John Irving was born on March 2, 1942. His fame has increased over the years and his career took off after he wrote his famous novel The World According to Garp. Two of his novels, The Cider House Rules, and A Prayer for Owen Meany have been best sellers and also made into very successful movies. Irving grew up as the son of an Exeter faculty member. It is believed that his father, Colin F.N. Irving, and uncle H. Hamiltion “Hammy” Bissel are portrayed through characters in many of his novels. The Cider House Rules movie won a 1999 Academy award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Irving began writing when he was twenty six years old and published his first book, Setting Free the Bears. The novel got fair reviews, but didn’t gain the popularity he had hoped for. John Irving published The Cider House Rules in 1985. The book is focused around abortion and many have paralleled it to Oliver Twist. The story is set in rural Maine in the first half of the century. Dr. Wilbur Larch is the founder and director of an orphanage in the town of St. Clouds. The story is about the doctor and his favorite orphan, Homer Wells, who is never adopted. Dr. Larch performs abortions secretly due to all the back-alley abortions of the time, and upon learning his secret, Homer expresses his discomfort and disapproval of the doctor’s actions. Homer then meets Candy Kendall, and they have a child named Angel. Angel then meets a girl and they get pregnant. Homer performs the abortion, and goes back to the orphanage to take Dr. Larch’s place. This book is going to be very interesting to read and I’m looking forward to learning the history behind the time period of the book and more on John Irving’s life.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
MHS Needs a Snow Day
The weather reporters are calling for four to five inches of snow between now and 11 in the morning tomorrow. It’s one of those nights where all of the teenagers of Mariemont High School are desperately wishing for a snow day. So just give us one already! It’s exam week, and all of the students are cramming in preparation. As if that’s not bad enough, the seniors are absolutely swamped with work… (Thanks, Mr. Becksfort.) Not only do we have to worry about our final this week, but we are also loaded down with SRP modules, which, don’t let the name deceive you…they aren’t fun. At all. It would be so tremendous if we could have a day tomorrow to prepare just a little more for this miserable week. We would come back on Tuesday ten times stronger and ready to dominate on finals. Not to mention, an extra day off would give those hooligans who have yet to give senior items into the prized Editor-in-Chief of the yearbook, Katherine A. Weiner (ever heard of her? I heard she is an extremely dedicated staff member and never complains)…even though the deadline was DECEMBER THIRD. Nine days ago. Deadline, shmeadline...right? As I said before, hooligans. Regardless of this mindless rant that is a blog, one statement holds true: we desperately need a snow day. I say this speaking as a student whose backpack may or may not still be in her car from Friday when she left school. I’ll leave that up for debate.
http://www.weather.com/weather/today/Cincinnati+OH+45227
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Lowering the Drinking Age to 18
Binge drinking is defined as: the modern definition of drinking alcoholic beverages with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time. It is a growing epidemic, especially in the United States. The legal drinking age has not always been 21, and was raised in the 70’s. The issue with the raised drinking age is that it has given drinking the contraband status, making the younger generations wanting to drink…and in excess. There are stats showing that in other countries such as Europe where the drinking age is nonexistent, there are far less issues with binge drinking. When something is permitted, it is highly less desirable to do. It does not really seem fair that at the age of eighteen, one can legally vote, smoke and buy tobacco products, get married, and enlist in the army, but cannot have a beer. If these people are granted all these rights as “adults”, it does not make sense to restrict them from legally drinking alcohol. Binge drinking would not be nearly as big of an issue as it is today if the legal age were just lowered back down to eighteen. There were of course issues back when the legal drinking age was lower, but they weren’t quite as extreme as the issues the younger generations face today. If the contraband status of drinking were eliminated, it would not be nearly as attractive and desirable, causing less and less people to be facing the dangerous consequences due to excessive drinking.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20249460/ns/health-addictions/
Sunday, November 28, 2010
The FDA and Warning Labels
We all know smoking is bad for us, yet so many have a hard time truly beating the addiction. Among other failed attempts of trying to get consumers to overcome the addiction, the FDA has proposed one that just might work. Out of thirty extremely graphic pictures of the result and risks of smoking, the FDA has proposed to choose nine of those pictures to put on each pack of cigarettes. These pictures will serve as a warning to the users that cancer from smoking is absolutely not a myth. Smoking is so hazardous; just one cigarette takes seven minutes away from your life. Yet so many continue to smoke pack after pack. Something must be done to inform consumers that this is not a joke. This is their lives that they are playing around with, and we must do everything we can to stay healthy and live as long as possible. I believe that the FDA’s current proposal will certainly lead current users in the right direction. The pictures to be used are so alarming and hit so close to home that they should only convince people to immediately drop the pack and never pick one up again. There are enough cancers and sicknesses that we can’t control and have no say in if we get them or not, where as lung cancer (from tobacco) is completely under our control. We all must do our best as a whole and as a nation to prevent the preventable and enjoy our lives to the fullest.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Behind the Assassination of JFK: Is the CIA to Blame?
