Reading Great Books 5

Schools out!

2007-06-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

Hope you guys had a good year at KHS! English was fun!

Have a great summer!!!

Erin

ERIN

2007-06-06T23:59:00.004-07:00

I'm Erin and I am lake_wobegon

Whats in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet!

2007-06-06T23:59:00.003-07:00

Kassie!!!!!!!
yes i am Stella_in_color and forever will be!

i am

2007-06-06T23:59:00.002-07:00

Nathan

Reveal

2007-06-06T23:59:00.001-07:00

If you don't already know... Kegan

I am

2007-06-06T23:59:00.000-07:00

Matt L.

I LIED.

i am shawn if you didn't know.

WHO IS?

2007-06-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

Phasma
or however you spell it.

I am

2007-06-06T12:01:00.001-07:00

Chelsea....=)

identity

2007-06-06T11:59:00.000-07:00

I'm Chelsea.....=)

I Am

2007-06-06T11:58:00.001-07:00

Sarah

O.O

2007-06-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

Who DOeSN'T KNOW WHO I AM!?!?1/!?!??!!??!?

Name

2007-06-06T11:41:00.001-07:00

Jong-in

LACY

2007-06-06T11:37:00.000-07:00

ITS ME LaCy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Identities

2007-06-06T11:31:00.000-07:00

I am Daniel C.
Pretty sure you guys all knew that.

I'm bored

2007-06-06T11:29:00.001-07:00

How about you?

Like another two hours in here.

Better than taking a hard final I guess.

Mscascgascbasc

2007-06-06T11:28:00.001-07:00

MY NAMEEE is SETH

Guess Who!

2007-06-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

I am Valerie!!!!! :D

i am

2007-06-06T11:23:00.000-07:00

Kylie

Me llamo . . .

2007-06-06T11:22:00.000-07:00

Just in case you didn't know,

I'm Jenny.

No One Knew

2007-06-06T11:21:00.000-07:00

Yeah I know it is suprising but brownboy is Shayan. I had you all fooled.

Wonder Who I Am?

2007-06-06T11:20:00.001-07:00

I thought that I did a pretty good job at keeping who I was from everyone but I thought that I would share who I am....

Ready...
I am Caroline

There I shared. I hope you all have a great summer.

2007-06-06T11:20:00.000-07:00

IMMMMM JASON! cool man

For those who don't know...

2007-06-06T11:15:00.000-07:00

I'm Jessica, though, I would think that's obvious, I hold my books up, but whatever!

guess who??

2007-06-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

Hey if you did not already know this it is katie. ok then

The Duality of Man

2007-06-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

Well this is probably going to be my last and final blog so ill try to make it good.

Over the course of the spring semester I have read many books. A whole lot more than I would normally read. I read some really good ones and few that were just so-so. Surprisingly, one thing that kept on popping up in my readings was the duality of man. The duality of man basically means that there is good and bad in all of us. It’s kind of like in movies where you see the two little guys pop up on the shoulders of people. One is good and one is bad. Both are trying to get you to do something whether it’s good or bad. Deciding on what to do is the struggle to resist the bad and do the good. But sometimes we, as humans, find that really hard, and we tend to, sometimes, do the wrong thing. It is everywhere, not only in books but also in real life. It’s an issue that we find ourselves constantly facing.

One book I read, I found the duality of man emphasized. In Cold Blood was written by Truman Capote and based on true events. It was the first book that I read in this class. The book was about the gruesome killings of a plain ordinary family in Kansas. It followed the killers before and after they killed the family, all the way up to the trial and persecution. There were two killers: Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. Dick was the mean, insensitive one (the one I figured would have killed the family), while Perry was the nice, sensitive one that appeared as if he wouldn’t hurt a fly. But Perry Smith is the one who killed the family; he is the one who gave in to his bad side. After the police had caught the two killers Truman Capote became really good friends with Perry and found out that he was a perfectly normal guy. Nice, good natured. That’s the part that got me. Just an ordinary guy was capable of killing a family of four that never did anything to him; he didn’t even know the family, he had never seen them before. But he still had the capability to do something that awful. Even though I know that I would never do a thing like that it makes me think, and makes me aware that I have the capability to do that. But everybody has a good and bad side to them, and I guess that Perry gave in to his bad side.

Another book that I read was The Kite Runner. It was written by Khaled Hosseini, it was based on his life. In the book he didn’t give in to his bad side by doing something, but by not doing something. One day he walked, unnoticed, in on his best friend/ servant being brutally beaten up by a neighbor hood bully. Instead of going in and stopping them, he just sat back and watched it happen. He betrayed his friend by not helping him, because he was afraid that the same would happen to him. Plus in the story it says that his best friend always stood up for him and was always loyal. I don’t understand how he could just stay in the shadows and watch. But I guess that people are different and are ok with it. That part really bothered me about the book.

Finally I would like to close with relating this topic to few stories we read in class and the modern world. In Romeo and Juliet, after Romeo witnessed Mercrutio being killed by Tybalt, he then, in a violent rage, killed Tybalt. He gave in to the bad side, and did what, at the time, seemed like the most reasonable thing to do. There are sometimes that I sympathize and understand why some people did the wrong thing but for good reasons. For example, in To Kill a Mockingbird Boo Radley is this innocent human being, that is very nice, but then he kills Bob Ewell, after he saw him attacking Jem and Scout. This guy is quite possibly one of the nicest people you will ever read about, but he is capable of doing such a horrible thing. I feel that it is justified though. He saved the lives of Scout and Jem. Spiderman three is another good example of the duality of man. In the movie he has to decide whether or not to wear the black suit. It is evil but it feels good and right at the time. But in the end he would have regretted it. The military is a great example of modern day duality of man. They say to join the military and serve your country. As an American, of course you feel like it’s your duty to go and serve your country and protect it. But at the other end you may end up killing another human being. Is it worth it? Is it justified then? It’s totally your own opinion. Tell me what you think.

Duality of man is a huge controversy and it all depends on your own judgment. I sit at my computer and complain about what other people chose to do. For instance in the Kite Runner I say that he should have helped his friend but also I wasn’t in the situation so I cant really complain about it. Duality is a very hard thing to act and decide on if you’re torn between two things. I just hope that I am never in a situation where I have to make a serious decision, like one stated above.

Well that was my final blog. I hope that you enjoyed (it took long enough, so you better have, just kidding). I hope that everybody has a great summer and I hope to see you all next year.

AIDS

2007-06-05T18:41:00.000-07:00

Thembi is a teen in Africa, who has AIDS. AIDS is a really big deal. For her life, she has been shunned and just really under prejudice. People treat her basically as though she is a leper. Her husband is a support to her. However, living in a poverty stricten land, she feels bad for her parents for raising someone who ends up having AIDS. She really has trouble telling her dad. However, many others in her community also will have AIDS. Most probably do not even know or realize it. For Thembi's story go to http://www.aidsdiary.org/

As many of you may know, AIDS (Acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is a growing pandemic that has recently skyrocketed in numbers. Along with Thembi, about 38.6 million people are infected with the syndrome. A third of those people reside in South Africa. In fact, a 15-50% of people have HIV in the southern part of Africa. It has caused the life expectancy of South Africa to drop from 63, 1993, to just 48. In the US, .5-1% of the population has HIV. 25 million people have died since the 1980's, 2.5-3.5 million people have died from AIDS in just 2005. These giant numbers have been noticed, especially through the media, because it is a big deal.

AIDS is an evolved form of HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus). Most people have HIV for about a decade, and as soon as they develop AIDS, they are expected to live for less than a year. It also makes people more likely to develop other diseases, such as CMV retinitis, which will result in becoming blind. HIV is incredibly easy to spread. It is spread through bodily fluids, including tears and saliva. It can even be spread from mother to her child, during pregnancy and breastfeeding. It is most often spread through sexual intercourse and could be spread through use of needles. If you need to use a needle, be sure to use a new, clean, and sterile needle. Also, Even if you plan on staying abstinent, it is a good idea to get test for HIV and while you're at it, STDs (Sexually transmitted disease).

Although, there is no cure for AIDS, there is therapy available to those with HIV. Being a virus, HIV incurable. However, through therapy of medicine, the result of HIV can be changed. That means you can avoid AIDS, even when you have HIV. However, one type of HIV, HIV-1,although the more frequent, is hard to vaccinate/redirect.

Other good sites are:
Medscape (good site): http://www.medscape.com/hiv
Teen Aids (for our age group):http://www.teenaids.org/
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aids
World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/en/

Forensic Science

2007-06-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

If anyone knows me well, then they know that I love watching C.S.I.Here's a link to the tv show's site http://www.darkhorizons.com/tv/csi.php So I decided to try and read the C.S.I. books, the last one I read was called Sin City, it takes place in Las Vegas. But I'll start with giving you guys some research on crime scene investigation first.Here is the definition of forensic science from wikipedia "Forensic science (often shortened to forensics) is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to the legal system."In other words it is about using science to prove things in the legal system.

I think my favorite part of forensic science is impression evidence, such as fingerprinting, and shoe marks. Scientists compare the ridges of the skin on fingertips, palms, and toes to determine if the print is matched with a person, or to identify a person.The earliest fingerprint used for determining identity was in the 7th century from a lender to a person he was lending to. There's a lot of subcategories of forensic science. Another one that I think is interesting is forensic anthropology, using the skeleton of a human to determine information. Some people have posted about the effect of drugs, and that has it's own category, forensic toxicology, to study the effects of drugs and poisons. Forensic toxicologists can use blood, urine, and even your hair to determine if you have done drugs, and approsimately when.

When I was looking up this information I found this link to see how much you know about forensic science, I thought it was pretty cool, I didn't know as much as I thought I did!http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz761538ba5c0.html

Be Glad To Live Today!!!!

2007-06-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

Imagine, ladies, that you have been married for about five months, and are now expecting your first child. Not only that, but also all your belongings went to your groom when you were married. Your husband is how much older than you? Did you say ten, or did I hear fifteen? Now, you’re expected to cook, clean, sew, and laundry, and feed the animals on your farm.

In the 1800’s, women were often times married in between 13 and 14, and not only that, but if you weren’t married by 25, it would be a social humiliation, and you would be considered an old maid! Once a woman was married, she would lose ownership of everything she had, including future children and even herself. After marriage, you belonged to you husband. They lost control of inheritances, property, jewelry, everything!

Another aspect of the marriage a young girl was forced into a marriage made solely for money purposes, was the dictatorial way of husbands over their wives. It was legal for a man to abuse his wife. Now, what is the point of this? I mean, seriously, what on Earth is the point of beating your wife, all a man would do is make her nervous, which is going to make her ungraceful and clumsy, which, in turn will make the man look bad, thus, only hurting the man’s social graces! Now, you tell me, what, exactly, s the point of that?!?!?!

After marriage, the only way to gain back what you’d given to your husband was if you became a widow. Lovely, right? Ironically, soon after you were widowed, you were expected to marry again, a.s.a.p., which then meant giving up your stuff again! In some states, it was even proposed that a law be created to force a widow to marry before a certain time frame.

Alright, now, you should have learned you role in society a long time ago, but now your husband’s got to teach you. (It has now become his role to keep the reins on you pulled tightly!) First, you are not allowed to vote. Second, you are to focus on housework and childcare. However, the children you will have with your husband you shall have no guardianship over, understood? Now, your husband (the man as the head of the house) will hold the highest position in your house, then, you will be next to him, then the children, and last any servants you may have. Your husband is more-than-likely going to view you as a mere source of human life.

