My English Final

Here are the questions that i chose to answer about my writing this semester.

8. How do you like having a blog? How has blogging changed the way you write, the way you think, or the way you think about writing?

5. If you used any quick writes as blog posts, how did they change from what you wrote by hand in class to what you published on your blog? In other words, how did you go from rough draft to final draft? Explain your revision/ rewriting process.

10.Where do you get your ideas for blog post topics? What inspires you to write?

Having a blog this year really affected my writting, but in a good way. If we had only been assigend to write two blog post a month than my writing would not be where it is now. Last year in my english class we did freewrites which were basically the same as the quick writes we did this year, they were a little bit more open to what you could write about. For example the teacher said you can write about anything you want. The quick writes we did this year had more of a topic, if we didn't feel like writing about that topic our teacher was pretty easy about letting us write whatever but most people that i saw stuck to the topic. For me i think its just easier to come up with ideas about what to write when i have a prompt/ topic.Having a blog post due at the end of each week and starting out with 2 quick writes a week really got me into the habit of producing more work with less effort. Now i don't worry too much about having to write a blog post. Now that the lit.circle letters are 300 words it is so easy to write about whatever it is im writing about. I can easily come up with something to write with even if i don't always have enough time. Now i feel if im told to write and essay in class or any piece of writing, my thoughts come to me faster. I think that my perspective on writing has changed, i mean a little bit. Im not too fond of writing but know i know that i can write. I don't make too many mistakes in my writing anymore i use to make a lot of grammatical errors.

I have used alot of quickwrites as blog posts because it works like an outline. In class we only get 10 minutes to write and i basically just jot down the first thoughts that pop into my head and i don't have much time to go in depth. You could say its like a rough draft. I find it easier if i use my quickwrites as blog posts because if i don't then i can sometimes take me forever to pick a topic to write about. So i go home and type what i have on my paper and then i check the grammer and spelling. When i write fast under pressure i tend to make many mistakes in what letters end up on my piece of paper. Then from there i sometimes try to look up information on the internet on the topic that im writing about like the one quick write i wrote about if people with prostetic legs should be allowed to compete in the regular olympics. For that quick write/ blog post i found many convincing articles about this question. I pull ideas from the information and then i extend my writing maybe backing it up with some examples or quotes. Of course with the proper credit.

I get alot of my topics from quick writes. But a few time now i have written a couple songs and put them up on my blog. Some peolpe may think that to be inspired you have to have experienced something, when the truth is, you can be inspired by anything and anyone at any time. A single word or sound can be inspiring, wether it inspires you to write, compose, draw, or paint. Wrriting songs is a way that i show my emotions,its like a therapy for me, or just to show what im feeling. i love the feeling after i write a new song, even if it is not that good i feel i can be free. After i write a song i leave it alone for a while sometime for weeks and then when it crosses my path i read and i try to add or take away words, i try to make it better. i literally just wrote this part of a song like 40 minutes ago. i decided to take a break from my final and i heard the word pain in a commercial, it was in Spanish...dolor. So i just starting putting words together and this is what i got...its in Spanish.

verse1

que voy hacer con tu amor

que voy hacer con mi dolor

cada vez que te veo

you creo mas en ti

pero cada vez tu me dejas ir

chorus

me estoy callendo

y te estoy perdiendo

y tu no vuelves mas

perdoname, ahy por favor, si podras

no fue mi intencion

causarte dano

yup that's what i got. It still needs improvement but its okay. You can write about anything. if your in your room just grab a journal and write something about your dog. Jot down words that rhyme or even if they don't rhyme. What you write really only has to make sense to you.

Overall i think this year went by even faster than last year. I have seen a drastic change in my writing and how fluid it is. I saw how my writing vocabulary increased and also the amount of work i produced. I feel very confident that next year will be very successful because of how i improved this year. I hope i get Mr. Sutherland again next year so i can get more in the habit of writing blogs..but even if i don't :( i will still continue to post blogs. Also for my writing portfolio i printed all the blog posts i ever wrote and put them into it. Almost 30 pages! I can't wait until senior year when i get to see all my work and what i wrote in the past years. It should be interesting. When i read over the essays i wrote last year freshman year and saw my work from this year i was surprised and amazed at the change. I sure am going to miss 4th period English with Mr. Sutherland.

Touching Spirit Bear Monthly Review

The teen novel Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen is about a teenage juvenile delinquent named Cole. The story starts when Cole robs a hardware store and a 9th grade boy named peter tells the police what he did. Cole is just and angry and confused teenager who has been spending his life stealing and fighting for years. one day after school Cole confronts peter and fights him. By fighting Peter, Cole caused him mental and physical damage. Cole bashed Peters head on the side walk and now not only will he be charged for robbery but now he will also be charged for assault. For this Cole is offered two options, he can either go to jail or he must join the Circle justice. The Circle of Justice is an group which hopes to heal everyone involved, whether it be the offender, the victim, and or the community. Circle Justice's tells Cole that he has to go to a remote island in Alaska for a year to look upon what he has done and to get his mind and thoughts cleared. Going to the island would not eliminate his jail time but there was a pretty good chance of shortening it. Cole goes through so much that now he understands a little bit of how peter feels. He was almost mangled to death by a bear and being so hungry that he eats his puke. Also, he sees a live rat on his arm, and eats that too, along with worms. He starts to wish he was in jail and says

If it weren't for his parents, Peter, and the stupid Healing Circle, he wouldn't even be here.(45).

When he finds himself being heavily beaten almost to death by a mysterious white bear he wishes he was in jail. When he is laying there in the rain with his mouth filled with blood and his shirt ripped up and his chest cut up and his arm broken and not being able to move or breathe he wishes he was someplace else, someplace warm. Being banished to a remote Alaskan island can doesn't sound fun but i guess it gives him more time to think being by himself.

