To see my Utopia Page, click here: Utopia42

 

To see my research paper, click here: Tsunamis (2010MH)  

Matt H

2/5/10

4^th Hour and 5^th Hour

A Promise

               Deeds woke up and checked his cell phone for messages.  He had two: one from his best friend, Leith, and the other from his immortal father, Poseidon.  He answered to Leith first, because he and Leith had a deep relationship.  Leith wanted to have a sleepover and play Lord of the Rings Chess that night, according to his text.  Deeds replied and said maybe, but he’d have to talk to his parents about it.  Then he checked the voice message from Poseidon. 

            “Meet me at Mount Olympus at 9:30 sharp.  Don’t be late; I have important matters to attend to.” 

            Deeds checked the time; it was 9:24.  He sprinted out the door and headed for the construction site that had been there for years, never making any progress.  Mount Olympus was behind one of the “restricted” doors.  Deeds ignored the sign as he always did and headed in to the “restricted” area. 

            Mount Olympus was enormous.  A regular office in the building would have been about a tenth of the size of Mount Olympus.  The mansion of a room was completely decorated in silver and gold, the colors of the gods. 

            “You’re late,” said a man dressed like he was in Bermuda.  “I said don’t be late, and yet it is 9:31, a full minute after I requested your presence.  Where have you been?”

            “Sorry, I was sleeping,” Deeds said, out of breath both from running to the site and the breath-taking view. 

            “We have important matters to discuss.  First off, Oceanus has been acting up again; the seas have been out of control.  Don’t let your anger get away from you, because I don’t want to respond to any hurricanes.  I already have my hands full controlling Oceanus and what he is doing.”  Poseidon took a deep breath, and then continued.  “I am sending you to deal with Oceanus.”  Poseidon put up a hand to silence Deeds.  “You are to put these chains around his wrists, and that will prevent him from retaliating.  On the journey, you may encounter a couple of monsters defending him and where he lives.  I don’t know how he got out of these chains the first time, but Hephaestus re-enforced them so they are stronger and almost impossible to penetrate and break.  You will be on your way as soon as possible.  Any questions?”

            “Yeah, just one.  How am I supposed to defeat a TITAN!?!?!?!?!?”

            “With this,” Poseidon responded with a sword in hand.  The sword was not the typical silver sword; it was a transparent sea color.  Deeds gazed deeply at the sword, noting the sea monsters swimming around.

            “What’s with the monsters swimming inside the sword?”

            “That’s what makes the sword so special.  Whenever you strike someone with the sword, the monsters will come out and assist you in defeating your enemy.  Be wary when you are fighting Oceanus.  He will do anything to secure this sword because he can use it to destroy me.  You must be very careful.  Do you understand me?”

            “Yes.  I promise to be careful,” Deeds said as he gulped with nervousness. 

            “The rivers and sea will be your transportation, because it will lead you to Oceanus.  Be on your way, and may the gods watch over you.”

            Deeds left; there was a dolphin waiting to take him to the sea.  Deeds took out his phone and texted Leith, telling him that they would have to have the sleepover another time.  Deeds hopped on the dolphin and headed for the sea.

            When they reached the sea, Deeds dismounted the dolphin and willed the waves to carry him to Oceanus.  “Thanks for the ride,” Deeds thought. 

            While traveling, Deeds thought about the sleepover that he wanted to attend with Leith.  The last two times they had a sleepover, things went awfully wrong.  During the first sleepover, Leith got a headache from too much junk food, and his head hurt whenever he played videogames.  The second time they had a sleepover, they couldn’t play the PS3 because the television was being used, so that was a dud.  They had both promised the next one would be perfect, filled with Lord of the Rings Chess and Conquest.

