Reading response Cat's Cradle

I haven't gotten very far in the book, but already I have noticed some unique characteristics. The chapters are very short, only consisting of about 2-8 pages each, and the story is told in past tense, from a person writing about his life. This guy didn't actually exist, just to clarify.

In the story, there is a man who is a man who is writing a book about his adventure of writing a book. In his adventure, he is trying to write a book about the life of the leading scientist (Felix) who created the atomic bomb that blew up Hiroshima. Nothing really of importance has been mentioned in the book besides a hint of a very important object. This object would be ice-nine.

Ice-nine is first introduced when the main character visits a scientist who worked with Felix for an interview. The man being interviewed talked of Felix telling a marine general about a substance the general would have found useful. The substance didn't exist. Felix was just telling the general that to get him to go away.

Are You Sure You Exist? 1st draft

Are You Sure You Exist?

By Jake Lester 813

A book called The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury has such ideas that are so preposterous yet fantastic that they made me question my very existence. This book has a writing style that is unique from others, where it gives the reader a collection of stories/events over a course of around 30 years, containing some of the same characters lot of characters and the same overall setting: mars. Anyways, a specific event that made me question my own existence, happened when mars has been partially inhabited by humans and the Martians have all died off. A man driving a truck towards a city see's a strange vehicle and steps out. A Martian comes out of the vehicle sharing the same feelings. The Martian is confused as to why that human is there and the man is confused as to why the Martian is alive. They converse, and after a while they go in to shake hands. That is where it becomes strange.

     Their hands go right through each other’s and they are bewildered. The Martian takes a knife from his pocket and tosses it to the man. The man tries to catch it, but it goes right through him. The Martian and the man then simultaneously accuses the other of not being real. They both are so convinced that each other is right, giving examples of how their objects exist when the other sees those objects differently. It is not possible for them both to exist (physically) so they decide that one of them is right (that being themselves of course), and quickly leave the other to go somewhere else.

     This makes me question myself if I really exist or if everything is just an illusion. My mind being a recording of what has happened, and the world as a late relay from the previous past (relating to a theory of what the event in the story really is). I could merely be an illusion that is invisible to all who are not part of it (for it is only an illusion to ourselves) and where I am, the future could be taking place, or more accurately, the present. It would be understandable that the two characters in the event dismiss the idea and the other, being that it is just too emotional and confusing to think about.

     Think about it. If someone living another life came to you and what happened in the event happened to you, what would you do? How would you feel? You can't really prove you exist because the other creature could use the same reasons against you, for you are both in the exact same position. It would be frustrating, now wouldn't it? Here, right now picture yourself as the man who meets the Martian. Try to prove you exist to this creature. Is it because you see things, feel things (being mental or physical), hear things, or it wouldn't make sense for you not to exist? Well this creature can use all of the same examples as evidence. This book brought up these feelings of uncertainty that I now harbor because of it. I would suggest this book to anyone who knows they can handle it, for this book has many intense, confusing and philosophical moments that the weak mind could not comprehend.

So The Problem Is, You Just Want To Be Mean?

The problem with my school is a strange one. People just enjoy being mean to others, yet they also respect boundaries. When someone says something off-topic or stupid (being stupid, not mean) they might get put down with a mean remark. Some kid could be totally unpopular and be insulted left and right, while another doesn't get insulted at all. And then... one day that kid isn't feeling well, and the insulters just back off and give the person some room. However, they start insulting someone else. This may be because they don't insult to hurt feelings of a person. They do it because it's fun and it makes you seem cool.

Friends insult other friends all the time. It's normal, right? The answer is no. Definition of friend according to webster dictionary: Friend: one attached to another by affection or esteem. Do you insult someone who you are affectionate too? I'll be a little more specific with specific events. (fake names, real people) Usually Jack is told to shut up because what Jack says is weird or dumb or too loud. Today Jack wasn't feeling so well so Tristan picked on Martina instead of Jack. Martina is usually a pretty tough girl, and she isn't usually picked on at all (as a side note that's mainly because she can beat up anyone else in the class besides Tyson). That shows that people don't insult personally, but just as a hobby, or to pass time. It doesn't matter who you are insulting, just as long as you show that you are cool, and in authority. An example of insulting to prove authority is when Jack told Jenti that he had a "fat-pack" when the class was talking about a frog's abdomen. Jack is friends with Jenti but has fun insulting others so he insulted Jenti. This is wrong, and he shouldn't do that.


