Outside Reading #6

In the last part of my book Corrie Ten Boom and her sister, Betsie, had to switch to a new camp. The reason the Germans needed to move there prisoners was because the front was approaching the camp. The new camp that Corrie and her sister were sent to is Ravensbruck. The conditions at Ravensbruck are almost the same as before. They are harsh with fleas in almost every one's bed and nine people are sharing a bed that was originally designed for four people. In all there was about 1400 people per room. A quote that shows some of these conditions is, "Fleas!" I cried, "Betsie, the place is swarming with them" (197 Ten Boom)! When living at this camp the guards forced the prisoners to perform intense labor. An example is "The work at Siemens, however, was sheer misery. Betsie and I had to push a heavy handcart to a railroad siding where we unloaded large metal plates from a boxcar and wheeled them to a receiving gate at the factory" (200 Ten Boom). Also when at this new camp Betsie gets extremely sick. She reaches a fever of 104 and goes to the hospital. She apparently got no medical treatment when there. Although she felt much better being someplace warm and having to do no work. When she gets realesed her illness returns. It starts to take a big hit on her physical state and she ends up dieing at the concentration camp. "For there lay Betsie, her eyes closed as if in sleep, hr face full and young" (219 Ten Boom).

Outside Reading #5

For this outside reading I read some more pages from my outside reading book called The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. In this section the book takes a dramatic turn and it is not for the better. The Germans caught them and bring them to a jail. There the father of Corrie Ten Boom dies shortly after being locked up. The rules at this prison are very harsh. Food is very little and comes usually as bread and some form of oatmeal in the morning. Corrie gets brought to solitary confinement and the quote, "solitary prisoners are not permitted to talk! If you say another word to one of the work-duty prisoners it will be kalte kost for the duration of your sentence" (149 Ten Boom). This is just one example of the restrictions put on the prisoners. While in prison the prisoners will go see a judge or somebody to judge your actions. Corrie gets a man named Lieutenant Rahms. He is a very nice man who takes great interest in the Bible when Corrie starts explaining it to him. Eventually conditions of the prison are changing and the Germans are forced to move the prisoners. They load the prisoners onto a bus and move them to a concentration camp. Once there Corrie and her sister get a pink slip and a fellow prisoner tells them that they will be free. However, after "a few days Betsie and I were called up for work assignments" (176 Ten Boom). These pink slips did not mean freedom at all just a pass to work in another camp deeper in the forest.

Outside Reading #4

In the book The Hiding Place the main character and author of the book Corrie Ten Boom have run into some problems. One problem is the officer in her city knows that she is hiding Jews in her house. The officer calls her in and discusses the issue. Then a stranger comes the Corries house about some friends who apparently are in a life and death situation. Pretty soon the police in knocking on the door and raiding the house for the Jews. Luckily the Jews made it to the secret room moments before the Germans enter. Corrie then gets beat and basically tortured for the location of the Jews she is hiding. The quote, "The man struck me hard acoss the face" (129 Ten Boom) explains the torture she is receiving for not giving up information. Another problem was Corrie couldn't get the sign out of the window to warn people part of the 'underground' that it was not safe to enter. The people were walking into a trap for being arrested. Then the group moves to the police station and a quote, "The walk took only a minute, but by the time we got inside the double doors of the police station I was shaking with cold" (133 Ten Boom) Also in the section I just read were some pictures of Corrie Ten Boom and here home, the streets and her suffering on her journey through the camps. By the pictures were some important quotes that tell her story in a couple of lines.

Outside Reading #3

In the book The Hiding Place the Germans are putting more and more rules into place. With this tension is building and the plot is starting to slowly climb the mountain. The rules of curfew and electronics have been put into place. We see this same situation in the book Night, which we read for this class. Another rule that is being placed upon the people is the ration cards. These ration cards get the characters the essentials to survive. For example food and water. The ration cards are of course limited to every person. Jews however are not given this ration cards. This is a problem because in order for people to move they must obtain these ration cards. The main character, a Christian women, Corrie and she really wants to help the Jews escape the horrors that Hitler and the Nazi party could put them through. In order to do that Corrie must move the Jews to a place called the 'underground'. Trying to move the Jews creates another problem because there is not enough ration cards for her just to give out. Corrie solves this problem by going to a friend and asking if there is a way to get obtain 100 ration cards!!! She was able to get these cards and hundreds more about every week. However more problems can arise such as medical care. Corrie starts getting more and more people involved to help protect the Jews going to the underground. Through all these little obstacles the plot is rising and the climax approaching. Who knows what happens next???

