Not Just a Robber, but a Baron as well? Blasphemy!

This unit in History class, we're learning about robber-barons or captains of industry or moneymakers or people who look like the monopoly man. It's pretty interesting to see how just a couple of people can control the entire economy and make all the working class suffer. All the big guys, JP Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and Cornelius Vanderbilt, had huge empires from industries ranging from oil and railroad to steel and more railroad. Just knowing that such few man had so much power is a scary thought. I guess it's just like the saying goes "With great wealth, comes great responsibility," too bad they didn't care for the working class. I think that these people should deserve to be called "Robber-Barons" because of their indifference to authority, I mean just take Vanderbilt's quote "What do I care about law? Ain't I got the power?"

So long for now,
-Flumer

Sicko - Ewwww

I recently watched the movie Sicko, a documentary by Micheal Moore. The movie is brilliant as it tries to understand why America is the only industrialized country without universal healthcare. The information it gives is unbelievable, and the examples endless. Moore travels around the world to Canada, England, France, and even Cuba in order to find out why universal healthcare is so freakin' amazing. It got me thinking why in the world does America force people to think twice about getting treatment because they might not be able to afford it. It's absolutely horrifying, and Sicko lays all the information out just for you to see. It's an eye-opening movie that is a must-watch.

Books.

I recently finished reading the book, "Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut. This book describes the life of Jonah Hoosier who travels to the tiny country of San Lorenzo where he learns about Bokononism, Ice-Nine, and life in general. The book mainly revolves around the late Felix Hoenikker, who was the father of the atomic bomb and the creator of Ice-Nine. Let's pretend that the way that water freezes, the way that regular ice is made, is called ice-one. Now, if there was a new way for water to freeze, if the atoms in the molecule crystallized in a different way, then let's call that ice-nine. Felix Hoenikker created Ice-Nine, and split it up among his children. From there, the calamity of dividing the Ice-Nine ensues, and the book takes off. The book also introduces the religion of Bokononism, which I believe is the greatest because it frankly states that "all religions are lies." I had only read Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron" before, and in his book he demonstrates his great writing style. I hope to read many more of his books.

I recently applied for the library to hold a book for me called "The Hunger Games." Now, I don't really know what it's about, but the fact that I'm 115th in line, certainly means that it should be entertaining.

Another amazing book that I am a huge fan of is Firoozeh Dumas' "Funny in Farsi." This hilarious novel narrates the author and her family's move from Iran to America. The book comments on the hysterical antics of her father and the entertaining aspects of her mother, and her humongous extended family. It's a wonderful novel that I can read many times and still laugh my head off. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to laugh his heart out.