Project 4

Today’s article comes from a young boy who has an interesting take on what Christmas means to him. Let’s see what what this kid Ralphie has to say.

Dear Santa
This year for Christmas I think I’ve finally figured out how this holiday works.
In school and church we are taught that this is the day Jesus Christ our lord and savior was born in a manger. Surrounded by his mother, surrogate father, an inn keeper, barn animals and three kings from across the land. To celebrate his birth he was given gifts gold, frankincense and murr all very valuable presents at the time by these kings. So from what I gather to offer our respect to Jesus, each year on his birthday we give the gift of sharing by giving gifts to people in need.
Today though it doesn’t seem to be so, the rich get nice gifts while the poor still find it hard to receive any help during the holidays. I hear my mom and dad always talking about Christmas prices and how they jump so high after thanksgiving and I still come to question what Santa has to do with all of this. A great jolly old man rides around on a sleigh with flying reindeer and delivers gifts, made by his elves in the North Pole to every household in the world in one night. If Santa makes his gifts at the workshop then why are my parents so worried about store prices since they only have to write him a list and he will provide? Why don’t poor countries ask to be rich? Or, are there certain rules that people have to follow like a magic genie or something? I don’t know, the politics behind this whole Santa fellow baffle me. I’ll just stick to rules laid down by my parents.
The more I try and think of the meaning of Christmas, the more I find it’s not as much to do with sharing and giving but more of the receiving end. I’ve never personally bought a gift for anyone yet every year but I seem to get a mountain gifts under the tree, from parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and all sorts of family and I can’t forget ol’ Saint Nick. It’s like another birthday except I get presents for going to another kids party. When you think about it, Christmas is all about me. In church I was told to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and Christmas should be no exception. He had every kid’s dream to have a birthday at a petting zoo, a personal spotlight shone on him which could be seen for miles, a band singing songs about him and some random people giving him gifts, our modern day Santa. If you think about it he had it good so this Christmas I think I will ask for something real nice like that new compact BB gun the Red Ryder.

Sincerely,
Ralphie



The Real Saint Nick

Santa Clause, also known as Saint Nicolas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle is the figure who brings presents on Christmas Eve. The stereotype we see about this person is a fat old man, wearing a red coat with black leather belt and boots. The American legend says that he is married to Mrs. Claus and they both live in the North Pole surround of elves,which are Santa’s helpers, and they all together create toys, candies and other presents in order to give to the children on Christmas.
This story actually has a story. Every country and culture around the world has a different story about santa, some of them says that this person never existed some of them say he did.On of the story is that Santa Clause begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. He came from a wealthy family. His parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. He dedicated his life to serving God and used his whole inheritance to help the people in need. He served the people who were sick and suffering. Obeying Jesus’ words to “sell what you own and give the money to the poor” he always was giving gifts to the little kids.
Another story tells about a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value, a dowry. The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges,are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver.
Despite of all stories , what excite people about christmas is the fact that there is gifts to give. For the kids it is very common to tell that is Santa Clause who comes on christmas eve and jumps through the fireplace to get into the house in order to leave the presents under the christmas tree. Christmas is celebrated all around the world, in different ways, but in most of the places they celebrate it with the image of Santa Clause.


Christmas Factoids

· A traditional Christmas dinner in early England was the head of a pig prepared with mustard.
· According to the National Christmas Tree Association, Americans buy 37.1 million real Christmas trees each year; 25 percent of them are from the nation's 5,000 choose-and-cut farms.
· Christmas caroling began as an old English custom called Wassailing - toasting neighbors to a long and healthy life.
· Christmas trees are edible. Many parts of pines, spruces, and firs can be eaten. The needles are a good source of vitamin C. Pine nuts, or pine cones, are also a good source of nutrition.
· During the Christmas buying season, Visa cards alone are used an average of 5,340 times every minute in the United States.
· Jesus Christ, son of Mary, was born in a cave, not in a wooden stable. Caves were used to keep animals in because of the intense heat. A large church is now built over the cave, and people can go down inside the cave. The carpenters of Jesus' day were really stone cutters. Wood was not used as widely as it is today. So whenever you see a Christmas nativity scene with a wooden stable -- that's the "American" version, not the Biblical one
· St. Nicholas was bishop of the Turkish town of Myra in the early fourth century. It was the Dutch who first made him into a Christmas gift-giver, and Dutch settlers brought him to America where his name eventually became the familiar Santa Claus.
·  At midnight on Christmas Eve 1914 firing from the German trenches suddenly stopped. A German brass band began playing Christmas carols. Early, Christmas morning, the German soldiers came out of their trenches, approaching the allied lines, calling "Merry Christmas". At first the allied soldiers thought it was a trick, but they soon climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the German soldiers. The truce lasted a few days, and the men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings, sang carols and songs. They even played a game of Soccer.








