Something Interesting

I was just off from an exhausting day, spent 5 hours doing my project with my group in one of their house. I usually walk home, but at the time all I wanted was my bed, inside my warm, cozy home. So, I decided to call home to get a ride. I went by the school to wait.

I waited, and waited. It was 6:35 P.M. It was dark and cold, and every minute made me miss my home even more. I looked at the time again - 6:50. I was starting to get irritated. I was cold, hungry and alone. At that moment, I felt helpless. I felt as if no one was coming for me, as if I was lost.

I could see many cars zooming past me, leaving me with the feeling that they were ignoring me, as if my existence does not even matter, but luckily, my ride did come. I was relieved. "Let's buy some pizza!" I said.  It made me forget all the thoughts I was having. We went to Little Caesars. Right away, something caught my attention and it was not the pizza.

It was a couple of homeless people asking for some change in front of the fast food establishment. I saw a few people shaking their hands in rejection, but many just looked straight ahead and ignored them. My brother was one of them, passed them as if they weren't even there. Witnessing what just happened gave me a great deal of empathy towards them. Not only that I experienced the same situation they were in, just a few minutes ago, I also knew how they felt. They were cold, hungry, and lost.

Both of the homeless people finally gave up. I was heartbroken. They knew they wouldn't even get a response. Being ignored was worse than getting rejected. At least rejection gives you the sense of being rejected but being ignored, it just leaves you with an empty feeling, it is like you do not even exist.

As the homeless woman finally moved out of the way, a kid approached her and handed her a dollar and some change. Her eyes immediately widened, shocked with the kindness the kid had to offer. Moments later, a different person stepped in. The lady had four cans in her arms. She greeted the woman with kindness, offering the cans. The woman was stunned with all the sudden generosity. All she was able to do was give out endless amount of gratefulness to them with new hopes in her eyes.

Seeing all the humane acts, almost brought me to tears. It was relieving to know that there are still people out there with good hearts. After all of this, I decided to look for something that would help me on how to respond to homeless people that I might encounter in the future. They're are many reasons why we might ignore them, but we never stopped and consider how they would feel.

Immigrants in Our Homeland

Immigrants in Our Homeland by Jimmy Santiago Baca, in this, he describes his own experience in prison. Going to this "new land" shattered many futures of the immigrants coming there, as well as their hopes and dreams, with only a few coming out with desire of turning their life around, like how they once hoped for when they first arrived to this undesired place. At the age of 21, Baca was convicted on charges of drug possession. Having to serve 6 years in prison, his eyes were opened and decided to change for the better. During this 6 years, he enduringly taught himself on how to read and write, spending the hard years of trying to learn while sparking his never-before enthusiasm for education. This eventually led him to writing poetry, giving it to his fellow cellmates, which often in return of cigarettes, helping him and the others get through the hard times. All and all, this poem was trying to convey that anyone can change, it is the matter of the will. During all of the years he spent in prison, he stayed strong even in desperate times where many men would have been left broken. He rose from the dirt he once was buried, proving that he can change and that anyone can change.

Emerson's Child

Last week's presidential election was a phenomenal for many of us. It sparked endless reactions, some with grief, some with disbelief. Despite that I believe Emerson would approve it. He's a man who believes in people like Trump. He believes that people should not be afraid of speaking their mind, regardless of how rude it might come out. But this very reason might be the why so many dislike Trump.

Some might think of Trump to be a child. But to Emerson eyes, children, that are not affected by any outside influence, are geniuses. "Do not think the youth has no force, because he cannot speak to you and me. Hark! In the next room his voice is sufficiently clear and emphatic. It seems he knows how to speak to his contemporaries," If Emerson got to have his ways he would probably want everyone to be more like Donald Trump, like self-reliant individuals. He would have wanted for our education to be just this, teaching of how to express our opinion freely. "What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think."

Some of Emerson's teachings are "be yourself," and "trust yourself," Emerson wants people to act the way they are, not because society demands, because that is what you are. He wants you to be yourself whether people are watching or not, the same when your at home and when out in public. Basically, Emerson does not want your choices of acts to be affected by what others consider "acceptable." It is about what you want, not theirs. Following someone's guideline to which is right and wrong limits our potential. That is why Emerson believe we should let our mind loose and forget those who are outside.Let a man then know his worth, and keep things under his feet. "Let him not peep or steal, or skulk up and down with the air of a charity-boy, a bastard, or an interloper, in the world which exists for him."

