Please excuse the lateness of this blog entry. I was feeling very sick for the past week and am just now slowly recovering.
The prompt questions the use of Wikipedia as a valid source for research. I believe that there is nothing wrong with using Wikipedia as a source. Though the ability of people to change the information available questions the source's validity, when is any source credible without more information to back it up. I don't see how Wikipedia can be seen as different from anything else that is available to us on the internet. It contains many articles and information which is true. But with sources such as this, just as with other sources, we must find more information to back up this information. If this can be done, there is no reason that it shouldnt' be used. Just looking through Wikipedia over the years, I have found much useful information for various assignments on this website. Heres a link of the source that came up when i searched about my topic of premarital sex. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premarital_sex In this link, I don't see any information that looks to be false. I could be wrong, and further research would help me discern this. But I know for a fact that a lot of the information in the link is true. If this information can be proven with the help of additional sources, there is no reason that it should not be allowed to be used as a source. Disallowing Wikipedia is like disallowing some other source just because one or a few facts were found to be untrue. Just because some of the information that can be found is not true, does not mean that everything you search up will be false. If every source in which any error was found was disallowed for research, we simply wouldnt have anything to use for our research papers. Mistakes happen, and this is a reality in our world. Even a source that is wrong 99% of the time cannot be disputed with its 1% of correct information. So in my opinion, if it can be backed up, there is no reason it shouldn't be used. So with proper "back up" Wikipedia should be an acceptable source for research.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Monday, February 26, 2007
Prompt #4: What Celebrity Has Influenced Your Notion of the Good Life
This one actually might be interesting to a lot of people. Put a little of a Canadian perspective on things. And I'll link a few youtube videos to help prove my points.
For me, it is not just one celebrity that has affected my life. There are many celebrities that have influenced my notion of the good life. For me, being Canadian, many of these people were professional athletes (hockey players), namely, the Vancouver Canucks. Being from a town live Vancouver, you can't help but be a hockey fan. Canucks fans can be described as crazy, loud, passionate, and by far the greatest fans in the National Hockey League. If words don't describe this well enough, maybe statistics can. General Motors Place in Vancouver has been sold out for every single home game since November 14, 2002. The influence that movie stars and music artists have here in the United States is likely the closest equivalent to the influence of hockey in Vancouver, and throughout Canada. Though i hate to stereotype Canadians this way, it is hard to deny this fact. It's not hard to see the impact that hockey has on Canada as a whole.
And just as hockey has this affect on an entire nation, for me, individual hockey players have largely influenced my notion of the good life. Being a canucks fan over the years, you grow up idolizing the people that make the team successful. I aspired to be like many great Canucks players one day. Going back a few years, one of my favourite Canucks used to be Todd Bertuzzi. But his actions in 2004 questioned his abilities as a good role model. Words can't describe the reaction of the incident on March 8, 2004. What he did was just basically...shocking. I mean I'm not going to lie, Moore had it coming to him, but it does not justify what was to come. You can just see for yourself what took place on that day.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BFFLZQsT2AI
When someone you idolize performs an action like that, people react in different ways. Had I been younger when i first saw this happen, I may have begun to see retaliation as a right response to an immoral action. And the sad part is, to many young people who saw that game, they may have seen things this way. People idolize their role models. They want to be just like them. They aspire to be like them in every way. But when they perform an action like this, one that is morally wrong, they promote the idea that sometimes what is wrong has to be done. That is not a lesson that I would promote to be taught by any means. What he did was wrong, and though he later realized this and apologized for what he had done, the affect that he may have had on people...well the bottom line is it still happened.
So maybe we shouldn't base our notion of the good life on the ideals of any one person. The good life is something that we should define for ourselves. It is good to use the good lives of others to influence this notion, but the end result should be something that we create for ourselves. Now, many celebrities still do influence my notion of the good life. I'm still a Canucks fan, and still love to watch players like Naslund, Morrison, Linden, Ohlund, and Cooke hit the ice. In fact, i just went to a hockey game recently between the Canucks and the LA Kings at the Staples Center. And yes, these people do live good lives. Their lives are a good example of something to strive for. But they should not be something that we desire to have exactly. We should want our own good life, not the good life that they have already achieved.
