I finished reading the book 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson. The main character Virginia, also known as Ginny, received 13 little blue envelopes following her Aunt Margaret's death. Inside the letters were instructions. Ginny follows her Aunt's footsteps through Europe and all over. While Ginny is following the random directions, she doesn't look back. Well, not as much as I thought she would. Ginny proves she would follow her aunt anywhere because she trusts her aunt, and her aunt trusts her.
In the beginning of the book, Ginny reads the first envelope. Aunt Peg says Ginny doesn't have to follow the exact directions on the envelopes, because she has no way of knowing or doing anything about it. Peg says in one of the letters that Ginny could be reading all the letters from her bedroom, or she could be traveling to Europe, but that se trusts her. Peg doesn't need to be there for Ginny to know what Peg wanted. Ginny followed her aunt's directions to the extent because she loves her, and believes in her.
Secondly, Ginny shows faith in her aunt by doing exactly what she says, and opening the letters when Peg said so. For example, the third envelope told Ginny to give $500 to a street artist. Ginny found the direction a little strange, and at first she had no idea how to give him the money, although she knew exactly who she was giving it to. Ginny found a way to give him the money, even though she ended up looking extremely strange. Ginny also waited for the right time to open each letter. She could have just opened each one when she felt like it, and not in order.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Vampyre friendships- thicker than blood
[I think there are spoilers...]
I just started reading a book called Awakened by PC and Kristen Cast. It's the eighth book in the House of Night series. Zoey Redbird was marked by a vampyre, and to make it through the change she moves into the House of Night. She discovers she has very unique and strong powers granted to her by the Goddess Nyx. With her friends they discover secrets and get rid of evil. Throughout the series I noticed that Zoey has to take a lot of responsibility, and Zoey feels responsible for her friends, but she gets through it because of their support.
Zoey Redbird is still a fledgling, and she will be until she completes the change, if she does. But even as a fledgling, Zoey has to take on a lot of responsibility. Zoey is named the leader of the Dark Daughters, a kind of social group with lots of benefits. But as leader, Zoey has to plan all of the rituals, and set up rules. Not to mention, erasing the ways the last leader had things (which was not very well). But Zoey faces these problems head-on, and asks her friends for guidance and advice. When Zoey was unsure of her idea of a "circle" of members (people with special earth, water, fire, air, and spirit powers), she asks her friends what they think. They give her encouragement to go to the High Priestess (kind of like a principal, but with powers) and present her idea. Also, when Zoey is preforming the ritual for the first time, her friends remind her they are there for her, and give her courage.
Later in the series, Zoey is seen as a High Priestess, the only Priestess fledgling, and not only because she has the rarest affinity (power) ever. It's not official, but people look to her for commands. Most fledglings respect her. Whenever Zoey and her friends are running from Evil that had corrupted vampyres, she automatically becomes leader, no questions asked. Zoey also tends to repeat to herself throughout the series that she puts her friends in danger, and she regrets that with her life. But each time her friends are in trouble, she does whatever she can to save them. In the first book, her ex-boyfriend and best friend Heath was once in danger of being dragged to the Otherworld by spirits, but Zoey called on her affinity for Spirit and saved his life.
Zoey has courage and strength that I sometimes wish I had. I guess part of it comes with having your life on the line, and the fact that you could die any second (if your body rejects the Change), but Zoey is a strong person in general. In life now, we don't necessarily have to protect our loved ones from spirits, but we still stick up for them. And Zoey is always there for her friends.
I just started reading a book called Awakened by PC and Kristen Cast. It's the eighth book in the House of Night series. Zoey Redbird was marked by a vampyre, and to make it through the change she moves into the House of Night. She discovers she has very unique and strong powers granted to her by the Goddess Nyx. With her friends they discover secrets and get rid of evil. Throughout the series I noticed that Zoey has to take a lot of responsibility, and Zoey feels responsible for her friends, but she gets through it because of their support.