Christmas is a Holiday where you receive and give gifts, but it is not only about that, what it really matter is to care and to share with your significant others. People sometimes misunderstand what really Christmas is about. They think that it’s only on spending money and giving gifts, but they haven’t seen the positive side about this holiday. Christmas is a holiday which should be celebrated with the ones you care, your family, your friends and everybody that you treasure.In North America, the holiday when the families get united is on thanks giving. They tend to travel more than they do on Christmas. In South America, Christmas is more important. They say that is all about reuniting with the family and treasuring all the special moments.On this holiday there a lot of decoration going on. People look after putting their Christmas trees and the lights all around the house. In some cities they decorate the streets with lights and sometimes with illuminated sleighs, snowmen, and other Christmas figures. What makes this holiday so pretty is the fact to see the innocence of the children waiting on Santa Clause to come and bring the gifts so they can open it the next morning. They are always thrilled and excited about this holiday. The New York Sun perhaps captured the essence of the holiday best in its famous 1897 editorial, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus": "He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy... The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see... he lives and lives forever."Every family has their own way of celebrating Christmas, it doesn’t matter if they give gifts or not or if they make a big dinner, what really matter is to have a great time with the ones you really love and care. Make sure they know how much you love them. Share with others and never forget the magic of Christmas.May these ancient words be fulfilled this year and every year: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke 2:14).

In the News

GM

Gm as company has been struggling for years and has need financial aid several times. The government feels a right to help bail companies like this for one, to keep the production of American automobiles so the country isnt reliant on foreign products, and two to keep jobs for Americans. If Gm were to close their factories then many americans would find themselves without jobs, helping the ever increasing unemployment situation.

In the News

Job Losses
I think the more jobs can be created by the US government to help provide incentives for small business start ups. With more businesses opening this can provide more and effectively pump more money back into the US economy.

In the News

I think that Obama won the election by simply out performing his opposition McCain. Using clever strategies to relate McCain as being the same as Bush since they are in the same political party. Bush not being very favored by the people it made it easy for America to choose Obama, "No McCain, more of the same"
Barrack was a different change being his ethnicity and the goals he stood for. Pulling out of war and increasing job oppurtunities made a very welcoming change.

Project 1

I believe the saying every cloud has a silver lining. To truly believe in such a statement a person has to see the world for what is in an optimistic perspective. Not to say these people are oblivious to any challenging situation, ignorant to common emotions of fear or worry but to recognize the good which can come from the bad, the dawn after the dusk and the silver lining.

As an eighth grade student it was hard for me to take any sort of belief into my life except for the belief of being accepted. Short, overweight and awkward my only real ambition was to be cool and popular alongside with my equally as blessed counterparts Tom and Christien. Together we unknowingly made a brotherhood of who threw rocks at each at lunch time, bought water bottles merely to throw on the girls and held our own fear factors to see who could eat the most bugs. Yes we were your typical non- athletic, talented kids who stood out for our utter weirdness.

One day after lunch we went to the bathroom to clean up after a good rock war. “BAM”, aloud smacking noise went off followed by laughing. While I was washing my battle wounds it kept going off.

“Hey man what’s that sound?” I asked the ever so puzzled looking Tom.

“I dunno dude but let’s check it out”, he replied. With the return of nod we all made our way to the back of the bathroom stalls. The sound was the aftermath of fists and feet colliding with the wooden door followed by the laughter of fellow classmates. I refer to them as my classmates but in reality they looked far to mature to be compared to us. Fuzzy like hair wrapped around the opening lips of the guy in middle, which bellowed out, “ Aye, watch’u looking at?”

As if this was the beacon to lead me to popularity, I seized the moment with a witty comeback. “Nothing much, you wimps punch like girls. Lemme show you how it’s done.”

