Part of the year the class focused a little bit on Greek mythology. A project we had to do was pick a God, Goddess of Nymph and write about a myth that they were in. We had to create a poster as well, I chose the character Persephone. Here is the written part of the project.
The Fabulous Myth
of the Goddess Persephone
The
name of the Goddess/character I am writing about is Persephone. When Persephone
was younger they would call her kore, which means the maiden. She is the
Goddess of the Underworld. Her husband who is the king of the Underworld is
keeping her prisoner. His name is Hades one of the three brothers, Zeus and
Poseidon. In this myth Persephone makes a mistake and ends up in the Underworld
with Hades. Before she is allowed to leave she is tricked and eats 7
pomegranate seeds. The epithet for Persephone is an innocent child, because she
was clueless on what to do and was tricked into eating the pomegranate seeds.
Some
people used to say she looked like an innocent child. This shows how much she
didn’t know about the flower she picked and how clueless Hades thought she was.
This is a symbol of a beautiful young girl. When I think of this symbol I think
of a child. Some symbol having to do with the myth is pomegranates.Because she ate the pomegranate seeds
and therefore had to stay in the Underworld. Another symbol might be flowers
and nature because she is the Goddess of spring.
Persephone
is related to Hades, Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter and many other Gods, Goddesses and
Demigods because of her relation to Hades, Zeus and Poseidon. Her mother is
Demeter Goddess of grain and fertility basically harvest. Hades is the God of
the Underworld and all of the souls. Her father is Zeus, brother of Hades. So
Persephone is married to her uncle.
Once
upon a time a beautiful goddess named Persephone went into the meadow and
started to pick flowers. Her eye spotted the most amazingly wonderful looking
flower she had ever seen. When she picked it Hades came and took her down to
the Underworld. Her mother Demeter was devastated, and didn’t think her
daughter could ever come back. Demeter persuaded Zeus to make Hades let
Persephone go. All the time this was happening Persephone did not eat anything.
But Persephone ate 7 pomegranate seeds. As a result of this she had to stay in
the underworld 7 months out of a year. Meanwhile Demeter is so sad the earth
becomes cold and barren. When Persephone is in the Underworld the season is
winter. When she has her allowed time away from the Underworld it is spring.
Persephone
absolutely hates her husband Hades because he is sort of keeping her hostage.
She wants to be on earth and she also wants to be happy with her mother and
friends. Persephone is from Greece originally. Persephone as portrayed in Rome
is Proserpina.
This
myth is very important because it explains why we have the seasons winter and
spring. When Persephone is away it is barren and cold because her mother is
very sad. If you look closely at the myth you can see that it is a chain
reaction as to why some things in the end up the way they are today. Each myth
is basically a reason why the earth and the way we do things are today. This
myth can be put into modern day text or play form. Some creep abducted
Persephone a beautiful teenager. She was scared and she didn’t want to be
there. She refused to eat anything she just wanted to go home. Then she eats
something and is forced to stay with the creep for 7 months out of the year.
The mother is so upset her feelings affect the people and the things around
her. Therefore this myth and some how all myths can relate to modern day times
or explain why things are the way they are today.
Bibliographies:
Persephone, greek goddess of innocence and receptivity and queen of the
underworld. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.goddessgift.com/goddess-myths/greek_goddess_persephone.htm
Aaron J. Atsma, AJA. (2000). Retrieved from
http://www.theoi.com/Khthonios/Persephone.html
June 24, 2008 . (2008, June 24). Retrieved from
http://www.paleothea.com/SortaSingles/Persephone.html
Introduction: This is my "me Magazine" My most favorite piece of work during the whole year. Making this was just so fun. Well, this magazine tells you what my interests are and what i like to do. I posted my magazine on photobucket so it would be easy to view. Don't forget to read the description to see what my pages were about.
Jhonas Dunakin 6/1/11 Red I’ve never really cared for the
English language as most people do. I preferred Spanish among all other
languages. Spanish has easy spelling in grammar, in order to spell a word you
literally sound it out and that’s how you spell it. Conjugations are also very
easy for me they come to me as quick as a rabbit hopping. But from my ninth
grade experience at this school I’ve found a hidden love for English. That love
for English you could say was hidden in a cocoon waiting to come out big and
beautiful as you can see from my portfolio. My writing style changed and has
become more meaningful than boring and dull. It has a certain piazzas that I’ve
seemed to develop. As a young freshmen English student this portfolio shows my
growth. It represents that through hard work and dedication you can achieve
anything. I was never a good writer and through these projects and journal
entries I learned to write with feeling and emotion in each word.
With this hidden love comes the
exploration my strengths and weaknesses in English. I can’t spell to save my
life, you can even ask my English teacher Ms. Dunn. We learned new complicated
fancy words that we added to our vocabulary. We learned words like brood and
Malinger. I had to use spell check for both of those words I can’t spell. With
weaknesses includes certain strengths. A strength I find very useful is the
ability to plan out what I want to write and how I want to write it. As I write
this introduction I know how I wanted this to lay out and the style I wanted to
write it in. I need to work on the vocabulary words we learned. They’re good
words to know but I just can’t spell them.
This portfolio holds many memories
both good and bad. Going through my work I look back and I remember the time
when I was writing my me magazine. It was the first benchmark I have ever done.
I sat there with a blank sheet of paper and thought to myself, what will my
classmates think of me? What should I write? What will they think of me if I
write this? But now I feel as if I can say or ask anything from my fellow
peers. A bad experience I’ve had is frustration with my Character Comparison
with my Odyssey project. Frustration will always get the best of you in every
situation. There are a select few though that know how to deal with that frustration
a positive way. I had to compare a character from the odyssey to another
character. But I decided to take on the challenge of comparing a real life
historical figure Al Capone with Odysseus. I was difficult comparing those,
even though it might seem that they have lots of similarities at first they
always connect with one being a real person and the other fictional. I
eventually connected the two in the best way I knew how.
I’ve done so much work in for this
class. It was exhausting but the feeling you get at the end of each project is
amazing, it’s a feeling of accomplishment. The piece I’m most proud of has to
be my character comparison. It may not be the most written but I spent hours on
it, finding ways the two could connect. I got an 87 as a final grade for it but
I accepted the challenge and I tried my best, and to me that’s what matters the
most. Thank you Ms. Dunn for teaching me the beauty of English.
My first writing I've done in this school. I'm also very proud of this piece since I was trying to impress the teacher at the time with the little writing ability I had. It turned out to be a good grade and it turns out my hard work payed off.
Jhonas DunakinHow
Macbeth Lost His WayRed
11/4/10
Macbeth has changed tremendously
throughout the story; he went from a war hero to a dead traitor who was killed
by one of his friends. In the beginning of the play everyone liked him. He had
strong connections and he was the second most powerful man in all of Scotland
towards the middle of the play. Then towards the middle of the play he started
to change into a new Macbeth one that was in control and wanted to keep it that
way, for a long time. He killed his best friend Banquo and attempted to kill
his son to ensure that his kids wouldn’t be kings. He also did the same thing
to Macduff. In the end Macbeth seemed to slowly come back because he felt guilt
and fear. If he were spared he would’ve returned to normal eventually. Here is
proof to all my reasoning.
In Act 1 scene 2 of Macbeth, King Duncan
is with the Captain. Duncan is very grateful is for what the captain did for Macbeth.
Duncan was so pleased because now he is able to kill the current Thane of
Cawdor and replace him with Macbeth. “This is the sergeant who like a good and
hardy soldier fought ‘gainst my captivity. Hail, brave friend; say to the king
the knowledge of the broil as thou didst leave it.” (Act 1, scene 2, lines 4-8)
This quote reveals that Macbeth is kind and grateful for this man who has saved
him. Which shows that Macbeth is a kind and gracious man, even the King
respects him. He is strongly connected with his friends now in the play.
In Act 1 scene 3 of Macbeth, Macbeth is
with Banquo. They are talking about the witch’s prophecy. Macbeth seems very
confused with his side of the prophecy. It seems like he is iffy about what
they predicted. Banquo is very pleased about what the witches have to say to
him. He likes that his son’s and his son’s children will be king, that there
will be a long line of kings in his family. “ If chance will have making, why,
chance may crown me without my stir.” (Act 1 scene 3, lines 144-146) This quote
reveals that Macbeth is starting to have thoughts about him being king. He’s
starting to question the prophesy the witch’s have told him and Banquo. It’s
the making of a new Macbeth and his personality changes. He’s beginning to have
thoughts but doesn’t plan to take any action. It seems like he’s going to wait
for the moment when he just automatically becomes king. Macbeth seems to assume
that no one will find out what is going to happen and his friends will remain
loyal to him.
In Act 1 scene 7 of Macbeth, Macbeth is
at his house. He’s having a feast with King Duncan. Macbeth is starting to talk
to himself about the plan of the assassination of Duncan. “If it were done when
‘tis done, then ‘twere well if were done quickly. If the assassination could
trammel up the consequence and catch with surcease success.” (Act 1, scene 7,
lines 1-4) This reveals that Macbeth is willing to go through with the
assassination of Duncan.He seems
semi confident that this plan will actually work and Macbeth will rule Scotland
as King. He seems to be turning into a new Macbeth because he’s talking to
himself about an assassination, the old Macbeth would never do that. That’s why
there are two sides of Macbeth arguing with one another. He’s being very
secretive which is why he’s alone.
In Act 1 scene 7 of Macbeth, Macbeth is
still talking to himself about the assassination attempt on Duncan. He’s
debating weather he should go through with it or leave it alone. He is alone
during the soliloquy and has left the room where the feast is being held. “He’s
here in double trust: first, as I am his kinsman and his subject, strong both
against the deed; then, as his host, who should against his murderer shut the
door, not bear the knife myself” (Act 1, scene 7, lines 15-16) This is the good
none treacherous half of Macbeths personality who is talking. He says Duncan
trusts him and believes he will be Duncan’s right hand man.He doesn’t want to feel like a failure
and traitor to his own country. Which is why he’s currently debating the subject
on weather to kill Duncan or betray his wife by not executing the plan. Macbeth
doesn’t want to lose his trust in anybody close to him that includes Duncan.
In Act 2 scene 2 of Macbeth, Macbeth is
at home and it’s the middle of the night. He has just killed King Duncan and
his hands and cloths are bloody. He is currently talking to Lady Macbeth he’s
in shock and can’t believe what he just did.“I’ll go no more. I am afraid to think what I have done;
look on’t again I dare you not.” (Act 2, scene 2, lines 55-56)Macbeth is regretting killing King Duncan,
he has no idea why he has done it and Lady Macbeth is trying to toughen him up.
Lady Macbeth is doing that by sexually bring him to her and telling him to
finish what he’s started. Not to back out that he will be rewarded for what he
has done.
In Act 3 scene 1 of Macbeth, Macbeth is
talking to the assassins about killing Banquo. He is trying to convince them
that its his fault that there lives are pretty bad. “Not i’ th’ worst rank of
manhood, say’t; and I will put that bosoms whose execution takes your enemy
off, Grapples you to the health but sickly in his life, which I his death were
perfect” (Act 3, scene 1, lines 103-108). Macbeth is convincing them that this
is the time to take back their vengeance and strike back. The assassins seem to
agree; Macbeth seems to reveal a very convincing side of him. He will go to any
lengths to get what he wants and will even kill his best friends to get to were
he wants to go.
In Act 4 scene 1 of Macbeth, Macbeth is
explaining his evil plot. He’s going hire the assassins and they’re going to
everyone in Macduff’s house. They’re going to go into the house and kill
everyone who’s in there to stop Macduff and his family in becoming King.“The castle of Macduff I will surprise,
seize upon Fife, give to th’ edge o’ th’ sword his wife, his babes, and all
unfortunate souls that trace him in his line” (Act 4, scene 1, lines 172-174).
Macbeth reveals his inner evil he had all these years.He is going to try to shut down Macduff
mentally to strike fear in others. This reveals a brand new Macbeth, one that
is willing to take it a step further than he should, even if it does mean
breaking the line of friendship with Macduff.
In Act 5 scene 3 of Macbeth, Macbeth is
in his castle talking to himself. He has just found out from his servant that a
force of ten thousand man have come to try to kill him. Macbeth is afraid but
will fight to the death he has nothing to lose. “The devil, damn the black,
thou cream-faced loon” (Act 5, scene 3, line 11). Macbeth reveals that his transformation
from good to evil is now complete. If you observe from past scenes he would
never say that to his servants or other people. But he is now showing that he
is the ruler so you should fear him. Which means he wants to stay in control
for a long time and will not rest until he knows his position in power is safe.
At this point in the story he has no one to trust, the closets person he has to
a friend is Seyton his servant.
In Act 5 scene 3 of Macbeth, Macbeth is
talking to himself. He starts to reveal himself a little bit in these lines.
He’s in his castle waiting for the invasion to start. He is putting on his
armor and getting into his mood to fight “My way of life is fall’n into the
sere, the yellow leaf, and that which should accompany old age” (Act 5, scene
3, lines 24-25). Macbeth reveals that he’s starting to show weakness and give
up. Macbeth has never shown to ever give up. He always has the never give up
never surrender attitude toward everything he’s encountered. Until now, he
finally realizes that all hope is lost and will fail, but he jus won’t give up.
He has nothing to lose his wife is mentally dead, he has no friends, and
everyone in Scotland fears him.
In Act 5 scene 5 Macbeth, Macbeth is in
his castle and has just heard a scream. The scream is from Lady Macbeth she has
just committed suicide. All the women in the castle are in shock. “I have
almost forgot the taste of fears”(Act 5, scene 5, line 9). Macbeth is showing
weakness again and has almost shown almost no sign of it.But only recently towards the end of
the play has he started to slowly return to old Macbeth from the beginning of
the play. But even though he seems to be showing no emotion in these lines he
feels fear for the first time in a long time. He has nothing to lose, so there
is no reason to give up.
Macbeth changes from a good person and
war hero, to a traitor, to slowly coming back to the Macbeth from the beginning
of the play. But he is killed
before he can completely transform to old Macbeth. In my opinion he only changed
out of fear. He lost his wife to suicide and his once best friends were coming
with a giant army to kill him. No one likes him anymore not even his own wife.
He knew his time was over, but his personality will never give up. So he worked
with what he had, he lost and died.
Throughout the year we as students had to
read two books and write a book review on it. My second book review was on the
book “Shug”. But for this book review the students were allowed the choice of
something creative, I chose to do a podcast.
Throughout the year we as students had to
read two books and write a book review on it. My first book review was on the
book “The Skin I’m in”.
Independent
Reading:
The Skin I’m in
The title of this book is called The Skin
I’m in by Sharon G. Flake. This book won plenty of awards
and recognitions for its stellar material and meaning. Some of these awards and
recognitions are…
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New
Talent
Publishers Weekly Author to Watch
New York Public Library Top Ten Book for the Teen
Age
YALSA Best Books for Young Adult Readers
YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers
Texas Lonestar Reading List
Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s
Books of the Year
YWCA Racial Justice Award
Detroit Free Library Author of the Year Award
Starred Review in Publishers Weekly
From what I researched it seems that The
Skin I’m in was made into a movie.
