Requirements for Your Blog

• Create links on their pages, some of which must use words instead of raw URLs.  
• Create at least one picture or iframe on their page. 
• Create a link or an iframe to a Google Docs file. 
• Remove any of the preset gadgets that their site doesn't need.
• Show evidence of a design concept; a pattern that they use to order their site.
• Use links IN THE BODY OF THEIR TEXT in their blog post.
• Use at least one picture in their blog post.
• Provide a link to at least one downloadable file (can be from Google Docs)
• Use traditional grammar, spelling, and punctuation throughout
• Comment on the website of each other student in class.  

You will be writing a short paper explaining the purpose of every element of your page. Your purposes don't have to be "important", they just have to BE. This paper has no specified length; it is done when you have finished explicating your site. You may post this paper to your blog instead of turning it in in paper if you wish.


The project is due May 20th.

Where do we go after death?

Have you ever seen a movie that when people die they go through a tunnel towards a light? Is this actually true? One of the most interesting question about life that sometimes you might not be able to answer is life after death. Is it real? Where is it? Or what is it look like? After I have been researching, I found out that most of the answer is based on religious beliefs.

According to my research, most of the American people that is Christian believe in Jesus Christ. They believe "The good people go to Heaven and the bad people go to Hell." People who believe in God and trust in Jesus to save them go to be with Jesus in heaven. People who do not believe in God or who trust in their own goodness to save them go to Hades. Non-believers are thrown into the Lake of Fire along with Satan and his demons. Believers will then spend eternity with God in the New Jerusalem. So, we know that there are only 2 places we can go after death which is Heaven and Hell. There is no specific definition of heaven and hell but Heaven represent an eternal happy life where Hell is the opposite.

While Buddhist believe something slightly different. They believe in reincarnation. The life after death depends on your karma (your good and bad action in this life). Your karma will also effect your last thought that will determine your next birth and or the reincarnation. You might be born in the heaven or hell or you might come back as a human again in new life as a new person. And it is also possible that you might be born as an animal too. After your next life there will be another next life. The only way you can stop this wheel of suffering (Samsara) is following the instruction of the teaching of Buddha to become enlightened and enter the state of nirvana. The easier way to say this is if we do good things more than bad things in this life you probably have a good life after death.

The similarity between this two religion is what you do in this life will effect your life after death. And they are all encourage you to do good things. But regardless to all that religion beliefs where do you think you going after death? Maybe it is going to be a whole new world or born in other planet or we just disappeared? What if we never die and it happens to be that our body turns off while your mind still awake and walk around like an invisible soul? Our imagination can go on and on. We can see some of our imagination, thought, and beliefs about life after death are being put in many sources like movies, music, literature or etc. So many different answers can’t be all right, but they all may be wrong. Who would know the truth? Where do think you will go after you death?

The Issue of Morallity

Many people in this nation would readily admit that there is a problem with modern standards and behavior. Many are disgusted at the laws we are passing. Many more are disgusted with the conduct, or in some cases lack thereof, exhibited by our country's leaders. Many want to see things change, but the true problem is almost never addressed.
Why the sudden plunge in behavior and standards? In all probability, it wasn't so sudden of a change. Our society has been gradually worn away. It all started with the very first fluctuation of moral standards, whenever that was. As soon as morals were demoted to a matter of personal opinion, our fate was sealed. We are now on an almost irreversible path to self destruction, much like ancient Rome. As soon as you remove the source of absolute moral truth, things will go downhill.
Many people argue that the only sources of morality are religion and personal opinion. I don't disagree. While there are some natural inhibitions we follow by instinct, most of what we know as far as right and wrong comes from religious teaching. However, this doesn't change things. We still need an absolute source of morality. In fact, America's original laws were all based on the Bible and Christian morals. This wasn't discriminatory, it was logical. People of other religions could still practice as they wished, since these laws were common among all religions. No murder, no stealing, no cheating, etc; these are basic laws. The problem came when we started tampering with them under grounds that they were too strict, discriminatory, or unconstitutional. Granted, some laws such as those allowing slavery had to be changed. But if one looks into the reasons for racial equality, they are mostly Christian. So these changes were merely an improvement on our laws, moving us closer to religious morality. The opposite is true with laws allowing gay marriage, abortion, and the like. These are the laws moving us away from morality, these are the issue and a contributing factor to our nation's overall state.
I am not saying that we should be a theocracy, or even go so far as to impose strict Christian laws. Freedom of religion must always be maintained. What I am trying to say is that religious morality should be the predominant guideline in lawmaking. It's obvious that a law requiring people to go to church, or save sex for marriage, or tithe to a church would be way too far. These are laws unique to Christianity, and so making them national law would be infringing freedom of religion. But ignoring a basic law like “don't murder,” which his common to all major religions, is a bad idea. The legalization of abortion, for example, did exactly this. We are slowly lowering our standards, and if we don't stop, we won't have any left.
We need a definite source of morals. This doesn't necessarily have to be the Bible, but there has to be something we bass our laws on, and Christianity is what we've started with. Failure to stop this decline will result in the downfall of our country, and possibly the world.

