Game 4

Today, I was lucky enough to be able to witness the fourth game of the playoff series between the Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics. It was an incredible game that went into double overtime, and even though they were favored to lose the Bulls came out victorious. While I was in the United Center I was completely consumed with the game. The sight of Derrick Rose weaving through defenders to slam the ball in the basket, the sound of the thousands of cheering fans reverberating off the walls, it was an amazing game. Afterwards, as I was driving home with my Dad, I came to the realization that even though I have been doing copious amounts of research on how athletes do many bad things that destroy their image as role models, I still look up to athletes. I cannot help it. Every human being wants to see some form of perfection, and the players in the NBA have achieved athletic perfection. They are ten times faster, stronger, and more agile than the average American and it is amazing to watch. I am aware of all the bad things that NBA players have done, but once I stepped through the doors of the United Center I forgot everything because I was simply there to enjoy a basketball game. Therefore, I can see now that it's not that we as a nation give professional athletes special treatment due to their profession, it is that we love to watch them play so much that our subconscious just looks the other way.

First Good News, Then Bad

This morning while I was checking my gmail inbox, which had been as baron as the Gobi desert for the past 3 days, I saw that I finally received some positive feed back for an interview for my paper. I sent out emails to over 20 people, but I still wasn't sure if anyone would email me back because these days people are very busy and they might not have the time to help out some high schooler with his junior theme. However, I recently learned that my potential interview subject, Tribune Writer Melissa Isaacson, got fired due to large cutbacks in the writing department. This scares me because I know if I had just gotten fired I wouldn't want to answer a bunch of questions about my former job. I do not see this as a failure though. This interview will live on. I'm sure that Melissa was very gracious about her termination, and I know that she has the talent to get a new job very quickly, so I will still try and set up an interview. The thoughts and feelings of a seasoned sports writer for the Tribune are too precious to my paper to give up.

A good thesis

Originally all I was worrying about was whether or not I had a good why question, but now I have shifted my focus onto worrying about whether or not my thesis is good. Asking the question is one thing, but coming up with an answer to that question is a completely different story. My question is, "why is it that we see athletes as role models?" So I didn't know if my thesis should focus more on the psychology behind the perception of athletes as role models, or if I should try to focus more on how athletes have done things that cause them to no longer be athletes. Since the junior theme is such a big essay, obviously the thought of having a less than perfect thesis is scary, due to the fact that your thesis is probably the most important part of your essay. So I have been contemplating what will make my thesis perfect and I have almost come up with it, but it still needs some work. Good luck to all those other writers out there because lord knows I need some luck.

Topics?

I never thought that it would be so difficult to find a junior theme topic that I not only was passionate about, but that also fit the correct criteria. The first road block is that every student must have a why question. I know I speak for all inquisitive words when I say, "who, what where when must be very offended." So many of my amazing questions where not started off with the word why. However, its not a problem that an accomplished, crafty and dashing writer like me cant get over. The funs not over yet though. Now the author of the junior theme must make sure that his/her question and thesis are not bias so that they do not wrongfully lead the reader into their opinionated death traps. Nevertheless, the main issue that I am dealing with is that even if I know that I have a good why question that is un-bias, I still don't know if my topic is perfect. Every student at new trier knows how important the junior theme is, so what could possibly be scarier than writing an entire paper on the wrong topic (That just sent chills up everyone who is reading this blogs spin didn't it?) So as you can probably tell, I have many concerns regarding the junior theme, so if anyone would like to give me a few pointers or any help at all it would be greatly appreciated.

