congrats!

You have just finished the easiest part of your life! From here you go into the real world, higher learning or the work force. Try to have fun with whatever you do. Work hard and be the best at what you do.

Laika! Prompt 2

Something that surprised me so far is how Mikhail treats his pet dog. He barely feeds it and never wants to play with it. He even goes as far as throwing it off a bridge into a river to get rid of it. He claims that since no one loves him, he does not need to love the dog. I would think that someone with no one in their life to care for them would find comfort in a pet dog. They might grow close to it and experience love.

Sergei also surprises me. He is head of the space committee. He seems to go through a lot of different emotions for everything that happens to him. He is excited about the Sputnik getting to space and wants to continue rolling along with the program but gets mad when he has to do the work to make it happen. Propaganda is the thing that motivates him.

Amir's atonement

Amir wants to atone for not standing up for his friend, Hassan. Amir also treated Hassan poorly after the fact and did not want to be friends with him anymore. He can start atonement with trying to be nice to Hassan again. Hassan will ultimately pass judgment on Amir though. It is up to him to decide if Amir has done enough for his atonement. If I was Hassan, it would be pretty hard to forgive Amir.

Atonement

Atonement is righting the wrongs that you have done. It is making everything better. Atonement for past sins and mistakes is, for the most part, possible. Atonement is not possible for the biggest mistakes. You can atone by fixing what you did wrong or helping who you wronged. If your mistake was something like murder, then you can never atone. The person who's life you took away would never forgive you. Sometimes an apology is all hat is needed for atonement.

My bad...

Last week at Wawa I was making Italian presets. When I finished I was supposed to clean out where we store them. So I load everything onto a cart and start to clean it out. After I finished wiping it down I reached up to the cart to put the stuff back. I accidentally knocked over all of the presets I just made. My manager was mad at me because I not only caused Wawa to lose money but also wasted 30 minutes making the presets. My manager got over it quickly though so I did not get in any trouble.

Tell you a story...

Twenty minutes left. He has to make it back to camp to warn his brothers of the missile streak targeting them. Rushing down the mountain pass, shots blazing over his head, he knows that that he cannot slow down to catch his breath. The enemy would catch him or he would not have enough time to make it back. Without his warning, his whole platoon will be taken out without a fighting chance. The river is in sight now. Six minutes until the launch commences. The soldier grows fatigued and throws his gear down to keep the pace. He starts jumping over obstacles in his way in order to go faster. The base camp is in sight now, just across the valley. With only two minutes left he throws his gun down and starts to sprint only to trip over some fallen branches. Struggling to stand he hears "Hands up!" So close to camp and this one scout was holding him back. Slowly he raises his hands, no hope without his gun. But defeat is not an option. As the scout approaches the winded soldier he jumps for the gun. Grabbing it by the barrel and thrusting upwards. A shot is fired through his hand narrowly missing his body. He screams in pain as he lets go of the gun. Two more shots go right into his chest. The scout was shaken by the futile and almost suicidal attempt at escaping but more so but the smile on his enemy's face as he hit the ground. "Why are you smiling?" he demanded. With his last breath the hero exhales, "They heard the shots. They are coming for you." The scout starts to run thinking that he was smiling at the fact that he had no chance to escape. The missiles crashed into the camp thirty seconds after the hero died. Most of his platoon had left the camp charging towards the gunshots. Startled by the explosion where the were only moments ago, they freeze. They find the hero laying near them with a smile still on his face. If only they knew the sacrifice he made for them.

Do we even need to do something?

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing.

- Edmund Burke

I respectfully disagree with this quote. I think that other evils will get in the way of each other. People with different agendas will always stop everyone else from accomplishing anything, no matter good or evil.

"The only thing that saves us from bureaucracy is the inefficiency."

-Eugene J. McCarthy

I think this quote holds a similar idea to what I am trying to say. Evil will stop itself from taking over and save us from itself.

Decisions!

Our culture effects our decisions the most. People wear what they wear because it is 'in' and use words that they hear on T.v. Family and friends also have a big impact on your decisions. Money can also be an influential factor. One decision I made was to go to Montco. I decided to go there because it is really inexpensive and close to home. It effects my family and friends. I will not have to take loans out until I transfer to another college. That helps me and my parents out financially. Since I will still be close to home, I can still hang out with my friends who will still be here. I can also keep my job.

