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Commonplace Entry #20

The view of my hotel room as I write this entry, personifying my loneliness with the dark, empty skyline of Montreal. The bright lights and the crowded streets represent wishes that I will never ever have;

    Today marks the final night of my Montreal Model United Nations trip. After today, I am heading back home, set to arrive at 9 p.m back at RGSS. It’s Saturday, November 18th, 10:08 p.m. at the time of this writing. I expected a fun trip from this, having to miss at least 2 days of school, 9 classes... But tonight is where I’m starting to conflict whether it was worth it going on this trip. An impending 2 math tests for a unit which I can barely comprehend on Tuesday and Thursday, 2 summatives due the Tuesday after next week which I have yet to begin due to my preparations for this trip including luggage packing and researching information, and being third wheeled while on the trip following around my friends along with 2 days of class work to catch up on is really growing weight on my mind. It started out fun; Now I’m not so sure. This is my first high school overnight trip and my latest since 3 years ago, but the priorities of everything in Grade 12 linger around to ruin it. I have fellow classmates studying Biology in their hotel room and on the bus ride to Montreal for a test on the Tuesday they come back or completing Functions homework during committee when they’re supposed to focus on researching further information for their debate. That’s an example I’ve given of how your school work conflicts with your trip.

    Tonight marked the Delegate Gala, a social event where all individuals participating in the debates during the trip head down in formal wear to dance, get thrown paint at, and listen to ear rupturing music from 9 pm to midnight. As for me writing this entry, I chose not to go to focus on my school work, something that my friends attempted to dissuade me from doing as they attempted to convince me to lift school off my mind and go to have fun downstairs. As stated before though, the combination of the thought of unfinished school work, being ignored from coming along with my friends as I 60% of the time have to follow them last during hangouts over the past 3 days which is frustrating because I wish to converse with them more often but I wind up third wheeling, and my recent interrupted speeches during my committee today ultimately killed my motivation. I’m sorry, Leila. You’re the president of the club that oversees presence on this trip. You help motivate others to go out, have fun and do their best. I wish I could do more to increase our school’s reputation on this trip in my committee to help the club progress and have fun like you advocate for, but tonight... My drive has run out for the day. I am simply going to hold the fort down in my hotel room and complete my unfinished school work, starting with the writing of this entry. I will no longer speak any more about this, and I will conclude my 20 personal entries as of this writing. 

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Commonplace Entry #19

          Look here. I understand that trends come and go, but when it comes to the music industry, that’s where my understanding doesn’t fit on the same page. Especially at school, that’s where I start to draw a correlation between the rather rude and violent behavior of boys, whether they either push each other in the hallways around, jumping up and smashing the top of lockers, making a huge amount of noise in class, or cussing very frequently in their language. That being said, I attribute that to the over-excessive amount of rap music being released, which I would personally blame the rappers behind the songs for advocating this type of behavior with their frequent use of lyrics with sexualized tones or swearing. As a result, I also feel this has made a direct influence on their lifestyle, and with that being said, music has also made them into unapproachable, toxic individuals whose only purpose is to screw girls over. There is already enough toxicity in this world. Why do rappers further need to advocate this type of behavior with their obnoxious songs?

This is very apparent every day at school where I see boys in all grades (9, 10, 11 and 12) either low riding their pants, conversing in conversations with frequent swearing, huddling in huge groups that block the hallways, or engaging in either noisy or rebellious behavior. On my bus going home especially, there’s a group of at least 6 boys that come on every day, where as soon as the bus starts leaving, they immediately take out their portable speaker and blast rap music on it full volume while making a crap ton of noise at the back. Even through my earbuds, I can hear their music, which gives off the impression that they have no consideration what so ever. This leads me to wonder what the hell are the parents doing? Are they even questioning what their kid has been up to because I would really like to know. All I can say is this: This kind of behavior has to change. I wouldn’t like to be associated with a generation of kids who made their names with this type of conduct. Even now, their morals have become very shoddy to the point that there are even stereotypes to classify them by now, such as Jocks for example which classify a popular, self-centered athletic boy who has a very crude personality. There are many other stereotypes, one of which I would list here, but as it contains a very uncivilized cuss word, I will refrain from stating it.

Our generation has come under fire for being narcissistic on social media, showing little class in society, and for our focus on “getting girlfriends or boyfriends” over our life goals. I can agree with all of the negative traits that we have been described for, but one might say that I am chalking it up to jealousy over not being able to have those good looks or do all those crazy actions that the other boys are capable of. To be honest, I could care less about how I look or what I do, as in the end, I’m in school, and the only purpose for me there is to succeed and gain the knowledge to move forward in the future. You might also tell me to ignore them as it is not my problem, but being forced in the same boat has me irritated that I am forced to work with boys who show little respect, have subpar knowledge and no judgement over their actions, and possess no work habits. I only ask for their rebellious behavior to cease, but I expect them to ignore and continue their arrogance onward to my dismay given how rebellious they are. I can only hope that they at least take that into consideration and realize that how they act right now is out of society’s standards.

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Commonplace Entry #18

Let's be real here... School is fun or it's torturous for others. I'm in the middle with this question. I like school mainly because I get to converse with individuals and practice my work skills, but I detest the point of having to wake up at 7 in the morning 5 days a week with only 5 hours, then having to go home at 4 in the afternoon, like it’s my weekly prison schedule. That being said, the only way school ends earlier every day, is if you start it earlier. Should school start earlier though, it would be redundant because no person in their right mind would get up at 6 or even 5 in the morning save for adults going to work. But it's the learning that I'm most concerned about. Firstly, as human beings, we like to learn and gather knowledge from the world around us. Knowledge is power, as they say. With knowledge, you can comprehend the various complex concepts that exist in the world around us. School is a social institution where kids go to learn knowledge. At best, it's a very convenient method that works just as well as the internet. But the difference here is that in school, when you add marks into the equation and hold competition above cooperation, the whole point of learning is lost. What this means is that instead of taking in what you just read in front of you, whether it's a textbook packed with definitions or those math equations you practice on, it's temporary that you wind up not remembering anything at all after you finish that last exam months after. High school is the worst offender of this however in my opinion: It's rinse and repeat for 4 years; cram and memorize knowledge you learn superficially to earn a mark. An example of this is Math or Science, now, both? If I researched them on my own without having to be ordered by school teachers, I would recall the information learned a lot easier than me having to skim through previous notes during a vital lesson. Constriction in an environment where you have students asking you "What did you get on the exam?" or "How did you do on your test?" unfortunately sets the bar way too high because you have at least 20 students expecting you to know what to do, even when you're aware that you don't. I like learning though, that's the point. The difference is, I don't like being forced to learn.

