Dorothy Must Die Week of 2/23-2/27

Pages: 300 out of 452
Prompt: Describe a character that you would like to meet (which doesn’t mean that you
think you would like the character, but that you think the character would be
interesting). List 4 questions that you would ask.

Who Would I Want to Meet in Oz?

    When I got to the middle part of my book, I started to have similar feelings as Amy Gumm the main character of the book. It seems that Oz isn't what we expected it to be due to the reason that instead of being a beautiful little world, it has now become a place of violence and a bit magic less. When I was starting to read this book I sort of wanted to meet Dorothy or possibly even the Tin Woodman not that I liked either of them, it would just seem interesting to interact with them. Then I go to the middle part of the novel and my thoughts completely changed after a statement that one of the supporting characters mentioned. Indigo the character mentions that the Wicked Witch of the East was crushed by Dorothy's house, the Wicked Witch of the West is melted away by Dorothy, which only leaves Glinda the Good Witch of the South. That left with the idea that I wanted meet Glinda and find out why she went from a good witch to a wicked witch. There was a statement that Amy made which made me thinking. She said "what about the Witch of the North", but Indigo simply said "you ask too many questions." It was until later when I found out the true identity of the witch.


                                                    What Would I Ask Glinda?

     In the part where I am in the book, I found out that Glinda is the only witch standing from the original four directions north, south, east, and west. At the start of the book Indigo describes what changed Glinda and why is she the person she is right now. Indigo mentions that after Dorothy came back to Oz, she became a princess which made her sort of like the owner or leader of Oz. The power she received went to her head and she became this power hungry person. Glinda of course feared for her life, after Dorothy killed two witches which left Glinda thinking that she must became a loyal servant.  The four questions I would ask this former good witch. Why would you change into a servant of Dorothy, don't you care about the people of Oz? Why would you put yourself before others, if you were such a kind leader back then? Why did you let go of your twin sister Glamora? Has Dorothy given you the task of finding Glamora or finding Amy Gumm? I feel like these questions would have a big impact on Glinda and her role in Oz.


                                                   What is so interesting about Glinda?

    In order to be hones Glinda has never been my favorite character from the Wizard of Oz in fact it had always been either the Wizard or the Tin Woodman. At first I was going to choose the Wizard, but he was barely introduced in the storyline. Well, the Tin Woodman is completely different, now he actually hunts down people who don't obey Dorothy's law. The thing that makes Glinda interesting is the fact that she became servant instead of actually becoming the voice of her people. I would never imagine that someone so dedicated to her people, decided to just become one of Dorothy's numerous servants of Emerald City. The interesting part is that I feel like she still has that bit of goodness inside and a sort of warrior is building inside of her. I would recommend she join the rebellion which is made up of Amy, a young boy named Nox, Mombi, Gert, and Glamore her twin sister.  I feel like the most interesting part about Glinda is that she is quickly influenced by the things around her, in which she could become a warrior of peace.

The reason I put a picture of the Emerald City was because it seems to be a recognizable symbol of the Oz series. In every book you read about which has to do with Oz, this bright green city will always be mentioned regardless of the author. This also seems to be one of the major settings of the novel, in which Amy has to disguise herself as a maid in order to get closer to Dorothy. 

This week I will comment on Krystalynn, Bernice, and Zoe's Blogs.

              

AoW Impressions for 2/20

     This week the majority of the articles picked by my peers overlapped in some way and the topic was the terrorist group ISIS. My article did talk about ISIS but for only like a sentence or two. The topics that they choose truly did interest such as the demographics article and the one that had to do with the global epidemic. I also enjoyed the article that had to do with the negative effects of technology because I completely agree with this topic. This topic has always been debatable due to the reason that some people think technology is the most important thing in the world, but to be honest viewing the wonders of this world is 100 times better than facing a screen. The detail that I always like about the AoW gallery walk is that sure most people pick the same topic, but there are always other news topic that truly leaves the viewer thinking. If we take for example the education gaps in Texas article and the lack of gender equality in Turkey left me thinking whether we need to establish more justice in the world. Then it showed me that Turkey still hasn't left the medieval ways of thinking about women. It made me think that countries in Central America are facing problems.


