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The Long Hard Road Out of Hell

“I never said to be like me, I say to be like you and make a difference.”- Brian Warner

Through the intentionally provocative, and darkly humorous content I found this book to be incredibly helpful and really aid me on a personal level. The hardships we’ve had to endure, and the skeletons that are hidden in our closets all contribute to who we are today. It’s up to us to embrace our differences and be an individual, and avoid conforming to the rest of the society.

At a personal perspective, the things I have dealt with in life, have made who I am today. As bad as they may have seemed at the time, I have learned that it is up to me how to deal with the experiences I have had. I have discovered that we can always learn from these experiences and better ourselves for the future. Although when I was younger I have always felt inadequate to everyone else and was teased for being different, I have decided that I really don’t care what other people think. I am who I am, and no body is going to stop me from being something great someday.

I wish more of the world could see things through Brain Warner’s eyes. He sees society as intricate and vast. Unfortunately, the T.V, the magazines, anything that influences the public has brain washed us into wanting to be someone else. Just like him, we should not be afraid to show our true colours and contribute to the colourful spectrum of human character. I feel that many people are wasting their short lives in pretending to be something in which they are not.

“What nobody understood then is this: The only way that you achieve what you want and fulfill your dreams and become great is by demanding that sort of attention. You have to make it happen.” – Brian Warner

This is your life, and it’s ending one minute at a time. If I believe I deserve the best, then that’s what I’m going to work hard to achieve. If you want something in life, it is up to us to go out and get it. Life is too short to settle for mediocre. Brian’s biography has taught me that I need to work hard, suffer hardships, and failures in order to succeed in life. Life is never easy, but if we can overcome disasters, we can conquer anything.

Tags: Brian Warner, character, conformity, experiences, Hope, life
Posted in Book Review

Life Reflection

I have always felt invincible, impervious to harm. I didn’t fully respect or appreciate how delicate and precious life really is. Humans are so fragile, at any moment the life we have before us could be taken away at any moment. Unfortunately for me, I had to learn the hard way.

It came with no warnings, starting out just a normal summer day. Nothing out of the ordinary, just another day trying to kill the small town boredom. We were off to look at housing so the boys could move out of their parents house.  He was a new driver, just getting his license that day or, a few days before I can’t quite remember. Before leaving to go check out the houses one of us yelled “buckle up!” so fortunately for us we had all done up our seat-belts which probably wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

What do you think of before you feel that you are going to die? To be honest I can’t quite remember everything. So many things were shooting through my head I remember thinking so this must be what it’s like before you are going to die.  I thought about what would happen after if I died and god for a short time but I was more concerned about my family and friends and how sad they would be if I was gone. We only rolled about 8  times, but it felt like a life time. Every second was another haunting thought, what if I died and someone survived? I haven’t even lived my life yet.  And that I never even got to say goodbye.

After the crash was terrifying. I remember being confused, and not being able to take off my seat-belt. But the worst part of it was seeing my friend half way out the window. Thankfully he just stuck his head out to avoid being crushed by the caved in roof. Words cannot describe the feelings felt when you think one of your best friends has died.

Was it intuition? If it wasn’t for him, saying “alright guys, he’s driving buckle up for safety”  Would we have all had our seat-belts done up anyways? Or was it just luck? Or perhaps there was some invisible force that protected us from a sure fate. Although the disturbing memory will always remain, we will never fully understand how we walked away. The crash has bonded all of us closer together, and we will  always remember and appreciate how precious and how fast life can be taken away at anytime.

Posted in Uncategorized

Duncan’s Horoscope

LEO

The sun is your ruling planet Leo. Of course the Sun is not really a planet; it is the center of our solar system. You are at the center of everyone’s attention at the moment.

They say, ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.’ That’s true to some extent, But really, it’s all about what you know about who you know. Keep your friends close, but your enemies much closer. The full moon brings negative energy, so be ready for a life changing astrological alignment. Your career is needing much attention, so be leary for the next few days. Now is the time to do the things you’ve always wanted, you may not get a chance like this in the future.

Posted in Uncategorized

Wonder Woman vs. He-Man

When asked to answer the question which man represents true manliness, I couldn’t think of anyone to better fill the spot then He-man. He-man represents the stereotypical image many people consider to be a manly man. He is very masculine, strong and the protector of the weak. He is your text book definition of what a man should be. The brave, beautiful protector. He is his true self, and is not easily pushed around by those who challenge his authority.

