So, my final blog of the evening will be the short story that I wrote today. We were given four random words to use as an idea springboard and 30 minutes of class time to come up a short childrens story. I wrote mine with a specific audience in mind, that is, my little brothers, so it may be a little juvenille for older readers. Personally, I had a lot of fun both writing and re-reading it, and I hope you will enjoy the read too! :)
><>RileyRose<><
An Adventure of Epic Proportions
Peter was having quite a wonderful time. He had run through the jello forest, jumped down the root beer waterfall, found several magic mushrooms, and was feeling quite pleased with himself. At the moment he was walking through the field of the sapphires, picking a couple of the nicest ones when he saw them. His wavey blond hair was lifted by the slight breeze, and sunlight glinted off his baby blue eyes. Smiling to himself, he brushed a speck of dirt off of one of the biggest gems and stowed it away in his knapsack. Suddenly a loud voice boomed out, making Peter jump.
'WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY GARDEN LITTLE BOY?!!' Peter looked around, but he couldn't locate the source of the voice. 'I'M BEHIND YOU, SILLY!' the voice boomed again. Peter wheeled around, but saw nothing except a small plant with an odd red and white speckled top, which looked rather out of place in the sapphire garden. To his suprise, the petals of the plant opened like a mouth, revealing rows and rows of sharp white teeth. The plant grinned, an odd, and slightly disturbing sight. 'You have been picking my sapphires. You don't think you can just take them for free do you? You must pay the price for them.'
'Well,' said Peter, 'I don't have any money with me, what else can I give you?' The plant grinned again, it's teeth glinting in the sunlight.
'I don't need money, little boy. I am in need of amusement....I will give you a game to play, but you must promise to finish it...and if you don't finish...I will eat you.' Peter was a little frightened by the prospect of being eaten by a plant, but he figured that if he lost the game, there was very little chance that the plant would be able to eat him, since it was, of course, rooted to the ground, and it would most likely be fairly easy to run away. So, he agreed to play whatever game the plant would give him.
'Wonderful,' said the plant. 'The game is an obstacle course... you must get over the crocodile pit, swim through the quicksand,
and climb the tall tower near the garden.' Peter found the idea of crocodiles quite scary, but, being a very brave little man, he agreed to attempt the obstacle course.
First came the crocodiles. Striking their eyes with a large stick, Peter jumped on the noses of all the crocodiles, keeping their mouths shut as he jumped across the pond. He reached the other side safe and sound.
The next obstacle was the quicksand. Jumping in, Peter attempted to swim for the other side of the pool. Unfortunately, Peter had not thought quite far enough ahead, and had not realized that it is actually quite impossible to swim in quicksand. He slowly began to sink down into the mud and it finally dawned on him that the plant had been tricking him from the very start.
The plant grinned evilly at Peter. Suddenly, the plant begain to grow. It grew and grew, becoming larger and larger untill it was the size of a man, maybe even larger.
The ravenous man-eating plant turned and snapped it's pearl-like teeth at poor Peter, who was desperately trying to make an escape, which was rather difficult, since he was stuck in the quicksand. The plant's roots writhed and wriggled as they pulled out of the ground with a sickening sucking noise. Free at last, it slowly advanced on the struggling young man sitting helplessly before it. It stretched out its long floral head untill it was so close to Peter that he could smell its sweet stench. Peter shut his eyes and cringed, awaiting a blow from the sharp teeth of the garden-variety monstrosity. Summoning all his remaining energy, he made one last valiant effort to escape. He threw himself forward with all his might and suddenly.....he landed painfully on the floor beside his bed. 'Ow', he muttered. 'I have GOT to stop doing that...'
From that day forward, Peter decided that it was probably a good idea to find better uses for his time than prolonged playing of video games, since these games seemed to give him very odd dreams. Peter began reading more books and spending his time on more profitable things in general, although he has never quite gotten over the fright of his dream that day.
The End.
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Global Warming?
Okay, so this was a very random assignment that we were given a few weeks ago. We were told to write a paper on global warming from any standpoint that we wished to, as long as we attempted to make some sort of a point. I took my professor at her word and had entirely too much fun with the paper. :) The point that I attempted to make was...well, let's see if you get it shall we? Whether I made my point or not, I sure had fun trying!
