SWM #6

HATE:

Hate is such a petty thing. It's used by those who are defeated. To hate someone or something is to admit that it/they have beaten you. It doesn't matter if you lost the game, if you played your hardest, they didn't defeat you. It's those who don't and those are bitter who sink to HATE. Hate is ridiculously childish, and if you choose to hate anyone/anything, you are done. You cannot redeem yourself from that position. And it shows how weak you truly are. I choose not hate. I may dislike things or people, but I will never use the word hate, because I will never let anyone beat me. Not even myself.

SWM #5

GROWING UP:

A bit of a redundant statement, but it's true. Life will throw you through a loop and it will beat you down and bring you up. If you're ready for it, life is an exciting adventure, if you aren't, it's a terrifying challenge. Growing up is what prepares you for the rest of your life. You start as a young child and hopefully by the time you are ready to join society as a fully functioning member of society, you are ready. I know that my growing up has made me ready, and life can come hit me full force. Bring it on.

SWM #4

ME:

Anyone who knows me, will tell you that I am a very over the top individual and very loud, but also very in depth. I have always prided myself on being my own person, and not caring what others say about me or think about me. I mean, yes, obviously, things people think, do, and say, in my general direction, make me think about what was thought, done, or said, but I don't let it bother me. If you don't like me, that's not my problem, it's your's. I am Me. Here I Am.

SWM #3

THE FUTURE:

This may seem like a weird statement, but it's the truth. And it's not just on a physical, "Everyone's-going-to-be-wearing-suits-cuz-I'm-going-into-business" but also as a metaphorical, "Everyone-is-different-and-fit-into-different-suits" sort of way. Like I said I plan on pursuing a career in the business field (my back up being law), so I will be wearing suits. Everyone around me will be wearing suits, and therefore my future is full of suits. On a more literary level, like I said everyone is different, but everyone tends to fit into their own separate suits. Be it a class, or way of life, everyone is in different suits.

SWM #2

FAMILY:

To me family is everything. My real family (Parents, Brothers, etc.) are important to me. But my other family(s) are my life. Athletics have been important to me for my entire my life. My teams in the past have been close to me, but this year my football team became brothers to me in a way that I cannot even fathom. The entire team of course was close, but the seniors on the team all became brothers. Even though we didn't go all the way this year, it really brought us together and brought us to tears in the end when it was over. I know that the boys will always be there for each other.

SWM #1

CONFESSION:

For my confession, even though it seems like a comical picture, it's a legitimate confession. I have always been extremely picky, something that has been the subject of ridicule and mockery, from friends, family, and even strangers at restaurants. I've been trying hard to not be so picky, but it's a slow and steady process. From a young age, my mom didn't enforce the need to eat healthy, or even eat what she had prepared, or what dad prepared. This led to me being extremely picky. I am trying to change, but it's hard. It's something that bothers me, and that is my confession.

OH! The Humanity

OH! The Humanity!

            Wake up. Get out of bed. What time is it? 8:30, ok, time to get ready for the day. Clothes on, no wait. I have to shower, always shower, humans need to be clean, they always make a huge deal about it.

            Oh jeez, I should probably mention, I’m not a human. I’m what the humans would call an alien I guess. I’m from the planet Klapork, and I am a Thrastfoff. My name is Gorr, however my human name is John Smith. I came here on a science trip of sorts, well more like a research trip. I’m not here to invade, no that’d be very hard with just me. But I am here to see what the humans are like. How they act. And I, disguised as one of their own, am here to assimilate into the population so as to set a landing spot for my brothers on my home planet to head the actual invasion. I know, it sounds a little harsh, coming here fitting in, and then back stabbing everyone I ever met to help my race take over, but that’s how it goes in this type of deal.

