Jesse

Jesse; brother of Anna and Katie, son to Brian and Sarah
19

• Artisan 
• Jesse is a smoker
• Jesse is a good kid that makes bad decisions 
• He tries to stay away from all the drama from the family 
• drinking 
• smoking 
• He doesnt get alot of attention 
• Jesse is the closest to Anna because they are alike 
• "F*** them all I ought to have that tatooed on my forehead, for all the times i thought it."
• "People yell at me behind their close windows. I give them the finger."

25 Facts About Me

1.  I went to St. Stephens for grades K-8.
2.  I go to JC.
3.  I am catholic.
4.  I live in Abingdon MD.
5.  I skateboard.
6.  I ride a little BMX.
7.  I motocross.
8.  I hunt.
9.  I fish.
10.  I fish anywhere for the biggest or best gamefish I can get.
11.  I fish anywhere saltwater, freshwater, and I even ice fish.
12.  My Grady White 257 Advanced's name is the Dan's Legacy.
13.  Homework for something that I already know and doesn't do anything for me is a waste of my lifetime.
14.  I don't watch a lot of TV or play a lot of video games because I'd rather be outdoors.
15.  I worry to much.
16.  I have three brothers (one of them being my 5 year old dog: Hunter).
17.  I believe that life would be boring if there weren't challenges.
18.  I like to hunt with a bow because it is a challenge.
19.  I like big game fishing with light tackle because it is a challenge.
20.  I like to be in the woods and on the water a lot because of the stuff I experience there.
21.  I am a Bengals fan.
22.  My brothers and I actually have a 14 foot camo aluminum boat which we got for our birthdays.
23.  I hate when people just say and do things because that is what their political party's general belief is.
24.  I like to live life on the edge because there is no point in living a pointless life.
25.  I don't think people should be politians, but do the right thing.

Simile-a figure of speech comparing two things using the words like or as  
Metaphor- a figure of speech that uses something to replace something else to make an analogy
http://www.merriam-webster.com/
1.  They'd sob with sheer with sheer joy to find me, and whisk me of to our castle in Monaco or Romania and give me a maid that smelled like fresh sheets, and my own Bernese mountain dog, and my own phone line. (57) Simile
2.  She has a Mahhukar catheter, which looks just like her central line used to look and protrudes from the same spot on her chest. (57)  Simile
3.  Vern's face is like a soufle, caving in at the most unexpected places. (59)  Simile
4.  Vern shuffles his feet and stuffs his hands in his jacket, like Napoleon.
5.  A four hour surgery isn't exactly a walk in the park, either-you have a 1 in 3,000 chance of dying on the operating table. (59) Metaphor
6.  When she is tied to the bed I am her eyes and ears.
7.  My throat closes like the shutter of a camera.
8.  The information is endless, a series of darts thrown so fast I can not feel them sting anymore. (74)  Metaphor
9.  I f you can focus on sandbagging the beachhead, you can ignore the tsunami that is approaching. (76)  Metaphor
 

Some One's Keeper

     I am usually equally nice to people.  Almost the only exception is really when I don't like someone and try to stay away from them.  So I will use my two brothers as examples.  Even though my brothers and I may fight and are constantly staying even with each other I still really look out for them.  They are nine and twelve years old.  I don't spend time with many younger kids like them.  I say things that I wouldn't really say around many other kids their age.  I also like to teach them lessons.  Usually if we are even we will help each other stay and get out of trouble.  We will actually plot.  I may be harsh sometimes, but it's because I am looking out for them.

Introduction to "My Sister's Keeper"

     Jodi Picoult is the auther of My Sister's Keeper and many other books.She was born in Nesconset Rhode Island and then moved to New Hampshire at thirteen.  Her family was Jewish but did not practice.  She went to college at Princeton University and then later got her Master's Degree at Harvard University.  She married a man she met in college and they had three kids.

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     I expect this novel to be somewhat suspenseful.  I also expect it to be an emotional rollercoaster at some point for the sisters and their family.  There will be parts in the story of arguing and problems between people.  I will read and just wait to see what happens.  It seems like it will be a book about a series of problems that all go together to form the big picture.  The big picture is keeping the sister with leukemia alive and possibly cure it while the family tries to live a normal life.  

