Final Paper

So I am working on my final paper for IS 101 and having trouble with it. It shouldn't be that hard, since I am doing Michael Crichton's The Lost World, but I am having some difficulty finding some sources. My grade is sitting fine right now, but I want this paper to make me feel proud of my writing skills. I want this paper to be for me, and how much I have learned about Jurassic Park. The letter grade will be the letter grade and there's no getting around that, but I will be much more satisfied if I can tell myself that I gave it my all in this last, final paper. I'm reading over the sciences that I have to cover on the final project guide that my professor sent out, but Crichton doesn't talk a lot about genetic engineering in this book. Having said that, I don't want my professor to think that I am shirking my duties by not addressing it, instead I will discuss Crichton's stance on extinction and compliment that with his stance on evolution. Both sciences play a crucial role in his novel, and they are very interesting subjects. Crichton talks about behavior extinction, and that is very hard to research! I think I will just cite the book for behavior extinction and back that up with some general extinction facts from top notch sources. Since I am a creationist, researching evolution will be a fun task that will test my faith as well as make me grow as an open-minded, liberally educated person.

My Credo

About a week ago I wrote my two page paper about what I believe. A very general paper, but well worth the time and effort I put into it. I especially enjoyed the fact that we got to work with little restrictions, leaving us plenty room for creativity and self reflection. I thought about writing a paper, but that seemed too boring and I didn't know how to get my point across while trying to string together flowing sentences. As I thought about it more I looked closely at what type of person I am. As I thought about that more and more I decided that I am a person of statements, therefore my paper is full of statements of what I believe. Once i began my work it wasn't hard to come up with statements of what I believe. I thought of myself on a religious level and on a secular level, or what I thought incorporates me as a person in everyday life. I tied religion and everyday life together with what I thought was a neat representation of who I am and who I want to be. I looked to my family and the morals that I have been brought up with. I looked to my mentors and their important traits that I believe are virtuous. I thought to my friends, of whom I would give my life for. All of these people I looked to guidance for in my thoughts and in my feelings expressed in my credo paper.

The Lost World

I'm approximately 76 pages from finishing Michael Crichton's Lost World and loving it! The Lost World is one of my favorite movies of all time, and I was surprised how different it is compared to the book. The movie portrays Ian Malcolm as the main character, but the book almost dwarfs him when compared to Levine, the arrogant, rich, and quite annoying scientist. The setting takes place on Isla Sorna, a secret island controlled by Ingen and used as a dinosaur engineering facility. In short, Isla Sorna is Hammond's dirty little secret where many dinosaurs died as a result of testing. Rumors have spread that strange creatures are appearing on the chain of islands that Isla Sorna is found on, and Ian and company figure out which island it is. They travel there to rescue Levine, who on his own traveled there by himself to see the dinosaurs in person. Unfortunately for Levine, he runs into some velociraptors, a predator I would never want to come face to face with. In my final paper I will discuss some more science of the book, but I was surprised that genetic engineering isn't the main topic of the book. The focus appears to be on extinction and dinosaur behavior. An interesting topic that I wish to delve into further in my final paper.

Clinton 3 Table Tennis Tournament

This Thursday night at 8:30 Clinton 3 is hosting a table tennis tournament. There are 16 entrants and 7 star players. The prize is $50 to Walmart and bragging rights. Now, I'm not going to talk about how easily I will win this tournament, that would be arrogant of me. Instead, I am going to talk about how I would spend the $50 at Walmart. One thing is for sure, I am not going to spend it on myself. I will probably spend it on food or accessories for my dorm. I think that stacking up on desirable food items for myself and my two Josh friends would have healthy benefits. I have also contemplated buying Christmas decorations for my room so that we may look festive for the holiday season. I think that a large Christmas tree would look great in our window! Another idea I have for spending this gift card would be on Christmas presents for my family. My cousin Jeff needs his Wartburg shirt for Christmas day, my sister needs some Wartburg apparel, and my brother needs video games. I could save the money for a more appropriate occasion, but that wouldn't be as fun... I have also thought of selling the gift card for $50 cash and taking Josh and Josh out to eat at Applebee's! One thing is for certain, if I don't win this tournament, all of my practicing and nights of little sleep will have been for naught.

A Luther Rivalry

I have two cousins in my family that I look up to more than anyone else. Jeff Sansgaard and Andy Jolivette are my two favorite cousins, and are great guys that I have looked up to my whole life. They each went to Luther where Andy played basketball and Jeff played football for the Norse. I always thought I would go to Luther, but then I looked at Wartburg and for a while it was a tight race between the two schools. Obviously I chose Wartburg, so that didn't go over very well with Andy or Jeff. I never thought that I would end up hating Luther, a college that I respect and admire because of my cousins. The bitter dislike started for me at the IIAC Cross Country Championships this fall at Wartburg when Luther pretty much swept the conference race and blew out everyone else. It made me sick watching the blue and white uniforms standing on the podium and it only got worse when the chanting of Lu-Lu-Lu-Luther started up. I have now made bets with my cousins on Wartburg-Luther games and fortunately I won because we beat Luther in football. As a result of that game, Jeff has to wear a Wartburg shirt at Christmas and I will also provide him a sheet of music with Wartburg's fight song to sing before the table prayer at Christmas dinner :) I think this might be one of the best Christmas gatherings for a long time to come.