Unit 10 Vocab Sentances

accord :
My mom and I came to an accord that if I get a ninety-five on all my math tests, I get an I Pad for high school.

barter :
On Facebook there's a group where a bunch of girls meet up to barter and sell clothes they don't want.

curt :
My brother is so curt to me when I'm around my friends, probably to make him feel good about himself.

devise :
Before completing a project you should always devise it so that its more organized.

dexterous :
My friend is very dexterous, he made his own gun!

engross :
The exciting new film engrossed everyone in my class that knew about it.

entail :
I feel bad for people whose parents entail them about school work and only school work.

ferret :
If I smell something yummy I ferret the smell and find out what it is.

habituate :
After my pet hamster died, I habituated to live without it.

impending :
Since I studied hard, I won't have to worry about my impending tests before the school year ends.

personable :
Cook O' Donnel is so personable. I die everytime I see his face he's so perfect oh my god.

rue :
My brother will rue the day if he doesn't give me my sandwich in the next 3 minutes.

scoff :
I feel bad for people who get scoffed at.

transition :
I hope the transition from middle school to high school isn't hard.

trepidation :
I have a trepidation of the dark which is why I sleep with a night light.

upbraid :
My mom upbraid my brother for dropping the pencil sharpens on the ground.

veritable :
Non-Fiction books have veritable information.

vex :
My brother is always vexing me.

vitality :
I need vitality to go to school so early in the morning.

whimsical :
I love people who wear whimsical clothing on the street.

Blog Post on Coming of Age Book (Speak)

     I read the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson for this Coming of Age reading unit. The book is about a young teenager named Melinda who suffers through many different issues and problems in her teenage years. The main problem that happens in the book is that she goes to a party over the summer and calls the cops because she almost got raped. Then when she goes to high school, all of her old friends that she knew before give her an "attitude" and hate her because of what she did at the party. Little do they know that she almost raped at that party. I think that the protagonist in this book (Melinda) has changed a lot. She was a dynamic character because if you take all the big events and her attitude towards them, and turn it into a timeline based story, she does change a lot. She becomes a much stronger person.

    In the beginning of the book shes just a young teenager who's very excited to start high school until she begins to notice how everyone hates her. She walks through the hallways and see's everyone giving her dirty looks and then she hears people talking about her in the gym locker room. She tries to confront some of her friends but they just give her an attitude just for calling the cops. But then again, none of her former friends knew the reason behind the call. Melinda goes to high school hoping to start fresh, hoping to make new friends, get good grades, and be ready for a change and transition from middle school to high school. She feels deceived to know that all her friends hate her after such an incident. Because of all her friends hating her, and making fun of her, she suffers through a silenced high school year. She keeps everything to herself and she never really expressed her feelings out to everyone. That was just her school life. Since Melinda felt "unwanted", she couldn't concentrate on her own studies except for Art class. She got D's and C's and even some F's in all her classes except in Art she got an A. I think this happened because in the book the author really spent a lot of time talking about how Melinda put a lot of depth and thinking into her art. She relates her own life to her artwork. She is able to express herself. Also after getting her first marking period report card her parents get calls from teachers saying that they expect more from her. Also her parents are getting her really stressed because they aren't recieving the grades there child is getting.

    In the end of the book she changes a lot because she becomes much more stronger.  Loneliness is a really big issue in this book too. This is because Melinda has been through such a big incident in her life and really has no one to talk to and share her feelings with. The entire school pretty much hates her for calling the cops at the party so there's no one at school that is willing to talk to her and be there for her. Her parents don't have any time for her and shes slacking in most of her classes and because of that, her parents are always yelling at her and they don't know about the rape and she feels its embarrassing to tell them. She really has no one to talk to because no one has time for her. If the rape hadn't happened then she would be lonely at all! At times I've been pretty lonely my self and it feels like you have no one that cares about you, and you have no one to ask for advice for. Its just like a scream of voices in your head struggling of what to do. This is how loneliness is a really big issue in this book.

   In conclusion I think that rape and loneliness are both really big issues in the book because they both affected Melinda's life a lot and its very scary and sad. Rape affected her life because she got raped over the summer and called the cops and because of that she isn't who she used to be. Loneliness is a big issue in the book because she has no one there for her and she has trouble in a lot of things but no one to tell too. This is why rape and loneliness is a big affect on her life. 

Monologue and Essay about Coming Of Age

Aarti Chopra, aged 16, a high scholar going to Brooklyn College Academy, my cousin, is wearing a plain white tee shirt, her basketball team logo shorts “The Bobcats”, a dog tag, and hair tied back in a ponytail. She dribbles her basketball as she is speaking. She doesn’t seem to take the interview very seriously, and she’s roaming around in place on the porch. She walks around but then when she’s talking about something, she stops walking and her voice tone gets stronger and louder.