            Deeds snapped back to reality, sensing something was wrong.  He looked around; everything was okay.  He continued to look around suspiciously, scanning for anything out of place.  Nothing was apparently wrong, but Deeds stayed alert.  Suddenly, Deeds emerged from his lying down position, jumped to his feet and descended into a low, wide stance.  He un-sheathed his sword and willed the current to stop pushing him forward.  He was face-to-face with an ugly serpent.  Deeds brought the sword into a ready position, waiting for the serpent to strike.  The serpent moved abruptly, catching Deeds off-guard.  But Deeds had been trained to respond with extremely quick reflexes, and he had the power of the sea at his hand.  Deeds slowed time, something he could only do when in the sea.  He swung the sword around, connecting with the serpent’s throat, which didn’t have scales for protection.  As soon as the sword made impact with the serpent, a dozen different monsters leapt from the sword and started attacking the monster.  There were seahorses dressed in full armor, serpents, and other creatures.  The serpent was taken down in seconds.  Deeds saluted the creatures as they swam back into the sword, and he quietly went back to his lazy position; he re-willed the sea to carry him to Oceanus.

            When Deeds woke up he looked around.  He noticed a few sharks, but nothing else.  “Where is Oceanus?” Deeds questioned the sharks. 

            “We don’t know; he was here earlier.”

            Deeds swam off in search of Oceanus.  He swam past the sharks and let the ocean do the rest.  “Where is Oceanus?” Deeds asked the ocean.  The ocean produced a current that took Deeds to Oceanus.  It wasn’t far, just around a nearby reef.  All of the sudden the current stopped and Deeds looked around, sensing danger once again.  He caught sight of a monster lurking behind a cave.  The monster approached Deeds, who instinctively reached for his sword, but it wasn’t there.  “What the heck?” Deeds questioned aloud.  “Where is my sword?” and then it hit him like a bullet to the jugular.  “Oceanus,” Deeds whispered quietly to himself.  He turned his attention to the enemy that was slowly approaching him, for the monster knew that Deeds had no weapon.  Deeds still had the ocean on his side.  Deeds briefly stopped time in the ocean, searching for a weakness in the monster.  “There it is.  A simple small, soft underbelly,” Deeds whispered.  He looked around for a weapon and saw a jagged spear that had been split in half almost directly at the center.  He grabbed the spear, unfroze time, and stabbed the odd creature now staring back at him with lifeless eyes.  Deeds then swam into the dark, large cave.  Suddenly there were stage-like lights shining at him from all directions.

            “Welcome.  I’ve been expecting your presence, Deeds,” a voice said from the darkness. 

            “Show yourself, Oceanus!” Deeds shouted, but it was clear that Oceanus held all the cards as Deeds was blinded by the light. 

            “Why don’t you let me do the ordering.”

            Deeds was beginning to get angry.  He knew he had to control himself as Poseidon had commanded.  Deeds calmed himself down and desperately froze time.  He walked over to where he thought Oceanus was and looked around.  He felt a tap on his shoulder.

            “I thought I’d let you know that when you freeze time, it doesn’t freeze me.”

            Deeds let go of time and faced Oceanus.  “Where is my sword?”

            “Now why would I give you something back when ‘that something’ is the key to regaining the ocean?”

            “Just tell me where it is.”

            “It’s right there,” Oceanus said, pointing to the side of the cave.  “Now it’s here, in my hand.”  Deeds tried to grab hold of the sword, but Oceanus had been expecting that.  At the same time that Oceanus pulled the sword back, Deeds initiated one last effort to regain control.  He commanded the ocean to push the sword toward him.  Much to his surprise, the sword flew out of the titan’s hand and into Deeds’ hand. 

            “Let’s fight, Great-Uncle,” Deeds said as he drew back his sword.

            “Better watch it or that tongue of yours is going to get you in trouble.”

            Deeds struck, delivering the first attack.  He swung his sword around twice, and then instead of bringing it around to attempt to hit Oceanus in the head, he unexpectedly brought it down and sliced at Oceanus’ foot.  The monsters leaped out, but because Oceanus was the titan of the sea, his own monsters could do nothing to their former ruler.  Oceanus produced a large trident, but because he was not on the throne of the sea, the trident did not have its usual powers.  The battlefield was level.  Oceanus feinted left and with blinding speed, turned back to the right.  The trident was millimeters from Deeds’ shoulder when it connected with the sword that Deeds had brought back around.  The trident’s momentum forced the sword back a little bit, slicing Deeds’ shoulder open.  Immediately, the sea healed the wound, and reconnected Deeds’ shoulder and shirt.  At the same moment the wound was healed, Oceanus brought his entire body forward towards Deeds.  With a split second reaction, Deeds whipped out the handcuffs he had been given and ducked the trident, positioning himself between Oceanus and his trident.  Deeds quickly cuffed Oceanus before Oceanus could react to the shock of being separated from his trident. 

