Postconviction DNA Testing Should Not Be Encouraged By Peter Roff

In this essay the author, Peter Roff, explains to readers that DNA testing should not be encouraged as the sole relying piece of evidence to confim postconviction. He mentions that it is a significant part of the evidence but not all of it. Roff explains that DNA is only just part of all the evidence required to confirm somebodies conviction. He implies that to rely only on DNA testing would be inadequate. He says "The abscence of a particular individual's DNA at a a crime scene is not alone proof of their innoccence"(532). Throughout the essay he continues to refer to the notion that DNA is not the entire part of evidence, and that all the other elements of the evidence are just as acountable.

I found this essay more convincing then the previous one. I think that DNA testing should be highly considered as part of the evidence, but I dont believe its aboslutely everything. If we were to use DNA testing as the sole telling factor of a crime then our justice system would be vulnerable to mistake. We would be vulnerable to make mistakes because criminals could put other peoples DNA at a crime scene that they weren't even involved in. This would cause someone that was perhaps innoccent to be wrongly accused and convicted. It would be smarter to consider all of the telling factors of the evidence and not just one. The essay was well written and I liked how the author stemmed his arguement from the significance of DNA testing for postconviction.

Postconviction DNA Testing Should Be Encouraged By Tim O'Brien

In this essay the author Tim O'Brien explains about the significance of using DNA testing to confirm convicted felons. He uses an example of a specifc person named YoungBlood. O'Brien explains that Youngblood was innoccent, but he fit the image of the crime he was accused of, which was sodomizing a child. He then explain that Youngblood was convicted and put on death row as a result. However Youngblood by the end manages to get his DNA test and he is set free. If they wouldnt had used the DNA testing for Youngblood then an innoccent man would have been killed. The author used this example to clearly establish his oppinion of DNA testing.

I agreed with this essay. DNA testing is a significant factor in evidence. However if we solely rely on DNA, then criminals will start planting others DNA on things and begin framing innoccent people. I think that DNA is only part of the evidence, a bigger part, but not aboslutely everything. The author selected a good example to support his point of the significance of DNA testing.

Illegal Immigration Does Not Threaten America By Richard Raynor

In this essay Richard Raynor addresses the issues of immigration, and leads the reader through a higher understanding of the real definition of immigrant. He explains that America is founded by people from another country, and that the entire nation is one that doesnt have a specific culture but rather multiple cultures. After doing so he address the issues that immigrants from Latin America face when they try to live in America illegally. They face issues such as doing alot of blue-collar jobs and getting charged a much higher rent than those that are living in America legally. He expresses the benefits of having immigrants in California. He explains that the diversity brings about much progress, and that is a significant reason why California is a more developed state than other states that dont have too many immigrants. The diversity brings many different ideas and businesses that contribute to overall progress.

This essay was a well written one. The author used valid points and statistics for the information he provided. His statements were acceptable from my oppinion because I know that California is full of diversity and progress everyday. I am sure of this because I know how advanced California is when I compare it to Frederick Maryland, and even Tehran, Iran. I also feel a deep sympathy for the illegal immigrants and the hardships they face on a day to day average. The fact is that America is founded by immigrants and white people declare the country of America theirs, when in reality the Natives were actually here first, so if anything its their country and their culture. But since they arent so active in society the white people from European descent have taken it upon themselves to call the country theirs. The real difference about America from any other country is that, it isn't anyones country but everyones country. Its been shared with all the people that contribute to the country to make it a better place. America has been shared by the natives, its been shared with middle easterns, and its been shared by Europeans, so why not share it with Latin Americans too?

I'm Not Willing to Settle for Crumbs By Kim Severson

In this essay the Kim Severson addresses the issue of same sex marriage. The author herself is gay which is significant, because it allows her to better convey the existing issues of same sex couples. She addresses certain issues such as very few places in America allow same sex marriage. Severson also details the issue of having to lie by having to legally declare that the move is an act of residency and not just a visit to get married. In addition to that same sex couples also have to face the issue of paying the same amount of federal tax as those people that arent married. Throughout the essay Severson implies that although their has been more tolerance of same sex couples its still a struggling battle for civil equality. Till today their exists work places that don't allow you to work based on your sexual identity, and also even certain religions that cause activists to revolt against same sex couples.

This essay was interesting to say the least. I have almost no information of gay culture since I was living in a country that strongly disagreed with homosexuality. I do have a friend their whom is bi-sexual, but more towards lesbian. This girl is very interesting and I actually love her, she is a punk and she is into directing and music. She influenced my life significantly, and till this day although I did not properly gather enough information about gay culture I greatly respected its strength and passion. It truely does take alot strength and passion to say something that a majority would disagree with and continue forth with your idea despite peoples ignorance.

We Are Training Our Kids to Kill By Dave Grossman

In this essay Grossman explores the different factors that contribute to the increasing murder rate in America. He mainly focuses on one fundamental factor in his essay, which is the effect of the media. He begins by explaining that killing ones own kind is an unnatural response to a conflict. Grossman than compares and contrasts how the people in the military are trained to kill, and how that training is similair to the media's influence of violence. He explains that in the military they are trained to shoot pop up targets resembling human beings and after a time of training, shooting to kill becomes a stimulus response. This tactic is called operant conditioning. The same is with the video games children play. In violent shooting video games produced by the media, children are similairly trained to kill targets that pop up out of no where. This explains how kids that have never handled a gun show remarkable talent in shooting. He also explains the tactic of classical conditioning. This is when people are motivated to perform tasks through reward. He explains how in the japanese military they were trained to kill captive chinese soldiers in terrible ways, and that the japanese soldiers would be rewarded with the pleasures of women and great food. He explains similairly that children are rewarded the pleasure of winning a game when they kill all the people that game requires them too.