The
Skin I’m in is about a seventh grader named Maleeka. Who is tormented because
of the clothes her mother makes her because she can’t afford new ones, her
perfect grades and if that weren’t enough they would make fun of how dark her
skin is. On top of all that she would hang out with the wrong crowd. Maleeka
hangs out with the meanest girl in school, Charlese. The gang she hangs out
with makes fun of her and they smoke in the girls bathroom most of the school
day. Charlese mouths off to the teachers and messes around with other girls
boyfriends. If she is almost caught by the girlfriend of the boy she tells them
that it wasn’t her it was Maleeka. Maleeka takes this because every day
Charlese brings in nice new pretty clothes and accessories for her to wear for
the day. One day a new teacher shows up named Ms. Saunders with white starchy
blotches on her face. Maleeka thinks that her life can’t get any worse until
this lady comes and makes everything worse than it already was. Ms. Saunders
decides that she wants to teach Maleeka to have more self-confidence and to not
care what other people say or think and to just be herself no matter what.
Maleeka wishes that Ms. Saunders would just leave her alone and go away.
Charlese comes up with the idea to destroy Ms. Saunders’ room. Ms. Saunders got
new velvet pillows for the children to sit on during class, nice new curtains
and new stuff all over the room. They put glue all over the velvet curtains and
pillows, the girls rip and make a mess of the curtains and pillows. Not wanting
to into peer pressure Maleeva resists and Charlese decides to hurt her. Maleeka
ta˚es a lighter from Charlese and burns the money she gave to her. She
accidentally burns the curtains and gets caught by the janitor who was on duty;
Maleeka was the only person who was blamed. In the end the truth comes out and
Charlese’s sister sends her to Alabama and Maleeka is now confident and happy
with how she looks. She also gets the guy she lives named Caleb. Everything
works out in the end.
My
favorite character is Maleeka because she is teased for how she looks and
overcomes what other people say, think and do to her. She eventually gets what
she always needed self-confidence. What people should take away from the book
is to love your self no matter what and be happy with you. Don’t do things you
know is wrong because you want to be liked, just be you all the time and then
you will be happy. There are many morels people could take away from this book
but I think this is the best.
I
can relate to Maleeka because when I was in middle school I was teased for my
weight and the way I looked. I used to pretend to be someone I wasn’t so I
would be liked. I never trashed a teachers’ classroom but I did do things I
wish I hadn’t done like mess with people who were my real friends, mouth off to
my favorite teachers and mess with my sister. In the end I fond people I could
relate to and went to a school were I can start over and be myself. I finally
feel that I don’t have to be someone I’m not.
I
thought that this was an amazing book about a colorful girl who has yet to find
herself in a school who bullies her every day. Not only did I think this book
was awesome I could relate to it in my own way. The strengths of the book were
the action parts. The weaknesses were the parts when Maleeka was talking about
how she got in trouble and had to work in the office and can’t watch TV or use
the phone. I would change the ending, the ending is the type of ending that
leaves you hanging like there would be another book or something but there’s
not. I really didn’t enjoy the type of ending used.
I would recommend this book to anyone
who is interested in teenagers with problems or have trouble being teased. If
you an relate to a kid who is being teased for their looks or how weird people
think they are or how smart they are then this would be the book for you. Many
people can relate to the main character in this story Maleeka in some way or
another. As I said before this book is absolutely amazing. It doesn’t matter if
you are in middle school, high school, college or working I believe everyone can
relate to this boo in some way. Don’t think just do, you should just read,
read, read this book.
a resists and Charlese desides to hurt
her. Maleeka takes a lighter from Charlese and burns the money she gave to her.
She accidentally burns the curtains and gets caught by the janitor who was on
duty; Maleeka was the only person who was blamed. In the end the truth comes
out and Charlese’s sister sends her to Alabama and Maleeka is now confident and
happy with how she looks. She also gets the guy she lives named Caleb.
Everything works out in the end.
My
favorite character is Maleeka because she is teased for how she looks and
overcomes what other people say, think and do to her. She eventually gets what
she always needed self-confidence. What people should take away from the book
is to love yourself no matter what and be happy with you. Don’t do things you
know are wrong because you want to be liked, just be you all the time and then
you will be happy. There are many morels people could take away from this book
but I think this is the best.
I
can relate to Maleeka because when I was in middle school I was teased for my
weight and the way I looked. I used to pretend to be someone I wasn’t so I
would be liked. I never trashed a teachers’ classroom but I did do things I
wish I hadn’t done like mess with people who were my real friends, mouth off to
my favorite teachers and mess with my sister. In the end I found people I could
relate to and went to a school were I can start over and be myself. I finally
feel that I don’t have to be someone I’m not.
I
thought that this was an amazing book about a colorful girl who has yet to find
herself in a school who bullies her every day. Not only did I think this book
was awesome I could relate to it in my own way. The strengths of the book were
the action parts. The weaknesses were the parts when Maleeka was talking about
how she got in trouble and had to work in the office and can’t watch TV or use the
phone. I would change the ending, the ending is the type of ending that leaves
you hanging like there would be another book or something but there’s not. I
really didn’t enjoy the type of ending used.
I would recommend this book to anyone
who is interested in teenagers with problems or have trouble being teased. If
you an relate to a kid who is being teased for their looks or how weird people
think they are or how smart they are then this would be the book for you. Many
people can relate to the main character in this story Maleeka in some way or
another. As I said before this book is absolutely amazing. It doesn’t matter if
you are in middle school, high school, college or working I believe everyone
can relate to this book in some way. Don’t think just do, you should just read,
read, read this book.
This is based off a real life experience I had when I was eight years old. I traveled to the galapagos for the first time. Some of the best days of my life that I will never forget. Jhonas DunkainMy
Utopia: The Galapagos Islands1/14/11
Red
I
can not believe it has been seven years since I was last in the Galapagos. It
feels like it just happened a couple of months ago. But there are parts of that
memory that have blown away like wind blowing a leaf. But I still
remember the things that were most important to me on the trip. The flight to
the islands from Guayaquil Airport was around an hour and a half. I did what
any eight year old would do; I asked,
“are we there yet?” I did that constantly throughout the whole flight to my
dad. Imagine the annoyance in his face.
When we landed in
the airport it was fairly small. It had a
security team, metal detectors, the whole shebang. But it was as small
as a motel room. Right after security you walked a couple feet and you were
at the entrance of the airport to go to the islands. As soon as you walk through
the door you look for the tour guide that has the name of the people that
employed him and everything you need to get ready. We waited for other people
to arrive and we were off.
First we took a
tour of a small zoo. The people of the island let the animals roam free but
these animals were found very sick or stranded. The workers of the island put
them in the zoo to be cared for and watched over until they were well enough to
go free. We saw plenty of tortoises. It seems kind of obvious because the
island is known for its vast population of tortoises. There were also
magnificent birds like red and blue-footed boobies, frigate birds, and even
flamingoes! My eight year old mind could not take all of the exotic colors on
all the birds. When we arrived in town the tour
guide let us off his “leash” to let us explore the town. My friend Alex
and his parents came a long with us to the islands as well as my grandma and
uncle Rob. I bought a pair of sunglasses (which I later lost, I was going through
the losing everything phase). We walked back to the tour guide who was at the
docks. He explained to us the amount of crewmen and the type of boat. I remember
it being a yacht but I was not excited about being on a yacht then. Boats were
boats and they were all the same to me. But now I think back and… wow…I was on
a yacht. We walked the dock which seemed to be old but newly refurbished. The boat was pearlshiny and white as paper.
The friendly captain and his crew immediately greeted us. He explained to us
everything on the boat and like the sun deck the bar and so on. There were
about twelve passengers on the boat.
During
dinner we had a world-class chef. Now when I say world-class chef, I mean
world-class chef. This guy was the next Bobby Flay. I have never liked shrimp
before but his shrimp was exquisite. It is because of this chef I love seafood
so much. The great thing about the fish was that it was freshly caught daily by
the crew mans spare time when they go fishing. They also had a shrimp net in
the back of the boat that had shrimp. That also must have played a big role in
the excellent cooking. After dinner, I was exhausted so I went to bed. My
grandma offered my dad and I some pills that would prevent seasickness. My dad
happily took one, but I, being as stubborn as anyone could possibly be, did not
want one. When we got to our room it had a very sweet smell that clogged up
your lungs. It was strange to me and my dad later told me it was diesel exhaust
from the engines. I slept as well as a newbornbaby, with no seasickness.
The next day we woke up and immediately went upstairs to greet one of my best
friends Alex. We put our feet in the water and when I first touched the clear
pacific water…it was warm!!! It was even warmer than heated a pool water; it
was amazing, one hundred percent natural!!! Even my dad was surprised by how
warm the water was. I was getting closer and closer to my utopia.
Before breakfast
my dad challenged one of the crewmembers to a diving contest. Really bad idea
dad. He is an excellent swimmer and I thought that he would easily beat the
crewman. But now that I look back at it, 36-year-old man who is starting to
feel the affects of vs. late twenties man who has probably spent his whole life
swimming in the islands. Not very good odds. I have no idea to this day what
was going on through his head. My dad took his first pencil tip dive off the
boat and into the water. It must have been a good minute before he came back up
to the surface. When he got pulled onto the boat he proudly said, “I could make out thebottom.” The crewman smiled a smile
that only bad guys in movies smile. He dove into the water in about a minute he
came back up. “I touched the bottom”
he said while smiling. Everyone was awed by what just happened. I do not know
how deep that was but I am pretty sure no passenger on the boat would dare
touch the bottom.
After that
extraordinary event, breakfast was called and everyone left except for the
crewman and my dad. The crewman agreed to teach my dad to the secrets of
Ecuadorian diving. I had yet another exquisite meal of bacon, pancakes, and
eggs magnifique!! After the last plate was cleared, our tour guide explained to
us what we were going to do for the day. We were going to an island that was
covered in sea lions. The reason for that is the sea lions just had their young
and they were caring for them. But he assured us that there were other things
to see. I was so excited, my first island! I went down as fast as a person
with ADHD on red bull. Ichanged, brushed my teeth, and grabbed my
disposable camera in a matter of minutes. I, of course, was the first
person to be ready and was waiting for other people out on the deck. There were
two different black boats that would take us out to shore. When we were close
to shore I could make out gold figures and my dad told me they were sea lions.
I was so excited, I wanted to just shout at the sea lions to come and get me.
We got to shore and they were everywhere. It was like acockroach infestation.
We were told not to touch any of the animals unless they touched us first, or
we would have major problems, like being mauled by the head hancho. Who was
big, very big, humongous, giant, like, like 5 me’s. We’d have no chance against
him. The tour guide said watch out for scorpions or their sting would sting for
two to three hours. He pointed them out and I became paranoid. When we reached
a cliff he pointed out to us a blue-footed boobies nest. I kind of giggled a
little bit for obvious reasons but it was interesting to see. He also showed us
bones from baby blue-footed boobies and told us that they were being taught to
fly. The mother would take them in the sky and if the bird did not fly, it
would die. The next thing we saw were frigate birds. It was mating season for
them and they would puff out their bright red chest and would make a drumming
noise. It was actual drumming like an African drumming circle. It was
insane to see and one of the things I would never forget. The next bird we saw
were albatrosses. It was matting season for them as well. When I saw them walk
they automatically became my favorite bird, and still are to this day. When it
takes a step, its head bends over to the side it is stepping. It is the cutest
and funniest thing I have seen a bird do. Also when the male chooses a mate
they walked up to the female and they put its long yellow beak next to the
females and opens them and closes them very fast. The sound is like two
pieces of wood clacking together really loudly. We moved on to the center
of the island and we saw pink flamingoes. They were in the lake sleeping eating
and caring for there young. I loved those flamingoes. Some were very
troublesome, like when one tried to steal a man’s camera. It walked over to us
and everyone was in their “oh-my-god-there-is-a-flamingo-walking-over-to-us” mode.
The flamingo stood there for a moment, and then quickly grabbed a mans camera as if it were a berry.
The man was cursing and shouting in German and it was some sight to see. It is
not everyday you see a German man and his friends fighting a flamingo for his
camera. The tour guide shouted while waving his arms and scared the flamingo
away. We turned around and walked back the way we came to the boats. We went
back to our luxurious yacht and had a wonderful meal of fish.
The next day we woke up, ate breakfast, and
went to an island with just sand. There were some trees in the middle of
the island. But we only stayed on the beach part the whole time. The adults
went snorkeling while Alex and I went scavenging. We found some fish bones that
had apparently been regurgitated by a sea lion. I had no idea what that meant
but now that I know…ewwwwww. We went back to the boat and spent the rest of the
day on the boat. In the afternoon I was pretty bored. I put my feet in the
magical Pacific water and moved them around. There was a small piece of rope
hanging from the side of the boat. I started to wave it around the water and
out popped a small sea lion. I assume it was a baby sea lion because of the
small size. It grabbed onto the rope and started pulling it. Than I started
pulling it, it was challenging me to a game of tug a war. He pulled on his end
and I pulled on mine. He lost his grip in a matter of a few short minutes. Than
I started to tease him by whipping the rope up into the air and back down, he
jumped out of the water and grabbed the rope and pulled it out of my hands and
I never saw him again. I hope he’s making good use of that rope because I later
found out it was to tie the boat up to the dock.
The
last night on the boat, my stubbornness finally caught up to me. I got seasick
during dinner. We were having shrimp and blue-footed boobie drinks whichwere like sunshine in a cup. I told my dad I wasn’t feeling too good. It
went something like this: “Dad, I’m not feeling too good.” “Really, what seems
to be the…” The next thing you know vomit is going all over my dad. I can not
even begin to explain how disgusting that was so I am going to skip the
description of the vomit. I could not sleep all night, this goes for anyone,
take any measure to prevent seasickness. It is not the best thing to have,
trust me on that.
The
last day was a very emotional one for me. I had such an unforgettable time with
my friend and even to the crewmembers like when they let me play video games
with them and I beat them all. You can imagine the embarrassment that they
felt. I would also like to thank the sea lion spot for playing with me when I
was bored. He had a big spot around his eye and so that is what I decided to
call him from then on. We said our last good byes to the captain and crew and
the tour guide escorted us back to the motel-sized airport. We said our good
byes and thanks to him and I was crying. I did not want to leave. This is as
close to a utopia as I have ever gotten, and I had to leave it. We went past
security, back to our plane. We took off and I left my utopia for so far seven
years.
Introduction: Write my book reports were easy. But reading the book not that good. When ever i read a book i fall asleep but i still find a way to finish the book. Then after i finish the book i forgot some facts in the books that would help me alot in my book report. But i think i did pretty good in both, but some reason i think my second book report is better. It is just my opinion.
Twisted
Laurie
Halse Anderson
INTRODUCTION
I have been reading a book
called Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson. Most of you guys know her by the book
called “Speak” which was New York Times bestseller. In this book report I will
be telling you guys about the adventures that the main character Tyler miller
goes through in this story and you guys will find out what happens to him if
you continue reading.
