...October Sky Marion Eady The film October Sky (1999), directed by Joe Johnson is based on a true story of Homer Hickman ( a coal miners son) who is inspired to build a rocket after the Russian launch of the first artificial satellite (Sputnik) into orbit. The film definitely focuses on the course theme of being a social outcast. This is explored in the film through three people, John Hickman (Homers Father), the town of Coalwood and Mr.Turner (Homers principle). Firstly, John Hickman, father of Homer Hickman and a coal miner at the Coalwood mines in West Virginia, socially outcasts his son. Why? Because John doesn’t agree with his son building a rocket. This is explored through Homers father getting in multiple fights with his son. John called Homer many hurtful words for example a minis and a thief. John never wanted to go watch Homers rocket launch, he never agreed with anything that Homer wanted to do. Homer’s father wanted him to work in a coal mine not build rockets. Homer’s father is thrilled when Homer decides to go work in the coal mine after John gets hurt at work. Homer decides to quit school, quits making rockets and go into the coal mine. After John is out of the hospital and is able to go back to work, Homers mother want him to go back to school. Homer tells him mom that he’s not going back to school and John agrees with Homer. Although John is thrilled that Homer quit building rockets, the family is finally happy and everything is good, Homer decides...
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...The film is set in Coalwood, West Virginia in the year 1957. The coal mine is the town's largest employer and almost every man living in the town works in the mines. John Hick, the mine superintendent, loves his job and hopes that his boys, Jim and Homer, will one day join him in his mine (“Plot”). When it appears that Jim will receive a football scholarship to attend college, this leaves Homer to fulfill his father's dream, although his mother, Elsie, hopes for more for her son. In October, news of the Soviet Union's rocket launch of Sputnik 1 reaches Coalwood (“Plot”). As the townspeople gather outside the night of the broadcast, they see the satellite orbit across the sky. Filled with awe and a belief that this may be his chance out of Coalwood,...
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...The pinewood derby starts with Don Murphy, Cub Master for Pack 280C in 1953. Don Murphy wanted to create a new father-son Cub Scout activity he could do with his 10 year old son who was too young to race in the Soap Box Derby, which requires the boy to drive a home made car down a hill. Don's young son couldn't wait 2 years to race in the Soap Box Derby, so "Dad" Murphy wanted to invent another activity to do with his son and the younger boys in his Cub Scout Pack. The ideas started percolating in Don Murphy's mind. His dedication to family values and Cub Scouting ideals, drove him, as stated in the quote above, to develop the idea of racing miniature pinewood derby cars down a track. He just needed to figure out a basic kit for these cars and design a track to race them on. Years after Don created the concept of the derby car, boy scouts around the world still hold derby competitions mostly for fun but competiveness does get involved. Parts List: • Saw • Derby car kit o Wooden block o Four Wheels o Four Axels • Sand paper • Paint • Carving tools • Plastic Engine • Plastic Spoiler • Plastic Exhaust • Plastic Roll Cage • Graphite • Lead • Hammer • Markers • Pencil Rules and Regulation: Wheel bearings, washers, and bushings are prohibited. The car shall not ride on springs. Only official Cub Scout Grand Prix Pinewood Derby wheels and axles are permitted. Only dry lubricant is permitted. Details, such as steering wheel and driver are permissible as long as these details...
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...Homer Hickam lives a coal mining town, where he is expected to take after his father and become and coal miner. However, when Homer sees the Sputnik satellite in space, he is inspired to build his own. With no support from his family and classmates, Homer ask the school nerd, Quentin to help him build rockets. Together with Homer’s friends, Roy Lee and O’Dell, the four of them team up and build homemade rockets, testing them in an empty area away from town. The boys get support from their teacher, Miss Riley, who informs them of the science fair and getting scholarships if they win. After many failed attempts, they finally get some success, and the local paper writes a story about them. However, the “Rocket Boys” as they are known as, get...
