Outside Reading Post 19

For tonight's outside reading post, I will post on my Spanish homework and how easy it was to complete. The basis of the homework was on the subject of ir, meaning, to go. So basically, we had to figure out which form of ir to use in different sentences. The six forms are voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van; representing the forms for I, you, her/him, we, you all, and them. Well basically the concept is simple, but since I have nothing really to write about in my blog, I decided to incorporate what I did for homework, and use it in my blog. Anyways, I really just found out that doing your homework actually improves your skill, so I just thought that doing my homework in Spanish, despite the severe easiness, does aid my skill in the language. Phew, what a waste of a blog, sorry about that. At least I did it. Woot !

Outside Reading Post 18

For today's outside reading blog, I will comment on the symbolism of the book, The Giver, by Louis Lowry. The novel, The Giver, is about a utopian society created by some of the most intelligent people of the community. The main character, Jonas, soon learns the societies' secrets and then decides to abandon it all together. One particular item that I want to comment on that is a symbol is the apple. Within the story, everyone is color blind, except for Jonas. He soon develops the sense of sight, being able to see color, and beauty. I thought that the apple symbolized the change and new journey that Jonas was about to take on. It would lead to Jonas leaving the society, and learning about its hidden secrets. I also thought it represented change, not just the physically changed color of the apple, but hope for change within the society. Something that Jonas was to change physically about the society, to break it free from the secrets that control it. Anyways, I just thought it was a really good symbol.

Outside Reading Post 17

Today's blog post will be about Statistics, from my reading of my statistics book over the weekend. Why would I read my stat book ? Well obviously to learn! Anyways, I will just briefly go over the fact that it was unusually easier to understand the content of chapter 5 when I actually read the chapter. The chapter is about Producing Data with Randomization. The concept is quite simple actually, you basically just need to be able to produce data of a sample, a section of a population, by using random numbers from either a Table of Random Numbers, or a calculator that can simulate that for you. I found it quite interesting that you are able to answer questions such as, "A couple wants to have a girl in their family, they will continue to have children until they either have a girl, or have 4 children. Using the concept of randomization and probability, show the possibility of the couple having a girl in their family." Now I can finally do my math homework correctly !

Outside Reading Post 16

For tonight's blog post I will comment on the video I viewed in my AP World History class, Guns, Germs, and Steel. The video was on the fall of the Inca empire in the 1500s C.E. The Incas were the most powerful of all the mesoamerican empires, and its empire spanned from the tip of South America, to the tip of modern day Chili. The Inca fell to Spanish Conquestadors, led by Pizarro, a retired war veteran. He lead a group of 126 men to the Americas, and was able to take down the most powerful empire of the land. How did they do this ? Well, according to Jared Diamond, the narrator of the video, he explains that do to the geographic luck of the Spanish Conquestadors, they had already mastered the creation of steel weaponry, they had guns called harcubuses, which were similar to a shot gun, and they also possessed germs that infected the Inca empire. I thought that this video was oddly interesting; it presented its material well and was straight to the point. I also enjoyed the acting of the Inca Empire and Spanish Conquestadors, it seemed very accurate and very informal.

Outside Reading Post 15

In the movie, Tropic Thunder, that I watched with my friend just an hour ago seemed to interest me and still humor me so I decided to make a blog post on it. In this blog post, I will talk about how Tropic Thunder, although hated by others, is an extremely funny movie because of its irony. For examples, I found some very funny situational irony scenes that add to the overall quality of the movie. One of these scenes was the scene where the soldiers throw a fake bomb at the Flaming Dragon drug producers and in the tree bombs were set and the producers pressed the button to explode the bombs at the same time. It went together well because the Flaming Dragon thought it was a real bomb when it really wasn't and it added to the overall quality of the movie. The soldiers thought they were still acting in a movie, when in reality they weren't and the Flaming Dragon thought the soldiers were people sent to take down the Flaming Dragon. This irony couldn't have been done in a better way because it adds to the fact that the movie is a comedy and intended for laughs and not a real movie about the Viet Nam war or anything of that sort. To end, I would recommend others to watch this movie and look for the humor, but also watch for the ironic situations that add to the situation because they are easily to recognize and recognizing them helps to see the movie in a different point of view.

