Windows. Dark, black, windows. CRINGE

It’s nighttime and you’re lying in bed. You’re fine that the door is closed. You’re fine with the fact that you have no lights in your room on (except for the occasional night-light, of course). What you’re NOT fine with is the fact that your bedroom windows are black. Yeah, you can see some street lights, and if you’re in a big city, you see a few store lights on. But overall you can’t see a thing.

That’s my most common fear, after heights (ironic, considering I’m 6 feet tall at 17). Looking out a window during the day is absolutely fine, but the fact that you don’t know someone is outside your window at night is absolutely terrifying.

That’s why I always keep my windows closed and covered. I also (for good measure) turn away when I go to sleep. I can't say it stops the fear, but it certainly makes me feel a bit better.

It frustrates my mom when she comes in my room. She seems to think that it’s just me wanting to isolate myself from the outside world, but I don’t have the heart to tell her what actually is bothering me.

Hopefully I have implanted the seed of fear in all of your heads of dark windows. If so, mission accomplished.

Campaign Ad Analysis

The "Nixon's Experience?" ad is in support of John F. Kennedy, who won the 1960 presidential election over Richard Nixon. The ad details the lack of experience that Nixon displayed as Vice-President under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, by asking Eisenhower whether Nixon ever had a major idea that Eisenhower implemented. Eisenhower gives a rather witty line in the form of "If you give me a week, I might think of one, I can't remember." The makers of the ad obviously mean that despite Nixon and other Republicans trying to boost his standing by saying that he had experience enough to run the country. Ethos is put to work in this ad by actually showing the lack of ethos that Nixon had. Also, the decorum used in the ad is excellent, putting Kennedy on the side of the voters, saying "President Eisenhower could not remember, but the voters will remember." This uses some form of logos, the "if...then..." logic. If one candidate has little to no experience, then the other candidate will have experience worthy of the office.

A 1984 ad for Ronald Reagan, the incumbent and winner of that election over Walter Mondale, showcases how America improved in the four years he spent in office. It's spoken by Reagan himself during an address. He talks about how the "world" despised the U.S. and "thought America had had its day". He counters this by saying that people stopped arguing and started working together, adding that America is strong. This is another good example of ethos, using his history to his advantage. The ad also appeals to people's pathos, the emotion of patriotism, strength, and happiness.

"Blurred Lines"? Someone Needs Glasses (or Contacts)

Everyone's heard it, everyone has a certain opinion on it, and it's time I gave mine. I feel like I have an opinion that would mainly fall with Ms. Lai's, rather than Ms. Romano, mainly because beyond the title and a slight change in the connotation of her word choice, she's just repeating a few sources about the topic. I feel like there is an element of misogyny in there, but it's also not strictly a rapish kind. The point that Lai makes illustrates this well: "Yes, 'I know you want it' could be said by a rapist—but so could 'Do you want to go to a movie tonight?'"

It's a tick in the male mind that is mainly triggered when they feel like their "masculinity" is impeded upon, and they feel the need to increase the size of their ego in order to "compensate" for the lack of their "manliness". Symptoms of this are putting down other men, mainly by comparing size of muscles, abs, and penises, much of which are done with use of clothes over said body parts, so lying is easier, comparing "hotness" or number of girlfriends, or more likely, girls they've had sex with, and being overall arrogant toerags towards girls in general (winking, touching, or looking suggestively).

There is a cure, however. Talk to your doctor about taking "Com Unsense" (logica). Side-effects include understanding that you aren't God's gift to women, understanding that size doesn't matter, and awareness that sex is best left with a more permanent relationship. Mr. Thicke, Mr. T.I., and Mr. Williams are in clear need of this cure. The lyrics prove that: "Just let me liberate you", "You the hottest bitch in this place", "I'll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two", "He don't smack that ass and pull your hair like that", etc. For that matter, many of my peers can be cured with this not-so-new drug. It's a common theme with high school students, due to the whole "angst" stage. But for a man who clearly is out of high school (just by his stature, not by his maturity or attitude), this is shocking.

But Thicke isn't the only guilty one here. Miley Cyrus, for instance, turned from a well-liked country girl, to a person who thought that cutting her hair into incredibly short pigtails, sticking her tongue out more than Gene Simmons, and wearing underwear that was practical, not sexual, was a good idea. And need I remind you of Nicki Minaj, and her "song", Anaconda, saying that a girl isn't good enough unless her butt's big enough. All of these are clearly trying to make a controversy and gain attention. And you don't have to use sex as a means of that. Shia LaBeouf took the "woe is me" trail when he put that paper bag over his head, whining silently that he wasn't important anymore. Or Lindsey Lohan and her multiple problems, all in an attempt to garner attention.

I think that we won't be able to fully stop incidents like this from happening. There will always be people sadly interested in the lives of celebrities, from them having yet another sex scandal to them going to the loo. And there will be people equally sad enough to cater to this insatiable appetite. TMZ, I'm looking at you. The best we can do is to educate each other that this is unacceptable behavior, whether it is rapey or just looking for attention. Hopefully the lines shouldn't be so blurry there.