A dot
a blot
a smidge
a smear
and just a little
squiggle here...
A dab
a dash
a splish
a splat
That's how Patrick paints a cat
- Robin Bernard
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Quote of the Day- April 18, 2011
"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."
— J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)
— J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)
New Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Movie Stills.
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| \Draco, Goyle, and Blaise Zabini about to enter the Room of Requirement |
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| The Trio looks up to the sky |
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| Harry competes against multiplying gold |
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| Neville holds the sword of Griffindor with several students in the background |
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| Voldemort, Bellatrix, and several Death Eaters |
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Ode to an Omelot
I managed to make the perfect Omelet the other day and I decided to post this poem (not written by me) to commemorate the occasion.
Fluffy, light and yellow
You are a splendid fellow
Stuffed with mushrooms, parsley and thyme
Yours is a flavour uniquely sublime
Some, who are good enough to teach
Have filled your insides with ginger peach
A firm, quick stroke to slit your belly
And the yolk oozes out like quivering jelly
Intermingled with fine Parma ham
Though there are some cretins who substitute spam
A soggy pulp at Rose’s diner
At Brennan’s you couldn’t be finer
Making you is quite an art
For you need such
A gentle touch to fire your heart
A skillful fold for you just begs
Lest you end up as scrambled eggs
(Tee Hee : D )
Fluffy, light and yellow
You are a splendid fellow
Stuffed with mushrooms, parsley and thyme
Yours is a flavour uniquely sublime
Some, who are good enough to teach
Have filled your insides with ginger peach
A firm, quick stroke to slit your belly
And the yolk oozes out like quivering jelly
Intermingled with fine Parma ham
Though there are some cretins who substitute spam
A soggy pulp at Rose’s diner
At Brennan’s you couldn’t be finer
Making you is quite an art
For you need such
A gentle touch to fire your heart
A skillful fold for you just begs
Lest you end up as scrambled eggs
(Tee Hee : D )
Quote of the Day- April 17, 2011
"It's the morning, for most of us. It's that time, those few seconds when we're coming out of sleep but we're not really awake yet. For those few seconds we're something more primitive than what we are about to become. We have just slept and sleep of our most distant ancestors, and something of them and their world still clings to us. For those few moments we are unformed, uncivilized. We are not the people we know as ourselves, but creatures more in tune with a tree than the keyboard. We are untitled, unnamed, natural, suspended between was and will be, the tadpole before the frog, the worm before the butterfly. We are, for a few brief moments, anything and everything we could be."- Stargirl
Book Summary courtesy of Amazon:
"She was homeschooling gone amok." "She was an alien." "Her parents were circus acrobats." These are only a few of the theories concocted to explain Stargirl Caraway, a new 10th grader at Arizona's Mica Area High School who wears pioneer dresses and kimonos to school, strums a ukulele in the cafeteria, laughs when there are no jokes, and dances when there is no music. The whole school, not exactly a "hotbed of nonconformity," is stunned by her, including our 16-year-old narrator Leo Borlock: "She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl." In time, incredulity gives way to out-and-out adoration as the student body finds itself helpless to resist Stargirl's wide-eyed charm, pure-spirited friendliness, and penchant for celebrating the achievements of others. In the ultimate high school symbol of acceptance, she is even recruited as a cheerleader. Popularity, of course, is a fragile and fleeting state, and bit by bit, Mica sours on their new idol. Why is Stargirl showing up at the funerals of strangers? Worse, why does she cheer for the opposing basketball teams? The growing hostility comes to a head when she is verbally flogged by resentful students on Leo's televised Hot Seat show in an episode that is too terrible to air. While the playful, chin-held-high Stargirl seems impervious to the shunning that ensues, Leo, who is in the throes of first love (and therefore scornfully deemed "Starboy"), is not made of such strong stuff: "I became angry. I resented having to choose. I refused to choose. I imagined my life without her and without them, and I didn't like it either way."
My Review
I read Stargirl over Christmas break and I loved it. If you are in high school then you will relate to the school in this story. Deep down inside, no one cares about anyone else. Every day is the same and people hide their true feelings. People tear others down to build each other up. Then, one day Stargirl enters the school. Leo Borlock narrates the story as we travel through Jerry Spinelli's magical writing. The character of Stargirl is specially interesting. Among other things, she plays "Happy Birthday" on her Ukulele at lunch, sends cards to strangers, and creates a scrapbook of a young boy's life. At first everyone loves the fact that she's different then everyone else, but that amazement soon turns to hatred. I believe that the other kids in the High School thought that Stargirl was just too different to be part of their society. Stargirl, we learn, only cares about other people. Never does she care about herself. Even when she decides to not be Stargirl anymore for awhile, she does it for Leo.The writing is beautiful and makes us fall in love with Stargirl because she is the person that we each want to be, but hate when we actually meet.