But as I said, their actions are still something that can influence what I see as a good life. They are all very well off. They are professional athletes, and make much more money in a few years than most make in a lifetime. They are respected and idolized members of society, and in return they do their part to give back to the community as well. Their actions are very admirable. Many charities such as the Canucks for Kids Foundation are great examples of how these people continually give back to the community that is...well simply crazy about their Canucks. It just goes to show you that even the perfect good life is a little give and take. You get a lot out of it but it is still important that you give back in some way too. And not only do these people give back to the community, they give back to all the fans through the excitement and entertainment that they generate in every game...especially this one...(probably one of the greatest moments that any canucks fan has ever experienced) Game 7 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals. Best of 7 series...tied at 3-3. A moment that many Canucks fans will never forget.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=USNebtfY7vc&mode=related&search=
It's moments like that that explain why Canadians love their hockey. Just look at all the fans after that goal. People going nuts after a single move. To have that power over people, and to be idolized by that many...well at least I think that's a great life.
Haha hell just for fun heres one more great vid
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UAC4bq7PQ4g
For me, it is not just one celebrity that has affected my life. There are many celebrities that have influenced my notion of the good life. For me, being Canadian, many of these people were professional athletes (hockey players), namely, the Vancouver Canucks. Being from a town live Vancouver, you can't help but be a hockey fan. Canucks fans can be described as crazy, loud, passionate, and by far the greatest fans in the National Hockey League. If words don't describe this well enough, maybe statistics can. General Motors Place in Vancouver has been sold out for every single home game since November 14, 2002. The influence that movie stars and music artists have here in the United States is likely the closest equivalent to the influence of hockey in Vancouver, and throughout Canada. Though i hate to stereotype Canadians this way, it is hard to deny this fact. It's not hard to see the impact that hockey has on Canada as a whole.
And just as hockey has this affect on an entire nation, for me, individual hockey players have largely influenced my notion of the good life. Being a canucks fan over the years, you grow up idolizing the people that make the team successful. I aspired to be like many great Canucks players one day. Going back a few years, one of my favourite Canucks used to be Todd Bertuzzi. But his actions in 2004 questioned his abilities as a good role model. Words can't describe the reaction of the incident on March 8, 2004. What he did was just basically...shocking. I mean I'm not going to lie, Moore had it coming to him, but it does not justify what was to come. You can just see for yourself what took place on that day.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BFFLZQsT2AI
When someone you idolize performs an action like that, people react in different ways. Had I been younger when i first saw this happen, I may have begun to see retaliation as a right response to an immoral action. And the sad part is, to many young people who saw that game, they may have seen things this way. People idolize their role models. They want to be just like them. They aspire to be like them in every way. But when they perform an action like this, one that is morally wrong, they promote the idea that sometimes what is wrong has to be done. That is not a lesson that I would promote to be taught by any means. What he did was wrong, and though he later realized this and apologized for what he had done, the affect that he may have had on people...well the bottom line is it still happened.
So maybe we shouldn't base our notion of the good life on the ideals of any one person. The good life is something that we should define for ourselves. It is good to use the good lives of others to influence this notion, but the end result should be something that we create for ourselves. Now, many celebrities still do influence my notion of the good life. I'm still a Canucks fan, and still love to watch players like Naslund, Morrison, Linden, Ohlund, and Cooke hit the ice. In fact, i just went to a hockey game recently between the Canucks and the LA Kings at the Staples Center. And yes, these people do live good lives. Their lives are a good example of something to strive for. But they should not be something that we desire to have exactly. We should want our own good life, not the good life that they have already achieved.
But as I said, their actions are still something that can influence what I see as a good life. They are all very well off. They are professional athletes, and make much more money in a few years than most make in a lifetime. They are respected and idolized members of society, and in return they do their part to give back to the community as well. Their actions are very admirable. Many charities such as the Canucks for Kids Foundation are great examples of how these people continually give back to the community that is...well simply crazy about their Canucks. It just goes to show you that even the perfect good life is a little give and take. You get a lot out of it but it is still important that you give back in some way too. And not only do these people give back to the community, they give back to all the fans through the excitement and entertainment that they generate in every game...especially this one...(probably one of the greatest moments that any canucks fan has ever experienced) Game 7 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals. Best of 7 series...tied at 3-3. A moment that many Canucks fans will never forget.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=USNebtfY7vc&mode=related&search=
It's moments like that that explain why Canadians love their hockey. Just look at all the fans after that goal. People going nuts after a single move. To have that power over people, and to be idolized by that many...well at least I think that's a great life.
