Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore Post Reading Post

"We all have the same hardware, but not the same software."

In Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore the main character Clay what you could call a "tech nerd." Clay becomes unemployed and looks relentlessly for employment. He soon becomes a worker at a bookstore.  Oblivious of the adventure he had stepped in he soon discovers a secret society.

This novel has interesting look into the world of technology and mysteries. In the story we meet Clay, a young man living in San Francisco. Clay has a  thing for technology especially different softwares. As we get to know him more we see his love for things blogging, aesthetics, and Google. This quote applies to him in various ways. If you look at it just as the quote reads you can see it as his love for technology. We all have hardware without it we couldn't have software. Software makes up the hardware which are things that are physical. Phones and computers would be hardware but yet if you don't have a software you can't operate either. The irony between the two is that you can't have either you have to have both because they depend on each other. If you think about the relationship it's almost like the operation of humans, without your body you're nonexistent but without vital organs you can't function. The meaning that can be told through the book is the struggle of deciphering codes for secret messages. In the novel Clay defines codes and without knowing simple trend or softwares to actually define the hardware Clay may not have been abel to solve any of the puzzles that were thrown his way.

To my everyday life this shows that people are all made of the same parts but no one is the same. There are many people in the world and not one of them are the same to another. As I'm getting older I have began noticing different people and their circumstances. The diversity in the world is something that exists but sometimes isn't excepted even though we're all human. The thing is we all have different beliefs, genders, ethnicities, race, and sexualities. When people identify themselves with the software of who they are and isn't excepted they're upon with disdain. Women who try to cross the barrier that men and society has set we get looked at as if we've done something deplorable. In society we all have different views on everything even if we have similar hardware we all have different softwares.
 "Software is a great combination between artistry and engineering."

- Bill Gates

Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore Pre-Reading Post

Write a blog post that explains what books can do for a person, especially related to yourself.

Books are an immortal light to an author's vision. Books have lessons and meanings behind them. For many books can take you on a journey to the past or the future. Books have always been a way to get lost in in someone else's imagination. When I read books my favorite thing is to seek out the message behind different events.

In books I've always learned values and morals through characters. Character development is something that shows me how someone changes and that change is alright. Reading books have always brought me comfort especially when I can relate to the main character and their inner conflicts. One of my favorite things about reading is that you can choose any date or time that want it to be. I've always loved the nostalgia of the past even though the past was anything but perfect. For people, being able to live in a time where they don't exist is something that gives them the chance to. I personally love stories written about the twentieth century because people like to say they were "simpler times." While I loved the aesthetic, movie, fashion, and music from that time it wasn't easy or simple for anyone. Books show the problems of these times, the racism, sexism, and homophobia. Reading can also introduce new aspects of creativity. Before I got into middle school I didn't read that often and my creativity was at zero. But since the seventh grade I've found reading to be intriguing and it has made my imagination and creativity brighter.

I think everyone can say that they have a book that is immortal and can never get old no matter how many times you read it. In books you can always have a different outlook than someone else. Books are almost like the gateway to emotions. When you read a book and then there's something to the words that make them more than words but it makes them art. When you can then take that art and apply it to your life you know that you've experienced the depth of a book.

 "If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all."
~Oscar Wilde

Post Reading: Brave New World

         Fear and ignorance are both ideas that live in our head. I feel that ignorance however is more detrimental due to fact that you are not in the know about how you are controlled.
         In the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley the citizens are under an illusion that the world that they live in is a perfect world. The truth about their government is that anything that could bring them knowledge or realization is taken from them. The government has taken away people’s right to read, have religion, or even have a natural human relationship including sexual reproduction. To me this is should be feared more because in this form of government you would be too ignorant and blind to even realize what was happening to you and why any of it would be wrong.
         In the novel they’re many things that take place that aren’t accepted in society today. They have the idea that Henry Ford is somewhat of God and should be worshipped and this is believed because religious texts were prohibited under the government. In the society of Brave New World the use of the drug soma is present when the characters face internal conflict and wish to be free from their thoughts. The drug however isn’t illegal in their government, this is because it makes it easier for the government to control the mind of the people which makes it less likely for rebellion. Since drugs are abused by the citizens the high of the drug causes a fake happiness and this makes the ignorance from the citizens increase. In the novel children are allowed to perform in sexual excursions and is passed off as being play today we look upon this in disgust. Many people today have knowledge to know that sexulizing children is not right but in their society they see nothing wrong with it because this is what they are taught and supposed to believe. Babies are also subjects to tests from the moment that they are born they have beliefs that are meant to be engraved in their minds. Without the freedom to think for themselves as adults a caste system is created between the different classes of people and what they feel is right and wrong.
        I feel that the author's use of ignorance being happiness can be seen in living today. It shows that the things that we find happiness and brilliance in can be dangerous and harm us. People like Lenina were always blind to everything and believed that the idealistic world that lived in was honest and true. In the end without knowledge, people are unfairly controlled and stripped of their rights.

