Day vs. Night!♥

My Photographic Memory!♥

After 12 years of going to school, I have discovered that I am a visual learner. I am good at memorization and I have a pretty good photographic memory. For example, I can look at something and remember it very well later on. I am good at finding my way around new places just by being there once or twice since I am able to record certain objects, for example, in my memory just by glancing at them! I think that the reason why I love visual art so much is because of my way of learning. Also, I think it is possible that spelling is one of my strengths because of my photographic memory. By memorizing how the letters of the word look and are arranged on a page, I can also remember how they are spelled properly! When I look at a text and read it, I can understand and remember it quite well. With this, I am able to memorize speeches quite easily in short amounts of time and other things such as monologues and more. However, I am not very good at listening, (because of my short attention span) which is one of my weaknesses in terms of learning (my friends always complain about this). And for this reason, I do not learn or understand much when I hear or listen to a lecture. Because I have this problem, I should find ways to help myself out. I should take detailed notes during class and maybe even include diagrams or drawings to go along with my notes. Then, when I am at home, I can review by re-reading my notes and studying off of them. This will make my learning much more effective and successful!

Mini Commentary!♥

After Dark Passage:

"On her table is a coffee cup. And an ashtray. Next to the ashtray, a navy blue baseball cap with a Boston Red Sox 'B.' It might be a little too large for her head. A brown leather shoulder bag rests on the seat next to her. It bulges as if its contents had been thrown in on the spur of the moment. She reaches out at regular intervals and brings the coffee cup to her mouth, but she doesn't appear to be enjoying the flavor. She drinks because she has a coffee cup in front of her: that is her role as a customer."

What is Murakami trying to achieve with his use of language in this passage?

Murakami’s style creates an awkward and mysterious mood, which reflects the type of language he uses in this passage. There are many incomplete sentences that the author uses such as, “Next to the ashtray, a navy blue baseball cap with a Boston Red Sox ‘B’.” This creates a sense of awkwardness since the sentences are short and choppy. He sometimes begins his sentences with conjunctions, for example, when he writes, “And an ashtray.” Again this is a different way of writing and therefore makes the reader feel uncomfortable, which is exactly what Murakami intends. He also has no transitions between his ideas; he moves from one idea to another without linking them together. “It might be a little to large for her head. A brown leather shoulder bag rests on the seat next to her.” The fact that he does not include transitions makes the ideas more mysterious to the reader and creates a sense of curiosity. The precise language techniques that Murakami uses reflect the uncomfortable feeling that the reader is left with.

Imaginary Pastiche!♥

Imaginary Pastiche -

Classroom Pastiche!♥

Classroom Pastiche -

Short Story Essay!♥

Short Story Essay -

Antigone Comparison Essay!♥

saudi gov. ENGLISH ESSAY -

My Strengths and Weaknesses!♥

So far, I have written two essays in my tenth grade English class. The first one was an in-class short story literary essay and the second one was related to the themes of Antigone. In both essays I had my strengths and weaknesses, which I can hopefully improve on by the end of the school year.

Strengths: Usually when I write about a topic that interests me and that I am passionate about, I can write more and connect more with it, which, overall, makes my writing better. Overtime, I've become better at including examples in my essay to help with the reader's understanding. I feel like this has become one of my strengths. I am also quite good at coming up with lots of ideas (but that can sometimes be a problem) and I can develop them pretty well! When it comes to grammar, spelling, and punctuation, I usually do well and have no problems! Just need to pay attention to my weaknesses!

Weaknesses: One problem I've always had with my essays is including advanced and difficult vocabulary. I always use simple words and don't usually have a variety. This is one of my major weaknesses, which I really have to work on. Another significant weakness is that I'm not always able to develop my ideas in an organized and coherent way and keep one idea per paragraph. I tend to include information that sometimes doesn't relate to the topic sentence or thoughts being conveyed in the paragraph. Lastly, I do not always go into depth with my arguments and information. I think that if I really focus on those weaknesses I can definitely improve by the end of the year, and in the future, as I write more and more essays and work on different types of formal writing.

Xtranormal Reflection! ♥

After reading the Greek tragedy, Antigone, my group and I decided that one scene in particular was interesting and important, so we chose to make our Xtranormal video based on it. This was the scene where Haimon and Creon had an argument about Antigone being sent off to die just because she had buried her beloved brother Polyneices. In my opinion, this scene is very significant to what follows afterwards. Firstly, from this argument, the audience learns that Haimon has such strong feelings for Antigone that he is willing to go against his father's beliefs and die by her side. In addition, Creon did not change his mind after Haimon told him that he supports Antigone. This shows that Creon is so headstrong and stubborn that he doesn't even want to give in to his own son. This scene leads to the climax of the tragedy where Creon finds his son, wife, and Antigone dead and realizes he had been the one who was mistaken all along. Another point this scene reveals is that Creon is against women and thinks that they are inferior to men. This point gives us more information about Greek society and their beliefs, values, etc. As we have learned in our Social Studies class, the Greek society was misogynistic; literally meaning hating or disliking women. These points made this specific scene interesting to my group and that is why we chose it!

