Class bucket list
 1.) Have a field trip outside
 2.) Have wheelie chair races down the hallway
 3.) Have an aimlessly wander the halls day
 4.) Watch a disney movie

COLLEGE!

Reading Post

I finished Moneyball last week by Michael Lewis, I finished the book, it was a very interesting story about the Oakland A's manager Billy Beane and his unique analytical system that allows the Oakland A's to win games without spending money.

Whoever decided that it was a good idea to set my page as Arabic I really appreciate your maturity and judgement skills when screwing with something that someone else is being graded on please grow the hell up act your age and dont do anything else that you might regret later

Reading Post

This week I finished Mockingjay, the final novel in the Hunger Games series. It culminates to an intense final battle between the capitol and the districts. Katniss and the district 13 army have turned all of the other districts against the capitol and they have begun to attack the capitol. The capitol has been booby-trapped and has been  set up in an almost arena like fashion. It is fitting that it will come to an end in an arena for Katniss on her mission to kill President Snow. At the end President Snow is taken captive and The Leader of District 13 President Coin comes to the survivors of the games and asks them if they would like to have another hunger games with the children of the capitol, after which she tells Katniss that she will be able to execute President Snow in front of the entire nation of Panem. When Katniss lifts her bow she takes aim and shoots not the President she is supposed to, Snow, but the successor, Coin. The rest of the book describes Katniss' life with Peeta and their children.

Note #3

Ferris Bueler is the definition of a cool kid, he oozes charm. His relationships with all people around him seems to be perfect, except for his sister. She seems to be an awkward and angry teenage girl, who is jealous of her brother. She talks about how she hates Ferris but in the end saves him from being caught by the principal. The bond of being a sibling is very evident in how Ferris and Genie act around each other.

Note #2

Sixteen Candles is the epitome of an 80's movies. It's final scene in which Samantha Baker, a delicately pretty girl is picked up after her sisters wedding by her dream man, complete with the beautiful car and all. This helps contribute to an idealism that in the end every girl gets her dream guy and every guy ends up with who he should be with. The gentle music and dimmed lighting add to a dramatically romantic final kiss.

Reading post

Im reading Mockingjay by Suzzane Collins and I read pages 1 through 156. Mockingjay, so far has been a great addition to what the first two books of the trilogy. The Book begins by picking up where Catching Fire left off when Katniss wakes up in a hovercraft after existing the Arena. Peeta has been captuired by the Capitol and Katniss is now in, the previously thought to be destroyed, District 13. Katniss begins her job, after battling internally whether or not she should become it, as the face of the revolution.

Exercise #3

The book reviews that I read all seemed to be of a similar overall make up. They begin with a personal note about either how they came about the book or what drew them to read it. After this anecdote generally the begin with an analysis of the literary set up of the book, what kinds of styles the author uses and how it is different or similar to other books by the same author. After this the general trend is to go into a summary section, being careful, of course, not to give too much vital plot information away. And then they all seem to conclude with another personal statement, their advisement either to read this book immediately! or to save it for a last resort.

Book Reviews:
The Hunger Games
Mackingjay
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Reading Response

This week I read from the book Moneyball, which was recently turned into a big name movie. I read from the beginning to page 153. The book begins talking about the life a boy named Billy Beane, Billy had all the makings of a big name ball player, but he doesn't have the drive to enjoy baseball. He eventually fails as a baseball player but is able to get a job in the front office of The Oakland Ball club. He works his way up slowly to the position of a General manager of the baseball team. He is in the process of scouting new players, and is using a very unique system to scout his new players.

Exercise 2

6.) Lynda uses lyrical words and is poetic.
2.) "...because her little sister will NOT shut up she will NOT shut up SHE WILL NOT SHUT UP and Roberta is about to BASH her little sister's HEAD IN IF SHE DOES NOT SHUT UP."
2.) The setting takes place on a "cruddy street on the side of a cruddy hill in the cruddiest part of a crudded-out town." 

The best blog post that I read was by  Drop The World

Exercise 1

In this excerpt from "Cruddy" by Lynda Barry, she expresses a poetic vulgarity in her wording which can be seen by phrases like "Once upon a cruddy time on a cruddy street on the side of a cruddy hill." The author seems to tell of the girls' discontent with her life by her description of everything around her as cruddy. Her referring to everything as cruddy helps to communicate the pent up rage of a grounded young girl taking her anger out through writing.

