Tradition

How could one justify killing someone just because they drew a card? The story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is about the barbarism people would do for the sake of tradition. An example would be the entire lottery overall. It is about stoning a person just because that they drew the wrong ticket, and the refusal to get rid of the practice because of tradition. "There always has been a lottery"

Old man Warner is one of the worst offenders of following tradition blindly. He is 77 years old, and every year there has been one. When he hears that another village plans to give up the lottery, he laughs and calls them a bunch of crazy fools. He calls young people stupid because they thought rationally. It was amazing back then that people would kill someone for the sake of tradition.

(Authors Note: This is a reading response from my book 'World War Z')

What happened in the cave with the terrorists? What was it that ripped them apart? "You could see by the blood trails, the shell casing, and pockmarks that the entire battle had originated from the infirmary,” Because of this, I know it was the infection. After reading a little farther, we know how much panic the people were in. “We discovered several cots, all bloody. At the end of the room we found a headless doctor, lying of the dirt floor next to a cot with soiled sheets and clothes and an old, left-footed , worn-out Nike high-top. The last tunnel we checked had collapsed from the use of a booby-trapped demolition charge. A hand was sticking out of the limestone, and was still moving.” The zombies escaped, and we know that they were not properly quarantined and will continue to infect other people.

Energy of the future

 Joey Fernandez

4/24/12

(Author's note: This is my science piece on energy from algae)

            Algae are commonly referred to as pond scum. People don’t think much of it.  Algae are plants that contain a high amount of natural oil. Researchers today are finding out that they can make biodiesel fuel from this oil, and that algae is one of the fastest growing plants on earth. It is being called “The ultimate in renewable energy” (Algae: ‘The ultimate in renewable energy’, 2008).  Being able to make a lot of oil in a short amount of time gives algae the potential to surpass crude oil and become one of the world’s largest energy producers.

            One of the best things about algae oil is that it is a very practical energy source. It is clean, so it won’t contribute to global warming. Algae are also very versatile; we can grow it almost anywhere in the world. It can be grown in almost any pond, but "A pond has a limited amount of surface area for solar absorption," (Algae: 'The ultimate in renewable energy', 2008). Algae oil is grown in vertical chambers for optimum solar absorption, so it not found, therefore it is a renewable resource. Algae oil is one of the few energy sources that is both clean, and efficient.

            Energy production isn’t the only use for algae. It can be used in a variety of ways. Algae are a food for many types of fish, but humans can eat it too. It is used commercially in many health care products. Algae also are a natural filter, so it is used to clean polluted bodies of water. Algae can get stop pollutants being used, and clean up the damage they already have done.

            It seems that algae oil is the perfect clean energy source, but right now it has one major flaw, it is very expensive. While you may think four dollars a gallon for gas is through the roof, algae oil costs about thirty dollars a gallon. Algae can grow anywhere, but the problem is harvesting it. Scientists haven’t yet found a way to do this cheap and efficiently. However, scientists project that they will keep coming up with technology to help with this problem. It will take another five to ten years until we can actually use algae oil as an energy source practically, but once we get around this problem, algae oil will be used as a very viable resource.

            Algae oil is a great idea and should defiantly be invested in. With all the big oil companies harming the environment, we need a source of clean energy that is reliable and practical. I think algae oil will be the answer or at least a key piece to solving the energy crisis. We may not use it now, but when the technology comes out; I believe algae will become one of the top energy sources.

           

Bibliography

Algae: 'The ultimate in renewable energy'. (2008, April 1). Retrieved April 20, 2012, from cnn: http://articles.cnn.com/2008-04-01/tech/algae.oil_1_algae-research-fossil-fuels-nrel/2?_s=PM:TECH

Bushwick, S. (2012, January 27). Micro-Bubbles Cut Cost of Algae-Derived Biofuel. Retrieved April 19, 2012, from scientificamerican: http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=microbubbles-cut-cost-of-algae-deri-12-01-27

Marine algae seen as ideal biofuel source. (2012, April 3). Retrieved April 19, 2012, from UPI: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2012/04/03/Marine-algae-seen-as-ideal-biofuel-source/UPI-48521333493352/

Uses of Algae. (2007). Retrieved April 23, 2012, from Infoplease: http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0856558.html

Walton, M. (2008, April 1). Algae: 'The ultimate in renewable energy'. Retrieved April 2012, 2012, from CNN: http://articles.cnn.com/2008-04-01/tech/algae.oil_1_algae-research-fossil-fuels-nrel?_s=PM:TECH

Moods in writing pieces

Every writing piece ever written has a mood. Moods set the feeling and determine how the piece is read. People sometimes see moods differently when reading poems, but when music is added and poems become lyrics, the mood is much more defined. The mood is the part of the piece that people will never forget. All writing pieces are affected by the mood the author creates.