            “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!  Oceanus shouted at being a prisoner once again.  Deeds smiled and winked, and slowly willed the ocean to take him to a river that would take him home.

            When Deeds got home he texted Poseidon; he said, “See ‘ya Pop.  I’m takin’ a vaca and spending tomorrow night at Leith’s.”  Almost immediately after he hit ‘send’ and turned the phone off, he went to sleep.  When he woke up, he texted Leith, asking about a sleepover for that night.  Five minutes later he received a text telling him to go to his house immediately.  So Deeds packed up his stuff and headed over to Leith’s house.

            When Leith answered the door, Deeds spoke up.  “Ready to get double annihilated at Lord of the Rings?”

            “Sounds like a challenge to me.”

            “That’s where you’re wrong.  It’s a promise.”

 

Matt H

1/29/10

4^th Hour

Book Review

            The book “Gifted Hands” was amazing in so many ways.  The fact that it was very emotional made it better.  “Gifted Hands” took place in a few different settings; it started out in the “ghetto” of Detroit.  At the beginning of the book, it was 1959 and Ben Carson was eight years old.  Ben’s Father had just left Ben and his family.  Ben had a brother two years older than him and a mother with a third-grade education.  Ben and his brother weren’t the smartest children, but they were very loyal to their mother. 

            Ben’s Mother struggled greatly with her life.  She often times checked herself into a mental institution with thoughts of suicide while telling her children she was visiting relatives.  She left Ben and Curtis with their neighbors; sometimes she was gone for months at a time.  Because Ben’s mother didn’t have the money to keep their house, she packed up their things, rented the house, and they moved in with Ben’s Aunt and Uncle in Boston. 

            Ben enjoyed life greatly at eight years old.  Because Ben was living with his Aunt and Uncle, he and Curtis had a much larger Christmas than they had ever experienced.  Ben also had his first religious experience at age eight.  Because he was fascinated with one of the Bible readings, Ben and Curtis decided to get baptized into the Seventh-Day Adventist Church to                                         bring God into their lives. 

            Ben’s mother got her life back together and they moved back to Detroit.  She was so excited about moving back into their old house.  “We’re going to move back into our old house, just you wait boys.”  Ben’s Mother worked hard, and a couple years later, they moved back into their old house.

            Up until the end of fifth grade Ben was a terrible student.  He received 0’s on his math tests and was always teased by his classmates.  When everyone took the eye test, Ben recorded awful marks.  The eye specialist decided Ben needed glasses.  Once Ben got glasses he started to understand his schoolwork and do much better. 

            Ben and his brother, Curtis, watched a lot of TV after school because their mother worked late and there is no one else home.  One night their mother decided that Ben and Curtis watched too much TV and didn’t read enough.  Their mother decided that they could only watch three television programs a week.  Ben and Curtis argued that they did all their homework, but their mother didn’t budge.  In addition to only being able to watch three programs a week, the boys were required to read two books a week and write a book report each week. 

            Because of all this reading, Ben took a great interest in Science.  By the end of fifth grade Ben could recognize any type of rock he encountered.  Ben started to enjoy his weekly trips to the library and got to know the staff there.  Ben was inspired by his mother’s encouragement.  He read carefully in order to know the school’s material before it was taught.  Ben was soon at the top of his class. 

