Dead

Will i be sad that i am dead?

Am i sad that i am dead?

When i am dead, am i sad?

dEAD.

DeAD

DEaD

DEAd

A fire goes dead.

The ash left is dead.

A light goes off

The shadow is dead.

Probably the best vocal in KMLA history

*All of these songs are creadited to yeeun sung (A graduate of KMLA).

Heard it for the first time.
But, knew it would be great since Senior Sung sang it~!

I'm, going to stuff it with songs~
ps-the song My Aquarium was recorded in an actual studio!

2NE1 -lonely[whim]

I found these clips while searching for a music video to make me feel more miserable.
But, when I saw these special versions of a song that penetrates deep into one's heart, I didn't feel sad anymore......guess it's because these versions express a different mood from the original one.

Nice try~!

they seem okay, but definately need alot of practice.
Still, it was refreshing to hear two men take the part of four girls.


Regge Version><
(I so love these girls--though, to think of it they're the elder...k)

The edge of blueness is gone and replaced with a regge feal~
I especially like the choice of instruments.
I think it fits well with 2NE1's mood in the MV.

Christina's version from the compatition SUPERSTAR K

She tried hard to put alot of emotion in the song....
but I only find it a well sung version, not something that touch the heart like the original one.
Her facial expression ruined most of it.
She seemed too intent on forcing us to feel the same emotion she felt.

Pure instruments..

Sound combination of finger-style and down-up(?) stroke
A peaceful sadness I guess.
Not as desperate or miserable as the original, but kind of like recalling a forgotten time of sadness with an understanding.

3 Words to describe myself metaphorically

Black/green/ash

I am a man in black. Yet, I do not dress in black . Still, black becomes my heart that suffers from the bite of a snake I never knew to have such a venom. A tender heart eclipsed by the grotesque, thing it has become. Oh! What a fool I was. A green sprout yearning for the brightness of rainbows. Vivid are those who cloak themselves in rainbow. Oh! Had I only known that all radiance in essence were the daughters of venom. Would then I might have not become the ash I am. A pile of ash without the light I once loved.

My Hero

Heroes are supposed to be the guys with the innocent face, nicely shaped body, and all the good virtues; or so I am told. But, Sydney Carton from A Tale of Two Cities has a cynical, care-free attitude which shows in his face, is not the best shaped man in the novel, and shows a degree of socially condemned actions. Be that as it may, Carton is Darnay, Lucie, Gablle, many others, and my hero.
A protagonist merely has to lead the story’s narrative, but a hero has to relieve other characters from impending dangers. For Sydney Carton, relieving Charles Darnay and his family from the tangled doom of the French revolution was the burden. Carton comes to Darnay’s rescue in both of such cases. At Darnay’s trial at London, where he is accused for being a spy in service of France only because he is a French immigrant sighted at a particular place, he appears out of nowhere and makes the foremost evidence in favor of the accusation invalid. He does this by simply asking the witness to distinguish him from Darnay. When the witness who previously claimed to be capable of identifying Darnay anywhere cannot tell the two almost identical looking people apart from each other, Carton succeeds in rescuing the accused. Carton faces a harder task yet when he decides to smuggle Darnay out of Bastille. Bastille, unlike Old-Baily at London, is controlled by people determined to put Darnay to the guillotine whether the condemner wants to undo the condemnation or not and Carton is forced to use illegal methods. At the end, Carton succeeds in using the same talent from Old-Baily to rescue Darnay—he dresses up as Darnay and with the aid of Solomon Barsad, exchange himself and Darnay. Even though the narrative is centered around Lucie and Darnay, her lover, their family could not have been protected from the turbulent events without Carton.
When I was yet green, I used to believe that at the end, heroes are the people who win all they desired for and keep what is rightfully theirs. Now, having matured a bit, I find people who are willing to sacrifice their own goals for those dear to them as the true heroes. Carton sacrificed his devotion, wealth, life, and rightful credit so that he might protect the joy of life of those he valued. Carton has a sincere, loving heart for Lucie. Yet, he sacrificed his own desire because Lucie was already in love with Darnay. Carton had inherited his family’s wealth. This also he sacrificed without taking back one bit when he passed all his identity to Darnay. Carton gave up his life for Darnay’s and asks for none in exchange. Even as he earnestly searched for a meaning in his life, he yielded it without hesitation the moment he felt his life was needed to secure the happiness of those he loved. Carton accomplished novel deeds worthy of great respect. Still, he did them in such a way that even his very best friends did not know them well. Even to his last moments, he made no effort to be credited. Such honorable sacrifices should not be disregarded any more than a war-hero’s valor in battle.
To conclude, Sydney Carton from A Tale of Two Cities is my hero because he is the one that relieved others from harm’s way and he is the one that gave up all he had for the good of his beloved ones. In a time of great turbulence, Carton went out of his way to secure others’ lives from ill accusations. Although he had as much claim to his love, inheritance, life, and due respect, he sacrificed all of them for his friends and their family. A man that may not fit so well with my childish dreams, Carton shall never have to go looking for a seat of honor in my heart.