“Ok, chubby checker go ahead make a hole in the door if you’re so bad.” In my head I thought this would be the perfect chance to show what I have. I looked over my shoulder to see my friends’ responses but they were nowhere to be seen. Alone I felt, a lamb with a pack of wolves, I had no support. Fist clenched I approached the door examining it for any weakness I could find. Ah there a crack, obviously where those ogres’ fists had struck it before. Without hesitation I cocked my arm back ready and loaded, a split second I pulled the trigger and fired my entire arm through the wooden door. Amazed at my own work I looked back waiting for praise for art of destruction. Nothing, except for a shove out of the way as they rushed to open the hole even wider using their fists and feet as tools. The adrenaline had worn off and I had realized what I did, all I could do was bolt away presumably in the same fashion as my loyal friends.
Weeks had passed from that incident and the memories had left my mind. Everyone was excited for the upcoming trip planned for next week, a weekend class trip staying at one of the sister islands. All the preparations were set, the class raised the money through bake sales and car washes all we had to do was wait one week. Then while discussing who was going to get shaving cream on them at night, the intercom spoke, “ Will Christopher Duty please report to the principal’s office.”

My heart sank and I could feel stomach trying to squirm out of my body. I rose from seat and walked to the door slowly stalked by whispers from other classmates at the back of heels. I had the same questions, my mind was blank, and I had no idea what I could have done wrong. The two minute walked seemed like ten before I had reached the principles chair. It was nerve racking, I could barely find the strength to raise my eyes towards her.

“Chris do you know what you have done?” she asked but no sooner then she finished her question , she answered it for me, “ I’ve been informed that you broke down a bathroom door with a couple of boys.”

It had all made sense now and my hidden fear had been revived. “Yes, ma’am I did.” As I responded I could feel my eyes start to glaze over.

“I’ve called your parents and informed them of your situation. Because you neglected to come and tell me about this like the other three boys, I cannot give you the benefit they have received of a two day interschool suspension. You will have four day external suspension and lose your rights to go on your class trips.” All of this said she kept her composure without raising her voice and keeping calm. I admired and feared that aspect about, it was almost robotic.

Day four of my suspension I had many thoughts running through my mind while walking the dog along the beach. I missed the greatest weekend with my friends to try and impress people who would essentially sell me out. What makes jerks like them cool and why does something like this have to happen to me. Head down, heavily weighed because of my thoughts I could only see the ground. A large green lump stopped me in my tracks, I could barely see the tightly wrapped rubber band around it. My heart finally found the strength to rise again as unwrapped this bundle. Sprinting I rushed back to my house and locked myself in room. I sat and counted for about an hour to finally conclude that I had stumbled across one thousand dollars. Not knowing of any dangers of such large amounts a kept this new reward with a grin on my face. I believed that my dark cloud was clearing with this chance of fate being my silver lining.

Journal Entry 7

• George Orwell says that the English language is in a decline. One point that he says his that people are not producing meaningful sentences but merely hollow statements by stringing words togethor which do not relate to the original point that which they started on. Writers are trying to make themselves seem more intellectual by using larger words which could simply be expressed by using smaller words with the same meaning. This just makes it harder to read and less appealing for the reader.

• In todays society I think that the way english is written is far worse than when Mr. Orwell was complaining about then. With instant communication such as hand helds, computers, and mobile phones people are able to talk to one an another faster then they would have 40 years ago. The time it took for a letter to reach one person to the other would be quite a while so whatever the person had to say was put in more detail and clearly so the other person to understand. This instant communication now relies on sending messages as fast as possible soo the language is shortened to speed things up. Words are over simlified in this way and this can also reflect in a persons writing.
• I think that Orwell's rules are quite effecient in structured writing such as essays and informational documents such as news articles, text book information and so on. This rule though only applies to these situations. In the instance of writing a novel, whatever the genre maybe, using long winded sentences could be used to capticate the readers mind and give vivid descriptioon of something which could be told very simply.

