Thursday, September 26, 2013

Character Study III

The group met up at 9 at the Pacific Crest Trail starting point.  Melissa, Rebecca, Miki, Allyson, Rachel , and Brenna all felt the nostalgia as they came together but they soon realized it wasn't quite the heyday of their high school years... Melissa informed the crew that there was a reward offered for Lindsey's return...  Well here goes the inner turmoil...  

With all of them thinking about the reward, Rachel decided that she didn't really want the reward but just her friend back to how they used to be.  Brenna seemed to deny the idea of the money altogether too despite them sharing the low pay of an artist salary.  They all seemed against it but the fidgeting and shrugging of one another made Rachel uneasy.

The group finally headed off on their trail with the sun against their backs and with pine trees surrounding them. The silence and stillness caused a relaxing wave of euphoria to sweep over her as she trekked through the forest with her high school friends.... Except for the occasional disturbance...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

"What the hell was that?" Brenna questioned.  Allyson, Miki, and Melissa looked up from their trail.
"The sound is echoing from over there." Melissa said as she gestured to the trees in the west, "Lets check it out!  Someone might be in trouble!"

The group trudged along the trail where the scream continued to echoed from and found two black men standing there with a white guy wedged between some rocks.  While Rachel and Melissa helped the trapped man, the girls watched another scene unfold.

The taller black guy was holding the shorter black guy in his arms.  His eyes was filled with fear as he shrieked out, "That bug better not come near me Jaravis!  I don't take none from bugs!  Get it away from me!!!"...  Jesus Christ, is this guy for real?...   "Relax Quatro Quatro, take a deep breath, everything is ok! Nature isn't going to hurt you if you won't hurt it!"  the natural born tour guide reassured him.  Rachel was half expected the man to now direct them to the exits available on trail and then give a lecture on poisonous plants...

As the bug crawled away, Quatro's muscles began to relax.  He sighed and wiped the sweat off his brow.  "So uhhh, where you girls off too?"

"Oh just looking around really, for our friend... She went missing a week ago..." Miki stumbled out before anyone else could quiet her.

The men tensed up.  "Er... Well... Nothing to see down this trail.  It was really uneventful...  We will keep our eyes open for her though.." Jaravis trailed off.  The rest of the men seemed on edge.  Righhhhhhht...


Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Character Study (II)

The news was on the TV when Rachel entered the room.  She sighed, her shoulders sagged.  Seriously, how much more depressing can the world be?  With the remote in one hand and ice water in the other, she was about to turn off the TV when something caught her eye.

"MISSING HIKER!!!" the TV blared.  "LAST SEEN ON THE PACIFIC CREST TRAIL!

Wow, I remember all my high school friends wanting to go on that trail.  Good thing we never went...

"LINDSEY WAS THE TOP OF HER CLASS AND IS MISSED GREATLY BY HER FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!!"

Wait a minute...   Rachel scanned the TV hoping it wouldn't be any Lindsey she knew.  After all, there are a lot of Lindseys in the world.  She reminisced of her high school days with one of her best friends Lindsey Wong.  God, we used to laugh our asses off in French class...  I wonder what she is up to now...

"CONTACT OUR STATION IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON LINDSEY WONG'S DISAPPEARANCE!!!"

What?!  Her heart sank.  I've got to get the girls together!!!  This is crazy!  She hoped that they all could find the answer if they searched for it together, just as they had done passing through their AP English Lit class in high school.
Looking back at their dwindling friendship was like torture to Rachel.  She wished she could have done more to talk to Lindsey if this was the end.
Since when does she even hike?!

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

CHARACTER STUDY (I)

Facing many different possible journeys, Rachel had to make a decision.  Pack lightly or be prepared for every possible scenario?  She decided upon covering her basic necessities.  A water filter to stay hydrated and some fruit and granola bars to not go hungry.
She looked at her clothes and then at her fair skin.  Not feeling a sunburn on this trip. She tossed to sunscreen into her bag.  Looking into her closet, Rachel grabbed a light and loose, long-sleeve, cotton shirt, her friends called her artsy shirt, and her sturdiest jeans to put on.  Over that she put on her olive military-ish jacket and a plain scarf.  Now for shoes...  I might as well just wear my vans so at least I can be comfy, she thought to herself.
Although Rachel had a positive outlook on her trip, she came to realize that she better be prepared for the worst.  She packed a swiss army knife but thought, I'm not going to be able to defend myself with this. Lets get real, I am a short little white girl, I need more protection than this.... Rachel proceeded to put a sharper and bigger knife into her bag.
With her bases covered, she looked to things that would give her some kind of mental or emotional support.  A journal with some family photos would suffice for her.  If only she could bring her art supplies...  She puts on some meaningful bracelets and a necklace too since they don't take up any space in her bag.
What am I getting myself into?  she thought as she pondered her future adventure.