I like how insightful this essay was on the tactics that the military uses to train soldiers to kill, and also how much of an influence the media has on gamers. I dont really find it shocking that the government has not taken great action towards this issue. What if the government isn't strictly regulating laws against this because it is raising a nation of super soldiers that instinctively know how to wield weapons of mass destruction. Each country contributes its own specific material of neccessity to the international economy. America is best known for contributing weapons and arms of mass destruction. Therefore, is it so crazy to believe that the government would have a secret agenda to pre-train young minds into a state of total warfare while being able to use the best weapons that the world has to offer? The government's military makes a nice entrance to a soldiers life as soon as they graduate from high school. At this stage of life people are more likely to be interested in games than any other later time in life. They have gone through high school playing games of shooting and killing, most are deeply indulged in the media, and they are fresh out into the real world feeling successful and looking to further prove themselves. All this is a perfect recipe that can sicken a persons ability to distinguish the harms and hidden agenda's of the government and its media propaganda.

How Bingeing Became the New College Sport By Barrette Seaman

In this essay Barrette Seaman argues the different approaches to supress the abuse of alcohol by the undergraduates in college. He establishes the seriousness of the issue by providing the information that 300 deaths occur from alcohol poisoning a year. He also mentions that during the time he was visiting Hamilton college several people were hospitalized from alcohol posioning including a freshman whom had consumed 22 shots of alcohol. He lets the reader know why the children abuse alcohol so much, calling it the "forbidden fruit"(491), and a way of cutting loose. He introduces the reason why the alcohol legal age limit was upped to 21. He says its because of lobbying by the mothers against drunk driving that congress blackmailed states to raise the legal age limit. Seaman shows us two approaches throughout the essay to supress alcohol abuse. The first was the one he argues against, being that laws will play their effective role in supressing undergraduates' urge to binge drink. The other approach he introduces is to reduce the age limit back to 18. He details how the abuse will increase, but only momentarily, till undergraduates treat alcohol like adults. He supports his hypothesis with Montreals Mcguil's University. This university's drinking limit is 18 and although they have the freedom to drink all of the time, around final exams they treat alcohol like adults.

I agree with Seaman's approach to binge drinking. I believe that it would take away alot of the value of alcohol for undergraduates if they can simply have it whenever they want. I've known students that have abused this drug not from just freshman year in college but freshman year in high school. I suppose students may think that it doesnt really matter how old you are when they decide to drink since even a 20 year old is under the age drinking limit. Also, I think another reason for this abuse is to just relieve stress from the pressures of their lives. I think that students should resort to less harmful drugs than alcohol to relieve them of stress. I would rather have students abuse no drugs at all but I dont think this is possible for every single student. Especially when there is so many promotions of different kinds of drugs from the media, and society. I think if the age limit is reduced to 18 for alcohol then this will impact students from the time of high school, since they will know that by the end of high school they will be able to drink. This way, by the time they reach college they will give less value to alcohol and treat it just like adults would. It would also unmotivate younger teenagers in high school to abuse it since they legal age limit would be just a few short years away.

Our Unhealthy Obsession with Sickness by Frank Furedi

In Frank Furedi's essay " Our Unhealthy Obsession with Sickness" he addresses the issues of the health organization, and how its impacted the cultural sphere of America. He points out four specific reasons that we spend an unhealthy amount of time and resources focusing on health and sickness. Furedi first points out the reason of "medicalisation". Medicalisation is used to make sense of extreme human experiences. The issue is that it can be sometimes unsure, and point out useless cures that may be solved in an easier way. The second reason he provides is "a presupposition that illness is as normal as health". Furedi explains that today, the cultural norm is to be ill, and that people who aren't ill are actually considered to be potentiall ill, and not just well. This title of being potentially ill instills the fear of getting sick and implies that wellness is not a normal state of being but rather something to be aspired for and achieved over time. The third reason he says is that "health (is used) to make sense of the human experience". He explains that people use the idea of health to give moral reasoning that is subjective, which can direct peoples understandings and actions. The final issue he arises is the "politicisation of health". Furedi explains that public health initiatives provided by the government are making people spend alot of money and resources that aren't always neccessary so that consumers will spend more money.

The essay was very informative. Although I found it a bit difficult to understand in the begining I soon got a hold of the concept. I could relate to the issues that Furedi arrises in his essay because as a child I had ADHD. When I was a child, a psychiatrist put me on some medication that made me lose my appetite and be reluctant to most fun activity. My older brother described me as being like a zombie. He said he would through pillows at my head while I was watching TV to get a reaction out of me but I would simply look back at him then look back at the TV again, being completely impassive to everything he would do. I would just calmly sit there and watch TV. I had lost some weight while I was on this medication and my brother after having noticed this weight loss and dramatic character change went on a strike and threatned to move out of the house unless my parents stopped feeding me that medication. After my parents agreed to stop, my character and appetite returned gradually and I was back to normal. It makes sense to give people a constant fear of health because it gets people to constantly go for check ups and spend money which goes into the pocket of the government. It makes more sense now than ever since are economy is in a recession, and the government desperately needs money. However, this understanding makes me uncertain about which health threats I should actually be concerned about, and which health threats I should just be aware of.       

Is Your Workplace Personality Out of (Birth) Order? by Ben Dattner

In this essay the author Ben Dattner gives us an insightful view on the psychology of siblings. Dattner first explains about first born syblings. He details the characteristics by saying that first borns are often "extraverted and confident, more conformist and conservative, more conscientious and academically inclined, and more dominant and authoritarian.". He then provides examples of successful people to support his point. Afterwards he moves on to detail the characteristics of second borns as being "more flexible and open to new experiences, more empathic and altruistic, more creative and innovative, and more rebellious, liberal and interested in foreign cultures, and more concerned with justice and fairness.". He provides several examples to support his point, then develops into the middle siblings. He describes them as more diplomatic and political with their character. Throughout the essay he provides reasons as to why syblings act the way they do. He implies that it is because of their upbringing. First born children are often viewed as more responsible than the second born, and therefore develop concern, and care for the second born in addition to a sense of responsibilty of achievement for themselves. Then theres the second born that often are open and flexible to situations since they have less to lose. The foundation of their character is built of this ideology according to Dattner.

