Author: ajstevenson

Project: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1pKoQ5sqDqieyZU8_z9NiWb__6w9Its7rsYmuAGY77rU/edit?usp=sharing    Two most influential ideas?   I enjoyed the Times Union quote ¨Grow up and think like a kid again¨ a lot. It clicked with me and I felt throughout researching this project that there a lot of traits adults could adopt or relearn from kids   Additionally, I think this project further emphasizes the need for kids to grow up in a stable environment. Of course this is not something most people are unaware of but I think this project reminded me of its importance   What do you hope people will learn from your project?   … Continue reading Voices Project

I did not know what to write this blog about so I asked my dad. He suggested writing about binge watching (while binge watching) and it’s negative effects. The suggestion was a welcome one and it immediately made me think of an anecdote I heard relating to more effectively binge watching. I’ll try and tie it all together.   Starting with binge watching. I don’t really watch shows myself but I see the appeal. I find it hard to commit to long seasons and envy those that do it with ease, I tend to stick to shorter forms of entertainment … Continue reading Binge Watching

I think Baseball is the stupidest mainstream sport. If Earth was threatened by aliens and we presented baseball as a large part of our culture, I think they would kill us all of right then. The general premise could be created by a caveman: use a stick to hit a ball, however, the millions of rules and game design oddity make it very confusing. I can’t say I am an avid fan of baseball myself, though I do respect its ability to create odd situations and statistical hilarity/insanity. I mean in what other sport can someone achieve an elite single … Continue reading Baseball is really dumb but kinda ok

NFL Defensive Coordinators are bad at their jobs. There’s no way the bulk of the position can be complimented for much of anything, offensive efficiency and production has skyrocketed in just the last seven years due to new schemes, plays, play styles and most importantly, lack of innovation on the defensive end. Why is it in the NFL for the last 36 years >99% of teams have run the same base movements of a 4-3 or 3-4. Logic tells you that both of those defenses and their base alignments mostly fall in the middle of the aggressive vs. non aggressive … Continue reading Football

My difficulties with Mildred Plew Merryman´s poem began with its titling. The way it is presented (especially in a book surrounded by poetry that is not exclusively Mildred´s) made it seem as though it was genuinely observed at an Indian Grave. The first warning signs to otherwise actually came before I did any research. The usage of ¨Indian¨ along with ¨Seminole¨ seemed counter intuitive; why use two separate identifications – each broad – in such close context. If self Identified, I imagine the people the poem aims to imitate would more accurately label themselves. After all, the term ¨Indian¨ has … Continue reading Difficulty

When looking at the opposite views of oneself, it is easy to fall victim to dehumanizing those who express contradicting opinions. I believe that to effectively debate and persuade, opposition research and empathy are required traits. This post is not at all intended to preach centrism or working across the aisle, but rather point out that cancel culture is a mostly ineffective means of converting others to what I would consider a more just world view. Ignorance is a word used far too little in political discourse. In its place we levy futile insults towards easily condemnable people: racists, bigots, … Continue reading Cancelling

Competition is atypically mentioned in the same breath as reading. Growing up, like any other child, literature was naturally a large part of my upbringing. I took great interest in various novels across diverse genres, I would poke my head in any of the Percy Jackson epics just as soon as I would a Guinness World Records book. The annual book fair was one of my favorite days of the school year and I can still recall begging my mother to read me Peter Pan. An appreciation and enjoyment of reading is nothing out of the ordinary. However, my insatiable … Continue reading Synthesis > Speed

By some form of bad luck, divine intervention, or maybe even curse, I cannot escape the door handle’s grasp, which I mean quite literally. Whenever I am having a bad day, I always find myself caught on a door handle. Be it loose pants, a sweatshirt, or a sleeve, I walk home after a long day of school ready to rest, opening my door and proceeding into my bedroom only to be halted by what appears to be some sort of invisible force field. Only it is nothing invisible, rather the cruel and unusual justice of the door handle.   … Continue reading Door Handle