Thursday, May 27, 2010
Every issue on this planet can be related to this philosophy. When wars are started between countries, the people in each country see the opposite as the enemy based on the information that the government gives them, the experiences with the other country(ies), etc. The only reason that they consider each other as enemies is because of the factors that surround them.
Racism is based on ones experiences in life. If your parents are racist you most likely will be one too, because you have recieved information from your parents that "this" race is bad and "this" race is good. The way that this can be changed is if you actually experience another race, I'm not saying that you have to be a Black, Asian, etc. person to not be racist towards them but if you gather information from them (talk to them, experience their culture) and get positive feedback then your opinions will have changed. For example, in the Movie "Gran Torino" the main character is racist towards people with asian ethnicity because he had participated in the Vietnam war and thus views Asians as enemies. But he ends up befriending his next door neighbors who are Asian and his opinion of Asians change.
The danger of climate change is that the changes on the planet are very slow, and it makes it more difficult for people to be able to see that the world is going through radical changes that could cause multiople disasters in the future. Also, because most people do not study climate change they do not fully grasp the threat of it. The more knowledge a person has on the subject the more worried they would be, and the more changes they would make in their everyday life for the better. Yes, many people know there is a problem with climate change because the television has told them so, but they most likely do not know what is happening or what the consequences will be. So, they end up not caring or caring on a superficial level. People are very disconnected with climate change, and think it will not affect them, but everything that happens on this planet affects every one of us somehow. And once things become very bad, it will be too late to repair the world, but that will be the only time that people care.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
2) I definetly do not have any concrete plans, because I'm not sure that what I enjoy that could result in a dream career. But currently I am interested in psychology, enviromental studies, and Japanese and Korean foreign language studies. I think that before I decide on a job I must have more knowledge in all of these areas, and once I do that I will be able to concretely choose on what I would love to do with the rest of my life. The first step for me is going to college, and then university. I will take courses in these areas, and also courses in other areas to see if there is any other subjects I might enjoy. I agree with the article "Why Dreams Don't Come True", education is absolutely crucial for finding your dream job. I feel like these next few years are extremely critical for deciding on a career, and I don't want to waste them. But I also know I should not stress too much, because as long as I am trying things and working hard I will eventually reach my (currently elusive) goals for the future. I think that many dream careers that teenagers have right now will change once they have a few years of college or university experience. I didn't give a very good outline for my future, but it's all one step at a time for me, and I want to take each step with care so I will not go off course to somewhere I have no desire to be.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
It's a deep night with the stars dancing merrily in the sky, and the moon gently emitting a silky pearl light. The ancient trees swing lazily in the warm late spring wind, their emerald leaves whispering kindnesses and wisdom for only the listening to hear. A small glade is tucked deep into the forest. It holds an abundance of flowers of many hues and the softest green grass that tickles your face pleasantly when you rest your head down on it's surface. A crisp, cool stream trickles through part of the glade, so clear and sweet, enough to want to drink in earnest. Far away from any city and any bustle or worry, it is a piece of magic that allows you to release all you hold inside and just be. It is the perfect, most comfortable temperature and while you are tucked safetly into the folds of velvet cool grass, you can gaze up into the heavenly bodies embedded in the darkness and ponder the universe and what is beyond. But no worry, only wonder and awe at the absolute mystery of what is out there. You can dig your bare toes roughly into the dirt underneath you, and feel the gritty chilly earth, an earth that continues down, down, down into the scalding center to where it all began. You feel connected to it all. Eventually your eyes droop in somnolence and your mind becomes submerged in sleep.

