The Faces of Inequality

Every man and woman in modern society has been placed in a situation where inequality was present. Whether it was when they were young and attended high school, or when they found a career and in the workplace, every single human being cannot deny being familiar with inequality. Perhaps, it wasn’t them personally who was experiencing the inequality, but rather the nerdy Asian kid in the cafeteria, or the African American in the workplace. So why does inequality exist if it only creates complications? And when are we responsible for protecting our pride, or our friends, or just a random stranger? And when it is time to speak up, how do we deal with the unjust and unfair situations? I have personally ran these questions through my head countless times. Whenever I feel like a peer has gone too far in speaking against a friend or I, I question myself. Is this the way it has to be? Should I speak up, or will that just make it worse? What should I say when I speak? I, and many others, run these questions through my head before I do anything in a situation. I would advise anyone who is placed in a situation where a individual, or group, thinks they are inferior to another, to think of these questions before doing anything.

Discrimination, or inequality, does not only occur between different races, but also between different genders. I was recently watching a TV show on MTV and one of the commercials that came on during the break really made me think. I do not remember the exact words but it was something like this. “Because I am a girl, I stay home while my brothers go to school. Because I am a girl, I take care of my family.” There were many more references starting with the phrase because I am a girl. It made me think about how different it is to be a female in this country as apposed to a place like Africa. I am privileged to be able to go to school, and to play sports, and all the other luxuries I enjoy. Sure, my life isn’t perfect and my family has to constantly worry about money, but at least I can go to school and get an education so I can get a high paying job when I am older. For the girls in Africa, or any other 3RD world country, it is an entirely different situation. They do not get the necessary education, if any education at all, to go to a post secondary school. So instead, they help their mother with providing for the family, until they are old enough to have a family on their own, and then the cycle just repeats itself. Have you ever noticed that the doctors that we do get from India, or the Middle East, are male? I have not seen a female doctor since I moved from Edmonton, and even then she was Caucasian. Another example of gender inequality is in child toys. I already did a post of the significance of this, so I will just briefly cover it. When we are younger, girls play with girl toys, and boys play with boy toys. Girl toys teach them to be loving and caring, while the majority of boy toys teach them to be touch and about guns. And then we wonder why men expect women to stay at home at take care of the kids and the house, while they go be the big boys of the house and make the money. We are teaching them at a young age to put a barrier between what males and what females are supposed to do. Now is this the way it is supposed to be? Not in my opinion. There are many resources out there that the wealthy people of this country could put their time and effort into. They could donate money to the Because I Am a Girl foundation and help them get an education. Then maybe we would have more female doctors around. There is always a way to help, and society needs to learn this.

The most popular, or publicized, version of discrimination is, of course, race. I am currently reading a book called Finding My Voice by Marie G. Lee. The book is about a Korean girl named Ellen Sung, and although she is physically Korean, she is not mentally. She does not speak the language, eat the food, or partake in any of the Korean traditions. She was born and raised in a little town in Minnesota, so when others ask her where she is from, she tells them Minnesota. Ellen considers herself a regular American girl, and does not like the barrier that her appearance builds. She is constantly called a ‘Chink’ and it has made her grades slip from A’s to D’s. When I was reading this book, a certain event stuck out to me. I had to read it over again, because I could not believe the nerve of a teacher. I have read enough, experienced enough, and seen enough current event to know that name calling because of race happens very often among peers. But I was not expecting a teacher to be so blunt. In chemistry, Ellen has broken a pipette and offered to pay for it. Her teachers response? “Oh you don’t have to do that, you Orientals are always trying to save money.” And if that wasn’t enough, he continues, “Are you Chinese or Japanese?” Ellen tells him Korean and then he says the punch line in his mind. In my mind, that would have been the point where I almost smacked him in the face. “Oho, you Koreans! You Koreans wok your dogs!” and then he walks away. Like honestly, who does that? What kind of teacher is so dumb to not even realize what he just did to Ellen, and to top it all off, in front of the whole class. When Ellen tells her friend Jessie about it later, I can relate to Jessie. She encourages Ellen to tell the principal, which Ellen insists she cannot do because she needs to get an A in that class to live up to her parents expectations. This really bugs me, and I hope when I finished this book, Ellen will have told someone who can do something about that teacher.

I learned of another example of discrimination between cultures in social class this year. In 1994, Rwanda had a genocide but it was considers just a civil war, so no other countries stepped in because it was too late already. Ever since German and Belgian made Rwanda a colony back in the late 1800’s there were two social classes. There were the Tutsis who were the politicians and the doctors and all of those jobs that were high in society. And then there were the Hutus who were the shoe makers and the blacksmiths and the jobs that served the Tutsis. When Belgian came into power of Rwanda, they took the discrimination to a whole other level. They made citizens carry signs identifying themselves as either Hutu or Tutsi. Now eventually, the Hutu’s got sick of this unwarranted discrimination between the two groups, and started a mass killing. Hundreds of thousands died, most of them being Tutsis. When I was learning about this, I started thinking. I would guess that if the Imperial powers that claim Rwanda did not distinguish between the two groups, the genocide wouldn’t have happened. If the Hutu’s were treated equal, they wouldn’t have felt the need to start the genocide to try and claim equality. Another example of inequality because of race struck me when I was looking for an example on CBC. There was a news story questioning what the United States was doing about terrorist attacks. The first line read, “The United States government is not taking necessary steps to protect the country from the threats posed by weapons of mass destruction and terrorism.” I am sure that many others, including myself, are guilty of thinking of a man in a turban. I feel bad that this is the first thing that comes to my mind when the word terrorist is spoken, but it is like a reflex. I grew up in a very discriminatory society where it is considered normal to think that. All the peers that I have associated myself with, think the same way. We think of a Arab, or Muslim. I do feel guilty about thinking this way, and I am not going to try and defend myself further. I do not consider myself a racist person, nor do I consider my friends racists. I have friends from different cultures. But whenever I hear of a terrorist attack, it is always someone from the Middle East, so that is who pops into my mind when the word is mentioned. I claim responsibility for that, and I do not believe there is anything society can do that can change peoples mind about who terrorists are. Unless a Asian, or Russian, or German, or any other ethnic group attempts a terrorist attack on the United States, this is the way people are going to think.