Stars 5 out of 5
"She was homeschooling gone amok." "She was an alien." "Her parents were circus acrobats." These are only a few of the theories concocted to explain Stargirl Caraway, a new 10th grader at Arizona's Mica Area High School who wears pioneer dresses and kimonos to school, strums a ukulele in the cafeteria, laughs when there are no jokes, and dances when there is no music. The whole school, not exactly a "hotbed of nonconformity," is stunned by her, including our 16-year-old narrator Leo Borlock: "She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl." In time, incredulity gives way to out-and-out adoration as the student body finds itself helpless to resist Stargirl's wide-eyed charm, pure-spirited friendliness, and penchant for celebrating the achievements of others. In the ultimate high school symbol of acceptance, she is even recruited as a cheerleader. Popularity, of course, is a fragile and fleeting state, and bit by bit, Mica sours on their new idol. Why is Stargirl showing up at the funerals of strangers? Worse, why does she cheer for the opposing basketball teams? The growing hostility comes to a head when she is verbally flogged by resentful students on Leo's televised Hot Seat show in an episode that is too terrible to air. While the playful, chin-held-high Stargirl seems impervious to the shunning that ensues, Leo, who is in the throes of first love (and therefore scornfully deemed "Starboy"), is not made of such strong stuff: "I became angry. I resented having to choose. I refused to choose. I imagined my life without her and without them, and I didn't like it either way."
My Review
I read Stargirl over Christmas break and I loved it. If you are in high school then you will relate to the school in this story. Deep down inside, no one cares about anyone else. Every day is the same and people hide their true feelings. People tear others down to build each other up. Then, one day Stargirl enters the school. Leo Borlock narrates the story as we travel through Jerry Spinelli's magical writing. The character of Stargirl is specially interesting. Among other things, she plays "Happy Birthday" on her Ukulele at lunch, sends cards to strangers, and creates a scrapbook of a young boy's life. At first everyone loves the fact that she's different then everyone else, but that amazement soon turns to hatred. I believe that the other kids in the High School thought that Stargirl was just too different to be part of their society. Stargirl, we learn, only cares about other people. Never does she care about herself. Even when she decides to not be Stargirl anymore for awhile, she does it for Leo.The writing is beautiful and makes us fall in love with Stargirl because she is the person that we each want to be, but hate when we actually meet.
Stars 5 out of 5
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie
Thirteen-year-old Steven has a totally normal life: he plays drums in the All-Star Jazz band, has a crush on the hottest girl in the school, and is constantly annoyed by his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey. But when Jeffrey is diagnosed with leukemia, Steven's world is turned upside down. He is forced to deal with his brother's illness and his parents' attempts to keep the family in one piece. Salted with humor and peppered with devastating realities, DRUMS, GIRLS, AND DANGEROUS PIE is a heartwarming journey through a year in the life of a family in crisis.
My Review:
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie follows it's strange title exactly. Steven is a typical thirteen- year- old boy going through middle school. He is frequently classified as the "dorky" kid, who no one really wants to hang around with. Suddenly, his "annoying" little brother is diagnosed with Leukemia and Stevens world is turned upside down. The story follows his life as a middle- schooler through this tough time. He learns how much he loves his little brother and which people are really his friends. Personally, I couldn't put the book down. Jeffery reminded me so much of my own little brother. Like Jeffery, my younger brother can sometimes be annoying, but I love him so much that I can't imagine the world without him. During the book, Steven comes to the chilling reality that his four- year- old brother could die from cancer. Steven learns to put aside his feelings to do everything he can to save his little brother's life.
Stars: 5 out of 5
Quote of the Day- April 16, 2011
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
— Eleanor Roosevelt
— Eleanor Roosevelt
Most likely as you go throughout your life you encounter people who say or do things that make you feel as if you are less then them. Sometimes they may mean what they do or say and sometimes they do not. However, if you believe it, that is where the problem lies. You are special. You always were and you always will be. There will always be people who will tear you down to build themselves up. That is how our society works, but it is not the way things have to be.
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