Christine's blog

I live in a world that contains inequalities between human beings. I have recently read books and watched movies about equality, pain and pride. The Julius Caesar movie contains many inequality between epicureans and stoics. Julius Caesar was definitely a devoted man who wanted to rule Rome and run the people the way he wished. The advantage Caesar had is that he was able to buy the Romans who are epicurean because all they cared about is money and were the next party is so that they can drink. Epicureans didn’t believe in consequence, so whatever they did they were able to do it with no heart because no one was going to punish them. Stoics on the other hand did believe in consequence and in case they perform any actions that are against god, like killing someone, that stoic would go home and pray for forgiveness. Haiti is another country that is facing inequality, but in this countries case Canada and many other countries like the U.S are donating millions of dollars to help build hospitals and help the victims out. Africa is another country facing inequality and pain. Thousands of Africans die everyday because of starvation, disease and sometimes violence. Julius Caesar, Haiti, and Africa are or used to face inequality, pain, and pride.

Julius Caesar wanted power and control over Rome. With money and being a great epicurean he was able to achieve his goals. He definitely had pride in his work towards running the Romans the way using money and persuasiveness. On the other side, there was the stoics. Stoics are people who didn’t drink and prayed to god most of time. They didn’t fall for Caesar’s tricks and wanted the government to change from epicurean to stoic, that way Rome would not be filled with such Epicurean ways of drinking and the hurting of others. Caesar had pride in is work, and he thought that no Roman will be able to stop him ruling the them, especially his best friend Anthony. Brutus and Cassius, where Brutus is a stoic and Cassius is an epicurean or stoic depending on what situation that he is in. They were they ones to kill Caesar with pride, because they thought that that would be better for Rome, to become a stoic government. In the end Anthony steps aside and lets Cassius and Brutus handle the killing while he sits aside watch them kill his best friend, because he knew that he will get the prize in the end. That is where the pain and pride comes in. Anthony had pride because he accomplished and deserved all the prizes, or he thought he did, but he didn’t. He should have no pride in watching his best friend get butchered while he awaits to get Caesar’s will the ruling of Rome. Brutus and Cassius go to war with Anthony and Octavius but commit suicide because of misinterpreted evidence. Cassius thought that Brutus has died and lost the war against Octavius and so he kills himself. Brutus actually wins the war against Octavius, but when he finds Cassius dead, he as well commits suicide after a while of running away from Anthony. These two brave men died with honor and pride. There was definitely pain in their journey because even after they killed Caesar, Anthony gave a captivating speech and won the Romans over. Brutus and Cassius as well had a huge fight about some gold going missing and the blame was going towards Cassius. In the end of the fight though they became best friends again, even after Brutus brought up some events that Cassius has done wrong in, and he knew that Cassius would be extremely frustrated and mad with him because of that, but in the end they died together with pride and honor.

I feel so upset for all the victims that are in Haiti that have been affected by the earthquake. They are facing death of family and children and friends still missing. Haiti people are going through so much pain because of this earthquake. I am pleased to know that this world does have people that care and that want to help others who are facing tough times with their country. Canada has donated millions and millions of dollars to build hospitals to help heal these people pain. Many other countries are donating money to Haiti to help ease and heal the pain. This is pride, pain, and equality. Haiti is going through major pain, but countries are showing their pride and are helping Haiti in this long and painful event. The money that has been donated is going to good use. Clinics are being build to help Haiti repair from this event, a clinic can hold up to 250 people per day, there is defiantly pride in that area, since we can help these victims recover and save their lives. We as Canadians should have pride in what we are doing, because we are not saying “Oh who cares about them, as long as nothing happens to Canada we don’t need to spend our money on them”, and that is the wrong attitude to have. We should help them to make this world equal and make the pain go away and be replaced with pride. I am glad that my country does have the attitude to help others so that everyone in this world is happy and equal and no pain should come upon them. Africa is facing a similar problem. Even though no tragic event is happening in Africa, millions are dying because of starvation and diseases. All countries should have enough food and clean water. Unfortunately, that is not happening in our world today. Canada and the U.S have companies that are non governmental that are getting people to donate money to Africans so that they can have food and clean water, so that African children can go to school, and so that adults learn how to farm to make money for their families, and to how to take care of their health by taking the family to a doctor to make sure that they can recover from the disease or to be safe from the diseases, because many kids in Africa die of Malaria, because nighty percent of Malaria related deaths occur in Africa. Africa does have pain but also pride, the pride that other countries are helping them and do care about them having a good life. World Vision is a company that sends workers to Africa to help teach families how to farm. The money that we donate is going to great use of helping other and making this world a better and equal place for all human beings.

