Na na na na, na na na na, hey, hey, hey, goodbye....blog.

I had lots of fun reading over all my old blogs. I had forgotten about so many things we had done this school year. My favorite blog to read was the Animal Farm project. I was like dang, the kid playing guitar is a STUD. Just kidding, but I did like to see famous class assignments, like To Kill a Mockingbird and Great Expectations. If I remember anything of academics from Freshman year, Honors English will probably take the cake.
      This blog conclusion, to me, symbolizes many different things. Not just having to do any more of these friday night assingments every week, but also, how I have become a better writer and how I have learned more. At the beginning of the year, I didn't know what ninth grade english would be like. I especially didn't think we were going to be doing a blog. I had a good start at the beginning of the year, kicked off with my one hundred percent summer assignment. But then, things started getting kind of bad. I wasn't doing very good on my homework, I was horrid at DGP, and then I wasn't as social as I should be at the first week of school. I wished I was. Every year of school, I am usually quiet for a couple days and then I take control of the class. This was totally different. I regret coming out at the end of the year in this class and starting to be as Emery should be. It sucks, this class would have been a great oppurtunity for that too. This blog ending symbolizes ending academics, and also, the start of a blossoming dude. Its a bummer it didn't happen sooner. Also, at the beginning of the year, public speaking in this class may have been one of my worst traits. Getting up in front of the class or in discussions just wasn't right for me. Its a shame that at the end of the year I was just starting to have some fun with it. I wasn't nervous at all during my For Whom The Bell Tolls book talk. As far as writing goes, this was one of my most improving years. Writing is what I do best in at school, it always has been (not to brag, but I went above state standards on my WASL writing scores in previous school years). This year just made me even better at it, better than I thought I ever could be. I have greatly improved all around, especially at essays. Five point paragraph essays are awful when you try to write them, but they eventually help you. Alot. And the more you practice with that sort of stuff, the more beneficial it is. A big thing this blog's ending represents, if not the biggest, is my writing skills improved. To me that is critical. People say there are other subjects more important than english or writing. Even if it is true, I honestly can't think of one. Life skills maybe, (which isn't even a school subject). If you really are, and I mean really are a top-notch writer, to me, that is probably the best thing you could ever have. So much persuasion and power comes with writing that if you are good at it, great things can be achieved or accomplished. I'm glad I became a better writer, and with that improvement, my blogs (in my opinion) gradually became better and better. And thats good. blogging was a big thing. It probably will be the thing I remember most about freshman year english. I have chosen a quote that is relevant to all aspects of the blog's conclusion, mainly the concept of improvement. My whole blog and english career can relate to it, and can revolve around it. It is said by a man named Tom Peters. "Excellent firms don't believe in excellence, only in constant improvement and constant change." This quote is short and sweet, but says alot. What it means is you can't be good at something naturally. Even if you have a talent, you can't be the best at your talent without practice. You have to work your way to get to the top, even if you just want to be good you still have to work for it, and sometimes it takes change or something different. Some of the ways we learned to write were to me, very different. Yet it turned out to be better for me. I wasn't always the cool kid I am today. You best believe you have to work hard at that! In the end, things turned out good. The major thing this blog symbolizes, is improvement, and the conclusion of this blog symbolizes ending strong. Because of that, I will miss this blog very much. We shared many a good time, me and this here blog. With that, I bid thee farewell, Goodblog.

   

Reflecting on a memorable assignment (late)

One assignment I can remember I thought I did well on, was when we did outside reading at the beginning of the year. For my book I chose Catcher In The Rye, which is now one of my favorite books after reading it. I can't remember all the assignments that came with it, if there were any besides the Book Talk. I've done tons of other projects that deserve recognition more than this one, but this one was special. I don't think I even got that great of a grade on the book talk, but I think I did okay on it. I'm proud however, that the visual I made for it got on the wall at the back of the classroom. For me, this project was memorable because of the fun I had making the poster. I've always wanted to live in a big city like New York, so when I read the book and put the images from my head onto paper, it made that longing even stronger. Drawing a 1940s New York on a cold December night may seem to some as just a project, but I had a great time with it. I remember the night me and my friend were hanging out, and I worked on it while we talked and ate pizza rolls at two in the morning. Sharing this experience with my friend made it all the more memorable.
     Many other projects I've done this year received better grades or (in my opinion) reflected my art skills a little better. But they weren't as memorable, fun or are as fond to me as my Catcher In The Rye poster was.

