"North Korea is like the bully who secretly has a calcium deficiency, if you have the courage to push him down a flight of stairs than the bones will break." -Robert Flynn
Writing a blog is probably the hardest thing that I have ever done in the world. When I first heard that we were supposed to write a blog I thought that it would be fun and interesting. But now that the school year has progressed, I can tell you that it sucks I can't think of anything to write. So that's why I'm writing this, this is a blog post about not being able to write a blog post, I gotta tell you that even though its a post about not being able to post I still can't think of anything. Why? Well i don't know why, maybe I'm burnt out of ideas, maybe when I start to write I loose my ideas, or maybe blogging just isn't for me. Well all that I know is that blogging is hard and sucks.
When I think of Chasing Home, I think of running after something that is just out of reach. Something that is in the distance and that I can see, but the closer I get the further away it moves. For me the idea of chasing home is trying to find something that is important to you, but you don’t know what that thing is. I think chasing home is chasing the memories and thoughts of the friends and families, the thoughts of the life that I’ve lead, the life I’m still leading. I think chasing home is the way that we connect back with our pasts and forget about our troubles, where there is always a space at the dinner table. I think chasing home is the idea of trying to recapture the memories and feelings of our past.
 Nanook & the Dancing Fireman: Part One
By Jacob Ricketts Many years ago in the North of Newfoundland, there was a boy. The boy was wild and reckless; so the elders of the Mi’kmaq tribe called him Nanook. Nanook was the name of a spirit that represented the curses of recklessness upon a being. Days and days past and Nanook grew more brash and barbaric, Nanook would break knives and fishing poles, he would not listen nor respect the elders and their wishes, the elders were becoming more and more impatient. The elders of the tribe sat and had a meeting one night and as they gazed into the fire, they saw Nanook and the village except the village was in ruins. All the elders looked at one and other and they talked about the story of the great bear that once destroyed an entire village in less time than it took to yell stop. All the elders agreed for the sake of the rest of the people in the village that Nanook should not be around anymore. The elders came to an agreement that if Nanook was to cause any more harm that he would be sent away, the elders all agreed that if Nanook acted out again they would send him on an impossible journey that would not lead Nanook back to the village. Nanook was 15 when he was sent on the impossible task. Nanook had been out playing and he showed off to the younger kids by grabbing fire from a Teepee and throwing it in the air making the most beautiful smoke, however when Nanook grabbed the fire he tripped over a cloth and dropped the fire on the teepee and it went up in smoke. After the smoke had cleared and the belongings were gathered the eldest man asked Nanook to run north and find Little Seal Lake “follow the great river and in time you will find the Lake, beware though every man who has tried to find this lake has never returned. Be careful, but be wise as well”, Nanook did not know why the elder asked him to find the lake but he accepted the task and started on his journey. Nanook was given a pound of meat and a litre of water, he was sent on his way. As the hours past Nanook seemed to be walking in circles, he had no map, no compass, just a general direction to travel. Nanook stopped and sat in a snow bank by a great flowing river, he looked over the bank into the water, when he did he first saw his reflection than another shape started to form. Nanook turned away and looked back again, when he did a figure, that he had never seen appeared and it freighted him, Nanook jumped back and closed his eyes, breathed and crawled back to the river. This time when he looked at the water…he saw himself staring back at him. Nanook collected his water, meat and continued on with his journey. The great sky grew dark and the extravagant Northern Lights showed themselves, Nanook stopped and gazed at the beauty of the gifts bestowed upon him. Nanook decided that he had been walking long enough and it was time to rest. As he laid in the snow and closed his eyes, the lights suddenly stopped, disintegrated and disappeared into the night sky, Nanook opened his eyes and sat up, when then the lights came back, this time in the shape of the figure that he saw in the river earlier in the day. Nanook closed his eyes, and opened them, this time he opened eyes, the figure started to move almost like it was dancing with the stars, all though he wanted too Nanook could not take his eyes off the dancing figure. The figure was a yellow and orange man, it was a man, a man in the sky dancing, he almost looked like that the man was on fire. Nanook was no longer afraid, he was intrigued, no he was amazed, amazed that a man in sky on fire could be so wonderful. Hours passed, to Nanook it only seemed like minutes, he gazed in awe and wonder. Nanook wondered why this being was here, why did it choose him? Why? Day broke and the lights disintegrated and the sun was shining, Nanook gathered his things and started on his way, snow covered ground, birds overhead and a beautiful sun shining with only one fluffy cloud. The river was clear and distinguished, Nanook was not taken in by anything surrounding him, he was only concentrated on the dancing man on fire that he stared at for hours the night before. As he continued down his unmarked trail, Nanook began to feel hungry he opened his pack and looked around for the meat he was given, to his surprise the meat was gone. Gone, like the fall before the winter, Nanook became hysterical and started running and looking for where