Don’t Judge Monologue by Pooja Chopra

Um

Before I used to be mad conscious about what people thought about me, how they think about me, how they talk about me and stuff

Like

When I was little

I was a

tomboy, and well

I still am (grins, and winks)

And all my,

Like I had best friends that were girls and boys

But mostly boys

And many people would say

“Oh she’s a thirsty hoe because she’s hangin’ out with all the guys and she

Doesn’t like females la la la la la”

I was mad conscious

Like I started being mad girly and shit

Like I would wear hoops and earings

And I wasn’t into that typa shit

But like I still wear hoops but I wasn’t into that back then

Because like

I was being mad girly more then I was being myself

And

Like I started feeling mad uncomfortable

But then I realized that like

Its better to be yourself because its easier

You won’t be

Fake

And now its just like

I don’t give a shit what people think about me because when I do me

I’m prosperous for myself and when I’m prosperous for myself

The people around me

Will also be prosperous as well

And like what made me change that about myself is that like

Yo its just mad fake yanno

Like

Like I was unhappy and shit

Why

Why should I care about what you think?

Are you me?

Do you know what I’ve been through?

Like

You know my name but you don’t know my story

And um

When I signed up for stuff like

Tumblr

And stuff

Well mostly tumblr

Like Facebook is so fake

Because like

I don’t understand the concept of you

Tiny ass teenagers

Well I’m still a teenager

But y’all addin’ people that you don’t like

Like

What is wrong witchu

Y’all not friends so why you addin each other..

Stupid hoes

And um

I just wanna say that Tumblr is good

Because like

You can express yourself in a

Like

Visual way

And people don’t judge you as much as they do on Facebook

And I just think that

Uh

And I just think that

I don’t know

Judging people is stupid

Like if I see a girl

I won’t be like

Oh

“she’s ugly I won’t talk to her”

Like no

Shut up

When I first found out we had to do an interview I knew just who to interview. My cousin! I think interviewing my cousin was a very good experience because I’m very close to her and I found out more about the way she thinks and how she feels about different things. At first I was sort of nervous because I didn’t want my cousin to think that the questions were really dorky or that she wouldn’t give me enough details for the interview but she did. In the beginning of the interview I thought that the interview was just going to be a boring old interview and I didn’t really care about it but then as the interview went by I became my intrigued in what my cousin was saying. I think some difficulties that I had was that I wanted to just start a conversation with my cousin after each answer she had because I wanted to reply to that but I just had to ask more questions so that kinda sucked. Something that went well was that I was very focused in what my cousin was saying and she gave me very detailed responses. Overall I think that the interview went very well and I feel very good about interviewing my cousin.

I definitely learned a lot about my cousin. I think that an overall general topic that my cousin discussed was people and who she is as a person, what she thinks of other people, what she thinks is wrong and right. For example in the interview she said that she thinks people who smoke weed and get high is stupid because they can’t seem to find fun in anything other than drugs. Also I learned about the people that she respects like her old basketball coach because he was a fatherly figure. I learned that I actually take up a lot of my cousin’s life and she really loves me because when I asked her about favorite memories she talked about the sleepovers that me and her had.

I think that this coming of age unit was actually very fun because I learned more about people and I think that its very interesting to hear different things from different points of view and what people think about topics. I think that the book “Am I Blue” and reading it was actually very interesting. I think that the book showed different perspectives. In the book a young child is gay and he gets bullied and the book is from the perspective of him and how he feels. In the end of the book, he feels much stronger. I think that this is a very interesting aspect of coming of age. I think this because in regular books you don’t really see a general change over a specific issue, its just a big change in the story but in a coming of age book you see a change in the character. 

Coming of Age : Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

    For this coming of age ELA unit, I read the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. This book is about a girl who's name is Melinda who suffers through many problems and issues but all those problems and issues are just caused by one big incident that actually changed her life. Over the summer she went a party and unfortunately got raped by a boy named Andy Evans and she called the cops. Ever since high school started, all her friends have been ignoring her and has been slacking in most of her classes and is barely getting any respect. I think that three big issues in this book is rape, and loneliness.

   I think that rape is a big issue in the book because the entire fact that she got raped affects her entire life! Recently I read the book "Rape; A Love Story" and its about a girl who gets raped and how that single moment affected her entire life. She couldn't ever forget what happened and she became much more cautious about the things around her. She was too scared to do anything around other people. She wasn't the same anymore. She felt scared and lonely and I think that this is the same thing that is happening to Melinda. Especially for Melinda, since she's in high school and there are just so many different cliques around her, all she wants its acceptance from her peers. This is how rape really is a big issue in the book.

   Loneliness is a really big issue in this book too. This is because Melinda has been through such a big incident in her life and really has no one to talk to and share her feelings with. The entire school pretty much hates her for calling the cops at the party so there's no one at school that is willing to talk to her and be there for her. Her parents don't have any time for her and shes slacking in most of her classes and because of that, her parents are always yelling at her and they don't know about the rape and she feels its embarrassing to tell them. She really has no one to talk to because no one has time for her. If the rape hadn't happened then she would be lonely at all! At times I've been pretty lonely my self and it feels like you have no one that cares about you, and you have no one to ask for advice for. Its just like a scream of voices in your head struggling of what to do. This is how loneliness is a really big issue in this book.

