Research
This topic of this seminar was assisted suicide and euthanasia. We were to discuss the Sue Rodriguez case, and if her rights to personal freedom and autonomy were ignored by the ban on assisted suicide. This seminar was focused on the question ‘who owns our bodies?’ This question challenges the basic rights of humans, who has the right to life and if anybody has the right to death.
Other information that I used to add to this seminar, I read an article on Robert Latimer from Saskatchewan. On November 4th 1993, Latimer euthanized his twelve year old daughter Tracy because she was suffering immensely from the disease cerebral palsy. Tracy Latimer was a 40 pound, quadriplegic twelve year old who had undergone dozens of painful surgeries in her short life span. Robert did not want his daughter to live a life of pain and discomfort, so in 1993 he laid her in the cab of his truck, hooked up a house from the exhaust into the cab if the car. Latimer watched his daughter die. After Tracey died and the police questioned Latimer, he told them exactly what happened. He was charged at first with first degree murder and then later with second degree murder. Latimer’s case gained national attention because of its controversial nature, and in 1997 his sentence was lessened as his crime was labelled ‘compassionate homicide.’ Latimer’s intentions were obviously for the sake of easing his daughter’s pain, but defence played upon the fact that Tracey had a good life, and though she was disabled her quality of life was fine and worth living. As of today, Latimer is on Parole, and did not spend 25 years in prison.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Ovid
Ovid’s Metamorphoses
‘The Ages of Mankind’
4. The Golden Age is described as being perfect. There were no laws because mankind had no problems, they were all at peace.
The Golden Age changed to the Silver Age after Saturn ‘was driven to the shadowy land of death,’ and Jove took over the world.
The Silver Age is described as being ‘lower than gold, better than bronze.’ Seasons were made in this age; spring was shortened and winter was added for the first time. In this age men had to work.
The Bronze Age is described as an aggressive time that was evil, but not completely.
The Bronze Age ended when all evil was let loose into the world, this began the Iron Age.
The Iron Age is described as being completely evil and that all the good left the world. Mankind was violent, greedy, sly and plotting. This age was full of fighting. Also, the heavens were not at peace as giants were causing wars.
5. Jove’s intentions were to kill off the Iron Age humans because they were causing too much destruction in the world. Deucalion and Pyrrha survived the flood because they worshipped Corycian nymphs, native powers and then the oracle Themis. Jove saw them floating in the flood water and decided to let them live because they were ‘both innocent and worshipful.’
Book 10
Orpheus and Euridyce
13. Orpheus asks Persephone to be allowed into Hades so that he can bring back his wife who was killed by snake venom. He tells her that he has no interest in causing any trouble in Hades (he does not want to kill the three headed dog), he simply wants to bring back his wife because he has failed at living without her. The Underworld Gods allow Orpheus to bring back his wife Euridyce, but with one condition. Orpheus was not allowed to look at her until she was out of Hades completely and if he looked at her she would vanish and he could not have her.
14. Orpheus has the powers to control his readers/listeners with his words. He is able to break open his listeners weak spot with his words so that he can use there weakness to get a desired emotion.
15. The significance of the course of love Ovid follows after he loses Eurydices is that he refuses to love. He made a promise to his wife that he would only love her, and that is his only connection to her so he holds on to it tightly.
‘The Ages of Mankind’
4. The Golden Age is described as being perfect. There were no laws because mankind had no problems, they were all at peace.
The Golden Age changed to the Silver Age after Saturn ‘was driven to the shadowy land of death,’ and Jove took over the world.
The Silver Age is described as being ‘lower than gold, better than bronze.’ Seasons were made in this age; spring was shortened and winter was added for the first time. In this age men had to work.
The Bronze Age is described as an aggressive time that was evil, but not completely.
The Bronze Age ended when all evil was let loose into the world, this began the Iron Age.
The Iron Age is described as being completely evil and that all the good left the world. Mankind was violent, greedy, sly and plotting. This age was full of fighting. Also, the heavens were not at peace as giants were causing wars.
5. Jove’s intentions were to kill off the Iron Age humans because they were causing too much destruction in the world. Deucalion and Pyrrha survived the flood because they worshipped Corycian nymphs, native powers and then the oracle Themis. Jove saw them floating in the flood water and decided to let them live because they were ‘both innocent and worshipful.’
