Finally

So it's our last post of the semester. I didn't think I would be as sad as I am. It kind of shows the ending of a great semester. The ending of Etymology, the greatest class I've ever taken. This is, by far, my favorite class of my high school career.

Where and when did you find yourself sitting down to read? Do you tend

to read with music on, or in silence? By the computer? Did you find yourself

checking your phone a lot, or do you ever lose yourself in the reading? Do

you ever talk about the books you read with your family or friends or teachers?

This semester I read almost every day. I would find myself thinking about my books when I was eating, in the shower, grocery shopping with my mom, in class, and even in church. I would read mostly in my bed covered up with the fan on low so I could have some noise, but not a loud obnoxious noise. In my basement, we have a door that leads outside with hills on both sides. Down there we have a built in swing to the overhang. Sometimes when I want to read and need a different place to go, I'll go down there. I have three siblings and a mom and dad living in one house, I need multiple hiding spots to go to get some alone time with my books. If I really liked the book, my phone would be on my bed or in the swing or by me somewhere, just in case I needed it or someone really needed to get ahold of me, but I would rarely check it. Now if the book was "boring" or I just didn't feel it, yes I checked my phone a lot. I really do find myself lost in a book. I can't describe it. It's like I'm there. I'm the main character, whether it is good or bad, I'm there and I can see everything. I will admit that I fell asleep reading a lot this semester. But when I would fall asleep something amazing would happen. I would really live out the book in my dreams. Like I was reading "Chain Reaction" on Friday November 4, 2011 and I fell asleep. Now this book was GOOD! but I had been up all day and I hadn't slept well the night before and I was just tired. In this book, it's about a guy who falls in love with a girl who doesn't want to be in love. He HAS to join a gang and she doesn’t' know and he hides it from her. It's a really good book! I loved it! So as I fell asleep I dreamt I was the girl in this story. I was Nikki and I could figure out what to do. It's like I had control over every detail of the story and I loved it! And when I did this, I talked to my mom and my best friends, Nicole DeCriscio and Allie Laspas, and of course they all said I was crazy but it was awesome! I do talk about my books to my parents, my friends, Mrs. Detter, Mrs., Lembke, random family members, and random people I see in the library who now probably think I'm some crazy. :) But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Currently :)

So we really haven't posted in a while. Here is the last two weeks of my reading!! :D

Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood by Eileen Wood (pg. 1-269)

Nightshade by Anrea Cremer (pg. 1-441)



These two books were really really good! I loved them! Nightshade is amazing! This is what is on the inside cover.

Calla Tor has always known her destiny:

After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha

wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their

pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers.

But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful

human boy our for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her

existence, and the very essence of the world she had known. By following

her heart, she might lose everything-

including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?

I absolutely loved it! If your into supernatural and romance, this is the book for you! And the second book is out. It's called Wolfsbane. I heard it was really good also. I'm so excited to read it. I should be done with it Monday or Tuesday.

Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood was really good. If you like teen girl drama or teen girls seeking revenge, this is the book you want to read.
Popularity is the best revenge.

In the final weeks of eighth grade, Lauren Wood made a choice. She betrayed

her best friend, Helen, in a manner so publicly humiliating that Helen

had to move to a new town just to save face. Ditching Helen was worth it,

though, because Lauren started high school as one of the It Girls--and

now, at the start of her senior year, she's the cheerleading captain,

the quarterback's girlfriend, and the undisputed queen bee. Lauren

has everything she's ever wanted, and she has forgotten all

about her ex-best friend.

But Helen could never forget Lauren. After three years of obsessing,

she's moving back to her old town. She has a new name and a

new look, but she hasn’t dropped her old grudges. She has a detailed

plan to bring down her former BFF by taking away everything that's

ever been important to Lauren—starting with her boyfriend.

Watch out, Lauren Wood. Things are about to get bitchy.

This book was realllllly good. I usually don't use derogatory words but it was in the book cover and I wanted you to get the full Eileen Cook experience. She is a good writer and she has another book What Would Emma Do? I heard that one was good also but I haven't read it so I can't say if it is or not.

Quotes from the past two weeks:

