#eng1c

[melvah]

September 15, 2016

When you read a book what format is it in? Have you ever read a graphic novel? If not, why not? If yes, have you read other formats or do you prefer graphic novels? Why do you like graphic novels? So many questions, I know. 

I was to choose from any of these four books: Night by Elie Wiesel, The Storyteller by Jodie Picoult, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, or Maus by Art Spiegelman. 

Well, I have already read The Diary of a Young Girl. I was told The Storyteller is long and I don’t read fast. So it was between Night and Maus. I asked my husband what he thought, I assumed he’d choose the cheaper one. He then asked, “Have you ever read a graphic novel?” so I replied, “Ummm No I haven’t, so is that what I should choose?” Well off to the bookstore and didn’t take us long to find the graphic novels and then he realized it was our nephew’s birthday and we hadn’t gotten him a gift. Cool! I get to share something in common with a thirteen year old. He will read about the Punisher and the Avengers while I read about a son’s view of his father’s survival during the holocaust. Well wish me luck, I’ll get back to you and let you know if I’m enjoying it.

[melvah]

September 13, 2016

During any war secrecy and lies go hand in hand. It’s important not to trust anyone and yet to keep one’s sanity it is important to confide in someone. War, nasty tricky thing it is. To save millions thousands will have to die. Violence, favorable and unfavorable. Have you ever seen or heard about The Imitation Game. Well I’m here to tell you it’s a good one. Here is the trailer for you to take a look at it. 

My favorite quote:

“Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of who do the things no one can imagine”-Alan Turing 

What’s your favorite quote?

[josephinechann]

What Is A "Soul" ?

“Soul” is one word that generates many similar definitions based on people’s different beliefs and ideologies. However, the soul is mainly and specifically a person’s identity; the very essence of a person’s being. It is what defines our character, conscience, and virtues, and is ultimately what makes each and every one of us uniquely different from one another. The soul is often contrasted with the body as the first is more a spiritual element, one that is intangible, whereas the latter is physical. The soul is what connects a person’s mind with their body, allowing them to think, feel, and make more or less rationalized decisions. We are all recognized by certain attributes, whether it is being smart, caring, loud, self-conscious, witty . . . the list goes on. These attributes all resemble character. Our conscience (ideology of what seems right and wrong, good or bad) and our virtues (what we value as important) are the root of our decision-making (our intellect). Although all these describe different aspects of our internal make-up, they all have one thing in common – they characterize who we are. And that is what ultimately defines a “soul”. 

[josephinechann]

Is Eating Meat Morally Acceptable ?

Eating meat, in and of itself, is morally acceptable; however, the ways in which meat is made abundantly accessible for us today because of society’s high demand is not. Animals that are the very products of meat are being strictly abused and mistreated for the sake of satisfying our bellies and appetites. The argument here is not so much the idea that one (humanity) is “superior” to the other (animals) so therefore, the animals’ demise is justified but more so, that animals are purposely being confined and raised in extremely detrimental conditions only to be immorally slaughtered. According to an article titled “Factory Farming: Cruelty to Animals”, animals are jam packed into filthy unsanitary sheds, deprived of exercise so that all their bodies’ energy goes toward producing flesh, eggs, or milk, fed drugs to fatten faster, genetically altered to grow faster or to produce more than they naturally would . . . etc. These ethics in conduct are by no means, or rather, should by no means be excused or condoned for any reason. These facts that ultimately argue against the acceptable morality of eating meat are not demanding a sympathetic attitude towards these animals but rather, prompting only a genuine effort to be consciously aware of the consequences that follow and come with society’s astoundingly high demand for the destruction of these animals’ lives. There are too many people whose blissful ignorance has allowed them to justify anything as long as it is beneficial or advantageous towards humanity in spite of the downfalls it can cause; one primary example being the nutritional health that meat offers. However, ignorance is never, and should never be a moral justification. Let me again, emphasize that the very act of eating meat is fine. It is only when animals are being stripped and deprived of their natural environments and coerced into destructive conditions (for our sake) that we need to take a step back and really consider what is at stake.