            Ben had a terrible temper.  When children teased him, he hit them.  When he was 14 years old, as he was taking the lock off his locker another child pushed him.  Ben swung, lock in hand, and split the child’s head open.  Ben didn’t realize the lock was in hand.  Another time when Ben argued with his mother about the kind of pants she bought him, Ben got so angry that he swung his arm back in an attempt to hit his mother.  Curtis jumped from behind him and held him back.  As it dawned on Ben that he almost hit his mother, he wouldn’t let himself believe that his temper was bad.  Again his temper caused a problem when Ben and his friend Bob were listening to music.  Bob disagreed with Ben’s classical music selection so he changed the station and Ben lost control.  He grabbed the pocketknife out of his pocket, and stabbed his best friend.  If Bob hadn’t been wearing a belt with a buckle, he most likely would have died.  The metal blade of the pocketknife snapped and broke when it hit the buckle.  Ben ran home and locked himself in his bathroom for three hours.*    

            Ben graduated high school third in his class and attended college.  He later went on to medical school and then to get his PHD.  He is now a famous neurosurgeon working in a large hospital (Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland).  He is married with three children.

            At Old Court Middle School in Baltimore, there is now a Ben Carson Club.  To join the Club, students must agree to watch only three television programs per week and read two books per week.   

            Ben Carson still has a philosophy today: T.H.I.N.K. B.I.G.

            I feel strongly that all students should read this book with an open mind.  It is my belief that everyone will enjoy this masterpiece of heart-warming and inspirational material.  There was absolutely nothing that I didn’t like about this book.

 

 

 

To see a picture click the link.

 -http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/swan/media/gifted%20hands.jpg

 

*For the sake of not giving anything away, I will not finish this story.  I’ve intentionally left out a large part of the book with the hope that many will read the book to discover how the story ends.

                                                             

 

Book Assignment

I am writing a poem from Ben’s point of view.

 

Think Big

never give up Hope.

always strive for your best

and nothing less.

 

Think Big

God is on your side.

He can help you

but you must ask.

 

Think Big

have Hope.

Watch for good things

anticipate them.

 

Think Big

 learn the importance of time.

it is a valuable skill

and one must learn it.

 

THINK BIG

T for Talent, your God given talents

H for Honesty, so people can trust and look up to you

I for Insight, learn from others mistakes

N for Nice, you will receive it in return

K for Knowledge, you need it for success.

 

THINK BIG

B for Books, they are the most useful learning source

I  for In-Depth Learning, learn the material, don’t just temporarily memorize it

make it a part of you.

G for God, because no one is too Big for God. 

 

Matt H

12/11/09

4^th Hour

Everything Lost

            Whirrrrrr went the rotors as the machine started up.  Bang!  A flash of orange light, then silence.  It was July 17, 2121, and it was a beautiful summer day in Florida: 98 and sunny.  Most people would be at the beach on a day like this, but Josh couldn’t let this opportunity pass.  It was too important.  Josh was in a time machine on his way to the past to attempt to win the Megadollar lottery prize.  In his hand was a newspaper, one that contained the winning lottery numbers for the month.  The machine was small, with carpeting and one window on the side.  Josh could not see anything when he looked out the window because everything was an orangeish tinge. 

            Josh had grown up a poor child, living only with his mother, because neither he nor his family knew the whereabouts of his father.  Josh had always been jealous of his brother, Michael, who was always praised by their mother much more than Josh was.  Their Mom said Michael was the best at everything including academics and sports. He even had a better personality than Josh, according to their mother.  Josh was eighteen years old, and Michael was sixteen.  They were both going to J. G. High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  Josh was a senior, ready to move out, mainly to get away from his family.  Michael was a junior; he skipped seventh grade. 

            As Josh contemplated being free, the machine suddenly stopped, its whirr fading into the past.  Josh began to rush out, longing for success. 

            “Now who’s going to be the famous one, Michael?  When I win the lottery and sell my invention, I will become the most famous person in the world”!  Josh thought as he stepped out of the machine.  “What?!?” Josh realized he was still in his closet, right where he started.  “How could this be?”  Josh said as he went to take the back off the machine to check all the plugs and switches.  At first he didn’t see anything, but then he caught it.  “A simple fix,” Josh muttered.  Just a switch labeled “Finishing Process,” that was turned off.   

            “Dinner time!” Josh’s mother called.  Josh and his brother descended down the stairs, toward the small, round brown table with bowls of spaghetti on it. 

            “Mmhhm spaghetti.  My favorite.  Thanks Mom,” Michael said.  Josh said nothing.

            “You’re welcome, boys.”  Their mom said with emphasis on the “boys.”

