Outside Event # 4

I went to see Souvenir last night at Theatre Memphis off Southern. This play was very interesting. It was about a woman named Florence Foster Jenkins that was determined to sing even though she couldn't. A man named Cosme McMoon accompanied her when she would sing. He needed the money, and was actually kind of inspired that she had the heart to continue singing. Her saying was, "They may say I can't sing, but they'll never say I didn't." It was and inspiring story. It tells you to stick with what your heart is telling you to do, even when people are making fun of you. It was really cool to see literature in action, and see this play acted out. It was cool to see the way they had the room set up and how everyone reacted to the storyline. Each character did really good at their roles and they kept me interested. This helps me realize that when you love something you should stick with it, no matter what.

Outside Event #3

I went to see Lisa Patton at Davis Kidd Booksellers on Tuesday night. The atmosphere was nice. We were in the middle of the store, in a little spot with some chairs. Mrs. Lisa came around and introduced herself to the new comers and spoke to the others who have been to listen to her before. She read the prologue of her book. She brought the story to life. Each character of the short two page story had their own voice. Their own distinction. You could hear the emotion she gave to each character, how one was upset and scared, and the other was remorseful. It was really nice to listen to her, and the book seemed interesting. One lady asked if the novel was fiction, and she responded with "yes, mostly fiction, but most of the characters are based off true people." It was a very nice experience, especially seeing her friends in the audience who she talked about in the book. Everyone was so joyful. =]

Hmmm.

I always struggle coming up with a third blog, so I'm going to ramble on about nothing at all. First of all, school, it went by way too fast. Even when it felt like it dragged on, looking back, it went really fast. It felt like as soon as I got the hang of it, it was over. Now we have exams and they are stressful. Even in the classes that we don't have exams, we have long papers that suck. I'll get them done though. Then it'll be time to relax and enjoy the family around the holidays. They will be different, but we are just going to have to change our tradition, and move on from there. I'm going to pick up some extra hours during the break and hopefully start to rebuild my bank account. =P. It'll go by fast, but I know that the spring will be just the same. My friends and family keep me strong, and we will make it. I can't wait to get to what I actually want to do with my life. =]. It will be awesome!

Relief

This past Wednesday, December 2nd, I wrecked my car. I was really upset, because I felt that it wasn't going to be able to be fixed. It was in horrible condition, and you could see parts of the car that you shouldn't have been able to see, like my water reservoir was down under my bumper and all that mess. It was not good. I was really worried. Today, I found out that my car WILL get fixed. AWESOME news! This information made my day and totally took a lot of stress from my mind. Now to focus on other things, like exams. Hopefully it won't take too long to fix my car, I just want them to get everything fixed right, so I won't have any ongoing problems from the wreck. =]]

The Moon

I love the moon. It's always so pretty out at night. Some nights it is just a bright shining ball of awesomeness and other nights it may be covered by the clouds. It's pretty all the time. When you can see it shining through the darkness, it's just incredible. I could sit outside and just stare into it forever. The moon is also enhanced by the stars. Living out in the country, you can really see the stars. When you can just sit outside and stare and kind of get lost in the mix of everything. Whereas if you lived in the city, you can't always see the glory of the sky. You wouldn't imagine some of the things you can come to realize as you sit and gaze into the wonders of the sky. It's really nice. =]]

Annotated Bibliography #5

http://ezinearticles.com/?National-DNA-Databases&id=3137254

National DNA Databases

This article discusses where DNA databases are and how they are used. It also says that each country differs and that every region has their own rules and regulations. In some places just being suspected of a crime, they will take your DNA for the database. It explains how each country has their own way of keeping the information. This article also talks about the problems involved in DNA databases, like the privacy and the civil liberties act. This article has a lot of the same information as the others but it doesn't give a whole lot of information. This person seems to know what they are talking about, but they just don't explain it enough.

