Global Warming

It is one of the most dreaded years, the year that is said to end everything on the planet earth: 2012. But of course it isn’t the year, it is global warming. Yes it is bad, but forget the great flood that is supposed to happen, and just look on the bright side, there are some good things to look forward to about global warming.

Global warming, in a lot of people’s opinions (such as teachers, and me) is real. It has a lot of evidence to prove that it actually is real. Such as in Canada the temperatures are hitting around 30 degrees and all that. In fact sometimes it is put on the weather forecast that it is going to feel like 40 degrees when it actually is 30. Global warming also has other effects such as the fact that people burned more easily now which is not good (every heard that the sun is what makes people wrinkly when they are older?). It is also believable that it is caused by humans because people do litter, and cut down forests, people drive cars which creates fumes and so do cigarettes (the main things that are littered) It is extremely evident that there is global warming, but it is very hard to believe that the Mayans predicted that the world would end on the 21^st of December, and couldn’t it have been a few days after Christmas instead of before? Everyone does enjoy Christmas.          

Sure it will possibly kill everybody, but it also keeps everyone warm. There is probably less snow in the world than there used to be, especially in winter. Yes it is also bad in way though, with every up, comes a down. Everyone may get heated, and there may be less of that dreaded snow, but Antarctica is melting, and that is what is going to cause the great flood. Snow is basically the same thing as water, and when to cold, water turns to ice. Snow is a bunch of flakes of ice, and when it melts it will create water. Now imagine a whole continent of snow being melted into water. No wonder there is going to be a huge flood, right?

Now what is the cause of pollution? Wait I mean global warming darn I just gave away the answer! Where does pollution come from? Fossil fuels (such as the gas from your car), litter (everyone does it at some point), and cutting down forests (Curse lumber-jacks that oh-so willingly cut down forests for money). All three of those weaken the ozone, which allows more sun to pass the atmosphere and shine down on everyone. That is actually pretty much what global warming actually is. Remember this: the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle! Help save the planet! Have a green thumb (plant trees), do not litter, definitely do not smoke (for health and environmental reasons and try to stop lumberjacks from cutting precious forests. Tick tock the clock is ticking, each second wasted is a second closer to what could be doomsday. Now though it destroys the ozone, it also gets everyone more sun, so if anyone wants a nice tan, well then go outside and get some because there is more than there would have been without global warming. Once again, with every up comes a down (except this time it is inverted!)

With global warming, more children are allowed to go outside and play with their friends, whether it be hockey, soccer, American football, or (a personal favourite) swimming in the backyard pool. Instead of rain there is shine, which is great for everybody because now they get to outside to chat with friends, play games, or just sit down and enjoy a nice quiet afternoon staring at the sky. Perhaps a picnic would be nice for a change. Pack those wooden baskets, get that table cloth, and go outside to eat some of those classic sandwiches.

Weeds cause it (in a way). Weeds are known for choking plants, and usually killing them (if not removed from the ground). This is why people need to start picking their weeds, because if they don’t, there is going to be a huge issue of plant shortages on a nice little planet called earth. If not, the rivers will rise, pandemics will break loose, humanity will be wiped off the face of this universe. Fortunately that is probably not going to happen, and pray to god because anything is possible right? Weeds can also look nice though; there are some that can be mistaken for a flower (which is both good and bad). Weeds can help make gardens look nicer, which will definitely put a good impression on people such as friends, neighbours, and bosses.

Finally, is the great flood believable? Very. Mankind is digging its own grave, and it is doing it willingly. One of the main causes is laziness. People do not want to waste any energy to throw out some paper in the recycle bin, so they throw it in the garbage. This is a whole paragraph on landfills. Landfills take up a certain amount of space, and they are rapidly being filled because people do not finish their dinner, they throw anything unwanted in the garbage even if it can be recycled, and instead of selling that thing, they think it is too much trouble and they would rather sit down and watch TV or play Call of Duty whether it be on the Xbox 360, Wii, or PlayStation3. So lumberjacks cut down trees in order to make space for landfills (or houses including using the wood as resources, or dump garbage in the river (water pollution which kills fish).

So now everyone who was smart enough to read this knows the good side of global warming, and the bad side. Remember this: With every up comes a down, and with every down, comes an up. When life gets anyone down, they will be repaid because it is like Newton’s third law of motion: With every reaction comes an equal and opposite reaction. Think about what one person can do to help the earth, and the examples of what they can do in order to help. One final quote: Just one flap of a butterfly wing can create a whole tornado.

NOTICE

      Just letting everybody know I have started a french essay blog so now I will not be writing english essays every day anymore, though I will continue to write them. The link is:

http://kenaanhamzehessais.blogspot.ca/

Ramadan

                Happy Ramadan everybody! What is Ramadan, what is it about? Ramadan is there for people to be respectful to others (such as not lying) and understanding the feeling of what it is like to be hungry. That is why there is fasting.

                To get by the day when fasting, those who chose to fast wake up at three thirty in the morning, and stuff their faces on food until they cannot eat any more. They then go back to and wake up in the morning as if a magic spell had been cast on them and had a specific timer on it so that they cannot eat until the specific time. This gives everyone an idea on how the people in the poor parts of Africa feel when they are extremely hungry with no source of food. It teaches everybody not to complain about their food, and appreciate what god has given them. So next time when a boy complains about not liking his food, he thinks about the feeling of being extremely hungry. When the specific time comes (The time decreases by 1 minute each day) they can eat anything they want (that is not prohibited by religion). So it is a great feeling when that time comes because usually they come across something they wanted to eat during the day but could not because they were fasting.

