Ta Ta for now writing class:(

Throughout the year I thought it was the most challenging when we had to write a response on an article we read or an informational video. I found this the most challenging because I prefer writing about things I know and that matter to me. The writing I found was the easiest were the assignments where we had to write about a certain opinion we had, because nothing is easier than writing what you think.

Of all the assignments I did in this course, the one I am most proud of is called "The Great Escape." I am most proud of this post because I had a lot of fun writing it and I was able to write a story just off the top of my head about anything. I also think this post is one of my less serious, humorous ones. The writing assignment that I wish I could do over is the Time Capsule. I wish I could do this assignment over because I would leave different things behind that would portray my life and who I am better and I would have said something more meaningful.

I am a big fan of the peer assessments. I thought they were extremely helpful because they helped point out mistakes you might have missed while revising your essay that other people picked up on. I enjoyed assessing other students work because it gave me the opportunity to read other peoples blogs and hear their opinions on things, in a way it helped me get to know some people better. In my earlier writing inventory my weakness was getting my ideas down on paper and I 100% think I improved in that area. Now when I have an idea I can go directly to my blog and write it down, It is not that big of a struggle for me anymore.

The three most enjoyable activities I have done are "five out of ten", "the five best or five worst" and "fiction fun." I really enjoyed these activities because they involved writing about things I enjoy and let me decide for myself what kind of story I wanted to tell. The three least enjoyable activities I have done are "Movie review rubric", "Who I am in eight lines" and "Telling the story." I didn't enjoy these activities because to me, they were sort of boring and "Telling the Story" took a lot of time for me to write.

Overall, this course has been the most entertaining one I've been in this year. It was without a doubt my favorite class generally because of the amount of fun we had and the freedom we had to write about whatever we wanted. I am going to miss writing class for sure.

Finally, someone took a torch to MTV live

You just get home from an extremely fun Friday night and you plop down on the couch to end your perfect night with some good TV. Show titles fly through your mind as you flick on the TV and you settle on "disaster date" or "The Dudesons in America." You punch in the channel numbers, press enter and your increasingly amazing night comes to a instant halt. Your mind is processing how crappy everything just got when you hear "Welcome to MTV live!!" and there goes the last ounce of the good night that you were once enjoying. This is why MTV live should burn.

I was never a fan of MTV live, for that some people think of me as weird. I remember the first time I stumbled upon it in my travels through the channels. I clicked on it, sat there in utter dumbfounded shock and then quickly moved on to another channel that had a little meaning. The first thing that causes me to loathe MTV live is that there is no point to it at all. It has about as much point to it as a show about filming animals with a wide angle lens. It doesn't address any real point, in the time I have been forced to watch it with my sister against my will, the only things they talk about are Justin Bobby from The Hills and Paul the intern. Tell me, what makes Paul so awesome? I saw one episode that focused on watching Paul The Intern eat, and this show has tonnes of viewers. Geez, if that's what makes good TV to the general public, I'll go buy a couple burgers at Rotten Ronnies, prop up a video camera and let people watch me eat. Then every few minutes I'll say "OMG isn't Justin Bobby just worthy enough of wasting an hour of our time?" There ya go, I would have my very own version of MTV live. Someone could stand in front of me saying "mamamamrgfarsdaurgaburger" and I would come away with the same understanding I would have if I watched 100 episodes of MTV live.

The whole thing just infuriates me. While watching MTV live it feels like your trapped in time. It only lasts a half an hour but I swear that my mind goes into a type of sleep mode and it feels like 40 days go by in the time it takes for that stupid show to finish. I think MTV live knows how much I hate it and haunts me because every time I turn on the TV it's on. Another thing about MTV live that really grinds my gears, bursts my bubble, pokes my nervous system is the annoying people who are the hosts, Nicole and Daryn.... and the other people but let me be honest, Nicole and Daryn are the ones that really just make me want to crack my skull with a golf club until I can't hear they're annoying voices. Why do I hate them? Well, in my opinion MTV live focuses on it's hosts and not actual events, or music or well geez MTV live you could talk about a couple shows if you were up to it. Since when is it entertainment to watch a bunch of people talk about things that are not relevant to anything. It's just simply not entertainment.