Outside Reading Post 14

"Get Smart", a movie production directed by Peter Segal, is an action packed comedy with Steve Carell as its main character. Basically, Max, played by Steve Carell, and Agent 99, played by Ann Hathaway, go on a secret mission to find information on a bombing industry in Russia. The movie was insanely hilarious, one minute there would be laughing, and the next there would be action. I really enjoyed the humor that was put into that movie, it goes really well with the action parts. One scene that I particularly found funny was the beginning scene when Control, the center of the agents operations, was destroyed. The team of agents come running in, and Max thinks they are bad guys, so he knocks the Cheif in the head with a fire extinguisher. Overall, it was a very good movie, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves to laugh. I give it 2 thumbs up.

Outside Reading Post 13

For today's blog, I will comment on how boring the AP World History Book is. For today, I was reading chapter 21, Mesoamerica and Oceania. I really found the civilization of the Inca very exciting. It was very interesting, despite the boring reading. I learned that the Inca was the most powerful empire in South America within that time period. Their capital was Technochlitan, and their empire spread to most of South America. What really fascinated me was the use of weaponry in the empire; it sucked. They used stone weapons that were completely obsolete to the Spanish weaponry of steel and guns. From the reading, "The Inca was the strongest and most developed civilization in the entire continent during 1500C.E." What really was interesting in the reading was the fact that although the Inca was superior to all other nations surrounding it, they still fell to Spanish Conquestadors. Although I was deathly bored of reading for my AP class, I still found the content of the reading somewhat interesting.

Outside Reading Post 12

For today's blog post, I will be commenting on the aritcle, "Bones: The Imperial Structure", by Donald Maxwell. Basically, the article is about the human's 206 bones, and how each of them are a vital part of our life. For example, from the reading, "The largest bones in our body are our leg bones." This was interesting because I always thought our biggest bones were up in our torso. Another quote that I found particularly interesting was, "Pound for pound, bone is stronger than concrete." This suprised me because I could never imagin bone being stronger than concrete. I really enjoyed the fact that Donald related his writing to the findings of many scientists, and incorporated his work into this article; it was very professional. Well, that's it for today's post. Peace.

Outside Reading Post 11

For today's blog post, I will post on the movie, War of the Worlds 2. Basically, it's a crappy sequel to War of the Worlds 1. The reason being, it had bad actors, a dumb plot, and it made no sense. I really didn't like how every time an actor said his or her lines, they seemed to have not known what to say, and eventually say something to fill in the gap. I also couldn't understand what was really going on, there was too much shifting between scenes, which not only made it more annoying, but even more confusing. In addition, the plot really didn't have anything to do with the first movie, it was a completely different story, with the same characteristics as the first movie. Sure, they still had the super hi tech invaders, but in the first movie, if they already destroyed them, why bring them back ? I also found it somewhat stupid that they would skip certain scenes for us viewers to "interpret" what was going to happen. Not only was the movie a complete fail, it makes the audience fall asleep; in my opinion, the War of the Worlds 2, is a bad movie. I do NOT recommend anyone watching that horrible, horrible, movie.

Outside Reading Post 10

Wow, my 10th post. Woot. Well anyways, lately I've been reading a lot of AP World. Yup, suprised ? Well don't be. Anyways, the chapter that we have been studying this week was, "Early African Societies and Mongols in China". So far, I've learned tons ! I've learned that Genghis Khan, the leader of the mongols, conquered more than twice as any man in history. I also found out that he conquered enough land to span most of North America and about half of South America. From one of my readings, "...he was a man that conquered all for the expansion of his empire." From here you can see that one of the reasons why he conquered was because of this idea to have a huge, united empire. That kind of devotion and hard work really paid off for Genghis. I really enjoyed the idea of conquest back around the 500-1500 C.E. time period. Just imagining tons of regions that were weak, and then here you come and conquer that region, you'd own it and have the power to control it. That is a nice thought.

Outside Reading Post 9

For the past 2 weeks I've been reading the book, Breaking Dawn, by Stephanie Meyer. So far I've gotten to the part where Bella has given birth to her daughter, the daughter of her and Edward. Basically after this gruesome scene Bella is transformed into a vampire. That's about as far as I've gotten; there is a lot to comment on, so I'll specifically focus on description, my favorite part about all books. I base my liking and understanding on a book by it's description: poor description, crappy book; great description, good book. Well what I really enjoyed about this section of the novel was the fact that it was fascinatingly portrayed. For example, "After a split second we heard a loud snap. Her spine, the thing in her broke her spine! Blood was everywhere, it enveloped the table Bella was on, and our hands, I couldn't stand this anymore." This kind of description paints a picture in my mind, and not to mention a vivid picture. Well yeah, that's all I wanted to comment on for this blog.