                It is also about being respectful to others. One form is lying. Lying disrespects others greatly because you are taking advantage of the fact that they trust you to get your way, whether it be to get out of trouble, or to get something you want. Lying is like using others. As well, when someone comes and talks to another, they do not disrespect them by saying things like “Shut the f*** up little kid” (Online gaming is a really good example).  It shows you how people would treat you if you were respectful to them, and how good you would look. It is not to say that is the only time you should be respectful to others, because it is not. Everyone should respect everybody else around them.

At the end of Ramadan, comes Eid. That is like the Muslim Christmas, without the trees and the snow. Gifts are given such as money, and toys. When Eid happens is the last day to be extremely respectful to others. When Eid happens though Muslims no longer have to fast. It is all about celebrating, in fact, some people keep their children home as if it were a holiday. It is about celebrating with others like you would on Christmas day, except instead of turkey dinner you get Arabic food dinner. So this is why it is known as the Christmas for Muslims.  Eid is basically the conclusion to Ramadan as if it were a story. As Eid is the conclusion to Ramadan, this is the conclusion to this explanation of what Ramadan is.

My Dog

                Hey, do you have a dog? I sure do, and his name is Skipper. He is a Miniature Schnauzer. I’ll let you know quite a bit about him, his good qualities, and his bad qualities. And I will be sure as well to explain why we named him Skipper.

                Now, my dog loves to jump around. Whether it be for his treat, or someone comes home that isn’t me. He jumps the most when my sister is around, because he is mostly loyal to her. He was bought for her so I can understand. In fact when my sister gets home he jumps on her. At some point I called him a ladies man, and she said I could learn a thing or two from him. I told her “What? Like this?” and started jumping like him. The only time he really listens is when my sister tells him to do something. Now you might think he likes her because she is young, but she’s turning twenty-two this month. So no matter what happens he loves her, whether she grooms him (which he hates) or she takes him for a bath (he hates that as well). He can always listen to her, and he’ll also jump for guests. Once the guests come, he goes to them.

                My mother came up with a nick name that suits him well, but we say it as a joke, and we really don’t mean it to hurt him if it does. I would rather not say it though. This reason will probably give you a clear idea on what it is. He always runs to the ladies. It goes my mom, then my sister, then the female guests. He will sit there and let them pet him, and whatever. Then he decides to lick them in token of appreciation, why don’t I get that special treatment. So no matter what he’ll run to the ladies, and leave them men sitting in dust because he ran to the ladies like road runner (Yes he would if he was that fast). He always runs to my sisters room at night to sleep with her at night, and if she isn’t home because she’s at university, he’ll run to my mom who kicks him out so he is forced to come to me.

                I honestly believe he needs to learn discipline. My mother says he is too old, but he really needs to learn to listen to me. Here is the chain of command for him: King/Queen, My sister & him, count/joker, Parents, everyday person who has no power, me. My mother says I can’t be forceful on him anymore because he is twelve, but he really needs to listen to me. He knows that I can’t lay a hand on him. This is where he is wrong. Since a couple of days ago, I’ve been starting to rain down on him, he has to learn to listen to me. We got him when I was three, so I was about his size. This is where he decided he was the alpha male of the pack. But I am going to show him that I’m the boss, I‘m the alpha male. He believes the only time I’m the alpha male is when I’m home alone so there is no one to protect him, pamper him and make him think he is the alpha male.

                This is my best friend no matter what happens. Nothing replaces him (I call my cousin my brother instead of my friend, and the other ones are just my cousins. I have a few other cousins and a couple of friends I consider brothers, just like Skipper). I love him, and like I said in my “Millionaire” blog he’s my best friend, but am I his? I do not care whether he likes me or not though, and I don’t mean any bad things I say about him (except for the joke). I look at him sitting alone, with a lonely look in his face, and I’ll come snuggle him up.

                One of the most annoying things about my dog, he howls like a wolf if he thinks no one is home, we have to close him up in a room. So in mornings like today, no one locks him up so he howls in the morning. He howls in the hall way so even though my door is closed, I wake up to his howling. Three times this week (or month) he has howled and woke me up, and I am getting sick of it. So this morning I had to call my parents to ensure that they would start put him in a room, any room as long as he shuts up and I don’t wake up because of him. I would prefer sleeping to the usual 10 – 10:30.

                Whenever we lock him up in his room, where is one way he repays us, by tipping over his food and water bowl. Guess who gets to clean up the mess he makes, me. So we come home to a wet floor with dry/soggy dog food because he decides to tip them over. I have even seen him try to tip over his bowls before he achieves his goal. So whenever we leave we have to leave his food and water bowl out of his reach. So we have to feel bad over the fact that he has to go through a whole day with no food, and no water. We got new bowls, that are even harder to tip, and he still found a way to tip them. So we are lucky he has stopped, but even then there are those days where he knocks over some food that gets mouldy, and I have to clean from under the washer. On top he is already a slob so when ever he drinks water he gets it all over the floor and we have to be careful not to step in it and get our socks all soggy and wet.

                So you have met Skipper, mainly his bad side, but there isn’t much for me to say about him that is actually good. But he has also done worse things like peeing on other peoples pants, or legs. As well he has pissed on other peoples dogs. So he didn’t have a good reputation for a while. But Skipper can be a good dog, he knows tricks like play dead, shake a paw, and roll over (the last thing he knows is how to high five others, developed it off of shake a paw). So I love my dog no matter what he does, I hope you love your dog as well!