By using different cinematic techniques, our video became more meaningful. We added pauses between every comma, full stop, and other places where we felt were necessary. And we also added facial expressions and physical actions throughout the speeches. This made their speeches more realistic because otherwise they talked extremely fast and continuously. For the two characters, we chose two different actors (one with droopy ears, and the other with pointy ears) and each had a different voice range. This makes it easier for the audience to distinguish the two. Also the droopy ears for Haimon symbolizes the fact that he is inferior to Creon who has pointy ears. And lastly, we used several camera angles; many close-ups, and some long-shots. The angles that focus on one character at a time help the audience to pay all their attention to that one character. And the long-shots help show the distance between the two characters, which help determine their relationship. These cinematic decisions made our video more realistic and full of impact!

Haimon vs. Creon! ♥

Heracles and Athena! ♥

http://www.theoi.com/image/K8.2Athena.jpg

Heracles and Athena is a Greek vase which was made in around 490-470 BC (the late Archaic period). Python was the potter who made this vase, and Douris was the painter who painted it. In Greek mythology, Athena is the goddess who helps and protects heroes, such as Heracles. Athena helped Heracles complete some of his twelve labours, which he had to do in order to repent himself. The vase shows Athena pouring wine for Heracles. Athena is holding an owl in her hand as well as a spear and she is wearing a "snake trimmed cloak". And Heracles is wearing his typical lion-skin cape. When we studied Ancient Greece we learned a bit about their mythology and how important it was to them. Since most of their art was of their gods, they must have been religious and really valued them, which we had learned about in class. When they had problems they visited the different gods and worshipped them depending on their situation. On the Greek packet there were many vases with paintings of gods as well. This type of art (pottery) shows what exactly the Greeks valued. The gods were important enough that artists took the time to make paintings and vases, etc. I can tell that the Greeks valued their gods since it affected their fate and daily lives. The gods even influenced their medicine and the methods they used for their health. Historians can look at these vases and other pieces of art and artifacts to learn more about the civilization; its culture, beliefs, values, etc. By looking at this vase, historians are able to know about Heracles and Athena and learn more as they find supporting artifacts. Overall, Ancient Greek art was very beautiful and the paintings on the vases were meaningful and unique.

Citation: Atsma, A. (2007). Heracles and Athena. In Ancient Greek Art. Retrieved October 20, 2009, from http://www.theoi.com/Gallery/K8.2.html

Heracles. (2009, October 18). Retrieved October 20, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heracles

Wordle! ♥

My Identity! ♥

My parents have always had my back since the day I was born. My identity and the person I am today is hugely impacted by my parents. They have given me so many opportunities and continuously shared their thoughts and wisdom with my younger sister and I. When I was younger, my mom always signed me up for different activities and gave me constant encouragement. Sometimes I needed a little boost because I was not willing to attend practices that my clubs held. At the age of three and four, I had joined the jazz & tap dancing, ice-skating and ballet club. As I grew older, I stuck to ice-skating and ballet, and my parents supported me the whole way. I was able to participate in ice-skating competitions with my team, and my parents were there to drive me all around the state. When I moved to England, I continued with my ballet, and actually went to a ballet school for five years. My parents attended every single one of my performances for extra support. Later on, my dad signed me up for private lessons in golf, and to help with my confidence, he sat through my lessons with me. All this support and the opportunities they've provided me have helped shaped me today. I am now confident in myself and do try to strive for the best. I am not afraid of failure and always try to work with my best effort. My parents have taught me how to be respectful of others, responsible (taking care of my sister), friendly (to make the best of friends) and open-minded to accept different cultures and ideas (because we move around a lot). I am a happy person with great goals and strong values, some shaped by my parents as well. One of my most important goals is to be successful in my academics. I think that when I was younger it was more my parent's goal rather than my own, maybe because I was too young to care. But even then I was able to be successful, and now that goal has become my own as well as theirs. The values that I have chosen have most definitely been influenced by the same values of my parents. They value optimism, friendliness, diversity, respect, excellence and courage. And since I have been brought up with those values, I have been accustomed to them and now I believe in those same values. I think that even as I grow older, I will always stick to those values but maybe add on a few. I am grateful of my parent's love and support and do believe that if they hadn't had my back these past fifteen years, I would lack an identity and my strong values would be missing!

