Shrimp for breakfast

oo4. The Black Death

2004-10-17T20:41:38Z

[ Title | The Black Death ]
[ Subject | Essay on the Bubonic Plague in the Renaissance ]
[ Notes | This essay is what my history teacher calls a 'DBQ', they're absolutely foul. I had to combine sixteen historical documents into one essay and not leave any of them out. I spent one long sleepless night working on this and I don't care to do it again. ]

The Black Death or Bubonic Plague was a pivotal turning point in society. It marked the end of feudalism and the medieval period and was considered the gateway to the Renaissance. The plague was spread by fleas that were carried by rats and later went on to infest humans. The people who lived during this era, however, had no inkling as to how the disease was really transmitted and quite often blamed God, became extremely superstitious, and even tried to spread the plague to gain money and land. Contained in the paragraphs below are the words, thoughts, and feelings of the people who lived during such a treacherous time.

As the outbreaks of the virus grew larger, people became extremely fearful and often blamed an angry God for their severe misfortune. In 1624 an Italian woman, Lisabetta Centenni, wrote that a little piece of bread that had touched the body of St. Domenica was fed to her husband who was dying and suddenly his fever broke! It was recorded by a French physician in 1647 that plague-stricken patients hung toads around their necks and believed that the venom would draw out the poison of the disease. Nehemiah Wallington, an English Puritan, wrote in his diary all his worries and fears about whom the plague would steal from his family next. M. Bertranes, a physician at Marseilles, recorded his thoughts about the plague being sent down by God to smite the wicked and most unfortunately catching the innocent, taking them along as well. While everyone’s fear was quite logical and legitimate, the methods and ideas that they came up with were sometimes quite absurd and ridiculous. Erasmus of Rotterdam seemed to have a very clear knowledge of what was going on and wrote in a letter dated 1512 that the plagues and sickness in England was due to the filth in the streets and the unsanitary conditions in the houses caused by animals and excrement. Erasmus may not have known exactly what went on, but he was the first to have a firm grasp on the concept of disease being spreading by uncleanly conditions.

Money also played a huge part in the plague. The quarantine houses had to be paid for, as did the nurses, not to mention the large amount of devious souls who manipulated the chaos and death to gain a few extra coins, vast inheritances, and land. People were afraid to buy wigs for fear that the hair had been cut off people who died of the plague. Nurses in Barcelona were notorious for helping their patients die rather than remedy them just to receive their wages. Johann Weyer, a German physician, told the tale in his book, The Deceptions of Demons, of people in Western Lombardy who smeared the bolts of the town gates with an ointment to spread the plague that was most effective just to obtain their inheritances more quickly. As the Sicilian physician of Palermo, Motto of Giovan Filippo, wrote, “Gold, fire, the gallows…” The Black Death was truly an era of gold, fire, and the gallows.
For fear that the disease would spread, the vast majority of the Western population went into quarantine, almost bringing trade and travel to a complete stop. Most of the people who died of plague were of the middle or poorer classes because the rich had fled to remote locations believing that they had outrun death. Those who didn’t die from plague passed away from starvation in quarantine. Roads and highways were guarded so that a person could not go from one place to another. What food the people could cultivate was their only source of nourishment since outsiders were forbidden. Schoolmasters were worried about their boys who were dying and running off, fearing that they’d have to close. One man, however, was determined to see the sights he came to see, no matter how infected a place was with plague. Sir John Reresby wrote in his memoirs that he and three other men, although encouraged to flee to safer places, were determined to see Rome and all the architectural and artistic beauty she had to offer.

While the Bubonic Plague was a crippling catastrophe, it served an important role in history. The death knew no class or social status and because of this many noblemen and women were killed along with peasants and merchants. The titles that these nobles held were dispersed among the peasants and led to the rise of the middle class along with the end of feudalism. Though it raged on for nearly four hundred years and killed over 25 million people, it set the wheel of innovation and change in motion that would lead to the Renaissance and later the Age of Enlightenment from which our own society would emerge with new medical breakthroughs and ways to fight off such a deadly virus as the Bubonic Plague.

oo4. The Renaissance

2004-10-17T20:39:13Z

[ Title | The Renaissance ]
[ Subject | Essay on the Renaissance. Very general and vague. ]
[ Notes | A summer assignment that I did the morning before school started. It about killed me to open up the text book at two in the morning.]

