Motion Picture vs. Words

To me, Shakespeare's script for the play Julius Caesar is much better than the movie. One reason for this may be because of the evolution in movies over the years. Today, movies are filmed better and teenagers today.. well, we like stuff done the new way. The play itself has the power to be analyzed and an internal meaning can be found. The movie is based on the play (word for word) and basically plays what is written in the book. I believe that all great scriptures need to be read and not watched because they capture the essence of the past, and no movie can truly recapture the true past. This play was an extremely good choice for our persuasive unit because the speeches spoken all applied certain devices to persuade. The use of pathos, ethos, and rhetorical questions all forced the readers to interact with the story. This connection was never really established in the movie, and that is what definitely made the script better than the movie. 

Eragon By Christopher Paolini

Eragon is hunting for game in the Spine. His family is desperately in need of food before the harsh winter season approaches. He sees a deer, draws and arrow... "boom!" The eerie blasts sends Eragon scattering to the floor, and the deer is shocked away. It was a blue mystical object, and little did Eragon know that it would turn out to be his new dragon.

I thought this book would be one that you read on a lazy Sunday with nothing else to do. "It's about dragons, how good can it be?" I asked myself. My sister was obsessed with it and was drawn into the mystical world Christopher Paolinin creates every minute of every day until she was finished reading it. "O well, I guess I'll read it." Probably the best book I have read this year! I could not put this book down, and if I had to go to bed, my parents had to pry the book out of my hands just to make me get enough sleep. Great adventure book, and suitable for all ages! READ THIS BOOK!

"What I think about Shakespeare..."

Shakespeare to me is a writer who creates portals back into time. Every once in a while, as we read on in Caesar, I can picture the scenes he describes, and the asides tell me more about the characters. He is an accomplished writer, who by many, is recognized as an old person who uses weird language. Although this may be so, if we do not have Shakespeare, we have lost part of history. His writing reflects the times he lived in, and gives the new era of writers more ideas of what to write about. His other piece of writing, Romeo and Juliet, was long (all his writing is) yet it is the basis of most love stories today. When people hear William Shakespeare, they immediately think of long meaningless lines that only would have been spectacular in the times it was written. I believe that all his writing needs to be disected piece by piece to attain the true understanding of his works. I have grown to like Shakespeare, however sometimes lines and scenes turn out to be extremely cheesey. (The movie isn't any better) However, it has taught me a lot about literature. Shakespeare needs to be kept in all classrooms around the world so that new age writers experience literature to the fullest.

"Deal" Definition of Tolerance Essay

People view others in different ways. We all know the variation of pigmentation. The different colors of hair, colors of eyes, and the sizes of people all affect people’s perception of one another. All these traits are tolerable, yet some people have difficulty with one element. Skin color. This has been an issue since the early years of man kind. Blacks have been despised, mistreated and killed all because of the color of their skin. To me, tolerance is a human must. We need to learn how to live with each other no matter how different in appearance we may be. What is inside a person is more important than what presents them. (what’s on the outside)
I am a third-culture-kid, and have learned to live with people. To me everyone is a person and I don’t care what they look like. People don’t have to be a certain color or height to be my friend. However, not everyone is like me. History proves my claim. Just look at the time of slavery. This inhumane behavior is still commencing. The “Word” Dictionary describes tolerance as “acceptance and patience.” It is not what everyone views as tolerance to be. Some people may think that abiding the rules is tolerating... I agree with acceptance, not with patience. Patience is being frustrated, breathing slowly to calm yourself down as to not murder someone. Tolerance is different. It has guidelines.
One thing I remind myself about is companionship. Would you want to be around people who hurt others because of their color? Or would you rather be around people who may look a little different but are the nicest people in the world. I have had experiences with pigmented people, and they have turned out to modest, intellectual persons. Friendships can be initiating with a smile, and all colored people I have met smiled in my direction. All I have met are currently my friend.
Tolerating a person doesn’t always mean that you have to be friends with them. But you don’t have to be enemies. A kid I know is slow. Literally slow. He slurs his words, and is hard to understand. Most of the time he’ll end up spitting in my face as I move in closer to comprehend what he’s saying. Yet I couldn’t ever feel bad about him doing it. Knowing him for two years has made me recognize his problem. From then on, I’ve treated him as a normal person as I would any other human being. My friends just has some trouble speaking and controlling his saliva.
Life is about living. Tolerance to me doesn’t exist in a way, because of how I see things. What I’m trying to say is that not everyone thinks like me. So I don’t have to tolerate people, it’s just built into me to not set people aside. People are people, and I take things for the way they are. Many are different. But think of it this way… do you have to put up with a person you don’t like for a whole day? Every day? I predict your answer would be no. If it you do need to deal with bothersome people all day, still listen. Put yourself in the kids’ shoes and think about what you would do when people frown at you every time you walk down the hall. Does it hurt? What about talking behind people’s backs? You smile at two people walking down the street. As you pass by, you suddenly hear whispering. You look back. They’re shooting short glances at you and giggle when you look dazed and confused. Does it hurt? Understand people and know that they are a part of you. No matter how annoying they can be, give them some of your time and understand their situation. They’re not around you forever.