The French Revolution

               Remember the Middle Eastern Revolution? Well, there have been other revolutions in the past, such as the French Revolution. This was a 10 year revolution from 1789 – 1799, which is quite a long revolution. The King and Queen were Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Although it was long, the length does not matter, it is the effects, the impact on the humans of today.

France was not the best place to live in. The people were treated very poorly, yet they still put up with all of the unfairness they had to endure.  There was no such thing as happiness among the villagers. That was the cause of the revolution though. The villagers had to pay in three ways, money, labour, and kindness. They had to pay the fee to live in the house with the gold they earned from working. They also had to manage farms for the landlords, and last of all, they had to send the landlords corn, and other food they produce. When there was a problem at night, the villagers who lived in the house of the landlord being disturbed had to get up, and resolve the problem. Such as if the frogs were croaking too loudly they would have to get up and beat the waters. If the villagers did not complete any of these three payments, the police would come to their home, and pay a very heavy fine. Then the police would take all of their possessions, send them to jail for them to be flogged, and possibly tortured. I was as if that if they did not pay one out of three payments, they got at least three punishments. The way the French were treated was awful, which is the reason why they started a revolution; the landlords did nothing while they did everything. It was as if the French were slaves. Not only were they paying heavy fines, they were paying heavy taxes as well, and they couldn’t even get much food. Imagine a villager standing in a small house while hungry, and taxes need to be paid. They have to pay, but they don’t get much of a benefit except that they get to live. Their well beings were thrown out of the way to make the landlords happy, and then when they need help while hungry, the landlords turn their backs on them and treat them like animals.

                The three things the French wanted out of the revolution were liberty, equality, and fraternity. Equality was wanted because while they were doing the work and being treated like dirt, the landlords sat at the castle getting their demands. The French believed that everyone should be doing an equal amount of work, which is the case of today. They also believed that it was not fair that they had to make three payments, otherwise they lose everything.  As well, they wanted to be free, they didn’t want to be slaves, they wanted to get paid well, and they wanted to live in prosperity with each other. The landlords/rich did not pay the villagers well which sis not make them feel happy.They didn’t want fights; they wanted to be like family. Notice a pattern being portrayed?

The thing that initially set off the revolution was the short-wages, and shortage of food. This caused the “Réveillon” to riot. 25 deaths were caused by the troops. From there, the French Revolution started. On July 14, was “The Storming of Bastille”. Bastille was a prison which represented authority, and by the end of it, Bastille had fallen. On the 14^th of July there is now a holiday called “Bastille Day” for the French. This was only part of the introduction of the war.

The French people fought like the Syrians: they didn’t give up unless they achieved their goal. They died fighting, instead of happy like the people of today. They wanted freedom so bad that they put their lives on the line to get a better way of living. It was either win it, or die trying. This is why the French of the 1700 deserve a lot of respect: they wanted it bad enough to die for it. It brings a whole new meaning into “It’s to die for”. It is the true meaning of that saying. In fact that just might be where it came from.   Louis XVI dies on January 21 1793, being accused of destroying the liberty of the French. He had his head cut off by the executioner, in which after the executioner lifted it up by the hair, and showed it to the whole crowed who all yelled “Long live the republic!”

                During the revolution, something began called “The Reign of Terror”, spooky huh. In this time that was the war between the Jacobins and the Girodins. There were a bunch of death by a lot of executions. 16 594 people were killed by the guillotine (the thing that holds a blade up with rope, and when the rope is cut, it comes down and slices the victims head off.) 2 639 of them were in Paris. 25 000 others were killed by summary executions. This occurred from the 5^th of September 1793 – the 28^th of July 1794. This is almost a one year war. It is also after the death of Louis XVI.

At the end of the revolution in 1799, the French had achieved everything they fought for. They were treated equally. In fact, this is the long term effect. This revolution is the reason why there is actually something called “human rights” right now, this is why there is peace among others, friends are made, this is why everybody to this day has lived in peace. So when someone says “I have human rights”, they should be sure to look back on the fact that it wouldn’t exist without the French Revolution. The French Revolution is an important part of history, and without it today, almost nobody would be happy, everyone would still be working for landlords, and paying for their houses in three ways. A message to all those who fought for their rights: “Thank you for helping shape mankind to this day, and giving everyone else what almost nobody had in the 1700s. Rest in Peace.”

California

                California, the nice sunny place you want to go to right? Of course, California is full of pleasant things to do. You will discover a bit of California just like you did about Scotland. Cities you should go to, things to try, prepare yourself for an adventure.

                I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! They produce some of the best ice cream in the world. Coldstone is amazing, and it is hard to find a place that serves better ice cream. You might be thinking “What does ice cream have to do with California?” Well try it, and you will understand why. They have a lot of nice, tasty flavours and toppings. I personally recommend you buy a banana split. Add the bananas, and all that, and you are ready to go (*Note I do not know the topping anymore as this was in 2005. For further information on the toppings contact my dad, OH WAIT, YOU CAN’T! AHAHAHAHAHA! Ahem back to business) they also have the option of cones (regular or waffle) or putting it in a cup. I seriously recommend you have it.

                The beaches, amazing, and if you like rough waves they are perfect for you. There are currently two beaches in California, Manhattan and Redondo Beach. My personal favourite is Manhattan though, because the waves are high, and rough. I prefer rough and high waves. The bigger, the better right? For me of course, the more dangerous it is the better. You might think “what an idiot, does he try to get himself killed?” Well I’m just telling you now, I am not crazy, so you don’t have to worry about it. When you aren’t in the ocean, there are fun activities, and as well you should build a nice sand castle and see how long it can survive without being completely destroyed (yes you repair in between, in fact improve as well.) I remember being at a beach that had a rollercoaster in San Diego (I was sad I wasn’t allowed to go on it!)

