The Human and the Cell

    The point of this article is to exemplify the harm cell phones do to society. The three main points of this article is about how using a cell phone is a self centered activity, a distraction to the user and a distraction to others around a user. Texting or calling when there is someone right beside a person, makes the other person feel like they are not worth said person’s time. In response to these electronic users “drive-through pharmacies and fast-food outlets in the U.S. start(ed) to refuse to serve digital multi-taskers” because workers want their job to be done more conveniently. The person on the other side of the phone is allegedly more important than a worker trying to fulfill the phone operator’s needs. This is a guaranteed way to get spittle in a burger. When people are doing something for someone, a worker wants the full divided attention of the consumer so that the order won’t be wrong. Furthermore, it slows the rest of the customers up so in turn it is rude to everyone in the line up. Cell phones are distracting to the users of the device. For example, “one woman so preoccupied with her cell she didn’t even notice the sirens flagging her down” so she continued on driving after committing a crime. Accidents and decisions of better judgment are flawed because the phone is more interesting. You can get anything on new smart phones. The distractions continue every month when new apps appear. Plus, it is invigorating to get a text because it creates a feeling of self worth and makes the will to look at the phone increase. Finally, phones are distracting to everyone around. When overhearing a phone conversation “we don’t know what is being said on the other end of the conversation, it’s distracting because we’re trying to predict what the person is saying,” because human nature is curiosity.  Humans want to hear juicy gossip because it makes life more thrilling to know the he said, she said nonsense.  It can be just the light off the phone’s screen or the annoying ticking of keys being punched that drive bystanders off the wall and make it hard for people to concentrate. I personally believe that the author of this news clipping is a hundred percent accurate with their statements about the harms of cell phone use.

   Personally I believe that cell phones should be allowed to be used everywhere. If you are locked in a house with a killer it is easy to call for help from these devices. If you didn't you would be searching for a land line and the killer can more easily locate you because you are no longer in a hiding place. Those Halloween movies would have been way shorter if the characters had phones. Furthermore, if you got in an accident where you are all alone in the middle of the woods a cell maybe your only hope of being saved. The cells signals give searchers the”basic area to cover based on that person’s cell phone’s signals," so instead of combing the land for a missing person their location is slightly known. If there is no help then a person can take a chance with the rednecks out in the bush. However, there are a few places where using the phone should be prohibited. Over "24,000 involved reports of cell phone use as a distraction," have caused an accident. Phones should be illegal for driving completely. However, police should not enforce the no phone use in drive thrus or sitting in a car with the keys in the ignition. Sadly, some people have been fined. Besides that users take their own risk when using their phone. They are responsible for there own actions when using a phone. You may not get a girlfriend because you are on the phone all the time but that is the price you have to pay. If personal information is overheard that is your own issue. The idea of cell phone blockers can be a promising perspective in schools or movie theatres if done properly. These devices should only be put into operation when class is in session or the movie has begun. Sitting in a movie theatre is very uninteresting so you should be allowed to use your phone until the movie starts. Basically, the annoyance of cell phones is just as bad as the geek in the back row ruining the ending.  It is better off to enjoy the phone because you can't silence the movie fanatic. Cells are good and bad, if humans used them properly this blog post would never have to be written.

Glog The Road

http://www.glogster.com/monster111/the-road/g-6lik479hlf46gcustcptaa0?s=nameglog

Connecting the "Road"

Pg.169

“Even if you knew what to do you wouldn’t know what to do. You wouldn’t know if you wanted to do it or not.”

When the boy and the man encounter an old man he proclaims this quote. Living in an apocalyptic world, it is very easy for a person to judge oneself for not being better prepared. The end of the world is going to happen eventually with global warming and wars in the Middle East but no one is preparing. People know how to prepare for a crisis by buying first aid, food, water and clothing that is appropriate for severe weather condition. Yet no one does. It’s possible that our willingness to socially belong is due to this. Nobody wants to be the insane cook in a tinfoil hat on the street deeming the world is going to reach its demise. Humans seek a future in which they imagine it to be. A future so advanced everything is electronically innovated. Man’s utopia. Mankind demands this future so why prepare for a future that no one wants?