TED Michael Pritchard's water filter turns filthy water drinkable

What an innovation! Michael Pritchard has saved the world with his novel technique, the Life Saver.

Thanks to his fervent efforts, people who previously had to suffer from numerous illnesses or quit education can now be free from the burden of finding drinkable water every day. Before, children from families that were far away from sources of drinkable water had to quit school and help their mothers carry water for several miles. This did not help a bit in increasing the family’s hopes of escaping poverty and rather hurt the children by exposing them to harsh labor from an early age. Worse, if the only water available was contaminated, children grew sicker every day from the water they drank.

But, the feat to be soon be accomplished by Life Saver will mitigate such a crisis. By providing Life Saver to people suffering from lack of clean water, the rate of death and illness caused by either the depletion of water or the intake of filthy water can be greatly alleviated. Moreover, Life Saver will free millions of people from the burden of searching and transporting clean water. This in turn will enable children to attend schools and grown females to spend the time on other matters such as taking care of babies or making clothes to sell. Such a change will gradually rejuvenate the society as a whole.

Nonetheless, obstacles other than the paucity of natural resources themselves still remain. Let us think back to 2008 when Myanmar was hit by a cyclone. Due to the catastrophe, aids—including water supplies—were sent from all parts of the world in philanthropic spirit. However, the pretentious government disdainfully rejected all supplies with western logos on it, primarily UN logos. This exemplifies the executive forms of hindrance met in this field. Even if people benevolently send supplies to such areas, oftentimes the reigning governments show indifferent behavior towards it. This can traced to the fact that many regions suffering from lack of clean water supply are under authoritarian rule that show apathy to the most important matters at hand for the common people. Worse, a significant portion of the people in need of the Life Saver follows anti-government movements known to be fickle and recalcitrant to international organizations. If the people in control of the region in need of aid do not heed to well-meant advice and help, all our efforts are simply belittled.

I only hope that Michael Pritchard as an entrepreneur can stomach the loss and humiliation in process if we are to succeed in providing people with the Life Saver.

