A Board fit for a King

Most Important Chess Piece, VG, 2015

The second Action Project in the RPG (2. RPG-2; as it's the second one of the 2 classes, opening up more spots without crowding the class) class has come from just around the corner. This math and design course threw at us the challenge of creating chess pieces, as they would be created with 3D models of layered cardboard, clay, and even 3D printed. We were partnered up after picking a piece and if you're interested in seeing my partner's blogged project, just click the link. In terms of challenges, it was difficult to make the designs just right but I'm actually quite proud of how clean the 3D printed model of my king looks. Without further ado, just below you can see the full slideshow presentation of the process, size calculation, and even thought process of how the king was created.

Habitastic Home

Biomimicry has its second Action Project out of the blue. This time, we are to base a design of a house inspired by 2 animals that were chosen from a Field Experience to the Lincoln Park Zoo. There was a great challenge in this, and for me, that was deciding which animals to choose and how their attributes would be used. An ostrich, sea lion, and a tiger were the options, but what kind of traits would such mobile creatures have that enhances a habitat, a house, a home. Overall, I was proud by my creative decision mainly based off the ostrich, and you can check the poster-presentation just below. I hope you enjoy.

The Process of Prototyping

In the second course this new term, there's Rapid Prototyping, a class that's mainly math and how we can use mathematics to our advantage in prototyping and design. We learned several concepts, mainly what a network is and how a traversable network must work. A network is  series of connected vertices, or corner points. If it's traversable, that means that it must either have only 2 odd vertices, with the rest being even (odd or even number of lines shooting out of that corner), or no odd and only even. Moving on about the first Action Project, we made 2 pairs of designs based off of 2 letter of our choosing. Incidentally, because of a couple of absences, I had both lower case letters "e" and "t". The designs would be made twice, once by hand, and a second time using a digital machine. I was proud of the result of my stencil and sticker (handmade) because aside from long waiting times for the spray paint to dry, they where clean and precise cuts. Just below, you may view the slideshow that tells you everything about what it's like to make something and the different experiences to have between hand made and machine helped.

Animal Repelling Rose?

As the next term begins for the winter, I'll be kicking things off in here with the first Action Project for the Biomimicry course. Biomimicry is a science course that focuses around the idea of using planets for inspiration in engineering and inventing. There were certain challenges throughout this course that incidentally didn't actually come from the course. Ailments that had me out on a couple of sick days pulled me back a lot as it was around the time of introducing the Action Projects, so catching up was tough. That said, just below, you can see a presentation that goes in depth about how a rose inspired me to use it's blueprints (the way that it works, rather than the actual parts) to create an all natural animal repellant, transportable post. It's a camper's best friend!

The 1-2s of Basic Boxing (MMA)

In contrast to previous years at GCE, this year our 3rd period class has (or at least the self-defense course) has an Action Project as the final assignment. In this project, we were assigned to display and teach any specific thing about one of the multiple martial arts we learned. Right off the bat I knew I wanted to teach something from boxing, but I wasn't sure about how much I should cover, so I stuck with the general basics. With that, it's good to know that some of you out there just might be using these techniques to defend yourself in the future. You can view the instructional video down below, and I hope you enjoy.

You may also view the video by clicking the following link https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9rV_KsL98NCM09ZdnZwaElma1E/view?usp=sharing

Why Censorship Ruins Art

As this term at GCE is coming to a close, the third and final Action Project for the Fall 2015 term is all about an artist's statement. We use art to convey a message that we stand for and back it up with Rhetorical elements, devices, and appeals. But this art isn't just visual art, it can go to poems or even fashion, anything goes as art is such a wide medium that includes auditory and/or visual aspects. It was challenging to find the right topic on what to speak about, as I knew I wanted to use visuals to convey the message, but thinking of something I could passionately speak about what tough. Then when the idea of art censorship struck, I thought it was something I could use to my advantage in the best way. Overall, I was proud of the ironic art piece I made, which you can view just down below, along with my artist's statement.