Hmmm

You know, I have no idea what to write a blog about. I have written about school and how I feel overwhelmed, and it seems to be getting worse with exams coming up. I feel like I'm going to fail every class. It's crazy. Classes I should be passing with ease, I feel like I'm doing terrible. Other than classes I have work, which is pretty easy. I go to work til five, and just answer phones. Every now and then the day could be stressful, but it's not bad. When I'm not at work, I like to hang out with people who make me smile. Friends and family have held me together through good and bad. This semester I have made great friends. The connections group has been so much fun and the people in it are amazing. Everyone has their own personality and we all get along well. I'm really glad I took the class. College will get easier hopefully as I adjust more. The good friends will stay, and the family will always be there. This blog is random and all over the place. =P

Holidays

Christmas is quickly approaching! Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday. I love everything about it. I love the weather, the music, the smells, the colors, the lights... everything. People around Christmas time are always so nice and cheerful. Even when everything is terrible, Christmas bands everyone together. You see the best in people, even with the crazy people shopping. =P. The music is always catchy and pretty. Many songs have beautiful meanings. The smells are always nice. At the mall they have like honey roasted nuts which are good, and then you have the smells of the candy canes and stuff. I love candy canes. All the different colors at Christmas are nice too. You see many different trees and decorations. It's always sooo pretty to see everyone's creativity. The lights at night time light up the streets, and you can just see the love put into putting them up. It's the best time of the year. You get to spend time with your family in great fellowship. It's awesome!

Overwhelmed

It's very easy to get overwhelmed with things. This semester has flown by. I kept telling myself everything would be okay and now it's almost the end of the semester and I'm worried about everything. Two weeks ago my uncle took his life and it has been incredibly hard to get over. I can't understand it. I want to understand it. I know I never will, but I just have to understand things. I can't go without understanding. My family has held together and tried to move on. We were doing good until this Sunday we get a call stating that my great aunt passed away. She had recently had a surgery and wasn't allowed to travel for two weeks, so she wasn't able to go to the funeral for Uncle Chris. She wasn't having any trouble after, and she didn't complain of any pain. She just said she was tired. Unfortunately, she a blood clot passed through her lungs and she didn't make it. She was a great lady and will always be remembered. I know she'll be in Heaven with Uncle Chris and they can joke and play like always. It's still tough, especially so close to the end of the semester. It seems like as soon as I was getting back on my feet, something threw me to the ground again. Hopefully everything will get better soon enough. As a family, we will make it through. That's all I can ask for and that is what I am grateful for. Family and friends who help me when I need it. Okay, enough of my sadness. The light will continue to shine. =]

Rebecca Skloot

Rebecca Skloot came and talked to us on Thursday, November 19th. She talked about her book, and her inspiration to the book. She talked about where she is now, and how she got there. She explained earlier works and articles and she just explained certain interests she had. She started into science when she worked in a vet's morgue. She wrote a paper on it and how it affected her research. In class one day, she heard the Henrietta Lacks story and was just drawn to it. She wanted to hear more and learn more, so she researched it. She talks to the family of Henrietta. She talks to the doctors and she is able to understand what is going on, so she then tries to explain it to the Lacks family. It was really neat to see her talk on the subject of what she is passionate about. She wanted to know about something, so she went out and got it. She was very comfortable to just talk about things she had written about. It was really cool to just listen to someone talk about something that worked really hard at accomplishing, and it kind of gives you hope to hang in there and stick with it, even if it takes you ten years.

WIPS #2

"Thinking in Color"

Samantha Patton did two presentations. She did one on Parkinson's Disease and then this one. She sped through both presentations, and she seemed knowledgeable, but it was like she expected us to know the "scientific" words she was using. In the "Thinking in Color" presentation, they were looking to see if there was a pattern in connecting certain words with certain colors. They took a study on 52 students to see. They used 50 concrete words and 150 abstract. Concrete being words like bear, arm, chair, and the abstract words being like nowhere and such. After they got the results, they grouped the results by 11 colors based off the responses. They then narrowed it to the top 75 abstract words and are going to use that for the next experiment. They'll use around 30 students and are going to use a stroop based format for sampling. They will have a color choice but they won't be able to choose brown anymore. They are hoping for a desired result, but they may not get it due to low statistics. They are comparing response times and accuracy. Things like connecting green with envy or economy. She didn't give much time to take notes, and she seemed to expect us to know the experiment. She seemed more confident, but it lacked the explaining process. This one is a little harder to talk about since she went so fast.

