America

So we say US is a free country. I have much theory to dispute that but I am too lazy to. I only want to get this post over with. So lets go with the easier side. Equality? Sure, why not? Equal only in the sense of voting and some stupid political tricks. Nothing is fair in this world. The very difference that happen in the very second of your arrival to this world is dramatic. Rich or  Poor? Smart or Stupid(bump your head~~~)? Dandy or Ugly? This is all drastically affecting your life later. Many people say rich people are those that happen to born rich. I object that wholeheartedly. I do believe in the unfairness of the world. However, I believe differently. In fact, I believe in something that is the exact opposite. I believe poor people holds more prosperity than those prestigious people but less chance. There is a chinese saying, wealth do not pass through 3 generations. The first generation fight for it. The second experienced the poverty so he will stick to a more frugal lifestyle. However, 3rd generation, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, will not know the value of money. Therefore, I say the richest of the richest should be from 1st or 2nd generation. 3rd generation, if by any luck,  can be rich but not AS rich.

Harsh words

Harsh words, are those that provoke people. If you are the "feel for yourself" type, go to a random guy (like a scary muscular man preferably) and shout all the bad words you know at him. Those common bad words are made to offend random people and shout at people when you don't have anything to argue. If, you are in a argument with somebody, it is the smartest to offend and provoke people without using the cliche words. For example, you go up to Beyonce and say....you are fat or meet up with Lady Gaga and say you sang horribly (i didn't mean any of these~~).  That is about their actual method of money that they live on. You can also say, Rihanna, too bad you broke up with Chris Brown or something like that. That is hitting the emotional (painful romance) side. However, there are some tricks in offending people. There is no problem if you walk up to a math freak (ex. Ben Lee~~~) and say you are stupid or you suck at math if you are like a pro mathematician. However, if you are some random normal kid, let me stress this again, NORMAL kid, don't try to offend those freaks. That only makes you look stupid and will only backfire on you. Another cool trick is that most girls are sensitive to fatness, ugliness, and intelligence. A cool way to combine all of them is calling them a pot. Fat,  Ugly, and Empty>>> HAHAHAHAHA

Mockingbird So Far

So far, we know that To Kill a Mockingbird is written by Harper Lee. The story is in a narrative form of memoir of a critical event of the female protagonist - Scout. The story is so far about how her school life goes. From the current section, we know that her dad, Atticus Finch is a wise man. He made many comments that seem deep and true. We also get a hint that the family holds less prejudice against blacks as they have a black cook named Calpurnia. Scout and her brother Jem met this guy called Dill, and they are messing with Boo Radley, a freak in the community. Boo Radley is rather a mysterious character so far, but he seems harmless when Jem's pants were mended. He is a recluse from what we know, living only on Radley place. Other than that, we get an idea about the peaceful (at least for now) atmosphere in southern small communities. The worry-free states of the people there is pretty awesome. Some of them holds high morals. "“Remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.” “Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

Response to the Black Veil

"The first reaction at the congregation earlier today was " HOLY ...SH*T". Everyone was so shocked when this usually funny guy came out with a black veil over his face with all that seriousness. The "was noisy" meeting suddenly became all silent, one can even hear a headpin falling on to the ground. That dead silence broke when Mr. Hooper start to talk about his long intimating speech and cause everyone to gasp in horror. The feeling of secrets are being revealed is creepy. He really didn't use any scary or violent words but the feeling is there. It is just there!!! After I think about it over again, I feel that I am just overreacting...there is no way that he will know my secrets...." from Bob, my dear friend that I met by traveling back in time. This is just like asking our dear superintendent of our school to dress up in a bubbly costume and call us to the auditorium for a meeting. I should be rolling on the floor laughing, not scared...(THIS IS RIDICULOUS~~ - You-know-who ). I think that we are different from those sentimental Puritans in that Taiwan people are more realistic and less emotional. We are also more positive. So if Taiwan people was in that meeting, we would be laughing or joking about it instead of getting all scared and that, in fact, like me, extreme cases would include cracking up.

Parable

Awesome. Finally, after days and days of relentless torture..finally, something to write about in a less serious manner. Alright, so we will start with my awesome parable. "There is this teacher known as Mr. McCool and he teaches English. He holds totalitarian control in his classes. All students are scared of him. And then comes this heroic student came known to the public as HOWARD TAI. He argued with Mr.McCool over how he was discriminating laughs and exerting too much evildoings+ pressure on fellow students. Not long after the bell rang, Howard was assassinated." From this story, we learn that do not try to be hero in real world, it is just not practical. People who you try to save might not appreciate it. The People who you are defending against holds strong grudge against you, and you never know how evil they can be. By the time you realize, you may just end up in a tragic death like Howard. Therefore, don't try to be a hero unless you can use x-ray eyes, super strength, flying ability and all that supernatural awesomeness (don't try just because you got bitten by a radioactive spider, it makes you more like a stupid nerdy reporter +  enemy of the state).

