This is my last blog post of the year. I may
continue next year or may not. For this post, I would like to highlights the
best parts of my English 1080 experience.
My favourite component of John’s course was the blogging activities. I thoroughly enjoyed writing every single blog entry. It allowed me to get creative, and it was always fun taking a break from the usual essay writing. I also enjoyed the blog posts because they allowed me to take on a different persona. I felt as if I were a famous writer publishing under a pen name. In case you are not aware I am not the real Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, sorry for any misunderstandings.
Taking this course has left me with a new view on literature. John’s way
of teaching rejuvenated my interest in English. I learned that stories can have
several different meanings. Prior to my enrollment in the course, I had always
believed that every piece of literature would hold only one meaning but now my
opinion has changed. I have learned that literature can be interpreted in an infinite
number of ways. An example of this would be Homer’s “The Odyssey”. Although
this piece is over 1000 years old, people still continue to find new interpretations
for it.
Finally, I would like to mention my favourite poem
from the course. This poem is my favourite because it left me in a state of
uncertainty. When we read the poem "My Papa's Waltz" the majority of the class believed it was
about an abusive father but I did not believe that. I believed the poem was
about a father and son having fun around the house. It was only when John
mentioned that the message of the poem is interpreted differently by people
based on their own experience with their father that I began to question my interpretation
of literature. I began to think that maybe some of the messages I took away
from stories and poems in the past may have been dictated by my personal
experiences in life…or maybe not.
Thank for readings all my blog posts this year. I
enjoyed having you here and I hope you enjoyed visiting.
Managing a convenient store
can be hard work. It requires patience and investment but at the end of the day
it all pays off. Having a well maintained convenient store ensures maximum
customer satisfaction and leads to increase in customers and profits. In this
guide I will take you through the many steps which will allow you to maintain
your convenient store to ensure maximum safety, income, and customer
satisfaction.
Selling the right products
In order for a business
to attract customers it must sell products which meet the customers’ needs. No
customer wishes buy product which are expired. So, you must keep your products up
to date and expired products must be thrown out in order to avoid any law suits.
This will ensure maximum customer satisfaction and allow you to save money. Customers
also wish for a variety of products. Do not just sell one product or minimize
the amount of products you have. Always keep a variety so you attract customers
of all choices.
Keeping the store secure
A convenient is the heart
and soul of the community and because of this it will likely be targeted by
robbers. In order to ensure that the profit made by the store stays in the
store you must install a security system. The security system must be able to
alert the authorities of any danger. Most security systems adopted by modern
convenient stores are a firearm. These firearms range from shotguns to pistols
to bazookas. Although this widely used method is very cheap and reliable there
are also other ways in which you can assure maximum security for your store. If
you are not licensed to carry a firearm you may wish to hire a security guard
to protect the store from robbers. Another method to prevent store robbery is
to set up an alarm system which will alert police in case of a robbery. This
method is silent but the police response may not be quick enough and the robber
may escape.
Keeping the store in tip top shape
The best way to attract
more customers to your convenient store is to keep it neat and tidy. Make sure
all items are organized well so that customers can find them easily. Recent studies
have shown that customers like their stores to be hygienic so keeping your
aisles, floors, and restrooms clean this will appeal to the customers and keep
them coming back to your store.
Visually appealing to the customer
Customers are attracted
to places which they find visually appealing. Try to paint your convenient store
to make it look more visually appealing to the customer. Put up bright signs to
attract the customers’ attention. Hire a mascot for your store to get more
children appeal. Send out flyers in the weekly newspaper to attract customers
to your store. Pick a busy and easily accessible location so customers feel
convenient to go there.
Offering good customer service
Customers respond well to
kind gesture. Always greet the customer
with a smile on your face and try to be nice to the customer and remember the
number one rule of customer service; the customer is always right. If the
customer says something is on sale do not argue with the customer instead check
for yourself and show them that the item is not on sale. If the customer
demands a refund kindly tell them of your return policy and offer them a refund
if applicable. Maintain a smile throughout your dealings with the customer and
end your dealings by always saying “thank you” & “come again”.
Remember these tips for
when you open your own convenient store and I guarantee you soon you too will
the owner of a successful convenient store such as the Kwik-E-Mart.
