Prevailing Theory

A class on blogging sounds…. interesting. The first day of blogging destroyed my expectations, I remember myself imaging sitting in a class distinctly based on computers and an indirect form of journalism. I was expecting to learn the basics of internet journalism and the usefulness of a blog. This was obviously not going to be the case, which was apparent within the first five minutes of the class. I was instead presented with a roundtable discussion, and more collaborative thoughts flying through the air than in any previous class. I carry with me a distinct memory from the first week of this experiment where the class participated in a two day long debate on legalizing marijuana. The class was set up perfectly for debates, a favorite of mine, and a format revisited several times through out the semester. Later debates covered the right to defend yourself, boycotting the Beijing Olympics, and everyone’s favorite fridge balls. Leaving this class we did ultimately cover some form of journalism, but I personally gained much more; most noticeably this ability to defend my point of view. This skill is invaluable later in life and worth learning at this age and if possible younger. This class provided a great platform on which to do just that. I am graduating with the feeling that I can stand up for my own thoughts.

This class was based around a personalized journalistic style of writing. I wrote one post on March 31, 2008 entitled The Olympics, A Great Time for Protests. This blog is the best example of my writing in this class. I was able to identify a broad topic, the Beijing Olympic protest, and also focus in on certain issues surrounding this controversy. This step was easy for me since the topic its self was interesting and a major current event. Well writing the blog I was also looking to learn more about the incident myself in order to be more informed. This ultimately helped since the next day in class we had our historic Chinese Olympic Debate, which I will declare my team, the winner of. This style of writing worked best for me, find an interesting topic and well writing on it learn more about it not only to have a better piece, which was the ultimate out come, but to also be more generally educated. I took a sharp stance throughout this blog, it was clearly in favor of boycotting the Beijing Olympics, and this idea was introduced early in the blog and carried out through the end. Having this cohesive stance during the entire post made for a more focused and sharply written entry. This blog exemplified my personality, since it is provocative and I am always looking for a good debate. Most times in class I would choose the opposite side of an argument from the majority, just to force myself to lok at the discussion from another angle. This specific blog demonstrates that, along with my interest in foreign policy and current events.  The one part where this blog could improve was on a personal level, I did a good job of making a community, and global connection, sighting reasons why boycotting would work in the favor of the U.S.A and the rest of the world. This was one of my best proofread posts allowing it to be one my most accessible posts, creating an easier read and smoother expression of ideas.

            I would highly recommend this class to any senior looking for a creative outlet, who is also interested in current affairs. They must be willing to put in the minimum work load required, nothing to substantial, and be ready to participate with energy in class. This class is designed well for the creative and open-minded, since it provides the students with the ability to shape the class. We provided the topics, and the discussion in sense we ran the class.

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If you saw a person commit a robbery, who would you call? If you saw someone kill another person who would you call? If you were trapped in your own house by a group of four kidnappers and managed to reach the phone to make a single call, who would that call try and reach? The majority of people reading this would have probably answered all three questions the same way, “The police.” As a society we rely on this collective group of men and woman to protect us and help us when we cannot help ourselves. They are normal people put in a position of responsibility, asked to serve for the betterment of our country and the safety of its people. That is a point that many people forget about when thinking about the police force; they are people just like any other, they character flaws and there some good and some bad. Is it impossible to think that every cop should be morally sound and have no lapses in judgment; is it truly a ridiculous standard to hold them to?

To truly feel safe in this country its citizens must be able to rely on this body of people, comprised of men and woman from all walks of life. However, every once in a awhile a video surfaces revealing the weakness of law enforcement. These videos depict cops physically abusing skateboarders, or maybe using excessive force to arrest a suspect. The most recent video to show up reveals a total of twelve cops kicking and beating three suspects for roughly one minute. This is one of the most frightful of brutal cop videos, due to the sheer number of cops involved. To see such a large section of our police force resort to physically harming a suspect is gut wrenching.

