Character Study (III)

The beginig of our jorney was smooth. We were all getting along and everyone loved my puppy. As we were rolling on out of Ice Land we were abruptly stopped when we hit a mutnat type thing. It had one central body with three heads on its shoulders. Even though we were traveling fast the hit that the mutant human took did not seem to fase it. We all got out of the motor home to talk to the mutant human. As we  approached it the mutant started talking, all three heads at once. Ice Queen Sarah asked the Peasant of her land what its name was, it replied with Dan Smith, Tyroil Smoochie-Wallace and EEE EEEEEE. Once we finally got the mutant to stop talking all at once we cmae to find out that it was infact a Dragonbuster. This meant that they three headed mutant was exactly what we needed to slay the Dragon. After a brief discussion amoungst ourselves we decided the the mutant could travel in the trailer we were pulling that housed Ninja Whitney's house Thunder. Once we crossed into Candy Land we were all hungry so we stopped to make food. 

Connor went to check on the mutant, or so we thought. In reality he was on the evil side. His plan was to stop us from slaying the dragon. One way he knew he could slow us down was of he got rid of the DragonBuster. While the rest of us ate happily Connor brutely murdered the Mutant. 

When he returned to the motor home he stated that the mutant fell out of the trailer. When he told us I honestly believed him. The only sceptic in the crowd was Professor A, she sensed he was lying and she was correct. But we did not find this out until it was too late. 

Character Study (II)

The adventure all began when my supposedly tamed pet dragon went on a rampage. He ate my castle guards and destroyed my candy mall. In terror that he may attack me next I fled Candyland in my motor home with the help of my body guard and driver Connor. We were headed to Iceland where my sister Ice Queen Sarah lived. I knew that with her help and the help of the noble Revengers I would be able to take the dragon out and regain control of Candyland. 

After a long drive we finally reached Iceland. Ice Queen Sarah was eagar to help me. She immediately called the Revengers, Breanna, Whitney and Professor A. With there help I knew that this evil dragon stood no chance. Whitney not only wanted to help me but she wanted to avenge her fathers death. For a short while my pet dragon escaped to Iceland where if terrorized Ice Queen Sarah's people. One unlucky hero was killed by the dragon while trying to protect helpless people. 

We all pilled into the Motor home and headed towards Candyland. As we drove we came up with a genius, well mainly Professor A. Our plan was one that would ensure we would have pure victory over the menacing dragon.

Canterbury (I)

In class the question was asked if Chauncer took the pilgrimage himself and the answer is yes he did. I did not think that he had but after re-reading the prologue I realized that it said he did take the pilgrimage. 

The characters story that I would like to read the most is the Nun's story I think it will be interesting. 

Character Study (I)

I am Princess Rachel, my packing list for my trip is long so here we go. First I will need cute luggage. I will definitely need clothes and lots of them. Jeans, shirts, yoga pants, sweatshirts, sweaters, tops, shorts, socks and all of the good stuff. Then I need personal care items like make-up, shampoo, body wash and perfume. Next I like to travel in style so I have to take my motor home with me. Since I can't take my motor home everywhere I will tow my jeep behind it. I also need to be entertained while we travel so I need my phone, laptop, direct tv and a puppy. The fridge in my motor home will be stocked with food and drinks that I can sell to the other travelers so I can make a little money while we travel. All of these things are important for me to travel with.

Netvibes

I started my Netvibes dashboard and I am not sure how to add new things to it right now but for now I am using it to follow news articles. I really like that all the news sources I like are in one place so I do not have to have a bunch of different pages open on my computer or phone. 

Vocabulary #6

Vocabulary #6

1) Obsequious: (adj) obedient; dutiful; fawning
- The obsequious maid always did what she was told.

2) Beatitude: (n) exalted happiness
- His beatitude was shown when he started crying tears of joy.

3) Bete Noire: (n) a person or thing that one particularly dislikes or dreads
- The quiz was the bete noire of the class as nobody wanted to take it.

4) Bode: (v) to be an omen of
-The news bodes evil days for Robert.

5) Dank: (adj) unpleasantly moist or humid; damp and, often, chilly
- The dank cellar was very unpopular due to its humidity.

6) Ecumenical: (adj) general; universal: promoting Christian unity throughout the world
- The ecumenical organization preached about Christianity.

