Persuading the White Australians

The Aboriginal Australians deserve an apology regarding the white Australians' treatment of them as a racial group, from as early as the colonization of Australia to as recently as 1970. It may not be people from the current generation who were sending Aboriginals to camps and trying to "breed out" the Aboriginals, but nonetheless the shame emulates to the Australians as a race. While the white Australians believed that what they were doing was the right thing to do, that they were saving the Aboriginals from themselves and that by breeding out the Aboriginal in people they were doing a service to mankind. Evidence of this viewpoint can be seen in the film Rabbit-Proof Fence, based on the true story of Molly Craig, a half-caste in Australia who, at 14, was captured and taken to the Moore River gulag with her sister and cousin and manages to escape. The main antagonist, A. O. Neville, was the legal guardian of every half-caste in Australia and believed that he should send all of them to camps, where they learned to sew and cook and would eventually breed with white Australians. Although this may sound like horrible behaviour now, this was accepted by all whites and known by all half-castes in the 1930's, when the film was set. While it was intended to be for the greater good, this plan forcably seperated many children from their parents, most of whom never got to see eachother again. Some children were as young as a few months old. This cannot possibly be seen as beneficial to the country; how can teaching the young white Australians that stealing children is perfectly acceptable and causing Aboriginals so much distress possibly lead to a good outcome? Another point in the film was the white Australians using deception to re-capture Grace, who eventually dies of an unknown cause. When has it ever been right to trick a 10-year-old girl into being at a station at a certain time to be re-captured, under the belief that she would be seeing her mother? This surely cannot have been seen as a show of good citizenship, even in the 1930's where out-breeding was deemed correct. A final point of remorse can be seen when the maid takes in the young girls so they can have somewhere to sleep for the night. We don't see the maid's master, but from the dialogue and sound we can tell that he is beating her for letting in the children and threatening her by telling her she will be beaten again if she lets them go. He wants to keep them so he can claim a monetary award from the government; the girls are wanted, after all. The man obviously has more money than most people, showing that he is motivated not by the belief that the girls' futures will be brighter in the camp, but by greed. An even subtler indication of his character is seen when he discoveres the girls; he just barges straight in to the maid's room, not knocking or showing any respect for her personal privacy. He obviously views half-castes as inferior, as animals. While he is only one man, we can infer that he is the majority of white Australians, due to seeing how the government is educating most white Australian children and adults. We only see one kind white Australian household in the entire movie, a representation of how few white Australians view Aboriginals as people. Discrimination has never been right and never will be. Today, few people would believe that the past actions of white Australia were correct and just. Many would experience feelings of horror, disgust and remorse. These feelings are ordinarily followed by an apology. The white Australians generalized all Aboriginals, therefore the Aboriginals generalized all the white Australians based on the few white Australians they knew of. If both groups ultimately have the same negative view of each other, peace, harmony and unity will not be possible in Australia; to improve relations, an apology to all Aboriginals is in order.

Molly Craig- Hero or Not?

The film Rabbit-Proof Fence is centred around the real character of Molly Craig, a young half-caste girl living in Australia in the 1930's. She is taken from her camp at Jigalong to a half-caste Gulag over a thousand miles away from her mother, along with sister Daisy and cousin Grace. The three escape from the camp, but are being tracked by an Aboriginal tracker and the white government, following the Rabbit-Proof Fence to find home.

To me, Molly is a hero. She initially shows no character traits typical of a hero; she is timid, as seen in her reluctance to be checked for whiteness by the handler of half-castes, seeming too afraid to move or respond to her name. She stays away from all the other girls at the camp, as well as not going for breakfast on the first day, showing her apparent fear of things and people she is unfamiliar with. She also almost never talks at the camp, presumably through fear of being punished or fear of being judged, yet at her home in Jigalong she spoke to her sister and cousin fairly regularly. Normally, a hero would be someone who is brave, stands up to everyone and everything, tackles everything new and speaks their mind. However, she does commit one heroic act, so large and out of character that she has become a hero from my point of view; she escapes from the camp with her sister and cousin.

Why does this one act of defiance make her a hero in my mind? The dictionary definition of a hero is "a man/woman distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility, fortitude, etc." Molly's non-courageous character makes her one action stand out amongst the rest of her decisions; it must have taken an amazing amount of courage to finally decide to leave the camp, especially after witnessing the punishment of a girl who had left but was found and taken back. The soure of Molly's new courage cannot fully be determined, but the amount the source gave her must have been enough to classify as "exceptional". She would definately be seen as a hero to her sister and cousin, seeing as she managed to get both of them out; alone, neither of the other two had the courage to get out themselves. Although Molly failed to get Grace to stay with them, resulting in Grace's death, she managed to get home safely with her sister. Based on this story alone, Molly is a hero in my mind.

Learning Profile- I'm an A!

