The Pace Of Modern Living Destroys Happiness

I firmly agree that the pace of modern living destroys happiness. This is due to the increase amount of obesity through poor diet, introduction of social networking sites and increase demand of infrastructure. However, the introduction of technological advances in our modern society does make life a little easier.

Developed countries have a more modernised approach to living compared to developing countries. This is because they have been able to adapt to various changes to the environment, thus making it easy to predict that people living in developed countries are much happier. One of the factors that proves this wrong is the obesity.This medical condition is the result of excess fat been stored in your body which leads to reduced life expectancy. The increase in the amount of obesity is hardly surprising in this modern world where supermarkets, restaurants and fast food outlets seems to appear out of nowhere. This kind of modern lifestyle is inconvenient knowing that we can eat whatever and whenever we want. All it takes is to step into McDonald's, order our favourite burger and within minutes your heart thumps into the anticipation of that greasy yet delicious burger. The temptation of so many fast food outlets makes it so irresistible to stick to a more healthier traditional diet. This is a fact because in developing countries, obesity hardly exist. This is because people living in developing countries, tend to stick to staple diets such as foods high in starch and carbohydrates. People living in modernised easy-to-get-food often find themselves consuming food filled with chemical additives, preservatives and saturated fats.

The introduction of Social Networking sites has not only made socializing easier, but also a common playground for sexual predators and serial killers. In fact our modern way of life is going at a much faster pace, than we can catch up. Widows find comfort in chatting up strangers to make themselves feel better, strange men find these sites an opportunity to steal identity of other people and stalk them and teenagers find these sites a playground in which to play pranks on their fellow mates. How sad is it, that we are more willing to sit opposite a computer all day to simply make conversations to one another rather than meet up and chat like 'the good old times'. This way, you could have private interactions with one another without the fear of identity theft, hackers and sexual predators. Also sites like these encourage us to abandon the normal way of communication. Communication in a sense where we can hear each other laugh, see each other cry and are able to provide a shoulder to lean on when in need.

Global Warming is taking a serious toll on our universe. All of which mankind is to be blamed. Modernised way of living is to build grand mansions, fancy hotels and big industries which acquires trees to be chopped off. To grant the wish of such a living, trees are chopped off creating deforestation and putting native animals that naturally inhabits that area and putting them at risk of exposure. How selfish really can we be? The desires of such modern luxuries only makes us want more and more and in the end we put ourselves at risk of global warming. It might make us happy knowing that we can show off our industries and mansions, but does the face of our planet share that happiness with us? NO. It really is not worth sacrificing trees to reach high demands of such infrastructures. Surely Africans who still live in mud houses are perfectly content with themselves?

However the introduction of technological advances in our modern society does make life a little easier. Some of these technological advances are cellphones, wireless laptops, internet and GPS navigator in cars. The use of these products does makes us happy, but only if we can afford them! Using a cellphone does make life easier through the use of txt and pxt and we are able to connect to the internet without the hassle of wires using wireless laptops. Internet opens up the world to us in just one click and we can count on finding our way in a foreign country by relying on high tech GPS navigation in our cars.

To conclude, I stand by by my agreement that the pace of modern living destroys happiness. This is due to poor diet temptation leading to obesity and introduction of social networking sites that are a threat to our private lives. Increase in demand of infrastructure brings about deforestation causing the rise of global warming and the exposure of native animals been forced out of their natural habitat.

Describe how a character faced pressure and explain how he/she coped with it.

In the film 'Mean Creek', directed by Jacob Aaron Estes, a character that faced pressure was Clyde. He faced this pressure by accepting the fact that he is vulnerable to insults due to the fact that he has a homosexual father. He coped with this pressure by tolerating his friends calling him a 'faggot'.

Clyde is a shy, peaceful teenager who is vulnerable to insults such as been called a 'faggot' due to the fact that his father is homosexual. Marty, an angry and a violent boy who like shooting bottles whilst calling them names of real people, often uses this insult on Clyde. The first time the viewer hears of this word is in the beginning when they(Marty, Clyde, Rocky) were in a car near a waterfall and Marty held some kind of addictive drug for Clyde to try it. In a very agitated tone, Clyde said "... get it out of my face" and Marty responded with "faggot". Clyde always either look or walk away embarrassed and just never seems to attack anyone for insulting him through that word. This behaviour makes you question the kind of pressure teenagers with a homosexual parent has to go through.

