MP2 Blog Post #2

1. I am a Yin Water and a Rooster.
Yin Water is supposed to be gentle and subtle, like a light rain. A Rooster means pride, honesty, courage, vigilance, arrogance, strength, watchfulness, and flamboyance. It was believed that the rooster was able to ward off evil spirits with it's crowing.

I think that some of the aspects of these elements are similar to me, but not all of them. I am very honest and I try my hardest to tell the truth in all my situations, and I try to be courageous about lots of things in my life, but hey, I don't think I'd be put in Gryffindor if I happened to go to Hogwarts. I think that rooster does fit me fairly well though.

2. The Chinese New Year begins based on the Chinese Lunar Calender. Because the moon patterns change every year, the tie of the Chinese New Year changes every year as well. It can begin anywhere from the beginning of January to partway through February, like the upcoming 2010 Chinese New Year. In 2010 the Chinese New Year will begin on February 14th

It is said that Buddha invited all of the animals to join him in a New Year celebration but only twelve of them showed up, the twelve animals that the Chinese New Year follows. As a reward for showing up, Buddha named 12 years after each animal in the order that they arrived.

The Lantern Festival is celebrated on the first full moon after the Chinese New Year. Lots of fireworks, food, games, lights, and more are used to celebrate with everyone. It is a huge deal and festival celebrated throughout the entire country, especially in big cities.

3. In ancient times there were two types of surnames: Family names and Clan names. Chinese family names are passed from father to child. In fifth century BC only very important, wealthy people like the royal family and aristocratic elites could take surnames. The most common surnames are Wang, Li, and Liu.

MP2 Blog Post #1: Dialogue

"To be honest, Jason, you're acting like an idiot and you need to calm down," Kathryn leveled with her hot-headed boyfriend.
"Kathryn, you can't possibly tell me to calm down," he replied just as angrily as before, "How could you do this to me?"
"It's nothing like what you think! Honestly, have I ever lied to you before?" she was practically crying.
His eyes softened when he saw the look in her eyes, "I do trust you Kat, but I saw you walking into Dettera with some guy I've never met before. Of course I'm going to suspect something is going on, what else would I think?"
"Jason! How stupid could you possibly be? I'm positive I told you that my brother was home from college this weekend! I went out to dinner with him at his favorite restaurant to welcome him home!"
Recognition flooded his face along with embarrassment, "Oh sweetie, I am so sorry, I completely forgot. I-" he could barely even continue, he felt so terrible, "I shouldn't have judged you like that."
She sighed, she couldn't believe he didn't trust her. "Jason, why didn't you just believe me when I told you I wasn't cheating?"
"Kathryn! Can we please drop this? It was a mistake, I just made a mistake," he defended.
Her eyes fell to the ground, "But you know you can trust me. You always have."
He tilted her head up to look her in the eyes, "I do trust you. I always have. I always will. You know I'm just terrified of losing you."
She couldn't stay mad at him. "Let's never let this happen again, alright?" she said more as a statement rather than a question.
"Never," he replied, taking her hand in his.

Independent Reading Blog Post

The Road by Cormac McCarthy - Southern Gothic

Summary - The Road is about an unnamed father and son duo in a post-apocalyptic world. People have turned savage and are out to find food any way they can, but the boy and father strive to find safety as they head towards the sea. Their goal was simple: to find other people who were like them and not savage. Throughout their journey towards the sea they encounter many difficulties and problems, including the father's ever present illness looming over them.

Reflection - I thought this book was really amazing. I have always been a fan of books that are set in the not too distant future and that have elements of fear as well as compassion. I would definitely recommend 'The Road' for anybody who likes books that have a lot of different layers to them and that are a bit scary but that also have a lot of family aspects to them.

http://mareigh.glogster.com/The-Road-/

Blog Post # 3

Reflection - The racism that was described was simply disturbing. When I was reading the article I was wondering if this incident took place several decades ago; but it was so much more recent than I had first thought. It's unbelievable how some people can treat others so terribly just because of the color of their skin, and that law officials could be so biased that they would charge only the black kids so harshly for seemingly harmless crimes. What really made me mad was that the white kids had beaten up a black student at a party, and were not charged for anything at all, but when the black students beat up the white student they were charged outrageously. 22 years in prison for a schoolyard fight seems like a ridiculous punishment to me. When I read that a white man threatened some black students with a gun, and in defense, the students wrestled the gun away from him, I was shocked and appalled to realize that the students were charged for gun theft, and the man didn't even have a mark on his record. This whole story makes me sick because it is so unfair what is going on in certain towns. I couldn't imagine such a segregated school, although some aspects of our school sometimes seem segregated like in the lunch rooms when there are some tables with only white students or some tables with only black students.

Further Research Into The Case - The six black students were held with bail set at a ridiculously high amount of $90,000 to roughly $140,000. The students could have been faced with up to 100 years in prison if they were charged with second-degree attempted murder or conspiracy to murder, but instead they were charged with aggravated second-degree battery and charged with 22 years in prison.

Blog Post # 2

"The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience." (pg.105)

To me the quote means that people can always think for themselves and that it doesn't matter what the other people say.  That people have control over their own minds and that nobody else should have a say in what peoples' personal opinions are.  Majority rule is an idea that a whole bunch of other people have a factor in what the outcome of a situation is and that if more people vote for one outcome, then that is the one that is followed through with.  But a person's conscience is strictly their own and nobody else has a say in what a person thinks.

There have been many situations when people have wanted to influence what I should or shouldn't do.  Every teenager faces this as some point or another.  I have a very strong conscience and therefore I always stop and think about all the possible outcomes of a situation, and all the consequences of my actions.  I walk home from school nearly every day because I live within a mile.  Ever since sixth grade I have been walking home from school because if you live within two miles you are supposed to either walk or get a ride home with a parent.  The other day I was starting to walk out of school with my friend and turned to take the way home which I have been taking for years.  My friend lives only a block away from me so when we walk home we walk together.  She had a ton of books in her bag and begged me to walk down an intensely busy street that didn't have a sidewalk for pedestrians because it took ten minutes off the trip.  My parents had strictly told me to take the longer way because the busy street was so dangerous, but I hadn't asked them in a couple years.  Now I was older, but I still was skeptical of just taking this way when I had once been forbidden.  Eventually my conscience told me not to do it without permission, and so I ended up calling my mom, who told me that it would be fine as long as I was careful.  I realized that the quote seemed true for me too, and that other people couldn't influence my conscience.  

Blog Post # 1

http://media.www.tcudailyskiff.com/media/storage/paper792/news/2009/09/30/Opinion/Music.Icon.Reveals.Prominence.Of.Racism.In.Society.Today-3787335.shtml

Music Icon Reveals Prominence of Racism in Society Today

Summary - The article described how racism is still a big part of American life. Although it is not as severe as several decades ago, there have still be acts of racism. Dave Matthews from the popular band spent half of his life in America and half in Africa, and he said that he had never noticed the racism in America when he was a kid until he returned from Africa. Very recently a black woman who worked as a human rights activist was robbed onw week and faced with a noose left on her porch the next. Racism is still very much an issue in America.

Response - When I read this article I was shocked that racism was still a big part of American life. I knew that there were certain words thrown around schools and down the street, but I wasn't aware that racism was still to a level where people are being threatened just for the color of their skin. As a kid, I had lots of friends who were of innumerable different races, and I never thought that there were other people out there who thought badly of my friends just because of how they looked. It appals me how prominent racism is still here in America today.