dream log

Day 1 - Zorro the Tequila drinker

In this dream I'm a slave/worker on a huge plantation and I really hate it, so I escape in the middle of the night (dressed as Zorro.) The strange thing is that I runaway to the YMCA with my best friend Izzy and we hide in the locker room. We're walking and there is a man passed out on the ground with a bag of tequila... so we steal it. Unfortunately I get caught by a detective that was hired to find me. He takes me back to the plantation but he suddenly feels bad for me and when my owner comes to get me out of the car but the detective locks the door and we drive in circles around the owner until he gets dizzy and passes out. Then I get out and run up a huge, steep, rock hill with the owner and his men with pitchforks, chasing after me. I get to the very top and i look around for an escape, but there is none, so i ride down the extremely huge slide. Then I run back up, then slide back down, over and over again.


Day 2 - The Competition

I’m living in a poor town in a deserted county and my friends and I are hanging around. Some rich kids from a town nearby come to our town and try to take over. They cheat people out of their money and steal so our group of friends challenge them to a race. In like hovercraft/skateboard things and we race, and when we’re racing in a tunnel, all of a sudden Jamie Lynn Spears is standing at the end…and she explodes.

Day 3 - I am the burger king

My brother and his friends are going to a party and I’m invited. We’re trying to go but we keep getting sidetrack, we keep forgetting things so we need to go back. When we’re finally close to the party a huge Burger mobile starts to speed up next to us and bang our car. The burger king sticks out his head then flips us off and then drive away.

Day 4 - Closet to Narnia

I’m cleaning out my closet when I find a button. I press the button and all of a sudden my closet becomes a cross between Narnia and Sesame Street. I walk down a road and then I wake up.

Day 5 - Big Wolf On Campus

I’m married to the werewolf, Tommy Dawkins from the t.v. show Pleasantville. We’re together and I repeatedly tell him to not bite me because I don’t want to become a werewolf. But one day he trips on a rug and accidentally bites me and I become a werewolf. I’m really mad and then we have a bunch of werewolf babies. I eat them and then tell him “THIS IS WHY YOU DON’T MAKE ME MAD!”

Day 6 - Thirsting for something

I’m swimming at the beach with friends when I suddenly get pulled underwater. Nothing’s holding me down but I’m starting to drown and I try to get my friends’ attention but no one sees me. (Even though they’re right next to me)


Day 7 - The Calling

It’s summer and my friends and I go to a snowboarding place. I meet this weird looking guy and we become best friends, we’re sitting on a porch eating cookies and all of a sudden there’s a bathroom to our left. It’s filled with a bunch of little boys in batman suits. Then my best friend and I get a vision sent by Professor Xavier telling us that we are called to be the next X-Men. All of a sudden we’re in our super suits and we run into the woods.

i am helena, hear me roar

“Call you me fair? That fair again unsay.
Demetrius loves your fair, O happy hair!
Your eyes are lodestars; and your tongue’s sweet air
More tuneable than lark to shephard’s ear,
When wheat is green, when hawthorn buds appear.
Sickness is catching: O, were favour so,
Yours would I catch, fair Hermia, ere I go;
My ear should catch your voice, my eye your eye,
My tongue should catch your tongue’s sweet melody.
Were the world mine, Demetrius being bated,
The rest I give to you translated.
O, teach me how you look, and with what art
You sway the motion of Demetrius’ heart”

Helena is basically telling how jealous she is of Hermia because she has the one thing Helena really wants, Demetrius. She tells her friend about how she wishes she could have whatever Hermia had so that Demetrius would love her. Helena is saying “Teach me how to be like you!” which doesn’t really help because Hermia replies with how she loathes him and tells him to go away, but he loves her, which is the exact situation Helena is in.
When I imagine acting this scene out, I hear Helena’s voice sound a little harsh and sarcastic, especially the first two lines. Then she begins to kind of fawn over Hermia in jealousy and follow her around, trying to figure out what she does to attract Demetrius. When she says, “The more I love, the more he hateth me” I can picture her rolling her eyes and sighing because she feels like no matter what she does, she’ll never compare to Hermia. Helena sounds very whiny in this seen so she might do childish things such as stomp or turn to Hermia and practically ask Helena to give her good looks to her.

When I act out the part I was thinking of gesturing between me and Casey when Helena says “My ear should catch your voice, my eye your eye…“ where she talks about how she wants to be just like Hermia, I might point at Casey a little for comparison. When she gets to the part where she says, “Were the world mine, Demetrius being bated…” She might go into a girly phase and stare off, just picturing this world of hers where Demetrius loves her.

Overall her gestures show that she is pleading with Hermia to teach her how to be her. Helena looks at Hermia with jealousy and admiration and I will try to portray that.

