Graisins

New standard: 11.R.2.2 Students can read fluently to comprehend grade-level text.

I recently got inspired by an online site entitled Hyperbole and a Half. It's a cross between a blog and an online comic strip. The author of Hyperbole and a Half, Allie Brosh, chooses a topic to "rant" over, through a humorous story.

I decided that I would try to do my own version of a similar type of story along with my own illustrations, so here's a sample.

Graisins

There’s something about raisins that just make me feel sick. Maybe it’s the texture, maybe the color, maybe their appearance…

But whenever I’m forced to shove those small spawns of Satan down my throat, I get the strange feeling that I’m eating old people. Old people…like my grandma. How can I eat dried fruit that resembles my grandmother? Graisins, that’s what they are, grandma raisins—graisins.




I wonder sometimes if others feel the same way about raisins (possibly my grandma?).

It’s like a phobia, haunting me. They’re everywhere around me, it seems! In my dad’s cereal, in my grandma’s (bless her soul) cookies, and at school…always.

In elementary, they handed those bad boys out like candy on Halloween. “Nature’s candy?” Please…more like my grandma’s skin!

I don’t think it’s just me that feels this way about graisins, and if it is just me, what’s wrong with me. For some reason, graisins sound semi-satanic…

And quite frankly, I don’t understand how juicy, succulent grapes can turn into such a foul “snack.”

I feel bad for my dad, because when he buys trail mix, I feast on the nuts and M&M’s, but never dare to touch the graisins.

So there ends up being an over-graisin-populated bag of trail mix in the cupboard that nobody wants to touch. Even my dad doesn’t eat straight up graisins.

It seems as if my graisiphobia has taken control of my soul. More like a corner of my body designated to graisin-hating.

Thanks for reading! Also here's the link to to Allie's Hyperbole and a Half blog page. http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/

Wait, College requires you to be tested on how fast you can accomplish something rather then what you've learned?

For my 20% time i've been doing ACT prep after taking the Pre-ACT. I've started on the english portion and i've realized that i don't know a lot of words pertaining to the English Language. Who is going to describe someone as atrabilious when we can refer to them as cranky or grouchy. I understand the need for knowing a vocabulary but words that i won't use after school can determine whether i am able to go to college with a decent scholarship and being flat broke. I'll continue working on ACT prep but i'd rather criticize articles written in major magazines or news sources. Now all that stands in my way to a firm begining is a catchy slogan, hmm..
Peace out,
William J.

Halo Reach

The standard that Edward and I used was Indicator 2: Students can comprehend and fluently read text. (Analysis) 11.R.2.1 Students can analyze how diction affects the interpretation of text.(Application) 11.R.2.2 Students can read fluently to comprehend grade-level text.

For our third book, Edward and I played/reviewed Halo Reach. Halo Reach is the epic finale to the amazing Halo story line. Being the sixth game of the series, Bungie improved it like never before. With new features in almost every aspect of the game, Halo Reach is the best Halo game. The new features in multiplayer include new maps, firefight, different personal preferences, new weapons, and co-op campaign. Other new features includes the armory to customize your character, weekly/daily challenges, forge, and ranking up your character to change the level of elite armor (from minor to field marshall/officer). Other games have also reviewed this game at bestbuy.com under Halo Reach http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Halo%3A+Reach+-+Xbox+360/9713872.p?id=1218156775197&skuId=9713872&st=halo reach&lp=2&cp=1.

Edward and I have completed the campaign. However, Edward has accomplished that like 4 or 5 times. I achieved the completion of the campaign and experiencing online with Edward and Isaac, whicle playing through the various assortments of game modes. Having bad, lagging internet is the only complication that I faced. With the horrible internet, it makes gaming with Edward and Isaac not as fun because sometimes I get kicked out for not connecting properly or it lags everyone else out along with me. I overcame the problem of horrible internet by moving my Xbox to the clubhouse at Northern Links Golf Course - good wireless internet. I would definitely repeat this by playing online with Edward and Isaac. The online multiplayer is a great way to play various game modes with your friends and have fun doing so. I would redo the campaign, however, because I would like to pass it with the difficulty of Legendary - like Edward did several times.

