Shepherd Boys with Dogs Fighting - My Opinion

By Viviana Rodriguez

Looking at Thomas Gainsborough's art work, Shepherd Boys with Dogs Fighting, two different feelings possessed me. The first one is a feeling of uncertainty and, perhaps, anger against the boy who is stopping the other boy from stopping the dogs fighting. The other feeling is a feeling of helplessness when looking at the boy who is trying to stop the dogs. The expressions on the boys' faces make me think that the first boy is enjoying the dogs' fight and that maybe he feels some kind of pleasure while watching, whereas the second boy's face gives the feeling of suffering for not being able to stop the dogs.

The more I look at the painting, the more I discover details that lead me to relate the painting to evil and good, for instance, the use of the color tones. The boy that is stopping the other boy and the dog that is on top of the other dog, both are painted with dark colors, while the other boy and the dog that seems to be losing the fight are shown with bright colors. In my opinion, the painter did associate evil with the dark colors and good with brighter colors, which in one way could mean that evil is winning against good, between the dogs, as well as between the boys.

It is also easy to relate this painting with a religios subject because it is common to find passages in the Christian Bible that refer to the shepherd and sheep theme. One of the multiple interpretations I could give to this painting is that both the shepherds and the dogs, which are the ones that protect the sheep from the wolf, are fighting bewteen themselves instead of working together to protect the sheep from the wolf. So who is going to take care of the sheep if there are not any guardians?

I think this is a great piece of art, as it presents a well done oil painting technique, and, I imagine, the magnitude and detail characteristic of the 1700s.

Vlaminck's Scene - My Opinion

By Hsin-Ju Fang

When I saw Vlaminck’s Scene for the first time, it attracted to me. Although it doesn't catch everyone's eyes, it really touches my heart because I like its lonely people and houses. Vlaminck didn't use a lot of colors to draw it, and he just used blue, black and white. All of them are very simple but profound. I really like those colors which let me feel heavy and silent. In addition, the lonely people in this painting seem to leave this place and just take a last look at it. I think that he doesn't want to leave but has to. It's very melancholy but I love the power of the deep emotion.

Grunewald's Christ on the Cross - My Opinion

By Ben Ng

Grunewald’s Christ on the Cross makes me feel scared. The background colour is black and the character in this picture is a person who almost died or already died. So it gives people an uncomfortable feeling when people look at it. The imagine of this picture for me is suffering. You can see the Christ’s body is very thin and it was injured seriously. In addition, his expression is very sad and very painful. For those reasons, I feel this is not a good picture for me. I don’t like the sad picture.

A Wreath of Flowers - My Opinion

By Ken

Willian Brymner's A Wreath of Flowers makes me feel very comfortable when I was looking at it. The main color of this painting is green, which is the color that I like the most in my whole life. I like the sea, trees, and grass in the painting because they give me the feeling of relaxation. Also, it makes me want to go to the place that is in the painting. The four little girls are very free on the little hill, but I don't think they have much fun. However, I like that kind of life.

Sleeping Baigneuse - My Opinion

By Alex Mok

Renoir’s Sleeping Baigneuse gives me a free, unrestrained feeling. In the painting, a naked woman is sleeping with a towel that covers her private part. When I see this painting, she is showing me an enjoyable face. I don’t see she has any pressure. Also, she probably doesn’t care about all the things around her, especially other people’s seeing her. She just wants to enjoy and relax in her own world, a dream world that is in her mind. In fact, she is teaching us one thing: if we can put down our dignity or duty to look around the world, we will find that the world is really beautiful.

The Phantom of the Snow - My Opinion

By Rain Wu

William Blair Bruce's The Phantom Of The Snow makes me feel calm. Even though it's sad for the man in the painting, he cannot do anything to stop it. This painting attracts me because it shows how weak our life is. When death is coming, we cannot avoid it. In the painting, a man sits in the snow and he is almost dead. In front of him is his spirit. He tries to catch it back, but he cannot. Human death is natual. It's a part of the life cycle. Although it is sad to hear about that, it is just a proccess.

