Last Blog Post (Reflection)

My last blog post, it seems just like yesterday I was posting my very first blog post. I've read so many books that were books I never thought I would never read. Books like Cleopatra’s Daughter and Lily of the Nile. By keeping up this blog, I learned that I like history books, books I never thought I could like since History isn't my best or favorite subject. I learned that even medical, or court books seem to interest me. I read books by Jodi Picoult, who writes mostly books about people suing friends or family about something serious, “wrongful-birth,” or rape and murder, anything like that.

A way this blog helped me benefit from was learn how I think about books. I mean, I sometimes only read books for fun, wanting ideas for my writing, or drawings. But I can also think “deep” into the book, I sometimes have trouble. This blog made me realize I should think deeper into a book, sure it’s fun reading about adventures  or stories where you think you know what’s going to happen, but then boom it changes into something else, or books that make you laugh or cry in the middle of class, but maybe it’ll help if I read deeper into the story, why the author put that scene specifically right there, what they want to say.

I feel though, if I write what I think the books mean online it’ll be different than to what I feel like if I write in my notebook. Online I feel like, I can say more, and people can read it more. In my notebook  I can keep it personal, people won’t be able to read it. But online, many people can read it, they can read what I think about a book. They can argue or agree with me, they can see which scenes that maybe I like, and they don’t like, or vice versa, I may see what verses they like and I hate, and maybe if they can convince me to like it. In my notebook, sure they could do the same thing, but they might not want to read my notebook, maybe online may suit them better. To me, online actually feels better to talk to, or read things.

Online you can be hidden, no one will know you’re hating on this, or liking this (if you don’t want them to know). You can say things that you’d never say to a person’s face. Say, they write a bad review about something. If they put in their notebook, you can be honest and say it was bad, or lie to them and say it was good. They can give you their notebook, and ask you to review, even if you know you don’t want to because it’s a bad entry. If the person gives you their notebook, they’ll know you reviewed it, and if they don’t like your comment, they could begin to hate you. But online, well sure they could ask you to review it, but you could do it hidden. You could write what you really think (Not hurting the person’s feelings, right?) and then maybe the criticism will help the person realize to make their review better.

Of course, you never really know. I mean sure you can post honestly or you can post something you’d never say to a person. You can tell them on their review, that you really don’t like their writing or something. You can be pure mean to them, like you always wanted to. Or you can be the sweet old self. Online, it seems like places like Facebook, or ask.fm, or maybe even twitter, that our online selves, they’re different from our true selves. Maybe they’re the best of us, the braver part of ourselves, to me it seems like it. I know “friends” that would inbox me of Facebook, telling me horrible things that I know they’d never tell me when I face them. They tell me how they cannot stand me, how we cannot be friends. But face-to-face I see how they ignore me, just pretending I’m not there. Maybe Online is a place that helps says what we wanna say. We know that face-to-face we cannot meet people in the eye, and say we don’t wanna be friends with them. In some cases this could be good. Instead of hurting you more by ignoring you so much, the person just says she doesn't want to be friends. But there was no way she could have done it in person, right? She may be a brave person, but in reality, she’s not. She’s afraid of the reaction you’ll physically have when she tells you she rather not be your friend. It’s the same with many people. The Internet gives us a boost in our bravery, I don’t know what, but it seems to. Obviously this can be bad, a little bit more bravery means you get the truth that you never wanted. But this can be good, you get the truth that you've always wanted, right?

The internet does display a person’s personalities, I mean they say things they wanna say, don’t they? They wouldn't really just say it because they need something to hurt, right? The internet may not display the best of us at all times, but it does display us, even if it’s the cold part of us, even if it’s the sweetest part of ourselves, it doesn't matter. The internet helps revel that part we want people to see-hoping or praying they'll see, or maybe that part that we don’t want people to see. It all just depends on your story. 

"Silencing the Whistle-Blowers"

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/28/opinion/silencing-the-whistle-blowers.html?ref=ethics&_r=1&

Silencing the Whistle-Blowers

In May 2013, a man named Bradley Manning had gone to the last hearing in court that was to decide how to “Balance the imperatives of national security against the rights of whistle-blowers.” While they were deciding, the people in the court had hardly noticed that a memo made by the administration of Obama had been released a couple months earlier-in January.

