Friday, November 21, 2008

Book (Cujo) Blog

While reading my book I have a hard time reading it because of the horror. Most Stephen kings books are either fantasy or horror and that was what I was looking for when purchasing the book. My mom and a few others read many Stephen King books and told me about the plots and I assumed they all had some sort of thrill. One of the books my mom talked to me about was called The Stand about the nuclear bomb that went off and I was in total shock expecting for my book Cujo to be full of excitement, thrill and horror. I was so excited that I watched three Stephen king movies (the mist, 1408 and Dream catcher). This all was true after reading the first few pages of the book which was about the serial killer Frank Dodd and his killing spree that went on for a while. After reading those first few pages when I purchased the book I immediately decided not to read the book ever at night because I quite frankly was scared with each word I read. As the book continued my fright decreased and started to turn into disappointment and regret.

A couple of days later I picked up the book read a few pages from where I started and my excitement and expectations for the book were dwindling. My expectations started dwindling as I read each page because of the tediousness and events that took place. After the first few pages the book starts off by introducing the family that has the dog Cujo and how Cujo became rabid. Especially after reading the page about Cujo’s encounter with Gary Pevier (veteran WWII soldier) I sighed and wondered if it was possible to get another book. The book eventually started to speed up and upcoming events in the book would gain my interest.

By page forty I had known that the wife was undergoing an affair with a loser called Steve Kemp and Vic was going off to New York because of this new brand of cereal called Zinger (aka the box of blood) that was killing kids. The freight I spoke of in the first paragraph started to come back and with that my interest in the book. Immediately after Vic’s meeting with his partner Roger Cujo attacked a group of mechanics that were placing something at the farm. After reading this I finally experienced what others mentioned when explaining his stories.

In conclusion, I hope the intensity and horror in the book continues because this will keep my interest unlike the beginning of the book, which was filled with boring events that I thought, was unnecessary. As the book continued my excitement grew and I realized that those events in the book, which I called boring, was a set up or foundation for the rest of the book.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Blog on studying

3.) Is what you learn at school really connected with your life?

No, what you learn at school isn't in any way connected to your life but school is connected to your life.What you learn in School is like similar to a job where you attend, work and leave. What you learn at your job has nothing to do with your actual life unless your job is your life. At University I have 6 classes in everyone of them I don't learn one thing that connects with my life. Any student can go through their everyday schedule and reflect back on what they learned and notice it doesn't connect anyway to their personal, physical or spiritual life.

When I refer to personal life they usually are referring to live at home or events that connect to school. Now if I took a few of my classes such as algebra, ancient Greece and chemistry then compared them to the things I learn at home it would not compare. At my house I learn cooking skills and many of life lessons that would not ever be taught in a classroom. While sitting in chemistry I learn useless material that won't connect to my life. This is the same for physical and your spiritual life. Because what people learn in school does not connect to our life its brings up questions like why do you go to school. Many teenagers my age believe that the only reason they attend school is because their parents force them to learn but there are more reasons than that.

From interviews, written essays and listening to adults I have come noticed that what you learn in school is useless but the outcome of succeeding in those classes and knowing the useless information to the best of your ability benefits in the end. In the end you will be able to go to college or receive a job and so on. The opposite side of all this is that some people drop out because they think what they learned in school didn't connect to their life and I have commonly heard from these people "I wished I would have finished high school or college." I noticed after listening to people say this constantly that they don't want to attend,work and leave because what they learn at the school is connected to their life but because of the benefits you receive from it in the end.

To conclude, what students learn in school does not connect to their life in any way wither it is personal, physical or spiritual. If I took one of my classes and compared the lessons you could tell that how many electrons in a hydrogen molecule is not going to help me in life. Lastly, high school drop-outs, college drop-outs and people who have made it through both can agree to the fact that what you learn in school does not compare to life. The only reason they attended school or wanted to re-attend was because the benefits or outcome of it all.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Declaration Pre-write blog

Why is it hard to get people to recognize that they’ve been treating you unfairly?

