Swirls

Continuing from the previous post….

Nevermind. I’ll just change the topic for now. So this post’s new topic will be about swirls! Anything, from candy swirls to designing swirls.

Pretty right?

So if you might as see from the picture above, I’m being more specific, swirls that can be a great decoration or as a design to almost anything. Artists take the advantage of these simple curly lines into art. Mainly to the point that just one small change can make a difference in the art. People mainly use swirls as designs on borders for letters, or small decoration on their projects.

Overall, swirls show simple art, yet can be also elegant. Like this one.

To those who read a manga called Naruto, they also use swirls, like on Naruto’s clothes and even on Konoha’s symbol. Likewise, all of these are all different but it show’s their uniqueness and came original from just a single swirl. Swirls also turn up in some logos or as designs on clothing.

I really like how a lot of people put up abstract art, especially with swirls, from using ripples of waters swirling around, or using them to look like a glowing thread an irregular shape. Also, it doesn’t stop there; you can put objects, outlines of objects, or actual objects to help make your swirl design unique. Really, if you’re painting, and u accidently made some splat paint, just paint up some swirls and you can still call that art! It’s amazing whenever you are drawing swirls, no matter which direction you turning, or how long it goes, it will still look art, and nonetheless, have their own unique swirl. Using contrasting colors also help show the boldness of the swirls. Like a black background with a bright color swirl on it.

What do you thinking about swirls?

King Henry VIII

Since History has been clouding my mind, might as well write about it. My latest interest is King Henry VIII. If you have no clue who he is whatsoever, King Henry VIII is known for being the Head of the Church, having a total of six wives, and had the future Mary I of England ; Henry Fitzroy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset; Elizabeth of England; and Edward IV of England. But how was he known for all of these?

Henry VIII was born in Greenwich Palace. He was the sixth child of Henry VII and  Elizabeth of York. Out of all the six children, only three survived through infancy. They were Arthur, Prince of Wales; Margaret; and Mary. In 1493, at the age of two, Henry was appointed Constable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. In 1494, he was created Duke of York. It was expected that the throne would pass to Prince Arthur, Henry's older brother, while Henry was prepared for a life in the church.

In 1502, Arthur died aged 15. Henry VII renewed his efforts to an alliance between England and Spain, by offering Henry, Prince of Wales, in marriage to Prince Arthur's widow, Catherine of Aragon, the youngest surviving child of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. In order for the new Prince of Wales to marry his brother's widow, it was necessary for a papal dispensation from the Pope was normally required to overrule the impediment of affinity because as told in the book of Leviticus . Catherine swore that her marriage to Prince Arthur had not been consummated.

Due to the impatience of Catherine's mother, Queen Isabella I, influenced Pope Julius II  to grant release in the form of a Papel bull. So, 14 months after her young husband's death, Catherine was betrothed to his younger brother, Henry. By 1505, Henry VII lost interest in a Spanish alliance and the younger Henry declared that his betrothal had been arranged without his consent. However, only 17 years old, Henry married Catherine on June 11, 1509 and 13 days later, the two were crowned at Westminster Abbey.  

To Be Continued…

Baron de Montesquieu

Well, in History class...I just landed myself with another project. No one wants to talk about History, unless it somehow relates to wars and deaths that affected thousands of people all over the country or world. There could also be some historical characters in countries such as King Henry VIII, famous for having a total of six wives, landed him with only one son, who died at a young age, and two daughters, the future Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I.  So I for one, might as well as talk about this historical figure I will be “impersonating” as for a debate.

My historical figure is Baron de Montesquieu. Charles Louis de Secondat (Baron de Montesquieu) was born in Bordeaux, France, in 1689 to a wealthy family. He later went to college and studied science and history, eventually becoming a lawyer in the local government. De Secondat's father died in 1713 and he was placed under the care of his uncle, Baron de Montesquieu. The Baron died in 1716 and left de Secondat his fortune and his title of Baron de Montesquieu. He gained fame in 1721 with his Persian Letters, which criticized the lifestyle and liberties of the wealthy French as well as the church. However, Montesquieu's book On the Spirit of Laws, published in 1748, was his most famous work. It outlined his ideas on how government would best work. 


