Burma

Burma Is bordered by the following countries India on the top left side, The Bay of Bengal on the bottom left side, China on the top right side, and Thailand on the bottom right side. Burma is currently fighting in a war with the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) this makes it a civil war.Right now the SlORC has government over the entire country but there is a large group of people who don’t want the SLORC to be in office. At this time there are 70,000 child soldiers fighting for their country.

AIDs Awareness Video

This is a video about AIDs. It is really informative and gives a different perspective on AIDs.

"The Message" by Grand Master Flash

“A child is born with no state of mind

Blind to the ways of mankind.”

Quote from Rapper Grand Master Flash

This quote related to the book A Long Way Gone, because in the book children live such different life style than we do in America. They are free to roam throughout towns without telling anyone where they are going. They also are a really poor country and the children are born without a chance for education. They wakeup to crime and war. Infants are born in crime and war.

“God is smiling on you but he's frowning too

Because only God knows what you’ll go through.”

QUOTE FROM Rapper Grand Master Flash

This quote also relates to the book in the same way. Children are born into war and and lack of food. Most people can't relate because they don't have to live in the same environment and wakeup starving like the children do in the book A Long Way Gone.

RUF

Revolutionary United Front (RUF) is a terrorist group formed in the 1980s in Sierra Leone; seeks to overthrow the government and gain control of the diamond producing regions; responsible for attacks on civilians and children. In the end the Rebels lost the war although there are still people being tried for the acts that were committed.

Hip-Hop/Rap

Facts about Lovebug Starski

Starski recorded his first single, "Positive Life," on the Tayster record label in 1981.

Lovebug Starski and World Famous Brucie B also worked together at the Rooftop Roller rink in Harlem during the 1980s.

In the 1990s Starski began DJing again with his friend, DJ Hollywood.

He began his career as a record boy in 1971 as hip-hop first appeared in the Bronx, and he eventually became a DJ at the Disco Fever club in 1978.

Book review

O.K so I read the book Glass by Ellen Hopkins. It was an amazing book. I definitely recommend this book. Both guys and girls can read it but I think girls would enjoy it more. It is about a woman named Kristina, she had just had a baby and is trying to recover from her drug addiction to Crystal-Meth. Her life was going pretty well until the monster starts to haunt her again. Then her life is back to the vortex it was before her son Hunter was born. Things go from bed to worse when Kristina came home the last time high. Her mom kicks her out and now she is going to move in with her boy-toy’s cousin Brad and be a nanny. Living there was a twenty four hour party with her new friend and the monster. When Brad’s wife moves back home Kristina now moves into a motel. Soon after she finds trouble and her life is in a vortex again... Although this book looks long, it is a very fast read. It is told in poems and I recommend it to people that like to read about drugs and other shenanigans of that sort.

Review

This year has been amazing we went from crazy last year to mellow and better behaved this year and next year will be even better. As a class we grew and we will continue growing. I used the word impulse because last year we were impulsive separately and this year we were impulsive together as a whole. I can’t wait for next year.

Impulse

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

This book is about three teens who have very different lives. First of all the are all sent to this Rehab clinic/camp because they all try to kill them selves. The book shows the journey these three teens overcome while in this clinic/ camp. Vanessa is one of the charters who you will meet. She is beautiful and smart but her family history haunts her until she cuts a little too deep and her little brother finds her. Tony has had it rough too. He is a gay teen that grew up without a dad and a mother who could care less, and the pills and boos got a little too out of hand. Conner has what some people think is I perfect life, but to him he is pushed over the edge with all the pressure. He copes when he finds emma but when she is gone it all goes down hill from there. I loved how connected the three got during the book. Three opposite people with a bond that will last forever, or for a while anyway. I also loved how I related to each of them in away I felt like I was with them in the book like a fly on the wall. I recommend this book to Mature readers. It is a very intense book. It is for people who like realistic fiction. Impulse looks long but the poems are very short so it is a really fast read. The book is told in poems which is very cool. This book was very Intense but heart warming.