The Renaissance was a period in which some people began to think and act differently than in ages past. In the Middle Ages, people were extremely pious. Religion was their main focus next to work. In the Renaissance, however, religion was important but it did not dominate one’s everyday life. Days were spent thinking about politics, educating one’s self, how one should act in society, and thinking up new ideas and inventions. It was a very secular era, meaning that God was not first and foremost in the lives of those who lived during the Renaissance.

Most people who lived during the Renaissance era were considered humanists or had an attitude that was centered chiefly on values, interest, and potential. For example Pope Nicholas V was a distinguished scholar and he planned the Vatican Library to house the nine hundred manuscripts he had colleted over the years. Pope Sixtus IV, however, was the one to carry out this great building and it still remains one of the richest repositories of ancient and medieval documents today.

The Renaissance held a very strong class dimension in almost everything that happened during that period of time. Naturally, the aristocracy held the majority of the power and benefited the most from the lower classes such as the working people and middle classes.

The middle classes were taxed the heaviest, mainly because they were not extremely wealthy yet they did have a fair amount of money when compared with the lower, poorer classes. Now a days the Renaissance middle class could be compared with the businessmen and soccer moms of today who enjoy all the luxuries and comforts the world has to give but in moderation. The aristocracy in the Renaissance is more like the movie stars and politicians of today, with lots of money and strong influence on how the population is governed.

There was a gender dimension to the Renaissance as well. Women were given a good education so that they could charm their suitors and entertain their guests in witty, philosophical conversations. However, once a woman had been wed, she was no longer allowed to study and gain knowledge. She had to care for her home and attend to her husband and children’s needs until the end of her days.

During the Renaissance, the status of a woman declined. She was denied access to ownership of property and political power. Rape was not considered a particularly serious offense against the victim or society in the eyes of the officials. However, if a girl of marriageable age was raped, it was considered a much graver crime than the rape of a married woman. Yet, the punishment for rape of either a married noblewoman or a marriageable girl was only a fine or about six months’ imprisonment. According to Venetian laws in the Renaissance, the ruling oligarchy believed the rape only slightly damaged men’s property - women.

The man’s main role in society was to provide for his family and be very involved in politics and matters of state. As a boy he was given an excellent education in arithmetic, social affairs, etiquette, and literature of both modern and classic writers.

oo1. Sophia Fawcett

2004-10-10T16:37:28Z

PERSONALITY
Sophia has been described as a 'feisty little thing' or 'a fiery wench'. She is not afraid of conflict and is rather drawn to it. She thrives off causing controversy and will not bow out when someone questions her methods. Always standing up for what she believes in, Sophia is quick to get into fights, though she's not a mean person or a pessimist. In all, she is a very kind loving girl; she just loses her temper easily.

Sophia takes great pride in her wit and cunning. She can be very blunt and to the point, but she is a very sensual creature and holding to that nature she is sly and subtle, when her temper is in check. Sophia is the kind of girl who whispers sweet nothings in your ear just to make you squirm. Some of her actions might not make sense, but she's always thinking in terms of the bigger picture and how what she does, and what other people do, will affect her plans in the long run.

BACKGROUND
Sophia comes from a distant branch of the Black family who live in New Zeland. Although that is where her immediate family resides, her parents thought it would be best if she were to live with her mother's aunt's husband's brother's nephew's wife's daughter’s ... (basically a distant uncle) for her school years. While her mother begged her father to send her to Beauxbatons he put his foot down and said that she was going to attend Hogwarts because it was a better school and Sophia was getting into a lot of trouble at home.

As a little girl she would sneak into her father's library and read his books on Dark spells and potions. They fascinated her. It was a world she didn't know during everyday life. It was dark. It seduced her. It was a common occurrence for Sophia to be sent home in the middle of the day from primary school. She'd have a note in hand for her parents who were not pleased with her disruptive behavior (cursing the other children for fun) in school, to say the least.

