Homework Post 7: Voki Character

I shall name her Fiona!
And make her an amazing cook ;)

Homework Post 6: Kony 2012 Opinion

At first I thought the idea of this campaign was great because it was said to raise support and money to help assist those whose lives have been ruined by the L.R.A and all other rebel groups in the area. The campaign is funded and run by a company called ‘Invisible Children’ and the main idea of their cause is to make the leader of the L.R.A, Joseph Kony, famous. They aren’t aiming to make him famous for any positive reason though, and instead are trying to make people aware of his crimes in order to gain supporters to pressure the American government to continue giving help to the Ugandan army so they can arrest him. At least I though it was a good idea, until I researched more about the situation.

The Invisible Children Company attempted to raise awareness by taking to the virtual world, creating an online video and making it go viral all around the internet. The video features a co-founder of the Invisible Children Company, Jason Russell, who narrates and explains his personal experiences with the victims of Joseph Kony’s rebel efforts. It also highlights the worst of the crimes Joseph Kony has committed, and why it is important the American government continues to support the Ugandan army despite Kony having been dormant for the past 10 years.

By putting a face to both the good and bad sides of this struggle, the Invisible Children Company managed to build up a mass of supporters willing to help the campaign. However, despite all the good putting faces to good/bad had done, it also has put the campaign at a setback. When people living in America heard the name Kony, they thought of all the information given to them by the video and how the Invisible Children Company had done so much to help the people of Uganda. The actual victims of Kony thought differently. The 30 minute viral video was shown in Northern Uganda for the first time, and sparked outrage amongst the crowds. Scuffles broke out and many were baffled by the idea that Invisible Children aimed to make Kony famous, as his fame would only remind them of the pain they felt when his crimes first began.

The video also affected the Ugandan tourism industry, causing outrage amongst those who aim to create money and job opportunities for all citizens. Foreigners began to cancel their visits to the already tourist deprived country and started contacting the tourism officials inquiring if the country was safe to visit. The Invisible Children Campaign video suggested that Kony was still affecting the country and therefore made people question their safety if visiting. Many victims of Kony believe the video is a burden rather than a form of help and think the information in the video is manipulated to make Ugandan citizen’s situation worse than it actually is.

Personally, after hearing this information I think this campaign is doing more hurt than it is help. Arresting Kony would be a good thing, but isn’t worth the hype it’s been given. The Invisible Children company seems to have good intentions, but has been exaggerating the situation in Uganda and manipulating people to donate to their cause. A lot of the money donated by people to the campaign doesn’t even make it to Uganda, and is used to line the pockets of senior members of the Invisible Children Company. The money that does make it to Uganda has barely any effect on the life’s of victims of Kony’s crimes, and is instead used to help track him down. If the campaign was left to successfully continue it might’ve made an actual difference towards the state of Ugandan victims, but as of March 16^th 2012, has been condemned by co-founder and video narrator Jason Russell.

On the 16^th of March a white male was said to be streaking naked around the streets of San Diego. As police arrived on the scene, the man was said to have been found masturbating, pounding his fists against the ground and was tested to be highly intoxicated. When detained by police the man was confirmed to be Invisible Children co-founder, Jason Russell. Invisible Children has released a statement saying Russell was dehydrated, malnourished and exhaustion due to the extreme stress he has been under.

I think this act of public indecency is completely unacceptable and can’t be excused under the simple explanation of malnutrition. Jason Russell has tarnished the Invisible Children campaign and has jeopardised the efforts they have tried to make. The campaign has manipulated people into giving money towards a pointless cause that will only result in the lining of pockets of senior Invisible Children Company employees. The campaign has caused pain amongst Kony victims and will continue to cause unrest throughout all of Uganda. It would be unwise for the American government to continue supporting the Ugandan army in arresting Kony after the incident involving Jason Russell and shows that the Invisible Children Company has crushed all hopes that Kony will be arrested at all.

I think the Kony 2012 campaign is a complete and utter shambles.

