Concerts are a way of life for me in the city. Its vibrance and elegancy when seeing different bands enlighten me each time i end up going to one. Im open to see anything that piques my interest.
My first concert experience was about roughly 7 years ago, In high school when i was 15. I had asked my parents to take me to see a deathcore band named Whitechapel. At the time, they weren't keen of me seeing "satanic music" but i had explained to them it is nothing more then to shock the audience. They agreed but very hesitant. We stayed at the best western in allentown, which was an hour away. I had got in and had seen nothing of what i usually see in my everyday life. The lights where bleeming into my eyes and the crowed was full of energy. This was first time experiancing something called a "mosh pit". I had thought a fight had broken out. But it was nothing more then a few kids having fun. The first band was called "Gaza" a mathcore band. It was loud. It pierced my ears. But i enjoyed them quite a bit. The vocals sounded like they where being shredded into a garbage disposal. The next band, was Cattle decapitation. As the name suggests, It sounds like a band that has alot of gore in their lyrics, But its the exact opposite. They sing about Animal rights and veganism. This didn't mean they were some softcore stuff. They tore the place up and the crowd was manic as ever. The last band was whitechapel. The highlight of my trip up to allentown. They had gotten the crowd to new hieghts. They certainly put on a show. From my younger self. I thought the show was spectacular. Because the energy leading up to the final moment. This energy is still applied today. It extends outside the realm of concerts.Because everything you work hard for ends up leading to the final moment. To its fullest extent with lots of energy. So work hard. To reach the final moment of excitement!
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In Slumdog Millionaire, screenwriter Simon Beaufoy shares the story of Jamal, a boy who grew up in the slum neighborhoods of India and managed to gain a spot on the gameshow, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Throughout the film, Jamal has been asked to confess his crimes to the police because they suspect Jamal of cheating.
Jamal, had been treated in an unethical and ineffective way to gather any information from Jamal. The method of torture itself isn’t an effective way of getting information. Because there is no way for the police to gather intel on the suspect. Also, to take in consideration that it the methods itself are cruel, like waterboarding and other violent actions. The common defense of torture is that the detainee is the prime source of information and must be punished anyway. They consider this the “ticking time bomb scenario”. An ethics experiment where they “consider” the detainee has knowledge of a terrorist attack. An article written by Andrea Mitchell, (Robert Windrem and Erin Mcclam) had considered CIA documents released by the senate and found 7 of the 39 detainees where “subjected into aggressive interrogation” but yielding no intelligence. Whereas other detainees weren’t subjected to aggressive torture methods and provided for more intelligence. Most the detainees that where suspected where proved innocent as well. A study of the phoenix A study in the torture and assassination program Viet Cong members had found that it victimized at least 38 Vietcong agents. The studies of torture in Northern Ireland conclude: “For harvesting information, torture is the clumsiest method available to organizations, even clumsier in some cases than flipping coins or shooting randomly into crowds. The sources of error are systematic and ineradicable. [Torture and Democracy]” The psychological impact on the detainee can be heart wrenching. Jamal itself doesn’t seem to be effected by the copious amount of torture he had went through. But such methods of torture can impact the cognition if the detainee survives. Shane ‘O Mara writes “torture does not produce reliable information largely because of the severity with which it impairs the ability to think. Extreme pain, cold, sleep deprivation and fear of torture itself all damage memory, mood and cognition Produce reliable information largely because of the severity with which it impairs the ability to think. Extreme pain, cold, sleep deprivation and fear of torture itself all damage memory, mood and cognition.” John Conroy writes that there are six stages of torture. The first is Reluctance, where the perpetrator is reluctant to participate or observe the administration of torture. The next is official encouragement the Stanford prison experiment and Milgram experiment show, the detainee will follow an authority figure. If it follows as mandatory the main purpose of this is to fell a loss of respect. Peer encouragement: the perpetrator begins to accept torture as necessary, accepted and or deserved, after, dehumanization where the perpetrator sees the victim as an object instead of a human being and finally disinhibition: Many War veterans have experienced PSTD through of the traumas of torture. Mark Domeck, A junior psychologist had his first experience war victims. They had felt a mistrust in him, but gradually gained trust over him over time. Mark shares his first-time experience. “For me, the first moment when I began to understand about torture was a moment during my Psychology Internship. I was a junior therapist in a small group therapy session for Vietnam veterans with Postraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I was a short-termer in that group, there for six months only and because I was the new guy, and because I was 'authority' it took a long time before I was trusted by the patients in the group. Somewhere in the middle of those months, a more quiet participant started talking about an atrocity he had witnessed during his service. A