Coming of age post #2

all of my blog posts are spoilers.

Hey Mr.Gozzo, put away your shmigtschicks, we have a spiel for you.  We just want to say thanks for...everything!  We started as nervous, scrawny 6th graders and have become bigger, some-what stronger and “maturer” 8th graders.  With your help, we have gone up the scales of musical caliber to a much higher octave.  You've fixed our instruments when they broke, tutored and prepared us above and beyond for high school, and understood when we got tired after long days in school.  You have taught us so much more than just music which we can never repay you for.  Some of our best memories from 51 are joking around with you in the band room while plowing through song after song.  You’re one of the only teachers we can actually talk to, whether about music or new restaurants.  We have only known you for 3 years, but it feels like so much longer.  You keep saying that you won’t know what to do when we’ve gone off to high school, but truth is, we don’t know what we are going to do without you!

This is the cheezy speech that me and a couple of my friends gave at the end of our Saturday night band show. It seems really corny, but we actually meant it!  He is an awesome teacher!However, when you look closer at the speech, it's less about him and more about us!  The speech is really saying that we learned from what he taught us and became "maturer" people because of that.  We've put away our proverbial shmigtschicks (Mr. Gozzo phrase, means distractions like iPods and such) and become better musicians!   In a way, this is coming of age in a sense that a mentor is helping you.  But sometimes, there is no Mr.Gozzo.  Sometimes, you have to do things on your own.  

The main character Melinda  in Laurie Halse Anderson's book Speak is one such example.  Melinda is an outcast at school because of a past event,  but she could get people to understand if she just told them.  However, she is to frightened to say anything about it.  Eventually at the end of the book,  she finally speaks up in a way that she never thought anyone would hear.  But someone did, and Melinda was finally accepted into society.  Honestly,  She can't really thank anyone because she did this all herself.  

Towards the beginning of the book, Melinda was very quiet, but not in a shy way.  it's not like she was hiding her thoughts by not talking;  she was just. not. talking.  if a teacher asked her a question in class, she would just sit in her seat and look at the teacher.  That is, she would look at the teacher while not saying anything.  Not a word.  I don't know about you,  but I think that that's really immature,  not to mention rude.  It's like she wasn't even trying to fix things for her.  either she was really helpless,  or just plain stupid.  I just want to go into the book and yell at her right there for being such an idiot! she can fix things for her self, she just needs to try!

But at the end of the book, this changes.  when something is about to happen, the original cause of the muteness,  the yells at her oppressor. Actually, she threatens him.  When she yells, the lacrosse team hears her and comes to help her.  After this, she gains popularity.  But now that I think about it, she didn't really come of age by herself! If not for the bad character, or even the lacrosse team,  she would have just stayed the must and hated girl that she was at the beginning of the book.  I suppose that coming of age really requires at least one more person,  good or bad.  

I'd feel bad if I knew someone who was trapped on a deserted island. 

Coming of Age post #1

 ALL OF MY POSTS ARE SPOILERS

For the current coming of age unit that we are in,  the book that I chose to read was "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson.  The main character,  Melinda Sordino,  is a freshman in high school.  She has no real friends, and she rarely says a word.  Melinda is trying to hide something,  the thing that made her loose all of her friends,  the thing that made her be mute, and the thing that made her how she is, but she just won't tell anyone about it.  Not even the reader.  Yet.  (However, it is a little bit obvious...  Perhaps this is on purpose.) Melinda is having a hard time carrying on, she even tries to kill herself at one point.  However,  Her mother sees her and stops her.  Her mother is smart and thinks that people who commit suicide are immature.  She thinks that they are weak.

I also think that Melinda is weak by trying to commit suicide.  Even if the horrible, awful, life changing thing that happened to her is eating her up from inside,  She should at least tell someone!  From what I have learned from living is that if you have a secret problem that you haven't told anyone about,  you should let it out and tell someone.  If she keeps it locked up inside of her,  she probably will end up killing herself.  Because people have told me,  I know what happened to Melinda, and t is awful.  In fast, it is probably one of the most terrible things that could ever happen.  But honestly,  If she wants to feel any better about it,  she should tell someone.  It is like a balloon.  If Melinda is the balloon,  air is the secret.  The more time goes by,  the more air gets blown in.  Eventually,  the balloon bursts. 