We as humans have been thinking differently about how the world turns and what controls it since the beginning of time. Because of this humans have branched off to form different groups of religion, mathematics and so on. One of the most grueling examples is slavery in America during the 1800s-1900s. Slavery divided people of the North and the South, which caused destruction in America. The people of the south had opinions that were fiendish and evil. Ministers and teachers taught the southern people that slavery was righteous and used the bible as a tool to help aid or convince the people. During that time period people that have different ideas about one strong topic and that is one of the reasons why others don't recognize they are treating you unfairly and slavery was an example. The other two reasons are that your idea doesn’t concern the person and there opinion might suite them better.

One reason others don’t notice they are treating you unfairly is because it doesn’t concern them and I witnessed this first hand throughout my middle school career. In my middle school we had these debates weekly about topics on what we were reading and some current events. Each debate you would pick a partner and critique on five rules. One of these rules was to avoid monopolizing the whole debate and giving other people chances to talk. During the debate we always had one person monopolize and it became much of an ordeal one day we debated about monopolizing. Well after my school year was over I finally came to the realization that our ideas didn’t concern these people who were monopolizing.

The second reason people don’t notice is because there opinion suites them better. For example, a country needs help from another country because they are in war against rebels. The country that has been asked for help ignores the people because it would suite them better to stay neutral in the war. Politics in American society is a prime example of this and especially the campaign this year. This year and politics has been an interesting one because of the economy and people’s reactions. The economy has made people republicans change there pick for president based on what suites them better. While watching the television yesterday a lady was interviewing a republican about his reason for voting for Barrack Obama. The man said it plain in simple “this man is working for the middle class in my opinion.”

In conclusion it is hard to convince people that you are being treated unfairly because people think differently, your idea doesn’t concern them and there opinion might suite them better. We have seen and still see today people doing this and people have been treated unfairly since slavery. This also related to my middle school where people would monopolize our debates. Finally this related to American politics and how people changed there pick for the candidates because of the economy.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Super Size Me

Super Size set all the rumors, questions, and ideas about the American society and Mc Donald’s Straight. When I first watched this documentary I learned so much about my health and how unhealthy food can harm your body. When I first saw this movie I was 12 years old. I can remember sitting down and watching this movie with my intermediate family. We watched the movie numerous times and each time I was amazed. It has always been interesting to compare what you thought about a movie or book when you were young and then compare it to what you think in the present. This was the case for me because when my I first saw this movie I thought it was about bashing Mc Donald’s and their horrible food. After I watched the movie at the age of 12 I’d go around telling all my friends that their salads are disgusting and I was kind of like an anti-fast food eater. In a way this affected my friends, family and myself. It first affected my friends and extended family because when I spent the night over their houses I declined to eat anything associated with fast food. My friends and family thought I was crazy and it was unusual for younger children to decline fast food. After watching this movie in great books for the last time the concept of the movie had changed and I realized something different. I realized what Tocqueville wrote about in the why Americans are restless.

Overall the movie was informative and if I were a movie critic I would give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars. The movie didn’t only make me realize and open my eyes to different lifestyles but showed me that Americans are restless. It made me realize Americans are restless and fast food companies are a prime example of us wanting better, faster and bigger.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Why American Restless Blog

Is American Society Competitive?
Yes, American society is too competitive and in every aspect. The American Society is competitive because we try to uphold various standards and it makes life and us in this society difficult. We can tell that American society is too competitive when you have a parent’s children or child being forced into stardom or expected to live up to their own parent’s standards. Personally, I think the two things that make American society competitive are school and parents.

Schools make American society competitive because students are expected to uphold their parents, families and the school they attend expectations. Besides the fact that Schools make society competitive they are competitive within their self. The three main things that make them competitive are sports, classmates, and grades. These three have one thing in common and it is pressure to do well. You receive pressure from all three but it comes from different people. For example, if you are in a sport you receive pressure from your parents, coach and people that are also attending the sport. Ultimately this pressure can overcome you and cause problems. This was the case for a senior in high school on the MTV show True Life. Towards the last month of his senior he was getting pressure heavily from his parents about keeping up his grades in school. He was so overwhelmed that he chooses to slack off and entertain his-self in the last view weeks of school. This is just some reasons and example of how school is competitive and makes society competitive.