As for women, Wonder Woman would probably be the most womanly woman I could think of.  She is a woman living in a man’s world, but proves to be much more superior to men. Although she is hiding in her alter-ego, she is no one other then herself. She is strong, and doesn’t let anything stop her from doing the things she needs to do. She is beautiful, and always gets her way. She doesn’t let men get the better of her. She is what women should strive to be today.

Unfortunately, many men and woman are not anything close to these two model sexes. Not just because of our lack of super powers, but our failure to be ourselves. We are easily influenced by others which prevent us from showing off our true selves in the inside. We must learn to face our fears, and not fear anything. Fear holds everyone back in some way, if we can strive to be like our two heros we can live life to the fullest.

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Lament for Lost Culture

As Kudluk passed away so did his people and the rest of the Dorset culture. In much the same way that modern man has difficulty in remembering the great Dorset people, we must remember them because the Dorsets were victims of progress, but in some way are still alive. They are alive in us, because if not for them modern man could not have lived without their very existence.

To loose your culture, would be to loose everything. It makes us who we are today, and differs us from the rest of the world. Have we ever stopped to think, will we be remembered when our culture is finally lost? We can only hope a poet takes the time to write something beautiful and memorable about our lost culture one day. And for those that think we will never loose our culture, be very mistaken. Throughout history, every culture and civilization has been lost completely, or is on the verge to.

Even today we are seeing less and less of cultures. This idea of globalization and cultures that believe to being more like the western world are dying. The Chinese and Japanese have such a beautiful culture, but they are loosing the beauty because of influences of other countries like Canada and The USA. It’s sad to think about, but our future generations may never experience the diversity in cultures that we have today. The entire spectrum of diversity may some day be lost, and the people of the earth may one day group as one culture.

Without the past cultures, the people who started it all we would have nothing. I very much respect and believe that those people should be remembered. For it was them who endured the harshes, them who survived the ice ages, and was them who developed and invented as humans to create the people that we are today. I truly to lament for the Dorsets, for they were the building blocks of our society.

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Escaping Society

So who was Houdini? He was more then an incredible illusionist, and much more then the great escapologist. No, he was truly an artist. One who deeply wanted to express himself in forms of not painting nor words, but chains and locks. His risky escape acts were not only an approach to leave the crowd speechless and astonished. He preformed then to  send a comforting message to the world. His stunts were metaphors trying to say  that even in the toughest situations, even when there seems to be no hope of getting out of the toughest things in life, there is hope.

Our cruel society consumes us, and often leaves us with a feeling of being trapped. Either it’s debt, the work force, or just not being able to find your place in the world, we often feel bound to our lives. Trunks are metaphors for that we never really know what we are going to get, until we open it. Life is full of surprises and some of the situations in life brought to us make us feel hopeless and like there is no way of getting out. Being so far down the hole can make us feel so lost, and like there is no will to life anymore.

Eli Mandel, just like Houdini want to send a sort of subliminal message to the reader or in Houdini’s case the audience.  Both trying to open the minds of the audience, trying to unveil the truths of life for which they have so pondered on and discovered. But they don’t give it right up to us, it is up to us to decipher what they so want us to discover. Truth does not come to those who are blind to it, but those who look for it.

Posted in English 20

Power of Propaganda

As a response to Mr. Sader’s blog into the dark to see the light, I believe that  we as a society are easily controlled by the media, fear is not natural it is controlled into us. It is propaganda that decides the issues of the world that we are most concerned with, and use our fear to make us believe what they want us to believe. Since 9/11 the world has been afraid. Even though there has been no second attack, not even a sign that we are will be attacked again, we have been in a war. Still, the Americans feel they will be attacked again.  And now, because Obama was elected president, the first black president, they believe they will be attacked. It’s been 7 years since this has happened. But it doesn’t matter, because Americans are afraid. If we do have fears, then we are afraid to achieve. When we are afraid we are easily controlled… We must reach for the doors that take us beyond what we are afraid of. We must realize our fears have held us back. The media, controls their fears, and will continue to until they accept what has happened, and move on

I see the same trend in Truman, He is never able to get out of the place he so longs to leave because he is trapped there, held against his will because of his fears. The media lies to him, the radio is, well, actually  talking to him. He is now afraid to fly, and will never know what it is like to have the companionship of a dog. He lets the radio literally get inside his head. Propaganda controls the society. If we want to leave, fear will turn us away from leaving the place we know is safe.