Reading goals

1.) Read at least 150 pages a week
2.) Finish the Hunger games trilogy
3.) Read at least 4 books

Thematic Statement

The theme of my Anthology will be Relationships, the relationships between, friends, enemies, family, and lovers all will be discussed. I choose relationships to be discussed because of how impacting our different kinds relationships are on our everyday lives.

Reading Response

I finished the Second Hunger Games book, Catching Fire, this week. It was an extremely interesting book with an exceptional number of twists and turns. While they are in the arena Katniss and Peeta have allied with some unsuspected people in, Finnick, Johanna, and their friends nick named nuts and volts. They figure out the secret of the arena, realizing that it is in the design of a clock where at each different time a different disaster happens. They formulate a plan to kill the other players, or so Katniss and Peeta think, The actuality of the plan is to escape from the arena and escape in a hovercraft with the others to start a revolution against the Capitol.

Reading Response

I just started the second book in the hunger games series Catching Fire. In this exciting thriller Peeta and Katniss are back. They are thrown unceremoniously into the arena with men and women off all ages who have previously won the hunger games. This seems to be the result of the plot of the evil President Snow who hates Katniss due to her actions that always incite riots and the wrath of the citizens of the districts and so actively captivate the viewers in the Capitol. As he becomes more desperate to make her break he begins injuring and tortured in front of her in an attempt to get her to comply with his demands.Once she is in the arena Katniss and Peeta seem to align themselves with unsuspected allies who have secret extraordinary talents themselves.

Reading response

As I continue to read The Dart League King, i become more and more interested as i read on it makes it harder and harder to put down. The characters are devoloping more and more, and for the most part the more developed they get the more i can relate to and like the characters. Almost every character has real life characteristics that are easily relateable to. Each character has their own faults but still in a sense remains likeable. The story has had plenty of twists and turns that keep your interest peaked throughout.

Todays assignment

Where the Finer Things are http://l2usty3221.blogspot.com/
"The artist chose this peak of the day because the sun was completely blocked out, but the shot still has the brilliance as though the sun was peaking through."

Vivir Sonar Leer "The radical range of color schemes, discombobulating object scale, unusual item combination, and drastic angling of geometric shapes combine to form a divine harmony in the middle of a flustering discord." http://vivirsonarleer.blogspot.com/

"I've always wondered what it is about beaches that everybody (including myself), loves."

"This creates a great sense of irony since poeple have never seen a "superhero" perform such lowly jobs."

Inferrence #4

     The final scene in the movie caddyshack is a very interestingly done movie ending. It is not a conventional movie ending by any means. But this should be expected because caddyshack overall is not a conventional movie. If it was it would not have cemented itself as one of the most popular comedies of all time.
     The final scene of caddyshack shows many things, from the triumphant dancing of a crudely constructed gopher puppet to the goofy actions and words a boistorous Rodney Dangerfield(as Al Czervik) to the violent and slightly disturbed demeanor of the greenskeeper Carl Spackler played by Bill Murray. The mood of this scene is a very raucas and excited. The  The setting of this scene is the 18th hole of a golf course, where a large crowd has gathered. The crowd is circled around the hole where the 4 contestants in and extremely illegal game of golf, being played for $80,000 a person all riding down to this final put made by a young caddy, Danny Noonan. The characters are each excited in their own way Judge Smails and Dr. Peeper waiting hoping the young caddy will make a mistake and miss making him the winner, while Danny Noonan, Ty Webb and Al Czervik wait anxiously for the ball to go in making them the winners.

Short list

My first item is a documentary that i enjoy for the story. Its the story of John Lennons life in america Heres a review

2nd Is the opening scene of talladega nights i just think its really funn when they have Rickys parents driving and the dad goes past the hospital http://Heres an overview of the story

3rd is the final scene in caddyshack when danny putts and its so close and then the explosion goes off and the ball falls in

Reading response

I am currently reading the book The Dart League King by Keith Lee Morris, i really enjoy the way that this book is written. When i first started i didn't think that i would like the constant changes in the narration but it makes the book that much more engaging and interesting than other books. It helps you to identify with each of the characters in a very close way. The only character who even after his sections in the book is hard to identify with is Tristan, who continually gives off the creepy stalker serial killer vibe.. But the other characters even the violent angry at the world drug deal are very easy to symphathise with. It helps me to stay more interested in the book. The action also keeps you engaged in a very good way it makes you want to keep turning the page to hear what happens next. The dialect also changes greatly depending on the character that is speaking. When Vince speaks its very profane and short and choppy, but when Tristan or Kelly speak it sounds more eloquent and well educated.