Today in class, we used a few tests to figure out our learning profile. From the title of this post, you can tell that I got A as my profile- this means someone who is right leg, right arm, right eye and right ear dominant, but is left brain (logic) dominant. This means I am a visual and auditory learner- I learn best when presented with diagrams and both a written and spoken explanation of it and when I focus on details. I process by verbalizing, writing and analyzing, instead of acting or drawing. I prefer things to be in a sequence and find language useful for learning. This gives me a large advantage, as teachers tend to give their directions orally in class and hand out a written rubric, matching me perfectly. However, there are a couple of downfalls to my profile- during stress, I tend to have difficulty seeing the 'big picture', I find it challenging to connect emotionally or kinesthetically to information and, due to all my dominant features being on the opposite sides of my dominant hemisphere, I have a difficult time accessing the gestalt hemisphere when I'm stressed.

In order to broaden my learning horizons, I need to be more open to gestalt ideas. I should do this through positive, enjoyable sensory-motor experiences, which will allow me to emotionally interact to the fullest, be creative and develop intuition. I should have an integral balance of art, music, freeform movement and interpersonal skills, combined with cognitive endeavors to balance me out as a person- I am currently working on this by taking an art course through choice and talking to my friends about acting. I should be encouraged to understand and synthesize information from a whole perspective and explore ambiguity, emotions and movement, in order to see the world from another point of view.

The strategies that would help me in my learning would be to sit towards the front of a class, so I can easily see and hear the teacher, while also embarking on conversations with the teacher about emotions behind a text, or how all the small forces come together to form the bigger picture of the Earth. Being close means I take in the information easily, while also broadening the way I think. Although I feel most comfortable with written explanations, I should, when given the option, try to create a skit or creative poster to help engage the lesser-used gestalt side of my brain.

I would like my teachers to know that I would prefer them to draw diagrams up on the board to asking us to act out a word. I know that I just stated in the last paragraph that I should act out more- I know I should, but I would rather take in the information through a visual, then act out as a project once I am confident with the concept. I would also prefer there to be an even number of oral and written assignments- I am confident with written assignments, but I should do some orals to broaden my horizons. I would also like to sit towards the front of the class, instead of being shoved at the back where it is harder to see and hear. I know that you can't cater to all my needs, as other people may request other things, but I would like these changes to be thought about.

Brunelleschi- The Cranium Behind the Dome

Brunelleschi- a visionary, an artist, a thinker and a do-er. Perservering on a grand scale, Brunelleschi ignored everyone who thought he was crazy and built the spectacle of Florence- the dome.

Brunelleschi was a courageous man- he overcame ridicule, he stood infront of the very men who laughed at his "preposterous" notion. Brunelleschi didn't let his fear of failure or mocking get in the way of him building his architectural masterpiece. It takes true courage to not let fear guide you off the path of progress, to not concern yourself with your image to others and only focus on the art at hand, to challenge the thinkers of a century, to do the unthinkable. Brunelleschi did overcome obstacles and indeed take many risks, but what was it that took him to the end? His courageous nature. He powered through, with no apparent fear, just wanting to have his dome completed, to showcase his architectural genius.

Every action and decision we make effects change, regardless of how small the action or decision may seem. In Brunelleschi's case, his action/decision was fairly large- building a dome with no scaffolding was nothing small. He opened up new pathways to many young artists, he acted as an inspiration to people wishing to do great things, changing the line of thought from "I can't do that- the idea is too extreme!" to "I need to come up with more original ideas- I need to marvel people!" Brunelleschi also changed how people looked at Florence- it used to be "Oh, it's Florence. It's got Medicis ruling it." to "Wow, Florence, look at that dome! It casts a shadow over Tuscany! This city knows a thing or two about architecture!" However, we don't need to be Brunelleschis to change things- simply by donating ringpulls into the ISKL ringpull box, we are changing the lives of Thai people who have lost their limbs- we're making a massive difference through a tiny action. Anyone can change the world- they just need to act.

Please, please, please use the ISKL ringpull tube! Stationed outside the MS office, there's a large metal tube with ringpulls in it- save all your ringpulls at home and bring them in! Everything helps! There are also tiny rigpull boxes on a few of the aluminum can bins- placing your ringpulls in there also helps, as the totals from the tube and boxes are added together. Please donate! Make a difference!

Where Do New Ideas Come From?

Ideas can come from anywhere. Sometimes ideas come from experiences, some from knowledge, some from inspiration and some just randomly pop into your head! Many ideas exist in history- some people thought the world was flat, some wonder whether we evolved, or if a God just placed us on the planet. Some still believe the world will end in 2012! All of them have their origins, even if we don't know exactly where they trace back to. Even the most complex and popular ideas can come from the simplest of places. The idea of gravity and Newton's laws all came from an apple falling off a tree one day. The massively popular Daleks from the TV series Doctor Who supposedly came from a salt shaker. In the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, the simple origins of massive ideas were over-exaggerated when a man figured out how to create a completely perspective simulation of the universe by looking a a crumb of fairy cake.
Ideas are minor miracles sometimes- you can come up with the perfect idea suddenly, without trying to think of it, without knowing where it came from and without suggestion. Ideas just happen. Ideas are amazing. Without ideas, the world would certainly be a very boring place.

