Nick Cave

His music is the sound of beauty...
I suggest everyone Youtube him.  Especially his music from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
Some of the greatest music that I have been blessed to hear <3

The (Future) Great Debaters

Recently, my GT1 class was assigned to pair up, choose Lincoln-Douglas, and debate.  My debate concerned the death penalty.  I, personally, agree completely with the death penalty. "An eye for an eye." "An eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind," many people quote to me. "An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind, but if we were blind, would we dare sin again?" I usually reply.  It may sound awful, but if I had my way, men and women would still be hanged publically for their crimes.  Regardless of my intense and unchangable feelings toward this topic, I was told to argue that a just government must not use the death penalty as punishment.  Of course, I swallowed everything I hated about the argument I would soon have to make and started my research.
Overall, I think the debate went well.  Both sides had great arguements, cross-exam questions, and refutes/rebuttals.  I personally think I did well on my opening.  I really should have written my closing ahead of time... I stuttered awfully, stressed out towards the end, horribly mess I felt like.  I'm sure it wasn't that bad, but I felt like it was.
I think I performed best on my opening.  I still could've improved though :/ I also thought I handled the cross-exam questions pretty well :) I did stutter a little though... Tripped over my words. My closing was weakest.  As was my use of historical content.  I could've used some things, but a lot of it would've set us up for traps.  I think it was a benefit to want the death penalty so much.  Everything I read, I rebutted.  Everything I rebutted off of instinct, I forced myself to rebut again.
If I could change anything, I would change the ammount of effort I put in my closing.  Closings are clearly not a wing-it type thing.  I should have a better outline next time and then change things according to the debate.  That is the most important thing I plan on improving on before the next debate.  Not procrastinating and anticipating more may also be more helpful.
I think the rubric was fine how it was.  I don't recall if facts was under historical content, but if it wasn't, I suggest that it is added :)
I would love to debate: Resolved: American cultural unity ought to be valued above cultural diversity. It wasn't very favoured last time, but I think it is a resolve that isn't debated often.  I'd love to see where it goes!
Anyhow, I found out that Doug and I won the debate.  I think we work well together as partners :)  I can't wait for the next debate!  That's all for now folks!

     This is a little weird, but I've become a little addicted to online blogging.  I revisited my Twitter today, I made a Tumblr, and I just had a sudden urge to blog about it here!  This blog is random and has no real point. 
     I was listening to Florence and the Machine radio on Pandora.  It's put me in a weird mood.  I don't really know how to describe it...  It makes me wanna write again.  I haven't written in a long time.  I feel like no ideas are coming to me.  It's as if everything that was here has vanished.  It's as if my thoughts have left me- abandoned me for some other master. (That was me returning to my 18th century mood)
     I've spent most of my day doing nothing.  I spoke to my friend, Joy.  I worked on my History project for two hours... and then it didn't save... at all... Aside from that, I've been doing some sort of blogging.  My brother, Harvey, took my Cane Corso puppy, Rocky, to the park earlier today.  He's been knocked out for a good 4 hours.  I think it's because my sister, Jaspreet, and my cousin, Sukhjit, and I were all up late playing Just Dance!  He might not have been able to sleep as much as he wanted to :/  He's been mellowing out to Florence and the Machine radio with me :)  I think I'm gonna change the station to Clint Mansell...  He's one of my favourite contemporary composers!  I could live off of his and Ludovico Einaudi's music! And David Nueve! And Hans Zimmer! And I should probably stop before I name 20 more composers...
     Anyways... back to what I was saying... Listening to this music has really got me in the writing type mood.  On Tumblr, I posted three of my own posts so far :)  They're actually quite depressing :/  Actually, all three posts are things I've already posted as my status on facebook!  Two of them, I extended from the original thought :)  I'm contemplating whether or not to cut and paste them on to here... I think I'll just put in the link to my Tumblr :) ----->http://phoenixresurrected.tumblr.com/
    Feel free to check it out :) PhoenixResurrected is referring to my zodiac sign, Scorpio, by the way :)
    Since this ridculously long rambling post is almost done, I should probably be! Mommy and Daddy are home, and therefore, I should not spend much more time on the computer! May anyone reading this sleep soundly tonight and dream a dream that makes you smile in your sleep <3

