1. Climbing into bed on a cold winter's night and finding a hot water bottle by your feet.
There is nothing that can feel better on a cold winter's night than finding comfort in something warm, like a blanket or firing place. But when the element of surprise factors in, it makes the moment from going cold to warm even better. As someone who suffers from severely cold hands and feet its nice to feel warmth every now and again. Sure wearing socks would help, but after a while the cold can seep through the holes of my wool socks and hits the core of my feet causing that cold, achy feeling all over again. Also, my mom has known me well, even before I was born so she knows quite well what my needs are as someone who suffers from cold feet (literally). So, when I find the hot water bottle under the cover by my feet, I know it was her. This makes me appreciate the power of my mom even more, because without being there at the time that I discover source of heat, she knows that I am very thankful for what she has done.
Thanks mom.
AWESOME!
2. Going to a place, and finding yourself in awe.
There are some moments in life when what you see is completely new and different to you. Its like you are a baby opening its eyes and seeing the world for the first time. A great example of this was when I went to England in December of 2009. It was the first time I have ever been to the Piccadilly Circus in London. As I got out of the subway and laid my eyes on the hub of people, lights, cars, and noises, my breathe was robbed by the incredible sights and sounds. I couldn't keep my eyes off of what I was seeing, and it was almost as my eyes couldn't see and take in as much as I wanted it to. Thinking back to the experience I realized how unreal the experience actually was. Being completely new to a place and sound can either be terrifying or invigorating, but I hope that you choose places that invigorate you and make you find yourself in awe when you travel.
Seeing the world is with new eyes feels AWESOME.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
The Black Death
The Black Death, also known as the black plague was a diesease the siezed Europe and took the lives of millions of people. The Black Death was found to be in three differnt forms, bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, and septicemic plague. The most common plague was the bubonic plague that hit Europe the hardest, taking the lives of millions of people. Symptoms of bubonic plague sometimes did not appear or occur until about seven days after the virus has entered the body and had a mortality rate of 30% to 75%. The bubonic plague was best known for causing people to have lymph nodes forming around the armpits, groin, or neck. This plague did not leave Europe as a nation until the 1900s. Today, the black plague isn't around anymore and contained in a lab. The plague black hit Europe hard, and took Europe about 150 years for the population to grow back to what it was. Even thought the black plague was around for hundreds of years it is safe to say that we will no longer have to worry about this disease thanks to people being able to practise clean hygiene.
Creative Hour with Kleenex.
Your goal is to create a minimum of 300 words in one hour on one of the following topics. You may use a dictionary or thesaurus. You must do your best with the time you have! Hand in what you have finished after exactly one hour. Write with the highest level of diction and creativity that you can!
Ten things you can do with Kleenex:
1. Make flowers.
2. Blow your nose.
3. Wipe away tears.
4. Stuff your bra.
5. Wipe off make-up.
6. A skirt for your Barbie doll.
7. Clean your glasses.
8. Tape into a ball, and throw it at somebody.
9. Clean up a mess.
10. Use as toilet paper when you run out.
Kleenex has been around for the past eighty five years or so, but its initial use wasn't for actually blowing your nose. Kleenex was actually a facial tissue to use for removing cold cream back in the mid 1920s. It wasn't until the 1930s that Kleenex actually marketed its product as a "disposable handkerchief." Kleenex today, is probably most used for blowing your nose when you have a cold or sometimes even the flu. A box of Kleenex can also be handy during a sad romantic movie, so that when needed, you can dig your nose into a soft facial tissue and let it all out. Kleenex isn't just always there when you are watching a sad movie, but also when there are events like funerals, weddings, sad days, and even those "I laughed so hard I started to cry" days. Even though Kleenex isn’t the most eco-friendly product, or the most sanitary thing lying around after being used, it still can help you get through even the hardest days, or toughest times. As a regular costumer of Kleenex products, I feel relieved to know that Kleenex can help me look better and prevent me from having raccoon eyes, from all those days and nights of crying without having applied water proof mascara. Kleenex has been a security for many old ladies sticking them in their shirt sleeve for easy access when they feel a running nose or a tear in their eye coming along. To sum it all up, Kleenex will always be there, no matter what the movie, day, event, or year. People will constantly be coming up with a new use for this amazing product. I hope that Kleenex might get a little more eco-friendly, but as long as they are helping me through my days they can stay on the market. Friends may go, and people may come, but Kleenex will always be there to cry on.
