Dialectic Journals Book 2

Ch.8, pg. 80
"Alexandros was ordered to piss into his shield. It was a training shield, yes. But Dienekes knew as he looked down with the other peers from the slope above that this particular aspis, patched and repatched over decades, had belonged to Alexandros' father and grandfather before him."

Wow I really felt pity for Alexandro that he was ordered to piss on a shield and not just a shield but it was something sacred to him that was passed down to from both his grandpa and father. It would suck if someone disrespected an item of your that was important to you but for someone to put shame on his own loving item it's just sad. I felt angry and sorry for him, it's so cruel. I think the author was trying to say that back then if you made a small mistake like ignore your shield for even a minute as Alexandro did, there would be consequences something that valuable shouldn't be ignored especially if it was passed down to you.
I can relate to this because I had an item that was passed down to me and it was special to me I would always carry it with me where ever i went, and one day I was so careless and lost it I felt ashamed of myself and angry. However I found it and I would never loose it again I couldn't trust myself holding it only because of the fear of loosing it so I kept it at home.



Ch.9, pg.95
"Alexandro's beautiful broken face." (This is actually suppose to be a long sentence but I only wrote down the part that struck me.)

I really love this oxymoron. Normally when something is broken you wouldn't praise it and call it beautiful. Not only that but Alexandro had just finished fighting and his face was covered with bruises and a broken nose. I remember when I was small my brother would say always use the word, "Pretty ugly." I never knew which when he meant and I would always ask wait what do you mean are you giving someone a compliment or insult? He would always laugh. I finally knew what it mean and it was just a way to describe someone in a different way of ugly like if someone says, "It's pretty hot." there describing how hot it is. An other example is "jumbo shrimp." you don't actually think of shrimp as large you think of them as small but it's just another way to say shrimp that's bigger than most I assume.
An other one I use a lot is "Same difference."
Anyways I really liked that the author used an oxymoron I don't really hear those any more.



Ch.10, pg. 101
"The pirate accepted his fare, grinning like Charon on the ferry to hell."

I smiled reading this I just pictured it very clearly a pirate smirking at two young kids taking them to a destination to hell. I was really interested to learn more so I looked up the word "Charon" and found it a meant a ferryman who carried the souls of the dead. So I really liked how the author showed and not tell I could see it very nicely. I feel like it can somewhat relate to me because when I was hiking at the grand canyon I asked a guy how much longer until I reached the Indian gardens and he said like two hours and said I wouldn't make it and I would faint he gave me an evil smile and his attempt to try to scare me failed. :)

Dialectic Journals pt.3

Ch.6, pg.45

"I had seen my own heart and it was the heart of a coward. I despised myself with a blistering, pitiless scorn."

What I really liked about reading this was it only had two sentences yet it told me so much. I really loved the metaphor used in this text. I also like the adjectives the author uses to describe hate , instead of the author writing, "I hated myself" (Boring) he used great detail writing on describing it that I really enjoyed reading that one part.
I can relate to this because at times I make big mistakes and I strongly dislike myself for making them. Obviously though they way he felt about himself was much more vigorous.

Dialectic Journals pt.2

Ch.5, pg.38

"Tripod kept taking it and taking it. The flesh of his back had been torn through in a dozen places; you could see tissue and fascia, rib cage and muscle and even the spine. He would not go down. "Pitch!" his two commanders kept urging between blows, meaning let go of the bar and fall. Tripod refused."

Wow when I first read this I was so startled. I really liked how the author described Tripod's pain I could easily picture it and I could see guts and the flesh, it made me have goosebumps just reading it. What really amazed me was that he refused to pitch. I know I wouldn't last a second at his possession and I would have pitched a long time ago but this guy just kept getting beaten and beaten and wouldn't fall. I think Tripod was so strong.

One question that was on my mind while I was reading this was why is doing this to his body?, what is he trying to get from all this? Overall I think the author did a great job on showing us an extraordinary image with just writing.

Dialectic Journals pt.1

Ch.4, pg.27

" Why had I not foreseen their peril? Why was I not standing at my father's shoulder. armed and possessed of a man's strength, to defend our hearth or die honorably before it, as he and my mother had?"