Movies In America: Avatar

The movie industry plays a huge role in the American culture. Many Americans spend some of their time watching movies at home or going to the theater to see the new releases. Obviously, because of people’s attraction to movies, the movie industry makes a lot of money. So why do certain movies make more money than others and what makes people so attracted to certain movies?
Let’s take a look at Avatar, released in December of 2009. This movie won three Oscars and made about $212 million dollars (http://www.examiner.com/). What attracted people to this movie?
Avatar tells the story of a paraplegic marine, Jake, who is taken to Pandora on a mission to try to get the natives of Pandora (the Na’vi) to move to a different place. The Na’vi people don’t want to move because they live in peace with nature. The Na’vi people worship their goddess, Eywa, who is a huge tree (like Mother Nature). Everything revolves around Eywa. Because everything in Pandora revolves around Eywa, they don’t want to relocate and it makes it hard for Jake to negotiate with them. While trying to negotiate with the people of Pandora, Jake finds himself attracted to the princess and learns the ways of the people who live there. He is then torn between doing what his mission intended and doing what is right for the people of Pandora.
Avatar is essentially showing that nature is the root of all things and technology is destroying it in a way. This is shown by our “Go Green” supporters in the United States, who were most likely the reason for Avatar becoming so popular. Avatar supported their idea of preserving nature and using its resources. And yes, other people who aren’t “Go Green” supporters did watch the movie and help them make so much money, because it was a great movie but the majority was probably those who are “Go Green” supporters.
Avatar might have made a lot more money if the idea of technology destroying nature wasn’t so prevalent. This might have turned some of its customers away because they didn’t agree with the story and the message they were portraying. I believe this is why certain movies in America become more popular and make more money than others. We, as Americans, are very opinionated and are allowed to believe in whatever we want to believe in and if the producers in the movie industry want to survive, they must make a movie that will appeal to the majority and this is very hard to do in the American society today. Producers end up making sequels to other movies or they make a new movie that is very similar to one that already exists and no one wants to see that. People want always want something new, that they haven’t seen before.
Many people are interested in many different things and the producer will never make a movie that every person in the United States will want to see even though the movie industry plays a huge role in our culture. Watching movies is a great American past time and movies are entertaining. But, in this case, Avatar appealed to a vast majority of people in the United States because many people are “Go Green” supporters and it also appealed to the youth because it was shown in 3D. This is a movie that people would watch over and over again because it is so interesting and there wasn’t a movie produced like it before.

American way of making history

America is one of the most powerful leaders in the world. they have economical power and international one at the same time. They have numerous population and huge lands. And these surrounding conditions helped America get the power. However, they also are evaluated as a high level and their culture is very influential. so American cultural power is easily shown to our Korean country. For example, their music, Hollywood films are very popular to Korea and eastern countries. American style foods are also well know to us as MacDonald, KFC, TGI Friday, and etc. above all, America has cultural comparative power in the history. Many Korean people curious about this opinion. When we comparing their history with ours, American history is absolutely shorter than Korean history. American history is only few hundreds. but Korean history is more than two thousand years. what's happening here? why korean history can't be regarded as good level as American history? From the Vietnam war, Koreans can find the reason why Amercan has historical power.
From the beginning of the Vietnam war, American didn't have any right to participate. It was a simple war between France and Vietnam. But, America participated in the war for the purpose of protecting Vietnamese from communist. At that time, there was cold-war between USSR and the U.S. so that the U.S. used "Domino theory" for making necessity of participating. America insisted that the slump of Vietnam would spark a global wave of communist triumphs. Moreover, Americans always had won other wars for example, Korean war:) before the Vietnam war. They were sure to win aganist Vietcong. Their enemy, Vietcong, already was supported by almost Vietnamese people and government people. More than worse, American troops were hard to distinguish enemy from villagers. They had to kill the civilians even though they were children. After America was defeated, they were still insited that they did right thing and instead of their guilt, Americans blamed Vietnam. For example, Ho-Chi Minh was knowan as a [person without a father] at that time. In short, dominant culture of the USA justified their reason of the war though America was defeated.
After some decades, new thoughts and voices about Vietnam war came out in the USA robert McNamura. He admitted that American imperialism made the Vietnam War more serious and it sacrificed many American young ppl and Vietnamese. Furthermore, Bob Kerry revelaed his true experiences and opinions about Vietnam War in newspapers and television screens. He said that he was very shameful about his war experiences. He described that his Navy seal killed innocent women and children while on a mission in the Mekong Delta. He aslo mentioned a story about free-fire zone where Americans were too aggressive. McNamura and Kerry's attitudes were absolutely in contradicition to dominate ideas. Nevertheless, these men bravely began to admit American unrighteous and insisted that American apologize Vietnamese for their sin. From these Kind of brave men, different idea about Vietnam war steadily was produced in American society. American thinks about the war again. This is aganist theory.
History is like a pyramid. If u see a pyramid on the side, you would think the pyramid as a triangle. But if you see it on the top, you would think the pyramid as a square. so throughout these all sort of view, you can guess the real shape of pyramid. Just as pyramid, history also needs various and different point of view to understand of get the right direction. Compare with Korea, Amerca has some ppl like Bob Kerry, and ppl who suggest different point of view aganist main ideas. Their attitude develops their own history. That's why American have high level of history even though they have short period of history.