Odyssey National Hero of the Year Endorsement Letter

Telemachus: A Faithful Hero
The land of Ithaca finds itself in a state of wonder as it is faced with a decision, the choice between two great heroes. Although both candidates make such fine heroes, I endorse Telemachus, son of Odysseus, heir to the throne to possess the land of Ithaca.
A hero is someone who stands against all odds to do what is right; one who stands for justice and for the benefit of others. Heroes are strong and fierce; they continue on and follow through during rough times. If anyone else had characteristics such as these, I wouldn’t be endorsing Telemachus for Hero of the Year.
Telemachus is an inspiring and truly strong willed figure. He not only has the will and strength to find his father who has been lost for years, but he also has the courage to stand against everyone else when no one will stand by his side. For example, from the text, “’Dear god, hear me! Yesterday you came to my house, you told me to ship out on the mist sea and learn if father, gone so long, is ever coming home… Look how my countrymen-the suitors most of all, the pernicious bullies- foil each move I make.’”(II, 295-300). In this scene, Telemachus is complaining to the god Athena, that he can’t get any help from any of the people of Ithaca, so this shows he had the courage to stand against everyone else, make a stand alone, and then decided to sail to find news of his father with Athena’s help.
Poseidon is also a very smart and intelligent hero. Although he has hero-like qualities, he isn’t very heroic at times. For example, in the novel, when Odysseus is stranded at sea, and his men have all been killed, it is Poseidon who answers his cry, and uses a storm to keep Odysseus away from Ithaca. There is a reason I endorse Telemachus against Poseidon, Poseidon isn’t helpful towards others, he doesn’t stand for justice, and he isn’t a hero.
For a good portion of the plot, Telemachus stands strong, firm and willing to go on in times of sorrow and danger. He shows his integrity, his courage, and his overall determination as a hero. He always does what is best for others, for example his parents. He is overly qualified for the role of Hero of the Year.

Odyssey Thesis Statement Assignment

Essay Prompt - What is Odysseus's biggest flaw and why ?

Thesis Statements - (Listing Form and Open Ended)

Listing - In the novel, "The Odyssey," Odysseus's biggest flaw is his pride because it causes him to act arrogant, cocky, and boastful.

Open Ended - In the novel, "The Odyssey," Odysseus's biggest flaw is his pride because it causes him to act differently in certain situations.

Topic Sentences for each body paragraph -

1st body paragraph - To begin, Odysseus's pride is his biggest flaw because it causes him to act arrogant when the opportunity presents itself.

2nd body paragraph - Secondly, Odysseus's pride remains his biggest flaw because of the fact that it causes him to act boastful.

3rd body paragraph - Lastly, Odysseus's pride stands as his biggest flaw because it causes him to act cocky in different situations.

Outside Reading Post 8

For the past week or so I've been actively reading the book, Breaking Dawn, by Stephanie Meyer. This book is basically about a young lady named Bella, who becomes married to this vampire, Edward, and she get's pregant with a half human/half vampire baby. I haven't got very far into the reading but so far it's pretty interesting. Right now I'm at the part where Jacob, a werewolf, is protecting Bella and Edward from the rest of his pack, who wish to eliminate Bella. What I really enjoy most about the book is that it is fiction, but takes place in a real place, Forks, Washington. I also enjoy how the characters within the book are depicted, especially the vampires. For example, "He had rock hard skin and golden eyes, his hair was a crisp brown with a touch of dark black mixed in." Within the book there is a struggle between the werewolves and the vampires, and then there is another struggle between the vampires, and the higher powered vampires. To sum, the book seems like it will be very confusing because of all that's going on within the plot, but with the use of imagery and great description, it won't be so bad to read and follow.