                 Disneyland, I have to warn you, if you bring your children, prepare for a bunch of endless whining that your children want to go to Disneyland to meet Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Goofy, etc. Disneyland is a great experience, and if you love thrillers, there is a special area in which you take a monorail to go to it. It has an arcade, the prestigious California’s Screamin’, and wonderful thriller rides. When you enter I also personally recommend you try Space Mountain, one of my personal favourites. Disneyland will be great, and if you feel tired from all of those rough rides, there are rides where you sit down and you get lifted into the air and just sit there where there it is as if you are flying through California. As well there is a ride where it is a quiz demo, where if lucky you get picked to participate in a trivia game, and there is another one where you sit down in a Star Wars vehicle, and it is as if you were flying to a different planet, like Coruscant, home of the Jedi. You will thoroughly enjoy Disneyland; in fact it is better than Disney World! My uncle went, and he described it quote on quote like this: “Half the size and double the price.”

                A great city to go to is San Diego. San Diego is filled with great places to go to: San Diego Zoo, the restaurants, etc. We especially love the Mexican restaurants there because we do not get to eat Mexican food everyday (Mucho Burrito does not count!) We stayed at the Marriot Hotel, and they have a nice hotel, let me tell you that. A pool in the back, with quite some nice rooms. We also went Sea World, in which the two highlights were seeing Shamo the killer whale, and going on the Atlantis ride. Now I’m a clever guy (I was a clever boy as well) so I got the ride person to allow us to go to the front, by acting all cute, and making sure she couldn’t resist (yes I know, hahaha the puppy eyes trick, I knew how to use it). We went on the Atlantis ride about 4 or 5 times. San Diego also has this cool place that has shirts that get colour in the sun, but when in the shade, the colour leaves, and it is left white with the black outlines.

                  The temperature is always hot and sunny, maybe on a special occasion it might rain, but it is always sunny. I was told it never snows there, which I find a miracle being a Canadian seeing as we put up with at least four months of snow. Be sure to bring sunscreen because it will be hot, and you can get sunburn. The temperature is one of the main reasons to get that tasty ice cream from Coldstone. California is also known for being sunny, and you can imagine the clothing stores having their clothes based on the sun. You don’t find all that yucky winter equipment, no jackets, boots, gloves, scarves, hats, etc.

                They have a mall in San Diego where you can get about anything.  We got this thing where you strap it to a chair and it massages you. As well, my mom got hooked on this place called Bath & Body Works, they honestly don’t have that bad of soaps. You could get souvenirs, electronic toys, video games, gummies, that place has everything! It is one of those open malls though, I can’t remember what it is called (I realize then it is stupid to describe it if you can’t even go there, but I was 8 back then in 2005). All I remember is that it had everything and that the walls were kind of a bright orangish. It is best to go out at night though.

                So like in Scotland, you got the basic tutorial. So pack your bags and head down, because there is no way you do not want to go after what I put down. Check into the Marriot, and discover more about California, I guarantee it is ten times better than I put down. You never really know until you try it right? So go, and have fun!             

If I Was A Millionaire

                “If I had a million dollars, if I had a million dollars…I would-” ever heard of that song? If not you should probably search it up on YouTube. So I’m going to explain what I would do if I had a million dollars, will you at some point? This is another perfect opportunity to decide whether I’m smart, or a really big idiot.

                Well first I would buy about 10 thousand lotto 649 tickets to get myself some more. Usually, from what I’ve seen, the jackpot is in the 20 millions. Using about 20 million more could be a real help out. In fact maybe at some point I could keep buying more lotto tickets to try and earn more. When you have 1 million dollars losing about 20 thousand doesn’t always seem so bad. I would love to spend my money wisely, and in a way, you have to admit it is kind of smart of you to try and win a lottery for more money (Okay, maybe it isn't). I don’t usually support gambling, but when it comes to lotteries, you can win a good chunk of money

                I would buy myself a nice 300 thousand dollar house to live in. Enough room to start a family, get in the necessities of a house (I’m talking furniture, appliances, and you can’t forget the electronics.) I would prefer a house rather than an apartment. Apartments are not big enough to support a family, and when you want to fit a bunch of things in there, it won’t work out. If I want to throw parties (you’ll see later), a small apartment just won’t do. I would hire a maid because like any other regular person, I do not like to clean. I also expect to have a pool and a hot tub in my back yard. Those are absolute necessities for my house.

                I would make myself known throughout the world, and try to get myself some meetings with famous people, like my friend. He has met Drake the rapper and Erik Karlson from the Ottawa Senators (for those of you who don’t know where he comes from and what makes him so famous.) Maybe I would get to meet Bill Gates and Eminem. I’m jealous of him for being able to meet a couple of famous people.

                I would definitely buy myself a phone, an iPhone. The one thing I’ve wanted most so far in my life, is a phone. A phone with a nice unlimited calling and texting plan (You can find that at Mobilicity.) You see, okay maybe you don’t see, my parents to have gotten the money to buy my sister a phone, so I have to wait until university to get a phone. So I have to stick with my iPod touch’s calling/texting only with internet kind of plan (yes it is free, except for textplus free calls, you have to buy minutes. I got text plus free calls, and just textplus because FaceTime and iMessage only work with people who have iPods, it doesn’t work with regular phones.