L.A. Candy

I've started reading the book L.A. Candy. It's based off the reality show The Hills. Two 18 year old girls, Scarlett and Jane, move to L.A. to go to college and begin their new lives. Jane just began working for Fiona Shen, who owns a company that organizes huge parties. Jane is Fiona's assistant, but she's finding out she's not very good at the job. Scarlett just started college, but she can't find where any of her classes are. She's thinking of dropping out. One night when they were in a club, a TV producer came up and asked them to be interviewed to be on their new show: L.A. Candy. Scarlett, Jane, and two other girls, whom they haven't met yet, will be on the show. The camera's will follow them around and watch them do their everyday life routines. Scarlett isn't liking being followed around by all the cameras, but Jane surely is.

We Global

This whole project didn’t work out quite as I had hoped. I have missed a couple of days that I was given to use to work on the project. There has also been the inconvenience of finding lyrics while at school.

As I read the lyrics I became aware of the album and its background of the artist. I realized that the music didn’t have a real meaning to it. It was just one of the rappers who is able to rap about anything and make money off of it. The album “We Global” is also not just one artist rapping like Eminem or Snoop Dogg. DJ Khaled collaborates with many other artists in each song.

The album wasn’t what I hoped it would be which was a real meaning in life with a cool sounding beat. I have switched into another album to review and it is called, “Curtain Call" by Eminem. Through his catchy rhythms and fast rapping, he talks about things that really happen in life and how things need to change and go on. He has a great way of staying in the music industry over the years as he continues to collaborate with others and write his own rhymes.

I used the reading standard: 11.R.3.1: Students can analyze and explain literary devices within text.

Remembering the Classic Novels of High School!

While being freshmen we encountered Of Mice and Men and saw the love of two unique friends. Our sophomore year we yet encountered two more novels Lord of the Flies and To Kill a Mocking Bird. In Lord of the flies we discovered the true animal we as humans hold. Later To kill a Mockingbird only showed us we should cherish our innocence and childhood.  As we read these classic novels in the past I have decided to do a stop motion of these books. I will summarize these novels through stuffed animals, toys, and objects…etc. Stop motion is very difficult especially because of movement and light. So please don’t expect a lot as if I were a professional. The lighting may change at times, I will try my best to get it right and look its bets possible. But some things may be sketchy. I will also include some quotes that the characters say. I will also analyze some parts from the novels into paragraphs.

11.R.4.1 Students can analyze a text within cultural, geographical, and historical context.

Blogception

A blog within a blog...
Magical!

One Book, Two Book, Red Book, Blue Book

The Fearbook: David Berkowitz

My reading standard is 11.R.5.1. I have summarized this on a different document. Right now, I have changed up my 20% time process. For two weeks, I have been going through The Fearbook. It shows the most evil and gruesome men in history. It shows Ted Bundy, Albert De Salvo (The Boston Strangler), and also the Gary Ridgeway (Green River Killer). The Fearbook shows a picture of them, information on them, their nicknames, etc.

The first man I decided I wanted to talk about was the first man listed in The Fearbook, David Berkowitz also known as “The Son of Sam”. He shot couples with a .44 caliber just so he can get his crime in the newspaper or on the news. Throughout the investigation, detectives and the news station received threatening letters from David Berkowitz just stating why isn’t he in the news or in the papers. He kept scolding the detectives that they weren’t looking for the right person. When the detectives realize that it was him, they finally arrested David Berkowitz. All David said to the detectives was, “You finally got me. What took you so long?” Now David is held in a correctional facility in Sullivan County, New York.

The Fearbook link: http://investigation.discovery.com/investigation/infamous-murderers/infamous-murderers.html#icpgn=idnavcrsk

Forza 4 - A Battle of the Trucks

Well, Matt and I decided we needed to switch up our styles on Forza a bit, and I decided to analyze a major part of the game as well while doing this: Affinity Level. But, before I start getting into this, let me explain that Forza's amount of realism is unbelievable, like I've said before. We decided to take some trucks to the track, which was very different. The handling of these trucks was unlike those of the beautiful 600horsepower Nissans we had before. This task wasn't easy, we had to battle for first in a race that we both weren’t used to.