man he knew had been flayed and left alive to die by the enemy. As the story was told, I found myself in eye contact with this man, who was holding it together well, but was also weeping in a controlled manner. And I began weeping too, because it was Horrible, this story being told. In retrospect, I was being tested to some extent. "Can this green therapist handle the real stuff or will he fall apart? Can we rely on this guy?" were perhaps the unspoken thoughts in the room. I left that experience thinking I had failed the test with my weeping. After supervision (a process where you review your work with an experienced senior clinician), however, I came to the realization that I had probably not failed the test entirely. I had cried for sure, and should have managed more restraint. A therapist's restraint in the face of strong emotions is a container of sorts – part of the safety net that a therapist is supposed to be providing for patients. At the same time, I didn't lose it entirely, just like the veteran did not lose it either. And by crying, I supposed that I had shown, in a manner that no amount of therapy technique could have communicated that I cared; was engaged; thought what he had experienced was Horrible; felt what had been experienced to be Horrible; was not judging the man for what he saw or how he reacted.” More than 300,000 veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan where diagnosed with PSTD.As much as 2/3 of them where not receiving treatment. Suicides among US troops overall are also up to one a day. Veterans account for 20% of all US suicides. The issue of torture may feel resolved, The US senate had already closed the loopholes of torture by the detainee treatment act of 2005, which “prohibits cruel, or degrading punishment of detainees” (H.R. 2863, Title X) and The Geneva conventions prohibits “violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture” Conventions against torture was adopted by the UN in 1984. But this doesn’t mean that torture isn’t an issue around the world. 142 countries around the world were observed by the amnesty international service and found that 79 of these countries still use torture. and since it’s happening secretly behind our backs in the US. The laws itself show it isn’t proving its effectiveness. The detainee act was modified by the Graham amendment and permits the department of defense to obtained through torture of Guantanamo Bay detainees, and expands the prohibition of habeas corpus for redetainees, which subsequently leaves detainees no legal recourse if they are tortured. It seems the government loves to cover their tracks. So, the people have a sense of security within USA. But this isn’t the case here. In 2014, an article was written by the senate committee voted to declassify Bush era documents. The report states a man named Jose Rodguez ordering to destroy 92 tapes of various cruel actions against the detainees. He had said that it would make the senate look terrible. But in all honestly, the damage is already done. The secret is already out. The film doesn’t show anything about them destroying the evidence at all. It still goes to show that the CIA will take ineffective risk to a person to gather information. Not to mention to cover their tracks to seem like nothing was taking part. Jamal’s torture had not only been ineffective, but had put had a psychological impact on himself. He was falsely accused of cheating and the police had tried to gut it out of him. In the end, the police had got nothing out of him in retrospect. Torture itself is an inexcusable way of getting information out of a person. In this essay, it seems the most effective way is to keep the crazy antics to yourself. Otherwise you’ll end up covering up the mess you’ve created. works cited: https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26685-that-cia-torture-methods-were-pointless-is-no-shock http://www.newsweek.com/eight-10-countries-ill-treat-and-torture-citizens-amnesty-309274 http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/5/12/torture-report-amnesty.html http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/senate-report-cia-torture/torture-was-ineffective http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/cia-torture-report/senate-report-finds-cia-interrogation-tactics-were-ineffective-n264621 http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/5/12/torture-report-amnesty.html https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=6a8f9372-a8a4-425c-9f79-32f30a9dd4f9 http://www.nytimes.com/ref/international/24MEMO-GUIDE.html?_r=1& http://www.cfr.org/terrorism-and-the-law/detainee-treatment-act-2005-hr-2863-title-x/p9865 https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=0084e644-a5ed-46e1-8649-762df3ffcf4f https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/senate-intelligence-committee-study-on-cia-detention-and-interrogation-program http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/senate-report-cia-torture/torture-was-ineffective http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/cia-torture-report/senate-report-finds-cia-interrogation-tactics-were-ineffective-n264621 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/0 http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/4/3/senate-torture-reportciadeclassify.html3/washington/03web-intel.html?_r=0 http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/4/9/senate-cia-torture.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology_of_torture#Victims_with_PTSD My mother, had taken me and my brother down to Upper Darby when we were children. where we would meet our babysitter, Sodsee. Our mother wanted us to learn how to cook her recipes. She had no clue of how making the Asian food. My mother was never interested in other cultures of food. She was only into her heritage of food and never wanted to go outside of whatever she had a taste for.
