Got Sleep?

Hello!

               So recently I’ve begun to notice how many of my friends and acquaintances have been complaining of a lack of sleep. “Yeah, I was up ‘til three in the morning” isn’t uncommon to hear in the hallway. On the flip side of this, I have also heard that teenagers are most likely to sleep the most, and need the most sleep overall. So in the spirit of my research posts from earlier this week, I’ve compiled a list of questions that I found interesting, and their answers from various online sources.

               How much sleep does the average teenager need?

               According to research done by this group, the average teenager needs 9 hours and fifteen minutes until they’re an adult, and then they need eight hours and fifteen minutes.

How much sleep does the average teenager get?

This was actually the hardest piece of information to find, and there wasn’t any definitive answer. Teenagers are all different, and polls of big groups were inconclusive because teens get anywhere from 4 to 14 hours of sleep a night. Teenagers also tend to sleep on odd schedules, sleeping less on school nights and making up for it on the weekends.

              

How does a lack of sleep actually affect you?

Lack of sleep can hurt a teenager in many ways. The same group says that lack of sleep causes learning to be more difficult. It also affects your physical performance, making it harder to perform well. You look worse, you feel worse, you become more moody. You also can develop some more dangerous side-effects, like drowsiness while driving. There are over 100,000 sleep-deprivation related deaths every year in the United States.  So the real deal is, what’s more important to you – texting your friends for an extra hour or performing well in life?

What percentage of teens have sleeping disorders, and what disorders are most common?

Almost all teens have what’s called delayed sleep phase syndrome according to this site. That means that they go to sleep later and want to wake up later too. Besides this, a very small percentage (below 1%) of teens have sleep apnea or chronic insomnia.

So overall, I was not very surprised with the information that not many teens actually have chronic insomnia. Us teens just tend to have pretty screwed up sleep schedules, which is not abnormal. So, to all of you who have gotten very little sleep in the last few days, fret not! It’s normal.

                                                                                            Thanks for reading

Matt Finley

Finley's New Year's Resolution

Hello!

            Every day I drag myself out of a nice warm bed to get ready for the place everyone in the United States has to go until they’re sixteen – school. My days there are pretty typical. I arrive at 6:57, power walk through the hallway, frantically tearing off my coat and gloves until I can shove them haphazardly in my locker. Then I make a mad dash for my classroom with my fingers crossed that I can make it by 7:00. I don’t put up with that to have to endure the poor grading habits of some teachers; it just isn’t fair.

            Webster defines an objective thing as “not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts.” Conversely, something subjective is defined as “Based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.” These two things relate very well towards grading styles, which is something that all high school students should pay attention to.

            If something is objectively graded, it is graded without personal feelings coming into effect, right? In theory that’s how all assignments and tests should be graded regardless of what class you’re in. In practice, that’s not how the cookie crumbles. Instead, in certain classes you get saddled with not-so-good teachers who will grade your work subjectively. That’s when their personal feelings come into play.

            Some classes have work that a teacher has to grade objectively, such as math and science classes. There is either a right answer or a wrong answer, there’s no middle ground where a teacher gets to decide whether or not you “deserve” the extra few points. In other types of classes your teacher may be able to get away with giving you points if they like you, or take points away if they don’t. That’s pretty stupid.

            If you’ve ever been on a teachers’ bad side, you’ll know it’s not pleasant. They don’t have to go that “extra mile” to ensure your success. You’ve been gone for a few days? Sucks to be you, here’s a 200-point test! It might seem unfair to you – and it is – but face it. You’ve probably done something to get on that teachers’ bad side.

            In a perfect world people would all get along. Students would be nicer to their teachers, and teachers wouldn’t turn it into a power struggle. I know it’s a little bit late, but maybe you students out there that are reading this could try putting “be a bit nicer to the teacher” on your list of New Year’s resolutions. I know it’s certainly on mine.

RE: "Miss Representation"

Hello!

                So in class the past few days in my AP Language and Composition class we’ve been watching a documentary entitled “Miss Representation.” This documentary goes into depth about gender roles in today’s society, and it’s very recent, having been released in 2012.  While watching all of these ideas and images popping up on the screen, I found myself asking a few questions.

The film claims that a huge percentage of women in America have eating disorders – is this true?