    The most talked about topic was of course ISIS, but I was glad that my classmates talked about different things involving ISIS. The numerous topics is that more than 63 countries are fighting against ISIS, the terrorist attacks through social media, Libya/Egypt are launching airstrikes against the group for revenge. I was actually surprised that my peers didn't pick a lot of articles that focused on the 21 beheadings of Egyptian Christians. I at first was going to choose this topic, but I wanted to focus on my past topic which is immigration. The second most talked about news topic was Russia and I found it interesting that this nation is still struggling with gay/lesbian people. The even more shocking part was that a father would go so far, by imprisoning his son just because he's gay.  I was surprised that ISIS captured yet another victim over this past week and in fact this time it was an American. This American sort of represents bravery and love.

A Dog's Life of 2/17-2/20

Pages: 150 out of 182
Prompt: List at least three problems the characters faced? Which was the most life
changing? Explain

                               Opinions on the Novel/The Life-Changing Problem of Squirrel 

    Well, this week I started to read A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray and to be honest this book is marvelous. I usually don't read too many dog books, I eventually read 1 every year and I'm actually glad I picked up this book. The novel is told in the perspective of a dog called Squirrel who lives in this barn with his mother and his older brother Bone. One day for a mysterious reason Mother goes out of the barn to hunt for food, but she never comes back. I mean Squirrel and Bone are used to her taking a long time, but she does show up the next day or the next day. This just shows Squirrel and Bone that they need to grow from being a simple puppy to a more responsible adult dog. The dogs only get along with one of the kids that live in the ranch, his name is Matthias a boy treats these dogs with a plate of chicken every day. In the last couple of weeks Bone becomes frustrated and he decides to leave the ranch and start his own life journey. Squirrel is afraid just imagining living on his own, so he follows his older brother. During the adventure they taken by a couple, but later thrown out of the car. A young lady takes Bone, but leaves Squirrel in which he is all alone in this big world. The reason this is life-changing is due to the reason that this poor dog needs to live out on his own without the help of anyone. He loses the two most important people in his life Mother and Bone. He not only loses his home, his companions, but also his way of life is completely changed.


                                           The Second Most Impacting Problem

      In the mist of all the events that have happened since the departure of Mother, Squirrel has had to face dozens of problems that not only change him, but also makes him more responsible/grown up. Bone was taken away by some stranger and Squirrel is again left on his own. He luckily meets a companion called Moon, in which they basically have numerous adventures which brings them more together. During a typical day in the forest they finally have a piece of luck, they finally food after days and days of starvation. It was a highway resting place with picnic tables, garbage cans, people, and of course cars. When no one watches they dig in, but knocking over the garbage cans. They happily eat a delicious sandwich that has already been bitten and a piece of white bread. Squirrel's luck slowly turns around when a pack of dogs come out of the forest and charge at Squirrel and Moon. The part that is impactful is due to the reason that Squirrel learns the power of courage and bravery. He saves his friend from the clutches of the stray dogs, but the condition of Moon leaves him with a life lesson. Squirrel learns how to be more responsible and care more about the people around him.

                                                The Last Impactful Problem 

      After the fight, Squirrel once again loses a companion and a family decides to adopt Squirrel. They first take him to the vet, in which the friendly doctor mentions that Squirrel has a broken leg and it will require surgery in order for the leg to stay at its place. The part I found sad and bit rude was that the family didn't even want to pay the bill for the surgery, even after what they did to Squirrel. The lucky part was that the doctor was generous enough to pay the surgery bill and in her supervision she took care of Squirrel every minute of the day. These were the glory days for Squirrel, until one bright summer day the family arrives at the animal hospital. They have decided to finally adopt Squirrel and take her home as soon as possible. This of course would be great news for any stray dog, but Squirrel does seem to enthusiastic about this news. In the beginning every thing works out, they play with Squirrel and give him food. One day Squirrel notices that the family is packing their stuff in this huge truck and one of the children mentions she can't wait until her next summer dog. Squirrel is once again left alone and the impactful part is that now he believes he can't ever trust any human again. He decides to always stick alone, because one way or another always loses his companions. 

I put a friendship quote because it sort of shows Squirrel's feelings toward his trusted companion Moon. They would help each other anything, one would hunt, the other one would look for water. It was great reading adventure Squirrel and Moon had together. The favorite of this adventure was when they arrived in a busy old town, in which these two dogs were exposed to numerous American holidays. 

This week I will comment on Gianna, Carlos, and Julia's Blogs. 

