The Bet

  The Bet is a story that we read in class and now have to write a blog post about.

The Story

   “The Bet” is a story about a banker and a lawyer that make a bet. Basically if the lawyer stays in a prison for fifteen years, he gets two million rubles. The original bet was only for five years, but the lawyer thought he could manage more so he upped it to fifteen. Personally, I would have stayed at five years but that’s just me.

   So over the fifteen years that the lawyer is in jail in the garden wing of the bankers house, the banker loses great amounts of money due to some bad choices. He loses so much money that he if the lawyer wins the bet the banker will be poor.

  Because of this, the day before the prison term is over the banker decides to kill the lawyer. He goes down to the prison and goes inside the jail. The lawyer is sleeping.  The banker finds a note that the lawyer had been writing and in the note the lawyer states that he does not want the two million rubles, so he is going to leave his room five minutes before his term is up. Of course the banker is now happy.

 Now, while the lawyer was in jail, he read lots of books. They were about history, science, Shakespeare, philosophy, language, lots of novels and more!

  In the note that the banker finds, the lawyer writes “I despise all that your books call the blessings of the world.” and “To show that I despise all you live by, I give up the two million I once so desired. Can your money buy wisdom? No.” 

  Why did They Make the Bet?

  Before the bet was made, the banker was holding a party at his house. The guests were talking of things, and of capital punishment. They were arguing which was better: Capital punishment or life in prison. The banker believed in capital punishment, but the lawyer believed in jail for life. He thought it was better to have some life than none at all, and that it is not man’s place to take the life of someone else.

   Power

  Power is the ability to control or command someone or something. Power is showen when a person makes the rules. In The Bet, the lawyer and the banker make the rules of imprisonment together. I think this is because in this case neither is the boss of the other. However, the banker is older, and sometimes older people are in charge. A person might also have power when he or she is the expert in a subject or task. In the story they work together because neither one is the expert.

  Power can change relationships in good and bad way. For intance, a good way is that your mother goes a buys you a present (that you like) for no apparent reason. The relationship between you and your mother will probably go for the better instead of for the worse.  In The Bet, the lawyer and the banker have a changed relationship. At first, the banker had power over the lawyer because he had money that the lawyer wanted. This is one reason that drove the lawyer to make the bet. Fifteen years later the lawyer has power over the banker because the banker will go into ruin if the lawyer takes his money.

  Power also changes people. In the above paragraph, I told you that because the lawyer wanted the two million rubles he made the bet. Because of his choiceand the power of the bet, he was changed. 

  “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” is a quote I heard about so, I put it in google and I found this site.  It doesn’t really have anything to do with the story but it does have to do something with power. This quote does not have any hidden meanings, just what it says. 

   Click here for the story The Bet.

   Note: The link is a bit different than what I first read. 

My Voice Thread!

In class Mr.Fisher is getting us to do a voice thread. A voice thread is a collection of photos that you record your voice to.

My voice thread is at  http://voicethread.com/view.php?b=6794

Are All Cities the Same?

Here is my second blog post that Mr. Fisher wanted me to do on what I learned in Social Studies class.
                                                                Are All Cities the Same?

   That is a difficult question because every city is not like the next and yet very similar at the same time.

  Here is a comparison between North American cities (Toronto, Los Angeles, Vancouver and
New York) and Asian cities. (Karachi, Mumbai and Hanoi)

     North American cities are neatly organized. The streets are large and generally laid out in a rectangular pattern. The streets with houses on them join up with larger roads which then lead to the main roads  These roads go to different areas of the city. The houses in the North American cities are in larger yards, so they are not squished together. The houses and other buildings can be any color. People in the poorer areas of the city live in smaller older houses. There are lots of parks and trees in these cities.     

   The Asian cities have some very nicely organized parts. These parts have large yards and large houses. This part of the city is well organized because it is near the business part of the city and they want to make a good impression with visitors. They have also made it neat because it is easier and safer to find your way around. One of the biggest differences between North American and Asian cities is the condition of the poor people. In the Asian cities the poorer people live in a disorganized section of the city. The streets are narrow, winding and mostly unpaved. The houses, if any, are small and squished close together. The house color is white, except for Hanoi in which most of the houses are red. Trees are few and there are not very many parks. There are many squares which are used for markets and assembly places.  

