I started reading the second book of the Twilight series, New Moon, again for the second time. It was such an amazing book that I really did want to read some parts over again! I left off blogging on this book at the part where Bella was severely depressed. Edward had just left her in the dust and she was having a hard time recovering. While she and Edward had been dating, a lot of Bella’s friends had faded. It was a surprise to Jessica, one of Bella’s old friends, when she called her up to hang out. They went out to a movie and I, the reader, could even see that it was awkward. Bella was completely out of the loop for having a social life. She didn’t even remember to start up normal girl’s gossip anymore! I thought this part of the book was interesting. I liked how Meyers set up this moment with Jessica again because in other books they do become better friends too. I felt so bad for Bella at this point in time because she really had no one left by her side.
For the last blog I did I found a very interesting article on the Marshmallow Experiment which was on the Edina Public Schools website. So for this weeks blog I wanted to find another article and I found one about our very school. Edina High School was ranked as a Silver Medalist according to U.S. News & World Report. Edina is among the top 2% of all the high schools in the nation. The rank was based on standardized tests of ALL students and college readiness scores. As a whole, Edina got a 51.4 for the college readiness scores. It was the highest out of all high schools in Minnesota and no gold medalists were given out in our state. “It’s an honor to be recognized as a Silver Medalist School,” said Bruce Locklear, principal of EHS. “Our goal is very simple: we want to reach and teach all students.” That is exactly how it is at Edina too! I thought this was so cool that we got ranked this high. I am proud to go to Edina and be apart of this community!
Everyone knows the game Rock band has always been the Rock and Roll style songs that you could strum along too and "Rock out loud," but when Rock Band producers come out with a new version many people might be shocked. The plans to make a country music Rock Band might have some people confused. The game producers include the Dixie Chicks, Brooks and Dunn, and Brad Paisley, popular country musicians, for fans to play along! MTV senior vice president of games and music, Paul DeGooyer, says that the songs that the Rock Band producers will give it a twist and "might twang a little bit." David Card a music-industry analyst with Forrester Research, says he thinks it was a good move to add country into the “Rock Band” mix. It's something different! Personally I like the idea to switch it up a bit. It's interesting that they picked country, but I like the decision. You can't expect them to just keep running the same old songs that sound like each other over and over again! The country edition of Rock Band which is called "Going Country" will be available on the Xbox 360 on Dec. 16 and for the PlayStation 3 starting Dec. 18. I will be on the look out for the reviews on this one!
"You can either eat this marshmallow now and enjoy it or wait until I come back and you get two," said Dr. David Walsh, a Psychologist at Stanford University. He did an experiment with Edina children around the ages of 4 and 5. Walsh would tell the kids that while he was away they could either eat the marshmallow in front of them or wait until he gets back and get two! Instead of being away Walsh and the kid’s parents would be in the next room over watching on a monitor. He had done this experiment before and this was another test to see what exactly happened. Out of the 11 kids who took part in the experiment 4 ate the marshmallow during the fifteen minute period. The kids who ended up eating the marshmallow don’t mean anything really bad. It just helps the parents who were watching realize their kid’s self control. The kids who didn’t eat the marshmallow ended up having the power to say no to themselves and proving they do have self-control. Walsh promoted a movement called, "Say Yes to No." He wants the motivation to help parents say, "No," to their children and teach them to say, "No," to themselves.
This week I read the Zephyrus, the Edina High School newspaper. There was one article in the newspaper that struck me, THE PLAN TO MODERNIZE THE OLD EDINA! Edina's metropolitan council is required every ten years to draw up ideas for the city. Such plans include, building new restaurants such as Leann Chin and new hang out places for Edina sports teams. Mayor Jim Hovland conducts plans to make Edina a more modern place for consumers. Edina has many things to offer to the consumer such as Southdale Mall and The Galleria but this city lacks recreational party areas for the Edina sports teams. The city has a grant to built a skyway from Southdale to the Galleria and Planning the development of a new promenade that runs behind the Original Pancake House connecting to centennial lakes which will get the village feel that Hovland desires. I think this new plan to modernize Edina is all in all a positive step forward to include all ages of the Edina population.