She had calmed down quite a bit when she entered her first year at Hogwarts -- and living away from home. It came as a surprise to everyone when she was sorted into Ravenclaw instead of the favoured Slytherin, but Sophia didn't really care. She believed that she was finally in league with people of her own brilliance and she liked it that way.

During her second year, Sophia played a game of Truth or Dare with the rest of her house, just because everyone else was going it and she wanted to fit in. After a humiliating outcome when she'd picked Dare, Sophia made up her mind that she would never do something just because all the other kids were doing it. If she was going to experience anything, it would be for her own reasons, not to just follow the crowd. In this respect, Sophia tends to stand out as she frequently gets into arguments with people.

APPEARENCE
Blessed with soft creamy skin, a mass of black curls, and an hourglass figure, Sophia is very well endowed. She is not the tallest tree in the forest standing at a mere 5'4" but for what she lacks in height, she makes up in attitude. You will usually see her shoulder lenght black curls down and wild as she rarely pulls her hair up, but even then her hair cannot be tamed with small soft ringlets falling into her hazel eyes.

INTERESTS/HOBBIES/ROMANCE
As far as her interests are concerned, she's not very keen on the opposite sex, and tends to avoid any sort of romance. When she's not running from hormone driven boys on the prowl, Sophia reads many a spell book and even sneaks in Dark Arts texts once in a while just to look at the pictures. She does pride herself on excelling in Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts with Potions coming in a close third. After her studying is done, Sophia likes to write short stories about herself in faerie story lands over coming all sorts of odds and trials.

MISC.
-- Full Name Sophia Selma Morina Brina Fawcett
-- Goes By Sophia
-- Age 16
-- Birthday 7 February
-- Year 6th
-- House Ravenclaw
-- Blood Pureblood
-- Wand Powedered dragon scale, Ash, 9"
-- Pets Sophia has a small pet owl named Ruby, due to her reddish feathers. Ruby has been with Sophia since her first year, and she loves the little creature so. Ruby is probably the only creature Sophia treats with kindness and respect one hundred percent of the time. In return, Ruby is loyal and always there for Sophia when she needs someone to talk to, even if Ruby can't respond.
-- Broom none
-- Sexuality Heterosexual
-- Play By Christina Ricci
-- Likes Writing, reading, gossip, Ravenclaw, Potions, Charms, good grades, DADA, being smart, purebloods, the colour red, blood, mythology, history, newspapers, the Dark Arts, Death Eaters, being the best, intelligent people, the Black family, Slytherins, cats, blood lollipops, Chinese food, Halloween, thinking for yourself.
-- Dislikes Hermione Granger, mudblood, Muggles, the Ministry of Magic, Herbology, flying, Quidditch, Harry Potter, the Weasels, Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Dumbledore, tomboys, ugly people, dumb people, being second best.
-- Anything Else? The best Ravenclaw pureblood elitist and journalist extrodinaire.
-- Classes Charms, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, Ancient Runes, Transfiguration, History of Magic.

JOURNAL ENTRY
15 November, 1996
I am writing again which is something I feel I haven't done in ages. I haven't really written anything since school began again, save for a few entries here. I haven't been creative or poetic or even just depressed enough to write stories of hate and tumult. I just feel empty right now, like the top of my head has opened up and all of my creativity is just floating up and away.

Perhaps all the events of they year are draining me. Even though I expressed my feelings of indifference about the death of the Hufflepuff (Her name has slipped my mind) at the Halloween Ball, I do feel saddened by the tragedy. Perhaps I was experiencing a numbing shock at the time of the event. Who can really say though? I am probably just reading into myself too much.

Hopefully I'll find my muse and begin to create again.

[Private]I wonder which Slytherin I should pluck from the barrel to aid me in my quest. Draco Malfoy perhaps? No, he's too much of a self-centered, arrogant git. Pansy Parkinson? No, not her either. She may have the knowledge, but I doubt she'd give it to me, being the snob that she is.

I've got it! Theodore Nott. ~~And he's quite pretty too. What am I saying!? I have NO feelings for him what so ever! None. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Bupkis.~~ I believe I have potions with him nest period. ~~Must look my absolute best.~~ I'll try to speak with him then about meeting somewhere where ~~we can make hot passionate love.~~ we can discus the Dark Lord.[/Private]

I think I may go see Madam Pomfrey now. I'm feeling ill.