                According to this website over ONE HALF of teenagers use “unhealthy weight control methods.” Although this doesn’t mean that they have eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia, they’re smoking, or using laxatives, or skipping meals just to meet the criteria for a “perfect body.” That’s pretty gross. On the flip side, though, a comparatively small number of Americans develop anorexia or bulimia in their lifetimes – only 2 to 5 percent for adolescents, but all the way down into under a percent for Americans as a whole.

How much has teen pregnancy actually increased by in recent years?

                This site tells it all. Although the rate of teenagers having sex went down between ’95 and 2002, in the past few years it has skyrocketed. 14% of teenagers have “done the deed” by the time they’re 15, but by the time they’re 19, 70% of teenagers have had sex. Based on this information I would most definitely say that the amount of teens having sex has significantly increased, or at least remains high. But this information didn’t give me enough to conclude that teen pregnancy rates have gone up. One could probably attribute this to the sheer amount of sex that’s propagated by the media.

How much media exposure do we REALLY get?

                Here’s another website that gives a lot of good information. They claim that teenagers cram 10 and a half hours of media exposure into EVERY day. Although we’re only using the media devices for seven and a half hours, many teens use two forms of media at once. 66% of teenagers now have cell phones, which allows them even more exposure than ever before. It’s crazy how much time we really spend watching TV, or surfing the web.

               

                So after spending a good while researching this stuff, it’s kind of shocking how much of it is actually true. You see all of these facts on TV, but I guess I’ve always assumed that they’re just there to shock me into becoming a good little teenager and actually doing stuff like going outside (Who does that anymore?) Anyways, I’d really suggest watching “Miss Representation” for all of you out there that aren’t in AP Lang and Comp (Which I have a strange feeling is no one).

Thanks for reading

Matt Finley

David Sedaris

Hello!

               So in this post I’m going to talk about a book that was recommended to me. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris is both a genre and a style that I’ve never read before, so it was pretty different for me.

               First my brother Michael, who is 23, recommended the book to me almost a year ago, saying it would “change my life.” I didn’t believe him until I read a few pages of the most recent Sedaris book, which I got him for Christmas. It was really, really good, and inspired me to read some more of his books – for approximately 45 minutes. I wasn’t reminded of my desire to read the books until I saw a few copies of them in my AP Lang and Comp classroom, which I promptly borrowed from my teacher.

               That was Friday. I finished Me Talk Pretty One Day around noon on Saturday. It was pretty darn amazing. Sedaris doesn’t write novels, but writes a bunch of essays and then puts them together and publishes the whole mess. I haven’t really read anything like that before, but it was actually pretty good.  

               Then my biggest plus for the book was that it was really, really, really, really funny. Those four repetitions of “funny” were necessary because Me Talk Pretty One Day was that awesome. It was refreshing to read an essay that was actually fun to read, as compared to Annie Dillard’s essays. I was kept interested throughout the entire four hundred pages of essays, whereas I could barely stay interested in the two pages of “Transformations” by Dillard.

               On to the actual content of the book, though. Sedaris is a pretty interesting character, which makes his essays interesting because he’s writing about his personal experiences. He writes a little bit about his time growing up, his parents, his experience attending art school twice, his time working as a moving guy, his time in France, learning French, and working on a house. Although it sounds kind of random, it all makes sense in context.

               So all in all, I’d say I wasn’t disappointed with Me Talk Pretty One Day at all. In fact, I definitely plan on reading all of David Sedaris’ stuff, and have already bought another book of his. I don’t think  it reached “life-changing” status, but it did open my eyes to a new genre of writing, which I like.

Skyfall

Hello!

               So this post is going to be a review of the recent release, “Skyfall.” The movie is the most recent James Bond, featuring Daniel Craig as Bond. I saw it yesterday, weeks after it was first released, so I’d heard quite a bit about it before walking into the theater. To say the least, I could not have been more pleased.

               I’ll start by addressing one of the critiques that I’d heard about the movie. A few people I’d talked to said that they hated the title track, “Skyfall” by Adele. I’ve no idea what they’re talking about, because I thought it fit perfectly. It’s a song that has a mixture of everything, and its various elements are definitely repeated and embodied throughout the film.

               So after the title track, it kept getting better and better. There’s action. There’s adventure. There’s women. There’s guns. There’s explosions. There’s one-liners that would leave Arnold at a loss for words. In short, it’s an epic film. If you haven’t seen it, get your butt to the theater before you even finish reading this.