This past weekend I attended a religious camp called TEC.TEC stands for teens encountering Christ. While I was at this camp we read many scriptures from the Bible. I don’t want to get to religious because this is school were talking about, but one verse that really stood out to me was, “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to uproot. A time to kill, a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build. A time to weep and time to laugh. A time to mourn and a time to DANCE!” –Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 I am also a very serious dancer. This quote is probably one of my favorites because it describes my life. I believe in all of these phrases because there is a time for everything in life. I enjoyed this experience and the verses from the bible played a major role in that.
After Edward left Bella alone in the woods, this book got completely depressing. Stephenie does such a good job describing everything, that you actually feel like you are a part of the story. So after Edward leaves Bella goes a little insane. At first she doesn’t realize why he had to leave. She was very confused and really depressed. When I read this section of the book I was crying! “The waves of pain that had only lapped at me before now reared high up and washed over my head, pulling me under. I did not resurface.” Bella has a hard time readjusting to her new lifestyle. That is, until she found Jacob Black again. In the first book, Twilight, Jacob is one of Bella’s old family friends. Jacob doesn’t seem to play a huge role in the first book but he reappears being more useful than ever in the second.
The next few days had been a blur for Bella. After the whole incident Edward had been different. Almost as if he wasn’t telling her something. It was confusing because the other day he had been the happiest man in the world. Bella walked through the halls with his silence and couldn’t take it anymore. As soon as he beat her home from school that day, she knew something was up. The moment he said, “Come for a walk with me,” (67) in a flat toned voice Bella knew that this was bad. As soon as they took nearly twenty steps in the woods they started to talk. Edward said he was moving on. Bella couldn’t breath. She just looked in his golden eyes and couldn’t move when the words came pouring out of his mouth. She couldn’t figure out if this was one of her stupid nightmares again or real. Edward thought it was the best and in return he said, “I promise that this will be the last time you’ll see me. I won’t come back. I won’t put you through anything like this again. You can go on with your life without any more interference from me. It will be as if I’d never existed.” (71) The tears suddenly came out of her eyes. The thought overwhelmed her and she didn’t understand why he was doing this to her. “It will be as if I’d never existed,” ran through Bella’s head, over and over again. When i read this part of the book, in New moon, i actually started crying. The way Stephenie Meyer describes her pain makes it seem real and that your in that position. I absolutely cannot imagine what Bella is feeling right now!
It was September 13. Bella knew exactly why she was miserable too. It was because she knew that she was now one year older than Edward. She played it off as if it wasn’t her birthday, but Edward knew more than to go along with her thoughts. They went to a birthday party for Bella at the Cullen’s house and Alice, Edward’s sister, made it really overdone and surprising. As Bella was opening her presents, she got a paper cut. Everything had gone to fast. She had realized, as the bubble of blood formed on her fingertip, that she was surrounded by a family of vampires. Carlisle was the only one that stayed calm, but what could Bella expect, he did this for a living. Jasper had gone mad and jumped on Bella smashing her into a pile of glass. They retrieved him and Edward went into his protective state. It wasn’t long when it was just Bella and Carlisle the only ones in the room, and he was stitching her up.
For Second Quarter, I have been reading the sequel to the Twilight book, New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer. The first one was really good and it led right off to the second. A quote I picked was about Bella in the first chapter. It described the beginning of the new book and played out a lot of the rest of the book. “I woke up with a start- my eyelids popping open wide- and gasped. Dull gray light, the familiar light of an overcast morning, took the place of the blinding sun in my dream. Just a dream, I told myself. It was only a dream.” (pg 6) Many times in this book, Bella has dreams that foreshadow what will happen next. If you kept reading on from this quote you would find out that it was Bella’s birthday and the significance of it. The fact that Edward is seventeen for life makes it hard on Bella, because she had now just turned one year older. This causes many problems for the two.