RP SNIPPET
She froze in mid step, grip on her Potions book tightening. She almost couldn’t believe what he had said, to her even. Of all the bloody people in the bloody world, why did he have to say THAT to HER? 'A hag? An old hag!? Bloody hell, Davies, you're in for it!' she screamed in her head.

Turing on her heel, Sophia looked down at Roger from the landing giving him a look of pure venom. Clenching her teeth, she began to take a step toward him. Sophia was angry, well no, that wasn't the right word. More like livid. She raced down the steps from the girl’s dormitory and hurled the very large textbook at Roger's head. "You are disgrace to this house, Davies! You're lucky that I don't curse you within an inch of your life!" She had finished her descent and was now standing directly in front of him, index finder poking him in the nose. The fact that he was much taller than her and she had to look up at him infuriated her even more. "If you ever say something like that about me, be it behind my back or to my face, again, I will personally see to it that you are found in Hawaii locked in a trunk with your tongue cut out. Understand?" her voice was very quiet but held a deadly edge.

oo1. Roger Davies

2004-10-10T16:30:09Z

PERSONALITY/BACKGROUND
Roger has an ego, and a huge one at that. Surprisingly, in his first year, Roger was a very shy, quiet, timid boy. He was picked on by the upperclassmen for being too short and scrawny. All that changed in his second year. Over the summer he had grown several centimeters and filled out into a stronger, more powerful build. With his newfound height and strength, he kept with tradition and bullied some of the first years, but nothing that wasn't out of the ordinary for a twelve-year-old.

The real defining moment in Roger's life was when he made the house Quidditch team during his second year. He was the youngest Chaser in Ravenclaw for over thirty years. Quidditch was his passion, his destiny, his lifeblood. At least that's the way he saw it. Roger always believed he was destined to do great things, he just didn't know what.

As the years went by, Roger's success grew and did his popularity with the ladies. He had girls fawning over him nonstop. He attributed his popularity with his good looks and award winning personality and charm, but in reality most girls just liked him because he was a Quidditch hot shot and they wanted to be his arm candy.

Roger also has a vile temper. He's a sore loser and doesn't like to be told 'No'. If things don't go his way he storms and brodes for hours just thinking of ways to get back at the person, though he's never carried any of his serious plans for revenge out. One of the minor plots occurred during the previous year on the Hogsmade Valentine's trip. He and the girl he was dating at the time were sitting in Madam Puddifoot's kissing and cuddling. What the unsuspecting girl didn't know what that Roger had used her to get back at his crush, Cho Chang who had chosen Harry Potter over him.

Roger has a horrible temper. Apart from screaming himself hoarse, he's been known to bloody up his knuckles from punching walls or faces. He blames himself for everything that goes wrong with the Quidditch team, in his life, and everything in general. Hard as he tries, sometimes he just snaps and loses all control. During times like these, Cho and some of the sixth years try to calm him down and keep him away from prying eyes.

Although Quidditch is the main focus of Roger's life at Hogwarts, he still finds time to do his homework and even take an extra class of Charms, which he excels in. He is very attentive in class and does not like to be bothered. He's even been known to hex someone just for breathing too loud during a lecture. Despite his temper and somewhat manipulative nature, Roger is a very kind, honest young man who just loses his way on the path of life.

APPEARENCE
Roger is a very striking young man. He has a tall lean build and well defined muscles while not overtly bulky. His face is angular and very chizzled, accented with bright blue eyes and dark brows. His hair is dark and soft, cropped close to his head. He has milky white skin even though he spends a good deal of time in the sun, but he never seems to tan.

INTERESTS & HOBBIES
Although Quidditch is the main focus of Roger's life at Hogwarts, he still finds time to do his homework and even take an extra class of Charms, which he excels in. He is very attentive in class and does not like to be bothered. He's even been known to hex someone just for breathing too loud during a lecture. Despite his temper and somewhat manipulative nature, Roger is a very kind, honest young man who just loses his way on the path of life.

