An iMotion video for Extra Credit.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
My Secret
Hello. I am sure, from the title, that you are amused. A secret... That could mean quite a few things. I will tell you this though. It sure was a lot of fun. It only lasted for an hour though... And only three people know about it. I am sure by this point that you are confused.
I do not know if you will be able to guess my secret before the end of this letter. It is a pretty tough one, and after you find out the secret, I am sure you will reread this to see all the clues you missed.
My secret has sub-secrets, ones that are even harder to figure out than the main secret. There are four sub-secrets within the main secret. All of these sub-secrets took place within an hour of each other, which is funny because I drove 45 minutes each way to get to my location.
So far, that was the best Sunday I have had this year (so far). Although the drive was long, it was worth it. The view was nice too! Lake Erie is so calm this time of year.
I am glad I am back in the spirit of getting on these tall, tall mountains. It was fun to visit an old one, and to see two new ones. It is not everyday that they put in a huge scream-generator.
The food was great too! Those fries were delicious. Whoever thought of putting seafood and potatoes together is a genius, and I applaud them for it.
By now, you may have figured out my secret. If you have not, the answers are below :
My Main Secret - I went to Cedar Point for opening weekend.
Sub-Secret 1 - I rode Millenium Force.
Sub-Secret 2 - I rode Pipe Scream.
Sub-Secret 3 - I rode Lake Erie Eagles.
Sub-Secret 4 - I ate at Chickie's and Pete's (a new restaurant in the park), and had their delicious new Crab Fries
I do not know if you will be able to guess my secret before the end of this letter. It is a pretty tough one, and after you find out the secret, I am sure you will reread this to see all the clues you missed.
My secret has sub-secrets, ones that are even harder to figure out than the main secret. There are four sub-secrets within the main secret. All of these sub-secrets took place within an hour of each other, which is funny because I drove 45 minutes each way to get to my location.
So far, that was the best Sunday I have had this year (so far). Although the drive was long, it was worth it. The view was nice too! Lake Erie is so calm this time of year.
I am glad I am back in the spirit of getting on these tall, tall mountains. It was fun to visit an old one, and to see two new ones. It is not everyday that they put in a huge scream-generator.
The food was great too! Those fries were delicious. Whoever thought of putting seafood and potatoes together is a genius, and I applaud them for it.
By now, you may have figured out my secret. If you have not, the answers are below :
My Main Secret - I went to Cedar Point for opening weekend.
Sub-Secret 1 - I rode Millenium Force.
Sub-Secret 2 - I rode Pipe Scream.
Sub-Secret 3 - I rode Lake Erie Eagles.
Sub-Secret 4 - I ate at Chickie's and Pete's (a new restaurant in the park), and had their delicious new Crab Fries
Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda
If Victor would have wrote a letter to his family saying what he was really doing, the story would have been changed dramatically. The first "alternate ending" that I think could have occurred is the monster would not have been completed, and would remain a pile of limbs instead of a terrible creature. If Victor's family heard of the terrible things he was doing, they may have come to visit him at Ingolstadt. They could have talked him out of creating a monster and got him to return home. While his marriage may not have taken place this way (I assume Elizabeth would not want to marry crazy Victor), the lives of William, Justine, and Henry could have been saved. The monster (because he would not exist) could not have killed William and Henry. Because William would still be alive, Justine would not be charged with murder, and she would still be alive.
A second "alternate ending" that I think could have occurred is the killing of the monster. If the time Victor's family arrived to visit him was after the creation of the monster, his family could have helped him kill it. The story could have been the Frankenstein family going throughout Europe to try and find this crazy monster and kill it. While I am sure deaths would still happen, they could have happened in a less secretive way. The story could have been in a complete opposite direction than the way it went.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Left Out
Sometimes, people get rejected or left out by others. This can make a person feel sad, angry, or upset to name a few emotions. Below is a situation in which Tommy, the main character, feels left out by his bigger and more athletic friends :
Tommy was in the ninth grade. He was finally in high school where he could be away from those annoying sixth graders. It was hard for him to believe that he was that annoying just three years ago...
The high school was much bigger than the middle school. It was so big that Tommy felt like he was lost most of the time. He did not feel like he felt in.
"Why does one school need four gyms?" Tommy asked himself often.
As per his normal schedule, Tommy was leaving the school at three in the afternoon. The school lets out at 2:40, but Tommy stays behind to get help on his math homework. As Tommy was walking past one of the gyms, he heard a faint beating sound. When he reached the gym doors, he took a look inside. He saw two of the older students, Adrian and Terri, playing basketball. Tommy was never great at sports, but he enjoyed playing them when he had the chance. Tommy threw down his backpack and walked over to his acquaintances.
"Hey, can I play?" Tommy asks brightly to the two seniors.
"Why would we let you play?" snorts Terri. "Basketball is only fun if your taller than five feet!" he jokes while Adrian laughs.
