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.