This picture was selected by Insider as one of the 35 most powerful photos in 2020. It depicts Dr. Joseph Varon comforting a patient on Thanksgiving in a Houston hospital’s Covid-19 ICU. Under the picture, Insider remarks that Varon had worked for 251 consecutive days to help combat the Coronavirus.

This image conveys the emotional impact of the Covid-19 pandemic by catching an intimate moment between Varon and his patient. This picture put people back in touch with reality. Many people were stuck at home during this time and did not understand the hectic and emotionally draining atmosphere of the hospitals during the height of the pandemic.

This photo takes an emotional toll on those who see it because you can have faith in people like Varon that are showing humility in such a difficult time. Especially in a time where human contact is so scarce because of social distancing, it is heart wrenching to see the patient breaking down in Varon’s arms. This human contact shows how important it is for people to have each other, whether that be emotionally or physically, so that they do not have to go through everything on their own. The bland white wall in the background with no decorations makes the hospital seem even more depressing and lonely.

This photograph displays many symbols to emphasize praise for the frontline workers who are trying to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus and help those in need. Varon is in layers of protective gear, which is used to show viewers how much he is risking himself to help the greater good. For one, the doctor is much bigger and stronger than the patient, indicating that the Varon is protecting him, not only emotionally, but physically too. To add to the contrast between big and strong in comparison to small and weak, the patient looks very frail and is tucking his head into the chest of Varon. The patient is dressed fully in white, even his hair, and he blends into the dullness of the wall. Varon is dressed completely in a light blue that makes him stand out and be the focal point of this image, furthering the point that he is strong and important.

If you have paid any attention to professional baseball in the last 10 years, you know the name Bryce Harper. Not only is he a six-time all-star, but in 2019 he signed a record-breaking $330 million, 13-year contract. In the three years since signing this deal – especially this year—Bryce Harper has shown Phillies fans and management why he was worthy of such a large payout. This season, he put up astonishing stats, placing first in the league in OPS (on base plus slugging). He is also the fourth player in MLB history to accumulate 100 runs, 100 walks, 40 doubles, and 35 home runs in one season.

Harper has started off this year’s collection of awards with the National League Outstanding Player award in the 2021 Players Choice Awards. Players across the league determined that Bryce Harper had such a remarkable season and nominated him for the award.

Harper then received the Hank Aaron award, which is given to the best offensive player in each league. Bryce Harper joins former Phillie Ryan Howard as the only Phillies to ever win the Hank Aaron award. The American League’s recipient of the Hank Aaron award was Vladimir Guerro Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays. Guerro is another finalist for this year’s MVP award.

Harper also received the Silver Slugger Award, which is awarded to the best player at each position, for his performance in the outfield. This is the second time Harper has won this award, the first time being in 2015.

Harper is now an MVP finalist. The winner will be announced on Thursday night, and there is plenty of speculation that Harper will be the winner, with Phillies Legend Mike Schmidt being asked to present the award.

Regardless of whether Harper wins MVP, it is undeniable that he had a spectacular season and was the heart of this disappointing Phillies team. Not only was he a leader in terms of statistics and play, but he took charge in the locker room, rallying the team to put out their best effort. If the Phillies would be able to add some talent to the lineup, the Phillies could have a chance of at least making the playoffs. However, with their past financial choices, there is not much room left in the budget to get these game-changing players. Only time will tell what the future is for the Phillies, but until then, I am looking forward to the announcement of the 2021 MLB MVP winner.

February 8, 2018. Philly fans stormed the streets to celebrate the Eagle’s momentous Super Bowl win. In true Philadelphia fashion, it was total madness. This victory had been decades in the making, so it was only right that it got an over-the-top celebration.

Fans bombarded Broad Street as early as 4 a.m., more than 7 hours before the official start of the parade to prepare themselves. Philly fans love their sports teams, and this parade was truly representative of that. As we walked through the streets, you could feel the energy of all the fans. Everyone was rejoicing and interacting positively with one another.

You couldn’t go more than ten minutes without hearing a “Go birds” or a “E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles” chant. This sort of energy continued beyond the Super Bowl victory and beyond the parade and can still be heard throughout Philadelphia and various Philly sporting events.

