Poetry in the News

Ukraine honour guard

The crash 

 

Speeding down the runway 

Lifting off the ground into the air 

Like a bird taking off 

The cabin shaking 

 

Sirens filling the heads of the passengers 

Screaming and crying  

Keep your heads down 

Brace for impact, brace for impact, brace for impact 

 

Smashing like ice, into a million pieces 

The lives of 176 people 

Claimed by the Iranian missile 

Governments like the serpent in the garden of Eden  

 

Family suffering the loss of loved ones 

Indescribable feelings 

The world watching for what comes next  

The start of a war 

 

 

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/bodies-of-11-ukrainians-killed-in-iran-plane-crash-sent-home-1.4774071

about the poem:

the poem:

 

A plastic mask of self unknown

This is a poem about how people in today’s society are not what they once were. People today put on a mask, hiding their true selves and how we do not truly mean what we say. It is an open poem. The poem talks about how we are all becoming almost the same person, we all strive for materialistic and the tangible instead of the intangible, and we are all kind of lost, in the way that we do not really know who we are on the inside. Some of the devices used in the poem are descriptive imagery, metaphor, repetition and personification. Descriptive imagery is found in words like, isolation, self-unknown, plastic mask and blemish, a metaphor in the poem is, “army of consumers”, repetition in the poem is structured men, structured worlds and plastic mask is used a lot during the poem, lastly, personification is when he says “individuality is on strike”. This connects to Oryx and Crake because of the tangible and intangible, in the poem it is talking about how we are so focused on the tangible, and we strive for the tangible instead of the intangible, which is very similar to Oryx and Crake because it is the same in their society. I really enjoyed this poem and it really opened my eyes even more to this issue we have in our society, and it makes me want to stop focusing on the tangible and start to strive for the intangible.

Spoken word

Honestly there is no real one answer to this question

And everyone could have a different answer to this question depending on their outlook on life.

To me the meaning of life is that there is no meaning, I think everyone has a purpose, and was put on this earth for a reason, but I don’t believe there is an actual meaning. Because No one really knows what we are doing here and how we got here and without that, how are we supposed to know what the meaning of us being here is.

I mean, there are theories such as god or the big bang and evolution

But no one really knows for sure, and we probably will never actually know.

My question is what are we all working towards, we put all our energy and time into school just to go to do more school which requires more time and energy doing the same thing, and then we work for the rest of our lives?

I feel like school and the world of technology really distracts us from this question that we all need to find in ourselves. A question that is more important than school or work, because why work when you don’t know what you are working for.

Recently I have learned to try my best to not stress over school and work because you need to enjoy life and live a little  while you are still here.

But, if we can’t figure out our purpose for coming to exist on this planet, if we cant figure out why or how the universe came into being, then our purpose is whatever we want it to be You get one life to do whatever you want, if you think your purpose is to sit around and play games all day or to create a multi billion dollar company is up to you.

My grandpa helped me realize my purpose of life, after he passed away, I realized that you and the people around you won’t be here forever. He helped pave the way to my answer, my purpose of life. Which I believe is to be as kind as possible, to raise positivity in others and to always try to make the world a better place no matter how small of an act, because I believe that life is too short to be angry and hostile towards others and you should always try your best to be nice because after you die you don’t want people to remember you as someone bad, you want to live the best life you can and be remembered for the good person you are.

 

Decisions, Blog Log #2

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https://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/bad-good-choices

Something that really interested me about this article was the topic. It was a really interesting topic to read about because of how it really demonstrated decision making, indicates why we make certain decisions and proves that most people when faced with multiple decisions will regret their decision later on. Another reason this is really interesting to me is the metaphor she used for this topic, it was about a donkey who had to choose between 2 equally appealing stacks of hay and he died from hunger not knowing which one to choose. This specifically interests me because with everything we have now for shopping it is really hard to choose what you may want, especially considering the fact that you can be at any store in seconds with a click of a button. I can defiantly relate to this with many, many, many experiences, being presented with multiple things and thinking you chose the best one, but later on realizing you liked the other one more is the worst feeling. what I really liked about the authors writing style was that she really conveys her point clearly and explains the details.

Blog Log | The addiction of videogames

https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2010/mar/21/tom-bissell-video-game-cocaine-addict

The thing that really interested me about this article was the fact that I played videogames quite a bit, so I wanted to see what this was about. Since i play videogames a lot this title really intrigued me. I really liked his use of words throughout the article, you could tell that he knew what he was talking about and that he has been playing videogames for a long time. I also really like the detail he put in the article, how explained his whole life in the article. Also, how videogames affected it and how he portrayed his life after he started getting addicted to videogames which lead to other addictions. The connection between this article and my life is that I play videogames, and I have played the games he has played, so I know what he is talking about and the certain language he uses. The article illustrates how video games ruined his life, how it made him lazy and addicted to drugs, indicating how it ruined his life.

