June Book Report

The Perks of being a Wallflower

Author/Setting

Stephen Chbosky wrote the novel The Perks of being a Wallflower in the 1990’s and published the book in 1999. He enjoys horror and fantasy novels and he was greatly influenced by novel The Catcher in the Rye. The story is written in letters from a teenager boy named Charlie who is also the narrator. He writes letters to the reader about all the problems and things going on in his life. My friend referred this book to me and I enjoyed how it kept me at the edge of my seat. I had trouble putting this book down, and it is certainly one of my favorites.

Plot/Character

This story started off right away with a bang and caught my attention. Charlie lost one of his best friends and had trouble coping with this issue he was dealing with while at school. He just couldn’t take in what all was happening while he was still in high school. He eventually seeks help from the counselor at the school and she talks to him and a few other friends who knew the boy who committed suicide. They comforted them and let the teenagers vent out positively or negatively. In the beginning of the book Charlie started out unpopular and barely knowing anybody. But as the book progressed Charlie made new friends who stayed with him till the end. Charlie experiments with drugs and sexual activities like most teenagers with raging hormones and falls in love with a girl. Though Charlie does not get the girl from the start he stays with her as her best friend till she finally admits she liked him all along as well near the end of the novel. Basically this book addresses the issues most teenagers are faced with when they go into high school. Here is an excerpt from the book…“And Sam looked at the paper and then she looked at me."Charlie. . . Have you ever kissed a girl?" I shook my head no. It was so quiet. "Not even when you were little?" I shook my head no again. And she looked very sad. She told me about the first time she was kissed. She told me that it was with one of her dad's friends. She was seven. And she told nobody except Mary Elizebeth and then Patrick a year ago. And she started to cry. And she said something that I won't forget. Ever. "I know that you know that I like Craig. And I know that I told you not to think of me that way. And I know that we can't be together like that. But I want to forget all those things for a minute. Okay?" "Okay" "I want to make sure that the first person you kiss loves you. Okay?" "Okay" She was crying harder now. And I was, too, because when I hear something like that I just can't help it. "I just want to make sure of that. Okay?" "Okay" And she kissed me. And it was the kind of kiss that I could never tell my friends about out loud. It was the kind of kiss that made me know that I was never so happy in my whole life.”Near the end of the novel Charlie faces his challenges head on and is no longer the shy person he was when he was a freshman in high school. His teacher who gave him additional work by having him read books that were of his interests helped him along his way.

Analysis

I really enjoyed reading this book because I could relate to some of the problems Charlie was going through, through-out the book. For instance when he would talk about his girl problems and how he didn’t know how to break it to the girl he was dating, he didn’t like her anymore. When I was reading this it reminded me of some of the boy problems I have had before. Although Charlie talks about drugs in the novel, I couldn’t necessarily relate to it, but it gave me a better idea of why it’s the thing to do in high school supposedly. One part that shocked me in the novel was when one of Charlie’s friends was having trouble with his sexuality. The guy he loved didn’t want to be with him not only because of his family, but since he was popular at school he could not let it ruin his reputation. Sadly he never broke the silence and this addressed another issue that takes place in high school. Through it all, Charlie remains a good friend to those he loves.

Current Event: 6-03-08

Clinton willing to run for VP

From the looks of how the presidential election is turning out, Clinton doesn't have a chance at winning the election. Though she isn't giving up completely just yet even though the purpose of her campaign is basically over, she still speaks out about issues like healthcare and will continue to do so until her time is done. She also mentioned that she would be open for running as Vice President with Obama. Clinton told colleages she knew the right math wasn't there for her to overtake Obama, but that she still wanted to determine how to leave the race in a way that would best help the democrats.
Personally, I'd prefer John Mccain to become the Vice President instead of Hilary Clinton just because he seems to have more political experience. Also the whole Clinton incident that happened years ago was pointless, and i don't think someone should be given another chance with something as important as being President. I hope that Obama wins this election, even though I'm afraid he doesn't have enough political experience and that his ambitions are more than what we can actually do.

For more information on the Article click here...

Current Event : 5/30/08

Priest apologizes for mocking Clinton

The same church that Obama has gone to for the past 20 years had a preacher who made a rude comment about Hilary Clinton. He had commented on Hilary crying and how she was crying because she was white and deserved to be the next president, and since Obama came into play and that he's a black man, it made her upset. Since Obama goes to this church he his automatically associated with the preacher which is unfair. I don't understand though if the preacher claims to be friends with Obama why he would put Obama's chance of winning presidency in jeopardy. Who know's! Especially after the other preacher incident that has already happened. There seems to be a trend with religious physco paths being associated with Obama. I wonder if they were paid to do so! Why else would they do that to their "friend" Obama. I think that the more people assume it's skin color being the cause of things, there will always be racial tensions. No matter what race, no one should have a right to down talk anyone else just because there different.