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...The third installment of Homer Hickman’s memoir entitles Sky of Stone, dictates the struggles of a small town boy returning home after experiencing the vastly different environment of higher education. Sonny’s summer of 1961 has a vastly different plan than the one he had imaged, lazing around the hot North Carolina beaches, strolling for girls and having the summer of his life. Instead he finds himself back in Coalwood, West Virginia, doing what he vowed he would never do. As mining coal proves to be more than he bargained for, with long and tolling days, he finds himself changing physically and mentally, caring more and more about the people around him and his hometown. Sonny is dedicated to earning his way, making it back to college in the fall,...
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...Chongwen Yang Robin Stewart AE 20C 2015/1/15 Movie Essay Teamwork is an action that several people do a specified work instead of doing by one single individual. With the help of teamwork, every team member has an appointed goal to focus on in order to increase the efficiency of whole work. The movie October Sky , which is directed by Joe Johnston, shows the teamwork of 4 high school students who become inspired to learn how to build rockets and get success in the National Science Fair. The main character Homer dreams of launching a rocket ,which obeys his father's wish as being a miner in a mining town called Coalwood. His high school teacher Miss Riley encourages Homer to follow his heart and do his best to finish his yearning rocket. At the end, Homer and his team win the prize and get college scholarships. In the real life, teamwork is also important to be applied to solve many problems. A few years ago, my friends and I worked on a group project about photosynthesis. We were required to research how photosynthesis worked and made data report. So 2 team members worked on recording the data, and another team member and I worked on finding the theory of photosynthesis from books and internet. Because of appropriate arrangement of every member's work, we finished the project very quickly. In conclusion, teamwork is necessary to people's daily lives. There are three benefits of teamwork: teamwork can make...
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...The movie October Sky contains some interesting philosophical content. The movie takes place in West Virginia in the town of Coalwood in 1957. The town has a coal mine, which employs most of the men who live there. John Hickam is the foreman at the coal mine. John has two sons, and he intends for them both to work in the coal mine. One of his sons, Jim, gets a football scholarship. The other son, Homer, becomes interested in Rockets. In the movie, Homer overcomes many obstacles in order to launch rockets and get to science faire. John Hickam has a very limited world view. He thinks that the most important thing in life is working in the mine. He only seems to value people in as far as they can work in the mine. To John, any other profession is somewhat frivolous. Homer Hickam seems to be a normal teenager with normal ambitions until his world-view is turned upside-down by the sight of the Sputnik satellite streaking across the October sky. Homer decides that he wants to build and launch rockets. Logic – Homer uses logic in order to gain knowledge of rocket science, so that he can make a rocket. First, he reads science fiction comics and reads about Wernher Von Braun, who is the German rocket scientist. Then Homer meets the nerd in his school who knows about rockets. Then, Homer gets some books on science and math and teaches himself. Then Homer and his friends use trial and error to test the rockets, until they make one that launches correctly. Homer also uses the logic...
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...Boys teaches the readers about working hard to achieve one’s goals. Mr. Hickam had to push through many boundaries and challenges for him to become the person he is today. He has set an example for the students in this room and for students all across the country. His perseverance helped him achieve his goal of becoming a NASA engineer. If the students in this room, including myself, use that as an exemplar to shape our lives, we could become amazing and important people. A major theme in Rocket Boys was perseverance. Throughout the entirety of the book Mr. Hickam had a multitude of obstacles obstructing him, but he had pushed through. Quote Yes, it is true that a few of his relationships were suppressed to achieve the success that his rockets had. One example of that would be his relationship with his father. During the whole book, Mr. Hickam and his father had a very difficult bond. True, there was a time where his father had supported him, but, and especially at the start of his rocket building process, his father had opposed his journey in the beginning because he did not understand the importance of the subject. No matter, Mr. Hickam had overcome that adversity. If we use Mr. Hickam's drive to propel ourselves in each of our unique lives, we will go far. He had pushed through life even with the obstacles hampering him from achieving his goal. Suppose we, as people of the commonwealth, had faced adversity. Nobody knows how we would react, but this book has set...