      Montesquieu believed that all things were made up of rules or laws that never changed. He set out to study these laws scientifically with the hope that knowledge of the laws of government would reduce the problems of society and improve human life. According to Montesquieu, there were three types of government: a monarchy (ruled by a king or queen), an aristocracy (ruled by the noble or wealthy class), and a republicanism (ruled by elected leaders). Montesquieu believed in democracy, which is now used today in the US government.

Queen's Own Fool p.3

Continuing on with the previous post....

During the Lord Darnley' reign, no one complained, however, Nicola rants on about insulting Lord Darnley to Davie. Davie however, doesn’t mind serving him, as he now has the power on the government, owning the seal indicating of the king. With much envious people around him, Nicola warns him that his life may be taken. Later on, with much displeasure, his death starts, loosening the queen’s control on the counsel.

With that, the queen sends Nicola to the King Darnley, as she fears for the king’s safety. As what she feared was true, because as Nicola travels to the king, there was an explosion, causing the death of Darnley, and everyone in Scotland now blames the queen. With constant revolts and accusing Darnley's death at the queen, they were off to have the assistance of Lord James, the queen's previous adviser.
With the situations, Queen Mary was to marry Bothwell, who was rumored to be the one who had murdered Darnley. With that, the queen was to be imprisoned, moving from a miserable castle to another, until Nicola planned her escaped. With 2 tries, they succeeded. However, with that, Queen Mary ordered Nicola to go and be somewhere happy with Joseph, Davie’s twin.

They did, living in the countryside, finding news about the Queen Mary, reuniting the troupe, hearing Nicola’s death months after he sold her to Queen Mary. In the author’s note, Queen Mary was imprisoned for being a threat to the throne and was beheaded. After Queen Elizabeth I’s death and with no successors, the throne was given to Queen Mary’s son, James Stuart.

In overall of this extremely long summary that took 3 blogs in total to cover the book, I enjoyed it, to the very end. I think it was very unfortunate of how Queen Mary was accused for Lord Darnley’s death, when really was just worry for him, and lost her love to him for a long time. With wit in her mind, Nicola shows intelligence that exceeds many women in her time, and would have been a lady in waiting if she was noble born.

The Queen's Own Fool p.2

Nicola Ambruzzi is a 13-year-old orphan living and performing with her uncle's troupe when they are summoned off the street to entertain at the court of Francis II, the young king of France. The troupe's performace didn’t turn out as entertaining to the court, but Nicola’s clever words attracts the attention of the queen, Mary, also known as Mary, Queen of Scots. The queen engages Nicola as a jester, or fool, that will always speaking truth to her. She is called "La Jardiniere" because the queen discovered her in the palace gardens.

At first, Nicola feels as if she has walked into a fairy tale, so relieved is she to be warm, dry, well-fed, and far away from the blows of her uncle's cane. But her illusion soon ends as she was weary of traveling from palace to palace, frightened when there was sudden outburst from those who were rebellious. Later then Francis II dies, and Mary, no longer Queen of France, leaves for Scotland's throne. Nicola, now devoted to her queen, plucks up her courage to go along instead of coming back to Italy.

In Scotland, Nicola finds that Mary is less listened to by her counsel and later on accepts Lord Henry Darnley's proposal of his marriage. Nicola mistrusts and despises the Lord Henry, but does not want to sacrifice her queen’s happiness. Around this time she befriends the ill-fated David Riccio, Mary's new music master and, eventually, her secretary and adviser. He listens to Nicola’s complaints and insults against Lord Henry, now king of Scotland. He doesn’t show it, but he admits to Nicola that he also does not want to serve to a king like Henry, who started to grew apart from Queen Mary as he barely comes home, goes out and play, hunt, and sometimes being in other women into the palace. Everyone knew of his true nature and doesn’t want their queen to discover his recent actions.


To Be Continued….

New Statement of Purpose

Over the past 2 months, I have steadily been improving on my grammar and I have been using the topics I was planning on writing about on my blogs. I might not plan on writing blogs on traveling because I do not have much detail to the locations I have been to. However, it’s still a possiblity that I might work on traveling. I will continue on writing about books, movies, and foods.