What the author is trying it say about childhood is that as a kid, you don't always make the right decisions.  However, there should always be someone there when you are a child to help you get out of the trouble which that wrong decision caused.  However,  if there is no one there to help fix that problem,  The child is forever doomed. However, Ms Robbins chose this as a Coming of age Novel, not  a childhood experiences book.  There's a twist.  If there is no one there to help the wrongdoing child, the child can become an adult and help him or herself.  What the author is trying to say is that in order to become an adult, a child must learn to be strong and help themselves. 

I guess that the author is trying to say that adulthood is when you can fix the things that you have done wrong.  A child has to get an adult to fix their problems for them,  But an adult can be totally self-sufficient.  An adult is like a deflation knob on an over- full balloon.  although an adult cannot always solve everything,  they are able to handle and think through their problems much better than children can. 

Changing my Blog's Layout

 [Just so you know, I'm posting this because I want to, not because I'm supposed to]

As y'all can probably see, I've changed my blog up completely.  The background is different,  the fonts, the colors, everything.  But If a blog is what you write, shouldn't the blog be like you?

I think this is the same photo...

I suppose that I changed it to reflect my personality, who I am.  Before,  the background was black with orange hexagonal-photographic-light-speck-things, which was nice,  but now it's constellations.  That last background was cool, but it wasn't really me.  it would more fit a photography kid, in the literal sense, but I suppose also someone who  doesn't see the defined lines in the world,  only the vague outlines and general shapes.  That background would fit someone who doesn't need to analyze someone in order know who they are.  in a non-metaphorical sense, I guess this could be me before December when I got my glasses,  and that would have worked for me then,  but now I can actually see the math board from the back of the class (not that I want to look at stupid trigonometry problems [darn SOH CAH TOA]).  maybe this could be the transition from sixth to eighth grade, but anyway, I'm past the blurry part in any of those instances.  Anyway, the fact that I don't know the real name for those hexagonal-photographic-light-speck-things shows that the background is just not for me.  Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, © Kadir Barcin, Image# 8751099

A version of Orion

I think that the constellations fit me better.  In the literal sense, I like astronomy and astrology (two TOOOOTALY  different things, to those of you who don't know), so the constellations, zodiacs and et cætera match that part of me.  It can also be metaphorical.  I suppose that I am always looking up in the way that I want more knowledge.  Also, I've always been fascinated by things that supposedly mean so much,  but appear to affect us so little!  Also, the first thing that I noticed on the background was the zodiac Orion, which I associate with my life as a little kid.  I always remember that zodiac, because It was the first one I learned.  Often when I was younger,  I would run to my front yard before going to bed and look across the street to look at the stars. Orion seemed to always be above the house across the street.  I suppose that if I were religious, or if I were Andromeda Klein, I would call him my Holy Guardian Angel (but I'm not religious or Andromeda, so I'll stick with Orion.  or maybe Huggy*) . 

This is why I feel that this background fits me much better than the last one.  The last one could sort of be thought of as a child's pair of shoes.  They buy a nice pair of winter boots because they look nice and fit well.  They wear them constantly, love them every day, all day. That is until spring creeps up and grabs the child by the heels.  The poor kid is forced to put his beloved boots into the closet and settle with some cheap pair of sandals.  all summer, he yearns for the boots,  but  he waited patiently.  but when winter finally comes along, he takes the boots out, and guess what? His feet grew and they no longer fit!  and as he realizes that they don't fit, he also sees what an ugly shade of brown they are, and how they are all torn up.  the kid buys a new pare and loves  them just the same. 

Blog backgrounds should change as you change,  evolve as you evolve. If a blog is who you are, its background should be part of you too.

*Andromeda Klein reference.  Holy Guardian Angel = HGA = Huggy.

Comic < Novel?

PARTIAL SPOILER

As you probably know (because you are probably in my class), we are each studying individual muckrakers.  The one that I was assigned was Jack London, author of "Call of the Wild".   Naturally, I just needed to buy a copy.  Me and my friend Sophie decided to go to my favorite local bookstore, Babbo's Books.  She was looking for Jacob Riis's "How the Other Half Lives," and I was looking for "Call of the Wild".  However, when I could not find a copy, I decided to get the closest thing to it: an old comic version.  I am so glad that I got it.