Some people may say that it is entertaining. Some people think MTV live is a n enjoyable, humorous TV show that gives them a break from TV shows that are all together way too serious. One viewer said "MTV Live is funny and I'm proud that we're producing something of this caliber in Canada. The hosts are charismatic and from watching the show they all seem like they love their job and are having a lot of fun, which I think translates into good television. That's my two cents." Another said "MTV Live is one of the best things that has ever happened to MTV in my opinion."

Am I cold hearted if I think that is rubbish? Say what you will but I will always and forever be a die hard MTV live hater.

LOL=D [persuasive essay format]

The title of the article I have chosen is LOL=D, I found this video on Teen Ink. The author of this post is Lauren B from Rockwell, TX. The opening paragraph contains the main point which is "why texting can sometimes be rude." The opening paragraph really caught my attention because It is a topic that I completely agree with, when I am having a conversation with someone and they wip their phone out and start texting it really bugs me. There are five paragraphs in this article and they all have importance to the thesis. In one part the writer uses another resource to back up her statement "Supporters say that texting is useful in situations where calling is not permitted; it is less obtrusive and more easily ignored than a phone call, perhaps even more polite. However, while texting does not involve speaking out loud, it is still an interruption and therefore still can be considered just as rude." The writer presents other sides of the argument because she says "Maybe I am old-fashioned. Perhaps I haven't caught up with the times. Maybe I was raised differently, or maybe I am just plain weird. Whatever the case, I consider texting in the middle of a conversation, a movie, or a lecture ridiculous and unnecessary. " The writer has convinced me of her argument because she presents points that I have noticed before and took into account. The writer could have mentioned some experiences she has had with people who text during a conversation and how they only hear half of what you are saying and how they are barely engaged in the conversation. A counter argument the writer did not include was that some people may have the ability to be completely engaged in a conversation but still be texting at the same time. I did not exactly find the conclusion effective because I thought she could have ended it stronger and added more effective points. I did not notice any spelling or grammar mistakes. I liked this article because it addresses a point that I have been arguing for a while. Nothing is more annoying than when you are in a conversation with someone and the pull out their phone when you say something important and start tittering and teeheeing over a text. It's ridiculous.

http://www.teenink.com/opinion/pop_culture_trends/article/147555/LOLD/

How To: stay sain while babysitting

You are at home, your sister just got her license and she wants to take you for a drive. You are extremely excited to go and then the phone rings. "hello?" you say all happy and in a good mood "hello Taylar? yes, this is Jerk Funkiller and I was wondering if you could watch the kids tonight while me and the Misses take in a movie." Then comes the awkward silence while your fighting back the string of things you want to say " My lord man! You would call right now wouldn't ya? You have a chip in your head that says OH! Taylar wants to go have fun, I must call her up and get her to watch Satan's children while I stay out all night and then come home and pay her 5 dollars." You keep this back and politely say "yes" and then ten minutes later you're sitting on a couch surrounded by 5 children who are all screaming different things.

This, is probably a situation we have all been in. Here are a couple of tips on how to stay sain while babysitting.

First, this is something every babysitter must remember. This first one is called "being in two places at once" and it involves being physically capable to run to all corners of a house. Here is a situation in which the "being in two places at once" rule would apply. There are two children, one says "play hide and seek with me" and the other one says "come downstairs and play my new video game with me" you may not want to but you agree to both things. Here is when being fit comes into play, you must tell the hide and go seeker that you are scared of counting and you have to hide all the time. While she is counting you run downstairs and quickly play a round of "spongebob bubble blast" with the other child. When you hear "ready or not!" you run into the nearest closet and wait to be found. Then start the process over, this is very effective because in most cases the children don't notice that you are not really interested in what ever they want you to play with them.

Second, this one is essential for survival. This one is called "the tear monster" Everyone knows there is nothing more annoying than a child that cries ALL THE TIME. This is how to avoid such a dramatic dilemma. Here is a situation in which you can use this tip. You are playing "snakes and ladders" when someone cheats and the other child notices and immediately starts screaming with tears rolling down their face. Then the child that cheated starts crying and pleading innocent. You take a second to process the events that just took place because nothing springs on you quicker than a tantrum. After you ready yourself you simply say "ya know what Satan's seeds? When I was younger I had this friend carlos and he cried a lot but one day carlos went missing. He cried because his sister cheated and denied it and so the Tear Monster came and ate him and he died." This stops all tears and you never have to worry about such things happening again because you add in this little detail " I know the Tear Monster, I have his phone number on speed dial."