I found this essay very interesting because im in a family of four. My family consists of my Mother, Father, Older Brother, and Me. I found the essay suprisingly accurate, because the laid out personalities were similair to that of mine and my brothers. I often seem to be more creative since I like to make art and appreciate it more, but he doesn't really have a taste for it. On most occasions I have found myself more empathic than my brother despite the obvious reasons that exist. I also feel comfortable taking chances to see what happens, and am interested in how other cultures function. My brother is also more ambitious, and a real go-getter whereas I am more laid back and relaxed. I also understand to a great deal that my brother really cares for me, and my education. I guess till a certain extent he understands that grades aren't that big of a deal for me so he really enforces it. An example would be last year for my senior year in high-school. For my first term report card I got a 3.5 for my GPA, and he complained that I should have atleast a 3.8. By the end of the year I graduated with a 3.8, and he still complained. I thought he was out of his mind, and realized that there is no winning with him. This unmotivated me, and made me want to rebel, and not go to college but I quickly realized why he is the way he is. I realized if he hadn't been so hard on me, than I would have likely let the 3.5 get to my head, and it would have dropped down to a low GPA. I found the essay insightful and fun since I was able to relate so well.

Homeplace by Scott Russell Sanders

In this essay Sanders debates between whether or not it is better to be in an inhabited place or is it better to keep progressing in terms of total fulfillment. He begins by introducing us to a family with a farm that were victim to a 3 time freak series of tornadoes. He goes on say how despite being the victim of 3 tornadoe accidents they still stayed on their ground, and did not move. He wonders why, and comes to understand that they have invested to much time, and effort in the land to just leave so ultimately they are stubborn. But beyond that understanding Sanders explores a deeper question of desire to progress or to just progress without moving. Throughout the essay he questions humanities desire of progression. He brings up many good points with great refrences to various writers, physicists, and scientists. He eventually settles on the idea that it is better to be inhabited in one place, and to understand its value rather then just quickly dominate it, and move on to the next place, like our nation has done throughout history. He mentions how the American heritage is based off people that have migrated from different countries, and developed our land. He also mentions how people that have migrated or rather invaded to other countries have caused much pain and anguish through destruction for development.

I enjoyed the essay very much. It offered much insight on the extents that humanity will go through in order to reach total satisfaction. I learned that total satisfaction is never total, and that desire is like a treadmill. By the end of your desire you may look better but you certaintly would have not gotten anywhere. Instead of constantly moving from place to place we should focus on the never ending moral offerings that our inhabited place has to offer. We shouldn't be narrow minded, and notice all the temporary things that different places have to offer. Sanders put together a nice collage of quotes to support his point of view, and the opposing point of views of the patriotic progressing American. All together it was a good, and insightful read.

Multi-Colored Families by Tamala Edwards

In this essay Tamala Edwards introduces us to information both on a factual, and a sentimental level about Multi-Racial families. She shows us the pains and struggles these families endure. She informs us on the different offensive questions and stares these families recieve from ignorant people. She tells us about families with adopted children and Bi-Racial families and how through there development they question their color of skin and why its not similair to one of the parents which is a heartfelt question. She also tell us factual information on how to deal with such scenarios of peoples insensitivity and how to deal with their confused Bi-racial children, or adopted children. The information provided details how we shouldn't be angry at people that are insensitive and ignorant because our children learn from our actions, so we should rather reply with a swift and reasonable answer that allows our children to learn, and reply in the same way without getting angry at peoples ignorance. In addition to that we should also treat the children's upbringing with great sensitivity about their race, and culture with introductions or support in learning about all the different cultures they may have. All these can help a Bi-Racial or adopted child develop into a well rounded individual with no self consciousness about their race or culture they may come from according to Tamala Edwards and all the other sources she included in her essay.

I found this essay very informative about the different issues Bi-Racial families endure, and although I don't come from such a type of family I can still relate to the racism they may endure. In Iran most the people are ethocentric when compared to the minorities of different races in the country. The country has an amount of people from Afghanistan that work in construction and house maintenance to pay for their families in the neighboring country of Afghanistan or to just support themselves as growing young adults. They are often insulted, treated harshly and are looked down upon by most Iranians. It makes me sad that they think this way and I feel really bad about the way they are treated, but even the very own citizens of the country are powerless to the culture that supports this ethocentricism. They also look down upon their very own race because there is majority of Iranians that speak Farsi and a minority that speak more Turkish than Farsi. These minorities are often reffered to as stupid, and often have jokes about their non-existing stupidity. Although when confronted they jump back behind the facade of the infamous quote "It's just a joke, have some humour wont you?" Jokes are only funny once but get stale and offensive after a while.

Beliefs about Families by Mary Pipher

In this essay the author Mary Pipher describes her perception of family in addition to how it applies to success in our modern day society in terms of material and moral fulfillment. She mentions that her idea of family is a group of people that stick together and are supportive in the best ways they know how, to help one strive in life. She details different types of families as being Biologically Nuclear, Foster, or certain organizations that allow those from dysfuntional families to join together as their own family. Mary Pipher also mentions how there may be two types of families: One is the Idealized version. Where families are well oriented, and all loving/supporting. Two is the Dysfunctional version of family. Where the people in it are often more individual achievers and less family oriented. She mentions how the Dysfunctional version of family is more abundant in the U.S. and how its less driven towards moral fulfillment and more towards stale material gain. She mentions how we are sold the idea that happiness can be bought, but that its not the case at all.

