Graphic Novel: Post #4 - Closing Thoughts

As a closing post, I won't bore you with a summary or a description of the end. However, I will share my thoughts and opinions on the book as a whole, because I think that is more interesting. My general view of the book is very good; I enjoyed reading it, even though I had a rough idea of the plot, along with (like in most books) being able to guess what will happen next. I thought the ending didn't really do much tone wise, to change form the beginning. What I mean by that is that I would think in the end the author would make things perfect and peachy like in a lot of novels, but the very dark mood and tone was kept consistent throughout the novel. Also, keeping a consistent mood/tone is something I obviously enjoy because otherwise the book would be unorganized and confusing. One thing I would change about the novel is the insight into Neville's sexual desires. Although I found the personal battle interesting, not the sexuality, I think it was unnecessary to bring it up as many times as it was. I don't say this because I think it's inappropriate or anything, I just thought it was trying to be pushed on the reader too much. Interestingly enough, the part I enjoyed the most was the insight into Neville's thoughts. The author went into depth with Neville's thoughts on the important things, and when things were important, the author, Richard Matheson made sure you knew.

Graphic Novel: Post #3 - General Discussion

In my last two posts I haven't been focusing mainly on the graphic novel because I was attempting to prove my point that the book is almost a whole different story. Now, however, I will focus on the graphic novel. What i want to discuss, and also what I have found to be most interesting and surprising to me, is the tone and/or mood of the book. the book is actually very dark, and doesn't hesitate to discuss very "taboo" topics. A reoccurring struggle Neville deals with is his lust for women, and since the only women are vampires, he can't satisfy this want.  This is brought on by the vampires trying to lure him out by having the women be overly promiscuous and show their body parts to Neville, trying to get he best of him. I found this interesting, not in a necessarily typical manor; I thought that how the author went into such depth with Neville’s thoughts, and the battle between his minds “hypothalamus” (thank you St. Olaf ‘s human sexuality course) which is the part of ones brain that “drives” one’s sex drive (of course the cerebral cortex is what allows you to fantasize and what not) and his frontal cortex (which controls ones thinking and reasoning)…. Now that I have explained that, I shall rephrase it as well, “ the battle between his minds hypothalamus and frontal cortex”. It was actually significantly disturbing thinking about the situation afterwards. Even the thought crossing his mind of losing his life just to have sex in a way, shows our human instincts in a somewhat pure form, if the word “pure” can even be used in relation with this sentence. I don't think the author will allow him to give into these temptations, just because the way it would change the plot, but I do think, in real life, that somebody with Neville's personality,and situation, would eventually give in to their natural instincts. sadly, it would most likely be a male, I'm not being sexist, it's just men are more attracted to physical objects, and that's the only thing the vampires have to offer. 

Graphic Novel: Post #2 - Similarities

In my last post I mainly discussed the differences of the novel and the movie. In this post, I will discuss the similarities the two stories share. Mainly, they both have the same general plot of the last man on earth trying to stay alive. They both have a monster that only comes out at night and that carries a virus in their blood. Obviously they both have the same name, and family members names. Although the presence of the dog is seen throughout the whole movie, and doesn't appear until over half way through the novel, the dog still plays a role in Robert Neville's fight for life. Overtime, in the movie, Robert becomes lazy about cleaning in his apartment which his like the novels version of Neville, except he starts out being lazy. In both versions of this story, the main character, Robert Neville, deals with psychological problems revolving around his/their famil(y/ies). The main one is about his daughter Kathy, in both they have memories and flashbacks of her when she was happy and living safely with them. Kathy is remembered typically when something bad happens, like having to kill a zombie/vampire, which was a person, and could have well been her. Although there are many similarities and it is the same story technically, the differences still outweigh the similarities.  