                I would get a dog and pamper him/her to the most I could, such as hiring a personal dog walker, someone to clean, feed, and give him/her water. I would take him to the best places for dogs to get massages. And I would hire a trainer (I honestly don’t mean to sound lazy.) The kind of dog I would like though is a husky. I think huskies are smart, and they look extremely nice. Maybe if he is good enough I can enter him in one of those dog competitions. I wouldn’t force him to wear clothes because I’ve tried it on my dog, and he does not like to wear clothing. I love dogs and I love cats, but I would take the dog for sure. Although the dog I have now doesn’t love me, I still love him. He loves to see my sister instead (I know what you mean, a dog is supposed to be a man’s best friend, and he is mine, but am I his?.)

                I would love to donate to charity; giving 50 thousand couldn’t hurt right? It’s going towards the right cause so I have no problem spending a good chunk of money to kids/people in general who need help. Perhaps I could own a charity, create a fundraiser of my own at my mansion. I can hold a party (with security so no one can steal something) for everyone who pays 5 dollars entry fee. I could go and give that to people who really need help getting an education, or those who can’t afford medical care. The world isn’t only about one person, it’s about everyone and everyone should be able to lead a nice normal life. I encourage everyone to spare some money to charities, it is for the right reason and you could honestly help someone a lot.

                 I would start to go on vacations a lot more frequently. I would most likely go to my favourite vacation spot, which is Mexico. For the first time in my life I would take a first class trip to Mexico and stay at the one series of resorts I trust. I suggest if you haven’t used them go to the Palace Resorts. Vacations fill up a lot of my life, I love paradise, and I go there yearly. My family already has our vacation plans already for the next few years. Every anniversary either only my parents go, or I go as well, and at winter break (this year Christmas and New Year’s) we are going as a family with my sister. If I had a million dollars I would make that a lot more frequent.

                So this is what I would do if I had a million dollars, you can do quite a bit of things with it. But if you have a million dollars be careful because you could be targeted. That is why you hire the bodyguards. I think that I would spend a million dollars wisely in a way, but I think I can be a bit careless with the money I have. Girls be sure not to go on a shopping spree, men try not to spend a lot of it on electronics and suits to make you look nice. With everyone there is always something that is irresistible, so be careful on how you spend your money 

Mount Everest

                 Mount Everest is one of the most popular mountains in the world, and the highest. Many people dream to climb Everest, and achieve the top. Once the top is achieved, something done once in a lifetime is achieved.

                Mount Everest stands at a whopping 8 850 meters in the air, but that measurement is Everest above sea level. Everest is so high in the air, that the climber needs oxygen tanks in order to breathe and the climber need extremely warm clothes in order to survive. If one of them is missing, the climber will most likely die. If the climber does not have the extremely warm clothes, he/she will certainly die of hypothermia. Because Everest is so tall there are many dangers that come with the attempt to climb it, so be prepared.

                A whopping 2 700 people survived Mount Everest, in fact, 300 people live on Mount Everest including doctors, scientists, etc. Although people may live on Mount Everest, not everybody survives. The most people killed at once on Mount Everest were 8 people. It is important that the climber is cautious while on Mount Everest, and he/she should spend a few days to get used to new areas on Mount Everest so that his/her body can produce more red blood cells. The higher the climber goes, the thinner the air (which is why the climber brings oxygen tanks). There are many other dangers on Everest such as glaciers covering crevasses, or the unexpected storms that arrive (such as avalanches).

                On Everest, there is something called the death zone. When the climber has passed 8 000 meters, he/she has officially reached the death zone. It is called the death zone because the wind is at its coldest, and the air is at its thinnest. Passed the death zone there is only one quarter of oxygen in the air, again that is why the climber must bring air tanks to breathe. One important thing for the climber to do on Mount Everest is to bring some friends. With friends the climber has a higher chance of survival because there are many things a friend can do for another friend.

                People usually go in April to May if they want to climb Everest. This is because the temperature is usually lower. If the temperature is lower, then the less chance of the climber getting frostbite or hypothermia when reaching the summit of Mount Everest. They choose that time because of the heat in the summer (June – September) causes many storms, and a lot of rain. They do not go in the winter because it is too cold so they can catch hypothermia or frostbite. It is important that the climber chooses his/her timings right if he/she wants to climb Mount Everest.

                Mount Everest gets a lot of visitors; therefore there are good things and bad things. The downfall is the amount of trees getting cut down. The tourists want/require firewood, therefore they must cut down the trees in order to get it. Because of this the government is protecting the ecosystem around Everest. As well, it shows that Everest is extremely popular, and if they added a toll booth they could make some money, and since when does money not benefit others?

                Another main casualty is caused by falling. This is why the climber must always bring a rope to ensure he/she does not fall to his/her death. You bring the rope to the ground and pin it down as you group. As well you must clip yourself to the rope. Therefore if the climber slips and falls, he/she has a rope he/she is clipped to to ensure that he/she does not fall.

                Mount Everest is a fascinating place where dreams come true, and where tourists come to see from around the world. Mount Everest is not looked at as just a mountain, but the tallest mountain in the world. Mount Everest is so popular they even have a theme park ride for it. Be sure to bring all the required material when climbing.

Scotland

                Scotland, it is beautiful and full of nice sights. There are a lot of places to enjoy the scenery, go hiking, and just learn a bit of history. They even have the Harry Potter Bridge. This is a small tour of Scotland, just not as good as the real thing.

