Heath Ledger's Last Role...

I'm not much of a superhero buff, much less a fan of superhero movies (though Ironman was surprisingly quite good) but I am an admirer of Heath Ledger's work and loved him in "Brokeback Mountain" -- I thought he was brave to take up a role that was viewed as so risky about it dealt with a taboo issue, and play it in such a manner that any one could relate to his character's tortured feelings of love. But, several of my guy friends insisted that I check it out, though, and I think I will, not only because it seems to be getting rave reviews, but also because it's the last work of Ledger's that I will be able to see.

You see, my generation grew-up with Heath Ledger. We aged with him. We were cheering for him in his first American movie, "10 Things I Hate About You", as he repeadtedly tried to woo Julia Stiles and again in "A Knight's Tale" when he was trying to prove his worth not only to society, but to himself. Sure, the same critics that praise him "Dark Knight" bashed him then because to them, he was playing typecast roles in movies aimed towards the pre-teen and teenage audience. But, let me tell you, those pre-teens and teenagers loved him and appreciated the dedication with which he played those characters that we were so invested in for that mere hour-and-a-half. I should know, because I was one of them.

So, I think it's safe to say that unless you belong to my generation, you won't be able to completely understand the gravity of the loss we will feel as we walk out of the movie theater after seeing Ledger in his last, complete performance because you simply did not see him as we did.

Are You Surprised by this?

I am not suprised by this cover at all -- why should I have any more faith that our media sources, especially those as prominent as the New Yorker, deliver us news in an objective, truthful fashion? I just recently interviewed for a field organizer position with the Obama Campaign for Change, and the individual who was interviewing me asked me how I, as a Muslim, would answer someone who was ignorant about Mr. Obama's background and religious practices questions regarding those two topics. I told him that I would truthfully answer that Barack Obama is indeed half African and his father was indeed Muslim, but he was raised in Hawaii in a very American upbringing, and is a practicing Christian. Yes, he was educated in a private, Muslim education school for a brief period in his childhood, but it was not a Madrassa as many media outlets tried to claim is was, but a private, religious-based school no different than the private Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim schools that we have here in America. Just because he did not find a reason to change his name to appease middle America, does not mean that he should be viewed as a perpetual foreigner, a terrorist, or be viewed under any more scrutiny than his caucasion, Republican counterpart.

I believe this cartoon, which should undoubtedly be viewed as satire, does nothing to refute the views of many ignorant critics of Mr. Obama, his wife, and his general background. I believe that this does much to affirm the worst beliefs of more Americans then we think, and gives many of those (members of the KKK and similiar groups, for example) more reason to stand against change and progression, and work to ensure that a lesser candidate gets into office and runs this country into the ground for another eight years.

"The widow of Indian army Brig. Ravi Datt Mehta (right) is comforted by a family member during a cremation ceremony Tuesday in New Delhi. He was among the 41 people killed in Monday's bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan."

This war is causing people to suffer around the world in a way that most of us cannot even comprehend. It's not only U.S. Soldiers that are sacrificing their lives for their country -- families in countries we would not even think of understand the pain of losing a loved one in war.

The Hypocritical, Mr. Reverand Jesse Jackson...

Yes, yes, Jesse Jackson has done it again. If having a love child out of wedlock who is currently, like, five years old, and crying wolf all the damn time wasn't enough, he had to go ahead and talk about cutting off Barack Obama's nuts, because he felt as though Mr. Obama was "talking down to the black community". Now, whether you think he did or did not when he spoke to black congregations recently about how the black community must begin to take responsibility and better itself is all relative. At the end of the day, however, the Rev. Jackson's aggression towards his manhood was a bit uncalled for. Mr. Obama quickly accepted Jackson's apology that he made yesterday (coincedentially, before the clip of him making the remarks under his breath unaware that a mic was picking it up was aired on every news channel known to man), but the damage was already done. To Jackson's reputation and credibility, that is. Anyway, here it is:

This link is the original story:

"Jackson Apologizes for Obama Remarks"

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-jackson-obamajul10,0,3401382.story?page=2

This link is John Kass' take on the entire event:

"Jackson's Cutting Remark may be Helpful to Obama"

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-kass-10jul10,0,725595.column


Shake your head, love Obama, and enjoy.