My fears of things such as like height keep me from knowing the question “what if” I will probably never know what it is like to do things like sky diving. I will never be able to experience things in life that some people find incredibly exhilarating. Truman has a strong desire to leave the island, but of course fear is holding him back. His fear is like a type of shock therapy Kristoph uses to control Truman. He even says to Truman “Your afraid that’s why you can’t leave.” Everything in Trumans life, every decision he has ever made was already  predecided for him- without him even knowing it.

The Truman show mimics Romeo and Julliet. “A love forbidden grows hotter,” “for which is forbidden grows hotter.” It was becaue he was so easily controlled, the director could predecide who he was going to mary. Truman knew what he wanted but was continued to be held back by fear. If he had the courage to stand up, and face the fear and realize it was the soul thing controlling him, he could have whatever he wanted. From my own personal experience, I understand the fact that it is hard to over come your fears. But for as long as we continue to steer away from that of which we are afraid of we will never know the truth. Fear is holding everyone back in some way, and It’s important we can look past the restraint that is holding us back. There is more to life then what the media offers to us, but it is up to find out what that is, and overcome the fear, and face our demons.

Posted in Uncategorized

A Blind Soceity

Herman Melville was right, all we do is seem to complain and show a false grief for ourselves. But I mean, it’s always easier to complain about our hardships or mishaps instead of just dealing with them. When we complain, it’s our attempt to get sympathy from those around us so that we feel better about ourselves. We just live in this state of mind that the whole world revolves around ourselves and we don’t really give a rats ass about the rest of the world. What an ignorant selfish way to go about our lives. Snivelization makes us think, How can we make this world a better place? If we have to share this planet with the other 6.7 billion people we might as well realize that life isn’t just about us, but the people around us as well.

I see the trend in myself as well. Walking to school when it’s cold out really gets my day off to a wrong start. I get the occasional ride from my mom, but there are those days when she declines me a ride to school. When I am denied the ride, I feel angered, and when she tells me stories about her walking to school in minus 30 weather and she never got rides blah blah blah, really provokes the anger as well. But you know, I do get over it. I stop and think about the fact I am so privileged today to be getting the things I do. It’s not all about me, I just need to remember sometimes that I am being an inconvenience to my mom, and the times she does give me that ride to school she went out of her way and took the time to do this for me. Sometimes I just need to stop and appreciate the simple things in life.

We are such a materialistic society. We often get confused with difference between what we want and what we need. For some, happiness is based on how much stuff you have, because they believe that the amount of stuff they own increases their standard of living, thus creating the illusion of a greater quality of life.

Our confusion between our wants and needs is what fuels our economy. It sets our supply and demand system. We are always wanting the very best, which is exactly what the economy wants. Magazines, television, the entire media decides what we want for us, because they know how to get inside our heads. They know how to quench our starvation for the very best using propaganda techniques that weaken us to give in. The media even controls our self esteem. It seems they have created the image of perfection for us. Women are so conscientious about their bodies because in order to be “perfect” you must have a skinny waist, long legs and big boobs. If we stopped to look around us, we would realize no one is like this, so we must not all be perfect.

Nothing is perfect, we have so many tools like photo shop that help us create the illusion of perfection, and blind us to the reality of our world. Watch this video, and see for yourself Nothing is perfect, and we will never achieve perfection if we hold that idea of perfection that the media has created for us in our minds. Perfection is not one thing, it is what ever you believe to be perfect is.

So just thinking about all of this, I would definitely have to agree with Herman Melville and his idea of snivelization. I guess it is just our nature as humans to complain about the things we don’t have, and we will continue to never appreciate the simple things, because we are blinded by the media. But who knows? We could very well depend on our snivelization to keep our earth balanced. Without our economy, and the continuation of our growing technology, our society would cease to exist. We can’t have one or the other, but I believe that taking the time to be grateful for what we have is in order. Life is about more then just yourself, we must acknowledge the things around us as well.

Posted in Uncategorized

The Truman Show

My English 20 class is about to do a video study on The Truman Show. This poll I have created will help give me an idea what English 20 category it falls under, hoping it will help me when I am writing about it later on in the future.

