What do you see?

My friend sent this picture to me via email. I was looking at it, and it was really interesting. When i first looked at it, I only saw the big man's head. Then I looked more slowly and carefully, and eventually i saw more and more pictures. After i saw the big head, i saw the body of it. Then i noticed that his hand was a dog. Then i saw the small lady with her baby, and a small man standing in an archway. The lady was disguised in the big man's ear and the man was disguised in the big man's nose, eye, and mouth. Last, I saw two heads on either side of the archway.
After looking at this picture, I thought to myself, "it's amazing that we have artists who can draw optical illusions." I think it's so cool to be able to do that. It's amazing that there can be so many things disguised as one picture.

Basketball

This year, the season for girls ILH basketball was changed from spring to winter season. It was changed to the same season as guys basketball. I think this is really stupid because now we have to share the 2 courts in the gym and the 3 courts outside between 12 teams. There are 2 teams for girls and boys of each level, Varsity, JV, and Intermediate. Everything is so much harder for the girls now, because of course the guys sports are more important. We have a much shorter season, and we dont get to have preseason tournaments anymore. Our practices (and court time) are going to be shortened and altered. We may even have late or really early (5:30-7:00 AM) practices. It is really unfair that the guys are favored over the girls. I am really angry about this, because things are supposed to be equal. It just shows that people are still prejudiced.

Whale Rider (Identity)

After i turned in my final essay today, I was thinking about other movies that i could have used as examples. Then, I thought of Whale Rider. I realized that this movie is a great example of finding identity.

'Whale Rider' is the story of Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes), a young girl resented by grandfather Koro (Rawiri Paratene) for the heinous crime of being born a female. He longs instead for a grandson to carry on the family name, as they are the last descendants of the original Maori leader who, according to legend, escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. So, shunning his granddaughter despite her continual attempts to impress, Koro seeks out a new great chief among the first-born boys of the local neighbourhood. Meanwhile, Pai sets about upstaging each of the lads with her superior skills at stick-fighting, swimming, and pulling faces - and even goes as far as to go riding on a whale. She does it to show Gramps that she too can be great, that she too can inspire those around her, and that she too is capable of proudly carrying the family name. Pai believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandfather Koro is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must fight him and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny.
http://www.movie-gazette.com/cinereviews/391
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0298228/plotsummary

Basically, Pai is supposed to be the new cheif, and she believes that is her identity. But Pai's grandpa wont accept her as the new cheif. Instead, she tries to prove to him that she is the one. Even though she is better than the boys at many of the skills, her grandpa still refuses her. At the end of the movie, she rides away on a whale, to prove that she can be a leader too. Not until then does her grandpa realize that she is capable, but it is too late because she is gone.
I think this is more of a movie about the grandpa trying to realize Pai's identity, because he was too stuborn to accept what Pai was chosen to do. He was sexist and he just wasn't used to any of this happening. In the end, the grandpa was the one that found out Pai's true identity and destiny.

Songs... Poems?

Misery by Good Charlotte

Look at all these happy people
living their lives
Look at all these plastic people
they're dying inside
Look at all these shallow people
telling their lies
Look at all these empty people

When I was listening to this song, this one verse really stood out to me. I think it is really deep, because all this is so true. Most of the time, people don't really pay attention to the lyrics of a song, they just listen to it because it sounds good. But usually I try to pay attention to the lyrics of a song, because a lot of them have hidden meanings that reflect the real world. I think that is one of the reasons I like music so much. Because they have messages and it makes it interesting. I think songs are just poems, with a tune. They have a depth, and they are trying to give a message.

Stereotypes

Today in Spanish class we were talking about stereotypes against Mexicans. First, our teacher asked to write down everything we think of when we think of Mexico. We all wrote down the same things. We wrote things like buritto, quesadilla, salsa, nachos, lots of other Mexican food, illegal immigrants, marijuana, wetbacks, Zorro, etc. After we wrote these things, we talked about how stereotypes are just a way of grouping people even though not very many people even fit in it. We know nothing about the people that actually live in Mexico. The only people that we know about are the ones they talk about in the media. Why are the illegal immigrants from Mexico such a big deal, and the Canadian illegal imigrants are not even noticed. It's because we think of Mexico as a poor country so we discriminate (are racist against) them. But, if you really think about it, we have so many poor people in our own country that it's probably just like Mexico. Im sure they have rich, average and poor people just like us. We always think about other countries being poor, but just look around. Everywhere you go in the US, we have homeless people that are barely surviving and we don't even take care of them and try to get them jobs. Basically what I'm trying to say is stereotypes are bad, because they arent even true. I think it's really pathetic that our lives revolve around it and a lot of the stuff we learn from the media are stereotypes. This also shows how much our lives depend on the media. That's where we get so much of our knowledge (besides school) and we believe everything even though it may not be true.