><>RileyRose<><
Global Warming is a Martian conspiracy, which aims to make all of mankind believe that the earth will eventually become uninhabitable because of the copious amounts of heat. This will, (they hope) eventually lead mankind to abandon the earth. Humans will then take up their residence on some other planet, thus leaving the earth free for the Martians, who are becoming rather tired of their bare and rocky planet.
This conspiracy started long, long ago, around the time the Mars rover landed. The Martians have been sending subversive signals through the video footage that we receive of their sad little planet. These signals have been gradually drilling into the minds of men, brain-washing us into believing that the heat of the earth will slowly rise until the entire world spontaneously combusts and all life ceases with a loud sizzle.
The aliens have been aided in their struggle to gain the earth as their home by certain politicians. Al Gore, former Vice President of the U.S. and the writer of 'An Inconvenient Truth', a film documentary, was a fierce supporter of the 'fact' of Global Warming. He was, of course, allied with the Martians, who had promised him 50% of the world's precious stones in exchange for his co-operation. This, of course, is just another reason to never trust a politician. Although we may sympathize with our small green neighbours, seeing their sad-looking, dusty planet compared to our lush green one, should we really be swallowing their stories with such eagerness? Where is our pride? Why is it that we calmly swallow all of these 'facts' without even knowing where they have come from? Are not our minds more highly developed than this? Must we meekly open our minds to be brainwashed by the lies that are so prevalent in our society? No! We must stand in protection of our planet! We must not let ourselves be driven from our beautiful world by these despicable green creatures!
The load of malarkey that I have just spouted is one of many proposed theories on Global Warming. There are many theories that may explain the apparent temperature changes in the world without jumping straight to the conclusion of 'Global Warming'. For example, it is possible that occasional climate shifts are part of the regular cycle of the earth. The 'average' temperature of the earth, we are told, has risen 0.6 degrees in the last 20 years. Is this small amount really all that dangerous? Or is it just normal fluctuation in the earth's atmosphere?
The question is whether Global Warming is really happening, or if the whole idea is merely a government and/or media (or alien!!) generated hype that is, in reality, pure fiction?
Perhaps we should be doing our research more carefully and taking a look at the alternative theories before swallowing everything that we are told without question. One of the key factors that differentiates men from animals is our ability to reason, so I ask you, are you man, or are you beast?
><>RileyRose<><
GLOBAL WARMING
Nov. 8th, 2011
Global Warming is a Martian conspiracy, which aims to make all of mankind believe that the earth will eventually become uninhabitable because of the copious amounts of heat. This will, (they hope) eventually lead mankind to abandon the earth. Humans will then take up their residence on some other planet, thus leaving the earth free for the Martians, who are becoming rather tired of their bare and rocky planet.
This conspiracy started long, long ago, around the time the Mars rover landed. The Martians have been sending subversive signals through the video footage that we receive of their sad little planet. These signals have been gradually drilling into the minds of men, brain-washing us into believing that the heat of the earth will slowly rise until the entire world spontaneously combusts and all life ceases with a loud sizzle.
The aliens have been aided in their struggle to gain the earth as their home by certain politicians. Al Gore, former Vice President of the U.S. and the writer of 'An Inconvenient Truth', a film documentary, was a fierce supporter of the 'fact' of Global Warming. He was, of course, allied with the Martians, who had promised him 50% of the world's precious stones in exchange for his co-operation. This, of course, is just another reason to never trust a politician. Although we may sympathize with our small green neighbours, seeing their sad-looking, dusty planet compared to our lush green one, should we really be swallowing their stories with such eagerness? Where is our pride? Why is it that we calmly swallow all of these 'facts' without even knowing where they have come from? Are not our minds more highly developed than this? Must we meekly open our minds to be brainwashed by the lies that are so prevalent in our society? No! We must stand in protection of our planet! We must not let ourselves be driven from our beautiful world by these despicable green creatures!
The load of malarkey that I have just spouted is one of many proposed theories on Global Warming. There are many theories that may explain the apparent temperature changes in the world without jumping straight to the conclusion of 'Global Warming'. For example, it is possible that occasional climate shifts are part of the regular cycle of the earth. The 'average' temperature of the earth, we are told, has risen 0.6 degrees in the last 20 years. Is this small amount really all that dangerous? Or is it just normal fluctuation in the earth's atmosphere?