1. "Then there was the added factor that it would be difficult to make a bathing suit out of tiny stinky fish, and I was pretty sure you could do some heavy jail time for pushing people into shark-infested water or into the paths of speeding dump trucks. I wanted Lauren to pay, but I wasn't looking to spend the next forty to life wearing an orange jumpsuit. Orange is so not my color." Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood
2. High schools have a social structure more strict than a Hindu caste system. By the time you get to your senior year everyone knows exactly where he or she belongs compared to everyone else. You could try to change your status—you could get a new wardrobe or take up a new sport, for example—but it would only take a few days before everyone would shove you back into the place where they felt you belonged. There might be a few people who shifted ranks, but it was highly unusual. I would have the advantage of being a new kid. No one would know exactly where to put me, but they would be trying to sort it out from the first moment they met me. Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood
3. (I just HAD to throw this one in there. Where are you???)
   The Popularity Scale
   Attractive: Assign yourself up to 10 points, depending on your level of hotness, zero points being seriously ugly and 10 points being supermodel hot. Bonus 2 points for being fit and in shape versus merely thin. An additional 2 points for hair that looks like a shampoo ad. Minus 1 point if you flip it around way too much. Bonus 3 points for big boobs. Minus 5 points for being attractive but too slutty. Plus 1 point for good use of makeup. Minus 2 points for mild disfigurement such as bad skin, crooked teeth, or bad breath.
   Sporty: Assign yourself 5 points for general athletic ability as defined by ability to run without falling over and catching a ball without getting smacked in the face. 5 bonus points for being on key school teams such as football, cheerleading, basketball, or soccer. Minus 2 points for being on dorky teams such as archery or fencing. Bonus 2 points if you have a leadership position on a team. Minus 2 points if you never play and instead always sit on the sidelines.
   Rich: Assign yourself 10 points for being filthy rich, 5 points for possessing mere wealth, zero points for being middle class, and minus 5 points for being poor. Bonus point for each item of designer clothing that you own or for accessories such as handbags that cost more than a small used car. Minus 5 points for purchasing your wardrobe at Wal-Mart. Give yourself 2 points if you shop at a funky vintage shop, minus 2 points if you buy your underwear at a thrift store. Some things should never be secondhand.
   Cool: Award yourself up to 10 points for exotic factors such as being from a cool place (large city, anywhere in Europe or Hollywood), knowing famous people, having a good car, being in a band (but not the band—wearing a uniform that makes you look like a hotel bellman is never cool), or demonstrating artistic ability.
4. "I bit my lip and decided to be honest. Sort of." Nightshade pg. 234
5. "'Do you love him?' His eyes searched mine. 'Don't ask me that,' I said, lips still burning from my confession to shay, now stinging with this deceit. 'This isn't about love. It's about survival.' 'No, Calla.' His voice became hushed. 'This is only about love.' And then he was kissing me. His lips moved over mine in a shlow caress, hands running over my body, every touch begging me to stay. I could tell he believed he would never kiss me again. Part of me wanted to linger, cling to him, knowing all the ways we were ment for each other, how well we fit. But another part tugged me away. already running through the forest, chasing after a fate unknown. fI choked back a sob when Ren released me and turned away." Nightshade pg. 430

Hunger Games

I've been told by a few people, some more than others, Rachel lol, that I need to read the Hunger Games and if I do I will want to see the movie even more. So I went on Youtube and looked up the Hunger Games trailers to see if it looks like a good movie and this is the ones I came up with :) Enjoy!!

I hope I didn't screw everything up lol and I hope these are all right.

Oh, yes I did!

Okay so as we all know I am totally obsessed with the twilight saga! I'm seriously their biggest fan!! It's sad really. When I watched eclipse, my brother's friend Logan had to hold my hands down because I (not thinking about what I was doing) bit my hand and I almost drew blood. hahah I guess I really am a vampire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, yeah!!!! So if I'm a vampire, I get and Edward right?!?!?! Okay so here are the breaking dawn trailers...I couldn't resist.

I feel bad for Jacob but I am sorry! Bella and

Edward belong with each other!

he's so handsome!

AHHHHHH!

I can't wait!!!!

this one is my personal favorite! I seriously cried!!!

awwwww!

I am soooo excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More Poems!!

I found this awesome website that is uplifting and happy. That's all they put up there. It's very centered around God and it's one of the few poem sites that I've found that I really like. It's called Poetry For Reflection. You should check it out and tell me what you think!!!!!!

The Difference
I got up early one morning
and rushed right into the day
I had so much to accomplish
that I didn't have time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me
and heavier came each task
"Why doesn't God help me?" I wondered
He answered, "You didn't ask"

I wanted to see joy and beauty
but the day toiled on, gray and bleak
I wondered why God didn't show me
He said," But you didn't seek"

I tried to come into God's presence
I used all my keys at the lock
God gently and lovingly chided,
"My Child you didn't knock."

I woke up early this morning
and paused before entering the day
I had so much to accomplish
that I had to take time to pray

---Written and Copyrighted by
Grace Naessens
Used with permission

God Is Our Guide
God does not send
More than we can bear
Our hearts will mend
If we keep Him there.

After storms it grows calm,
Dark is followed by sun,
We are held in God's palm,
Love and faith make us one.

Although there are days
That bring trials and pain,
Having faith in His ways
We will triumph again.

When we let go of fear
Prayer and love make us strong
Know that God will be near
To help guide us along.

 ---Author Unknown

Random Poems I like

I guess I like all of these because it makes me think of how I act, especially the second one. The moment I read the second one I was in love with it!! It makes me think, "Do I really give it all to him? Or do I pick it right back up and put it in my backpack to weight me down some more?" Leave a comment to tell me what you think. I hope you like them!!

Anyway

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered ...
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives ...
Do good anyway.
If you are successful you win false friends and true enemies ...
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow ...
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable ...
Be honest and frank anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs ...
Fight for some underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight ...
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you help them ...
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth ...
Give the world the best you’ve got ... ANYWAY.

---Author Unknown

Broken Dreams
As children bring their broken toys
With tears for us to mend,
I brought my broken dreams to God
Because He was my friend.

But then instead of leaving Him
In peace to work alone,
I hung around and tried to help
With ways that were my own.

At last I snatched them back and cried,
"How could you be so slow"
"My child," He said, "What could I do?
You never let it go."

---Author Unknown

The Cold Within

Six humans trapped by happenstance
in black and bitter cold,
Each possessed a stick of wood
Or so the story's told.



Their dying fire in need of logs
the first woman held hers back,
For on the faces around the fire
She noticed one was black.



The next man looking 'cross the way
Saw one not of his church,
And couldn't bring himself to give
The fire his stick of birch.



The third one sat in tattered clothes
He gave his coat a hitch,
Why should his log be put to use
To warm the idle rich?



