Jared’s Blog

Many TV shows nowadays have a similar problem, getting canceled before they are able to finish the story. While this is very common, some shows that are able to conclude their stories end up leaving the fans of the shows dissatisfied and wanting a different ending. Lost fits a category similar to this. During its time on tv, Lost was praised by critics and the ge real audience alike as being the best modern tv show and one of the best shows ever. Then, they saw the end and it split the viewers down the middle. No matter what you thought about the ending of Lost, you cannot deny that it is a very special and unique show because despite having ended 9 years ago, it is still talked about today. Lost is a show filled with hidden meanings, metaphorical imagery, and cliffhangers, which is exactly the way the show ended but it doesn’t change people’s opinions about it. Monroe Township High School Freshman, Owen Yanucci said this concerning the ending of Lost, “It was such a disappointment. Lost was such a brilliant show, it was my favorite show for so long. But the ending was just so strange and it didn’t make sense.” When it comes to Lost’s fan base, you either love the ending or hate the ending. High School Freshman Jared DeMarco said, “I really liked the ending. I think people’s problems is that they didn’t get it, and it took me a second to think about it, but I got it after a while. Lost is a show that makes you think, that’s people’s problem they don’t think when they see something.” However, while the ending of Lost is the most commonly talked about part of the show, it should not overshadow the rest. From the first episode, Lost uses questions, cliffhangers, and subtle lines throughout the first few episodes to capture its viewers. Lost is the best kind of addicting show because every episode feels like the season finale in terms of the way that it concludes. After finishing an episode you need to see what happens next. The plot of Lost follows a plane flight that went over 1,000 miles off course before crashing on an island. After settling down, the survivors of the crash have to deal with survival on the island as well as some mysterious and possibly supernatural forces present on the island with them. With the brilliant way that Lost is written, it also didn’t even need excellent performances to make it a great show, but every actor in Lost brings something special and unique to their performance. Everybody expresses their own way of looking at life while displaying the same feeling of hopelessness.

Films have always been a controversial topic of discussion. Everybody has their own opinion about any topic there is, especially films. However, when the vast majority of people can come together and call something the greatest of all time, that is a rare and special case. Since it was released in theaters in 1972, The Godfather has often been considered to be the greatest films of all time (alongside Citizen Kane). High School Freshman Jacob Huttenberger said, “I’ll admit, I don’t have much of an attention span. But even though this movie was three hours long, it managed to keep me engaged throughout the entire movie. The story is just fascinating and the characters are very well portrayed.” This film follows the Corloeone Crime Family led by Vito Corleone. Vito has four children Michael, Sonny, Connie, and Fredo. Sonny and Fredo are a part of Vito’s mafia while Michael has been off fighting in World War Two. He comes back in time for his sister’s wedding where he slowly begins to make his own way into the “family business”. Vito and his gang show Michael their way of living and how to act and what to say when they are “working”. When Vito is shot and hospitalized by a rival family, Michael is left to take his father’s place. The film takes you on a journey into a different world with unique rules and people. In order to fully bring this world to life however, the cast could be nothing short of amazing which they were. Marlon Brando, who plays Vito, won an Oscar for best actor and the movie overall won the Best Picture award. However, the movie is full of wonderful and intense performances, other than Marlon Brando, the most notable performance would be that of James Caan, as Vito’s son Sonny. He goes from playing a carefree, happy person in the beginning of the film to anxious, angry, and intense as the film progresses. High School Freshman Priyanshu Mendirstta said this regarding Marlon Brando’s performance, “It is one of the best performances I have ever seen in a movie. Marlon Brando brings his character to life and actually makes him feel like a real person with real struggles despite being portrayed by his peers as a once in a lifetime person.” Perhaps the most engaging thing about The Godfather is the fact that every line spoken, every bit of body language, every character decision, and facial expression of the characters both makes sense and is important to the plot later on. One example of this is Sonny’s quick change of expression when he sees an unwanted photographer taking pictures of his family during his sisters wedding. He explodes into anger, breaks the camera and throws the man into a car, only for his brother to point out that he is overreacting. This shows Sonny’s temper and strong feelings for his family which show up in the film again when he discovers that Connie’s husband abuses her and he lets his anger take control by almost beating him to death.

