Author: TravisZ

I agree Laura Rovner, the person who did this ted-talk. She says how solitary confinement is like torture, and it is. Inmates spend 23 hours in their cell with nothing but a cot, toilet, and sink. They have their meal in arms-reach of their toilet. To solve this, it shouldn’t be like this for all criminals. Jail should be a rehabilitation center, where “inmates” could learn all sorts of skills like cookie, drawing, or business to help them get a job after their time. Therapy would also be used, if there were drug addicts.

Solitary confinement is a cruel form of torture, people can forget who they are. The American justice system is broke, they are putting kids as young as 11 into solitary confinement. Of all developed nations, the US is #1 in incarcerating children, and it’s estimated that over 70% of the kids they lock up suffer from mental health disorders. Skipping school and running away are among the reasons they lock kids up. President Obama even called the entire practice into question asking: “Do we really think it makes sense to lock so many people alone in tiny cells for 23 hours a day, sometimes for months or even years at a time?” Due the these reasons and the horrors of solitary confinement, the U.S. justice system should outlaw solitary confinement.

I Have a Dream is a video about MLK’s speech during the March on Washington. The video is black and white, so I think that it actually is from 1963. MLK keeps on saying “I have a dream”, I think it was because he wants make sure everyone gets his point, that he has a dream that there will not be segregation and racism. I feel like this is actually a good strategy, just incase people don’t get why he is protesting for. At the end, he says that he wants freedom to ring from New Hampshire, New York, P.A., Colorado, California, Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi.

Graphene is one of the most important materials, a million times thinner then a piece of human hair, and ten times stronger then steel. predictions say that graphene would be used to create space ships like in Star Wars or Star Trek. People have been calling graphene an “massive disappointment” due to not having these spaceships yet. Graphene is an manmade substance with extraordinary promise. The graphene atoms are arranged in an hexagon lattice, only one atom thick. The structure allows each atom to be bonded three more around it, which is why graphene is so strong. Graphene has many uses, such as lighting and computers. It can even be used as a space elevator, although we are not even close to these technology. Graphene products can be significantly better then what’s out there, but it will also be significantly more expensive.

Scientists have begin developing ways to mass-produce graphene. The results we are seeing are very promising. Which is fortunate, because then we wouldn’t need sticky tape to build that space elevator. There is a method which is often called “turning trash into treasure”. This involves taking any material with high carbon levels and heating it to kelvins in ten milliseconds. this causes the carbon bonds to break and reconstruct as graphene. Its producers hope to produce two kilograms of graphene a day. We are finally seeing the release of graphene products that offer benefits over materials created by industry standard materials. (not finished)

Hearts and Hands by O. Harry starts out with the main characters, Mr. Easton, Miss Fairchild, and a felony, on a train. Miss Fairchild was already on the train, then Mr. Easton and the felony handcuffed onto his hands takes the only vacant seat across Miss Fairchild. Miss Fairchild was dressed in the elegant taste and surrounded by the luxuries of an experienced traveler. Mr. Easton was dressed bold, frank countenance and had good manners, while the felony was a ruffled, glum-faced person, heavily built and roughly dressed. Mr. Easton didn’t recognize Miss Fairchild at first, but after Miss Fairchild spoke, he realized he was sitting across from one of his old friends. Fairchild asks Easton what he is doing here, and Easton replies that he is working as a marshal. He says he needed money, so he came to the west coast for a job. After a while, the felony asks Easton if he could take a smoking break, and Easton accepts. After the Felony and Easton leaves the train, the first of the two people who overheard their discussion said, “Say–did you ever know an officer to handcuff a prisoner to his right hand?”

The Differences Between Mozart and Beethoven, it lists a lot of differences. Music styles in particular caught my eye. Beethoven had a strong fiery personality, while Mozart had a soft sweet personality. I would prefer Mozart, due to having the soft personality. While Beethoven would kind of be like Rap and Rock, Mozart would be like jazz. Beethoven liked surprises, but Mozart would be a perfectionist. I would like perfectionists more then people who like surprises, so I would give it to Mozart. An comment on the video said, “Mozart’s music is a walk through a garden. Beethoven’s music is when [you] [are] lost in a thick forest.” I totally agree with the comment, I think it makes sense. When you are in a thick forest, you are kind of scared about what comes next, or surprises. Surprises are Beethoven’s personality, so it makes sense. Mozart’s music is like a walk through a garden, very calm and quiet, just like Mozart’s personality. The score is 3-0, Mozart. In my opinion, Mozart is much better then Beethoven.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty starts out with a war time story. It tells about a commander in a helicopter or plane on a cold night. The end of the war story it says, “‘The Old Man will get us through,’ they said to one another. ‘The Old Man ain’t afraid of Hell!'” I thought it was a very interesting beginning. The other short stories started right away, but this one had a slow start. The rest of the book was a little confusing to me. It doesn’t directly say where the characters are or what the character’s occupation is. The reader has to guess. The character’s backstory are hidden and the author doesn’t tell the reader. I did not like this short story. There is some mention about how the characters did a book about streptothorics, and it sounds like they are doctors but I am not 100% sure. At the end, I just didn’t feel like this book was anything special. I did not like it. I am sure a few of you probably liked it, but I did not.