Conflict

One of the types of conflict in Romeo and Juliet is interpersonal conflict, or the conflict in one's self. It isn't the conflict of one versus another, and isn't a physical battle either. Its completely in the mind, and is also an emotional battle. After the deadly sword battle in the streets of Verona where a few main characters were killed, Romeo was banished from the city. He and his wife, Juliet, both have to deal with their personal emotions on the case. Its very hard for them, because they have to deal with being seperated after just getting married. Not only that, but they have to deal with the death of family and friends. Its a very hard time for them both, and it tears them apart on the inside. Shakespeare uses it to create drama and suspense, and maybe some of the people who read it or watch the play will feel sympathetic if they developed a personal fondness for the characters.
      Just like Romeo and Juliet both struggle with interpersonal conflict, we in real life do too. Everyone deals with interpersonal conflict at least once in their life. These mind battles can come from any hardship or occurance. Its almost worse of a fight than a physical war sometimes. For example, take the death of a loved one. This will definitely cause strife to someone. But, what is worse is if the loved one was killed by another person. This not only creates grief for the person, but also creates an anger towards the killer, putting even more baggage on the person they have to carry for the rest of their life. As you can see, interpersonal conflict is a very serious struggle and can cause much pain to the person or people it is involving.

Clydeo and Bonnyet

The thing I found similar to the story of Romeo and Juliet is the real life story of Bonnie and Clyde. Bonnie and Clyde were two infamous criminals of the thirites, notorious for bank robbery and killing police and civillians. But they weren't just gangsters, they were also a couple. It has been said they met at a friend's house, and that it was love at first sight. They partnered up and went on a spree of crime and lovin'. They were made for eachother, just like Romeo and Juliet were. They were inseperable, and are a perfect example of star crossed lovers. But one day they, both suffered a tragic death like the two lovers in Shakespeare's play. They died just like they lived, by the gun. Police had ambushed them and had killed them after a long trail of crime. Just like in Romeo and Juliet, there was conflict that ultimately ended in death. You can clearly see now, the similarities between the two couples Romeo with Juliet, and Bonnie and Clyde.

Babies that fall on their faces

I enjoyed the first bit of reading for a few reasons. I think the biggest reason is because of the Italian related content in it. I have Italian heritage and am really interested in Italian stuff, and have always wanted to go there. Reading this makes me want to visit there even more. I also thought the characters' phrases and sayings were pretty funny. Its these that make the reading very enjoyable for me. I like reading at home and reading at school both because it makes things easier for me. For one, doing annotating at school takes a huge burden off, and reading it twice and having the teacher tell us what it really means helps too. It leaves me time to read A Tale of Two Cities as well. It also helps me understand things in the book that the side notes can't. It does nothing more than improve my reading experience and make the connection to the book with me stronger, which I appreciate very much.                                                            
                                                                                      

Wrapping up Great Expectations

Dicken's main message in the book is obvious. The characters in the book believed money was the only way they could be happy. Whether it was to win someone over, gain status, or just buy everything they wanted, there was always something better than money. Money may have given the characters material wealth, but money did not save Pip or Mrs.Joe, from Orlick or mend them back to health when they were injured, it did not give Pip Estella's hand in marraige, or any of these things. Dickens is trying to say that friends and family are much better resources than portable property and that people should be valued more over money. Money wasn't the thing that made Pip sucsessful, it was Magwitch, the donor of the money. People have more of an influence than money does, good, or bad. Take Compeyson for instance. Not even all of Havisham's posessions could make her feel any better. She wasted her life away after she was jilted and money could not fix her. But when Pip makes her realize her flaws, she instantly breaks down and even though she dies soon after, I bet she would have lead a fuller life after that if she had not been burned. It just goes to show you what people can do that money can't. The message Dickens put in this book as the central one is probably the most valuable one he could have used.

Photo post

I thought this picture greatly represented Pip's life during the first two stages of the novel. During the beginning, Pip experienced his major troubles and hardships, having many dead relatives, being riby someone the very person he loved most dear and his shame of the position he was at socially. Along the way however, he becomes wealthy and changes not only financially but in his character. But what Pip doesn't at first realize, is that if he weren't the poor unfortunate kid he was, he never would have become rich. He may have never met that convict, and if he hadn't helped him let alone meet him, he probably would have not become so succsessful.
''So, I must be taken as I have been made. The success is not mine, the failure is not mine, but the two together make me.'' (Chapter 38). Through good and bad times and life altering days, failure and success were both essential in making what Pip has become.

