Spirits

In the book Distant Waves, by Suzanne Weyns, there is a lot of talk of spirits. The five sisters mother can supposedly communicate with the spirit world. The girls live with her in the town of Spirit Vale with other spiritualists. Through out the book the main character Jane struggles with her belief in the supernatural. She is torn between loyalty to her mother, and her logical thoughts. I don't know if I believe in spirits. I used to watch the show Scariest Places on Earth, and at times I would think "that is completely fake" but other times in the show I would be seriously scared and believe one hundred percent that a ghost had been present. I still am uncertain about whether I believe in the supernatural. I will have to further investigate on the matter.

Titanic

I just started reading a book about a family of five girls and their mother. They live in Spirit Vale where their mother talks to the spirits of people who have passed on. The inside cover of the book says their fates come together on the Titanic. I love the story of the Titanic. The movie is one of my top three, and I own several books on the Titanic. I think it is an interesting story which also has a good lesson behind it, anything can happen. There is an exhibit coming to the science museum that I am very excited to see. I hope it will be as amazing as I imagine, and I can't wait to go see it!

Marlena

Marlena is my favorite character in "Water For Elephants". I can't exactly figure her out. She married august when she was really young. She left her family, and her home, and never looked back. August is a lot older then her. He charmed her, was nice, handsome and funny. They were married and by the time you meet them in the book have been for 10 years. Sometimes they are happy, but other times(mostly when August is in a bad mood) you see a different side. I feel bad for Marlena. She has to put up with a lot, but I think she knows that with out August, where would she go? She can't go back home, and she didn't finish school so how is she supposed to work? I'm interested to find out how the character of Marlena develops.

Into The Wild

In Into The Wild, Chris McCandless leaves his home, family, and possessions behind. He travels across the country and changes his name to Alex Supertramp. He aspires to live in the wilderness of Alaska. I would never have the courage and determination to do what Chris did. Although I do think it would be an amazing adventure, I would keep in touch with my family and friends. Unlike Chris I would also bring propper equipment into the wild, and also would probably go with a friend. Chris was much more ambitious then I am, and had he survived would have been able to tell the most amazing stories.

Circus

Im now reading the book Water For Elephants, by Sara Gruen. It is a good book, very interesting. I am not far but like it a lot. The main character has just lost his parents in a terrible car accident and he runs away from his college and ends up joining a circus. This reminds me of when I went to the circus at the State Fair when I was little. I had wanted to go ever since I saw the animated movie Pipi Longstocking. It looked so fun! My sisters and I finally convinced our dad to take us. It was so exciting! We got peanuts and cotton candy and settled in. There were clowns, and acrobats, lions, horses, monkeys, and my favorite elephants. The show was amazing, I had never seen anything like it! At the end of the show they were giving out elephant rides, and my dad surprised us by saying we could go get one! It was so much fun being up so high! My first circus was amazing and I will never forget it.

Mystery Books

I am reading The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie. She is a well know author of mystery novels, which I enjoy to read. I think mystery books are interesting because it mixes action with the element of surprise. You can follow along with the detective and read about the clues and piece together the mystery. In The A.B.C. Murders Hercule Poirot is the detective. Mr. Poirot is very smart, he reminds me of Sherlock Holmes. He is very observant, and somewhat quiet. He is very patient, and never rushes to figure out the mystery. I think that Hercule Poirot is a little creepy though, because he is older and is always making comments about how beautiful young women are. In the book Mr. Poirot hasn't really come up with an answer to the murders but i suspect he will soon.

Blog 15

In the movie Forest Gump, the main character Forest overcomes many odds. When Forest is a young kid he is given braces for his legs. He has to wear them all the time, and is made fun of and stared at a lot. On top of being made fun of for this, Forest is made fun of because he is slower then the other children. His whole life Forest struggles to get past his challenges. He graduates high school, and goes on to college where he plays football. After he goes into the army and because he follows directions very well excels. He goes on to own a shrimping boat and making lots of money. Forest has a child with his childhood friend and sweetheart Jenny. After Jenny passes away Forest takes on the difficult task of raising their son alone. His life is a miraculous journey that shows that if you believe and try really hard you will succeed. Forest's odds remind me of Rukmani's struggles in Nectar in a Sieve.  Rukmani has to try and raise her children during a time where food and money is scarce. Rukmani, just like Forest, overcomes many challenges that seemed to not be possible. They managed to save their land once, and when they couldn't a second time traveled very far to another village only to find they were stranded. Ruku and Nathan then managed to save enough money to make their way back. Both Ruku and Forest overcome difficult situations.