Our mother pulled off to say a goodbye, Sodee’s exterior was small and bush of vegetables growing in the front of her house. The exterior didn’t have much else besides the rotting plaster on the exterior walls. We entered the interior of her house, it was very minimalist, old, and somewhat decaying. nothing on the walls besides some pictures of elephants. The textures of her walls felt bumpy and rough. I entered her place for the first time with Nicholas, My brother. He had loved her cooking as much as I did. I’d enter her damp unrenovated kitchen with my brother and I. would help her cut up some of the ingredients. Like Scallions’ and peppers. We’d help her make a dish called “Thai pork” with rice. She had many ingredients that I haven’t seen before. A lot of those ingredients were from her marketplace, she was running a supermarket that she had built with her family’s inheritance. She had this special siracha that tasted completely different from the one you’d usually get from the grocery store. The secret though, was the extra garlic that gave the dish its bold spicy flavor. We still have her recipes that she written down from a long time ago. They’re old, but the quality of the paper holds up, it sits on the refrigerator like it was yesterday. Untouched, yellowed and dry. But I could never make it like she did. She was excellent at cooking. But I was terrible. But keep in mind, I was about 10 years old. I wanted to explore cooking as much as my brother did. This had led us to introduce us to other tastes of culture to our family. Sodsee came to the USA look for a job in architecture. She was studying over from her hometown in Chung Mai, Thailand. A town that preserves the old city, but maintaining a modern environment. The school system was divided as a boy school and girl school. But they could go to either school if you had wanted to study another subject. She had finished school and wanted to start over in America. She told me a story once of her boss hiring her because of how calm she was when instructed to schematics again. A lot of the workers quit because the boss of the place wasn’t really a person that would let you off easy. He was a guy that wanted everything perfected. Later in time, technology was growing more rapidly in the late 80’s and 90’s. Computers where being introduced into workplaces and her boss wanted her to learn how to use computer. She only knew how to draw the schematics and blueprints, which lead to the inevitable of losing her job. Unfortunately, had nowhere else to turn. So, she put an ad to put babysitting in the newspaper. It was easier for her to travel because near her place. It was a more convenient. I greatly admired her personality. She always remained calm even at the tensest situations. She forgot to pay at a toll both because she thought It was free parking Sunday and the guy came out of his cramped both and gave her an earful. She had remained calm, and understood what she had done wrong. without making a ginormous scene. We finished cooking and sat down, I was starving, Like a Camel in the Sahara. So, I dived right in, and the taste of the pork was spicy, sweet and tangy. The rice, was sticky, it sticks to the roof of your mouth. Some of it can stay on your clothes if you’re a slob. This food wasn’t something you’d taste at one of those Asian American restaurants. No, it was truly the authentic cuisine! We finished eating. and I had looked around all’s I see is the empty space. No materialist items. Such as a TV, computer, car and phone. I had asked; “Don’t you have a TV or computer I could use?” I asked; “No, “Sodsee replied I wondered why she doesn’t even bother to have a TV or a computer? It seemed strange. But in an intriguing way. I wondered If she was living in the 21st century? Most people have these common items for everyday use. So I was intrigued in the state that she was in. So I had asked to fill the void of uncertainty; “Why don’t you have a computer or a television?” She gets up a takes a breath. And says; “Because materials have no value to us” “Do you care to explain?” She explained a specific term in Buddhism called “Taṇhā” Which refers to Thirst, desire and longing. Which then is an extension of “Dukkha” which is the meaning of “un-satisfactoriness”. The Term “Dukkha” is what we all have in ourselves. Everybody experiences Dukkha, either they go through the pain of lost loved one, or the suffering of debts. for some people, are what I describe as Taṇhā. Our Desires can leave us unsatisfied. “I reply; “What about Christmas! People buy presents they feel happy!” Sodsee Replies; “That is where both “Dukkha” and “Tanha” come in, those people will eventually be unsatisfied with what they are given. then will keep wanting more to satisfy themselves. Sodsee was raised a Buddhist. She was more invested then I was in religion. Her parents had introduced her to a temple at a very young age. She had grown a liking to what the monks had told her. in contrast of me with Christianity. Christmas, had lost its true meaning of celebration and turned into a capitalist buy-fest on the first week of black Friday. This doesn’t mean some people don’t purely celebrate Christmas on tradition. It just means that Christmas cannot be truly celebrated when all you’re asking for is presents and money. It made no sense to me at first. The terms itself are hard to pronounce since I don’t speak Sanskrit. But as I began to think deeper and as time went on. All of what she was saying made absolute sense of why she had nothing in her house. Lots of people have attached to items that have no meaning. Often feeling unsatisfied with what they’re handed of course. most of us have leaned onto items for happiness like a TV. Unless you can give you a meaning. Then there isn’t a purpose to have anything besides food, water, shelter and clothing. She also never wanted anything wasted like food or clothing. We had to finish our meals or she wouldn’t serve these meals ever again. But it was for a good reason. People complain about certain livestock, wood and other mammals are extinct but we as species, are to blame. Our world has turned into a trash dump filling the land with preservatives and not with organics and artificiality. She’d take anything she found on the streets and fertilize it for 8 months. The jar smelled like Compost, as you’d expect. But, it’s use was so versatile. Its most prominent use was for zits and pimples. The smell was so strong that it burned a homeland for the zits. After I had left that day, what Sodsee had told those days had stuck in my mind for a long time. Those teachings were branches to lead me on a different path. Reading practices from not only Buddhism, but its other branch Hinduism and other religions. I was raised a catholic my entire life. It had changed my perspective on the world. The home that she had lived in, was rundown. So, we never could go back there for quite some time. She moved back to Thailand and sold her house to support her supermarket she owned. I missed her house, the contents were nothing but old newspapers and plants. How I feel about this place is different from my real home that I’d live in. The space made me move around more and clear my mind. Even though the color of the interior wasn’t my forte. She still comes to my house and delivers food that she made. The same way she had made it from when we would go to her house. I but it isn’t the same as going to her house. It had an atmosphere that touches a different place in my heart. I hope to visit her exact home in Bangkok, Thailand one day. One of my true goals was to get into a university in Thailand and visit her. She had truly inspired me. My mother, had taken me and my brother down to Upper Darby when we were children. where we would meet our babysitter, Sodsee. Our mother wanted us to learn how to cook her recipes. She had no clue of how making the Asian food. My mother was never interested in other cultures of food. She was only into her heritage of food and never wanted to go outside of whatever she had a taste for.
