The Mole People

The Mole People is written by Jennifer Toth. This Non-fiction book is the story of the life in the tunnels beneath New York City. Jennifer Toth herself went down into the subways of New York to explore the life of the men and women, and children who live in the subway. The lives of these peoples were in the center of mortal danger, mental illness, drug addiction, and even love. People who live under the Manhattan has estimated almost over 5,000, from Toth's observations, this number is significantly higher than I would of ever imagined.

The Mole People focus on a about adozen of the 5,000 lives down under the city. One group of men I was most interested about, a subterranean group of assassins who perform what they call "hits" for sometimes as low as $20. These hits included the assassination of drug dealers, people who hurt family members, and thief's. Another man spent thousands of dollars dedicated to murals in the deep corners of the subway that only the homeless and many public travelers. The stories of the these incredible people dive directly into the depths of despair, an incredible hope to create a successful life under ground, and animalistic behavior not shown in todays world by everyday people. Toth has left me hanging with the question of what the policy for homeless in the subway system. I am extremely interesting in this subject being I am always wondering about the rebelling part of a culture.

A Week at The Airport

A Week at The Airport was written over a period of just a couple weeks. Have you ever been at an airport thinking, stuck through no fault of your own, wondering what would it be to live there for a week? Well I have, and this book explains this exactly.  Alain de Botton, the writer of this book, did just that, he spent one week at the airport taking a taxi back and forth from a close hotel. He spent a total of seven days observing the people in the airport and hotels, the various service industry employees he came across, the structures he was occupying, and the various foods that were available to him. While writing this collection of stories over the course of a few weeks, he explained many different stories and observations he made over the course of that week in the most detail possible.

Alain de Bottom talks a lot about describing the departure and arrivals at the gates. One story that sticks out in my mind is when he sees a young couple trying to leave each other, but cannot bring themselves to separate from each other. This is something we have all seen in our own personal travels through airports, but not something that anyone has ever taken the time to put into words. de Bottom uses such a vivid description that you can't help but propel yourself back to the last airport you were in and see if there was another couple like this, on another day, in another city.   He writes, "It was the intensity of their kiss that first attracted my attention, but what had seemed like passion from afar was revealed at closer range to be an unusual degree of devastation.  She was shaking with sorrowful disbelief as he cradled her in his arms and stroked her wavy black hair, in which a clip shaped like a tulip had been fastened" (de Bottom, 34).

One element to de Bottom's writing that readers must be aware of is his use of diction and syntax. He is clearly a fan of using large, intricate, and uncommon words to describe the most common elements of life. This can make the stories he portrays seem confusing as you try to translate what he writes into every day English. He also uses unique spelling, for example "centre" rather than "center" and "organise" rather than "organize." This is most likely due to the fact that he is French, however for an American, and one who pays attention to correct grammar, this can be a bit of a nag. His syntax can be characterized as sentences on the brink of run-ons. Perhaps it was because the book was written in just a few short weeks, or perhaps it is because he tried so hard to describe what he saw in so much detail that he forgot to use the occasional period or comma to interrupt his stream of consciousness. In any case, his sentences rival the paragraphs of most high school students. A great example of both his diction and syntax can be found on page 21, when de Bottom gives an interesting insight into the world of room service and hotel rooms. He writes, "Along my route, I passed dozens of room-service trays much like my own, each one furtively pushed into the hallway and nearly all (Once their stainless-steel covers were lifted) providing evidence of orgiastic episodes of consumption.  Ketchup smeared across slices of toast and fried eggs dipped in vinaigrette spoke of the breaking of taboos just like the sexual ones more often assumed to be breached during solitary residence in hotel rooms."

While this an interesting book, it can be hard, especially for teenagers, to make it through it without relying on a thesaurus. There are great mini stories that really make you think back to the last time you were in an airport, and it makes you wonder how many little human stories you walked past without giving it a second thought. But, for the average teenager, a alternative to reading this book would be to simply listen to Ani DiFranco's song, "Arrival Gates." It says the same thing, but it's much easier to understand the listen to.

Last Chance In Texas,

Last Chance in Texas by John Hubner is a must-read for anyone interested in the study of sociology, psychology, crime or the mind of teenagers.  The book relates the stories of criminal youth at the Griddings State School in Texas, a rehabilitation center for criminal youth.  The Program at Giddings is much different than what most of us think of when we think of a juvenile detention facility. Rather than it being like a small prison, the Giddings State School operates more like a drug rehabilitation center, just focused on crime and mental illness, rather than drug abuse.

The therapy at Giddings includes telling each child's "life story," and intensive therapy to deal with their demons. Ronnie is one of the main youth that Hubner talks about. Ronnie was brought up in a broken home, with an absent mother, living with a junkie aunt, and selling drugs by the time he was eleven. The story of Ronnie was terrible, an anyone living in a place like Park City could not imagine what this kid went through.  Before he was a teenager his mother brought him to a party where he saw a man who had been stabbed with a knife, with his intestines hanging out.  The details of Ronnie's life were violent, sad, and depressing at different times.  but when it came to his crime story, it just got worse. Ronnie almost shot and killed his younger brother; he kidnapped an elderly couple and would have killed the older man; he sold drugs and took PCP.

Ronnie's therapy included sessions in a group therapy situation.  During this time, Ronnie had to watch others in the group act out as his victims and he had to re-enact his crimes.  The tables were turned, and the crime was committed on Ronnie him self in a safe, controlled environment. This led to fighting, crying, screaming, and depression among Ronnie and the other children.  But, Giddings has an amazing success rate, and only ten percent of even the most violent youth go on to commit crimes in their adult lives. It seems that the rehabilitation approach at this school in Texas actually works, and the key to it is the therapy the kids get, rather than treating them as criminals and throwing them in jail.

