Book Review

                      Have you ever had to save the world? How about staring the incarnation of chaos itself in the face and fight it? The characters in my book had to, unfortunatly for them. Rick Riordan's The Serpant's Shadow captured me with its face paced, action packed story.
                    The author's style in writing this book made me really love it and hard to put down. He gave you just enough to make you geuss what was going to happen, then he would throw in a twist that changed things up. Also, he had a lot of comic relief in there to lighten the mood, which i am a huge fan of.
                     The multiple settings in this book really helped the progression of the story. In one place the characters are in a swamp environment being hunted by a goddess and in the next they are in the deserts of Egypt facing down, litteraly, chaos itself.
                    The characters in this book were relatable to, so that made this book even better. The main characters, Carter and Saddie, are just kids thrown into a new world. Instead of them just being fearless leaders that are never daughnted, they act like kids. Yes, they pull through and overcome their challanges, but they also show their doubts and fears and they rely on the help of others to get through. These helped me get into the book more because I could see myself doing the same thing in there situation, minus the magic of course.
             I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of fantasy books, the Percy Jackson series, or anyone who is into Egyption mythology. I give it a 9/10

Essay for English (Macbeth)

                      "Ambition is like a choler; which is an humor that maketh men active, earnest, full of alacrity, and stirring, if it be not stopped. But if it be stopped, and cannot have its way, it becometh adust, and thereby malign and venomous." Ambition is a dangerous thing, but no always a bad thing. Ones ambition can affect others by improving their lives.
                      An overview of Macbeth, written by William Shakespear, tells how Macbeth is told he will become king, so he kills Duncan, the king, and Macbeth becomes king. Due to this, Malcolm, Duncan's son, flees to England to gather an army to battle Macbeth. Macbeth becomes paranoid and has Banquo himself and Macduff's family killed. Malcolm returns with his army, which Macduff is apart of, and advaces on Macbeth. Macduff kills Macbeth and Malcolm becomes King Malcolm.
                      Ambition is malignant. In Act III, Scene VII Lady Macbeth's ambition for her husband would not allow Macbeth to wait things out and made Macbeth take charge. Lady Macbeth's ambition was malignant, ifectious, and it spread to Macbeth. If it were not for Lady Macbeth, this situation might not have gotten so out of hand. Macbeth's ambitious act in Act II, killing Duncan, cause Malcolm in Act III, Scene VI to flee to England in an attempt to rally an army to fight Macbeth. Macbeth's ambitious act of killing Duncan is ruining the life of Malcolm while helping Malcolm ascend to the throne quicker. This atrosiuos act also caused the ruin of the life of Donalbane, Duncan's other son, by making him flee his home and country. Furthermore in Act IV, Scene III Macbeth decides to have Lady Macduff and her son assassinated. Yet again, Macbeth's infectious ambition destroyed anothers life, Macduff. While it did devestate Macduff's life, it also gave Macduff the reason to fight Macbeth with all he had. Ones ambition does not stay with them. It spreads like the wealth of a kingdom through its country, or like the venom of a wicked vipor through an unfortunate victim.
                        People handle life's obsticles differently. In Act V, Scene I it shows that Lady Macbeth has gone crazy. Due to the death of Duncan and the guilt from participating in said act, Lady Macbeth has gone insane. However, Macbeth, after his initial shock, handles it quite well and does not go coo-coo. Additionally, in Act II, Scene II Macbeth looses his composure after killing Duncan. Faced with this situation, Macbeth looses it and can not handle what he just did. Unlike Lady Macbeth who, faced with the same situation, took charge, due to Macbeth being "inferm of purpose," by cleaning up after Macbeth. In addition to this, in Act I, Scene I Macbeth is told he will be king. Hearing this Macbeth thinks on it and decides to wait and see how things unfold. In contrast, Lady Macbeth decides it is best to take the bull by the horns and make it happen. Two people can be presented the same exact situation and decide to take two totally different paths.
                        Ones ambitious act can affect multiple people in multiple ways. In Act II and Act IV Macbeth kills Duncan, Malcolm's father, and Lady Macduff, Macduff's wife. Malcolm goes to England to get an army to fight Macbeth while Macduff only joins Malcolms army instead of getting his own force to battle Macbeth. These two are faced with the same situation, Macbeth killing their family, and they react in two different ways. Also, in Act III Fleance's dad, Banquo, is killed due to Macbeth's paranoia. When presented the same situation as Fleance, the death of ones father, Donalbane went and gathered an army to fight Macbeth while Fleance ran away. Another person, Macduff, was presented this same problem and decided to stay and fight Macbeth. In Act I, Scene I the witches tell Macbeth he will become king, and Banquo is told his sons will be king but not Banquo. Hearing this, Macbeth goes and plans to kill Duncan to gain the throne. In contrast, Banquo hears this and dismisses it as crazy talk. One ambitious act has more affect than just the initial one. It spreads and affects others.
                        The diverse reactions of said ambitious actions can cause yet another ambitious act that is just as, or more so, life altering. In Act I, Scene I the witches say the Banquo's kids, not Macbeths, will be king and in Act IV, Scene I the witches tell Macbeth to "beware Macduff." Due to the witches telling Macbeth this, when Macbeth becomes king he orders the death of Banquo and his son, Fleance. Also, due to the witches warning, Macbeth has Lady Macduff and her son killed. Also in Act IV, Scene I the witches tell Macbeth the no woman born man could harm him. This gave Macbeth confidence and made him fight Macduff, who was not woman born, without fear. This brough about Macbeth's destruction. In Act I, Scene VII Lady Macbeth's ambitious act made her ambition spread to, or infect, Macbeth.. Lady Macbeth's ambition could not allow Macbeth to sit back instead of taking charge. Her ambition spread to Macbeth making him act ambitiously. Ones ambitious act can affect others, making them act equally or even more ambitious.
                        In conclusion, these themes impacted the overall drama by creating ambitious characters that would spread their ambitious nature to other characters making them ambitious also. Therefore, we need to learn a lesson from this. That lesson is we need to be careful of our ambitions and keep them in check while stopping the ambitions of others that do go on a rampage.