7) Fervid: (adj) heated in spirit, enthusiasm; intensely hot, burning
- The cheerleaders' fervid attitude really got the crowd cheering.

8) Fetid: (adj) having an offensive odor; stinking
- The fetid cat was in desperate need of a bath.

9) Gargantuan: (adj) gigantic, enormous
- The gargantuan statue was as tall as the building.

10) Heyday: (n) the stage or period of greatest vigor, strength, success, etc.; prime
- The team reached their heyday when they won the championships. 

11) Incubus: (n) a nightmare
- The little girls each had an incubus after they watched the scary movie.

12) Infrastructure: (n) the basic, underlying framework or features of a system or organisation
- After they created the infrastructure, they were able to start building the newly designed system.

13) Inveigle:(v) to entice, lure, or ensnare by flattery or artful talk; to acquire by beguiling talk or methods
- He inveigled the girl into doing his homework. 

14) Kudos: (n) honor, glory, acclaim
- He received kudos the judges after winning the spelling bee. 

15) Lagniappe: (n) tip, bonus, gratuity 
- The waitress received a lagniappe from her table for her cheerful attitude.

16) Prolix: (adj) extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious length; long and wordy
- Her prolix speech took the entire period!

17) Protege: (n) a person under the care of someone interested in his or her career or welfare.
-He was a protege as he was under the care of his son who was interested in his welfare.

18) Prototype: (n) the original or model on which something is based on for formed; someone who serves to illustrate the typical qualities of something 

- She is the prototype of a perfect student as she always does her homework and gets A's on tests.

19) Sycophant: (n) a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite

- He was a sycophant as he praised everybody for attention.

20) Tautology: (n) needless repetition of an idea

- It's a tautology when the teacher says to stop talking over and over again. 

21) Truckle: (v) to submit or yield obsequiously or tamely

- Don't truckle to unreasonable demands. 

22) Accolade- (n) any award, honor, or laudatory notice

- She received an accolade when she won the spelling bee.

23) Acerbity- (n) sourness; harshness or severity as of temper or expression

- He was full of acerbity when we harshly corrected his friend.

24) Attrition- (n) a reduction or decrease in number, size, it strength 

- Unfortunately, many jobs were lost through attrition.

25) Bromide- (n) a person who is platitudinous and boring; a trite saying

- Robert was a bromide as he never did anything exciting.

26) Chauvinist- (n) a person who is aggressively and blindly patriotic; a person who believe one gender is superior to another

- She was a female chauvinist as she believed the female team would beat the male team.

27) Chronic- (adj) constant; habitual; inveterate; having long had a disease 

- He suffers from a chronic disease that he has had all his life.

28) Expound- (v) to explain; to interpret

- The coach expounded the team strategy to the confused players.

29) Factionalism- (adj) of a faction or factions; self-interested

- There has been great factionalism between the two people as they weren't interested in what the other had to say since it had nothing to do with themselves. 

30) Immaculate- (adj) free from spot or stain; free from moral blemish; pure; free from fault

- Marissa's immaculate poem was hung up on the wall.

31) Imprecation- (n) the act of imprecations; cursing

- He started an unending imprecation when he ran into the door.

32) Ineluctable- (adj) incapable of being evaded; inescapable 

- The prison was so well guarded that it made the prisoners ineluctable. 

33) Mercurial- (adj) changeable; animated; lively

- The teacher came into class with a mercurial attitude, ready to start the day. 

34) Palliate- (v) to relieve or lessen without curing; alleviate; to try and conceal the gravity if excuses, apologies 

- The physical therapist tried to palliate the athletes sprained ankle.

35) Protocol- (n) a supplementary international agreement; the customs and regulations dealing with diplomatic formality 

- The two states successfully came up with a protocol that wouldn't cause any violence.

36) Resplendent- (adj) shining brilliantly; gleaming; splendid

- The poster was resplendent and everyone in the school could see it.

37) Stigmatize- (v) to set some mark of disgrace; to mark with a stigma or brand.

- The crime of the husabnd stigmatized the whole family. 

38) Sub Rosa- (n) confidentially; secretly; privately

- The government meeting was held sub rosa due to the fact that nobody could know what they were talking about.

39) Vainglory- (n) excessive elation or pride over one's own achievements, abilities; boastful vanity

- Bob showed a lot of vainglory after he won the tournament.

40) Vestige- (n) a mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that us no longer present or in existence

- The fossils are the only vestige we have of dinosaurs. 