Parents or adults are a reason why society is competitive because they are society.
Even though parents are society there are different ways they make it competitive. One of the most known ways parents make society competitive is by pushing their child to become a star in the entertainment, acting or model industry. There is so much emphasis and money spent on this idea. When I was watching the television show Maury they did a special on moms and pageant daughters. Throughout the whole episode I remember continuously seeing pressure being put on these three to twelve year old children by their parents. Not only would the parents expect their daughters to win these pageants but they would also spend ten thousand dollars and more so that they could win a medal or award. Another way parents or adults make society competitive is on the job scene. In some jobs it is a friendly environment but in others that is a different case. Sometimes these unfriendly environments are a cause of people trying to edge to the top and it can lead to some issues within the work place.

In conclusion, there are two reasons why American society is too competitive. These two reasons are school and parents. In school children and teenagers are overwhelmed by pressure everyday, which adds to the competitiveness of society. They receive pressure either from there different people depending if they are in a sport. The second reason are parents who but pressure on their children to become child stars and who make the work scene competitive and ultimately unfriendly. In the end by making things competitive it forces our neighbors, friends and family to do the same.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Social Me Blog

Numerous people in this world have their own reasons for being alone but one main reason people choose to be alone today is because of family relationships or failure to connect with others. There are books, movies and new stories that discuss or illustrate how and why this happens. In the book Into the Wild it strongly emphasizes why Chris Mc Candless left society and chose to live in solitude. Chris Mc Candless choose to live in solitude because of corruption of society and his relationship with his family. Chris Mc Candless said “”. Another example of someone rejecting society because of family relationships is a guy named Shawn Wolley. Shawn Wolley was a fan, addict, and member of the Everquest online society. Shawn Wolley played Everquest 12 hours a day even though he had epilepsy. Wolley’s outrageous hours were fueled by family problems and his disorders. He eventually committed suicide one afternoon and had supposedly been playing Everquest before hand. My last example is about people that deal with autism and can’t communicate with other so they prefer to be alone. Three weeks ago I watched an episode of MTV true life. The episode I watched was about young adults and teenagers who are deaf. In the episode there was a boy named Chris who was born partially deaf. Most of his life he felt alone and chose to be alone because of his problem.

Sometimes people avoid others because of their personality or lack of responsibility. I witness this in my family and especially with my aunts who are single. I have been to a few aunts who are single and have been to there houses to either hang out or visit. When there it seems to be awkward because there not used to anyone living with them. For Example, one day I spent the day over my aunt’s house so I could go swimming. As I went in the refrigerator to grab some food there was only some sour cream, a bottle of water, and some celery. Being extremely hungry I rushed into her room and asked her “where is the food?” She answered by telling me that she goes out to eat. Another reason people prefer to be alone because of corruption in society. Examples of people who choose solitude are monks and hermits. Monks practice union with the body and mind. They do this by isolating themselves from society and worldly pleasures. Swami Sivananda a monk once said “Crave for a thing, you will get it. Renounce the craving, the object will follow you by itself.” This quote states why monks isolate themselves.

To conclude, people have their own reason for choosing to be alone. Some people choose to be alone because they can’t connect to others or you have never gotten along with your family. An Example I used was Chris Mc Candless isolation and how part of the reason he left was because of them. The second reason people prefer to be alone is because of personality and lack of responsibility. Finally people choose to isolate themselves because of self-corruption and the corruption of society. Monks choose to live in solitude because of this and those are the three reasons why people prefer to be alone.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Which is more important Freedom or survival?

Which is more important - freedom or survival?

Freedom and survival have been two of the main essentials for humans to live in peace. Both have existed since the beginning of time and both have challenged us to become better people intellectually, physically, and emotionally. Though both have done so much for the human race it seems as if both need each other but one is stronger. Personally I believe freedom is stronger than survival. Freedom is stronger than survival because humans can’t survive with freedom. As humans we all have been searching for freedom either from slavery, stress or just life in general. Those reasons are why freedom is stronger and needed. This is one of hardest questions because you are choosing to live life the way you want or death. Slaves in the 1800-1900 had to ask themselves this question everyday and some answered the question.