Haha hell just for fun heres one more great vid
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UAC4bq7PQ4g
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Prompt #3: What Makes an Analysis Innovative?
What does make an analysis innovative? An innovative analysis is original and unique. It gives a new insight on issues that may be commonly overlooked or ignored. It can be presented in various forms, such as poetry, music, or various other written pieces. In the cases that follow, a very different innovative analysis comes from two written works on the issue of racism.
The first of these is "Bop" by Langston Hughes. In this piece, Hughes presents his own innovative analysis through dialogue. He presents his work as a conversation between people to show the racism that existed. He speaks of how music relates to racism. This in itself is an innovative analysis on racism. It is a unique and original view of how the issue affects people in society. In the second, "How it Feels to be Colored Me" by Zora Neale Hurston, the issue of racism is thought of as ignorant and pointless. She was raised thinking that race did not matter, and never made distinctions between the different races of the world. It was not until people made this an issue that it becomes one. So why do people discriminate against one another? Refusing business to someone based on their race seems ridiculous doesn't it? I mean, business is business, no matter who you are serving. You get paid either way, don't you? This is the same in every situation in life. Why should race matter? The point is it doesn't, and all people deserve to be treated equally and fairly. These two articles are presented in very different ways, but are both powerful because of the innovative way that they analyze certain moral issues. Had they just been presented in a straight-forward manner, its effect on the reader would not be anywhere near as powerful.
The first of these is "Bop" by Langston Hughes. In this piece, Hughes presents his own innovative analysis through dialogue. He presents his work as a conversation between people to show the racism that existed. He speaks of how music relates to racism. This in itself is an innovative analysis on racism. It is a unique and original view of how the issue affects people in society. In the second, "How it Feels to be Colored Me" by Zora Neale Hurston, the issue of racism is thought of as ignorant and pointless. She was raised thinking that race did not matter, and never made distinctions between the different races of the world. It was not until people made this an issue that it becomes one. So why do people discriminate against one another? Refusing business to someone based on their race seems ridiculous doesn't it? I mean, business is business, no matter who you are serving. You get paid either way, don't you? This is the same in every situation in life. Why should race matter? The point is it doesn't, and all people deserve to be treated equally and fairly. These two articles are presented in very different ways, but are both powerful because of the innovative way that they analyze certain moral issues. Had they just been presented in a straight-forward manner, its effect on the reader would not be anywhere near as powerful.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Prompt #2: What does the individual owe the community? And vice versa?
Communities are comprised of individuals, and one cannot exist without the other. Without individuals, there would be no people to make up the community, and without communities, the individual would cease to exist, as we live in an environment where people rely heavily on others to survive. So the community owes the individual a lot, and vice versa. Today in our society, one is so reliant on the other. The indivudual owes the community much, as it provides a safe environment, friendship, and protection to the individual. The community owes the individual much as it cannot exist without the individual.
Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail provides an insight in the struggles within communities that existed as a result of racism and segregation between races in the past. He speaks of the necessity for action (non-violent action) against the racism that existed in the south. Much of his letter speaks of the difference between what is right and what is wrong, between just laws and unjust laws. He explains how if one is prepared to act against unjust laws, he must also be prepared to live with the consequences of breaking this law. He also explains how non-violent action can effectively lead to the goals he wished to pursue. Cases such as this show how the community owes much to the individual. In the past, segregation and racism were a very common thing. People of different races were treated as inferior to white people. After years of separation and of suffering, the community owes much reparation to those who suffered in the past. These people suffered for their rights of equality and fairness, and many were beaten and killed in the process. As a result, now that they have achieved the equality they deserve, reparations are due for what they went through in the past.
Maxine Hong Kingston's No Name Woman also speaks much of how the community owes the individual. This document tells the story of a woman who becomes pregnant by another man when her husband is away. As a result of this, the night that the woman is to give birth, the community destroys her family's home and everything they own. The next day, the woman is found to have committed suicide along with the baby. As a result of this action, the community should owe much to this family. They pushed a woman over the edge for a mistake that she knew that she had made, and lost her life because of it. The woman lost her life, and her family lost everything else. The community caused suffering to her family more than her. Her family had to witness the loss of a member, and the destruction of their home, while the woman took the "easy way out" and escaped all the hardships to come by killing herself. The community had no right to destroy this family because of the actions of one person, and thus, this community owes much to this suffering family.