Why is the world becoming overwhelmed with major problems like poverty, pollution, war, and pollution? Many agree that we are experiencing a "world population explosion." They believe the world's growing population is the result of these major problems we face everyday.
The difficulty is that blaming these problems on "too many people" is not right. Although the world's population continues to increase, and while population was once increasing too rapidly in some areas, international birthrates have now begun dropping.
---According to Ben Wattenberg, "never have birth rates fallen so far, so fast, so low, for so long all around the world." According to the 1996 revision of "World Population Prospects," a reference book published by the United Nations, the global "total fertility rate" (or the average number of kids a women has) has dropped from 5 in 1955 to 2.8 in 1997. That number, in countries ranging from Thailand to Cuba to China to the U.S., is still growing smaller to this day.
We should not be worrying about global warming in the near future but of a global nursing home. Consider what has and still is happening in Italy. Italy's “total fertility rate” is now estimated to be below 1.2. That means that Italy will increasingly be populated by older adults and senior citizens. Which really is fine, and actually good in certain aspects like crime rates, but it also may further damage things like the economy, the social safety net, and the country's tax base.
In this country alone, the little open land we have is quickly being paved over. Suburbs that used to stretch miles beyond city limits now pile shopping malls, fast-food restaurants, and used car lots. It seems that we are running out of room.
If you think America has too few residents, your wish for more people is being fulfilled. Population projections show that by 2050, we will grow from our present 270 million people to about 350 million. If we think overcrowding in our schools and cities as well as traffic jams that provoke road rage and high urban crime rates is a problem now, we have not seen anything compared to the near future.
There are certain countries mainly in Scandinavia and a few in Southern Europe where population growth rates have stalled. But overall, the world's population is growing by 80 million people per month. India alone is adding 18 million people to the world's population on a monthly basis. And in the 95 percent of the world where population growth rates are staggering poverty and squalor still dominate.
How are we to deal with this over thriving population of people? In American alone people are desperate for any kind of job that has a regular amount of income to their home. What are we suppose to do when we continue to have more people living in the U.S. but fewer jobs? I am hoping that something changes and changes soon because the thought of the government stepping in on another aspect of our lives is a scary thought. Before we know it we are going to be forced to give children up for adoption because of another government rule and regulation.


http://en.wikipedia.or/wiki/Overpopulation
http://www.peopleandplanet.net/pdoc.php?id=3364
http://www.iisd.ca/journal/davis.html
http://xahlee.org/Periodic_dosage_dir/t1/20040607_mutce_prenu.html

Teen Pregnancy

Teen pregnancy seems to be a pretty big deal in our society. How much effect does the media have on this situation? Why do some girls become pregnant? Why is it a big deal? Well when we can all go to a volleyball game, walk down the street, or turn on the television and see a pregnant teenager it is a big deal.
Girls get pregnant for various reasons. Some girls may be desperate to keep their boyfriends from leaving them. Others are looking for someone who will always love them and not leave. (It's true.Watch the Maury show!) Some girls may want attention of some sort, but many teen pregnancies are simply “mistakes.” We should all remember it does take two to tango, so boys are to blame as well. It is not hard to wear protection. Condoms are probably the best way, other than the fool proof method of abstinence, to prevent them from becoming fathers. It takes a few seconds to prevent pregnancy, but it takes 18 years to pay the price for your “mistakes.”
What does media have to do with teen pregnancy rates, which are surprisingly at their lowest point in years? Well, Teen Mom, 16 and Pregnant, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, and The Pregnancy Pact are all over the television. Movies like Juno do well at the box-office. The media thinks they are trying to show the hardships of teen pregnancy, but they are exploiting these young mothers and could POSSIBLY be encouraging some girls to become pregnant. I’m sure you have heard people say “I wanna be on 16 and Pregnant, Bentley is soooo cute!” Yes most girls probably are not serious, but there is a second season of 16 and Pregnant, so some girls and they are not the only ones, did not learn their lesson from that show.
Some people may be wondering why teen pregnancy matters to them, but it does affect you. Billions of dollars of government money is used to help pay for these young mothers and their children to live daily. Many of these teen moms fall into the poverty bracket, and the government shovels out millions of dollars in prevention education. Also if the girl decides to get an abortion at a free clinic, someone has to pay for it somewhere along the line. (HintHint: your parent’s tax money pays for these government programs.)
So every year about 750,000 teen girls will get pregnant. This rate is lower compared to the past, but it may be rising in the future. Teen pregnancy may not seem like a big deal, but it really is. Eventually WE will pay taxes to cover the costs of these pregnancy programs. Eventually WE will have children, hopefully when we aren’t children ourselves, to educate about sex and preventing pregnancy. Teens should be taught at home about means of prevention. I just want to say I’m not bashing on girls who get pregnant, but I think it’s wrong for our society to not really have a problem with it.

All statistics found:
http://www.pregnantteenhelp.org/articles1.html

TVs influence on American Culture

Movies and TV shows are a big hit in modern day America and are one of the more powerful influences on young American lives. Everyday Americans watch a movie or show and think that just because it is on TV that it is alright for them to do what they have just seen. For example, you watch a show with some women that just bought a restaurant and within days it is brand new because some cool looking popular chef got it going and made the food and outlook amazing. Life does not work like this and if you think that your going to be able to do this then you are very wrong. Young teens also like to watch shows that have teen pregnancy in it and that makes it seem like it is not hard at all to have a baby and support yourself. One of the major shows that does this is One Tree Hill. This television show has young teen mothers and fathers that have normal everyday lives with normal drama like every other person, but they have a kid as well that takes very little to take care of. Now I am one-hundred percent sure that this is not true and a lifestyle that these characters are living in this show is so ridiculous that you have to be crazy to believe that life is that easy. You may think that no one thinks life is this easy with a kid and a house, but in fact I have heard young people say that this show is pretty true and accurate. This statement is very embarrassing to hear, because of the stupidity that it holds. My point that I am trying to state is that this show is a bad influence on young Americans, because we believe so much crap that we see on TV and read in magazines that it should just not be on TV. One show that maybe should be allowed on TV is the television show 16 and pregnant. Now even though it is kind of bad in showing that there are moms and dads that are only 16 years old it has some good parts to it. One good part to this show is that it shows you the truth in to what will happen in a situation like this. This shows presents that if you are pregnant that it sort of ruins your plans in life and that financially things will become very hard to deal with. Now because young teens watch so much TV we might as well watch something that is actually true not something that is fictional and tricks some to believe there is truth in it. Today’s world is really sad in all the television that we watch and media that we read in magazines that rip peoples lives apart. I believe that today’s culture has really been shaped by the TV shows that we watch as well as other sources such as the magazines and video games that we play.

