Finally

With blogging coming to an end, this will probably be one of my lasts posts for Etymology. Overall, I've really enjoyed this class, but I'm not going to lie, reading 150 pages each week was a struggle with my hectic schedule. Often times I would read late into the night right before I would go to bed. A big problem was that I would read while I was sitting in bed so I would just end up falling asleep, ending up getting no reading done at all. Reading with music on was out of the question. If I wanted to get any reading done it had to be in complete silence or else I would end up getting distracted and start doing something else. One of the negative things about technology is that it is always available even when you don't want it to be. When I would be reading I would pick up my iTouch to check Facebook for just 2 minutes, which would soon turn into 10 and then 20 and so on. I didn't really look at my phone too often unless I was texting someone prior to reading, but other than that I usually put that to the side. If you can't tell already, I could never read by a computer. Getting through one paragraph would take me like 20 minutes. For the most part, what happened in the books I have read stayed between me and the books. However, if I knew someone who was reading or had read the same thing I would talk to them about it, whether it being family or friends, and ask what they thought about it.

Caught Dead

The couple writing about the sex trafficking story, Dag and Mia, meet one afternoon to talk about how it is coming along and their recent findings. When there Dag and Mia both have enought evidence to publish a good story but Dag still wants to find one more of the men. Dag calls Blomkvist telling him the position the story is in, but Blomkvist insists that the story should be fine and should be published right away. While one the phone, Dag also mentions that there is some important information Mikael needs to know about right away so Mikael says he will drive over immediately. When he gets there, Mikael goes up to their apartment and finds both Mia and Dag dead on the ground. Mikael immediately calls the police. When they get there, they see who the gun is registered under and it just so happens to be Bjurman's. The police arrive at Bjurman's shortly after and find him dead there as well. With this, they go to the gun looking for fingerprints, and of course they find some: Lisbeth's. With Lisbeth now the primary suspect for three murders she goes into hiding wishing it would all just go away. Even though the reader knows she is completely innocent, Lisbeth is still treated like a convict. Whoever wanted to get revenge on Lisbeth got it.

An Old Guardian

In the first book, it briefly mentions how Lisbeth's guardian, Holger Palmgren, had a heart attack and therefore she was assigned another guardian, being Nils Bjurman. Well turns out, Palmgren is still alive and he has been trying to get ahold of Lisbeth for some time actually. When Lisbeth hears of this news, she goes and visits him in a hospice home to see how he is doing and catch him up with everything that has been going on. When Palmgren asks Lisbeth how she is doing, she assures him that she is fine and things have been going okay with her new guardian. Lisbeth has mentioned multiple times that Palmgren has been the only person she has come to trust so it still baffles me as to why she won't just tell anyone how she is being treated by Bjurman. Clearly she has some specific intention in mind for not telling anyone, but I just hope by the end of this Lisbeth gets revenge.

Currently Weeks 2 & 3

The Girl Who Played With Fire, Stieg Larsson

Pages Read Week 2: 152
Pages Read Week 3: 154
Pages Read This Semester: 1711

Sentences of the Week:

1. "It was two years since Blomkvist had been to Saltsjobaden. He had only been to Berger's house a few times. He supposed that was a sign of immaturity."

2. "When she tried them on that night she felt incredibly foolish. What she saw in the mirror was a thin, tattooed girl in grotesque underwear. She took them off and threw them in the trash."

3. "Annika--this is going to be a long night," he said without looking at her as the police car turned up the street."

I chose these as my sentences of the week not really because they are all that interesting, but in the text they all have some humor to them. I personally like the second sentence best mainly because of the way Salander is describing herself as she goes on a little shopping trip to H&M. In the third sentence Blomkvist makes a sarcastic remark to Annika trying to be humorous but in the situation it doesn't really work. For the first sentence, Mikael assumes that because he has never been to Berger's house he is being immature due to the relationship he and Berger have had.

A New Project

Back at Millenium, there have been two new additions to the team. A young couple has joined temporarily to write a story on the ongoing issue of sex trafficking in Sweden. I thought it was interesting how the couple chose to write about this, especially since it is an actual occurrence in today's world. Young females are kidnapped all of the time and taken to different countries, some even to America, and are put into the sex trade. I just find it a bit scary that this is actually happening in real life. I can't even begin to imagine the emotional traumatization the women go through that are forced into that life. If they ever get out of the situation, their lifes will never be the same again.

Getting Revenge

When Lisbeth returns to Sweden after being in the Caribbean, she makes a quick stop to visit her guardian Nils Bjurman. Even though Lisbeth hates him for the past events that have occurred between the two, Lisbeth risks sneaking into his apartment to get some needed files. When she gets into his apartment after Bjurman has fallen asleep, she goes into his office to see if she can find the files she needs.Instead, she finds a gun and goes into his room, points it to his head and threatens to shoot him if he doesn't give her the files. Bjurman unwillingly gives her the files and Lisbeth reminds him that if he gives her a bad report at the end of the year, she will release the sex tape she took of him raping her to the media. If I was Lisbeth, I would have shown the tape to someone immediately after it happened. Someone as messed up as Bjurman deserves to be locked up behind bars. I guess only time will tell whether or not he is sent to the place where he deserves to be.