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The Forgotten

Disorientated, the young British soldier fought through the thick mud. Sharp pain filled his entire chest  cavity. He knew that if he didn’t move quickly and find a safe place where he would be out of sight, he would collapse because of exhaustion, and who knows where he would end up if he lost all consciousness. At last, he had found an empty trench and layed in it. The solider had been shot, and knew that he was slowly bleeding to death. He unbuttoned his pocket and swallowed some pills that were in it hoping to numb the pain. For if he didn’t find help soon, he was going to die.

His girlfriend and newborn son flooded his mind with images and old memories. He knew that this was it, his final resting place and he wouldn’t being seeing them again. His eyes filled with tears picturing the image of his heart broken fiance. He wasn’t really sure what hurt more, the gun shot wound that punctured him in his chest, or the pain of missing her. Either way, he knew she would be proud of him no matter what, if he didn’t come back home to her she would know he died for her. With that comfort in the back of his mind, he shut his eyes, took a last deep breath, and his pain slowly left his body.

As a response to Mr. Sader’s blog Why We Remember? We need to understand that there were over 140,000 lives lost each leaving their loved ones behind. Bravery is truly an understatement. But because there is no other word in the English launguage that even comes close to describing it we will just have to stick with bravery. To be able to give up their life for us is truly something we must not forgot. They need to be remembered, and cannot be forgotten, as they are the reason we are so blessed today.

Posted in English 20

S1m0ne

S1m0ne                           

Year: 2002
Writer: Andrew Niccol
Director: Andrew Niccol
Length: 117 min
Category: Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi
Media: Film
Rating from : Rated PG-13 for some sensuality.
Rating: 3 out of 5

What an advance in movie technology we  would be at if we could actually create an entire movie’s cast through a computer program. Although Viktor Taransky has only created one stunning actress, he has captured the hearts of many viewers. Imagine being the a director that no longer has to search for that perfect actor to fulfill the parts of their masterpiece. Or just being able to create an actor that actually looks like they belong in the movie. In the long run, this would be more financially acceptable into making the movies.

In many ways, we are not so far off to accomplishing that. We can create the setting, special effects, and change the appearances of the cast all through computers. Even those so called “perfect models” are really not all that perfect. Photo-shop is a wonderful tool these days in dropping pounds and creating something beautiful out of something plain. I suspect that with the continuing of advances in our technology we will with out a doubt be able to create the unimaginable.

Posted in English 20

Change Can Happen

With every country, come’s it’s share of sexiest and racist people. Choosing between the first black president, the first woman as President or a 72 year old John McCain, I would have expected the John McCain to have the majority of  votes. America’s past is still part of their present, there will always be haters, those who judge, and real death threats thrown at Obama for as long as he remains president. But for those who have given up their past and accepted the society as it is today will flourish with independence and change the free democratic country into a real democracy. 

As the majority of the American citizens chose the black man as president, it would seem that a change was now in order. It must have been a proud day for all black Americans as that was another step closer to equality to all people. Obama winning this election is very symbolic, I see it as a step towards real freedom for all types of people. Obama is one step closer to making change happen.

Posted in English 20

Attack Ad

Make your own Attack Ad

This attack ad is one that was made for brave new world society. The society was kept from all types of freedom and even family. I’ve created this to show the rights the society of the new world they are entitled to.

Posted in English 20

Mask Of Personality

Our Character defines who we are as an individual. It is your true self, who we are on the inside, your sense of morals, your outlook on life, in which you cannot change. When we feel uncomfortable about who we are in society we often create a “mask” which hides who we actually are on the inside. This is what we know as our personality. We can easily alter it, hide behind the veil of lies, and live the same life as a normal acceptable part of the society. But those of us who are willing to remove the mask and show the world the true colours that lie underneath can bring out the diversity of the world and have the potential create a difference in the everyday society.