Article link here

My Architect Reflection

Filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn never knew his father like most children would. His father named Louis Kahn, was an architect and spent most of his life doing what he loved most. Sadly though he died in 1974 in a bathroom located inside the Penn Station, with no savings and drowned in debt. Louis Kahn’s obituary in The New York Times, mentioned Kahn’s importance to modern architecture but not even touch upon the topic that Kahn had left behind a son. Shockingly it turned out that nearly nobody was aware that Louis Kahn had had a son, or knew that he had other children with other mistresses as well. In the Documentary Nathaniel tries to find out more about his father with his colleagues who worked with him in architecture since they spent more time with Louis than his own son did. Throughout the documentary his son’s goal was to figure out why his father was so insensitive to his family and spent more time towards his career. After watching this documentary I could not believe what I was hearing. It did not make any sense to me how a father could have more than one family and treat them with such little regard. It all seemed backwards to me how he put his career before everyone else, sadly even his supposed loved ones. I don’t know whether this is a bad thing or not, because he is doing what he loves which makes him happy. Though he didn’t make others as happy as he could’ve, does that make it wrong? Is it wrong how he neglected his family for his career and his dream of traveling the world? For my personal beliefs yes, but when I think about it and how he was fulfilling his dream, no. He did not physically hurt his family, and I am sure the mothers knew what kind of person he was before they decided to share a family. There is nothing wrong with this man fulfilling his dream of creating great architecture and getting to travel the world as he wished. I don’t know why this man would choose what he did though. And I’m not sure if he intended to fulfill his dream and still have a family as well. I’m unsure if he tried to do both, but assuming he did I think that is where he went wrong. In my opinion, a person cannot accomplish everything they want to do in a lifetime; they must choose what is most important to them. If I were in Louis’s position, I would’ve chosen to put my family first. I think there’s nothing special about accomplishing a dream alone, I'd rather accomplish something with a family of my own who i love, it would mean everything to me and I think it’s selfish and careless to do otherwise. Your family will always be there for you through thick and thin and they will love you no matter what, and I don’t see why somebody wouldn’t want to be with people you share that connection with. Plus if you love your family, you’d put them before any dream you had of your own because you love them. if you didn’t put them first, then you never loved them that much in the first place.

What happened to ethics? Reflections

"Ethics shape how we ought to behave as an employee, a friend, a co-worker, a citizen [and as] a person." -Casey

There is significance in learning good ethical values, but i don't think it should just be taught in the classroom. It should start way before school, it should begin in the home of every family. Life long lessons could last a lifetime if only parents would take more effort into teaching their children the values in life they need to learn. Also it would be helpful to pass on good integrity to your friends or any other fellow loved one. It will always be better to do the right thing no matter how less difficult it would be to cheat for the same thing. Ethics is an indiciduals morals, and their beliefs of what is right or wrong. Good ethics would be to do the right thing. and to always treat others with the up most respect even if you dispise them. I don't believe this is a personal belief, but that it is a universal truth. There doesn't have to be evil in the world, people just make wrong decisions. I suppose good morals could be taught by someone you look up to. If you look up to someone you want to be just like them, so taking the inititive of being a leader would help out someone else.

Article

Current Event: 5-22-08

Texas seizure of polygamist-sect kids thrown out
In San Angelo, Texas on the polygamist compound raid case, the court said authorities had no right to seize more than 440 children in the raid. The Court of Appeals said the state failed to show or demonstrate enough evidence on how the children were in any immediate danger so they weren’t supposed to take the children. So unless they find significant evidence sometime soon, most likely the mothers will get custody over their children once again, and pretty much this whole case will have gone to waste. Although the children won't be returning right away,
Personally I don’t think the mothers should be able to take care of their children again, because they never took care of them in the first place. They did them wrong by allowing for them to be sexually abused as such a young age just because of their “religion”. It is morally wrong to do something like that no matter what religion it is and I will never approve of it. The child protective services agencies need to do something quick before these children are put back into the hands of these atrocious people.

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Vocabulary week 17

The senescent tree limped over as the dying leaves flew with the wind.
The seagull found itself in an unfortunate situation.

The treasure map displayed a tortuous path.

She only experiences complete tranquility while at beaches like these.

The emotion she displayed portrayed reticence.

Their neighbor's house was within close proximity to theirs.

She spent many laborious hours on her artwork.

They sailed along as the interminable sky was above them.

Current Event 5/13/08

The Death Toll from the earthquake in China exceeds 12,000

Thousands of innocent victims were killed due to a 7.9 magnitude earthquake the other day. Then number is still rising as more bodies are being found from the buildings that toppled over and collapsed. Rescuers are given a more difficult time getting to the victims due to rain fall. The majority of buildings to fall were schools and homes in small towns. The buildings in the city shook but were able to withstand the quake and the quake was able to be felt all the way to Vietnam. The Chinese government is welcoming outside aid and Russia is sending in planes with rescuers and supplies. This had been the deadliest quake since 1976 when 240,000 lives were lost.

Not just some, but all builders should consider ways to not be as affected when natural disasters happen. So the people are not as hurt when times like these come along and innocent lives are lost. It isn’t fair to the people that they aren’t even safe in their own home and I think every one deserves the right to a secure safe home.

For more information or to watch video updates click here

Journal prompt entry: What do you hear?

