From Paleontologist to Neurologist: An Inside Out View of Jurassic World

WARNING THIS POST MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS OF FILMS YOU WANTED TO SEE:

This weekend, I got to watch two movies that could easily be the most entertaining movies of 2015. Disney-Pixar's Inside Out and Universal Pictures's Jurassic World. Both movies blew me out of the water with the screenwriters' abilities to tell stories.

In Jurassic World, a new dinosaur-themed park is opened (the old park is acknowledged many times throughout the movie) and is booming with business. Families from all over the world come to see the dinosaurs in this Central American country. In the movie, we are introduced to Zach and Gray, two brothers who don't have a very good relationship with each other but are sent to Jurassic World to stay with their aunt, a lead operations manager of the park. We're also introduced to other characters such as Owen Grady, a velociraptor trainer played by a very lovable Chris Pratt. The movie introduces many insightful themes such as the importance of family, the cruelty certain animal-themed parks may display to increase profits, and the desire to integrate almost anything into the military to gain the upper hand in the event of a war. The main plot revolves around a new dinosaur that was genetically hybridized to create features that would "be unlike anything seen before" at Jurassic World; the dinosaur was named Indominus rex. Unfortunately, the Indominus was intelligent enough to go rogue, and the rest of the film was about the attempt to eliminate the threat by any means necessary. I won't spoil the rest of the film for any of you who read this and haven't seen the movie. However, I will share my favorite quote from the film: spoken by Dr. Henry Wu to the park owner, Mr. Masrani

"Monster is a relative term. To a canary, a cat is a monster. We're just used to being the cat"

It was somewhat cliche, but nonetheless powerful. Hopefully, people were able to realize how devastating we humans can be to the environment. Parks like Sea World are constantly under scrutiny for their capture and containment of the marine wildlife they display. Humans can be complex. Humans can be bad. Don't be a bad human and understand your environmental impact. Lastly, if you haven't seen this movie, it's a much watch! It's gained more than a billion dollars in box office sales in just two weeks. I would highly recommend watching this in IMAX 3D if available as it just makes the film much more exciting (but a 2D experience wouldn't take away from the great story). I would give this a rating of 9/10 for its impressive yet not too overwhelming special effects and its captivating yet simple plot.

The following day, I saw Inside Out. Like any other Pixar movie, the movie appeals to both kids and adults. As a teenager, I get to enjoy both the kids-oriented story and the occasional adult-oriented themes. This movie was about a girl named Riley who we see grow up from a newborn to an 11-year-old. We learn about who she is not from her own actions, but from her emotions: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust. The voice actors for each of the emotions are definitely what helped it be even more entertaining! I can't think of anyone else who could have played those roles better. Amy Poehler was Joy, which is the perfect transition for her from an outrageous Leslie Knope in the show Parks and Recreation. Phyllis Smith played Sadness, and during the movie, I couldn't stop thinking of her character from the office moping around and being the "party pooper". Lewis Black was cast as Anger. That's all I can really say because Lewis Black is the epitome of anger (just watch his segments on the Daily Show or his interviews on other television shows)! Bill Hader was cast as Fear. Hader has mastered a plethora of roles while a part of the Saturday Night Live cast; Fear was just another addition to that list. Lastly, Mindy Kaling (happy birthday!) was Disgust. If you've seen her persona in The Mindy Project or her character in The Office, Kelly Kapoor, then you know that Kaling's best roles are those where she believes she's better than everyone else. She was definitely able to use her experience acting as a disgusted person to personify the emotion in Inside Out. I can't outline the plot of the movie because you must watch it for yourself! You'll see that it's a story assuring us that being unhappy isn't bad, but that it's just part of life. You can't always be Joy. That's why you have a team of emotions working together. We learn that Sadness is instrumental in eliciting compassion from others. Inside Out was one of the most relatable movies that I've seen in a while. I was able to remember times when I was expressing certain emotions that Riley expressed in the film. It was great for kids to realize how to isolate their fundamental emotions and find the proper balance. The film was great for adults too because it gave them a reminder of how kids' minds work at different stages in their development, and gave a slight glimpse at how dangerous depression can be. I would give this an overall rating of 10/10 for its ability to reach the audience's hearts with the storytelling and great cast (and a personal bias for Pixar).

IF YOU ARE SCROLLING UP, THIS POST MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

-Amit

Taylor Swift: Out for Justice or Out for Money?