Walking around Broad Street, you also so multiple people with “Free Meek” signs, referencing rapper Meek Mill, the singer of “Dreams and Nightmares”, the song that played as the Eagles ran onto the field on the day of the Super Bowl. Meek Mill is now forever associated with that Eagles victory and “Dreams and Nightmares” has become an anthem for the city.

As this was the first Super Bowl in all of Eagles franchise history, essentially everyone took off work and school to come see the parade. It did not matter if you were a hardcore Eagles fan or not; this was something that you might not see again for a very long time, so if you had the opportunity, you were making every effort to attend. So many students at my high school planned on missing class to attend that they sent out an attendance waiver so that we could all have an excused absence. Students who did attend class that day recall there being a maximum of three students per class and there not being enough teachers or substitutes for all of the classes.

The energy on Broad Street that day was an out of body experience, and truly one of my favorite memories regarding Philadelphia sports.

If you want to actually see some of the craziness that occurred on that day, I highly recommend going to this link and watching some of the videos.

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/02/philadelphia-eagles-super-bowl-parade-photos-video-pederson-kelce-foles-wentz-climbing-poles-crazy

Reality TV. You love it, you hate it, you tolerate it. No matter what your outlook is on it, you cannot deny that it is heavily entertaining. All the drama keeps viewers coming back with their eyes glued to the screen for season after season.

Reality TV did not start out as the highly dramatized series that we now know it as. Rather, the whole idea of reality TV was simply based on the lack of a script. It was meant to just be capturing the way people go about their lives on a day to day basis. Since then, it has been realized that people have a flare for the dramatics, and in order to continue receiving viewership, shows have fed into those dramatics, losing the authenticity and “reality” of the show.

I think that looking at this subject can help us to understand a little bit more about the entertainment industry. As we can see from this example, producers were more than willing to give up on the true meaning of reality television in exchange for some extra money in their pockets. I think it would be interesting to investigate a little deeper into how these changes happened over the last 80 years that we have had reality television.

I am particularly interested in this subject matter because I have definitely fell into the trap of reality TV shows. I have watched my fair share of episodes – and seasons – of shows like Big Brother, Survivor, the Bachelor franchise, Keeping up With the Kardashians, etc. There is something about these shows that I cannot stay away from, and I know that I am not alone in that feeling.

Reality TV has a grasp over society, and not only does it keep us watching, but it affects our outlook on different things, so that is something I would like to explore in this project. I think that it would be interesting to look at the correlation between the evolution of society and the evolution of reality TV, to see how they play into one another. It would also be interesting to look at how the targeted demographic for these shows has evolved over time.

If you are taking a trip to Citizens Bank Park, one face you can always expect to see is that of the Phillie Phanatic. His green fur, tree trunk nose, and large belly are recognizable from almost anywhere. His crazy looks, coupled with his over the top personality, have made him a fan favorite.

However, before the start of the 2020 season, the Phillie Phanatic got a new look. He underwent some minor changes, like new shoes and socks, a significantly bluer tail, less of a stomach, and star eyelashes instead of his flower petal ones.

What was the reason for changing up this city’s beloved mascot? The Phillies made these changes to avoid paying royalties to Bonnie Erickson and Wayde Harrison, the original designers and creators of the Phanatic. In 2018, Erickson and Harrison told the Phillies that when their 35-year license on the Phanatic expired in 2018, that they would be looking for royalties. Though the Phillies bought the rights to the Phanatic in 1984, Erickson and Harrison were permitted to renegotiate the rights after 35 years.

Instead of paying up, the Phillies went to court against Erickson and Harrison, and decided that they would make minor changes to avoid paying the royalty. These minor changes were deemed as different enough from the original design that the Phillies were able to avoid paying the royalty.

Fans certainly have mixed feelings about the new Phanatic. Some do not think that these changes are that big of a deal and would rather focus on the game than the mascot. Others think that changing the Phanatic is a disservice to the Phillies’ spirit.

Though I don’t mind most of the changes that have been made to the Phanatic, the extra blue tail is one thing that I cannot get over. I think that it really takes away from his greenness, and just overall looks off-putting. However, the Phillies have given me enough else to worry about, that the Phanatic is just not at the top of my priority list.