My History Project

This movie was made for my Honours World History World War One Project.  I worked with two of my classmates, Navya and Saumya, to make a scrapbook of five war poems.  We added our reactions to the scrapbook and decided we wanted to showcase our favourite poem, Back, during our presentation in the format of a movie.  So, I made a video with the help of FinalCutPro and my cousin, Simran. I hope you enjoy watching the video as much as I enjoyed making it! Feedback is always welcome :)

These Are My Values. This Is Me.

My most recent assignment in GT was to take a values survey/test.  It consisted of 40 phrases that I would mark off if they were important to me.  I marked off 36 of them as important to me.  These 40 phrases would help me choose from 18 values, and they did!  I believe my results were very accurate.

The first value I was given was "Family, Love, and Emotional Security."
Could this be any more like me?!  I often find myself thinking about when I get married and when I have kids.  I constantly talk about the type of mom I'm going to be and little traditions we'll make.  Also, this value reminds me a LOT about my zodiac sign.  I'm a Scorpio! In case you did not know, Scorpios are more often than not very committed in relationships.  They love to feel secure which is usually why they don't give trust away too easily.

The second value I was given was "Fulfillment, Intellectual and Vocational Achievement"
Once again, this describes me very well.  I want to accomplish something worthwhile! In fact, in one of my "Great Writings" last year, I talked about my want and need to be remembered.  One of my favourite conversations in Troy is between Achilles and a young boy.  The young boy tells Achilles that the man he is about to fight is big, and he would never want to fight him.  Achilles replies, "And that is why no one will remember your name."  To me, that is my one way to achieve fulfillment.  I must be remembered long after my bones have turned to ash (it's funny that I say this because I will be cremated when I pass).  Another reference to my zodiac sign... Scorpio's are known to be very determined.  I believe that is one of the reasons this is such an important value to me.

The third value I was given was "Education, Intelligence, and Wisdom"
Three for three! Ding ding ding! We have a winner!  The part of this value that really sticks out to me is the word 'wisdom.'  I have been told on countless occasions that I seem older than I am.  I'm very mature, I carry myself well, I'm 'much too wise for my age.'  I value my education over most everything else.  I'm willing to go through more than 12 years of schooling AFTER high school to become a neurosurgeon.  I'm pretty sure education and intelligence is an important value to hold if that's what your dream is... Again, my scorpion traits fit in well here.  Scorpio's are well noted for their wisdom.  Actually, astrologers call us 'oldest souls' because we have wisdom beyond our years.  This value definitely belongs to me!

The fourth value I was given was "Courage"
Man, could this test get any more accurate?  I think this is pretty true about me or, at least this is something I strive to obtain.  I try to be the type of person who says what they feel.  I try to be the type of person who stands up when everyone else is sitting down.  I try to be the type of person who isn't afraid to walk into a war unarmed.  Am I all of those things?  No. Do I try?  Very much.  Will I have it one day?  I sure hope so.  I would relate this to my zodiac sign, but I'm sure you're already bored about hearing it :)

The last of my top five values was "Emotional Well-being and Stability"
This kind of ties into my first value of family, love, and emotional security.  This value is also like courage is for me.  Am I emotional stable? Not all the time.  Do I try though? Yes.  One day, far from now, will I have taken it as mine? I better have...

Some other value that are also up there with these top five include:
Perseverance
Power and Achievement
Religion and Spirituality
Altruism

I also believe that "Social Appearance (How you wish for others to perceive you)" should be a testable value.  I would knock at least one of my top five out of the rankings!