Our mother pulled off to say a goodbye, Sodee’s exterior was small and bush of vegetables growing in the front of her house. The exterior didn’t have much else besides the rotting plaster on the exterior walls. We entered the interior of her house, it was very minimalist, old, and somewhat decaying. nothing on the walls besides some pictures of elephants. The textures of her walls felt bumpy and rough. I entered her place for the first time with Nicholas, My brother. He had loved her cooking as much as I did. I’d enter her damp unrenovated kitchen with my brother and I. would help her cut up some of the ingredients. Like Scallions’ and peppers. We’d help her make a dish called “Thai pork” with rice. She had many ingredients that I haven’t seen before. A lot of those ingredients were from her marketplace, she was running a supermarket that she had built with her family’s inheritance. She had this special siracha that tasted completely different from the one you’d usually get from the grocery store. The secret though, was the extra garlic that gave the dish its bold spicy flavor. The dish goes as follows. You start with heating a large saucepan and add the spring and coriander stalks then cook for 1 min. You add the pork next, but it was her twist. the pork which was already cooked but with fish, garlic and black pepper. We then stir her special curry paste, the stuff you’d only find in Thailand. We still have her recipes that she written down from a long time ago. They’re old, but the quality of the paper holds up, it sits on the refrigerator like it was yesterday. Untouched, yellowed and dry. But I could never make it like she did. She was excellent at cooking. But I was terrible. But keep in mind, I was about 10 years old. I wanted to explore cooking as much as my brother did. This had led us to introduce us to other tastes of culture to our family. We finished cooking and sat down, I was starving, Like a Camel in the Sahara. So, I dived right in, and the taste of the pork was spicy, sweet and tangy. The rice, was sticky, it sticks to the roof of your mouth. Some of it can stay on your clothes if you’re a slob. This food wasn’t something you’d taste at one of those Asian American restaurants. No, it was truly the authentic cuisine! and I had looked around all’s I see besides the empty space. No materialist items. Such as a TV, computer, car and phone. I had asked; “Don’t you have a TV or computer I could use?” I asked; “No, “Sodsee replied I wondered why she doesn’t even bother to have a TV or a computer? Is this woman living in the 21st century? I would think Most people would have these items. “Why don’t you have a computer or a television?” She gets up a takes a breath. And says; “Because materials have no value to us” “Do you care to explain?” She explained a specific term in Buddhism called “Taṇhā” Which refers to Thirst,desire and longing. Which then is an extension of “Dukkha” which is the meaning of “un-satisfactoriness”.the Term “Dukkha” is what we all have in ourselves. Everybody experiences Dukkha, either they go through the pain of lost loved one, or the suffering of debts. for some people, are what I describe as Taṇhā. Our Desires can leave us unsatisfied.”I reply;“What about Christmas! People buy presents they feel happy!” Sodsee Replies;“That is where both “Dukkha” and “Tanha” come in, those people will eventually be unsatisfied with what they are given. then will keep wanting more to satisfy themselves. She was also extremely poor when she came here.She only had a few thousand dollars and had Which she had told me later on when we finished eating. Sodsee was raised a Buddhist. She was more invested then I was in religion. Her parents had introduced her to a temple at a very young age. She had grown a liking to what the monks had told her. in contrast of me with Christianity. Christmas, had lost its true meaning of celebration and turned into a capitalist buy-fest on the first week of black Friday. This doesn’t mean some people don’t purely celebrate Christmas on tradition. It just means that Christmas cannot be truly celebrated when all you’re asking for is presents and money. It made no sense to me at first. The terms itself are hard to pronounce since I don’t speak Sanskrit. But as I began to think deeper and as time went on. All of what she was saying made absolute sense of why she had nothing in her house. Lots of people have attached to items that have no meaning. Often feeling unsatisfied with what they’re handed of course. most of us have leaned onto items for happiness like a TV. Unless it can give you a meaning. After I had left that day, what Sodsee had told those days had stuck in my mind for a long time. Those teachings were branches to lead me on a different path. Reading practices from not only Buddhism, but its other branch Hinduism and other religions. I was raised a catholic my entire life. It had changed my perspective on the world.But it also taught me something different in a way. A tradition of some sort. It had given the basis of how to cook. In which, my mother had been pushed me to learn, because it is important to know how to cook, because you can save a lot of money The home that she had lived in, was rundown. So, we never could go back there for quite some time. She moved back to Thailand and sold her house to support her supermarket she owned. I missed her house, the contents were nothing but old newspapers and plants. How I feel about this place is different from my real home that I’d live in. The space made me move around more and clear my mind. Even though the color of the interior wasn’t my forte. I hope to visit her exact home in Bangkok, Thailand one day. One of my true goals was to get into a university in Thailand and visit her. She had truly inspired me. Today in class, we had a discussion on propaganda. It was something that steps the boundaries outside the zone of English, but it is something that needs to be brought up in