Ed. 82 - Metamorphosis

OUR MISSION

SUBMISSIONS

Published monthly, The Talon strives to be an innovative student magazine that is entertaining, intellectually provocative, and visually engaging. We are conscious of the responsibility of writing and publishing, and we seek to create a dynamic magazine that is worthy of its readers. We show respect for our readers by exposing them to a variety of perspectives.

Ultimately, The Talon seeks to bring Graded to the world and the world to Graded.

The Talon wants to hear from you! We encourage submissions and ideas for articles and themes from all members of the Graded community. We publish in English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish. We reserve the right to edit submissions for length and clarity. The opinions expressed in the articles are those of the writers and not necessarily of The Talon. For this reason, we do not accept anonymous submissions. Send submissions, ideas, and themes to talon@graded.br

TALON STAFF 2011-2012

Next? The New Thang

NEWS: Yana Ahlden (Editor), Courtney Villeneuve (Assistant Editor), Daniel Almeida, Mendel Schwarz

The theme of next month’s edition is The New Thang. You could write about being new to the high school, a new person in your life, some recent developments or trends in popular culture, some hot new stars (athletes, actors, musicians), a new place you went to (HS Trips, anyone?), new clothes, gleaming gadgets, the latest cool restaurant in Sao Paulo, a goal you have for the new year, and so on. HOWEVER, we welcome articles on any topic. Length should be 800 words, with an image (attach the JPEG) or 900 words without.

FEATURES: Ho Jun Yang (Editor), Adam Hunt Fertig (Assistant Editor), Mariana Lepecki, Lucas Zuccolo

Deadline for submissions is Monday, 5 September, 16:00.

Submit to talon@graded.br.

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Andrea Estrada & Artur Renault LAYOUT EDITOR: Isabella Zevallos

ENTERTAINMENT: Julia Wu (Editor), Ines Gil (Assistant Editor), Kevin Bengtsson, Yasmin Della Nina SPORTS: Kyle Bissell (Editor), Kevin Wolfson (Assistant Editor), Andrea Ferreira, Rafa Rocha

@ Graded photos by Nicole Vladimirschi

COLUMNISTS: Maria Alas, Carol Di Roberto, Julia Abreu BLOGGERS: Camille Saliba & Paty Kim COVER: Dani Reis PHOTOGRAPHER: Nicole Vladimirschi ▪ ▪ ▪ TEACHER ADVISORS: Josh Berg and Mary Pfeiffer PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE CONSULTANT: Maggie Moraes ▪ ▪ ▪ E-mail: talon@graded.br Blog: http://tal-on-line.blogspot.com

About the Cover For my second Talon cover, I used silhouettes to represent stages of human life, each filled with a representation of that phase, showing that inside of us, even though we have gone through changes and metamorphoses, we keep a childish part of us alive.

Also, the tiny cockroaches used between the article teasers allude to Kafka’s novella The Metamorphosis (Die Verwandlung).

—Dani Reis We be green: Since August 2007, The Talon has been printed on recycled paper. Reduce, reuse, recycle!

editors-in-chief

The Power of Song Why Hillary Duff’s words will follow me to the grave Andrea Estrada

B

ack in the day when I still owned a Discman and had a stereo in my room, Hilary Duff was my idol. Not only was she the star in Lizzie McGuire—the one TV show I watched religiously—she could sing, too. Metamorphosis, her first album, was one of my Christmas presents in December, 2003.

I had owned several CDs before that and knew several bands, but hers was the first I owned with passion. Avril Lavigne was also in the picture, but my love for Duff did not die; I alternated between both women’s music. With Avril, as with Duff, I sat reading the lyrics and listening to the songs for hours until they were engraved in my mind.

So it did not come as a surprise that whenever I tried thinking of a potential article for this edition, no matter how many 2011 songs I had stuck in my head, the distant soundtrack in my brain rang from 2003: “Metamorphosis, whatever this is, whatever I’m going through. Come on and give me a kiss, come on I insist…” Thank you, Hilary Duff, for expanding my vocabulary. At age nine I did not really know what “metamorphosis” meant and but by the time I learned the word it was technically already a part of my vocabulary—from Duff’s song.

And so it dawned on me: I will never see the word “metamorphosis” for what it truly is. I will never recognize it in its biological definition of transformation or in its figurative definition of physical or abstract transformation. To me, metamorphosis will always be sixteen-year-old Hilary Duff’s song about growing up. As I began to make the connections with other words that I inevitably associate with songs, this realization bothered me.

Really, who wants Rebecca Black playing in their head every time somebody says “Friday”? Why should I be forever bound to answering “Summertime!” with a High School Musical enthusiasm whenever people ask me, “What time is it?” And must “September” always pop up on my mind when people ask me if I remember? I momentarily got angry at the musical world and the power it had over my vocabulary and memory. It is bad enough to have an aggravating song stuck in your head because it played on the radio, but having it stuck in your head because its lyrics came up in conversation is even worse.

Sure, the songs stuck in my head are not always bad ones, but Fergie’s occasional “Big Girls Don’t Cry” replaying in my head

2 • the talon

is usually enough to put me in a bad mood.

Yet however infuriating the power of music may be, it is one of those intriguing paradoxes. It is like the power of smell, really. The olfactory memory has never ceased to amaze me because there is nothing as vivid and emotionally intense as a smell-stimulated flashback.

While it would be delightful if these were always good memories, they are not necessarily so. A smell-stimulated flashback may be the childhood farm you loved or your grandpa’s chocolate closet, but it may very well be the Tietê River or the smell of a person you dislike.

With that, I realized that the influence music has in my life is far from negative or irritating.

It has its ups and downs, as does Google images; Artur Renault the power of smell, but there is nothing like music to make me feel better. Beyond that, it really is the weight of musical memory and words that amazes me every time a song plays and brings with it more than itself.

Rebecca Black may fleetingly ruin most of my Fridays for the next few years, but at least the memory of Hilary Duff does not bother me. Those were good years in my life, and it is almost comforting to know that I can be on my deathbed and if anyone mentions metamorphosis it’ll stir up memories of my only “white Christmas”—listening to what I then deemed were the wise words of a teenage musical genius—and the carefree year that followed it in fourth grade. John Mayer’s “Waiting on the World to Change” means the eighth grade trip to Petropolis, and the same goes for every single school trip and its particular soundtrack.

There’s a song by La Oreja de Van Gogh that always takes me back to a California road trip when I was only seven years old. The curve on the road surrounded by pine trees and a blue sky match the song today as they did back then and will continue to do so. Places, moments, trips, scenery and people.

Some songs will always remind me of people—whether it’s a good or bad association depends on the song and person, but at least they will be remembered, and they have the mere power of song to thank for that.

So, on further thought, I do not mind my inability to comprehend what metamorphosis is. It is what it is to me. Song and memory come hand in hand, and I am more than happy to take Hilary Duff to the grave with me.

editors-in-chief

Polyjuice Potion How Harry Potter changed me

Artur Renault

I

was not one of those people who counted the days, minutes, and seconds to July 15, 2011. I do not own any Harry Potter memorabilia. I have not tried to get a Pottermore account. And no, I have not read all the books. So I am hardly the person to write about how Harry Potter changed my life. But in some ways, I am. It’s obvious how Harry Potter has affected hardcore fans. What it did to me, however, is not so clear.

I had never realized the impact J.K. Rowling’s saga had on me until the end of the eighth movie.

The movie theater was teeming with teenagers and adults crying and hugging each other. I walked out of there thinking, “Oh no, my childhood is over. Now I have no excuse not to apply for college and get a job.” As I went into the subway station, the first thing I did was try to run into a wall, attempting to find platform 9¾.

To my great disappointment, I was unsuccessful. The cuts on my right hand still mock me.

That whole night was a night of reflection. My summer program mates and I were sitting together in the quad, filled with a void inside of us. The mood of sadness indicated something big had just ended. We were all quiet.

I went over my Harry Potter history. I had read the first two books at age six or seven, and for some reason didn’t go on to read the others. As the movies came out, I would watch and enjoy them, bought all the DVDs and, as I did with every other movie, overwatched them. I had grown tired of Harry Potter, at least until the next movie came out. I bought the first two computer games, though, which I thoroughly enjoyed. When I was about eight, I got new glasses; they were round and copper-colored, which of course rendered me identical to the famous boy wizard. From then on, every new person I met asked me, “Have you ever been told you look just like Harry Potter?” My answer was always an annoyed “yes.” In seventh grade, I tried rereading the books. This time I got to The Prisoner of Azkaban and stopped because “I didn’t have time.”

From then on, my interest in Harry Potter waned. I watched all the movies, but enjoyed them as much as any

other film. Harry Potter was just a marginal saga that played no crucial part in my cultural life. I never paid too much attention to it, but it was always there.

It was always there. That’s the realization I came to upon watching Deathly Hallows Part 2. There was always a new Harry Potter book or movie that had just or was about to come out. Whenever the year was boring or lacked good cultural releases, we always knew Harry Potter would stir up some excitement.

Even if Harry Potter hadn’t caused a metamorphosis in me, it was there to witness all my other metamorphoses.

But, of course, Harry Potter created Harry Potter fans. I think they are the happiest and most obsessive people on Earth. They are always there, reading one of the books, dressing up as one of the characters, scheduling celebrations, buying cool Harry Potter gear, posting on Tumblr, and just generally spreading happiness. They flaunt their obsession without shame or fear, and their enthusiasm is contagious.

I asked a few fans what their favorite thing about being a Harry Potter fan was. One mentioned how much she loves the shamelessness of it all. This aficionada walked around gregfelgate.wordpress.com the mall in full costume before watching the last movie and didn’t mind all the weird looks she got. Another fan mentioned the connection it creates between her and her friends, as well as the escape it provides to a distant, better reality. The positive attitude these people carry is often contagious to “normal” people.

But overall, Harry Potter has transformed global culture. Both the books and movies broke all the sales records.

I was actually surprised to find out that fantasy was not a dominant genre in the 90’s, when now it defines our society.

It has become perfectly normal to dream of learning spells, making potions, fighting dragons, sending letters through owls, giving socks to elves, chasing frogs made of chocolate, flying with brooms, and so on. I think we can all thank Harry Potter for making all our muggle lives a little bit more magical — at least I can.

the talon • 3

editors-in-chief

The Talon Top Ten Reasons you’re excited to be back at school Artur Renault & Andrea Estrada 1. Snack Bar Cookies As you walk up to the snack bar, your nostrils are filled with the smell of cookies. You instantly forget what you were about to buy and get one. You put it in your mouth and the heavenly melted chocolate spreads its divine flavor over all your taste buds. The sugary-sweet dough crumbles between your teeth. Your lips curl into a smile and all your sad thoughts turn into unicorns and fairies that prance around your head playing harps and making clouds of glitter that make the world glow.

Or at least that’s what it feels like to eat one of the snack bar’s wonderful chocolate chip cookies. We’re sure you all missed them over vacation.

2. Senior year!

Seniors: You get a lawn, two tables, many benches, hoodies, a trip, a skip day, the right to yell at every assembly and selfperceived superiority to every other person in the high school, all in one year. What more could you ask for? It is your last year, of course you’re looking forward to making it awesome.

3. The IB Juniors: Good news! You will never again have to worry about the complexities of having a social life. Annoying friends, conversations, and relationships will all be drowned in a sea of work, especially if you’re doing the full IB. Then you’ll become a better person by writing an extended essay and doing CAS. All the amazing things you learned in tenth grade will be dwarfed by the amazing content of your IB classes. Be excited, because you’re about to become a more independent and hardworking person. We are sure you can’t wait. We’ll be there to congratulate you…if you survive.

4. No longer babies!

Sophomores: You’re now used to living in the high school, so you no longer are little freshie babies the upperclassmen look after (and make fun of). High school will be a lot less scary now. Also, this is probably the last year of your social life, so you should savor it. That’s pretty much it, though; sophomore year is really not that special. We’ve heard the Sophomore Experience is also pretty exciting though.

5. PGC Freshmen: It’s exciting enough already to be entering a whole new phase of Graded. That can also be very scary, though.

That’s why we have PGC. If you don’t know what PGC is, it’s very hard to explain to you. All you need to know is it’s something to look forward to. Refer to page 24-25. Scary as it might be, we promise your first year in the high school will definitely be awesome. Most of the gargantuan upperclassmen are actually really friendly people. Try talking to them, we’re sure

4 • the talon

you’ll make friends.

6. Fish Last year, Graded students’ single biggest complain was the frequency with which fish was served in the cafeteria. We noticed that, during the first week of the 2011-2012 school year, fish was served a total of zero times. This wonderful drop in fish serving has gone unnoticed by most Graded students, and we hope the fish levels stay low throughout the rest of the school year, being replaced by more frequent servings of yakisoba, lasagna, cheeseburgers and pies.

