Holocaust

During lass class we met for a special presentation by Susie Fono, who shared her experiences during the Holocaust. There are many who survived the Holocaust; however, most have not escaped from the pain. Ms. Fono's presentation was much different from what I had anticipated and expected from a Holocaust survivor. I thought I would be shedding a tear but on the flip side I was smiling and laughing due to her personality she added in her presentation. She was able to put a positive spin on such a dramatic, negative topic. She didn't talk about the concentration camps, death marches, extermination camps; however, she mentioned other aspects of the Holocaust that she experienced such as; being able to hang on to her doll through it all, which is now passed on to her grandchild. :)
  
Her defining characteristic is courage. She is a hero to her children and grandchildren. She faced the worst and the best in life. Her strength, wit and wisdom saw her through. I am glad I was able to attend her presentation and happy that Holocaust survivors are still  willing to share their stories.   

RIDDLE #2

Okay this one's a tad tricky...still can't figure it out...HELP ME!!!!

NAME A VERY COMMON 3 LETTER WORD  (1 SYLLABLE) THAT TURNS INTO ANOTHER COMMON 4 LETTER WORD AND BECOMES 3 SYLLABLES WHEN YOU ADD 1 LETTER TO IT?!?!?!







RIDDLE #1

Name 10 body parts that are 3 letters. No slang words like "ass" or "gut." GO!



Rethinking: SEX SELLS be like Adele

The sexualization of women in the media has become an intricate part of our society--whether it is in advertisements, magazines, commercials... or even music videos. Music is prominent in adolescent lives. Producers know that sex sells and most music videos use provocative sexual images to stand out in the crowd. Sex has become a main part of popular entertainment. While sex appeal was once considered a bonus for a woman, it is now practically a requirement.

There is one rap video in particular that degrades, dehumanizes, and demoralizes women and simply portrays them as sex objects that was explained in the documentary; Dreamworlds 3: Desire, Sex, and Power in music videos. The video is “Hot in Herre,” by the rap artist Nelly. The music video is chock full of scantily clad women, grinding with other men on the dance floor. The song encourages women to get naked, “Its getting hot in here/So take off all your clothes,” with a female singer responding with “I am getting so hot/I wanna take my clothes off.” At this point in the video, women begin taking their clothes off. The song just says to take your clothes off, but you notice that only women take their clothes off, and women are the only ones encouraged to take off their clothes.

There are just a few songs that do not have many risqué lyrics to today’s most popular songs amongst teenagers. Not only are the lyrics very suggestive, but also some of the videos for these songs are downright raunchy. Popular music videos portray women in a very negative way. For example, women are usually "barely dressed" or wearing "low-cut and skimpy tops, stockings, lingerie, and bikinis" when they are dressed. In addition to this, women often outnumber men while performing provocatively for the cameras by touching themselves, the male artists, or other women. Music videos fling messages to young women that say that it is “cool” to dress provocatively and be promiscuous. Women are rarely ever showed in a decent and good-natured manner in today’s music videos, not to mention fully clothed.

However, to end on a positive note, there are some women in the music industry that have some hope and dignity, and are true role models for young women. Queen Latifah's lyrics tout female superiority. Salt 'n Pepa energize with eroticism. Julie Brown's unsettling version of a campus queen dethrones the mainstream icon. Martina McBride's song of liberation gives new meaning to Independence Day. Lastly, Adele has the potential to change the way women were seen in the industry by focusing on her music rather than her sexuality. She is clearly talented, her singer's record-breaking second album 21, which has spent 15 of the last 17 weeks at No 1, smashing Madonna's record of nine weeks in the top slot, and with all of this other garbage being sold...Adele is a good thing to be happening! Today in the music video industry such women artists have assumed a remarkable and refreshing new presence and can slowly change for the better!

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/hs/mckinley/2007/03/mtv_portrays_female_as_sex_obj.html

http://www.angelfire.com/realm3/onlymindgone/blitz.htm

http://www.upress.state.ms.us/books/433

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/may/29/adele-change-women-music-business


<<One Journey Ends is Anothers Beginging>>

This week, since we do not have to write a specific blog I want to share something personal about myself. I am a senior on the UW-Parksides Women's Basketball team. I just played my last game this past Monday in the NCAA DII Sweet 16 game. Its crazy to me knowing that my basketball career is over with. I feel like its a bad break up in a way. I will be sad and depressed for a while but then I will find someone or something that makes me just as happy even more in some ways. I will never forget the past relationship and always love it but it helps you make the new one even better and appreciate it even more.

Its like the saying when one door closes another one opens. These next couple of weeks are going to be rough. I am going to have so much free time, it will be hard to fill that void. Basketball has basically defined who I have been since I was little. I just can't wrap my head around it; working hard towards something since 3rd grade and just like that it can be over with. Basketball has taught me so much over the years. It was always my escape from the real world. Nothing else mattered when I was on the court. I was able to block out everything else going on in my life, school and family and focused on the game.