Ten things you can do with Kleenex:
1. Make flowers.
2. Blow your nose.
3. Wipe away tears.
4. Stuff your bra.
5. Wipe off make-up.
6. A skirt for your Barbie doll.
7. Clean your glasses.
8. Tape into a ball, and throw it at somebody.
9. Clean up a mess.
10. Use as toilet paper when you run out.
Kleenex has been around for the past eighty five years or so, but its initial use wasn't for actually blowing your nose. Kleenex was actually a facial tissue to use for removing cold cream back in the mid 1920s. It wasn't until the 1930s that Kleenex actually marketed its product as a "disposable handkerchief." Kleenex today, is probably most used for blowing your nose when you have a cold or sometimes even the flu. A box of Kleenex can also be handy during a sad romantic movie, so that when needed, you can dig your nose into a soft facial tissue and let it all out. Kleenex isn't just always there when you are watching a sad movie, but also when there are events like funerals, weddings, sad days, and even those "I laughed so hard I started to cry" days. Even though Kleenex isn’t the most eco-friendly product, or the most sanitary thing lying around after being used, it still can help you get through even the hardest days, or toughest times. As a regular costumer of Kleenex products, I feel relieved to know that Kleenex can help me look better and prevent me from having raccoon eyes, from all those days and nights of crying without having applied water proof mascara. Kleenex has been a security for many old ladies sticking them in their shirt sleeve for easy access when they feel a running nose or a tear in their eye coming along. To sum it all up, Kleenex will always be there, no matter what the movie, day, event, or year. People will constantly be coming up with a new use for this amazing product. I hope that Kleenex might get a little more eco-friendly, but as long as they are helping me through my days they can stay on the market. Friends may go, and people may come, but Kleenex will always be there to cry on.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
My Moral Compass and the Death Penalty.
Which way does your moral compass point?
The topic of today's blog is your moral value system. It is important to clarify that what you are meant to discuss is NOT your particular morals, but instead what causes you to have the value system that you do. (You will have an opportunity at the end of the blog to give your opinion on one controversial topic.)
Please read the article "Which way does your moral compass point?" from the Vancouver Sun (linked in the sidebar) and respond in your blog. Use the following questions to guide your response.
1. What do you think are the three most important factors in your life that affect what your value system is? Why do you think each of these are important?
2. Are all value systems (of all people) equally acceptable?
3. Are you a person with a strong sense of what you believe to be clearly right and wrong, or do you see a lot of gray area in many issues?
4. Do you expect that your morals will change in any way over the course of your life. If they do, what will cause them to change?
5. How acceptable do you feel it is to impress YOUR value system on others?
The second part of the blog is to give your opinion on ONE of the following topics:
a) Conducting MEDICAL experiments on animals
b) Wearing fur
c)Cloning humans (or intentionally altering the characteristics of a fetus)
d)The death penalty
e)Abortion
1. The three most important factors that effect my life are my parents, my friends and the media. Since I am born, until I leave my house is when I will be mostly effected by my parents, morally. Even though we may not always agree on the same morals, we agree on most. They are also the ones paying the bills, so rebelling against them completely might get me out of my dad's wallet faster than I want to be. Ever since I was in pre-school, there was always someone better than me at something, and obviously I wanted to be just like them or better. To get me to that "like them or better" part I picked up some of the same morals as they, just so I can be accepted. I still struggle being completely independent with my thoughts, and not being effected with my friends today, and they will probably still be a factor to where I stand morally for the rest of my life. Everybody wants to be famous, so when you hear about another celebrity adopting an African child, you can go two ways about it. You can say, "Hey! thats really cool! She is helping someone out!" or you can think that they are just taking that child away from his culture and family just so that they can look like good global citizens. You also hear about a lot of celebrity couples having babies that aren't married. You can also decide whether this is morally right or not. The media isn't always about celebrities, but at sixteen, I might rather want to hear about another haitian baby being adopted, rather than another victim of cholera.
2. I don't think that everybody's value systems are equally accepted. I think this because obviously Clifford Olson would not be accepted over someone like Mother Theresa.
