Quince

I read a novel a while ago, which i can't say was a bad one because i loved it! but my sisters keeper is about a couple of teenage girls who are sisters and they struggle for their lives. I have always really enjoyed jodi picoult books, especially this one. Kate, who is diagnosed with leukemia goes through many surgeries and struggles for her life, while her sister anna is along her side. Anna was pretty much born to save her sister's life; she gives kate blood transfusions and on top of that, goes through many surgeries as well, for the better of her sister. It is a tough situation for the both of them because one, anna isn't even sick or diagnosed with anything and has to go through it all with her sister, and two, kate struggles to overcome leukemia. they go through long, painful hours and days, sticking together to overcome the odds of their struggle. I won't tell you what happens at the end of the story because you will have to read it. I really recommend it and Picoult's other books as well!

Catorce

Love can be one of the most amazing feelings, or one of the worst feelings. There is a point in time where it may break your heart or mend it. Love doesn't just mean you and a parnter have strong feelings for each other. You can love your neighbors, brothers, sisters, parents, friends to a great extent as well. There is always the saying, "love is such a strong word". I do have to agree with that to some point, but I love so many people in many other different ways too. During a relationship the love factor may be tough. It may become an obstacle. There is also the saying, "love at first sight." I always wonder if that is actually true... if you could just love someone right then and there, just by the first look of them. Although it may be figurative speech and possibly just meaning, "oh, they are so handsome, i'm in love," I feel like they could actually have the feelings for that one person. When things fade in a relationship and the love is gone, that's when breaking your heart comes into place. Having your heart broken can be one of the most difficult feelings to overcome. "A kiss is a lovely trick, designed by nature, to stop words when speech becomes superfluous."--Ingrid Bergmen. This quote truely explains love, I think. When words aren't showing enough and you love the person and want to express more of your feelings, other than speaking, a kiss can do the trick! Love can be great and love can be bad. Love IS a strong word but can be dealt with and used it many ways.

Trece

WAR: Fueled by Coca, Peru’s Rebel War Reignites

The article I read about war was all based off of DRUGS. More specifically, cocaine. Four people were shot dead, including a pregnant women and two children by the first soldiers that came to Rio Seco. Rio Seco was a coca growing village in the mountain jungles of southern Peru. As families fled, a war that terrorized the country for two decades may be coming back. Supposively ending in 2000, the war against the Shining Path rebels took place and took nearly seventy thousand lives. The Shining Path was rebuliding on the profits of Peru's thriving cocaine trade. In the jungle of Vizcatán was Peru’s largest producer of coca, the raw ingredient for cocaine. Coca that was a raw leaf being chewed since the Spanish conquest is very legal, but cocaine is very illegal. Peru’s estimated cocaine production rose to a 10-year high of about 290 tons, second only to Colombia. Four months after the soldiers had first arrived, the guerrillas came and accused the villagers of collaborating with the military. They were horrible and killed at least 26 people in 2008, including 22 soldiers and police officers, the bloodiest year in almost a decade, according to security analysts. Drugs, drugs, drugs... it is amazing how things can occurr and how reved up people can get over money and drugs. Cocaine is a very big drug and clearly was fought over.

Doce

Colozination: A Survival Imperatice for Space

This article that I read seemed somewhat strange to me. A man by the name of Dr. Gott did some research and was trying to come up with ways to predict years/days/weeks.. etc. of what comes in the future. For example, with scientific certainty he predicted humans would survive for at least another five thousand one hundred more years. These predictions of time are called scientific forecasts. DR. Gott used his technique to forecast the amount of Broadway plays, newspapers, dogs and his most recent was the tenure in office of the hundreds of political leaders around the world. His assumption was called the Copernican Principle which is named after the astronomer who assumed he wasn't seeing the universe from a special spot in the center. Through his way you have a 2.5 percent chance that it's the least and 2.5 percent chance that it's the longest time. So either way, you would be accurately 95 percent correct. Dr. G. says that the beauty of the Copernican formula is that it allows you to make predictions of the future without even knowing any of the information. I feel like this man is one of those people who strive to be different and figure out random, weird things to show off the world. It is very interesting yet I don't know if I would ever think in those terms, that is scientific forecasts. After all, if colonization is common and there’s nothing special about our civilization, why haven’t we already colonized other worlds? Why aren’t we colonists ourselves from a civilization somewhere else?