            How do we combat this type of poor abusive police work? The government should impose stricter regulations for becoming a police officer, to insure the best possible force protecting our streets. The minimum number of cops this would prevent from fulfilling their position would be worth the extra safety these regulations would insure. It is a sad world when pedestrians can not relay on the police to ensure there safety, it is even worse when they increase he potential for danger. We must tread the thin line between fully trusting our men and woman in service and relying on our selves for protection. As the equipment they carry becomes more deadly and their tactics become better honed we must be able to put more and more trust in our policemen and woman.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/05/19/police.beating/index.html <- article describing the most recent incident.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/05/19/police.beating/index.html#cnnSTCVideo  < – video of the incident

Another video of cop brutality…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hxOr3q7nrk&feature=related

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            Start stocking up on water, because the next time you go to buy it at the store, or the pump, it may not be such a bargain. There is new research being done, mostly by accident, which is looking towards saltwater as the solution to the successor of fossil fuels. An inventor recently stumbled upon a way to ignite normal saltwater, by placing it in the path of certain radio frequencies. The water once exposed to these frequencies and an ignition source is held near by, appears to spontaneously combust. What is actually occurring is more scientific, the radio waves weaken the bond between the hydrogen and the oxygen releasing hydrogen gas into the air, which can than is ignited.

This same concept is what is driving hydrogen cell cars with one major difference, radio waves versus electrolysis. Until recently the most common way to break the aforementioned hydrogen bonds was to introduce a current to the water, electrocute it in a sense. However this process has a major downside, the amount of energy it takes to break the bonds is less than what is released. This is why this new processes which I will call “radioing” the water is so revolutionary, it may be the key to solving the energy crisis.

            The next logical question after hearing, and seeing (see links below) that we can burn seawater is how do we harness this energy? This is where I see the problems starting to arise. The obvious answer is power turbines, and than maybe even power cars, boats and airplanes. In order for these dreams to become a reality large scale tests must be conducted and new motors must be fabricated which can take advantage of this new found form of propulsion.

            In today’s world of instant communication from anywhere on the globe, and other technologies beyond belief, is it so hard to fathom the world being run off of the burning sea? In the near future gas pumps could simply be replaced with water hoses and oil mines which are situated in the ocean could be re-rigged to collect the ocean it rests on. As I said before we should probably start stocking up on water before it is to late, who knows in no means time we could be complaining that sea water went up another 10 cents. 

            There are a couple links below to news stories which covered this and one which follows a different but similar set of experiments.

http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/2007/09/fire-from-seawater-claim-lights-up-web.html <– blog similar to this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8utkoK2DhA ß interview with the inventor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ChLaqkm_ME&feature=related ßsimilar invention which uses electrolysis

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http://www.esquire.com/features/essential-skills-0508?src=rss

            Who’s to say what I should be able to do or not? Well on second thought this is not a half bad list. What is provided here is a short compellation of the essential skills to survive in the world as a male of the human species. What more could us guys ask for? This list covers some very important topics; I personally thought numbers, 1, 2, 5, 34, 37, 51, 63, and 75 were top of the list. This no doubt provides a handy, quick way to asses one’s ability as a person; however I can’t help but look at the problems this list creates and the shortcomings it is inherently held back by.

            Allow us to initially look at this list as how it is portrayed, the ESSENTIAL 75 skills a man must have. The list backs it self into a corner right off the bat. It is physically impossible to decide which skills are more important than compared to other to a person, either male or female, in today’s modern world. Life today can not be broken down into compartmentalized experiences everyone will live through. The world today and any one person who inhabits this world is the most diverse it has ever been. We as humans are no longer either the hunter, farmer, blacksmith, or mother. We are all of that ( or today’s modern equivalent) plus more. With the advent of the technological revolution we have become multitaskers every second of the day. Web sites like Wikipedia allow us to be experts on any topic, and gather amounts information which would have previously unfathomable. The current structure of our societies make a list like this obsolete, there is no telling what an individual’s circumstances are and no way you can generalize everybody’s necessities for knowledge on a single list 75 bullets long.

