Bless Me, Ultima (1-7)

First off, I'd like to say that I wish I knew Spanish. That would help me so much while reading this book, as there are many Spanish phrases and lines throughout. However, I do manage to understand what the kind of mean just by using context clues and whatnot.
In the beginning chapters, I've had difficulty getting through pages at a time. But I feel as though the book is getting better and better as I continue. I cannot believe that Antonio is only six years old right now. Why would a six year old chase his father and another man into the night when they are going after a killer? I feel as though the younger you are, the more fearless you are. You aren't afraid to make mistakes.
I really like how Antonio's dreams are so involved with the story. Just by knowing the first dream lets you know that his dreams will play a significant part in this story.
So far, I really like Ultima. She is very kind yet mysterious and I like that the audience is left trying to figure her out. I feel like something will happen to her later in the story that will turn people against her eventually.
I also don't know how I feel about Antonio having to choose his destiny t such a young age. I know it seems to be a big deal with family history and everything, but a mother telling her six year old son that he is to be a priest when he grows up leaves no decision for him. It's like telling your child to be an accountant. Childhood is when you explore your options and see what you're good at and discover passions.
These are my thoughts on the beginning impression of the story. More rambling to come next time!

And the winner for Losing their Campaign in 30 Seconds or Less Goes To....

Rick Perry. Total jerk. He seriously does not know his audience at all. For those of you who didn't see his new ad, here it is:
You'll agree with my above statement after seeing this.

What this idiot is talking about is fighting for religion in America, and comparing it to gays serving in the military. I am disgusted by this man. He says, "I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a Christian, but you don’t need to be in the pew every Sunday to know there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school." Then, to dig the hole deeper, he continues, "As president, I’ll end Obama’s war on religion. And I’ll fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage." I can't even describe the stupidity of this man. Clearly, the author agrees with me. 
First off, you can tell the article is supposed to provide some humor with its title, "Rick Perry: More disliked than Rebecca Black". I thought it was funny. She starts it talking about how other candidates should send him thank you cards and balloons. Because this pretty much means that Rick Perry will not make it far in this campaign. The author's purpose is to persuade (although I hardly think anyone agrees with Perry) and definitely to entertain. I agree with Mary when she says, "OK, you gays openly serving in the military! President Perry is going to mind-wipe everyone you’ve come out to! And then he’s going to put a Nativity scene in every classroom! Because that’s what the Founding Fathers would have wanted." (Williams). She even goes on to say, "Excuse me, I have to go wipe these copious tears of derisive laughter off my cheeks." (Williams). She also compares Perry's viral video to that of another hated video from Rebecca Black. This ties in the title of the article to the article.


Article: "Rick Perry: More dislikes than Rebecca Black" by Mary Elizabeth Williams

City Rankings Are Always Wrong

     Have you ever been watching the news and hear talk of "the friendliest cities" or "the safest cities" and try to see where your city landed on the list? I remember watching those pop up on the news every now and then. And I remember thinking, "how do they pinpoint these statistics, exactly?" Well, the thing is, they aren't accurate. In fact, the statistics they use to make these lists don't make much sense either. According to this article, the "saddest U.S. cities" are based on suicidal rates, amount of antidepressants used, rate of unemployment, and other similar statistics. But the thing is, everybody is different. There is no one way to make these lists based on stats that are different from person to person. If someone wanted to go somewhere based on these lists, they really shouldn't believe them. Use individual statistics that are important to you, not "best places to raise a family". Because it is most likely not what you think it is.
     I really like how the author starts off his article with a conversational approach. "Hey, Memphis: Are you happy? Are you sure? Because Men’s Health magazine isn’t so certain." (Doig) catches the readers' attention. The conversational tone makes the article seem like it doesn't require much repertoire to read. He makes several good points while writing this article, and uses facts and examples to back up his argument. Clearly, he was against these lists of top U.S. cities, because he definitely swayed my opinion. Now, I can tell my mom she shouldn't be too sure when she tells me as well as many other people what the "top partying colleges in the U.S." are.