SUMMARIZE
Tyler miller
was a 17-year-old kid, who no one ever noticed. His popularity was so low that
almost no one knew he exist, until the day where he decides to go do graffiti
on the school. He does graffiti during junior year. Tyler had to pay for the
consequences so he was forced to do outdoor summer work. But when he goes back
to school, he becomes so much popular. Everyone noticed him, especially a girl
named Bethany Millbury. Tyler and Bethany relationship do go up along in the
story. But Bethany father tells Tyler that if he doesn’t stay away from her,
her father will fire Tyler’s dad because he works for Bethany’s father. But
also the fights of his angry dad go up. One day Tyler decided to go and get
drunk at a party, which made him kind of crazy. Also the way that the staff
members at his school treated with disrespect was very awful. After, when all
these situations happen and he realize that being popular is really not that
cool, thoughts of suicide came up on his head.
The Main Character of this book is Tyler, the person
that the book is about. Cha
cha is Tyler’s best friend. Tyler dad is Tyler’s
dad. Bethany
Is the girl that Tyler had a crush on. Bethany’s
father is Tyler’s dad boss.
The conflict of the story is basically trying to
tell you that once something good happens, there is always a after shock which
hits you right after. In the book when Tyler was not popular nothing bad really
happened to him, until he became popular. Then thoughts of suicide came up,
which was a big deal for him and everyone around him. The type of conflict in
this story is man vs. self. The reason I think so, is because Tyler is
basically fighting with his own mind if he should kill him self or not.
My favorite character in the book is Tyler. Some
reason I alls find the main character of the book interesting. Well, the reason
why I think this is my favorite character is because Tyler goes through a lot
and for some kids now if thoughts of suicide come up they attempt and sometimes
it works. But for Tyler he thinks everything through which makes him very
smart. In the story he had the gun ready to blast his head off, but then he
thought to him self that living with his father makes him dead already.
This book teaches a lesson. It shows that when even
something is going wrong talk to the person about it. It may end up bad but at
least that person knows the he or she is the bad one. And also try to stay calm
but keep your guard up at all times just incase anything happens.
PERSONAL
EXPERIENCES
I can relate
the story just a little bit. It was a long time ago where I had problems with
my dad happen similar to Tyler. But instead of me wanting to kill my self it
was my mom. The way my dad treated the family was kind of horrible but my mom
stood strong basically watching two kids and handling with all of that. The
only did I did that was similar to Tyler was doing something wrong and being
popular after that. So, one day some boy decided that he wanted to go get
people and jump me. It was a long time ago in the 7th grade. I let
it go until the next day at school where people keep saying things to me about
what happen. So I decided to affront him he was scared. He knew if he said
something I would of just hit him. After this day people started talking to me
and everything became great.
YOUR OPINOIN
Honestly
I like this book. I really don’t like ready books but when I read this it was a
bit confusing. But it keeps me interested when all the drama happens. I think
that the only problem I had of with this book is that they keep changed their
mood, which made me feel confuse. I couldn’t tell if it was an argument or just
a talk. But the easy part of this story is that it keeps me ready until I feel
asleep. Usually when I first read I just knock out but with this book I don’t
knock out until 1 hour. I think this book is fine the way it is. It’s like a
book that cant be change because if you change it, the story will be horrible.
So, I would love for this book to stay the way it is.
YOUR
RECOMMENDATION
I would recommend this book to most teen readers.
Because a lot of teens these days are going through the same as Tyler miller.
So, they can have a story where they can relate to and also enjoy.
This is the piece I'm most proud of. It's not the best written piece but I worked long and hard on this. I think my hard work payed off and I tried my best. Keep in mind that everything in this magazine represents me, even the adds. Hope you enjoy.
Jhonas DunakinOdysseus
and Al Capone Connected Trough TimeRed
3/8/11
Even
though Al Capone is a real life figure and Odysseus is a mythical character,
their legends are both connected. Al Capone was a famous mobster for his
crimes, including the Valentines Day massacre, which started the end of the
North Side Gang. The way the North Side Gang was executed was very crucial. it
was executed was Al Capone and his crew were disguised as policemen. They
ordered the rival gang members to stand against a wall and shot them with Tommy
gun till the dropped dead. Odysseus on the other hand is a famous character
from many ancient Greek tales including Homer’s famous story of the Odyssey.
Odysseus also fought a war against a rival. He was fighting the Trojan War and
during it disguised himself and his men. But instead of them disguising themselves
like Al Capone and his men, they hid away in a statue that the Trojans thought
were an offer to the gods. The Trojans brought it into the city and at night
they opened the gated to the city and the Greeks killed everyone. As you can
see their legends have already been tied together.
In
addition both Al Capone and Odysseus both show signs of being strong men but
sometimes not so intelligent as leaders. For example when Odysseus leads his
men through Scylla and even though Circe told him that he would lose some men
she told him to resist and to let it take some of his men. It’s better to loose
a few men rather than all of them. “Scylla’s no mortal, she’s an immortal
devastation, terrible, savage, wild, no fighting her, no defense just flee the creature,
that’s the only way. Waste any time, arming for battle beside your rock, I fear
she’ll lunge out again with all of her six hands and seize as many men” (Book
12, lines 130-134). Odysseus stubborn as he is, prepares himself for battle to
fight it and Circe’s warning is forgotten as he decides to keep his pride high,
rather than deny the challenge as he was told. “I donned my heroic armor,
seized long spears in both my hands and marched out on the half deck.” (Book
12, lines 245-246) “Now Scylla snatched six men from our hollow ship, the
toughest, strongest hands I had, and glancing backward over the decks,
searching for my crew I could see their hands and feet already hoisted, wailing
down at me, comrades riven in agony, shrieking out my name for on last time!”
(Book 12, lines 264-270) Even though Odysseus’s adventure was mythical Al
Capone had a similar thing happen to him. Al Capone had everything going for
him; he was in charge of Chicago for the 1920’s till the early 1930’s. Even
though he thought that his illegal activity was tax-free his tax lawyers told
him it was not. He being as stubborn as Odysseus was he did not listen to them.
He was then sued buy the U.S. government for failure to pay his income tax. He
owed $215,080.48 in taxes, which in today’s modern dollar money is worth $2,
408,901.38.
Furthermore
Odysseus and his men was part of a famous war known as the Trojan War just like
Capone was part of a gang war against the North Side gang. The Trojan War was
fought by a group of ancient Greek city-states. This includes the ancient
empire of Ithaca lead by King Odysseus. The way they fought their wars was way
different than the gang wars. They had battle tactics and battle formations,
but their motives were the same. The reason the Ithacans fought the war was to
eliminate a common enemy and competition in wealth. The Trojans had a very
popular trade route that would make them very wealthy. In comparison, Al Capone
had competition in the same nature. Al Capone had very many rivals in the alcohol
industry during the prohibition era. (1920-1933) In order to eliminate the
competition and plundered all their riches he declared war with them. The end
of one of the wars was the Valentines Day massacre the marked the end of the
North Side gang which was smartly planned by Al Capone, just like Odysseus had
planned the Trojan Horse which marked the end of the Trojan War.
As
a result Odysseus returned home after 20 years away from home to be greeted by
suitors, just like Capone returned to his gang after 7 years in prison only to
know that it was in the hands of a new leader. Odysseus after 20 long years
away from home returned to Ithaca with nothing and had to fight for everything
he had lost after those years. “These suitors are not just ten or twenty,
they’re far more you count them up yourself now, take a moment…” (Book 16 Lines
276-277) Al Capone faced a similar task after he was let out of prison in 1939.
He had to get to get in control of his gang once again. But just like Odysseus
he had obstacles to get through before he could get it back. Odysseus had to
make sure Penelope was safe and to be careful because it was Odysseus, Telemachus,
and two servants against about 120 men. Al Capone had to fight off his numerous
dieses that he developed in prison.
Even
though Al Capone is a real life figure and Odysseus is a mythical character,
they’re legends are both connected. This statement might be true, but I’ve
found a small catch to it. They have different endings to their stories. Al Capone gave up and retired to home
in Florida with his wife in 1949 and died of pneumonia, which was unrelated to
any of his dieses. Odysseus on the other hand killed all the suitors and
everything returned to normal. But one thing is similar about there endings. Al
Capone may have died in the end but died a happy man, living happily ever after
with his wife in his beautiful home in the Florida countryside. Odysseus also
had a happily ever after ending with his wife and son in his giant palace in
his country of Ithaca.
Introduction: During the whole year i feel that my jounal was the only way i can express myself. Unlike other people that just post it on facebook. Well this is 4 of my best journal entries i did in the whole year.
7. A time when you wish you could drop a part of your
identity...
There
have been many times when I wanted to drop a part of my identity. But one is
when I wanted to drop what race I am. When first moved to Philly and went to
school people used to always make fun of me because of Asian. But they all
thought I was smart so they keep copying my work, and when I said no, they told
me not to leave school. I already knew what that meant. But to be safe I left.
But I learned to live with it and as the year went on everything change. School
for me was fun after that.
8. A time when you were part of a group but didn’t
want to do what the group was doing...
Once
me and my friends were bored, so we decided to go rob someone on the streets. I
was in the 5th grade but had a smart mind. I couldn’t decide if I
should do it or not. But be the careless me I did. So we saw a random boy on
the street and hit him, we didn’t notice but there were cops right near us and
2 of my friends got locked up, except me because I didn’t do nothing but watch.
Now I think if I did join them that night my life may have been kind of
different. I mean being dropped home by cops after being looked up, my mom
would of never looked at me the same way.
9. What are people’s expectations of you? What are your own?
I
have high expectations being given. A C in my family is a failure. But I always
get a C. I argue with my mom all the time telling her its not that bad, but you
know most Asian parents are strict when it comes to school. My expectation is
that, if I am working my ass off in school and still get a C that is perfectly
fine. At least I know I tried my best.
15. What is a “hero”? How would you define it?
To me a hero is no someone you look up to or adore; it is
someone who makes a change in the world. For an example Rosa Park is a hero. If
it weren’t for her, colored people would still be sitting in the back of the
bus. Why would you call someone like lil wayne a hero when all he did was
influenced drugs, and make music to the world. Where you can have someone like
Obama as a hero because he is the first black president ever.
Throughout the year we as students had to
read two books and write a book review on it. My first book review was on the
book “The Skin I’m in”.
Independent
Reading:
The Skin I’m in
The title of this book is called The Skin
I’m in by Sharon G. Flake. This book won plenty of awards
and recognitions for its stellar material and meaning. Some of these awards and
recognitions are…
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New
Talent
Publishers Weekly Author to Watch
New York Public Library Top Ten Book for the Teen
Age
YALSA Best Books for Young Adult Readers
YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers
Texas Lonestar Reading List
Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s
Books of the Year
YWCA Racial Justice Award
Detroit Free Library Author of the Year Award
Starred Review in Publishers Weekly
From what I researched it seems that The
Skin I’m in was made into a movie.
The
Skin I’m in is about a seventh grader named Maleeka. Who is tormented because
of the clothes her mother makes her because she can’t afford new ones, her
perfect grades and if that weren’t enough they would make fun of how dark her
skin is. On top of all that she would hang out with the wrong crowd. Maleeka
hangs out with the meanest girl in school, Charlese. The gang she hangs out
with makes fun of her and they smoke in the girls bathroom most of the school
day. Charlese mouths off to the teachers and messes around with other girls
boyfriends. If she is almost caught by the girlfriend of the boy she tells them
that it wasn’t her it was Maleeka. Maleeka takes this because every day
Charlese brings in nice new pretty clothes and accessories for her to wear for
the day. One day a new teacher shows up named Ms. Saunders with white starchy
blotches on her face. Maleeka thinks that her life can’t get any worse until
this lady comes and makes everything worse than it already was. Ms. Saunders
decides that she wants to teach Maleeka to have more self-confidence and to not
care what other people say or think and to just be herself no matter what.
Maleeka wishes that Ms. Saunders would just leave her alone and go away.
Charlese comes up with the idea to destroy Ms. Saunders’ room. Ms. Saunders got
new velvet pillows for the children to sit on during class, nice new curtains
and new stuff all over the room. They put glue all over the velvet curtains and
pillows, the girls rip and make a mess of the curtains and pillows. Not wanting
to into peer pressure Maleeva resists and Charlese decides to hurt her. Maleeka
ta˚es a lighter from Charlese and burns the money she gave to her. She
accidentally burns the curtains and gets caught by the janitor who was on duty;
Maleeka was the only person who was blamed. In the end the truth comes out and
Charlese’s sister sends her to Alabama and Maleeka is now confident and happy
with how she looks. She also gets the guy she lives named Caleb. Everything
works out in the end.
My
favorite character is Maleeka because she is teased for how she looks and
overcomes what other people say, think and do to her. She eventually gets what
she always needed self-confidence. What people should take away from the book
is to love your self no matter what and be happy with you. Don’t do things you
know is wrong because you want to be liked, just be you all the time and then
you will be happy. There are many morels people could take away from this book
but I think this is the best.
I
can relate to Maleeka because when I was in middle school I was teased for my
weight and the way I looked. I used to pretend to be someone I wasn’t so I
would be liked. I never trashed a teachers’ classroom but I did do things I
wish I hadn’t done like mess with people who were my real friends, mouth off to
my favorite teachers and mess with my sister. In the end I fond people I could
relate to and went to a school were I can start over and be myself. I finally
feel that I don’t have to be someone I’m not.
I
thought that this was an amazing book about a colorful girl who has yet to find
herself in a school who bullies her every day. Not only did I think this book
was awesome I could relate to it in my own way. The strengths of the book were
the action parts. The weaknesses were the parts when Maleeka was talking about
how she got in trouble and had to work in the office and can’t watch TV or use
the phone. I would change the ending, the ending is the type of ending that
leaves you hanging like there would be another book or something but there’s
not. I really didn’t enjoy the type of ending used.
I would recommend this book to anyone
who is interested in teenagers with problems or have trouble being teased. If
you an relate to a kid who is being teased for their looks or how weird people
think they are or how smart they are then this would be the book for you. Many
people can relate to the main character in this story Maleeka in some way or
another. As I said before this book is absolutely amazing. It doesn’t matter if
you are in middle school, high school, college or working I believe everyone can
relate to this boo in some way. Don’t think just do, you should just read,
read, read this book.
a resists and Charlese desides to hurt
her. Maleeka takes a lighter from Charlese and burns the money she gave to her.
She accidentally burns the curtains and gets caught by the janitor who was on
duty; Maleeka was the only person who was blamed. In the end the truth comes
out and Charlese’s sister sends her to Alabama and Maleeka is now confident and
happy with how she looks. She also gets the guy she lives named Caleb.
Everything works out in the end.
My
favorite character is Maleeka because she is teased for how she looks and
overcomes what other people say, think and do to her. She eventually gets what
she always needed self-confidence. What people should take away from the book
is to love yourself no matter what and be happy with you. Don’t do things you
know are wrong because you want to be liked, just be you all the time and then
you will be happy. There are many morels people could take away from this book
but I think this is the best.
