BLOG #6: North of Beautiful

I just finished a book called North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley. I thought the most interesting part of the book is that they relate the story with a map. The author says, "My personal map was layered with experience-my trip to China with Mom, my cheating on Erik, the phone call I recieved from Merc the other night apologizing for how he acted in China..." (p 363). I thought this was an interesting line in the book because not only does it mention what has happened in her life, it also told further on that sometimes you don't need a map and just let things go for once. A passage in the book that also shows this was when the author wrote, "At the crossroads, my usual route lay to the left. Since junior high, I never strayed from the path that took me to school five days a week: left onto Main Street, right onto Grover Street. Today, I hit the gas pedal and plowed out of the Valley. Independence, straight ahead" (p 364). I thought this passage described the whole book because her whole life, she was on the safe road, always doing what was told and planning everything out to the littliest detail and for once she went off the path. She knew it was scary but that was the risk she was going to take.

BLOG #5: Lock and Key

I read the book Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen. I really liked this book because how it was written. She wrote it in the present and the past so you never knew more about her past unless you kept reading. Usually in the books I read, the author has the first chapter explain what happened already but with Lock and Key, she just put in little flashbacks here and there. Another thing I really liked about this book is the main character Ruby. She seems like she has a different personality then any other person I know. She stands out in that way that Nate likes and I think that's really cool. She's really laid back and deep and thoughtful. Although she's struggling with herself also, she reaches out to help Nate because she knows what it's like and she can help him. Nate and Ruby are so similar because it's hard for them to accept help from others. They both rather be by independent and not owe anyone anything. But through the events of Ruby's life, she accepts that she doens't have to be like. She understands that she can ask for help and not feel embarassed and she teaches that to Nate too when he has the same problem and turns away from everyone when they try to help him about his Dad and his "problem".

BlOG #4: The Gossip Girl Prequel

Im am still reading The Gossip Girl Prequel by Cecily Von Ziegesar. Before when I was reading this book, I was never bothered by the character Nate Archibald but now he's starting to get kind of annoying. He's become way to cocky about his looks and he thinks that all these girls want him (which they do) but he seems to be like thinking that if something didn't go his way, he'll be questioning or confused. For example, the main character Serena van der Woodsen has a crush on her bestfriend Nate, and when they actually kissed Nate thought she was the one he wanted to be with. But then later (like a day) he was flirting with these other girls and was thinking in his mind that so many girls want him and was listing off who they were. Then when he saw that Serena was kissing these other two guys, he was confused because he thought she completely loved him. That kind of gets irratating because these past few chapters have been talking about how everyone is hot for him. Another thing I found completely wierd was the fact that Dan Humphrey (another main character who is on the nerdy side and is obsessed with Serena) can smoke and he's only 15 years old!!! and what's even more shocking is his dad doesn't even care...This book is really good, but on the other hand it seems too good to be true. Like how they have huge parties and lots of money and this whole "Legacy" thing that everything is handed to them with the snap of a finger.

BLOG #3: The Gossip Girl Prequel

I am currently reading the Gossip Girl Prequel by Cecily Von Ziegesar. The thing I found the most interesting in reading this book, is how she switches chapters from character to character and in between she “blogs” about certain big characters and sometimes hints to what the next chapter is about. Also, the “Gossip Girl” is someone that won’t reveal themselves and so in every chapter I look for certain clues to see if they match or say anything that the Gossip Girl blog says. For example, at the end of one blog, to sign out, he/she says, “You know you love me, Gossip Girl” (p 98). And then a letter to Nate from this girl said, “You know you love me, -L’Wren” (p 107). I think these are important signs to look for because he/she says that they are “one of them”. Meaning like one of those people you want to know everything about and is envious of him/her. Another thing is, compared to the show; it has a different kind of air to it. Like in the book for example, it seems like Nates pretty much a party guy and doesn’t have much deepness to himself, but in the show he’s lost and confused and trying to discover new things and he’s pretty thoughtful of his actions.