“War. War never changes” – Narrator from Fallout
series
Since the beginning of time humans have been waging
wars on one another. The reason behind all wars has always been resources and/or
territory. The Romans and Spaniards formed some of the most powerful empires in
history through their wars to gather wealth and territory. Hitler was able to
use war to bring Germany out of the greatest depression in history of mankind.
Even in our modern times wars are waged in the name of justice but the true
intentions are later revealed to be resources such as petroleum and even
sometimes to control a certain territory. This is my favorite quote because it conveys
the truth about war. War has always been the same since the start of time and
always will be the same.
“Ideas don’t
determine who’s right. Power determines who’s right. And I have the power. So
I’m right”
– Jonathan Irons
The world has always been ruled by the powerful, the
1%. People with wealth and power have always been on top controlling those
under them. They have been the ones who have decided what is right and what is
wrong; they have decided how society should be run only because they are more
powerful than everyone else. It is not the talented and intellectual people who
guide society but rather kings and queens whose families are rich and powerful.
This quote is one of my favorite because it is very realistic. Even to this day
our communities and countries are not ruled by the public, it is ruled by those
who hold power.
“History is written by the victors.” – Winston
Churchill
Through human history there have been countless wars
which produced both winners and losers; good guys and bad guys. It is often
those win are considered the good guys and those who lose are the bad guys. The
bad guys would be used as examples for future generations and be condemned till
the end of time. This is not the true reality; in reality there is no true good
guy or bad guy everyone is driven by their own motives and those who agree with
a group’s ideology side with them. The reality of a bad guy is only imposed by
the winners or victors of wars to further establish their power. I chose this
quote because it applied to humans in the past and continues to do so in the
present. When the Russian revolution occurred and communism started to take
hold of Russia the past was no longer the past and it was changed by the victors
of the revolution.
I had always heard from my uncles stories of successful Bangal’s
in America. Bengal’s who owned chains of convenient stores and drove taxis. It
was my pursuit for a better life that led me to America.
I had just stepped out of the plane; the fresh airport smell
hit me like a gust of wind. It smelled different…different than the raw sewage
stench I had grown to love in India. Maybe coming to America wasn’t such a good
idea.
I made my way through the boarding bridge and went directly
to customs. I stood in line for what seemed like an eternity, but when I looked
at my watch only to realize five minutes had passed.
The man in front of me finished his verification and I stood
in line until they called “next”. I stepped up to the customs officer and
presented my passport. The woman opened my passport, looked at me, and said “Apu
Nahasanamama?”, “It’s Nahasapeemapetilon” I said back. Immediately the woman reached
for her radio, and said “code 911”, next thing I knew I was surrounded by the security.
I was escorted by security to a secluded room. After
extensive questioning, background checks, and full body cavity searches, I was
allowed to leave the airport.
I stepped out the main gates of the airport and looked at my
watch. I was already an hour late for my first shift at the Kwik E-Mart. I
thought to myself that I would surely get fired for my incompetence. Without
wasting another minute, I called a cab and headed for the Kwik E-Mart. The
whole cab ride I looked at the cab driver with envy as he was living the dream
life, the life I wished to lead.
Once the cab arrived at the Kwik E-Mart, I reached for my wallet
but could not find it so I opened the cab door and started to run towards the
Kwik E-Mart. As I approached the automated door, it opened and I ran inside. I
was surprised with the barrel of a pistol pointed at my chest and my cousin Sanjay
was behind the register with his hands in the air. Without spending a moment, the
man told me to get on the ground. I had no desire to get shot so I did as he
said.
I lay on the ground with my head down; my life flashed
before my eyes and I realized all the opportunities I missed in life.
I looked up to see what the robber was doing and before I knew
it, the door made the familiar “ding ding”. I looked over and there stood the
cab driver with a shotgun. “Alright this is the last time you punks get away
without paying me!” said the cab driver and then boom! Next thing I knew the
robber was on the ground grabbing his groin. I stood up and thanked the taxi
driver and explained to him all that happened. The taxi driver then said “so
you didn’t call the police yet?”, “No” said Sanjay from behind the register. The
taxi driver then looked at me in silence, raised his gun, and said “give me
everything from the cash register”. With the gun pointed at my face, I realized
America was not as glorious as the stories made it out to be.
