Things about the future

That smart people--like those who contribute to Edge--won’t do politics. –Brian Eno, musician

One of the things that worry me is this one; that no intelligent people in the future want to take part in politics. Lately, at least in Mexico, the most intelligent persons who have taken part in politics, have stolen lots of money; the rest are dumb people who just follow orders. What will we do in a future if politicians are politicians just for the money and not for the benefit of their countries?

A scarcity of water resources. –Giulio Boccaletti, physicist

This one is pretty obvious. Water is vital for human survival, if water lacks then people dies. With a scarcity of water, world wars would begin, taking millions of lives with them. Several consequences would affect our planet; animals dying, ecosystems burning; life would be taken away. I would have been all our fault.

That “in one or two generations children will grow up to be adults who will not be able to tell reality from imagination.” --Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, psychologist

Nowadays children have iPads and Iphones for themselves. Videogames have replaced the playground. Kids have less imagination than they did 10 or 20 years ago. At the same time, technology is evolving, making possible the things we thought impossible. Someday, everything once imagined may exist; and with the lack of imagination of new generations, only reality will exist.

The only thing that excites me about the future is the new technologies available at our hand.

Since I was a child, I’ve loved videogames. I dream for one day where I can take part of an actual videogame with virtual reality. I am also excited to see if vehicles evolve into something else, something eco-friendly or if they even fly. I also await new gadgets, maybe some lens that work as a cell phone, or even a micro-chip connected into our brains that allow us to “see” a computer screen and operate it as if we had one. Who knows?

Liberalist Theory

I agree with what liberalists say about us constantly getting better as a global society. They say human history is the progress of evolution, and it is true, there might be some cases in which this progress isn’t as big as in other places.

In the past, a monarchy was the most popular form of government, in which a king was supposed to veil for his servants, protect them and fulfill their necessities. Today we’ve got democracy in which we are heard and we vote for our governors, though there are still some cases in where those elections are arranged and there is no democracy at all.

If, through history, we continue making experiences, learning, and develop a critical thinking for ourselves; we might be able, in a distant future, to need no leader. It’s possible for us to develop a sense of responsibility and critical thinking with which we would look not only for ourselves but for everyone else as one, and with all being equal, without a president or a king who wields more power than the rest.

Obviously a utopia is impossible, the “possible future” I describe, would doubtedly be perfect; there will always be ambitious and selfish people who don’t care about anyone else but him/herself.

Super

From superheroes and comics the most important things we can learn are the values they emit. Some characters; just to name a few: Captain America, Spiderman, Batman, Superman…; show patriotism, humbleness, social responsibility and many other values which make them who they are. One idea comics have implemented on us is that the good always win; words of hope that suggest that the good guys will always beat the bad guys, and if we were all united we could create a better place without bad people.

If I had a superpower, I’d love to be able to fly. I have always wanted to travel by myself, watching the streets from above (not to mention I hate traffic and the pollution it makes). Thinking it twice, I would pick telekinesis, so I could manipulate mass with my mind, this way I would be able to fly too. With telekinesis I’d be able to do more than just fly, I would be able to fight crime, stop bullets and stuff; I’m too lazy for that though. I think I would only use my telekinesis to reach out for food from the fridge without moving a finger.

Story

It ain't a story completely. It is more a narration which I made.

Who says monsters do not exist?

You must fear, because whenever the light exits and the night enters; he appears. By “he”, I’m referring about him, the one who no one knows.

He appears when everything is silent, when you can hear the time pass by; when you can feel how each second of the clock is synchronized with your heart pumping blood through your veins. Sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight.

Whenever you feel the night is after you, you must say your prayers, and include everyone in them. You’ll be free from sin, until he becomes you.

The things he does, no one knows. He attacks you in your dreams; he chases you, gets you and takes control of you. Dreams of war, dreams of lies, dreams of dragon’s fire.

This monster, who no one knows, is taking over you second by second, from the inside to the outside. It’s just the beast under your bed; in your closet; in your head.

