Spoiler

I have recently finished reading the book Life as we knew it  by Susan Beth Pfeffer. It  is written from the point of view of a girl named Miranda. The world turns for the worst when the moon comes closer to the earth which causes massive tsunamis and also causes power outages. It also makes volcanoes erupt which blocks out the sun and makes the earth colder which causes the crops to die. Since no more crops can grow food supply is shortened and people start to fight over food. One theme that comes out is that people don’t realize what they got until it is taken away from them.
After this happens Miranda’s and her family’s lives change forever. People can no longer get out and but the food which means that they have to ration it. Throughout the book the family starts to eat less and less until they only eat every other day. Not a lot of people realize how valuable food is. Little things also become more precious such as washing the characters hair. Nobody really thinks much of this because it is such a minor thing. The author is basically saying be grateful because one day you might not have the thing anymore.
This can connect to the world in a many ways. Some people may not realize and or cherish what they have because they think that it will be around forever and never be taken from them. Some teenagers will sometimes not wear a type of clothing because of the brand it is. Meanwhile kids in other places cannot afford or have clothes such as a shirt. Never think that a minor detail in life is unimportant because it might get taken away and then the person will realize that it is important. Overall just be grateful for what you have because even the most tiny things will feel like a blessing when you no longer have it.

In the book Romeo and Juliet there are a lot of interesting characters. The play is about two young star crossed lovers. They are Romeo and Juliet. Their parents however have a rivalry and Romeo and Juliet end up dieing. The character that I found most interesting was Mercutio. He is aligned with the Montague and is killed by Tybalt.

I thought Tybalt was interesting because when he dies he says “A plague o’ both your houses” he is referring to the Montague and the Capulet. I thought that this was strange because he Is aligned with the Montague. I expected him to say that only to the Capulet. I also thought he was interesting because he always had a thing to say when Romeo didn't want to dance at the Capulet’s party. He convinced Romeo to dance when didn't want to. I also thought he was interesting because he decided to fight Tybalt when he didn't have to. Tybalt even told Mercutio that he had no reason to fight him but Mercutio still provoked him into fighting.

I wonder what motives Mercutio had for deciding to fight Tybalt. I especially wondered this because he was kinsmen with the Prince who did not want the Capulet and Montague to fight. Mercutio can kind of be related to some people. He decided to fight Tybalt because Romeo didn't which is kind of like people who defend other people. He was also king of a scapegoat because he died instead of Romeo who could have died if he had decided to fight.

The article “Horse meat found in Ikea's Swedish meatballs sold in 13 countries, authorities say “ is about how horse meat traces were found in meatballs  that was supposed to be beef and pork. The meatballs had gone to Slovakia, Hungary, France, Britain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Ireland. The Czech State Veterinary Administration had found horse meat in 1 kilogram packs of meatballs that were made in sweden. the meatballs were being shipped to  the czech republic to be sold in ikea stores.Meatballs from that batch were taking off the shelves of the ikeas in those countries. They were however not the only company that had traces of horsemeat in their products. Nestle Spain also had horse meat in meat that was supposed to be 100% beef.

The author wants us to feel like those companies did a bad thing but that they should not be blamed entirely. the author made me feel this way because she only gave examples of how ikea had traces of horse meat in their products. the author also gave information about other companies that had horse meat in their products. she also explained that supermarkets had horse meat in their products and that they were taken off the shelfs. the author does however say that these companies search for the cheapest food which might contain ingredients from multiple people in different countries which might contract other people for production which make things hard to monitor. the author also didn't really give that many responses on the companies that had horse meat in their products.

i thought that the companies should be responsible for what is in their products. it may be hard for the companies to monitor the meat that they sell because it come from different places but they should at least try to make a bigger effort. i agree that measures should be taken towards tougher regulations on food. the price of the food might go up but i think that it is better than eating horse meat. so overall i think that measure should be taken so people wont have to eat horse meat when it says that it is pork or beef.

song analasys

One song that I used to listen to was “sorry blame it on me” by Akon. I found the song very catchy. The song is basically about him apologizing to the people he had hurt in his life. He apologized for his actions that he did. He apologized to his mom, wife and a 15 year old girl. He apologizes to his wife for spending little time with her and his son. He apologizes to his mom for stealing and getting sent to jail. Lastly he apologizes to a 15 year old girl for causing her embarrassment.

