Dialectic Journal # 7

Chapter 8

Page 75

"In our separate whippings, Alexandros fell before I did. I mention this, not as a cause for pride; it was simply that I had taken more beatings. I was more accustomed to it."

What strikes you about this passage?

It strikes me that he had taken a lot of beatings. I never thought of him as a "bad boy", but he pretty much just admitted. He must have gotten a lot of beatings for him to be "accustomed" to them. Also what strikes me is that it seems to me that, throughout this book a common theme is beating kids. They do it all the time. Like when he got caught stealing and they hung him and beat him. It also strikes me that he said that he only said that Alexandros fell before him to admit that he had had more beatings, not for pride. I think that this means that being proud was really bad or shameful back then.

What questions does this raise for you?

Was he a bad/disobedient kid? How many times was he beaten? How bad did they hurt? How long did it take for your body to get used to them? Why did he get beat?

Chapter 9

Page 93

"A spasm of the lungs seized Alexandros; his throat constricted, he began to choke. My punch hesitated. A three-foot switch burned my back. "Hit him!" I obeyed. Alexandros dropped to one knee. His lungs had frozen, he was helpless. "Pound him you whore's son!" A voice shouted from behind me. "Finish him"

It was Dienekes"

What strikes you about this passage?

What strikes me about this passage is that, even when Alexandros is completely helpless and already hurt and choking everyone still wants him to hit him. Will there be no mercy!?!?! Jeez they are so mean to Alexandros. Also, when he hesitated to hit Alexandros, he got whipped, even though Alexandros was choking. And then to call him a whore's son!! What in the world is wrong with these people!?!?!? They punished him for showing compassion and giving the kid a break for once. But the think that struck me the most was that it was Dienekes who said to finish him off. Dienekes was so nice before. I cant believe he said that.

What is your reaction to this quote? How does it make you feel?

Chapter 10

Page 103

" 'Dienekes says the mind is like a house with many rooms,' he said. 'There are rooms we must not go into. To anticipate one's death is one of those rooms. We must not even think it.' "

Do you agree with the author? why/why not?

I agree with this totally. Your mind controls everything. There are different rooms in your head and if you go into the wrong one at the wrong time you could let yourself think something that is not true, it will happen. Like if you go into the "sick room" and convince yourself that you are sick you will start feeling sick.

How does this connect to other books (movies, shows) you have read (seen) in the past? Does this help you understand the text?

One time i was watching Smallville and Clark went into someones mind and there was a whole bunch of doors. He had to choose the right one in order to save his friend. If he chose the wrong one he would die or get stuck because the person would experience whatever happened in the door he went into and have a mental breakdown. This helps me to picture the text. I remembered that episode and what the mind and doors looked like. I could really picture and understand this.

btw Clark picks the right door and saves his friend (of course).

Dialectic Journal # 3

Chapter 4

Page 29

" 'We needed Spartans,' the teacher declared, speaking softly behind his sad watery eyes. 'Just 50 would have saved the city.' ..... '50 of them,' the man still shouted, while his wife struggled to tug him back to the safety of the trees. 'Five! One would have saved us!' "

What strikes you about this passage? Why is it interesting to you?

What strikes me about this passage is that the teacher thinks that only one Spartan would have saved the whole entire city from the whole army of the Argives. I think that he must think vary highly of them. Also, for him to think that, the Spartans must have been really strong and skilled and talented. They must be the best warriors that he has ever heard about.

What questions does this raise for you?

Could only one Spartan have saved the city? How skilled are the Spartans? How many of them are there? Where are they? Are they their allies? Why didn't they come to fight with them or protect them?

Dialecti Journal # 2

Chapter 6

Page 44

"That winter, Bruxieus said, was the coldest he could remember. Sheep froze in the high pastures. Twenty-foot drifts sealed the passes. Deer were driven so desperate with hunger that they straggled down, skeleton-thin and blind from starvation, all the way to the shepards winter folds, where they presented themselves for slaughter, point-blank before the herdsmen's bows."

What strikes you about this passage? Why is it interesting to you?

What strikes me about this passage is how cold it is. It is so cold that sheep freeze to death. I have never been in weather below freezing and I know I'm cold even if its only 60 degrees out. So this weather must be relly really really cold. Like maybe below zero. It was even so cold that there was nothng for the deer to eat and they went right down to the herdsmen to try to get food. This says a lot because when I've seen a deer before as soo as I make even the quietest noise it darts away. So for a deer to walk righ tup to you it has to be because of a really good reason, and in this case it was hunger.

What questions does this raise for you?

How cold was it? What temperature was it? Were Bruxieus, Diomache, and Xenoesused to the cold? How long could they live with the weather as cold as that? Did they have enough blankets? How could they sleep with it that cold?

Dialectic Journal # 1

Chapter 5

Page 43

"Would his love for me impel him to dash in and be nailed alongside me? I didn't care. I wanted the pain to end. I begged the men to kill me. I could feel the bones in both my hands shattered by the spikes.I would never hold a spear or even a gardening spade. I would be a cripple, a clubfist. My life was over and in the meanest, most dishonorable way."

What strikes you about this passage? Why is it interesting to you?

The thing that strikes me the most about this passage is that the pain is so bad that he would rather die than go through the pain anymore. He even begs the men to kill him. He didn't care about anything other than the pain. He didn't care what his cousin did or Bruxieus did, all he wanted was the pain to stop, and if the only way that was going to happen was if he died than he wanted to die. I also think that it wasn't just the pain. I think that it was also that he would be ashamed if he had to live the rest of his life, not being able to do a mans job and fight in a war, or protect his family because his hands were shattered and he would never be able to hold a spear again.

