Week 5: Top Links

These are some blogs that had some good links to visit

http://flynapmoruge.blogspot.com/

http://lifeisgood.blogspot.com/

http://willkrudop.blogspot.com/

The Lost Hero

This is my second week  reading "The Lost Hero" by Rick Riordan.  I am reading this book because of a recommendation I got from a family member.  And I now that I am over halfway through, I would recommend this book to anybody else that is interested in mythology. Since getting back into free reading about a month ago I am getting better at making time for reading and remembering to do a little reading almost everyday. But this week flew by very fast, and I had a more difficult time getting all my reading in, good thing we had a snow day which helped me catch up.
I have been reading this book for two weeks and have read through the first 300 pages.  The author Rick Riordan has a very unique writing style that I find interesting.  First, he has three main characters and each chapter is titled one of their names.  This division of chapters helps me keep track of each characters story and helps me follow the events throughout the book.  In the book each of the characters has many different conflicts they are dealing with and the author only hints at how they are going to be solved.  There are many cliff-hangers and a lot foreshadowing in the book which keeps  very interesting.  For example Jason one of the three main characters has lost his memory almost completely but he has dreams and can do things he didn't know he could do, like speaking a different language.  The author uses these to give hints of to who Jason really is and as I am getting to the end of the book these hints are starting to come together giving me so idea of who he is.

My Short List

1. Gatorade Kids posted by Will Hudson is a very interesting advertising campaign done by Gatorade.  The campaign includes more kids posing in famous sports pictures throughout history including an imitation of Michael Jordan and another of Pele.  Although the boxer in the picture is only a kid and not Muhamad Ali his facial expressions are still kind of intimidating.

2.  Does God Love the Patriots? an article written by Charles P. Pierce is a very amusing article about how the Patriots got to the Superbowl.  The author's opinions of the game is very entertaining and he uses many witty comments such as this one, "God has decided to cast His lot with the Patriots, just to screw around with the rest of us a little. (He does this kind of thing. This, I believe, also accounts for why there are mosquitoes and why Richard Nixon was elected twice. Your theology may vary.)."

3. Upside Down Faces are paintings done by Darren Coffield.  The artist is very unique and his painting style is very distinctive.  He tries to be the first to expiriment with differnt kinds of art and his originality is inspiring to me.  The faces look very peculiar but besides the fact the face is upside down the artist made the persons features very life-like.   

Blog Stars From Mars

While looking through some of the blogs from our class I noticed some exceptional blogs.  One criteria for becoming a blog star from mars is the creativity of the blog title and the author's name.  The writings in in (http://thedirtyplatypus.blogspot.com/) and (http://flynapmoruge.blogspot.com/) were well written and thoughtful insights towards the subject.  The best post I read about The Dead Poets Society was from http://king-neptune.blogspot.com/ because the author had great details and selected powerful words to describe the scenes.

The Lost Hero

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan is the first book in a spin off series from Rick Riordan’s original Percy Jackson series.  I had read the first Percy Jackson series in middle school and I really enjoyed them but I stopped reading the series a while ago.  When my brother checked it out from the library and we got a copy for my cousin for Christmas I was reminded of the series and I decided to check Rick Riordan’s books out again.  I am a fan of Greek and Roman mythology and these types of books are appealing to me.  After reading the first 150 pages I am interested in reading more.

The author is very clever and the book is set up very well.  The book follows 3 main characters and each chapter is named after the character it follows for that chapter.  It is a very interesting way to set up a book but it is effective by describing the 3 character’s stories in full detail and it makes sense when reading it.  By dividing the chapters by characters it is easier for me to read and follow along with each person’s events that take place in the book.  The author also uses a lot of dialogue and diction in his writing and it makes his characters seem more personal which enhances his writing.  The dialogue also helps the book flow and keeps the story going.  Another technique Rick Riordan uses is foreshadowing.  He will slip in subtle comments about the future, that will let the reader know what is going to happen soon.   At the end of most chapters he will leave cliff hangers.  Personally I do not like cliff hangers because I want to know what is going to happen next but it keeps me interested and keeps me reading.