I am the man who bought the Delorean from Back to the Future at last week’s
auction. I am writing this letter to inform you that the flux capacitor for the
vehicle is missing. I received the vehicle without the flux capacitor, and I
demand a replacement.
If I do not have the flux capacitor, I will not be
able to time travel. My main reason for purchasing this vehicle was to go back
in time and publish Microsoft Windows before Bill Gates so that I, Apu
Nahasapeemapetilon, could become the richest person in the world. Without the
flux capacitor the vehicle is not able to serve its purpose, and I demand either
a new flux capacitor or reimbursement.
I have always been a loyal customer to Mad
Scientists Incorporated. Last year I purchased the hover boards and was very
pleased with your product and service. I am interested in purchasing the x-ray
glasses in future, and I hope to hear from you about replacement of my flux
capacitor.
Earlier today the CIA apprehended a man
impersonating as The President of the United States. The man looked identical
to Barack Obama which may have allowed him to get past all security measures in
the White House. The man carried on his act for three hours until the secret
service started to become suspicious. Soon after the man was apprehended and
identified as none other than Kim Jong Un.
The secret service revealed that the man was very
convincing in his portrayal as Barack Obama and had everyone fooled from Obama’s
facial features to his style of speech. The secret service started to become suspicious
of the president when he requested to see America’s defenses against a North
Korean invasion. The President’s request was rejected by vice president Joe
Biden who believed that there were far more pressing matters at hand than a
silly North Korean invasion. It was at this point the President became furious
and called Joe Biden “A western capitalist pig”, and spit on his face. Biden
retaliated by slapping the president and to his surprise saw that his hand had
suddenly become darker and the president’s face suddenly became brighter. Joe
Biden called the secret service immediately to restrain the President.
After identifying him as an imposter, the secret
service quickly restrained him, and it was revealed that through the use of
high quality make up Un was able to impersonate Obama accurately. Un supposedly
hired the same makeup artist from Tropic Thunder, a movie which won an Oscar for
exceptional makeup, so he could look as similar to Obama as possible. He also
took vocal lessons so that he could impersonate Obama’s vocal style exactly.
Robert Downey (right) was unrecognisable on Tropic Thunder (left) due to the makeup
After several hours of questioning Kim Jong Un revealed Barack Obama’s location. The President was found in the Presidential bathroom nude and tied up. He was unharmed and revealed that he was knocked out when he entered the bathroom. Reports surfaced last week that the North Korean leader has not made any public appearances for more than a month leading to speculation that he is either seriously sick or there is a coupe but the reality is he has been in USA all along. As of this afternoon Kim Jong Un is being transferred to a high security prison in the middle of the desert. The President hopes to reach a deal with North Korea for the safe return of Kim Jong Un.
This is week five of my English blog. For this week my professor wanted us to write a concrete poem. A concrete poem is a poem where the words are shaped like an image. This form of poetry helps to visually convey the message of the poem. Here is my concrete poem called "The King Of All Kings". I hope you all like the theme of the poem.
Destiny is the
multimillion dollar game developed by Bungie and published by Activision. The
game is set in the future and allows players to interact with one another and
complete missions together similar to a MMORPG. The game was released on
September 9, 2014 and is available at your local video game store.
Story
Destiny begins by
allowing the player to create their own characters. Soon after it is revealed
that the player had been dead for quite a few years and was resurrected by some
unknown force. The player is revealed to a guardian one of humanity’s last hope
of survival as the forces of darkness have come back. The player is tasked with
an intergalactic journey to save the human race.
Destiny doesn’t do a
great job of explaining its story. There’s even one part of the game where the
player asks a character why the darkness has returned but the character only
responds with “I can tell you but I’d rather not”. The player is never given a
real reason to fight. The story has only a few cut scenes and the rest of the
world is presented through little dialogues that could easily be missed during
gun fights. The lack of story made me feel like my actions did not have an
impact on the world.
Gunplay
Destiny is a first person
shooter set on different planets. The character chooses between three classes
Titan, Hunter, and Warlock. These classes are not very different from one
another. They all use the same guns and have the same skills the only thing
that sets them apart are their special abilities. The titan is able to slam the
ground and wipe out any enemies in the radius while the hunter is able to use a
special gun which fires three bullets and finally the warlock is able to shoot
a ball of magic which stuns and deals massive damage to enemies. The gunplay is
very similar to Bungie’s Halo games, so fans of the game series should feel
right at home.