Age is another factor that creates inequality in the world. Another book I have read recently explored this issue. The book is called Sold and is by Patricia McCormick. Lakshmi is a thirteen year old girl that lives in Nepal with her family. They live in a small hut and are very poor. To try and help her family get into a better living situation, Lakshmi is sold to this lady that promises her a job in the city. Little does she, or her family know, that she was just sold into prostitution. She is taken to a place called The Happiness House, and forced into the lifestyle. She finds refuge in the other girls there and forms some friends to help her through this. I read this book a couple weeks ago, and cannot remember the names but there was a mother, and her baby and daughter. Both the mother and the daughter were sold to the men for sex. Then there was another girl, who like Lakshmi, had been sold at an early age and had been in the House for a couple of years now. This girl had developed HIV/AIDs and was dying. One of the lines in book stuck out to me. It read, “In between, men come. They crush my bones with their weight. They split me open. Then they disappear. I am hurt. I am torn and bleeding where the men have been.” There were many more details and other situations like this that really made me feel sorry for this girl. If the girls refused a man, then they got a stick with burning hot coals stuck inside of them instead. The woman who ran The Happiness House took advantage of young girls living in poverty and used them. She knew that they were too young to try and escape the house and wouldn’t last long if they did. She knew that they would come back begging for their job. The most depressing thing about this book, is that this kind of abuse of children actually happens. It make me so sad that someone would take advantage of young girls, just because she is older and can control them. I think that this is an even bigger issue then inequality among races. But how can we stop this? There are houses like The Happiness House all over the world, and it is impossible to stop them. We cannot try and guilt trip the owners into giving up the children that make them so much money. And once these girls get to old, they are thrown out onto the street to fend for themselves. No money, no nothing. So being sexually abused for years was basically just a waste of time since no money was even sent back to their poverty stricken families. It is these stories that make me want to get a good job, and make lots of money, and do something about it. No child should have to suffer through that, or worse.

The last example of inequality that I am going to explore is with animals and infants. Just because it is a baby and cannot understand what is going on doesn’t mean it isn’t scarring them. When we receive a placement in foster care, it is like seeing what is happening to those kids in India up close. The children that come to us are abused, sexually, physically, and mentally. The parent do what they want and expect their kids to bend around them. If the parent does not come home at night because she is passed out from drugs or alcohol, the kids have to put themselves to bed and make their own supper, or if they are too young, just starve. If their mother brings home a guy that she met at the bar, and the guy is high and decides to try something with one of the children, they have to take it because their mother is so doped up on drugs, she doesn’t even realize what is going in. It is cruel to see how messed up some of these kids are when they come to live with us. And with animals, just because they are not human and do not speak, doesn’t mean they do not realize what is going on. The first post I ever wrote was about puppy mills. These dogs are kept in cages for years at a time. They sleep with their own pee and poop. They do not get fed, so they end up eating their, or another animals, feces. Their paws are permanently indented from the criss cross pattern of the cages. And through all of this, they are expected to produce healthy puppies for the owner to sell. These dogs are scarred, bleeding, and most can’t even walk anymore, all so that dog owners can get pure breeds at a low price. Sure don’t feed the mother, as long as the dog is $200 dollars cheaper. And when a female is unable to produce more puppies, she is simply left to die and then thrown in the trash. Many of the dogs die, and lay undiscovered for months and rot. Many of the buyers do not know that this is where the puppies come from, but if they put more effort into it they could. Insist on seeing the mother and father, and where they live. If anything raises suspicion, contact an organization that are able to help. Puppies mills should not be aloud to continue.

So whether it be with race, gender, age, or animals, inequality exists. Society passes by it every day, and doesn’t take notice. But we need to speak up, we need to do something about it. No matter what age you are, what gender you are, what race you are, or what social class you fit into, there is always something you can do. Maybe you are too young and cannot donate money because you don’t have a credit card. Well then raise awareness to the adult who do have the resources to help. If you are African American and do not think anyone will listen to you, write a letter or a poem or anything, and mail it anonymously to your towns newspaper. Just do something. One person can make a difference. If everyone put in an effort, the level and severity of inequality in modern society would greatly decrease. So do what you can, but don’t do nothing.

Posted in issue

Tempted

Tempted

By: P.C and Kristin Cast

Posted in 7895

Let’s Blame Everyone

If I find myself stuck in a group situation, which I try to avoid for these reasons, and a part of the project goes askew, my first instinct is to accuse another person. I should feel guilty about doing this, but I don’t. Perhaps it is because I do not want to get in trouble; perhaps it is because it really is a group members fault. But I know for sure, it is because I am embracing the epicurean in me. This fragment of my personality does not want to have any guilt on myself and doesn’t want this fault to hold me down from having fun. Every human being I have met in my lifetime, has some epicurean in themselves.

After Caesar is dead, and Antony has spoken at the funeral and produced the fake will, Brutus and the rest of the conspirators realize that it is going to come to a battle. Octavious and Antony against Cassius and Brutus. The rest of the conspirators have either fled of died by this point. In Act 4, we are placed inside Brutus’ tent amidst a fight. Brutus accuses Cassius of having an itching palm. In 20^th century language that means Brutus money. I wondered why such rich men would be arguing over something as trivial as money. Then, with some help, I realized that it was because Brutus has come to the conclusion that his army probably doesn’t stand a chance. The money ties into this because more money buys better soldiers. That little bit more money that they are arguing about could buy them more valuable soldiers.  Brutus had realized that his group, or army, is defeated so he blames his partner, Cassius.

