What is "reality"?

Reality is not something I consider universal. Everyone has a different "reality" because no one person can know the entire truth of the world. So many falsehoods and rhetorics are put out by each person, that no one person can completely cut through to the truth or reality. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder", and so is reality. Reality is only what you believe to be real, and what you know of yourself. Reality is such a loosely used term, such as reality television. Besides the fact that I am completely convinced that Real Housewives of Orange County and Jerseylicious(yes that is a tv show) are scripted, people do not usually act like that, not reality. Reality is a picture of your own life that you have created in your head.

Organization:

This is a picture of the structure and organization of the US government based on the Constitution. I found a chart similar to this in a textbook first semester, and recalled it when I read the assignment. I chose it because I find it interesting, and a great way of organizing. The chart is horizontal and and fairly small. It simply breaks down the US government and makes looking at an incredibly complex system fairly strait forward, found this chart useful in lower school and still do in my classes in College!

Exploring Richmond... From My Couch

Instead of physically taking a walk for this assignment... I have chosen to take a virtual one. Unable to remove myself from the couch without risking falling asleep in public due to my recent surgery, I decided to research the historic Monument Avenue from my couch. Monument avenue goes through the old part of downtown Richmond, and is lined with statues. I chose to write about the statue of Robert E Lee. Robert E Lee is known for commanding the Confederate army of Northern Virginia during the civil war, and for successfully commanding the Confederate army through battles such as the second battle of Bull Run and the battle of the Wilderness. The statue depicts Robert E Lee upon horseback on a large base, which puts him very high off the ground. The statue expresses Robert E Lee's importance by making him so high off the ground, because he was such an important war figure to Virginia and the rest of the south. The statue is also very old and weathered, which shows the history of this important monument. The statue expresses the rich history of Richmond, Virginia as well as the importance of the commander Robert E Lee.

Paper Questions:

Is the death penalty an ethical means of justice?

Who deserves the death penalty? Juveniles? Adults?

Comparing Websites

The website above is called Blipdar, formerly known as Collegeacb. This website sucks because not only is it poorly organized, but it is also mean. This website is used to gossip and anonymously say hurtful things about fellow students, which does not exactly promote a happy campus. Many people are hurt by what is said on this site and only very rarely is something nice or helpful said in the messages it contains. This website sucks because it hurts so many people and is completely unnecessary, and it should be deactivated.

This website, free rice, is great because not only is it mentally stimulating and fun, but it benefits hungry children around the world. Also the design of the website is very pleasing, there is so much to like about this website. I first logged on for fun SAT review my sophomore year of high school, and it is incredibly addicting. This website is so much better than blipdar because it helps people who are hungry. People should spend their time on websites like this rather than gossip sites like blipdar.

Thank You Harry!

I chose to write about a recent cover of Entertainment Weekly which depicts 11 year old Daniel Radcliffe on the cover. The cover corresponds to an article saying farewell to Harry after 8 movies. The words "Thank You Harry" make it clear that the article is a fond recap of what Harry has brought to the world in the past decade, which has been alot. Daniel Radcliffe states that "Harry Potter has given me everything, and I suspect it will continue to bring me much for years to come.", this is one example of the Harry Potter films touching people's lives, and as the cover suggests, he sure will be missed. The Harry Potter films greatly transformed from their origins, when first put on the producer's desk he thought it was "rubbish". However, the actors grew and developed, as did the films and the final Harry Potter that was released not even a week ago is its product. The cover shows Harry back in his 11 year old form to make people look back at the beginning, and say a final farewell to Harry.

Jensen, Jeff. "So Long, Harry." Entertainment Weekly 8 July 2011: n. pag. Print. 

Cited Sources:

Bedau, Hugo Adam. The Death Penalty in America: Current Controversies`. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Google Books. Web. 19 July 2011. <http://books.google.com/books?id= U7Nx-lwlaQAC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false>.

Guernsey, Joann Bren. Death Penalty: Fair Solution or Moral Failure? Minneapolis, MN: Lerner 
Publishing Group, 2010. Print.