(Violent) Video Games

Regardless of the cause, we've all had a bad day before. In attempts to make ourselves feel better, we all have something we do, somewhere we go, or maybe someone to talk to to make us feel better. There’s nothing like treating yourself to something fun, or going somewhere where you aren’t going to be judged. You may like to go on a long walk through the quiet woods to ditch your personal dark cloud. For some of us, video games allow us to have an outlet to do what we want. We can relieve stress and other emotions by taking out our emotions in a virtual environment. A common means of doing so may involve a gun and targets, such as people.


Sometimes you may be so angry that you just want to punch a wall, or maybe even someone’s face. You can feel your face heat up, and your fists clench at your side. If you punch a wall the outcome will likely be you hurt your hand, or you’ll damage the wall and have to get it fixed. If you punch someone else, you may get a detention in school and if it escalates you could be charged with assault. By turning on your gaming system and booting a first person shooter (fps) you can go on a killing spree without suffering the aforementioned negative consequences.

Call of Duty is a common fps video game series. These games require strategy and comradery. You’re only going to win domination if your teammates help you capture the flags. These kind of games require you to work together and as a result you’ll likely make a lot of friends. With a good team, you’ll easily get a lot of wins, kills, unlocks, and achievements. The basis of the game allows players to share an enjoyable, unique experience.

Independent Reading Video Project: Luna by Julie Anne Peters

Luna by Julie Anne Peters

***SPOILER ALERT***

The plot is arguably the best aspect of Luna by Julie Anne Peters. Although the book is fiction, the plot is very realistic. Luna is a teenage transgender girl, which means she was born with the biological features of a male but transitioned. Through transitioning she took steps to align her inner sense of gender and her physical appearance. Her parents had suspected that Luna was gay as she was growing up, so they had forced her to play sports and participate in typically masculine activities. They tried to change her because they didn’t want a gay child. The plot spans Luna’s life pre-transition to her coming out as transgender. Growing up and trying to fit in as male in society was a struggle for Luna. She is made fun of, bullied, and harassed in school and while she is out in public. Eventually Luna decided to first "come out" (expose her true identity) to her sister Regan, who didn’t understand what it meant to be transgender, but gave Luna her full support. Eventually when Luna came out to her parents, she is told by her father that she couldn’t live with her kind of lifestyle in his house and as a result she was kicked out. This is a reality for members of the LGBT+ community, especially those who identify as transgender.

The book is centered around Luna, whom the book is named after, however we get rarely get to see what Luna is thinking and feeling since the book is told from her sister Regan’s perspective. However from this perspective more people are able to connect and relate to the book, since there are more people involved with those who identify as transgender, as opposed to transgender people themselves. Regan’s initial confusion along with her revelations are bound to resonate with people who are in similar situations.

The intended audience of this book is the LGBT+ community and those who are related to/ or have friendships with them. Therefore I am included in the intended audience. The book is written through Luna’s sister’s perspective, so readers understand what Reagan is thinking and feeling throughout the book. Again, readers who may have a transgender sibling or friend are more likely able to relate to Regan. There are not many books about transgender teens, and even fewer that accurately portray them. Julie Anne Peters managed to write a book that accomplished just that. Luna was even a national book award finalist. Therefore I would rate this book 9.5/10 (10 being the best).

Shakespearean Sticker Soliloquy

I can’t decide if I should take the backing off the sticker, or if I should save it for later: once you peel the back of the sticker off you can’t really put it back on, the back will just keeping falling off; trying to keep it sticky side up would seem like a solution, but that won’t work either, it will still lose its stickiness, so you can’t do that either. The sticker would collect all sorts of particles; they will not come off, which, being stuck to the sticker, would render it useless: it would not adhere to any surface no matter how much you wanted it to. Therefore when the back is peeled off it should be immediately be stuck wherever you want; first, you should have in mind where you want it to go, you should plan on keeping the sticker there forever; then, peel the back off, and place it in that very spot, and apply force. Yes, because you don’t want it to accidentally fall off, however if you did want it to come off it won’t be easy, and likely won’t turn out well, especially if you want to reuse it, the sticker won’t be the same; it might rip, or it may lose its adhesiveness, but lets not forget the possibility it may not come off, you’ll have to use a chisel, or even some mayonnaise, which is a real thing, try it if you don’t mind risking the life of your sticker. It’s hard to decide what to do with a sticker, imagine peeling off the back and having it stay in one place forever, it’s just too big of a commitment to live with.

What does it mean to be a man?

In American culture men are held to certain expectations, some of which are harmful to the individual and their communities. Even though they are harmful, a number of these expectations are still followed. Traits that are used to describe masculinity include: strong, aggressive, intelligent, competitive, confident, and stoic. The opposite of masculinity is femininity, and any men that have feminine attributes or characteristics are looked down upon by society. They are often told to “man up” and to not be a sissy.