WIPS #1

"Nutritional and visual enhancement of pureed food products"

Matthew Fascio and Cathy Draper are trying to find a way to make pureed food more nutritional, and they are also trying to make it look more edible. Cathy would like people who have to eat pureed food to want to eat it. Looks and smells are a big part in determining whether certain foods seem tasty. Cathy speeds through the introduction about the product, maybe because she is a little nervous. Matthew then goes through his experiment. He seems to be nervous. He is stuttering and her mumbles. He is also slouching over. His was over a pureed sandwich. They had to use something from the campus garden and something "left over." He uses bell peppers from the garden, and day old bread. His teacher inspired him to do this project. He did a few different trials, and he didn't like his first outcome. He changed the methods of freezing and came out with a better result. He put the data on a hydonic scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being dislike very much and so on. He also looked at the protein content and the calories before and after the experiment, and he observed that the protein went up about 50% and the calories went up about 50 more. Cathy did a stir fry meal using bell peppers and basil from the garden and cooked rice for the "left over." She was looking for something visually appealing. She did a chicken stir fry, and had some trouble with her portion sizes. Her first product was okay, but she really enjoyed the final product. She changed it by the way she chopped her ingredients and by freezing each seperately so they all contained their own flavor. She did the same data as Matthew, but her outcome was not what she wanted, since her portions were off. They each had challenges, like the bread would get sticky and fall apart after pureed, and portions not being quite right. Overall, they had the desired outcome of making the food better looking and making it more nutritional. This sort of showed me that it takes a while to get the desired results of something. It takes a lot of background knowledge to sound like you know what you are talking about and to be able to relay it to someone else. It was cool to see someone passionate about the project, because they weren't forced to present it, and they were just wanting to show someone what they came up with.

Annotated Bibliography #4

DNA databases

FBI adds uses for its DNA datbase

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-05-30-dna-database_x.htm

This article talks about the pros of DNA databases. Not only does it talk about helping solve crimes, and helps to put criminals behind bars, it also talks about being able to find missing persons and unidentified victims. Even though it hasn't found many unidentified victims, a few is better than none. This article is pretty useful since it gives me one more thing to think about as I evaluate DNA databases. It says that the FBI is doing all they can to make DNA databases more useful. This source is pretty objective, and it tells you the pros of DNA databases, but it should also tell you the cons. It's a little one sided. You are able to see how people are trying to conform the use of DNA databases to a good thing by adding more things that it can do.

The Human Family Tree Video

In The Human Family Tree, scientists set out to figure out where human ancestry began. These scientist believe that the human ancestry descended from a common place in Africa. These scientists take DNA swabs from random people in the streets of New York and figure out their genetic lineage. In this, they see that people who don't look as if they are from the same lineage, they are. An Indian woman may be connected with an African male and so forth. In the video, you see people from all over come up and try to understand where they came from. It's really cool to see how interested people are in descent. All you do is swab your cheek and they can trace it back as far as they can and guess where you are from. It's a rather neat project, and it could go along with DNA databases because they could look far back in your DNA to see where you came from, like this project is doing.

America's Pastime

The American Pastime

Baseball is a game loved by many world-wide. In this game, you have two teams of at least nine players each. One team pitches and one team bats. Each player bats and tries to run to as many bases as possible, and score as many runs, without getting out. The field is in the shape of a diamond with four bases; first, second, third, and home. Each player stands at home base to bat, and the pitcher approximately sixty feet in away from them. The goal of the pitcher is to strike the batter out. Each pitch can be a strike, ball, or a foul. After the pitch, it is the other teams job to try and catch the ball to get a player out. The love of this game continues to grow. Early in history, baseball was used as a pastime from things such as war. Baseball has led many greats, such as Jackie Robinson and Babe Ruth that helped shape baseball into the sport it is today. In order to get a better explanation of baseball, we interviewed Alex Bowman to get an insider's look at this pastime.

Alex is a freshman in college who played baseball for thirteen years and recently had to take a break due to a torn Labrum in his shoulder. On the field, he would play short stop and third, two very important positions. Alex would bat with the typical 33 inch bat that weighs 30 pounds. When asked what he likes most about baseball, he responded with one word, “relaxing.” Games are different in each division. In high school, games are seven innings, and after that, there are nine. Before each game, there was practice. At practices, you would have bat practice, on the field and in the cages, and you also “took” infield and outfield, which is a term in baseball meaning to work on defense. Alex spoke very highly of baseball. His favorite team is the Red Sox. When asked about his most influential character, he responded with “obviously Babe Ruth...”