The children, and really any character that has been created by the Bokanovskify Process we’re taught from birth who they were going to be. So really they were just given a mask at birth, and they don’t have the need to explore who they are on the inside because their so called “character” has been artificially created for them. There were some on the other hand that even though they we’re created by the artificial process, seemed to have a greater understanding about the world around them. Bernard, could see that there was more to life then just simply having promiscuous sex, and popping soma to make you happy. The world had a greater meaning and he wanted the world to know about it. He was very different from the rest of society and did try to blend in with the rest of it. He found out that it was hard to pretend to be someone you are not in a giant society where being perfect is one of the main goals in life. One of the others, which seemed to have a greater understanding was Helmholtz, a man that is held in high respect by all of the people. I would place him in the Conventional level in Kohlberg’s stages because he wants to be a better and wiser person but was restricted by the law. He seemed to want to be able to show off his true character but the pressures of the society made him scare away from being a revolutionary.

Kohlberg’s stages of moral development, which I have studied about in the past years has really been an excellent tool in helping me understand why we act the way we do through different stages of our life, and has given me an intellect on why the characters in Brave New World act the way they do. When we are children, we usually act on a level one, stage two, the only reason we do things in life is on a “do things to get a reward” principal.  Most of the characters make decisions and act on about at a level one stage two as well. They only take part in the activities they take part in because it is what they find rewarding, and do things to stay out of trouble from their elders as well.

John the savage seemed to have the most character. He was quite different from the new world as is. He didn’t want to be like everyone else, but change who they were because he believed it would save their society. I believe he thought of himself like the great Markus Brutus and tried to steer the epicurean natured people to a more conservative, civillized, stoic community. He was definatly acting on a more conventional level, he faced his deamons and tried to change the way their world was. He stepped up, took off the mask but failed to change the world. He did what he could, but the rest of the society refused to listen. The new world is seems to accept only advances to technology and is far too gone for any type of change.

Posted in English 20

Bear Ends Marijuana Grow Op. In Garfield County

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4172376

Smokey the Bear seems to have changed his ways. The once fire preventing trademark black bear helped put an end to the growing illicit drugs in Garfield County. Our new crime fighting friend has earned the thanks of the Garfield County police department, and it’s respectful citizens.

This little Article was defiantly chuckle worthy to read about. The first thing I thought in my mind as I read this was, that bear would look adorable in a little deputy hat! But came to realize even though that bear was just doing it’s own thing, it did a lot of good for the Garfield area. It would seem that you really have to be smarter then the average bear, if your serious about growing illegal drugs.

It’s not very often that we see these kinds of heroic acts by animals. To think that one black bear made a huge difference in our society, is comforting to know that there are other ways besides our justice system helping to keep our society in order. There is a small message of inspiration in this news article that anything can make some sort of difference in the world.

Posted in Uncategorized

Critical Decisions and Understanding the Consequences

Scared and alone you cling to your sniper rifle, as it is your savior now. You feel there is no God with you now, as you feel abandoned and on your own. You watch the ground below slowly pacing with your eyes for any sign of movement. The stress of the battle has taken its tole on you and has brought that craving of a cigarette. Would you light one knowing that it could be the cause of your very death if your enemy saw you? Or would you continue your own battle of fighting your addiction and staying alive?

Without even realizing it, we are always making decisions. Whether these decisions are something simple like deciding what we are going to eat for breakfast in the morning or if the decision we make is so serious that it could end in us being killed, we must try to predict the end consequence of how this is going to impact us as a person, before we actually go through with our decision making. Decisions that we make in real life, and in the novels such as Julius Caesar, and The Sniper always result in some form of consequence either impacting the decision maker positively or negatively.

Being inside a battle you must really think before you act. Even if it is something as simple as lighting a cigarette it could be the end to your very life. Would you be able to kill people you don’t know? The thought of it could make anyone sick, but when it comes down to kill or be killed the choice is obvious which one you would choose. We seem to make decisions based on what we believe to value most, in the case of being in battle probably your life and your country. But the consequences might not always be in favor for someone else. Just like in the novel Julius Caesar, the senators felt like they needed to kill Caesar, to save Rome from being ruled under a Tyrant, and for some their own personal motives.

Though succeeding in killing Caesar, they clearly did a poor job of thinking of the consequences to their actions. Unfortunately Brutus had a stoic flaw, believing everyone will understand and accept what they had done and also believe that it was for the good of Rome. This flaw costed him his life and the rest of the conspirators. Markus Antony got the better of them as the conspirators were just pawns in his diabolical plan of making it to the top of the ladder.