Afghanistan recipe

Ingredients: 2 Cups of muslin
1 T. Dari
1 pinch of economic aid
1 tspn women's rights
2 tspn of friendly neighbors
1 cup of instable government
3 T of Persian ancestry
1 drop of Jewish influence (literally- one Jewish guy lives there)
3 cups of unemployment
1 handful of drug production

Instructions: Throw them all in together and watch to magic happen!

Break is over?

Over my break, I worked a little and did nothing a lot. I did not tell Wawa that I had off the whole week so I did not get extra hours. I hung out with my girlfriend a lot but she still had school and homework so during the day I had nothing to do. I watched television and played video games with most of my other time. I did have dinner with my extended family one night too which i normally cannot do. I usually work Monday nights which is when we all have dinner together but I had off last Monday so I went.

Post 10, prompt 5

The part that moved me the most was when Montag was burning someone's house because of her books. The woman decides to stay with her books and burns with them. This was shocking to me. I have always valued human life over all else. It really showed that people who have little will do anything to keep what they have. It also showed the extreme pressure put on people who read books illegally.

Post 9, prompt 17

This book uses a lot of symbols. The government used mechanical hounds to search for and take down fugitives. As a society they largely ignore nature and favor technology. I find it ironic that they name their creations after creatures they do not even like. The phoenix is another symbol in the book. The bird burns itself when it dies and is reborn from the ashes. one of the characters from the book compares the phoenix to mankind after the nuclear strikes that destroy the city. They plan on going out and helping the survivors then rebuilding a better society.

Post 8, promt 4

The death of Clarisse McClellan surprised me the most. She was the one who opened Montag's eyes to what he is missing and what he is doing. Her death reminded me of when Luke lost his master in Star Wars. I think they both died for the same reason too. The main character has to face his challenges without the help of someone who already knows the answers to build character. Still, her death came as a shock to me.

Post 7, prompt 11

The author commonly used contradicting statements and ironic tones. This helps to farther the book's lessons and made it more enjoyable to me. The contradicting statements felt right at home with the atmosphere created. The government censors books and employs people to burn them but Beatty, head of the firemen, used to read books himself. That along with irony shows that any one who wants to stop the spread of knowledge does not have your well being in mind.

Post 6, promt 10

I made connections to each of the main characters. I connected them to people I know in my life based on their traits and how the act. Montag is ike one of my best friends. They both are confused about how society works and their place in it. My friend got betrayed by his ex girlfriend much like Montag was by his wife. Faber seems to be like a lot of grown ups in my life. He knows what to do and how to do it but sfear keeps him from doing it. People do not want to lose what they have for a chance to get something better. Beatty is contradictory. Like another one of my friends, he says one thing and does another while beleiveing in both. He seems to feel sorry for what he has done after it all though. The characters in this book relate to many people I know and that helps to understand what they go through.

Post 5, promt 3

Something I noticed about most of the characters was that they did not have strong feelings towards each other. They seemed to be just shells of people. Montag's own wife called the fire company on her own house because Montag started hiding books. The people in this story do not have strong enough relationships to prevent them from turning on eachother quickely. They acted the way they thought they should without thinking for themselves. Montag's change was also clunky. Without a childhood of reading, his books were confusing to him. He also took his first book for himself without knowing why.

Post 4, promt 2

One part that puzzled me was that Montag's superior used to read books. How can you go from loving to read books to helping destroy them all. He tells Montag that it is because the books are contradictory but that does not feel like a good enough reason to me. I feel that he was just frustrated by different points of view. I also feel like Beatty, Montag's boss, wanted to die. I think that he was pushing Montag to do it because he was so split over the issue. However, he could of just of underestimated Montag. That is where I am confused. It never clearly tells the reader which it really is but I guess that is for the reader to decide.

Post 3, promt 9

1- Why were most of the people unwilling to stand up for their rights?

I don't think they knew or they just did not care and the ones that did know (Faber) were too afraid to do anything about it.

2- Is the same ending inevitable in human society, with or without censorship?

I want to say that we do not have to always follow the same cycle but every society in the past will prove me wrong.

3- How would the author include the internet if he rewrote it knowing where society is today?

I think the internet would just be censored similarly to what China does. The only censor parts that they do not like.

4- How come Montag did not have any friends that helped him through his journey like in most stories?



5- For a book with a pretty bleak outlook, why the positive ending?

Humans need something to look forward to or something to work towards. It is just how we are. The hope of rebuilding a better society gave us that dream we all need.

