Mrs. B - #5 - In Character

ERIC CARTMAN
In some people's eyes, Eric Cartman is seen as appauling and shocking on American television. He is a very controvercial character. Some of the things that he says and does are completely inappropriate and looked down upon. Some people in America are very fascinated by this character. They think what he does is simply "funny" and "the best character ever". I think that people judge this character before watching the show. It is not fair to judge Eric until you watch South Park. People love him, or they hate him; there is no in between level of likeness. Eric is understood as the bad guy in South Park. He is very arrogant and up front about everything.
DORA THE EXPLORER
Dora is the female heroin of the 20th century. She is a cartoon character who is latina who speaks spanish. This is a fabulous idea for a cartoon character. I babysit a family who has three girls and all of them LOVE Dora. They read her books every night--and surprisingly, they are learning some spanish while doing it! I think it is great that a cartoon character can teach young people a new language. This was an excellent idea for a character. Dora is fascinating because she is the first popular cartoon character to speaks two languages. She is understood as a cute, fun, spanish-speaking latina!

JOHNNY DRAMA


Johnny Drama is from the hit TV show Entorage. He is an important character in our culture because he represents hard work and determination. Well, not quite, but he's getting there. Johnny is Vince's brother. Vince is a movie star and Johnny basically lives off of his little brother. Johnny starred in a TV show when he was younger, so he still thinks he can make it. Johnny has many qualities that make him intriguing. He is very funny and he's self concious about this body. He doesn't think that he has "manly" calves. He is very jealous when he sees other men with strong, masculine calves. I think it is good to have a character who is self concious about somthing because most characters are very confident and flawless. Johnny shows people that just because you were "cool" back in the day, it doesn't mean you will maintain the "coolness". Johnny Drama is a reality check for Americans everywhere in the US.

Mrs. B - # 4 - Characteristics of a Well Told Story

Part 1: Stories are important to childhood because that is how children learn life lessons. Not only life lessons, but other important aspects of life as well. People read stories to kids to entertain them and calm them. They also read stories to them to enable them to become an active thinker. Kids enjoy reading stories. They get the joy of having someone pay attention to them. Usually when parents read children stories, the child is sitting in their lap or is close to them. This comforts the child. The children learn new words from story reading. They hear their parents say the same words over and over, so eventually, it builds their vocabulary.

Part 2: Older people read stories for pleasure and fun. Sometimes people are forced to read stories for a specific class, but usually it's just for fun. Reading as you get older helps you learn even more than you already know. These readers get to learn more and build their knowledge and vocabulary. Older readers learn life lessons from the stories. Older people reading is different from younger people reading because when you read when you're younger, you usually read to learn new words or new concepts. When you read when you're older, you read for enjoyment and interest.

Part 3: Stories are important to our nation because they bring everyone together. There are many legends that are read and passed on from generation to generation. People like sharing their books to make other people happy. Stories fit into the fabric of our national identity because they are woven inbetween generations and shared among many people. Stories people write create a forum for the discussion of concerns and issues in our nation because some stories that are written are very controvercial. People don't agree on everything, so after reading some stories, people like to discuss their thoughts and ideas about it. Stories allow people to be entertained and enjoy life. They are fun to read and they bring people from all over the world together.

Part 4: I remember the story "I'll love you forever" (I think that is the title--I'm not one hundred percent sure...). I remember this story because every night before I went to bed, my mom read me that story. Her words were so calming and soft. It was a good story, too. There is one line that sticks out in my mind--still today. "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as your living, my baby you'll be." Whenever I think of those words, I will always think of my mom.

