On Friday, my group (minus Waniso ) had our first discussion about "The Barcode Tattoo." The Barcode Tattoo is a science fiction book about a girl named Kayla, about 20 or 30 years from now. The Barcode tattoo is exactly what it sounds like, a tattoo of a barcode. However this barcode hold all of your information, your credit card number, your bank account information, basically your whole life, and maybe a little bit more.
In our discussion, my group talked about how the barcode relates to very common and convenient way of paying we have now, which is a credit card. You can pay with your barcode just like you can with your credit card, for example if someone hacks your credit card, they can use your information and money, however, with the barcode, they can literally control your life. Another subject we talked about was how Kayla's reactions to both of her parents' deaths. We agreed that the author either didn't convince the reader that Kayla was that upset about losing her parents, or she was fueling the rebellion against the barcode with the loss of her parents. We also discussed Kekal's betrayal of the rebellion, and Kayla's best friend Amber eagerly wanting Kayla to get the tattoo, which made us wonder if Amber was also working for Global1, the company that runs the country and issues the barcode.
All in all, Aleyna and I have agreed that we think the book is somewhat poorly written, but is an easy and quick read.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Sunday, May 19, 2013
The Perks of Being a Wallflower blog post + movie opinions
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an excellent book that became a film a few years ago. I think that the movie was excellent, being that is had all of the main attributes to the book, and didn;t leave out any important bits. I also like how is didn't undersize the issues that want on in the book, such as depression, abuse, sex, homosexuality, death, suicide, et cetera. The main character, Charlie is a 15 year old boy just starting high school. He is a year older because he was held back a grade when he was emotionally ill after his best friend committed suicide. He is a sensitive boy who now has no friends, until he meets Patrick, Sam, and all of their friends.
In both the movie and the book, they are pretty much bad kids who smoke a pack a day and do weed and acid. But they are also nice, and smart, courageous and outgoing. Charlie soon befriends them and falls in love with Sam, a girl with short hair and Patrick's step-sister. Charlie spends the whole book and movie with these people, and dates and dumps their friend Mary Elizabeth. He liked her, but she was always talking, and was a bit bossy. Deep down, he loved Sam, but he didn't show it until a party where he was dared to kiss the prettiest girl in the room. However, he wasn't the only one with relationship problems. His older sister had a boyfriend who she was seeing in secret, because her parents had found out he had hit her. Even though she claimed he wouldn't do it again, he was to never be seen again. He then got her pregnant and cllaimed not to be the father. She got an abortion and they broke up.
The story ends with Charlie realizing the person he loves most molested him as a child and he is put into another hospital, where he is treated. The final part ends with Charlie and Sam getting back together after her and Patrick go tot college. This book is heartwarming and heartwrenching at the same time.
In both the movie and the book, they are pretty much bad kids who smoke a pack a day and do weed and acid. But they are also nice, and smart, courageous and outgoing. Charlie soon befriends them and falls in love with Sam, a girl with short hair and Patrick's step-sister. Charlie spends the whole book and movie with these people, and dates and dumps their friend Mary Elizabeth. He liked her, but she was always talking, and was a bit bossy. Deep down, he loved Sam, but he didn't show it until a party where he was dared to kiss the prettiest girl in the room. However, he wasn't the only one with relationship problems. His older sister had a boyfriend who she was seeing in secret, because her parents had found out he had hit her. Even though she claimed he wouldn't do it again, he was to never be seen again. He then got her pregnant and cllaimed not to be the father. She got an abortion and they broke up.
The story ends with Charlie realizing the person he loves most molested him as a child and he is put into another hospital, where he is treated. The final part ends with Charlie and Sam getting back together after her and Patrick go tot college. This book is heartwarming and heartwrenching at the same time.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Hurricane Song blog post
My class recently finished the inspiring book, Hurricane Song by Paul Volponi. The book is about a boy living in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. The boy's name is Miles, and he recently moved to Louisiana to live with his father, a jazz musician. Miles was not interested in Jazz, and believed that his father loved his instruments more than him. When the hurricane hits Miles, his father and a few of his father's very good friends and fellow jazz musicians are forced into The Superdome, a football stadium, with many other people of low income. They are forced into awful conditions for a couple days, but by the way the book is written, it makes the reader feel like it was a couple months.
Miles and his father were able to live through deaths, injury, sickness, and so much violence. I believe Miles and his dad were able to live through that because of the music; even though Miles resented it at first.
At the beginning of hurricane song, Miles asked for football gear for his birthday, something he really wanted and specifically asked for. Instead he got a drum. In the superdome, he played the that drum, and used it more than any football gear would have. When someone died they played. When gangs were setting fires they played. They brought peoples' hopes up when they were tired and defeated, hungry, thirsty and fatigued. When a man named Cyrus commited suicide they played- together, always together, with Pop (Mile's father) on his horn and Miles on the drum. When Miles and Pop escaped the dome and swam through the floods to Pop's old jazz club, they played. I believe that all of the music kept them going, surviving. I think that if they didn't have that hope, they wouldn't have escaped the dome, and they would have endured much more torture. I'm not saying if you play jazz BOOM your life will get better, but in this scenario, they wouldn't have lived without it.