life; a game I play

I will die. But, I never know when I’ll die. I never know because I never know when I will let go of my life. Having lived for 16years and a week, I can count dozens of plans I made when I was young. As a child, I used to believe that when I have lived this long; I’ll have friends that to me are like Damon was to Pythias. Apparently, I draw a big, blank, and a bit oval circle in my mind when I count such friends. Plans like these, they are worthless. They are worthless because the game I play—life—is hard to win and yet easy to lose.
I’ve always dreamed my life like a fantastic game, a game which is fun to play, but too hard to win. My family of three was oriented toward making the game I play a fun one. Even as I trace the faintest memories I have—a picture or two of mother holding my hands as I walk up forgotten stairs—and the farewell father gave me this chuseok, I can’t recall my family working against me playing the game. And I feel grateful for that, and that gratefulness might help me win the game I play.
Being the only child of my family, I was granted favors and chances that others never got. Whereas I was granted the freedom to pour all the resources my family could afford into the game I play, my class mate had to share what his older sister left him with his twin brother. To feel the pressure is a dreadful thing. The pressure has helped me in realizing an important aspect of the game I play. It is not difficult at all to give up.
Still, I feel that I’ve acknowledged another aspect of the game I play. As much as people’s faith in my success at the game pressures me, it also assists me in winning the game. This is because the faith steadies me when I am ready to falter. When I let myself lose footing and give in to the pressure, the faith people have in my success at the game steadies my wobbling legs.
Life is the game I play. All people play this game. All people play this game at one time. I don’t know how it is for others, but to me, the game is steady as a rocking horse because all the faith people built on me throughout my life helps me up when I am ready to fall.

Climate Change; obstacles to solving it

Climate effects the way we eat, clothe ourselves, and play. Thus, changes in the climate trigger alarms to every governing body in the world. Yet, the world has hardly ever come to a solid agreement on how to react towards the climate changes. This can be traced to the following two reasons: the different climate problems each nation faces and the different industrial levels each country is in.
On this globe, various climates exist beside one another in such a way that even neighboring countries’ climates cannot be expected to be the same and a single country cannot be expected to be composed of only one climate. In other words, the problems that neighboring countries face might be different and problems within a single country might also differ by region. Because of this, countries that would have otherwise have been trusty allies in reaching agreed goals become unreliable and countries that in other cases would have been unified become tattered by internal conflicts. To illustrate, countries with diverse climates such as Canada and Chile might find it hard to come up with a focused solution that most of their citizens’ support.
The varying level of industrial development is also a hazard for international agreement on solution to climate change. Even if two countries are composed of the same climate, the way each country views the problem depends on their industries. To be more specific, while more developed countries that focus more on non-manufacture industries such as media or transportation often want strict rules on solving the climate change, other countries that depend more on manufacturing business wish for less regulations.
Ergo, the main obstacles in achieving an agreed solution to climate change are the different climate each country has and the different industries each country focuses on.

How I believe in

I believe in things that I perceive to be true.

I believe in diversity-because I know it to be true.
Policy makers believe in standardization-because they expect it to be simple.

I believe in help for the minority- because I felt it to be true.
Economists believe in survival of the fittest-because they thought it to be efficient.

I believe in reverance for agreed rules-because I take it to be true.
Childhood gangstars believe in wanton rebellion-because they take it to be .

I believe in relativity-because I understand it to be true.
Racists believe in supremacy-because they understand it to be right.

Recording History

Historians define history as the chronological record of past events. This plainly shows us the value of record in history. The time of past without records-called in such names as the dark age and the prehistoric times - is very often wrapped in a veil of mystery that allows no solid truth to be revealed. Such absence of evidence usually leads to the situation where false assumptions and claims create controversies still ongoing in the present society. One of such a case regarding Korea was the distorted interpretation of its genesis. Japanese historians and politicians have claimed that the absence of Korea’s own genesis indicates that Korea adopted the Chinese genesis and that Korea was always dependant on other countries for its cultural needs; ultimately claiming that it was the duty of Japan to colonize Korea and develop its culture.
However, recent research signifies that we were never dependent on China for a genesis and that ours merely disappeared during the Joseon dynasty due to Confucianism scholars who disapproved records that collided with the thought that Korea was inferior to China. Yet the dispute goes on with an upper hand for Japan because of our lack of evidence.
On the other hand, there are also cases where disputes are soundly solved thanks to records of history. To illustrate, we were able to defend the originality of Hanguel with a book called Hunminjeongeum Heyreybon Though not widely known, there have been assertions that Hanguel was derived from Tamil language and that King Sejong merely adjusted it to fit the Korean language better. Although quite a number of differences existed, we were not able to refute it with certainty because we did not posses records telling us how King Sejong created Hanguel. Nonetheless, Hunminjeongeum Heyreybon documented how Hanguel was invented leaving no doubt.
From such cases we can infer the value of recording history. By accurately recording history, we can protect our rights and become better prepared for distortion of history .However, few people from recent generations have succeeded in recognizing that the most important factor is to record the present. This is because if we stop recording the present-thinking we still remember it-our children will have to deal with the same lack of evidence in the future.
As the ways of recording becomes diverse, we should put arduous effort into recording history using various methods and modify or translate past records into newer methods in an effort to keep them intelligible