Family Enemies

In the prologue of the book, Larsson touches on why Lisbeth has so much hatred for and little connection with her father. It describes how Lisbeth's mother, as well as herself, were abused by her father. One day after her father had beat Lisbeth's mother he left and went to his car. So enraged Lisbeth went out to her father and dumped gasoline on him. Before he could comprehend what had happened, she struck a match and threw it at him. After the incident, Lisbeth's father has always held a grudge against her and has always tried to seek revenge. Even though her father suffered a great deal due to his severe burns, I personally think he deserved it. No one deserves to be abused especially a child. Even though what Lisbeth did was a bit extreme, she was only a child when it occurred and I feel like she was only looking out for her mother.

A Getaway

In the beginning of The Girl Who Played With Fire, Lisbeth is in the Caribbean taking care of some business. Larsson decribes the view Lisbeth sees as she walks down a path with the ocean right next to her. Reading this is depressing I'm not going to lie, especially since it's November and it could start snowing any day now. I really despise the cold weather. Why couldn't it just stay summer all year round? The only good thing about the winter is that Christmas is right around the corner and before you know it, it will be spring break. Oh, and I guess I should mention that I am going to Italy with my family for spring break, so it couldn't come soon enough. Just have to get through the winter. If only I was in the Caribbean like Lisbeth...

Close-Reading Bingo

E-dubs
6. Baker uses a lot of  language that magnifies the importance of the coldness felt, "spreading into a needly area of shine where it fell against their brushed-steel side-panels, and adding long glossy highlights to each of the black rubber handrails", this creates imagery for the reader of what the daily worker sees.
-The blogger uses the verb "use" which makes their writing sound weak.

Blogs With Friends
3. The setting displays the hustle and bustle of the busy work place.
-This blogger is very vague when describing the setting of the excerpt.

emily:)
2. The girl screams to her sister “I will kill if you touch this, Julie, and if you do I swear to go I will kill you, no mercy, no take-backs private property, this means you, Julie, you” which explains how the infuriated girl feels toward her sister.
-The blogger used a full quotation which is not needed.

The Wise Chieftian
His clam, but intense attention to detail leaves readers intimidated yet expectant for the forth coming of his next step.
-This blogger uses the word readers.

Best Overall Response Goes To......

DolphinCat
"The highly descriptive and scholarly diction, the almost philosophical and appreciative tone inserted into Nicholson Baker's connotation, and the harmonious flow ringing throughout the first page of his novel, instill dreamy, practically romantic admiration for the mezzanine Baker speaks of, as this first page is read."

Practice Diction Analysis

 In the excerpt from Nicholson Baker’s The Mezzanine, Baker’s figurative yet scholarly language depicts the elegant workplace in which he describes. Baker describes the appearance of the lobby of his work as a place with “towering volumes of marble and glass,” and he also uses figurative language when he mentions the escalator “as the handrails slid on their tracks, like the radians of black luster.” This refined depiction of the setting in which the main character works enhances the visual image. The lobby also has an ominous feel to it considering much of it is described as being “black.” Even though the lobby leading to the office seems boring and cold, Baker suggests that it is warm and inviting.

Currently

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
The Girl Who Played With Fire, Stieg Larsson
Pages Read This Week: 154
Pages Read This Semester: 1405

1. Up Your Score on the other hand, speaks with a mixture of intricate words and slang pop-culture references that are very punctuated, straightforward at times, but somewhat suggestive, and often light.
http://contemplationsxjones.blogspot.com/

2. While those two have a more upbeat and enthusiastic writing style, William R. Forstchen uses more of a blunt and tense mood.
http://almostfacebook.blogspot.com/

3. Neil Gaiman's Stardust  gives a more straightforward perspective on nature by peacefully describing a landscape with unextravagant language while still creating a sweet-sounding atmosphere in the reader's mind.
http://charliebucket15.blogspot.com/

I picked these three excerpts as my favorite from the style mapping project because I thought they were all very interesting and used good adjectives that described the different styles of language without just using the adjectives given to us.

A New Millenium

After Mikael had been convicted for libeling Hans Erik Wennerstrom, he was sentenced to serve three months in prison. With this sentence, Mikael thought it would be best if he were to just quit his job as co-editor and publisher of the magazine Millenium. Soon after he announced this, Mikael was asked by Henrik Vanger to solve the mystery of missing Harriet in Hedeby. While Mikael has been gone, his co-editor Erika has come to visit him on several occasions. One of the times she was there, her and Mikael went to Henrik's house to have dinner with him. While they were there Millenium was brought up along with the status that it is in at this point in time. Erika says that within a few months the magazine will have to stop because all of their major advertisers have withdrawn from publishing in the magazine. Hearing this news, Henrik agrees to become a part time owner as well as give money to help the magazine get through the rut that it is in. Mikael is hesitant at first, but Erika agrees to it right away since she has nothing else to help her with the magazine since Mikael has quit. Realizing this situation, Mikael agrees to come back to the magazine as soon as he has served his jail sentence and worked for Henrik for exactly a year.