C.C. 5

In a recent episode of Ink Master, a tattoo competition air on Spike Tv, the contestants did a Star Wars themed tattoo that was supposed to show the skill of contrast. I am gonna tell you 1) who won and who lost and 2) why those people won and lost

The winner of this challenge was Tatu Baby with her Yoda head tattoo on the back and the loser, and consiquently the one who got sent home, was Kay Kutta with his Imperial Gaurd tattoo, also a back tattoo.

Now on both of these there are other people could've arguably won or lost is this one. In my opinion i think that Tatu Baby did deserve this win. The loser, however, I think should have been Mark Mathews with his Imperial Soldier head with a cog in the background. His tattoo could have had contrast easily put in and one of the contestants even suggested an idea that would have worked, but he decided to put black with purple. Not a great choice contrast wise if you ask me.

Tatu Baby won with her Yoda head, dubbed the "little green guy," because she used her colors to create great contrast and made the lines on the head really "pop," which is a good thing for a contrast challeng. Kay lost because the Guard was all red with a flat, dark background that, by no means, impressed the judges and he had been in the bottom of the group basicly since day one, so it was his time to go, at least that's what the judges thought.

I admit that the tattoo wasn't spectacular, but the worst one? I dont think so. As i said eariler, Kay's looked way better, in my humble opinion, than Mark's did. Plus Kay showed WAY more improvement in his tattoos than Mark did. Kay needed to work on his outlines, he improved them. Mark came in week after giving unfortunate "canvasis," as the people getting tattooed are refered to as in the show, dark, mediocer tattoos.

I could go on and on about why this person should have won or lost but there is a morale to get out of this story. Life isn't fair. You could be the absolute best at what you do. Second to none, and still have someone picked over you just because (insert excuse here.) At the end of the day you just got to take what you got and roll with it. If you don't like it, by all means, do whatever you can to change it to a more likable situation.

C.C. 4

In a post on the cite aljazeera.com entitle Congo's M23 Rebels Threaten to Take Goma, the post tells its readers a few things. Two of those things are 1) Why they rebelion took place and 2) how this is effecting the other countries.