I enjoyed this essay because it brought multiple valid reasons of affect that families have on modern day individuals. It showed me how much impact a dysfunctional family can have. Personally I think its true that we are manipulated into believing in the idea that family's get in the way of our individual success. I believe this because it makes sense to get the people of our country less tied up with family and more involved in work that contributes to the country and makes it more progressed and better as a whole. The issue is that countries are mean't to be homes for people and not places of work. Work is rather a choice people make in their life to contribute to the country in anyway through which the country contributes back to them in a specific way. However work may bring material success, but such success is not fulfilling. The desire to have more is the definition of desire. We as human beings have an inevitable desire to have more and better of what we already have. The very Greeks that the author reffers to as having valued individuality, is a perfect example of my point. At first in Greek art, the artists valued sculpting and realism. They strived for centuries to sculpt a realistic figure, with perfectly porportiante body parts and gesture/facial expression. Once they achieved this, they decided that they weren't satisfied, and stopped making that kind of sculpting. After that, they started making what we now know as Classic Greek art, where the sculptor makes a human body with unrealistic emphasized body parts. They supersize the perfection of peaked human conditons with detailed abbs, large pecks, etc. Altogether desire will be desire and so for happiness and fulfillment we should turn an eye to other things that aren't temporary or material, such as family or morals, and beliefs that satisfy the mentality of a person.

The Barrio by Robert Ramirez

This essay that was written by Robert Ramirez gave us a satisfying connection to his home area called "The Barrio" and how it differs from modern day cities. He gave us an even better visual description of "The Barrio", describing it in a comfortable home like scenario but also relatively harsh in terms of living conditions. He details how there are rocky roads since the townspeople dont have money to pay to the state so that they fix it, and also that running water is considered an actual luxury. He mentions many other attributes including barefoot children selling newspapers on a sunday morning to give their earnings to their families. But amongst all these harsh conditions he also writes about how much of a home it is. He describes how the people of the town are really layed back and will give credit to the locals for groceries and other neccessities. He also details predictable places and happenings that give the reader an idea of a home. He writes how people often play pool at the country club, where men try to prove themselves; while veterans stare at playboy foldouts. He also mentions how the houses are colorful, and dont have proper fences but rather old rusty ones or just green shrubs and flowers.

I like the essay for many reasons. I liked it because it was very visual and I really enjoyed how he was able to describe things through his perception. I loved how he described the passing lights through a train as "pulsing." He also made good refrences to the differences between developed cities today and "The Barrio". Its interesting how he describes cities were perhaps more cold and less oriented. It seem's like its more of a workplace all of the time rather then the home that Robert Ramirez described. I agree with this, and I can relate. I feel the same way because as I grow older I realize that im going to be in a workplace city thats more cold and industrious, despite all the goods that a city can offer. When I reflect back on my senior year at Fairfax High School, it seemed like a home to me. It seemed so because things were simpler, and the people  around me were closer than I presently feel. Everything had its own place, and was predictable to a certain extent. Reflecting on those times it makes me feel sad that they aren't around anymore.

Hey Nostradamus! By Douglas Coupland (P.229-244)

In this concluding chapter of the fictional novel "Hey Nostradamus!" By Douglas Coupland the narrator is now Reg in the year of 2003. This very insightful chapter reveals all the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that would circulate behind Reg's facade of relgion and rigidness. In this chapter we actually learn that he is an emotional and heartfelt guy deep down. We first learn about his background and upbringing. We learn that Reg's father was harsh, as was his childhood; where he details how somedays he would leave his home for hours or days at a time. He would contemplate about God and why he would have made such a person that is so empty and cruel, but still religious yet have no faith. We understand that the only reason Reg would act on Jason was because he was trying to be all that his father wasn't, and by the end was very similair to his father. Reg also speaks about his relationship with Ruth, and how she left him. He details that Ruth was a great person that was nothing but supportive but in the end left him because he wouldn't get a divorce and was ashamed of having an affair while still being married. Throughout his tone we learn that he is regretful and to an extent broken. By the end of the chapter we learn that the RCMP found Jason's shirt in the woods and that Reg is now writing this so that he may post it on all the tree's around the site of where they found his shirt, so that when Jason finds this letter addressed to him he will come home.

Im upset that this book is over, it was a very good read and I enjoyed Douglas Coupland's writing very much. I will probably purchase another book by this author since I liked his tone and attitude, along with the morals and understandings he introduced to his readers throughout the book. Reflecting on this chapter I guess I was right about Reg's character being influenced by his past, and we learn it was his childhood upbringing that seriously influenced him to push away from his father's image, and end up being just as similairly harsh on Jason. Although in the begining of the book I thought this was the only thing that made him act the way he did, and that he was just crazy, I actually learned that he is an emotional guy deep down. I also learned that he is in denial about his son's disappearence and still believes him to be alive; thats why he was writing. This is sad, because he is going to still be clinging on to something that is in the past and will never re-surface. It had a bitter ending but the whole novel altogether was a bitter-sweet one.

Hey Nostradamus! By Douglas Coupland (P.189-228)

As the third chapter comes to an end, we realize alot about Allison along with her true motives. We learn that Heathers despracy persists further, and ends up costing her 7,000 dollars. The once innocent Allison ends up turning into a wretched greedy monster, that milks Heather for almost all she's got. Allison charges Heather for the cost of fixing her car which finishes at $2000, in additon to $5,000 cash just for a measly message! The desperate Heather ofcourse pays forth the money to recieve emotional, as well as psychological relief. After paying forth the money, she follows Allison to her car and gets her license plate number which later on through contacts allows further information about Allison including her home address. Heather goes to Allison's home the same night, and she learns that Allison's name is in fact cecilia, and that she has a daughter. Heather follows Allison's daughter the next morning. The two of them meet and speak, where Allison's daughter informs Heather that Jason had contacted Allison a year prior to his disappearence. We learn that Jason had visited Allsion and payed her 500 dollars and given her a note with all the inside jokes that Jason and Heather would share. Allison's daughter also provides the reason as to why Jason did this when she says "He gave my mom 500 bucks and told her that if he ever went missing, then she should contact you and tell you these things as if he'd spoken to you from the dead- or from wherever it is he's gone to. He wanted you to be happy."(P.219).

