19. The Only Thing You Need to Teach Your Children

In this article, Amy Julia Becker talks about her sons. what she learned from them, and what she will teach them. First, she starts off by assuring people that she is not a parenting expert, that she has read only a few books. Then, she talks about her children. She talks about Penny and William and how they often cried and how she had to deal with it. However, she also mentions how she gives in to her children. When they want the iPad or a lollipop, most of the times, she gives in and give it to them. Then, she moves in into the topic. She says that there are many thing she has to teach her kids, but what matters the most is to teach them that they are human beings. She wants to teach them that they are weak, limited, and loved. That even though Becker is not perfect, it is because she is a human. And through this Becker wants to teach her kids that they are also humans that have to apologise when they are wrong and show love. Finally she ends the article by mentioning that not only does she want to teach her kids that they are humans, but they have also taught her that she is a human that is weak, but loved.

Amy Julia Becker is an author that writes many things about kids. In this article, she does a good job explaining what she wants. Surely, there may be many people who don't agree with her, but what she says is true. As human beings we have to learn that we are weak and would lose, but God loves us very much and therefore we will win besides him. Also, Becker catches the readers attention by using personal experience. Those who are parents would understand what she is saying and connect to her. Even if the reader is not a parent, they would connect to the part that they are still humans who are limited and can't do everything.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/amyjuliabecker/2015/january/only-thing-you-need-to-teach-your-children.html

18. What Women Want: More Opportunities to Serve

In this article, Halle Gray Scott talks about the role of women in the church. She explains that there are many women who want to help and volunteer to work at the church, but can't do so. Instead, even though there are more woman then men, men work and lead the church. There are even some men who overwork and need help, while there are woman who wants to help but can't. Because of this difference, many women starts to doubt themselves, whether they have talents or gifts that can be used to help God. In Ephesians 4:10 God tells us to "equip God's people for works of ministry to build up the body of Christ" However, with only with certain amount of people helping, He is not fully equipped. God needs many supporters that are at his side helping him, regardless if they are men or women. He has given different gifts and talents to every single person and wants us to use them to build the body of Christ. Therefore, there should be more woman who are allowed to help. They want to help and have the abilities needed, but by refusing them they doubt themselves and believe that they have no gifts.

The author Halle Gray Scott talks about a topic that I have never realised before. Even in my church you can see that there are more man leaders than women. However, at the same time, there are still quite a few women working as leaders. Scott does a good job explaining her viewpoint on the matter. She gives examples of women who wishes to help but can't. She quotes what women feel, and that helps readers realise that it is a big matter. Also, by connecting what she is talking about to the Bible is very effective. Indeed, the church consists of everyone, not only men. We have to build up God's body with out gifts and talents that God has given to each and every one of us.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2015/january/what-women-want-opportunities-to-serve.html?start=1

19. The Fallacy of 'Giving Up'

The author of this article, James Hamblin, talks about the critical role of talking with a doctor about values and priorities in life. He bases this information on surgeon Atul Gawande, author of Being Mortal, and Angelo Volandes who is a Harvard physician. He says that these men argue that it is essential that doctors have a meaningful talk with there patients to learn what their values and priorities are to know how to ensure the patients` well being, not only their survival. He says that doctors should let the patients aware of the options and statistics regarding these options for them o choose what they prefer to do all based on their values and priorities. The author focuses also in saying that the doctor`s goal is not only to ensure health or survival, but also the well being of the patients. That, according to him and his references, can be known and accomplished by having this meaningful conversation. This conversation will allow the doctor to accomplish all of his roles as a doctor. 

The author of this passage did an excellent job in writing this article. This was clear enough that anyone could understand it. Additionally, all the examples and sources gives it credibility. Even though the passage was long, the content did not get boring as he mentioned different books and different influential people to support his thesis. The article was successful in transmitting the mesage he wanted to transmit to the reader. 

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/01/dying-better/384626/

18. The Zombie Immigration Fight

The writer of this article, Molly Ball, discusses about the fight over immigration in America. She says that even though the immigration reform is dead and the debate over it is in stalemate, both sides of the argument are still fighting furiously in order to get something accomplished. The author then mentions how President Obama has already set some policies regarding this subject and that he gives in to some demands of the sides in order to keep his policy alive. President Obama also "used executive action to temporarily protect as many as 5 million undocumented immigrants from the threat of deportation." This was indeed a significant victory for the immigrant-rights advocates. With this policy, people on the other side of the fight took action to try to set restrictions to what he did; however, it was not successful as the Senate would not allow these actions and as Obama would veto it. This policy is not going to be enforced until the end of the month and both sides of the fight are gearing up for a seemingly big battle. The fight is still going to happen and both sides are passionate in achieving what they want to,
Molly Ball was effective in her writing. She did a good job in explaining what she meant with her introduction. She started by stating that the immigration debate was in stalemate, but still both sides were fighting passionately. In other words, the rule has already been established; however, the groups still act and argue as if they could do something to change it. The author was just not very good in giving background information on what happened. Someone that did not know about this subject would have difficulty understanding what she was talking about. The passage as , however, easy flowing and the reading was easy. She transmitted her message in a clear way.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/01/the-zombie-immigration-fight/384804/

