White Mountain Sojourn

This Magnificent painting shows that their is almost like a walkway on water to the mountains in the back. It shows that the trees divide and the tunnel to the mountain is all yours. It shows very beautiful aspects in the painting. The best part of the painting are the canvass and how romantic looking they are.

Hudson River School

From the Hudson River School and Tocqueville. The quote "The picturesque, the sublime, and the magnificent" was quoted from this school.

Tallulah Falls by George Cooke

Tallulah Falls by George Cooke 

The river divdes the mountain into half and both sides of the mountain has a huge forest. The sun is setting down and on the cliff there are few people. The painting gives me an impression of magnificence of nature. The people in the painting were drawn so small probably because they are so tiny compared to the huge nature or to emphasize the magnificence of the nature.

George Cooke was known as the most famous artist in Southern states of America in his days. He was famous by his paintings of nature. George Cooke was born in Maryland in 1793 and in his early age, he abandoned the business to be a full-time artist. He then painted for several years and left to the Europe to study and copy the paintings of great artists in Renaissance era. He returned to US after several years and he moved to the Southern regions. There, he painted both ordinary and famous people and gained wealth. In 1844, he met Daniel Pratt, the biggest supporter of Cooke in his life, in New Orleans. Pratt provided two floor warehouse to Cooke to use it for gallery. There, he painted the greatest artwork in his life which is 'Interior of St.Peter's Rome.' It was the biggest framed oil painting in the world then and it is still in the rank of the biggest painting in the world.
In 1849, unfortunately, he contracted the cholera and died.

There is a obvious contrast between bright and dark. The shapes are not sharp but soft circular. The way he painted is soft and deep. There are people in the left bottom corner but don't seem necessary because of the proportion compared to the nature. The rhythm goes from the top to bottom. The colors are not tension but collaborating and the colors he used are compliment. The shapes in the picture are natural and organic.

Since our eyes goes to the bright site first, the rhythm of the painting goes from the top to bottom. Specifically, the rhythm goes from the light of sunset to the river in between the mountains and finally goes to the mountains. The bottom part of the painting is nearly balanced by setting the river as a pivot. But the upper part of the painting is not balanced because the left-upper part of the painting is dark while the right-upper part of the painting is light. The emphasis of the painting is on the river and the mountain but it seems like there is more emphasis put on the river than the mountain.

Thomas Cole

"The Voyage of Life: Youth"

When I look at this paining many emotions come into my mind. Some are about how the voyager is trying to reach the castle or to the land of youth. Also I am truly amazed blown away by all the colors. This painting is also saying how there is a heaven and everyone should try to get there

The texture is very soft and romantic because of all the light colors. You see an angle which is very happy pointing the traveler is the direction of heaven. As you go deeper into the painting the colors lighten.

There is rhythm in this painting, the painter wants us to look at the angel first and then we see the traveler, and finally he wants us to see the castle. I believe the people are much smaller because he wants to show the importance of the castle and this is called scaling.

The Sierra

This picture is called "The Sienna" and it was painted by Albert Bierstadt. Albert Bierstadt was a non- conformist because he painted pictures that were different than the rest and that caused the pictures to not be worth a lot at the time they were created. A lot of paintings at the time showed providence but Bierstadt's paintings showed nature. The picture shows the peacefulness of nature and it makes me feel relaxed.

Creek Retreat VII by Connie Tom

This painting is titled "Creek Retreat VII", it shows the simplicity of nature; while captivating its beauty. Through contrast it shows the creeks gentle motion. The painting is peaceful and quiet, looks like a nice place to runaway to when your feeling down; whilst giving me a calming feeling. It emanates the quiet and simple warmth of nature. It is a truly great painting.

The Last of the Buffalo

This picture represents a Native American hunting a wild buffalo. It is beutiful because it shows when the buffalo use to Rome the Americas. It also shows all of the buffalo that have been killed by man. It shows the elegance of the buffalo.