    Soldiers and anyone taking a life have to deal with the old man’s logic constantly. Military training tries to transform men into tough and violent creatures. Years of target practice on dummies and bare hand combat should making killing easy. These men know how to kill. However, when some of these soldiers are deployed to aid the service, they can’t bring themselves to do it. After being given all the skills, they refuse to shoot.  Mentally these soldiers’s must be thinking their prey may have a family or maybe they are being intensely forced to do it by their government. Contemplation of this manner cripples a soldier and evidently makes him ineffective. Another group that suffers this mentality is anyone willing to attempt suicide.  A simple internet search of this topic comes up with millions of ways to commit this deed. Furthermore, committing this act can simply be just walking and plummeting off a cliff. Why is it so hard to commit suicide? Possible thoughts that pass through the victim’s mind are the people they will hurt by doing it and said person’s uncertain future. Suicide can be regretful because everyone touch’s someone in a different way and ultimately one person can make a difference. Elections for a president can be determined by one person. One voice can change the world.

   This quote helps the reader understand the book better because it shows that the reader is not that much different then the characters in the book. On TV there are show’s like “Survivor Man” that tell us how to survive in the worse conditions possible. How many of us go out and prepare for one of these catastrophes? Very few. Our race assumes that these incidents can only happen to other people. Ignorance is what reality shares with this book. Cannibals and cut throats are the same as businessmen in ties. If we don’t change our ways the “Road” will become reality.

Eli

Examining a Doctor    

    Doctors are people whose profession is to save lifes, but what if a doctor is willingly to put a life in harm’s way. In the short story “Eli” by Vincent Lam, the character most ethically responsible for the events of this story is Doctor Fitzgerald because he disregards medical practices, disrespects the authority of the police and allows his anger to cloud his judgement. When an injured prisoner named Eli is roughly brought into the hospital by two police officers who demand an injury to be healed, Doctor Fitzgerald is called in. As the night goes on, tension builds and aggressive advances become evident between the three groups.
      At the beginning the doctor feels sorry for Eli and he hatches a plan to prevent Eli from leaving the hospital. Eli’s insolence forces Doctor Fitzgerald to let his education fall by the wayside by breaking the Hippocratic Oath. Despite previous training, Doctor Fitzgerald uses staples on Eli’s forehead which are usually used to “staple scalps and sometimes legs (Lam 177),” to fix the wound. Stitches are a more suitable method to fix this injury. Consequently, this makes the experience more painful for Eli and causes the final results to look like train tracks. Eli becomes very agitated because he is infatuated with his personal attributes. Furthermore, the doctor ignores the Doctoral Code when against his better judgement he sends Eli away with the police without the physiatrist’s approval. All the instruction that Doctor Fitzgerald has received from seven years of university go out the window in this evening.
     Previous history with the police makes the doctor very bitter towards the police officers. Before the officers say anything to him, Doctor Fitzgerald is obnoxious to them. After thoroughly examining Eli and noticing wounds that don’t fit with the police’s story, Doctor Fitzgerald announces that Eli “must be imagining the police punching [Eli] and so forth (Lam 173),” sarcastically to the police. On account of this statement, this lecturing causes the police to become ill tempered because the doctor is questioning their integrity and right of power. Frustrated from the nights events and the lack of police officers on the road, adds to this tension. These underlying reasons and the doctors questioning irritates the police and doesn’t allow them to concentrate on the goal at hand.
     Situations worsen as the night goes on and the doctor loses his composure when dealing with this patient. Rage induced the doctor places “scissors on the stretcher within reach of Eli’s cuffed right hand (Lam 181),” in the hope that Eli will use the scissors on the police. Leaving the scissors is the doctor’s justification for the police’s incompetence and Eli biting him. However, these sides can’t be held responsible because the police aren’t trained to stabilize people for medical work (even if it was on purpose, to allow Eli to break free and allow him to bite the doctor) and Eli is influenced by drugs, so he can’t control his actions. Patients will be calmer if the doctor is relaxed, but Doctor Fitzgerald isn’t tranquil and it inflames the situation. After Eli leaves the hospital with scissors in his possession, Doctor Fitzgerald can already smell the intoxicating revenge that will ensue.
     All characters were offenders of being ethically responsible, but the doctor has the ability and opportunity to resolve all the conflicts, but he doesn’t. Even the greatest humanitarians can become monsters when blood is spilt because “[w]ithin blood the idea of death can flow (Lam 179),” through the wound.