Part 5: Stories should have excitement. An exciting book engages the reader and leads them to read more of the book. The characters must be deep and well rounded. Flat characters don't create diversity; all stories should have diversity and well rounded characters to make it more interesting. A story should show knowledge on certain aspects of life. Stories that have life lessons but no thoughts or knowledge behind it are not very fun to read. Stories need to make you feel like the author knows what s/he is talking about. Stories should be comforting. A writer should make the reader feel like they want to read the story. In order to do this, the author must reflect a little bit of comfort in their writing. Stories should have some sort of message at the end of them. When the message is sort of hidden, it makes the story more interesting and makes the reader want to read it again. Stories should stand out from other ones of it's kind. I know it isn't easy to do, but when authors are writing, they should ask themselves, "How can I make this story better than the rest of them? What aspects must I include to break my story apart from the rest?" Stories should be able to reflect upon the readers life in some way. Whether it is the readers' mom's best friends dog's cousins breeder, or the actual person who is reading, all stories should be able to connect to the reader's life. Stories are more fun to read if you can relate it to your life.

Mrs. B - #3 - How Unpoetic

Well, I'm not really sure what to write about today. So I will talk about some really random things. I am fascinated by birth. My family friend, Aryel, just had her second baby. His name is Beckham. Her daughter, Samantha, is two years old. Aryel used to nanny me when I was little and now she has two children! They are the best kids in the world and I babysit them all the time. They are so much fun and I love spending time with them. Death is another thing that I will talk about. It is very sad and depressing. Luckily, in my life now, I haven't had anyone close to me die. That is also a bad thing, too. That means that in the upcoming years of my life, I will have to overcome sadness that death brings.
I like sports a lot! I played basketball for 11 years of my life. My dad played basketball in college and in high school so it was nice to have a major thing in common. I also like watching sports. I love love love watching hockey. It is so exciting and entertaining. There is always something to watch and I love the excitement of the game. Golf is the WORST thing ever to watch on TV. It is so boring and blah. My dad absolutely love watching golf. My mom, on the other hand, hates sports. It's because she isn't very athletic and she was always known as a girly girl growing up. My mom hates sports, my dad loves them. I guess opposites attract, right?
After high school, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I want to go into something business related, but I feel like everyone says that in high school. I hope that one day I am just going to know what I want to do from some event or situation that I'm put in. I am deciding between Madison and Denver for college. Right now I am leaning towards Denver because the view is so pretty and I can snowboard whenever I want. The city is very beautiful, too. Madison has a really cool campus as well. I'm very anxious to see where I will be and what I will be doing in ten years!
SUMMER! I am soooooooooooooooo excited for summer. Cabins, laying out, not having school, and sleeping in! Cabins are my favorite thing in the summer. Two of my best friends both have cabins. I am so greatful because I can go to both of their cabins. When we go to their cabins we are on the boat pretty much all day. We tube, jet ski, wakeboard, swim, lay out, go out to dinner, and have a blast together. Laying out is the best thing because you are warm and you can just relax. Not having school is good, too, because you don't have homework, you aren't stressed, and you can sleep as long as you want. I can't wait for summer!

Mrs. B - #2 - Poetry Critique

1. LULLABY by Shawn Mullins
lay your weary head down
dry those tired eyes
lay you weary head down
and Rock-a-bye
she grew up with
the children of the stars
in the hollywood hills and the boulevard
her parents threw big parties
everyone was there
they hung out with folks like
dennis hopper, bob seger, sonny and cher
now, she feels safe
in this bar on fairfax
and from the stage I can tell that
she can't let go and she can't relax
and just before
she hangs her head to cry
I sing to her a lullaby, I sing
everything's gonna be all right
rockabye, rockabye
everything's gonna be all right
rockabye, rockabye
rockabye
she still lives with her mom
outside the city
down that street about a half a mile
and all her friends tell her
she's so pretty
but she'd be a whole lot prettier
if she smiled once in a while
`cause even her smile
looks like a frown
she's seen her share of devils
in this angel town
But, everything's gonna be all right
rockabye, rockabye
everything's gonna be all right
rockabye, rockabye

2. I chose this song because it is a really good song. I always listen to it when I am in a bad mood or I am mad about something. It sends a really good message, too. It is saying that even the richest people in the world aren't always happy. He is singing this song to a girl who he is in love with and he just wants her to be happy. He's telling her that in the end, everything is going to be alright.