Outside Reading Post 7

For today's outside reading, I'm going to write about what I read for AP World History. Today I read chapter 14, which is on the foundations of Christian Society in Western Europe. Well basically I read like 4 pages, and they were mainly about King Charlemagne, the ruler of the the western European Empire. What I thought of the reading was that King Charlemagne was a very powerful ruler that extended his power to all areas of his empire. In addition to this, he decided to spread the idea of monotheism to all parts of his empire, Christianity. I thought it was a very intriguing idea of how he did this, especially because it was through conquest and through the help of the Pope, priests, and monks. Also, I enjoyed the depiction of the Muslim armies that King Charlemagne fought in Syria around 732 C.E. Due to the information provided and the excitement that I had during the reading, I can only remember so much from what I read, but because of this blog I'm sure if I had to test on King Charlemagne's rule and influence, I'd stand a better chance at passing.

Outside Reading Post 6

This weekend I've been doing a lot of homework, especially math. So for my blog today, I will write about EFST - Enriched Functions Statistics and Trig. Well for this weekend, I had a take home quiz for homework. Basically, I had to read most of chapter 2 in my stat book and then I had to do some problems on the quiz. I really had to read the book before I could answer any of the questions right anyways, so I read the chapter. I thought it was somewhat confusing when I read the chapter, it was very annoying, especially since I was reading math. I found it somewhat easier when I read through the examples within the book. Well basically, because I read the book, I think I did a good job on the take home quiz.

Hero in a box - " Heroes in Our Society "

Raw Material on : " Heroes in Our Society "

1. Poem - by Nathan Kraft
My Hero is Many,
My Hero is One.
My Hero Proudly Holds a Gun.
My Hero Fights,
My Hero Kills,
My Hero Falls Out in the Field.
My Hero Laughs,
My Hero Cries,
My Hero Tries and Tries and Dies.
My Hero is Dirty,
My Hero is Smart,
My Hero Charges Towards the Front.
My Hero's a Soldier,
My Hero's a Marine,
My Hero's A Sailor Riding Across the Seas.
My Hero's an Airman,
My Hero Sacrifices,
My Hero Loves.
My Hero is Mine, Yours and Anyone Who Cares.

2. Poem - by Nicola Burkett
A hero thinks of others before they think of themselves
A hero will die to protect
A hero can be of any age, any colour
A hero can be man, woman or child
A hero is courageous, loving and brave
A hero will never complain
A hero can be made in one act of compassion
Or years of tender loving care
Some hero's are remembered, whilst many are left forgotten
Hero's are angels in disguise, saving precious innocent lives

3. Picture - From Google - http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/images/2007/08/08/hero_2.jpg
(Kid with cape. Picture above)

4. Kid Hero Story - "Kid Hero Saves Teacher" - From - http://ballastexistenz.autistics.org/?p=453

Brendon quickly came to Kenser’s rescue.

“I just ran over when she passed out,” said Brendon. He got to her purse and grabbed her inhaler, gave it to his groggy teacher and saved her life. He says he knew what to do from a scene in the movie “Are We There Yet.”

“If I didn’t see that movie, I wouldn’t know what to do,” said Brendon.

“After the event he said ”You know Mrs. Kenser, TV’s not so badhuh?’” said Kenser.

5. Kid Hero Video - "Kid Hero Uses Sat-Nav to Save Dad" - from LiveLeak.com

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=73f_1199309050

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Categorized Themes for : "Heroes in Our Society"

Theme #1 - Rescue - The raw materials that are placed in this category refer to some sort of rescue being done, implying that a hero is someone who "rescues", or saves someone, any help being given to another by this person or these people are heroes.
Raw Materials for this category - "Kid Hero Uses Sat-Nav to Save Dad", "Kid Hero Saves Teacher".

Theme #2 - Providing Support - The raw materials that are placed in this category refer to the idea that a hero is someone who lends support to someone in need of it.
Raw Materials for this category - "Kid with Cape", Hero poem by Nicola Burkett.