            Anyway, today’s a big day! I have a job interview at a law firm. I spent all night studying to be a lawyer on Earth, and I feel as though I have a good grasp on the concept. I’m going to head out soon, but first, breakfast. In the fridge, all of my roommate’s food, however in my room, my food. I have Ylkf, a traditional dish made with a bird like creature from my home planet, Tiuy, a kind of spread that we distill from the guts of Gtad (a dog like creature). And finally, WonderBread, because this Earth bread is absolutely delicious. But I’m almost out, I must remember to shop after my interview. After my sandwich, I get dressed, and look in the mirror to see how I look. How vain these humans are. All they care about is how good someone looks, not the merit of their personality. But if I am to fit in with them, I must act and look like the best of them.

            My roommate Jerry is sitting on the couch as I walk through the living room. “Catch the game last night?” I ask him, just as I had seen a man do on a television show the other night.

            “What game?” he replied. Damn I’m going to have to think of who could have played.

            “Uh… The Jets?” I almost asked myself.

            “Oh, no. I didn’t know they were playing.” He said to himself, “Where are you going, dressed all spiffy?”

            “I have a job interview,” I started in, “at Thomas Dorfman Law Firm today.”

            “Oh nice! Hey listen,” he was about to drop a bombshell, I know it, “I was in your room the other day trying to find what was causing the apartment to smell funk, and I noticed some strange looking stuff. Any insight to what it may have been?”

            My mind was blank. What would it look like? What human food would it look like? “You found it?” I mused.

            “Yeah obviously, what is it?” he’s getting too close.

            “I don’t know, but I’ve been trying to find what that smell was for days. Thanks for the help!” I said quickly.

            I don’t know if he bought it necessarily, but I think I saved myself. Anyway, I can’t dwell on it, I have to go to the interview.

            Off I went to the bus stop. I’m not used to the streets being so empty. On my planet there are people walking around everywhere. It’s part of the reason we’re coming to Earth. More space. It still feels so empty, even though these people think it’s so crowded.

            I feel weird about how Jerry reacted this morning. I know I said I couldn’t dwell on it, but I mean what if he had found out? I’m not scared because he’d know I was an alien, but I have grown to like Jerry, and I feel as though him finding out I was different would make him hate me. Not to mention the fact that I would probably be executed, but I guess that sense of belonging comes with humanity. But enough about feelings, I need to focus.

            The bus. I have to take the bus. I don’t know what to expect. I’ve never been on one of these things before, and the people here are so weird. As I get on I notice a man looking at me, sizing me up. I’m not sure if he does this to everyone he sees or if he just thinks I’m going to cause him trouble. Either way, I’ll sit far away from him. It’s not bad on this thing, not bad at all. The driver jolted the bus forward as an old man was walking down the aisle.

            “Excuse me,” I said to the driver, “That man hadn’t sat down yet.”

            “So?” he asked distainfully, “Listen bud, I have to make it to the next stop on time with the schedule, so if one person gets a little jostled by the bus, it ain’t my fault.”

            What an idiot, he could have seriously injured that man. But as I turned to sit, I noticed everyone was staring at me, even the old man. And they weren’t warm, “You did the right thing” stares, they were, “What the hell’s your problem” stares. Was what I did weird? Was it wrong? I may have just gave everything away.

            As soon as I got to my stop, I got up and out of the bus and started walking to the office. It wasn’t for a couple steps until I realized I was being followed. The guy. The one who was sizing me up on the bus. What did he want? Should I turn around to talk to him or-

            “Hey pal, wait up.” He yelled to me.

            “Sorry man, I have to keep going,” I said trying to hide the fear in my voice, “important meeting to get to.”

            “I gotta ask you something though,” he said running after me.

            He’s going to attack me, I know he is. I stopped and braced myself for the fight to come.

            “Hey, aren’t you that guy I met at the store the other day?” he asked as I recoiled from my position, “You left your wallet on the counter.”

            My God, I can’t believe I thought the worst of this man. Greg or John or Bob or something, whatever the name, he had done a kind act. I am guilty of judgement now.

            That’s when I realized it, we are all human. Whether we are alien or from a different country, we are all human, it doesn’t matter if we fit in, or if we stand out, as long as we are who we are, we are all human, and capable of compassion. That’s it. I can’t believe it took me this long to realize it. And even though I have to bring back my information to my superiors, and we’re going to invade Earth, I think we’ll have more appreciation and understanding of humans as a species.