Everyone can learn something from this book. Adults can learn how their actions can shape the personality of children. Children can learn that it is possible to overcome the hardships we face in life.  People in the justice system can learn that there is hope for violent offenders if they are treated like human beings. As a society, we can learn how important it is to face challenges and problems head on in order to fully deal with them and move on in our lives.  This is an excellent book that will leave a reader wondering how our justice system got to be the way it is, and if there is hope for a change in the future.

End of World.

 My predictions for this upcoming friday is, somehow somewhere some people are going to release a disease.  But these people will not just disperse any kind of disease. The main symptom is the person who is infected has severe anger, and soon begins to attack and eat any kind of living flesh they can find.  Also the only way for a person to become infected is to be scratched or bitten by one of the infected.
  My plan for this "End of the World" is too get as many weapons as possibly first, this is going to be accomplished by already made plans that can not be told to the public for the safety of my survival. Immediately after that has been done i will get a massive trailer and make my way straight to Wal-Mart.  After all of the supplies are in my possession I will make my way to the gas station to stock up on gasoline to be able to support a generator for many many years. This is when i make my way up as high as I can get in utah in the Uinta Mountains. My crew and I will post up there until further action.
  I wish Everyone the best of luck for the next upcoming weeks.
                                                                GOD BLESS.

2012 Election. Obama VS. Romney

This year American has a choice: Obama or Romney. The race for the presidency is close, and the American people have a tough choice on their hands. The reason why we should re-elect Barack Obama is because, despite his political troubles and poor approval rating, Obama continues to be a favorite to win the 2012 election. I composed a list of the best reasons why Obama should be re-elected.

Having a minority run for president instead of a Caucasian will give minorities the voice they need to speak up in politics and in the government.  Another exponential reason why Obama should be president again is simply for the fact that consistency is key. The reason for this is if Romney is elected, then Romney is going to change America for what he wants and this will obviously take a good amount of time.  If Obama is elected we can cruise on with what he has been accomplishing and move on immediately to the next issue.  The next big issue is Obama is more than eager to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, which will inevitably end the War on Terror.  Re-electing Obama will also indubitably pave the way for Bill Clinton’s comeback into politics. Obama will help Clinton be most successful because of the amount of matters they need to deal with including, health care, tax cuts, and many many more problems to be fixed. 

Conservatives will also get a huge profit off of Obama’s re-election. If Romney gets elected these conservatives will be forced to spit lies about how good Romney is and eventually lose their jobs, because their programs will not be as entertaining as they are when they bash Obama. On the other hand, if Obama is elected these conservatives will have another four years to talk about Obama and will be able to keep their jobs. People like Rush Limbaugh will be able to continue pointing out the President’ shortcomings on their radio and television programs and life will continue as normal for conservatives and liberals alike. 

The last reason why the country needs Obama to be elected for a second term is because Sarah Palin will then not be an important figure in politics.  This is important for the reason that Sarah Palin is not up on key issues nor is she friendly with world leaders. She also has very little political experience, as proved by her performance in the 2008 Presidential election. If anything, the American people should vote for Obama for the simple fact that it would keep Sarah Palin away from the executive branch of government. 

"When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves" ~Victor Frankl

The book I am now reading is called Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. This book is about Victor's daily life when he was in the Holocaust.  During the Holocaust he was put in the Auschwitz concentration camp. While surviving through the horrors of Auschwitz, Frankl observed other people to try to find the common bond between the survivors and discover the personality traits of survivors. Frankl used his will to survive to figure out what was going on in people's minds every day.  He created Logotherapy, which is a psychological perspective that has been compared to Sigmund Freud's Psychoanalysis, but differs in some major ways.  

Victor Frankl was obsessed with watching people and deciphering their thoughts and actions.  He came to the conclusion that those who survived the Holocaust were not physically strong, but those who were aware of their environment and those who truly believed they would survive.  Frankl created the term "Sunday neurosis," which refers to the end of the working week when a person realizes how empty and meaningless his or her life is.  He argued that having this subconscious set back would most likely lead to binge eating and drinking, excess stress, and not a happy lifestyle. 

Frankl created the Theory of Logotherapy. This theory looked directly at the sense of mental health tension between what one is and what one would become.  Frankl says that the modern person has way too much freedom in his or her life to deal with.  This means that we no longer live through instinct and rarely rely on tradition. Logotherapy is different from Psychoanalysis because of how logotherapy looks mainly into the future and how what we do now changes the outcome of our future. Psychoanalysis takes what has already happened and what you were born with to explain the way you are now.  For example, if you had parents that beat you when you were young, it is inevitable that you will in the future beat your children.  This theory digs deep into the subconscious of why we act the way we do now. Logotherapy instead looks at how we are shaping our lives every day.

This book was a great book to read because Victor Frankl took every day of his life to create the basis for this theory.  I really enjoyed reading this book because it dove deeper into the Holocaust than most books I have read about that subject.  This book really made me understand what people were going through, besides the obvious terror and constant death.  Frankl's whole family was murdered immediately when they arrived to Auschwitz. I found it remarkable that Victor Frankl could look past what was going on right in front of his eyes and really find the meaning to living and of his own existence.     

My favorite book is The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test, by Tom Wolfe.  This book is about Ken Kesey the author of "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest" took an epic adventure across America in a psychedelic painted school bus dubbed "Furthur". Ken Kesey and his rebel band take numerous amount of psychedelics while crossing America in the 1960s.
The psychedelic adventure across America was filmed but the footage was never released until Director Alex Gibney and Allison Ellwood gained access to the raw footage and created Magic Trip. The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test is an easy read and is pointed towards the younger generation.
For anyone with a true childhood and a great imagination i highly recommend this book to you.