But the individual, too, owes much to the community. I know this from my own life experiences. I used to come home to my neighborhood in Vancouver every day, knowing that I am in a safe place. The people within my community made things this way. I would never have a fear of walking home alone at night, or wandering the streets at random times in the day. I know that people are there who would take some action or at least call the police at the sight of any danger. This feeling of safety and protection is all because of the community in which i lived. I owe them much, as they have made my life easier and more convenient. They have protected me and made me feel safe at home throughout my whole life.
Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail provides an insight in the struggles within communities that existed as a result of racism and segregation between races in the past. He speaks of the necessity for action (non-violent action) against the racism that existed in the south. Much of his letter speaks of the difference between what is right and what is wrong, between just laws and unjust laws. He explains how if one is prepared to act against unjust laws, he must also be prepared to live with the consequences of breaking this law. He also explains how non-violent action can effectively lead to the goals he wished to pursue. Cases such as this show how the community owes much to the individual. In the past, segregation and racism were a very common thing. People of different races were treated as inferior to white people. After years of separation and of suffering, the community owes much reparation to those who suffered in the past. These people suffered for their rights of equality and fairness, and many were beaten and killed in the process. As a result, now that they have achieved the equality they deserve, reparations are due for what they went through in the past.
Maxine Hong Kingston's No Name Woman also speaks much of how the community owes the individual. This document tells the story of a woman who becomes pregnant by another man when her husband is away. As a result of this, the night that the woman is to give birth, the community destroys her family's home and everything they own. The next day, the woman is found to have committed suicide along with the baby. As a result of this action, the community should owe much to this family. They pushed a woman over the edge for a mistake that she knew that she had made, and lost her life because of it. The woman lost her life, and her family lost everything else. The community caused suffering to her family more than her. Her family had to witness the loss of a member, and the destruction of their home, while the woman took the "easy way out" and escaped all the hardships to come by killing herself. The community had no right to destroy this family because of the actions of one person, and thus, this community owes much to this suffering family.
But the individual, too, owes much to the community. I know this from my own life experiences. I used to come home to my neighborhood in Vancouver every day, knowing that I am in a safe place. The people within my community made things this way. I would never have a fear of walking home alone at night, or wandering the streets at random times in the day. I know that people are there who would take some action or at least call the police at the sight of any danger. This feeling of safety and protection is all because of the community in which i lived. I owe them much, as they have made my life easier and more convenient. They have protected me and made me feel safe at home throughout my whole life.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Prompt #1: Can and Should One Live the Unquestioned Life?
What is the unquestioned life? It is simply a life of conformity. It is a life of following instructions, doing what you are told is right, and following what others believe in. To an extent, many people live this life, at some time or another. At childhood we follow what our parents tell us to do. Most people grow up living the ideals of those who raised them. They follow the same faith practices and have the same beliefs as their parents. We act and dress the way that they tell us to, because, well, when we're that young we don't really have much of a choice. But there comes a point in our life when we should begin to question everything that we once believed in and followed. If we fail to do this, we will always live the unquestioned life.
Many people do live the unquestioned life. They basically stand by what they are told to believe from childhood, or do what everyone else around them does. These people are more of "followers" than "leaders." They follow all the present trends and styles in hopes that what they have will be universally accepted by everyone. These people want acceptance more than individuality, and I believe that this is the wrong way for any person to live their lives.
There comes a point in every person's life where they need to leave what they learned in childhood behind and define their own life. They need to question everything, including what they were told to be true and never to question. From personal experience, I learned that questioning my own faith has deepened my understanding and appreciation for what I believe in. There came a point in my life where I basically had to break down any preconceptions that I had believed since childhood and figure out for myself what I really wanted to believe in. This was true for everything in my life, not just religion. From faith to fashion sense, I basically redefined the person that I am by analyzing my own personal thoughts, not the thoughts of my parents or the people around me.