All in all, this concludes that Miles and Pop in Hurricane Song survived the storm through music, and hope, all while giving people hope around them, when they had none.
Miles and his father were able to live through deaths, injury, sickness, and so much violence. I believe Miles and his dad were able to live through that because of the music; even though Miles resented it at first.
At the beginning of hurricane song, Miles asked for football gear for his birthday, something he really wanted and specifically asked for. Instead he got a drum. In the superdome, he played the that drum, and used it more than any football gear would have. When someone died they played. When gangs were setting fires they played. They brought peoples' hopes up when they were tired and defeated, hungry, thirsty and fatigued. When a man named Cyrus commited suicide they played- together, always together, with Pop (Mile's father) on his horn and Miles on the drum. When Miles and Pop escaped the dome and swam through the floods to Pop's old jazz club, they played. I believe that all of the music kept them going, surviving. I think that if they didn't have that hope, they wouldn't have escaped the dome, and they would have endured much more torture. I'm not saying if you play jazz BOOM your life will get better, but in this scenario, they wouldn't have lived without it.
All in all, this concludes that Miles and Pop in Hurricane Song survived the storm through music, and hope, all while giving people hope around them, when they had none.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Beautiful Boy in relation to Tweak
I first read Tweak around six months ago, and realized the true horrors of being a drug addict, and after reading Beautiful Boy it brings you into the world of being related to one. David and Nic take years to battle this disease of addiction that plagued their lives for years after. Nic took many years to recover from his addiction to meth, and it took his father even longer, and one brain explosion. Literally, his head exploded. Nic's addiction affected not only David (Nic's father) but his mother, step mother, step father, grandparents, younger siblings and all of his friends.
In Beautiful Boy, Nic is shown at first as a sweet talented, smart boy who gets good grades, is kind to his family and friends, and is, in general, a good kid. Not much of Nic's childhood is shown in Tweak. The small bits that do exist in his book are about his father's previous drug use and his parent's divorce. He shows Jasper and Daisy's childhood (his younger siblings) mostly because they were little when he was still addicted to meth. He describes having great times with them when he was sober, and and them feeling upset when he wasn't. There is one particular scene where Nic steal's Jasper's only eight dollars. This shows that Nic was really willing to give up everything he had, including his younger siblings who loved and adored him so much.
This was not different from David Sheff's book, as David shows Nic breaking into his home, stealing money, forging checks, and doing drugs at night before sleeping in their living room. The two books end with Nic being sober for two years, relapsing once more, but then finding help immediately. He as not relapsed since, and his family has grown mush closer. And now he and his father have books that are both New York Times bestsellers.
In Beautiful Boy, Nic is shown at first as a sweet talented, smart boy who gets good grades, is kind to his family and friends, and is, in general, a good kid. Not much of Nic's childhood is shown in Tweak. The small bits that do exist in his book are about his father's previous drug use and his parent's divorce. He shows Jasper and Daisy's childhood (his younger siblings) mostly because they were little when he was still addicted to meth. He describes having great times with them when he was sober, and and them feeling upset when he wasn't. There is one particular scene where Nic steal's Jasper's only eight dollars. This shows that Nic was really willing to give up everything he had, including his younger siblings who loved and adored him so much.
This was not different from David Sheff's book, as David shows Nic breaking into his home, stealing money, forging checks, and doing drugs at night before sleeping in their living room. The two books end with Nic being sober for two years, relapsing once more, but then finding help immediately. He as not relapsed since, and his family has grown mush closer. And now he and his father have books that are both New York Times bestsellers.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Black beauty blog post
I just started reading the book Black Beauty, a book about a young horse who is mistreated and abused. It is in the first person, and it helps you respect the horses life. This book makes one think in the mind of a horse, as it really sucks you in to the horses' setting, environment, it lets you feel the horses' pain when he is hurt, and lets you feel his happiness when he is treated with respect.
I am using this book as a mentor text for my Independent Writing Project, because my story is from the point of view of an animal as well. So far, I believe this book is an excellent one.
In Black Beauty, the main character is a black horse who is just a few years old, at least in the beginning. As he gets older he leaves his mother, his old farm and his master. He shows his master as a kind person, who never hurts him, always feeds him and gives him treats, and speaks to him in a nice way. He moves to a new farm to get used to wearing a saddle, a bridal and a halter. He complains about wearing a bit, a metal rod that goes behind the horses' last molar, and is, apparently, very unpleasant. The first master is kind, however he goes to another farm where the master shoves the bit in his mouth and causes his mouth to bleed. He meets other horses who have had experiences like his, and ones that have been in much worse conditions. I am guessing, based on the blurb in the back of the book, the horse will be moved to a new farm, or multiple other farms where he will be mistreated, then he will ultimately go back to his old ranch.
I believe the author of Black Beauty wants us to respect animals, or just everyone in general, by showing the horses point of view to its life.
I am using this book as a mentor text for my Independent Writing Project, because my story is from the point of view of an animal as well. So far, I believe this book is an excellent one.
