Wednesday, November 11, 2015

THIS I BELIEVE

I believe that being on time makes you happy. Wether it's being on time for school, being on time for work, or being on time for homework, there is nothing better than being on time. In addition, being late or waiting till the last minute is the worst. It makes you a less happy person all around. Although it may not seem like such a big deal to you, it definitely is to me.

I have been late or just barely made the cut on mostly everything in my life from freshman year to sophomore year. I'd be late to school and and late on homework assignments and it overall led to a depressing life. I even went as far as starting some of my english papers on the same day during school since I had english 8th period. My parents were not happy with me for reasons that were so fully in my control that it hurt. I knew exactly what was causing my depression and I did nothing to stop it. It was not until my junior year that I started to be more on task. As soon as I started preparing for the ACT I began to become a better person. As I was studying I read all of these methods that people used to do better on the test. Some of these methods were to wake up early, get a good nutritious breakfast, and to get to your testing center ON TIME. I took these things to heart and tried them out while testing. Sure enough my score went up a lot. I knew that if these kinds of things made me a better test taker, then they could surely help in other areas of my life. I started going to school on time and dressing for success. It was the little things that completely changed me. I believe that these small things I did every day were the biggest reasons I was so much happier. I started to floss in addition to brushing (LOL), I started to always have an almost full tank of gas in my car, I started to laugh a little bit more, and I definitely started to take things a lot more serious. I am very happy that I have finally found a surefire method that works for me. I am so much more comfortable with myself when I am on time, and that has led to a completely better life for myself and my parents. Being on time is like a cheat code in a video game. It immediately had an effect on me.
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Monday, October 26, 2015

AR Book Review

Dogs are a man’s best friend. That is something that has been stated over and over for years. People who have dogs love them. They love taking their dogs for walks, taking them to the park, and even talking to them. What would people think if they found out that their dogs could actually listen and comprehend everything that they were saying and that their dogs might be a whole lot smarter than they though? What, also, might people think if they found out that dogs are so intellectual that they could actually narrate a whole book to human readers. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein is exactly that. It is a book narrated by a dog named Enzo who believes that once he dies as a dog, he will come back to earth as a human.
One great thing about this novel that some may not like is that the whole thing is narrated by a dog. One could argue that this is a bad thing because dogs do not understand a lot of things. The narrator was very limited in the places he could go and also could be a little biased towards his owner, naturally. An example of this is when Enzo is not allowed in the courtroom with Denny so he tells us what happens through the storytelling of Denny. Some of the information could have been altered since it is known that when telling a story one tries to make it as entertaining as possible. However, one may also argue that although the dog narrator can be a little unfactual, it is very interesting to get a new perspective on the world through the eyes of a K-9.
Another thing that is great about this book is the recurring comparisons of life and racing in the rain. There are full chapters of metaphors and paragraphs of comparisons. Some examples are "The race is long. It is better to drive within oneself and finish the race behind the other than it is to drive too hard and crash." and “Your car goes where your eyes go. Simply another way of saying that which you manifest is before you. I know it's true; racing doesn't lie.” (Stein 231). These chapters filled with the comparisons are vital to the book’s story and creates a great theme for every plot in the novel. At times these metaphors can be a little redundant sometimes but they are crucial to the plot.
Finally, there is the recurring theme of Enzo trying to be ready enough to be turned into a human in his next life. He faces a bunch of challenges that make him feel like he may actually not be ready for his next life as a human. He doubts himself along the way and goes through plenty of ups and downs but finally, according to the novel, he was ready. He says “Here’s why I will be a good person. Because I listen. I cannot talk, so I listen very well. I never deflect the course of the conversation with a comment of my own. People, if you pay attention to them, change the direction of one another’s conversations constantly. It’s like having a passenger in your car who suddenly grabs the steering wheel and turns you down a side street…Learn to listen! I beg of you. Pretend you are a dog like me and listen to other people rather than steal their stories” (Stein 121). This quote shows that Enzo was finally ready to be a human and although he doubts himself a little bit when his owners wife dies, in the end he is more ready than ever.
In conclusion I think this was a really good novel that I will recommend to anyone. It is an easy

 read that will have you on an emotional roller coaster the whole time. The Art of Racing in the rain 

 is a story of tragedy and triumph. Learning to race in the rain could be the most important lesson you 

 can learn all your life.


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Sunday, October 18, 2015

Fantasy


I love reading fantasy. It allows me to escape the real world and focus on something that leaves me stress free and not thinking about the struggles of every day life. I love the imaginary worlds the authors of these novels create and the unique characters that I will never get to meet have me thinking of a million questions I would like to ask them but will never get the chance.