Climate Change; what it is and what can be done about it

Forty percent of the world’s population depend on Mt. Himalaya for water. But, if the world does not take action to a certain event, these people might face a serious problem with their water supplies in the near future. Mt. Himalaya’s glaciers are the root of the seven rivers that pour into the Indian peninsula, Tibetan plateau, Indochina, and China itself. The problem is that due to drastic changes in the earth’s temperature, those glaciers are about to melt. This leads to the drying up of the reservoir of forty percent of the world’s population. If the world is to prevent this from becoming a reality, measures need to be taken regarding the mitigation of climate change.

Climate change as used in this essay refers to drastic changes in the climate due to human activities. To the norm, climate change is often recognized as ice melting in the glaciers. However, climate change is more complicated than a single event. Climate change is triggered by the emission of green house gases which results in trapping more heat in the earth’s atmosphere than is needed. In the recent sixty years, this phenomenon has grown even more and scientists have begun to recognize the threat this brings. Because the heat does not leave Earth, the overall temperature rises, resulting in climate change. Hence, the world should admit climate change and take measures to it.

However, some people claim that climate change is merely a fraud. These people play with skepticism and make the innocent public doubt the facts. Mostly, these people object to climate change with the following three assertions: that it is only a manipulation by superpowers, that it is merely a natural cycle, and that the statistics are not consistent.

Nevertheless, such doubts do not stand valid when compared to solid logic. First, the graphs and the statistics people are presented with cannot be manipulated. Even if we take into account the possibility that a few results might be fabricated by superpowers, people cannot deny the mountains of research from all around the world that stand witness to the climate change happening in our life. Second, it is true that there is a cyclic pattern with Earth’s temperature. However, the recent rise in Earth’s temperature is far greater than the rise in the past. Even the rise during the medieval warm-age skeptical people point at, is less than one/fifth of the rise that is happening currently. Third, the difference of statistics is due to the regional distinctness each country has. This results in the diverseness of the effects of climate change; in certain areas, it appears in the form of melting glaciers, while in other areas, it appears in the form of record-breaking floods.

Therefore, it is inevitable that the world needs to register climate change as a serious threat and take actions. Actions should be taken in three levels; government scale, private industry scale, individual citizens scale. Since, climate change is not restricted the specific regions, governments need to work on intergovernmental cooperation on this issue. This can be achieved through frequent international conferences such as the UN Climate Change Conference that is held annually. Also governments should help in producing unbiased research. Recently, the IPCC has reached this state and has succeeded in providing reliable facts for people to discuss on. Meanwhile, private industries should focus on green growth. By adopting green technologies and participating in mitigation plans, greener growth can be achieved. Also, hosting events that bring public interest to this issue can help.

Lastly, individuals should try to learn more on climate change. By becoming educated on this issue, they can make wise actions in their daily life, such as separate-garbage-collection and buying products manufactured by green technology.