Emerson for the Young Buck

"Self-Reliance" by Emerson is basically a lecture for us youngsters to be ourselves. He is telling us to ignore other people's thoughts and be who you truly want to be. Speak up when you have something to say, whether it will cause someone to be uncomportable or cause conflicts. He believes that people like these are geniuses because they don't let others hold them back. When you have something to say, they say it without any hesitation and concern. They aren't afraid. They aren't afraid to be wrong, judged, hated. All they care is to deliver what they have in mind. And by doing this, they had become so far ahead from us, they become so much productive, compare to us who still have the thoughts of what others think of us, preventing from unleashing our truest potential.

My American Voice

When do you speak up?
When someone is getting bullied, will you just walk away and hope someone will say something? When there is an on-going problem, do you just wait for it to fix itself? When there is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity passing by, will you just quietly let it pass?

Many believe that they have no voice or afraid to let out their voice out.
But the thing is: they shouldn't. Our words mean something, they have power. They have the potential to change people, give opportunities, make friends, help people, hurt people. They have the potential to influence millions of listeners, impacting their minds, the way they think, the way they live. And yes. Speaking is a choice but speaking is also a freedom. Having no voice is the same as being confined in a cell. Don't let anyone take it away from you.

All in all, more people need to speak up. Many individual don't realize how many opportunities they miss out by not saying anything. When you have something to say, say it. We all have the right to speak our minds, whether how much absurd or silly it is.

Just be careful on how you use your power. They're stronger than you think.

Vocabulary #6 Internet Terms

meme - a humorous image, video, piece of text, etc. that is copied (often with slight variations) and spread rapidly by Internet users
"My friend took a video of me crying and turned it into a meme."

virus - a piece of code that is capable of copying itself and typically has a detrimental effect, such as corrupting the system or destroying data.
"A teacher recommended me to download this program and now I have a virus."

viral - relating to or involving an image, video, piece of information, etc., that is circulated rapidly and widely from one Internet user to another.
"I wanted to do a viral video but I'm too embarrassed."

blog -

a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style.

"My mom just learned what a blog is and now she has one."

wiki - a website that allows collaborative editing of its content and structure by its users.
"Making a wiki is a nice way for you and other people to share knowledge."

URL - he generic term for all types of names and addresses that refer to objects on the World Wide Web
"I forgot the URL address of the website so you have to manually look for it."

website - a location connected to the Internet that maintains one or more pages on the World Wide Web.
"This website is really helpful especially to young naïve boys."

www - The World Wide Web (WWW) is a network of online content that is formatted in HTML and accessed via HTTP. The term refers to all the interlinked HTML pages that can be accessed over the Internet.
"WWW is what websites usually start with."

Internet - The global communication network that allows almost all computers worldwide to connect and exchange information.
"It is amusing, how people believe everything they read off the internet."

2.0 - used to denote a superior or more advanced version of an original concept, product, service, etc.
"They have a friend that looks just like me but better in everyway so they started calling him Eldrin 2.0"

open source - denoting software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified
"I took that information from an open source website."

Today I'm a Good Human Being!

Today, I'm a good human being because I washed the dishes this morning. It may not be much but to me, doing these kind of actions are important. Throwing away your trash in the trash can and having good recycling habit are honorary deeds. We may not be able to donate million of dollars to charity, or risk our lives in protecting our country, but simple task like saying thank you or holding the door for strangers are equivalent to those actions. These usually go by unnoticed, but to us, these what make us humans and also in hopes of influencing the future generation.