People shouldn't pick on other people just because they enjoy it or the world's future will become pretty screwed up.

Response to World On Fire social awareness #2

"World On Fire"

Hearts are worn in these dark ages
You're not alone in this story's pages
The light has fallen amongst the living and the dying
And I'll try to hold it in, yeah I'll try to hold it in

[Chorus]
The world's on fire and
It's more than I can handle
I'll tap into the water
(Try and bring my share)
I try to bring more
More than I can handle
(Bring it to the table)
Bring what I am able

I watch the heavens but I find no calling
Something I can do to change what's coming
Stay close to me while the sky is falling
Don't wanna be left alone, don't wanna be alone

[Chorus]

Hearts break, hearts mend
Love still hurts
Visions clash, planes crash
Still there's talk of
Saving souls, still the cold
Is closing in on us

We part the veil on our killer sun
Stray from the straight line on this short run
The more we take, the less we become
The fortune of one that means less for some

[Chorus X2]

This song is a pretty intense song if you read the lyrics. It talks about how so many people are in need of help, yet the majority is doing nothing. When she says "It's more than I can handle --- I'll tap into the water --- (Try and bring my share) --- I try to bring more --- More than I can handle --- (Bring it to the table) --- Bring what I am able" she is showing that she is trying to help with effort, but its still not enough. This song is all-and-all trying to bring to your attention that people need help.


When she says "We part the veil on our killer sun" she is telling us that we are causing a downfall of ourselves by not helping ourselves as a whole because we are all part of the same race: the human race. "The more we take, the less we become" and "The fortune of one that means less for some" says that not enough people care, and when we don't care about them, we stop caring about everyone.

Discipline is NEEDED

Recently I read 2 very upsetting articles about a 2 different girls who died due to bullying. One of the articles (http://www.truecrimereport.com/2010/01/phoebe_prince_15_commits_suici.php) was about a girl named Phoebe who committed suicide because of cyber bullying. She was an irish immigrant who had recently arrived in america and was a freshman in high school. She was constantly bullied over Facebook and sometimes in reality, to the point where she killed herself. It is reported that the teachers at the school saw her being harassed by the bullies and did nothing about it. Even after she died, the bullies wrote cruel things about her on her Facebook memorial page. This shows that nobody showed them how wrong they were to bully someone, or even that they did something bad at all. (One quick thing to say about the source is that it seemed to have a bias opinion)

The other article was about a girl who died a while ago, when 8 bullies got together and brutally beat her to death. The girl's name was Reena Virk, and she died in 1997 november at the age of 14 when 7 girls and one guy attacked her. They kicked, punched, cut, and bruised her. They left, but after a while, one of the girls came back, beat her up some more, then threw her in the river where she drowned and died. When you hear that human beings will do this to each other, especially at the age of 14, it just upsets you. I know you probably don't see things like this, but they do happen. We need to make sure the violators stop this unruly behavior. If you know a bully, tell them to stop. Don't partake in this stuff either. It's just sick. (article found at http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/articles/stereotyping/bad_girls.cfm)

First Opinions

I started reading a book called  Tomorrow, When The War Began by John Marsden, and it looks like a very promising read so far. According to the blurb, it is a book about a group of kids who happen to be away from their town when it is invaded by another nation. They are probably going to try to fight the invaders and rescue their family and friends. The blurb also gives a hint of teenager emotions like crushes.