In this book called "Malice" there is a fictional place actually called Malice where you are trapped inside a comic book that is controller by an animator whose name I can't remember. Malice is a fictional place that is controlled through the clock gears in the center of the huge comic world. You have to fight to survive and if you get lucky enough to find a silver ticket you have a free ride on the trains back to home on Earth where you have lost all memory of Malice and sort of turn into a lunatic. This place seems a little crazy and definitely scary, but I think it would be cool to go there for a little bit. 
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Monday, October 12, 2015

Infographic: Global Warming


Reflection: 

I chose this topic because i know there are a lot of people out there who do a lot of research on this specific "issue" meaning that there would be a lot of information and hard statistics for me to use in my infographic. I did not think it really mattered what side I got on the topic because there is a lot of research for both sides. However, I am glad that I got the side against Global Warming because that is the side that I mostly agree with. 

I found it quite challenging to research only one side of the topic because often times there were some points that did make sense on the other side of the argument. In the end it was fairly easy to get research on my side of the argument. 

I chose the mostly graphical type of infographic because all global warming really is is a bunch of statistics. What better way to present stats than graphs? It is a simple infographic with a simple color scheme so that people will focus on the graphs and numbers. 

I really do think my infographic is affective. It definitely gets the point across. Numbers do not lie. 
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Friday, September 25, 2015

Literacy Project Reflection

My project was to send out tweets concerning reading among teens (boys specifically). I had to tweet things like "Reading is cool" or "Look what reading can do for you" in hopes that teens across the country would see m tweets and try to read some more. I chose twitter because I felt that it would be the best way to get the most people to see my content.

Here are some of the tweets I sent out:








I made my tweets very legible for people of my age younger and older. I made sure that each of my tweets could relate to a bunch of different people no matter what they were looking for. For instance, my first tweet showing the celebrities could influence more people to read since their favorite artists/celebrities are also reading. I had to contemplate wether or not to tweet as many times as I planned to. However, midway through the project I realizes that 14 tweets are too much for me, and too much for the people. I tried to get my tweets at the right times since I am a big twitter user, I know the times that most people are online and managed to get a couple of favorites per tweet which is really good for tweets about books. I am happy with my results however, I feel like I could have gotten more retweets as opposed to favorites so that more people could see my message. I also am very happy with the webpages that I found for my project since they were also pretty easy to read and VERY informative.

Finally, I feel like my project was pretty effective. I like the responses that I got on my tweets at school. However, there were a couple of haters and one in particular told me to "chill" on my tweets. This tweet made me realize that I probably should slow down on the tweets. Here is the infamous tweet:




This took part in the reason that I slowed down on the tweeting. I had to. This is because the whole reason for the tweeting was to reach the people. With the people mad that I was tweeting, I had to cater to their needs. I think I made a good decision because I stopped receiving hate tweets. 

Overall, I think this was a good project that probably helped a bunch of teens to read. I had fun while doing this project because it was something that I liked to do. Also it would help a lot of teens. 

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Thursday, September 24, 2015

Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore Review!

Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore was written by Robin Sloan. Robin, a New York Times Best Selling author, graduated from Michigan State University. The book’s story is told through the eyes of the main character, Clay Jannon. Clay is a product marketing designer who out of desperation and unemployment, takes a job working the nightshift at a bookstore called “Mr. Penumbra’s 24 hour bookstore” after seeing a sign in the window of the store looking for employees. The store seems pretty normal at first, however, business is very slow  and not many books are actually sold. Clay starts noticing people coming in at odd times taking these really old books out. After a while it starts to become sort of a ritual for these people to come in at specific times. As time goes on, with the help of his friends, Clay starts to unravel some of the secrets that Mr. Penumbra and his 24 hour bookstore are hiding.
Most of the characters in the story are well detailed, however, there are some characters that do not have much of a role in the plot of the book and it feels like the author had no purpose for them in the story. These characters include but are not limited to Clay’s roommate Ashley and an exotic dancer who comes into the bookstore to buy a Steve Jobs biography. These characters sort of just show up in the beginning of the story and do not really do much. After much analyzation, I could not find a purpose for these characters. Also, although there were characters like this, there are also some deeply developed characters like Mr. Penumbra and Kat who are very dynamic and really complement the story while playing huge roles  in the plot.
Themes are very important literature and this book is not lacking. There are a couple of themes (for instance immortality and technology vs. books) that especially stand out and Sloan goes into great in depth about. They will truly stand out to anyone who reads this book. The ongoing fight of technology versus paper is a conflict that may never be resolved. Sloan instead takes a different approach on the subject and does not really pick a side. This approach is very interesting because it is definitely not biased and actually makes a lot of sense. For example, in the text, Clay is working at the bookstore and decides to make an online log of everything that is happening at the bookstore. After Mr. Penumbra finds out about it, being an old school paper and pen kind of guy, one would expect him to get angry. However, in the text, Mr. Penumbra decides that he should try to adapt to this new way of living instead of only sticking with pen and paper. He does not only choose one side which gives the book a more well rounded approach while displaying that the characters are mostly open to growth. “I walk alone in the darkness and wonder how a person would begin to determine the circumference of the earth. I have no idea. I’d probably just google it.” (Sloan 76).
The plot is also something that is very detailed and thought out. The beginning is great, and even the middle is really good however, just when things seemed like they were going in a huge direction, the story sort of just stops and everything that the reader thought would be, isn’t. Throughout the story, I thought the plot was something that was completely different than what I thought it was. I was mislead by only myself however and others may not make the same mistake that I did. As a warning, I will say, do not read the back of this books and think that it is a story of magic and witchcraft. It is not. However, it does have a really good story for what it is so it should not be thrown out just because of its lack of magic.