Since the creation of schools, there have always been those that require uniforms. No matter the reason or the purpose of the uniforms, students and parents alike have been fighting against them for over a decade. The belief is that school uniforms improve school safety and academic discipline, although many disagree. It was back in the 80s when school uniforms really became popular. “In the 1980s, public schools were often compared unfavorably to Catholic schools. Noting the perceived benefit that uniforms conferred upon Catholic schools, some public schools decided to adopt a school uniform policy.” According to the schools that require uniforms, they are helpful in preventing “gangs” of students forming, stressing discipline, helps students to prevent the pressure to buy popular or “trendy” clothes, helping to identify unwanted people that may be in the school, preventing poor students from getting bullied for what they wear, and improving school attendance. The opposition side says that when students are forced to wear uniforms to school, it violates their right to freedom of expression, they make students more likely to get bullied by children of other schools, the uniforms are typically expensive and a problem for poor families to purchase, and they are difficult to make mandatory in a public school environment. When asked if school uniforms were necessary, Monroe Township High School student Nikhil Reddy had this to say, “School uniforms can be necessary, but they are not entirely needed for discipline, schools can just have clothes regulation, but I don’t think that uniforms are important for a school. Clothing should not matter too much, and I think other things like organization is way more important.” Personally, I think that there should be somewhat of a restriction on. What students wear but I think school uniforms are a but too much. I believe that a well enforced dress code can do the job of a school uniform better because it will not be a financial burden and students can be allowed to express themselves in public environments. However, there are some people that do not believe there should be any restriction whatsoever on hat students wear to school. Such as Emery Kratchman, another student at Monroe Township High School who said, “School uniforms are so unnecessary, they are too expensive and not needed in a school environment. I think students should be able to express themselves however they chose and if the school wants to enforce discipline they should just have stricter rules or get better teachers.”

Jon Stewart, long time comedian and former host of the Daily Show has not been afraid to share his opinions concerning the 9/11 attacks. He was present at the Victim Compensation Fund had several outburst and rage and emotion during his speech. First off, this is a very sensitive topic for Jon Stewart since he witnessed the attacks from his apartment window. Due to the fact that many Congress members skipped the hearing due to a lack of interest in a subject that occurred eighteen years ago, Jon Stewart addressed all of them by saying “It’s an embarrassment to the country and you should be ashamed of yourselves.” This was only his latest effort in supporting the 9/11 victims which has been a priority of his since the attacks occurred. Stewart was testifying in Washington to help a fund that congress created for those who were impacted by the attacks of 9/11 and are still suffering from them today is running out of money. He is trying to propose a bill to keep the fund going. Stewart is also angry about how the fund has been treated, because it has been ignored shut down and restarted since it was opened but now it is losing money. “Congress first created the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund in 2001 to provide money to the families of people who died or were injured when the World Trade Center’s twin towers collapsed in a terrorist attack. (The fund was intended, in part, to limit lawsuits against airlines and other entities.) The fund stopped operating in 2004, as planned. But in 2010, lawmakers pushed to reauthorize it, this time to provide medical care and financial aid to emergency personnel, volunteers and survivors who inhaled toxic dust, smoke and fumes at the site of the attack. The fund began processing claims again in 2011 and was most recently renewed in 2015. Since 2011, Congress has appropriated about $7.4 billion to the fund.” When COngress reinstated the fund which would only have enough money to last until December 2020. However, Stewart does not want the fund to ever run out, he is very sympathetic to those who were affected by the attacks. Since they cannot do much in terms of providing for themselves since thy are either injured, handicapped, or ill, Stewart views it as the responsibility of the government and people of the country to care for them and provide them with aid. Since the fund has been heavily deleting since February, the amount distributed to people had to be drastically lowered. Stewart’s feelings about the attacks and the survivors have been iminent from day one. The first episode of the “Daily Show” after the attacks occurred was opened by an emotional and heartfelt address by Jon Stewart. “Now it’s gone, and they attacked it,” he said through tears. “This symbol of American ingenuity and strength and labor and imagination and commerce and it is gone.”

Donna Viero, Holmdel Township administrator, was sent on a paid leave over one month ago for several accusations thrown his way of favoring those who were friends or family. Recently, more complaints about him have come in regarding from many missed work days to improperly issued township checks. On Tuesday June eleven, the township committee of Holmdel took a poll as to whether or not Donna Viero should stay on leave. The poll came back three votes to two in favor of keeping Donna Viero on leave for an undefined amount of time as of now. Attorney Sean Kean, was hired to investigate the claims of nepotism made against Viero. After he conducted his investigation, he had this to say, “During the course of our investigation allegations of potential wrongdoing have been made against Ms. Donna Vieiro,” He went on to explain that the allegations included, missing approximately 80 days of work in 2017 and demanding that the record be changed as to not reflect his absences, placing an expenditure of over 2 million dollars on a turf field without the knowledge or approval of the rest of the Township Committee, forcing several employees of the township to issue checks to an “unauthorized individual”, and discussing private information with an “unauthorized individual” concerning the Council on Affordable Housing and not telling the governing body about his actions. Sean Kean would then go on to say, after listing the allegations against Donna Viero, “We find it necessary to report the above concerns and allegations to you so that you and the governing body can determine how to proceed with the investigation of these additional claims,” The governing body has elected to keep Kean’s investigation on going for a currently unspecified amount of time. If Kean does discover more allegations made against Viero or more evidence that incriminates him, than Veiro will have to step down from his position Holmdel Township administrator and will either face a large fine or possible jail time. While the Township Committee does find it more than necessary to continue an investigation, they are still not entirely in agreement, afterall there were two votes against making Viero take a leave and two votes against Kean continuing his investigation. “This is bad money after bad money, why are you continuing the investigation? You are hurting the town.” Said Mayor Eric Hinds. He was however in the majority with Committee member Gregory Buontempo saying this, “The investigation needs to be thorough, none of us here created this situation.”