References: http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/anger-kony-video-shown-ugandans-4777862
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/invisible-children-co-founder-detained-committing-a-lewd-act-drunk-public-report-article-1.1041075

Meltdown video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32PBZ870ymg

Homework Post 5: Book review- Looking for Alaska by John Green

The book I chose to read is called “Looking for Alaska” by John Green. I read Looking for Alaska because my sister is obsessed with the author who is a Youtube celebrity. When she heard he had published a book, she ordered it online and demanded I read it too so she’d have someone to talk about it with.

The book is about a boy named Miles Halter, a high school student who is obsessed with the last words people have said before they’ve died. At the beginning of the story, Miles begs his parents to let him attend a boarding school located in Culver Creek, Alabama, that his father attended when he was a high school student. When pressured by his parents as to why he wishes to leave, Miles uses the last words of Greek scholar ‘François Rabelais’- “I go to seek a great perhaps” in order to convince them, saying he is unhappy with his life and wishes to find an adventure to lead. His parents agree to the change, and are reassured that they are doing the right thing by sending him to boarding school when only two people show up to Miles’ leaving party emphasising his loner status.

Upon arrival at Culver Creek Prepatory School, Miles befriends a boy named Chip Martin (The Colonel), and earns himself the nickname “Pudge”. He joins the Colonel’s group of friends, Alaska, Takumi and Lara, and by the end of his first week is settled into the school.

Over the course of the next few months, Pudge has the time of his life. Living on his own, his confidence soars and he becomes a lot more comfortable hanging out with others. With his new found attitude, Pudge discovers the joy that most teenagers experience some time during their schooling; Romance.

 Playing pranks on many people around the school, breaking into their rooms and smoking down by the school’s artificial lake, Pudge starts developing romantic feelings for Alaska. Alaska and Pudge grow close during their time together despite Alaska still dating a boy named Jake who currently attends college 30 miles away from the school.

As the story continued I got curious as to the layout of the book. Instead of chapters, the book had irregularly sequenced parts labelled with titles that seemed to be counting down the number of days before some sort of unknown event. It gives the book suspense from the very beginning and keeps your eyes glued to the pages until the very last word.

Looking for Alaska is filled with plenty of quirky references, hilarious situations, socially awkward moments and drama-filled pages that will make it unforgettable. Although the book is great, it isn’t for the faint hearted and has a few explicit references mixed in along the way. The plot can also get quite depressing, and might spill a few tears on the pages.

By the end of this book, one will finally know what all the building suspense had lead up to, and will allow an understanding of the message the author wished to portray throughout the pages. The message John Green tried (and succeeded) to show was essentially, ‘what is the point of life’. The story intertwines around a quote Alaska showed to Pudge, which features the last words of Simon Bolivar, “How will I ever get out of this labyrinth!” Everyone who reads this book will be tasked with trying to understand what the labyrinth is a symbol for, and whether getting out of the labyrinth means to live, or to die. The ending paragraph is an essay Miles wrote explaining what he believes the labyrinth to be, based on what had happened in his life over the past few months which wraps up the story indefinitely.

I would give this book a rating of 10/10, as it isn’t a sappy teen drama I’m normally recommended by other people. I’m sick of rubbish the likes of twilight being thrust in my face and was glad that Looking for Alaska brought some realism and depth to a story. This book is for anyone over the age of 13 and adjusted to the world of immaturity. It is one of the best books I have ever read.

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/290020895

Homework Post 4: Wordle

The smaller things are things I like and the larger things describe myself and my goals...

(click to enlarge)

Homework Post 3: Instructions

How to make a Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie :)

Ingredients:
 

• 170g of softened butter
• 200g of soft brown sugar
• 100g of castor sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 drop of vanilla extract/essence
• 250g of plain flour
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pinch of baking powder
• 200g of any form of chocolate (personally, I would recommend an entire bag of M&Ms)
  
  (and maybe a handy assistant if your kitchen hates you like mine does)

Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 170°C
2. Cut the chocolate bars up into small chocolate chip chunks and leave to one side for a minute (no need if you're using chocolate the size of M&Ms)
3. Beat sugar and butter together for one minute until light and fluffy
4. Crack in the egg and stir to combine with the vanilla
5. Sieve in the dry ingredients and fold through the mix to form a dough. Sometimes it’s easiest to use your hands
6. Dump in the chocolate chips and combine
7. Line a large tray with silicon paper (not needed if non-stick tray) and then press the cookie dough onto it and spread out to all the edges in a circular shape making it about 1cm thick all over (ensure all the chocolate is evenly spread)
8. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden all over, but still soft in the middle
9. Roll any leftover dough into a sausage and store rolled up in greaseproof paper to store in the fridge so you always have cookie dough to hand
10. Remove your giant cookie from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes before removing from the tray and silicon paper. Best eaten slightly warm… but will keep for 3 days in an airtight container!