Helena, baby

When we act out AMND I would prefer to be Helena because I think she is one of the most interesting characters. She has so much emotion and between her and Hermia, I think she's the strongest. Life isn't easy for her because the man she loves doesn't love her, and she's strong enough to deal with the fact that he likes her best friend. She doesn't hate Hermia for it, although she is jealous. As soon as Lysander falls for Helena, Hermia just expresses hate, even though Helena has felt the same way for a long time. In my past blog I wrote most of the reasons why I think she's interesting and I think it would be fun to play her.

flat world

1. What did you like best about the project and why?

My favorite part of the project was just talking to my dad about his past and finding a n idea for my story. For days I kept trying to figure out what I would write about, and as soon as he told me his childhood story, it automatically clicked. I just knew that I NEEDED to write about it.

2. What did you like least and why?

Well I really hate using the computer, I really REALLY prefer having an assignment, writing it, and turning it in. I don't like having to wait for feedback from my peers, I prefer to just turn it in and get one final feedback. So basically I really didn't like the project, but I also didn't like recording because I HATE listening to my own voice.

3. What was something surprising that you learned about the other students (from other schools)?

Um...that the Colorado kids didn't give any feedback. In all I only got 3 comments and they were all from the kids in Korea. I was really disappointed.

4. How do you think the project affected your writing?

Well the best feedback I got was from our sub, and he reminded me to put everything in either present/past tense, and to not flop around. And I made that mistake MANY times and not only in this writing piece. So now I'm fully aware of my weakness and I know what to look for.

5. Describe the most challenging aspect of the project.

Giving other people feedback was tedious and lame. I had to make sure I wasn't too mean even though I really wanted to be [some chick like totally copied and pasted A Walk To Remember] so I was usually a little too nice. We had to read ALL the stories and some of them were bland and it was SO tedious having to read them and actually think about it.

6. Offer some advice to future participants.

Give feedback, and hopefully you'll get feedback. Think of a good title, and make sure the first few sentences REALLY capture the reader, it makes a huge difference. Oh, and don't write some lame story about how you're asian and how everyone expects you to be nerdy and you feel so rejected/isolated because of your race...It gets really boring, really fast. I read several of those and I must say that I got quite sick.

7. Other comments.

Eh, wikispaces. Me no likey, but whatever floats your boat

midsummer night's dream

The character that I found most interesting was Helena. She is an outspoken woman who is love struck and love sick over Demetrius, a man who had a brief relationship with her. Helena lives and breathes for him although he’d rather her do neither, he’s madly in love with Hermia who is madly in love with Lysander. Helena must watch the man she’s crazy about go head-over-heels for someone else. She’s desperate for Demetrius’ affection and although he pushes her away and bluntly says that he can’t stand her, she can’t help but love him. I like her because no matter what Demetrius says or does she loves him, she takes his threats and hateful words and to me, that makes her pretty tough. Actually I think persistent would be a better definition of this character.

The quote I thought was very strong was after Demetrius tells Helena that she disgusts him. She replies with,

“I am your spaniel, and, Demetrius,
The more you beat me I will fawn on you.
Use me but as your spaniel; spurn me, strike me,
Neglect me, lose me; only give me leave
(Unworthy as I am) to follow you.
What worser place can I beg in your love
(And yet a place of high respect with me)
Than to be used as you use your dog?”


I can see this character chasing after him, and trailing behind him. I can see her being pushed around by Demetrius and being ignored, and yet she recovers and continues to follow. She persistently tries to convince him that she’s the one for him, Helena might even try to hold his hand or put a hand on his shoulder to try to reconnect physically. She even seems desperate enough to cling onto his leg and beg for him to come back to her.

sustainability fair

At our school we went to a sustainability fair where we learned a few things about the excess waste/energy used. The first booth I went to talked about the Kapu systems that the Hawaiians used to use. They were laws designed to conserve food and to make sure they weren't using/killing thing unnecessarily. They had a certain number of animal they could hunt and some seasons they weren't allowed to hunt at all (to give the animals a chance to create more offspring.) We don't have these laws anymore but we now have many extinct animals because of pollution, overhunting, and destruction of natural habitats.

We also learned ways to help out, for example we could make a huge difference just by emailing a site. By emailing and telling them what our opinion is, we can actually help pass new laws or oppurtunities to help the world.


I don't know, I didn't remember everything, I was pretty stoked when I got that starbucks cup :) Instead of using disposable cups we got a cool cup that we can use instead. It's reusable and we can get our drinks at the cafeteria for only 50 cents if we use it. Chya boo.

the last chapter.

So the last chapter was pretty interesting. I must say that I was quite shocked when I read that she didn't really speak when she was younger. Also, the whole thing about the mother "cutting the tongue" was really strange to me. Is that a metaphor/"tradition" they use often in China? I don't know, but I was a little confused about that.

