Congressman Anthony Wiener

Earlier this week congressman Anthony Wiener has admitted that he had sent inappropriate messages to a seventeen year old girl in Delaware. He is now under pressure to resign and step down as congressman, however he is refusing to resign. Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the Democratic party believes that he should step down as congressman because she thinks it can hurt the Democratic party. In my opinion He should step down because as a leader he should set the right example. A congressman should not send pictures of himself naked despite the age of the girl.

Vocab and Summary

1. Bipartisan
2. Fringe
3. Mainstream
4. Substantiate
5. Dubbed
6. Derisive

Raisin in the Sun

The book Raisin in the Sun is about a poor black family that gets a big insurance check. However they loose most of the money in a big get rich quick scheme. In the end they ended up buying a house in a white dominate neighborhood.

This book was based on the authors life as a child. She talks about how when she walked to school people would yell at her, spit at her, and throw rocks at her. It was hard to live in a white racist community however it is more inspiring to see her fight through it and see her people very successful.

2/22/11 Pirates Hijack Yacht - vocabulary

imminent - about to happen

impunity - safety, will not be punished

converge - come together

transpire - happen

Super Bowl Sunday

Today is Super Bowl XIV. The steelers and Packers face off for the first time in Super Bowl history. It is going to be a very close game since the Steelers have won six Super bowls, the most in NFL history, but Green Bay is going to win. My predictions are that the Steelers are going to be winning by the first half and by the second half the Packers are going to catch up and win by only a few points.

Problems in Egypt

Egypt is located in Africa and people commonly mistake it for being in the middle east. Hosni Mubarak is the president of Egypt, however he has been in power for over thirty years and is now in his eighties. Today Egyptian civilians have broken out into protests, inspired by neighboring country Tunisia in hopes of overthrowing the government, like Tunisia did.

The citizens want to have more freedom and a different form of government. Egypt has been one of the most stable countries in its region, and is an ally of the U.S.

Julian Assange Arrested For Rape Charges

Recently the Wiki leaks founder was arrested because of accused rape. Two Swedish women accused Julian Assange of rape. He was denied bail and Swedish officials are trying to get him to Sweden, so they can prosecute him under Swedish law. The Swedish women say that he did not use a condom when they where having sex. Assange's lawyer said that the case was basically a dispute over unprotected sex. Assange is still in jail in London and has not yet gone to Sweden. Despite the problem Julian Assange is facing he some how manages to control Wiki leaks through his jail cell.

Iranian Revolution

Iran is in the middle east and was originally a Zoroastrian country but was later forced to become Muslim after getting invaded by Arabs. Iran was a monarchy and called the kings, Shah, however some Iranians did not agree with some Shah. Then, in 1978 the Iran people had a demonstration against the Shah. Finally in 1979 the Shah was kicked out and Ayatollah was put in power. At the same time they took American Embassy hostages for almost a year and a halve. Now everything is based on Islam their national religion.

Kite Runner

The book, "Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini is about a character named Amir. It is told in his point of view and it so well written the reader is able to feel the pain and the guilt. The story starts out as Amir as a child living in Afghanistan. The beginning is very cheerful and exciting, and at some parts it was funny, however, during the middle of Amir's childhood something tragic happens to Amir and his friend Hassan. After the event the relationship between him and Hassan was spreading further and further apart. Amir can't stand the tension between him and Hassan so he frames Hassan for stealing his expensive watch and some of his money. Hassan finally ends up leaving but that still doesn't give Amir closure.

Amir leaves Afghanistan because of the USSR invasion. He lives there for many years and follows his dream to become a writer. He has a wife and life in America is great, even though he does not see Hassan he still feels the guilty. He goes back to Afghanistan on a mission to find Hassan's son Sohrab.

Amir is very selfish and only thinks for himself.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan was ruled by kings until the Soviets came and took over. Then America decided to help the Afghans and supplied them with weapons to overthrow the Soviets. In 1989 the Soviets finally surrendered and left Afghanistan. Afghanistan established a republic however it did not go as planned because of the Mujahedeen. The Mujahedeen were a group we were called the freedom fighter. Everybody thought they would get rid of the warlords and bring back peace to Afganistan.

Not all Afghanistan people like the way Taliban is run. A documentary called, “9/11 Afghanistan,” interviewed a man who was tortured and locked up for a few years. He used to be a pilot and part of the royal family, however the Mujahedeen captured him thinking he was CIA and started to brutally beat him until he could feel no pain.

Also they interviewed a family, and the father has a PHD and is a professor, while the mother was a doctor. When the Mujahedeen took over the family were out of jobs, and now they have to live off the money that the grandma sends who is now living in Canada. In America if you have that much education you will most likely to be in the upper class, but since Afghanistan is so corrupt that doesn’t matter.

The kite runner

This book is about two Afghan children named Amir and Hassan. Amir was born into a rich family; however his mother died while giving birth to him. Hassan was born into a poor family and has a father and his mother ran a way when he was only five days old. Hassan is a servant to Amir’s father but he is also part of Amir’s family.

This book describes to different settings. The first few chapters describe Afghanistan in peace before the Soviet Union took over. Then it describes how Afghanistan becomes a wreck though the years of the invasion and the Mujahedeen taking over and making life unbearable. This is also a coming of age story for Amir. The book shows him transforming from a jealous child to a understanding gentlemen.

Summaries

Their was one Israeli man that was caught at a airport for murder. He was a long time convict and was finally caught. Police have arrested him before for possession of weapons but was posted bail and got out the same day.

Kendra by Coe Booth

The book "Kendra," is about a girl named Kendra who is living in a black ghetto with her grandmother. Kendra's mom had her when she was fourteen, and her grandmother doesn't want to make the same mistake with Kendra.

Kendra's parents were only fourteen when they had her. Now Kendra's mom just got her PHD and got a job at City Collage. Her dad still lives with his mother and he is flat out broke. He wants to support Kendra so he has to borrow money from his mom and she lies off disability checks.

Kendra also has a friend named Adonna. However Adonna is more than her best friend she is Kendra's aunt.

Kendra has a very depressing life. Her mother doesn't seem like she wants her, and she is emotionally lost. The book shows that American ghetto's can be very harsh and poor. A lot of people get pregnant when they are young. they have a hard time supporting their family and there is often family troubles. However with hard work anyone can survive the ghetto's and become educated and rich.

Kendra is a very talented person who is very gifted. she was born into a environment where education is not all that important but some how she pulled through with the help of her grandma. She also happens to be emotionally lost, but her parents become much more responsible and she feels loved again.

Alcatraz

Alcatraz is most commonly known as a prison, however it started out as a military fort. For many years Alcatraz was a lonely island that was only visited by Native Americans.Then by 1853 the construction started to become a fort. It was armed with heavy artillery, and it became a very important fort, during the civil war.

Military technology was improving fast and Alcatraz couldn't keep up with it so it was it was closed. A few years later Alcatraz was turned into the first heavy duty prison in the world.

