Monday, September 30, 2013

DEAR STEVE

"Remembering that you are going to die is the best way that I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose." That is my favorite quote from his speech because it makes me want to take more chances in life. Overall his speech was very inspirational. I liked getting to know the philosophy of a very successful man and I was comforted knowing that after his failures, he succeeded.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

NETVIBES

I don't like Netvibes. Trying to find the right widgets you want takes forever because you have to scroll through like 100 pages. I also don't like the way it looks, but I'll deal with because I have to.

Monday, September 23, 2013

VOCABULARY #6

adroit- skillful in the use of hands or mind.
Wide receivers need to be adroit in order to catch passes.

amicable- friendly
I knew what John was saying was amicable, but it was just causing problems.

averse- having a strong dislike to something
Dodger fans are averse to playing the Cardinals in the playoffs.

belligerent- hostile or aggressive
Some people become belligerent when they're drunk.

benevolent- well meaning and kindly
I have a benevolent smile.

cursory- not thorough or detailed
The inspector took a cursory look at the scene.

duplicity- deceitfulness
I hated the moment when I realized the duplicity.

extol- praise enthusiastically
I was extolled when I struck out the last player.

feasible- possible to do easily, conveniently
My decision was not feasible.

grimace- twisted expression showing pain, disgust or wry amusement.
Joe grimaced when I punched him in the face.


holocaust- destruction on a mass scale, caused by fire or nuclear war.
I fear a nuclear holocaust

impervious- impenetrable
The wall seemed impenetrable.

impetus- the force or energy with which a body moves
My impetus caused me to bump into a crowd of people.

jeopardy- danger of harm, loss, or failure.
The Eagles season will be in jeopardy if they lose next week.

meticulous- showing great attention to detail.
My mom is meticulous when checking if my room is clean.

nostalgia- a sentimental longing for the past.
Some people become overcome with nostalgia when they go to the cemetery.

quintessence- the perfect example.
Alex is the quintessence of lop.

retrogress- to go back to a earlier state, usually a worse one.
The sick patient retrogressed and is now very sick.

scrutinize- examine or inspect closely
Doctors often scrutinize their patients to make sure nothing is wrong.

tepid- lukewarm
My tepid soda had lost all it's carbonation.


Accede- agree to a demand, request, or treaty.
The officers did not accede to the strikers.

Brandish- wave something as a threat or in anger or excitement.
The robber brandished his weapon to the clerk.

Comprise- consist of
The St. Louis Rams comprise great players.

Deft- neatly skillful and quick in ones movements.
Ninjas are deft.

Destitute- not having the basic necessities of life
Children in Africa are destitute.

Explicit- stated clearly and in detail.
The answer was explicit.

Extirpate- root out and destroy completely
The priest had to extirpate the ghost.

Inopportune- occurring at a bad time.
My phone went off in an inopportune time.

Ironic- characterized by irony
The movie's ending was ironic.

Musty- having a stale, moldy, or damp smell

Your bedroom is musty.

Officious- assertive authority in an annoying way.
My coach is officious.

Ominous- giving the impression that something bad is going to happen.
The setting was ominous.

Pinnacle- A high pointed piece of rock.
Being on a pinnacle is an amazing sight.

Premeditated- plan beforehand
The decision to run was premeditated.

Rampant- spreading unchecked
The lice in Alex's hair was rampant.

Solace- comfort in a time of distress
Some people find solace in religion.

Stately- majestic in manner and appearance
I looked at the stately lions.

Supple- flexible
Joe's mom is supple. She used to be a gymnast.

Suppress- forcibly put an end to
The teacher suppressed the fight.

Venal- open to bribery

The policemen were venal.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

FREEDOM OF CHOICE

Having the freedom to make our own choice has pros and cons. It allows us to be creative and it forces us to have to think for ourselves. The difficulty level increases when we have to think for ourselves because it's not always that easy. When we are given an assignment with a set of instructions, we don't have to really think we just have to find the information we need. For example if we have a presentation we have to do it is so much easier if we are told exactly how to do it, but if we have to set it up ourselves it is challenging. Making our own decisions is hard!

