Season and Winter Essay Example for Free

Season and Winter Essay Snow is when family and friends play and laugh together, which is what brings us closer together. Furthermore, people can do many fun activities in the snow. We not only play in the snow but also sliegh ride, build snowmen, have a snowball fight with your family, and make snow angels. When I was young, I used to hang out with neighborhood kids after school even if the weather was severe. Actually, we were looking for the heavy snow at the very beginning of winter. Because we were fond of having snowball fights and making snowman as well as going sledding. We were so happy when playing in the snow. We didn’t care how cold our hands would get, or how dirty our cloths were. The only things we cared about were who could win in the fight, who could make the best snowman and who could sled the fastest. Moreover, all the outdoor activities bring all your families closer because all the kids tend to play and have fun outside in the cold. Family is special because you become close and share thoughtful things with the ones that mean the most to you. Christmas brings family out and shows how much your family truly means to you. Family is the number one thing that matters the most to you and especially when it comes to Christmas. Also, Lastly, baking is also a wonderful thing about winter. You walk into the kitchen and smell the freshly baked cookies or Moms homemade casserole. Baking is amazing because it carries on through tradition and it gets passed down to generation. Baking also warms your heart and lets you know how much time and effort your family or parent puts into making the wonderful food you receive. Baking on Christmas morning is the best because you get the house all decorated up and get the food ready for friends and family who come over to celebrate the special time with you. In addition, one thing winter wouldn’t be complete without is the memories. The memories are always good because you create amazing memories when you’re with friends and family. Winter makes you want to create the most memorable moment of all time especially if you’re in an amazing country or state. Imagine being in a place where it snows or you hear the rain dripping down the window pane. Winter has many memories weather its being somewhere for the first time or going back to it. Memories are meant to be created weather its good memories or bad memories. In overall, winter is a good season because you can expect good things from it like snow, christmas, family, snuggling, baking, and friends. You’re with family and friends and you’re having all these events going on. Winter shows how much closer family can bring you. Winter is amazing and it brings out all the good energy around you. You can be in the worst moods or the happiest moods and its okay because winter brings this feeling out in you that you love and always want to carry with you. Winter is definitely a great season and always will have different memories that will always be in your heart.

New Urbanism in The Truman Show Essay -- movies, films, film analysis

The Town of Seahaven Island is spiritually uplifting, quaint, and completely artificial. Everything and everyone, including the main character, Truman, are predictable in habit and pattern. Nothing happens spontaneously or out of synch. When Truman steps out of his usual routine, the entire town must leap into choreography of damage control. Carefully anticipated, controlled perfection must be restored, but this portrayal of contemporary urban life, however exaggerated, may be inappropriate (Rees; 2003; 104). New Urbanists believe physical design can influence behaviours and attitudes and cause organic evolution of ideal communities. In fact, romanticizing the village model through architectural codification and rules of development may be less engaging than vague and bland. Several criticisms of the New Urbanism style of community, versions of which are becoming extremely privatized, have been discussed. The New Urbanism regime of community is utopian and unnatural—a contradiction of the very ideals purported. New Urbanism is â€Å"family values architecture† of middle-class conservatism (Rees; 103). The simulated island portrayed in this film is certainly that. There are no distinctions of citizen wealth; everyone has a job except for the father who is initially portrayed as a wildly uncharacteristic homeless person. There are even an inordinate number of street sweepers and window washers. The costumes are decidedly 1950’s conservative values in style. These symbols are as stereotypical as the architecture, invoking a sense of pretense rather than the social transformation New Urbanists advance as â€Å"new† and therefore â€Å"good†. The New Urbanist outlook is one calling for an attractive, usable and democratic public commun... ...gle of totality (anything that is not New Urbanist is â€Å"bad†), the premise of New Urbanism being postmodern is confusing. â€Å"The location of New Urbanism both inside and outside postmodernism is as much a suggestion of the tensions within the definitions of postmodernism developed among architectural critics and cultural critics as it is a reflection of the movement† (Rees; 100). The Christof character expresses, â€Å"We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented.† Unfortunately, it is the escalating degree to which existing with each other seems to be regulated—and worse, regulated from within—that causes concern that the domino effect of withdrawal from larger society will occur. That may be Utopia for some; it is completely synthetic for most. The New Urbanist design and codification is unlikely to be sufficient to allow a community to evolve. New Urbanism in The Truman Show Essay -- movies, films, film analysis The Town of Seahaven Island is spiritually uplifting, quaint, and completely artificial. Everything and everyone, including the main character, Truman, are predictable in habit and pattern. Nothing happens spontaneously or out of synch. When Truman steps out of his usual routine, the entire town must leap into choreography of damage control. Carefully anticipated, controlled perfection must be restored, but this portrayal of contemporary urban life, however exaggerated, may be inappropriate (Rees; 2003; 104). New Urbanists believe physical design can influence behaviours and attitudes and cause organic evolution of ideal communities. In fact, romanticizing the village model through architectural codification and rules of development may be less engaging than vague and bland. Several criticisms of the New Urbanism style of community, versions of which are becoming extremely privatized, have been discussed. The New Urbanism regime of community is utopian and unnatural—a contradiction of the very ideals purported. New Urbanism is â€Å"family values architecture† of middle-class conservatism (Rees; 103). The simulated island portrayed in this film is certainly that. There are no distinctions of citizen wealth; everyone has a job except for the father who is initially portrayed as a wildly uncharacteristic homeless person. There are even an inordinate number of street sweepers and window washers. The costumes are decidedly 1950’s conservative values in style. These symbols are as stereotypical as the architecture, invoking a sense of pretense rather than the social transformation New Urbanists advance as â€Å"new† and therefore â€Å"good†. The New Urbanist outlook is one calling for an attractive, usable and democratic public commun... ...gle of totality (anything that is not New Urbanist is â€Å"bad†), the premise of New Urbanism being postmodern is confusing. â€Å"The location of New Urbanism both inside and outside postmodernism is as much a suggestion of the tensions within the definitions of postmodernism developed among architectural critics and cultural critics as it is a reflection of the movement† (Rees; 100). The Christof character expresses, â€Å"We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented.† Unfortunately, it is the escalating degree to which existing with each other seems to be regulated—and worse, regulated from within—that causes concern that the domino effect of withdrawal from larger society will occur. That may be Utopia for some; it is completely synthetic for most. The New Urbanist design and codification is unlikely to be sufficient to allow a community to evolve.

