Vacation essay for school

April 10, 2014, my family and I went of an educational fielder. For our educational trip, we went on a cruise to Port Canaveral, Florida, Nassau, Bahamas, and Freeport, Bahamas. I felt the trip was educational because, I learned something new at each stop. In Port Canaveral, Florida I learned about biology. â€Å"BIO† means life and â€Å"logy† means the study of; Biology means the study of life. At Port Canaveral I studied the life of manatees. I learned that they are endangered and did not like to come to shore.Since manatees are endangered they had to live at a Sanctuary Park. This place was made so the manatees did not get hit by boats and did not become extinct. Nassau, Bahamas is where I experienced the culture of the Bahamas. I went shopping with my family. While I was shopping, I noticed that it did not look the shops at Pennsylvania. The shops in Nassau, Bahamas where bright and colorful little huts. I had the opportunity to go into â€Å"The Grass Hut† and experienced the Bahamas true culture.The Grass Hut was composed f at least 20 different shops. This included a wood carving stand and that could also be used as a purse weaving stand. Everything In The Grass Hut was handmade and you got to see the people who made the purses or wood carvings that you bought, make another one. Freeport, Bahamas Is lined with beautiful, natural beaches that the natives appreciate. Freeport is the 2nd largest city In the Bahamas and with It being a tourist hot-spot; they use that to their advantage.At this stop, I learned bout the economy and how they make money off the natural resources. With the ocean, they thrive off of the actives that are possible for tourists to do (for example, snorkeling, water skiing, swimming, etc. ) During my trip, I learned about the culture and economy of the Bahamas; the biology of Port Canaveral, Florida. I feel that I could not be able to experience everything that I did on my trip or even begin to study about it in school. This is an experience that I will never forget and gave me lasting memories.