            After dinner, Josh went upstairs to his room to work on his homework.  He decided to wait until tomorrow, which would be Sunday, to try the machine again.  Josh later went to sleep after he showered and finished his homework. 

            When Josh woke up the next day, he groggily went to the breakfast table to get himself some cold cereal.  He had his favorite, Frosted Flakes.  After he ate, he went up to his room to re-try his time machine, for he couldn’t wait a second longer. 

            Josh stepped into the machine again, ready to make history.  Josh pressed a few buttons, including two: one that indicated the location of the Mini-Mart he wanted to go to, and the other that showed he wanted to go a month into the past.  Whirrrrrr went the rotors as the machine started up.  Bang!  A flash of orange light, then silence.  As Josh stepped out, he breathed in the first breath of a time traveler.  Josh walked around outside near the Mini-Mart.  He closed the door of the time machine and hid it in a large brush of hedges.    Josh walked into the store, purchased what would be the winning ticket, and left.  He skipped to the hedges, and danced around for a little bit.  Josh stopped dancing long enough to get into the machine, and went back to the present day.

***

            Josh was so excited about his lottery ticket he could hardly wait until after school to cash in his winning ticket and start his new life.  He doze through his classes, too anxious to pay attention.  When school finally ended, Josh didn’t bother going home; he went right to the Mini-Mart to cash in his winning ticket. 

***

            “I won, I won, I won!!!”  Josh screamed as he walked around his room with his pockets stuffed full of his winnings.  He walked over and kissed his machine, his pride, and his money-maker.  “I’ve got it!  I’ll go to the future and sell the machine, become rich and famous, and retire early!”  Josh laughed at his own dream.  He went over to the machine and walked in, headed for the future.  He punched in the date and location of where he wanted to go, pressed a few more buttons, and started to take off.  Whirrrrrr went the rotors as the machine started up.  Bang!  A flash of orange light, but none of the usual silence. Josh looked out the window and saw the orange, but the machine seemed to be standing still.  He checked the machine’s control board, and saw the words “faulty wires – evacuate machine.”  Josh froze, not knowing what to do next.  He walked over to the machine’s door and tried to open it to get out, but the door wouldn’t budge.  “Barnicles!  Why did you have to install that stupid ‘auto-lock while in use’ device?” he yelled at himself.  He kicked the door, but it wouldn’t budge. 

            “10, 9, 8, 7,” the machine counted down out loud.  Josh ran over to the control board and read the fatal words, “faulty wires – machine will blow up in 3, 2, 1,” “BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP KA-BOOM!!!  The machine blew up, causing a great disturbance in the time warp. 

***

            When Josh woke up, he was in an unfamiliar place.  He recognized nothing, and was a little shaken up.  Josh thought about his situation and was overjoyed.  He had everything he ever wanted: a new beginning away from his family and enough money so that he would never have to work a day in his life. 

            The first thing Josh did was start spending.  He bought a nice house, all the entertainment systems ever thought of, and ate whatever he felt like eating.  He ate pizza, drank pop, and ate so much junk food he hardly ever left the couch in his entertainment room. 

            “Ahhh, this is the life.  Eating junk food, playing video games, and doing nothing.” Josh thought.  But then he reconsidered.  “Is this really the life?”  “Am I really satisfied with no friends and no family?”  Josh felt alone in a large material world.  “Why did I do this?”  Josh cried out to no one in particular other than himself.  The tears streamed down his face.  Josh longed for home, but he knew it was impossible.  His machine had blown up, and he could never re-create what he had designed before.  Josh lied there, alone and sad.  He had material worth in his bank account and around him, but he knew he had lost everything worth living for. 

 

Matt

11/5/09

4^th Hour

It’s Criminal

            Domestic animal abuse is 100% savage and inhuman.  There are many reasons why animals should not be abused, including the following: scientists believe that animal abuse is the first step towards child abuse, humans rely on animals for help, and animals are helpless and do not deserve to be tormented.  All of this points to the fact that animal abuse is sickening and wrong.