If I was was in Haiti or Africa I would be grateful and have pride in how others care about saving me and my family and not letting me die as if I didn’t mean the littlest bit to them. I would be facing pain, but I would be pleased that people are donating their hard working money to me and my country to help me survive this horrible event. I would start thinking differently of the world and that there is hope to make everyone equal even though that would take billions and billions of dollars to do so. Knowing that my family is dying and I don’t know where they are would make me irritated and furious, because they are my support and my parents help me get through the day. My parents give me advice on how to deal with a situation. I was once having a very hard time in school with my marks, I went home and my mom immediately knew that I was upset. I explained to her that I am not glad with the marks and for a reason I am unable to achieve the marks that I am working for. She explained to me that she would not be disappointed in my marks because as long as I am trying my best and doing what the test takes to get the mark that I am looking for, she will not be mad or disappointed since she knows that I tried my best. Just having a family member who knows me so well and is there for me when I fall down is a great feeling, because I always know she will stand by me and support me the whole way through. To be in Haiti or Africa and to know that my mom, dad, brother, or sister are missing and maybe even dead, would be horrifying. I had pain when I was in that situation, but with my moms support, that pain turned into pride because I knew that I could not do any better and I did try my best, that is all that matters. I hope that with our support and help, Haiti and Africa would recover and become equal to other countries and as well have pride in their work, and maybe they can start helping other countries who are in need of the same support that they got when they needed help.

Haiti victims and Africans who are suffering and are able to get through the day are role models, because knowing that me or my family are dying or missing would horrify me, because I know that I can not live without them, I need their help and support to get me through hardships. Canada and the countries that are helping or trying to help should have pride of making the pain of others disappear and trying to make this world equal. No country or person should suffer from starvation, diseases, or the lose of family and relatives. We are all human beings, we should all have pride and no pain. First world countries and their citizens have the responsibility to help others, because I put myself in the place of the victim and imagine what I would do or how I would feel if I was in his/her place, and in this case I would be very upset that my family is missing because of an earthquake, but I would also be happy that others that I have never meet are donating their money to help me heal and find my family. The Haiti people are not forcing me to donate money, I donate money because I want to, because if I was ever in the shoes of a fifteen year old who has lost her family or her family has died, I would need help because I would be lost. I can sacrifice buying a new laptop that is as thin as an Ipod to help Africans or Haiti people survive. I can save start saving money again, but I can’t bring people back from the dead. I would put my personal needs to the side to save a life.

I have been in situations where I completely misinterpreted evidence. This completely makes all the planning and goals to completely fail. To not misinterpret evidence I need to have a good eye and ear. I can definitely connect misinterpreting evidence with the Julius Caesar’s past and his story.

The first big misinterpreted evidence that happened in the Julius Caesar past is with Brutus.  He is a stoic, which means he doesn’t drink, instead he prays to god for all his actions. They have the believe that god rewards them and god is the one with the consequences, they are great believers in god. One problem though with that believe is that they will become lazy stoics. They leave everything in the hands of god, “If god wants Julius Caesar to die he will some how kill him”, they leave the world to god, stoics believe in immortal souls. Cassius, a stoic when needed and an epicurean when needed, talked Brutus and the other 6 conspirators into killing Caesar because they want a stoic government. They all agree and Brutus decides that they should only kill Caesar and not his loyal best friend Mark Anthony. Brutus said that Anthony is just a limb of Caesar. That is the biggest misinterpreted mistake that Brutus has made, but Anthony is actually the man that they should worry about the most.