               

Passion Project Update

     I feel like I've done a good job when it comes to my passion project, especially with my new/updated blog I created. I mentioned before that I left the website idea and decided to start a blog instead which could carry out the information more smoothly. The good thing is that I've gotten a significant amount of page views about 80 from around the world especially countries such as the United States, Singapore, and France. I haven't officially posted any information yet because I currently still working on it, but I decided that I will try to have a total of only 80 posts. This idea came from the title which is called Around the World in 80 Tags and I hoping to publish my first informational post. I don't remember if I mentioned before, but I did post and introduction post which basically shows the audience what this new fantastic post will teach them. When I went back, I fixed any grammar errors such as run-on sentences and of course any sentences that had commas that were unnecessary. My major goal is to put about two or three countries in each post which won't make it like about 197 posts. That would be a bit overwhelming to create 197 posts, but I try to put a travel mood in every post.


   The same idea will be used in my currency posts because I decided to create separate post for each currency. My organization idea is to have the currencies for each continent and in order to keep the number low I'll put two continents per post. I recently just finished the currencies for North and South America, it was surprisingly easy when it came to researching the currencies of South America. I noticed that there was a small amount of currencies in this continent and some aren't even used in certain countries. If we take for example the Panamanian Balboa in that country they don't even used that currency, instead they decide to use the US Dollar. I'm trying to finish at least all my currency posts and put in more information in my country presentation. Then it would be easier to transfer all that information in that presentation to my blog post. In the end of this year I will try to finish most country posts and during the summer finish all countries.

Book Talk for The Only Thing to Fear

Written Transcript

The Only Thing to Fear by: Caroline Tung Richmond

Genre: Science-Fiction

  The book takes place in the year 2025 in a town called Greenfield in some part of the Midwest of the United States. The novel is basically answering the question that most people in the world has asked themselves which is what if Hitler had won World War II? The main character Zara reveals what happened to the world after the Allies had lost the war eighty years ago. I'm more than halfway through the book and I have feeling that the setting will reach places such as Russia instead of just being in the United States. The current leader is Dieter Hitler the great-grandson of Adolf Hitler who basically wants to eliminate dozens of innocent people based on their race or background. I have learned so far that Greenfield is a devastated town where cross-race people must fight everyday to support their families. If we take Zara as an example she is cross race due to the reason that she is half-German and half-Japanese. She is discriminated throughout the book and for being cross-race her family is forced to work in hard labor such as farming instead of having the privilege to go to school. I would sort of compare Greenfield to cites in Texas or possibly Oklahoma based on details. 

   I do not know if you have guessed it, but the main character is Zara Red a 15-year old teenager who wants to take a stand against the Nazi Empire. I would describe her as being fierce, brave, adventurous, and basically fearless due to the reason that she wants to eliminate every Nazi officer in the world. During the execution of one of her closest friends, she yells out insults to the Nazis which can lead to hard labor camps or possibly even death in some situations. This shows that she is extremely brave. The major conflict in this book is taken down the Nazi Empire and eliminating all the "robot Nazi officers" which are basically soldiers who act like humans but have unique abilities. That is the main reason why the Allies lost World War II and I found out there is something unique about Zara. The mood of this novel is dark or gruesome because even after World War II, Nazis are continuing to kill people for numerous reasons. Zara mentions that almost Jews were killed and those who remain alive live in secret places. The way they describe the methods of torture makes it even more scary to read. The theme of this novel I believe is achieving your goal regardless of the obstacles or freedom/liberty/justice. I feel like the author is trying to teach us to appreciate the life we have around us since we have the opportunity to go to school and have freedom in the streets. We have the privilege of freedom, liberty, and justice. 

   The reason I choose to read this book was because I had always asked myself what if Hitler had won World War II? I like this book because the author did a great job establishing every little detail needed for creating an alternative universe. The detail that made me want to read this book was the amount of creativity in this book and the description of every historical event so the reader won't get lost. The thing that I remember most about this book is when Zara explain what happened during the World War II. I understood that every event from 1939 to 1943 actually happened, but in 1944 everything completely changed. In 1944 the liberation of France never happened, instead Hitler went to the United States to execute President Roosevelt, days later Winston Churchill surrendered. I would recommend this book to people that like history and enjoy science fiction. This book would be great for people who enjoy learning about World War II because most of this book focuses on that historical event. The reason why people should go and get this book is because it answers the question that many people around the world have asked themselves. It shows people how they must appreciate what they have and the amount of freedom they have access to in their home country. It will teach people more about the theme of freedom, liberty, and justice for all. 

 

This week I will comment on Natalie W, Kyler T, Cami T's Blogs.