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Commonplace Entry #17

          Wow. What a way to start off the weekend. Today was a train wreck starting from the morning in Computer Engineering, where a Breadboard Assignment and Programming kept me held up for the entire class when there’s a recently announced presentation a few minutes ago due on Monday. It’s a complex concept called “Charlieplexing” where when using a microcontroller such as an Arduino, for one pin on the microcontroller (There are 13 numbered Pins), you must assign 3 LEDs to light up from one pin, as usually you would assign 1 LED per pin. You must do this 3 times, therefore in accordance with a fancy formula to find the number of LEDs to use (n^2 - n), this means you would need to program for 9 LEDs. Out of anything, I’m crapping my pants for this. I have no clue how long it will take or how it even works to begin with. I simply just want to give up and accept the mark I get, because I am wasting time on something I have no comprehension of when there’s an assignment to complete for the same class on Monday. Debugging my program in a nutshell though is like the hydra from Greek mythology: Fix one bug, two more shall take its place.

           However, that wasn’t even the worst I’ve seen today. In the last period, which is English, after sitting through the final Panel Discussion involving the film The Dark Knight Rises, I was going to play a diagnosis Kahoot about the concept of “Logos” in English, which would have been a refresher of the lesson learned last year when it was first introduced. My teacher gave us VERY SPECIFIC INTRODUCTIONS to use our real names for this; I simply just needed to type in “Daniel”. It was a very easy instruction to follow. However, like how disjointed our class is given that the ratio of boys to girls is 19 to 10, a handful of boys didn’t take the instructions seriously and started inputting inappropriate nicknames like “Player Hoe”, which thus resulted in the Kahoot being shut down and everyone being forced to work on their Commonplace Blogs in complete silence for the final 20 minutes of the class. As the final nail in the coffin, it was announced that Kahoots would no longer run in this period because of this incident. In a few minutes before the game even started, we lost our only fun opportunity in this class for the next 3 months. I expected to play a proper Kahoot, seeing as last period which was Food and Nutrition, I was also playing Kahoot as part of a presentation, only for it to crash midway for everyone playing as thus forcing a restart of the game. When I attempted to log back in, Kahoot would lock up at the loading screen, effectively preventing me from joining the game at all. Now I will never get this opportunity in English class ever again, all because some dudes decided to dick around and ruin it for everyone. I will never be able to brush up my knowledge on what Logos means in Grade 12 English.

          This begs me the question to those who ruined it: What the hell is so hard about following instructions? Personally, I don’t blame the teacher for cancelling the game. If I was her, I would also advocate for a Kahoot where you use your real names as your nickname, as I find that it’s easier to identify who has more knowledge on the subject. With nicknames, it opens the door to inappropriate behavior which I am strongly against. One of these offenders who ruined the game, I actually dislike him immensely as he previously pushed me around in Grade 9, and thus looks down on me as inferior. In fact, earlier today he was ripped into by the teacher in front of the entire class for passing around a phone while the Panel Discussion was in session. Even more so, the teacher was right beside him when he did that, up to the point she had to stop the presentation and scorn him for doing such a thing. For real though? What made you think passing a goddamn phone to others during a presentation WHILE A TEACHER IS BESIDE YOU was going to end well? It wasn’t obviously, and thus I can clearly tell that he was an offender judging by his previous offenses. He clearly has shown that he can’t follow instructions: First from this incident, then with the Kahoot cancellation and even 3 weeks ago, when we were called up to check confirmation of our homework completion which was for Theory Notes on The Dark Knight Rises, he merely just took the information from the notes we learned in class and passed them off as his homework being done, yet on the rubric outline it specifically said to expand and research more about your chosen theory. *FACEPALMS INTENSIFY* Since he pushed me around before, I think it’s only fitting that I poke at his weaknesses the same way as his comeuppance. I figure it’s time for him to be put in his place, as only intelligence is accepted here, not by the many girls that you run after with your playboy behavior. What could’ve been a rewarding activity from having to sit through 6 Panel Discussions straight, now my teacher has to accommodate for the lowest common denominator of immaturity, starting with your actions among others.

          And as for the rest of the offenders including him, I would also ask them: “Were you trying to be a party pooper, were you born stupid, or are you both?” Personally, I’m vouching for both, seeing as they don’t know when to shut up or act civilized. Needless to say, I’m baffled that our Grade has come to this point. I believe that last year’s graduates were perhaps the last graduates to act civilized and exit high school with a sense of class. For our Grade to act this way though, GRADE 12 ESPECIALLY of any grade, is rather insulting and down right immature. If any of the previous graduates came back to visit, I’m pretty sure they would be disgusted by how incompetent, substandard, and unprofessional we’ve become.

[dtcommonplaceblogp4]

Commonplace Entry #16

           It’s a regular school day in a Biology classroom. You and the rest of your classmates have just recently written a test about a week ago. Today, your teacher announces that your tests are being given back to you as she has marked all of them. So she calls you up to receive your test. You eagerly investigate your paper, and the number 75% circled in Turquoise Ink is on the top right corner. Your goal is to keep an 88 average in this course, yet because of this one test, your face can’t help but give a sour expression, frustrated at what went wrong. Meanwhile, your friend is called up for her test. When she gets it back, she immediately starts throwing a fit, giving off both furious and flustered expressions. A group of her classmates start to go over where she is to comfort her and ask her what she got. You go over to her and ask her what her mark is... She replies a 92%. Your face immediately changes to an unamused expression... -_- ... Like... Come on?!? Freaking out over a mark that is higher than your own? Grow up.

           This scenario was written as an example to demonstrate the melodramatic nature that students give off when they get a test back, and they start freaking out because their mark “wasn’t high enough”, even though their test mark was higher than yours and more than half of your classmates. From my perspective, I will admit that this is one of my pet peeves about others: Having a grandiose personality about test marks, expecting others to come to your aid over your “failed” 92% mark, yet realistically that’s a really damn high mark. Having seen it many times from others, I find it very immature and plain narcissistic of them to demand such a thing. Like do you even have any consideration of those around you? You might consider a 92% as a failure, but any person with common sense would immediately give you a slap in the face for that kind of behavior. There are multiple students, not 3, not 5, AND NOT 10, but a handful of students who’ve done worse than you have. By over exaggerating your failure, you also hide the fact that you brag your high marks to those around you, causing them to doubt and become frustrated at themselves. Personally, I am highly against this, as while I have never done this before, I have seen others act in this manner multiple times, and by my own logic, I have no tolerance for people of this stature. The inconsideration exhibited by their own narcissistic ego has me questioning if they’re even worth speaking to or assisting, because they can’t even keep it in check for one damn second. Hear me out though; I understand if you or your parents placed all these high standards on you. That’s a legitimate reason to be upset about if you don’t achieve those goals. However, when it comes to the consideration of those around you, that’s where you need to take a look at yourself and wonder if bragging your “failed” mark to others is actually worth it. 

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Commonplace Entry #15

          Everyone in school wants something more than anything else: To succeed, get a job, and move forward in their life. And to succeed, they must work for their marks. However, for those who earn VERY high marks, there is a list called the “Honor Roll”, in which those who make the list have their name imprinted on it. As a student who occasionally makes this list now, I was infuriated to find out yesterday that my school changed the average needed to make it without telling us to an 85% instead of the usual 80%, and despite having the average needed to make the list which was a flat 85 from Semester 2, I for unknown reasons did not receive the certificate that came with it. Changing the average is one problem, but keeping this information undisclosed to students serves as a slap in the face to those who didn’t make it and for this reason, and as with multiple failed attempts to make the list in previous years, is why I think the Honor Roll is discriminating towards those who don’t make it and why it should not exist. In other words, why I think it should be abolished.