With all of the news that Mikael will be returning to Millenium, all he can do is fear that Wennerstrom might try to attack him again so Wennerstrom doesn't get discovered that he has been mishandling money. If I were Mikael though, I would know that going back to the magazine would be the right choice because Mikael was deemed guilty even though what he wrote was partially true, he just didn't have enought information to back it up. Hopefully after working for Henrik, Mikael will gain that information he needs to know about Wennerstrom to put his case in the bag.

A Troubled Patient

Because of Lisbeth's troubled past, she has been deemed mentally unstable therefore she has been assigned a guardian by the government to look after her. Her last guardian, Palmgren, was one of the people in her life who she could actually talk to about her life and issues; however, he had a stroke and died. With this, Lisbeth was assigned a new guardian, and not a very good one either. His name is Advokat Nils Bjurman. From the first meeting Lisbeth can tell she will never like him, especially since he has told her that she must come to him if she needs any money. Lisbeth can't believe she has to go to him to get her own money. If I was her age and still had to ask someone for my own money, I wouldn't be happy either. If it's my money and I have earned it then I should be able to do whatever I want to do with it.

But that's not even the worst of her problems. In order to get the money from Bjurman he makes her do sexual favors. One time she even goes to his house because she needs money for food and he ties her to the bed and rapes her. Even though Lisbeth knows this is wrong, and that he can get in big trouble and even go to jail for his actions, she decides not to tell anyone because she knows he will get her back in some way.

Style Mapping

In 1984 by George Orwell, he portrays low language through his blunt diction and coarse observations giving the reader a sense of fear as well as disgust. Orwell uses vulgar descriptions such as, "The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats," which illustrates the setting of the novel. In Light in August by William Faulkner, he utilizes a connotative sense of language illustrated in his poetic phrases and figurative diction. Faulkner also incorporates a sense of humor into his writing giving it a light tone. Figurative language can also be found throughout the book, for example personification in the line, "There was a track and a station, and once a day a mixed train fled shrieking through it." In comparison to these two books, Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre reveals Brontë's denotative sense of style. Her literal and straightforward descriptions as well as the almost journalistic style as if she were reporting back the actions of the other characters reveals the way in which she observes and describes language. Several times in the book Brontë describes the main character Jane as being, "a dull Quaker girl." Despite the fact that all three books use different forms to describe their language, each form transforms the text into a dreamy yet intense story.

Quarterly

So far this year I've read the first two books from The Hunger Games series and I'm in the middle of reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Before this class, I usually didn't read much unless it was for school because I never have the time. But now I feel like I have begun to read a lot more, especially books that I actually have an interest in reading, because of the weekly reading we have to do for this class. I hope after this class that I continue to find time to read for my pleasure while still juggling dance and school. Now I find myself reading mostly at night, since it is the only time I actually have to get in a few pages here and there.

I've really enjoyed the Hunger Games books. They books take a an unrealistic yet intriguing look on the future. The books have been a very easy read, but they are very though provoking. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is also a pretty easy read, but I love reading mysteries, so of course I knew from the beginning this book was for me. Overall, this class has helped me to find time and to start reading books that I actually find interesting.

Currently

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins

Pages This Week: 153
Pages This Semester: 1095

Sentences of the Quarter:

1."People always have secrets. It's just a matter of finding out what they are." The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

2. "Take that away and I'm not really sure who I am, what my identity is." The Hunger Games

3. "Kind people have a way of working their way inside me and rooting there." The Hunger Games
I have chosen these sentences as my sentences of the quarter because I thought it was interesting how they are all stating a piece of information that most readers could relate to. Everyone has secrets, no one knows what their true identity is, and kind people always seem to be a weakness for some. I thought it also was a good strategy used by the authors to do this because it pulls the reader more into the story since they can understand what the characters in the books are going through.

District 13?

During the final hours of the games, a major turning point happens in the plot. As Katniss, Peeta, and their other allies are setting up to kill the careers, the unthinkable occurs. As Johannah and Katniss are setting up Beetee's trap, Johannah all of a sudden knocks out Katniss and cuts her arm and then flees the scene. Katniss tries to regain consciousness and slowly walks back to their campsite. When she arrives there, she finds Beetee on the ground and everyone else has left. Katniss yells out Peeta's name numerous times before she hears him yelling back, but it is too late for him to reach her before she is picked up by the hovercraft.

When Katniss reawakens, she finds herself in what appears to be a hospital. She walks around a little bit and finds Haymitch, Finnick, and the head Gamemaker talking at a table. Haymitch proceeds to tell her that they are on their way to District 13 and that the head Gamemaker is actually a rebel who has had this planned for quite some time. The bad news: Peeta was taken by the Capitol and Katniss does not know if she will ever see him again. With this news Katniss begins to scream and attack the three men sitting there, but that won't wolve anything, what can they do?