Blog 13

In the movie Hercules, love plays a large role. Hercules is the son of Zues, but was turned into a human as a baby by the evil Hades. In the movies Hercules meets a girl named Meg, and falls in love instantly. He tries to act tough to impress her when the first meet, but it does not work. Meg does not like Hercules at first, but he grows on her, even thought she does not want to admit it. However, Meg "belongs" to Hades and is not allowed to be with Hercules. Hercules strives to be great, to be a hero so that he can become a God again and join his parents. He defeats all the monsters in Greece, and even defeats Hades himself, saving Mount Olympus. But Hercules only becomes a God when he offers to give his life to save Meg's, because he loves her so much. This movie shows that no matter how strong you are, love is stronger.

Blog 13

War is a terrifying thing, as shown in the movie Hotel Rwanda. Hotel Rwanda takes place during the civil war between the Hutu and Tutsi people. Paul Rusesabagina is Hutu but his wife Tatiana is Tutsi, causing much anger from Hutu extremists. Through out the movie you see a war torn country, where bribes and beatings are common. Through out this movie you see families taken from their homes, people killed, and people begging for their lives. It is a very emotional movie that really shows just how scary war is. Several times during this film Paul must plead for his families life, barely making it some times. Paul not only manages to save himself and his family but also refugees that were using his hotel as a safe haven. This emotional movie, brings you along a journey of terror, a very real journey that unfortunately many have had to endure. 

Research Paper Article 2

Ku Klux Klan

• White Supremacist group, uses violence
• Attacks on Jews, Blacks, Catholics, immigrants, and other minority groups
• Symbol- robes, hoods, burning of the cross
• KKK started Chritmas Eve 1865 when six confederate soldiers met in Pulaski Tennessee
• Name came from Greek word Kuklos which means circle
• 1915 KKK grew from a southern problem to a national phenomenon
• Since the 1980's Klan membership has been declining steadily
• The number of memebers is 2500-3000 today

“Ku Klux Klan.” Stop Hate. 1999. 15 Mar. 2009 <http://www.adl.org/hate-patrol/njs/kkk.asp>.

Research Paper Article 1

KU KLUX KLAN

• may 1866, Pulaski Tennessee- First branch of KKK established
• April 1867- in Nashville, an organization of local Klans was established
• Nathan Forrest, a great general in the confederate army was the first White Wizard
• members of the Klan wore masks, white cardboard hats and draped themselves in sheets
• The main objective at first was just to stop African Americans from voting
• The Klan was reformed in 1915 by William J. Simmons, a preacher
• The NAACP was the main opponent of the KKK
• The Klan became very hostile towards Jews, Roman Catholics, socialists, communists and anyone they called foreigners after World War One
• Hiram W. Evans became the Klan's Imperial Wizard in November 1922
• Klan grew rapidly under his Evans' leadership
• Klansmen were elected to political positions in the 1920's
• 1925 membership reached 4,000,000
• After the conviction of Klan leader David C. Stephenson membership dropped to 30,000
• In 1944 the KKK disbanded
• In 1950 the Civil Rights Movement caused a resurgence of the KKK
• Most important were the White Nights led by Robert Shelton
• Freedom schools were established in 1964 to try and end political struggle of African Americans
• The summer of the Freedom Schools students attending them were targets of white mobs
• 30 black homes, and 37 black churches were firebombed, over 80 volunteers were beaten and 3 men were killed
• 
  
• Spartacus Educational. 15 Mar. 2009.<http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAkkk.htm>.

