Semester Final 2

If you used any quickwrites as blog posts, how did they change from what you wrote by hand in class to what you published on your blog? In other words, how did you go from rough draft to final draft? Explain your revision/rewriting process.                

Other than the quickwrites I had to post such as the "rules of love", I did use some to post in my blogs. I used one called "She touched the box in her pocket and smiled...", which was making up an idea/ story that includes that phrase. Instead of posting this right away, I tend to post my quickwrites later than usual. Because I already wrote it down, I would either get someone else to peer edit, edited the paper myself, or both. The process in editing the paper is long however, so that is the reason why I would post it up last minute. The editing process can go longer, especially if I got more than just myself and a friend to edit the paper. Unlike quickwrites, my weekly blogs are typed right on the computer, so there could be some minor grammar problems I might've missed. Most of my quickwrites that I posted are more of ideas listed. During the quickwrite, I usually list my opinions or ideas into the paper. Affterwards, I decide whether it is a paper filled with ramblings or something I can use but needs a editing. Sometimes, I like how I just list them in sentence form because I can see what ideas I can use to relate the topic, and which ones I can not use because it seems more of a rambling than supporting the topic. Due to the editing, my one page written quickwrites can reduced down to fewer than three hundred to five hundred words, so I tend to add more details to stretch the topic. Also, unlike just typing the weekly blog right on the computer, writing quickwrites as my post is a pain to my hands. We are given ten minutes to write as much as we can (but the minimum is one page), which means I would need to write faster than usual. With writing at such an abnormal speed than my usual pace, my hand really hurts. It's more like my wrist, but add pressure to my wrist by writing really fast across a blank, lined piece of paper can be a killer.

Where do you get your ideas for blog post topics? What inspires you to write?

I get my ideas from my surroundings that inspire me to write about it. For example, I wrote about a variety of popular Vietnamese dishes due to my mom's homemade cooking at home. With my background culture surrounding me, I take pride in my mom's awesome cooking, which I personally would say it is better than most restaurants.There's also blogs about books and movies I recently read from class or from a random pickup in the library where I really enjoyed it and would like to share to others. Normally, I do not read much on my free time (due to surfing the internet, homework, taking care of my little brother, etc.), but because this is an English class, I go down to the library more and going through aisles would definitely have some book spark my interest, such as a mystery series, The Beryllium Murder. I also often wrote about historical figures that I recently learned about in Modern World History class, such as King Henry VIII during the Reformation period and Baron de Montesquieu,whose ideas help formed the United States's government of today. It is also interesting learning about a famous person's history, answering a simple and popular question: What did he/she do to get to the point where their name is well known throughout the world, textbooks, magazines, news, etc. Anything that gets me typing real quick and real long is something that can help me accomplish both the blog and spreading the word about my favorite things. Fortunately, I am not a video game addict, so  I do not get distracted as much, but I do play some, making two blogs about my favorite game of the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2. This is something I do not normally do, but it is something that deserves to blog about to others and hopefully persuade others to play the game.

Explain one or two ways your writing has improved (or not) over the semester. Include a few examples from your posts over time, with analysis and links to the original posts, to illustrate how the improvement(s) happened.

One of the ways that my writing has improved over the semester would definitely by how fast I can write down. With a limited amount of time to write on our weekly quickwrites, I can now type my blogs with enough confidence to just type away with no regrets. my previous blogs took longer than to type than my blogs being posted today due to how much I can type today. The first time I had to do a one thousand word final took me a few days because I didn't know what I should write about or I have no idea what I can write about. Answering the questions seems easy, but to extend it in full detail and be quite a challenge, especially to people who can' exactly stretch words out in such a manner. This is something I cannot compare among my previous blog posts unless I can show my memory on the screen or something. Another way that my writing has improved over the semester is my supporting details. I'm not great at supporting my ideas. I pretty much tend to say/write  something but have no way to support it, which means I am pretty bad at arguing during debates. Throughout the year, stretching my words by adding supporting details helped my research paper for Modern World History class and supporting my ideas on weekly blog posts for English. I can't exactly point out my blog posts because there's too many that does look I did put enough supporting details and some that seems like I am ranting so unfortunately,I do no think I can display this. My persuasion skills are steadily improving because after posting some of my Vietnamese dishes, some people came up to me and asked where they could try it or how they can make the dish. Also, my game reviews inspired some gamers to try out the game and they are now currently a big fan of it.  

The Lightning Thief: Monthly Review

    The Lighting Thief is a the first fantasy novel of the series written by Rick Riordan. It tells a tale of a twelve year old boy named Percy Jackson, who was diagnosed with ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder)and dyslexia and have always cause trouble and always end up getting kicked out for strange things happening around him. After discovering his true heritage and the reason behind for all the incidents involving him, a new world opens for him. Because of his father, he is being blamed by the Zeus for stealing his prized master bolt, known for blowing Kronos up into thousand pieces and it's up to him to retrieve the master bolt in order to prove his innocence and his father, Poseidon. Now as he travels west, he is a target for mythical monsters that are supposedly come from myths and encounters other mythical and godly beings. With ten days to complete his quest before an unnecessary war breaks out, he travels with a satyr named Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase, a fellow demigod (half god, half human) and daughter of Athena.

    I highly recommend reading this amazing book. It's like read The Odyssey except (personally) not like what Odysseus faced (mainly women). There were other mythical creatures that were included in from other myths such as Medusa, a chimera, and more. While reading this amazing novel, you get to learn part of the other myths such as the story of Athena being challenged in weaving, the reason how Medusa was taken away from Athena. Even if I already knew these myths, it was pretty awesome how Riordan layers his story with so much Greek mythology. He must have done some well researched work to apply so much Greek myths into his story. I personally don't think there aren't many good novels with Greek mythology and for that, I'm pretty disappointed. This is kind of offensive to the Twilight fans, but there are just way too much vampire romance stories. There isn't much originality in them because most vampire stories include a forbidden romance and a school life carrying a deadly secret. Again, it's not because I hate vampire stories, but with too many stories about them, it's tiring.Other than that, this book is so amazing, I could reread this all over again, only the book is due so I'm waiting for the next book: The Sea of Monsters. I would say the age ranges from 9-12. Honestly, I would have read another harder book, but I was way too interested in the plot that I couldn't resist. This is a great book to read and it's really easy to read so I recommend this to everyone who would love a modern version of The Odyssey. This is definitely a great starter on a series, especially for those who are now bored and into fantasy series, such as the ever-lasting legend (i think i might've exaggerated on this) of the Harry Potter series. 

Of all the quotes,I decided to pick this one, where it shows how mothers are to children.

"Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was ... a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put upwith that guy—if that makes you feel any better."

One of Sally Jackson's greatest sacrifices for Percy is marrying and living with Smelly Gabe. A mother's love shows a great affect towards the child. To sacrifice one's own future by living with such a gruesome husband who thinks of you lowly and to work to help support the family shows how much a mother really cares for her child. When Grover tells Percy this, we realize that everything Sally does is for Percy.

This quote kind of reflects on what most children who are in the same situation as Percy (before he found out about his true heritage).

"I felt angry at my father. Maybe it was stupid, ... but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe"

There are a lot of children whose father left them and their mothers when they were young and even before they were born. Children are always observing situations so they can sense between was is bad and wrong. If they see their mother/ father in miserable situation like Percy's mother was in, they would instantly blame the spouse. In this case, Percy never met his father, and seeing him not being with his mother, he felt that he and his mother were abandoned to live on their own. Anything that is bad towards him, children would instantly blame on the parent for leaving them, not coming back and support them. 