             First, scientists believe that animal abuse is the first step towards child abuse.  Seventy percent of animal abusers have previous records for crimes.  Animal abuse is bad enough, but if it isn’t stopped, it will lead to more child abuse.  In 2005, 12.1 of every 1,000 American children, almost 900,000, suffered abuse by adults, with parents of victims accounting for almost 80% of abusers.  That means that 80% of child abuse is conducted by the parents of the child.  (“11 Facts About Child Abuse”).  If animal abuse is permitted, research hints that there is a strong indication that child abuse will increase. 

            Equally important to identifying a link between child and animal abuse is the fact that humans rely on animals for help.  By abusing the animals, humans really are hurting themselves by making themselves criminals and depriving others of helping companions.  First, disabled people often use dogs to help guide them.  They need these animals to complete routine tasks such as getting around on foot.  Next, police officers often use K-9 units in their work.  K-9 teams often help police find lost people, drugs, and detect bombs.  Without these useful animals, many police forces and disabled people would be in great need.  In addition to assisting with routine tasks, animals provided companionship to people of all ages.

            Last but most definitely not least, domestic animals could live much happier lives if they weren’t tormented.  Animals are helpless; animals can’t do much against humans abusing them.  Animals can scratch and bite and slightly defend themselves, but that usually angers humans and forces retaliation.  Humans don’t realize how lucky they are to be able to own pets for animals.  Domestic pets are meant to comfort and offer companionship to humans, not to be abused.  Take dogs, for example.  Pit bulls are the most commonly abused dogs.  In 2007, pit bulls were victims in 25 percent of reported dog abuse cases.  For example, in April of 2005, a pit bull was found on a highway in North Carolina.  The wounds were apparently a result of dog fighting.  Some of the injuries were so bad, one of the dog’s legs had to be amputated due to mutilation and infection.  According to reports, the dogs face was literally rotting off and the dog’s mouth was full of pus.  Altogether, the dog was a “bloody mess” (“Pet Abuse”).

             Domestic animal abuse is unrelenting and heartless.  It involves animals being deprived of living a happy life, it can lead to child abuse, and hurts people of all ages, including police forces and disabled people.  Animal abuse needs to stop, or else it can lead to much worse things than animal abuse.  How can humans who abuse domestic animals be labeled anything other than criminals?            

 

 

Works Cited

"11 Facts About Child Abuse". DoSomething.org. Web. 6 November 2009.                  <http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-child-abuse>.

"Animal Cruelty Facts, Statistics and Trends". The Humane Society of the United States.Web. 6 November 2009.

      <http://www.hsus.org/acf/cruelty/publiced/cruelty_facts_statistics_trends.html>.

"Animal Cruelty Facts, Statistics and Trends." The Humane Society of the United States. Web. 7 November      2009. <http://www.hsus.org/acf/cruelty/publiced/cruelty_facts_statistics_trends.html>.

"Facts About Animal Abuse & Domestic Violence". American Humane Association. Web. 6 November 2009.

     <http://www.americanhumane.org/about-us/newsroom/fact-sheets/animal-abuse-domesticviolence.html>.

"Pet-Abuse.Com -Animal Abuse Case Details: Pit-bull horribly mutilated." Pet-Abuse.Com - Home. Web. 07      November 2009. <http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/4402/NC/US/>.

"What Does SCEM K-9 Search Team Do?" Sedgwick County Emergency Management K-9 Search Team.      Web. 06 Nov. 2009. <http://www.scemk9.com/whatxwexdo.html>.

 

Matt

10/22/09

4^th Hour English

     Matthew

          People have their own names, and most of the time there is a reason behind someone’s name.  Often there is a unique story behind who named you and why you were named that.  Many times, children don’t like their names for some reason, and they have a right to dislike their names.  So what would you name yourself if you could re-name yourself?

            I was named by my parents.  If I could name myself, I would love to go by my middle name, Michael. I’ve always liked my middle name, but recently I started to really like my middle name even more.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the name Matthew.  I was named after Saint Matthew, the Patron Saint of accountants, bankers, and bookkeepers.  I was also named after a doctor who saved my life when I was born.  I was still inside my Mother’s womb when my umbilical cord wrapped around my neck and chest.  The doctor determined this as he listened to the monitor near my mom’s bed.  The doctor said, “We have to get him out or else he’s going to die or he’ll have brain damage.”  The doctor was able to get me out quickly enough so that he could untangle the umbilical cord and save my life.  I was named Matthew to honor this doctor and because it means “gift from God.”