Whether you like the new design or not, it looks like this new Phanatic is here to stay, so you might as well get used to it.

https://www.ted.com/talks/isha_datar_how_we_could_eat_real_meat_without_harming_animals/up-next

The TED Talk that I listened to was “How We Could Eat Real Meat Without Harming Animals” and was presented by Isha Datar. This TED Talk peaked my interest because I became a vegetarian four years ago, mainly because of ethical reasons having to do with the mannerism in which animals are slaughtered for our consumption.

Datar’s thesis in this speech was that animal proteins don not need to come from animals anymore; we could create a new food system by turning to new technologies to grow meat from muscle cells rather than raising and killing animals. Datar’s goal was to educate her audience about the opportunity for cellular agriculture to become the country’s main – and only – source of meat. She first discusses what cellular agriculture is, as the majority of her audience was likely unaware of the topic, and then shifts to explaining the great benefits that this form of food production would have on the world and why it should be implemented.

Some of the main takeaways that I had from this TED Talk were that switching to cellular agriculture would take up less land and water, as well as reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. These resources – especially – the land, could be reallocated to more pressing needs. Some of the examples that she gave were that we could use this land to restore the Amazon Rainforest and other ecosystems, or return this land to natives that have previously been pushed onto reserves.

I also took away how big of an issue breeding is among animals made from consumption. By choosing the biggest animals to breed with one another, we are forcing evolution in animals like chickens. To combat this, we have to kill them at anywhere between six and eight weeks, or else they will get too big and their legs will not be able to support themselves.

Datar does a great job of using visuals and statistics to support what she is saying. When talking about the chickens, she accompanied her words with a picture that showed what chickens are typically like, and what they look like when they are being bred for consumption. It was jarring how large the difference was between the animals.

I think that presentations typically offer more than just words. Datar was an effective speaker because of her visuals, use of hand signals, and the inflection of her voice. Because of Datar’s use of visuals, I would say that she gave a presentation, rather than a speech.

Wednesday, October 20^th marks the season opener for the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers will face off against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. I certainly think that the Sixers are capable of winning this game, but I do not think that this will be the type of blowout that fans might have seen last year.

Expectations are high for the 76ers, but perhaps not as high as they have been in recent years. The Sixers still have an extremely talented lineup, but Ben Simmons’ behavior has certainly tarnished the reputation of this team. After being removed from practice yesterday for “conduct detrimental to the team,” he has been suspended from this game. Though I’m not convinced that Simmons would have played had he not been suspended, his presence on the court has been largely impactful in the last 5 years.

Other than Simmons being replaced in tonight’s lineup with second-year rookie Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers’ starting five remains the same, with Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, Seth Curry, and Danny Green returning to the court. All of these players have achieved great success in the league and had solid seasons last year.

Tobias Harris stepped up largely last season and earned the respect of many Sixers fans. He was in contention for a spot in the 2021 All-Star Game, and many fans were disappointed to see that he was not selected. Nonetheless, he acted as the primary point-scorer on the team after Joel Embiid and played a vital role in the success of the team, both during the regular season and in their playoff run.

Sixers fans are also excited to see Joel Embiid take the court again after another impressive season last year. Joel Embiid has shown up time and time again, being the heart and soul of the Philadelphia 76ers. He finished 2^nd in the MVP race last season after the Denver Nugget’s Nikola Jokic. Not only has he impressed fans with his basketball skills, but he seems to embody the spirit of Philly fans and has made this his home.

I definitely like the Sixers chances of coming out of this game with a win, but they are going to need to work for it. I’m excited to see the team’s chemistry with Maxey as their primary ball-handler. I am sure the Sixers will have another successful year, but I am not sure that they will be able to reach the 1^st seed in the east again, nor do I think that they will be walking away from this season with a championship.

Still, I am excited to watch the Sixers take the court tonight!

Abortion is one of the most heavily debated topics in the current political climate. Pretty much everyone has an opinion about whether or not it is moral and who should get a say in the debate. Many people use religion to back their viewpoint, typically using the argument that abortion goes against the bible.

It takes only one glance at this car to know what the owner’s stance on abortion is: they are against it. The back of this car is littered with anti-abortion and pro-life propaganda. Many of these bumper stickers also focus on God and His perceived perspective on the issue.