Both of the novels teach us that we must consider how the consequences of our decisions will affect us after we go through with them. Just like in Julius Caesar we must always remember things might not always turn out the way we want them to, so we have to have a back up when making a major decision. There will always a consequence for our actions, so making the decision that impacts us the way we want it to is critical.

Posted in Uncategorized

That Inner Voice

To some, Mr. Sader may seem like that weird teacher who only speaks of philosophy and lectures on food that some how get related to proper essay writing techniques. But if you really tune into what he has to say, he will really open your mind to things you may have never even thought about, and really impact the way you express yourself when you write. I’ve sure come a long way from that clueless 9th grader I was a year ago, but I’ve still go some kinks to straighten out in my writing. But overall I’m really starting to open up and slowly find my voice in my writing. You can find proof of this inside my portfolio I have created from this years work. From my responses from short stories to my own personal opinions, I am proud to show off what I have accomplished this year.

My post Ethical or Unethical is defiantly my favorite and, what I think, my best piece of writing I have created so far. As it was my random idea post, I was able to any topic that I wanted. The topic I chose was one that I have a very strong opinion on, so it was very easy for me to put my voice in it and make it so it was debatable. I seemed to have a problem with topics that were chosen for me, as they were something more or less the teacher wanted me to write and not what I wanted to write about. Anyways I always found something in the texts that I found interesting, and incorporated that into my writings. For example, I wasn’t too interested in the novel Julius Caesar, but I was really interested in the stoic vs epicurean relationships that the book also portrayed.

Overall It’s been quite a productive year, my writing has grown and I’m defiantly proud to show off what I have accomplished during this semester. I can only wait until next year and hope that I can really tap into that inner voice that Mr. Sader has been trying to get out, and really express what’s inside that is dying to come out.

Posted in Grade 10 Portfolio

Wonder Showzen

When being asked the question what is your favourite TV show I would definitely have to choose Wonder Showzen. It is a parody of a children’s program, however this program parodies a children’s program in a very adult orientated manner. Recurring skits include interviews with kids who give irreverent, controversial answers , kid reporters interviewing adults in a segment titled ‘Beat Kids’, and man-on-the-street interviews by the puppet Clarence who has a knack for harassing reporters with innocent questions.

Through its offensive, and well written material it represents the b.s parents and political figures create by exploiting them through interviews and cartoon segments. The Wonder Showzen universe is a place of pain and hopelessness, where God is quite literally dead. In the episode Patience, the show actually tries to teach you patience, by testing it. By accomplishing this, they play half the show, then play that half in slow motion, then they play the last half of the show, then they play the whole show backwards and then sped up. The ridiculous episode tries every-one’s nerves, including the audience.

I was quite upset when I heard that Wonder Showzen was being cancelled. They’re condemning this series because it will “corrupt” children, yet people compliment South Park for “getting it right” when that’s a show that you and I both know a great deal of children HAVE watched despite the age restrictions, and which features a lot of other offensive or political humour. I pity any parent that actually let their child watch the show. But sometimes we just have to learn to be patient and let people be who they are.

Posted in Grade 10 Portfolio

My Three Wishes

After reading Shustyn’s post Opportunities of Three Wishes it really got me thinking of what I would choose if I had gotten the same opportunity. My first wish, which is probably the most common wish anyone would pick, would be to win the lottery. With that money I would be able to buy myself whatever I wanted, and I could buy my friends and family gifts. I would invest some of my money in something like Eastalta Co-op so I could continue making more money, because Co-op makes about 110 Million dollars every year. I would also consider giving some of it to charities or sponsoring misfortunate children over seas, and help share my wealth with those who need it.

As a second wish I would wish that I would pass all of my high school courses with honors, so that I would be able to get into any collage or university of my choice easily. And with the money in my previous wish, I would be able to pay my whole school’s tuition and living expenses. I would have no problem starting off on my own if these two wishes were actually given to me.

Trying to figure out my last wish is pretty hard. With the two wishes I have basically everything I need to start my life out. It seems that my wishes are based on how I want my future so for my last wish I would probably wish for me to find a career that I really enjoy. This way I could do what I love, and provide for myself or maybe even a family in my future.

Posted in Grade 10 Portfolio

Ethical or Unethical?