Graphic Novel: Post #1 - Differences

          In addition to Persopelis, I am reading the original version of I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, which is a graphic novel of course. Although it may be seen as "taboo" to report on a book that is also a movie, but this book is different. The movie version starring Will Smith is much different. Although the book has the same general idea, it also shares the same "general" idea with many science fiction movies or novels about survival. The graphic novel follows the life of Robert Neville, a middle aged, a philosophical, sarcastic, chain-smoking drunk, who also happens to be the "last of his kind". Neville, surrounded by vampires at night who are trying to break into his house, and obviously, suck his blood, is confined to a days drive from his house. In the Hollywood film, the main character, still Robert Neville, is more of a heroic character whose purpose is to discover a cure for the zombies’ contagious virus. One character is heroic fighting off zombies, the other is self pitying and lazy who fights off vampires - very different. Also, in the movie, the setting is in a large city, with many skyscrapers and other buildings. In the graphic novel, the setting is placed in a suburban town, with all of the surrounding houses burned down (which Neville did to stop the vampires from jumping from one house to another). The setting and different characters with different specifications to plot lines, makes the two stories very different. Yes, they do have similarities, which I will discuss in my next post, but overall, the differences outweigh the similarities

http://h1.ripway.com/EricsMyBeau/03%20The%20Twilight%20Zone.mp3

Outside Reading: Day 9 - New Book

In an effort to not ruin the ending of Jerk California, written by Jonathan Friesen, I have started to read a new book and blog on this new book instead of continuing to blog about my last book, resulting in "spoilers". The new book i have began to read is one of the three book choices we were given in class recently. Of course I didn't choose this book to read then, I choose Slaughterhouse V by Kurt Vonnegut, but I chose one of the other books presented. This book is called The Weight of all Things by Sandra Benitez. So far, I have enjoyed this book, evcen know I know most of the beginning of the story through our classes fellow students presentations. Although this book is much different than Slaughterhouse V, it isn't that hard to transition between the twpo writing styles because The Weight of all Things has an interesting story, with a attention getter in the beginning. Instead of just giving a bunch of semi relevant details to the point of a literay induced coma, this book begins the story with the most "exciting" part of the book, which is the death of Nicholas, the main character's mother.

Outside Reading: Day 8 - Final Predictions

In an effort to write something new and not just blog about the same old thing I find interesting in this book, however interesting it may be. I'm going to make some very broad, general, but also specific predictions about the ending results of the book. First of all, obviously, I predict that Jack will "hook up" with Naomi, and she will overall help him with his problems. Helping Jack with his problems would be more than just being supportive; I predict that she will help him, not only with his family problems, but also with his tourette's syndrome. In relation to his family, I think, and hope, that Jack’s mom realizes she’s better off without the boob of a man old Bill is. This would result in her leaving Old Bill and his beautiful “prized” child. If Old Bill had any “man” in him, he would know he has medical issues as well, and apologize to Jack. From my personal experiences, having all of this stress taken away reduces the affects of Tourette’s syndrome, making life easier. Although losing stress doesn’t eliminate jerking movements, and ticks, having extra stress, especially a certain situation, makes any ticks and jerking movement’s sky rocket.

Outside Reading: Day 7

Tonight I will be writing about the short section I read, I am doing this because of the unique style of this section. What is happening currently is Jack is in this dream like state, in which he awakes to a man with a "deep voice". I'm focusing on this topic because it is unusual for this book, so far, to be so abstract, one could say, in its writing style. This writing style reminds me a lot of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse V, in which most of the story is just a elaborate dream or illusion by the main character. I found this especially interesting because I am nearing the end of Slaughterhouse V so the similarities in the two books, which are both very different was somewhat exciting. One thing that plays a large part in Jack’s thoughts are thoughts of his father. This is especially interesting because Jack’s mother seems to start changing herself and acknowledging her past. Acknowledging her past may in the end help her leave Old Bill, who beats her and treats her horribly. This is good because Jack begins to lose a lot of respect for his mother because of her choices to stay with Old Bill.

Outside Reading: Day 6

Since I read quite a bit earlier and I'm going on around 4 hours of sleep accompanied by an aching body, due to the wonderful delights of prom, today's reading was shorter than most. Today I'm going to focus on the way the book is being written, as in the structure of the events, which events are emphasized to show importance, which ones aren't, and those kind of things. When writing a scene including Jack and Naomi, Friesen typically includes an embarrassing mistake on Jack's part. This creates, as mentioned in other posts, some humor, but also a small bit of tenseness in the reader. This is created because the book makes the reader want for Jack and Naomi, crudely put, but "hook up". So the fear of Jack losing all chances with Naomi is constantly present. What I have found to be even more interesting, and another sign of rising action, is Friesen's use of Jack's real father again. Jack returns home in a mental mess, thinking about his father and Naomi. He soon awakens to his old "family" going about their day. Old Bill makes a nasty remark, and then the Old Coot takes a swing at him, and knocks him out. Jack’s mother yelling out the door that Jack is his real name, and that he is a Keegan follows this. This could be seen as a climactic point, but the emotions of Jack following this leaves things still up in the air. Yes, the climax of a book isn't going to solve everything, but this doesn't change anything for Jack all that much; he still goes on his way, twitching and jerking.