As I read through my previous blogs, I realized that I do a lot of explaining on the topic rather than giving more of my opinions on the topic. I would really want to improve on this. Now that I have 2 months worth of experience in posting, I will make sure that I will steadily improve on my grammar, increase in vocabulary, and giving more of my opinions on future topics I will be posting on the blogs. I am thinking about writing about some historical figures, mainly in the medival times, because it’s very interesting to see what they have overcome hardships and achieve their goals.(or maybe to see whether or not they were beheaded for some unreasonable argumentation)

There is also the fact that I haven’t improved much or the fact that I haven’t been trying hard enough in some of my blogs and I sometimes feel upset the fact that I am only working on the blogs just for the grade and not enjoying it. I think its because I have been having a lot of assignments that have been pushing me to the edge and not having as much time on writing on the blog and is considered “sloppy and last minute” work in my opinion.

I would also like more topic ideas and I’m opened to any suggestions. As long as it is easy and you would most likely have a lot of opinions on that topic, I would gladly accept and hope it would be enjoyable.

Queen's Own Fool p.1

Well lately I have been talking about foods and movies, so I shall continue the topic about: books! So lately, I have been assigned a book report where I can choose the book, only it has to be either historical fiction or nonfiction. As I was skulking around the library, I stumbled across this book called Queen’s Own Fool. Your first reaction would be something like “what do you mean by fool?” or “would this relate to a queen being a fool?” right? If not, you don’t much of an impression by just reading the title. Then, underneath the title, it had “A novel of Mary Queen of Scots”. ‘Maybe it might be about Mary Tudor’, I thought. Not. Here’s some insight on “who” is Mary Queen of Scots before I start talking about the novel.




Mary, Queen of Scots was one of the most fascinating and controversial monarchs of 16th century Europe. At one time, she claimed the crowns of four nations - Scotland, France, England and Ireland. Her physical beauty and kind heart were acknowledged even by her enemies. Yet she lacked the political skills to rule successfully in Scotland. Her second marriage was unpopular and ended in murder and scandal; her third was even less popular and ended in forced abdication in favor of her infant son. She fled to England in 1568, hoping for the help of her cousin, Elizabeth I. Her presence was dangerous for the English queen, who feared Catholic plotting on Mary's behalf. The two queens never met and Mary remained imprisoned for the next nineteen years. She was executed in 1587, only forty-four years old. By orders of the English government, all of her possessions were burned. In 1603, upon Elizabeth's death, Mary's son became king of England as James I.


The novel is in the main character’s point of view. Mary, Queen of Scots? Nope. It will be in her French fool, La Jardiniere’s point of view. In the court records, the only known information on her was that:
1.) She is a female
2.) She was given several expensive dresses and linen handkerchiefs
3.) Received a large payment when she was sent home to France when the queen went off to England


I am only half way of the book and am very lazy in the summary of this novel unless I am completely done with the novel. So in the next post, I will explain this amazing novel of the childhood of this little fool and of how Mary was like as she becomes the Queen of Scotland.

Maria Full of Grace

María Álvarez, a 17-year-old Colombian girl, who works at a flower plantation in sweat shop-like conditions (labor work) to help support her family. However, being forced to bring in the money for her unemployed sister (a single mother), discovered of her being pregnant, and being treated unfairly by her boss, she quits and decides to find another job, despite of her family’s disapproval. On her way to Bogotá to find a new job, she is offered a position as a mule — one who smuggles drugs by swallowing drug-filled pellets by one whom she met at a party. Desperate, she accepts the risky offer, befriends another mule named Lucy, discovers that her friend Blanca is also a fellow mule swallows 62 wrapped pellets of cocaine and flies to New York City. After a close call at the US Customs, as she was suspected of drug-trafficking, she is set free and sent to a hotel where she is to remove the pellets from her body. To retrieve the pellets from Lucy, who died when one of them ruptured inside of her, the traffickers cut open her stomach, then disposed of her body. After discovering this, Maria decides to escape the drug-trafficking cartel with Blanca, who left reluctantly. She and Blanca went off to meet Lucy’s sister and stayed there for a short period. Later on, her sister realizes that Maria was hiding the fact of Lucy’s absences and when she discovers the reason Lucy was discovered dead and was involved with drug-trafficking, she kicks Maria and Blanca out of the house in despair. After this and nowhere to stay, Maria and Blanca came back to the drug-trafficking dealers to hand over the drugs and received the money. Maria then gave half the money to Lucy’s sister to send back to Colombia and decides to come back. When she realizes she can have a new start in life In the United States, she calls Blanca, and leaves the airport.


