is this same sore act of retaliation to not getting what you want that can be seen existing in whiny 10 year olds, that also exists in the minds of our government representatives. The majority can dismiss any criticism as the opposing party being salty, and the minority party can criticize the opposing party as power hungry and how this hunger for power affects the due process of our legislation. This clear and outright hypocrisy that exists in the Democrats sourness over their current political situation will surely be repeated by Republicans if there were to be a Democratically controlled congress.

I am writing this late at night, staring at this photo whilst encompassed by a heavy silence and eerie darkness, and I am imagining softly strung chords ringing throughout my room. The picture is so simple, yet it feels so crowded and uncomfortable. I imagine the chilling instrumental harmonizing with the desolation of the Holocaust memorial. I read an article that described the memorial as a current hub for a great game of hide and seek, a place to do things discreetly, and people have drunkenly peed and vandalized these 2,711 concrete blocks. This is a disappointing display of teenage arrogance, as their complete disregard for the weight fo the situation is disgusting to me. I see pictures of people running on the tops of these blocks, smiling and laughing during a game of tag, when this area was created to have an opposite effect on our emotions. This memorial was created to serve as a reminder for the millions of lives lost during the most despicable act in human history, and yet some people use this space to hook up with their crush. There is a degree of respect and class missing in our society today, and these tales of human disregard for the lives lost proves this. I imagine this man is only mourning the lived lost during the Holocaust, but I’d like to fantasize that he’s reflecting on the respect lost worldwide among our world’s youth.

I am writing this as of 6:58 p.m. on Sunday, January 26. This morning, the sad and shocking news of Kobe Bryant and his 13 year old daughter in a helicopter crash has somberly echoed throughout the world. I personally, before his untimely passing, was indifferent on the man, the father, and the legend who was Kobe Bryant. I always knew he was great, but I never knew how great he really was. When I first heard the news, I was stunned, and I was disbelieving and doubting every story I heard, picking apart every detail to find a loophole where this shocking story could still be untrue. Truthfully, I was delaying the inevitable realization of this horrid situation. The realization that our world lost a legend today, and its sad to think about how much untapped knowledge and potential died with Kobe today. Usually, when an awful event or situation occurs, meme culture appears valiantly to mock or lighten the situation, our tensions with Iran as a prime example of this. But today, upon hearing this news, everyone was hurting, and no one was joking. Because whether you adored him or scathed him, you respected him immensely. Kobe Bryant was a fierce competitor, a loving father, and a determined human being who valued hard work above everything else. I do not know if I am a victim of the moment or not, but this death just feels different. This man was so happy, and in what he thought of as the prime of his life, and he worked so hard to become the untouchable legend he was, and yet he is still human. This man ruptured his ACL, then walked calmly to the free throw line and made both shots, this man is held high on a pedestal by millions of aspiring basketball players, and yet he is still human. I was never a devoted fan of his, more a distant admirer, but upon reading various stories about this man, I wish I was a devoted fan. I feel so ashamed of myself that I heard the narratives of Kobe being arrogant and selfish throughout his career, and just instantly assumed they were true, and I based all of my judgements on him based off of these exaggerated insults. I wish I took the time to understand the man, Kobe Bryant. I saw this quote from Kobe Bryant to his daughters on the night of his jersey retirement, “When you get up early and you work hard, those times when you stay up late and you work hard, those times when you don’t feel like working, you’re too tired, you don’t want to push yourself but you do it anyway: That is actually the dream. That’s the dream. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey. And if you guys can understand that, then what you’ll see happen is that you won’t accomplish your dreams. Your dreams won’t come true, something greater will. And if you guys can understand that, then I’m doing my job as a father.” This quote does as good a job as any at displaying a taste of Kobe’s mamba mentality, his champion mentality. There are three main reactions I have noticed towards the passing of a legend. The first is utter shock and disbelief, usually short tweets, simply summarizing their shock, because right away, his death is hard to process. The second is condolences, which sometimes acts as the formal way of displaying their grief over the situation. The third is an anecdote from Kobe Bryant’s extensive life, which usually conveys the most emotion and sincerity. The saddest part of this whole situation is when we learned that Gianna, his 13 year old daughter, along with seven others including the pilot died as well, and that the crash left no survivors. The deaths of the seven others on board were not covered really at all, and in all honesty their only coverage was just their group death total, just a number, not a name. This is especially appalling, because every life is valuable, whether you are Kobe Bryant or a college baseball coach for Orange Coast. It is a tough thought to think about how violently these 9 precious lives perished. This is a day where you truly realize how lucky you are to have your family and friends. Life is a gift, you have good days, bad days, and your last day, live every single one as the best human being you can be.