Mexico Current Issues: Drug War

?Stefan Tian Period 2 War in the Cities Recently, Mexico has been facing a horrendous civil war. This internal conflict is coming from the country’s powerful drug leaders. This epic drug war was been taking place ever since these â€Å"cartels† relocated from the South American nation of Columbia to Mexico in the mid 1980s. since then , this bloody conflict has arose several issues in Mexico. Mexico’s new president, Felipe Calderon, just recently launched an all out military campaign against these drug lords in 2007. This campaign included increased military personnel stationed in locations of intense combat. These increased troops eventually ammounted to more than 25,000 troops stationed throughout Mexico(1). But still, this drug war rages on and has dramatically affected Mexico in negative ways. If not stopped, this drug war will continually drag down the Mexican economy as well as the continued corruption of the Mexican infrastructure. One of the more shocking results of this ongoing drug war is its diminishing effect on the Mexican economy. This horrendous civil war, unfortunately takes place on Mexican soil. Specifically, it takes place in the bustling urban cities that make up Mexico’s tourism and industrial trade. For example, one of the most heated spots of this drug war is at Tijuana. This is obviousley due to its close proximity to the United States. Tijuana faces constant suburban warfare between the cartels and the mexican military. This conflict in Tijuana climaxed on April 26, 2008 when a major battle took place and ended up in the deaths of 17 people(2). Because of this extreme violence , the citizens, as well as factories of Tijuana are scared to go out of their homes or begin to operate. They have reached a mere standstill. This is a huge problem because Tijuana is Mexico’s sixth largest city and its annual GDP is higher than the nation’s average by 35,000. Its GDP is the 3rd highest in the country, closely trailing Cancun and Mexico City(3). These conflicts have been immobilizing whole cities, such as Tijuana, the whole state of Michoacan, Morelia, and Tijuana. These battles have not only been a direct detriment to the economy, but they have also provided many indirect factors. Because of all the crime and violence occuring in Mexico, foreign investors are beginning to worry about their investments. They are starting withdraw some of the money that they had put into Mexico in fear of governmental collapse. According to Mexican Finance Minister, Agustin Carstens,†the deterioriating security level is reducing gross domsetic product annually by 1 percent in Latin America’s second-largest economy. †(4) This one percent decrease is from the withdrawal of investors alone, not including the immobilization of cities and slowing of production. Now, some may argue that the drug industry has been beneficial to the Mexican economy. They claim that the illegal drug trade has been a vital part of Mexico’s international trade. According to the United Nations, the annual revenue generated by the illegal drug industry is at 400 billion dollars. (6) This money is in turn introduced to the Mexican economy, giving it substantial stipulus. While, this may be true, we have to look at the fact that in the process of acquiring this money, people’s lives were held in danger. In the process of this war, over 7768 people’s lives have been lost. (5) Also, the money that the Mexican federal government put in to counteract these illegal practices is also substantial. The 400 billion dollars gained from this trade is not worth the thousands of lives sacrificed for it. The economy has been lowering in a drastically sharp manor due to this drug war. Another major consequence of this raging drug war is that it’s corrupting affect on the Mexican infrastructure. The drug cartels have infiltrated the core of the Mexican government. They have been able to corrupt the very federal police that is supposed to combat them. Their vast influence has been able to penetrate the supposed upholders of the law. The Attorney Geenral of Mexico did a scan of his federal police force and found that 1/5 of all federal officers are now put under investigation for criminal activity. Also, 1500 AFI’s are also put under criminal activity. (7) This creates a severe unresting feeling in the mexican population as to whether who they can trust. If the drug cartels had already infiltrated the system to the point that they had influences in the very law enforcement department, that is an extensive amount of corruption. The reasons for this corruption is that these cops and federal agents see the kind of money that these cartels generate in the course of a year and they flock to them. They have a considerable amount of revenue, and these cartels know that bribing these officers would help in their peration by ten-fold. The mexican government needs to be careful of their law enforcement department and purge their systems regularly in order to get rid of the corrupted officers. This Mexican drug war has become more than just a nation wide epidemic. Its influences have begun to spread farther, into the United States as well as other South American nations. Once we do settle this conflict with the cartels, a system wide purging is needed too of the government infrastructure. What would probably work better is a whole reorganization of the sytem in order to make sure that no corrupt officers hold any power. Mexico needs to keep this situation under control in order to become one of the top world powers that it currently has the potential to be. 1. http://www. iht. com/articles/ap/2006/12/11/america/LA_GEN_Mexico_Drug_Violence. php 2. http://www. reuters. com/article/newsOne/idUSN2639514820080427 3. http://www. inegi. gob. mx/lib/buscador/busqueda. aspx? s=est&textoBus=tijuana&e=&seccionBus=bieb 4. http://www. bloomberg. com/apps/news? pid=20601087&sid=akDCw. fUKYOc&refer=home 5. http://www. eluniversal. com. mx/notas/560074. html 6. http://www. dpft. org/hernandez/ 7. ttp://ftp. fas. org/sgp/crs/row/RL34215. pdf Annotated Bibliography Cook,Colleen â€Å"Mexico’s Drug Cartels† CRS Report for Congress 2007, Oct 17. http://ftp. fas. org/sgp/crs/row/RL34215. pdf Epstein, Jerry â€Å"Esquiel Hernandez Killing† Drug Policy Forum 1998, March 15 http://www. dpft. org/hernandez/ Unknown â€Å"Ejecuciones rompen record: van cinco mil† El Universal 2008, December. http: //www. eluniversal. com. mx/notas/560074. html Gould, Jens â€Å"Mexico’s Drug War turns into Terrorism† Bloomberg 2008, Oct 20 http://www. bloomberg. com/apps/news? pid=20601087&sid=akDCw. UKYOc&refe r=home Unknown â€Å"Banco de Informacion Economica† Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas y Geografia 2005, Jun 4 http://www. inegi. gob. mx/lib/buscador/busqueda. aspx? s=est&textoBus=tijuana&e=&seccionBus=bieb Diaz Lizbeth â€Å"Seventeen Killed in Mexico’s Drug War† Reuters 2008, Apr 26 http://www. reuters. com/article/newsOne/idUSN2639514820080427 Unknown â€Å"Mexican Government sends 6500 troops to state scarred by violence,drugs, and beheadings. † Herald Tribune 2006, Dec 11 http://www. iht. com/articles/ap/2006/12/11/america/LA_GEN_Mexico_Drug_Violence. php