"Your just a stupid freshman." Adrian adds on.
Tommy, feeling upset and wanting to cry, runs from the gym and leaves his backpack behind.
Tommy, being the rejected person in this story, feels upset that he is left out. As seen in the beginning of the story, Tommy does not feel like he fits in at the school. He is constantly lost, but glad that he is away from younger students. But now, Tommy is the younger student that nobody likes. When he enters the gym, he gets quite excited at the thought of playing basketball. He was probably happy to think that he might finally fit in with the seniors.
Once he was rejected quite rudely by the seniors, Tommy became upset so much that he wanted to cry. He was so upset that when he ran from the gym, he forgot his backpack.
Remember to ALWAYS be nice to people. Their response is unknown, and it may be drastic. Even if a mean comment was only intended to be a joke, it probably will not come across that way.
Tommy was in the ninth grade. He was finally in high school where he could be away from those annoying sixth graders. It was hard for him to believe that he was that annoying just three years ago...
The high school was much bigger than the middle school. It was so big that Tommy felt like he was lost most of the time. He did not feel like he felt in.
"Why does one school need four gyms?" Tommy asked himself often.
As per his normal schedule, Tommy was leaving the school at three in the afternoon. The school lets out at 2:40, but Tommy stays behind to get help on his math homework. As Tommy was walking past one of the gyms, he heard a faint beating sound. When he reached the gym doors, he took a look inside. He saw two of the older students, Adrian and Terri, playing basketball. Tommy was never great at sports, but he enjoyed playing them when he had the chance. Tommy threw down his backpack and walked over to his acquaintances.
"Hey, can I play?" Tommy asks brightly to the two seniors.
"Why would we let you play?" snorts Terri. "Basketball is only fun if your taller than five feet!" he jokes while Adrian laughs.
"Your just a stupid freshman." Adrian adds on.
Tommy, feeling upset and wanting to cry, runs from the gym and leaves his backpack behind.
Tommy, being the rejected person in this story, feels upset that he is left out. As seen in the beginning of the story, Tommy does not feel like he fits in at the school. He is constantly lost, but glad that he is away from younger students. But now, Tommy is the younger student that nobody likes. When he enters the gym, he gets quite excited at the thought of playing basketball. He was probably happy to think that he might finally fit in with the seniors.
Once he was rejected quite rudely by the seniors, Tommy became upset so much that he wanted to cry. He was so upset that when he ran from the gym, he forgot his backpack.
Remember to ALWAYS be nice to people. Their response is unknown, and it may be drastic. Even if a mean comment was only intended to be a joke, it probably will not come across that way.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Atmosphere, Action, and Supernatural
Of the three elements - atmosphere, action, and supernatural - in the story Frankenstein, I feel that atmosphere is the most effective. I say this because atmosphere is everything in a book. If the setting (atmosphere) was not described, readers would not be able to understand the story as well. If mood (atmosphere) was not in the story, the characters would not be understood as well as if mood was in place. Atmosphere is everything. Here are a few examples of atmosphere in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
"It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs."
This scene creates a very vivid picture of what is going on. It is a rainy night, November (probably cold weather), and dark. Victor, quite mad at this time, has a dead monster that he created lying at his feet. After infusing it with electricity, the monster awakens...
"It was completely dark when I arrived in the environs of Geneva; the gates of the town were already shut; and I was obliged to pass the night at Secheron, a village at the distance of half a league from the city. The sky was serene; and, as I was unable to rest, I resolved to visit the spot where my poor William had been murdered. As I could not pass through the town, I was obliged to cross the lake in a boat to arrive at Plainpalais. During this short voyage I saw the lightning playing on the summit of Mont Blanc in the most beautiful figures. The storm appeared to approach rapidly, and, on landing, I ascended a low hill, that I might observe its progress. It advanced; the heavens were clouded, and I soon felt the rain coming slowly in large drops, but its violence quickly increased."
This scene creates imagery for what Victor had to go to once he arrived at his hometown. The gates were closed, so he was not getting in. He had to return to a village a little ways away from the city for the night. The sky was stormy, and he could tell that the weather was about to get really bad.
"I spent the following day roaming through the valley. I stood beside the sources of the Arveiron, which take their rise in a glacier, that with slow pace is advancing down from the summit of the hills to barricade the valley. The abrupt sides of vast mountains were before me; the icy wall of the glacier overhung me; a few shattered pines were scattered around; and the solemn silence of this glorious presence-chamber of imperial nature was broken only by the brawling waves or the fall of some vast fragment, the thunder sound of the avalanche or the cracking, reverberated along the mountains, of the accumulated ice, which, through the silent working of immutable laws, was ever and anon rent and torn, as if it had been but a plaything in their hands."
This final quote really sets the mood for the story. You can tell that Victor has gone to a place where very few or no men have been before. It is deserted and beautiful. It takes so long to just describe the setting before we can get to anything else. This really helps the readers understand the setting, and subsequently, the story better.