What struck me about this was he seemed like he really did want to help his mother & father and be courageous. He probably didn't want to be afraid and make everything right. My reaction to this quote really made me want to just jump in the story and comfort him, especially after seeing his parents dead on the floor.

I think that this can relate to some people after a loved one dies they think to themselves wishing they could have been with them. If I were in his possession I would probably think the same thing as he did. I feel like this passage is very significant because when something as horrible happens to someone it can really change them as a person, so I think Xeo will try to avenge his parents death.

What I think about the US economy & Obama and McCains ideas.

So if you look at the US economy now it is very bad. The problem is money supply! For example: People borrow money from banks they can't pay them back, so Banks loose a lot of money, then soon become bankrupt or known as Cascading failure because the bank is depending on the person to pay them back. Many people have lost their jobs, Stock markets are going up and then go down, banks have to work with other banks just to stay alive, and several companies have been out of business. Other countries are suffering because of the US economy for example the past few weeks the value of the peso has gone up and down like a roller coaster. The value of one peso
In other issue is gas prices. Gas is strongly connected to the price of oil, the price of oil has been going down from $140.00 per barrel to the current price of $70.00 a barrel. The price of gas has followed the drop of oil so now it about 4.59 per gallon to 3.20 per gallon. However the gas prices are sure to go up. I don't think I want to know how much a gallon of gas will cost me by the time I can drive. (I didn't find a link for what I just said about gas, I got this great information from a guy I know, Thank you Bob) I thought I should mention gas prices because many people are very concerned about them.
As I was saying before the economy has pretty much gone down hill and Obama and McCain are claiming they can fix it. Obama's plan is to increase tax for upper class citizens and decrease taxes for lower and middle class citizens, he doesn't support fair tax.I believe that taxes should just be equal.
McCain just wants to keep taxes low. Obama's tax plan
As I said before about the banks being bankrupt, when you keep spending money and you can't pay for it what do you do? well you don't continue spending your money the money will only over inflate. McCain is changing a few laws that involve spending a lot of money as well. Obama wants to nationalize things put them in control and once again that involves spending a lot of money so they are not really changing anything they are only spending more of your money.

Side photo

Cindy Rodriguez is always there for people, she enjoys giving advice to others and making them happy. There's something about Cindy that really makes me want to be like her, maybe it's the way she always spends her time encouraging people or how shes not your average teenage girl.

cool picture

I really liked this picture because the moment I saw it I thought peaceful. When I look at this I see a girl and shes dreaming about something maybe home or a glorious place that she misses or that shes going to go to. This picture really caught my eye because you see a image inside in other image. I like how you can see a background and you see the girl at the same time it's very beautiful. :)

Were my Predictions right?

Before I read Secret Life of Bees our class had to make predictions on what we thought the book was going to be about based on looking at the cover and reviews. My predictions were pretty accurate. One of my predictions that was really accurate was when I said that this book was full of detailed writing based on the reviews I read, and when I started reading the book I found out I was right because the author Sue Monk Kid wrote really great writing that could make you feel like you were in the story for example on pg.38 it says, "You don't scare me," I repeated, louder this time. A brazen feeling had broken loose in me, a daring something that had been locked up in my chest. I thought those two lines made me see Lily's reaction and you could tell that she had courage to talk back.
Even though that prediction went well I predicted a couple of things that were kinda off. I said that its gonna be about 5 girls and a bunch of bees, there were five girls and bees but there was way more to offer than that so I really thought the book was going to be boring but I ended up liking the book.

this weekend I might......

Go to a Bonfire! last Wednesday was my friends birthday and she didn't really want a party but her friends and I insisted that we should have a bonfire. If it rains again I hope we can cope with the droplets dropping on the hot fire. I wonder if it will be windy and warm? I can't wait hear Cindy's clownish jokes as usual but the thing I'm looking forward to the most is the food full of flavor! I want to taste something terrific and tremendous, Perhaps some scrumptious sweet and sour shrimp! ah the sweet smell, and a huge veggie hot dog with habenero sauce.

I assume the bonfire will be in a dark small park. There will probably be a few people attending the bonfire. I hope it wont be boring and quiet, I want loudness and more, running and laughter like a little kid again. I hope I go otherwise for sure I will mope :( I look forward for the day to come and even if it doesn't happen I will still have a mini feast at my place.