The actual book starts with a group of teenagers going on a camping trip. With the way everybody's moods are, it is hard to think of this book as a disaster book. Everyone is cheerful, and living a pretty ideal high school life, making you think that this book is going to be a nice realistic fiction of some teenagers and their lives. If I hadn't seen the cover or read the blurb, I would have totally gotten tricked into misreading the genre. I like how the author does that. It makes me realize that things can happen, to anyone. These are just some average normal people. They aren't special, but this is still happening to them. Our normal lives can have spectacular events in them too, even if it seems impossible. I think the author purposefully chose such normal people to star in an invasion to show us stuff like that can happen to real people.

I haven't gotten to the point where the group of kids realize that their town has been invaded but nevertheless I can tell that it will be an enjoyable read.

2 person poem bullying... again

KEY:

bold=person #1

Slanty=person #2

Underlined=Saying at same time

P#1: It hurts. It always hurts.

P#2: It hurts. It always hurts.

P#1: Whenever I

P#2: Whenever I

P#1: go to school,

P#2: come home,

P#1: they are waiting for me.

P#2: I check my Facebook account.

P#1: They slam me against the wall and spit in my face.

P#2: I have hatemail in my inbox telling me how ugly I am.

P#1: And it never stops.

P#2: And it never stops.

P#1: This has been happening since I

P#2: This has been happening since I

P#1: changed schools.

P#2: turned 13 and created a Facebook account.

P#1: Today,

P#2: Today,

P#1: I almost died.

P#2: I almost committed suicide.

P#1: I was in the emergency room for 8 hours.

P#2: I had the pills all ready but my mom called to say hello.

P#1: They beat me up so badly that organs were bleeding.

P#2: She would miss me so much.

P#1: I have to stay in bed for 2 weeks.

P#2: I'd block them, but then I'd have no friends.

P#1: They didn't get expelled.

P#2: I'd look like an even bigger looser.

P#1: They didn't get detention.

P#2: But I really wonder why they go out of their way to hurt me.

P#1: They didn't even get scolded.

P#1: And then there's tomorrow.

P#2: And then there's tomorrow.








When I was writing this two person poem, I tried to write two entirely different stories, from two different prople who share the same problem: bullying. I didn't want to go entirely out of my way to match up what the two were saying together so that they said the exact same stuff. I didn't because then I would have to sacrifice the quality of what is actually happening. Because I went for naturally, I think the rhythm of the poem is really good.

I chose bullying because it is something that a lot of kids my age are having trouble with, whether it being physical abuse, or verbal abuse. I am hoping that if i address it, other students will read it and think about what they do themselves. Notice what the victims are going through. In my poem I put in a boy who is being beat up by other kids in his school, and a girl who is constantly receiving nasty messages via the internet. The boy isn't sad about his abuse, he is angry. Unfortunately he can't think of anything to do to fight back. The girl is almost in denial, telling herself that what is happening is ok, and isn't actually happening.

So Motives DON'T Count?

In a book called The Wish list by Eoin Colfer, a girl named Meg dies. She isn't allowed to go into Heaven or Hell because the amount of good deeds and bad deeds she has done are equal. To change this, she goes down to the living world to change the balance, hopefully making it so that she can go to heaven. She goes back to help an old man who's life was ruined because of her. This is not because she feels bad for him, she is not helping him out of the goodness of her. She is helping him for a greedy selfish motive of not wanting to go to hell. This shows that according to the book, your intentions don't matter, only what you do matters.

This same thing happens again in the book when a demon is sent to make sure Meg goes to Hell. Hell wants Meg with them, and the only way Meg goes to Heaven is if she helps that man. The demon asks his computer "Wait, so why don't we just kill the old coot?" and the computer responds "Because then she has not failed. She can only go to Hell if she fails, so we just have to mess up her attempts." In the last sentence of what the computer says, he is implying that if she tries her hardest to do good, but fails, she has not done any good at all.

This contradicts the whole good and bad system though. If a man dies trying to protect his nation, but he dies and his nation is invaded, should he not be remembered as a good person? If someone kisses baby heads only for good publicity, is that considered a good act? If a poor father robs a rich corrupt man to buy food for his three motherless children, is he bad? The answer is the man who died trying to protect his nation should be remembered as a good person, the person doing good acts for only selfish purposes, should not get credit for being good, and the man who takes from the people who have more then enough to feed his children is not bad. Don't you agree? This book however doesn't.