Outside Reading: Day 5

Today, well this evening, my reading consisted of little "action" one might say, but still packed full of excitement. The girls that Jack is practically in love with, isn't scared of him anymore, and by that, I am talking about the whole running at Naomi with an axe ordeal. In the spectrum of effeminate traits in men, I tend to have a few, which is why I found this section exciting. The part I've read over the past few days, (I only read about 2 pages on Monday) dealt with Jack's feelings towards Naomi associating them with his Jack's real father's letter. The Old Coot gave this letter to Jack; it was from Jack's father, explaining everything to him, and even a section about finding the right girl for him. This part would typically be boring for the "average guy" but I grew up in a house with a mother and a sister, so the romantic/chick part of me enjoyed this section. I guess al the years of overrated chick flicks ended up doing me some good in the world! A very exciting part, which isn't necessarily positive for Jack at the moment, is when Naomi witnesses Jack twitch, which has happened before, but this time she confronted him about it. She basically asked him why he did all of that stuff. I see this as "growth", one could say, in their relationship as friends at least. Eventually I predict Jack will give her all the dirty details on Tourette's and even his whole family life, but for now, he just blew it off by saying it was a long story.

Outside Reading: Day 4

As mentioned in my last post, Sam has many run-ins with Naomi, all of them entertaining, which will be mentioned late on in the post. In this section, Sam has moved into the Old Coot's house, and begun working for him. Since Sam lives with the Old Coot now, the name used most often is Jack, so from now on or until another name used, "Sam Carrier" will be referred to as "Jack Carrier". The Old Coot, being somewhat mysterious and unpredictable, informs Jack at 5AM that they were running late for their "big job". It turns out this big job is a gardening job at Naomi's house. After being instructed to different gardening tasks, Jack, being florally illiterate, couldn't complete these. So the Old Coot gave him a chainsaw, to go cut down some trees. Now, here is the funny run in with Naomi that I was talking about earlier. Jack see's Naomi walk out the door, and impulsively runs towards her to greet her, but since it’s around 7AM, she isn't awake yet. At 7AM having a man run at you with a running chainsaw would frighten anyone. Every time I read Naomi's name, I just wait for something "silly" for Jack to do. After some coaxing by the Old Coot, who is family friends with Naomi and her parents, she finally comes out and talks to Jack. The book has too many funny things not to shortly summarize them, as I have been doing recently. Anyways, I still am enjoying this book probably more than any other book I've ever read, because of the book itself, but also the similarities it has to my life, especially with Tourette's Syndrome.

Bitter Grounds

the author is trying to convey the theme/message, generally to not sit back and let things happen, but to be active, and do what needs to be done. Directed towards women though, it has the same general meaning, but to not let any stereotype of women hold you back.

Outside Reading: Day 3

Since I began reading ahead a bit in my reading schedule, this reading was fairly short. Nevertheless, this section is full of excitement, and twist and turns. Throughout the book, one of the plots/Sam's underlying struggles is with a girl, name Naomi. In the first few chapters of the book she is introduced to Sam while running. Sam, being his clumsy self made an interesting first impression, which I will leave to you to find out for yourself by reading Jerk, California. The section that I read has to do with a run in Sam has with Naomi (Earlier in the book it establishes that these two have a thing for each other). I enjoyed this section particularly because each time Sam runs into Naomi; a quintessential mistake is made by Sam, making him look "dorky". This time, he ended up saving Naomi from a minor car accident, but it was winter, and her car was trapped in the ditch. To add to the danger of this, Naomi and her friends, being classified (by me) as a popular preppy type, weren't wearing adequate clothing, so they could have potentially gotten very sick due to the temperature. The author, Jonathan Friesen, does a good job at adding humor, while sustaining a tone appropriate for a young adult’s book. In other words, Friesen didn’t add sophomoric humor or humor that just doesn't fit our age group. He also doesn't let things progress too quickly between Sam and Naomi; this scene in the winter was going pretty well, until Sam made one of his mistakes, which he recovered from, then some school bullies came around. In the end of this situation, Sam is left with a kiss on the cheek, “warming” him up in the cold of Minnesota.

