Racism in Shows

Today in Class, Mr. Bolos brought up for a minute or so the difference of Black men and White men in TV shows.
He said that one of his friends brought up the fact that all black men are always dressed nicer then the white males during TV.
Not really noticing it before Mr. Bolos said, but then after he was told thats all he could notice, was how well-dressed black males were.
This very same thing happened to me today. When Mr. Bolos said that I began thinking about if its really true or not. And I was thinking of shows that I watch and its TRUE! For example, the two shows that first came to mind were House and 24. Two of my favorite shows that I watch religiously. In House, the doctor Gregory House has a team of doctors that he always works with, and it consists of 3 men and 1 women. One of the men happens to be African American. Whose name is Dr. Eric Foreman. Throughout the show they wear their doctors coat, but underneath they dont all dress the same. Foreman always has a button down with a tie, while the others dont. Sometimes the others wear that but, Foreman always is dressed up. The other example is that of 24, which is a crim fighting/solving show. In this show the head of CTU is am African American man who always its dressed nice as well, and his employees are all much more casual. His name is Brian Hastings, and he like Foreman is always dressed nicer then his fellow white male co-workers.
I think that these types of things dont happen on accident, the producers make a choice on what the actors wear, and its not a coincidence that all black males are dressed better. If this a form of racism on the screen. Do Americans have this picture of Blacks as people that are bad unless they are dressed professionally?
If you have any more examples of this or any thoughts please comment.

Racism in Sports

 Look at the Previous post as well, they go together
The games that we play today are virtually the same games we played ninety years ago with a few exceptions. The first difference is the equipment we play with. The second difference is the skill level of the players. The third and possibly most important difference is integration of the games. If you take away the new equipment, and the players skill levels you still have the same game with the same basic principle. However, if you take away the integration of the game you would take away a whole other dimension that people of different race have brought to the game we play. Golfers would still be driven balls without tees. Players like Hank Aaron, Tiger Woods, and Muhammad Ali would never have rewritten the record books. Most importantly, however, these players of other races would still be playing in the dark never being recognized for the greatness of their athletic ability. 

There may be no other type of racism that is more publicized than racism in sports. Sports are a staple in the United States. Sports could quite possibly be the one thing more Americans have in common than anything else. But why in this day and age is racism in sports more abundant than ever?

In my opinion, racism in sports may not be quite as abundant as we think.

Nothing has become more bias and more "evil" than the American media. Since when did it become more important to report that Alex Rodriguez was spotted having dinner with a strange woman than it is to give us his stats and his performance in the very thing that made him famous?

Take a step back and think for one second. What made America care more about Britney's shaved head or Angelina's pregnant stomach? The media. Media coverage has become focused on negative and uncivil acts more now than it ever has. You can easily open your local sports page and find your daily dose of scores and stats, but somewhere else in there you will find a scandal or a report on something an athlete did wrong. It's the way our society has gone.

But where does racism fit in? Let's first touch on the NFL. No story stands out more when it comes to racism in the NFL than Donovan McNabb's comments regarding a black quarterback vs. a white quarterback.

McNabb expressed that a black quarterback is examined in more depth and under a less forgiving microscope. Not only black quaterbacks but also blacks around all the different leagues.

What do you guys think about racism in sports today?

Racism Today?

After our class discussion about Race and Racism I couldnt do anything else but blog about it. Racism is something that we don't always talk about any more. Does that mean it doesn't exsist? No, racism is still very much alive today as it was 40+ years ago. Sorry to everyone that thought the war on Racism was over, but its not. Racism today is not as dangerous as it once was, but that does not mean that it doesn't hurt people just as much.
African Americans today are still going through the hardships they were going through for hundreds of years. Managers and interviewers are not suppose to discriminate and hand out jobs because of color, but they still do. There are no ways to regulate if a boss is doing so. Although our country has come very far, we still have a long way to go. Our country has created a stereotype that all successful people are white males. In almost all Canons humans have made there aren't any women, and certainly no African Americans. Why is this? This is because we have created this picture in our minds that white men are the ones on top of everything. In the work place and on the streets.
Black men and women had no respect at all over 30 years ago and still to this day that don't have nearly the same amount as whites. For our country to become the best we can be we have to invite and allow any one and everyone to reach their full potential. Without African Americans and Whites working together there is a whole umbrella of new ideas thats still closed even today.