            This is Gorr, I am John Smith, I am alien, and I am Human. But most of all, I am me.

Now I forgot about the social media aspect of this project, but I can assure you John Smith will be tweeting heavily all night and all weekend to fill the requirement.

You can follow John at @JSmithHuman on twitter.

Buried Life Project

Here's the full list

  1.       Juggle 5 objects

  2.       Travel to Ireland

  3.       Travel to Brasil

  4.       Go bungee jumping

  5.       Change someone’s life for the better

  6.       Graduate Highschool

  7.       Get a university degree

  8.       Play Men’s club rugby next year

  9.       Camp for 2-3 months with nothing but a tent and bare essentials.

  10.   See a Broadway show

  11.   Learn how to longboard well

  12.   Streak a sporting event

  13.   Get thrown out of a store

  14.   Buy a car

  15.   Meet The Rock

  16.   Meet Joe Rogan

  17.   Meet Quentin “Rampage” Jackson

  18.   Learn a new language (Not Just French)

  19.   Meet Quentin Tarantino

  20.   Go to SNL and be in the audience

  21.   Be on SNL

  22.   Learn how to tramp wall

  23.   Learn how to do a backflip without a trampoline

  24.   Eat healthier

  25.   Deadlift 500 pounds

  26.   See AC/DC again

  27.   Go to Tomorrowland

  28.   Visit Norway

  29.   Go see a Grey Cup

  30.   Go see a Super Bowl

  31.   Go to FIFA

  32.   Go to a UFC fight in Vegas

  33.   Go to Vegas

  34.   Go to a Wrestlemania event

  35.   Go to Cuba

  36.   Wear a suit to work everyday

  37.   Make 6 figures

  38.   Go to Mardi Gras

  39.   See the Book of Mormon live.

  40.   Go wingsuiting

  41.   Crowd surf at a concert

  42.   Mosh at a concert

  43.   Be a part of a flash mob

  44.   Be a better student

  45.   Get married

  46.   Meet Barack Obama

  47.   Swim with sharks

  48.   Be in a movie

  49.   Go to Carivale

  50.   Become YouTube famous

  Now what? I have a couple of now whats. One is to get back to deadlifting 500 pounds. I used to be able to, but as I broke my arm wrestling, I lost the ability to do so. I miss the amazing feeling of being able to lift half a ton, and I really want it back. I've been working back to it slowly, and hopefully by the end of next year I will be there, but it's a slow and steady and process.

  Second thing is long boarding. I spent a couple of days trying to learn how, and am slowly getting better, I want to spend the summer getting better and trying to learn!

  Third and final thing is going to Cuba. My oldest brother, Rob, and I have been planning since last year to go to Veraderos, Cuba this December, and now that I'm back to work, I can start saving money to do just this! 

  -Ben

         Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRHc-YBEHQc&feature=youtu.be&safe=active

I'm still alive.

Hello to the internet, yes I'm still alive.
It's been a while my friend, rest assured I have survived.
Busy have I been of late,
For graduation falls on my plate.
I've been away from you for many weeks
And now it's time for me at last to speak.
A few assignments I have yet to submit,
Before weeks end I will accomplish it.
To do these tasks I've been burdened with,
Grant me speed, so I may be swift.
A poem, I didn't intend to write,
But in my faults, there is always light.
Forgive me, for my procrastination-
And see it not as depreciation
Of works you've given to me,
But as time for them to grow as a tree-
Grows from the ground,
On my blog the projects shall be found.
By: Ben McMahon

To any and all who are reading this, I have been very busy, and have not had the time to post my assignments for my creative writing class. I feel very ashamed that I've let this class slip from my grasp in the last few weeks, but as my story tells I have a heavy load the next few weeks. However, this is no excuse to not have stuff in, Ms. McLauchlan if you're reading this I'm sorry, and I will have all of my assignments in by the end of the week. Promise.

-Ben

New Places. New Stories.