          Firstly, the Honor Roll serves as a pitiful reminder to those who don’t make it that they are below the students who make the list, and thus they feel less respected, incompetent, and shameful. It segregates the stupid from the smart, and from my perspective this creates an unequal learning environment where stigmatization among students based on their intellectual abilities become more prevalent in the classroom. I follow a personal ideology where I state “No person is stupid, if so, then why are we in school to begin with then?”. When it was first introduced in Grade 7, I didn’t have the marks to make the list which resulted in myself becoming pressured to make it for the next term, which also failed. I became pretty frustrated when my elementary school threw parties that are exclusive to those who earned them, which is a clear example of isolating those who didn’t make the list as stupid, including me. The year after in Grade 8, I intended to get on the list after the previous year’s failure, but as usual, luck was never on my side, so for both terms I was unable to get onto the list unfortunately. At that point, I was completely devoid of any motivation, unsure if I was ever going to make the list for once.

          When Grade 9 came around (Where the average was still 80%), I eventually got my first taste of receiving the certificate in the first semester. For all the failures that have occurred before though, it was a short lived victory, as the semester after marked my first failed attempt at achieving an 80% average in high school, which I attribute to my mark in Advanced Functions. This mark would ultimately snowball into my subsequent failures in future Functions courses, even leading up to now where I go brain-dead at the sight of analyzing a test paper. If I had one wish, it would be to go back to February 2015, when the second semester first started. I could then reverse all my failures in that course, which would thus prepare the knowledge needed to succeed in the future Functions courses and would lift the lingering fear of repeating history with my previous attempts in Functions that I have right now.

          Secondly, the Honor Roll exerts an enormous amount of pressure on students as it causes them to place unrealistic expectations on themselves and onto others of achieving higher marks, often resulting in perfectionism, procrastination, and depression. Having completed APS 4 months ago which analyzes these 3 states within students, perfectionism is defined as attempting to complete their work perfectly, procrastination is the slacking or truancy of completing work which can result from fear of achieving perfectionism, and depression is the emotional state of sadness that is caused by a variety of external and internal factors such as abuse, neglection, or consistent failures at school in general. The combined pressure that attempting to satisfy all 3 of these traits can have effects on one’s mental state, either superficially or permanently. In addition, it can also cause tensions with friends because they can hold your marks against and judge you based on them. There’s only so much one can do, I say. Doesn’t mean I have to criticize you for marks that can be out of your control; Besides, I compare marks to wild dogs- You have to keep a leash on them, and they go berserk at opportune moments. It might escalate to the point where even you can’t keep hold of them. As my parents also said to me, while they advocate me to earn those high marks and succeed like the Stereotypical Asian Parents they are, they also taught me a very important lesson as well- It’s the effort that counts, not the mark itself. As long as I show that to them, they will accept any mark that I receive from my tests or summatives, regardless of how low it was.

          Lastly, the Honor Roll is pointless to begin with. Sure, it’s nothing more than a fancy certificate stamped with your name and a message congratulating you on achieving that semester’s honor roll, but comparing it to a Diploma, it’s nothing more than a gimmick that encourages unhealthy competition. NO UNIVERSITY would ask you to bring in said certificate to indicate the validity of your marks; Yet we still have schools busting our asses for this title which is worth nothing. Every day I go to school, I’m constantly reminded indirectly that I must do well in my classes even though in some jurisdictions, there are moments where I can’t do what is required not because I was procrastinating, but because I am simply confused and expected to know what said requirement is even though I don’t know how to satisfy it. I have my own limits, just as everyone else does. That HOWEVER does not mean I should be forced to overcome it even beyond my own ability to do so. Likewise, it’s like I’m being forced to expend my own mental capacity for nothing. 

          In conclusion, its segregation of those who are smart and stupid, the uncalled pressure that it exerts on students, and the general point of an “Honor Roll” being pointless and having little purpose other than to spark unhealthy competition is why such a thing should never have existed in the first place. I rest my case;

[dtcommonplaceblogp4]

Commonplace Entry #14

          It is now as of this entry, 7 weeks into Grade 12. Yet, it’s true that everything my sisters forewarned me about is coming to pass now. Last week, which was a Thanksgiving week, gave me my first Functions test the day after the holiday, which derailed my drawing plans. I got it back, and it turns out that the test was not up to my own standards. It was definitely better than the other tests that I’ve done before for the past 3 years, but yet again, this weekend had a Friday P. A day, and to add insult to injury, school has yet again cockblocked my spare time and relegated it to studying for a test on Monday, and even worse, my second Functions test on Tuesday, which means that I must push back my spare time plans to November 24th, the next P. A day which is a month away from now. It’s absolutely frustrating how little time I have to finish what I didn’t complete from 2 months ago, but I’m constantly reminded that Grade 12 will chew up your time to the point that you won’t be able to even spend 30 minutes playing elsewhere or doing anything that isn’t associated with school. Unfortunately for me, school is the least of my own worries, as there is still the rest of my Driving Tests to go through which I passed on taking this year to focus on school, and now there’s the looming submission date for University Applications since Wednesday of last week was when our Application Numbers were given. To top it all off, my sleep time is now pushed to 2 or 3 am under extreme conditions just so that I can do as much as I can given how Tuesdays and Thursdays, I lose up to 4 hours of work on my other subjects. Thus, I get home at 10 pm every one of those days exhausted, and therefore I’m not getting enough sleep to compensate. The regular person is expected to get approximately 8 hours of sleep per day, yet having to close shop at 2 or 3 am means that I only get 4 or 5 hours of sleep which is near half the hours that I’m expected to have. All these issues are like a paperweight on my brain; constantly weighing it down and forcing it to think about only that and nothing else. Perhaps come November 24th, I will have at least little to worry about so that I can finally start work on my unfinished business.

[dtcommonplaceblogp4]

Commonplace Entry #13

          Holy hell. My first Functions test for Night School is tomorrow, and even I don’t feel prepared for it given my pressings on other menial courses including English, Food and Nutrition and Computer Engineering, all of which have an assignment due by the end of this weekend or next week. I am also flabbergasted at this weekend, considering that it’s a long weekend due to Thanksgiving today, I had to spend that time instead studying. So I am supposed to be thankful for a test to be given right after a holiday? I would beg to disagree. At least next week’s Friday is another day off, that I hope will have nothing important due on the Monday coming back. I had plans to start a new drawing, but this test is always on my mind given that my previous attempts at tests in similar courses proved to be disastrous. My intent is to finish any drawings I had planned over the summer and before that even due to priorities so that I can stop thinking about incompletion of what I didn’t do beforehand, but constant assignments and test dates ultimately strain my brain. It’s like you’re never safe from knowing that due date, even in 2 week vacations like the Christmas Break. You know you have something due, you just don’t want to do it because your brain tells you that you deserve some time off, even though your priority lies in the assignment’s completion. I can only hope that this one test WILL be the test to break my 3 year curse of Functions tests being done improperly. I’ve been waiting to get retribution for my failures, and with my last year upon me, I intend to realize my goals very seriously.