The slang definition of a faggot is a male who is homosexual. Even though it is his dad that is homosexual, everyone takes it as an opportunity to say it to Clyde's face. The way Clyde condoned this pressure is very remarkable considering the fact that most teenagers will most likely take this kind of insult personally and stir up a fight. An example of when the average teenager; when put in Clyde's shoes will act in a provocative manner is when George said to Clyde "shut the fuck up, Clyde! You faggot!... skinny, butt-munching faggot!I hate you, you know that?... Because all you do is fucking prance around school, talking about your fucking faggoty, fairy fathers!...It makes me sick! And I... I fucking hope they fucking die of fag disease!". This is a great example of some of the situations where you would expect the victim, in this case Clyde, to fight George for been insulting but as usual, Clyde just stares in horror as he slowly digests what George just said to him about his dad and does nothing about it.

To conclude, the character that faced pressure was Clyde. He faced the pressure of having a homosexual dad, by accepting that fact that he is vulnerable. By accepting the fact that he is vulnerable, he coped with this pressure by condoning and looking the other way.

Is New Zealand really clean and green?

New Zealand is a clean and green country. New Zealand is a clean country due to its strict Bio-security, to ensure unwanted pests and diseases are not introduced to the country. It is also a green country as it protects its natural heritage through the use of national parks and protection of its native animals.

Bio-security is a set of preventive measures designed to reduce the risk of intentional removal (theft) of a valuable biological material. This simply means that in New Zealand, before you arrive into the country, you are checked at the airport for illegal or harmful objects that could endanger our flora and fauna. Been clean is all about making sure our country is free from harmful pests and diseases that could destroy our native plants and animals. The reason why bio-security is so important is that pests and diseases poses serious threat to our economy, environment, health and cultural identity. In fact many of the worst weeds and pests that are harmful in other countries can cause us serious damage. This could be because New Zealand is so isolated from the other countries and so has no immune to foreign pests and diseases. To help keep the country clean, bio-security measures are taken very seriously.

There are many national parks in New Zealand. One of the most significant ones are Tongariro national park, the first national park in New Zealand. This park is a place to explore as it ranges from tranquil lakes, plateaus and active volcanoes like Mount Ruapehu. The green image behind this, is that these parks are aimed at the recognition of Maori heritage, be it cultural and/or spiritual. The other green image of New Zealand is its sensitivity towards its native species. Many of them are found nowhere else in the world and a perfect example of this is the Kiwi. In fact New Zealand is so proud, they call themselves Kiwis! Safe from predatory mammals, native animals roam free on the ground and several species even lost use of their wings.

To conclude New Zealand is a clean and green country as it cares for its flora and fauna, through the use of bio-security and the recognition of Maori heritage through National parks.

Describe an important idea in the text. Explain how verbal and visual features of the text help you understand.

An important idea in the film 'Mean Creek' directed by Jacob Aaron Estes is revenge and its consequences. This idea is verbally conveyed through the use of music and silence. It is also visually conveyed through the use of lighting and camera angle to help paint the picture of what the film is about.

In the film, Sam, an introverted little boy is bullied by George when he messes with his video camera. George is an overweight annoying boy whose best friend is his precious little video camera. When Sam's older brother Rocky and his friends, Marty and Clyde hears of this, they plan a revenge along with Sam and his girlfriend, Millie to make him pay. A quote from Marty about the revenge plan is "we're planning on stripping him, throwing him in the river, and then we're gonna make him run home naked". The outcome of this revenge was that when George was accidentally pushed into the water, he drowned due to the fact that he could not swim. This consequence had a huge effect on the characters knowing that they had to deal with the fact that they are responsible for George's death. The significance of this idea is that revenge is never the solution to get even and that everything has its consequences.

The verbal technique used to show the idea of revenge and its consequences is the use of music and silence. After the death of George, when the group (Sam, Rocky, Millie, Clyde, excluding Marty) was in Sam and Rocky's bedroom, the background music was soft and slow indicating a very sad mood and dark atmosphere. The groups feeling of remorse hung heavily in the air as there was silence in the bedroom shadowed by the soft music in the background. A quote from Millie to George questioning about this incident is "... when we graduate high school, and go to college and become doctors and lawyers and all that, what do you think it'd be like?". This question makes the audience thinks about the effect this revenge is having on these characters.