I think that Akon is saying that sometimes people make mistakes and blame them on other people. For example when he was apologizing to the 15 year old girl he says that he got blamed for grinding with her. The people blamed him when it wasn't his fault because the club was supposed to be for 21 year old people. The club was supposed to get blamed but he got part of the blame. another part that supports this is that the chorus is basically saying it. the chorus is “You can put the blame on me Said you can put the blame on me You can put the blame on me” It is saying that even though it isn't his fault he is willing to accept the blame of things that he did not do. One last quote is “Why doesn’t anybody wanna take blame” saying that the people don't want to be blamed for the action and they are willing to put it on other people.

I think that this can connect to the world because  often people blame other people for things that they didn't do. For example when I was little and me and my cousin would play and if one of us did something such as break a cup we would blame each other so one of us wouldn't take the consequences. I think people should not blame other people for something they didn't do. It could ruin their chances at doing something. so overall I agree with what Akon is saying.

reading response

I have just finished reading the book “Mockingjay” by Suzanne Collins. It is the third and final book of the hunger games trilogy. She doesn't want to become the mocking jay but eventually agrees but with a compromise. She then goes around boosting morale in the districts. She then goes to the capitol with a group of people. Things go wrong and people end up dead such as Finnick. She then kills president coin because she might have been involved in her sisters death.

One thing that I noticed is how Katniss receives help from others such as gale. Other times however she doesn't want help. I think that the author is trying to say that it is ok to receive help from others instead of being independent. If Katniss had not received help from those people then she wouldn't have been able to accomplish them. One point of this is when Katniss is taking the test to see if she can go into combat her “commander” tells her to dive she does. If she hadn't she would have been destroyed by the blast but instead she let her commander do it. One other example is when Katniss and her group are trying to get away from the mutant dogs and a lot of her soldiers stay behind and sacrifice themselves. If they hadn't stayed behind she would have been killed too.

I think that this could apply to everyone. I sometimes have to much pride. I would rather do something on my own before asking for help from someone else. I don’t thing it is a sign of weakness if you ask help from someone. If you cant do something on your own you could get help from a person and it will improve you. For example if you cont draw and you let someone teach/help you it could help you realize what makes your drawings look weird. Another thing is that if someone helps you the job will get done faster and might come out looking better.

non fiction reading response

The article “Cuomo Signs Gun Legislation Into Law" by Thomas Kaplan he talks about the legislative session that was held. They passed/approved a package on gun measures. It was passed after 5 hours of debate on a 104 to 43 votes. It would ban semi automatic pistols, rifles and shotguns with detachable magazines. People who had them would have to register them to the state. The author wants us to know what was passed in the session and what it banned. He also wanted to explain the process of getting weapons and ammunition.

I think the author wants us to feel that this was the right thing to do. He gave a lot of backup evidence that supported this. He quoted mayor Bloomberg when he said it “protects the second amendment rights of people, and at the same time it makes all new Yorkers safer.” He also said, “it fills in loopholes, and it expands it, as the society’s needs have changed, and the dangers have changed to all of us.” He has given many more examples explaining why it was the right thing to do.

I think that this was the right thing to do. If we did not take any actions towards having restrictions it could result in something like what happened in the Connecticut elementary school. It was smart because not anyone will be able to buy gun whenever they wanted and it would be reported when someone but a lot of ammunition. I will also feel safer knowing that not anyone can get a gun anymore. One issue a thought of was that they are aware that there are technical; issues in the package and they will fix them. While they fix it they can change what the package is actually supposed to do.



Thomas. "Kaplan." Cuomo Signs Gun Legislation Into Law january 15,2013: 1-2.

I have just finished the book Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. It is about Katniss going back into the arena with former hunger game winners. It started with another way to show that the capital is still in charge. In then however turns into the start of a rebellion which is stated at the end of the book.

One thing I was thinking about throughout the story was that the games were harder then the first one for katniss. There were many ways that the games were harder then the first. One thing was that former winners were going into the arena which meant that all of those people had killed at least one person before and were not afraid to kill again. One other thing is that in the first arena Katniss was familiar with some plants and the type of place they were in while in the second one Katniss does not know the biome or the type of animals or food that are edible in there.

I think this was not the smartest idea for the capital to make. However I understand that the capital was making a point that they are in charge and that no one should challenge them. Everyone in the capital grew to love the champions. It would be hard for the people to see the champions they grew to love die.