Category: journalism

Live by Curiosity, Not Fear

paris22Leave a comment
Photo Credit: mymarketingdiary.wordpress.com

Friday October 23rd my parents and I made the relatively strenuous drive at 8:30 at night to Redlands University to see my brother at his college Homecoming.

To be honest, I couldn’t care less about football. In fact, I chatted the whole time and not about the plays being made on the field.

But, on Saturday, the day of the largely anticipated game (admittedly, not by me), I went to see something truly unforgettable.

A few hours before the game, Redlands hosted a guest speaker and that speaker was Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love.

I read the book a few years ago and loved it, so I was looking forward to her speech. The main idea of Gilbert’s speech was her desire to live a creative life, her journey to attaining that life, and to encourage others into also living this life.

First of all, she was very clear: to live a creative life, you must follow curiosity rather than fear, and the two are closely intertwined.

This deeply resonated with me, as I am the type of person who thinks of every bad side to a situation and lets those (usually improbable) reasons sway me from not doing something.

Gilbert was inspiring, intuitive, and an amazing speaker. The speech was definitely worth having to watch a football game afterward, though I did leave at halftime.

We’re Toast

beetlejus

Today is a terrible, terrible day.

 One of the things I hold most dear could be seriously hurting me.  That’s right, bread may cause cancer.

A report courtesy of environmental research and the advocacy organization Environmental Working Group, shows that potassium bromate is used in at least 86 baked goods and other products found in supermarkets. 

Various lab tests on animals found that potassium bromate causes significant increase in kidney, thyroid and other cancers in animals. Also, a 2011 study found that it can damage DNA  and cause stress in humans. 

It is still unsure how much potassium bromate a human would have to consume before it started to cause health issues.

  Potassium bromate has already been banned by the European Union, U.K, Canada and Brazil.  So what’s with the wait U.S?

  I am ready for the day I can buy as many baked goods from the grocery store and not worry about cancer.  

I mean cancer should be the last thing I should worry about as I walk through the aisles of Vons. 

Maybe I could worry about college or something, but bread cancer? Hell no.

https://i0.wp.com/i.huffpost.com/gen/1387950/images/o-BREAD-facebook.jpg
Credit to Huffington Post

American Airlines Craziness

mushuoo

Two major events have struck American Airlines this week. Lets recap:

Photo Credit: upload.wikimedia.org 

Today, October 5th, at 7:10 am American Airlines flight 550 landed in New York mid-flight for the last reason anyone would expect: the pilot passed away mid-flight, the name of the pilot and cause has not been announced.

During the flight, the pilot became unresponsive, at which point the co-pilot took over and was able to safely land the plane in Syracuse, its original destination was Boston.

This unfortunate event was completely unforeseen, thank goodness the co-pilot was proactive and able to get all 147 passengers to ground safely.

Next event. American Airlines flight 31 departed from Los Angeles with a full house, Hawaii bound.

Little known fact that the Airbus A321s was not certified to fly over the Pacific Ocean. This aircraft was no correctly equipped to fly over the Pacific.

Luckily, the aircraft made it safely to Hawaii. The plane was later flown back to LAX with the minimum amount of crew on board.

Thankfully both of these incidents left no passengers harmed… just a bit shaken.

Things Change

indigoshell

I remember when I was a kid, I wanted to be a surgeon. Thinking back now, I cannot remember why, but something about my Asian ancestry made me want to be something big, important, and that rakes in cash.

My parents convinced me to change my career path.” They said that being a surgeon was too strenuous, that I would have no time to do anything else. Being a dentist was better, they said. Lots of cash, free time, and still in the medical field.

When I discovered my love for animals, I did what was natural for every animal-loving child of 12. I told everyone that I wanted to be a vet. And for the longest time I dreamed of traveling the world as an exotic vet, taking care of any and all wild animals that needed help at the moment. It was a big dream for a little girl.

Though that dream still lies, I soon realized that I don’t have the intelligence or… Mental grit to be anything in the medical field. I had no problem dealing with blood or dissections, but the thought of being in school for 7-9 more years made me feel queasy.

By some luck or miracle, a friend said two words with full confidence that may have saved me money, time, and sanity. “Forest Ranger.” I could be with animals. I could be surrounded by nature, isolated in a cabin or helping people understand the wonders that befuddle them.

Photo cred: Tom Philo Photography

 

Crazy to think how my aspirations have… Seemingly degraded. From high-ranking surgeon to a live-in-the-dirt forest ranger. But I really wouldn’t have it any other way. Things change.

Baltimore Riots

mushuooLeave a comment

Over the course of the past week, thousands of people have been rioting in the streets of Baltimore, Maryland for what they believe is justice for the death of Freddie Gray.

But what started out as a large group of teenagers, has turned into utter chaos for all the wrong reasons.

The death of Freddie Gray under police custody raises some eyebrows because of his ethnicity and gender: African-American male.

The police in the United States have set a precedent for themselves: they are overly aggressive towards African-American males. Looking back on the past few years, there are more than enough cases to confirm this precedent.

Photo Credit: localtvwred.files.wordpress.com

Although there are many cases that give tangible evidence to show there is a “reason” for these riots, they are unacceptable and out of control.

These kids have no idea what they are getting themselves into. Looting, arsonist tendencies, and violence being committed on their own city is simply tragic and disappointing.