Concealed Firearms In America

A gun is a violent item to own, but a gun is also used to protect your loved ones when they are in danger. In todays world there is more crime on the streets than there has been in a long time, so we need to protect ourselves from crime in the United States. More states are making it legal to carry a concealed weapons in the United States, and this has brought their crime rates way down from what they used to be. There are only two states that still make it illegal to carry a concealed weapon, and they are Illinois, and Wisconsin. In the states that passed the law to carry concealed firearms their crime rate went down to 8.5 percent, and their rape went down to 5 percent. These statistic show that Illinois, and Wisconsin should consider making it legal to carry concealed firearms to reduce their crime rate to a lower percent. Lets say if you were working late and you were walking to your car and a man came out from behind a building with a knife, and said that he wanted your wallet. There are two solutions to this problem, one being that you had to give him your wallet because you never had a firearm on you because it is illegal in your state. The second solution to this situation is that you pulled out your firearm and scared him off, because he new that he would be in trouble if he stuck around. When Colorado was deciding on passing the law to make it able for people to carry concealed weapons their main concerns were that the crime rate would double its original percentage, but after a while they started seeing the changes in the crime, and those changes were that the crime percentage was reduced in half. Now the debates in Colorado are how big have the benefits been since they have made it legal to carry concealed firearms. Many left wing Americans claim that the constitution does not promote the use of personal firearms. However, in a Supreme Court case, District of Colombia v. Heller, the highest court in the nation said that it was constitutional right to allow Americans to not only own personal firearms but to carry them as well. Those that disagree use outdated and bias statistics to prove their point. Gun laws only hinder those that obey them, most street gangs trade guns, like they trade narcotics, there is not a permit being shown or a background check given. These are all good things, but they are not taking guns away from dangerous criminals, they merely hamper those that follow the law. If states like Wisconsin and Illinois adopted these laws society would benefit greatly. When interviewing criminals in prison their biggest fear in right to carry states are that anybody could have a gun. That lady that they would try to mug could be carrying a handgun in her purse. Society is split on which is safer, but just because people can carry does not mean they will, it just means they can. American society needs to not fear the innocent that have guns, but instead fear those that will still get the guns even with stricter laws. You can find all this information at www.nraila.org/Issues/factsheets/read.aspx?ID=18

St. Patrick's Day in America

Everyone loves St. Patrick's Day. You are able to party, drink and be with your loved ones. It is a great holiday to remind yourself of who you are, no matter what nationality. St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17. This is his feast day and the anniversary of his death, which was in the fifth century. St. Patrick is also the patron saint of Ireland. The Irish have looked at this day as a day of holiness for over 1,000 years. It occurs during the season of lent. Traditionally, Irish families would attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon.

The St. Patrick's Day traditions came to America in 1737. That was the first year St. Patrick's Day was publicly celebrated in America. The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in the United States on March 17, 1762. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City. This helped these men to reconnect with their Irish roots. Over the next 40 years, Americans became intrigued by Irish patriotism. Americans prompted the rise of "Irish Aid", which held annual parades featuring bagpipes and drums. Later in 1848, there were several New York Irish Aid Societies. They all got together and decided to have one big St. Patrick's Day parade. Today, that parade is the world's oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States, with over 150,000 participants. Each year, almost 3 million people line the 1.5 mile parade route to watch the procession, which lasts around 5 hours. Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, and Savannah also throw parades with between 10,000 and 20,000 participants.

In Chicago, every year on March 17, people take part in dyeing the Chicago River green. The tradition started in 1962 when city pollution control realized that green dye could be a fun way to celebrate the holiday. That year they put about 100 pounds of green vegetable dye in the river, which happened to make the river green for an entire week. Now, they only put about 40 pounds of dye into the river to reduce damage to the environment. Chicago historian's claim that it was their idea to dye the Chicago River green, but some Savannah Natives believed that they came up with the idea in their town. They point out that in 1961, Tom Wolley, the mayor of Savannah, had plans to dye a river by them green for St. Patrick's Day. There happened to be rough waters that day so they could not dye the river green. They never tried again.

Today, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by people of all different backgrounds in the United States, Canada, and Australia. St. Patrick's Day has been celebrated in other locations such as Japan, Singapore and Russia. North America is home to the largest productions. Many people believe that this holiday is just meant for partying with your friends and drinking. However, St. Patrick's Day should mean a lot more to everyone. It should remind us of where we came from and to be proud of it. Although St. Patrick's Day was founded by a man in Ireland, America loves to join in on the fun too!

"St. Patrick's Day." Www.history.com. 2010. Web. 17 Mar. 2010.

Going Goo-Goo for GAGA!

