Scruples

2. In a heated tennis match, your opponent returns a ball that looks out, but you’re not sure. If you win the point, you win the match. Do you call the ball out?

There is an obvious answer to this in my opinion. This is because this happens to my cousin and I all the time. My solution would be to redo the play. It is the only fare way. Well actually not. If I was playing where there was a ref, then I would go to them about this problem and if i din't agree I would challenge the play or do anything I can to prove that my call was right. Back to a simple friendly game of tennis. Yes I would just ask if we could redo the play. 

I answered this scruple in the way I did, because it is only fare. If I just lied and said that I saw it go out 100 percent then I would have guilt in the back of my mind for awhile. So I would ask if we could redo it. If the person said no I would be OK though because I wouldn't have lost. I can still keep fighting my way through!   

My Blog Idea

First list five things. It can be anything: animal, person, object etc. Do this before you go on to the rest of the directions.
After you listed seven things, choose one of the following scenarios. 
     1. You realize that you have gotten on the wrong train. No one else is aboard with you. You end up in the city of Mern. It is  a large city but is completely uninhabited.
     2. On the last morning of your tropical vacation, you wake up and see that no one is around. You look out the window and see that miraculously the ocean has risen all the way to the foots of your hut. Besides the tree next to your hut there is only one thing. Something floating on the horizon.
Based on what scenario you picked, write your adventure back to civilization. The catch is that the five things you listed in part one are the only things that you can use to get yourself back. You don't have to use everything. If you picked...
     Scenario 1: Use the five things to get you out of Mern and back home.
     Scenario 2: Use the five things to get you to the thing on the horizon and make sure to include what is in the horizon.


   
My adventure back home! 
1. Ghost
2. Pack of pens
3. Flash drive
4. Toothpaste
5. Blanket
I choose scenario 2
After I get over the fact that I am stranded in a hut I realize something needs to be done. I search through my room and find four things. A blanket, pack of pens, flash drive, and a pocket size tube of tooth paste. I know that I need to get to the thing on the horizon. It's my only chance to survive. I get snapped out of my thoughts when suddenly a small blob appears in front of me. Surprised I black out. 
                                                                 ***** 
I wake to the sound of splashing. I warily get up and walk to the door. I see the same little blob as yesterday throwing my blanket into the water back and forth. I go back and get the toothpaste. I charge the blob and throw the toothpaste at it. The moment the toothpaste went through the blob I knew that the thing was a ghost. It looked up at me. It started to point at the thing on the horizon. I look back at it. The thing makes a floating motion and then points at the blanket. I start to say no it can't hold me but then walk forward and I feel something hard against my leg. It was the blanket. The ghost looks up and smiles. I look closer and see that the blanket is being held up by thousands of pens. I remember how yesterday I found a pack of pens. I originally thought that it said 100 pens in the corner but it must have said 10000. I smile back at the ghost and walk back in the hut. I grab the remaining things: a flash drive and toothpaste. I walk back and get onto the blanket. 
A couple days after leaving the hut the thing that was in the distance becomes clear. I realize that it is a water plane. It is a good thing to because the pens have been separating in the past day. As I get up to the plane, I notice it is locked. You can tell that it said something a while ago but its been faded. In anger I smash my hand against the side of the plane. The now broken flash drive falls out of my hand. The only piece left is a thin wire. As my last hope i decided to try and pick the lot. Vigorously I shove the wire into the lock and it snaps. As my hope fades away I hear a door slide open. I look to the other side and i see that the whole time, the passenger door had been open. Joyfully I jump into the water and I get in the plane. I turn the hanging key to start the engine. Thankfully it roars to life. As the plane speeds off I look to the ghost and thank him for if it weren't for him, I would have died alone in the hut. With nothing but a flash drive, toothpaste, pens, a blanket to entertain me before my final breath.     

Revisions

Original poems submitted

Caterpillar

Inching along a rough terrain,

A monster inside of them: Hunger.

A minuscule thing yearning to grow big

Eventually changing its state,

Into a something that is a feather in weight.

Rapidly flapping its newly formed wings

Her goal to lay babies on the milkweed’s leaf.

Starting just as her,

A miniscule monster,

Eating, yearning, hoping to grow big. 

Free Heart Universe

Sailing yesterdays vast stream

We long magically

Someday to go explore again.

Wild tree flower fly

Liquid fish laugh

Wet morning breeze

& yet I stay

A blind prisoner

Living as ghosts of my foolish thinking.

Believe

  And pretend it gets easier

When your hero moves to another world never to be seen again,

When your best isn't good enough.

And pretend it gets easier,

When your dream is shattered in two,

When you know the going will only get tougher.

And pretend it gets easier
After hours of daunting homework,
after a failed grade.

And pretend it gets easier
only to make your day feel better.
When the real thing to do is believe it gets easier.

