Article Response 2: Our Education System is Great!

             Finland’s school system is one that is given WAY too much hype. The schools in the U.S. are Excellent! It gives the students choices about who they want teaching them, and it allows students and parents to reject teachers that are in adept or exceedingly biased. I believe in choice. I also believe that if you have the money, or the desire to send your child to a prestigious school, then you should be free to do so. After all this is the United States of America, the land of the FREE, which was founded on freedom!

             I am extremely thankful that in the US we have the freedom to choose do as we please. If I did not have the freedom of school choice, then I would be going to Glendale High School. So you can thank our founding fathers for the foresight and knowledge to give the citizens freedom. I believe that preventing private schools and colleges is an infringement upon the freedoms granted in the constitution, and that preventing private schools from operating is illegal and should not be practiced, or even considered in the United States.

Article Response 1: Google Doesn't Make People Stupid

                I disagree with the article; I don’t believe that Google is making humans stupid. I think that if anything, that Google makes people smarter— if used properly. When used to its fullest potential, Google can help you learn multiple things very quickly! Also, contrary to what the article says, it is possible to read long articles even if you use the internet frequently. I do it all the time, whether it is a long internet article, long chapters in a book, or long news articles.

            I do agree with the article on this one thing, I do tend to find myself skimming articles more than I used to. As a general rule I will first skim an article just to see if it has what I’m looking for, and to identify the areas that I need to pay great attention to. Then, I will read the entire article from start to finish and extract all the good and useful information from it. This is one of the reasons why I love reading nonfiction, and why as a general rule, I would rather read the Encyclopedia over a fictional book. I love to learn things! As a general rule, Google is a great tool for a person like me to use and become even smarter.

My Research Topic

The topic that I am researching is the Fracking Controversy. Fracking, or Hydraulic Fracturing, is a relatively new method of extracting crude oil and natural gas from saturated shale deposits deep underground. It involves drilling a deep hole in the ground, and then drilling horizontally. Then a water based solution is injected into the hole which fractures the rock. The gas or crude oil is now free to flow forth from the rock. This is an extremely cost effective method of extracting oil and effectively drops the price of production.

Opponents of Hydraulic Fracturing consider it dangerous to the environment and ground water. They also raise concerns about the various chemicals used in the hydraulic solution.

Proponents for Hydraulic Fracturing say that it is really good for the economy, that it creates jobs, reduces the price of oil, and is completely safe for the environment when handled with care.

This is an example of how the holes are drilled:

This is an example that shows the shale fractures in detail:

Reading Response 3: The Magician’s Nephew

                It is in old England, Sherlock Holmes is still living on Baker Street, and off in a small corner of London, the children Digory, and Polly find themselves catapulted into strange worlds by Digory’s mad Uncle. The children were given rings to go to strange worlds which will eventually lead to the discovery of Narnia. Digory and Polly use the rings to explore the many worlds in the Woods between the Worlds and discover many interesting things.

                Digory’s uncle sends Polly into the unknown and traps Digory into going as well. This is Digory’s response: “‘By gum,’ said Digory, ‘Don’t I just wish I was big enough to punch your head!’” This helps prove the point that Digory’s uncle is absolutely insane. So far I haven’t gotten very far in this book only about fifty pages in, but I find it very intriguing. It has managed to capture my attention, and keep me guessing as to what will happen next. I very much enjoy it. This book is definitely worth a read.

Reading Response 2: Two Towers

            After escaping the treacherous Boromir, who attempted to steal the Ring, Sam and Frodo are now completely lost in the wilderness. Luckily, they find a savior in the late Smeagol, now called Gollum. He was a hobbit originally, but was deformed and corrupted by the Ring, and his terrible lust for it. Unfortunately for Frodo and Sam, Gollum has discovered that they have the ring, and he will do anything to get it.

           “I wonder if people will ever say, "Let's hear about Frodo and the Ring." And they'll say, "Yes, that's one of my favorite stories. Frodo was really courageous, wasn't he, Dad?" "Yes, m'boy, the most famousest of hobbits. And that's saying a lot.” This quote really showed to me how Tolkien portrays how Frodo and Samwise understand the gravity of their situation. It really exemplifies a depth in the characters that Tolkien could create, and shows an understanding that I believe few authors can replicate. If you like what you heard in the summary and the review, then go get the book and give it a read. It is totally worth it! Great book!