Technically Alcatraz was a prison since when it was a fort. They put confederate soldiers or any one that was accused of rape, theft, and treason was sent to Alcatraz. It was also a place for Indians during the western expansion. A lot of famous people were imprisoned in Alcatraz, such as Al Capone, Alvin "Creepy" Karpis...etc

Now Alcatraz is once again closed and is now a museum. Some people think it is a waste to leave all that land not used but Alcatraz is part of American history.

Hoarding

Hoarders are people that have too much off something. Some people however, hoard animals because they are mentally ill. They feel that they are loveless and emotionally lost, so they turn to animals to fill up the emptiness. There were two cases of animal hoarding, shown on a a show.

There names were Diane, and J.D. Diane lost her husband because he could handle the animals. Diane some how managed to keep 84 dogs and 42 cats in her very small trailer. Her house is always so dirty and very hectic. Her husband left her and she is alone with all the animals. She's trying to get rid of the emptiness that her husband left by animals. She ended giving away all her animals except for two dogs and one cat. She now currently lives with her daughter and her grand children.

J.D wasn't as bad but still had a huge problem. A good amount of her pay check goes to her animals and her life partner feels like she has no privacy. Psychiatrist found out that J.D didn't trust her life partner and she is also trying to solve her problems with hoarding. She is slowly getting rid of her animals, and tries to trust her partner more.

Even though they love the animals as if it were their own it is a form of abuse. The animals were living in unsanitary conditions and it also had a impact on the owners too. Hoarding id a bad thing but people can't help it if they feel emotionally lost.

Woodstock

The Woodstock festival was a four day concert about peace and music, however it was considered one of the best concert/party of the century. It was taken place in the 1960's in Woodstock, New York, on a diary farm. Many famous rock stars were preforming such as Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The ten years after, and much more. This was a exciting thing because it was the begining of the rock era. Also people did a lot of weed and other drugs, such as Heroin, which lead to accidents. For example a man on Heroin used a tractor to accidently run over a man sleeping next to a hay field. Their were about 500,000 people at the concert and their were about thirty-two singers and musicians. Even though Woodstock was a concert that is well known to this day some bands, and singers declined the invitations, such as the Beatles, Bob Daylan, Led Zeppelin and much more.
The Beatles didn't play because they were on the verge of breaking up and also they hadn't played a live concert for three years. Also John Lennon wouldn't play if the Plastic Ono band didn't have a spot.
Bob Dylan wouldn't play because his son was ill and he was sick of the Hippies piling up on the original site of the the festival.
Led Zeppelin didn't play because he ended up going on a tour which happened to be very successful.
Woodstock was a very interesting concert, because it was the only concert to be in the history books and still remembered by people in our generation.

Wiki Leaks U.S MIlitary Secrets leaked

Today in the news a website called Wiki Leaks was the headline because of the secrets about the Afghanistan war, and the Military secrets. They have found some shocking material such as the military killing innocent people. Children and women have been killed by accident and it was a lot more common then we Americans knew about. Also a special military unit called task force 373 have been assigned to kill senior members of the Al-quida or the Taliban. However they have been killing other Afghan by accident.

I think this is a interesting website because now we can read about the U.S military secrets and what they have been doing for the past few years.

summer of 2010

It has been a month since summer vacation began and I had done absolutely nothing except hanging out with friends. Last week I went to Morse's pond, which is a pond inWellesley that is only ten minutes from my house and I have been going there almost every day, however it closed because of bacteria, so that gets me worried.
Last week all my friends were either away or at camp until five o'clock so they couldn't do anything. So for almost five days I was doing nothing but watching TV. Luckily their camp was over just as quick as it started so it has gotten a lot better.
To top it all off I walked half of Wellesley trying to find my friends house and by the time I arrived it was eight o'clock and I could only stay for thirty minutes.
So far the summer has been going great but I hope it gets better. Wellesley has only so much you can do and I am quickly running out of things to do.

Synthetic Marijuana

Marijuana is illegal in the United States however there is a new Marijuana that is legal and it is synthetic, and is is known as K2. It was originally made to be an incense, but people have been smoking it. It causes people to hallucinate and vomit, which is almost the same as the natural Marijuana, and it has the same narcotic effect.
An eighteen year old named David Rozga committed suicide shortly after he took the substance. Eight states have banned this substance but that still leaves forty-two states that allow the substance. One doctor mentions that there are a lot more people getting health problems or even ending up dieing as a result of smoking the synthetic Marijuana.
This synthetic Marijuana can be easily be purchased in gas stations, head shops, and even on the Internet. However people are trying to make their own synthetic Marijuana and they have been mixing herbs and other unknown substances, so it can be very dangerous purchasing the drug and smoking it. Also smoking this substance can cause people to be paranoid.
it is only causing pain.
I think more states should ban this drug because it is just as dangerous as the real Marijuana.

More Vocab from Black Ice

1. integrity (n)
When someone lies they have no integrity and they should feel guilty.

2. effete (adj)
Some reich people can be very effete such as Paris Hilton.

3. skulk (v)
When robber steals jwelery they have to hid it a sulky manner, because they don't want to get caught.

4. vigilant (adj)
Body gaurds always have to be vigilant when they are on duty or else the person they try to protect will die.

5. tenacious (adj)
When you are playing tennis you have to hold the racket tenaciously or else you will drop the racket while hiding the ball.

Vocab for Black Ice

1. arrogance
In the movie "Richie Richie" the neighbor hood kids thought that Richie was arrogant, but they were wrong.

2. spite
Teachers try to prevent name calling because it can be spiteful.

3. pioneers
Pre-historic Sami's people were pioneers of skiing.

4. predicament
Wall st is in a huge predicament because of the recession that is happening right now.


5. stern (adj.)
Many modern day families follow rues that existed in the colonial times which was very stern.

6. bawl
When a tragity happens people mostly bawl or if they see a movie.

Brutal by Michael Harmon

The book, "Brutal" is drama, and a coming-of-age story. It is about girl named Poe who is a punk rock chick and a rebel. Her parents are divorced and she lives in New York with her mom. However her mom goes to South America to help the sick, so Poe is forced to move to Benders Hollow, California, where her father lives. When she gets there she meets her dad for the first time ever, and she finds out that her dad is a lot different from her mom. Her dad is a lot more understanding and gentle, and he is also the guidance counselor for the school she is going to attend. This is a story about bullying, friendship, and a sprinkle of romance.
Poe has a neighbor who is very eccentric and goes by the name of Velveeta because that is his favorite cheese. Unfortunately, he also happens to be the schools punching bag, and always gets beat up or made fun of by the school especially by bully Colby Morris and the football team.
At one point of the book Colby Morris and the football team take Velveeta to the boys bathroom and start to beat him up. Poe saw a glimpse of where Velveeta and the football team went and followed them. She saw what Colby Morris was doing and was flabbergasted. Afterward Velveeta would not press charges and claimed that he fell down the stairs. Poe tries everything in her might to give Colby Morris what he deserves, and the beating of Velveeta made the school start seminars, but other than that they did not do much. Poe was surprised that a peaceful town such as Benders Hollow could be so Brutal.
I really liked this book a lot and I think it will be interesting to teenagers. It was very exciting because no one new why Velveeta wouldn't press charges. I recommend it to everyone because it is a page turner, and a great high school story.