Outside Reading #2

In the book I am reading right now there are some technology devices that the main character birngs up many times throughout her book. One of them is watches. Watches are the family business. They make, repair, and even get clocks exactly on time. The other one is the radio. The radio started showing up in the city where Corrie is living right before World War 1. "In the 15th century the first watches were being made. However during 16th century watches were made in decent sizes for the person" (Wikipedia). "Pocketwatches were another type of watch that became very popular during the 1600's" (Wikipedia). "Then in the year 1765 the whole view of the watch began to change and allowed for the watch to be only off by a couple of seconds every day" (Wikipedia). The watch is one of those devices that have always been there but people don't really know where they came from so that is why I decided to look into it. Radio was the other advancement that changed the lives of the ordinary citizen once agian. "Thomas Edison was the first to start playing around with the ideas of the radio in 1885. In 1894 the first radio that could actually transmit sound and speech was invented by two men known as Professor Oliver Lodge and Alexander Muirhead" (Wikipedia). As years passed new additions were being made to the radio and it kept getting smaller and more technical. These two things are becoming more of a symbol in the book after every chapter.

Blogging #1

I am reading the book called The Hiding Place and it was written by Corrie Ten Boom. It is a true story of her life and how she became a militant heroine of the anti-Nazi underground. In the first chapter of the book we learn several things about the author. First of all she is Christian which means that she was not the target for the concentration camps. However the author uses a lot of foreshadowing to express the hardships ahead. For example she explains the dark cloud that will someday be put over her head. She is currently 45 and apparently has lost her waist line. She has an older sister Betsie who is 7 years older. Her father is around 77 years old and runs a watch shop in Germany. He is a forgetful man who makes many repairs but does not make much money. The father also helps kids who are less fortunate as him. As well as raising 4 of his own kids he has fed and clothed 11 other kids. The mother of Corrie Ten Boom has died and we don't know much about the mother. Corrie and her sister always wore dark colored dresses that went up to there neckline and went down to 3 inches above there ankles. This was considered strange for women who are not married because they were supposed to wear bright colored dresses that were shorter. This shows us that Corrie and her sister are very modest compared to others. Also we see that Corrie is very hardworking when her and her family are setting up for the party that is going to happen that day.