Blackout Poem – “Where the Sycamore Grew”

“way back when”

The poem “Where the Sycamore Grew,” written by Carrie Richards is about a person who had previously owned a house where is a sycamore tree was growing. The speak remembering all the good and bad memories that came to her after looking at the house, her kids, anniversaries, their first Christmas tree and her mother’s death. The theme of the poem is memories and the past because the whole poem is about a woman who has gone back to one of her past homes and is now looking back at all the memories she had in that house. The poem is significant because many people move in their life time and each person that does that creates memories whether they are good or bad, until the house is being sold. Then memories will no longer be created in that house and you can only look back at those times. In the poem a poetic device would be imagery, this would be when she says, “the streets seem narrower and the trees are taller”(3). this makes us imagine a picture of the old neighbourhood and the new neighbour hood and the aging process that her yard and house went through. Another poetic device would be the use of a simile, this appears when it says, “like a whirl wind of leaves” (17). This compares a whirl wind to leaves using like or as. A third poetic device would be an end rhyme scheme, which would be, “…Our first Christmas tree… Our first anniversaries…” (18). This shows the two sounds that sound the same while being placed at the end of each line.

Spoken Word

The crowd roars, the arena shaking with the voices of the thousands of people.

As Mike Bibby brought the ball down the court now this is a sport, with 10 seconds left in the tied game.

The fans as nervous as the players it seems almost in slow motion, with all the commotion.

As Mike Bibby reaches the 3 point line with 5 seconds left, he passes and dashes to Milt Palacio.

The announcers raise the stress levels counting down the clock 5, 4, 3, 2.

Milt Palacio pulls back off the pick and shoots the ball, the ball leaves his hands, the crowd roars as the ball soars.

The ball goes right through the rim and splashes into the net the grizzlies are set.

The crowd all in the moment, not thinking of work or school the next day, they really don’t know what to say.

The golden state warriors go home defeated, the happiness overwhelms the sadness in the arena.

The fans leave the arena hoping to come back for the next game but things will never be the same.

For fans of the NBA, it was a sad day in a bad way when the city’s basketball team finally called it quits back in 2001 after experiencing only six short seasons without many reasons, the last game wasn’t the same, everyone came.

M any felt that the franchise really didn’t get the chance it deserved to truly develop, feed the seed and succeed.

The team was sold to Memphis in 2001, but the Grizzlies’ final game was almost completely sold out without a doubt.

Fans were upset during that final game with no team to claim.

It really was a dumb decision they had no vision of what the team could really do.

What game will give Vancouver its fame, hockey, the Canucks? they Haven’t won a cup they suck with the puck.

The city should welcome a new basketball team.

There was the Toronto Raptors hosting the Golden State Warriors at Rogers Arena.

All of the tickets to the game sold out in an astonishing 3 minutes flat just like that (snap finger).

the sold-out game had an electric atmosphere that made everyone present feel like the NBA should make a return to the city.

A lot of people would love a new team it really would be a dream.

 

Fahrenheit 451 – Radio

For this project we were supposed to create a podcast that is 7-8 minutes long. In this podcast we discuss a major topic in the novel we read called “Fahrenheit 451”, discuss information we have discussed in class and information on the topic we researched. We needed to provide 5 examples form the novel that relate to your topic and 5 pieces of information that we researched on our own that fit the topic. For this project I was partnered up with Deshawn, what I did to contribute tot he project is found 2 examples from the novel that relate to our topic, found 3 pieces of information from the internet that support our topic, I also typed the script and came up with ideas with Deshawn on what to write.

https://www.business2community.com/tech-gadgets/sick-slick-impact-technology-human-behavior-01637239

The impact of technology on behavior

How Does Technology Affect Teens?

Literature Photo Project

group: Liam and Deshawn

In the short story “A Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber there is a lot of changes from realism to expressionism. Walter tries to escape reality with his insane dangerous and adventurous dreams, and the dreams trigger through the event in his real life. The story also has situational irony, this shows when Walter is dreaming about being a famous doctor who wrote a book on streptothricosis and who is asked to take over difficult surgeries. In reality however Walter is anything but that and when he wakes from his fantasy he realizes that he parked in the wrong spot. The point of view is third person limited omniscient, this plays a big part in this irony example and in the whole story because most of the story is in his head. The project helps to show an understanding of the character and the story’s plot by us making photos ourselves and making us find particular literary element. Then have an explanation on why each quote fits that particular literary element, lastly write the formal paragraph.

a) Exposition
– Quote: The crew, bending to their various tasks in the huge, hurling eight-engine navy hydroplane, looked at each other and grinned.