Info Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jodi_Picoult

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"The Great Alaskan Odyssey of Chris MacCandless"

Chapter and page #	Description/quote from novel	What impression you get about Chris with this character trait or description?
Mrz. Z’s EX: Chapter 1, page 4	“Five feet seven or eight with a wiry build, he claimed to be 24 years old and said he was from South Dakota.  He explained that he wanted a ride as far as the edge of Denali National Park, where he intended to walk deep into the bush and ‘live off the land for a few month.’”	Chris is not physically fit for walking into such a dangerous environment.  He seems a little crazy.
Chapter 2 Pg 13	“The remains were so badly decomposed”  “no massive signs of broken bones or internal injury”	Chris either ate something that he shouldn’t have, got sick, or starved to death.
Chapter 3 Pg 15	“I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence.”  “I should not be denied that footloose has not always been exhilarating to us”	Chris doesn’t like to spend time in one spot.  Chris doesn’t want to live an ordinary and boring life.
Chapter 4 Pg 28	“in his impatience he drained the (car) battery”  “McCandless was exhilarated”	MacCandless doesn’t take anything for granite and likes to live life to the fullest.
Chapter 5 Pg 39	“spent July and August on the Oregon Coast”  “itchy feet”	MacCandless likes to be on the move and making as much progress as possible.
Chapter 6 Pg 48-51	“made an indelible impression”  “extremely intelligent”	Chris effected many people’s lives and was extremely smart.
Chapter 7 Pg 62	“We was counting on Alex being back at work by now”  “with a big old backpack slung over his shoulder”	Chris was extremely dependable.  He was also a very hard worker.

Chapter 8                       “Alex is a nut”  “Personally I    Chris was frowned upon people

                                        see nothing positive”                   who didn’t know him.  He didn’t

                                                                                               care though, because he was

                                                                                               having fun and liked life.

Chapter 9                       “Alex Supertramp/May 1992”    Alex was all about starting a new 

Pg 89                               “adopted a new name”                life.  He thought that his old life

                                                                                                was empty and boring.

Chapter10                      “congenial youth”  “The guy       Alex was confident and prepared

Pg 99                               in the pictures was Alex”             for what he wanted to do.  Alex

                                                                                                Was good at what he did but

                                                                                                 something unexpected may have

                                                                                                 happened that killed him.

Chapter 11                     “so much compassion”  “gave      Walt McCandless says that Chris

 Pg 104                            everybody the slip”                        was an extremely good person. 

                                                                                                 What he doesn’t understand is

                                                                                                  Chris could just leave his family.

Chapter 12                      “graduated from Woodson             Chris was smart and knew how

Pg 117                              High”  “was good at almost            people worked.  He wasn’t just

                                          he ever tried.”                                  physically good at things.  His

                                                                                                     mental state plays a big roll in

                                                                                                     in things and he is a smart

                                                                                                     person cycologically. 

Chapter 13                       “his expression was                         Chris’s facile and body

 Pg 128                              identical”  “with an                        expressions tell what he is

                                          affectionate smile”                           feeling.  They also show that he

                                                                                                     is a very hard person to read

                                                                                                     when he wants to be.

Chapter 16                        “he wasn’t what you’d call             McCandless was a person

Pg 159                                 a typical hitchhiker”  “was            looking for himself and did

                                            a dandy kid”                                    not just do what he did because

                                                                                                      he was crazy.  He was happy

                                                                                                      doing what he did.

Chapter 17                         “had no topographic map”            MacCandless didn’t have a lot

Pg 177                                 “was ridiculously                            the stuff he should have. This

                                             ill-prepared”                                    is the way he wanted to live

                                                                                                       though.

Chapter 18                          “refuge in nature”                          MacCandless wanted to get                     

                                            “ Happiness only good when          away from his messed up

                                            shared”                                             family and career life. 

                                                                                                       he was happy and was going to go                                                                                              

                                                                                                      home.

Image URL: http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSJkuTXZEcilQisiqFlRLvVGQJQXhax8y_JJdH8soL_fdCIVhrI

Welcome to the 3rd Quarter

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Well, we are done the first semester, which is two quarters.  I did well on all of my exams.  I didn't fail any of them.  And I did pretty well in all of my classes overall.  Anyway, the plans for this semester are to finish a Mid Summer Night's Dream and then work on Into the Wild.  I am liking the school so far and things have gone well so far.  In this next quarter and semester I am going for straight A's.  It should be a good second quarter.