St Paul's School

St Paul's school was opened in 1856 by Episcopal leaders in Concord NH, and it was opened as a all white and all boys high school. It has a huge campus and woods surrounding it however it has a small amount students attending the school. It is a famous boarding school and many famous people attended the school, such as Thomas Edison Jr, and Nicholas Schollor the director of "Get him To The Greek." Also Lorene Cary the writer of a book I just recently finished attended St Paul's. Students of St Paul's have to got to church every morning because it is a religious based school. Their is about 150 faulty members and and a average class size is about eleven students per class.

Black Ice by Lorene Cary

The book Black Ice by Lorene Cary is an autobiography about a black teenage girl. She is going to a private school that had only allowed white boys to attend. It takes place in 1972, at St.Paul's, a formerly all white, all boys school, in New Hampshire. Unlike other students from her school she is poor and goes to St.Paul's on a scholarship.
At first she was shy and scared, then as she was getting older St. Paul's gave her the confidence to stand up for herself. For example, at home she got a job as a waitress, and when she went to go get a stick of butter in the freezer a worker locked her in with him. He started to touch her and when she finally got out she told the manager. The manager wouldn't do anything so she talked to a person that was the next highest, and when he didn't do anything she talked to the owner. Finally the owner fired the worker who molested her. She was scared and didn't talk to anyone about it. She only felt safe when she was in the car with her father, but in the end she had stood up for herself even though she had some challenges.
Lorene also had a boyfriend named Ricky, and she was ready to have sex with him, however Ricky tells her a secret that changes her prospective on him. He had impregnated another girl, and then called her a whore. When Lorene came back to her room she thought about what he said, and then she imagined as if she was pregnant with Ricky's baby. Would he call her a whore or still love her? She ends up not loving him anymore and forgets about him.
The book shows you a girl who goes back and forth between two worlds, one world which is living with her family, in a poor black house hold, and the other world is her school life experiencing a rich white prep school, where she learns to become an adult and facing harsh academic challenges such as failing her math class, also she goes through social challenges, for example every one gives her a hard time while she was running for president. I did not enjoy this book because nothing exciting happens or anything interesting. The book seemed like a really long diary and it is like a run on book.

Vocab From Swim The Fly

1) Doe-eyed: Adj: Innocent looking, Big Eyed
The puppy was looking at the owner all doe-eyed because it wanted some steak.

2) Nix:V: Not allowing
Some parents are very strict and nix from many activities such as bungee jumping.

3) Denim:N:Blue jean material
Denim is a kind of fabric that is used to make jeans and it is often dyed blue.

4) Belch:V: To burp
Babies need to belch after eating because air gets into their stomach while they are eating.

5) Eunuch:N: Boy with no testicle's
Many years ago the guards for the kings wives were eunuch.

Obama Relieves General McChrystal

Recently General McChrystal was relieved of duty after criticizing president Obama. The General was interviewed by Rolling Stone magazines and he started to mock vice president Joe Biden and criticized President Obama on his plans about the War. He believed that Obama was giving him a unsellable position. The General also felt betrayed by the embassador. What is even worse was that the General said it openly to the public. A similar situation happened 60 years ago during the Korean War. General McArthur one of the most important generals in American history was fired by president Truman over a disagreement on the War.
During Obama's speech he mentions that McChrystal was a great general and how he was a very important member in the War. However, in my opinion Obama did not mean anything that he said. Why would he fire one of his top generals if he was so good?

Swim The Fly By Don Calame

In the book, "Swim The Fly," by Don Calame, is a comedy, and a coming of age story. It is funny because they talk about how they are putting on dress and dancing to the music,"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." Also it is a coming of age story because they sexually maturing like another high schooler.
This book is about three boys who have sexual curiosity. For the past several summers their goals were centered around sex. For example, last summer, everyone had to bring or find a Playboy and show it to one another. However this year they decided to take on a very risky but rewarding goal, they have to see a girl naked. They go through a series of eccentric plans to get a glimpse of a naked girl but all their plans fail miserably. However they do end up seeing naked women, but it was Ms Luntz, their nasty swimming coach. It was a bitter sweet moment, bitter because they saw their coach naked, but it was sweet because they finally completed their goal.
In one secne they are hiding in a closet waiting to look at two high schoolers having sex. Finally, they see Tony Gurillo and Mandy Megan making outand taking off clothes. However Coop takes a picture with his phone and makes clicking noise, and that cause them to get caught. Everyone runs away but Some how Matt gets caught and gets pushed into the pool. Matt ends up drowning and Tony gives him mouth tot mouth.
Matt, the main character, is a weak, thin high schooler, who is shy and has never had a girl friend. He is very immature and is too wimpy to ask a girl out. He hangs out with his two best friends, Sean and Coop, who are almost exactly like him. He is also in the swim team but he is not very good, but he wants to improve his skills. Then everything changed after seeing Kelly and volunteering to swim the Fly.
Kelly is a new transfer to Matts swim team. She is a very good swimmer and Matt is not. He likes Kelly: he would do anything not to embarass himself, but he wants to impress her so he volunteers to swim the Fly, the butterfly stroke which is a very hard stroke to do. He tries to practice the Fly so he wouldn't embarass himself, and then he can finally impress Kelly.
I like this book a lot and I recommend it to everyone. It is humorous and entertaining, and I haven't read a book this good in a while. The book is told in Matt's point of view so it seems like it is actually happening and it is much more exciting.

Looking back on middle school

I am a eight grader about to graduate tomorrow and leave the middle school. I have came a far way, but I still have much to accomplish.
I remember when I was in 6th grade, I was lost in the halls looking for my math class, even finding my homeroom was a challenge. However, like any other kid I matured and grown. The halls don't seem as big and I definitely don't get lost in between classes.
My experience in the middle school is like a roller coaster. I had my ups and my downs, for example I got all A's in 6th grade.The worst part about my experience in WMS, was probably was my 7th grade year. It was definitely my most exciting year, but it was also my worst.
Now the time for my graduation has arrived. If I said Middle school was fun, I would be lying, but what I could say is that it was most definitely interesting.

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

About a month ago there was a oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The company responsible for this is British Petroleum or BP. They were drilling a hole to pump the oil,then suddenly the oil rig exploded. Many are worried that the oil will reach to the major oceans and also to the keys in Florida. BP has been trying to clean up the oil spill in several ways, but they have a major plan that could possibly end the disaster.
Many animals are in trouble because of the oil spill, and fishermen and shrimpers are worried. There are some people who are cleaning the animals, but the effects are huge. This is one of the biggest oil spills in history. They estimate that 210,000 gallons of oil per day has been gushing out.
They have been cleaning up the oil , by using chemicals and fires, and they have also clogged one of the oil tubes. However there are still more tubes that are spilling out oil. Clogging the tube is a difficult job because the tube that has the oil is a mile under the water.

Mocking Bird Vocab

1) Stealthy- To be a spy, it is very important to be stealthy.