So be aware, care for yourself and for others; because you don’t know when the monster will stop being an illusion and become you.

Stand-up Comedy

My favorite stand-up comedian is Samuel J. Comroe. He is awesome! He is a guy who has tourette syndrome which makes him tweak his face at all times since he was born. His shows and routines center on himself and his tourettes. He makes jokes about his tourettes and his experiences throughout his life.

Here's one:

If you have tourette syndrome, don't hang out with children. They're jerks. My 6 year old nephew is rude! Before I left for the show tonight he was like "Hey, uncle Sam, why does it always look like a ghost is punching your face?". That is rude! I'm a 23 year old man, that's rude. Then I start to cry which is embarrasing, 'cause when I cry my tears run sideways.

Favorite fictional character

My favorite fictional character is named Ezio Auditore da Firenze. He is the second protagonist of a videogame saga called Assassin's Creed. He stars the second, third, and fourth videogames of the saga.
I like this character because in the videogame we get to know every part of his life, from his teens to his adulthood. We get to know his objectives in life and how he accomplished to save Roma, Constantinopoli and the whole world from templar domination.
We get to see how he grows wiser from year to year, he began his life as an assassin seeking vengeance, and during his last years he searched for answers of his past, of himself; he wanted to know who he was, and why was he there.
He is also very charismatic and has good leadership skills.
If I met him in real life, I'd consider him a douchebag just because of his personality, but in the videogame, his personality mixed with his abilities make him a great character.

Homework; 200 words, 4 verb tenses

Myself up until now

This is a story that repeats itself almost every weekend. I dislike going out on weekends, I prefer to stay at home and do whatever I want to do. Sometimes I have no other choice but to go out, as it was the case this past Friday. Well, for those cases I tell to myself “Ricardo, you are going to do all the stuff you have to do for the weekend right when you arrive home”.

I arrive home and slack off, sometimes take a look at the homework I’ve got, but nothing else. I tell myself “There’s no problem, there is enough time for me to do this”. I end up enjoying myself on weekends, but always with one thing in mind, my responsibilities. Well, right now it’s 9 p.m. and I’m finally doing one of the simple and easy tasks I was left to do.

I don’t know why I have changed so much while growing up. Six years ago I used to care a lot about school; I even had my homework done before I left school.  Three years ago I still cared, but I slacked off sometimes, made my homework on the last minute and didn’t care about it. Right now I feel I don’t care about my grades, I don’t mind doing homework, but I don’t do it sometimes and don’t even make an effort to do it on the last minute.

I will take a moment to ask myself why I have become this way.

Technological Event

Recent technological event: Google just went through its 15th birthday

We are better off with this technology, of course. Google has been making information available to the palm of your hand for years now. It's a web browser that has helped us simplify many searches that would've taken us hours.

Most events have positive effects, they mean technology is developing constantly.

Where would I live?

If I could have chosen the community I would live on, I would have chosen Norway, Finland or South Korea.

The reason I picked those places is their education level. They stand in the highest places concerning education, and each country has reasons for me to pick them.

South Korea has had a strong development concerning education in the last 30 years. It was once at Mexico's level, but now it has a better education than us. Their culture is completely different from ours, that's another reason I picked it. The only problem there is the pressure that society puts on kids and teens, they are heavily pressured and people have high expectations of everyone. Teens my age in S.K. barely sleep, they study from 6 a.m. when they get to school to 2 a.m., not only in school, but they also pay teachers to teach them outside school.

Norway, apart from having a pretty good education, is also one of the most pacific countries in the world. With one of the less crime ratios. It is also a very ecologic country.

I don't know to many things of Finland apart from it being in one of the highest places concerning education level. But it would be a nice choice too.

Change part of speech

abhor; verb
He has an abhorable personality
abhorable; adjective

remuneration; noun
I will be remunerated for all the extra work I did this month.
remunerate; verb

tangent; verb
Our math homework was to draw a tangental line to each one of the sides of the triangle.
tangental; adjective

counterfeit; adjective
It is illegal to counterfeit money.
counterfeit; verb

placid; adjective
The peaceful placidity of the beach overwhelms me. I feel completely relaxed.
placidity; noun

Community

The beach

Nightlife in 5th Ave

I do have a camera, but I'm unable to go out this weekend due to some problems, so I got some images from internet which I consider represent this community.