In the article it is said that the rebels are "dissatisfied by recent events in Goma." They later go on to say when they see civilians, no matter their affilitions, beign mistreated and the government, is not stopping it, then they, the M23, will step in for the good of the civilians.

If this is what's actually going on and the M23 is doing this for the public's safety then i can understand why they are doing this. If i had the power to help a ciry from being mistreated i would do it without a second thought. If they are doing this for power though, then they are just like every other power hungry group out there.

It also says that the neighboring country, Rwanda, might be offering support to these rebels. This has caused 30 million dollars in support money to be susppended from Great Britain to Rwanda. Also the fighting between the rebels and the Congolian army has apparently caused harm to the Rwanda people and one person has died from this.

I think that this is a horrible thing but the post later goes on to say that it might, in fact, be Rwanda firing into its own city and claiming thats it's "fallout" of the fighting. If this is true than that is a far worse thing to happen. A government killing its own people for its advancement.

Unfortunatly this sort of thing happens throughout the world. The civilians struggles going unnoticed by its government. Sometimes even caused by their government. As i said earlier, if the M23 are doing this to help the people, then i support them 100%. If they are doing this for their own personal gain however, i hope they get shut down and taken care of so the people are no longer futher troubled by the greed of this group.

C.C. 3

In a recent post by Eric Pfieffer on Yahoo! News entitled "The Most Indebted Man In The World Owes Former Employer Billions" it tells how this man got in debt and how much exactly he owes.


The article says that the former employee, Jerome Kerviel, used "a sophisticated scheme of computer hacking and deceptive trades" to handle approxitmatly 73 billion in unadjusted dollors while working for the Societe Generale corporation. That was a pretty gutsy move that, unfortunatly for him, didn't turn out so good for Jerome.



The article also state that the amount he owes is 6.8 billion dollors. That much money, if they were assests, would make him one of the 50 richest people in america. I wonder what was going through his head when he decided to do this. Yea it's a lot of money but he will NEVER be able to pay this off in his lifetime


I'm pretty sure a person could look in a newspaper at any given time a see a story like this, maybe not on this scale but still. I understand that it's a lot of money, but is it really worth throwing you're life away?


I geuss the question we all have to ask ourselfs is, What would you do in that situation? Would you do your job, or would you steal the money?

C.E. 2

In a recent post on the cite UPI.com entitled "German High School Bans Homework," it tells what reform this school made, and why they deemed this necessary.

The school this post is talking about is the Elsa-Brandstrom high school in North Rhine-Westphalia. They have decided to rid the student of homework, one of the most dreded things ever. They did this "to help students unwind." I like the idea of no homework, but I, as much as it pains me to say this, don't see this change coming to my school any time soon. Also, another reform had to happen that made this possible that I am not ok with.

This change is that they did away with a year of high school and elongated the school day and year. I absolutly hate this idea. If this never happend at my school that would be to soon. I understand that means homework will never be done away with, but, hey, a man can dream can't he?

While researching this article I came across a school in the US that also has done away wtih homework. They instead asign reading to be done. So, maybe the daughnting task of homework will soon be a thing of the past.

While almost any student will tell you that homework is stupid and should go away, those same student would say the same about the idea of extending the school days. So, i think change is just a distant thought that the students of this generation will not have to worry about.

Current Event

        In a recent article by Peter S. Goodman, Business Editor of the Huffington Post, entitled "Chicago Teachers Strike A Push-Back To Education Reform," Goodman informs his readers of what the reforms were and why the teachers do not like them.

         Rahm Emanuel, the person who made this drastic reforms to the chicago educational system, "revoked a 4 percent raise that had been promised to teachers under their existing union contract." Emanuel thinks that test scores should depend on the raises the teachers get. Emanuel also stated that students get "the shaft" since the teachers just get the raises instead of earning them through the students test scores.

         The teachers, as anyone in there situation, didn't react to kindly to these new changes. They say that this isnt fair because they "are effectively getting stuck with accountability for complex social problems that extend far beyond their control." They go on to say that "no one in Chicago runs the risk of losing their job for failing to supply enough low-income housing. No one must satisfy a numbers-based standard for increased employment in impoverished communities. No one is on the hook to ensure that students show up well-fed and well-rested. All of these issues roll down to teachers, they say, directly influencing conditions in their classrooms. Yet they alone find themselves having to answer for the sole measured result: achievement on test scores."