This chapter was somewhat aggrevating. I thought that Allison was pure and true because she didn't want anything in return. As I read on I came to realize that this is not the case and that Allison is corrupt. I suppose money has a way of identifying people or corrupting people, im not quite sure yet. Psychics are good con- artists. They touch on sensitive and specific points that apply to almost everyone and know when to strike. I suppose if they could actually apply this talent to society in more significant roles they could be successful in interacting with other people as good communicators. Unfortunately they chose to do the opposite and use this talent for bad. But something seem's to bother me in this chapter. I learned towards the end that Allsion lost all her savings in some stock and I suppose she did need to fix her car and support the mortgage of her house in some way. So to an extent I guess she had the right to do so. Although she could have just sold her house first, and moved to a smaller, more convinient 1 bedroom apartment. Then used the money to fix her car and could have done small time Psychic acts to nickle and dime her way through her remaining years. But she decided to be gluttenous and make real big bucks, so I guess ultimately she is a bad person since she was not willing to compromise. Since this talent of communication was used in corrupt ways, I wonder if all the other talented people in our society could be corrupt or be corrupted at the cost of $7,000 or more. I understand that there are laws and specific beliefs that bind this terrible freedom of corruption but I wonder if thats the only case. It would be upsetting to understand that people act moral only because they have to.

Hey Nostradamus! By Douglas Coupland (P.147-189)

In the first half of the 3rd chapter in this fictional novel "Hey Nostradamus!" we are now being narrated by a new character, Heather. Heather is 7 years older than Jason and works as a steinographer in a court room. They were in a relationship in the year 2002, when Jason was in his early 30's. We learn early on in this chapter that they met eachother when shopping for Toys at the same shop, and right at the start they hit it off. They were together for a few months and one day Jason just disappears. There is significant happening that could relate to the disappearence of Jason. One evening Jason and Heather were walking in a park and Jason spots a man with a prosthetic leg that looked strikingly similair to Yorgo. Since this happening, Jason never acted the same until the day his disappearence. We also learn that Chris, Cheryl's brother is now married with Barb, and that Chris works at a government agency that works with the identification database of criminals in america. As the first half of the chapter unfolds Reg's character changes in terms of being more sympathetic and not believing strictly in all that he use to believe in. He isn't so proud and rigid anymore but rather soft, depressed, and to an extent even regretful. As the chapter progresses a psychic by the name of Allison contacts Heather through a voicemail. After conversing with Allison, Heather learns Allison is a phony, however she is going through some sort spiritual miracle and can label various inside jokes between Heather and Jason. The factual evidence provided by Allison includes inside jokes that only Jason and Heather share. Therefore much credit of belief is given to Allison by the desperate Heather. In additon to proof of truthfulness, Allison doesn't seek payment of any sort but rather an understanding of what is going on with herself and why.

As I reflect on this chapter I realize how people have a tendency to cling on to lost things. Heather becomes consumed by emotions when she learns that Allison has some sort of spiritual contact with Jason. I think people fail to understand that dieing is part of living, and the last stage of growing. Basically I think that we never stop growing until we actually stop growing. Over time alot of people and things I have been attached to have come and gone and each time it would continue to hurt more and more until I reached a conclusion and a better understanding of death and development as a whole. The understanding I reached, seemed to have liberated me from the pains of loss to a somewhat comforting extent. I learned that when people die they explode in both terms of material and character. When one dies they become part of the earth, the same way the earth had become part of them throughout their lives. They decompose and enter the cycle of life. So to explain the explosion of the character is to first understand individuality. Everybody feels emotions and contains complex thought. Its when some people feel certain things more than others and express them in certain ways that individuality is expressed. When one does this, they influence others in one way or another while at the same time being influenced by the other individuals that surround. These influences of an individual are transfered and traded with others throughout the people that they interact with. This is how peoples perceptions, actions, and other influences live on through other people. Its all a matter of noticing and comparing.

Hey Nostradamus! By Douglas Coupland (P.92-146)

In this second half This lengthy chapter the first significant happening is that Jason's father, Reg, has fallen down in his kitchen and has broken a few ribbs, and could have a fractured cardio. He requests to the nurse to contact Jason, and bring a few personal belongings from the apartment. Jason complies, but only out of curiousity. He concludes that Reg's apartment is similair to his, in a sense of depression. After visiting his father at the hospital he learns that his father believed that Jason had a perfect soul before murdering Mitchell, one of the gunman; and all Reg wanted was the kingdom of heaven for Jason, and now he believes that Jasons fate in the afterlife is on the fence. After that when Jason is reflecting he mentions to us the aftermath of the massacre and how he was first demonized by the "Aliver!s" and then after he had been proven non-guilty they tried to help him, but by then it was too late. They were traders and unreliable like the rest of the majority of the town that crucified him from a sense of moral image. After this Jason reveals that he recieved 3 letters from each of the anways; Cheryl's family. One from Cheryls mother, Linda, another from Mr. Anway and the last one from Chris; Cheryl's brother. They mostly detailed apoligies for not being there for him in the time when he needed people the most. Mr. Anways letter in addition to the similair apoligies of Linda and Chris included details of the funeral for Cheryl. He say's how the "Youth Alive!" decided to take the funeral into their own hands and tagg signatures and other writings on the pearly white cascette of Cheryl inappropriately and inconsiderately. Then this letter was followed by another from Chris Anway, Cheryls brother; whom detailed the negative actions and influences of the "alive!rs" on his parents and their view of Jason. The letter also talks about how the Alive!rs went on to influence the entire towns oppinions about Jason, and talks about how he was smoking out with his buddy during the time he heard the first few rounds of the gunshots from the massacre, and by the end of the letter we find that Chris loves Jason like a brother and was always by his side through thick and thin and wishes to live with Jason and to be away from the town. Afterwards when Jason and his boss, Les; meet up for a beer they run into Jerry, a shady man; after a few drinks they decide to go for a ride on Jerry's boat which gets sunk after a quarrely with a beastly chinese man. After the boat sinks Jerry calls a man named Yorgo, a Russian Mobster boss whom plunges the 3 boys into a different world with drugs and mobster activity, and throughout the process Jason was going to be killed by Yorgo but once Jason is given an opportunity to kill the evil intending man, after he slips and breaks his leg on a rock on the hike to Jason's death he decides not to kill Yorgo. He actually decides to call for help and go home. Help denies Yorgo. After this Jason is relieved of his depression and feels an altitude change in his mentality from the experiences he went through. He concludes this longer half of the chapter with the last bit of writing to his nephews and in this letter we learn that Jason is actually the father of Barb's twins. Barb wanted to have Jason's kids because they were identical to what Kent's kids would have looked like since they were brothers. We learn that during this time under Jason's conditions, they flew to Los Vegas and got married at the same chapel and stayed at the same place Jason had done a decade ago with Cheryl.