Third, last but definitely not least is my favorite tip. "The truth bender" When you didn't want to babysit in the first place and then you get there and all the kids want to do is play games and run around, you have a very short fuse and absolutely no desire to get up off the couch. Here is a situation in which you can use "the truth bender." You are sitting on the couch watching a movie you were waiting all day to see when one of the children comes up to you and says "chase me! chase me!" You then say "hold on a sec bud, come sit down there is a princess in this movie and I know you will like it." This guarantees that you will be able to watch the entire movie because if the child says "when is the princess coming?" you say "umm, I think it's soon just watch." This can go on until the movie is over and then you can simply explain the lack of princess in the movie by saying "oh sorry bud, it must have been the wrong movie."

I hope these tips help some of you because they have helped me get out of some, well situations I didn't want to be in. CAUTION: some of these tips may cause parents never to call you again. But, be happy you got the situation over with and didn't lose your mind in the battle.

Sinkhole swallows house

This video contains information on the current top CBC news story. A house has sunk into a sinkhole, four people are missing. The structure of the video starts with the news reporter telling of the tragedy, then explaining the rescue situation, also it immediately takes us to the scene where another reporter is waiting to give the details. The reporter at the scene tells where the incident took place, who was involved and what exactly happened. At the end of the video the reporter at the scene gave the story of a neighbor and his account of what happened when the house sunk. Also he said that a rescue is still in effect and they have yet to find the four missing people. The content of this video was to provide information on this tragedy to the Canadian people and to ensure that the most is being done to rescue those that are missing. I think this video was made to calm the people who have heard of this event and are on edge while wondering if the people involved are okay. Also I think it was made to tell the true story of what took place because I'm sure most people are wondering what truly happened. The style of this video includes shots of what is visible of the house and the surrounding area. This really puts some emphases on the severity of the situation, only the roof of the house is visible from the road. The format of this video was long yet interesting. It was very informative and gave all the details of the event. It also included some very good shots of the house and the damage that was done. These elements make the video appealing because it gives us all the information we need to understand the situation yet keeps our attention throughout.

My section of the school newspaper is the Tickle Trunk. I am in charge of the writing/poetry section. If I were to include a video in my section, I could have the author of the story explaining the details of their story such as their ideas and inspiration. Also they could say their favorite authors and influences.

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/ID=1490923531

The player:] Academy Award Material

Forrester, where are you???!!!

Finding Forrester, was released December 19th, 2000. This movie stars Sean Connery, Rob Brown and Anna Paquin. This movie was directed by Gus Van Sant.

This movie is about a teenage boy named Jamal Wallace. Jamal is an extremely smart young man, though he hides this from his peers. One night, while taking part in usual shenanigans with his friends Jamal happens to meet a mysterious old man, who he befriends. After turning in some impressive test scores Jamal is offered a chance to attend a top private school. He accepts this request with the help of the mystery man. Jamal expresses himself through writing which is what brought him and the mystery man together. Throughout their time together Jamal learns from the mystery man and betters himself through their strange friendship. He also betters himself by meeting new people at his new school and expanding his knowledge and to add a twist to the plot. He discovers a author who has been in hiding for years.

Jamal's need to write the things that he can't say out loud to his peers reminds me of Tyler Hawkins in the film Remember Me. In the film, Tyler's brother commits suicide and Tyler wants a way to continue to share his life with his brother. He does this through going back to the last place they were together and writing to his brother. I saw the similarities between the writing aspects of these movies because both men were very intelligent and used writing to express the things they could not otherwise say.

In my opinion the soundtrack for "Finding Forrester" was very appropriate. It helped to develop the characters because the music that is played in certain situations that the characters go through helps to give you a feeling of what type of person they are.

To me, the theme in "Finding Forrester" was very easy to point out. I thought that the theme of this movie was express yourself openly for who you are. If you have a talent or something you are proud of, don't hide it because you are scared that you will be ridiculed for it. In my opinion the theme can be summed up in two quotes. " We must not only give what we have, we must give what we are." and "Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish." Take from those quotes what you must, and see if they symbolize the theme in the film "Finding Forrester."