To feel that U belong

Belong. Earth belongs to the group of objects called planets. Fire belongs to the category of five elements frequently referred by Greek philosophers. All beings and all words belong to something. However, it is not always that people recognize the simple fact. Rather, oftentimes, people feel the opposite. The problem is, if people do not recognize this simple fact for too long, they fall into states of depression and lose confidence in their being, a problem I also faced.
Pacing back and forth in the empty corridor, I was feeling distraught. I was back from camp for only 3 days and I was already missing school and the people that shared my life there. Though it was 3 weeks into the summer break, I’ve been away from school for only 2 days before I returned to participate in this camp my school offered. And it was the greatest experience I had this year. I so felt like I belonged at the place. My life was cherished by the beautiful feeling that I belonged at the place.
That golden phase was over now. My darn lab top failed to catch the internet and my only contact to the people remaining at camp, a medium called Facebook, was cut off from me. No one answered the text messages my worn down phone sent and no messages were sent. The sky wasn’t helping me anymore. With the phalanx of clouds and rain arrows my army of hope wasn’t faring well. I didn’t belong here, in this industrialized, sad urban setting where no one wanted me.
I tried plan B. Instead of trying to feel belong among the friends that forgot me, I tried to blend in with the objects and people that surrounded me right now. For the past hours, this didn’t show any promising signs. I decided to take a trip to the busy street downstairs. Stepping out from the elevator, I began walking through the flow of umbrellas and raincoats. I shivered under the cold wind. Or, was really it the wind that made me shiver? With this sudden thought, I stopped dead and realized that wind was not as cold as I expected; it was august anyway. The problem was that I couldn’t feel the warmth I always expected when walking through the bustling crowd. I felt so alone. Oftentimes, when I became depressed I liked to throw myself in the flow of humans and the onset of words people uttered as they passed. But, at that moment I couldn’t. I felt like a lone boulder at the edge of a waterfall that resisted blending in with other sediments flowing with the river.
I felt so lonely. I wondered…”did I live so arduously for this, to never feel belonging to any group?”?
But, then something caught my attention. Something vibrated in my pocket. I took it out. It was my cell phone. I opened the slide phone. “Hello, this is Hae Uk Ko—“. “Tea—cher!! I’m Seongmin and I’m revising my thesis right now, I’ll read it over so you can….”. I reckon he said something more. But I don’t remember anything except that I told him he was on the right track.
I walked back towards my apartment. I couldn’t resist a smile as a warm current wrapped me all over. As I opened the door the TV blurted out, “Tomorrow, the clouds will clear and sun will shine for the first time in four days”.

Popularism

Popularism. This concept means the opposite of many values that I cherish and look upon as a golden rule for my actions. The concept contradicts values such as individuality-the value of originality that each being has, diversity-the value of differences made by comparison to other beings, respect for the minority-the value of regarding minorities as no less than the majority merely for numbers. Hence throughout my years, when I was faced with the task of having to deal with a mob of people unable to think as individuals but as a part of the flow that were guiding them, I met despair.
The thought of people moving towards a certain purpose without actually recognizing what it would result in always terrified me. People affected by popularism could act without consideration, they could commit crimes and feel no remorse for it, and what’s more could justify their actions under the name of the will of majority. People would destroy people’s individuality and feel no remorse for the damage inflicted to the individuals. People would try to fit others into the same standard as they had and forget about the loss of diversity that each person had. People would force minorities into submission with the sheer power created by majority and believe that they were a democratic group.
To me such a thought was no better than drugs or drinks that make people forget themselves. When people fell in the flow and became a mob jointed by popularism, they were no better off than people who had drunk past their limit or who had taken a pill of marihuana. To me, polpularism was what made sane people lose their sanity and commit such wrongs without realizing it.

Reviewing ~Google Docs~

[Get Addicted to it!]
Google Docs is one of the many office suits people use to create documents on computer. At first glance, it doesn’t seem any more different than Microsoft Word and hundreds of other programs with the same purpose.


But, as many others would have felt, Google Docs was the perfect example where one should not judge a book by its covers. Google Docs is distinguished by four characteristics.




1. Multiple User Collaboration System ★★★★★

Unlike Microsoft word processor, Google Docs is web-based. This means that different people in different places can work on the same document simultaneously. This most convenient technique helps people save time wasted on reviewing, revising and arguing. Since, people can voice their opinions of other’s writings at the same time as others write; documents can be reviewed by our teammates the moment we create a document, thereby saving time that would have otherwise been wasted on responding to each teammate’s suggestion.