My Favourite Short Story

This is the first blog entry I've written in a while, so if it seems boring, please bear with me.

My favourite short story of the unit was "Thank You Ma'am" by Langston Hughes. I found the conflict in the story interesting- a boy and a woman, both out late, both having done bad things previously in their lives. I know that Langston Hughes mainly wrote about issues of civil rights, and although it wasn't directly stated, I get the feeling that in terms of skin colour, the boy was African-American, and the woman was white. I get this feeling because while the woman had a pocketbook and a purse, and could afford to give Roger $10, Roger had next to nothing, and apparently no family to go home to, something common of African-Americans back in the 1920's. The way Hughes phrased the characters' speech gave a good hint as to the time of the story, as majority of the things the two characters said would be very different today- instead of saying "I were young once and I wanted things I could not get.", the way Luella did, we would now say, "I was young once and I wanted things I couldn't have."

This I Believe- Perserverance

I believe that people should always see things through to the end, no matter how tough they may seem. This may just seem like advice for school, when you’re stuck on a long essay, and you’re having trouble thinking of a topic sentence, or when you want to give up on your maths test because you forgot to study, but it’s also true for life in general.

Last year, I was being bullied in school. The bully only ever did things to me after Tae Kwon Do, an activity which we had together. Since we had half an hour to wait for the bus, he had ample time to hurt me, mainly physically, but also with words. He would kick me around the hallway, slammed me into lockers. He had power. He was a black belt, whereas back then I was only a blue belt. His punches stung, but his words were almost worse. His words were irritating, and I couldn't do anything about them. I couldn't come up with any response, and if I lashed out, he would start hitting me again. If I tried to run after him, he would have gotten away, since I was far slower. I could almost deal with it after school, since I was the only person effected.

But then, one day, I was walking around with my friend at lunch when we happened to bump into the bully with his friends. A fight then ensued. After being hit in the chest and arm a few times, I ducked around the corner. I’d left my friend with them. In an act of self-preservation, I’d let my friend fight them off alone, whilst I was round the corner, doing nothing.

I apologized to my friend afterwards, and he was fine, but I felt extremely guilty about leaving him. I had given up on defending myself, given up on defending him, given up on resisting the bullies. My selfish act had made me no better than the bullies, letting my friend take the hits, without intervening to help him. I should have stood up for both of us, not let him have the power to beat us up. Had I stayed there, we might have been able to persuade them to stop, might have been able to keep them away. After this, I vowed that I would keep on going in not just fights, but anything I was faced with. In the words of Lance Armstrong, “Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”

If we all kept going, surely there would be more achievers in the world, less people that would be jobless, less that would feel disappointed. If you don't give up, and you go out and meet your goal, the happy feeling inside is contagious. You have to share it with others, tell them about what you've done, let them see what you did and aspire to do the same. There are many people I look up to, and I know that if I persevere, I can achieve the same, if not more than what they can. It's not like doing great things is going to be easy; but if you start with small steps, you really can achieve something massive, without really noticing.

As said by Eleanor Roosevelt, "Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works." There are political situations where people stand up, don't get crushed and keep coming back to fight for their cause. The same thing happens everyday, albeit on a smaller scale. If I'd stood up to the bully, I could have been the small, valiant resistance, defying the large, dictator-like ruling party, the subject of the picture I put here. The picture features Myanmar civilians protesting, standing up for themselves and their right, continuing to stand there, even after laws had been made to get rid of protesters and protesters were being shot.

If you stand up and see your actions through, you really can bring about great change, even if you're in a small-scale situation like I was. I could have made the bully realize that he really didn't have the power that he thought he had, shown him that I wasn't going to let him bully my friends and I.

I could have stood up and made a difference. I didn't. But now, I can go out and keep seeing things through, do anything I want, amaze people, and be the one that people look up to. I still have a chance. The bruises from the punches and kicks are now gone, but the guilt of leaving my friend is still with me. Seeing things through till the end won’t get rid of my guilt, but it can prevent me from feeling more.

Image citation-
"2007 Myanmar protests ." 2007 Myanmar protests 11-cropped flag view closer. Web. 31 May 2010. .

The 1066 Games Reflection

The 1066 games were both very entertaining. In the first one, you got to select your leader (William or Harold), and answer a series of tactical questions to determine the winner. In the second, you choose your army and your battlefield, and them wage war. I found they both helped a bit with my strategy, with the first one showing the tough decisions kings had to make, and the second being just like a rugby game. I found the second one was easier for me, since the tactics are similar to those of Risk and rugby, with all the clicking of a computer geek. However, I didn't find them historically accurate. All the information I learned about the Battle of Hastings was from class, not from the games. The book told us that the Battle of Hastings was directly after the Battle of Stromford Bridge, and the English soldiers had been marching for to days straight before Hastings. The Normans came in from the sea, and completely slaughtered the exhausted English, making William the new king. It was speculated that Harold died with an arrow in his eye; however, this is unconfirmed. The games don't show this at all; however, this is what makes them fun. If you knew the outcome of each army, would you play? I wouldn't, since no strategy is required! I found that the games did help you remember the places and competitors though; you tend to remember things that are fun, such as the two games. Overall, I'd give them a 4/5 rating, taking everything into account.

