Wanted: Queen Sharkeisha. Dead or alive
His tears became my River Styx.
Your eyes glistened, your heart stopped.
Without a song, what's my life?
They see your grades, not you.
She left her ring beside me.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Sunday, September 21, 2014
John Proctor: Hero or Stooge?
First of all, what is a stooge?
I always think of the Three Stooges, obviously, when I hear this term. So I'm just going to assume from this point on that "stooge" means someone foolish, or a guy with an awful haircut.
John Proctor in the Crucible was supposed to be some crusty old man, but for some reason, I liked him from the start. Yeah, he cheated on his wife, and I hate him for that, but he seems to be one of the more reasonable characters: he doesn't jump to witchcraft as a conclusion for an action, he just seems to be his own honest self.
Proctor's character doesn't change, but rather gains my trust as the Crucible moves on. Yes, there is some tension between him and his wife in Act II, and yes, we're all wondering why she didn't throw him on the street along with Abigail, but you have it imprinted in your mind that he loves Elizabeth, especially during Act III. He makes it clear how having Elizabeth executed would hurt him very badly, and her living for a year is not enough for him. Not just Elizabeth, however, does he make himself good for. Him confessing to having an affair with Abigail makes me really admire him. Because he's giving up his image for the good of Salem, although it doesn't get him far. And he keeps his morals over his life when he refuses to confess, and he keeps his soul pure by not telling a lie.
Let's go back to the question. If a stooge is someone foolish, this wouldn't be John Proctor. He may have committed a mistake, but this is not foolish, it's something that is a mistake, and proves that John Proctor let his lust rule over his mind just for a moment. Which is horrible, but not foolish. However, is John Proctor a hero? Sure, during good moments during Act III and Act IV, and also some parts of Act II, but his affair is truly one to remember. I cannot see him as a hero in that sense. So I'm going to have to say he is hero nor stooge
I always think of the Three Stooges, obviously, when I hear this term. So I'm just going to assume from this point on that "stooge" means someone foolish, or a guy with an awful haircut.
John Proctor in the Crucible was supposed to be some crusty old man, but for some reason, I liked him from the start. Yeah, he cheated on his wife, and I hate him for that, but he seems to be one of the more reasonable characters: he doesn't jump to witchcraft as a conclusion for an action, he just seems to be his own honest self.
Proctor's character doesn't change, but rather gains my trust as the Crucible moves on. Yes, there is some tension between him and his wife in Act II, and yes, we're all wondering why she didn't throw him on the street along with Abigail, but you have it imprinted in your mind that he loves Elizabeth, especially during Act III. He makes it clear how having Elizabeth executed would hurt him very badly, and her living for a year is not enough for him. Not just Elizabeth, however, does he make himself good for. Him confessing to having an affair with Abigail makes me really admire him. Because he's giving up his image for the good of Salem, although it doesn't get him far. And he keeps his morals over his life when he refuses to confess, and he keeps his soul pure by not telling a lie.
Let's go back to the question. If a stooge is someone foolish, this wouldn't be John Proctor. He may have committed a mistake, but this is not foolish, it's something that is a mistake, and proves that John Proctor let his lust rule over his mind just for a moment. Which is horrible, but not foolish. However, is John Proctor a hero? Sure, during good moments during Act III and Act IV, and also some parts of Act II, but his affair is truly one to remember. I cannot see him as a hero in that sense. So I'm going to have to say he is hero nor stooge
Sunday, September 14, 2014
There Goes the Neighborhood
The only way to sympathize with this situation is by looking at it like this:
Imagine that you've lived in your home for a very long, long time. You've worked hard to build it from the ground up, providing a safe shelter for you and your family, and you've always been happy the way you are. You earned it, after all. Then, a couple guys just trample inside, claiming that you can "share" the home that is yours, but soon, you find yourself kicked out, diseased, sold into slavery, or horribly, dead.
That is what has happened to most Native Americans who used to live in America before they were literally run out of their homes. Sure, it's not like the Native Americans were all good: there must've been a couple bad people, because not every single person in the world has a good heart. Yet, most of the Native Americans only tried to help the settlers into their new ways of life, and what did they get in return? Influenza. And you, who may be reading this and not believe a person of your own race could do something like this, could think of a weak excuse to pardon yourself and your ethnicity. "Oh, well, the Native Americans were too nice." So what are they supposed to be? Too mean?
We ask ourselves, how could this even happen? Is this real, what Europeans did? The answer is a big YES that stares us in the face, but yet we don't see it. We go on to celebrate Columbus Day, a holiday honoring a man who wasn't even the first guy to find America (It was Amerigo Vespucci, by the way), and who also sold young girls into prostitution and forced men to work in gold mines until their hands literally fell off. And there's Thanksgiving, which is when all the Indians and Pilgrims sat down together and ate a huge meal! Oh yay! But wait, who was shooting the Indians a couple years later?
Imagine that you've lived in your home for a very long, long time. You've worked hard to build it from the ground up, providing a safe shelter for you and your family, and you've always been happy the way you are. You earned it, after all. Then, a couple guys just trample inside, claiming that you can "share" the home that is yours, but soon, you find yourself kicked out, diseased, sold into slavery, or horribly, dead.
That is what has happened to most Native Americans who used to live in America before they were literally run out of their homes. Sure, it's not like the Native Americans were all good: there must've been a couple bad people, because not every single person in the world has a good heart. Yet, most of the Native Americans only tried to help the settlers into their new ways of life, and what did they get in return? Influenza. And you, who may be reading this and not believe a person of your own race could do something like this, could think of a weak excuse to pardon yourself and your ethnicity. "Oh, well, the Native Americans were too nice." So what are they supposed to be? Too mean?
We ask ourselves, how could this even happen? Is this real, what Europeans did? The answer is a big YES that stares us in the face, but yet we don't see it. We go on to celebrate Columbus Day, a holiday honoring a man who wasn't even the first guy to find America (It was Amerigo Vespucci, by the way), and who also sold young girls into prostitution and forced men to work in gold mines until their hands literally fell off. And there's Thanksgiving, which is when all the Indians and Pilgrims sat down together and ate a huge meal! Oh yay! But wait, who was shooting the Indians a couple years later?
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Intro to Jan
Hi, my name is Jan Balan. I recently turned fifteen and I am half Korean, and half Indian. I go to Whitney Young High School as a freshman, but I've attended the Academic Center for two years. I have two parents and a brother who is a junior. Besides trying to survive school, my interests include reading and writing, swimming (I used to swim competitively), and photography. I also play Intermediate Guitar in school.
I love to travel. Not travel as in, let's go to McDonalds!, but travel as in to different countries. If I ever get to, I will travel all around Europe, and go to Korea, which is one of my favorite places in the world.
Apart from all these basic facts about myself, I believe the most important thing in my life and really what defines me is music, especially piano. I probably listen to music more than anything else. But I started playing piano when I was seven years old, and I don't think I will ever stop. I've participated and won in many piano competitions and currently go to People's Music School for lessons. My dream is to become a concert pianist and then teach it to aspiring learners.
I love to travel. Not travel as in, let's go to McDonalds!, but travel as in to different countries. If I ever get to, I will travel all around Europe, and go to Korea, which is one of my favorite places in the world.
Apart from all these basic facts about myself, I believe the most important thing in my life and really what defines me is music, especially piano. I probably listen to music more than anything else. But I started playing piano when I was seven years old, and I don't think I will ever stop. I've participated and won in many piano competitions and currently go to People's Music School for lessons. My dream is to become a concert pianist and then teach it to aspiring learners.
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