If you have any thoughts about  this cartoon or Race today please let us know

The New Pro Bowl

     For the first time 86 of the NFLs best came together last night (one week before the Super Bowl) in Miami. The Pro-Bowl was held at Dolphin Stadium which is also the host to this year’s Super Bowl. This is not Miami’s first Pro-Bowl game; the last one held there was in 1975 when the site rotated annually.
     It's not a new topic to have the game moved up to take place between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. The NFL has discussed it multiple times in recent years, and Commissioner Roger Goodell told the press last month that having the game before the Super Bowl would avoid a "somewhat anticlimactic" ending to the season. In the past the Pro-Bowl would not get a lot of press because it is after the season is over and no one is interested in watching a "joke of a game". Now having it before the Super Bowl, the press can focus on the game and all football fans are still focused on the NFL and the hype leading up to the big game. The downside of having it before the Super Bowl is that 40% of the players originally voted in did not play due to injury and all players from the Colts and Saints didn't play either due to preparation for the Super Bowl.
     Many would say that the Pro-Bowl doesn't attract a lot of fans due to the Super Bowl players not playing. Even though the best player (Peyton Manning) along with some other All-Stars did not play, you still have 86 amazing football players that are all on the field at the same time. This game consists of the best athletes in the game today, and it’s a game where all the players get together and have some fun with the game of football.
Last night’s game was one of the better pro-bowls not only because of the amazing timing, but with the new rules in place it allowed the QBs to air the ball out for some huge plays. These plays are the reason why people watch the game. The new rules are: no motion, no trips wide, no blitzes, no press/bump coverage, no 5-6 cb sets, must be in 4-3 defense, intentional grounding not called, and no videotaping the coaches on the sideline. Although these rules don’t allow the defenses to make huge hits and huge plays, it allows the offense to go to work. All fans love to see the ball thrown a million times and a very high scoring game. The new rules allow for more excitement on the field.

iPad

As we all have heard Apple has came out with its newest item the iPad. And yes your probably thinking what else could Apple make? This new item is just what everyone has been looking for. You know when you are on the couch and wanna grab the paper of the kitchen counter or get up and go to the computer, but your just to lazy to do it. Everyone has that happen to them, so Apple thought, why should anyone have to think like that any more. The iPad is what those types of people need. Its a 9.7 inch computer with no buttons. Its the same look as an iPhone but instead it is very similar to just a laptop without the folding up and the keyboard. It does everything an iPhone does expect the phone part. It has access to all the apps and runs just like the phone.
Why get this? This Pad can do everything from being a computer to a simple picture frame. This is the most simple and smallest and lightest computer ever. You can watch your movies on a larger screen and use it as a camera and make all the adjustments on the run.
The people having issues with this are going to be all of the book companies and newspapers are going to take a bigger hit. Why would you ever buy a book if you have access to every book in the palm of your hands. Why ever get a newspaper if you have everyone at the slide of a finger. Not only do you have that but its smaller and lighter then newspapers, and books.

What I see Coming!!
The iPad could be the future of classrooms. I could very easily see New Trier buying a iPad for every student, and in that iPad, is installed every text book and all the reading materials for everyclass. Not only is the investment worth it but then students wouldnt have to worry about all of the books they have to buy and have on them at all times. It could very easily replace the entire backpack. The iPad opens so many possibilities for everyone.The iPad could change the next generation. Let me know your thoughts.

The Cat in the Hat

One of my favorite childrens book is The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. The Cat brings a cheerful, exotic chaos to a household of two young children one rainy day while their mother leaves them unattended. Bringing with him two creatures appropriately named Thing One and Thing Two, the Cat performs all sorts of wacky tricks. And to make up for the chaos he has caused, he cleans up the house on his way out, disappearing seconds before the mother arrives. There are a few things that are very interesting to me 1. The mom leaves the kids at home alone and a weirdo comes into their house and she didn't lock the door. 2. Another possibility is that the cat has a striped hat. Perhaps this is symbolic of the striped suits that are commonly worn by prisoners. In other words, they were making the cat out to be a real psycho.
He then makes the children do things that they're uncomfortable with, telling them that it's "fun" even though they obviously don't enjoy it. They're worried the entire time that their mother will find out because of the mess he's causing.
At the end, they tell him to please go away and take his things with him, because their mom is coming home. He covers up  his wrongdoings and leaves, just as the mother arrives. Then, the narrator asks "Would you tell your parents if it happened to you?" That's the part thats really creepy.
  I have come to believe that this story is actually about poor parenting and/or a instance of abuse. Of course, it might just be a completely innocent children's story.
What do you think the meaning behind this book is?