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Art censorship is only acceptable under few circumstances, such as when broadcasting or displaying some medium from the past towards an audience of children. Other than that, it’s practically criminal to unreasonably censor art that was never intended to be child-friendly. Art, whether it be painting or animation, song or movie, has an intended effect upon its audience. I myself am a high student that’s greatly engaged in the arts, mainly visual, so I know what it feels like to have your work defiled by others, without consent, just to meet their own personal wants or needs. Art is a form of speech, as you’re sending out a message or tone that you heavily believe in, which is why censorship can be disrespectful to the artist. There’s even plenty of censorship or bans that blatantly destroys a positively intended message. In the Utah State University, some student made over 900 chalk drawing of hearts with anti-abortion messages inside of them. The police ordered them to clear it all up as it was considered vandalism, thus it followed under an act of censorship.

Now when someone’s hard work to exercise their freedom of speech and spread a good message is censored like that, can you really stay behind that idea? There’s allot of art out there that’s not intended for young ages, whether it’s visual or not. Just think of censored lyrics or poems that lose meaning when you’re forced to take out important aspects of the song or writing. Same goes with art. When it’s censored or banned, it’s automatically losing meaning or the artist is being stripped of their first amendment. There are some pluses to art censorship like making something safe for all audiences, but what if there’s a specific tone that’s wanted to be set by the creator? Is it really justified to censor something by destroying its message just to make it alright for children to see?

That’s why I’ve made this art piece, ironically, you have a bloody, gorey figure pointing down at the word “censorship” with his middle figure, meanwhile, a female graffiti artist is making word art with an obvious curse word, thus, tying together the message of disapproving censorship. This is meant to have an aggressive feel to it, as it should make you feel angry! Just think about you, you’re passionately speaking about an issue that needs more exposure, and as you’re emphasizing the seriousness of it, someone deems it unworthy for the public eye. Wouldn’t it infuriate you if your music, art, book, speech, poem, or simple comment was smacked out of existence by someone because they think others will take it offensively? So using a 0.9mm #2 lead pencil (Bic), and of course standard printing paper (8.25in x 11.75in), along with a simple eraser that’s on the mechanical pencil, I’ve made a visual art piece that demonstrates what exactly censorship takes away.

Anti-Censorship, VG, 2015

And this isn’t just a modern topic about our current generation of art, think about every single image that represent the bible, or even just lines of text. Hell is a realm in which corrupt souls are damned to after death. That’s a completely serious tone as it infers that Hell is a place of suffering for sinners, giving incentive for people to treat thy neighbor as they would treat thyself. Now imagine if “Hell” was simply known as the very bad place where bad people go and have bad things happen. Censorship dumbs things down to an unacceptable level of simplicity. It really doesn’t represent the true meaning of the message because it’s not allowed to have any suggestive text that relates to any topics that people over the age of 8 would know about. Death, suffering, pain. We all know what these things are and that humanity encounters it all. Sex, drugs, violence. Issues that practically revolve the globe as we need to be education about these things so that we don’t end up hurting ourselves in the future. Now if people simply hide these topics and concepts to younger minds forever, how will they react and/or what options will they have when they do encounter these problems?

It’s a given that certain things in media should be censored for the sake of trying not to influence children to use things that they’re not allowed to do yet (since they’re still developing minds), but when you harm an artist’s life by banning their work because you deem it inappropriate, well that’s just wrong, damn wrong, if I may. Visual arts are meant to connect to others by images, and powerful imagery comes at the price of sensitive topics that only mature people can handle. Music is meant to connect to the listener through a usage of relatable topics, and when there’s a lot of messed up crap on this Earth like abuse, war, and discrimination, one can only try to avoid using mature language. Did you notice? It’s that word again. Mature. The word that describes those who know how to act in certain situations based on knowledge and/or experience. Sometimes, things in writing need to utilize hyperboles or similes, metaphors, and analogies to adult topics. I myself exaggerated upon what exactly should and shouldn’t be censored through my art. The most extreme vulgarity, “fuck” and the most extreme suggestive theme/sexual content (nudity), which are both ironically censored.

If I had to choose a specific place for my art to be displayed, I would hope it would be out on the streets as that’s the style that I aimed for and street art is often accused of being pure vandalism that features everything that most people would want censored as it’s out in public. With that, I hope that you have a new perspective on what’s censored nowadays, since there are indeed adult topic in the bible, so why should artists have to restrain themselves?