       While reading this article I couldn't help but side with the teachers. No matter how good they are at teaching, some students will do bad on tests no matter what. The teachers shouldn't loose thier hard earned money because of it. Especially if it was already promised to them in a contract. These changes are unfair to the teachers that work hard to give there students the education they deserve and cutting their pay is not a good way to show appreciation for that hard work.

           I completly side with the teachers, something I thought i would never do, on this topic. The reforms should be changed back to the way they were. I would be irate if my pay, pay that was already promised to me, was cut due to circumstances beyond my control. I have said all i have to say about this topic, but i leave you with a question. If you were in these teachers shoes would you fight for your pay or would you just sit back and take it?

Literary Bucket List

1 Battle Royale - Koushun Takami: This book is a must read for any fan of the Hunger Game series. I liked the series and i heard this book was a lot like it so i figured i would check into it. From what i heard a class of kids are kidnapped by the government and forced to kill each other until only one is left standing.

2 The Scorpio Races - Maggie Stiefvater: I want to read this book because the author wrote the Shiver series and i liked that series a lot, so i figured why not give this one a shot. It is about a "death race" so to speak. I read the back of the book and the inside cover and it caught my interest right away. I am looking forward to reading this book.

3 The Gray Wolf Throne - Cinda Chima: This is the third book in its series, the Seven Reamls series. I have read the first and second and I enjoyed them enough to want to read this one. This is also a fantasy book, which is my favorite genre, so that fact also picked my interest.

4 Calico Joe - John Grisham: I wanna read this one because my english teacher Mrs. Gillmore promoed this book in class and it is by John Grisham. I have read a few books by this author and i liked them so i decided to give this one a try.

5 Supernaturales - Eon Colfer: Eon Colfer is one of my favorite authors. The Artimas Fowl series is also one of my favorite series. Since this book is by him, I automaticly came to the decision that this book was worth my time and i want to read it ASAP!

6 The Looking Glass Wars - Frank Beddor: I love everything about Alice In Wonderland. The books. cartoons, and the movie. When i heard there was a new book coming out that put a spin on the story i new i wanted to read it. A few of my friends have read it and they said it was good.

7 Seeing Redd - Frank Beddor: This is the second book in the Looking Glass War series. While I haven't read the first one YET, I still want to read this and the other book in the series, Arch Enemy. I know this book will be an amazing one and i can't wait to read it.

8 Arch Enemy - Frank Beddor: The third installment in the Looking Glass War trilogy.I want to read this one because I love everything dealing with Alice In Wonderland. I have ever since I first saw the cartoon when I was a little kid. So, I'm guessing there is a very good chance this book will be amazing.

9 The Serpent's Shadow - Rick Riordan: My brother, Austin, was reading this book and I sort of skimed it and it seems very interesting. I have read the other books in this series and I liked them
so I figured I would give this one a try.

10 It's A Book - Lane Smith: This book was shown in my class as a book trailer. It made me laugh and i like books that make me laugh. True, this book won't be high on my "to-read-list" but it will be read eventually.

WTC

             America is a strong country that will remain independent as it has since its conception. In the text it says that the building will be 1,776 feet tall. America got its independence in 1776. This was a message from the architects to anyone who dares threaten America that no matter what happens, no matter how badly the damage, we will retaliate and we will come back stronger than before.

How to survive a job interview

How to Survive a Job Interview

We all know people who are always “a ball of nervous energy” whenever they go to a job interview. Since they are nervous, a lot of people make mistakes that cost them the job that they would not have made if they had a clear head. This is understandable since surviving a job interview is such a daunting task to accomplish. Here are some tips that will hopefully soothe those troubled minds.