Anthony, who I believe is mostly a stoic but sometimes and epicurean, got the biggest price out of the killing of his best friend Caesar and out of the misinterpreted evidence. Brutus and the conspirators thought that they were the only ones that knew about killing Caesar, they were completely wrong. Anthony knew that they were going to kill Caesar and he let it happen because there was definitely a price in the crime for him. He knew all of their secrets and when and how they were going to kill him. He is an amazing actor though because the only reason that Brutus decided not to kill him which was the big misinterpretation was because Brutus is a judge and so he judged Anthony as a weak person that didn’t know what he is doing. Anthony was there the whole time without anyone knowing, I thought that Anthony was never there, but as I read I realized that he was extremely sneaky and could have saved his best friend, but choice the path with the most prizes. Brutus and Cassius allow Anthony to hold Caesars body and speak at his funeral. That was a huge mistake as well, because Anthony is a great speaker that can buy the crowd.  When Brutus talked to the Romans he captured them be saying that he killed Caesar for honor for the good of Rome. When Anthony spoke he recaptured the crowd by acting like he was extremely sad about Caesar’s death, and then he brought out the will. The will that Caesar has left for him and the Romans, which contained money for the Romans, about 75 drachma for each person. They were crazy happy because they get money, after all they are epicureans. An epicurean who describes Calpurnia, is someone who wants money, alcohol, and days off work. They don’t believe in curses or and immortal soul. They don’t believe in consequences and that’s why they don’t care about what they do. They can kill a person and not even think about for a second, because they know that there is no punishment.

The second big misinterpretation is when Cassius and Brutus go to war against Anthony and Octavius, Caesar’s nephew. Brutus’s army goes to fight Octavius’s army and Cassius’s army against Anthony’s army. When Brutus and his army are fighting against Octavius’s army, Brutus sends a message to Cassius saying that he might have a chance to win this war but he needs Cassius to back him up. Cassius, against his will, orders his army to cross the field and help Brutus. Unfortunately, Anthony sees the messenger and knew that Cassius will be crossing, so he waited behind the hill to attack. That was exactly what happened. The reason that Cassius crossed against his will was because he was a true friend to Brutus and he was definitely going to help his best friend out when he needed it. Cassius was a liar who would lie to any of his friends to win the prize in the end, or in anyway to benefit himself, and these types of actions are epicurean actions since he doesn’t believe in consequences. This time though, he went through on his word and even though it was very risky to cross the field he still crossed to help out Brutus. Cassius was a complete stoic when he decided to cross and help defeat Octavius. When they crossed though, Anthony as planned attacked. Cassius asks one guy too go and check out who was at their camp, because if it was Octavius then they officially are done and have lost the war. In the case that Brutus has won and is at the camp, then he can come and help Cassius defeat Anthony. Cassius also sends Trebonius to go on the hill to look over and see who is there. Trebonius misinterprets the evidence and says that it is Octavius. Brutus is actually the won at the camp. Cassius immediately says that he shall die with honor and commits suicide. When Brutus get to the site he sees what Cassius has done and gets very upset. After a while of running away from Anthony, Brutus also commits suicide because he as well wanted to die with honor. The misinterpretation of the evidence here caused the death many soldiers and the death of their leaders, who by misinterpreted evidence died with honor.

The misinterpretation of evidence can lead to many disadvantages, which in this case caused two noble men to commit suicide. We are not perfect humans and we never will be, I can sometimes misinterpret evidence myself. I do blame Trebonius for the killing of Cassius and Brutus because he was the one looking to see who won, and he misinterpreted the situation. Cassius should have made sure that Octavius lost first and then thought about what to do next, but if it wasn’t for these brave men maybe Rome would have been completely different. I hope that in the future I would be able to visit modern Rome and see what the misinterpreted evidence of the past has made Rome today.

Alcohol commercials contain gender inequality. Guys are viewed as they users and the girls as the used. The girls are used in most commercials as magnets for guys to alcohol, the idea that they are displaying is that when guys drink they can have girls and their own separate unrealistic world that they can do any action in and not get in trouble. Drinkers usually use the excuse that they were drunk when they hit their friend and that they weren’t thinking because of the alcohol. Well they shouldn’t have been drinking in the first place. If I know that I am bad drinker, hit others, and act stupidly then I shouldn’t be drinking at all. When people get arrested because of the actions that they when they were drinking, the police would usually ask why they drank when they knew that they were bad drinkers. The way that society today works is that if guys drink and get arrested once or twice, it’s not that big of a deal. If girls do the exact same actions, that would turn in to a huge problem all and would be completely unexpected.

One commercial that I saw recently is for the Bud Light company. They have a three guards that go into an elevator with a girl, then the other two will make the elevator break so that the girl will stay in it and gets offered a beer, which she takes. After a while they put work the elevator again and the girl and the guy comes out and everything is back to normal. The funny part is that the three guards take turns going into the elevator with a girl and doing the same thing every time. The is a great example of girls being used and the boys as being the users. I have to put the fault as well on the girls, because they should no better then drinking in an elevator with a guy who offers you alcohol. In most of the alcohol commercials that I see, the girls are the ones that are trapped in the guys fantasies about drinking and getting the guys even though they might hate that guy. These types of commercials show guys that they should drink so that they can escape to their made-up world. Then they get back to the real world and they see what they have to deal with, so the start to drink again,so they can go to the unrealistic world. They are showing  the guys that what they are doing is right, with drinking, but what they are doing is negative and affects people emotionally and physically. The guys might hit or emotionally  hurt people around him like family or friends.