The History of the Bicycle

By Saori Kimura

The bicycle was not invented by one individual or in one country. It took nearly 100years and many individuals for the modern bicycle to be born.

Bicycles first appeared in Scotland in the early 1800s, and were called velocipedes. These early bicycles had two wheels, but they had no pedals. Soon a French inventor added pedals to the front wheel. However, pedaling was hard because velocipedes were very heavy.

In addition, British engineers and American manufacturers changed wheels. They thought the wheels should be different shapes. So they invented the bicycle which had different wheels.

The British altered the design one last time. They made the two wheels equal in size and created a mechanism that uses a chain to turn the rear wheels. With this final change, the modern bicycle was born, and bicycle riding became very popular. Bicycles revolutionized the way people traveled. Today, millions of people worldwide ride bicycles for transportation, enjoyment, sport, and exercise.

3 Minutes and 21 Seconds of Fame

American modern artist Andy Warhol gave a photo exhibit in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1968. The catalogue for the exhibit contained the following quote:

In the future everyone will be world-famous for fifteen minutes.

This morning, one of our ESL students used up 3 minutes and 21 seconds of her fame. She was interviewed on CBC Radio's Daybreak North, the morning show usually broadcast from Prince George, BC, but today, from right here in Fort St. John.

Here's the link: Viviana's Interview

By the way, Viviana, do you have any ideas for using up the rest of your "fame" minutes?

What We Can Do for the Environment

By Yuko Maekawa

Environmental destruction, global warming, environmental pollution C Today, we have many environmental problems. Now, the earth is dying. If we don't solve these problems, the earth will disappear in the future. We must notice these problems soon and we have to do and change something because of them. Actually, we have already become aware of them, and many people, governments, companies, and institutions around the world have begun to act for the environment. We can do many things for the environment by ourselves. I will introduce some examples we can do easily.

Do you know the word "5Rs"? Nowadays, this word has become popular in many countries. The definition or number of this word is different from country to country; for example, "5Rs" changes to "4Rs" in Korea. In this time, I will tell you "5Rs" in Japan mainly. The definition of "5Rs" in my country is Refuse, Reuse, Recycle, Reduce, and Repair.

1. Refuse: You can refuse to get things which can be garbage after. For example, when you go to a supermarket and buy something there, a person at a register gives you a plastic bag in order to put things you buy in it. But, if you bring your bag from your house, you don't need it. So, you can refuse and reduce garbage. Nowadays, Eco bags are popular in many countries. Thanks to this, the number of people who refuse plastic bags is increasing.

2. Reuse: You can reuse things you or other people use. We can often see flea markets, used shops, and other kinds of these shops. In these shops, we can sell clothes and many things we already used and don't need, and we can get some money by selling something there. And, we can also buy things other people used and sold there. So, by selling things you don't need or buying things other people don't need, you can reuse. For another example, we can send clothes and things you used and don't need to people who need them. In the world, many people don't have enough money to buy clothes or things they need, and you can help them by sending things you don't need. I think that's a good example.

3. Recycle: probably, you know this word. Recycle is the most popular word in the
"5Rs." The resources on the Earth are limited. We can't use them freely for ever. So, we need to recycle the resources we used as much as possible. I think recycling is the most effective and easiest thing we can do for the environment.

4. Reduce: I said before the resources are limited. So, we need to reduce the quantity of the resources we use. To turn off lights, to not use water, oil, electricity and other resources more than you need, you can reduce in many ways. You can also reduce the quantity of garbage. You already know how to reduce them.

5. Repair: Do you throw away broken things soon? If you repair them, you can use them more. It may not be easy, but you should repair for the environment. I found some other words on other countries' sites, like Remake, Renew, and Reform.

Finally, I will introduce two words I found out on another country's site. They're Respect and Rethink. You should respect and thank environment, resources and Earth more. And, you should think about the environment. When you use resources or buy something, you can rethink, "Is it really needed?" We can help the environment in many ways easily. We must notice, know, understand, and do!