Cited Works:

Utah State University students claim censorship over anti-abortion chalk art on campus, by Tamara Vaifanua, Fox News [Salt Lake City], October 1st, 2015

6 Artists Who Were Banned, Censored or Arrested by Conservatives, by  Julianne Escobedo Shepherd/AlterNet, January 3, 2011

Pedal to the Metal Gears

As the second and final Action Project for the class Design and Engineering comes along, I've found myself assigned to innovate what most people think is already perfect; a bike. Now what was difficult was imagining how exactly to improve upon such a staple idea. Bikes have most aspects needed for transportation, but to assist in the quest for innovation, we (alongside a partner [mine being JR] ) were assigned a persona to make a bike for. In other words, we had a short profile about a person that has certain struggle they wish they could overcome with their bike, whether it be weather or storage. We had a 15 year old named Malia that lives 5 miles away from her school, residing in Logan Square (Chicago, IL), and she'll often times go grocery shopping with that bike on her route through the 606 [a large, highway-like bike lane].

JR Bike Model & Cyclist 2015

After completion of the project, I can admit that I'm proud of the unique aspects that me and JR added to a standard bike, which included extendable handle bars that could come off and act as an independent u-lock. A second addition was a built in fender (and chain protector) that had indentations/extensions on them that act like pockets for perhaps text books and water bottles. Also sporting a stretchable, detachable basket in the front of the bike for groceries was thought of for the sake of convenience, since Malia does go grocery shopping after all. Now during this unit, there was also an External Investigation assignment that revolved around interviewing a cyclist of sorts, and I interviewed my brother. When making this new bike, I kept what he had said in my mind "I hate having to worry so much about my bike getting stolen" and that made me remember about security of bikes being a great issue amongst people who casually use bikes.

During this project, I also learned that there are bikes that exist which feature suspension systems for a smoother ride, which inspired me and my partner to create a bike that added comfort. While not shown on the full model, you can see in this fully labeled drawing that the original bike concept is supposed to feature a seat that has some back support that also has pockets for heat packs, since winters are so harsh here in Chicago. The drawing also shows off the idea of pedals that have a simple, set, immovable, metal strap so there's less chance of the rider's foot slipping.

VG Labeled Drawing 2015

Going into detail about how the bike is in terms of wheels and gears, the bike's wheels are about 28 inches in diameter, which means that it has an 88in circumference (since diameter•π=circumference). Thinking about that, the distance from school being 5 miles (316,800inches), it would take our bike 3,600 rotations of its wheel to cover that (total distance÷circumference). Speaking of the wheels, our model has 2 inch diameter wheels, which, when translated to the 28in diameter wheels for it's real life counterpart, you'd get a scaling of the bike being 14 times bigger than the model. Going on to other aspects, we have multiple gears on our bike as well, With 2 driver gears (in the front) and 3 driven gears in the back, each one has a certain amount of teeth, 12 then 16 in the front. 24, 36, 48 teeth for the back gears. With that, all possible gear ratios (written out as driven gear:driver gear) are 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 3:2, and 9:4. This makes for easy riding through diverse terrain, as different gear set ups help adapt to different kinds of slopes.

Now when thinking about how different types of energy are incorporated throughout the bike, it would have potential and kinetic energy when going down a slope, as gravity is pulling it down, making it move (kinetic), but that same gravity is also contributing to adding more potential energy, as it can get faster.

VG Handle Lock Showcase 2015

VG Handle Lock Concept 2015

Seeing as how there are different routes Malia could be taking to school, the general time it would take for her to cover those 5 miles would be around 15 minutes by bike. Converting that to miles per hour is simple, as we just take 60(one hour)÷15 minutes (which equals 4) and multiply that to the distance, giving us time over distance, or 20mph.

So with security, comfort, storage, and convenience, our bike would be best for long distances that have you carrying things, plus, with that handle bar lock, you've even got some unique storage options. I hope you enjoyed this informative analyze own how me and JR designed a unique bike through multiple engineering methods. It was no doubt difficult trying to add things to what we never though of changing, and then only to scrap certain ideas (like a navigation system), but in the end, this is the result of our hard work.