Another commercials that made me think about gender inequality is the Heineken commercial. The commercial is showing a group of girls that are walking around looking at their friends house when they walk into a walk-in closet that is full with clothes and shoes. Then the boys are walking around with the owner of the house and are looking around the house, but instead of a walk-in closet full of clothes, the closet is full of beer. The first time I saw this commercial I immediately thought to myself that this commercial contains gender inequality. This is showed because the girls start screaming when they see the clothes, but the boys start screaming when they see all that beer. The girls in that commercial are showed as that they only care about clothes and that they don’t even drink, they are stating that boys are the only ones that drink and girls are just careless about beer. Some boys do care about what they wear. They don’t want to go out looking like total slobs. Some boys are even completely against drinking and care way more about clothes and trend.

After watching this Coors Lights commercial, I immediately knew that there was gender inequality. The people that are sitting around the table that are watching a beer label change colors are all guys. Girls have eyes as well, I’m pretty sure that they can watch a beer bottle change from white to blue. The guys around the table don’t even now where to look, they are asking questions like “When does the label change to beer”, or “I can’t see any mountains,” when they are looking right at the label with mountains drawn all over it, or “When does the bottle change color,” she just said that the mountains changes color not the bottle, these guys are acting stupidly when all the answers to their questions is in their hands and the lady just told them exactly what is going to happen. She said “When the mountains change colors, your beer is certified cold.” She never said anything about the label changing into beer and obviously the mountains are on the label, all they had to do was look. There should have also been girls that were seeing the change. Maybe the girls would have been able to direct the boys, so that they don’t look so stupid.

I have written about three different commercials and with different beer companies, that have showed gender inequality in the commercials. All three commercials have mainly guys as the people displaying the beer and the girls being an attraction. The guys the users, the girls the used. Almost all of the commercials that we see today have this same plot, guys being the more dominant. That is not fair on behave of the girls, why do they get to be treated more special them we do? Girls can drink as much as guys can and be as responsible and irresponsible as them. There should be no reason at all for guys to be treated the way that they are. Gender inequality sadly controls our lives today. Every single person on this earth has been influenced by media and gender inequality in some way, whether its career wise or just plain life wise, like school. Gender inequality has overtaken our lives and we should try and stop it as much as possible.

I have a little brother, Aboudi, he watches T.V. most of the day. That means that I see most of the commercials that are displayed for toys for people to buy. The commercials are separated into male toys and female toys. There are toys that are specifically made for girls and some are made specifically made for boys only. Commercials with a Hot Wheels track and cars, would have only boys displaying and playing with the cars. If the commercial was showing dolls and how real they can be, it would have girls in the commercial. If I actually think about it, having a boy play with a doll and changing the diapers or feeding the doll that would be kind of weird, or having a girl play with toy cars and trucks, my brother would probably be like, “I don’t want to buy that car it’s for girls”. Well that explains why commercial companies in force gender differences in commercial. When a doll commercial comes on as my brother is watching T.V. he closes his ears and starts yelling so that he doesn’t have to hear anything about the dolls, but when a truck or car commercial comes on he immediately runs and gets my parents to show them that he wants that toy.

The Baby Alive doll is a commercial that is basically for girls only. If my boy child came and told me that he wanted a Baby Alive doll I would kind of be surprised. In todays world the way most people think is that boy are supposed to play with boy toys like cars and trucks and planes, and girls are supposed to play with dolls and little animal fur friends. Boys are supposed to be destroying objects and girls are supposed to be gentle and motherly. Most of Earth population is based on this idea. If girls played with trucks and cars they wouldn’t be as pressured as guys are. If guys played with dolls like the Baby Alive, changing the diaper, feeding, and caring for the doll, that would be considered so weird and wrong. It comes easier for girls then for boys when it comes to playing with toys. The Baby Alive commercial only has a girl in it that plays and acts like the doll is the most important part of her life. In reality, she probably plays with the doll for like 2 weeks and then gets bored since she now owns the “so real” life doll. In the commercial the doll says “I love you mommy”, well why isn’t there a toy that says “I love you daddy”, and that is because that’s just plain unimaginable, and that is because of the world that we live in today. Boys are supposed to be tough and not sensitive, and girls are supposed to be sensitive and motherly. Girls are given the image that they should look like Barbie and have all the same features. 5 feet 9 inches in height, a 36 inche chest, a 18 inche waist and 33 inche hip. They think that they are supposed to look like that.