Theme #3 - Acting better than normal/average - The raw material that is placed in this category refers to the idea that a hero is a normal person, who has characteristics that are above that of an average person.
Raw Materials for this category - Poem by Nathan Kraft

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Paragraphs describing relation of "Themes" to "Raw Materials" for "Heroes in Our Society"

Paragraph 1 - Theme 1 :

To start off, the theme relating to the idea of "rescue", is meant to inform the audience that a hero, is someone who provides or lends help to those in need, or in other words, "rescue" someone who needs it. The first example that was chosen to describe this was the "Kid Hero Uses Sat-Nav to Save Dad" video. This example shows us the meaning of "rescue"; the boy's father collapses on the road and the boy dials 9-1-1 to save his father. It's a simple story to show a broad concept such as "rescue". In addition, the second example that was used to describe this theme was the "Kid Hero Saves Teacher" story. Again, a common situation where a child saves his teacher from an asthma attack. To tie it all together, the idea of "rescue" is not only simply the idea or act of "rescuing" someone literally like in the examples used, but can also be showed through other examples of helping or giving help to someone in need.

Paragraph 2 - Theme 2 :
Next, the theme, "Providing Support", is refering to the idea that a hero is defined as someone who lends a helping hand, so to speak. The instances where this was seen or showed, was first shown in the picture of "Kid with Cape". This is just a picture of a child wearing a simple cape, but if you look further into the picture for it's meaning, you can come up with several reasons for why he is wearing that cape. In my opinion, I believe he is wearing that cape to signify that he wants to be helpful, or needed, by those who require help. Also, another example that showed this theme was the poem created by Nicola Burkett. This poem is a powerful piece of literature that shows the authors feelings on what makes a hero. His reasoning ties into the theme of "providing support" because in his work, an ideal hero is one that can indeed provide a person with help. From his poem, "A hero thinks of others before they think of themselves
A hero will die to protect", from this passage readers can see how he personally feels a hero should be able to act upon, and it definately ties in with the theme, "providing support".

Paragraph 3 - Theme 3
Lastly, the theme of "Acting above average", is commonly thought of as someone who wants to be superior to others, or a perfectionist point of view. Although it has other implications, the idea of acting above average applies to being a hero. The piece of raw material that best suited this theme was the poem done by Nathan Kraft. For example, from his poem, "My Hero Proudly Holds a Gun.My Hero Fights,My Hero Kills,..." From this quote alone, readers can infer that Nathan believes a hero can solve problems and rescue people through justice. Also, readers can infer that Nathan believes that heroes have to be above average to be who they are. Normal people alone don't go randomly fighting crime, shooting guns and killing the bad; it takes someone special to accomplish such tasks, in this case, heroes.

Conclusion for "Heroes in Our Society" -
To conclude, from the evidence that was found on what makes a hero, we see there are 3 main defining characteristics that make up a "hero". 1. A hero is one that can rescue others. 2. A hero is someone who can provide the support that many people need. 3. A hero is someone who is above the normal, above the rest, one that can do things no normal people can do alone. Based on these themes, I've learned that heroes can be distinguished in a variety of ways, and also that they come in all shapes and sizes. The 3 themes or characteristics that define a hero aren't the only ones, but they support the evidence that was found.

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By : Shane Jones - for " Heroes in Our Society "

Outside Reading Post 5

For today's blog assignment, I plan to write about a movie I watched about 2 weeks ago. The movie was titled, "Eagle Eye". Basically, this movie is about a man who gets framed by a military computer that is designed to help enforce the law. What goes wrong is that the computer loses control and forces people to complete her mission to destroy the line of succession for president. While the people are forced to complete this task, the main character, Jerry, works together with Rachel, another victim, to try to destroy this super computer. I basically thought that this was a typical machine vs man themed movie. The movie is based off the fact that you have to fight against machine to solve the main conflict. I've seen this theme in movies such as, "I Robot", "Transformers", and "Bionic Women". So I've contemplated that movies that include themes such as man vs. anything but man, is extremely exciting because of the fact that we humans never really have those kinds of interactions in every day life. To conclude, I thought that the plot, use of characters, use of scenery, and use of lighting was very key in the construction of this film. I give it 2 thumbs up. Watch it !
>>>> Link to the preview of this movie >>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFrSFoHWKM8

Outside Reading Post 4

For M.E.A., I was assigned to read, "The Unspeakable Odyssey of the Motionless Boy," and comment on how I thought it was. In my opinion, I really enjoyed it; it was depicted with tons of imagery and it was very real. The only real reason that made me enjoy this reading was one, Mr. Cheng, my english teacher, read most of it to us; and second, it was interesting and more of a teenage reading. One part that I particularly found interesting was on page 217, where Kennedy, a pioneer in the field of brain-computer interface research, explains to Erick, the one who has locked-in syndrome, how the computer chip that Kennedy has placed into Erick's brain, works and functions. From the text, "Imagine, Kennedy suggests, a 'personal digital assistant in the brain.' Or a digital surrogate memory that remembers everything. Or the entire contents of Google a single thought away." To me this was interesting how he compared the brain's power to locate memorys like google locates things you search for, such a vast amount of things the brain has the power to do is compared to the biggest search engines in the world today. I thought that was amazingly cool. Overall, it was a great and fascinating reading.

