TOW #23: Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream by Jennifer Ackerman (Part 2)

Writing goals: -smooth transitions
Reading goals: -interesting novel about science

     The human body is a marvelous, convoluted, intelligent organism, but does the human actually know how their own body works? Do you know what happens when you are coming down with a cold, or what happens when your adrenaline levels skyrocket? Did you know that you can tell time in your sleep, and that all of your body's activities are based on its circadian rhythm, a built-in biological clock for your body? Well, Jennifer Ackerman wrote Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream to take readers on a journey through their bodies on an average day, from wake-up in the morning all the way until they wake up again the next morning. Ackerman's intriguing and entertaining book makes the reader think of their body in an entirely new way.
   Ackerman appeals strongly to ethos, quoting many scientists and studies that she has found pertaining to the subject. This shows that she has done research in order to sound credible. But this is not just one or two hours of research. Ackerman backs up her claims with multiple studies from many credibly universities and research centers. The back of the book includes a 40-page bibliography citing all of the sources she used, as well as an index to look up anything she had talked about in the book. This creates a relationship with the reader because the reader will now trust the author, and believe most of what she is saying in her book. This helps support Ackerman's purpose of informing her readers about the functions of their body. She also includes personal anecdotes within most sections. These anecdotes bring back the information to a bodily level, including a normal human giving their own experience on the topic. The reader can relate with Ackerman, and really apply the information she is giving to their own life. This also supports Ackerman's purpose of informing her readers, because they can now take this information they have learned from her book and apply it to the real world. For example, she includes an anecdote about her friend who is an insane runner and can tackle almost any course if she is prepared for it. One day, she was not prepared for a hill at the end of her marathon, and could not finish the course. She had ran that many miles so many times before, but just because her mind was not prepared for that one hill, it failed on her. This can be prepared to many people living a healthy lifestyle. If they do not prepare themselves for the workout they want to endure, they will never reach their goals.
    Ackerman does a phenomenal job of keeping her book practical, informative, and entertaining. Every section in the book including various interesting tidbits about the human body that can be applicable to any age of living. She talks about the best time to drink a cocktail, to take a nap, to run a race, to take medication, along with many other things. I think Ackerman achieves her purpose well of using her book to inform her readers about their body. I have an entirely new look on my body, looking at life in a different way, and really striving for a healthy lifestyle.

TOW #22: What the Kitty Genovese Story Really Means

      Do you believe everything you hear in the media? If you just answered yes, you may want to rethink that answer. Familiar with the Kitty Genovese murder case in 1964? Let's revisit that. Even to this day, 50 years later, Kitty Genovese is still being talked about. She was 29 years old coming back from her job at a bar in the Bronx when she was fatally stabbed to death by an African-American known rapist, Winston Moseley. But out of the 636 murders in New York City that year, this one is the one remembered 50 years later. Kitty Genovese did not only go down in history in the history books, but also in the psychology books. Genovese prompted psychologists to start doing research on what is on called the bystander effect--the phenomena that if something tragic were to happen in public, most people would just watch and not take action. This is because of the so-called 37 witnesses who saw the murder and did nothing. Nicholas Lemann, a writer for The New Yorker, tells the real story behind the story of Kitty Genovese.
    Lemann uses chronological structure to tell the story of what happened after the murder of Kitty Genovese, and the story behind the reporters and writers at the time. This chronological structure makes the reader have an easy time to follow the complicated story of how a simple murder turned into an infamous one. Lemann also uses humor to depict the complete irony of the New York Times writer, A.M Rosenthal, who was responsible for all of this. Rosenthal had generalized there were 38 witnesses who did nothing, when really there was only one or two. Genovese was gay, as well as her neighbor who tried to call the police. Gays living in New York City had a lot to fear during this time. At that time, Rosenthal had recently written an article saying "Growth of Overt Homosexuality in City Provokes Wide Concern." It is ironic that he then wrote an article about the Genovese murder, and had not touched on that she was gay. This also includes historical context, giving the background of the time in the 1960's.
   The purpose that Lemann portrays is that not everything one reads is accurate, and sometimes, in the case of A.M Rosenthal, it is written just to make a job out of it. The effect of Kitty Genovese is not necessarily the bystander effect, but our susceptibility to fake narratives that hit in on our anxieties and fears. The story of Kitty Genovese by Rosenthal had done just that. I think that Lemann does a great job writing this article and supporting his purpose. I had heard of the Kitty Genovese murder many times before this article, but I had absolutely no idea how much of it wasn't true. It really makes you think about what you read and how much you rely on so-called "facts" from journalists. Not all journalists have that credibility, which Rosenthal had showed all of us.