BLOG #2: Ready or Not

I read a book called Ready or Not by Meg Cabot and it’s the sequel to the book All-American Girl. While I was reading this book, I noticed that I really like the character Lucy (the older popular pretty cheerleader sister). Before, I always thought that she was selfish and superficial, but now at the end of the book, I realized that she sticks up for her sister and she really cares about her. Two examples of this in the book was when Samantha was called nasty names by her arch enemy Kris, and Lucy came to defend her and call out Kris for her own hypocritical ways. This is shown when Lucy says, “The thing is, Kris… you have to be careful who you call a slut. Because the truth is, there are a lot more of us than there are of…you guys” (p 200). This shows that Lucy was sticking up for Samantha when she was called a slut. Another example of when Lucy cares for her sister was when Samantha opened up to her about sleeping with her boyfriend for the first time and Lucy told her what to do to be safe and she also bought her stuff for it too. Lucy explains, “-is scared to death, well don’t be. Just make sure you use two methods of birth control…do you want me to buy it for you?” (p 51). This shows that she wants her sister to be responsible and not regret anything. She also is even willing to buy it for her. These examples show how much she cares about her sister and how much she loves her.

BLOG #1: All American Girl

I am reading a book called All American Girl by Meg Cabot. I like this book because every few chapters they have these mini journal pages that the main character writes and they are always like top 10 reasons this would happen...and i really like this because the last one always relates to what has happened. My favorite one was this one that said..."And the number-one little-known fact about Dolley Madison: 1) She wasn't really very attractive" I thought this one was funny because before, the president's son asked if she was related to Dolley Madison because they have the same last name and then later when she researched her, she found out she wasn't really very attractive and she didn't know if what he said then was a big insult. I just thought that part was funny and it was my favorite line in the book. I also noticed that this book goes very fast. Like the author skips a lot of days so it makes the book seem like a couple months and I thought this was interesting because usually I read books that happen in the same week or two. The one thing I don't like about this book, is that I find the main character a little annoying. She always seems to whine and she doesn't like her life. She always says how bad her life is compared to her sister and it's actually not that bad, like when she writes in her journal..."Okay, here are the top ten reasons why I can't stand my sister Lucy" and she lists all these ridiculous things that aren't so bad to me. I also think she's very annoying sometimes like when she puts herself down. But although I think all of that, I do think that she has a very strong mind. She knows who she is and when she was offered to go to her ex best friend's (now shes the queen bee of their grade) party she didn't even want to go, she didn't want to become popular and she doesn't like the way they talk or think and she doesn't want anything to do with it.

Confessions

I read a book called Confessions by kate brian and it is the 4th book of the Private series. This book shows the character overcoming odds when the main character Reed Brennan almosts dies from getting pushed off a dorms roof. The book says, "'I should have just killed you in the first place,' Ariana said through her teeth...Ariana backed me up, holding the knife point to my chin. The ground loomed beneath me..." (203). This just shows that her friend (well she thought she was) was going to kill her. Ariana even told Reed that she wrote a suicide note saying she jumped off the building roof but Ariana was going to push her. Reed was so close to dying that night and she was really scared but when she saw that her other friend Noelle sneaking up behind Ariana with a lacrosse stick she knew she might have a chance and she did. She survived and she feels really lucky when it was over because she was thinking to herself that like 5 mins. ago she could have been pushed off the roof and dead.

Inner Circle

I read this book called Inner Circle by Kate Brian. This book shows text about love when Reed Brennan (the main character) tells her boyfriend "I love you" for the first time. The author writes, "I could do this. I could. Because I meant it. And because I trusted him. And it didn't matter what happened next. I just wanted him to know. My fists uncurled. I breathed in. And when I let the air out again, I said it. 'Josh, I love you'". This scene shows how scared she was to tell him and she was really nervous but she didn't care what happened next, all that matter was him knowing how she felt. Another part in the book, it talks about love as something else though. It says, "'Reed, please don't do this. It wasn't me. I didn't know what I was doing,' he pleaded. 'I love you! Reed! You know that I love you!' My heart tore down the middle. Today his words felt like a cruel joke. Like torture. He kept calling to me, but I didn't look back. I would never look back". This was when they got in a fight and she didn't believe what he was saying. Instead of felling light and happy when he said "I love you" she felt pain. This just shows that love comes along with different feelings.