The memo had said that the Office of Personnel Management, and the Director of the National Intelligence had to decide what the standards would be so federal agencies could fire their employees-or the whistle-blowers.

A whistle-blower is a person in the Government, police, FBI, etc. who can’t seem to keep their mouths shut. I don’t mean to sound rude, but it’s the type of people who can’t seem to not blab about secret-information that the governments don’t want us to know.

The Memo the Obama Administration had given the Office of Personnel Management was to decide what types of jobs that are secretive, or supposed to keep a secret, were only to be trusted by those people who could keep their mouths shut.  The court hearing that Manning was to decide what people should be fired.

I may not be a person who’s good at politics, but I know enough to tell that many people don’t really like this kinda law, or what’s happening. But, then again, I’m thinking it’s the people who are the type of people who can’t keep their mouths shut. I honestly feel like this isn’t ethically right, I mean so they make a mistake and blab about the job, but we all have the right to freedom of Speech right? But I can also see it from the other person’s point of view. I mean, isn’t it the person’s fault to be blabbing about jobs that are meant not to talk of? They know they shouldn't be gossiping about their job, but they do it anyway. Sure, you wanna sound cool, but their are some things you can't share with your friends, right? 

Maybe this Firing the Whistle-Blower Memo/Law is right. But, what could the government be hiding from the public? Don't we have a right to know?

Awake at Dawn

Angeles Martinez                                                                                                               

804

I have currently read a book called Awake at Dawn by C.C Hunter. It’s the 2^nd book of a great series. (Well, the great series is more of my idea, but if you read it I’m sure you’ll like it!) It’s about Kylie Galen, who had a “normal” teenager life, and finally when she’s at a party at the wrong time, she’s forced to go to a camp. (This was the 1^st book) At first Kylie doesn’t like it, but eventually she gets used to it, she meets new friends, gets into a little romance-another typical type of teenager thing-but there’s one difference-well there are many but, like, this is the main one-the campers here-including Kylie-aren’t normal. Now, don’t think it’s that everyone-is-special-so-what?-kinda thing. No. The teenagers here, well, you don’t believe in Vampires, Werewolves? Fairies? Yeah, in this book they exist-and guess what-the campers are them. Now, before you ask what Kylie is well she kinda doesn’t know, her “pattern”-the thing that shows what mystical creature you are-really doesn’t show, but to some people that really doesn’t matter, Kylie has many powers, and they’re still unfolding, so people are like, why bother? You have cool powers! It doesn’t matter!!! It may not seem like much, but it kinda could seem like a lot. I mean, think of this way:

Everyone out there wants to know who they are in the world-they may not think they do, but somewhere deep, deep, deep down there you wanna know where you belong. Where your life is gonna end up. Who and what makes up you. y’know? How would you feel if you had to go through most of your life thinking you weren’t normal in a human community, and then find out you’re not normal and you go somewhere where you think you’ll fit it-but then you find out, you don’t!-you may have friends and all, but you still feel like an outcast because you don’t know what you are. How could you not want to find out what you are? Don’t you want to fit in? Don’t you want to feel a bit more at home, even if you’re a freak? Don’t you want to know what “group” you fit in, even if you have friends? I mean, sure you have friends, you have people who’d love you even if you don’t turn out to be a witch, fairy, vampire, or even if you turn out to be the werewolf that’s really harsh-yeah, they’d still love you. But, you still wanna know? Every human seems to desire everything they cannot have-like, uh, the boy you want to like you back, the ice cream you can’t afford on a superhot day, or the book you so wanna read, but can’t seem to find it anywhere! Even small things, they mean something, don’t they? That’s why you want it, no?

Kylie knows even if she doesn’t find out what she is, her friends and the campers will still love her. But, she wants to find out. It’s to expect what other powers she’ll be able to have in the future, what things she won’t be able to, and what group she belongs in! She wants to know, can you blame her? Kylie is a character who wants to know what’s to come in the future, but doesn’t everyone. No one wants to go into life with not knowing what to do. No one wants to live in an unpredicted life. Even if you can’t know the whole thing, even a small portion can mean something? Knowing what’s to come is important to Kylie, it’s even important to those who think not, so how can anyone not want Kylie to know? You just want her to know.

