Reading/Working times

National Geographic- The Truth about Black Holes (Really good)
5/11- 45 min

AP text
5/10- 30 min

Biology text
5/10- 1 hour

Portfolio
5 hours cumulative over the week

Macbeth Main Idea: Ambition & Power

From the beginning of the book, our class has analyzed Macbeth for certain main ideas or theme. These defined the main characters and plot of the story and one of the most important is the affect that ambition has on people and how power that is acquired through the ambition is received. In the first Act, we are introduced to King Duncan who has received power with grace and strength. We also meet Macbeth who enough power and influence to satisfy any man... until he is told he could have more by the witches. His ambition and want for this power continues to grow within him and then, is spurred along by Lady Macbeth. He driven to kill the great King and then kill anyone who threatens his rule.

The ambition for power and dominance drove him to become king in a most unsavory manner. The power then corrupted him and basically caused him and his wife to go insane. He is killed by those he once called friends. They killed him because his insanity and power transformed him into a monster. This monster is the focus of the book making his ambition and power a theme or main idea of the story. Ambition and power can cause both great and terrible events to occur and this tragedy tends to favor the latter.

Reading/Working Times

National Geographic (The New Food Revolution, Shipbreakers)
5/2-45 min

Social Studies Textbook
5/1- 30 min

Things fall apart
4/30-30 min

Macbeth Quotation: "A drum, a drum! Macbeth doth come!

Near the beginning of the book in Scene 3 of Act I, we have the gathering of the three witches. This particular scene, is the introduction of the plot for the rest of the tragedy. No other occurrence throughout the book can be directly traced to the "start of it all" as this one is. The quotation, "A drum, a drum! Macbeth doth come," is spoken by the third witch and announces the entrance of Macbeth, but it means much more than just a stage direction. It marks the beginning of Macbeth's journey to kingship and eventually to death. When he approaches the witches and they tell him of his fate, he launches himself into a quest for the throne due to what these witches, that he just came across, had told him.    

This particular utterance marks the end of the exposition and the beginning of the action of the plot and the real tragedy of Macbeth and those around him. Shakespeare uses the witches to foreshadow what is to come while also providing a storyline, fates to both narrate and direct the story, and driving force to push the tale and main characters forward. As Macbeth struggles to manipulate fate and slowly fall to insanity, the witches are there to show what is to come and how it will play out. Shakespeare allows for the audience to cheer for the main character but also recognize their faults through the truth given to us by these witches. Had Macbeth doth not come, we wouldn't have a classic Shakespearean tragedy.

Reading/Work times

Reading 

Lung cancer research/reading

4/25-30 min, 4/26-30 min 

Things fall apart

4/27-1h and 30 min

Work 

Blogs

4/24-30 min 

The Rising Genre of "Epic Music"

If you've ever been to a movie and watched the main character charge through battlefields, or save the world or even just their family, you've heard this music. It's everywhere and you just have yet to notice it. The genre is casually referred to as "epic music" or "movie music" but really, there is no true genre that can encompass the entire volume of these musical masterpieces. Each song or piece or whatever you choose to call it, is a combination of rock, classical, choral, electronic, and orchestral music. It is not all thrown together but is carefully crafted to create a piece of music that inspires and excites. Some songs are not for all but each person can find the music as a whole to be incredible. It's hard to explain. You listen to the music and you recognize it from somewhere but you don't know where. It's probably because you have heard it. It's the music behind every great movie scene or show and at the peak of every great song. It's the best of everything you've ever heard.

As people find it online and in whatever they listen to, they realize the greatness in it and share it. One of the most popular composers of this music is Two Steps From Hell. This band alone has had over 50 appearances in different shows, movies, events, and functions that I'm sure all of you have at least heard of let alone seen. It is truly everywhere and everything and as more people hear it, they recognize it and begin to appreciate it as music instead of accompaniment. It's amazing and... awesome. I encourage everyone to at least give it 10 min.

Try the albums: Sky World, Invincible, and Archangel         

Reading/ Working Times

Working 

Nervous Conditions Projects
4/7-2 hours, 4/8- 30 min,  4/10- 2 hours

Reading

Nervous conditions re-reading (every day that i worked on the projects, 15 min)

Things Fall Apart
4/12- 30 min, 4/13- 30 min

Total= 5 hours, 30 min.

Statement #2: If something is destined to happen, it will happen without your interference.

I agree with this statement, but only barely. In most societies, destiny exists in some form such as prophecies and fate but its there with an important presence. Whether it's vague or precise, it always has a role and usually it's undeniably permanent... but not always. Some people say you can change you future by just knowing about it and many do their best to deny it. People shouldn't follow a script but cultures insist that they should. For the most part, if something is destined to happen it will even if it is not the way it was supposed to occur.