It's crazy how life works isn't it? My life has been a weird kind of hell for the last year or so. I mean, I was captain of a team that should have gone all the way to finals, I had to drop out of a musical I had the lead in, I broke my arm and had to stop working and wrestling due to the fact. It hasn't been great, but then out of the blue, it can all change. I mean I'll never get back to the amazing season I had with my brothers on the football team, but it was awesome while it lasted! I won't get back this last season of wrestling, but heck I can wrestle again, and my job, thank god for the Union. No the whole "I'm down on my luck" mentality is all self imposed. I stopped to look around at my life the other day and I said, "Why am I down?" I got a chance to be a lead in a musical with a different production, on an audition I was soooooo unprepared for, and I get to work again. I can play sports in the future, as long as I keep up with physio. So yeah, I shouldn't be down on myself.

The "New Places. New Stories." part starts now, just as an fwi. The musical I got the lead in is Shrek the Musical, which was the show I was originally supposed to be a part of. So when I got the call telling me I was a lead, I was ecstatic! I had heard that at the place I was auditioning for, your first time you had to be in the chorus, so I was super optimistic about my chances. When I talked to the director after, he told me that I was the best fit for the role, so that was a huge pat on the back. But I didn't really let it hit me until last Tuesday. Last Tuesday was my first rehearsal and I realized that there was going to be about 40 people that I'd never met before, who for the most part already new each other. Some of which I had "stolen" the lead from. I had to make friends with all these people, and I still have to act like this is my show. I didn't know what to expect, but I think it's going to all work out well. Which is awesome! I just think it's weird how all of a sudden you can be a new situation that's completely alien to you, but then. That's life.

Solitary Confinement- Short Story Writing

(1) What did you do/write/create today?

(2) What did you learn (About yourself, your story, your writing, etc.)

1) I started writing my story outline. I find it hard to just start writing, so I took today's class to start figuring out what was going to be in it. I'm not going to give away my theme or idea, because it's going to be a surprise for everyone, however I will tell you what I accomplished. I came up with the main idea for the story, the sort of story it's going to be (a funny one) and started working on characters and plot. I feel like it's going to be a fun story to write and I hope it's going to be a fun one to read.

2) During the writing process today I learned that apparently I fixate on one thing too much. I started with an idea that I'd just go with a mystery because it would be comfortable, but I told myself, "Hell no! Push yourself!" So I threw out my original idea which I think would've end up being crap and decided to go for a light hearted, yet funny and interesting story. I found out that I need to write more, because it's been a while since I have, and the creative process is taking longer than anticipated. I feel like as I write the story will evolve into an interesting piece, simply because I've never done a funny story before. But I'm excited!

So What

http://io9.com/concept-art-writing-prompt-creating-a-god-1503062646

Creating a god. I feel like the creator of this image wanted to show how much we rely on technology these days. No one is created different not even "God".

But if you can break away from all the technology, you can be yourself.

TEDx Fort Garry

So I meant to post this on Wednesday or Thursday, but I never got the opportunity. On Wednesday, a group of us went to watch a group of youths from around Manitoba do TED Talks. It was a really cool experience and there were some great presenters. One that comes to mind just off the top of my head was a guy named Nereo the II. He was guy who had given up a "real" job to pursue what made him truly happy, spoken word poetry and art. He told us about coming back from a rap battle in Cincinnati, Ohio and getting arrested at the US/Canada border for having drugs on his person. He got taken to court here in Winnipeg and as he was pleading his case the judge found out that he did spoken word, and said, "Go ahead, do some" and so Nereo did the same spoken word for us as he did for the judge. And the judge threw out the case. Why? Well it turned out that he was a director on the board of Rainbow Stage (A semi professional musical theatre group in Winnipeg) and seeing Nereo do that spoken word reminded him of a good time when the arts was a huge part of his life. Well Nereo took that and went with it, but he didn't stay out of trouble that long. Five years later or so, he got caught spray painting a cop car. They brought him in to do some questioning, and as the officers questioned him and demanded to know what he was thinking, he did another spoken word. And the arresting officer looked at him and said that he had wished they had met somewhere else, and that art was something Nereo should pursue, not vandalizing. So he did. He start a group for artists and had one of his students come out to do a spoken word, and finally he did one last spoken word for us to end the speech on a super high note. I'd give his performance a 4/5.

