Science Fair

                My science fair project was not like most of the students. It was related to persuasion. I always wonder what was the best way to persuade someone to do my dirty work or agree with me, but never could really figure out the answer. This time I decided to use school time to find the answer out myself. I made up a survey or rather a list of statements which had different tones and asked the high schoolers to rate them for me. They did not know which survey they receive. There were three types, humor, fear, and a neutral tone. The funny one ended up to be the best way that persuaded them. I concluded that by using a humorous tone, I was able to capture my audience better than the other two tones.    

Game

Shotwell and the narrator were put into an underground bunker for over a hundred days. Their orders were to insert their keys and simultaneously turn it to launch what they call a “bird” when a certain signal props onto the console. There was another twist to this order. If the other person was acting strangely, they will have to shoot the other person with the 45 they were given.  As you might have guessed, that never came to them in the story. Both of them acted weird. The narrator started to describe or write on a wall with the diamond he was going to give to his girlfriend natural things such as a rock or a tree. Shotwell read a book and played jacks all by himself. Shotwell would also jot down notes as he was reading his book. Both of them thought of ways to get out of the bunker. They also kept eye on each other’s 45 and the gun they brought with them which was secretly concealed on them. They are not well.

The Rules of the Game

Waverly is a young Chinese girl who lives in China. She lives with her family above a Chinese pastry shop. One Christmas, she and her brothers receive gifts from a nearby church. She sat on a obviously fake Chinese Santa, and chooses a gift. Her present contained candy called Life Savers. Her brothers, on the other hand, receive a chess game. The chess set is missing two pieces, and their mother tells them to throw it out because she does not want to use other people’s trash that no one wants. The kids think differently. They just want to play the game. Waverly wanted to play the game too. She exchanged life savers for each time she lost. One day, she went to the park and saw people playing. She met an old man named Lou Pao, and he thought her how to be a better chess player. She ends up becoming a national champion. People called her a prodigy. One day, her mother took her to the markets and as usual bragged about her. Waverly did not like this. She tells her mother, but the mother thinks she’s ashamed to be her daughter. Waverly ends up running down the street away from her mother and doesn’t come home until the evening. The mother, from that moment on, did not give Waverly any special treatment in her house.

Dr. Heidegger's Experiment

Dr. Heidegger inivited four friends to his lab. Colonel Killigrew spent his youth with different lust and wasted his health away. Now, he is old with different health problems. Mr. Medbourne was once a rich merchant but lost everything he had in gambling, but he claims he lost it in stock investment. Mr. Gascoigne was a corrupt politician. Finally, Widow Wycherly was once a beautiful woman. Her hand was sought by all three men. Dr. Heidegger had invited all of them to be a part in his experiment. Dr. Heidegger was known for his big black book of magic. There had been mystical rumors about what that black book can do. He grab that book from a shelf and opened it to take out a rose. The rose was old. Dr. Heidegger explained that his rose was over a half of century old. He then asked was it possible to rejuvenate this flower back to life. All of them said it was impossible. Dr, Heidgger placed the rose in a vase filled with water that he friend claim to have gotten from the famous fountain of youth. The rose came back to life. The four guests were astonished by the sight of the rose. Soon, the real experiment began. The guests drank the water and became young again. They started to lavish their talents like before. Conel Killigrew started to lust about Widow Wycherly. Mr. Medbourne started to make business schemes. Mr. Gascoigne begain thinking about politics again. Widow Wycherly just admired her own beauty infront of a mirror. The effects did not last. They soon became old again. They wanted to be young again. They four of them decided to go and search for this fountain of youth; while Dr. Heidegger got the data he wanted. It proved that youth is intoxicating, and the four of them did not learn from their mistakes.

The Devil and Tom Walker

I thought this story was intriguing. The ending was ironic, and the content was interesting. The story starts out with Tom Walker's background. He has a nagging wife who always argues with him. One day, he decided to take a different route home. The route was not a way the villagers would usually take. It was through the swamp. The swamp was dark and slimy. Tom stopped at an old Indian fort. Just like the swamp, the villagers wouldn't dare to get near it. It's rumored to be the dwelling pl,ace of the Devil himself. The Indian that was once there worshiped him.  Why wouldn't he be there? Stories have been told about the Devil making deals with other in that very swamp. Tom, however, was not scared by these folk lore or tales. He stopped and rest. A black figure appeared without making a sound. From the looks of this black figure, especially the red eyes, Tom inferred that he was the Devil. Tom did not fear him. Instead, they talked like they were old friends. The Devil liked Tom so much that he made him a deal. He would give Captain Kidd's treasure to him if he would make the deal. Tom had second thoughts about it and went home. His wife thought he should of taken the deal. The wife went out with all the family's valuables and tried to make the deal herself. The wife was never heard of again. Tom found her apron which had her heart and liver. Tom decides to make the deal with the Devil. The Devil agreed to give him the treasure, but he has to become a broker that charges unreasonable rates. Long story short, he comes the richest man in Boston and one of the most religious one too. He was afraid the Devil would come for him anytime. He carried his Bible with him all the time. One day, as he was closing a deal, he got so frustrated, he shouted "Devil take me if I...". The Devil came and took him away, and that was the last time everyone saw Tom Walker.

Article 5 Global Weather

Devastating weather has occurred all over the world. New York City just had its hottest June-to-August stretch in history. Moscow suffered from one-in-a-million heat wave. Pakistan is reeling from a flooding that inundated close to one fifth of the country. Scientist, over the past decades, has predicted that with the increase amount of greenhouse gases, disastrous weather will occur more frequent. Scientist can’t blame global warming for these events. They still insist that it won’t occur; even when the public has high confidence that global warming is well under its way creeping to earth as we speak.

I think global warming is a very true thing. Although I’m not a scientist, the truth in my mind tells me that the earth is warming up and it will continue to get hotter. This could be the apocalypse the Bible talks about. Since God won’t destroy the earth with water, the melting of the polar ice caps probably won’t kill us all, but the strong winds and increasing hot weather could. In midsummer days in tropical countries, the heat can be unbearable. Taiwan, for example, had its hottest summer again this year. When I went outside, I wanted to go right back indoors. This could very much be our end.

DVD Review - Body Invaders, Heart Attacks

I liked the DVD to some degree. It was rather detailed on what happens to the body if you are experiencing a heart attack or what symptoms that shows you have a heart problem. There was once guy in the video who had a history of family heart problems. For 12 years, he experienced chest pains. He always thought it was just because he was out of shape. After his bother's death, he decided to check up on his heart. His father died when he was a teenager. Now that he is a father, he does not want his kids to experience what he did when he was young. His father was not there for him. He did not want to leave his kids in a condition like that. After the doctors examined him,  the doctors founds something seriously wrong with him. His arteries were severely clogged. Since he did not want to leave his kids without a father, he decided to have surgery. Doctors took arteries from his limbs and attacked it to his heart. This created an alternate route for the blood to flow. Now he and his family are on a healthy diet. They replaced some of the fat products with low fat products, and they started to exercise more.The DVD was pretty graphic. It grossed me out more than once. If you are bad stomach or faint of heart, do not watch this video. Some parts, there's a lot of blood, and you actually get to see the actual heart pumping.