Friday, February 26, 2010
My Review/Rant
Next, Jacob Black imprints (meaning that he looks at and creates an unbreakable connection) on the child that Bella decides to keep EVEN THOUGH it's slowly killing her by breaking her ribs with it's superhuman-vampire strength. No sane person would keep an unborn child that would kill them, that their husband keeps telling them to get an abortion because he thinks that it is an evil creation that will murder his wife. Stephenie Meyer changed Bella's character to suit the story's need, because Bella would have listened to Edward if she was actually being herself. Back to Jacob imprinting on the child. Stephenie Meyer describes imprinting as an unbreakable connection with the imprinted and the werewolf, something that is whatever kind of relationship it has to be at the time, either romantic or not. But of course when the child is older it would become romantic. She is basically trying her best to make it look as if Jacob is not a pedophile who has fallen in love with a freaky mutant baby girl. It didn't work that well. The character that had been working throughout the entire beginning of the Twilight series to win Bella's heart was turned into a pedophile with no feelings for Bella whatsoever.
Actually almost all the characters' personalities changed dramatically in Breaking Dawn. For example Alice (one of Edward's family members) used to be witty and fun, but became Bella's personal fashion consultant. And way too many characters were introduced in the last book, and all felt rushed with little to no personality.
The entire book was made to build up to the grand finale with the battle between Bella and the Cullens, their other vampire friends, and the werewolves against the Volturi (something of an organization of vampires to keep their existence hidden). But in the end, there was no battle. Bella was turned into a vampire by Edward after giving birth to her child, as he had no other choice because she would have died from bloodloss otherwise. One of Bella's powers as a vampire is to inhibit the affects of vampires abilities that affect the mind not only for herself but for the others around her. So she is able to stop pretty much any of the Volturi members from harming her friends, which was very convenient. Nobody was hurt or killed at the end of the book, there was no finale and no sacrifices were made. I feel like this is a major flaw in Stephenie Meyer's ability as a writer, for she made no morale to the story. Everything turned out perfect and rosy.
Lastly the grammar was atrocious. There were switches between blonde and blond for hair color and in one scene it is said that Bella makes Charlie pancakes, but then he is looking down at his cereal bowl. It is obvious that either the editors did a very poor job at editing or they didn't even look at the book at all and Stephenie was forced to do it herself.
So that is why, in my strong opinion, that Breaking Dawn was not a very good book at all.
P.S. Sorry to any Twilight fans, but we live in a free country where we can expfress our opinions! ;)
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The criteria is:
Number 3:


Of course the final book would be on my list! This book was a treat to read, but it was not perfect. Firstly, it ended. And Harry Potter ending was so depressing! (This is just me being a HP nerd, this isn't a real reason...) Acutally some parts of this book were slow, such as them camping for a quarter of the book. I personally didn't mind because it really showed the trios personality on living outside the comforts of home. Ron did not go through it well. He was used to having three large meals a day cooked by Mrs. Weasley, and large meals at the Hogwarts castle. Harry did not mind, as he had lived with the Dursley's full-time for ten years, and they were not generous with food. Hermione just overall was tough and did not complain at all, and I really admired her for that. This book had less character developement than others, obviously as it was the last book and was set up to end the story not continue it. But one character who really stood out to me with how much he had evolved over the whole series was Neville Longbottom. He had started out as a clumsly, socially-awkward boy who had grown into a hero. In the final book he rebelled against the Death Eaters controlling the school, and even sliced off the head of Nagini the snake. He had grown into a man of such honor and goodness and maturity; I was really impressed. I thought the plot and character developement of the finale to this epic tale was wonderful and full of action and excitement. It drew many emotions from me, I who had been a major fan of the books for almost half my life. There is so many more points to discuss about The Deahtly Hallows' plot, I could write a book. But alas, I don't have time.

The overall plot of The Prisoner of Azkaban was more advanced and intricate than any of the others. There was many subplots that all ended up connecting at the climax of the book. Sirius trying to kill Harry (although that wasn't the actual case, but it seemed so), Harry's struggle with trying to ward off Dementors with a Patronus Charm, Hermione and Ron's fighting about Scabbers and Crookshanks, Hermione's Time-Turner Secret, Remus Lupin's werewolf secret, etc. Then end result was very satisfying as all these seemingly chaotic sub-plots came together to create a big bang.
Basically the whole book was full of unexpected twists (the subplots' outcomes being revealed), the biggest one being that Sirius was not trying to kill Harry afterall, but trying to kill Scabbers a.k.a Peter Pettigrew a.k.a Wormatil. Of course all of the Harry Potter books had unexpected twists at the end, but I found this book's ones the most enjoyable.
Although the cover is not my favorite, this one is high on the list. This probably is my third favorite. I think it gives the impression of a darkening wizarding world instead of happy-go-lucky Harry Potter, which was what the first two books were more like.