Dubai Topping the World

Dubai is the new home to the tallest building in the world. Burj Khalifa is the name of the newest building in Dubai. Even though the economy is down the buildings are going up into the sky. The new building Burj is 2 x the size of the Empire State Building which is in New York City. Burj Khalifa is the work of the grand old Chicago architectural firm of Skidmore Owings and Merrill. This building is 165 stories. Standing 2,717 ft above the ground. The previous building that held that status was the Taipei 101 Tower which is only 101 stories. Standing 1,670 ft tall. Burj is not just the new tallest building in the world but has set new benchmarks and has set new definitions to the word skyscraper. It has broken seven world records:  1. The tallest Building in the World. 2. Tallest free-standing structure in the world. 3. Highest number of stories of any structure. 4. Highest occupied floor in the world. 5. Highest outdoor observation deck. 6. Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world. 7. Tallest service elevator in the world.  The design of the building is similar to that of the Sears Tower now the Willis Tower. As the base is much wider than the top and it gradually gets skinnier and skinnier. Due to the massive height of Burj on a windy day the building can sway from 6-8 feet.
Some say that eventually there will be a building over a mile high. Its crazy to think about but buildings with this kind of height is not that far away.

Jay Jay is Here to Stay

Jay Cutler, the starting QB for the Chicago Bears finished the season with 2 amazing games. The last two games he had 8 TDs and only 1 INT. Cutler not having his best season with 26 ints. The most of his career. Many people from Chicago had it with Jay and wanted him out of Chicago. Many wished that we still had Kyle Orton. But getting Jay Cutler was the best decision the Bears franchise has made since winning the Super Bowl in 85'. Cutler played like a MVP the last 2 weeks. Finishing the season with 27 TDs also the most in his career. His stated before the Vikings game that he wanted to finish the season with more TDs then INTS. And he did just that. On Monday Night Football against the Vikings, Cutler put up stella numbers with 4TDs and 1 Int with a 39 yard TD pass in OT to lead the Bears with a W and again against the Lions with 4TDs and 0 Ints. These two performances is the exact reason why Jay Cutler is the right choice for Chicago. With no receivers and a pair of decent tight ends we need a top end quarterback and he is that top end quarterback.

Holidays Bring out the Best in People

The holidays bring out the beat in people...usually. This holiday season has brought some good and some bad. Why around the holidays? Holidays are fun and suppose to be jolly. But many bad things have happened over this holiday season. Is this because it’s the last one of the decade and people want to leave with a bang? Probably not. Lets start in sports. Brett Favre and his coach are in a fight. Mike Leach (Texas Tech head coach) gets fired one day before he was suppose to get his bonus because he locked a kid in a shed for multiple hours. Wide Receiver Chris Henry got killed. The only undefeated team (the Colts) lost. Hometown Chicago Bulls Coach is about to get the boot. Urban Meyer (Florida head football coach) has to step down because of health issues. Tiger Woods (the worlds greatest golfer) having more problems with his mistresses and his family. Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather fight still hasn’t been set. All these bad things that’s happening in today’s sports news. There’s also some good as well. But why all the drama around this years holiday. And lets no forget about the most serious of them all a terrorist attack gone bad and potential terrorists could be anywhere. And a suicide bomber killed eight American civilians, most of them C.I.A. officers, at a remote base in Afghanistan. And many other bad things have happened this holiday season. C’mon why can't we all just enjoy the holidays?

So Many Bowl Games...

Thirty-four bowl games come on that’s a lot of football. Even the biggest of football fans don’t watch them all. Over this break I have watched many bowl games that I wouldn’t normally watch because of all the down time I have. I don’t know if you have watched any of them yet, but for all of the bowls that have already been played the stadiums are about half way full. This is because no one wants to watch the Independence Bowl and the Roadys Humanitarian Bowl. This is because these games don’t mean anything to the fans, and to the nation. On the other hand these games are what make college football so great today. If there weren't 34 bowl games that means 68 teams play and if they cut that number of bowls then the number of teams has to go to. This wouldn’t affect the well-known schools but for schools like SMU, Bowling Green, Idaho, Troy, and Central Florida wouldn’t make it to these games. For those teams the bad bowl games are like national championships for them, winning the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl is just as big as Texas winning the National Championship. Those teams just have their goals set lower then going undefeated. So college football needs all of the bowl games and many people want to lessen the number of bowls, but I say we add another 5 bowl games to give 10 more teams that aren’t as good as a Florida, Texas, Ohio State a chance. Teams like Notre Dame could possibly make a bowl game.