Cholera has killed 775 in Zimbabwe, U.N. says

Zimbabwe's government says the disease is under control but aid agencies warn that coming rains could spreading cholera further in a population already weakened by disease and hunger.
With hundreds of people fleeing the country to seek treatment, cholera has already spread to Zimbabwe's neighbors. Nine deaths were reported Tuesday in South Africa.
President Robert Mugabe is coming under increasing pressure as concern about the country's deepening humanitarian and political crisis mounts. President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have all called recently for the 84-year-old leader to step down.

By Angus Shaw
MSNBC.com

What I find interesting of this essay is the lying. Zimbabwe has had government problems since I don't know when. Robert Mugabe is corrupt, and has no concern for his people. Cholera is a disease that breaks out because of the lack of clean drinking water. What could be done to help these people is purification plants. But the only problem with this is money. Mugabe does not feel like he can change this situation, and declares that the west has brougth cholera to his country. Well, even if the west did it, you should still find the heart to treat the people of your country. I think That Angus Shaw has written and effective article shining daylight on a developing issue. This article continues on MSNBC. One other article that I read claimed that Zimbabwe was on the verge of self destruction.

Pakistan arrests suspected Mumbai planner

"Yes, Lakhvi is among four or five people arrested in a raid yesterday," said the official, whose JuD charity is regarded as front for the feared militant group.

Pakistani intelligence officers said six men have been arrested, but gave no names, and there has been no official confirmation of the raid.

Lakhvi, one of Lashkar's operations chiefs, was named as a ringleader in the Mumbai plot by the lone surviving gunman captured in India, according to Indian officials.

He and Yusuf Muzammil, the head of Lashkar's anti-India operations, gave orders by telephone to the 10 militants who killed at least 171 people in the attack on Mumbai, Indian officials say.

Writing by Simon Cameron-Moore (Reuters.com) Article #2

What I find so interesting about this excerpt is the casualties and planners involved in this attack. I find international news to be very interesting, and numbers to me also mean a lot. If you think about how 6 men can affect 171 people... and that's not even for sure yet. The death toll is still rising. I have never understood the thrill of terror attacks, or the motives that drive the suspects. To think that religion is one main reason for these attacks scares me for various reasons. Religion is a belief, I accept this though, yet taking other people's lives for a belief that has not been proven is extreme. I think that people must stay within the boundaries of humanity, and leaving innocent people out of affairs that affect the suspects. Reuters to me gives a very unbiased opinion and writers do what they are paid to do, issue the daily news. I hope people understand the significance of 6 to 171.

Asimov Imitation

There seems no question but that the Cd's are going to be out of this world in time. Because of our portable music playing devices, music can be shared, played, and downloaded; digitally. Cd's take in space, and the more you get, the more space they take up. All you need for more music on your computer or portable device is hard drive space. Look what happened to records. They were about a foot in diameter, and were just too big to be taken anywhere. The megaphones that you needed to be able to play them on were extremely expensive and space consuming. A famous quote by an anonymous figure once said "necessity is the mother of invention, and invention is the mother of necessity." Whenever you need something, you can invent it. But when you invent it, you need something to take care of that invention. Think about farming during the industrial revolution. When farming was done by hand, it took longer to harvest crops. When plows and machines came along to do more work than one man could do in a week, it put a lot of farmers out without a job. As the years go by, people will start of new ways to share and listen to music, we put the "old" stuff away and forget about them. They have done what they needed to do, but who needs them anymore? The invention of the iPod has been one that has changed music for the years to come. It has made record companies more popular because of the recognition they get... but what about records sold? There are still people who buy Cd's. But over the next few years, I predict that the sales will drop and all music that is listened to will be electronic.