Posting connections and making a picture

A work I found similar to Great Expectations, was none other than Harry Potter. I thought it could tie in for a couple different reasons. You see, just like Pip, Harry has a mean relative (three actually).  Like Mrs. Joe Gargery, Harry's aunt, uncle, and cousin Dudley, are strict and mean. Pip and Harry are also similar because they are both orphans, and live with other relatives. The settings of the two books also take place in the same general area. England. The plots are also somewhat the same. You see, both of the kids grew up with crummy lives, Pip being ashamed of home, and Harry being abused. But one day, they both get their golden ticket....Pip receives his great expectations and Harry is told he is a wizard. Both of them have a life changing day (and to add even more similarity, both are told by an unknown person, who later becomes a strong character in their lives, about their good tidings. For Pip it is Jaggers, and for Harry it is Hagrid). And some time along the way, they both go to a special place, London for Pip and Hogwarts for Harry, a life changing experience for the both of them. I think I could stop the blog here if I wanted to.
     While Pip and Harry are at their special places, they both meet friends and foes along the way. Harry meets his two best friends Ron and Hermoine, and also encounters the nefarious Draco Malfoy and that one freak named Snape. Pip meets Herbert, whom he already had known as "the pale young gentleman," and Biddy too. Pip meets a couple of different enemies, such as Trabb's boy and Estella, to name a few, however, none are as extreme as those in J.K. Rowling's work. I think Harry also sees more dangers, trouble, and a fair bit more of action than Pip, but it doesn't mean Great Expectations has no suspense at all. Pip sees convicts fight, scary old ladies, and comes across mystery at every turn. I did think both of the books did show some good mystery. Harry handles situations better, he is brave and outgoing, while Pip is shy, timid, and sensitive, even in his older years. In Harry Potter, you are always left wondering when Snape is going to become the teacher of dark magic, if he is, why is he even in the book, or if Harry ever will face Voldemort and how a battle between them would turn out, and of course, why would J.K. Rowling ever kill Hedwig, Dumbledore, and Dobby. Suspense doesn't mean a thing if the only way you can put it into writing is to kill the most beloved characters of a book.
     I hope now that you have read these examples, you now see why I chose Harry Potter for this subject.

Stage 2

The novel shows how Pip, the main character, grows up and matures and how he acts differently when he is a young adult, as opposed to him when he was a child. (Though it is kind of hard to follow how much time has passed during the book, there are occasional brief pieces of information giving an idea about how old Pip is). As Pip grows older, he starts liking girls, learns proper manners, being a gentleman, things like that. But, like some of the other upperclass men in the book, he also begins to become full of himself. Is this a step up or a step down from being a kid? Was it better to be poor and have shame, or have money and be stuck up?
     For example, Pip shows his snobbiness at its best when he sees Joe in London. Instead of a happy family reunion, Pip acts as though Joe is inferior to himself.  “As to his shirt, and his coat collar, they were perplexing to reflect upon – insoluble mysteries both. Why should a man scrape himself to that extent before he could consider himself full dressed? Why should he suppose it necessary to be purified by suffering for his holiday clothes?” (The quote was on page 221). I thought here, Pip was making fun of the way Joe was dressed. Pip should know better than to do so. He experienced sad feelings when Estella made fun of how he looked, and Joe probably felt the same thing. This clearly shows how Pip acts when he gets older, and how money can make someone behave for the worst.

Great Expectations: Chapter Nine quote response

I think what a long chain of iron and gold is, is that each chainlink represents a day. A gold day could be happy or brings good tidings, something like that. Iron is cruel and harsh, or maybe just a day that was filled with work or just was plain out bad. Flowers and thorns are a synonym for that, flowers being good days thorns being bad ones. But the first chainlink is something memorable, like the day Pip had in the story. When it says "this never would have bound you if, but for the formation of the first link of one memorable day." That last bit says if it hadn't been for the thing you did on that one day, your life wouldn't have been the same up to this point, or your future would have been altered. I think its saying your life is dependent on how you spend it and what you do.

Questions about a passage

My passage I found disconcerting (or at least one of them) was the one where Joe and Pip decide to go along with the cops to find criminals. First of all, there are many sentences that are very long and rambly, with huge words. When these complications are mixed together, it makes me read and not comprehend what am I reading. After reading a certain part like this, I then come back to a reality and when I look at the words on the page I am totally lost and do not know what has happened in the book or what is currently happening. So thats the first reason I don't understand this passage. The second reason is that I don't understand why Joe and Pip want to go hunt for criminals. They aren't cops, and plus there are many liabilities and dangers that could come up. It seems like extra work without anything in return. This passage starts on page 32 and kind of just carries on.

TIoBE Paragraph-Emery Miller

In my body paragraph, I have gone back and reworded to avoid repetition. Please tell me if you still think you hear some in it, also, I don't like the last transition, what would be a good one for that? Nothing else has changed, I just didn't want some words like "express to pop up a great deal (however it seems I have gotten rid of that one completely) You don't need to worry about the commentary because I didn't change any of it. And I'm really sorry I posted this so late!