Annotated Bibliography #3

So I finally found some U.S. stuff. =]

DNA Databases

F.B.I. and States Vastly Expand DNA Databases

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/us/19DNA.html

This article talks about the DNA Databases in the U.S. It discusses how this process will help identify many crimes unsolved. If we put every criminal in the database no matter how small their crime is, we can either put criminals behind bars, or exonerate more of the wrongfully convicted. DNA specifically identifies a person, and there isn't a question as to if it's them or not. Using it instead of fingerprints, helps keep out the error in convicting someone. DNA Databases are in effect in the UK and it works fairly well over there. Rock Harmon states that "If you haven’t done anything wrong, you have nothing to fear." If you aren't guilty of anything, then what is the harm in your information being in the database just to confirm that?

The Wii

Okay. We have a Wii, and it's pretty awesome. We got a new game this weekend that's like Wii Sports: Summer version or something. It is an intense game. You have to move your hands really fast but keep them steady or you lose. It's funny to watch my parents and my aunt and uncle do it because I can't help but laugh at them. Sometimes I have to explain the game to them because they don't understand it. haha. I love it. This game has like jet skiing, water skiing, airplane flying, canoeing, frisbee throwing, and many other fun games that cause a lot of motion in the upper body. They played it last night and all woke up with sore arms because they have to move so fast. They were canoeing earlier and the canoe kept going in circles since they weren't moving their arms right. I was about to die laughing. The Wii is a fun way to have a good laugh and not do homework. =]

UFC

So, I watched UFC for the first time this past Saturday, October 24th. I never watched it because I'm not really in to the whole fighting thing. My dad watches WWE and I've always thought that it was absolutely the stupidest thing I've ever seen. Well, I was invited to watch UFC this weekend, and I figured I'd give it a shot since I can't really say I don't like it if I have never seen it. The fights finally come on. I'm watching and they are just kind of so-so, not really the best but they weren't the main event. When the main event comes around, I'm pretty excited. We are watching a fight against Lyoto Marchida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Throughout the fight Shogun stays ahead of Lyoto. Well they go five rounds and neither were knocked out. The judges make a decision and they choose Lyoto as the winner. The crowd at this point is booing. It was disappointing because Shogun was the overall better fighter and he should have won. It was a cool night though because UFC is so much better that WWE, because it's actually real. =P.

Annotated Bibliography #2

Forensic DNA Databases: Linking Criminals to Crimes

The development and expansion of databases that contain DNA profiles at the local, State, and national levels have greatly enhanced law enforcement's ability to solve cases with DNA. Convicted offender databases store hundreds of thousands of potential suspect DNA profiles, against which DNA profiles developed from crime scene evidence can be compared.

Given the recidivistic nature of many crimes a likelihood exists that the individual who committed the crime being investigated was convicted of a similar crime and already has his or her DNA profile in a DNA database that can be searched by the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) software. Moreover, CODIS also permits the cross-comparison of DNA profiles developed from biological evidence found at crime scenes. Even if a perpetrator is not identified through the database, crimes may be linked to each other, thereby aiding an investigation, which may eventually lead to the identification of a suspect.

link here

This article is for DNA Databases. It is explaining how it helps solves crimes and that even if the perpetrator is not in the system, it can still link crimes which helps the investigation. DNA Databases are a good thing because they help solve crime. It should be expanded to all people because then everyone would be in the system and you would not have to worry about if one crime will link to another. You will be able to find the perpetrator right off the bat. They would help the cops do there job quicker, and it would take more criminals off the streets, which would put the victim's families minds at ease.

Grades

Okay, so grades in college are weird. We got our grades back on the Chemistry exam and I got a 70.8 which is a C apparently. I'm okay with that because it is the first grade, but I don't want to get in the habit of being okay with C's because I won't be able to keep my scholarships that way. I need to learn a different way of studying so I'll remember the information and make better grades. In some of my classes I think I'm doing pretty good, but I have to keep my grades up in all my classes. I know that the college transition is not easy, but I didn't realize it was going to try to kill me. Hopefully I'll get the hang of it sooner or later.