41) Volition- (n) the act of willing, or choosing, or resolving; exercise of willing; a choice of decision made by the will

- Everyone who wants to participate in the competition should do so by their own volition.

What a Character

A character that made an impression on me was Scout from to Kill a Mockingbird. She was independent and she did not believe everything people told her to believe like little girls from her time should have. Scout was memorable because she reminded me of myself. It has been so long since I read To Kill a Mockingbird I can't remember literary techniques. 

Vocabulary #5

1) Obsequious: (adj) obedient; dutiful; fawning
- The servant was obsequious because she did everything she was asked.

2) Beatitude: (n) exalted happiness
- Her beatitude was shown when she started laughing and jumping up and down.

3) Bete Noire: (n) a person or thing that one particularly dislikes or dreads
- The test was the bete noire of the day as nobody wanted to take it.

4) Bode: (v) to be an omen of
-The news bodes evil days for him.

5) Dank: (adj) unpleasantly moist or humid; damp and, often, chilly
- Nobody ever went into the dank cellar as it was cold and damp.

6) Ecumenical: (adj) general; universal: promoting Christian unity throughout the world
- The ecumenical organization preached about Christianity.

7) Fervid: (adj) heated in spirit, enthusiasm; intensely hot, burning
- Her fervid attitude really got the crowd cheering.

8) Fetid: (adj) having an offensive odor; stinking
- The fetid dog was in great need of a bath. 

9) Gargantuan: (adj) gigantic, enormous
- The gargantuan crowd filled up the whole entire street. 

10) Heyday: (n) the stage or period of greatest vigor, strength, success, etc.; prime
- My dad's team reached their heyday when they won the championships. 

11) Incubus: (n) a nightmare
- She had an incubus after she watched that scary movie.

12) Infrastructure: (n) the basic, underlying framework or features of a system or organisation
- After they created the infrastructure, they were able to start building the system.

13) Inveigle:(v) to entice, lure, or ensnare by flattery or artful talk; to acquire by beguiling talk or methods
- He inveigled the girl into doing his homework. 

14) Kudos: (n) honor, glory, acclaim
- He received kudos after winning the spelling bee. 

15) Lagniappe: (n) tip, bonus, gratuity 
- The waitress received a lagniappe from her table as she was a fantastic waitress. 

16) Prolix: (adj) extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious length; long and wordy
- Her prolix essay was almost six pages long!

17) Protege: (n) a person under the care of someone interested in his or her career or welfare.
-He was a protege as he was under the care of his career.

18) Prototype: (n) the original or model on which something is based on for formed; someone who serves to illustrate the typical qualities of something 

- She is the prototype of a perfect student as she always does her homework and gets A's on tests.

19) Sycophant: (n) a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite

- He was a sycophant as he praised everybody.

20) Tautology: (n) needless repetition of an idea

- It's a tautology when the teacher says to stop talking. 

21) Truckle: (v) to submit or yield obsequiously or tamely

- Don't truckle to unreasonable demands. 

Declaration of Learning Independence

SMART goal- Graduate Righetti High school in June and attend Cal Poly in September of 2014 majoring in Liberal Studies so that I can become an Elementary School Teacher. 

Collaborative Working Group- Sarah Stevens and I are starting our own DIY blog. It is called California Country DIY.  

Lit Analysis #1

1.       The Book of Bright Ideas is starts with Button and Verdella working at a gas station when they meet the Malones two sisters that are fleeing their home town. Verdella offers them a place to stay and helps Freeda the older sister find a job. As the summer goes on Button and Winnalee the younger Malone sister become best friends that do everything together. Winnalee explains to Button that she carries her mother’s urn around so that she can remember her. Verdella and Button want to help Winnalee have closer and a place to bury her mother; they drive six hours to the Malone’s home town to buy a gravestone and a plot for Winnalee’s mother. While the two are there the find out that Winnalee’s mother is not dead she is actually alive. Freeda lied to everyone and took Winnalee away from her mother so Winnalee would not get sexually assaulted by their Uncle like Freeda was. After the truth about the Malone’s comes out they leave town with no warning. Button believes that she can one day find Winnalee and become best friends again and that is how the story ends.

2.       The theme of this book is definitely friendship. It teaches you that you have to treasure a friendship for as long as you can because you don’t know when it is going to end.