Article: "Why city rankings always get it wrong" by Will Doig

Science Behind Taste: How the Brain Creates Flavor

So, pretty much what this article said was how the brain works while eating food, along with your other senses. I found it to be very interesting. Did you know that the sense of smell has a huge impact on the sense of taste? I didn't, until I read this article. Smell is for sensing the flavor of food. People don't know that because majority of people think your taste of food comes entirely from your mouth. That's wrong. Actually, "the sense of smell was the dominant sense in flavor." (Tepper, quoting Gordon M. Shepherd). Now I know that when someone asks me which sense I'd give up out of all of them, to not say smell. Because without smell you don't have taste. Also, there are really two different ways of smelling. Orthonasal (sniffing in) and retronasal (the way we smell with food in our mouths). Texture and color also have a big impact on what you eat as well. You can really be fooled by what you're eating based on the color it is. It gives us the expectation of the flavor of what we're about to eat. Also mentioned in the article is how you can fool experienced wine tasters by dying white wine red.
The article, actually it was more of an interview with Gordon M. Shepherd about his new book, Neurogastronomy: How the Brain Creates Flavor and Why It Matters. The author, Hannah Tepper, set up the article as more of a question and answer session, with the question in bold and Shepherd's answer following. I found that it made the article easier to read and you knew exactly what you were going to read about based on the question. The article was filled with lots of unknown fun facts. At least that's why I found it interesting. I feel like the author didn't really have a thesis; she was mainly writing this article to inform readers about things they may not have known about smell and taste and how the brain works with all of this.






Article: The Science of Taste by Hannah Tepper

Breaking Dawn. No Thank You.

First, before I start any true ranting, I know Kaylee Locke is going to not like this post, as she is one of my blogging partners as well as a huge fan of Twilight. So I should get ready for her comments.
But, yes, Twilight is not good. The books weren't good, and the movies aren't good. Sure, I did read the Twilight books in the seventh grade and was somehow brainwashed with all of the other girls that Twilight was fantastic. I quickly snapped out of that, thank god. I am now fully devoted to Harry Potter. For some reason, my sister was watching the second Twilight film today, and because I was painting something for school in the kitchen, I had no choice but to watch it. And I must say, it made me very angry. The characters, the story, the actors, all of it. It made me mad how shallow of a series this is.
But back to the article. This particular article bashes the new Twilight movie, Breaking Dawn. Part 1 of an unfortunate 2. I have yet to see the film, not that I even wanted to, but this guy's opinion and review of it doesn't make me want to see it even more. I guess the movie just drags on. There's the wedding and honeymoon of Bella and her lovely vampire, and then they find out that they're expecting some sort of creature as a result of that honeymoon. And then I guess it just ends. That's it.
The author obviously wants to stir up some drama, knowing that there are some die-hard twilight fans out there. He said the movie is just slow and boring. And it tries to be funny, but only generates one true laugh. That's it. And I agree with him while he talks about how pointless the whole series is in general. There was also a video review with these two guys talking about the film and how they didn't like it at all. The author uses tactics like clever little sayings  that just downgrade the movie. He says things like, "But, really, when you’ve spent your entire relationship trying to have sex with a nonhuman who won’t because the sex might kill you, it seems that pregnancy is perhaps the evening’s least shocking outcome." and "Otherwise, “Breaking Dawn’’ is just talking computer-generated werewolves, deplorable special effects, late-hour horror schlock, and a character cursed to be named “Renesmee.’’". Yep, no thank you, Breaking Dawn.