Revision advice

Thank you for all 3 poems.  It's good to have an industrious, enthusiastic participant!  Caterpillar and Free Heart Universe have strong images throughout.  Believe is heartfelt and sincere but lacks the imagination that the first two contain.  I suggest you look at the first two and see how you incorporated imagery, and then try that in the third.  Sometimes a 5-10 minute free write will help to develop surprising images.


Mimi Moriarty

Revisions


Believe 
And pretend it gets easier
When your hero moves to another world never to be seen again.
A world above the clouds. 
A world which loved ones go after they are put into the earth. 
You enter a competition with your best dessert,
Only to find that your best baking isn't as good as you thought.


And pretend it gets easier
When your dream is shattered in two.
An audition gone wrong,
An audition that makes you realize dreams don't always come true. 
When you stop chasing the dream.
You realize that you need to start over again, pick a new dream to follow.


And pretend it gets easier
When you get home from school,
Yearning to relax.
You look into your overworked brain and realize you have more to do.
The older you get the more your "Suppose to have"
After you mind grows with knowledge, you find out you didn't even pass.


And pretend it gets easier 
Only so you don't drop down.
From the stress and burden always carried on your shoulder.
Once in awhile you get a break.
The weight is taken off your back from a generous person.
A new hero that shows the light at the end of the tunnel.


Thoughts
I really love were Miss Moriarty's advice took me. I think that the revised piece complements the other two poems a lot better. I used more details and symbols like Miss Moriarty told me I should. I love both of these new pieces that I wrote. I think that I do still like my original piece because I know what I wanted to do with it and it was a success. I liked how in the original poem, it let your imagination run wild (The reader). That's what I thought. I wanted it to be less about my failed grades, lost hero, hardships in school and instead I wanted to the reader to think about what hero they lost and how hard they try in school and then have a moral booster at the end. Compared to my revised poem. My revised poem is more personal to me. It is still connectable but it shows what I think and I really wanted that poem to be open to have people think what they want. If I were to publish a book of poems and I had the first two poems in it, then I think that the revised poem does work a lot better, because it follows the pattern. If i were to just publish the Believe poem then I think that i would choose the first one, because it's simple yet has the potential to spark a lot of conversation about..." what does the author mean when he says 'a lost hero?'" If i chose the revised one the people could easily said "Oh! his hero was someone who died. I was very happy with my revised version of Believe. Both the original and revised believe have their own qualities and they fit different situations.  

I=Eight People to Emulate

1. Ian kavanaugh. Ian is my cousin he is a great person and he isn't afraid to be who he is. He doesn't try to be like other people, he is just himself.

2. Ingrid Michaelson. This women is a magnificent singer. I love all of her songs such as fire or i'm through. I like to sing so one day I hope to be as good or better then her. 

3. Isabel Isabel is an old friend of mine who is so ecstatic. She is a amazing actress, which I long to be. 

4. Mr. Imperial He was my ninth grade Earth Science teacher. He was great! He was one of the best teachers I ever had. He knew everything there was to know, he gave easy homework, fun/ challenging tests etc. He was amazing at science and that is the field I want to go into when I grow up so i yearn to be as good as he is. 


5. Issac I know he is a tenth grader. I know little about him except that we have gone to the same schools sense elementary school. He is ridiculously smart. I hope one day to be as smart as him. 

6. Asuka Izumi is a graphic novel author. I love graphic novels and I love his graphic novel The Lizard Prince. I wish I had the artistic ability to both draw and make a graphic novel. 


7. Enrique iglesias is a singer. He puts out great singles and they always have a Spanish twist to them! 


8. Lawson Inada is a poet. His success in writing inspires me, becasue one day I would love to write a great dystopian novel!

TU Tuesday- Culture

Interpret, analyze, and evaluate culturally diverse narratives, poetry and drama, aesthetically and ethically, by making connections to other texts, ideas, cultural perspectives, eras, personal events and situations.  Self-select text to respond and develop innovative perspectives.
Article- http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Mexican-official-US-travel-warning-ridiculous-3331601.php
Poem- http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ghetto-life/


The article Mexican Official: US travel warning 'Ridiculous' was about the drug situation in Mexico. Some claim that it is dangerous for Americans to travel there. " The State Department issued an updated travel warning Feb. 8 urging travelers to "defer nonessential travel" to 14 of Mexico's 31 states due to drug-related violence that has cost more than 47,500 lives since 2006." Although others say that this drug problem is overrated. "The warning notes "millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year" and resort areas are generally safer." The thing is that drug related problems have been happening throughout Mexico for years. According to Chris Mexicano, the ghettos in Mexico are full of drugs and violence. "...All these dope fiends walking down the street, All high on drugs tripping over their own feet, People getting shot just down the block... People in alleys injecting drugs into their arms..." All over Mexico there are drug problems. It is part of the 'culture' of Mexico. Thousands of killings happen each year due to the drug related problems. " 14 of Mexico's 31 states due to drug-related violence that has cost more than 47,500 lives since 2006." Do not worry Mr. Poire of Mexican interior department says that thousands of people travel to Mexico each year unharmed and that security is not an issue. "Interior Department Alejandro Poire says million of tourists visit Mexico without incident. Poire told a news conference Tuesday that he believes "these alerts overstate or misstate the standards and security situation that exists in our country." Have fun, although Mexico is known for its' drug problems, it is still a culturally rich and diverse country with fun traditions to explore!