I can't imagine hearing the news that one of your loved ones could be gone from you forever. If there is a reoccurring theme in these series of books, I would say it would have to be that. Characters continually are taken from their families with the possibility that they may never return. Thank goodness it isn't real life, I couldn't even begin to imagine the chaos our world would be in if it was.

The End

As the games continue on, more and more of the tributes are being killed, and at a noticeably quicker pace than from previous games. Katniss is sure to note this too, and she and some of the other tributes she has teamed up with have figured out what the Gamemakers have come up with this time: a clock. The arena is in the shape of the circle and each hour a different event takes place killing any tributes in the given sector of the arena. How they were able to figure this out amazes me. I guess two heads are really better than one. I have really enjoyed how these books tie the little things, such as the mockingjay, into the big picture. For example, the arena was constructed after the head Gamemaker's watch, which Katniss was shown at a party before the Quarter Quell even occurred. I hope the third book continues to do the same thing.

Dance All Around Us: The Art of Movement

Here are my video clips for my "Art Of" Project:

Swan Lake-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxgj4iMQLhU&feature=related

Chicago-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYmMagkfjfI&noredirect=1

Revelations-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWJzSP7irwM

Reading Ahead

You know those people who read the last page of a book to see what happens, well I hate to tell you, but I'm one of those people. While just scanning the pages of Catching Fire, I happened to go to the last page where the last sentence caught my eye. It reads:

But Gale is not one to keep secrets from me. "Katniss, there is no District Twelve."

Sorry to be a spoiler, but I had to read the rest of the page after that. Apparently a lot goes on from the page I last ended at to the end of the book (clearly if there is no District Twelve anymore). Now knowing this bit of information I'll probably end up finishing the book this weekend, if time permits. What could have gone on in District Twelve that has now made it nonexistent? Only reading will tell.

Currently

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins

Pages This Week: 152
Pages This Semester: 942

Sentences of the Week

1. "Time and space lose meaning as the fog seems to invade my brain, muddling my thoughts, making everything unreal." The Hunger Games

2. "Even the most Capitol-loving, Games-hungry, bloodthirsty person out there can't ignore, at least for a moment, how horrific the whole thing is." The Hunger Games

3. "During the last year of her life, Harriet had changed. In some ways this change could be explained as the change that everyone goes through in one form or another during their teenage years. Harriet was growing up." The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

I chose the first sentence as my sentence of the week because I thought it was interesting how in the book the fog was poisonous, taking over the bodies of those it reached. It would be weird if the fog that brought us school delays was poisonous, then we definitely wouldn't have school that day.

Let The Games Begin...Again

The minute Katniss is raised up on the metal plate into the arena she is surrounded by water. Without even thinking she jumps into the water and starts swimming towards the shore. While Katniss is swimming she begins to realize most of the other tributes haven't moved an inch from their original places, mainly because none of them know how to swim. Most of us don't think about it, but swimming is really a vital thing one needs to know. I can't imagine not knowing how to swim, maybe just because I was taught at a young age, but I do it all the time especially in the summer. Many people in today's world probably get ridiculed for not knowing how to do something so simple a five year old could do. As Katniss realizes most of the others don't know how to swim, she is very grateful she has had the opportunity to learn how to do so.

Currently

Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson

Pages This Week: 154
Pages This Semester: 790

Sentences of the Month

1."People always have secrets. It's just a matter of finding out what they are." The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

2. "You've got to move more quietly," I say. "Forget about Cato, you're chasing off every rabbit in a ten-mile radius." The Hunger Games

3. "Kind people have a way of working their way inside me and rooting there." The Hunger Games

I chose my favorite quote of the month from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo because I find it to be true and relate to everyone. Sometimes you just have to dig a little deeper to find out who someone really is.

Return to the Arena

As Katniss continues to try and lead a normal life and act as if Peeta was the love of her life, things keep getting worse throughout the country of Panem. Uprisings are beginning in more of the districts, mainly because of Katniss and the berry scenario in the games, causing President Snow to become frustrated and unhappy with her. Just when things were finally looking better, everything turns to the worse.

Every 25 years, there is an event called the Quarter Quell in which a special round of the Hunger Games is played to remind those of the dark past of Panem. Well, unfortunately the last Hunger Games, in which Katniss and Peeta won, was the 75th game meaning it's time for another Quarter Quell. President Snow announces that this year the event will involve the reaping of all the Hunger Games victors from each district and then they will all go back into the arena to fight one another. It takes Katniss a minute to realize what he has just said and then it hits her, she's going back into the arena. Since she's the only girl victor from district 12, she automatically is chosen as the girl tribute from district 12 for the Quarter Quell. However, there are two male victors from district 12: Haymitch and Peeta. Haymitch knows that Peeta will end up going in because if Haymitch himself is chosen, Peeta will volunteer to take his place. Katniss is also aware of this so she and Haymitch decide that their goal is to keep Peeta alive.