I played more than twenty
hours of destiny, and one of the things that kept me engaged was the gunplay. The
well polished gunplay kept the firefights dynamic and intense until the credits
rolled.
Multiplayer
Destiny’s multiplayer
mode is called the crucible. It consists of the general modes, such as team death
match, conquest, capture the flag, and all the modes you seen in your basic
shooters. The multiplayer mode allows players of all levels to fight against
one another. This also allows the players to carry their weapons from single
player to multiplayer and vise versa.
Destiny’s multiplayer is
very fun to play because it puts all the players to the same level even though
some of them gained higher level in the single player mode. However,
their weapons remain the same which gave an unfair advantage to some of the players.
Verdict
Destiny isn’t a perfect
game; it has its strengths and weaknesses. The story isn’t explained very well
and may have some scratching their head while the gunplay is very well crafted
and will provide plenty of intense moments. The multiplayer is also very well
done except for the weapons not being scaled down but that will most likely be
fixed in a future update. I wouldn’t classify Destiny as a must buy; I’d recommend
that you wait until the price drops or it goes on sale.
Score : 7.5/10
Pros
-Intense well crafted gunplay
will provide a shooting experience like no other
-Well crafted multiplayer
modes and team cooperation
-The plethora of content
will keep players entertained for a long time
-Feels just like Halo
Cons
-Weak and unexplained
story
-Weapons in multiplayer
not being scaled down provides an unfair advantage
At first glance, this photo may seem like fireworks but in reality this photo was taken during the First World War. It was posted on Reddit, but it was originally taken by a British photographer. This picture truly shows
the meaning of trench warfare. In school, people are taught that trench warfare
is just people sitting and waiting on their enemy. That is true but there is
more to it. All the white streaks in the picture are mortar shells being fired
towards the enemy. Mortar shells would hit the trenches and people would die in
an instant. One second they’re alive and in the blink of an eye they’re gone,
no trace of them left.
I wanted to share this photo because it’s about First World
War. I am a big fan of history and loved every minute of history class. I always
read about the war in books but being able to see for myself what it was like
during the war, it’s a different kind of learning experience. I always like to find
pictures about the First World War because there are so many brave stories
behind them. As the old saying goes, a picture can tell a thousand words.
This picture is of vault boy from the Fallout game series.
In the picture he is holding out his hand and is holding his thumb up. At first
glance one might think that he’s just giving everyone a thumbs-up but he is
actually checking if he is safe. He is checking his safety because if a person
sees a nuclear bomb explode, it is advised to stretch their hand out as far as
possible and do a thumbs-up. The thumb should be put over the mushroom cloud; if
the cloud is not bigger than one’s thumb then they are safe from radiation but
if the cloud is bigger than their thumb then they are in the radiation zone and
must evacuate.
I am a big fan of video games, so I wanted to share this photo
for a long time. I enjoy playing this game because it takes me to a different
world. Fallout is set 700 years into the future after a nuclear war and you
explore a Washington DC which is filled with many different kinds of creatures.
All the creatures in Fallout were once normal but changed in horrendous ways
due to the radiation from the nuclear bombs. This game maintains a sense of
realism which draws me in. I would recommend this game to people because it
shows how our future could turn out due to the rapid advancement of technology.
Welcome to week two of
my English 1080 blog. This week my professor wants me to analyze a song but not
just analyze it but analyze it as if it were a poem. So, the song I picked for
this is “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” by the late Johnny Cash. The lyrics for the
song are below and I have linked a Youtube video in case anybody wants to
listen to it. Now without further ado let’s get started! I recommend you read
the lyrics to get a better understanding of my analysis.