Zoey Redbird is still a fledgling, and she will be until she completes the change, if she does. But even as a fledgling, Zoey has to take on a lot of responsibility. Zoey is named the leader of the Dark Daughters, a kind of social group with lots of benefits. But as leader, Zoey has to plan all of the rituals, and set up rules. Not to mention, erasing the ways the last leader had things (which was not very well). But Zoey faces these problems head-on, and asks her friends for guidance and advice. When Zoey was unsure of her idea of a "circle" of members (people with special earth, water, fire, air, and spirit powers), she asks her friends what they think. They give her encouragement to go to the High Priestess (kind of like a principal, but with powers) and present her idea. Also, when Zoey is preforming the ritual for the first time, her friends remind her they are there for her, and give her courage.
Later in the series, Zoey is seen as a High Priestess, the only Priestess fledgling, and not only because she has the rarest affinity (power) ever. It's not official, but people look to her for commands. Most fledglings respect her. Whenever Zoey and her friends are running from Evil that had corrupted vampyres, she automatically becomes leader, no questions asked. Zoey also tends to repeat to herself throughout the series that she puts her friends in danger, and she regrets that with her life. But each time her friends are in trouble, she does whatever she can to save them. In the first book, her ex-boyfriend and best friend Heath was once in danger of being dragged to the Otherworld by spirits, but Zoey called on her affinity for Spirit and saved his life.
Zoey has courage and strength that I sometimes wish I had. I guess part of it comes with having your life on the line, and the fact that you could die any second (if your body rejects the Change), but Zoey is a strong person in general. In life now, we don't necessarily have to protect our loved ones from spirits, but we still stick up for them. And Zoey is always there for her friends.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
A plague o' both your houses!
While reading Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, in class, the character Mercutio stands out to me. To me, Mercutio can sometimes act like the character's sub-conscience, and at others, can be playful and funny. Mercutio is also very loyal to his friends, namely Romeo. Mercutio gives good advice, and supports Romeo whenever he is being rash or doing things blindly. I also like Mercutio because he is a character that isn't from one of the houses, but is involved.
Mercutio is a good friend to Romeo, and he shows it in many different ways. On 1.4.58-110, Mercutio is good-naturedly teasing Romeo about an ominous dream he had. Mercutio stays upbeat and energetic, while telling Romeo not to worry. Mercutio is trying to calm Romeo down. On 2.4 Mercutio also shows his friendship with Romeo by looking for him while he is with Juliet, and by distracting Romeo when they find him. Another time and the last time Mercutio shows his loyalty and friendship is on 3.1, when Romeo takes up the battle meant for Romeo. Mercutio gets killed in the process, but he is trying to save Romeo from a impending battle between him and Tybalt.
Mercutio also gives very good advice to Romeo and others. He also can afford to give insight on the two house's quarrels because he is involved but not related. "Thy head is full of quarrels as an egg is full of meat, and yet thy head hath been beaten as addle as an egg for quarreling." Mercutio said this on 3.1.23-25. He is talking to Benvolio, and I think he is saying their heads were wired to fight, but after so much fighting, they have become helpless, and dependent on fighting. I say they have become dependent on fighting meaning that is all they know at this point. Mercutio also says on 1.4.17-18 "You are a lover. Borrow Cupid's wings and soar with them above a common bound." Mercutio is telling Romeo that he should follow his heart, and fly.
Mercutio is a good friend to Romeo, and he shows it in many different ways. On 1.4.58-110, Mercutio is good-naturedly teasing Romeo about an ominous dream he had. Mercutio stays upbeat and energetic, while telling Romeo not to worry. Mercutio is trying to calm Romeo down. On 2.4 Mercutio also shows his friendship with Romeo by looking for him while he is with Juliet, and by distracting Romeo when they find him. Another time and the last time Mercutio shows his loyalty and friendship is on 3.1, when Romeo takes up the battle meant for Romeo. Mercutio gets killed in the process, but he is trying to save Romeo from a impending battle between him and Tybalt.