Bella woke the next morning to a crisp voice. She automatically knew who it was, Edward. She couldn’t believe that he had stayed the entire night. At first she wondered about Charlie. Edward explained that he had left hours ago not even noticing. They both went downstairs to grab something to eat. As they sat there Bella gazed at him. “His eyes gleamed. ‘The talking came earlier.’ I groaned. ‘What did you hear?’ His gold eyes grew very soft. ‘You said you loved me.’ ‘You already knew that,’ I reminded him, ducking my head. ‘It was nice to hear, just the same.’ I hid my face against his shoulder. ‘I love you,’ I whispered. ‘You are my life now,’ he answered simply.” (314) Bella was the one eating while Edward just watched her. Vampires didn’t eat human food. To them it was like eat dirt. As she ate, they discussed the agenda. Edward decided it was finally time for Bella to meet the Cullens. As those words came out of his mouth, Bella froze. She was both excited and nervous. They got in the car and drove to Edward’s house. As they pulled up, Bella saw the quaint house. It had a special charm to it and it definitely fit the Cullens well. When Bella walked inside, Dr. Cullen stood there welcoming. Soon she met everyone as they poured in and out of sight. They seemed to like Bella and she was finally glad to see the place where Edward had mostly spent all his time before her.
When they got to Bella's house, Edward promised he would meet her up stairs. As Bella opened her door to go into her room, there he was laying on his bed. Bella laid down next to Edward and they started talking. It started on the whole vampire subject again and his family. Then they got on the subject of Bella’s sleeping habits. Edward told her that he had been there before. She wondered if he really had come in and been there while she was sleeping! Then he told her that he had heard her sleep talking and he thought it was really cute. Bella’s heart started to flutter. She loved when he called her cute. They finally had gotten on the topic of Edward himself. Bella asked him how he does it every day. “’Mind over matter,’ he repeated, smiling, his teeth bright even in the darkness.” (301) He explained that he had to overcome the scent and be stronger so there was no possibility that he could ever hurt her. The conversation went into a topic of fear. Edward asked if Bella was at all scared. She said she wasn’t at all. Then Edward asked the most important question of the evening. “’I’m curious now, though,’ he said, his voice light again. ‘Have you ever…?’ He trailed off suggestively.” (311) Bella stated that she had never felt like this towards anyone before. It was important that he asked that because he then obviously felt the same way towards her. The conversation nearly faded as Bella fell into a deep sleep and even then Edward laid down with her.
Seattle was going to have to wait. Edward wanted to show Bella the perks about being a vampire and what really happens. All they needed was sunlight. They decided to go the Edwards special place that he always has gone to. Bella had no idea where they were going; she just got in the car. They drove outside the town limits on a gravel road. He instructed her, but Bella practically knew what they were about to endure. Good thing she wore her tennis shoes because hiking would have been impossible without them. When they stopped Bella saw no trail and wondered where they were going. Edward led his way into the forest and finally reached a patch of light. It was a small meadow gleaming with sunlight and once he stepped in it, he was a new person. His skin had turned in to a sparkling stone. He was a prefect statue and his beauty still shone through. At first, Edward seemed embarrassed, but Bella reassured him that it was okay and that she accepted him for it. As they sat in the middle of the meadow, Bella laid on his chiseled chest. They discussed many things from descriptive vampire details to family life and home situations. Bella loved talking to him. It was almost like she was under a spell of enchantment as she gazed upon his beautiful golden eyes. Nothing could have been better as they drove back home. They had learned so much about each other and Bella knew that she loved him either way, vampire or human.
When I thought of Heroes for Disney, I originally thought of Hercules from the Disney movie. He was a scrawny little boy before he found out he was the son of Zeus and needed to be a hero in order to go to Mt. Olympus. He worked and practice his skills until he was strong enough, physically and mentally, to become a hero!
Another hero I thought of was Mulan, from the Disney's movie Mulan. As a women in ancient China, she wasnt able to fight in battle. As soon as she found out that her injured dad was called to fight in war, she stepped in his place without him knowing. She had to desguise herself as a man until Captain Li Shang found out. Only Mulan knows that the Huns were coming to conquer China, but as a women no one would believe her. In the end, Mulan saves China and people recognize her as a Hero even though she is a women!
This Youtube video I found includes the Disney movies, Aladdin, Hercules, Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, Pochantas, and the Little Mermaid. They are all movies that involve a hero and some what follow the Monomyth. I think it is a good example to show the climax portion of the monomyth because in the video there are many clips of the movies. Also this Youtube has the song Holding Out for a Hero by Bonnie Tyler. The lyrics of this song are saying that "everyone needs a hero" and mainly every disney movie has a hero of some sort!