3. I like to believe that I have a strong sense of value of whats right and wrong, but at the end of the day I see a lot of grey. Its hard in today's society of everybody needing to accept everybody, it is hard to say something is right and wrong, when there have been exceptions to the rules.
4. I think my morals will most likely change over the course of my life. I think this because I will meet new people who have a different view on life than I do that might steer me into another direction. I also think that once you get married your morals might change from not wanting to have kids, to having kids. Your morals also change when things happen to you. Going through cancer, or experiencing a natural disasters might also be a factor to how you feel about certain situations.
5. I don't think that it should be important to other people how you feel about certain issues all the time. Sometimes it is best to keep your morals to yourself. I think this because you never know what life might hit you, or what that other person has gone through.
d) The Death Penalty
The death penalty has not been in Canada for a few decades now, where as places in Texas they are executing people regularly. I think that the death penalty should be practised in Canada for some cases. For example, the Clifford Olson killed eleven innocent victims, mostly children, before being caught. In my eyes this man has done so much damage to mother's hearts all over British Columbia that some might say he deserves to die. They also might think that he isn't worth spending out precious tax money on. Clifford Olson caused many for many families a great tragedy. But killing Clifford Olson doesn't mean you will get those eleven victims back from the dead or that all children are safe from serial killers.
The topic of today's blog is your moral value system. It is important to clarify that what you are meant to discuss is NOT your particular morals, but instead what causes you to have the value system that you do. (You will have an opportunity at the end of the blog to give your opinion on one controversial topic.)
Please read the article "Which way does your moral compass point?" from the Vancouver Sun (linked in the sidebar) and respond in your blog. Use the following questions to guide your response.
1. What do you think are the three most important factors in your life that affect what your value system is? Why do you think each of these are important?
2. Are all value systems (of all people) equally acceptable?
3. Are you a person with a strong sense of what you believe to be clearly right and wrong, or do you see a lot of gray area in many issues?
4. Do you expect that your morals will change in any way over the course of your life. If they do, what will cause them to change?
5. How acceptable do you feel it is to impress YOUR value system on others?
The second part of the blog is to give your opinion on ONE of the following topics:
a) Conducting MEDICAL experiments on animals
b) Wearing fur
c)Cloning humans (or intentionally altering the characteristics of a fetus)
d)The death penalty
e)Abortion
1. The three most important factors that effect my life are my parents, my friends and the media. Since I am born, until I leave my house is when I will be mostly effected by my parents, morally. Even though we may not always agree on the same morals, we agree on most. They are also the ones paying the bills, so rebelling against them completely might get me out of my dad's wallet faster than I want to be. Ever since I was in pre-school, there was always someone better than me at something, and obviously I wanted to be just like them or better. To get me to that "like them or better" part I picked up some of the same morals as they, just so I can be accepted. I still struggle being completely independent with my thoughts, and not being effected with my friends today, and they will probably still be a factor to where I stand morally for the rest of my life. Everybody wants to be famous, so when you hear about another celebrity adopting an African child, you can go two ways about it. You can say, "Hey! thats really cool! She is helping someone out!" or you can think that they are just taking that child away from his culture and family just so that they can look like good global citizens. You also hear about a lot of celebrity couples having babies that aren't married. You can also decide whether this is morally right or not. The media isn't always about celebrities, but at sixteen, I might rather want to hear about another haitian baby being adopted, rather than another victim of cholera.
2. I don't think that everybody's value systems are equally accepted. I think this because obviously Clifford Olson would not be accepted over someone like Mother Theresa.
3. I like to believe that I have a strong sense of value of whats right and wrong, but at the end of the day I see a lot of grey. Its hard in today's society of everybody needing to accept everybody, it is hard to say something is right and wrong, when there have been exceptions to the rules.
4. I think my morals will most likely change over the course of my life. I think this because I will meet new people who have a different view on life than I do that might steer me into another direction. I also think that once you get married your morals might change from not wanting to have kids, to having kids. Your morals also change when things happen to you. Going through cancer, or experiencing a natural disasters might also be a factor to how you feel about certain situations.