As i Read an article about Ben Mikaelsen on Wikipedia it turns out that his life really influenced or inspired his book Touching spirit Bear. One of the ways his life is similar is that he has a pet bear that the takes care of and saved it from being killed and i think thats where he got the idea for the Spirit Bear. The bear is apparently friendly after he had his claws taken form him and Ben on a personal level doesn't think it was right that they took him out of his natural habitat. Another thing that i think inspired him to write this book was that as a boy growing up in Bolivia he was bullied....he didn't start school until 4th grade and then moved to the U.S. From how i see it i think Ben is in a way trying to tell the audience how he felt when he was bullied and uses Peter and a character to portray him. Cole bullied Peter and almost killed him. Maybe Ben got to the point when all the bullying that had happened to him he felt that he wanted to die. Or maybe he associated the pain of his bullying to getting your head smashed against the sidewalk. When Peter comes to the island with his parents and Garvey he is really scared of Cole and tries to avoid him as much as possible. Ben probably never wanted to confront his offenders but what i think Ben is trying to show is that no matter what someone did, or how bad it was, one should always find someway to try and forgive one another. Before reading about Ben's life i never would have guessed that he had a pet Bear or that he was bullied i just thought he had an overactive imagination and an imagination with great detail. If you are also interested about learning more about Ben Mikaelsen's like their is another website i found on Scholastic.com.

Cole is a really confused and hard to get through to. He could be doing so many things with his life than going in the streets and robbing stores. i can't imagine all the things that were going through his mind when he smashed Peter's head into the sidewalk. When he gets to the island he wants to have power and control over it and when he meets the spirit bear he wants to demonstrate how powerful he really is. But the spirit bear did him a favor when he almost killed him. Maybe not at first but cole did end up realizing that he can't blame his problem on other people he only has himself to blame.

What did you learn. Asked Edwin. "To forgive," Cole said "Being angry is giving someone else control of my feelings so they own me. Forgiving gives me control again.

Although he hasn't carved anything about forgiveness in his totem. So far he has been doing good. He still soaks in the pond and pushes the rock and he knows he has changed . WHen he dances he carves it out in his totembut things start to turn when Edwin shows up for a surprise visit and tells him that Peter tried to commit suicide twice. Cole really wants to help.

i can help him!

i know he's afraid of me and what i did, he thinks im a monster that's coming back to get hi. Maybe if he meets me face to face he'll see i've changed and maybe he'll see that he can heal to.

Peter tries to get back at Cole, he throws rocks at him and he destroys Cole's Spirit Bear carving on the totem. After all that Cole takes Peter to go and soak alone, without Garvey. When they reach the pond, Peter starts fighting Cole but he refuses to fight back because of the past and how he has changed. Cole can only try to defend himself by blocking the hits. However, after a while, Peter stops beating Cole and starts crying. Cole hugs and comforts him. Deep down i really do think Cole feels sorry and regrets ever laying a hand on Peter but without all that had happened maybe he would've never waken up and found out who he really is. Life goes on as natural without disturbance allowing the one invisible to see everything that really happens in nature. in nature all you see is the truth.

Overall Touching Spirit Bear was a good book. I have to admit it was a little too detailed in some aspects in my opinion. So if you don't like reading a book about people getting teared to shreds then maybe this book isn't for you. Before i this book i hadn't read any other books by Ben Mikaelsen and my brother was the one who recommended this book to me because he read it in his class. Im looking forward to reading other books by Ben Mikaelsen.

Touching Spirit Bear letter # 3

This is the last lit.circle letter for my book and Cole has come a long way. He has realized that he has changed.

What did you learn. Asked Edwin. "To forgive," Cole said. Being angry is giving someone else control of my feelings so they own me. Forgiving gives me control again.

Although he hasn't carved anything about forgiveness in his totem. So far he has been doing good. He still soaks in the pond and pushes the rock and he knows he has changed . WHen he dances he carves it out in his totembut things start to turn when Edwin shows up for a surprise visit and tells him that Peter tried to commit suicide twice.

He really wants to help peter because he thinks its the right thing to do.

I can help him! I know he's afaid of me and what i did, he thinks im a monster that's coming back to get hi. Maybe if he meets me face to face he'll see i've changed and maybe he'll see that he can heal to.

He has a crazy idea to bring peter to the island. Peter's parents don't know what to do. They have run out of options and decide to bring Peter to the island, this was not an easy desicion. Peters parents would never let him go alone so they will accompany him until they feel that he really is safe and Garvey will also be there, just in case. After a few days, Peter tries to get back at Cole, he throws rocks at him and he destroys Cole's Spirit Bear carving on the totem. After all that Cole takes Peter to go and soak alone, without Garvey. When they reach the pond, Peter starts fighting Cole but he refuses to fight back because of the past and how he has changed. Cole can only try to defend himself by blocking the hits. However, after a while, Peter stops beating Cole and starts crying. Cole hugs and comforts him. At this point they both look up and see the spirit bear. This occurred because both Peter and Cole have become "invisible", or accepting of life's circle. While invisible, nature will see you as who you truly are. Life goes on as natural without disturbance allowing the one invisible to see everything that really happens in nature. in nature all you see is the truth. In the end Peter helps Cole carve a circle as the last piece of the totem pole. Garvey walks in and sees that Cole has carved a perfect circle and asks why. The boys don't answer and Garvey says

Could it be because every part of a circle is both a beginning and an end?" " and everything is one? Peter disagrees. He claims it's the only thing he could teach Cole to carve. Cloe nodded and said Im a slow learner but im working on it.

New Songs!!