7. New desks and chairs Last year’s chairs were uncomfortable. The desks were full of profanity, gossip and CLASS OF RANDOM 90’S YEAR written all over them. Yet now, Graded has finally replaced the desks of all classes in the high school. The new chairs are colorful and comfortable, the desks have footrests, and, as far as we know, none of them are falling apart yet. Due to the increased level of comfort, teachers fear dramatic rises in the incidence of sleeping in class.

8. New teachers and students At the end of vacation, you probably thought of something along the lines of, “I don’t want to go back to Graded right now…” Well, guess what? You never came “back” to Graded because Graded is not the same. We are now graced with the presence of many brand new students and teachers who are sure to add a lot to our community. You can see an interview with the new teachers on pages 11-13.

9. Writing more than there is to say This act, known colloquially by a term too obscene to be printed, is what most of us will be doing as we do our work at Graded. In fact, we just did it here. We can’t think of ten reasons why we’re excited to return to studying from resting, traveling, making friends and having fun. Ten is a nice round number though, so we had to come up with something. But hey, there’s still one great thing to be excited about…

10. The latest Talon Yes! You are now reading the magazine that you certainly dearly missed for over two months. You can once again read thoughtful and entertaining pieces by your fellow Graded students and teachers. Now that you’re back at school, you can go back to reading and annotating this magazine from cover to cover like you usually do. Here at the Talon, we’re glad that we can provide those small joys to you every month, and we hope you’re as excited as we are for the upcoming school year!

point of view

The Moodie Foodie Collegetown Bagels: worthy of a 5-hour road trip Carolina di Roberto

T

his summer I ate some of the best and worst food of my life.

After two months, I can also say that I have tasted some of the most interesting things in the world.

First off, my family and I went to London for a week.

We dined like kings and queens; Lebanese, Italian, and French food—you name it, we probably ate it. I guess walking around the entire city made up for the feasts we had for every meal.

My English epicurean experience is not what I’m here to talk about, though. My focus is the food in Ithaca, New York.

I spent 3 weeks at Cornell University, completing a Hotel Management course, which was nothing but perfect to me. After talking about food, beverage, and restaurant management for eight hours a day, I was in my own little heaven. That is, a heaven filled with bagels, donuts, lemonades, cupcakes, and every other treat imaginable.

But I will not talk about my summer program, because many of you readers attended a summer program of your own, and I hope you found yours just as enriching and special as I found mine. I also assume that those of you that attended a summer program miss it as much as I miss mine, so I will refrain from rambling about the program to avoid tears all over my laptop.

That, my fellow foodies, would be a recipe for disaster.

Recipes for disaster are not really my thing, so I will move on to describe the food of Cornell Collegetown. Luckily, my class was right next to Collegetown so I ate there frequently. Before arriving on campus, I heard a lot about the famous Collegetown Bakery and its various franchises – the most popular of them being Collegetown Bagels.

Ah! Collegetown Bagels. Picture a bagel. That’s right, one bagel. I bet you’re picturing a tasty one, aren’t you? Some of you may be picturing a flagel (a skinny bagel). Don’t though: if you are going to have a bagel, you should go all out.

When I picture a bagel, it is not just one or any bagel,

it is one from the utopia of bagels: Collegetown Bagels. Can you imagine having a list of around 20 types of bagels to choose from? Everything from a sesame wheat, maple, to what else… an everything bagel? Then there are the beautiful concoctions they make with those bagels: over 100 types of sandwiches.

But these aren’t your typical bagel sandwiches—Collegetown bagels makes them in such a way that each slice of the bagel tastes like an individual pizza.

I remember the first time I walked into Collegetown Bagels. I think my heart jumped, I swear it. The bakery lists all the different sandwiches, and if somehow you either cannot decide or do not like any of the sandwiches, you can create your own. You line up in front of the order booth and once you’re up, the clerk grabs a crayon and writes on the back of a paper plate and immediately sends it down the next clerk.

The first time I went there I spent 38 minutes trying to pick a sandwich and finally went with the tuna melt.

I eagerly ran up to the clerk, ordered my sandwich, and moved down to the cashier ready to order my drink – I went for lemonade. Biting into that melt – the tuna was creamy, the cheese was buttery and warm, and the bagel was flawlessly moist. It became my usual order and the one I recommended to the friends I took to Collegetown.

Yet, it wasn’t just the bagel that was flickr.com unbelievable, the lemonade was too.

The first time I ordered a small one, which was a mistake since I finished it in less than five minutes. That lemonade was so refreshing, and it wasn’t excessively sweet like lemonade tends to be.

Promise me one thing. Go to this Ithaca bakery. It is worth the 5-hour bus ride from Manhattan. As soon as you bite into your whatever bagel, you will actually want to move to upstate New York.

the talon • 5

point of view

Barbie Babies

The transformation of girls to life-sized dolls Julia Abreu

A

s I have recently returned from spending a month abroad in the United States, I couldn’t help but bring back the disturbing fact of American youth pageants.The US has revolutionized the kiddy industry, where young girls are transformed into unrecognizable mini adults. Welcome to the “magical” world of pageants, where girls seem made of the same plastic as Barbie dolls. I’m not so sure whether to applaud for this destruction of childhood or to weep for those young girls whose lives take a premature turn to the highmaintenance world of pageant life.

Wondering how this industry works? There is not a single simple detail about it. The minimum age is astounding, with babies below one year of age, whose mothers hold them on stage and whose innocent selves have no idea what they are being turned into. The behind-the-scenes of pageantry is vividly reproduced on TLC’s series Toddlers in Tiaras. The show follows the hectic routine of girls around the country and explains the criteria for the business. Girls are separated into age divisions and marked by a group of judges for their modeling of bathing suit, talent, and beauty gown. In order to win a title, a participant must demonstrate confidence, beauty, perfect poses, flawless smiles, impeccable hair and makeup, dazzling clothes, and grace on stage. Many wonder how children ranging from zero to ten years old are able to convey those qualities if they are not fully developed yet. Well, the cosmetic industry makes the girls into overly made-up figures who are able to impress the judges.

Unfortunately, pageants expose girls to the beauty market way too early. All participants must have a photo portfolio, but it is not full of your typical backyard photos. Girls are taken to professional agencies and their photos are highly photoshopped and made to look like they belong in an adult model’s book. Then, it is recommended for the girls’ families to pay pageant coaches who will meet with them five days a week on average in order to choreograph their dance routines and make sure their entrance on stage is impeccable. Also, custom-made gowns and outfits full of dazzles and ruffles are absolutely necessary. I can’t help but wonder how much playtime the girls lose spending hours practicing their routines until their feet hurt and trying on dresses and outfits far more

6 • the talon

elaborate than kiddy princess costumes. This already seems like a heap of work for children, but the list of necessities is much longer.

The days prior to the child’s self-paid expenses to the pageant competitions are filled with pampering and beauty enhancements. In order for their children to look perfect (literally Barbie-like) mothers spend heaps of dollars on spray tans, flippers (fake teeth custom-made to hide the gaps and baby teeth), manicures and pedicures, eyebrow trims, and brand new accessories. Allowing your child to undergo artificial tanning and inserting uncomfortable 0news.com.au fake teeth seems unreal and ridiculous; however, to the mothers and their seemingly brainwashed offspring, artificial enhancements are standard in the fight for the big crown. Upon their arrival at the hosting hotels, girls must wake up early and begin their final beauty ritual. They are forced to sit in a chair for more than two hours in order to get fake hair applied and have elaborate hairdos and makeup done.

As I observed watching the show, some younger girls cry out of pure impatience for this extensive beautifying process. Some throw themselves on the floor, and some even cry on stage or refuse to walk in. It is heartbreaking for these girls to have to undergo such an ordeal. Kids are supposed to be kids, after all.

Worse, girls past four years of age are so brainwashed by their dream-fulfilling mothers that their only dream is becoming Miss America, winning money, and maintaining a life of glamorous appearances. The mentalities of the girls interviewed on the TV show are alarming and show the terrible outcome of these pageants, which frankly, only serve to expose girls to the high maintenance, superficial pursuit of beauty and glamor.

Why exactly are these girls thrown into pageants at such an early age? It is simple: parents realize they can turn their babies into “American beauties” as a way to fulfill the void of wanting to be acknowledged for having a gorgeous child.

Many carry the need to satisfy their own frustrated past dreams.

In addition, pageants can earn families money, sometimes a thousand dollars within one pageant competition. However, in the end, these pageants expose the opposite of what they wish to portray: girls turn into life-sized dolls and depict the ugly side of the pursuit of attractiveness.

point of view

Should I Be Exercising Right Now? The birth, life and death of determination

Maria Alas

I

t’s Thursday afternoon, and my homework wasn’t too time consuming. I even had enough energy to go for a run. Why did I not go? Maybe because it was Jerseyday or maybe because it was almost 6, and I knew there would be traffic.

But it was probably because the life span of my willpower is sometimes short. We all know what is good for us, even if it’s not necessarily what we want to do at that moment. Sometimes we welcome willpower into our decisions, and sometimes we manage to forget about it.

The question crept into my mind as I finished that last math problem: should I be exercising? Yes, yes, I should and I wanted to because I knew it was the best therapy for the stressful week I had just gone through. My willpower came to life. I thought of how good it felt to blast that new Lupe Fiasco song as my feet hit the ground.

My willpower grew and that was the moment when I would put on my tennis shoes and fill up my water bottle, when I thought of how deeply I would sleep after a satisfying run. Normally, I would then be out the door. But that Thursday things were different. At some point resolve grew weak. Maybe I went as far as filling up my water bottle, but I convinced myself I needed time to relax. I dealt with the death of my willpower peacefully and I was certain it was for the best—that is until I began to watch the first episode of Season 4 of Jersey Shore.

Usually it is highly amusing to hear Snooki’s “wah’s,” and watch her ridiculous drama for 45 minutes, after the stress from a week’s IB assignments; my brain can be completely off while watching the Jersey Shore cast trying to call cabs in Italian. This episode worked in reverse, the first scene of Jwoww is of her at the gym with her gorilla juice head (yes, really) boyfriend Roger. She looks toned and there is no doubt her trips to the gym have been paying off. Seeing that made me regret my decision a little bit. But just a little. That bit of regret soon vanished and in no time all I was thinking about is how Deena has the ability to fall in every episode. By then I was pretty relaxed and felt confident that staying home was not such a bad choice.

Later on my dad told me he was able to fit a trip to the gym before dinner—besides the 5 a.m. trip he makes religiously—and then I simply felt lazy. When it took me an hour to finally fall asleep because I hadn’t expended enough energy

runningnotjogging.com

to be in bed by 10 p.m., I knew: I should’ve gone running. The happy conclusion, though, is that the next day I managed to squeeze in a good run after school, which made up for my poor decision of the night before, and we all know exercising on Fridays takes extra determination. Not exercising that Thursday didn’t have a significantly negative effect on my life, but it helped me realize there are notably more important decisions and moments when we allow our willpower to die too soon.

We mourn its death, wishing we could have spent a little more time with it by our side.

Feeling the consequences of willpower’s loss is only natural. It has happened to all of us and it will continue. As I near the end of my high school career, I’d like to think my willpower will be there with all my decisions on a much greater scale than before. I’m hopeful that it will have a prosperous life, and I will spare myself the sorrow of its departure when I need it the most. After all, isn’t that what growing up is all about? Being able to make the right decisions the majority of the time. There will be slip ups, moments when I will wish I had been determined enough to go on a run, but I have faith that those moments will present themselves less and less in the coming years. That’ll ensure many more nights of peaceful sleep; and days celebrating the life of my willpower.

So; should I be exercising right now? Yes, yes, I should. and today, I will.

the talon • 7

news

Change the World All it takes are three cups of tea

Yana Ahlden

W

hat do you think of when you read the words: “Afghanistan,” “Pakistan,” “Iraq,” or “Iran?” Most people will respond with: war, terrorism, destruction, refugees, and ethnic conflict. Greg Mortenson is different. Maybe he would say, “fascinating, culturally rich, family,” but most certainly his response would include something to do with success and pride. His own success and pride. It would also concern the future and change. And probably peace.

Who is this man and why is he willing and able to see that dangerous region in a different light than most Westerners?

Easy: he has spent more than 72 months in the field, more than six years. During those six years, Mortenson built 171 schools that educate more than 68,000 children in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Among these 68,000 children are 54,000 girls.