Tarot Vignette

I am bad for instance I sass my mom and get grounded

I am wonderful for instance I sit up late at night and type my mom’s papers

I am ugly for instance I am built like a man

I am beautiful for instance I have long dark curly hair

I am tough for instance I walked on a broken feet for two weeks

I am weak for instance I cry over almost anything

I am stupid for instance I know nothing about cars

I am smart for instance I have made high honors all sophomore year

I am mad for instance my dad really pisses me off

I am happy for instance I have a wonderful life with my mom and step dad

I judge for instance I look in the mirror and judge myself everyday

Born Accident

Born Accident

I was born on accident my mom was 18 and my dad was 19. I was told that I caused my parents to get married. Through my life I have continued to be accidental.When I was little I was accident prone. I know this because of the huge scar on my leg that only I notice. That scar is there because when I was little my mom was cooking mac and cheese and I was on the counter watching her cook. She bent down to get a oven mitt to lift the very hot pan. Before she had the chance to stand back up I dumped the hot mac and cheese all over my legs. My dad picked me up and put me on a cold bath but the burns were so bad that they had to take me to the hospital and I had to have skin grafts and to this day I still have that huge scar on my leg that only I can notice. That is why I was born accident.

Temptation of Time and Love

Temptation of Time and Love

The tattoo that I wish I had looks like an old fashioned pocket watch with a vine plant growing up it and under that I the last name Atwood and it the center will be a single rose bud. The whole thing will be pink and black. I want this because the clock means the time of life. The vine means my growing love, and the last name Atwood for my step dad Jeff who is forever changed my life. On the picture of the tattoo there is a scull and cross bones that I do not want on my tattoo and I want the words changes to Atwood.

Sandra Cisneros Poem

Line 1: Sandra
Line 2: Who is a writer
Line 3: Who writes about her life and other books called My Wicked, Wicked Ways,Bad Boys
Line 4: Who loves to write, colors, and animals
Line 5: Who feels strongly about creativity, generosity, and writing.
Line 6: Who says "I've never seen a marriage that is as happy as my living alone... My writing is my child and I don't want anything to come between us."
Line 7: Who gives knowledge,
Line 8: Who is known for writing The House on mango street, Bad Boys, and My Wicked, Wicked Ways
Line 9: Who has worked as a teacher a poet works in the community
Line 10: Whose parents were poor with hungry children
Line 11: Who is creativo and trabajo duro
Line 12: Who is a resident of Texas

The book NIGHT by Elie Weisel Is a book about a boy and his family who lived in a little town. During the time of the holocaust. Near the end of the holocaust the boy and his family were put in a cattle cars on a train with about eighty other people. At first there was a lot of optimism even though these people were tortured, but when they arrived to the concentration camp there was a bit of hysteria. The boy and his father stayed together but they were separated from the boy’s mother and sisters. The boy agony when he had to leave his mother because he was closest with her. In the concentration camps the men were made to work every day and the old ones were killed. When they were fed their coffee in the mornings they were poisoned little by little without knowing. All were taken away even gold teeth, the boy had a gold tooth and it had been removed with a rusty spoon. Anybody with the littlest amount rebellion was killed instantly. The boy hurt his foot he was put in the hospital until it healed. At the end the boy and his father and hundreds of other men had to run 42 miles without stopping. This is a true story of the traumatic terror that Elie Weisel had to encounter.


My Opinion of the book Night by Elie Weisel is that it is a very traumatic book and I feel Remorse for Elie and his family. When and if you read this book I think you well feel the same as I did. The holocaust was a very troubled part of our history. I learned by reading Night that people are treated differently not only by the way they look by also what religion they take.

Soliloquy

“I have no spur/
To prick the sides of my intent, but only/
Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself,/
And falls on th’other-”

In the play Macbeth, Macbeth said this quote in a Soliloquy. He was thinking back and forth on if he should kill the king or not kill the king. He is having a hard time making this choice because, if he kills the king then the people of the country will be very sad and investigate the situation. If Macbeth kills the king then he will spend eternity in hell. If Macbeth does not kill the king then there is a chance that he will not become king but he will go to heaven.

A Soliloquy is a feeling and/or a thought of a character that on one else but the reader hears or reads. This is found in poetry.

