Another Hunger Games?

What if you didn't have to say goodbye to the immensely popular distopian world of Panem and the story that follows live of the protagonist, Katniss Everdeen. According to director Francis Lawrence, he describes that he would be eager to continue to work on the film, and as of now, that is an extreme possibility. Lionsgate productions has also been hinting of possibly creating Hunger Games prequels. When questioned about such statements, Jennifer Lawrence, the movie's star, says that she thinks that it is "too soon" to revisit the world of the Hunger Games. She is currently working on other film projects, but would be willing to star as Katniss in the future.

I completely agree with Jennifer that they are making plans for a new story way too quickly. The author, Suzanne Collins, hasn't even written any sort of plot for a new story line. If the film's company was to rapidly continue the project, they would have to write most of the events themselves, which could either make the story adventurous and exciting, or completely a disappointment and potentially ruin the whole series. Personally I would love to see another move, or maybe read another book, but for the time being, I think that Lionsgate are being too ambitous if they follow through with making a movie and will most likely destroy our visions of the fantasy world that it takes place in. Please give the movies a little time to settle and maybe in ten years time, when everyone will get excited again, you can come out with another hit.

An Anthem for Adolescent Individuality (final)

Let's take a step back into 2008, in the heart of Disney Channel. Here was a rising star named Demi Lovato who had starred in the hit original movie, Camp Rock, and the TV comedy, Sonny with a Chance. Her first album, Don't Forget, was one of her big jumps to stardom. As one of the title tracks, "La La Land", she described the pressures of society, especially in Hollywood, to look and act a certain way. Unlike many of the people around her, she states that she does not want to change who she is, no matter environment she is in.

Let's take a look at the lyrics: she sings, "I'm not a supermodel, I still eat McDonald's. Baby, that's just me." In places that glamorize the "perfect body," it seems like Demi does not want to give into the pressure of looking a certain way. She wants to eat what she wants to eat and it is her decision in the end. To continue this trend, she asks, "Who said I can't wear my converse with my dress? Well, baby, that's just me!" Her own style is another thing that she wants to define her as an individual in a society filled with people who all look the same. She's just being herself and isn't afraid to stand next to someone wearing a thousand dollar heels. Not only is her physical appearance trying to be changed, but so is her own personal life and the emotions that come with it. She sings, "And who said I can't be single and have to go out and mingle? Baby, that's not me." Over and over again she ends her phrases with "that's not me" after she states something she is being pressured to do. She remains relentless whenever she is trying to be changed in attempt to increase her popularity, her fan base, and maybe her revenue. Others even say that "[she needs] to be afraid of losing everything," and yet she ignores their so called "advice" and continues to control her own life the way she wants to. She doesn't care about what other people think of her At the end of the song she sings statements like, "I'm not going to change," "I will stay that same," "I won't change anything in my life," "I'm staying myself tonight." Usually the last words in any kind of writing, like a poem or a story, it leaves the reader, or listener in this case, with some sort of message that is meant to stay with them. A sort of everlasting impression that sums up all of the words before. In this case, Demi Lovato is showing that she is determined to not be changed by the the "la-la land machine" that is
Hollywood.

This whole bubble of the West Coast creates a sort of illusion of perfection and lifestyles that are not realistic. Everyone has the same routines and looks the same. People that enter such an environment end up being pumped out to be the same each other, like how a machine never changes its product. Maybe going so far to say that Hollywood is the machine and the celebrities are what it is producing and that it is not the paradise that it is made out to be. Not like the other celebrities in the business, she won't change what she wears, what she eats, who she dates, or how she lives her life to please anyone, but herself. It is easy to not know this song if you were not an avid Disney Channel viewer in the late 2000s, but Lovato's music video for "La La Land" has over 100 million views on YouTube. Hopefully such a message of staying true to yourself despite the pressures around you has spread to more than adolescent young girls, but to different kinds of people all around the world. Use Demi Lovato's incredible vocals and her lyrics to encourage yourself to be happy in your own skin. Join the thousands and check out the music video here

A Heartfelt Goodbye to the Black Mamba

After 20 years of being the pride and joy of the Los Angeles Lakers, the 37 year old Kobe Bryant announced his retirement. He actually wrote a poem about how his life had been great and that he loves the game, but his body couldn't take much more and that "this season is all I have left to give." To see his actual tweet, click here

