Thursday, May 31, 2007
Saying Goodbye
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...
testing, along with art
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Final
The Fellowship of the Ring
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
I'm not even making this up
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
Monday, May 28, 2007
Test
Memorial Day!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Arrgg!
Want Book Suggestions?
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
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
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
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
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
Romeo and Juliet
Body of Evidence
Help Is On The Way.
Memorial Day Weekend
Pirates 3 " At Worlds End"
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!
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Juliet and Romeo
60 Second Shakespeare
Pan's Labyrinth
Friday, May 25, 2007
Tests
Book Sale
Acting
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
Whats everyone doing this weekend?
Presentations
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Youthful Acting
Our Own Globe Theater
Differences
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Recasting the Stars
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
Differences
Free Reading
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
Which one do you like?
Haunted Hotels
taken on the stairs of the second floor of the Crescent Hotel.
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.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
It's All Over
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
Monday, May 21, 2007
Actors!
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?