The main character of the book is Buck, a dog who is sold countless times, going from one owner to the next From a Judge, to a cruel dog seller, to an abusive owner named Françoise, to a kind man named John  Thornton, and finally on his own.  The book is full of emotion and action packed images.  However, compared to the real novel,  it is little more than a pamphlet in size.  I certainly got a story out of it, and a good one at that,  but could it really be just a good as the original? I haven't read the real version, I just bought it from Barnes and Noble today,  But I suppose that I can figure out if compare it to the general, archetypal comics and novels and what they consist of. 

In general, comic books (not including graphic novels), are shorter than novels.  Often the comic book uses the exact words of the novel that it is based on, only it takes out most of the words, therefore not having as much of the store.  (One point for novels) .  However, much of the writing that is taken out is description, which is not necessary in a comic, because most of it is illustrations (one point for comics).  A novel can be read and enjoyed over a very long time, and reread, and it will still be amazing.  A comic, on the other hand, takes about a half hour to read, depending on its size,  and because its hard to miss anything in the text, wouldn't be so great to read again (one point for novels).  In a comic,  the illustrator gives you everything to look at, leaving you no imaginative space, where as a novel gives you at least a little creative legroom (one point for novels).

The scores are three to one, novels winning.  But I got so much out of the comic that I bought!  I thought that it was just as good as any book. But maybe the real book is better.  I've never read the original version of "Call of the Wild".  If it's as good as this comic, I will be pleasantly surprised.  Perhaps comics that are based off of classics are really just aids for reading the original, like if you were having trouble understanding what is going on in the story.  I would love it if there were a comic version of "Great Expectations".  I suppose that a comic is the same idea as going in early to school to ask a teacher a question about something you are having trouble with.   It is a thing to read when you are lost, when you do to understand what is going on.  So I suppose that you really can't compare a novel, because they are totally different things.  its sort of like comparing jello to a jello mold; you don't need a mold to make jello, but if you use it, the jello looks much more impressive.  Novels would be the jello, and comics would be the mold.  there are many other metaphors that I could use, but I would never be able to finish this post.   If you can think of another, I'd love to hear it, so post it as a comment!

Is Love Mutual?

 SPOLER!

Last year, at camp, I remember that I had to tell an eleven year old girl that I didn't have a crush on her. It was probably the hardest thing that I ever did.  The problem was not her age, (although that did factor into it) but that she liked me, but I didn't feel the same way about her.  So that makes me think that love has to be both ways.  Love has to be a mutual thing where both people love each other.

Ms. Havisham and Pip

In the book Great expectations by Charles Dickens, a boy named pip leaves his home every few days because he was hired to play in front of someone named Ms. Havisham.  At Ms. Havisham's house, there is a jaw-droppingly beautiful girl named Estella, who seems only to be there to tease him.  But at almost every visit, Ms. Havisham asks Pip if he thinks she is pretty or if he loves her.  Eventually, Pip leaves Ms. Havisham's, but when he returns, Ms. Havisham says these three quotes to him: "Love her, love her, love her! If she favours you, love her. If she wounds you, love her. If she tears your heart to pieces–and as it gets older and stronger–it will tear deeper–love her, love her, love her!"...  "Hear me, Pip! I adopted her to be loved. I bred her and educated her to be loved. I developed her into what she is, that she might be loved. Love her!"...  "I'll tell you," said she, in the same hurried passionate whisper, "what real love it. It is blind devotion, unquestioning self-humiliation, utter submission, trust and belief against yourself and against the whole world, giving up your whole heart and soul to the smiter–as I did!"

In short, Ms. Havisham is saying that even is Estella breaks his heart, Pip should still love her back.  but how can he if she doesn't love him?  I imagine that It would be tremendously hard  to give up so much fore one person who does not return the favor.  Pip Would probably give up or get bored over Estella.  How much time can you do something with no result before  giving up?  If Pip were to love someone like Estella, he would have  to give up everything in order to please her.  All of this work, strain, and love would way Pip down.  He couldn't last with out something filling him back up, giving him the energy to continue loving her.  That energy Is Estella's love, which is to valuable for her to give up.  Estella has lived with a woman (Ms. Havisham) for her intire life, who hasn't seen the light of day since her love abandoned her.  From the beginning, Estella has been convinced the love is bad, Men in general are bad,  and that she should never love.  But if someone loves her and she doesn't love them back,  does that really constitute as love?