The Saddest of All Prisons

The whole soul is locked up in the jail of guilt thing only exist back in the time when Romanticism flourished. Now, nobody do this kind of stuff, boring and stupid. If there is this guilt thing still resides and somehow a random guy know about it, then that guy would just kill whoever found out this kind of secret. That is how we roll in modern days. You ask if this kind of stuff isolate people from people? The answer is a certain NO. People put those junk in the back of their heads and continue to live forward (only stupid people mourns for the useless past). They hide those so they can live normally, so why would they isolate themselves. It is even more unrealistic to thing that bearing a guilt might isolate one from himself. If that is the case, then we would have, all humans would have, to hold multiple split personality !!! (CRAZY!!!) Now, do you want to know the real Saddest of All Prisons? The answer is ...... the Azkaban, the scary prison in the Harry Potter series. Alright, so we know lack of happiness is sad right? So the saddest thing on Earth is to live without any happiness.  Doesn't that sound familiar?? Right!!! That is the DEMENTORS, the guards of Azkaban!!!! They suck out your happiness, so in truth, the real Saddest of all Prisons is Azkaban!!!

Comparing Poems

In The Tide Rises The Tide Falls, the poem illustrates how a person can come and go easily and without noticing. In that poem, the effect of a man passing away is reduced to a minimum. On contrast, in the poem The Cross of Snow, a woman died and the author made such a big deal out of it that the whole grief is like a huge cross on a mountain.  In the first poem, it generalized everyone into a man, and the only thing that the man leaves is footprints on the sand. On the other hand, the second poem mentioned a lady (only one) with the trace of a huge sacred snow cross on the mountain. We can see from this how the first author shares a different view from Longfellow (the second author). And as all readers should know by now after reading some of my previous posts that I believe in the first poem, which shows how man is really nothing after they died. If every man has this huge cross on a mountain, we need a lot of Earth to cover with crosses, which is irrational~~. Therefore, as a rationalist, I believe in the first poem.

Image of Grief

Longfellow used the "holy" ( I prefer rare~) cross of snow on the mountain to show the grand grief he is enduring. On some physical means, it resembles the cross that Longfellow bear in front of his breast. The white snow gives the feel of the purity of the lady/wife he is missing (maybe Snow White??). We all know that cloudy = moody < rainy = sad < snowy = grief. This is basic common sense for all who read those emotional literature. Grief is the moon on a clear night sky. The lonesome feeling when you are in grief, the feeling that you feel as if no one can bear or understand you, is like moon staying on the night sky alone (for the romantic purpose here, lets try to ignore the stars. I know they are pretty but just ignore them).  The moon present herself in the darkest times, the side of your inner self in the absence of happiness, or sunlight. Grief contribute so much to the dark side that it stood out against all small negative emotions (stars...fine...let them shine!!). Like snow, the purity of this negative emotion gives that bright white shine.  (The author of this post have tried to make this as fun as possible....despite the topic being .."not as fun")

Human Life: A Cycle?

Like I stated in my last post, human life is definitely not a cycle (at least I don't want it to).  By saying human life is a cycle, it basically try to state we will become zombies(?).  If we say life is a series of cycles, which means an entirely different thing, we are trying to prove that humans are stupid (why would anyone want to do that in the first place...). You might ask why would I make such conclusion. The answer is simple. If life is composed of numerous cycles, then people are making the same mistakes over and over again, which is pretty stupid. However, such "fact" is already known and proven countless times. After Napoleon failed epically by stupidly invade Russia without thinking about her disastrous winters. After some time (a few centuries i guess?? ), this STUPID ( sorry I just need to stress that because this is just way too stupid for a man to do this) Adolf Hitler decided to do the EXACT same mistake....once again lost epically(don't sympathize him please.... please don't...). Simply put mankind seem to have a long history of stupid mistake cycle. There are many other cycles such as emotional ones (high. low. tides ) and others. Therefore, although I do not believe life is a cycle, I do not dispute the fact that life is COMPOSED of cycles.

Natural Cycles

Cycles...hmmm...first thing that comes into mind is probably circles? Right, circles. We all know how ancient Asians love circles...wheel as the most memorable one.  Not to mention there is this weird philosophical idea about life -> death -> rebirth thingamajig  (endless cycle...that is just evil). We can see how nature like this idea (oh my god...this is creepy~~nature THINKS philosophy...) from how leaves grow and fall each year, how we have repeating day and nights(awfully boring stuff) etc. For your information, this kind of life cycle presented in Chinese literature and Buddhism states that you will become that creature if you kill it in your lifetime, such as stepping on a roach means you will be a roach next life (so...if you kill a man you can be man next life!!! Promoting homicide right there!!!) I see some kind of this Chinese cycle thing in Western thinker's work as well (copycats!!!)...In some western literature, writers mention phoenix, some crazy kind of bird that burns itself(suicide? maybe not....it sounds more like emo?? like desire to inflict self-harm or something like that, sigh*, why does Westerners always come up with those mentally ill stories...) and then rebirth from its burnt ashes (oh my god~~ now zombies?!) As mentioned above in the creepy bird story, we know that this cycle of death and rebirth is disturbing. Just imagine...if you stab someone and kill him, bury him and the next day he comes back alive, so you need to stab him again....ok....i must stop here before I drive myself mad...

