The Gift Conspiracy of society

Im still currently reading Linchpins by Seth Godin and I have come to the end of the book. This part of the book is mainly on gifts. This may seem like an unrelated topic for this book but really its not as your about to read.A gift can range from a christmas present to holding the door for someone to spending extra hours for someone. As defined in the book a gift is something extra you do for someone without expecting something else from someone. As the book goes on to tell you is that gifts a long time ago where a way showing your wealth without wanting something in return. During caveman times as stated in the book the rich people would give lots of gifts to everyone. Now in society we are much different we expect something in return for our gifts and we don't give gifts as much and rather wait for gifts to be given to us.We only give gifts for a "reason". We even give gifts to "show love" for someone else. I personally think that all these things are very messed up.

I want to really, first explore this concept of expecting something in return. I think that this is a very bad way of thinking about gifts. Since gifts are supposed to be something that you give without expecting anything from it giving back defeats the purpose. The gift giving than seems to almost turn into an exchange 1 dollar for four quarters, a quarter for a gumball. I can understand the feeling of wanting to give back because the gift really changed you What I really don't like and can't understand is this big problem. The big problem is that I feel like people feel like you have to give back because if you don't you will be in debt with the person. They may not even want to give a gift back but are afraid of being "in debt" of the person. The person giving the gift may not even care if they receive something else. The next thing I want to explore is only giving gifts when you have to. This is like only holding the door for someone on their birthday or only working hard for your boss on the day before your paid break. This is very bad I think also. The thing people don't tell you is that gifts are used primarily for they themselves nowadays. Not for the people they are giving it too or the store they bought it from. but them. While they are giving you for example an ipod (at least for some people) they are gifting themselves relief that there work on your behalf is over. again some people are different than this but there are numerous people that fit this category perfectly.The last thing I want to talk about is giving because you want to show your love. This definitely is an arguable matter because it can be good but in certain occasions it's bad. For example if you really don't love someone but "show your love of them" by buying them a 10,000 dollar ruby necklace, thats no way to show your love.

In conclusion gifts have really become a very unjust trend (for certain people). Even I have experienced this and can really connect with the people who have experienced it. Heres the story:My sisters friend bought my sister something without even thinking about what my sister wanted for christmas. She probably had hoped that my sister would get her something she wanted and that's just what happened.In the end sadly the people looking for an exchange win. The last thing I want to leave my reader with is the idea that gifts have become to commercial and seem to be about how much money it is. I hope that this blog post changed you in some way for good. If you want to read more about this concept may sure to read Linchpin by Seth Godin.

The Resistance holding us back from where we want to be since day 1

Im still currently reading Linchpin by Seth Godin. I think that i've moved on to the part about how we are born creative. We live in a creative manor until someone tells us that it's not good and then we lose it. Seth gave an example of a 5 year old that wanders around a plane looking at everything curiously. They are pushing to find out more/everything about there surroundings until there parents tell them to sit down and that theres nothing to see. This is really a true example of the resistance. All in all I really agree that we are doing something wrong and that we have to stop it. After an experience like the one that this 5 year old has in the example he may be forever changed.

I think that this resistance character is really the main one that is keeping away our creativity. This type of made up character really wants everyone to be normal or the same as everyone else and so when someone isn't the same as everyone else they try to change that person (like the 5 year old). Seth Godin also introduces a concept called the Lizard Brain.This basically is a way that your brain thinks where it's purpose is to generate your survival as long as possible. This "Lizard Brain" is afraid constantly and wants to fit in/camoflauge to stay safe from the resistance. This is why people choose not to share great ideas with other people because they're afraid that they wont fit in with everyone else. This is a very terrible habit because it prevent's you from sharing your worth with the world and going foreword with ideas that could be worldchanging.

All in all I really think that this fear of the resistance is holding lots of people back from great things. Since from the creation of homo sapiens we've trained ourselves to do everything in our ability to stay alive and survive anything seeming different can blow our cover/ attract bad attention causing us to be afraid of acting creatively. This may seem like a big asset for us that helps incredibly to keep us safe and yet it's probably one of our worse habits. I can even connect to this problem an i'm sure lots of other people throughout the world can. When i make a Youtube video or even maybe post something on Facebook that seems different sometimes i'm hesitant of it. Sometimes I get over this fear and go for it and other times i'm afraid of something about it and can pull through. Sadly this fear is almost generated by school i think because some schools do everything in there hands to make sure that everything stays the same.