    Curious, I decided to watch the movie after I completed reading the novel. I wouldn't do so much comparisons because there were ALOT of changes, both minor and MAJOR parts. If you have read the book before watching the movie like me, you would know what I mean. Even some of the characters proven wrong from my perspective when I read the novel. For example,Grover, a satyr and Percy's guardian. I thought Grover seemed to have a timid personality, but brave at time when needed. In the movie, Grover shows none of that whatsoever, and doesn't seem to push himself to be courageous like how he is in the novel. Also, for the relationship between Annabeth Chase, a fellow demigod and daughter of Athena and Percy doesn't show that kind of relationship like how it was in the novel. Annabeth's reason for her attitude with Percy was because of her mother's relationship with Percy's father, but it doesn't exactly show that in the movie other than the fact that Annabeth was slicing Percy in a fight at Camp Halfblood. There were some events where it never happened in the book such as Hades showing up in a campfire at Camp Halfblood and the Percy's journey to go look for three pearls before going to the Underworld in order to escape after rescuing his mother, and Hades's missing helm of darkness. Also, I kind of wanted the god of war, Ares to take part of the movie. Unfortunately, he wasn't and was replaced with Luke. I also think the antagonist, Luke shows more of the reason how Percy's quest was being made. In the book, there was a prophecy and that Luke was not entirely the one who started the (close) war between the gods.  If I continue even further, I don't think anyone would watch the movie, nor even understanding what I am talking about. If you did read or watch the movie, you would understand. But in either case, I'm pretty much spoiling it so I should really stop with the comparisons. However, I do I like how the actor, Logan Wade Lerman, portrayed the main character, Percy Jackson. If I was him, I would probably be just like him. He shows almost the same characteristics as Percy in the situations such as being attacked by unknown mythical creatures, countering gods, and the truth behind his heritage. Other than the fact there were scenes from the book being removed and replaced, it's packed with adventure of heroism for Percy Jackson. I still recommend reading the book first before reading the book. Unless you can't handle the fact you have to read a three hundred seventy-five page book, then just go right ahead and watch the movie, and maybe perhaps read the book after? Actually, I would highly recommend reading this novel especially for those who are in ninth grade because for me, the theme for most of the novels I had read last year was heroism. This is definitely a modern variation of The Odyssey.

The Lightning Thief pt.3

Continuing from the previous lit circle of The Lightning Thief...Once again, wow. I am absolutely in love with the series. I also love how Riordan shows how the gods' personality would be like such as Zeus's arrogance, Poseidon's patience, Ares's boldness. It definitely shows how the gods also have human emotions, yet still have their superiority over the mortals. I didn't include this, but during a sidetrack quest from Ares, it's amusing how it included the relationship between Ares, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus.  I really like how there were more than just the "Big Three" gods that were the main gods. I see that adding another god that suddenly shows up buying the three journeyers cheeseburgers and fries at some restaurant gives it an amusing scene to imagine. Other than that, from the third section of the book (sadly) concludes this novel. It tells the remainder of the main quest and the conclusion of the situation between Percy's father, Zeus and Hades (turns out he was also included in this problem). Despite of the prophecy given to Percy, it wasn't exactly finished. Even though it was said that Percy will succeeded the quest, there was the other half to be the fulfill and that would be the one who started, the lightning thief, which they revealed himself/herself after the quest was over, and it ends up with Percy's decision on whether or not he continues to stays at Camp Halfblood or goes home and returns back to the camp during the summer. I'm grateful that Riordan included a prophecy because if not, the novel could've stop right there and now. My thoughts now after I finished the book are: to watch the movie and compare and wait for the second novel. I think my group will probably regret reading this awesome book. They might've been just like me: way too excited on waiting to read the next book and watching the movie.     As for my quote, I have chosen this (with great difficulty). "You have no faith," Echidna told me. "You do not ... trust the gods. I cannot blame you, little coward. Better you die now. Thegods are faithless. The poison is in your heart." You bring up a good point, Echidna. One of the biggest things that Percy has to learn over the course of his quest is faith: faith in himself and faith in the gods. And, boy, does he do a good job of learning this. How does faith work? Can you just say you are going to believe in the gods and then believe in them? How does Percy gain faith in himself and in the gods?

Manga: Emerging

    I think this is the first actually blog post where I'm not mentioning from something coming from a book, history,or movie. However it is a book, to be more specific, it's a manga. If you really do not know what a manga, it's basically like a comic book, mostly read from right to left, and the art is Japanese style. For some reason, unlike most people who would read the most popular one like Naruto or Bleach, I'll be blogging about the manga series Emerging. It's not popular, doesn't have many readers, and sorry for your disappointment, nor does it have a lot of chapters to read (only has sixteen chapters so far). However, it stands out in its own unique way. It was released last year in 2009 and the author and artist is Hokazono Masaya, who has known for these genres: drama, horror, and seinen (a class of manga written for an older male audience). I didn't really pay attention to the seinen part, so I continue to read the series.
    Coming from the summary from the website I was reading, it says this: Japan is a brilliant model of Asian success and obligation. But how would this country manage a large-scale sanitary crisis? What would happen in Shinjuku, one of Tokyo's biggest districts, if a man exploded in the street during broad daylight? How would the political and sanitation authorities manage such a crisis? Please consider this question as long as you can--because it's already too late for professors Onodera and Sekiguchi! Is an emerging virus slowly spreading itself into the arteries of the Japanese capital? I was intrigued with what it has to say and decided to read it. Boy was I hooked, I have idea why, but I highly doubt many people would like reading this manga, especially if it can actually be true.
The reason why I decided to blog about this series is because this type of manga should be taken seriously, or not. It shows how there is a possibility for a new unknown virus and can happen any part of the world. To those who are interested in reading this series, here's the link:
    Also, if you finish reading this series and want a similar one, here's one called Bloody Monday. It is greatly similar to Emerging, but has terrorism involved with the situation. This is the summary: A virus deal clinched in Russia on the Christmas eve. Purpose: unknown. Two clues: a mysterious lady "Maya", one of the reasons it happened, and "Bloody Monday", the keyword for the project. Then an incident happened in far-distant city of Tokyo. Fujimaru Takagi, a second year student at Mishiro Gakuin high school, is commissioned to find out the truth by the Public Security Intelligence Agency, for his great ability as a super hacker. Now, Maya approaching to Fujimaru as his high school teacher... Honestly, I really like reading this series. It's also lucky that it's completed so I won't go crazy waiting for it to update weekly (or monthly) for new releases. It you are done with BOTH series, there is still the newly released sequel of Bloody Monday, called Bloody Monday 2.

Here are the links if you are interested:
Emerging: click here
Bloody Monday: click here
Bloody Monday 2: click here

Quickwrite: The Rules of Love...?

    To guys, they would define "nice girls" as girls who gives them personal space and constantly contact them even in the middle of the night. Most guys aren't into relationships, and those who are in are usually in casual ones. They like to balance their free time with their girlfriends and for themselves. Same to girls, however, they define "nice guys" as a guys who have a gentlemen-manner. They would most likely say "I want a boyfriend who would comfort me and would always be there for me" and loves the attention to given to them by their boyfriends. What both guys and girls want are good behavior (nice personality), and trust. What "nice girls" and "nice boys" just don't do is something that can end the relationships like cheating with some other guy/girl or talk rudely about them behind their back.

    I would say the consequences for breaking their "rules" that they agreed upon, are either a break up or simply mistrust with each other. For break ups, it could be harder for girls than guys because most take relationships seriously (not all) while for few guys can take break ups hard if they were actually serious and was very committed to the relationship. As for mistrust, I think can easily switched to a break up, but I don't think relationships last long if the both the girl and guy doesn't trust with one another. To constantly worry about each other's actions behind their back and misunderstand them just because they are near the opposite gender is something no one wants to be in.

    Where do the rules come from? It's usually what the couple decide. Their rules are what sets them together, and any broken sets them apart. I would say among them are what I mainly pointed out: trust with one another. No trust, no (long lasting) relationship. All these things I been talking about are pretty much common knowledge.
 

Bánh Xèo

Once again, I am running our of ideas and my dear hero (my own mother) saved me once more. This topic will be one of Vietnamese popular dishes: Bánh xèo.   