today's environment. Propaganda has been around for Centuries. Since the rise of the Darus I and the Persian throne. The most notable era of propaganda was WW2 and the rise of Germany. The economy has collapsed and money was eventually worthless. But Hitler had brought Germany right back up to their standing. It came with a price though. If you’ve read the book titled Mein Kampf. It reads that Hitler had advocated anti-semeticism, Racism and anti-Bolshevism. He and the ministry had communicated these messages through art,music,theater,books and press. One film titled, “the Eternal Jew”. Portrayed Jews as culture parasites, consumed by sex and money. With this mindset that was planted into the minds of the masses. Jewish people were treated on the level of the modern meat industry. They rounded them up, sent them off to camps and tortured,burned and gassed them. It is a fine example of how propaganda can be used for power over the masses. As such would violate the human rights act. We still see this in the modern day and in many forms. Propaganda will take place around us. Whether it be the news station, or your local newspaper. We are perpetually surrounded by propaganda. Politicians use it for their own personal gain. Using messages to toy with the public. It is truly sad and terrifying as most of the country is the decision of the peoples. The best course of action is to keep your emotion in check. Or you’ll be a victim of it. Nazi propaganda cartoon. (WARNING CONTENT MAY BE OFFENSIVE WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK)
So, I was walking around the streets of Philadelphia a few weeks ago and noticed the abundance of trash littered all over the ground. I had questioned why do people just dump stuff knowing that there is trash cans? Are people this lazy to not be considerate about the area around them?
There are so many possibilities of how this comes about. But the biggest thing is when county's trash service seems to skip the days scheduled. Mostly due to Snow and people skipping the broadcast of when trash is expected to come. But this is no excuse to litter. According to Daily mail. Philadelphia had ranked second in the dirtiest cites in America, next to New Orleans. But In contrast with Philadelphia, the reason is because of hurricane Katrina. Which can take them a while to clean. Though, Philly has gotten a little cleaner. It doesn’t mean that the city is the streets of Japan. Because I still see the streets littered and people not doing their jobs. Center City itself already looks like a helicopter that dumped a landfill’s worth. Our environment is important. One the reasons why, is because of global warming. President Trump had said global warming isn't an issue. But in fact, it is a HUGE issue. A study by the natural climate change had said that 262 million tons of waste was dumped into landfills. Why is this an issue you might say? A powerful greenhouse gas releases into the earth’s atmosphere called methane. Which traps heat in the atmosphere. The gas is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. The heat itself can warm up the earth atmosphere globally and Antarctica’s polar ice caps would melt. If we don’t do something now, then things in the future could get a lot worse in the long run. In class, we had watched a documentary on a man that interprets freedom as something you live on your own terms. I am going to explore the comparison between myself and Francis and his inspiring take on “freedom” Francis had got is inspiration from listening to a band titled The Monkees. Feeling that there was a free world somewhere. So, he had asked his parents to leave school. Wanting to live his life on his own terms. Which led him starting his own business at the age of 19. Not wanting to have his life led by anybody. The most truly inspiring moment is when he was telling a story of when has a chef France. He was serving a guest and someone pulled him over and said. “this dish was absolutely horrible, but at least you put the effort in”. He goes on to say that he was trying to replicate his masters. But then he takes a step back and says that you must find your own language. The quote itself is powerful. Because we all are inspired by our idols and their ideals. We want to BE them. But how they got there was because they had the incentive to be their selves as from the first time he heard the garage rock band The Monkees he wanted to experience freedom in its true form and experience the real self. In a metaphoric sense. Think of bootleg shoes, they try to replicate successful brand. But they absolutely fail at trying to create something else for themselves. Retracting to myself, I think I had lost my true self of I wanted to explore as a career. People are always pulling you in the directions that leaves me unsatisfied. Which had led me to quitting so many things and people tell you the you’re just a quitter or you’ll never make it in your life if you keep quitting. But it was the exact opposite. It’s following the shepherd of sheep, not straying off into the wilderness onto the path that's decided for you. The Monkies was mentioned as a feeling of "freedom". He didn't specifically mention any song. But this is the song that possibly sparked inner freedom. The songs theme is an American man getting on a train to Mexico and gets back missing his trip from Mexico. The song itself can be connected with a hiraeth and the feeling of a homesickness.
During the free time that I've had between school and work. I've found a leisure activity that really helps winding down. Stress had been something that had been really getting to and i find this one of the things to calm me down.
It’s 12:00 am. I usually stay up at this time. The air is still. Not a single gust of wind. Its temperature was at a cool. It’s not freezing or too hot. You could describe it as spring. I slip on my shoes. Go outside, A take a drag of a cigarette. Look upon the sky and gaze at the stars.