A HUG is Nearly a GUN Backwards

Let's say that your country was against your friend. Which side would you choose? Would you go defend your friend, betraying your loyalty to the country that you devoted yourself to, or would you let yourself be consumed with patriotism, breaking the trust that you and your friend once took years to build. E.M. Foster argued that personal relations are more important than causes of patriotism and I agree. Turning your back on a friend and siding with a bunch of strangers seemed absurd but considering that patriotic people would do just about anything for their country, they might actually do. Some people might ask to why would someone betray their homeland because of some "friends." Because, unlike patriotism, we make friends with people that we have shared interests with, people whom makes us feel happy and people that we generally like. The difference is with partriotism is that we don't choose what country to be patriotic about. It's usually the country you were born in or the country that you were the most associated with. In a way, it's already predetermined. The pride just came around because of how good it feels to be part of something, binding people together as one  nation. However, regardless of how patriotic one can be, they could never know even 1 percent of the people in their country. So when you devote yourself to your country, you devote yourself to strangers. But what if you move to a different country, what happens to your sense of patriotism. Over the years that sense of pride for that country diminishes and your patriotism start to form to another. The thing is, it's really easy to change your pride to another country and your sense of patriotism can easily come back if you were to move back. Granted that nationalism created people who would protect their people and country and would sacrifice themselves for the sake of  their people and also unifying our nation. A bit of country pride won't hurt, but personal relations are more important. With friends, you don't need a country to bind them together. Friends are always there for you, they'll help you when your in need. With patriotism, you can't really trust strangers to do that for you. Patriotism might help our country be unifid nation, but sacrificing friendship over some land that you were born in will later haunt you with full of regrets.

Big Question's Discipline

My Big Question: What caused the Big Bang?

In order for this question to be answered, a great understanding of the cosmos is essential. Astronomers, physicists and cosmologists have greater understanding of our cosmos, knowing from black holes to the Big Bang. With their knowledge, we may uncover the secrets of the universe and finally know what started the Big Bang, leading to what we now call life.

Vocabulary #4

Adroit: Skillful and adept under pressing conditions
"An adroit chef works in five stars restaurants."

Amicable: characterized by or exhibiting friendliness or goodwill; friendly
"An amicable person can gained someone's trust easily."

 Averse: Having a feeling of opposition, distaste, or aversion; strongly disinclined
"Being friends with your friend's enemies can create an aversion in your relationships."

Belligerent: hostile or aggressive
"Mama bears will become belligerent when they see humans near their cubs."

Benevolent: characterized by or suggestive of doing good
"The man gave a benevolent smile to a scared kid."

Cursory: performed with haste and scant attention to detail
"When time is running out people tend to become cursory."

Duplicity: deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech
"Then man in a hood had a sense of duplicity."

Extol: to praise highly; exalt
"Parents extol their kids frequently."

Feasible: capable of being accomplished or brought about; possible
"Memorizing people's names is a feasible job."

Grimace: a sharp contortion of the face expressive of pain, contempt, or disgust
 "Right when she saw her ex, she had a grimace look."

Holocaust: great destruction resulting in the extensive loss of life, especially by fire
"The Holocaust was an attempt to kill off all the Jewish."

Impervious: incapable of being affected
"Everyone else cried in the movie theater but the impervious man."

Impetus: an impelling force; an impulse
"There was an impetus after realizing he was late."

Jeopardy: danger of loss, harm, or failure.
"People put their lives in jeopardy for the sake of entertainment."

Meticulous: extremely careful or precise
"The young man drove meticulous, knowing that he is still an amateur."

Nostalgia: a bittersweet longing for things, persons, or situations of the past
"Seeing old friends gives nostalgic memories."

Quintessence: the pure highly concentrated essence of a thing
"Babies are the quintessence of purity; if only we could preserve that sweetness for a lifetime."

Retrogress: to return to an earlier, inferior, or less complex condition
"Sometimes I wish I could retrogress back to junior high."

Scrutinize: to examine or observe with great care; inspect critically
"Do not sign your name on any document you have not had time to scrutinize!"

Tepid: moderately warm' lukewarm
"I like my coffee tepidly."

Vocabulary #3

Catharsis: The process of releasing strong or repressed emotions
"Some people find catharsis by indulging themselves in music."

Taboo: something forbidden in religious or popular culture
"Singing while eating is a taboo."

Sordid: Filthy or dirty; foul
"Men with bad manners are considered sordid people."

Swindle: To cheat or defraud of money or property
"Some people gain profit by swindling their victims."

Frivolous: silly, unnecessary
"The use of bad words can be frivolous."

Inadvertently: unintentionally, because of an oversight
"A blind man inadvertently stepped on a gum."