< >Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, was born on March 28, 1986 in New York City. She has now become a pop icon in the American culture. Stefani has acquired the household name, Lady Gaga. Her fame has become an epidemic starting in 2005 and she still is working her way up the fame ladder. Lady Gaga has created a new music wave that she believes her goal is to revolutionize pop music. Besides Lady Gaga’s music inspirations her fashion choices have had an incredible impact on American culture. Whether that be a good thing or not she has created a new style that some cannot comprehend.
< >Lady Gaga hasn’t always had the amazing confidence she has now. She attended a private Roman Catholic school. Lady Gaga once stated that she was “very dedicated, very studious, very disciplined”. Also she also claims that she “didn’t fit in, and felt like a freak.” When Lady Gaga was 17 she had an early admission to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She improved her song writing skills but eventually pulled out of the school to focus on her music career. Lady Gaga had a rough start with her different music record companies trying to get signed. She did drugs and preformed in Burlesque shows. Her father highly disapproved but she was going to make her way to the top.
< >You may ask where she found the name Lady Gaga. Her music producer Rob Fusari compared Queen’s Freddie Mercury to the same style she was creating. One day he texted Stefani a hit Queen Song “radio gaga” but mistakenly auto fixes changed radio to lady. She decided that Lady Gaga was perfect. She told Rob to never call her Stefani ever again. You may also ask where she got her fashion. It was started off by her performing partner Lady Starlight. After they broke major fame at Lollapalooza in 2007 Lady Gaga became a hit. Her fashion was her breaking impact on the music industry. The main thing that brought Lady Gaga’s fashion to fame was ‘no pants’. Her fashion team ‘Haus of Gaga’ has helped her create and design her next outfits. Besides Lady Gaga’s fashion her music is just as powerful. When she became a hit her first singles were “just dance”, “poker face”, and eh, eh (nothing else I can say). Some other chart toppers have been great songs such as “love game”, paparazzi”, “beautiful, dirty, rich”, “the fame”, “money honey”, “boys boys boys”, “brown eyes”, “telephone”, and “speechless”. Her musical inspirations have been Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Freddie Mercury, late Michael Jackson, Grace Jones, and more. Lady Gaga’s only recorded albums have been “The Fame” and “The Fame Monster”, which she now calls her fans “little monsters” as an inspiration from her own album. Her music tours have been The Fame Ball tour, and The Monster Ball Tour. Lady Gaga’s amount of awards won is 54. She has been nominated 115 times for a multitude of awards in America and outside the country. Not only is Lady Gaga helping her fans by creating powerful music and inspiration fashion she has helped many people in need of something. She has impacted Americans by being an impact to the gay community and fighting for equal rights on several occasions. She has also donated $500,000 to Haiti. She has also raised $160 million to fight AIDS and HIV. Lady Gaga’s fashion, music, and her willingness to give to others has made her an American icon.Check Lady Gaga out at http://www.ladygaga.com/telephone/#

Vampires and the American Twist

Vampires are mythical creatures that have surely become a giant part of American culture or society. The myth of the vampire (from which I know) started with Vlad the Impaler, or Dracula. He was the Prince of Wallachia in Romania. He was part of a heavy resistance against the Ottoman Empire. He had some successes but he is most well known for his treatment of enemies. He often impaled his enemies on a stick, which is to say, he left a sharp pole in the ground and left his enemies upon it (I’d use a picture but it’d probably be edited :[ ). He then left the bodies to rot. This creates a very cruel and terrible image for the vampire to follow.
Vlad was the inspiration for one of the most well known vampires of all time, Count Dracula. As we see in the quintessential vampire book, Dracula, the vampire is a black arts studying, cunning, sneaky, and blood-sucking creature. He has super natural strength, shape-shifting powers (he can turn into a bat, a rat, a wolf, vapor, and fog), cannot be harmed by conventional means, and can be rejuvenated by the drinking of blood. He was said to only be killed by decapitation and a wooden stake to his heart. He often appeared as on older fellow but grew younger as he drank more blood. He did have flaws as he was; weak in sunlight, driven away by crucifixes, garlic and sacramental bread, and not able to pass over running water unless it is at low or high tide.
As much as these vampire traits have been established, the American culture now sees the vampire in a completely different light. Instead of the terrifying murderer Dracula, we now have vampires like Edward Cullen. Edward has the same basic traits of Dracula as he has supernatural strength and ability, craves to drink blood, and he is affected by sunlight (sparkling = weakening?). But the image of the vampire has been tainted so that now teenage girls want a vampire to protect them and be their lover instead of the murderous rage of Dracula. This is a good example of how American culture and entertainment works. One good book (I’ve never read Twilight but I can assume that it is a good book for entertainment purposes) can change the outlook of one of the most famous and iconic characters in all of mythology. I may be speaking for myself, but after Twilight came out, I have never seen so much vampire material like movies, books, and television shows.
I’m not saying that this is a totally bad thing. I am open to change and do believe that things evolve over time for the better. I just want to know if this new type of vampire is for the better. Have vampires changed enough that the “Cullen” vampire be its own archetype of mythical creature versus the Dracula type? This simple idea is based completely on opinion, and with American individuality, we know we can get a lot of varying opinions.

Video Games and the Youth

Every day millions and millions of people sit down to play video games. Some for 5 minutes, and some for 5 hours. Every second people are playing video games, they could be doing something else. Something more productive. People who play video games constantly tend to be people without jobs, have a bad work ethic, or even sometimes students who should be doing homework. The people who play video games the most are actually the youth of today. They should not be wasting some time on a video game. The youth of today should be learning many new things, things that could help them later in life. The people playing video games could be doing much more productive things such as homework, reading, hanging out with friends having a social life, playing an instrument, playing a sport, just pretty much anything that does not involve sitting in front of a television for long periods of time.
No I am not saying everyone who plays video games are lazy and should be doing something else because a lot of people who do play video games just play them for entertainment for a little bit after they have what is needed to be done, done. I am just saying the people who do not have a job, go try to find a job. Those who should be doing homework to get good grades, get the homework done so they have time for entertainment such as video games. Yes the youth has more free time then older people and they usually do get their stuff done, but why should the kids spend every day on video games when they could be learning some great things such as an instrument or a sport or even a language that could help them later in life? Not only are the video games holding them back from doing their work, but most video games that kids play are very violent that kids could easily pick up on. Kids of today tend to be a lot more aggressive then how people from my age and older i am sure. Aggressive is not always and usually is not the best way for kids to be.
The youth are not all to blame though. The parents who let there kids play it every day and not make them go do something productive, are just if not more to blame for the youth and their almost obsession to video games today. The parents can easily say, "Stop playing and go outside!", or "Get all of your homework done and read for half an hour so you can play some video games." The kids parents could try to put a little more effort into their kids' minds so they have a better brain and mind so essentially they can also have a better future. Who knows, maybe their kid could turn out to be the world's best guitar player! I am not saying parents are bad and are doing the wrong thing, I just believe it would be better for kids to be more productive and active to be a better person. It just all starts with people acting on there actions.
No not all people who play video games are being corrupted, and no not all kids who play video games are aggressive and not very productive, but yes there are a significant amount who are. There are too many who could be doing so much more with their time then sitting around pushing a couple buttons watching a screen. The youth should be learning and doing things that are going to help them be healthier or smarter or anything. I say yes to cutting back on video games.