economic war

I recently read this article at http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hEx3tiPJhZQLVqjNmHR_oP6FZMuwD96UG0F00
and it talked about how we were in an "economic war" and it says, "In Romer's words, 'We haven't won yet. We have staged a wonderful battle'. I thought this was interesting because as everyone knows, the economy is not doing well and the president is trying to get us out of this recession. I think this is kinda depressing to hear about too because we've been trying to get out of this debt and it seems that the economy is doing very bad and a lot of people are loosing their jobs. I just really hope we can fix this problem fast!

"Obama adviser says US is in 'economic war'." google. 14 March 2009. 15 Mar 2009 .

colonization

In my world history class we just finished our chapter on the Europeans. It was very interesting because we learned many different people and what they did. Most of them were people that discovered new lands. A person that we took notes on was Vasco de Gama and he was a portugues explorer that traveled to east Africa. He found spices, gold ivory, and other trading goods. Not only that but he gave Portugal a direct sea route to India. Another explorer we learned about was Christopher Columbus. He sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean. On his first voyage, he landed on a Carribean Island which he thought was the East Indies and even though these people that we learned about weren't the ones to colonize the different countries, this was how it started. There were a lot more that we learned about and I think this was interesting because for some of the explorers we saw the route that they traveled and it was very cool!

too much pollution?

I read an article online at http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12617172.500-too-much-life-on-earth-is-the-population-explosionresponsible-for-todays-environmental-ills-some-say-yes-others-are-justassure-that-the-blame-lies-elsewhere-.html and it talks about how the earth is becoming too populated and that is the reason of environmental ills. It says, "The basic logic is simple and apparently convincing: more people consume more of every kind of resource, from energy to land to minerals, and produce more waste" so this is basically saying that the more people the earth has, the more pollution then. I think this is very true but how are we going to fix it? Like we can't build the earth to be bigger and the population just keeps on growing. On the other hand, another company has a different approach to this pollution problem, they say, "They blame, variously, inappropriate technologies; overconsumption by the affluent; inequality and exploitation, which squeeze poor farmers onto 'marginal' land and 'force' ..." and that could be true too because if we didn't have as much technology like cars then maybe the world wouldn't be so contaminated. Personally, I think that they are both right because it depends on the contamination, some is due to technology and some just from people.

Harrison, Paul. "Too much life on Earth?: Is the population explosionresponsible for today's environmental ills? Some say yes. Others are justassure that the blame lies elsewhere ." NewScientist. 19 May 1990. 8 Mar 2009 .

Holidays in Portugal

I read an aritcle about portuguese holidays at this website http://www.californiamall.com/holidaytraditions/traditions-Portugal.htm and it was about what happens on christmas day! This article said that on Christmas Eve Portuguese families gather around the christmas tree and the Creche to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It also says, "Most children write letters to Infant Jesus asking for presents rather than to Santa Claus" and this was interesting because it's very different from the way we do it. Later during the day, most families attend the Midnight Mass called "Missa do Galo" and after they would have supper together. I thought this was very cute because I thought it really seemed like they all were very close to eachother and their families and that church is a big priority to them too. At the end of the article, it said, "During the holiday season towns are decorated with lights. The festivities end on January 6, 'Dia de Reis'" and I thought this also was cool because it seems that portuguese christmas' are very important to them and they celebrate it for a long time and it just seems very fun and alive at that time of the year!!

Holiday Traditions in Portugal "Feliz Natal"." Holiday Traditions in Portual "Feliz Natal". 2008. 4 Mar 2009 .