Incendiary: causing or capable of causing fire
"Thrown lit cigarettes are very much incendiary and can cause forest fire."

Jargon: unintelligible or meaningless talk or writing; gibberish
"When nervous you become jargon, making you look stupid."

Colloquialism: colloquial(relating to conversation; conversational)  style or quality
"Colloquial conversation are common between friends."

Archaism: past form of speech; old writing style
"Archaic words were used in old poems like Shakespeare's."

Cudgel: a short, heavy stick; a club
"A cudgel can knock someone unconscious."

Egregious: conspicuously bad or offensive
"Failing a test after a long night of studying can be egregious."

Anesthetize: to induce anesthesia in
"The dentist will put anesthesia on the patient before taking out the wisdom tooth."

Euphonious: pleasing or agreeable to the ear
"Many people agree that whale noises are euphonious."

Scrupulous: conscientious and exact; painstaking
"I paid scrupulous attention to what my mom said."

Perverted: to cause to turn away from what is right, proper, or good; corrupt
"The sudden urge of sadism came upon him."

Superfluous: being beyond what is required or sufficient
"Overachievers are superfluous in everything."

Saxon: a member of a West Germanic tribal group that inhabited northern Germany and invaded Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries A.D. with the Angles and Jutes
"There are people in the world who have Saxon blood in them."

Slovenly: messy, unkempt; sloppy
"My roommate is a slovenly person."

Provocation: anything that causes a response
"An offensive comment can easily cause a provocation."

Big Brother's First Impression

Have you ever read a text with fancy and sophisticated writing with beautiful choice of diction and well structured syntax and yet after reading it, you're left with a single thought, What in the world did I just read? Well, you're not alone. It may not even be your own fault. Some writers write without the consideration of their reader's consent. When they write, they might understand what they are trying to convey but there's two parties involved: the author and the reader. These "bad" writings are usually caused by mishap of selfishness. So when there is writing involved, always think about what you are trying to dictate, then think about how the readers will apprehend it. Too many big words, badly arranged sentences, too many negative forms, will confuse the readers. If the author cannot express their idea then they are bad writers, but if the author can share a beautiful mural and alluring words to one's mind without overcomplicating things, then that's good writing. In George Orwell's "Politics & The English Language" he mentions all the faults that one makes, preventing them from becoming good writers, such as meaningless words and pretentious diction which what people usually fall victims for. And sometimes, it's better to use simple words.

Literature Analysis Questions # 1

The Warrior Heir by Cindy Williams Chima

1. Jack Swift was born a wizard with parents who were also wizards. But Jack was born without a crystal which usually meant death. However, his aunt, Linda, asked Dr. Longbranch help, which she inclined to do so, saving his life. But all of this came with a cost. Dr. Longbranch embedded a warrior stone instead of a crystal, in an attempt to recruit warriors for the White Rose and for him to enter the game. Dr. Longbranch decided to leave Jack until he is old enough to compete in the game, leaving a pack of Weirsbane for jack to take every single day to contain any trace of powers of his and to conceal his identity. This helped Jack grow up in a seemingly normal life until he forgets to take his "medicine" but instead of being distressed of failing to consume Weirsbane, which supposedly needed for his heart, he felt better than ever and wondered if he needed it at all. But without it he drew attention and attracted others that endangered his and his loved-ones lives. He soon learned that he is much more than an ordinary teenager and learned his family's complicity. With the guidance of his aunt and his two friends, Will and Fitch, he trained for the preparation of the game. Which eventually ending him face to face against Ellen Stephenson, the very girl he has feelings for.

2. The theme in this story is if you work hard for what you believe in it will always come true. Its shows that twice in this story. The first example is when Jack is training for the tournament. He trained so hard everyday that he knew every trick there was in the book for swordplay. Another example in this story is when they are at the tournament. Jack does not give up and proves his point that he will not fight Ellen. He never did attack her, he even summoned flowers for her when she was about to strike. Which made her stop fighting Jack and helped him go against the judges. This theme helped propel the story a lot. If Jack did not train hard enough he would not be able to protect himself and block her strikes and he would've been killed. If he did not give up on not trying to kill Ellen it would have been a bloody battle leaving one of them dead.