Siddhartha Blog Assignment #4

Hello again, it's me Zhou Yun; I'm here to re cap on the total sum of Siddhartha's life journey. Just to remind you all, I'm one of Siddhartha's closest friends, not as close as Govinda though. Anyways, after following Siddhartha on his journey to self enlightenment, I think that he learned the suffering in life is never ending, and I think I saw him learn this lesson best when he witnessed the death of his beloved and abandonment of his only son.
Well to begin, I first saw Siddhartha learn that suffering is an endless cycle when I followed his wife and son to the fishermans hut. I witnessed Kamala get bitten, and then taken to Siddhartha who happened to be with Vasudeva, the fisherman. When Kamala finally died, Siddhartha went to the river, and listened. From my point of view, I believe that when Siddhartha listened to the river, he knew more than he did before he began to listen; and this is where I believe he learned that life is an endless cycle of turmoil. Although the death of his beloved was devastating and heart breaking, Siddhartha wouldn't have learned the lesson he did without the event taking place.
To continue, I also witnessed Siddhartha learning that suffering is a vital part of all human life when I saw his only son abandoned him and the fisherman, for good. It was early in the morning when I saw young Siddhartha take a basket of gold coins with him, and take his fathers boat accross the river. Young Siddhartha wanted to leave his father and did not want to be followed, this kind of abandonment truly hurt Siddhartha, but without it, Siddhartha wouldn't have learned.
In conclusion, I believe that Siddhartha's life journey was a success. It was indeed hard for him to succeed, but he succeeded in finding inner peace. I finally knew all pain, all knowledge, and understood why we suffer. Siddhartha is truly an amazing man and he is to be remembered for all time.

Outside Reading Post 3

Well for the past couple days, I've continued reading the book, The Giver, by Lois Lowry. So far I'm at the point of the story where Jonas, the main character, gets the job, Receiver, assigned to him. Not only is this job a job of high standard, but it is most honored. I basically thought it was very descriptive, the way the author portrays all the scenes and ceremonies, he does a great job. I also thought that it was kind of ironic that Jonas would get a very honorable job, considering he is the most diverse of all in the society, so that was kind of a give away. I also noticed foreshadow when in the beginning of the book, it said that Jonas would soon learn that his differences would soon suprise him. Overall it was a good reading, I enjoyed it.

Outside Reading Post 2

Well for the past day or two, I've been reading this book called, The Giver, by Lois Lowry. This book is about a somewhat utopian society that is only like that because they can somewhat control what happens around the citizens. The main character, Jonas, is different, he can notice these changes around him that makes him stand out from all the others. Basically I only got to the part were there is a ceremony about which kids get what jobs, for the rest of their lives.

I really enjoy this book, not because it's becaus their main goal is to strive for a utopia, but because of how they intend to reach that goal. I find it awesome that you can have weather control within your society, I find it great that you can alter peoples minds and control their hormones with daily medicine. This book is really fascinating and totally not what I expected when I picked it up. I definately recommend it, even though I haven't finished the book yet.

Siddhartha Blog Assignment #3 - Advice

Dear Ann Landers, it's me Zhou Yun. I need some advice, for a very good friend of mine. My friends name is Siddhartha, a man who has strayed away from his goal in life; and because of this, he has fallen into the temptations of life. From the text, "They were no longer a game and a toy; they had become a chain and a burden. Siddhartha wandered along a strange, twisted path of this last and most base declivity through the game of dice." From the text, he is obviously sad, and mis led, and he has to get back on track to reach self enlightenment.
Based on how he is feeling because of his"off-track" behavior, I think it's very wise if he would just leave all the temptation. Well look, I came to you for advice, what do you think I should do to help my friend. I don't want to see him not reach his goal that he has strived for most of his life. What should I do ? Please help.