                There are a lot of places to hike, such as the Grey Mare’s Tail, or Ben Nevis. It has a lot of beautiful scenery, such as at the end of the Grey Mare’s Tail, there is a beautiful lake at the end. This is because the Grey Mare’s Tail is actually a 200 foot waterfall, and at the end, is the beginning source. The Grey Mare’s Tail is the perfect place to get some exercise because of the terrain. There are a lot of ups and downs in the Grey Mare’s Tail. As well, Ben Nevis is a place to hike, not as good though because there is a lift that takes you up, and only leaves you with a small distance to walk. Ben Nevis is the biggest mountain in the British Isles standing 4 409 feet above sea level. If you choose to hike in Scotland, there are many places to go, and you better be sure to bring a walking stick.

                The castles in Scotland are amazing, and full of history of Scotland. There is one dedicated towards William Wallace, the great hero of Scotland. It is all about him, his childhood, the wars he fought in, he was a true hero, and it is definitely something to see. As well, the castle of Edinburgh is a definite place to go to.  There are a lot of things to see such as the armor of the knights in shining armor, or perhaps the king’s dorm. They also have special guests come in and pretend to be perhaps a comrade. At night, once a year, there an event called the Tattoo Festival. That will be explained later. There are many castles and monuments to see in Scotland, and they are definitely things to see.

                There are many events in Scotland to see, like earlier, the Tattoo Festival was mentioned. The Tattoo Festival is not actually about tattoos, it is actually a music festival. People from various countries come to Scotland in Edinburgh to show off their musical skills, and a lot of them are quite amazing, and it should be on every bodies “list of things to do before I die”. If someone wants to make money on a rainy day, they get paid to dry a chair (or something along that line), although you only get paid to dollars to do it.

                The music is wonderful, and it is easily accessible (buy it, download from iTunes, etc.) It should be quite obvious that one of the most known instruments in the world comes from Scotland, and it is known as the bagpipes. The bag pipes are actually just one instrument. They make a low pitched sound when you start them, then when you begin to play, another sound comes in, except for the fact that the pitch is a lot higher. This is called highland music. Maybe there will be a singer involved, perhaps English. If the singer is not singing in English, then he has to be singing in Gaelic. There are different types of Gaelic though.

There is nice food and drinks in Scotland that is very hard to find. An example of food is haggis.  The main ingredients of this delicious food is sheep’s heart, liver, lungs, and stomach, onion, oatmeal, suet, and spices. When haggis is cooked just right, it is crispy and delicious. As well, a drink is Irn Bru. Yes it is spelled exactly like that, no errors. Irn Bru is an orange drink that is sweet at first, but as you drink it only gets better. When at its best, Irn Bru tastes delicious. In fact, in Scotland, Irn Bru is so popular that they actually made ice cream out of it. Trying the food and drinks is a must.

One of the most popular legends of all history was forged in Scotland: the lochness monster. The lochness monster has a specific lake (in Scotland it is called a loch) that it is rumored to live in. When looked at closely, people claim to have seen its shape.  When continued to go down, there is a gift shop full of merchandise to buy. Coffee mugs, chocolate (they call them pellets), and a lot of other things that are nice, and are definitely tempting to buy.      

Fishing, is as well a must (yes, there are a lot of musts in Scotland, it is that good.) Grab a fishing rod, and head down to a lake and catch fish. If a big one is caught, bring it down to the store and see if it is bigger than the one displayed at the shop. If it is, take pride in it, maybe even brag to some people. Fishing can earn money because maybe it can be sold it to some people (if the cops do not notice). Perhaps lodging can be added in to fishing so that the lake is closer, so there is not as far of a walk (or drive, as it saves gas. Less gas consumed equals more money saved, and what could be better? Actually a lot but disregard what was just said.)

So now, the tour is finished, and more of Scotland is known. It should be looked at as a wonderful place, and added into a lot of “Dream Vacations) lists. Scotland has a lot of trees, and a little pollution. The food, the events, the places to go, the things to do are incredible, and when someone has experienced Scotland, it is definite that they will say “Oh my god this was really great!” and start spreading it to all of their friends. Perhaps if lucky they will get to experience the Tattoo Festival. Scotland will become a wonderful memory that will never be forgotten.

               

My First Year at West

                 My first year at West was amazing; there were many exciting things to do. These things ranged D&D Club (Dungeons and Dragons, yes I like that kind of stuff), to amazing classes, such as music, or signing yearbooks with/for friends. At West, I had an enjoyable first year, and even though I still would like to go to Earl of March, I can live with West.

                 You’re standing behind the doors to the gym, wondering: “What’s going to happen next?”, when suddenly the doors open. You walk through to find the link crew waiting for you there, and celebrating that you chose West. It all starts off with a bridge, or sort of like one (I mean with the hands pointed over you). Then you grab your name tag, stick it to your shirt and sit down on the bleachers. Once everyone is settled in, you learn a bit about West, watch a funny video (Ours was about the song “Friday”,) and do a series of activities. The motto of link crew this year was: “The Quest to Make the Best of West.” I found that clever. We then went to individual classrooms with groups and did different activities. You are now probably wondering, what is link crew? It is a method of getting students at a school (or people in general) to know each other in general and hopefully get them to become friends.