The rich man just sat back and thought
Of the wealth he had in store,
And how to keep what he had earned
From the lazy, shiftless poor.



The black man's face bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from his sight,
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to spite the white.



And the last man of this forlorn group
Did naught except for gain,
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the game.



The logs held tight in death's stilled hands
Was proof of human sin,
They didn't die from the cold without,
They died from the cold within.

---Written and Copyrighted by
James Patrick Kinney

Close Reading

In this passage of Nicholson Baker's "The Mezzanine," Baker's matter of fact chattiness but but also cold dispassionate tone expresses his boredom with the everyday life. Baker, while riding a escalator, notices they are "a pair of integral signs swooping upward between the two floors" and meet the lobby's "towering volumes of marble and glass" just above the middle "spreading into a needly area of shine where it fell against their brushed-steel side-panels." Through out all of this passage, Baker expresses himself with fancy yet intimidating words.

Close Reading Bingo

Weakness 1. Avoid "he says" quote introductions-

•  Kayyy Babyyy- He says whatever comes to mind, saying that his parents "would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them," shows that he doesn't really care what he says, just wants to get his point across.

Weakness 6. Avoid the verbs "use" and "shows."

• Kayyy  Babyyy-He says whatever comes to mind, saying that his parents "would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them," shows that he doesn't really care what he says, just wants to get his point across.

Weakness 3. When discussing your supporting quotes, don't be vague:

• UNDERWATER-He describes the boy’s feelings towards his parents with a negative, abusive and defiant diction.

Weakness 6. Avoid the verbs "use" and "shows."

• UNDERWATER-Therefore, the author uses tone to show the criticism the boy has towards them to a point of no return.

One really good one I found was off of A Scrap of Parchment :

• In the opening page of Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger underscores the teenage angst bursting though the young, yet disillusioned, Holden Caulfield. Lowbrow words like "lousy," "crap," "stuff,' "hell," "crumby," and "damn" accentuate Holden's anger as he rambles the opening of his story. Furthermore, sentence fragments, such as, "One of those little English jobs that can do around two hundred miles an hour," destroy any last vestige of formality, further developing the aura of simply telling a story to a friend. Despite a Dickens allusion, the majority of the passage is purely denotative, lacking symbolism. This expository passage helps develop Holden's past. Although the majority of this passage is about Holden's family and past, the majority of the character development shines through Salinger's diction and style.
• I think this person did really well!!! I felt smarter just by reading it! Great job A Scrap of Parchment!!

Breaking Dawn!!

So as everyone who knows me knows...I LOVE THE TWILIGHT SAGA!! My older brother and older sister actually got me to read them. I was a little aprehensive at first not knowing if I wanted to. Then I saw the twilight movie and I freaked! I loved it! Of course, then I HAD to go read the books. It took me, suprisingly, two weeks to read the first one. I got the new moon done in a week (because Edward leaves and I thought that was the worst thing that could ever happen so I threw the book across the room into my Papo's wall....waking him up which was not good...and stoped reading it for a few days. Then I picked up eclipse and breaking dawn. I read eclipse while I was laying in bed sick in one day. Then I read breaking dawn in a month. My reasoning for this is I read all but 50 pages in two days. Then I stopped because "once I read the last page, it was over. All over and her story is ended." So I refused to read it! Then my best friend finally got me to read the ending and I finished it. I've read all of them (besides new moon. I refuse to read it again because Edward leaves and I go into depression mode and it's not good lol so I read the first couple chapters until he leaves then I read the ending once Alice gets there). I refuse to read midnight sun because I'll read it and fall in love with it, then what?! It's over just because someone couldn't keep their mouths shut (or would it be computers? or internet??). I don't know I may read it......maybe. I've been to the new moon and eclipse premires (yes at MIDNIGHT!!!!!!! AHHHHH!!!!) and I plan to go to the breaking dawn premire!! I am so excited!!! There is only a few days left!!! As I'm writing it I have 24 days 5 hours 25 minutes and 50seconds. So I ask this fellow bloggers:

Are you going to go see breaking dawn: part 1?!?!?!

If not.......SHAME ON YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

New Books!!!!

This weekend I went on a mother daughter trip with, of course, mommy, Aunt Barb and her daughter Alishia, Aunt Etta and her daughter Charity, Aunt Pam and her daughter Misty. We were crammed into a small mini-van with a family sized tent, a cot, five suitcases, 13 pillows, four blankets, five sleeping bags, two air mattresses, a cooler, and six rickers pops. It was crammed. So when we got there we went to flea markets and rummaging and the one thing I wanted to get was BOOKS! I was kind of depressed when on the first day all I got was maybe four books, a shirt, a pair of sweats, a matching hoodie, and a necklace for my brother's girlfriend. The next day I decided all I was going to get was books! So I started looking at this place called "Ole Time Flea Market' and I ended up getting another four or so books. It was AMAZING! I loved it! So all together I got eight books. Well I decided to start reading them right away but every time I start reading something happens to take my mind off of what I am reading. On Saturday right before I started reading I decided to get a chocolate shake. Well I'm waiting for her to make it and there is an accident about 75 to 100 yards away so I go to help. That kind of ruined the book reading mood. Then on Wednesday, I got home and was going to read only to find out that my mom had to rush to Atlanta, Georgia because my cousin Steven was having a quadruple bypass surgery on his heart. So for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I was babysitting my little sisters trying to get them to behave (that's hard to do!!!!). Then Saturday I babysat two sisters down the road from six a.m. to about ten-thirty a.m. So I was busy trying to catch up on sleep then I had to drive an hour and a half away to get to my dad's so I got NO READING DONE :( I was soooo sad! So this week I told my mom that I am reading. That's it! All I'm doing is reading!!! She said oooookay...?? She thought I was kind of crazy haha but she loves me. So I have like 9 books hanging out in my room waiting for me to read and what do I do?? I check out four more books from the IMC and start reading those!! What was I thinking?!?!