As Katniss leaves for her second time taking place in the games, she isn't even given the chance to say goodbye to her family, let alone Gale. This tears her apart because she knows she will never see them again after these games, she's positive she's going to die. If I knew I was going to die, the only people I would want to be around would be my friends and family so I can't even begin to imagine what Katniss is going through. Maybe, just maybe, things will turn up in her favor again sending her back home safely to her family.

A Cold Case

Once Mikael has arrived in Hedestad, Sweden, home of the Vanger residence, he is greeted by freezing temperatures and brutal winds. If I were him, I wouldn't want to take a job for a year where I would have to wear over ten layers of clothing just to stay at a comfortable temperature. Although since he is getting paid a couple million for the job, I probably wouldn't blame him for taking it.

As Mikael is settling into his new house, a guest house on the Vanger property, he is discovering how it might be a long year in Hedestad. There is one television, but it only gets the few basic stations, there also is no one else on the island except for the few relatives of Henrik that have decided to continue to live on the island. These select few, however, are not the most talkative and aren't the friendliest of people either. Personally, I would find it very hard to stay somewhere where there was no one to talk to except for the people you are investigating for a murder mystery. And to only have a T.V. that recieved a few stations, talk about being a rough stay. Mikael has already started to think about leaving Hedestad, but with all that money waiting for him once the job has been completed, he can never bring himself to actually leave.

Now adjusted to his new living space, Mikael is beginning to start digging into the mysterious murder of Harriet. Henrik continues to bring boxes over to Mikael's house full of items he has collected since the disappearance of Harriet, which just packs on more information Mikael has to look through. I'm no expert when it comes to investigations, but if you ask me, it sounds like there won't be a conclusion to this mystery for a very long time with all of the possible suspects up in the air.

Claims of the Day

Claims:

1. In this photograph, the contrasting colors of the bench and the grass, along with the thoughtful camera angle, communicate a sense of appreciation and respect for the nature that we seldom acknowledge.
2. The aggressive raw movement and the natural connection of the two dancers from two worlds portrays passionate, seductive, and energetic love by not giving up on their one dream.
3. In this painting of a couple meandering down a sidewalk, the relaxed broshstrokes and comples simplicity of the colors embody a feeling of pleasant passion which mesmerizes with its unassumingly focused design.
4. In the hacking of TIME Magazine's 2009 TIME 100 list, Anonymous perform rebellious yet modern and collaborative shenanigans in an effort to deride TIME, flatter the creator of their idol, and demonstrate their villainous capabilities by rigging the list to place moot at the top and make the first letters of the subsequent first names spell out a message both referential to Anonymous itself and taunting to those reading the message.
5. [In this scene from Vincent van Gogh's Cafe Terrace at Night , his colorful and exciting use of setting, busy but pleasant mood, and inviting cozy buildings]
    portrays [a sense of playful benevolence and lighthearted liveliness.]

My favorite out of these claims would have to be number 5 because I like how it described the setting of the painting and what was portrayed by it along with the adjectives they used.

Most Interesting Artifact:

http://kebcon.blogspot.com/

All Is Not Lost

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur-y7oOto14

Elements and Adjectives

• Coreography- inventive, creative, clever, talented, playful
• Costumes- elegant, modern, distinct, smooth
• Space- small, miniature
• Carriage- graceful, adventurous, energetic
• Music- melodic, peaceful, relaxed

The music group Ok GO and dance group Pilobolus' smooth and elegant costumes along with the modern aspects of movement portray the lyrically pleasant mood of the collaboration in the music video.

Interesting Poems

1. "Gee, You're So Beautiful That It's Starting to Rain" by Richard Brautigan

2. "First Kiss" by April Lardner

3. "September Twelfth, 2001" by X.J. Kennedy

I found these three poems that we have read to be the most interesting to me because I like the style and the subject matter of all three. In the first poem, I liked how it listed different subjects and then gave each a letter grade. The second I liked because it gave many vivid descriptions relating to a first kiss that most could probably find to be true. And for the third poem, I liked how it talked about the terrorist attack on 9/11 from the standpoint of someone who did not lose a loved one or was not in either of the twin towers during the attack.

Currently

Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson

Pages This Week: 158
Pages This Semester: 636

Sentences of the Week

1. "People always have secrets. It's just a matter of finding out what they are." The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

2. "Life in District 12 isn't really so different from life in the arena." Catching Fire


3. "I'm the kind of girl who, when she might actually be of use, would run to stay alive and leave those who couldn't follow to suffer and die." Catching Fire

My favorite quote this week would have to be the first one from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I liked this one the best because it is very true. Everyone has their own secrets, you just have to figure out what they are to learn who that person really is.

Murderer in the Family

As I've been reading Catching Fire, I have also still been reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The book has just begun to pick up by this point in which Mikael has been offered a job from Henrik Vanger, a well-known business man in Sweden. This is just no ordinary job, but after the whole Wennerstrom affair which has cost Mikael some time behind bars, he is very skeptical about actually accepting the offer. Vanger invites Mikael to his home in which he goes to tell him that he wants Mikael to do two things for him: write an autobiography of his life and discover the murderer of his daughter, Harriet.