The Hot Wheels company by Mattel Inc. is a huge toy making company. In every commercial they have a boy playing with a car making sure that his gets to the finish line first or gets throught the snake mouth without getting eaten. These types of commercials always have males that display the object. That kind of makes sense because if I was the director of that commercial I wouldn’t have a girl dressed in pink and act like a total boy. Hot Wheels is one of my brothers favorite commercials, so I watch lots of Hot Wheels commercials, and I haven’t seen a girl in a commercial yet. Hot Wheels displays the idea that boys are only supposed to play with cars and trucks and tracks, not girls. That is the kind of commercials that show the separation between girls products and boy products. Boys always play with toys that are figures of what they can’t be when they can grow up. For example, astronauts, ninja turtles, star wars action figures, batman, spiderman, and transformers. They are playing with toys that they want to be when they grow up. Realistically they will never be spiderman or batman or even a ninja turtle. Girls play with toys like dolls and so they  act like mothers which is realistic because they have a chance of being a mom when thy grow up. The are playing with toys that are realistic.

When kids get into stores like Toys R Us the boys will run to the boys section and the girls to the girls section. The toys are all separated from ages to gender. Seeing a boy in the girls section holding a barbie doll and yelling “I WANT IT, I WANT IT”, that would take me by surprise. I would never have ever thought that would be possible. If a girl was in the boys section and was doing the same thing but was holding a car, I wouldn’t think that would be as big of a deal. Even if boys held a guy doll, that would still be pretty weird. That’s funny of gender separation we have in our lives today. Boys are supposed to play with army toy figures and toy guns and act all tough and strong and indestructible, but girls are supposed to play with barbies and dolls and act like mommies, caring and sensitive. This can relate to feelings, boys are not supposed to cry and are not to show any feelings at all. Girls are supposed to cry over breaking a nail and are supposed to be very sensitive. Gender inequality is playing a huge role in my everyday life.

In the end gender enforcement is controlling our life. I buy what the companies show me and I go along with it not realizing what these toy companies are actually doing to me. They control what boys should buy and what girls should buy. They persuade us into thinking that girls are innocent and sensitive, and boys are tough and strong. These companies affect my life everyday, and they try to make us think that girls are made to stay home and boys are supposed to be fighting and splashing and taking over the world. Girls should be able to express what they want to be without being judged. If I want to play with toy guns and dress like spiderman then I should be  able to do that without being judged or commented on. Boys should be able to express their feelings the way they want, if they want to play with dolls and dress up like princess then they should be allowed, that is without anybody judging or teasing them.

http://forum.stjschool.org/viewtopic.php?id=445

As humans are trapped inside their ugly bodies, their only hope to avoid the decay and diseases is religious ritual and ceremony: Ethnocentrism, which is when people interpret things through our own culture. This sentence is ethnocentrism because they can be like watching a movie of us they are understanding it as something from their own culture. Its as if they are saying that whatever they do in the morning is a ritual ceremony when its actually an everyday morning for Canadians.

Everyday, 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. Ethnocentrism, which is when people interpret things through our own culture. They are talking about Canadians washing their face in the sink. They are interpreting into into their own ways by that they are saying that its kind of like baptism and the bathroom is the shrine room in their view.

I have been reading Flawless by Sara Shepard from the series Pretty Little Liars. This is a book that really captures my attention, because there is always a problem that girls(Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer) have to fix. Their is person that neither of the girls know of that keeps texting them and sending them emails and secrets that only one person knew, Ali. Ali unfortunately died and her body was found in her back yard under the cement. After her death is when they started getting the text messages so they all thought that it is Ali, but since they found her body they are curious about who the person is that is sending then the messages about the secrets that they never thought would come up again.