Maxine used to be very quiet and would paint her paintings thick layers of black. I thought that maybe she did this because she was reserved and she felt safe with the darkness. She turned to it for protection [this isn't supposed to be racist] like she did when she turned to the black students when she was getting picked on.

I also thought it was strange how she picked on the girl who didn't speak. At first I figured that she would be able to understand how it felt, but she REALLY hated the silence. But before she found sanctuary in it... I don't get it, maybe she hated herself being so timid and weak so she hates the girl for being it too. It's all confusing. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Define it

The Vocab of Chapter : Shaman

Adamantine: firm in attitude or opinion. (p.67)

Sapping: to undermine or weaken. (p.69)

Sentient: conscious (p.71)

Funneled: concentrate, channel, focus (p.76)

Sedan: ? (p.76)

Palanquin: passenger conveyance, usually for one person, consisting of a covered or boxlike litter carried by means of poles resting on the shoulders of several men. (p.77)

Braggarts: One given to loud, empty boasting (p.79)

Longetivity: A long, individual life (p.80)

Spewed: vomited (p.85)

Awobble: .to move unsteadily from side to side (p.92)

questions

In class we'er currently reading The Warrior Woman, chapter "White Tigers." I was the moderator for our lit. group and I had to come up with some questions for the chapter.

As most of us know this is a very confusing book because the narrator changes characters.
Some of the questions that I have are...

1) The bed Mulan slept in, the old woman says "Opera singers, who begin their training at age five, sleep in beds like this." What is the significance of this? What is the significance of the bed? (pg.22)

2) How is everyone so accepting to the fact that she will not return home? Her parents hardly care and she seems to take it well. Isn't it hard to give up your family? Does their culture affect this? (pg.22)

3) She refers to the fungus as 'the fungus of immortality,' what does she mean by this? (pg.25)

4)Why did the rabbit jump into the fire? (pg.26)

5) Mulan's childhood friend and future husband marries her even when she's not there. He became a spirit bridegroom. Is this common in their culture? (pg.31)

6)When she was ready to leave the old couple , they give her the fifteen beads, what exactly are they and what are they supposed to do? (pg.33)

i need a hero

When people are asked who their favorite superhero is, everyone tries to give a mushy and meaningful answer. "My superhero is my uncle because he was hit by 10 trucks and is still dong his thang..." or, "My brother, because he's always there to help me..." I'm sorry to disappoint you but my family and even my friends aren't exactly "super" or heroic. Someone who is a true hero is willing to risk everything, including their own life, for another. So hands down my hero would have to be Batman. Now I know that everyone is going to totally bash on me and tell me that Batman doesn't really count in this case. Well...Why not?
Batman is human. Unlike Superman or many other heroes, he bleeds just like us. His muscles and skills weren't just handed to him, he worked for everything. He trained and studied for years unlike Clark Kent. Yeah how hard it must've been for Superman, being born with incredible strength and speed. Poor him. Batman studied for years the different martial arts and practiced with monks, he even was a science major so he could learn how to use chemicals to help with his adventures. So not only was he strong, he was also smart. He used his body and mind to help defeat many villains.
Batman isn't greedy and although he was born into wealth he uses the money to make weapons and transportation devices to help save the citizens of Gotham.
Firemen and policemen all live a life of hardship and they are dedicated to protecting people, but he gives up love and happiness and completely devotes himself to his work. He wasn't born with this duty, he chose to live a life of complete loneliness so that he could help others. Not many people would do that. I mean seriously, his only friend is an old butler named Alfred, how sad is that?
Batman is a hero because he helps influence others to follow in his greatness. Not by putting on a cape and chasing people, but by showing them ways they could live their life. Help others, work hard, don't be greedy, and many more values.

I love Batman :)

A tale for the children

This is a family story that my father enjoys telling me...

When my dad was in highschool, he and my uncles and their friends would party...a lot. Sometimes after smoking and drinking a little too much they would decide that they wouldn't want to go to school the next day. So my uncle Bennet would climb up the electrical tower and short circuit it so that all the power in the town would shut off. This would cause all alarm clocks to not work and the school not be able to run. They would do this once in awhile, but one time my uncle was shutting it off, but something went wrong. He was electrocuted and fell 60 ft. on the hard ground. He died that night...




And that's why you should go to school and not cheat the system :)

6 methods of characterization

Appearance: He was tall, lanky, and his skin was a few shades paler than most. He hadn't shaved or slept in a few days and it was quite obvious. The dark circles around his eyes showcased how bloodshot they were and his dark brown hair was a mess. He stood underneath the streetlight taking a drag from his cigarette, breathing in the poisonous fumes and letting them fill every inch of his lungs. The stretched out Pink Floyd shirt had holes and his jeans were ripped at the knees, his black boots were mud stained

Environment: Secluded neighborhood where everyone know everyone and it was miles to you reached civilization. They had the basics, a church, a school, bank, nothing gawdy.