Many of these bumper stickers rely on the commonplace that God is real and that the audience believes in Him. Many of the bumper stickers imply, or flat out say, that you cannot be a Christian and pro-choice. It is implied that God will not love you and that you are doing a disservice to Him by being pro-choice. If you are not Christian, the argument that God disagrees with abortion really means nothing to you. However, if you are heavily devoted to the Christian faith, this may take a serious hold on you.

The Bible is really all about interpretation, so there may be Christians that feel that God would support abortions and a woman’s right to choose what she does with their bodies. This car’s owner is relying on the fact that onlookers have the same perception of the Bible as they do.

A main focal point for an effective bumper sticker is that the lettering is large and there are few words. On this car, I can only make out what is being said on a couple of the bumper stickers. Some of the smaller ones that have many words are harder to read, and therefore less convincing. Perhaps if you were stopped behind this car at a red light, you might be able to understand the details of what is being said.However, if you are driving near this car, there are only a few bumper stickers that are going to stand out and get their point across.

The 76ers have been having issues with Ben Simmons for years, and that has only amped up since the 2020-21 season playoffs. However, in the last month and a half, things with Ben Simmons have gone completely south.

For years, the Sixers coaching staff and Philadelphia fans have been entirely transparent with Ben Simmons about the importance of him developing a jump shot. Though he has continued to make the all-star team and put up solid numbers year after year, very little improvement has been seen in terms of his free-throw shooting and his attempts to take 3-pointers.

Ben Simmons has also gotten into turmoil about his lack of cohesiveness and chemistry with the current face of the Sixers, Joel Embiid. It does not seem like they fit well together, and if one of those players had to go, nearly everyone would agree that it should be Simmons. Though Embiid has denied any poor relations with Simmons, their performance on the court speaks for themselves.

There has also been issues with Simmons about his happiness in Philadelphia. He seems to spend a lot of time in Los Angeles during the off season, living it up rather than improving his game. There has been a lot of speculation that he would rather be on a team like the Lakers than the Sixers.

Those rumors were essentially confirmed last month when Simmons said that he will be refusing to come back to the Sixers for the coming season, and that he will not even be attending training camp. Even with his hefty contract still having multiple years left on it, that was not enough to convince him to stay.

As a fan, this is completely frustrating to hear. Though I am not particularly fond of Ben Simmons, it just feels disrespectful for him to act in such a childish way. When he is getting paid so much money, the expectation is that he is going to be working on his areas of weakness during the off season. In addition, the way he went about announcing that he will not be coming back makes him lose a lot of trade value, and puts the Sixers in a poor place to start the season.

Ben Simmons will not be missed. Good riddance.

Pretzel Crisps are one of my favorite snacks. I love everything about them – well, not everything, I guess. This Pretzel Crisps ad, which appears to be plastered on the side of a bus stop, is so poorly constructed, that I cannot believe that it was approved by the marketing team.

If there were different words on this advertisement, it would be a lot more likeable. This ad is very neatly organized. The plain white background and clean black letters make the design simple yet effective. The actual product – the pretzel chip – is enlarged to show the details of the snack. People looking at this ad can see details, like the salt on the pretzel. The bag is also enlarged, showing potential customers what they would be looking for in stores.

Persuasive appeals that are used in this ad are the bright colors coming from the pretzel chips and the bag, that draw people’s eyes to the advertisement. The use of very few words makes the ad more effective. It seems to be placed in a busy city, so people likely don’t have time to just stop and read an advertisement with a lot of words. This ad gets right to the point and the message can be received in 10 seconds. The ad also uses the word “you”, making it more targeted directly at the audience.

However, despite the good overall design of the ad, the wording makes this an epic fail. The phrase “You can never be too thin” lacks sensitivity and can be extremely triggering for someone who might see it. This phrase, though directed at the pretzel chips, can be applicable to the topic of body image. How people perceive their body and the bodies of others is a large issue in society, with so many expectations for what a body is “supposed to look like”. Many people have experienced body dysmorphia and endured eating disorders in the hopes of becoming skinnier. Reading this ad may reaffirm for them that they are not thin enough, or that they should continue harmful practices to achieve an unhealthy level of thinness. The dual meaning of this phrase is so apparent that I do not understand how nobody in the Pretzel Crisps marketing team picked up on it.