Vampire Boys

I am reading this series right now that is "A Sookie Stackhouse Novel." It's pretty good...now that I got into it. The one thing I don't like about it is that she is dating Bill. She loves Bill. Then Bill cheats on her. He says he loves her and would never hurt her and never leave her, THEN HE DOES THIS?! He will be all lovey dovey one minute then he will be all jealous and don't touch me. It's worse than a girls PMS!! SO she FINALLY dumped him and decided to rid herself of any type of vampires or supernatural beings. Yeah that didn't last long. She finds a unknown (I really do know who it is but if I told you, that would ruin everything.) vampire and decided to take him in. He doesn't remember ANYTHING!!! So she has to take care of him because she is just that type of person. This vampire on the other hand really isn't one way then another then one way again. I like him more than I like the other!!! Why do people have to do that? It gets really annoying! Why would someone want to hang around you if your all mood swingy all the time?? I know I wouldn't want to. But anyway, she starts to see that with this new vampire she can be herself and not have to worry about what mood he's going to be in today. She can just do her own thing. Now knowing me, I am a hopeless romantic, and so of course this has romance in it but it's also a mystery/murder (DUHHH! of course there is murder!! Vampires!) In this book though, one bite can last longer the older you get. It's a good serious, I recommend it.

Poem!

When I'm with you,
eternity is a step away,
my love continues to grow,
with each passing day.

This treasure of love,
I cherish within my soul,
how much I love you...
you'll never really know.

You bring a joy to my heart,
I've never felt before,
with each touch of your hand,
I love you more and more.

Whenever we say goodbye,
whenever we part,
know I hold you dearly,
deep inside my heart.

So these seven words,
I pray you hold true,
"Forever And Always,
I Will Love You."

- Chris Engle -

Okay So I know it's not super long or whatever but it's sooooooo adorable! Why can't all guys just be honest and tell you what they feel?? Good Job Chris Engle!!

Currently....I am behind!!! =/

I've been reading the many books I got over the weekend and I've read like five or six pages out of all of them, but that doesn't really count does it. The one book that I actually read in was

Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber (pgs. 1-44)

I know. I know. I am really far behind but everyone has a bad week every once in a while. You get in a rut where you just don't feel like reading. This was my week (plus all the horrible things that have been happening!)

My favorite lines:

1. "Dissimilare to Stardust, Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian demonstrates a thorough understanding of classy, picturesque language." by The World Is Ours.

2. "Expressive adjectives such as "pinewood," "endless," "gnashing," "bitter," "hobbled," and "oblique" create rich description and depict the dark mood of the passage." Keep It Classy.

3. "The language elevation for all three is moderately high to high and they are all connotative, the sound of the books is what really separates them." by The Average Life of a Teenage Bookworm.

4. "The connotation is figurative and lyrical while the sound melodious as it flows along, defying many grammatical laws." by Intrusion of the Soul. (is this a branch?!)

5. "Neil Gaiman's word choice in the passage from Stardust conveys an elevated, and straightforward read, with a very common sound that is not musical nor harsh." by To Kill A Mockingjay.

I liked all of the "Style Mapping" blogs that I read. They were all good but the reason that I liked these the best is because they somehow just seemed more style mapy (if that makes sense). Like they tried their hardest to get it to sound elevated. They were all good!

Style Mapping

In this passage from Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian," he uses common familiarity and suggestive language mixed with a harmonious and sweet sound. In the passage from Neil Gaiman's "Stardust," Gaiman uses formal elegance and straight-forward language. In a passage from Cherry Adair's "Out of Sight," she uses blunt vulgarity, noisy and straight-forwardness to get her point across. From these three passages, Gaiman had more of a scholarly way of writing. He used words like "amidst," "treacherously," and "placid" setting you into a higher style of writing. Adair's passage is more of a in-your-face type of writing. She says things like "She was in ready position, but frozen like a deer in headlights, sniper rifle silent, and useless, in her hands." To me, that just seems more of a "Hey! Here it is!!!" type of writing. McCarthy, on the other hand, is literal but is elevated in his writing techniques. He uses phrases like He's left behind the pinewood country and the evening sun declines before him beyond an endless swale and dark falls here like a thunderclap and a cold wind sets the weeds to gnashing." Yes, it seems like the people didn't have a high education, but when I read it, I have to think and have to really pay attention to what the author is saying. All of the passages are good in their own way. It just shows that there are different types of writings out there for everyone to enjoy.

Lazy

So I'm reading "A Kiss in Time" by Alex Flinn. It's actually a lot better than I thought it would be. This is from the same author who wrote "Beastly" and "Cloaked." "A Kiss in Time" is Sleeping Beauty's tale...only changed a little. Instead of stopping right after her prince wakes her, it goes on to tell their tale and to show what happens after they awake and supposedly live happily ever after.

At one point in the book, Talia, the princess, is having a conversation on an airplane (a magic flying ship) and says,

Jack's the narrator

She purses her lips in this weird way she does. "What is a movie?"

"It's like television." She saw TV last night at the hotel. "You watch it to

kill time on the plane."

Please, please, let her at least watch a movie.