5. I don't think that it should be important to other people how you feel about certain issues all the time. Sometimes it is best to keep your morals to yourself. I think this because you never know what life might hit you, or what that other person has gone through.
d) The Death Penalty
The death penalty has not been in Canada for a few decades now, where as places in Texas they are executing people regularly. I think that the death penalty should be practised in Canada for some cases. For example, the Clifford Olson killed eleven innocent victims, mostly children, before being caught. In my eyes this man has done so much damage to mother's hearts all over British Columbia that some might say he deserves to die. They also might think that he isn't worth spending out precious tax money on. Clifford Olson caused many for many families a great tragedy. But killing Clifford Olson doesn't mean you will get those eleven victims back from the dead or that all children are safe from serial killers.
Journel Entry Number One: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.
I am only assigning 1 journal entry for the novel unit, and I usually find this one of the most interesting assignments as I get to have a bit of a dialogue with you about your novel. Please keep the following in mind when it comes to journal writing:
1. Writing in response to reading without a goal of deeper understanding is a waste of time (yours and mine)
2. Your goals are to:a) personalize the story (make it more meaningful for you) b) gain insights about characters c) see the world in a different way
3. The main point of journal writing is to clarify your thoughts by committing your thinking to paper. Please choose a quote or a passage from your novel (include page number) and explain the connection you have made to it. How does the connection you have made help you understand more about the book?
"This is a murder mystery novel."
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is about the complex, yet simplistic life of a fifteen year old boy, named Christopher who has autism, and how he copes with it. Even though at the beginning he explained that the book would be a "murder mystery novel", it turns out to be much more than just that for the reader. As a person, Christopher is very self-reserved, quiet, and doesn't like to show emotion. Growing up, I always knew there was something different about my cousin. He also has autism, but seems to be almost the complete opposite of Christopher. Where Christopher doesn't like to touch anyone, my cousin will give anyone a hug that looks they are having a bad day, even if he doesn't really know them. But, Christopher and my cousin are also very similar. When you them and start talking to them, you know that there is something different about them. A bit more to them than other people, I would think. Like this book, there is always a little more to Christopher than meets the eye.
Growing up with my cousin, we heard stories about him being sent in for tests, and finding out that he can only ever speak English, but today you hear him try so hard to speak Afrikaans with his mom. This is similar to Christopher's situation where he wants to do better and better in maths, but can't because of his autism. Not until his father talks to the head master does Christopher get the opportunity to take the higher level maths test. Through out their lives, people with disabilities are always told that they can't do something. When people are consistently doubting them and underestimating them, how can they ever feel the need to succeed. I think that everyone can relate to that.
1. Writing in response to reading without a goal of deeper understanding is a waste of time (yours and mine)
2. Your goals are to:a) personalize the story (make it more meaningful for you) b) gain insights about characters c) see the world in a different way
3. The main point of journal writing is to clarify your thoughts by committing your thinking to paper. Please choose a quote or a passage from your novel (include page number) and explain the connection you have made to it. How does the connection you have made help you understand more about the book?
"This is a murder mystery novel."
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is about the complex, yet simplistic life of a fifteen year old boy, named Christopher who has autism, and how he copes with it. Even though at the beginning he explained that the book would be a "murder mystery novel", it turns out to be much more than just that for the reader. As a person, Christopher is very self-reserved, quiet, and doesn't like to show emotion. Growing up, I always knew there was something different about my cousin. He also has autism, but seems to be almost the complete opposite of Christopher. Where Christopher doesn't like to touch anyone, my cousin will give anyone a hug that looks they are having a bad day, even if he doesn't really know them. But, Christopher and my cousin are also very similar. When you them and start talking to them, you know that there is something different about them. A bit more to them than other people, I would think. Like this book, there is always a little more to Christopher than meets the eye.
Growing up with my cousin, we heard stories about him being sent in for tests, and finding out that he can only ever speak English, but today you hear him try so hard to speak Afrikaans with his mom. This is similar to Christopher's situation where he wants to do better and better in maths, but can't because of his autism. Not until his father talks to the head master does Christopher get the opportunity to take the higher level maths test. Through out their lives, people with disabilities are always told that they can't do something. When people are consistently doubting them and underestimating them, how can they ever feel the need to succeed. I think that everyone can relate to that.
Moral Dilemma
You are in Paris visiting the Louvre, the most famous art museum in the world. As you spend time looking at the Mona Lisa, you strike up a conversation with an elderly lady standing next to you.
