Hopkins, Ellen. Burned. New York. Margaret K. McElderry 2007
Reason: I chose this book mostly because I first read crank and I really liked it. I really liked the overall setup of the book and thought that the poems within the book had an amazing flow. The setting of this book changes vastly from a farm to a town. The time period is now. This is a teen romance novel.
Plot: Pattyn is the oldest child in a Mormon family of six girls. She spends her time changing diapers and looking after her sisters. At sixteen she is suddenly questioning her faith, her faith's rules, her parents' relationship, her future as a Mormon woman, and her place in life--aloud. She starts to drink and date on the sly and sass the local bishop. When she is caught by her father with her boyfriend, Pattyn is sent to her Aunt J's house as a punishment for the summer. It turns out to be anything but a punishment. Her aunt, not stifled by strict Mormon tenets, gives Pattyn an opportunity to experience freedom on her farm, including riding a horse, driving a car, wearing store-bought clothes, going out to eat, and falling in love with Ethan, a local college boy home for the summer. Unfortunately, summer must end--and her freedom. Her father calls Pattyn home to take care of her sisters while her mother rests during the end of her pregancy. Her love for Ethan doesn't falter, but her resolve to survive her life quickly deteriorates. After returning home things start to go bad again. She mouths off to her father and gets beaten. She takes the rap for something her sister does, and gets beaten to save her life. She also learns that she will have Ethan’s baby.
Characotr: for the character analysis I will choose Pattyn. She’s the oldest child and she is probably the most unfree one out of all of them. I believe that since she’s lead such a sheltered lifestyle that she will must really want to break free. She is suicidal-ish when she returns home from her aunts. This book is about her trying to find reasons to live. The plot changes the character from a discontent Mormon girl to a semi-content women.
Evaluation: I really enjoyed this novel. However, I wasn’t really expecting it to be like this. I was expecting it to be a little focused around drugs, as most of Ellen Hopkins book tend to be. I think another ending wouldn’t of been suitable. I really liked the message that it sends.
This book compares to real life in many ways. There are other people who are trying to break out of their religious cults.
If I had been Pattyn I do not think I would of acted in the same way. I think I would of tried to be a bit more respectful to my parents so I wouldn’t of gotten beaten. I would of also used a condom before having sex.
Author: Ellen Hopkins has also wrote Crank, a book that I enjoyed very much. Most of her books tend to be about drug addictions.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Current event for 16 MAY 2008
‘These Guys Had to Be Taken Down’
Four pounds of cocaine. Fifty pounds of marijuana. Inside the San Diego State University drug raid.
Theta Chi was the fraternany busted in this drug bust. Drug enforcement officers recovered 4 pounds of cocaine, 350 Ecstasy pills, 50 pounds of marijuana, 30 vials of hash oil, $60,000 in cash and two guns, one of them taped to a bed frame. It ranked among the biggest college drug busts in U.S. history, with police making 128 arrests, including 95 San Diego State students. Jenny Poliakoff, a 19-year-old student at San Diego State was the reason behind this entire ordeal. She, one year ago on tuesday (the day that the drug bust happened) died from a cocaine overdose which sparked an investgation centered around drug abuse at SDSU.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/136441?from=rss
Four pounds of cocaine. Fifty pounds of marijuana. Inside the San Diego State University drug raid.
Theta Chi was the fraternany busted in this drug bust. Drug enforcement officers recovered 4 pounds of cocaine, 350 Ecstasy pills, 50 pounds of marijuana, 30 vials of hash oil, $60,000 in cash and two guns, one of them taped to a bed frame. It ranked among the biggest college drug busts in U.S. history, with police making 128 arrests, including 95 San Diego State students. Jenny Poliakoff, a 19-year-old student at San Diego State was the reason behind this entire ordeal. She, one year ago on tuesday (the day that the drug bust happened) died from a cocaine overdose which sparked an investgation centered around drug abuse at SDSU.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/136441?from=rss
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
censorship in America
Mission Statment:The goal is the inform Americans about the vast amounts of government censorship creating awareness.
Vocaburly week 13
This picture is of ecstasy pills. Ecstasy is a highly addictive substance and known to many to cause an unimaginable amount of euphoria. Euphoria is a feeling of elation or well-being that is not based on reality and is commonly exaggerated. Ecstasy pills do this by increasing your serotonin levels vastly. Sometimes it makes it so you can never be happy again because you only get so much serotonin.
You could probably smell the person if they were on ecstasy. Usually, it makes you dance. Many people die or get really sick and dehydrated due to ecstasy because you cannot really control your body movements and it makes your move a lot. The aroma of a person using ecstasy would be a bit stinky.