You, young bride, must act your part. Men consider us naturally weaker, squeamish, and unable to do muscle working jobs, though how they expect us do their laundry is beyond me! Also, men think us unable to do any intellectual developing. (Though how we could when they only allow us to go through with an elementary learning other than domestic abilities, and sometimes college, is beyond me!) If your husband does allow you to work (which is very unlikely), you will most-likely only work as a seamstress, and that’s it, if you hadn’t married, you might have run a boarding house, but it’s a little too late for that, isn’t it? Don’t expect to have any sort of life after this, because it belongs to your husband, and you have to dedicate it to him, and doing your best at not embarrassing him, and that’s all there is to it, so you’ll just have to get used to it. If this life doesn’t sound appealing, be glad you were born 200 years after all of this. Be glad you live today!

In a book I read earlier this year, Gone With The Wind, Scarlett O’Hara had troubles with doing as she was expected. She married multiple times, messed up in each of them, and took over her husband’s work, at mills and a little shop, all of which were considered wrong. She was all but shunned from her city in Atlanta, Georgia, and there were only two people who could really grasp what she was going through, and support her. One of her three husband’s, Rhett Butler, and a new-found friend, Melanie Hamilton. Rhett started her on her streak of bad reputation, and Melly was just there through it all. Scarlett did what she had to do in the times of the Civil War, and she wasn’t about to let the people who whispered unforgivingly behind her back stop her from supporting her family and friends. Though, for every choice, there is a consequence, and this one was being the society outcast!

Recourses

Laws for Marriage

The McDougal Littell "The Americans" 1783-2001

My mom's notes (she's a teacher)!

If were born in the colonial times, in the west, it wouldn't be all that uncommon for a women to be able to protect her house and family with a gun, not to say she was a master mind at gunman ship, but she would know how!

Women in Society!!! (This was one of my favorite sites!!!)

My Best Blog Ever...Maybe

2007-06-05T15:15:00.000-07:00

I have had a hard time figuring out what to blog about for my best blog ever. It took me awhile to think about, but I think I finally found my topic.

I decided to blog about this book I read a couple months ago called "Pride&Prejudice" by Jane Austen. The book begins when Mr.Bingley, a wealthy and single man, moves into a large estate called Netherfield in Hertfordshire county, but he doesn't come alone. Mr.Bingley's friend Mr.Darcy has accompanied him.

One day at a local ball Mr.Bingley and Mr.Darcy meet the Bennet family which consists of Mr.&Mrs.Bennet, Elizabeth, Jane, Lydia, Kitty, and Mary Bennet. Right when Mr.Bingley see's Jane he falls in love with her and soon she too feels the same. Although Mr.Bingley is kind and charming Mr.Darcy on the other hand is not. Elizabeth finds him too proud after he refuses to dance with her and doesn't talk to anyone for most of the night.

As the days go on Jane and Mr.Bingley's affection grows and Mrs.Bennet starts to suspect a wedding soon, but one day Jane finds out that Mr.Bingley has left for London and he won't be coming back. Jane is crushed and Elizabeth soon suspects that Mr.Darcy played a role in this separation.

When Elizabeth goes on a trip with her aunt and uncle all of her suspicion's and outlooks of Mr.Darcy change when she encounters him at his estate. Elizabeth soon realizes that she is falling for him. When news reaches Mr.Darcy's aunt, Lady Catherine that the two might be getting engaged, she rushes to Elizabeth's home to make sure the news isn't true which it isn't. Lady Catherine does not think Elizabeth is a suitable enough to marry Mr.Darcy. She believes Elizabeth's family isn't wealthy enough and that they aren't very proper. When Elizabeth does not deny being engaged to Mr.Darcy she is furious and leaves in a hurry.

Mr.Darcy confronts Elizabeth after hearing from his aunt and asks Elizabeth if her feelings for him have changed. Elizabeth agrees and they live happily ever after. :)

I loved this book, it put a smile on my face plus the ending was fantastic. Now to tell you all what topic I tied this book in with. During the book they talk a lot about how really rich people should marry someone with the same amount of wealth and position in society. Mr.Darcy and Elizabeth for example were told that they couldn't be married because of wealth in the family. There are plenty of times in the book where they talk about a family's wealth and how no one will want to marry this person because they hardly make 1000 pounds a year. Personally I think that not marrying someone because they don't have enough money is stupid. If your going to marry someone it should be for love and not wealth.

Well that's my best blog post ever. I hope you liked it. What did you all think? Give me your opinions. (: Oh and if you want to see some clips from the movie here is a link: http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/prideandprejudice.html

What Do You Guys Say?...

2007-06-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

How about we continue our blogging and keep it up during the summer just for a fun thing to do. It makes me sad that we become such good friends over the course of the year and then over the summer we all fall apart! We need to stay together! And it would be really cool to see what weve al been up to over the summer! we all pretty much know who we all are and if we "expose ourselfs" then it would be even better so we can post pictures from our vacations and such. So Ms. James as soon as you read this, lets discuss the subject! That would be really cool. By the way, this isn't my final best blog ever that one is titles My Friends... We Are Soaring read it. Its really great. So this is the end, hope everyone has a great summer!!! :-)

Love Stella

Books about drug use, the final painting!

2007-06-05T10:03:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year, I read a book called Jude, This book was one of the most suspenseful and awesome books I’d ever read. I read it on and off and then I picked back up on it during the start of the 4th quarter, and I am so glad I did. The book starts off with Jude in the living room while in the kitchen his father is laying dead. It proceeds to tell the story of Jude, of his father, the drug dealer, and ex-cop getting killed and Jude getting relocated to his mother who he has never met, he proceeds to a new school where he doesn’t fit in, but becomes close friends and the drug line for the popular kids, and when one of the kids OD’s, Jude is in the hole. His mom’s boyfriend persuades him into this plan to get himself caught to help his mom become mayor, 3 years later out of jail, her now husband, Harry, refuses to tell his mom the truth so he sets out with a newfound friend and news reporter to find dirt on Harry, after months of searching, they have found the key, Anna, his mother, finds out the truth and Harry goes to jail, im not going to tell you what the dirt was, because then id be ruining the story :) , but i will link you to the author's website

One of the main topics that’s talked about in this book is the use of drugs and dealing. This topic is something that is dealt with a million times everyday, and frankly, I find it dumb. The highs that these drugs produce are around for nothing but to “make you feel better”? Everyone is searching for that same high while at the same time you are just getting lazier and unhealthier, and with your body getting used to the effects you will never get the same high as your first or second time that you smoked pot, or blew a line of coke or Oxy-cotton etc. I have a lot of friends who have used drugs in the past and most of them either have quit or are trying to, and frankly I feel that it’s a very good thing to do. Check out the CIA drug timeline for more information

On another point, I’m not trying to be a fence-setter, but drugs have done some good things for us, example, all the music that’s enhanced our lives over the years, every single one of them, really high on drugs, but that doesn’t mean that I agree with their use.

Drugs aren’t healthy for your body or mind, many people may use them for the expansion of the mind, but that doesn’t mean that it’s doing you any good. Studies have proven for everything except for Marijuana that all synthetic and natural drugs and or hallucinogens have negative side effects on all the parts of your body, and you can go from a healthy active human to a junkie who lives in the alley down the street. You can die once from smoking just one crack rock, example, Len Bias. Senior college basketball player at Maryland University, Got drafted into the NBA by the Boston Celtics, at a later celebration he tried crack once and died, an entire plentiful life right down the drain, all thanks to a night of celebration gone bad. Look at this website, for more information about Len Bias

This is my opinion on drugs, they aren’t good for you, you can go on without them and you sure as heck don’t need them. A lot of people use illegal drugs, and I’m proud to say I have never tried any illegal drug, because I don’t need to get high. A lot of people I have talked to said they have realized they don’t need them, and they have just as much fun without them. And I’m not trying to say that all people that do drugs are bad, but I’m saying that they just don’t need them, and their harming themselves. Comment your opinion on this topic.

THE FINAL PAINTING!!!! a triple panel piece done by alex grey! Its called the journey of the wounded healer, and it shows the "wounded healer" on his way to become healed and altogether find himself. And for the last time here's Grey's website If you wouldnt mind, tell me some of your opinions about the art. thanks!

A million little pieces

2007-06-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

I'm reading A Million Little Pieces, by James Frey. There was a big controversy about the book after it came out. The book is about James Frey and his experience overcoming an addiction to drugs and alcohol. When the book first came out, James said the whole story was true. The controversy came when, characters in the story came out and said that certain parts didn't happen like he told them. A lot of people have problems with the book because it was such a compelling story, and it gave people who had addictions hope to quit.

Some people don't care if the book was a good story, the author lied and they don't want to read it. There's a site where you can read about other people's opinion about the book and what they think of James Frey lying. http://www.thebookclubsite.com/upload/oprahs-book-club/4-million-little-pieces.html. If you want to learn more about the lies that James Frey made up go here. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0104061jamesfrey1.html This site exposes James Frey.For me the book would have meant so much more if it were true. I still think the book is good it just would have been so much better if it were true. If any of you guys have read it, what is your opinion about James Frey? Also, the main problem I have with it, is he was asked several times if his story was true. Each time he said it was and that he was standing by his decision. He did eventually come out and say he lied. However, I think he should have came out earlier and told the public that he lied. Actualy, I think he shouldn't have ever lied. His book still would have got a lot of credit if he would have just told the truth. Oprah Winfrey had him on her show and if you would like to see what he had to say about lying click http://www.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200601/tows_past_20060126.jhtml.

For those of you who have never heard about A Million Little pieces or the controversy, the book has certain parts were you just feel like crying. There's one chapter where he goes to the dentist. At the dentist he gets 2 root canals and in the book he says he doesn't have any drugs to numb him. This part of the book was proven false with documents. There's more parts where it really made you feel for him....but once you've found out that he lied, you lose respect for him. You guys should check out the book, and see for yourselfs! It's a really good book, even if I have been saying bad things about it. It also makes you realize how hard it is too quit doing drugs. It really made me never want to try drugs. I know a lot of people at are school experiment and do drugs, but it's not for me. This book has taught me a lot about drugs. That sounds weird, but it true.

This was my last, and hopefully best blog post. I hope you guys have a GREAT Summer. I hope to see all of you next year, and some of you during the summer!! English has been fun! This sounds like i'm writing in a year book. haha. okay. Well bye!

not sure this is my best blog..

2007-06-05T09:38:00.000-07:00

A broken nose, missing teeth, a hole in his cheek, and eyes so swollen he can hardly open them. His clothes are "covered with a colorful mixture of spit, snot, urine, vomit and blood." He's on a plane, but he does not know where he's going or where he's come from.

There are so many types of drugs for people to become addicted to these days. One of the books I read this year aloud me to see what drugs can really do to you. You all remember D.A.R.E and how we watched those cheesy videos on how bad drugs were. Well I decided after reading the book "A Million Little Pieces" that I would do some research on all the different kinds of drugs that James Frey (the author of A Million Little Pieces) used.

His most used drug was Alcohol.
Below you see a picture of a 15 year olds brain with and without alcohol.
You can see that the one on the top is A LOT more active and thinking then the one on the bottom.

Alcohol is a depressant. When too much alcohol is consumed in a short period of time, that can result in alcohol poisoning. Alcohol Poisoning's side affects include violent vomiting, which is usually the first symptom of alcohol poisoning. Extreme sleepiness, unconsciousness, difficulty breathing, dangerously low blood sugar, seizures, and even death may result. The book never says that he had poisoning but from all of the side effects, I'm pretty sure that he did. He would be unconscious ALL the time, and throw up consistanly.

A 19-year-old Southern Methodist University student who was found unconscious in a dorm this month died of alcohol poisoning, the Dallas County medical examiner's office said Wednesday.
Jordan Crist's blood alcohol level was 0.4, or five times the .08 legal limit, when he died, according to the medical examiner's office. He's the third SMU student whose death has been linked to either drugs or alcohol since December.

The second drug that James Frey was highly addicted to was crack. Now crack hasn't always been a "bad" drug. As many of you know crack was in Coca-Cola in the early 1900's. A typical serving contained around 60mg of cocaine. Cocaine at first, makes people feel energetic and powerful. The feelings soon wear off, and that makes them quickly become depressed and edgy—and they start really really craving more to get their high back. It is one of the most addictive drugs out there! Cocaine speeds up your heart rate and increases your blood pressure. Your breathing becomes much faster. This kind of stuff can easily lead to heart attacks, strokes, and respiratory failure. Brain seizures, and it lowers your immune system.