2) Prejudice- In the South people were prejudiced against Blacks back in the 1930's.

3) Irrelevant- In class discussions, some people talk about irrelevant ideas.

4) Subtlety- The girl was flirting with the boy without any subtlety.

5) Predicament- Some people have predicaments if they don't have a calculator for their SAT.

6) Fraud- Many CEO's from Wall Street got arrested for fraud.

To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee

The book, "To Kill A Mocking Bird" by Harper Lee is a novel. It was set in the 1930's in the south. The main character, Scout, who is the narrator of the story lives in Maycomb, a city in the south. She lives with Jem, her brother and Atticus, her father, a lawyer. They also have a maid named Calpurnia who does the cooking and cleaning. Calpurnia is actually more than a maid in Scout's house, she acts like a mother. She disciplines Scout and Jem and teaches them etiquette's. Also Scout has a best friend named Dill, who is the same age as Scout. Dill is the goofy, lying, and upbeat character of this book.
This book is about Atticus who tries to defend a black person named Tom Robinson, and the people in Maycomb county are not happy about it. Once, there was a lynch mob just outside of Tom Robinson's prison cell. Atticus being the good person he is, protects Tom Robinson while risking his life. I'm up to chapter 17, and Atticus is conducting the trial. So far the trial looks good and Atticus is doing great, however, the jury is an ALL WHITE jury so things might change. This book is based on Harper Lee's childhood and the Scottsbrough nine case. Most of the characters in her book are from her neighborhood as as child.
This is a great book because it's funny and exiting at the same time. I recommend this book to everyone. Even a science-fiction person will like this book.

The Civil War

The Civil War went from 1861 to 1865, and it was the bloodiest war in American history. It was also the saddest since brothers were killing brothers and father killing son, because the war was between the North and the South. Over 600,000 men died during the war, and many were wounded. The reason why the war started was because, when Abraham Lincoln was elected as president, South Carolina decided to secede from the United States. They wrote a long letter to the federal government, about the reason why they were seceding. The letter included the Constitution and how only the North voted for Lincoln. The South wanted slavery to continue but they thought that Lincoln would abolish slavery and ruin their culture and economy.

The war did not officially begin until April, 1861 with the battle of Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. It was not actually called a battle since it only lasted for a very short time. The Confederates won and Lincoln declares war on the Confederates. Lincoln gets 75,000 volunteers for the war and the Union, led by General Grant, wins the battle of First Bull Run, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and much more. The Confederate General was Lee. He won the battle of Second Bull Run, Fredricksburg, Chancellorsville, and much more.

The Union would set up blockades so Confederates could not trade or sell their to the foreign land. This was a big problem since the Confederates had no way of trading with France and England, so they could not make any money. Hence making the Blockade was the most useful tool the North used.

Confederate General Stonewall Jackson was called Stonewall since he was a strong fighter and held his ground. The Union army could not get past him, however he was shot by Confederate soliders by accident.

The Blind Side

The book called “The Blind Side,” by Michael Lewis (also a movie) is about a boy named Michael Oher. who is a black teenager that weights about 330 pounds. He attended a private school in Memphis, but grew up in the poorest part of Memphis. He was a talented athlete, and he enjoys playing sports. As a child he always wanted to become a professional basketball player.
Michael had big dreams, but he was a quiet child so no one knew him well. Michael was homeless, and had nowhere to go. He would sometimes go to the school gym because it was warm, or stay at people’s houses. However, Michael soon meets Leigh Anne Tuohy, a rich married woman, who’s son goes to the same school. She cares for him, buys him clothes and feeds him. Leigh Anne helped people like Michael, but for some reason she felt a connection with him. Later she adopts Michael as her son and cares for him as if she gave birth to him. She helps him get his grades up and even hires a tutor for him. Even though Leigh Anne was his adoptive mother she did not really know anything about him. She asks him about his life but Michael refuses to answer, and Memphis lost all of his records. Leigh Anne does start to discover the truth a little by little.
This was a GREAT book, because it was very interesting. It talked about Michael Oher’s life and how he became a child of a rich white family from being a poor black child who’s mom was addicted to crack. I recommend this to everybody because it doesn’t just talk about sports but it talks about much deeper things like family, and caring for others.

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a science fiction novel. The main characters in the book are Guy Montag, Clarisse McClellan, and Mildred.The mood of this book is serious, dark, and scary.
This book takes place in the future. Nobody is allowed to read any books and if you are caught with one you will be sent to a mental hospital. The book will be burnt by the firemen. In this book firemen start fires instead of putting them out. Their job is to find books and burn them. Their trucks are filled with kerosene instead of water.
Guy Montag has been a fireman for ten years. During his time of being a fireman he always enjoyed it, and never complained about his job. He enjoyed the burning sensation of books. However that all changed when he met Clarisse McClellan.
Clarisse McClellan was a unusual girl. She liked hiking, running around, tasting rain and much more. She befriends Montag and by talking to him she changes him into a different person. Montag starts to think about his life and questions himself if he is happy or not. Sadly Clarisse dies because she gets hit by a car.
His wife Mildred is a very forgetful person. For example, she took a whole bottle of sleeping pills, because every time she took one, a few minutes later she forgot and took another one.
I have only read the first section so I don't know how it ends. In my opinion Montag is going to change the world. He is going to speak for two people: Clarisse, who inspired him to think differently than others, and himself. So far this is a great book because of the suspense and the strong message about censorship, and knowledge. Ray Bradbury did a great job of combining his thoughts and his passion. I think what he is trying to say is that books civilize people and television doesn't, so the lack of reading will make humans bestial.

The Indian Removal Act of 1830

President Andrew Jackson proposed to remove all Native Americans living east of the Mississippi River to the west. This land would be called the Indian Territory and congress would give $500,000 to pay moving expenses and fixing the land. The land would also be given a more permanent title.
The farmers and the plantation owners highly supported this bill, especially the ones in Georgia. The Seminole Indians were raiding the plantations, stealing slaves and refusing to give up the slaves. The Cherokee had been in Georgian land and it just so happens that, where they were living had gold, and very fertile land. Cotton plantation owners were angered by this because when they finished growing cotton the soil could not be used again. So they had to keep moving around, and with the Cherokee occupying the land there wasn't enough fertile soil for every plantation owner to grow cotton. Also when poor farmers used land they had to use bad leftover scrap land that the planters had previously used, to grow cotton.
Missionaries and obviously Indian tribes opposed this act. So there was a lot of debate in congress.

Idol Judge Quits

Simon Cowell, a judge in the TV show American Idol, just today announced that he will be leaving American Idol after this season. It is big news because he was one of the original judges of American Idol. Ironically Paula Abdul left after the last season, which was tragic, but it is even more tragic that Simon Cowell is leaving. Simon was known to be the cruel and insulting judge. He made people cry and on rare occasions he will compliment on a contestants singing. He owns the show called X-Factor and is involved in many other shows and also producing . He makes about 38 million dollars per year from American Idol alone, and he makes approximately 50 million dollars from all the show put together. He has been in the show for about nine seasons. He also produced a show called X-Factor which is like a British version of American Idol. According to him he is quitting because of X-Factor, but I think he is quitting because of Paula Abdul quit.