19. "The Blasphemy We Need"

     Blasphemy is more than frowned upon, it's a taboo. As a civilized society, people are ostracized for any offense that goes against the norm. Yet, as freedom of speech, everyone should have the right to blaspheme and society should be aware that a society's liberty is not proportional to the quantity of blasphemy is produces. Charlie Hebdo's deadly consequences emphasizes these points. What we realize is that, if a large group of people are willing to kill you for saying something, then it's something that almost certainly needs to be said. If we fall for these murderers, we are allowing them to show that violence has power over liberal civilization. In this sense, we must reconsider the voices criticizing the editor of Charlie Hedbo who provoked violence by being needlessly offensive when really they were promoting liberalism and provoking precisely because of the violence. At times like this, we must strike a blow for freedom even if he means it might get you slaughtered. 

     The author of this editorial, Ross Douthat, is very effective in defending his position. Although its great controversy, the Charlie Hebdo Massacre is very well explained by Douthat. He does an excellent job defending his claim and supporting them with evidences. Overall, his assurance and boldness made me agree with his position. The article was very straightforward and Douthat does an amazing job at proposing his position.

http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/07/the-blasphemy-we-need/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Opinion&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body  

18. "The Secrets of Street Names"

     As irrelevant as it may seem, street names in fact reveal a lot more than people think. With statistical analysis, street names tell us if a neighborhood is expensive or affordable, or brand new or decades old. Given the fact that the process by which streets are given names is relatively random, the realization that their names actually say something about the neighborhood is somewhat revolutionary. With this innovative study, real-estate information is now more transparent and democratized. People can now decide their homes simply based on the street name.
      The author of this editorial,Spencer Rascoff, suggests his opinions on the results of the analysis of street names. As it is an editorial, Rascoff explicitly states his opinions and supports them with very effective evidences. In the middle of the article, Rascoff even adds a database graph which determines "how your street compares" by simply entering your street name. The article was very interesting and intriguing as the author did a very good job describing and focusing on his points.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/25/opinion/sunday/the-secrets-of-street-names-and-home-values.html?action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&region=Footer&module=MoreInSection&pgtype=Blogs

19. The Pros and Cons of Sorority Parties

     Sorority members are tired of attending only frat parties, due to this they are pushing to get permission to host alcoholic party on their college campus. Why? They argue that this would give them control over both the alcohol and the sexual dynamics that happen at frat parties. Many women say that they would feel safer going to a sorority party. But why did not sorority parties happen before? Well, sororities pay lower insurance rates and in exchange cannot serve alcohol. It they did serve it, membership payment would increase per year. But many women think it might be worth it. Studies show that sexual assaults occur most frequently in fraternity parties. A professor at Stony Brook University suggested that rape rates would decrease if women were in charge of alcohol. Today girls have to dress, drink, and dance the way frat boys want in order to attend the parties. However this could also bring up sexist ideas towards women. But after all it is not their duty to try to decrease the rape rate, all they want to do is party.
     In this article by Olga Khazan to The Atlantic she tackles the rising idea that sororities want to through alcohol fueled parties instead of attending fraternity parties. She goes into the pros and then the cons of this idea, citing quotes of sources for both views. But in the end she concludes that women should not be trying to prevent their own assaults, that is not their responsibility.

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/01/the-pros-and-cons-of-sorority-parties/384670/

18. Where the Sugar Babies Are

     The rising cost of student debt has given birth to the phenomenon of older men offering money in exchange of dates with students. These men are called "sugar daddies", and even though this idea is nothing new it certainly has been expanding quite rapidly in the United States. This spike of "daddies" and "babies" are seen especially in the southern states, according to data from SeekingArrangement. SeekingArrangement is a website in which those women with student debts can turn to "sugar daddies." More than one million students have already signed up as members. The website then does a background check on members and also prohibits the exchange of money on the website. But not everyone agrees with this trend. One New York Post contributer accused the industry of promoting prostitution. However this introduction to the sugar-daddy-baby industry is old news. The new data is that this is starting to gain tremendous popularity in some specific regions. Schools in Texas, especially The University of Texas, have had a massive growth in memberships. Another college who surprised with its number of "sugar babies" is New York University, a private institution. But the worst part of all of this is that against the images that this industry transmit, many students depend on it to live debt free.

     This article is written by Terrance F. Ross to The Atlantic. Ross starts out his article with a introduction of the sugar-daddy-baby industry. But his article does not focus on what it is, but how it has affected specific regions in the United States. Ross utilizes various examples of colleges that are deep within this trend. He aso uses direct and primary quotations of sources related to the subject.

