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English summative: The blog

An interesting topic that came up in The Glass Castle was trust. Throughout the whole book Rex tells his kids that should always trust and love him. Rex (and Rose Mary Walls for that matter) really aren't that trustful as they are always doing things that can possibly put their kids in danger. Trust is one of the most important topics in The Glass Castle

English Summative: The Creative Component

Film Casting

If The Glass Castle was a movie, these are the actors I would cast for Rex Walls, Brian Walls and Rose Mary Walls.

Samuel L. Jackson as Rex walls

In The Glass Castle Rex walls is an alcoholic father who manipulates his family. Through all this he always loves them and hopes that they keep loving him too. I think Samuel L. Jackson would be perfect for this role. In most of Samuel's movies he plays an angry, raging kind of guy but there is always a soft side to him too. For example, in Pulp Fiction, he starts out as a brutal gangster but by the end he changes himself for the better. This is very much what Rex Walls is like because when he's drunk, he's not an enjoyable person to be around but when he's not, he always tries to love his family and be nice. Samuel L. Jackson would be a perfect choice for the role of Rex Walls as they are very similar characters.

http://www.thatfilmguy.net

Asa Butterfield as Brian Walls

I think Asa Butterfield would be perfect for the role of Brian Walls. Asa generally plays a very quiet but insightful character in his movies. Though he is still a child, he's always mature and acts older than he is. This is very much what Brian is like. Brian loses faith in his father at a young age and is very protective of his sisters. He also matures faster though he is young. In The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, he plays a very secluded, quiet young boy; overall very similar to the character Brian is. As well, he tries to save a young boy in a concentration camp and he is very protective of him. This is like Brian and his sisters, who he is very protective with. Asa Butterfield would be a perfect choice for the role of Brian Walls.

http://cache2.artprintimages.com

Nicolas Cage as Rose Mary Walls

So let's pretend there's a female version of Nicolas Cage. Okay, imagined that? Good. He would be the perfect person to play Rose Mary Walls. In The Glass Castle Rose is a very selfish and self-centered person who loves adventure. She is so self-involved at times that she puts her children in danger. Now, this is why Nick Cage (as a female) would be perfect. He almost always plays a crazy, adventure seeking character. Most of the time too, very self centered and doesn't worry about other people. The way he acts also changes drastically in his movies. One minute he'll be calm and relaxed and the next he'll be freaking out and stuff. This is more or less what Rose is like. If there was a female version of Nick Cage then she would be perfect for the roll of Rose

sista jävla blogginlägg, 22

Well this is the very last blog post, fuck yeah. So I'm gonna talk about Ann Leibau's career as a midwife. Basically, she helps women through pregnancy all the way until birth and even after. Honestly, I'd never ever never ever never never never want to do this because 1. Child birth is kinda gross, you know, and I feel like I'd probably pass out. 2. It's a 24/7 365 days a year job. Like, you never stop (basically). I'm the kind of person who needs his free time. Lastly, 3. YOU CAN'T DRINK OR DO DRUGS. Like c'mon, do I look like the kind of guy who could handle a full life of sobriety? Anyways, that's aside from the point. I really think midwives have important jobs because pregnant women do need the kind of the support they provide though I would never be interested in doing this. Then again there's only one male midwife in Ontario so it's really not a big deal that I don't want to do it.

сообщение в блоге 21

Alright well this is the second last blog post so yay. Monsiuer McDonald came in to talk to us about his careers.I found it really strange how he started as a mechanic 15 years ago or whatever and is now a writer. Its pretty cool how he wrote some of the scripts for the Red Green show because that show's jokes. He was a really good speaker too cause he was able to keep the crowd with him. I'm really not too interested in the kind of things that he's done but writing for a newspaper or something might be cool. Now being a mechanic or some one who works with cars is really not my cup of tea. So this guy was cool, had interesting jobs etc.