We can see all kinds of people!!!

The United States open their citizenships to other people who are from different countries. This country is also established by many different immigrants. Majority of Americans moved from England. However, there are a lot of different minority imigrants moved to the United States. Therefore, we can see other countries cultures in everywhere in the United States. For example, foods, holidays, and religions are a little bit different from traditional America culture.

First, we cannot tell that there are a lot of traditionail American food. Steak and mash potatoes are from England. Pizza, pasta, and french fries are from Italy. Hamburger and hotdog are from Germany. Taco is from Mexico. As you can see, many foods what we have been called as a American food were come from other contries and have been changed a little bit to nowadays' American.

Second, there are two major holidays such as Thanksgivin day and Christmas. Evnen though there are no national holidays, there are a lots of special days depends on the other ethnics. Whatever holidays or not, they are big of big deal not only to a certain group but also to other people. andSt. "Patrick's day" is celebrated by Irish-American. "Day of the Dead" is celebrated by Mexican-American. "Dyngus Day" is a Polish-origin holiday so that it celebrated New York, Indiana, Michigan, and North Dakota. "Midsummer" is celebrated in Minnesota and other Scandinavian-American areas. "Von Steuben Day" celebrated by German Americans. Of course, at the first, they were celebrated by their own ethnics. However, by passing of times, people have been mixed with other peoples. Nowaday, people celebrate other special days from other countries.

Third, there are a lot of differents kinds of religions. Christians(Puritans, Quakers, and Roman Catholics), Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Unitarian Universalism, Native American religious practice, and no religion.

American is the only country that have all kinds of peoples so far. Therefore, it has a lot of difficult cultural shock. However, it is the only one country who have a ability to understand deepper of other peoples. It teaches us how to get along with other peoples. We can undergo every cultures(a little bit) by meeting other peoples.

Technology Overload

Every day countless Americans spend some of their time watching television. There are many people who complain about the amount of time children spend in front of the TV, whether they are watching a movie, playing a videogame, or watching a television show. People complain about this, and yet they keep providing us with new technology which allows us to spend more time watching TV.
There are some Americans who spend so much time in front of the TV that they neglect their responsibilities. There are some students who do their homework while watching television, which results in them not doing as well on their homework because they were distracted and concentrating more on the TV than on their homework. Some of these students do not complete their homework at all because they were distracted, and put if off until the next day which causes them to rush to finish their homework on time. There are also some children who would rather spend their day sitting on the couch watching TV, than playing outside or spending time with their friends. Because of this, many kids are sitting in front of the TV, eating snacks, and not getting the exercise they need, which contributes to the obesity problem in America. These are all results of the allure of television, which people continually complain about.
Children also grow up watching cartoons and other popular children’s shows which introduces them to the idea of watching TV at an early age. Instead of constantly being outside, playing games with friends, or reading a book, they prefer to watch TV because they have grown up with the stimulation of television. If a parent doesn’t want their child watching so much TV, they should limit the amount of time their child spends watching TV at a young age so that when they are older they aren’t so dependent on the TV. They will realize that there are other, more entertaining, things they could do, and responsibilities that come first. Parents who complain about children spending too much time in front of the TV should also stop providing their children with new games, movies, and devices.
People complain about these things, but they continue to provide us with new ways to watch TV. With the technology we have today, there are numerous ways in which we can watch movies and television. A person can watch TV on their computer, laptop, iPods, and even on come cell phones. There are also portable DVD players and DVD players in some cars so that people can watch movies while they are traveling. With all this technology, how do people expect us not to use it?
With all this new technology around us, it is very easy to become distracted. Although it is not right for a person to neglect their responsibilities because of this technology, it all makes preparing a presentation, writing a paper, or completing a project seem extremely boring. Because we have grown up with all this technology surrounding us, it gives us the idea that we have to have the next best thing.
People complain about the amount of time children spend playing videogames, watching movies, and watching TV. Some people do spend too much time watching TV and in turn they neglect their responsibilities, but more technology keeps being made available which causes even more distractions and even more ways for people to watch TV. With so much of this technology around us that allows us to watch TV, whether it is on a computer, on a laptop, on a cell phone, on an iPod, or in the car, it is difficult for the American people who always want the next best thing to be entertained with anything less.