3. The title's purpose is to show that this song is a lullaby for all ages. People sing lullaby's to their children when they're young, when really, lullaby's can be sung for all ages. The chorus kind of reminds me of a lullaby that my mom would sing to me when I was little. I forgot the name, but I used to love it. She would always end it with "everything is alright". Whenever I listen to this song it makes me happy and it reminds me of my mom. I know when I'm in a bad mood that "everything is going to be all right".

4. "She's seen her share of devils in this angel town..."
This is a metaphor. It is using "devils" to represent bad people that she has encountered during her life. And the town is called "angel town" because the girl he is in love with lives there. Shawn Mullins creates an emphasis on the word "devil" and "angel" because he is comparing two different groups. When I hear this line I always picture an all white town with little red dots in it. The red dots would represent all of the "devils" in the town. The feeling that is created is a confident one. It is saying that the girl has overcome a lot of obstacles in her lifetime.
"She's so pretty, but she'd be a whole lot prettier if she smiled once in a while, cause even her smile looks like a frown..."
These couple of lines in the song create imagery for me. I can picture a girl who is gorgeous but she always has a sad, worried look on her face. When she smiles, whoever is looking at her can tell that something is wrong. It doesn't literally mean that her smile looks like a frown, it means that he can tell when she is smiling to cover up her sadness. There is an emphasis on the smile aspect of this quote. The feeling is kind of depressing. It is sad that a girl has to smile to make others feel like she is happy when inside, she isn't happy at all.

5. The tone is kind of depressing, but the way Shawn Mullins sings is makes it a more relaxed feeling song. The writer succeeded in writing his tone because he's writing about a young woman who has everything she wants, but she still isn't happy. The chorus is sung louder than the rest of the song. When the chorus is done, the background music gets softer.

Mrs. B - #1 - Writing Territories

1. I like to read short stories. They are usually very quaint and cute. They send good messages that are straight to the point. I'm not very good at writing poems and I don't like to read novels. I don't like to write poems because I usually can't think of what to write about. I'm not good at rhyming words and I can't think of creative ideas when it comes to writing poems. I like writing short stories becaues you can think of a message to write about and usually get it to the point by the end. They are fun to read, too. I don't write a lot outside of school. I wish I did, but I never think of writing outside of school. I'm usually busy with work and other homework, but maybe this weekend I'll take a couple of minutes to write something good. I like writing about topics that are in my life right now. I like writing about spring break trips, mystery stories, and problems that occur in peoples' lives.

2. I am going to tell you about my trip to New York last February. I went to New York City with three of my friends and we took a self defense class. It was the best week ever! We got to miss school to shop in New York. We left very early on a Wednesday morning. Everyone was excited because we had never all been together on a plane. We got breakfast at caribou and then got on the plane. We met everyone around us on the plane because we were very loud. Some people liked that, some people didn't. Once we got to New York, my aunt had a limo pick us up from the airport and take us to her house. The limo was a fun surprise and we had a lot of fun in it. We stayed at my aunts house in New York City. It is right across the street from the Met. With the house's perfect location, it made it very easy to find our way around. In New York, we shopped, ate at amaing restaurants, and met very fun people. The class that we did was a self defense class and it was amazing. Jennifer Lopez and Jennifer Aniston had taken the same class from the same teacher as us. The class taught us what to do in different situations. There was a man who was dressed in football attire -- pads and a helmet to protect him. We got to hit him as hard as we could. We learned different moves to do if someone attacked us from behind, if we were woken up and someone was above us, and if we were approached by someone in the street. The class was very valuable and it taught our reflexes to react immediately. Recently, my friend Abbey was approached by someone at a party. The guy came up behind her and was joking to scare her. She instantly did one of the moves and knocked the guy off of his feet. It was the funniest thing ever, but she reacted as if she were being attacked. She apologized to the guy and felt very bad. However, it was good that she knew how to react if someone attempted to attack her. This trip was the best trip of my life. I got to be in a wonderful city with my wonderful friends. It was great!