The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.

-Albert Einstein

Triangulation Essay

Could you imagine a world without creativity? Could you imagine having no identity or rights to your own mind? That’s what countless writers have illustrated in the mind of society today. The dystopian ideas of everyone being the same, everyone being a slave to society, and even their mind. But what happens when rebellion sparks?

In societies of those presented in the movie Antz and the stories “Harrison Bergeron” and Anthem live in ignorance, fear, and oppression. Government doesn't give you the power to make your own choices and creates the idea that everything is done for the good of the people. Oppression is the systematic way that the citizens are controlled and abused. In both Anthem and Antz your job placement is defined by government to stifle and ideas, potential, or excellence anyone may have. In “Harrison Bergeron” the government uses masks, weights, and earpieces which were known as handicaps. Handicaps were meant for everyone to have the same level of abilities and thoughts it kept everyone from being better than anyone else. Many people believed the government to be honest and true and some were simply not afraid to speak out against the government, however three brave souls had the courage to do so.

Harrison, Z, and Equality were the names of the young men who attempted to reform society. The three courageous males had felt the sadness and oppression that was bearing on their shoulders. All had outside of the box ideas and ways of thinking. Harrison a 7 foot tall fourteen-year old who lives in a world filled with masked beauty and handicaps. Equality a twenty-one year who lives in less modern yet futuristic world where originality is scorned upon. Z who stands at only a few centimeters is tired of living in a colony where he doesn't matter. While all these characters have their differences they all have the same want and intentions and that was to be emancipated from the servitude of their government. The three not being average as everyone else had open eyes of the ways of their oppressors which soon lead into the start their rebellions. All three resulting in different ways the government was effected.

As Equality makes new scientific discoveries and Z attempts to find himself and love Harrison makes plans to create rebellion in a much different light. While both Z and Equality have philosophies and knowledge that surrounds their rebellion the insurgence Harrison came from place of violence and control. He does get freedom, while it’s short lived. In the end while Harrison was killed by the Handicap General, the leader of his government. Equality proposes light, his new invention to the world council and when he learns they have no means of improvement of society and soon flees the scene into what he knows as uncharted land. He is followed by Liberty whom he has fallen for. As they venture off into the woods they soon discover an old home and starts a new life and civilization. Z becomes known as war hero to his fellow ants and soon embarks on a journey along with the kidnapped princess. He returns soon to save the colony from the annihilation of the government he becomes renown and every ant gets their individual rights.

Utopia isn't a place that can be reached due to the fact everyone has a different idea of what a perfect civilization is. In a homogeneous world without creativity or imagination it stifles people as individual. Individuality and identity should be defined through the feelings and thoughts of a person. The dystopian stories show us a look into the future where freedom isn't a choice and thinking for yourself is wrong. The tales teach us that your freedom is a right that shouldn't be taken from you.

Brave New World Pre Reading Blog

The first mentions of utopia came from ancient Greece in 1516. The word's roots literally means "no place". In every society that has ever been mentioned through the countless stories that I've read nothing is ever perfect to everyone, there is always an outlier. Nothing can be perfect in the eyes of everyone because everyone has a different idea of their perfect society this is why an utopia can never be achieved.

Recently I've had a feeling that the America that I live in today is almost distopic. I look around and realize the country that I've been placed in a place stolen from another culture. A country were people were once enslaved. A country were women and men aren't equal, cultures aren't appreciated, and people are poor and homeless. I listen to people speak of materialistic as if they somehow make them better than people who can't afford things. It seems that people are blinded by the privelege America has given them to see the bad and sadness this county has caused people. Sometimes I sit and think of these facts and then I start to see a place that is far but idealistic for the future.