Mortension’s answer to the question of why he and his non-profit organization Central Asia Institute (CAI) focus on the education of girls is simple: “Once you educate the boys, they tend to leave the villages and go search for work in the cities, but the girls stay home, become leaders in the community, and pass on what they’ve learned. If you really want to change a culture, to empower women, improve basic hygiene and health care, and fight high rates of infant mortality, the answer is to educate girls.” Mortenson has set out to change the world and has found his path; one child and one school at a time.

His two books Three Cups of Tea and From Stones to Schools tell his story of working with the local tribal leaders, where the extreme differences of culture often made it difficult to find common ground. The books detail the ups and downs of the past 18 years during which Mortenson has been working in the region, and also the lessons he has learned. One of the most important of these lessons, according to Mortenson, is having three cups of tea. A characteristic many Westerners have is the need to start right away, to jump right in. They believe that everything has to be accomplished quickly and efficiently.

Mortenson recognizes he had been the same, that is, until he came to Baltistan, where he was told a lesson: “The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die.

Doctor Greg, you must take time to share three cups of tea.

We may be uneducated but we are not stupid. We have lived and survived here for a long time.”

Mortenson learned a lesson that we should all take to

8 • the talon

heart: to slow down and build relationships, because these relationships may be just as important, if not more, as the project that was made possible by this relationship. Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea has become mandatory reading for officers in the Norwegian War College (Forsvarsnett), U.S. Special Forces deploying to Afghanistan, all U.S. Marines training at Camp Lejeune, officers in counter-insurgency training, and members of the Canadian Defense Ministry. The book and Mortenson have become guiding figures in reshaping the policy of the United States and NATO in the Middle East, as it has been read by General David Petraeus (former CENTCOM Commander), Admiral Mike Mullen (Chairman Joint Chief of Staff) and Admiral Eric Olson (SOCOM Special Forces commander), General McKiernan, and several other U.S. military commanders. These leaders see the importance of building relationships and empowering elders if there is to be a successful outcome in the Middle East.

However, lately not everything has been as easy as it used to be for Mortenson and CAI. The CBS series 60 Minutes raised questions: Is the money being used properly? Have Mortenson and the CAI built all the schools they claim to? For example, a building listed as a school seems to be a clinic built by CAI. There are other schools in the area that have been built by NATO’s Provincial Reconstruction Teams or by the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan. And even where local authorities say that the schools listed on CAI’s webiste do exist, they decry the quality of the school buildings, since they “run the risk of collapsing, putting students at risk.” In one case, it seems that the authorities were not consulted prior to construction and the Baharak Primary School now finds itself too close to a river and in risk of being flooded.

As usual, there is more than one side to an issue. In a BBC investigation, many Afghani locals expressed gratitude and appreciation for the work Mortenson and his organization have done. Yet Mortenson’s story shows how quickly one’s fate can change from positive, even brilliant, to a public-relations nightmare. He is fighting for positive change in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is undeniable that he has changed the lives of many children, women, and families. But there is the question whether he is doing so as honestly and efficiently as previously believed.

Sources used in this article: www.goodreads.com; theadventureblog.blogspot.com; www.ikat.org; www.bbc.co.uk; www. stonesintoschools.com; www.threecupsoftea.com

news

Happy Birthday, World Wide Web! Twenty years of metamorphosis Courtney Villeneuve

W

e live in a world where not having the Internet is like lacking electricity or water or air. Massive public events including flash mobs at malls and protests against the government can now be easily coordinated via social media. Friendships and relationships are made and broken by posts on Facebook or Twitter. Graded students are addicted to their iPhones and BlackBerries with their constant updates about (mostly) useless information.

Access and use of the web is important to us as learners, too. We check Courseweb and Veracross like our lives depend on it, and email our teachers frequently. Research projects are so much simpler with resources like Questia, as opposed to archaic card-catalog systems and print encyclopedias. If we need to ask someone what last night’s homework was or let a teacher know we will be missing class, they are a simple message away.

But if you were to ask any Graded student or teacher, they would probably not have a clue who Tim Berners-Lee is, or the significance of his name. But he’s important to us: he is credited with the invention of the World Wide Web. While in present-day English, the web and Internet are synonymous, they are actually two different things. The Internet came before Berners-Lee, and was simply a way for computers to communicate with other computers. The World Wide Web is what allows thing such as hyperlinks to work. It allows us to browse between computers and look for information in various sources.

Berners-Lee also created the first webpage, the simple URL of info.cern.ch, just a page of text explaining what the World Wide Web was. In addition to this, the page included instructions on how to create one’s own web page, because the web could not exist without other sites. It went live on August 6, 1991—before all the students at Graded were born.

Tim Berners-Lee probably had no idea what he was unleashing when he released the monster that would become our modernday Internet. At the time, he was working at a European nuclear research facility in Geneva as a physicist. Ironically, the only people able to see this invention that would eventually make it possible for everyone to view everything were the people who had invented it. The technology simply did not exist for this groundbreaking occasion to be fully appreciated or even known. In 1993, a browser called Mosaic was released and the World Wide Web finally caught on among some circles, but it took several more years for the general public to understand and gain access to it.

So, how has one webpage changed the way we find information and look at the world? In an article written by

Berners-Lee in 1996, he wonders if “in a few years the geographical boundaries of entities like Europe will be irrelevant, and if they are, what will be left.” Even back in the days of infancy of the web, there were concerns about what this large access to information would do to us. The article goes on to discuss the difficulty and lack of popularity of the service in Europe, because of all the language barriers, seems strange to us because of present-day tools like Google Translate, in addition to the many language-learning courses available on the Internet.

The article then goes on to discuss another concern about culture. Berners-Lee states: “The Web removes the geographical impediment to mixing — but will the cultural barriers survive? Will we end up with a global mono-culture or a mix of cyberspace meeting places of unlimited variety?” Fifteen years later, the answer to this is still uncertain. Some would claim that we are all the same, or at least closer to being so due to the trends of Facebook accounts and Twitter updates.

However, not everyone has Internet access or a desire to be connected in that manner. Cultures still survive—if anything, we are now more informed about other people and places around the world than we were before.

With scary accuracy, Berners-Lee predicts what will come next with access to the World Wide Web. He speaks of Internet being available in all rooms of the house at all times in all sorts of forms. The situation he describes of a mother with children using the Internet for many tasks shows both the pros and cons of this technology. With it, making new friends and keeping in touch with people around the world is possible and easier than ever. However, there is a also lot undesirable content that can be accessed, much to a parent’s dismay. He also briefly touches on how to limit or restrict what certain groups of people can see, which remains a key issue even today in places such as China.

With poignant honesty, Berners-Lee states, “You wonder how people remained sane before the Internet.” This line sums up what many feel for the good old World Wide Web. We talk to our friends and relatives in far-flung places via Skype, email, and other networking sites. We laugh about what blunder was made on television over and over again thanks to YouTube.

We can ask anything and everything and get a decent answer because of Google and Bing. Wikipedia makes sure we can always read up on people, places, and things, and if we feel like it, change history. So happy birthday, World Wide Web. Let’s hope for twenty more years of progress.

Sources used in this article: cbc.ca; time.com

the talon • 9

news

How to Lose US$ 8 Billion Carlos Slim’s big loss

Mendel Schwarz

I

magine you are on vacation for four days. After these days pass, you drag your sport car’s rear tires past your mansion’s golden gates. You then opt to check your finances and discover that while you were enjoying the beach US$ 8 billion vanished from your account. The situation described above is what the world’s richest man, Carlos Slim, experienced. His net worth once was calculated at US$ 74 billion but since March has been drastically reduced to 63 billion according to Bloomberg agency.

Of the 11 billion lost, 8 billion disappeared in just four days, 2 billion a day. This severe financial drop was due to the declining stock markets all over the world and the devaluation of the Mexican peso.

Slim’s most precious company, America Móvil, had a stock decrease of almost 7% in a week. Other companies associated with him have also suffered from the discombobulating state of world finances, one of which received a blow of a 18% decrease in value.

The current world financial predicament, the European sovereign debt crisis, as it is called, began with the crash of the Greek economy in late 2010. Being a part of the European Union (EU), other countries had to find a way of saving Greece from its situation, which created instability throughout Europe, since countries had to unwillingly immerse themselves in debt in order to save their shared currency, the euro.

The Greek debt had its origin in three faulty measures the government imposed upon its people. First, the social benefits offered to the Greeks, such as pensions and social security retirement, were in more demand than in previous years, thus generating additional expenses the government couldn’t quite handle. Second, the Greek government tampered with reports to the EU about its governmental spending. Third, there was rampant tax evasion, meaning that a large percentage of the Greek population refused to pay their taxes. This neglect was the primary cause of the current Greek financial situation, representing a yearly US$ 20 billion deficit. Although the Greek were the first to disclose their atrocious financial state, such a

10 • the talon

troubling situation isn’t exclusive to their country. As the Greeks unveiled the fallacy in their numbers, the EU discovered that other countries like Portugal and Spain, among others, faced similar issues. This led to a blow to the European currency, meaning that all European countries, even the financially comfortable, had to face a shortfall of money.

The arrears thrust upon Europeans have had an almost immediate effect on the world’s economic situation as such vast debt creates a chain reaction: once a country can’t pay its loans, the bank finds itself short of money; if a bank is endangered, it will not be able to loan money to citizens, who now face increased taxes because of the government’s defective politics or an upcoming business that would help create jobs and yield money flow.

The only way to stop this condition is with a large money injection, like the one made by the U.S. in their previous financial crisis. Only this time the U.S. won’t be able to save the day. On August 6, 2011, O Estado De São Paulo published on their front page that the rating agency S&P (Standard & Poor’s) downgraded the U.S. to the state of country danger of not being able to pay its own loans. This is the first time in history that the country was placed on that list, certainly resulting in a decrease in the dollar’s value.

Now, one can’t help to wonder, with Reuters all these connected, defective structures leading to such consequences, why was the European Union even formed? The creation of the EU was a slow process that involved many treaties supporting that Europeans must have one single European identity, which would open ways for a better structured trading system within the continent. The European nations figured that by amalgamating themselves they would create a single international trading superpower, results that had been achieved until the Greek crisis.

With both of the world’s most powerful currencies in distress there isn’t anywhere to hide. We are only left to wonder what has happened to people’s morals nowadays; people long ago were too proud to live in debt. That doesn’t seem to be the case in our supposedly better, modern society.

news

New Teacher Interviews A bit of a metamorphosis in Graded’s faculty

Talon staff Name: Caitlin LaFrance Subject: History Originally from: Raleigh, North Carolina Coming from: Niijima, Japan Favorite movies: The Princess Bride Favorite books: Cry Beloved Country How to get on her good side: Bake me chocolate chip cookies.

What is one thing that reminds you of your childhood? McDonald’s Happy Meals.

Name: Geoffrey Paul Carpenter Subject: English 9, IB L&L SL Year 1 Originally from: Naches, Washington Coming from: Taipei, Taiwan Favorite movies: The Graduate, Metropolis, Up, Wasteland (the Brazilian documentary) Favorite books: One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Woman in the Dunes, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance How to get on his good side: Day in and day out, strive to end world hunger, environmental degradation, and social injustice through your words and deeds. Chocolate helps, too.

If you had a day all to yourself, what would you do? I would strive to end world hunger, environmental degradation, and social injustice. Or eat brownies.

Name: Cory Miller Subject: College Counselor, French Originally from: Canada Coming from: Turkey Favorite movies: Les Choristes, The King’s Speech Favorite books: The Glass Castle, Birds Without Wings How to get on her good side: bring me chocolate! :) If you could have a meal with anyone, dead or alive, whom would it be?

Oprah Winfrey

the talon • 11

news Name: Jennifer Gadsden-Carpenter Subject: Visual Art Originally from: When I was younger, Oregon, Washington, California, Missouri, Massachusetts, and North Carolina. As an adult, I have lived in Brazil longer than any other place, and consider Brazil to be my chosen country.

Coming from: We taught at Taipei American School for the past five years. It was an amazing opportunity, and we loved the place and people.

Favorite movies: A few of my favorites are Cinema Paradiso, Central Station, Amélie, Wasteland (Vik Muniz), Rivers & Tides (Andy Goldsworthy).

Favorite books: Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison; A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry; Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen How to get on her good side: Smile If you could have a meal with anyone, dead or alive, whom would it be? I would love to have dinner with Vik Muniz, (Brazilian artist working internationally). Actually, I would love for him to come to Graded and present to the community. I think he is amazing because he works with humble materials and creates monumental works of art. I think that he is a well-rounded person. He is intelligent, has a sense of humor, and he celebrates his roots. He honors diverse cultures and his goal is to give back to the community. His art has changed lives.