Battle of the Bulge

Joe Wandrei
April 21, 2009
Mr. Cheng
English 10
The Last Chance

“We moved forward again, more cautiously, more spread out. The sound of heavy and light artillery boomed in the distance; small-arms fire echoed and reechoed through the hills. We were moving toward a battle in the north” (Schaus). This is from Donald R. Burgett who fought at the Battle of the Bulge. “The battle cost the lives of about 20,000 soldiers and many other wounded” (Schaus). Hitler was the man who planned this attack because the Allies were moving in towards Berlin from both sides. The events leading up to the battle, the battle itself and events after will help get people a basic understanding of the Battle of the Bulge.
The Battle of the Bulge took place towards the end of World War II. The causes for this World War will help explain why the Allies needed to fight this war. Hitler known for his actions during World War is why the war started. “In the year 1939 Hitler and Stalin sign a non-aggression pact and agree to split up the state of Poland” (PBS online). “Then in September of 1939 when Britain and France declare war on Germany the Second World War had begun” (Bently 1053). As the war was drawn on for three more years the United States was drawn into the war after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. With the United States in the war the tide changed. Russia started pushing Germany back towards Berlin while British and Americans start to push from the other side. “On June 6th 1944, D-Day occurred and the Allies started to push back the Germans from the beach of France” (PBS Online). “Then on December 16th 1944, Germany sends a quarter million troops across an 85-mile stretch of the Allied front. This creates a bulge in the line giving the battle its name” (PBS Online).
Ardennes, Belgium is a hilly and wooded region where the Battle of the Bulge took place. “The goal of Hitler was to try and win back land and momentum lost during D-Day” (U.S. Army Online). The war started in Germany’s favor because they were able to break through the American front. “They were able to surround most of an infantry division, seized key crossroads, and advanced their spearheads toward the Meuse River, creating the projection that gave the battle its name” (U.S. Army Online). “The weather was even on the Germans side because it was a foggy day” (Schaus). Since the Americans heavily relied on air support the fog did not allow for the Americans to attack through the air. Americans were thrown into confusion and isolation but were still able to slow the advancement of the Germans. “American soldiers were also able to hold out several attacks on key positions at St. Vith and Bastogne” (U.S. Army Online). Then in January 1945 American soldiers were able to finally push back the Germans to the normal front line and thus destroying the ‘bulge’ that was created during this battle.
In the end Hitler’s attempt at turning World War II around failed and ended up losing the war since he could not launch another offensive attack. The Allies ended up winning the war after the Russians were able to close in on Berlin. “The three major Allied nations began to discuss the postwar world in a series of conferences with the three leaders. Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met at Yalta in March 1945” (World War II Multimedia Database). Germany was put under a tight watch by all 4 of the major allies. “One condition that was set up in response to the war was the United Nations” (World War II Multimedia Database). This organization was used for creating peace among the countries of the world. The Battle of the Bulge was a big war for the Americans even though no one won the Battle of the Bulge the Allies was still able to win the overall war.
When everybody thought the war was over Hitler did not give up by fighting the Battle of the Bulge. “British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill stated, this is undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war and will, I believe, be regarded as an ever-famous American victory. Indeed, in terms of participation and losses, the battle of the Bulge is arguably the greatest battle in American military history” (U.S. Army online). The importance of this battle is obviously large and the events before, during and after the Battle of the Bulge show us this point. The battle was a hard battle for both sides to fight but in the end Allies were able to push the front back and get rid of the giant bulge in the line to win World War II.











Works Cited
"Battle of the Bulge." World War II History Info. 20 Apr. 2009 .

Bentley, Jerry H. Traditions and Encounters. New York: McGraw Hill, 2006.

PBS. "American Experience Battle of the Bulge Timeline." PBS. American Experience. 20 Apr. 2009 .

Schaus, Samuel T. "The Battle of the Bulge." Yahoo! GeoCities: Get a free web site with easy-to-use site building tools. 21 Apr. 2009 .

US Army. "The United States Army Battle of the Bulge." The United States Army Homepage. 20 Apr. 2009 .

World War II Multimedia Database. "The Post War World - World War II Multimedia Database." World War II Multimedia Database. 22 Apr. 2009 .

In the 1400’s, only three things mattered to European countries; God, Gold, and Glory. They all wanted as much of these as they could have, so various countries sent out explorers in search to find and claim new lands and riches. Eventually, they reached the Americas and started claiming land. They moved at a rapid pace, taking whatever they could find. "This led to cultural diffusion between them and the indigenous people they encountered" (Chewie14 2). Even though most of these encounters were friendly, some were not and many of the indigenous people were killed during these conflicts from weapons and disease. "These countries wanted this land for one reason; to be better than the others" (Chewie14 4). If one country could take more land, they would be superior in America, and Europe. In order for a country to be superior they needed the land and the riches, the fame and their religious beliefs spread in the conquested areas.Posted by Geoffrey at 6:18 PM

Intro and conclusion paragraph

In the years before 1492 no one in Europe knew about a land on the other side of world. Seems hard to believe but in 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed across the ocean and ‘discovered’ America but his intention was to reach China. Many other sailors heard of this land and followed in Columbus’ footsteps. The reasons all the sailors traveled to this land was for god, gold, and glory but the effects of the exploration was the mixing of cultures and societies. The general welfare of the human race also got better through these explorations because of an increase in food and resources.

The America’s were harmed by these explorations because the Europeans used there guns and germs against the natives. Even the Europeans suffered greatly in this new land. Although these deaths were in big numbers, the benefits of the colonization helped the entire world. Since the Europeans wanted the riches, the fame and the spreading of their faith, they went on the voyages. The causes of these explorations let people learn about different cultures, the population increased, new crops were produced, and people got healthier. Columbus, Pizzaro and Cortes changed history and set the course for the world we live in today.