            Many people have mixed feelings about names.  They like their first name but hate their middle name, or something like that.  Sometimes people even get defensive about sharing their names, either their full first name or their middle name.  I love my name, and always have.  My mother was disappointed when I wanted to be called Matt instead of Matthew because she loves the way “Matthew” sounds.  In her opinion, Matthew sounds better than Matt.  Matthew is too long and formal, while Matt is more of a nickname.  All names are unique in some special way.  Mine is unique in that I was named after a saint and a Doctor who saved my life.  Matthew also means, “a gift from God.”  That makes me feel special.  So think a little bit about your name.   What is the meaning behind it?  Were you named after anyone? Who?  Names are important; do you want to keep yours or change it? Why?                              

                                                                                                      

                                                           Matt

10/12/09

4^th Hour English

Different and Alike

          Phoebe and Sal are different and similar in many ways.  Sometimes Sal gets fed up with Phoebe because some of the things she does are annoying and different from Sal.  In the book Walk Two Moons, there are many examples of how these two characters are alike and different.

          Phoebe and Sal have many things in common.  For example, Sal and Phoebe’s mothers both left their families to “clear their heads.”  Unfortunately for Sal, Phoebe’s mother came back with a new son, but Sal’s mom never came back.  At the beginning of the book, Sal and Phoebe were very different in that Phoebe was quick to jump to conclusions while Sal thoughtfully considered things.  Phoebe, for example, was quick to judge the Finney’s and their cholesterol-filled dinners and their hectic ways, while Sal didn’t see this in them.  Later in the book, however, Phoebe rubs off on Sal a little bit and Sal begins to jump to conclusions as Phoebe does.  For example, Sal sees Mrs. Cadaver with “spooky red hair” and hears her voice as “dead leaves blowing around on the ground,” and thinks about her last name meaning “dead body.”  Phoebe and Sal both see danger in everything.  As Sal drove from Coeur d’Alene to Lewiston, she kept thinking things like, “I was in the outside lane, the one closest to the cliff.”  Phoebe was so scared that one night when she and Sal were having a sleepover at Phoebe’s house, Phoebe kept Sal up all night saying, “You hear that noise?”  and getting up to look out the window.

          Although they are similar in some ways, Phoebe and Sal are different in that Sal is a country girl while Phoebe is a city girl.  Sal is not afraid of wasps, spiders, and bugs, while Phoebe is scared of these things.  While in the library, Beth Ann called, “Sal, there’s a spider—Oh, Sal, kill it!”  While Phoebe may be panic-stricken of these nature-like things, she is not afraid of car accidents, death, nuclear war, and pregnant women.  Sal, on the other hand, is terrified of these things. 

          Sal and Phoebe are different and similar in many ways.  They both easily get crazy ideas in their heads.  Because of their different personalities, sometimes their friendship is strained.  It is hard to believe that two people can be so different and alike at one time. 

            

New York

The link is where I got my info.

 

 I, like Mr.Kabodian, would love to go to New York and visit Central Park and all the other sights of Long Island.  (I would also like to see the U.S. Open, which is in Flushing, New York.) I would want to take my dad to watch the U.S. Open, and to see the rest of New York with me.  I would love to see the Empire State Building, and I would love to see the hustle and bustle of New York City.  I would also love to see Carnegie Hall, mainly because my older sister performed there once.  I’m sure that I would never want to leave New York.

 

 Source.

 

 Yellowstone National Park

The link is also where I got my info.

 

 

     Yellowstone National Park is a very famous National Park that has been around for over 135 years!  It was established in 1872.  Although Yellowstone has some terrible winters that are extremely cold, many people still come to see the geyser, Old Faithful.  The most common wildlife in Yellowstone are grizzly bears, bison, wolves, and elk.  Many people will visit Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana to see Yellowstone in the years to come.

 

 

 

Source.