Outside Reading: Day 2

For my second "day" of reading, more like second post, I am nearing the middle of the book. In my last post I mentioned the struggles between Sam and his step-dad. These issues grow increasingly intense as the book goes on. I personally find this section intriguing because of my own struggles with family members, particularly with family member’s medical issues. Such as in the book, Sam has Tourette's Syndrome, like me, and his hypocritical step-father has OCD, like a family member of mine. Sam’s relationship with his step-dad has begun to worsen; beginning with violence, beating Sam’s mother, to the forcing Sam to pay rent. The last section I will summarize is what happens after Sam is told he has to pay rent. A man known around the town as being a crazy old coot, offers Sam a job and room & board. This is a plus because the money gained from the old coot wasn’t enough to pay for rent in Sam’s own home. I find this all interesting even though much of it was negative. Sam’s step-dad forcing him to pay rent made me wonder what was going to happen next and added action to the book. I enjoyed the progression of events throughout the book so far; Sam has a bad event occur, has a small positive thing, then even more intense bad events. At first Sam is resistant to the old coot’s offer, event though he knows its his only choice. One thing that also makes it hard for Sam is that his real father was friends with the old coot, and this old coot character, insists on calling Sam by his real name, Jack.

Outside Reading: Day 1

The book I chose to read is called Jerk, California by Jonathan Friesen. The first few chapters I read were about the main character, Sam, and the city he lives in. I liked the opening of chapters of the book because I felt that it gave a solid mental image of the town to the reader. This helped give additional understanding of the town’s people negative views on Sam's "disease" as he calls it. Sam live in a smaller town, where not many people come in or out, so anything out of the ordinary is the whole towns business, making Sam's twitches and jerks something to poke fun at. I am nearing the middle of the book, and it is becoming more and more interesting; the story is beginning to take shape, and actually get exciting! An interesting detail about the story is Sam's step father; he views Sam's Tourette's as some gruesome retardation, which Sam is at fault for. This is interesting because Sam's step-father has severe OCD, and counts cans, keys and other things excessively. I found this part even more interesting because of my experiences with both OCD, and Tourette's Syndrome, some severe traits of OCD can be quite similar to tourettes. His step-father treats him like dirt; he makes him do all the work, he beats Sam's mother, and even changed Sam's name; it was originally Jack. Having many friends and family members struggle with fathers in their family, reading about this gave me even more knowledge and insight into paternal conflicts.

Outside Reading: Life Without Limbs

For our final topic of, "Overcoming Odds" I chose to write about Nick Vujicic, a 23 year old man with no arms or legs. I chose to write about Nick because I have been inspired by him through his DVD at my bible study. We watched one of his DVDs which included a background of his life, and one of his sermons given in the US. Nick was born without arms or legs, and at age 8, he was so sick of living that way he pondered suicide. To be thinking of killing oneself at such a young age is something that makes a lot of people uncomfortable. He asked God everyday for arms and legs, but he later realizes God had something else in mind for him, and still does. Nick now lives completely independently, showering, brushing his teeth, and even composing music! An amazing fact is his ability with computers; he can type 43 words per minute. Nick's extreme faith in the Lord has made him over come his disability and be more happy and content than most people with limbs. i would give anything to have half as much faith and joy he has through our God, which is what I'm inspired to do.

http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/files/ministry-prospectus.pdf

Outside Reading: Relationships Found on the Internet

In my blogs, you may read my writings, sometimes talking about writing on something "different" or a "uncommon" view on the assigned topic. I do this not to be different, but to attempt to present a view that may not always be seen. Our topic was to write on a text about love, so using my "uncommon" sub-theme, I found the perfect article. I chose to read about Internet relationships, from the woman's point of view. The article was from an author who writes about how, as a woman, to protect yourself in a relationship. Overall, she warns women to avoid Internet relationships. I chose this article over any other love article because Internet relationships are growing, from chat rooms, to the nationally used website, eHarmony. When talking about Internet relationships, the author is more referring to using the Internet for facebook, myspace and chat room based relationships, because there are thousands of predators on the world wide web. The message is to be careful, and to avoid all Internet relationship. Besides being possibly physically harmful, due to the other person in the relationship locating you, people relying on the web for relationships probably aren't going to be very stable, leading to heartbreak (if you even get that far...)

