UEFA Champions League Finals

Bayern Munich and Chelsea FC, both are great clubs in their own rights, but only one would lift the trophy after a hard-fought football match to conclude the UEFA Champions League. It was a final that many were not expecting. In fact, I had believed that the final would be a Clásico. But it was not meant to be between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Chelsea has been to the UEFA Champions League Finals before, but crashed and burned in penalties against Manchester United, while Bayern Munich has claimed the Champions League four times in the past.

Although many would say that Chelsea were at a disadvantage, I still favored them over Bayern Munich. Roberto di Matteo had decided to instruct the All-Blues to play a defensive Italian style, which held Bayern down for much of the game, until Thomas Muller would sneak the ball past Petr Cech in the 83rd minute. I was rather shocked that the likes of Torres and Essien failed to make the starting lineup. On the opposite end, Bayern played the regular lineup, with footballers such as Robben, Ribery, Gomez, and Muller As the players took to the pitch, the sound of the UEFA Champions League thronged throughout the Allianz Arena, and the finals kicked off shortly after.

The match was rather one-sided in favor of the home team, Bayern, but Chelsea was fighting with tooth-and-nail, pushing back the German aggressors into their own end during the last ten minutes of the first half. Although Bayern had a chance to capitalize on a free-kick, the fact that Robben mishit the ball is no excuse for Bastian Schweinsteiger deliberately block a pass with his hands. At least the referee was fair enough to give a card to the offender. The 22nd minute made me jumpy when Robben fired a shot at the top left corner, just barely saved by Cech, and missing the back of the net by a few centimeters. I was slightly disappointed and yet thrilled that the high-caliber club Bayern Munich was missing so many opportunities, with sixteen shots in the first half, only two were on target. My hopes for Chelsea had not been dashed yet, and maybe, just maybe, they would pull through.

 The second half started with Chelsea coming at Bayern with all-guns-a-blazing, and Chelsea is rapidly closing the possession gap, but Bayern continues pound away at the defense, shot after shot, until Schweinsteiger lifts in a cross to Muller, who spikes a header into the ground, and it bounces into the back of the goal, going right under Cech's left arm. immediately after, the dangerous Spanish man Fernando Torres steps onto the field for Solomon Kalou as soon as the ball is returned to center field. It all seems lost for my favorite English side, until Chelsea's one and only corner is taken by Juan Mata, who rifles an in-swinger directly to Didier Drogba, who slams the ball home with his noggin. Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer cannot believe it, his disbelief painted all over his face as his digs the ball out of the back of the net.

The game proceeds to extra-time, which was rather trying for the Chelsea side, as the wicked Bavarians were awarded a penalty to Robben after Drogba, a hero turned villain, foolishly fouled Ribery in the box. Robben takes a crack down low and to the right, BUT PETR CECH SAVES IT! Chelsea supporters go wild with glee, and Cech blasts the ball up-field. the ET ends up going to penalties, and everyone knows the dangers of facing a German side in penalties. Lahm will take the first penalty, and scores puts it past the Czech giant. Juan Mata will have a go at it.... And Neuer makes an easy save as the ball goes straight down the middle. Gomez, the next for Munich, follows Lahm's example and buries it in the right corner. David Luiz, and Neuer can't make the stop as Chelsea get their first in penalties. Surprisingly, Neuer takes one and scores. 3-1 Bayern. Then its Captain Lampard, who calmly finishes. And then Olic, and... OH! CECH SLAPS IT AWAY! There's a chance for Chelsea to equalize. Ashley Cole for Chelsea, hammered it to the right and in. The score is 3-3, and Schweinsteiger is up... He hesitates, staring down Cech, he shoots, and looks to be in, BUT IT DEFLECTS OFF THE POST! Chelsea could very well win this! The decisive penalty is all Drogba's... he coolly steps up... AND IT"S IN! IT"S IN! CHELSEA HAS WON THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOR THE FIRST TIME! I was absolutely ecstatic at the result, my bet was right on after all. That was a good match and a good night for me, I slept soundly knowing that Chelsea had overcome the Bayern Munich, a fitting end for an epic match.

Word Count: 807

Why Did The Hill People Revert?

Why did John's people, the Hill people revert to a primitive way of life?

The Hill people reverted to a primitive way of life because any modern advances, amenities, and technology were scourged from a nuclear-bombed America that suffered a severe nuclear fallout. The Hill people cannot make technological advances involving metals because they have retained radioactive properties. The Hill people are ignorant and do not have knowledge to create elaborate machines because all information about technology was lost to the nuclear bombings, therefore, they cannot reconstruct. In addition, resources that would be needed to return society to its former glory are scarce, and those that are available are radioactive. The Hill peoples' belief system prevented them from rediscovering remains of civilization, harnessing resources lying in the city, and finding the truth about what happened to their ancestors. Should they have discarded their superstitions, the Hill people would have made astonishing findings that would allow them to come out of their primitive shells, and step into an accelerated reconstruction of society, using what they would have found in New York City. Not only would discarding their belief system allow the Hill people to explore NYC freely, but it would also allow productivity of metal salvaging skyrocket, giving the tribe more metal to be used during reconstruction. Due to the destruction of America by nuclear bombs and fallout, the Hill people retrogressed into a society similar to that of a Native-American tribe.

The Interlopers

What is the theme of "The Interlopers"?