Once you swallow the ecstasy tablet it is inevitable that you will feel high. You have no choice. You can’t really do anything; It is already invading your blood stream and making you high with euphoria.
Many users would describe ecstasy as a incantation. Many people would believe that this drug is a magical substance. While some can believe it is futile, as sometimes some users don’t feel it.
Ecstasy causes a feeling of enamored. Some users would describe the feeling as a “intense feeling of love”. Many people are fascinated by the simplest things while high.
Some addicts have an infatuation with this drug. As they feel like they need it. This is called addiction and many of them believe they can stop if they want to-the only thing is that they don’t want to stop so they don’t realize your addicted until your way past any stage of help.
This drug is definitely no deleterious. As you defiantly can tell that you are getting dumber as you take. As it does kill some of your brain cells. When you wake up, you do feel dumber.
To addicted, ecstasy consummates their life.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
april 21st honors book report
Carlson, Richard. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and its all small stuff. Simple ways to keep the little things from taking over your life. New York, New York. Hyperion. 1997
Reason: I originally picked up this book because I thought the book had a very good title that probably addressed what the book was about. And golly-I was right! This is a self help book that helps you deal with stress management, behavior modification, peace of mind, and inter-personal reflection. It is basically a book that shows you how to keep yourself from going completely insane. This novel doesn’t have a particular setting or date; it is applicable to any time period or whatever walk of life you are in.
Plot: this book doesn’t necessarily have a plot as much as it has advice for how you should live your life. I will just be discussing some of the ones that I found most interesting.
The first of which would be “Let Others Have Glory” this is a very useful thing to do and I never really thought about it before reading this book. This section advises you to listen more efficiently and let go of the “oh that happened to me once” or “My story is more interesting” aspects of life. This will create a sense of calmness and allows other to have some of the spotlight. Because when you immediately dive in and bring the conversation back to you, you can subtly minimize the joy that that person has in sharing the store. That creates distance between you and the person. It’s a lose, lose situation. You gain confidence by letting other people have the spotlight and more accomplishment is supposedly felt.
The second piece of advice that I found interesting would be “Imagine that everyone is Enlightened except you”. This strategy gives you a change to practice something that you probably believe is completely unacceptable. However, this proves to be the most helpful when it comes to self improvement. Your job is trying to determine what the people in your life are trying to teach you. This lets go of a lot of the frustration that you feel for other people. Say your waiting in line at a grocery store and the cashier is taking a long time. I think you should put yourself in their shoes- at a job you probably don’t like. You can think about how you need to get out of there and go on with your life or you can learn a lesson in patience. All you need to do is change your perception from “why are they doing this?” to “what are they teaching me”.
The third and last pierce of advice that I took with me from the book would be “Spend a Moment Everyday Thinking of Someone to Thank”. I found this one extremely interesting and a very good way to look at the world. This strategy only takes a few seconds to complete everyday and is a very important habit to develop. As you think of people to be grateful for you can think of anyone-that person that you let you cut in line because on only had on item, or that person that saved your grandmothers life. The point is to gear your attention to gratitude versus resentment. I really agree with this and plan to start utilizing it.
Character: there is not really a character in this book- the author is just writing about his experiences and what he has learned from them. Richard Carlson is a very interesting individual with the ability to maintaining his stress levels and modify his behavior I believe these traits to be extremely admirable.
Evaluation: I loved this book and I really suggest it to everyone who believes in bettering themselves. I found a lot of helpful tools and advice in order to advance my life ever further. I guess the main point of this book would be to just not sweat the small stuff, and that a lot of the things that you feel are important aren’t going to be important a year from now
This book infinitely compared to real life and the problems regular people face every single day. It addresses everything that I deal with (being a teenager) to probably things that a person that I a century old would face. This book is for anyone from any walk of life.
Author: Richard Carlson is a physician, author, and a motivational speaker. This is his most famous book and his claim to fame.
Reason: I originally picked up this book because I thought the book had a very good title that probably addressed what the book was about. And golly-I was right! This is a self help book that helps you deal with stress management, behavior modification, peace of mind, and inter-personal reflection. It is basically a book that shows you how to keep yourself from going completely insane. This novel doesn’t have a particular setting or date; it is applicable to any time period or whatever walk of life you are in.
Plot: this book doesn’t necessarily have a plot as much as it has advice for how you should live your life. I will just be discussing some of the ones that I found most interesting.
The first of which would be “Let Others Have Glory” this is a very useful thing to do and I never really thought about it before reading this book. This section advises you to listen more efficiently and let go of the “oh that happened to me once” or “My story is more interesting” aspects of life. This will create a sense of calmness and allows other to have some of the spotlight. Because when you immediately dive in and bring the conversation back to you, you can subtly minimize the joy that that person has in sharing the store. That creates distance between you and the person. It’s a lose, lose situation. You gain confidence by letting other people have the spotlight and more accomplishment is supposedly felt.