"Kill time?"

"You know, make it go faster."

"Why would you want to do that?"

"Because it's boring, sitting and doing nothing."

"But you are doing nothing in the sky! How can that be boring?"

I shrug. "To most people, it is."

"Try being asleep for three hundred years. Then you will

know what boring is."

I don't say anything. I'm one of those people who wants to sleep.

"Everything is boring to you, isn't it?" she says.

 "That's not true."

Is it?

"Oh, no?" She tips her feet to look at the airline slippers again. "Let me

see...your parents sent you on a tour of Europe for...how long?"

"A month. I've been gone three weeks. But I don't know what that's got to do--"

"Three weeks at great expense. And during that time, you've

visited how many countries?"

I count on my fingers--England, the Netherlands, France, Belgium..."I'm not sure.

Five or six, maybe. It's all a blur."

"All a blur," she mimics, then laughs. "But in any case, you have viewed

great masterworks, marvels of architecture, historical sights, and you have

generally found it to be, on the whole, quite dull. Is that the case?"

When she put it that way, it sort of makes me sound like a jerk. But she's not getting the

reason why I didn't want to go.

"Look, you don't understand. My parents, they just sent me to fulfill some

fantasy they have about having a son who's into that stuff. I never get any

chance about what I do in the summer. After I get home, they're going to

want me to take an SAT course and get a job. It's all about them."

"I do not understand about not getting a choice as to how to live one's life?"

I shrug. "Besides, the tour bus sort of sucked."

"Ah. So, in order to get away from the sucking tour bus--"

"Sucky."

"Beg pardon?"

"Sucky. You would say the bus was sucky. That's what Americans would say."

"Thank you. So, in order to get away from the sucky tour bus, you sneaked off,

found a lost kingdom, entered a castle, kissed a princess--an incredible

beautiful princess who had been asleep for centuries due to a curse placed

upon her at birth by an evil witch--caused a fracas, were thrown into a

dungeon, escaped, and traveled cross-country with that

same incredibly beautiful--"

"Not to mention modest." I know I shouldn't interrupt her or I'll never get my

earbuds in, but it's tempting.

"Incredibly beautiful and intelligent princess. And still, your are quite bored, Jack, so

bored you cannot wait to put in you ear buds and

be done with this conversation and this voyage."

I fumble with the earbuds guiltily.

"So my question to you, Jack, is what is it that you do not find boring?"

So there are a couple things I want to point out that I was thinking about when I was reading this passage.

1. The world has become LAZY!!!
Talia made a great point. Jack did amazing things while on his month trip, and he still found it boring and couldn't wait to get back home. He had all this adventure in three days, and he still is wanting to find something new and exciting to do. If you think about it, we do amazing things everyday:

1. Talk on a phone.
2. Ride in a car/bus/taxi, that without that, would take DAYS to get to every place we need to go in one day.
3. Use a computer.
4. Fix our hair (hairdrier, straightening iron, curling iron, moose, gel, hairspray)
5. Drink out of container that can keep drinks hot OR cold for days.
6. Use air conditioning.
7. Use the heater.
8. Watch TV.
9. Read books.
10. Listen to music through a "minuscule box, all so that one can listen to music without the bother of having it performed..."

If you think about it, we do extraordinary things everyday and we over look them. Over the past one hundred years we have changed completly. Technology has gotten better (and scarier), girls are dressing more....openly, boys are dressing more...baggy, our government has changed to where we put it all on a couple people, then complain about their thoughts. We follow "celebrities" around so that they can no t have a normal life because we are always watching.

We have become lazy! Nothing we do is fun anymore. We always have to have new stuff to do and new things to amuse us. Why can't we just be us and not have to have someone sitting there entertaining us?

2. Families are not family anymore.

Think about the last time your whole family sit down to have a meal together. No TV. No cell phones. No outside world. Just you and your family. If you still live at home, you mom, your dad and your siblings, sitting at the family table and talking about your day. Asking thought provoking questions. Really interested in eachother and what has happened in the last twenty-four hours.

Now of you do that every night, good for you! That is great!!! But most families get their own food when they get home, or seperate to different rooms to watch their own TV shows on their own TV's. We really don't consider dinner as a time to catch up with our family. It's so sad. Mother's and Father's pushing their children to do so many great things, just to find that their child doesn't want to do what they are forcing them to do. And children staying away from parents and running to friends and they are not getting good advice from their friends because the friends are not getting good advice from their parents. It's a never ending (and very sad) cycle. 

We need to back to being families and sticking together and noticing how fun and exciting life really is. Once we get that settled, everything will fall into place.

Marked by Passion by Kate Perry...NOT Katy Perry. Kate Perry



So to start off I want to show the difference between Kate Perry (the author) and Katy Perry (the singer). Kate Perry                                                                                      

Katy Perry

As you can see they are COMPLETELY different people.

Marked by Passion is a good book! It may take forever to get through but it's good. I especially liked how at the end you thought you knew everything when you find out you really didn't know all of the story.

It's about a girl who is working in a bar trying to start her career as a painter. She lands a deal with a gallery and is signing the contract when it gets mailed to her. FINALLY her box comes in! She starts to open it when a earthquake happens. She opens up the box a little later in the back to find an ancient scroll, the one she was marked to have. This only means one thing. Her father, the one who forced her to train and forced her into this life of misery, is dead. She doesn't know whether to be upset or not. When she finally gets back to work, a British guy walks in.