The main theme in the short story "The Interlopers" is greed, which almost literally consume the main characters. Greed plays an important part in the story as both Georg and Ulrich fight over the rights to the forest, neither of them willing to share it with the other. Ulrich is considered greedy due to the fact that he wants to keep all of the game and the forest to himself. Georg may be called greedy because he claims the forest and all the game that it contains as his own property. Greed also is a significant theme because it is the indirect cause of Ulrich and Georg's deaths. Out of greed, spite, and hatred, the two men set out in the forest to kill one another, yet they are too greedy for the others life to notice a large tree crashing down on them. If it had not been for their greed, they would not have been trapped under the tree and eaten by wolves. The greed in this scenario eats away at the characters to their death.

Mr. Bemis and a post-apocalyptic Earth

What should people fear the most in a post-apocalyptic world?

In a post-apocalyptic situation, people should fear lack of food, water, shelter, medical attention, bandits, and zombies. In the case of Henry Bemis, he is lucky enough to be supplied with enough food to last him a lifetime. Although this may not be true, as in the case of a bomb explosion, food and nourishment are likely to be obliterated. The survivors of a bomb detonation powerful to destroy everything on Earth were actually happen, it is extremely unlikely that one would be able to find anything to sustain life. Henry also finds that he can smoke all the cigarettes that he wants, but when he would eventually suffer from lung cancer, there would be no doctors (probably) to help him. Because there would be a lack of people with medical knowledge, even a scratch could prove fatal if unattended. Furthermore, any apocalypse survivors with health issues would not last long due to the fact that they cannot get treatment for their ailments. In the case that the world does go -kaboom!- and there are survivors they should be afraid that they do not have the means to feed or hydrate themselves, and they may die without medial assistance or a group of bandits aren't being too nice.

UEFA Europa League Finals

The Europa League Cup, is there a more prestigious trophy? Yes, there is, but that will be for another time. The UEFA Europa League Trophy was awarded this year to Club Atlético de Madrid in a dazzling 3-0 victory over Athletic Club de Bilbao. The match was indeed a sight to behold, Radamel Falcao finding net twice, and his teammate Diego Ribas da Cunha following up with a finesse shot in the bottom right corner of the goal.

The game started off strong for the Atlético side, with Falcao scoring beautifully against Iraizoz, beating two defenders. The possession game was rather one-sided, with Atlético dominating most of the first half, secured by another strike by Falcao. Young Radamel's second goal was by his own means, with a pull back that fooled everyone, and with no challengers, he easily buried it into the net. Athletic put up a fight, having a couple chances crushed by the mighty Thibaut Courtois.

The second half followed suit just as the first one, but the possession between the two teams was horrendous. The ball flew box-to-box, no one team having a definite control over the other. The breakthrough for for a dull second half was during the 85th minute, when a marvelous run by Diego ended with the ball past Iraizoz. The red-and-whites would cruise through the remainder of the game to win the cup for the second time in three years, a performing like the professionals that they are. It is rather a shame for Bilbao, their Cinderella story coming to a close, they did after all beat the likes of Manchester United, which was no easy feat mind you. They were able to prevail until the final match, where they hung their heads in shameful sorrow, tears streaming from their eyes because they failed to win the cup. In the end, kudos to Atlético on their win, and I tip my hat to Marcelo Bielsa for training such a talented Bilbao side.

Word Count: 329

Bryson's Junk Food Irony

Explain the irony of Bryson's  junk food experience

The irony of Bryson's junk food experience is that he was eager to try all the junk foods that he could carry, but after he bought and consumed the food, he found that he became very sick of it. "I longed for artificial bacon bits, melted cheese in a shade of yellow unknown to nature, and creamy chocolate fillings, sometimes all in the same product." His enthusiastic attitude towards unhealthy snack foods is the main cause he would come to despise junk food at the end of his experience. The interesting part to this story is that his wife actually lets him buy the junk food, but for the purpose of teaching him a lesson that consuming too much junk foods is a bad idea. "I spent weeks working my way through the symphony of junk food, and it was all awful. Every bit of it." What was once enthusiasm had turned into bitter resentment for junk food, and having to eat it all taught the lesson that unhealthy foods should only be eaten in moderation. After learning from his mistakes, Bryson makes an attempt to eat healthy foods again in order to rid his mouth of any distasteful traces of junk food. It is ironic to read that Bryson had once passionately loved junk foods, but after eating every last toxic morsel, he came to despise them.

Corry's Punishment Open Response

Is Corry's punishment cruel and unusual?

Yes, Corry's punishment is horribly cruel because his sentence leaves him with no one to interact with. Not a single soul is allowed to visit him, save for the resupplying crew, but even so, one can suffer greatly from loneliness. If I put myself in Corry's shoes, I know I would literally die from not being able to pass time with a companion, not to mention the absence of close acquaintances and loved ones would be horribly mind-punishing. Even those who normally lead solitary lives may grieve at the fact that they will see no other forms of life on a sandy rock, floating in the middle of space, and knowing that they will be stuck there forever is even worse! Corry's punishment is so torturous that he even contemplates suicide as a way out of his miserable existence. I do not blame Corry for thinking like this, as it would be excruciatingly painful on the heart to know that everything you once knew and loved has been taken away from you until you die, and no person should ever go through that experience. I cannot even contemplate why anybody would ever decide to force another human to live in solitary confinement as Corry had to, a sentence exceedingly worse than the crime, and a sentence as such is an injustice. Of course Corry's punishment is cruel, due to the fact that one can go insane and even die without anyone to interact with.