-Zhou Yun

Dear Zhou Yun, I can totally see how you must feel for your best friend. In my opinion, you should try to let Siddhartha find out for himself that he is "off track". If he can't find out for himself, then he might not be able to get back on track by himself. His goal requires him to be without temptation, so once he realizes that he needs to leave the temptation, he will be able to get back on track and reach his goal. Goodluck Zhou Yun, and goodluck to your friend Siddhartha.

Outside Reading Post 1

Well, tonight I read an article on the internet about how to survive bear attacks. It was very informal and interesting to read about. Basically, it showed you how to survive a bear attack. I won't go into details. I thought that this article was well written, and was made similar to an essay, someone expressing their own thoughts about bear attacks. I actually think that if I were even in a situation where a bear would attack me, I would follow their instructions. The article was called, "Bear Tactics", by Shandra Linguist, a writer for the msn journal entries. One quote that I really enjoyed was, "Bears can run as fast as 60 miles per hour, much faster than any human. You'd be dead meat in a second if you ran." I thought it was a very interesting quote because that's true, you would die pretty quick. I just really enjoyed the reading because of how it was portrayed to the reader. Overall, it was great.

Siddhartha Blog Assignment #2

In chapter 3, Siddhartha says goodbye to Govinda. Govinda feels lost in his words, he is both sad and confused for several reasons. This was our conversation over text when it happened.

Govinda - "Hey Zhou ! I need ur help !"
Me - "What's the matter ?!"
Govinda - "Sidd is leaving me, 4 good."
Me - "Idk what ur talking about bro."
Govinda - "Sidd didnt join Gotoma, and now he wants to leave me here alone."
Me - "Bro, Sid said told me all about it. He said that, 'Now, you are a man and have chosen your own path. May you go along it to the end, my friend. May you find salvation!' See, you decided this upon urself.
Govinda - "I thought Sidd would c things the way I saw them, what happened?"
Me - "Dude, you've finally grown out of following Sidd for a change, this is good. Sidd said himself, 'Often I have thought: will Govinda ever take a step without me, from his own conviction ?' And you did it, you should be proud of urself man."
Govinda - "You know what Zhou, I think u r right, I should follow my own path and reach my own salvation. Thx bro, txt you soon."


Hello again, it's me Zhou Yun. Basically, I really hope that Govinda is going to get through the separation of him and Siddhartha. They are best friends, they always have been, and it must be difficult to be seperated from his one and only true friend. I knew Siddhartha was going to be different, that he'd someday choose a path that Govinda could not. Siddhartha search for self is something that Govinda tried to escape, therefore I can understand Siddhartha's mind set in the seperation. I know that Govinda will get over this and someday be reunited with Siddhartha later in life; them both reaching salvation.

Siddhartha - Chapter 1 - 4

Hello again, I'm here to discuss with you what has just happened in chapters 1 through 4 of Siddhartha. For starters, in the beginning of the novel, Siddhartha and his friend Govinda have become Samanas, and they both have left their families to go on a quest through the forest to escape self. On their journey, they hear of a rumer of Gotama, the Buddha, who has obtained freedom from suffering, and preaches his teachings to all who would like to listen. Siddhartha and Govinda leave the Samanas and go on a quest to find this Gotama, as they find him later within chapter 3, they are able to hear his wonderful teachings. Soon, Siddhartha leaves Govinda becaus Govinda has decided to join Gotama. After, Siddhartha learns that he shouldn't be looking for an escape from self, but he learns that he has to find inner peace within himself. Thus he quits being a Samana, and becomes just Siddhartha, no family, no Brahmin's son, just Siddhartha.

Siddhartha / Avatar

Hello, my name is Zhou Yun. I'm a good friend of Siddhartha's. Basically I'll be a foil to Siddhartha, and inform you of how the events in the story affect him, and how he reacts to each of them. I'm also a Brahmin, just like Siddhartha. I'm about the same age as him as well. I also live near all the other Brahmins.

Self Description

Hi there, my name is Shane Jones. I'm 15 years old and I go to EHS. I was born on December 24, 1992 in Orange County Hospital in California. I'm in a program that allows students to ditch there old school and home state to experience a new enviornment. So I'll only be here for my highschool years, and I'm back in California. My interests include sleeping, walking, and hanging out with my friends. Anyways, that's about it.