The sounds of heels hitting the floor echoes through out the halls in the building. The memories of my mother through the eyes of my childhood flash before me. She rushes to get ready for work as I sit on the big comfy couch watching cartoons. The sounds of her high heeled shoes hitting the floor repeat in my head as the smell of her perfume soon follows. My mother was one to drench her self in perfume before leaving the house for work. The aroma was strong yet sweet and I’d sneeze a couple of times but the smell never bothered me. I remember thinking how beautiful my mother is and how I wished to be exactly like her when I grew up. Her long beautiful blonde hair with long puffy bangs, the colorful stylish outfits she’d wear, and the high heels that were always heard. I also start to remember my brother and how he’d always pick on me as I waited on my mom. He’d tease and joke while my mother would always say, “he does it because he loves you”, though at the time I never thought that was true, but now I realize how I do the exact same things to my sister. Every time I hear the sounds of high heels hitting the floor I remember my mother and think of how much I miss and love her.

Non-Profit Organization

Name of Non-Profit Organization:
Animals Rights Protection Partnership

AARP Logo:
Mission statement:

Animals Rights Protection Partnerships mission is to protect and ensure the rights of animals and to spread awareness about the cruelty and mistreatment that they are put through while in the hands of companies and organizations in the industries.

Vocabulary Week 16

Inevitability the old homeless man named Joe was considered futile to everyone passing by him. The repulsive aroma floating all around him wasn't too convincing to not be deleterious either. It was an awkward position to be in for not only Joe but for the others passing by. Instead of sitting around hopeless, Joe conversely had a strong will and was amorous towards others anyways. His infatuation with God and fate kept his strong will going.

1. acquiesce- submit or comply silently or without protest; agree; consent: to acquiesce halfheartedly in a business plan.


2. amorous- showing or expressing love.


3. aroma- fragrance.


4. awkward- discomfort, uncomfortable.


5. consummate- to bring to a state of perfection; fulfill.


6. conversely- opposite or contrary in direction, action, sequence, etc.; turned around.


7. deleterious- injurious to health: deleterious gases.


8. delirium- a state of violent excitement or emotion; often characterized by confusion disordered speech hallucinations.


9. ecstasy- a state of emotion so intense that one is carried beyond rational thought and self-control.


10. enamored-to inspire with love; captivate ; marked by foolish or unreasoning fondness.


11. futile- useless; incapable of producing any result


12. incantation- Ritual recitation of verbal charms or spells to produce a magic effect.


13. inevitability- unable to be avoided.


14. infatuation- a foolish and usually extravagant passion or love or admiration.

Current Event: 4/17/08

French lawmakers adopt law making it illegal to promote extreme thinness

The French parliament’s lower house adopted a bill that would make it illegal for anyone, including fashion magazines, advertisers and Web sites, to publicly promote extreme thinness. The bill was proposed after the death of a Brazilian model due to anorexia and has also brought focus to websites that promote eating only an apple a day. French lawmakers and fashion industry members signed a nonbinding agreement last week promoting healthier body images.
Leaders from the French couture are opposed to the idea of legal boundaries on beauty standards. But a conservative lawmaker argued that encouraging anorexia or severe weight loss should be punishable in court.
Now judges have the power to imprison and fine offenders up to $47,000 if found guilty of “inciting others to deprive themselves of food” to an “excessive degree.” Judges could also sanction those responsible for a magazine photo of a model whose “excessive thinness altered his or her health.”
Also this is mainly focused on women’s health because the French health ministry says most of the 30,000 to 40,000 people with anorexia in France are women. This is significant because studies show fewer eating disorders in “cultures that value full-bodied women.”

for more information log on to signonsandiego.com and search the name of this article.

Vocabulary: Week 13

revere

• verb


• to regard to with respect (deference)


• "The child revered her mother."

vertigo

• noun


• dizziness, a reeling sensation like your are about to fall


• "Keep her away from the edge of the cliff, she suffers from vertigo."

punitive

• adjective


• inflicting or with intentions of punishment


• "It was necessary for the punitive laws to be ratified."

slander

• noun- words falsely spoken that damage the reputation of another


• aka gossip

squander

• to spend or use something wastefully


• "He squandered all of his mother's hard earned money."

panache

• distinctive stylish elegance

forlorn

• adj


• lonely or sad, showing hopelessness


• aka alone, lost, pitiful, helpless


• "Others worried from his forlorn expressions."

quell

• to suppress, or put an end to; to quiet


• "The troops quelled the rebellions quickly."

concision

• the state or quality of being concise


• aka high quality with less junk, and straight to the point


• "The concision of the argument lead to the conclusion quickly."

libel

• a false publication and act or crime of it


• "She posted a libel about her since she dissagreed with her opinions."

defamation

• a false accusation of an offense; misrepresentation of someones words or actions


• an abusive attack on someones character


• harmful and often untrue; defamatory


• "She sued the magazine for defamation of character."

misdirection

• misleading


• a wrong or incorrect direction, guidance, or instruction.


• "The misdirection of the map caused her to get lost."

Current Event: 04-03-08

Study links preemies with autism signs

Autism is a brain development disorder that affects a person’s social interaction/communication, with signs that begin during infancy or childhood. Some of the characteristics included restricted or repetitive behavior, for instance being resistant to change or always having to do something in a precise certain way. It is unclear to why autism is caused, but there have been connections towards it being heritable (yet the genetics behind autism are complex so its unclear what genes are responsible), and it has also been suggested that vaccines and being born prematurely are contributing factors and increase the risk of having autism.