This is the last blog post due for my english class. I thought i would end it with more songs that i wrote but they still need some work. I will try and keep blogging although it probably won't be every week. Here is the first song. I incorporated some of the words from one of my older songs to make this one sound better, so you could say this is the new and improved version.

Thunder Storm

When you told me it was over

that out time had run its course

just had to turn around

and leave with no remorse

When you told me i was the only one

you could ever love

well that appeared to be a lie

and now im wondering how i will survive

it all feels like a thumder storm

like a dream that i can't wake up from

hearing the roaring thunder

i think i want to run for cover

not knowing when or where to stop

im not saying its your fault

we both just need to think

just need to breathe and take it all in

before the storm hits

Your the one i go to when im feeling lonley

your the one i go to when life's moving slowly

i know theres a reason why i keep coming back

but everytime i do we fall right off track

im not sure what im going to do

without you-u ohh without you-u

memories,fantasies, dreams that we shared

seems to me you really just don't care

it all feels like a thumder storm

like a dream that i can't wake up from

hearing the roaring thunder

i think i want to run for cover

not knowing when or where to stop

im not saying its your fault

we both just need to think

just need to breathe and take it all in

before the storm hits

it all feels like a thumder storm

like a dream that i can't wake up from

hearing the roaring thunder

i think i want to run for cover

not knowing when or where to stop

im not saying its your fault

we both just need to think

just need to breathe and take it all in

before the storm hits.

For this next song i haven't really figured out a name so ill take suggestions. Its kind of short but like i said im still working on them.

Sitting in class thinking about you

as the time passes by

wondering when ill finally come up to you

and say hi

don't know what im feeling but i know somethings

in my heart that need you now

and now im waiting for you to come around

It starts with a hey

that leads to a hug

that leads to a kiss

then leads to in love

were meant for each other

one for another

can't you see

that we are meant to be

see you in the halls

i can't help but smile

wanting you to stay for a while

see you in my dreams right next to me

and thinking about where were gonna be

It starts with a hey

that leads to a hug

that leads to a kiss

then leads to in love

were meant for each other

one for another

can't you see

that we are meant to be

Rules of Love.....

Rules of love.... in our society, there are so many rules about love and dating and who to date. In the short movie we watched, the parents of the girls didn't seem too intrested in the guy she was going out with as far as his personality. Now in days your parents want to know everything....who is he, where did you meet him,is he nice, who his parents are and were are you guys going to be. her parents didn't ask her anything about him. I think these "rules" that we all make are influenced by society, our parents,and religion. I thinlk these rules are set up by us so that we have someting to follow like guildelines. Honestly, how can you explain it. Is it the way that you care about someone so much that you dedicate so much of your time to them? or is it that you dont want anything to happen that person and so you have that feeling of protecting them? Or is it the constant need for their attention that drives you toward them? It takes time, from past experience, it feels great, to love someone, care about them unconditionally, be able to say “i love you”. But in the long run, if you truely love someone, it means, you are always going to be there for the person, and never leave. You wont ever feel this way unless you “jump” into love and that means opening up completely and trusting that person with your heart and setting off. if you get hurt, you cant say it was a bad experience, cause from every relationship you learn something new. and if you think it is good, well good. not much more to say on that.Love is a strange emotion that gets us at one point or another. You always hear that "nice girls" don't have sex until they get married and they won't sneak out and will always tell the truth. Sometimes in some cultures you are expected to marry with the same race as you or the same religion it all depends on what your customs are. I think it might be easier to marry within the same race/ culture because lets say that you don't and you speak another language and you want to teach your kids but your husband/wife doesn't want to because they don't know the language.it just depends when you are going to open up to someone to feel it.

Touching Spirit Bear letter # 2

This is a really gross part in this book. It’s when Cole gets hurt, and he can’t move. His body is torn up. He's starved and throws up. He’s so hungry that he eats his puke and it makes me want to throw up too. Also, he sees a live rat on his arm, and eats that too, along with worms.

" He found two seagulls near his head, peaking fish chunks from the vomit he had trouwn up in the grass. My puke,Cole thought. They're eating my puke. In that moment, Sloe realiized how badly he wanted to live. The food he had thrown up was still food. Those fish bits sill contained energy, and energy was life, No thieving seagull was going to steal life from him. He jerked his arm at the gulls."Mine", he grunted."THat's mine". Squaking, the gulls hopped his reach. Cloe stretched his arm out, picked a small chunk of fish from the grass, and brought it to his mouth. After swallowing he reached foe more. Bit by bit until the few remaining pieces were too small to pinch between his fingers. Finally he relaxed. Eating had taken his last ounce of energy."(89)

Cole is starting to realize alot of things now that any type of food means energy and the author describes that with what and how Cole eats.This part is one of my favorites so far because he realized that he needed other people to survive. He also learned that he cannot always blame other people when the fault is only his own. I think Cole started to open his eyes about everything when he began to wade in the icy, cold water and when he throws his ancestor rock down the big, dense hill.

" Wolves often hunted in a pack. Together, they accomplished more than they could alone."(161)

"What did you learn?" Garvey asked.

"that you need the help of others" Cloe said.(162)

When he threw the rock that was the symbol of his ancestors he was letting go of all his anger and as it "tumbled faster and faster, Cloe felt his body grow lighter, and when the rock smashed to a stop at the bottom, he felt as if he could fly.

the hidden temple ch.6

Today Jim woke the family really early because today was the day he would take them to the waterfall. Few families are fortunate enough to go since there is only 2 or 3 guides that knows where it is and how to get there. The trip is long and hard. but since they really wanted to go they couldn't complain. When they finally got to the waterfall they all wanted to get in the water but since they were at the top of the water fall and they had to get down to it to swim the only possible way was too jump. Cheryl really didn't want to jump and she didn't want riley and Jonah to jump either so she asked...