Leather Belt Symbols

Here are some symbols about myself that I would carve into a belt if I could:

    

     1.  An American flag would be a good symbol because this is the country that I live in and care about.

     2.  Another good symbol might be an anarchy symbol.  It may contradict the symbol of an American flag in a        

          way, but I do not like the current government.  The government tries to determine what we do to much. 

           You can not really trust authorities anymore.

     3.  I would also have my boat's name, "Dan's Legacy" carved into the belt because the boat itself represents

         a huge part of my life, which is all of the sports that my Uncle taught me, especially fishing and hunting.

     4.  I would carve a picture of a marlin into my belt because the marlin itself is a well known symbol of sport

          fishing.  Fishing is currently the industry that I am getting in to plan to work in.  I am constantly trying to

           improve.

      5.  My Remington 870 express 12 gauge with my good Nikon scope on it would be a good symbol because I

            am a Hunter and I have killed both of my deer with this gun so far.

      6.  I also would put a bow and arrow on my belt because I am trying to get a deer with my bow which is a

            challenge and bow hunting is an extremely hard sport.

      7.  I would also put a buck on my belt because the buck is a well known symbol of the outdoors and hunting.

      8.  I would put a skateboard to represent the extreme sports that I like.

      9.  I would put the Bengals logo  on my belt because I am a hardcore Bengals Fan and love sports in general.

       
The formatting wouldn't work.

     This is me a couple years ago in one of my deer stands with the gun mentioned above.

This is me in fifth grade with my first deer, which I shot and dropped with one shot at 165 yards with the gun mentioned above.

Blog Post on Somewhere I Would Like to Go in the US

     It might sound crazy, but I want to go offshore of Hatteras North Carolina to the Canyons in December.  Why?  The bluefin tuna fishing is amazing at this time of year.  It might cold or snowy, but I'm not much of a sight seeing person, unless there is a goal in mind.  The bluefin are know to be caught up to and over 1,000 pounds here at this time of year.  They call these the giant bluefin tuna.  They are caught all of the time at hundreds of pounds.  On the Dan's Legacy we are always trying to catch bigger and different fish.  We would trailer my boat down to Hatteras, along with any gear, tackle, or clothes that we would need.  When fishing and being outside all day I need a lot of different types of clothes, depending on the weather.  Even if it is a warm day you will need some very warm clothes in the morning, which in December it can freezing with possible snow.  So I would bring a little bit of everything; shorts, short sleeve, jeans, sweatshirt, coat, hat, gloves, and my warm and dry foul weather gear.  One of the most important things that I need to have is my Costa Del Mar sunglasses, which help my eyes, help me find fish, and help me see fish.  We would also need to bring a lot of money for food, drinks, bait, gas, and any last minute things that we would need to buy.  When going fishing like this it is important to have everything and be prepared.  The biggest fish I have ever caught is a 125lb mako shark.  I am always looking to make that biggest fish bigger.    

The picture is my friend Nate, the 125lb mako, and I.

Into the Wild Author Bio

John Krakauer was born in Brookline Massachusetts.  He was then raised in Corvallis Oregon.  When he was eight his father introduced mountaineering.  He went to Corvallis High School where he graduated in 1972.  He went to Hampshire College and graduated with a degree in Environmental Science in 1977.  He married Linda Mariam Moore in 1980, who was a mountain climber.  They lived in Seattle Washington, then moved to Boulder Colorado.  In 1983 he became a full-time writer.  He has now written six famous books.

Into the Wild Preliminary Summary

Into the wild is a book about a writer who finds the body of a young man in an abandoned bus.    He found that there was a journal with him.  How he died is unknown, but there are theories.  His journal told his adventure in detail.  The two years after he graduated from college he spent wandering in the wilderness while eating wild plants and shooting game for food.  This writer that found him traveled the root that the dead man took. He then wrote an article about it.  The book is an extension of the article.  They have even made a movie that they adapted about it.

Fish Fights: A Hall of Fame Quest by Bob Rich. Will he make it?