Back to my example at camp,  When that girl had a crush on me,  I didn't like her as much as she did to me.  there's no problem with liking people, But there are times when you just don't.  I truly hate to be called the Estella in this situation,  but I'm afraid that I was. and yet, we have very differing opinions. I'm okay with love, where as Estella detests it.  I tried to tell the eleven year old that I didn't like her in a way that wouldn't be so cruel,  but Estella would have snapped Pips heart in two before blinking.  But back to my original question,  Is love mutual?  I really think that it is.  If you were explaining to a little kid why people get married, you wouldn't say "because he loves her".  You would say "because they both love each other".  Love is a two way thing,  and I don't think that it's love until both people think of each other in exactly the same way. 

So in general,  people can't just say that it is love when one person likes another. I guess you can sort of make a simplified chart, if that makes it easier:

HATE

LOVE

<-----------------------------------------•----------------------------------------->

<-----------------------------------------•----------------------------------------->

In order for it to be real love,  each person should be placed on a line in accordance to how much they love (or hate) the other person.  If they line up,  it is truly love, but if they do not, the love is not real.  I suppose that this also has to be the same for hate too.  The problem with two people thinking differently about each other is that one person gives up more than the other.  That would be like trading a golden ring for a a piece of tin foil.  Pip and Estella can never truly love each other.  To answer my question, love is mutual.  Probably...

Pride and Foolishness, Revised

People always say that you should “look before you leap”, Think something over before you really do it, But honestly, is it really that terrible to act without thinking?

A little earlier this year, Mr. Gozzo, the band teacher, was handing out the new song that we were going to learn, a West Side Story compilation.  When the paper was placed on my music stand, a big smile came across my face.  The song looked like a piece of cake!  I didn’t even try to think the song over in my head before I started playing it, or begin to try it out like the rest of the band was doing.  So when Mr. Gozzo told us to try the song out together, I finally tried.  But as soon as I put my trumpet up to my lips, I realized just how challenging the song actually was!  I couldn’t play a bit of it!

The book that I wrote this post about originally was The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, a book that I am long done with.  It is set in Germany during world war two.  The main character is named Liesel, and she is a young girl who is well behind her class in reading.  One Day, the teacher in Liesel’s school Tests everyone in Liesel’s class on their reading, that is, everyone but Liesel.  Liesel, because of her pride, decides to go in front of the class and read aloud anyway, to prove that she can.  But when she gets there, she can’t read a word!  This gets here into a load of trouble. 

Just like when I thought that I could play that piece of music and I couldn’t, Liesel thought she could read, but totally unable to.  We both had too much pride.   Liesel was rash and acted to protect herself, not realizing the consequences of her actions.  Now that I think of it, any human-caused problem in this entire world could have been prevented if only the person who caused the problem thought about what it might do.  Think about it:  fights, arguments, even wars could have been prevented if only we could just think about what might happen afterwards.  So why don’t we just run things through our heads before something awful happens?

But I had only told half the story.  After Liesel had been punished, she was teased by her schoolmate, which led up to her having a fistfight with a boy in her school, with her as the champion.  This made her feared, but also respected. She was no longer the weak little girl who couldn’t read.  And back to my example, it’s been a little while since I got that West Side Story piece from Mr. Gozzo.  Now, I think that it is the easiest piece in my entire folder!  You see, sometimes it pays to be proud.  I suppose there can be a good proud and a bad proud.  What would have happened if Liesel hadn’t been so rash?  She would have staid the week little girl who cant read for the rest of her life, or at least the rest of her school life.  But me, that was the bad kind of proud.  Sure, I now think that the song is easy, but is that because I was so heedless when I first received the song?  No!  It is because I practiced. 

So I guess that you could say that good pride is when your foolhardy but your actions benefit you in some way or another.  There may still be other options than doing something reckless to get what you want, but when you have to act in a second’s notice, like Liesel did, there’s really no other option.  Bad pride, on the other hand, is when you do something impulsive that has no positive affects towards you or anyone else.  Its as if everything that we do is somehow rated on how it will affect us in the future.  If things get better as time progresses, it’s going to be good pride.  If things get worse, its bad pride.  But there are just so many variables in the problem!  What it you act on impulse, doing what you can before its too late. I guess sometimes you just have to judge for yourself.  
 