In Macbeth, the witches, which function like fates, predict the main characters future and determine his destiny. Had he not killed King Duncan, the same  future would have come truee just not how Macbeth would've imagined. In the stories written during the time of Shakespeare, destiny and prophecy drive each story and what is predicted happens whether or not the characters interfere. Though some tales break the mold, these, such as Macbeth, remain true to the everlasting reliability of destiny.   

Statement #1: Ambition is a positive, desirable trait in a person.

For this statement, I can neither agree nor disagree. Ambition is considered to be good, but too much can be harmful. Ambition gives us drive and purpose but can push us to do things we weren't meant for or that can harm others. It's constant battle of self-control. Ambition drives us to do wonderful things. America had ambition enough to go to the moon and back but we also had ambition to maintain slavery in the south and to fight it when we could. It results in great achievements and great death in many cases. There would be no great achievements  or great death without ambition. It's a delicate balance.

For example, in Macbeth, we have our main character who required ambition to become the man he is portrayed as in the book but also requires ambition to become the dead man he is at the end of the book. If he hadn't been ambitious, he couldn't have became a great fighter or the Thane of Cawdor and since he was overly ambitious, he killed the king and was decapitated because of it. The balance results in my opinion. I can agree that ambition can be positive as well as negative. I cant agree or disagree that ambition is a positive, desirable trait in a person. 

Reading/Working Times

AP World History book
2/19-45 min, 2/23-45 min

Editing NHD Paper
2/20-30 min

Wizard Heir
2/22-30 min

Preparing for Poetry Test
2/21-30 min, 2/23-1 hour

Reading times

Reading 

The Warrior Hier 

2/11-30 min 2/12-1hour 30 min 2/13-15 min 

AP World Text 

2/15-30 min

Total= 2 hours 45 minutes

Love, Life, and Death

Love, Life, and Death

I can be light,

but also night.

I can be life

but also death.

I can be a murderer

but also a lifesaver.

I can be a gatherer of my people

but also disperse them.

I am love.

I can be the light in the world

but bring night in tow.

I can be the reason people live

and die.

I can be a murderer of hearts

and save them.

I can be a gatherer people together in my name

and they disperse in a heartbeat

I can't be just one, can I?

Structure Used: Enjambment, End-stopped line, Similar line structure (4,1,4,1)

Techniques Used: Diction (hearts, life, death), Anaphora (I can. I can't), End-Rhyme, Personification

 

Stairway to Heaven Lyrical Analysis

Stairway to Heaven is song written and preformed by Led Zeppelin and appeared in the album Led Zeppelin IV.  It begins slow and melodic. There is no drums or heavy electric guitar as is characteristic of Led Zeppelin's music. This atmosphere deepens the meaning of the song which can be interpreted to represents the path to heaven in a series of indirect descriptions. The beginning expresses some aspects of euphony as well as in the chorus. This is expressed in words like "gold", "know", "wonder" and even the sounds added in the chorus such as "ooh". The diction of the song is light and, well, heavenly in many words like glitter and gold. Phrases form pictures of happiness and peace up until the end when the hard rock Led Zeppelin appears in all its glory.

In this song, only 2 basic lines are repeated once or twice in the nearly 8 minute long song. Led Zeppelin's song is more like a poem than anything. Alliteration and other literary devices are found throughout the piece in the choruses and verses. The words of the song as well as the pauses form together to create a poem with line-breaks, stanzas, and end-stopped lines like a written poem would. Stairway to Heaven is artfully crafted to give the listener a sense of what their imagining with not only with what's said but what's done. The singers and songwriters of this style and era had much of the same aspects as found in the Doors and Pink Floyd.

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/ledzeppelin/stairwaytoheaven.html 
   

Reading/Working TImes

Monday, 2/3 - 10 min Warrior Heir in class + 40 min 2 posts on ATD
Tuesday, 2/4 - 30 min Warrior Heir + 30 min Social Studies text
Thursday, 2/5 - 10 min Warrior Heir + 40 min 2 posts on ATD + 15 min other peoples' blogs
Friday,  2/6 - 10 min Warrior Heir

Total= 3 hour 5 min

Reading + Working times

Reading 

The Warrior Heir 

1/30- 30 min  2/1- 15 min

Social studies text 

1/29-30 min 1/30-20 min

Science text 

1/30- 1hour  

Working times

Draft

Sneaux days- 4 hours 

2/2- 1 hour 30 min

Total= 8 hours and 5 min

Research Paper Draft

My NHD draft is work in progress and definitely has potential. I'm confident that it addresses the necessary topics needed to analyze my topic and that I have the right sources but I'm not sure that they are coming together smoothly. I feel like what I have is an outline with introducing and concluding sentences at the end of each topic/paragraph. I definitely think I need to work on the finer things in my paper. The organization was easy because of the outline but let's face it, words are hard.