            This list also brought up an interesting perspective on the evolution of man. Not as much as a species but more so as a social being. Ask your self how much different would this list be if it was written 20 years ago, 40, 80. There would definitely be some similar topics cover; how to build a camp fire will probably still be on for future generations where as knowing quantum physics is probably making it’s first appearance.

It is impressive to see how much are lives as humans have changed in the relatively short period of time since our grandparents were born. The pace at which are planet is altering has been accelerating for the past couple generations and showing no signs of slowing down.

Where will we be in 40 years and will knowing how to tie a bowtie (#16) still be important?

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            Is there no better way? Twenty-two teams of four plus various faculty and their offspring descend upon the weather hardened Tabor Academy track. For many it is there first time seeing the track, unaware until this moment the possessed one or a team to go along with it. Today these one hundred or so people gather together for a noble purpose, to raise money for cancer research. How are they going to do this you ask; simple enough every one will just run around the track for four hours. The day goes off smoothly, encountering only some slight rain a couple cramps and a few sore muscles. As a community we feel good we did a decent job raising money for those who need it and we ran a little, listened to a little music, and ate some food.

            Well after being one of those who participated in the Dana Farber Lap-A-Thon I think the Tabor community can do better than a decent job. Allow us to take a critical look at this fundraising event; solely with the intentions of improving it. Where did we go wrong? The instant the word free is mentioned. Signs up all around school project the fact that the event will be catered with free hot dogs, hamburgers, water, and more, all FREE! The truth is this food was donated and the cost had to come out of someone’s pocket. That money could have easily been donated instead of used to draw a crowd. As a community are we so self-centered and preoccupied with ourselves that we can only be conjured to do community service by the alluring smell of recently cooked farm animals? This is not to mention the select few who decided to show up to the event and help themselves to the accommodations without participating or donating.

Even with it’s flaws the event as I said before went well all in all and Tabor raised money for a worthy cause. But looking at fund raising with a critical eye brings up good questions on a global scale. How much money is wasted on fundraising? Banners, balloons, bands, and burgers are all provided to donators at fundraisers. Taking solely into account the fundraisers at high schools around the world the amount of money loss at fundraisers to these attractions, must tally up to the millions. Taking a broader look at fundraising in general I hypothesize it is probably somewhere in the hundred millions. We must shake the notion that in order to donate our time or money we need something in return. To help the save the whales I don’t need a free t-shirt, or in order to research cancer treatments I don’t need a free hamburger.

Not to mention my qualms with the annual walk for hunger held in Boston. A twenty mile walk is a great way to create thousands of hungry stomachs, which all get filled with, “Free” food along the way.

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            A quick recap for those who were not there or have forgotten; a young man in Indonesia is infected with rampant growths, and warts, what is later labeled by the media as “bark-like” developments, and his appendages are transformed into “tree-like” limbs, the man himself is labeled the “Tree-man”. Fast forward a little more than a decade of humiliation, a divorce, and public ostracizing not seen since the days of Hester Prinn, and on the scene a young American doctor appears. This valiant young man takes on the monumental task of curing this man of his earthly curse. Five surgeries later, and four pounds of warts removed things are looking up for the Tree-man; the media now declares, “Tree-man de-rooted!” along with a slurry of other clever foliage related article titles. The man hopes to get back to work one day and even looks forward to getting remarried.

            On the surface this is the perfect story; neatly packaged with a nice plot arc. But if you cut away the Hollywood special effects your mind wants to so badly add to this story, you can see its true worth. This story does not actually reveal the triumph of one man over his demons; instead it makes a much better statement about the power of the internet. When this story first came to the limelight the interview the Discovery channel filmed was instantly put up on you tube with the simple yet provocative title, Tree-man. A person, with a possible life threatening condition was demeaned for the entire world to see and know him as Tree-man. Who can blame the public for being drawn to such a catchy tag line? How many people do you honestly think gave even a second thought to the degrading title of this blog? A man who has to go through life covered head to toe in warts now has to live with a front seat on the world’s monitor. How many people who had heard of this story before reading this blog knew the Tree-man’s actual name? My point exactly.