In my opinion, I was wondering what the main theme of the movie is. Not to deal with drug-trafficking? You can get away with drug-trafficking? It is alright to take drugs despite of you being pregnant? But I did understand the reason why she was so desperate to deal that kind of life by doing something risky just to help her family. She was kind of just dealing with that kind of risky job just so she can earn the money. But it seems like she just doesn’t want to become like her sister, who is a single, unemployed mother and is depending on the money coming from her own younger sister. Maria Full of Grace does have its meaning in the movie despite it doesn’t exactly displays that fact.

Bánh mì

With all of these Vietnamese cuisines, people would think: how about fast food viet-style? Well there is such a thing and its called bánh mì. Bánh mì is a Vietnamese ‘sandwich’ that is made up of thinly sliced pickled carrots and daikon, cucumbers, cilantro, jalapeño peppers and meat or tofu. Popular bánh mì fillings include roasted or grilled pork, Vietnamese ham, mayonnaise, and chicken. With these fillings, you’re probably thinking its not such a fast food as I was referring right?
Bánh mì is generally served in small shops and can be found in many countries. You can find one within a Vietnamese community. It is made fresh, fast and is low cost, so it is consider to be as “fast food”, but healthier. For recommendations, I suggest based on what type of meat you like best. The most popular would be called bánh mì đặc biệt ("special combo" sandwich) and bánh mì bì (bánh mì with shredded pork). In some restaurants, there is a vegetarian option of bánh mì chay (bánh mì vegetarian style).
The bánh mì sandwich ws based on the French countryside "salad sandwich" which consists of lettuces, tomatoes and sometimes other vegetables as well as dressing served on a baguette. And also, in Vietnamese, bánh mì means "bread", but it can also refer to the bread stuffed with meat.
Personally, like other Vietnamese dishes, I enjoy eating this. This is what considered like what an “appetizer” is but for me, it’s lunch. My favorite would be bánh mì with grilled pork because they really grill the meat literally of a grill and its smoky flavor gives of the seasonings. However, if I don’t feel up to grilled meat, I like eating the bánh mì đặc biệt, which has a variety of fresh meat. Fresh meat meaning nothing grilled or literally cooked with other seasonings.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

You may have heard about spring rolls right? Since they are all around the world, in East and Northern China, Vietnam,Philippines,Costa Rica,Europe,etc.Well, for my topic, it will be Vietnamese spring rolls.

In some restaurants, gỏi cuốn, is translated as spring roll. These are considered 'appetizers' but it can also be a meal to one. It consists of lettuce,, rice vermicelli, lettuce, sometimes fresh herbs, shrimp, and boiled pork all wrapped in moistened rice paper (banh trang), served with dipping sauce nước chấm (fish sauce). Don't like pork? You can also do boiled bacon or even cha lua (vietnamese ham or sometimes called pork patty).Want to try a different sauce other than nước chấm? Try the Vietnamese peanut sauce.


Some people call it the Vietnamese egg roll or Vietnamese salad roll. The main reason is mainly about how the ingredients are all fresh, nothing cooked except for the shrimp and the meat. The meat and shrimp however are cooked by boiling. Nothing fat about it. So you can eat as much spring rolls as you can and not worry about being fat.


The spring rolls were influenced by China and Taiwan, and had a new creation by only having fresh vegetables instead because of how Vietnam is a subtropical country. They get the name spring rolls because it is associated to the Spring Festival


In my opinion, spring rolls are BEST when it is FRESH. That way, I wouldn’t worry about being fat. It’s also easy to make, just make sure you get the banh trang. The dipping sauces are tasty. But I highly recommend the peanut dipping sauce. For those for a milder taste, pick the nước mấm. For those who aren’t so into vegetables and very little meat, I don’t think you could like this much. You would love it if you’re in a diet, love vegetables, and having something nice and light for lunch.