Beowulf and The 13th Warrior Essay

Beowulf and the 13th Warrior, both are very good stories, one legibly and the other visually (unless you go to the roots of the 13th Warrior and read Eaters of the Dead). Although it is pretty obvious to anyone who has read Beowulf that the 13th Warrior was based on this great epic, there are still several differences that make for an interesting twist or two. While the two stories are very much alike in several ways, they are also very different. One of the key differences that the reader/viewer notices right off is that the story of Beowulf is being told exclusively about  Beowulf and his antics†¦ almost in a third person view. The 13th warrior, on the other hand, is being told by a  participant (Antonio Banderas who plays Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan) in the action about the symbolic Beowulf character.  Antonio Banderas or Ahmed Ibn Fadlan, is an Arabian ambassador from Baghdad whose whole purpose in going is to  interact with and learn as much as he can about the â€Å"odd† and â€Å"uncultured† ways of the Vikings. Although he starts out pretty upset, almost horrified, about how the Northmen carry on with their barbaric customs and almost complete lack of hygiene of almost any sort. The reason that Antonio Banderas’s character is even part of the story is that the Vikings’ leader, Buliwyf, needs a 13th ma n that cannot be a northman to be included in his posse of adventurers. The goal of the adventurers is to report to an aging â€Å"King Hrothgar† and help him to protect his people from a tribe of savages (you almost think that they as well are â€Å"supernatural† because there are never any of their dead left after battle and they are continually riding around in  bear skins that give them a positively frightening appearance in the mist and  at night) that are causing an  incredible amount of terror (I’d be pretty scared too if I walked into a friend’s cabin and him and his family were cut up into pieces) and completely destroying the population; Grendel is the embodiment of all of the savages, while his only having himself, he so terribly lessened the population and established such a reputation, that he successfully made king Hrothgar move out of his prized mead hall. While there are several similarities in the stories, one very important detail to notice is the parallel between Mr. Buliwyf and Beowulf (both of them are leaders of soldiers and they both rush to the aid of a troubled king whose kingdom is in danger). On top of, both of these leaders of men make it their mission to go and kill the â€Å"mother† (â€Å"mother† of the savages and Grendel’s mother). In Beowulf, the hero actually fought and killed Grendel (â€Å"eaters of the dead† leader and savages combined) first and then when his mother (â€Å"mother† of the â€Å"eaters of the dead†) came and took away his body to her home in the lake, Beowulf followed and then killed her as well†¦ but I suppose the order doesn’t really matter. Another issue to notice is the parallel in â€Å"supernatural† happenings and traits in the two stories. In Beowulf, he had supernatural strength, there was no one and nothing in the world that was strong than he was (he tore Grendel apart†¦ literally, and Grendel was a demon which I imagine is no easy feat). The parallel to that in The 13th Warrior was how even after Buliwyf was poisoned just before he cut off the â€Å"mother’s† head, he still was able to fight through the poisonous haze and muster the strength (even though everyone thought he was pretty much  dead in the town hall) when the time came, and fight off the vengeance being sought by the â€Å"eaters of the dead† for killing their â€Å"mother.† After he dispatched with a couple of savages, he swings his sword at the leader and doesn’t just hit him and knock him off (he’s wearing chest armor so the sword doesn’t cut him in half), he has enough strength not only to try and knock the leader off his horse, but makes him fly off about 10 feet in the opposite direction that he was originally trying to go to get to Buliwyf. The comparison of the way that the fighting men in each of the stories look at fighting is also interesting. In both stories, pride and boasting and â€Å"manliness† plays a very important role in the way things are done. Whether  you fight or not seems to directly impact whether you are a â€Å"man† or not. The warrior code is an imperative part of any good epic, or war story in general†¦ there has to be a â€Å"good† guy that, no matter how bad what he does is, follows some sort of honor code, that is an integral part of a good story. Another very obvious difference is that in the 13th Warrior, Mr. Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan is not the main character of  the story, whereas in Beowulf, Beowulf is obviously the one the story is about. As the viewer watches the 13th Warrior, they will notice that Antonio Banderas serves as the focal point/narrator of the film, even though the story is  not about him. This fact becomes painfully obvious towards the end of the movie, just before the climactic battle, where the main character (the one that is symbolic of Beowulf), Buliwyf, indirectly asks Antonio to write down the story (Mr. Banderas actually seems to offer to copy it down so that their story is not forgotten) and Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan says it will be done (you get the feeling it’s almost a â€Å"get well† gift because Buliwyf is going to die from poison). So, despite not being the main character, he plays a very important role†¦ not only in the copying down of the story but also because he is the reason they were able to put down the savages. One very obvious difference (not sure what the directors were thinking) was that there was sort of a  miniature love story sort of randomly thrown into The 13th Warrior. There really seems to be no point to it, it really has nothing to do at all with the main point of the movie†¦ possibly it was a weak attempt to attract a female  crowd (despite the gore) by claiming that it was, in part, a love story. Overall, it causes one to get distracted  from the point†¦ and it just creates more questions then it answers. While one story is obviously a remake of the other, they still have their own, very acute, differences. And while the 13th Warrior doesn’t nearly come close to being as good of a story as it could have, and there are still several parallels with Beowulf that mad it enjoyable (obviously aside from the action which would make it enjoyable anyway).