Book 10
Orpheus and Euridyce
13. Orpheus asks Persephone to be allowed into Hades so that he can bring back his wife who was killed by snake venom. He tells her that he has no interest in causing any trouble in Hades (he does not want to kill the three headed dog), he simply wants to bring back his wife because he has failed at living without her. The Underworld Gods allow Orpheus to bring back his wife Euridyce, but with one condition. Orpheus was not allowed to look at her until she was out of Hades completely and if he looked at her she would vanish and he could not have her.
14. Orpheus has the powers to control his readers/listeners with his words. He is able to break open his listeners weak spot with his words so that he can use there weakness to get a desired emotion.
15. The significance of the course of love Ovid follows after he loses Eurydices is that he refuses to love. He made a promise to his wife that he would only love her, and that is his only connection to her so he holds on to it tightly.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/rwanda.htm http://thinkexist.com/quotes/romeo_dallaire/ http://www.canadians.ca/more/profiles/d/d_romeo_dallaire.htm http://www.ushmm.org/genocide/analysis/details.php?content=2010-04-14 http://www.ucalgary.ca/pdsp/files/pdsp/pdsp-policy-brief_darfur_jan2008.pdf.pdf http://www.darfurscores.org/darfur http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-93303.html http://www.davidmetraux.com/cambodia.html http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/13/sbm.cambodia.ponchaud/ http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/813400--why-did-ottawa-ignore-warnings-of-rwandan-genocide
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Autobiography Poem
Shonnie
Serious, not serious, big, small
Sister to sister's one, three and four
Lover of life and adventure
Who tries not to fear
Who only needs to laugh
Who gives it all I have to give
Who would LOVE to see the summit of Mount Kilimanjaru
Who loves living in Winona
Stevens
Serious, not serious, big, small
Sister to sister's one, three and four
Lover of life and adventure
Who tries not to fear
Who only needs to laugh
Who gives it all I have to give
Who would LOVE to see the summit of Mount Kilimanjaru
Who loves living in Winona
Stevens
Monday, June 7, 2010
Playing with Plays
Romeo and Juliet, Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia! No matter what play it is I always find myself overly excited thinking about them. The lasting effect of a play is derived from its flashiness in visuals and content. Sure, a good play should be pleasant to look at, but this is a shallow visual. A good play should show your eyes something deeper through its characters because they are the leaders of the situation and are the ones who take the audience through the plot. Strong characters make mediocre plots entertaining, dingy sets artistically stated and two hours go by fast. Characters are the decorative icing on the cake; they are able to hide whatever is buried within.
Also, a play should have at least one memorable factor so that the audience can leave the theatre and always remember those few details that made the whole play unique.
Overall, what makes a play good, and what people expect to see is the concept of interest. There isn't a soul in the world who wants to sit in a theatre for two hours watching dull and monotonic characters engaging themselves in a series of uninteresting encounters and dilemmas. Entertainment is the key.
Also, a play should have at least one memorable factor so that the audience can leave the theatre and always remember those few details that made the whole play unique.
Overall, what makes a play good, and what people expect to see is the concept of interest. There isn't a soul in the world who wants to sit in a theatre for two hours watching dull and monotonic characters engaging themselves in a series of uninteresting encounters and dilemmas. Entertainment is the key.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Children Essay
We were all young, back in the day. Those valued days when we played outside from sun rise to sun set; the days when we didn't care about anything but enjoying every minute and having fun. Then something happened, and life changed drastically. Days began to revolve around priorities and responsibilities; we grew up. Everybody grows up, it seems inevitable. The question is, what makes us different as adults from when we are children? What does it mean to be a child?
You can't break the spirit of a child, however, it is possible to breakdown a child's spirit into all its fragments to understand what exactly it means to be a kid. A child has a body-obviously; hands, feet, arms and legs, but not always. The pieces that make up a child go beyond just having a 'child's body', it's an intangible element hidden inside. Firstly, a child has an imagination like no other. When we were children, we were able to create worlds in our head out of thin air. Our imagination was powerful and a large part of what made us children because we allowed it to be important. Children don't let common sense take up much space in their minds. Secondly, a large part of being a child is the eagerness and the motivation to explore and experience. As children we all used to set out looking for great adventures where ever we could. This sense of journey is lost when we grow up, we push it aside to make room for investments and career choices. Thirdly, the best part of being a child is being naive and unknowing. Ignorance is bliss. The biggest curse is to know too much, because when you know a lot there is little left to discover. Also, knowing certain things can really bring a person down, especially a child. Knowing about the horrible things that happen in this world would rip the 'child' out of children. The biggest part of being a child, the main part is having an enormous heart. When we are children we care about the forgotten things pushed aside for vehicles and income tax. Children have the ability to love blindly because they have open hearts.