Bollywood

I read an article on at http://www.bollywoodworld.com/whatisbollywood/ and it was about Bollywood. This article was very interesting to me because it described the dancing in the Bollywood films. It says, " It's fun and very expressive and there's a lot of deep meaning behind music in the films. You can actually express what the music means, through the graceful movements of the body" I thought this was interesting because when we watched Bride and Prejudice in class, I didn't think the dances had any meaning at all and that it was just for fun, but now if I watched it again, I would have payed more attention to the movements. I also read a section where it described why dancing in Bollywood films is importants. It says, " Choreographers are now starting to take the industry by storm because Farah Khan – a famous choreographer recently directed her first movie called Main Hoon Na. This goes to show that people want to see elaborate and funky dance sequences, they don't want pure acting, hence dancing is a crucial" and it shows that Bollywood films are differnent from american movies because are movies don't always have dancing unless you watch musicals but in Bollywood films you'll find it a lot. This article was fun to read because not only do you get a new visual on other countries film making, but it has meaning and depth to it too.

"BollywoodWorld." BollywoodWorld. 2007. 1 Mar 2009 .

Moroccan Wedding Traditions

I read an article at http://www.worldweddingtraditions.com/locations/african_traditions/moroccan_traditions.html
and i thought it was very interesting because the tradition in a moroccan wedding would be that it lasted for about four to seven days. It says, "On her wedding day, it is a Moroccan wedding custom for the bride to have a ceremonial purification milk bath before a ritual henna painting (Beberiska) of her hands and feet" and I thought that was very different compared to other cultures. I also thought it was interesting when the article said, "Once the couples wedding vows have been exchanged, and before the newlywed Moroccan bride becomes the mistress of her new home, she walks around the outside of her house three times" I thought this was cool because its different and it's cool to see what other cultures do for their wedding day. And I liked how their traditions are still going around now.

"World Wedding Traditions.com." Traditions in Morocco. 2002-2004. 25 Feb 2009 .

Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys

I read this book called Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys by Kate Brian. This book shows change in the main character's (Megan) life because she chose to live with her parents old friends than move to Korea with her parents. But the big change is that her parents friends have 7 boys!! She writes to her friend Tracy back home, "Observation #7: They have no sense of personal space. I need a lock on my door. STAT." (pg.28). This was the scene when the younger boys were going through her stuff, drawing on her clothes, and hiding in her closet. She had no siblings before and now she has to adjust with 7 boys thats younger and her age too. Another change in her life was her soccer status. Megan says, "Almost everyone looked at Hailey. Clearly the girl had a lock on the captainship. Megan thought of her team back in Texas-the team she was supposed to captain this year," (pg.88). This shows that she had to leave that behind at her old school and now face that Hailey has the upperhand in being captain.

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

The book that I read is called I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter. This book talks about hope from when Cammie Morgan told Josh Abrams (the boy she's been dating) that she lied to him about her life and the school that she goes to because she's not allowed to tell. It says on page 282, "Then, I realized where we were-what he was looking at. JOSH KNOWS! I mentally screamed. There doesn't have to be any more lying. He's inside. He's one of us (kind of). He's..." This quote shows she has hope for her and Josh. She realized that now that Josh knows the secret about her and who she really is that now they can move past it. She hopes that Josh will forgive her and they can still go out. It also shows hope by when things don't end up how she wanted it to, "I don't know if Josh will ever talk to me again. I don't know what he'll remember, or what we'll face in CoveOps,...But I know who will be beside me, and as every good spy knows- sometimes that's enough" (p. 284). This shows she has hope for her future and even though she doens't know if things in her life will go as planned, she knows that she has her friends and hope for the best!

Chinese Religion

I read an article on chinese religion at this website, http://asia.msu.edu/eastasia/China/religion.html and it said how many chinese people are Daoists. The text also said, "One is the Imperial Cult, in which the Emperor, who was called the Son of Heaven, not in a biological sense but in the sense of being chosen by Heaven to rule China, worshipped Heaven and various gods on behalf of the entire country," and I thought this was interesting because I wondered how they chose these certain people to represent their country. I thought this article was interesting because the chinese seem to be living simple lives and they seem like they think healthy and they think more of the good of the people. I also can relate this to myself too because on my dad's side of the family, it's customary to take care of your parents when the kids get older. Like right now my grandpa and grandma are still living with my uncle and aunt and before that, their parents probably lived with them too. They are very big on respecting the elders especially your parents.