Bliss in Ignorance

If you go to school you assume you are able to sit in a desk. If you get on a bus you assume that you are able to sit where ever you want. If you own a gun you assume that you won’t be arrested. What if one day somebody walked up and told you that you could not sit in your desk. What if they said that you were not a loud to sit in that spot on the bus? What if they said that you were not a loud to have that gun in your possession? Most people would react as if that person was crazy. I believe that most people would react this way because the majority of people assume that they have rights. It would be correct to say that all citizens have rights, but does anyone ever think of what it cost to gain those rights?
In 1776, America (the 13 colonies) declared their independence from Britain. After fighting for years to gain their freedom they finally won the war. In April 1782, the Commons voted to end the war in America. Peace articles were signed in Paris at the end of November 1782. The war was officially ended in 1783 by the signing of both the Treaty of Paris and Treaties of Versailles. Finally on January 14, 1784; the United States Congress of the Confederation ratified the Treat of Paris.
In the presidential election of 1860, the Republican Party, led by Abraham Lincoln, campaigned against the expansion of slavery in states in which it did not already exist. Republican victory led to the secession of seven Southern states and within under a year hostilities between the divided country rose. Not too long after tension escalated and violence ensued as people started fighting. In 1865 the Civil War was officially considered ended. Over the course of the war 620,000 soldiers and an unknown amount of civilians had been killed.
In 1914, World War 1 started and in 1939 World War 2 started. World War 1 resulted in over 20million deaths and World War 2 surpassed that with more than 70million deaths. These two wars together amassed the greatest amount of casualties ever in history.
So again the question is; do we think of what it cost to gain the rights that we have? Does anyone think about how many lives were lost and destroyed because of wars that involved protecting our rights? My guess is that the majority of people have become so used to the idea of them having rights that they don’t think about how privileged they are to have those rights. I think that it’s time that people stop taking everything for granted and learn why they have what they have. I think that people need to realize that there are people out in the world fighting everyday so that people like us can have our rights. I find it sad when people take everything that they have for granted and complain every day about their life. So unaware to what it really took and what it still takes to make sure that our rights are protected. I think that this was best phrased by Thomas Gray’s poem, Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College, where it said and I quote, “Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise”.

Zero Is a Size

Today the media is promoting women of a bigger size. We are starting to become more comfortable with most women being bigger and curvier. Plus-size is popular!
According to http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/homerealestate/package.jsp?name=fte/clothessize/clothessize, the average size for women is 14, the size in which plus-sized clothing begins. This is a good thing because it makes women feel comfortable with their own body, but what about all the assumptions of the women of a smaller size, the assumptions that “zero is not a size” or that women of a smaller size are just anorexic. Well zero is a size. There are many women and girls in our country that are simply small, skinny, or petite, and do not have a disorder. Why do people make these assumptions? Can women not simply stay fit, eat right, and look petite?

These assumptions of women of a small size number being anorexic or bulimic comes from women, specifically models, being too skinny and women that are so self-conscience of their body that they diet to the extreme. These conditions are very dangerous and are the cause of the assumptions and stereotypes of petite women. However, who defends the women that are a size zero and are not anorexic, bulimic, or on an extreme diet? Who defends the women that are just built small and can eat whatever they want and yet not gain weight? These women are still being told by people that they need some curves or some meat on their bones. Women with little curves and hardly any meat on their bones tend to be looked down upon because of this stereotype. Fashion labels have even banned size zero models and models with a body mass index under 18 from their agencies. Yes, the small size of some models is disturbing, but why ban a model for being a size zero? Just because you are a size zero does not mean you are anorexic. You can be a size zero, one, or two and still look healthy. The same goes for women that are a size 14. Just because you wear that size does not mean you are fat.

What matters is not the size number, but being healthy. For women who are naturally small, even finding “fashionable” clothing can be a hassle where stores generally cater the larger sizes. Women who are naturally bigger have a hard time finding clothes of a larger size, as well. Our society tends to place women into two categories: fat or skinny. Where is the normal category or the in between category that many women fall into? In reality, this category exists. Women with a pear shape, hourglass shape, ruler shape, and an athletic shape all exist. People in our society need to rid of the stereotypes of the size of a woman. Women should be comfortable in their own body and they do not need the pressures the media and society puts on women. All women are different and each woman has their own size, even zero.

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Lately, at Aquin, teachers who assign inappropriate literature have become a problem that many would like to change. The majority of students don’t want to be forced to read books that make them uncomfortable, or don’t want to read them in a catholic high school classroom. Although the author has the right to write whatever he feels and the teachers have the right to think some books should be read for the student’s enrichment, I also believe that students should be warned and have their opinions taken into account.
This is an example of a book that the juniors were made to pay for and read in one of their classes at Aquin Catholic high school:
“Balls, when I thought like you, Alvah, I was just as miserable and graspy as you are now. All you want to do is run out there and get laid and get beat up and get screwed up and get old and sick and banged around by samsara, you f****** eternal meat of comeback you you’ll deserve it too, I’ll say”
“That’s not nice. Everybody’s tearful and trying to live with what they got. Your Buddhism has made you mean Ray and makes you even afraid to take your clothes off for a simple healthy orgy.”
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
This book and others like it have been taught in classrooms at our school and both students and their parents are beginning to get sick of being ambushed with disturbing literature that seem to have no educational point. If there is something particular in these works that the teachers want to show, isn’t there an option with better taste?
In America, there is something in the Constitution that Americans are proud of, and that is the freedom of speech. This includes making literature what you would like it to be, even if it is offensive or has no point but to be crude. This right doesn’t cover what we should be taught morally in a school focused on both academic and spiritual teachings. Several teachers tend to take it farther than most student and parents comfort zone.
There are other ways to teach students about a particular thing that forcing them to read something beyond their comfort zone and offensive to their beliefs. It’s sad that teachers at a Catholic school feel they should defend literature they assign when it is as crude or worse as the excerpt above. This isn’t about teaching inappropriate things to students, it’s about teaching inappropriate things to students in a Catholic school.

Ghosts, Real or Hoax?

As one takes a trip to the movies, a popular genre to watch is "horror". This type of movie ranges from slasher flicks, to monster movies, to even psychological thrillers. One of the most popular types though is the "ghost film". This consists of a spirit, either demonic or human in nature, terrorizing the living to the extremes. Where did this idea come from though? Let's try to find out.