A recent study showed that one-quarter of babies born prematurely, had signs of autism on an early screening test (children from 18 months to 2 years old). Although this is the beginning of this new found research, this study suggests that babies born prematurely have a higher chance of developing autism. Even though it says it does not take a big part in the risk, it is assumed to be among the contributing factors causing autism. Autism can’t be cured, but if therapy treatment is given early on in the development stages, it is likely to lessen its severity.

This is significant because the cause of autism still is unknown and affects tons of people. The better we understand the causes of autism, hopefully the better we can prevent or treat it.

click here for more information..

World War I: All Quiet on the Western Front Book Report

Book Report-War Documentaries: All Quiet on the Western Front

All quiet on the western front was published in 1929, and was written by Erich Maria Remarque. Remarque based the book off his own experience during the Great War. He is also known as one of the greatest War novelist. The reason I chose this book was because it was recommended by a friend of mine. I’d also chosen this book because I thought it’d be interesting to see what the war was like from a soldier from the western front’s point of view. In addition the German culture has always fascinated me. Overall, this story is about a “lost generation” seen by the eyes of a fresh out of high school teenage boy, who had volunteered, named Baumer and is during the later part of World War I.
With the style of first person and present tense, the novel consists of short stories, and has entries on the everyday life of a young German foot soldier. In the beginning of the novel, the main character, Paul Baumer, volunteers to join to military with his fellow classmates as well as friends. Paul Baumer, a young boy, plays out Erich Maria Remarques experience during the war. It talks about the young boy’s daily wants, needs, interests and thoughts. It also starts off with a bang right away and catches my attention. It goes straight into the harsh and cruel situation the young soldiers had sadly put themselves in unknowing of how much this War would truly affect them, not only physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. From then on the men then don’t take for granted the every now and then pleasures like food or simple pleasures of things like candy or tobacco for instances. And every chance they get of a good meal they definitely take advantage of it. Later on in the chapters Paul encounters flashbacks of his previous early years of how things used to be, and how he’d write poetry and stories, which were some of his interests. He also realizes how much he took for granted while he had the everyday lifestyle that had then been taken from right under his feet. Even though he had volunteered it was a tad bit too late to turn back for both him and his fellow classmates. Baumer also thinks back to how much they have changed from being in this war, from the beginning to where they are at now. He talks about how they went from young naïve yet civilized boys, to uncivilized men by forgetting their fears and not letting any emotions get in the way. Those who couldn’t do so could not survive the intolerable misery caused by the war. In addition he talks about how the older men who had enlisted, at least had a wife or family to hold onto to keep them civilized and hopeful of a home to return to, yet fear still lingered for everyman no matter how many times they were told they had no reason to be frightened. Many of the things the soldiers who adapted to the new way of lifestyle were often considered heartless by their “insensitive” actions. Yet it would all depend on whose perspective you were looking at it from. When one of Paul’s friends had his legs amputated, another one of his friends knew that he would no longer need his shoes. But was it insensitive to want them, when his friend no longer needed them? If you look at it from one angle, it could be considered selfish, but if you look at it from another, it could be considered just being resourceful. Resources were scarce during the war so whatever a soldier lost and could no longer use, another would learn to take it and use the resources for their own necessities; Which is also an example of how the men became “uncivilized”. Overall through the book, the bloodiness of the war shown through the descriptions, really got to me. I could not even imagine or visualize realistically how a person could act towards another after seeing bodies torn to bits. Bodies of people they just spoke with or knew. Not only that but the aftermath of the attacks, after seeing the results and how many people were slaughtered or wounded. During the book Paul talked about how he felt he’d never be able to be the same person he was after the war had ended, since he had become so tolerable of things that are so inhumane. Through-out the book he focuses on how he will ever be the same again and how he has no idea what he will do with his life after the war finally ends. Eventually later on Baumer finally gets to visit home for a couple of weeks, unfortunately finding out that there were problems back at home as well. While there though he comforts his loving family and his classmates’ families telling them that their sons were doing just fine or that they were brave when they lost their life and never goes into detail of how much they suffered. He also found it quite awkward since no one back home could even relate to what he had experienced. As the visit comes to an end, Paul is sent back to once again accompany his troops and fellow classmates. While another battle arises, Paul is faced with a scarring incident that haunts him from then on. When him and his fellow soldiers were out at field, he trailed off and was abandoned. Unfortunately he runs into a soldier from the opposing side and ends up having to stab him before he ends up getting killed himself. Although Paul had been fighting all along, he never had killed another so up close before. This was especially hard for him as well because he never just saw the Allies as just face-less enemies; he saw them as innocent people like himself. This event in the book, is also a turning point. After the event occurred, eventually Paul dies being reuniting with all his fellow classmates who passed on as well.
Overall I really enjoyed this book since it was full of action and was really descriptive. Before reading this I never knew what it was like from a soldiers stand point on the war. I had no idea of what all they had to do and to cope with just to make it through to another unpromising day. The only thing I did not like about the book was how the names of the characters were very distracting since I would always pause and try to pronounce them. But one thing that I learned from this book is that no matter how much Paul was exposed to such cruel situations, he still was a sensitive caring person. When it came time to telling his friends mother, that her son had died, he chose not to tell her how out of sake of her feelings. Instead of telling her what actually had happened he told her he died a courageous, quick and painless death. Thus showing that Paul Baumer still held on to some of his morals even through such harsh times.