Especially Good Phrase

A phrase from one of the poems that i thought was really good was, "knowing that he only has to hold the pose for another second." The reason i think this is such a good phrase is because it tells the reader that it was only a pose. Or at least, that is the way i take it. This phrase is saying that the dad isnt normally like that, but he is just posing for the camera/picture. It tells me that either the dad didnt like the way he normally is so he had to find a disguise, he wanted to try to look a certain for the picture, or he wanted someone to see him in the certain way he posed in the picture. For example, maybe he wanted to look sophisticated, when he was really just a bum or something like that. This is important because a lot of the time, people judge you on the way you look, if they don't know you personally. If the author didnt have this line in the poem, then you would automatically assume that the dad is the way he looks in the picture, but since he added this part, you know it is just a look.

Which to Bury, Us or the Hatchet

"No, I don't hate you
don't want to fight you
know I'll always love you
but right now I just don't like you"

This is the chorus from the song Which to Bury, Us or the Hatchet, by Relient K. I think any normal person can relate to this song. I know I can relate to it. This is basically the everyday relationship between me and my family. It's just like when I want to do something or get something, but my parents dont let me. So then ofcourse i get mad at them, but i still love them. It's the same with my brother or sister, if we get in a fight.
I like it when I can relate to songs, because I understand what the artists are feeling when they wrote the song. It helps me understand and get the feeling of the song. I think music is a cool way of expressing your feelings.

Speak Truth to Power

I meant to post this last week, but I forgot. I just wrote it on a word document. So our last chapel was about "speaking truth to power". Mr. Hamamoto talked about how people always go along with things even if they dont agree with it. They do this because they are too scared to speak up. They are too scared to do something about it. He showed us a video about a man who stood up against the power (in this case the government) and he just wouldnt let them do what they wanted. He didnt let us see the end of the video, but he probably ended up getting killed. I was thinking about this, and I realized how true all of this is. I mean everyday this happens to me. It can be as simple as walking past trash on the ground. I want to be able "speak truth to power", but it really is hard. It's hard to speak up to people because you might get burned. I want to have the courage to do it, but it isnt that easy.

I'm Glad I'm Catholic

Last night I was watching Cold Case. It was about this Amish girl who was murdered. She left her community because she was sick of being so protected. She wanted to go out and see the rest of the world. She decided to go to Philadelphia and her best friend came with her. When they got there, they saw one of their old guy friends who used to live with them. He was telling them how great it was to live in the city and how great it was not having to follow all the Amish rules. The girl was really excited about all of this, but her friend was scared. The first day they went to a club, and the girl met this guy. They started to get to know each other, and the girl really liked him, but then she found out that he raped her best friend the first night they got there. Her best friend had already returned home. The girl was so upset and she wanted to go home. But then her mom came. She told her daughter that she should take the opportunity, and stay out in the real world, because she (the mom) never had a chance to. So the girl decided to stay. Then her old guy friend found out about this. He told he should go home when she had the chance, but she didn't want to. He told her she was making a mistake, but she said she wasnt. He got mad and he stabbed her. Later we find out that the old friend was banned from the community because he had drinking problems. They wouldnt accept him in their community. Even though he acted like he really liked the outside world, the truth is, he really wanted to return home, but he couldnt. He missed his parents and he missed the rules. So when he found out that she had the chance to go back but turned it down, he was so jealous and he thought she was making such a big mistake. That is why he killed her.

I thought this was so sad, because the guy really wanted to go home. Because of the Amish ways, they wouldn't let him live with them. They just kicked him out instead of trying to help him. Also, the kids are so sheltered and they never get to see other places. I'm not saying this is bad, because some people like rules and protection. But for me, I'm just happy that I am catholic and I get a lot of privileges. I don't have to stay on a small farm and be sheltered from everything. I get to do things with my friends and travel to other places. I get to experience the world.

A Crack in the Line

Today I picked up the novel A Crack in the Line by Michael Lawrence at the library. I haven't started reading it yet, but i have been thinking about the description on the inside cover.

The mystery has begun Alaric It's been two years since his mother died in a terrible train crash, and Alaric's life continues to unravel. He and his father are barely on speaking terms, and Withern Rise, their Victorian mansion, is in shambles. Trapped at home during a blizzard, Alaric stumbles into a parallel world; a reality in which his mother is still alive. There's only one problem ... someone else is living his life. Naia Naia tries not to dwell on the horrible accident two years ago that nearly took her mother away. Now that life with her parents in Withern Rise has returned to normal, Naia thinks the worst is behind her. But during a freak snowstorm she's confronted by a stranger. Why does this boy look like her? Why does he have the same thoughts? The same memories? Who is he? Alaric's and Naia's discovery of each other sets off an electrifying chain of events. And as their lives - and lifelines - entwine, the two teenagers uncover a truth with the power to rearrange, or even erase, their very existence.

I mean, what if we really do have a parallel world? That would be so cool. Would we ever be able to find it even if we did? If it was like the parallel world in this book, would one of the world's be opposite from the other except for the personality of the one person, ourselves? And if we discovered our other body and our lives started to "entwine", would we be able to "rearrange, or even erase, our very existence"? This is like a chain that made me think there may be many alternate worlds, but how will we ever know the truth unless somehow, some miracle happens, and we do discover an alternate world?