The Maker's Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts

1. When revising my first draft of Project 1 i can look at each step and try to apply them to my story. When looking at the information in my story I decided to use an alternate means of telling the story by giving little bits of information, piece by piece for the reader find out as the read. The information i used was personal and true events so it was a retelling of a past event that I found myself quite interesting. When looking at the perspective of the audience I think that the way I layed out the story was a little confusing. Jumping back and forth between time in each paragraph. When relating this to the structor of the manuscript it seems very muddled. The tense in which each paragraph is written does not support the time periods which I am trying to project. In development I think there may not be enough information for the reader to assume the final conclusion of the story on their own without asking questions. The Voice of my story seems to be present giving each situation enough detail to clearly map what is going on the readers mind.

2. After reading the essay I think I would make serval changes to makeit easier to understand. Firstly I would like to keep the structure of the easy jumping back and forth between different times but maybe with a larger word count I could expand each situation making it easier for the reader to follow. Enabling me to expand the essay i can also add more information which would lead to more development in coming to the conclusion of the story yet still leaving some sort of mystery to it. Another thing I would change is the tense situation, clearly defining punctuation that will let the reader understand what point in time they are reading.

3. I think with quoting from other authors gives the writing another dimension. He is reinforcing his own views by using these authors' quotes which are similar to his own so it doesnt seem so much of opinion but more fatual. Compiling quotations relieves the reader from the same monotonous essay and also gives the reader an idea of where the auther may have got their own theroies and opinions from.

Evolution

“Oh no, late again professor Arch is going to fail me for sure this time”, the thought loomed at the top of my mind as I reached for the brass handle of the door. I creepily peered through the crack of the frame as I pushed the door open. I could safely say I knew what a fly must feel like before being devoured by its furry menace the spider. A class of twenty, I could feel all forty- two eyes glaring straight at me. I stood there frozen at the entrance just staring right back until a harsh voice broke me from my metaphoric web.

“You’re early Mr. Duty.” With such a statement I gave a puzzled look in response to my biology professor Dr. Arch.

“My next class doesn’t start until ten tomorrow morning but since you’re so enthusiastic about my class I will let you stay for the last half hour of this one.” He said with a smirk on his face and an audience that approved of his ever so witty and sarcastic humor with laughter.
“Thank you sir”, I whispered in response as I hurried to my seat, “It won’t happen again I promise”.

“Let's hope not for your sake. Anyways class let’s get back to our topic at hand. All life as we know it are made of living micro-organisms called cells, which are our essential building blocks of life containing DNA, our information bank of chromosomes that make us who we are today. Scientists like I believe that life formed from single cells called prokaryotic cells which are known as bacteria and archea. The archea is the first cell to have broken off the original cell and adapted to earth’s harsh surroundings by evolving through self reproduction known as mitosis with each generation after generation changing to suit its environment. While obtaining its membrane the cells began to ingest other cells such as types of bacteria which give us our plant and animal cells. These gather and form tissues, which lead to organ systems to the end result an organism like you and me.”

This logic and reasoning is makes a lot of sense and yet doesn’t at the same. Sure these maybe the building blocks but I come to question how was this first cell created.
Slight tension building and my nervous cause me to shake as I force myself to blurt out, “How is this beginning cell known as the creator of life formed?”

H e looked directly at me with the same smug grin on his face ready to show off his Yale education. “ Well if you showed up on time you would know that cells are made up of molecules which, for living molecules such as carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids are made up of atoms carbon and hydrogen. The earth was a very molten planet 5 billion years ago with very large amounts of Carbon and hydrogen atoms that under the right circumstances created life.” Quite impressed with himself he looked away from me and looked back at the class waiting for their approval and again they responded with acceptance with another cackle.

“That is true professor that is what makes a cell, I have read the book and also did my research on the topic like you asked. You didn’t answer my question though I asked how this creator cell was formed. Sure it may be made with the same molecules as cells but how did this become alive?” Sick of my embarrassment I decided to turn the tables on my professor. “You don’t know is the answer, no one knows. Scientists in the 1950 created simple proteins the founding of DNA yet these are not the same and the proteins in DNA still have not been created in labs. Even more strange is the fact that having a completed cell does not mean it is living. Dead cells cannot be brought to life by any human means and we don’t know how begins live. You explain it so simply yet you cannot be positive a natural cause formed life and you refuse to accept that there might be some supernatural force that has created some genetic life form. But as a scientist you refuse to explore the supernatural. But who sets that boundary? Is the boundary fixed or does it just represent the limit of our current understanding? Significant scientific discoveries in the past have often forced us to move the boundaries. Illnesses once thought to be caused by spirits are now known to be due to micro-organisms. Even Einstein had difficulty accepting the truth of quantum mechanics.”