In the book "A Million Little Pieces," the first couple of weeks that James Frey was in the hospital to get better he would throw up blood all the time. He would also have these dreams of him taking drugs, he said that it felt so real that when he would wake up he would throw up and he would feel like he was on drugs. This book was very graphic and helped me to realize the dangers of what could happen, and what happens to people everyday. I would recommend this book to everyone in this class.

And since this is my last blog I hope that everyone has a great SUMMER

Crazy News

2007-06-04T19:00:00.000-07:00

Phyco Squirrel

Letter carriers occasionally have to deal with angry dogs or maybe even a spider's nest in a mailbox, but a mean squirrel? Barb Dougherty, a 30-year Postal Service employee, said she was attacked and bitten Monday by a squirrel while delivering mail in Oil City, about 75 miles north of Pittsburgh."It was a freak thing. It was traumatic," Dougherty told The Derrick in Oil City. "I saw it there on the porch, put the mail in the box and turned to walk away and it jumped on me."The animal ran up her leg and onto her back, she said.

Strange Joke

A high school principal received a six-day suspension and a letter of reprimand Eric Messerli pulled a Park High School senior's soccer jersey over his head and yanked upward on the waistband of the boy's underwear at a soccer game Oct. 5. Other school officials said he was joking around with the student and did it playfully. He was suspended for two days without pay and four days with pay before the school board decided Monday to let him return. He tearfully told the board: "I've made mistakes in my life, but none have had the impact that this one has had."

Hamsters!?

The research made by the US government shows that men now produce only about a third as much sperm as hamsters.Scientists at Bradford University and the University of California, Berkeley, have found increased genetic damage in the sperm of men when they consume average amounts of caffeine. This could lead to unsuccessful pregnancies or to children being born with deformities or genetic disease.

Tax Evasions

Eunuchs in eastern India were drafted by authorities to sing outside the homes of tax evaders to embarrass them into paying up, a report has said. Sari-clad eunuchs were out in force with municipal tax collectors Wednesday in Patna, capital of Bihar, India's most lawless state, the Indian Express reported. "Pay the tax, pay the Patna Municipal Corporation tax," chorused the eunuchs on the doorstep of their first target, Ram Sagar Singh, who owed 100,000 rupees (2,240 dollars). A mortified Singh promised to pay within a week, the report said.

Kidnapping Gone Wrong

A botched kidnapping ended with one of the assailants shooting himself in the groin, Wichita police said. The man had just stuck the gun back into his waistband when it fired, shooting him in the left testicle.He cringed, causing the gun to fire again and strike him in the left calf.
When the shooting ended, the 23-year-old man managed to walk himself into the hospital for treatment, police said. He and his two accomplices, ages 18 and 20, were arrested for aggravated attempted kidnapping and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

It's a Little Old Now

Like most students at Fort Hays State University, Nola Ochs plans to spend some time reading and studying during this week's fall break. But she'll take time out on Wednesday to celebrate her 95th birthday. Ochs is living at Wooster Hall on campus while pursuing her general studies degree at the university. She has about 15 hours to take next semester to get her degree.
If she does it, Ochs will be the Guinness Book of World Records' oldest college graduate.

Want More Books To Read?

2007-06-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

Hey, everyone! I know I already did this post, but for some reason, my linking didn't work. Plus I found some more good books. Or at least they look good. Some of these I got from friends. The rest, I found at Barnes & Noble. (Here's my secret) I go to the bookstore with just a pen and paper in hand and I spend a couple hours there, reading the summaries of books and writing down the ones that look good. Then I check them out at the library. I know it sounds cheap, but I am not made of money and I want to find new books to read. But it works for me. Here is my top twenty list that I plan to read this summer. You might find a book or two you would like. I found a variety of books, though I doubt the guys would like some of these. I also found a few websites with more books on them. They're at the very bottom of my blog, except they won't show up.

My Top 20 Reading List

1. Love, Cajun Style by Diane Les Bequets
It the summer in Louisiana, before Lucy's senior year and romance is in the air. Lucy's mom is flirting with the guy who owns the art gallery and her friends also think about boys constantly. Now Lucy starts to like her drama teacher and maybe even the new boy in town. Everyone is so wrapped up in their own romances, and Lucy knows it will be one summer, she'll never forget.

2. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
When Noah got back from World War II, tried to find the woman he fell in love with fourteen years ago. But he find her. Now she reappears in his life. Allie, too, still feels the same passion she felt years ago. But she is engaged to another man, plus the reasons that she and Noah broke up the first time are still there. Is this their second chase?

3. Trouble with Tulip by Mindy Starns Clark
Josephine Tulip is a helful hints columnist who solves mysteries in her spare time. Her friend is a photographer named Danny who is hoping for his big break-through. When Tulip's next-door neighbor is accused of murder, Tulip knows the police have the wrong suspect. As she and Danny look for clues and get in and out of trouble, they both realize they have feelings for each other.

4. Don't Die, My Love by Lurlene McDaniel
Julie and Luke have always been school sweethearts and now even in high school they are still in love. Luke plans to get a football scholarship and Julie plans to follow him. But when Luke's supposed virus won't go away, so Julie tells him to go to the doctor. When they go, the results are shocking. Will their love still remain strong?

5. Crazy in Love by Dandi Darley Mackall
Mary Jane really likes this guy named Jackson and he seems to like her, but he is dating the popular senior named Star. Mary Jane know that Star is dating behind his back, but she has promised Mary Jane that if she tells she will make her life miserable. She tries to make everyone happy, but Star starts spreading rumors about her. She waits for Jackson to break up with Star. If you ask me it sounds really complicated.

6. After the Rain by Norma Fox Mazer
Rachel is a worry-wart. She worries about if her friends like her and if she will have her first kiss by sixteen.(She's fifteen now)But when her dying grandfather shows her that she has special abilities, she reaches out to the old tyrant who had stayed unreachable and hard to get close to before. Through this, she learns to understand herself, and her friends and family.

7. Shanbanu by Suzanne Fisher Staples
This is about a girl who was born into a Pakistan family without sons, which is considered unblessed. Because of this she has been offered freedoms that most girls don't have. Now she and her sister will marry two brothers once they become of age. But the brothers are tragically killed and now the girl has to marry the landowner to settle the feud. Will she find a way out of it?

8. Cures for Heartbreak by Margo Rabb
Mia is now coping with the loss of her mother who was dianosed with cancer. In this coping, she learns ways to connect with her father and sister. With this she learns to face her fears and reconstruct her life by looking through her mom's past.

9. Sold by Patricia McCormick
Lakshmi is a normal thirteen year old girl who lives in Nepal and is very poor. But when the monsoons wash away her family's crops, she has to take a job to support her family. She becomes a maid for a wealthy family, but it becomes a nightmare. She finds that she has been sold and her owner says she can't leave until her family's debt is paid.

10. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
This is the one I am reading right now. It is good so far. It is about this girl named Annabel who life fell apart last summer. Who she thought were her friends now treat her like dirt. Then she meets Owen who is obsessed with music and telling the truth. But can she really tell him what happened that night that her friendship with Sophie ended?

11. Pirates! by Celia Rees
This is a story from the 17th century and it is about two girls who find refuge on a pirate ship. Nancy is running away from an arranged marriage and Minerva, from a plantation. Both find that a pirate's life isn't easy especially with a cruel captain following them. Nancy also wonders if her sailor friend will still love her even though she is now a pirate.

12. Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
This is the same author who wrote "Ella Enchanted". This one is about a girl who says that instead of crying at birth, she sang. She has a beautiful voice that can do anything. It drawns in the Prince and the Queen who wants to use for her own plans to remain the fairest of them all.

13. Old Magic by Marianne Curley
Kate knew something was different about the new boy in her class. She realizes what it is when Jarrod creates a thunderstorm, inside the classroom. She tries to tell him that he has magically powers, but he won't addmit to it until he sees that it is he can't control it. They search and solve the mystery of his family's past. Now they have to fight to change the past to reshape the future. I want to read this one really bad.

14. Blue is for Nightmares by Laurie Stolarz
If you like mystery and murder and goosebumps, here's your book. This is about a girl who keeps having these nightmares, again. Last time, she ignored them, a little girl died. Now they are about her friend who has become a target by this stalker. Everyone at school thinks it is a game until a girl is murdered with no witnesses and no one has an alibi. Now Stacey has to figure out who did it before the killer makes her nightmares come true. This is a four book series as you can tell from the picture.

15. Let's Get Lost by Sarra Manning
Isabel is know as the mean girl at her school. She hides the pain of her mother's unexpected death by meaning mean to everyone and acting up. But when she meets an older boy named Smith, she finds that he can "smooth her rough edges."

16. The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen
This book is about a girl who is not looking forward to what she thinks will be a boring summer. Her boyfriend is gone to camp and she is still grieving over her father. Then she meets Wes and he will totally change her life. But should she risk hurting her boyfriend at camp or go with Wes?

17. Golden by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Lissy's family as just moved from Oklahoma to California. She soon finds out that at her new school, there are two kinds of people. The Goldens are the popular ones and the Nons are everone else. Lissy has this magically ability to see people's auras and she see the connections between people.

18. Golden by Cameron Dokey
If you think that this is an ordinary fairy tale story, you are wrong. This is about Rapunzel and this is a different story. Before she was born, her mother made a promise that if she couldn't love Rapunzel when she was born that she would have to give her to the sorceress named Melisande. When Rapunzel was born without hair or any hopes of growing hair, her mother gave her up. Now that Rapunzel is sixteen, the sorceress tells her that she has another daughter named Rue who is in desperate need of help. Can the girls put aside their differences to save Rue?

19. The Decoding of Lana Morris by Laura and Tom McNeal
This is about a girl named Lana Morris. She has been at the Winter's household for 6 months now. The rest of the kids there are special needs kids. At first she couldn't believe she was staying there, but now she loves the other kids. There is also her next door neighbor who has jerk friends who ignore her. One day she stumbles on to an antique store and she buys a drawing set with all the money she has on her. She soon finds out that it is different than most. What ever she draws, comes true and what ever she erases, disappears.

20. No Shame, no fear by Ann Turnbull
This book is about a romance in the 17th century between a Quaker girl and a merchant's son. Because of the time period, there is a lot of perscution and they struggle with their faith and with their communities. I heard there was also a sequel to this book called "Forged in the Fire".

Other Links

Here are some links I found that have lists of books. One of them searches for books. If you click on the titles it comes up with A-Z and it will search for any books starting with that letter. I think that one book about saving fish from drowning is on there.

Final Blogging

2007-06-04T15:04:00.000-07:00

Hey guys I was just wondering before I start my last post, if any of you are going to continue to blog even though it will not be for a grade. I think it would be cool if we could keep the blog going, I have had fun on it this semester, and hope that you have too.

Anyways, when Ms. James told us that for part of our final we needed to do our best blog post ever, I had mixed emotions. I was happy because it seemed easier than taking an actual final but a little worried because I had no idea what I was going to blog about. Starting the final blog made me realize that it is not going to be as easy as I had expected it to be.

I have been reading a book called A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. I have not yet finished the book because I found it boring so I started a new one. The story is set during the French Revolution. In the story a girl meets her father who had been thought to be dead. That sadly is about as far as I have gotten. The book is really hard to understand and even harder to get into. It has just about everything from love to adventure and everything in between.

Reading this book made me think of the War in Iraq, for obvious reasons. The people in the French Revolution were fighting for many reasons. One of them was because the Roman Catholic Church was charging very high taxes. They were also fighting because there was a very high unemployement rate and the nation was in a huge national debt. The French Revolution affected many, just as all wars do but this one was different. People were being killed because of speaking out against the government and so they were sent to the guillotines.