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/01/where-the-sugar-babies-are/384547/

19. Ultra-Orthodox Women in Israel Launch Their Own Political Party

It is common knowledge that Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish women tend to be mistreated. (They have to sit in the back of public buses and they cannot host or even call into radio shows. Their newspaper HaMevaser even cropped out Angela Merkel from a photo of group leaders.) The two ultra-Orthodox political parties are exclusively male and in 2012, a protest group formed nicknamed LoNiLoBo. This group made a petition demanding that they make it illegal for a political party to prevent women from running but it lost. The following year, a few Haredi women ran for municipal posts. They received many threats, but in the end Shira Gergi won and became the first Haredi woman have a municipal post. This last week, a new political party formed called the U'Bezchutan: Haredi Women Making Change, the first political party dedicated to ultra-Orthodox women. The author of this article pointed out that these two groups may never join since they share different methods and views and the U'Bezchutan may not even succeed in gaining a seat during the March elections. The greatest result of all of this is that the U'Bezchutan met with the male leader of one of the ultra-Orthodox political party and he has decided to reconsider women being allowed to run on his ticket.
Miriam Krule uses a formal language to write this article. This choice was appropriate, since this article dealt with both religion and politics. She starts the article by describing the unfair and sexist life that the ultra-Orthodox women have to live. Krule uses a hint of sarcasm to make her point, when talking about the ultra-Orthodox political parties, she claims that they are "unsurprisingly, exclusively male." Krules entire article is filled with facts about previous elections, translations and various examples to prove her point. She also quotes Elana Sztokman, writer of the magazine Forward. This all shows that Miriam is an expert in her area and that her word is to be trusted. Overall, this article was very interesting and successful.

18. What Happens When Kids Eat Pizza

This article is about the conclusion of a recent paper published about how eating pizza is affecting children and teenagers. Researchers have found that whenever kids and teens eat pizza, they tend to overeat and end up netting 84-230 calories more than the children who did not eat pizza. This research was made solely on pizza because it has become a regular item on the children's diets.The article also emphasized that there are ways to make pizza healthier, one of them being making homemade pizza and not Pizza Hut. This research hopes to show that just by cutting back one simple item from their diet (pizza) can help decrease child obesity.
The author of this article, Amanda Marcotte, is very professional in this article. The article, though short and simple, is straightforward and logical. Her targeted audience are parents and speaks directly to them in the article , saying things like "your kid." Marcotte shows how serious she is by citing many reliable sources throughout the article to show how valid her information is. She also directly quotes  the researches and the co-authors of the study. She ends this article in a humorous tone, an attempt to make the readers smile after finding out that they need to cut back on the best food ever.

19. India just experienced a massive tiger boom — but the species is still threatened

          Everyone is aware of Tigers are an endangered species, however India has announced that their tiger population has gone up 30%, from 1,706 in 2011 to 2,226 in 2014. This amazing increase serves as a testimony to what can be achieved by the and why more tiger reserves should be created says Indian Environment Minister. However the success does not mean that the work is done and everybody can relax. The tiger population diminished by poaching, habitat destruction, lack or prey and other factors still need to grow. Which brings to light more pressures to; "Infrastructure development has to happen, but we can compromise a little on our growth.” In regard to future tiger population growth.

          This article serves to inform as well as to reassure that the replenishing of diminished animal populations is not a one way street. After all, all that is heard is that their are more and more endangered species, this news is among the first of its kind, humans are not having an effect on the endangered community this time fr the better. The article filled with quotes from wildlife preservers showcases their hard work and efforts in achieving this once far fetched goal that now seems within reach. 

http://www.salon.com/2015/01/21/india_just_experienced_a_massive_tiger_boom_but_the_endangered_species_is_still_threatened/ 

19. A 6-year-old thrills the nation

Sam Borden is the author of this astonishing story of Rashid al-Dhaheri, a 6-year-old from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The article is introduced with the description of a fine morning in the UAE, where Borden and Rashid race each other. Rashid was inspired to become a racer when his dad took him to his very first Formula One race, where he spent most of the three days admiring the Ferraris. That was in 2011, and since then, Rashid's father, Ali, has invested in his son's gigantic dream. By the time he was four, Rashid, also known as Little Alonso (after the racing star), had a personal racing coach. He also won various youth go-kart races, and is quite popular in his area. The author claims that, despite the fact that Rashid is still a child and is only in the first grade, he has obvious talent. Last year the young racer was able to attend a karting circuit in Italy. The boy's father also assured Borden that he is not worried for his son's safety, since the government put a motor capacity restriction for certain ages. The author closes the article with a quote from the boy's coach, Paul Chatenay. He claims that Rashid has an advantage in starting earlier, and in a sport where a  hundredth of a second makes a difference, the boy might just make it. 