Anyways, while doing this, I had learned much about affinity. Basically, for every big name brand car dealer, you get this sort of level. The more cars you race with that are of the same brand, the faster and higher your level gains. I'm pretty sure you can get up to about a level 20 or something, but after Affinity Level 7 for a car brand, you get 100% off all aftermarket parts for any car of that brand.

This feature is just great, it makes the game more fun, so you don't have to sit there for endless hours and pay for millions of dollars worth for parts. So, to demonstrate, I tried this out with some Ford cars, I had started with a classic mustang, and once I had got Affinity Level 7, I bought a Ford Raptor and tuned it for the track. Matt got some little GMC, this seemed like an un-fair advantage, but I wanted to prove how much faster my truck really was.

The starting line was unlike any other race we had dealt with before, and though Matt in his yellow GMC was started in second place, I was determined to destroy his little puny truck.

Around the first bend, Matt was still actually in the second place, but, I wasn't far behind. This was a real battle of horsepower, and neither of us were ready to lose a big race like this.

The video above shows the in-car view of my Ford Raptor, and you can see me passing Matt extremely easy here, even if it meant I had to go off-road.

Well, in the end, I had won by a long run, and this just shows how much horsepower actually matters in a race. Until next time, drive to live and live to race!

stupid stress!

I again have been working on my act prep., which I found I really needed after taking a practice test and not getting anything close to what I would have liked to have gotten. So I started timing my self while I practiced on number2 and was able to do much more of the test and get better grades on the tests as a result. I believe it was all mental and I got stressed out about it.I now know I need to work on not getting stressed about it. It is only a test. I will keep working to improve my ACT score and maybe just maybe ill do OK.

Relax just do it,
Pedo Bear

COD MW3

Call of Duty Modern Warefare 3










This weeks video game is Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. This game came out in mid-November and has been a huge hit to all gamers. Just recently this game beat a record for the most money ever recieved from a video game, beating Halo 3. MW3 is the third of the Modern Warefare series starting in 2007 with just Call of Duty Modern Warfare. The Call of Duty series has entertained people form around the world and has always been a fan favorite.

MW3 has 3 bases: Campaign, Multiplayer, and Special Ops. Starting with Campaign, it takes you into the world of being a top military expert trying to track down the biggest threat ever in the U.S., Makarov, the leader of a secret terrorist group that has an objective of taking over the world. You must fight through every corner of the world, from Russia to Mexico and China to Germany.

In Multiplayer, you can play against and with differnet poeple across the world. You and your teammates must fight to win matches. When you you win matches it brings up your rank and your experience so when you play more you are a higher rank and when you are a higher rank you have the privilege of unlocking more things to help you win, for example: weapons when you reach a new rank you unlock a new weapon that you can use to fight poeple. When you use a weapon for a few matches your gun rank will go up unlocking different attachments for that gun for example: a suppresor, or a red dot sight. The attachment will help you fight in later matches.

Finally in Special Ops, you must complete different missions with a friend or solo. When you complete a mission you get a star depending on the difficuly you are on (regular, hardened, veteran, regular giving you 1 star and veteran giving you 3). In Special Ops there is also a survival mode were you have to face a horde of enemy soldiers of infinite waves on all the multiplayer maps. There is also a ranking system for survival, when you reach a certain rank, you unlock a new item that helps you beat the ememies.

In the end i think this is one of the best games i have ever played and when next year's Call of Duty comes out i hope it is better than this one.
During christmas break I plan to go on a big videogame haul and buy several games including a Kinect system so i can expand my gaming experience to a whole new level.

Isaac

New Project

For my new 20% time, I'm going to be doing a creative writing piece set in the Civil War. I'm going to write in the form of journals. Beings I just started my project, I still have a lot of work to do. I'm going to hopefully continue this project, if we continue doing 20% time. Write any comments or suggestions you thing that "Abigail Wilmot" should do or who she should meet.