Mark 5/6
Strong grasp of topic and text.
Demonstrates a strong command of the conventions of language.

Superhero Minus the Hero

     When faced with an ultimate decision it is crucial to take in all the factors. What could be more significant than choosing a superpower? One power I deem more superior than any of the others is having the ability to be able to effortlessly teleport to any destination in the world. In mere seconds, I can be half way around this complex world while using regular and sluggish modes of transportation may take hours. Even days!  Everyone has a day when they regretfully wake up in the morning and realize they are pressed for time. Instead of having to urgently rush to get ready, I can take all the time I want to get ready. Instantly, I can transport myself to school or work right when I have to be there. If I forget something in the rush, I can just magically poof myself back to my charming house and grab what I forgot. 
     Time travelling seems more suitable for these complications, however this power is extremely flawed. Everything happens in this world for an unexplainable reason.  People are interconnected to one another with invisible bonds. Say I was absentmindedly strolling down an unkempt street and an aggressive automobile cuts me off. For the rest of the day, I would by relentlessly complaining and ranting about this incidence. Travelling back in time and simply removing that unbearable incident from the equation, I would no longer be savagely acting out in a fit of rage on that day. The past is altered. Changes that ultimately affect my future. Brighter futures aren't always achieved by meddling with the past and may eventually lead to the chance of never being born (example; “Back to the Future”). An unneeded risk.
     Teleportation is more lackadaisical. Expensive fuel that is purchased from the gas station is not an issue if you don't require a car. These mechanical beasts are like smokers, they fulfill their own addiction and innocent bystanders have to deal with the consequences. Case and point, petro burning is the cause of severe damage to the delicate ozone layer of our planet. Save Mother Earth! Dinner wherever I please is a perk of this power. Alluring restaurants I crave can be visited anytime. Americanized Chinese food is slathered in chemicals. It's poison on pork. China has the real McCoy so I will go there. Connoisseurs life's are too easy. Brutally loathing them is due to one factor. Envy. Feast's at some of the fanciest restaurants in the world is something these millionaires embrace every day. Options which I could never afford. Unaware businesses will be preyed upon as I pop in, quietly grab their exquisite delicacies and then stylishly disappear into thin air. No way I'm tipping!
    Powers of this magnitude allow me to comfortably accomplish the forbidden. Areas where the general public are not allowed to visit, are open to me. I am a VIP. Breakfast with a cup of tea on top of Stonehenge, lunch in the enormous Roman Coliseum and dinner at the peak of the Great Pyramid are a few possibilities.
     Petty crimes are just the beginning. Banks will be unmercifully plundered as I teleport myself into their stronghold vaults and gracefully relieve them of their every dollar.  Alarms may brutally blare, but I will vanish before anyone has a chance to shoot upon me. Precious treasures that even wealthy visionaries are unable to purchase will belong to me. Da Vinci's Mona Lisa will enhance my grotesque bathroom extraordinarily. Like Robin Hood, I deprive the wealthy of their worldly possessions then retain them for myself. OK, a selfish Robin Hood. Superheroes aren't the only people with mutant abilities.
     Now, of course there are many more powers out there, but none seem more attractive to me. Flight would be a constant concern because I may be engulfed by a proud turbine of a nearby plane. Casually sleeping with my sensitive eyes wide open is a considerable issue if I can see through my eyelids. X-ray vision is out for this reason. Telekinesis would be severely dangerous if I contracted a horrible head cold. Mass murders would grimly ensue because innocent civilian's craniums would explode like plump oranges filled with Disneyland quality fireworks.
     Soft sand and pleasant waves that crash on the shore of an isolated beach. Tropical trees that sway in the slight yet humid wind. All of the other powers don't give me this, my perfect day. A location I can visit every day because I can simply transport there.