Many poems are light and happy, while others are dark and gloomy. The mood helps allows you to describe poems with adjectives with feeling. For example, some poems about cozy fires in a cabin in the middle of winter makes you feel warm or a rainy scene of people mourning over something makes you feel sad and cold. Without a mood, poems wouldn’t have any effect on anybody.

When poems are turned into songs, the most challenging part is finding the instrumental background. When songs are made, they want to reflect the mood on the pace and music. If a sad song about death, heartbreak, or failure had an upbeat tempo, it would make it seem that the song was happy, especially if the artist sang it fast and happy too. Moods are the most important part of a poem, and if it doesn’t match with everything else, the poem will seem very contradicting.

            Moods are the soul of any story. If a mood is changed, the story changes drastically. If The Giver had the mood of happy and worry free, it would be a much different book. The mood has the power to shape stories around them. Without a mood, there can’t be a connection between a reader and the book.

            Moods are the voice of the piece. They are the things that communicate feeling to the reader. Without moods, writing would be lifeless and easily forgettable. Each piece has their own unique mood. If this mood was changed, the piece changes drastically. I’m believe that the mood is the most influential part of any piece.

Poems and Songs

The first one sounds happy because of the tone of the instruments. It had a happy feel, even though the poem is about longing for something. The second song however, is very slow and sad. The instruments make it seem dark and gloomy. It is obvious that adding instruments can easily change the tone of a poem. The tone of a song can have the same effect as the lyrics itself.

Nuclear Energy

            What do you think of when you hear the term nuclear? War? Bombs? Destruction? It actually could be a clean and renewable energy that can sustain our country for a long time. Many people are against nuclear energy because of the possibility of an accident and fallout, but I believe America could use this resource to help lower the country’s dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels.

            When you see a nuclear power plant you think that it is hurting the environment because of the giant cooling tower with smoke coming out of it, but that “smoke’ is actually only vapor which is harmless. Nuclear waste is defiantly harmful, but the output of it is low, and can be properly contained. Ronald Regan even said “All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk.” We need uranium to make nuclear energy, but if our mining technologies continue to improve, our supply should last us roughly 60,000 more years. It is defiantly more reliable for the future that most other energy sources.

            Building nuclear power plants aren’t cheap, but the energy obtained from one will defiantly pay for itself over time. They are cheap to operate, and the energy they produce is cheaper than coal and other fossil fuels. Nuclear energy is basically using uranium to boil water cleanly and efficiently. It is simple idea and the energy output could compare to coal and oil if given the right resources.

            Nuclear energy has been deemed dangerous by the majority of the public.  People remember huge accidents like Chernobyl or Fukushima, and I agree that they were great tragedies. What you didn’t know was that for every person killed from nuclear energy, 4,000 more are killed from the production of coal. As long as regulations are kept, nuclear power plants are a safe place to work.

            Many clean energy sources are cheap and efficient, but don’t always produce a lot of energy. Nuclear energy could be used alongside other clean energy sources to for maximum effectiveness. In the future, nuclear energy should be used more to help ease the reliance on fossil fuels until the point we don’t need them anymore. Nuclear energy is the best choice for the number one energy source for a cleaner future.

 

(This piece is Taro speaking to Hana about her father. It ties into the book because it in the climax, Taro duels Lord Oda and ends up taking his life. He is speaking to Lord Oda's daughter. She realizes that her father was evil, but is still sad for losing the father she thought she knew.)

 I have killed

 Your father

While he was

Trying to kill you

You might have

Loved his good side

And he might have

Loved you

Forgive me

He was very evil

And very much

Better off dead