God's Gonna Cut You Down
You can run on for a long time
Run on for a long time, run on for a long time
Sooner or later God'll cut you down
Sooner or later God'll cut you down
Go tell that long tongue liar, go and tell that
midnight rider
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down
Well, my goodness gracious let me tell you the
news
My head's been wet with the midnight dew
I've been down on bended knee
Talkin' to the man from Galilee
He spoke to me in the voice so sweet
I thought, I heard the shuffle of the angel's feet
He called my name and my heart stood still
When he said, "John, go do my will"
Go tell that long tongue liar, go and tell that
midnight rider
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down
You can run on for a long time
Run on for a long time, run on for a long time
Sooner or later God'll cut you down
Sooner or later God'll cut you down
Well, you may throw your rock and hide your hand
Workin' in the dark against your fellow man
But as sure as God made black and white
What's down in the dark will be brought to the light
You can run on for a long time
Run on for a long time, run on for a long time
Sooner or later God'll cut you down
Sooner or later God'll cut you down
Go tell that long tongue liar, go and tell that
midnight rider
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut you down
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut you down
Tell 'em that God's gonna cut you down
Firstly, let’s discuss
the rhyme scheme used in the song; the rhyme scheme used throughout this song
is a,a,b,b except for the 7th stanza where a,b,c,c becomes the rhyme
scheme. Cash also uses a refrain in his song. The refrain “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” is used
to emphasize the message of the piece which is that no one is able to escape
God’s punishment.
The speaker of the song
seems to be Cash himself and address those who lead sinful lives such as a “gambler”
and a “back biter”. Cash seems to present a tone of acceptance throughout his
piece. His tone is conveyed in several different parts of the song. For
example, Cash seems to accept the fact that life is not eternal and that sooner
or later people will die and face their maker. He tries to warn people not to
lead a sinful life because “sooner or later God’ll cut” them down. There are
several different types of imagery present in the song; one form of imagery
used in this song is auditory imagery. “I thought I heard the shuffle of
angel’s feet” appeals to the readers sense of hearing, which evokes auditory
imagery. Cash’s song also utilizes alliteration. In the piece he says “Tell
them that” this repetition of the letter “T” at the beginning of the words is
an example of alliteration. Through the use of the alliteration, he is reminding
people that their actions will have consequences in the afterlife.
This song is heavily influenced by religion not only because of the mention of “God” but also
because the mention of “Galilee” which is the porch in front of churches. The
song to me personally seems to convey the message that we should all try to
lead righteous lives because we’re not on this planet forever and sooner or
later God will cut us down. I like this song because it warns humankind to lead
a religious and righteous life on this earth; if my thoughts were a song then
this is what it would sound like. This song has remained the same since Cash’s
death; it has not been covered by another artist because this song was actually
a cover of an even older song. The original song was a biblical folk song
called “run on” and Cash took the song and added his own twist to it and made
it what it is now.
I hope you enjoyed my
analysis of the song “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” by Johnny Cash and please be sure
to check back next week. Thank you! Come again! -Apu
Welcome, to English 1080 blog! I will be
doing weekly updates to this blog as mandated by my English teacher or else I
have to wear the DUNCE cap. Just kidding there's no DUNCE cap. Enough talk
about the English course, now let's talk about me! I was born in Bangladesh and
my family moved here when I was in grade four. I've been in Canada for more
than eight years now. My first year in Canada was spent in Toronto where I lived on
Kennedy Road in an apartment building. If you don't know about Kennedy Road,
it's one of the worst places in Toronto; I hated living there. One time in order to reach my apartment, I had to jump over a drunken homeless man who fell asleep in the hallway of my apartment building. After the year had past we moved to the small city of
Guelph; the city only had a population of 115,000. I spent five years of my
eight years in Guelph. The city was calm and quiet; there was definitely no
drunks lying around. I enjoyed my time in Guelph and made some of my best
friends there. Two years ago, I moved to St. John's because my father got a job
here. At first I hated everything about St. John's from the cold and
unpredictable weather to the people themselves; I couldn't wait to go back to
Ontario. I applied to every university in Ontario hoping to return there and I
got accepted to the one I wished to go to. I was all ready to go until a
few days before my public exam. I started to think about my university more
seriously and finally I realized that Newfoundland wasn't as bad as I remembered.
Things were different at that point from when I had arrived initially. I made
friends, got involved in activities, and got used to the unpredictable weather.
I decided to let the Ontario University know I won’t be attending the fall
semester or any other semester there because I was happy with where I was. So
my decision to not attend a University out of province has led me to this blog
post. I will have another update next week so please don't forget to check back.