Name: Kendra Gonnerman Subject: ELL Originally from: Arizona Coming from: Bulgaria and Malaysia Favorite movies: Comedy—The Proposal Favorite books: Murder Mysteries: Kathy Reich, Agatha Christie How to get on her good side: Stay positive and try your best. Love coffee too!

If you could do one extreme sport, what would it be? Hike Everest!

Name: Charlie Potter Subject: History Originally from: Bellingham WA, between Seattle and Vancouver Coming from: Same, Bellingham, WA (this is my first international teaching job) Favorite movies: The Big Lebowski, Fargo, Fight Club Favorite books: The Plot Against America by Philip Roth; Lincoln by Gore Vidal How to get on his good side: Have a sense of humor (especially about yourself). Do a little more than is expected.

Miscellaneous fun fact about yourself: I have been arrested twice (civil disobedience, for good causes).

12 • the talon

news Name: Ally Milner Subject: Theater Originally from: Portland, Oregon Coming from: Bend, Oregon Favorite movies: (very difficult question) Top Five: Princess Bride, Much Ado About Nothing, Waiting for Guffman, Alfred Hitcock’s Rear Window, and Connie and Carla Favorite books: Top Five: Reduced Shakespeare: the Complete Guide for the Attention-Impared by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor; Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet; Outlander by Diana Gaboldon (the whole series actually); The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, anything by Katie MacAlister How to get on her good side: effort, enthusiasm, a sense of humor, willingness, an open mind, and of course lots and lots of chocolate If you could have a meal with anyone, dead or alive, whom would it be? Of course I would have to go with William Shakespeare. Anyone who can write plays as different as Hamlet and Comedy of Errors has got to be an amazing date! Though I would definitely need more than just dinner. How about a whole week vacation on an island

Graded’s Ups and Downs Monthly Update Adam Hunt Fertig

“Baby Bair” was born, debuting to the Graded community at our first Flex in a half-funny, half-adorable “first snore” video.

After a month of school, students are alternately bursting with excitement or collapsing in exhaustion.

To students’ dismay, the new history teacher Mr. Potter does not have a British accent, nor does he hail from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

the talon • 13

news

The Struggle for Syria When people fight back

Daniel Almeida

M

ost of us have heard of the Syrian uprising, an internal conflict that has been ongoing since last January. Protests led by citizens began on the January 26, a day after the popular uprising in Egypt, and escalated to a nation-wide upheaval by March 15. The Syrian rebellion is driven by the coinciding protests in the region and has been described as “unprecedented.”

Much like the revolutionary movements in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, the Syrian revolt is made up of protests in the form of hunger strikes and public demonstrations; it has been a sustained campaign of civil restraint (also known as nonviolent resistance). These protests aim to institute democracy, regime change, expanded civil liberties, greater Kurdish (largest ethnic minority in Syria) rights, and the resignation of Bashar al-Assad, the current Syrian president.

The political situation in Syria was ripe for rebellion.

Syria is controlled by the secular Ba’ath Party of mixed Arab nationalist and socialist ideals. Since the Ba’ath Party took control of the country in 1963, there has been widespread inflation, unemployment, and government corruption. Even after internal power changes, the Ba’ath party held strong while instituting emergency law. This state of emergency effectively suspended most of the constitutional protections for its citizens.

Since the Ba’ath Party instituted Emergency Law, the socio-economic standards for Syria have declined at a constant rate. With complaints of rapidly deteriorating living standards, a growing unemployment rate among young people, and a freemarket economy leading to the reduction of state support for the poor, the Syrian people have been in a state of unrest for several decades.

Human rights in Syria have been largely criticized by global organizations. The Emergency Law gives the arguably corrupt security forces sweeping powers of arrest and detention.

Authorities have been harassing and imprisoning human-rights activists and others who stand in the path of the Ba’ath rule.

Security forces systematically crush any manifestation of expression, associations and assembly. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW) in 2010, al-Assad has failed to improve humanrights standards since he came into power. Ethnic minorities, along with women, have faced continuous discrimination since the Ba’ath Party rose to power. HRW has repeatedly stated that Syria’s human-rights situation is one of the worst in the world. Syria’s current government has also not done exceptionally well in the area of freedom of expression. While al-Assad permitted radio stations to play Western pop music, websites

14 • the talon

such as Facebook, YouTube, and Wikipedia have been banned.

It is safe to say that the Syrian government had a revolution coming, but even though this revolt is one of restraint, the government has crushed any attempts to rebel.

Human-rights groups, as well as the United Nations, state that Syrian security forces have used overwhelming force to scatter unarmed demonstrators. Currently HRW says the Syrian government is responsible for more than 1,700 civilian deaths, and over 10,000 arrests; however, the government claims that Islamist parties are responsible for civilian casualties.

As protests continued this year, the Syrian government used tanks, snipers, armored vehicles, and mass shelling, to force people off the streets. Water and electricity were shut off in various cities and security forces began confiscating flour and food. Unconfirmed reports from witnesses said that random gunfire from helicopter gunships was being employed in cities like Jisr al-Shugour and Hama. Other unconfirmed reports claim that the Syrian government was executing soldiers who tried to defect. The scenes of government crackdowns seem on YouTube are appaling.

What was supposed to be a relatively peaceful demand for democracy and an expansion of civil liberties became a hectic bloodshed in which protestors have virtually no power against the strict government-led crackdown against any form of insurrection.

However, what makes the Syrian rebellion so captivating isn’t mayhem. What makes it, along with the other rebellions in the region, so interesting is the power of citizens. Syria is going through a process of metamorphosis; it is a hard and arduous path, but it’s a path the country must go through for the sake of its people and future.

The demonstrators are striving for something that is so radically different from what they have lived their whole lives: democracy, free speech, and civil rights. It is only natural that those in power will be against any sort of alteration. These brave individuals, who dare stand against a corrupt government that is killing its own people, are pushing for a dramatic transformation that they believe will improve, not only their lives, but the lives of the next few hundred generations of Syrians. They are not merely fighting for revenge. They are fighting for change.

Sources used in this article: www.cnn.com; www.nytimes.com

news

Ba-de-ya

Traveling in September

9th grade trip; Gaby Espadas

10th grade trip; Josh Berg

High School Trips 2011 12-16 September Why? To gain a deeper appreciation and knowledge of Brazil and to develop relationships within our community.

11th grade trip; Carla Alves

Talon staff

Who, where and what?

Grade 9: South of Brazil focus: Respect “Hello, chocolate!”

Grade 10: Salvador focus: Service “Sorria, você está na Bahia”

Grade 11: Bonito focus: Environment “Bonito lives up to its name.”

12th grade trip; Leo Porto

Grade 12: Recife focus: Culture “[quote TBD]”

the talon • 15

entertainment

The Social Network Effect

Google+ versus Facebook and the ongoing social metamorphosis Julia Wu

S

ocial networking is now a common practice, given that our planet is home to an overwhelming amount of information.

Accordingly, as we voluntarily succumb to the dependence on such connections, certain organizations prosper. Facebook, often times referred to as the “third largest country in the world,” currently holds the title as the most powerful social network. Without a doubt, the birth of virtual autonomy marks a revolutionary step forward in the history of connection. Social networking is not limited to staying in touch with our friends or getting to know more about those around us. It also guarantees the latest gossip and live updates. It’s about identifying ourselves and using social DNA to give and receive, all through an abstract platform. What’s most mesmerizing is that social networking provides an even better opportunity to socialize and “mingle” than physically speaking to a crowd with hundreds of people we know or might be acquainted with. This way, socializing that would otherwise be suffocating is rendered into an addictive operation.

There is no turning back. In half a decade, Facebook has acquired a staggering number of 600 million users, proving itself a threat to the Internet giant, Google. Although the search engine didn’t (and never will) claim Facebook’s emergence as a red light, it just generated a response to the social network.

The Google+ Project was launched on June 28, while most of us were busy plugging each other’s News Feed with pictures and updates from the break. Before introducing the features of Google’s social network, a little hypothesizing is necessary: Why does Facebook now have this intrepid foe?

Google and Facebook are websites that a vast amount of Graded students navigate daily, yet the distinction between them is their aim—Google is a savior to the lazy ones who can’t use a database when working on a research project. On the other hand, Facebook multiplies laziness and takes the act of slacking to another dimension. If we had the choice, most of us wouldn’t look up the 60th digit of pi on Google’s algorithmically designed bots. We’d prefer to find out which of our friends has the best joke about Justin Bieber. For that purpose, we employ the search that selects information directly from the social engine (what users have posted and created) and our News Feed. So, it is true that Facebook takes advantage of one’s consent to kill time.

Advertisement revenue is another factor that sets hurdles to the competition between the two. Today, over half of Google’s profits are gained from the ads and banners on other websites that when clicked, open a Google page. However,

16• the talon

links like “Follow Us on Facebook” or the “Like” button are also situated on popular web pages. This means that companies have profiles on Facebook for marketing purposes. Facebook users can locate these pages by typing into the search bar.

As the frequency of searches on Facebook approaches that of Google, its revenue soars proportionally to the traffic and time spent on the website. Website and company owners don’t bother evaluating their popularity according to the number of results their name generates on Google. The amount of people supporting and liking them on Facebook is considered a more accurate criterion. What’s more, Facebook is a traffic source for Google. It has been projected that the former will surpass the latter in 2013 if the growth pattern proceeds.

Now, what does Google+ offer? At its early stages, the network did not open its website to everyone. It began by sending invitations to technology insiders from all around the globe to limit the number of people who can enjoy their services. This could be a strategy to raise the demand and anticipation for the website, says CNN, because humans naturally want what they don’t have, especially when every tech blogger is writing about it. Although the website retorted an “Oops… you need a Google profile to use this feature” when I attempted to sign in with my Graded account (why, it works with Google Mail!),some information regarding Google+’s interface has already made its way to the “outcasts.”

Google claims that their website is an improved version of Facebook, without its many flaws. Nevertheless, the fundament is similar to Facebook’s: the News Feed, “Like,” Chat, and photo sharing, most of them replaced with new terms. The fresh gadgets include Hangouts (group chat) and Circles (categories of friends, which helps users manage the sharing of information by determining what groups can view specific posts or pictures). This way, it’s ok to view someone else’s profile and receive updates from them without sending a “friend request.”

Frankly, it is challenging to decide whether Google+ will return a profit, or if it will succeed as a social network. It is notable, though, that Google is facing high expectations with urgent demand. To respond to the “call of battle,” Facebook is coerced to take immediate action to keep its users faithful.

The battle itself will only make social networking even more efficient and amusing, increasing the Internet’s unyielding impact on our lives.

Sources used in this article: cnn.com; expresso.pt

entertainment

Take a Bite out of Apple

The attractions and detractions of one company’s products Ines Gil

N

owadays, people are more and more connected, in part due to one revolutionary company that brought the future to the present, and is now richer than the U.S. government. Yes, I am talking about Apple, known for its Mac computers, iPods, iPads, and much more. Everywhere in the world you can see those white headphones attached to an iPod, or Apple stores crowded with buyers, probably 50% of them Brazilians.

Since the launch of the iPod, Apple has become the largest company in the world, surpassing Exxon Mobil.

The first iPod was released in 2001, yet it now is a dinosaur. White with 10 hours of battery and 4 GB of space, it was heavy and large, much different than what we are used to now. New editions came out, with more and more features, from touch sensitive wheels to a color screen, and even different colors. People began anticipating these new editions, while the rest of the MP3 world was left behind. Apple brought us technology much more advanced than the rest.

In June 2007, Apple launched a legendary product: the iPhone. Not only was it a phone, but also an iPod and camera all in a single device. It worked with Wi-Fi, text messaging, and hundreds of apps all within the touch screen device. People were amazed, impressed, and most definitely buying. Apple has sold 100 million iPhones worldwide, making it the largest mobile handset vendor in the world, while that number is still growing.

Apple has become a threat not only to the world of MP3 and phones, but also computers , long ago starting the great rivalry of Mac versus PC. Through commercials we have seen that there are two types of people, Mac and PC. Consequently, there are Internet Explorer versus Safari people and Photo Gallery versus iPhoto people. Each person the one he or she likes better, but Macs have been significantly growing whereas Windows selling less than Apple. Are we on our way to a generation of Macs without Windows? It’s hard to tell now, but it’s obvious that Apple has made an impact on many people’s lives.

A decade ago we probably wouldn’t have expected to have this much progress in technology. All across the web we

find music-sharing websites, video broadcasters like YouTube, and online bookshelves.

