"An Obligation to not the men, but to the dead rabbit...'
I like to lay in bed, it's very relaxing, especially on lazy Saturday afternoon. Particularly, it is what I do while in bed, and that is mainly to think or to write, but usually to listen to music or something. It's more fun to be alone in my room doing what I want to do than anything else.
Most importantly, I can can be alone with my thoughts with no disturbances. I can write in as quite a space, or as loud of a place as I please. Sometimes I can mingle and tease sketching, an activity I haven't, for a long while, wanted anything to do with. I can watch shows. Relax to amusing, or political videos. Music is also an option, with ear buds, so no one can hear. Most importantly, I can find this all in the comfort of my room.
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I'm particularly good friends with several people with J's beginning their names; Justin, Joey, and Jannine. Joey, I have known the longest, but it wasn't until around sixth grade where I began to know him personally, while Justin and I basically forced on another to like each other. Jannine was probably the most affable of the trio from the start, she is still my tall bestie. I also have an on and off relationship with Abby, or Muscle Abs, Rachel Shoeman, Mathew Marmalade, and a few others, Like Jennifer Shrug. I would like to stay in touch with them in the future, especially the three Js, and luckily, the only one who is going to another School is Joey, and I can still see him in Marching Band.
As for their feelings in return, I have not the foggiest, but I hope I'm held in a positive light. It makes birthdays much more comfortable. OOOHHH, don't forget Anthony Drivewaydudy, my oldest and longest friend. We're were adopted around the same time, and live on the same street. If I was stranded on an island, he's the first person I'd like to be stuck with. Great kid, really... And the lovely Sandyann Leopard, quite a cool kid. Oh, And Bitter Little King Answer the following questions independently. They will be discussed.
Penguins can create strong emotional bonds apparently, though I wonder if they feel like us humans, or are on a completely different emotional scale. I wonder how it felt for the camera crew to film along with the penguins in freezing temperatures, especially since they regard the environment to be one of the most dangerous on Earth. It must have been hazardous from time to time. On the conflict chart, this documentary definitely shows man vs nature. The penguins have to brave almost everything the Arctic throws at them and then some, from difficult trips while starving, to sub zero temperatures, to predators to them and their young. Not to mention one another from time to time. I wouldn’t say the environment was a character, so much as it was an aspect that threw every incident into motion. Emperor Penguins are at the very least, determined and loving. They make annual trips, braving starvation and nature to feed each other and their young. They obviously care about one another, or at least as long as they need to in order to live. If anything, they’re more of a very loose family that stays together for the child but as soon as it’s time they all take off. On a side note, they take care of one another by protecting each other from the cold and huddle about. Their feelings towards their chicks, like almost all animals, are protective and loving. Today I wake up again to live another day everyone assumed would have been robbed of me. The bed has been my constant in life, it cannot reject me nor abandon me, and I can always return to it each and every day. I faintly recall a time where I had longed for a world beyond my room, where light can seep through like syrup in the winter. I’ve touched that world, and with varying results, I continue to live in it. I need to acknowledge something else though, something that not even dear brother seems to have noticed through our endless hours of trying to get me to operate like everyone else. and that is fear. I am quite afraid of alot of things, especially being made to do things I’m quite sure aren’t good for my body. I’m afraid of what brother may do if I prove to be disappointing. Most importantly, I am terrified of my own capabilities and the results of not being able to perform the way God apparently intended humans to.
Brother once told me I’d be left behind if I didn’t shape up, and that everyone will leave; and I don’t want that! Truly there is no greater sin than loneliness? To be forgotten by those meant to care for you? Each day I feel cautious of my surroundings, and of the people which fill them, all of which belong to my family. As much love fills my still beating heart, I can’t help but see eternal red as they shoot me sideways glances, and stares of empathy. I know I can never be the child they wanted, I know brother will never see me as fully living as noted by his tauntings up in the loft about my coffin, I don’t need that all reinforced by their darned looks. I wipe my tired eyes as I begin to feel inflated with rage. I needn’t be so hateful towards them, they’re just trying to get through their lives as best as they can with their two troubled boys. And, as much as brother makes me walk and run for himself, I’m starting to detect that each time we work together he’s slowly beginning to open his heart for my needs as well. I needn’t forget about all the good presented to me, I’ve lived longer than expected eh? And I hope to live many years longer… I’d like to make my art a reality… Today brother’s taking me boating. I’ve never really heard of that before. ’Sounds more taxing than walking, but I’m sure brother will take care of me. I don’t think I’ve ever been in true danger when brother’s there with me. This’ll just be another skill I’ll be able to add to my repertoire. So in all, as I lazily rise from bed to the sound of brother’s familiar voice calling for me, I believe I’ve sorted out much of my life. Because it’s sweet and confusing, and full of color. From beginning to end we start out as clay made to be molded by our lives as they unfold with the rising and setting of the sun. Someday I’ll finally be that mahogany coffin, six feet in the Earth, perhaps today even… but I won’t stop moving forward. And therefore, with the morning sun garish through my window, I believe I’ve realized my purpose. I’ve come to a conclusion... America and our Foreign Prison Problems