Today, if we want to say things about our war we have the right to do that and we will not be executed for it. In both of these wars, many innocent people died and I am sure that many more people will continue to die because they are fighting for what they believe is right.

Well, thats it hope that you all have a great summer and stay safe. See you next year!!

Basketball, My Best Blog Ever

2007-06-04T11:59:00.000-07:00

At first I was not sure what I was going to blog about for my best blog ever or the blogging final then I decided to do it over something that I really like not something that I read or am going to read and especially not over Shakespeare, I have done enough blogging over that already. So I finally decided to do it over Basketball. I have read a lot of books about basketball over the course of my life and especially over this last school year. I have read a book called Driven From Within which is a autobiography of Michael Jordan http://www.curledup.com/drivenmj.htm and I also read a book called The Last Dance by John Fienstein http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/books/83/031616030X/index.html.
These both were really good books and they taught my a lot about the drama and the feelings that can go into one game of basketball.

Basketball is not a game, it is life. That is the mindset of a lot of people in the world without basketball a lot of these people would not survive, sometimes this is all they got, they might have a really tough home life and they play basketball to get away from it all. For others it is a way to get a good education which is the case for a lot of college players, they play basketball to get scholarships and once they are done with college they are probably done with it and more than likely won't pursue a pro career.

Pro basketball right now is getting very exciting. The rise of the King. Lebron "King" James has finally arrived, he will be making his first finals appearance after he basically dismantled the Pistons by himself in the Eastern Conference Finals. Now they look to do the same to the Spurs. I recommend watching this series, it is going to be a great one.

Basketball has been a huge part of my life since I was little and It always will be without it I don't know what I do. It is the best game ever.

Best Blog Ever! I Hope...

2007-06-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

So the final blog has finally come. In retrospect it almost seems scary to think about how much we have done in this class. We read lots of books, watched some movies, did a ton of blogging and even got to do some acting!

We started out with “The Odyssey” where we learned a ton about Greek mythology. Personally I didn’t like this topic so much, but in the past I have certainly done worse.

Then we continued on with “To Kill a Mockingbird.” This was my favorite book because it dealt with lots of issues including racism, in family dispute, and many others. Prior to this class I had already read “To Kill a Mockingbird” so I knew what to expect but every time I read the book I continue to enjoy it.

Then we finished up with William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” One of the most famous writings to all of mankind today. I don’t think that reading “Romeo and Juliet” now was that great of an idea because we couldn’t understand it that well but hopefully in the future we can look back and say that we tried and maybe read it again, next time with more understanding. Next year and the year after I’m sure we will be reading other Shakespeare novels.

On my own outside of class I read a book called “Bravo Two Zero” by Andy McNab. It was about a search and destroy mission that had gone bad in Iraq. The prisoners suffered horrible conditions but somehow five of the eight managed to make it through. I would never want to be a prisoner of war, its ten times worse than the worst nightmare you could ever imagine.

I hope everyone had a great year because I know I sure did. I’m definitely looking forward to the summer and can’t wait to be out of school. Speaking of summer, does anyone have major plans? I have baseball and am probably going to Michigan to see some family. Tell me what you’re going to be doing.

Do you think we will ever reveal our blogging identities?

My Final Blog

2007-06-04T10:01:00.001-07:00

We have been blogging all year and as we have been going along I think that every ones have been getting better because we are more experienced bloggers. I’ve noticed that a lot of people at the beginning of the year didn’t use links and now there is a lot of linking to other sites. I like that we improved so much. But now onto the important stuff, my final blog.

My final blog is about the effects of drugs and drug addiction the picture is of the woman who on the left was convicted of identity fraud, and the one of the right is from three and a half years later after being a Meth addict. The woman on the right of a 29 year old woman who looks normal then after a couple years of drug use her face looks terrible, and her hair had changed color. The reason I chose to blog about drugs is because the more the government tries to stop people from doing drugs, and making it illegal to get them, the more dangerous it is to the people around the drug addicts.

I found a good website that had a lot of information about drug addiction and what they can do to you.

A lot of groups think that drugs should be legalized because if they were then it wouldn’t be as dangerous to obtain them. People also think that once they were legalized that the government would have to regulate how much could be sold, and they could put a tax on it. These are both sides of the argument and it would be more healthy for everyone if it remained illegal but it could change.

A sunrise lasts but a few minutes...

2007-06-04T09:50:00.002-07:00

In one of the books I've been reading by R.A. Salvatore (he's my favorite author), he says in a thoughtful passage (or rather, one of his characters says): "...We need to be reminded sometimes that a sunrise lasts but a few minutes. But its beauty can burn in our hearts eternally."

The main character keeps a journal/diary thing, and it's kind of like where R.A. Salvatore reflects on things that are both going on in the story, and just things in life in general. There's around 5 "parts" or splits to each book, and inbetween each split is a journal passage. Some really thoughtful things can come out of them, such as the line above.

"We need to be reminded sometimes that a sunrise lasts but a few minutes. But its beauty can burn in our hearts eternally."

This is really a powerful line if you can think about it. It can mean a lot of things. The main point the author is trying to get across in this case, though, is that even though something may not last forever, the experience of having it will.

To me, that's a very powerful passage. The main point of the passage is that elves live so much longer than humans, so most elves think that they should try to avoid humans, especially marriage to them. The main character writes that he thinks otherwise though, and that even though their spouse may die in 50 years and they live on for 600 more, the experience of that 50 years will always be there inside. However, it applies not only to the story, but also to real life.

Instead of worrying all the time about things, the author tries to say that our lives are short, and that we can only fit so much into them. Instead of worrying and living a meek life, we should try to fit as much as we can into our life while we still can, because we might regret it someday.

Here is a link to R.A. Salvatore's website, specifically all the books he has written. I have read most of his books, and they are all masterfully thought out and really bring to life the characters and also many ideas and philosophies you may not have even thought of, or about. I would recommend most of his books.

Of the books/trilogies on that link, I have read: The Icewind Dale Trilogy, The Dark Elf Trilogy, Drizzt & Company, Paths of Darkness, The Hunter's Blades. All of those trilogies have the same main characters pretty much, but he writes them so well that they are all excellent. Instead of seeming like it just keeps running on, it seems like a whole new story altogether.

I have also read the Cleric Quintet series, but it is a 5 book series about a different set of characters. The characters in this series do eventually meet up with the characters in other series briefly, but this series is still an awesome stand-alone trilogy.

What do you guys think about the phrase I used earlier from the passage?

Dear John (My Best blog? XD)

2007-06-04T09:50:00.001-07:00

When Savannah Lynn Curtis comes into his life, John Tyree knows

he's ready to turn over a new leaf. An angry rebel, he had enlisted

in the army after high school, not knowing what else to do.

Then, during a furlough, he meets the girl of his dreams.

Savannah Lynn Curtis is attending college in North Carolina,

working for Habitat for Humanity, and totally unprepared

for the passionate attraction she feels for John Tyree.

The attraction is mutual and quickly grows into the kind

of love that leaves Savannah vowing to wait for John while

he finishes his tour of duty, and John realizing that he's

ready to settle down with the young woman who has

captured his heart.

Neither can foresee that 9/11 is about to change the world

and force John to risk every hope and dream he's ever had.

Like so many proud men and woman, John must choose

between love and country. And like all those left behind

love and country. And like all those left behind. Savannah

must decide to wait or move on. How do we choose wisely?

How can we face loss--without giving up on love? Now,

when he finally returns to North Carolina, John will

discover that loving Savannah will force him to make the

hardest decision on of his life.

An extraordinary, moving story, DEAR JOHN explores

the complexities of love--how it survives time and

how it transforms us forever.

What this book made me think of:

When I read this book, I realized that there were many

soldiers at war...who have wives who mourn for them to come

back. I realized that many people feel lonely and the sheer

thought of coming home and having frightening dreams

of the war are just haunting. They are in need of some

comfort, and sometimes they just need a letter. I realized

that many soldiers look forward to their letters from home.

Without them, they'd probably feel a lot more lonely than they

already were.

It probably never crosses any one's mind, that there are other

people out there who really would like someone to talk to.

There are cool inventions, such as the "EMAIL" which

makes it a lot easier to talk to the soldiers. Since the mail

also gets there a lot faster than if we'd just wrote a letter.

DISCUSS:

1) What was your favorite book of all time?

2) Have you ever thought about the soldiers in Iraq? What do you think about the situation? (Please be nice)

3) Are you ready to leave school?! :)

Dear John LINK

Yay! No SCHOOL SOON! ENJOY YOUR SUMMER!

Iraq War News

"Best Blog Ever!" (and best book ever!)

2007-06-04T09:33:00.001-07:00

Although I have read many good books this year, I must say, one in particular stood out as amazing. I never wanted to put it down, and it truly kept my interest for hours and hours! The book I chose as my favorite was, Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers.

Redeeming Love is based on the book of Hosea, in the Bible. Basically, God tells Hosea, a godly man, to marry Gomer, a prostitute. He obeys and loves her, even though she leaves him many times. Everytime she leaves him he finds her and brings her back because the Lord instructs him to.

The main character in the story, Sarah has nothing but hate for men. Her mother fell in love with a married man she was having an affair with, and the birth of Sarah was the result. However, her father wanted nothing to do with his daughter; she even heard him tell her mother, she should never have been born. Poor and hungry, Sarah's mother eventually became a prostitute to survive. When she finally died, Sarah was sold into prostitution at the hands of her mother's boyfriend.

Michael Hosea plays the role of Hosea (obviously) in this book. He feels that God told him to marry Angel and he takes that very seriously. However, Angel can't truly be free to love Michael back until she confronts her past, her life as a prostitute. She needs to come to terms with her life and God before she can create a future and be truly happy.

To me, this story represented God's unconditional love for us. How even when we turn away or flee from him, he always is there bringing us back. I found this book so uplifting. Sure, the beginning is depressing and I wondered how God could be related to anything as filthy as prostitution, but the end of the book reveals an even more important message. The message I found is, "God is ALWAYS there for you, and his love for you is UNCONDITIONAL."

CHECK OUT THIS BOOK!!! IT IS AMAZING! YOU WILL LOVE IT I PROMISE!

AIDS: Waiting on a Cure

2007-06-04T09:28:00.001-07:00

FACTS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a bunch of different infections and sicknesses resulting from a lowered amount of protection from the immune system. This is all caused by Human Immunodeficiency Virus in people, and similar viruses in animals which are SIV and FIV. The late stage of the condition leaves individuals prone to opportunistic infections and tumors which are almost always inevitable, because of the severity of the lowered immune system factors. Although treatments for AIDS and HIV exist to slow the shutdown of the immune system and progression of the viruses, there is no known full out cure. Mostly everyone knows this but, I might as well go over this anyways, HIV is transmitted through direct contact of a mucous membrane or into the persons bloodstream with a body fluid containing the virus, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, preseminal fluid, or breast milk. This transfer can come in the form of anal, vaginal or oral sex, blood donation, or infected needles, exchange between mother and baby during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding, or other exposure to one of the above bodily fluids, this leads to moms usually having C-sections if they know they have the virus.

HISTORY

Most researchers believe that HIV originated in

Saharan Africa in the course of the 1900's; it is now a worldwide epidemic, with an estimated 40 million people now living with the disease internationally. As of January 2006 the World Health Organization estimates that AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognized in 1981, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. 2005 was the Virus's most deadly year in recorded history of the virus. Antiretroviral treatment reduces the mortality of HIV infection, but routine access to antiretroviral medication is not available in all countries, especially some of the ones that need it the most.