               Daniel Craig has once again played a wonderfully good Bond. In my opinion Sean Connery was the best of them, but Craig comes in as a best second by a long run. He’s what some might call “rugged,” which is different from the usual suavity that most Bonds have.

               Having a different Bond might call for a difference in plots from the earlier movies. A trend I’ve noticed with all of Craig’s movies are that they’ve gotten a lot more complex from the original Bond movies. Instead of the standard plot, with Bond falling for a woman and then having to choose between said woman and the fate of the world, or Britain, or what-have-you, it’s been changed up. Now old friends are brought in, and he has to deal with his aging self and companions, as well as some new players in the game. Then there’s the woman, as well as his country. But the plot twists leave you on the edge of your seat as Bond dodges bullets and crashes cars and walks calmly away from explosions (Because cool guys don’t look at explosions, they make things go boom and then they walk away).

               I’d give “Skyfall” a solid 9.5/10  because I really didn’t see too many things wrong with it. Actually, looking back on the film, I really couldn’t find anything wrong with it. So go watch it. Chop chop.

Thanks for reading

Matt Finley

Beauty

So for the past few days in my AP Language and Composition class we’ve been talking about gender roles in today’s society. This brought up a lot of new information that I hadn’t known about, as well as giving me some new ideas and opinions about them.

                In American society today, we all have an idea of the “perfect person.” Whether you actively see it or not, this ideal human form is propagated to us by the media. And let me tell you, there is a lot of media exposure to us teens, who happen to be the most susceptible to its messages. The amount of media we’re exposed to, which includes “double bagging” (Or media multitasking – having two or more media devices that you’re focused on at one time), is almost eleven hours per day. Don’t believe me? Check out this article!

               What’s in the media that we’re all being exposed to that really takes the cake. If you live under a rock, or don’t believe in TV, or wear little tin foil hats and don’t got no time fo’ dat, you’d be amazed by what you saw the first time you turned on the good ol’ television. From music to documentaries to comedy to kids’ shows, you’re exposed to plot dripping with sex and “beautiful people.” So no matter what you’ve taken a fancy to, you’re being exposed to it from the time you learn how to change the channel.

                This isn’t just a problem with what’s “wrong” or “right,” because it’s messing with our heads. Kids and teens see these people on the TV, and they don’t actively think “Hey, I want to look just like that person.” But they do, on a lower level of consciousness, think of those beautiful people on TV as “perfect,” and aspire to be like them. They think that they’ve got to have perfect hair, or teeth, or makeup, or what-have-you to look pretty.

                That’s a pretty terrible think to think, and it drives people to do terrible things to themselves. Many teens develop eating disorders because they want to “look thin.” Although it might help you drop a few pounds, it definitely isn’t healthy for you, and does far more harm than good. Many supermodels from today are examples, becoming emaciated and skeletal figures that strut around in high heels and prada to a point where it’s just a major turn-off.

                So I guess what needs to happen is that somehow people need to realize that it’s not all about physical looks, or not everyone needs to look like the most recent star, or whatever. Beauty is its own thing, and comes in many forms. Or something.

Netflix

Hello!

               So in this post I’m going to be talking about a variety of things. So prepare yourself for some randomness and rambling. Since I’ve been ill these last few days and really unable to do too much I’ve been watching a bunch of Netflix. I’m kind of a movie buff, and really enjoy all types of movies. My personal favorite genre, though, is horror. I love being scared, and have loved being scared since I was a little kid. Well, to an extent. I’d definitely hate being one of those people in a scary-movie situation. But still, watching them is wonderful.

The best horror movies aren’t always the ones that are made by really famous directors with really famous actors, either. A ton of my favorite horror movies are really considered “b movies.” They aren’t always the best, but since the actors in them aren’t always the most well-known, and they won’t usually get a bunch of publicity, they often have more “radical” plots and out-of-the-box thinking or special effects. They aren’t confined to having the same old plot with the crazy serial killer, or the weird monster things or whatever. It’s actually kind of refreshing to see movies that aren’t “normal.”