Mercutio also gives very good advice to Romeo and others. He also can afford to give insight on the two house's quarrels because he is involved but not related. "Thy head is full of quarrels as an egg is full of meat, and yet thy head hath been beaten as addle as an egg for quarreling." Mercutio said this on 3.1.23-25. He is talking to Benvolio, and I think he is saying their heads were wired to fight, but after so much fighting, they have become helpless, and dependent on fighting. I say they have become dependent on fighting meaning that is all they know at this point. Mercutio also says on 1.4.17-18 "You are a lover. Borrow Cupid's wings and soar with them above a common bound." Mercutio is telling Romeo that he should follow his heart, and fly.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Loving Hate
In Romeo and Juliet there are many reoccurring themes. But the one that I noticed, especially in class when we were discussing oxymorons, was love and what each character in Shakespeare thought of it. Romeo has powerful thoughts on love along with Juliet, Capulet, Lady Capulet, Benvolio, and Paris. I think through these characters Shakespeare is trying to say that love is for the strong-willed and for people who are willing to commit themselves to love. Each character has their own opinion but together they show how confusing and powerful love can be.
In 1.1.176-197 Romeo talks about his love for Rosaline. Romeo uses oxymorons like "feather of lead, cold fire, and loving hate" to describe love. Reading these makes me think that Romeo is kind of a helpless romantic. Romeo is expressing his love and his thoughts on love saying that love is very difficult but worth it. When I hear "cold fire" I think of something seemingly warm and friendly that turns out to be nothing like you expected. "Feather of lead" can mean that love is light like a feather, but can turn into a feeling of burden. Or, in the term "loving hate", loving can be a verb or a noun. You can either love that you hate something, or lovingly hate something or someone. What I mean by lovingly hate someone is that you respect them enough to not blindly hold a grudge. Romeo is feeling all these things about love, and Shakespeare is expressing his perspective through him.
Juliet also believes that love is not a thing to be played with. In 1.4.103-105, her parents ask her to marry someone she does not know. She does not disagree right away. Instead she decides that she will meet him and see if she likes him enough to marry him. I think that Juliet is being mature in not jumping to conclusions. If she were to immediately turn down her suitor, then find out that they could have loved each other, she would forever regret that. Juliet is also catering to her parents' wants because she did not turn down the offer. She is adhering to her belief in love by waiting to see if she truly loves this man before marrying him.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Fooling the Coast Guard?
On Sunday, the Coast Guard had received a distress
call from a sailboat with four people on board off the coast of California. A
family of four were reported from the boat, which had failing electronics. They
abandoned the ship after floating out 65 miles out to sea. For the past 48
hours since, the Coast Guard covered 20,000 square miles of ocean searching for
this family. It was later reported that the call came from further north than
they were told. Coast Guard member, Thomas
McKenzie said, "We weren't able to find any vessel, any signs of
debris, we couldn't find anything that would indicate there had been an
incident." The message from the man on the ship was, "Coast guard,
coast guard, we are abandoning ship. This is the [Charmblow], we are abandoning
ship." The Coast Guard was unable to find any boat under the name
Charmblow, and they discovered that no one was reported missing.
I think the author of this article wants you to feel bad for the Coast
Guard, almost, and annoyed at the person who made the false call. McKenzie
points out that 'making a false distress call is a federal criminal offense
punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine and reimbursement
to the Coast Guard for the cost of the search.' This is showing how much of a
mistake making this kind of call was. It's a waste of time for both sides, and
it's costly for both of them too. The article also has a statistic, 'the Coast
Guard handles, on average more than 20,000 calls for assistance a year. Of
those, an average of 18 international false distress calls and another 121 are suspected
hoaxes, according to Coast Guard figures.' The Coast Guard has to treat every
call as if it was an emergency, because for all they know, it is an actual
emergency. The people on the other line could be fine, while the Coast Guard is
worried sick about the possibly sunken ship and lost family. Just for the Charmblow case, they ran 34 searches, got the Navy involved, the Air National guard, as well as 10 Coast Guard boats and helicopters.