Do the Impossible, See the Rhetorical

The second Action Project for the class Rhetoric, and it's our assignment to analyze some form of text in a rhetoric way, looking for Pathos, Ethos, and Logos. It was also necessary to search for rhetoric and sound devices, which worked well for me since I chose a song, which was a rap-opera hybrid. It was, however, challenging to fit together the pieces as well as annotate the text fully, since Google Drive doesn't allow free text movement, meaning that I had to manually move the annotations. Aside from that, I can proudly say that once again, an anime has assisted me in my school life and this was one of my favorite songs I've ever listened to, so it all worked out in the end. You can view a Prezi of my take on the project just down below.

The Slammer of SledgeWhammer

It's the first Action Project of our second class, Design and Engineering. This class is a math, science, and of course, design based course. The first of two Action Projects, as there are 2 units (as opposed to the regular amount, three), has us recreating/improving upon a tool that we already decided to analyze during an external investigation at Home Depot, seeing why the tools were made and how they help. My fellow blogger MF and I decided upon the sledgehammer as it wasn't that practical for gardening, so it stood out (unknowingly deciding the tool for this Action Project). During this time of research, it was worth noting the weight and material of different sledgehammers, as well as the variety ni handles. Some hammers were cushiony, some where just plain steel, others had wooden handles, it was all so different for being the same exact tool. Certain struggles and obstacles with the design were finding out its size and how it would differ from the competition. At first, the idea was making it repetitively slam onto a surface, but then the problem was finding out how that would work. Overall, I was proud of the concept and enjoyed figuring out how to work out the different mechanics, innovating on every aspect we could. Just below you can find the rest of the information about the concept, and I hope you enjoy.

The SledgeWhammer (Vectors included), VG & MF- 2015

Now people of all ages are the intended consumer as it should have universal usage. Despite physical differences, anybody should be able to pick up a nifty sledgehammer and buy it for some good old fashion demolition without worrying about buying multiple types or a unique version. A tool that relies heavily on the simple machines; a lever, pulleys, wheel & axle— should be able to be universally used (interchangeable weights/hammers). And speaking of the lever, as one side rises, the other side lowers, so utilizing a counterweight was truly taken advantage of as we could have the sides alternate going up and down for efficiency through repetitive hammering. So unlike the common sledgehammer, our SledgeWhammer can be used by anyone, even a senior citizen.

Based on the interviews my fellow students and I did, our consumers (or at least gardeners) want easy tools that are comfortable and efficient. And since we empathize those of you who aren't as physically able as the average adult, we made a design that suits everyone. Now with the SledgeWhammer, we have a detachable sledgehammer that rests on a fulcrum, equal distance from its also interchangeable liquid counterweight (to make repetitive smashing). This lightweight frame of 24 pounds is small enough to fit inside of a minivan, and the cases containing the multiple hammerheads and counterweights are neatly packed. The liquid counterweight is intended to create a mirrored ripple-like effect that will create the equal and opposite reaction for every action the head of the hammer does. The hammer itself is lifted by a double pulley system that's controlled by a crank.

Storyboard for Tool part 1, VG & MF-2015

The SledgeWhammer won't be a hassle, as it's operated by a ratchet pulley system that utilizes a crank to raise the hammer and a release/lock button to start the swing (which might I add is behind the tool, and on the back of it, there's a strong, thick layer of plexiglass so you can see what you're demolishing!), or stop it when necessary. The crank is to the side of the frame pulling on an extremely dexterous tether which is attached to one pulley that redirects the tether to the ratchet pulley, which raises the hammer. But what if you don't need or want to utilize the whole SledgeWhammer? That's why the sledgehammer part is detachable, no need to roll the frame with you everywhere you go. All the parts of the hammer come in cases (alongside counterweights) so it's easier to transport, however these cases can get hefty sometimes, so don't underestimate the weight. On the other hand, since I mentioned the frame, it's supported by 4 large wheels that are friction-based to ensure that when the brakes are applied, the tool stays in place. The frame also has gaps for cost-efficient design when being built, and it utilizes triangles in its frame design for a sturdier build.

Storyboard for Tool part 2, VG-2015

Lastly, the SledgeWhammer smashes the competition with its diversity in a single tool, as well as automated performance. And who even wants a regular sledgehammer when the SledgeWhammer is the coolest tool you'll ever own? It's like the best non-electric jackhammer anyone could ever ask for.