American Idol was created in the year 2002, and became the number one TV show. Contestants compete in singing in the show and the winner of the show gets a record deal and usually becomes famous. Famous singers such as Kelly Clarkson, Jordan Sparks, and Fantasia all got their start from the show.

Wellesley middle school Football

I am in the Wellesley Middle School football team. It is a lot of fun but it is also a mental and physical challenage. We have to do push ups but, everytime you go down you hold it, then you go up. Also you have to do sprints with all your gear on. But it is a lot of fun when you play games. It is also fun when you get to tackle other players. Once I jumped over this other player while running running to the end zone.
When you think of football you think it is for guys, but frankly Framingham doesn't think that way. I saw seven girls on that team and some of the girls are bigger and taller then me. Luckly they were very easy to tackle but at the same time it was very akward, because as a child you learned not to hit a girl, and you don't know what to do at this situation.
I wanted to football because my uncle is huge football fan. When I was eight he was socked when he found out that I didn't have a football, so an hour later he took me to walmart and got my first football. My friends also got me into the sport becuase if we have nothing to do we will play football.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Steve Harmon is a sixteen year old black male that is accused of murder during a robbery that he was involved in. He gets thrown in a juvenile detention center, and he starts to write a diary, like a movie screenplay. He writes it like a movie because none of this feels real to him. He tells his experience in his jail cell, his emotions, and tips on how to survive in jail, but he mostly describes fear. He also writes what his trial is like and what everybody is saying during the trial. This book might be scary for some people because the book talks about suicide, and people getting beat up. For example on page two the book said that if you want to cry in jail you have to do it at night because that is when someone else is getting beat up for crying and your noise is getting blocked out. I haven't finished the book, but so far it is really good because the book is easy to read and the trial and his life are very suspenseful. You think you know what's going to happen but then it doesn't happen.

Korean Cram Schools

In Korea getting into a college is very challenging. Some people take years to go to a specific college. To be prepared for all of that Koreans attend Cram Schools. Cram Schools are special academy's or schools that prepares you for getting into college. The students wake up at 6:3o am every day and usually don't go to sleep until 2:00 am. Some rooms have music stands for students who stand up so they won't fall asleep. Some call it a jail cell because nobody is allowed to date, accessorize, and much more. Some kill themselves because of the pressure they have to deal with. Some of the boys run away and the girls go to a psychologist. 40% of the students who attend the Cram Schools drop out. It is also a financial battle because parents have to pay $1,936 a month for Cram Schools just so students can attend a good college. Some describe it as a war. One student said that every day is a battle to go to a better college. They do this because they believe that 70% or 80% of your future depends on your college, such as jobs and a high salary opportunity.
In my opinion going to college shouldn't be like training for a war.

Ted Kennedy 1932~2009 R.I.P

Ted Kennedy was the youngest out of eight children. He was considered the chubby baby of the family. He was a court jester that brought laughs to the family, he was also less talented then his older brothers, but when he helped his brothers' campaigns he met people and he turned out to be really good at that.
His family had the most political power in the 1960's. After his brothers died he was the only surviving son of the Kennedy's. As he grew older he served in the senate for 46 years. While senator he influenced a lot of laws, also he turned his main focus on civil rights, women's rights, and most importantly national health care. He effected the history of the senate and the state of Massachusetts benefits from that. He died of brain cancer late Tuesday night at his home in Cape Cod.

Bowling for Columbine (Movie review)

This is a documentary of America's obsession with guns. Michael Moore (the director, writer, and star of this movie) travels around North America and studies specific cases of gun violence. One interesting case was the shooting in Buell Elementary School. A six year old kid was staying at his uncles house. When he found a small pistol he decided to bring it to school. The next day he shot one of his fellow six year old students and she fell to the ground with a bullet through her body. It was the youngest school gun violence in American history.
When Michael Moore was comparing Canadian culture and American culture he found a huge cultural difference. Americans always lock their doors, no matter what, however Canadiens do not lock their doors even at night. Also Canada has a population of thirty million people and ten million people own guns. Canada has more guns for each individual then America but the gun death in Canada is very low.
This is one of the best movies I have ever seen this year. It showed the dark side of America. I learned that there is plenty of gun violence among children. Also death by guns in America is very common and it is the highest rate in the world.
I recommend this movie to everybody who loves guns so it makes them think twice.

Martha's Vineyard

I went to Martha's Vineyard with my friend's family last Saturday and came back yesterday in the afternoon. It was great, we went to the beaches a lot and the water was nice and cold. We saw Ernie Boch Jr's, mansion and his house was huge, and he had five or six llamas in his giant yard. We went into Edgartown and went to The Black Dog, which is a very famous restaurant. We ate fudge from Murdick's Fudge, it was really good fudge. The waves at the beaches were good for a few days then it was really disappointing. Some of the waves just barely could reach my waist.
Martha's Vineyard is an island that is just off the coast of Cape Cod, and you can only go to there by boat or by plane because there is no bridge. Most people take ferries and drive their cars into the ferry. It was very pretty. There were stars at night and a clear blue sky in the morning. Most of the time the weather was nice and warm. There were nice healthy green trees everywhere and there was a lot of wildlife. I saw moon jellies, hermit crabs, crabs, krill's, star fish, fly fish, eels, muscles, and clams. Also along the ferry ride I saw tons of fish and jelly fish. So many people go to Martha's Vineyard because the weather rarely breaks 90 degrees. Also it has famous vineyard wine, film festivals, wildlife, many beautiful beaches and a lot of famous people vacation there, such as the Kennedy's or the Obama's and much more.
I recommend you go there at least once in your life, because it is worth every minute of your time.

Would I want to be a spy?

I would definitely not want to be a spy, because of the risk of getting executed and the dangerous things that I would have to go through.
Some people want to be spies because of the money or the patriotism for their country, sand ome spies go against their country, because they think their country is doing the wrong thing. Everybody loves spy movies because of the action and the thrills. For example, James Bond is one of the most famous spies of all times. In his movies it's always guns, bombs, killing and money which are always good qualities for spy movies. Some young children watch movies like this and want to become spies, or become something like it.

Vocab from Spies book

1. Indian reservation: Land that the government gives to Indian tribes. On their reservation they can make there own laws, it's like a another separate nation in the U.S soil.

Foxwoods Casino is in the Pequot Tribe Reservation.

2. Transcribe: To listen to something and write it down.

The Japanese couldn't transcribe the Navajo language.

3. Missionary: Religious people who try to help the poor or go to different countries to spread their religion.

Philip Johnston grew up in a Indian reservation because his parents were missionaries.

4. Gizmo: A tool or an invention.

Spies used the most latest and modern gizmo's on there missions.

5. Mata Hari: A famous belly dancing spy who spied for the French. She was executed on October 15, 1974, by a firing squad.

Mata Hari was a Dutch women who spied for the French.

