All Quiet on the Western Front Post 5

AQWF is getting really good. Thanks to both Quinn Deeds and my mom and dad's reccomendations I have successfully chosen a book that I do not want to put down. I feel that I like it so much because the author, Erich Remarque's, writing style is so vivid and interactive that the reader feels as though he has known a character like Paul Baumer for a while. I left off where Paul and his comrades are just leaving the hospital. They have just visited their friend Kemmerich who has just had his leg amputated. They are all grieving for Kemmerich because the doctors told the guys that he will probably not make it through the night. As they enter his room all of them try to maintain the best of spirits but are still very melancholy. One of Pauls commrades sees a pair of Kemmerichs very nice, stern, top of the line boots lying under the bed and kind of pesters Kemmerich in which I portrayed to be a very jerk-like thing to do for a friend who is dying and needs all the confidence he can get. But as Paul's friend pesters Kemmerich to have the boots Paul notices that Kemmerichs eyes no longer have that "flicker of life" as they used to. He feels sorry for his friend and elbows his pestering commrade in the gut to make him stop. The guys leave the hospital all down in the dumps like for they are going to miss their old friend who used to fight alongside them, as would any human being at the loss of someone who was dear to them.

Annotation 2

Beriebeck, Helmut. "Why Soft Drinks Contribute to Obesity." Natural News.com. 1 Sept. 2008. 7 Dec. 2008 .
The author, Helmut Beriebeck, talks about how the increased consumption of soft drinks over the past years has been a contributing factor to the increased obesity rates. In his first statement Beriebeck talks about how high fructose corn syrup which was introduced 30 years ago is now a main ingredient in almost all soft drinks. Now this may just seem coincidential at first but not after studies that have been done. Studies have shown that high fructose syrup does not trigger the same safety signals to the body as something like sucrose sweetening does. So because of the increased intake of high fructose corn syrup due to the increased intake of things like soft drinks one can conclude that high fructose corn syrup is a major leading cause of obesity in many people’s lives.

Annotation 1

Chow, Reuben. "Five Ways One Has To Pay the Price for Obesity." Natural News.com. 3 Nov. 2008. 7 Dec. 2008 .
The author, Reuben Chow, uses facts to show five ways obesity negatively affects people financially. His first point is that obesity causes higher medical costs. Chow uses “The Fattening of America” by Eric Finkelstein and Laurie Zuckerman to argue his point. “The Fattening of America” states that obese males medical costs will be $170 more than a lighter males and an obese females medical costs will be $495 more than that of a lighter female. In the second point Chow says that obese persons will have a lower average income. According to a study that was done at Stanford University obese men and women earn $3.41 less than that of a lighter male or female which adds up to more than $7,000 a year. In Chow’s third point he uses the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to describe how obese Americans lose more work hours due to medical problems. On average the institute says that an obese American will lose about a week of work every year due to health related problems. In Chow’s fourth point he uses the journal The Engineering Economist to stress that obese Americans use more gasoline than a lighter average American. Due to their increased weight the car is forced to work harder therefore using more gasoline. In Chow’s fifth and final point he talks about how obese men and women have higher cost of air travel. Airplanes like cars burn more fuel with heavier passengers. Another cause is that obese passengers may have to purchase more than one seat to accompany their proper needs. Overall what I think Chow is trying to get across is that with the economy as is obese people are really going to struggle because they are forced to pay more just to do their daily routines; driving, flying, working. So in general being healthy can save you a lot of money.

All Quiet on the Western Front Post 4

AQWF is getting pretty good. Right now in the book Paul Baumer and his fellow comrades just finished visiting their very good friend, who was also part of their troop, Kemmerich. Their friend Kemmerich is in the hospital for a reason that is unknown. All we know is that he has just woken up from surgery in which his leg has been amputated. Before Paul and his friends went into see Kemmerich the doctor told the guys that Kemmerich did not yet know that his leg had been amputated for he was just waking up from the surgery and was not fully "with it" so the guys were not supposed to mention anything to him. The doctor also mentioned that Kemmerich may not make it through the night. As the scene progresses the guys talk with their friend and fellow soldier. Kemmerich is in a good deal of pain and the guys try to keep his mind off it by reminising about old times. You can tell by the tone of Paul's thoughts that he is very sad that his friend will not be with him much longer. Paul can see the mourning in all of the guys' eyes and they all just sit around in a melancholy sort of manner. This is the first point in the book where we actually experience sadness and grieving on a first hand level with the soldiers. In past passages they had not been mourning but just sort of recalling previous deaths of other soldiers, this is the first dying friend of theirs that we actually encounter while he's still alive. The chapter ends with the guys walking out of the room and persuading the nurse with cigarettes to give Kemmerich some more morphine.