Abu Ghraib was once a prison under Saddam Hussein control near Baghdad, and was known for its infamous conditions, and brutal mistreatments of its prisoners. During the American invasion of Iraq, when Hussein’s regime collapsed, the prison was taken over by US operatives. Allegedly our soldiers had bettered the conditions so that they would be more suitable for holding inmates (even though it had been deserted by then) and by the fall we had once more crammed the cells with thousands of prisoners, most of which simply had the unfortunate luck of being near our military in the wrong place at the wrong time. The events which took place under our occupation of the jail would forever remind us of our shortcomings as a nation. Brutal mistreatment of prisoners, rape, assault, murder, and torture, all at the hands of our own people. Photographs have been leaked to illustrate the grisly account. While Abu Ghraib has been under scrutiny and is no longer operative, its Cuban counterpart, Guantanamo Bay is still very much so still open, and is racking up in unpopularity by the day. The prison itself should be considered an act of human rights violations, as its purpose is to house inmates away from the mainland so that they are not entitled to the rights of an American judicial system. Originally holding mainly Haitians and Cubans, it was already beginning to build a reputation of misconduct and foul treatment among the prisoners. While not quite on the level of Abu, when several British prisoners were freed, they reported being abused and beaten. A Swede was held in interrogation, and lost feeling in their foot after being subjected to several hours of refrigerator-like temperatures. As time went on it became a facility for which America could toss prisoners of the ‘War on Terror’, and escape having to give them trials to prove their innocence. With reports of waterboarding, sleep deprivation, and beatings, GTMO has begun to receive backlash from the international community, and Americans themselves. To make matters worse, many, if not most of the prisoners in Guantanamo are innocent. Over a hundred have been cleared, the majority never charged with a crime, are still being held in the prisons. While this may be shorter than I intended, I believe a final paragraph should be the sum of all our numbers. My point is not to shame, or belittle our government, policies, or our overall message. As a nation we mean well, and we do try to support others. But there’s a problem when it comes to our Prison systems, and not just overseas. We rank the highest when it comes to crime rates, the fifth in total when it comes to the death penalty, and our prison population is the second largest. The problem stems from our age old hero obsession where we are always good and noble, and we fight for freedom; blinding us from our own wrong doings as we supposedly venture in the name of progress throughout the world. If we are to be the world’s policemen and if we are to keep this world safe, then we must learn restraint when it comes to others. We must not shove people into overcrowded jails, torture and mock them, and then hide with our tails between our legs in shameful denial when we are criticized for doing so. When we abolish places like GITMO and allow people the freedom to a trial to prove innocence or guilt, and when we make sure that Abu Ghraib never occurs again, then we can police the world and point us all on the right path. Even now as reports of cruelty and mistreatment of others surface, can we still call ourselves the land of the free and brave? You know, if you use a Japanese quote relating to mistakes, you have to be privy to the ultimate Japanese quote "Fall down seven times, get up eight" It's used to inspire people to not give up even if they're struggling with something or if they're at their lowest point. Of course it is Japan, the land of over working, and self-made struggle. However it still fits in with the line of thought that no matter what, one must keep going in life. Mistakes are some of life's best learning materials, and if they don't always teach the person who makes them, they usually can help guide others who have learned about them or witnessed them. Sometimes mistakes can be a burden on someone's life, most of our world is rather self-righteous in nature.
It’s almost uncommon today to see a public school that doesn’t promote acceptance, diversity, or anti-bullying sentiment. From the year 2011 to now schools have cracked down on the subject of harassment and intimidation done to other children by other children, largely due because of incidents like Tyler clementi. While most actions taken against the undeniable problem of bullying in school are noble, and good intentioned, there are some aspects of the overall execution of the project in thwarting bullying. How far will laws, if passed, take situations? Is it really ethical to submit children to the judicial system? Is there a misunderstanding of bullying and the concept of angst/depression among children? And, how should we treat all parties involved? Connecticut passed a cyberbullying law that would allow a school to punish a student for an unsavory post online attacking or harassing another student. This is an echo of a similar law passed in Massachusetts that would also allow a school to punish students posting comments deemed as bullying or intimidation, the only difference is the fact that Connecticut takes it one step forward and covers ‘online speech that would physically hurt or harm another, or make them feel threatened of such a thing’. This is also where the problem of taking anti-bullying laws too far comes in. Forgetting the suspicious circumstances of how a school will obtain the information, these laws are in danger of infringing upon the first amendment's’ freedom of speech. While the behavior of a student may be unsavory, a school should not have the jurisdiction to willing disrespect an individual's rights promised by the Government and the people. This, topped by a misunderstanding or miscalculation on the school’s part can result in unfair or unjust punishments. Internationally anti bullying laws have also begun to take root such Norway, Sweden, and Canada. In Alberta Canada another anti-bullying law has been passed that could punish children who don’t stop a bully or an incident of harassment. While there’s no doubt that bullying should not be overlooked, the controversy sparked once children themselves were forced to police bullying themselves, while adults could use them for scapegoats if anything goes wrong. It has the potential to actually add on the amount of bystanders, if a bully abusing another child what’s to keep another student from simply walking away from the problem so they won’t get into trouble? By standers are not the child being actively malicious (usually), but because confusion, or fear of being dragged into the situation themselves. Looking backI didn't really finnish this one. I think I sort of started to not care about the topic, I think my biggest improvement would to just complete it. I enjoyed the other assignment, which was similar, but much more narrowed down in its requirements, I prefer to simply inform others and not argue about a topic.