THE TOP FIFTEEN DISNEY HEROES & HEROINES COUNTDOWN
15) Tramp 14) Bambi 13) Robin Hood 12) Woody 11) Peter Pan 10) Mickey Mouse 9) Prince Phillip 8) Buzz Lightyear 7) Quasimodo 6) Tarzan 5) Mr. Incredible 4) Hercules 3) Beast 2) Simba 1) Aladdin
I put this list of fifteen heroes and heriones on because it was interesting to see how they were listed in order. Another reason was to see how many disney heroes there actually are!
Hercules Script...
Hercules: Pardon me. It seems to me that what you folks need is a hero. Tall Thebian: Yeah? And who are you? Hercules: I'm Hercules, and I happen to be... a hero. [All laugh] Elderly Thebian: Is that so? Have you ever saved a town before? Hercules: Uh... no, not exactly. But... Tall Thebian: Have you ever reversed a natural disaster? Hercules: Well... no. Tall Thebian: Will you listen to this? He's just another chariot chaser. This we need.
I chose this part of the Disney movie Hercules because it gives a good understanding of how people look at heroes at first. In the movie, the citizens doubt that Herucles is a real hero because they have never heard of him and he has never saved a town.
I chose this Youtube of Hercules because it basically tells the story of how Hercules became a hero. He was a "Zero" or a no body before, and then he became a "Hero" and was famous through out cities.
Hero- Mariah Carey
There's a hero If you look inside your heart You don't have to be afraid Of what you are There's an answer If you reach into your soul And the sorrow that you know Will melt away
And then a hero comes along With the strength to carry on And you cast your fears aside And you know you can survive So when you feel like hope is gone Look inside you and be strong And you'll finally see the truth That a hero lies in you
It's a long road When you face the world alone No one reaches out a hand For you to hold You can find love If you search within yourself And the emptiness you felt Will disappear
And then a hero comes along With the strength to carry on And you cast your fears aside And you know you can survive So when you feel like hope is gone Look inside you and be strong And you'll finally see the truth That a hero lies in you
Lord knows Dreams are hard to follow But don't let anyone Tear them away Hold on There will be tomorrow In time You'll find the way
And then a hero comes along With the strength to carry on And you cast your fears aside And you know you can survive So when you feel like hope is gone Look inside you and be strong And you'll finally see the truth That a hero lies in you
I chose this song by Mariah Carey because it has a great meaning. It says that everyone has a little bit of hero inside themselves. I think it has a good message and it is very true. Also when a hero is a hero they need to realize that they can pull through and succeed. They must have courage to win over the bad!
I chose this video because it shows different kinds of heroes. Instead of a huge fighting and mythical hero, Max from Disney's, The Goofy Movie, shows a small town hero. He has the courage to go infront of his school to stop a boring assembly. Also the song he sings is called, Stand out, which is another characteristic of a hero. A hero needs to have the ability to stand out to people and have courage.
Conclusion In Conclusion, Heroes are defined differently from person to person. Some are strong and noble, while others are courageous and weak. Mainly Heroes are categorized to be someone who has accomplished a goal that is very difficult to obtain. Disney Heroes come from Hercules, a mythical hero, to Max Goof who is a highschool kid pursuing a dream.
As the days went on Edward seemed to get more comfortable around Bella. In Biology he would know longer scoot away from her. Every day each of them would switch off to ask questions. They seemed to never get bored about learning more and more about each other. School days went on being very boring and slow, although Edward now drove Bella in the mornings. It was a pretty daily schedule that had appeared to be continuous, until one day when Billy had showed up. Billy was one of Charlie’s friends that had actually given the car to him for Bella’s birthday present. Jacob was his son and he was also the boy she had met on the beach trip to Port Angeles. She kind of remembered him from when she was young but the memories had faded long ago. He came to talk about how things were and Bella thought it was going to be a quick reunion of the old friends. Bella was wrong. Billy knew that something was going on between her and Edward and since he believed in the vampire legends he thought it was bad news. After they had left Edward had stopped by to pick Bella up. He said he was going camping because if he was going to be alone with her tomorrow, “he was going to take whatever precautions he could.” This puzzled Bella, but in way she understood. It is hard for Edward to not want to thirst her blood when he is hungry, especially when her blood is the one he thrives for. In order for him to be okay when he is alone with her he would need blood in his system. Bella thought to herself for a moment. In less than 24 hours, she would be sitting side by side driving to Seattle with Edward Cullen.