The second piece of advice that I found interesting would be “Imagine that everyone is Enlightened except you”. This strategy gives you a change to practice something that you probably believe is completely unacceptable. However, this proves to be the most helpful when it comes to self improvement. Your job is trying to determine what the people in your life are trying to teach you. This lets go of a lot of the frustration that you feel for other people. Say your waiting in line at a grocery store and the cashier is taking a long time. I think you should put yourself in their shoes- at a job you probably don’t like. You can think about how you need to get out of there and go on with your life or you can learn a lesson in patience. All you need to do is change your perception from “why are they doing this?” to “what are they teaching me”.
The third and last pierce of advice that I took with me from the book would be “Spend a Moment Everyday Thinking of Someone to Thank”. I found this one extremely interesting and a very good way to look at the world. This strategy only takes a few seconds to complete everyday and is a very important habit to develop. As you think of people to be grateful for you can think of anyone-that person that you let you cut in line because on only had on item, or that person that saved your grandmothers life. The point is to gear your attention to gratitude versus resentment. I really agree with this and plan to start utilizing it.
Character: there is not really a character in this book- the author is just writing about his experiences and what he has learned from them. Richard Carlson is a very interesting individual with the ability to maintaining his stress levels and modify his behavior I believe these traits to be extremely admirable.
Evaluation: I loved this book and I really suggest it to everyone who believes in bettering themselves. I found a lot of helpful tools and advice in order to advance my life ever further. I guess the main point of this book would be to just not sweat the small stuff, and that a lot of the things that you feel are important aren’t going to be important a year from now
This book infinitely compared to real life and the problems regular people face every single day. It addresses everything that I deal with (being a teenager) to probably things that a person that I a century old would face. This book is for anyone from any walk of life.
Author: Richard Carlson is a physician, author, and a motivational speaker. This is his most famous book and his claim to fame.
Current Event 18Apr08
Daniel Goldbloom on The Government's $500K Marijuana Deficit: uhh...what?
According to newly available Health Canada statistics, 462 licensees owe the government more that half a million dollars for weed. And using collection agencies, the government has recovered a measly $2,000. This is a case of governmental mismanagement, plain and simple. A lot of conservatives talk about what the government can learn from (or outsource to) the private sector. But in this case, the government should take its cues from the criminal sector, which seems to be doing a much better job of supplying Canadians -- both sick and healthy -- with marijuana.
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2008/04/15/daniel-goldbloom-on-the-government-s-500k-marijuana-deficit-uhh-what.aspx
According to newly available Health Canada statistics, 462 licensees owe the government more that half a million dollars for weed. And using collection agencies, the government has recovered a measly $2,000. This is a case of governmental mismanagement, plain and simple. A lot of conservatives talk about what the government can learn from (or outsource to) the private sector. But in this case, the government should take its cues from the criminal sector, which seems to be doing a much better job of supplying Canadians -- both sick and healthy -- with marijuana.
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2008/04/15/daniel-goldbloom-on-the-government-s-500k-marijuana-deficit-uhh-what.aspx
epitome - a person or thing that is typical of or possesses to a high degree the features of a whole class
revere - to regard with respect tinged with awe
He was a very revered business man.
vertigo - The sensation of dizziness
When you experience vertigo I usually end up throwing up.
punitive - inflicting punishment
slander - defamation
I slandered a girl in 9th grade for making a flyer about her. I got suspended.
squander - to spend or use (money, time, etc.) extravagantly
panache - a grand or flamboyant manner
forlorn - lonely and sad
quell - put an end to
He quelled the arguement by cutting off the guys tongue.
concision - concise quality
libel - to misrepresent damagingly
defamation - slander or libel
misdirection - Incorrect instructions or directions
He had complete misdirection and actually went to Europe instead of Japan.
revere - to regard with respect tinged with awe
He was a very revered business man.
vertigo - The sensation of dizziness
When you experience vertigo I usually end up throwing up.
punitive - inflicting punishment
slander - defamation
I slandered a girl in 9th grade for making a flyer about her. I got suspended.
squander - to spend or use (money, time, etc.) extravagantly
panache - a grand or flamboyant manner
forlorn - lonely and sad
quell - put an end to
He quelled the arguement by cutting off the guys tongue.
concision - concise quality
libel - to misrepresent damagingly
defamation - slander or libel
misdirection - Incorrect instructions or directions
He had complete misdirection and actually went to Europe instead of Japan.
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