The author probably had to compromise and leave those examples in the book, for without them the story would be incomplete, but still. It goes against the whole lesson that should be learned from the book, which is that your intentions are the things that truly matter.

Bullying is whacked-up yo POEM/SONG CHOICE

Why,
Is it that the wrong gets right?
The bad get the good?
The victims targeted?

Why,
The people at fault get praised?
Only the weakest work together?
Only the strongest work together?

Why,
The uninvolved remain uninvolved?
Or if they do, why for the unjust?
Why include to exclude?

Why,
Is bullying cool?
Are the offenders so pathetic?
Are the put-downs so harsh?

Why? It just doesn't make sense.




This poem adresses bullying, and how it is not logical nor makes sense. Constantly people say people bully because they feel insecure about themselves, and I now realize how true that is. It is almost hilarious how someone who is weak, unintelligent, not funny, not attractive, not popular, and not nice picks on others. What's even more funny is that these people become more popular after they bully. It just doesn't make sense. The outcome to this would almost prove that having a mean personality trait is a good thing. It doesn't make sense.

While writing this I tried to use real-life examples without having enough clarity for the reader to actually understand who who is, or what is specifically happening/happened. I tried not to over think, not to rhyme, or have any rhythm. The only actual attributes of poetry I purposefully put in it was repetition and stanzas. It turned out really well. While writing this I began to feel very emotional at the topic at hand. I know people personally who get bullied on a daily basis, and the sad part is that it's not just the bullies who bully them, but also their friends and the people around them so that they will seem cooler. That fueled up lines for me to write in the poem.

Are You Sure You Exist?

     A book called The Martian Chronicles has such ideas that are so preposterous yet fantastic that they made me question my very existence. This book has a writing style that is unique from others, where it gives the reader a collection of stories/events over a course of around 30 years, containing some of the same characters lot of characters and the same overall setting: mars. Anyways, a specific event that made me question my own existence, happened when mars has been partially inhabited by humans and the martians have all died off. A man driving a truck towards a city see's a strange vehicle and steps out. A martian comes out of the vehicle sharing the same feelings. The martian is confused as to why that human is there and the man is confused as to why the martian is alive. They converse, and after a while they go in to shake hands. That is where it becomes strange.


     Their hands go right through each others and they are bewildered. The martian takes a knife from his pocket and tosses it to the man. The man tries to catch it, but it goes right through him. The martian and the man then simultaneously accuses the other of not being real. They both are so convinced that each other is right, giving examples of how their objects exist when the other sees those objects differently. It is not possible for them both to exist (physically) so they decide that one of them is right (that being themselves of course), and quickly leave the other to go somewhere else.


     This makes me think if I really exist or if everything is just an illusion. My mind being a recording of what has happened, and the world as a late relay from the previous past. I could merely be an illusion that is invisible to all who are not part of it (for it is only an illusion to ourselves) and where I am, the future could be taking place. It would be understandable that the two characters in the event dismiss the idea and the other being that it is just to emotional and confusing to think about.


     Think about it. If someone living another life came to you and what happened in the event happened to you, what would you do? How would you feel. You can't really prove you exist because the other creature could use the same reasons against you, for you are both in the exact same position. It would be frustrating, now wouldn't it? Here, right now try to prove you exist to this creature. Is it because you see things, feel things (being mental or physical), hear things, or it wouldn't make sense for you not to exist? Well this creature can use all of the same examples as evidence. This book brought up these feelings of uncertainty that I now harbor. I would suggest this book to anyone who knows they can handle it.

Reality only sucks because you think it does

     The book Forest Gate by Peter Akinti is considered realistic. In our ELA room I found it in the "stuff that's actually happening" bin. In the book there is murder, rape, suicide, and many people with no morals whatsoever. This is what is considered reality by a lot of people in this world.