What would life be like without Artists and Musicians?

Angeles Martinez 804 
Link: http://www.dogonews.com/2013/5/20/what-would-life-be-without-artists-and-musicians

Everyone these days listens to music. Even back then, there were many people listening to music. There are all types of music; Pop, Hip-pop, Rock and Roll, Blues, Jazz, and all those types of music. Imagine what it would be like if we didn't have people like Dr. Dre, Taylor Swift, Enimem in our world, imagine a life without no music or no art. Of course, I could go on speific artists but right now, I'm just gonna go with bands that probably some of you heard, but don't really know/pay attention to. 

The 1st person is the one who made the Mona Lisa, the painting I'm sure all of you heard about. Yeah, I'm sure you guessed/thought right (I hope) it's Leonardo da Vinci! You may only know Da Vinci as a guy who made the bicycle! Yep, the bicycle you, my brother, and many people on this planet ride. Now, imagine life without a bicycle? You don't think it'd be a lot? Well. Without bicycles, you probably won't have unicycles, or tricycles, you probably wouldn't even have some of your childhood memories-maybe racing down the hill with your parents or friends when you were betting who would win the total of $10 you guys had bet? (This is made-up, I don't think this happened, but you probably have something similar to it.) Da Vinci was great and all for making the Mona Lisa, something many artists love him, but what if he wasn't around? You wouldn't have your bicycle or even your Mona Lisa Painting!! 

And though this article mentions other artists, I'll skip to one you all know-Elvis! Yep the guy who's "the King of Rock and Roll" the guy who knew who to dance wildly. Imagine if he had never rose up? Imagine if he had never become the king of Rock and Roll, and danced wildly, which is something that influenced many types of dancing and music. Imagine the kinds of dancing we would have if Elvis had never liven through! Who knows, maybe...we'd be dancing and singing like....uh, I don't know, in ways how I can't imagine right now-I don't know! Would you rather dance and sing in ways we don't know, or in ways that you know now, that you love? You'd probably love the other way of dance and singing, but you would also miss the the songs/dances you listen to now, no? 

This article, though, it's not really much of one, makes me wonder-what would it be like if you never had the artists and musicians that influenced your style of music today? What happened if everything you knew in dancing and singing was different just because one person, or a few people didn't even stand up to change some style of dancing or singing? But then again, even if it was the other style-would you even consider the type you have now? I doubt you would, but ya never really know do you? 

Beautiful Creatures

Angeles Martinez                                                                                                     

804

Reading Blogpost

I am currently reading a book called Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margret Stohi.  This is probably a book-or movie-you guys have heard since it’s a very popular book.  The book is about a boy who’s never had changed in his town, where everyone knows about everyone’s secrets-isn’t much of a secret then?-everyone knows the latest gossip, the latest who did what and why, and everyone is basically the same. The boy in this Same-Old Town is named Ethan Wate.  Ethan is Gatlin’s most typical High School Boy, his best friend is Link (Not his real name by the way) and  he’s smart, gets good grades, but he’s not so typical since not everyone’s mothers die so early.

Ethan turns out to be more “Un-typical” when a girl named Lena  Dunchannes moves into Gatlin. In Gatlin, change isn’t accepted. When Lena moves in, news spread fast, and everyone at Ethan’s school is talking about her-she’s the girl people describe as beautiful and they want to meet her. But there’s just one problem. Soon, everyone finds out Lena is “Old Macon Ravenwood’s Niece.”  Mr. Ravenwood had been Gatlin’s…shunned person for many years since he hasn’t been outside his mansion for a long time, everyone thinks he’s a freak (Well mostly different since they don’t know anything about him, really) and when they find out Lena is his niece, they automatically begin to hate on her ‘cause they think she’s a freak too.