Dress appropriately for the interview. Kate McInnes, author of “How To Survive A Job Interview,” states that a person looking for a job should “leave the suit and tie at home.” Great advice, because if the place a person wants a job at is not a suit and tie sort of place, the person wearing one will look too “stiff” and “old fashion.” Also, no one else will be wearing one and the person will look awkward and out of place. McInnes also says a person should not show up in jeans and sneakers either. Also good advice because a place might not be a suit and tie place, but it is still a place of work and a person should dress professionally and ready to work. That means no jeans, sneakers, flip flops, showing of underwear, no low cut shirts, and no showing tattoos and piercings. What I am trying to get at is that a person should not dress up too much, but they do not want to underdress either.

If a person goes through the trouble of getting an interview, they should have the common decency of showing up on time. McInnes says in her post that “arriving on time is good,” because it “separates you from the other applicants and every little bit helps.” Showing up on time to a job interview is very important. Being nervous, as well as late to an interview, is not good and will probably cost someone the job. If a person knows they will be late, they should call and ask to reschedule. While being on time to an interview is very important, a person should not show up too early to one either. Showing up too early at an interview can be troublesome and annoying to the interviewer. He or she might be on break or in a meeting and will have to be interrupted to be told the applicant is here. Instead, look around and get to know the place. See if it is a good work environment. A person should show up on time to an interview or only a few minutes before to make the best impression possible.

A person separating themselves from the rest in a good way is crucial, but separating oneself in a bad way could cost you the job. Katherine Goldstein, author of “Arianna Huffington and Getting A Job At Huffington Post,” is a good example of having a positive impact while Bruce Hurwitz’s story on Amy Levin-Epstein’s post “Job Interview Horror Stories” is a perfect example of making a very bad impression. Goldstein was thrown into her interview ill prepared, and, to make matters worse, she was being filmed the entire time. She kept her cool and eventually got the job due to her good attitude and ability to adapt. Hurwitz’s story, however, did not go quite as well. Hurwitz was waiting for the elevator when a man walked up and started talking to a woman also waiting for the elevator. She chose to ignore him so the man started yelling at her about “how he was interviewing for for a great job with a great salary and he could buy and sell her” if he wanted to. Bruce was the interviewer and told the man the interview had been canceled. Now, some people will say all a person has to do to get a job is to know people. While, yes, it is nice to know some people to help out, it is still up to the person to make a good enough impression to get hired. If a person is confident, and makes a good enough impression, more than likely, they will get the job.

To recap all the major points of this advice, dress appropriately, show up at reasonable time, and make a good impression while not making yourself look bad. Now that you know these helpful hints, do you think you can successfully survive an interview?

Doyle, Alison. "What Not to Wear on an Interview." About.com Job Searching. About.com. Web. 15 May 2012. <http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewattire/a/interviewnot.htm>.

Kennedy, Erin. "How To Survive A Job Interview." Executive Resume Writers & Professional Resume Services by Erin Kennedy. Web. 15 May 2012. <http://exclusive-executive-resumes.com/interviewing/how-to-survive-a-job-interview/>.

McInnes, Kate. "How to Survive a Job Interview, 10 Tips for Creative Professionals." Adobe Illustrator and Vector Tutorials, from Beginner to Advanced. 04 Jan. 2011. Web. 15 May 2012. <http://vector.tutsplus.com/articles/how-to-survive-a-job-interview-10-tips-for-creative-professionals/>.

Levin-Epstein, Amy. "Job Interview Horror Stories." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 10 Mar. 2011. Web. 15 May 2012. <http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-47540318/job-interview-horror-stories/>.

Goldstein, Katherine. "Arrianna Huffington and Getting a Job at the Huffington Post: My Story." Slate Magazine. Slate.com, 11 Jan. 2012. Web. 15 May 2012.

What does being human mean?

Being human means striving for a better purpose and being able to feel emotions. Everybody feels and wants to do something. Might be something miniscule or humungous, doesn't matter, they still want to do and feel something. If someone had no emotions or goals for there life, I believe that that person would lose the qualities that would make them human.

Everyone wants to do something with their life. No matter what the goal is, everyone has one. The goal might be to become a firefighter, lawyer, hobo, create life like Victor Frankenstein, or even a power ranger, there is still a goal set. My goal is to become a welder once I graduate from high school and college. Having goals is part of what makes humans humans and everyone should set a high goal for themselves.