Men are expected to be strong, not only in a physical sense but also mentally. For example it is embarrassing or shameful to cry. As boys in our culture, they are surrounded by sports, guns, etc. They are taught from an early age to be aggressive and tough. The harm of these expectations start early. As individuals they aren’t able to explore themselves-what they like and dislike and so forth. They have to bottle up certain emotions which is unhealthy for one’s well-being. As an extreme result, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention reports that men have suicide rates that are 4 times higher than that of women. However one can make the argument that some of these expectations are beneficial. Since men are expected to be confident and smart, it pushes them to reach their potential.


Not all men fit the expectations provided by the American culture. Even though men are expected to be the provider and “bring home the bacon,” not all do. There are men that stay home and take care of children and do housework. There are aspects of society that haven’t quite adjusted to this reality. In public bathrooms, fathers don’t have access to the baby changing tables that are provided in womens’ restrooms. The parking lot at my physician’s office has parking slots reserved for “mothers and children.” Interestingly someone took a marker and added “+ fathers” to one of them. I have a male friend who enjoys romantic comedies. This defies the stereotype that men should watch or enjoy “shoot ‘em up” or action packed movies. Other members of the present American culture, view men being in touch with their emotions, as an attractive quality. Nothing is the same among all men, some will say its necessary to adhere to certain expectations, whereas others will think its ridiculous to believe in those expectations.

Egypt. . . It's Not Over Yet

In 2011, the Egyptian people started to protest poverty, unemployment, government corruption, and the power of the president Hosni Mubarak. The protests took place in Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez which are major cities. The government began to block social media such as Twitter and Facebook. Police arrested and even injured hundreds of people with batons and tear gas. Soon the Muslim Brotherhood began supporting the protests. That Friday the government blocked all internet services and text messaging. Eventually president Hosni Mubarak was ousted after ruling for 30 years. It was then that Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood was elected as president. People protested against him too, and in 2013 there was another revolution (that some consider a coup d’etat since the military was involved) that led to the election of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi who is currently in power.


The biggest challenge in Egypt is that women are facing difficult conditions including sexual harassment and assault. The way they are being treated is an obstacle for them to take part in the transformation of politics in Egypt. Instances such as the gang rape in Tahrir Square exhibits this problem. Women in the country face daily harassment and assault on the streets and in the workplace. The culture of the country teaches them that speaking out about these assaults are shameful. However circumstances can change in the future, Mr. Sisi was the first Egyptian president to acknowledge sexual violence and even visited a victim in the hospital to apologize. He plans on taking “very decisive measures” to combat the violence. “The revolution hasn’t reached our homes yet because some of the men who participated in the revolution, who act like liberals outside the house-inside the house they are no liberals,” says 34 year old Amira.


The United States should let Egypt deal with their own problems. It’s one thing to help someone if they ask for it, and another to be an interference. If anything the US could help highlight these problems through the media. This could rally support and contribute to the pressure leading to a change in how women are treated.




Questions:

Now that Egypt has a democracy, how does voting work? Can anyone vote, or what restrictions exist?

Do you think its likely that there will be another revolution now that President Sisi is in power?

Middle Eastern Blog Vlog

Link to Eman Al Nafjan's blog: http://saudiwoman.me/

Where I'm From

 

Norwalk, Connecticut

Where I'm from there is variety.

Norwalk is part of the suburbs.

You can find yourself in a neighborhood where you can't see your neighbor from your window,

or in a more crowded area with a shopping center and apartments.

There’s normally a fair amount of traffic.

Afterall a Wikipedia search says the population in Norwalk is 85,603,

which is a fair amount of people.

And a good number of these people commute to and from New York,

so the parkway and I-95 are pretty stuffy in the mornings and later in the afternoons.

Where I'm from there is diversity.

There people of different ages, races, heights, genders, and walks of life.

And generally people are respectful of each other.

Overall these conditions make it a comfortable place to live.

If you find yourself bored in Norwalk,

you don't have to go far to be entertained.

There are fish are the Maritime,

books at both the libraries,

an ocean at the beach,

and movies at the theater.

In terms of my education,

7th grade was the year I went to public middle school.

Before that I went to Catholic school.

My father decided that it was a better place for me.

Although I disagree.

I did pretty well academically.

I’m just not really all that religious.

Having a 45 minute religion class,

along with various masses just wasn't for me.

Besides I didn't really fit in socially or in any other way really.

Now that I've graduated, I'm happier where I am now.

When I’m not in school or doing homework,

I like bicycling, video games, swingsets, and sleeping.

I have three younger siblings who like noise.

This tends to conflict with sleeping,

but we work it out anyways.