   In conclusion I think that rape and loneliness are both really big issues in the book because they both affected Melinda's life a lot and its very scary and sad. Rape affected her life because she got raped over the summer and called the cops and because of that she isn't who she used to be. Loneliness is a big issue in the book because she has no one there for her and she has trouble in a lot of things but no one to tell too. This is why rape and loneliness is a big affect on her life. 

Test Prep Blog # 3 : Article Essay

Article : http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/pink-friday-roman-reloaded-20120406


     Today I read the article "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded" by Jody Rosen which is a album review. Overall Rolling Stones thought that the album was good! It's fun, has a mix of both rap and pop music. The beats in each song in Roman Reloaded are fun just like Nicki's persona. I think that overall this article was very good and detailed and I agree with the Rolling Stones based on what they said about Roman Reloaded. 

     There are many things that I agree with about what the Rolling Stones. "But why would you choose just one Nicki Minaj? With her, the point is plenitude: more boasts, more hooks, more craziness, more shape-shifting, more cognitive dissonance, more pleasure. If you believe that art and commerce and provocation and fun – and hip- hop and disco and teen pop – can all be one and the same, here's a record for you. Come, all ye faithful." (Rolling Stones). This is one thing that I agree with. Many people weren't happy with the album because half of it was pop and the other was rap and a majority of people just like the rap. But I think that the Rolling Stones really got the point clear of how Nicki has the freedom to combine art, fun, commerce, and provocation and she can do it well! 

     Another thing that I agree with about what the Rolling Stones said is that they said that having Roman in the album was a great thing because it really did show who Nicki is and showed her persona. "Then there's the Roman Zolanski lane. Roman Reloaded opens with Minaj – a biracial woman from Queens via Trinidad – ranting in the voice of her (Polish?) homosexual "twin brother" alter ego. In the same song, she takes on the voice of Martha Zolanski, Roman's mother, singing in a cartoon Cockney accent. "Take your medication, Roman," counsels Minaj/Martha. "Quack, quack to a duck and a chicken, too/Put the hyena in a freakin' zoo," answers Minaj/ Roman. Later, she bursts into "O Come, All Ye Faithful." (Rolling Stones) . 

   After reading this article on Roman Reloaded by Rolling Stones, I was very satisfied with it because I agreed with alot of things that were said in the article. The Rolling Stones said that having Roman in the album was a great thing because it showed Nicki's persona. They also said that having both pop and rap in the album was really creative and I definitely agree with that. Overall I'm very satisfied with this article!

Test Prep Blog #2 : Plagiarism

     After reading Ms.Galang's post on plagiarism, I've come to conclude that plagiarism is not right! It's a crime and no one has the right to steal somebody else's work and say that it's their own and not citing the websites/books that we're used. The student's work that was posted by Ms.Galang could fix a lot of things in the writing. There are also many ways to avoid plagiarism. 

    The student that plagiarized from A Brief Understanding of the Starry Night Paintings could fix the paragraph that was stolen by citing the sources. One way is in-text citing which is after summarizing, paraphrasing, or quoting the source that was used and then including the author's last name and page number in parenthesis. The other way the student could fix the plagiarized paragraph is by having a "Works Cited Page". On a separate page all you do is list the sources. This is also known as MLA format. 

     The three easy ways to avoid plagiarism is by summarizing, paraphrasing, or quoting. Summarizing is simply reading the source and putting it in your own words. Paraphrasing is summarizing each sentence and changing words around a bit which I find very fun to do. Now my favorite one is quoting which is taking the source it self and copying and pasting it into your writing but you must make sure that you cite where you got the words from and put them in quotation marks (""). 


     Write a sentence using the original source correctly; use a quotation or paraphrase. Also, make sure to cite correctly : 


Original Sentence: Whether or not this religious inspiration is true, it is known that the piece is not the only Starry Sky painting that Van Gogh ever created.

Quoting : "Whether or not this religious inspiration is true, it is known that the piece is not the only Starry Sky painting that Van Gogh ever created." ("A Brief Understanding of the Starry Night Paintings.")

Test Prep Blog # 1 : 2 Good Reading Responces

       After looking at Ms.Galang's list of good reading responses and after reading all of them I thought about the quality of each reading response. Each reading response was fully elaborated, organized, and all are grammatically correct. Each reading response also had a main idea and was fully supported with details. But overall I think that Michelle's reading response on the book "Luna" was great! I also thought that Jamila's reading response on Tupac's song was excellent!