TOW #21: 3-D printed hearts: The shape of medicine to come

     The face of medicine has constantly been reshaped and reformed to create unbelievable technologies to help the average human. 50 years ago, scientists were still curious to what a cell was and how it worked. Today, we are now looking at regenerating cells through a 3-D printer, possibly to create transplant organs instead of using donors. The 3-D printer is considerably new, but it is being applied to a variety of fields. In my own school robotics team, a 3-D printer is used to construct parts for the robot. But in the real world, this new technology is becoming a reality to build organs. Dr. Anthony Atala, the director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, talks about the benefits and difficulties of bioprinting to increase awareness about this new cutting-edge technology in medicine.
    Atala uses specific examples to present his ideas about the benefits and difficulties of bioprinting. There are obvious benefits like no more transplant waiting lists or donor matches, with bioprinting a new organ can be printed within a few days for a patient. The printer can do things that a human would not be able to do by hand, such as choosing a specific cell type to use and then placing the different cells exactly where they need to be. The field of bioprinting is extremely applicable and beneficial to the world of medicine. On the other hand, there are still many kinks needed to be smoothed out. Although they have come a far way with this new technology, scientists are still unable to figure out how to successfully keep oxygen in the printed organs when transplanting it into a body. Atala uses specific ideas to fix this problem such as printing small channels into the structures and filling the channels with blood vessels, or print oxygen-producing materials. Although bioprinting is a current developing technology, Dr. Atala does not believe the printing of complex organs will be a reality until another decade. The structure of Atala's article helps the reader stay organized with all of his presented ideas. He begins with the background of bioprinting and the recent breakthroughs, then goes on to talk about the difficulties, and closes with his predictions on the future.
    I believe Atala does a great job of creating awareness of bioprinting with his arrangement and specific examples. This new field of bioprinting really exemplifies the incredible shape of medicine to come.

TOW #20: Venezuela Image

   Reading Goals:
-Realistic photo
-Choose photo from a different place (not google)

Writing Goals:
-interesting introduction
-smooth transitions
                   

    Unless you are an avid world news watcher, the things that happen each and everyday in foreign countries usually go unnoticed, with little to no attention or awareness brought to the situation. Countries around the world are struggling with hardships that may not even win the media's attention over something like a celebrity breakdown. This photo, taken by New York Times photographer Meredith Kohut, is from San Cristobal, Venezuela. The family had prepared towels soaked in vinegar in case they were affected by tear gas, while the two adults looked out the window at riot police and protesters in the street. Earlier this month, protesting started on the streets against the government of President Nicolas Maduro. The family photographed are hiding in their home guarding the door to keep the little ones safe. Kohut captured a moment of the family filled with fear, and the adults doing the best they can to protect their young. This emotion can connect with any audience, which helps achieves Kohut's purpose of spreading awareness of hardships countries around the world have to cope with.
      The symbolism noted in this picture is very ironic to the situation happening in their country. The family has a cross and Jesus hanging on the wall, as well as a bird-like dove structure hanging in front of the window. The symbol of religion dignifies peace and answers to life's hardships. In this photograph, the violence is not keeping their town at peace, and there are no answers to the horrendous violence happening in the streets, as the police spray tear gas on their own people. The dove, also a symbol of peace, is looking out from the window witnessing the complete opposite of peace. The irony lies in the belief of peace in the house, and complete ferocity out on the streets, as the two women watch in fear. Not only does the photograph portray irony, but the visible juxtaposition of the lightness and darkness contributes to the strong emotion evoked. The light from the window is coming in to shine on the little girl's face, emphasizing the fear and confusion in her eyes while the rest of her body blends in with the darkness. The usage of this coloring shows the affect this situation has on the young, the ones who are innocent and still believe in goodness. The emphasis on one character tells the story for the whole family and the whole situation. It allows the audience to zero in on one subject in the photo, trying to read her emotion and understand the situation. This also allows the audience to connect with the photo, since everyone feels that same fear and confusion sometimes in their life, no matter where in the world they live, ultimately supporting Kohut's purpose in taking this photograph and sharing it with audiences around the world.
    No matter where in the world you are located, there are hardships being dealt with. No matter which ones will make the world news, they are all equally important. No matter what scale of disaster or violence, they are of the same significance, since they are strongly affecting someone somewhere in this world.
   