There two main things I need help on and that's the quotations and the overall flow of the paper. After reading it, the paper felt a little choppy. I think those aspects need a bit more attention after further review. I think the rest of the paper works well besides those two points and I will continue to refine it for the final draft.  

Snow day: Importance of a Firm Handshake

Division Head 

William had always been a confident, successful student. He was class president and the head of the debate team. He always spoke eloquently and his handshake was exceptional. 


Professor

A student came in today. He walked right up to my desk and waited patiently for me to finish the task at hand. When I looked up again, he introduced self as John. I offered my hand and he took it and I was shocked at the firmness of the handshake. I never forgot his name because of that handshake. I noticed the same assertive, confident  in his papers and conversations. I was impressed.


Friend/Acquaintance

Though William and I had very different view we were still good friends. He was always in the opposing party in an argument and I never did best him. He was intimidating from the start. He had a death grip.


Citizen 

The man I met today was truly inspirational. He spoke to us all with words of wisdom and a hope for the future. I was unsure at first but when he shook my hand, I was sure he was the one I was going to vote for.

John F. Kennedy such a firm handshake, it propelled him the seat of the President of the United States

(P.S. The inspiration for this piece came from a Spotify commercial because I had absolutely no idea what I was going to write about.)

(P.S.S The story is absolutely, 100% fictitious) 

Reading and work times

The Warrior Heir

1/23-15 1/24-55 min 1/25-15 min

Research outline 

1/25-30 min 1/26-30 min 

Biology textbook 

1/24-20 min 

Total (work+read) =2hours and 25 minutes

NHD Discussion

 Double Jeopardy is a law that was put in place in the 5th Amendment to the Constitution of the U.S. It basically says that someone can't be charged by the same level of court more than once. Over the years, mostly recently, there has been anger built up over this law that people have "gone free" due to this law. The media has pointed out this law as the culprit but without giving the whole story as to what the law does. What I am doing is clearing the air as to what this law does, how it protects citizens, and how it is justified. It IS a legitimate law. It SHOULD still be practiced and protects the rights of American people contrary to popular belief.



My topic pertains to Double Jeopardy and has a particular interest today in the light of certain cases that have upset the public with the verdict. Much of the upset (stirred up by the media) has been directed towards this law. I am analyzing the arguments presented by the media and by experts to justify the law and also underline when and why the law came about. I'm expressing an argument of mine with substantial evidence that gives insight to both of the arguments. So far, I have encountered several sources that express outrage but each of these are news outlets telling of controversial cases. This hints that perhaps some media outlets are searching for something to blame. Double Jeopardy is the target though it has legitimate use in today's and yesterday's society.

Thesis: Double Jeopardy is a legitimate law that bars a citizen from enduring trial more than once for substantially the same crime. It has encountered much trouble in recent years though it has been in use for much more. Many people believe it is unjust or even not needed, but it has a considerable impact upon the legal system and is imperative to today's court.

Reading Times

World History Text
1/14-30 min

An absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian
1/14-30 min, 1/15-15 min, 1/16-30, 1/19-30 min

Total=2 hours 15 min

Reading Times

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian
1/9- 45 min 1/11-55 min

The Warrior Heir
1/8-30 min

World History Text
1/12-30 min

Total=2 hours 40 min

NHD Topic, Significance, and To-do List

My topic for National History day is about Double Jeopardy and its justification based off of multiple sources including the general public, known experts, and law cases. Double Jeopardy is a law stating that someone may not be charged twice for substantially the same crime. It has been controversial due to its ability to set people free (guilty or not) according to the public while experts guarantee that its use is still needed in the law systems all across the world. My job is to take the information I gathered and make a conclusion on whether it's justifiable and to see if it still has use in today's world in contrast to when it was enacted.

My research has been progressing well in my opinion. I have 10 good sources that suit my purpose but my bibliographies had minor mistakes throughout so that's first on my agenda. Second, I'd like to begin to write an graphic organizer based off of my research that begins to draw conclusions about Double Jeopardy and so I can choose my stance.

Chosen Prompt: Imagine Your in a Story by Another Author

Lights flickered in the airliner. There was shaking as if there was earthquake on board. A typhoon outside rumbled and roared. Bolts of light stuck the air. And then us. Blue light engulfed the passengers and pilots, teachers and students of the plane. Flames ignited all around the cabin and the engines burst outside the plane and we fell, and fell, and fell. We dropped for what seemed like hours but in seconds we were down.

I awoke to pure white sand in my face and cuts and bruises covering my body. My clothes were torn but functional and my hair was thrown every which way. We must've crashed  I thought. I explored the new environment to find that I was surrounded by water, an island. From what seemed like the other side of this land I heard a deep bellowing horn. I traversed the land between me the sound to find a fair-haired boy with a gleaming conch in his hand.