3.       The author’s tone in the story is energetic and informative. Kring wants the reader to understand the characters by the way she describes them such as “Freeda had hair like a penny.” She also said that “Ma puckered her lips so much they turned white” another example is “Ma looked like she hadn’t slept. Her eyes were puffy and dark underneath-what Uncle Rudy called boxer eyes.”

4.       Flashback-“Let’s talk about a ten year old girl coming to you-your own baby girl to tell you Uncle Dewey has been slipping into her room at night…” (pg. 260)

Imagery-“Her hair lit up in the sun like hot flames”(pg.1)

Overstatement-“I was crying when Ma drug me to the car, and so was she, even though she was still stiff with meanness.”(pg. 118)

Pathos-“The girl slide out of the truck holding a capped, shiny silver vase in her arms, cradling it like it was a baby doll. What is that Verdella asked. It’s my Ma, Winnalee replied.”(pg. 7)

Hyperbole-“F it, I’m not getting my hair whacked and fried. I’m letting it grow long like Winnalee’s. Then run like hell” (pg. 51)

Magical Realism-“Course there’s such a thing as fairies!” (pg. 41)

Logos-“I’ve got to find a job before we starve to death.”(pg. 51)

Foreshadowing-“Excuse me a minute please, excuse me.”(pg. 224)

Back Story-“Yep that’s how old I was when I took off sixteen.”(pg.52)

Parody-“Course, you’ll be takin’ a chance on running into Fossard’s ghost.”(ph. 44)

Beowulf Essay

Beowulf and Batman

            Heroes are ordinary people that posses extraordinary qualities making them heroes. Beowulf and Batman are both heroes of their time. Beowulf and Batman both posses strength, strong ethics and protects people that cannot protect themselves. Both heroes are symbols of great power.

            Beowulf shows his strength when he fights Grendel without any weapons and rips his arm off with his bare hands, he also shows strength when he slays the dragon with the help of only one man. Beowulf’s strength was used to save people and not for his own good he wanted to help people by fighting off evil. Batman shows strength every time he fights criminals that are only out to hurt good citizens. Batman used his strength the same way Beowulf did he wanted to protect the people and save them. To help the reader understand the severity of Grendel’s disgustingness he describes Grendel’s home using alliteration saying “made his home in hell” this helps the reader understand what type of creature Grendel is.

            Both Beowulf and Batman have a hero code of ethics that they believe in strongly. Both heroes condemn murder. “You murdered your brothers, your own close kin. Words and bright wit won’t help your soul; you’ll suffer hell’s fires, Unferth, forever tormented.” In this quote Beowulf scolds Unferth for murder, he does not believe that it is something that should be committed. Batman has the same code as Beowulf, Batman believes that murder should only happen when it is absolutely necessary he would rather injure the criminal instead of killing him. Beowulf uses many allusions to the Bible to help the readers of the sixth century understand it. The Bible clearly states that murder is not acceptable going along with Beowulf’s beliefs.

            Beowulf and Batman only wanted to help the citizens. Beowulf even at an old age saves his town from a ramped dragon out for revenge. He goes into a fight with only one man’s help although some say he accomplished his goal of killing the dragon he also lost his life giving the people of his town the ultimate sacrifice to keep them safe. Batman spends his time saving the city of Gotham from evil that lurks in the streets. He does not get paid he does not get rewards he does it purely to know that he is keeping the citizens safe. The author of Beowulf uses epithets to help the reader understand the relationship between Beowulf and God.

            Beowulf and Batman are both symbols of their time; they represent a society that cannot survive without a balance between good and evil. Both heroes show their strength, ethics and need to protect the people in a way that exemplifies their human qualities.

Vocab #4

1) Accolade- (n) any award, honor, or laudatory notice

- She received an accolade when she won the spelling bee.

2) Acerbity- (n) sourness; harshness or severity as of temper or expression

- He was full of acerbity because he harshly corrected the student.

3) Attrition- (n) a reduction or decrease in number, size, it strength 

- Many jobs were lost through attrition.

4) Bromide- (n) a person who is platitudinous and boring; a trite saying

- Mary was a bromide as she never did anything exciting.

5) Chauvinist- (n) a person who is aggressively and blindly patriotic; a person who believe one gender is superior to another

- He was a male chauvinist as he believed the male team would beat the female team.