Click here to follow her enteries.~*

The Sun Also Rises

Alrighty, I have been definitely taking my time with this book. I only read it during class and the book takes a bit more thought to comprehend. I have read the first “book” (chapters 1-7) Here are my summaries of what I've read thus far.

Chapter 1: Jake (narrator and protagonist) starts off the novel describing a man, and acquaintance, named Robert Cohn. Basically Robert was a middle-weight champion boxer, who came from a wealthy family. He married and divorced, lost his inheritance, then started dating a lady named Frances. She convinced him to move to France, where he is an author, and is always trying to get him to marry her. She is protective of him and doesn’t really like him going out without her.

Chapter 2: Cohn goes to New York to find a publisher for his novel. The publishers love his book, and women notice him for it. When he goes back to Paris, he tries to convince Jake to travel to South America with him, offering to pay for the entire trip. He worries that Jake isn’t living life to the fullest. Jake disagrees, but Cohn continues to hassle Jake about traveling outside of Paris. Jake says he needs to return to the office to work, and Cohn asks if he can sit in the waiting room. After work, him and Jake have a drink and watch Paris.

Chapter 3: Cohn leaves, and catches the eye of a prostitute named Georgette. (She has bad teeth.)They have a drink together Jake decides to go hang out with her. He tells her he received a wound in the war that makes sex impossible for him. He sees some friends, and together they invite him and Georgette to go dancing. Lady Brett Ashley comes to the bar, a woman Jake is infatuated with, and Jakes gets mad that she’s with guys. Jake and Brett leave the club together. Before he goes, Jake leaves money to the bar owner, telling him to give it to Georgette if she asks for him. Once Brett and Jake get into a taxi, Brett says she's miserable.

Chapter 4: Jake kisses Brett in the taxi— she tells him to stop. They love one another, but Brett refuses to have to date Jake because he cannot have sex. At the café, Jake and Brett again run into their friends. They meet Count Mippipopolous, a Greek man who is interested in Brett. Jake goes home and gets into bed, and he begins to think about his wound. He knows he feels bad about it because of Brett. He cries then falls asleep. After four in the morning, Brett wakes him up by trying to get to his room. The count is waiting outside in his car. Jake lets her up to his room, and Brett says the count offered her ten thousand dollars to go to away with him, but she turned him down. She wants Jake to go out with them, but he declines. He tries to persuade her to stay, kissing her, but she refuses.

Chapter 5: Cohn meets Jake at his office to have lunch. Cohn asks about Brett, and Jake says that she is a drunk and that she is going to marry Mike Campbell (rich Scottish guy). Jake also says that Brett’s true love died of dysentery during the war. Jake says he met Brett while she worked in the hospital where he was taken for his injury. Cohn gets annoyed that Jake doesn’t describe Brett in positive ways. Cohn gets mad at Jake and threatens to leave lunch. Jake smoothes things over and persuades Cohn to stay. Afterward, Jake knows Cohn wants to talk about Brett but avoids bringing up the subject again.

Chapter 6: Jake goes to meet Brett, but she stands him up. After looking for her in a few places, Jake walks around Paris and sees his friend Harvey Stone, a compulsive gambler. Harvey is broke and claims he has not eaten in days. Jake gives him money. Cohn and Frances arrive, and she asks to speak to Jake privately. She tells him that Cohn has refused to marry her and that she fears that no man will marry her now. She claims that Cohn won’t marry her because he wants to tell people that he had a mistress. Cohn sits through her barrage. Jake excuses himself and leaves them alone.

Chapter 7: Jake goes home, and Brett and Count Mippipopolous show up. Jake asks why she missed their date and doesn’t believe she forgot because she was drunk. Jake asks why they can’t live together, and she tells him that she would cheat on him. She says she’s leaving Paris for San Sebastian, Spain, and it will be better for both of them. Then, the count talks about his life. He has been in seven wars and four revolutions. He is always in love because his values include love. The three of them have a great dinner before going out to a club. The count asks why Brett and Jake do not get married, and they give short answers. Brett begins to feel miserable and wants to leave. (Brett is always feeling miserable.)Jake takes Brett to her hotel, but she doesn’t want him to come to her room. They kiss and she pushes him away.