In 1996 the young high school star, Kobe Bryant, was selected as the 13th overall draft pick by the NBA team the Charlotte Hornets. He was then traded to the Lakers and ended up spending the rest of his career with the team. He went on to win five national championship titles, including a three-peat, is a two-time NBA finals MVP, seventeen-time NBA all-star, and has won two gold olympic medals with the national basketball team in Beijing and London. The list of his accomplishments seems to go on forever as there are many more than listed above. Looking at what Bryant has done makes you wonder what the league will be like without such a veteran who has made his own personal mark on the sport. This could even be connected to the well known NFL Denver Broncos quarterback, Peyton Manning, and how he is nearing the end of his historic career. Overall, I will miss seeing Kobe on the court with the Laker's jersey on. I know that we shouldn't be hopeful of a coaching career as when he was asked, he laughed and said, "that's the funniest thing I've ever heard." I dread the end of this season because I know that the league won't be the same without the Black Mamba at it's heart.

Increasing Diversity On the North Shore

Recently, it has been brought to the attention of residents and politicians alike that the northern suburbs of Chicago's housing prices are deemed unaffordable for a majority of the population. One of them, Wilmette, has the average price for a house range between $670,000 to $700,000 compared to the state average of $170,000 according to Realtor.com. Because of this, the majority of the residents are white and prove to have little diversity. To try and fix this “problem” and attract a new crowd to the town, there have been talks between Wilmette plan commissioners of building a 20-unit affordable apartment building. When village leaders met to discuss the idea, many other residents came to express their opposition. Their complaints included their concerns of increase an of crime and or possibly a resulting decrease in their own house values.

Personally I believe that such an idea is unrealistic. In no way am I discriminating against person, no matter their race, but typically the richest families in our nation are white. Wilmette has currently over 27,000 residents and covers 5.41 square miles of land. It is realistic to assume that everyone in every house in those 5.41 square miles of the neighborhood are fabulously wealthy. Yes there are many large, expensive houses throughout the town, particularly near the lake, there are also many affordable houses and small apartment buildings throughout the neighborhood.

One must also keep in mind that the phrase, “location, location, location,” is a very relatable topic to such a case. This is something that realtors and homeowners or buyers frequently consider when looking at places to live along with their price. Last year my grandmothers had told me about how her local top doctor was putting his house on the market. It was the largest property, not including a farm, that was being sold in the town of Grand Island, Nebraska. It had a three car garage, three stories, and was appraised on the market for $300,000. My grandma expressed her disgust with such a price that she said in her slight country accent, “Who has that kind of money? That price is ridiculous!” This price is less than half of the Wilmette average, but it’s that way for a reason. Instead of looking at the house itself, let’s look at what is around it. Grand Island is very different than Wilmette, Illinois. What adds hundreds of thousands of dollars to property costs are factors like being near Lake Michigan and Chicago, some of the best public schools in the country, and even the peaceful atmosphere.

If even more “affordable” apartments were added to the town, there could be large problems. Agreeing with some of the angered residents, it could lower their own appraised value for their homes and is not very logical concerning the factors that make the area so expensive. I don’t think that any of the objections are made to insult people of the lower class or another race, but are made to show concern for personal loss of money in the long run for the families already living in Wilmette. Personally I don’t think creating another group of people living in Wilmette is as big of a problem is it seems. If these buildings are approved to be built, they need to be done so in an area where it does not threaten the value of the nearby houses.

Police Handcuff 7-Year-Old Student

On October 12th, a seven year old child attending Brownell STEM Academy's after-school program in Flint, Michigan was handcuffed by police. His mother, Chrystal McCadden, was called into the school office, and when she arrived, she saw her son’s wrists bound together. When she demanded that her son be released, the officers claimed that they didn’t even have the key. Chrystal Claims, “He don't deserve to be in no handcuffs, he ain't in here with no knife, he ain't in here with no gun. You put my son in handcuffs and you don't have the key — what sense does that make?" She later revealed to NBC reporters that her son had ADHD and had never attempted to hurt himself or another person. That would make it difficult to calm his actions when the teacher demanded him to stop. It is still unproven exactly what the boy did to show some sort of disturbance in the school environment. The mother even managed to record video of her son while in the handcuffs in the school. See the two videos here nbcnews.com

The Flint Police Department released a statement on Friday that the young student "appeared intent on injuring himself" and was then handcuffed to prevent injury to himself and other students. Along with this, James Tolbert, Flint Police Chief, made a public announcement toward the McCadden family, explaining his apologies for the incident. He has scheduled special training for all of the department’s officers in “de-escalation tactics” to use toward children.