Monday, September 16, 2013

DECLARATION OF LEARNING INDEPENDENCE

My goals all build upon each other. They are to have a great year on the varsity baseball team, get into the college I want (undecided), play in the minor leagues, and then get drafted into the major leagues. I am hoping to use this class to improve my leadership skills and get better at writing persuasively about myself. I can improve my leadership skills within my collaborative working group and I am looking forward to learning more about how to write about myself in the best way.

VOCABULARY #5

adroit- skillful in the use of hands or mind.
Wide receivers need to be adroit in order to catch passes.

amicable- friendly
I knew what John was saying was amicable, but it was just causing problems.

averse- having a strong dislike to something
Dodger fans are averse to playing the Cardinals in the playoffs.

belligerent- hostile or aggressive
Some people become belligerent when they're drunk.

benevolent- well meaning and kindly
I have a benevolent smile.

cursory- not thorough or detailed
The inspector took a cursory look at the scene.

duplicity- deceitfulness
I hated the moment when I realized the duplicity.

extol- praise enthusiastically
I was extolled when I struck out the last player.

feasible- possible to do easily, conveniently
My decision was not feasible.

grimace- twisted expression showing pain, disgust or wry amusement.
Joe grimaced when I punched him in the face.

holocaust- destruction on a mass scale, caused by fire or nuclear war.
I fear a nuclear holocaust

impervious- impenetrable
The wall seemed impenetrable.

impetus- the force or energy with which a body moves
My impetus caused me to bump into a crowd of people.

jeopardy- danger of harm, loss, or failure.
The Eagles season will be in jeopardy if they lose next week.

meticulous- showing great attention to detail.
My mom is meticulous when checking if my room is clean.

nostalgia- a sentimental longing for the past.
Some people become overcome with nostalgia when they go to the cemetery.

quintessence- the perfect example.
Alex is the quintessence of lop.

retrogress- to go back to a earlier state, usually a worse one.
The sick patient retrogressed and is now very sick.

scrutinize- examine or inspect closely
Doctors often scrutinize their patients to make sure nothing is wrong.

tepid- lukewarm
My tepid soda had lost all it's carbonation.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

LITERATURE ANALYSIS #1

TOPIC(S) AND/OR EVENT(S)

1. The Blind Side by Michael Lewis is a very inspiring story. It's a story about a kid named Michael Oher who had very little parental support and was poor. Big Tony was a man who sort of watched over him. Big Tony enrolled Michael and his son into Briarcrest Christian School, a school who set standards for their students. They both made it into the school, but Michael had a 0.6 GPA. The only reason he was allowed in the school was because of his athletic potential, considering he was six foot four and 315 pounds. It was their where his new life began. One night Michael was walking down the street in the rain all by himself. The Tuohy family, whose kids attended Briarcrest, happened to drive by and decided to give him a place to stay for awhile when he told them he was heading to the school gym to keep warm. Michael began living with the Tuohy family. Back at Briarcrest Michael played football and got tutored to improve his grades. At first Michael wasn't good at football even with his size, but once he learned the rules he became spectacular. College coaches began coming from all around the country to watch him and everyone began trying to recruit him. The Tuohy family later adopted Michael with his mom's consent. Michael then had to work extremely hard to get a 2.5 GPA to attend the college he wanted, Mississippi State University. He ended high school with a 2.52 GPA and got to attend Mississippi. After a good career in Mississippi, Michael Oher was drafted into the NFL by the Baltimore Ravens in 2009 and still plays on the team today. Basically the story is about a kid who's life was a mess, but was given a second chance by a family and took advantage of the opportunity he was given.

2. Michael Lewis chose to write about Michael Oher's story because it was incredible knowing that a kid who had almost nothing came out of nowhere and became one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL today.

3. I chose this book because I enjoy football and it was somewhat of a current event. The brief description in the book also appealed to me when I read it. Once I began reading I didn't want to stop because it was very interesting.

4. Of course I found this book to be realistic. I have heard of success stories similar to the one described in this book and there wasn't really any unrealistic scenarios.

PEOPLE

1. Although the author didn't create the characters in the story, he did paint a picture in my head of how the characters looked. When I looked up pictures of the characters in real life, they weren't quite how I expected them to look so in a way Michael Lewis did create characters.