     Michelle's reading response was so precise and elaborated. She connects the poem that she writes and the book so well! The response is divided and organized in the structure of the book. The first paragraph is about the first part of the book, the second paragraph is on the middle of the book, and so on. And even then she still connects it to the poem which I think must be very hard to do. Something else I think she did a great job in was connecting the book to real life issues. She didn't just describe the issues that are in the book, she weaves those in with other issues and what everything can lead to. For example, her book is about a girl who gets sex change to live a new life. She goes from Luna to Liam. In the reading response she says : "Leaving Liam alone on this gender transition alone is horrible. I think that having no guardian support doesn't help the situation what so ever.I think it makes it worse. This makes the child question him/her whether they should really go through this transition. Next thing you know, this might even lead to suicide or depression or doubt." She talks about what happens in the book, Liam's alone on this gender transition and then she says that it can lead into suicide, depression, and or doubt. Something else I think she did a great job on was elaborating on each main idea. Each idea is supported very clearly and she does a great job on that. I think that overall Michelle's reading response was excellent and so clear and very detailed!

     Jamila's reading response on Tupac's song called "Starry Night" based on the painting was so good! Its filled with so many details and organized so well. Something that I really liked about the reading response is that she's very clear about her points and her supporting details and also her main idea is very clear and her details support it. She doesn't go off topic at all and she stays on track. The reading response doesn't really have any excess details either. In the reading response her main idea is that that no matter how good things seem, there's always a bad side to it and its clearly stated right in the first paragraph. She supports the details and elaborates on them too and she does it very well. In the reading response she says : "But when you give your all, it's like the fans demand more ad after the tour I sit alone like before"-(line 28-29).  I think Mac Mall is trying to say that he never feels completely satisfied with himself after a performance. He feels like he isn't good enough. It's clear that he is uneasy and is afraid that his fans won't be interested in his music anymore. He feels as if his fans are always wanting something better from him." She says the part of the song that intrigues her and then she elaborates off of it and its so flowy and not choppy! She did a great job of doing that throughout the reading response. Something else I think she did a good job of was letting her voice out through the reading response. It didn't sound like some college leveled reading response and it was pretty understandable but still she has a great vocabulary in the reading response. This was such a great reading response!

     I think that I've learned alot from reading these two reading responses. One thing that I think I should work on in my reading responses is organizing my reading responses. My reading responses are organized but I think that Michelle's was very clearly organized. Each paragraph in her's had a main idea, and was supported very clearly and she also has a clear introduction and conclusion. Something else that I think I should work on is not having excess details and going off topic because I tend to do that alot. On my blog I wrote : " I think the cordial represents all her strength and power that she’s been showing over her siblings. Santa Claus gives Lucy a cordial, which she uses to heal the wounded following the battle with the Witch's troops. The power the cordial I think represents her optimistic because she’s trying to cure people physically and emotionally." I go off topic in this paragraph and its very unclear. First I'm talking about what I think the cordial represents and then I talk about how Santa Claus gives Lucy the cordial. It makes no sence and I should stop doing that. These are two things that I should work on in my reading responses. 


     After reading these texts I've realized that there are so many great blogs out there and that I should read them to help myself in my own reading responses. For example Michelle's reading response on the book "Luna" is very clear, and elaborated. Jamila's reading response on the song "Starry Night" by Tupac is very flowy and understandable. By reading these two reading responses I've come to know that I should work on organizing reading responses and making my reading responses more clear. 

Review: Much Ado About Nothing

This week all of Ms.Galangs got to see the play "Much Ado About Nothing" and its based on a Shakespearian play. I think that the play was great especially because I love watching comedies and it was something that I wasn't really expecting. When I think of Shakespeare, I think of a proper play that litterally bores me. But Much Ado About Nothing was very intriguing and very interesting!

I think that my favorite character would be Beatrice because shes very independant, an amazing singer, and I think that her role really does stand out. I think that this play shows how a character can change because in the beginning of the play she seemed very free and that life is fun and shes just having a great time but then later in the play she becomes a little more concious about whats going on around her.

In the play there are alot of issues for example there are alot of love triangles, betrayal, rumors, friendship problems, death, and marriage and friendship and also trust. The play was sorta confusing because I couldn't really tell what was going on because of how the space was used and all the props that were being used. They didn't use alot of props which was sorta weird but I think very unique. Also there was a big black circle hole thing and I think that that was very interesting because it seems to symbolize alot of things for example, time and mood. 

In general I think that the play was overall okay. It was suprising intriguing but at times it was a little confusing. But it was pretty good and I think that each character had an important role and it was shown properly. 

Letter re: Romeo and Juliet

Dear Sofia,

In class we just started reading Romeo and Juliet. The book is pretty confusing so far because Shakespeare uses many complicated phrases and such but thats ok because I've been using the No Fear Shakespeare books and Sparknotes. Using that, I think the plot is very touching and in the book there are so many symbols and things that represent issues and other things. There are many things that I've noticed in the book.