Every human has the capacity to feel emotions. No matter who you are, you feel some sort of emotion.It could be happiness, sadness, remorse, indifference, or even appathy, people still feel something. Someone could be a evil villain or the world’s most nicest person, they still feel something. Even if it is just a fleeting feeling, the feeling is still there and that is also part of what makes us humans so different than other species.

Some people will say animals feel emotions to, and they do. The feelings I’m talking about are deep emotions that could rule a person’s life. Animals go off of instincts instead of emotions. Those certain people might also say animals have a purpose as well, and, yet again, they do, but they do not set goals for themselves and strive to achieve that purpose.

Anthropomorphism

My friend, Tucker, and I were out running around and doing other wolf things one day. During out trek through the vast forest we call home, we spoted a herd of dear. We had been goofing off all day so we worked up quite an appetite. I decided to approach the herd from the right side while Tucker took the left. Right before I pounced on the herd, I heard a lot of superflouos noise coming from Tucker's side and the herd trampled off before I could sink my teeth into one. Angered, I stomped over to Tucker, and what I saw will forever be etched into my memory. Tucker, the fool, had fallen into a sink hole and couldn't get out. He was covered in mud from tail to head and had the funniest look on his face. I laughed so hard and long that the sun was setting by the time I got Tucker out. We headed back to the pack and shared the story of our adventure that day.

Frankenstein vs Walton

I think Frankenstein and Walton are similer in ways. but very different in others. What I mean by that is they both stirve for the same thing, but go about it very differently and both are obdurate.


Both of the men want to achieve greatness and do what's never been done before. Frankenstein wants to create life, something that has certainly never been done before and will achive him great fame, and Walton wants to go to the artic cirlce, something that wasn't achieved at the time and would get him considerable fame.


Frankestein didn't stop when he should've unkile Walton did. Frankenstein gave up everything, including his life, in his journy to fame. Walton saw that his goal was unachievable and turned back before disaster could befall him.


So as I said earlier, Frankenstein and Walton are similar, but Walton, in the end, proved to be wiser than his counter part. Proving that they are in fact different in important ways.

The zeal to survive

A person should never give up on life. If a person is faced with a seamingly impossible, arduous situation, they should never give up and submit to defeat. They should fight 'till the bitter end, because there might be a way out they didn't realize before. So a person should NEVER loose the will to live.


An example of situations where people didn't give up would be the Titanic. The ship was sinking and the people on the ship fought to live. They never gave up and fought 'till there dieing breath. If people can be faced with such insurmountable odds and still fight, why can't everyone else?


Another example would be Buck out of the book Call of the Wild. He is taken from his home, thrown into a new life style, and constantly facing hardships he never had to face before, yet he still fights rampantly to survive. If he can be put through that and still come out on top why not us?




I've have stated a few examples of why we should never loose our zeal to survive. So now I leave you with a question. The next time you are faced with a tough situation are you going to give up and accept your bitter fate, or will you rise up and face it head on with celerity and formidable strength?

Frakenstein

If I had the choice of creating a monster like Dr. Frankenstein did or not to, I would choose not to create one. One reason being I would have to take care of it and make sure it didn't hurt itself. Another being I would have to worry about it hurting me or someone else. So no, I would not take the chance to create life.

2012 theme word

Focused.

         I chose the word focused because I didnt do so well on the first simester and I don't need to fail since I'm so colse to graduating. I have been going to school for my entire life pretty much and have not failed a grade the whole time and I don't want to start now. Plus if I fail my dad would kill me so there's a little more incentive to get my work done and do it right.

        I'm in my junior year of high school and I have lost focus on doing my work and succeding in school. The result, I have failed two of my classes in the 2nd nine weeks. Now that a new year has started, as well as a new semester, I feel that I need to pay more atention to my work and less time doodling in class.

        Also, if I want to get into a good college I need good grades. Unfortunatly, good grades don't just fall into my lap, so I am going to have to work for them. I want to get into one of the top welding schools so I don't exactly have to be an expert when it comes to history, but it at least helps to pass the freakin' class.