I chose this recipe because it looked amazingly tasty and best of all: IT IS HUGE. The recipe looked super easy to follow, and best of all, it uses ingredients commonly found around the house. It was really easy to make and I had no problems with the recipe or any of the steps like I normally have when I bake. This cookie was really tasty and I plan on making it many more times in the future :) 

Homework Post 2: Creative Writing

(A photographer at school during the first week of the schooling year and something has just been found)

Epidemics are cruel and flit from human to human so quickly it’s hard to control them once they’ve been set into motion. Many would define an epidemic as a fatal disease but it is so easily forgotten that many social behaviours work in the same manner. These behaviours infect humans when they’re exposed to prolonged periods of a certain type of behaviour, and can continue to plague the human for many years post exposure. Bayleigh was one such human. She was a young, fresh faced 14 year old going on 15, and for the past 177 months of her life she had lived in a household where the common personality trait had been shyness. Because her parents were shy, she had picked up on many of their habits, idiosyncrasies and social standards and was now trapped in the body of an extremely awkward girl. Maybe things would’ve been different if her folks had been more outgoing, but alas, there was nothing anyone could do to change her situation now.
However awkward she was, Bayleigh had a passion for photography and could capture photos like a spider captures flies; sharp and mercilessly. If there was a funny moment or secret lurking in her area, it would only be a matter of seconds before her camera was locked, loaded and rearing to go. However, Bayleigh hadn’t always been a master of the lens; in fact, it had only been in the last year she had begun to recognise her own potential…

It had been hot during the first week of school, and as Bayleigh strolled around the halls of San Bautista High she prayed her camera strap wasn’t leaving unattractive sweat marks on her shoulder. The only reason she even had the darned thing was because her tutor teacher, Miss Wylie, had signed her up for the school newspaper in hopes that it would help her overcome shyness and would result in a few extra friends. However, this hadn’t worked out well at all because at the first newspaper meeting she’d gotten the worst job possible for a person who should’ve been at the office socialising with other journalists…

A field agent.

Sent on a mission and stuck with the job until at least second semester, Bayleigh had decided the field agent gig might be worth a shot, and was now in the process of finding a big scoop for the first edition of the paper. However, today had been wasted on pointless tasks. These included:
-skulking past lockers
-dodging packs of students
-rounding corners
-avoiding the administration office
All of which hadn’t yet secured her a single story. It seemed as though the first edition of the paper was going to be a complete failure.

Bayleigh’s feet scuffed the ground as she walked along, and disappointment racked her brain as she realised how annoyed she was right now. Her mother would’ve probably said something like “There’s always tomorrow” in an attempt to cheer her up if she were here, but it would’ve been useless as Bayleigh was already too wrapped up in her own little world to notice. Well, too wrapped up until the crashing began in the boiler room just a few doors ahead of her jolting her back into reality.

As quietly as possible, Bayleigh made her way towards the door and twisted the handle. Unfortunately it was locked and no amount of silent jiggling was going to change that, so Bayleigh stood outside the door, ear against the wood, listening as the crashing slowly died down. She could’ve just left, and should’ve run away as fast as possible, but curiosity was niggling at her subconscious and the temptation for a story kept her glued to the spot.

Anxiety was starting to get the better of her and Bayleigh started running her fingers through her hair. They kept getting trapped among knots and bobby pins but she didn’t care, it helped keep her calm. Then all of a sudden, it hit her. Bobby pins, she thought with a start and ripped one from her hair and began wrenching it around the key hole. With a click the door swung open, and Bayleigh peered cautiously inside...

