This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence.

She looks in the mirror to see who she might see — Justine.
Staring back she sees a woman — strong and serene,
Competent and cold, a money-mad machine.
She knows it’s just a cover; it’s just how she must be.
She’s afraid to take the mask off — someone might see.

But she peels back the mask to see who she might see — Justin;
And he’s surprised.
Staring back he sees a man who’s handsome and thin,
A man who plays games — but only to win.
He’s greedy and he’s thirsty, like a bum who needs his booze.
He’s afraid to take the mask off — maybe he’ll lose.

But he rips away the mask to see who he might see — Justine;
And she’s afraid.
Staring back she sees a snarling, snapping she-wolf — mean and lean,
A cruel and crafty creature held together by caffeine.
She knows what she must do for the vision to disperse.
She’s afraid to take the mask off — maybe she is worse.

But she scratches off the mask to see who she might see — Justin;
And he’s confused.
Staring back he sees a child — playing in his skin.
He’s supposed to be a fighter, stand up straight and conquer sin;
Instead he’s playing with his toes and giggling — playing peek.
He’s afraid to take the mask off — maybe he is weak.

But he tugs away the mask to see who he might see — Justine;
And she is pleased.
She’s pretty and she’s witty — her face is bright and clean.
She’s happy and she’s filled with life; she’ll always be a teen.
She’s sure she’ll be successful in the course she must pursue.
But she’s afraid to take the mask off — maybe it’s not true.

She washes off the mask and sees Justin and Justine;
And she’s afraid.
Without her mask of make up, she feels naked and exposed,
Her flaws displayed to everyone — both good and ill-disposed.
Denuded of his camouflage, he’s vulnerable and meek;
He could not know it took such strength to show that he is weak.
Removing all the masks revealed something unforseen:
The secret of the soul that is Justin and Justine...
She is beautiful!

By Michael Rutledge
March 12, 2004

Creative Commons

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence.

Creative Commons is a very exciting concept for anyone who writes, composes, draws or produces any other type of art. It makes it possible to share your creations on the internet while lessening the concern that you might lose your copyright for the work. If you want inexpensive exposure to your work, the internet is the place to be. I can see myself using it for posting writing, music, photographs and multi-media productions that I have created. I particularly like the concept of being able to restrict the use of any content commercially while allowing people to use it personally.
Materials with Creative Commons contracts will also be useful for creating presentations. Creative Commons makes it easier to fill the need for images and music for use with tools such as PowerPoint. Later in the course, once we cover PowerPoint, I expect to be using Creative Commons to help find content for my assignments. I am already encouraging my wife to use it. She produces a weekly PowerPoint presentation which she uses in her church service and she has been concerned about copyright issues regarding the images she has been using.
Copyright issues are also a concern in libraries. Finding ways to keep costs down seems to be an ongoing battle in libraries. Materials with Creative Commons contracts will be very useful in creating library promotional materials, presentations and programs.
There are many other people who would find materials with Creative Common contracts useful: teachers, students, lawyers, doctors, business people and many more. To keep this short, I see Creative Commons materials as a useful source of material for anyone who uses intellectual property for their own creative purposes.

Facebook

FACEBOOK

I can definitely say that I will use Facebook because I have already been using it for some time. It is a great tool for keeping in touch with family and friends. I find it particularly useful for keeping track of people who I am unable to spend much time with now. When I have some spare time, I can go on-line and look at their profiles in order to keep up-to-date. This tool is useful for anyone who wishes to keep in contact with many people. While it probably has greatest appeal to younger people it is also useful to older people. My mother who is 81 uses Facebook to stay in contact with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Facebook is also a useful tool for spreading information about upcoming events. I’ve notice that some of the younger people use Facebook in a similar manner to email, but my preference is to stick with email. One drawback with Facebook is that it can be a major time waster. Some of the games can be quite addictive and I sometimes find myself tempted to play too long there. I even set up a Facebook account for my dog (Ritzy Krackers if you want to check it out) I haven’t done a lot with this account, but we’ve had a lot of fun trying to answer various questionnaires from her point of view.