Explanation: They are on a hydroplane. Working very hard to pilot it but it is hard while in a dog fight with the Germans and the Red baron. Walter is forced to take things into his own hands. This was also bad because when Walter thought he pushing high speed in the hydro plane he was pushing the gas pedal in his car causing his wife to worry.
b) Rising Action Example #1
– Quote: “You’re tensed up again,” said Mrs. Mitty. “it’s one of your days. I wish you’d let Dr. Renshaw look you over.”

Explanation: it shows that he has a problem with dreaming and his wife knows, it also shows how Walter is stubborn with going to the doctor about his dreaming. But Walter enjoys his dreams more that the reality that he lived in.

c) Rising Action Example #2
– Quote: “I don’t need overshoes,” Said Mitty. She put her mirror back into her bag. “We’ve been through that, “she said, getting out of the car. “You’re not a young man any longer .”

Explanation: because he stood up to his wife, and although they already has constant arguments before he wouldn’t listen to Mrs. Mitty when she asked him to please put on his overshoes and he lashed back saying I don’t even need them why do I have to wear them which started the conflict.

d) Rising Action Example #3
– Quote: “in the operating room there were whispered introductions: Dr. Remington, Dr. Mitty.”

Mitty is a surgeon in a hospital about to perform a procedure but it is a bad idea because he isn’t a real doctor. Walter is in a dream and turns out to be a surgeon performing a procedure on somebody without any knowledge of being a doctor. He also tries to say long and random words to play the role as a doctor.

e) Climax
– Quote: “where’s the what’s-its-name?” she would ask. “don’t tell me you forgot the what’s-its-name.”

Explanation: it shows the relationship between him and his wife, it shows that they are not always on the same page with everything they do, it also tells us that he is pretty absent minded with things that his wife tells him or ask him to do, but it seems as though he is absent minded on purpose because she doesn’t let him have freedom.

f) Falling Action                                                                                                                                                                                                                             – Quote: he said evenly, “I could have killed Gregory Fitzhurst at three hundred feet with my left hand”

Explanation: because he got the death penalty for admitting to kill the guy with the gun. because they were not suspecting after they said it would be impossible to shoot him with his non-dominate hand. But Since Walter Pointed out the fact that he could have shot the guy it instantly brought trouble.

g) Denouement
– Quote: “then, with that faint, fleeting smile playing about his lips, he faced the firing squad”

Explanation:  he is up against a wall with a firing squad aiming at him, Although we know he is facing the firing squad we do not know what happened to him and we don’t know if he died in the dream or not, which leaves us with the thought of what happened to Walter Mitty is he dead or alive.

h) Physical Setting
– Quote: “ Walter Mitty drove on towards Waterbury in silence”

Explanation: because it explains that he lives in Waterbury, Kineticist and this is physical setting because this shows where he lives in the story and where the story takes place. This is good because the readers can visualize where the characters are in the story.

I) Emotional Setting
– Quote: “you know I don’t like to go more than forty. You were up to fifty-five.”

Explanation: it shows that the relationship with his wife is not good and he is sad because he has no freedom and he is getting older causing him to not be able to adventure like he may have been able to do when he was younger it also shows that Mrs. Mitty is highly controlling over Walter and does not want him to do things on his own free will.

j) Conflict Type
– Quote: “I’ve been looking all over the hotel for you,” Said Mrs. Mitty. “Why do you have to hide in this old chair?”

Explanation- this shows another example of how Walter Mitty continues to avoid Mrs. Mitty. This is a main conflict because it shows how Walter and his wife do not seem compatible together. Walter’s wife is the one to tell Walter what to wear and do, because of this Walter feels like he is getting to old not to have any freedom and just makes him not want to listen to her anymore.

k) Ending type
– Quote: “then, with that faint, fleeting smile playing about his lips, he faced the firing squad; erect and motionless, proud and disdainful, Walter Mitty the undefeated, inscrutable to the last”

Explanation: cliff hanger, unresolved. This ending type is cliff hanger unresolved because we as reader do no know what happened to Walter Mitty and it does not tell us if the firing squad really shoots or not. If Walter Mitty was not shot, then what happened, that is why this is unresolved because we don’t know what happened to him.

l) Irony Example
– Quote: “I’ve read your book on streptothricosis,” said Pritchard-Mitford, shaking hands”

Explanation:  Walter imagines himself as being a famous doctor who is praised by his peers and who is asked to take over difficult surgeries. In reality however Walter is anything but that and when he wakes from his fantasy he realizes that he parked in the wrong spot.

m) Suspense                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    – Quote: the district attorney suddenly thrust a heavy automatic at the quiet figure on the witness stand.

Explanation: They are in a district court, and there is a witness on the stand, that has something to do with Walter, and a gun. This relates to suspense because you don’t know what is going to happen, did Walter kill someone, did Walter get shot, we don’t know.