August Sunset

Albert Bierstadt was a German-American painter that lived from 1830-1902. He is best known for his amazing landscapes of the western US. Bierstadt was part of the Hudson River Painting School.

This painting shows dear on the edge of the Hudson River. They are on the low lying bank opposite the cliffs with a water fall in the background. The painting is very soothing and really connects the viewer with nature. The trees are a dark brown surrounded by sark green grass. The sky goes from a darkish grey-red to a white and yellowish mix to a withe and light bluish mix. The whole painting is smooth and very well put together.

The Painting is centered around the light form the sky. The rhythm goes from top right to right to left. The painting symbolizes unity in natural and how everything in nature is drawn together.The emphasis of the painting is on the light and the waterfall.

The Last of the Buffalo

This painting shows a Native American hunting a buffalo. In my opinion it shows how the Natives were losing everything they had such as there land, because there are buffalo skeletons laying around showing that they aren't many left and they are losing everything they had.

The Planes of Dover

The painting that you see above was painted by Asher Brown Durand. It is his view of land from the time of cavemen. It is a beautiful sight in what the land would have looked like thousands of years ago.

The Sierra

This is a beautiful painting painted by Albert Bierstadt. The painting shows nature at its beauty. The animals by the fresh water refreshing them selves and the breath taking waterfall is eye catching. The colors used in this painting is terrific. This is truly a gorgeous and relaxing painting.

"Before the 1820s, most American artists painted portraits and historical paintings. The Hudson River School was unique in its portrayal of wilderness as impressive and awe inspiring. Their romantic paintings depict the Hudson River Valley and the surrounding area, including the Catskill, Adirondack, and the White Mountains."

Albert Bierstadt was born on January 7, 1830 and died on February 18, 1902. He was an German-American Artists that was a member in the Hudson River School. In the Hudson school the pictures mostly painted were Romantisism.

The colors in this paining are warm colors. Th main colors used were green, orange and yellow. all those colors were used many times but mixed with other colors. we cant compare the colors to the original because the painting is only a reproduction on the computer and flat screen.

This picture is a very warm painting. It focuses on nature and its beauty. The animals in the painting are small so they are not really important in the picture. You see repetition in the trees, the rocks, and the reflection of the trees that you see in the water, and also in the colors. This is a beautiful painting and yes i like it. This painting also shows the texture of the water and trees even though its a flat picture. When i first looked at this painting, the water fall and the colors caught my attention.

The Coming Storm

This picture was painted by Albert Bierstadt. It was put in the Addison Gallery of American Art in Andover in 1869 the same year that the transcontinental railroad was completed. It was a very different kind of picture that portrayed something that was going to happen. It was a little bit of a darker romantic picture but it is beautiful and admirable.

Clearing The Land

This painting, Clearing The Land, is from the Hudson River School of Painting. The painting represents two men saddling horses up to a tree trunk to pry it out of the ground. There is nature in the background and the horses are different colors.

The Lord of The Rings Return of the King

The title is The Lord of The Rings Return of the King. This book was written by J.R.R Tolkien. The general purpose of this book is for entertainment. There is no narrative hook. Bearing - to carry or bring something. Valiant- Possessing or showing courage or determination. Campaigner- politician running for office. Valor- great courage in the face of danger. Dismay- to feel consternation and distress. So far this book is great i really like it. I loved the movies and love the book just as much. I enjoy his writing and style of writing.

Tuesdays with Morrie

The selected book, Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, A young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson, written by Mitch Albom was a great story teaching about life. The story is inspired by the main character Professor Morrie in college who was visited by Mitch, the narrator, every Tuesdays. Morrie was retired and laid in house due to his impending death from ALS. Morrie's last wish was to talk everything with Mitch before he die. Even though he was great teacher of life, he sometimes feared death too. During his conversation with narrator, I could learn the comfortableness of life. The narrator developed the stages by telling the audience of how he felt observing the weak condition of his good friend Morrie.

Social psychology - the branch of psychology that studies persons and their relationships with others and with groups and with society as a whole

Demise - the time when something ends

Lateral - situated at or extending to the side

Shed - cause or allow (a solid substance) to flow or run out or over

Adrenalin - a catecholamine secreted by the adrenal medulla in response to stress (trade name Adrenalin); stimulates autonomic nerve action

Hunger Games

The book i read is called the hunger games. It is about people that are playing a game with life threatening risks. Katniss and Peeta are the two main characters. katniss is an underdog but wins at the end.

Black Hawk Down

The title of my book is "Black Hawk Down" written by Mark Bowden. So far from reading i am really excited to see what will happen next to the soldiers in Mogadishu . At this point telling if they will make it out of the city and back to base is hard to tell. I am excited to see what will happen to the soldiers

The Hobbit

The Lord of the Rings: The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolken. Published on September 21, 1937

The book was written to create a mythology for England because it didn't really have one. The narrative hook does not really happen in the first chapter, but it eases into the hook which appears in the second chapter.

Hobbit- one of an imaginary race of half-size people living in holes

Dwarves- a being in the form of a small, often misshapenand ugly, man, usually having magic powers.

The book is good and i enjoy it.

Ethan Frome

Ethan Frome

Fiction

1. The setting of the story is in the early 1900s and the whole story is about twenty years long.

2. The main characters are Ethan, who is the protagonist and is a very strange person, Zenobia Frome is Ethan's wife who is very sick and is not very attractive, Mattie Silver is Zenobia's cousin who comes to help them and Ethan thinks the is attractive and Denis is the man that Ethan hates because he finds out the Mattie has feelings for him.

3. The minor characters are Mrs. Hale who is the Fromes' neighbor, Andrew Hale who helps Ethan keep his sanity and is an elderly man and has a lot of life experience, Harmon Gow is the town gossiper who talks about Ethan and says he should not be in a relationship, and Jotham Powell is paid by Ethan to help him on the farm.

4. The main conflict is Ethan, who's wife is very sick, tries to decide whether he should tell his wife's cousin how he feels about her and the things and people surrounding him make him think about his conflict.

5. The story does not have a turning point because everything keeps getting worse for Ethan as his life gets more and more miserable.

6. The resolution was that Ethan and Mattie did not want to leave each other so they killed themselves so they don't have to live with not being together.

7. The solution of the story was suicide, which is never a good solution to anything in my opinion but other people have different views and are entitled to their opinion.

8. The major themes of the book is being able to deal with yourself when you know you are wrong and finding a way to be able to deal with yourself, and the minor themes are that nothing good comes out of deception and lying and also if you don't feel bad for other people bad things might happen to you.

9. The title of the book is the protagonist's name and it has no specific meaning.

10. I learned that making mistakes is part of life but should not be made into a lifestlye, and i also learned that it is important to forgive yourself just as much as it is important to forgive other people.