Silence fell upon the room and again I felt like the fly. I sunk back into my seat and put my head down to my book, but it didn’t work I could feel his eyes burning into my head.
“Class dismissed, except for you Mr. Duty. I wish to speak to you about being “LATE”.”

The Inheritance of Tools

1. Sanders uses the wall as a setpoint for his narrative story. As welearn more about the completion of the wall, the more we learn about whats happening in his life. Being a family of carpenters through out the generations each memeber found passion in building with wood creating houses, toys and furniture. We are given pieces of information of about how his farther died and what bond they all shared through a chronological time period based on the completion of the wall.

2. As sanders starts to the story he tells of the present day talking about his family and starting to build the wall for his daughters room. Its a unique way of telling a story reverting to his past by using the completion of the wall. He starts by hitting his thumb he refers to sayings that his father would tell him, that his before would tell. Setting about an introduction to learn more about his grandfather and how the family became carpenters. Through the passing of the hammer we learn how about how his father sparked his intrigue into carpentry. He then goes on to talk about days before his father died and how he almost tore down the wall for his daughters gerbils. This give more insight to his immediate family and his tools and proffessions influence them. As he reaches the day of completion we find out thats the day his father died which draws the story to close surronding alot of emotion into this building of wall. Something we say everyday and take for granted this writer gave it emotion and good story to read.

3. A dawn stone is merely a rock that was used as a simple tool for everyday usuage. It proved an effective tool for carrying out tasks. HE is using these tools to reference to his own. Even though there was a great deal of time that went by from the creation of the dawnstone the idea of the hammer is still the same, used for hardness to carry out tasks there is no real distinction between the job it carries out.

Journal Entry 4

Judy Syfer lists alot of activities that wives do. She says that a wife is there to look after the children ad clean the house and also to please their partner whenever. She makes a wife seem like a personal possesion not a person, an almost robot like machine with no freedom or speech of their own. In the 1970s equality of race and sexuality where being put under the spotlight. Women were looking for equal rights as men in work and society. Before this women were supposed to get married and stay home with the children and take care of the house, while at the same time seeing to the needs of their husbands because they were the providers of the family. Leaving an imprint we stereo-typically think of a wife at first as a person who stays at home but is not actually the case. Most families now have both parents working making their own incomes.

In her writing style she kept repeating the line at each sentence, "I want a wife..". I think that her writing like this gives less personality to a wife and creates them into a possesive object that all men seek. She wasnt say this as a way to appeal to the reader what a good should be what sexist men see wives as. This writing is a form of protest against men and not encourages women to be like this.

In the News 5. Splenda

Splenda and these other no calorie sugars are very appealing to today's consumer society, where weight loss and vanity are everybodies' main concern. People enjoy the food and drinks they consume which cause them to gain weight the problem is the food that is healthy for them lacks the taste that they desire. These sugars and salts make up what our taste receptors find desirable and adding a substance that tastes like sugar but without the calories would attract alot of people into buying that product. Its basically the statement to have your and eat it. I think business terms that the creation of this product was genius but maybe there could have been more research into launching such a product. Even though there are no calories in this sugar fi the body cannot produce the enzymes it needs to break down food then metabolism will slow causing a weight gain.

In the news 4. Testing for Cancer

I think under certain circumstances children under the age of 18 can be tested for cancer. If the gene runs through out the family bloodline I think that testing should be begin as soon as child feels it is essential to go for testing. Even though waiting till 18 years of age may cause the child to not worry for their teenage life there is still the chance they could have the cancer and it would be best to stop it at the source as soon as possible