Yo! Its Jonny po ponny!

Outside Reading: Cyberterrorism: How Real Is the Threat?

Today's topic was to read and write about war of some type. Most people may think of the two world wars or the present war on terror. I chose to read about a different type of war, one that doesn't involve guns, tanks, infantry, or human combat; I chose the war on cyberterrorism. I wanted to read about this because it is something different than actual combat and I also have an interest in technology, so this especially caught my eye. The article gave the general description and fears of cyberterrorism. The concern is about the unauthorized accessing of government files, databases, and computers, containing confidential information about people, war, and even the government itself. If someone were to access files about intelligence in the Middle East, the secrecy of our attack or inheritance of the area could be compromised. Cyber "terrorism" is present all around the world, starting out at wifi hackers, then to computer and network hackers, eventually leading up to the cyber-terrorists.





Gabriel Weimann, Cyberterrorism: How Real is the Threat? , usip.org, Last Updated: Decemeber, 2004

Outside Reading: The Gaza Crisis

For today's topic of "Global issues" I chose to read about the conflicts in the Gaza Strip. The introduction/background article, located here, gave a brief history of the past issues, leading to today's "crisis". Although there are many other topics which could be deemed more important, I chose to read about this because it is a topic that isn't discussed enough. Also, on a side note, regardless of your views about Global Warming, which is the "number one" global issue, it isn't going to be fixed anytime soon. In Israel/Palestine's case, the controversy can be helped. A major reason why this topic isn't discussed as much as it should be, is because of the Jewish peoples involvement. Next to everyone knows about the mass sufferings of Jews before, during, and after the holocaust. people find it to be a very sensitive subject because if one were to oppose the Israeli side of the argument, they would typically be viewed as anti-Semitic. I found this article especially interesting because the author was bold enough to acknowledge the lack of Jewish opposition. Even though I support the supporting of Israel, I still found this aspect of the article interesting.

Anup Shah, The Middle East conflict—a brief background, GlobalIssues.org, Last updated: Sunday, July 30, 2006

Outside Reading The History of the Oktoberfest

After taking a few years of German, and having mini Oktoberfests, I thought reading about the history of this widely celebrated holiday would be very interesting. Modern day Oktoberfests consist of games, food, beer, beer, and more beer. The two words, "Oktober" (October) and "fest" both have the same meaning in English, obviously being a festival in October. Oktoberfest started out as a celebration for marriage of King Ludwig I and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. It was celebrated with horse races, but also, too boost German agriculture, the sampling of many different brews. It was such a hit they decided to have a festival each year. The king was married on 12th October 1810, so that's how Oktoberfest got the "Oktober" part of the name. I've always enjoyed German food and German traditions, so reading about the largest, and very well known German holiday, was extremely enjoyable. Along with having taken German for a couple years, my paternal side of the family has a significantly strong German heritage, so this article has extra interest to me.

http://www.muenchen.de/Tourismus/Oktoberfest/History/136868/03history.html

Outside Reading: Imperialism in Africa

Due to tonight's reading topic, along with our recent studies about Africa, I thought it'd be appropriate to read and write about African Imperialism. The article I chose to read I actually came across when searching for an article on German Imperialism, but it turns out the the Germans were quite involved in Africa's Imperialism. The article talks about the general power that Germany had in relation to other countries back before the imperialism in Africa. Then in 1884 Germany made and claimed the Cameroons, German South-west Africa, and New Guinea. Imperialism is the act of extending ones power over another country, so Germany claiming the land is obviously imperialism. I found the way the author wrote very interesting. She wrote in a very edgy, but easy to understand. The author, Lisanne Schuller, uses the words "scramble(d)" and "omelet" to help the reader visually put together the different facts and ideas in the text. I think this is a very effective way to write because it allows the reader to feel like they're actually having a conversation with someone and not just reading the hard facts. Although I thought the interesting word choice was a good thing, the way some of the things were written, for me personally, almost discredited her professionalism.