Valentine's Day

“Clarence the Candy maker rubbed his hands gleefully. Today, he would introduce the world to a whole new kind of Valentine's Day candy."


Clarence the Candy maker rubbed his hands gleefully. Today, he would introduce the world to a whole new kind of Valentine's Day candy. Clarence knew that this world needed a cheer me up. World War the currently just ended. The devastation was horrific. Half of candy mountain (Biggest mountain in the world) had been blown to bits. Currently the cities located next to this mountain are dealing with the threat of the mountain's drippings falling and crushing their buildings. It is made out of chocolate. One more skittlemine would have melted the mountain all the way. Clarence needed to get this thought out of every sour patch kids head. So he invented the Heart. Yes the heart was already invented but not in a candy way. This heart was unique... First the receiver of this valentine candy would open up the strawberry flavored doors leading to a bottle made from pure sour patch kid. Hey us sour patch kids think that they are amazing just as you humans do! Anyway, what is in the bottle is the real surprise/ treat. It contained love. Love in a bottle folks. This is what Clarence came up with. How original? Yes I bet you think that Clarence is an idiot and this is stupid. But you've got it all wrong. You guys are the idiots. You the sour patch man or woman. See the trick is not love. Love is an emotion that comes from your sticky chewy center, past all the sour on your outside. The love in the bottle actually stands for "like our virulent emotion?" The virulent emotion is the forgetfulness emotion. See once you eat the "treat" that is inside of it, your memory of the past twenty four hours is wiped away. So you see Clarence's televised propaganda and you go buy the Heart again and again. It's a trick you see. As Clarence's right hand man I know not to eat the Heart. I have posted five hundred of the messages all over Candemerica. If you are a lucky reader then you know you should stop eating. Pass the word on to the other Sour patch kids, woman and men. For if not for the rest of eternity everyone will be chowing down on the loving Heart.
Sincerely,  
    Cupid

We secretly hope that birds will never learn...

The Secret
We secretly hope that birds will never learn.
Learn the secret to this new indigent world.
The one that has been taken over by the crows.
Making us work hours on end.
But us surviving humans know the secret.
The birds are two injudicious to realize the debacle coming.
Only the secret tells us how to break the code.
To open the door that will lead to the safe house.
The four digit lock on the wall across the lake.
The crows haven't noticed.
Hidden, not to look ominous by the seven thriving cattails.
Yet we work here, why not leave already?
We have tried but the crows came to close.
Hope that tonight will be the night.
If not I give my responsibility to you.
The one I heard the crow moan many years ago.
Save our world from these evil crows.
You know the code already, the secret has been told.
If your as injudicious as the crows you will fail my simple task,
but if your a human you'll succeed,
All you need to do is look to the past.

***Hey Miss. Geurin did you find the four digits?***
Fun! but I loved two of the poem prompts so I decided to make a prelude to the poem above with another one of your poem sentence starters! I also try to add as many vocab words as I can just so that I can form a new more erudite vocabulary.
"...Be Wary..."
Crows await the night at dusk.
They line every strip on wire.
Sitting atop the cables, they watch.
They've been there for decades.
In their state of tranquility.
But yesterday something novel happened.
Scientists pulled off one of the crows.
Unfortunately I saw it with my own two eyes.
The bird snapped out of it's trance.
Started muttering something...in English.
"...be wary...the rest won't...act...cordial"
Then the thing burned right through his hands.
They say the bird was baneful.
Sense then I have been in here,
they tell me what I say is surreptitious.
I have a bad feeling, all the dins I hear
Cause me fear.
One more thing.
The bird did said one clear thing,
"Keep the secret to your past close."