Notes 2

• Most of European profits came from farming and agriculture. Colonization allowed for more agriculture.
• In the Americas a social hieracrchy was formed which put the Europeans on top
• Another factor was countires were rivals such as the Dutch and the Portuguese
• England became one of the world powers through colonization. It conquered many terriotories. Jamestown, Virginia was one of the British locations in the Americas
• All the Europeans left was an identity that was theres. They came for the power and wealth and left countries with just the European identity
• Lives were lost through germs, guns, protests and much more

all of these notes came from the website:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/6046459/European-Colonization-Essay

Notes

• Pizarro objective was to sail west until he reached Asia (the Indies) where the riches of gold, pearls and spice awaited.
• Pizarro "discovered" the Inca empire and conquered it brutally and quickly, stealing immense hoards of gold, silver, and other treasures.
• Leading nations like Spain, France, England, Portugal, and Netherlands were the top European leaders.
• They were all interested in trade and profit.
• Portugal was responsible for triggering the colonization of countries.
• economic opportunities
• Asia tried to explore but could not invest its time into exploration

Over coming the odds

This week the NCAA basketball tournament started and of course there is always some big upsets. On Friday Wake Forest ranked number four lost to a team ranked 13. This was a huge win for Cleveland State. There is an article on this win in the Star Tribune. It was written by Associated Press. Cleveland State or the Vikings have upset teams in the past. "Cleveland State's only other apperance in the tournament upset Indiana and Bob Knight in the first round. This happened in the year 1986." (Star Tribune c14). With that being there first apperance and this 84-69 win over Wake Forest being the second Cleveland has shown how to over come odds. "Cleveland State got out to an early 17 point lead and was able to keep it that way pretty much to the finish" (Star Tribune c14). How far will this under-dog team go? No one really knows besides they weren't supposed to win in the first place.

Work Cited

1. Chewie14. "European Colonization Essay." Scribd. 20 Mar. 2009. http://www.scribd.com/doc/6046459/European-Colonization-Essay.
   
2. "Christopher Columbus Discovers America, 1492." EyeWitness to History - history through the eyes of those who lived it. 2004. EyeWitness to History. 20 Mar. 2009 http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/columbus.htm.
   
3. "European colonization of the Americas - USA." United States - USA. 20 Mar. 2009. http://www.w4.aspoleczny.pl/European_colonization_of_the_Americas.html
   
4. "Francisco Pizarro: Explorer - EnchantedLearning.com." Enchanted Learning Home Page. 2009. Enchanted Learning. 20 Mar. 2009 http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/p/pizarro.shtml.
   
5. Matusevich, Melissa. WWW Server for chumby.dlib.vt.edu. 2009. 20 Mar. 2009 http://chumby.dlib.vt.edu/melissa/posters/ReasonsEnglandColonized.pdf.
   
6. Nosotro, Rit. "The Long-Term Effects of Colonization." World History course and essays in Biblical perspective. 20 Mar. 2009. <http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/comp/cw27colonizationeffects.htm>.
   
7. Williams, Schott. “World History.” World History course and essays in Biblical perspective. 24 Sept. 2002. 20 Mar. 2009 <http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/cot/t4w25spanishcolonization.htm>.

Love

Love is one of those terms that no one can really give a definition to. So what is the definition of 'love'??? I found another blog out there on this web that gave an opinion about the term love. Love has many different meanings to all different types of people. The definition for this person is "There are many stages of love at different ages and different types of love. My definition of love is caring about someone so deeply that your like would be very different with out them there would always be a little piece of yourself missing" (Blade). Looking at this definition it is mostly an opinion so everyone is going to have a different way of expressing or finding the meaning of this word. What is the actual definition well I really don't have an answer for you but if you really want to know there are plenty of books that are filled with love so take a look inside a book.

I got this information from:
http://www.purpleslinky.com/Jokes/Relationship/The-Real-Definition-of-Love.126789

War

For this blogging assignement I watched an episode of the Band of Brothers. This movie really gets into and shows the lives of fighting in World War 2. The dangers, death, sadness and the good times are all shown in this movies. In the Band of Brothers they show the concentration camps and how bad they look. The camp smells terrible, the people are in horrible health conditions, there are dead bodies everywhere. Also shown was a train car and it was locked so the United States army opened it to find dead bodies all inside it. War as shown is not a fun thing or experience for any side but countries still decide to enter these bloody battles. One thing that really took me for a suprise when watching the movie is that the people fighting against Germany had no idea that these concentration camps existed. When they first encountered the camps they had to ask the people inside the camps what is going on and where are they.