Post 2, promt 18

While the obvious answer to this prompt is that books burn at 451 Fahrenheit, I think it goes deeper. It is not common knowledge that books burn at that temperature. Perhaps Ray Bradbury started one of the themes of the book with the title. The citizens in the story do not read and are always watching TV. Since they never read they are not too knowledgeable and would not know about that special temperature even if it was well known. The title is effective at getting attention as well. You wonder what the significance of 451 is instantly. I would not rename the book if given a chance. I think there is no better title for it.

Post 1, promt 1

I really like Fahrenheit 451 which is rare for me. Normally I dread reading books for school but this time it was different. This book, published in 1953, holds perhaps more meaning now then ever before. Overlaying themes such as censorship, political correctness, and free thinking hold much value in today's society. One thing I found interesting was that most people in the book did not care about the censorship. In a world where every other show on television depicts a future with flying cars and a disease free environment, it is refreshing to read a story that is so down to earth. The author wanted to show how mass media and the television are destroying our culture and I believe he is right. Even looking at myself after reading this book. I would much rather watch a season of a half decent show then read a great book. Even as I type this I have headphones on listening to my music, something Bradbury surely finds laughable. I think people in my generation have so much information in their heads but almost no knowledge. I would highly recommend this story to everyone. You will find connections to your life and experience a great, filling story.

The assignment

I'll be starting a new segment on my blog today. It is my independent reading project. I will be posting about my book, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. You can expect all ten of these posts to be within the next 24 hours due to my procrastination!

Do Later

If you were going to traveling through Peru, how would you want to do it? Would you travel similarly to Che or would you prefer a more stable form of transportation?

Che wanted to help the poor. His impact was that he completely changed Cuba and became a symbol of hope for those in bad living conditions.

Glaciers to volcanoes, South America's finest.

chile

I think the thing that changed Che the most in Chile is all the poor people he saw. Chile was going through a rough time and the people had low living conditions. This might influence him to want to fight to make life better for everyone, especially the poor.

6 words about America

Big brother to them. Who's ours?

My Ideology

I believe that everything that can be done tomorrow should be done tomorrow. Human freedom should be upheld no matter what. My basic philosophy is that you can do whatever you want as long as it does not negatively effect anyone else.

If I made a country to go by my ideals, the national symbol would be a sloth much like USA's is the bald eagle. The sloth is a chill animal. It even allows moss to grow on it to hid itself from prey. It perfectly resembles my ideals. It is lazy, does not harm other sloths, and they get along really well. They don't care what the next sloth is doing they just do their own thing.

I would defend my ideals to the bitter end if I had to, but I'd probably just go somewhere I am excepted since fighting for ideals is much harder to do then going someplace where they are already in place.

I think they are very similar. Apples to apples. They are both fighting to make their country better. The United States has had a hand in both fights. Both are groups of rebels.

Che's mission

I think that Che just wanted to make the world a better place. He witnessed poor living conditions throughout South America. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

My documentary

If I could do a documentary on anything it would be on Pokemon and how it has effected society. Pokemon has influenced most of the modern world. It has become so widespread and well known in a short period of time. It started out (at least here in America) with an anime and game boy game. In weeks everyone knew about it. While it's popularity has declined since its depute, new games and episodes are still being released and sell quite a lot. They also have things like stickers, binders, pencils, shirts, and many others with Pokemon on them.

The immense popularity and unique game play of Pokemon is just part of the reason why I would make a documentary on it. The show also had some philosophical portions in it. One that comes to mind is how Ash Ketchum, the main protagonist, wants to evolve his Pikachu with a thunder stone but Pikachu refuses. Pikachu likes who he is and does not want to change to become more powerful. He touched on topics from friendship to slavery.

Che documentary

I would show a little of his early life. Maybe the first 15 minutes or so just so the viewers can get a chance to see how Che became who he was. The rest would be about his dictatorship stuff because it is probably the most exciting part of his life.

Glen and Che

I think Beck is a crazy dude who gets way too hype. Whether his claims are valid or not does not matter. He comes off as a radical and its not very good to get our information from radicals. They have very strong opinions and will only report their views. Thats is, fundamentally, why news shows and newspapers are unreliable on subjects like religion, politics, and world affairs. I think it is sad that, as a country, we look down to so called Muslim extremest but then turn around and listen to people like Glen.

Ok, so about Che. Yup, he is someone who probably shouldn't be worshiped by teenagers but who cares? I sure don't.

My Cinquaine Poem

Pokemon
Dark, shadowy
Attacking, laughing, tricking
Unstoppable force of destruction
Gengar

Welcome!

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