I get the vibes that something will go horribly wrong with the test tomorrow, but for now, I can only hold onto whatever I have in my hands right now and hope for the best.

[dtcommonplaceblogp4]

Commonplace Entry #12

          Roy Mustang. The Hero of Ishval, the Flame Alchemist. He’s been called many titles, but one thing is for sure: He’s sophisticated, hotheaded and classy, yet he is tragic, ambitious and overall one of my favorite characters in Fullmetal Alchemist. Once again, this entry will provide an introduction about his origins, abilities, achievements, weaknesses, and the irony surrounding his character.

Before he joined the Military as a State Alchemist supervising main protagonist Edward Elric, as an orphan Mustang was brought up to be a fine gentleman being raised by his aunt. Soon, he developed an affinity for alchemy under the tutelage of his master Berthold Hawkeye with the hope of becoming a symbol of strength for the citizens of Amestris.

In his late twenties, Mustang was eager to acquire the unique and destructive ability of Flame Alchemy from Hawkeye, who was the inventor of it. However, Hawkeye refused, stating that someone like him who was eager to be a lapdog for the military would ultimately use it for destructive purposes, not before passing away in his arms later from an unknown illness that very day.

As his dying wish however, Roy was to inherit the research notes for Flame Alchemy, which were tattooed on his daughter Riza’s back under the condition that he was to look after her and never use Flame Alchemy for ill purposes.

At her father’s funeral, Roy revealed his intentions of a vision- One where he would strengthen the government and protect the people with his own strength which impressed Riza enough to grant him access to the research and effectively became a Major in the military after deciphering the code.

Unfortunately for her late father... Roy winded up using it for destructive purposes.

The Ishval Civil War was ongoing for over 7 years, and Roy was conscripted into exterminating the Ishvalans on the orders of King Bradley. Using Flame Alchemy, Roy effectively laid waste to the Ishvalans. It was then at this point that Riza made the decision to order Roy to permanently scar her own back as evidenced by the image above these gifs to prevent a second “Flame Alchemist” from being created, having seen how deadly and powerful it is in the hands of Roy.

Roy himself was also guilt ridden, having seen himself as the “hero” of a massacre. He then made the decision to instead of joining the government to protect the people, he himself would rise above them and defend the lower privileged with his acquired authority and power.

Roy is a self-absorbed individual, infamous among his colleagues for his stubborn personality and fiery temper, which has been shown to cloud his judgement and ultimately lead him into trouble in dire situations. Because of his stern demeanor, Roy is rarely seen crying or sad. However, he did cry once...

And the reason for this?

The person with the gun above is his best friend Maes Hughes’ wife (Who is actually the shape shifting Homunculus Envy), who gunned him down while Hughes was attempting to warn Mustang of a dire revelation involving the government’s corruption. A fellow colleague was framed in Envy’s place, but not before Mustang deduced that she was innocent. Mustang intended to have Hughes serve under him when he became Fuhrer, and thus was filled with grief over his best friend’s untimely death. Mustang then swore that he would avenge Hughes’ death and fulfill his own wishes by finding the real killer.

As the Flame Alchemist, Roy possesses two ignition gloves made of pyrotex cloth. When he snaps his fingers, Roy can create sparks with them and can use his alchemy in conjunction to change the oxygen density to create highly accurate flame bursts. As a result, he has the ability to incinerate multiple enemies at once without having his allies get caught in the crossfire. With any outside source of ignition such as a cigarette lighter or a match, Roy can also produce extremely powerful, localized explosions.

Roy is among some of the most powerful characters in Fullmetal Alchemist. With his combat experience alone, he held his own during the Ishvalan War and was even powerful enough to kill 2 Homunculi, Lust above and eventually...

Mustang finally had caught up with Envy and was hellbent in putting him down for good after learning that he was Hughes’ real killer by subjecting him to slow and painful torture. Having the urge to avenge Hughes for a long time, Mustang let his thirst for revenge dictate his actions here, mercilessly incinerating Envy in what I consider to be the best depicted form of revenge in media. It is only until Riza and his two travelling companions which include Edward and Scar convince him to spare Envy that he finally puts Hughes’ death to rest, as by murdering Envy, it would effectively turn him into a monster no better than him, if not a dictator when he becomes Fuhrer in the future as the next time someone close to him dies, the option he will consider first is burning them alive instead of taking them in for interrogation. Doing what he almost did however, would have had a severe psychological impact on his identity. Plot elements like this are why I am so interested in Fullmetal Alchemist.

Despite all his power though, Mustang is by no means a perfect soldier. While his Flame Alchemy is destructive, it can be nerfed very easily and be rendered unusable should the gloves be exposed to water. 

“When water meets flame, the flame goes out!”

This applies to rainy days especially. Mustang is unable to use his alchemy when it is raining as not only will the moisture prevent him from creating sparks, but if he were to create a flame, it would use up all of the oxygen in a large area (Given that raindrops are water covering a large vicinity, water contains oxygen, and Roy uses oxygen to create flames), thus suffocating individuals who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

To perform Alchemy in Fullmetal Alchemist, one must use a Transmutation Circle to exchange the flow of energy with the environment. As Roy’s alchemy utilizes this, should his Transmutation Circle be broken, he would be left unable to utilize alchemy as shown here unless he creates a new, unbroken circle.

In addition, Roy can be curb stomped by significantly more powerful opponents like the Homunculus Gluttony who can simply eat his flames and the Fuhrer of Amestris, King Bradley here, who can outmaneuver his attacks effortlessly with his superhuman speed and pin down his two hands with his swords to prevent him from using his alchemy.

It is Mustang being pinned down and the event that transpires afterwards that ultimately leads to his ironic loss;

While it may not be understood here, Mustang winds up going blind, as him being pinned was to force him to perform Human Transmutation, which is the sin of toying with a human life using Alchemy and is considered a taboo among Alchemists. The Truth on the other side (Literally God in the FMA universe), which dictates the equal exchange of alchemy uses in the universe would then take what you heavily desire as ironic payment for seeing it. In Mustang’s case, he lost his eyesight, which meant while he can still become Fuhrer, he would no longer be able to see the vision- the future that he had laid out before and spoke to Riza about to protect the citizens-  therefore ironically he would no longer be able to see his wishes happen with his own eyes.

The irony alone in Fullmetal Alchemist is what attracts me to write about it and analyze it in a deeper perspective. Ultimately this plot device alone is one of the reasons why it’s still my favorite anime series to watch.

[dtcommonplaceblogp4]

Commonplace Entry #11

WARNING = Be warned. This entry spans a long list that contains mature and violent content that may be frightening. Read at your own time, because you are in for an explanation.