What are the Consequences of Conformity?

What are the consequences of ' just accepting the situation in which you find yourself [so] everything will be so much easier'? - From John Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, page 53.

Personally, I believe that this quote is an extremely powerful philosophical dilemma. This dilemma also leads to another- "Can you still be a good person, without acting on bad things happening all around you?" This question has many answers, based on many viewpoints. What follows is what I think, what, deep down, my heart feels is correct.


If you accept the situation and do nothing to act against it, you are saying that you agree with the situation. Now, this may be good if the people are keeping a mutual relationship, but when one side is way worse off than the other, and the other side is not helping them or doing all they can to keep the other side worse off, then something needs to be done about it. Someone has to take action. If you are a bystander, you aren't helping the worse off side. You may not be directly doing them damage, but by not standing up for them, you are letting the opposition tear them to shreds! Now, when you stop and think about this, who is getting an advantage based on you not acting? The opposition are. Essentially, this means you are helping them, and by helping, you show that you agree with their arguement. The consequence of this is that one side winds up being hurt, maybe even killed. You may think that you'll never run into another Holocaust-like situation, but actually, you find smaller versions of them all around you. In school, if one guy is bullying another, the situation is the same. Are you going to accept that the bully can bully people? I wouldn't! Even if you don't walk up to the bully and tell him to go away, you can still tell someone else, like a teacher, principal, or any other adult with the power to do something. This may not necessarily work in war, since there may not be a higher power to go to, but you can still stand up for your rights and others'.

I may want to stand up, but when the lives of myself and my family are on the line, would I? Hopefully I would, but it takes a lot of courage to stand up like that. The people of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon had an extreme amount of courage, sheltering the Nazis' victims in their homes for years. They literally risked everything, just to keep other people safe. Why did they do it? There are two reasons. One was that if they didn't they would be equally as evil as the Nazis. The other is slightly more complex. A century or two before the Holocaust, the people of Le Chambon were also taken prisnor, also under attack, and knew how horrible it was not to find shelter. The empathised with the Jews, and let them stay. If everyone did things like that, the world would almost certainly be a better place, full of empathetic, kind citizens. I think that John Boyne, the author of the aforementioned book, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, tried to hint a little at this. Bruno could be compared to Le Chambon, the minority in a Nazi world, helping Shmuel. Although Bruno didn't knowingly help at first, he showed so much sorrow and regret after he lied to Kotler about Shmuel, that he started making an effort to help him. He also used empathy to realize what his best friend was going through, similar to how the people of Le Chambon were empathetic towards Nazi targets, as the people of Le Chambon had been through a similar experience. Although Bruno hadn't gone through the same as Shmuel, he said all the things that Shmuel said, and realized just how horribly tragic Shmuel's life was. His dad and sister, along with Kotler and the other Nazis, represent Germany. They tore apart the Jews, put them down and tortured them.


In the newspapers, stories tend to be uncommon, and therefore interesting. Now, going on this logic, since the newspapers feature people who help out, that makes our race one that is less likely to help out. One day, I would like there to be a world where the newspapers have stories of people not helping out, meaning that more people do, in fact, stand up for their rights, for others' rights. For a world to be like that, we need to "Start in small places close to home." -Eleanor Roosevelt.

I chose the image at the top because of its true portrayal of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Bruno and Shmuel are like lights in the darkness, the chaos, that surrounds them. Also, the light comes from eyes, a major motif in the book. This also links into "seeing the light", in that Bruno only sees the goodness in the Jews after talking to Shmuel, without being under his father's Nazi shadow.

Image Citation-

"Eyes in the dark." Flickr. Web. 15 Apr 2010. .

Steve McCurry- A Sensational Photographer

Children at Play

Steve McCurry, born February 24th, 1950, is an American photographer and journalist. He is best known for his photograph “Afghan Girl”, featured on the cover of the National Geographic magazine in 1985. McCurry graduated from the College of Arts and Architecture at the Pennsylvania State University. After working for a newspaper company for a couple of laps, he left to India to go freelance. It was there in India that McCurry learned to wait and watch people going through their days, “If you wait, people will forget your camera and the soul will drift up into view.” The focuses of most of McCurry’s photos are of people, either portraits or full shots, portraying them going about their daily life in different ways and of where they live, as well as conflict and labour. Some of his photos have children with limbs blown off, some show people whose faces look unimpressed, sorrowful, enraged or depressed. The photos that do not relate to conflicts are of either his personal misadventures abroad or of sights Westerners do not normally see, such as the sinking of Ganesha statues or of the water under his plane just before it crashes.