The author writes as if he were telling a story, quoting the amazing 6-year-old and explaining the boy's short back round story. Borden's tone is relaxed and friendly throughout his writing, even though much detail and research was put into the story. His experiences in visiting and meeting the boy face to face also contributes to the reality of the facts, causing the writing to be much more believable. The tone is light and exciting, since the main spotlight is on a child who has great potential. Altogether Borden does a great job of introducing a future racer that may possible become very famous. The research also proves the reliability of the details, causing the article to be trustworthy overall. Although the author gives statistics for the boys future, he makes a clear statement that his success is by no means guaranteed. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/15/sports/autoracing/rashid-al-dhaheri-a-precocious-driver-at-6-builds-a-following-in-the-united-arab-emirates.html?WT.mc_id=D-NYT-MKTG-MOD-78916-01-24-HD&WT.mc_ev=click&WT.mc_c=

18. Time of Great Change for an Auschwitz Museum

  This short article is about an Auschwitz museum in Poland, which will have its last gathering of  survivors from the Holocaust who had attended the camp. The author quotes Andrzej Kacorzyk, who claims that it will be the last decade visit for almost all the holocaust survivors. On the last decade's gathering, 1,500 survivors had come to the original spot marked down in history. This year only 300 people were expected, some of whom are already over one-hundred years old. This year, presidents and royalty will also attend, hoping to meet the jews who were persecuted during World War 3. The presidents of Germany, Austria, and France are on the list of attendants, as well as the kings of the Netherlands, Belgium, and the crown prince of Denmark. The setting is also described by Lyman, (the author), who writes that a tent will be set up to keep all of the guests warm in the cold Polish weather. Many times throughout the article, the author mentions the symbolism of passing on the baton from the real survivors, to the new generation that will be responsible to keep this historic spot alive with memories. As a closing of the article, the author quotes a survivor from the polish camp. Mr. Salomonovic claims that “People simply have not learned the lesson of Auschwitz." 
Throughout the article, the author quotes survivors and spectators who will attend this great memoir towards their own history. Although the holocaust was a terrible reality in the horrid World War 3, the europeans are aware that this special history is not to be forgotten. Much of Lyman's research was obviously done on the Karakulski family, of which family only one member will attend the event this year. The author also uses many pictures, quotes from spectators, and historical background help to develop the image of the very last visit that took place by survivors, some over one-hundred years old. Overall, the author accomplishes his purpose of giving details on the large and meaningful gathering taking place in Oswiecim, Poland. His tone is informative, and descriptive writing is used throughout the article. The detail and research is just enough to make a short announcement to the reader about the very last event in Poland.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/24/world/europe/for-auschwitz-museum-and-survivors-a-moment-of-passage.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1

18. Regular marijuana use may not be so bad for your lungs

          Despite Marijuana being classified as a  Schedule I Drug by the DEA, meaning it is the strongest category of drug, studies being done by Emory University indicate that its long term use is not as harmful as one one would expect. The study showed that a continual use of Marijuana, 20 joints a year, has produced ho effect on lung exhaling strength. Another study conducted by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys has shown that adults (ages 18-59) who smoke one joint a day have had no different forced expiratory volume (the volume of air exhaled in one second) than those that did not smoke Marijuana. Finally a study performed in 2013 by the UCLA found that continual use of the drug did not produce effect on the lungs.
          Joanna Rothkopf in her article, probably as a result of good journalism and the fact that Marijuana is still a debated subject, used credible sources. Citing from recognized health institutions and magazines, she builds a solid argument that Marijuana use is not as harmful as perceived. Especially since it is perceived that Marijuana would have the same effect as cigarettes which are detrimental at best. Rothkopf in doing so, alerts the people to these eye opening studies that should be continued and closely examined so that the article is not taken as an excuse to get high with even less worries.

http://www.salon.com/2015/01/22/regular_marijuana_use_may_not_be_so_bad_for_lung_function/

19. Why wealthy Americans’ delusions about the poor are so dangerous

The financially secure Americans believe that poor people today have it easy. The United States tax debate has the majority of the people insisting that the rich are being persecuted by low-incomes and high taxes. Most of these people are very wealthy and are entitled to their own opinions. The true tax facts are that low and middle-income Americans are facing higher tax rates than the rich people. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy states that 20% of the poorest households pay on average more than twice the tax rate of the 1% of the richest households. They argue that the tax is causing a large wealth gap between the rich, middle and low class in the United States. Wiehe, the director of ITEM, says that “The problem with our state tax systems is that we are asking far more of those who can afford the least.” Many people who have a financially secured life cannot relate to these trends and do not they have a world impact. However, Standard & Poor released an article demonstrating that increasing economic inequality can hurt the economic growth and reduce public revenue. The report found that states that relied most on regressive levies as taxes are the ones with a larger economic gap. Therefore, these state and local tax policies are harming the country’s economy.