2. One character in the story was Michael Oher. He was a shy black male who weighed 315 pounds a stood 6 feet, 4 inches tall. To describe Michael as a fictional character, I would use indirect characterization. .A second character in the story was Sean Tuohy. He was a rich man who made his money by opening fast food chains around Memphis. As a fictional character I would use direct characterization to describe him. Lastly, a third character from the story was Leigh Anne Tuohy. She was an attractive former cheerleader with a tough attitude and I would use indirect characterization to describe her as a fictional character.

3. All these characters were interesting enough to write about because they all contributed a lot to the story.

STYLE

1. While reading the story I couldn't identify any tools from fiction writing that Michael Lewis used.

2. Michael Lewis used a lengthy description to describe Michael Oher, but for the most part he just focused on action and dialogue. Personally I liked that he focused more on the action and dialogue.

3. Michael Lewis demonstrated tone and created mood through the use of dialogue.

4. I think the author's attitude to toward the audience was informative. I think he just wanted to write about what happened in Michael Oher's life and inspire others with the story.

5. The author didn't offer any resources but I did end up doing a little research on the story. It just reinforced my understanding of the story.

ENDURING MEMORY

1. The message I got from the story was, no matter what situation you are in anything can happen to change your life. This can be seen as either a positive or negative thing, but I like to view it as positive. Anyone who is in a bad situation in life right now can relate and just hope for the best. I will definitely remember this in the future.

Monday, September 9, 2013

VOCABULARY #4

Accede- agree to a demand, request, or treaty.
The officers did not accede to the strikers.

Brandish- wave something as a threat or in anger or excitement.
The robber brandished his weapon to the clerk.

Comprise- consist of
The St. Louis Rams comprise great players.

Deft- neatly skillful and quick in ones movements.
Ninjas are deft.

Destitute- not having the basic necessities of life
Children in Africa are destitute.

Explicit- stated clearly and in detail.
The answer was explicit.

Extirpate- root out and destroy completely
The priest had to extirpate the ghost.

Inopportune- occurring at a bad time.
My phone went off in an inopportune time.

Ironic- characterized by irony
The movie's ending was ironic.

Musty- having a stale, moldy, or damp smell
Your bedroom is musty.

Officious- assertive authority in an annoying way.
My coach is officious.

Ominous- giving the impression that something bad is going to happen.
The setting was ominous.

Pinnacle- A high pointed piece of rock.
Being on a pinnacle is an amazing sight.

Premeditated- plan beforehand
The decision to run was premeditated.

Rampant- spreading unchecked
The lice in Alex's hair was rampant.

Solace- comfort in a time of distress
Some people find solace in religion.

Stately- majestic in manner and appearance
I looked at the stately lions.

Supple- flexible
Joe's mom is supple. She used to be a gymnast.

Suppress- forcibly put an end to
The teacher suppressed the fight.

Venal- open to bribery
The policemen were venal.


Wednesday, September 4, 2013

WILL STUDY FOR FOOD

I started to research some scholarships to apply for, but I was unable to find any that interested me. I will continue searching later on. On the other hand, I did also find some colleges and majors that I'm interested in which should make it a little easier to find scholarships to apply for. All in all, this assignment was not a complete failure.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

VOCABULARY #3

accomplice- a person who helps another commit a crime
Joe stole from a charity. Alex was his accomplice.

annihilate- destroy
We're planning to annihilate Syria.

arbitrary- based on a random choice, rather than a reason or system.
My decision was arbitrary.

brazen- bold and without shame.
He stole the TV with brazen assurance.

catalyst- an event or person causing a change.
Smoking was a catalyst to his unhealthy lifestyle.

exodus- mass departure of people.
The fire caused an exodus.

facilitate- to make something easy
Remotes were made to facilitate changing the channel.

incorrigible- unable to be corrected.
His good grammar made him incorrigible.

latent- hidden
The officers weapon was latent.

militant- combative in support of a political or social cause.
Our president is militant.

morose- bad tempered
When I wake up I'm usually morose.

opaque- not transparent
Mirrors are opaque.

paramount- more important than anything else.
The president is paramount.

prattle- talking meaninglessly
My parents prattle all the time.

rebut- to prove evidence false
I had to rebut against my parents.

reprimand- lecture
Employees were reprimanded for poor work.

servitude- being a slave
We used to be servitude to the British.

slapdash- done carelessly
The pitcher's efforts were slapdash.

stagnant- showing no signs of progress.
Our economy is stagnant right more.

succumb- fail to resist.
Xavier had succumb to becoming a Rams fan.