The Epidemic of Academics

Kicking off junior year here at GCE, and I'm in the class Rhetoric,  a class that revolves around several writing techniques, with unit 1 being about Rhetoric Appeals/Devices, like pathos, ethos, logos, and figurative forms of speech, such as metaphors. For this Action Project, our assignment was to create a short speech that effectively utilizes these appeals. One big challenge for me was how I'd approach the video recording, as I wasn't quite sure what kind of tone I wanted to evoke. Overall, it was a decent challenge to where I ended up being proud of what I came up with. That being said, you can find the transcript to the video just below it, including citations, and I hope you enjoy.

The Epidemic of Academics:

Tests. No one likes ‘em. No one enjoys having to study, taking up their free time, spending hours on end reading and re-reading notes and excerpts just to be sure you can memorize everything you may or may not even need to know for a test. Are tests really even the best way to evaluate a student?

Think of the successful icons of the United States who actually weren’t exemplary students. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Abraham Lincoln. Yes, you heard me, one of the heads on Mount Rushmore, who helped abolish slavery back in 1863, didn’t get a college degree. He was self-taught in trigonometry and read the book Blackstone to become a lawyer. (Top 100 Entrepreneurs Who Succeeded Without A College Degree, Paul Hudson, Elite Daily, March 13, 2013) Another well known entrepreneur is James Cameron, who dropped out of college, before becoming one of the most famous movie directors ever. And incidentally, even Walt Disney himself dropped out of high school at the age of 16, yet he went on to become, well–Walt Disney. Even in more contemporary times, people in America have successful lives without degrees, or even without graduating from high school. The founder of Tumblr, David Karp, has become as successful as he is after dropping out of highschool at the age 15, having never earned a college degree.

With these individuals in mind, how can we be sure that testing, and debatably the entire American school system, is an effective way to evaluate students for future success? I myself am a student, and my highschool is actually quite the unique one. Straying away from conventional teaching methods, GCE (Global Citizenship Experience) uses many alternate techniques for work submission and grading. Now speaking from personal experience, an example of this is when we reach the end of a unit and create a project to reflect upon what we’ve learned.

Testing provides stressful situations and anxiety, and Concordia Online points out plenty of other flaws with frequent testing, too. Frequent testing only multiplies the stress and anxiety I mentioned earlier, and many of those tests are multiple choice, which are critiqued for being too simplistic  [“the U.S. average mathematics score (481) was lower than the average for all OECD countries (494)”] (How does the achievement of American students compared to that of students in other countries? U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, 2015)]. And if every student is out there learning exactly they need to know for another lengthy test, then less time being spent on learning innovative techniques and answering open ended questions. But even when preparing for those thousands of equations and word problems, the U.S. average math scores are still lower than all the other OECD countries like Canada and Mexico (which are our neighbors, you know).

So, I repeat, as a student, and based on the facts; Are tests really the best way to determine academic skill? Are test actually effective? Are tests even worth doing? It’s like eating candy that you don’t even enjoy.

Sources
http://elitedaily.com/news/business/100-top-entrepreneurs-succeeded-college-degree/

http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/news/do-standardized-test-show-an-accurate-view-of-students-abilities/

https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=1

Johnny & Dr. Zelli

The Final Action Project for the Cure class. Revolving around Unit 3: Prevention, this Action Project has us use a single character to represent a patient and a doctor. Through a 2-4 minute dialogue, our goal was to mention several nutrition and health facts that would assist anyone in prevent some sort of disease, either major or minor. It was challenging to create a video that would incorporate all of this using no voices, but I was able to use frame animation and style my video in reminiscence of Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton. With that, I hope you enjoy my production below.

A Prologue to the Chorus

A final Action Project arises in the Drama course. The 3rd unit had us study a matriarch type character, which is usually a female character that has motherly traits. As a broader explanation, a matriarch type of person can be an experienced, strong person, with love and care yet a stern set of rules to follow. Another thing that was studied was the way a Greek tragedy plays out, which can be compared to how soap operas will be written, in other words the 2 main factors of them: A prologue and a chorus. A prologue introduces the scene or context, while a chorus is almost like an interactive narrator reacting as he/she watches what's happening. There was also a play that corresponded with our lesson, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. This play helps us define a matriarch with one of its main characters Leena "Mama" Youngers being the grandmother in this story of a family living in the south side of Chicago, based on Hansberry's life. The purpose of the Action Project was to create a prologue and chorus to go along with a scene from the play and mention the glory of our character, followed by the downfall/failure of them. With that, I hope you enjoy reading my project just below, with the script and a recording.