The history of the city of Rhodes. The area which is now Rhodes has been a home to man since the Neolithic times.  During the 16th century BCE the Minonions showed up on this Island. While in the 15 century the Mycenaean Greeks invaded the island calling it their own.  After the Bronze age collapsed and the Mycenaean Greeks defeated, the Dorian’s started to settle Rhodes. Three major citys were Lindos , lalyssos and Kamiros. These three cities were combined into the great city of Rhodes.The first city was Rhodes old town in 408 BCE. After many years of settlement, in 305 BCE Rhodes was attacked by Demitrius Poliorcretes. Poliocretes sent 40 000 men and built two water siege towers in the hope of defeating the city of Rhodes. To no avail the city of Rhodes stood. So in 304 BCE, Poliorcretes left Rhodes leaving behind most of his war equipment. As a part of the celebration of the victory it was planned that a huge statue of Halios would be created in honor of the victory. Most of Poliocretes left over weapons were sold to buy supplies for this statue. According to records the statue was made out of iron tie bars and brass plates. Some Archelogists believe though that the statue was made from reforged iron and brass from weapons of Poliocretes men. While the remains of one of Poliocretes siege towers was used as scaffolding.the statue was more than 30 meters high and was considered a blueprint for the statue of liberty. The statue is believed to be located on the harbor of Rhodes or located in the current place of the palace of grand masters. We will never know because it got destroyed in an earthquake in 226 BCE and was never reconstructed.  This statue is remembered as one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world.   In 164 BCE Rhodes became an ally of the roman Empire. This soon expired after the division of the roman state (314 CE). This led the Rhodians to join the Eastern Empire.  The island of Rhodes was then bought by the Knights of Saint John who were a military order after the first Crusade.  The Knights of St. John bought the island from a Genoese pirate admiral by the name Vignoli in 1306 CE. Violence was common between the Knights and the residents of the island at that time. The Order of the Knights of St. John were broken up into the groups France, Italy, England, Germany, Provence , Spain and Auvergne. A battle ensued in 1522 by the Turks called the great Seige Of Rhodes which led to the defeat of the Knights of St. John( before battle 650 knights, at end 180 survived.  The island was ruled by the Ottomans, Byzantine empire and the Italians(Italians took over in 1912) as well.. Finally in 1948 Rhodes joined the great country of Greece. The main reason this island was sought after for so many years was because it was a good trading hub for ships and merchants to the west of Rhodes location.

Around Rhodes today

The city of Rhodes is the capital of Dodecanese.  In Rhodes old town lies the Palace of the Grand Masters. This palace was constructed by the Knights of St. Paul but was destroyed in an explosion in 1856. It was later rebuilt by Mussolini and King Victor Emmanuel the third. The Palace of Grand Masters is protected by a moat and four kilometre wall. Leading up to the Palace of Grand Masters is the Street of Knights. This street is where the knights would meet in Inn’s depending on their nationality.The street goes from the harbour to the Palace. Throughout all of Rhodes there is about 30 castles that show good examples of military defence in medieval times.  While in Rhodes new town the area is imprinted by the structures of the Italian facists of the 1920’s. The west coast of New Town have beautiful beaches which result to the beaches being crammed with people. If you head to western Rhodes it is more green and fertile. This area has many wooded mountain slopes and many vineyards. While in Eastern Rhodes there is miles of beaches and rockry coves. For these many great attraction it is easily seen that this area major industry is tourism.

Comments on Blogs

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Troy, Creative Hour
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