Current event: 3-07-08

Scientists sport white killer whale off Alaska

Nobody ever believed that a white killer whale actually exsists, yet researchers and the ship's crew mates couldn't believe there eyes when they actually spotted one. It was believed to be a "mythical creature" researchers stated, and had been said to have been seen only once in Aleutians years. Researchers also said that it really stood out, due to the whale being so white. When the researchers had time to better observe the whale, research showed that the whale was not only white, but a subtle yellowish and brownish color. Due to the coloration of the whale, scientists have a hard time believing that it is an albino whale. Although there seems to be no significance sinse killer whales don't play a vital role in the human way of life, I find this article significant due to the fact that endangered species are dying out rapidly.


Article

Documentary Viewing Guide: WWI

After watching a couple of YouTube video clips on world War I, It has given me ideas to use quotes and still pictures, along with video clips every now and then to make it interesting and keep people watching. I was also thinking of having a voice in the background talking while the still pictures are slightly moving in or out. For the Interviews I plan to do it like in the Why We Fight Documentary. I don’t want to do just still pictures, just video clips, or just voice over’s and Interviews, I want to do a combination of all of them. I would like for the Interviews to be chopped up as well, not just of them talking for like 5 minutes straight. Most importantly though I would like for the introduction of the documentary to start with a bang and end with one as well. In addition, I want it to overall be powerful and not be overly education like covering every tiny bit of what happened during the war, but talking about what happened overall and also focusing on a specific event that happened as well. Possibly covering like three specific events and going into more detail than the rest of the Documentary. It is unfortunate that I could not find a documentary on World War I but I have always been interested in documentaries and have a good idea of what to do. I have also had good experience in editing videos.

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What is Art?

Ask your self, what is expression? What is creativity? Art is a form of expressing ones self creatively, or in any sort of matter. It all depends on who interprets what, and appriciates what. Some consider a line on a canvas a master piece, some make think otherwise. In my opinion Art is everywhere and is expressed through everything. How we present ourselfs, the work we do, the way we act. If you think about it, those are all forms of expressions, so wouldn't they be considered art too? Everyone expresses themselves in what ever way they may want to, so in other words, you could say your body is like a canvas, or the world is a canvas, or even your life is a canvas and you can paint it how ever you want.

Vocabulary: week 7

scuttlebutt -noun - gossip/rumor
"Oh thats just a scuttlebutt that has been spreading around school."

bulwark -noun- to provide defense or protection; fortify with a wall
"The students hid behind the bulwark as the teacher attacked."The United States used the ships as a bulwark for the surrounding border of the country.
hubris -noun- pride or self-confidence; arrogance
"He his not well known for his looks, but his hubris."
dearth -noun- an inadequate supply; shortage
"There is a dearth of good brokers."
There is a dearth of water supply in the desert.
deference -noun- regard to others feelings; respect
"A certain someone lacks deference."
emulate - verb- to copy, or try to become equal
"He emulated his best friend to try to fit in."
imitate -verb- impersonate; to copy; to mimic
mimic -verb- to imitate

Spider man tried to mimic Superman but failed miserably since he did not have the ability to fly.
endemic -restricted to a certain region
"An endemic disease."

aborigine -noun- indigenous people; the natives of a certain region
"The aborigines are indigenous to Australia."
inchoate -adjective- not completed or fully developed; not organized; just started
"His inchoate ideas and plans never progressed."
precursor -noun- an event that foreshadows something to come
"The love letter the man sent was the precursor to their marriage."
volatile -adjective- evaporating rapidly; changing easily from water to vapor
"Perfume is volatile."

Vocabulary: week 6

Embezzle (verb) - to take dishonestly
"The accountant embezzled thousands of dollars while working for the wealthy family"

He enjoyed his job very much since he oculd easily embezzle cookies from the cookie jar.
Emaciate (verb) - cause to grow thin or weak
"The treatment emaciated him"
Obsolete (adjective) - no longer in use; grown old, worn out
"The obsolete weapons are in the attic"

Obsolete United States Navy Battle ships.
Obviate (verb) -do away with
"To obviate the risk of serious injury" When dieting, people often obviate their health instead of the fat.
Penchant (noun) - a strong liking
" A penchant for outdoor sports"
Paucity (noun) - an insufficiant quantity or number
"A country with a paucity of resources"
Sycophant (noun) -a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage "flatterer" Sycophants are also known as suck ups, and to usually make more money in buisnesses, that's what it takes to do so.
Taut (adjective) - pulled tight; neat and tidy or concise
"Nerves taut with anxiety"
Tenuous (adjective) - very thin; having little substance
"A tenuous argument"
Tenacity (noun)- persistent determination; tenacious (firm hold, tough)

Current Event: 02-25-08

Smoking could kill 1 billion by 2100

Tobacco use killed 100 million people worldwide in the 20th century and could kill one billion people in the 21st unless governments act now to dramatically reduce it. Governments around the world collect more than $200 billion in tobacco taxes every year. What they need to do though is increase their efforts to prevent young people from smoking, help smokers quit, and provide more protection to nonsmokers from exposure to second hand smoke. Tobacco use is also rising fastest in low-income countries as well. The tobacco epidemic already kills 5.4 million people a year from lung cancer, heart disease, and other illnesses, and that number will increase to more than 8 million a year by 2030. Unless urgent action is taken more than one billion people could be killed by tobacco during this century. Personally, this really upsets me how the tobacco industry's could be so heartless. My mother is addicted to tobacco, and she has tried stopping repeatedly yet with no positive results. Even though the tobacco industry's bring in a lot of income to the governments, I think our families are more important and their lives are at stake.

