25 Topics

There are many things in the world and many have writen about them. These are the kinds of things I am intrested in and therefore are the things I would most likely write about. There are 25 in total.

1. Friendships

2. Road to success

3. Adventures

4. Social Injustice

5. The differences of good and evil

6. Soccer

7. Children's stories

8. Mysteries

9. Teenage problems

10. Horror

11. Drama

12. Dreams

13. Inspirational Text

14. Romance

15. The future

16. Biography (because nothing is more intresting than me;))

17. Animals

18. Crime fighting

19. Comedy stories

20. Fantasy stories

21. Family matters

22. Hurt and Comfort

23. Overcoming lifes hurdles

24. Letters

25. Diary entries

It's All About Me

Hey, I'm quirky, funny, nice and annoying. Who am I? I'm Sarah Mason. I've always enjoyed writing little stories even back in elementary school. I also enjoy reading, and sometimes I wish I could see my own book out on the shelves. That's why I took this course: Writers Craft.

This course is at Orchard Park Secondary School, which I attend. I'm in grade 12 which means I am busily getting ready for University next year. I just recently turned 17, my birthday being in December (meaning I'm always the youngest)

On my spare time, I enjoy hanging out with friends, talking on MSN, playing soccer, and even writing every so often. I find writing a good and healthy way to express my feelings.

Some fun facts: I enjoy chocolate milk and Kraft Dinner. Both together is amazing.

If I could meet anyone, It would be Hailey from Paramore

Friendships are important to me, so that may come out a lot on my writing.

I wish I could win the lottery

That's me, and if you don't like it, that's too bad. If you do... Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Sarah:)

Women's Rights Bites the Neck in Twilight

What happened to the happy tales of vampires preying on young women and sucking their blood? Thanks to the saga Twilight, the stereotype for a vampire has changed to “only a vampire can love you forever.” No. They can’t. Teenage girls, and some guys, everywhere are obsessed with the story of a young, klutzy and somewhat bleak girl falling in love with a vampire who romantically spends most of the book trying not to kill her. Ohh lala. It’s become so big; in fact, that I believe some girls will actually search their lives for a vampire to have and to hold. Anything less is just not good enough. And who can blame them? The “dreamy” vampire Edward is perfect. With his Perfect pale skin, perfect golden eyes, perfect hair, perfect teeth, perfect features and his perfect perfectness. Nobody out there is like that, girls.



Now, I admit that I’ve read the books. I never was a huge fan, but the action parts are quite good and sometimes worth reading through the five-page long staring contests Edward and Bella seem to always have. It can be sickening. But probably the most sickening thing I read in the whole series was in the second book, New Moon, in which Edward leaves Bella in order to “protect” her. This sparks five pages that are even more boring then the staring contests. Nothing. Honestly, there are about five pages with just blank pages and months. Finally it gets back to Bella who is a total wreck. It’s like she’s an empty shell without her beloved vampire. Oh, yeah, great message to send to girls out there. Without a man, you are NOTHING. Woo. So eventually, she starts seeing this person who she starts hanging out with and makes her so happy. Shockingly, it’s a guy. Namely a guy named Jacob. Oh, and get this, he’s a werewolf! But even with this new male companion at her side, she misses her dear, sweet; perfect Edward so much that she jumps off a cliff just to hear his voice. That’s another great message. We should compose a motivation speech to women on this book. Eventually he comes back, and continuous to save her life. As always. She’d be dead and nothing without her Edward.



This book is horrible to the rights of girls. Not only that, but it shows that nothing is more important then your soul mate. Family and friends come second to bloodthirsty vampires, I guess. I am so sick of hearing about it, it’s just so… over rated. If you share in my feelings, you can read Stoney321 reads Twilight so you don’t have to. It’s basically a girl writing a synopsis on all the books, pointing out its flaws in a humorous fashion. It entertained me, so I’m going to share it with you.



WARNING: The following link contains mature (and some immature) themes and course language.


http://stoney321.livejournal.com/317176.html

Facebook or Faceplant?

First there were blogs here and there, just like this one. Then myspace came out, which was pretty huge. Then there was facebook. Practically everybody has facebook. It’s just as common as a phone number. When two people meet each other, you never hear “can I get your number?” first off anymore. Sometimes they ask for your e-mail. But mostly they ask if they can add you on facebook. Sure it has new features and such. It’s much safer then myspace, but it’s not completely safe. Anyone you add can see your personal information, and not all people are very safe with who they add.




