Qwfwq Insecurities

 Insecurities are our internal weaknesses; what we do and what we don't is based on them. In “Cosmicomics”, a collection of short stories revolving around a character named Qfwfq (shortened to “Q” throughout the essay), by Italo Calvino, many of Q's insecurities are illustrated throughout his journey through time. Q misses many chances to unite his family, form new relationships, and help improve his world around him because of his insecurities. His own fear for something going wrong shows him to be an overly careful, reaction-based character.

In the “Aquatic Uncle”, Q deals with insecurities revolving around prejudices his lover Lll is born with about the differences between their families. Lll's family is completely land based, where Q's family is a mixture of fish and amphibians. As a action of etiquette, Q must introduce Lll to his fish uncle N'ba N'ga, causing conflict, “ Knowing the prejudices in which she had been brought up, I hadn't yet dare tell Lll that my great-uncle was a fish” (75). Q has an insecurity that Lll will be repulsed my Uncle N'ba N'ga, but he has yet to even try her reaction. Him being so afraid of his lover shows how his insecurity affects his love life and family. He won't even try to test their love's boundaries. However, when he does introduce Lll, her reaction is the polar opposite of what he thought. Lll says after meeting with Uncle N'ba N'ga manny times after their initial visit, “Marry him. Be a fish again with him. And bring still more fish into the world. Good-bye” (81). This over-exemplifies the consequences of someone does not do anything because they are afraid. Lll Leaves Q for his own uncle, an act of high betrayal, leaving one lover for another, all because Q was afraid that something would go wrong. A path similar to this repeats again when Q is in a different time period, one after the extinction of the dinosaurs.

When courting a female in “The Dinosaurs”, Q is afraid to make advances onto her because of his insecurities about the physical differences between them. Even though he a chance with the female, he still chooses not to court her because of his insecurities. He says to himself, “This was the moment for me to embrace her. But the dinosaur they imagined was too different from the Dinosaur I was” (101). This shows how his confidence wavers, so much as to not to take a chance at a women. Italo shows him as being weak on purpose, to show Q's fatalistic traits. This is a major character flaw in Q. However, Q is even more insecure when it comes to protecting his new home.

As apparent dinosaur attackers rush on a rampage and target his new home, Q is elected as the leader of the offense, but he abandons his people in hope of reconciliation with the dinosaurs instead.

The commotion of him being chosen and the clamor of the village causes even more insecurity within him, causing internal conflict. Q to contemplate leaving both sides to avoidan uncomfortable situation, “I wanted nothing to do with either side: Let them rip each other apart in turn! I didn't give a damn about any of them. I had to escape as fast as possible...” (106). His insecurity cripples his own pride, as when he is given high command and respect, he would rather leave it to save himself then help his people. This shows how his insecurity will not risk himself to take a risk to improve his leave significantly.

All of Q's insecurities show that he is afraid and is an overly-careful and reactionary character. He would rather save himself from any pain or suffering then take a risk to improve his life. A quote that says, “Do what makes you anxious, don't do what makes you depressed” is an example why Q should test his insecurities for a chance at a better life.

Homework!

This is a response to Andy Li's Post, "Homework- wonderful/awful"

"Is homework a good thing or a bad thing? Teachers and paretns say it's a good thing; they help you learn and get an education, which is good for your future. Students think that homework is torture and should not be assigned. Students are the ones who have to the do the homework, which is why they coplain about it. The teachers don't have to do it so they don't complain.

That didn't answer the overall question: Is homework a good thing or a bad thing? It depends on how you look at it. This is probably the best answer anyone can give. If you're the student who has to do it, you wouldn't want to do it. As teenagers, we care about dates and TV and computers, not homwork."

As a participate of a incredibly daunting task such as homework each week, I take in Andy's inquiry as a personal statement. Homework, even though it is a repepititive task, I do see it's purpose to help reinforce what we have learned throughout the school day.
I think the question Andy is trying to ask is why we have homework. Since it is our job as a student to be educated and grow into a capable adult, we might see homework as our job. Rather, I think it the Educator's job to assign homework. If we didn't have homework, we wouldn't remember what we did throughout the day and lose the time we spent  and energy we pent in school. Homework is a way of re-learning and fortifying what we learned on that day, making what we learned practiced element.
If students ask if homework actually does help them learn better, it may be seen as defiance or laziness. Seeing them that way is valid however, as it is the teacher job to reflect actions of students on their work habits, but if asked by a higher official, it might cause discussion. It is valid to assign homework, as it is a pathway to work later. The way you might complete an english paper might be the same way you file a report at your job. Either way, it doesn't matter, homework sets up a similar environment that a job does.

The Energy between you and I

Something I wrote on vacation a long time ago.


"The energy between you and I, the space that is filled, yet so empty, can fill our energy woes for futures to come."
Or so they thought.

