Exploring the Modern World

    Nick Ut, a Vietnamese photographer, took a photo of a 9 year old girl during the Vietnam war in 1972.  She suffered from severe burns due to napalm, a weapon used to burn dense forests with jellied gasoline.  The contentious image inspired Banksy to create his own rendition of the photo to help spread awareness. I was shocked by these two disturbing images. Banksy, capitalized on this anti-war sentiment with the two of the largest American brands in fast food and movies.  Much like, that the Americans forced the South Vietnamese to fight, Mickey Mouse and Ronald Mcdonald is  forcing the "Napalm Girl" to move with them (with all smiles and that’s creepy). You can see the two mascots holding the girl.  With her facial expressions, it shows that she don't want to go to wherever they are heading.  This is what I would call “Scary Satire”. While satirical, this image isn’t supposed to be funny, this upfront and graphic artwork reminds people of the horrors of the Vietnam W

AP Vacation/ IB Higher level Vacation  Dear CollegeBoard,     After a stressful hectic day in the office, typing on a computer and talking business jargon, you need to relax. Many wanted to have  a worry free relaxation for less but are unprepared.  With tourists traps and the insane costs of almost everything, planning and budgeting is crucial.  It's hard to find an ideal vacation that won't break your wallet and not worry about credit card bills. It's imperative that high schools offer an AP or IB class on this, in order to prepare students for the challenges of balancing life in taking a break.  Below are some of the course material that will be included to help prospective students achieve that and enjoy vacation.  Below are some important ideas taught in the class.       A key concept to learn especially for air travel, is to always buy water and food at the airport.  A nine dollar bottle of water will keep you from dehydration more than a drinking fountain can (no, re

                    Since the dawn of time, mankind has attempted to figure out whether or not they can control their lives or if some higher power dominates our existence. With that came various religions, explaining the creation of the world and answering the following questions: why we make decisions and mistakes we did?   Is there life after death?   What happens or where do we go? Traditions passed and with the rise of a modern society, people are now eager to know how much truth are in them.   Yet a question still remains, how do we respond to the external powers? Greek drama stemmed from religious rituals; the play Oedipus the King is a prime example of life having a predestined end and whatever one does; the gods still have the final say. For fear of the prophecy coming to pass, Jocasta ordered Oedipus be killed as a baby. Although ordered to “make away with it” (Sophocles 1242), the herdsman somehow “pitied it and thought that he could send it off to another country” (Sophoc

       In the early history, people were ruled by kings, queens, emperors, pharaohs, kaisers, tsar etc. Most cultures revere their kings as gods while some are considered a servant of their gods. I can just imagine how their high place and authority above everyone else has led to extreme arrogance. These rulers are naturally at war with fate or God.  Their will might not necessarily fit the pre-ordained design. I thought of an example of such in King David from the Old Testament.  He loved his people yet had innate desires which in turned fired back.  In 2 Samuel 24:13  David wanted a strong army to protect the nation. This resulted in David commanding a census, instead of completely relying on God to provide him with it.  Whats wrong with taking a census? It is an act of lack of faith in God.  Just like Tireseas warned Oedipus of his fate, Joab questions David's judgement. God gave him three choices of punishment: were 3 years of famine, flee for 3 months while pursued by enemies,