Cultural Legacy: Updated

A few posts ago, I mentioned my cultural legacy.  I talked about my family and where they came from.  I talked about my faith.  One thing I didn't think about, however, is communication.  As soon as my teacher, Ms. Mystrena, asked us how communication was related to our own cultural legacy, I knew the answer.  Everything is based around communication.  I don't have very open communication with my parents.  There are just some things that I just cannot bring up.  I am not allowed to talk back to anyone older than me.  Even if I am pointing out a mistake in logic, or even  I am trying to voice my own, different opinion, I'm shut down.  I get told off.  My dad was speaking to my sister the other day.  I didn't agree with what he was saying, so I told him otherwise.  My dad was angry with me, and later, my mom told me not to do it again.  This is the communication in my cultural legacy.

Outliers: Chapter 7: The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes

In Chapter 7 of Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell proposes another theory involving cultural legacy.  In Chapter 6, he pointed out that your cultural legacy affected your response to different situations and changed your attitude.  In Chapter 7, however, Gladwell speaks a lot about plane crashes.  As it turns out, most plane crashes occured due to one technical error followed by six human errors.  In certain cultures, such as Korean or Columbian, you are taught not to speak back.  Men lower in ranks did not understand how to give a command.  They sugar-coated everything!  Even as their plane was crashing, the the co-pilot managed to use mitigated speech with no hint of command (hahah... get it?) at all.  This is all because their culture told them not to point out mistakes to people higher in rank.

The biggest lesson I've learned from this chapter is simple.  Communication.  Communication, or lack of it, led to many plane crashes.  A person must learn to give commands when neccessary.  They must learn not to sugar-coat things.  If things are urgent, they must make it seem urgent!  Communication is key to the success of anything.

Amarpreet: Outliers Chater 6

Outliers: Chapter 6: Harlan, Kentucky: Cultural Legacy

In Chapter 6 of Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell starts off by talking about a family fued between the Turners and Howards.  If you look at the story for face value, it seems to be a simple family fued.  However, Gladwell continues to point out that, "When one family fights with another, it's a feud.  When lots of families fight with one another in identical little towns up and down the same mountain range, it's a pattern."  He goes on to explain that these families were all affected by 'culture of honour.'  "It's a world where a man's reputation is at the center of his livelihood and self-worth."  The reason why all these families along the Appalachian mountains were, or still are, affected by it is simple.  You can't farm on the mountain.  Farmers depend on the community.  They aren't at the risk of being robbed because you can't steal a whole crop.  The herdsmen, on the other hand, are at a huge risk.  They must be aggressive so that people will not steal from them.  Many of these herdsmen could be found along the Appalchian mountains.

Also in this chapter, Gladwell talks about some tests performed.  Northerners and Southerners around the ages of eighteen and twenty were going to be insulted.  Their handshake and facial apperance were rated and there saliva was tested for change in testosterone and cortisol levels.  Southerners whose ancestors were Scottish-Irish and immigrated along the mountains, were more violent after being insulted.  This leads us to cultural legacy.  Do our ancestors and where we come from affect us and our attitudes?

I am almost 100% Punjabi except for the little British blood runs through my veins because of the British infiltration in India.  Punjabi's are known to be proud people.  I am a part of the highest class, and my family has been for as long back as I can remember.  In a new movie coming out, they say, "In Punjab, you shoot first and ask questions later."  That's not to say we just shoot everyone.  It just means we act against insults before we think.  I also practice Sikhism.  In Sikhism, we believe that we fight to protect only.  No wonder Sikh men are always posted at the Pakistan-India border...  My cultural legacy, clearly, is full of pride and the urge to protect our families.  I guess it's no wonder why I'm always ready for a fight- always ready to win.  I think I can say I am very close to the Southerners when it comes to their attitude towards being insulted.

First Blog

Hey! My name is Amarpreet Kaur.  I'm a freshman, and I'm writing this blog for my Gifted and Talented class.  So far in this class, we have talked about ourselves through our learning styles and adolescence as a whole.  We are supposed to be starting a new topic on bioethics.  Though we haven't started yet, we just read Chapter 6, Harlan, Kenucky, in Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.  This chapter was talking about "culture of honour" which I found very interesting.  I hope to learn a lot from this class and expose my views through this blog.

-Amarpreet Kaur-