-**Reading Bucket List**- ;D

 Perks of Being a Wallflower

Stephen Chbosky

The book The Perks of Being a Wallflower was first introduced to me by Olivia Jamieson. She read it not too long ago and absolutely loved it. When I found out the book would soon be created into a movie, I wanted to read it as soon as possible because I can’t watch the movie before I read the book!

Catcher in the Rye

J.D. Salinger

To be completely honest, I have no idea what this book is even about. :/ But it seems to be popping up everywhere I look.. Even on the back of The Perks of Being a Wallflower it describes the story as “a coming-of-age tale in the tradition of The Catcher in the Rye.” I was also told by my step-mom that this book is “the story all the killers read!” But she’s not sure, so I guess I’ll find out. :P

Water for Elephants

Sara Gruen

Apparently this book is a must read. I’ve heard from several people that it is fantastic. I really, really want to watch the movie as well, but like I said before, I have to read the book first! I know I’m late and the movie has been out for a while now, but I keep forgetting about it. I’m determined to read it this year!

Animal Farm

George Orwell

Animal Farm is a book I read a long time ago (third grade, I think). I remember my step-mom suggesting this book to me because I had to read a certain number of books in a time period and I was one short. So naturally, I pretty much skimmed through it. :( I’ve forgotten most of it, but I know that I enjoyed it so I’d like to reread it. 

To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee

This is one of those books that people are shocked to hear I haven’t read. Oops..  This is a widely popular book and a classic so I feel a little ashamed that I haven’t read it yet! I do know that this book is about a great law case, and I love those. 

The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter is another one of those novels that I am ashamed that I haven’t read yet. When I looked up this book there was a section that said “Major Topics: sin; guilt; conflict between emotions and intellect” and “Motifs:  deaths; desire; passion; revenge; violence.” How am I supposed to resist that?

Feed

M.T. Anderson

This book really intrigued me because of the fact that it is very futuristic. It is a teenage love story based in a futuristic society in which the internet is connected through chips implanted into their brains. When the description starts out as “it started out like any ordinary trip to the moon - a chance to party during spring break,” I’m hooked.

A Time to Kill

John Grisham 

When you add an intense legal case, a man fighting for his daughters rights, and down south racism, the only thing it can equal is a mind blowing novel. I had always been curious about John Grisham books but had never taken the time to actually read one. I let Mr.Sparks chose his favorite as my first read. 

I Am J.

Cris Beam

This book reveals the story of J, a transgender boy who wants to be accepted by his family and friends as he truly seems himself- a boy, not a girl. I have never read a book that deals with the LGBT aspects and I am really interested to see that point of view and how the author portrays it.

Paper Towns

John Green

Olivia Jamieson is my librarian friend. I overheard her talking to our actual librarian about how much she loved the author John Green. Because we have a lot in common and almost always enjoy the same type of reading material, I thought I’d give her favorite John Green book a shot. 

"Rebel Without a Cause" Review

     On October 27,  1955, the classic film "Rebel Without a Cause" was released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures. Directed by Nicholas Ray, with writing credits given to Steward Stern, Irvin Shulman, and Nicholas Ray, the romantic drama was considered a fairly accurate depiction of teen lifestyle from the late 1950's era. Several of the main actors included young, upcoming stars in the entertainment buisness, many of which tradgically died at a fairly young age, invluding the three main actors, James Dean, Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo. Viewed as a culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant film, Rebel Without a Cause was added to the preserved films of the United States Library of Congress's National Film Registry in 1990. Other recognitions include Empire magazine's rank of 477th on the list of the 500 greatest movies of all time in 2008 and the American Film Institute's rank of 59 in the 1998 AFI's 100 years... 100 Movies.
     17 year old Jimmy Stark (James Dean) is the rambunctious son of Frank Stark (Jim Backus) and Mrs.Carol Stark (Ann Doran) and is found at the start of the movie being arrested for public intoxication. Jimmy's disruptive behavior continuously upsets his appearance-concience parents, who believe moving from one place to another is the solution to their son's behavioral issues. At the police station, Jimmy comes in contact with Judy (Natalie Wood) and Plato (Sal Mineo), both of which throughout the film become close friends with Jimmy. While talking with the social-worker, Ray Frimick (Edward Platt), Jimmy's family issues are revealed. Jimmy struggles to fit in at school and tries to make friends. When the leader of a local gang, Buzz Gunderson (Cory Allen), decides to start trouble with Jimmy, their differences are settled through through a reckless game of Chicken Run. The challenge ends horribly with the death of Buzz, affecting each character and their life in a different way.
     Each of the three main characters in the film "Rebel Without a Cause" experience a series of problems in their home life. Jimmy is forced to deal with feelings of helplessness and confusion due to his father's lack of strength and continuous bickering with his mother. Judy longs for the affection of her father who remains distant, causing her to act out in frustration. Plato's always absent parents atempt to pay for his love, but he is still desperate for their attention. The three join together as the movie progresses to comfort one another and understand the problems their parents couldn't.
     Although the film is not quite as relatable to modern times as it was in the 1950's, the themes can still be taken into consideration and placed into a modern setting. Almost all teens view themself as the center of the world, whether they will admit it or not. They believe the sole job of their parents is to care for them and do not realize how difficult the task of raising a child is. All three teens join together in difiance of their parents and their misunderstood life, but soon realize not everything in the world is easy. Also, very few people did not feel alienated as a teen. This movie reflects the dramatic struggles a teen deals with through aspects such as acceptance and love. Jimmy, Judy, and Plato wanted these things from just about everyone they came in contact with, including peers and family members. James Dean's character represents what many teens aspire to be at that age: individualistic, brave, and kind. The story of "Rebel Without a Cause" was very impacting of the teens of the 1950's and may possibly be just as impacting on the teens of modern times.