Harriet is actually not Henrik's daughter however, she is his nephew's daughter. His nephew, Gottfried, was an alcoholic and abused his wife and kids, so Henrik could not stand to watch the children suffer under their careless parents so he took the kids under his wing and called them his own.

Henrik therefore invites Mikael up to tell him the murder mystery of Harriet hoping that he can solve it. The story goes that one winter day the Vanger family all gathered at the house, now where Henrik lives, to have their annual board meeting of their company. Turns out that the same day there was a terrible accident on the bridge, making it impossible for anyone to get on or off the island to the mainland. During this time though, Henrik believes Harriet was killed by someone in the Vanger family because those were the only people on the island and the fact that Harriet has not been seen since the accident that day.

In addition to Harriet missing, there is another puzzling piece to the story. A couple years before Harriet went missing, she gave Henrik a pressed flower in a frame for his birthday and did it the years that followed before her kidnapping. However, a year after her abduction, Henrik began receiving the same exact thing in the mail for his birthday, in which this has continued for forty plus years. Henrik is certain that it must be someone in his family who is trying to get back at him. Mikael finds the story very intriguing, but he has no previous experience in investigation so he doesn't think he is suited for the job, but after hearing how much money Henrik is offering for the task, he decides to take it anyways.

Overall, the book has been pretty interesting. I have always been intrigued by mysteries so this story seems to suit me well. Even though I know what is going to happen after seeing the movie, the saying is right:

Books are better than the movies.

Catching Fire

So if you didn't already know I finsished reading The Hunger Games, and I've decided to read the next book in the series, Catching Fire. From the beginning I could just tell there was a lot of trouble coming Katniss's way ever since she almost killed herself and Peeta in the arena with the poisonous berries, and boy was I right. Already the president of Panem has come to visit her telling her that she must go around saying that she only was going to kill herself and Peeta in the arena because she was madly in love so it doesn't appear that she was doing it as an act of rebellion against the Capitol. Even though she wasn't actually doing it as an act of rebellion, she isn't exactly madly in love with Peeta either, she loves Gale, so this is going to cause some major problems in the future. In addition to this, Peeta has proposed to Katniss hoping to ease President Snow's fears of an uprising, but to him a proposal will not be good enough. Now that Katniss knows this isn't good enough, she just wants to give up because she knows her true love is Gale and anything her and Peeta do will never be good enough in President Snow's eyes. She's beginning to realize that life in the districts is not as different as life in the arena.

Currently

The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson

Pages Read This Week: 161
Pages Read This Semester: 478

Sentences of the Week

1. "You've got to move more quietly," I say. "Forget about Cato, you're chasing off every rabbit in a ten-mile radius." The Hunger Games

2. Take that away and I'm not really sure who I am, what my identity is. The Hunger Games

3. "This is an enormous improvement over the mud," he says. "Clean clothes and medicine and a sleeping bag...and you." The Hunger Games

So this past week I've been really in to The Hunger Games, which is why all of my posts and sentences of the week are from this book. I mainly chose these sentences because I either thought the were funny, cute, or just something I could relate to. The first sentence I chose obviously because I thought it was humorous. When Katniss and Peeta were walking through the woods Peeta was walking very heavily, as Katniss claims to say, scaring everything away. The second sentence was something I could relate to. Katniss was saying how that if she didn't have to hunt she wouldn't know what her identity is. For me if I didn't dance I think there would be a large part of my identity missing. And as for the third sentence, I chose it because I thought it was cute. When Peeta was getting ready to go to sleep he said this to Katniss, which I found to be a little cheesey, but mostly cute.

The End of a Long Road

After watching the deaths of 22 people, and being left to die in an arena, the winner of the Hunger Games has been declared.

Remember how I said that both tributes from the same district could win? Well right after Cato has been killed, the little voice comes over the loudspeaker saying that this new rule has been revoked and that the rule has gone back to the way it was before. Katniss and Peeta do not want to kill the other so they decide they will both kill themselves. Katniss finds she has some poisonous berries left over so they both decide they will take them so their deaths will be quick and painless. With the berries in the cheeks of their mouths the voice comes on again announcing the Hunger Games winners to be Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. Hearing that they have won, they immediately spit out the berries and rinse their mouths. Shortly after the hovercraft comes to take them to safety.

After reading this book it has really got me thinking about events that could possibly take place in the future. As crazy as this book seemed, you never know what could happen later on.

A Change of Plans

As the games continue, Katniss has gained an ally, Rue. Together both divide tasks gathering food, staying on the lookout, and finding hiding spots so they are not found by other tributes. Rue proves to be a great advantage for Katniss despite the fact that she is quite younger than her. Rue knows a lot about the natural food the gamemakers provide in the arena and Katniss knows a lot about hunting meat and setting snares, so together they are the perfect team.