This blaming your partner of some other member of your group can be carried out into politics. If a problem arises in today’s world, we tend to blame a person in power, such as presidents, or prime ministers. Although some of the time, it is their fault, like with the war or peace keeping in Iraq. I do not know the details of this mission but I do know that President Bush could have brought the soldiers back a couple years ago, but he didn’t and now President Obama is going to bring them back. Americans and Canadians can legitimately blame President Bush.

Although we can blame Bush for the war, we cannot blame him, or Stephen Harper, for other issues such as global warming. Global warming is entirely our fault. Although scientist have now proposed that global warming is occurring because we are moving closer to the sun, there is no denying that it is still a large percent of human beings fault.  I have heard people complain because Stephen Harper should be the one introducing laws so that everyone would have to start being greener. Well maybe, if we would elect a political party that was Green, instead of a conservative party that promises to be green, we could get somewhere. If you blame global warming on Stephen Harper, than elect him instead of Green Party, global warming is partially your fault. Not to mention you are driving to work every day, using up gas and polluting the environment. You are part of a group, Canadians, and you are trying to blame global warming on another person in your group. Not going to work for much longer.

Whether it be in history with Cassius and Brutus, modern day with President Bush and Prime Minister Harper, or just another day in class working on a project, an epicurean, which we all have a little smudge of in us, will blame the faults on another being. And those being go and try to blame what they were blamed for on another person. It all revolves around in a circle until everyone is blamed, and nothing is done to solve the problem. Maybe if we spent less time blaming someone else, and more time fixing it, like a stoic would, we would have a better life. Cassius and Brutus would have a better chance, President Bush would bring the soldiers back, Prime Minister Harper would introduce green laws, and we would get a better mark on our project.

Posted in Snowflake

Alcohol Too?

Gender biased is in everything, even alcohol advertising. Even if you don’t drink, or haven’t watched that many commercials, I’m sure you could distinguish which ads are guy drinks and which are female drinks as soon as you saw them. What makes a drink a guy or girl one? From what I have noticed, girl drinks are the fruity, less strong ones and the male drinks are the strong ones that don’t taste as good. Also, male drinks have a higher percentage of alcohol in them than female ones. Is the world not supposed to be an equal place where everybody is treated the same regardless of their gender, sexuality, looks, religion, or anything else. That is what all the men and woman are fighting in the wars for is freedom and equality. In a way, we are just throwing away everything that they have worked so hard for just for alcohol.

Regardless of what anyone else says, I will always believe that wars are started to bring peace. A horrible killing event is started to bring the exact opposite. Think of it. The military in itself is breaking the gender stereotype. As stated in my post about children’s toys woman are supposed to stay at home and take care of the children while men go off and fight in the war. But the military enroles both men and woman which helps make the gender stereotypes in today’s world less obvious. I don’t see the point in wars if we are just going to take the benifits to our advantage, but do nothing to prevent further unequality. The discrimination of males and females is not helping the brave people in the army.

Alcohol is a drug. Simple as that. Sure it is not the first drug that comes to mind when someone tells you to name three drugs. Coke, crank, smack, weed, or angel dust might be some of the names that first come to mind. But alcohol is a drug, a depressant. I came across this ad that reenforces what I am trying to put across. I am not quite sure what the advertisement is for but this is the link. You see a girl that seems to be treating the alcohol as cocaine shown by her using the same tactic as would be used to snort coke.  I believe that most youth today consider alcohol  the least harmful drug. It is not portrayed as addictive, and it does not harm your image except maybe give you a beer belly, but that of course is only what men drink. This is why it is not a huge worry. Meth gives you ‘bugs under your skin’ and really bad teeth. Other drugs affect appearance in other ways, but alcohol is in a way, a silent drug. To get more on task with the gender stereotypes, do you ever see female drug dealers in commercials? Do you ever see male prostitutes, or female pimps? Alcoholics are normally portrayed as old men with bad hygiene or young females passed out at a party.

Advertisement also try to persuade an individual to buy them by promising certain lifestyles. Woman are promised to look skinny and be very fit like in this ad. But the  reality behind this ad is that if you drink it you will probably gain weight. And the sad thing is that it works. Woman are so desperate to be that skinny stay at home mom that they are taught that they should be when they are younger. These ads promising to look young and gorgeous like the models in the ad would not be as successful if society did not have the stereotype of what woman should be. Models are models for a reason. The average woman in America is a size 12 or 14. Thats why models get paid so much to be so skinny, is becuase the rest of America is not. So why do we as a society, try and portray that every woman should be like a model. I do not see the point. We are who we are and a fruity little drink is not going to change this.

I am very strongly in support for equality between not only men and woman and children, but also animals and any breathing thing on this planet. And the part that makes me even more mad about gender stereotypes in alcohol is that men do not have the same expectations. They are supposed to get a beer belly and fool around with woman in the ads, but woman are just supposed to sip their drinks, laugh, and look gorgeous. I think its time for the world to give up all the expectations of certain groups. Not all Germans are Nazi, not all woman are a size 2. There are diferent types of people in the world and it is cruel to try and fit them all into a couple groups. We should be able to be who we are, without pointless stereotypes holding us back. Alcohol ads are not the prime source, but they certainly add fuel to the fire. If the creaters of these ads stopped re enforcing the gender stereotypes, it would surely help. One company, one ad, one person at a time.