In my 6th entry, I previously explained the real world connection of the quote made by Fuhrer King Bradley of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood about the existence of God as a whole and how true it applies to society. Here however, this entry will further elaborate on his backstory and analyze his character given his complexity, as well as explain why he’s an extremely deadly villain.

To start off with him, Bradley is not your cliched leader with power who relies on bodyguards like so many others portrayed in fiction. Usually when the protagonist is up against a corrupt government aiming to take down the person in charge from within, said leader has a ton of bodyguards to safe keep themselves, and if those bodyguards go down, the leader is left defenseless to save himself. The difference with Bradley is that he is actually capable of holding his own even without bodyguards, all while at the old age of 60. In addition, his powerful truthful advice to convince his followers which relates to the real world especially and his godly combat prowess make him a terrifying force to be reckoned with.

From his origin, he was merely a regular child, enrolled with others like himself at a school to be chosen to inherit the title of Fuhrer which would therefore mean this person would lead the people of Amestris down the path of destiny, unaware that this was actually a ploy to set the citizens up for a much darker fate.

As he developed, Bradley became well versed in knowledge, martial arts, and swordsmanship, eventually exceeding every other candidate for the position. The candidates were then injected with a “Philosopher’s Stone”, which grants whoever obtains it an immense amount of power which would therefore give them the position of Fuhrer. However, this Philosopher’s Stone contained the pure essence of the sin of Wrath from the real antagonist, Father. It had killed every other candidate except for Bradley, who fought and killed every wrathful soul in the stone while it was destroying his body from the inside except for one, turning him into a Homunculus, an artificial human.

With the position of Fuhrer now his, Bradley also gained his new title “Wrath the Furious” and the infamous ability for which he was acclaimed by many fans for... The Ultimate Eye.

All Homunculus (Only 7 to fit within the Seven Deadly Sins) in Fullmetal Alchemist bear this tattoo somewhere on their body to indicate their status, which is the Ouroboros tattoo. Here, Bradley always wears an eyepatch over his left eye to conceal the fact that he is a Homunculus. In addition, this grants the wielder to perform superhuman abilities, for example the sin of Gluttony bears an Ouroboros Tattoo on his tongue, where his special ability is to (and fitting enough,) devour any object in sight without any discomfort. In addition, all of the Homunculus have regenerative healing factors that allow them to survive even fatal injuries such as decapitation or losing a limb, prevent reproduction as well as prevent aging, allowing them to survive for centuries. However, as noted above, Bradley killed all of the wrathful souls in his stone except for one, which grants him his power. This means that unlike the other Homunculi, Bradley is susceptible to aging and as a result is vulnerable to injuries that can kill a regular human.

Wrath as the bearer of the Ultimate Eye allowed him to view objects in his environment that are invisible to the naked eye such as weak spots and air currents, foresee and dodge incoming attacks, bypass flashbangs and also give him the ability to act immediately and perfectly counter against anything hostile that he perceives. With the combination of this, his insane speed and his swordsmanship prowess, no single person has ever been successful in taking Bradley down or landing a hit on him. Yes. That means for his entire life most importantly, Bradley with the Ultimate Eye has survived every combat situation that he has been in without an injury. The following are examples of what he has been through:

According to calculations, Bradley can move at speeds of Mach 3, over 3700 kilometres an hour as demonstrated here. 

With the Ultimate Eye, Bradley has accomplished some crazy feats, such as destroying a tank with only a grenade and a sword, holding off 3 skilled warriors (one of which was a Homunculus) back to back, escaped a train bombing by using his reflexes to jump on the falling debris to a cliff nearby, and survived 3 encounters with Greed (Another Homunculus whose ability gives him indestructible skin), 4 alchemists and 3 chimeras.  Just a reminder that the above are all accomplished by a person pushing 60 years of age (Which a regular person would be unable to do).

This is only a handful of the fights that Bradley has been portrayed in. Keep in mind that despite all these violent acts and as the sin of Wrath which is literally cold, calculating hatred... Bradley is actually a loving father and husband behind this.

He has a wife and a son... Who just so happens to be Pride, the oldest of the Homunculi and the most powerful. Not even his wife knows both of their true identities. You could say, like father like son, even though Pride was adopted. Also worth noting is that Bradley mentioned that when he first met Mrs. Bradley, she slapped him on their first date... Which means that he married the only person up to that point who could actually hit him.

Such irony runs here however. Pride is also the oldest homunculus despite his youthful exterior having lived for over 350 years, while Wrath is the youngest homunculus despite his aging exterior having lived for only 60 years.

However, while Bradley has not received injuries yet, the 3 warriors who fought him back to back eventually came up with a plan to finally land an injury on him once, with the consequence being that one of them were to sacrifice themselves to provide a clear opening. Also, while he escaped the train bombing without an injury, he admits that it took a toll on his joints and his old age prevents him from keeping up with the speed of the Ultimate Eye’s calculations than it did in his prime much to his own frustration. Plus, in addition, the Ultimate Eye is not perfect. It cannot predict attacks that are coming behind an object in front of his line of sight, which the warriors took advantage of to deliver a stab to Bradley’s stomach. Shortly after, Bradley was also shot in the arm down a moat and almost drowned, yet he swam to safety and could resume this fight above at a deadly pace. Worth noting here, is that Bradley lost his Ultimate Eye at this point after it was scratched out by Greed. This means that even without the Ultimate Eye, Bradley is just as deadly as any other formidable warrior with a sword.

Also, this person he happens to be fighting above is Scar, an Ishvalan monk who sought revenge for the genocide of his people (Which Bradley personally ordered). Scar’s greatest sin was Wrath given that all he wanted to do was murder every State Alchemist as he believed them to be responsible, unaware that the person who was his real target was Bradley himself. This is a video depicting Bradley’s death, which will be further explained below. Spoiler and Violent Content Warnings are in effect however, and I recommend you watch the video first before you read further. It’s a 7 minute video, so watch at your own timing or read ahead if you wish.

 As soon as Bradley mocked Scar’s god, a deux ex machina appeared, which manifested in the form of sunlight blinding Bradley, allowing Scar to deliver the killing blow. However, as Wrath lies dying, he even admits that this is divine punishment and poetic justice (Further irony here as he dismissed God’s existence) and dies peacefully with a smile on his face (Opposite of Wrath’s sin). Overall, it took 4 alchemists, 3 chimeras, a Military Captain with a chainsaw arm, a Homunculus, an entire brigade of soldiers, 1 tank, 3 ninjas from another country, and sunlight to finally kill him. 

I recommend you watch Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood in English Dub, for it is considered one of the best dubs of all time, and Bradley’s performance alone was one of the reasons why (RIP, for his voice actor passed away from Cancer in April). The story has much irony to analyze within its characters, and just as much action to glaze over and keep you interested with small moments of humor to compensate for the mature content. You are in for a treat if you decide to run through its 64 episodes entirely.