I swiftly make myself to door. My parents hate when I’m up this late. They want their sleep. It’s hard because they had work early. I Usually did nothing on those days. The door from the downstairs peers open. My dad was unaware and oblivious of his surroundings. “What the hell?!?!” He shrieks I look at him Like I’ve done something wrong. Because he has never seen me be up this late. I reply “Did I scare you?” He looks over. With a half-cocked grin. Looking like he’s about to murder me. But still slightly showing that he understands “You did” and he’ pauses and says: “Why are up this late anyway? Shouldn’t you be getting ready for to go over?” OH, her house. This place is somewhere I have longed for. For me, I don’t even have any heritage or share any traits. It’s a place I was introduced to such a long time ago. It was about a few years ago; my mother knew her from us babysitting. She always wore clothes that had an oriental pattern She was a little, Maybe about 5ft 3. Her looked skin like uncooked brown rice, her teeth looked like they pushed forward by rock. She would always come over and make meals. They weren’t anything my parents made. They make Italian food which had a sweet and dry taste to it. I just went along with what they were making and ate It. I Think this is where I’ve lost my taste for Italian food. Since I got tired of it. I went on to eat foreign delicacies. Such as Tempura and Gyudon. Its taste was so fantastic I just couldn’t go back. My parents didn’t like the fact that I was leaving their traditional heritage of food. They started getting aggravated because they had no clue of where to buy any of this stuff. It wasn’t sold in supermarkets at the time. So, our babysitter took us down to her house and we’d cook the stuff there. Her house was very minimalist, old, and somewhat decaying. nothing on the walls besides this exotic oriental pattern from Thailand. There weren’t many materialist items. Such as a TV, computer, car and phone. I had asked; “Don’t you have a tv or computer I could go on?” I asked “No, “she replied I wondered why she doesn’t even bother to have a TV or a computer? Is this lady living in the 21st century? I would think most people would have these items.So, we would continue to make the food on this hot summer day. The damn place didn’t have air conditioning. So, we finish cooking and sit down then, ask her. “Why don’t you have a computer or a television?” She gets up a takes a breath. And says “Because materials have no value to ourselves” Then later says. “I am a Buddhist, Possessions are what we attach to I find such things are what people should have no need of.” “Do you care to explain?’ She explained a specific term in Buddhism called “Upādāna” Which means “fuel’ and the cause of suffering. Which is an extension of “Dukkha” which is the meaning of “un-satisfactoriness” It made no sense to me at first. But as began to think deeper. It clicked. All of what she was saying made absolute sense of why she had nothing in her house. Lots of people have attached to items that have no meaning. Often feeling unsatisfied with what they are handed Of course. most of us have leaned onto items for happiness. The home that she had lived in, was really beat up so we never could go back there for quite some time. She moved back to Thailand and sold her house to support her supermarket she had. The feeling of this home was esoteric. I missed it, nothing but old newspapers and plants. How I feel about this place is different from my actual home that I’d live in. The space made me move around more and clear my mind. Even though the color of the interior wasn’t my forte. I hope to visit her exact home in Thailand one day. I hope her well. In the first weeks of march to nearing the end of march, we were instructed to complete a film based project. The film, was titled Slumdog millionaire! I’d to say that it wasn’t my forte of film choice. Obviously, you must do it or id lose some points on my letter grade.
For the most part, I worked the project entirely by myself, except for our Instructor Sabatino. I can say this was my weakest I’ve done. I had waited until the last minute to work, also spring break was the week after leading me to completely forget about the project itself. As usual, I had done this in the comfort of my own home, usually in the basement on the computer shifting back and forth so I don’t sit there stuck on the same subject. it was the usual experience. But as I said earlier, I had rushed a bit from my lack of time management. Which I can improve in the last weeks of the semester. The topic I had choose was to write about how themes of violence, mistrust and poverty impacted Jamal. I can say that I could’ve choose a better topic for this assignment. It felt uninteresting to write about how violence impacted him. I think it would’ve been better to write about the class system of India. Then, extend the ideas out of the film. I could revise my film project with the Idea of idea and poverty, But I’m unsure if it fits the criteria. I think I could just rewrite the essay altogether and choose a different topic. This would lead me to start over from scratch, But I’m okay with that. Sometimes when something is started, there is a probability it will fail. But that’s how most art works. You keep starting repeatedly until you’ve found the right thing. In Slumdog Millionaire, screenwriter Simon Beaufoy shares the story of Jamal, a boy who grew up in the slum neighborhoods of India and managed to gain a spot on the gameshow, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? At the beginning of the film, a scene is shown of Jamal’s mother being killed in what is a known incident called The Bombay Riots. Jamal flees with his brother Salim, and they must figure out how to live on their own. Later, they’re seen sleeping in a storage container and meeting up with Latika, a girl from the slums who isn’t related to Jamal or Salim. They are taken in by a man known as Maman. Who takes them to their so-called orphanage to later find out that he is blinding children. Which leads us to Jamal's personality. Which has been shaped through his experiences with repeated violence, interactions with people he cannot trust, and the struggles of abject poverty.
