The book I chose was Shooting Stars by Lebron James and Buzz Bissinger (author of Friday Night Lights). I had originally chosen a book titled McMafia. It was a book that circled around crime history and its impact on the global economy. I got about thirty pages in and fell asleep for two and half hours...I think that was my clue to try something else. So the next day I went back to the library and went to a non-fiction category that was a bit more intriguing to me, sports. I immediately came across this book, Shooting Stars, and after reading what it was about I was hooked.
The book starts off describing Lebron James's childhood and then branches off from there talking about his close friends that would eventually makeup the famous Fab Five. The Fab Five was a group of basketball players that were known around the nation as one of the best high school basketball teams in the United States. Lebron James along with Little Dru, Sian, Willie, and Romeo became national champions to cap off their senior year, but this book dives deep into what obstacles they had to face to get to that point. Each player came from a very distinct background. Whether is was the "fatherless and broke" Lebron James, or the "world's against me" Romeo, this team had a wide variety of characters who came up in tough backgrounds. Somehow though, the Fab Five, were able to set aside their difficulties and play some of the most graceful, passionate, as-close-to-perfect basketball any high school basketball team has ever played.
After finishing this book I have a new found respect for Lebron James. He is one of the world's greatest athletes, but also one of the world's most hated. Shooting Stars really shows a side of Lebron that is hardly ever flaunted by the media. The professional, selfless, driven individual who achieved greatness on and off the court in a number of different ways. I recommend Shooting Stars to really any reader who enjoys a brilliant story. You might find it a little more enjoyable if you love sports, but either way it will hopefully be a good read. It might not be at the highest reading level, but it's not so simple that it feels like just another dumb sports story. I would tell you more about the overall achievements, controversies, and stories of the Lebron James and his teammates, but that would just ruin the book for those of you eager to read the book.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
A Vindication of the Rights of Women
What just happened? I really got lost while reading this very intricate opinionated piece written by Mary Wollstonecraft. I had to read each sentence very carefully and usually re-read certain parts. This was by far the most confusing of all the essays we have had to read. Don't get me wrong Mary Wollstonecraft is a brilliant writer, but at points throughout this reading it got a little repetitive and rant-like. Maybe I'm the only one who thinks that, but I hope there are others who feel the same way. It might just be because I simply can't wrap my mind around some of the concepts Wollstonecraft writes about. It can get a little "feminist-like" at times, but I completely understand why. This was back in an era (Mary Wollstonecraft lived from 1759-1797) where females were barely treated like human beings, yet alone free individuals. MW's voice is strong throughout the entire essay. She is so upset she is walking right on the borderline of madness, but she has every right to do so.
With lines like, "If then women are not a swarm of ephemeron triflers, why should they be kept in ignorance under the specious name of innocence?" and "Women are, therefore, to be considered either as moral beings, or so weak that they must be entirely subjected to the superior faculties of men." I am in awe of the intense writing style MW writes with. With each new idea MW becomes even more intense and more passionate about how women are not being treated fairly. I thought it was interesting how MW brought up how women are looked at as less important and one of the main reasons she brought up was because of their education. They didn't use to receive the same educational privileges as men did and that was one of the main reasons they were scowled upon by the men of society.
I think MW would be quite pleased with the progress that women have made in wealthy, powerful countries like The United States, England, and most of Europe. Women are really taking initiative and have jobs that even twenty years ago were not considered "jobs for women". Women make up roughly half of the students in universities whereas fifty years ago that wasn't the norm at all. Unfortunately, third world countries along with Middle Eastern nations have not given the same freedom to women that men currently have. One can only hope that with time all women, no matter what their background, can explore the world in whatever way she chooses.
With lines like, "If then women are not a swarm of ephemeron triflers, why should they be kept in ignorance under the specious name of innocence?" and "Women are, therefore, to be considered either as moral beings, or so weak that they must be entirely subjected to the superior faculties of men." I am in awe of the intense writing style MW writes with. With each new idea MW becomes even more intense and more passionate about how women are not being treated fairly. I thought it was interesting how MW brought up how women are looked at as less important and one of the main reasons she brought up was because of their education. They didn't use to receive the same educational privileges as men did and that was one of the main reasons they were scowled upon by the men of society.
I think MW would be quite pleased with the progress that women have made in wealthy, powerful countries like The United States, England, and most of Europe. Women are really taking initiative and have jobs that even twenty years ago were not considered "jobs for women". Women make up roughly half of the students in universities whereas fifty years ago that wasn't the norm at all. Unfortunately, third world countries along with Middle Eastern nations have not given the same freedom to women that men currently have. One can only hope that with time all women, no matter what their background, can explore the world in whatever way she chooses.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
This was my favorite of the articles I have read so far. Nicholas Carr does a great job at telling the reader just how obsessed people are in today's age with getting what they deem "important" knowledge as fast as possible. I truly think Google is making us more stupid...but it's also making us much smarter. That statement might not make any sense, but it's true of almost everyone. When's the last time you actually read a long essay word for word? I'm not sure about you, but I always seem to skim read any sort of literature. Carr brought up how the internet is "chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation". He goes on by saying, "Once, I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski." This is a terrific analogy. I find myself zipping across the surface of pretty much any sort of project, paper, or work.
I found it kind of funny how I was skim reading an article that mentioned skim reading. It's just the cultural norm. People, in general, don't have to prepare days before writing a paper. They just sit down in front of a computer, do half an hour worth of research, and start typing away. We are considered the internet generation. We don't want to wait for information because we don't have to. We just look it up on our phones and have our answer in a matter of seconds. I think a better name for our generation would be 'Information at our fingertips' generation. But is all this information that is so easy to access turning our minds into mush? It boils down to opinion.
"Oh, you guys have it so easy, when I was a kid..." The typical quote from a parent. What some adults don't realize is the job market is more competitive than it ever has been. You have to look at every problem from one thousand different angles and then make a decision. Google (the internet) is making us smarter by giving us access to an enormous source of knowledge. We just have to sort through it and use what we feel is valuable. Google is making us dumber because instead of learning certain concepts and ideas we just look them up and incorporate them into our work, or we decide to just learn the basics without learning the interesting (and sometime key) details. Is Google making us stupid? We may not know until it's too late.
I found it kind of funny how I was skim reading an article that mentioned skim reading. It's just the cultural norm. People, in general, don't have to prepare days before writing a paper. They just sit down in front of a computer, do half an hour worth of research, and start typing away. We are considered the internet generation. We don't want to wait for information because we don't have to. We just look it up on our phones and have our answer in a matter of seconds. I think a better name for our generation would be 'Information at our fingertips' generation. But is all this information that is so easy to access turning our minds into mush? It boils down to opinion.
"Oh, you guys have it so easy, when I was a kid..." The typical quote from a parent. What some adults don't realize is the job market is more competitive than it ever has been. You have to look at every problem from one thousand different angles and then make a decision. Google (the internet) is making us smarter by giving us access to an enormous source of knowledge. We just have to sort through it and use what we feel is valuable. Google is making us dumber because instead of learning certain concepts and ideas we just look them up and incorporate them into our work, or we decide to just learn the basics without learning the interesting (and sometime key) details. Is Google making us stupid? We may not know until it's too late.
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