Bánh xèo (literally "sizzling cake") are Vietnamese savoury (meaning salty, not like American ones that are usually sweet) pancakes made out of rice flour, water, (optional) chopped green onions, and turmeric powder or coconut milk  (in the Southern regions), stuffed with thin slices of fatty pork, shrimp and bean sprouts and then pan fried. Traditionally, they are served wrapped in mustard leaf, lettuce leaves, and stuffed with mint leaves, basil, fish leaf and/or other herbs, and dipped in a prepared nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce thinned with water and lemon). In the Central region, the pancake is dipped in a special 'tuong' sauce which consists of liver, hoisin sauce and garlic.

Southern style Bánh xèo are larger compared to the small pan-fried versions in the Central regions. Called "banh khoai" or stuffed omelette (even though the batter doesn't include eggs), today it is one of the best known dishes from the Central region. It made with rice flour and flavoured with cumin, it is fried until deliciously crispy around the edges in pans over charcoal burners. It is filled with little mounds of pounded pork, egg, shrimps, a few bean sprouts and some mashed green beans, and then folded over. To eat it, a piece is broken off with chopsticks and wrap it in fresh mustard greens with fresh herb leaves, slices of green banana and green fig, and dip it in a sauce (called 'tuong') which consists of liver, hoisin sauce and garlic.

The fresh herbs, which include the spicy, red-tinged cumin leaf, help to reduce any oiliness in the fried dish, as does the sourness of the banana and fig, which are also digestive aids.

At home, my family prepares bánh xèo in a similiar matter. However, the sauces are just a possibility for the consumer's desire on flavor. Nuoc mam is the most commonly used sauce to dipped with and and is easier to eat with other than the tuong sauce. Most people usually claim that nuoc nam is the best use because of its light flavor. Nuoc mam is has some fishy, but zesty taste to compliment the savoury aroma of bánh xèo.

This is a great dish and it is recommended to all to eat. It's also usually eaten with LOTS of greens and herbs, depending on how much flavor should be added. When making it, its best (recommended more like) to cook it without the greens. Remember, most Vietnamese eat fresh greens, so most cooked foods are usually eaten with a huge amount or fresh herbs, red lettuce leaves, etc. Some prefer cooked so it is an option on whether you wanted your greens to be cooked or not. I'm not sure about how it is in Vietnamese restaurants, but if you do order bánh xèo, it is usually cooked in Southern style.

This information is from Wikipedia : Bánh Xèo
And here's a recipe if you want to try making this at home: recipe

The Lightning Thief pt. 2

Continuing from the previous lit circle letter of The Lightning Thief...
      Wow. I was definitely surprised. There were so much going already that I can make a long list of events that happened. This is only the second part of the novel. So based on the little summary from the back of the book, Percy finds out his his true heritage, being a demi-god (again, means half god, half human), his mother being human and his father being the god of the sea, Poseidon. After that, being aware of his father's situation with his uncle, Zeus, he then goes on a journey with his guardian and best friend, a satyr named Grover Underwood, and another fellow demi-god named Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom (or what is referred in this novel, but is also goddess of civilization, strength, strategy, craft, justice, and skill in Greek mythology) With the suspicion of Hades, his other uncle's involvement of the stolen master bolt, the three of them travel across the United States with only ten days to complete the quest: retrieve the master bolt before a war between the gods begin. To me, this is definitely quite a load on Peter, especially since he doesn't know much of the world of the gods. It's like seeing him as an innocent little sheep walking into wolf's lair. In either case, he still continues onward to the heart of the Underworld, which apparently is located in L.A. (Los Angeles, very amusing) despite of being attacked by his math teacher again, Medusa (yes, the Medusa), a chimera,and being sidetracked by the ever god of warfare (I prefer god of blood lust), Ares. Surprisingly, the second section of the book packs a lot of action in just a mere one hundred- twenty five pages. I couldn't believe there how Riordan was able to squeeze that much things happening on in that short amount of pages. With such a cliffhanger at the end of the second section, I'm really tempted to read what happens at the end.
       As for my quote that I have chosen, I want to make a small comment on this.
"I'm not saying hello to a pink poodle." "Percy, I said hello to the poodle. You say hi to the poodle."
Honestly, I was laughing a lot. After facing so many challenges that just keeps going at Percy, Annabeth, and Grover, meeting a pink poodle was just...unexpected. Apparently the pink poodle was just helping out the trio when they were a bit stuck on getting money to continue their quest towards L.A., where the Underworld lies...

Vietnamese Dessert

   I got bored and have no idea on what to blog...again. It's like writer's block but it's just the topics I'm stuck about. Luckily, mother to the rescue! With her amazing cooking skills, I decided to write about Vietnamese food once again! But I did a lot of the popular ones, so I decide to blog about Vietnamese desserts. Not hard since I eat them constantly and surprisingly, I'm not getting any cavities with the load of desserts I'm stuffing myself in. Anyways, make to the topic.
 
    Che is a Vietnamese sweet dessert soup/beverage/pudding, usually made from beans (e.g. kidney beans, mung beans, etc.) and sticky rice, served in a glass over ice and eaten with a spoon (pretty obvious). It's gelatinous and perfect for the summer. However, there are varieties where you can eat it when it's hot so it's also perfect for the winter, even though it's not exactly cold over in Vietnam, but in other locations that can be extremely cold. Personally, I think most ches include these ingredients:bananas, coconut milk, pearl tapioca, sweet yam or yucca root vermicelli and/or sugar. The most popular che that you will find every Vietnamese restaurant is Che Ba Mau, which translates to three color dessert. It consists of brown (or red) beans, yellow mung bean, and green jelly, sometimes served with coconut milk and ice, or just ice. Sometimes, it is known as Rainbow Drink/Dessert for its colors. Personally, along with Che Ba Mau, another favorite I have is called Che Dau Xanh, which translates to green bean dessert (buy really, it's mung beans). It's very simple to make, yet very delicious, and you can practically make it yourself at home (if you have the ingredients). Here's a link: Che Dau Xanh Recipe

     Other than that, there are other desserts such as Xôi, which is a sweet or savory Vietnamese dish made from glutinous rice and other ingredients. Although it is often served as a dessert, in many mountainous areas in Vietnam, people eat xôi as a main dish. I personally like my xôi to be savory, topped with Chinese sausage, fragrant friend onions, and dried shrimps..-drools- Xôi that are sweet are usually have a different color like it could be entirely orange or green. You see more sweet xôi rather than savory ones in markets, but there are some in Vietnamese sandwich shops. However, savory ones are usually made at home and is more easier to make than the sweet ones.
    One of the terms that can confuse people are that Vietnamese use the term bánh because it translates loosely as "cake" or "bread". Like xôi, bánh refers to a wide variety of sweet or savoury, distinct flavored cakes, buns, pastries, sandwiches, and food items from Vietnamese cuisine, which may be cooked by steaming, baking, frying, deep-frying, or boiling. Foods made from rice or wheat flour are generally called bánh, but the term may also refer to certain varieties of noodle and fish cake dishes.

These Vietnamese terms can get confusing, but you understand the words after them, you would know whether or not it is savory or sweet. Even if you do make a mistake, just eat it. There are a lot of kinds of Vietnamese desserts, so it doesn't hurt to try.

The Lightning Thief pt.1

Since I was unable to convince anyone from my previous group partners to read the book, I'll read this myself.The book I am reading is The Lightning Thief written by Rick Roirdan. This is a the first fantasy novel of the series. It tells a tale of a twelve year old boy named Percy Jackson, who was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia and have always cause trouble and always end up getting kicked out for strange things happening around him. After discovering his true heritage and the reason behind for all the incidents involving him, a new world opens for him. Because of his father, he is being blamed by the Zeus for stealing his prized master bolt, known for blowing Kronos up into thousand pieces and it's up to him to retrieve the master bolt in order to prove his innocence and his father, Poseidon. Now as he travels west, he is a target for mythical monsters that are supposedly come from myths and encounters other mythical and godly beings. With ten days to complete his quest before an unnecessary war breaks out, he travels with a satyr named Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase, a fellow demigod (half god, half human) and daughter of Athena.