Linchpins the strange but true concept

Im currently reading a book called Linchpins by Seth Godin. This book has really opened up a new corner of my brain. It has also led me into believing a whole new concept. Even though i'm not finished with this book in fact only around 70 pages into it i've still salvaged numerous ideas. It's fair to say that this book has, for this period of my life, changed the way i look at the world. I think this is just what a book's purpose is so i definitely believe that this book has done a valid job. Linchpins is basically a book that changes the way we look at things. Im putting almost a spoiler here warning everyone who doesn't want to know these changes considering the fact that it talks about the problems with the things that normal everyday people do. Anyway's Linchpins is a book about how most of society isn't wanting us to give are real value as a human. The book argues that school's are just putting you in a position to get a job that requires no creativity and robot-like focus. On the other hand a Linchpin is much different than these robot-like functioning humans. A Linchpin has the ability to use creativity and brain to make something that is worth lot's. A linchpin in this way can be indispensable or needed in some way.

I personally want to elaborate on how school's seem to be killing these so called Linchpins. I think one major factor that should be changed is rules. Of course rules about safety and disciplinary issues/ dangerous situations should be kept but what about the other type of rules. Rules on test's, rules on homework even rules for writing. I can understand these type of rules are needed but i think that student's should get some space when coping with these rules. For example say someone tells you to write their heading on ten pieces of paper. What there guessing is that you will take the time to write the heading for each one. A linchpin in this situation might make a neat copy of there heading on the first page and staple it to the other pieces of paper, therefore saving time and energy to use somewhere else. The teacher on the other hand might take points off for this "blunder". It seem's to me that schools have really not helped you to think but showed you how to think. This can be good in some ways but in others it's not and has a very damaging effect. It prevents creativity and churns out lot's of people that wait for orders and are similar to everyone else. This prevent any new leaders from coming. It also stops linchpins in there tracks when there out of the box, time saving thinking results in bad grades.

In conclusion we need to change our school system a lot. It rewards the rule followers but punishes the real creative people who's talents may lead them to far better carriers than the rule followers. We need to really reconsider this whole idea that showing someone how to think only kills creativity and prevents there chance of learning things without guidance. All in all i'm very happy to be reading this book where so much logic is packed into. If you're interested about this topic i highly recommend reading this book.

Blog post 4 The Kite Runner

This is my 3rd and last blog post on The Kite Runner. Throughout the end of this book i think that a lot of information just jumps right out at you at once . This is a mix of micro and macro details forged together. Some of these details are explicitly explained in the book and some of them aren't. For these details you have to make a guess and infer for them. Some examples of all these details are Sohrab's real whereabouts and Hassan's real father.There's is a lot more detail other than just including this also.I think that the writer of the Kite Runner throws all this information at us in the last second to keep us thinking about the book. If we were to stop thinking so much about the book we might not take in everything that the book has too offer us.

One example of a very implicit detail is what had happened to Sohrab when he was staying in the Taliban house with Assef after being taken from the orphanage. After leaving the house with Amir he keeps saying that he thinks of himself as being "dirty". He also says that they did bad things to him when he was at this house. This part just makes me feel really terrible for Sohrab because of all the things he had to go through. The even worse part about this is that Sohrab almost acts or possibly thinks in a way like it had been his own fault that all the atrocities had occurred. Im guessing that Sohran might have been sexually harassed in a way by the Taliban. This detail just goes to show that in areas like the one Sohrab lives in make and break there own rules without getting in trouble while citizens would get into a great amount of trouble for breaking a small rule.