Another great presenter was Chris Voth. He is the first openly gay National level volleyball player. And he talked to us about all that, and how he had transformed into the man he is today. I don't remember all the little details of his speech, but it was very passionate and very very good. The theme of this whole event was "Transformers" so all of the speeches had something to do with change or growth, but some didn't necessarily hit the intended mark. There were a couple who just didn't know how to put what they were saying into a way that was positive for the audience, but I know first hand how hard it is to be on stage in front of strangers, so I applaud every presenter's effort.

The entire day was awesome, and I would recommend to anyone to go see a TED event if you ever get the opportunity, because they are phenomenal!

-Ben

Quick Write- Best|Worst Meal

The worst meal, saving best for last, would smell like a burnt, salty and putrid smelling piece of rotten gym socks. It would have all that combined with the smells of sweat and even blood and dirt. It would taste exactly as it smells.

Alternately the best meal would smell like a light airy pastry stuffed with chocolate and stuff. It would taste like a thick juicy steak, and have the after taste of a tall glass of Coca-Cola.

Quick Write- Eden

My Eden. I haven't really thought about what it would be, but I suppose it would have to be big. Expansive actually, a place that is seemingly endless and every step you discover something new, something extraordinary. And right in the middle, because you'd eventually want to return somewhere familiar, there'd be a house. A small one story house, but as you stepped in it the floor would drop out and you'd see that it was several stories underground. You'd have two options to descend and ascend, and that'd be an elevator or you could climb. At the bottom there would be a room so big you'd think you were in a mansion, and in that room would be everything you need to live. From food to clothes. Now right now I've painted a picture that shows an individual in their house, but there would be millions of people all with their own houses and everyone would have their needs met. No government, because I think that it's a bit of a stupid policy, but everyone lived by a set of rules that were essentially common sense, and everyone policed their own issues. It would be nice.

Skype Reflection

Today we skyped with the grade 3's from Thompson. I thought a lot of stuff went well. We all delivered our procedural writings with ease and comfort and the grade 3's were all very into it. I think that slurping with the grade 3's is awesome because it shows how much we can teach them and how much they've taught us. They have some awesome thoughts about life because they're so young and it's really refreshing to talk to them. With graduation looming it's nice to think that we were there just 9 years ago.

-Ben

The Big Band Dance

So this last Saturday was the Big Band Dance! For those who don't know what the Big Band Dance is, it's an opportunity for people to come out and dance to the music of the jazz bands from the school. It's an awesome night! And I was lucky enough to perform for my 4 years at Sturg. Last Saturday was no exception. I had a blast singing 1st Soul Man by The Blues Brothers with my friend Sammy, and second Smooth by Carlos Santana feat. Rob Thomas. It was an amazing experience as always, but a bit bittersweet seeing as it was my last performance with the school. I'll always remember my times performing at the Big Band Dance and will hold them very dear in my heart for years to come.

-Ben

How to Watch a Scary Movie

Step 1:

Find a scary movies and some friends

Step 2:

Turn off the lights and get ready (I.e. Get some popcorn and some drinks, and if you need a blankie)

Step 3:

Start the movie.

Step 4:

Get the main plot points, so you can understand the story.

Step 5:

If you get scared, cover your face and try not scream.

Step 6:

Once the movie's over, make your friends swear they won't tell anyone you got scared.

Step 7:

Try to sleep! Good luck ;)

As A Canadian...

I can definitely attest to this fact.

Even though I hate to embrace stereotypes, this one really hits the mark. I don't know what it is about being Canadian, but we're just so dang polite. I guess that's just what we're all aboot though, Timmies and being polite and maple syrup eh?