In my perfect society I see equality amongst all people but in a way that creativity isn't stifled. Creativity would be a big part of my society art, music, and new inventions anything that was new and innovative would be rewarded and praised but mediocrity wouldn't be. With this equality men and women  would be equals to each other and have respect for each other without misandry or misogyny. There would be no crazy beauty standards that people would have to abide to to seem attractive or wanted. Men and women would know about the cultures of others and respect them but would refrain from appropriating the ideas of others and claiming them as theirs. In my idealistic society people would be able to marry who they want, women and women and men and men and they wouldn't be judged for loving who they love. I would want to live in modern society where technology is prosperous but isn't taking jobs from people rather than helping make people's jobs easier. I would want people to learn and know the pain behind civilization and all the people who struggled everyday. This I'd my idealistic idea of how things should be people being having complete individuality to express themselves.

These are my dreams for America.  It's hard to be a woman in this country and being black is just as hard. Sometimes I think that if everything in this country stays the same then what are the chances for future generations? What are the chances of my future? I like to keep an open mind that things can change and that we'll live in world were people  are excepted no matter who they are and choose to be.

 "Finally free, the butterfly sheds light on situations that the caterpillar never considered, ending the eternal struggle."
- Kendrick Lamar  

Borderline Post Reading Blog

"Rumors are way more exciting than the truth, so they're what people believe."

In Borderline the main character, Sami  is faced with a many obstacles. Sami and his family are from Muslim heritage and are discriminated by their community. Sami also doesn't fit in at his school and is being bullied. All of these issues  dwindle in meaning as his father is arrested  for terrorism.

The news begins to spread all around the town. Sami begins to deal with the people around him speaking negatively of is family and his father. The interesting thing about the whole situation is that many people don't stop to question if any of it is true or not. Most people see it easy to believe that a man of Muslim heritage is capable of being a terrorist. Also something I know is that people love drama most people find it entertaining    or exhilarating to see it played out. Many people aside from Sami and his mother saw the whole scandal as truth due to these factors. Eddy, Sami's bully is one of his many peers who finds the news of Sami's family true. Sami is mocked by the accusations of his father and even when they turn out to be false everyone's still suspicious. Rumors like these, are created by stereotypes and while they may seem invalid they happen everyday.

In my everyday I hear rumors, as do many people. I'm a quiet person and I happen to hear many things around my peers. While I wish that I didn't find gossip to be entertaining it is one of my many flaws. I can personally speak upon myself when I say that humans sometimes succumb things like drama. Humans often look past the truth because seeing a rumor as the truth is much more fun to believe. I hear things in the hallways and see fights and for some reason I find it easier to watch or listen than to leave. We also find comfort in seeing that someone else's life isn't as bad as ours. I believe that it comes with being a person that we have certain weaknesses and we've been subjects of listening or even being apart of gossip.  While these things are harsh they are some of the darker sides to being a human.

"Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead."

-Benjamin Franklin

Borderline Pre-Reading Post

Write a blog post that defines the difference between the "truth" and the "whole truth."

I believe in the truth. Honesty can sometimes be hard to admit. When people want to avoid lying but they don't want to tell the whole truth they usually tell bits of the truth. The whole truth I believe is when you tell truth from beginning to end almost like a summary. In life I believe that the difference between which option you pick depends on the circumstances.

For me I have told the truth but not the whole truth before. My thought process was that if I don't lie and tell parts of the truth I would be able to get by with things I've done. I personally I don't believe in lies I feel that they're one of the most distrustful things a person can do. However it's in our human nature to lie as well. People usually don't tell the whole truth because they know it could hurt someone or it could get them out of trouble. I try to keep my hands clean of anything that is even close to this concept because it can get messy at times. From my own experience I've found it difficult to tell the whole truth about grades. By doing this it  comes back to bite me when progress reports are released and my grades aren't bad but not as well as I've  portrayed them to be. By not telling the complete truth it taught me that even though I didn't lie I still messed up and that instigated a sticky situation.

The whole truth is the concept of telling events that have truly happened  from beginning to end. Telling the actual truth sometimes takes a lot of courage and strength because it's not always the easiest thing to do. I feel that when you tell someone something that is true it's almost as if you're free from guilt and self conscience. When you lie or don't tell the complete truth you could be put in bad place with the people around you and could become resentful towards your actions. In my life I have always been tought and have learned through my own experiences  that honesty may not always be easy but it is always the right thing to do.

" It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one."
-George Washington