Inner Thoughts/feelings: He's sick of all the same smiling faces that only remember the Bennet that used to run through the lawn naked. He wants to be remembered for something great, something that will never be forgotten. Leaving this town is the first step.

What they say: Cursing is his second language, music is his first. He doesn't bullshit, he's blunt, and he'll do what he says.

What others say about him: He's not one to back out of a dare and he's the first to make a fool of himself.

max's imagination

In Woman Warrior, Maxine has an amazing imagination that takes many twists and turns. She takes the story of her aunt and adds to it, gives a backstory, an explanation, and brings it to life. I think Maxine's imagination tells us a lot about her. She's a young girl who's just beginning to learn about life and all the burdens of it, these stories are just a way for her to think about what kind of person she is. Apparently she's blunt, but maybe she doesn't show it, she just thinks it. Maxine feels connected to her aunt because she feels like she might disappoint her parents. She knows she cannot live up to her parents expectations and she shares the fear of being forgotten. "But there is more to this silence: they want me to participate in her punishment. And I have." Maxine feels out of place and the only person that she can relate to is her dead aunt. She wants to break the rules, she wants to live her life freely but she can only do it through the memory of her aunt. She also says, "Unless I see her life branching into mine, she gives me no ancestral help." Well it seems liket he aunts life does branch into her life because she's still fascinated by it. I think with all the scenerios that she creates, the closer she feels to the aunt she never knew.

Maxine's life must be lonely if the only thing she relates to is a nameless ghost.

Woman Warrior Quote

The mother of the narrator has just finished telling her daughter the story of her aunt. A tragic story of how she was pregnant with a child that wasn't her husband's and how the shame led to her commiting suicide and being forgotten be her family. A quote that really stood out for me was, "Now that you have started to menstruate, what happened to her could happen to you. Don't humiliate us. You wouldn't like to be forgotten as if you had never been born." This is a pretty harsh thing to say to a young girl. Instead of just telling her that although she's capable of having sex, don't, because you might get pregnant, the mother decides to basically threaten her. And not just any threat, but the threat of being forgotten. So the mother is saying, "If you have sex, it'll humiliate us, you'll be disowned and we'll act as if you never existed." Ouch. That's a horrible thing to say, you can threaten to ground someone, or to ignore someone, but to completely ignore their existance is probably the worst thing you can do. It's also rude to just assume that her daughter is automatically going to do something like get pregnant like her aunt just because puberty finally came around. She could've said something like with great comes great responsibilty, but no, she had to say it as if she was a mindless child who would've gone and done something stupid if her mother hadn't threatened her.

the ups and downs of Moodle

Moodle is a site we've been using to collaborate and post our work so other can read it. It's a great site and all, but I don't really enjoy using it. Although it's fun to message people from across the room, add our own ideas to the wiki and read what other people are writing, it's a little too annoying for me. I'm not sure if this applies to everyone, but it would NOT let me upload my work and I lost all of it more than once. Also there was this whole complication about how if we sent something at the same as another person, it would completely break down and not work. It was easy to connect to everyone in the class which was nice and I did enjoy that wiki we all wrote about teaching an ape/tiger english. I wish it worked quickly and more efficiently but it was pretty decent.

Lost Sister Quiz

In English class we were asked to pick out a quote that we thought was significant from Lost Sister, a poem we've recently read. The quote I felt was most significat was, "You find you need China; your one fragile identification, a jade link handcuffed to your wrist." This is important because the character thought that leaving China would be better but they realized that it wasn't what they hoped it would be. They long for the security they once had back in their home land. I also liked how 'jade' was used because the poem starts off by telling how all of the name Jade is given to the eldest daughters but when they left China, they also left their name behind. It was their only identification and no matter where they go or what they do, they'll always be Jade. They're handcuffed to their identity.

I believe that family and culture teach us who we are and the role we must play in life. Although in this poem it sounded like the culture was hellish, Jade still longed for it, because without that structure, without someone pointing us in a certain direction, we're lost. Jade needs China but what she really needs is knowing what her purpose in life is. She has been taught her entire life to follow someone else, to be locked away. Being given this freedom is like throwing her into the world of the unknown and it's unbearable.

Salutations people

Hi, I'm Tiffany and I'm not sure exactly what we're supposed to be writing. I've heard that this is just an intro and we're supposed to introduce ourselves, but I don't know what I'm supposed to say. I'm a girl, I hate mayo and I love music. Is that enough? Or should I add that I like to make sarcastic remarks and I am easily annoyed. Nice to meet you.