But, Ethan, he doesn’t think she’s a freak, no, he’s actually attracted to her, and it isn’t just physical attraction, it’s something else. He’s seeing her in his dreams (didn’t see her face though, not until she met him), they both can hear each other’s thoughts, and they have visions whenever they touch something old (Like a locket, maybe?) together.  Ethan, despite all this complicated Lena is a freak, Lena should be shunned and hated on, Lena’s crazy old Macon Ravenwood’s niece; Ethan really makes an effort to talk to Lena, he too wants to find out what’s going on since Lena says this really hasn’t happened to anyone.

As a person who likes to read for mostly fun, I can’t really help but think of Ethan’s character. In Gatlin, if you don’t fit in, you’re a freak. If you’re different, if some of the most popular girls in school or their mother hates you, that they have a reason to not like you, you’re out. You really don’t want that, do you? You want to be with the “in crowd.” Ethan doesn’t seem to care about that. he just wants to figure out the mystery of why he’s so attracted to her. So what if you’re shunned? What if the two most hottest, coolest girls and their moms hate you? As long as you get the answers you need since it has to do with your family, the girl you like, and a whole bunch of stuff with your dead mom, right? Ethan, to me, seems like a good character, like he doesn’t care what people think and he’ll do what he thinks is right, even if the consequences are bad. So, Ethan, good job! May you find the answers you want, and not, uh, like die in the process! 

Romeo and Juliet Essay.

Angeles Martinez                                                                                                                                       804

Romeo and Juliet Essay

Fate and Destiny, these are things people in love tend to think when they’re together. They believe when they think they meet that right person-or when they do meet them-that it was fate. It was their destiny to meet each other. Of course, it’s not uncommon when you love someone; you want to be committed to them. You don’t want them to leave you, so you obviously do they best you can. Fate or destiny, they drove you to your special person and you want to be committed to them. Love is a special thing, it’s almost like war, it’s easy to start, hard to fight, and you never forget it. But sometimes, there are people who don’t think love is special-well they might but they don’t treat it that way. When they meet a “Special person”-they think they’re the one, that fate meant to put one and one together,  but was soon as they meet someone else-boom! The 1^st person wasn’t fate, it was this one. Yes, this happens in regular love but with some it happens just too quickly, because they just need someone to love, and they don’t care who it is, just as long as they have someone. In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is one of those people, they think they know love; they fall in and out of love too quickly because they just need someone. This is what makes Romeo so sure about his love with Juliet is the right thing, that they’re star-crossed lovers, fate meant it to happen, but on the other hand, it’s not so sure.  William Shakespeare portrays Romeo as a character who just needs someone to love, and will fall in and out of love in a snap, making him an uncommitted character. 

In Romeo and Juliet’s first act, it was clear that Romeo was “committed” to Rosaline, a woman who had chosen the path of a nun. Romeo was in so love with Rosaline, he was really depressed when he found out she had Diana’s-the goddess of virgins and the moon-path. His father-Lord Montague—had said “The Shady curtains from Aurora’s bed/away from light steals home my heavy son/And private in his chamber pens himself/shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out/And makes himself an artificial night.” (1.1.139-143.) Night represents a dark-place, in night there is no light which represents happiness and sunshine to some, by making himself an “artificial night” in his room, he’s chasing away all the light and happiness.  Benvolio, Romeo’s cousin comes in, asking Romeo why he is so upset, Romeo tells him it’s because of Rosaline, how she could never love him because of her decisions and how it hurts him. Benvolio says Romeo should stop mourning, stop locking himself in his room, and forget about Rosaline “by giving liberty unto thine eyes/Examine other beauties.” (1.1. 234-235) But Romeo insists he cannot forget someone he’s so madly in love with, that is so beautiful, “other beauties” cannot outshine her. “Show me a mistress that is passing fair;/ what doth her beauty serve but as a note/where I may read who passed that passing fair?/Farewell. Thou canst not teach me to forget.” (1.1.243-246.) Romeo insists that Benvolio will not be able to “I’ll pay that doctrine or else die in debt” (1.1.248) because he is so in love with Rosaline that she is his everything, even if she cannot love him back.  Rosaline will always the great swan to Romeo’s heart.