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...This case study was written by Sravanthi Vemulawada, under the direction of R Muthukumar, IBS, Hyderabad. It is intended to be used as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. The case was compiled from generalised experiences. License to use IBS Hyderabad for Sem I, class of 2014 | | 2009, IBS Case Development Center. All rights reserved.To order copies, call +91-08417-236667/68 or write to IBS Case Development Center, IFHE Campus, Donthanapally, Sankarapally Road, Hyderabad 501 504, Andhra Pradesh, India or email: info@ibscdc.org www.ibscdc.org | QM0006Customer Satisfaction with DTH Services in IndiaSince Cable TV entered India in 1992, entertainment on television has grown rapidly. Out of the 71 million TV households in 1999, 32 million had access to Cable TV. However, along with the soaring viewership, complaints on quality also increased. Digitalisation of Cable TV took a new form when Direct-To-Home (DTH) was launched in India in 2003.The DTH service is an encrypted transmission. It is a digital satellite service that provides television services direct to subscribers anywhere within the country. Unlike the regular cable connection, the Set- Top-Box (STB) decodes the encrypted transmission. Since it makes use of wireless technology, programmes are sent to the subscriber’s television direct from the satellite. This eliminates the need for cables and cable...
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...taste. The “seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness” (1) captures the atmosphere of autumn in England. Autumn is a time for the cool fog that often permeates the morning dew as the sun rises. The richly colored leaves of yellow, orange, and red and the cornucopia of the harvest symbolize the maturation of autumn. An abundance of apples on “mossed cottage-trees” (5), “fruit with ripeness to the core” (6), and “plump...hazel shells” (7) tempt the taste buds with an array of succulence that cannot compare to any other season. Autumn is a time to savor the colors, the crisp morning air, and the sweet fruits of its harvest. The first stanza also uses personification to convey the rapport between autumn and the sun as an intimate relationship between two friends. Autumn is a “Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; / Conspires with him how to load and bless” (2-3) the fruit that tempts the taste buds. This intimate friendship also produces the fall flowers, which give the...
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...Australia’s indigenous people, the world’s oldest astronomers There is growing evidence that aboriginal people may be the oldest astronomers in the world. They used many astronomical existences to interpret cultural ideas and sustain livelihood. Most aboriginal tribes used astronomy. The rising of a star or constellation told them when to change food sources. E.g. When the constellation Lyra disappears in October, the Mallee-fowl laid eggs, which were collected. The Yolngu people tracked the complex movement of Venus to predict when to hold the Morning Star Ceremony. They knew a lot about astronomy, but not as we know it today. Hunting was a large factor of aboriginal life. The Torres Strait Islanders used the Tagai constellation to organise fishing and farming cycle, as well as rituals and social activities. Aboriginals knew Dingoes would start mating and producing puppies when Orion rose early in the winter morning, it was also the best time to catch fish. The Aborigines aligned emu engravings with the “Emu in the Sky” constellation, so they knew when emus were laying eggs. They used Scorpius to travel from one clan to another, they would select a pointer star to follow when traveling at night....
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...actually signed a petition to have Vincent removed from town. He wasn’t accepted by the people around him. Vincent Van Gogh was a very talented artist with a lot of pieces. He made many great works of art to show the world. Even though some of his neighbors may have felt he was crazy, he was able to get inspiration from many different scenes and objects. Van Gogh was able to leave behind him, many different types of art and many different art works that can be enjoyed by everyone. Although Van Gogh was practically a self taught artist, he did very well with what he discovered for himself. He was able to believe in himself and grow to his own ability. Yes Van Gogh had financial help from his brother, but that just shows tat they had a loving relationship. It means that his brother supported his career decision. I believe that people will remember him today because his work is so natural and it is easy to relate to. His art work has a sense of the real world that people have lived in or wish to live in now. Anytime someone can relate to something, they are more likely to appreciate the thought or gesture. Vincent Van Gogh was an outstanding artist and his work will be in memory for a long time to come. Vincent Van Gogh painted,...
