V for Vendetta

One memorable quotation from the movie V for Vendetta  is "The people should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."

I agree with what V is saying here. He makes a good point, because a society should not have to live in fear of the government, as is the case with the characters in this movie. Since they have a totalitarian government where police have no limits and control almost every aspect of public life, people were terrified. This is shown in the opening scene of the film, where Evey is out after curfew and V saves her from rape at the hands of the police.

 V proves the second part of this quote throughout the movie, because he makes the government afraid of him and his power. It is apparent that V believes "governments should be afraid of their people." He is an anarchist revolutionary, who stands against the government. The government is afraid of V because he evaded and outsmarted police easily, killed many people, and blew up the Bailey courtrooms. The government was afraid of V also because of the number of people that were joining his side, and rebelling against the government.

This quotation is relatable to parts of the world today. There are still some countries that have totalitarian governments, that make people afraid. For example, the government in North Korea can be related to this.

See more about V for Vendetta here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434409/

Which Party Would Get My Vote?

If I were old enough to vote, I would vote for the NDP. In class, when we were discussing the general opinions of the right and left wing parties, I found myself agreeing with the left wing ideas, generally. For example, I agree with their opinions on keeping abortion legal, encouraging immigration, avoiding a rich/poor gap in society, leaving religion separate from politics, and keeping same-sex marriage legal.

Also, the NDP's view in the environmental category is something I think would be really beneficial. The handout in class shows they want a tougher Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Polluter Pay Act, as well as a home retrofit plan to reduce energy consumption and cut home heating bills. I think the Polluter Pay Act would be really successful. If people were actually fined for polluting, it would have a drastic effect on the way we live our lives.

There are many things I agree with on the NDP platform, and in general we share most of the same views. That is why if I could vote, it would be for them!

Gay Activist Beaten to Death

Read article here first: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20120417/halifax-gay-activist-death-120417/#ixzz1sswfRa5z

Raymond Taavel in 2008

In summary, Raymond Taavel, who was a gay activist, was beaten to death outside a bar in Halifax earlier this month. There were many witnesses at the scene, and 32-year-old Andre Noel Denny is facing charges of second degree murder. 


Denny was uttering homophobic slurs, and killed Raymond Taavel because he had an issue with his sexuality. This tragic event has caused most of the gay community in Halifax to be scared for their lives. People should not have to live in fear of being killed simply because of their sexuality. That is a horrific thought, and I really believed that we had come so much farther than this in terms of accepting everyone for who they are.

Laws regarding same-sex partnerships in the United States

Laws regarding same-sex partnerships in the United States

  Same-sex marriage¹

  Unions granting rights similar to marriage^1,2

  Legislation granting limited/enumerated rights¹

  Same-sex marriages performed elsewhere recognized¹

  No specific prohibition or recognition of same-sex marriages or unions

  Statute bans same-sex marriage

  Constitution bans same-sex marriage²

  Constitution bans same-sex marriage and some or all other kinds of same-sex unions

***See the full Wikipedia article here***

I think this situation is especially horrendous because it took place in Canada, a country that is generally seen as an accepting nation. We are a country that allows same-sex marriage. The fact that this tragedy happened here is appalling to me, and I think it is the exact opposite of "everyone deserving equal rights." 


The fact that someone was be brutally beaten and murdered in this country just because of being openly gay is sickening and truly horrifying to me. I can't picture that happening  
 in Canada, it seems more like something that  you'd hear about in some of the States. That might be stereotypical, but that's just how I see it.


Raymond Taavel's death has been mourned heavily by activists in Halifax. The street he was murdered on was hung with flags and other tributes to his death.

What I Think of FFP

There are definitely aspects of this course that I really like, and other parts that I'm not too fond of.

In particular, I like the choice available in the projects that we are doing. For example, the fact that we got to choose our own lit circle book was much better than having just any book forced upon us. I also appreciate choosing the projects that we are interested in doing, and then being marked on more of an individual scale. In the History of Democracy project, for example, I liked that we got to choose the assignment as long as it showed our understanding on the topic. The individual projects that we have coming up seem really interesting, too. I'm looking forward to them.

