Torture.

When the question was asked, should torture be allowed, I immediately had a quick answer. No. It shouldn't be allowed. If someone is being hurt just as punishment, torture is a horrendous option. I would never think twice about putting someone under torture, it's just not morally right. However if torture is used against terrorists harming our country and we need to get information out of them quickly, then I think it is tolerable. For me, it really depends on the situation. If our country was in diar need of help and we needed to get information out of someone we were 80% sure had information as to save our country, then yes, torture that person. I feel as though torture is okay in moderation. If it is not done all the time and if we only use it for emergencies, then I'm fine with it. There are other alternatives to torturing as to get information out of someone. I believe to use torturing if it is completely necessary. If one person dying for the sake of our country of 6 billion and counting means I'm morally corrupt, then so be it. 

Cilantro.

Cilantro tastes like a stale plastic bottle that’s been rotting in a sewer for twenty years. It tastes like a quarter that’s been dipped in sulfuric acid. It’s horrible. At first when you smell it, it smells like moldy dish soap. You think it’s no big deal but you are very wrong. At first when you put it in your mouth, there’s a brief moment when you think, “hey this isn’t as bad as it smells” but then you bite into it. It’s soft then you bite into and you’re immediately cringing. It was painful to swallow that. Now, I need pretzels and water to wash down that horrible disgusting taste. 

Freelanced Bracelet

About 1000 B.C. A young man was working diligently in a cornfield. His wages were low and his feet were aching. Once his work was all done and the sun was setting, he began his journey home. In mid-December, as you all know, the sky gets darker much quicker. Unfortunately, this young man lived 3 miles from this cornfield. He huffed and he puffed and finally he was approaching his log cabin. He entered and called to his wife that he was home. The fire was lit, eliminating the st onewalls. He sat back on a rocking chair and started carving a piece of mahogany wood. 12 little blocks later and he had a bracelet, a present for his wife. And then stop. No one knows what has happened to this man. All we know is that once on a summer day, Stephanie was walking home. She tripped on a cobblestone, a usual thing for a dainty little girl. Not a face plant, but a few cuts later, she carefully lifted herself off the ground. In her hands, without thought, she lifted up  a strange object. She observed it and put it in her pocket. Forever hers.

 

I was built in a stone house in 1000 B.C. May 24 to be exact. My makers name was Henry Cahid. He worked on a cornfield and was never home. His wife, Katherine, wore me all the time. She often visited him to bring him a quick meal by horseback. Did I mention this was one of the richest men in all of England? Yes, Henry, my master was the brother of King William Churchill. I have been in the castles, in the parades, been everywhere. A royal bracelet you may say. The reason I am covered in holy pictures is because I was lost. I was dropped and needed to get home and I turned to God for help. And the only was for a bracelet to reach out, is to make its wants visible. I wanted to be found, more than you’ll ever know. I spent my time on the lonely streets of Essex for what felt like millenniums. In fact, as we later know, it was. One day, a raven scooped me up and I was terrified for my life. He wanted me for his nest. Selfish bird. I flew across the oceans and even thought I was terrified, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. The one thing I didn’t know about this bird is that she didn’t have good talon – eye coordination. I fell, fell a thousand feet. I ended up with so many scrapes that are still present till this day. I gave up. I gave up on everything I’ve ever dreamed about. I took the longest sleep of my life, 2 thousand years. Until one fateful day in August, a small girl fell before me. I quivered in fear that this girl was hurt and I wanted so dearly to help her. She seemed not too hurt and carefully lifted herself off the hard, concrete ground. She grabbed me when she lifted. She looked at me and I looked at her. She was so unique and she figured I was too. She put me in her pocket and carried me to the next journey. We’ve spent years together. We’ve gone to the park, gone swimming, everywhere. She treats me so well and I’ve never been lost. She’s my best friend and I am hers. Forever hers. 