I think that this is very serious, and I think that it's horrible that people would fake an emergency like that. Yes, I have made prank calls before, but only to my friends. The way the coast guard has to deal with the case, only to find out it's not real and theres no danger, it's just too much. I feel bad for the Coast guard. I also wonder if any other government-issued safety department has been prank called. My guess is probably, a lot of times. I think that if people have nothing better to do, they can go watch tv or something, instead of wasting someone else's time. If the Coast Guard were to get more prank calls, they wouldn't be able to tell which were serious and which were fake. It would be like the boy who cried wolf.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Would your friends invade a fortress with you?
In the book Virals by Kathy Reichs, the main character Tory and her three friends Hi (Hiram), Shelton, and Ben are transformed into mutant wolfdog-human creatures. Tory and her friends work together to figure out the mystery behind an old murder. They also work together to hide their mutant powers. As they solve the mysteries, their friendship grows stronger. Tory is also respected by her friends, and shown to be the leader many times over. Throughout the book, their friendship and Tory's leadership is strengthened because of their adventures.
In the beginning of the book, on page 106 Tory and Hi are joking about prom. Hi asks Tory if she's shopping for prom dresses, and they joke about it from there. "Thanks", Tory responds dryly. "You'll still be my date, right? Or do you have a playoff game that night? I'll understand; we need our star quarterback on the field." Hi isn't actually a football player, this just shows their relationship. Tory also says, but not out loud, "Despite the ribbing, I was glad to see Hi. We had identical schedules and spent most lunches together. Joking with someone about being cool was more fun than being unpopular alone."
On page 187, Tory and the guys are deciding whether or not they should search for the people who chased after them. Tory says, "We're a team, guys. We're smarter than the creeps who did this. We can beat them." On the next page, Hi says, "Why do all your brilliant ideas involve felonies?" This shows that Hi respects Tory's ideas, and thinks they are very smart, but also thinks they are dangerous. Tory is the one that organizes their break-ins, proving again that she is considered their leader.
Tory takes a lot of responsibility throughout the story. On page 289, Tory plans out how they will retrieve information, and on page 415 Shelton says, "She's going to say 'tonight', isn't she? Every time I think I'm done for the night, Tory says we have to invade some fortress." Shelton wouldn't go against Tory's ideas, and he probably agrees with most of them. Tory's friends trust her, and they look up to her.
I have had many friends and role models that I looked up to and respected. None like how Hi, Shelton, and Ben looked up to Tory, though. They were connected by secrets. But I have friends that will always have my back, and would hopefully stand with me when invading a fortress, although that may be too much to ask. I also consider myself one of these kinds of friends to others. I hope people look up to me, and respect me. I may not be as smart as Tory, or genetically enhanced, but having good friends will always be something we have in common.
In the beginning of the book, on page 106 Tory and Hi are joking about prom. Hi asks Tory if she's shopping for prom dresses, and they joke about it from there. "Thanks", Tory responds dryly. "You'll still be my date, right? Or do you have a playoff game that night? I'll understand; we need our star quarterback on the field." Hi isn't actually a football player, this just shows their relationship. Tory also says, but not out loud, "Despite the ribbing, I was glad to see Hi. We had identical schedules and spent most lunches together. Joking with someone about being cool was more fun than being unpopular alone."
On page 187, Tory and the guys are deciding whether or not they should search for the people who chased after them. Tory says, "We're a team, guys. We're smarter than the creeps who did this. We can beat them." On the next page, Hi says, "Why do all your brilliant ideas involve felonies?" This shows that Hi respects Tory's ideas, and thinks they are very smart, but also thinks they are dangerous. Tory is the one that organizes their break-ins, proving again that she is considered their leader.
Tory takes a lot of responsibility throughout the story. On page 289, Tory plans out how they will retrieve information, and on page 415 Shelton says, "She's going to say 'tonight', isn't she? Every time I think I'm done for the night, Tory says we have to invade some fortress." Shelton wouldn't go against Tory's ideas, and he probably agrees with most of them. Tory's friends trust her, and they look up to her.