One day, the two decide to split up. Katniss goes in search for some meat while Rue goes to set up a fire for when Katniss returns. While Katniss is on her way back to their campsite, she decides to hum the little melody Rue and her have agreed on for when one of them is near and on their way back (they use this so they are not mistaken for one of the other tributes and accidentally killed). When Katniss realizes Rue is not responding she begins to run, yelling out Rue's name not caring whether or not anyone hears her. Finally, Rue's voice can be heard yelling out Katniss' name. When Rue is in sight, Katniss finds her entangled in a net hanging above the ground. Before Katniss can go to help her, the boy from District 1 kills Rue with his spear. Katniss enraged with anger, shoots an arrow at the boy killing him instantly. Now all alone, Katniss is left to fend for herself again.

The next night, things begin to look better for Katniss. During the nightly routine of the announcement of who is still alive, who died that day, and any other special events, Claudius Templesmith announces a new rule to the tributes. It is that both tributes from the same district will be declared winners if they are the last two alive. It takes Katniss a while to realize what he has just announced, thinking it is just a joke considering it has only been one person who could have won the Hunger Games from the time the event began. Finally comprehending what he has said, she yells out Peeta's name without thinking and instantly goes in search for him.

After searching for Peeta day and night, Katniss finally finds Peeta and in not so great of a condition either. She finds him near the stream blended in with the mud and all of the leaves that surround him. Realizing that she has actually found him, she knows instantly that his strong suit during the practice round was camoflauge. Katniss instantly notices Peeta is in very bad condition. Cato has sliced Peeta's leg down to the bone and he is beginning to get blood poisoning. Sounds painful if you ask me, especially since one of my friends from dance got blood poisoning last year from an infected blister.

As Katniss cleans Peeta up from all of his wounds, all she thinks about is how she hopes he will stay alive and that they will win this together.

Week 2 Blog Tour

So here are the blogs I have visited this week:

Apples to Apples
InsideOut
Norwegian Wood
charliebucket
Noodles
Fire Side Reading
The Adventures of Streamer Man
Hidden in a Journal
The lost message of words

Currently

The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson

Pages this week: 165
Pages this semester: 317

Sentences of the Week

1. "Tucking my knees up to my chin, I wait for death." The Hunger Games

2. "If there was any dirt to be dug up, she would home in on it like a cruise missile." The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

3. "Salander fitted into this picture about as well as a buffalo at a boat show." The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

For the sentences I chose this week, I mainly chose them because they described a character in the story. For the first quote, it is describing Katniss while she is hiding away from the other tributes. Thinking that she is week, she decides to just sit and wait for her own death to come. As for the second and third quotes, they are both describing the character Lisbeth Salander in the book The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Lisbeth is a very dark character with a mysterious past. She dresses in all black, has multiple piercings, and keeps all of her emotions to herself. However, she is very good at her job, working for the Milton Security Company. In the business world of people dressed in suits and ties, Lisbeth undoubtedly does not fit in.

Let The Games Begin

In addition to reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, I'm still reading The Hunger Games. As of right now Katniss is in the middle of the games, with only ten people remaining out of the original 24. After the first few days of the competition, Katniss has already had several near death encounters.

First, when the competition began Katniss hardly got away from the other tributes. When the gong has been hit, all of the tributes race to get some of the items that have been scattered about by the Gamemakers. All of the items that have been scattered are things the tributes would not be able to find in the environment. When Katniss attempts to grab something, a boy tribute runs toward her with a knife but before he can stab her, another tribute stabs him splattering blood onto Katniss (gross!).

Then when Katniss is walking through the woods, fireballs begin to fall near her. She knows this has been done by the Gamemakers in attempt to make the games more interesting for the audience, and also to kill another tribute. Katniss begins to run to escape the fireballs, but one grazes her leg. Once it has hit her, she stumbles to the ground in pain. Too afraid to look at her leg, Katniss slowly gets up and shuffles to safety.

Also one night when Katniss is sleeping in a tree, she awakens to find two eyes staring at her from another tree. Soon after, she discovers that it is the little girl tribute, Rue. Rue points out to her that there is a trackerjacker nest above her in the tree, a deadly wasp/bee created by the Capitol during the war. Hearing that the Career Tributes are beneath the tree Katniss is in, she decides to cut the branch off that the nest is on and drop it onto them. If one is stung by one of these deadly insects, it could possibly cause death. So Katniss drops the branch onto them sending them all fleeing from the site. Unfortunately Katniss was also stung a couple of times by the bug, causing her to stumble around and halucinate.

So far, the games have been going towards Katniss' favor, I just hope they continue to stay that way. Peeta still is hanging around the career tributes, which Katniss does not like at all. She doesn't want the career tributes to kill him off thinking he is useless, but then again she doesn't want to be the one to kill him either. Katniss continues to puzzle over these questions as the game continues on, but hopefully thinking about them won't distract her too much from the games.