Ada Artlover is 92 years old. She recently lost her husband, but she has two daughters and many grandchildren. She has a wide circle of friends and a variety of interests. Ada uses a motorized wheelchair to get around. She lives in an assisted care facility for elderly people.
Suddenly a fire breaks out. You can save Mrs. Artlover or you can save the Mona Lisa, but you CAN NOT SAVE BOTH. Make the decision and save one or the other.
Later the police have brought you in for questioning. You have been asked to write a detailed explanation of your decision. Provide four or five reasons to support your course of action.
The decision is simple, I would save the 92 year old mother, and grandmother. This might be a hard decision for some art historians, but for someone like me, who appreciates both art and history, I will still put anyone's life before a painting any day.
The reason that would convince me the most to save Ada Artlover is because she has a family that loves her very much. Even though she is very old and can't mobilize very well, she has daughters and grandchildren that would much rather see a painting burn, than their mother, or grandmother. You can easily get over a painting, the death of a family member, isn't so easy to get over.
Even though Mona Lisa is a painting with a very interesting history behind it, and was painted by a very well known painter, a life will always be more important. The Mona Lisa will always be remembered, and there are many pictures taken of this painting that help us remember. The Mona Lisa has been around for the past 500 hundred or so years, I am sure that the legend will still remain, where as Mrs. Artlover has only been around for 92, and might not even be able to be around for a fifth of a time that the Mona Lisa has been around.
I also think that it would be much more rewarding saving a life, than a painting. If I was to look back on this ten years later, I would still think that saving Mrs. Artlover over the painting would be a lot more satisfactory.
When you see the Mona Lisa it is so well secured that no one can steal it, and because of this, I also think that it would be hard to save it in a fire.
I think that the most awful death is to be burned. For one, sometimes you aren't left with a body to bury, and for some families, having a body to bury is a form of closure. Also, it must feel awful to be burned to death, waiting for the flames to take over your body.
Lastly, I would that if my grandmother is a burning building, they would do the same for me as I did for Mrs. Artlover's family, and save my grandma over a painting. "Treat other's the way, you want to be treated." Everyone has the right to live, even old people.
Ada Artlover is 92 years old. She recently lost her husband, but she has two daughters and many grandchildren. She has a wide circle of friends and a variety of interests. Ada uses a motorized wheelchair to get around. She lives in an assisted care facility for elderly people.
Suddenly a fire breaks out. You can save Mrs. Artlover or you can save the Mona Lisa, but you CAN NOT SAVE BOTH. Make the decision and save one or the other.
Later the police have brought you in for questioning. You have been asked to write a detailed explanation of your decision. Provide four or five reasons to support your course of action.
The decision is simple, I would save the 92 year old mother, and grandmother. This might be a hard decision for some art historians, but for someone like me, who appreciates both art and history, I will still put anyone's life before a painting any day.
The reason that would convince me the most to save Ada Artlover is because she has a family that loves her very much. Even though she is very old and can't mobilize very well, she has daughters and grandchildren that would much rather see a painting burn, than their mother, or grandmother. You can easily get over a painting, the death of a family member, isn't so easy to get over.
Even though Mona Lisa is a painting with a very interesting history behind it, and was painted by a very well known painter, a life will always be more important. The Mona Lisa will always be remembered, and there are many pictures taken of this painting that help us remember. The Mona Lisa has been around for the past 500 hundred or so years, I am sure that the legend will still remain, where as Mrs. Artlover has only been around for 92, and might not even be able to be around for a fifth of a time that the Mona Lisa has been around.
I also think that it would be much more rewarding saving a life, than a painting. If I was to look back on this ten years later, I would still think that saving Mrs. Artlover over the painting would be a lot more satisfactory.
When you see the Mona Lisa it is so well secured that no one can steal it, and because of this, I also think that it would be hard to save it in a fire.
I think that the most awful death is to be burned. For one, sometimes you aren't left with a body to bury, and for some families, having a body to bury is a form of closure. Also, it must feel awful to be burned to death, waiting for the flames to take over your body.
Lastly, I would that if my grandmother is a burning building, they would do the same for me as I did for Mrs. Artlover's family, and save my grandma over a painting. "Treat other's the way, you want to be treated." Everyone has the right to live, even old people.
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