One thing that I've noticed is that the lifestyle thats happening in the time period of Romeo and Juliet is very different then ours. Juliet is supposed to have an arranged marriage with Paris at the age of only 13. In our generation there can be arranged marriages but defenitly not that young. Also in the book, Romeo and Juliet don't say a single word to each other but know that they both are in love, and the first time they actually do converse is when Juliet is on her balcony saying how in love she is with Romeo. In our generation, we actually get to know the person and then fall in love, but for Romeo and Juliet its love at first sight.

Something else that I've noticed is that the main issue is love and hate. The love between Romeo and Juliet is very strong and strong enough to leave family but Romeo and Juliet's family hate each other so Shakespeare definilty shows how hard it is for both of them to leave there familys and get married. That also shows the strength of their love.

In general I think the book is very deep and good and very intriguing but when I'm reading the orignal book I do zone out because I dont really understand whats happening. But the story line is great!

- Love Pooja

Sonnet 130

SONNET 130
By William Shakespeare

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breats are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. 
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses I see in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistess, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.

Paraphrase:  


My lovers are nothing like the sun's
Coral is so much more redder then her lips
If snow is so white then why are her breasts so dull and grayish
Her hair are like black wires
I have seen the reddest cheeks red and white
But her cheeks are nothing like the roses I have seen
There is such a good smell in some perfumes
Versus the smell in her mouth
I love hearing her speak
But music is much better to listen to
I've never seen a goddess walk
And when she walks my girlfriend drags her feet
By heaven, I think my love is unique
Her looks disguise her beauty. 


Responce :
I think that this sonnet is very misleading but very enjoyable too. In the beginning of the poem its very rude but then in the end he does show his love for the women that he loves and the main message in the poem is that aperrence doesn't matter and you could be the ugliest person ever but that's just a disguise from your true beauty inside of you. I think that Shakespeare really did show how much love is inside of him. I think that this poem shows dream and reality. Reality being her looks, and then her personality being the dream. At first when I first read the poem I was sorta bored and I kept zoning out because I didn't actually interpret the poem which is why I kept zoning out. But then after interperating it I did understand the poem and it turned out to be one of my favorite sonnets that I've read!

Final Sonnet

I walk up to my blue and black dresser.

I go pick up my eyeliner pencil.

But then I catch the sight of a letter.

So carefully written on a stencil.

Opening the letter with a great care

Impatient to see what is written inside

Each move that I make is a little dare

I read the letter and feel the cries.

Here I sit in the corner with the pain

Who would have known that words could make change

I feel, all of my blood about to drain 

It does feel very very very strange.

And this is what I felt and thought

The single day that I was caught.  

Three Poems

What is Poetry 


Poetry is a story
Different perspectives
Different voices
Poetry is a story

Poetry is music to my ears
Each word is a beat
Each stanza has rythmn
Poetry is music to my ears

Poetry draws a picture
Vividly each thing I see
Vividly each thing I feel
Poetry draws a picture

No definition yet set for poetry
But deep inside my heart
I know that poetry is a
burst of a magical story with beats
and rhythm



"What happens to ____"


What happens to a unicorn born with no wings?

Is it treated like garbage
and just thrown in the trash?
Or does it get worshiped
like it was a king?
Does it become an outcast
never being able to fly?

Or maybe

It'll just grow a pair of wings
sooner or
l
a
t
e
r

and fly.

"Ballet" by Degas

The artist that I chose for this poetry unit was Degas and the painting that I chose is called "Ballet" but is also known as the "Star". It's made from pastel on canvas.

The history of Degas is very interesting. Its defenitly not one of those simple lives that we teens are living through right now. He was born July 19th in Paris. His father was a banker and his mother died when he was only 13 years old. Over time he changed his focus on painting and what exactly he wanted to draw. He went from painting horses and riders, theaters, plays, girls, women in a toilette/ironing, women bathing / women combing their hair to making sculptures of young schoolgirls. He also abandoned paints for pastels. Throughout the last decades of his life, he began to have eye problems. How can you be a painter without the proper use of eyes? This was defenitly a big loss to Degas because he spent alot of time painting in his life and now the use of that was pretty much gone.

The painting "Star" is one very deep painting filled with depth of mystery. The painting was made of pastel versus it being used by oil (which is what Degas usually used). This shows the hardness versus smoothness in the painting. The painting itself is very dim instead of being a very bright, filled with light kinda painting. Its interesting and I think very important how the colors used are very bright but the picture in general does seem very dark. In the picture itself, there's a ballerina dancing, dancers, in the background behind / inside of a cave like shelter, and a man wearing a black suit. His head isn't showing which I believe gives this entire picture meaning. The thing that I wondered when I first saw this painting was why did Degas put the man there behind the cave like shelter? Who does that person represent? Seven years before Degas made this painting, he sent a letter saying this :


"I have just had, and still have, some trouble with my eyes. This happened on the riverbank at Chatou, while I was painting a watercolor in bright sunlight, and for three weeks I was unable to read or work or go out, and was terrified that I wouldn’t recover”

I think this is what the man in the background represent. I think that the man represents the blindness which was coming to him. And the ballerina is him expressing himselves throughout painting. But then the blindness is just behind him and he's totally unconcious of it coming to him. 