Everybody knows Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Drake, all are artists who had immense success over the past decade, and their music plays worldwide, gaining billions of streams a year. Drake alone had 28 billion streams over the past decade, however, these household names may have been successful, but how influential were they over the past decade. Personally, the two most influential artists in my life over the past few years were Kanye West and Frank Ocean. First, Kanye West, he entered this decade with one of the best albums of the decade, but more importantly he also teased that album by releasing free music every sing Friday. Then, he followed this musical feat with the release of Yeezus, which is notorious for being oddly experimental, but Kanye did not care as he strived to push the boundaries of the music world, just as he has always done. Then, he started designing and selling Yeezy shoes with Nike, before switching to Adidas to gain more creative control over the brand, and his shoes and clothes’ success implemented him as a cultural icon. And more recently he released an album talking openly about his battle with his bipolar disorder that he so publicly battled in 2018, seemingly every other day there was a new story about Kanye’s outbreaks. But he then came to a realization on what really mattered in his life, and he started to focus more on his family, and religion. Instead of cowering away from his new religious ambitions, because tough and gangster rappers are stereotypically not supposed to be so open and excited about religion, he embraced this religious reawakening, and celebrated it musically. He lost plenty of fans, but he did not care because he realized that he enjoyed making music that makes him happy, and besides, if his so called “fans” left so quickly, were they really his fans in the first place. Next, Frank Ocean, who stormed into the music scene with his debut album, Channel Orange, quickly gained mass attention and success, and he also won two Grammys that year. Also, he sent out a letter in the summer of 2012, publicly coming out as bisexual, inspiring many people who were unsure on whether to embrace their true selves or not to do so. But after this quick success, he went away for 3 years, relatively quiet and out of the spotlight, before announcing the intended release of his next Apple Music exclusive visual album, Endless, and he also would be leaving his record deal as a result of this album. The morning after the release of Endless, Ocean surprisingly dropped another album, titled Blonde. This album shocked so many, as it was revealed that the purpose of the first album was to escape his constricting record deal, and he made an estimated 20 million dollars due to this smart way out of an unfair deal. Frank has inspired many to embrace themselves, to stand up to the bullies of the world, and to do whatever makes you feel happy. In truth, there are so many artists that have influenced and inspired many over the past decade, it is all in the eye of the beholder, but these two in my opinion are the two most influential artists of the past decade.

Website: EpikBeats Article About How Frank Ocean Finessed Def Jam of 20 Million Dollars

Societal constructs interest me. Whether it is just the overall expectance to be polite and respectful, or the confines within the many laws of our American system, many Americans fall into this space of good citizenship. There are the people who are benefiting the most from this society, so why would they ever do anything that would betray our current social constructs. But what happens to the people who feel betrayed and screwed by our system, depressed and not worried about any punishments from their colleagues or the cops. These are the people who are dangerous, insane, menaces, but the thing is they are not hurt by these insults, because in their perspective, they are free. They think they are the ones who know the true meaning of life, and they do not care about social normalities and they are willing to do anything, and people brand them as mentally insane and a threat. But rather, they are just human beings who feel stomped on by the American system, so they feel they owe nothing to anyone except themselves. This is not an acceptable excuse for some of the despicable acts it leads to, but all I am trying to say is when the system betrays you, why shouldn’t they try to get revenge on the system. It is easy to forget that no one person is born evil, rather the cruelty that builds inside a person stems from their environment and experiences as a child. I know a lot of people who would see a suspect in a murder case and think or say, how could someone ever do such a horrible thing. And although it is a scary thought to think that you or any of your friends or family could be capable or such terrible acts, they are because everyone is capable of murder, or any crimes. I’m not saying everyone will commit murder, or even think the slightest thought of seriously murdering someone, only 0.000048 percent of the US population has committed murder. But when someones life is so terrible, they feel that there are limited options for them, their emotional reaction to this tragedy of a life will determine their likely course of action, and in some cases, extreme anger leads to murder. I hope no one ever feels so hopeless that they would ever think of this action, but so many people are so happy that they are blind to this immense struggle and inner turmoil that can happen to any precious soul on this planet. So next time you see a suspect guilty of some terrible crime, do not make their life or the victims an open and shut case, because their legacy and story, good or bad, is more than the one moment that we see on the news.

Source for that one statistic: https://extranosalley.com/what-percentage-of-americans-are-murderers/

Awards shows are annual events that reward people for their successes, and online disputes erupt as a result of these shows, where people share their personal opinions on snubs or defense of the winners. This spectacle over who or what is the best of the year in their field is prevalent in all forms of pop culture, and it attracts many viewers that yearn for validation on whether their pick for the award is the same as the Academy’s. If it is not, they quickly turn to social media, searching for this elusive gift of reassurance, that they are not alone in their viewpoints, and no matter the opinion, they will most likely find what they are looking for. So what is the true value of these ever so elusive and honorable awards. Well it is definitely not the trophy itself, the Oscar trophy for example only cost 400$ to make, and there is a new Oscar rule that “makes each one worth a mere $1”, so it is nothing but a visual representation of the honor given by the almighty and esteemed Academy. Instead, the value for most people is the honor of winning an award while millions watch, and being remembered for that moment where your achievements were celebrated. Personally, I think feeling honored for winning these awards is fair, and they should feel proud of themselves, but I do not think awards are something that should be held in such high esteem by so many people. Instead, I think what should be truly valued is the impact you had on society as a whole during your year of success, and not the impact you had on the elite who vote for these awards. Nonetheless, I will be watching the Oscars on February 9 because Adam Driver in Marriage Story is the best acting performance of the year and he deserves the Oscar for it and no one can tell me otherwise…

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/22/why-oscars-statues-are-only-worth-1.html