A Play Of A Play

The second action project of the course Drama, we made a play that continues off of (in some way) the play A Doll's House. In the second unit, were talked about a doll character, someone that's what I like to describe as a simple and pretty plaything to whoever owns her. A Doll's House was one of the plays we read that features Nora, a character meant to be seen as a doll, but transforms near the end of the play into a much more independant character. One of the guiding questions for this unit was whether or not men and women should have different roles in society. In my personal opinion, I believe that humans are humans, and regardless of gender or race, we should treat each other and act equally. As of the Action Project, it's purpose was to tie together Nora (at the end of her play, specifically) with a notable and historical female figure that's mentioned in the art piece known as The Dinner Party. I chose Pandora because of how I perceive her, I believe she'd actually be in favor of gender roles while Nora just came from fighting against them, and I preferred a conflict against those two characters rather than the character representing me against them. Now, my script for the Action Project basically has me, a mysterious man from the future who has read A Doll's House decides to finish up the story as it doesn't really end in the sense of knowing everything that happens. Mr. G, the mysterious man from the future wearing a black tuxedo and sunglasses, wants to give Nora advice, but who else could give advice better than one crafted from the gods, made to be cunning and wise (and beautiful); Pandora. Yet, the two have very different opinions on gender roles.

Please listen to or read my script down below.

A Surgery in Hand

The first Action Project of the integrated Math and Science class disease. In Unit 1, we went over several kinds of procedures and treatments that go on in the emergency room, or even at home. As for the Action Project, using a surgery of our choice, we make a Prezi, which is a unique presentation creating engine/site, to create an informational presentation all about whichever procedure you chose. As you can see right down below, I thought of presenting amputations. Now a little background knowledge for amputations is that in this type of surgery, a limb is removed due to extreme damage that would actually render the person more handicapped than if the patient was without it. Cause for amputations are commonly known from war damage, but cancer treatments also include simply severing the entire tumour (or the affected part of the body) from the patient itself. Amputations have a unique history in which there were no anesthetics or pain relievers back in the day. Any amputation from pre-modern medicine times would have any source of alcohol as a cleanser (such as an intoxicating beverage), no restraints (instead, just multiple people holding down the patient), and a mere cloth to bite on due to the intense pain, plus the lack of painkillers themselves. With that, I hope you enjoy my presentation made with the power of Prezi.

Taming from the Sonnet

The final term of the school year here at GCE, and so I have the Sophomore class Drama, a writing and literary class that features plays, acting, and the role of women through these performances. In our first unit, we read William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, which had an exposition about a drunk man being the victim of a prank. The man was led to believe he was a lord with actors playing as his servants and wife (who were all male, a key detail into mentioning that in the late 16th century, there were no male actors). There's a play that's viewed by the man and his wife, this is the last we hear of them, and now the true The Taming of the Shrew. The Action Project for this course was to write a sonnet, similar to how Shakespeare wrote plenty (for financial reasons), and send out a would-be message to a character of your choice from Taming of the Shrew. I chose to tell Hortensio –a man who prefer the kinder of 2 sisters but lost her from competition– to not marry a woman he doesn't love simply because everyone else has a wife. Hortensio ends up marrying a widow who's probably emotionally scarred due to the loss of a husband. He chose to marry merely to comfort himself without any true concern for someone who no doubt must need a lot of care at this moment in her life. With that, I hope you enjoy.
Auditory Video

A Widow's Sonnet

Hortensio, you want a trophy wife

A mere prize won in holy matrimony

Is that how you see a maiden’s life

I can tell you that that’s not what marriage is supposed to be

You claim a widow as your partner

Doing so because everyone else is doing it aswell

Your prize is one who has once had a lover

Taking her simply because you find the single life dull

You had jarring quarrels with the one you pursued

You attempted to pay homage to Bianca and yet it failed

So you give up from a minescule feud

And you don’t bother trying because you believe the ship has sailed

“A’ will make the man mad, to make a woman of him”, and so you seek easy catches for your life

Thus, a barely glued marriage, with a hot air [balloon] of a husband, and a wife for consolation.