For more information, click here

Current Event: 02-19-08

Music speeds recovery from stroke

A recent study says listening to one's favorite melodies can speed a recovery from a stroke. When stroke patients in Finland listened to music for a couple of hours each day, verbal memory and attention span improved significantly opposed to patients who received no musical stimulation, or who only listened to stories read aloud, the study reported. Those who listened to music also experienced less depression than the ones who didn't.
Interestingly three months after a stroke, verbal memory was boosted by 60 percent in music listeners, 18 in audio book listeners, and 29 by non-listeners.

This is the first time music alone has been shown to have a positive effect on victims of brain injury, in this case stroke. Sarkamo speculates that this is because music stimulates a part of the brain in feelings of pleasure and reward that is stimulated by the release of dopamine. Previous research shows that increased dopamine enhances alertness, speed of information processing, attention, and memory in healthy humans. He also stated that music listening might not work for every patient.

This is significant because stroke patients don't always recover and finding new ways and techniques for them to do so, is a major plus factor especially for the families going through that hard time.

For more information click here

Vocabulary: week 5

lucidity: noun. easily understood; clearness of thought or style

"a lucid explanation"

conciliatory: to regain or try to regain (friendship or goodwill) by pleasant behavior; overcome distrust

"a conciliatory manner"

Candidate John McCain spoke after the New York Times wrongfully accused him of infidelity. They stated he had an affair with his wife even though that had no evidence of him doing so. It was strange because they had been working on this article for over a year, and a couple of months ago they published another article endorsing him focusing on why he would be good for president. McCain stated in his speech that it wasn't true and that it was an attempt at loosening the weight off of Clinton.

countermand: an order or command canceling or reversing a previous command

acumen: quickness, accuracy and keenness of judgment or insight

"remarkable acumen in business matters"

insurrection: an act or instance of rising in revolt, rebellion, or resistance against civil authority or an established government

The insurrection of the people allowed for them to gain independence and freedom as well.

fidelity: loyalty; faithfulness

"a servant's fidelity" "fidelity to one's country"

Fidelity is what holds friendships and marriages together. Who could believe in or share something with someone they don't trust?

complicit: adj. choosing to be involved in an illegal or questionable act or a crime

"the newspapers complicit with the propaganda"

Some speculate that the government was complicit in the 9/11 attacks. They also say that the government did so to gain the trust of the American people so then they go to war with Iraq for different reasons of their own. People are divided on this argument though, due to evidence and whether or not the government would do such a thing.

steadfast: literally means fixed in place, but is used figuratively and means firm in purpose, faith, attachment; sure; dependable; reliable; constant/unwavering

emancipation: The act of freeing from restraint; to free (a slave) from bondage

Emancipation is what freed the slaves from slavery. Their various attempts and efforts freed them from restraint and cruelty.

bolster: a cushion, often used figuratively not literally. basically something used for support or to aid.

Current Event: 02-14-08

Laser can detect diseases in your breath

There is a new laser technique that could allow for doctors to detect certain diseases, such as lung caner or asthma, simply by analyzing a patient's breath. The new study shows that this new laser system can identify certain compounds in a breath sample that may be signs of diseases. Doctors show interest towards using this device for routine use in doctor's offices. The advantages of this new technology would be that it would provide a painless and non-invasive way of detecting certain diseases. In addition it could enable physicians to detect some signs sooner which in return allows for quicker treatment.
Breath analysis systems have been around for several years, but a common problem with previous method is that they could only detect one or just a small amount of compounds in a breath sample which wouldn't provide enough information to determin is the person had a specific disease and so on.
So far this device was able to detect higher levels of carbon monoxide in the breath of a smoker compared to a non-smoking participant. It also has distinguished ammonia. Most importantly though this device would be most useful for detecting lung problems, such as lung cancer and asthma.

For more information click here

Current event: 02-07-08

The manhunt for the gunman continues...

Five women were found dead on a Saturday inside a store in this chicago suburb. The dead included the store manager and four other customers who unfortunately happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Sadly, this is a commentary on our society that no community is immune to what can happen," Mayor Ed Zabrocki stated.
Police are on the look out for a 5-foot-9 black male weighing 230 to 260 pounds.
Sadly two other incidents similar to this happened not too long ago, nine people killed in one, and five in the other.
Now seriously, what is happening to our society? How come more and more tragic incidents like this are happening almost everytime we blink? People are not as safe as they used to be, and this is not right nor humane. A mom should be able to drop off her teenagers at the mall and have no worry of something like this happening, but since that can't happen anytime soon at this rate, safety needs to be taken into more consideration.
Those shootings drew attention to mall safety as well. About 190 million people visit a U.S. mall every month, so this was a necessary notion. One of the things they are going to progress on for mall safety is in-store training, so retailers know how to respond to a threat of any sort, have more surveillance so it is caught on camera, and add a silent alarm system so in case this did happen again help would be on its way.

Click here, to find out more...