This chapter was very revealing of all the characters and insightful, i enjoyed it and learned much about morality and influence. I believe that part of the reason Jason didn't kill Yorgo when he had the chance was because he wasn't a bad person, just given the circumstances he had to act on an impulse to save his own life while also in attempt to save Cheryls during the time he had first murdered one of the gunmen during the high school massacre. I also learned much about Reg and how he loved Jason and wanted nothing but the best for him through his twisted and illogical mentality. I guess I was wrong about him resorting to religion based on some unmentioned significant happening early in life. We actually come to learn that Reg had a chemical unbalance in his brain regarding his seretonin level, and that if Jason's mom would have dosed Reg with Wellbutrin or other relevant drugs it would have kept him normal(P.120). But after she decided not to, he started to go crazy with religion. I guess he fixed the mental issues he had through the perspective of religion. It's funny how our psychological state can affect our health. I know for a fact that people who are depressed are more likely to get sick because their immune system doesn't properly function. I learned from this that only part of individuality is brought through experiences but not the whole of it. I guess some people just are the way they are without influence. Either way in his perspective he was doing good but in everybody elses he was doing wrong. So if one has good intentions but bad actions and bad expressions, does that make them a bad person? I think it makes a very nice person, but at the same time a very crazy one that shouldn't be taken seriously.

Hey Nostradamus! By Douglas Coupland P.42-92

In this half of the second chapter, we get a better insight on Jason. We learn what he is doing currently 11 years after the massacre, and how he has been coping with the murder of the love of his life. We come to see that he has a very grim view on humanity and is struggling in terms of society. He goes in depth with his religous fiend of a father. We also learn during the time of Jason's narration that his older brother Kent, which was Reg's golden boy son has been killed in a car accident. Jason is phased by the death of his brother, but not as much as regular brother would be. He wishes that he and his brother would have been closer. Jason hated his father because he would often downtalk him and make him feel invisible while at the same time emphasize on Kents accomplishments. His father would often try to break his spirit by mistreating him and using religion as justification. Jason has not gotten over Cheryl's death, and now Kent has died too, and he seems to be in a very depressing but euphoric state of being. He spends his time narrating from his car infront of the beach with the company of his 1 year adopted eye seeing dog, Joyce. Things appear to be pretty grim for the kid, and we learn that he has bounced as far away from religion as possible in his concsious mind, but the implications of his father's mistreating with justification of religion exist in his subconcious and occasionally re-surface in the times of his pondering. Jason doesn't cope well with the memorial of his brother and ends up getting very drunk and guilt trips Barba; Kents widow; into talking to his father which later leads to a conflict over cloning and how her children are twins so one is a clone of the other and Reg mentions that one of your children may not have a soul. This sets Barbra off and she almost wacks Reg with a folded wooden chair at the memorial. He also mentions how the town turned on him, including the police suspecting him of taking part in the massacre since he assaulted one of the alive!er members giving him a concussion and also pushing Mr.Kroger, his english teacher, down a set of stairs unintentionally. Also people mentioned that he and Cheryl appeared to be having problems before the massacre occured. He was considered as a suspect and from what the incident the police saw when they were at his home regarding his dad and his behavior caused the police to consider the possibility, which put him into a phase of back and forth questioning; while trying to deal with the death of his wife.

I enjoyed the first half of the 2nd chapter. The author led us through the tangled webbs that unfold to the massacre from Jason's first person point of view. It helped me to understand better about the massacre and Jason's dad regarding his religious themes. I find Reg to be pretty crazy, but I dont blame him for his ignorance. I guess certain people need to have and believe in certain things in life to get by. However i think that his selection of neccessities have been detromental to his family and degressive for Jason. I dont think his level of intelligence reaches the implications of his actions so i dont think I can be mad at him. He is like  a child that doesn't know any better. Even jason describes during the time when Reg said that one of Barbra's twin children may not have soul during Kent's memorial; Barbra reacted in a deffensive way that Reg didnt understand why she did so in such an extreme mannor. He is crazy, and I dont feel I would have the right to be mad at him, but rather more sympathetic and understanding. He must have had a really troubled life to resort to religion in such an extreme mannor. Maybe I'll find out as I read on.