Fahrenheit 451; Montag's Gadfly -- Work in progress

The final Action Project for the Forbidden Books class. It brings up the topic of diversity and gives us the opportunity to write a reflective essay about the book we've been reading throughout the course. My book was Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury's work that went through many censorship issues for minor details. As of the reflection, I chose to analyze a character from the book that acted in a manner similar to that of Socrates, a philosopher dubbed as a gadfly due to his behavior in "waking the people up" from their false sense of knowledge/security. One of the character's strongly resembles that role and even turns another character into that same type of person, a gadfly. Just below you can see the full reflection essay, and thank you for reading.

Mind the Gap, and Watch Out for Cholera

The last Action Project for the Disease class has us bringing awareness to any epidemic and how it's history as a great impact on how we've developed throughout time. Utilizing research from multiple, free to choose, sources, I chose cholera because it had many historical impacts, outbreaks, dubbed as a pandemic at some points, and is still relevant today. As you can see below, there's a full researched excerpt from a script that would've been implemented into an edited video. Unfortunately, I was not able to create any video due to technological restraints. It was a definite challenge to find representatives in the Gapminder World web app. Relations that were recorded between the many countries affected by cholera were scarce, with results that either didn't go back far enough, or unrelated factors. Right below you can see the script report for yourself, and thank you for reading.


There’s a disease that’s been around for more than 150 years, and it’s still running around today. Cholera is an immense disease that gives you diarrhea, abnormal cramps, extreme heat, loss of skin reformation, dry areas of the body that usually produce mucous, low blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, intense cramps, and even frequent thirsts. Multiple factors affect this disease too, and in many ways, reflects the status of a great number of underdeveloped countries today, who are the modern victims of cholera in this 21st century. These factors include contaminated water, polluted rainfall, poverty (unsanitary living conditions), low hygiene/poor sewage systems, and a crowded environment.

GapMinder Map VG 2015

During the mid 1800s, many countries such as Russia, Copenhagen, and England suffered from outbreaks of cholera. The third cholera pandemic in Russia was the most devastating, killing an estimate of one million people. England had it the easiest with an estimate of 616 casualties with a sudden outbreak, meanwhile Copenhagen had 4,737 deaths due to the disease. Closed off or crowded living spaces were common in the 1850s due to the poverty, there was a very clear separation of who was rich and who was extremely poor, especially in england. Russia had the most victims probably due to a lack of hygiene, and with a population at about 60 million at the time, it may not be the biggest place, but in comparison as a country (as opposed to a continent), it’s quite a large place.

GapMinder Graph VG 2015

Ways we’ve combated cholera is by having advanced sewage systems and cleaner living environment. Developed countries like the United States have practically abolished cholera since the last outbreak it’s had back in 1911, yet there are still unfortunate victims of this disease to this date. Underdeveloped countries such as haiti have lost thousands to this disease due to it’s economic status. As a poor country, it can’t afford the same type of medical care or sanitary programs as more financially able countries. During March 2014, Haiti had suffered from more than 8,500 casualties. When living in tight spaces or with a lot of people, cholera becomes even more dangerous with a higher likelihood to spread to others. On average, it can infect up to 15 people from a single person who is suffering from this ailment. Another way to put this is that the RØ=15 (the R naught equals fifteen). Easy ways to prevent cholera (if you happen to be at risk for catching it) is to keep yourself clean; wash your hands often, and bathe whenever possible. It’s really the simple steps that help prevent this infectious disease along the way.