Book Report 1: The Hobbit

The book I chose to read is known as The Hobbit. It is a well known classic and was the first book written before the entire Lord of the Ring series which is why it interested me, also because I am interested in fantasy novels. The Hobbit is the first book that many people think of when it comes to goblins, dwarves, and elves and it was a must read.
The Hobbit is about a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, and his journey from a quiet sheltered home to a life of adventure. The plot begins with Bilbo being tricked into volunteering to join an adventurous band of dwarves who wish to get back their faraway home from an evil dragon, Smaug. The Dwarves know of an ancient treasure guarded by the dragon, and they offer Bilbo a generous portion of it if he manages to make himself useful on the journey. While at first Bilbo is reluctant to leave his sheltered life, much of the story revolves around him learning to embrace the life he has and takes to the life of adventure. Their Journey takes them through forests filled with both monsters and elves, caves filled with goblins and trolls, and eventually to the Ancient home of the dwarves known as The Lonely Mountain. During this journey, Bilbo progressively proves himself to the dwarves, and the band eventually becomes very close. While lost in a dark cave, he comes across a ring with the power to make him invisible. The ring then becomes his secret weapon, and makes him very useful to the group. They also make many strange friends along the way. Afterwards they stop for supplies from a nearby town before facing Smaug, and then camp in a secret entrance to the Mountain. As they sit around and try to find a way to kill Smaug, they wake him up. Knowing the dwarves are there to kill him, Smaug goes crazy and starts attacking anyone in sight. He nearly destroys the nearby village and is eventually killed by a human, whose home was destroyed. With Smaug dead, the Dwarves settle in the mountain and send word to their families. Many dwarves answer the call and come to help rebuild their homes. However, the elves and humans who were attacked by Smaug surround the Lonely Mountain and the Dwarves because they want to be repaid for killing the dragon and taking so much damage. As things get worse, Bilbo desperately tries to save the people from even more innocent killings. Just before war breaks out Gandalf appears and spots the Goblins downhill on the Lonely Mountain. At first everything seemed hopeless, but when the armies of the Dwarves, Elves and Men finally united, they managed to force the Goblins back. Everyone who survived then returns home to rebuild and live happily ever after, including Bilbo.
The main character in the book was Bilbo Baggins who is a hobbit. In the beginning of the book he is quite the gentleman and as the book progresses, he also becomes clever, wise, and adventurous. Smaug is the evil dragon who scared away the dwarves from their homes. Thorin is the leader of the Dwarves and his grandfather was killed by Smaug the dragon when he took over the mountain. Gandalf, who is my favorite character, is the kind and wise wizard.
As for the significance of the book, in my opinion The Hobbit is a classic. Even though it is quite old, I’ve always wanted to read it after seeing all of the Lord of the Ring movies, which the author wrote the books for too. I’ve also always had a vivid imagination and adventurous, fantasy, horror, and romance novels are my favorite. Not only that, but they are the ones I can never put down.

Metallica - Fade to Black

Metallica- Fade to Black

Life it seems, will fade away

Drifting further every day

Getting lost within myself

Nothing matters no one else

I have lost the will to live

Simply nothing more to give

There is nothing more for me

Need the end to set me free

Things are not what they used to be

Missing one inside of me

Deathly lost, this can't be real

Cannot stand this hell I feel

Emptiness is filing meTo the point of agony

Growing darkness taking dawn

I was me, but now He's gone

No one but me can save myself, but it's to late

Now I can't think, think why I should even try

Yesterday seems as though it never existed

Death Greets me warm, now I will just say good-bye

A song is a mixture of a message along with a melody, sometimes just one instead of both. It is also a form of art that you appreciate through listening. The song I chose is called Fade to Black by Metallica. In the song, it begins with an acoustic guitar introduction and becomes progressively heavier as the song goes on. Also the song name is never mentioned in the lyrics.
The song Fade to Black is on the ride the lightning album, which was released in 1984 and the lyrics are based on the story of a man contemplating, and eventually committing suicide because he felt like he had nothing to live for and he would be better off dead. It was also stated that the lyrics were made from the last words of a suicide victim.
The band Metallica is an American heavy metal band that formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, California. They were influenced by bands known as black Sabbath and led zeppelin and they have been a major influence to bands such as Korn and Godsmack. Their songs have been influenced by the corruption of the US government and its justice system. Some of their songs also include distinct anti-war messages. They became more popular when they started creating shorter songs, simpler song structures and slower tempos overall. Yet in the album ride the lightning the riffs and arrangements were more complex.
Overall Metallica is well known for how well they convey emotion in their music and are remembered for their own distinct style that is easily recognized. In the mid-1980’s glam metal became very popular with mainstream and during that time underground bands produced more aggressive styles. Metallica is one of the bands who did so and broke into the main stream with thrash metal. What separates Metal from other genres is the unique heavy sound and extreme display of emotion especially through the intense guitar solos.
Heavy metal is often referred to as metal and is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960’s and 1970’s with major roots in blues-rock. It is usually characterized by distorted guitars, fast guitar solos, intense bass and drum sound, and vigorous vocals. The tempos in early heavy metal bands tended to be slow, but now range from slow tempos to extremely fast blasting tempos. Like other genres, heavy metal as been accused of being the “devils music” and of influencing violence and other poor behavior. But in my opinion it gives people something to hold on to, to relate to and gives people something to release their pain anger or sadness through, especially through times of war, or when facing depression or hopelessness of some sort.