David Sirota, the author of this article, is clearly outraged with this injustice. David uses good and reliable resources. Although the author does not state which class he is in, throughout the article you can clearly see that he is, in a way, fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves; the lower class. His point of how unfair the economy of the country is, is proven through his research and percentages provided during his piece. This informative essay is interesting and shows one of the reasons why the economy of the United States is slowing falling apart. Those who have almost nothing are paying twice as much tax than those who have everything. Sirota concludes that all states that rely on regressive levies as taxes are harming their country and if something is not done now, the problem is going to get worse and eventually affect not only their country but the world; if it hasn’t started to affect the world already.

http://www.salon.com/2015/01/23/why_wealthy_americans_delusions_about_the_poor_are_so_dangerous_partner/

18. A 12-Hour Window for a Healthy Weight

For years, scientists and mothers have been telling their children and highly suspecting that midnight snacking is inadvisable. Therefore, in a new study, tested with mice, proved that they prevented from eating at all hours to avoid obesity and metabolic problems. Researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego first experimented the eating patterns of mice in the laboratory. Some mice consumed high-fat food at the time they wanted to and others, with the same diet, were controlled by an eight hour gap in between meals. The mice that ate all the time soon got chubby and unhealthy, however, the controlled mice gained little weight and some metabolic problems. In their second experiment, scientists fed groups of adult male’s four different diets: high-fructose, high-fat, high-fat and high-sucrose, and regular kibble. Some mice ate whenever they wanted to and others were controlled in gaps of nine, twelve to fifth-teen hours; the restricted mice were allowed to cheat on weekends and eat whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. By the end of the experiment, the restricted mice remained healthy and sleek while the mice that could eat at any time were metabolically ill and obese. Professor Satchidananda Panda came to the conclusion that, “Time-restricted eating didn’t just prevent but also reversed obesity.”

Gretchen Reynolds article has the purpose to inform the readers and ways to prevent eating in an unhealthy way. She notifies the readers that it is not about only what food you eat, but that the time people eat their food also has a great influence in gaining weight. The author’s language is informal so that all who read will understand. The author adds a little bit of humor to her piece which can also to relate to some readers, in the very beginning of the article Reynolds talk about how mothers are most times telling their children not to eat after midnight.  Good examples and comparisons are used through the experiments on mice that the author provides. Noting the readers about how scientists are developing and improving these tests is a way to keep them up to date with something that might affect their lives. Reynolds does not choose a side between what she thinks is right or wrong. She uses many quotes from scientists and research from the experiments, which are great resources for her piece. In the end her piece of “advice” is to prevent exaggeration in pretty much anything. Her article was well written and had good and accurate resources; and it is also an article that could help some readers improve something’s in their lives.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/15/a-12-hour-window-for-a-healthy-weight/?_r=0

19. A History of 'Drunk' Words

This article is about a book written by David Crystal, called Words in Time and Place. The article focus on the different words and phrases used to describe drunk people. The "grandfather of 'drunk'" is from Middle English: "fordrunken". Since that era, the words have become more fascinating. Some examples would be: tippled, groggy, lushy, poggled, honkers, and wasted. These words came to mean drunk for different reasons. Wasted became a saying because of the hippies, honkers was due to the slang word "honk" which meant vomit, poggled "has its origins in the Hindi word pagal, for 'madman'". According to Crystal, throughout all of time that man has been drinking, it seems that with the terms developed for "drunk" it seems that we have been trying to make it less drastic.

The article was very captivating. The author keeps it short and simple by only summarizing part of the book that was the main focus of the article. She uses quotes from the book throughout the article to give credit to her article. The tone throughout the article was casual and conversational. This is due to the simple language used and the fact that the article was short. The purpose was to simply inform the reader of the different words that have developed over time to substitute the word drunk. It also informed the reader of an interesting book about words and sayings.    

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/01/a-history-of-drunk-words/384325/

19. With Google Glass’ Future Uncertain, Microsoft Debuts Holographic Glasses

Along with the announce of Windows 10, Microsoft has also introduced something we've all been hoping and waiting for, the HoloLens. It is a pair of holographic glasses in which the users are given a real-time, interactive-augmented reality. The new piece of technology fits on like glasses, but bigger, covering a larger part of the face. It is controlled with gestures and voice and provides you with holographic screens and objects around your environment which you can interact with. The HoloLens is said to aid efforts in numerous professional areas, the major one being the field of medicine. It is expected to come out later this year along with Windows 10, and it seems to be that it will not be released as a prototype, but as an actual device. Despite it sounding like an awesome gadget, we will have to wait and see how it turns out when it is actually released.