Act I of Macbeth

In the first Act of Macbeth, we read that there were three witches that predicted the future for Macbeth and Banquo. (Macbeth is a great war hero and Banquo is essentially, Macbeth’s right hand man) They predicted that Macbeth would be Thane of Cawdor and soon would be King. They also predicted that Banquo would not be king but his children might be and he would be famous, just not as famous as Macbeth. The plot gets weirder when the Thane of Cawdor dies in battle and Macbeth is appointed Thane of Cawdor. Since this event happened, Macbeth tries to think how he could possibly become King. He gets the idea of killing him and his wife, Lady Macbeth, told him not to worry and that she would take care of it. As far as I’m concerned, Lady Macbeth is pure evil. She reminds me of a female satin. She demises a scheme to kill the King with the swords of his guards, who would be passed out due to excessive alcohol, provided by Lady Macbeth. There isn’t much I did not like about this act because everything was pretty exciting. Even though it is in Shakespearean terminology, it is somewhat captivating. I think I can relate to Macbeth in a way because I too, do not think I would have the courage to kill the King. What surprised me the most was how devious Lady Macbeth was. The book so far is straightforward but it does hint some foreshadowing. I think Lady Macbeth will go into greater pursuit to kill the King and will try to persuade Macbeth to kill him. The three witches will make more predictions and overall, Macbeth will slowly become mental due to these predictions.     

Act I of Macbeth

In the first Act of Macbeth, we read that there were three witches that predicted the future for Macbeth and Banquo. (Macbeth is a great war hero and Banquo is essentially, Macbeth’s right hand man) They predicted that Macbeth would be Thane of Cawdor and soon would be King. They also predicted that Banquo would not be king but his children might be and he would be famous, just not as famous as Macbeth. The plot gets weirder when the Thane of Cawdor dies in battle and Macbeth is appointed Thane of Cawdor. Since this event happened, Macbeth tries to think how he could possibly become King. He gets the idea of killing him and his wife, Lady Macbeth, told him not to worry and that she would take care of it. As far as I’m concerned, Lady Macbeth is pure evil. She reminds me of a female satin. She demises a scheme to kill the King with the swords of his guards, who would be passed out due to excessive alcohol, provided by Lady Macbeth. There isn’t much I did not like about this act because everything was pretty exciting. Even though it is in Shakespearean terminology, it is somewhat captivating. I think I can relate to Macbeth in a way because I too, do not think I would have the courage to kill the King. What surprised me the most was how devious Lady Macbeth was. The book so far is straightforward but it does hint some foreshadowing. I think Lady Macbeth will go into greater pursuit to kill the King and will try to persuade Macbeth to kill him. The three witches will make more predictions and overall, Macbeth will slowly become mental due to these predictions.     

Second Thoughts About Kids & Cell Phones

Reading this article was sort of amusing. Being a teenager myself living in a suburban town with children that get cell phones at the age of 11, I related a whole lot to this piece. One excerpt from this article was so familiar. "But cell phones took us by surprise: so small, so innocent, so powerful in the hands of a bored or twisted teen who now has an extremely efficient tool for wasting time, cheating on tests, organizing fights, bullying classmates, phoning in bomb threats, and arranging drug deals." I see things like this happen at least four times a day. Just in the past two years, our school has had exposed pictures via text message, bomb threats (more than once) and other things no one wants the administration to know. From personal experience, I know how powerful cell phones actually are. Hence, the reason why teens never leave home without it. They're stylish, useful, techie, and overall the main reason why teens do the things they do. Imagine life without your cell phone. You would have to find a local restaurant or insert coins in a pay phone just to call your mom to tell her where you were. It is much more convenient for teens to text their friends than call. "Teachers know that students can text under the desk without glancing down, their phones set with a ringtone pitched too high for adults to hear. We are fighting on their turf. They are up in the trees and underground and in caves while we march around in our bright red uniforms trying to defend their dignity and virtue. Not a fair fight." This quote is extremely true and not to get my teenage ego going but adults really can't stop us. We will find a way around the rules and the only thing elders can do is to hope we don't do anything that harms our future. 

Quality of Life vs. Quality of Mercy

Okay, in my opinion, this article started off interesting with all the personal stories but then at the end, I became a little confused. First off, let me express my opinion on the personal stories by themselves. In the beginning, the story is about a ten year old boy is killed and how the media just moves on after a more interesting story comes along or more evidence that has nothing to do with the boy. With the Washington politician and how he had sex with a minor, I found that extremely revolting. He barely had ANY time in prison and walked away without remorse. How can one person do something so horrible yet everyone just accepts it after he has a minor charge against him? This is why, I do not understand our political system. 

With the rest of the article, its basically the narrator ranting about a double parking incident. In some ways, I agree with this narrator. One point that he makes is that he still received the ticket even though his wife is clearly in the car with the car running yet the limo in front of him does not receive a ticket because HE is in the driver's seat. If it was me in this situation, I would have flipped out. The allegations are completely equal, in my opinion. I do not think it was fair that one vehicle got ticketed while the other did not.