After looking and interperating this piece, I've learned that Degas was a really mysterious painter and he took very small things that have the biggest interperation / meaning behind it. I think that is very interesting and this makes me wanna look at all his other paintings and such and observe those and connect them all out. 

poetry

The artist that I chose for this poetry unit was Degas and the painting that I chose is called "Ballet" but is also known as the "Star". It's made from pastel on canvas.

The history of Degas is very interesting. Its defenitly not one of those simple lives that we teens are living through right now. He was born July 19th in Paris. His father was a banker and his mother died when he was only 13 years old. Over time he changed his focus on painting and what exactly he wanted to draw. He went from painting horses and riders, theaters, plays, girls, women in a toilette/ironing, women bathing / women combing their hair to making sculptures of young schoolgirls. He also abandoned paints for pastels. Throughout the last decades of his life, he began to have eye problems. How can you be a painter without the proper use of eyes? This was defenitly a big loss to Degas because he spent alot of time painting in his life and now the use of that was pretty much gone.

Reading Responce : Man Walks Into A Room

I'm currently reading the book "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri. I just started reading it and as I was, I was thinking about religion and how it plays a really big part in the book.

The book is about two young adults that get married and are from India. They come to England to start a new life. The mission that they both (husband and wife) both try to accomplish is to honor there traditions and religion even though that they are in a place out of India.

This was shown alot in the book by using show not tell. In the beginning of the book, the wife in the family "Ashima" is in the hospital going through labor and the author describes and contrasts Calcutta to America.

I thought that this was a really interesting unique writing strategy and it defenitly dragged me into the setting and who the character is as a person.

I think that the whole point of the book is really setting up because the child that is born begins to disrespect the traditions and it shows how much love and passion the wife and the husband have for there religion.

During the book I was thinking about how the child feels about his parents. I can somewhat relate to him because something that I think about is whether I'm doing something wrong towards my traditions that would affect my parents in anyway. I think that the son would defenitly be thinking about that.

So far I think that the book is really good and that the book is going to go deeper into religion and tradition. 

Reading Responce : Go Ask Alice

I'm reading the book Go Ask Alice by Anonymous right now and I think that its a book filled with a ton of issues that people can definitely relate to. It’s about a young teenager who records her thoughts and concerns about issues such as crushes, weight loss, sexuality, social acceptance, and difficulty relating to her parents. But a really big issue in the book is drugs and how the main character gets addicted to it. I think that they author did a really good job of emphasizing the importance of each issue. I think that the two most important issues are drugs and family. 

Drugs took a really big party of this book because it was sorta like a journey that would rob her out of her innocence and her youth, pretty much everything she had. In the book, it all starts when she goes to a dangerous party and is served a soft drink with a dose of LSD which is a type of drug. She did some crazy things such as loosing her virginity and just going crazy. Then finally when shes sober, she realizes what she did. She didn't know what she was doing but she defenetly felt free and in her own world. Away from all that stress and family issues. Starting from that day, she was hooked, trapped in a world that took her away form her comfortable home and loving family, to the rough streets of an unforgiving city. But she didn't realize and she had to learn everything the hard way. Death. (In the end of the book she dies because of overdosing of pills). 

Another big issue that really affected her and was a really big loss to her was her family. I think that the author did a really good job of showing how she lost everything mostly her family. The main character moves away from where she lived to another place and she doesn't have anything except her family. She actually did have one friend but her friend went to camp and they both get seperated. But then when her grandma gets sick she does realize that she her family does care for her and everyone in her family is really important and even if she looses one person, that would really affect her life. But those drugs were still too strong and took everything away from her. "Poor Gran is pretty much beside herself, but she's staying calm on the outside anyway. They haven't bugged me at all since I've been here, and they've been so delighted that I'm having a good time and that I've met a lot of friends that they stay completely out of my way." (37) . 

This is how drugs and family really did change her life. Alot of teenagers in the US often do learn the hard way and I think that this is one book that I'll never forget. I find it fascinating how one little choice you make can take away everything you have. First it was family, and then it was life (for this character). 

Reading Responce : Stiches by David Smalls

            The book Stitches by David Smalls is a powerful book. It doesn’t have many words but the pictures show a depth meaning behind it. The book is about David Smalls (the author) having his vocal cord removed, not being told that he had cancer and that he was expected to die. His family is very harsh on him and he’s always in his own little world. But no one knows that he’s a very talented young adult. What I noticed about the book Stitches by David Smalls is how the book deals with loneliness and self esteem which is what a lot of people deal with in the world.