STJ School Forum : Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion : Flawless
STJ School Forum

Flawless in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, cjawhari, 2009-11-24
Well I'm done done the book and its my favorite out of the series so far. The girls get more and more in trouble because of A telling their secrets, and making sure they get in trouble. Emily secret leaks of course by A. Everybody in her school and town knows that she likes girls. Posters were thrown all over the ground and the bleachers of her kissing another girl, at her swimming tournament. Aria gets into a relationship with Sean, and then like usual A ruins it all. Aria starts getting into a serious relationship with her AP English teacher, while she is still dating Sean. A sends a message to Sean and tells him everything about Aria's relationship with her teacher. Ezra, her AP English teacher, gets arrested. Spencer secret about stealing her sisters essay get out. She gets into a huge fight with her family and pushes her sister down the stairs. The best part about Spencer is that she doesn't remember all of her past, when her parents tell her that she has that problem, she starts trying extremely hard to remember what had happened and she remembers the biggest secret of all, she killed Ali and she had forgotten all that time. Hanna keeps getting messages from A, but A messes up and sends her a message with a number instead of "Unknown" or "Private number". Hanna remembers the number and knows who A is know. When A realizes that she runs into Hanna with an SUV car and Hanna is in a coma in the hospital.

Flawless in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, shryciuk, 2009-11-06
Woow that sounds soo interesting maybe i'll read it sometime!!!

Flawless in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, cjawhari, 2009-11-06
I am done Flawless and its an amazing book full of surprises. The four girl at first thought that Toby Cavanaugh would be A, but he commits suicide and Emily still gets a text from A after his death. Toby had admitted that he had aimed the fireworks at his sister and made her blind. He actually didn't, Ali did a couple of weeks before she died. She saw him doing a terrible thing to his sister and told him that if he doesn't take the blame then she will tell. I had to wait till the very last few pages of Flawless to know what he had done. Toby had assaulted his step sister, that was one of the reason he had committed suicide. He thought that if he starts talking and hanging out with Emily or any of the other girls then he would forget about it and won't have to live with the guilt anymore. Well Emily was yelling at him to leave her alone after she stormed out of his car when he was dropping her home. He went after her and she kept on yelling at him. He thought that she knew about what he has done and he committed suicide because it was all coming back to him.

Flawless in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, cjawhari, 2009-11-05
kmarsh wrote:Which one of the characters do you relate to the most? As in, which do you think is the most like yourself? I don't feel like I really relate to any of them.

Flawless in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, cjawhari, 2009-11-05
klumayko wrote:Who do you think killed Alison? or whom? Well I think its someone who has known Ali for a long time and when she was alive she was telling that person all of her friends secrets.

Flawless in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, klumayko, 2009-10-28
Who do you think killed Alison? or whom?

Flawless in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, kmarsh, 2009-10-28
Which one of the characters do you relate to the most? As in, which do you think is the most like yourself?

Flawless in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, cjawhari, 2009-10-28
I have continued reading Flawless, this book is filled with dirty secrets and friendships between family and friends. Aria knew that her dad is marrying another lady called Meredith. Hanna is having troubles with her dad because he as well is getting married to Isabel and will have a new daughter, Kate ,which Hanna really hates because she's so perfect.  Spencer and her sister Melissa are back to being sister and not enemies. They were fighting about Spencer making out with Melissa boyfriend to the point where even her parents hated her and didn't talk to her. And that leaves Aria who is having troubles with her english teacher that she is in love with and vise versa. Lately he told her that they should have never started anything and they should start from scratch. He will be the teacher and she will be the student as if nothing ever happened. A is still sending them texts about what they have done or are doing. The text that made me wonder the most is "I am closer then you think". I wonder who it is.

Flawless in Book Talk : Fiction Book Discussion, cjawhari, 2009-10-23
I recently started reading Flawless by Sara Shepard. It talks about these 4 teens that are having friends troubles and dealing with an unknown person that knows all of their secrets. I don't know who the person which makes me want to read more and more that way I know who their life ruiner is. The secrets that they have can ruin their lives and the unknown person keeps sending them text messages about secrets that they had when they were little. The only person who knows is Ali who was the only one that knows the secrets, but she is dead. This leaves me Aria, Spencer, Emily, Hanna, and me wondering who this person is. So far this book is amazing.

Our world has been evolved around technology. Technology has been greatly increasing and becoming more and more efficient. Teens and even adults all around the world are either have cellphone addiction or computer addiction .My view on the communication technology has not bettered or worsened our world. Having a cellphone could work towards your advantage or disadvantage, and the same applies on using the computer, such as social networking and sites that may help make your life easier or harder depending on your intelligence and on what you know to avoid that can be dangerous to you and your family.