Analyzing Little Red Riding Hood

For danger, violence, and even death can come disguised in familiar things as the theme in â€Å"Little Red Riding Hood† suggests. There are several literary elements that contribute to the theme of the story of â€Å"Little Red Riding Hood†. I will analyze these elements as I have interpreted them. Perrault uses omniscient point of view to tell this story. This is observed in the first sentence of the first paragraph, â€Å"Once upon a time there lived in a certain village a little country girl, the prettiest creature who was ever seen† (as cited in Clugston, 2010, section 4. 1, para. 1). Omniscient point of view simply means that the reader is privy to every characters inner thoughts and feelings; in addition it allows the reader to go in and out of each character thoughts throughout the story. In this short story the reader gets the thoughts and feelings of both Little Red and the wolf. The tone of â€Å"Little Red Riding Hood† is a message to teach the danger in talking to or trusting strangers. For many strangers cannot and should not be trusted. That evil does exist and it has many faces, even familiar faces. The setting of this story is a medieval village on the edge of a large dark forest. Which today could be a lovely suburb on the edge of a huge unfriendly dark city? This story has five characters in it; however, the story focuses on the young woman wearing a red-hooded cape, the wolf, and their encounter, â€Å"As she was going through the wood, she met with a wolf, who had a very great mind to eat her up, but he dared not, because of some woodcutters working nearby in the forest. He asked her where she was going. The poor child, who did ot know that it was dangerous to stay and talk to a wolf, said to him, â€Å"I am going to see my grandmother and carry her a cake and a little pot of butter from my mother† (as cited in Clugston, 2010, section 4. 1, para. 4). In reading â€Å"Little Red Riding Hood†, my interpretation of the symbolism is based on things in the 21st century. In my mind, I see Red not as a little girl but as a young woman just coming of age. She is very beautiful and quite desirable. The wolf is not a four-legged animal but a two-legged man with bad morals and evil thoughts. There are various kinds of wolves. There are those who are charming, quiet, polite, unassuming, complacent, and sweet who pursue young woman at home and in the street. And unfortunately, it is these gentle wolves who are the most dangerous ones of all. Whereas, Red still thinks with a pure, loving, and trusting heart and mind as do many young females do today? In addition, where it say the wolf eats Red, â€Å"And, saying these words, this wicked wolf fell upon Little Red Riding Hood, and ate her all up (as cited in Clugston, 2010, section 4. 1, para. 27). The wolf does not actually eat Red but rapes and violates her stealing her innocence from her forever. The plot of the story contributes to the theme of the story by telling us of the dangers of talking to strangers. We all need to beware of our surroundings and to be so very careful in speaking to strangers, for danger, violence, loss of innocence, and even death can come disguised in things and people that are very familiar to us. References Clugston, R. W. , (2010). Journey into Literature. Retrieved from: http://content. ashford. edu/books/AUENG125. 10. 2? sections=sec4. 1 Analyzing Little Red Riding Hood For danger, violence, and even death can come disguised in familiar things as the theme in â€Å"Little Red Riding Hood† suggests. There are several literary elements that contribute to the theme of the story of â€Å"Little Red Riding Hood†. I will analyze these elements as I have interpreted them. Perrault uses omniscient point of view to tell this story. This is observed in the first sentence of the first paragraph, â€Å"Once upon a time there lived in a certain village a little country girl, the prettiest creature who was ever seen† (as cited in Clugston, 2010, section 4. 1, para. 1). Omniscient point of view simply means that the reader is privy to every characters inner thoughts and feelings; in addition it allows the reader to go in and out of each character thoughts throughout the story. In this short story the reader gets the thoughts and feelings of both Little Red and the wolf. The tone of â€Å"Little Red Riding Hood† is a message to teach the danger in talking to or trusting strangers. For many strangers cannot and should not be trusted. That evil does exist and it has many faces, even familiar faces. The setting of this story is a medieval village on the edge of a large dark forest. Which today could be a lovely suburb on the edge of a huge unfriendly dark city? This story has five characters in it; however, the story focuses on the young woman wearing a red-hooded cape, the wolf, and their encounter, â€Å"As she was going through the wood, she met with a wolf, who had a very great mind to eat her up, but he dared not, because of some woodcutters working nearby in the forest. He asked her where she was going. The poor child, who did ot know that it was dangerous to stay and talk to a wolf, said to him, â€Å"I am going to see my grandmother and carry her a cake and a little pot of butter from my mother† (as cited in Clugston, 2010, section 4. 1, para. 4). In reading â€Å"Little Red Riding Hood†, my interpretation of the symbolism is based on things in the 21st century. In my mind, I see Red not as a little girl but as a young woman just coming of age. She is very beautiful and quite desirable. The wolf is not a four-legged animal but a two-legged man with bad morals and evil thoughts. There are various kinds of wolves. There are those who are charming, quiet, polite, unassuming, complacent, and sweet who pursue young woman at home and in the street. And unfortunately, it is these gentle wolves who are the most dangerous ones of all. Whereas, Red still thinks with a pure, loving, and trusting heart and mind as do many young females do today? In addition, where it say the wolf eats Red, â€Å"And, saying these words, this wicked wolf fell upon Little Red Riding Hood, and ate her all up (as cited in Clugston, 2010, section 4. 1, para. 27). The wolf does not actually eat Red but rapes and violates her stealing her innocence from her forever. The plot of the story contributes to the theme of the story by telling us of the dangers of talking to strangers. We all need to beware of our surroundings and to be so very careful in speaking to strangers, for danger, violence, loss of innocence, and even death can come disguised in things and people that are very familiar to us. References Clugston, R. W. , (2010). Journey into Literature. Retrieved from: http://content. ashford. edu/books/AUENG125. 10. 2? sections=sec4. 1

