Hurricane Sandy

I recently read the article called “Hurricane Sandy Doesn’t Stop Concerned Voters From Going to the Polls,” by Nicholas Fevelo, this article is mostly about hurricane sandy not being able to stop people from voting no matter how badly there homes and there lives are wrecked from the hurricane. At first the article talks about how badly the hurricane-damaged places in New York City are. But even if these places are damaged this bad that won’t stop people there from voting. When the streets are flooded, the polls are still open. People still went to vote, even when their houses were flooded. One woman said, “Materially, I’ve lost everything,” she said. “Everything is in ruins. But I have to go vote. I’m an American — 15th generation. My family came here in 1621. It’s our civic duty. But I believe in Mr. Obama and I sincerely feel he has to continue.” Another said “No country can compare to America, I can work here, go to school here, my children can go to school here. America is still the leader of the world, and it needs the best leader,” as she talks about her thoughts on the upcoming election. This article shows how badly the hurricane effected people in the Northeast area, and how even when there homes are wrecked and damaged, they still want to go vote.


 “Everything is in ruins. But I have to go vote. I’m an American — 15th generation. My family came here in 1621. It’s our civic duty. But I believe in Mr. Obama and I sincerely feel he has to continue.”           
This quote shows me how important voting is to Americans. This woman had lost everything, her entire house was in ruins, but she still went to vote. It also shows me how much America means to some people she has been here since 1621 and she feels that it is her duty as an American to vote. Many Americans don’t even vote, and to see somebody when they are in this type of situation, to go and vote is incredible. That’s why I picked it to use for this blog.

“My house is under 4 feet of water, but I would like to express my civic duty, I would like to lend a hand in re-electing President Obama,” said one man.
This quote from the article shows me how torn and devastated some people are from hurricane Sandy. They have lost their homes and are in terrible shape. What impresses me is the fact that people still would like to go out and vote. They decide not to try and fix up their house or drain their basements, they would like to go out and vote for the president. This showed me how much voting means to some people. That’s why I chose it for my blog post.

In conclusion this article has showed me a lot of things about Americans and how important voting is to them. This article showed me how that Americans will stop at nothing to go and vote. Many people had four feet of water in their houses and they went to vote because that is more important to them. This article was also an eye- opener for me. I now realize how lucky we are to live here. Our government is great, and the people know it. In other countries there would be not as much aid as there is here in America. The citizens are helping out too. That’s another thing I really like about this country, the sense of community, and how many people give up their time to help people and places in New York that have been effected by the hurricane.
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Hunger Games

I recently finished reading the book, The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. All throughout this book I didn't know what was going to happen. I had no idea that Katniss and Peeta would both be aloud to win the games. I had no idea that Thresh was going to let Katniss live and kill Clove. The whole book was amazing. This book makes me want to go out and buy the 2nd and 3rd books myself. So I am going to make a prediction. My prediction is that the 2nd and 3rd books in The Hunger Games series will have to do with an uprising and rebellion of the districts. I think this because in the end when Katniss and Peeta think that they have won the hunger games but then on the loudspeaker the capitol says that there can only be one winner, so Katniss and Peeta decide that they should both eat the poisonous berries so the capitol could have no winner. This shows that Katniss and Peeta both would be willing to risk their lives to stand up to the capitol. Which is what I think they will do in the next two books. Just as they are about to kill themselves the loudspeaker comes on and says that they can both win. That also shows how much Peeta and Katniss both hate the capitol.

"Smile" by Raina Telgemeier

     I recently finished reading the book "Smile" by Raina Telgemeier, this book was about a girl named Raina who falls down and gets her two front teeth knocked out; and has to undergo series of treatments to get her teeth to look normal. When she comes back from all of her treatments all of her friends and peers look a her funny, and ask her questions about what happened. I can relate to her because I once came back from getting a surgery and everyone looked at me funny.
     I admire Raina's perseverance and how she gets through all of the tough things that happened to her. She had to live with everyone thinking she is weird because she had a really big problem with her two front teeth. She also gets picked on a lot in the story so I also admire the fact that she is able to get past whats happening to her, while being picked on.
     At one point in the story, Raina comes back to school after she got her teeth knocked out and had surgery. When she comes back to school her first day everyone asks her so many questions that she becomes overwhelmed and feels uncomfortable. The same thing happened to me. Last year I had a surgery and it was really hard to come back to school, I felt overwhelmed and i felt uncomfortable as well. I can understand how she was feeling during the story and relate to it well.
     Raina's perseverance and courage to be able to keep going when she feels uncomfortable and overwhelmed inspires me.
 

Swine Cells Could Power Artificial Liver

     I just read the article "Swine Cells Could Power Artificial Liver," it was about a scientist named Niel Talbot, who thinks that a line of special liver cells could change the fact that there is no effective therapy at the moment to deal with the toxins that build up in your body. He interviewed the American Society of Animal Science who he discussed with the functions of a pig liver compared to a human liver. He thought a pig liver could preform many of the same functions as a human liver could form. He calls pig liver cells PICM-19. The cell line can is called immortal because it can divide infinitely, this is because it is derived of cancer cells. With more research and more time and effort PICM-19 could turn into something that replaces artificial livers. PICM-19 also helped Talbot study malaria and toxoplasmosis. This is something that in the future could help save people's lives. 

Reading Responce due on 2/14

      My book is called " The Art of Racing in the Rain." It is told by an old dog who is going to die soon. He talks about his adventures with his owner. He started off the story by talking about his present state, and how he doesn't want to die because he will forget everything when he becomes re-incarnated as a human. The reason the book is called The Art of Racing in the Rain is because the dog's owner is a race car driver, whom is quite good. He teaches Enzo (the dog) his secrets about doing well when "Racing in the Rain." This excites Enzo who is very happy for his owner, until racing tears them apart. Enzo's owner has to go for a racing tour for 8 months. This makes it hard for Enzo because he has to live with Eve, his owner's wife, who gives him a less than adequate amount of attention.
    Enzo is some sort of philosopher when it comes to dogs. He compares himself to Steven Hawking. He says that if he had a machine just like Steven Hawking did he could be as smart as him. Enzo is starting to also have interests in the child, Zoe, who he would give his life for. This shows you something about dogs.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

    This book is unlike any book i have ever read before. Normally books are told by a person, but never by a dog. This dog's name is Enzo he seems very smart, and even refers to himself as a human trapped in a dogs body. He says the most interesting thing he has ever seen was a documentary he watched on tv about reincarnation. He learned that many cultures believe that after dogs are reincarnated then they become a human at some point. This has had him thinking about life lately, but he doesn't want to die yet because he knows he will loose all of his memories.

Exit Here, Finished

Pages 358-440

     I have finally finished the book, "Exit Here" by Jason Myers. This was an amazing book. At the end of the book Travis goes to turn himself in for a murder that he thinks he did, when he finds out that the girl overdosed on drugs; he is put in Jail for 18 months for not filing criminal activity. During his trial his lawyer tells him to fight the case, but Travis pleads guilty. He had no reason to do this, he could have fought the case and won, but he decided to go to jail. Travis did this because for once in his life he had to take responsibility for his actions. His best friend Cliff never took responsibility, and in the last chapter he ended up dead. This is an important lesson for everyone to understand. Taking responsibilities for your actions will do good things for you.