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...considers change in The Wild Swans At Coole In your answer, explore the effects of language, imagery and verse form, and consider how this poem relates to other poems by Yeats that you have studied. In The Wild Swans at Coole Yeats uses a memory of his youth, caused by his viewing of the swans before him, to contemplate how his relationship with Maud Gonne has changed over time, as well as how he himself has changed. He opens the poem with the line ‘The trees are in their autumn beauty,’ emphasising the word ‘autumn’ to suggest things coming to an end, the end of youth and the approach of death. This is reflected in the following line with the word ‘dry’ as well as the phrase ‘October twilight’ in line 3, creating a mysterious setting, conveying the gradual effects of old age. This imagery of decay and autumn contrasts to the ‘brimming water’ of line 5, suggesting playfulness and youthful vibrancy. Throughout the poem, Yeats makes this contrast between youth and old age—the declarative and monosyllabic phrase of stanza 3 ‘And now my heart is sore’ emphasises his loneliness, caused by the pain of his past memories of his relationship with Maud Gonne, in 1893, as well as her repeated rejections of his many proposals. This loneliness contrasts to the peace and consistency of the swans, who can also be seen to represent social order, conveyed in stanza four, ‘Passion or conquest, wander where they will/ Attend upon them still’. Yeats emphasises the freedom of the...
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...Customer Satisfaction with DTH Services in India Ref.No.: QM0006 Customer Satisfaction with DTH Services in India Since Cable TV entered India in 1992, entertainment on television has grown rapidly. Out of the 71 million TV households in 1999, 32 million had access to Cable TV. However, along with the soaring viewership, complaints on quality also increased. Digitalisation of Cable TV took a new form when Direct-To-Home (DTH) was launched in India in 2003. The DTH service is an encrypted transmission. It is a digital satellite service that provides television services direct to subscribers anywhere within the country. Unlike the regular cable connection, the SetTop-Box (STB) decodes the encrypted transmission. Since it makes use of wireless technology, programmes are sent to the subscriber’s television direct from the satellite. This eliminates the need for cables and cable infrastructure. DTH service is particularly effective in remote areas, where cables and even normal television services are poor or nonexistent. These services provide the finest picture and sound quality. Like the quality of any modern movie theatre, DTH also provides the best quality surround sound. Although DTH services were proposed in India way back in 1996, it was not permitted until 2003. The government rejected approval to DTH due to concerns over national security and cultural invasion. To prevent the implementation of DTH service, even the cable operators had heavily lobbied the ...
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...Themes in “I Spy” (Class generated October 10th, 2014) If you are using these as ideas for your journal entry #2, please read them critically – they are peer responses and have not been checked by me for accuracy. You also must use original thought, so do not copy! Subject | What about it? | Evidence: | Illusion | The son’s illusion of his farther led to resentment until he saw the unseen side of his father | -calls dad “unreal” Does not love himAt the end he wants to say he loves him | Love | | | Family | Despite any conflicts that may have arisen in the past, there still exists an unbreakable bond between family members that ties them together. | “It was as if a familiar photograph had stepped from the frame to reproach him with neglect.” | Relationship | The relationship of him and his father is tense | “his father was unreal to him, a wraith, pale, thin, indefinite“…left even punishment to his mother”“There was a note unfamiliar to Charlie in the undecided voice.” | Secrets | | | Similarities | | | Awakening/maturity | | | Regret | Regret can make one love things not loved before. | -“But he did not love his father.”-“Oh God, don’t let me be caught.”-“To go down and tell him he loved him.” | Perspective | The perspective of the child is innocent/vanilla. He doesn’t understand everything, so he has biased thoughts about his father. (Child’s perspective) | “ Charlie had no doubt, but he did not love his father…”“His father held him tight...
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