'is there any othere way to get down?"

looking down with a sigh jim said

"yes, just down that path along those trees.....but it won't be as much fun....ill come back up here to get you and our equipment.'

Riley and Jonah had been looking forward to jump off and weren't going to sacrifice that tingly feeling you get when you jump just because their mom was scared...so they were going to jump. Jim suggested that they all go down together and put their things down and then he will come back up with whoever wants to jump off the waterfall. They all agreed and had gone down but the trail was slippery because of the mist from the water and everyone occasionally took a small slip. When they finally got down and set everything up they all went back up jim told them how they should hit the water so they wouldn't hurt themselves. After they jumped off a couple times they had lunch and after that Jim decided it was time to get on their way. Jonah really didn't want to go and had a fit but lost and very soon again they were on their way. Along the way Jim pointed out to them more wildlife and they all seemed very interested. They had made it to a vast open site where you could see the ocean and everything looked so small in the distance. Jim said to the kids as he was pointing to an open field of tall grass.

" when you guys are playing around be careful....sometimes animals are found there and we don't know if they will attack humans....also some of the ground over there is known to be unstable so watch were you step."

Jonah was totally ignoring him although he would occasionally nod. But Riley hadn't had her bad dream again until that night. She saw herself being swallowed up from the earth and not knowing whether she would ever see her parents again. The next morning when she woke up she told herself that for nothing in the world would she go play in the tall grass. She thought that they we going to leave that same day back to the hotel but when Jim told them the weather looked to be good and they would stay there for a couple more days Riley was frightened.

What a long day...

This is a poem that one of my friends wrote for me. She is like my twin...we always wear the same jacket that we have on the same day and we don't even plan it. Its on a different day each week. It was a pretty long day and kind of weird and we were both pretty bored. Just goes to show that poetry is an art that has no boundaries.

Nellie

Where art thou Nellie my golden gummy?

You are like a cherish-able cherry

oh so great to go into my tummy

A young pretty thing you are. A berry!

I love how sweet berries are, just like you.

Oh so! For it can never be guile.

Do you know what else is sweet? Mountain Dew!

but nothing can beat your joyful smile.

You are so great at whatever you try

Just like swimming, polo, and work of all kinds

I can bet if you try you can even fly

And for every boy who passes, you must blind

Altogether i must say you're and 'A'

As i watch you lay, not in a creepy way.

She wrote this for me while we were doing English homework and tanning our ugly bad tan lines from swimming everyday. Like i told you its kind of weird. But thats why she one of my good friends. My day was really weird. It all started in P.E., there are these girls that are always mugging me and when i was going to ask them what there problem was one of the freshman came up to me and asked me something about this one guy that i don't even know. I set her straight and told her i didn't want drama but her and her friends are always staring at me as if i can't see them. I don't even know those girls and they talked to me as if they already knew me. Then it was lunch time...what was i going to have for lunch, well lets see.... League was only a couple days away and our coaches told us to stay away form junk food and to not stuff our faces and that meant no soda, sugar, or anything fired. I felt like i could die!! I ended up eating sushi which seemed to be somewhat healthy...nothing was fried...i think. Then came History and to my surprise we had a test on the Russian Revolution which i only knew so much about. Everyone basically cheated on the test besides the fact that we all got one page of notes everyone was whispering the answers across the room and our teacher didn't notice and he was sitting in the middle of the room. Almost to the end of my day there was Spanish. We watched a really creepy movie about a two sided mirror in which the ending made no sense. Then almost finally there was swim practice and besides the poem which was nice...practice was really easy :). Around the time for dinner i didn't know what to eat so i had a salad. A salad for dinner. So this was my long, weird and epic day.

Touching Spirit Bear letter # 1

Cole Matthews is an angry teenager who has been spending his life stealing and fighting for years. One day Cole bumps into his old classmate Peter Driscal, and fights him. In the fight Cole losses complete control and smashes Peter's head into the sidewalk and causes him permanent brain damage. He was very luck not to die. Cole is being offered a escape from being sent to jail or a special home, he is offered Circle Justice. Which is a system thats similar to Native American traditions to try and help the criminal offender. At first Cole thinks it is way better than to be in jail. He makes fun of the Circle of justice and ignores the opportunities that he was given. In his heart Cole blames his alcoholic mom, his abusive dad, wimpy Peter, everyone but himself for his situation.

If it weren't for his parents, Peter, and the stupid Healing Circle, he wouldn't even be here.

When he finds himself being heavily beaten almost to death by a mysterious white bear he wishes he was in jail. When he is laying there in the rain with his mouth filled with blood and his shirt riped up and his chest cut up and his arm broken and not being able to move or breathe he wishes he was someplace else, someplace warm. Being banished to a remote Alaskan island can doesn't sound fun but i guess it gives him more time to think being by himself.

Whatever you do to animals, you do to yourself. Remember that.

This quotes is totally true from what i have read. Cole tried to kill the bear with a spear that he made and failed and the bear wasn't going to let him get away with it. So far i think this book is interesting. It is certainty action packed but i feel it is too unrealistic for teens now in days.