Of course, since it is the first novel, the first section of the book is the daily life of Percy Jackson. However, it was kind of unexpected that there would be some situation for Peter in the next couple of pages of reading. Also, right from the beginning there were some great use of Greek mythology and a new variation of a creature (possibly from the a Greek creature, the chimera) has been created. I am already hooked to this book and I only read one hundred-twenty five pages. What I wonder is will Percy figure out his heritage right after that situation or would he facing more dangers before that?



At the beginning, this is how Percy thinks about when he found out he was a demigod (half mortal, half god or in simple words: half-blood).

"Being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways."

Percy can't choose to be half-blood. It chooses him. His mom tries to choose a normal life for him for years, but the situation is beyond her control. Percy's destiny is wrapped up in the fact that he is half-human and half-god. When he tells us that being a half-blood is dangerous, he is talking from the perspective of someone who has just returned from a quest. We're getting his perspective on the quest after he's completed it and is able to reflect on it.

Catching Fire : Monthly Review

    Catching Fire is the second novel from The Hunger Games series written by Suzanne Collins. This science fiction novel continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, a young teenager who just survived from the annual event: the Hunger Games. However, it seems like her actions from saving her and a fellow District 12 tribute, Peeta Mellark, from the previous book, The Hunger Games, spark some rebellion among the other districts against the Capitol... Now, back in the Games once again, she and and Peeta faces new dangers, new allies, new enemies, and maybe face the biggest one yet.
    The character I'm interested in other than the main character, Katniss Everdeen, is the one of the supporting characters, Finnick. On his "introduction", my first impression of Finnick was like "did he win by seducing other tributes with his looks or something?" This twenty-four year old man shows a "sexy guy" to the the fans and viewers and is from District 4. Other than the fact that he was well known for his looks, he was one of the youngest Hunger Games victors, winning at the age of fourteen. Because he is from District 4, which was in charge of fishing, his abilities were one include fishing. His other talents include using the trident and trapping his enemies with his handmade nets. Besides his outlooks, he really is a caring person and despite the fact where he "sleeps with other people", he actually is in love with a contestant from the same district as him. Of course, the reader would assume it would be some busty girl with incredible looks.  However, the girl, name Alice, was actually had a mental disorder that was caused when she was in the games. With such a traumatic experience, she was never the same before. Other than that, not much is really known how Finnick fell in love with her. It shows he is not just some flirty guy that has no feelings of real love. I admire how he stays calm, but it shows he is human when he heard a mockingjay with the same scream as Alice's. Everyone has someone or something to care about and for him, it was the mental girl that no one would whom Finnick fell in love with. I also see how despite of his outer personality, he shows deep concern for others and trys his hardest.
    In my opinion, the weakness of the book will probably how long it took to start the next stage of the book. I was somewhat disappointed, but I will continue reading the book. Half the book was about the rough life back in Katniss's district, while the other half was when she was back in the Hunger Games. I think there has some meaning on how it Katniss's life has changed after the Hunger Games, but I don't think it was necessary to extend that far as half the book. Also, I was interested in how the Hunger Games will turn out. The results were pretty interesting, but I was somewhat disappointed, especially I was awaiting for a certain character's death. I think the character's death should remain dead, showing more of Katniss's dramatic emotional change. However, if that did happen, there would be few changes, but I would really want to see that. There weren't really a lot of deaths that would affect the characters, so there wasn't such a big emotional change for them. As for some of the characters in the story, I really so not see ANY progress or any improvement whatsoever throughout the first and the second novels. I thought there will be some use for them later in the story, but I will hope there will be in the last of the trilogy. As for the main character, I like how Collins shows the somewhat changes in her personality before and after her first experience in the Hunger Games from the first book at the beginning of the second book. However, Collins didn't have any changes in the character, Peeta's personality after the Hunger Games other than having some nightmares that barely had any affect on him. He seems all calm and doesn't show any much difference after such a traumatic experience other than finding his other talents (decorating cookies and painting).
    Other than Catching Fire, I have read the first of the trilogy, The Hunger Games. Compared to this, I actually prefer The Hunger Games probably because there were more plot than the second book. However,  I do see that the whole point of the second book was like a starter for the main plot of the trilogy. In the first novel, there was a lot of suspense and action, no wonder it will be a movie soon. The second book doesn't show much suspense and action until the second half of the book. What it did focused on more on the first half would be the development of Katniss's changed lifestyle back at home and her feelings towards to some of the close characters. In the first book, it shows what Katniss's life is like before facing such a traumatic experience. The second book shows how The Hunger Games affected Katniss both physically and mentally. I like how there was a before and after affect of the tournament. However, I am not satisfied with one of the character's before and after effect. I also see how much the Games affected her so much as to the point where she can't really let her guard down like how she was afraid that is she were to enter the game again, she cannot rely on her allies or she'll die, unlike a certain character. Catching Fire is just as terrifyingly good as the first book, but it delves even more into the history and politics of the Capitol and the Districts, and you'll discover the lengths the Capitol is willing to go to in order to crush any sign of a rebellion. As for both of the books of the series, Hunger Games series perfect for its intended audience, and a very refreshing change from all the paranormal romance garbage that's currently being cranked out of the publishing houses for young adults.

Catching Fire pt.3

Continuing to the third part of Catching Fire...
    At last! The 75th Hunger Games starts! But will the result be the same as the first book, leaving both Katniss and Peeta winning the game again? This question will probably remained until I finished the book.There were some unexpected events such as teaming up with the other previous victors. There was also the fact that Katniss got more protective towards Peeta rather more than what I expected. Katniss has become more cautious of the people who team with her more than the last book. She actually expected betrayal from her new teammates and thought about how she was going to kill them. She has really become one of the previous victors, unlike Peeta, who only has nightmares and pretty much isn't cautious as Katniss. I personally think that Peeta isn't as aware of survival facts and I think he's more innocent compared to Katniss during the Hunger Games. I'm starting to really mixing up the roles like Peeta is the "damsel in distress" while Katniss is like his "knight and shining armor". I feel that Peeta doesn't seem to changed whatsoever during the book, which is very unlike most other books I have read before. I also think that the start of the rebellion is only on stage one of the event and will continue on the next and last book: Mockingjay. I will definitely wait for the book, which will release in August 2010. To my partners, you already know the fact that Peeta...DIED -celebrates- until he revives....made me really disappointed. I never expected the author to actually grant my wish for him to die (this sounds very mean) but I loved reading that part! That was also my favorite part of the entire book! Ok, I think I went a little to far with my wish for Peeta's death...
My question: Are you going to wait for the last book, Mockingjay?

The end of the world?

  

 Ok, to be honest, I have no idea why I wrote this. I was bored (like always) and didn't know what to write (again). So (as usual) I decided to browse around the internet, looking for something to watch, play, read, etc. you get the point, right? I end up watching the movie 2012 and decided "hey, why I don't I blog about the end of the world?" So yeah, u guessed it, I am going to write about some things that people don't really talk about concerning the end of the world other than the Apocalypse. Fun to read, right? So let's start with a theory called the Big Crunch.
    Never heard of it? This is theory apparently is a consequence from the Big Bang theory.According to this theory, the universe will one day stop expanding. Then, as gravity pulls on the matter, the universe will begin to contract, falling inward until it has collapsed back into a super-hot, super-dense singularity. If the theory holds true, the universe is like a giant soufflé. It starts out small, then expands as it heats up. Eventually, however, the soufflé cools and begins to collapse. Weird, but kind of making some sense.
    There was also a book called Eschatology, written by Pope Benedict XVI, at the time when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. It is the study of the eschaton, the times of the end, or 'last things' and is a part of theology and philosophy concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as "concerned with ‘the four last things: death, judgement, heaven, and hell’" (phrase from Book of revelation). While in mysticism, the phrase refers to the end of ordinary reality and reunion with the Divine, in many traditional religions, it is taught as an actual future event prophesied in sacred texts or folklore. Overall, eschatology may include related topics such as the Messiah or Messianic Age.
    This is one where people do know, but not its name:Ragnarök. In Norse mythology, it is the "final destiny of the gods", a series of major events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures. These include occurrences of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water. Afterward, the world resurfaces anew and fertile, the surviving gods meet, and the world is repopulated by two human survivors. Ragnarök is an important event in the Norse canon, and has been the subject of scholarly discourse and theory.
With so many ideas of the end of the world, people who uses that topic can vary but link in some way with the existing ones. In scientific terms, the earth could be shifting, while in religious terms, the God is angry and wants the people to repent while uses the natural disasters to punish them such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, etc. What do you think? Will the world end in 2012?