The first thing the we recognize in this film is violence. His mother was killed in The Bombay Riots, which left both brothers without any parents left. We can say this when Salim acquires the gun he took from maman. He starts displaying his dominance to gang members saying that he shot his rival. led Which attentively, leads Jamal's brother Salim to becoming a gang member. This has ultimately changed how he views Salim as his brother. Which leads to our next theme of mistrust. His brother Salim, has destroyed the relationship Jamal. It shows itself slightly in the beginning of the film, shows Salim selling his autographed action star that Jamal had gotten from Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan. After this point, Salim slowly becomes an evil brother. As he purposely let’s go of Latika for playing a prank on him. But knowing him, he doesn’t admit to that to Jamal. But not until when they’re young teens is where salim’s true colors show. When he tells Jamal to leave with a gun straight to his face. As of this point in the film, He is working for Javed. A rival drug lord of Maman. Years later, Jamal is now in a call center as a teaboy. He searches for Salim and Latika through the call centers database. Salim and Jamal meet at a construction site and It doesn’t go as you’d expect as happy family supper on thanksgiving. Jamal’s eyes showed his complete hatred for his brother’s actions and a feeling of betrayal. He doesn’t fully realize until the end of the film, when he hears Latika. With the name of the film being titled: Slumdog Millionaire The last thing we can recognize is the overall setting of this film, which is in the slums of Mumbai, India. This area in specific is in poverty. People are sitting on piles of trash, children are walking around half naked, beggars are everywhere and children are everywhere making public places like restrooms they call “homes.” with Jamal in specific, Jamal hustles his way through the streets of India. He starts begging on the streets. then, stealing goods from tourists and finally, tricking people to thinking he was a tourist at the Taj Mahal. Jamal and Salim haven’t grasped the concept of what is right or wrong. Since, the brothers mother was killed, and since the education system wasn’t really teaching enough to the students, these children are forced into criminal action to survive. Outside of the film. Detroit poverty percentage of 59 percent. The death rate for young people ages 1-19 increased 14 percent between 2004 and 2012, mostly because of increased homicide. Per Detroit news. To compare with this film. The rate is based on families that have neglected their children alongside abuse. Cuts in social services have also impacted many of the people in poverty. In Conclusion, the themes of violence, poverty and mistrust are immensely common throughout the film. How it impacts Jamal, is when he enters the gameshow: Who wants to be a millionaire! Where he answers all the questions through his experiences and later wins the grand prize of ₹20 million rupees. I think without all of what had happened to him, I don’t think he would’ve even won the 20 million rupees or possibly, even gotten on the gameshow for that matter. This also answers one thing the Jamal believes, is that he believes that his future isn’t already written. He can continue to be a Slumdog, or life in the riches of fame. In Slumdog Millionaire, screenwriter Simon Beaufoy shares the story of Jamal, a boy who grew up in the slum neighborhoods of India and managed to gain a spot on the gameshow, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? At the beginning of the film, a scene is shown of Jamal’s mother being killed in what is a known incident called The Bombay Riots. Jamal flees with his brother Salim, and they must figure out how to live on their own. Later, they’re seen sleeping in a storage container and meeting up with Latika, a girl from the slums who isn’t related to Jamal or Salim. Two or three more summary sentences. Thesis statement: Jamal's personality has been shaped through his experiences with repeated violence, interactions with people he cannot trust, and the struggles of abject poverty.
The first thing the we recognize in this film is violence. His mother was killed in The Bombay Riots, which left both brothers without any parents left. It is one of the dark paths that had left both children on a path without any morals. Both of them are free of any restrictions. This has lead Jamal's brother Salim to becoming a gang member. The next thing I identify in the film, is when Jamal and Salim are finding her friend Latika. They find her in a prostitution ring in a different part of town, Jamal and Salim make an abrupt entrance while Maman is there. Salim, grabs his gun and shoots Maman. This has ultimately changed how he views Salim as his brother. Which leads to our next theme of mistrust. This is common from the beginning to the end. His brother Salim, has destroyed the relationship Jamal. It shows itself slightly in the beginning of the film, shows Salim selling his autographed action star that Jamal had gotten from Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan. After this point, Salim slowly becomes an evil brother. As he purposely let’s go of Latika for playing a prank on him. But knowing him, he doesn’t admit to that to Jamal. But not until when they’re young teens is where salim’s true colors show. When he tells Jamal to leave with a gun straight to his face. As of this point in the film, He is working for Javed. A rival drug lord of Maman. Years later, Jamal is now in a call center as a teaboy. He searches for Salim and Latika through the call centers database. Salim and Jamal meet at a construction site and It doesn’t go as you’d expect as happy family supper on thanksgiving. Jamal’s eyes showed his complete hatred for his brother’s actions and a feeling of betrayal. He doesn’t fully realize until the end of the film, when he hears Latika. With the name of the film being titled: Slumdog Millionaire The last thing we can recognize is the overall setting of this film, which is in the slums of Mumbai, India. This area in specific is in poverty. Therefore, poverty has a huge impact on not only Jamal, but the rest of the people living in that rural area. People are sitting on piles of trash, children are walking around half naked, beggars are everywhere and children are everywhere making public places like restrooms they call “homes.” Extending this idea, with Jamal in specific, Jamal hustles his way through the streets of India. He starts begging on the streets. then, stealing goods from tourists and finally, tricking people to thinking he was a tourist at the Taj Mahal. Jamal and Salim haven’t grasped the concept of what is right or wrong. Since, the brothers mother was killed, and since the education system wasn’t really teaching enough to the students, these children are forced into criminal action to survive. In Conclusion, the themes of violence, poverty and mistrust are immensely common throughout the film. How it impacts Jamal, is when he enters the gameshow: Who wants to be a millionaire! Where he answers all the questions through his experiences and later wins the grand prize of ₹20 million rupees. I think without all of what had happened to him, I don’t think he would’ve even won the 20 million rupees or possibly, even gotten on the gameshow for that matter. This also answers one thing the Jamal believes, is that he believes that his future isn’t already written. He can continue to be a Slumdog, or life in the riches of fame. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927537114001146 Film-Based Project Assignment Sheet: Please post a scratch assignment sheet for our film-based project. Include the following:
The film that had won movie madness was a film titled Slumdog millionaire. My first initial judgement was to think it was some type of gangster movie with no originality. Where a kid in the ghetto of some suburban city. rises to the top of becoming the top gangster on his block. I guess you can say I was about the ghetto part, but as an A-typical Detroit gangster movie, then,I was indefinitely wrong. It goes to say that when you look at something a certain way, It might not have been what you thought.
