Thank you, Mysterious Instructor

   I like how it was a mysterious "instructor" on the Our Lady of Lourdes writer's craft blog. Hmm, who is this secret reader? They are also my only reader! Well mystery fan, you have been such a dedicated reader to the Think Tank! Shout out to your devotion. Here at Think Tank headquarters we'll send you a gift basket in appreciation.
 
   At first I feared my blogs were far to informal for the questions being asked, but I then saw the positive in my ramblings (apparently so did the instructor). I really did enjoy having this blog to write honestly on the well-picked topics. It pushed me to have a writing style of my own for the first time. My absolute favorite writing was the character sketches, I thought I could be the most creative with them. It was interesting to see that my words could come out almost poetic when I wasn't trying to write poetry. So proud.

  The course was never enclosed in it's classroom walls, and that was absolutely awesome. The involvement the instructor keeps with Guelph's writing community is to be applauded. I had never been part of a poetry slam before. I had never met an editor before. It felt like I was in a writing headquarters where all these interesting Guelph locals stopped in to say hello. Please don't ever take that idea away and disconnect the writers craft class from the outside world; it always kept things in perspective. I honestly do not see anything that needs to be removed from the course or from how it's operated. The instructor is a master at what she does; do not stop a single thing.

   If I hadn't been in this course, I'm not sure if I still would have been alright for applying for journalism school. I wouldn't have had such a nice portfolio, I would probably still be misplacing my commas in dialogue, and I definitely would still be confused about what journalism can be in the future. This course saved me from a lot of stress, and I am deeply grateful.

   So mysterious instructor, you and your course have done a lot for me. More importantly, I enjoyed this course. I hope for creativity to never disappear in my life, and this course strengthened that belief like never before. Thank you mysterious instructor Mrs.Reidel, I hope you understand the difference you are making in the writers of tomorrow.

An Unshakable Mask

   If I was a newspaper editor, I would have a fine line with a lying journalist. It's just not going to happen. If it was a small misquote or a mistake that was clearly innocent, I could be forgiving. It would be a firm warning that my paper is honest and that I don't want to see this kind of tempering with the truth. It's strict, it's humane, and hopefully it would keep a fabulous reputation for our paper.

   Stephen Glass, however, makes me sick. My forgiveness ends far before an employee knows they have slipped miles from the truth and are now stressing to cover up their tracks. Stephen Glass' lying is insulting!

   Below I have included his interview with CNN in 2003. If you want to see how easily it is for Glass to ignore any emotion for what he did, watch the video. It is cringe worthy. Every time he goes to explain the process of his lies, it is as if he is reporting on his own actions. I do not see any emotion of regret or sorry for what he did. In fact, two minutes into the interview he decides to promote his new book on why journalists lie. Really? The guy is now earning money off a movie and book on the lies he gave to all of us without hesitation. In the interview, it constantly feels like he wants to turn on his former self like it's a different person, analyzing a man that is a complete mystery to the "now perfect" Stephen Glass. He still wears a mask. I fear he may never take it off. The true face of Stephen Glass smiles devilishly behind that mask as he earns money on the media of his own giant lies. A con artist is looking like a better way to describe this pathological liar. I hope his book tanked.

Mistletoe and Ho Ho Ho

Linus and Charlie "A Charlie Brown Christmas", 1965

What's Christmas really all about?

This ultimate Christmas ethics question sounds like it's coming straight from a Charlie and Linus theoretical discussion at the brick ledge. Mind you, Charlie Brown actually does ask this question in the television special, and Linus answers with his lisp speech of Luke 2: 8-14. I love that scene. 

I can't help but feel like it was a simpler time back in 1965. They definitely didn't have the crazed malls like we do now filled with grumpy parents shopping for their spoiled child that wants a new phone to dispense their life into for the rest of their days. Too dark? I just finished the Smartphone article, still have it on the mind. I stand by that point, though! It just doesn't have the same, I guess, "merry" feeling these days. Although I'm only eighteen, who am I to say "these days"... but movies like Charlie Brown or It's A Wonderful Life open a window to see what Christmas could have been like in the past, and the past looks very merry. 

I believe Christmas is a refresh button on life. With the time off, it sets in what life is truly about. It's not work, school, or whatever alternate life you are a slave to for the majority of the year. It's about your friends that walk with you through the unknown, the family that supports you when you fall down. It's about finally looking up from your desk and seeing the gorgeous world you live in. Whether or not it came from an all-loving God and son that died for your sins, at least we can all agree that, for the most part, it's beautiful. We can make whatever we want of it. Now this refresh button has been coated in different ways throughout time; this time happens to be a coating of boxing day blowouts and Santa cos played by thousands in crowded shopping malls. That sucks about Christmas today, but it would be worse to just ignore it. Instead of keeping Christmas' definition locked with the money around it, focus on the refresh button. Focus on the break you get to take in what life really means to you. I believe that is what I see in those classic Christmas movies. 

Poetry Analysis

Five Ways to Kill a Man
by Edwin Brock
Through the open Window (page 48)

Edwin Brock was a British poet and grew up in South London and passed away in the year of 1997. He said that much of his writing was about his family relationships, his marriages, and children. It would be interesting if his family inspired this particular poem. It was the title poem of his book that published in 1990, and has been critically acclaimed for it's unique tone. The attempt to simplify it's complexity, the poem is a list of five ways to kill, and the first four are cumbersome ways to kill.

There are many cumbersome ways to kill a man:

you can make him carry a plank of wood

to the top of a hill and nail him to it. 