In the next few scenes, Romeo and Benvolio attended a party, in an attempt to help Romeo meet new beauties. At a Capulet party, Romeo meets Juliet, and it’s love and first sight. The two star-crossed lovers are madly in love with each other by the end of the party, and during the party Romeo and Juliet had kissed, even if they had thought it to be a sin. “Sin from my lips?/ O trespass sweetly urged!/Give me my sin again.” (1.5.120-121) Even when Romeo had found out Juliet was a Capulet, and she had found out he was a Montague, both lovers still went on loving each other, trying to push past their family feuds and expectations.  Romeo had finally met a new girl, someone who actually loved him back, and she was willing to do anything for him, and he for her, but he had forgotten Rosaline, the girl who he was really depressed about, the girl who he said he’d never forget, and gone to Juliet, who he was ready to marry and die for. After the party, when he was forced to leave, he doesn’t leave ;0but comes back, and when Juliet asks him if he’s “Romeo, and a Montague?” (2.2.64-65) Romeo had replied “Neither, fair maid, if either thee dislike.” (2.2.66) All Montagues and Capulets take pride in their name, making the other side know clearly that they are of this group and better than the other, but here is Romeo, ready to say he is not Romeo Montague for a Capulet girl he had just met. With Rosaline, he had never really done anything this big, he loved her and wasn’t ready to give up his name for her, he was just ready to mope about not being with her. Now Juliet, a girl who he hardly had known for a week, he was ready to give up everything for her.

Another thing Romeo was ready to do for Juliet was marrying her. When the Nurse and Romeo are talking-a few scenes after the balcony scene-Romeo says to the nurse: “Bid her devise/Some means to come to shrift this afternoon/And there she shall at Friar Lawrence’ cell/Be shrived and married.” (2.4.182-186) Back in the time of William Shakespeare in order to be wed, a necessity is required. That necessity is to post a banner for 3 “special” Sundays in a row, announcing this marriage. In this case too, if the ones wanting to be wed are under a certain age, they need to have permission from their parents, approving of this marriage. Romeo and Juliet get married, but they do follow the requirements. Instead they meet up and Friar Lawrence marries them like that, no approval, no banner, nothing. By the afternoon, the newlywed couple is happily with each other, and Romeo is certain that he is ready to die for Juliet. 

After Tybalt’s death Romeo is banished from Verona, clearly this a problem for the young lovers. Though, they make a plan. The plan was plain and simple and led to being happy together. But as their always is in young love, or love overall, there were obstacles to be presented. For one, Juliet’s mother and father presented Juliet to a “privilege.” The privilege is that Juliet is to be wed to Paris by Thursday, a few days from then (They also don’t get a proper marriage...). The plan of Romeo and Juliet need at least a few weeks, or maybe months to be carried out successfully.  Juliet had wanted her mother to “Delay this marriage for a month, a week/or, if you do not, make the bridal bed/in that dim monument where Tybalt lies.” (3.5.210-213.) But her mother cannot, so off to Friar Lawrence goes Juliet for an answer to prevent this marriage. They get an answer, but something goes wrong-again. The messenger who was supposed to telling Romeo everything that happened in Verona, the plan that Friar Lawrence and Juliet had, the guy was not aware of, so in the end he had told Romeo-who had poison with him-that Juliet was dead. Romeo rushes back to Verona, depressed to hear about his wife and wanting to see her. When he does, he plans to join her in death, so he takes the poison and drinks it! “Here’s to my love. O true/apothecary/Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.” (5.3.119-120.) Romeo dies, and in the end Juliet actually dies, and like it had said in the beginning, the prologue, love had killed the star-crossed lovers.