I thought Everyday Use by Alice Walker was a good short story. It had a good story development and backstory. The story was set in the late 1960s. The main character had little education, with here mom dropping out of school in 2nd grade and she not finishing all Twelve years of school. The main character also had a sister, which was very different from her. The character choice was very unique, the main character and her mom are not very educated, while the main character’s sister is very educated. The main character and her sister are complete opposites. There are also a few spelling mistakes, such as “dur.ing” and “soft.seated“. All the mistakes are with periods, so I wonder if these “mistakes” were made on purpose.

The end of the story was very interesting; The main character and her mom are kind of happy to see Dee, the educated sister of the main character, leave their house. My sister is graduating high school next year, I think I will miss her when she goes to college. I guess the reason the main character is happy to see Dee leave is that she might be not close to Dee and they are very different.

Madi Hammond, the speaker of Living as Gen Z: From Fear to Positive Change, talks about Gen Z and how her own experiences are from her fear of clowns. I thought this Ted Talk was like most others, the speaker says an intro and talks about their personal experiences. Then they talk about the impact and what they learned. I thought that the speaker went through tough times, like the time she was afraid of clowns and didn’t go trick-or-treating, go outside, or search up the word clown because she was afraid what would show up. Next I thought the fact that she tried to go without crying in 7th grade. was kind of absurd. Adults even cry, I don’t think it should be your yearly goal. Studies have found that crying is actually healthy for you. I do not really like this video. I don’t like the topic, the topic is kind of confusing. I do not have much to say about it, so I guess this is the end.

At the beginning of the Ted Talk, Amy Morin talks about her friend, who lives in a beautiful house and goes on these amazing vacations. Maybe you scroll through your Facebook feeds and role your eyes. Researched have found that envying your friends on Facebook actually leads to depression. That is just one trap your mind could set for you. I didn’t know this, I thought it was very interesting. I don’t have a Facebook account, so do not have to worry about this right now, but I surely will later in life.

After a while, Amy Morin talks about the her background. When she was 23, she thought she had everything figured out. She graduated from Grad School, got a job as a therapist, got married, and even bought a house. She thought, “This is great. I have got a jumpstart on success. That all changed for her one day, when her mother was found unresponsive. Amy and her husband rushed to the hospital. The doctors said she had a brain aneurysm. In less then 24 hours, she passed away. I thought this was really sad. One day and everything turns upside down.

On the 3-year anniversary of her death, a few friends invited Amy and her husband to see a ball game. Coincidentally, it was being played in the same auditorium where Amy had last seen her mother. Amy and her husband had a great time at the ball game. On the drive home, they discussed how great it was to remember her mother. When they got home, Amy’s husband said he didn’t feel well. A few minutes later, he collapsed. Amy had to call an ambulance. A few hours later, an doctor took Amy and her husband’s family into an private room. He explained her husband had died due to an heart attack.

Amy explains that to be mentally strong, you have to give up bad habits. Being mentally strong is like being physically strong, you have to go to the gym and stop eating junk food. So how do you get rid of those bad habits?

Marco Polo is considered the greatest explorer according to a YouTube video posted by Biographics. Marco Polo was considered a liar, it was hundreds of years until everyone found out every story he told was true.

Marco Polo grew up in a family of merchants. Most thought Marco would join the family business. Unlike most job professions, being a merchant expected to leave home for years at a time. At the time of Marco, merchants claimed they had seen monsters straight out of a nightmare. Human-dog hybrids, fire breathing dragons, and unicorns.

Marco polo travelled to China in search of gold and spices. He and his dad, Niccolo Marco, found themselves ushered into China, at the heart of the Mongolian empire. The leader, Kublai Khan, were fascinated that Marco could speak so many different languages. Kublai sent Marco home to meet with the pope, where he would bring back 100 priests to the Mongolian empire.

Marco Polo and Niccolo returned to China on foot. They pasted the Gobi desert where many people have perished. They returned to find a feast thrown for them, where they could have unlimited drinks. After the Khan had passed away, Marco Polo had to return home. Since they were foreigners and not official citizens of the empire, they didn’t have the same rights as those who were official citizens.

When they went back to Italy, they took a boat. During the war, Marco was arrested and the government illegally seized most of his wealth. Marco was able to hide a few of his gems. He was lucky his books became a best seller, or he might have become broke. Some people congratulated him on his success while others accused him of being a liar. That is his story.