Each of the first four technique's symbolize a death of it's time, beginning with the crucifixion of Jesus.

To do this properly

you require a crowd of people 

wearing sandals, a cock that crows, a cloak

to dissect, a sponge, some vinegar and one

man to hammer the nails home.

I find how it's listed, like it doesn't need emotion to say, to be eerie. It's as if the death of Jesus, a knight slain in battle, the deaths of thousands in WWI and the crippling power of today's technology can be listed like your needs at a grocery store. Then again, some of those lives were taken down just as quick as a grocery list. Edwin then ends his poem with a way to kill that's much more simple.

Simpler, direct, and much more neat

is to see that he is living somewhere in the middle 

of the twentieth century, and leave him there.

This final method of killing a man is what puts that final emphasis on the original four. This final way makes my head spin in attempt to solidify Edwin's message because I see multiple perspectives. Is it just a shot to the present century when he wrote this? Does he see the twentieth century to be the darkest of all mankind? Did the value of a human being crumble? Did one life hold more worth back when a single fighter would be armoured in a valiant steel suit? Edwin certainly forced me to look within and see the present I live in. I love this thought-provoking poem; it leaves quite an impact.

Cum ber some
adjective

• large or heavy and therefore difficult to carry or use; unwieldy.
• slow or complicated and therefore inefficient. 

Sixteen to vote?

Age sixteen... you know, personally I wouldn't want my sixteen year-old self voting. The only opinion I had for Canadian politics at age sixteen was I wanted Harper out of government. I didn't even fully know why, I just didn't like listening to the guy. I also came from a very strong Liberal family. Really, I was just jumping on the Harper hating bandwagon. That's not a strong enough reason to choose Liberal; I wasn't educated to the slightest. I didn't know the intentions of the parties and I didn't know what my generation should be concerned for in the future. I knew the basics of parliament from my grade ten civics class, that's it.

I recently was listening to C.B.C. radio in my silver bullet Honda civic, and I heard an upset Conservative woman. She argued that the new young voters were just voting Liberal because of their rebellious mind, that they wanted to stick it to Harper. As much as I felt insulted, I also had to give her some credit. I had been that young voter... I don't even know if I have an educated vote now at age eighteen! There's something to say about being mature to vote. I'm not solid on the decision to keep voting at age eighteen, but my gut tells me the majority of sixteen year old's are just not ready.

Wow, now I'm really sounding like a Conservative.

The Adaptable Mind

The one thing I tend not to like about large, universe/life thought-provoking videos like this one is that it almost seems that the point being made is so vague and can be interpreted in so many different ways that it becomes deep. For instance, it says that people are calling my generation's economy the human economy. Then, to break down human economy, it's as simple as the five areas listed. Don't get me wrong, the five qualities definitely have a stronger impact on the economy today compared to our past, however I find it hard to categorize a human mindset with just these five. Maybe it's not the point they're trying to make, but if you take away the pretty space videos and popcorn in slow motion, the idea seems really stretched to categorize it in just five. I felt like Neil Degrasse Tyson was going to walk on screen at any minute and start talking about the universe.

For me personally, I think I'm pretty strong in the field of being human. In fact, watching the video I found I was more worried about my actual knowledge skills. Isn't the point to have the skills and knowledge of a field of work set first, then expand these new ideas with your human skills? I believe I'm really good at being a curious, creative, initiative, networking, empathetic human in life, but doing what? Then the question of how I'm going to continue the expansion of my personal growth in human skills... I'm going to be human! I'm going to keep wondering about my weird world- curiosity. I'm going to continue to be creative with my life, as it makes it a bit interesting- creativity. I'll take the initiatives with my thoughts instead of sitting with no progress- initiative. I'll interact with the people around me, considering the different dynamics of humans- multi-disciplinary thinking. Finally, I'll always be putting myself in other people's shoes- empathy. In the end, there's more to being human then a nice list of five qualities. Stop trying to pinpoint an unending concept like being human. Just go out and live it.

Higher Education the Key to Life?

Oh, I like what Darryll Suliman Amoako's message says so much in "Why I Hate School But Love Education." It makes you feel good, a great big inspirational piece of cake that you can sink your teeth into. He truly sends a subtle challenge to more than just higher education. He challenges the system, the society, game of life, whatever you call it. Darryll says the common conception of success is that "education is the key." He challenges the typical belief of there being only one type of education for a sustainable life; to pay the life-sucking tuitions and be graded like your a number yourself.

However, the sour taste of reality unfortunately seems to follow some inspirational sweets. I couldn't help but look at some of my classmates answers to this writing challenge to answer the video. A rather common answer was that some of the big names he drops are 'exceptions' to the system, saying it like it's a bitter sigh. It is a heavy sigh, because the system rules of getting a higher education for success truly does feel like the "necessary evil," as my classmate Eric puts it. But then you get the inspirational speakers, like they're on the curb of the highway of life, pointing to a path opposite of the road shouting, "Defy the system, stick it to the man! Try this way!" Then when looking in, that path looks scarier than going west off the yellow brick road.

Suli makes a lot of thought-provoking points, and I do like his piece! The best message I see in the video is that there's more to education than what you hear in the classroom. Absolutely. But the implied message of going against the path of higher education and creating a bare road out of nothing, makes me cringe. I'd rather work through higher education and put my own spin on things from the inside. I want to take what higher education gives me, put my name out there in the University atmosphere, and build myself from my learning. Will I ignore education outside of school? Of course not. I want to be a Renaissance man with my education, and take in sources from all corners of my life.