What is your reaction to this quote? How does it make you feel?

My reaction to this quote is, "Ow. That's got to hurt like crazy." I also think of Jesus being nailed to the cross. I also feel really bad for him because he will never be able to do his job. I feel bad for him because he is so young and he had to go through so much pain at the age of ten.

The Next President of America?

Barack Obama refused to put his hand over his heart or say the Pledge of Allegiance. He does not deserve to be the next president of the U.S.

Election 2008

This presidential election is very...hmmm...long! I don't know why, but doesn't it seem like its been going on forever? But no worries, there's only 17 more days until we are finally done with this. I'm not even old enough to vote, and I'm stressed out!

Al right, lets start with some facts (I'll try to be as impartial as possible), then we'll go into my opinions. First off the war: Obama wants to take all combat brigades out in 16 months, but leave some troops to protect the U.S. Embassy and operate in Al Qaeda. While McCain wants to keep troops there until we defeat Al-Qaeda and Iraqi troops will maintain order. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/29/AR2008052903844.html.) Now taxes: McCain said he would make larger tax cuts and make bush's tax trim permanent. He said that he lower income would get less of a tax cut than under Obama's, but higher income and corporations would get tax cuts too. Obama said that he would lower or hold taxes for everyone making less than 250k and raise takes on anyone making more than that. He also said he would "spread the wealth around". Wow that is soooo cliche!!! ( http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-litax1412023932oct14,0,5683318.story.)

Here is a picture of both candidates tax plan outcome-if they are both fully true, of course.

Now I'll move on to health care: http://health-insurance-carriers.com/blog/health-care-john-mccain-vs-barack-obama/.

There are probably more issues that I missed, but these seem to be the ones that are continually talked about and seem to be the most important. My opinions on all of this is...vote for McCain. I agree with McCain on leaving the troops in Iraq. I believe that, now that we are there, we need to finish it. I think that we are trying to help out there, not trying to be evil murderers. I agree with McCain again here. His plan will lower or hold taxes for everyone, not just the low income people. I don't think it's fair to raise taxes on the rich people. They worked hard for their money, and they shouldn't be punished for that. I also think that the whole "spread the wealth around" thing is totally socialistic. Take from the rich and give to the poor. ( Take from the hard workers and give to those who don't work.) Check out these videos. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbWWHFLYHm0&NR=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKhX0HTgPwg&feature=related. Go Joe the plumber!! (Also a cliche. Mentioned like 29 times in the final debate). Also on health care I agree with McCain more than Obama, but I don't really get McCain's plan. I agree with it more only because the government needs be less involved. In Obama's plan you can bet your butt it will be there, up close and personal. I also think that if you don't have the money for health care, tax money shouldn't pay for it, you just don't get health insurance. I know that sounds mean, but if you are dying or absolutely need care, you will be taken care of. And don't we already have medicare? Obama is a baby killer, he wants to take our troops out of Iraq, he is a socialist, he hangs out with Bill Ayers and worked with Acorn, who had a little problem...Voter fraud! Barack Obama is not the kind of person I would ever vote for. But I will give him this: he is a good speaker.

Go John McCain and Sara Palin!!

Character Sketch Hero

Melissa is my hero because she is funny and always laughing and in a good mood-I've never seen her mad for more than five minutes. Melissa makes everyone around her happy. She doesn't care what people think of her and she loves to see people smiling and cheerful.

A Picture I Like

I like this photo because...well for starters it's Tom Welling, who plays Superman in Smallville and I'm obsessed with Superman. I also like it because I think that Tom Welling is really, really hot. I think that this photo is cool because it is half animation and half real life. I think this shows how strong Superman is, as he is breaking roof or whatever that is with his hand. I think this shows how hot Tom Welling is and also that he is a good Superman. I mean seriously doesn't he fit the roll perfectly? Hot, strong, all the girls are in love with him.

Preview, Predict, Code

1. Some of my predictions were right. Especially the ones about what I thought I would think of the book. I thought that I would like the book and I did. I also thought it would be easy to read and it was. I was wrong about the way it started.

2. My prediction about what the book would be about was very accurate. I said it would be about a motherless girl who runs away and also about bees. Also about if I thought it would be easy to read or not. I said that it would be easy to read and it was.

3. The one that asks how you think the book will start. I said it would start with the mom getting shot, but it didn't. It actually started when all the bees came into Lily's room.

LDW Alliteration

What I did Last Weekend

After a fairly fair fight of volleyball, a plan to interview my hero was devised, but it was not devoid of a dilemma. See this was the problem, I was planning to interview my hero after my brothers Saturday soccer game, But I awoke at ten till twelve and it was almost time to take-off. When we were back at home, I called my mom, but she was getting ready to go out. So I called Melissa, but she was gone too. Then I decided to diligently do my blog about similes, metaphors, and cliches. After that I walked to the kitchen and boiled big hot dogs in a pot. As I was eating I remembered that I wanted to watch Wizards of Waverly Place. And low and behold, a Chuck Norris joke was cracked by one of the main characters! Who woulda thunk it? A half hour later, at eight, Heroes was on. So I called my friend and we watched it together, while on the phone. As we watched I got so confused, I had to shout, "Sharon! I'm so confused!" After the oh so confusing Heroes It was way past eight and time for me to sleep.