You've probably heard recently of the letter Taylor Swift sent to Apple Headquarters regarding her disapproval of the artist compensation methods of the new Apple Music streaming service. She specifically addressed the lack of royalty money given to artists during the free trial period for users of Apple Music. In response, she said that she would not allow Apple Music to provide her music on the streaming service unless they fixed their alleged issue, a threat she ultimately executed with another music streaming service, Spotify.

Swift claimed this about why she is withdrawing her music from streaming sites:

This is about the new artist or band that has just released their first single and will not be paid for its success. This is about the young songwriter who just got his or her first cut and thought that the royalties from that would get them out of debt. This is about the producer who works tirelessly to innovate and create, just like the innovators and creators at Apple are pioneering in their field…but will not get paid for a quarter of a year’s worth of plays on his or her songs.

A part of me wants to believe that she actually cares about the artists who will be losing revenue during the 3 month period, but my gut feels that she is just realizing the influence she has (mostly due to her large fan base) and is using sympathy to leverage Apple into increasing her personal wealth. This year, she became the youngest person to be featured in a Forbes Most Powerful Women list. She has a estimated net worth of $200 million, and may just be another perpetrator of American Greed.

I feel a similar way about Jay-Z, who complained about the same thing but mainly against Spotify. He has developed a new streaming (in my opinion, overpriced) service called Tidal that will allegedly bring justice to artists. I can't really feel that artists like Jay-Z and Taylor Swift are out to seek justice. They're just artists who have reached the top and are just hungry for more fame, publicity, and money.

I really hope I'm wrong about Taylor Swift's intentions and that she is out to advocate for those in the industry who will feel the brunt of self-serving business decisions by Apple. In her letter, she did make this comment:

These are not the complaints of a spoiled, petulant child. These are the echoed sentiments of every artist, writer and producer in my social circles who are afraid to speak up publicly

In the end, Apple gave in, and revised its compensation policy to be more generous to the artists especially during the free trial period of Apple Music. Swift's voice was heard.

Business is scary. I guess you'll never know people's true intentions.

-Amit

Jon Stewart: The Best in The World

I sure am going to miss Jon Stewart when he leaves his role as anchor for The Daily Show​. Even though it was comedy, he always knew how to address the issues that our country faced in the most professional way possible. Just look at yesterday's monologue and look at the post-9/11 episode of the show. He was able to put the humor aside and talk with sincerity. While his show is normally very liberally charged, when he talks from his heart, it's obvious to see there is no liberal or conservative undertones. It's just him speaking on behalf of righteousness

TAMS Summer O

This weekend, I had the pleasure of being an TAMS Summer Orientation Leader for the incoming Junior class. Organized by the TAMS Student Life Staff,  the Orientation weekend was filled with meeting new people, and reconnecting with people I haven't seen since school ended in May.

The orientation started Friday at noon when all the Orientation Leaders (OLs) came together and discussed the plans for what we would do once the Juniors show up.  We practiced playing games that would be ice breakers for the juniors, we broke out into teams of 3 and created our own team names and chants (I was a part of "team 13 so fresh, so clean" with Wesley Miaw and Annie He), and we set up McConnell Hall to make it easiest for the juniors and their parents to check in and get around.

After the juniors were checked in by an OL, some of the other OLs led them to their rooms and helped them get situated at McConnell: their soon-to-be home for 9 months beginning in the fall. Then, the seminars began. The students along with their parents were greeted by the Dean, Glenisson de Oliviera, the Director of Student Life, Russ Stukel, and the Academic Counselors, Wendy Boyd-Brown and Sam Earls. After listening to the introduction from the Administration and the rundown of what TAMS will be like, the students left their parents to join the OLs, Hall Directors, and Assistant Director of Student Life to find out what they would be doing for the rest of the weekend. The students were divided into groups of about fifteen kids and assigned to three OLs who would serve as their guides for the weekend.

Each small group split up and went to their own spot somewhere on the UNT campus. Wesley, Annie, and I had the kids play some of the most challenging games to get to know one another. The most memorable game was called Awkward Elephant, a game where the juniors would line up and stick their left hand between their own legs and grab the right hand of the person behind him or her, who is extending his/her right hand forward. With the juniors in such an uncomfortable position, we decided to make them move around as a unit to "encourage camaraderie". In the end, it was a successful ice breaking experience because almost everyone in the group knew the other juniors' names. This was the perfect transition to Roommate Rumble.