Catching Fire pt. 1 and 2

    Catching Fire, written by Suzanne Collins continues the trilogy of Katniss Everdeen, a young teenager who just survived from the annual event: the Hunger Games. However, it seems like her actions from saving her and a fellow District 12 tribute, Peeta Mellark, from the previous book, The Hunger Games, spark some rebellion among the other districts against the Capitol...
    So far, from what I read, is just basically like the first book, Katniss's daily life in her home district, District 12, with some new changes such as how she doesn't see much of her hunting partner and best friend, Gale, and her new home with her mother and younger sister, Prim. I also noticed how much did Collins wrote a lot about the events from the first book. I honestly think there was a bit too much. I do understand for those who haven't read the first book, but still, there were some unnecessary amounts of previous events into the second book. I have a feeling the second book is mainly going to cover the first book mixing in with the new events. I'm actually surprised with Katniss's indecisive actions towards the threat coming from President Snow about Gale. This shows a strong bond between Katniss and Gale. I mean, she needs to declare her love towards Peeta instead the other way around to save Gale's life and possibly, his family's lives as well. Even though both Gale and Katniss's physical appearances are very similar that they could consider to be brother/sister or relative, they show a strong  bond towards each other. In some way, it seems like they are siblings, but they don't have much of those emotions, but more like so close, there might be a future relationship among them, if there wasn't the fact that Katniss has to publicly love Peeta for the Capitol. So here's my question: Do you think there is a future love relationship between Katniss and Gale, or the 'fake' relationship between Katniss and Peeta becoming real?

From the second part of the Catching Fire,  
I honestly can't believe that those handful of berries resulting the spark of a future rebellion against the Capitol. I mean, the rebellion could have acted up a lot sooner than now, but I guess it's aprt of the plot. And if there was a rebellion going one, not much a plot is going on and not much of a book to read either. As for the future relationship between Katniss and Gale, there is still a chance for one, but for some reason, I don't think there might be. As for her 'star crossed lover', I don't see much of a development between them, other than the fact that Katniss rely on Peeta during those nightmares she gets. I honestly hope the relationship will not go further than that, but I highly doubt it, probably because the author might just created Gale as an older brother model rather than Katniss's love interest.  I think the author is just using Gale as a love triangle formation between him, Katniss, and Peeta, to "spice up" the romance, adding more problems for our dear main character. I also love the fact that the author decided to have some of the new characters introduced themselves by teasing Katniss. It's pretty amusing and it shows her other side, being more feminine than she already is. At the beginning, being "innocent" doesn't exactly add up to her and her tomboyish side, up until some minor teasing. I can understand how Katniss right now is facing: going through another Hunger Game even though she is suppose to be done with, competing against other victors, who are could possibly be more experienced in killing than her, displaying her 'affections' towards Peeta because of their engagement, and the very thought of a rebellion caused by her berries adds up a lot of different emotions mixing up tremendously. I still can't believe the game still hasn't started! Maybe the game doesn't end by the time I finish reading the rest of the novel....

What are my current goals as a writer?

    As a writer, my goals are to improve my writing and for my readers to be well informed on my future topics. In the last quarter, I could have improved it by including more than just a mere summary like adding more of some other people's opinions on my topic. I think I could have added more detail on what I wrote about, more than what it seems. My blog's purpose was probably to inform and convince people to try whatever I had posted. For example, if you haven't heard or tried che (this is going to be a future blog post, so wait for it), you could read it and see whether or not if sounds good as the pictures are. If you are a type of person who usually tries new things, my posts are really great to read. It is also a great place to go to if you are interested in books or movies. I usually post some kind of book or movie I recently finished from class or from some random pick through the long aisles in the library. Overall, my posts are mainly for those who are interested in movies, books, or food. I originally wanted to try blogging about traveling, but since I haven't, that means I wasn't successful with the plan. However, I never thought I would make a game review, 2 game reviews! I don't play as much games as I did before, but I wasn't planning on blogging about games until I was addicted to it again. Luckily, it is not affecting my studies so I am not at the 'game addiction' group. Some of my other topics were kind of a desperate way to finish my blog, so I end up labeling it as 'random'. I feel embarrassed about it since I never intended in blogging about it until it was last minute.
    In the future, if I do continue with my blogs, my goal would be to actually (for once) add traveling such as my trip to Boston, Massachusetts or maybe to Miami, Florida. Or even Canada, since I am going this upcoming summer. Other than that, I would still like to continue my improvement in writing, especially my grammar. I am improving, but a slow rate. Even so, I am still improving, which is a good thing.
    Since I am talking about my goals for next year, I guess I will talk about my classes for next year as well. My plan was to take APUSH (Advanced Placement United States History)and AP Chemistry, English 3P, Physics P, Spanish 3, and Calculus P. I'm hoping my counselor will accept the fact that I want to take 2 science classes for next year. Personally, I was greatly disappointed when I didn't have a science class this year. I was planning on taking 4 years of science, but if I can make up this year with next year, I'm satisfied. Luckily, I know I can get into AP Chemistry because the teacher was also my Biology teacher and he approves, only I didn't get him to sign my paper....Other than that, the class I REALLY want to get into APUSH. History is my best subject, despite of how people think it's boring and seems pretty pointless to learn. However, I am not as enthusiastic for U.S. History as I am for World History. Either way, I know I can work hard, even if I have to stay for after school classes once a week. I'm pretty neutral with my other classes and I hope I won't overwork next year.

Monthly Review: The Hunger Games

      The Hunger Games is a science fiction tale of a young teenage girl living in a post-apocalyptic world, taking on an annual tournament called The Hunger Games. To survive and win the tournament, she must kill twenty four other contestants, including her new friend from her own hometown. Suzanne Collins's thrilling trilogy tells of how a girl alone will become greater than what she seems and does what she can to survive: kill or be killed....

      In my opinion, The Hunger Games is intended for young adults, ranging from ages 11-16. However, I think if you are a pretty advanced reader, I would think around fourth-fifth grade is when you can read the book with not many problems on the vocabulary. There is also the fact there are some slow readers that have trouble of the vocabulary and would take a longer amount of time to finish the book, so this shows the ranges vary to other readers' views. I would describe it as an 'average' book, can be difficult, can be easy. It is a science fiction, so for those who love fiction and some twist of science, this book is definitely for you. However, it has more fiction in itself and new technology, mutations, and some other varieties tying with science. The novel creates suspense, contains philosophy,adventure,and romance. The combination of these beings you in the book, knowing exactly what the main character is thinking, feeling, and acting. I for one, did not expect there would be any romance because of its suspense and adventure, to think there would be romance seems surprising. For those who think there would be some intense romance bond between the characters within the story, I'm disappointed to say, the romance is pretty bleak. I like the fact there is somewhat a love triangle between, a best friend, the main character, and her 'star-crossed lover.' I hope there might be more complexity among the love triangle, such as new character in the next book to strained them.The combination of suspense and adventure of this novel grabs the reader's attention, so much that they might even finish the book in less than a day! I personally recommend this book to everyone so much that I can guarantee, with finishing up The Hunger Games, you'll be yearning for more to read.