[dtcommonplaceblogp4]

Commonplace Entry #10

The last commonplace entry that I wrote about drawings pertained to specifically about Godzilla related drawings 6 entries ago, but for this entry, it will be about Studio Ghibli posters, which happen to be my playground for testing Sharpies and are based on films that are considered the best animated films of all time. In many people's childhood, they have at least seen one film from this studio given how their plots tug at their heartstrings and provided some memorable moments that give off a certain distinctive feel that their films are known for. However, today Studio Ghibli's animation department has all but disbanded, which means that their production team responsible for creating animated films is no more. In the wake of this fact and the death of a long time animator who worked at the studio for over 30 years last year, my interest into these films has peaked, which has therefore led me to experiment poster designs for at least 4 of their films which will be explained below.

Firstly, this is a poster design for Princess Mononoke, which is my favorite anime film and follows the exiled prince Ashitaka on his journey to the west (Which the film is based off of the Chinese story of the same name) to search for a cure after being cursed by a demonic boar and halting the tensions between the titular character, San and the increasing population of Irontown led by the ruthless Lady Eboshi. This film is my favorite not only because it happens to feature the most mature content out of any Ghibli film, but it also has an amazing soundtrack and speaks a message about awareness to environmental concerns, which the film's director intended to achieve. That being said, I advocate for environmental change, which will help explain why favor this film's message. Overall, this happens to be my favorite poster to draw, considering that the large amount of skin tones and the clothing worn by the characters contrast well in terms of their colors, ranging from intense, seething reds to calm, belittling blues. I had to do this poster a total of 3 times, each taking over 20 hours to complete; First time was on regular 8.5 by 11 paper last year, which was to test how it would look. Eventually, later in October of the same year, where I had more Prismacolor Markers and Sharpies to use to give a more accurate look, I redid it again also on 8.5 by 11 paper, with the only difference being that I provided more accurate coloring based on the character's appearances in the film. I then redid it once more on a larger piece of paper in July of this year, where I properly gave it the accurate treatment to make it look authentic as possible. The hardest part for me was redrawing the logo, as even my thinnest pens had quite a bit of trouble matching the shadows in proportion to the front letters.

Secondly, this is a poster for Spirited Away, the animated film that is likely considered by many to be the greatest of all time, having held the highest unsurpassed box office record in Japan even today from its theatrical debut with 30 million Yen. Next to Princess Mononoke, it's my second favorite film from their catalog, having watched it 3 times and sporting top tier animation, a moving plot, and an emotional based score. The film follows a young impulsive girl named Chihiro, who in a wrong turn, crosses into the spirit world and becomes trapped, losing her parents in the process and having her name changed to "Sen" under the witch Yubaba. With the assistance of multiple characters including Yubaba's assistant Haku and the docile spirit called No-Face, Sen's goal is to escape the spirit world with her parents. As the first film I watched from Ghibli's catalog, this one holds a special place in my memory due to the frightening imagery it exhibits. A scary part I can mention is that when her parents are eating at a local restaurant, only for Chihiro to return back after being warned to leave before sunset that her parents have turned into pigs, who are then enslaved soon after. This poster for me, was the absolute hardest to complete, having taken over 24 hours exactly for every one of the 5 posters completed of this film. My first attempt was also on regular 8.5 by 11 paper, where I tested its visual quality. Later on, as people were eventually shown it, 1 of my fellow classmates and a Grade 12 student earlier this year in May requested it from me, and in turn they paid me for it. The main image is a flood of hot colors, ranging from hot pinks, vibrant reds, and intense skin tones while showcasing a total of 16 different elements portrayed in the film. The image shown here is the 5th attempt at it, which was completed in early August with the most accurate portrayal based on my understanding; I vowed to never again redo this poster, for the entire image is very strenuous to draw.

Thirdly, this poster was drawn for Howl's Moving Castle, which is the third film I watched from Ghibli as a child. Unlike the other 3 films mentioned here, Howl's Moving Castle I actually never got to finish; mainly because my sisters chose to watch it through, but I didn't find interest with the plot until now. Even so, I lack a deep understanding of the film to describe it thoroughly, but I eventually had to watch it once to get an understanding of how the characters looked in the film to draw a poster. The film, which is influenced by the United States' 2003 invasion of Iraq, revolves around a young woman named Sophie Hatter who in a "wrong place at the wrong time" moment, becomes cursed by an evil witch into a 90 year old woman, and later seeks the wizard Howl and his titular Moving Castle for a cure to the curse while being caught up in a war between two kingdoms. Like Spirited Away, the film had its scary moments, which was part of the reason I actually never finished watching it the first time. I only had 2 attempts for this poster; the image shown is my most accurate version and my 2nd attempt. A large amount of cold colors were used in contrast to the Spirited Away poster, ranging from solid, Dark Greens to multiple rusty shades of Gray and cold, calming blues. Needless to say, this was my least favorite poster to draw, given that much of the colors used to shade in the outlined parts were recycled and do not stand out in comparison to the other 3 posters. For me, the hardest part was drawing the castle itself; not too many shots in the film itself provided a clear view of the castle's exterior, which forced me to improvise elements.

Finally, the last poster I did was for The Cat Returns, which happened to be my second film watched from Ghibli's catalog. The Cat Returns I found was more enjoyable than Howl's Moving Castle, given that the film unlike the other 3 contained many elements of humor over its many conflicts. The film is about a high school student named Haru, who after saving a cat from being hit by a truck (Which happens to be the Cat Kingdom's Prince and heir to the throne), is forced into marrying him against her wishes. As such, with the assistance of an obese cat named Muta, she visits the house of Baron Humbert von Gikkingen in an attempt to convince him to come with her and prevent the marriage from taking place. Having watched this film also 3 times, needless to say it was very enjoyable. Drawing this poster was the least complex, having only 7 elements to represent from the film. Overall, I only took 2 attempts to draw this poster, with this image shown being the most recent attempt. To me, everything, but the color of the logo is completely accurate, as later on this month, I will redraw it on a larger paper keeping the colors here, but changing the color of the logo to solid Gold to better contrast the paper, as looking back on it, Yellow is too bright to be seen. The colors used are a mix of both hot and cold which means that color wise this poster is the most balanced, ranging from Neon Oranges and Yellows to Bright Greens and Solid Grays. The hardest part however was drawing the tower itself, as the perspectives are drawn very tightly together and therefore is easy to draw a line that is not proportional with the others.

[dtcommonplaceblogp4]

Commonplace Entry #9

Very rarely is there a villain you find relatable in media. Often times, whether it’s books, movies, or video games they all personify the cliche world domination stereotype with the same motives, but it’s hard for me to find that in a childish franchise like Pokemon, there is a villain whose motives are not only understandable, but most importantly, applicable to the plight of today’s world and someone I can clearly relate to.

This is Lysandre, the leader of the organization only known as Team Flare. Their motives are to create a world that is “beautiful” and perfect in their standards, one without conflict which seems to good to be true, but in turn they ultimately move towards this goal by eliminating every other person who opposes their viewpoint. Lysandre’s motives are the background for this organization’s modus operandi, but they are actually noble in nature, and from my perspective, he cannot be blamed for going down a dark path.