            Is it okay for the internet to be used in this way? Striping a man of his name, personality and identity, to simply provide entertainment to someone halfway across the globe? Our blog class is a perfect microcosm of what the internet provides. At any moment we can access a video of the Tree-man, juicy campus, or information on the current state of the KKK. Where should we stop allowing anything online? And how do we control it? These are questions to be answered by a new generation, and ones that will inevitably cause controversy.

By the way the man’s name is Dede, he has two kids (teenagers) from his first wife who left him after the growths first appeared.

The internet has vast potential to do good for humankind, and people need to take advantage of this relatively newfound power as much as possible.

            http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/11/wtreeman111.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox

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This past week Tabor Academy hosted its tri-annual revisit days; three closely scheduled days in which accepted students tour Tabor in hopes they choose to attend Tabor over one of the others schools they were likely accepted at. During these days it is implemental to Tabors Success that the school as a whole puts on a good show, and represents the best the Academy can. To accomplish this to whom does Tabor turn to? Is it the faculty? The Administration? No, for during these three days the future or Tabor Academy as an educational institution relies greatly on the cumulative shoulders of the students. The same kids who less than four years ago who were looking for a school themselves, are given the responsibility to help complete strangers find there niche at Tabor.

            This is an interesting concept at its soul. The kids who are choosing to willingly live at school are tasked with recruiting new minds to withstand to same. How these students go about this is less exciting and creative a series of structured tours, sample classes and a dreary, awkward student panel. Being a part of the panel myself I realized how much more efficiently Tabor’s revisit days could be operated. A revisit day which breaks the boarding school mold and gives even more power the these aforementioned students. The key to this new type of revisit experience is improvisation.

            The best way to express my image is to give an example. Imagine a young incoming student, a current eighth grader guy named John. Some time during his revisit day John is treated to a tour of the campus by a senior, preferably a proctor. At the beginning of the tour the guide announces to the tourists (preferably a small group of guys) “You guys have seen enough, lets head back to my room.” Where upon entering his guide’s room John is handed a soda directed to a couch, and has a play station controller thrust into his hand. Over the next hour or so John learns nothing about the new math science wing; instead he bonds with the tour guide, he begins to see himself at Tabor and decides to attend the following year. One of many examples of scripted improve that could be expertly wielded to change “revisit days” into “become familiar with your future days”.

            This practice would create a moral dilemma. Are you technically falsely advertising Tabor, by presenting a day filled with ideal experiences? I would said false, Tabor has the ability to provide these experiences and presenting them to prospective students is an excellent way to differentiate our school from others and provide the students at Tabor another chance to shape the future of Tabor. An important step in this entire process is that; the passing of responsibility from the faculty to the student body, allowing everyone to realize we all belong to the same community, and strive for the same common goals.

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            Imagine in a not to distant future, next time you realize your driving close to empty you pull up to a gas station. Instead of pumping your tank full of fossil fuels you’re using algae oils. This may be a closer future than you believe. In less than 10 years cars and anything else which requires gasoline, boats airplanes, electricity generating could be fueled by the bio-fuel created by ordinary pond scum. Using a revolutionary new solar harvesting technique, saving space while increasing surface area exposed to the sun by storing algae vertically instead of on a horizontal plane, Algae is looking like a more viable source of renewable energy.

            Believe it or not this is not the first time algae has been looked into as a way to power America. There was research done in the sixties and seventies as to whether or not we should invest in algae green houses, the conclusion was not good for our light loving friends. Up until recently this pond scum was thought to be an inefficient supplier of the oils which they naturally secret and the projects were put on the back shelf. In light of new and innovative ideas a small lab in Texas has had investors allot them five million dollars to see what the potential for this tiny creature truly is.

            The possibilities appear enticing. With current technology algae could produce 2000 times more oil than corn per acre per year, and the potential is still rising. Eventually instead of picturing oil platforms or drilling sites as our access to energy the nation could envision giant greenhouses stocked high with green slime. This renewable form of energy could drive down the cost of living while simultaneously help stop the struggle against global warming (a battle we undoubtedly need help fighting).