"Look for any survivors!" Days after the blast. I flashback to it. Charred bodies, falling metal. Our Earth beneath us splits in two.
I wake up next to someone, someone cold, unmoving. It was their chill that woke me up. I don't know what to do. I feel sick, I wretch. Swirling, tumbling, blood, is all the comes to my mind. I suck in air, but get nothing. Buildings, carcasses of what used to remain breathes death on me. I don't know what to do. Bracing for the nausea I feel from standing up, ever so slowly, I vomit again. Bending over, hands my knees, I feel what food, what precious morsels I wish I still had, flow onto another gone.
Bracing for another wretch that does not come, I wait, looking up into the sky. I see the horror of what I have not fully realize to this day.
It must have been a good day, I was walking, my pet at my side. 5th avenue and Rain Corridor, I stand at the corner. Cars zoom past, their exhaust cleaning our air. Water spilling from their pipes, dripping out of their engines, it helps even the most neediest of weeds to grow on our city's streets. Our Earth, now so clean, saved by our Valiant one, Chancellor Sepior.
“Remember, Chancellor Sepior! He will clean us of our sins, and will create! Follow Chancellor Sepior into the Futurea!” Blares from the loudspeaker in the middle of the street. A dark colored van, no windows at all, a black sheen across the front, pulled up to a local store. Then, His Shadow Cloaks, wrestled a Mom and her child to the ground for high treason against the government across the street, in that same store. I salute, fear for what they might do to me, as a fortnight before, the same thing happened to brother.
I learn how to walk again. I crawl at first. The only thing I hear is the crackling of fire, burning my lungs, burning away at the life I grew to know. I feel stronger every second, yet weaker as the depression seizes my mind, seeping what hope I have. I try to stand again, not wanting to vomit, yet wondering what I have left to give up.
What happened?

Bwhhat? Style Oppression? D:

I wrote my response to Aleah's post, "Swagga-Style".

I disagree with what Aleah is saying. By styles adapting to races of people, it defines people's culture by complexion instead of location. She is racially profiling individuals by their clothing, stating that black people can wear baggy pants while white people can wear skinny jeans, but interchanging and switching each other is wrong and is considered to be against social demand. I find this point of view offensive, as it is seemingly oppressive and unjust. Having to wear a particular style based on your race is ludicrous. When did clothing become a standard on which to base race? This idea can also lead to racism in communities similar to pre twenty-first century America in times when people were fighting for their own civil rights. If people belong to different factions, such as religion or politics, it is a melting pot of racial profiles, as they're black republicans and black democrats.
People should be able to wear whatever style of clothing they want without being sought as different. Seeing other people like this will create racism, despite what Aleah says even though she claims that her view point is not racist. If you identify something as different, your initial reaction is that you don't like it. Profiling someone's clothing to their race as different than yours will create the same hysteria in times such as the 50s and 60s. This is an unhealthy standard for a society, as everybody sees people different than the.
I'd also like to discuss how these styles stick to different races. How did black people primarily start sagging jeans, and why is it known that white people tend to follow the skinny jean-skater trend? Think this could be for a number of reasons, ranging from either personal preference to social demographics. While there is the argument that people can pick their own styles, as you do see white teenagers sagging and vice versa, if you look at the difference of prices between the two stlyes, the marginal difference between clothing styles may widen. Skinny jeans. Depnding on where you buy them, may range up to as much as forty dollars, while low riding, wide fit pants that are used for sagging as much cheaper, going for as low as ten dollars. If you factor in also shirts, hats, and other acessoies that the different styles have, you can see why it is more common to see Black people sag, as it is proven that black families have a lower income then other races, showing a reason based on economics why styles may differ based on race.

Abortion Cons

Opening Statement: Abortion Cons
Abortion should not be legal, for reasons that it is unsafe to the human body and causes many controversies in the church and state. Cancer is a very high rate among women who terminated their pregnancies through abortions, occurring as much as 25%.(procon.org) This is a very risky, showing that abortions should not be used for public use. As an alternative to unwanted pregnancies, the Centers for disease controls says that women should use contraceptives instead of abortions to prevent women from getting pregnant, so that that they are never impacted from the high rate of cancer. Abortions also cause damage to the women brains, as “2002 peer-reviewed study published by the Southern Medical Journal of more than 173,000 American women found that women who aborted were 154% more likely to commit suicide than women who carried to term. [And] an Apr. 1998 Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology study on men whose partners had abortions found that 51.6% of the men reported regret, 45.2% felt sadness, and 25.8% experienced depression.” (procon.org) With the many medical concern of cancer, there is also many controversies f it within the church and state. “The Declaration of Independence states that "[A]ll men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Allowing abortion directly contradicts the Founding Fathers' intentions for an inalienable right to life in this country.” (procon.org) and the bible says, "Thou shalt not kill." (Exodus 20:13) With these over-substantial evidence to the cause of anti-abortion, it is clear that it should not be legal.