RANT.

Have you ever met someone who is just stupid? Have you ever talked to someone who just seemed completely clueless about everything? It's frustrating. It never fails to amaze me how some people can be so incredibly dense. I'm not talking about the people who fail classes in high school. Some of those "dumb kids" are actually smart. I'm talking about the people who sit there and stare like an idiot if you say something other than basic small talk such as "How are you?" and "I'm hungry." I'm talking about the girls who never notice anything other than the fact that their makeup is smudged and the girls who never pay attention to the world around them.

It's not that I hate these girls. I'm sure that some of these girls are very nice and do alot of things but I can't stand talking to someone who has an IQ that's lower than the price of their new shoes. I'm talking about the girls who have no sense of reality and sit there and giggle and smile and "I don't get it" instead of actually trying to process a thought.

Are these people born this mentally incompetent? Personally, I don't think so. I believe these girls make themselves dumb by pretending for so long they are brainless and by completely refusing to process anything other than boys and clothes for so long that they fail to comprehend anything else. There are also girls who convince themselves they are stupid because they are to lazy to put in the effort. If these girls had tried to have intelligent conversations once in a while or just read a book they probably would be alot smarter today. Try having a serious, deep conversation with someone. It's stimulating and entertaining.

Although I understand that not everyone is born brilliant some people ignore the brilliance that is there and just let themselves be stupid. Other people are born of average intelligence and instead of working at it they let themselves get less and less intelligent. I admire people who aren't born "smart" and work hard to learn and gain more knowledge. Because people like that exist, the "stupid" people have no excuse to just let the world pass them by while they sit and smile with a grin that luminates a low IQ. Is it really so hard to pay attention and learn something? I am not just talking about learning at school but also about learning in life.

I may not be the smartest person around but at least I can comprehend simple everyday things like commercials on tv or what my friends mean when they talk about their thoughts on life. It is not cute or cool to be stupid. It makes you seem stupid. So to all you dumb girls out there, pick up a book or try to find the deeper meaning in things. Stop not caring if you come across as dense and start actually trying. You might be surprised how smart you are.

All Time Top Three Restaraunts

Criteria: The All Time Top Three Restaraunts are chosen based on taste of the food, quality of service, price, and the variety of the menu. These choices are personal because taste is different for everyone but they are all restaraunts I know other people have liked.

3. Jack's Urban Eats - Sacramento, California
Jack's Urban Eats in Sacramento is a fun, casual place to eat. It's cafeteria style dining is unique and fast. The menu has everything from sandwiches to steaks, from mashed potatoes to cheesy pizza bread. It's relatively inexpensive and is a good place to take a family. The music is usually indie bands playing in the backgroud. The staff at Jack's gets the food to you fast even when it's busy.
2.The Bad Ass Coffee Company - Kihei, Maui
The Bad Ass Coffee Company is a small little coffee shop right by the beach in Kihei. The staff is made up of incredibly funny, nice locals who are always making customers laugh. It's definitly cheap but that doesn't mean bad. It's not the place to go if you want fancy meals but just for some home made pancakes in the morning - it's delicious. The menu isn't huge but it is made up of the classics - sandwiches, waffles, salads and the like. It's simple and fast and a great place to relax, sip your coffee, and watch the waves.
1. Vallejos on 4th - Sacramento, California
Vallejos serves hot authentic Mexican food. It has a huge menu so even if you are picky, you would find something to eat there. The food is reasonably priced. Vallejos is popular among the locals to go and eat delicious food. The staff is always smiling and will help you understand the menu which is mostly in Spanish. During the day, it is rarely crowded so you can get a table and be in and out as fast as you like..or as slow as you like. The food is always served hot and the cooks will make adjustments if you don't like something. At night, Vallejo's fills up (but not to the 45 minute wait point) and is filled with Mexican music, laughter, and occasional dancing. It may be a spot for the locals but outsiders are always welcomed..and sometimes made to eat the spicy salsa.

My Sisters Keeper and Snake

The novel "My Sisters Keeper" by Jodi Picoult and the poem "Snake" by David Herbert Lawrence are closely related. Anna has to choose whether or not she should give a kidney to her sister Kate who is going to die of kindey failure because of her leukemia. Anna doesn't want to kill her sister but giving a kidney is dangerous. She doesn't want to die or put herself at risk.The speaker in the poem knows he should kill the snake at his water trough because if he doesn't it puts him in danger. "Was it cowardice, that I dared not kill him?" This quote from "Snake" reflects how Anna feels about Kate. Kate has told Anna she doesn't want to live in pain and suffering anymore. However, Anna does not want to picture life without Kate. After Anna goes to the lawyer to request medical emmancipation (so she can chose NOT to give a kidney) she starts to feel horrible and confused just as the speaker in "Snake" does when he throws something at the snake. He says "And immediately I regretted it. I thought how paltry, how vulgar, what a mean act! I despised myself and the voices of my accursed human education." They both feel guilty for trying to hurt something even though it is in some ways best for them tha they did. Both of them were putting their own safety first. In the end of the poem, the snake and Kate both live. Even though Anna never is given the option of choosing to give Kate her kidney, it is implied that she would have. She knew that it was morally right to save her sister that she loved. The speaker in "Snake" felt it would be morally wrong to kill the snake who just wanted water. The poem and the novel are related because both the speaker and Anna have tough moral decisions to make.