IGNITE Presentation

Well, I finally did it! Finally got my IGNITE presentation done and presented! I mean I had a fun time doing it and everything, but after a while you'll want anything to be over and done with. I think I did a good job of the speech, and the slides were, at least to me, entertaining and related well to my presentation. If you weren't there to see it, it was on Stage Fright and how to overcome it. I talked about some tricks to beat it and even used a couple personal examples. I had a great presenting it and I feel like a lot if my class had a good time listening to it. I wish I had recorded it so I could put it here on my blog, but maybe next time.

Anyway, I look forward to my future endeavours in Creative Writing and can't wait to share them with you!

-Ben

Oh What A Day!

You ever have those whirl wind kind of days? You know? The kind that you just want to get home and relax? Well that was today. I got up and I felt like, "Why the hell do I have to go to school today?" Looking at me was a Physics test I really wasn't ready for among other things. I just sort of wanted to call in sick. I was a little pessimistic, to say the least, when I got to school this morning, but I pushed on. I got through math class, and found out I have for the next 3 days a quiz, another quiz, and then a test. Oh and guess what!?!? Test again Monday. Lucky me right? Well anyway, after that, I went to do some last minute studying for physics, but I didn't get far, as my football/wrestling/rugby coach wanted me to help him put posters up around the school detailing practice times for the next month or so. So by the time it was time for me to write my test at lunch, I wasn't looking for it at all. As soon as I handed it in, I had the worst feeling about my performance on it. But I had to sit for about 50 minutes doing classwork until it was marked. When I got it back and saw that I'd beaten a couple of people with my mark I certainly chippered up a bit. Granted I only got 18/31. But that's a silver lining for sure! But then I had my IGNITE presentation to do still in Creative Writing. Jeez I was nervous, even though that's what my presentation addresses, yenno, stage fright. But guess what?!?! I didn't have to do it. I get until tomorrow. SO I guess today wasn't that bad, but over all I'm just glad it's almost done! But then I guess it could've been worse!

-Ben

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0USwOa3vdjdNlk1WEsyYWFocXc/edit?usp=sharing

So this is the slideshow for my IGNITE presentation. I had a bit of an interesting time getting it all ready due to illnesses and family obligations, but in the end I pulled it together. Well almost. I tried and tried, but for the life of me couldn't figure out how to get the proper photo credits on the pictures. But luckily Ms. McLauchlan's letting us put the photo credits here.

So here they are:

1-3 are various themes I found on Keynote for my presentation.

4 is a picture taken by myself (Ben McMahon) after a production of Guys and Dolls at CSHC.

5 another picture I took of a program I had from a Ukrainian Dance Festival

6-20 are from a site called Shutterstock 

http://www.shutterstock.com/?gclid=CJf7_dCx8r0CFYtDMgodLFEA9A

And that should more than cover me for where my photos came from.

-Ben

Mid Semester Reflection

Mid Semester Reflection

1.       Six Word Memoirs:

So the first thing I’m going to say is that my six word memoirs still aren’t up on my blog. That’s simply due to the fact that there was a lot of different things going on in my life (breaking my arm, some technical issues, and family complications).  I’m very close to putting them up on my blog, they’re all mostly done, and I’m excited to display them for the world to see. I thought that overall, other than delays, it went well.  It was fun finding all the pictures and relating them to a certain theme and how that brought certain feelings into the process. Some things that could’ve used some work, firstly, getting them onto my blog sooner (obviously), but other than that, I think it well, like I already said. There’s one thing I learnt about myself from doing this, I attach memories and emotions to certain events, and seeing a picture and writing those six words on it brings all those feelings and memories back. It was awesome!

A mark for this that I will try and resolve A.S.A.P. is Incomplete, just because they aren’t on my blog yet.

2.       IGNITE Presentations:

Again. I haven’t presented. I was sick for the past couple of weeks which pushed back me being able to present, which is really unfortunate. Why? Because I love public speaking and presenting things! So I’m really anxious to present. But I really liked doing this speech. It was easy to write, and the element of a visual aid along with it really made it fun. Everything is ready to go, I just haven’t presented yet. The one thing I think that could’ve used improvement probably would be just to have come up with a topic sooner than I did, because I spent the last half of spring break being able to finally write a speech, because I had no idea what to write about. I wasn’t a huge fan of the fact we were restricted not only by the five minutes to present but that the slides changed every 15 seconds. But I made it work! I already knew what I was going to experience during this assignment, because I’ve done speeches so many times, but it was still fun.