           

            In the book, he’s very lonely. He has no one to talk to, no one to share his thoughts and feelings with, and no one that shares the same interests with him.

I think this because his family is filled with secrets, and not only him but everyone is in their own little world. He lives with his brother, mother and father. His mother was secretly a lesbian, and was depressed with David having cancer. She seems to regret the fact that he’s his son and isn’t able to show any love towards him. His father was a doctor and was very quiet. He always seemed to know what he was doing and never took any advice from anyone. And his brother would always just beat on his drums.

He has no one to relate to. “And I, too. Had learned a way of expressing myself wordlessly…” (18). This quote shows that he tries to hide his loneliness but entertaining himself. “Getting sick, that was my language” (19). This quote shows that he really does need some love.

Something else I observed in the book was that he has no self esteem and is lacking it. I think this because when he found out he had cancer from a letter the doctor wrote the the mother, he automatically lost all self esteem. First he never received love, and now he knows no one loves him. I think he just also lost all respect for himself because everyone he was around with had no respect for him either.

“Back in school, at first wildly self-conscious… I soon learned… when you have no voice… you don’t exist”(212). This quote shows that he really did lose all respect for himself and he thought that there was no reason for living.  

This book is very deep and interesting and I think that every teenager or maybe even adult can relate to this book because there’s always a time in life where someone does feel really alone and not loved. Being not loved can really affect a person and it really does hurt and I think that David Smalls really did show that throughout the book. 

Reading Responce : Sphynx Princess

Im reading Sphynx Princess about a young girl who lives with her father and since I just started the book I don't know much but Nefertiti is a her father and I've been thinking alot about her family.


 Is there something special that he knows about Nefertiti? I think that he possibly is hiding something. Ya know? 

I think this because, if it was just a regular girl, he'd say no because at that specific time period, most girls were just trained to be house wives or just to be a dancer to dance at different festivals and etc.

This just popped into my head but, does the teacher possibly have any connections with her and or her family?

What about her mom? I think that her old mom might've known about the teach or something. Does he have anything to do with her mom dieing?

I'm also pretty surprised that she didn't even tell her father. I think that she should've.

Or is she just really pissed cause her father married some other women that she didn't really like and didn't imagine to actually be her mother. If so, I totally understand that but I feel as if she should've told SOMEBODY.

The teacher has been acting pretty suspicious in ways which is another reason why I think that she should've told some body. What if he's possibly the bad guy of the book or something?

Also, I think that the teacher and the dancer (the beginning of the book) might have something in common because the author didn't exactly tell anyone about who the dancer was and what she wanted. All the author said was that she came up to her father and said something that sorta got her father upset.

All because of this, I think that a big theme in the book might be secrets. I mean the whole family is keeping secrets from each other. There's no respect ( another theme ) . I think that if they did tell each other, there wouldn't be as many problems in there family. (I believe in karma so... yeah.)

But what if the teacher is a good guy and is preparing Nefertiti for something big that's going to happen in her life?

Does the dancer have anything to do with it?

It might also be in a good way becuase maybe he's a fortune teller or some guy that could possibly tell the future and knows what Nefertiti is going to do in the future and is possibly like, preparing her for it.

But there might not be a big chance of that because, again, he was acting pretty suspicious. In a away. Ya know?

Now about this dancer, does she possibly have something to do with the teacher dude? I think so because the author purposely didn't tell us what the dancer was saying to her dad so yeah.

Does the dad maybe know that she is taking these classes? Did the dancer tell him? Maybe she did...

In conclusion I think that the dancer and the teacher are pretty important people and BOTH have a big connection with Nefertiti. 

Two Voice Poem : Global Warming (Issue)

All : I don't care.
A: I don't care. I will make a change.
B: I don't care. Why do I have to waste my time "helping the environment". Other people are probably doing it so I don't get why one person not doing it is gonna make a change.

All : Its stupid.
A: Its stupid. Other people should really help because we're all in this together and we can do this if we try!
B: Its stupid. Sorting cans and papers in bins, isn't gonna save the planet.

All: We have to do this!
A : We have to do this? ha, funny. The world is still gonna be alive until I'm alive. So I don't care!
B : We have to do this! Our lives are being passed on generation to generation and if we don't make a change, what will become of our next generation? Crap. Garbage.

Social Awareness : Entry 1

AMAZING PEACE  by Maya Angelou

In our joy, we think we hear a whisper.
At first it is too soft.   Then only half heard.
We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace.
It is loud now.
Louder than the explosion of bombs.

We tremble at the sound.
We are thrilled by its presence.
It is what we have hungered for.
Not just the absence of war.   But true Peace.
A harmony of spirit, and comfort of courtesies.
Security for our beloveds and their beloveds.

We, Angels and Mortals, Believers and Nonbelievers,
Look heavenward and speak the word aloud.
Peace.  We look at each other, then into ourselves,
And we say without shyness or apology or hesitation:

Peace, My Brother.
Peace, My Sister.
Peace, My Soul.