But at the same time, people are having doubts about whether we are headed in the right direction. Through Apple we are more connected with people around us, whether it is with Facetime (video chatting with iPads and iPhones), apps, and messaging. In a way, we are more open to the world, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a good thing. web-log.nl Apple is consistently launching new products, new features, and new apps, all to make our lives easier. But we have come to the point where we are doing less and the machines doing more. No longer do we memorize simple math; we use our nearby iPod or Blackberry. Apps like dictionaries, translators, and so on, make us dependent on our devices, reaching a point where, without them, we’re incapable of doing our Spanish homework. Many social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Skype are with us not only at home, but all of the time, loaded into our mobile devices. For example, many kids on their way to school listen to their iPods instead of talking with family members of friends, and although they may be connected with text messaging or Facebook, true social communication is absent.

Numerous TVs have an Apple TV attached, many of us have countless white Apple chargers and connectors in our households, and plenty of us own some sort of recent iPod which we take along everywhere. Apple, Inc. is one of the most influential companies of our time, which has changed and affected our daily lives, for better or worse. The technology Apple presented to the market has progressed significantly, and it keeps moving forward. So next time you put on those white headphones, think about the power of ingenuity and innovation Apple has brought to the world, in the last 35 years. We’re always expecting new things, waiting for something new and unexpected from Apple… But can we resist Apple’s relentless new-product cycle? Do we need their next shiny gadget?

Sources used: wikipedia.org; nydailynews.com

the talon • 17

entertainment

Owl-what?

Humans are so weird!

Yasmin Della Nina

I

would like to clarify that this will not be an article about the criminal act of “smuggling wool or sheep out of England,” which is one of the known definitions of owling.

The term “owling” I’m referring to is used to describe a growing practice that has been circling the net. It makes absolutely no sense and seems to me quite irrelevant. Yet, and this will forever remain beyond me, apparently there are quite a few people in our diverse, little world that seem to enjoy pretending to be... an owl.

I was only beginning to “understand” another similar practice, planking, in which the person’s objective is to lie flat on the floor—or somewhere of preference— face down, and to basically pretend to be a wooden plan. At least that’s the best explanation I could come up with to describe this odd hobby. It was still unclear to me why planking came to exist, so I thought, “Well, I guess we just ran out of ways to act weirder than we already are.”

I was wrong though… Very wrong.

One evening, I was searching the Net (Tumblr, to be specific) and was deliberately trying to avoid all the depressing reminders that Harry Potter is in fact over.

Forever. Suddenly, I came across an enigmatic picture of a young, twenty-something girl sitting on the railing of her staircase in a pose that very much reminded me of some sort of bird. She was looking away, staring at the distance, and I thought maybe she had just recovered from some sort of suicidal tendencies, right? I didn’t know. Shrugging, I moved on, aimlessly scrolling down the pages, and to my surprise, there were two more pictures in this same style.

This bothered me. I felt incredibly left out, not knowing what that was or what it meant. Was it something common?

Were these people trying to make some sort of statement? I decided to investigate. I clicked on the image’s description, and there, I found a quick explanation regarding what it was all about. According to the said-to-be-very-experienced-inthe-subject-at-hand blogger, the practice is called owling, and similarly to planking, which, just by the way, is “SO LAST MONTH.” The objective is to crouch the same way owls do atop an object of preference, stare at something in the distance, and… owl.

So it’s pointless. No statement. No reason. Just… point-

18 • the talon

less.

For a moment there I wanted to laugh. Of course there were weirder things to do other than to pretend to be a plank!

Then, I finally understood why these kinds of things exist in the first place.

We, human beings, by definition “a species of bipedal primates characterized by a brain capacity averaging 1400 cc (85 cubic in.),” are extremely weird. Let’s face it. We just are.

We are the only animals in the planet who poke holes all around our bodies to wear what we think are dashing accessories. We are the only ones who paint our hair all different kinds of colors, because, well, it’s cool. We are the ones who enjoy feeling self-inflicted pain to be able to have some drawing or squiggle forever imprinted on our skin. We are the only ones who—and this is more pertaining to the female half of our population—paint our nails. Some every week! Hence, we are also the ones who dream of some day being able to morph into a plank of wood or perhaps an owl, having to content ourselves with the only possible solution until then: pretending to be such things.

Basically, we are the ones whose curiousinkling.com need to invent and imagine never ceases, and whose inventions never cease to grow weirder.

I’m not saying such inventions are bad. Actually, I’m quite glad we invented things such as clothing and housing and— shoes. And I also find it quite fun to paint my nails every now and then, change my hair-style, and maybe add an additional earring to my ear. Planking? Owling? Well, I must admit, despite having no relevant function at all and no explanation, they are, I guess, quite amusing to the eye.

I wonder what will be invented next. Dogging? Balling?

Booking? iPoding? Whaling? (Actually, Whaling wouldn’t be possible or else people would drown… but who knows?)

So, to all you plankers and owlers or whatever it is that you call yourselves out there, keep having fun! Just try not to get yourselves killed.

Sources used in this article: dictionary.com; wikipedia.com

entertainment

Lollapalooza’s New (Part-time) Home A force in the music world will soon be migrating to São Paulo

Kevin Shimba Bengtsson

E

verybody gather round! Good news for everyone, bar those who don’t enjoy music (then again, who doesn’t?)

Lollapalooza will be coming to a city near you! That’s right, a year from now, one of the most ubiquitous festivals in the music echelon will be migrating to São Paulo.

The Lollapalooza festival, now an undeniably grandiose event, was once but a part of a conceptual finale to one of the most prominent bands of the alternative rock scene of the 80’s and early 90’s, Jane’s Addiction.

In 1991, singer-songwriter and frontman of the band, Perry Farrell, initiated what is now one of the most widely recognized music festivals in the US and possibly the world. What began as a touring festival across North America with the main attractions being Perry’s band, as well as Siouxie and the Banshees, and Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails, met its demise in 1997 with the decline in alternative rock’s popularity.

There was an attempt to resuscitate its former glory in 2003, but was quickly smothered when ticket sales for the following year fell Thankfully though, for music enthusiasts and stoners alike, 2005 was the year of a successful second attempt to recreate the festival, this time marking a change in that it turned from its quasi-iconic touring roots and instead occurred in a single location: Grant Park, Chicago.

Lollapalooza is now a tour de force in terms of US music festivals, and boasts a myriad of great-name artists from multiple genres. Festival organizers embrace diversity: alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip-hop groups are all deliciously served on a platter annually. This year’s edition of the festival had an immense lineup including: Foo Fighters, Eminem, Muse, Arctic Monkeys (who are coincidentally blasting through my speaker at this moment), Coldplay and deadmau5.

Chicagoans lucky enough to attend the festival, whether for non-musical endeavors or for their favorite band headlining the “Bud Light” stage, enjoyed not only great music but also the atmosphere and energy of the festival.

However, the Lollapalooza excitement doesn’t stop

here, as 2011 marked yet another change, surely to enter the festival’s history book. Its organizers, which still to this day include Perry Farrell from Jane’s Addiction, opted to propagate the festival; Chile, like Chicago, became the second location to embrace the musical bliss of Lollapalooza. For one weekend last April, Parque O’Higgins in Santiago became the South American home for The Killers, Deftones, Jane’s Addiction and many other world-renowned bands.

Bringing the festival out of North America for the first time in its 20 year lifespan, Perry Farrell seems excited to further the project beyond the US and Chile, extrapolating that Brazil will make for an even better festival: “If we can rub elbows with the Brazilians, who knows what Lollapalooza will be like.

They have a long, storied hisrocknbeats.com.br tory of partying” (Yahoo! News).

In 2012, South America’s luck will increase twofold; Lollapalooza will run from March 31 – April 1 in Parque O´Higgins in Santiago, and later in São Paulo at the Jockey Club from April 7 –8 before packing its bags to return to its beloved home in Chicago. All additional information is to be confirmed in the days, weeks, months to come, especially the lineup, which is the heart of any music festival.

News of the festival’s migration coincides with an apparent newly found interest in the music festival scene here in Brazil, what with Starts With You (SWU Music & Arts Festival) returning for a second season this year after being extremely popular in 2010 featuring bands like Linkin Park, Incubus, Queens of the Stone Age, Kings of Leon, The Mars Volta and Rage Against the Machine, as well as Rock in Rio which is actually ironically returning to Rio de Janeiro after a 10-year Brazilian hiatus, with the festival alternating between Madrid and Lisbon. If you’re a music lover of any kind who lives in Brazil (you obviously do), then you’ll be preoccupied with excitement for a while as bands rush around the country with the help of festivals and their organizers. And me? Well, I’m a music lover, so… yeah. I think you get the point.

Sources used for this article: yahoo.com

the talon • 19

entertainment

Trivialities Your desired, useless facts Julia Wu

J

ustin Bieber can solve a Rubik’s Cube in two minutes.

•

Norway’s soccer team is the only one that hasn’t lost against Brazil.

•

As of July 2011, Mark Zuckerberg has the most Google+ followers.

•

The United States has never lost a war when donkeys were used.

•

The Beatles’ song “Yesterday” was covered 7 million times in the last century.

•

Only 1 in 2 billion people will live to be 116 years old.

•

Bin Laden’s house can be found on Google Maps.

•

35% people who place ads for dates are actually married.

•

Häagen-Dazs is a made up name. The famous ice cream brand is American.

•

In 1659, it was illegal to celebrate Christmas in Massachusetts.

•

NASA invented baby food.

•

Mushrooms contain over 36,000 sexes.

•

Due to poaching, lephants are evolving without tusks.

•

•

Before the eraser, bread was used to remove pencil marks.

A blue whale’s tongue weighs more than an adult elephant.

•

Onions have no flavor, only a smell.

•

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the parachute.

•

•

The Nazis tried to train dogs to read.

More people speak English in China than in the United States.

•

In Uruguay, there’s a prison called Freedom.

•

•

Hitler was once a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Hong Kong has the most Rolls Royces per person than anywhere else in the world.

•

Smelling green apples can help you lose weight.

•

England is smaller than the state of Florida.

•

Yahoo was originally called “Jerry’s Guide to the World Wide Web.”

•

You have no sense of smell when you’re asleep.

•

Nachos is the food most craved by pregnant women.

•

1 billion seconds is equivalent to 32 years.

•

McDonald’s is the world’s largest distributor of toys.

•

The 100 billionth crayon made was blue.

•

A chameleon’s tongue is twice as long as its body.

•

Just 1% of humans are redheads.

•

•

To have a photo taken with the first-ever camera, you had to sit still for 8 hours.

Mexico has more Americans than any other country except the United States.

•

Women end up digesting most of their lipstick.

•

Sharks are calmer when they listen to AC/DC.

•

•

Rabbits can see behind them without turning around.

Real Estate agents tend to calculate how much a house will sell for by asking the owner how much it is worth and subtracting 10% from that number.

•

Flies are deaf.

•

Mosquitoes prefer blondes to brunettes.

•

Anne Frank’s sister also wrote a diary.

•

There’s a city called Rome on every continent.

•

The ashes of the person who discovered Pluto are on their way to Pluto.

•

•

Kinder surprise eggs are illegal in the U.S.

It would take twenty new mid-size cars to generate the same amount of pollution that a mid-size 1960’s car did.

•

A chocolate milkshake is the ideal post-workout drink.

20 • the talon

Sources used in this article: nicefacts.com; funfactz.com; learnsomethingeveryday.co.uk; amusingfacts.com

features

Metamorphosis as Epiphany The human butterfly

Ho Jun Yang

M

etamorphosis is a term that most people have probably heard thrown around. When people talk about it, they’re probably referring to the beautiful change from a larvae in a cocoon into a fully formed butterfly. Such a metamorphosis may seem majestic as you witness the birth of a new creature emerging from a seemingly lifeless shell. But change and transformation aren’t all fun and flowers; they can have an ugly side as well. In the butterfly analogy, it would be the time that the creature spends inside the cocoon; for humans, it could very possibly be adolescence or it could be even later on in life. But it is in a singular moment in which the butterfly cracks open its encagement and gloriously flies out when the metamorphosis is complete, a moment that completely changes its life.

It almost seems redundant to say this, but I will for the sake of clarifying my stance: life can suck. Excuse the crude and simplistic word choice, but this adage that we teenagers continually utter holds more than a grain of truth. And it is not entirely due to the raging hormones that destabilize our mind. This statement is, for the most part, objective and holds truth. Actually, many readers of this article will start nodding their heads at this point, and agree to my statement by thinking about how much their lives suck. As for me, it does seem like that short statement sums up my life pretty well. What makes the cocoon in my life isn’t just one thing, but a motley assortment of isolated incidents: College applications, school work, friend problems, and other life dramas all lead me to say: Life sucks.