One photo that really stood out to me was the one in Kandahar, Afghanistan, the first in the Children at Play section. In the centre, there is an old-looking abandoned tank on the road, with children climbing and shuffling up the tank’s barrel. I feel this picture reflects a range of viewpoints. One of them is that in Kandahar, tanks are almost commonplace. This is achieved via the men cycling past on the road, going about their business, not seeming to particularly care. The tank is stopped in the middle of the road, with no soldiers running towards it, also helping prove the point that it is not uncommon and that no-one seems to care. If it was unusual for children to be climbing on your tank, you’d run out and see what they’d be doing. I get the feeling that McCurry was trying to emphasize that in these parts of the world, people are so familiar with war and its impact, of its machines and weapons. Children always will play and do the same thing, no matter where they live. The children are climbing on the tank, just in the same way that Western children would typically climb trees and climbing frames. “No matter how dire the situation, how dangerous the environment, children need to play.” (McCurry, 1994) I agree with this quote, as I believe that children should not be put to work when they should be learning and relaxing. Their bodies cannot take the strain of the work, and when they haven’t done anything wrong they do not deserve to be shot, bombed or attacked. They also should be learning to achieve something later in life, so they can support their family and hopefully bring themselves above the poverty line. I have also seen children playing around when they should be working, both in my social circles and when I go on holidays all around the world. McCurry possibly took the picture not only to show that tanks are common, but to make people realize that although different things happen, children are the same world over, that we have very few differences. Seeing the picture in this light helps people connect, and once others believe that we are all the same, world peace may be a reality, since war is started over differences and greed. Looking at this picture, I feel a mix of emotions, a happy sadness. I’m happy that the children are playing, despite their lifestyle, and getting time to relax and unwind. However, the sad part is there is massive potential for the children to be killed, put to work and shot. They have a disrupted education and have many rights alienated (to relax and play, to have an education, to safety, to a free life, etc.). I feel McCurry tried to reflect all of this is his photo, and I also believe that when he took the picture, he felt the same emotions that I feel viewing it.

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions. The problem is that intentions which are based on faulty assumptions are doomed to failure.” (McCurry, 2009) Many places are not making use of aid, which is the true definition of hell. Hell is where no matter how hard you try, you can never get out of the rut you’re stuck in. It is a torture, as you’re still in the rut, tiring yourself out trying to get out and beginning to lose hope. Hope is the most valuable commodity in this world. Without hope, many humans have no reason to live, as they always want more than they have. The only thing you can cling to that keeps you happy and continues to help you live a happy life is hope. Without hope, you know something will never happen, and give up trying. When you give up, there is no possible way to get better, and you stay the same forever. That is what hell is, when you lose all hope of things being better and accept that you are doomed to a life of torture. McCurry’s photos show in even dire circumstances, his subjects cling on to that glimmer of hope, the glimmer so visible in their eyes.

Overall, McCurry’s work has helped me realise just how powerful photos can be. They can bring about change. They can inspire action. They can even make people realise how fortunate they are! How can a simple photo do all this? The answer lies in the people. When we see a gun, we just think “Oh, it’s a gun.” When we see men shooting at each other, we think “Woah, it’s a war! I never knew this was happening! Life must be so hard for those people!” I believe this is because we connect more with humans, as they are basically the same as us, with the same needs and rights. People’s faces can also convey many emotions. When you see a gun, the gun cannot show the emotions it feels. When you see a human, you see the fear, rage, regret and sorrow on their faces. We can relate to their emotions, only our personal experiences of them aren’t as life-changing as theirs. Photos are a constant reminder of the past and present. Faces are permanently captured on a lens. The emotions don’t change, not ever. These emotions make others want to help the photographed people out. It’s a natural human need. We don’t enjoy being in pain, in depression, in life threatening situations, so surely others are the same? We feel pity for them; therefore we search for ways to help them. Photos show reality. Real suffering, real people, real wars and real joy. On TV shows, things are normally staged, yet in photos, it’s all real. A good photo reveals the emotions in a certain situation; therefore allowing us to connect…it only takes one country declaring war to change the tables. Photos help us empathize, to understand the terrible pains and wondrous joys other must have. As McCurry said, “If you wait, people will forget your camera and the soul will drift up into view.”

Double Blog Post Madness!!! Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of my Double Blog Post Madness!


Now, I'm going to talk about how Pokemon is realistic. I mean, you see Pidgeys and Spearows flying through the skies too, right?


Just joking. I honestly don't have much to say now, so I'm just going to fob you off with a book quote. Sorry!


Actually, I'm going to give you two quotes, because it's my favourite book I'm quoting- CHERUB: The Recruit!





"James Choke hated Combined Science. It should have been test tubes, jets of gas and sparks flying all over the place, like he'd imagined when he was still at primary school. What he got was an hour propped on a stool watching Miss Voolt write on a blackboard. You had to write everything down even though the photocopier got invented forty years earlier. It was the last lesson but one, raining outside and turning dark. James was sleepy because the lab was hot and he'd been up late playing Grand Theft Auto the night before."