6. Harriet Tubman: She was a spy who got her freedom and helped many other slaves become free.

Harriet Tubman was part of the under ground railroad and help many black slaves to freedom, some call her the black Moses.

7. Exotic: A new or foreign thing. A exotic flower can mean a imported flower or a foreign flower.

Many exotic plants from the rain forest are poisonous.

Secrets, Lies, Gizmos, and Spies: A History of Spies and Espionage

This book is non-fiction by Janet Wyman Coleman, and its about famous spies in world, such as Whitaker Chambers who was a Time Magazine journalist, and a spy for the Soviet Union. This book teaches you the history of spies and spying. One thing that was interesting was that the first American spy was George Washington. He knew that the only way to beat the British was to spy on them because the British had better trained men, better weapons, and a lot more men then the Americans. George Washington found out that the British were going to invade Rhode Island, and to prevent this from happening George Washington wrote a fake letter saying that he was going to invade New York. He gave it to one of his secret agents and told him to give it to the British general. When the British read this they changed direction and went back to New York while the Americans headed to Rhode Island.

There was another story about the Navajos during World War II. Philip Johnston read an article about how during World War I Canada used Native Americans as code talkers. So he told the military and they recruited Navajo Indians to be code talkers, because they have a very complex language. One word can mean different things depending on the pitch of the word. They were trained in San Diego and went to battle. When the Japanese tapped the message they couldn't transcribe it or decode it. One Japanese code breaker said that he thought he was listening to gibberish.
This book talks about spies, and how to spy also, and it shows pictures of people and spy gadgets. in chronological order throughout history. I love this book because it is easy to read and you learn interesting things on every page.

More Vocab: from the Percy book

1) Hinder: To prevent; V
Percy tries to hinder Kronos from invading the world and Destroying the Olympian Gods.
2) Agitation: A feeling of being upset; N
Percy felt agitation when Annabeth got stabbed by a poisoned knife.
3) Stooped: Bent over; Adj
Percy stooped into the River of Styx to became a great warrior.

The Drop of the Scaffold

Yesterday in Boston, MA two window washers almost fell to their death while washing windows at a skyscraper on State Street. They were on a scaffold washing windows on the 37th floor when suddenly their scaffold dropped 20 feet and tilted in a 45 degree angle. They were dangling for about 20 minutes before any help came. Finally fire fighters had to break windows to rescue the two window washers. Many people saw it happening from inside the building and from the streets. It doesn't say why it fell but it looks like one of their cables snapped.
Window washers get paid a median wage of only $18,790 per year, so is it actually worth risking your life to get paid that wage?

VOCAB: 10 words from Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth

1) Malice; Hatred: N
Kronos felt malice towards Percy.

2) Sheathed; in the sheath, something you put your sword in: adj
After the battle between monsters Percy put his sword in his sheath.

3) Reckon; Figure out: V
Percy reckon that Kronos was evil.

4) Hydraulics; Something to make it go up: adj
The car was bouncing up and down because it had hydraulics.

5) Spittoon; A spitting bowl: N
Pirates had Spittoons to spit in or spit out tobacco juice.

6) Cauldron; A big black witches pot: N
In the play Macbeth witches were making a special potion in a big black cauldron.

7) Skeptically; A way of talking that shows that you don't believe: adj
I was skeptical about scary campfire stories.

8) Shrewd; Smart: adj
Percy was very shrewd when he convinced his father to stop defending his palace and help send Typhon back to Tartarus.

9) Stalagmite; Pointy rock columns in caves: N
There were a lot of crystal stalagmites in Calypso's cave.

10) Dank; Wet: adj
When Percy was in the labyrinth there were a lot of dank places.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

The series Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a modern day extended version of Greek mythology. Percy is a normal kid who has dyslexia and ADHD, and also he has been seeing a lot of monsters lately. He thought it was just his imagination, but that changes when his math teacher becomes a monster and tries to KILL HIM! He was saved by another teacher who held a bronze sword. Now Percy realized that there are actual monsters and something was just not right, and later on he realizes that he is a demigod: half human and half god. Most importantly he is the son of Poseidon, one of the most powerful and major gods out of all the Olympians.

The setting takes place mostly in New York but, there are fictional palaces and monuments. For example, the author describes Poseidon's palace somewhere under water in New York. His palace has mermaids and mermen, with sea creatures and architecture of Poseidon's palace has mosaic floors coral roofs, and much more.

Percy Jackson discovers he can navigate where he is in the sea, he can breathe under water, he can control the water if he wants to. He also realized that the handicapped teacher that had saved him from the monster was Chiron, one of the best trainers and teachers for warriors and heroes, who had trained all the famous heroes and warriors, such as Hercules and Achilles. Percy goes on death threatening missions with his friends Annabeth and Grover. Annabeth is the daughter of Athena, she knows everything and every creature/monster. Grover is a Satyr, and he can control nature with his reed pipe by playing certain music.
I think this book is great, because it has everything I like, Greek mythology, suspense, and mystery. I couldn't have found a better book then this.

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

Why is the book called Flipped?
Well, I think it is because the main characters' beliefs flip. This is a book about two neighbors and their lives. The main character, Julianna, is a girl who is poor and dirty, who has a huge crush on Bryce (the other main character), but the problem is that Bryce is a rich kid who is very clean. So he wants no part of Julianna's crush. Julianna will do anything to get just a glimpse of Bryce's face, but Bryce will do anything to stay way from Julianna. Later on Bryce makes fun of Julianna's retarded uncle, which causes the Flip. Now Julianna tries to avoid Bryce and she will do anything to get away from him. Bryce, on the other hand tries to make peace with Julianna and would do anything to just say "Hello." Also their families flip. In the beginning you would think that Bryce has a great family and Julianna has a terrible family. Actually that is not true: later in the book you realize that, even though Julianna's family is poor and her house is messy, deep down this family is very much happy together, and Bryce's family is rich but his family always get into fights and his house is just generally not happy.
One interesting and mysterious part of the book is that Julianna's family is poor because her dad works hard for his mentally disabled brother to be in a nice mental hospital, (Julianna didn't know about her retarded uncle) and Bryce's grandfather really admires that. The problem is that Bryce's family are very selfish and the grandfather is really hoping that one day his family can be just like Julianna's family.
The book is a mystery, and the reader discovers some shocking things about the families, which makes it very interesting to read, such as how Bryce almost died because he was getting choked by his umbilical cord.
I think the lesson of the book is that you're not always happy when you are rich, because money does not buy happiness.

New Hampshire Camping Trip

Last Friday I went camping with my friend Michael and his family. There was of course 2 other families. It was a great experience, but there were tons of bugs biting, even though we had bug repellant on, its like they're immune to it. Also, one night it was pouring and water got into our tent, and my sleeping bag was like a swimming pool. Altough bugs were biting and my sleeping bag was a pool I had a great time. We told ghost stories, made s'mores and went on night walks. We also went to the lake and swam. We were going to rent canoes but they were all out, and on the trip back we had to go through a disgusting muddy trail. I also made a fire that was about 10 feet high, using lighter fluid. On our last day we saw the Northern Star the Big and Little Dipper, we also saw Orion's Belt. When I got home I thought that the experience was so fun I would risk all the bug biting and the wet sleeping bag to go again.