One view that I have is that today’s technology is very helpful to education and communication. Having to live in a different country then my friends and relatives is hard without any source of communication, so having the internet is helpful towards such a cause. My relatives live in Lebanon and I live in Canada, so having the computers helps us communicate even though we are half way across the world. Another way that the internet has been helpful is when I need to do research for an essay or project for  school. My parents talk about how they didn’t have internet back when they were in school and how much harder they had to work to get the right information to get a good mark. They always tell me that I am lucky that I have advantages to help me get through school and college easier. I use the internet to help me understand some of my homework, I always get a different method for some assignments that I don’t understand so that way I know how to do the assignment  just in a different way. The internet and phone also help me talk to my family in Lebanon, we communicate using the internet which helps me because it helps me make sure that they are okay. I am thankful for the technology that we have today because without it we would have a much harder time getting research homework done. Even having a phone helps because then I could text a friend for help.

Even though these technologies can be extremely beneficial they can also be extremely dangerous. When using these technologies we have to very careful of what we put on the internet. Putting personal information like where we live and our address or even our phone number could put us in great danger. Some people are crazy out there and you never know what they will do using the information that you  have typed on your Facebook account, MySpace, or Nexopia account. People can track the address or try to text you and try to get you to talk about where you live or where you  are. They mightgo there and maybe cause assault, rap, or might even kidnap or kill you. So even though the internet or having a phone might sound amazing, it can also be dangerous. When adding friends on any chat websites you have to be careful because they might act as “friends” but they are actually bad people. A kid was talking to a “friend” that was telling him that the best way to end all of his problems was to commit suicide. The kid actually does it and  by learning how to tie a knot using the website that the “friend” had made to show people how to kill them self using a rope and tieing  a knot. Without the website or the “friend” that poor and harmless kid might have actually lived, because he would have never had anyone telling him to kill himself or showing him how to tie a knot.

Many people might disagree with me and say that the technology’s today are remarkably useful and there is no harm using them. On the other hand, others might say that technology is terribly unhealthy for people. They might say that people can lose their ability to socialize with others. I agree, when people spend too much time on the internet or texting 24/7 they can not talk face to face with others anymore because they are so used to having their fingers do the talking. This leads to over protective parents. When parents start realizing that their child is addicted to the computer or phone, it makes them wonder what you’re doing on there, so they start getting over protective. That way they make sure that you don’t get into any trouble. I  think that sometimes parents can be over, over, over protective and that starts affecting the child because they start hiding stuff from their parents. The others will say, “Well no because the child has to know there limits and what they should and should not do”. I agree with that as well, the child has the responsibility to know website they should go on to, who to add, and who not to add. The internet can help if you know how to use it avoiding all the dangers that accompany it.

My view on the new technologies we use today are in the middle. The internet can be dangerous and helpful depending on the person using it. You have to be careful when using it and take in all the options before doing anything. That way you are being careful and using the internet in a safe way that doesn’t lead to any danger that will harm you or others. Having these technologies gives us an advantage towards school and even outside of school help like work. We should use the advantages that come with it and no use it as a danger to you and your family, because once something happens to you it happens to the family too. If your happy so is your family but if something happens to you then your family will live with the sadness and sorrow just because of you carelessness for not taking all the options on what is good or bad.

Alcohol has resulted in many injures due to dring and driving. About three quarters of the population on earth drinks alcohol. I could imagine that at least half of them drink irresponsibaly which leads to injury or even death. I am grateful that no one in my family drinks irresponsibaly. Alcohol causes people to do things that they would never done, like saying stuff that will hurt others, drinking and driving, and abuse.

A family friend that I have know for about three years had a sister who passed away from drinking and driving. The family has placed a cross at where the accident had occured. I am fine with people drinking is just that people should not drink irresponsibaly and then drive. The consequence to that can be death, so the vitims family will the would have to pay the price because now a loved member has been lost. The parents will start blaming themselves when the accendent was never there fault. This can be another consequence of drinking and driving.

Abuse can be blamed on alcohol. People drink and then hit or orally abuse others. When they return to normal stats they would not remeber what they have done or why. They would probably regreat what they did, but in the end they know that becasue of there stupid actions a victim has beeen hurt or killed. Some pay the price, but some get away with there actions leaving the victiim with scares or humiliation, or leaving the family with sorrow and sadness.