"Chinese Religion." Windows on Asia. 15 Feb 2009 .

gender roles in the early times

I read an article about the difference in women roles in the past compared to todays. This article said what women mostly did in the 1900s was cook, clean, take care of the many children and you couldn't vote. They had no say in any politics, debate, discussions, or readings. And before then women belonged to their father and then they became property of their husband. It's funny reading an article like this because I never realized how different the lives have changed. Like now you could divorce your parents and you can vote and you don't have to stay at home, you can actually have a job. You can go to school, be anything you want to be, and actually be involved with decisions. In some ways I think that the present is better but I do think that the earlier times had more respect and responsibility than today.

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976727868

"Gender Roles and Feminism." Gather. February 03, 2006. 10 Feb 2009 .

African Culture

I read an article online at this website http://www.africaguide.com/culture/artcraft.htm and it described the arts and crafts of the culture in Africa. This article was interesting to me because it said that the arts and crafts usually show a couple, a woman and a child, a male with an animal or weapon, or an outsider. I also read the significance of women and men. It reads, "As women achieve significance through their children, men will often be honored in warfare. The one who goes into battle must have physical, emotional and spiritual energy to survive and to conquer. Thus the emphasis on weapons and the spoils of war in many African works" I thought this was interesting and now when I see African work I can relate better to it. I was also confused when this article said that some of the art were drawings of outsiders or "strangers". I read more about it and they said that they would draw people from different tribes and they would usually not be welcomed. In this article it says, "In Africa, a stranger is someone from a different country or tribe. They would usually not be welcomed; and the more distorted the portrayal of the stranger, the greater the gap that is normally symbolized. Sometimes strangers; especially white foreigners; are given a form of respect based on their relatively great weaponry and other powers". This quote reminded me of the book we are reading in class "Nectar in a Sieve" because in the book it shows when the tannery people come, Rukmani could tell they were more superior than the rest of them. This article is really interesting and I like how I can relate it to the book we are reading in class too.

"African People & Culture." Africa Guide. 8 Feb 2009 .

Envy

In the book Envy by Anna Godbersen, the character Henry Schoonmaker is facing a difficult problem because he was forced to marry Penelope by blackmail and he loves another girl named Diana. He says to Penelope, "And then, when we get back to New York, I am going to find a way to leave you. I'm not sure how yet, but I can't stay in this absurd joke of a marriage any longer" Henry is facing a difficult decission but he overcomes this by getting dirt on Penelope so then she can't blackmail him anymore. Another character that is facing a difficult problem in the book is Elizabeth (Diana's older sister), she realized that she is pregnant with her dead husbands baby and she can't tell the society about it because then her and her families life is over. She was grown up in a very high class family and so now she has to make the decision of getting an abortion or marry another man. In this book, there are many twists and problems that each character faces and it's fun to read to see what happens next!

WILD FIRES IN SOUTHERN C.A

I recently read online on http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,303799,00.html that there were many wild fires in Malibu, C.A. making thousands of people evacuate their homes and one person was killed. It also said these fires burned more than 40,000 acres of land and churches, homes, and a castle was burned down. This article surprised me when it said, "Though firefighters had been on high alert because forecasters predicted the winds, they admitted Sunday night that they were overwhelmed" This really shocked me because once I read that it proved to me that there were so many fires that even the firefighters couldn't handle all of them.

"Deadly Firesstorm Ravages Southern California, Forcing Thousands to Flee." Monday, October 22, 2007. 1 Feb 2009 .

Identity

I kept my last piece of paper, "chinese and vietnamese" because I thought that it was the most important description that I had. I also think it's important because that is what sets me apart from everyone else because if I had kept one of my others like "female" or "likes to swim", I wouldn't set myself apart from others because it would be like a million other peoples descriptions. So I kept the "chinese and vietnamese" because it was more unique and special to me than my others.