Article: "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 1" by Wesley Morris

Adam Sandler: Tradegy

I love Adam Sandler. Well, at least, his earlier hilariously funny movies like "Billy Madison" and "Happy Gilmore". I must say that his more recent movies like "Grown Ups" have been disappointing and they just seem forced. Like he's trying too hard to be funny now. I doesn't work. In this article, it's talking about how Adam Sandler is slowly declining, especially from his new movie, "Jack and Jill" where he plays both a man and a woman. I have not seen the movie, but I think the movie looks stupid just from the trailer. The article then compares Adam Sandler to Bill Murray; they both had their famous heyday where they were both well-known and funny. Then, Murray had a decline where he made several mistakes taking part in different movies. After, he had a very good roles in a few movies, then was well-respected again. He made a good choice and transitioned from really funny movies to more serious ones. And because Sandler is similar to Murray, everyone is hoping Sandler will make the same transition. I, too, am hoping he makes this transition because I am such a huge fan of Sandler.
The author of the article makes it clear what he (I'm pretty sure it's a he, his name is Toph so I'm just going to refer to him as a he) wants his audience to know: Adam Sandler is falling down this ladder he climbed so high in the late 80s and early 90s with his filmmaking career. I think it is very well done with his tactic of comparing Adam Sandler to Bill Murray while convincing his audience that Sandler needs to make a change with the films he is acting in. The way he starts out his article with bringing up Sandler's new film, "Jack and Jill", and the general reaction to it really helps draw his audience in. He brings up a very good point when comparing Sandler to Eddie Murphy and comedians similar to himself. He says, "Don’t go down the same path as Eddie Murphy or Martin Lawrence. Don’t spend another 25 years in fat suits, female wigs and baby costumes. Sandler still has a choice. I hope that before he selects his path, he remembers that it takes the makeup department five hours every morning to turn an actor into a Klump or a Big Momma." I find this to be very true. And, prior to reading this article, these thoughts have never really come up in my head this way. But because of Toph, I have now joined his side in thinking Adam Sandler needs to change things up.


Article: "The tragedy of Adam Sandler" by Toph Eggers

The Tomorrow Code (Outside Reading)

   I actually never thought I would actually pick up The Tomorrow Code in a book store and purchase it just based on how it looked. As you can see, the book looks like a very science-fiction type of book, which it is. I've never been one to read science-fiction. However, my aunt, who teaches high school Honors English and AP English, bought me this book and said her students recommended it. I started reading it. It was interesting. Then, as the story developed, I found that I could not put the book down because the tenseness of the situations and the anticipation was great. Sure it is science fiction, but it kind of feels like it could be possible. Maybe the slightest bit, but it could be possible.
     Behind all of the science fiction-ness, there is something with a relationship between two 14-year-olds who happen to be the best of friends, Tane and Rebecca. They're both quite smart and are the masterminds behind the apocalypse that could be destroying all of man kind. I enjoyed how Brian Falkner told the story. He made it seem like everything seemed normal, but underneath it all it actually wasn't. In reality, this dynamic duo was sending code messages through gamma ray bursts using NASA technology telling the present version of themselves winning numbers to a random lottery, and also that a mist consisting of giant antibodies were out to rid the world of humans altogether. Seems legit. Not really. But it's the way he tells the story that makes it seem like a possibility. How they both have nothing to lose and they should just trust their gut and go for it.
    I thought the ending was really well done. During the epic battle of humans vs. mist, the author switches point of view several times in a chapter, to show the thoughts of different people going through different stages of severity of the mist. The way he wrote allowed the audience to sense the tension of the moment and the suspense of the situation at hand. Then, when everything was over, he had one very last chapter. It was identical to the first, but instead of starting it off as "the end of the world", he started it off as, "the saving of the world". It showed how they were going to go through the same thing yet again, but now they had the ability to do it differently and perhaps come up with a different outcome.
    I really enjoyed this book. Even though I'm not really a science-fiction type of person, I liked this book. It offered action, drama, and just a hint of romance. It showed me that you can never really judge a book by it's cover, as extremely cliche that is.

The Tomorrow Code by Brian Falkner