Articles written by John Hummel

What is Helium

About me - John Hummel

Hello everybody, glad you could make it. Thought I'd share a few words about myself.
I live just outside of Vancouver BC and am proud to call myself a Canadian. I was born here, raised here, and I hope to die here. I can't imagine anywhere else to be my home.

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Creative Writing > Memoirs Testimonies: How to stop smoking: 1 of 39
Forget pills, gum, or patches; in my estimation the easiest and most effective way to quit smoking is to change your mindset about the noxious, deadly product that you are using. A person must open their eyes and their mind to see cigarettes for what they really are: toxic, wasteful, and harmful little things that have absolu... More..
Pets & Animals > Pet Ownership Which makes a better pet: A dog or a cat?: 7 of 207
IT'S REIGNING DOGS!No question about it, dogs win, paws down!I knew as soon as I picked up my dog for the first time as a puppy that she was the one I would be taking home. I held her up, she licked my face, and we bonded instantly. Are you going to get that from a kitten? No, they'll look your way for a few moments at best a... More..
Creative Writing > Short Stories Short stories: Dark stories: 30 of 662
"Ooooh."Sylvain 'Spidey' McAffree raised his hand to his face and rubbed his eyes. his head felt like it was being squeezed."Gotta' stop that. I'm not twenty anymore;" he chastised himself before swinging his legs off of the couch and standing up. Sylvain plopped right back down again, his head swimming. He lit a smoke instea... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Natural Disasters How to prepare your home and family for when disaster strikes: 1 of 19
STRIKE BACK AT DISASTERA major earthquake strikes, damaging your home. What to do? Fire has trapped your family upstairs. Can they escape? A hurricane's coming! What now? Disasters evolve quickly but there are steps we can take to better prepare ourselves.First, become educated about the type of disaster your home is suscepti... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Conservation Will there be wars over the ownership of water?: 3 of 50
I strongly suspect that there will eventually be war over the ownership of water, and with the ongoing crisis in the Darfur region, you could say that to some extent it's already happened.Backed by the Sudanese military, nomadic Arab tribes have tried to move south in search of grazing land for their herds. The land in the no... More..
Creative Writing > Short Stories Short stories: Family memories: 13 of 127
ASHES TO ASHESThere, what was that?Eileen Cleghorn walked over to the fireplace, careful of where she stepped. A small bookshelf stood next to it, still in surprisingly good shape, considering...On the middle shelf sat a box fashioned from wood and brass, the lid held shut with a tiny lock.She lifted the box and pressed it to... More..
Arts & Humanities > Citizen Journalism How expansion of vocabulary aids citizen journalism: 1 of 7
A good vocabulary is essential when reporting as a citizen journalist in order to effectively communicate with your audience. After all, if you can't draw then in early on, what incentive do they have to peruse the rest of your piece?Using varied and descriptive words whenever possible allows the writer to pull the reader int... More..
Relationships & Family > Gay & Lesbian Issues Marriage should be a sacred institution between only a woman and a man: 49 of 317
Rather than the gender of the participants in question, the real criteria for marriage should be whether the two people involved actually love one another. Nowadays, men and women are too quick to jump into marriage without giving much consideration to what it actually means or what kind of commitment it requires to be succes... More..
Education > Teachers & Administrators Why school uniforms don't work: 2 of 11
The idea behind school uniforms is to promote a feeling of equality and unity amongst the students, an idea that sounds good in theory but in reality is not.By having students appear identical through their attire we are not fostering equality but rather we are fostering conformity. a sentiment that says; 'if you don't look l... More..
Health & Fitness > Alternative Therapies Alternative medicine: The benefits of supplements for 30- and 40-year olds: 7 of 37
We hear it all the time; forty is the new thirty! Thirty is the new twenty! Unfortunately this can also apply where the opposite is true, where twenty is the new thirty and thirty is the new forty, if we don't take care of ourselves properly by ensuring that our bodies get the proper nutrients that they need to remain hale an... More..