Craving alcohol is perhaps the most misunderstood alcoholic symptom. Once a person starts drinking they canoot control themselves and they would crave more and more alcohol until they pass out. The alcoholic starts depending on alcohol to get him/her through the day by releiving stress.  There is signs that I can look for to see if someone is an alcoholic, they include hiding alcohol, drinking to relieve stress, drinking for socialization, lying about how much they drank, inability to stop, and worrying about running out of alcohol.

In conclusion, alcohol is the  result of many problems such as death which cannot be resloved. Alcohol can become an addiction and sometimes the cause of most deaths in family becasue of over douse (alcohol poisning). People think that one is okay, and I agree one is okay, but what I disagree with is drinking a first, and then a secong, and then a third and they person keeps saying that its their last bottle, but keeps drinking. This is what causes car accidents and fights, people drinking irresponsibly.

I started reading this book not too long ago. Whatever happened to Janie by Caroline B. Cooney is one of the best books that I have read. It’s not just the best but also the saddest. This book contains the ups and downs a teenage girl faces during her reunion with her real parents. Janie finds her picture on a milk cartoon while eating her lunch at school, she realizes that the little girl is her with big bold letters saying “MISSING”. Her feelings are hurt through out this emotional adventure to find her biological parents which are in New Jersey. She thought that meeting her real parents would make her feel home. I agree  with Janie to go back to her parents because if I was in her place I would feel the same way. I would want to go home to my real family and try to reunite the family as if nothing ever happened. I know that would take some time but all problems have a solution one way or another.

As I read through the book I started to realize that she started regretting meeting her biological family. They were so different from her adoptive parents, they ate junk food and shared rooms. Janie had one sister and three brothers, which had suffered all these years because Janie’s kidnapping made her parents extra paranoid about leaving their children alone. Being a parent and knowing that my child has been kidnapped, I would react the same way that Janie’s parents did. I would not be able to let that happen twice, so I would be extra careful and alert at all times. Deeper and deeper in to the book I saw that her biological mother  had been feeling guilty about the kidnapping. The Spring family had suffered the 12 years that Janie was gone in, but what if she can back, would they still suffer? When Janie was gone, the Spring family would wonder if she was cold, hungry, thirsty, safe, and healthy. Their prayers where answered when she can back and showed them that all these years she was okay and that they have nothing to worry about, even though she still went back to her adoptive parents to live with. They would still know that their daughter was okay.

I could imagine the pain her adoptive parents are going through since she went back to her biological parents. Janie has lived with them most of her life. Twelve years is a long time to spend away from her real family. Twelve years is enough time to adjust to a new family and make their everyday routine hers to become a part to their lives. After having Janie for twelve years they never thought that her real family would ever keep looking for her, they thought that the Spring family would just give up hope and believe that their daughter has been killed. The Johnson family was using Janie to replace Hannah, their daughter and the kidnapper, they knew that Hannah had kidnapped Janie. I would never bring back the child to the family, because I wouldn’t want to say ‘Oh my daughter kidnapped her and I’m bringing her back’, I wouldn’t keep the child either. I would try to find a way to take her back to her real family without creating any more problems.

Janie’s biological sister and brother had a hard time adjusting to Janie. Me having to have a new sister all of a sudden would be hard taking in. Having to share a room with a complete stranger who claims to be my long lost sister would make me mad. That was one of the questions that Jodie asked herself. How come she didn’t come before, making us suffer all these years. Didn’t she realize the difference between her and her adoptive parents so why didn’t she look deeper into? I would defiantly ask the same questions, but instead of just wondering I would go up to her and literally ask her these questions to see what her answer to them are. Even for Stephan and the twin boys, Brian and Brendan, they must have had big adjustments that they must get used to now. Stephan would have another sibling to look after and make sure that she is safe that way she wont be lost again, since he knows that his family cant go through another tragedy.

This was one of the books that I have read this year. All the emotions such as happiness, sadness, sorrow, worry, and excitement were what captivated me to the book to want to read more and more of Whatever happened to Janie? Books such as this one should be read by millions because was able to see another side of life and what people actually experience on the other side of earth or even in another country. Whatever happened to Janie has the whole package that a great book needs, the excitement, the sadness, the surprises, and the satisfaction that all books should have. Janie had a great but sad journey by having to choose between her biological parents or her adoptive parents. This decision would be the biggest in her life and would decide how she will continue her life. Janie goes back to her adoptive parents. I would never be able to make such a decision on which family to live with. In the end she went with what her heart told her which is the most important. I am excited to read the next book of the series which is The Voice On The Radio and then What Janie Found.