In the News 3- Cloning

The Australian government has issued its first license allowing scientists to create cloned human embryos to try and obtain embryonic stem cells.
The in vitro-fertilization firm Sydney IVF was granted the license and reportedly has access to 7,200 human eggs for its research.
Scientists in other countries have made stem cells they believe are similar to embryonic cells using a variety of techniques, but none have been able to extract embryonic stem cells from cloned human embryos.
An Australian ban on the research, known as therapeutic cloning or somatic cell nuclear transfer, was lifted in December 2006 after a rare conscience vote in the national parliament.
But the use of excess IVF embryos and the creation and use of other embryos in research is restricted by law through national legislation. Human cloning for reproductive purposes is banned.
Chair of the NHMRC's licensing committee, Dr John Findlay, said Sydney IVF's research would be closely monitored.
"They have been given a license to do therapeutic cloning," Findlay told Reuters, adding the scientists are not licensed to reach the fetal stage.
"They can go to the stage called blastocyst. They must stop at that point," he said. The blastocyst is a very early-stage embryo not yet implanted into the womb.
Findlay said scientists will try and create stem cells from patients who have abnormalities or create stem cell lines which will be compatible with patients which have given the cells.
Initially, any stem cells extracted would be used to test new drugs to fight diseases such as muscular dystrophy and Huntington's disease, and later therapeutic cloning would be used to produce body tissue matched to patients.
The director of Australians for Ethical Stem Cell Research, David van Gend, criticized the issuing of the license, saying new technology meant cloning was no longer necessary.
"We have regulations in Australia such that the abuses of cloning wouldn't happen here, we will not get live birth cloning," he told local radio.
"We won't get cloning right through to the fetal stage in order to use them for organ transplants, but if we teach the world how to clone you can be quite sure it will be used in less rigorous jurisdictions."
Somatic cell nuclear transfer is a technique in which DNA from the nucleus of an unfertilized egg is removed and replaced with the nucleus of an adult cell such as a skin cell.
The technique can be used to create cloned embryos in order to derive embryonic stem cells for therapeutic purposes, but can also be used for reproductive cloning.
There are several types of stem cells. Embryonic stem cells, made from days-old embryos, are considered the most powerful because they can give rise to all the cell types in the body.
Sydney IVF said only eggs that were unusable for IVF because they were immature or had not been fertilized properly, and which donors had given consent for, would be used in the research.
The firm said it will use three different types of cells, embryonic stem cells, cumulus cells attached to the collected eggs, and skin cells, to produce the cloned embryos.
Sydney IVF was the first, in 2004, to extract stem cells from Australian IVF embryos, and has since extracted and grown 10 more colonies of embryonic stem cells this way.

http://news.aol.com/health/article/australia-issues-embryo-cloning-license/177426

Cloning is a controversial topic all around the world. It is brings of different opinions due to religion and moral ethics. A scientific procedure that can save lives at the price of taking unborn life. What is your opinion on embryo cloning or related subjects such stem cell research ?

To Good to be True

The air was warm, the sun shining brightly extending its finger like beams across the floor and the sound of tropical birds echoed through out that clammy cell that housed my friend and I for a night. I could hear whispers in the background, "Damaging Government property is a crime in this country and you tourists think you can do whatever you want."

My highschool friend Tom called me confirming that my ticket had been sucessfully booked for the tropical island of Mauritius off the coast of Africa. The appeal of beautiful women, a country surrounded by surfable beaches and more importantly a legal drinking age of 18 sounded like any graduating students' idea of paradise.

I opened my eyes only to see a vast nothingness, a concave of darkness, my head whirring around and the re-occurring flash of the tree haunted my mind. Gradually i was coming back to conciousness by the overhelming responses from my senses. I could see a black smoke rising from hood of the car, i could barely hear sirens over the high pitched ringing in my ears, the adrenaline that made me invicible faded away and the pain from the gash on my shoulder set in. The smell gasoline that now covered road had mixed with burnt rubber from slamming on the brakes to create a noxious aroma which didnt blend to well with the taste of baby powder and blood that had infiltrated my mouth due to the ever so reliable air bag.

Stepping foot off the plane the island was everything i hoped it would be provided by the tourist brouchers. The sun shining brightly and the water and sky as one. This lush landscap was ours for the taking or at least until his parent fly in 2 days later. We were left a house a car and enough spending money for a month at our expense. The placed seemed to be like God's hideaway when he needs from the world.

"Come with me sir", the police officer beckoned at a ever still shocked Tom. Cold, dark and lonely I sat on a tree stomp observing the mangled body of the small RX-3 wrapped around the tree and deer crossing sign meshed togethor. As the sun set and the police motorcycle road off the night time set in taking with it the warm air. The lush mountains sported their undeveloped landscape by hosting no street lights and its immense size blocking whatever natural light the overcast moon would have provided. This once masterpiece of work became one of Tim Burton's sick fantasies.