Before you read on, I want everyone to know that NOTHING ENDED UP HAPPENING




To show as an example, one day I got a random text from some random person. It was probably just one of those people who put in a random number for fun. So some friends and me started texting back. We talked about grandparents and movies and different stuff. Then they asked for my name. Now, I’ve had the cops come in to talk about it. I know that whole confidentiality stuff. So we make up a name, and I call myself “Jacob Dalton”. This person, whose name I learned but not going to say just in case, asked for my facebook. Quickly we made a facebook page for Jacob Dalton. She says she would add “him” later on that night. Poor Jacob was never added, but the fact is that he could have been. Stuff like that happens all the time. We did that as a sort of experiment, but whoever texted me that day must have realized that adding some strange guy was not the smartest thing to do. It could have been different though. It could have been some 46-year-old pedophile pretending to be an 18-year-old football star. You have to be careful about whom you add, and make sure you always know who it is. Never go meet someone you don’t know who added you on facebook

Obamarama eh?

He’s everywhere. He’s on magazine covers, posters, T.V. ads and he’s even got a special hair cut. Of course, because he’s the president of the United States! So, if he’s the president of the US, why is he also everywhere in Canada? Obama-mania seems to have North America hard. I get it’s a big step having the first black president, and he’s probably a great guy. That’s all great for south of the boarder, but why does Canada have such a huge obsession? I walk through the halls of our school and I see a kid wearing an Obama t-shirt. I have to ask myself “why?” Sure, maybe the kid is from the States originally, but the fact is he probably lives under the Canadian Government now. Shouldn’t we be more concerned about THAT? Why aren’t people walking around with Harper t-shirts? Our government might have ANOTHER election this summer. It’s insane, and we’re caring about some guy whose only effect on Canada is that he wont blow us up or shut down American companies in Canada.


Don’t say it’s just a few people who walk around with Obama t-shirts on. Remember when he came to Ottawa? There was a huge swarm of people who came just you support him. More then there’s ever been for any Prime Minister except maybe Trudeau. I experienced it first-hand. About a week after he visited, my family and I went to Ottawa to visit my brother. My mother is a prime example of an Obama-maniac. She dragged us to a market where they sold short bread cookies shaped like maple leaves that Obama bought while he was there. These cookies were dubbed “Obama cookies” and the bakery had shelves upon selves because people were buying that much. My mom bought a couple as well. Next we were dragged to a beaver tail shack. If you don’t know what a beaver tail is… I’m not too sure either. It’s basically deep fried dough covered in different toppings. While Obama was there, he asked for a special beaver tail. The people quickly threw together a beaver tail with maple syrup, chocolate sauce and whipped cream in an O shape. The “Obama tail” is now regularly sold and purchased often. Including by my mom. So why are we like this? Why do we care about this guy so much? Sure, he’s a big breath of fresh air from Bush, but we have our own politicians to worry about. We live in Canada, we’re not American!

Shut up and Take a Walk

Everybody has his or her own opinion, even celebrities. The only difference is that the opinion of a celebrity is listened to more then anyone else. For example, take a look at politics. Everyone has something to say about politics. One person who has a political opinion is rapper Kanye West. Back when Katrina hit New Orleans, a bunch of celebrities did a telethon to help raise money. Kanye was one of them, and in his short segment with Mike Myers, he decided to speak up. He started talking (very nervously) about how everyone is poor and black and America is helping them as slow as possible. They’re also giving permission to go down and shoot them (which I really don’t understand that… I don’t remember anything about the army flying in to shoot people). After Myers was done talking again, trying to be as professional as he could after West’s major off-script rant, he then throws it back to West, who says, “George Bush doesn't care about black people!”[1] After that they quickly cut to comedian Chris Tucker without giving poor Mike the chance to finish the phone number. NBC later explained the outburst as “emotions running high” and edited it out for the West Coast feed. My opinion? I agree with his statement on saying that blacks were being misrepresented as “looting”. However, I think he was out of line to say George Bush doesn’t care about black people. I highly doubt Mr. W was floating around down there in a little raft and said, “Hmm, there’s some black folks in this here flooded house next to me… Oh, but those white folks over yonder look more needy so I’m going to go help them, ya’ll!” … No, that just wouldn’t happen. I’m sure there might have been some discrimination, and even some moments like that. But you really can’t blame George Bush for everything. At that time, I believe every human being was a human being who deserved to be saved.



Some celebrities speak out in a different way, like using their talent. Pink, or rather, P!nk, is a very opinionated person. She might be a little out there, but for a celebrity she has good values. She decided that she would rant about America’s problems and the president to boot in the hit single “Dear Mr. President” P!nk never intended on Dear Mr. President to become so huge hit, but it became controversial as it came out. In the song, she talks about taking a walk with the president and talking about how the homeless are suffering, people crying because of the war, homosexuals getting their rights restricted etc. She ends the song saying the president would never take a walk with her and listen to the problems. There was a small outcry against the song. But honestly, it makes valid points and I thoroughly enjoy the song. I think it would be good for the president to listen to it, just so he can see what his country is going through. At one point, the song says:



Let me tell you 'bout hard work/ Minimum wage with a baby on the way/ Let me tell you 'bout hard work/ Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away/ Let me tell you 'bout hard work/ Building a bed out of a cardboard box/ Let me tell you 'bout hard work/ Hard work/ Hard work/ You don't know nothing 'bout hard work[2]



This is a little contradicting. After all, P!nk is a famous celebrity with tons of money and probably never has to go through any of that stuff. So, in a way, she knows nothing about hard work. However, she made her point that people DO live like that. Maybe it might be a little hard for one little leader of the free world to handle, but it definitely got his and other people’s attention. Props to P!nk.