I
can relate to Maleeka because when I was in middle school I was teased for my
weight and the way I looked. I used to pretend to be someone I wasn’t so I
would be liked. I never trashed a teachers’ classroom but I did do things I
wish I hadn’t done like mess with people who were my real friends, mouth off to
my favorite teachers and mess with my sister. In the end I found people I could
relate to and went to a school were I can start over and be myself. I finally
feel that I don’t have to be someone I’m not.
I
thought that this was an amazing book about a colorful girl who has yet to find
herself in a school who bullies her every day. Not only did I think this book
was awesome I could relate to it in my own way. The strengths of the book were
the action parts. The weaknesses were the parts when Maleeka was talking about
how she got in trouble and had to work in the office and can’t watch TV or use the
phone. I would change the ending, the ending is the type of ending that leaves
you hanging like there would be another book or something but there’s not. I
really didn’t enjoy the type of ending used.
I would recommend this book to anyone
who is interested in teenagers with problems or have trouble being teased. If
you an relate to a kid who is being teased for their looks or how weird people
think they are or how smart they are then this would be the book for you. Many
people can relate to the main character in this story Maleeka in some way or
another. As I said before this book is absolutely amazing. It doesn’t matter if
you are in middle school, high school, college or working I believe everyone
can relate to this book in some way. Don’t think just do, you should just read,
read, read this book.
Throughout the year we as students had to
read two books and write a book review on it. My first book review was on the
book “The Skin I’m in”.
Independent
Reading:
The Skin I’m in
The title of this book is called The Skin
I’m in by Sharon G. Flake. This book won plenty of awards
and recognitions for its stellar material and meaning. Some of these awards and
recognitions are…
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New
Talent
Publishers Weekly Author to Watch
New York Public Library Top Ten Book for the Teen
Age
YALSA Best Books for Young Adult Readers
YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers
Texas Lonestar Reading List
Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s
Books of the Year
YWCA Racial Justice Award
Detroit Free Library Author of the Year Award
Starred Review in Publishers Weekly
From what I researched it seems that The
Skin I’m in was made into a movie.
The
Skin I’m in is about a seventh grader named Maleeka. Who is tormented because
of the clothes her mother makes her because she can’t afford new ones, her
perfect grades and if that weren’t enough they would make fun of how dark her
skin is. On top of all that she would hang out with the wrong crowd. Maleeka
hangs out with the meanest girl in school, Charlese. The gang she hangs out
with makes fun of her and they smoke in the girls bathroom most of the school
day. Charlese mouths off to the teachers and messes around with other girls
boyfriends. If she is almost caught by the girlfriend of the boy she tells them
that it wasn’t her it was Maleeka. Maleeka takes this because every day
Charlese brings in nice new pretty clothes and accessories for her to wear for
the day. One day a new teacher shows up named Ms. Saunders with white starchy
blotches on her face. Maleeka thinks that her life can’t get any worse until
this lady comes and makes everything worse than it already was. Ms. Saunders
decides that she wants to teach Maleeka to have more self-confidence and to not
care what other people say or think and to just be herself no matter what.
Maleeka wishes that Ms. Saunders would just leave her alone and go away.
Charlese comes up with the idea to destroy Ms. Saunders’ room. Ms. Saunders got
new velvet pillows for the children to sit on during class, nice new curtains
and new stuff all over the room. They put glue all over the velvet curtains and
pillows, the girls rip and make a mess of the curtains and pillows. Not wanting
to into peer pressure Maleeva resists and Charlese decides to hurt her. Maleeka
ta˚es a lighter from Charlese and burns the money she gave to her. She
accidentally burns the curtains and gets caught by the janitor who was on duty;
Maleeka was the only person who was blamed. In the end the truth comes out and
Charlese’s sister sends her to Alabama and Maleeka is now confident and happy
with how she looks. She also gets the guy she lives named Caleb. Everything
works out in the end.
My
favorite character is Maleeka because she is teased for how she looks and
overcomes what other people say, think and do to her. She eventually gets what
she always needed self-confidence. What people should take away from the book
is to love your self no matter what and be happy with you. Don’t do things you
know is wrong because you want to be liked, just be you all the time and then
you will be happy. There are many morels people could take away from this book
but I think this is the best.
I
can relate to Maleeka because when I was in middle school I was teased for my
weight and the way I looked. I used to pretend to be someone I wasn’t so I
would be liked. I never trashed a teachers’ classroom but I did do things I
wish I hadn’t done like mess with people who were my real friends, mouth off to
my favorite teachers and mess with my sister. In the end I fond people I could
relate to and went to a school were I can start over and be myself. I finally
feel that I don’t have to be someone I’m not.
I
thought that this was an amazing book about a colorful girl who has yet to find
herself in a school who bullies her every day. Not only did I think this book
was awesome I could relate to it in my own way. The strengths of the book were
the action parts. The weaknesses were the parts when Maleeka was talking about
how she got in trouble and had to work in the office and can’t watch TV or use
the phone. I would change the ending, the ending is the type of ending that
leaves you hanging like there would be another book or something but there’s
not. I really didn’t enjoy the type of ending used.
I would recommend this book to anyone
who is interested in teenagers with problems or have trouble being teased. If
you an relate to a kid who is being teased for their looks or how weird people
think they are or how smart they are then this would be the book for you. Many
people can relate to the main character in this story Maleeka in some way or
another. As I said before this book is absolutely amazing. It doesn’t matter if
you are in middle school, high school, college or working I believe everyone can
relate to this boo in some way. Don’t think just do, you should just read,
read, read this book.
a resists and Charlese desides to hurt
her. Maleeka takes a lighter from Charlese and burns the money she gave to her.
She accidentally burns the curtains and gets caught by the janitor who was on
duty; Maleeka was the only person who was blamed. In the end the truth comes
out and Charlese’s sister sends her to Alabama and Maleeka is now confident and
happy with how she looks. She also gets the guy she lives named Caleb.
Everything works out in the end.
My
favorite character is Maleeka because she is teased for how she looks and
overcomes what other people say, think and do to her. She eventually gets what
she always needed self-confidence. What people should take away from the book
is to love yourself no matter what and be happy with you. Don’t do things you
know are wrong because you want to be liked, just be you all the time and then
you will be happy. There are many morels people could take away from this book
but I think this is the best.
I
can relate to Maleeka because when I was in middle school I was teased for my
weight and the way I looked. I used to pretend to be someone I wasn’t so I
would be liked. I never trashed a teachers’ classroom but I did do things I
wish I hadn’t done like mess with people who were my real friends, mouth off to
my favorite teachers and mess with my sister. In the end I found people I could
relate to and went to a school were I can start over and be myself. I finally
feel that I don’t have to be someone I’m not.
I
thought that this was an amazing book about a colorful girl who has yet to find
herself in a school who bullies her every day. Not only did I think this book
was awesome I could relate to it in my own way. The strengths of the book were
the action parts. The weaknesses were the parts when Maleeka was talking about
how she got in trouble and had to work in the office and can’t watch TV or use the
phone. I would change the ending, the ending is the type of ending that leaves
you hanging like there would be another book or something but there’s not. I
really didn’t enjoy the type of ending used.
I would recommend this book to anyone
who is interested in teenagers with problems or have trouble being teased. If
you an relate to a kid who is being teased for their looks or how weird people
think they are or how smart they are then this would be the book for you. Many
people can relate to the main character in this story Maleeka in some way or
another. As I said before this book is absolutely amazing. It doesn’t matter if
you are in middle school, high school, college or working I believe everyone
can relate to this book in some way. Don’t think just do, you should just read,
read, read this book.
Throughout the year we as students had to
read two books and write a book review on it. My first book review was on the
book “The Skin I’m in”.
Independent
Reading:
The Skin I’m in
The title of this book is called The Skin
I’m in by Sharon G. Flake. This book won plenty of awards
and recognitions for its stellar material and meaning. Some of these awards and
recognitions are…
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New
Talent
Publishers Weekly Author to Watch
New York Public Library Top Ten Book for the Teen
Age
YALSA Best Books for Young Adult Readers
YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers
Texas Lonestar Reading List
Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s
Books of the Year
YWCA Racial Justice Award
Detroit Free Library Author of the Year Award
Starred Review in Publishers Weekly
From what I researched it seems that The
Skin I’m in was made into a movie.
The
Skin I’m in is about a seventh grader named Maleeka. Who is tormented because
of the clothes her mother makes her because she can’t afford new ones, her
perfect grades and if that weren’t enough they would make fun of how dark her
skin is. On top of all that she would hang out with the wrong crowd. Maleeka
hangs out with the meanest girl in school, Charlese. The gang she hangs out
with makes fun of her and they smoke in the girls bathroom most of the school
day. Charlese mouths off to the teachers and messes around with other girls
boyfriends. If she is almost caught by the girlfriend of the boy she tells them
that it wasn’t her it was Maleeka. Maleeka takes this because every day
Charlese brings in nice new pretty clothes and accessories for her to wear for
the day. One day a new teacher shows up named Ms. Saunders with white starchy
blotches on her face. Maleeka thinks that her life can’t get any worse until
this lady comes and makes everything worse than it already was. Ms. Saunders
decides that she wants to teach Maleeka to have more self-confidence and to not
care what other people say or think and to just be herself no matter what.
Maleeka wishes that Ms. Saunders would just leave her alone and go away.
Charlese comes up with the idea to destroy Ms. Saunders’ room. Ms. Saunders got
new velvet pillows for the children to sit on during class, nice new curtains
and new stuff all over the room. They put glue all over the velvet curtains and
pillows, the girls rip and make a mess of the curtains and pillows. Not wanting
to into peer pressure Maleeva resists and Charlese decides to hurt her. Maleeka
ta˚es a lighter from Charlese and burns the money she gave to her. She
accidentally burns the curtains and gets caught by the janitor who was on duty;
Maleeka was the only person who was blamed. In the end the truth comes out and
Charlese’s sister sends her to Alabama and Maleeka is now confident and happy
with how she looks. She also gets the guy she lives named Caleb. Everything
works out in the end.
My
favorite character is Maleeka because she is teased for how she looks and
overcomes what other people say, think and do to her. She eventually gets what
she always needed self-confidence. What people should take away from the book
is to love your self no matter what and be happy with you. Don’t do things you
know is wrong because you want to be liked, just be you all the time and then
you will be happy. There are many morels people could take away from this book
but I think this is the best.
I
can relate to Maleeka because when I was in middle school I was teased for my
weight and the way I looked. I used to pretend to be someone I wasn’t so I
would be liked. I never trashed a teachers’ classroom but I did do things I
wish I hadn’t done like mess with people who were my real friends, mouth off to
my favorite teachers and mess with my sister. In the end I fond people I could
relate to and went to a school were I can start over and be myself. I finally
feel that I don’t have to be someone I’m not.
I
thought that this was an amazing book about a colorful girl who has yet to find
herself in a school who bullies her every day. Not only did I think this book
was awesome I could relate to it in my own way. The strengths of the book were
the action parts. The weaknesses were the parts when Maleeka was talking about
how she got in trouble and had to work in the office and can’t watch TV or use
the phone. I would change the ending, the ending is the type of ending that
leaves you hanging like there would be another book or something but there’s
not. I really didn’t enjoy the type of ending used.
I would recommend this book to anyone
who is interested in teenagers with problems or have trouble being teased. If
you an relate to a kid who is being teased for their looks or how weird people
think they are or how smart they are then this would be the book for you. Many
people can relate to the main character in this story Maleeka in some way or
another. As I said before this book is absolutely amazing. It doesn’t matter if
you are in middle school, high school, college or working I believe everyone can
relate to this boo in some way. Don’t think just do, you should just read,
read, read this book.
a resists and Charlese desides to hurt
her. Maleeka takes a lighter from Charlese and burns the money she gave to her.
She accidentally burns the curtains and gets caught by the janitor who was on
duty; Maleeka was the only person who was blamed. In the end the truth comes
out and Charlese’s sister sends her to Alabama and Maleeka is now confident and
happy with how she looks. She also gets the guy she lives named Caleb.
Everything works out in the end.
My
favorite character is Maleeka because she is teased for how she looks and
overcomes what other people say, think and do to her. She eventually gets what
she always needed self-confidence. What people should take away from the book
is to love yourself no matter what and be happy with you. Don’t do things you
know are wrong because you want to be liked, just be you all the time and then
you will be happy. There are many morels people could take away from this book
but I think this is the best.
I
can relate to Maleeka because when I was in middle school I was teased for my
weight and the way I looked. I used to pretend to be someone I wasn’t so I
would be liked. I never trashed a teachers’ classroom but I did do things I
wish I hadn’t done like mess with people who were my real friends, mouth off to
my favorite teachers and mess with my sister. In the end I found people I could
relate to and went to a school were I can start over and be myself. I finally
feel that I don’t have to be someone I’m not.
I
thought that this was an amazing book about a colorful girl who has yet to find
herself in a school who bullies her every day. Not only did I think this book
was awesome I could relate to it in my own way. The strengths of the book were
the action parts. The weaknesses were the parts when Maleeka was talking about
how she got in trouble and had to work in the office and can’t watch TV or use the
phone. I would change the ending, the ending is the type of ending that leaves
you hanging like there would be another book or something but there’s not. I
really didn’t enjoy the type of ending used.
I would recommend this book to anyone
who is interested in teenagers with problems or have trouble being teased. If
you an relate to a kid who is being teased for their looks or how weird people
think they are or how smart they are then this would be the book for you. Many
people can relate to the main character in this story Maleeka in some way or
another. As I said before this book is absolutely amazing. It doesn’t matter if
you are in middle school, high school, college or working I believe everyone
can relate to this book in some way. Don’t think just do, you should just read,
read, read this book.
If you click Globalization in my Community you will be able to access the keynote I produced, that reveals the different photos taken in my community which represents varies themes in globalization.
What did you find most challenging about this project?
The thing I found to be most challenging about this project was taking pictures in the my community that reflected the different themes listed for globalization. It's not that I didn't know how to explain those themes, I just found it hard to actually find those themes in the area where I lived. Also managing time was a little difficult for me. Because we were given so long, I kept delaying the assignment.
How did you go about collecting the images or selecting the images?
I didn't have a specific method for collecting the photos, the only thing I tried to do was focus on the theme and figure out what would best correspond. The mindset I had was if I couldn't actually get the picture I wanted, then get something that was in the general ball park of my explanation and explain why I couldn't get the actual picture I wanted and explain how the one I actually took was appropriate.
Which image is your favorite? Why? Elaborate.
My favorite image would have to be the photo I took for the theme Society, Culture, Gender. I mean, for starters it is a picture of me getting a body piercing on the back of my neck which elaborates on the culture portion of the theme. It's the most exciting picture I've ever seen in my life, and I have a lot of body piercings so it's almost like globalization lives with me.
How
prevalent is the evidence of globalization in Philadelphia? Do you
think it is more or less so (evident) than in other large cities in the
US? Why Why not?
I think the obvious things like Health, and Trade or anything involving the economy (well not really) are more evident in Philadelphia in terms of globalization. But as far as education, and society, those topics were a little hard to see. I don't think it has anything to do with the city being large (because if anything I think it would appear more evident) however I think it mainly depends on the eye one has for globalization. Because I've never noticed certain things before, it made it a lot harder to notice them now, and I've always been told: you see what you want to see.