http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/1252.html

Memoirs of a Geisha

The women in Memoirs of a Geisha are treated very unfairly. Satsu is forced to become a prostitute. Chiyo/Sayuri is sent to a Okiya to become a Geisha. She has no rights. She is beaten if she doesn't obey. Chiyo/Sayuri never gets a choice on how she wants to live.

The geishas don't marry; they rely on men to support them because the only way they can live is if they entertain. They must sell their virginity. They don't even know what it means - they consider it a task that they HAVE to do in order to be succeful. The purpose of their entire life is to make men happy by being witty, charming, and beautiful.

I'm glad that the place and time I live in give women equal rights. We make our own paths and no one can force us to do anything unless we let them. Women can decide how they want to live their life. No one beats them everytime they make a mistake. They control themselves.

Some women have their rights taken away by fathers, family members, or even strangers. It is wrong and today, if the woman has the courage to speak out, the person who is taking away her basic rights (such as the right to choose how to live your life, when to lose your virginity, or the right to not get beat) will get punished by law.

In our society you can only have your rights taken away if you let them be. It's great to know that I can be treated as an equal to a man unlike in Japan during the era of the novel where women had no rights.

R Family Vacations: Cruise the Mexican Riviera - My Review

"R" Family Vacations cruises are crazy, activity filled, and fun..just don't expect much relaxtion. The "R" Family team put together activities for absolutely everyone from babies to seniors, gay people and straight people, singles and couples. They made sure there was always something going on.

The youth programs were offered to kids aged 3-17 and included activities such as teen only dance parties and scavenger hunts. There was never a moment where I could find nothing to do. For adults there is cocktail parties and meetings for absolutely every group of people. It's probably the most fun I've ever had on a vacation.

Kelly O'Donnel and Greg Kaminski put in lots of work to make sure everyone would be entertained - and everyone was. Shows put on by Broadway stars, comedians, and people like Cyndi Lauper every evening passed time and had everyone laughing. The only problem with these shows was how hard it was to get a seat in the packed theatre! There were all kinds of reality tv stars there to meet. Kynt and Vyksin from "The Amazing Race" even hosted an "Rmazing Race." It was challenging but not too hard so even the kids could take part.

When there wasn't shows going on and the adults weren't busy at meetings they could pick up their kids from the kids club and take them down to deck parties. There was themed deck parties almost everynight - 70's Night, Superhero Party, Hometown Hoedowns, Fiestas. The music was fantastic and everyone had a blast eating the delicious food and hanging out with other families. I, as one of the teens, had the option of going to adult activities or hanging out at "The Loft" which was a club just for teens. We could come and go as we pleased and our teen leader was really fun and helped us all organize costumes for the parties.

When we weren't at sea, we were in ports and once again the "R" Family team ensured everyone had a blast by giving us a full list of things going on in the different cities. There were shops in Cabo San Lucas and beaches in Mazatlan. There was something for everyone with outings ranging from kayaking to bus tours.

The only problem was, it got really tiring. With all the activities, I could never find a moment to sit around and rest. The dance club and bar was open till around 3 am and activities (like yoga) started as early as 7! When you're neighbour or other family members wake up that early - you do too in those little rooms. Half the time it was hard to myself because I was thinking.."when is there a break that I can nap without missing something?"

All in all, it was an awesome vacation and I would definitly recomend going on a "R" Family Vacation to someone. If you are looking for an action packed cruise with a group of incredibly accepting people - try "R" Family. Remember though, sleep alot in advance and bring ALOT of money for Red Bull.

The Perils of Indifference

1. The dangers of not caring.

2. The story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson has a shocking ending where normal people commit a horrific violence. This happens in everyday life in a small way. Nice looking people can say incredibly rude remarks. A normal looking family can be full of abuse and you would never guess. Robert Pickton came off as a normal but he killed tons of women. However, the people in the story were normal - it was just a tradition. Things aren't always as they appear because the townspeople weren't bad people. Young men fighting for Hitler in WW2 weren't necessarily bad people, they were told what they were doing was right so who can judge them? They could have been great people but people think of them as evil for doing what they were told. Good people can do bad things without even noticing they are. People always think the side they are fighting for is right and they fail to see the effects of what they do.

3. The speech "The Perils of Indifference" and the story "The Lottery" have a lot in common. Elie who gave the speech is warning not to be indifferent to violence and evil where the towns people are indifferent - they stone a friend to death. The lottery has good people doing something horrible as Elie warns us not to do. Elie doesn't want there to be more unnecessary violence and killing where the village people think giving up the lottery would be outrageous without realizing how horrific it is. They stone these people to death without caring or stopping to think about it. They were completely indifferent; they didn't even question it. On the other hand, Elie is warning that indifference, lack of caring, is an atrocity.