                The classes at the school weren’t always classified as “fun”, but they had interesting activities. An example is the “Agree, Strongly Agree, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree”. Each one was posted at a different corner in the room. The teacher would make a statement and the students would have to go and choose a corner based on what they think. This happened to me in English class. Another example is the fact that we watch movies that can be educational, but is mainly entertaining. I watched Wall-E in geography class. Usually though, the movies come with questions to answer and to be handed in at the end of the movie. The teacher should give you about 5 minutes to complete the questions, or to improve them.

                The teachers there were nice. They almost never got upset at you (even never), and they found fun ways to teach the classes. In science class, I had a teacher called Mme.McColeman, and she was making up these funny jokes about science (or at least tried to). Even if they weren’t funny she still put up the effort, which isn’t always something you see every day. They were always patient with you, and it took a lot to make them snap and tell you to either move, or confiscate something if you were using it. They never yelled (which wasn’t the case at other schools). I had a math teacher called Ms. Pert who always smiled, and put up a funny math comic at the end of class when she put up our homework. As well, for most subjects the teachers don’t even assign you homework.

Since music has always been my favourite subject, I made a separate paragraph for it. At the beginning of day 1s on second semester, I just love to sit down and play music. I always say music is my life, and I always will. I play the clarinet and the drums (I prefer drums though). There is music class, r&b band, and concert band. I chose r&b because it is smaller; therefore lower chance of competition for drums, and better music. I got percussion for the song “Doin’ it Right”, and played cowbell for the song “Shake a Tail Feather”.  This year there was a band trip to Boston. I was going to go but I didn’t know what the first payment was until after the due date. There is a band trip every few years.

                There are a variety of different clubs and activities. Examples are the social justice club, Friday prayers, and d&d club (Dungeons and Dragons club). Those are only a few examples of them, there’s also sports teams, intramurals, and many other types of clubs. I’ll explain Dungeons and Dragons though. Dungeons and Dragons is a role playing game (RPG), in which you construct a character, with a variety of choices on what it could be: Race, Class, Alignment, and a lot more to choose from. There’s magic, or sword fighting, many things you can do. When you finish constructing your character, there’s a dungeon master (DM), who constructs the whole story line. You get assigned quests, buy things, compete in different competitions, and try to survive different obstacles. The most common thing in d&d though, is fighting people. Try to survive, because if you do, you get experience to level up, if you don’t, well, you don’t have a character anymore and you have to construct another one. When you gain enough experience points (XP), you level up, and can gain new things like utility spells, or new magic to do.

                We’ll now talk about sports. At West, there’s intramurals, and sport teams. Intramurals are activities being held in the gym. You make a team of friends, which are in the same house, and compete to win the intramurals. There are four houses: Blue (my house), Grey, White, and Red. Examples of activities are Floor Hockey, Dodge ball, and Volleyball. Of course, there’s a lot more activities. When you compete, you are given a shirt that says: “West True Sport” in capital letters. There are also the sports teams. You go through tryouts, and if you’re not one of the worst, you get picked. The sports teams can include hockey, soccer, golf, and many more.

                In grade 12 there is something called the senior prank. Each year the grade twelves pull off a prank before they go. Unfortunately last year there wasn’t a grade 12 prank though because it wasn’t planned

Now you know a little bit about West, but if you want to learn more, you have to go to it. Find out about working in the cafeteria, or meet new people, there is a wide variety of things that you can see and do at West.

Medieval Villages (from my point of view)

               Medieval Villages are not places where someone would want to stay. The punishments are awful, the houses are not luxurious, the farms were not as advanced, the sanitation was not proper, women were treated unfairly, the clothes could be uncomfortable judging by religion, houses costed a lot, entertainment was not as fun, and the jobs were much harder. This essay will describe a medieval village, although it may not be as accurate.

                The peasants were poor farmers, and therefore could not afford a nice fancy house like the ones of today. The walls were made of cow dung, imagine touching it, and thinking it is cement or concrete, and finding out it is cow dung, only it is dry. As well, the roofs were made of hay, and therefore were not as protective as the roofs of today as there were more holes, and not as strong, even with the wooden support. The insides were small, and there was only one room. There was only one room to sleep in, eat in, and sit in.

                The punishments for committing crimes varied between torture and execution. The “Scavenger’s Daughter” is opposite to “The Stretcher”, in the stretcher the victim gets pulled until ripped apart, but in the scavenger’s daughter, they get crushed.  There was an execution where you were put in a box of needle, and only the bottom was opened, the executioner, was a goat. A goat was brought to lick the victim’s feet until he/she was laughing hard enough to get impaled. Sometimes they were as unfortunate as the goat to bite instead. Please understand there were more and worse punishments/executions.

                The sanitation was awful. Another not so fun fact is that the peasants only showered once a year. They only showered once a year because they believed that the more dirty they were, the less likely they were to become sick. They used to go to a lake in order to take a shower, so you can imagine after only showering once a year, the lakes were quite dirty.

               

                Women were not treated as fairly as men back in the medieval ages. An example is when women go to work; they get paid less than men. Even if they share the same jobs, the woman always gets paid less. As well, women were not allowed to participate in plays, at least in some places. Women were all about supporting their husbands.

 

                Christians were never comfortable back in the medieval ages; they wore shirts made of hair. They believed that because Jesus died uncomfortable, they were not allowed to live in comfort either. So despite the tortures of wearing clothing of hair, they still wore it as a sign of respect to Jesus. Although Christians wore hair for clothing, other peasants had their clothing woven from the wool of sheep. Maybe a few patches here and there, but it does not detract from the point.