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Alright, so this guy named Mark Morton came in to talk to us about his job as a university prof. The guy himself was really chill and seemed cool though his job sounds difficult. It's alot of hours a week plus being any kind of teacher requires alot of work from home (like marking tests and shit). He was a good speaker and I think this is because he's a prof so he's got alot of experience talking to crowds. He had also written some books that were... different. His books sounded like they'd be pretty lame but they didn't seem like they'd be too bad. Anyways, dude was a good speaker, had a cool job and seemed like he enjoys what he does. 

blog post 17

So today this person named amy came in to talk about her job working in human resources at the library. I learned some more stuff about job interviews that i didnt know like that if you want to work at a library they make you do a test with the dewey decimal system. I thought that was kind of cool because you could write down anything on a resume and they wouldn't exactly know if it was truth or not. I think doing something like that (actually tests your skills) is smart for a position like that. She was a good speaker and said the things she needed to say. I personally think working at the library would be incredibly boring but hell thats just me. 

blog post 18

sarah is a child with youth worker or something. A social worker for kids. I really like what she does. Its cool. Its something i would consider when im older. She wasnt a very good speaker; pretty quite and didn't talk with much enthusiasm. blaewrgasjdfiusdbfjkasdcviasdhnaefji the end.

blog post 16

This guy worked in a programming thing. It looked boring to me because I'm not big into coding and whatnot. He was overall a good speaker though he talked about a lot coding language which most people didn't understand or care about.

blog post 15

Melissa was a journalist and is now a politician or something. I kind of missed the exactly what she does for a living at the moment because she talked a lot about her past jobs and I missed what she does now. If what she does now has to do with politics then I'm definitely not interested in her job. Though if she's a journalist then I am interested in that. Not that a journalist is something that I really really want to do when I grow up, it is something I've considered. Like the last speaker, she was confident and didn't repeat her self too much. She kept her speech at a decent length whereas our last speaker had a very long speech that kind of dragged on. Overall she's got an interesting job and she was a good speaker.

Also, have you or are you going to put a vote on the home page for due dates because we discussed that in class quite a while ago.

blog post 14

Today Christopher Graves came in and talked to us about his job which was with a registered charity called Project Hope. I think what he does is really awesome but it's not something I'm interested in doing. His charity mainly raises money for children and women in Africa. 100 dollars can send a kid to school for one entire year, which to me is a very reasonable price. He was also a much more confident speaker compared our first speaker. He was able to project his voice better and didn't repeat himself often. The only part of the presentation that I lost concentration during (and it think a lot of other people too) was when he kept talking about stats Canada or whatever. He kind of lingered on with all the stats from other charities and stuff which all started to sound the same. Overall he was a good speaker and has a pretty cool job in my opinion.

21 rebmun tsop golb.

Because I can't recall watching TEDtalks with a supply teacher, I'm going to write about the TEDx youth thing we went to. I couldn't stay until the very end because of work, so this will just be about the speakers I got to listen to. Personally, I found the entire day to be very boring. To begin, they picked awful MC's. The guy (whose name I believe is Renjie or some shit but let's just call him guy) was very nervous and not confidant of himself. He kept saying things like "sorry if this is bad, I stayed up to 2am" which automatically lowers my expectations. The girl MC wasn't as bad as guy but she still didn't do anything to try and get the audience excited or whatnot. Also, kind of off topic but, why the fuck did they try to make us do the wave so many times. I thought that some of the speakers were amazing but most of them I found to be boring and just repeating the same message over and over. My favorite. speaker was definitely the slam poet. I found I could really relate to her and I really liked the message she conveyed through her poem. I also found her to be very funny and she was was able to make things less awkward during silences. Overall it was an interesting day even though it wasn't quite what I expected.

Blog post #13

What do you think about standardized testing (e.g. the literacy test, grade 9 math test, OCA reading comprehension, etc.)?  Think about why they exist, who they help/benefit, and what they are testing. (Bambury)

I don't think standardized testing is enabled pointless but I do think it is tedious and boring. The reason they exist is so that the school board can see if their teachers are teaching their students the right things. In this way they benefit the school, if the average is high, because it makes the teachers look good. Like I said earlier, they're testing us to make sure our teachers are providing us with the right information. The problem I find with standardized testing is that since it doesn't count for a mark on ones report card, students won't try as hard. This can lead to I averages for the school which is never good. Since the tests are very boring and repetitive, it's very hard to put a creative effort into it. I find that on things like OCA and the practice lit test, I just write down plain and simple things because it's the same thing every year. I also think that because there's a time limit, you can't make things like essays personal because you're constantly watching the clock to make sure you don't run out of time.