Dear John Monthly Review

The novel Dear John by Nicholas Sparks is very well written, it is captivating with emotion and depth of two soul mates. It tells about young adults that must make difficult choices and knowing which path is the right path toward happiness. The story revolves around a couple who's lives intertwine and fine that they are one for the other. Nicholas Sparks writes imensly about Savannah Lynn Curtis and her passionate love for John Tyree. They first meet on the beach in North Carolina. From the start they were not similar at all. As a teenager John was a rebel and staright out of high school he enlisted in the army and Savannah was hardworking, and cared about her studies. But I've heard that opposites attract...maybe this is one of those cases. John has to leave after being on break from the army but returns to visit who he believes is the love of his life after he finishes his enlistment. Savannah writes to him overseas and tells him that she will wait for him so they can get married. An absolutely devastating thing occurs on 9/11 and after that day John thought it was his duty to reenlist in the army. Savannah was getting lonely and married her really good friend Tim. When john returns and finds Savannah married he is shocked. There love was truly put to the test after he returns. This book didn't have many flaws in my opinion. i could really only find one main one that bugged me throughout the story. At the beginning when we are introduced to Savannah i was a little bit surprised when the authour said she was a brunette. When in the movie and on the cover she is blond. Although i haven't seen the movie yet to me Savannah is like a whole different person. Since i saw the trailers she was blonde and since i didn't read the book before based on the trailers the actress was who i imagined savannah to be. Now in the book shes brunette so i get confused because when i think of Savannah i picture the movie actres but when i remember that she is brunette in the book i have a really hard time picturing what she looks like. Maybe its hard because there is no real brunette Savannah that i have seen..just a blonde one. For me this is one of the book's weaknesses so far. I really think that Nicholas Sparks should direct his own movies because the directors change a lot of small details but all the details are important form what the characters hair color is to what they wear to their personality. I'm sure he knows what he wants in the films about his movies. Hes the only one who knows how he really pictured all his characters. I love all his novels like the notebook,the last song, and A Walk to remember. The movies are also good. I think that John is the most changed character thta changes most throughout the novel, and the change is caused by Savannah. She makes him see the world differently, from a new perspective. Only a couple times did he visit his father since he was stationed overseas. On his leave he met Savannah and he showed her all the really nice places around the neighborhood. But she showed him something even better. She showed him how to be grateful for all that he has. In the past John rarely talked to his father. They had breakfast and hardly said a word and the same went for lunch and dinner and for past couple of nights John had gone to dinner with Savannah and his dad was alone. But i think he liked being alone. John always told his dad he didn't have a social life because all he ever does is stay in his den all day and look at, and adds to his coin collection. Over the years John's dad and his dad collected coins, it was something they enjoyed doing together but john found it to be stupid and worthless and he was wasting his time...little does he know the coin collection has a huge meaning. When Savannah tells John that she wants to meet his dad, John went in to total shock. He told her that all he talked about was his coin collection but Savannah thought it was interesting and cool that he had a passion for something. He's not wasting his time, he's doing something he loves. His dad's not much of a talker but nevertheless he was thrilled to meet Savannah even though he didn't show it. Savannah taught John to apprectiate his father because he has done so much for him, raised him all by himself and was there for anything he needed him for. In the end he opens communication with his father and john shares his feelings for Savannah. Before Savannah he didn't know how you can love someone in so little time. He felt like he already knew her. He started to picture his life without the army and only with Savannah and thought to himself how nice life would be if he only had Savannah. His dreams were crushed when he remembered that the army was there and that he would be leaving soon. He knew he would return to visit and marry Savannah. After John reenlists and comes back from iraq he comes to North Carolina to visit his dying father who had many heart attacks and unforunatly died from one. He finds out Tim married Savannah, he didn't like the fact at all. He remember that Tim had said he never had those feelings for Savannah. I think he’s thankful that someone was there for Savannah while he wasn’t able to. Tim gets sick and is close to dying, John feels sorry for him. John talks to Tim in the hospital and there Tim knowing that he is going to die tells john to make Savannah happy and to marry her. I think that it is at this point when John realizes that Tim would do anything to make Savannah happy and john knows that he has to do something to try and save him. After all Tim was the one taking care of Savannah while John was in the army. Savannah did love Tim and they lived together and taking care of Tims brother Alan who suffer autism. So John decides to sell his father coin collection and the money will go to save Tim. It was alot of money considering most of the coins were old, authentic, or one of a kind. Tim survives and with John selling his father’s coin collection to benefit someone else, Tim, shows that he’s a true hero and not just a hero at war. I think he still loves Savannah and wants her to be happy and that includes Tim being there because Tim loves her ad will sacrifice himself to make sure she is safe. I have high hopes for John and i know in the future he will go far. Im sure he will find someone he can love again maybe not as much as he did Savannah but someone he can be comfortable with. I am sure that it will be hard and love might not come as easily as it did with Savannah but whatever happens im sure it was for the best. At first John views Tim as a threat, then as a friend he can trust. The ending of the book made me sad..i really wanted them to end up tofether. It would have been more like a fairy tale ending. Nevertheless i would recommend the book to everybody. But please if you want to read it and haven't seen the movie....please read the book first. this book was filled with joy, sadness, hardships, and adventures. i really enjoyed this book and im looking forward to reading more books by Nicholas Sparks.

Questions:

#3- weaknesses

#8- pick a character and write about them in depth (most changed)

#question in back of book #11. How do you think John views Tim, and how do his perceptions change by the end of the novel?

Dear John Letter #3

John returns home, however after 9/11 John feels the duty to reenlist in the army. After years away from each other, Savannah writes John another letter. It starts with Dear John and ends with good-bye. In part 3 of the book John's dad suffers from a heart attack and decides to take leave for a while and visit him. He had several heart attacks and unfortunately dies. As he catches up with Savannah he learns that she is married and to no one other Tim. The guy who said she was like a sister to him.

I think Savannah is different when John comes back to visit her she’s older, a college graduate and married. Tim gets sick and she’s trying to keep her business alive and she’s taking care of Alan, Tims brother with Autism. I do think Savannah is in love with John. She never stopped, she just forgot about it because she didn’t see him for so long. Even though their love reignites when she sees John again it will never be as it had been in the beginning.

At first John views Tim as a threat, then as a friend he can trust. When John finds out Tim married Savannah, he viewed him as a thief, someone who stole what was his when he wasn’t there to protect it. In the end, I think John forgives Tim and feels sorry for him. I think he’s also thankful that someone was there for Savannah while he wasn’t able to.