By now it seems like I’m some pessimistic old man jaded by the obstacles in life. It also might appear as if I have no enthusiasm about life anymore. However, it’s quite the contrary; it’s because I believe in metamorphosis, and the change in life that I value life. The moment in which the butterfly breaks out of its cocoon is the moment in one’s life where everything changes and the dreary life becomes a lovely one. What exactly is this epiphany and how does it come about?

This questions is something that not only I, but others have wondered about. American actress Elise Ballard wrote a book called Epiphany: True Stories of Sudden Insight to Inspire, Encourage and Transform. According to first30days.com, she

had the idea for her book a month after her own illuminating experience. Through this enlightenment, she realized that she had the “courage and strength to leave a marriage that wasn’t working” (first30days.com). In this book, there are several interviews with leaders and actors in an attempt to discover what was common among their epiphanies. According to first30days.com, Ballard said, “My hope for the Epiphany books … is that people feel as inspired as I have in working with and hearing about people’s epiphanies, I have found that most of our epiphanies contain our greatest wisdom and incredibly valuable insights but many times we don’t share these stories readily because they occur in very private ways” (first30days. com). Although this seems obvious, the point is that people should be motivated not only by their own epiphanies, but also takes the epiphanies of others and try to reflect on them.

After conducting the interviews, Ballard found out that there were four main similarities among the epiphanies. First was listening, meaning that the epiphanies came from moments of calm, especially when the people were paying attention to their surroundings. Second was belief, not belief in a spiritual way, but that people were able to understand that their epiphanies were real experiences and didn’t doubt the amazingdata.com veracity of their experience. Third was serendipity; these epiphanies ended up bringing about a series of events that made the people obtain success in their lives. Fourth was action, meaning that everyone acted on their epiphanies and met varying degrees of success in their lives. This is what we should be encouraged to do. We should act upon epiphanies because it may be this act that helps bring about our metamorphoses in life.

An epiphany may seem like a once-in-a-lifetime event, but the truth is, big realizations can be embedded in one’s everyday experiences. It’s up to us to take hold of such moments and use them to ease our lives. a fulfilling life isn’t about one single experience that completely changes and improves it; It’s a culmination of various changes. The butterfly doesn’t emerge from the cocoon with one crack, it takes several small cracks that result in one big crack.

the talon • 21

features

Tales of Metamorphosis Roaches, revolutions and reflections

Adam Hunt Fertig

O

ne morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in his bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug.” This is the first sentence of the novella The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, and possibly one of the most abrupt beginnings in literature. As the theme of this Talon is Metamorphosis, it seems only fitting to write about one of its most famous manifestations. For those who have not read the short story, it tells of Mr. Samsa, a traveling clothes salesman who, as one could guess from the title and opening line, finds himself in bed one rainy morning transfigured into an enormous insect (although he still retains his human mind). Once he is discovered, he is locked in the room out of fear. The work then goes on to depict his dreamlike life for the next few months, where his sister becomes his caretaker and his father attacks him with his cane, until he finally dies of neglect and starvation.

After his—or its—death, the plot takes a bizarrely abrupt twist as the family goes out for a stroll and Gregor’s parents comment on how it is about time that the sister found a husband. Besides being an incredibly moving story and a superb work of fiction, The Metamorphosis is a statement. As an existentialist, Kafka is very deliberately sending a message about the nature of life. This isn’t a sciencefiction or fantasy novel; although the novella was written in a realist style, the giant bug itself means nothing. The actually transformation is not even described. This is because the real metamorphosis is his life after that. Metaphorically, Gregor Samsa had always been a bug, something insignificant and shy: it didn’t even surprise him when he woke up as an insect, and he promptly goes on to rant about his unsatisfactory job. His physical metamorphosis is an unintentional escape from the trap of his human life. Finally in his true form, the transformation begins.

Franz Kafka is not the only catalyst of metamorphosis these days. In the Arab world, old skin is molting. “Arab Spring,” as it has been coined, is a series of events that began last December and has changed that region of the world drastically. Seventeen Arabic countries, including Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, have attempted (many succeeding)

22 • the talon

to liberate themselves from dictatorial rule. According to The Nation, “For the first time in decades [the Arab world] is beginning to earn [respect, social justice, freedom and dignity].” Although this sociopolitical metamorphosis isn’t yet complete, it has sparked worldwide attention. For one thing, social media such as Facebook was used extensively to plan and incite the protests. This shows a never-before-seen side to the power of social networking, a side which will certainly become hugely important in the near future. Hundreds of thousands of people swarmed Tahrir square in Egypt for a symbolic “Day of Departure” protest (The Guardian). Furthermore, some of the countries in which the Arab Spring took place had been under oppressive rule for astoundingly long times, and the fact that the metamorphosis is happening now is truly remarkable.

And that is in no way the end of it. In all sectors of the world, in every possible field, either serious trouble looms or incredible victory awaits. The most obvious event is one that is inevitable and proclaimed to be both horrifying and wonderful: the onset of the Digital withextrapulp.com.au Age. As Facebook skyrockets to the top of the financial charts, as four year-olds immediately figure out iPads, as terms such as “I googled that” are tossed around, our mindsets change. We may be on the verge of our biggest transformation yet, one that will integrate us with technology in unimaginable ways.

Of course, this is all theoretical, but one still wonders: Is a worldwide transformation occurring? Some would say that for better or for worse, society is undergoing metamorphosis on a massive scale. As overly dramatic as this may sound, this may be the ushering in of a new stage of civilization. So, be it on a personal level or an international one, I ask you to reflect on these changes. Are we insignificant, as Kafka says, or are we astoundingly powerful, as the Arab Spring incidents would suggest? In this state of transformative flux, all we can do is hope for the best. That, and pray we don’t wake up one day as a giant bug.

Sources used in this article: viu.ca; guardian.co.uk; thenation.com

features

From Apprentices to Butterflies The metamorphosis of coming of age

Mariana Lepecki

G

rowing up. Changing. Maturing. Evolving. Like the famous Brazilian poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade once wrote ,“What is to be? Is it ‘bout having a body, a way, a name?

I have all three. Am I?” If to finally be, means we have to become, when do we become? How do we become? Do we even become? Scientifically speaking this moment can be identified biologically, but is that enough? What about mentally and emotionally? Is there a specific moment in our lives when we cease to be apprentices going through rites of passage and finally metamorphose into full-grown, mature human beings?

A life is made up of many significant events. From taking our own baby steps to eventually watching our own children take their first steps, we go through many different rites of passage that shape who we are. Coming in varieties and from all around the world, these moments are an important part of anyone’s life, no matter of what nationality or religion.

A popular party celebrated all over South American countries, the Quinceañera or the Festa de 15 anos, is an important right of passage for any young girl’s life. Much like the American Sweet 16, it is a chance for girls to spend their birthdays surrounded by friends and family while being treated like royalty. From the beautiful gowns and decorations to the father/daughter dance, the night is perfect for the girl who is about to become a young woman.

Another common example of a typical rite of passage is graduation. A celebration that has become a tradition, it symbolizes the end of an individual’s childhood and adolescence while marking the beginning of the rest of her life. With hats flying in the air and hands wrapping around diplomas, the young adults are one step closer to complete independence.

Instead of the traditional graduation, the Satarê Mauê tribe in the Amazon has a different ritual for the coming of age. In order for boys to become men, they have to go through a series of painful tasks to be considered adults. In their culture, ants are an important part of their lives and are respected by the members of the tribe. In the last step of the ritual, they must wear a glove infested with bullet ants and

ignore the stinging pain of the bites. Only after that will they be considered men by the rest of the tribe.

Like the Satarê Mauê’s practice, the coming of age rituals for boys in East Africa also involves their being able to withstand pain. Known as the Gar ritual, the boys can only be considered blessed men if they have received a gar (a shaved head and three horizontal deep cuts across the forehead) from one of the elders of the tribe. The initiate then receives a healthy ox, which symbolizes the start of his adult life. Girls in East Africa have a different and less painful ritual for coming of age. They are taken away form their tribe for three months in order to achieve independence, and only after they have returned will they be considered as women.

In the small island of Vanuatu located in the South telegraph.co.uk Pacific, the ritual for entering adulthood, known as Land Diving, is so unique that it even attracts tourists from different places in the world. The men of the island, along with the boys, climb a 30 meter tower made out of wood, tie a long vine to each ankle and dive down. The point of the ritual is to have the men get close enough to the ground to touch their heads and shoulders on the earth. When the young boys take their first dive, their mothers accompany them to the tower and throw away an object that represents their son’s childhood while he jumps.

Since the vines are not elastic like bungee jumping ropes, the ritual often leads to broken bones and can even be fatal.

Coming of age. A complex topic made up of many different traditions. From glamorous parties and diplomas to ant bites and Land Diving, every region has a unique way of celebrating this metamorphosis. There is no doubt that these rites of passage can make a huge impact in our lives, but the question is: do we actually become something more after those events? Or are they just another experience in our lives?

Since we still carry on with our lives and eventually go through other rites of passage, couldn’t that mean that we always keep changing and becoming something more every time?

Sources used in this article: brighthub.com; listverse.com; wordpress.com

the talon • 23

features

Dear Freshmen

Your Peer Group Connection mission PGC Leaders •

“Party in a Giant Circus”

•

“People Growing Carrots”

•

a joke

•

for a grade

•

for sophomores or juniors

•

a Rebecca Black music video

•

a one-way exchange

•

Soccer, Basketball, Futsal, Volleyball, or Softball

•

annotations

•

a balada

Karin Gunn

Y

ou have been summoned to an event of utmost importance: the 2011 PGC retreat.

When: September 2-4, 2011 Where: Ranieri Acampamento Why: It is the beginning of a year-long mission that you would be foolish to miss out on. It may not come as a surprise that you have reached an age and grade level at which your innocence, enthusiasm, and curiosity are just right to embark on the mission that awaits you. This day has been long awaited for some of you and it will surely be remembered by all of you.

Seeing as we will be dealing with matters of top confidentiality, we must limit our descriptions to the following: PGC is not:

There are a lot of things PGC is not... but then again this mission is what you make it. So PGC can be a lot of things.

PGC can be: •

love

•

listening

•

a food fest

•

laughter

•

a mystery

•

an adventure (potentially mud-filled)

•

full of circles

•

emotions

•

just another activity

•

connections

•

a battlefield

•

the foundation of new, deeply-rooted friendships

•

something boring, stupid or annoying

•

teamwork

•

Math, History, English or Science class

•

problem-solving

•

a party with half-naked supermodels

•

intense

•

recommended for anyone on a diet

•

the source of well-earned bruises and scratches

•

a place for cliques

•

the source of smiles

•

free time

•

did we already say a food fest?

•

a sleepover

•

a secret society

•

“Paper Gluing Class”

24 • the talon

features

But once again, this is a matter of top confidentiality, and you can only discover its true meaning if you are willing to embark on the mission. So bring a couple of old shoes and clothes, an open mind, a brave heart, and an empty stomach to the 2011 PGC Retreat and find out for yourself what the purpose of this mission.

Expecting you at 0800 hours on Friday, The PGC Squad

NR

Carla Alve

s

Warning: this message will self-detonate in 5 seconds.

es

lv

A rla

Ca

Karin Gunn

the talon • 25

features

The Curious Case of the Calculating Cicadas How a group of noisy insects can help solve a philosophical problem

A

t first, they burrow underground, beneath the earth; there they will remain for years, feeding, growing, developing.

Then, in near perfect unison, they emerge from underground, as many as a million per acre, a true invasion of the surface.

At first glance this may seem like the plot of a horror film, with a subsequent massacre of the human population or maybe a sci-fi movie, with an alien race taking control of the Earth. For those familiar with the storyline of the Gears of War video game trilogy, this sounds strikingly similar to the history behind E-Day and the Locust Horde, the latter surprisingly close to the truth.

This is the typical lifecycle of the genus Magicicada, a certain group of cicadas currently known to contain seven distinct species. They are officially known as “periodical cicadas,” with several varions such as “17-year locusts,” though this term is inaccurate. Cicada species belong to a different order than actual locusts, which are in fact a type of grasshopper.

Terminology aside, these periodical cicadas are interesting for a variety of reasons.

First, they have a unique lifecycle—they hatch from the eggs aboveground and the nymphs (a name for the insects in earlier stages of development) then burrow around 30 cm underground where they feed off of tree roots until ready to mate, at which point they emerge, reproduce, and die.