     Of course, the character is the main character, Katniss Everdeen. Katniss is a sixteen year old girl who is given birth from her father, a coal miner, and her mother,a daughter from a middle class family. She attends a secondary school somewhere in Appalachia, known in the book as District 12 the mining sector. She has a quiet nature, prefers to stay away from the gossip group. Katniss appears to be slender with black hair, gray eyes and olive skin and can be her best friend and hunting partner, Gale's sister because of their similarities.She is well known among the district for her ability to provide highly prized and illegal game to the community and supporting her family when they are at a brink from death from starvation. She is also an remarkable archer, gatherer, and trapper, coming from her father. She is very protective to her little twelve year old sister, Prim and would do anything to ensure her sister. Unfortunately, she cannot save Prim from the reaping, but volunteer in her place in the Hunger Games. Katniss resents her mother because due to her father's death from a mine explosion, her mother's depression affected her parenting, resulting to them in brink of starvation. She also resents the Capitol for their treatment towards her district, developing a strong political sense. What I admire about Katniss is how she faces her problems head on without regrets. The problems she faced that she had a hard time deciding was on her life and her family. This shows that she is still human, having mistakes and doesn't always do what she wanted or planned to do. I can see how Gale and Peeta fell in love with her, but she is pretty dense when it comes to love, so the romance was somewhat a disappointment.

     Collins's style in writing is very active, drawing the reader into the story itself. I also think it seems somewhat like J.K. Rowling's writing style. Both shows both the main character's emotions and actions, but Collin's main character, Katniss, is narrating the story instead of third person point of view. Collin's style in writing deals with the situations from both suspense and romance,so it shows a mixture of emotions for Katniss. J,K Rowlng's style is like that, for both have a lot of descriptions on the scenery is like, giving off a visionary for the reader and to in a somewhat drawing trance of the their fictional world. Every word, every sentence, every dialogue propels the story forward and all we can do is hold on. Just enough back story is layered with some unusual technology that we do not have to day such as mockingjays or force fields. With a touch of science, it displays a somewhat difference with J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter. With the vague descriptions of how the survival game is intact, I enjoy how the exact it will be if you were in in a tournament like Katniss was in. I assume Collins's well written survival game is probably well researched and what the characters' future actions could be like with the similarities of the real survival game. Also, I admire Collin's creation of her fictional post-apocalyptic world. However, I do wonder whether or not Collins's ideas were in a somewhat based on Rowling's Harry Potter, but I still love reading this book. There are other people who might have done a similar plot line like Rowling's, but there are some originality qualities to it to make their plot unique in its special way. If I have to pick between these two fantastic authors, I think I won't able to because of their remarkably similar writing style.

Hunger Games pt.3

For the final part of The Hunger Games,
I didn't annotate much on the third section because due to the plot reaching its climax, it's pretty pointless and its better not to stop time to time to keep track of what's going on.
I really do admire Katniss's strong will despite of all the events she is going through. With her outgoing personality, I'm pretty surprised at how she didn't really breakdown during the game such as seeing her new comrade Rue being killed in front of her and the times where Peeta was close to death and her inability to help ease his pain. What I dislike is how practically useless Peeta really is. I know I sound really mean and I can see how the author is thinking about; most girls in the novels have a weak but a somewhat strong personality, but Katniss shows how girls can truly be. And with one strong character, there should be a main character that happens to have that weak persona. And who is that character? Peeta. He's describe as what a usual female character is like in a novel. I thought 'maybe Peeta will change during the Game and not depending on Katniss's aid'. Wrong. He remains like that and the only thing he really does are his declarations of love towards Katniss. Also, I wonder why did Collins created the character, Gale? Maybe another love interest for Katniss or maybe he might have another role in the next book. He wasn't mentioned a lot other than what Katniss thinks of him, and he only played a minor role. Other than that, I think I'll read the next book: Catching Fire.
My questions are: How do you like the ending? Do you think Katniss will end up with Peeta for real, not for the audience? Are you satisfied with just reading only the first book or will continue reading the next book? Overall, do you think that this is a good end and you are done with the series?

*OMG it's LATE O__O

Hunger Games pt.2

Continuing from The Hunger Games,
How I annotated the second section of the book was the major events that are taking place in the chapter, so when I do come back to reading, I would remember what I read so far. I also recorded my reactions towards the events where I think I was pretty surprised with, especially with Katniss's unexpected actions.
The parts of the book I like was how clever of Katniss to ridden herself of tracker jackers by cutting their hollow nest directly below the group of candidates that were hunting her. I can tell Katniss has a good heart, despite of being one of the contestants, Rue, she was only a twelve year old, like her younger sister who was to be the actual candidate, Prim; Katniss treated her as if she was Rue was Prim. There was the time when she was going to be killed because of Peeta, but when she found Peeta slowly dying from a wound caused by a boy candidate named Cato, she treated his wound, despite of how disgusting it was or how she always stay clear from critical wounds the miners her mother would take care of.
What I was confused about was this: Why did Peeta join the group of candidates in hunting the other stray ones? Is this to hunt down Katniss? Is it because she had an eleven on her score with the Gamemakers that was the reason for his envy? How about Rue, why did she trust Katniss so much, that she willingly accepted Katniss's invitation in teaming up with her to defeat the career candidates? Was Katniss that trustworthy in your opinion?
Other than that here's more questions: What do you think about Peeta's actions? Is it wise for Katniss to trust Rue and Peeta again despite of his betrayal?

Italian Desserts

I feel like talking about food again, but this time, it's going to be desserts. Yum! So, this dessert topic will be: famous Italian desserts.

One of them I'm writing about is tiramisu, which I think its delicious (maybe its because of the fragrant coffee flavor) and you find it anywhere, for me, it's at Tomatina! Anyways, tiramisu is an Italian dessert consisting of layers of sponge cake or soaked with coffee and brandy or liqueur layered with mascarpone cheese and topped with grated chocolate.  It can also be made of savoiardi (otherwise known as lady finger biscuits) dipped in espresso or strong coffee or rum, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks, mascarpone cheese, sugar, and topped with cocoa.The recipe has been adapted into cakes, puddings, and other varieties of dessert.This famous dessert may have originated in Siena where it was first made for the benefit of Duke Cosimo de Medici.

 Have you ever tasted fruitcake? Surprisingly, if you ate or heard of it, there's another name for it: panettone and it is orginated in Italy. For those who never heard of it or haven't tried it before, it is a cake made with chopped candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts, and spices. They are often served in celebration of weddings and Christmas. Also, the phrase is used metaphorically in two ways: To describe one of weak or frail characteristics that do not uphold the expectations of others; and to describe one as "off one's rocker" or as one who has "lost one's marbles".

Another common dessert, ice cream, has another name or version called gelato. Gelato is an Italian variant of ice cream made from milk and sugar, combined with other flavorings. The ingredients are super-cooled while stirring to break up ice crystals as they form. Milk, cream, various sugars, flavoring including fruit and nut purees are usually the main ingredients.

I haven't tried it before but heard of a famous dessert called cannoli. Cannoli is a dessert that consists of deep fried pasta shells filled with a sweet ricotta cheese mixture. Candied fruit and chocolate pieces can be mixed with the filling and the ends are dipped in chopped pistachios. The Cannoli is the most famous of the Sicilian desserts and can be found in virtually every Italian pasticceria. At one time Cannoli were a gift given amongst friends during Carnevale, but have since gained worldwide recognition and numerous delicious variations.

Not much is known but it is a pretty famous dessert: Torta di Pere. The Torta di Pere is consists of ladyfingers brushed with pear syrup, sliced poached pears, mascarpone cheese & sweet marsala, and topped with toasted sliced almonds.