Posted in issue

Island of the Aunts

Island of the Aunts

By: Eva Ibbotson

Posted in Book Talk

Girls + Boys + Gender Stereotypes

Kids are growing up in a world where there are boy toys and girl toys. When you look in a catalog or any sort of advertisement for toys, you can clearly distinguish which toys are meant for girls and which are meant for boys. When did the gender inequality begin? Or is it just one of those things that evolved and eventually reached out into children’s toys? I personally think that, as much as we hate these roles, they are never going to be forever gone. It is just like racism. There is always going to be someone in the world who holds these views and is not willing to change them.

When a child grows up playing with a toy, they are going to carry some of these ideals (ex. changing the babies diaper after it soils it) into their future. This could be a good thing in the cases of nurturing or a bad thing. Young girls are the only ones, generally, that get early exposure to the care and nurture so this carries on later in life that woman are the ones supposed to be the ones caring for kids and men are supposed to be out fighting with guns. These ideals will be forever incorporated into future generations. As much as feminists or anyone who is against these stereotypes want to deny it, they will never be gone. Women talk too much, men don’t listen, men can’t cook, men are more aggressive, men like sports more, women are more nurturing/motherly, women like to shop and are more fashion forward. All of these are enhanced by early education toys. Men didn’t have the toy kitchens to introduce them to cooking. Men grow up believing that if they don’t play sports they are not manly. Woman grow up with dolls and other toys teaching them how to be nurturing or motherly. Men are more aggressive because all of their childhood toys involve fighting. Instead of having a quad that you use your feet to pedal, they are now all electronic. This new technology enables kids to chase and ram into each other easier and with more force. No wonder guys are more aggressive.

Playing with dolls or action figures or figurines or whatever you want to call them at an early age affects female and male judgement of what they should look like when they are older. If Barbie was a real girl she would be 6′ 0″, weigh 100 lbs., and wear a size 4.  She would have a 39″ bust, 19″ waist, and 33″ hips. Is this really what you want your kid to think they should look like when they are older? The average model is only 5′10 and 110 llbs. Its bad enough that girls strive for this, but if you compare modeling to Barbie, modeling doesn’t even come close to matching up. I would much rather loose the fourty pounds it would take for me to model, then grow two inches and loose more than fifty. Think of it this way: the average woman is 35-27-37. That means she has a 35″ bust, 27″ waist, and her hips are 37″. Compare this to Barbie and we got a problem. Here is another comparison: high fashion models. Their bust is 32-35″, waist is 22-25″ and their hips are 33-36″. Their may be a little closer to Barbies measurements but it is still bigger. Consider the fact that these are high fashion models and not just runaway models. I couldn’t find an accurate source of runaway models measurements. And this is just for the girls side of things.

In my opinion, the Barbie of guys is GI Joe. Just like girls hope to be Barbie when they grow up, boys probably hope to be somewhat like GI Joe when they grow older. GI Joe’s measurements would be a 55″ chest and 27″ biceps. In other words, his bicep would be almost as big as his waist and bigger than most competitive body builders’. Is this the image you want your little boy to think they have to live up to? Not only does GI Joe portray the wrong image for males, it does the same for females. When you take your little girl shopping and are walking down the toy isle, your are gonna see Barbie and GI Joe as far as dolls go. Girls already think they should be like Barbie, so the counterpart should be GI Joe. Their future husbands/boyfriends should look like GI Joe and if they don’t they are not worth dating. This puts an even bigger stress on the guys to look like GI Joe.

One thing that really bugs me that is a little off topic, but I still want to briefly bring up is the scale. What does a number on the scale really tell you about how healthy or fit someone is?  When you step on a scale, the weight that you see doesn’t tell you anything about your body composition (i.e. how much is muscle, bone, or fat).  Muscle is denser and weighs more than fat so, if you are very physically active and have more muscle, you should weigh more.

So in conclusion, gender stereotypes are always going to be here. As long as you know what they are and can identify them, you should be able to keep yourself from supporting them. Don’t just grow up and be another Barbie in the world. We have enough of those, and others generally don’t like them. Be yourself and have people like you, or be a generic copy and have no one like you. I think the reasonable choice is obvious. Choose what you want, be who you want, and play with whatever toys you want.

Posted in issue

A Twenty Five Percent Chance

The first sentence I choose to defend is the starting one. “Much of the Snaid-Anacs’ day is spent in ritual and ceremony.” I categorized this as stereotyping because stereotyping by my definition is thinking that, just because someone belongs to a certain collective, they are all the same. An example of this would be that all Asian people are smart. This is not necessarily true and I doubt all Asians have a honor mark in school. The Snaid-Anac statement is saying that all Snaid-Anacs spend most of their day in ritual and ceremony when this may not be true for every single one. The statement refers to Snaid-Anacs’ as a whole and not as certain individuals belonging to this group spend most of their day in ritual and ceremony.

Ethnocentrism is the tendency to interpret other cultures in terms of our own cultural practices. In other words, we try to understand one culture by relating it to ours. A sentence that reminds me of this is “Each day, every member of the family, one after the other, enters the shrine room, bows his or her head before the charm-box, mixes holy water in the font and then proceeds with a brief rite similar to Christian baptism.” The last part of this sentence, the part about Christian baptism, is the indicator for me. This anthropologist is trying to help us understand the rite they do everyday by relating this to Christianity. This is ethnocentrism.

Posted in social studies

Monster in the Closet

Cujo

by Stephen King

I just started reading this book and I will update with book talk in comments.

STJ School Forum : Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion : Monster in the Closet
STJ School Forum

Monster in the Closet in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, kmarsh, 2009-11-18
I have stopped reading this book. I will eventually finish it, but I will read some other books in between.

Monster in the Closet in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, shryciuk, 2009-11-06
Wow it is full of excitement sounds good!!!

Monster in the Closet in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, kmarsh, 2009-11-06
Uh oh! Steve Kemp has officially mailed the letter. Just when it seems that Donna and Vic are getting along and their marriage will be saved, this happens. The part I just read is about fifteen minutes in the married couple's and Tad's life and it seems perfect. It is in Vic's point of view and he sees little things that make him have hope. But this is going to come all crashing down. I really don't want ot read what is going to happen when that letter comes.

Monster in the Closet in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, kmarsh, 2009-11-06
The section of Cujo that I just read made me kind of angry. It starts out describing, in a little to much detail, what Steve Kemp's house looks like and some of the daily activities he does. Then it gets into his head. He begins to think of what he can do to carry out that threat he made to Donna Trenton. He finds Vic's business card and decides to send him a letter. I would write it on here, but it's too inappropriate. Basically he says that Donna has been with him and then includes some information that only someone who has slept with her would know. I understand that he is mad that he got dumped, but he doesn't need to take it to this level. It makes me mad that he is going to ruin a marriage that has a kid involved, just because he is mad about getting turned down. He props the letter on the windowsill so maybe there is a chance that something happens and it does not get mailed.

Monster in the Closet in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, kmarsh, 2009-11-05
The last four pages have given an insight to what the owners of Cujo life is like. It is told from Charity Camber's point of view and implies that the father, Joe, is an abuser. Charity is greatly protecting of her son, Brett. She fears that one day, in one of Joe's drunken spiels, something horrible is going to happen. I would have never guessed this from the facade they put on to the rest of the world. This links into why Cujo was so afraid of "THE MAN" earlier in the book. I always love reading abuse stories and how that abused do or don't get out of the situation. For this reason, I think their part in this book is going to be what I enjoy reading the most.

Monster in the Closet in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, kmarsh, 2009-11-03
Ah, now there is a twist in the story. Donna Trenton, Tad's mother, has been cheating on Vic, Tad's father. She blames it on being alone all the time. "So she washed floors that didn't need to be washed. She watched the soaps. She thought about Steve Kemp [the one she is cheating with], with whom she'd had a little flirtation...and finally she had done something." This is a quote from the book. It confuses me a little because it does not yet say how exactly she met Steve, but just the flirtation had evolved into something greater. But the Donna decides she doesn't want this to continue, and she tells Steve this and he doesn't like it. He threatens to rape her because she can't just "call Sheriff Bannerman. Sure. Just say, "Hi, there, George, this is Mr.Businessman's wife, and the guy I've been screwing on the side won't leave. Would you please come on up here and roust him?" In the end, Steve leaves with a threat of telling Vic about everything. Whether this is an empty threat or if it will be followed out is what I am curious to read.

Monster in the Closet in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, kmarsh, 2009-11-03
The section of the book I just read was about Gary Pervier. Gary is the Cambers, who own Cujo, neighbour. This portion of the book is very entertaining in a crude way. Gary is an alcoholic and swears quite a bit. He reminds me of my uncle, and many other family members, in the sense that they are alcoholics too, although not as sarcastic and rude as Gary. Anyway, for about five pages you read about Gary’s life where he was a police officer of some type, wins the Distinguished Service Cross, turns it into an ashtray because it was too small for a toilet, gets hippies respect, repays them by shooting at them. Then you learn that Gary had one of his testicles shot off by a German and other nasty things you really do not need to learn about this character. If anyone does not like crude comments, I would recommend you don’t read this book. Finally, in the last two pages it gets back on topic. Cujo comes to see Gary, and growls at him. Gary finds this unusual but puts it in the back of his mind. Tad is still my favorite character.

Monster in the Closet in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, kmarsh, 2009-10-30
The character this book is named after has been finally introduced. Cujo is the dog that the mechanic owns. Tad and his mother and father go to get their car fixed in the country because they know a place that is cheap. When they show up, Cujo is a huge Saint Bernard but a sweet heart. Tad and Cujo get along and play for the two hours it takes to fix the vehicle. So far, Tad is my favorite character because he is so carefree. He didn't think twice about going up to Cujo and petting him even though the dog was so much bigger than him. I think that this is a fore-telling of what Tad is going to be like when he is older; carefree and confident. The last part of what I have read is Cujo is chasing a rabbit and then gets bitten on his nose by a bat with rabies. My prediction is that this is what turns Cujo into the killer later on.

Monster in the Closet in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, kmarsh, 2009-10-28
Still haven't had time to read this book. I got distracted reading another but I am going to read some of Cujo in a couple minutes. Lets hope it gets more interesting.

Monster in the Closet in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, kmarsh, 2009-10-23
Cujoby Stephen KingI am only thirteen pages into this book and so far it is boring. But with previous experience, I know that it takes a while to get to the interesting parts in Stephen King books. The hard part for me is keeping going. Right now all that is happening is a little kid named Tad has seen a 'monster' in his closet and starts screaming. His mother and father show up, fold the blankets and move the chair that are creating the shadows. In the morning they are back where they were before. This is supposed to be scary, but its not for me. As of now, I would change the book so that it is more interesting in the beginning to attract and keep readers. I am going to keep reading it and see where it goes.

Posted in Book Talk

Technology : Yes or No

Technology is becoming more and more intertwined into society. The question everyone needs to consider is if this will better or worsen society. Are we going to lose our collective and individual identities? Is it worth this just because communication technologies provide us with such valuable convenience and benefits that we should embrace them even more than we already are? In my opinion, technology should be embraced, but not to the point in relying on it and not being able to do anything without it. I think that technology is far more greater benificial than not.