"Greg Jennings hung out with a gang of crazies. They were kings of the estate where James lived: smashing up cars, mugging people, getting into fights. If another kid saw them he'd look down at his shoes, cross his fingers and be happy if all he came away with was a slapped face and his money taxed. A good way to upset the gang was to beat up one of their little sisters. Greg Jennings grazed James' face along the bricks. "It's your turn now, James." He let go of James' arm. James could feel blood dribbling down his nose and cheek. There was no point struggling: Greg could snap him like a twig. "Scared?" Greg asked. "You ought to be." James tried to speak, only his voice didn't work and the way he was trembling seemed to answer anyway. "Got money?" Greg asked. James took out the rest of the forty pounds. "Nice one," Greg said. "Please don't hurt my sister," James begged. "My sister has eight stitches in her face," Greg said, pulling a knife out of his pocket. "Lucky I don't go around hurting little girls, or your sister might have ended up with eighty." Greg sliced off James' school tie. Then he cut the chest buttons off his shirt and slashed up his trousers. "This is just the start, James," Greg said. "We're gonna be seeing a lot of each other."





Want to read more? Buy CHERUB: The Recruit, and the rest of the CHERUB series!





Thanks to Robert Muchamore for writing awesome books, and for putting all their covers and reviews on your website!
Go to www.cherubcampus.com for more CHERUB goodness!

Double Blog Post Madness!!! Part 1

Hello everyone, sorry I haven't posted anything in the last week. To make up for it though, I'm going to post two posts today! Two whole posts! I've never had this much excitement since the last MS party back at the begining of September! If you get easily bored, you should do one of the following about now-


1. Read another blog.


2. Stare at the sun so you go blind, then read.


3. Walk away.





If you're still reading this, I'm presuming you aren't easily bored, and so I will now continue with my post.


I've always thought of one thing, now more than ever since I'm now doing Wild Malaysia- the world was fine until we came along. Yes, we are an intelligent life form, and it may be good to have a few of those on the planet, but we have single-handedly destroyed our world. Our economy is crashing, our politics suck, and the prices of everything are on the rise. Those are our problems, but have we ever thought of something other than ourselves? There are loads of endangered and extinct species out in the wild, and majority of them are endangered/extinct because of us. We have to cut down their environment for another condominium, or hunt them to make a quick buck. I feel sorry for many animals, and want to help them.


How I can start up something big enough I haven't the foggiest clue, but I feel we should do something. We could use advanced cloning to go and make more animals, with which we could start a new race, or maybe expand on existing animal species. For example, there is one Galapagos turtle left, and he's captive. So, we just take some of Lonesome George's DNA, put in a lab, inject it into a generic egg, and we have another turtle! The turtles could breed just before George dies (He's somewhere around 100). If we could do that, we could revive so many species...


Think, we could have T-rexes running around, we could frolic in the flowers with dodo birds, we could even study golden toads!


Then the world would be great! We could even cross breed and make a few animals of our own!




This is Lonesome George. Maybe someday soon he'll have a mate...
Hopefully, some of you reading this are interested in cloning, and might fulfill my legacy with me. When I grow up, I want to do many things, but I'd really love to give George a female buddy he can mate with. Then he can die happy.

The citation-
"Lonesome George." Wikipedia. 16/08/09. Web

Books!!!

Hello world.


My life is rather dull at the moment, so I have nothing to write. Except, that is, for quotes from the book I'm reading, Eragon! Most of you have probably read it, but I wanted to do this post anyway, and show others what they are missing out on.





"The energy inside him burned at an unbearable level. He had to release it, or it would consume him. A word suddenly lept unbidden to his lips. He shot, yelling, "Brisingr!" The arrow hissed through the air, glowing through the air, glowing with a classical blue light. It struck the lead Urgal on the forehead, and the air resounded with an explosion. A blue shock wave blasted out of the monster's head, killing the other Urgal instantly."





Intense, isn't it?


Want to know more? Read the book!




This is the cover of the version of the book I have. The other cover is of a blue dragon. The blue dragon on the other version is Eragon's dragon, Saphira. I'm guessing Saphira was derived from sapphire, the gemstone and the shade of blue.

The citation-
No, wait, citation machine isn't loading. Oh well, I'll just have to put the URL.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images.apple.com/moviesxml/s/fox/posters/eragon_l200609221644.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.tonychor.com/archive/cat_books_and_such.html&usg=__UgNOAjLVnQ4Ps_UqKtFP_-JPDlI=&h=385&w=261&sz=35&hl=en&start=106&sig2=H0bO89gTPO7hCU7JW-DTfw&um=1&tbnid=t6D8lMnGPQu--M:&tbnh=123&tbnw=83&prev=/images%3Fq%3Deragon%2Bbook%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D100%26um%3D1&ei=iqXqSprhBIjY7APl6cX2Cw

The site is by a man called Tony Chor.

Don't You Just Hate Unanswered Questions?

Today, my friend and I had another dispute, this time health based. Yes, it is about only a certain type of person ruling the world, like my last post, and has little Humanities content, although is a bit interesting.
Firstly, for those of you who are not familiar with the 7th Grade Health curriculum, we are covering predominant brain sides, the logic side (mine!) and the gestalt (a German word, as well as my friend's side). Gestalt people are more likely to have random outbursts, be more active learners (as in has to play with something or run around to learn), and generally more social. The current school curriculum is more based for logic people. Basically, logic people are like Vulcans, for those of you Star Trek fans out there, with little room for emotion, a head for numbers, sequencing, and writing.