Jill McCorkle - Outside Event #2

So I went to Jill McCorkle's reading of "Surrender" today with Tanner and it was rather interesting. First, I get us lost, and we just happened to drive up on the road we were supposed to be on all along, so we didn't get there until like 5:55p.m. Luckily she hadn't started to read yet. So we go in and it is really crowded because it is a small place to begin with and there is over a two dozen people there. We go stand towards the back, and I lean on a stool, and there is this guy sitting in front of me. Well he offers me his seat and even though I said it was unnecessary, he got up anyway, so I sat down. A few seconds later, this woman decides to tell me that I took his seat and that I should move, and I told her that I knew that and that he offered me his seat. I kind of felt like a jerk, but she wasn't very nice. Then Jill McCorkle starts reading from her book Going Away Shoes, in which she reads the short story "Surrender". It was cool to hear an author read from her book, but I didn't really care for the story. She talked about things that I didn't see as humorous, I just saw it as inappropriate. She definately portrayed the fact that she knew the story, but I thought she was kind of monotone, maybe she might have been nervous. It was cool to hear other peoples reactions to the story and watch them read along with her. Overall, it lead to an interesting night.

Chemistry Exam....

Okay. So the Chemistry exam was canceled on Friday. I was a little upset, because even though I didn't feel that prepared, I still wanted to get it over with. The nerves had built up on Friday and then we didn't even get to take it. I guess misunderstandings happen like this all the time. The good thing about it being canceled is that I can study a little more, but I don't feel like it'll help me that much more. It is a lot of material in a relatively short test. So that scares me. Hopefully the study groups will pay off and I'll do good on the test tomorrow.

Annotated Bibliography

DNA Databases

Article HERE

This article gives the positive and negative effects of DNA Databases. Some argue that DNA Databases are an invasion of privacy. Alec Jeffreys believes that "Innocent people do not belong on that database." I think that if you aren't guilty, then why worry about being in 'the system.' On the other hand, it discusses the positive effects such as all the crimes that were solved in Britain because of it. This helped solve more than 17,000 crimes, which is an astounding number. Other benefits would be being able to see family relationships and so on. This article was a good article to get information on both sides of the argument.

Evaluation Essay Proposal

I think I could sufficiently evaluate DNA databases for a good paper. I, personally, think it is a good idea, and, like everything, it has it's pros and cons. The pros, in my eyes, outweigh the bad. It would act as a way of putting everyone in the system. This would help for when criminals may not be in the system, they can identify them more quickly. It would pull a lot of crime off the streets. It eases my mind to think they could find someone that has never been in trouble and pull them off the streets for raping someone. I like this idea. Some may say that it invades privacy, but I think that if you aren't guilty of anything, then why does it matter if they have some of you DNA?

Cell Discovery

Scientist Discover What Makes the Same Type of Cells Different <- view article

I thought this was pretty interesting since we are all Biology majors, so this applies to all of us. It was awesome to see how someone's experimenting led them to the discovery they were looking for. It shows the scientific method in action. It shows how you must experiment, collect and record data, and try again. It shows us all to never give up. It took these scientist three years of studying until they found what they were looking for. If they would've stopped experimenting, it could've been years for someone to discover that same cells can react differently. The most important thing though is for us to never give up.

Lack of Focus

So, I find myself more often than not, having trouble focusing on schoolwork. If they made it more interesting, I may want to do it, but it's always so boring. I struggle with staying focused on something longer than an hour. After that, I'm gone. I usually give in to the lack of focus and start doing something else. Then I end up having to rush to finish something. I thought it would get better when I got to college, but I think it has gotten worse. Especially being home, I have tons of distractions like my phone, my dogs, my parents, the t.v., and just the thoughts of things I could be doing other than homework. This, for instance, is a lack of my focus. I really need to get focused and do some work. =P

A Streetcar Named Desire Observation

This play was pretty interesting. It was neat to see literature in motion. I thought the play was good and the characters did a great job portraying their parts. Watching each character, you could kind of see what was going to happen next. With Blanche, she got even more crazy as time went on. She had all these crazy stories she would tell to Stella and Stella would believe her. Stella didn't want to think her sister would lie to her, but Blanche was. With Stanley, he seemed like he was going to be a nice guy, but then he started getting abusive. I don't care how crazy Blanche was, there was no reason for Stanley to get out of control like he did. In the end, they take Blanche to a psych ward which was probably the best thing they could have done. Even though Stella didn't really want to, that is where Blanche needed to be. This play caused a lot of laughter, especially sitting with Bobby, Jessica, Casey, and Sunah. Even when it was a serious part, I was laughing at something. It was nice going to a play with friends. It adds to the experience when you get to see your friends reactions alongside your own. =p