http://www.cusd.chico.k12.ca.us/~bsilva/projects/imperialism/schuller.htm

Outside Reading: Welcome To Bollywood

For our "Bollywood" theme, I chose to read a National Geographic article on Bollywood, first of all because it is about Bollywood, but also it is from National Geographic, which is a very reliable source of information. I thought it was interesting how the article opened. It opened up describing a scene to a movie, and after seeing a Bollywood film, it triggered many mental images from the few Bollywood films I've seen. The article gives a background on the director of the film, Yash Chopra, with a brief description of the general idea of the film. Personally, I find Bollywood films to have their pros and cons. I dislike how there has to be a certain amount of dance and musical numbers, although some of them I enjoy, I think its ridiculous to have some set standard...for musical numbers. Another thing I don't like is the predictability of the movies. Yes, to an extent most movies are predictable, but sometimes you can almost even predict the script, word for word. One thing I do sort of enjoy is the tension that is built by having the characters not kiss. Most Americans, especially teens, are used to seeing movie characters kiss, and frequently, a lot in more as well. Having them almost kiss, but then have the movie end or the scene change threw me for a spin, and overall I think it adds a unique quality to the film.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0502/feature3/

Outside Reading: Emblems of Ireland: The Shamrock

A culture that I have always been interested in is the Irish culture, everything from the music to the holidays and special events. The most commonly associated symbol with the Irish is the shamrock, which is what my article was about. I found this article interesting first of all because of my interest in Irish culture, but also because the shamrock didn't really become associated with Ireland until the 17th century. This article discussed the history of the shamrock, but also a common misconception about the shamrock. Most people would think a shamrock is an actual plant, but it actually isn't. The four major plants associated with the shamrock are the white clover, small hop clover, and wood sorrel, or oxalis. I would really enjoy to to visit Ireland someday, until then I get to learn about the culture, especially the music.

http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/AEmblem/Shamrock.html

Outside Reading: Affecting Change In Our Schools

The topic given was "change" in any way, and since I'm writing for school, I decided reading about change in schools, would be appropriate. The article I read hit on the idea of changing the ways school taught. For example, spreading the learning process into the world, instead of just in the classroom. I found this interesting because it is a very good idea for many students and schools. Although I think expanding the classroom is a good idea, I do think that there is more to it; and that is the teacher-student relationship. Personally, I've found it extremely helpful in school once I've established a personal connection with a teacher. This way it is much easier to view them as a person and not a human less robot. History used to be my worst subject, but now that I have established that connection, I come into class and am able to listen to what my teacher has to say easily. Still, expanding the classroom allows students to have hands on experiences, and get to know what they're dealing with. It also prepares them for future jobs.

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/326559/jewish/Change-in-our-Schools.htm

Outside Reading: "Barack Obama: Hope, Fear...Advice"

Upon seeing that tonight's topic was hope, I thought of all the Obama campaign signs, and the meaning behind it. When i started to search for an article related to it, i found many about how the artist was suing, and other pointless articles about it. I stumbled across a collection of answers to a survey, by many authors. Although this really isn't an "article" I decided to use it for many reasons. One, I'm trying to have an open mind and positive outlook on our new President, as much as I don't like his policies and beliefs. Also, because of the authors responses to the 3 questions. One answer that that was brought up multiple times was the issue with/in Israel. Since I support supporting Israel, very strongly, to see authors have the same views as me on it, was an encouraging thing to see. Most of the time, Conservatives are criticized, especially in our schools (some rightfully so, though). Conservatives who only are that way because of one issue, such as gay marriage or abortion, due to their religion (Christianity) give Conservatives a bad name. Anyways, enough ranting about political parties, this article has enriched my mind by showing me the views of intellectual, and articulate people.

www.opendemocracy.net

Outside Reading: "NEW AGE SPIRITUALITY"

Our topic was religion, and instead of picking my faith to talk about, as much as i would like to, I chose something different. I chose something that is very different from my beliefs, and is quite controversial, and that is "New Age Religion". The article gave a brief description of New Age religion, most likely because there really isn't anything else to say about it; its basic, and lacks depth. The article I read described it as a group spiritual people, adding to making a new or adding to their previous, religions. Some of today's "Christians" call them selves "new age" and go by its rules, which is contradictory to Christianity. This is true due to, first of all the last page of the Bible, " ¹⁸I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. ¹⁹And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." Revelations 22;18-19. I found this particular article interesting because it had a lot of religious statistics and other information.