  The similarities between the North American and Asian cities include having lots of traffic, pollution and large business buildings like skyscrapers, warehouses and stores. Also, both groups are divided into smaller sub-cities, and they both have paved roads. Another similarity Asian and North American cities share is that they are all by some body of water.      

   Cities, in general, are all unique because of the people living in them, their mayor and people who influence the running of the city.  Here is a website about Mumbai and other cities.  

www.galenfrysinger.com/mumbai_india.htm  

  Now you know how cities in different places can be different and the same, you now know the answer to my question.

Los Angeles                                                                      Karachi

Our Beliefs and Laws: Are They Related?

Today Mr. Fisher asked us to write 2 blog posts about what we have learned in social studies about societies and cites. Here is the first of those two blogs.

Our Beliefs and Laws: Are They Related?

Have you ever noticed that what most Canadians believe in, the government has a law related to it? It’s true!

For example, Canadians believe that everyone should get the same basic health care. We don’t have to pay every time we go to the doctor and it does not matter whether you are rich, poor or middle class. Another good thing about this is that every Canadian gets the same care wherever they are, no matter what province they are from. Another example I know of is the freedom of speech. We believe that we should be able to complain about what the government is doing and make fun of the Prime Minister and the other ministers. We can do this pretty freely without being arrested. We can talk about whatever we want.

We also believe we should have freedom of religion. Canadian law allows us to practice any religion we want and not get in trouble .We can also tell others about our beliefs and still be law-abiding citizens.

http://www.freedommuseum.us/html/firstamendment.php?section=1

We are pretty lucky to have these laws. Lots of countries around the world do not have laws like these. So people must pay for their health care, cannot speak against the government and must worship according to their country’s religion.

Canadians believe that we can leave the country any time we want to and that we can move from place to place without having to apply for a moving permit or a place to live. In some places you cannot do this.

People in Canada like to think that they accept people from different countries and traditions. People that live in Canada are allowed to speak their native language and dress in their traditional way. We encourage them to bring the customs of their previous country to Canada.

Bad Stuff

Most people that live in Canada think that it is wrong to steal and murder. Our government has made laws enforcing this. If you are caught breaking one of these laws, you most likely will be sent to jail for as long as the judge decides, which can be from a few days to the rest of your life. Canadian law does not allow us to put prisoners to death for any crime.

So, for the most part, what Canadians believe is what the government enforces. Our beliefs and laws are related.

Writing and Blogging: What’s the Difference?

So What is the Difference?

     Mr. Fisher, my teacher, asked us to to make a post on how blogging and writing on paper are similar and different.

     I think that they are similar in that they both use words that are recorded on something. In this case, on the internet and on a piece of paper.

     They are different in that when you write on a piece of paper, no one can answer back immediately. But when you write on a blog and post it, people can comment on it and it becomes a conversation. Another way writing on paper and blogging are different is that you can get rid of your piece of paper permanently, but you cannot be sure to get your blog stuff off the internet. Anybody can read what you put on your blog, but you can keep people from reading what you put on your piece of paper.

Last Weekend

     Last weekend I went to a youth retreat at a camp and had tons of fun. We played lots of night games and we stayed up really late. Two people cut themselves when we were playing one of the night games because they ran into a clothes-line, but they were all right. The food was the best I ever tasted, except at home.

                                                   That’s all I have for now. Wisher ;)  

First Time

    Hi! My real name is Keplyn and I live in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. I call it tiny because when you meet three cars in an intersection, people call it busy.

I really like pasta, crafts, stuffed animals and taking pictures. I do not like eggs, mushrooms, fighting and social studies. 

Summer 

    This summer I went to a family camp down by Winnipeg.  I had tons of fun swimming and playing with my friends. After that , I went and visited my Grandmother who broke her ankle a while back. We were there for a week.

     Back at home we redid our living room. Now there is no more ugly gray carpet! :)  The walls are now a lovely lite pink color. It took us about two weeks to do it all. Unfortunately we still do not have our drapes or our ceiling fan yet. 

   The picture below I found on the Internet and I just had to post it.  

                                                                        That is all I have to say for now, Wisher