Snake with Clawed Foot Found in China

View article referenced here

O.K. so I'm wondering why the snake looks so big in the picture, but in the article they say it is 16 inches long and the width of a little finger. That seems pretty small... I mean 16 inches is long, but the width of a little finger... come on! I don't like snakes. At all. It doesn't matter if they are the size of a worm, or if they are anaconda size. I don't like them. I was showing it to my dad and I said "wouldn't that suck if snakes had legs?" and after I said it I thought "well that was rather stupid.. because that would be a lizard.. haha!" Go April! Well anyways, back to the article. I don't see someone making this picture up, because it's pretty graphic. The claw sticking out it pretty nasty. Hopefully we don't have all these animals mutating into weird creatures, because it would be pretty scary to go outside everyday. =P

[Via The Daily Telegraph]

Not So Convenient At All

So how retarded is it that when you go to work on something that is due the next day, you aren't able to access it. So you freak out for like thirty minutes and you check your email and find out the deadline has been extended to the end of the week. I guess I shouldn't have waited until the last minute to do it, but my resources should have worked up until it was due. This is how online fails us sometimes. It always seems to go slow, or not work properly when you really need it to. It is the new thing that is constantly growing, but it still seems to fail sometimes. Most of the time, you can get the most up-to-date information there as long as it comes from a reliable source. All-in-all, the internet helps most of the time, but it still fails sometimes when you are in dyer need. I guess that's everything though. It can't work all the time, sometimes it needs maintenance as well.

Paulo Freire Quote

Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world. - Paulo Freire

I think education is a little of both. Education teaches us what is known today and what is accepted in society today, because it is constantly changing. The more our country grows, the more our society changes. Education is also the thing that allows us to play around with our ideas, and it allows us to discover new things. I think being educated gives us the knowledge to go out and study what genes cause certain diseases, and knowing that enables us to go out and try to find a cure for that disease. The best part about education is being able to discover. Anybody can be educated, but it is how you use your education that sets you apart from the others.

Observation Essay Proposal

I'm going to observe my mom making dinner. I will observe her actions and her movements. I should be able to tell her thoughts by her reactions and facial expressions. I can say whether she tastes the food or whether she smells the food, and what her face said she thought of it. I can say how much of an ingredient she adds into the mixture. I can talk about the process of making the dinner, how long it takes to make, and what ingredients are needed to make it. I will be able to just watch her and see how she is feeling about making dinner. I can tell if she is tired or if she had a hard day by whether she makes a really easy dinner or if she makes a more complicated one. I can talk about what is going on around her as she is making the dinner and whether or not it distracts her from her main focus. I can talk about how this time observing her is different from the others. I will be able to figure out how much work goes into dinner. =]