Lighting and camera angle is used to visually make the idea of revenge and its consequences more understandable to the viewer. Before the revenge took place, the lighting of the riverside was bright portraying a beautiful day to go boating. The camera angle was mostly eye level, revealing the surroundings of the riverside and just giving it a peaceful tuning to it. The lighting changed from bright to dark when George fell into the water. We also got a close-up view of George under the water when he was struggling to come up for air, and then soon afterwards the camera was shaky giving us the feeling that we were looking directly from George's video camera. There was a loud 'pop' when his head hit the camera and there was blood in the water. Soon afterwards, the screen went black. The screen going black signifies death and for a moment makes the viewer feel sick inside knowing that these teenagers have to deal with the consequences of their prank.

An important idea in the film 'Mean Creek', directed by Jacob Aaron Estes, is the idea that revenge is never the solution to get even, and that everything thing we do has its consequences. This idea is verbally conveyed through the use of music and silence. The idea is also visually conveyed through the use of lighting and camera angle to help paint the picture of what the film is about.

The Drinking Age Should Be Raised To 21

I firmly support the idea for the drinking age to be raised to 21. The reasons why I think this is because of drink driving, binge drinking and vulnerability to other drugs and other behavioural pattern.

'If you drink then drive, you're a bloody idiot'. Does this sound familiar to you? This popular advertisement as seen on TV is to make teenagers aware of the dangers associated with drink driving. According to the New Zealand Land Transport Agency, drink driving killed 135 people on New Zealand roads in 2004. That is an outrageous amount of people who had to lose their lives to irresponsible teens who refuses to stay sober. The scientific fact behind this is once alcohol is absorbed into your bloodstream, it is taken up by cells in your brain and other vital organs slowing your reactions. It over shadows your judgement, dulling your vision and impairing your ability to drive.

Binge drinking is when you have 6 or more drinks on one occasion. The worst that some people expect from a night of binge drinking is a blackout and a really bad hangover but what they do not know is that they can die from alcohol poisoning. Alcohol poisoning is associated with binge drinking and that is when parts of your brain shuts down, because there is too much alcohol in the blood. It can make the person very ill and sometimes fatal. The really absurd thing is fact that many teens do not think about the negative side of binge drinking, although they might have the idea of getting drunk and having less consideration of getting a hung-over. In fact there have been situations where people have choked on their own vomit, because as a result of binge drinking, their gag reflex are not working properly.

Research shows that teens under the age of 21 are more vulnerable in involving themselves in unsafe sexual behaviour, committing suicide, having a low self esteem and are also more tempted into taking drugs like marijuana and been drug addicted. All these have a long term effect of liver disease, increased risk of some cancers, heart disorder, hypertension, pancreatitis and cirrhosis. Fact is the younger the person is under the influence of alcohol, the greater the risk of these long term effects.

To conclude, I stand my ground on supporting the idea of raising the drinking age to 21. It is very absurd for any teenager to risk taking alcohol at the age when the brain is still developing and incurring short and long term effects that is totally avoidable.

Descibe an event that was a surprise and explain why this event is important.

In the novel Of Mice and Men' by John Steinberg, an event that was a shocking surprise was when George shot Lennie at the back of the head. This event is important as it marks the ending of a strong dynamic relationship between two best friends.

It was very unlikely for the reader to have predicted that George will ever have the nerve to put Lennie out of his misery by putting a bullet through his head. George was not mad at Lennie because he knew that deep down, Lennie was not capable of hurting anyone on purpose. George's last words to Lennie shortly before he pulled the trigger was "...I ain't mad. I never been mad, an' I ain't now. That's a thing I want ya to know." This event was a shocking surprise as George's last words were so sympathetic and almost forgiving.

The setting of this event makes it very important. It was set in the late afternoon on the yellow sands of the Salinas River. Steinberg describes this scenery as 'already the sun had left the valley to go climbing up the slopes of the Gabilan mountains, and the hilltops were rosy in the sun'. This description of the setting gives off a peaceful feeling to the place. When compared to the tragic event that took place, it contrasts the peaceful setting to the tragic event that took place making it very important.