Lily Hay Newman, author of this article, did a simple yet complete job while writing this article. She introduced the gadget, gave a brief explanation of what it is and how it will work. She also attached Microsoft's video for the HoloLens which make it crystal-clear for the readers who watch it how the device will function. Despite not being biased, especially because there is not really a way to bias toward something in her article, Newman sounds pretty excited for the release of the gadget. Throughout her essay, she also includes a quote from Microsoft and a Wired reporter, and a picture of the gadget being used. Her article is brief and flows nicely. She is not promoting the soon-to-be released gadget in any way, however, by reading and watching the video she attached, it made me look forward to the it's release.



http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2015/01/21/microsoft_announces_hololens_glasses_that_show_responsive_real_time_holograms.html

19. Google Has Not Solved Human Misunderstanding

Kathy Gilsinan's article begins by talking about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, written by Douglas Adams, which includes a creature called the Babel fish. This fish translates all universal languages and dialects. Not long ago, Google released the latest update to its Google Translate App. While it may be a popular and generally effective tool, it is not without its flaws. It can be great for instantly translating a still picture of a clearly written sign, but in real life, in speeding highways and unofficial handwriting, it may not be very practical. Furthermore, the instant dual-language translation is still limited and in need of much development. However, one thing is undeniable; the Translate App is bringing us one step closer to eliminating the language barrier. Whether that is good or bad is still hard to tell.

Kathy Gilsinan's article serves both as a brief review of the app's new updates and as an opinionative article on the pros and cons of language translation software. It makes effective use of satire throughout the article, often subtly mocking the app's inefficiencies. This satirical aspect keeps the article fresh and interesting, keeping the reader captivated while still being very informative. The opinion part of the article was particularly intriguing, as another reference to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is quoted, which says that the universal translation brought about by the Babel fish actually caused more harm than good, leading to wars and disaster. This leaves the reader something to ponder as the increase in Artificially Intelligent translators make it easier and easier to undersand other languages. Also, the reference to the book both in the beginning and the end of the article makes for a great conclusion to the article, wrapping it all up very nicely. Overall, this article balances its informative review and its subjective opinion very well, and readers finish the article with a satisfying sense of awe.

http://m.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/01/google-has-not-solved-human-misunderstanding/384521/

18. Google is in Talks With Big Automakers to Build Self-Driving Cars

In this article, Will Oremus looks into Google's recent meetings with big auto companies concerning self-driving cars. He explores whether or not it is still a possibility that Google will manufacture its own cars or if it will ally itself to specialized car manufacturers. The latter seems more likely, as Google has previously had help to manufacture the parts for its cars, and has not been very successful with making its own products (such as the Google Glass). Oremus also commented that whoever partners with Google will most likely inspire other companies to rush to get their own self-driving technologies up and running. While this may cause an increased rivalry between big automakers, it also means that Google's project has helped and will help bring tech companies and car companies together.

Will Oremus's article uses a strong logos approach to what he predicts for the future of Google and self-driving car production. While he does use reason and logic to argue his point, the article is largely speculative and opinionative, relying more on possible outcomes than solid evidence and relevant factors that could bring about these outcomes. He also uses the hypophora quite often, asking questions that he himself attemps to give an answer to, but even this can sometimes be much of an opinionative loop, asking a question and providing an answer that is but a rephrasing of the question itself. The reader is left with a feeling of having gotten nowhere after reading the article, leaving with more questions and less answers. If this was Oremus's goal, it was poorly emphasized. Overall, an amusing read, but not very satisfying and only vaguely informative.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2015/01/14/google_self_driving_cars_may_be_built_by_gm_ford_toyota_or_mercedes.html

19. Adventures With Technology: Time Travel

This article by Adrienne LaFrance, a senior associate editor at The Atlantic, is actually not written by LaFrance, but it is published by her. This article is a part of The Atlantic's "Adventures with Technology" series, where anyone can send their stories about their adventures with technology to The Atlantic. This story, from an anonymous writer, talks about time travel. We all travel through time, slowly but surely, the time travel being mention is more of a relative perspective time travel. How technology such as smart phones have allowed us to feel as if we are travelling faster into the future. With the arrival and development of new technologies, waiting in line and waiting in general, has become an easier task. Nowadays everyone time travels by looking through their phones while waiting in line, waiting for someone, waiting for a bus, etc. It is an extraordinary thing if thought about, the fact that we can manipulate time by using it.  
This writer writes a very strong and interesting topic in a very short article. He/she writes of a more figurative way of time travel and the adventures he/she has experienced due to it. The writer covers the points very well and casually explains the "time travel" that we experience through our everyday life.


http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/01/adventures-with-technology-time-travel/384608/

18. The Dark Psychology of the Sexist Internet Commenter

This article by Olga Khazan, a staff writer at the Atlantic, digs deep into the roots of the sexism that occurs online. Khazan was inspired to learn more about the psychology behind the sexist online commenter, when she received negative feedback from a comment about women she made on a forum. With this, she began to explore the sexism that occur and concluded with some research that a large percent of negative sexist comments were made by men, but surprisingly, an equally large amount of commenters were found to be female. The sexist comments were then divided into three sub-parts; blatantly sexist, justifying gender bias, or denial of gender bias. The straight forward and blatantly sexist comments only piled up to about 5%, while the other two types of comments dominated the forum. Khazan also notes that the positive and supportive comments are left only by women. It is easy to become a sexist and hateful being on the open internet, because of how free we are to express ourselves; even the dirty and socially unacceptable parts. However, this problem is limited to the internet, because of the social norms we follow when meeting other people in-person. You simply wouldn't burst into hateful and sexist remarks in an office meeting.
This article is written very well with plenty of clever writing and humor surrounding a serious topic. Khazan well introduces the topic of online sexism and eases the reader into the gravity of the growing problem. Her writing is in defense of the most commonly attack group of people online, women, but she remains calm and is not provocative toward the opposite sex. She writes in a casual yet informative manner, which eases the topic, while still keeping informing of the problem and its seriousness.  