Hey Nostradamus! By Douglas Coupland: Cheryl 1988

In the introductory chapter to this novel, Douglas Coupland introduces us to one of the victims of a high school massacre in East Vancouver, Canada. Her name was Cheryl, and the author allows her to narrate her specific story and background leading up to the massacre and the time of her death. Cheryl was a newly wedd Christian practicioner despite being from a non-religous family. She also happened to be pregnant during the time of her murder. She got married at 17 with fake ID's provided by her husband, Jason; whom was also 17 at the time that they got married in the city of Los Vegas. Cheryl was part of a devoted Christian group of friends reffered to as the "Out for lunch bunch", the name was given to them because they didn't usually eat in the cafeteria during lunch but would rather go outside of the school to nearby diners for lunch. They were also part of the "Youth Alive!" club. The "Youth Alive!" club included Christians that would practice their religion, and often had a dim view on non-believers and tended not to listen to them. From what was suggested about the club and its followers, its primary goal was to keep believers believing, and supported non-believers to join; should they choose too. Despite being part of the Christian group, and posessing the Christian image, Cheryl would often think for herself and in heart be apart from the group but externally conformed with the group. Although she did meet eye to eye with alot of the the Christian customs and her group of friends, she did not neccessarily accept absolutely everything about the religion, which caused her an internal isolation. She also posessed an artistic view on the beautiful world she narrated, and understood the value of the simpler things in life. She found joy with Jason and also through the beautiful world that ended with her life.

I very much enjoyed Douglas Coupland's tone. He was humerous in the most serious moments of his novel and appeared to be a kind of satire for me. I also agreed and understood the implications that I was lucky enough to attain from his writing of the first chapter with regards to religion and conformity. It's interesting how people immediately find faith or question it in times of extremities. People who are close to death, and spent most their life not believing in god tend to begin to believe at the time of their conclusion, whether it be out of fear of the unknown or uncertainty of their moral/immoral behaviors they exhibited throughout their life time. Then there are people that question gods existence during the nearing of their death by the cause of criminal acts. They believe that god's existence is present in everywhere and the fact that they acknowledge this makes them immune to anybodys immoral acts or behaviors. In their eyes, they are protected by god at all present times. But when something occurs that threatens their very existence and shakes them into a certainty of death they immediately go back on their religion and wonder why god would ever allow this, and then question if there even really is a god all along. They usually end up continuing their beliefs despite the outcome, may it be out of again; the fear of the unknown, or if it would be to shameful to turn on something they have devoted themselves to. Either way humanity has a funny way of dealing with death, and the unknown. Douglas Coupland explores this in his novel. Cheryl who was a devoted Christian found herself praying, while at the same time questioning her prayers at the time of the massacre. She had written in her binder during the time "god is nowhere". This could be read in two ways. One way would be to read it as, god is now here, and the other would be god is no where. This details the debate of religion before death that Douglas Coupland incorporated into his novel. During the time of the massacre Cheryl's mind was just as chaotic as what was going on outside of her mind. As she layed dieing in the arms of her lover, she concluded that despite the beautiful world we live in, and all the pleasures that it holds; darkness still exists. I strongly agree with this because I believe darkness is a corequisite for pleasure. Their cannot be good without evil, the same way white couldn't exist without black or vice verca. The author also made a good foreshadowing of the outcome of the chapter by allowing his character Cheryl to first say "I believe that what seperates humanity from everything else in this world is that humanity alone has the capacity at any given moment to commit all possible sins."(p.3). He also made it a good read by transferring back and forth between past background and actual happening of Cheryl's life and death.

Richard Wright: The Library Card

Richard Wright wrote the excrept "The Library Card" during a time where African Americans had gained equality to white's, but not really. Although African American's back then had the same human and civil rights as white people did, they still lived in a hostile environment that would degress the development of African American success in society. During this time of great spirtitual struggle Richard Wright stumbles upon a newspaper that will forever change the course of his life. He goes on to read the newspaper and reads into the hateful words expressed towards the writer Mencken. He reads "Mencken is a fool", which especially keens Wright's attention since such harsh language was often used towards African Americans at the time, and Mencken was not an African American. Richard Wright wonders what Mencken could have possibly done to achieve such hatred from the Memphis Commercial Appeal. This in turn leads Richard Wright to purchase several of Mencken's books to further his understanding of the hated writer. Through the courageous acts of forging a somewhat trusted man's signature for a valid library card. This act would prove to be significant since after he checked out several of the books he redeveloped a hunger for expression and understanding. He goes on to say "I had once tried to write, had once reveled in feeling, had let my crude imagination roam, but the impulse to dream had been slowly beaten out of me by experience. Now it surged up again and I hungered for books, new ways of looking and seeing". Although the excrept leaves the reader in wonder of what happens next I am doubtless that this was the igniting of a passion that would later lead Richard Wright to become a successful and well known writer.

My personal reflection on this excrept involves me reaching a higher understanding of spiritual struggle, and concurring with the passion of expression. I learned much about the harsh conditions that African Americans had to undergo despite being granted liberty and equality. Richard Wright details how he cooked pork and beans in a sink with hot water. I felt a deep sympathy followed by a sense of anger for the harsh conditions that he underwent during his time of development into an intellectual. It also made me angry how most the remarks Richard Wright would recieve from white people when caught reading a book would often down talk his understanding just because of the color of his skin. People's ignorance seem to be an easy way to get to me, as im sure its a pretty easy way to get to everybody else including those that even act ignorant. People who often act ignorant by neglecting others usually neglect many insightful experiences and moral understandings. I enjoyed how the author spoke about his passion reffering to how it was like a drug that would leave him doped into a pespective for days at a time. He details in his excrept "It was not a matter of believing or disbelieving what I read, but of feeling something new, of being affected by something that made the look of the world different". I find it very easy to relate to this. I can relate to this because I make art, and when I do; I feel that after most the art I make through which I incorporate things that both I do and dont believe in permanently alter a perspective I have on the world and life as a whole. I can also relate to more then just the outcome of following your passion for just one session. During the process of expression or reaching a higher understanding I feel that both the author and I reach something I have come to call the "Trance of Expression" where time, and all matter collapse temporarily only to come back even more complete in our head by the end of our thoughts and expression. Hence the simple name the "Trance of Expression". I believe this exists within all artists and I believe it was piccaso who once said everybody is born an artist but many rather unfortunately grow out of their creativity through other peoples/societies impressions and influences. The education system is in an industrial format that emphasizes more on producing the future generations with a sense of hands-on step by step, rather then promoting creativity and engenuity. Expectations of percision seem to out weight expectations of creativity in the modern world through my current understanding. But circling back to the Excrept, I believe Richard Wright supported his thesis of despite having a spiritually tortured environment one can follow through to their creative passion and reach a spiritual fulfillment beyond words. He supported his thesis through explaining despite the feeling of guilt that was brought on to him through the ignorant white people of the early 1900's his passion for reading came as refuge for his situation, feeling of guilt for reading, and understanding. It was well structered with good imagery that led the reader to feel the guilt that he was feeling. I believe he did this by emphasizing on a lot of specifics in his current situation at the time, and also white peoples outlook on African American people reading and educating themselves.