Colonization

Africa was a place for imperialism. In the book that we are reading now are just beginning to see the people who will help shape there future. In the book Nectar in a Sieve the idea of colonialization was huge and how it changed the lives of Rukmani and Nathan. In history class we have all learned of the Berlin Conference that split up the land of Africa for the European powers. Of course the people who traveled had very good reasons and were after the riches of the world. "The discovery of diamonds and rich gold, deposits brought both European settlers and dramatic change to the region" (Bently 909). People were mostly after the riches of the land and Africa is known for its diamonds and gold. "Cecil John Rhodes an eighteen year old boy supervised African laborers who worked his claims in the diamond fields" (Bently 909). People who were eighteen got pulled into the rush for possessions and the want to become rich shaped the future for Africa.

Global Issue

United States is a world leader today and almost every country relies on the United States in one way or another. Yeah its great we are number one right now but with our economy troubles we are bringing the world down with us. There is an article in the Zephyrus paper about the economy and how it is going. The first line of the paper is "the recession continues to spread through the economy, leaving no one safe" (Carney 1). With that quote it makes you realize that is there a place to hide from this storm. "Some statistics of how are economy is doing is 500,000 jobs were lost in the United States, Target laid off 1,000 employees, Fairview Southdale Hospital had to lay off 50 employees, and 3M had to lay off 1,800 workers" (Carney 1). How are we doing? "Well Edina has an unemployment rate at 5% copmared to the national average of 7.6%" (Carney 1).

Presidents Day

Presidents day was not actually called that when it originated. "It was called Washington's Birthday" (Wikipedia). "During this time congress was trying to push a bill that wanted to switch the name officialy to Presidents Day and make the date the third monday of February. At first this gor rejected but states started coming up with different names for the holiday. One example is in Massachusetts they actually called it Presidents Day. In the state of Alabama it was called 'Washington and Jefferson Day' even when Jefferson's birthday was in February" (Wikipedia) This name seems kinda weird but Alabama probable had there reasons to call it that. Some traditions that happen on this special day is the closing of public buildings. "School districts in New York shut school down for that week and call it a mid-winter holiday. Business' used to be shut down but over the years less and less are closing. Public transportation has even continues its regular schedule on this day" (Wikipedia). In my eyes this day seems important to some and to others just another day to get off work.

Bollywood

In the book Nectar in a Sieve there is a lot of love traiangles and romance. For example Rukmani and Nathan are able to form a solid relationship. We also see this love in movies that are called Bollywood. "This term Bollywood is a term that is used for the Mumbai-based Hindi language film indusrty in India. It is the biggest film producer in India. This name, Bollywood, seems a like the place Hollywood in the United States. It is named after that as well as Bombay" (Wikipedia). Something that I thought was very different is they actually tie music into the story instead of dramtic effects that are in the background. "Even though the films are created in India the language spoken can still be English. Some films are entirely english" (Wikipedia). "The Bollywood plots have tended to be melodramatic and usually include love and angry parents" (Wikipedia).

outside reading

Today is an important day for the people of the Catholic faith because it is ash Wednesday. "That means it is the first day of Lent, and the season of preparation for the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday" (Richert 1). What usually happens on a day like this??? Well the answer is also at this website. "Palms from the previous are to be brought back so that they may be burned. Then the ashes are burned and some holy water is then sprinkled onto them. After this happens the priest puts a cross on the individuals forhead with the ashes" (Richert 1). If you see people walking around with a dark blob on there head you now know what that is for. Also with this time period people must give up something for the entire period of lent. Lent is usually 40 days and this sacrifice can then be eaten again on Easter Sunday.

I got this information at:
http://catholicism.about.com/od/holydaysandholidays/p/Ash_Wednesday.htm

Change

Lots of things are changing and a lot of things will change. Baseball is a game that is changing and this change is not for the good. Steroids are being brought into the game for personnal benefit. One of the greatest players to fall by steroids is Alex Rodriduez and Sports Illusrtated had a story about that. "A-Rod also known as Alex Rodriduez was a natural in his youth. In his first season as a pro with the Mariners he had a batting average of .358, 36 homeruns, 123 RBI's, and even scored 141 runs," (Posnanski 14). Then why did A-Rod fall and start using steroids and he would of said pressure to be A-Rod." (Posnanski 14). "Also among the greats who have used steroids or might have used is Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire and the reasons they could of used is age, overcome injury and everybody else is doing it." (Posnanski 14). These three players, A-Rod, Bonds and McGwire, all love the game but they are willing to use steroids for self gain instead of showing that love towards the game.

