http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/boston-bomb-suspect-eyed-connection-2011-triple-murder/story?id=19015628#.UXW577VvPzp
This is a story related to the Boston bombing but it goes into the history of one of the suspects, Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Back in 2011, there was a murder of Brenden Mess who was Tsarnaev's sparring partner. Then the article goes into more of Tsarnaev's past troubles with his girlfriend and brother.
Perhaps Tsarnaev was also another person who was testing his limits. If he got away with the 2011 murder, he might've wanted to see how far he could've gotten without getting caught. In another article, it said something about Tsarnaev and his accomplice having a lot more homemade bombs at their arsenal and that they were planning to bomb more places. This could be him assuming he'd be able to get away with the bombing and planning to try to further push his limits with the murders. However, since the reasons for the bombing haven't been released, this is only speculation at the moment.
We can compare this to "The Man Who Walked Through Walls" in that Dutilleul committed crimes like Tsarnaev. Although he never killed anyone, Dutilleul robbed banks over and over and escaped prison time after time. If Tsarnaev was given the opportunity, he might've continued to murder as much people as he could. Robbing banks made Dutilleul feel a feeling of ecstasy and special. Whether or not the murders made Tsarvaev feel the same way remains a mystery.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Perfection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paVED2TFvEk
In the video, a baby is brought to play the game of Perfection by her parents. As she grows older, she is pushed into excelling in school and in violin. She then enters contests and gets trophies for her violin play. All the while through, she still plays the game of Perfection. Then she becomes an adult and enters the workforce. She exercises to maintain her weight. Eventually, it all becomes too much for her to handle. As the game of Perfection pops with all the pieces flying all over, she mentally breaks down. At the end, she is seen playing the game of Perfection as an adult. Right before the timer goes off and all the pieces jump off the board, she turns the game off.
The theme behind this video is that if you strive for perfection, you'll never reach it. Perfection is something you have to keep striving for if you want to stay caught up to it. However, you'll break down if you don't take breaks here and there. In the video, it shows her being the bridesmaid which could mean that she has to suffer watching others be happy while she struggles in her own life to be perfect. Perhaps, in the video, she spends too much time trying to be perfect that she has no time to be happy or doing things that she wants to do.
Another message is that you have to be who everyone sees as someone who does things perfectly in order to be accepted as a perfect person. There's barely any room left for you to do anything that you may want to do if you want to pursue perfection. It also means pursuing the interests of others and sacrificing your own interests. In the video, her boss throws a stack of papers on her desk. It gives the thought that even though she tries so hard to be as perfect as she can, she can never be as perfect as others may want her to be even if they themselves aren't as perfect.
In the video, a baby is brought to play the game of Perfection by her parents. As she grows older, she is pushed into excelling in school and in violin. She then enters contests and gets trophies for her violin play. All the while through, she still plays the game of Perfection. Then she becomes an adult and enters the workforce. She exercises to maintain her weight. Eventually, it all becomes too much for her to handle. As the game of Perfection pops with all the pieces flying all over, she mentally breaks down. At the end, she is seen playing the game of Perfection as an adult. Right before the timer goes off and all the pieces jump off the board, she turns the game off.
The theme behind this video is that if you strive for perfection, you'll never reach it. Perfection is something you have to keep striving for if you want to stay caught up to it. However, you'll break down if you don't take breaks here and there. In the video, it shows her being the bridesmaid which could mean that she has to suffer watching others be happy while she struggles in her own life to be perfect. Perhaps, in the video, she spends too much time trying to be perfect that she has no time to be happy or doing things that she wants to do.
Another message is that you have to be who everyone sees as someone who does things perfectly in order to be accepted as a perfect person. There's barely any room left for you to do anything that you may want to do if you want to pursue perfection. It also means pursuing the interests of others and sacrificing your own interests. In the video, her boss throws a stack of papers on her desk. It gives the thought that even though she tries so hard to be as perfect as she can, she can never be as perfect as others may want her to be even if they themselves aren't as perfect.