Tatum Annotation Paragraph

(3.) Some examples [what kind of examples?]will highlight the process. Several years ago one of my students conducted a research project investigating preschoolers’ conceptions of[4] Native Americans[so they are investigating at how old would they think children started on stereotypes?]. Using children at a local day care center as her participants, she asked these three- and four-year-olds to draw a picture of a Native American. Most children were stumped by her request[wow]. They didn’t know what a Native American was. But when she rephrased the question and asked them to draw a picture of an Indian, they readily complied. Almost every picture included one central feature: feathers. In fact, many of them also included a weapon—a knife or tomahawk—and depicted the person in violent or aggressive terms. [so what is it that had the children to think that way towards Native Americans?] {similar much?}



Although it wasn't so much because it was only a short example, the next paragraph explains the question I put 'So what is it that had the children to think that way towards Native Americans?' I was also a bit shocked that the fact that they are mixing up the idea of children mixing up the terms Native American and Indian. How children would have the idea of such expressions and have feathers as decorations are really coming from some influence from something. The next paragraph also explains about how they are being influenced by those things that resulted in stereotypes.

Phở

Have you ever heard of phở? Or maybe even tasted phở? If now, I would highly recommend eating it, like right now. In case you don’t even know what I am talking about, is phở a Vietnamese beef and noodle soup. The soup includes rice noodles, a variety of meat of you choice and is garnished with coriander leaves, Thai basil, lime, bean sprouts, white and green onion. There is also a side dish of basil, lime, bean sprouts, and peppers that are added to the soup by the customer. The variations of meat include thin strips of meat, tendon, tripe, meatballs, chicken leg, chicken breast, and/or other chicken organs. The broth is made by simmering beef (sometimes chicken) bones, flank steak, charred onion, and spices, taking several hours to prepare.
For meat lovers, I would recommend phở đặc biệt' (specialty phở). Depending on which pho restaurant you go, they would put most of the meat variations. However, if you are leaning in more to the chicken, then you should order phở gà, where all of the meat in the pho consists of chicken breast or chicken wings with rice noodles. For vegetarians, phở chay has mainly leafy greens with rice noodle, but has a much lighter taste in the broth. The most common phở that people would order are phở bò tái (Phở with half-done beef fillet), phở bò viên (phở with beef meat balls), and phở gà (chicken ph ở. For children, you should definitely order phở bò viên. There are also some seafood-based phở for all you seafood lovers.
I guarantee you that if you read this article; you are set to go and order phở that suits you the most. Along side with this, you can also be experiencing another ethnic culture. People are considering that phở is a fast food restaurant when in fact, it really is not. You just get your food a whole lot fast than most restaurants that just makes you want to think that. Unlike most “fast food restaurants”, phở is a whole lot healthier and is enjoyed best on most seasons, but I personally think during cold days.

The Beryllium Murder - Camille Minichino

This time, I am writing about the recent book I just finished, like seconds ago. This 4th book a world wide series called The Beryllium Murder If you love murder mysteries, this book is for you. The main murder weapon would usually be containing an element from the periodic table in which case for this book, beryllium.
A retired physicist Gloria Lamerino senses something strange when she heard about a scientist name Gary Larkin died from beryllium poisoning in his laboratory in Berkeley, California. Knowing this wasn't a tragic accident as what the police reported, she decides to leave her comfy home in Revere, Massachusetts to reveal this "accident".
Gloria decides to go to the laboratory and looks up the articles that involved Larkin only to find her first possible suspects: Carver, Kellerman, and Johnson. As she interviews one by one, it turns out there would be more than just one case, but two. Her best friend’s lover’s son, Manuel, turns out missing. Hearing from his father, Jose, Gloria thought he wouldn’t be harm if he was such a good student. Further and further she goes through the case, she reveals criminal hacking, connecting to Manuel’s case and the Larkin as she realizes the hacking was Manuel’s doing and also the internet pornography she founded uploaded onto Larkin’s computer. She also seen a lot of sexual discrimination coming from Kellerman and Inspector Russel, but not only that, however, she realizes she was too late: Manuel was found dead.
As she tries to uncover the truth before something happens again when she is now being targeted, she gets a surprise from General Sergeant Matt Gennaro from the police department from Massachusetts, giving her a limited freedom to solve the case. She realizes based on Larkin’s allergies: where were the tissues when he needed them? She discovers that Manuel’s girlfriend, Jennifer, was doing the hacking after his death and was pregnant with his child. She soon realizes that through the hacking, Manuel discovers the embezzlement from Kellerman, Jennifer’s father and before reacting, he was killed by Kellerman. This case links to the Larkin as Kellerman also laced Larkin’s tissues with beryllium powder, so in order to finish the case, she needed to find the evidence. As she goes to find the evidence, she gets attacked by Kellerman, only to survive but in the hospital. In the end, just for a couple of days, Gloria had solved not only one, but 2 cases in a couple of days.