In conclusion, this book has some really strong parts. Most of the characters are detailed incredibly well and the plot, complemented by its great themes of technology and immortality, is drawn out quite nicely till the end (in my opinion). The book is definitely a great read and I recommend it to anyone who wants a book with a good plot that may just seem like a story about a guy solving a mystery, but actually delves deeper into the themes of friendship and the evolving world around us. There whole book is thoroughly enjoyable and makes for a pretty good read.
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Monday, September 21, 2015

My favorite narrator

My favorite narrator is, without question, Percy Jackson, the main character in the series of books called Percy Jackson and the olympians. The novel is set in a modern day world where the greek gods are still interacting with humans just as they did in the times of Odysseus and Hercules. They are very interesting books that follow the life of Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, as he journeys to put an end to the evil of Kronos. The story is told in first person from the perspective of Percy and really puts the reader in the front seat by detailing almost everything in a way that is very easy to understand and visualize. Most of the many fighting scenes are very detailed and make the read feel like he can actually see the fight going on as he is reading. I have not had this kind of experience in the books that I have read (although the list is not very long) and would like to find some books that are similar because I know that I will enjoy them.

I also found that Percy was very good at describing things that happened even outside of fighting scenes. He could make a walk through the forest as interesting to people as discovering a new element to a scientist was and could also crack a joke at the most serious times. This kind of narration really kept me interested in the novel and I know that the Percy Jackson series was very good, however, I do not think that it would be nearly as good if the narrator was not as detailed and funny as he was.

I really recommend anyone who has not given these books a try, including adults, to start the first book. I believe that once you start, you will not stop.
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Monday, September 7, 2015

Contemporary Literature Literacy Program Project!!

      The option I am choosing for the literary project is the Twitter Campaign. I chose this option because, having 753 twitter followers I feel like I have a good platform to get my message out. Also, since people, teen guys especially, usually check twitter all day everyday, I feel that twitter is the best way for the most people to view my campaign.
      First off, I will be tweeting once a day. I did not choose this because it would be the least amount of work I had to do, but I chose it because I feel like tweeting one time a day would limit the amount of people that get annoyed or overwhelmed with my tweets, and it would also limit the amount of people that unfollow me because of my over tweeting. Again, I want everyone reading my tweets. By posting less, I feel like people would be more inclined to reading them every time they are posted.
      The times for these tweets would be: Monday - 6:30 am (before school), Tuesday - 7:30 am (as people are arriving at school), Wednesday - 9:30 (Since everyone knows there are people on twitter during school), Thursday - 10:30 (again, during school), Friday - 11:30 (during school!!), Saturday - 12:30 (good time for the weekend when people are checking twitter), Sunday - 1:30 (people are bored at home doing homework/procrastinating on twitter), Monday - 2:55 (as people are leaving school), Tuesday - 3:30 (when people are getting home from school) Wednesday - 4:30 (after school), Thursday - 5:30 (after school), Friday - 6:30 (after school), Saturday - 7:30 (night time when people are on twitter with nothing else to do/the pre-turn up time), Sunday - 8:30 (Just after homework is usually completed and people are getting ready to prepare for bed) and Monday 9:30 (as people prepare for bed).
      The reason for the times of these tweets is so that I reach at least every time I possibly can with only one tweet a day. This way, the most people will see the tweets.
      Each tweet will end with the hashtag #ReadingIsCool. The reasoning behind this is that it is simple and to the point. Also, it is something that people can see quickly and know what the campaign is about. It also pretty much sums up my campaign in three words. Another thing to note is that people can use the hashtag to spread awareness of the cause.
      Each tweet will consist of different reasons why reading is cool for boys. The first tweet, to start off the campaign will look a little bit like this. (And I have pictures of celebs reading but I could not fit them into this fake tweet for some reason...
     



      The rest of the tweets will consist of facts about reading and real life experiments with people that read and how it helps not only make you smarter, but with everyday life situations also. 

******** Also, as a side note. Retweets and hashtag posts will help my campaign be seen by more people, which is why I chose twitter ******** 
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Wednesday, August 26, 2015

First (second) post

My english experience has been pretty good at U of D, however, I feel like the books that we are usually reading do not usually appeal to most of the class because of how outdated they are. They also use whole different dialects from different times which also kind of threw me off a bit.

My reading experience has been okay outside of school. I usually read maybe 4 books a year. Inside school, I read about 5 books including summer reading and english class. However, I do not enjoy the books I read in school nearly as much as I enjoy the books I get to choose outside of school.

I hope to gain a better knowledge of interpreting contemporary literature and looking at these modern day books in detail as if they were the same books we have been reading that were writing YEARS ago.
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Hey lmbo
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