Dramatic Irony in Act 1 of Macbeth

Dramatic Irony is when the audience knows more than the characters on stage. For example when Macbeth is plotting to kill the king in Act I. This is dramatic irony because the king doesn't know that Macbeth is plotting to kill him. The plot of the killing of King Duncan is, when King Duncan stays at Macbeth's castle Macbeth will kill him.

One Little Word

I chose the word courage. I chose courage because I need to be courageous in the many battles of life. Sometimes life throws curve balls, but with a little bit of courage you can withstand anything you choose. I have always been quiet in many ways but now I choose to have courage and I know that that is what I need. I will follow this word all year and hopefully by the end of the year I will be a changed person, and have the courage I need.

Information about Haiti

Haiti is a small country next to the Dominican Republic. Before Haiti was struck by a huge earthquake it was a country with very little order and very much kayos. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world with a poverty rate of 85%. The Population in 2003 was 8,326,000. there is literacy rate of about 65% so that means that only 65% of people that live in Haiti can read and or write.

Who Burns for the Perfection of Paper by Martin Espada

Who Burns for the Perfection of Paper
by Martin Espada

I believe that the theme of this poem that I linked is that hard work can take you places. I believe this because of the quote:”Ten years later, in law school, I knew that every legal pad was glued with the sting of hidden cuts, that every open law book was a pair of hands upturned and burning.”
I think the poetic device that was used is Imagery which is when something appeals
to the five senses (touch,sight, taste, smell, sound).

Haiti

On Tuesday, January 12, 2010 the Caribbean and North American plates slid past one another in an east-west direction. Which caused the Haiti Port-au-Prince earthquake. There is been nothing but devastation since then. The earthquake was at a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 M. With this earthquake there has been 200,000 dead in total. There have been so many deaths and so much destruction because Haiti is a country that is in poverty. Haiti is always in kayos even before the earthquake. There buildings were built poorly because of the lack of money and they were not prepared for something of this destruction. If an earthquake were to hit California today with the magnitude of 7.0 like the one that hit U.S in 1991 there would be no deaths, and very little damage. It is that way because the U.S is prepared for earthquakes and we built our houses and towers somewhat better than Haiti. Haiti is not a bad country because it is in poverty but, if they had buildings like we do, on the west coast then there wouldn’t be as many deaths if any and the buildings wouldn’t be a total loss like they are now.

Review for My Blog

My Review of my blog. My blog is in my opinion neat and clean. There is not a lot of writing yet but I have started to write a little more often. I believe that since I have had a blog I care more about my writing. I love the Cluster Map. I love it because it shows me how many people look at my blog and where from. I can improve in a couple areas such as my grammar and spelling mistakes. Although I do go back and correct them as I see them. My goal for the rest of the year for my blog it to write a little more and more. Overall I am proud of my blog and will keep blogging in my adult life after I graduate.

Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas

Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas

Anke’s got quite a life. Her father doesn’t look at her like he looks at her like he looks at her siblings. Anke knows what he does to them but not her, he wont even look at her. It’s as if she isn’t even there. All she wants is some attention. She gets just that when she joins the Volleyball team. At first she wishes that he would do to her as he does to the others, but when she finds her dad at his office with her close friend everything changes. She realizes that what her father does is wrong and nothing can stop her from telling his just how she feels. This book Is an exciting read, you don’t want to put the book down and take a break. All three hundred and fifty two pages keep you at the edge of your seat, so to speak. I encourage adults and teens to read this book. It is a very strong book the effects of I Am Furniture can very. Some people may be alright with his book and others may not be able to read it.

A life lesson unlearned

What happens to a life lesson unlearned?

Does it hold up
like a jet in the sky?
Or last like a fugitive --
on the run?
Does it sink like ship gone wrong ?
Or adjust and cloud over--
like a forgotten dream?

Maybe it just hangs
like a heavy load.

Or does it implode?

found poem

there was a baseball game on
as if the world wasn’t real
they were playing baseball
as if baseball was important
all you have that’s important
is the surface stuff
that’s all you have
in here-- you don’t smile
they don’t care
i think i finally understand
the world i come from
where i had my family--
that’s important