Outside Reading #15

Well they've done it again. The boy, and his father have run out of food, and then managed to find a more then they could possibly eat. This time they found a ship filled with all of the supplies that they need. As I mentioned earlier them running out of food then finding a bunch has become a common pattern. They have now spent about two days sleeping on the beach, and salvaging the ship. It is not safe to stay in one place for very long, so they need to get going. I think that the pattern that has been established is showing that they are going to run out of food again. Only this time they won't be able to find anymore. Then they might starve, our get saved by someone.

Outside Reading #14

I know The Road should be done now, but I still haven't finished. The thing is I've been reading off and on for a while. Anyway I back to it and it's kind of becoming a pendulum story. The boy and father had food, then didn't. Then they found a bunch, and then they ate it all. Now, they found a bunch more. They're going from starving to full, a back again. They have been travelling this whole time though, so they've made some progress. They are crossing over into the civilization. For example they found a city with many people burned into the pavement, a rather grim sight. Well, I'm getting closer to the end now and I should be finished pretty soon.

Outside Reading #13

For this outside reading I read the official xbox magazine's article on the new game Left 4 Dead. It is about four people trying to survive the zombie apocalypse. Xbox Magazine gave Left 4 Dead a 9.5 out of 10. This is obviously a very good score, but considering the games they have given 10s in the past I would say it also deserves a 10. This is probably because of my obvious zombie bias. But really, it is a really great game. I really love playing with my brother who is at college on xbox live. Mainly why I like this game is because it has co-op and you get to kill zombies, but there are other really good reasons to love this game. For example the various location in which you must survive, or the variety of zombies. Overall this game is what I've been looking for for a long time.

outside Reading #12

The man, and the boy have officially left the bunker. They loaded up a shopping cart with supplies and left. Then, they travelled for a while down the road without anything special happening. After a while they found an old man walking along the road. The old man could barely walk and could not remember the last time he had eaten. The boy convinced his father to feed the old man, so they gave him some fruit cocktail. Then, they let the man eat dinner with them. That old man was pretty lucky because they didn't skimp on the food. They ate beef stew and coffee, thats a really good meal by post-apocalyptic standards.

Outside Reading #11

It's back to The Road as the father son team struggles their way across America. After an extremely disturbing run in with mutilated starving people, who were all locked in a cellar; the boy and his father have finally caught a break. Yes, that's right something happy has finally happened. Just as they were about to give up hope they found a unused survival bunker stocked with everything you could ever want in a post apocalyptic situation. But, in a very Road like manner, there's a catch. They can't stay there because the cannibals will eventually find and kill them. well, that's as far as I got this time, stay posted for updates. (The picture is a visual aproximation of the world of The Road.)

Outside Reading #10

I read an article in Videomaker Magazine called "Editing Dirty Little Tricks" by Morgan Paar. In the article the author describes a bunch of editing tricks gathered from several experienced editors. I thought one of the best ones was when they said that there are often scenes in which you need to add dialogue that wasn't in the original script. They said they often record the dialogue in a studio, and then dub the audio tracks over wide shots of the subjects. That way you can't see the actors lips, and the illusion is sold.

Outside Reading #9

For this outside reading I decided to write about the last movie I watched. The movie was Chinatown, starring Jack Nicholson. It was filmed in 1974, and was directed by Roman Polanski. The film takes place in Los Angeles during the 1930s, and is about a Private Detective named J.J. Gittes who is hired by a woman claiming to be Mrs. Mulray to investigate Hollis Mulray. When it turns out she was not actually Mrs. Mulray Gittes investigates. He ends up uncovering a wild and scandolous mystery that includes the real Mrs. Mulray, a girl named Katherine, the now deceased Mr. Mulray, Mrs. Mulray's father, and a group of elderly women. I especially enjoyed how they kept bringing up Gittes' history of working for the police back in Chinatown more and more as the movie went on. In this way you uncover more and more about the mysterious past of J.J. Gittes. Of course all of this hinting at Gittes' past in Chinatown leads up to the brilliant climax that is the first and only scene to actually take place in Chinatown.

Thesis and topic sentences: Odyssues' major flaw

Odysseus' major flaw is pride, which is shown through many events in The Odyssey.

Odysseus' major flaw is pride and glory seeking, which is expressed through his shouting his real name to Polyphemus, he waits to long in Polyphemus' cave, and he stays on Calypso's island.

Odysseus' pride is shown through his telling to Polyphemus his real name.

Odysseus is prompted by free sheep and wine and stays too long in Polyphemus' cave.

Odysseus seeks glory by staying with Calypso to become immortal.

Endorsement Letter

I endorse Telemachus for hero of the year. Out of the candidates he is clearly the better man. Telemachus is without question the hero of the year, because of his courage and selflessness.

Telemachus has shown many heroic traits, such as courage, and selflessness. He has shown the courage to speak out against the suitors, even though he was young and they were many. Also he has shown the selflessness to stand up in his mother's defense, even though he would most likely be ridiculed. As shown by my hero in a box blog these are two very important traits. Also if you consider the competition, Odysseus. You can see at least one major flaw, one that is certainly not heroic. When Odysseus tells Polyphemus his real name. This was a prideful act that ultimately endangered the lives of him and his crew, certainly not a selfless act.

Telemachus should be hero of the year because of his selflessness, and courage, as well as Odysseus' clearly very large ego.

Outside Reading #8

Things are looking even bleaker in The Road. The father and his son, have now run out of food, and are having a very hard time scavenging for more. On the upside the have been running into increasing human activity. On the downside, most of those humans want to kill them. The only ones who haven't were a lost boy and his dog, as well as a man who was just barely clinging to life after having recently been struck by lightning. This would not be an uncommon occurrence considering the constant storms and the barren landscape. Still there is something about the father and son that pull you into the story and do not let you go. Their tale is so bleak you can't help but be thinking about them. So if you are looking for a happy and fun book don't read The Road. But, if you are looking for a great novel with superb storytelling and in depth characters The Road is definitely worth picking up.