TOW #19: A Letter to Junior Year

     Witty, humorous, and clever, GILLIAN HORN writes a creative letter to her junior year. As a 16 year-old myself, it is easily relatable with the audience targeted specifically to other 16 year-olds, making current day allusions that only high school kids today would understand. She mentions Regina George from the famous movie Mean Girls that we all know and love, as well as the movie Project X, centered around one huge out of control high school party. She refers to the chemistry chapter of quantum mechanics, that only us juniors would understand the humor of "Sleep sounds a hell of a lot better than quantum mechanics." The comical aspect also plays a big role in her letter, keeping the reader entertained and craving for more words. Horn, sarcastically speaking to her junior year, says " And please, I beg you, do not worry about the five extra hours a week of SAT work. I didn't want to go to that party anyway." The topic encapsulates her feelings towards the overload of work junior year is giving her, and the sarcasm adds humor to the subject, enticing the reader to read more. Overall, Horn sarcastically writes about all the negative things her junior year has done, but concludes with a more positive note, thanking her junior year for making her realize she must work hard to get what she wants. I loved this letter because it was so easily relatable, it was everything I had felt this year formatted creatively and written extremely well, and also had me laughing out loud throughout. I couldn't have been happier that my talented best friend had written this, and maybe I'm a little biased, but this is one of the best articles I've ever done my TOW on. Horn should write weekly for the Huffington Post. 

TOW #18: Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream by Jennifer Ackerman (Part 1)

     Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream is not your ordinary boring, informative, convoluted science book. Instead, this book is a game changer in the realm of biological non-fiction. Jennifer Ackerman creatively takes the reader through a day in the life of their body. Often using second person, she organizes the book from starting at the moment you wake up, all through the body's daily activities, to the deep sleep and the mystery of dreams. Not only does she get down to the molecular level of why the body acts the way it does, she always brings it back to the big picture of the body's function to keep the reader on track of the day and not lost in the scientific language. As well as thoroughly explaining complicated science talk in a more basic way, she backs up all of her explanations with scientific evidence, experiments, and studies. Not only do these back up her explanations, but they also combat popular believing myths of the body, keeping the book entertaining and intriguing. For example, did you know that being in the cold and getting sick are not correlated? More people get sick in the winter time because of the close proximity to other humans from being inside more often. Also, the best time to work out is not in the morning like most people think, but in the evening when your muscle strength, flexibility, and body temperature is at its peak. Being educated about these myths are important to live in your one and only body the best way possible.
     Ackerman uses multiple anecdotes as well to appeal to pathos and ethos. These anecdotes help remind the reader once in a while that Ackerman is also a human, and just a writer, not a doctor or scientist. This reminder is helpful because she was just as curious as the reader to the functions our body carries out and why. The whole book entails interesting details and facts about the body that I would never have knew on my own. For example, the bugs and bacteria in our stomach help determine what weight we are, by fidgeting you can burn off as many calories as you consume, that the descend action of a workout is what actually builds your muscles, and many many many more.
   I am so excited to finish this book. Just like Ackerman felt, I am so fascinated by the human body, and how I constantly do things without one thought to the action. I am amazed at what goes on inside the body, without me even knowing. This is my one and only body that I will live with for 85+ (hopefully) years. I might as well get to know it a little bit.

TOW #17: Deport Justin Bieber?

       Justin Bieber. Two words, one fragile image. The recent actions from Justin Bieber has just showed us what growing up in the limelight does to an individual. The Canadian native was arrested earlier this week for street racing in a Lamborghini, driving without a valid license, resisting arrest, and under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Now that doesn't sound like a nice role model image for all the young kids who look up to Bieber. Since Bieber is actually an immigrant, he is retained in American with an O-1 work Visa, used for foreigners with "extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics." While Bieber was spending his minutes in jail in South Florida, his team hired the number one celebrity defense attorney Roy Black. 
     The author of the article, Ruben Navarrette, introduces writes this article to argue the unfairness of treatment between rich celebrities and poor immigrants. Immigrants that get deported because they are caught for just one headlight out, or a rolling stop sign, don't have the connections to hire someone like Roy Black to defend them. They just get deported right back to where they started. But on the other hand, someone like Bieber who was caught for destructive driving under the influence without a license, just needs to higher a fancy attorney and he's good. Even with a green card or permit, one can stay in the country if working or studying, but one mishap with the law and back to the motherland they go. Navarrette is arguing that if Bieber is convicted of the alleged crimes in South Florida, he should be sent right back where he came from just like any other immigrant would.