Sandra Cisneros: Only Daughter

 In the Excrept of Only Daughter by Sandra Cisneros, the author describes the obstacles of expectaion she overcame; being part of a mexican american working class family. She introduces the ideologic role of a woman in a mexican american family as a person who's sole purpose is to find a husband. She then details how lonesome it is to be part of a family with 6 brothers. She explains how her father would often reffer to his children as 7 sons, instead of 6 sons and 1 daughter. She comments on how this would make her feel invisible as part of the 6 male syblings. However, she soon realizes that through this isolation and expectation of finding a husband that she is free to explore all the awaiting pleasures that college holds without any criticism or urging to succeed academically. It is through this pressureless perspective that she develops her passion for writing. She explains how the isolation provided by her family would later on prove to be great  for a would-be writer. She goes on to explain "the loneliness was good for a would-be writer-it allowed me to think and think, to imagine, to read and prepare myself".Ultimately the time provided for her as a child allowed her to identify her passion, and going to college without any kind of pressure to succeed in her studies led her to experience and develop her identified passion for writing.

My reflection on the excrept of Only Daughter by Sandra Cisneros has led me to much insight on certain morals about family's with morals. In addition to that I learned of the significance of isolation. I came to understand that family's with expectations for their children can often be misleading for their children and could potentially supress a developing childs talents for their passion. Although nothing like this occured in the excrept, I was able to understand that the writer was lucky enough to stumble upon such a perspective that led her to succeed in her career as a writer. But just as lucky as she was to find that mind set, others can be just as unlucky and could be forced into careers; or even roles in life that they would not prefer, ultimately leading to a regretful life. My understanding of isolation in this excrept is that when one is isolated, one is free or cut back from the surrounding influences around them. In turn this freedom and lack of surrounding influence can lead one to dive deep into a better and higher understanding of themselves, without having to focus on other peoples oppinions or actions. The excrept's thesis of people overcoming the obstacles of expectation was well supported. It was supported through multiple paragraphs that made refrences to the authors father whom was the leading figure head of the thesis. He thought of her daughter as somebody that should focus more on finding a husband rather than a career. This supports her thesis by introducing the conflict of her fathers expectations, and her own will of succeeding as an individual writer. Also Sandra Cisneros supports her thesis by concluding the overcoming of the obstacles of expectation by mentioning how her father supported her first translated book by saying "where can we get more copies of this for the relatives?". There were also many other supporting sentences and paragraphs that she used to detail her success of overcoming the expectations of her father. All togther is was a strongly supported and structured excrept with valid points of reason.

Malcom X: Learning to read

In Malcom X's excrept, learning to read; the author explores the many benefits that were incorporated into his life through reading. He dives into the deeper meanings of life through introducing his African America race and how much it suffered during the earlier years of the 1900's. He then explains about how much of his success was brought through reading, and not to mention the understanding of Britain's history while involving his race, the Asian race, and the Indian race. All of this plays a factor in how he was able to get by in prison so fast mentally while at the same time giving him peace in mind. Malcolm X details on the faulty actions of what he refers to as the "white man". He details how over 115 million african blacks, which is close to the united states population of the 1930's were either enslaved or murdered. He also takes the time to emphasize on the hypocritical history of the "white man". He mentions in his excerpt " First, always "religiously", he branded "Heathen" and "Pagan" labels upon ancient non-white cultures and civilizations. the stage thus set, he then turned upon his non-white victims his weapons of war". This has been proven to be hypocritical since, as they would preach christs teachings of being kind, meek, humble, and giving; they would do all but just that. They would go on to kill, take, manipulate and pillage almost all non-white cultures.     My reflection on Malcolm X's excrept of learning to read gave me much insight on the history of Great Britain. It also gave me a deeper understanding of what it is to be human, in addition to the many universal perspectives that give all comfort and ease. The excrept taught me that comfort and unity is found through mutual pain. I obtained this moral through recognizing the patterns of the author's writing where he introduces all the different races that have been victimized by the "white man" at one point or another. This passage also proved to me man's inevitable greed, and how they will do or use anything to get what they want; even if it means using religion as a tool. Malcolm X made valid points of this with the quote "the collective white man had been actually nothing but a piratical opportunist who used faustian machinations to make his own christianity his initial wedge in criminal conquests". This specific part of the excrept also lead me to wonder about Lewis Thomas's excrept "To Err Is Human", and how humans are able to progress through mistake. Reflecting upon that, I learned that people can learn from this; all that I had learned, and even more. Aside from moral understanding Malcolm X well established his thesis on all the benefits that are brought through reading. in addition to that he also supports his thesis by giving us an introduction to the basics of the African American race and all the mistakes that Great Britain had made during the early 1900's regarding slavery, murder, and manipulation. All together it was a very well written excrept with valid support for his thesis.

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