8|05 P0$+ |\|uM83r 7

         In the first section I was a creator which I wasn't surprised by at all. All of the things in that category described me. In the second quiz my result was kinesthetic which I've got before from other quiz's that I've done. I love working with my hands and doing things that aren't just reading and writing. My co-ordinates for the chart thingy are (5.5, -6). None of the things in Authoritarian I agreed with and only half of one is the right section. For quiz's 4 and 5 I got the result of being a people person. I would hate to have a job where I'm not helping anyone and just trying to make money. I found out from quiz number 6 that I'm probably going to go into a career in the arts. From quiz 7 I found out that I'm right brained and in quiz 8 I got a score of 40 (which is low I think). My colour is orange which suits me. Lastly, I'm phlegmatic. The end.

blog post #11

What's your belief about human nature?  Do you think we are essentially evil or essentially good?  Do you think we started one way and became the other (through corruption or education)? 

I believe that humans are born evil though some can overcome that evil. Some people stay evil their entire lives but none of them are really happy. In order to become good, one must try to push the evil thoughts away and focus on the good in society. I've got writers block right now and really can't think of anything else to say.

Character Post

In To Kill A Mockingbird, I find Atticus the most interesting character. He is a single parent of two children AND he's a lawyer. I find it interesting that he taught both of his children to read at such a young age because almost none of the kids in grade 1 and under can read at all. Even some of the adults in Maycomb can't read. I also like the way he parents his kids. He doesn't try to hide things from them because he knows that kids can easily tell when an adults is avoiding telling them something. He also is a lawyer that defends African Americans which shows that he is courageous and willing to do things that most people wouldn't. This specific trait makes me respect the character much, much more. For these reasons I find Atticus the most interesting character.

Guest Speaker #1

     The guest speaker that came in today was Allison Fleming. Though I'm not entirely sure what her career is, I think it has to do with social media. She said that she wrote twitter posts and facebook posts for a company. Now personally, that job sounds incredibly boring but I mean if it's the job that she enjoys then so be it. There's really nothing about the job that I would enjoy because I want to do something where I interact with people, not sit at a computer writing tweets for a company. She also talked pretty fast and not entirely about her job at some points, which was kind of confusing. I have nothing against the job that she does I just don't think I would find it interesting.

Due dates (blog post 9)

The penalty for late assignments is fair in my opinion. 5% a day (up to 15%) makes sense and can encourage some people to hand in things in on time. I think that if you made it so that you could hand in anything by the end of the year, people wouldn't do any of the work until June. This is might lead to the assignments being not well done and rushed. Now I try to hand things in on time but when it comes to subjects that I don't enjoy, I really stop caring if it's in on time or not. For example, all of the Ted talks that we have to watch and blog about are terribly boring. They give me absolutely no motivation to blog and make the class even more uninteresting. I have no problem with to teacher but it's the assignments that I have a problem with. Because the assignments are boring and pointless this makes people want to do them even less which leads to more late assignments. Now even though I said that making it so that you could hand in anything till June was a bad idea I think it would be a good idea for all these blog posts. Making a due date for a project (the letter for example) makes total sense but I think making a due date for a blog is pointless. For projects you get lots of time in class to complete them but for the blogs you generally end up doing them at home. They're also (for the most part) your opinion which may take you some time to think of. I just think you would get better, more thoughtful blog posts if you didn't attach a due date to them.

TED talk #2

This blog post reallyhas has nothing to do with the Ted talks video it is more about this course. What do I think about this program so far? Well, it's been okay but it's nothing special. It's not exactly what I was expecting but then again when I was asked if I wanted to take this course, all I was told was "You'll get to use computers". I think this the main reason people actually signed up for this course is because when you tell a high school kid that they're going to get to use electronics in class, they immediately assume the course is going to be fun. I really do enjoy using computers but not when all the assignments are blogging. The only legitimate reason I enjoy blogging is because it allows me to give my honest opinion about this course. The English side of FFP has been great so far because it's really not that different than taking the normal english course. It's the civics/careers side that I have a problem with. We have barely done anything that has to do with civics or careers so far and interim reports have already come out. I also think that it would of awesome if they (being the teachers) had actually explained what we would be doing in this course rather than just saying we would use computers. If I was given an outline that told me about the course, there's no way I would of taken it. My issue with FFP is not because of the teachers but because of all the stupid blogging assignments we get. Ted talk videos are probably the worst kind of assignments we get; they are so incredibly boring and reply hard to write about. This course is really not what I expected and I think a better curriculum is in order.