Netvibes

So after playing with Netvibes, I have come to the conclusion that I already don't like it.  I have all my favorite sites already bookmarked and on my mac, I can see them when I go to my top sites with notifications on some.  All the sites I use on a daily basis, I already have saved so going onto netvibes seems like another set for me....  but I guess I will try it...  It is going to get some getting used to, that is for sure....

CANTERBURY TALES I

The Squire's story is the one that I'm most interested to read because he is this young lady's man who has to live up to his father, the Knight... So i would assume his story would be a bit more romantic but I have been wrong in my assumptions before so we will see.
Considering Chaucer's background, the story shows all the different walks of life he had encountered in his travels and in the royal court.  It is nice that instead of depicting just what he saw, its nice that he is making his work satirical.  It is also nice that he is focusing on character development, too.
I predict that each of the characters first impressions symbolize what their stories will be like and that some of the characters will symbolize different types of literature.
A question I have is, what will the middle class workers stories be about?  How will Chaucer make it interesting?

Monday, September 23, 2013

Vocabulary 6... Combo of 4 and 5

Accolade: n. an award, a light touch on the shoulder with a sword in a ceremony of knighthood, the ceremony itself
       The girl bragged of her many accolades.

Acerbity: n. sourness of taste, harshness or severity as of temper or expression
       His students felt his acerbity when he assigned a ten-page report due the next day.

Attrition: n. a reduction or decrease in numbers, size or strength, wearing down, weakening of resistance, wearing down by friction
       The rebel army’s started to attrition away.

Bromide: n. a platitude or trite saying, a person who is platitudinous and boring
       She was such a bromide that she never went out much.

Chauvinist: n. a person aggressively and blindly patriotic, a person who believes one gender is superior to the other
       The male chauvinist wanted his wife to become a trophy for him.

Chronic: adj. constant, habitual, continuing for a long time or recurring frequently, having long had disease or weakness
       The woman’s chronic disease kept her in the hospital.

Expound: v. to set forth or state in detail, to explain
       The artist expounded the symbolism in her painting.

Factionalism: adj. self-interested, partisan
       Though she prided herself on being fair, most of her factionalized decisions had to deal with subjects that directly related to her past.
      
Immaculate: adj. pure, clean, free from errors
       The girl’s paper was immaculate.

Imprecation: n. the act of cursing, a curse
       A witch had placed the imprecation upon the town many years ago.

Ineluctable: adj. inescapable, incapable of being evaded
       The ineluctable doom was evident when twenty men cornered the hero.

Mercurial: adj. changeable, flighty, lively
       The mercurial band captured the audience’s attention.

Palliate: v. (with object) to relieve or lessen without curing, alleviate, to conceal the gravity of an offense by excuses or apologies
       The medication palliated his pain but never really healed his condition.

Protocol: n. the customs or regulations dealing with diplomatic formality, an original draft or record from which a document is prepared, supplementary international agreement, agreement between states
       The protocol stated that employees couldn’t date each other.

Resplendent: adj. shining brilliantly, gleaming
       The queen wore the resplendent diamond encrusted necklace.

Stigmatize: v. (with object) to set some mark of disgrace of infamy upon
       The criminal was stigmatized although he was falsely convicted.

Sub rosa: n. secretly, privately
       You must pass your notes sub rosa so that you don’t get caught!

Vainglory: n. excessive elation or pride over one’s own achievements, empty pomp or show
       The boy’s vainglory made him lose may friends on the playground.

Vestige: n. a mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that is no longer present or in existence, surviving evidence or remainder of some condition, practice, a slight trace or amount of something
       The bell was the only vestige left from the old church building.

Volition: n. the act of wiling, choosing, resolving
       The volition of the character showed her persona through and through.

Obsequious: adj. obedient, dutiful
       The obsequious daughter followed all the rules.