Works Cited

NA, Mayo Clinic, Cholera http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cholera/basics/symptoms/con-20031469

John Snow (1855). On the mode of communication of cholera. John Churchill. Retrieved 29 March 2011 (Wikipedia Reference)

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/cholera-faq

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0072498

Insomnia Instance - Fatal Lack of Sleep

The second Action Project in the Disease class, we look at a different criteria of diseases altogether: mental diseases. The unit itself went over the different aspects of mental diseases, as well as facts about our mind and how to determine a diagnosis. Unlike physical diseases (cancer, diabetes, etc.), mental disease need to align with certain symptoms, and usually more than one, in order to be truly diagnosed as the actual ailment. There was a wide variety of what we could choose from as long as it's covered in the DSM 5, a book that lists a great multitude of mental diseases and describes them with medical accuracy. Some of the options within the diagnosis book include schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and even alcoholism (addiction to alcohol, which can affect your body severely either with the addiction, or through the withdrawal). My choice was insomnia (also referred to as sleep-wake disorder), which is actually something many people tend to misinterpret.

From the DSM 5, I chose to study up on insomnia, a mental disease that basically renders an inability to sleep or having trouble falling asleep, not (as it is commonly misinterpreted) a mere unwillingness to sleep. Insomnia doesn't allow oneself to sleep unless very specific criteria are met, in other words, the sleeping environment needs to be perfect, and this can vary based on personal preference. Directly from the DSM-V (5), it describes insomnia as: Disturbed sleep, whether because of quality, timing or duration, can have many adverse health consequences. The most obvious concerns are fatigue and cognitive focus, but mood can be greatly affected, too. -DSM V (5). Insomnia results in fatigue, inability to focus or concentrate, poor memory, mood disturbance, daytime sleepiness, low motivation or energy, and increased errors or accidents. Due to no sleep, your brain has a lack of theta and delta brainwaves, so you never enter that restorative process of sleep. 

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Rebecca Turner, The Man Who Never Slept: Ngoc Thai,
World of Lucid Dreaming (website) {click to enlarge}

"Insomnia also can keep you from performing your best at school or work. One study estimated that an employee with insomnia loses about eight days of work performance each year. For the entire U.S. workforce, this adds up to an estimated $63 billion in lost work performance due to insomnia each year." Thomas M. Heffron, Insomnia Awareness Day, SleepEducation.com

However, insomnia doesn't always affect everyone who has it, or at least not to the point of physically growing weaker. 
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Another part to this analysis is for you yourself to simulate it. Please follow this lesson plan below if you wish to have a taste of how it feels to be an insomniac, but on a minimum scale.

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Why? (GQ)	What does it feel like to have sleep-wake disorder, aka insomnia? What does it feel like to interact with a person living with insomnia?	Time
How?	How will you initially experience these feelings? At the end of this lesson, you will have: Simulated the feeling of fatigue through direct instructions Question yourself about what you truly believe the symptoms are (meaning myths or general ideas you may have heard of before) Reflect upon how you would try to live with a live that has no rest	~
What? Agenda & Content	What’s the process of you experiencing these symptoms (slightly)? Starting off, you will begin the simulation by: Blinking rapidly and consistently until eyes are tired•2-4minutes Keep eyes open for an extended period of time, maybe even have a staring contest with someone•3-4 minutes Reflect upon this initial question; What if feeling like this was my daily life? Just imagine if you felt tired and sleepy every single day of your life, and whatever you’re feeling right now is multiplied by hours, amongst days, amongst months. Soon you go more than a year without frequent or necessary sleep.	5-8 min
Closure	Reflection (Writing) How might you respond differently to someone living with the disorder you studied? My answer: “Since insomnia is a peculiar disease, it’s not exactly something you can be all to helpful with. Insomnia actually has instances of only being temporary, but it’s essentially something that can only be helped if you’re able to assist one’s environment to strengthen comfort, which encourages sleep.”
Materials	Yourself Functioning eyes Usable eyelids

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  Now you've experienced the same thing an insomniac goes through a majority of their lives. To summarize, insomnia/sleep-wake disorder is a condition where you truly can't go to sleep unless your environment is past the conception of perfection based on your body's apparent personal preference. Many Americans today suffer from insomnia and while it's not always consistent, it can really have negative effects on your life by the means of extreme fatigue. You could lose a lot of productivity or performance skills just from not getting enough sleep, and sooner or later, a constant lack of rest can become fatal. It's even worse to drive mentally tired (from no sleep) than it is to drive intoxicated (drunk), and if you have insomnia, you're bound to be tired. Thank you for reading all the way through and now you know a little bit more about insomnia.