As
a 9th grade student, my writing portfolio shows a growth in me. This growth
doesn’t affect me in terms of height, weight or anything like that, but as a
person. As you progress through all three benchmarks and all the projects in
order, there is a change in how I write. They go from immature to an
understandable young adult with his opinions. Of course there are those
childish moments but can you blame me? No matter how much we grow up, our inner
child is clawing to get out. Don't be mistaken, all these writing pieces still
expresses who I am and who I have become, but each one shows a different side
of me.
With
growth, there come strengths and weaknesses. As of right now, some strengths
that I have as a writer is the ability to imagine and be creative. So
naturally, writing formal essays and papers that require a serious tone is
difficult. However, as I continue to grow throughout my years, perfecting the
art of writing a serious and very important writing piece of my goal here at
SLA. No one has ever got a professional job by being funny and making up
stories that are untrue, none that I know of anyways.
Producing
this portfolio was no easy feat. The most problematic part of constructing this
portfolio was making the projects that are contained in this portfolio. Each
one had it's own problems and issues. I can't remember a majority of them
because I choose not to. All I really know, and can really advise, is to never
procrastinate. It will be the end of good quality work and sleep, as you know
it. As I am reflecting on each individual piece, some of the problems might
come back to me and be listed. Lets get started!
The first ever benchmark of my freshman year.
In this benchmark the student has to pick a character out of the play "MacBeth" and
write about how (s)he changes throughout the story. Also, ten quotes are needed
to help aid the reader in seeing this change. I personally choose Macbeth
because I thought he was the easiest but I was horribly wrong. Did this
benchmark lacking in confidence. This was simply because it was “The”
benchmark, killer of sleep, destroyer of fun. This was also because we were
taking on Macbeth. First book of the year and we have to read Macbeth? But I
got through somehow and that feeling of success made my confidence skyrocket.
Take a look at my shaky start in English.
(Q1 Benchmark)
Henry Poeng
Thesis: Macbeth change of heart at the beginning of the play cost
him his life.
The Three Weird sisters in
Act One, Scene 3, approach Macbeth and Banquo. They hail Macbeth
first as Thane of Glamis, then Thane of Cawdor, and finally
King. Macbeth and Banquo are mesmerized in many more ways than
one. Macbeth then says “The Thane of Cawdor lives, why do you dress me in
barrowed robes.” This line shows how Macbeth feels about being
addressed as the Than of Cawdor. Shortly after the question is asked, the
witches vanish without answering anything. Macbeth and Banquo are
left to interpret what the meaning is. Macbeth sees the witches
prophesy as good news and is very happy but also very confused at the same
time. Macbeth just does not know in what way he will claim these
titles.
King Duncan officially
proclaims in Act One, Scene 4 Macbeth Thane of Cawdor. At that same
time King Duncan proclaims his son, Malcolm, Prince of Cumberland or in other
words his successor. Macbeth, who is very surprised when hearing
this, goes aside and starts speaking to him self. “Stars hide your
fire; let not the lights see my black and deep desires” was one of his
lines. This line that Macbeth said translates to, Heaven, please
don’t let anyone see my deep and dark desires. This specific lines
shows that Macbeth is shocked to hear that Malcolm was going to be king instead
of him self and there fore he is going to do something about
it. Then Macbeth’s ambitions start to show. He was going to be king
one way or another even if he has to kill someone for it.
In Act One, Scene 7 Lady
Macbeth confronts Macbeth and tells him of her plans to kill King
Duncan. Macbeth goes aside and weighs out the consequences of these
actions. After some seducing performed by Lady Macbeth, Macbeth changes his
mind and goes with the plan. At the end of the scene Macbeth says,
“False face must hide what false heart doth know.” This line means to
be a flower on the outside and be a serpent underneath. In other
words, look nice and innocent but conceal your feelings from the
public. At this point Macbeth becomes hesitant about what he’s
getting himself into but his ambitions start to take over.
In Act Two, Scene 2 Macbeth
has killed Duncan. He and Lady Macbeth are flooded with
guilt. Macbeth says that he heard voices shortly after he killed
King Duncan. The voices said, “Glamis hath murdered
sleep, therefore Cawdor shall not sleep”. In direct translation it
pretty much means that Macbeth killed someone who was sleeping, therefore he
doesn’t get to sleep as a price to pay. At this point Macbeth is
starting to go a little bit crazy, as well as Lady Macbeth. The
guilt is going to impact everything from this point on.
In
Act Three, Scene 2 Macbeth has hatched a plan to kill Banquo. He
indirectly tells Lady Macbeth who doesn’t really understand. While
telling Lady Macbeth, Macbeth says, “O, full of scorpions is my mind dear
wife.” This quote explains just hwa tkinds of things are going on in Macbeth’s
head. This indicates the type of thoughts that are going on inside of Macbeth’s
head. Evil
scheming thoughts that plan to destroy all his enemies. At
this point in the play, Macbeth is planning to kill anyone in his way without
hesitation.
In Act Three, Scene 4 Macbeth
has killed Banquo. After slaying Banquo, Macbeth is not guilty and
doesn’t really regret what he has done. Macbeth killed Banquo
because Banquo has a gut feeling that Macbeth was attaining all this power by
unfair means. Macbeth says this after the deed is done. He says that
he is, “Stepped in so far that, I can wade no more.” In direct
translation, this means that Macbeth has gone so far into his evil deeds that
he can’t turn back so he just going to keep on going. At this point
in the play Macbeth has become pure evil and nothing can stop him, not even him
self.
In Act four, Scene 2 Macbeth
is talking to his subjects, who are of course working for him out of fear and
not love, when he realizes something that the Weird Sisters had done to make
him be in this situation. So he says “Time thou anticipates my
dreaded exploits.” In the quote he says “anticipates”, which means predict,
“Dreaded exploits,” which means evil deeds. This means that time or
another thing has predicted his evil deeds. Therefore he accepts his that this
is “fate” and continues to go forth with his plans.
In Act four, Scene 3 MacDuff
and Malcolm are ranting off about Macbeth in England where they have fled off
to live. They are venting their anger towards each other. This anger
would have never started if Macbeth didn’t betray them. With all this ranting
MacDuff says,“ No one in the legions of horrid hell can come a devil more
damned in evils top Macbeth.” This quote means that, no one sent
from hell can be more evil than Macbeth. This quote shows what other
people think of Macbeth.
In Act Five, Scene 3 the
10,000 men from England are approaching. Macbeth is mad at all the
servants that keep coming to warn him. In an attempt to shut them up
and maybe bring courage upon himself, Macbeth says, “I’ll fight till from my
bones my fleshed be hacked” This line means that Macbeth will fight to the
death no matter what. He has nothing to lose and is blinded by his ambitions
to realize what he’s getting into.
In Act Five, Scene 8 Macbeth
is fighting Macduff in a final attempt to protect this throne. After
some intense fighting Macduff is on the verge of winning. Realizing he’s going
to die on the spot, he says, “I throw my warlike shield.” This means
he’s going to sacrifice him self and die here and now instead of facing the
consequences and bowing down to Malcolm. In a final attempt at attacking
Macduff, Macbeth is slain. At this point in the play, Macbeth is
dead. This just proves that since Macbeth is so stubborn and naive, he threw
away everything he had for everything he wanted but ultimately failed in the
end.
In conclusion, Macbeth had a
very dramatic change of heart that widely influences the whole
play. Just one act and all his inner ambitions are
arisen. Throughout each act, his cold-heartedness
grows. Towards the end, his thoughts are clouded with evil, and he
has nothing to lose. Therefore, Macbeth has the meatiest change throughout
the whole play. As a secret message towards any potential readers, Shakespeare
show how taking all the wrong turns to get what you want will bring failure
upon your life.
(Q2 Benchmark)
This was a fun project to write. In this project, students had to compose a
memoir vignette (snapshot of their life) that changed them in some type of way.
I chose to write about an experience that was like none I ever had before. It
was about violence, but not that punch-kick violence. This violence involved
shooting and killing. It was a coincidence that this happen, because when I
first heard that we were getting this project, I was struggling to find that
snapshot of my life. The second I heard that we were doing a vignette, I was
all over it. I remembered a majority of every detail that happen that day with
relative ease. Making a story out of it was just amazing. I felt like I was
soaring in imagination with this one, even though it was 100% real. Check out
the creative process at work.
Henry Poeng
Orange Stream
An Ordinary Day In The Neighborhood
“Uncle,
are you okay?” My dad’s response tone to this question showed both surprise and
shock. “Yeah I’m fine” he said reassuringly. “What wrong?” then asked. “I just
had this horrible dream… there was a shooting in front of your store and
someone died. I couldn’t really make out who the person was but he was
important.” My dad’s face went grim. “Alright calm down, we are all fine here.
Chill out and get some sleep okay?” Click. My cousin had hung up and my dad put
the phone down.
December
30th, 2010. 12: 47 am. Everyone in the family except for me was
ready for some sleep. (opener) It was tiring just like any other day. My dad
just got out the shower, when he got a phone call. It was my cousin, who was
planning to visit soon from Connecticut. His voice was heavy, he was breathing
deep, and he seemed shaken. He explained to my dad that he just experienced a
nightmare. In the nightmare, people were shooting each other in front of our
store. My dad was surprised to hear this but laughed it off nevertheless. My
dad comforted him and told him to go back to sleep assuring him that everything
was fine. My cousin warned my dad to be careful. I was in my room starting a
recently assigned English benchmark project. (Foreshadowing)
December 31th,
2010. Not much was expected on this New Years Eve. It was just another boring
day of hard work and some extreme grumpiness. The previous night, I didn’t get
enough sleep, but that didn’t stop the customers from flooding in like there
was no tomorrow. Just what you would expect on a party night,
right? Little did they know. (Foreshadowing)
It was around 7:45 pm when
the most unexpected thing happened. I was taking care of a customer
and brooding(vocab) about
how to get out of work, all at the same time. Work being: selling customers
whole cases of beer, candy, cigarette, soda, etc. I live in a beer store so
this is an everyday thing. All this brooding left me bemused and
started an awkward situation. The customer I was serving got angry and started
to become insolent(Vocab) towards
me., which was perfectly fine until it got way out of hand. He kept
going on and on, screaming, cursing, and trying to escalate the tension. (Magic
3) Being very adept(Vocab) at
conflicts like this, I just ignored him and went about finishing the
transaction. Then, just outside the front of the store, BAM! (Onomatopoeia)
Sirens blared, breaking the awkward silence that followed.
Everything
was dropped. “Holy Shit!” (dialogue) screamed a good majority
of people. My mom and I went to peek out the window to see what was going on.
It wasn’t the most pleasant sight. A green dodge mini-van looked like
it was going down the wrong way on Walnut St. and went into a sudden halt not
far off from the intersection of Walnut St. and Frasier. Strange thing is, a
patrol vehicle looked like it caused the crash. Imagine this, a Green dodge
minivan pointed towards Jehovah’s Witness, which is directly left of my store,
at a 90-degree angle, a good size dent in it with a police car perpendicular to
the vehicle. (Imagery) The first thing that came to my mind
is, “This is not good.” (Dialogue) So I walk back to attend to the
waiting customers.
Fireworks
went off, or at least that’s what I thought it was. Running back to my mom I
asked “What’s going on out there?!” The response blind-sided me in the
face like somebody was running and just tripped into a wall. (Simile) The
driver of the green Dodge mini-van gunned down two cops! My mom and I ran to
the back of the establishment and notified my dad and my brother of the
situation. My brother looked at me like he just watched a good show of
SNL and said, (Simile)
“Please… it was only
fireworks don’t get so worked up” (Dialogue)
“But, Richard! Come look!”
(Dialogue)
With some proper begging he
came and took a glance. Turns out, the scene changed, and there
was way more then just one police car out there. Around 25 + vehicles, Officers
out, and guns pointed. It looked like a lustrous (Vocab) clump of red and blue in the night, which was
very appropriate for New Years. (Imagery) Then they open fired,
emptying about a magazine into the suspect’s car, at least that’s what the news
said. POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! (Onomatopoeia/ Rep 4 Effect). I
was scared out of my mind. It looked like an old western movie. A standoff was
happening right in front of my house! I was in shock and awe. So many things
raced through my mind. Will we get out of this alive? What happened to the cops
who got gunned down? Are they okay? This is exciting! I’m hungry, so
tired… sleepy, sleepy… and so forth. (Rep 4 Effect)
The fun part is how stupid we
all acted. My dad, who arrived rather late, ran outside and looked into the
car, as did about 15 other bystanders, my-self included. Dumb move, I know.
Difference was, I was about a quarter-block away from the car. The cops started
yelling and shooed us all away from the danger zone.
Everyone pretty much piled up
in the store. A good majority of them were very irritated because they were
disrupted from their holiday festivities. The customers pretty much
notified their family, sat around, or tried to make a quick transaction so they
can get out. (Magic 3) Just goes to show you that even in crisis some
people are still extremely selfish. My dad, who did not want to close shop just
yet, decided to play along with the selfish customers and go sell them ice.
This involved him going back outside again. Bad mistake. He was held outside
behind a wall in safety. My dad called shortly after we noticed that he was
missing. He told us to be wary (Vocab)
of the situation and to lower the bulwark (Vocab)
that is the front gate. Daring not to disobey, we evacuated the store and
lowered the gates.
A mere five minutes later, my
dad called on the phone. He told my brother and I to grab a case of beer so we
can sell it to a customer who was buying it the “back-door” way. We thought he
was joking, until we saw our dad approaching the back yard with a customer in
tow. After making the transaction, we all went back inside. Around this time a
copper chopper arrived to the scene rather low.Using the mounted spotlight,
it circled around the suspect’s vehicle and made light of the situation. (Pun
Intended/Humor)
Naturally, in situations like
these, you want to feel safe right? You know that feeling when you want to grab
something sharp and deadly, or just go hide somewhere to feel safe? That’s
exactly what I did. Upon re-entering the house, I ran to my room and totally
missed the light switch. Groping (vocab)
around in the dark, I grabbed my metal softball bat and a metal baseball bat. I
know it seems stupid, but it made me feel secure. Others didn’t think so. A cop
noticed me with the bats and told me “What are you going to do with those
bats? Going to hit a bullet out the park? You can’t even swing with
one hand!” (Dialogue/Humor) That comment made me feel stupid, but I
felt safe so it was okay. Putting the bats away, I went to go watch what else
was unfolding.
When I arrived back at the
place of entertainment, anyone who was viewing the little show had a face that
could make even the most secure in mind cry. Amassing (Vocab) some courage I peeked over the
window, heart racing. The scene had changed. With the spotlight illuminating
the car, some of the higher ranked cops gathered in a circle at the
intersection of Frasier and Walnut St. They appeared to be scheming on how to
handle the rest of the situation. Out of nowhere, down the dark alleyway of
Frasier St. was a heavily armed officer, otherwise known as a S.W.A.T (special
weapons and tactics) operator. Walking down slow mo, or at least that’s
how I saw it. He looked extremely intimidating. This man was dressed in all
black with armor and bullet proof pads spread across evenly all over his body,
thick helmet on his head, attached with a helmet visor. In his right hand, a
riot shield, in his left, an assault rifle. I can only guess that it was a
M416, but that’s just from background gaming knowledge, which made it even more
exciting. (Imagery) His face was made of stone. (Metaphor)
They call him the crisis
negotiator, negotiator for short. His job was to approach the suspect and cause
a diversion for a S.W.A.T team to arrive, or talk the suspect into
surrendering, or both. From my perspective, it seemed like both. I can only
assume that being a negotiator, you needed to be shrewd (Vocab) andconscientious
(Vocab) of the suspect in critical situations.