Now, my friend and I wondered if the world would be a better place if the world would be a better place if entirely populated with logic or gestalt people. The gestalts would be random, and have no order, yet logic people would be stuck in a rut of conformity, and be uncompassionate. We came to an agreement that the world needed both people to be a good place.

Also, just an interesting note, when our teacher told the gestalt and logic people to get together by function and read about their functions to their fellow brain-mates, the gestalts run and jumped and shouted when they got together at first, whereas us logic people quietly sat around our hexagonal table.



Just a picture of the brain, similar to the one we have at school in front of the MS Office. This has functions, however does not label the logic side of the brain (usually the left) or the gestalt side (usually the right).

I'm in a rush today, so no citations for now!
Image from-
http://images.google.com.my/imgres?imgurl=http://www.holisticeducator.com/brain.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.holisticeducator.com/brain.htm&usg=__Mt7N-NTi_ighZdi0Gk6JZ5Tg1XQ=&h=284&w=396&sz=39&hl=en&start=18&tbnid=2a01az4h21EItM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3DHuman%2Bbrain%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

Anarchy Wonder

What would the world look like if everyone was an anarchist?
Would it be torn up, or would it actually be better than ours?
If everyone had freedom to express themselves, and corroded conformity, then we'd all be so different that wars may take place, but we'd be free. There would be no controversy over world leaders. There would be no royalty. There would be no uniform for anything.
Then again, we'd all destroy things. We may choose to get along, or we may be at each other's throats. We would have no ruling body, no representative, no laws, and we would run rampant, all killing and stealing.

It may be good, it may be bad. We may never know, no matter how much we want to.



For those of you who haven't seen it, this is the anarchist symbol. Know it, love it, worship it. I'm joking about the last two bits, but it's good to know.
Actually, there was a spray-painted one of these on a dumpster behind my old school in the US. I asked my dad about it, and he said anarchy was bad, and it would thrust us all into death. I might agree, I might not. I'm not sure yet.
And, to everyone's joy, I've got a decent amount of time today, so I can do a citation!
Image by/found on-
Stewart, David J. "Criss Angel, the Occult and Satanism." Criss Angel EXPOSED!. Web. 20 Oct 2009.

Another Link Made!

Sorry I haven't posted anything this week, but I've been busy.


Anyway, this is just a breif post with a few links I made over the weekend.


In the book I'm reading, Eragon, there is a character called Hrothgar. Could he be of any relation to our good friend, King Hrothgar of Beowulf? He might be, as JRR Tolkein based Lord of the Rings on Beowulf, and Eragon is similar.


Also, in a fun game I have, Heroscape, there are 2 characters I found links with, both to Norse mythology. Firstly, there is an ice dragon called Niflheim, who is probably based on the icy Norse realm. Secondly, there is a giant called Jotun, similar to Jotunheim. Jotun may be a word describing someone from Jotunheim, however I'm not sure. These probably do come from the Norse myths, as Heroscape does that with figures from the past.




I chose this image because it looks like all the little things coming together to connect, and be one large thing. Odd reason, but to me, it looks like details be connected.

Found on-
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.dreamstime.com/technology-connections-abstract-thumb4578178&imgrefurl=http://www.dreamstime.com/forumm_8992_pg46&usg=__xHzn9qeB04QE1oRGXFqTmJBOu94=&h=350&w=280&sz=96&hl=en&start=2&sig2=uQSOtnKRLLsWSzKkEpzaSg&um=1&tbnid=WXT4OTh2TvXWzM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=96&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dconnections%2Babstract%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=TuDaSqGWIY7-7AO9yPiVBg

Sorry once again that I didn't do a fancy citation, but I'm in a rush, and my parents need me to clean the hamster cages now. I'll post more next week!

Myth Update- Found a Segment!

After 20 minutes of hard Google searching, I found a segment relating to my myths-





"Thor was once outwitted by a giant king, Útgarða-Loki. The king, using his magic, tricked Thor. The king raced Thought itself against Thor’s fast servant, Þjálfi (nothing being faster than thought, which can leap from land to land, and from time to time, in an instant). Then, Loki (who was with Thor) was challenged by Útgarða-Loki to an eating contest with one of his servants, Logi. Loki lost, eventually. The servant even ate up the trough containing the food. The servant was an illusion of “Wild-Fire”, no living thing being able to equal the consumption rate of fire. He called Thor weak when he only lifted the paw of a cat, the cat being the illusion of the Midgard Serpent. Thor was challenged to a drinking contest, and could not empty a horn which was filled not with mead but was connected to the ocean. This action started tidal changes. And here, Thor wrestled an old woman, who was Old Age, something no one could beat, to one knee. Thor left humiliated, but was heartened later when he met a messager who told he that he had in fact performed great feats worthy of a powerful warrior god for doing as well as he did with those challenges."





Thanks to heavenly king of The Lounge posting forums (http://lounge.moviecodec.com/vs-forum/thor-vs-hercules-marvel-and-myth-48851/) for your post on Norse mythology!