Bobby and Elliot: Observation

Mrs. Wendy made everyone write a number on a piece of paper. Two numbers were drawn. Bobby and Elliot were summoned to the 2 chairs. I thought they were going to play Rock, Paper, Scissors, but I was wrong. They had to talk. They weren't given a topic. They just had to talk. So Bobby asks how Elliot is doing in school and we soon realize that Elliot is behind. You see how the 2 sit. Both seem nervous and very fidgety. Everyone in the circle is watching, contemplating. Mrs. Wendy is typing. Click.. click.. click. The boys still talking. Bobby asks more questions than Elliot does. Both work at Malco theaters. Then you find out that Elliot no longer works there. Adam leans over and whispers to Trae. Then there seems to be an awkward silence. No one knows what to say. The boys seem to relax a little as they talk with the audience some. Neither like Chemistry and both are afraid to ask questions in fear of getting yelled at. Adam begins to stomp his foot. Mrs. Wendy still typing. Everyone laughs about something. Elliot now crosses his legs, maybe showing he's a little more comfortable. They switch chairs. Now the boys are prompted by Mrs. Wendy on what to talk about. They start with their favorite songs. Neither can pinpoint ONE song. They talk of certain groups and you see that they disagree on music. Then she says puppies. Elliot's dogs died when he was 5. That was depressing. Bobby says he has 2 pomeranians. Mrs. Wendy burst into laughter. Bobby doesn't seem like a pom-pom owner. =P. Ireland now the topic. Drinking is the first thing out there. Both think they have a low drinking age. Soccer also there and leprechauns. Then yoga the topic. Trae likes this! Both boys a little uncomfortable with this one. They say you find yourself through stretching. She then says llamas. El paco maybe? Bobby says they spit and bite. Subject changed to donuts. Glazed vs. Chocolate. I personally like chocolate. Neither do the fancy donuts. Apparently terrorists don't like donuts. Conversation over. The chairs now empty. Everyone looking around. Air-conditioner blowing.
From this you can see how Bobby and Elliot are the same and how they are different. Bobby more open while Elliot is a little reserved. You are able to see how they act in each environment they may be in, whether it is tense or comfortable. I was able to get a little more information about each and understand the way they are. Even though the conversations were random, you could see how each reacted under pressure. Every time the subject changed, they had to come up something pretty quickly. It was a pretty cool experience to observe and laugh about.

Spiderman vs. Lying

O.K. so I'm in the living room doing some homework while daddy is watching Spiderman 3. I was, yet again, trying to think of something to blog about when I looked up at the T.V. and saw Peter Parker trying to get the corrupt black entity off him but every time he pulls at it, it sucks itself closer. This is kind of like lying. Everyone, at some point in time, lies about something. For some people, that lie, in turn, stems into another lie, and then another. Then the person is completely engulfed in their lies and don't know what the truth is anymore. They've told so many that their stories don't match up and people start to catch them in their mistakes. Peter Parker was able to free himself from the entity by causing loud crashing noises. Loud noises freed Peter Parker. What frees someone from lies? Telling the truth helps someone get out of their web of lies. Most people would rather be told the truth than a lie, no matter how hard it may be to hear the truth. This is a random post, but I think it is something that everybody struggles with daily. Maybe next time I can come up with something better to blog about that will come up with 200 words.

"Tales of Mere Existence" Observation

After watching the video, you can see how each person is. The mom is very stubborn and insistent on her opinion, and the son is just laid-back as if it has happened numerous times before. The mom doesn't seem to listen as the son tells her his opinion. The second time you watch it, you are able to see how the mom uses facts to try and get the son to eat the tuna. She says things like "Healthy people eat fish" to get him to try it. He still refuses. The son appears to be listening, but he also acts as if it happens all the time (her nagging him, that is). Observing how people talk, their actions as they talk, and what they say things helps us imagine what kind of person they are. Once you find out how a person is, you can see how certain things would affect them and how you could relate to them. Since I am a shy and reserved person, I observe people everyday. Doing this, I am able to see how each person is, and how they treat others and if I feel like I could get along with them. It's kind of like when you watch a fish in a tank. You can see the way it swims with the space it has. You can see if it hides in the ship or if it just swims through it. You are able to see how the fish acts in it's surroundings. Observation is a good tactic at finding out information you might not have seen otherwise.

My Crazy Dog Bruno

Holly, Me, Bruno, Rolo, and Harley

When Mrs. Wendy gave me this assignment, I didn't know what I wanted to blog about. So I was looking around my house for something to write about when Bruno walked in front of me. Bruno is my boxer who is 1 year and 4 months old. He gets in all sorts of trouble. It's kind of like his life goal is to make me worry about him. He is such a funny character. He is 70 pounds, but doesn't know his own size. He thinks that he is the size a chihuahua and wants to be in your lap at all times. He is also a big baby when he gets hurt. He'll come home limping and for the next five days, he won't let me leave his sight or he'll whine. He also loves to play with my sisters little 3 pound yorkie. He'll hold the toy and duck his head just enough to where she is almost able to touch it. It is very cute to watch this really big dog play with this really small dog. Bruno is an adorable puppy.

Autobiographies: Do they matter?

Why do autobiographies matter?

-Autobiographies are important because they express a personal account about someones life. You get to see the account up close and personal. You can also tell how the person is, just by reading their personal statement.

How are they different from biographies?

-Biographies are the writer's opinion on 'the subjects life'. Where as in an autobiography, you get to read it from the person who lived it.