Blog 12

 Imperialism is a scary thing. A country is invaded and life as they know it is uprooted. The people neither needed nor wanted the help of the outsiders but that is what they get. The definition of imperialism is "the policy of extending a nation's authority by territorial acquisition or by establishing economic and political hegemony over other nations"(American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 3rd ed.(New York: HOughton Mifflin, 1993), p.681). Imperialism began in Africa. King Leopold the Second was the first to grab land if Africa, taking the vast amount of land around the Congo River. Soon after, Africa was gobbled up. By 1914 all of North Africa was being controlled by European countries. South Africa was to be taken by Britain but not with out a fight from the native people. Like most natives who experienced imperialism and colonization, they did not want it. However after a series of bloody wars, the Europeans with their technology, succeeded in taking the south. Much of Africa is still run today by European countries, but many have escaped from the larger powers grips. They can no longer return to the simplistic lifestyles they once lived, but must continue to advance so as to keep up with the other "civilized" societies.

Western Heritage

Kagan, Donald

The Western Heritage/Donald Kagan, Steven Ozment, Frank M. Turner.-- 9th ed.p. cm

                 "combined volume."

                 Includes bibliographical references and idex.

                 1. Civilization, Western--History--Textbooks. I. Ozment, Steven E. Turner, Frank M. (Frank Miller), 1944-III.Title. CB245.k28 2006

Blog 11

 One of the biggest global issue is AIDS. AIDS was first reported in 1981. Before a name had been determined, the press started referring to it as "GRID" which stood for "gay related immune deficiency". Soon after the Center for Disease Control and Prevention coined the name the "4-H Disease". 4-H referred to the groups of people the disease seemed to single out, Haitians, homosexuals, hemophiliacs, and heroin users. It is now globally know as AIDS, acquired immune deficiency syndrome. It is also known that this disease is not limited to the 4H's, but that anyone is susceptible to it. AIDS is spread by sexual transmission, blood, and from mother to child. Globally AIDS has killed more then 25 million people since 1980.  There are an estimated 33 million living with AIDS right now. Millions of people around the globe are dying from this terrible disease to which there is no cure, most of the time they obtain AIDS because they don't know how it is spread. Help educate the world, donate to organizations that are going to countries to spread awareness.

Blog 10

One holiday that is a tradition in my family is Fourth Of July. Every year as much of my family(usually a more then half) go up to our cabin in Wisconsin. I usually don't see my aunts except for this occasion because they live out of state, or my cousins because they are at college all year. So to be able to spend three days with them is really fun. We have so much fun up there. We have a tennis doubles tournament, and a ping-pong doubles tournament as well. We go tubing, water-skiing and fishing. On the fourth of July, we get up and decorate the boat, then there is a boat parade around our whole lake, most of the cabins participate. After we have a parade with the people on our street and someone hosts a party right after the parade. After eating our fill of all of the delicious foods everyone has brought we adjourn to our cabins. Then as it becomes dark we go outside and watch the fireworks, they last a long time and are always beautiful. The next day our family gets together one last time and makes homemade ice cream. Then we leave one family at a time, looking forward to the next Fourth of July when we will be together once again.

Blog 9

Many people just assume Bollywood is the exact same as Hollywood but in India. This is not true. Unlike Hollywood, Bollywood is not an actual location. Bollywood films have had six main influences. The first of which was the ancient Indian Epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana. These have shown the popular idea of a story-within-a-story, which are main themes in Bollywood films. The second was the effect of the ancient Sanskrit drama, which combined dance and music. The effect was bollywood films being mainly musicals. The third influence was the traditional folk theatre of India. The fourth influence was Parsi theatre which "blended realism and fantasy, music and dance, narrative and spectacle, earthy dialogue and ingenuity of stage presentation, integrating them into a dramatic discourse of melodrama. The Parsi plays contained crude humour, melodious songs and music, sensationalism and dazzling stagecraft." The fifth influence was Hollywood.

Blog 8

Culture is a big part of who someone is. In Pipi Longstocking, Pipi travels the world with her father learning about different things. When she returns home she talks to the neighbor children about the differnent cultures she has seen. Although she lies about most of them, like the country where people walk on their hands, or the country where all people do is lie, Pipi makes a very important point. Although we might find what other countries do strange, they find it perfectly ok. It shows that culture is inside of you, and you take it with you where ever you go.