Why do people read and write blogs Research Paper

Why do people read and write blogs - Research Paper Example This essay considers the ways that blogs constitute a legitimate form of journalism and in the process investigated why people read and write blogs. While ‘published’ works constitute the backbone of journalism, one considers that oftentimes it is not possible to distinguish between the blog format and the professional format. Indeed, one of the significant insights into the importance and power of blogs is that many individuals in the established media have co-opted the blog format. One prominent example of this is with the technology website Tech Crunch. This site is significant as it explores entrepreneurship and innovation in the United States; as such, it investigates the backbone of American economic progress. Rather than adopting a more stolid and traditional form of journalism this site has a blog-like aesthetic, as writers such as Alexia Tsotsis explore technology through more direct and free form means of expression (Tsotsis, 2012). A prominent aspect of blogs is the way that they have been able to be leveraged by individuals for monetary purposes. Prior to blogging individuals had to push their work through well established channels as a means of gaining attention or compensation. The advent of blogging has allowed independent writers with unique ideas the ability to publish their work and gain compensation through advertisements (Dobhal, 2012). This has opened the door for voices that were previously marginalized to emerge and make significant contributions to the national discourse. While many individuals have used blogs as a means of gaining compensation for their work, a number of writers have implemented blogging as a means of making political statements. Recently, this became heavily apparent as bloggers made essential contributions to the Arab Spring revolts in the Middle East. Many dictators in the Middle East have

Analyze both stories. Is the author's suggestions a good solution to Essay

Analyze both stories. Is the author's suggestions a good solution to solving a problem - Essay Example On the other hand, the Houyhnhnms see themselves as superior to the Yahoos because they are more rational, thus giving the former the right to have power over the latter’s life and death (Lemke, Martin, Fuentes, and Swift 47). Justifying Infanticide depicts how Singer sees himself as a rational Houyhnhnm who should have a power to decide over the life and death of those considered non-humans, or those who are not yet humans. However, Swift’s aim is to make people realize that humans are indeed Yahoos with pure genetic composition and the propensity towards sensual pleasures, but are also Houyhnhnms with rational thinking and the propensity towards oversimplifications and ideas. In Justifying Infanticide, Singer separated these two --- intelligence and incarnation --- by referring to newborns not as persons, but merely pain-receptors having no psychological association to its future personhood (33). Therefore, if one follows this line of reasoning, newborns are Yahoos wh ose life and death are under the decision of the superior Houyhnhnms. A Modest Proposal is entirely different since it is a satirical exaggeration that states selling the children as food to rich people may alleviate the poor parents’ economic situation (Swift 13). Justifying Infanticide Justifying Infanticide has a utilitarian root that reinforces the concept of â€Å"doing the greatest good for the greatest number.† It says that a deed is made moral if the end justifies the means. In line with this thought, Singer theorizes that eliminating a certain percentage of the population is acceptable if justified by the situation or the result it offers (34-5). According to the utilitarian point of view, objections from people who perceive that killing a person is morally incorrect are mostly based on emotions. Utilitarianism asserts the belief that reason should be the main basis of ethics, so it means that infanticide can be justified by reason in some cases, thus be deeme d ethical (Sloane 47-8). For a clearer definition of terms, infanticide is the intentional killing of an infant for reasons ranging from partiality to a specific gender to control of population (Vehmas 38). Utilitarian Peter Singer provides the most controversial defense of infanticide. For example, Singer states that the costs to families and societies and the quality of life in caring for children with specific disabilities entail more effort but provides less positive results (35). This may be a controversial stance, but on a realistic viewpoint, the child will live a life that is considered unhappy or unwanted by most people. This is one case where infanticide is considered humane (Sloane 48). One great difficulty, however, is in deciding when this is justifiable because there is always the argument that no one can really say when a certain life is undesirable other than that very person. However, one strong defense of infanticide in the utilitarian standpoint is the argument ag ainst the suffering infant whose medical case is beyond the scientific capacity to cure (Vehmas 39). For Singer, it is more altruistic to allow parents to choose to end their and their child’s suffering through euthanasia (36). A Modest Proposal The lack of compassion towards the poverty-stricken citizens is the target of Swift’

