The Mask I Wear

--->(no sense intended here, so I guess you could call it a rant)

Outside never seems right,
Contained so others won't see.

I wear the mask lightly,

but not tightly.

My haven is safe;
I open up to myself there.

Keeping to myself is what I do,
As solemn as I keep myself.

Truly I'm a virtuous person;
Altruism is what seems to ring out.

What does St. Patrick's Day Mean to you?

I have never really thought very much about St. Patrick's day. When I remember St. Patrick's Days of the past, I remember a day of either remembering to wear green and being safe or forgetting and preparing to get pinched. Now that I give more thought to luck and such, I become more grateful for all the lucky moments in my life. One such lucky moment would probably be when my Dad and I were filling a PVC tank full of compressed air to check for leaks and the tank exploded in our hands. Any amount of air pressure can be dangerous but I had the luck to walk away unhurt from this potential catastrophe. While in Houston, Texas my family and I went to watch a parade. Afterwards, we were walking back to a train station to get back to our car. We encountered a crosswalk that had a stall near the left of the road and limited our view. As my sister was crossing the street, I spotted a car speeding from our blind side. Immediately I understood what would happen and I yelled out her name. She danced back just as the car sped by. I am very grateful for this bit of luck.

Call of the Wild Book Review

     Jack London's The Call of the Wild electrified me with its tale (no pun intended) of a harsh Northland.  I also enjoyed the character's involved in the story.

     The Call of the Wild follows the journey of the dog Buck through his adventure into the North.  Buck has to survive in this harsh, new environment virtually on his own.  He soon picks up habits and lessons from the other dogs through watching.  One such lesson would be when Buck finds out his teammates have burrowed in the snow to stay warm during the night.  Other such lessons are when Buck learned "to bite the ice out with his teeth when it collected between his toes".  He also learned that "when he was thirsty and there was a thick scum of ice over the water hole, he" could "break it by rearing and striking it with stiff fore legs."  Maybe one of the most important lessons Buck learns is that if a dog goes down in a fight, that is the end of him.

     Characters in The Call of the Wild are quite amazing.  Buck, the main character, almost seems as though he is a human rather than a dog simply by his rational thoughts and way of doing tasks.  In a fight, Buck is being severely beaten and has no way to back out of this fight.  He finds a way to adapt to his foe's movements and tactics and soon brings the opposition down.  John Thornton saves Buck later on in the story.  John Thornton is played out as a very kind and likable person, which he is.  He stands up against Buck's current owner and saves Buck from certain death.  John Thornton also shows that he understands Buck when Buck "would often seize Thornton's hand in his mouth and close so fiercely that the flesh bore the impress of his teeth for some time afterward" to be a sign of admiration and love.

     I enjoyed The Call of the Wild and would recommend this book to anyone who likes nature, learning about primal instincts, or a good read.

Book Review: The Bar Code Tattoo

      Suzanne Weyn's The Bar Code Tattoo astonished me in how I could see our world in a similar situation.

    A major idea of the The Bar Code Tattoo is that all people would (will?) be identified with bar codes.  These bar codes would identify the person's blood type and other medical specifics.  What if the codes told more than just these medical specifications?  What if we were tracked through these codes?  What if our lives were controlled by a few simple black bars?  That's a tough set of questions.  In the story of The Bar Code Tattoo bar codes are beginning to be used for everything from buying items to getting a job.  In the story, a character compares the degree of government tracking individuals by saying that "they first started out using Driver's Licenses as IDs, then credit cards were tracked" and so on.

     Kayla, the main character, resists the bar code and joins a group against the bar called KnotU2.  This group is centered around working against Global-1.  Global-1 is a large organization that owns all farm production and many other vital businesses.  This reminds me a little bit of our (somewhat) monopolies in our society.  Though not on the same level, what if these large corporations turned into an all-controlling monopoly like in the story?

    Our world may be moving in this direction if we are not careful of our government and business corporations.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes semi-futuristic or action themes.