God-like Figure
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22244337
Born in North Korea, Kim Hyun-Hui was ordered by Kim ll-sung to bomb a South Korean plane. She succeeded in the bombing which killed 115 on board but got caught. She was sent to South Korea where she was interrogated. Eventually, she broke down and told them everything. She was sentenced to death but was pardoned by President Roe Tae-Woo. She then sought the forgiveness from the families of those she has killed.
In North Korea, the Kim family seem to be regarded as gods. The people who work with them are supposed to be willing to die for them. Quite recently, North Korea has been developing bombs and other weaponry as if to increase their military power. This is similar to the story of Icarus who pushed his limits by flying too high and melted his wings which caused him to fall to his doom. Kim Jong-un in North Korea seem to be pushing his limits by amassing a great amount of nuclear power to gain control of South Korea as well as threatening the United States with it.
Whether North Korea will succeed or fail if they were to engage in conflict with South Korea and the United States remains a mystery. However, if Kim Jong-un fails because he attempts to test too much of his power, this would much be like Icarus who failed when he pushed the limits of how high he could fly. Also, Icarus was also warned about not flying too high or the sun could melt his wings. Similarly, Kim Jong-un was warned not to test nukes or missiles by both China and the United States or actions would have to take place.
Born in North Korea, Kim Hyun-Hui was ordered by Kim ll-sung to bomb a South Korean plane. She succeeded in the bombing which killed 115 on board but got caught. She was sent to South Korea where she was interrogated. Eventually, she broke down and told them everything. She was sentenced to death but was pardoned by President Roe Tae-Woo. She then sought the forgiveness from the families of those she has killed.
In North Korea, the Kim family seem to be regarded as gods. The people who work with them are supposed to be willing to die for them. Quite recently, North Korea has been developing bombs and other weaponry as if to increase their military power. This is similar to the story of Icarus who pushed his limits by flying too high and melted his wings which caused him to fall to his doom. Kim Jong-un in North Korea seem to be pushing his limits by amassing a great amount of nuclear power to gain control of South Korea as well as threatening the United States with it.
Whether North Korea will succeed or fail if they were to engage in conflict with South Korea and the United States remains a mystery. However, if Kim Jong-un fails because he attempts to test too much of his power, this would much be like Icarus who failed when he pushed the limits of how high he could fly. Also, Icarus was also warned about not flying too high or the sun could melt his wings. Similarly, Kim Jong-un was warned not to test nukes or missiles by both China and the United States or actions would have to take place.
The Traveling Onion by Naomi Shihab Nye
http://inwardboundpoetry.blogspot.com/2008/03/626-traveling-onion-naomi-shihab-nye.html
If you read this poem for what it literally sounds like, it's about an onion that originates from India. The writer then seems to think about the onion and enjoys the extra flavor that it adds into her food. She also adds that she could never hate the onion no matter how much the onion made her tears fall.
Reading this poem more closely, I interpreted it differently than how we had discussed in class. I feel the poem is much like a mother and child relationship. In the first line where it says that the writer thinks about how much the onion has traveled, it's much like how she could be thinking about how much a child as grew. With the second line, it's a little more different. Much like the onion is entering her stew, the child is entering her life giving her that feeling of being willing to forget all the other small forgotten miracles. The next lines that describe the onion can also be somewhat descriptive as a child. An onion has has crackly paper all around it and reveals pearly layers when it is done being peeled. A child has layers of skin but deep down, the child holds a heart of pearls and so much more. With the last line, a history is revealed when an onion is cut. A child's history would be revealed if he or she was asked questions.
The writer could never scold the onion for making her tears fall much like a parent could never scold a child who didn't know right from wrong. It's okay for the tears to fall since neither the onion nor the child never meant any harm. When the writer sits at a table commenting about the texture of the food but never about the onion itself, it could be like how a parent sits at a table with a child and explains about what's right and what's wrong but never about why it's right or wrong. For the sake of others, the onion disappears with the food much like a child will disappear when the child grows up to start his or her own life as an adult.
If you read this poem for what it literally sounds like, it's about an onion that originates from India. The writer then seems to think about the onion and enjoys the extra flavor that it adds into her food. She also adds that she could never hate the onion no matter how much the onion made her tears fall.