My life experience has taken me away from living the unquestioned life. From childhood, I was born and raised a Catholic. I attended a private catholic elementary, middle, and high school. Part of the religious education curriculum I was required to study included different faiths and practices other than Catholicism. Through all the years of high school, I continued to believe in my faith, but never questioned why. This remained the same until one year in high school, my teacher questioned everything I believed in. Some of the questions he asked everyone included...
What faith do you practice?
Why do you practice this faith?
Do you really believe in this?
Why do we believe in this?
Is it because our parents told us to?
Or is it because we choose to?
Basically through this, what we learned was that eventually, at some point, we need to forget everything we were told to believe and understand it before we believe it ourselves. We should not live a life of conformity. We are defined as people by the lives we live, by the actions we take. It is not who we are underneath, but what we do that defines us (yeah OK I stole that line from the movie Batman Begins =P). By following all the trends and fads of other people, we are defining ourselves as these other people, not who we are.
Since this realization in my life, I have not lived a life of conformity. To be honest, I live my own life and could care less what people think about me. For example, I know that there was a time when doing things such as wearing pink clothing could label a man as "homosexual." But eventually it became a popular fashion among men. I'm not ashamed and can honestly say that I was wearing pink long before it became popular. And things like IPods have become so popular among teenagers and youth around the world. This is another thing that I have never conformed to. Last time I checked, my old MP3 player was good enough. I mean, there are not many people who can even say that they've completely filled their IPods with music. So if you don't need that much space, why get it? Just because everyone else has one? It seems meaningless and pointless doesn't it?
We should not be living the unquestioned life. Conformity prevents us from expressing who we really are. We need to define for ourselves our own beliefs. We need to find our own preferences and not follow what the "norm" is. We make the most out of OUR lives by living OUR lives, not the lives that other people think is right for us.
Many people do live the unquestioned life. They basically stand by what they are told to believe from childhood, or do what everyone else around them does. These people are more of "followers" than "leaders." They follow all the present trends and styles in hopes that what they have will be universally accepted by everyone. These people want acceptance more than individuality, and I believe that this is the wrong way for any person to live their lives.
There comes a point in every person's life where they need to leave what they learned in childhood behind and define their own life. They need to question everything, including what they were told to be true and never to question. From personal experience, I learned that questioning my own faith has deepened my understanding and appreciation for what I believe in. There came a point in my life where I basically had to break down any preconceptions that I had believed since childhood and figure out for myself what I really wanted to believe in. This was true for everything in my life, not just religion. From faith to fashion sense, I basically redefined the person that I am by analyzing my own personal thoughts, not the thoughts of my parents or the people around me.
My life experience has taken me away from living the unquestioned life. From childhood, I was born and raised a Catholic. I attended a private catholic elementary, middle, and high school. Part of the religious education curriculum I was required to study included different faiths and practices other than Catholicism. Through all the years of high school, I continued to believe in my faith, but never questioned why. This remained the same until one year in high school, my teacher questioned everything I believed in. Some of the questions he asked everyone included...
What faith do you practice?
Why do you practice this faith?
Do you really believe in this?
Why do we believe in this?
Is it because our parents told us to?
Or is it because we choose to?
Basically through this, what we learned was that eventually, at some point, we need to forget everything we were told to believe and understand it before we believe it ourselves. We should not live a life of conformity. We are defined as people by the lives we live, by the actions we take. It is not who we are underneath, but what we do that defines us (yeah OK I stole that line from the movie Batman Begins =P). By following all the trends and fads of other people, we are defining ourselves as these other people, not who we are.
Since this realization in my life, I have not lived a life of conformity. To be honest, I live my own life and could care less what people think about me. For example, I know that there was a time when doing things such as wearing pink clothing could label a man as "homosexual." But eventually it became a popular fashion among men. I'm not ashamed and can honestly say that I was wearing pink long before it became popular. And things like IPods have become so popular among teenagers and youth around the world. This is another thing that I have never conformed to. Last time I checked, my old MP3 player was good enough. I mean, there are not many people who can even say that they've completely filled their IPods with music. So if you don't need that much space, why get it? Just because everyone else has one? It seems meaningless and pointless doesn't it?
We should not be living the unquestioned life. Conformity prevents us from expressing who we really are. We need to define for ourselves our own beliefs. We need to find our own preferences and not follow what the "norm" is. We make the most out of OUR lives by living OUR lives, not the lives that other people think is right for us.
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
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