Sunday, May 15, 2011

I just found Macbeth!

Infected be the air we ride
And damn'd are those that trust and 'bide

O' well done, I commend your pains
And everyone shall share the gains
And now about the cauldron sings
Enchanting all that you put in

Double double toil and trouble
fire burn and cauldron bubble

Foul is fair and fair is foul
I come Graymalking as thou calls
Master of the tiger to which I must fall
For a charm of powerful being
Hath broken down and need of blessing

Fire burn and cauldron bubble
Double double toil and trouble

A drum, A drum, Macbeth doth come
Hail Hail thee Macbeth
Speak. Demand. And 'til death
None of woman shall harm Macbeth
Beware the thane of Fife: that is enough
Who is thane of Fife? Macduff! Macduff!
Thou shall never vanquish'd 'til
Great Birham wood to high Dunsinane hill.

And damn'd are those that trust and 'bide
Infected be the air we ride

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Please Come Back


Mgbafo, Dear Mgbafo, I truly wish that you would come back to me my dear. Your sibling Odukwe has taken you captive from your lover, and I wish to claim you back. Without you I have a hole in my heart that needs to be filled. I wish that I do not need to resort to emotional tactics, but I am left with no choice but to let out my feeling and win you back my love. I have made a promise to you, your siblings and to the land of Umuofia that if I hurt you once again, my genitals will be no longer a part of me. I hope that you see my newly found apologetic side and accept my dearest apology. Our children need us. They cannot be kept in the middle of this feud. In order for them to succeed and prosper in life, we must nourish them and let them grow to the best of their ability. In order to do this we must work together and show them that we will be there for them. To show you my newly developed attitude towards love, I have taken time and have gone all the way here from Umuofia just to beg for your love. Mgbafo, this truly is my most intimate feelings I am letting out. This side of me has never been seen by anyone else. You have my heart to the very end, and I wish that you will keep that in mind when you make your decision. Despite your past feelings toward me and my outrageous attitude, I wish that you accept my confession. For our children, for our family and for the sake of love, please come back to me. Tell me what must be done to win your love back. Is it a change of heart? Perhaps a change in religion? Whatever you want, I will do, as your wish is my command.

P.S. This is not exactly what I said for my presentation. I improvised for the most part, but this is what I based my presentation on.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Unsung Hero

Okonkwo being the man that he is will not be thought of as a hero from a first impression. Though after reading the novel and discussing about the novel, the characters and the themes redundantly, Okonkwo seems to act more and more like a hero. From his abnormal physical strength, to his tragic ending, the protagonist in this inspiring novel is now appealing to me as a hero.

I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking that Okonkwo seems to be more like a hero with after multiple discussion. Of course he is not like those superheroes in movies in which the plot is always the same. From the bad guy doing outrageously bad things, to the scene where the good guy comes in, they both trade punches, the hero suffers, then the hero saves the day and wins the girl. Okonkwo is nothing close to this. He is just a regular citizen with tittles from the igbo community who also faces his fair share of obstacles. Though he has a certain appeal to the reader. It's hard to put your finger on, but no doubt it is there. The caveman like personality gives this mysterious appeal which makes you want to learn more. Okonkwo's raging side makes you want to see what outrageous thing he will do next. Even his hidden emotions makes the reader want to know more. He has an appeal that every superhero has that makes him who he is. Is it just a strong man from Africa with many tittles, I think not. To me, he is an unsung hero.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Pedo-Bear

The conflict in the novel "The Shack" by Paul Young can be classified as man vs. Self. When the protagonist known as Mack goes camping, he partakes in a series of unfortunate events that leads to his daughter Missy, being kidnapped. It is later revealed the the kidnapper is known for heist just like this. The villainous acts commonly takes place in a remote setting and the victim is usually a little girl under the age of five. This specific molester leaves a small lady bug to place his mark on his territory. Each lady bug has an additional dot on its back for each child he or she has kidnapped.

Throughout the whole experience Mack has stayed tried his best to not let his emotions get the best of him. From the first instance he found Missy was missing, to the moment he found that she was abducted by a reputable criminal, Mack didn't let any of his emotions out. He made sure that he always thought out the possible choices and not rush into any decisions.