The question is whether Global Warming is really happening, or if the whole idea is merely a government and/or media (or alien!!) generated hype that is, in reality, pure fiction?
Perhaps we should be doing our research more carefully and taking a look at the alternative theories before swallowing everything that we are told without question. One of the key factors that differentiates men from animals is our ability to reason, so I ask you, are you man, or are you beast?
Essay on the controversy of Islamic Prayer services in school
One of my assignments for school the other day was to write a short paper on this controversy. I found it really interesting to think about....there is really a lot more going on here (I think) than just 'keeping the children in school'. If anyone has any thoughts or questions, I'd love to hear them!
><>RileyRose<><
Should Islamic Prayer Times be allowed in schools?
Nov. 28th, 2011
Valley Park Middle School has recently been at the center of a major
controversy concerning religion, education, and the connection between the two.
This controversy was sparked because some schools have begun allowing the
attending Islamic students to use their school cafeteria as a place to conduct
their friday prayer services. The Islamic people are required to attend a prayer
service on friday afternoons, and the school board decided to allow the children
to conduct these meetings on school property. The reasoning behind the School
boards decision was largely for educational purposes. The Islamic children are
required to attend these prayer services, and if they are not allowed to do so on
the school property, the children have to leave the school to attend the nearest
mosque. This tended to result in the children skipping out on school, simply
attending the prayer service and not bothering to come back to school at all. By
allowing the children to worship on school property, the school board is hoping
to better contain the children during school hours.
The decision may not have been the best one where the government is
concerned, however, since it brings the question of religion in the school back
into the public eye. It is no longer allowable for a teacher to read the Bible or
pray with their class, but it would seem that it is allowable for a large mass of
students to take time out of their classes to have an entire worship service in the
middle of school hours! The question that should be asked is 'Why is it that the
government and the school board feel that it is necessary to bend over
backwards for every religious and ethnic group except Christians?' All traces of
a Christian message have been scrubbed out of the school as if dirtier than the
mud tracked into the halls by a hyperactive schoolboy, but it seems that the
school board thinks it only proper that the messages of other major world
religions should have a large presence in the educational system.
The question of whether Islamic prayer times should actually be held in
schools is not a question easily answered. On one hand, some people would
likely say 'Well yes, as part of their religion they have to pray at certain times of
the day, so of course they should be allowed! It's part of religious freedom!'. On
the other hand, the Christian religion calls its people to evangelize and to speak
about their faith to everyone around them, so why is it that if a christian teacher,
or even a student, makes mention of their faith to others, they are liable to be
held guilty of 'forcing their faith on others'? Does it really make sense that a
teacher stating to his class that he is a Christian is classified as force feeding
the students religion, but a school clearing their entire cafeteria to allow Islamic
children to pray is not? I imagine that the argument for this would most likely be
something like 'Well, the teacher is talking to non-christians and forcing them to
listen..the Muslims are keeping it amongst themselves'. It is, however, fairly
easy to protest against an argument such as this. It is highly unlikely that the
children making this mass exodus from the classroom and migrating to the
cafeteria would go unnoticed by, or without question from the other students. It is
also unlikely that if a non-muslim were to ask a teacher why the prayers were
happening the teacher would refuse to explain. If the standards for both Islam
and Christianity were the same the teacher would refuse to explain because it
would be 'forcing religion' on the child. At least in France, where any expression
of religion in public is forbade, the taboo applies to all religions. Crosses are not
to be worn in schools, and neither is the Hajab head covering. But in our
country, it seems that Christianity must go unnoticed and unmentioned, whilst
other religions have been granted bragging rights.
It must be concluded that if there are to be Islamic prayer times in school,
then the implied religious rights must be granted across the board. Teachers
must be allowed to teach science from all possible viewpoints, not just the
evolutionary viewpoint that is currently espoused by the powers that be.
Chapels must be allowed back into the school for the christians who wish to
spend time worshipping. There are many different religions that must be
accepted into the school and made part of the system if this path is to be
followed to the end. If the government attempts to create a middle ground, it is
inevitable that they will find the task exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. A
third choice is not easily found in this matter, there seems to be only two
available. Either the government must allow all religions freedom in the school,
thereby doing the unthinkable and allowing Christianity to have a voice within
the school once more, or they must return education to the moral and religious
desert that we have recently become accustomed to.