“About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him- and I didn’t know how potent that part might be- that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.” (195) As Bella said that to herself she couldn’t stop thinking about him the next morning. She got ready for school and as usual Charlie was gone when she got down stairs. Right when she opened the door and looked out there was a silver car sitting in her drive way. Edward asked her to ride with him today. Her heart fluttered as she said yes. Things had been much more comfortable around Edward then it had been, which Bella thought as a good thing. When she got in English class, Jessica turned around her and asked her what was going on between her and Edward. Bella started the girl-talk and it hit her. She was in love with Edward and he liked her too! Jessica had brought up that everyone bascially knew that something was up between them. At lunch they sat together and she couldn’t stop looking in his golden eyes. They sat alone as everyone's eyes stared. Bella didn't care. As long as she could be with him. There was something about him; maybe it was because he is a vampire, which made him very special. As they talked Edward seemed angry at something or someone. Bella understood why. She knew that it was hard for him to like her because he didn’t want to hurt her. It was a big risk for them to even be together, but it was obviously worth while.
Once Edward had saved her, she was in complete shock. How did he know where she was? Wasn’t he camping with his brother? So many questions ran through Bella’s head that it was utterly impossible to even speak. They went to the Italian restaurant that Jessica and Angela went to even though they were long gone. Once they were seated Bella’s mouth opened and the questions poured out. He stopped her in mid sentence saying that he was going to ask the questions first, since it was his turn. They talked about Bella’s life for a few minutes and Bella answered all she could. Then came the turn for which Bella would finally get some of her answers. Bella asked how he knew that she was in Port Angeles. Edward said it was because he could read minds. Bella was speechless, and wondered how it even worked. “’It’s harder than it should be- keeping track of you. Usually I can find someone very easily, once I’ve heard their mind before.’ He looked at me anxiously, and I realized I had frozen. …’I was keeping tabs on Jessica, not carefully- like I said, only you could find trouble in Port Angeles-and at first I didn’t notice when you took off on your own.’” (175) Bella finally understood. She knew that she liked him, and she thought he did too. But for some reason he couldn’t. He had to keep himself back from liking her or else trouble could occur. Another thing that came into mind was that he couldn’t read her mind. This confused Bella but at least she was getting information instead of none. When they were in the car riding back home, Bella told Edward her theory about vampires. He looked at her instantly with his golden eyes. Bella asked, “How old are you?” He answered quickly stating that he was indeed seventeen. “‘How long have you been seventeen?’ His lips twitched as he stared at the road. ‘A While,’ he admitted at last.” (185)
After Bella had heard the stories about the Cullens, she couldn’t get her mind off the subject. She was on her slow, dial up computer researching the possibilities. She typed in Vampires and read down the lists of stories. Could it really be possible that the Cullens were vampires? Bella immediately got off her computer. It was stupid that she was even thinking of the idea. The next day Bella went to school with thoughts still on her mind. Luckily, she was going out of Forks, for the first time in forever, to go dress shopping with Angela and Jessica! They were going to Port Angeles and Bella was excited. When they got there, they found their dresses in the first store they went in. Bella was happy at this because, frankly she didn’t really like shopping. After that, Angela and Jessica decided that they were going to go to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner. Bella insisted on going to a near by book store to get a few books she had wanted. As she walked around the unfamiliar town, she noticed foot steps a few feet behind her. She quickly turned around and four men walked at her pace behind her. One of them called out to her and she started to get nervous. Bella almost started to run just as one of the guys caught up to her. “Don’t be like that sugar,” he called. Bella reviewed her defense techniques just when headlights swarmed around her. A familiar voice yelled to get in. It was Edward.