This event is also important as it marks the end of a strong, dynamic friendship between two men. It was very unlikely to see two men working side by side, supporting each other at the time of the depression. A quote from Slim (another character in the novel) to support this is "Ain't many guys travel around together, I don't know why. Maybe ever'body in the whole damn world is scared of each other."

To conclude, the surprising event of George having to shoot Lennie makes it an important event as he did this to put Lennie out of his misery. The event also marks the ending of a long, strong and dynamic friendship between two hard working men; a relationship, unusual to find in the times of the Great depression.

Describe a character in the text and explain why he/she is important.

In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, an important character is George Milton. He is an important character as he helps to portray the central themes in the novel and is involved in the most important event in the story.

George is a small, lean, quick- witted, short tempered and caring man who travels with Lennie Small. He sometimes says to Lennie "I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn't have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl." He is always there for Lennie even though he often talks about how better his life will be without him. At times George might be snappy and impatient but he never failed to protect Lennie.

George Milton is an important character because of his prolonged relationship with Lennie which helps to convey the theme of friendship and the American Dream. A quote from George to support how strong their friendship was is "Guys like us that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place... With us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us." Another quote from Lennie that supports this is "An' why? Because... because I got you to look after me and you got me to look after you, and that's why." The American Dream was to live off the fat of the land. George is important in keeping this dream alive by ensuring Lennie "we'll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in the winter, we'll just say the hell with goin' to work, and we'll build up a fire in the stove and set around it an' listen to the rain comin' down on the roof..." Holding on to this dream made life a little bit easier knowing that they have something to aim for. George always made Lennie happy when he tells him that when they get the farm he will get to 'tend em rabbits'.

A key event that happened was when George shot Lennie after he accidentally killed Curley's wife. George did this out of mercy to prevent him from getting shot from one of the men on the ranch who would have killed him brutally. George is important in this event as we remember him foretelling Lennie about their dream to live the fat of the land. He did this because he knew this was the last time Lennie was ever going to hear about owning a farm and tending rabbits. A quote from George to show his feelings before he shot Lennie was "...I ain't mad. I never been mad, an' I ain't now. That's a thing I want ya to know." George said this shortly before he pulled the trigger on the back of Lennie's head.

To conclude, George plays an important role in keeping alive the friendship and the American dream with Lennie. He is also an important character as he accepts the relationship between him and Lennie as a father and his son relationship.

Social Networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook are endangering NZ teenagers

Social Networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook has truly transformed the way we interact and communicate with each other. The claims of these social networking sites is to build communities of people who share common interests and activities or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of the other. In my opinion it is not a safe virtual meeting place for NZ teenagers to hang out. I firmly believe that they are endangering NZ teenagers because of identity theft, cyberstalking and sexual predators.

'Identity theft'. Myspace and Facebook requires or gives you the option to give out your personal details like your name, where you live and your email address. In real life, you would not give out these details to people you do not know, so why do it on the net? This is when identity theft comes in. As a virtual public meeting place, anyone can view your profile and pretend to be you. Someone can copy down your information and pretend to be 'you' when taking part in illegal activities like crime, theft and so on. When legal authorities like the police gets involved and investigate the source of the illegal activity, they will find your name and all your other personal details and track you down. This is why I find social networking sites a dangerous playground to hang out.

'Cyberstalking'. Cyberstalking is the use of electronic communication like pagers, cellphones, emails and the internet to bully, harass, threaten and intimidate a victim. Whether it is done in person or over a computer, the effects of being stalked can be very devastating to anyone who endures it. Cyberstalking is a real and fast increasing global problem with most of its victims targeted at young and females. How this is associated with social networking sites? When you post your profile on facebook and myspace, it helps you to connect with your friends more easily as well as making you vulnerable to these cyber predators. The difference between cyberstalking and identity theft is that cyberstalking does evolve into physical stalking, unlike identity theft where you never get to meet the person or see the person. Cyberstalkers also search for their victims by using search engines, online forums, discussion boards and chat rooms. The scary thing about being cyberstalked is that most of the victims never know that they are being followed.