Another example of a detail thrown at you in the end is that Hassan is actually the son of Baba. This detail is so important throughout the book because Amir is always trying to get Baba to like him more than Hassan and he does this by setting Hassan up to look like he did something wrong and also by saying untrue terrible things about Hassan. Whenever he does this Baba always gets mad at Amir for doing it. When just Baba and Amir are separated from Hassan in California , Baba says "i wish that Hassan could be here". Because of thee secret kept that Baba is the father of Hassan Amir is always getting his feelings hurt because he feels that Baba loves the servant more than he loves his actual son.This makes him feel like he is doing something wrong and makes him do even more things wrong to get Baba to like him more. This detail is introduced relatively fast over the book in about 3 pages. These three pages pretty control Amir's actions throughout the end of the book.

Blog post 3 The Kite Runner

I'm still currently reading the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. So far as I left off Baba has passed away and Amir has grown up a married man in California and Hassan has grown up back in Pakistan near Taliban territory. Throughout these last pages i've found a really interesting concept hidden between the lines and stashed throughout the chapters. This concept is forgive and forget. I personally think that this whole book is really focused off this one big theme.

One example of this is Hassan. He is one of the biggest supporters of this ideas. When he and Ali were young and together in Kabul he really showed this concept. When the time came when Ali was becoming very jealous of Baba's love he just kept forgiving and forgetting. When Ali threw pomegranates at Hassan expecting him to retaliate he just ignored him because he knew it was the right thing to do and forgive him instantly.When Ali lied about Hassan stealing his watch he knew that he could deny it and get Ali in trouble but instead he forgave him and just agreed that he had stolen the watch.He even took the blame and beating for Ali from a bully in bruises and punches. All of these things continued to happen and Hassan just continued to forgive and forget. He even did all his chores without anger and right on time. When Ali wanted to hang out with him he would agree to it because he had forgive Ali for everything that he had done. This type of forgiving continues when Ali meets Hassan many years later as they've been in different countries. Hassan could have easily still had anger towards Ali and wanted to be away from him but that isn't what he felt. Instead when Ali walks into Hassan's house Hassan drops the bread dough he is cooking and jumps up and gives Ali a big hug.

In conclusion the forgive and forget method is very closely related to this book.Hassan has it and I think that near the end of the book Ali has it too. Apparently this method can make it almost impossible to hold grudges.I personally think that people who read this book should see this method not just as a detail in the book but a way that can eliminate anger towards people and arguments. I really hope that this reading response helped you learn more about The Kite Runner and its amazing small details

Blog post 2 The Kite Runner

I just started reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Immediately starting this book I can notice a really strange thing ( I personally think).This is that Hosseini puts the main character in a very different position than most writers do. In most of the books I have read the main character is always the one that is portrayed as being the protagonist and the side characters are portrayed as being the antagonist's.The reader is always supposed to emphasize with the main character. Feeling bad when the character makes a mistake and feeling proud when the character achieves success.Were also angry whenever the side characters tries to prevent the main character of doing anything. In The Kite Runner this natural balance is switched around so that we feel bad when the side characters are hurt and even though we feel bad when the main character is hurt we feel even worse when we know that the main character is hurting the side character.

In this book the side character is named Hassan and the main character is Amir.This book is a perfect example of this switched aspect because Amir tries to antagonize Hassan and doesn't give Hassan any help when he greatly needs .For example, Amir always lets Hassan take the blame. A character called Assef is bully that always torments Amir and Hassan.Since Hassan is almost the servant of Amir when someone is getting beaten up it's always Hassan.The worst part about about this is that Amir sees this happen before his own eyes twice and he just pretends to forget about it.

Another thing Amir does is try to get Hassan in trouble.Even though you can imagine all Amir wants to do is just forget about the incidents and move on it's still not good to use unfair force to get what he wants.This is exactly what Amir does and he does this by taking the watch his father gave to him for his birthday and hiding it under Hassan's bed to make it look like Hassan stole it.He hopes hat this will make his father kick Hassan out of the house.His father forgives Hassan but neither or less Hassan leaves for no apparent reason.

Throughout these two examples I felt really angry at Amir for doing all this and really empathized with Hassan.I hope that in the end it works out for Hassan.