Blog 7

The Hungry Caterpillar is a book about change. The caterpillar starts out as a little larva. It grows, eating tons along the way. As it becomes larger it spins a cocoon and waits. While in its cocoon, the caterpillar transforms. It emerges as a beautiful butterfly. Change is inevitable. Like the caterpillar, change helps us grow. We go through life with many stages and "cocoons". Most of the time we emerge better people. There is no use resisting change, a caterpillar will always become a butterfly. Excepting change, makes things much easier.

Blog 6

A Million Little Pieces is a book about hope. The autobiography follows the author James Frey through his  difficult time in rehab. James arrives at the rehabilitation center with a hole in his cheek, four broken teeth and a broken nose. He makes no effort to improve because he feels there is no way that he is going to get better. He has no hope for his future. Then he meets a woman named Lilly, she is also at the rehab center. Although there is a strict rule against interaction with the opposite sex, Lilly and James meet. James has a strong bond with Lilly and they talk about their lives after rehab. James starts to improve, he has hope that his future will be better because Lilly will be in it. Hope pushes people, it make them want to do better, be stronger. With out hope life would go no where. Like Coleridge said, "Work without hope draws nectar in a sieve, and hope without an object cannot live".

Blog 4

In Snowmass Colorado there is a Catholic monastery. The monks live in the mountains of colorado and abide by rules set in the middle ages. Their schedule is a full but leisurely one coming from the passage stating "Idleness is the enemy of the soul. Therefore the brothers should have specified periods for manual labor as well as for prayerful reading". The brothers wake at 4:15 for prayer. Then at 8:30 they work. At 12:25 they pray again and have a vegetarian lunch. They continue to pray through out the day untill they go to sleep. Monastic goals are expressed in terms of loving God and wanting to seek him by excluding all else.

Blog 4

In 1957 the show Leave It to Beaver was released. Leave It to Beaver portrayed the "perfect" homelife, hardworking father, reliable older brother, pesky little brother, and a housewife/mother. There is distinct role playing in this TV show. Every morning breakfast is had, and Ward in, his suit with breifcase in hand, leaves for work. This show that the male is the "bread winner" going to work while the woman stays home. June Cleaver would stay home in her dress, pearls, and apron and cook. This sets up the role of the "homemaker" keepin the house under control and always having a hot meal on the table when the man comes home from his long day at work. Leave It to Beaver continued for some time, all the while Ward bringing home the bacon and June cooking it.

Blog 3

 In the movie Bend it like Beckham culture creates a conflict with the main character. In Bend it like Beckham Jess is a girl in an Indian family living in England. Women in the Indian culture are supposed to learn to cook and sew and do domestic work. Jess has other plans in mind she wants to play soccer. Her mother is horrified because Jess not only is disobeying her parents but is also showing skin and shirking on her domestic responsibilities. She thinks that because she is playing soccer she has disgraced the family and will never get a husband. Her mother thinks this because of their culture.

Blog 2

In My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult, the main character Anna is struggling with her independence. She has to make the decision whether to continue to save her sister or to become legally emancipated from her parents and no longer have the responsibility she was born to have. This would be a very difficult decision, to have to choose between family and yourself. Anna knows her decision will cause her family much distress but goes along with her plan anyway. If I were in Anna's position I would continue to donate bone marrow and other vital things to my sister. I wouldn't have the courage to stand up to my family and to stand up to family, and to knowingly put myself through more hard times.

My Sister's Keeper

Blog 1

In the book Nectar in a Sieve, by Kamala Markandaya, the people rely on the monsoons for their crops. If the monsoons are to large the crops drown, if they are to small, the crops die. This is very hard for the villagers. When the monsoon ruins the crops, they have nothing to sell so they can't get money for food. The crops that others were relying on are also gone, so they don't get the food they need. Monsoons are very important but can also be very devastating.

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/nectar

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/monsoon

Green Eyes

  Today in class when we did the characteristics/rights activity and had to throw away 5 out of 6 rights I was left with my trait of green eyes. I kept this because it defines me in my family. Out of all of my cousins and siblings I am the only one with green eyes. Although I ended up keeping that card, it was very difficult to decide on it. Losing your rights would be a scary and frustrating thing. Nathan and Ruku are starting to experience colonization from Britain and are sure to lose some rights in the next few chapters of Nectar in a Sieve.