A Realistic View of Life

People change as time change. Their view of the world gets more and more constricted to known facts. Soon, people's sentimental sense grows duller as time pass by. In the aging process, the creative ideas held when one is a kid no longer stays. However, I realize I am an exception from the popular trend. In fact, I depart more from reality as grow older. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a firefighter driving a yellow small car (taxi??) Now, I think that I am going to boost into one of those rich people just by finding some cancer cure. Theoretical speaking, my dream now is actually less realistic. I grew an increasingly optimistic view as I grow up, but apparently, in order to be realistic, the only way is to be pessemistic. After learning the complexity of the world, like I said earlier,  means you start to lose happiness and become pessemistic.

Comparing Characters

They are different in physical means such as but not limited to, a) height b) audiblity c) width d) annoyance. They are all the same in terms of they are all soldiers. However, Henry's relation with each of them is a unique one. Let me express this in a more commonly used way (couple mode- please overlook the homosexuality in this argument) . Henry and Jim is a couple that loves each other, but then Jim sadly passes away (star-crossed lovers right there!!! ) Henry and wilson is more like a couple that fought and broke up, and they later make up, as friends not couples anymore. As for the relationship with the tattered man, it is a not very happy one. There is this one sided admiration (tattered man to henry). However, Henry doesnt reply with love so this relationship is sad. Jim is kind of the same as Henry, kind of scared of the war. Wilson is much braver. And the tattered man is just a side-kick that doest nothing but talking jubbrish. Wilson a dude that was henry's ex, is truly interesting. He was an arrogant and loud dude (probably why they broke up). However, after the battle, he became much more humble and made up with henry.

Henry’s Relationships

Henry was pretty close with Jim Conklin. He even asked Jim Conklin awkwardly private questions like " will you run if others run?" which could possibly get him in trouble. ..  He knows Jin Conklin from his regiment. As for wilson, he is another random guy that trusted henry...or something like that. He gave him his last letter to his family. However, i think wilson and henry got into a fight or something and they dont see each other that well anymore because wilson later asked henry to return the letter. As for that annoymous and wierd tattered man, he is a stalker i guess. There is this one sided proposal, sticking around with henry even though henry doesnt like him. They all symbolize some sort of stage for henry. First, jim conklin represent death by war. Then wilson represents bro-man-ship (quoted from danny). And then there is the tattered man representing "extraordinary" care. My question for all to henry is " Are you guys having some sort of romance in your relationship??"

Conscience

Conscience, according to dictionary.com, is the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one's conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action. I call it the angel that pops on ur right shoulder. When one is filled with guilt, the pain stays in his heart and takes a long time in order for it to go away. When filled with this kind of emotion, one do everyday things in a much more negative way. One can easily lose temper, get into fights, or burst out in tears. When one let guilt take over his heart, he feels as if the whole world's happiness is gone. Nothing seems to be pleasing anymore. And when negative emotions finally finds their way through ur emotional defense, (for reference, please read my Dark Side) everything that built one's world up will crumble into dust. This is a very sad experience. For Henry Fleming, he was struggling with his angel, who tell him to go back, take a gun, and start shooting. However, his devil convinces him to stay away from the battlefront for his own sake, even when it is the wrong thing to do.