For more information I suggest the following sites: http://www.aids.org/factSheets/101-what-is-aids.html

http://www.aids.org

http://www.who.int/

Final

2007-06-04T09:24:00.001-07:00

Time is ticking away towards the end of school. We now only have 2 1/2 days left of school! However, today may be the last day we have time to blog so I guess this is the finale. I haven't been up to date with books so I'm going to post about different things.

http://soundportraits.org/on-air/ghetto_life_101/transcript.php3

This documentary is very famous and won many awards and has been translated into many languages. This story is a great story. It talks about the lifestyle of these two boys LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman. They were both around our age except this documentary was taken during 1993. However, this is a great story that explains the hardships and stuff they endure throughout their lifestyle. I believe the ghetto would be a hard lifestyle to live as. Having to steal, damage property for fun, drug dealing, etc. would be very hard for me to deal with. They also talked about how their parents drank and made them think about their parents differently. I'm pretty sure other people think about this differently but that's just my opinion.

http://readinggreatbooks5.blogspot.com/2007/03/things-about-me_02.html

On my first post, we talked about facts about ourselves. I'm pretty sure people were confused on how I'm learning 10 languages. Here are the 10 languages. English, French, Spanish, Cantonese, Chinese, Hakkanese, Shanghainese, Taiwanese, Korean, and Japanese.

This basically explains who I am. Anyways, I grew up learning Chinese and English. Cantonese, Hakkanese, Shanghainese, Taiwanese, and Chinese are very similar. The only main differences between them is the fact that they all have different tones. They also vary by the pronunciation and some phrases and words have different meanings in the different languages. When I lived in Canada, it is required to learn French so I brushed up on some French there. I learned Spanish here in Springfield and intend to continue later on. That leaves Japanese and Korean. Since I grew up learning all the Chinese dialects, Japanese is very easy for me. The writing is the same except for hiragana and katakana. I think the language I have most trouble with is Korean. Reading is easy but it sounds different than Chinese and Japanese. This is also the only language I'm learning without a teacher. I can catch only a few words as I listen to Korean music and watch Korean dramas.

Time to shift gears and talk about summer. This is the last week of school with 2 1/2 days left. Are you guys excited? I'm in a sense. We get out but summer school starts next week. Hope you all have a great summer! :)

I Am Blessed.

2007-06-04T09:22:00.000-07:00

I AM BLESSED.

Honestly, I never thought that school would end this year, and I never thought I would be writing my final post. When Mrs. James started telling us about writing our final post, I had no idea what to write about. But, after this experience, I couldn't be more sure that this was what I was supposed to write about.

Last night, after church, my family and I went to another family's house for a late dinner. That experience, you could say changed me, forever. The dad of the family, Ron, was married before and had two girls, Emily and Callie, there ages are 28 and 34, and weigh approximately 22 and 30 pounds. The two girls stay with Ron and his wife, Kim, every other weekend, and are with there real mom the rest of the time. When I walked in there house, Emily and Callie were sleeping in, what looked like, a "dog's bed" and had breathing machines on, and two "sippy" cups on either side of the girls. When I saw them laying there, I began to feel this big weight of guilt on my shoulders.

I've always been one to complain about not being skinny, or pretty enough, or always thinking I look so ugly, and wondering why I don't have pretty legs and pretty bodies like all the other girls do. When I saw Emily and Callie, for the first time in my life, I realized just how blessed I was. Seeing them made me have a flashback of all the things I've ever said bad about myself, and I told God, I would never say anything bad again.

Emily and Callie were only expected to live till they were 7 and 9 years old; and they're still living today. Doctors cannot believe that they're still here. Now, that's what you call a blessing. Emily and Callie have what you call, Microcephaly, which is a condition of abnormal smallness of the head usually associated with mental retardation. They are expected to die any day now. What's sad is that they don't know what day could be there last.

Emily and Callie taught me something last night. They taught me to take the time to realize what you DO have, rather than what you DON'T have, and just take the time to realize how truly blessed you really are.

My friends, we are soaring...

2007-06-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

We are the generation of such great things. There are so many things that we are capable of doing and it terrifies and excites me at the same time. We are on the verge of something great and I can feel it because with so much technology out there we can help so many people. And its not going to be very long until we have a cure for things like AIDS, HIV, and Cancer. That will be great.

It just makes me so happy that we are coming into a great and brighter future. Granted, we still have a LOT or problems to solve on the way, but theres a feeling of a new beginning of sorts. Maybe in the years to come, we will see better days.

The great thing about this whole thing called life is, that we have the power to make it better and create new ways to change the world so that we are happier. Its a awesome feeling to have so much power isnt it? the way that we act today will effect tomorrow.

Ok i know that this whole thing is sounding really cheezy at the moment but when you think about it, its true. We have the power to change our world. If we just keep it up and dont let it slip out of our hands like we have before, than weve got a fighting chance. Call me a hippie or whatever you want to but i think that it can happen. We've just got to have a little more faith than we have had the last few years.

Now as we are about to move on out of the ninth grade, we are taking the first baby steps into our new horison, a new day, a new world. All we have to to is keep the faith alive and keep loving and laughing like we do every day so that we can make the most of this life that we are so very blessed with. We are the future and with all this power, its going to be really bright. :-)

Survey

2007-06-03T19:06:00.000-07:00

I'm just curious what type of genre you guys all like to read. So I need at least twenty people to comment so it's sufficient.
Here are the categories: Realistic fiction, Historic fiction, Non-fiction, Sci-fi/fantasy, Romance, Biography, Crime, Action, or Horror.

My vote: Realistic Fiction

If I get enough, I will post the results.

Best Post

2007-06-03T18:29:00.000-07:00

So this week Ms.James asked us to write our best blog post ever as our blogging final. I think that is very fair and much better than a long test this coming week. So here it is...
It was kinda hard to think about what to blog about for my best blog. I could have blogged about to shakespeare or to kill a mockingbird, but instead i choose to blog about something important to me. Sports. This year i have read many books about Sports. Maravich by Wayne Federman, A March to Madness by John Feintsein, Last Dance by John Feintsein, Travel Team by Mike Lupica, The Last Shot by Darcy Fray, and To Hate like this is to be Happy forever. They all tought me different things. They made me realize that sports arn't just something you do for fun, in some cases the can be your life, what you wake up everyday and look forward to. Like the book To Hate like This, the man who wrote it was a North Carolina fan (I'm a Duke fan) but he wrote an amazing book about his obseesion with sports even though he's not an athlete. He wakes up everyday thinking about the Tar Heels. That got me thinking to some people in the world sports is all they have. Like some of the kids in Africa who all they have in the world is soccer. Those people look up to athletes everyday the same way we americans do. I think it is important for athletes to have a positive influence on everyone. They need to do whats right and provide the nessecary romodel. So thats my posts, about sports, and how sports can be everything to people all over the world, rich or poor, sports knows no race or religion, its just sports and anyone can be apart of it. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/books/review/02foer.html?ex=1301630400&en=790a4baccdf1b853&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Posting Final!

2007-06-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

Just got a quick question.
1.) Has she said how long the post has to be and I've missed it?
Thanks for the help. I had another question, butI can't remember what it was! (Bravo, right?)

Love and its Influence

2007-06-01T11:01:00.000-07:00

I am a bit of a literature buff and I love to discuss books, stories, and anything related to that. When, Mrs. James assigned us this, she asked for us to blog about something profound to us and it is. It's love. I believe that love is the most influential and profound literary theme that exists. Love is so universal that its definition is not set in stone, since it can be perceived in so many different forms and is constantly debated. I find is so fascinating, because it can be so easy to use love, but so hard to understand how it works. It is no doubt that love works in mysterious ways, especially in books.

I love reading books and have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to avoid putting love in a piece of writing. In A Series of Unfortunate Events, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny always face excruciating events and their lives are like one great Shakespearean tragedy. But the children loved each other so much that they were always driven to get out of situations alive. They were also motivated by their deceased parents' love, because the loving memory of them gave the Baudelaire orphans a reason to live.

In the Harry Potter series, the whole series is propaganda of love. We know that Harry was not murdered, because his mother sacrificed her life for him when she didn't have too. Also, Harry always has a need to save people, because he loves so much. While this is a good thing, but it often results in tragedy for Harry. But love is what guides Harry in his battle of good versus evil.

All of the literature that we read this year in English class, related to the one central theme of love. In the Odyssey, Odysseus remained faithful to his wife, even in the captivity of Calypso, because he loved her so. He loved his son and wife so much that he never gave up in finding his way back him. He did find his family and at first they had doubt, but when Odysseus showed his love by saving Penelope from the suitors or blossoming in a white robe, where his son knew that his father had come for him.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was a perfect piece of writing, where we learned how to love. In spite of all of the racism in the 1930s, Atticus strongly believed that no matter what color you are, equality should reign in society. If you have ever heard "Love thy neighbor", then you can clearly see what Atticus in accomplishing. Also, Scout showed learned to love her neighbor as well, literally. Throughout the course of the book, she viewed Boo Radley as a mysterious creature who lived down the street. But when she stood on the Radley Porch, she saw things from Boo's perspective and realized that he was no different. After that, she knew she could be at rest because she learned to love Boo.

And of course, the big one: William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. This was a story simply about love and nothing else. This showed how love can overcome conflict, but how it can be a downfall as well. Romeo and Juliet took away their lives because of the fact they could not live without each other. Thus, love lets us down again. However, because love buried their bones, the two families reconciled out of love for the children and out of the love they had seen from their children. This showed how love is such a powerful force.

Do you see a pattern? The protagonists all make choices, act, or change with the help of love. And with the help of love, they can fight evil or learn to loyal or have faith or find courage in fearsome times. When we read stories in English class, we are often asked to find significant themes of the novels or cause and effect.

Good versus evil is as old as time itself. Why do the good fight evil? Protect those who are innocent? Simply the love of being good? Why do the heroes always sacrifice themselves in face of a villain? I believe it is because they could not stand the sight of innocence being desolated and in order to save the peace, the hero feels that though he would rather die than see others suffer. Could he not stand the grief, sympathy, or empathy? These are all forms of love. Loving another person where you feel your pain. Or in more general terms, compassion. And then we cry at the death of the hero. The hero could have lived...he could have lived. But the hero would not find it just if he survived and others didn't. Once again, love can kill the most innocent of the world. Also, evil relies on fear, rage, and hate. Not love, which is why evil fails often. Defying evil, whether it is an oppressive leader or simply a demon you have within yourself, is act of true heroism.

I remember in middle school reading books about loyalty. In my opinion, loyalty is not following a person faithfully, but having faith in your comrade and giving them your word saying, " I'll be here." Love doesn't necessarily have to be a strong feeling of emotional intertwining. Often loyalty is a great issue in books. Loyalty is needed to find alliances and enemies in books. It bonds characters together which can alter the whole story. Though, loyalty is easily found in stories, it can easily be broken. Betrayal often occurs when a character often finds a need for different kind of love they do not receive from those that, at first, trusted them. I would have to say trust is the same as loyalty, because you have to be able to trust those who give allegiance to you. But often trust snaps like a twig.

And lastly, courage. Courage is getting in the face of your fears and deciding to not be afraid of them. Like the hero who sacrificed himself for the good of good. He was probably afraid of dying and he didn't want to, but he found the bravery to save what he loved even if he wouldn't be there to enjoy it. Courage is valued by so much, because it is usually the best of humankind that use courage to overcome. Protagonists in stories will often be fearful in a time that needs courage, and, alas, they have a dramatic reflection on what they love and why they are fighting this battle. And then they will show their courageous side and you, as a reader, are satisfied with your story and how your protagonist did the right thing. Courage is the oldest trick in the book, but does it really ever grow old?

Love is so universal. It is the most powerful force in the universe, but it is the weakest at the same time. Greed, war, and society make us lose sight of what is important and what is needed. But books show us how love affects all and overcomes all, whether a price is paid or not. Love ignites all aspects of literature. Name one story, book, play, or piece of literature that did not have an influence of love. I would love to see you try.

Thembi!