This brings me to my next point, which is Netflix. Netflix is a wonderful hub for movies and TV shows. And really, there are two kind of things on Netflix – you’ve got good TV shows like Breaking Bad and Family Guy, and then you’ve got weird movies that didn’t make it big at the box office. It’s pretty nice to be able to pick whatever you want to watch out of a list of hundreds or even thousands of movies. They’re not all bad, either. You occasionally find really nice gems there as well. So even though you pay $7.99 a month for it, I think it’s really worth it.

An example of the kind of stuff that’s on Netflix is this really trippy movie that I’m actually watching as I type this. It’s called “V/H/S” and it’s about these dudes that break into this guys house to steal a VHS tape, and end up having to sift through dozens of weird, scary videos that look like they’ve been taken from a cheap video camera. Although this has been done a lot with movies like “Cloverfield,” “Quarantine,” and “Paranormal Activity,” this brings a whole new twist to the idea that I haven’t seen before. And although you can tell it wasn’t produced by a high-end company, it’s still really good. So once again, go get Netflix, have fun watching it. If y’all find anything good in the horror genre, hit me up. I’ll be right here. Leave a comment. In that comment section below. Aw yeah. See y’all next Sunday.

Thanks for reading

Matt Finley

Logical Fallacies - All Day Every Day

Hello!

               So today is Sunday, and I’m supposed to be starting my 1200 words of blogging for this week. Well, I suppose I’m supposed to be finishing them, but we’re going to throw an argument from tradition out there and say that it’s now a trend for me to both begin and end my blogging for the week on a Sunday. Anyways, as I sat down at my little laptop to do my writing, I realized that I have absolutely nothing to blog about. So instead of ranting about my life, or making lists of things I dislike, or talking about the weather, or whatever else it is I do when I don’t have “real” topics to talk about, I’m going to talk about school.

               Madness, you say? Yes, this is madness – or is it Sparta? I never talk about school, because I figure those people that actually read this blog are going to be students in either my AP Language and Composition class or the students from our neighboring classrooms. Therefore, repeating information that I get from the classroom would be both boring and redundant. Regardless, I’m going to talk about some logical fallacies, because I thought that they were pretty interesting, and I definitely use them enough in everyday life without realizing it.

               There are a lot of fallacies that we’ve learned about in our class, but a lot of them are really just common sense. I mean, when you hear a slippery slope argument, it’s pretty obvious. “If you have sex you will get pregnant and you will die.” Definitely a legitimate argument right there. Another fallacy that seems like common sense is post hoc.  It says that since ‘A’ occurs before ‘B,’ ‘A’ is also the cause of ‘B.’ An example of this is “I ate a cheeseburger. Then my house exploded, my cat died, and my girlfriend left me. I will never eat a cheeseburger again because it must have caused all of these terrible things.” These are some pretty obvious logical fallacies that most people can spot right away.

               A lot of fallacies get used in conversation every day that my eyes have recently been opened to. One common example of this that I see is argument from tradition. This means that since ‘A’ happens frequently, it must be good and should continue to happen. You hear this all the time from us teenagers. For example, “I haven’t done my homework at all this week and nothing’s happened to me yet. I should probably continue to not do my homework.” That’s a more obvious example of the fallacy, but here’s one that I’ve actually seen used: “We’ve always had the dance in the cafeteria before, having it in the gym would be a bad idea.” Something else that we see a lot during election season is a combination of “straw man” and “argument ad hominem.” The fallacy “straw man” is a rhetorical device that draws the attention away from the topic at hand. For example, when a politician is asked a question about his future policies on the economy and he responds with a long-winded story about his time in the Army.  The argument ad hominem fallacy means “argument to the man.” That’s when you attack your opponents character during a debate, instead of what he actually says. So during debates between politicians the two people might be talking about economy when politician ‘A’ attacks ‘B’ by saying “Oh, but during high school you smoked marijuana, and you cheated on your first wife!”  That’s not a valid argument.

               So that’s just a few examples of some logical fallacies that we see a lot in our everyday lives. Honestly, I was pretty surprised by a few of them that we learned about. They’re things that you see all the time, and I guess I didn’t think that they were really fallacies. I guess I’ll still probably use them when I talk, but only because it’s a habit. I mean, I’ve used them this far and nothing’s gone wrong for me, so they must be okay. Totally not an appeal to tradition there. It’s interesting though, just try and go an entire day being really conscious of the arguments that you and your friends make, and see if you can point out some logical fallacies in them. You might find that you make more than you’d think.

Thanks for reading

Matt Finley