The Dark Side

Dark Romanticism is a form of literature that shows the true nature of dark emotions. Horror, jealousy, anger and other negative emotions caused by fraud, treachery, betrayal. Those form of dark emotions, especially anger, can easily overpower reason. I believe one should live by reason and logical understanding of others until few days ago. I believed emotions should always be left aside, which is what rationalists believe. However, what is scary about dark emotions are, unlike other emotions, stronger than reason. It is almost impossible to use reason when emotions occupy one's mind, not to mention the rage cannot be subdued by reason at all. Rage holds you by your throat, and put his knife on your heart. The dis-harmony from negative emotions together composes heavy metal rock. It makes you go high and leaves you with only the unstoppable destructive intentions. It is not something that can be controlled rationally. The sound only grows louder and more violent, until your last mental defense gives in and allows pure rage to fully take over. The next thing you know, you've sabotaged everything you once hold dear. When things happen and dark emotions sprouts, it only accumulates and eventually, turn into a huge nuclear bomb that make one's life turn into nothing but dust. Whats worse is, unlike love or other positive emotions, this kind of emotions lasts for eternity, like how the radiation of nuclear bomb lingers around the area and makes it barren. It sabotages friendship, love, and anything that is positive. Anger, selfishness, jealousy arouses then take up those empty space. One lose the light in their life and will hold negative emotions only when they remember the tragic events that happened. Dark emotion doesn't decay, nor does it go way. Everything that one could hold dear before this happens could all be blinded and lost focus in a flash. Its like how close friends got in a dispute and their tension increases overtime. The surge of negative emotions can obscure them for getting back together, and in fact, unless they resonant by a tiny chance, might never see each other like they used to. It is close to impossible to recover from dark emotions. One can only fill the crack up with some other junk emotions, but the crack always stays. A good example of this would be Roger Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter. When he saw what he hold dear before was forcefully taken way, he lost his reason, even when he is an eminent scholar. The dark emotions turned from simple hatred into a unstoppable desire for revenge. Think about it, 7 years! He had been fighting off this dark emotion for 7 years and yet it only grow like a snowball rolling off the side of mountain. Have you watched The Mist, where selfishness and horror sprouts in people's soul? Where they start to lose reason and focus merely on their own survival? Where they start to believe in anything that may seem ridiculous to a normal man? Where they abadon friendship, trust, love and all that? That is what happens when dark emotions sprout. Of course, that is definitely an exaggeration. Although dark emotions doesnt go away, the side effects that happen with it does, and pain will be relieved over time.  However, like I said earlier, this never leaves one's soul, the scar is always there.

Transcendal

Emerson was a classic transcendalist. He was "educating" the public and such (which is basically wasting his precious lifetime to a absurd and not very convincing cause...) To be a transcendalist, you believe that the only way to understand God is to penetrate through the physical world and then transcends to the spiritual world. Basically, all we percieve in the physical world, catastrophe's and all that stuff is from God. Nature stuff equals to God stuff, so got to understand that kind of stuff first before understanding God. This idea is kind of a mix of the two big beliefs: Rationalism and Romanticism. It basically is romanticism but also promoting the extreme opposite -rationalism at the same time. Before penetration of the physical world, one must understand it, and that requires reason. One of the most elite rationalist is Benjamin Franklin, a fat guy that invent all kind of stuff. But he stops here. He doesnt stare at the nature any longer than he needs to in order to do all his reason. But for a transcendalist, they have a second part. After that reasoning thing, the romanticism part comes in. Everything after that follows intuition and all sorts of emotions. Personally I believe rationalist above all so, transcendalism isnt very appealing to me after knowing it runs on emotions and other non-reason cause.

Romantic Values

The main romantic value is the feelings. Romantists favor feeling and intuition over reason, which is an awfully stupid idea. This send all American minds flying out of Earth, out of Solar system, and most likely out of Milky Way Galaxy. This stupid feeling based idea let Americans lose the tenuous touch with reality. Taiwan, as an island country, is a black hole of culture. Its like a mini-sized United States. We absorb other cultures (mainly Western up-to-no-good people) and merge it with ours to create what everyone sees now. Therefore, our pragmatic traditions and American romanticism merge into the wierdest combination ever. We use intuition for everything that is not math and chinese. Like I stressed earlier, the very existence of "romanticism" is stupid. Who would prefer feeling over reason?? Reason is the way to deal with things with best interest. Intuition should only be used by females ( I know its stereotype but its accurate!!). Relying on feelings will only cause one's destruction. There has never been anyone that is successful by mere intuition. Therefore, we should only do things by reason!!!!

The American Romantic Hero

American Romantic Heroes are those that live in wilderness and persevere in keeping his last bit of civilized nature. Heroes of our time is those with super powers (Batman is an exception). They fight to protect the public from crazy, insane, and rather stupid "evil" plans. On the contrary, those villians were depicted in a disgusting form (which pro antagonists should really be looking normal to hide within the innocents). Those heroes do stuff like stopping a nuclear bomb from exploding or any stuff like that. Unlike American Romantic Heroes, many heroes of modern times all work under alter egos, and many times, the public were ungrateful of those heroes, condemning them for doing a bad job or did not come out and help. The public were depicted to see those heroic acts as a responsiblity rather than a favor. A modern hero isnt any better off when he is in the normal persona. However, what American Romantic Heroes share with modern heroes is that they all try to make our world a better place.