My dad, my brother and I took
this given opportunity of peace to talk to my dad’s friend who happened to be
an officer at the scene and likes to visit the store when he’s off duty. My dad
was at the door speaking to his cop friend, who coincidently had his patrol
vehicle right in front of the store entrance. My dad was chatting away with his
friend, while I was talking to my brother, who was just as excited. He told me
to go and listen in. Being his younger brother, I had to comply.
While I listened in, my
brother was broadcasting what was going on to my other brother who was in
Florida at the time. I found this superfluous, but what the heck, it was
exciting. Apparently, the showdown on Walnut was being shown live in
Florida, which I found extremely strange. My dad was talking to his friend. We
got the gist of the situation. Apparently, the cops were waiting for S.W.A.T.
to arrive, there were 200+ personal surrounding the perimeter and all branches
of law enforcement were deployed. This was the first event in Philadelphia law
enforcement history of its caliber. All of a sudden, the radio exploded with a
sharp command that was lost in a sudden burst of confusion. We ran back
inside. “Don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic!” I constantly told my
self. (Rep 4 Effect/Dialouge)
After a quick break, we all
resumed our position in front of the window and stared at the scene. Nothing
interesting happened just yet so I went to back to getting some work done.
Unable to keep myself away I ran back just in time to get blinded by a burst of
flares. The flash looked like a firework that had gone wrong. It looked like an
extremely bright light with flares coming out the sides with a loud pop that is
redundant now and days. This special item causes disorientation of
anyone unfortunate enough to witness it. Good thing I was behind the window. I
just witnessed a flash bang. (Imagery) I peeked back up to examine the
next set of events. Assuming that the suspect was disoriented, S.W.A.T moved
towards the car and took out the suspect. He was dead and covered in
blood. It looks like someone missed a paint ball gun filled with red
paint balls horribly. (Imagery) One can only guess how much anguish (Vocab) he suffered
in that one-hour period, barricaded in his car. The scene at the
time was surreal because
so much was happening at once. I was inept (Vocab)
when it came to things like this, but this has only made my mentally stronger.
After the dramatic event over, all the bystanders went back to what they were
doing, including me.
Refreshing the page on a news
site for 10 minutes straight wasn’t the smartest thing, but it was worth it,
just to see what was going on from the news reporter’s
perspective. The reports say that the two officers that got shot
were in good condition and had been released from the hospital. A sigh
of relief went around the crowd that was around the computer. (Imagery).
All the excitement left me tremendously enervated. Crawling to bed, I took the
time to reflect on what was just witnessed.
With this reflection came
inner thoughts. What you do will follow you for life, but how you repent for it
is what makes the difference. Shooting cops will be the end for you. Be
prepared for the unexpected because this is the type of world we live in. Think
of the possible consequences before doing anything. As I slowly drifted to
sleep, I whispered to myself “This is just another ordinary day in the
neighborhood.” (Dialogue) and dozed off.
III
III
III
III
\/
Down here!
This is just for kicks: :D
Now this is the story all
about how
some guy got flipped, turned upside down
and I'd like to take a minute just sit right there
I'll tell you how I almost pulled out all of my hair.
In West Philadelphia born and raised
In a beer store is where I spend most of my days.
Selling, taxin, relaxing all cool
And enjoying this day off from school.
When this one guy, who was up to no good
Starting causing trouble in my neighborhood.
He robbed one gas station and the cops got scared.
They said “get out the car with your hands in the air”
The cops called for some back up, when it came near
The crazy driver shot the two cops with a frightening sneer.
If anything, I could say this scene was super rare
but I thought oh heck no, it’s safer in there.
Then back up pulled up round seven or 8.
came out and said “yo dawg get the tazer.”
Hey Look at that! S.W.A.T is finally here.
Extracting the body with guns in the air.
(Over exaggerated)
Trying to this project was an
adventure by it self. This was probably from reading the confusing Odyssey, to
watching a confusing movie. But I took on the challenge and made it through. Of
course with some bumps and bruises here and there (If you catch my drift).
Anyways, the third quarter benchmark consist of the comparison between Odysseus
and Everett from the movie “O Brother Where Art Thou”. This is done by
using comparison and evidence from both the movie and the books to compare and
contrast these two characters. The two characters didn’t have to be between
these too, but I was having a huge writers block so finding a good match came
to late. Take a look at writer’s block!
(Q3 Benchmark)
3/7/11
Henry Poeng
Odysseus:
Great teller of tales, Trojan War hero, and main character of The
Odyssey. Everett: Master Tactician, Leader of the Soggy Bottom Boys, George
Clooney and main character of O Brother Where Art Thou. Odysseus and Ulysses
are both selfish at times, and overcome their conflicts in the same manner.
But, it’s how they are assisted on their journeys that make the
difference. Although these two are very similar in their
personalities, they have a different approach to their respective journeys.
Everett and Odysseus show
similarities in their selfishness during several points of their adventures. In
the movie O Brother Where Art Thou, Everett risks the life of his crewmates in
a vain attempt try and persuade Delmar and Pete to go and get his hair gel from
the back of a burning car. Everett shows that he’s going to put himself first
instead of considering the life of his loyal crewmembers. This had to potential
to get all three of them killed. In The Odyssey, Odysseus said
“Cyclops- if any man in the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you,
shamed you so—say Odysseus, raider of cites, he gouged out your eye, Laertes’
son who makes his home in Ithaca!” (Book 9, Lines 558-562). Unlike
Everett, Odysseus actually puts his crewmates in grave danger. As a result, he
got them all killed in the end. But, this also shows how they are like in their
thinking, and how selfish they both can be.
O
Brother Where Art Thou is heavily based off of The
Odyssey. There are several hints that show this in the movie. One
would be the prophet, who tells Everett how to get home, much like in The
Odyssey. However, they are actually different. The
Odyssey Odysseus was thrown off course so many times that it is hard
to keep count. It is believed that the main source of all his interludes was,
for the most part, the Greek gods. Poseidon, earth shaker and king of the seas
had a deep grudge on Odysseus for blinding Polyphemus, his son, and being
associated with Athena. As you may know, Athena and Poseidon HATE each other
very much. Using everything in his power that didn’t involve direct interaction
between him and Odysseus, Poseidon further delayed his return trip home via
storms, monsters, etc. Athena on the other hand was on Odysseus’ side, protecting
him and only him throughout a huge chunk of the epic. If you think carefully,
do you see this happening at all in O Brother Where Art Thou? Nope. In O
Brother Where Art Thou there aren’t any gods, or some supernatural other
worldly power to veer Everett and companions off course, or further then along
for that matter. He got home all by himself without the need of the Gods.
In The
Odyssey, Odysseus overcame his challenges by first, thinking of some well
thought out plan, then eventually needing Athena’s help towards the end of
executing the plan. For example “Naked threats- and Athena hit new heights of
race, she lashed out at Odysseus now with blazing accusation: “Where’s it gone,
Odysseus- your power, your fighting heart? The great solder who fought for
famous white-armed Helen, battling Trojans nine longs years- nonstop, no mercy,
mowing their armies down in grueling battle- you who seized the broad streets
of Troy with your fine strategic strokes! How can you- now you’ve returned to your
own house, your own wealth- bewail the loss of your combat strength in war with
suitors? Come, old friend, stand by me! You’ll see action now, see how Mentor
the son of Alcimus, that brace fighter, kill your enemies, pays you back for
service!” (Book 22, Line 234-246). As long as this quote might be, it has a
huge significance. Without Athena, who knows where Odysseus might be right now.
Some might argue, that without the Gods, Odysseus might have not gotten home at
all or vice-versa. This may be true, but we haven’t really seen the famed
Odysseus “Master of tactics, Great teller of tales” in action without the help
or intervention of the Gods. In O Brother Where Art Thou, Everett gets through
all his challenges by himself. From escaping the chain gang, to making “old
timey” music and sort of getting his wife back. He did it all himself that is
what someone should be respected for. That is a huge difference in terms of
showing character traits and applying it.
In conclusion, Odysseus and
Everett might share the same qualities with each other, but the manners in
which they achieve their goals are quite different. Sure you might think, “Oh,
well if Odysseus didn’t have Athena, he would have never got home.” or, “ Oh,
well if Poseidon wasn’t messing with him so much then we would have gotten home
safe and sound.” which could be very true. My point is, if your going to talk
about someone else’s abilities and what they are doing, then talk about it
right, not with some sort of handicap. That to me is just plain unfair. It’s
just like saying “Yeah! I totally made this turbine with the help of my twenty
friends so appreciate me more because I want more credit!” It’s the same deal
with Odysseus, but must admit that he is insanely smart and strong. Although
these two are very similar in their personalities, they have a different
approach to their respective journeys.
The creative Macbeth piece was
probably my second most favorite project as a 9th grade freshman in
English. I basically went all out in both creativity and fun. For this project
we had to make a character journey of a character of choice. It could be
creative. I chose to do a keynote that was very entertaining, to me anyways.
From music to a clever rhyme scheme, and getting everyone intrigued at how I
produced such a wonderful project. Alas, I cannot show the keynote, but if you
are interested please email me. This wasn’t much difficulty in making this
project. It simply flowed in my brain until the project was done. What you are
about to read is the poem part of my project.
(Creative Piece)
Macbeth and Banquo are
marching back as heroes, embarrassing everyone: making them zeros. On the way
back there was a surprising mental attack. They meet three weird sisters, full
of warts and blisters. They hailed Macbeth as thane of Glamis, Cawdor and King
here after. So Banquo is confused. He asked the weird sisters to state his news. They declare him the
fountain of kings. It was strange for Macbeth and Banquo to hear these things.
The weird sisters soon after leave, making Macbeth and Banquo puzzled on what
to believe. Ross and Angus enter the scene, upon their face was
great amounts of gleam. Bringing them with news of his promotion, Macbeth
says “The Thane
of Cawdor lives, why do you dress me in barrowed robes.”Macbeth
declares that he will later probe. So continues the story, turn to
the next slide to read of Macbeth’s rise to glory.
Macbeth and Banquo return to the castle where King Duncan waited
with no type of hassle. Macbeth was proclaimed Thane of Cawdor, a title the
traitor had, not long before. This proclamation had Macbeth convinced. Soon
after Malcolm was made the newest prince. A successor to the throne, someone
who has worthy shown. Macbeth goes incognito, off the side, planning something
evil. “Stars hide your fire; let
not the lights see my black and deep desires”. He has
plans for these infrequent criers. Macbeth’s ambitions start to show, something
that will be explained in the next slide, so come on, lets GO!
Lady Macbeth shows warm
welcome to Duncan and his subjects. Behind her face: Ambition. With one goal in
mind, with one mission. To get rid of King Duncan and Malcolm, his son. She and
Macbeth are planning to declare their lives done. “False face must hide what false heart doth know.” Macbeth
and his wife must hide what their heart shows. Late in the night,
when all is retired, Macbeth and his spouse continue with the plan they
have conspired. Silence.... a hoot is heard. The deed is done. The guilt has
begun. Macbeth comes in with bloody hands, Duncan is dead, by his wife’s
command. Then they both go crazy, their minds a little hazy. “Glamis hath murdered sleep, therefore
Cawdor shall not sleep”.Macbeth has stole Duncan’s life, like a
thief. Therefore he shall pay, with lack sleep of during the absence of day.
Now, lets continue this story. It’s going to get kind of gory.
Macbeth has become king by unfair means. How do you become King
when it has not been past down through your genes? Banquo is very suspicious.
He is about to come across something meaty and delicious. Macbeth finds out and
becomes rather vicious. Macbeth starts to plan and scheme. How do you get rid
of someone that was once on your team? With murderers that have stealthy skill.
They will dispose of Banquo and Fleance with a silent kill. “O, full of
scorpions is my mind dear wife.” Macbeth is going to kill Banquo
without thinking twice.
Banquo is no more. Covered from head to toe in fresh slimy gore.
Looking more disoriented than ever before. Fleance has ‘scaped! Running in the
wind, looking back as he swore. The murderer's make their return to Macbeth’s
castle door. They enter the party that was held on the ground floor. The news
given to Macbeth was both great and poor. He was happy to the very core, but also
mad that the assassins' had done only half their chore.
These two acts we will remember for our lives. Macbeth
is alone, sitting and thinking at his throne. “Time thou anticipates my dreaded exploits.”Many evil
deeds were committed, a dark aura is emitted. Many miles far far away, are two
people that Macbeth has betrayed. MacDuff and Malcolm talk about many tragic
deaths. So much so that MacDuff says “
No one in the legions of horrid hell can come a devil more damned in evils top
Macbeth.”Back at the castle, a war is waged. His majesty is
enraged. “I’ll fight till
from my bones my fleshed be hacked” Little does he
know, that he will never be backed. Ten Thousand men march, revenge burning in
some. They are here to get rid of this tyrant scum. Let the battle
begin and on the next side we will see who wins.
(Independent
Reading Review Project)
In
our English class, we were given two independent reading projects. The one that
I am presenting is first of the two. This basically consists of an introduction
to the book, a paragraph or two about the book, a personal connection, some
conflicts, an opinion about the book, and a recommendation of the book. This
was particularly hard on me, because I never really like doing book reports or
reviews. I struggled but manage to pull through somehow and get a good grade.Read on to take a look at a New York Times
best seller.
Henry Poeng
Orange Stream
The Girl with the Dragon
Tattoo
By: Stieg Larssona
In an epic show down
between the past and the present, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is challenged
to solve it all. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is indeed a
movie. It was released 2009. Not only that, but it got a lot of buzz from news
sites like Yahoo, CNN, etc. That’s what tempted me to read it. Also, it has an
interesting title name. From what I’ve read in the reports, it said that it was
a suspenseful, crime theme, which is something that I don’t normally read. So I
decided to take a chance and change my genre.
The book,The
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a mysterious crime story, which takes
place in Sweden.
Summary:
Mikael Blomkvist, a
journalist, publisher, and co-creator of Millennium magazine, published an
article against Swedish billionaire, Hans-Erik Wennerström. After a libel case
against Hans-Erik, Blomkvist is sentenced to three months in prison. Facing
professional disgrace, Blomkivist quits his job at Millennium
magazine. Approached by a lawyer shortly after leaving the court house, he
is offered a freelance job, assigned by Henrik Vanger. Henrik is the former CEO
of Vanger Enterprises, which is a massive company in Sweden. A few days before
the encounter, Henrik Vanger hires a young girl in her twenties by the name of
Lizbeth Slander, to dig into Blomkvist’s life history. She is a genius hacker,
with a photographic memory, and just scary in general.