The idea of ghosts has been around since ancient times. While there is much speculation on the exact time when these undead spirits first came about, the general idea is that they first were thought of by some of the earliest people - such as cavemen. Most people who think about ghosts imagine a comical figure, to some a "floating bed sheet" with eyes cut for the head.

In the United States alone, ghosts are a very popular idea. When we go to most American-made horror movies, they involve ghosts. Many authors, such as Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft write extensively on ghosts, and become very popular because of it. The common idea of a "campfire story" in our country usually involves either human murderers, but more popularly ghosts. Does this make it real though?

Phasmaphobia is the scientific term for a fear of ghosts. People experiencing this phobia have symptoms of anxiety when watching horror movies or telling stories that feature ghosts. They also can see ghosts in places where most normal people would otherwise not, such as a supermarket or a school. (http://phobias.about.com/od/phobiaslist/a/phasmaphobia.htm). Some people believe that this phobia could relate to a general fear of death, but for many it is just limited to ghosts.

Why then should we, as a collection of "normal" people, believe that something so irrational as ghosts are real? Well, to these "Phasmaphobia" patients, these ghosts are something very real indeed. To them, they exist everywhere. From their beds, to their televisions, these ghosts appear to them as very much existing spectral beings. Is it too farfetched for them to be right though? You have to decide that for yourself.

Besides Phasmaphobia patients, many people see ghosts in other places. Just googling the word "Ghost" can come up with literally hundreds of supposed ghost pictures, ranging from realistic to nearly laughable. These pictures can either be some people's claim to fame, or actual believers trying to spread their message. While some take these pictures as proof of the afterlife, most consider them to be simple hoaxes.

EVP is another thing that many people look to as proof to ghosts. EVP stands for "Electronic Voice Phenomena". It is when general recording equipment supposedly picks up a paranormal voice; a whisper or phrase from "beyond the grave". The supporters of EVP say that it is ghosts that attempt to communicate with us humans from beyond the grave, and can only do so via extremely sensitive radio equipment. Non-believers state that it is simply hoaxes; nothing more than the people trying to fabricate actual proof. Either way, EVP is one of the more popular forms of "ghost proof", gaining popularity in many movies and television shows.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_voice_phenomena)

Thirdly, "ghost sightings" occur everyday around our nation. There is not much to explain here; people either "see ghosts" or think they see them. Unless you experience this phenomena yourself, it's hard to believe these people who say they've seen it. I myself swear I've seen a ghost, but most people shrug of this idea as falsehood.

Do you believe ghosts are real or a hoax? After looking at all the "proof", we must make the logical decision for ourselves. Never in our history has something so greatly affected our horror culture as to take something, perhaps even a myth, and root it so firmly into our minds as the truth. Whether or not these ways to prove the reality of ghosts are hoaxes or not, we know for sure that ghosts are, and will forever be part of our society.

Discipline or Discrimination?

The reality of life is the everything is not always fair. Does this justify the reasons that teachers, parents, and other figures of authority in America are commonly biased towards good children rather than ones that misbehave? Are there real motives or is it just another form of disguised discrimination? There are usually two results of favoritism; it either makes a person or breaks a person. This issue is most common in America, where children have more freedom to speak their mind and to act however they feel.

A common reason that adults say they pick on certain children is because they know that the child can do better and has potential. The adult believes they are trying to ensure a better future for the youngster who has not yet committed to their future. The elder may be applying more attention to someone who may not always want it or appreciate it. This causes the child to reject that person and tune them out because they seem annoying and nagging. It can also trigger the child to have even more negative feelings and further their misbehavior. They will begin to act out more or will feel discriminated against. Those feeling can lead to destroying relationships with authority that are vital for the youngster to have to live a functional life in the work force and personal relationships.

The other viewpoint is that of the children that are well behaved. They may feel obligated to claim superiority over misbehaving peers and cause more pain to the already troubled children. The well behaved kids may also feel ignored when all of the attention is focused on the others. They may feel their accomplishments are being ignored and strive for more attention. They will feed off the idea that acting out gets attention and begin to misbehave like the other children. Their belief is that they will achieve equal attention, even if it is negative.

Children in America are most likely to behave with such rebellion, because the United States provides the most freedom than any other country to its people. Kids are free to do as they wish, with no legal punishment involved unless they break a law. Parents also have restrictions on their punishment to their children, because they can easily be charged with crimes of child abuse.

The real question is the motive behind why the authoritative figure is condoning the child. If they simply dislike the child but make excuses to cover their actions toward that child it is all simply a plot to inflict the misery upon them. This could be an underlying issue for mental and physical child abuse and favoritism throughout the world. It also helps create a strong division between the generations of today which, in turn, will cause families to less often see eye to eye.

The key to fixing a behavior problem is to fully understand the child. It is best to look at their background of mental health, physical health, and learning abilities. Yelling, screaming, hitting, or insulting does not solve anything but creates negative feelings between people. Using patience and understanding is the best policy at first and if more punishment is necessary, so be it. Favoritism should never be shown, even if it is felt. Feelings of favoritism only provide something to use against someone in order to justify that their child is being discriminated against.

There will always be children that behave and misbehave, but perhaps the adults in the world can help reduce the negative feelings between the youth of today and authority. Young people in America need to know that they can trust an adult and confide in them. If they do not have that trust then they will depend on their own knowledge and may lead dysfunctional lives not having proper guidance. If they are treated wrongly because of their misbehavior, they will believe that the world is against them and will continue to worsen their behavior in their struggle. The way that authority in America treats kids today can change the future of our country, for better or for worse.