Roger has a lot of house pride. You'll always see him sporting his house colours and vigorously recruiting people to route for Ravenclaw at Quidditch matches, and trying to keep his housemates in line, with hopes of winning the house cup.

ROMANTICALLY
Roger is very open about who he fancies. He doesn't really care if they know and quite often tells them out of the blue. This tendency has got him into many awkward situations, but for the most part things turn out well. Currently, Roger is swooning over and torn between a certain Katie Bell and a one Susan Bones.

MISC.
-- Full Name Roger William Davies
-- Goes By Roger
-- Age 17
-- Birthday 23 October
-- Year 7th
-- House Ravenclaw
-- Blood Pureblood
-- Wand Dragon heartstring, Ash, 11"
-- Pets none
-- Broom Nimbus 2002
-- Sexuality Heterosexual
-- Play By Elijah Wood
-- Likes Quidditch, girls, books, studying, learning.
-- Dislikes Slytherins, losing, Divination.
-- Classes Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, DADA, CoMc, Ancient Runes, History of Magic.

JOURNAL ENTRY
I've just received this journal within the last week, but I haven't had the time to write in it. [Readable only by Students]I can't believe we have to write in these for a grade. What are the professors going to do? Judge our thoughts? [/Private]

I'm anxious to get back to school and back to training. For all of you on my team (you know who you are), we'll be starting practice immediately. I've already talked to Professor Flitwick and we have the Pitch booked during the first three weeks of school straight. I expect to see all of you on the field at seven o'clock new Saturday morning. We have lots of training to do if we're going to win this year.

[Private] I wonder how Cho is holding up. I haven't spoken to her since the end of July. I hope she's doing well. But it seems odd, we used to be so close, but after Valentine's, well she's drifted away from me. She's not even focusing as a Seeker. I'm worried about her (and about the team). [/Private]

RP SNIPPET
Roger looked anxiously at his watch. Where was she? He glanced at the people sitting around him, enjoying their meals and the pleasure of their dates' company. Why couldn't he enjoy the company of another as well? He raised his dark brows, rolling the question over in his mind. For starters she wasn't there so how could he really enjoy her company. Second, he was starving. As his mother would say, 'My boy is hungry enough to eat a Hippogriff! Isn't that right, Roger?'

Food. Now that was a pleasant thought. Roast beef, potatoes with steamed carrots and peas, pumpkin juice, and to top it all off chocolate pudding. Yes, that was the kind of meal he looked forward to and Hogwarts was the only place to get it.

Hogwarts, he'd be going back for his final year in about a week. He'd already packed and repacked several times, as always not quite sure just what he should take. He'd carefully packaged his broom and Quidditch robes of course, those were a must. A daily staple in his Hogwarts diet. He'd take his box of pictures, yes, the ones that he had taken himself. He was proud of those pictures. Sure they weren't the best, but can you really expect a masterpiece the first time you try?

His mind was wandering and his stomach was rumbling inside him. Roaring with agony and screaming for a meal. He drummed is fingers on the table in a nervous sort of way. Where the bloody hell was she!? He looked down to check his watch, "Forty minutes late," he said to himself. Just as he was about to look up, he noticed her out of the corner of his eye walking over to him with a smile on her face and that sexy pink dress hiding her body. Standing up, he pulled out a chair for her, a big grin on his face.

ooo. Introduction

2004-09-26T18:11:03Z

This journal is for my writing be it poetry, lyrics, stories, or the main thing it shall be used for: character development and profiles. I'm a dork, so I love to write about people, yet I don't ahve enough time during the day to role play with them all. Hence, this is my creative outlet. Anyone is welcome to read and comment, but please only constructive criticism.

The subject lines of each post will tell you all about what I'm posting and what kind of subject matter it contains.

oo1. - Character profiles.
oo2. - Character development through survey questions.
oo3. - Poetry and lyrics.
oo4. - Essays of any length on any topic.
oo5. - Short stories.
oo6. - Novel length chapters.
oo7. - Nosh. Unfinished snippets or ideas.

Anything I write that is racier than PG-13 will go behind a cut tag with proper warnings.

So there you have it folks. My system. And now I'll get to the writing and let you get to the reading.