Reading this poem more closely, I interpreted it differently than how we had discussed in class. I feel the poem is much like a mother and child relationship. In the first line where it says that the writer thinks about how much the onion has traveled, it's much like how she could be thinking about how much a child as grew. With the second line, it's a little more different. Much like the onion is entering her stew, the child is entering her life giving her that feeling of being willing to forget all the other small forgotten miracles. The next lines that describe the onion can also be somewhat descriptive as a child. An onion has has crackly paper all around it and reveals pearly layers when it is done being peeled. A child has layers of skin but deep down, the child holds a heart of pearls and so much more. With the last line, a history is revealed when an onion is cut. A child's history would be revealed if he or she was asked questions.
The writer could never scold the onion for making her tears fall much like a parent could never scold a child who didn't know right from wrong. It's okay for the tears to fall since neither the onion nor the child never meant any harm. When the writer sits at a table commenting about the texture of the food but never about the onion itself, it could be like how a parent sits at a table with a child and explains about what's right and what's wrong but never about why it's right or wrong. For the sake of others, the onion disappears with the food much like a child will disappear when the child grows up to start his or her own life as an adult.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
The Man who Walked Through Walls
After getting rid of his new boss, Dutilleul gets this urge to test the limits of his ability. He does this by robbing a bank. He goes by the alias, Lone Wolf, and begins to gain prestige among the public. To prove to his colleagues that he was the Lone Wolf, he lets himself get arrested. He then continuously escapes prison time after time and lets himself get caught each time. During the last arrest , the warden shouts threats and insults him. With his pride wounded, Dutilleul escapes again the following night and decides not to return.
Next, he shaves off his goatee and disguises himself so that he would not be recognized in public. He meets a beautiful lady who is married to a jealous man. He learns that the beautiful lady is locked up in her room every night when he goes to work. Dutilleul uses his ability to move through walls to visit her in her room and has an affair with her. The day after, Dutilleul get a headache so he takes some pills next to his bed. After having an affair with the beautiful lady the second time around, he tries to escape. However, he gets stuck in the walls. Then he remembers the pills that he took were the pills that would get rid of his ability to move through walls. He remains in between the walls helplessly.
The message behind this story is that pride can be a very dangerous feeling. In this story, Dutilleul begins to be proud of his ability to pass through walls after getting his boss to leave the job. This probably gave him the thought that his ability to walk through walls could be used to benefit himself even more. Because of this pride, he decides to try to impress his own colleagues by letting himself get arrested during a robbery. It's this pride that leads him to his eventual downfall when he gets stuck in between the walls.
This story leads us to see that some people who have the power to do as they please may attempt to push their limits until they find that line that they can't cross. However, the unfortunate thing is that we don't know where that line is. Therefore, we could end up crossing that line before we even know it and it could cost us everything. Dutilleul thought he was unstoppable. Little did he know that all it took was some pills to make him stoppable.
Another point we can see is that power can be very addicting once you're exposed to it. At the beginning of the story, Dutilleul doesn't seem interested in using his abilities. In fact, he continues to use his key to unlock the door to his house instead of just walking through the walls. However, when he uses his abilities to scare his boss, he finds out that his ability is much more than it seems. In relation to ourselves, procrastination can be taken into consideration. Assuming that a student has a habit of procrastinating, that student may keep procrastinating if he or she is satisfied with the grade that he or she gets when the procrastinated assignment is graded. On the other hand, if the student fails the procrastinated assignment, he or she may consider doing the next assignment to better his or her grade.
This story leads us to see that some people who have the power to do as they please may attempt to push their limits until they find that line that they can't cross. However, the unfortunate thing is that we don't know where that line is. Therefore, we could end up crossing that line before we even know it and it could cost us everything. Dutilleul thought he was unstoppable. Little did he know that all it took was some pills to make him stoppable.
Another point we can see is that power can be very addicting once you're exposed to it. At the beginning of the story, Dutilleul doesn't seem interested in using his abilities. In fact, he continues to use his key to unlock the door to his house instead of just walking through the walls. However, when he uses his abilities to scare his boss, he finds out that his ability is much more than it seems. In relation to ourselves, procrastination can be taken into consideration. Assuming that a student has a habit of procrastinating, that student may keep procrastinating if he or she is satisfied with the grade that he or she gets when the procrastinated assignment is graded. On the other hand, if the student fails the procrastinated assignment, he or she may consider doing the next assignment to better his or her grade.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Knowing
Knowing
Without taking a step outdoors
You know the whole world;
Without taking a peep out the window
You know the color of the sky.