                In every village, there is a king and a queen (unless the king is not married). Every road leads to the castle in which the rich and the rulers live. Enough with the king and queen though, the castle is also where the landlords lived.  So whenever the peasants didn’t pay their quotas, they no longer had a house to live in. Even though the houses were small, and uncomfortable, it was much better to pay for the house and have a small bit of comfort, than to live on the road. Imagine if it was raining, they would be soaked. What if it was snowing, they would be frozen cold.

                The jobs varied in the medieval ages, there could be a farmer, who grew the crops and pretty much fed the village. They also took care of the animals, and milked cows. There could be a blacksmith, the blacksmith made the armor and weapons for the knights and kings. A couple of examples are leather armor, or steel swords. There was the rich, who were usually landlords, in which they did nothing except wait to receive your pay. Perhaps they were blessed with royal blood and heir to the throne, in which they were the main targets in a battle.

                Entertainment in the middle ages could dangerous. An example is jousting, in which at two knights wait on horses at opposite sides of the arena. When allowed, the two nights ride at each other with lances. The objective of the game is to knock the opponent of their horse. If no one is knocked off, they continue to ride and stop at the end. The same thing happens again and again until someone is knocked off. There were also non-dangerous was of entertainment such as plays. The plays would be watched and no one would be harmed.

                So by now, it should be noted that living in a medieval village is not the best choice, the best bet is to enjoy what there is here. The lifestyle is not desirable from the point of view of many others. Take in consideration the punishments, job, entertainment, the houses  were small and much worse than those of today, and be grateful of what you have to day.

Canada Day

       I am a proud Canadian. I am proud to be born and raised here.  This is where all of my friends are.   This is where I call Home.  Today, I celebrate Canada Day with pride.

               

       I’m proud that that we created the world’s greatest sport, hockey. There is nothing better than grabbing a puck, a hockey stick, and some skates, and heading down to the rink to play hockey. It does not matter if someone is not with you, you can play alone. One of the best things to do is heading down to a game and showing your true spirit. Letting yourself out and wildly screaming is amazing, especially when a goal is scored. My favourite teams are the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadians, and the Vancouver Canucks.

       One of our most important products is the maple syrup. You might be wondering, what is so important about maple syrup?  Well, our symbol is the maple leaf, and maple syrup is made from concentrating the sap of the maple tree. Maple syrup is as Canadian as the Canadian Flag.

      There is not a single person I have met who does not love beaver tails.  That flat dough deep fried to a golden perfection and then sprinkled with icing sugar or pasted with jam, chocolate, whipping cream or all of the above.  On a cold winter day after a hard session of skating on the Rideau Canal, or in the spring after a nice walk around the tulip garden during the Tulip Festival, a nice warm beaver tail fresh from the fryer is the best way to crown the day.  Heck, who am I kidding?  A beaver tail topped with “Killaloe Sunrise with lemon sprinkled on top, or one that is dripping maple syrup and whipped cream, is a treat any day, anytime especially on Canada Day.  Here’s an idea: Beavertails must become a tradition on Canada Day.

        Now if you feel that’s you’ll never be able to break a world record, here’s a record that us Canadians have all broken:  Our's is the world’s second largest country (yes it is a record by itself to be second, because the 1^st is not the 2^nd and cannot be 2^nd, therefore being 2^nd is a record on its own.  If you can’t get this bit of trivia, get someone smarter to explain it to you :p ).  Isn’t it just a great feeling to know that you live in the second largest country in the world?  I love the colours red and white, and I proud to wear them.

       If you live in the National Capital Region like me, you must have enjoyed Winterlude.  In February every year, hundreds of the best ice sculpture artists from around the world gather to dazzle the Capital with a display of sparkle and lights.  You put on your skates, and head to the Rideau Canal in the afternoon.   You skate and skate on the longest outdoor skating rink in the world until you feel that your toes are freezing and your nose is about to fall off.  Then you head back for a hot chocolate and a warm beaver tail.  By then, it is dark.  You take off your skate, put on your boots and head to the park to enjoy the ice sculptures.  What a feeling!  What a sight!  Winterlude is another display of our beautiful North Strong and Free!

        One of my favourite spots on a nice summer day in the whole wide world is Canada’s Wonderland. I absolutely LOVE the rollercoasters there. My top three are: 3. Flight Deck 2. Behemoth 1. Leviathan. I have been on Flight Deck 7 times, the Behemoth 14 times, but I have not been on the Leviathan yet. I cannot wait to go on it and I will not be happy with my dad if we do not go this summer. My cousins, who went to Toronto for the long weekend, are probably on the Leviathan right now.  It has the following magnificent specifications: It has a whooping near vertical drop of 306 feet.  It goes to 148 km/h while in quasi free fall. Being the roller coaster fan that I am, you can understand why I am so excited to go on this roller coaster.   By the way, you can find some of the world’s best funnel cakes in Canada’s Wonderland, which you can top with chocolate and strawberry syrup, vanilla ice cream, and icing sugar.  Quiz: What is the difference between a funnel cake and a beaver tail?  Answer:  A beaver tail can be wrapped into a sandwich :).

         I am so proud to be Canadian.  This is where I was born, and this is where I was raised.  We have one of the best health care systems in the world, where a sick person is not deprived of medical care just because he is poor.  I was born in a Canadian hospital.  I drank from the water of the Ottawa River (after it was treated of course), and I breathed the fresh air of the Gatineau Hills.  Canada is my home, and the home of my family and friends.  Those friends have stuck by my side, as I have theirs. There are other places in the world I would like to visit, but Canada is where I call home. 

Let’s say it all together now: 

O Canada!

Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.