When I first read this poem I was like, what? But when I reread it, I noticed that what the poet (Maya Angelou), is describing something that we don't have going on right now! She says "The word is Peace/ It is loud now/ Louder then the explosions of bombs". Right now in our world, there are many wars going on such as the war in Iraq. I think what Maya is trying to say here is that there peace all around us but we just need to find it for ourselves. We humans are paying to much attention to all the hatred around us, but peace is everywhere. We just need to feel it. 

This poem reminds me of the song "Blowin' in the Wind" by Bob Dylan. (We're singing it for chorus). In the song, Bob Dylan talks about something very similar to what Maya's trying to say here. He talks about how peace is around us (its blowing in the wind! get it?) and Maya's trying to say the same thing. 

I was wondering/thinking about what Maya was trying to do in this poem. Was she trying to persuade us to make a change? Was she just expressing her feelings about how the world is being plain, stupid and we have to notice the peace around us? Or was this just a poem she just felt like writing for fun cause she was bored? I assumed that it was maybe like a dream or image that she had in her mind of how SHE wants the world to be like! This sorta reminds me of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech. In the speech he talks about how he has a dream that everyone is free and all humans are equal, whether your black or white. And then M.L.K.J. dies and it came true! So maybe if we all try to understand this poem, maybe we all can also make a change!

Two Favorite Blogs

                 I've read alot of blogs that were on Ms.Galangs homepage and I thought that alot of them were really good! Filled with details and there was alot of elaboration and etc. I think that two of the best blogs were Wisons and Guadalupes!

                 I think Wisons blog was really good because he defenitly had one idea that he was talking about in the blog and he really elaborated on each idea. Also the ideas that he chose were really interesting. In one of his blogs he talked about the writing format and how that affects the reading and I thought that was really interesting!

                 I also liked Guadalupe's because her blog is really organized into different sections and I feel as if she really knows what shes talking about and she gets her point through very clearly. For example, in one of her blogs, she talks about how an animal can be a dogs best friend and she states her reasons why very clearly! I think she could elaborate more but the point she got through was really good!

Keep up the good work you guys!

An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore #4 for Social Awareness

As time goes by, the climate and world has just gotten worse and people need to be aware of that and if we don’t recognize a real crisis, and take action consequences only get worse from the condition that our earth is at right now.

I think that he’s right. If we don’t do something about planet Earth, we can get into serious danger and things will only get worse.

You may think that the world is a happy place with green healthy growing plants and everyone having enough water, food and shelter for their family and nothing can destruct them. Well you’re wrong.

If we don’t do something, powerful storms would happen more frequently, their would be many more floods and that really affects people, where they live, family, friends and their lives.

Just recently there was a big earthquake and tsunami and it killed a lot of people and everyone’s in a really big crisis. Now imagine if this happens everywhere around the world and much more frequently.

If we don’t do something now, it can really affect us and the way we live.

Scientists have been changing information in textbooks because they said that there’s nothing that can bring a hurricane to South America. Guess what? Due to global warming and climate change, there was a hurricane in Brazil for the first time.

This brings in more of a crisis because first off, your changing information in really important recourses that people use and that takes up a lot of money and paper and ink. Then, there is all the destruction that happened in Brazil. And to make it more worse, they probably weren’t even ready for the hurricane. It’s actually their first one ever!

Also, in different places around the world things are changing and its worse. It’s extremely hot or there’s a terrible flood.

The fact that most people don’t even know about all this stuff and about global warming is really bad! They need to become aware.

If we don’t recognize a real crisis, and take action consequences only get worse from the condition that our earth is at right now.

I think that he’s right. If we don’t do something about planet Earth, we can get into serious danger and things will only get worse.

Architects help a competition to create or design floating homes in order to survive floods! Imagine life living in a floating home.

People don’t understand all the changes that we’d be going through if all these floods, storms, hurricanes and natural disaster actually happen (which they will). I mean hello, FLOATING HOUSES! 

I think that if people become more aware of what’s going on in the world we can really make a change! Also, we’d have to make new atlases and redraw maps. I mean what more can we all ask for?

Its not just the physical features that global warming is affecting. Our world has many different types of memories for example the world trade center. If sea levels rose twenty feel worldwide, the site of the World Trade Center Memorial would be underwater.

The World Trade Center Memorial is a museum and memorial to the people who lost their lives there on September 11^th, 2001. Imagine how much it would mean to their family and relatives!

As the climate gets warmer, disease carrying specicies move into new places and the diseases travel faster. The west Nile virus had never entered the United States until around 1999. Within only two years it reached the Mississippi river. Then it spread all across the continent!

It’s crazy how much one small problem in the earth could cause such damage to health and mental and family issues!

In conclusion, as time goes by, the climate and world has just gotten worse and people need to be aware of that and if we don’t recognize a real crisis, and take action consequences only get worse from the condition that our earth is at right now.