The whole world seems to get divided into the issues of whether cloning is ethical or not. Many religious people such as Christians and Jews are stuck on the fact that the embryo is considered as living from the day of conception. So killing the embryo through cloning would be considered a sin. This is also counted among the popular disadvantages of cloning. But what about the many Christians and Jews that have abortions in times that they are not ready for to conceive a child? Is this not the same issue being brought forth by cloning?

People in our world are concerned that there are many loopholes and undiscovered problems that may result from this uncharted practice of cloning. This should push us to keep developing this mysterious medical phenomenon and to perfect, and unlock the potential powers it may posses.

Cloning can solve our problems of infertility. We can solve the mental and physical pain an infertile couple has to go through when trying to conceive a child. If we develop cloning we can help our cancer patients in our world that have lost limbs to the terrible disease, and give them back what they have lost. Cloning can save the lives of those waiting on an organ donor to step up to save their lives. Even if an organ donor does give them their organ, their is still a possibility that the patients body will reject the organ and they will still die. If we have the ability to clone an organ to match the dying patients organ exactly wouldn’t that seem the choice to pick?

It is said that cloning can treat those who suffer from Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, heart attack, multiple sclerosis. If we could help the families and the victims of these diseases why shouldn’t we develop cloning? Although cloning may be expensive to research and develop, we may be able to save and create many lives. And what is the price of human life?

Posted in Grade 10 Portfolio

What do you want to be when you grow up?

What do you want to be when you grow up? That famous sentence has been asked to countless number of kids for hundreds years. Whether they decide to be a doctor or a teacher, or maybe even an astronaut they continue to help contribute to our society and offer their skills of what they aspire to be. It’s not always easy to decide, but keeping as many options open to you as possible is essential for going where you want to go.

Education is a head start to put you in the direction you want to head in. “Life is like a shit sandwich. The more bread you have the less shit you have to eat” and by bread I mean education. Education is essential to where we want to be in life. It seems that the more we educate ourselves the more doors we leave open for us to enter through if we so choose to go through those doors. Dropping out of school, not paying attention in class is really going to bring you down because we need education in our life or we won’t be able to make it on our own in the real world.

Trying to figure out what you want to be when your older is never easy for some people. It is difficult to decide what you would like to be for the rest of your life and actually be happy with what your doing. In the short story Two Kinds Ni Kan wasn’t sure what she wanted to do when she was older. Under the pressure of her very traditional mother, she tried out numerous things and found out that they weren’t for her. She didn’t want to be someone she was not and followed to something that she wanted to do. This story is a perfect example for those people who are not sure what they want to do. Try out new things and no matter what do the things that you want to do. Don’t ever limit yourself, or let other people tell you what you can and cannot do; if you have a passion for something then go for it. The only thing that would ever stop you is you.

Posted in English 10

Consider the Consequences

We as human beings are constantly making decisions. Whether it is just deciding what we are going to eat when we wake up each morning or deciding what you want take as a life career, they always result in consequences that effect our life either positively or negatively. We must always consider what is the cause and effect of the choice we are about to make.

In the short story The Sniper, the author really captivates the decisions and the real life consequences of what being in a real war would be like. Every decision that you make even choosing to light up a cigarette could result in death if the enemy caught you doing it. It is maddening to think about what it would be like to have to kill hundreds of people that could be just like you, but you do it anyways because you know if you don’t kill you will be killed.

In the short story War we see that going into battle results in leaving your family and loved ones behind. Making the decision of leaving your family and knowing that you may never see them again is one that is difficult to induce. One must consider the fact that if you do leave your family, you will be helping out your country and keep it safe. But on the other hand you must ponder on the fact that you may never see your family and friends again and there is a possibility you may indeed die.

Making any decision, even if it is just going to war we must consider our values first. We must think about what is more important, being with our loved ones or protecting our loved ones. Not wanting to make the choice, but knowing you must make a decision is emotionally exhausting. Being trapped in this cage of decision-making and consequences could provoke certain insanity for those who would be forced to have to make the dreaded decision.

Some decisions are never easy to make, but may very crucial in our every days lives. Trying to choose what’s best for you may be difficult but in the end decision-making comes down to this, what is the consequence that is going result if we choose undergo this choice?