3. Based on the author's overall tone, I bet Chima wakes up early, determined, eating eggs and bacon with a couple of fruits for breakfast with her mind wondering and daydreaming about herself in an epic adventure, which pumps her up for a good exercise, going out for a quick jog around her neighborhood and saying hi to her neighbors and greeting everyone who she comes across with. Then coming back home with a book ready to read.

Satire Project

Oh, what a wonderful world!

 

 

A beautiful world indeed.

Vocabulary #2 - Definitions and Sentences

intercede - intervene on behalf of another
"Two kids got into a fight but an adult came in to intercede."

 hackneyed - lacking significance through having been overused; unoriginal and trite
"The joke was hackneyed that it lost its humor."

approbation - approval or praise
"The girl's singing was full of approbation from her parents."

 innuendo - an allusive or oblique remark or hint
"A man shot an innuendo, insulting the boy."

 coalition - an alliance for combined action, especially a temporary alliance
"Jim and Jeremy started a coalition after learning that both had the same goal."

 elicit - evoke or draw out (a response, answer, or fact) from someone in reaction to one's own actions or questions
"After with no response, the teacher tried to elicit the students to speak out their mind"

 hiatus - a pause or gap in a sequence, series, or process
"Because of low budget, the show went into a hiatus."

 assuage - make an unpleasant feeling less intense
 "He assuaged the situation by leaving the scene."

 decadence - moral or cultural decline as characterized by excessive indulgence in pleasure or luxury
"His gold bathtub is nothing but just sheer decadence."

 expostulate - express strong disapproval or disagreement
"After hearing his plan, he made sure to expostulate to his plan."

 simulate - imitate the appearance or character of
"Artificial sugar simulates real sugar without sugar's properties."

 jaded - tired, bored, or lacking enthusiasm, typically after having had too much of something
"After watching the movie five times, it became jaded."

 umbrage - offense or annoyance
"He took umbrage at the comment."

 prerogative - a right or privilege exclusive to a particular individual or class

"As being part of the club, a member is prerogative to be able to have fun."

 

lurid - very vivid in color, especially so as to create an unpleasantly harsh or unnatural effect.
"The video was very lurid that it gave its viewers seizers."

 transcend - be or go beyond the range or limits of
"Meditation allows one to transcends to one's mind."

 provincial - of or concerning a province of a country or empire
"A man is very provincial."

 petulant - childishly sulky or bad-tempered
"An undisciplined child could be petulant."

 unctuous - excessively or ingratiatingly flattering; oily
"He seemed anxious to please but not in an unctuous way"

 meritorious - deserving reward or praise
"A meritorious idea could make one famous."

 

Vocabulary # 1

theme - the man idea or subject
tone - the attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc.
mood - the sate of feeling
diction - The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.
syntax - an arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language
syllogism - A deductive scheme of a formal argument consisting of a major and a minor premise and a conclusion

stupid - lacking intelligence or common sense
adumbrate - report or represent in outline
apotheosis - the highest point in the development of something; culmination or climax
ascetic - the practice of severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence
bauble - a small, showy trinket or decoration
beguile - charm or enchant, sometimes in a deceptive way
burgeon - begin to grow or increase rapidly; flourish
complement - a thing that completes or brings to perfection
contumacious - stubborn or willfully disobedient to authority
curmudgeon - a bad-tempered or surly person
didactic - intended to teach
disingenuous - pretending that one knows less about something than one really does
exculpate - show or declare that someone is not guilty of wrongdoing
faux pas - an embarrassing or tactless act or remark in a social situation
fulminate - express vehement protest
fustian - pompous or pretentious speech or writing
hauteur - disdainful pride
inhibit - hinder, restrain, or prevent
jeremiad - a long, mournful complaint or lamentation; a list of woes
opportunist - a person who exploits circumstances to gain immediate advantage 
unconscionable - not right or reasonable

A Hacker's Perspective

In an era where technology rapidly advances, opportunities rose like never before, giving birth to a new generation. These people seek knowledge, people that want to explore for satisfaction. Curiosity envelopes this unique individuals' mind with the inner feeling that they want more. This people solve this never-ending hunger by getting jobs that are mentally challenging but, with some people being a bit more creative. Those few choose to become hackers. They use computers as a tool to "hack" confidential information and more difficult-to-reach data. And this is what the essay "The Conscience of a Hacker," by +++The Mentor+++, is about. The essay starts with the hacker's background, mentioning our education system being shallow, with a process of repeating the same teachings, boring those students who are ahead. The author also states that he and his fellow hackers are all alike, curious. He tries to justify his actions by stating that they want to use the current technologies to its fullest potential, to explore and learn, making them who what they are.