HOPE

For this outside reading blog I watched the movie Pink Panther and this is the first one not the second one. The main character Jacques Clouseau played by Steve Martin shows hope when trying to find the Pink Panther diamond. In the movie Jacques disgraces his country for bringing weapons into the airport trying to go back to France from the United States of America. When he is home he is able to find hope through his computer and get back on the case of finding the diamond. In the end Jacques prevails and becomes a hero of France. In the movie however Jacques shows people who are not rich and famous that if you keep showing hope and believe in yourself that you can do great things. He also shows that even if life is not going great you will get an oppurtunity like he did and that we should work hard at this oppurtunity because it could help shape our future.

Slumdog Millionaire

In today's world money is needed by everyone and the people of India from the stories Slumdog Millionaire and Nectar in a Sieve show that money is a necessity. In both the sotries the older son goes out in search for money. An example of this is in the book Nectar in a Sieve both the eldest of Rukmani go to work at the tannery because it offers good wages but when they realize its not enough they lead a strike. In these stories the oldest son thinks he must watch out for the family and the way to do that is through money. Another group of people who are in search for money are the people who steal. The two brothers in Slumdog Millionaire are in great need for food and money so they need to steal from others. Even though it is not right they don't have anything not even there mother. Money is in great need for the people who don't have food like the two brothers. Lastly another group of people who are in great need for money is women. Women as shown in Nectar in a Sieve look out for the food and the health of there family. Ira the daughter of Rukmani goes into prostitution in order to look out for her family and get money to save the family. This also is not right but she it shows that money has become a necessity. In life there are the good times and the bad and these time have a strong correlation with money because it is the biggest thing needed to survive in todays world.

Outside Reading gender roles

"Jasmine is 35 pounds who has a twitchy curiosity, a pink coat, brown eyes, her butt is hunched to the ground, her head is bowed back and her ears are pinned back" (Gorant 72). This may seem a little weird but in that last quote you meet Jasmine a DOG who was rescued from the Michael Vick. Even though Jasmine is a female dog she has feelings that normal people have to face. For example today I learned that women in Darfur are being raped and abused when they leave their houses in search for food. Jasmine's story is exactly the same because where she was living there was the "rape stand" which strapped female dogs to the stand and male dogs could breed without getting injured. After being raped you here stories about people being tense and how depressing it is and that is what Jasmine does. "She gets within a foot of the hand and stops. She licks her snout, a sign of nervousness, and looks up at the stranger, seeking assurance... But Jasmine pulled away." (Gorant 72). This quote shows how Jasmine feels about meeting a stanger after going throught this 'Bad' News Kennels'.

Outsider Reading #???

For this blog about culture I went to a website and read about the history of African food. In Africa farming was very important just like it is in the book Nectar in a Sieve. "Before the people of Africa were farming however the people were hunters and gathers that would mostly eat meat and wild vegetables" (Carr, 1). "Then around 6000 BC, the climate started to heat up and grasslands dried up and became the Sahara Desert" (Carr,1). With this change people in Africa began to farm and the main source of crop was wheat and barley. Now people have extra sources of food then they did when hunting and gathering so animals were being domesticated. "In Africa sheeps, goats, and cattles were the main domestic animals" (Carr,1). In the book Nectar Rukimani had a goat so these animals are all over the world. Even though this heat may not have been the best for the people it led to an agriculture society.


I got this information from the website:
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/africa/food/

Outside Reading #29

"After an inspiring fight, a beloved Hall of Fame coach succumbs to cancer" (Sports Illustrated 24). Kay Yow was a women's basketball coach who lived from 1942-2009. She coached at the University of North Carolina State. Kay Yow went through a tough time like Rukimani when the drought occured in India. Her rough time was the fight against cancer. When fighting these tough times there is always something special that happens. Rukimani shows that when struggling good things happen in life like having children. With Yow's struggle came many achievements; "Yow racked up 737 wins against 344 loses" (Sports Illustarted 24); "Her Wolfpack teams went to 20 NCAA tournaments, 11 sweet 16s and one final four and they won five ACC regular-seasonn titles and four ACC tournaments" (Sports Illistrated 24). She even won a gold medal in the 1988 U.S. olympics. "Unfortunately at the age of 66 she dies after a long battle with breast cancer" (Sports Illustrated 24), and her like the old granny in Nectar have passed away and have just become stories of the past.