As the book goes on, Liesel grows as a character, and her pride seems to grow with her.  She begins to steal books (hence the title of the book).  No shy little girl without pride would be able to do that.  She may have had doubts, but she knew that she would be able to do it one way or another.  Pride is what pushed her through the pages of the book, what made her endure the war and everything that happened to her.  Judging by what Liesel did, I would say that if someone thinks they can’t do something, they can never do it, but if they have pride and know that they are able, they will do whatever they wanted to do.  So next time there is something that you need to do and you’re having doubt, just be proud (but not rash) and you will get it done. 

Exit project

 Just so you know, I did my R + J post, its below this one. 

Okay. So, for exit projects, we need to test 30 people, right? well, so far I've tested 21. So, I've decided to make you an AMAZING OFFER! If you take this test which I will put below, and take it how I want you to take it, you can choose one option of each of the two categories below:

Category 1:
• I will come into school on Monday in a large pink shirt.
• I will come into school in my mime costume and only speak in sign language.
• I will only talk in a REALLY loud voice, like almost screaming.
• I will only talk in a British and/or Chinese accent.

Category 2:
• I will buy you a chocolate cupcake.
• I will give you a free Palm, Tarot, or Geomantic divination (fortune telling).
• I will write you a sonnet
• I will be a subject in your exit project.

Category one, I'll do the one that more people vote for, but category two I will do what ever you say.
THE TEST:
I want you to take this test ion complete silence, no music. allow yourself eight minutes to take the test, and once you've got an answer to a question: DON'T CHECK IT OVER! Leave it be. Write your answers in comment form, as well as your votes. Here's the test:

Name: _________________ Classical ☐| Metal ☐| No Music ☑






1: In a foreign language, “nyeer cog joch” means “Bid Yellow Taxi.” “Shaw joch” means “Big House,” and “nyeer deniro” means “Taxi Driver.”


What word means “yellow”?


Ⓐ nyeer
Ⓑ deniro
Ⓒ shaw
Ⓓ cog
Ⓔ joch


2: In the code below, each letter represents one syllable. The letters are not necessarily listed in the correct order.


BGZ = “leverage”
OMD = “extracting”
TF = “lighten”
CDT = “engraving”
GHP = “levitate”


Which letters are needed to write the code for “gravitate”?


Ⓕ PCH
Ⓖ FOD
Ⓗ CDG
Ⓙ DPH
Ⓚ GPC


3: All scuba divers are experienced swimmers.


Some experienced swimmers swim every day.


No businessman swims every day.


If the above statements are true, which of the following must also be true?


Ⓐ No businessman is an experienced swimmer.
ⒷSome scuba divers are not businessmen.
ⒸAll of those who swim every day are scuba divers.
Ⓓ Some scuba divers swim every day.
Ⓔ Some experienced swimmers are scuba divers.


4: All actors are Democrats.


Some writers are actors.


No doctor is a writer.


If the above statements are true, which of the following must also be true?


ⒻSome doctors are not Democrats.
ⒼNo Doctor is an actor.
ⒽAll writers are Democrats.
ⒿAll actors are writers.
ⓀSome Democrats are writers.


5: In the code below, each letter represents the same word in each of the four sentences. Each word is represented by one letter only. Letters may or may not appear in the correct order.
H C G M D
Appu watches Basketball on TV.
G E B C F
Jay watches movies on cable.
I L G C H
Kyra Watches gymnastics on TV.
C K F H G
carolyn watches movies on TV.


Which letter represents “cable”?


ⒶG
ⒷB
ⒸE
ⒹF
ⒺCannot be determined from the information given.


Test from: Kaplan. Kaplan New York City Specialized High Schools Admissions Test. New York: Kaplan Publishing, 2008.
THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


And please:  read this blog: http://bloginforest.blogspot.com/ 

Romeo and Juliet: The Bridge Between Montague and Capulet

We have just finished watching Baz Luhrman's interpretation of William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet".  I realize that what I am posting about could just as well be about the book, so I'll try and make it as specific to the movie as possible.  The basic plot of Romeo and Juliet is that the two main characters,Romeo and Juliet, are  "starcross'd lovers" as Shakespeare put it.  They could not be together because of a family grudge, sometimes resulting in fights to the death.  I feel that Romeo and Juliet, both reaching over to the other ones House, form a bridge, in a way, between Montague and Capulet.