Selling his father’s coin collection to benefit someone else, Tim, shows that he’s a true hero and not just a hero at war. I think he still loves Savannah and wants her to be happy and that includes Tim being healthy. I have high hopes for John and i know in the future he will go far. Im sure he will find someone he can love again maybe not as much as he did Savannah but someone he can be comfortable with. I am sure that it will be hard and love might not come as easily as it did with Savannah but whatever happens im sure it was for the best.

the hidden temple ch.5

It looks like things couldn't get any worse, being stuck in the jungle without flashlights, moving every night to a different site. As that night came sooner than most i had appeared to be. Jim had gone fishing for dinner at a near by river while William and Cheryl were setting up the campsite again. Jonah and Riley stayed close by and had gone to look for dead twigs to make a fire. When Jim came back and was cooking the fish he caught and it was a big one i might add Jonah asked him a question.

"are there any other kids in the jungle or are we going to see any other tour?"

Jim simply said

"no, we are not going to meet up with another tour. There are several tours that go on at the same time but they are on different parts of the island..in a couple of days we will be where they are and they will be where we are now."

"and as for if there are any other kids....i've heard stories from my co-workers that they have come across a few stranded kids before from time to time. THey say they try to have them come back to the hotel with them but the kids keep their distance and seemed to have gone wild and adapted and forgotten all about their outside world. The suspect they are some of the kids that went..."

Cheryl rudely interrupted

"i don't want you scaring the kids Jim, lets leave this story for another time."

"yes ma'am"

Shorty after cheryl and william went to sleep and the kids were still up and asked Jim to continue the story. Without hesitation he started..

"The suspect they are some of the kids that went missing. They get lost and rarely get found. We always keep a picture of all the kids that go missing and we have to carry them on the tours they are like school pictures they say their names on it and on the back its their parents information and contact numbers just in case we can get them to go back to the hotel and their parents can pick them up."

This seemed to make Jonah a little bit more curious about trying to find other kids to play with besides his sister. As the light form the fire died out and the jungle was silent and everyone almost everyone was asleep it was a pretty good night. Except for the fact that Riley was having alot of trouble sleeping, she would fall asleep and the wake up and then fall asleep and wake up again. She was having terible night mares about getting lost in the jungle and never seeing her family again and having to survive on her own. All of this scared her and went running towards her mothers tent and slept there for the rest of the night. The only noise in the air was the sounds of crickets but yet who doesn't like crickets... of course unless one happens to find its way into your house and then you'll be up trying to find it.

Dear John letter#1

So far in the book Dear John by Nicholas Sparks we meet most of the characters. We as readers are introduced to John, John's dad, Savannah, and all her friends. Savannah works with habitats for humanity, which helps people who need homes to live in. She would never hurt a fly and was really smart, talented, and was raised good. John on the other hand was a rebel, for his father never really cared about what he did. He enlisted into the army right after high school and had a lot of tattoos. Savannah and John meet how anyone can meet. She needed help and he offered it. It seems to me that they both are pretty into each other but they are not sure its real. John doesn't want to take it to far to fast because he doesn't know what kind of a girl she is and he really likes her and doesn't want to ruin things. He rathers they be friends than strangers.
At the beginning of the story when we are introduced to Savannah i was a little bit surprised when the author said she was a brunette. When in the movie and on the cover she is blond. Although i haven't seen the movie yet to me Savannah is like a whole different person. Since i saw the trailers she was blonde and since i didn't read the book before based on the trailers the actress was who i imagined savannah to be. Now in the book shes brunette so i get confused because when i think of Savannah i picture the movie actres but when i remember that she is brunette in the book i have a really hard time picturing what she looks like. Maybe its hard because there is no real brunette Savannah that i have seen..just a blonde one. For me this is one of the book's weaknesses so far.
I really think that Nicholas Sparks should direct his own movies because the directors change a lot of small details but all the details are important form what the characters hair color is to what they wear to their personality. I'm sure he knows what he wants in the films about his movies. Hes the only one who knows how he really pictured all his characters. I love all his novels like the notebook,the last song, and A Walk to remember, and im sure i will like Dear John too.
I think that the most changed character will be John, because at first he doesn't ever really talk to his dad they just eat breakfast and go their separate ways. His father owns a big coin collection and thats all he ever seems to talk about. John doesn't find real interest in his hobby because he thinks its a waste of time and he's missing out on life. But when Savannah comes his way she wants to meet him because she thinks its nice that hes has a passion for something and she makes John understand that. His dad's not much of a talker but nevertheless he was thrilled to meet Savannah even though he didn't show it. Savannah tells john to appreciate his dad because he was the one that raised him and took care of him and slowly John begins to take it all in and change.
I am really looking forward to finish reading this book because i want to see how John turns out in the end. After the book i really want to see the movie and then i will probably write a blog post about me analyzing it and comparing it to the book.