Posted in Grade 10 Portfolio

There’s Another Way

War truly is a horrific, especially if you would have to experience first hand what it would be like. The short story I have read The Sniper really captivates the intesness and the suspense of what being inside a battle would really be like. Every decision you make, even something such as just lighting a cigarette is very crucial to your survival. It is maddening to have to think about what it would be like to see your brother’s dead, bloody corpse laying on the ground or watching your best friends be torn apart by bullets. Even having to kill men and women that you don’t even know would be sickening to anyone who was forced to do it. Being inside this cage of violence would provoke some form of insanity for those who had to participate in it.

Even though we know that war tears apart our families, loved ones, and the beauty of the countries in the world, it seems that patriotism is what comes first in the minds of our people. Some how love for your country oversees other people’s values and people are willing to sacrifice themselves for it. Being able to stand up and fight for your country takes allot of courage, and for those who actually were noble enough to stand up we owe them for what we have today. Although war has taken us to where we are today it has also destroyed cultures and caused many innocent people to die. We need to find another way to solve our conflicts like mature intelligent people not like barbaric children.

Understanding why we have war is essential if we want to put an end to it. We have to understand the motive that makes people want to fight and we need to know what a persons vales and beliefs are towards other people and their country. There is a way we can end it, but first we must teach the people of the world how to communicate through words and agreements and not violent acts. It will be hard to do, but if we are able to accomplish peace we will save can save our civilization. Like John F. Kennedy says “Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind.”

Posted in English 10

A Tempting Consequence

At Cooger and Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show there are many attractions offered to those who participate in it. It is there where you can find the most beautiful women in the world, have your future foretold by the phenomenal Dust witch, or you can visit on the many of the carnivals exciting rides and other attractions. But this is not your average carnival; this carnival is one that uses means of sin and temptation to bring out the inner darkness of ordinary people.

One of the carnivals main attractions is the Carousel. It was soon discovered by young Jim Nightshade and Will Halloway that this was no ordinary carousel. This one had the power to change your age by means of rotating it clockwise or counterclockwise. Jim, your average rebellious 13-year old is fascinated by the idea of being able to change your age. He like many teenagers wants to be an adult, and be able to be free from his parent’s rule. Even Will is interested in the idea of being able to skip to adult hood. Charles Halloway, Wills father has also been informed with the power of this carousel. He is portrayed as a middle-aged unhappy man who fears getting older and death. He is intrigued by the idea of being able to be young again, and escaping his curse of getting older.

The temptation of the carousel pushes Jim towards the carousel. If he were to step onto it and have it spin so it would make him older, there would be many consequences he would have to consider. One would be is he ready to be older? Can he cope with the world by himself? What would his parents think? Is he ready to be on his own? Jim over looked the consequences and he was pulled in by the tempting power of the carousel. Charles also has to decide whether he should ride the carousel counterclockwise to make him younger. Escaping back to childhood has been dreamed by many adults, but the consequences of actually turning back could be major. Charles has to think about the freedom he is taking away from himself. He couldn’t possibly be a father, or a husband in the state he wants to be in. Although it is tempting to stay older the fear of getting older gets the better of him.

While Charles and Will were in the mirror maze, Charles began to see different images of him. Will told his father that he doesn’t care if he gets older and Charles slowly starts to understand whom he really is. He gets lead away by a boy, who he finds out to be Mr. Dark himself. Charles embraces Mr. Dark knowing he can’t endure love and kills Mr. Dark. Charles and Jim save Will as they sing to make Jim experience a happiness that overrides any inner darkness and misery. Although the evil was tempting to those participants the inner light shined through them and got the better of them. Charles, Jim, and Will gained their own self-awareness and realized who they really were.

Posted in Grade 10 Portfolio

Donnie Darko

Donnie Darko

Year: 2001

Writer: Richard Kelly

Director: Richard Kelly

Length: 113 min / 133 min (director’s cut)

Category: Drama

Media: Film

Rating from : Rated R for language, some drug use and violence.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Jake Gyllenhaal plays troubled young Donnie Darko who has a creative imagination and a superior amount of intelligence. He is struggling with the dullness of standard education, and the way the world acts. He meets an imaginary friend named Frank who is a six foot tall metal-faced demonic rabbit, that saves his life by taking him away him from a disaster just before it occurs. This leads him down a different path of his life that is filled with a series of crime and acts that change the lives of everyone.

This intense film is filled with self sacrifice, heroism and irony. Overall, it was very exciting and suspenseful, and is definitely a movie that should be seen more the once to fully understand the meaning behind it.

Posted in Movies