'Sexual predators'. Myspace is in the spotlight today after revealing that 90,000 registered sex offenders have been kicked off its site in the past two years! This is a ridiculously huge amount of low lifes who would do whatever it takes to crush the freedom of others. Again, letting out your details and posting your pictures on these sites makes you vulnerable to these sick people. There is a true story about a 13 year old girl who got murdered by an internet sexual predator. She was just like any other teenager, a good student and co-captain of her Catholic school cheerleading team. Christina Long lead a double life online, pretending to be a tough girl who boasted that she was ready to face anything. She was strangled by a married restaurant worker, who she met in the chat room. The name of this sexual predator is Saul Dos Reis, 25 years of age and an undocumented immigrant from Brazil.

Social networking sites really are a threat to NZ teenagers. What teenagers like Christina Long tend to forget, is that "little drops of water makes a mighty ocean". What this means is that every little piece of information you leak out in facebook or myspace makes you the more vulnerable to the world of cyber crime. So Beware!

The Internet Should Be banned

I firmly disagree with the fact that the internet should be banned. The reasons why I think this is because it is an easier way of researching information, reuniting with relatives through cheap communication and shopping online.

This 21st century is a whole new world of technology. It is a virtual era where knowledge is always power and can be easily obtained through the internet. It provides search engines such as Google, dictionary.com, ask.com, Google maps and Wikipedia. Google is one of the biggest search engine on the net, providing access to a wide range of information ranging from the latest flu epidemic occurring in another country to watching the latest movie online. Another example of researching information is through Wikipedia a very effective online encyclopedia. I personally find it very helpful in doing my history assignments because it has got all the chronological dates and events in one place.

The internet has given the word 'communication' a whole different meaning. Talk is cheap online because the net enables instantaneous contact with people all over the world without spending a dime. Examples of this is emails and skype. Email is basically an electronic way of sending messages or letters. It is extremely fast and inexpensive and there are no long distant bills for you to pay. Another example of cheap communication is through skype. Skype is quite similar to emails. It is a software that allows its users to make person-to-person calls over the internet. I find skype very useful and cheap when contacting my relatives in Ghana. Other than calling them though skype, the only other option I have is to buy a calling card which costs me 10 dollars, an amount of money I can use to buy fish and chips. I would rather much prefer the easier, cheaper, simpler way through skype over the internet.

Shopping.Shopping.Shopping. Shopping could not get anymore convenient. Why? Well because you can shop 24/7 from the comfort of your own home within a few clicks browsing a whole range of stores and shop whenever you want. If you want to buy a new Alexander McQueen smoke jacquard dress at 3a.m you can! Another reason why it is so effective is because of privacy. There are times when privacy really matters especially when you need to buy condoms, tampons or Viagra. Many of us will be too embarassed to buy these things in a store where we would have to make some eye contact with at least one other person who knows what we are buying. So when we buy these kind of things online, that embarrassment is very, very minimised.

However, as the saying goes, 'for every positive, there will be an equal and balancing negative'. Hackers, sexual predators and cyber bullying are all problems associated with the internet. Any program that is communicating over the internet, can be tricked into downloading and installing unwanted programs on your computer. Chatting programs, surfing programs and even the program that enables us to connect to our internet provider fall victims to hackers. A way this problem can be solved is by downloading the latest security service pack for your windows version. I highly recommend ZoneAlarm. This software is a seriously good firewall and it actually works. When you connect your computer to the internet it prevents hackers from getting into your system at all.

To conclude, the positives such as researching information, reuniting with relatives through cheap communication and shopping online definitely outweighs the negatives such as been worried of your system getting hacked into, cyber bulling and sexual predators. After all, just like anything in this world, you have to take precautions. on the net, you have to make sure you do not give out your private details and you have to make sure you have downloaded or installed some kind of trusted firewall to ensure security.

Shattered Dreams

There's a point in life,
sorta like an opportunity
to climb the ladder
sometimes its a ladder leading to our dreams
other times, its just plain fantasy

in times of the great depression
they seek out this ladder
to drown out the recession

keeping alive the dream
of a farm fullo- dem rabbits
gave life a lil bit of flavour
with sugar and cream

but unknownst to its seekers
is what lies at the very end of this ladder

cos lennie never got to climb this ladder
and he never got to tend 'em rabbits.