Second, they are one of the loudest known insects. If you thought a mosquito buzzing around the room was annoying, you wouldn’t want to get anywhere near cicadas—it is common for people to temporarily move out of their home during mating season if near an active cicada brood. They have special membranes dedicated to producing their mating “song,” and their entire bodies act as a resonance chamber, amplifying the sound (think of how the hollow inside of an acoustic guitar makes it louder). Add to that the fact that there are almost always thousands of them active at once—they can really stir up a racket.

Thankfully, mating seasons are few. In fact, cicadas only have one mating season in their entire lifespan; a lifespan which is notably long for an insect (thirteen or seventeen years, depending on the species). And that brings us to another curiosity about cicadas, of particular interest to biologists and to mathematicians.

Cicadas can do math.

Or, at the very least, evolution has imprinted upon these insects lifecycles which are mathematically appropriate for their survival.

This reasoning comes from a relatively simple fact: cicadas use the numbers thirteen and seventeen as the basis of their lifecycle. To some people, these seem like ugly numbers—how often do you see a table with thirteen seats, or a bookcase with seventeen shelves? To many mathematicians,

26 • the talon

Lucas Zuccolo however, these are some of the prettiest, most important numbers. They’re prime numbers.

Now, it may seem that, despite the pretty numbers, this is no more than a coincidence; after all, what is the practical use of waiting that many years? Why not have a fifteen or ten year lifecycle? The answer comes from the cicadas’ interaction with their predators. Cicadas are hunted by various species, humans included (though the cicada population is so large, there is little risk of endangering them). Most of these predators also operate on periodical lifecycles, appearing at cicada broods only occasionally. Obviously, the cicadas want to be underground when that happens—having their mating season coincide with the predator’s emergence could devastate them. So what is the best way to prevent that from happening?

Mathematically, it is through using prime numbers.

For example, a predator arrives every six years. If the cicadas had seven, a prime number, as their lifespan, their emergence would coincide with the predator’s every forty-two years. If they chose eight, it would coincide every twenty-four years; nine, every eighteen years. Also, the bigger the prime, the better; if those same cicadas chose the next-highest prime number, eleven, cycles would only coincide every sixty-six years.

Cicadas are not smart or durable enough to work with bigger primes, like 37, so they stick with thirteen and seventeen.

Now, knowing that nature chooses primes just like us is interesting and all, but so what? How does this knowledge help at all? Simply, it helps prove that humans didn’t make up primes. An English instructor will teach you that words are all categorized as nouns and verbs and adjectives and whatnot, but that is not fundamentally true; that is only an artificial organization of linguistics. It is like saying that Led Zeppelin is the best band ever; one person might consider it to be a truth, while another might not because it is not fundamentally true.

Cicadas provide evidence to support our assumption that our mathematics are fundamentally true. Prime numbers aren’t prime because of us; rather, we believe them to be prime because they are. Nature doesn’t agree that Germany is in Europe, or that World War II was in the twentieth century, but it agrees that thirteen and seventeen are prime numbers.

Species come and go. History is written and re-written all the time. But as years, decades, millenia go by, math remains the same. We slowly trudge towards a greater understanding of it, with some mishaps along the way, but as time goes by we are more and more certain that math is true.

Source used: The Number Mysteries: A Mathematical Odyssey Through Everyday Life, by Marcus Du Sautoy

features

The Effect of Magic Over the Years The Harry Potter experience—changing lives

Paty Kim

W

hat started as a seven-volume story of a young wizard, ended with a phenomenon that gathered millions of fans who have one thing in common: their passion for Harry Potter.

The “invincible trio,” for whom various hearts have an enormous fondness, have featured in eight ground-breaking movies. Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe, as Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter, respecitvely, successfully filled their roles. All three started at the startlingly young age of twelve. After the eighth movie, The Deathly Hallows Part Two, was released, we could see the enormous changes that they have been through.

After being part of the Harry Potter movies cast, it is undeniable that the careers of the three have sky-rocketed. As their acting abilities were put to test throughout the years, the trio has received offers to star in other movies; some have been in a totally different genre. Emma Watson, for example, was given an important role in the movie Ballet Shoes which portrays the life of Pauline Fossil, one of three young orphan girls living in 20th century London struggling to achieve her dream as an actress.

Rupert Grint also starred in Driving Lessons in the drama genre.

In this movie, Rupert steps into the shoes of Ben Marshall. This character is advised by his employer, a retired actress who later aids his attempt to run away from home. As for the main star of the Harry Potter movies, Daniel Radcliffe stars as Maps in the movie December Boys. This time, Daniel has to play a role of an orphan who tests his friendship with his childhood friends in order to be adopted by a couple looking for a child.

All three actors took challenging roles in films with greater depth than the Harry Potter series. Their new movies carry more profound themes that require a lot of work from the cast. Not only do these roles take practice, but also require

maturity. Looking back at the first Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, it is apparent how young, naïve and somewhat inexperienced all three actors were. Today, as they leave the arms of Hogwarts, it is clear that they truly experienced a metamorphosis.

Emma, Rupert and Daniel did not only change as actors but also changed in appearance. It is quite obvious that ten years would make a difference, but it is still interesting to see how they have grown so mature. In 2001, three small wizards stood side by side for their first time on the red carpet. Though it has been a decade, the sight of the three together at the first Harry Potter premiere is still fresh and touching. Daniel and Rupert now look manly and well-built when compared to their childlike bodies in the first movie. Emma Watson turned out to be a true google.com surprise. She not only turned into a gracious woman, but also, in an act of courage and maturity, had her hair cut. It wasn’t just a hair cut, but an almost completely shaven “pixie” style. Various rumors circulate the Internet and magazines regarding her hair, but the most believable so far are that she wanted to start fresh and get rid of the Hermione Granger image. Though it was a great shock, fans all over the world still love and respect Emma unconditionally.

Ten years: a decade of Harry Potter. Fans of all ages from all over the world cried and laughed as they walked side by side with Harry and his two best friends. Truth is, they didn’t just walk alongside the characters, but also the actors through their development as actors and as human beings.

Sources used in this article: www.imdb.com

the talon • 27

sports

To My Basketball Teammates An open letter Kyle Bissell

T

o all of my Graded basketball teammates, Welcome to another year. To those of you who are new to this team, or even to this sport, I hope that you soon fully understand what you are committing to. This is no ordinary team.

These are no ordinary coaches. The amount we run and push ourselves is definitely not ordinary. Not only will you grow in your physical conditioning, but you will grow mentally and emotionally in a way that you may not have experienced before.

The first day of practice was probably more difficult than any I had participated in last season. Unfortunately I had not exercised as much as I had planned to over the summer and, as a result, practice was hell. During the many sprints up and down the court, I must confess that quitting just after the first day seemed like a very appealing path to take. I would never work myself the way that the coaches pushed us under normal circumstances.

The only thing that kept me going was my teammates.

People from all skill levels and athletic abilities were pushing themselves to a point that most people would never do in their lifetime. To put it lightly, we were exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally and I believe we all walked out of practice proud of ourselves because of it. I must say that that night, I slept better than I had in months.

Teammates, I don’t know how the rest of you felt, but that practice helped ease my conscience after a summer that was less productive than I would have liked. I always try to challenge myself but this summer fell flat. From this practice I took away the fact that when we persevere through situations our confidence grows immensely. The ideals that are being thrust upon us in practice are universal, and if we are able to weave them into our own lives we can find success in anything we try.

Without trying to sound too preachy, I think it would benefit all of us greatly if we really thought about what we are going through this season. Try not to just think about how sore your legs are; think about how you are getting stronger. The fact that you have not quit shows that one, you know that you can handle the pain, and two, that you are open to challenging yourself. Take this spirit into your academic life and you will not only have better grades, but there will also be less reason

28 • the talon

for Mr. Bair to make us run during practice.

Over the next months we will experience a metamorphosis. Maybe mine will be different from yours, but, to some extent, everyone will feel a change by the end of the season.

Perhaps yours will be that you’ll start coming to class on time or your grades will get better or something far more profound.

We veterans are no exception.

We may have experienced change last season, but we will continue our journey in some way this season. Do not be surprised if after running to no end for stupid mistakes, we learn from them.

Unfortunately, our agony will continue. We will still face more excruciatingly painful practices and we will be pushed to a level of fatigue that some may consider inhuman, but we will be better men because of it. As we continue to suffer together, we will bond as a team.

Matt Dias Last year I befriended people who I probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to befriend if not for the basketball team. This sense of team, this camaraderie is one that I treasure. I recommend that you guys watch the movie Coach Carter when you can. Although compared to the characters we live in a very different setting, the themes that play out in the movie can be transferred to our own team. Unlike the characters in the movie, you’ll probably be going to college.

But perhaps the team will influence you in a way that decides just which college you go to.

I would like to leave you with one of our main themes of this season: deserving. We may not have the most skilled team but we will have the team that worked the hardest. If we don’t ending up winning, we will at least know that we deserved it. By the end of this season, no matter how we played on the court, we will be proud of ourselves. We will know that we worked harder than most of us have ever worked in our lives. The Boston Celtics, the NBA team I cheer for, have this thing called Celtic Pride. Players who come into the team are immediately taught to immerse themselves in this pride.

As the most successful NBA franchise of all time, they have a long standing history of success. I feel that our own Graded basketball team has a similar pride and I hope that you all buy into it and truly appreciate what it means.

sports

The Rise of a Giant José Bautista’s transformation from Little League to Major League Kevin Wolfson

T

hink athletic dedication. Do the Graded sports teams come to mind? All those towers, sprints, suicides, practices, games, and puke-inducing exercises. We can all agree that these guys and girls are extremely dedicated, right? Now let me introduce you to José Bautista, a talented young man rising among the slums of the Dominican Republic hoping to be noticed. On top of being exemplary student at his Catholic school, he was an all-star baseball player both junior and senior year, having the highest batting average of the league in both seasons. He was bound to get drafted in the first couple of rounds of the 1999 draft.

Sitting in his living room, accompanied by his family, José Bautista watched the MLB draft, fearing for the worst.

Then, the one thing he dreaded most in his life happened: young José Bautista, straight out of high school, did not get drafted. So what now? He didn’t have much money to go to college in the United States based on academics, and he could not create a future for himself in Puerto Rico. He wanted to play baseball, and that’s all he’d ever wanted to do.

Bautista started a small ad campaign to try and find a job somewhere in baseball.

He sent out videos of himself to various major league teams and tried networking with some people in Puerto Rico in an attempt to get attention. He joked about it later on saying, “It’s funny how there’s so many scouts in Puerto Rico and I still need to send videos of myself.” Finally, he was drafted by Chipola Junior College in Florida where he could play baseball and go to school.

Two years into college, he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2000 draft. What did this mean? Bautista finally had his chance. He started out as a pretty generic player, hitting around .210, not scoring many homeruns, and sitting on the bench for the Pirates. Yeah, he was okay, but he wasn’t anything special.

The Pirates quickly got rid of him. Actually, many teams got rid of him pretty quickly. He was traded to five different major league teams in 2004. The New York Mets even traded him off to another team on the same day they acquired him!

Landing with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2006, that’s where he’s been for the past few years.

Bautista was initially a bench player for the Blue Jays like he had been on every other team. It seemed like he had no future. Well, if this was the case, you (yes reader, you) would probably be asking yourself why I’m writing this article. I’ll have to let you in on a little secret; after attending a baseball camp in 2008, José Bautista’s career changed drastically. The young Puerto Rican who couldn’t hit over .220 was a few digits short of .400, hitting over 50 homeruns in a season, leaving everyone in awe and perhaps even jealousy. Nobody knows what happened at that camp, but hey, it sure had a terrific result.

What does this mean for baseball? Well, a player who used to be average has transformed into a superstar of the league. He has become a player who is still breaking records, setting new standards for the game, and most likely on his way into the Hall of Fame.

Ye t , s t r a n g e l y enough, José Bautista is disliked by baseball. Yes, this sounds a bit odd, please allow me to explain. Baseball is a sport that loves numbers.

It loves statistics, predictions, averages. It is considered the sport gamblers can make the most money on because almost everything can be calculated. José Bautista’s contribution had been calculated when he first came into the game. He was nothing but a bench player, right? Now he’s unstoppable, breaking every prediction and forecast made about him by professionals who do this for a living and companies who make millions of dollars making forecasts. He broke many predictions, but one thing stayed the same: Bautista believed in himself and knew he was able to achieve a new level of consistency.

Bautista’s example of outliers in baseball is a miracle in various ways. Many didn’t believe in Bautista because of what the math told them, but now he’s making over 70 million dollars just in contracts with the Blue Jays, and millions more with advertising. He’s not the only one who has suffered a transformation like this: pitcher Dazzy Vance, outfielder Hank Sauer… all these men experienced ‘miracles’ just like Bautista. For everyone who thinks baseball is boring because it’s so predictable: turn on your television, tune into ESPN, and check out the stories on players like Bautista. Let me know if you find anything predictable about him.