      "He walked in tall and broad, his medium-length brown hair fluttering from the

a sword. His focused stare made my breath catch in my chest. His vivid eyes were the

same blues as my favorite glass sculpture at the de Young Museum-bright and clear

but with amazing depth."

So you are instantly intrigued by them. Will they talk? Will they date? Will their love grow? What's gonna happen?! As the story progresses you just fall more in love with Rhys. Until a major let down happens in their relationship. But you learn to overlook it. You want to stop reading it close to the middle but something makes you keep reading it. It's amazing and intriging and compelling. Then a major WOW moment comes and you have to finish it. I loved the book. Try it out and I know you will, too.

Currently

Marked by Passion

Pages read this week: 361 pages

Pages all together: 2596 pages

My favorite quotes from the quarter:

1. "Vic stared at us. 'Wait are you guys freaking out about the whole vampire thing?" I like this because it is just a go with the flow kind of attitude that Vic has.

2. "During gym, I get hit in the head with a volley ball and he teacher lets me sit out of class. It's not like I was doing anything other than standing there staring at the net anyway. I prefer to think of it as multi-tasking since I was deep in thought, trying to remember some of my childhood wishes and playing volleyball, even if I wasn't actually hitting the ball with anything but my head." I like this because it totally works for me. I would be the one to get hit with a volleyball. 

3. "That was then, this is now." I like this one because it is like live in the moment. Don't harp on the past. The past is the past for a reason.

4. "The cliques had formed within a day, and I was caught exactly in the middle. " I liked this one because it's totally me. I've never been popular but I'm not a total weirdo.

Currently

Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris (pg. 75- 320

Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris (pg. 1-76)

Pages read this week: 321 pages

Pages all together read: 2235 pages

My favorite Lines:

1.“I knew, as sure as I knew my name, that tomorrow he would send me another coat, in a big fancy box, with a big bow on it. It would be the right size, it would be a top brand, and it would be warm.

It was cranberry red, with a removable liner, a detachable hood, and tortoiseshell buttons.” Dead to the World

2."'She loves you as much as you love her,' I said, and he let go of my arm. I continued on my what to Sid Matt's table. When I glanced back at him,  he was staring at me. Chew on that, Andy Bellefleur, I thought. Then I felt a little ashamed of myself. But he shouldn't have asked, if he didn't want to know the answer."  Definitely Dead pg. 40

3. "I was draped over the arm of one of the most beautiful men I'd ever seen, and he was staring into my eyes.....Al Chamberland was snapping away as Claude smoldered down at me. I did my best to smolder right back. My personal life had been, shall we say, barren for the past few weeks, so I was all to ready to smolder....I looked great, though I didn't look like Sookie Stackhouse. If Claude hadn't been gay,he might have been impressed, too...If your in the know supernaturally, you'll spot the ear surgery, and you'll know that Claude is a fairy. I'm not using the pejorative term for his sexual orientation. I mean it literally; Claude's a fairy." Definitely Dead pgs. 1-3

4. "'Is he the responsible party?' I didn't know if she was talking about the bill for her services, or the pregnancy, Either way, I told her that Jason definitely was the responsible party."

The Art of Annoying Alarm Clocks

Every morning starting from anywhere around 4:30 a.m. to about 5:30 a.m. my wonderful dad's alarm clock goes off. And it isn't one of the cool ones who gets gradually louder. NOOOO! This one is just annoying. It's the regular "Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. BEEEEEP!" And he'll let it go off for roughly ten to twenty minutes at a time then it "snoozes" for another ten minutes and it repeats this AMAZING thing all over again till my dad decides at 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. that he wants to get up to go to work. Now I stayed up till 12:30 a.m. to catch up in my poem book and to only get 5 hours of sleep and still be this happy and awake is rare!!! That's all for now!

My Favorite Quotes :)

Love comforteth like sunshine after rain.   - William Shakespeare -

One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: that word is love.  - Sophocles -

You don't marry someone you can live with, you marry the person who you cannot live without. - Author Unknown -

What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate. - The Bible : Mark 10:9 -

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. - The Bible : 1 Corinthians 13:4 -

The reason I picked these quotes was because again they were romantic ones and they have truth in them. They all say is something the Beatles got right on the dot. All you need is love.

A Special World

A Special World
A special world for you and me
A special bond one cannot see
It wraps us up in its cocoon
And holds us fiercely in its womb.

Its fingers spread like fine spun gold
Gently nestling us to the fold
Like silken thread it holds us fast
Bonds like this are meant to last.

And though at times a thread may break
A new one forms in its wake
To bind us closer and keep us strong
In a special world, where we belong.

- Sheelagh Lennon -

The reason I really like this poem is because 1. I am a major fan of romantic, cute, sweet stuff and 2. it is real and it shows how it should be. It says in the first stanza that "A special bond one cannot see." That's how it should be. Between two people and sweet and special. A bond no one can break. No one can come between and no one can tear it apart. "Like silken thread" this implys that the thread is tough. Silken thread was "one of several types of cloth that a tailor can use to make different types of armor." The last stanza says that if it does break, "A new one forms in its wake." This is just a beautiful poem. What are your thoughts on it?

My Observation Guide Links

The Art of the First Kiss

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

A Cinderella Story

(It starts at 4:45 minutes!)

Twilight

(MY ALL TIME FAVORITE!!)

