Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden

             I'm really disliking this book.  Its a chore just to read it.  The way the author writes, which is all newspaper like, is written in a very grownup way.  There's words that I can't comprehend and I can't fully grasp what the story.  I'm on about page fifty and the author hasn't said much about the characters.  She's said a little more, but not enough.
            Pretty much all I know about the characters is that they arrived in Elkhead by train and were greeted by Farrington Carpenter.  They ate dinner and were taken to their room, witch already had furniture in it.  Then in the morning they had breakfast with cowboys who didn't say much, but had good manners.  Next Carpenter gave them horses to borrow, and then it talks about that they went to Smith (a school for only woman).  It says that they did fun things with their friends, didn't have a desire to be married yet, and a few other things.
            I read the description of the book and it said that it was about the girls getting an education, and how Carpenter has a plan to marry them off to some guys.  Its just I thought that it would focus more on the education.  Its a two hundred and ten page book, you'd think it would have more to comment on about their education.  Most of the book isn't even about the girls.  It just tells about events in history in the area of Elkhead or their home town.
              I do like some of the historical events that she adds to the story, but they are taking up most of the book.  If I was asked if I'd recommend this book to anyone I'd say no.

Janitors book three By Tyler Whitesides

                In this story Spencer finds himself in a tight situation when he finds out the BEM is hunting his dad.  He desperately leaves class with Daisy to warn him, but when he gets home he finds out he's off the grid.  Which means he won't answer because someone has found the package that could contain the secret of disposing toxites forever.  The reason why none of Spencer's dads team can contact each other is because they don't want the BEM listening on their plans.  As soon as Spencer's dad and his team is assembled (which includes Daisy and Spencer) they open the package and journey to a secret landfill where the Aurans are.

              I liked how in the story the Aurans lied and said that they'd take the team to the source of glop that toxites are born from.  What they really plan to do is to somehow separate Spencer from the rest of the team so they can pan him.

              The three boy Aurans (who were panned and not among the girls) warn Spencer that getting panned (when a glopified dustpan is wielded to you) takes away your Auran powers and traps you in the landfill forever unless the pan is remove.  Spencer is the only one who is left that can remove the pan from the other boys, because the boys have special powers that the girls don't have.

             The Aurans and the team travel through a valley of tires that are stuck together in large towers.  They also go through a forest with trees that are giant fork, knives, and spoons.  

              This is the part when the Aurans take Spencer and the BEM waits to attack the team (they were trapped in a giant seven up can because a bunch of mud closed off their exit, and they were digging themselves out).  The Aurans take Spencer to Broomstaff island to get panned (you can only be panned under the right conditions).  When the nine girl Aurans leave Spencer on the island tied to a giant wooden broom staff, the tenth Auran girl comes up to him.  She unties Spencer from the duct tape and helps him escape the island surrounded in steaming glop.  He goes back to help the team with the BEM, and the tenth Auran says she'll try to convince the other Aurans that the boys aren't bad.  

            All the imagination made this a great story.  I think my favorite part of the story was when they were at the landfill, because of the creativity.

Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden

                      I liked how the author, Dorothy gave background on the story.  The way she writes makes the story kind of fun.  The only problem about the background she's giving, is that so far that is what the story has mostly been about.  She started the story with the girls Ros and Dorothy arriving at their destination and describing how their parents wanted them to take more stuff.  The author also talks about Farrington Carpenter and the letter he sent them about the preparations he's made for their arrival.  The story continues talking about the background of  Auburn, which is the city they left from.  They mention the history of Auburn such as the gold rush and woman trying to get rights.  There are only glimpses of what Dorothy and Ros are doing.  Things that are simply said like, Dorothy and Ros (Rosamond) arrived at the hotel.  The hotel was over the theaters districts and Denvers business.  After that it went on to take about railroads.  What I don't understand is that I thought the story was about Dorothys and Rosamonds, not the background of Auburn.  I think the author put in to much info about Auburn instead of focusing on Dorothy and Ros.
                   Even though I didn't enjoy what the author put into the story, I did enjoy how she wrote things.  Dorothy (the author)  found some interesting events to add onto the story, which kept me absorbed in the story sometimes.  The events added some excitement to the story.  One example from the story is when she said that Dorothy's (the character) dad put twenty dollar coins in the napkins of his birthday guests (on his birthday).  Another technic she used to write the story was that the way she told the story sounded like a newspaper.  I thought it was kind of fun, but for the most part it wasn't.

Vocabulary Words from Fable Haven book five and Janitors book one

Vocab words from Janitors book one

Witches

        I think the definition of witches is evil people (sometimes good) that hold the mysterious power to turn people into toads and stir cauldrons.