Overall, I have tried most of these desserts. The ones I haven't are one I have heard about is quite famous, just not around my area, but I bet it is elsewhere. I highly recommend to try these desserts and maybe comment me about them? I bet there are other famous Italian desserts, but the ones I listed are what I hear or ate before are the ones in my opinion. Just don't take my words for granted.

The Hunter Games pt. 1

Well, my group is reading The Hunger Games by New York Times bestselling author, Suzanne Collins. Before I read the book, based on the panel, its about a girl taking care of her mother and sister, who took her sister's place in the Games. Apparently, it also contains parts of suspense, philosophy, adventure, and romance.
Up to where I am reading, I say it is basically describes how the main character, Katniss Everdeen, and her daily routines in her hometown, District 12, a poor town filled with coal miners. As it goes on, she talks about her relations to the people around the Seam and this 'special' event called the Hunger Games, hence the title of the book. As I read the book, I was curious of how the Capitol shows it superiority by funding this hunter game. I at first assumed might involve hunting as a special event until I realize this: it is a hunting game, BUT you are not just killing the animals, you are to survive and kill the contestants from each district to win the game. Once this hit my on the head, I thought the game might involve cannibalism, but I have yet to know, since I'm just reading the events before the game started.
I really like the description of the main character's memories and her personality, as if you can vision her almost the same as the author might have. So far, it shows her reactions toward the major events such as her sister being picked for the Games and the other contestant in her district, Peeta, admits falling in love with her. Unfortunately, the first section ends there, so there is a bit of suspense stopping there. The one question for my partners is this:

* How will the other contestants react towards Peeta's confession? Will he be the first target once the game starts?

Adolescent Development Essay

Since most other people posted their Current Life Essay, I guess, join in! It's pretty short for an essay and I'm not proud of it, but I did get a good grade...So here:

    In your lifetime, someone is bound to ask "how do I become an adult?" Most people would answer 'when you're older', hinting that adolescence is the key to entering adulthood. However, between those words, it means it will take lots of time in order to become a successful and independent adult. Between the ages 13 and 19, adolescents go through three 'steps' to become an independent adult. These includes individuation, to be viewed, as only themselves, separation, to be free of their family and their views, and autonomy, or 'I have the right to self-govern'.
    Adolescents from early ages 13 to 15 years are in what is called psychosocial development. At this age, adolescents are under psychosocial stress from puberty,discoveries of sex, or even from developing zits, hormones, etc. They feel uncomfortable, scared, frustrated, or even confused to the point where it seems impossible to tell the adults. Of course, it is normal for them to be self-conscious, always thinking of themselves. Adolescents have ego ideals such as breaking free from parent control, wanting to be independent early, or searching for a role look up to and can have an identity of their own.
    When adolescents are approximately 13 to 15 years old, their thoughts take in two forms under cognitive development. One way is how teenagers think in an abstract way or abstract thinking, where they could process things without something you can uses your senses. Another form is concrete thinking, where they need something that requires their use in their senses to think about. Adolescents are also in a middle of a time measurement. In this period, it is how they have a difficult time to plan for the future and have patience for things or privileges such as receiving a permit.
    The psychosocial development for 16 to 19 year old shows psychosocial adjustment, where they are more comfortable with their bodies and less drama going around in their life. They now have more intimate relationships with either friends of their girl/boyfriend. They also have a clear sense in their sexuality and can communicate in a deeper level. Relationships are less superficial at this stage as it matters on similar interests in another and can be a painful breakup if their adults take them lightly. They can develop a clear sense self-concept, where they have more confidence in their decision making and can define their values.
    The cognitive development for ages 16 to 19 came from a theory developed by a psychologist named Jean Piaget. His theory was also known as formal operational thought or in simple terms: adult-like thinking. Adolescents could handle complex ideas, concepts, and high-level Math. They also become less self-centered and are able to plan their future. They could grasp the concept of the past, present, and future.
    Adolescence may be a painful and long process, bit if successful, will leave you as an independent adult. As early ages of 13 to 15, adolescents show a mixture of negative feelings and have little patience over minor issues. As they grow older, they start to have intimate relationships and could bond with one another. They also can become more comfortable with themselves, confident about their future, and can handle on their own time.

Looking over this, I saw A LOT of minor errors, which was really embarrassing. I'm not proud of the work, but I'll continue to write better essays than this one. 

Game Review: Final Fantasy X-2

 

      Since I made a blog post about Final Fantasy X, might as well make one for its sequel: Final Fantasy X-2. Again, Final Fantasy X-2 is a role-playing game and was developed and published by Square-Enix (or formally known as Square) for Sony's PlayStation 2 in 2003, two years later after the best-selling game Final Fantasy X was released. The game's story follows one of the main protagonists from Final Fantasy X, Yuna, now as the main protagonist, as she seeks to resolve political conflicts in the fictional world, Spira before it leads to war.Of all the Final Fantasy game series, this was the first one having only three playable characters and are all female. So if you are a guy and you prefer playing male roles, this is probably not a game for you, unless you might change you mind. 

      The sequel is set two years after the conclusion of Final Fantasy X, establishing new conflicts and dilemmas and resolving loose ends left by the original game. After receiving a movie sphere that shows a blurry figure that looked strongly like Tidus located at the Mount Gagazet by one of the characters from Final Fantasy X, Kimahri Ronso, Yuna decides to be a sphere hunter in the a group created by Rikku, another character from the Final Fantasy X's brother, called Seagull. Along with Rikku, Yuna is also teamed up the third and last female trio, Paine, who unlike Yuna and Rikku, is serious about her work and rarely trusts people other than the duo. Unlike Final Fantasy X, these trio have a different way to 'power up'. Instead of using a Sphere Grid, they use Dresspheres and Garment Grid. A dressphere is where the character can use to gain different abilities such as the ability to heal using white magic, fight using black magic, uses a variety of gadgets, or fight using one classic sword. These dresspheres are gained throughout Spira, like the Aeons (summoning beasts) in Final Fantasy X. Now with Sin forever gone, the young people of Spira abandon the Yevon teachings for machina to help shape a new Spira. However, the older generation thought this was a big change and is going way too fast. As new ideals and practices began to sweep Spira, several new political groups emerged. Most influential among them were the Youth League led by Mevyn Nooj, and the New Yevon Party led by a former priest named "Trema" until his disappearance, and later by Praetor Baralai. The Youth League consists mainly of young people, determined to see Spira completely abandon its past practices, while the New Yevon Party consists of members both old and young who felt that changes should be gradual, their motto being "One thing at a time".

     Overall, I think its pretty nice to see the original characters from Final Fantasy X and new characters, but I still feel disappointed. Despite the fact that the game was voted as the 32nd best game of all time, there are flaws. I still prefer Final Fantasy X because of the variety of characters while Final Fantasy X-2 focuses on a trio of girls. However it's less complicated so to those who prefer that, go right ahead and play it!