Outside reding #28

In the book Nectar in a Sieve we are reading about floods and monsoons. Even though these are huge downfalls there are still flooding problems here in Minnesota. I read an article called Severe spring flooding expected along Red River by Bob Von Sternberg. "The outlook for the flooding season along the Red River in Minnesota and North Dakota is not good as many resdients prepare for the flood season" (Sternberg). "Also this area received record rainfall in November and record snowfall in December" (Sternberg). In the book Nectar in a Sieve, Kenny is the one saying that the outlook for the future is bad along with more bad weather to come. "According to this article the weather service reported that the flooding will be the worst in late March and early April" (Sternberg). When comparing these events to the weather in India the outlook for the residents along the Red River are in for a long spring. "Hopefully the upgraded defenses along the river will protect the people" (Sternberg).


I found this article by this link:

http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/38218114.html?elr=KArksi8cyaiUo8cyaiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

Outside Reading #27

I started reading this book called My Heart is a Violin and it is written by Shony Alex Braun. Now when just reading the title you would think I don't need to read a book about a violin but actually this is about Shony Alex Braun life which includes him living in concentration camps. For this blog I read About the Author and it says the Shony was rescued in a dark forest by gypsies at the age of four. He later debuted on Radio Bucharest as a child prodigy violinist. Later he was trasported to the concentration camp in Auschwitz and then Dachau later in life. The day before being rescued by the Allies he was shot in the chest and left for dead but in the end he survived. After this dark period in Shony's life he recovers and continiues his study of music and becomes a very gifted violinsits and a well known composer.

Outside Reading #26

For this outside reading I read an article in the Sports Illustrated magazine. The author of this article is a person who goes by the name of Lee Jenkins. He wrote a story of the Wild-Card Weekend in the NFL (National Football League). It was about the quaterback of the San Diego Chargers, Philip Rivers, and it talks about how they started the season 4-8. It then talks about the teams dramtic finish by making the playoffs with a record 8-8 and then winning the first round of the playoffs against the Indianapolis Colts. The article also talks about a plane ride home the Chargers had when the regular season was coming to an end. It talked about that in order for the playoff hope to stilll be alive they needed the Buffalo to beat the Bronco's. It went on to say that the radio they had on the plane had very bad reception and that whenever the team found out good news like when the Buffalo linebacker Kawika Mitchell intercepted a pass with 5:42 left in the game the Chargers team exploded. I thought this was interesting because it shows that it is still possible for things to happen in your favor even when things are not going the way you want them to.

Outside Reading #25

This will be my very last blog on the book Marley and Me written by John Grogan. In the last couple chapters I read the after effects of Marley's death. In one chapter John faced the task of where to bury the dog. He tried one spot but that failed because it filled up with water. Then he went to the cherry trees to bury Marley and this spot worked perfectly for John because he was able to dig and it reminded John that he almost ran into these trees when riding the sled with Marley. The next section was about John writting a column in his paper about Marley and what he learned about a dog that was not well behaved. John received about 800 respones by phone and email; this set a new record for him by a long shot. By reading all of these responses he learned that Marley isn't that bad of a dog when compared to other peoples strories. In the end Jenny and John were reading the newspaper and found a dog that reminded them perfectly of Marley. They decided to get that dog named Lucky.

Outside Reading #24

Okay I am reading the book Marley and Me and I am reaching the end of the book. It was written by John Grogan. In the section I just read you come to the realization that all things die. You cannot avoid it so this book was very predictable because you knew how it was going to end. Once again you see Marley is getting weaker were he can barely stand anymore. We see this when Marley was at another canel because John and family were going to Walt Disney World. John gets a call saying that Marley is weak and that he needs steroids to be mobile. When John returns Marley is still very weak and his stomach turns for the second time. This time however they cannot save Marley so he can either and have surgery or out to 'sleep'. I think we all know how this situation turned out but lets just say it was painless.