Blog assignment 3: Book reflection

I recently read the novel “Treasure Island” by R. L. Stevenson. It is about the teenager Jim Hawkins who comes across the map of an island where a huge pirate treasure is supposedly buried. After showing the map to some trusted men in the village, they decide to buy a boat and hire a crew to find the legendary treasure. However, they soon realize that they are not the only ones who are interested in hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of gold coins…

Perhaps you think that this sounds like a cliché? Well, considering that this novel was published as early as 1883, it practically defines this genre. As a matter of fact, whenever you think of a pirate, you are probably thinking of Stevenson’s version of a pirate (missing leg, drinking rum, singing songs, parrot on the shoulder).

What really struck me while I was reading this novel is the difference between what is considered to be appropriate cultural material for young people now, in contrast to what was considered appropriate in the past. When written, the novel was intended for adolescent boys, a “coming-of-age story”. However, it contains a lot of material which I dare say would never be allowed in modern novels intended for the same target audience as Treasure Island. Allow me to give you an example: one of the most famous quotes from the novel comes from when the protagonist, Jim, threatens a pirate with a gun and says “One more step, Mr. Hands, and I’ll blow your brains out! Dead men don’t bite, you know”. It is even mentioned that he chuckles. Compare this phrase to a similar one: “I’m not gonna hurt ya. I’m just gonna bash your brains in”. For those of you who do not know, that phrase comes from one of the more creepy scenes (in my opinion) in the modern horror movie “The Shining”, when the antagonist, Jack, threatens to kill his wife. Protagonist in teen novel - antagonist in horror movie a hundred years later - similar phrasing. Noteworthy?

Also remember that the quote from the novel comes from “the good guy”, of course the “bad guys” are far worse. The novel is full of scheming two-faced liars, assassination attempts, alcohol abuse, cold blooded murder, impending torture, starvation, mutiny, marooning and much, much more. Get your copy today!

I do think that people today might be a little overprotective. I know that there is an ongoing debate about whether violent video games and/or violent movies are dangerous to children or not. Therefore I would like to recommend watching the third episode (“Video Games”) of the seventh season of American duo Penn & Teller’s show “Bullshit!”.

To round things off, I would also like to recommend the novel. I thought it was a fun read, and it really made me long for a big mug o’ grog! (MI3 references FTW!)

/Kristoffer

Blog assignment 2: The Story of Stuff

The video “The Story of Stuff” was a very interesting one indeed, though I must admit that it makes me feel rather spit. Let me begin by saying: kudos to Annie Leonard for her research about the negative sides of consumption. I really do believe that we need to change the way we treat our planet and its resources. Throwing used products in a big pile when you can save large amounts of energy by recycling is just plainly stupid in my honest opinion.

But, while she seems to be very open minded and wise when it comes to “green thinking”, I can not deny that she appears to be kind of narrow minded in other fields and as a result is quite one sided in her analysis. Yes, not a lot of people are farmers anymore (in the west that is) which seems to bother Annie. Yes, we do consume a lot in this material world of ours. But how has this immense technical progress over the last fifty years affected our life and its quality? We no longer have to work twelve hours a day seven days a week, we can save people from death if there is but the smallest shiver of life in them, the infant mortality rate is incredibly low, we can communicate instantly with people around the globe and travel there if need be. Hey, we even landed on the moon! Annie somehow makes is sound bad that micro processors are getting smaller and faster by the minute. In my opinion micro processors are the pinnacle of human invention (so far). They make it possible for us to integrate advanced technology in everyday objects, making all parts of our lives ever more efficient and enjoyable.

It is easy to blame “big fat factory owners” and “bad politicians” for pollution and unhappiness, but who are these people? That “greedy owner” might be your relative or your neighbour. Got some money in the bank? Saving for your pension maybe? Chances are those savings are invested in company shares in one way or another. In other words, even if you are not happy with the way things are you are probably “part of the problem”. To sum things up, I do agree with Annie to some extent but I do think she need to remember where we would be without the technologies she seems to somewhat despise. That is right, we would all probably be working five to nine on the fields. No computers or microwaves. No hope for ever treating cancer or AIDS. No electricity without our wonderful nuclear power plants. No cars, no moon, no mars! And hey, not even our own blogs where we can post fancy videos about the environment ;-)

/Kristoffer

Blog assignment 1

The subject of privacy is a delicate one indeed. I strongly believe that one's freedom is the most important thing in the whole world, and obviously the right to privacy is included in this freedom. But what some people seem to forget when discussing this subject is that although you have a right not to have your privacy/freedom infringed, so does your boss! Assuming that you work in a free country, you have the right to apply for any job and also to say no to any job offer. This means that when you agree to work for someone you have to accept the terms of the job contract. You make a deal with your employer that you will work for him/her under cirtain circumstances and in return you will be paid a salary. If you feel that you can't accept the terms, you should look for another job.

If your boss monitors you in a way which is not relevant for your work he or she is causing you harm, in a way. If you behave inappropriate at work you are hurting your boss, in a way. Who is right and who is wrong in this case?

To illustrate this I would like to tell you of one of my bosses. I think it's fair to say that he was rather snoopy. Everything we did as employees was registered with a personal barcode badge. I had no objections to this at all. It was an excellent way for my boss to see how fast we were working and who did wrong and so on. And really, how are you supposed to improve yourself at work if you don't know that you're doing something wrong?

Test

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