Slavery in the 1800-1900 is one of the most taught parts of history in school. There were many of slaves tried to gain their freedom. In numerous amounts of stories such as the Underground Railroad I learned their struggle for freedom. One former-slave that turned into a heroine was Harriet Tub man. Harriet Tub man lead hundreds of slaves from slavery to freedom. She was a woman of integrity, honor, and the will to fight for her freedom. Harriet Tub man once said “I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.” These are powerful words that I think express how strong freedom is compared to survival. Even though freedom is stronger or more important than survival you need both to life a fulfilling or balanced life.

We need freedom and survival because they are like water, which gives us thirst ands reason to keep going in life. For example, you have guy named Samuel who represents survival and another guy named Fred who represents freedom. Everyday after class Samuel always asks Fred what was the homework because he doesn’t right it down. Now Fred doesn’t mind Samuel asking him because usually it ends up being a long conversation about their favorite comics or movies. One day that Fred doesn’t come to school and he ends up not knowing the homework for the class. This example just shows how both benefit from each other in some way. In the book the island people were given a choice between freedom and survival. Today in U.S.A we live comfortable lives and I think as an American I have both. Then you have people in third world countries and only have one. Overall both need each other but some people aren’t given a choice.

To conclude, freedom is stronger than survival. They are both essentials to life and some people have struggled to obtain one or the other. Harriet Tub man was a former slave and she had to the answer this same question as a slave. Yes, she did answer it and acted upon her answer, which lead to freedom not only for her but hundreds of other slaves. Even though freedom is more important and stronger we need both to life a comfortable or fulfilling live. In some ways it is similar to a classmate asking for homework. All in all some people don’t have the choice but freedom is more important.

Friday, August 15, 2008

The American life

This audio was about people who are mentally challenged and the troubles they face in school or just life in general. In the beginning of the audio there were some testimonies or speaking from students who attended special ed. I felt this part of the audio was interesting to me. Mainly because when I used to attend IPS there were special ed classes. While attending IPS I had a few friends or associates who always went into this mysterious room. They never spoke much about special ed but I do remember they were always laughed at and ridiculed. Personally for me to hear the students in this audio made me ponder and say what if I was in that situation. The main focus then shifted to Vincent a mentally challenged man who recently quit his job without any reason.

When Vincent's(or Vinnie) sister first started explaining his situation I thought he was just any other mentally challenged person. His parent's treated him as if he was a kid( which I thought was normal in his situation). Even though he was 34 years old it wasn't awkward or I wasn't in shock because he still lived with his parents. I have known a couple of people that are in his situation. There was once guy in an art class I took summer year going 8th in 9th grade. He was 26 years old and was mentally challenged and lived with his parents. I think that parents taking care of their children who have disabilities is wonderful but a situation that is depressing. On a documentary show on MTV called true life there was an episode talking about children who have autism/retardation. In the documentary you could tell the parents worried so much about there child when going to school or just for there live in general. Throughout the audio the sister kept mentioning that he quit his job and the activities he used to do. She really put importance on the fact that he quit his job.

When the mother spoke about Vinnie she said chemicals in his brain was altered and thats why he quit. When I heard that I believed it because she said a doctor thought that was the problem. As the story continued the sister kept repeating that he quit his job. She also said everyone had there perspective on why he quit. As the story came to a ending hearing what his brother said set a spark in my head. It made me think that this guy is really just like you and I. Yes, he is mentally challenged and has a speech impediment but he is normal. Just as his brother said I would have quit a job or my daily routine if it was so repetitive because it can ultimately become tedious.

To conclude, another audio has changed my perspective and enlightened me. In the beginning of the audio I heard testimonies from people who attended special ed classes. I never knew what happened in these classes or knew how some of the people might of felt. The audio then switched to Vincent or Vinnie a 34 year old man who was mentally challenged. I believed in the beginning he was quite different because he was mentally challenged. Until the end where it occurred to me that he was normal and had the same feelings and emotion as anyone else.