Standards: (reading) Indicator 2: Students can comprehend and fluently read text.

(writing) Indicator 1: Students can apply the writing process to compose text.

Evaluation: This book has gotten off to an extremely slow start, and if 20% percent time makes it another quarter or two I will definitely speed the process along somehow. I wish I would have made a reading schedule at the beginning of the book, so again I will evaluate after a decision is made. I enjoy the writing style of Hemingway so far, and the amount of culture he infuses into his writing. He also makes the stories of nearly all his characters fantastical. So far, so good.

Adieu.

Life As We Know It

Indicator 1: Students can recognize and analyze words.
Indicator 2: Students can comprehend and fluently read text.
(Analysis) 11.R.2.1 Students can analyze how diction affects the interpretation of text.
(Application) 11.R.2.2 Students can read fluently to comprehend grade-level text.

I started reading the book Life As We Know It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. It starts out by telling everyday life of main character, Miranda. Her parents are divorced and her dad and his wife are now expecting a baby. Her and her brother both live together with their mother, and in the summer go visit their father for a certain period of time. Both of Miranda’s friends seem to be coming further and further distant because of different interest and change of each others’ way of life. She talks about school and how every single teacher bombards her with homework all on one day, all due on the same day. This time the homework is about something that’s going on with the moon. Some very rare and spectacular is going to be happening on the upcoming Friday night. It’s all over the news, and now all over her mind because each homework assignment that was assigned to her was about what is going to happen. I haven’t found out what’s going to happen yet, but I am very excited for when it will tell me!
I was kind of disappointed on how little of time I got to read. I have been super busy with basketball season starting, working, and homework that I never got a chance to read outside of the classroom. If I could find a time to read for just 15 minutes a night I would get significantly further in the book and fulfill my accomplishments. By doing this, I could also get the book done much quicker so I could return it back to the library without having to check in out again and again.

Dave Ramsey Apply It!

Following up from my last blog, I have continued to draft for my scholarship essay for the principles of the Constitution. Unfortunately I am not finished yet and have hit a dead spot, so to brainstorm ideas and look for inspiration I started reading Dave Ramsey's book, The Total Money Makeover. The book is about how to change bad financial habits in a person's life and replace it with smart money savvy habits. I am not in debt and don't have a difficult financial situation, so I turned to the college saving chapter. The chapter first outlines how an adult should save and invest for their child's education. First Dave Ramsey makes sure that the reader knows that college does not ensure success, wealth, or happiness. He agrees that it is important but thinks a college education shouldn't cause such a financial dilemma that no one can escape it. He explains that there are many ways for adults to save for their child's education as long as they invest in fund that stays above the interest rate of inflation, which is 4% annually, but college inflation is even higher at a rate of 8% per year! Funds like ESA's and 529 plans are fine, but don't have a very high interest rate, which can then loose its value over a certain amount of years due to inflation. There are many ways of investing but Dave suggests that a flexible, pre-tax fund that has a good interest rate is the best way for funding education, which with some digging can be found fairly easy. If you haven't saved much or any money, it's okay. Dave explains how to get through college with little or no debt if there isn't much time.
This is where I found my inspiration for my essay- scholarships. There are thousands of scholarships that are available every year. Sholarships that don't take many requirements. This is a very simple way of staying debt free that just takes some hard work. With that I think I am ready to complete my essay.

A Post... Not on the Checkpoint? BLASPHEMY!

I just thought that Tuesday warranted a post, that's all...

That's a lie.

Megan has a NEW project now!

tada---http://one-two-red-blue.blogspot.com/

Blog #2

These past few weeks I've been proceeding with doing ACT Prep on www.number2.com. I've been struggling between a few of the answers on the reading sections. I narrow it down to two answers, but then I usually end up choosing the wrong one of the two. I don't like how www.number2.com sets the questions up and doesn't tell you which phrase or words the questions are working with. I got through one section of the reading portion, and now I'm on the tutorial on another reading section.