As in the begging, Benvolio had kept his doctrine, clearly he had not predicted for it to happen like this, but he gave Romeo a girl to fall in love with, and one who could love him back. Though, the story of Juliet and her Romeo is sweet, Romeo wasn’t a committed character. Romeo had fallen too quickly out of love with Rosaline and in love with Juliet. He didn’t know the girl, and had fallen for her looks, assuming her personality was amazing for him. But on the first night the lovers had met, Romeo had said “O, wily thou leave me so unsatisfied?” (2.2.132) He had wanted more from Juliet on that first day, even when he knew their love was a sin, a thing that shouldn’t have happened. When Romeo had told Friar Lawrence of this proposal to Juliet, the Friar had said: “Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here!/ Is Rosaline, that thou didst you love so dear,/ so soon forsaken? Young men’s love then lies/ Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes./ Jusu Maria, what a deal brine/Hath washed thy sallow cheeks for Rosaline!/ How much salt water thrown away in waste/ To season Love, that of it doth not taste!/ The sun not yet thy sighs from heaven clears,/ Thy groans yet ringing in mine ancient ears./ Lo, here upon thy cheek the stain doth sit/of an old tear that is not washed off yet/ if e’er thou wast thyself, and these woes thine/thou and these woes were all for Rosaline/And art thou changed? Pronounce this sentence/then/ Women may fall when there’s no strength in men.” (2.3.69-85.) The Friar, who had given them an improper marriage, had stated that Romeo was going too fast as well. That they should really fall in love instead of rushing into marriage, he also knows that Romeo has moved on too quickly. He had Rosaline in a dear bundle to his heart, but as soon as he met Juliet he had dropped it, replacing Rosaline too quickly. But, Romeo had not listened, he was too in love with Juliet, and he wanted to be her husband now, so they could live properly together, and no one was really going to stop them-except fate.

In the end, Romeo and Juliet had been able to escape their family feud and expectations, they had escaped to death, not being able to live without one another. Romeo had died for her and it was sweet, but he had rushed in too quickly, and in the end, he’d paid for it,  and like the Prince had said: “For never was a story more woe/Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.” (5.3.319-320.) 

The Poisonwood Bible

Angeles Martinez 
804
The Poisonwood Bible *Contains some spoilers*

I am currently reading The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, and before I get into details, I'm just gonna say: This. Is. An. Amazing. Book. It's long, yes, and it's taking me a while to read (Mostly cuz I'm a slow reader and I haven't had many chances to sit and read a lot. ;-; ) Basically, this is about a very-religious man, his wife, and four daughters going to Congo doing some missionaries things. The story is told from the mother's and four daughter's-Leah, Adah, Ruth May, and Rachel- point of view. 
Though, I wanna talk about something else, I can't help but say, I feel bad for the whole family. I mean, I can also feel bad for Nathan Price-the father, the guy who dragged his whole family to Congo. 
See, okay we'll start with Nathan and Orleanna-the mother and father of the girls. The couple used to be so happy, they used to be able to be like a regular family, but then it all changed when Nathan went to war, nearly died, and then came back. He was more religious. He felt like God was the only one that matter, and he was going to be ever grateful to him. He seemed happy being with his little God thing, while Orlenna, oh poor her, she lost her husband when he came back, and ended up losing herself, she had lost her "wings" and Nathan was now in charge, in possession, of her, she had no freedom she had described. Nathan was making her like a puppet, and she had no chance to stop being one unless...
Before I get into that, I'm going to put in why I feel bad for the girls. Rachel: She's the pretty one, she's used to living in Georgia, the place she lived in before, when she came to Congo, Leah had described that Rachel would have the hardest time adjusting since she was so used to living in the City. Leah and Adah: They're twins, they're super-smart, but since they're girl they can't really do any more than get a low education, and Leah, who adores her father, she's usually brought down by her father for being a girl. Adah, she's...crippled, she can't really move anywhere, she doesn't speak much. She's smart, but she has no voice, no wings, she's like her mother, a puppet, only having a free mind. Ruth-May: yes, she's the youngest, but she can adapt, honestly, I don't feel that bad for Ruth may, she can adapt to this place, the other girls really can't. 
What I feel that the author is saying here, is that everyone people have hard troubles, yes, but if you're being controlled by someone so in Love with God, someone who can't adapt to the place where you all slowly die since no one is really caring for Congo, since you're dying since your father is so knee in changing these people to love God, when they're getting super-sick with diseases like Malaria, and you can't be healed since the place doesn't have the right medicine. The girls and mother are striving, all because their husband and father just is so knee in changing the people who don't really seem want to believe in anything but their own Gods, and in their own ways. Really, Nathan, you're going to kill your own family...