Picture From: http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT68QlTcUny445p5l36cvegVq4bSkT8CnisP13V8xW5sYbpSdhQ

This is a good book is an excelent book tells a story of a man by the name of Bob Rich who wants to get in to the Fishing Hall of Fame by completing a challenge that no one has never accomplished.  This is a challenge by the MET in Florida.  This challenge requires him to catch many different species of saltwater fish with different types of tackle.  He meets many different people along the way.  He also has many epic fights and struggles with powerful fish.

Edgar Allan Poe Blog (1-9: Me, 10-18: Nick)

1.       Born on Jan. 19, 1809 in Boston Mass.  Died on October 7, 1849.

http://poestories.com/biography.php 

2.        Poe’s mother separated from her husband and died when Poe was two.  Poe was adopted by a rich family and went to good schools.  His father didn’t give him enough money in college when he went to Virginia University so Poe went into dept when he began drinking a lot.  http://poestories.com/biography.php

3.       Beating, Murder, Diabetes, Rabies, Heart, Epilepsy,

http://www.poemuseum.org/life-death.php

4.       Poe considered Richmond his home according to the museum  in Richmond.

http://www.poemuseum.org/life-richmond.php

5.       The Poe Society of Baltimore agrees with the Richmond museum’s statement they say Baltimore represents the beginning and end of his life.

http://www.eapoe.org/balt/poebalt.htm

6.       West Point Military Academy

http://poestories.com/biography.php

7.       Poe married Virginia Clemn when she was 13.

http://poestories.com/biography.php

8.       This marriage may sound crazy but back in those days this type of marriage happened quite often.

9.       Murder of the Rue Morgue was Poe’s first detective story.

http://poestories.com/stories.php

10.          When were "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Black Cat" written?

                The black cat was written in 1843 and his tell-tale-heart was written in 1843 as well.

11.            When was "The Raven" published?

               The raven was published in January 1845.

12.            Check out the Poe photo gallery. Which picture looks most like the Poe you envision while reading his stories?

                 http://medchrome.com/extras/stories/berenice-by-edgar-allan-poe/

13.          Post a comment in the Edgar Allan Poe forum about your favorite Poe story. Print it out and attach it.

                 See back

14.           Sign the guestbook at Poestories.com

15.           Summarize at least two Poe short stories you have never read.

              This story appeared in the New York Sun in 1844 and claimed to have details about a group of men that successfully crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a new type of balloon. Although it looked like a real story, created entirely from Poe's imagination.

                Poe invented the detective story with this tale. The main character is C. Augusta Dupin, that solves crimes by deduction. Two women have been brutally murdered and it appears that there was no way in or out of the room where the murders took place.

16.           Listen to the audio version of the Raven. What do you think of it?

                I didn’t not really like raven just on how this was written with the wordings and other things that were brought up.

17.            Who is the Poe Toaster?

                Poe toaster is the mysterious person who visited the grave of Edgar Allen Poe on his birthday.

18.           List five examples of "Poe in Your Life."

                Poe is in my life because I read his books, enjoys mysteries, could be mysterious, enjoys righting in the dark phase and things change a lot in my family as it did in his. 

Picture From: http://ts3.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=283087419858&id=495173d63f64365b40331ea8a5cdddce&index=ch1

O'Henry

- Birthday is September 11, 1862
- Death date is June 5, 1910
- Died at age 47
- Well known for surprise endings in his suspenseful short stories
- Has an award named after him
- His real name is William Sydney Porter
- O'Henry is his pen name
- Worked for a Bank
- Worked as an editor for Rolling Stone
- Was married
- Was a heavy drinker
- O'Henry robbed the bank he worked in and ran to Honduras
- When his wife was terminally ill he went back to Austin Texas and was locked up

- He started writing in prison and was released in 1901

2nd Quarter Time

The second quarter is here and so is fall.  We are doing short stories now and they are better than just writing research papers and and about my summer reading book.  Short stories can be fun.  There are writers like Edgar Allen Poe with dramatic, suspense, and horror stories.  Welcome back.