As Bella went to English that day she couldn't stop thinking about how Edward had asked her to go to Seattle. She couldn't get it out of her head! Then when she walked to Biology she didn't see him. Where did he go? In class, they started the lab for the day which involved pricking your own finger. At the sight of blood, Bella got sick and couldn't stand up. Of, Course Mike had offered to take her to the nurse's office. When they were walking outside Bella fell to the ground, and she heard a familiar voice. Edward was right behind her and took Mikes place. His cold arms around her strangely made her feel warm inside. During this time they got to spend together, Bella got to ask questions about him that she had been wondering. That weekend Edward said he was going camping, but Bella had plans of her own. She went on a beach trip to La Push, just a few miles from Forks. She went with the whole Mike and Jessica gang. It was fun but something came up that questioned Bella's train of thought. A boy name Jacob Black started to talk to her. He seemed to be family friends with Charlie, so they used to play a lot. As they walked on the beach, talking, Jacob brought up the Cullen family. He started talking about how his great-grand father told "the cold ones" to stay of his land. Bella was confused so she asked, "'So how does it fit in with the Cullens? Are they like the cold ones your great-grandfather met?' "No.' He paused for dramatically. 'They are the same ones.'" (125) Bella was speechless.
I left off in my book at chapter four,Invitations. Bella had her first dream of Edward, which made her think about him even more than she did! It was a month after the incident of the car collision, from which Edward had saved her. Tyler Crowley was still apologizing for it, when obviously he didn't need to. Bella was starting to get annoyed. It's not like she needed more people talking to her. She also thought how that entire accident happened. She had gotten out of her car, a few spaces down from Edwards. A few seconds later, her head flung against the hard pavement and she was miraculously in Edward's arms. Bella still wondered how he had save her in that amount of time. In the parking lot, Bella encountered Mike. He asked her to ask him to the spring dance? Bella instantly said no. She wasn't good at dancing and secretly in her mind she knew she wanted to go with Edward. Later in Biology class, Edward talked to her. "'Im sorry.' He sounded sincere. 'I'm being very rude, I know. But it's better this way, really.' I opened my eyes. His face was very serious. 'I don't know what you mean,' I said, my voice guarded. 'It's better if were not friends,' he explained. "Trust me.'"(74) This made Bella think. After Edward had said that to her, she was confused. He had first been so nice to her, but then didn't want to be friends? As the days went on Bella couldn't quite "read" Edward. She knew she adored him, but did he feel the same way? Then One day Edward asked Bella something that was unexpected. He wanted to know if she wanted a ride up to Seattle, since she was not going to the dance. Bella's heart fluttered as they talked. Soon they would be sitting together in a car, driving alone.
The book I have started to read is the ever so popular, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. Even though I have only read the first three chapters, I am hooked. Bella Swan is the new-girl in Town to Forks, Washington. At first, she didn't want to move. Her mom re-married and thought it would be the best to get away and live with Charlie, her dad. There were many things wrong with Forks already. First of all, it rained almost everyday, unlike Phoenix. Second, She had met few friends the first day and people seemed to all know her name. Third, it seemed as if Edward Cullen, the most handsome guy she had ever seen, hated her with a passion. She didn't know why. It's not like she had done anything to him! During Biology, she sat next to him and his dark eyes looked full of hatred when he looked at her. "I peeked up at him one more time, and regretted it. He was glaring down at me again, his black eyes full of revulsion. As I flinched away from him, shrinking against my chair, the phrase if looks could kill suddenly ran through my mind." (24) After school that day, Bella made her way to the front office and she saw Edward arguing with the receptionist. She couldn't help but listen in while he was fighting to get out of his Biology class. What had she done wrong? The next day, Bella came into school scared. She couldn't have another encounter with Edward, even though every time she turned a corner, she watched for his charming good-looking face and dazzling smile. She would look at his brothers and sisters and wonder where he was. In Biology, she came to class and immediately sat down. Right then and there he came through the door. Bella stared straight at her notebook pretending to be interested in something else. To her surprise, the words that came out of his mouth were actually heart-warming. "'Hello,' said a quiet, musical voice." (43) Completely shocked that he was being nice to her she didn't know what to say. All Bella knew was that she was starting to like Edward Cullen a little bit more now.