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/01/the-dark-psychology-of-the-sexist-internet-commenter/384497/

19. Obama's Community-College Plan: A Reading List

On January 9th 2015, Obama, along with the Tennessee state's Republican governor and two Republican senators, proposed a plan for free community college. Basically, this article is about the pros and cons about this plan. First of all, free community college would be allowed only for students who have an high school diploma. This will encourage people to start going to school. In addition, people with an low income would most likely start receiving a better income, increasing their chances for a better living. On the other hand, Obama's proposal would change the whole college's student selecting system. Right now, it's true that the majority of students who are attending college have an high income. With Obama's proposal, colleges will become a place for rich students while community colleges would become a place for poor students. Also, community colleges are not that expensive, in addition, community colleges give financial aid, which covers most of the expense. Having this in mind, the government should help low income families with living conditions instead of helping them pay for education that is already cheap.

David Leonhardt, the author of this article, writes a somewhat cause and effect article. If Obama's plan is passed, this will happen. Leonhardt uses a lot of quotes from many different people, such as university professors and government related people. Also, the author tells us about his opinion. He believes that free community college isn't a strong proposal because of it already being cheap. However, he does also mention that Obama's plan is also a bit beneficial. It would increase the chances for low income families to make a better living. By including reliable quotes and his personal opinion, makes this article effective. Personally, I thought this article to be challenging especially because of the high level vocabulary. Overall, this article is very interesting and makes you see the both sides of the argument.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/10/upshot/obamas-community-college-plan-a-reading-list.html?_r=0

18. U.S military social media accounts apparently hacked by Islamic State sympathizers

On January 12, 2015, the U.S military social media accounts were hacked by ISIS. Social media accounts such as twitter and youtube. All that ISIS did was posting threatening messages, propaganda videos, and some military documents. They did not do anything thing that was too extreme, all they did was an act of cybervandalism. According to military officials, ISIS did not post classified information, but only military information that were already available. Furthermore, this incident of cybervandalism is not terrifying for the U.S military, but is an embarrassing moment for them. In addition, Peter Singer, a strategist and analyst with the New American Foundation in Washington, reminds us that all this all this is a social media account. It is nothing to worry about because the hackers has only taken control of the megaphone for a few minutes. People should stop freaking out, because the hackers did not do any damage, they only embarrassed the U.S military.

The author of this article, Dan Lamothe, uses many strategies in order to make this article easy to comprehend. For example, he uses short paragraphs in order to demonstrate his ideas faster and easy vocabulary.  Lamonthe does not directly state his opinion about this incident, however, we can assume that he is trying to let the people know that it is not a big deal. The author does not tell us about the possible dangers the hackers could do. He only tells us about the hackers not doing anything. Personally, I agree with both Lamonthe and Peter Singer, " is a feather in their cap in terms of pulling off something that oter groups have not been able to do, no matter how silly it is at the end of the day."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/01/12/centcom-twitter-account-apparently-hacked-by-islamic-state-sympathizers/

#19 "What Isn't There an App For?"

Apps play a huge role in our lives today. Thousands of people utilize apps daily, and these innovations has soon become part of our lifestyle. Henry Alford, author of the article, narrates his 3 weeks experience of improving his life through apps. Alford narrates how he starts his journey by starting off with a calorie counting app, Meal Snap. Through meal snap, he logs his meals and snacks getting an instant feedback on how many calories it has.Through this app, he is able to regulate his eating habits and late night snacks are soon enough gone. During his journey with this app, he encounters a man on the street, to whom he asks if he doesn't think that people's lives today are being controlled by apps. The man responds how it is fearful, however, "a picture of a doughnut seems nice." Alford also tells his torn opinion on the apps Learn Hip Hop and John & Johnson's 7 Minute Workout. However, he does express an unconditional love towards the app TaskRabbit, an app that ables you to find people to help you with any task. For last, he experiences the clothing app. Through three different apps, he purchases pants and reviews them. He was skeptical at first, but is impressed how one of the apps did deliver him very delightful pants.However, the other two did not. To conclude his journey, Alford writes how apps can be "a little too much", taking over our lives, but also very useful too. 
Henry Alford writes a narrative piece about his experiment of improving his life through apps. Alford uses personal pronouns throughout his article and it helps his experience appeal more to readers. All the aspects of life he tries to improve are very relatable to all readers. His language is very lightweight and approachable, being easy to understand. He writes in a very entertaining way, utilizing a lot of metaphors and personal accounts. For example, when concluding his opinion and thoughts for this experiment, Alford solidifies his thought on it by connecting it to the man's statement on how it is fearful, but at the same time quite entertaining. Overall, Alford has done a great job on writing this piece: it is both entertaining and relatable.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/04/style/what-isnt-there-an-app-for.html?ref=fashion