Position Research Paper

Kevin Davies 

Mrs. Zurkowski

Reds

1 October 2010          

Bullying

            Bullying is a huge problem in our society and there is one thing everyone agrees on about it.  It needs to be fixed and gotten rid of.  Though no-one wants bullying or to be bullied, not everyone agrees on how to get rid of it and if enough is being done.  Bullying was not really emphasized until there were law-suits filed against schools because they did not do anything to stop bullying.  There have also been law-suits filed against the bullies and their parents.  The Columbine school shooting also got a lot of attention.  Two students killed 13 people in their school and then committed suicide because they were bullied.  There was a program started by the father of the first student killed called Rachel’s Challenge to discourage bullying.  Schools are doing a lot to stop bullying however, they should not have jurisdiction over bullying situations outside of school, and if kids are bullied they should be able to defend themselves in any way needed.

            There are a lot of things being done to stop, discourage, and enforce rules against bullying.  One example of bullying is a law legislators agreed to put into effect in Illinois.  Schools are bringing in programs that specialize in anti-bullying.  An example of one of these programs is Rachel’s Challenge which encourages people to start a chain reaction of kindness.  Studies show that the environment that people are in influence how much bullying is done and what the chosen method of bullying is.  There has been a lot of increase in supervision in places of common bullying like, locker rooms, hallways, cafeterias, and on campus after school.  Experts say, “Understanding the full measure of bullying is especially important now as states, districts, and federal education officials step up their efforts to combat the scourge in schools,”(Viadero).  Therefor a huge effort is being made to stop, and control bullying and to help victims of bullying.

            Schools should not have jurisdiction over bullying situations outside of school that don’t affect anything in school.  For example, cyber-bullying is happening more often now that kids get hold of technology much easier.  When the cyber-bullying is carried into school or affects a victims grades then schools can have jurisdiction.  Schools do not need an extra thing to worry about especially when it has nothing to do with their business.  Things like figuring out anonymous cyber-bullies is not what teachers should be paid to do when they should not have jurisdiction.  Everyone knows “consequences can be devastating and even deadly,”(Mehta).  Schools should not have to deal with extra issues that make jobs hectic,  and hectic jobs usually sloppy, poor jobs.  The fight against bullying can not be messed up.

            Bullying can be and is often extremely harsh so kids should be able to defend themselves in any way.  A lot of times both the student and bully get in trouble when the victim defends himself/herself against the bully.  Bullying has ended in death for both the bully and victim.  There have been cases when the bully kills the victim.  There have even been cases when the bully dies in a fight he/she starts with the victim.  Bullies will die trying to kill a victim.  There are also verbal situations when the victim gets abused and should be able to verbally defend himself/herself.  Victims of bullying should not have to just take bullying, but they should have the rite of defense.

            “What good is passing laws against "bullying" if states aren't doing much to enforce them?”(McClatchy), some say.  A lot of people say with all of the bullying, and the low amount of  bullying reported by authorities, rules against bullying are not enforced.  Bullying can be hard to prove, especially cyber-bullying.  Most kids don’t report bullying.  Bullying is also very hard to catch.  Rules against it are enforced.  More teachers are starting to care for their students.  Bullies are being severely punished for their actions.  Often times penalties involve being suspended and expelled.  Rules against bullying are being enforced in most schools.

            Some say there has not been a lot of progress made against bullying.  They say not everybody is pushing hard enough against bullying.  This is not true.  Not only are schools pushing hard against bullying, but legislators are too.  There are even laws being made.  Forty-four states already have laws against bullying.  All of them require policies to be written.  Policies are constantly being updated to adapt to current situations.

            Bullying is a very big issue that must be fixed.  Everyone has to do something about it.  This includes teachers that need to pay attention to students and discourage bullying.  Students need to stand up to bullies.  Parents need to discourage bullying.  Legislators need to keep pushing for better laws.  Being involved is important.  Kids should be able to defend themselves inside of school where there is a lot being done to stop bullying, and outside of school where schools shouldn’t have jurisdiction.

Works Cited

Mehta, Seema. "Meaner Bullying Is Stirring New Tactics." Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA). 07 Mar 2008: B.1. SIRS Researcher. Web. 23 Sep 2010.

"Schools Need to Follow Through Against Bullying." McClatchy - Tribune Business News. 05 Oct 2009: n.p. SIRS Researcher. Web. 28 Sep 2010.

Viadero, Debra. "Studies Probe 'Ecology' of Bullying." Education Week Vol. 29, No. 32. 19 May 2010: 1-3. SIRS Researcher. Web. 24 Sep 2010.