Michael Jackson DIED!

Michael Jackson was known as the King of Pop, and he was in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He sang, danced and wrote music that is still listened to, to this day. As a child he was poor and his father abused him. He was seventh out of the nine children and all of them became singers. When Michael Jackson was only nine he was in a group called the Jackson 5, which was four of his older brothers and him. They had many albums that were in the top 5 disco singles and top 20 hits, however the sales started to decline around 1975. The Jackson 5 split up in 1975 and left Motown. Even though the Jackson 5 split up Michael Jackson still sang, and in 1982 he made one of the best selling albums of all times, "Thriller." Later on in his life he was accused of molesting boys, although he was fortunately acquitted. After he was acquitted he married Lisa Marie Presley, but they got divorced in less than 2 years. A few years later he got remarried to Deborah Jeanne Rowe who had 2 of his children. He died in Los Angles on June 25 2009 at age 50.

One thing I didn't know about Michael Jackson was that his father was in a band called the Falcons with his brother Luther.

Title IX

I just read a book from the library about Title IX, which is a law that was passed in 1972, which states that no one in the United States can get excluded from sports and extra curricular activities in public schools. Women in the 1960's to the early 1970's protested against unfair treatments, such as women can't play in men sports,Girls in public schools couldn't use the fields when the boys were using, or the boys always had better and newer equipment. Now all of that has changed. and every man and woman is equal and they have equal rights and opportunities. There are professional women's sports teams, such as WNBA and soccer.

Osama bin laden by Elane landau

I am reading a book about Osama bin Laden from the library, a terrorist who was the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks.
Osama bin Laden was the youngest son out of all the bin Laden's. His father, Mohammad bin Laden was a very successful business man. Later his father owned every construction company in Saudi Arabia. His father's company made about 36 Billion dollars. When is father died in a tragic plane accident, Osama bin laden inherited about 330 million dollars. His brother Salim had taken over the business but unfortunately Salim died a couple of years later in a plane crash.
The book says that Osama bin laden wasn't a radical Muslim until many years later. He went to business school hoping to inherit his fathers company. He was a heavy drinker (Muslims aren't suppose to drink), and he also fought over women and one of whom was a well known prostitute. He became a radical Muslim because of the soviet union. When the Soviet took over most of Afghanistan he realize he should protect his land and religion. So he became the leader of rebels that fought against the Soviet Union.

Rope Walking

Korean rope walking is a traditional entertainment performance, like tightrope walking, by the Koreans for many years. It began during the Chosun Dynasty in the 12 century. It is a performance of humor, drama, and acting. There are two types of rope walking. The first type is called p'ansori, where there is one musician and one rope walker. The second type is when there is music, actors with masks and a rope walker. This also requires a lot of skills because there is no net, and the clothes are just plain old cotton. While training for rope walking, you experience a lot of pain. Rope walking is dying out because no one wants to be a professional rope walker. Also not many people like to watch rope walking since there are so many popular TV shows and movies.

Rope Walking

Bomb Scare in Wellesley

Today was an average day for any middle-schooler, it was almost the end of 1st period when suddenly the fire bell rang. I thought it was a regular fire drill since we did not have one for a long time. When we were outside I saw fire trucks and police cars coming toward our school with their sirens on. Ten minutes later police dogs and police officers entered the building, and after that fire fighters rushed in with full gear on. From right then and there I knew that it was not a joke.
We were evacuated to the high school, where there were no bombs that we know of. The principal told us that the police officers and the fire fighters were searching every inch of the school and that there probably wasn't a bomb.
Three hours later we were back in the school. About 20 minutes later our teacher told us that there was no bomb found. We headed toward 7th period with only 20 minutes left.
This bomb threat happened last Friday. I think this was done by a person who has a lot of issues and does drugs. This bomb scare beats being in school all day.

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Julius Caesar was the emperor of Rome. This play takes place in ancient Rome. The murder of Julius Caesar happened when they were offically announcing him as emperor of Rome.

The Senators thought that Julius Caeser would destroy Rome and make Rome into tyranny

This play is about Julius Caesar's murder and the final show down between Marc Antony, Caesar's right hand man/best friend, with Marcus Brutus, a senator of Rome, Caesar's best friend and also the person who cut Caesar's life short.

This is the best tragedy play I have ever read.It does not stall on the action. It gives good examples of life, death, and betrayal. Friendship also takes a major role because at the end Antony makes sure Brutus pays his price.

Brutus was Caerar's best friend but later Brutus betrayed him, but Antony, another of Caesar's good friends made sure Brutus got his suffering.

Antony did this not because of fame or power: he did this for their friendship.

Torture: Is it good? or is it bad?

Iraqi prisoners were tortured heavily by the US soldiers. Some were water boarded and threatened with vicious dogs that can bite off your face in no time, and many other terrible tortures.
The people where tortured in the Abu Ghraib prison.
President George Bush let the guards torture these prisoners to get high quality
information,but instead we got false information most of the time.
A trainee doctor has a hard time cutting open a person for there first time, but it is their job and it saves lives so they eventually get used to the idea. A doctor wrote on the New York Times that when he first started being a surgeon it took him a while to get used to, but the idea of torturing is 10 times worse. So later on he asks if you can get used to cutting open people can you get used to torturing people?
The Geneva Conventions are international laws that were made in Switzerland to protect prisoners and and soldiers from abuse. But George Bush had broken that law.

Swine Flu

The Swine Flu is the biggest issue on TV and the media right now. The Swine Flu is a bacteria that is caused by pigs. It is a disease that can be transmitted by coughing or sneezing. Some symptoms are High fevers, runny nose, aching, coughing, swelling. So far many scientists have been doing research on this Flu but no vaccine had been found. The first person to start it up again is a boy named Édgar Hernández, who is from a town where pig industries are huge in Mexico. Edgar was sick in early March, luckily he did not die and he had recovered.
Schools in New York have been shut down and have been disinfected because so many kids had the Swine Flu. These children had just returned from Mexico, and officials are saying that the Flu came from Mexico.
In the US 64 people were ill and 4 people were so ill that they had to be hospitalized, but no one has died
In Mexico 2,498 people were confirmed to have the Swine Flu and 159 were confirmed to be dead.

The Battle of Yorktown in the revolution

The Battle of Yorktown took place in Yorktown, Virginia in 1781, between the British, led by General Cornwallis, and the Americans, led by General George Washington. General Marque deLafayette from France led French troops who helped the Americans win this important battle. When Cornwallis lost the battle in North Carolina he was sent to Yorktown Virginia. General George Washington thought that if he won this battle the revolution would be over.
Washington sent Lafayette and 1,200 troops to fight off the British army and take back the Virginia state. Cornwallis however arrived with 6,000 troops. This was not an easy mission, since the French general was very much outnumbered by the British. Luckily Washington arrived with 8,500 American troops and 10,800 French troops. Legend has it that Washington was the first person to fire the cannon and the cannon ball landed right on top of the British generals dinner table.
It was a 3 week siege. The British were short on supplies and men. Since the Americans cut off the ports the British couldn't get any reinforcements or supplies. Cornwallis had no choice to surrender in the unfortunate battle. He sent one of his lieutenents to bring the sword of surrender and one of his men who was waving a white flag.
It was the final major land battle of the revolution.