       The real definition of witches is "a woman thought to have evil magic powers".

Appropriate

       I think appropriate means that something you say or do isn't bad for what your doing

       The definition I found read "suitable or proper in the circumstances".

Vocab from Fable Haven book five

Improvising

       I think improvising means to provide something by making it out of the materials you have.

      The real definition is to "create or perform without preparation".

Sense

     I think sense means to feel like something is happening or going to happen.

     It actually means "a feeling that something is the case".

Meddle

     I think it means to purposely get involved in something.
     It actually means "to interfere in".

Actually

     I think actually means that instead of something its somethings else.
     The real definition is "as the facts or truth of a situation; really".

Activities

    I think activities means the things you do as daily routines.
    The real definition is "the condition in which things are happening".

Brick

    I think brick means something made from a hard material that is shaped like a block.
    The real meaning is "a small rectangular block".

Artifact

    I think that artifact means an object that is valuable to someone.
    It really means "an object made by a human being.

Mind
     I think mind means the stuff you think about, its basically talking about the brain.
     It actually means "the element of a person that allows them to think and feel".

When the Volcano Cries

                                 

                                             When the Volcano Cries

               Thunder rumbles beneath the earth's dirt layer.  The surrounding land shudders violently.  For a brief few seconds the island lies hushed.  Suddenly that once peaceful mountain exhales a fiery breath into the air.  Tears plummet down the mountains face as it painfully washes away any zits or moles.  

               The river of tears falls off his face into a puddle.  As the puddle expands it begins to ooze across the land.  The searing tears sweep over trees and shrubs.  They race each other to see who's the fastest.  

               Back at the mountain it gives another angry breath, expelling more contestants for the race.  As the contestants race down the mountain's face, the smoke escapes the burning haze.

               The smoke grabs hold of his girlfriend --the ash.  She accepts his hand and darts up along with him.  Its then that they begin to dance.  

               By now the mountain's cried all it can, and it has no more tears to dismiss.  The last of his tears hurriedly flee down him to catch up to the rest.

               As they proceed, some accidentally descend in lakes, rivers, or streams.  The rest trudge on to prove that they can win.  When they finally start to catch up they begin to slow, because the cold starts eating them.  They pass by frozen comrades and still go on to win.  Competition feasts on their minds, and the cold beats on their backs.  Then they freeze like their friends, never to move again.

               Up in the sky the smoke fades, and the ash begins to fall.  For one last time they gaze at each other.  As she descends and he floats up they give one final kiss.  They try to stay together but she could not float.  So as they go separate ways they wave good bye, only to wait another thousand years to see each other again.

Flu Shot Causes Death: News from KSL

              In Sandy a woman claimed that her son passed away from a flu shot.  The nineteen year old boy was ready to submit his papers for a mission for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  He was also in full health.
              Chandler Blake Webb (the nineteen year old boy) got sick the day after he got the flu shot.  The article read that this was the first flu shot he ever had.
              In the hospital Chandler suffered from vomiting and shaking.  Then he fell into a comma.   About a month later he died.
              To find out the cause of his true death people ran tests on Chandler to see what he died of.  They found that he didn't die of decease.  The CDC says that they haven't seen the flu with this outcome before.  Experts wanted to do a brain autopsy on Chandler, but Miss Webb said no.
              I agree that Chandler died of the flu shot.  For some people flu shots don't work very well for them, and it makes them sick.  Another sign of evidence that Chandler died of a flu shot is the symptoms he had.  On the news it said that he was shaking, vomiting, and fell into a comma.  I looked up symptoms of the flu online, and it labeled those as symptoms of influenza (the flu).  Since shots are a weakened form of a virus it would make sense that he got the flu.  Maybe the virus in the shot wasn't actually weakened like the doctors thought.  If he was sensitive to the shot or the virus was too strong I don't know, but I think its the flu shot that killed him.

Responding to Racist Statements #2

1.  Racism only affects the person its used against

           I think that racism affects more that the person its used against.  When you use a racist comment against someone it makes other people feel bad.  

2.  Minorities are better off than they were fifty years ago

              I think that minorities are better off now than they were back then.  Back then (in the nineteen sixties) the minorities were forced to be slaves.  Now the minorities are free and they aren't slaves.

3.  Is being prejudice less than, more than or about the same in the US as it was fifty years ago

               I think that people aren't as prejudice as they were fifty years ago.  Back then they treated colored people horribly.  They even sprayed them with fire hoses.  Today, people are more respectful of each other.

4.  Do you think people in Utah get the same justice in court as people get in Florida

             I think that all states in the US have similar or the same justice in court because this is a free, governed country.  So if all the states in the US have the same justice then Florida must have the same justice as in Utah.