The main conflict in the novel can be considered to be Man vs. Self and not Man vs. Man is because Mack never confronts the culprit. He faces challenges with himself instead of the perpetrator to keep calm and make sure he does everything to his ability to find Missy. Just like the protagonist Okonkwo in the novel "Things Fall Apart" Mack did not show any sign of weakness when he was emotionally hurt. He refused to cry even at the worst of times which showed his family and more importantly Mack's wife, that they should be strong despite their recent misfortune.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Post Colonialism, And What It Means To Me

The definition of post colonialism is a concept that takes place after colonization. Colonization is the act of influencing other countries to your beliefs and ideas. A good example of colonization is when the British went to North America to gather resources and valued information. This led to the building of colonies which started to take features the British society had. The concept that has taken place following the colonies begin to spread. Many start to think that the natural Caucasian look is more appealing than of the first nations, the Hispanic, the Asians, and the Africans. Post colonialism is the indirect effect colonization has had on today's society. This message of a superior Caucasian race has been embedded into our minds that it seems as if the whole world knows that Caucasians are the dominant race.

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/39/2008/12/340x_loreal_beyonceESSENSEANDNOT.jpg

For my example of post colonialism, I have linked an image of a L'oreal advertisement in which Beyonce was made paler than her usual self. This is because in the post colonialism theory, it is said that Caucasian people in general are more attractive than Asians and Africans. With this in mind, it is made known that many African and Asian race are trying to imitate looks of Caucasian women. From features like wide eyes, pale skin, sharp noses, and high cheek bones, women all over the world are doing whatever they can to look more Caucasian.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

♫FA-LA-LA-LA-LA LA-LA-LA-CY♫

There are seven main reasons why Christmas is awesome. Lets face it, everyone loves Christmas. If Christmas was a person, it would be either Neil Patrick Harris or Megan Fox. If you don't like Christmas, you must be a weirdo. Coca Cola loves Christmas so much, that they even made a guy called Santa Claus, just for the holiday. If you don't like rats, it will fill me with great sadness. Honestly, I will probably kill you if you don't like Christmas. So hide your wives, hide your kids, because I'm coming to town. This is why you either like Christmas, or you don't. My guess is that you do.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Missing

     The protagonist in the fictional novel "The Shack" by William P. Young is a father known as Mack. Married to a nurse and father to five, Mack and his family live in the American Northwest. Mack has perseveres through his rough childhood past to become a great husband and father. He is a christian at heart as he regularly attends church, though he does not have the intimacy that his wife has with God.

     Winter has breezed through and spring has come. Mack has decided to take the family to a routine camping trip. Not much happened until the last day where three different families including Mack's meet. Two of Mack's children, Kate and Josh, decided to borrow the canoe of their camping neighbor. While the two older children were canoeing, Missy, the youngest of the five sat at the picnic table beside Mack. She was coloring her book as she waited for the time of departure. As one of the two canoers decided to wave back at Mack, the canoe had tipped over sending both children underwater. The daughter "was up first, sputtering and crying, but there was no sign of Josh"(23). Instinctively, Mack headed for the water without hesitation due to his teenage lifeguard skills. Mack realized that josh's "straps on his life vest had gotten tangled in the canoe webbing"(23) Mack was able to push the canoe back upright before anything bad happened to his two children. When they get back to the picnic table, Missy is found missing.

     Mack learns how to face this conflict with his daughter constantly in the back of his mind. Missy and his family is his true motivation and is what keeps him going.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Kisses

                               S              
                   S    E  
                 I          S
  K
You
Have always
Been there for me
From through thick and thin
For poorer or worse. I know that
where ever I will go, you will be there.
I know that sometimes it seems to me, that
things get in the way from us seeing eye to eye.
But despite our occasional so called spaz attacks,
I guess, loving you isn't all that hard to do. Even if yo
are rarely by my side, I still do miss you so. You are like the
Missing piece, of my weird unsolved and mysterious puzzle. A
puzzle that no one knows what it will turn out to be. Love, hate and
happiness, these are the things that make our relationship. People can argue
that what we have isn't really perfect. But I guess perfection can never be acquired,
And those imperfections that we have together, is what makes us special from all others
I know it seems like I don't care anymore, but deep down I do. Through our magnificent past,
I have found that the saying is true, "like father like son" because you are the best father in the world. 
Even if we are half way around the world, you still manage to make me happy, day after day, year after year. Thanks Dad

(I'm sorry if the shape is a bit undefined, but it is supposed to be chocolate kisses!)