Bog post 1 Heroes of 9/11 response

I just finished reading the book Heroes of 9/11 by Allan Zullo.I would personally rate this book seven or possibly eight out of ten.The stories in this book included some short stories on the world trade center, The pentagon and finally one short story on the plane that was going to crash into the white house but was taken down by the passengers. These were all really interesting stories to me and helped me to really understand a lot more about this topic having not known none to a tiny bit of information before.I can now really empathize with the characters in this story having read all of it.I personally think that throughout this whole entire book the writer does a great job in keeping up suspense and keeping the reader entertained and interested.He also does a great job of changing his specific writing style according to the character the story is about because he wants the stories to seem more realistic.

One way the writer seemed to do this was by giving the reader the information and details he or she need to form a visual picture of the scene keeping them interested.For example instead of just pointing out that the World Trade Center buildings had fallen down the author writes "the two 1,300 foot tall structures had been reduced to a pile of twisted steel,busted concrete,and gnarled building materials crammed in a heap five stories above,six stories below ground. i think that this is a great example of showing rather than just telling.The authors goes on to continuously create more specific bright detail like this.The author also masters the skill of detail by slipping it in easily.For example he doesn't just tell you the information he pretends to write like he actually is the person that it's happening to and occasionally slips in needed information that would seem like the character would explain.Another thing that the author does to enrich the writing is by changing his writing tone for each short story to fit the character.For example he has stories where the people talk much differently and also have much different generals ideas of what to do.Some characters are scared to act and other immediately jump into the scene to help out however they can.

In conclusion the writer uses his three skills to greatly enrich the stories and make them seem very realistic.When i picked up this book at the bookfair i was not expecting to be given the 100% full exstent of 9/11 in a book.I was expecting some ok stories and a general sense of 9/11. This book has greatly proved me wrong. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in an interesting and information packed book rather than reading from a factual book.

Hunger games entry

Nathan.H.Chackerian 711

Reading Response

Ms O’Hara

1o/26/10

I have finished reading the book The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It is about a sixteen-year-old girl named Katniss. She lives in a society with a very unfair cruel government . She ends being a participant in the Hunger Games having volunteered for her sister. This is a gruesome unearthly competition between kids where they are forced to fight to the death till only one person stands alive. Katniss manages to stay alive till the end of the game and have the only one winner rule changed. After finishing this book left me wondering why she had chosen to go through so much. My theory is that she was willing to work so hard and stay alive because she believed that she could make the world she’s in better in her opinion.

One example of this is her brave choice of volunteering to go to the games instead of her sister. At that point Katniss might not even have been thinking that deeply. I think that something inside of her had told her it was the right thing to do. She probably knew that her sister wouldn’t be able to survive in the games and that she would have a better chance. This has happened to me before and so many people. You sometimes make choices not from hard thinking but just from what your heart tells you to do. The choices can be risky but it still doesn’t stop you or Katniss from doing it.

Another example of her overcoming something to make something better is the fact that she had the willpower to survive in the Hunger Games. I think that one reason why she did this was to follow up on the promise she made to her sister but mainly it was because I think that she imagined that if she survived and won the game she would be alive to change the way the government worked considering how wealthy and famous she would bedim not sure what I would do if I was Katniss. I think that she does realize that not giving up could give her a lot of mental and possibly physical pain.

At the end of the games she is left just with Peeta the other participant from her district. The speaker in the arena informs them that they will have to battle it out because there aren’t 2 winners in the game. Like before when Katniss took her sister’s spot without much thought she decides that she would rather they both die than one of them killing the other. Peeta agrees with her. They are about to eat poisonous berries at the same time when the speaker tells them that they have both one the games. This is another example of her doing something hard because she thinks it is right.

I think that one of the main reasons why Katniss does what she thinks is best even if it’s hard is because she is constantly surrounded by people that follow that rule. For example her mom and her sister work as doctors. This is a job where you can’t ever give up because someone else’s life is at stake and you have to choose what’s best for them. Another inspiring person is gale her cousin. He goes off hunting in the woods even though it’s permitted because he knows that his family needs the extra food or income from the profit of the things he hunts.

In conclusion Katniss is a type of person who will work incredibly hard to overcome different things. This is because she thinks that she can help the future of her area get better. She makes quick choices because something tells her that what she is doing is right. There is constantly something that she must overcome in her world an she never gives up. She has a great skill and great people to help her on. I think she will succeed.