For now my mark on this is incomplete, but Tuesday that will all change!

3. Blogging

            So I haven’t really had a lot of time to do that much blogging this year, which I do actually regret. I have posted most of my assignments on my blog on time, but as for personal reflections, not so good there. I plan on posting more personal articles on here and let people know what’s happening in my life. As for posting on other classmates blog’s, well that too could be better. I mean I have left the odd comment here and there on others blog’s, but I think I’ll try to start visiting other blogs more often, because a lot of my fellow chums and chummettes in class are very interesting. So I have set myself a goal. Blog more!

My Mark for this would be a B-.

4. Communicating and Interacting

            Well this section’s a breeze of fresh air for me. Looking at my reflection, I see a lot of aspects I need to change about my online participation. But when it comes to this part, I have no worries. I’ve always been a talkative guy, and love participating in groups and stuff like that. So my participation in class is always up. I’m always willing to share and I think I usually have something interesting to say. When it comes to Skyping with the kids from Thompson I’m always there to give my two cents and even show off some juggling.

So for this section I’m going to give myself an A+!!!

5. My Three Course Related Goals

            Well aside from all the personal improvements I want to make in regards to my work, I’d definitely like to more blogging for one. It’s lots of fun, and I think that there’s a possibility that someone might want to read what I have to say. Secondly, I’d like to be able to get all my assignments in, in a prompt and quick fashion. And finally, I’d like to be able to raise my mark a little bit, I mean it’d look good to have a 90+ mark, so I’m going to work my butt off to get that.

Quick Write- Perfect Playground (UltraFunland)

Quick Write 1- Inside a Teenager's Brain (inside my brain)

Skype Reflection

       1. The mini-lesson myself and my group presented was on the subject of punctuation. The way we made it stick in the kids minds’ was by using expressive language and tones of voice to keep them interested, and also by using the metaphor of a traffic light to express what each type of punctuation was used for.

       2. I feel like, for my part, the lesson went quite well. The kids were very much into the lesson and seemed to enjoy the topic and use of visual aids. Some strengths would be my stage presence and use of enthusiasm. Some weaknesses, the Skype connection strength seemed to wane at times and actually cut out once, other than that, we had a flawless presentation.

       3. I learnt that sometimes you have to slow down and understand that not everyone understands a concept in order to teach it well. As a high school student trying to educate elementary school students I learnt that they have a rather short attention span, and that you need to keep them interested to get anything across, but in the end it’s a very enjoyable experience.

         4. I think that next time, they should teach us something. Something we might not know or may have forgotten, something only lively 8 year olds would know.

My 3 comments

This post was on Tom's Blog and it was about the Academy Awards and not having gotten to see all the nominated films:

"I'm aware the Awards are done and there was quite a controversy (at least for me) with Gravity winning all those awards, but like yourself I also slacked off on seeing a lot of the nominated films, but now, after the awards I've been taking some time to see them one by one."

The following is one I posted on a small blurb on Xavier's blog, it is in fact about a double cheeseburger:

"I'd like to put in my two cents if that's all good here. What you have in a single word is Beauty, elegance, and amazing. I am envious of this post and how much it makes your blog more deliciously entertaining, hats off to you Mr. Chacon hats off indeed."

The final post I have for this comment section is from Alysha's blog, and it deals with the subject of growing up, something that I'm sure speaks to everyone:

"It's funny how by the end of grade school everyone has thought and thought about this exact thing. Growing up. I don't think any of us realize that we actually are until we stop and say, "Hey I'm almost 18," or, "Jeez I'm going to university next year." But like you said it doesn't need to be a scary thing, yet people find a way to make it terrifying, I know personally I just think of it as the next big thing and hey, by the time I post this comment I'll be older than I was when I started writing it, more mature, wiser, who knows? But that's what's great about growing up, you get to experience so many new things!"

As always thanks for reading!