There are many good reasons why technology is so beinificial and here a few:
Efficiency — With the development of technology, the speed at which we can achieve our goals is greatly increased. Processing data and transferring information has never been faster, and we are able to access information much quicker and with greater ease.
Connectivity — Connecting with people all over the world is by far more achievable with the development of the humble telephone, fax, cellphone and the Internet. Apps such as Email, VoIP, and Instant Messaging have made things so much easier. Snail mail used to take as many as 3-4 days even in your own state or city. It now usually takes 1-2 days, and and a parcel can be sent to another country in as little as 5-8 business days (less if you chose more expensive courier services etc.). Email is almost instantaneous. Technology in general has become more affordable for the average user.
Productivity — With the amount of technology on the market, both in hardware and software, the productivity rate has increased tremendously. Desktop PCs have become more powerful and more affordable to the average user, allowing more people to be connected to others. Portable computers and Internet available almost anywhere at any time for those that need it enables work to be done “on the road” so to speak. Applications and tools from word processing to music and film editing have become far more sophisticated… yet more user-friendly. This allows more people access to a multitude of ways to get things done. Mobile devices like cellphones and PDA’s allow for more mobility to the user. The term “technology” does not only refer to computers and Email. With the development of the computer, other technologies such as cars, ships , buildings and manufacturing/ production have increased dramatically. For example, in Beijing a container is loaded from a truck to a ship every 30 seconds. This would never have been possible 30 years ago.
Comfortability — The developments in technology in the home and at work have made our lives much more comfortable, and enable us to have things from light and heat. To watching the latest movies or shopping from home. Traveling has become more efficient and more pleasurable as airliners have in-flight entertainment. If we dont like what they’re showing, we can always plug ourselves into our mp3 player or other mobile device. The next development in airline travel is the exploration of Wi-Fi in-flight for users to access the Internet.

Though the digital world does have a lot to offer everyone, there are some downfalls associated with our technological era which include:
With more technology placing barriers between people, face to face meetings happen less. This small, simple change leads to a whole host of very serious problems with society in general. People are becoming more lazy; choosing to stay at home and play video games than go to a basketball game or get together with friends.
Newspapers have been significantly impacted by our digital world. There was a point in time when people were glad to pay a couple of bucks a week to have the weekly or daily paper delivered to their very own door, but with the internet and the news at just a few keystrokes, newspaper companies and other publications have suffered tremendously. Small newspaper companies are shutting down their facilities for good because of not enough revenue coming in.

So in conclusion, even though you may disagree, my opinion is that technology is far mnore benificial. The positive aspects far out weight the negative.

Posted in social studies

Speaking Up

I am currently reading a series called “California Diaries™”. This series follows around a group of friends who were, minus the oldest Ducky, excited to be the oldest class in the middle level building. Much to their surprise, an assembly is called to tell them they will be in the high school building. The little grade eights missed the chance to be at the top. Later on through the series, they go to parties, skip school for boys, run away, try drugs, and experience depression. Through their troubles, Ducky McCrae, Amalia Vargas, Maggie Blume, Sunny Winslow, and Dawn Schafer always support each other. They speak up for each other when the other needs it. In every single one of their diaries they express that without each other they would probably all be in deep depression.

The first book is called Dawn diary #1 : Friends. Changes. Together. Alone. The main event in this book is the party they attend. Little do Sunny, Dawn, and Maggie know, it is actually a initiation of some sort for the grade eights. They go, but when they arrive they know something isn’t right. The party is held in a backyard of a house with no one home. Sunny drinks alcohol and ,without realising it, gets hammered, and  When the police get called from a neighbour complaining about the noise level, the party breaks up quickly. Dawn, Maggie, Amalia (new friend in 8th grade at the party) and Sunny get a lift home with a reliable high-school boy named Ducky. They get back to the house where they were “sleeping over” and Jill, a friend that didn’t go, is furious. Jill thinks she has all their best interests in mind and is looking out for them but everyone else disagrees. They all speak up against Jill who ends up getting very emotional. Towards the end of the book, Dawn, Sunny and Maggie break away from Jill, whom they think is too babyish.

There is a very thin line between when you should speak up, and when you should keep your mouth shut. The hard part is figuring out where the line begins and ends. Perhaps your friend is getting bullied, like Jill was, but when is the point you tell? Is it when it first starts, and then you are seen as a baby and a rat? Or when it gets physical, and then you are seen as not having enough fun? Whenever you tell an adult of authority about bullying, you are going to be seen as something or another. If you are too sensitive to be labeled as a rat or tattletale or something along those line, then don’t tell. Leave it to someone who has the confidence. Just because you don’t tell, that doesn’t make you a bad person. You cannot take it personally if something happens in a negative direction. Also, you also need to figure out if you should tell or not. In times of my life, it was the wrong decision to tell and I should have kept my mouth shut. I learned this the hard way, but its better than not learning it at all.

In conclusion, stick up for your best friends whether you think you should or not. You may get in trouble for it, but your if your friends are still your friends it should not matter much. Just think of it this way, would you rather you didn’t get in any trouble but lost that friend? I know I would definitely pick my friends over getting in trouble. I get in trouble quite a bit, so I am used to it and this may influence my opinion to be a little biased. The majority of my friends would also pick the same answer and me and perhaps this is why we are friends. Sunny, Dawn, Maggie, Amalia, and Ducky alway always look out for each other and by the end of the series they are still friends and, although they may have gotten in lots of trouble, they are still living. I will always speak up for me and my friends unless my life will be in danger. This is just how I am and I will not change. Other do not stick up for their friends and remain friends with those people, but loyalty strengthens relationships.

Posted in Book Review

Abuse is Abuse

The definition of abuse is to treat in a harmful, injurious, or offensive way. Now this can be taken many different ways. Some people think that abuse is only if a guy hits a girl, but this is wrong. There is so many kinds of abuse its hard to listm, but the top 5 that I have heard if are : physical, sexual, emotional/psychological/verbal, financial, and social. Also, abuse is not just male to a female, it can be female to male, female to female, or male to male.

