Outside Reading October 29

For this outside reading, I read an article called Split Decisions in the Star Tribune. It was written by Patricia Lopez. The article is about the upcoming election. I am very excited for Nov. 4 and is ready to see the outcome. They talk about the elections could be made my voters crossing party lines and voting for the opposite party. For example, my mother, a registered Republican, will be voting for Norm Coleman, but will be voting for Barack Obama for the presidential election. I think that this very well could decide the outcome of 2008 elections.

Heroes in a Box

Heroes can be interpreted many ways. They can be people who take action against something, or they can be the ones who choose not to. When you think of heroes, the first thing to come to mind may be Superman, or Batman. But in reality, there are heroes in everyday life. All they need is some courage.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a very important hero of his time. He led a revolution of rights for African Americans. One of his most well-known speeches was his "I have a Dream," speech.It took a lot of courage from MLK Jr. to speak out about a topic so controversial at the time.

Another very courageous hero of our time is the presidential candidate Barack Obama. He is very courageous person. He has potential to make a change and be the first African-American president of the United States ever. This courage make him a hero.

Outside Reading October 22

For this outside reading, I read an article in Wednesdays front page of the Star Tribune. The title of the article is "Her Regret, His Renewal." The main point of this article is about how Michele Bachmann said that Barack Obama may have anti-American views. I think that what she said is idiotic. Especially with the election coming up. Bachmann came back saying that the quote was misread. The problem is that she won't accept what she said, and I don't blame her. She has crossed the potential president of the United States. Because of her statement, Tinklenberg, her opponent, has received a lot of money/contributions because no one wants to see Bachmann win again.

Outside Reading #5

This outside reading is about The Unspeakable Odyssey of the Motionless Boy. The story is pretty depressing because he doesn't really have a very good way to communicate his feelings and thoughts. This would make me really frustrated because it would take like 5 minutes just to say, "I am cold." Because he cannot move, I would imagine he would be very claustrophobic. This would happen to me and I would freak out. I think it is interesting how he loses his ability to spell. It is a good thing that they came up with the brain reading system because if he couldn't spell, the only way he would be able to interact with people would to gesture yes or no. The story lightens a little bit when they hint at a possibility of learning how to speak.

Siddhartha Blog Assignment #4

Throughout his life, Siddhartha has gone through many ups and downs. In order to gain one thing, he has to give up others. One could question whether what he is trying to achieve is worth what he is giving up. He wants to find self so he can be content, but maybe if he would recognize the good things around him, he would be happy. After following Siddhartha on his journey he learned that Nirvana doesn't come cheap. I thing he learned this through his encounters with Govinda, Vasudeva, and his son.
Govinda plays a vital role in Siddhartha's life. He is there at the beginning. He is very good friends with Siddhartha throughout his childhood, and even decides to become a Samana. Siddhartha realizes the dedication that Govinda has for him. Siddhartha realizes that Govinda really does love him. Siddhartha decides to abandon this love to find self. Siddhartha encountered a really good friend during his journey. His name was Vasudeva. This character helped him find self. Vasudeva was a simple man and was a teacher to Siddhartha. Siddhartha's son was very much like himself. He was defiant. This made Siddhartha mad and his son decided to leave.
In conclusion, Siddartha tried to find self, but ended up losing other things in return. I think that Siddhartha didn't find nirvana. He may have found self, but he gave up other things like love. I don't know the exact definition, but I think that nirvana involves understanding love, and excepting it.

Outside Reading October 14

For this outside reading, I decided to talk about a CNN.com article/tool called Fact Check. What they do is after debates, people analyze the facts that some of the candidates said during that time. You would be surprised to find that a lot of the facts are not totally true. Like one candidate might claim that the other voted with Bush 8 times, when that person also voted for Bush 6 times. Biden claimed that John McCain’s ads were 100 percent negative when they were only almost all negative. It’s just little things like these that are interesting to be pointed out.

Outside Reading October 12

For this outside reading, I read an article called "Careful how you say that, McCain supporters warn." It was in this Sunday's Star Tribune. It was how some of McCain's attack adds have been backfiring. I agree with some of these statements. Because Obama has such a big lead in the poles, McCain is resorting to false advertisement. I think that the reason for this is because of JM's vice-presidential pick. Sarah Palin was one of the worse possible choices for a vice-president. She is inexperienced and will not get the votes she was picked for. I hope that both parties settle down on the attach adds. We could be putting that money to a different use. This article was writtne by Adam Nagourney and Elisabeth Bumiller.