I Can Read Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss

Ugh! Excuse all the mistakes I made. I started off with a good start but then later on the video I started falling apart. Kind of frustrating but I hope this is good enough.

A Modest or Silly Proposal?

"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift was a proposal that offers a solution to take care of all the problematic and starving children in Ireland while being beneficial to parents. His solution was to eat them. He went on about how this could solve all parents' trouble and how they could even sell them to markets to be eaten. But despite all of Swift's reasoning on about eating children, his true message is different. It is about the malnourished children that aren't getting the attention they need. It is a perfect satire because he raised the matter of the excessive amount of Irish children by calmly suggesting a ridiculous idea that had a bit of an amusing effect. By using this tactic, people would consider the rising problem of children starvation, rather than just ignoring it.

My Big Question

My question is about the very existence of this universe. Everyone knows about the Big Bang theory. But what caused the big ka-boom? What triggered it? Did the Big Bang even occur? I want to know the very reason that is responsible for all the stars and galaxies and for us all to even be here. To make it simple, if the Big Bang Theory is true, what caused the Big Bang?

Update: Here are some sites relating to my big question

http://www.space.com/31192-what-triggered-the-big-bang.html

http://www.universetoday.com/116835/what-came-before-the-big-bang/

EVERYTHING'S AWESOME!

In this video, Louis CK used satire in a form of humor to show foolishness in people without really offending anyone. He used it in a way for others to be able to relate, not realizing it was actually being aimed at them. But by doing so, it made others see the world in a whole new perspective. It made others take a moment and realize how amazing things are, around us.. High-tech computers, high-speed transportation; we really have it all! Yet no one really appreciates our delicacies. It is really amazing on how everything is convenient for us nowadays but no one really pays mind to it. This video really made us appreciate our world more.

The Laughing Heart Recital

It actually took me quite a while to recite the poem completely without messing up. I was going to redo it, but when I checked the time it was already 11 pm! Oh well. Sorry about the long pause during the video.

Satire

This is an example of a satire because is ridiculous how government can just take our hard-earned money.



 This is another example of a satire because it is silly how some people can be jailed for being right.                                        

This is a satire because this shows that some people have wrong morals.

 

The Right to Your Own Opinion

We humans hate to admit we are wrong, especially when we it comes to our opinions. Some say that there is no right or wrong opinions. But when misconception influence ones' opinion, I would say otherwise. I believe there are no right opinions but there are wrong ones. When someone say that an actor was bad at acting because he acted awkwardly, but in reality the actor was suppose to act awkwardly, I would say that opinion is wrong, because those type of opinions are ignorant. They don't know all the factors. I believe one cannot proclaim an opinion until everything is acknowledged, because by doing so, you would be aware of what your expectation should be. Let's go back to my example again. If you knew that the actor was suppose to act awkwardly, you cannot say that the acting was bad if you thought the actor was "awkward" because then the actor had succeeded on making you think he was what you thought. If all of this was taken in consideration then the quote "the right to your own opinion" should only apply to those who actually took the time to know all the details before making an opinion. Well, that's just my two cents.

The Laughing Heart

"The Laughing Heart" by Charles Bukowski. When I first read the title, I thought that the poem was going to be about happiness in oneself. It was only after I read the poem that I realize its true meaning. When our heartbeat race it mimics the way we laugh, quick and with rhythm, with that in mind, the title could be a metaphor for a racing heartbeat. The poem itself was inspiring and motivational. It advises to live a little "dangerously," and when an opportunity arise take it. The poem tries to encourage everyone that if there was even the slightest chance that you can succeed, you should take it, because in the end, we only regret the chances we didn't take.

Welcome

Hey there! Welcome to my blog. Here, I will talk about things that you would usually not hear me say. That include thoughts, opinions, responses and more.