www.religioustolerance.org

http://www.duncanmusic.com/mp3/btvs_chosen_long.mp3

http://www.duncanmusic.com/mp3/btvs_chosen_long.mp3

Outside Reading: "Unisex Bathrooms: The Controversy"

The theme assigned was gender roles, so I did a bit of surfing, and after coming across many anti-porn feminist and other odd articles, I came across a little more appropriate one. This article discussed the possible solution to heated debate and disagreement. The solution presented in the article is unisex bathrooms. For most, "segregated" bathrooms don't seem like a big deal, but for transgendered peoples, it can be seen as discrimination. Personally, I think having segregated bathrooms are necessary, for many reasons. For one, female bathrooms have only stalls, taking up more room, so combining both would take up a lot of room. Secondly, sad, but true, many men may have the extra temptation to try to invade a woman's privacy or worse, rape her. Besides the already stated disagreements, making the transition would be next to impossible; having to change every set of male and female bathrooms to unisex, would force the removal of urinals or the addition of more stalls. The only way this would work from a design aspect would be to get rid of urinals all together, because men can learn to sit down. Yet again, stalls would take up more space, and the construction/removal of stalls and urinals would cost millions, not to mention putting many bathrooms out of service. I think this article has an interesting point of view, although I don't agree with the overall opinions of the author, I found reading something I disagreed with to have a different feel (obviously) to read. It was almost a little easier to read then some random article that I already know about, and agree with.

Source: www.womensrights.suite101.com

Outside Reading: Wii Fit tells 10-year-old she's fat

To take a break from my normally somewhat "Serious" readings, I decided to read something a little more humorous. The Wii fad, along with the Wii Fit, has been riddled with many random negative issues, such as broken TV's due to users not using the wrist strap on the controller. A little more disturbing issue isn't in the game, but in some of the responses to what the article talked about. The article told the story of a 10 year old girl being told she was overweight by Wii Fit's BMI calculator. What interested me was the reaction first of all by the girls step father, but even more by a journalist. The girls step-father did have to convince this girl she wasn't fat, but bringing it to the level in the press that he did was a waste of time. Most people I know that have read this, just laugh because the situation is so ridiculous. What was even more interesting was the journalists comments on it. She said, "IIam absolutely aghast that children are being told they are fat. A child's BMI can change every month and it is perfectly possible for a child to be stocky, yet still very fit. I would be very concerned if children were using this game and I believe it should carry a warning for parents" This journalist, Tam Fry, suggested that the game be banned for kids, and be an 18+ game. When a game company tries to do something good for our declining health as a nation, somebody has to make it an issue. 

http://www.gamespot.com/news/blogs/sidebar/909182374/26390271/wii-fit-tells-10-year-old-shes-fat.html

Outside Reading: Hog iPC

Recently, I have learning lighting and some intelligent lighting design. So I decided to read and do some research on the lighting board I use. I read the overview of the product, and the specifications etc. Each board has its own built in software, and the Hog iPC is the first to be able to run Wholehog 2 & 3. Previous models could only run the software it came installed with. The use of touch screens enables the user to quickly locate a cue or page. This becomes handy when you have to find a cue quickly during a live performance, so insterad of missing the cue, you can find it in style. Also included is a trackball mouse built in. A newer addition to lighting modules is use of writeable CD-ROM drives and USB connectors. Although this wasn't really an article, I thought it would be appropriate because lighting has now become a fairly significant aspect of my life.

http://www.highend.com/products/controllers/HogiPC_console.asp

Class Activity

In the class activity were we all had many traits, and were forced to throw them away, I ended up with the trait of "computer savvy". I kept this one until the end because technology is growing very quickly, and it is a growing business area. Along with providing a job, if the government was legitimately corrupt, and I had no money to support myself or family, I would use those computer skills to help either wire money to myself, lead a team in a heist, or hack into the governments security and missile computers, and use it as persuasion to fix the government.

In the class activity people chose many different things, but some people ended up with traits that realistically they wouldn't be left with. Just because they value this thing doesn't mean its what nature/the world is going to hold onto it. In some cases it may be their most valued trait, but the least useful. The activity conveyed a good message, but obviously one can't get accurate results without going through the situation that was presented to us in class.