Something New

So this past weekend I watched the movie The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson on Netflix. After watching the two and a half hour long movie in Swedish with English subtitles (an English version is being made), I instantly knew I had to read the books. So Sunday afternoon I picked up the copy of the book my mom had and began to read. So far it has been pretty boring, however I have only read 32 pages. The first, and one of the main, characters has been introduced, Mikael Blomkvist. He is a journalist in Sweden who just recently has been put on trial for publishing false information. So far, that's about as exciting as it has gotten. Plus I've been told the book doesn't really pick up until page 130. Only 100 more pages to go...

So now that I'm reading The Hunger Games, I'm pretty excited for the movie that's coming out next year. Or maybe it's just the fact that Liam Hemsworth is in it, but either way I'm definitely going to see it.

Friday Response (Survey)

After taking the survey, I was given the result of being the Guardian Portrait of the Supervisor. After reading it I realized it was actually quite true in regards to myself, but don't get me wrong, I'm not superstitious or anything.

Currently

The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins

Pages read this week: 152

Sentences of the Week

1.  "I wonder if she'll enjoy watching me die."

2.  "The more likable he is, the more deadly he is."

3.  "Kind people have a way of working their way inside me and rooting there."

I haven chosen these as my favorite sentences of the week for different reasons. The first quotation stuck out to me just because the speaker is questioning whether someone will enjoy watching her die. I am not too sure of how many people would actually get pleasure out of this so it struck me as being quite odd. The second quote also stuck out to me because like the first one, it is also dealing with death. In this quotation Katniss is realizing that the more friendly Peeta is towards her, the more she begins to realize it is just an act, or so she thinks. As for the third one, I chose it because it is something that I can relate to. People that are kind to me are ones that I want to be surrounded by in my life, so I tend to keep them close.

Practice Makes Perfect

After having to say goodbye to her family, Katniss leaves District 12 to prepare for the games. The boy tribute that was chosen from District 12, Peeta, seems very friendly towards Katniss, but she knows all too well that it is just a mask;after all, they will be trying to kill each other in a few days. There have been various people in my life that I have had to be kind to no matter how much I dislike them, it just depends on the situation you're in. My peers in school, people I take dance with, and even family members are just some examples of some of the people I wish I could avoid, just like Katniss wishes to avoid Peeta. If only there was a way they both could survive the games.

Now Katniss and Peeta are both at the Capitol where they are preparing for the games. From head to toe makeovers to game practices, these two are experiencing it all. There have been numerous times when Katniss will just describe the food they are served while at the Capitol, because they are served so much food and foods they have never even tasted before. When served orange slices in one of her meals, Katniss recalls being given an orange by her father for New Year's Eve for the first and only time. I found this to be quite interesting considering she kept calling oranges delicacies, in which most probably would not say the same for oranges.

Katniss continuely grows more aggravated with Peeta as he continues to act kind towards her. As odd as this might seem, it just makes her angry since she is supposed to kill him in a couple of days and she doesn't want it to seem as if she is killing a friend. Even though she doesn't want to be friends with him, I know she likes him, maybe even more than just friends, so it's depressing that she keeps pushing him away. Eventually, she all together stops talking to him, knowing that she must kill him in order for her own survival.

While practicing, all Katniss does is wish to get out of this foreign place and back into her mother and sister's arms, but she knows with the Hunger Games in her future, this dream will most likely never come true.

The Fight to the Death

I have decided to read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins since I've heard so many good reviews about the book. In it, the main character Katniss has just volunteered to take her sister Prim's place in the so called hunger games. Each year the hunger games take place in the country of Panem in which one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts must participate in the event. This is how the games came into place:

"Just as the clock strikes two, the mayor steps up to the podium and begins to read. It's the same story every year. He tells of the history of Panem, the country that rose up out of the ashes of a place that was once called North America. He lists the disasters, the droughts, the storms, the fires, the encroaching seas that swallowed up so much of the land, the brutal war for what little sustenance remained. The result was Panem, a shining Capitol ringed by thirteen districts, which brought peace and prosperity to its citizens. Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of the districts against the Capitol. Twelve were defeated, the thirteenth obliterated. The Treaty of Treason gave us the new laws to guarantee peace and, as our yearly reminder that the Dark Days must never be repeated, it gave us the Hunger Games."

Basically, the competetors, called tributes, chosen unwillingly must fight to the death while they try to defeat various situations such as " a burning desert to a frozen wasteland." As I've been reading this, I can't imagine what it would be like to live in this country. The fear the children face before the tributes are announced must be unbearable. Even to have an event like this in one's country so the people do not forget about what had happened in the past is crazy to me. I feel like this could be similar to having mock holocausts every year so we wouldn't forget about the one in the past. Clearly it's not logical. I can't even imagine what it would be like to go through it...

Well, it's Friday and I just can't seem to get this terribly annoying yet catchy song out of my head.

http://www.schooltube.com/video/0bb8adf3c3e639a2cfb1/Rebecca-Black-Friday-OFFICIAL-VIDEO