John Dies @ the End Monthly Book Review Final

The Book John Dies @ the End is a novel about two best friends: John and Dave. Dave is re telling all his adventures with John to a man named Arnie. Arnie Blondestone is a journalist investigating paranormal affairs, Arnie Blondestone is referred to David by way of Amy. David's relating of his tale to Arnie acts as a farming device for the narrative. He is a highly skeptical individual, which proves to be a challenge for David given the absurd (and largely unfalsifiable) aspects of his account.This is my favorite passage but this passage not only sets the playful tone of this horror story, but it also early foreshadows the novel's powerful ending: In the course of solving the following riddle, you will either reveal the terrifying secret at the very core of existence, or go utterly mad in the attempt....Let's say you have an ax. The kind that you could use, in a pinch, to hack a man's head off. And let's say that very situation comes up and for some very solid reasons you behead a man. On the follow-through, though, the handle of the ax snaps in half in a spray of splinters. So the next day you take it to the ax store down the block and get a new handle, fabricating a story for the guy behind the counter and explaining away the reddish dark stains as barbeque sauce.Now, that next spring you find in your garage a creature that looks like a cross-bred badger and anaconda. A badgerconda. And so you grab your trusty ax and chop off one of the beast's heads, but in the process the blade of the ax strikes the concrete floor and shatters.This means another trip to McMillan & Sons Ax Mart. As soon as you get home with your newly-headed ax, though, you meet the reanimated body of the guy you beheaded last year. He's also got a new head attached and it's wearing that unique expression of "you're the man who killed me last Spring" resentment that one so rarely encounters in everyday life.You brandish your ax. He takes a long look at the weapon with his squishy, rotting eyes and in a gargly voice he screams, "that's the same ax that slayed me!"

Is he right?

For my monthly review i chose to answer questions 3,4, and 8. I ended up combining questions 4&8.

#3
I think this book in my opinion has weaknesses. There was an over amount of weaknesses because the book was overall good and interesting but it is easy to get lost. It can get pretty confusing and there is also a lot of things going on at one time and there are many things they talk about. It is packed to its slimy and otherworldly gills with a levitating, drug-dealing Jamaican, a Morgan Freeman-lookalike detective, a Mall of the Dead, a man made of roaches, crashing a Las Vegas séance, exploding body parts, Shadow People, other dimensions, portals to Hell, time travel, J.-Lo, a very odd dog and many, many hideous monsters. In other words, if you’re looking for something random, say, like a gigantic gorilla-arachnid hybrid, this book probably has it. There conversations may appear to be out of the ordinary. Another weakness that i would like to point out is that there are way too many characters. The story starts out as with a mind game that makes you think, then it goes to flashbacks to reality to flashbacks and then back to reality. Next it goes to where John and Dave go to a party and meet a man called Roger. He is on a drug called the "soy sauce". He also knows what Dave dreams about and he said " I interpret dreams for beer". Much to Dave's surprise Roger got his dream right, but had no beer to pay him and left. Later on in the story it gets me even more confused because at of no where Dave starts to talk to a man named Arnie and Dave is telling him his life story and all the adventures he's had with John. So i think that this book is basically is a flashback. Molly..who's Molly?? Amy..who's Amy?? Fred..who's Fred?? Dr.Marconi..who's Dr.Marconi?? I wish i knew who all these characters are but some of them come in at totally random spots in the story and sometimes i get so confused that i mix up characters names and I'm like " who's who??". These are small weaknesses. I can easily go back and re-read a section just to understand it better but then yet again i am a teenager and i do like to take the easy way out so i would probably go online and look at summary's of the book on the Internet.

#4 and #8
HeHeHeHe. How would i describe David Wong's style of writing much less where i would begin. I believe that his style of writing is will and should fall into it's own category. Sure the genre of the novel is Horror..but for me its more like paranormal..extraterrestrial type of writing.
David Wong talks about supernatural things happening. There are so many creatures in the book as well as characters. He talks about things like spiders, creepy -legged creatures, and from people turning into snakes to a man made out of meat trying to kill them. John and Dave also talk in a lot of wired codes like: "Your pimp says bring the heroin shipment tonight, or he'll be forced to stick you. Meet him where we buried the Korean whore. The one without the goatee." It meant "come to my place as soon as you can, its important." Also there was " Oh, and don't forget, tomorrow is the day we kill the president." Which meant "Stop and pick me up some cigarettes on the way.(pg.3) The drug that John and Dave are on is called the Soy sauce. John also never mentions the name of the place they are at it always usually it reads [undisclosed]. Another thing about his writing that I've been thinking about the title of the book: John Dies at the End. We know John doesn't really die, at least not in the physical sense. But maybe a part of John does die, at discovering Monster Dave has replaced his best friend. A possibility or something closer to the meaning of the title? Or maybe I'm trying to read too much into this.Actually, it's ironic, seeing as John's the only main character that HASN'T died in some form. Dave died, Monster Amy died, Falconer died, and Drake died. Except John died at the beginning, just after he took the soy sauce and he and Dave got arrested.He was clinically dead, meaning he appeared dead on the surface, but I personally wouldn't count it given the book's standards for death. However, "John Dies at the End" may have another meaning...?? John does appear to die after taking the Soy Sauce. Maybe that's what the title references. John Dies at the End (of the last point in his life that can be called normal.). Most of my friends that saw the cover of the book first read the title and said "John dies at the end....well that pretty much spoils the ending" and then they look at the back and see the amputated arm and say "what kind of book are you reading". The title just keeps you wondering if John really does die at the end.John is for sure oblivious mainly because he's on "the sauce". He is one of the novel's main protagonists and long-time best friend of Dave. John is shown as being somewhat eccentric and he has a tendency to exaggerate descriptions for dramatic effect, including boasts about his sexuality and embellishments of his personal achievements that border on and--in many cases--infringe on outright falsehood. Nevertheless, John is a loyal companion and, in spite of his idiosyncrasies, surprisingly moral and upstanding.

John Dies at the End is a hilariously frightening and frighteningly hilarious genre-bending book by author David Wong. It is a blend of comedy, horror and sci-fi that manages to mix alternate realities, creepy monsters and dick and fart jokes seamlessly!This book may be confusing but its not boring i can't stop turning the pages. Sure there is a lot of stuff going on at once but they are funny..its easily addictive and you want to see what other things they come up. with.

What exactly is a blue moon?