The Pearl

The Pearl written by John Steinbeck is work of fiction. In The Pearl there are multiple settings, the first setting is the village were Kino and his family lives. This village is were most of the story takes place. The next setting is the village were Kino goes to sell his pearl and were all the corruption is. The last setting is the mountain were Kino runs into the trackers who were sent by the corrupt people to kill Kino and take his pearl. The main characters are Kino the protagonist who is a pearl diver and finds a huge Pearl, Kino sees this as a way to get his family out of poverty. Juana Kino's wife who is supportive of Kino and helps him through it all. The Doctor who is the only doctor in the town and doesn't care about the people and only cares about money and hires the trackers to kill Kino and retrieve the pearl. The minor characters are Coyotitio Kino's son who is killed by the trackers on the mountain. Juan-Tomas Kino's older brother who lives in the same village as Kino and helps Kino through everything. Apolonia Juan-Tomas' wife who is the mother of four children and helps Juana with raising Coyotitio. The pearl dealers who buy and sell the pearls and are one of the most corrupt characters in the story. The trackers are the men who were hired by the doctor to kill Kino and retrieve the pearl. The main conflict in the book is when Kino brings the pearl other dealers the dealers give him low prices and one refuses to buy it. Then Kino decides to go to the city to sell the pearl for its right price. Then the doctor highers the trackers to get the pearl. The trackers then catch up to Kino at the mountain were Kino kills the trackers but in the fight Coyotitio is killed and that is the end of the conflict. The turning point in the book is when Kino decided to go to the city. The resolution of the book is when Kino and Juana return to the village. The conclusion of the story is when Kino and Juana return to the village and go sit near the ocean. When they sit near the ocean they talk about the pearl and how it destroyed their lives. When they are done talking Kino through the pearl into the ocean and the story ends. The theme of the book is greed, in the book we learn that greed is the thing that destroys Kino's life. Kino found the Pearl he was gonna sell it and use the money to help his family. Even though he was going to use the money to help his family he was being greedy, and unfortunately his son had to pay for it with his life. The title of the book is The Pearl because it represents the huge pearl that changed Kino's life. I learned many things from The Pearl but the main thing I learned that if you are greedy nothing but bad will come of it. I only have one question and that is how did John Steinbeck think of such a great story.

Frankenstein

I am reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. So far it is about a man Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein has been sending letters to his childhood friend Elizabeth. Frankenstein is in Ingolstadt attending college. While at college, Victor is interested in the creation of life and where it comes from. One night he decides to create a creature. When he finishes his creature and brings it to life, he is scared of the way it looks and he tries to escape it. He goes to sleep but awakes to find his monster waiting over him.

VOCABULARY
Ardently- intense feeling
Reprobated- a wicked person
Physiognomy- the art of determining character or personal characteristics
Infallibly- absolutely trustworthy
Arduous- requiring great exertion

The Catcher in the Rye

The book that i'm reading is the catcher in the rye. The main conflict in the book is the main character is being kicked out of his school, and its about what him and his friends do in there free time. However, there seems to be a deeper message in the book which is finding yourself, and where you belong in the world. As the story continues he kind of finds himself along the way.

Zorro

1. Title of the book is Zorro and the author of the book is Isabel Allenda.

2. It was published in 2006.

1.       3. The purpose of this book is to tell about a life story of a guy name Zorro who is a hero.

2.       4. How great Zorro is?

3.       1) emulate- If you emulate something or someone, you imitate them because you admire them a great deal.

2) neophyte -novice

3) hidalgo – a member of lower nobility in Spain

4) doubloon – a former Spanish gold coin

5 ) temperament – inborn talent

4.       5.  The story seemed good so far but the book is a bit hard for me.

to kill a mockingbird

The title of the book is To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. In the book Jem and Scout befriend a boy named Dill. Scout starts to go to school and she gets into a quarrel with a boy named Walter. This shows that Scout might be a contentious character at this point in the story and maybe later on as well. Walter is later invited to Scout's house for dinner. During dinner Scout was impertinent, to Walter, and Calpurnia admonished Scout about being polite. Jem finds gifts in a void inside of a tree, in front of Boo Radley's house which was eerie to them. Jem knew if his father Atticus ascertained this information it would be a calamity. Jem eventually dissembled the information about the gifts in the tree to Scout.

5 words from book

sawhorse- a movable frame or trestle for supporting wood being sawed.

divert- to draw off to a different course (di- two and vert-turn)

ramrod- a cleaning rod for a barrel of a gun

scuttle- a deep bucket used to carry coal.

bewilder- to confuse or to puzzle completely

Frankenstein

I am reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. So far it is about a man Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein has been sending letters to his childhood friend Elizabeth. Frankenstein is in Ingolstadt attending college. While at college, Victor is interested in the creation of life and where it comes from. One night he decides to create a creature. When he finishes his creature and brings it to life, he is scared of the way it looks and he tries to escape it. He goes to sleep but awakes to find his monster waiting over him.