I've noticed that in most scenes, The Capulet and the Montague representative, although both major parts in the scene, are not normally in the shot together.  When they are in  the shot together,  there is some sort of bridge or barrier between them.  For example,  when they are at a trial of some sort,  (Captain) Prince is between them,  and in the shot with both of there buildings,  a giant monolithic statue of Jesus with his arms stretched out, representing their bone in religion.  Other than this, when regular Montagues and Capulets are in a shot together, there is some sort of hostility between them (not that there isn't any other time), or they are in church.  But when Romeo and Juliet are in a scene together, it is a happy, loving scene.

Another connection is in the costume.  In the sheet that we got with notes from the director, Baz Luhrman, he says: "The Capulets became Hispanic, adorned with very Catholic Cultural icons.  For the Montagues they wanted something far more Anglo; hence the "GI Joe imagery" of the Hawaiian shirts."  When I read this, I suddenly remembered the costume that Romeo adopted right after meeting Juliet and consulting Friar Lawrence.  It was a Hawaiian shirt, representing the Montague that he is,  and the Catholic Icon of the Sacred Heart,  Representing the Capulets, one of whom he wishes to marry. 

To Conclude, I feel that Romeo and Juliet, mostly Romeo,  are a sort of bridge between the houses of Montague and Capulet.  There are many other creative 'bridge' related shots in the movie,  like the fish tank through which Romeo first sees Juliet having yellow fish (the color of Montague),  blue fish (the color of Capulet), and iridescent yellow-blue fish all within the same tank.  I realize now that many of the "bridge connections" as I call them, are a bit religious in nature,which in its own way represents passion.  In short, Romeo and Juliet connected the two houses in ways no other could.

Also, PLEASE read, comment on,  and follow this blog here: http://bloginforest.blogspot.com/ ! I write for it as Guy Noël Futterhorn.  (see my last post for details)   But PLEASE read it and comment!  You are awesome!

R ♡✟♡ J

I just needed to add this link: http://www.etsy.com/listing/62399505/sterling-silver-romeo-and-juliet-ring

My other blog:

Hola! I just wanted everyone to know this, there is this other blog that I write on called "If  Blog Falls In The Forest".  It is shared blog, so I'm not the only author.  It's a funny, happy, depressing, enthusiastic, and just random blog where we post just for he fun of posting.  I'm writing under the pseudonym Guy (pronounced GEE) Noël Futterhorn (the name I use in french class). 

Currently, Blog in forest is having a vary serious problem.  Of the seven followers that we have, six of them are writing for the blog, and the other one doesn't even read it (at least as far as I'm aware).  that means we have no real followers!  We need you to read this blog, and  follow it too.  I couldn't stand to have out hard work and honest writing do down the failed blog drain! So please, just please read and follow this blog.

HERE IS THE BLOG: http://bloginforest.blogspot.com/

PSPS: if you do read the blog, the little enigmas that I write at the bottoms will be explained to you and only you if you follow it too!

PPSPS: PSPS stands for pre-signature-post-script and PPSPS stands for postpresignaturepostscript.

FOLLOW THE BLOG PLEASE!
the so-called Guy Noël Futterhorn,
Also known as Benjamin Futterman

PS: READ AND FOLLOW THE BLOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PPS: this is a cat: =^,^=

8 + 9 - 8 = 9

You need to give something up in order to get something.  I remember when I was younger watching an episode of Spongebob where Mr. Krabs, a money obsessed restaurant owner, buys a claw machine and puts it into the restaurant.  Everyone was surprised that he would spend his precious money on a seemingly worthless device. Eventually, Mr, Krabs explains his reasoning by saying something like "You've got to spend money to make money." 


In the book I am reading, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, The main character, Pip, Tells his close friend Biddy that He wishes to become a gentleman.  Biddy responds very seriously and calmly that although she would love for him to be a gentleman,  it could never happen.  Very shortly afterwords, A man comes to tell Pip and his Brother-in-law/ Father figure Joe the blacksmith, that Pip can go to london to become a gentleman, for he has "great expectations".  Only later does he realize that this requires him to leave Joe, Mrs. Joe (his sister), Biddy, and nearly everyone else that he loved.  