Apple or Android? (blog post 5)

       This is a question that many ask nowadays; Apple or Android? There is no real answer to this but I can tell you that I like Android much better than Apple. I've owned several Apple products and I own a Samsung Galaxy s3 (for the record). Apple only has one kind of cell phone whereas Android has 100's of devices it's running on. Not only that, but Androids generally cost way less than iPhones do. A nice Android phone can be anywhere from 200-600$ while Apple's iPhone is a costly 450-700$. For just an iPhone, that's too expensive.

    

     Another thing I like about Android is that Jelly Bean (the operating system) is much more flexible and better to customize it the way you like. Apple's IOS 6 (their operating system) is very locked in and you really can't do much. With my phone, I have it customized  the exact way I want on my home screen. Apple's home screen is stuck with one layout and that's it. Now Apple may sound bad but there are advantages of having an iPhone. Though IOS 6 is locked in, some people enjoy this. If you like not having to customize your phone as much then an iPhone is probably the right phone. Jelly Bean though is great if you like tinkering with its keyboards and other things like that. IPhone's have a feature called iMessages which is a program that allows you to text other people with Apple products for free. There are apps you can get for Android that is more or less the same feature but they are not as good. I personally think that Androids operating system is much better than Apple's.

       Androids phones tend to be stronger and more durable than the iPhone. Most Android phones have plastic backs with a toughened glass on the front. The iPhone 5 uses toughened glass on the front and aluminium on the back. This is an improvement from the iPhone 4 which had a glass front and back. This made the back much, much weaker. Samsung phones use Corning Gorilla Glass II for their screens and Apple uses a comparable toughened glass. Some Android phones are much larger than iPhone's, which I find an advantage. The back of the iPhone is weak in the 4th generation but very strong in the 5th generation. Some Android's have glass backs, some have metal, and some have plastic. In comparison to the s3, the back feels much mores sturdy on the iPhone because of it being metal. The s3's feel light and flimsy (especially when you take it off) but this isn't that much of a draw back. Though the back is flimsy, you can access the SIM card slot and the micro SD slot. This allows you to add more space onto your phone if you want to whereas the iPhone's back is fixed on (along with the storage space). 

     Being an owner of Apple and Android products, I think Android phones are much nicer. The operating system is better and more user friendly. The price of Androids are much lower and the ascetics are better. For all these reasons, I believe the answer to the question "Apple or Android", is Android. 

Should high school students be required to take a Health and Physical Education course in each year of high school?

                                                                                                                                    21/02/13

By Devin Pronovost

            Students in high school are given the option of taking a Health and Physical Education (HPE) course. There are many reasons why students should have to take the HPE course. Some of these examples are it keeps you healthy and active, it’s a great opportunity for new experiences, activities and games, and it gives you energy for the rest of the day. For these reasons I believe students should be required to take an HPE course in high school.

            Taking an HPE course keeps you healthy and active. This is important your daily life because without exercise and activeness you can get obese or can develop diseases. Having an HPE class every day for one semester every year in high school can greatly improve a student’s fitness level. Not only will this make the student feel better but it can also make a student more social and if a student looks and feels better this will boost their confidence making them more friends or even just talking to more people. Obesity is an ever growing problem in North America with children above the age of fifteen. 30.6% of people in the U.S.A are obese and in Canada 14.3% are obese. If students are required to take an HPE course this can greatly lower the obesity rate because it will force the students to exercise. From being obese diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, strokes, heart failures and some kinds of cancer. Therefore, taking an HPE course can keep you healthy, active and safe from some diseases.

            For some students taking an HPE course is a great opportunity for new experiences like trying different sports they did not know they are good at. If a student tries a new sport they might want to join the team for it which gives them even more physical exercise. Also, it gives them a chance to try new moves in certain sports that they would not want to try on a team. This practice in class can improve how well they do on a team or even just outside of school playing around. Again, this can add to a student’s confidence because they will have more courage to try new moves in front of friends. Physical Education is a great way to learn new sports or moves students have not tried before.