ALEX RIDER: SCORPIA RISING

Read the opening chapter of your selected book and answer these questions:
1) title and author? date published?
2) general purpose of this book?
3) narrative hook? quote it.
4) define five key words from the opening chapter.
5) is your book any good? (your evaluation so far, questions you may have about what you read or about what is unfolding.

The title of the book is Alex Rider: Scorpia Rising and the author is Anthony Horowitz. The date it was published was January 17, 2011. The general purpose of the book was to entertain the audience with another sequel to the acclaimed Alex Rider series. The narrative hook is "The man in the BLACK CASHMERE coat climbed down the steps of his private, six-seater Learjet 40 and stood for a moment, his breath frosting in the chill morning air. My book is very interesting and every sentence keeps me hooked to the book and on the edge of my seat.

1. cashmere - a type of fabric used to make clothing

2. Learjet 40 - a type of aircraft

3. espionage - spying

4. Elgin Marbles - marbles from a spefic place in Egypt

5. - King's Cross International - a place in England.

"The Language of God" by Francis S. Collins

In the story that I am reading, The Language of God, has not been progressing at a very fast pace. Since the last blog update not much different has occurred. Francis is bringing his attention closer to the thought of God and evolution. He is becoming more and more interested in the different views of others views and reasons of why to believe in God putting us here or evolution helping us evolve. Not much has been put forward in the story yet because of the length of it. Hopefully in the next chapter there will be more information of Francis' live given.

Vocab

1. quantum- a share or portion

2. fragments- a part broken off or detached

3. invariably- not capable of being changed

4. plausibly- having an appearance of reason or truth

5. subsequently- following in order or successions

Pele's New World

The author begins the first few chapters talking about Pele's evolution through his journey to the professional level. As you can imagine his journey to the player that he was known as was not easy. Pele has to go through many hardships including money, his mothers decision, and being homesick. Relating to the first chapter, "I only wanted to be my father", Pele truly only wants to be his father and that helps motivate him and provoke his motivation. When he gets invited to play for his first team he is offered more money then he would get in four months with his other jobs. Pele is also not used to some of the benefits of being a professional, for example, the fields. Pele was only used to playing on dirt and hard ground. When he gets to play in the stadium he is not used to the grass and how slow the ball moves compared to the hard surface.

1. Mezzotint- to engrave a picture in the mezzotint

2. Tantamount- equivalent in seriousness to; virtually the same as

3. Subtle- so delicate or precise as to be difficult to analyze or describe

4.Yeomanly- historical of, relating to
5.Poignant- evoking a keen sense of sadness of regret

Black Hawk Down

The title of the book is "Black Hawk Down". This book is written by Mark Bowden. So far from reading this book i am really interested in what will happen next to the men. You really cannot tell at this point if they will make it. Many of the men that they have become close to have died and they are very upset about that. They try to not let that phase them, but you can tell as a reader that it does. I am looking forward to see what will be the final result for the men, life or death?

Black Hawk Down

The title of the book is "Black Hawk Down". This book is written by Mark Bowden. The purpose of this book is ot give the reader "me" a first hand perspective about the missions and the overall feel of what occurs in the war. The narrative hook in this book is before liftoff when Matt Eversmann said a Hail mary. ("at liftoff Matt Eversmann said a Hail Mary") From reading this quote you really understand how dangerous this mission is. Some key words that I found in the first chapter are:

CSAR- Combat Search and Rescue

SOAR- Special Operations Aviation Regiment

SEAL- Sea, Air, Land

Ah-6 Little Birds- two seater bubble front attack helicopters that could fly just about anywhere

Tarmac- is commonly used to signify a runway

So far after reading this book I enjoyed it. I am looking forward to reading mor of what is to come for these troops.