Podcast response

Prologue

                Annie talks about how middle school is a miserable time and everyone gets made fun of for everything they do.  “Annie got made fun of for smoking by people because her friends smoked and then got made fun of by her friends for not smoking”

Act One

                Interview a science teacher asked if the kids learned anything “I don’t know if they learned anything like they are so consumed with other things like the social” “Facts and figures and geography and all the other things we teach in school don’t even penetrate”  In middle school everythings new all of your experiences you've never done before "For everything thats awful about middle school thats the great thing, you experiment" 


The two different sections of the podcasts seemed to discuss the same things in differing ways. The prologue only gives one point of view whereas the first act gives a large compilation of different experts opinions. 

Reading Response

So this week I read the Hunger Games, and it was such a fast and action packed read. I literally read the whole book in 2 days. The action in the Hunger Games just made me never want to put it down. The plot moved so smoothly together with just the right twists and turns to wrench your heart and then warm it in the same chapter. The characters were extremely easy to identify with, the girl who thought she never fit in but was really extremely special in her own way, which everyone could see except for her. And the charming genuine boy who tries to be straightforward but ends up constantly being misinterpreted. These characters form a bond that helps the reader to relate to them and root for them in a special way. The relationships that these characters build with each other and the other players in the games are very interesting and fun to watch develop throughout the book. The ending in particular stuck with me though. In the end even though Katniss and Peeta finally do escape the horrors of the game, they are not free, they will never be completely free.

Short List #2

My second short list was harder to put together than my first.

1.This article caught my attention (This is it) It claims to be discussing the haunting of the Magic Kingdom in Disney world and other theme parks, but I find it strange because it seems to give no actually facts or evidence whatsoever.
2.This Article also caught my attention, for no reason other than it was really interesting, it's about a man made floating island in the Maldives
3.This website I enjoy just because it has some hilarious products and amazing ideas

Review Article

In the world of media there have been many movies dedicated to sports and the underdog. The amount of movies dedicated to sports where the less favored team overcomes the odds and wins the big game is ridiculous. Look at Rocky, Little Giants, Space Jam, The Mighty Ducks, Remember the Titans, Miracle, Brian's Song, Hoosiers, Caddyshack, Gridiron Gang, and Rudy, the list goes on into the thousands. each of these movies has added their own elements while still following the same basic theme. Crooked Arrows is the first real big ticket lacrosse movie to hit the big screen.

Crooked Arrows takes a different approach than many of these other films, while still having the motivational cliche of a "rag-tag bunch of misfits" going from zeroes to heroes, it also shows the heritage of the game of lacrosse and how for the people who played it originally it was a part of their religion as The Creators Game. Playing lacrosse was a holy experience for them. In Crooked Arrows they show how important the game of lacrosse is to the native american people who invented it.

Short list of the short lists

1. I know that I'm biased in saying this but my first on the short list of short lists is still my original idea, an analysis of the Crooked Arrows trailer probably just because i can relate to the movie though.

2. A picture that really grabbed my attention was This one on Where the Finer Things Are's blog.

3. My final short list of short lists post is the post about the analysis of spongebob and how the show has survived and thrived for as long as it has found on99 bottles of pop on the wall

The Short List

Crooked Arrows is a movie that will be released this April. This movie is in one way your typical underdog story, while simultaneously telling the story of the deep-rooted Native American history of the sport of lacrosse, or as they called it The Creators Game.

An article that i found online (Heres the Article) while stumbling upon things caught my eye. It was titled Ode to the Nice Guys, it caught my attention as i read it, realizing the truth behind lots of the statements made in the article. The article points out a lot of the small things that do to other people that make other people feel bad. This article sheds light  on another way humans can be so cruel to each other, for seemingly no reason.

