"The Declaration of Independence"

As we read "The Declaration of Independence" in class, we discussed the speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject, and tone, as we have done for all essays thus far. For this, the three factors that I would like to explain are the speaker, audience, and purpose. While discussing this essay, we learned that the speaker is not necessarily always the author. Even though the author was Thomas Jefferson, he was speaking on the colonists behalf, making the colonists the speakers. This showed that they all agreed with one another, and all thought the most important object, even though it may be abstract, was independence. The audience of this essay is King George III, but that is only for the beginning, when Thomas Jefferson states all of his flaws. The ending is when he began to speak to the American colonists, bringing in the purpose to try inspiring and persuading them to fight for what they believe in. "...we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor" (Thomas Jefferson, 195). Jefferson states that those three were important to them, and they were all taken away due to King George III's corrupt ways of ruling. However, they could not allow King George III rule as if it was okay, and hope for the best. They could only fight for what they hoped to reacquire.

Think twice about tattoos

-"FDA and CDC warn that tattoo ink can be hazardous to your health"

-Karen Kaplan, LA Times

-Published August 23, 2012
-http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-tattoo-ink-infection-20120823,0,6307613.story

There is apparently no law against making tattoo ink sterile, except that it is only supposed to use ingredients that have pre-market approval. Tattoo ink can give people a disgusting infection called nontuberculous mycobacterial. This infection is said to be difficult to treat, and takes a long period of time to heal. "Department investigators ultimately tracked down 14 tattoo parlor customers with definite M. chelonae infections, four more who probably had it, and one more who was suspected of having it. These customers – 13 men and six women – ranged in age from 18 to 48" (Karen Kaplan, LA Times). Kaplan explains that this infection can be received from any tattoo parlor at any age and any gender.The article continues to explain how all but one patient required treatment, and they all healed. Even if a person goes to the number one tattoo parlor in the entire country, there is still the risk of being infected. The FDA inspected a line of premixed inks in Arizona, and found that they contain the same organism that causes the infection, and the company recalled the inks. 

Speaking of "Salvation"...

One of the essays we read in class was called "Salvation", by Langston Hughes. As a class, we discussed the speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject, and tone. Three of these aspects that I would like to discuss are the occasion, subject, and tone. The occasion for this essay was Hughes's connection with Jesus in the church when he was twelve years old. However, Hughes lied about this connection, leading to the subject which was loss of faith. By saying, "I was saved by sin when I was going on thirteen" (Hughes 179), he tells us that he was still only twelve years old. His tone in the beginning was expected and confused because he was expecting to have the connection, but he was confused because it was not as easy as he thought it would be. He was not receiving the connection as easily as everyone else. Hughes's tone changed to sadness when his friend left him alone and faked his connection to Jesus. "So I got up" (181). Hughes finally decides that he should fake his connection too, and because of this, the tone changes to Hughes being hopeless and guilty. This story ends with Hughes describing to us how he was crying because of his guilty feeling, for lying to his family and everyone about his connection with Jesus. He loses his faith in Jesus because He was not there when Hughes needed him most. All of the aspects aforementioned connect to each other, but the three I explained, in my opinion, are the most important to make the story easier to understand.

Islands, anyone?

-http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-islands-20120819,0,1030332,full.story
-"Looking to buy an island?" by Lauren Beale, LA Times
-Published August 19, 2012

Buying a private island is apparently not as expensive as we thought it would be. Lauren Beale, LA times journalist explains how Chief Executive Chris Krolow said that islands can be bought for less than $50,000 from a company called Private Islands Inc. Most of the buyers of these private islands are usually the American, Canadian, or British. However, as island prices began to drop in a few areas, people began to become more intrigued by the idea of buying an island.  Many of these island owners are celebrities because that is their private area; they can be there by themselves, and not worry about what they are doing because no one is there to bother them. Either way, there are only two groups you could possibly fall into for buying an island. "Island buyers tend to fall into two groups: people who are making lifestyle choices and entrepreneurs developing resorts" (Lauren Beale, LA Times). Beale explains that people either buy islands for their own personal privacy, or to try to open hotels or other businesses. This article continues to explain real examples of people who have purchased islands, why they did, for what price, and other aspects. It also explains how not everyone should own an island. "Beyond the cash needed, hurdles may include receiving building permits and environmental issues" (Lauren Beale, LA Times). Beale explains how buying an island is not as easy as it seems. Although it may be cheap, one needs to adapt to the environment, or have a building permit if they wish to build a house. Even though buying an island is not as expensive as we thought, it is not as easy either.

My Favorite Book

In my 16 years of life, I have read many different stories. From books written by Dr. Seuss, to J.K. Rowling, it is difficult to pick my favorite out of all the different choices. However, from the many recent books that I have read, my favorite would have to be The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. We read this book as a class assignment, and when we were assigned to read a chapter or two, I had to resist myself from reading on. I could never predict what would happen next because it was all unexpected. Whichever page I read had at least a few words to surprise me. The friendship of the main characters, Amir and Hassan, was a friendship that anyone wished to have, until it began to slide downhill. Hassan was raped trying to save a kite that was important to Amir, and Amir watched and did not try to help his friend at all. This showed that Hassan was a better friend to Amir, than Amir was to Hassan. Keeping the secret of Hassan's rape was torturous to Amir, and he was haunted by it day and night.After finding out about Hassan's death, Amir, in a way, redeemed himself. He was asked to save Hassan's son, who was at an orphanage, being tortured by the same man responsible for the rape of Hassan. If there is anyone who has not read the book and does not like to read, they are lucky because there is also a movie which is exactly like the book. Anyone who reads The Kite Runner will easily understand not only what is happening in the book, but also the true meaning of being a friend.