Game Review: Final Fantasy X

   
     I have no idea WHY would I pick this topic, but most teenagers (especially the guys) play video games, right? Well I'll be more specific on the game I'm talking about: Final Fantasy X. Like movies, there are genres for videogames and for Final Fantasy X, this is a role-playing game, a.k.a RPG. What is a role-playing game? It is when the player takes a role of a character(s) in a fictional setting. It's like you are part of a story and a game at the same time! This was developed and published by Square (Square Enix) as the tenth title in the Final Fantasy series. It was released in 2001 for Sony's PlayStation 2 and was the first to include voice-acting.
    The game sets in a fantasy world named Spira, where the whole story's main purpose was to destroy a monster called "Sin". Sin is a 'creature' shrouded with water and was created because of the people's sins and the only way to end it was for the people's atonement for their sins from using machina weapons (machines) for war.The play character is Tidus, a blitzball (a fictional underwater sport) star who finds himself in Spira after his home city of Zanarkand is destroyed by Sin. During the game, Tidus, along with several others, aids the summoner Yuna on her pilgrimage (journey) to destroy Sin.
      I noticed there are a lot of similarities from the game compared to real life and ideas based on real life. For example, there are some different 'races' or tribes/clans in the game that can be distinguished by the their outlooks and a made-up religion called Yevon. There is also the 'atonement' that the people must do because of their use in machina for war. In real life, the atonement is like what we call "the Apocalypse" or "The Final Judgement" predicted because of people's evil acts. The underwater sport, blitzball, is also based on a real life sport, soccer (football) and handball. There is also a similar 'act' of genocide (not torturing people or keeping them captured, but were trying to get rid most of them) of people in the videogame called the Albed. The Yevon's people think that the Albed are the cause for Sin because they do not follow Yevon's teachings and they use machina, a forbidden act from Yevon's teachings. For that reason, they fought against Yevon and had to dispersed to other foreign islands because were being outnumbered with the people of Yevon. 
    Overall, I really enjoyed this game, despite the fact that its really old and all. It also features minigames and a way to power up your characters by using a "sphere grid". I loved the plot because it contains a bit of romance towards the two protagonists in the story. However, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who doesn't like really complex games. With a fan reaction towards this amazing game, its sequel, Final Fantasy X-2, was released two years later in 2003.
        - Interested in this game? Here's a link: FFX

Imagining the Unimaginable... Final Draft

3. Human nature: Who participates in genocide, and why? What does the commonality of genocide lead you to believe about humanity?

        The "official" definition of genocide is "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life, calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; [and] forcibly transferring children of the group to another group”. People who participate in genocide generally believe that those they are exterminating are the cause of major problems and/or evil. They generally believe in a certain racial group because of their "difference" between them and the rest.
          There were variety of genocides; a well known genocide would be the Holocaust, or "Shoah" ,or "Final Solution" to the Jewish. The Holocaust was one where approximately 6 million Jews were innocently involved during the World War II. However, apart from the Jewish, there were also other groups, including ethnic Poles, Romani, Soviet civilians, Soviet prisoners of war, people with disabilities, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other political and religious opponents. Including the groups, the total number of Holocaust victims would be ^{between 11 million to 17 million people.}

          During Hitler's control, the Jewish were sent to concentration camps, stripped of what they owned. The system grew to include about 100 camps divided into two types: concentration camps for slave labor in nearby factories and death camps for the extermination of the 'different' groups (Jews, the mentally retarded, homosexuals, etc.).Many people were torn from families, tortured, and lived in fear. Children who were born in camps or were too young were sent to the burning pits upon arrival. This also included any elderly or people with health issues. Other than the SS men who control the camps, people die because of being experimented using drugs, had unnecessary operations on spines, organs, etc. Josef Mengele was known for his 'work' on children, especially twins. He supervised an operation by which two Gypsy children were sewn together to create Siamese twins. Some children’s hands were infected where veins were resected. He often injected chemicals in their eyes in an attempt to change their eye color. Mengele performed experimental surgeries without using anesthesia--- transfusions of blood from one twin to another, injected lethal germs, sex change operations, removal of organs and limbs, incestuous impregnations, etc. Due to his cruel actions, he was nicknamed "Angel of Death". However, the rest of the people died from gas chambers. The gassing process was 'simple' -some hot air was pumped in from the ceiling, then crystals of Cyclon were showered down on the people, and in the hot wet air they rapidly evaporated. In anything from two to ten minutes 200-250 people were dead.

           In "Night, the author, Elie Wiesel describes his vivid memory of when he and his family were sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, which then became a center of the largest amount of Jewish deaths. In the first three chapters, he described his daily life in his childhood before when before a sudden change happens to him. So far, there were some descriptions of upon his arrival to the camp, there was a "fire"--- a black thick fire that held the smell of burnt flesh. Before long, separated from his mother and sisters, Wiesel describes of his daily routine within camp, his worries for his survival for the day. From what it was heard, if people thought that the beginning was sad, it will continue on a spiral of death...

          The commonality of genocide in history is appalling and this leads into the fact that humanity is corrupt. They are corrupt by their own insecurity and fear of being worst than the first class. If genocide was ever needed for humanity, then what has become of it just for the survival for the rest of us? Simply by killing off the evil for the sake of humanity does not mean this is for the good. No matter what, even though there is peace, there will always be violence. Genocides are just showing us that humans are cruel to kill for the sake of the so called "good" when it was really not necessary.

Twilight: Good Read?

     To those Twilight readers out there, I don't think you would really want to read this blog. So my topic would be about this thought:'Is Twilight that good since its so popular?' This thought came up ever since the first movie came out. In my opinion, I thought it might have a lot of action and humor along with this vampire-romance novel.
    To see whether or not I would actually read it before i watch the movie, I googled it, and it came out as...unoriginal. To be honest, I was disappointed. The thoughts of a possible action, humor, and romance vanished in seconds. I mean, the first novel was about about how a girl name Isabella or Bella moving from Arizona to Washington. Then, she befriends her new classmates and started getting attracted at this "mysterious" Edward. Later then, she finds out he's a vampire and their 'forbidden love' begins. This is my summary (pathetic I know) of this 'great' novel. I debated whether or not I should read the actual book in hopes of changing my mind of the book. I have never came across a novel I didn't like,until I read it. 
     It was one summer day when I decided to actually thought of the book again and decided to read 'it'. Luckily, there was one available in the main library and it took me 3 weeks. The results: I regret reading the book. How did this capture so many people's attention? And so much it turned into a movie? I tried to continue reading the next novel after that, New Moon. Once again, I was lucky that there was one available at the library. Result? Nothing. It took me 2 weeks to read the first two chapters. After that, I returned it, and never once went back to re-borrow the novel again. To those who want an actual (and proper) summary of the novel, here's the link to Wikipedia: Twilight Summary

Ice Cream

Ok now, I am officially running out of ideas and am procrastinating. Bad. Very Bad. As usual, once I am running out time, I, like many others, will do the first thing in mind: PANIC! Unless, you think of a topic before hand or having one after screaming around the house think you're going to have a late assignment. This is why I usually don't procasinate. Anyways, here's this blog's topic: Ice cream.

From Wikipedia:Ice cream or ice-cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners.In some cases, artificial flavourings and colourings are used in addition to (or in replacement of) the natural ingredients. This mixture is stirred slowly while cooling to prevent large ice crystals from forming; the result is a smoothly textured ice cream.The meaning of the term ice cream varies from one country to another. Terms like frozen custard,frozen yogurt, sorbert, gelato, and others are used to distinguish different varieties and styles.

In most cases, people LOVE ice cream.They are great to eat especially during the summer and can by found almost everywhere in different variations. That's the great thing about ice cream. There's so many flavors to choose from, you'll end up having more than one favorite! I think it's interesting how there are different desserts that are topped, decorated, or contains ice cream. For example, if there are any a la mode after a desert, it means there's ice cream being topped off. Another dessert being what is now popular, ice cream cakes. This genius (in my opinion) thought of combining cakes AND ice cream! Everyone loves cakes and ice cream so put them together! Another popular desert is ice cream mochi. In case if no one knows what that is, ice cream is..well ice cream(or you can define it has how Wikipedia did) and mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice pounded into paste and molded into shape. So basically, ice cream is used for the mochi filling and once its cold, its a great desert to eat! Personally, I think this is a pretty interesting desert: Ice cream tempura. Once again, coming from Wikipedia, Ice cream tempura is commonly made by taking a scoop of ice cream frozen well below the temperature at which ice cream is generally kept, possibly coating it in raw egg, rolling it in cornflakes or cookie crumbs, and briefly deep frying it. The extremely low temperature of the ice cream prevents it from melting while being fried. Honestly, FRIED ice cream? I didn't believe it until I see it, which I did about 10 minutes later. I was amazed; it tasted so good, I expected the ice cream will be all soft and melting when in fact, it was still frozen solid. Anyways, I think that's all the desserts I can think of for now... Until then, I'm off to get some mochi ice cream.
Here's a picture of Ice Cream Tempura: