Assignment 13: Headline Hilarity. Halibut.

-Citizens head over heels after new ice clearing bill slides by.
-High Court to legalize marijuana - Suspected of subject bias.
-Zombie attack in downtown St. John's. Locals remark, "George Street has never been more peaceful."
-Man arrested after alleging town mayor is a bear. When questioned, mayor's responded: "Rawwugh!"
-Man after awakening from coma: "Never gotten more rest in my life!"

Assignment 12: Informal writing on Irish writing

James Joyce's short story Araby shares a similar theme to his short story Eveline, that of struggling with escape. Each story features a character who is in a transitional period trying to escape their background and their past.

The main character in Araby has a strong religious background, and has related this to his infatuation with his friend Mangan's sister. He sees her deified, raised to divinity in his mind by the places he encounters her, and quickly offers to win her favour by going to the 'Araby' and fetching her something. He struggles over his new crush, which reveals to himself how he is "a creature driven and derided by vanity". 

The titular character of Eveline is planning to leave her home and start a new life in Buenos Aires, leaving her family and her responsibilities behind. She considers the events that have lead her to this decision, and struggles with her reasoning: whether it was too selfish to just up and leave it all for her own sake.

Assignment 11: Detailed Descriptions Deserve Doing

The cat crouched low while it stared intently at the elastic band on my wrist. Purring audibly, it eyed its prize: the dangling length of rubber would amuse it for hours if I let him have it. It stares at me with it's sickly greenish-yellow eyes, unsettling with it's mottled brown and black striped coat, with white splotches marring his chest and paws.. He rises, back arching and mouth stretching wide, tail flicking from side to side it steps in front of my computer monitor. Perhaps thinking to convince me to take the elastic off and give it to him, or seeking to divert my attention from my English assignments, he paces back and forth before the white glow of my word processor.

The cat stared at the band of elastic while it sat at my computer desk. With green eyes, striped brown and black fur with white splotches on chest and paw, it rose and stretched before standing in front of my computer monitor.

The cat stared wonderingly at the elastic band wrapped around my wrist; it's glowing green-yellow eyes drawn to the object that otherwise would dangle tantalizing in a most erratic manner. Noticing me watching him, the cat challenges me with a glare, focusing the air of superiority all cats seem to embody. Quickly dismissing me, he rises to his feet and stretches, before striding confidently in front of my screen. Back and forth he marches, knowing just how annoying it is when he does it, knowing that I'll have to pick him up to get him out of the way. Lifting him gently I place him back on the floor, as I finish the last of my English blog.

Assignment 10: Outlining Theme

Chinua Achebe's "Dead men's Path" is a story about the conflicts caused by African colonialism.

  1. Obi is young and zealously interested in modern ideals, thinks the school unprogressive before he gains authority.
    1. Obi has a secondary school education, making him a prime candidate for a headmaster, and was "outspoken in his condemnation of the narrow views of these older and often less-educated ones"
    2. Makes the school into a compound, drastic changes to modern designs.

  2. A path intersects the school, represents the village's resistance to new ideas.
    1. Obi's attempt to block the path is imposing what he thinks is better on the villagers.
    2. The priest tells him "this path was here before you were born, and before your father was born"

 3. The lack of compromise between the school and village, leads the superstitions of the villagers to damage the school.
    1. Obi offered to move the path, but the priest didn't agree.
    2. The white supervisor writes a scathing report on the school, and the "tribal war situation developing..." "Arising in part from the misguided zeal of the new headmaster"

Alice Munro's "Boys and Girls" is a story about a girl who can't escape the gender roles of her family

   1.  The girl likes to work with her father, but her mother wants to have her in the house to help.
     1. She associates the work with her father with good things, and enjoys the outdoors
     2. The mother is counting the days till the son, Laird, is old enough to work
 
  2. The girl grows attached to the two horses, seeing herself and her brother in them
     1. The male horse was slow and easy to handle, sooty and indifferent, much like her younger brother until she drags him with her to watch the horse be shot. Afterwards he shows more interest in working with his father.
     2. The female horse was energetic and regal, when it comes time to kill her, she sets it free instead of keeping it penned.