When several people are writing and editing the same document, the cursors and the shade that show which parts are selected are given different colours.



2. Security ★★★☆☆
Another important factor in evaluating office suits is their security measures. Often, people hesitate from using web-based office suits on the basis that the use of internet makes it prone to leaking. However, the possibility of such an incident is as low as the possibility of my computer falling under remote control by some genius hacker. Plus, even if other people are logged in to Google Docs, there is no fear of the document becoming opened to other users. This is also true for people that worked with the same group members just a minute ago. To illustrate, let’s assume that there were six co-workers that belonged to the same team and worked on the same project. Among the many tasks that the team was burdened with, one task was meant for only three of them, Cedric, Kendrick, and Edrik. But, because the team was working on another topic a moment ago, Beth forgot and attempted to get access to the document which she was forbidden to. In such a case, Beth would find out that the document page does not react to her clicks.

3. Document History ★★★★☆

A chief concern for many office workers is the safety of their documents. People, whether they be a student writing his application letters or a senate editing his Thanksgiving speech, always worry about their files getting blown up to nothing. Mainly, two types exist for such accidents. It can be done by the collaborators of the file. Often, people either forget to save their documents before they end the page or they save the file when they did not intend to. But, the agony of realizing what a fool I am can be saved thanks to Google Docs. Even if such an accident occurs, a perfect history of the file remains in the REVISE column and can be used to change the document to any previous state. Also, computer viruses can wipe out the whole memory of your hardware in one stroke. But, documents in Google Docs are not affected by such follies.

4. Reasonable Accessibility ★★★☆☆
Google Docs is free for all people with a Google account. Almost all office suit producers provide their programs at their chosen price. Even if people need to create a Google account for accessibility, the account itself is free. Moreover, Google account is a vitally needed perquisite to enjoy the benefits of Multiple User Collaboration System, whereas other web-based office suits require unnecessary steps to use it.


I first came upon Google docs while preparing a debate case with my friends. Although all of us were KMLA students, our gender were not the same and none of us had a lot of shared schedules. Faced with such obstacles, we were desperately searching for new methods of communication other than sending document’s to each other’s mail all the time when we stumbled across this brilliant program.
Google Docs is a wonderful program that I hope to share with my friends. Despite its differences to traditional mechanisms and the unfamiliarity that follows it, I believe it is a small cost compared to the benefits.

Climate change; Korea's position

Korea’s current state as one of the vanguards of the developing countries makes its reaction to climate-change conventions a much debated issue for not only Korea but the whole world. This results from the fact that although Korea is not yet capable of following international standards suggested by developed nations, Korea has developed too much to be justified in receiving the benefits given to underdeveloped nations. To illustrate, despite the effort put into developing new methods that produce less greenhouse gas during the manufacturing processes, most of Korea’s major industries still require more time to come up with methods acceptable to standards suggested by developed nations. Yet, if Korea is given the favors granted to underdeveloped nations, Korea would be receiving unnecessary financial aid which can become the origin of diplomatic problems in future years. Hence, placing countries like Korea into the right category is a very sensitive issue in coming to an agreement at the climate-change conventions.
Therefore, Korea suggests the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action—in short the NAMA. This program, already suggested in the UN climate summit and the Bali-Roadmap for Copenhagen gives more liberty to individual countries them previous conventions did. According to the Korean Government, President Lee Myung-bak of Korea first proposed the NAMA during the round-table conference for the UN climate summit. If this proposal is accepted, each country would hold discussions of their own and make resolutions which would provide guidelines for their country’s mitigation of climate-change. This means that countries like Korea that are in better condition than other developing countries with booming industries but are still a few steps behind than the leading countries in climate-change conventions can come up with a mitigation plan that is acceptable to their situation and yet does not goes against the fundamental spirit of the global consensus. With this system, nations that do not fit into either groups—the all ready developed or the underdeveloped—can find its own solution to the climate change.
Furthermore, throughout the Bali-Roadmap conference, the concept of Measurement, Review, and Verification was established. This MRV concept is added in response to the opinion that the NAMA is too loose a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol. In order for a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, it needs to have the binding measures that force each nation to actually put effort into mitigating the climate change. If the NAMA alone is accepted as the answer to climate change, willing nations will always find holes in the system. However, the NAMA with the MRV concept as its binding force can work as the leading phenomenon in the post-2012 world.
With this 2011 conference, Korea would like to get a chance in finalizing the missing puzzles in the NAMA-with-MRV-system. The missing puzzle in the proposed system is the absence of motivation for nations to participate in the MRV procedure other than the obvious fact that the NAMA cannot be run without it. In the 2011 conference, discussion on incentive system for participants will be held. Also, specific guidelines for appropriate mitigation plans will be discussed. Thus, with the upcoming 2011 conference, Korea will make its final touch to the NAMA-with-MRV-system, especially on issues related to the working force behind the whole system.
Korea itself is trying to perform its best as a model for other nations. Through domestic discussions, Korea has reached the conclusion that it will reduce 30% of its greenhouse gas emission until 2020 considering the amount that would have been emitted without further mitigation plans. With the NAMA-with-MRV-system implemented, intergovernmental institutions will be given access to specific procedures of Korea’s mitigation project and through cooperation and feedback, adequate measures on climate change can be taken.
To conclude, Korea, as a respectful delegate of the climate-change conference and a concerned nation for international consensus on the matter in the post-2012 world, knows that its proposal of a Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action backed by the MRV concept will make the best substitute of the Kyoto Protocol in the following years.

letting it go, or holding to it.

We should never forget what we have.
Every evening, as I sit down after supper, I think of all the things that pain me.
It would seem that if we let such things go, the pain will leave us.
Seldom do we ponder on why we have hold on them.

I am drawn to the charm of death.
Though I am drawn to the charm of life as often as I am drawn to it's opposite,
it is hard not to think about death.
At times, I think that death was one of the many arts that the divine being has gifted us with, the art of letting go of one's life.
This art seems so beautiful.
It glitter's like the White Witch of winter.
After yesterday night, when mother and I discussed on my life, the dreams troubled me and I think of the White Witch again.

But, even as I write this, I cannot play at being ignorant of a recent death.
This death was by someone I've never known.
Yet, his death, especially at the posts left at his wall, never to be answered again touched me.

I hope and hope again that I will not fall to the socery of the Witch as Edmund once did.

Stud city and what a normal day might have been for four normal guys in the 50s- Book review

I am writing this within 3 hours since I finished Stud City.

Stud city was good; at least it gave some trouble in my gut. I believe a work meant to deliver a message should give us something to think about, something that’s not so light that you can let it off simply by gulping down water at the dinner table or pissing. For me such works that troubles me to the extent that I have just mentioned are justified from little blasphemies. Even if a work is R-rated and men and women come out naked in the movie and I’ve perchance watched it, I am still proud to say that I’ve watched it as long as it has certain purposes of delivering points of thought that matter in the real world. In the case of Stud city, its portrayal of Eddie(Chico)’s mind lead me to thoughts considering my friends back when I lived in a Canadian public housing with Serbian war-refugees who seemed to grow up so early. Billy’s ignorant actions, especially his cry for an end to the fight, brought back sad memories of my own family when I was only a boy.
But, the first couple of pages shouldn’t be ignored either. One ghost, two feebs, and a thief; not a group one can find very easily in today’s streets. Probably, they weren’t so common back then either. Yet, King’s made it look like as if these boys were just the typical gang one might pass over. Besides that, the story wasn’t too exciting because I didn’t understand several terms frequently used at that time. Still, as we’ve learned from studying the Hero’s Journey, the front part should not be too exotic; rather, it did a fine job of illustrating what a normal day for these four boys might have been like.

It seems like I failed to get out of my after-the fact style even until the end of the first paragraph, so I stayed more focused in the second papragraph