Comic Connection

http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine
This cartoon connects to my life. I think that this cartoon is really funny. It's basically an illusion. Road runners are fast but not because of their bodies and muscles they were born with. They are fast because of a man made machine that makes them fast. I laughed at this cartoon because I thought that it was pretty funny. But the part that I can connect to is the rat. If you step into his shoes you feel the disappointment that he feels. He's been told a lie his whole life. He thought that roadrunners were cool because of their speed etc. but really they were nothing but a normal animal in the end. They were only fast because of the machine they are on. I have been rambling on about the same old things. So now lets get into how these things connect to my life. I get really sad when things I thought I have known all my life turn out to be false. It disappoints me. An example would be (Like a lot of kids) Santa. I always thought he was real but of course it is obvious that he is not real. Also there are little things like I thought for a while that I did really good on a test or project but then I get it back and I get  a eighty (Which is unacceptable in my book.) The truth is that disappointments are a part of life. You only learn from them!

"Seize the day"

This quote defiantly relates to my life. It relates to my life in multiple ways. It represents my dedication towards school and it represents my life dreams. In this quote I feel like "the day" represents not just a present day (Which would relate to my schoolwork) but also this time period. This represents my schoolwork because of my dedication towards it. I have to think positive and long term when I do my homework every night. This is because I have a lot to do. So it could be easy to just blow off school and do nothing, but that is where my life dreams come into play. I want to be known one day, I want to "Seize the world" one day and make them remember me for something great that I have done. That is why I rigorously do all of my homework. It is because I want to be someone one day so I feel a way to achieve this is from great education, and I rely on my grades to get me to a great prestigious collage. One day Alec Lee will "Seize the day" and will show everyone that being an overachiever is not bad!

TU Tuesday

Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.  


http://blog.timesunion.com/highschool/casted-as-disappointed-extra-4/28325/

"My blogmate skye wrote a beautiful post about the troubles of a high school drama geek. This will be similar, as we have both been cast as less than satisfactory roles for our productions this year." - Foreshadowing- is giving hints or clues of what is to come later in a story.


"Not all of the micro-solos have been placed yet..." Hyperbole- is an exaggeration or an overstatement. I HAVE MY REASONING!! This isn't the most clear hyperbole so I thought I should explain my reasons. The author is saying that the solo is "Micro" but really it is not he is completely exaggerating the word small just to show his perception on how small the part is.


"I remember when I was a sophomore, I was arguing with a senior friend of mine that seniority should not have a place in the casting process; that it should be 100% talent based." - Antithesis- is an opposition, or contrast, of ideas.      


The article that I read was called "Disappointed extra #4" by Zack Kilmer. This story was about Columbia high school's upcoming musical: Sweeney Todd. This article was about Mr. Kilmer's disappointment in the cast. "But my love of the theater kids and experience does not make me immune from the classic sadness that comes from being cast less than what I wanted." He believes that as a senior he should have some advantage over the other kids to get a small solo. "Of course it should be mostly talent based. I don’t advocate putting a bunch of un-talented and un-experienced kids up there to make a fool of themselves and put on a bad show. However, I think that the seniors should be given a tidbit." Mr. Kilmer uses figurative language to make his piece better. Mr Kilmer uses foreshadowing in this article. ""My blogmate skye wrote a beautiful post about the troubles of a high school drama geek. This will be similar, as we have both been cast as less than satisfactory roles for our productions this year." This makes Mr. Kilmer's piece better (I think) because it keeps me engaged. Once I read that I knew that I was going to like the rest of the piece. I knew that because I like theater and Mr. Kilmer says in the quote above how this piece will be like his friends blog which was about unsatisfactory roles in the musical. Mr. Kilmer uses a hyperbole to show his opinion and voice about this matter of unfair casting. "Not all of the micro-solos have been placed yet..." The hyperbole in this is the micro. I think that this makes his piece better because it shows me as the reader that the part is extremely small, so why shouldn't a devoted senior get this simple part over someone else. "...But I think after four years of hard work and dedication, a brief instance of stardom is not a lot to ask for." Mr Kilmer uses antithesis. "I remember when I was a sophomore, I was arguing with a senior friend of mine that seniority should not have a place in the casting process; that it should be 100% talent based."  This contradicts the whole entire writing piece. The whole piece he is saying things like seniority should count, dedication should count etc. I think that this is a perfect addition to the article. The next sentence shows how Mr. Kimpler does not agree anymore with this statement he so naively said. "Now that I’m a senior, I realize I was partly wrong." At first I thought that this antitheses was a mistake, but know I think that it makes his story better. I like the antitheses because for me (Again as the reader) it shows me how his perspectives has changed. How he once believed that it should be talent based but now he isn't so sure about it. Maybe i am thinking into this too much but I also think of it personally as a symbol. As a small time actor myself I agree with what the sophomore version of Mr. Kilmer is saying. I think that everything should be talent based. But the senior part of Mr.Kilmer makes me realize that maybe i am just too greedy. I have more time left in high school and the senior has only that year. Why not let the senior get the part then I can get the part when I am older. Anyway... Mr. Kilmer uses figurative speech in his article. Weather it is a hidden symbol, a contrasting idea, a exaggeration or a scene into the future, they all made this article fun to read!