Blomkvist goes to the Vanger
estate, located in Hedeby island, several hours away from Stockholm, which is
Blomkvist place of residence. Arriving at the Vanger estate, Henrik explains
the assignment to Blomkvist. Blomkivist was to write a book on the Vanger
family history, but also to find a serial killer that killed Harriet Vanger,
Henrik’s niece. Henrik promised a hefty reward with juicy details that could
bring down Hans-Erik Wennerström. Reluctantly, Blomkvist agreed to the offer,
seeing no other choice. Blomkvist accepted what could be the scariest
assignment of his life. Together with Lizbeth Slanders, they will hunt down a
serial killer from the past.
Some conflicts?
-Blomkvist vs. the media
(Person vs. society) The media is making a huge deal out of the libel case and
how badly he failed.
-Slanders vs. herself.
(person vs. self) Slanders appears to be trying to find her self.
-Blomkvist/Slanders vs.
Serial killer (person vs. person) Blomkvist and Slanders are out on a hunt for
a Serial killer that have been murdering several females by using lines from
the bible.
-My favorite character in
this book is Mikael Blomkvist.
He is to my hero because of
his courage and how professional he is. I could learn from this guy, excluding
his sex crave of course. You will learn about that as you read the book. By
courage, I mean he is brave, intelligent, and very wise. By professional, I
mean he is intelligent, handles himself well, and has good management skills.
You can learn a lot from this guy.
-I believe that readers
should take into the account that the book is trying to say, be fair to women.
If you read carefully, the whole story is about women being abused and killed
all the time. For a theme, I would say “Everybody should be treated equal. No
matter what”
My relationship to the story
and the people in it?:
None. What Lizbeth and Mikael
went through just makes my life seem boring. If I recall correctly, I haven’t
been raped, attacked by strangers, put in political shame, solve cold-cases, or
a computer genius. I haven’t experience the thrill of traveling from place to
place looking for a serial killer, writing a biography about a wealthy family,
or experience three months in jail. If anything, would like to relate most of
their lives. But that’s just not happening.
-Opinion?
I think it’s an excellent
book that will keep you coming back for more. Even though it’s rather lengthy,
and it uses a lot of big words. Overall, a well written crime story with a
great story line. Now personally, if I could change something in the book it
would be how the frame stories are integrated. It get confusing sometimes
trying to keep up with past and present.
-Recommendations?
I would recommend this book to
anyone that can handle good amounts of suspense, drama, action, sex scenes, and
plain weird stuff. Also, lets not forget lots and lots of detail! Plus, it
would make the book even more amazing if you have a great imagination. That
just makes the book an even better experience to read since it is filled with
so much detail.
(Journals)
Considering how I don’t
really remember the prompts, I’m going to go try and explain each one as best I
can. The first prompt was just to talk about how our Thanksgiving break was. The
second one was to explain what you think an adult is. The third one was to
explain how winter break went. Last but not least, the fourth one was explaining
what criteria do you think a person needs to be a “Hero”. Some of the answers
that I wrote were short because I didn’t know what to write. But I did the best
I could in that current moment.
11/29/10
The Thanksgiving break was
“okay”. On Thanksgiving I had to work and serve the customers and their needs.
Friday was my birthday. Not the most interesting day of the year. Pretty much
work, work, eat, party, sugar rush, sleep, fat. Saturday was confusing. I don’t
even remember what happened or care to remember for that matter. Sunday
however, was fun. The family got together and had a Thanksgiving feast. A well
deserved feast at that. Soo much food, just loads and loads of
food. It was amazingly fun too. It was great playing ping-pong and
pool with the people I barely see. Overall, the break started real slow but
then picked up like a rocket taking off.
1/24/11
Too me, an adult is someone
who has past 21 years of age. An adult is someone that is mature and accepts
hit or her responsibilities. Someone that is proactive and not reactive. An
adult is someone that can balance out life and fun. In a general sense, an
adult is someone who is seasoned at life.
1/3/11
My break was okay I guess.
Same deal. Wake-up, text, shower, work, text, sleep. Boring right? 100%. The
holidays are the worst for me. Wake-up early, work until 12 am, and then drop.
But it’s for a good cause I guess. One day, something broke the cycle. On the
31st of December something crazy happened. My mom and I were
manning the fort. MY dad and brother were in the back. Then all of the sudden,
we hear a lot of sirens outside. MY mom and I looked out the window. WE saw a
dodge mini-van pointed towards the church next to my house. Two officers were
walking towards it. It was a strangely ominous scene. Then all of the sudden,
the driver-side window cracked. A gun was fired off. Both the officers went
down, guns blazing. It seems that the assailant was struck. My mom went to go
tell my dad in a frenzy. I went to go tell my brother. I sat there in shock and
awe. Hopefully I can turn this story into a project.
2/2/11
A hero to me is someone that
is special. A hero is someone that sets a good example for someone good or bad.
Someone that gives others hope and meaning in their life. You don’t have to fly
or have super powers to be a hero. All you need is a sense of hope and the will
to go on. That’s what I think a hero is.
The Myth project was
given when the students were done reading the Odyessy. In the Myth project, you
are supposed to pick a Greek god and explain what he or she is. What they
represent in Greek culture, and what they mean today. Also, you have to
research myths about them and write about it. I picked Poseidon because he
seems so cool. I know it’s not a legitimate reason but it’s my reason. Take a
look about Poseidon God of the Seas.
(Myth Project)
Henry Poeng
Orange Stream
Greek God: Poseidon
Symbols: Trident, Horses, and Dolphins
Qualities: God Of The Sea, Earth-Shaker, and Rapist.
Family:
Parents:
Cronos (Father) and Rhea (Mother)
Brothers:
Zeus, Hades.
Sisters:
Hera, Demeter, and Hestia.
Lover
of: Any Female he can get his hands on.
Enemies: Athena and Odysseus.
Where are they from?:
Athena is the Brainchild of
Zeus literally. She was popped right out from his brain when he had a headache,
but that’s a whole other myth. She is the enemy of Poseidon because she was
given the city of Athens instead of Poseidon in which Zeus promised him. Also
it would appear that Athena has a polar personality compared to Poseidon.
Poseidon being hot-headed and
Odysseus is a Greek hero that fought in the Trojan War for
Achaeans. He is responsible for the Trojan-Horse that ended the 10 year war.
The reason he is the enemy of Poseidon is because he blinded one of Poseidon’s
many sons, named Polyphemus, who’s mother is Medusa.
Earth-Shaker, Creator of
Horses, God of the Seas, these are just a few epithets that describe Poseidon.
Quick to anger, and quick to love Poseidon is. Some say his short temper is the
cause of earthquakes, horrible storms, and droughts. He is known to hold long
grudges against those who anger him.
Before
the god’s there were Titans, known as the “elder gods”. Cronus, son of Uranus
and Gaea overthrew his own father. After dethroning Uranus, his mother Gaea
made a prophecy. The prophecy stated that his own children would overthrow
Cronus. Living in fear Cronus ate his own children as they were being born. All
but one was consumed. Rhea, Cronus’s sister wife hid the last born, and fed
Cronus a rock covered in a blanket. When he became an adult, Zeus made a plan
to take revenge on his father. By making Cronus vomit out all of the children
he consumed, Zeus would rally them and overthrow Cronus.
In
the previous events, six children were born in this order: Hestia, Hades,
Demeter, Poseidon, Hera and Zeus. Out of the six, three were males:
Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. While having no active leader to rule, a lottery was
held between the three brothers to decide who rules what. Hades, eldest of the
three, became God of the Underworld. Poseidon became God of the Sea. Zeus
became god of the Sky and Supreme ruler the gods. Hades got the shorter end of
the stick.
During
the Trojan War, some of the Olympian gods were split. Siding the
Greeks was: Poseidon, Athena, Hera, Hermes and Hephaestus. Sided with the
Trojans were: Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis and Ares. I like to call them the A
team. Poseidon was sided with the Greeks because of a broken
promise. Poseidon helped build the epic walls that surrounded the
great city of troy while on punishment from Zeus. The King did not pay
Poseidon, who was disguised as a mortal while building the walls, for his hard
manual labor. As punishment, Poseidon sent a sea monster to attack troy, only
to be thwarted by Hercules.
In
the midst of battle the Trojans killed Poseidon grandson. This only infuriated
Poseidon even more. As result he joined the battle disguised as a mortal
seeking his revenge disobeying Zeus’s strict orders not to interfere. Hera, was
in the middle of seducing Zeus when he heard the battle cries of Poseidon, he
realized that he was being tricked. Containing his rage, he sent Iris, a
messenger god to warn Poseidon. Poseidon disobeyed at first, but then
eventually backed-off, not because of fear, but because of respect of Zeus.
This is my first book review project. I believe it is better than my most recent one which is a podcast. I think it is a well written and I'm proud of my work. I hope you enjoy it
Jhonas DunakinBook
Review: Cat & Mouse1/19/11
Red
Cat & Mouse by James
Patterson is a mystery fiction in a book series of so far sixteen books. It is
a number one bestseller and has bin reviewed in the Washington Post,
Entertainment Weekly, Chicago Tribune, San Diego Union, Baltimore Sun, and
Publishers Weekly. James Patterson is a New York Times best seller thirty five
times. The book Along Came a Spider (1993) was made into a movie in 2001
staring Morgan Freeman as Detective Alex Cross. Along Came a Spider is the first
book of the Alex Cross series.
Cat
& Mouse is about a DC Metro Police Detective who has a degree in
psychology. He is African-American, has two kids Janie and Damon, and his
partner is his best friend John Sampson Gary Sonji (a murderer Alex caught in a
previous book) has escaped from a maximum-security prison and on top of that
the FBI is pressuring Alex to work with Interpol and Scotland Yard on a case in
Europe who dissects his victims alive. The killer is named Mr. Smith. Gary
Sonji threatens to kill Alex and his family. Alex is determined to find Sonji and
he sets up a trap in New York City Hospital. Sonji senses the trap and runs
away to the swears. Alex finds him and shoots Sonji who is carrying a firebomb
that goes off and kills him. Sonji promises that Alex and his family will be killed.
A man comes to Alex’s house beats him, his kids, and his grandma Nana Mama.
Alex is taken to the hospital and is declared to be in critical condition. The
second in command of the FBI is a good friend of Alex and he brings in a
specialist (Thomas Peirce) to find out who did the crime. Thomas is working the
Mr. Smith case and is not happy to be working this case as well. Thomas is
working the Mr. Smith case because Mr. Smith first struck when he killed his
girl friend in Cambridge Massachusetts. He is told to work with John Sampson
Alex’s partner. They are brought to Princeton were they connect the crime with
Sonji’s brither. Thomas goes to Sonji’s brother’s house without Sampson and he
beats him and Thomas psychologically tortures him because he knows he has a
major case of OCD. He confesses to doing it all and Thomas thinks to himself
‘I’m So much better than Alex Cross.” Sampson and Thomas return to DC and Alex
is still found in critical state according to the doctor’s report. The real Alex
is brought to FBI in Quantico and he tells the agents there that he was never
in critical state that he was faking it because he found out that Thomas was
Mr. Smith. That the story he told the cops was false. He actually caught his
girlfriend cheating on him and killed her. Her name was Isabella. Alex found
the pattern in how Mr. Smith was killing. The names of everyone he killed
followed the phrase “I Killed Isabella Calais.” S wasn’t killed yet and Alex
found out it was Mr. Smith himself. Alex found him in his apartment in Cambridge
and fought with him. Sampson stormed in and killed Thomas/ Mr. Smith.
The main
characters are Alex Cross, John Sampson, Gary Sonji, and Thomas Peirce/ Mr.
Smith. The main conflict is person vs. person. It was mostly Alex facing psycho
killers. My favorite character is Thomas Peirce/ Mr. Smith because he tricked
the whole FBI and worked on a case against himself. He also solved a case that
no one could solve, the beatings of Alex Cross and he also killed in a specific
pattern. The book has no important messages it was just for entertainment. But
if there was a message it would be don’t kill in pattern or the authorities
will find out.
I
could relate to John Sampson because he never gives up and he has a long time
friend who he does everything with. I have two of those friends. He also seems
mentally strong and has a positive attitude most of the time. I have never done
any of the things that any of theses characters have done. I’m not a
world-class detective or a psychopathic killer. But there is a part when
Sampson is surprised and crying when Alex and his family was beaten, I have
felt sorry and sad for the death of a good friend. His mom died in a car
accident coming home from Baltimore and she fell asleep at the wheel and
crashed into a construction site.
I
absolutely love this book, series, and author. I have read the first four books
and I have bought the next four in the series and I’m currently on the fifth
book Pop Goes the Weasel. One strength of the book is that it uses a lot of
descriptive writing which helps you be in the book instead of just reading it.
It also has a lot of interesting characters. The psychopathic killers that
James Patterson creates are very creative. All the books in the series have
something psychological in them and follow some sort of pattern that is really
difficult to decipher. Also Alex Cross is an interesting character He was a
psychologist who was living it big. Had a beautiful wife and kids. His wife was
killed and he quit being a psychologist to join the DC Metro Police. He also
lives with his grandma in a dangerous part of DC, South West. There is lots of
crime and drug abuse in that part of the city. The story is also very
unpredictable. For example the patterns are very hard to predict and it’s hard
to guess what the bad guy is going to do next. If I could change something in
the book I would change how Gary Sonji dies. It seems like a death that happens
to bad guys in movies. It should be an unpredictable death.
I
would highly recommend this book. Especially to people who like unpredictable
things and/or surprises, it has action, adventure, and mystery. The book is
also part of a sixteen book series that has different killers and mysteries.
Not only does it have that but it also has romance. It has everything you could
possibly want in a book, it’s an easy read, and I can almost promise you that
you will get hooked after a couple of chapters
In this part I was required to compare and contrast the book The Odyssey to another book or another story so i choose something comical. fave fun. Who do is the most amazing hero out there? Is he Greek? True
heroes are people like Telemachus or Odysseus. These people are wrong.
Although, a lot of people think that Odysseus and Telemachus are very important
heroes, the real heroes are SpongeBob square pants and Patrick star. Greek is
so last week and the reef is the new sheik. The true heroes are SpongeBob
square pants and Patrick star and here’s why.
Let’s be honest. How would someone feel if you were constantly told that
you where just a little kid and that you were not a man. Odysseus, Telelmachus,
SpongeBob and Patrick were all tired of being underrated.
In the beginning SpongeBob does not get the promotion at the Krusty Crab
because he is not a man yet and he needs to grow up. So, he decides to go to
his job after he gets really drunk and talk to his boss but ends up making a
deal with Poseidon to save his boss and prove he is a man. In comparison to Mr.
Square pants, Telemacus is in a similar situation because he can’t do anything
about his mom and all of the suitors in his house. So what he does is call a
meeting like his dad to prove he is a big boy and them makes a journey to find
his dad.
Although the crew put a lot of
into getting everything ready for they journey for Telemacus to find his dad od
with all of those medieval and Viking/European style ships taking all of the
waters of Europe. And also under the waters of the pacific. Then, SpongeBob
gets his best friend Patrick and go to the garage and show him the “state of
the ocean” Patty-Wagon.