I have had many friends and role models that I looked up to and respected. None like how Hi, Shelton, and Ben looked up to Tory, though. They were connected by secrets. But I have friends that will always have my back, and would hopefully stand with me when invading a fortress, although that may be too much to ask. I also consider myself one of these kinds of friends to others. I hope people look up to me, and respect me. I may not be as smart as Tory, or genetically enhanced, but having good friends will always be something we have in common.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Let me hold your crown, babe
I chose the song King of Anything sung and written by Sara Bareillies. I love this song, and I feel like the music video really fits well, but I won't let that cloud my interpretation of the song lyrics. The character in the song is listening to someone else speak, someone who tries to be their knight in shining armor. The line "so many things I'd say if only i were able, but I just keep quiet and count the cars that pass by" tells you that the subject is feeling almost ignored, like she can't speak her mind. Another line says "so let me thank you for your time and try not to waste any more of mine, get out for here fast". The boy she is talking about is probably ignoring her, and she is sick of it.
The chorus lyrics are "who cares if you disagree/ you are not me/ who made you king of anything/ so you dare tell me who to be/ who died and made you king of anything". Compared to the message Sara Bareillies might have been trying to send in the first verse, this is confusing. Here it sounds like she is saying no one can control her, and she is her own person.
The line "you are not me" really stands out to me. The subject doesn't care what others think, and will go her own way. Maybe in the first verse, the subject was being told what to think or do, and she was looking for a way out.
The second verse and bridge connect more to the chorus, I think. "You sound so innocent/ all full of good intent/ you swear you know best" makes me think the person scolding the subject is oblivious to the fact that others have ideas also. The bridge is the strongest part of the song, next to the chorus, in my opinion. This is because it grabs your attention, and you can actually understand and connect to the lyrics, "all my life/ i've tried/ to make everybody happy while I/ just hurt/ and hide/ waiting for someone to tell me it's my turn/ to decide". The subject is really under the influence or control of someone else, and she wants out.
This can connect to people under pressure, or people who are forced to continue something their hearts aren't into. Like if someone is forced to play an instrument or sport by their parents. Or if a kid is pressured by tests and studying, they want to be able to make their own decision. The last line in the song that Sara Bareillies says is "let me hold your crown babe". The crown symbolizes the right to speak up for yourself, and the subject wants to be able to have that right. Like how certain rights aren't given to kids until they reach an age. Then they can get their crown.
King of Anything lyrics
King of Anything music video
The chorus lyrics are "who cares if you disagree/ you are not me/ who made you king of anything/ so you dare tell me who to be/ who died and made you king of anything". Compared to the message Sara Bareillies might have been trying to send in the first verse, this is confusing. Here it sounds like she is saying no one can control her, and she is her own person.
The line "you are not me" really stands out to me. The subject doesn't care what others think, and will go her own way. Maybe in the first verse, the subject was being told what to think or do, and she was looking for a way out.
The second verse and bridge connect more to the chorus, I think. "You sound so innocent/ all full of good intent/ you swear you know best" makes me think the person scolding the subject is oblivious to the fact that others have ideas also. The bridge is the strongest part of the song, next to the chorus, in my opinion. This is because it grabs your attention, and you can actually understand and connect to the lyrics, "all my life/ i've tried/ to make everybody happy while I/ just hurt/ and hide/ waiting for someone to tell me it's my turn/ to decide". The subject is really under the influence or control of someone else, and she wants out.
This can connect to people under pressure, or people who are forced to continue something their hearts aren't into. Like if someone is forced to play an instrument or sport by their parents. Or if a kid is pressured by tests and studying, they want to be able to make their own decision. The last line in the song that Sara Bareillies says is "let me hold your crown babe". The crown symbolizes the right to speak up for yourself, and the subject wants to be able to have that right. Like how certain rights aren't given to kids until they reach an age. Then they can get their crown.
King of Anything lyrics
King of Anything music video
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