Slumdog millionaire is a British drama film set in Mumbai India. The has some tones that can reflect the state of India’s class system. One quote that examples this will is when Jamal took American tourists on a fake tour around a certain slum in India. The tourist come back to their car and are shocked that the car has been stripped into pieces’. A police off comes over and starts beating Jamal, and shouts “You want to see the real India! Here it is! This quote is powerful, because it reflects the reality of India’s class system known as the caste system. It shares the same system as the European feudal system. Which was the king at the top, and the peasants at the bottom. But in India, there are two type of categories to describe Indian communities. The first is Castes and the second is tribes. The “castes” were considered the elites of Indian society and divided the rest of the castes into three lower classes,Which are the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. This could be a good argument-based essay. Since the movies imagery reflects on India’s modern class system and its reality. We could make an argument whether or not India needs to change its system or should be kept, since the caste system d keeps modern tradition. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1010048/?ref_=nv_sr_1 The film I will be picking is a film titled 2001: A Space Odyssey, A science fiction film released on April,2 1968 and directed by Stanley Kubrick the film is based off the novel written by Arthur C. Clarke. Which was partially inspired by Clarke’s short story “the Sentinel”. Later used as a starting point for the film. 2001: A Space Odyssey was considered the most influential film ever made. The United States congress had considered it culturally, historically or aesthetically significant. Sight & sound magazine ranked Space odyssey sixth top ten films of all time. The film had generally received mixed reviews, it had gained a cult following and became one of the highest grossing films of 1968. 2001 A Space Odyssey is set in the distant past and the future. Abe-men Discover a monolith on earth. The mysteries unveiled of these monoliths are unknown. In the distant future, Humans discover this same monolith again, but this time on the moon. Hal 9000(A computer), David Bowman (crew member) and Frank Poole (Other crew member) go on a voyage to uncover the mysterious monoliths discovered on both planets. I think this film Is an interesting choice for a film project because it has recurring themes of Artificial Intelligence, human evolution, technology and extraterrestrial life. One topic we could write about is if you believe that Extraterrestrial life exists on other planets, or if Artificial intelligence and technology can advance to the point where a computer acts on its own will? On the 2nd week of February, the class was assigned to create an argument called Academic mindsets: Growth vs fixed. Sabatino (our instructor) had instructed us to make argument based on our research and support our claim through experiences and Sources. I had many troubles with this assignment. Due to my loathing throughout the week. But then picked up some speed when given a clear understanding of the assignment.
The first thing that had gave me a bit of trouble was the intro. I usually can’t write a good into for certain assignments. I’d always skip over that part and write everything else unorganized. So, I type franticly so I don’t have to worry about the assignment later.Then, I had chosen to write about how a growth mindset is good, but our education system is to blame. With various sources and articles to back up my claim. I’ve felt it was easier to write about since it pertains to past experiences throughout my life. I’ve done the assignment at the comfort of my home at first. Then I eased back for the rest of the week until the next Tuesday (which was a bad idea) and worked on it in our developmental English course. Our instructor gave me some good pointers on what I should’ve have written and gave us a clear understanding of how I should’ve written the assignment. It made me feel a lot better. All the anxiety was taken away and stress was taken away. Although, I should’ve at least taken a better approach to my time management. Because I tend to get distracted by many other things in life like work and appointments. But the first thing is to focus on school and get good grades. Not the outside noise that is a big distraction to me. People can learn a variety of ways. Some people like to make mistakes, others can’t see through them. Carol Dweck has written books and conducted years’ worth of research into how student's mindsets impact their abilities to learn. She distinguishes between students who have a "growth mindset" and students who have a "fixed mindset." So what is the difference between the two? Carol Dweck says,
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Here is where I blog for our English Composition class. I am a student at DCCC and is 22 years old.
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