2007-06-01T10:48:00.001-07:00

Thembi to me is a hero. She has known about her aids for two years and she is 19 years old now. I listened to her radio diary and it just made me more thankful for life and the freedom I have. She had a boyfriend, and they became serious. However it was not serious enough to stay together. They ended up breaking up. A few months later she had heard that her boyfriend had died. She was very curious to why such a thing happened. Therefore she went to his families house where his sister informed Thembi that he was very sick, then it just got s bad to the point he couldn't even talk, and that's when he passed away. Thembi assumed quickly it was AIDs he had died from. His sister however said she (as well as the whole family) she was not sure of what had made him so sick. That's when Thembi decided to go get tested. She got tested five different times. She asked the doctor why she had to be tested so much and he said because they all came back positive and he wanted to make sure. He said she was H.I.V positive and had been for a while. She was very devistated. The hardest part was telling her current boyfreind that she said was perfect for her. However he said she was perfect for him and that he loved her and that he didnt regret anything and that he was never going to leave her. They joke a lot to comfort eachother and to make each other feel better about the situatoion they are living in. As time goes anlong during the raidio diary, Thembi goes to the doctors and she explains the pains she is getting, and the doctor tells her to hang in there and gives her medicine to hopefully help the pain. Thembi got so sick during the recording she stopped recording for a motnh or so because she said she didnt want people to hear how sick she sounded. She was embarassed of how sick she had gotten. She also talked about how people used to make fun of her because of how skinny she was, and how she wanted to hide. She got so sick that her mother made her go to the hospital. Thembi got a little better and now has to drink her medicine every day. She also explained the sad story about how in her town sometimes when someone finds out that they are H.I.V positive they burn their house down so that can not live there anymore. Malikai (her boyfirend) and Thembi have a baby. She said she wanted to have the baby so she could feel like she had something to live for. Now Thembi goes around and tells her story and talks aobout her own life and whats its like to live with aids. To me she is like a hero. I believe this because now when people hear her story they can now know to take caution in everything that they do. They also now know that getting tested is the biggest thing that someone could do in their life.
If I were to be told i had aids I do not think that I could ever go on with life. However Thembi is just the opposite. She strives each day to get stronger. I look up to her and hope that someday if I am ever hit with a hardship like her I can be just as strong as her. What are all of your rections to this story? here is a link to where you can here the radio diary of Thembi.http://www.radiodiaries.org/aidsdiary/

Who Has The Right?

2007-06-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

As I was thinking about what to write for the "best blog post ever" nothing really came to mind. So i went to NPR's web page and looked at the this I believe essays that people will write and submit to the page. I cam across one called "Looking at Life Through Another's Eyes". It was written by a man named Charles S. Johnson he was the first black president at the Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. This was an essay that cought my eye because of the book that I am reading now called Nineteen Minutes written by Jodi Picoult. In this book this question kept popping into my mind. Who-if anyone-has the right to judge someone else? As I was reading the essay that Johnson wrote, he talks about how you should not judge somone until you have been in their shoes, until you see what they see everyday. Here is a part of Johnson's essay.

Years ago, as a college boy in Richmond, Va., I had a job investigating needy applicants for Christmas baskets. This opportunity led me into amazing paths of discovery and awakening. It gave me a lasting conviction which became the core of all that I can recognize as a social philosophy. This was simply that no man can be justly judged until you've looked at the world through his eyes. It carried over to children classed as delinquents, to the impoverished tobacco workers of the city, and to men in prison. It carried over to the humble people who made up the families of the left side of the tracks.

When I read this I immedatly thought of To Kill A Mockingbird and how Harper Lee says many times in her writting that you shouldnt judge someone and howyou have to view things from their point of view. Keeping this quote in mind as I read my book I started to think of how the main charector felt. Nineteen Minutes talks about a school shooting in a small town called Sterling. One boy killed 10 people and injured many more all in nineteen minutes. The day after the shooting people looked down on the parents and on the friends and family of the boy. I started to think that I couldnt possibly imagine how it would feel to be that boy's family. But the sad thing is...I can.

Two years ago my dad went into the hospital. He was diagnosed with something that we know- or at least we think we do- goes to the "wrong" kindof people. Sorry I cant say what it is. But the thing is, it can happen to anyone. When people found out what my dad had, they started thinkg the worst kind of things about, not only my dad, but me and the reat of my family. When I would walk around my church all of these people would give me this dirty look like, "You are related to that man." AT MY CHURCH OF ALL PLACES! I couldnt belive it. It made me so mad. Then, finaly my dad went and talked to them about what happened and how he got what he has and people started acting somewhat normal again.

My point is that you cant judge people without knowing their full story. You shouldnt judge people at all. I know that it is hard and especially in our society today not to be judgmental. I will adment that I am judgmental too but I am just saying that we could all use some work in that department.

I hope that I was not to mean in my post, but we were supposed to make it our BEST POST EVER and I hope I did.

Child Abuse

2007-06-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

Earlier in the year I read a book titled A Child Called It. It was written by Dave Pelzer and it was a autobiographry of his life. He was brutally beaten and abused by his alcoholic mother, and was bascially treated like an animal. Throughout the book, he talks of all the struggles and near death experiences that he has to go through. Could you imagine your own mother pinning your arm up against a firey hot stove until you could smell the stinch of burnt flesh? This is just one of the many things Dave had to endure during his childhood. Its a miracle that he didn't end up in a mental institution or commit sucicide. I don't know how he handled everything so well. Its amazing to me how the people who have been through so much hardship can have such a positive outlook on life. There are so many children just like Dave, that have similar stories. You can go to this website that is very powerful and also educating to learn more about what you can do to stop child abuse. There is link you can click on once you get to the website that can show you how you can help donate your time and money is the hope of stopping this horrific crime. You can volunteer at the CCAFV(communtiy coalition against family violence) and really make a difference in a troubled child's life. There is another website you can go to just to simply learn about the statistics of child abuse and how to possible lower those numbers. With education, we can stop this crime.

My Sister's Keeper: Finale

2007-06-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

I know that I have posted a few times about My Sister's Keeper. I have told you a brief summary of what I have read and situations going on in the book. Now you will hear about the controversial side of this book and the research behind it. The parents of Anna, Brian and Sara Fitzgerald had a genetically made baby. She struggles through this throughout the whole book. Whether her parents really love her or if she is just someone who is there for when her sister, Kate, gets sick again.

The main controversy in this book is that Anna was made specifically to help her sister. Her parents made sure to put the right DNA in her in order to give her sister the medical help she needed. Anna goes to a lawyer in order to get control of her body back.

This would be a tragic thing if you knew you had to keep being there and giving your bone marrow or cells to your sister everytime she got sick. I did research to find out more about genetically altered babies. It seems that most of them have come out healthy. They have shown by taking fingerprints that there is some DNA in the child that did not come from either of its parents. Most of these studies were used on mothers who were infertile. I guess this is sort of like the book. Except that this usage is for a mother who can not make her own babies, and the book is about making a baby to be genetically like its sister.

Another use I found that people use for genetic altered babies is to make them healthier. One article said that in making babies genetically they couldn't inherite genetically transmitted diseases. How cool is that.

Although I do not find all of this very ethical. I don't think that people should be able to mess with a persons DNA in or to make them "superhuman" or something like that. These articles were the closest thing I could come to that related to making someone to benefit someone else. I hope that this has opened your eyes to what genetics can do.

I really do recommend this book though. It is full of insight and other problems that you can relate to besides the fact of having your body controled for something you don't want messed with.

Harry Potter and Love

2007-06-01T09:55:00.000-07:00

Just recently I’ve decided to go back and reread the Harry Potter series. I’ve always really loved the series and I thought it would be a good idea to go back a reread them all before the new book and movie came out so I could be reminded of all of the details of the series. As I read the first one, a stumbled across the little details and jokes that made me fall in love with the book series the first time. Like this:

“And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!” cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the teachers’ smiles had become rather fixed.
Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a log golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.

“Everyone pick their favorite tune,” said Dumbledore, “and off we go!” And the school bellowed:

“Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald,
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling,
With some interesting stuff,
For now they’re bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we’ve forgot,
Just do the best, we’ll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot.”

Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing alone to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped the loudest.

“Ah, music,” he said, wiping his eyes. “A magic beyond all we do here! And now bedtime. Off you trot!”

I absolutely love the Harry Potter series for many reasons. I love the humor and writing styles J. K. Rowling uses throughout her books. I also find that I can relate to the many topics she discusses in her books. I think out of all of them, my favorite is this reoccurring theme of the power of love. If you don’t know the main story line, and I promise I wont ruin anything, but the big struggle that Harry has is that his parents were killed when he was a baby by the main antagonist Voldemort but somehow Harry escaped with only a scar on his forehead. He finds out early in the series that the reason this was so because his mother gave her life so he could live. Her sacrifice provided the ultimate protection for him all because of her love for him. I think this is one of the best lessons of life. In my opinion, love is one of life’s hardest lessons, but is the most important. We all have people in our lives that we love, so I honestly believe that this is an important topic. Dumbledore explains this to Harry in the first book:

“Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn’t realize that love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign . . . to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good.”

It such a sad story, but it’s very true. The love that Lily Potter sacrificed for her only son is unreal. I believe that if everyone could learn this lesson, life would be so much easier. There wouldn’t be so many arguments and people just being hateful towards one another. Everyone has a desire to belong and to be loved. It’s amazing how complex but yet simple love can be. Everyone wants it and everyone can give it, but at times we don’t. I know it’s really hard to love everyone that you come into contact with, trust me on that one, but you can always try. I guess that’s all I’m really trying to say with all of this. As we go into our summer plans and maybe spend more time with parents and siblings than we did during the school year, just try to remember that. Our parents love us unconditionally, whether we would like to admit it or not, so try to remember that as you get crammed into a car or plane with them to go on your vacations. Try spending more time with them because I'm sure they would enjoy that. Believe it or not, our parents are not that much different then we are and went through a lot of the same things we did. That’s one thing I learned this year and whished I had figured out earlier. I hope that you all have a wonderful summer break and do some fun stuff. If you have some extra time, I highly suggest that you pick up the Harry Potter series and read them. It’s a wonderful book series and well worth your time! :]

Those who are faithful know only the trivial side of love; it is the faithless who know love's tragedies. ~Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891

(another really good book if you're looking for one. :] )

Saying Goodbye

2007-05-31T11:08:00.001-07:00

Why is it that every time I have to write an essay that really matters, nothing pops into my head that sounds good? It's like this whole benchmark thing, I think if i hadn't had known that this was being graded by other teachers and that it was a benchmark, I would be so much more relaxed and be able to concentrate.

Anyways, so there is only 5.5 days of school left!! This year feels like it has flown by so fast.
By this time next week we will officially be Sophomores. (not like being a sophomore is that great)

okay...get to commenting.

Something Ironic...

2007-05-31T11:05:00.000-07:00

A month ago my mom was diagnosed with diabetes and it made me really aware of portion sizes. Now, after a breif history, here's the ironic thing. You know how the school's took out all the pop machines because of America's overwieghtedness? They took out pop, and teacher's aren't allowed to hand out, like, a tootsie roll for prizes for the same reason, or atleast at my mom's school. Yet, they still have candy machines, and they other sugary drinks in machines. Plus, did you know that the main meals served here at our school are actually two servings more than what it should be. When you eat pasta, a serving size is a cup, which is the size of your fist, or there abouts. Now, the other day when I got my lunch, I noticed that the serving spoon is about a cup, and they put three spoon fulls on my plate. I find that very hypocritical. They take out certain things, but not lunch? I think that should be where the school's start. In the cafeteria kids have to eat something (and sometimes they have no choice of taking their lunch), but in the pop and candy machines, it's totally optional. Give me your thoughts!

testing, along with art

2007-05-31T09:17:00.000-07:00

How did everyone enjoy the benchmark test yesterday? I personally thought it was pretty easy as far as time and answering went. Im a little bit worrie d about today's test though, im not sure how long it will be, or if im gonna get finished in the required amount of time. I hate doing big long essays, and im also confused about our last final, are we just doing one big blog? Are we gonna get to talk about whatever subject that we want to? I dont think i listened well enough but thats what i took from the description. I know its a little late but did everyone enjoy the extra day added on to the weekend? I know I did, and the weather was really nice too.

