ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

"ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Donations Just Topped $100 Million"
By: Justin Worland
Source: Time Magazine
http://time.com/3222224/als-ice-bucket-challenge-donations-million/

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease, is a rapidly progressive, usually fatal neurological disease that attacks the body's neurons which are responsible for controlling voluntary muscles movments. Eventually, all muscles under voluntary control are affected, and individuals lose their strength ability to move arms, legs, and the rest of the body. Most people with ALS die from respiratory failure, usually within three to five years. However, about 10 percent survive for 10 or more years. 
Donations from the Ice Bucket Challenge reached over $100 million this Friday. People all around the world are dumping buckets of ice on their heads and donating to the ALS Association to help raise awareness and help people combat the Lou Gehrig’s disease. This year the ALS Association raised $100 million in donations which came from more than 3 million donors who have contributed when seeing the ALS Ice Bucket challenge that became viral in late July of 2014. The ALS Association raised only $2.8 million in the same period last year which is a huge difference. 
“The word gratitude doesn’t do enough to express what we are feeling right now,” said the ALS Association's President and CEO, Barbara Newhouse (Worland 1).
The Ice Bucket Challenge has been a phenomenon on many different social networks like on Facebook, Instagram, and etc. It grabbed many people's attention including many celebrities and political figures. The idea of getting people involved with a fun way has forever changed the way charities approach fundraising.The ALS Association has committed to find effective treatments with these donations and find a cure for Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Their research effort has increased the number of scientists working on ALS who have advanced with new discoveries and treatments.

Queen Elizabeth

Queen Elizabeth was a strong ruler of England in 1588. She gave a speech dressed in armor and ready for battle with her troops against the Spanish Armada. Even though her troops were tired, underpaid, and hungry, she gave them an encouraging speech which helped them win the battle. It did not matter that they were outnumbered. In her speech, she talked with confidence. The subject of her speech was about the war, how the soldiers needed to stand tall, and how they needed to win. The location of her speech was on the battle field during the war between England and Spain in 1588. She talked bravely to her troops and bodyguards. It was a speech meant for all of England and she wanted to pass on the message of how she was going to fight until the very end. She wanted to tell the tired, hungry soldiers that they need to fight until the end. She informed them that she will fight with them, she encouraged them to do their best, and she lead them to victory. Queen Elizabeth, the one giving the speech, held her head high and admitted that she might be a weak and feeble woman, but she will fight as a king because she has a heart just like a king. She gave a speech which was strong, motivational, and helpful and made the soldiers look at their queen as a confident leader.

Looking at the SOAPST of this piece of literature helps us analyze who is giving the speech, where, why, and how it has affected other people. The speech was strong and therefore effective and made the listeners look up to the queen and it also encouraged them to win the battle against Spain even though they were outnumbered. 

Earthquake of Napa

"Losses From California Quake Could Top $1 Billion"

By: Quentin Hardy and Ian Lovett

Source: The New York Times 

<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/25/us/strong-earthquake-shakes-bay-area-in-california.html?ref=us&_r=0>

August 24, early Sunday morning, struck the 6.0 earthquake at 3:20 a.m. in the San Francisco Bay Area. With the earthquake came suffering, destruction, and injuries. Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency. He directed state resources toward a recovery effort in Napa. The earthquake destroyed homes, ruptured dozens of water and gas mains and caused injuries to more than 100 people. Luckily, the injuries were mostly minor. About 120 people were taken to the hospital. Vanessa deGier, a hospital spokeswoman, said, "Most of the injuries were minor lacerations or abrasions caused by falling debris. But three patients were in critical condition, including a child who had been crushed by a falling fireplace."(page 1).  No deaths had been confirmed since Sunday night.

The United States Geological Survey estimates about $1 billion of damage. However, scientists said it could have been worse since back in 1906 during the San Francisco earthquake, the tremor was about 500 times larger than Sunday’s temblor. “It is truly small compared to what California has experienced in its recorded history,” said Ross S. Stein, a geophysicist at the United States Geological Survey (page 1). Even though it was geologically small, the earthquake unleashed a lot of chaos in many parts of the Napa Valley and cost a lot of money. Because a water main was ruptured from the earthquake, however, firefighters were trying but were unable to connect to the hydrant to fight the fires. They had to bring in water from other places.

UN Women Ad

I chose this ad because it is a very powerful image and makes a strong point. The ethos is shown in the corner right with the UN Women logo and website. The UN is a known organization all over the world and tries to get the world to get together and create international cooperation. The viewer can look at this advertisement and trust that the UN is making an important point because it is an important organization. Shown on top of the search bar says "Actual Google search" which shows that the searches can actually be found on Google. This is the logos of the advertisement followed by the four search options that come up. The four options come up because they have been searched more than once before which just proves how there are people who do not see women as equals. The sorrowful eyes of the woman in the advertisement have been used as the pathos. She catches the viewer's eye and by looking into hers, they can feel her pain and misery. The writing is also the pathos because reading what people have searched about how women should be put in place, controlled, and disciplined, aggravates the reader and makes them want to stand up for women's rights.

This ad is effective because it catches the viewer's attention and, by showing the women's melancholic face, it clearly points out that women need to be seen as equal. It uses ethos, logos, and pathos well and gets the point through to whoever sees it.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

If I had to choose and pick a favorite book from all the books I have read, it would definitely be A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I did not choose this book as my favorite book for any other reason but how much I enjoyed reading it. It was a type of book I could not put down because if I did, I would constantly be asking myself, "How is Mariam planning on escaping this situation?" or "Does Laila's plan actually work?" The book started off during Mariam's teenage years, then, years later, it went to Laila's teenage years, and continued to when they lived in the same house, married to the same abusive man.
Not only did this book fascinate me, but it also opened my eyes. It taught me how unfair life could be, how inhumane humanity is, and how these problems still occur in our world today. There are so many problems in the world that we are not aware of. It is unfair that women have and still continue to suffer. It is unfair that bombs are killing innocent lives. It is unfair that people in our modern world still have no rights.We are lucky to be living in a country where our rights are protected, where we can stand up for what we believe in, and we can express ourselves however we want.
I am glad I read this book and learned so much from it. Mariam's strength inspired me. Laila's hope galvanized me. Rasheed's punishment showed me that justice will be served. A Thousand Splendid Suns really influenced me to become a strong, hopeful, and educated women and stand up for what I believe in. This is why it is my favorite book.