So what now? He didn’t have much money to go to college in the United States based on academics, and he could not create a future for himself in Puerto Rico. He wanted to play baseball, and that’s all he ever wanted to do.

the talon • 29

sports

A Career Transformation How Michael Vick went from criminal to exemplary player Rafael Rocha

I

t’s a cold December night in Richmond, Virginia. Star football player Michael Vick is on trial for cruelly running a dog fighting ring since 2001, killing dozens of innocent creatures for entertainment purposes. On December 10th, 2007, Vick is sentenced to 23 months in prison, almost two years for his crimes. Being cruel to animals, a failure, and a criminal were among many labels attached to Vick during his period in prison. Little did he know that his time in jail would help him transform into a different human being, with great success on the field and off of it.

Fortunately for Vick, he only had to serve 18 months of his 23-month sentence because of good behavior in jail.

Unfortunately for Vick, that didn’t mean that his reputation was going to change. When Vick came out of jail, the NFL’s free agency period had reached full bloom. Teams rushed to sign the best players they could, but few contacted Vick to give him another shot at playing professional football. However, the Philadelphia Eagles believed in Vick’s return. As Donovan McNabb, the Eagles’ starting quarterback at that time put it, “I believe in second chances and what better place to get a second chance than here with this group of guys.” By that time, it was clear to Vick that Philly was the right destination for him. Philly was a place where the players, as well as the front office, believed in the possibility of a career comeback for him.

When Michael Vick returned to the football field in August 2009, he topped Forbes’ list of most-hated athletes in the United States. Although most of the nation despised him, Philadelphia gave him a warm welcome back, as he was cheered on by thousands of faithful Philly fans on his first game back.

Despite 2009 being a year of adaptation and transition from prisoner to football player, he posted a 93.7 quarterback rating, notably his best ever. Vick seemed dedicated to continuing his improvement and there was no better time to do it after McNabb signed with the Washington Redskins and left Kevin Kolb as Vick’s only competitor to earn the starting job for the team.

As if destiny hadn’t already helped Vick enough, Kevin Kolb suffered an injury in just the second week of the 2010 NFL regular season. The Eagles then had no option but to start Michael Vick in their next game against the Detroit Lions. After almost four long years that certainly had changed Vick’s life, he would finally be making his first start since Dec. 31st, 2006.

30 • the talon

Vick relished the opportunity and connected on 21 of his 34 passes, was responsible for two touchdowns, and ran for 37 yards, leading the Eagles to a 35-32 win against the Lions. When asked about Vick, Eagles’ coach Andy Reid stated that “he was like a kid in a candy store. He was so excited about getting a second chance at being a starter in this league.”

From that point on, Vick’s season only got better. He entered the MVP conversation as he helped the Eagles to a 10-6 record and into the NFL playoffs. He posted career bests in almost every measurable statistic. His name started to slowly become synonymous with the words “comeback” and “transformation.” Regardless of the Eagles’ loss to the eventual champions Green Bay Packers in the playoffs, Vick’s season had been a tremendous success. Just a few years after coming out of prison, most NFL teams questioned why they hadn’t attempted to sign Vick, especially now that he had become an NFL superstar.

Despite all the success on the field, Vick’s comeback would be far from complete without success off of it. In his free time, Vick often gives speeches in high schools and other places about dog fighting and its consequences, an issue which he has become passionate about. He repeatedly says that he has learned from his mistakes and that he is trying to raise awareness about dog fighting. And if that wasn’t enough, Vick is currently lobbying for the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act and he has signed new endorsement deals with companies such as Nike, Unequal Technology and MusclePharm.

The story of Michael Vick since he was accused of dogfighting and forced to serve a period of time in prison tells us to re-evaluate our own lives and to give second chances to others around us. A couple of years ago, no one thought that Vick would be where he is now, but thanks to the Philadelphia Eagles who gave him another shot at playing professional football, Vick has become a model for other players on and off the field. The lesson to take away from this is that whenever things don’t look very good for you or someone else, remind yourself what Vick did to come back and transform himself into a better player and person. Maybe we could all do the same.

Sources used in this article: foxnews.com; abcnews.go.us; bleacherreport.com; espn.go.com; www.usatoday.com

sports

Ten on Top: Soccer Edition Rising stars to look for

Andrea Ferreira

I

n honor of the just completed 2011 U-20 World Cup in Columbia, here are ten of the top up and coming soccer players to watch for...all younger than 24.

1. Neymar: This 19-year-old Brazilian sensation is quickly becoming a household name. Dubbed the next Pele, he has scored 60 goals for Santos since his 2009 debut. Before the 2010 FIFA World Cup, 14,000 fans signed a petition to make Neymar a part of the Brazilian roster. This year, Neymar has already scored four goals in just seven matches for the Brazilian national team and was key to Santos’s first place finish in the South American Libertadores Cup. 2. Chincarito: This speedy striker entered C.D. Guadalajara at age nine. The 23 year-old Mexican native signed with Manchester United in 2010, scoring twenty goals. He has been called Man U’s most dangerous forward because his quickness enables him to slip behind the defense. In addition to his 21 international goals, Chicharito was the fastest player in the last World Cup clocking in at 32.15 km/hr.

3. David de Gea: At age twenty, this Spanish goalkeeper already has an U-21 championship under his belt. After spending a lifetime training at Atletico Madrid, last year, at the age of 19, he became a starter and proved to be a key factor in their winning of UEFA’s Super Cup. After 84 appearances, de Gea was recruited by Manchester United to replace the ancient Edwin van der Sar. Iker Casillas, Spain’s national team captain and currently considered by many the best goalkeeper in the world even compared de Gea to himself.

4. Thomas Mueller: A familiar face from the 2010 World Cup, this 21 year-old was a crucial component to Germany’s third place finish. With an impressive five goals and three assists, the attacking midfielder secured the coveted Golden Boot award, and in addition was awarded FIFA’s Best Young Player. Getting his start at Bayern Munich’s youth system at age ten, Mueller continues to play for the club, tallying 40 goals for the senior squad since his first appearance in the 2008 season.

5. Sebastian Coates: This Uruguayan native got his senior start when he signed with the Montevideo sports club Nacional at age 18. Coates has played in 54 matches and scored four goals, an impressive feat for a central defender. Coates is probably best known for his efforts on the Uruguayan national team that won gold in this year’s Copa America, where he won the tournament’s Best Young Player award.

6. Romelu Lukaku: After playing for the Lierse youth academy

since age eleven, Lukaku scored 121 goals in just 68 games.

Signing his first professional contract on his 16th birthday, Lukaku netted more than 40 goals in his 98 appearances with Anderlecht. Now 18, this Belgian native has already won the Belgian First Division top scorer as well as the Belgian ebony shoe, and recently transferred to Chelsea.

7. Alexis Sanchez: This Chilean citizen joined the club Cobreloa, thus breaking the Copa Libertadores record as the youngest player ever to debut in the South American Club Championship. In 2008, he signed with the Italian team Udinese, scoring 12 goals in 31 appearances. Sanchez was part of the 2007 Chilean U-20 team that will forever be remembered for their third place finish. Even more impressive is that during the last World Cup, at age 21, he became the star player of his team. Last July, he signed a deal with the soccer giant Barcelona.

8. Luc Castaignos: This Dutch striker already has a promising future with comparisons to the likes of Thierry Henry for his “graceful, athletic” playing style. At 18 Castaignos is already shattering records. One can see this through his 13 goals in the U-17 Football Championship that earned him the title of the tournament’s top scorer and the Netherlands U-17 top scorer of all-time. Next year, he will leave his current club Feyenoord and will head to the Italian club Internazionale.

9. Erik Lamela: This has been a big year for the Argentinean native Erik Lamela. The soon to be 21 year-old attacking midfielder made his debut versus Paraguay this May and was picked for their U-20 2011 World Cup team. This August he joined the world-renowned Italian team A.S. Roma. Lamela got his start playing in the youth division of the River Plate club and was promoted to the senior team in June of 2009. He started 34 games for the Buenos Aires club last season, scoring four goals and leading the team to a sixth place finish.

10. Christian Eriksen: This 19 year-old attacking midfielder began his soccer career at age two for a local team. In 2008 his nine goals in 16 games for the Denmark U-17 national team earned him the title of the 2008 Danish U-17 talent of the year. In 2010, he made headlines as the youngest player participating in the World Cup. He now plays for the Amsterdam club Ajax and is compared to former Ajax and Dutch national team stars Wesley Schneider and Rafael van der Vaart. Last season was his best yet, with 6 goals in his 28 league appearances.

Sources used in this article: goal.com, fifa.com, caughtoffside. com

the talon • 31

sports

Don’t Take Anything For Granted The #1 lesson of the Women’s World Cup 2011 Yana Ahlden

I

t was supposed to be another Clash of the Titans. The top three favorites: the United States, Germany, and Brazil, numbers 1, 2, and 3 in the World Rankings respectively. Yet, who’s the new world champion? The underdog Japan, previously number 4. The soccer that tamed all was efficient, organized, and disciplined. It was fair. It was balanced between offense and defense. It was fast-paced and strong. All in all, it seemed almost manly at times.

Women’s soccer has gone through a transformation in the last few years. Apart from the fact that women now play the same amount of time that men do (they used to only play 80 minutes), they also play better, more athletic soccer than they used to. On the other hand, it is still not like men’s soccer.

It isn’t as violent or as popular. But then again, there has to be something that sets women apart from their male counterparts.

Otherwise, it would be as if we were watching the exact same tournament again, only with a different outcome.

The women that played this World Cup have set themselves apart in the sense that they did something unpredictable.

The soccer they played fascinated the world more than it ever had before. The stadiums were sold out, people were on the streets celebrating, articles were written, tears were shed, and cheers unleashed. A new era of women’s soccer has begun, an era of appreciation, encouragement, and inspiration.

The women that represented their countries never gave up on themselves and their sport. There was a time when women’s soccer was frowned upon, but, the women and their coaches kept fighting, practicing, and getting better. Now, finally, they have reached a point where women’s soccer is broadcast all over the world, where girls dream of playing soccer rather than dancing ballet, and wear jerseys of Wambach, Sawa, or Prinz rather than Kaka, Beckham, or Henry. These women have managed to change the way their sport is seen.

An example of this is the quarterfinal between the United States and Brazil. Despite the fact that throughout most of the game Brazil dominated, the United States ended up winning against all odds. When Brazil was winning 2 — 1 the Americans didn’t give up, and in the 122nd minute, one of the last minutes of overtime, Abby Wambach headed the ball into the goal after a beautiful cross from Rampone. The U.S. proceeded to win on penalties.

A similar win was that of Japan in the finals. The United

32 • the talon

States dominated, creating several beautiful chances though they could not seem to capitalize on them. In the 69th minute, Alex Morgan scored the first goal of the game and the United States was on its way to becoming World Champions. Unfortunately for the U.S., the Japanese do not give up and so in the 81st minute, Miyama tied the game. In overtime, the States managed to take the lead through a goal by Wambach, only to have Japan’s Sawa take it away in the 117th minute. Despite a red card for Japan, they were able to beat the United States in penalties. Just like the Americans in their match against Brazil, Japan never gave up, never stopped, and managed to change the game in their favor.

Women’s soccer will continue to evolve in little and big ways. This year, there were only 16 teams competing, but according to FIFA President Joseph Blatter, for the 2015 World Cup in Canada, there will be 24 teams. During a press conference, he said, “That’ll open new markets for women’s football.” This is the time when women’s soccer can grow and become more competitive. By opening the tournament to more countries, FIFA is sending a message of support and encouragement. They want countries to participate and to improve their programs or, if they do not already exist, create them. They want the world of women’s soccer to become inclusive, not exclusive and to be one in which people love to play and learn.

We not only see FIFA’s support in the increase in participating teams and prize money (from US$ 6.4 million in 2007 to US$ 7.6 million this year), but also through the FIFA campaign “Live Your Goals,” a motto featured on the sleeve of every jersey this World Cup. This is FIFA’s way of encouraging and inspiring girls all over the world to live their dream of playing professionally. The four primary ambassadors of this campaign are Brazil’s Marta, Canada’s Christine Sinclair, Germany’s Kim Kulig, and New Zealand’s Rebecca Smith. Each of these players has her own story about defying all odds, fighting, and living their dreams and goals to the fullest. These women, among others, are the leaders of the development of a new era of women’s soccer. Why? Because they never took what they had for granted. Because they always wanted more.

Sources used in this article: www.kicker.de and www.fifa.com