he could have left his meat. When Nanook returned to where he had slept the night before he could not find the meat or any tracks that he had left, to Nanook the reckless boy this was the first time he became cautious. This scared him, he did not know what this feeling was it was a strange feeling, something he’d never felt before, even though he was scared Nanook felt a strange feeling of safety. Safety like being held when scared, with this new feeling and sense of safety and wiseness Nanook continued on his journey. Not having meat or any food was scary to Nanook, but for the first time it was the first thing on his mind, Nanook had finally grown from careless and reckless to wise and vigilant, he shook off the ways of his boyhood and was finally a man. As the hours past, Nanook’s stomach growled and bellowed, he saw something in the distance. Something shining a beautiful blue shining object in the distance, Nanook squinted and looked as far as he could see. Nanook began to run, faster and faster gaining speed he finally found Little Seal Lake. Faster and faster, Nanook dropped his packs and screamed to the heavens and then stopped, stopped, dead in his tracks. The dancing man had returned, this time in the daylight, he was dancing majestically and with great poise, but he wasn’t dancing in the same motions as he did last time, he was dancing west and pointing the same direction. Nanook looked at the man and followed him, as long as Nanook could before the man disappeared. When Nanook looked around, the shining blue lake was gone, gone. Nanook collapsed and wept screaming that there was no use in continuing. Nanook sat in the snow sobbing and wincing for hours. Night took over the land and the stars showed themselves in full beauty. Like the night before the man returned, this time not dancing, standing looking at Nanook, Nanook cried and screamed at the man “Why are you here, what do you want?” The man turned his head and spoke to Nanook, “I have come to you, to guide you to the Great Lake, go west and you will find what you seek to.” The man started dancing and disappeared into the night sky as he did before. Nanook stood and yelled at the top of his lungs, “I will find this Lake and I will return a man!!” Nanook gathered his pack and stormed to the west. The sun rose and Nanook was still walking to find what he was looking for. Nanook was entered a forest, with beautiful maple, oak and ash wood trees, this was the first time that he stopped and took in what was going on around him. Suddenly a branch broke in the distance and the great blue birds flew away in a panicking frenzy. Nanook called on his new feeling and sense of safety and continued walking carefully. Not 10 minutes later 3 white furred wolves appeared from behind the darkness, Power to the People The Government of Zugzwang
The No Name (NN) Party Jacob Ricketts Steps Down as the Prime Minister of Zugzwang For Immediate Release Zugzwang, Zugzwang, March 8, 2000- The Government of Zugzwang announced today that Jacob Kevin Ricketts has officially resigned as the Prime Minister of Zugzwang. In the Prime Minister’s official statement, he expresses his joy being Zugzwang’s first Prime Minister. The PM explained that the resignation comes after being under enormous stress under the work load required. The PM confirmed that he will keep a seat in the House of Commons and wishes that the new Prime Minister will be able to handle him/herself in running Zugzwang. PM Ricketts has been acting as Prime Minister for the past couple of months. In that time Prime Minister Ricketts sat in the first sitting of the House of Commons and passed four of the five bills. The PM won the first Zugzwanian candidate election by a land slide. The PM set very stern, but reasonable laws in hopes that the country of Zugzwang would be a free and fair land for everyone to live in. The No Name (NN) Party has voted & released the name of the person who will be filling in for the recently departed Prime Minister. Early today the No Name (NN) Party representative announced that Robert Terrence Flynn will be officially stepping in as Zugzwang’s second Prime Minister. The No Name (NN) Party issued a statement stating that the party is very bereaved that the Prime Minister stepped down but they are very optimistic with the choice of Robert Flynn. “Prime Minister will be missed, but it is the dawn of a new day. We believe that the country will thrive more with Robert Flynn.” Power to the People Fear was the terrible secret of the battlefiled and could afflict the brave as well as the timid. Worse it was contagious, and could destroy a unit before a battle even began. Because of that, commanders were first and foremost in the fear suppression business. -David Halberstam, The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War  It seems that North Korea continues to impress. The country has tested 3 nuclear devices against United Nations orders, and now is threatening to ignore and destroy the 1953 ceasefire that ended the Korean War. In the 1950s the Korean War was raging between the United States and the Koreans, after the war was finished, the Koreans and the Americans signed a cease fire agreement ending the Korean War. However the North Koreans are expressing that the ceasefire only meant that the fighting would stop and that they didn’t sign a peace treaty, which would have meant that the grudge between the two countries would stop forever. The North Koreans are now threatening to tear up the agreement if the United Nations meets and restricts the Nuclear Tests. Back to the 3 nuclear tests conducted by the North Koreans, after repeated warnings by the United Nations, North Korea continued to test nuclear devices in hopes of finding a nuclear warhead small enough, but still powerful, to attach to a missile that can travel to the United States. In the United States and the United Nations, disbelief is high, the U.S & the U.N believe that North Korea is nowhere near developing the technology.