"Whatever you believe with feeling becomes your reality." Brian Trac

     When we believe that such cruelty is reality, that is what it becomes. Reality is only what you believe it is, a theory on what the state of the world is. If you believe the world is evil, greedy, and horrible, then it is. The problem with the world is that a lot of people view the world as terrible. If people were more optimistic, we could view reality as a much nicer thing.

     If only we could believe that reality wasn't such a terrible place to live in, it probably wouldn't be. A character in my book named Ashvin commits suicide because he believes that reality is a horrible place, and life sucks. In his home country in Africa, his father was killed before his very eyes after being brutally tortured, and then his mother too was killed. His life is screwed up. He thinks that all of reality is like this and when in London, kills himself. If he had realized that he had a brighter future in England, that things were better then he thought they were, he would have wanted to continue living. If he would have accepted that his reality was better where he was, but he couldn't. He’s been fed that reality is horrible and he believed that. We need to believe otherwise. For the sake of the world we live in, for the sake of others who live on this world, for the future. And, for the sake of yourself

The Phantom Tollbooth Reading Response

“Whatever you learn or do affects everything and everyone else around you”

Ever since I have read that sentence in the book The Phantom Tollbooth I have become more self-conscious of what I do and how I act. I think about what I should or should not do because whatever I do affects everything, even if it does in the smallest amount. An example of this is when I didn’t try on a practice test, and many things chained off of it. I woke up one morning and I sat down in a beanbag chair and while eating my breakfast of tortilla chips, I took the test. At the time I wasn’t thinking that it would matter, it wouldn’t affect anything. I was wrong.

After the test I graded it, and I received a really low grade. My mom was really mad at me and punished me for a month’s worth of allowance. Not only was I thought down by from other persons, but for a while I thought down on myself. I was unconfident and unsure about myself, and I lost some of my ambition to succeed in life. This affected me for a while and how I lived, dreamed, walked, talked- to sum it up, pretty much everything. How I acted changed everyone else’s opinions on me. Coincidently, I finished this book soon after the “slump” and thought to myself that I should have thought of the test more importantly, even if it was a practice test because it still affects my life. After that I thought more on how I acted, because it does affect my life, and I want it to affect my life positively.

In the book, after the person who says this line (Reason, the princess) to Milo, he changes. When he returns back to reality he appreciates the world, and does productive things instead of moping around because he knows that what he does affects everything. This is a big change from his previous self who wasted time sulking about everything, and affected everything in a negative way. This decision to change his attitude would have changed his future life if he ever had one. I can imagine a mopey, depressing, useless, lazy person like Milo was at the beginning of the book being really unsuccessful in life. However, the new Milo who cared about what he was did would have probably have been a happy man with a nice life. This character change would have affected his life drastically, which proves the quote.

A small decision that resulted in a major change was when Rosa Parks decided to stay seated on a bus when a white man asked her to move. This is such a small decision that started the spark of anti-segregationists. Her small decision ended up changing every life in America. Because of this action, the Montgomery bus boycott happened, which led the spark against segregation. She probably knew that the action she chose would affect her life and others greatly. This is probably what fueled her to do it, knowing that her choice would “affect everything and everyone else around” her.

All these examples, from my life, the book in which the quote came from, and from the world proves the quote ““Whatever you learn or do affects everything and everyone else around you.” The examples prove it because in every unique situation, the outcome was always the same: everything was changed. In my life example, people thought differently of me because I acted differently because of the test. It affected everything. Also in The Phantom Tollbooth Milo’s whole life, and perspective on life was changed because he was depressing and mopey. Because he was mopey, he experienced an adventure that changed his life. Rosa Parks made a small choice not to leave her seat on the bus, and because of that, segregation was mostly annihilated. Not directly branching off of her choice, but branching off from other branches that originated from her decision. “When a butterfly flaps his wings the wind changes and could create a devastating hurricane.” Another quote from the book that proves my point will be the last thing I say to sum up this reading response.