English Throughout My Life! ♥

English has always played a major role in my life. During school hours, I speak English with teachers and students. I learn in English, do my homework in English, think and dream in English (most of the time), and much more. My family and I are Iranian-Americans, so after school when I am at home, I mix English and Farsi together while speaking to them. Farsi is my second language after English, but I am able to speak Farsi fluently as well. The only time when I do not speak English at all, and only speak Farsi, is when we are visiting relatives in Iran. In my opinion, speaking two languages fluently is quite an advantage because there is more privacy and convenience while speaking. For example, if I am with my friends who speak English and my mom who speaks both, I can tell her things I don't want my friends to hear while they are still in our presence by switching to Farsi. I have also been studying Spanish for the past four years and I am currently in Spanish IB level. I want to become fluent in Spanish just like in Farsi and English because I think that it will help me in the future since I will most likely be living in the United States where the population of Spanish speakers is constantly increasing. Since I am living in Japan, you would think that I am learning Japanese, but unfortunately I am not. I go to an international school so all the students and teachers speak in English. I think it is pretty cool how I am in a foreign country but can still use my mother tongue language all the time. I live on Rokko Island where there are many foreigners, and mostly everything is also in English. This is extremely convenient, but at the same time a disadvantage because I am not able to learn Japanese. I am 100% sure that in the future even after I finish high school and college, I will continue speaking in English because it is such a big part of me. My Farsi will also stay with me, but my English will be more important in my life.

I'm unique! ♥

My Literary History! ♥

Throughout my lifetime, I have read many books. Three, however, had more of an impact and were more significant to my life than the rest. Each book appealed and related to me in some way, which made them even more special. These books are Chalk and Cheese, My Sister’s Keeper and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens.

Chalk and Cheese
By Adele Geras

When I was six or seven years old, in the first grade, I read a book called Chalk and Cheese by Adele Geras. I remember this book appealed to me for several reasons. Firstly because it was a chapter book but also included many pictures, which I enjoyed. Also, it was about two sisters who are completely different, one being a girlie-girl and the other a tomboy. The girlie-girl loved ballet while the other was into judo. They argued quite a bit but in the end they came together and helped each other, which was one part that made me love the book even more! This book related to me and for that reason it was very appealing and meaningful. At that time, my little sister was born and so I felt like the book made sense and fit my situation since it was about two sisters as well. Along with that, I had just started taking ballet lessons, and just like one of the sisters in the book, I had many performances and practices to attend. Chalk and Cheese was significant to my life because it was my first chapter book as well. After I had read this book, I was no longer afraid of chapter books and from there I started to read thicker books with less pictures. Out of the many books that I read during my elementary years, this book is one that I will always remember throughout my life!

My Sister’s Keeper
By Jodi Picoult

Over the summer holiday, I read My Sister’s Keeper, as many of my friends had recommended it. My inspiration basically came from them and their mothers since they all really enjoyed reading it. I also wanted to read it because I had heard that the movie would be coming out in theatres, so I decided I would read the book then watch the movie, and I did. The story is about two parents that have a daughter called Kate who has a rare case of leukemia. In order for Kate to live, the doctors need a bone marrow match, so the parents decide to give birth to another girl called Anna. After years of donating bone marrow, Anna decides to sue her parents and not donate the kidney that her sister needs to survive. It is a very heartbreaking story and it was even more emotional for me because I have a younger sister and I cannot imagine anything that happened in the book. It also made me realize how strong a bond between sisters can be and made me feel bad that I fight and argue with my own sister quite frequently. I rarely cry from reading a book, but My Sister’s Keeper made me cry quite a bit because I had so much empathy for the younger sister, Anna, and the whole family in general. I think it had an impact on me, because it made me realize that this story has the possibility of being true and could happen to any ordinary family. Also, the love shared between the two sisters and their mother was very touching; it made me want to change my attitude towards my sister and mom. Although it was very depressing, I really enjoyed it and consider this book as one of my favorites. I know that when I grow up and have a family of my own, this story will still be significant in my life!

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens
By Sean Covey

Another book I read over the summer was The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens. My mom had just bought it for me because she wanted to get rid of some of my bad habits through reading the book. This book was appealing because inside it included pictures, quotes and poems along with stories of teenagers, my age, facing similar problems. You would think that it would be boring and a waste of time, but I really enjoyed going through each chapter and learning a new great habit. At the end of each chapter there are goals, tips and advice written and since it was made for teenagers, I feel like I can really relate with all the matters it talks about. After reading this, I felt like I should really work on changing myself in the ways suggested, or just simply following the advice. And it has helped me with one of my worst habits, procrastination. There are all sorts of quizzes inside too, that help you get to know your character and personality better. I now feel that if I ever have any problems I can look back at a certain chapter and just read what they advise me to do or look at a quote, picture or poem. Basically my whole book is highlighted because I like it so much! Soon I think I will read Sean Covey’s father’s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People!

Expectations of G10 English:
Overall, I am quite excited for a whole new year of English! I like the different types of assignments we will be doing such as playwriting, poetry podcasts and commentaries. I hope to improve my writing skills especially with commentaries and articles because those were my weaknesses in the past. I want to learn more but have fun at the same time! Other than that, I’m looking forward to my English class!

Musicblog! ♥

A history of rock icons: WBNS

As longtime friends who first met randomly in an unemployment line on the outskirts of Rolla, Missouri, WBNS climbed to the top of the rock scene in 1994 with their debut album, Rozz Tox. The band's latest album, Where they have left things, combines Jason Powell's blue-collar vocal work with back-to-basics riffs to generate a record full of rock songs in their purest form. With standout tracks like "Manifesto," the music of WBNS appeals to rock fans and non-rock fans alike.