There are many things that a child is definitely not. For one thing, children are not judgemental or prejudice, these traits are not natural but are acquired later on if life. Children are not cruel, bitter, close minded, busy unimaginative, controlling, mean or practical. Children are not adults.
A child could really be called anything. 'Child' is only a word placed to make the meaning recognizable. Innocence, young, wild, magical, imaginative, empathetic, pure, new, fresh, any of these words work to describe what a child is. Being a child is more than being young, it's a state of mind, a feeling and a lifestyle. To be a child is to be the good of the world.
Everyone has to be a child at some time in their life. They have to be able to experience life through a carefree existence, where the world isn't bad, it's just big. Being a child is about enjoyment and getting the most out of every experience. As a child, everything is a great adventure, like the time you went on went tobogganing on a medium hill, the memory exists in your mind as an intense ride. The joy of being a child comes from the effects of experiences.
There are too many interpretations of what it means to be a child. Suggestions have been made that a child is merely an early existence. Youthfulness is not what it takes to be a child (botox made it inaccurate). There is more to it than a simple number. Truly, there is only one way to define a child, the only way that should be used to define. A child is a person who views life with an open heart and mind, who is able to take strong feelings away from every experience.
It's easy to grow up, time will even do it for you, but who really wants to? Childhood is an age of complete freedom, the only instance where time is kind. Childhood and its glory don't have to be swept away so quickly if people learn to believe in it and understand its definition. If everyone could live their life with an open mind and an open heart, we could remain being children, and the world could be...magical.
Childhood is magic, everything just seems right even if it doesn't always make sense. That is the beauty of being a kid. Life doesn't have to be explained for it to be beautiful, it can just be great just because.
You can't break the spirit of a child, however, it is possible to breakdown a child's spirit into all its fragments to understand what exactly it means to be a kid. A child has a body-obviously; hands, feet, arms and legs, but not always. The pieces that make up a child go beyond just having a 'child's body', it's an intangible element hidden inside. Firstly, a child has an imagination like no other. When we were children, we were able to create worlds in our head out of thin air. Our imagination was powerful and a large part of what made us children because we allowed it to be important. Children don't let common sense take up much space in their minds. Secondly, a large part of being a child is the eagerness and the motivation to explore and experience. As children we all used to set out looking for great adventures where ever we could. This sense of journey is lost when we grow up, we push it aside to make room for investments and career choices. Thirdly, the best part of being a child is being naive and unknowing. Ignorance is bliss. The biggest curse is to know too much, because when you know a lot there is little left to discover. Also, knowing certain things can really bring a person down, especially a child. Knowing about the horrible things that happen in this world would rip the 'child' out of children. The biggest part of being a child, the main part is having an enormous heart. When we are children we care about the forgotten things pushed aside for vehicles and income tax. Children have the ability to love blindly because they have open hearts.
There are many things that a child is definitely not. For one thing, children are not judgemental or prejudice, these traits are not natural but are acquired later on if life. Children are not cruel, bitter, close minded, busy unimaginative, controlling, mean or practical. Children are not adults.
A child could really be called anything. 'Child' is only a word placed to make the meaning recognizable. Innocence, young, wild, magical, imaginative, empathetic, pure, new, fresh, any of these words work to describe what a child is. Being a child is more than being young, it's a state of mind, a feeling and a lifestyle. To be a child is to be the good of the world.
Everyone has to be a child at some time in their life. They have to be able to experience life through a carefree existence, where the world isn't bad, it's just big. Being a child is about enjoyment and getting the most out of every experience. As a child, everything is a great adventure, like the time you went on went tobogganing on a medium hill, the memory exists in your mind as an intense ride. The joy of being a child comes from the effects of experiences.
There are too many interpretations of what it means to be a child. Suggestions have been made that a child is merely an early existence. Youthfulness is not what it takes to be a child (botox made it inaccurate). There is more to it than a simple number. Truly, there is only one way to define a child, the only way that should be used to define. A child is a person who views life with an open heart and mind, who is able to take strong feelings away from every experience.
It's easy to grow up, time will even do it for you, but who really wants to? Childhood is an age of complete freedom, the only instance where time is kind. Childhood and its glory don't have to be swept away so quickly if people learn to believe in it and understand its definition. If everyone could live their life with an open mind and an open heart, we could remain being children, and the world could be...magical.
Childhood is magic, everything just seems right even if it doesn't always make sense. That is the beauty of being a kid. Life doesn't have to be explained for it to be beautiful, it can just be great just because.
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