Roommate Rumble is a activity for students to talk to other members with similar living habits and find "the perfect roommate". By the time we were done with the pairings, it seemed that almost every student had found themselves a roommate for the fall. These students were becoming closer than I could have ever imagined. The juniors took their new closeness to the recreation center where they were allowed to hang out in for about an hour. With basketball and ultimate frisbee games happening on the same court, ping pong tournaments creating mini rivalries among teams, and board games laid out over all of the spare tables, the juniors were having the time of their lives!

We ended the juniors' nights with a wing meeting, explaining how the following day would play out. The students had to take their placement exams for chemistry and math, so we told them that we wanted them to get a good night's rest. Little did they know, the OLs would have an extended curfew that gave us the ability to go to Walmart, or Jack-In-The-Box, or even the OLs' own apartments on campus (as long as we were back in the hall by 1am). To top it all off, once we did get back, we just shared stories with one another until 4 in the morning. We knew what we were getting ourselves into: we would have to wake up all the juniors and send them to breakfast in 3 hours. We didn't mind.

The following morning, we woke up at 6:30am and, hoping that the juniors were at least well rested, got ready to wake up the juniors and take them to breakfast. We sat with them and discussed the joys of waking up and eating a plateful of sub-par cafeteria food before going to class.They then went to go take their math and chemistry placement exams. During this time, some OLs took a nap, some OLs just hung out at McConnell, and the rest of us went to the mall. We didn't have enough time to buy anything, but we went anyway. We headed back to pick up the students from their testing center and take them to lunch and then "Mock Semester", an activity that introduces the students to the various aspects of living at McConnell Hall during the school year ranging from academics to student life to personal hygiene.

The day came to an end with the juniors getting their textbooks and their summer assignments. They were lined up around McConnell Hall as though they were getting the new iPhone on its release date, These kids, who were uncomfortable just 24 hours before, had the biggest smiles on their faces. No kid in that line was left out of a conversation; everyone was talking with one another! For kids who probably didn't know a single person, they looked as though they'd known each other forever. The Student Life Staff's and the OL's primary  goal for Summer O was to have each student have a personal connection with at least one other junior. I'm proud to say the students had exceeded our expectations!

The juniors were incredibly excited for the coming school year, and I'm glad to say that, as an Orientation Leader, I was able to help instill that excitement. Here's to a fantastic school year! Class of 2017, welcome to TAMS!

Philanthropy In (loco)Motion

This Thursday I was coming home from Austin on a Megabus, so I could be an Orientation Leader for the TAMS Summer Orientation. After a 3-hour long bus ride, I end up in Downtown Dallas. To save my mom from a long car ride to downtown, I offered to take the DART Train most of the way home. I walk to the Arts District train station preparing to slide my card into the ticket machine to pay for my train pass, and all of a sudden, an elderly woman comes up to me and says "Here take mine, I won't be needing it anymore". I was confused for a second, and saw that this ticket hasn't been used at all! I was moved by this act of philanthropy by a woman I've never met before. To top it all off, just before she disappeared into the grid of skyscapers around Downtown, she said to me "Just Pay it Forward". It's amazing to see how selfless people can still be in a world full of people who would rather be the opposite. This is philanthropy.

-Amit

Frisco High School Walks Out Part 2

For those wondering what my previous statement was regarding:

Several days ago, the superintendent of Frisco ISD, Dr. Lyon, sent an email to the parents of Frisco High School Students. The letter was a notification that the current principal at Frisco High School, Sylvia Palacios, was being "reassigned" to another position in the district. Many viewed this as a demotion, and disapproved of the district administration's decision. Students and staff believe the "reassignment" is due to a few parents complaining to the school board about her and claiming she should be "disciplined". In the eyes of many students, the school board was unjustified in their actions because -contrary to what some parents believe- the principal at Frisco High School was admired by most of the students. Many students have claimed to share a bond with Ms. Palacios that they haven't shared with any other educator before. In support of Ms. Palacios, the students of Frisco High organized a 2 mile march from the school to the Administration Building that will take place at around 12:15. The students hope to collectively show the district their position and get the administration to reverse the decision of her demotion.

Since I never went to Frisco High School, I never knew Ms. Palacios. However, after seeing the outrage most of the students, I can only believe that she made an extraordinary impact in the students' lives. It's amazing to see students fight for "righteousness" and "justice". And don't get me wrong: I am not and never have been "against Frisco ISD". I always support their decisions because I see the growth that it brings, but this time…I think the students (not the parents) know best.

Frisco High School Walks Out

Good luck Frisco High School students! I'm proud of you guys for standing up for a wrongful demotion. Walk with righteousness.