Damn deer is all I could think about as I heard the approaching siren. Even though we risked our lives to save a creature that is hunted here as game we are punished because we cant afford to pay back the sign we are held as felons until Tom's parent's arrive. I knew this place was to good to be true.

In the News #2

I dont think that we should continue funding this project to replace the fences. The amount of resources and money could be put into something more effective such as medicare and schooling. With the countris financial state i dont think it be a very economically wise desicion. If secruity is an issue maybe alternate methods could be used. National gaurd or means of secruity could be placed at garrisons along the border.
I dont think that this need for high secruity fences is a means of stopping terrosim but a means of immigration control, using 9/11 as a scape-goat to go ahead with it.

Journal Entry 2

The first essay that caught my attention was "Lessons Learned in Tragedy" (http://www.thisibelieve.org/dsp_ShowEssay.php?uid=13646&topessays=3).

The writer describes her experiences after hurricane Katrina and how she went from having all the commercial commodities to having nothing. I can relate to the emotions that the writer went through because I have also gone through the effects of a powerful Hurricane and loosing all our everyday luxuries that we take for granted sometimes. The reson I found this essay more compelling than many of the others is not because of the tradegy that writer is describing but seeing the silver lining of this horrible event.

The second essay I chose also relates to another writer who went through the Katrina hurricane in New Orleons. (http://www.thisibelieve.org/dsp_ShowEssay.php?uid=26077&topessays=3)

The style of writing seems different from the last essay. Robin uses shorter sentences describing each event simplistically kind of in an enfish style of writing. Also when comparing the two essays the first writer gives a negative point then reflects upon the point with a postive message where as the second writer gives the impression that she is suffering through out the entire story but only shows how this depressing lifestyle actually became a diamond in the rough for her.

I think a good quote that would sum up the main message behind these stories would be from the author Chuck Palahnuik , " Hit bottom. Loose everything. Only then are you truely free because you nothing left to fear."

Journal entry 1

In examing a piece of writing which I composed I decided use an article which I wrote for a physical education class. " Obesity is a spreading epidemic. What is the cause and how can we prevent it?".

I wrote this essay as a research paper to find to what extent the obesity population was increasing in the United States, why this was happening how we can try prevent it. This essay was part of a project that made up a large percentage of my grade which would be sent directly to the University of Cambridge to grade. There for this meant instead of using previous collegues past data. Also I would have to use more recent information due to the main statement in the title, "spreading", meaning its still occuring and figures will be updated.

The writing style I used was more imformative than argumentative because i was providing factual information which could not really be decided by different opinions, unless the data i used false. Writing seemed to be the most appropriate method presenting my point, even though displays could have showed the graphs, putting this information into writing seemed to be easiest way for my examiner to understand the figures also that I understood how to evaluate my own results.

A set guideline was provided on how to write the essay by the Cambridge examination board, which is primarily the basic essay structure of begining the essay with the introduction which provides a general overview of the essay is about. The filling paragraphs which give the essay its structural support, setting out to justify the title. Finanaly the conclusion to finish the essay which is an accumulation of the main points and a personal to response about the selected topic.

Responding to a "rhetorical situation" is a different way of thinking about writing for example, compared to a simple essay. Even though there is still some structure by writing about culture, audience, genre compared to a simple essay with the set paragraph stucture, the analatical point of view of reviewing a past article seems to be less creative and more step by step of how we got the end result. A scientific means of writing it would seem.

In the News #1

In response to the article provided by Dr. Mason,

"What types of enhancements are acceptable in human activities, either in competitive sports or elsewhere?"

The Olympic Games is a series of sporting activities which take place every four years. The main purpose is to provide a time period of peace between nations and promote amature athletics. When taking enhancements to improve sporting performance there is no designated line that shows what is just and injust but it all comes down to peoples morals and ethics. To take drugs which biologicaly affect the natural human functions does not seem to be fair when competing with athletes who are performing at their natural abilities. Looking at the ethos of the olympics of fair play, why should someone who has taken a drug to enhance their performance for a short gain win the gold when another athlete has trained all their life to make it to the olympics loose in an almost pre-decided competition.