What is important about those distinctions?

-Autobiographies give you more detail than the biographer could ever try to give. Biographies give you a lot of information, but it would be more accurate if you read it from an autobiography. You can see how these accounts of the writers life affected them and how they fought through it.

Is it worth reading? Why or Why not?

-Autobiographies are worth reading. They show how a particular person makes it through certain times in their life and how they learned to cope with things.

Autobiographical Incident

I went rolling for the first time this past summer. Some friends of mine were wanting to roll someone's house as payback for a previous roll. So I decided to tag along. We get to the house we are going to roll and my heart is already pounding. We had four people in our group: two in the front yard and two in the driveway. Josh and I were out in the yard throwing the paper in the trees, while Brittany and Erin are putting silly string on the basketball goal and shaving cream on the driveway. Every time a car comes by, we drop to the ground until it passes. All of the sudden, a car comes speeding by the house and right after a cop with the lights flashing. I drop to the ground, then begin to crawl to the tree where Josh was hiding. In my mind, I'm thinking that I am about to go to jail and this was my very first roll. Next to the house there is a patch of trees which we sneak to. We peek through the trees watching every move the cop makes. My heart pounding. I continue to worry about our friends in the driveway who had no coverage. After what seemed like an hour, the cop finally pulled off. Once he leaves, we sneak over to the driveway and begin to look for Erin and Brittany. We look behind the trash can, in the back of the truck, and even over the fence. Finally, we see them, laying under the front of the truck with their eyes closed as tight as they can squeeze them. We all re-coop, grab our things, and run to the car. We had had enough for the night.

RCWW assignment 9/8/09

Page 7
1. One of the toughest papers i have ever written would be my personal statement for college acceptance.
2. It took me a long time to get to writing the personal statement. I had to think about what exactly I wanted to get across and how to say it. I was writing for people who basically held my future in their hands, so I wanted it to sound professional. I would write something and then go back and scratch it out because I couldn't elaborate on what I wrote. I tried to talk about how I became the person I am and who helped me along the way, but it was tough to make it sound professional and not flighty. Sometimes I would lose focus and have to go back and rewrite. Writing is a complicated process that is basically trial and error.

Page 23
1-2. split, paused, considered, vanished, rounding, trailed, picked, chased, smashed, entered, ran, ran, ran, chased, chased, glanced, choking, expected, strained, pounding, trained, to fling, to point, to go, chasing, impelled, compelled, tore, running, improvising, running, choosing, failing, to slow, discovering, exhilarated, dismayed, losing, chased, caught, caught, stopped
3. "He chased Mikey and me around the yellow house and up a backyard path we knew by heart: under a low tree, up a bank, through a hedge, down some snowy steps, and across the grocery store's delivery driveway. We smashed through a gap in another hedge, entered a scruffy backyard and ran around its back porch and tight between houses to Edgerton Avenue; we ran across Edgerton to an alley and up our own sliding woodpike to the Halls' front yard; he kept coming." (pg 17, paragraph 12) I think these few sentences really show the drama of the story.

Page 24
1. It says the man was in "city clothes: a suit and tie, street shoes... a thin man, all action." (10)
" a man in his twenties... our pursuer, our captor, our hero... the man's lower pants legs were wet; his cuffs were full of snow, and there was a prow of snow beneath them on his shoes and socks..." (16)
"... the driver of th black Buick... sainted, skinny, furious redheaded man..." (21)
2. "You stupid kids" he says [perfunctorily], his ordinary Pittsburgh accent, normal righteous anger, usual common sense.
3. The man's role is to simply keep the suspense of the story. Without him, the kids would just be running around, but with him they are being chased by what they think is a 'mad man.'

1. She calls the snowball an iceball. It is "a perfect iceball, from perfectly white snow, perfectly spherical, and squeezed perfectly translucent son no snow remained all the way through."
2. "backyard labyrinths" (15) makes me think that every backyard she stepped foot in was so incredibly complex that it took her years to get out.

Page 25
1. perfunctorily, redundant, mere formality, passionately, precisely, prolong, brooded, dismembered, piecemeal, Panamanian jungle, exalting
2. She wanted the 'glory' of the chase to last forever. Though she was terrified, she liked the feeling she had from being chased.