The Influence of the Media

So I've been sick with some kind of stomach bug the last few days which means that I've spent a lot of time just randomly browsing the internet for anything that might catch my eye.  So most people know that two big events happened recently.  The first was the tragic shooting at the Batman premiere in Aurora, Co. that killed twelve people and left many others injured.  The second was the news that Kristen Stewart, star of the Twilight movies, had an affair with the director of her summer movie Snow White and The Huntsman.  Thinking about, even for just a moment, the first event seems to be the one that would garner the most media attention as it was without a doubt the most shocking and tragic.  Families and friends enjoying a movie together suddenly found themselves in the middle of what surely felt like a horror movie they never wanted to be a part of.  In the end twelve people were dead.  A father taking his kids to the movie, a 27 year old man hanging out with co-workers on his birthday, a soldier on a date night with is girlfriend, and perhaps most tragic of all, a little 12 year old girl having a night out with her mother.  The event rocked our country, causing fear and shock that what felt like a safe place of enjoyment and entertainment could turn deadly in a moment.  People were even more shocked when the shooter was revealed:  a young man with a high IQ, no criminal record, and no past history of violence.  There were numerous articles in various magazines, in the local paper, online.  The news seemed to talk about it constantly as well with new facts seeming to emerge daily.  It continued for about a week or so and then a new story broke and it disappeared.

A Single Shard

Is it weird that one of my all-time favorite books is considered a children's book?  Probably, but to be perfectly honest, I don't care.  A story about a young boy who's greatest wish is to learn how to throw clay and create a pot on his own potter's wheel, the reader is drawn into his world where life is difficult, but also happy and full of opportunity if one is willing to work hard, where perseverance is eventually rewarded, and where a single celadon shard can change someone's destiny.