In order to pursue his dream, Pip needed to give up something very important to him.  Pip needed to give up seeing his family so that he could become what he had always wanted to become, Just like Mr. Krabs giving up his beloved money in order to get more money.  I guess that in order to get something that you want, you have to get rid of something.  Its sort of like a math problem.  Say you have the equation 9 = 9, and you want an eight in there.  So you add an eight to the nine in the front, but 8 + 9 ≠ 9.  You realize that  you need to take away something, so now 8 + 9 - 8 = 9.  The only problem with this math analogy is that you could add to both sides, which you can't do with a real world problem. If you find some exception to this (adding to the result without taking from the equation), than leave it as a comment.  

And although What Pip wanted after all was to become a gentleman, was it really worth it to leave his family?  I'm sure on some peoples opinions that would be like 8 + 9 - 10  ≠ 9.  Pip Is most likely not going to see 'his family for at least a year, if not longer.  Now back to the Mr. Krabs analogy, imagine he payed in cash.  Chances are that he will never see those couple hundreds worth of dollar bills ever again. Now back to Pip,  if he gets money to send back to his family and/or gets to visit them often, I think that, although it would probably be painful,  Would be worth it.  


From what I've gathered of Charles Dickens and Spongebob,  In order to get something that you want, you need to give up something that matters just as much, if not more.  If you need something,  there is now way for you not to give something up.  But sometimes, usually when there is nothing else to give, you can give too much.  Everyone wants something, but we need to think if we are giving to much to get it.  

My Blog Mentors:

The first blog that I chose was Pia's blog, Non-Linear Musing.  I find that Pia's posts, in addition to being moderately lengthy, they illustrate a real knowledge and understanding of the book.  Anyone can just skim over a paragraph in their book and write about that, but it will never truly be a good post if it isn't written with a true understanding of the contents within their pages.

The next blog that I chose was Izzy's blog, Pulp Fiction. Izzy, particularly in this post, has an amazing talent for adding in things that aren't exactly what most people put in, like definitions of words.  In doing so, she also includes a bit of her personality, like in this one by showing what kind of music she listens to.  I've attempted adding in slightly odd things before, but I also sound like a robot a lot of the time because I don't sound like I have a personality.

The third blog I chose, last, but not least, is Susan's blog, Good Morning Seniors.  What I love about Susan's posts is that she often includes an excerpt from the book, and even more often includes a comparison to another book that she read.  I give her many plaudits for this, as she would have to build up a library of books that she read in the back of her mind, and be able to pull one down from that metaphorical shelf and be able to remember it without re-reading it.  Not only is Susan being my writing mentor, but she is inspiring me to read more too!


Some other blogs that I think are great: Samantha's: A Blog Like No Other,  Molly's: This is One Spicy Blog!, and that thing who bears no resemblance to me, (my sister Annie), Evenings With Dr. Futterman.  I like other blogs too, but I still have to do the rest of ELA homework to do!

Telescope

"a lady looking through a telescope while her maidservant holds an umbrella" by Hokusai

"I shall gaze upon the land,
or maybe upon the sea,
but really anything will do
any thing, other then you"

This she said to me,
as she stared  out her glass,
to which a glare is my only atack
my teeth shining black.

She really seems so rude,
insulting me like that,
But it is meant to be,
She is is surely greater than me.

Truth be told, I like it
being lesser, that is,
for had I been she,
I'm sure, everyone would hate me.

The force that through the green fuse drives the flower

The force that through the green fuse drives the flower
by Dylan Thomas
The force that through the green fuse drives the flower Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees Is my destroyer. And I am dumb to tell the crooked rose My youth is bent by the same wintry fever. The force that drives the water through the rocks Drives my red blood; that dries the mouthing streams Turns mine to wax. And I am dumb to mouth unto my veins How at the mountain spring the same mouth sucks. The hand that whirls the water in the pool Stirs the quicksand; that ropes the blowing wind Hauls my shroud sail. And I am dumb to tell the hanging man How of my clay is made the hangman's lime. The lips of time leech to the fountain head; Love drips and gathers, but the fallen blood Shall calm her sores. And I am dumb to tell a weather's wind How time has ticked a heaven round the stars. And I am dumb to tell the lover's tomb How at my sheet goes the same crooked worm.