Essay godfater character comparison - 636 Words

Comparison of the Characters Michael Sonny in â€Å"The Godfather† At a first glance Michael and Sonny appear to be quite different. Upon further observation, however, they do have some similarities. Although they are very different in their personality, values, and tempers, they are similar in areas of loyalty, their respect for their father, and their strong family ties. Their personalities are a study in contrasts. Sonny is brash and arrogant, where as Michael is calm and cool. When Don Corleone was in the hospital and Sonny was placed in charge, the family became kind of careless. He didn’t seem to care what could happen due to his actions. He wanted to kill the police captain and didn’t think about the repercussions. Tom has to tell†¦show more content†¦He flew off the handle when he found out that his sister had been beaten and ran out of the house without anyone with him. During those times he should have known better, but all he had on his mind was vengeance. Michael on the other hand is fairly calm about things. He knows that Carlos was involved in Sonnys death, but he lets it go until the time is right to deal with it. They shared similar loyalties. They did what they needed to do for their friends and family. When others help them out, they do the same. Although Sonny felt that the move towards narcotics was a good idea, he didnt go in that direction when he was in charge. They both had great admiration and respect for their father. When he wanted something done they jumped. When he was shot, Michael rushed home to see if he could help. He eventually got involved in the family business because of this. Michael and Sonny both wanted the people who had been involved in the shooting to pay irregardless of the costs. Finally both Michael and Sonny had strong family ties (towards the Corleone family). When a member of the family needed something they gave it to them. Sonny was outraged to learn that his sister was the victim of spousal abuse, and wanted to punish her husband for it. They did everything they could to make sure that every member of the family was safe at all times. Michael even gave up a whole year of his life to avenge his fathers shooting, later fleeing America and going