#18 "A Race to the Front Row"

It is a well known fact that people are more motivated to do better when there is a prize  in the end. Athletes train hard to win. Students study hard to receive an award. With that concept in mind, gyms nowadays place their "students" in a position where they compete with others and themselves to receive the prize, which in this case, is the honor of being in the front row. Gyms such as SoulCycle and AKT in Motion challenge their students to push themselves and do their best. To do so, they make the front row a special priviledge for the ones who are more motivated and overall, do better. By doing so, people join a race to the front row. They set a goal and work hard to achieve it, and when they do, the sense of accomplishment motivates them more. "As Michel Foucalt would say, 'the gaze', even if imaginary, makes us disciplined to work harder," and like this, people begin their journey to be fit and achieve their ultimate goal: the front row.
Courtney Rubin, author of this article, writes about the new method and situations people are placed in gyms today. Her article is formal yet casual, and her overall tone is neutral to positive. She does a superb job describing the "race" by inserting actual students' opinions and experiences, and how it motivates and affects each individual. I, personally, enjoyed this article; it depicted how this method of motivation works not only in studies and athletic competitions, but also in our daily life activities, such as going to the gym. Although there was an individual in the article that did not enjoy "the race" or "the front row", I assume that like most others, it would affect me and motivate me to reach the front row.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/08/style/a-race-to-the-front-row.html?ref=fashion&_r=0

18. Muscle Strength Is in the Mind

This author begins the article by referencing a book and a typical Disney movies when introducing his topic. The topic is how muscle strength has to do with the mind. According to a study, muscle strength is more based on brain activity then on the muscles themselves. An experiment was done that relates to this study in which people had their arms immobilized and some were asked to imagine exercising. At the end of the experiment it was found that those that had imagined the exercises had more strength in their arms than those who hadn't. Muscle memory, the phenomenon that says our muscles "remember" exercises that we practice, plays a role in this. Imagining the movements helps our muscles from "forgetting" them.    

The article was very interesting. The connection the author made in the beginning of the article was effective in getting the reader's attention. The tone of the article was casual and informative. The author was informing the reader about the idea without using complicated language. It was written in a form in which the average person would be able to understand. The author did not complicate the article with long explanations rather, he kept it short and simple. He also used sources and quotes to support this claim and to provide concrete evidence.  

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/01/muscle-strength-is-in-the-mind/384361/

19. The Reinvention of Bilingual Education in America’s Schools

 Lately, Hispanics have been the center of many debates and protests in the United States. First there is the whole matter of illegal immigration (crossing the border between Mexico and the US) and then there is the speculation of "unfair treatment" of Hispanics in the American communities. This particular article talks about how schools have been playing a role in the whole "fair treatment" for Hispanics who live in the United States. The author introduces readers to a school in New Mexico, Sunland Park Elementary School, where bilingual programs are reinforced into students' daily education. (This particular elementary school is composed of mostly Hispanic children, who have some kind of Spanish-speaking background.) The counterintuitive thing is that Sunland Park Elementary School focuses more on teaching its children the Spanish language rather than English. The reason why parents have sent their children to this school was for them to learn and enhance the English language to live better in the United States, and not for them to know their "mother language" even better. The author then mentions that other schools around the nation are trying out this bilingual programs in their educations, however learning from the mistakes of Sunland Park Elementary School's way of enhancing the program, they have "divided" the program equally, teaching students equal amounts of English and Spanish. The author then leaves readers with a note saying that enforcing extra languages in children's education is essential to their intellectual development.
 Sarah Carr, the author of the article, maintains a firm stance throughout her article- showing that she is against schools enforcing the bilingual program if they are going to focus on one language more than the other. What makes the article interesting to read are the hints of irony in regard to the "counterintuitiveness" of a school consisting a majority of Hispanics teaching more Spanish than English. I personally found that this topic was a good one to write about, especially today, since Hispanics face many consequences and criticisms when living in the United States. Writing about children in the article also gave readers a chance to see this problem from a more innocent perspective; what bad can children do? It helps readers see that many Hispanics do not deserve the harsh treatment that they receive nowadays from Americans.  Overall, Sarah Carr did a neat job of showing her side of the debate and informing readers about the problems all whilst telling a story of a simple elementary school in New Mexico.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/schooled/2015/01/05/bilingual_education_the_promise_of_dual_language_programs_for_spanish_speaking.html