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Downing in my thoughts

     It was back in grade two in the Philippines when I first encountered my fear of swimming.  I was one of the smaller kids in the class, and I still needed a life vest to swim.  How pitiful can that be? Not only did I realize that swimming was harder than it seemed, I also had an epiphany.  I learned that sometimes in life, the greatest challenges we face is with ourselves. I remember this incident like it was just yesterday.
     I anxiously opened the envelope when I saw the letter addressed to "Kyle".
     "I never got a letter before" I thought, as shards of paper went flying across the room. As the letter continues, my eyes started to dilate, and my heart started to pump.  I realized I was invited to my first party.
     My dad was on a business trip when I first received my invitation. I decided to talk to my mom instead. I rushed downstairs with footsteps of a Sasquatch but as tall as mini-me.
     "Mom! Mom!" I yelled. "I', invited to my friend Red's party!"
     "Who is Red?" my mom asked "And what kind of a name is Red anyways?"
     "He's my friend, mom. It's a swimming party at his house." I said as I looked over at the steaming pot to see what it was. My mom and I debated the terms in which I had to follow to be able to attend the party. No bringing my PlayStation. No horse playing. My nanny had to come along and I had to wear my life vest at all times, since I couldn't swim. I was ecstatic. Friday could not come any slower.
     Friday finally arrived and I was heading over to my friend's house. I arrived at his house only to find out that I was the first one to arrive. Once the door opened, I rushed into his house. I did not have a care in the world of what people thought of me.
     As I walked into the living room, the fresh aroma of chips and pop rushed into my nasal cavity. A giant flat screen T.V. to the left, marbled floors, counter tops, and state of the art fridges. --life I would care about high end fridges.-- The scent of chlorine wafted over me as I went outside. Complete with a a swimming pool, a slide and the fresh scent of pine trees to compliment it, Red's house seemed to be paradise. I waited for my friend Red before I plunged into the pool, life vest and all. An hour passed and I was still in the pool. Wrinkled fingertips and toes, it was obvious that I was in the pool for too long. Like a rubber ducky atop a big orange floating device, I was floating atop the chlorine filled pool. As I examined my surroundings like a new born baby chick, I realized that I was the only one who couldn't swim. It gave me something to think about.
      "What would happen if I took my life vest away?" I pondered. The possibilities were narrowed down to two. I would either go inside Red's house and watch T.V. with the others who were afraid to swim, or try and be bold. I decided to go with the latter.
     "If most of my friends could swim why not me?" I thought. I started to take my life best off and went to atop the big blue slide. I took a big breath and pushed myself forward. It felt great. For the first two seconds wind blow past my face and water gushed under my feet. It was like I was on cloud nine. It was incredible, until I hit the pool. I went underwater and panicked. I tried paddling, kicking, and grabbing on to other people's legs. After struggling for what seemed like eternity, my life flashed before me. I ran out of breath and fainted.
     I woke up at the back of an ambulance. I was bloated. Full of water, a bit of chlorine and possibly a hint of urine, I felt horrible. I vomited into a bucket, as my nanny explained that my friend's dad was a doctor. He performed CPR to save my life. He was my knight in shining armour. I went back to sleep.
     I woke up at the hospital and attached to a variety of medical apparatuses. My mom and dad walked into the room and hugged me. It was like I was in a drama movie where I was the star. My dad didn't know anything the party or me drowning. He only found out when he got off the plane from his business trip. It was a harsh day for me and it was lucky that Red's father was able save me. I found out that my nanny was fired right after this little incident for being slightly inattentive.
     As for me, I was hoping that my friends would visit me but they never showed up. I guess they were too busy with school or having fun at Red's house.
     Up to this day, I never told my parents the truth about this little incident. It has scared me for life but I will always keep it to myself that it was my fault for drowning because of my lack of reasoning. Yet because of this unfortunate incident, I have learned that the we face multiple challenges in life, but the decisions we make when we face challenges with ourselves might end up biting you in the behind.