><>RileyRose<><
Should Islamic Prayer Times be allowed in schools?
Nov. 28th, 2011
Valley Park Middle School has recently been at the center of a major
controversy concerning religion, education, and the connection between the two.
This controversy was sparked because some schools have begun allowing the
attending Islamic students to use their school cafeteria as a place to conduct
their friday prayer services. The Islamic people are required to attend a prayer
service on friday afternoons, and the school board decided to allow the children
to conduct these meetings on school property. The reasoning behind the School
boards decision was largely for educational purposes. The Islamic children are
required to attend these prayer services, and if they are not allowed to do so on
the school property, the children have to leave the school to attend the nearest
mosque. This tended to result in the children skipping out on school, simply
attending the prayer service and not bothering to come back to school at all. By
allowing the children to worship on school property, the school board is hoping
to better contain the children during school hours.
The decision may not have been the best one where the government is
concerned, however, since it brings the question of religion in the school back
into the public eye. It is no longer allowable for a teacher to read the Bible or
pray with their class, but it would seem that it is allowable for a large mass of
students to take time out of their classes to have an entire worship service in the
middle of school hours! The question that should be asked is 'Why is it that the
government and the school board feel that it is necessary to bend over
backwards for every religious and ethnic group except Christians?' All traces of
a Christian message have been scrubbed out of the school as if dirtier than the
mud tracked into the halls by a hyperactive schoolboy, but it seems that the
school board thinks it only proper that the messages of other major world
religions should have a large presence in the educational system.
The question of whether Islamic prayer times should actually be held in
schools is not a question easily answered. On one hand, some people would
likely say 'Well yes, as part of their religion they have to pray at certain times of
the day, so of course they should be allowed! It's part of religious freedom!'. On
the other hand, the Christian religion calls its people to evangelize and to speak
about their faith to everyone around them, so why is it that if a christian teacher,
or even a student, makes mention of their faith to others, they are liable to be
held guilty of 'forcing their faith on others'? Does it really make sense that a
teacher stating to his class that he is a Christian is classified as force feeding
the students religion, but a school clearing their entire cafeteria to allow Islamic
children to pray is not? I imagine that the argument for this would most likely be
something like 'Well, the teacher is talking to non-christians and forcing them to
listen..the Muslims are keeping it amongst themselves'. It is, however, fairly
easy to protest against an argument such as this. It is highly unlikely that the
children making this mass exodus from the classroom and migrating to the
cafeteria would go unnoticed by, or without question from the other students. It is
also unlikely that if a non-muslim were to ask a teacher why the prayers were
happening the teacher would refuse to explain. If the standards for both Islam
and Christianity were the same the teacher would refuse to explain because it
would be 'forcing religion' on the child. At least in France, where any expression
of religion in public is forbade, the taboo applies to all religions. Crosses are not
to be worn in schools, and neither is the Hajab head covering. But in our
country, it seems that Christianity must go unnoticed and unmentioned, whilst
other religions have been granted bragging rights.
It must be concluded that if there are to be Islamic prayer times in school,
then the implied religious rights must be granted across the board. Teachers
must be allowed to teach science from all possible viewpoints, not just the
evolutionary viewpoint that is currently espoused by the powers that be.
Chapels must be allowed back into the school for the christians who wish to
spend time worshipping. There are many different religions that must be
accepted into the school and made part of the system if this path is to be
followed to the end. If the government attempts to create a middle ground, it is
inevitable that they will find the task exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. A
third choice is not easily found in this matter, there seems to be only two
available. Either the government must allow all religions freedom in the school,
thereby doing the unthinkable and allowing Christianity to have a voice within
the school once more, or they must return education to the moral and religious
desert that we have recently become accustomed to.
First Post :)
So, I should probably start this off by saying that blogging is completely new to me. I have never done anything like this before, and I'm basically doing it now only because my professor believes it to be a good way to polish ones writing skills. I guess we'll see if she's right.
I'm going to start this blog by posting up a few of the short essays and a short story that I have written for school in the past two weeks.
><>RileyRose<><
I'm going to start this blog by posting up a few of the short essays and a short story that I have written for school in the past two weeks.
><>RileyRose<><
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