-Ben

P.S. The links for the blogs are as follows:

http://tomsmovietalk.blogspot.ca

http://xchacon.blogspot.ca

http://alyshacho.blogspot.ca

Those are listed in order of the comments above.

Quick Write 3- New Beginnings

As I look at this image I think to myself what can you change? What can any of us change in our everyday lives. And the answers are endless. There isn't a thing about you you can't change. An example of personal and outward change I can think of from the past year would be in football. My team suffered heavy losses the last year. 0-7 to be exact. So knowing I had a captain's spot on the team I took it upon myself to better myself mentally and physically in the off season. I knew I couldn't force the team to change, it wasn't about that. It was about making myself a machine that had one goal for the season. Win. Now by win go don't mean defeat others. I mean triumph personally, so that at the end of the day I could look in the mirror and say I was proud. I spent the summer working out by running and lifting weights, I tried to eat as clean as I could, and everyday saw change flying throughout the door. As the season started, I made it a job to bond with my quarterback Jonny so that the center-qb relationship was the strongest on the team. We hung out together, worked out together and generally just talked, so that when it came to game time we could be a fully functioning wrecking ball on the field. My new beginning came with our first loss of this season. I played a couple of games up to that point with a similar mentality to the one I had previously had. So when we were beat by Steinbach my shock was a familiar one. And I asked myself, why did I not feel proud? Why didn't I feel as though I had done my job 100%? Then I realized that I kept thinking about what I could do to make me proud, instead of thinking about how I could help my team find a sense of pride in itself. I changed, I made it so that everyone on the team in one way or another belonged to a brotherhood, they were a family, and with that mentality we took that season by storm, making it to Semi finals. The seniors took the field that game with the mentality of brotherhood that day, but there were those who felt as though they had won the day just by being there. It was a relapse. And the point I'm trying to make is if you're going to change. Don't try, just do. But don't let yourself change back.

-Ben

Quick Write- The Reversed Order

They heard. Good! Now they were all running towards the door with excitement! Sensing the anticipation my fellows had, I stepped back as they swarmed the package.

"Let's take it to the kitchen!" One yelled.

"The Kitchen!!!!" it was a chorus of echoes through the halls. They shuffled into the dimly lit kitchen and began the process of cooking and edge thallus eating the human. I walked away to my chair and sat and watched as the commotion stirred to an all time high. It was funny to watch, how ferrocious we got about food. We eat and eat, but we never take a moment to appreciate the animal who gave up its life for our meal. I mean we eat to live and it dies to feed. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a vegetarian, I just think  it's funny that we never appreciate the fagility of life. As I sat I noticed out of the corner of my eye a flash, and then one of the younger ones, from upstairs, ran at the human flesh, slow cooking in the fire, and jumped on it and started chewing, and then there were 30, 40, 50! Too many to count all crammed into one little space trying desperately to get some food. I guess that why they call it a coop. We are chickens after all and if we see something one of us wants, we flock to it. Oh well, it was a nice dream. Packaged humans, chickens being superior. I guess I'll never know that feeling, back to corn for me.

-A Short Story by Ben McMahon

Quick Write- Which Door?

Of all the 6 doors on the screen I'm torn between Bag End and 221B Baker Street. I've always loved both LOTR and other Tolkein works, but also the writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and ridiculously brilliant albeit goofy detective Sherlock Holmes. I suppose I'll list reasons for both and come up with a final answer. 

In regards to Bag End. I feel as though I'd rather step out than into it. You see nothing fun ever happened in the Shire, it was only when Bilbo or Frodo left their happy hobbit hole that they were met with adventure. It is a fantastic world that I wish I could have been in, but alas! No such luck. Adventure action and chaos, all followed bt a happy ending! 221B Baker on the other hand is buzzing with activity every day even and when Sherlock and Watson are home, it's a tad bit more relatable, because it's closer to the time period of my life, especially if you look at the modern adaptation. It's a wild ride everyday, so I don't know whether or not I would choose Bag End or 221 B Baker Street. But I would probably go Bag End ;)

-Ben