Another interesting thing that I found to analyze was a picture that i also stumbled upon (Heres the picture) It is an absolutely breathtaking picture, the colors mesh in  an amazingly contrasting way. It brings attention to the Scenic mountains as well as the reflections of the mountains in the lake and the small home in the foreground.

Favorite blog and favorite dead poets society post

Though i was not present to see the clip from dead poets society the response on Another Twist, Another
Turn was my favorite, It was very descriptive and i could understand the meaning even without seeing the particular clip.

My favorite blog of one of my classmates was the one titled Where The Finer Things Are because it catches my attention and is very aesthetically appealing.

Picture analysis

Color

1. cool colors, outside
2. nature
3. dark and rustic, also neutral in the insid 
• Setting (interior)
• white
• wood furnished 
• modern in some areas, but rustic in others
•  
• Actions 
• family interacting
• actions of nature 
• ping pong
• dogs walking w/ people 
• chopping wood
• smelling flowers, eating, yoga, etc
• Chatracters
• few family members
• few dogs 
• both interacting together
• doing a variety of actions

Reading response #2

The more I read into this book the thicker the plot gets, upon peters arrival in hawaii he gets a strange call from his brother telling him to leave, he becomes extremely confused and rushes to his hotel. Upon arrival he gets a call from the police saying that his brothers boat has been found wrecked against the cliffs and that his brother is missing. Immediately he joins in the investigation to attempt to find out what has happened to his brother. The investigators show that one of his brothers coworkers is found making a phone call on the cliffs overlooking the ocean while his brothers boat malfunctions below. He later looks into it and finds out that a cell phone was planted on the boat to contaminate the oil pump stopping the boat so eric's boat would crash into the cliffs killing him and he finds that the cell phone that calls the one planted on the boat is the one that his brothers coworker is holding. He copies these to a cd planning to accuse his brothers co workers of killing him off while touring their lab with his fellow grad students. He starts to make accusations after being shown the lab where it is revealed that the studies they are doing involve shrinking people to do studies at the microscopic level. The ceo of the company in order to cover for his own mistakes and make up for the fact that all of the grad students now know that he is responsible for eric's death he shrinks them to have a millimeter in size, and then attempts to feed them to a snake. At which point his coworker feels guilty and saves them, taking them in her purse and leaving with them, attempting to save them. But they escape and are lost in the hawaiian jungle.

Reading response #1

So far i'm enjoying this book, there's a complex plot developing but enough action to keep it interesting. I already enjoy the main character and find myself drawn to taking his side. The character is a grad student studying snake venoms who is being recruited by a company based in Hawaii of which his brother is the vice president in charge of technology. He discusses things with his fellow grad students and eventually his core group of peers and friends decide to make the trip to hawaii to visit the company, offering many perks and high paying salaries. The author draws a very detailed picture while still keeping the readers interest. Each character is very well developed through both direct and indirect characterization, allowing the reader to make opinions about the characters quickly. I enjoy the distinct personality differences between each of the characters, there is no perfect character each one has many likable qualities as well as some less desirable ones. On a different note, I realize now, while working on this project, how much I miss just sitting down and reading a good book before bed. Sitting down with the lights dimmed enjoying a good book and some calming music is a great very relaxing way to spend an evening and i missed this. This books imagery of  the beauty in hawaii makes me wish i could go there sometime. There is lots of foreshadowing that something is going to go wrong, and the constant references to the beauty around them isn't helping me to believe that there could be anything good that could come. This seems the be a theme in the book so far, don't judge things by their appearances because appearances are deceiving. There is also foreshadowing that there is a lot more going on than it may seem to these grad students which helps to add to the formentioned theme.  

Literacy Narrative

Personally I started reading at a young age. Both of my parents spend a lot of their time reading and tought me. When i was younger I read a lot more than I do today, in elementary and middle school i would spend lots of my free time reading. My favorite things to read were many book series, I think now that i enjoyed having very well developed characters and would get attatched to them while I read. Now though I have less free time, so I spend less of my time reading. When I read i tend to read a variety of different styles as opposed to one genre. I will read anything as long as it catches my attention. Reading is important to me now because it is a good way to learn new things, a good source of entertainment, and it broadens you to different ideas and beliefs.