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

Twelfth Night is a comedy that William Shakespeare wrote during the Elizabethan time. This play has twists and turns and the ending is nothing you would ever expect.
The main characters are: Viola/Cesario, Sebastian, Olivia, Duke Orsino, Malvolio, Sir Toby Blech, Sir Andrew, Maria and the Fool.
Viola loses her brother in a tragic accident. She was saved by the captain and a couple sailors. She learns that women don't have a lot of rights in Illyria so she gets help from the captain to be a man, Cesario, and to live like a man to work for the duke.
Lady Olivia has also lost a brother. She is so sad that she swears never to look at or marry a man for seven years. Too bad for the duke because he is insanely in love with Olivia. The duke tries to convince Olivia to forget about her brother and marry him, so he sends his servants because he is to scared to do it himself. But one day he sends Viola\Cesario to talk her out of it. But the duke made one of the biggest mistakes of his life. Instead of Olivia falling in love with the duke she fell in love with Viola\Cesario. Later on Olivia marries Viola's brother, who actually had survived the tragic accident. And Viola marries the duke.
In this play Shakespeare puts the characters in two places. Romance or becoming psycho. Also Shakespeare makes the fool the smartest one and the servants or educated characters not as smart. This was the best play I ever read, because it was so funny, and a tragic story was turned into comedy.

Who Was Ferdinand Magellan?

Who was Ferdinand Magellan? That is a great question because I am learning about Ferdinand Magellan. He was the the first to go all around the world, not Columbus. He saved his lost men. He was Portuguese but became a Spanish citizen with all the amazing things he had done. He also named the Pacific ocean. It means peaceful ocean. After all of the amazing things he had done for Spain, the Portuguese were jealous of Spain so he was sent to be killed. When he discovered that the world was bigger than he imagined he ripped up all of the his maps. His crew was dying of hunger but, it was then when he saw the Philippines, and knew that he had gone around the world.

Tom Brady

Tom Brady was born on August 3, 1977, in San Mateo. He has three sisters. Everybody in his family is family is really good at sports. Tom Brady's role model is Joe Montana.
In high school he was so good at football that he would play in every game. He would never give up and always felt confident for himself. During the major leagues he would always try his hardest. His confidence would always win the the game.

Al Capone

Al Capone was born on January 17,1899 in Brooklyn. his family was not very rich. Al Capone didn't really care for education. Sometimes he would skip school. Once he had hurt a teacher.
Al Capone had several jobs like working at a candy store. One job he had was at a bar. when he saw an attractive woman he said some word and had a fight with her brother. He took out a knife and had cut Al Capone's face. After that fight he was joined in a gang for his bravery. He became a very famous gangster, who was very rich. Even though he was bad he was known for his generosity. He took kids to ball games. Also he would take them to movies and after that he would buy them bikes. Sometimes he would throw silver dollars at kids who were walking down the streets.He was taken to jail several of times for possession of illegal weapons Later he went to jail for 11 years for all of his illegal activities. The most famous prison he went to was Alcatraz.

kimbob

Korean food is a lot different then American food. For example most American food doesn't require rice but Korean food does. One of the easiest Korean foods to make is Kimbob. Kimbob is a type of sushi. It is like California rolls. First you get a special type of seaweed that is made for making Kimbob. You lay the rice down on to the seaweed and make the rice flat so the rice's shape looks like the seaweed. Than you make long stripes of carrots, ham, spinach, and eggs. Later you lay it down on the rice and roll it up. cut it. Finally you get Kimbob. yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Al Capone Does My Shirts book review

"Al Capone Does My Shirts," is about a boy named Moose who was living in an island. Moose has a sister named Natalie who has a mental illness. She needs to go to a special school unlike Moose who can go to a regualr school. The school that Natilie wants to go to won't allow her to come to that particular school. So Moose sends the letter to the most powerful mob boss, Al Capone. Did he help Moose or did he not? Read the book.

Satchel Paige

Satchel Paige was a black baseball player in 1929. He started off as a Negro league pitcher. The negro league is where only blacks would play in, not whites. But, if the black player is really good he would play in the white leagues. He came from a poor family. He was very popular. Some times he would get shout at but he did not care.

Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park

Keeping Score is about a girl named Maggie having a passion for baseball, and meeting a man named Jim who teaches her every thing he knows about baseball. But sadly he is drafted away to the Korean war and her communication with him stopped. What could have happened to him? Did he die or is he just ignoring her mail?
This book has a lot of ups and downs, because first Maggie cries because the Dodger lose, but she is happy when she sees Jim. She never seems to get mad when her dad never lets her go to the ballgame. The part that I am in is when Maggie's favorite team, which is the Dodgers lose the championship, and Maggie goes to the fire department to walk the fire house dog. Then suddenly she got the news that Jim was drafted away to the Korean war.

The Anaheim Ducks

The Anaheim Ducks are a professional hockey team in California. The Ducks were named because of a Walt Disney movie called the "Mighty Ducks." In 1993 the team was one of the top selling teams in the NHL. The team is in California. My favorite player is Scott Miedermayer. I like this team because there are a lot of good players. I like ice hockey because you can smash other players.

Passive Tense Exercise

My brother was taken by my parents to New York. The car was driven by my dad. My dad was assisted by my mother during the car ride. I was not taken with them. I was very lonely. I was watched by the neighbors.

mad boy fisher

This is a Bluegill that lives in Longfellow Pond. I mostly catch this fish in the pond.



I have been fishing at Longfellow Pond for a while and I have caught a Bass, catfish, and a ton of blue gills, also known as sun fish.
I own two fishing poles and a tackle box filled with fake bait, rubber bands, flies,hooks, weight, Bobber's, two small knifes, a net, a scisors, extra line, nail clipers and last but not least a first aid kit.
I had found out that you can fish without a licence if you are fifteen or younger. So people who are 15 right now and their birthday is coming up, fish all you can before you do illegal fishing.

Manny Ramirez gone mad

Manny Ramirez is a professional baseball player. But lately he has gone wild. He had pushed a 64 year old guy, and punched him. later he did apologize to the man. Also he had slapped Kevin Youkilis twice in the dugout and the team members had to stop him. Why is he like this and why would he act like this? He is one of the most highly paid baseball players in the team.

Rube Goldberg Project

Rube Goldberg was a famous inventor. He takes simple things and can make them into the most complicated things. In my class our mission is to do that very same thing. Our group has five people. Our group's objective is to put ice in water. We are connecting tubes and marbles with dominoes, using glue and nails. We did a pretty good job in the beginning , but now it is a mess. 2 of our group members just totally took over and had changed the whole entire thing. So now we have a project that I have no idea how it looks or how it is supposed to work. AND WE ONLY HAVE 3 DAYS UNTIL THE FINAL PROJECT!

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