The Greys

One of my favorite characters in recent television has been Meredith Grey of Grey’s Anatomy. Meredith plays an intern/resident at Seattle’s Grace Hospital in Seattle. All of the surgeons, residents, interns, nurses, etc have their own problems but Meredith’s plays a profound impact on the course of the show in general. Meredith Grey a fantastic representation of a common thread in humanity because her biggest flaw and downfall is her fear of getting hurt. As the daughter of a world renowned surgeon who had no time or desire for a child and a runaway dad, Meredith is constantly plagued by the worry that nothing is constant. She prevents herself from getting too involved with men as well as work. Meredith represents that part of us that holds us back from going for what we want. In essence, she is a very extreme example of how most people live their lives: taking the easy way out with minimal risks involved.
I think that related to Meredith because I share her fear for intimate relationships. It takes a good deal for me to trust someone or even consider them a true friend. I also find that a good deal of my family is like this, my cousins especially. We always know what we want and yet most of us end up doing what our parents expect of us. And just like Meredith, at the end of the day they are never satisfied.

Stop and Stare

I met him on the most beautiful day. Outside it was storming, the kind of storm with rain pounding on the ground, light cracking through a midnight blue sky, wind howling like a pack of angry wolves. There I stood, in the middle of the ritzy shopping plaza my friends and I frequented, watching the rain hit the pavement, the water in the fountain, and the tower palms. I didn’t hear him walk up to me, in fact I didn’t notice him until he spoke. He asked me if he could buy me a coffee, surprising as I was drenched and probably looks like the living dead, and I agreed. We talked and talked for hours about anything and everything. I learned he went to Verot( our rival private school), he hoped to go to UPenn and become a doctor, he wrote poetry, and played soccer, lacrosse, and polo (the kind played on horses) and that crickets terrified him, his life goal, he biggest insecurities, and the list went on. As we parted, phone numbers in hand, I realized that I had found out more about him in 3 hours then half of my so called friends whom I known for half my life. In a matter of weeks he had become my best friend and in less than a years time I would find that he had become my brother. He was the one person I could count on to be there, to be completely honest with me, and to never let me settle for less than the best. He pushed me to apply to colleges I thought I would never get into, send my design portfolio to schools I thought wouldn’t give me a second glance, and try for a scholarship I thought to be a mere fantasy. When I look back at it now merely three years later, I realize he helped shaped the person I am. I was 17 and without a clue as to who I was or where I wanted to go. He helped me to forget everything that ever held me back from going after what I really wanted. He helped me to realize that “no matter how impossible something may seem, you might as well give it a shot, you never you what will happen.” Most of all though he helped me stop pretending, to stop trying to please everyone, and just be me.
The day he left for UPenn was the first time I cried in public. As he walked away, I felt as though he had taken a piece of me with him. Phone calls and email have helped shorten the distance, but nothing could beat having him here.

Mean Street Theater

In “Mean Street Theater: An Awful Image for Black America” John McWhorter argues against the so called “hip-hop” revolution. He claims that rather then uplifting young African Americans hip-hop tends to make them more violent and more subsumable to crime. I completely disagree with McWhorter’s assumptions and claims. First off, hip-hop is not the only music directly correlated with violent lyrics, music, and music videos. In fact one could argue that heavy rock and “emo” music are both more violent than hip-hop. Yes, hip-hop gave direction to the Young African American generation but it was not all necessarily bad. In “Hip-Hop Activisim” Opio Lumumba Sokoni points out organizations such as Russell Simmon’s Hip-Hop Action Network help engage kids in their society and aid in the on-going war against drugs. As Sokoni points out many of these rappers are good influences on our community. Daily we hear about the Brittany Spears, the Paris Hiltons or the Lindsey Lohans of the world and in comparison many of these hip-hop artists have done a much better job as role models. As for Sokoni’s argument, Sokoni does a good job refuting the claims that McWhorter makes in his argument however Sokoni’s argument is more geared toward drug use and drug law. Sakoni points out some very important things like why law enforcement has left the murders of Tupac, Biggie, and other unsolved and has instead focused on arresting non-violent criminals. Regardless, Sokoni does a good job presenting his facts and convincing the audience of his views.

American Idol

Although I have yet to watch an episode of American Idol I have heard some very mixed things about the show. However from the responses on “When did American Idol get emotionally violent it seems that it has rapidly become one of those shows clinging desperately to their viewers. I feel that using people’s misery, failure, and strangeness to create a link from American Idol to the American Dream is wrong, a misinterpretation of our country’s foundations, and simply cruel. The American Dreams, the very basis of country, is the simple evolution from the average man to something much more. Furthermore, American Idol, a very family oriented show, should not be televising programming that is demeaning towards anyone nor should they document the sad lives of people only to have their dreams crushed. This is NOT how the American Dream should be portrayed nor is it something we should encourage our children to watch. We have already deteriorated so much as a culture we don’t need to also derive pleasure or entertainment from these people’s suffering and misfortune.

Schadenfreude is the satisfaction from other people’s misery.

The Stupidest Drug Story of the Week.

In “The Stupidest Drug Story of the Week” the author is poking fun at both the “Drug Czar’s” press release and the New York Times story that mimics it. The author brings up some very good points such as the lack of evidence backing both stories. Furthermore, the author talks of how the press release simply reiterated well known facts. One such example was methamphetamine levels in ecstasy. Even worse was the omission of important facts such as levels of methamphetamine in seized drugs was 16 mg whereas the recommended medical dose for CHILDREN is 20-24mg. Facts such as these make a huge difference in public opinion. Moreover, as the author said, the “Drug Czar” was simply scaremongering” to make a mountain out of a anthill. The author uses the word because it seems as if the “Drug Czar” need something and anything to back his theory and thus threw a whole bunch or facts together. Regardless of this though, a well established and highly trusted newspaper source such as the New York Times should know better then to rip off a press release. Despite the fact that the press release came from the government, the NYT article needed more facts, more evidence, and quite simply more opinion. The author is right in naming this the stupidest drug story, especially when there are much more important things going on in the country. The fact of the matter is, the “drug Czar” may be well on his way to making a mistake. As for the New York Time, they really should consider hiring new writers.