Deadly Drinking?

Jenna Foellmi, 20, joined 83 individuals who have died from alcohol poisoning from 1999 until now, when she passed away on Dec. 14 after a night of heavy drinking; she had just finished taking her last final that day:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-drinking-deaths,0,5494021.story?page=2

This is unfortunate on several levels; first, I think that these is evidence that despite the fact that the legal drinking age in the U.S. is 21, individuals who are underage are still finding ways to drink. For this reason, I believe that the legal drinking age should be reduced to 18, the way it is in Europe. I believe that if this was done, alcohol would not be as tantalizing to teenagers, thus reducing the level of binge-drinking and various accidents that occur while under the influence -- drunk driving being the most prominent amongst them. There is a reason why Great Britain and Germany do not have the high level of drunk-driving accidents that occur with underage drinkers the way the U.S. does, and I think that our legal drinking age is the main problem.

Secondly, note how in the article, Jenna embarked upon a night of heavy drinking after finishing her last final of the semester. I believe that she sought alcohol as a means to (1) celebrate and (2) blow off some steam and relieve stress. I believe that there is a big problem with American youth in regards to looking to alcohol and narcotics as a source of stress relief whild in college -- I witnessed it first-hand during the past four years. There is a problem when people are taking aderol in order to get through finals week or write a 20-page paper. We either have to ask our educators to re-evaluate the amount of work they give us (again, overworking students seems to be another American trend) or we need to further educate our youth so that they use other methods to reduce stress. The latter would suggest things like "get at least eight hours of sleep" and "eat three square meals a day", but that would mean that college students would actually be afforded the time to do so, and speaking as a recent Denison graduate, that is a little easier said than done. Nothing says little to no sleep like two midterms in one day.

Anyway, that's my take on the situation. Of course, there are other variables that one should consider in a situation such as this -- peer pressure, greek life culture, the psycological mindset of being immortal that comes with being an adolescent/young adult -- but for the most part, this is my take on the issue as it stands today. What is yours?

Where is the Muslim Community supposed to turn to in this upcoming election?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/us/politics/24muslim.html?ex=1372046400&en=f404cdb933e61aaa&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Summer in Chicago, and apparently, living is not so easy...

Today marks the funeral of the 27th child within the Chicago Public School system who was ruthlessly murdered since the beginning of the 07-08 school year. A few weeks ago, a CPS school teacher was shot in the head while she was waiting for her neice in her car -- it was a case of mistaken identity, but that clearly does not matter now. It is beyond me how this city could lose 27 children within nine months; however, while our mayor and governer are intertwined in business that deals with their own greed for money and power and out police force struggles with corrupt cops, it comes as no surprise. In the midst of our leaders' personal issues, they are losing sight of the big picture, and as a result our children and educators are dying.

Just a little over two months ago, a friend of mine who was only 19 and on the eve of finishing up her freshman year, died in a car crash. It was most unexpected, and all I could think was that her life was cut short, so short that it had barely even begun. I think about her often. I wonder what kind of woman she would have grown up to be, what she would have accomplished, how proud she would have made everyone who loved her and cared for her. And now I think that the loved ones of 27 people have to wonder the same thing of the person that they lost -- in many cases much sooner than we lost Maria. They will never ceases wondering.

This is the first summer that I have been home in over two years, and I was looking forward to it. Summer in Chicago is amazing in so many ways -- from the beach, to downtown, to the festivals and the Taste, there is so much to do. And yet, May marked marked what seems to be the most bloody, dangerous summer that we have ever experienced. All of a sudden, I feel as though there is much to fear instead of look forward to.