Freedom and Equality

Those words does not fit into their ideals. Americans always said they support equality and freedom. And yet, they discriminate against all non-Americans. Had you not heard about how American troops and interogators tortured the Iraqi suspects? Were you not aware about the prolific motives of Americans joining of modern wars? Can you not see how Americans have their arrogant and "race-o-centric" feelings? How can you say this is equality? How can you say this is freedom? This Freedom and Equality only happens in within United States, where all are Americans. This can not be said as equality or freedom. Do you remember how US arrest some preeminent Taiwanese CEO without a legal trial? They invited those CEOs to US to explain the cause of the price drops and such, and yet arrested them and blamed them for intervening free market. Can you call this fair? justified? free? equal? This is ridiculous!! (the awesome tone of You-Know-Who in our school~~) To me, those stuff are awfully important, yet so far, there is no society that provide this entirely~~~ As mentioned earlier, there is no society that can provide this just yet, so I really can't cherish it yet, but I promise, if I do have the chance to have this, I will cherish it with my dearest care!!!

The American Ideal

That quote cannot be better in demonstrating the American Ideal. That arrogant, egocentric race, which once believe they are the best and do all sorts of stuff that is ridiculously arrogant. That is totally different from OUR, or "Taiwanese" Ideals. We stubbornly adhere to our idea of independence. Many Taiwanese showed strong feelings for our nation. The national indentity has been rooted deep into us and became part of our ideal. Not to mention that we got an extremist in our class (don't kill me if you saw this... you know who you are ). Over that specific issue of identity, Americans and we Taiwanese share a similiar ideal.  Protect our individuality from all that may threaten it. However, on many other issues, our ideal part way from those of Americans. We believe in modesty on contrast of American's arrogancy. We believe in frugality instead of luxury. Although many of our ideals differ, there is one thing that we share and deeply rooted into our culture, and that is national identity. Simply, when one denies our country, Americans or Taiwanese alike, will stand up for our honor and destroy that threat to our name, in just about any means possible.

What I Like about this Class

Let me see....of all the topics in the world. Mr.McCool picked this. What may this tell us.....That is for you to decide. However, let me state what I like this class. I like Mr. McCool's jokes, especially when it is made on subjects involving Danny or Daniel. It always give me a laugh. (I bet I live longer every single time I laughed...)Thanks to Mr. McCool. I also like how the trash can is next to my seat, so I can just throw my trash without leaving my seat (excluding the smell of course, which is fairly nothing except once..=D) I also like the seating arrangement. There is Ben and Daniel making me laugh across the room. Danny is not too far to my left so I can argue with him over Hester /Dimmesdale /Chillingworth.  Bill's dozing off always invigorates me...(I dont want to be like him....can't even feel rubber bands shot at him...). James and I can argue over non-sense when I feel like it, and can tell me where we are on the text if I lost focus. To my right/front, Christine Hsu serves as a silent protection from communicating over a long distance. Both sides (James and Christine) grades me leniently on Greek Roots (barely makes a difference...max 0.5...). Not to mention I have a perfect 45 degree angle to Mr. McCool's desk and 90 degree to his podium. I like the current seating arrangement.

What I Don’t Like About This Class

First, I would like to start with a kudos to Mr. McCool. The fact that he gave us this topic indicates he is willing to listen to our complaints. So I will now state my frustration in his class. Mr. McCool is a laughist. He discriminates against my laugh. I believe my laugh has a soothing effect. It melodic sounds can heat up the atmosphere and can dissolve awkward silent moments. I can't believe he dislike it. Furthermore, the very existence of English classes is lack of fun. English classes are boring. They have tons of possible answers. It doesn't even have a definite logic. I am a person of discipline. Therefore, I hate those ambigous answers. And like Dictator Danny always said, "But...it IMPLIES...."...Those implication stuff is not only boring but also useless, so, English itself is something that I dislike. That is not all. Some of Mr.McCool stuff, like this blog journal thing, is NO FUN!!! The tests, are no good either. Tests massacre my brain cells. I absolutely hate them. And also, there are so many books to carry for American Literature that I think I get shorter because of it. Besides, why are we studying American Literature when there is Taiwanese/Chinese literature for us!!!! NATIONAL PRIDE~~~~ we are bowing down to the evil Western Nations. This is BAD...I mean REAL BAD. SO....yea..this class is definitely no good.

The Unknown Quantity

Humans are embodiments of selfishness. This is a must-have trait as a human being. Some may express this quality in everyday life, others need some stimulus to reveal this quanitity. We, humans, are born as an unknown quantity into the world. Unknown to world, nor known to self. However, over time, we reveal our true nature without us knowing. Some learned the way to survive in this world, selfish,  by accumulating experience. Others need some dramatic events, mostly tragic to reveal this nature. There are many literature works and movies that showed this, such as The Mist, Lord of the Flies, etc. Some only show their selfishness under extreme condition when life and death is on the betting table. Picture each human being as a sealed barrel. You have no idea how much water they have in them. Some may have some parts that are transparent, showing the bottom of water. You know they are selfish, but you just don't know how selfish they are. When a dramatic event happen, they spill their barrel, at that point, you know what they are truly made of. The selfishness and evilness one hids deep under their heart. I believe although selfishness can be revealed in normal life, only under extreme tragic events such as getting haunted by creepy stuff or stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere would one's true "potential" be revealed. Therefore, yes, I believe that only under those crazy and mad situations can one's quanitiy be known and defined.