If it was not for atmosphere, this book would have been quite dull, hard to understand (due to the lack of settings), and shorter. Much of the story is Victor describing the setting so we understand it. Atmosphere is the most important of the three elements.
"It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs."
This scene creates a very vivid picture of what is going on. It is a rainy night, November (probably cold weather), and dark. Victor, quite mad at this time, has a dead monster that he created lying at his feet. After infusing it with electricity, the monster awakens...
"It was completely dark when I arrived in the environs of Geneva; the gates of the town were already shut; and I was obliged to pass the night at Secheron, a village at the distance of half a league from the city. The sky was serene; and, as I was unable to rest, I resolved to visit the spot where my poor William had been murdered. As I could not pass through the town, I was obliged to cross the lake in a boat to arrive at Plainpalais. During this short voyage I saw the lightning playing on the summit of Mont Blanc in the most beautiful figures. The storm appeared to approach rapidly, and, on landing, I ascended a low hill, that I might observe its progress. It advanced; the heavens were clouded, and I soon felt the rain coming slowly in large drops, but its violence quickly increased."
This scene creates imagery for what Victor had to go to once he arrived at his hometown. The gates were closed, so he was not getting in. He had to return to a village a little ways away from the city for the night. The sky was stormy, and he could tell that the weather was about to get really bad.
"I spent the following day roaming through the valley. I stood beside the sources of the Arveiron, which take their rise in a glacier, that with slow pace is advancing down from the summit of the hills to barricade the valley. The abrupt sides of vast mountains were before me; the icy wall of the glacier overhung me; a few shattered pines were scattered around; and the solemn silence of this glorious presence-chamber of imperial nature was broken only by the brawling waves or the fall of some vast fragment, the thunder sound of the avalanche or the cracking, reverberated along the mountains, of the accumulated ice, which, through the silent working of immutable laws, was ever and anon rent and torn, as if it had been but a plaything in their hands."
This final quote really sets the mood for the story. You can tell that Victor has gone to a place where very few or no men have been before. It is deserted and beautiful. It takes so long to just describe the setting before we can get to anything else. This really helps the readers understand the setting, and subsequently, the story better.
If it was not for atmosphere, this book would have been quite dull, hard to understand (due to the lack of settings), and shorter. Much of the story is Victor describing the setting so we understand it. Atmosphere is the most important of the three elements.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Frankenstein and My Ghost Story
Mary Shelley had an interesting beginning to her story Frankenstein. The story begins with four different letters written by Robert Walton, an explorer in the Arctic Circle. Walton is writing these letters to his sister who lives in England. During Walton's trip, he comes across a stranger that is near death. After the stranger is welcomed aboard the ship, he tells Walton that there is a story to how he came to be this way. After a bit of persuasion, Walton got the stranger to tell his story. The book, after is point, is a manuscript of the stranger's story.
If I had to write a ghost story, I would begin by talking about the setting's past. I would want to draw the readers into the history of the setting (location), what happened, and why the new people (which would become the main characters) are going to this location. I would probably make the location have a terrible past of murder and crime, and would say that the location is supposedly haunted. The new characters, who do not believe that it is haunted, would go to this location to prove it. Unfortunately for them, only one will come out alive...
If I had to write a ghost story, I would begin by talking about the setting's past. I would want to draw the readers into the history of the setting (location), what happened, and why the new people (which would become the main characters) are going to this location. I would probably make the location have a terrible past of murder and crime, and would say that the location is supposedly haunted. The new characters, who do not believe that it is haunted, would go to this location to prove it. Unfortunately for them, only one will come out alive...
Robert Walton (as interpreted from the story)
The eerie setting of my story...
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Spring Break
One thing that I hope to do over Spring Break is visit the Aut-O-Rama drive in theater. A drive in is a theater with an outside movie screen (usually 80-150 feet tall) and no seats. Instead, a person drives their car up to the theater, parks their vehicle, and sit in it the duration of the movie(s). Since a drive in is an outdoor theater, it is closed most of the fall and all of winter. Every year in spring, the Aut-O-Rama opens up and starts a great season of fun, movies, and great food.
This Friday, April 4th, is opening weekend for the Aut-O-Rama. They are going to show "Captain America : The Winter Soldier" and "Thor : The Dark World" on Screen One. Additionally, they are going to show "Frozen" and "The Lego Movie" on Screen Two. I can not wait to go see Captain America in another great Marvel movie!
Some food that the drive in offers include french fries, hot dogs, hamburgers and cheeseburgers, subs, pizza, assorted candy, ice cream, and of course, popcorn. The food at the drive in is the best food in the world. It tastes amazing, which probably means it is bad for a person's health, but that really does not matter. It is too good to pass up! I can not wait to be back out there in just a short few hours.
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