In his younger years, Lysandre was altruistic, lending a helping hand to the less fortunate alongside his fellow colleagues who would soon become executives of Team Flare. He simply wanted to give back to society, which of course on paper sounds like a noble motive. The only problem though, was that he had yet to see the darker side of humanity when it had come to helping others too often.

"I want to be the kind of person who gives... But in this world, some foolish humans exist who would show their strength by taking what isn't theirs. They're filth!"

As he found out after, with the number of people asking for his help increasing and their personalities becoming greedier and uncaring for others, Lysandre saw that humanity simply would take his help for granted instead of building off of it and learning to help others in turn, which caused him to see humans as foolish and becoming a misanthrope in the process. His goal from that day onward was to destroy parts of humanity, leaving only the “chosen ones” alive that he considered worthy to live in his new world.

“There will be no foolish actions if the number of people and Pokémon do not increase. That being said, the future isn't decided. You can't be sure each day will be like the one before."

That being said, Lysandre’s viewpoint I can completely agree with, considering that now in school, I too also wish to help others simply because it’s moral, but having had my trust breached this month by someone I was friends with after assisting them, left me to reconsider my own viewpoints on others if I should treat them nicely or harshly. Treat others the way you want to be treated, I’ve heard this saying many times, but the question I ask, does anyone really think about this quote? The chances are not because so many others ignore the meaning, making it irrelevant given the dark side of human nature today. You can always give something to others, but you can almost guarantee that you will never be repaid for your favor. My friends have called me out for this actually, questioning me if my time to help others is worth spending. From that incident this month, I learned the hard way that it’s simply not.

"When there is only one of something, it can't be shared. When something can't be shared, it will be fought over. And when something is fought over, some must survive without it. The only way to create a world where people live in beauty, a world without conflict or theft, is to reduce the number of living things."

Much of Lysandre’s quotes in the games also had me shocked because of how correct they are in their meaning. He may be an antagonist, but he’s got meaning behind nearly everything he says. For example, after being defeated by the protagonist and being attempted to change his ways to work with everyone to rebuild the planet, he responds:

"If that were possible, all wars would have ended long ago! I can only see one future! One where selfish, foolish humans think about nothing other than themselves and steal more and more from one another... It's a tragic future!"

As hard as it is to accept... He’s not wrong here. In the future, and especially as evidenced by past historical events, human beings are known to be rather greedy and irrational with their decisions that their only downfall is caused because of this flaw. From what I have to say, if humans were to go extinct, it will not be because of a cataclysmic event like a world-destroying meteor, the cause will be due to our own hubris and irrationality with decision making that is destroying us faster than a extinction event can occur in time.

In summary, is Lysandre a person I would support? Half of him I do. Do I support his ways of changing the world through forceful destruction? No. But do I support his viewpoint of humanity being greedy and uncaring that they don’t deserve help? Absolutely. There is a point where I can go to help others, but since one person has crossed that line, I can no longer view everyone else as trustworthy. I must now set boundaries and be cautious about trusting others, all because of one person’s mistake. 

[dtcommonplaceblogp4]

Commonplace Entry #8

  To start off with an alliteration, it's been a wild Wednesday today. So wild in fact, that I think I'm literally going insane. Last night's Night School was quite a hurdle to get through, having to wait over 2 hours just to get into my Advanced Functions attendance list, despite having booked the course as an alternate choice in case my Chemistry class was cancelled (Which it unfortunately did). Then today, after the Post Secondary presentation during second period, that only added to my list of worries, having to sign all these future online forms for universities that will likely be a mythical challenge of proportions to get in. Adding further salt in the wound, I have English DENS to analyze properly, a test for a rather menial course (Food and Nutrition) on Friday, and my constant requirement to review my Advanced Functions homework. Looks like in my previous Commonplace Entry, I totally jinxed myself when I said "I planned well for this". Having all these priorities writing me into a corner though, looks like I got sucker punched when I least expected it. I am literally stricken with the expression of worry and fear, constantly having my mind with the mentality that I will not succeed very well in Advanced Functions, as per my previous 3 courses from the grades before. 34 days though of Night School... I hope that I see the light of day when it's over. Then my worries will dissipate. It's my worst course for sure, but I literally ask that what the hell does a Biology university program have to do with a course like Advanced Functions? They are from two completely separate universes, Math and Science, with Biology being 80% Research and Literal Knowledge. I find it completely stupid that such a program requires a mark from a prerequisite of a different subject, one that has little significance with the program itself. Had Functions not been a prerequisite to get into said program, I would have kicked the thought of passing it off my mind, because even now, my greatest fear is not passing this one course, given last year's horrific failure. Every time I look at an equation, I get Vietnam flashbacks from it. That's how traumatizing it is.

[dtcommonplaceblogp4]

Commonplace Entry #7

  This weekend marks the first long weekend of Grade 12. Yet, despite the day off on Monday, there is a rainstorm of assignments upon me due for the next week. Two movie analyses, English DENs for 1984, MUN Mock Trial Statement Writings for next Thursday's lunch, preparing for my Computer Engineering Presentation on Robotics for Tuesday, and preparation for my first Night School class of Advanced Functions also on Tuesday night. Oh me, oh my. It's like the world's priorities are falling down on me. Today I woke up at 10 in the morning and sat at my computer typing away my movie analysis for 12 hours straight. It was tiring indeed. But I am satisfied that I finished 3/4 of the entire assignment, and it's due Thursday, so I have only one part left to complete, but sadly I require the teacher's clarification on these questions before I can proceed. I recall she told me about the prompts for each of the questions yesterday, 7 total, yet I could only remember and complete one of them. Silly me, had I remembered the prompts, I could have finished the entire assignment on Saturday night. Then it would be off my head and I would have finished it early to pave away more time for my other assignments. Either way, finishing 3 assignments in a single day simultaneously is a world record for me. I have been productive like I never have been before in my high school career. Now tomorrow morning, I am off to see my sisters back to their residences at university to study for their midterms as they bused back home the night before to visit and take in the nostalgia of the house they used to live in for over 14 years. The biggie for me though is that I am also doubling by going to Niagara Falls, which I have not been to in over 2 years where I will utilize my camera to good use, and downtown Toronto to visit my biological grandmother who resides in the hospital. Consider this to be my break, for I believe that I deserve one after taxing my brain out for half a day straight. When I get back home, I will start work on a new drawing in over a month since I slashed a handful of assignments off my to-do list. Then I will recommence my working state. I planned well for this, so what could go wrong?

[dtcommonplaceblogp4]

"God is nothing but a construct created by man to inspire fear and promote order."