Vocabulary: week 3

1.Disseminate (v): cause to become widely known; "spread information" "disseminate information"

2.Eloquence (n): Powerful and effective language; "his eloquence attracted a large congregation" Basically the power of expressing feelings or thoughts in words that impress or move other people

3.Austere (adj) severe and strict morals; uncompromising; serious; rigorously self-disciplined

4.Baleful (adj) harmful, miserable, evil, wicked; sinister (threatening, or portending (to indicate by predicting) evil, harm, or trouble)

5.Bigot (n) a prejudiced person who is intolerant of any opinions differing from his own; a person who constantly and stubbornly holds a certain point of view

"You can try to convince him, but since he is a bigot I doubt you'll get anywhere"

6.Relapse (n) and (v) to fall or slip back into former/previous state; a failure to maintain a higher state

7.Repudiate (v) to reject with disapproval; discard; condemn

"He repudiated his son after realizing he had disregarded honoring the family"

8.Resilience (n) the ability to recover from being hurt or damaged

9.Sanguine (adj) cheerfully optimistic, hopeful or confident; high spirited; enthusiastic

10.Renovate (v) to restore to good condition; repair

Vocabulary: week 2

1) equivocate (verb)

to be unclear in order to mislead

"the president equivocated by changing the topic"

2) eradicate (verb)

to remove or destroy completely

3) erode (verb)

to eat into or away; destory by slow consumption

4) erratic (adjective)

unpredictable; lacking consistency

5) escalate (verb)

to increase in intensity or in level, like an escalator

6) esoteric (adjective)

secret, private, or confidential; obscure; only known by few understood by or meant only for a few who have the knowledge or interest

7) espouse (verb)

to make something or someone your own; marriage

8) eulogy (noun)

a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing; tribute

9) euphoria (noun)

a feeling of great happiness; commonly exaggerated

10) euthanasia (noun)

"mercy killing" the act of putting to death painlessly due to suffering of some sort or an incurable condition

11) epitome

a standard or typical example; a model

"he is the epitome of a good father"

Current Event: 01/20/08

There has been a recent study showing drinking a couple cups of coffee during any stage of pregnancy can lead to higher risks of miscarriage or even miscarriage itself. It has always been thought safe to consume as much caffeine as women want, but these recent studies prove other wise. Though doctors are still divided on these new findings, some believe you can consume some caffeine and be fine, others say you should just put aside those craving during your pregnancy. The article didn't explain though how exactly caffeine causes miscarriage.

For more information, click here

Current Event: 1/24/08

Father in 'honor killing' found guilty of murder

A father who ordered his daughter brutally slain for falling in love with the wrong man in a supposed "honor killing" was found guilty of murder on monday. Banaz mahmod, only at the age of 20, was strangled with a boot lace, stuffed into a suitcase and buired in a back garden. Lately there has been an increasing trend of so-called honor trends not only in britain but the US as well. Britain is home to around 1.8 million Muslims and more than a hundred homicides are under vestigation right now due to the possibility of being potential "honor killings." The men who commited the crime in this particular case accused the young woman of shaming her family by ending an abusive arranged marriage, becoming too westernized, and falling in love with a man who didn't come from their Iraqi village. During the prosecution, Mahmod's father admitted to beating his daughter for using hairspray and adopting other western ways. Britain has seen more than 25 women killed by their muslim relatives in the past decade for offenses they believed brought shame on the family. More than 100 other homicides are under investigation as potential honor killings.
This is very significant because obviously there has been a dramatic increase in these so-called honor killings. Honestly it upsets me how inhuman they are treating there own family! Honor killing or not, it is still murder and I think it shows more disrespect towards the family if you kill eachother rather than adapt to the new changes of the now quite popular westernized world. If they don't want there sibilings, relatives, daughters or sons becoming more westernized, then why expose them to a westernized country?

link to article

Vocabulary: week 1

1. intrepid - adj. fearless, Brave, courageous, bold

"an intrepid explorer"

2. trepidation - n. trembling, in fright, fear, a feeling of alarm or dread

"The surfer felt trepidation as he finally stood up on his board"

3. despondent - adj. feeling or showing profound hopelessness, discouragement, or gloom

"despondent about failing health"

4. decorum - n. politeness, manners, dignity appropriateness of behavior or conduct, speech, dress etc.

5. aspire - v. to long ambitiously, or desire for something of high value

"She aspires to become a doctor"

6. vacillate - v. hesitate, to sway unsteadily; to fluctuate

"His tendency to vacillate makes him a poor leader"

7. desultory - adj. having no set plan; random; moving or jumping from one thing to another

"a desultory speech"

8. fallacy - n. misleading, false notion/belief; misconception, delusion, misapprehension

"that the world is flat was one time a popular fallacy"

9. formidable - adj. dreadful threatening, frightful, fearful basically causing fear

"a formidable opponent"

10. heritage - n. anything that is or can be inherited or passed down from previous generations; traditions, property etc.

"a heritage of knowledge and techniques was passed on to the anxious listeners"

11. guru - n. mentor, a teacher and guide in spiritual and philosophical matters; leader

"In a culture that worships slimness, he was the Guru of Lean"