Guilty or innocent In the story: The Scarlet Ibis, by James Hurst, Brother is neither guilty nor innocent. To elaborate, I’m taking a neutral approach to this; the only side I lean towards is my own. While examples tend to point to one side or the other, I believe that if they conflict with one another then the lines are blurred into ambiguity. Perhaps one of the earliest examples of an uncertainty in the narration occurs in the descriptions in Doodle, which differs greatly from how Brother acts within the story itself. ‘Doodle was just about the craziest brother a boy every had. Of course, he wasn't crazy crazy like old Miss Leedie, who was in love with President Wilson and wrote him a letter every day, but was a nice crazy, like someone you meet in your dreams.’ While Brother might not be praising Doodle, he certainly isn’t negatively describing him either. I do believe when Brother is telling us this story he is no longer the impulsive immature boy he once was, and now has become wiser and more accepting of his deceased sibling. So in the long run, I don’t believe that it’s fair to say whether or not Brother is guilty, because he is presented as a child who makes childish decisions. If I were to choose a ‘guilty’ party, it would be his parents. They have the authority over him, they could’ve told him to stop, but they didn’t. They were neglectful, and they lost their son because of it. looking backI actually think my writing style has faltered a bit, and I find putting together sentences that flow easily to actually be harder than I used to. I think it's mainly due to writer's block, though sometimes I get rather lazy, and other times I feel apathetic about certain topics.
I don't particularly use school taught techniques which I find are usually introduced to us in the most patronizing ways imaginable. Smiley faced sentences, what were they thinking? If I had to choose, it would be the fact that my voice was presented in the piece. I like the way my opinions got across. I feel like that's one of the things that would always improve a writing piece. I would like to improve the detailed aspects of it, I wish that I had put a little more elaboration on a few parts. I look back on the SI story and I think I have an overall better appreciation for it. Maybe by the time Brother’s narrating this story he becomes more mature, but by the end of the story there isn’t enough evidence to show that he has truly changed in a very extreme or even noticeable way. If you want to stretch a bit, you could say he become more accepting of Doodle, however with Brother’s new found heart of familial support, he also became cocky in his own abilities which lead to his brother’s death. If we were given time to see his reaction after Doodle’s death, and we were allowed to see him mourn or take something out of his experiences, then we can say for sure if he is a dynamic character, but right now I don’t think he is. He didn’t learn anything, and the story fails to go on after Doodle’s death. Brother and Doodle don’t really have a very typical relationship, mostly because one sibling is sickly and the other’s arrogantly ignorant. I detected quite a bit of actual malice from brother’s end towards Doodle. He does mirror some typical frustrations of a sibling, and Doodle definitely looked up to Brother, but other than that they really had a very turbulent and rough relationship. The color red is the color of the bird, the blood, and fire. It naturally makes us squeamish if we equate the color to human bodily fluids. It’s also the color of passion and drive, it’s one of the most expressive colors known to humans. It can represent the garish beginning of life, and at the same time the fiery end of one. Here in the story though, it seems to represent loneliness, the Scarlet Ibis-bright red bird- died alone, and away from its home. In the end Doodle basically passed away alone in a pool of his blood. When brother is crying, red is present, probably to represent guilt and sadness. So red means very strong emotions in this story, as well human conceptions and life. Then entire last paragraph on page 5. The title. The very last page are all examples of death imagery. (pg 6) ‘Lightning was playing across half the sky’ (pg 6) ‘What are the words that can solder cracked pride’ (pg 6) ‘Bursting like a Roman candle’ (pg 6) ‘Wall of rain sperapting us’
Looking backI actually enjoyed writing about this topic to be honest, not the vocabulary part, but discussing Brother and his point of view. He's a rather odd character in that we don't know how old he is by the time he's telling us the story, he could be on his death bed for all we know. It sort of puts everything in a certain perspective when you remember that Brother was a little kid when everything happened between him and 'Doodle'. Still a pretty bad thing to do to his brother, but the narrator was also young too, and probably didn't know too much about what his sibling was going through.
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