Frozen Memories...

            I believe in Wendy’s chocolate Frosties. I didn’t like them until the year 2007. My grandpa always enjoyed a good chocolate Frosty, and would take me out for ice cream pretty frequently. Until the cancer struck, that is. He served in Vietnam on an airbase and was constantly exposed to Agent Orange, which was a chemical used to kill vegetation. Unknown at the time, it was a chief cause of bone marrow cancer.

            On April 7^th, 2007, I celebrated my 11^th birthday party. I had friends over, and then after the excitement, I went to see my grandpa. It was obvious that he was in his final days, so I went to see him as often as I could. He was bed-ridden, and could only have a liquid diet. He was extremely thin and was very pale from the chemotherapy. Somehow he managed to keep his hair though! The one thing that he loved and was allowed to eat was soft serve ice cream. He loved the chocolate Frosties from Wendy’s. That evening, we drove to Wendy’s and picked up two Frosties, one for me, and one for my grandpa. He had so many IVs in his arms and was too weak to feed himself, so my Mom and I took turns giving him spoonfuls of the Frosty. We all talked, laughed, and told funny stories and jokes. Even though he was sick, it was the perfect day.

            The next day April 8^th, was Easter Sunday. We went to church, as we normally do every Sunday, then we went over to Grandpa’s house to have lunch and visit with him. After a little while, my parents had a feeling that something bad was about to happen, so they sent my brother, sister, and me down to the basement with my uncle, who had just graduated high school. We played on his Nintendo 64, and talked about random stuff.

Eventually, I got hungry and went up stairs to the kitchen (which is connected to the living room where my grandpa was in his bed) to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I looked to my left through the divider into the living room because I heard a commotion. What I saw has forever changed my life. It was my mom standing over him crying, and my dad trying to console her. My grandma was also standing over him crying. I dropped what I was doing, and sprinted over there. He was alive, but barely. He was coughing up blood, and gargling on it. There was nothing anyone could do. My mom asked me if I wanted to give him a hug, but I was scared and backed off. I still regret that decision to this day. His days came to a close right in front of my eyes.

After his death, I could not go to Wendy’s for two years. Finally when I was at a friend’s house, his mom brought Wendy’s for us to eat and two chocolate Frosties for us. When she gave them to me I almost cried, but when I took a spoonful of the Frosty the taste reminded me of all of the memories and times that I shared with Grandpa. I get a Frosty now and then, especially on Easter, and when I do, I remember him.

Dedicated to my Grandfather Wayne Young, and my Grandmother Marilyn Young, they are dearly missed.

Reading Response 1: Fellowship of the Ring

                It all begins on a very special occasion: Bilbo Baggins’s eleventy-first birthday party. In fact, it was such a grand party, that everyone in the town was invited. At the opportunity to have free food, fireworks, and especially free beer the whole town was delighted to be in attendance, even a few from far away. One such foreigner was Gandalf the Grey, who had had many stories and fables told about him. Unknown to the majority of the attendants, there was a scheme behind the whole party; Bilbo Baggins was going away, and he was going to use The Ring to do it...

                One of my favorite quotes from the birthday party was this: “‘I don't know half of you half as well as I should like and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.’ This was unexpected and rather difficult. There was some scattered clapping, but most of them were trying to work it out and see if it came to a compliment.” It was said by Bilbo during his birthday speech and he said it to all of the guests that were in attendance. When I read that (I am not even kidding when I say this) I laughed out loud after a couple of seconds of processing what was said. It really shows the good old English wittiness of J.R.R. Tolkien. I thoroughly enjoy reading a good witty book and with those three sentences my respect for Tolkien went way up. Basically the quote means that Bilbo doesn't know all of the people and he wishes he has more time to get to know them. He also states that he has a distaste for some, even though he should loathe them more than he does already.

                So far I am thoroughly enjoying this book and would highly recommend it to all of my friends who understand subtle, witty remarks and enjoy them. This book is a must read, and is excellent thus far. If you haven’t taken the time to read The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, then stop what you are doing, get up and go to a library or book store near you. It will be well WORTH IT.