Once

Global Issues: Forest Loss in Sumatra Becomes a Global Issue

I read an article from the new york times about a forest loss.

The picture to the right is a a burned stump from a once dense forest that stands in a field being cleared for a palm oil plantation in Sumber, Indonesia. Many companies have been trying to get their hands on any land they can because there is a global demand for palm oil. Palm oil is used in cosmetics, cooking, etc. Throughout Indonesia there has been more than 60 percent of the forests being logged, burned and pulped, according to a local environmental group. Deforestation has become a huge problem. Deforestation is when the carbon that is stored in the trees is released into the atmosphere. Indonesia releases more carbon dioxide through deforestation than any other country. Indonesia has been trying to promote the carbon-trading plan for months because of their financial interest in the palm oil industry and the growing international demands for conservation. Corruptions is their biggest concern right now, says critics.

Diez

I read another article in the Star Tribune and this article is about the Pope telling Jewish leaders he will visit Isreal. This is a big deal because the Pope wins praise from the Holocaust denial, and will visit Isreal in May. This visit really touches the Jewish leaders. I think it's a great thing for the Pope to do, because if one visit can make so many people happy and change the looks of their church then he definetily should do it. There has also only been one other Pope who has traveled to a Jewish state. The American Jewish orginization had a meeting with the Pope and bishops and were deneying things that happened in the holocaust. They said that the slaughter of six million Jews was a crime agaisnt God. I do not know if I believe this because God does not make crimes under my belief, the holocaust was a horrible thing that we cannot erase. I wish more then anything it did not happen, but we cannot always deny the things that happened, but maybe they are right. I would like to know how this visit goes and what happens.

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/faith/39486562.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DU2EPaL_V_9E7ODiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aU

Nueve

Bollywoood: On the back lot at the other bollywood.

Bollywood is Indias California Hollywood! The hindu-language movie industry is the world's largest, even topping Hollywood. I think the movie we watched in class was very interesting and kept me intrigued. Usually in movies that we watch in class, I lose focus quickly or get bored. The thing I enjoy about Bollywood films was all the singing... I tend to like things like that. For some reason, they come off very cheesy and all the singers and dancers are lip-syncing. Hollywood's films are much different in a variety of reasons including... length, drama, plots, actors/actresses, scenes, music, choreography, etc. For example a Hollywood film may look something like this: an hour and twenty minutes long, female and male characters (usually tend to be caucasian or african american, but not always), often times there is not singing/dancing involved, it could be a drama, action pact, comedy, romance genre but not always combined all into one and there isn't lip-syncing stuff. A bollywood film is so much different because it is all the genres combined making the movie overall about four hours long. The films are usually female and male characters as well but I found that there were many more indians and people from those countries that played the roles. They lip-synced, and there was lots of dancing, music and singing (more like a musical). Bollywood is very popular and interesting and I enojyed watching the film about it in class!

Ocho

Culture: 2 families, 2 very different cultures and the little girl between them from New York Times

I read an article about a young mexican girl named Linda. She was used to eating tortillas, taking care of her younger sibilings, being abused, and translating Spanish to english and vice versa, for her mom's benefit. with a dramatic change of a judge's say, she now temperarilly lives in a ranch house with a swimming pool in the backyard, and her own bed to sleep in. There will be a custody trail, debating whether Linda will live back in Mexico with little to none opportunities or in Tennesse in a foster home with all the care she needs. The culture in Mexico and the culture in America have two totally different outlooks. In Mexico, many families consist of numerous children who take care of one another, tortillas, not a lot of money, a rough, low paying job and more. While in America, there are much better opportunities to succeed, more money circulating with higher paying jobs, and smaller families where the adults are usually able to watch over their own kids and feed them. Linda is living the life and it has been such a drastic change for her to have lived in Mexico and then move to Tennesse and be able to play in the driveway with a basketball. First Linda lived with the first teacher she met, and soon moved in with the Pattersons, a family who now wants to adopt her.

Fact: "There is at least a third of those who are Mixtecs, who come from a poor area of central Mexico and whose language and culture keep them isolated here in the United States, even from other Hispanics."