Currently

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (pg. 133- 290)

Living Dead in Dallas by Charlain Harris (pg. 1-290)



Club Dead by Charlaine Harris (pg. 1-200)



Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris (pg. 1- 75)



Total Pages this Week: 755 pages

Total pages all together: 1914 pages

My all time favorite quotes:
1. "News flash:that's high school." From week 1. The reason I picked this particular quote is because it sums high school up very simply. It has a little bit of attitude, it gives a little bit of everything. The "News flash..." it like well DUHHH! and the attitude hits you in the face. The "...that's high school" just sums up everything. Any one in high school or has been in high school, they know exactly what that statment is.

2. "I am so mad at Nicole right now. She should have arrived at least two hours ago, but there's no sign of her. I flip open my phone and send her another text, what must be the twentieth one tonight: Please tell me timmy fell down the well and you're busy rescuing him. Five minutes ago, I sent: Did the birds eat your trail of bread crumbs and now you're lost in the woods? Ten minutes before that, I sent: If you're late because Shia LeBeouf decided to join your dinner, I expect pictorial proof. " From Week 3. The reason I picked this one is because it is so me and my friend. Her name is even Nicole!! She would never (i hope) ditch me for a guy, even though we have done it a few times to eachother. I would defintily text her and say the exact same thing. This is my life right here in this quote: hurt, sarcasm, funny.

3. Last by DEFINTLY not least: "How big a loser do you have to be to coast into high school popularity on your parents? Still, I couldn't afford to turn my nose up at any acceptance I won, no matter what the reasons were." From Week 1. The reason I happened to pick this quote was because, just like the last one, this is my life. I was a LOSER!! in middle school so I rode into high school, my brother was a senior at the time, on his popularity. All the seniors knew I was "Adam Kennedy's little sister!" All his friends would come up and hug me and say "Have your brother have another bonfire!! Your house is so much fun!!!" (and yes, while typing this I was talking in a low male voice.) So I decided I'll use my brother's popularity if I had to, and I did...well with that class. Now I'm a loser again!! haha

Best Claims Award

1. Proenza Schouler's somber color scheme, seductive shape, and aggravated music choice, conveys a creepy and polished look for their fall 2010 collection. By To Kill A Mockingjay.

2. The use of motivational and inspiring words with the combination of the brotherhood seen in the images of the football game help to infer a sense of dedication and commitment that can only truly be seen on the football field. By I think therefore I am.

3. In Todrick Hall's "I Wanna Be On Glee," Hall's plea to Glee creator Ryan Murphy shows Hall's inventiveness and artistic talents through the music video's cleverly pariodistic lyrics, assertive instrumentals, and effervescent choreography. By ZENGERINE.

4. The painting's gritty texture, balanced use of space, selective use of colour, and dark tone leave the viewer a sense of depressing realization leading to a climactic finish. By JimmehFTW.

5. This refreshingly bright photograph taken in the environmental center reflects an existence of both dreamlike tranquility and effortless freedom. By Look Up...(Now!).

My Favorite ones would probably (in this order)
2. Zengerine's because it is different but still gets to the point. It follows the pattern that we did in class but it didn't exactly follow it to a T. Some of the others that I saw were great!, but they were very very similar to the one we did in class.

And my all time favorite is...(drum roll!!)
1. I think therefore I am's claim! It was the best that I saw. It was smooth and different but it was written like they spent time one it and actually tried to get it to sound right and to flow. Put that in a paper, and your sure to get an A.

The Claim

So for my claim I did Summer Nights off the movie Grease.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpJUrt0O7uY&feature=related

Observe-

• Sound- Melodic, Alive,
• Setting- Crazy, Difficult, Large
• Facial Expressions- Open, Excited, Gleaming
• Clothing- Clean, Famous, loose

Infer-

• Animated
• Cheerful
• Ecstatic
• Energetic
• Excited
• Intimate
• Joyful
• Loving
• Playful
• Romantic

The Final Claim-

     In this scene from Grease, the director's melodic sound, crazy setting, open facial expression, and clean clothing expresses a sense of intimate playfulness, romantic energy, and loving animation.

Updates :)

So I'm reading Dead Until Dark and I like it, but it is confusing! She likes him, but she don't. She treats him amazingly and then when something happens and it's not even his fault she freaks out on him and does something crazy and doesn't talk to him. I just don't get it. It's like high school all over again. She is a twenty-five year old cocktail waitress. And he is a vampire that fought in the civil war. You would think that they would be past all of this. So it's good and cute but I'm so confused. She can read minds. But she can't read Bill's or any other vampire, or her boss, who apparently has had feelings for her for a couple years, Sam. She wants to be with Bill, which is all good, but then Sam comes along and she gets all confused. She doesn't go on dates because she doesn't want to hear all the things her date is saying about her, or other women for that fact). She really doesn't get to close to guys. So when Bill comes along and she can't hear his thoughts, she gets all excited and wants to be with him, but then his friends do something and she doesn't talk to him. Then her grandma dies and she is all "Oh, Bill. I need you!!!!" Then something happens and she is off again. I don't know if I can keep up with her. It's like I don't want to read it because it is confusing and a little...weird...and then again, I have to find out what happens. It's good but then again it's like nooope. I am so on the fence about it. But of course, I'm going to have to finish it!! I was talking to the girl who recommended it and she said she was having the same feelings about the book as I was. She liked it but she didn't know if she could finish it but then again she had to! I was talking to her and she said that you like the characters, then you don't like them, then you like them again, then they leave and someone comes in and decides to take his/her place. I can't stand a book like that!! It drives me nuts, but I'm already there so it's alllll good!