A blue moon can refer to the third full moon in a season with four full moons, or the second full moon of a calendar month. Most years have twelve full moons that occur approximately monthly. In addition to those twelve full lunar cycles, each solar calendar year contains roughly eleven days more than the lunar year of 12 lunations. The extra days accumulate, so every two or three years (7 times in the 19-year Metonic cycle), there is an extra full moon. Lunisolar calenders have rules on when to insert such an intercalary of embolismic ("leap") month, and what name it is given; e.g. in the Hebrew calender, the month Adar is duplicated. The term "blue moon" comes from folk lore. Different traditions and conventions place the extra "blue" full moon at different times in the year.
In calculating the dates for Lent and Easter, the Clergy identify the Lent Moon. It is thought that historically when the moon's timing was too early, they named an earlier moon as a "betrayer moon" (belewe moon), thus the Lent moon came at its expected time.Folklore gave each moon a name according to its time of year. A moon that came too early had no folk name, and was called a blue moon, retaining the correct seasonal timings for future moons.The Farmers Almanac defined blue moon as an extra full moon that occurred in a season; one season was normally three full moons. If a season had four full moons, then the third full moon was named a blue moon.Recent popular usage defined a blue moon as the second full moon in a calendar month, stemming from an interpretation error made in 1946 that was discovered in 1999. For example, December 31, 2009 was a blue moon according to this usage.A "blue moon" is also used colloquially to mean "a rare event", reflected in the phrase "once in a blue moon". Last year on new years when we had a blue moon i really couldn't tell much difference.
The most literal meaning of blue moon is when the moon (not necessarily a full moon) appears to a casual observer to be unusually bluish, which is a rare event. The effect can be caused by the Tyndall effect(in turn, caused by smoke or dust particles in the atmosphere), as has happened after forest fires in Sweden and Canada in 1950 and 1951. As well as after the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, which caused the moon to appear blue for nearly two years. Other less potent volcano's have also turned the moon blue. People saw blue moons in 1983 after the eruption of the El Chichon volcano in Mexico, and there are reports of blue moons caused by Mt.St.Helen in 1980 and Mount Pinatubo in 1991.Using the Farmers' Almanac definition of blue moon (meaning the third full moon in a season of four full moons), blue moons occur:
* November 21, 2010
* August 21, 2013
* May 21, 2016

Relationships

Relationships. You can feel so attached to a person that you think you will end up with them forever. You start to make a story in your head about your life ans how the other person fits in. I know a couple that has been together for almost 10 months now, and they seem so in love. They already made plans for the future and they can both see each other at the end. They keep a diary and they both writ in it everyday..they already finished ones and now they moved on to another one. When you are young relationships can seem like the most important thing in the world. This is one of my favorite lines from the song Letter to me by Brad Paisley:

And then I'd say I know its tough
When you break up after seven months
And yeah I know you really liked her and it just don't seem fair
All I can say is pain like that is fast and it's rare

[1st Chorus]
And oh you got so much going for you going right
But I know at 17 it's hard to see past Friday night
She wasn't right for you
And still you feel like there's a knife sticking out of your back
And you're wondering if you'll survive
You'll make it through this and you'll see
You're still around to write this letter to me

Sure you are young and you need to experiences things both good and bad but there are some relationships out there that are like why bother. YOu see two really friends and then they decide they have feelings for each other and they are happy one day and then 2 weeks later they're broken up and then sometimes its awkward and thy can't even be considered friends any more....they basically wasted their friendship. Useually when teenagers breakup its over a small argument that isn't even important. The couple i know has had millions of small fights but they realize that the love that they have for each other is much greater than a stupid argument. I also know another couple who got together and then after a couple of months they broke up. My friend asked me if she should get back together with him and i told her it wasn't worth getting back together because it may be worse if they did and broke up again. Of course she didn't listen to me and after a while they broke up again and decided they should still be "friends". Even after they broke up and were so called "friends" people still came up to me and asked me if they were still going out and i couldn't blame them..they did look like they were still dating and then i guess it got too awkward and they decided not to even talk to each other any more. Now they talked everything out again and decided to be "friends" again .....let's see how long it lasts this time. Relationships aren't everything, there is so much out there that you can accomplish by yourself.

Letter #1 John Dies @ the End

If i had to choose a word that describes the book John dies at the end it would be TRIPPY !!! Its kind of confusing, there is so many flashbacks. The characters in the book John and Dave also have a lot of wired codes for things like: "Your pimp says bring the heroin shipment tonight, or he'll be forced to stick you. Meet him where we buried the Korean whore. The one without the goatee." It meant "come to my place as soon as you can, its important." Also there was " Oh, and don't forget, tomorrow is the day we kill the president." Which meant "Stop and pick me up some cigarettes on the way.(pg.3) The drug that John and Dave are on is called the Soy sauce. John also never mentions the name of he place they are at it always usually it reads [undisclosed]. Sometimes it confuses me some times and i have to go back over it and be like huh??? I think there is just to many things going out at once because there are a lot of characters. John and Dave are like Paranormal investigators from what i can see at this point they are known as being able to cure people. They see things like spiders, creepy -legged creatures, and people turning into snakes to a man made out of meat trying to kill them. They also have a band called Three-arm Sally. One at a party they were going to play at John just randomly fell down and was thought to be dead by everyone, of course...most of whom were drunk and couldn't tell if he was alive or not but anyways he didn't die. The band plays really wired songs like: Camel Holocaust, Gay superman, Stairway to heaven, Love my stopwatch, Thirty reasons why i dislike Chad Wellsburg, and Love me tender. There at the party he finds a levitating Jamaican and a dog named Molly that lead him to more wired things. I think that John is sort of oblivious mainly because hes on the sauce. This book may be confusing but its not boring. Sure there is a lot of stuff going on at once but they are funny and you want to see what other things they come up with.