North Korea can have the technology and are waiting to use it or could be miles away still on the drawing board, that’s the scary part we don’t know what’s going on, seeing is how no one is allowed in or out of the country and all military plans are top secret. This begs the question, should we be scared? What if North Korea has the technology and are waiting to use it, how would we survive knowing that we are in the midst of nuclear warfare? Which brings another question, the United States is the main enemies to the North Koreans and any allies may be attacked as well, so is Canada in the mind of Kim Jong Un? Personally I’m worried, I’m worried that North Korea has the technology and I’m worried that they will use it. I don’t know what would happen to the world, World War III? North Korean Domination? I find that idea the scariest, the idea of not knowing what will happen. I trust my leaders to do the right thing, I hope that World War III will never happen; it’s not up to me though. Again I come back to the question… Should we be Scared?  The Classroom of the future! It’s already almost here, think about it students have access to the entire world’s data bank at their fingertips, new technologies to look up that information, and technologies to help complete the students work. So, what’s next? I think that the classroom of the future will look nothing like the classroom of today; there will be no more paper, no more pens or pencils, no more black/white board, and most of all no teacher. In place of teachers students will have one on one instruction structured to their specific needs and wants, but is this really the things should be? Technology is great and is already in many classrooms already and let me tell you it makes everything so much easier. Students can write an essay in an hour, do homework in 20 minutes and look up anything said in class. Now the question of is the classroom of 2030 going to be any different? I think it will, I think that the classroom of 2030 will have nothing but computers, tablets, and smartphones. It’s kind of like today’s classroom except without the paper & pen element.
Now sitting in class, we students are told to take out a piece of paper and a pen and write a note, we are told that this worksheet or textbook questions are due tomorrow and that if we don’t than we will lose homework marks. What if that was gone, what if instead of pens and paper, textbooks & worksheets we had computers and tablets that homework could be completed on and sent to be marked. Who would mark it though? Well mentioned above, structured individual learning, would probably be taught & marked by a computer programed with correct answers and lesson plans fit to the student’s needs. Kind of weird isn’t it? A computer being a teacher, who knew, but computers are capable of connecting to the entire world’s data base in the blink of an eye essentially wiping out the need for modern day teachers. What will the teachers of today do, get a new job, or maybe, just maybe there is still a place for today’s teacher in the classroom of 2030. Computers are amazing, but sometimes the computer can be wrong and there is a need for a sense of real life guidance. Maybe the classroom of 2030 still has a place for the teacher of today. Some people think that technology is stupid and should be kept out of the classroom completely. Pretty soon the entire world will be dominated by technology and we can do nothing to stop it. So this begs the question, is 2030 going to be a complete overhaul on learning or is it going to be any different? Warning Explicit Content!!  What is a Zombie?
A zombie is a human being, who is not a human being anymore. The subject is infected with the virus, from biting or scratching, and then when they die the virus takes control. When the virus takes control of the human host all the human functions are shut down and the survival part of the brain is activated. Now Zombies cannot climb walls, run, jump, swim, they can just walk, bite, swing their arms, and scratch. The Zombies are flesh hungry beings that hunt live prey (live humans, animals, etc.) and they are ruthless when it comes to finding their meal. Zombies cannot perceive other zombies nor can they can communicate with each other Zombies can only see, hear, smell living organisms. Humans think that there is still hope for the "people" who are infected, but let’s remember that the person who once inhabited that body is dead (that’s how the virus takes its effect) Humans also think that Zombies can remember things from their past, but they can't. Remember that no matter what, Zombies cannot communicate, they do not have feelings, they do not feel pain, they are just mindless bodies walking and searching for fresh flesh. To sum up, Zombies do not feel pain, they cannot perceive other zombies, they have no mind, and they just walk around mindlessly looking for a meal. The Cause Everyone thinks that the apocalypse is caused by a nuclear attack or an animal virus, but their very wrong. Causes can be linked to a virus that attacks the brain and kills the cells necessary for advanced tasks. When the human host dies the virus takes over, it turns on the absolute basic survival skills (Walking, biting, scratched, swallowing) Becoming infected can happen through biting, scratching, and ingesting any Zombie fluids. Always keep in mind that as soon as someone is bit, or scratched they should be killed immediately, as with any Zombie. Basic Survival Basic survival is essential to surviving the apocalypse, you need to keep in mind that no place is safe… just safer. To survive you will need: -Food & Water -Safe Shelter -Weapons -Source of Transportation -Partner/other people* These items are essential to the survival of you or others. Zombies can only live for 3-5 years without food, which may seem like a long time, but when you battling them everyday time really flies. Always have a safe place to sleep for the night. Kill every zombie that you see, remember that they are no longer the person you know/knew. The shelter that you choose may only be safe for a small time, and you should always consider moving every couple of days or weeks. *Partner/Groups may not be available due to the fact their most likely going to be dead What would you do in the end of the world? For your Political Compass: http://www.politicalcompass.org/  |