Today's art is hand painted by alex grey, it was done in 2001, and took two years alone to paint, Its called one, and it signifies the joining together of two people's souls to form into One.

Final

2007-05-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

today we took the course final and i feel very good about my test. i thought that the test was relatively easy. one plus was that the short story they provided was a very well written story, one that i could get into and enjoy, and overall understand better. i had some trouble with the cartoon though, but still i think that i did well. it was only an opinion question also, those are kind of hard to miss. I really don't like tests like these because i always take them way to seriously. Sometimes to the point where i can think straight or concentrate. But o-well. Our other half of the final with be relatively easy. What do you think?

The Fellowship of the Ring

2007-05-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

Recently i have started the book the fellowship of the ring. A long time ago i read the hobbit and liked it a lot. So i decided to start the trilogy. I haven't seen the movies yet so i guess that after I'm done reading the books ill watch all of the movies. I really enjoy reading J.R.R. Tolkien. The only problem is that sometimes the writing is a little bit old fashioned and i have trouble reading it. Also it seems that it is a slow read and that I'm not really getting very far in the book. But other than those things i really enjoy the book. if you have read the book then i would really appreciate input.

I'm not even making this up

2007-05-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. How was your weekend? Mine was really good, but Monday was really weird. I don't know if any of you watched the news, but some interesting things happened. On Monday, a drunk man was chased by the Springfield police through a few people yards until he was captured in the parking lot of Redeemer Lutheran Church having to use tire spikes and a taser gun. So here's where the story for me got interesting. My yard was one of the yards that he drove through! I live on a dead end street at the very end. I was sitting in my room and happened to look out the window as the blue truck came screeching into the neighborhood. He kept picking up speed, going about 60 mph, hopped the curb, and drove through my backyard and into the trees. Two police cars quickly showed up, parking in front of my driveway and jumping out with guns on foot to follow him. By now, I had moved away from the windows and from what my dad saw, the guy then reemerged from the trees and drove out of my backyard, past the cops, and down the street. What was also really amazing was that for a drunk guy, he was a really good driver. He missed our sprinkler system, tether ball post, trampoline, swing set and then many tress that could have totaled his car, not to mention the cops. If you want to watch the video or read more about what happened, here is the link. Other than that, my weekend was really boring but I never thought I would be able to tell that story. These are all pictures that I took from my bakyard.

tire marks from where the driver went into the trees

tire marks around the swing set

Skid marks leading up to where the driver jumped the curb

Test

2007-05-28T18:59:00.000-07:00

We took the test on friday and i thought it was pretty easy. I didn't even use study guide except to get dates. If you had read the book you would have done well on it. I think i did pretty good on it even though we all thought it was going to be really hard. What did everyone else think?

Memorial Day!

2007-05-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is enjoying the 3 day weekend. Mine has been okay. I'm just glad we get Monday off. What has everyone done this weekend?

Arrgg!

2007-05-27T19:52:00.000-07:00

So on Friday I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. It was definitely the best movie I have seen in awhile. I believed it was 10x better than Spiderman 3. Pirates 3 was a lot funnier than the other 2 movies plus it had a lot more action. Did anyone else see it? What did you all think?

Want Book Suggestions?

2007-05-27T19:19:00.000-07:00

Hey, I know a lot of people are looking for books to read. I went to Barnes & Noble and read a bunch of summaries then wrote down the titles of the ones that looked like good books. So this is my list to read.

This is the same author who wrote "Ella Enchanted".
Summary at http://www.bloomsbury.com/Authors/Press.asp?id=81§ion=3

This is the one that I want to read the most.
Summary at http://www.bloomsbury.com/Authors/Press.asp?id=81§ion=3

Summary at http://www.sarahdessen.com/someone.html

This is a series that looks really good. It is about this girl who has nightmares about death. And they relate to people in really life and they mysteriously die and she has to figure out who killed them.

Summary at http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/0525476660.asp

The Decoding of Lana Morris
Summary at http://bookshelvesofdoom.blogs.com/bookshelves_of_doom/2007/05/the_decoding_of.html

Summary at http://teenbookreviewer.blogspot.com/2006/08/review-golden-by-jennifer-lynn-barnes.html

The truth about forever by Sarah Dessen
Summary at http://www.sarahdessen.com/forever.html

Golden By Cameron Dokey
Summary at http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/d/cameron-dokey/golden.htm

No Shame, no fear by Ann Turnbull
This is a historical fiction. It is set in England in 1662. It's about a Quaker girl and a boy from a wealthy family who meet and fall in love.

I tried to find a variety of books, so hopely this helps you. I am going to read as many of this as I can over the summer.

60 second plays

2007-05-27T17:37:00.000-07:00

So we are performing our short plays on Tuesday. From seeing everyone's first drafts of their plays, I know some are going to be hilarious. I am not sure if my group is ready though.
I don't know about you guys but now that we have finished Romeo and Juliet, I just want to be done with it and focus on free reading. I haven't been able to read as much as I would have liked to, so I'll be happy when we are finished with the short plays. But I am looking forward to seeing the plays, because I bet they will be really funny.
So time is ticking until we get out of school. Are you guys doing anything fun during the summer? I'm going to a wedding in Europe.

Pirates

2007-05-27T16:09:00.000-07:00

I saw the third Pirates on Friday. It was really good. I went right after school so I bet the crowd. It was a zoo when we left. I also found a book called Pirates! by Celia Rees. So if you like the pirate movies maybe you might like this book.

I went to Barnes & Noble and got this book. It looks really good. Its 1724 and two girls find refuge on a pirate ship. One is a runaway from a plantation and the other is running away from an arranged marriage. If a pirate's life wasn't hard enough, they also have to escape from a cruel Captain who is following them. Plus the girl who ran away from an arranged marriage wonders if her sailor friend will "love the pirate she has become." That is pretty much the summary on the back, except in my own words. I thought it looked really good. I'll let you know what I think of it when I am done.

Jack Sparrow

2007-05-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

With the Pirate of the Caribbean movie coming out this weekend, I also learned that there are Pirates of the Caribbean novels. It's called Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow. It's supposed to be about Jack when he was a teen. So basically it's a prequel to the movie series. So if you're looking for a book/novel related to the series, then you could check out Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow series. Also, did you know the series stemmed from a theme park ride?

Differences

2007-05-27T15:54:00.000-07:00

So, everyone probably noticed differences between the older Romeo and Juliet movie and the newer Romeo + Juliet. I feel the older one stuck closer with the story line. However, had less of an emotional feel, compared to today's theatrics. The modern version seemed to stray away from the story line, because of the limitations between the old and newer world. Yet, I seemed to have liked it more. What do you guys think?

Pirates 3

2007-05-27T15:08:00.000-07:00

I just saw Pirates of the Carribbean: At World's End with my dad and brothers. I loved it. The movie starts out with Elizabeth, Will, and Barbossa going to save Jack from Davy Jones' Locker. Well, they save him and then they do a bunch of stuff and battle bad guys. Well, they mentioned the goddess Calypso. I remembered Calypso from the Odyssey, who fell in love with Odysseus and kept him captive on her island. Well, Calypso plays a semi-important role in the movie and it felt cool to know who Calypso was then. The movie was better than Dead Man's Chest, but not as good as Curse of the Black Pearl.

Romeo and Juliet

2007-05-27T14:47:00.000-07:00

I really liked Romeo and Juliet a lot more than I expected. I think it's a really great story, except I really hate the ending. I think the newer edition of the movie was extremely sad because she wakes up before he dies, but not in time to stay together. Honestly, that is one of the saddest things I have ever heard of, I started crying silently. It might just be because I am a real romantic, I love love stories. But I liked the older version where he was already dead when Juliet woke up. There isn't quite as much suffering that way.

Body of Evidence

2007-05-27T14:44:00.000-07:00

I just finished my book, Body of Evidence by Patricia Cornwell. It was a pretty good read, kind of long but good all around. It's about a young writer, Beryl Madison that gets murdered. Kay Scarpetta(the main character) is investigating her murder.Days later Beryl's adoptive father was murdered, and her adoptive mother commits suicide. It's all al little bit strange. Then Kay Scarpetta starts getting stalked just like Beryl complained of to the police before she died. If you want more then read the book!

Help Is On The Way.

2007-05-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. I know this is the end of the year ... but does anyone know any good books? I'm going on a trip to Cocoa Beach, and when I'm on the beach, I would like to read. If you could give me ideas, that would be great! I like romantic, mysterious, adventerous, well, I pretty much like everything. Thanks! =-]

Memorial Day Weekend

2007-05-27T11:48:00.000-07:00

I hope you all are having a great weekend. I can't believe that tomorrow is Memorial Day and we have to go to school this week. I can't ever remember getting Memorial Day off and then having to go back to school. Normally we are alreading out by then. Well we don't have too much longer to go. We can make it. Depending on when you are reading this, do you or did you have any fun plans for Memorial Day? The weekend has been kind of crummy. No sun or blue sky it is kind of depressing. Even though the sun isn't out it is still fairly warm, so since most pools open over this weekend you had fun swimming. Well I don't have very exciting plans for Memorial Day. I just thought some of you might have some fun stories to share. So hope you have a great three day weekend. Woo Hoo! We haven't had one of those in awhile. See you all on Tuesday.

Pirates 3 " At Worlds End"

2007-05-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I went to see the movie Pirates of the Carribean 3, " At Worlds End" I really enjoyed watching it even though it was about 3 hours long. I personally think that this one was a lot better than the first 2. There was a lot more excitement and humor in this one. It begins with them in Singapore with Captain Barbosa, they are trying to get a map to the world's end so they can free Captain Jack Sparrow from Davy Jones Locker which he was trapped in when he died by the Cragon which ended up dying as well. They do free Jack and there journey takes them to many places which I will not mention because I don't want to give away a whole lot. But I will say that the movie has a wide open ending which leaves room for a possible 4th movie with the Fountain of Youth.

Romeo and Juliet

2007-05-27T04:55:00.000-07:00

Are you guys glad to finally be done with Romeo and Juliet?
I am. I didn't really ever get into Romeo and Juliet. I'm not excited to start writing again. It's not my favorite. I like reading a lot better. Are you guys excited to start writing?
I hope we get to do fun stuff. Not boring writing assignments.... I hope you guys had a great weekend. Enjoy Monday off!

Juliet and Romeo

2007-05-26T20:27:00.001-07:00

We are finally done with using our books and also done with Romeo & Juliet! I think the book was great and I enjoy Shakespeare. I wouldn't mind to read Shakespeare again. Enjoy your 3 day weekend everyone!

60 Second Shakespeare

2007-05-26T18:51:00.000-07:00

SO on thursday we did our sixty second shakespeare plays. I thought they were pretty interesting. We all got to act out are different parts and I thought our group did pretty good. We got act 4 and we were going to sing but that kninda fell through. I did really wish we would have gotten a fight scene but its good non the less. Did you guys like it?

Pan's Labyrinth

2007-05-26T09:47:00.000-07:00

I just saw the movie, Pan's Labyrinth. I would have to say that it is one of the best movies I have ever seen. At first, the Narrator(Pan) tells of an underworld princess who was curious with the human world, so she escaped to it and was blinded by the sun, where she eventually died. But her soul was reincarted into this little eleven year old girl named Ofelia. Ofelia goes to live with her mother and her new step-father, Captain Vidal, during the Spanish Inquisition. Ofelia finds a labyrinth where she meets Pan who is a faun. He tells her that she must complete three tasks before the full moon so that her soul will not be made mortal. So she must complete these tasks. On the side, the Captain is trying to rid Spain of guerilla warfare where the guerillas believe in equality. The Captain is sadistic, evil, greedy, and torturous. Ofelia must deal with the opression of him and she must care for her sick mother who is pregnant. This story is amazing and the movie is so compelling. It's really beautiful and the little girl who plays Ofelia is fantastic.