Persuade Me

Trust me, my friend. Money is the ruler of the world. People work FOR money. We have become so dependent on money that it is utterly impossible for anyone to live without it. Believe it or not, our society will instantly crash once we remove money from our lives. Our so called charity or philanthropic acts are donating what?? Money, some random papers with numbers printed on it, or a circular metal with some cool stuff minted on it. If nobody recognize those, they barely hold any value, no? Our perception has been severely altered by the very existence of money. It blinds us from other forms of joy. Althought we may understand this fact, but its a task next to impossible if we try to avoid this and revert our change. Simply put, mankinds are merely slaves working under money. The very invention of common currency is designed rather poorly. Overdependence on some unimportant metals and papers does not do us any good. However unreliable and unfavorable this maybe, money has rose to a position higher than presidents or prime ministers of every country on Earth. This is an undeniable fact. With this been said, we can conclude that humans will not survive without money under current state....

Give me liberty or give me MONEY!!!

The epic quote that brought catastrophe to America by Patrick Henry " Give me liberty of give me death!!!" boils American's blood. This idea ingrained into American's heart, and eventually led to American Independence from Great Britain. Ever since that period of mass blood spilling, United States has branded herself as the iconic symbol of land of liberty and freedom. Freedom, Democracy, Human Rights, are all widely supported ideals. However, those words do not stir my interest. They just seem to far away. These ideals seem to be never ending, and would affect us less. 3 words that I believe should boil one's blood is gold, glory, greed. For Gold, it should be evident. Who doesnt want money....You need money to live a life!!! For Glory, everyone desires fame, good or bad alike. Popularity has become a key index of one's success apart from wealth nowadays. Fame can provide good connections, which is one of the smoothest and best shortcut to the bling bling. As for Greed, this may confuse some, so let me explain. Greed has always been the engine of evolution of mankind. Mankind are created with insatiable greed of stuff. One can never complain that he or she has too much money. Simply put, scientists did experiments driving by the greed of knowledge, inventors spent time to build stuff with the greed of fame, stock traders invest money and time under the influence of greed for money.

My Sermon : SIN!!!!

Sin is what one did that brings material loss and mental displeasure to himself. You should care about yourself more than anyone else. Putting others priority in front of you is a sin. Helping others with homework before you finish yours is a sin (unless you gain something from helping). God made mankinds selfish. We make friends because we need them, in times of crisis, in times of boredom. This is when we need friends. Its like paying for insurance. Giving without gaining is a sin. People who donate want fame and good reputation in return. There is basically no sin in the world, only how you look at it. God will give punishment to those who act on accord of others. Think about it. God created the divine you. If you don't protect yourself and you don't prosper, God will be ashamed because he created you. Therefore, He will strike you with thunder, burn you in hell and eat you on gold plates. Sins are bad stuff. Stuff that makes God mad. Stuff that pisses God off. Stuff that brings God wrath. Those bad stuff....are things that you do that may hurt you. Its like how your parents get mad when you hurt yourself (ex. running into a wall...) when you are a kid. Now, my dear friend, I will tell you one shocking fact. There is no such thing as moral. The world is evil. People out there are all against you. Fight them until you reach the top. That is the truth of the world. It is a sin for you to stay down on the scale and let people stand on you.

Re: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards

Who do you think you are?  Are you Jesus??? or even God?? Only you will burn in hell.....using the lord's name in vain. And knowing that what God will do when he is angry?? When do you see that??It is technically impossible for you to know since you are following his rules so strictly, no? You must be some kind of God as well, after going to heaven and hell alike, no? Stop making up nonsense and create public fear. What if everyone start panicing and running around like mad people, would God do so?? You must be pathetically bored, epically stupid, or messenger from SATAN. Which one do you prefer?? The real God will show himself in no time, much faster than you thought He would. And after he do appear, you will face the real WRATH of GOD... You will know how dark, how painful, it is to use God's name in creating  a huge panic for nothing but your boredom, stupidity or evil intentions....We shall wait until the day when punishment befall on you and see how you repent for your sins....

Sin

According to Merriam Webster, sin is an act that is offensive to religious or moral law or an act that makes one feel reprehensible. The popular definition now is an offense to law. However, I believe sin is something that is against moral ideals, not limited to law. In any religion, whatever God says is the rule (tempting me to create a Howardism...). No lying, no drinking, no crazy monkey dance (= no humans thereafter...), no eating, no driving, no writing (awesome), no homework (even better), no school forever (can't be better now...). Basically, sin is something that one think is bad. I believe dissing people and joking around is awesome...definitely not for my classmates...=D. The definition varies from one to another. There are always those annoying people who try to force their justice and rules on others, making everyone but himself a sinner. Thus creating the paradox. Everyone would go to hell, but a guy, so there is only one that is going to heaven. But that very same guy is a sinner that goes to hell from everyone else's point of view. Thus, everyone goes in heaven once but at the same time, goes to hell (6,874,700,000-1 times). That means everyone have 6,874,700,000( total earth population) copies, which is impossible. Therefore, there is no heaven and hell (?). Wierd!!!!