Cropping photograph/Jesus parralel

Our discussion today in class about the cropping of the picture in "Soiling of Old Glory" really intrigued me. One might think the the simple act of cutting out a section of a photograph would be such an insignificant act that no one would care. However, the amputation the photograph went threw stirred up a heated discussion that nearly the entire class participated in. Was the photographer honest in cropping the photo or was he pulling a fast one on the American people and not telling the whole story. I personally believe that the photograph is the property of Stanly Foreman (the photographer) and if he decided that cropping the photograph was the best way to express himself through his art, than he has every right to do so. Nevertheless, by far the most interesting part of the discussion was when we took a closer look at the stance of the man being assaulted by the stars and stripes. He was hunched over with his arms up, his left leg was bent, and he was being stabbed. Obviously, this is shockingly similar to the sight of Jesus on the cross. thought that something like that can be caught on film, thus becoming immortal sends chills through my spin. At first I didn't think much of it, but throughout the day the image of that man being assaulted with the symbol of our great nation kept popping back into my head. Evantualy I came to the realization that not only did the man have a shocking resemblance to Jesus, but he had a similar dilemma. Christians believe that Jesus died for our sins, thus sacrificing himself for the good of his people. In a way the man in the photo is a sacrifice too. After this photo hit the news tands there was an uproar in the black community and many white people were coming to the conclusion that this violence against african americans has gotten out of control. Im not saying that what happened was good in any way shape or form. It is just a very peculiar parralel.

Your Welcome America

Over the weekend HBO had a special live showing of Will Ferrel's smash hit Broadway show in titled "Your Welcome America A Final Night With George W. Bush." The comedic icon plays the former president George W. Bush. Anyone who has a sense of humor and watches SNL knows the hilarious Bush impression that Ferrel does. Ferrel's impression might not be as spot on as the so called funny man frank caliendo (hes not funny). However, the "Anchorman" star puts his own little spin on the ex commander and chief that is utterly irresistible. He creates this character in Bush that enables the audience to see him as this over privileged dim wit who always has a good time due to some form of blind confidence. Complete with the Texas accent and infamous glare Ferrel's Bush is so funny that it is difficult to know where will Ferrel ends and George Bush begins. I enjoyed this progrom not only because I am a huge fan of the comedian, but also because it gives me faith in America. Many people take for granted all of the freedoms we have concerning free speech. A person could not get away with making fun of a government official on this grand a scale in some other countries. So I know this is a tough time for many Americans, but just keep solace in the fact that we are still allowed to enjoy great shows like "Your Welcome America."     

Rushmore

Last week when I was home sick I watched one of my all time favorite movies, Director Wes Anderson's "Rushmore." Wes Anderson has made other great movies like "The Royal Tenenbaums" "Bottle Rocket" and "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou." Obviously, this was not my first time watching Rushmore, so to say that I enjoyed watching the film even more this time would be a lie. However, on this certain day I was able to view the film on a completely different level, due to something I read on the inside of the DVD case. While I was perusing the inside of the case I came across a little bit of literature on the making of "Rushmore." The significance of the literature was that it draws a direct connection from "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" to "Rushmore."
This is what I found and I hope that whoever reads this blog will feel the urge to rent Rushmore not only because it is a hilarious movie, but also because of what it means in regards to Huckleberry Finn.
"The title of Wes Anderson's Rushmore refers to the ivy-covered prep school attended by the films central character, Max Fisher [Jason Schwartzman]. Max, with his bushy eyebrows and imposing glasses , loves his school beyond reason and is Rushmore's number one go-getter-editor of the school paper, president of the French club, organizer of the calligraphic society, proud member of the wrestling team. He is also, as the headmaster notes, "one of the worst students we've got." In his eagerness to succeed, Max is failing. It is his one character flaw, and the organizing principle of a profoundly American comedy in the direct tradition of Huckleberry Finn.
Mark Twain used his adolescent hero to provide an outsider’s viewpoint on a rapidly stratifying American society, a republican dream pulling apart into divisions of age, income and race. Rushmore is also about class divisions—Max, the son of the local barber (Seymour Cassel), is attending the exclusive school on a scholarship—but Anderson and co-writer Owen Wilson, more wishful thinkers than Twain, use comedy to imagine the healing of those divisions, the reweaving of relationships across the lines of class and generation.