In my opinion, I really enjoyed this book, despite of my dislike of chemistry. I don't often read murder mysteries, but if I do, that means I would highly recommend u to read this. It's packed with what it is like and has very descriptive words on how the scenery could be like. If you like action, I wouldn't recommend this to you because, there were only some risks of dangers towards the main character, Gloria, but not so much. It's almost like the movie Nancy Drew only it has a bit more adult theme to the book.

Stand and Deliver (1988)

Stand and Deliver is based on a real math teacher, Jaime Escalante (protrayed by Edward James Olmos)that changed the education in James A. Garfield High School in Los Angeles County, California.
The movie sets around 1980s, where the new teacher, Jaime Escalante, was to teach Computer Science at Garfield High School. However, he was to teach mathematics 1A, basic arithmetic, but soon realizes that there was potential for the students to learn calculus. He was been threatened by teachers and his students, put he finally convinced 18 students to take calculus. In helping them to take the class, he held a summer course to teach them algebra, math analysis, and trigonometry. He soon develops series of methods to get them to understand math such as using props and humor to illustrate math concepts.
The film also showed the students' home life and school life, contradicting of how it is difficult for them unlike some families are today. After all the hard work, in their senior year, the seniors are ready to take AP Calculus, hoping when passing the standards test, earning college credit.
However, after taking the AP Calculus exam around spring, the Educational Testing Services accuses the students have possibly chested on the exam due to the same errors and finishing the exam around the same time. Escalante thinks that racial and economic status of the students are giving the Educational Testing Services doubts of their intelligence. In order to prove they have not cheated on whatsoever on the exam, the students agree on retaking the test on the end of summer, and the test will be harder. At the end, all of the students once again, passed the exam and Escalante wants the original scores reinstated.
In my opinion, this is a great movie. This is educational, has the Latino culture, and displays of how some students' lives were like when they did now received enough education. However, watching this movie, it encourages to push and go forward to goals and have a better life than what you expected before.

Statement of Purpose

I am planning on writing on various foods, places,and movie reviews. I may think of writing about other topics, but for now,I'll stick with these. My reasons on writing my chosen topics is because I like to write about my opinions so it would persuade readers to experience the same things as I.
My reason on writing about various foods is because it gives interest in other foods other than pizzas and hamburgers to the readers. It's also because I have tried many cuisines that other people would like to, this encourages them to try the foods I would recommend highly.
My second topic that involves traveling: I adore. Many people including I enjoy experiencing new cultures. I would also want to be as entertaining as those traveling brochures and give out the locations that people would love to experience while staying there. I hope writing about the places gives the idea to the readers to travel there and enjoy the place just as I did.
My last topic is on reviews on movies. There are a lot of old movies that haven't been seen in a long time and new movies that people may have never watched them out there and people would wonder whether or not that movie is good. Well, that's my reason to write about these kinds of movies. To recover a forgotten movie and write about them interests people and give them to think about watching that movie.
From all of these topics I will be writing, maybe I will have some bad comments talking about my lack of vocabulary or bad grammar. However, I will be open to any suggestions go whether it is watching a movie, eating different foods, or traveling to a place because just like the readers, I want to experience new things!