Some things that I find aren't working too well are the loose deadlines. It could be a good thing because it would allow me to work away at small pieces of a project over a long time. In a perfect world, that's exactly what I would be doing; I would spread the workload out evenly over a long period of time. In reality though, I often find myself putting the work for this course on the backburner because I know it has more lenient deadlines. I find that due dates make me more productive, because I know that there is a specific goal I must work to finish in a set amount of time. I wish there were a few more concrete deadlines in this course.

Another thing is that the online collaboration with other FFP students seems disorganized to me. When this course was first described to me, it sounded like we were going to be collaborating and sharing with all the other students often. This hasn't worked out too well, in my opinion. Recieving submissions from other schools for the magazine was pretty disorganized, and one school was late.That very first TED talk with the twitter feed was also unsuccessful, and that's why I'm wondering what the upcoming book clubs are going to turn out like. In the future, I don't think working with other FFP schools should be a part of this course, unless all the kinks can be worked out.

One thing I do appreciate in this course though, is that the subject matter is much more interesting and useful than what I have heard is taught in other careers and civics classes. I think learning about activism, and having guest speakers for careers into the class is a great idea. This is much more valuable teaching than career aptitude tests and personality tests are.

I also appreciate the focus on media in this course, because it seems like many industries are becoming more and more tech- savvy. I feel like I'm learning a lot of useful skills.

Having no exams is also a bonus!

What About an Architect?

My grade eight class had to do a project about a career that interested us from the top ten list of jobs on a career aptitude test. One of mine was architect, so I decided to do my project on that. The job actually seemed really interesting to me. It combines aspects of math, art, and science, all of which interest me.

Being an architect would also be a really satisfying job, I think. Being able to walk around and point out parts of buildings that you could say, "I designed that" would be pretty cool. I took the grade eleven art course first semester, and part of the course was art history. We spent some time talking about classic Roman and Greek elements of design, and I found that fascinating. I've always thought that certain parts of architecture, especially on historic buildings, were incredibly beautiful.

I'm going to keep architecture in the back of my mind as a career path, because I think it could potentially end up leading somewhere. I think I recall from my grade eight project, that they don't pay too badly either, which is always a good thing!

Historic Montreal architecture

Olivia and Duke Orsino- Cruel or Just Honest?

In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Duke Orsino just can't seem to take the hint that the love of his life isn't interested in him. No matter what sweet gesture he does for Olivia, she pays him no attention. He dotes on her constantly, and it made it seem like Olivia was getting really annoyed with having to constantly put up with Orsino. She clearly wanted nothing to do with him (or any other guy,  for that matter).

This is why she makes the excuse that she is going to mourn the loss of her brother for seven years, and won't allow herself to see any other men during that time. I think this was actually a really clever move on her part. By saying she doesn't want to see any men, they will hopefully all back off, and she will be able to wait for the right guy to come along. Her plan doesn't work out too well though, because the men still fawn over her endlessly.

I think what Olivia did wasn't being cruel at all, she was just being honest about her feelings. She really did want nothing to do with Orsino or any of the other men after her. Why should she feel like she must do something in return for them when she has no feelings towards them? It's not like Olivia was being intentionally mean toward any of the men, she just knew that they weren't the ones for her. She shouldn't have to be pressured into doing anything, if she doesn't even really like the guy!

Mandatory French In High School?

Now knowing the entire background about why we must take French courses in high school, it makes me believe even more strongly that a French credit should be compulsory. French heritage and culture is a big part of what makes Canada so unique. French language is a very important part of our country's history. By learning the language, we are honouring the diverse culture that exists in Canada.

Learning a second language is always useful, even if it is just the bare bones of the language. By learning a second language, it can lead to many different jobs. For example, it's really helpful to have a second language if you want to be a flight attendant, or have any sort of government job, or be a teacher.

Learning French also opens many doors in the way of travel. There are cities in Canada where French is spoken, but there are also many countries around the world that have French as an official language. Knowing the language makes travel much easier.

Our country was colonized by France and French culture is still a big part of many people's lives today, so having a compulsory French credit honours our heritage and diverse culture. Not to mention that it is a very useful language in many ways.

There is nothing to lose from learning French, and everything to gain!