Physical abuse is probably the most publicised form in my opinion. You hear stories on the news about mostly girls, sometimes guys, that are found dead with multiple contusions. A normal person always reads these and says, “Oh, that poor girl. Should have gotten away sooner,” or, “Glad it wasn’t me.” Everyone always has some sort of reaction to an abuse story. I read a book earlier this month about a guy named Ben. Ben had lived with his mother since he was little. One day his dad just left and never came back. In order to save them from living on the streets, Ben’s mother married a guy named Jim Rankin. After a couple months, the true side of this huge man (six foot four inches) showed. He started punching, slapping, shoving, and smashing both Ben amd his mother, but since they were dependent on him for food, housing, and almost everything, they couldn’t leave. Eventually throughout the books, people start to find out and Jim is sent to prison, but they lived with the abuse for 7 years before anyone even had an idea of what was really going on in the Rankin house. You could go through middle school and high school and not even know that your best friend was being abused.

Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another, when that force falls short of being a sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester. The termalso covers any behavior by any adult towards a child to stimulate either the adult or child sexually. When the victim is younger than the age of consent, it is referred to as child sexual abuse. Sexual misconduct can occur where one person uses a position of authority to compel another person to engage in an otherwise unwanted sexual activity. For example, sexual harrasment in the workplace might involve an employee be having sexual relations in fear of being dismissed. Sexual harassment in education might involve a university student submitting to a professor’s sexual advances in fear of being given a failing grade. Incest is defined as sexual relations of any kind perpetrated by a biologically or non-biologically related person functioning in the role of a family member. Other trusted adults could also sexually abuse children and teenagers. These include parents, uncles, aunts, siblings, stepparents, grandparents, coaches, baby sitters, clergy and teachers.

Posted in Book Review

Looks and Friends Equal an Individual Identity

Choose two of the most influential feature you identified and explain how/why they fit the criteria below. In other words explain why the features are so influential to your individual identity.

CRITERIA
-how much the feature impacts how others see you
-how much the feature impacts how you see and feel about yourself

In my opinion, the two most influential features in shaping an identity are looks and friends. Some close runner-ups would have been family situation, style, and personality.

In today’s world, the ideal of judging a person for their personality and not looks is almost completely gone. Looks is what matters. If someone has a personality that is an added bonus, but not a necessity. This matches the first aspect of the criteria. If your peers are judging you on your looks, this is gong to make you feel like less of a person. If my personality doesn’t matter and its all just looks, this is gong to make me feel like maybe my personality isn’t enough and I have to be completely dependent on my looks. This answers the second part of the criteria and results in looks being one out of two most influential features on having an individual identity.

The second most influential feature in creating an individual identity would have to be friends. If you have a lot of people you call friends, some of your peers may see you as unloyal. Others may see you as popular. This all depends on the persons personal views of how many friends a person should have. In my opinion, I would say they would be unloyal. I think that you should have a couple of best friends and some very close friends. I have five best friends and my best friends from previous towns I now consider very close friends. I do not think that you should go talking behind these peoples backs, like some girls I know do. This is being unloyal. And if people are calling you not loyal, this is going to make you question your friendship quality. Friends influence the way others see you, and the way you see and feel about yourself.

These are my choices and reasons for the two most influential features to your individual identity.

Posted in social studies

Love at First Sight

It seems like the common theme in the popular movies recently has been love at first sight. Whether it be trying to find love at first sight, the story of a couple that found love at first sight, or where one person falls in love and the feeling is not returned. It just love, love, love. Maybe the reason script writers come up with these films that involve love at first sight, is because they do so well. If movies like The Notebook, Big Fish, and West Side Story didn’t make such a profit, would writers maybe take the hint and write about something else. To contradict myself it seems like this past year, the love stories have had quite a bit of humor in them. The focus seems to be more on making an audience laugh then cry.

I am not saying that love at first sight is a bad feeling, but how can you be sure you are in love at first sight? Are you not supposed to love someone for their personality and not just their looks. Obviously you cannot pin down what their personality is like at ‘first sight’. My outlook on this is that people do not fall in love at first sight, but rather fall in lust at first sight. This gives the person on the receiving end of this love/lust the wrong impression which can cause all sorts of problems. Either they can take it to heart, and think the person is being to aggressive or obsessive. And obviously you don’t want the person you are under the impression you love to feel this way about you ; it would be a wound to the ego for sure. Just next time you think you are in love, re-examine it and you might find out it is just lust.

The main problem I have with the love at first type kind of movies and TV shows is it gives men and women false hope. They hold out on everything and everyone else because they are waiting for ‘the one’ . If you believe in the idea that there is that one special person out there then who is saying that you will love them at first sight. If you are expecting that this is the way it happens, the one could pass by you and you wouldn’t even realize. I do not have an opinion on the whole “there is someone perfect out there for everyone” saying. The only thing I can really say about it is I don’t believe that if this is true, that you will know it is them right away. I believe that you have to work to discover them. One way to say this would be when it is time that for you to finds this person, that God will lead them to you.  Well what if God doesn’t exist, or if you are just not meant to have a ‘one’?  I am not getting into a discussion on religion.

All teenagers and tweens have a celebrity crush, there is no denying it. Whether it be Taylor Lautner, Megan Fox, Robert Pattinson, The Jonas Brother, Miley Cyrus, or any other 16 year old celebrity. Girls go around saying, “Oh I love Joe Jonas!” but they just think he is hot, or the rare chance that they truly love his music. With the Twilight phenomenon, every girl and even some boys say they love one, or more, of the celebrities. There is Team Jacob and Team Edward online debating who is better looking, better actor, and better at this and that. I personally prefer Jacob, but I am not as in love with him as some girls. I am not about to sign up so some website just to write, “OMG! Like Jacob is so hot like wow. I would totally like die if I could meet him”. Love at first sight movies are giving these teenagers and tweens the hope that if they could just meet insertnamehere that he/she would fall madly in love with him just like in The Notebook or whatever movie they take inspiration from.