http://www.fff.org/freedom/0992a.asp
There are many conspiracies that revolve around the assassination of the late President John F. Kennedy. Many believe the mafia was behind it, many believe a group of communists did it, and others believe that the CIA did it. Considering the facts, it seems like the only plausible group would be the CIA. After the dreadful Bay of Pigs invasion, a failed U.S. attempt to sabotage Cuba and overthrow Castro, JFK reportedly threatened to “splinter the CIA into a million pieces.” After the misfortune, the next year consisted of high improvements in the CIA. Only a little over a year later, the president was shot in Texas on November 22, 1963. During the year or so that the CIA was undergoing improvements, that was also a year that could have been dedicated to plotting the assassination of the president. Certain aspects from that dreadful day simply do not add up. For example, the route of the parade in the Dealey Plaza was changed last minute. The president was being transported through the parade in an open car. Several of the men who were part of Kennedy’s secret service have claimed that it was okay for him to be in an open car because it was a “different time.” I beg to differ. Two presidents had been assassinated prior to John F. Kennedy, and the CIA and secret service should have taken certain measures to assure the safety of their president. Also, the Warren Commission, which provides a detailed chronological report of what exactly happened that day, states that the secret service did not check all the buildings within a certain proximity, which they are required to do. It also records that the CIA was not “properly trained” to protect the president. It just doesn’t add up. Lee Harvey Oswald, who is assumed to be the lone gunman who killed the president, was transported so openly from his jail cell to his trial that Jack Ruby was able to shoot him at point blank range. If he truly was a key suspect and not just a man the CIA picked to pin the murder on, they would have taken certain precautions to be sure he made it to his trial. The CIA was involved in the assassination of the president, and eventually the real story will unfold.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Taylor Swift Never Struggles to "Speak Now"
The talented nineteen year old singer and song writer is known for a lot of things, and speaking her mind is definitely one of them. Never afraid to speak out and express how she really feels, her new album “Speak Now,” released in late October, was nothing short of phenomenal. With many of her songs targeted at past relationships gone wrong, it would sure be unfortunate to be one of Swift’s exes. In her song “Dear John”, assumed to be targeted at heartbreaker John Mayer, whom Swift had a relationship with for about a month or so earlier in the year, she writes: “Dear John/I see it all now that you're gone/ Don't you think I was too young to be messed with? /the girl in the dress/cried the whole way home /I should've known.” As if that’s not a deep and emotional message to Mayer, she continues to go on about his history with past women and his selfish ways. She might as well have just written a song saying, “Hey John, I hate you and here’s why.” In another song entitled “Better than Revenge,” Swift takes swings at ex Joe Jonas’ girlfriend Camilla Belle, who Jonas reportedly left Swift for after breaking up with her via text message. Swift writes: “ She’s not a saint/ And she’s not what you think/ She’s an actress/ She’s better known for the things that she does on the mattress.” Yes, it is definitely safe to say that if you mess with Taylor, she will come at you with the horns. She can also show her soft side though, as shown in her track called “Back to December” where she voices her regrets of letting ex Taylor Lautner go. What’s so special about Swift’s songs? They all have meaning. She writes about past experiences and there’s always some truth to her songs. Not to mention, she often writes songs that any teenage girl can relate to. Her new album has songs along these lines, but also takes a turn in a different direction with more mature songs, which older listeners can even relate to. In the song “Never Grow Up,” she sings, “Oh, darling/ Don’t you ever grow up/ You should never grow up/ It could stay this simple.” Writing songs that relate to all types of listeners, the young talent has done it once again and has managed to leave her listeners wanting more.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Four Loko: Blackout in a Can?
An alcoholic energy drink with the equivalent of six beers and as much caffeine in five cups of coffee, or three shots of espresso, this "liquid cocaine" is nothing but bad news. Sold for $2.50 in liquor stores, it may seem like the fiscally responsible drink of choice, seeing as a case of beer can put a $20 pit in your wallet and with hard liquor an even bigger one. However, the twenty three ounce can (most beers come in eight ounce cans) contains not only caffeine and alcohol, but also wormwood, a key ingredient used in absinthe, an illegal liquor in the United States. The issue with Four Loko is that the components of an energy drink and alcohol do not mix well. The caffeine allows you to feel energized, but then alcohol, which is classified as a depressant, causes the consumer to crash. It also does not hit them right away, so they aren't aware of how drunk they are really getting, so they keep drinking. It’s understandable why this product is so popular: it’s cheap, the cans it comes in are huge, they come in several different flavors, and the caffeine in it keeps you awake and energized. Now all of that is good and well, but the drink is 12% alcohol, whereas most beers are only 4 or 5% alcohol. Many college students have been hospitalized after consuming Four Loko, which is why college campuses nationwide and the government are working on banning this product. It is just too dangerous for college kids and high school students who are just trying to fit in, not truly noticing the severity and consequences that come in a twenty three ounce can. Looking at the facts, the idea of Four Loko is just, well…loco.
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