P!nk didn’t lose much over the song. However, there are cases where opinions have ruined entire careers. Look at the Dixie Chicks. In 2003 at a London concert the Chicks said they did not support the war and the lead singer Natalie Maines jokingly added “I’m ashamed that the president is from Texas.” They got cheers from London, but back home in the U.S. they only met negative reactions. Everything was documented in the documentary, Dixie Chicks: Shut up and Sing. It showed how radio stations were boycotting their music; people destroying their music and even sending out death threats. The Chick’s career plummeted. Despite this, they stuck true to their comments. They disappeared for a while, but came back stronger then ever with their hit album “Taking the Long Way” that included songs like “Not Ready to Make Nice” which is based off the controversy. Americans loved it, now that they realized Bush’s war just wasn’t working. I hold a lot of respect for the Chicks. They went through so much and still came out with their heads held high. Not only that, but it also said a lot about the American culture. Three years prior, they freaked at Natalie’s comment. Now, they laugh a long with the comment. Why? They nearly destroyed the Chick’s career and showed that they do believe in freedom of speech… just as long as you don’t say anything that the majority of the people don’t agree with.









[1]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090300165.html

[2]http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/pink/dearmrpresident.html

Low-han

This blog is particularly close to home. It’s about a role model I used to have when I was younger. I bet everyone had one at some point. Someone you could look up to and base your life off of. Mine was Lindsay Lohan. Not exactly what most people would call “role model material” these days. There was a time, however, where she was the model… well, role model. Something happened though, obviously. Was it her age? Are we all doomed to face an inevitable wild child future once we hit 18? Was it her career? Her personal life? Whatever it was, Lohan kept going lower.



Lindsay was acting at an early age, appearing in ford commercials at age 3. She was in other commercials for Wendy’s and Jell-O. She was not noticed by the public eye until she starred as twins in the remake of The Parent Trap. She also starred in a few made-for-TV movies, but I never saw her until Freaky Friday. I loved the movie, and liked her character, so I read up on her. I started regularly checking her website, LLrocks (which doesn’t exist anymore. Does she even have an official website?) and when I saw all the accomplishments she made and her good morals and values, I started looking up to her. Around the time when mean girls came out, which is still one of my favourite movies, things started to change. I first noticed when I watched her Rumours music video and saw her getting down and dirty with the elevator walls. I was with a friend at the time that said, “Oh well, she's 18 now. That’s normal.” I, personally, can’t wait for the day when I’m old enough to “ride” the elevator. Ahahahaha. Lame joking aside, the video also showed her in a party mood, something that apparently reflected her real life. Drinking became very prominent in her life despite being under age. She said she was going through troubles with her father, which cause her to just party it all out. This caused her to spiral into the world of alcoholism. Along the line, she was found in possession of cocaine and made several hit and runs. Of course, some of them were just hits, while she couldn’t run due to being passed out in her car.



She seemed to realize just how messed up she was after being quoted saying “It is clear to me that my life has become completely unmanageable because I am addicted to alcohol and drugs.” She has attended many rehab facilities in the past few years. Despite this, she still has a long way to go to rebuild up her career which has basically been destroyed. She has tried to rebuild herself by creating a spoof of her making a fake eharmony to laugh at herself. Apparently, she came up with the idea. Good for her.




Lindsay Lohan's eHarmony Profile


(If the video doesn't work, use the link above it.)


I felt almost betrayed by this transformation. Someone who used to say she would never get into drugs because it changed people. She also said she would never pose naked because its disrespectful and she never wanted to give that message to her fans. Wearing underwear is kind of included in that, Lindsay. Luckily, I was old enough to realize she was on a fast track to nowhere and she was quickly dead to me as a hero. However, what about others younger then myself? Those who idolized Lindsay from the beginning and still thought what ever she did was cool? I feel bad for them. It’s not only Lindsay, either. What about fans of Miley Cyrus? Or what about Vanessa Hudgens? Should we let children have role models at all with the danger that these so called “squeaky-clean” girls are going to grow up not being the best positive influence? Children do need heroes, but the ones shown in entertainment who are highly influential are dangerous to the younger generation’s future.