It is time for the United States government to begin to take control of this situation, and begin to make an effort that can be seen by the American people.

 

 

Imposers

raining17

Videos are constantly popping up all over the internet, with titles broadcasting one miracle of life after another. From a child born without a brain to another born with an extra arm, these stories are true to their name.

Photo Credit: imagecdn.godvine.com

However, beyond videos about rare diseases and miracle survivors, the producers of these shows have began to document people who, frankly, are undeserving of the “miracle” title.

From viewing a documentary of a child with a never-before-seen case of dwarfism, one could then be taken to a video about a woman with the most famous butt. People, that is not a miracle of life!

It’s almost as if these unqualified people are taking away from people who truly are miracles. It’s not glory that is being taken away, per say, but the whole point of these “miracle” documentaries is to share the stories of unusual people. If one has a famous butt or some crazy plastic surgery, it’s not really a miracle, and it makes genuine miracles seem less important.

As far as videos about insane body-modification, great – they’re entertaining. However, they shouldn’t be categorized as life miracles, for they are not natural. The whole concept is based on changing oneself, and therefore in no way do any of these people qualify as someone born with an unusual quality.

Journalism Competition

mushuooLeave a comment
Photo Credit: staticsquaarespace.com

Monday, March 30th, OVS’ Journalism class took a trip down to Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks for a Journalism competition.

I have only been in Journalism for a little over three months now, so this is still all very new to me. Regardless, I was very excited.

After waking up at 5:30 a.m., we got some coffee and drove to the competition.

This competition is held each year and OVS has won awards almost every year they have competed.

I was competing in the Feature category with my fellow journalist, Daphne Psaledakis.

Our speaker told an interesting story about a Patagonian sheep herder traveling to the United States in order to earn higher pay so that he could support his family and his children can have a higher education.

It was intriguing and interesting, and something I had never heard a lot about previous to the competition.

Although I did not place at the end of the competition, some of my fellow journalists did. I was so proud of them, and even though I did not win an award, I learned so much from this experience that will help me to become a better writer.

 

The Jinx Justices

mushuooLeave a comment

As most of the world may know by now, Robert Durst has recently been caught and is in custody for the murder of Susan Berman, his friend, in 2000.

His admitting to this crime came to surface during Durst’s six part documentary series The Jinx on HBO.

This happened when Durst was still attached to a microphone, and during a bathroom break, muttered under his breath that he “killed them all.”

A little disturbing? Yes.

Durst had been interrogated many times about his friend, Ms. Berman’s, death. He had not once admitted to any participation in her murder. After holding in such a serious secret for 15 years, it appears that it had been taking a toll.

If you watch the documentary series, during his final interview, Durst has a physiological reaction, uncontrollable burping and muttering nonsense under his breath.

His reaction to the questions asked in the documentary obviously shows how psychologically disturbed Durst is, as his odd behavior increases to a max, he finally admits to the murders… thinking he was all to himself.

Photo Credit: mentalfloss.com

 

Cop Control Part 2

mushuooLeave a comment
Photo Credit: media.jnr.com

The tables have turned.

Just as I was beginning to think that the police were running rampant, recently multiple officers have been victims of civilian shootings.

The true question is; what was their intent?

This question applies to the officers involved in the many shootings of African-Americans, generally men, over the past few years. However, recently because of the Ferguson case in particular and the many other shootings by police officers in the U.S., people have been taking matters into their own hands.

Patterns show that generally white male police officers profile African-American males because of arrest records and generalizations that they are more violent than whites or Hispanics. Because of this profiling, they are more likely to take drastic measures when threatened or have suspicion.

These incidents can be argued against. Many accusations use the word “discrimination.” Are these truly acts of discrimination? Or officers who are posed with a deadly threat in which they responded with a deadly action?

The only people who know the truth are the officers and the victims, which recently have been the officers themselves.

 

 

White Students Terrorize an American Classmate

instalockerLeave a comment

I recently watched a shocking video where a little boy named Harsukh Singh is terrorized by his classmates who claim he is a terrorist. It seems to be a common occurrence when he rides the bus, because he felt the need to film it. Why is it fair that one child can be excluded from the rest of his fellow-American classmates, and be blamed for a series of horrible events that happened all over the world?

I guarantee that the boy is not responsible for the World Trade Center, the Boston Bombing, or Charlie Hebdo. In the video he says “Kids are being racist to me and calling me an Afghani terrorist. Please don’t act like this towards people like me you don’t know. I’m not Muslim, I’m Sikh”.

The bullies think they are different from a terrorist. But the definition of a terrorist is someone who inflicts fear and has a political aim. I believe it’s more than just scaring the government; it’s about inflicting terror into the people, making it seem like not even the government can help. Everyday, United States citizens make people who look like Harsukh Singh feel like they are the bad guy and go out of their way to verbally, or even sometimes physically, attack them.

Each person who contributes to creating the terrorist stereotype is, in fact, a terrorist themselves. Maybe not individually, but in the bigger picture a large number of people bullying people of one specific skin tone is a form of terrorism.

Harsukh Singh is a smart boy, and he has already changed many lives by realizing the real way for power is through social media. I hope that a big news story is written on this, and the title should be “White Terrorists Terrorize an American Student”. Nowhere in that story should they blame Singh, or even mention religion. Even if this video isn’t covered in the news, hopefully the bullies will look back on this and realize what they did was wrong.