            This is just one of many renewable energy sources the country is currently looking into. Others include the classics, like solar, tidal, wind, and the ever-present hydrogen energy but there a few out of the box ideas like, the burning of sea water the most abundant resource on the planet, which has been found to ignite when exposed to certain radio waves first designed to treat cancer. There are also the farmers which are turning their cow’s waste products into enough energy to power their entire operations. These are just a few creative thoughts in the long growing list of ideas out there.

            The energy crisis, combined with the increasing cost of gasoline, both monetary and due to the damage caused to the environment, are causing more and more scientist to look in to the field of alternative resources. With the thousands of options being looked into one will surely be able to replace the granddaddy of energy outdated and hopefully soon to be outmatched, fossil fuels may be a thing of the past. By 2025 scientists are speculating that 25% of the US’s power will come from renewable resources; something I personally believe to be a conservative estimate and encouraging nonetheless.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/04/01/algae.oil/index.html – algae article

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/10/tech/main3246430.shtml – Burning the sea

http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1121/p17s01-sten.html – Cow powered Farms

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The Olympics, at time for the world to join together put aside their differences and compete at the utmost level in various sports and competitions. This event held every two years, switches between the winter and summers games, finding a new home city every opening ceremony. We now find out selves in the summer of 2008 amidst massive construction and pollution in the heart of Beijing China, the selected spot for the games this time around. However this year the Olympics will be marred by controversy, obvious before the torch was ever lit. China has a problem closely related to holding the largest international sporting event on the planet, and they come in the form of human rights activists. A large number of activists have already begun protesting the games around the world due to China’s handling of Tibet, Muslims in China, and Sudan. All of these are long running issues in China’s history which have come to the surface due to the arrival of the Olympic torch in China this past week.             Many of you might still be wondering what the Olympics have to with foreign policy and why one should effect the other. The Olympics are more than just mere sports games they embody almost every country from around the globe in a ritualistic ceremony of peace, and fair competition. It is an honor for a city to hold the Olympics and if chosen they are expected to prepare in anyway possible for the games. This is where China has a problem to fully prepare for these games, at least in my mind China would have to completely overhaul their internal policy. They would have to make public the issues previously mentioned and solve of start to solve each one. Clichéd as it is I am calling on China to “Free Tibet!” my voice backed by thousands around the world.  

            Are you still not convinced that this could affect you? Think about the global impact this could have on, foreign policy, trade, relations, and a smattering of other foreign issues. If America as a country or a majority of its athletes and other country’s athletes decided to protest the games let me lay out the ramifications. China has recently dumped billions of dollars in construction and repairs to their city in preparation for the games, if we revoke our RSVP now they would be left not only broken hearted but with a shattered economy. There would be long lasting resentment between China and any country which failed to show up for the much anticipated Olympics. Not to mention sponsorships, franchising and media coverage which would go unneeded due to the lack of participation. A failure by China to convince everyone to come to their party would result in a catastrophic failure almost every outlet around the globe.

             Even if China was able to overcome these issues they are still faced with over crowding in Beijing, and the thick pollution which comes with it. This is enough to cause some athletes to rethink showing up and putting their lungs at risk. Hopefully China will be able to hold the Olympics with full attendance and little worry about protest, but as things have already begun looking ugly this might be nothing more than a pipe dream.              http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/03/30/olympics.torch.ap/index.htmlhttp://history1900s.about.com/od/greateventsofthecentury/a/olympicfacts.htm <— interesting olympic facts  

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            Get the entire school together, put them on an assortment of busses (a topic we will cover later), drive into providence RI, watch a 3 hour performance of Richard III, and repeat the first steps in reverse. What could go wrong? Surprisingly not much. What has come to be almost tradition at Tabor, every year there is an all school trip to a Shakespearean performance. This is a rough idea in concept; 500 hundred teenagers are not thrilled to sit still for 3 hours let alone well being subjected to authentic thespian performances of Shakespeare. The Tabor administration decided to organize the event anyway. Surprisingly what transpired was poetry in motion.

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