Survey and analysis of the IT employment market Report Essay

Survey and analysis of the IT employment market Report - Essay Example Broadly speaking, these include the (1) design, (2) selection, and (3) setting up of computer systems. Systems engineers help organizations in acquiring and installing data processing systems that are affordable as well as workable, and are suited to the existing and anticipated needs. It has been noted that â€Å"systems engineers work at various levels in the design and coordination of large and complex projects known as systems† (Net Industries and its Licensors, 2010). However, fresh graduates are generally placed in the baseline positions. One of the major controlling bodies is Engineers Australia which is â€Å"the national forum for the advancement of engineering and the professional development† (Engineers Australia, 2010) of its members. According to the official website of the organization, â€Å"with more than 85,000 members embracing all disciplines of the engineering team, Engineers Australia is the largest and most diverse professional body for engineers in Australia†; it further claims that engineers who have been given chartered status by it â€Å"are regarded as trusted professionals not only in Australia, but worldwide† (Engineers Australia, 2010). Apart from providing official recognition to member engineers, the main activities of Engineers Australia include (1) advocacy, (2) professional development, (3) program accreditation, and (4) Migration Skills Assessment (MSA). This position is that of â€Å"a SharePoint architect, providing technical and design solutions; the focal point for coordinating and delivering SharePoint user support and optimization; a solution provider, troubleshooting and fixing technical issues; an application integrator, integrating SharePoint with other products; and a project manager, defining, planning and executing SharePoint and infrastructure projects† (IAEA,

The equality of American public education Essay

The equality of American public education - Essay Example On the other hand, schools which cater to the needs of the influential class students possess and provide abundant opportunities to the students regarding placement in advance courses. Although the immediate effect of such discrimination may not be evident; the long term consequences may be observed in the form of heightened professional success among the privileged students, since such courses prepare them in professional terms (Klugman   1).   Ã¢â‚¬ËœCulture’ as a tool to describe all problems related to achievement gap has become widely accepted among the vast majority of teachers who interact with students of color on daily basis. Although every individual, whether white or black possesses a cultural background; the notion of ‘culture’ is considered associated only with the deprived classes of the society. This may be considered an extension of the teacher’s self-esteem issue, since it is quite common for teachers to associate culture with everythin g that is non-white. So, instead of looking for the real explanation that lies behind the achievement gaps, white teachers are more inclined towards labelling it a ‘culture’ thing which therefore has either ‘no cure’ or needs a ‘prolonged therapy’. It has become extremely common to associate culture of poverty to the achievement gap that is evident among students. Although the reality that lies behind such gaps may be puzzling and in some cases difficult to determine, the common path chosen to explain such gaps is the over-simplistic approach.