Issues.

Once a person becomes aware of an issue in society they may become morally responsible for dealing with it. It depends on the issue. People have their own stresses and hurt to deal with but that doesn't mean that they should be self centered and focus only on them. If you see someone hurting, you should help them if you can.

People shouldn't feel pressured to help people though. If they want too, good for them. If they don't help other people deal with the problems they are going through, people shouldn't judge their decisions. It's not immoral to ignore situations if you are going through much worse and can't help anyways. I'm talking about personal problems here, just because you see someone in pain doesn't mean you should drop everything and run to help. That is a personal decision.

Somethings should be dealt with though. The slaughter houses kill animals inhumanely and hundreds of people die every year in them. In that kind of situation, the public should step up and take responsibility. These people are just like us and being killed so big companies can make us some burgers. Things like this are the responsibility of the community and it is the right thing to do something about it.

How people respond to issues depends on their own beliefs and values. Some people believe they should help everyone no matter what it will do to them and some people believe in survival of the fittest. It's all about who you are as a person.

I might pursue an issue a teacher brought up if I feel it's important. The most important issues to me personally is issues involving unnecessary human death or cruelty to animals. Those are issues I think should be dealt with and I would stick up for them.

True Beauty is flawed.

Even the most beautiful of people have flaws. No one is perfect and this what makes everyone special. I can't think of a single person who is completely perfect. Everyone has problems that make them unique and different. Think about it. Even the most beautiful of people is not perfect.

If a person was to be perfect with no imperfections inside or outside, she would be boring. She would be absolutely dull to be around. She would be nothing but a pretty face - a flat character. There would never be any problems and the "perfect" life would get very boring. There would never be any reason to use your mind because nothing is wrong. If people could be truly perfect they would stop growing as a person and then simply being alive would be a waste of time.

The perfectly beautiful person would be unattainable. It would be lonely because no one would ever bother to try except egotistical jerks. Being around that person would make people constantly feel not quite good enough. It would make people feel completely inadequate so even though the person was perfect and kind and beautiful no one would want to be around her because she would make them feel bad about themselves.

The fact that the person would be lonely and not growing as a person would make them flawed, therefore there is no perfection. People who try to be perfect too hard tend to make fools of themselves. They will try so hard they lose themselves. The need to be perfect looking has ruined so many good people. Trying to better one's self is normal but striving for perfection will only make them unhappy therefore imperfect. These people should just learn to love themselves and then their true beauty will shine through giving off a happier, livelier more perfect appearance.
unattainable
celebrities - pretending wanting to be screws them up

Blogging in English 12..

When we blog we should be given multiple choices. There should be at least 2 options to choose from so that there is something everyone is interested in. A good topic would be to write about your favorite song: why you like it, how you first hear it and your favorite lyrics from it. Everyone likes music but it also gives you alot of options to be creative.

Every once in a while we should be given the opportunity to blog about anything as long as it is appropriate. It will be easier to express ourselves if we get to choose what we write about and it would show a little bit more about who we are and our personalities. We could write about sports, tv, websites, friends or anything that holds our interests.

Our blogs should be a way to tell a little bit about ourselves while writing interesting blogs. The questions and topics should be open ended so there is more room for creativity. It will make us think harder about what to write about.

The blogs should get an overall mark at the end of each term. That way, you have the whole term to improve. The blog should be one project not just a place to put little projects that are each gettting marked. If the blogs are marked at the end it takes away a little bit of the pressure you would get if every single blog you wrote got marked.

Super Powers.

If I could have any super power it would be invisibility. Seriously, it would be so useful. Sometimes I just want to disappear and with the power of inivisibility it would be easy. I could sneak around without getting caught which would be very useful if I felt like skipping or sneaking out. What happens when I do something incredibly embarassing? I could just make myself invisible and get out of there. In fact, I could get out of alot of sticky situations by just "disappearing." There are times when I just want to be alone with no one to bother me. I just want the world to forget me while I try to forget the world. If I could make myself invisible, no one would be able to find me while I wandered alone. I could do whatever I pleased and no one could stop me because they couldn't see me. I could walk around naked and have no one be able to see me. I wouldn't want to but if I did want to, I could.

The uses wouldn't just be selfish. I could, theoretically, sneak into the lairs of theifs and murderers and hear all there evil plans and then spoil them. I could throw things at bullies so the poor kids they are scaring could try and run away.

I would have to be careful though. Being invisible would be a big responsibility. I would have to make sure I never used my super power for wrong. I'm only human so eventually evil thoughts would start running through my head. I could use my power to steal, to listen in on private conversations, and to watch things I shouldn't be watching. Invisibility would be really helpful and fun but it that wouldn't mean it wasn't hard sometimes.