Boats, promotions and
growing up are all a part of a hero’s everyday life. Whether they are under the
sea or on a mythical animal chilling with a God at the end of the day we are
all heroes. We are all special in our own way.
I don't need to fall in love with the perfect guy. I found my soulmate three and three-quarters years ago, in September, on the first day of school. She's my best friend.
These are my top four journal entries in my opinion. They speak out to me about my points of view and who I am as a person. I hope you enjoy them.
How does
your environment shape who you become?3/16/11
My environment is pretty much were I live. Its all around me
and around everyone else. It develops our personality, what we look like, our
influences, everything. For example someone who lives in an indigenous tribe in
the Amazons will be different from someone who lives in New York City. The
person in the Amazon uses basic tools and materials to help him with his
everyday life but he uses man power instead of coal or gas. A person in New
York City or modern society has a computer, a TV, lives in a tall apartment
building, fridge, microwave, a living room things in that nature. Another
example would be music. You can compare American Rap with Spanish Bachata you
can see a tremendous difference. Rap is like a long poem in song form and
Bachata is has different instruments like guitar and trumpets. It just depends
what your introduced to and what your willing to accept in your life.
How did you feel when you encountered the word “nigger” in
kindred? What are your thoughts on the word in general?3/18/11
When I encountered that word I didn’t really react to it at
all. It’s come back in modern language as a cool word that only
African-Americans are able to use. But it’s been extended to be used to all the
major “minorities.” This includes African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians.
Also to me it’s just a word, no word can be used to offend me. I see words as
informative, all words, no matter what the word is. In general, it’s just a
word. No one takes it offensive to it anymore. Even though it was created and
designed to insult the African-American race. It seems it’s only offensive if a
person of the White race or “majority” race uses it. I think the only reason it
is offensive in that context is that Whites are the originators of the word and
it seems to be a way to get back at the White man. A word everyone is aloud to
use except for White people. Seems like revenge to me.
What do you think is going to happen to Kevin if he’s left in
1819?3/24/11
I think it can go in two different ways with Kevin. He will
either be questioned by all the white people and beaten and would go back to
1976 just like kindred does when she gets into trouble. Or he could act dumb and play it out and people would trust him and he
would be safe in 1819. I believe they both have the distinct ability to travel through time when in the face of danger.
What are some of the expectations put up on you by others?
What are your own expectations of yourself? Are these expectations different?
How?4/5/11
People expect me to be a good person in general. They expect
me to be knowledgeable and to be a good student in school. People in general
especially my family have high expectations for me. I have high expectations
for myself. But I try my best only to help others. When I’m older I want to
help people who are less fortunate and need my knowledge to help them. I expect
myself to be a diligent worker in school and outside the school environment. I
only pay attention in school to help others around me, my family and loved
ones. For it is my knowledge the world will feed off of and depend on. Everyone
in this room is the future and it is for this reason I have these high
expectations.
In this part of our Q4 benchmark I was required to analyze a character in the story called Macbeth.hope you like it..... Dionysos (DionusoV)
Is a god who was twice born. The first time her was in the
womb of Semele and then she died by the bolt of Zeus. Then Zeus saved him and
put him in his thigh till he was born again. In the story Lycurgus, the king Lycurgus discovers that Dionysus
is in his kingdom .So what the king does is has all of the followers of
Dionysus
to be put in prison.
Then Dionysus fled to Thetis and then caused a revolt because of the drought
that he caused. Dionysos made the king crazy and made him kill his son
thinking that it was stick ivy. A wise man claimed the land was going to be dry while Lycurgus was alive. So his people
killed Lycurgus and then Dionysos lifted the drought.
I think
this is a very funny because it describes the god Dionysos and how violent and
also fair he can be. I say that because he is known for being the God of wine,
parties and festivals, madness, drunkenness and pleasure. So like probably had
a wild party when the king got mad at him and then did what he did. Then
Dionysos was drunk on wine from the party he got made n put a curse on the
king’s land. When the king was killed that brought him pleasure.
I believe that
the symbols (thyrsus, grapevine, leopard skin
Panther, tiger, and leopard) represent him because they
symbolize power. Like if you see any of the animals you would be scared. And
the leopard skin and thyrsus if they are on your body you will look cool.
I think this god
exist because their has to be god that “PARTIES HARD.” So they made him to have
fun. I think the Greeks really like him because in away he is like the bad
uncle in the family that is a bad influence.
What I feel my portfolio says about me, as a 9th
grade English student is that I’ve progressed throughout the year. My grades
for the Benchmark gradually got higher as the year started to end, which means
that I improved throughout the year. My strengths in English are focusing in
class, doing my work, turning in homework and assignments. My weakness is test
taking. Even though I got a good grade on the spelling quiz I have trouble
remembering if the vocabulary word is a verb, adverb a noun or an adjective.
My experiences in making this portfolio are
having the chance to make my previous assignments better, now that I’ve had more
experiences writing papers. What it was like going through all of my work is
how I gradually got better at writing papers and my grades got better. The
piece I was most proud with is comparing the book “The Odyssey” with the movie
“O brother where Art Though”. The reason why I’m proud of my self with this
piece, because I took time out my lunch, I went to Lit Lab everyday, I worked
really hard and I had a goal to get an A on that assignment which is what I
told the teacher.
Quarter
1 BM(Macbeth Character Analysis)- We had to pick ten quotes and a main
characterfrom the play “Macbeth”
, and write what they went through and how they changed throughout the play.
Thesis: Lady Macbeth changes
dramatically through out the play, her plan to kill Duncan eventually happened,
which wound up haunting her throughout the play and she started to regret her
decision-makings.
In Act 1, Scene 5. Lady Macbeth got a
note from her husband Macbeth.She
is reading the letter, which says that Macbeth the weird sisters saluted him
and referred him to the coming on of time with Hail king that shalt be! As Lady
Macbeth was reading the letter she says“Thou mightst not lose the dues of rejoicing by being ignorant”(Act 1
Scene 5, Line 11). This reveals that Lady Macbeth is basically saying don’t
lose your chance to become King.
In Act 1 Scene 5.
Lady Macbeth just finds out that her husband Macbeth is on his way back home
from his trip. She starts to panic because she finds out late. The King is coming
so of course Lady Macbeth wants the house to look clean, and have food prepared
for them. When Lady Macbeth finds out about the King and Macbeth is coming she
says aloud. ”Would have informed preparation” (Act 1 Scene 5,Line 33.) This
reveals that someone should of told her earlier about Macbeth coming so she
could prepare for him, as in prepare she means, clean up, and might even mean
to look pretty and dress up for him. If you had a husband that you loved and
you didn’t see him for a while you would want to look pretty and dressed, up.
At this point Lady Macbeth is thinking of a plan so Macbeth can eventually be
king, she is being devious.
In Act 1 Scene 5. When Lady
Macbeth finds out that Macbeth could possibly have a chance at being king, she
thinks of a plan to kill King Duncan. Obviously Lady Macbeth is a woman but she
wants to become manlier and have more manly features to kill King Duncan. When
Lady Macbeth was alone thinking about a plan to kill Duncan she said.
“Come to my woman’s breast and take
my milk for gall” (Act 1 Scene 5, Line 46-47)
This reveals that Lady Macbeth
wants to have manly features after she thought about killing Duncan. The quote
pretty much says that she wants to exchange her breast for a mens chest. She
wants to be tough. At this point Lady Macbeth is going to talk about her plan
to kill Duncan to Macbeth. Macbeth would have to be the one to kill Duncan,
because he is a man.
In Act 1, Scene 7 of Lady Macbeth. Lady
Macbeth and Macbeth are in the scene when they’re planningabout killing Duncan. Macbeth is
becoming unsure but Lady Macbeth is all for it.As Lady Macbeth was talking to Macbeth she said. “What
cannot you, and I perform upon”(Act 1 Scene 7, Line 70)? This reveals that,
even though Lady Macbeth is woman she is not afraid to kill Duncan to get what
she wants. On the other hand Macbeth is too scared, and what Lady Macbeth is
trying to say in the quote is, if she can do it,he u can do it. Lady Macbeth is more for it than Macbeth.
She wants to get her way. Will her way affect anyone, like her or Macbeth?
In Act 2, Scene 2 of Lady Macbeth. Macbeth has finished
killing Duncan and comes out the room with bloody hands, which is evidence!
Lady Macbeth tells him to go wash and then she goes in to the room to finish
what Macbeth started. As Macbeth was panicking about killing Duncan. She said,
”A foolish thought to say a sorry sight”(Act 2 Scene 2, Line 24). This reveals
that Lady Macbeth her thought of killing King Duncan was very clear in her
thought, but when her thought becomes real, it’s a sorry sight, maybe this is
when she starts to regret her thoughts. Even though she got her way, doesn’t
mean it’s going to turn out the way she wants it to be. What about the
evidence?
In Act 2, Scene 2 .Macbeth has just killed King Duncan. He is panicking,
doesn’t know what to do so Macbeth tells him to wash that filthy witness off
your hands, because if someone goes to Macbeth and see’s the blood on his
hands, it’s obvious he killed Duncan. When Macbeth still had the evidence on
his hands Lady Macbeth said “Go get some water and wash this filthy witness
from your hand.”(Act 2 Scene 2 Lines 49-50) This reveals that Lady Macbeth
doesn’t want to get caught and her too is panicking about the situation. The
quote itself means that she wants Macbeth to wash the evidence (blood) of him
killing King Duncan away , and by washing blood away guilt will be less.
In Act 3, Scene 1. Macbeth holds a
solemn supper, for most of the characters in the play. This supper happens recently
after Duncan gets killed, and not many people know who did it. Lady Macbeth
trys to act surprise and say that there has been a gap in the supper. Lady
Macbeth says, ”It had been as a gap in our great feast”(Act 3 Scene 1, Line
12). This reveals that this a the time around when Macbeth killed King Duncan
and Lady and Macbeth act like they have no idea what happened. In modern time
the quote means that Lady Macbeth notices that there is a gap that gap would’ve
been replaced with Duncan but he got murdered. Do you think that Duncan is
going to haunt the person that killed him?
In Act 3, Scene 4. It’s the day of the big
supper after the Duncan was killed and now Duncan’s ghost is haunting Macbeth,
which made him look crazy in front of all his guests. Lady Macbeth was trying
to cover what just happened. Probably everyone is wondering what is wrong with
and wants to find out the problem. As Macbeth left to get his self together
Lady Macbeth said to the guest You shall offend him and extend his passion”(Act
3 Scene 4, Line 58) This reveals that Banquo is haunting Macbeth, because he
murdered him, Lady Macbeth tells the guest that he is sick, to cover up what is
really going on. She means in the quote that you should basically be patient to
him.
In Act5 Scene 2 . Almost at the end of the play Lady Macbeth
starts to sleep walk and, talk about the night when Macbeth killed Duncan.
Starting to haunt her, she starts to repeat what she told Macbeth when he had
evidence on his hands (blood). After Macbeth murders Duncan Lady Macbeth says: ”Wash
your hands, put on your night gown, look not so pale”(Act 4 Scene 2, Line
61-62) this reveals that the day when Macbeth killed Duncan starts to haunt her
in her sleep. The quote means to wash away the evidence until it looks like
nothing ever happened tonight.
In Act 4, Scene 2 . Lady Macbeth is still sleep
walking, still talking about the situation. Maybe she will start to regret her
choices, even if something goes your way don’t expect it be perfect at all
times. As she was sleeping walking she said,“ What’s done cannot be undone”. This reveals that Lady
Macbeth is regretting her choice, that she only thought about her and only her
self in the situation of getting what she wanted. The quote basically means
that you cant have a re-do in life.
Lady Macbeth got her way, did
it turn out the way she wanted to? No, it happened, but it turned out
worse.The thoughts of the night Macbeth
and her killing Duncan turned in to nightmares. The situation haunted her,
until she couldn’t stand it anymore, and killed herself…
Quarter 2 BM(Memoir Vignette)-we had to pick
a situation when we had a realization in our lives.
9:00 pm: I hear my mom yelling “What
were you thinking?” “ Give me your wallet and your keys”My brother hits my
father , my mom tries to break up the fight and that was just the beginning of
the worst to come that night. Then my dad says“You know what , you think you’re a man? Get your stuff and
get out”. I tried to hold Romare back ,while he tries to pack up his things , while my parents still yell at
him for how stupid he is. He tried to leave but I kept on pulling him back while
I cried my eyes out. He pushed me away .I look at him as he left and thought
about a holding a grudge for sometime , because he pushed me on purpose and he
didn’t even look back , I felt sad and abandoned.
As I was still thinking about the day
before I got dressed while my dad kept oncalling my brother’s nameso he could wake up for school, each time my brother never answered, I
started to get worried, because at this time my brother should be at
school.After the fourth time, my
dad walked up the wooden , creeky stairs to the third floor where my brother’s
room was at, all of a sudden my dad yelled and tells my mom to hurry up stairs.
My mom and I stopped what we were doing ran up the stairs and see my brother
laying on his bed, seeing that he threw up what he had for dinner. My mom got
her phone goes in to the other room and called the police panicing and telling
them what has happened to my brother Romare. The police were being complicated
with my mom so my dad takes the phone away from my mom and tells the police our
address and tells them to hurry up, with an ambulance.
The ambulance finally came all I could do was panic
and cry. My mom went with my brother and my dad stayed with me . I told my dad
that I wanted to go to school, that maybe it would take my mind off of
everything,
When my dad dropped me off at school I sat at my
regular spot at school with my friends, I was feeling ok, until my best friend,
Majuel came to school, said hi to me, and I decided to tell her what happened
that morning. As I told her, I started crying, everyone, stared and started to
ask me what was wrong. A couple of my friends walked me to the counselor,
Ms.Cocer.
When my friends and I arrived at the
counselors office , I tried to tell her whathappened , but I stared to cry all over again. She let me
call my dad , when I call my dad says that my brother , is okand that when he picks me up I
can go visit him at Einstein hospital.After the phone call I felt much better. When lunch came around I
thought about how lucky my brother is and how lucky I was to not lose my
brother.
At 3:00pm I rushed out of school see my dads Volvo , and hop
in , without saying bye to my friends. I was too eager to see my brother.As my dad was driving us to the
Einstein hospital to visit my brother I asked him how Romare was holding up. He
said that he is doing fine and that if we had taken any longer to find out that
something was wrong that he would of died.
My dad and I arrive at the Einstein hospital we enter go to
large front desk told the woman my brothers name “Romare Hooks” and she told us
his new room number. When we came to his room I saw him laying in the bed he
looked tired , but he looked happy to see me. I hugged him tightly he looked at
me and apologized about the other night and of course I forgave him.
As I was sitting in the corner while my family members were
talking to my brother , I thought to myself that I was honestly fortunate to
still have him in my life alive. I thought about my grudge and how this morning
I thought about not talking to him for a while. This whole day changed my
perspective on grudge holding one day you hold a silly grudge on a person you
love and the next there lives could be taken away. There will be more good sunny
days between my brother and I know now not to hold grudges.You never know when your loved ones
life will be taken away from you. Life is too short to hold grudges