You’d expect a normal person to be freaked out by a dead body, the cold lifeless corpse haunting them with the unfair reality that one day, everyone has to die. It’d also be a normal reaction for that person, after the millisecond of realising they soon would suffer the same fate as the corpse, might run, or perhaps scream, maybe even cry. However Bayleigh did no such thing. She simply sat down, grabbed the dead person’s hand, and held it.

Ignoring the rest of the world, Bayleigh simply sat in the dark, lifeless room and comforted the body. The long blonde hair and dress made it easy for her to confirm it was a girl she was comforting, and after about a quarter of an hour of sitting, she decided it was time to tell someone. Before she left though, she grabbed her camera and snapped a picture, just in case the body was moved when she left. After the click of the button and flash of the light, it came to Bayleigh’s attention what she had failed to notice for the past 20 minutes…

There wasn’t just one living person left in the room.

A scream escaped her lips and a figure lunged towards her. She leapt for the handle and managed to wrench it open just as her legs were pulled out from underneath her. Clawing at the concrete floor in an attempt to prevent being pulled into the complete darkness, Bayleigh broke most of her nails. The hands she could feel clutching her ankles were as rough as sandpaper, and they were beginning to chaff painfully. She screamed at the top of her lungs, throat dry with strain, and the only thing that stopped her was the sound of footsteps barrelling towards the entrance of the boiler room. Four senior students burst into the doorway just as she felt the pressure on her ankles release. The figure dived out the backdoor and the last Bayleigh saw of the figure was the electric blue trainers hugging tight to his feet.

The boys helped her to the administration office to inform them what had happened, and Bayleigh realised how exhausted the screaming had made her. A secretary quickly fetched her some water, and after hours of interrogations by the deputy’s, the principal and the police, she was finally allowed home.

Her mother had already been informed of the situation, and no explanation was necessary when she got home. She practically collapsed onto her bed and fell asleep as her head hit the pillow. That night, Bayleigh had many nightmares, dark figures lurking in the shadows, waiting to pounce as she walked down an alleyway, blue trainers nearly crushing her to death.

At 3 in the morning, she gave up on sleep, and decided to write up an article for the school paper in hopes that recapping the events would help her feel a little better. Before sending her article to the editor, she quickly remembered her camera and checked if any of the photos on her camera were suitable for publishing. Clicking through the many images of school hallways and lockers, she came across the photo of the body. She shuddered uncontrollably for a few seconds before clicking the ‘next’ button again, only to see a new image flood the screen. During her scuffle with the figure in the dark, her camera must’ve been left on, and the button had been pressed numerous times.

The new image was the most chilling of all, and she realised just how much danger she was in. Her camera had managed to capture a photo of the figure, and much to her dismay…
It struck an uncanny resemblance to her tutor teacher, Miss Wylie.

The End.
Hope you enjoyed it.

Homework Post 1: My Holidays

Well, I did alot this holidays. At the start of the holidays, I made a bet with my sister that I would do one thing every single day for the entire holidays, and by the 3rd of February I had managed to win the bet. Everyday I wrote down in a small green notebook all the things I did each day, and in the end reading back on it I'm quite happy with myself for managing to make this holidays one of the best in my life so far. Most holidays I'd normally just sit around drinking Lift+ and eating bagels so this is quite a big step up for me. Next step: get a car so I don't have to hitch rides with people every where.

If I had to choose the best thing I did this holidays I would probably say going to the corn maze on January 19th was the best. Practically drenched in sunblock and protected by sunglasses, my sister and I went to the Amazing maze at Spookers and got lost amongst corn for three hours. By the end of it I was practically dead from sun exposure but it wasn't all that bad. Oh, and the best thing, if you make it through the maze without opening your map envelope, you get 2 dollars.

However, a close runner up was probably on January 6th when I went to the beach with two of my best friends Angel and Catherine who go to my training. It was so much fun and by the end of it I was so tired I basically collapsed and fell a sleep an hour after I got home.

Yeah... that's a small summary of my holidays. Hope you feel as though the 5 minutes of your life reading this was worth it :)