Fear as Motivator

I believe fear, as the most effective and popular motivator, is a good motivator. Only under fear do humans evolve. Only under fear do humans work. Only under fear do humans prosper. Without fear of failing, students wouldn't be studying. Without fear of babies, people would make crazy monkey dances all over the world endlessly. Without fear of the lack of money, nobody would work. The society human lives in is based solely on fear. Many films, particularly Disney, who ruined just about every Pixar movie with nice morals, tried to state fear is a bad thing. "Fear is for cowards. Control over fear is not the best way. Fear is characteristics for evil people. "....However, fear is the absolute basis for we humankinds. Without fear, none of our society structure would function properly. Basically, as long as we are living, fear is an integrated part of our life. This is not about good or bad, brave or coward, smart or stupid. This simply part of our existence as human beings.

Church

During NYC MUN trip, I say a gothic looking creepy church, but I didnt go in due to my urge of shopping. I never went in an actual church. However, I pay visit to Chinese temples often. In there, the first thing you can sense is probably that distinct incense smell ( I totally dislike it). Usually, there is this huge big metal pot-looking container that people stick their incense stick in. There is always a threshold on the entrance. Although its really intended for crossing into somekind of holy space and should not be step on, many worshippers (do they even know what they are doing??) step on it anyways. After you step into the temple itself, you will hear people moaning stuff, from prayers to shouting of some wierd stuff, from plastic bags rustling to the dropping of banana shaped wood pieces (a tradition used to ask if God approves or if they are full yet....). Before you notice, your eyes will be blinded  by the dazzling light of those gold god statues (why don't thieves hit on those targets instead of those in museum??). There are also lights on the side with some names on it for protection and good luck of those with names on it...There are also stuff like luck of the month/year crap..However, I must say, a Chinese temple, despite how I dislike all the noise, smell and sight, is better than a Western Chruch. Temples are much more welcoming than those creepy buildings.

Motivation

In Burning of my house and Scarlet Letter, Bradstreet and Hawthrone emphasized on religous piety. In Burning of my house, Bradstreet was trying to not mourn for the material possessions she lost in the fire. Normal people would like go nuts, cry, break down...and a lot of negative reactions. This shows that piety can make a lot of nonsense happen. In Scarlet Letter, the religous "symptoms" are much devastating. First, the villagers made a so freaking big deal about adultery Dimmesdale and Hester did. Think about it, who cares? Hester lost her husband, so she have every right to make sex. Secondly, Dimmesdale was overly concerned with guilt. Who in the world now would be all that angry at himself for having sex with another girl? Its not even raping because Hester liked it. For me, my motivation is FOOD. Like how the panda in KungFu Panda, I admire food. I can do just about any nonsense for food, such as rushing to lockers after American Literature eagerly (we all love this class, don't worry). And of course, religious motivation seems almost non-existing to my actions. At least so far in my life, I have never tried to act in the name of God, Great Architect, or something as holy as that. Earthly beings have their place, and neither above nor below should be connected with each other.

Compare and Contrast: Bradstreet vs. Sor Juana

Bradstreet's On the burning of our house and Sor Juana's World in Hounding Me both mention about vanity. However, Bradstreet believes the true treasure is in heaven while Sor Juana believe its in one's soul. Bradstreet used inversion to rhyme the sentences while Sor Juana didn't, due to the translation failure. The translator failed...epically. Bradstreet condemns herself of trying to mourn for material possession and try to convey that what God keeps for her in the afterlife is the true importance. Sor Juana believed that she would like to keep her mind on knowledge collection than on observing all beauties that present itself in front of her. So in short, Bradstreet is another Puritan religion freak that got absolutely obsessed with God and her creation, and Sor Juana is just another nerd that try to justify her nerdy acts...which is kind of pointless in the end. Both of them is trying to say that their way is better than common people....crazy~~~...

Theme of World in Hounding Me

The theme of World in Hounding Me is simply " True beauty lies not in material possessions but in souls." Sor Juana de la Cruz believe that educating and nourishing one's mind is the true way to achieve and appreciate beauty. She despise the act of embracing all beauties that show themselves in front of one's sight. In a brownie example, (I like food...) instead of going to a pastry shop and buy all of the appealing brownies (chocolate, milky, walnut, dark chocolate, those with sprinkles on it, those dusted in sugar, etc.) she would go on Google and type"making brownies" clicking on the recipes and start making them herself. By learning this, she can carry this art of "beauty" around but not embracing those every of those other beauties/brownies she see. Occasionally, she might buy a gold brownie (is there any??) for the sake of it. She embraces only a selective beauty. (Personally, I like sprinkle one more)...In the end, the theme is really trying to tell us that don't simply and fooly plunge into every beauty but select them before you do, or don't date all the hot girls but selectively choose those that are hotter and easier to get...(epic....)