On another note, I asked my dad about cube planets. He said they were impossible providing they stayed still, however, if it rotated and revolved like the Earth, then all the forces from the outside would squish it into a sphere. I found that interesting. However, if it didn't sphere-ify, it would have a messed up gravitational pull on itself.





This time, I chose an image of Thor, the challenged god of the drinking myths. He doesn't look like the type of guy that enjoys losing, does he? He is holding his special hammer, which he used in battle to kill his enemies.

Image Citation-
roni, . 05-01-09. Online Posting to Playa.Info. Web. 10 Oct 2009.

Where The Hell is Matt???

I'm just going to cut the waffle- I LOVED his video!


I found it interesting, the way he thought of himself in a scientific way, as a puny primate incapable of accepting today's world. I do agree with him though, that inside we are all the same, and that being different isn't bad- it's actually good, interlinking with the saying, "To be strange is to be normal, but to be normal is to be strange".





Actually, I remember a few months ago when my parents and I went out cycling. We were at the top of the hill, by a little refreshment house, and we watched the little boy there play with a small red car. It was just like watching any little boy play. We thought that if you gave a small red toy car to a little boy from Malaysia, one from the UK, one from Sweden, one from the US, one from Australia, one from the Middle East, one from Brazil, one from Zimbabwe, one from Singapore, one from Japan, and one from Egypt, they'd probably all do the same thing. They'd all probably push in backwards and forwards, and make the engine noises, and the break noises, and make it go around in circles and off tables.





In 5th grade, Mrs. Williams said something similar, which I agree to. All people are born the same, however their upbringing and suroundings change them as they grow older.





It also reminds me of a classic Trini saying- "The same, but different" for obvious reasons.





I beleive this is the element Matt is drawing on with his horrible dancing, which, by the way, I can do too! I can jump up and down and swing my arms about!





I chose this random-looking picture because of the little square-rectangle-thingies (so descriptive, I know). They are black and white, but they're mixed! Is there a black half and a white half? No! Why should our world be different? We're all square-rectangle-thingies on the inside, it's just our outside appearence that differs! As the old saying goes, "Don't judge a book by its cover."

Found on http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3594/3311047644_eeba6d83b6.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.marshallastor.com/2009/02/&usg=__1fXKXKpEHQGrj3hjHyi_LyvK3_A=&h=496&w=500&sz=288&hl=en&start=18&sig2=8Y9Gh7AAMnOloUCYjr4xwA&um=1&tbnid=4jw6qy74KOPfjM:&tbnh=129&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dthe%2Bsame%2Bbut%2Bdifferent%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=pfbOSpeDDZaI6gOzmOntAQ

Sorry I didn't do a citation like last time, but I'm in a hurry...

A New Ponder

Haven't found the myth yet, but I will! I'll do it on the weekend, when I'm bored and have no homework.


Also, when I came home today, I thought about my post and realized a literacy link! How amazing!


The theory of a never ending cup of tea is used in a series of books I've read called Barry Trotter. They're all a totally innappropriate parody, I wouldn't really reccommend them, but in the second one, it's mentioned the someone is drinking a magical cup of coffee that never ends, that also put Starbucks out of buisness.


I also had a thought- What would happen if the Earth was a cube?


I mean, would we fall of the edge and land on the other side of the world?


Would there be an Edge where water would run down into the vast infinity of space, only to not fall due to antigravity?


Would we have the same orbital patterns?


Would we have day and night, or would there be never-ending days in some regions and eternal darkness in others?


What about the corners? Would they have land? Could water stay on them?


Would our planet be too hot for life forms?



That is one of the weird things you think of when you're me...

I chose this picture just because I thought it was interesting to see a cube-shaped galactic body.

Pretty cool, isn't it? It's an image from a videogame, Spore. One of their patches caused a slight problem...

Image Citation-

"The Right Angle? Spore Adds Cube Planets." ROCK, PAPER, SHOTGUN, 20/10/08. Web. 7 Oct 2009. .

A Wee Ponder....

On Thursday night, I was sitting with my parents, saying that it would be nice to have a never-ending cup of tea- you wouldn't have to keep running to the kettle to make more, and you could never run out of tea bags.

My dad then said that in Norse mythology, a titan challenged a god to a drinking match, and lost. The point was for the titan to drink all the sea, although he didn't manage, because his goblet was always full, no matter how much he drank.

He also said there was another Norse myth, where two people challenge eachother to an eating contest. The challenger lost, just to discover that his opponent was fire.

I proceeded to talk about the Prometheus myth we read, and how they described fire as a person too, in a way.

Kind of amazing how some idle comment turns into an educational conversation!

Also, I want to find the myths, and when I do, I'll post them here for everyone to look at.

I chose the picture up at the top because the teacup is vomiting, and letting go of its materials, but looks like it's still got something inside it. It's similar to my thought of the never-ending cup, with it all going out yet staying in.

Image Citation-
~epione, . "T SHIRT: Vomiting Tea Cup." deviantART, 08/07/09. Web. 7 Oct 2009. .