The more you experience,
The less you know.
The sage wanders without knowing
Sees without looking,
Accomplishes without acting.
http://www.chinapage.com/gnl.html#47
From this passage, the Way is being described as limitless and having no direct route to it. Starting from the fifth line going down, the more you experience, the more likely that you'll begin to act out of your own best interest no matter the cost. Therefore, you know less since the Way isn't selfish, and it shows that experience or seeing many things as you get older isn't necessarily the Way.
"The sage wanders without knowing" means to go through every experience as if it were the first time you've experienced them. This helps to avoid the kind of mindset where one thinks, "This must not be the Way because I've been through this before." "Sees without looking" means to look for the Way without actually trying to search for it. For example, you could help those in need without wondering if it would bring you closer to the Way. "Accomplishes without acting" implies that a person could achieve the Way without actually doing anything or trying to strive for it. Thus, these points support the idea that the Way has many routes to achieving it.
"Without taking a step outdoors, you know the whole world" seems to mean that you don't have to be who everyone wants you to be to achieve the Way. In the same way, no one can tell you how to get to the Way. "Without taking a peep out the window, you know the color of the sky" could possibly mean that you already have a way to the Way. You just have to make the choice to take those steps to the Way. This further supports the idea that the Way does not have a route that can be defined by anyone else and that the path you take to the Way is your own path.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Introduction
Hi, my name is Ali Vang. I'm currently enrolled at Silver Lake College and pursuing my Bachelor's degree in Information Science and Technology. This is my 4th year in college, and I will be graduating in December of 2013. For the first two years in college, I had attended Lakeshore Technical College. I got my Associate's Degree there in the Program of Network Specialist. After those two years, I transferred to Silver Lake College to continue in my education.
I was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Since my dad was planning to attend UW-Platteville, we moved to Platteville for about 5 years. Next, we moved to Mauston for about 2 years. Then we moved to Madison for 2 years. Finally, we moved back to Sheboygan because that was where the rest of the family were.
One thing that is interesting about me is that I first learned how to play chess in school when I was in 7th grade. That same year, I joined the Chess club and I got first place. I also got first place in 8th grade. During my freshman year and sophomore year, I went up against challenging opponents and got 5th place in both years. During my junior and senior year, I got first place again in both years.
Another thing that is interesting about me is that I graduated from Sheboygan North High School as an honors graduate. I graduated with a GPA of 3.909. Currently, I am working at Goodwill as a cashier. I've been working there ever since March 2007. From April 2012 to September 2012, I was an IT Intern at Bank First National. The experience that I gained there was priceless.
The purpose for this blog is to express my thoughts and ideas for World Literature class. My expectations for this class is that I will come out of it having a better understanding how to pick apart a story. So far, Icarus has been an interesting read. We'll see what happens as time goes on.
I was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Since my dad was planning to attend UW-Platteville, we moved to Platteville for about 5 years. Next, we moved to Mauston for about 2 years. Then we moved to Madison for 2 years. Finally, we moved back to Sheboygan because that was where the rest of the family were.
One thing that is interesting about me is that I first learned how to play chess in school when I was in 7th grade. That same year, I joined the Chess club and I got first place. I also got first place in 8th grade. During my freshman year and sophomore year, I went up against challenging opponents and got 5th place in both years. During my junior and senior year, I got first place again in both years.
Another thing that is interesting about me is that I graduated from Sheboygan North High School as an honors graduate. I graduated with a GPA of 3.909. Currently, I am working at Goodwill as a cashier. I've been working there ever since March 2007. From April 2012 to September 2012, I was an IT Intern at Bank First National. The experience that I gained there was priceless.
The purpose for this blog is to express my thoughts and ideas for World Literature class. My expectations for this class is that I will come out of it having a better understanding how to pick apart a story. So far, Icarus has been an interesting read. We'll see what happens as time goes on.
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