It reminds me of Romeo and Juliet. At the beginning of both stories you are given some lead-on as to what happens and finally the beginning makes sense at the ending. Also, both movies are tragedies in their own way. Pan's Labyrinth has a happy ending, but through the course of the whole movie, tragic things happen that are quite saddening. But it was very comedic in the Shakespearean sense, in Romeo and Juliet, throughout the play, but then had a tragic ending.

I reccomend this movie to all. However, the violence is incredibly graphic with mangled hands, gouged eyes, slit throats, and a lot of blood spatter. It's a fairy tale for a mature audience. It's rated-R, so make sure your parents will let you see it.

If you can get past the violence, then you will truly love this movie.

COMMENT PLEASE!!!!!

Tests

2007-05-25T21:44:00.001-07:00

Today we finished Romeo * Juliet with our test. The test wasn't that hard and I thought I did pretty good. How did you all do on your test?

Book Sale

2007-05-25T18:49:00.000-07:00

I went to the book sale earlier today. I found three books that looked good. The one i'm reading right now is call a million little pieces by james fray. It's a really good book. It's about this guy who had done drugs and drank since he was 10. His parents send him to this clinic. The book goes on to tell you what happens while he's in the clinic. The book is a little graphic though. I higly reccomend this book to anyone!

Acting

2007-05-25T15:21:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!! How has your week been? I am so happy that we only have like two weeks left of school. How about you? My freshman year has been so memorable and I hope yours has too.

I am really excited about acting. Our group is taking care of Act three and it is kinda hard considering all of the parts, but we did narrow it down a little bit. We decided to act it out in the background while the narrator is saying what is happening and what is going to happen. I think that it is cool that it is going to be put on the 60 second Shakepeare site so that others can see it. I also think that it is cool to see other people acting out thier acts. Are you having fun with the acting? I know I sure am!!

Hope that you all have a great, safe weekend with lots of fun!!

Memorial Day Weekend

2007-05-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

I don't know what I am going to end up doing this weekend. I will probably go and try to see Pirates 3 but I don't know yet. Another Possibility is going to the lake with a few of my friends and tubiing and just hanging out. I am really looking foward to a short break from school.

Whats everyone doing this weekend?

Presentations

2007-05-25T06:59:00.000-07:00

We did really well with our little presentations in class. Even though we had only a little time to do it we pulled it off. I really liked performing like this and I got some questions answered while the presentations were going on. I very much enjoyed our little theater during class. Comment on what you liked about our presentations.

Youthful Acting

2007-05-24T19:54:00.000-07:00

WOW! Our acting skills have a lot to be desired, you know that. While our acting jobs weren't they best, they were pretty amusing! It reminded me of little kids' performances. All though, considering the fact that we had so little time to prepare, they were really kinda good. I'm not sure which one was my favorite, I really liked them all (except the one I was doing!), they were so much fun!

Our Own Globe Theater

2007-05-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

So today in class we each performed a different act of Shakespeare for 60 second Shakespeare. My group did the prologue and it took quite a bit longer than 60 seconds, probably more like 260 seconds. We didn't have much time to practice the lines and some of the actions didn't go quite as planned, but I figure that we did fairly well for doing this acting on a spur of the moment. I still have a ton of unanswered quiestions from Act 4 and 5 that I really hope we go over tomorrow in class.

COMMENTS!?!

Differences

2007-05-24T18:19:00.001-07:00

We finished the dvd and video versions of Shakespeare and they are quite different. The last scenes didn't show Paris at all and the directors took the ending differently. In the dvd, Juliet woke up but watched Romeo die in her arms. In the video, Juliet saw Romeo already dead and then she killed herself. I liked both of the versions but preferably the dvd because it is more modern.

Recasting the Stars

2007-05-23T13:53:00.000-07:00

On her blog, Ms. James linked us to a post that talked about recasting Romeo and Juliet. This is who I think should be who:

Romeo: Jake Gylenhaal Juliet: Cameron Diaz Friar Laurence: Michael Caine

Mercutio: James Franco Tybalt: Tobey Maguire Benvolio:

Capulet: Alan Rickman Montague: Gary Oldman Count Paris: Adrien Brody

Nurse: Imelda Staunton Lady Capulet: Debra Messing Lady Montague: Sally Field

That's really all I got. I know some of these actors and actresses aren't very well known, but you can alway look them up on the IMDB. So I think this is something interesting to post about.

make a differance

2007-05-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

Lately ive really been seeing alot of things started from that post of reading great books six, and i just wanted to say, dang. Its been an eye opening experience to see some of the blunt things said and to everyone's opinions on it, and i just wanted to mention a quote.

" We must be the change we want to see in the world " --Ghandi

So yea, there it is, make a difference today in someone's life, always try to set the good example and be the bigger person. I really enjoyed the short but sweet post that Phasma posted, they made a good point. Its time that we all took and stand and made the difference.

Today's art is a piece by alex grey, called the vision crystal, i dont really know what it is, but I do know that its a very talented and detailed painting.

Differences

2007-05-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed watching both of the Romeo and Juliet videos. However I enjoyed watching the modern version better. The differences between the two movies are very clear. In original movie it goes exactly with tho text, and is a very old theme. The characters wear different clothes than the characters from the modern video. Also in the modern video, the director added things in the movie such as drugs, guns, and fast cars. I believe they did this because it would get more attention from people today than the older layed back version. What about all of you, what do you all think about the two movies? What differences do you see?

Free Reading

2007-05-23T09:45:00.000-07:00

I have been reading a book by Stephen King lately and it is really good. It is not one story but yet a collection of short stories. Some of them are a little...well...strange but still good. I have never read any of his books before but I think that I may try to read some others. How about you? Have you read any of these books?

I am so glad that Romeo and Juliet is finally over, but know we will have to take a test over it :( I still have so many questions that I have not yet answered on the study guide and so I feel really far behind.

I am so excited for this weekend to come because I get to go and see Pirates of the Caribbean with one, or more, of my friends. I have been waiting for this for a long time and I am kinda sad that this is going to be the last one. So, are any of you doing something exciting this weekend? Hope that you enjoy the rest of the school year!!

For never was a story of more woe...Than this of Juliet and her Romeo

2007-05-23T09:36:00.001-07:00

So we have reached the final scene of our Romeo and Juliet unit. I have to say i am a little sad but in truth, we really dont have any more to go! This is a truely great story and i an glad that we read it. I wonder though, what would have happened if it went the other way and they diddnt end up dieing. Would the fued have ended because the marrage of the two children? or would it have made it worse? But, if they had not died, this story may not be the greatest love story of all time and Shakespeare may not be the greatest playwright and writer in all of history either. So, we wish that they had lived but sience they diddnt, they will live on forever.

Which one do you like?

2007-05-23T09:32:00.001-07:00

Anyone excited to be done with Romeo and Juliet? I liked it, but it was starting to get a little boring for a while. How did you guys like it? I really enjoyed it, but I thought at times it got dull and hard to understand. What I did like about the play was how compelling the play was written. Shakespeare wrote all of the emotions that the characters so wonderfully. He really showed the true emotions of people and how people respond to the different chain of events. What I also really liked about reading Romeo and Juliet was how different the two different movies were when we watched them. In the older version, I thought it was interesting to watch everything take place in an authentic setting with the true text. Compared to the newer version, the older one was more true to the story line and gave a beautiful image of the story that seeing it on stage would never offer. The new one, however, let's the audience connect to issues that they know all too well and offers images that we are all accustomed to. I really like the new one because I feel like I can identify more with the characters because I see them in modern clothes and in modern settings. I think overall I really like the modern one better, but there are some parts I've liked better about the older one than the newer. What do you guys think? Which one do you like better?

Haunted Hotels

2007-05-23T09:31:00.000-07:00

So have you ever heard of the Cresent Hotel in Eureka Springs, AR?

Well its a "haunted" hotel, or atleast thats what they think.

Here are some pictures of some ghosts that people have taken pictures of..

taken on the stairs of the second floor of the Crescent Hotel.

Two ghosts above the bed and orbs. Frisco, one of the hotel's house cats looking on, obviously seeing something.

Room 202 on March 24 and saw something strange in one of our photographs. A friend took a picture of us sleeping in the morning and there is a peculiar silhouette of a man with a brimmed hat looking over us.
It is not a shadow and we can see the side of the man on the pillow. Nobody in the room even brought a hat to the hotel with them.

Got these pictures from--http://www.crescent-hotel.com/

Yeah I just thought it was strange, I dont know if I believe in ghost.

Do you?

It's All Over

2007-05-22T18:18:00.000-07:00

So, we're all done with Romeo and Juliet. What did ya'll think? I liked the ending, as morbid as that sounds. You know, I'm fairly positive I can say I relate to Juliet. Not in the way that I've killed myself or had a lover (or husband) die, but in the way that I can see that the timing issue and unending bad luck spell would happen to me. Things very rarely work out how I want them to, or expect them to, and so this would be about my luck. Granted, I wouldn't go to the extent of killing myself because my husband was dead, but hey, to each his (or her) own, I guess.

Finally Done Reading

2007-05-22T17:57:00.000-07:00

Today in class we finished reading Romeo and Juliet! I never thought we would be done reading it has been done. Today during the last half of Act 5 I was the friar. The lines seemed to drag on forever. Plus I had (what felt like) a million line long soliloquy. I messed up a few times but the speech went surprisingly well in my opinion. I don't know about you guys, but I also have a ton of unanswered questions on the study guide.

COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS PLEASE!

I Ask of You...

2007-05-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

Actors!

2007-05-21T17:31:00.000-07:00

I've been watching a lot of movies lately and have really begun to appreciate the characterization actors put into their portrayals. Right now, my favorite actors are Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman, and Gary Oldman.
I really didn't know who Johnny Depp was until the Pirates movies, but I got into his other works and found him to be quite the actor. I love how he takes unconvential roles like Edward, a boy with scissors for hands, to Willie Wonka, the notorious candymaker, all the way to Sir James Matthew Barrie, who created the wonderful world of Peter Pan and never really grew up.
Alan Rickman pretty much has the greatest British accent ever to exist. I know that is irrelevant to his acting, but it's pretty cool. Most people know him as Professor Snape in the Harry Potter movies. But I really enjoyed his roles in Love Actually, a charming romantic comedy, Die Hard, a great action movie, and Something the Lord Made, a drama about pioneering heart surgeons.
And lastly, but not least Gary Oldman. This guy can play evil so good. You can make evil bad by making it menacingly cheesy or little too creepy for people to understand. He plays villains just right. He was a Russian terrorist in the action movie, Air Force One. A sadistic art dealer in The Fifth Element. And he was Jim Gordon, in the latest Batman movie, who isn't evil though. I really like how he shows true, raw emotion in his films.
So I was wondering if any of you guys had actors or actresses that stood out to you by their portrayals in films. I love movies and I'm sure a lot of you do too. What are your favorite actors?

Juliet and Romeo

2007-05-21T14:25:00.000-07:00

I was just wondering if anybody else thought of how weird the time was in this play. Romeo and Juliet fall in love and get married the next day. It seems kinda strange. I wonder if that actually happened then, if people thought they fell in love that quickly. What do you guys think?

Great Book

2007-05-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

I just finished a book called Jude and it was amazing, honestly I couldn't even put it down. It was about a boy that grows up in a bad part of town with his dad. His dad told him that his mom left him when he was little. Then his dad gets shot by drug dealers. It turns out his mom is the head DA and he goes to live with her. Anyway later he gets accused for dealing drugs and goes to jail for five years. There is a huge twist , you've gotta read this book.