One would only imagine that these kind of interactions between children and police rarely occur, but this is not the case. Only last week, a South Carolina school officer was fired after flipping an 18-year-old student in her chair. Along with this, in August, an 8-year old Kentucky boy who had ADHD was handcuffed while in school by a Kenton County Sheriff's Deputy after failing to listen to his teacher.

This topic is obviously very sensitive towards some and I understand that. It brings up the question if children, or even students, should be treated this way by police officers. Should they be treated as if they were adults? Personally I do not think so because they have experienced less than those who are older and could possibly not know better. I know that this is not exactly the best, most specific reason, but just imagine seeing a child behind bars who might not be able to help committing their crime, like McCadden who had ADHD. Let me know how you feel.

Stop Dreaming Donald

2016 Presidential Candidate
Donald Trump

For a second time, Donald Trump has been accused of using the band Aerosmith's song "Dream On" to power his campaign. Representatives from the lead vocalist, Steven Tyler have now sent another cease-and-desist letter to Trump's campaign. Inside this letter it states that they do not "have [their] clients permission to use 'Dream On.'" It is very reasonable why this is a potential issue because it could make it look like Tyler is connected to Trump's presidential bid not to mention that it isn't even legal. It doesn't matter if the two are friends because if Mr. Donald Trump doesn't have Aerosmith's permission to use their hit song, or any of their songs in that manner, than he is not legally able to use it.

Aerosmith

I know that Donald Trump is a powerful billionaire and that he must get in legal trouble frequently. He might win these kind of cases frequently, but the problem is that I think that it adds to his ego. It could make him feel like he is untouchable because he has the money to hire the best lawyers in the world. Personally this kind of behavior is not what I would envision in a president of the United States. Nothing like breaking the law before voting day. In saying this, I understand that there are many people who strongly support Trump's ideas and decisions in life and in his campaign. It is just my opinion that this is not a good idea to break the law twice and still expect people to trust you with the nation's government. I would like to think that our future president would create a good image for the rest of the world to see the country.

Shooting in Oregon

Undated photo of Chris Harper-Mercer from his Myspace page

Just on the first day of October, a 26 year old community college student named Chris Harper-Mercer had attended his English class just like any other day. The thing is that that is only what all of his peers and teacher thought. During the class, this student opened fire on everyone else in the room using military grade weapons. It turns out that he brought six guns that day and 5 ammunition magazines. Eventually the police caught up to the gunman and he was killed in a shootout. In this school shooting, Harper-Mercer killed nine students and teachers, while injuring many others.

According to friends and neighbors, Chris Harper-Mercer was a kind of "awkward loser" who was always seen riding his red bike. He lived with his mother who was friendly to the whole community. While she would chat with other people, Chris would keep to himself and not engage. After a thorough search of their apartment, police found seven other guns.

Unlike some other mass shooters, Harper-Mercer was an army boot camp dropout who flunked out in 2008. After extensive chaser, investigators found through his social media that he was fascinated by the Irish Republic Army, was frustrated by organized religion, and tracked mass shootings that happened all around the world. He seemed to urge others to watch a Virginia shooting from August and stated that "the more people you kill, the more you're in the limelight." There was also a message posted on 4chan, a racist and misogynistic forum, that described an upcoming attack, but it is unproven if it was commented by Harper-Mercer.

 Yes all of the guns that he used in the crime were legally registered, but that doesn't make it right for him to be able to use them. I have mixed feelings towards gun control, but if the laws were a little stricter, then there wouldn't be over one shooting a day. In the 274 days so far of 2015, there have been 294 mass shootings. Learn more towards gun control here. Now I'm not saying that no one in the United States shouldn't be able to own a gun or weapon, but that restrictions for registering for a gun are much more intensive so that the police potentially have more leads before crimes happen. I hope that changes will be made and less people die each day, but hoping will only get us so far.


Article describing Oregon shooting time.com