Dead Poets Society

In the opening scenes of the Dead Poets Society, the well dressed people and the prestigious appearance of the school depict the school’s determination to education. The young students wearing formal clothing demonstrate the strict and proper attitude towards creating and preserving a good learning environment. The teaching staff appear to be old and wise intellectuals serious and determined to instill proper values in their students. As the kids get set up in their rooms and say goodbye to their parents, the younger kids feel nervous and overwhelmed in the new and rigorous school, while the older students, who have already been molded by the school’s principles, appear to be very mature for their age.

Elements Observation and Claim

Pharrell William's Home

Elements- Design, Setting, Artwork, Furniture

Observations- Animated, Celebratory, Cheerful, Complimentary, Fanciful, Effervescent, Peaceful, Playful, Vibrant, Smooth, Comfortable, Euphoric

Claim- In Todd Shelby’s pictures of Pharrell William’s home in Miami, the design of the house emphasizes the setting, artwork and furniture giving the feeling of being comfortable and luxurious home.  The house is given a vibrant feel, perfectly positioned high in the stunningly light blue sky with a beautiful view of the Miami city and water below.  The use of furniture, such as the chairs and couches outside, bolster the feeling of the home to be relaxed and peaceful.  The artwork of Stewie and Brian from Family Guy suggest the homeowner is young at heart and gives an animated feel to the home.  The colorful and odd-shape sculptures add to the vivacious look.

Quiet Strength

"Quiet Strength" an autobiography by Tony Dungy is a very fascinating and inspiring book for anybody interested in sports.  Through the first 100 pages this book has covered his childhood and family and through his football playing days in high school, college and the NFL.  I found his family to be very interesting.  He grew up with a brother and sister and both his parents were teachers.  His father was a professor and his mother was a grade school teacher.  Because his parents were educators, he was able to realize that he had the potential to do or become anything he wanted, where most of his friends didn’t understand that.  He was a very successful quarterback in high school and college but in the NFL he had a tougher time finding his spot the team.  During a period where he was switching positions and had a chance of being cut from the team he prayed and worked hard every day to get better.   And when he became very sick he found his strength in God.  His first team he played with was the Pittsburgh Steelers he had good relationships with his teammates and I found it remarkable that he and many of his teammates would pray and go to church together.  And also some would read the Bible in the locker room, which I thought was astonishing and not what I expected from professional football players.  His playing career was fairly short but he stressed the importance of the good relationships that he made while playing.  When he retired from football around the age of 25 he had many opportunities to become a coach because of the relationships he built around the league.  This qoute perfectly discribes Tony Dungy's character.  “Tony Dungy’s life is a living testimony of a man’s faith in God.  He has given us a new picture and definition of a ’Coach’.  Good guys do come in first!” –Lovie Smith

Literacy Narrative

The first person to introduce me to reading was my mom.  I remember from a young age my brothers and I would all come together in my brother’s room before we went to bed and my mom would read us short picture book stories or bible stories out of the Little Children’s Bible.  My parents were a big influence on my reading and made sure I grew up an educated kid.  In the car during long trips we would listen to book on tapes.  When I learned how to read, my parents would make sure I read for at least a half an hour in the morning before I watched TV or played videogames.  During my reading time I slept or read books like Where’s Waldo or the Guinness Book of World Record.  I have never really liked reading in my free time and for the most part the only books I freely read were the Harry Potter books, sports illustrated magazines and the Hardy Boys series.  By the time I was in middle school I was already forced to read many books for school and I mostly gave up free reading during the school year.  During the summer I would participate in the Library’s summer reading program and I would read fairly often and for the most part I liked reading mystery or action books.  In both Middle School and High School I did not read books much outside of school.  I was interested in mystery books and I liked too read about my favorite athletes such as LeBron James, Peyton Manning and Michael Jordan.  Reading has been a small factor in my life because of school, but outside of school it has been fairly small.  Hopefully I will be able to learn to like reading while taking this class.