One of them is the beach, and the other one is the 5th Ave. Both represent tourism, during daylife and during nightlife. Shopping, getting tans, it's like an aphrodisiac paradise.

This just represents the turisitic part of our community, the good part. Because there are actually lots of problems regarding crime, pollution, government, etc... Most of that part of our community can't be found on the internet.

Idiom

"Paint the town red"

This idiom means you are going to have fun, not by painting the town, obviously, but by doing whatever you want in a "wildish" way.

This idiom comes from around 1837 when Marquis de Waterford, a troublemaker, spent a night vandilizing in England; and they literally painted the town red.

Dialogue:

-Guess who just got back today.

-Who?

-Them wild-eyed boys that had been away. They were asking if you were around.

-I'm looking forward to paint the town red with them!

Recommendation

I recommend to spend an entire day in the 5th avenue. In the morning or during midday you could be at the beach, relaxing. If you get hungry you could also eat at the beach, but there are several other options in 5th avenue. After eating, it's nice to go on a walk and maybe shopping, or just wandering around. You could buy a coffee and sit down while you observe the people around you, and maybe hear some live music. You could also get dinner there, and if you don't want to, you could go home after renting some movies at the blockbuster.

Reading review

I actually read the lyrics of a song in Spanish whose title in English would be Desert... I'm gonna translate the whole lyrics so I can review them.

I'll to write a song for those who never had anything

And so those who never had anything now have a song

And are able to sing it

And are able to sing it

I'll write a song for those who never had someone

And so now they know they have someone that writes them a song

I'll write a song that talks about me, that talks about everyone

That talks about everyone who is heartbroken

And be able to sing it

And be able to sing it

In my opinion, it is a nice song, and obviously in Spanish it is better. It's kind of sad and brief. Talking about lonely people who feel they have never had anything, but at the same time they've had it all in music.

I like this kind of music, which talks about feelings: love, hate, sadness; in a realistic way and/or using metaphors. I like to sing them and to relate myself to them.

1 Sentence per word

bigot: He's such a bigot guy, always so close-minded.

counterfeit: That sign is a counterfeit; it ain't real.

noxious: I stay away from noxious people.

bilk: Bilking in a game is not fair.

covert: John Smith is a secret agent; he's currently on a covert mission.

placid: This has been a placid afternoon.

enfranchise: During the mid 1900's, women were enfranchised.

remuneration: I deserve a remuneration for all the extra hours I worked.

hamper: Religious people often oppose and hamper gay marriages.

talisman: A four-leaf clover is considered as a talisman.

engender: The engender of his personality comes from a pretty rough childhood.

kindle: A trip to the woods does not end until you kindle a fire.

abrasive: Today's test was an abrasive one.

hangar: All plane reparations are done at hangar number four.

nuance: You must tell him you don't like him with nuance.

plagiarism: To take the credit for someone else's work is plagiarism.

renown: His renown comes from a lengthy and successful career.

tangent: We usually go on a tangent during history class; we start talking about classwork and we end up talking about what did we do on the weekend.

abhor: I abhor persons with simple vocabulary.

knotty: That was such a knotty puzzle.

Success Quote

The quote I chose says:

"In order to succeed your desire of success should be greater than your fear of failure."

-Bill Cosby

I chose it because it does motivate me. My fear of failure is always big; always before doing things myself, I stand there thinking about every possible income. I always think about what could happen if I succeeded or if I failed. The issue is that I only act when I'm sure that I won't fail, or when failure won't be a huge deal. I don't risk failing; I hate not to risk, I could've achieved greater things by now if I were not that coward, so fearful.

Of course my desire to succeed is big, but my fear is bigger; this quote describes it all of me. My insecurity, my fear, my cowardice; all in one...