   3. The girl doesn't know why she let Flora go, even thinking it was just making more work for her father.
     1. She hopes to avoid being revealed as why flora got away, and would have gotten away with it had her brother not tattled.
     2. Her father dismisses her in the end, absolving her of guilt by saying "she's only a girl."

Assignment 9: Writing a Riveting Review

Following the massive success of Mineraft, a wave of survival games based in an open randomly generated world has flooded the market. One particular example I've discovered is indie gothic survival game, Don't Starve, developed and published by Klei interactive.

Taking place on an island made up of several different types of environment (called Biomes) populated by pig-men, birds, jackalope and much more dangerous creatures like boars and spiders, Don't Starve is an accurate title as you are left to survive alone. You must gather food and other useful items to ensure you can make it through the treacherous night of the island, when the hostile creatures emerge to feed.

The game is presented in a hand-drawn pen and ink look, all in a sepia tone that evokes a very dark and menacing atmosphere. The isometric camera really gives you a good view of the beautiful art style, looking down on the island and the player character from on high. The bleak color palette, and the dark heavy lines bordering everything emphasizes the creepy and lonely nature of the game.

Helping the menacing atmosphere is amazing sound design: the clear sounds of the island like the wind and the ocean mixes well with the plonky piano and deep horn bleats fit the old-timey feel of the game while you explore. Later, during the night, the dead silence punctuated by the growls of nearby beasts keeps you close
to your pitiful firelight.

 There is much to discover as you explore the mysterious island, survival takes a quick wit, and a cautious mind to ensure you make it through the days, maintaining your health, hunger, and sanity. At 15$ on steam, I recommend Don't Starve to any PC gamer, it's a truely unique experience that anybody would want in their game collection.

Assignment 8: Fantastic Firefly Fanfic

Based on the cult hit show Firefly, by Joss Whedon. The scene takes place shortly before the first episode.

Sergeant Malcolm 'Mal' Reynolds settled his dark brown long coat as he finished his wake up routine: the same way each cycle on the troop transport hurtling through space. Mal figured you couldn't call it morning without a proper sunrise, so the brown-coats relied on a 24 hour cycle of activity. Closing his footlocker and taking one last look in the mirror on his way out, Mal clambered up the ladder of his cubicle onto the barracks catwalk. Leaving his quarters exposed him to the hubbub of the barracks bay, a cluster of human activity in tight confines. The sound of people, fighting for their rights on the border of the galaxy. 

Stomping along the catwalk towards the officers quarters for the briefing set that morning, Malcolm considered their current mission. This was the last jump before their final destination: the last push against the Alliance of planets. Finally, the war of Independence would be ending, and the rebel brown coat army would have secured itself the leverage it needed to beat the oppressive Alliance.

He passed a handful of grunts cooking a can of beans near the end of the catwalk, among them his right hand woman Corporal Zoe Alleyne. A tough amazonian warrior-woman, she's saved Malcolm's life many times before, and more like than not would again. She nodded towards him as he passed, prodding the soldier making the food to check the pot again.

“How's the chow, boys?” Mal chimed jovially, stopping briefly.

“As good as we're gonna get out here, sarge” replied one of the men. A fresh face, Mal didn't recognise him. His name tag read 'Bendis'.

“Yeah? Well maybe you can get out and ask the Alliance for some of their rations, I hear they get actual meat with theirs!” Zoe added. “At least they have qualified people making their food.”

“Well, that's why we call ourselves 'Independents'. Do all our work for us.” Mal quipped as he continued down the catwalk.

“So where we goin' to now, sarge?” asked one of the other squaddies.

“The last stand of the Alliance, private. Only a few hours out is an agricultural world called Hera, and a little place called Serenity Valley...”

Assignment 7: Pilfering Prose for Plunderverse

We wear the mask, by Paul Laurence Dunbar
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,-
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be overwise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!


Mask of Evil

We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,-
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be overwise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!