"Pirates Aboard" An Analysis of "SOPA" by Stephen Colbert

SOPA

     In Stephen Colbert's video segment, Stop Online Piracy Act, humorous satire to clearly evaluate both sides to the discussion of the strongly despated act. Stephen Colbert, a well known comedian of the 21st century, uses this segment from his hit television series, The Colbert Report. This policy, also known as SOPA, was designed by members of the U.S. government to end the infringement of copyright. Colbert inflicts the humorous aspects of hyperbole, diction, and logos into his video report in order to grasp the attention of his audience and display his ideas effectively.

     Hyperbole is used throughout the video to exaggerate each aspect of the argument in a satirical form. Even though piracy is illegal, Colbert believes it "is just one of those crimes that everybody commits" and compares it to "jay walking or setting your ex-girlfriends couch on fire." By comparing the two crimes to one another, Colbert proves that although these are all laws created by the U.S. government, they are broken on a regular basis. Continuing to push laws further and restricting the internet will not be the final way to stop these crimes. Colbert states that due to the piracy act, the government of the U.S. will at last "bring swift and sure justice to heartened criminals on youtube." Although he uses a tone of sincerity, a video of young girls carelessly dancing to a hit Beyoncé song is shown while he speaks. By referring to children dancing as criminals, he is implying the idea that several that view this as a positive law are simply overreacting. 

     Through the entire video, Colbert's habit of provocative diction shows his concern and also proves to the reader his non biased opinion of the issue. While interviewing Danny Goldberg, Colbert acknowledges  that "if there are criminal penalties" involved and many are being "prosecuted" for the crime, "it will [begin to] stifle art." Colberts word choice shows the reader the intensity of the situation. Simply singing along to hit songs many be punishable by inprisonment, even though several of todays artists were discovered this way. Jonathan Zittrain was later interviewed in order "to defend thieves and pirates" while Colbert claims they are the ones that "want artists to starve." Colbert claims that the producing artists will starve if piracy is not disposed of and insults them with name calling. By degrading both parties of the argument, Colbert is portrayed as a non opinionated member. 

    Colbert's use of logos provides accurate facts and presents reasonable examples and solutions to the issue. Colbert continually discusses the fact that "piracy is everywhere" and over "70% of [adults] aged 18 to 29" have "copied or downloaded bootlegged music or video" from the internet. By showing the actual article from which the pull quote came from he is able to provide aqurate statistics to his audience. Colbert uses this information to display the outlandish number of illegal downloads. Many believe that China will no longer "[kick] our [butt] in business" if "parts of the internet" are shut down because employees will strive to work more efficiently. China has been the leading nation in production and economic aspects for several years. Colbert is able to provide solutions to many of the problems the country is facing.
      Stephen Colbert's video response to the infringement of copyright and the newly created SOPA provides an understanding to the issue as well as well thought out solutions.  Although the U.S. government continually struggles to make the country a better place for all to live, the creation of new laws will never be able to solve all issues perfectly. As the country continues to grow and develop, modern problems will occur.

Kill 'Em! Crush 'Em! Eat 'Em Raw!

1) The anecdote used gives John McMurty credibility in his argument by providing his own personal experience to the issue. Because he has actually lived through this, he knows exactly what problems he faced and it was not based on oppinion.

2) John McMurty's comparison of football to war is very convincing. By presenting actual facts such as the similar languages, practices, and principles show the logical appeal to the comparison.  

6) Paintball. The use of weaponry and similar tacticts proves the game of painball to have a militaristic side.

8) Media stars who associate themselves with sports may be able to display an ethos appeal to a certain type of audience. This may either help or hurt their audience, depending on who they want to appeal to.

BHS.

In the public school system teachers are required to educate to a variety of studends whose learning ability ranges from students with special needs to honors graduates. The best way for a student to reach his or her full potential woud be a one on one learning system between the student and teachers. This would require the teacher to focus more on the individual needs of the student instead of the average level of the students educational level.