How Effective is the Poem’s Title?

I believe the poem's title sucks. I personally think there is no idea or meaning behind this title. Unless you read the poem, there is absolutely no way for you to understand or even have a clue what the author might say. Hounded by the world can have many different meanings, like I said in the previous entry, stuff like global warming can be part of the hounding process. It seems like the author try to convey a more of a mental process than a worldly view. Somehow, she try to say that beauty can only be achieved selectively, and material possessions are not beautiful. Expressing her thought is just fine, but her title is meaningless and fail to serve its purpose of hinting the reader what might the poem be about.

Hounded by the World

The world hounds me makes me feel more like if it haunts me. When the world hounds you, it means the world is asking something from you, like a child wanting a lollipop. It nags you and bothers you to a point you can longer bear. At this stage of the world, it seems more like pleading one to do his responsiblity, ex. recycling. The world wants you to do a job that you should've done so that the world can live longer. It tries to annoy you with smog and bother you with global warming. Its telling you that you should start doing stuff that can prolong the life span of the world.

Poem

Burn baby burn!
For my files i mourn,
For music in iTunes,
For docs i have earn,
stuff that i have learn,
It kill it all.
Oh! Hail! All Mighty virus,
Oh! The Great Destroyer,
killed my comp and around it turn.
Why was it my turn?
My files lost, an epic loss.
Now I end my turn.
Who is the next
to endure this disaster?

Guilt

Guilt is a kind of self tormenting feeling that resides deep down in your heart and stays there until you repent your sin. I felt guilty for wrecking 2 of my old computers. I know they are kind of expensive so I do feel bad. After this, even thought guilt still lingers deep inside, I am inclined to try and forget those sins as if they never happened. This gives me more internal space.

Puritans and Possessions

Sigh*...Puritans believe that all are created by God and all are destroyed by God. All misfortune or unexplainable phenomenon are God's decision, mostly uncomprehensible by men. Bradstreet believed that she should not dwell over material possesions as all comes from dust and will return to dust. Puritans seem to value life only as intermediate process to salvation. In her poem, she deem the spot in heaven for her built by the Great Architect is what really matters and show no feelings toward her burnt house.

HESTER PRYNNE'S INNOCENT!!!

Humans are animals, living beings. We have a desire of pleasure and company. Who knows if Chillingworth cheated on Hester as well. She only need to be loyal to herself. Why should she stay loyal to a man who ditched her, for whatever reasons he had. After all that loniless, it is absolutely reasonable for her to have another affair. Since Chillingworth was thought to be dead, Hester is a (supposively) widow. As a result, she has every right to remarry. The Puritans establish such a ridiculous rule as God should never forbid any couple for connection of love. Sex, the primary pleasure of human (originally), should not be forbidden to a widow. If Chillingworth really loves her, he should not blame her for adultery. Simply put, Chillingworth never loved her and thus, marriage of that is non sense. HESTER is INNOCENT.

Discussion on Material Possession

Many people asked, "does material possessions bring happiness?". To be honest, it is a YES. Happiness is probably the next important thing under life, so material possessions are crucial to anyone. There are some people that goes around teaching people to try and live a life without obsession of material possesion, which is not only absurd, hypocritical, but also ridiculous. Without material possessions, i.e. house, money, food, they wouldn't be alive to teach others to "live". Such important thing in life, if it was ever destroyed and obliterated, i will find all means to take revenge, 1 month, 1 year, 10 years, half a century, whatever time and energy it takes, i will do it. The hardest possession to lose is probably my computer, with all my files, works and a lot of other stuff in there, it probably worth more that i can ever earn in my life..(considering that those value grow over time). On contrast ,the one thing i believe is worthless and extra in my possesion is slippers. Those half-shoes doesn't protect your feet and does essentially nothing.

9/6 journal

Puritans believe in strict rules and only the chosen ones can go to heaven as it's going to get overpopulated over the course of our history. They believe humans are born sinful and are damned for eternality, seeing that Adam and Eve screwed up in the Garden of Eden. On contrast, rationalist believe that God created the universe by a set of rules. Figuring out the rules that were made by God is a demonstration of piety. In my opinion, the puritans are foolhardy. If it is already chosen, it really doesn't matter if you work hard for your whole life. They would probably go crazy if they weren't chosen in the end. Our modern society is going with the rationalist theology without much faith going around.

First Post

Hi!!!