            It has been proven that students who take who take an HPE course or exercise daily have more energy throughout the day. If someone gets obese or overweight this will make them drowsy or tired because it takes more energy to do things whereas someone who exercises will not be as tired because they are fit. This is important in high school students because this is the time in a person’s life where their body is changing and needs to have the right amount of exercise and have the right level of fitness. Even though right after an HPE class you will feel tired, the mind is more alert and more responsive which makes students more attentive during class.

            Since there are so many advantages to taking an HPE course, students should be required to take it. Reasons for taking it includes it keeps you healthy and active, it’s a great opportunity to try new experiences, activities and games, and it gives you energy for the rest of the day. It keeps students who might not get exercise outside of school in shape and is healthy for the body. 

TED talks; Peter Diamandis

 I watched this TED talks today
http://www.ted.com/talks/peter_diamandis_abundance_is_our_future.html

This was wonderful talk and some inspiring ideas. But how does abundance fit into the profit mechanism? Coca-Cola may be quick off the mark noticing that desalination is going to be a huge cash cow in the developing world, but what are the chances that they will charge just 2c per litre? What are the chances of them employing sustainable energy to power the desalination plants if it costs more, and responsibly dispose of the excess salt if it is expensive? In a monetary economy, profit must always come ahead of all other considerations. 

Technology does have the power to liberate us, but with the current economic model only the technologies that offer the greatest profit margin will make it. 

And what of the developed world? With self diagnosing hand held medical devices, biological synthesis replacing conventional medicines, 3D printing in every home and in construction, free, clean and abundant energy, unlimited water, food and shelter and the consequent huge reduction in crime, physical and mental illness, addiction, and domestic violence, and much less to complain about, what are people going to do to earn money? What of doctors, builders, factory workers, agriculturalists, police, psychiatrists, lawyers, politicians, trade unions? All these jobs could and probably will be eventually displaced. We have seen nearly all mundane and repetitive task driven factory and production line work eradicated from our work force in the developed world. Now check out staff,shop assistants,even HR administrators are being automated. We are rapidly running out of things to sell,services to offer, and mundane jobs to do. Which would be awesome, if we didn't need money to live. 

G-400 custom Les Paul review

I bought this guitar back in November and have been very impressed with it. The sounds quality from this is outstanding (especially with the right amp). It has three humbuckers which makes the guitar sound SOOO amazing. The only problem with the three humbuckers is that the strings are pretty close to them but it's something you get used to pretty fast. Since the strings are close to the humbuckers, they're also close to the neck. I find this makes for easy and clean bends. The strings tend to stay in tune most of the time but the G string always goes out of tune. Its something annoying but everything nice has to have one flaw. The guitar has three tone knobs which makes for many different sounds and styles. There are three settings with the switch: Rhythm, Treble and normal. The treble setting is great for playing rock and the rhythm is best for songs with lots of chords. I don't normally use the normal setting but if you didn't guess, it's pretty plain and normal. It's a little annoying having the patch cable input on the front of the guitar instead of the side I find but once again, it's something you get used to pretty fast. The guitar itself has a beautiful ivory finish and "gold" hardware. The cheapest I've seen this guitar is at $400 though I bought mine on sale for $310. Overall this guitar is amazing and definitely worth the money. I suggest it to any new or experienced guitar player.

About me

Interests

What are my interests? Well to start, I love snowboarding. I bought my first board last winter and have used it a lot since. I try getting out as much as possible but with the winters we've been having that's not always the easier thing. In the summer, I longboard instead of snowboarding. Another thing I do in my spare time is playing guitar. My most recent guitar is a Epiphone custom Les Paul (as pictured to the right). I also play bass, acoustic guitar, ukulele and trombone. I've been playing guitar,bass and ukulele since grades 6 and 7. I starting playing trombone last year in music class. Lastly, as most teenagers do, I love video games and my computer. 

Abilities

One of my abilities is cooking. I love to cook and bake things in my spare time. More of my abilities are snowboarding, longboarding and skateboarding. I practice these throughout the entire year to keep my active. I also work at Dairy Queen which I guess if you consider making ice cream an ability.

Goals in life

Some day I hope to be a chef. Cooking has always been something I've been passionate about. Most of my life my mom cooked most of ours meals and that's where my inspiration came from. I've taken one cooking course now at school and hope to continue with that. After high school I hope to go to college for a career in cooking or to university for something else.