By the way, how are we supposed to do the conclusion?

Emery's Extra Credit Blog

My New Year's Resolution consists of two main things. But to some it up in one, my resolution is "to become a man." What does this mean you may ask? First off, I'm going to get a haircut. This isn't a big deal, but my long hair is annoying, because if there is still a little soap or anything in it when I shower, I sneeze or tear up from it due to allergies. Not a short haircut, but a shorter haircut. It is also hard to manage, so less hair would be a good thing for me. The second thing is to be healthier. Instead of playing videogames or making music all day, I think I should get outside more. Either go play basketball, start jogging or walk my dog more frequently. I also workout on a regular basis, but I am prone to taking breaks which disrupts the schedule I have. So, rain or shine, hot or cold, Im gonna keep to my workout schedule and go workout in my garage with the bowflex and get ripped. Get ripped like a man.

Emery's AF Project Evaluations

Rachel
Power Point Game
-I liked project it was clever and seems like it was hard to make. I give her points for effort and creativity, and the questions asked were good too. She showed a lot of the criteria of symbolism, foreshadowing and irony in this project.

Melanie
Slideshow Video
-This project was very well done, I liked the music in the background and it was overall a good project. I also liked it because it helped me figure out how to post my project.

Will
Comic Strip
-I liked it. It was short and sweet, and got to the point. It seems a tad bit lacking something, but I can't figure out what it may be. I don't want to say it was adequate because it seems like I'm calling it worse than the others but it seems like the only word I can use to describe it...

Chase, Zach, Ketl, Sherwin
-Song
-This project was one of my favorites, the piano really ties along with the lyrics of "Beasts of England", and sets a nice mood. The only thing I thought it should of had was some bass riffs by Ketl.

Grace, Sarah, Molly
-Movie Trailer
Probably one of the top three best projects. I liked the clips of the farm and how the disgustingess of all that stuff the pigs were eating made it really seem like the animals were living a bad life. The trailer seemed kind of sad with the wetness and grayness which is good for the type of story it is.

Alena, Mackenzie
-Movie Trailer
I enjoyed watching this, I liked the barn and animals and the voicovers were great. I liked watching the scenes where the animal gathered wood and when the windmill fell down, one problem I had with it was when the dog went after that one guy. I thought that was clever, but it was in a suburban neighborhood, which didn't seem very farm-like. A well done project in my book.

Leah
-Comic Strip like Poster
This project was easy to understand and simple, which is why I liked it. Not much else you could have done here, although, maybe, using paint or some other picture editing program, could have drawn on the pig to show what the animals think he is like in one scene, and what he really is in the other.

Sara (Eddy)
-Picture
I had a hard time realizing what this meant at first, but when I got it and I thought it was pretty clever. I liked the rainbow and sunshine over the pigs' house, and how the animals in the barn got rained on, which really just represented their harsh living conditions and poor lives.

D'Andra
-Poem
It was pretty much just a summary of the book in poetry form, but it focused on Napoleon, and how he is viewed at the beginning and how he changes and is looked at differently. I did like it, and I don't think anything about it needs to be different or changed (this is minor, but instead of Animal Farm, I thought a better title would be "Napoleon of Animal Farm", since the poem centers on him).

Olivia
-Haiku
This seemed too short to sum up an example of irony, foreshadowing, or symbolism. I think it should have just been a regular poem.

Emery's Animal Farm Project (reposted)

http://www.youtube.com/user/ShredosaurausRex?feature=mhum

My project was matching the animals in the story to whom they represent from the Russian Revolution, and putting them in a slideshow (along with some self-composed music) to show the irony of how people can act like animals (or vice versa). The text is hard to read I think, so I am listing the animals and their represented characters down below.

• Farmer Jones = Tsar Nicolas II
• Pilkington and Foxwood = Leaders (Or influential people, or people of higher stature) of other countries (England and Germany, I thought)
• Napoleon = Stalin
• Snowball = Trotsky
• Mollie = Unfaithful Russians (Or Independent Russians, or Russian people who did not agree or didn't care about communist ideas)
• The Dogs = KGB (Secret Police)
• Sheep = Citizens of Russia in large masses or crowds
• Benjamin and Muriel = Literate, wise citizens. Maybe elderly or old ones
• Squealer = The Russian Media, or a propagandist
• Major = Marx
• Boxer (and Clover) = Working class of Russia

Tell me if you had trouble downloading or viewing the project, or any problems you had with it.