We had an amazing journey. I got to play the sport I love with the people I love. I am truly blessed. Most athletes have to give up the sport they love once they graduate high school, I got four extra years with the sport I loved and met my best friends along the way. The hurt and pain will be easier but the memories will forever life on. Some things just can't last forever, but to me that what make them special now its time to set new goals and challenge myself in new ways. There is only one team that celebrates at the end of the tournament. We have a lot to be proud of. My senior class became the winningest class in UW-Parkside history and will leave with a career record of 89-31 (.742), two division titles, a GLVC Tournament runner-up, three NCAA Tournament berths, and two trips to the Sweet 16. We built this program and believed in the system and we gave it all we got for four straight years. Myself and 3 other seniors reshaped the UW-Parkside women's basketball program and leave as the most successful class in school history.



..::>Rethinking: Governance & Citizenship<::..

I would first like to share with you all, an email that I received on the accounts of Whitney Houston's death as well of many other pop culture celebs....

With Regret.... Whitney Houston's death, while a sad thing, was the direct result of very unwise life choices. It dominates the news. Charlie Sheen is 45 and his story is all over the news because he is a substance abuser, an adulterer, sexually promiscuous, and obnoxious. Lindsay Lohan is 24 and her story is all over the news because she is a celebrity drug addict and thief. Something as frivolous as Kim Kardashian’s stupid wedding [and short-lived marriage] was shoved down our throats, While........ Justin Allen 23 Brett Linley 29 Matthew Weikert 29 Justus Bartett 27 Dave Santos 21 Jesse Reed 26 Matthew Johnson 21 Zachary Fisher 24 Brandon King 23 Christopher Goeke 23 and Sheldon Tate 27... Are all Marines that gave their lives last month for you. There is no media attention for them; not even mention of their names. God bless you, Rest In Peace, and THANK YOU, TROOPS. In the last few weeks I’ve been noticing a strange phenomenon online. I’ve witnessed several statuses, tweets, and general discussions all centering around the basic idea that the press is focusing too much on the death of Whitney Houston, while completely ignoring the deaths of soldiers who die in war. I first want to say that I am not suggesting that Whitney Houston’s death is more important than the sacrifices made by soldiers overseas. I fully support and appreciate the fact that countless people are sacrificing themselves across the globe for a larger purpose. However, that being said, I think it is sad to have Whitney Houston or any celrbity who has died recieve more attnetion than our troops. I  believe, a celebrity's death shouldn't get so much more attention than the deaths of  soliders who lay their lives on the line every day. Finally, media is profit driven and searches for things that will sell. Celebrity deaths are the kind of thing they drool over. So although ideally the media would be a bastion of free press and honest news reporting, in truth they are a business that has a bottom line. Our society is a "celebrity-obsessed culture" but when we lose a star which is painful and tragic it will never be the same  mourning what's real in our lives, the loss of those we're close to. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Next, I want to look at the Kennedy-Nixon Presidental Debate in 1960. John F. Kennedy was a relatively unknown senator from Massachusetts. He was young and Catholic — neither of which helped his image. But by the end of the evening, he was a star. It's now common knowledge that without the nation's first televised debate, Kennedy would never have been president. On 26 September 1960, 70 million U.S. viewers tuned in to watch Senator John Kennedy of Massachusetts and Vice President Richard Nixon in the first-ever televised presidential debate. The Great Debates marked television's grand entrance into presidential politics. In August, Nixon had seriously injured his knee and spent two weeks in the hospital. By the time of the first debate he was still twenty pounds underweight, his pallor still poor. He arrived at the debate in an ill-fitting shirt, and refused make-up to improve his color and lighten his perpetual "5:00 o'clock shadow." Kennedy, by contrast, had spent early September campaigning in California. He was tan and confident and well-rested. Those who listened to the debate on the radio thought Nixon had won. However, by 1960, 88% of American households had televisions — up from just 11% the decade before. The number of viewers who tuned in to the debate has been estimated as high as 74 million. And that 74 million who watched television saw a candidate still sickly and obviously discomforted by Kennedy's smooth delivery and charisma. Those that watched the debate on TV thought Kennedy was the clear winner. In addition, those television viewers focused on what they saw, not what they heard. I guess these two examples do not idealize a perfect fit with this weeks topic but I thought they were very interesting and wanted to bring them to my classmates attention on a.) how self-centered and selfish our media pertains to capture attention of stupid celeb drama and gossip rather than informing Americans about their troops fighting for their country b.) how media has grown, changed, and adapted to beneift government politicis.

http://articles.cnn.com/2012-02-24/opinion/opinion_levs-grief-celebrities-troops_1_social-media-icon-whitney-houston?_s=PM:OPINION

http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=kennedy-nixon

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2021078,00.html