In Black Beauty, the main character is a black horse who is just a few years old, at least in the beginning. As he gets older he leaves his mother, his old farm and his master. He shows his master as a kind person, who never hurts him, always feeds him and gives him treats, and speaks to him in a nice way. He moves to a new farm to get used to wearing a saddle, a bridal and a halter. He complains about wearing a bit, a metal rod that goes behind the horses' last molar, and is, apparently, very unpleasant. The first master is kind, however he goes to another farm where the master shoves the bit in his mouth and causes his mouth to bleed. He meets other horses who have had experiences like his, and ones that have been in much worse conditions. I am guessing, based on the blurb in the back of the book, the horse will be moved to a new farm, or multiple other farms where he will be mistreated, then he will ultimately go back to his old ranch.
I believe the author of Black Beauty wants us to respect animals, or just everyone in general, by showing the horses point of view to its life.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
The Road Not Taken bloggy posty
The poem The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost is about a man in his mid-life, having to make a choice between to roads in his life, then later, wondering what the other road would have held for him, and how it would have changed his life. In the poem, it states that "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood," and that means that there were two choices for him to make, and the yellow wood means that it's fall, which means its probably in the middle/end of his life. This poem show the man looking back by stating that "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."
In the poem it states that "Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim Because it was grassy and wanted wear," this shows that the narrator is choosing which path to choose, and chooses one because less people had traveled on it. The poem says after that that
"Oh, I marked the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way I doubted if I should ever come back." This shows that the narrator wanted to go on the other path, or the other destiny, but decided that he would save it for another day. Again, in the future, or in the fourth stanza he says that "I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."
All and all this shows that the narrator chose one path in life, and decided that he would go the other way one day. the poem indeed shows the man looking back- without regret but more curiosity, and wonders what the other path would have held.
In the poem it states that "Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim Because it was grassy and wanted wear," this shows that the narrator is choosing which path to choose, and chooses one because less people had traveled on it. The poem says after that that
"Oh, I marked the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way I doubted if I should ever come back." This shows that the narrator wanted to go on the other path, or the other destiny, but decided that he would save it for another day. Again, in the future, or in the fourth stanza he says that "I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."
All and all this shows that the narrator chose one path in life, and decided that he would go the other way one day. the poem indeed shows the man looking back- without regret but more curiosity, and wonders what the other path would have held.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Luna bloggy posty
I recently finished the heart wrenching book Luna. The protagonist is a 15 or 16 year old girl with two judgemental parents- and a transsexual brother. The girl, Regan struggles with school, boys, bullying, and protecting her brother, Liam. During the day he is a smart tall, thin senior in high school, smart, handsome, and has girls following him around like he's god. But that's not what he wants. All he wants is to be a girl, and says he was born into the wrong body. Meanwhile, he dresses like a woman at night, and has named himself Luna. She wakes up Regan in the middle of the night to show her- as Regan is the only one who knows. Regan has always been there for her brother, but now she is struggling to work in school, and has caught the eye of the new kid, Chris, in her science class. In Luna by Julie Anne Peters, Regan goes through a tough year, as she helps her prother transition for good.
In Luna, Regan has flashbacks about her brother as a little kid letting Luna out. He would but nail polish on, ask his mom for barbies makeup and hairbrushes for his birthday and Christmas. They never has any of it. The father was always making Liam look bad by making him try out for sports, and not letting him cook dinner instead of Regan when he was perfectly capable. In the middle of the book, Regan and Luna would slip out at 6 in the morning to go shopping at a mall. Liam's goal was to make no one question that he was a boy, and pretending he can't see people snickering. At the end of the book Liam meets a transsexual and goes to live with her inspired by her braveness. After he tells his family on his eighteenth birthday, his dad practically throws him out of the house, and his mom just couldn't deal with it. He goes to Seattle where he starts therapy and gets ready for his sex-reassignment surgery.
I think this book really shows that you should appreciate others for their differences, no matter if they're gay, lesbian, transsexual, it doesn't matter. The moral of the story is you should treat people the way you want to be treated, and accept and love others for their differences- not everyone has to be exactly like you.
In Luna, Regan has flashbacks about her brother as a little kid letting Luna out. He would but nail polish on, ask his mom for barbies makeup and hairbrushes for his birthday and Christmas. They never has any of it. The father was always making Liam look bad by making him try out for sports, and not letting him cook dinner instead of Regan when he was perfectly capable. In the middle of the book, Regan and Luna would slip out at 6 in the morning to go shopping at a mall. Liam's goal was to make no one question that he was a boy, and pretending he can't see people snickering. At the end of the book Liam meets a transsexual and goes to live with her inspired by her braveness. After he tells his family on his eighteenth birthday, his dad practically throws him out of the house, and his mom just couldn't deal with it. He goes to Seattle where he starts therapy and gets ready for his sex-reassignment surgery.
I think this book really shows that you should appreciate others for their differences, no matter if they're gay, lesbian, transsexual, it doesn't matter. The moral of the story is you should treat people the way you want to be treated, and accept and love others for their differences- not everyone has to be exactly like you.
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