Beatitude: n. supreme blessedness, exalted happiness, any declarations of blessedness pronounced by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount
       The beatitude of crowd was felt when they applauded the band for an hour.

Bête noire: n. a person or thing that one  particularly dislikes or dreads
       The villain was the bête noire of the forest.

Bode: v. to be an omen of, to predict
       The poor fortune from the psychic boded the girl dark days in her love life.

Dank: adj. unpleasantly moist or humid, damp and chilly
       The cave was very dank.

Ecumenical: adj. general, universal, the whole Christian church, promoting Christian unity throughout the world, interreligious or interdenominational
       The ecumenical story lacks all the details that make a story interesting.

Fervid: adj. heated in spirit, enthusiasm, glowing, intensely hot
       The fervid crowd went wild when the drummer threw signed drumsticks into the crowd.

Fetid: adj. having an offensive odor, stinking
       The man’s fetid breath made people sick.

Gargantuan: adj. gigantic, enormous, colossal
       His gargantuan empire stretched across the world.

Heyday: n. the stage or period of greatest vigor, strength, success, or prime
       In the company’s heyday, they could afford for Christmas bonuses for everyone.

Incubus: n. imaginary demon supposed to descend upon sleeping persons (especially one fabled to have sexual intercourse with women during their sleep), a nightmare, something that weighs upon or oppresses like a nightmare
       The woman’s incubus made her constantly depressed.

Infrastructure: n. the basic framework or features of a system or organization, fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city or area (ex. Transportation systems, power plants, schools), the military installations of a country
The city’s infrastructure would collapse if its computers did.

Inveigle: v. to entice or lure by flattery or artful talk (followed by into)
       She inveigled the teacher into thinking she had never cheated.

Kudos: n. honor or glory
       The teacher gave kudos to students he felt deserved it.

Lagniappe: n. a tip, an unexpected or indirect benefit
       Although the boy lost his video games for the week, a lagniappe to the situation was that his grades and sleep would benefit.

Prolix: adj. extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious lengths, long and wordy
Although the prolix essay was long, it did make many good points.

Protégé: n. a person under the patronage, protection or care of someone interested in his or her career or welfare
       He was a soccer protégé from the age of five.

Prototype: n. the original which something is based or formed, someone or something that serves to illustrate the typical qualities of a class, model
       The gadget’s prototype had been successful but in need of fine-tuning.

Sycophant: n. a self-seeking, servile flatterer, fawning parasite
       The classroom sycophant may have fooled the teacher but never fooled her peers.

Tautology: n. instance of such repetition, needless repetition of an idea, especially in words other than those of the immediate context, without imparting additional force or clearness
       Although repetition can help with memorizing, tautology cannot.

Truckle: v. to submit or yield obsequiously or tamely (followed by to)
       I will not truckle to people who want me to change.




Saturday, September 21, 2013

Creativity

Since we have been talking about drawing and creativity in class, here are some quotes I found... Enjoy!







Thursday, September 19, 2013

Quote of the Day

“When you say nasty things about people, you should never say the true ones, because you can't really fully and honestly take those back, you know?” 
― John Green

WHAT A CHARACTER

A fictional character that has really made an impression on me was Margo Roth Spiegelman from Paper Towns by John Green.  She was this mystique of a person and had this self created persona that made her seem as though she was always in control in every situation even if she was at an impasse.  She had everyone fooled because this strong exterior failed to show that she was crumbling on the inside.  All of Margo's insecurities were so suppressed that nobody had any idea that she would question her life to the point of if it was worth living.
Margo's speech was full of metaphors and similes.  She would make unlikely comparisons between things but it would end up making a lot of sense.  This added to her eccentric personality.  She her choice of diction was also important to her character.

“We bring the fucking rain Q, not the scattered showers.”

That seriously sums up Margo Roth Spiegelman.  She brings the rain.

Monday, September 16, 2013

DECLARATION OF LEARNING INDEPENDENCE

Trying to answer all of my big questions would be completely unreasonable and unattainable.  Even focusing on one of my big question would be nearly impossible!  So instead of doing that, I will look at different morals we have in our society and why we have them.

"In advertisements, most commercials or ads feature young, skinny beautiful people when the average American isn't a model... Why do advertisements create this false sense of reality and do they see how it damages our youth's self-esteem and self-worth?"