6) Chronic- (adj) constant; habitual; inveterate; having long had a disease 

- She suffers from a chronic disease that she has had all her life.

7) Expound- (v) to explain; to interpret

- The teacher expounded the lesson again since the students didn't understand it. 

8) Factionalism- (adj) of a faction or factions; self-interested

- There has been great factionalismbetween the two people as they weren't interested in what the other had to say since it had nothing to do with themselves. 

9) Immaculate- (adj) free from spot or stain; free from moral blemish; pure; free from fault

- The immaculate essay was the perfect example as it had no flaws.

10) Imprecation- (n) the act of imprecations; cursing

- He started an unendingimprecation when he stubbed his toe in the chair.

11) Ineluctable- (adj) incapable of being evaded; inescapable 

- The prison was so well guarded that it made the prisoners ineluctable. 

12) Mercurial- (adj) changeable; animated; lively

- She came in class with a mercurial attitude as she was always so bubbly.  

13) Palliate- (v) to relieve or lessen without curing; alleviate; to try and conceal the gravity if excuses, apologies 

- The physical therapist tried to palliate the athletes sprained wrist.

14) Protocol- (n) a supplementary international agreement; the customs and regulations dealing with diplomatic formality 

- The two states tried to come to a protocol without causing any violence.

15) Resplendent- (adj) shining brilliantly; gleaming; splendid

- The sign was resplendent and everyone within miles could see it.

16) Stigmatize- (v) to set some mark of disgrace; to mark with a stigma or brand.

- The crime of the father stigmatized the whole family. 

17) Sub Rosa- (n) confidentially; secretly; privately

- The meeting was held sub rosa due to the fact that nobody could know what they were talking about.

18) Vainglory- (n) excessive elation or pride over one's own achievements, abilities; boastful vanity

- He showed a lot if vainglory by bragging about his trophy. 

19) Vestige- (n) a mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that us no longer present or in existence

- The fossils are the only vestige of dinosaurs. 

20) Volition- (n) the act of willing, or choosing, or resolving; exercise of willing; a choice of decision made by the will

- Everyone who wants to participate should do so by their own volition. 

Will Study For Food

To be honest all this college stuff is overwhelming me. The only scholarships I have looked at are for The Elks and The Chamber of Commerce. I hope to get as much as I can in scholarship money I don't want a cap or a minimum so that I am not disappointed if I don't reach a certain goal. With the scholarship money I do earn I plan to use it on books, housing and tuition. 

Fall Vocabulary #3

Fall Vocabulary #3

Apostate-  person who abandons their faith

• Elder Amish leaders see teenage Amish as apostates. 

Effusive- unrestrained in emotional expression

• After the team was the coach was effusive with excitement.

Impasse- a road or passage having no exit

• After an hour of driving we came to find out the road was impasse.

Euphoria- a feeling of intense excitement

• Once I passed my drivers test I had a feeling of euphoria.

Lugubrious- looking or sounding sad

• The student looked lugubrious after a long day of school.

Bravado- a bold manner or a show of boldness

• The man showed a great deal of bravado.

Consensus- general agreement 

• After the long argument the two friends came to a consensus.

Dichotomy- a division or contract between two things

• The teacher used a dichotomous key to identify the animal.

Constrict- make narrower

• The winding river constricted towards the end.

Gothic- language or type of style

• Writers in the gothic era wrote dark stories.

Punctilio- a fine point of conduct

•  The strict boss implimiented punctilio for the workers.

Metamorphosis- a change of form

• Catipillers go through metamorphosis to become butterflies.

Raconteur- a person who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way

• Tribes usually had a raconteur.

Sine Qua Non- an essential condition

• My dog has a sin qua non that she cannot eat corn product.

Quixotic- unrealistic and impractical

• My mother was being quixotic.

Vendetta- bitter quarrel

• Years after the two had a fight they still had a vendetta.

Non Sequitur- a conclusion or statement that does not follow previous statement

• The principal talked in circles but he ended with a non sequitur.

Mystique- a fascinating aura of mystery

• The lost city of Atlantis is a mystique.

Quagmire- a soft boggy area of land

• The banks of the lake were quagmire and I lost both my shoes.

Parlous- full of danger or uncertainty

• The journey was long and parlous.

Why this book?

I choose the "The Book of Bright Ideas" by Sandra Kring as the book I wanted to read this book because my older sister read it and told me how good it was a strongly suggested that I read it.