In today's quick paced time period teachers must also compete with technology and media forces. The constant waves of technology brought into the school district has forced teachers to continually update their teaching criteria and means of instruction. Educators are now more reliable on the given technology and turned more in the direction of being a facilitator instead of a lecturer. Students are lead to discovery new ideas and research knowledge on their own.

Another major issue in today's public schooling is the lack of enthusiasm towards learning among the student body. Entertainment has become a huge factor in the way many educators are forced to teach simply due to the fact that the students become easily bored and unwilling to learn. In my opinion, the best way to handle this situation is not to try and make school a place for more entertainment than learning, but instead make school optional. The students that truly want the satisfaction of a genuine education would attend and those that could care less and are holding back the more advanced students could find other means of success. Don't get me wrong, school doesn't have to be dreadful, but maybe we should rethink the "No Child Left Behind" laws.

In Emerson's essay he discusses the school systems "[lowering their flag]". I fully believe that this should be a primary concern of Batesville. Instead of building student up and forcing them to put in the extra effort, many teachers lower even their standards of achievement for the students because they are aware of the kids lack of interest. When working in the large class setting such as the Batesville district Emerson also discusses the issue of "reefing your sails to wait for the dull sailors." Again, the higher level students are forced to hold back, or be at a standstill, while waiting for other lower level students to fully understand the lesson. This also gives the higher level students no extra push to move forward onto a range of more difficult concepts that should be learned due to the fact that they are above average for their class.

Instead of being a forced routine that each student must endure, the school system must become that of a relaxed environment with complete student in-put for each child to gain the remarkable education they deserve.

Put It On A Table.

     Almost everyone as a child has some sort of toy that was labeled as their best friend forever. Something as powerful as a superman action figure or as fluffy as a stuffed teddy bear could fight off the monsters in the dark, and it was never, under any circumstances, left at home. Of course, I had my own best friend.  But instead of it being some stylish blonde Barbie, mine was a square feather pillow.
     Throughout my entire childhood my pillow never left my side. To be 100% honest, I still sleep with it every night. Yeah, I'm a big baby child at heart. As I grew up the reason my pillow was never shoved in an old storage box and put in the attic wasn't because I was still scared of the dark, but because it was part of my life. Having it has become a habit and I've simply grown used to seeing it. Some days my pillow brings forth no emotion from me. Other times, when I'm tired and dragging myself to my bed, I see it and I'm immediately comforted. When someone goes on vacation for a long period of time, they long for the feeling of being back in their own bed. For me, as long as I have my pillow it is if I am in my very own bed. It makes me think of home and several of my best childhood memories.

     When I was a four year child my grandmother from my father's side, Mama Lena, created my life-long pal. Shortly after one of my father's duck hunting trips, Mama Lena carefully sewed a pillow case and filled it with genuine duck feathers. At the time she had no idea the impact this pillow would have on my life. A year later my parents divorced. Traveling back and forth between my mother's house and my father's was even more difficult to do when I only had one  pillow. Carrying my pillow to each house with me became such a hassle that my grandmother eventually had to make a second identical one. Although that particular problem had been easily solved, there were still many problems that were not solved so smoothly such as leaving my pillow at hotels and not realizing this tragedy until my family had traveled half way home. Luckily, my pillow was always recovered and returned to me safe and sound.  Other than the time of my parents divorce, my pillow was also a comfort object when I went through otoplasty ear surgery in second grade. My pillow was there for me like a friend who is always there by your side.

     My pillow is definitely nothing special. At first glance, I see a standard size cream colored pillow case full of flattened 12 year old duck feathers. It is lumpy, deflated, and wrinkly. The musty smell of McDonald's pancake syrup caused by many Saturday morning at home breakfasts is so strong you can almost taste it. (Olivia Jamieson has always called it my syrup pillow.) When I grab my pillow it feels chilly at first, but quickly warms up to body temperature, and the thin, warn out cotton case makes a quiet rustle.

      As I think back on the connections I make with my pillow, I realize they are extremely comforting and joyful. There is an overwhelming number of times that I have cried on, slept with, and shared fun times with. It is and always will be my most cherished childhood possession.

XYZQRT.

Whose homework this is I think I know.
Their class is in the high school, though.
Even when summer is so near
Worthless assignments continue to grow.


My classmates and I constantly complain
That the last seven days are torture to the brain.
It's impossible for us to not scream out
"All these teachers are such a pain!"


Sleeping in late and doing nothing at all
Is what we long for until the beginning of fall.
Days in the sunlight and being with friends
Is a much bigger thrill than roaming this hall.


All this work must be done before we can rest
in order to pass our semester tests.
Too bad all this pointless work will be forgotten.
Too bad all this pointless work will be forgotten.