Don't you hate it when you know something, but you just aren't the one to say it? Like for example, in class, if you know exactly what the teacher is teaching, and you think you can teach the class more correctly then the teacher, but because they are the teacher, and in a way above you, you don't speak up?  Or when your parents are yelling at you when you know your right, but you don't yell back because you'll get into more trouble.  I think that is what this poem is really about. 

I noticed that in a lot of Dylan Thomas' poems, the last few lines of a stanza repeat going throughout the poem, like in "Do not go gentle into that good night".  in this poem, the repeated line was: "And I am dumb to tell... how...".  This in itself is not worth much, but added the two lines before it, it means so much more. The first line in a stanza describes some metaphorical force in nature, where as the second line (& 3rd) describe that same force within him.  But in the ending of each stanza, he says that he would be dumb to tell nature about the force described.  

the Third stanza and all the ones after it also really stood out to me, because instead of describing nature, and then himself, he describes something different.  Replacing nature he described something calm, like "the hand that whirls the water in the pool", but replacing himself, he describes a similar thing to the calm, only bad, like" Stirs the quicksand; that ropes the blowing wind". 

I think that the stanza pattern is very important to understanding this poem.  In a way, he is saying that he knows that the natural or the calm is correct, so he shouldn't even attempt to fight it.  In fact, he would be dumb to do such, But I disagree. I think that we should all have the right to speak out and be heard.  if we are wrong, so be it! We will learn from our mistakes.  We do not live to be put down by others.  Evolution happens by things being different, standing out!  

But maybe, say he knew that death was coming, that speaking out wouldn't help him in the long run, only get him scolded.  Why waste time , when you know that time itself is very limited. I assume that if you know life has to end, there is little point in questioning, as it will probably not affect you.  I suppose, It really depends on your side of life.  

I think this can teach us about how to act.  Sometimes, there is really no reason to talk back or prove someone wrong, because it really helps no body.   this could solve so many parent and child fights. The main reason that I've seen people get detention for is talking out of turn in one way or another.  But on the other hand,  we should also share our opinions, while we are young.  these two Ideas are almost opposites, and yet I feel they are both right.  it depends on who you are. 

What If He Hadn't?

As with all of my blog posts, this may be a SPOILER

We've all ha to make tough decisions. You know, the kind that one choice is "the right thing to do", but the other choice benefits you more? The kind they talk about all the time in elementary school? That one. I'm positive you've been faced with one of these decisions before.  Only, I would probably guess that your life didn't depend on the answer.

Currently, I am reading "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak.  Hans, the main character's "father" lets a Jew hide in there house during World War Two.  If he is found out, the government will take him and his wife away, and probably kill them.  the reason that he is letting the Jew into his house anyway is because he made a promise with that persons mother to do what ever he could to help.  because of this promise, Hans decided to let him stay.

As I was reading his, I thought to myself, what if he hadn't? What if he had turned the Jew away? The Jew would have to try and find some other place to hide, probably fail, and in the end he would no doubt die.  As for Hans, of course if the police came he would have nothing to hide from them.  But I feel that by doing that, he is becoming an honorary Nazi himself, in a way.  He would be officially be no different than any other Nazi.  But the worst part is that he would be plagued by the guilt of that broken promise until he dies.

I remember once in elementary school, a fifth grader took my lunchbox which was mine since nursery school.  I wouldn't eat my lunch if it weren't packed in that bag.  I loved that lunchbox so much, I couldn't stand someone taking it.  I wanted to go up to her and tel her that it was mine, my lunchbox, but I thought that she might beet me up.  I had no Idea what to do.  either I face her and get my lunchbox, or I save myself from being bullied and loose one of my favorite things. I decided to confront her.  It turned out that she was a really nice person, and she had thought the lunchbox was hers.  she gladly gave it back to me.

If I hadn't gone up to her, I would have lost the thing that meant so much to me  forever.  I would have never gotten it back.  If Hans hadn't let the Jew stay, he would never be able to forget his guiltiness.  If you don't make the right decisions,  you can be affected for life. There are so many things I wish I had done, but I didn't.  I guess that's just life.