Currently

You Wish by Mandy Hubbard (pages 93-280)

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (pgs. 1-133)

Divergant by Vironica Roth (pgs. 1-22)



Pants on Fire by Meg Cabot (pgs. 1-20)



Pages this week: 402 pages

Pages all together: 1559 pages

Favorite lines:

1. "I'd been waiting for the vampire for years when he walked into the bar." Dead Until Dark pg. 1

2. "I'm going to miss that doll." You Wish

3. "'Hel-lo,' she said. For somer reason, she always sounded put out, as if a phone call were the last thing on earth she wanted. I know for a fact that wasn't the case." Dead Until Dark pg. 37

4. (Bill, the vampire, is drinking blood at a bar.) "Bill took the top off the bottle with one finger and took a sip. I tried not to look, failed. Of course he saw my face, and he shook his head. "This is reality, Sookie,' he said. 'I need it to live.' There were red stains between his teeth. 'OF course.' I said, tryin to march the matter-of-fact tone of the bartender." Dead Until Dark pg. 103

So you may be wondering why I always choose from one book, well mostly. Well the reason I do that is because I keep one book with me, maybe two. But I can't remember all the funny lines from the other books so I keep one with me and use that one.

 

Which book to read....

So I started a book and it was moving really slow but it was good! I really liked it....until the fourth or fifth book came out in the series that I absolutely LOVE! And so I started that one...until a girl I know told me about a vampire book that was really good. So I started that one. They were all really good but I don't know which one to read. The one I'm reading right now is called Dead Until Dark, is really good but is like a 8 or 9 book series. The other two are not related at all and are only one book (either left or just plain one book). I don't know which one to start or which one to just read it and then, once I'm done with that one, which do I go to now?!?! So confusing! The story of my life. So I think I'm going to finish the series and then move onto the other ones...we will see how this works because I only have them until I think the beginning of October..and I know I can't read ten or eleven books in less than a month..we will see how this works....lol But I think I can renew them, hopefully none of them are on hold!!!

Random

I just spent about 20 minutes trying to get to my blog!!! I couldn't remember what the URL was so I was trying different URLs and and I never found it...so I went to google :) I love google!!! It's great! and I was confused! and I found the second Breaking Dawn trailer! and I loved it!!! Ohhhh this is so random... :) night

Currently

Hourglass by Claudia Gray (pages 272 to 339)

Afterlife by Claudia Gray (pages 1 to 59)

Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright (pages 1to 22)

You Wish by Mandy Hubbard (pages 1 to 92

Pages I read this week: 237 pages (not as good as the last ones =( )

Pages I've read all together: 1157 pages (ehhh could be better)

Favorite lines:

1. "During gym, I get hit in the head with a volley ball and he teacher lets me sit out of class. It's not like I was doing anything other than standing there staring at the net anyway. I prefer to think of it as multi-tasking since I was deep in thought, trying to remember some of my childhood wishes and playing volleyball, even if I wasn't actually hitting the ball with anything but my head." You Wish pg. 83

2. "'Gumballs. And a pony.' I jerk upright. 'Uh-oh.'" You Wish pg. 81

3. "If she abandons me on my birthday, just about anything could be fair game, right?" You Wish pg. 42

4. "I am so mad at Nicole right now. She should have arrived at least two hours ago, but there's no sign of her.

I flip open my phone and send her another text, what must be the twentieth one tonight:

Please tell me Timmy fell down the well and you're busy rescuing him.

Five minutes ago, I sent: Did the birds eat your trail of bread crumbs and now you're lost in the woods?

Ten minutes before that, I sent: If you're late because Shia LeBeouf decided to join you guys for dinner, I expect pictorial proof." You Wish pg. 30



Afterlife

I've been reading this AMAZING series called "Evernight." I loved it....until I got to the end of the third book. I was reading along and I was loving it, confused, but loving it nonetheless. Then..BAM...nope done. It turned around and did the worst thing it could possibly do to it's reader. It took the path that NOBODY wanted. It's cute and nice and sweet and then it turns horrible in one small page. I don't want to give anything away for potential "Evernight" readers so if your planning on reading this skip down until I say "OKAY!!!!" just like that. So the book is good. She ran away with the love of her life and all is well, until she gets her first job. She starts to get sick and she doesn't feel well. Her stomach hurts, she don't feel like eating (blood or regular food) and she is fainting. Well her boyfriend thinks she might be pregnant but she says no no no that's not it. But she knows something is wrong. As it gets closer to her final days, her boyfriend says here, just drink my blood, all of it. She of course doesn't because he then will turn into a vampire and he doesn't want that. So she doesn't and eventually dies. Yes, dies like "goodbye," "sayonara," "adios," "arrivederci," "再见," "afscheid," "revoir," "Lebewohl," "αντίο," "beannacht," "さようなら," "작별 인사," "vale," "sudie," "збогум," "pożegnanie," "adeus," "до свидания," "adjö," "ลา," "güle güle," "tạm biệt," and the ever lovely "hwyl fawr." So take your pick from which language you want. There is 23 different languages and they all mean "goodbye." Going on. She dies and I was SOOOO upset. I refused to finish the book until I finally had to find out what happened. She turns into a "wraith" which is basically a ghost. For awhile her boyfriend and best friend/ex boyfriend can not see her. Which really stinks. Finally she finds out a way to become visible again. She is basically alive again, but only on short time frames and only when she is wearing something that was once alive.

OKAY!!!!
 I still haven't decided if I am going to finish "Afterlife." I want to but I don't want to be disappointed again like I was in "Hourglass" (the third book of the series).Everyone says I should but I don't know. What do you guys think?