King Bradley 

                               Commonplace Entry #6

          This quote is the line spoken by Fuhrer King Bradley of the anime Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, one of my favorite anime series and my favorite villain of all time outpacing others like The Joker, Scarecrow and Judge Claude Frollo. While it takes place in a fictional universe based on Germany (Called Amestris in the story) where alchemy is the only central science power available, the story itself teaches some very important life lessons while poking at the various concepts that encompass the world we know today behind its rather intense and depressing plot. The backstory for the statement of this quote is that in the main story, there is a group of individuals referred to as "Ishvalans" who reside in the country of Ishval, located in the Southeastern part of Amestris. They are distinguished by their tan skin, strongly believe in the faith of God and are against the use of alchemy, believing that as alchemists can create, they also possess the ability to destroy and that God should be the only person with this ability.

          In the wake of a civil war between the Amestrians and the Ishvalans over the death of a child by an Amestrian soldier (Who is revealed to be one of Bradley's accomplices), Bradley ordered the forces to annihilate Ishval off the map and eventually captured the remaining Ishvalans, where in one of the chief leader's attempts to sacrifice his life in exchange for the remaining Ishvalan lives to go unharmed, Bradley adamantly refuses, remarking that "A human life is a human life. It's worth nothing more and nothing less." Outraged at this statement, the Ishvalan leader declares that "he will suffer the wrath of God", to which Bradley begins to poke at the entire existence of God in the first place and how if they wish to see Bradley atone for his sins, they must do so with their own hands, not God's which is evidenced by the quote mentioned above which I will now speak about how it applies to reality.

          This quote, I find very relatable because in the world we know today, religion is a major social institution, manifesting in the form of churches devoted to God. However, being forced into religion as a child against my will and looking back on it now along with this quote resonating has led me to the main question: "How do I know God is real?"

          A conversation I had with my cousins near the end of August pertaining to this specific question is that churches were built to feed on your fears of death and force you to pray to a "construct created by man to inspire fear and promote order", as mentioned above even though, it does almost nothing. I can pray to God so that I may do well on a test or presentation, however it does not necessarily mean I will do well as only my brain can decide that, not a higher power who most likely doesn't even exist. I rest my case leaving this point that the existence of God is a very debatable question.

[dtcommonplaceblogp4]

Commonplace Entry #5

A few days ago, I was in my dad’s car going out on the weekend. The music he plays from the player consists of old 20th century songs ranging from the years of 1960 to 1980, such as The Carpenters’ Yesterday Once More and the Bee Gees’ How Deep is Your Love. As a result of this, it’s sparked an interest of nostalgia and has led to me seeking music on YouTube from the same time period, mainly because the music of today abuses dubstep or implements sexualized lyrics way too often which I feel has ultimately brainwashed society into accepting autotuned, watered down music. In accordance with the time and date of this writing, the lyrics of September by Earth, Wind and Fire: Do you remember the 21st night of September? Love was changing the minds of pretenders While chasing the clouds away

Our hearts were ringing In the key that our souls were singing. As we danced in the night, Remember how the stars stole the night away

Ba de ya - say do you remember Ba de ya - dancing in September Ba de ya - never was a cloudy day

Ba duda, ba duda, ba duda, badu Ba duda, badu, ba duda, badu Ba duda, badu, ba duda

My thoughts are with you Holding hands with your heart to see you Only blue talk and love, Remember how we knew love was here to stay

Now December found the love we shared in September. Only blue talk and love, Remember the true love we share today

Ba de ya - say do you remember Ba de ya - dancing in September Ba de ya - never was a cloudy day

There was a Ba de ya - say do you remember Ba de ya - dancing in September Ba de ya - golden dreams were shiny days

The bell was ringing, aha Our souls were singing Do you remember Never a cloudy day

There was a Ba de ya - say do you remember Ba de ya - dancing in September Ba de ya - never was a cloudy day

There was a Ba de ya - say do you remember Ba de ya - dancing in September Ba de ya - golden dreams were shiny days

Ba de ya de ya de ya Ba de ya de ya de ya ba de ya de ya de ya De ya

Ba de ya de ya de ya Ba de ya de ya de ya ba de ya de ya de ya

[dtcommonplaceblogp4]

Commonplace Entry #4

I rarely speak about my hobbies unless I'm asked to, but one particular hobby that I'd like to point out is that in my spare time, I like to draw while listening to rather subtle orchestral music. While completing both of the drawings below, I had one track on loop in my playlist, "Persecution of the Masses" from Shin Godzilla to fit in with what was being drawn. It's a haunting soundtrack with very subtle English lyrics and references to God, so I recommend a listen. The whole point of drawing for me is to test how much detail you can cram on a single piece of paper. Many people ask me, "Why don't I use a drawing tablet?" My response is that after comparing digital and traditional drawing, there's something more lifelike and natural when you do it the old fashioned way. In my opinion, using a tablet is cheap and artificial, especially when it corrects your mistakes for you. In addition, the amount of detail you can use with a tablet is also significantly restrained compared to pen and paper. While there are pens with 0.03 mm tips, tablets do not offer that level of precision. Finally, I also happen to favor Sharpies, having collected every possible color currently available. Whether it's the addictive alcohol scent that it gives off or the vast array of colors, in the end it comes down to how I can utilize them on a blank piece of paper. Cutting to the main point though, this year I've done my hardest drawing yet after last year. The images below will explain.  

This particular drawing is the hardest I have ever attempted and it was started on August 10th and finished on September 4th, taking over 22 days, 76 hours in total, and 11 minutes to complete, which equates to very well over a month. The medium is basic sketchbook paper, done with Black Sakura Micron and Pilot Ballpoint Ink. This is a rather dynamic representation of two Godzilla's in combat, each of them from left to right respectively, Japan's and North America's most recent iteration of this monster. The reason for starting this was because this was actually planned a year in advance after my last hardest drawing, which is posted below. Godzilla is a rather complex entity to draw, given its many details to its terrifying appearance, but when completed, the results are astonishing with a high clarity of detail exhibited. Honestly, like the monster itself, this was a nightmare to complete. I did not expect progress to take this long, since usually this takes 2 weeks with the right productivity. That being said, I do not expect to attempt anything else like this in the future, since that it diminishes the time to start on other drawings that I have planned.

This image is actually my previous hardest drawing attempted before starting the one above. It was finished on August 27th of last year, taking over 11 days to complete and the medium was basic 8.5 x 11 paper, done with Black and Red Sakura Micron, a Red Sharpie and a combination of 3 different Ballpoint Inks. During this time, the latest Godzilla film was currently in theaters in Japan, and my interest peaked when the design for this was released, touted as the largest iteration of Godzilla to date. Ultimately, I was eager to test how it would look on regular paper, and thus began my attempt. The left Godzilla on the first image above is actually this particular Godzilla shown here, and the Japanese writing below corresponds to its name "Shin Godzilla", which translates to "True Godzilla". The reason for the red coloring below was because in official Japanese posters for the film based on the same name, the color given was red which in symbolic descriptions, refers to the bloody path of destruction that Godzilla causes. Using a Red Sharpie just also happened to be my favorite color given its intensity when applied thoroughly. In my red binder, I had yet to actually attempt anything detailed as this before, which was part of the reason I was motivated to draw this.