The moral of the story is that, while love at first sight stories are popular, they are just not practical. I have never heard a true story of real love at first sight so my opinion may be biased compared to someone who has. My belief is that they create the wrong impression on what love really is. I don’t mind watching them or enjoying them, I just do not like the false idea of love they give to some people.

Tags: Big Fish, love, love at first sight, lust, Megan Fox, Miley Cyrus, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, The Jonas Brother, The Notebook, West Side Story
Posted in Snowflake

Peeps Book Review

Peeps, by Scott Westerfeld, has to be one of the most interesting books I have read all year, which is saying a lot because I have read quite a few books. The main charactor and narrator, Cal, has just been infected with the parasite from a one night stand.  He’s recruited to join the Night Watch, an ancient organization that monitors and controls outbreaks of Echinococcus Cannibalis, the organism which causes vampirism,  to act as a vampire hunter, tracking and capturing others who don’t have his lucky immunity. Cal has to track down the girls he had infected before he knew the consequences, struggle with telling the truth to journalist major and acquired roommate, Lace, and find his progenitor (creator) Morgan.

Peeps puts a whole new perspective on vampirism. Instead of Stephanie Meyer and Bram Stoker’s versions of having to be bit in order to turn into a vampire that craves  blood, Peeps version is kissing or having an intimate relationship to spread the parasite, and when you are a ‘Peep’ or parasite positive you have night vision, superhuman strength, and a craving for lots of protein. Westerfeld even twists that there is two different types of parasite positives; carriers and cannibals. Carriers  have superhuman strength, night vision, and need to eat lots of meat to keep the parasite happy. What they don’t have is the reaction the light, craving for blood, and hating what they once loved that cannibals do. Both types get the craving to spread the disease, unfortunately. This new perspective can be quite confusing at times, but way interesting.

“Second rule: Whatever you do, don’t forget the anathema, when peeps start hating the things they used to love. The anathema hurts, but in a good way.” This is one of Cal’s rules when tracking down girls he has infected. His first love, Sarah, had an anathema to Elvis so when Cal found her hiding place he brought tons of Elvis. He taped a poster to each place of escape and tucked a Elvis bobble head in his pocket. There is a slight chance that for some reason the anathema will not work, so Cal is always taking a leap of faith.  The anathema  effect also clears up some vampire legends. Peeps do not burst into flames in the daylight, they just really hate it because they learned to love the night and see in the dark to stay hidden. If that makes any sence at all. Cruciphobia, or being afraid of crosses, is also explained. If you grew up in Europe in the Middle Ages, chances were you were a Christina. You went to church at least twice a week, prayed three times a day, and had a crucifix hanging in every room. So that is a big enough love to turn into a huge hate.

“If Morgan was still around, we’d be seeing her handiwork everywhere.” After Cal discovers that the bar her met Morgan at was actually a gay bar called Dick’s, he heads over there in search of a clue to Morgan. He starts downing Bahamalama-Dingdongs trying to recapture that night. Eventually, his drunken memories lead him to an apartment building. He follows a group of 20 ish year olds up the elevator and  befriends one. Lacey, or Lace, lived in the same apartment as Cal’s progenitor, Morgan used too. In Apartment 701, hidden underneath a visible coat of paint was a sentence written in blood and a range of tissues from the human body (mealy smell of ground bone, saltiness of muscle, flat scent of live, and ethyl mercaptan effluence of skin tissues). It read: so pRetty i hAd to Eat hiM. Lace turns out to be quite smart and confronts Cal about what is going on. He tells her on the condition that she does not tell anyone else. This just adds more stress to Cal’s life worrying about her telling or not.

I would defiantly recommend Peeps to any teen. If you like vampire novels, sci-fi, or just a good read, Peeps is the book for you. It is confusing so be ready to read slowly at times, and there is intricate descriptions of different parasites so if you have a weak stomach, you might want to skip over those parts for they do not affect the rest of the book. There is some slight referrals to adult manners, beware. But overall, Peeps is in my Top 5 Favorite Books I have read my whole life, beaten only by Elmo’s Trip to the Mall.

Posted in Book Review

Oddness

There is no egg in eggplant or ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins were not invented in England and French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies, while sweetbreads (which aren’t sweet) are meat. One goose and 2 geese. So, one moose and 2 meese? If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same? You fill in a form by filling it out, and an alarm clock goes off by going on.

English is a confusing language to say the least. You think learning French or Spanish is hard, try learning English. I don’t think you would be complaining. The odd thing is, English is one of the most popular languages world-wide, yet it is the most confusing. Perhaps the popularity is why it is so confusing, but that wouldn’t make sence because who wants to learn such a complex language. I sure wouldn’t if I had a choice! Looking up this subject, I realised how much me, and many others, take English for granted.

When a foreigner uses the wrong word, people tend to laugh and think, wow he/she is really stupid. What they don’t think is how little time they had to learn this intricate language. People that have English as their first language  don’t take into consideration what hard workers, for the most part, these people tend to be. At my work, the Phillipino’s naturally want to do everything. They were just raised or something to be hard dedicated workers. This is not a bad thing, it just leaves less for you to do, which I guess is a good thing unless you have a concious which in that case, it should be telling you to earn your wage not let other people do it for you.

The moral or the story/post is that don’t take your English for granted. Don’t laugh when a person uses the wrong word, or mixes up the words in a sentance. You would probably be much worse then them if you tryed to learn their language. Respect different cultures and languages, and don’t let other people do all your work!

Posted in Other

Audio Podcast

By: Dan, Kimmi, Haden, Meagan, and Katrina
Love and Gadgets

Posted in Other