If I were to focus on a specific aspect of one of my big questions, I would probably focus on society's body image and our own view of what "beauty" is.  This is something that has always really struck a cord with me so trying to answer this for my "senior project" would probably be the most meaningful.

As for my SMART goals, I feel like they tend to be the same every year and to be very broad because I am not quite sure what I plan on doing "when I grow up" and even if I was certain, I would have to start with something so broad as getting good grades... which isn't really a goal anymore but rather an expectation...  So I will really have to work to come up with a SMART goal....

Collaborative working groups seem like a great idea!  I would really like to work on something that will benefit a different charity every month or to focus on a charity benefiting Parkinson's disease.  A website like Sevenly, except I would rather sell art prints or a variety of different designs or even ones that would support our school.




Vocabulary 5


Obsequious: adj. obedient, dutiful
Due to Mulan’s incapability to be obsequious to her parents, she ended up helping save China.

Beatitude: n. supreme blessedness, exalted happiness, any declarations of blessedness pronounced by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount
China’s beatitude was felt when Mulan saved them from the Huns.

Bête noire: n. a person or thing that one  particularly dislikes or dreads
Ursula is the bête noire of under the sea.

Bode: v. to be an omen of, to predict
The lost souls collected in Ursula’s lair boded that Ariel would have to face a similar fate when she signed the contract.

Dank: adj. unpleasantly moist or humid, damp and chilly
New Orleans dank weather made Tiana’s cooking a little more difficult.

Ecumenical: adj. general, universal, the whole Christian church, promoting Christian unity throughout the world, interreligious or interdenominational
The ecumenical story of Aladdin is one that tells the tale of a princess falling in love with a thief but there is much more to the story.

Fervid: adj. heated in spirit, enthusiasm, glowing, intensely hot
Jafar’s fervid rant against Jasmine and Aladdin grew as much as he did when Genie made him into a powerful sorcerer.

Fetid: adj. having an offensive odor, stinking
Although Pumba had fetid breath, Timon still loved talking and living with him.

Gargantuan: adj. gigantic, enormous, colossal
Melificent turned into a gargantuan dragon when Prince Philip had overcome the thorn bushes surrounding the castle.

Heyday: n. the stage or period of greatest vigor, strength, success, or prime
The lion pride was at its heyday when Mufasa was the king.

Incubus: n. imaginary demon supposed to descend upon sleeping persons (especially one fabled to have sexual intercourse with women during their sleep), a nightmare, something that weighs upon or oppresses like a nightmare
Simba’s incubus was reliving the moment when his father was dropped of the edge of the cliff.

Infrastructure: n. the basic framework or freatures of a system or organization, fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city or area (ex. Transportation systems, power plants, schools), the military installations of a country
New Orleans’s infrastructure helped Tiana because her restaurant was right on the river, which drew in tourists.

Inveigle: v. to entice or lure by flattery or artful talk (followed by into)
Aladdin inveigles Genie when he uses him to get out of tricky situations without having to use a wish.

Kudos: n. honor or glory
Snow White gained kudos when she was the “fairest maiden of them all” which truly angered the Evil Queen.

Lagniappe: n. a tip, an unexpected or indirect benefit
Tiana always wished for good lagniappes when she was waiting tables so she could save for her restaurant.

Prolix: adj. extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious lengths, long and wordy
Zazu gives prolix speeches to Simba and Nala when they are younger so that they will not leave Pride Rock.

Protégé: n. a person under the patronage, protection or care of someone interested in his or her career or welfare
Simba was Timon and Pumba’s wild protégé after they raised the run away lion.

Prototype: n. the original which something is based or formed, someone or something that serves to illustrate the typical qualities of a class, model
Sebastian is the prototype of a cautious, law-abiding citizen.

Sycophant: n. a self-seeking, servile flatterer, fawning parasite
Jafar was a sycophant towards the sultan in order to gain his favor and marry Jasmine.

Tautology: n. instance of such repetition, needless repetition of an idea, especially in words other than those of the immediate context, without imparting additional force or clearness
The tautology in Sebastian’s rant made clear that he did not want Ariel to leave Triton’s kingdom.

Truckle: v. to submit or yield obsequiously or tamely (followed by to)
Tiana did not truckle to the easy-way out of life.