All Quiet on the Western Front Post 3

In this next section of AQWF Paul Baumer talks about the differences between the liberty and respect for their country they teach in schools and the love you feel for your country out on the battlefield. He quotes this by saying, "While they continued to write and talk, we saw the wounded and the dying. While they taught that duty to one's country is the greatest thing, we already new that death-throes are stronger." This quote really shows that learning about one's respect and love for his/her country is very very different than actually having to go into action and be the one who is respected for defending one's country because of his/her love for the country. So overall the message I think Paul is really trying to get across to the reader is, is that in order to really know or feel something you have to experience it first hand, you cant be taught pride and suffering and sacrifice from a teacher you have to experience it on your own in order to really know what its like to win a battle when your outnumbered 10:1, to lose eight of your best friends in a battle, to have nothing to eat for days on end except the bugs and mice that inhabit your trench. I am really excited to keep reading this book because its not just one of those stories that has constant action, little plot, and weak character development; this book really goes into the lives and hearts of soldiers that fought for their lives and their country and it has taught me to really appreciate the things I have and respect the men and women that have laid down their lives for the lives of others.

All Quiet on the Western Front Post 2

As you come into the novel you meet a young soldier in his early twenties in the German army. The soldier is named Paul Baumer and is stationed in a base on the western front of Germany. All Quiet on the Western Front is told in first person by Paul. The novel starts off by introducing each one of the soldiers in Pauls squad. There are eight men in his squad, but eight were also lost in the previous battle. Paul talks about the hardships they have to deal with and how fortunate they are when his squad recieves double rations of cigars, cigarettes, and chewing tobacco. I really felt like I was a soldier stationed at his location in these first couple of chapters by how Erich Remarque, the author of the novel, goes so far as to describe the language they use and how their "parents and school teachers would have been astounded at the language they used but it was soldier talk and thats how they spoke. The food rations and the way the soldiers eat is also depicted in very vivid detail. When the cook makes an amount of food that is double what is needed the soldiers jump on the idea of getting a double ration, for they are hungry constantly and, as Paul describes, on their shifts they sometimes go two weeks on almost nothing except spoiled meat and moldy bread, which still barely even quenches their hunger. Right now in the book I still have a couple questions. The first being, where exactly are they stationed. Currently in the novel Remarque has made no notion as to where Paul and his fellow soldiers are stationed except that they are stationed somewhere on the western front of Germany. The second being, how far into the war are they? Has it just started or have the Americans already invaded Normandy. I am really excited to keep reading this novel one, because its a war book, and two because it is told from the perspective of a German soldier which could provide some further insight on what the war was like on the German side of things.

Quantum of Solace

Two weekends ago my friends and I went to go see the new bond movie at the AMC Southdale movie theater. Going into the movie I was super pumped and ready for a good action packed classic-bond type movie which included awesome gadgets, sweet killing manuvers, great action scenes and some smoking hot babes. The movie opened with an intense car chase scene involving Daniel Craig and the "villan/bad-guy" car chasing after him. The whole chase was filled with awesome manuvers, and high flying action but it was confusing which I didnt really like because I was not able to identify any of the villans. But at least one of the aspects had been filled; great action scene. Then the action shifted to Haiti where Bond was assigned to look for some man who may contain crucial evidence. This is where the smokin hot babes aspect comes into play. We are introduced to a new character named Camille who is played by Olga Kurylenko an absolutly stunning sight. Like Vesper in Casino Royale she to sort of plays both sides of the spectrum getting involved with both Dominic Green and James Bond. So theres the second aspect of my expectations filled but I am still kind of lost and am not liking how there is no plot devolopment yet. As I sat there in the movie theater I thought to myself wow James Bond has really just turned into a Jason Bourne film. Now dont get me wrong I LOVE Bourne films but the difference between Quantum of Solace and a Bourne film is that the Bourne films actually had some character and plot development where QOS was lacking that important aspect. When I left the theater that night I thought to myself wow I payed to go see a Bond movie but instead I ended up paying for a Bourne like movie. I am really dissatisfied with what Bond has come to, which is basically non-stop action, no plot development, and a lot of confusion. So whoever is producing these movies should start watching the classic bonds with Sean Connery and Roger Moore to really get a good view on who bond is really supposed to be.

Outside Reading Post 1

The book I have chosen to read for outside reading this quarter is called All Quiet on the Western Front. I chose to read this because it is about war and I have heard that it has a lot of action in it. Now I need a book that will make me want to keep reading and a book that I wont want to set down. I also chose this book because my mom told me she had read it when she was my age. She said that she loved it and reccomended that I read it if I wanted a good book. I am really excited about reading this book because it is something new and by an author I have never heard of; Erich Maria Remarque. All Quiet on the Western Front is a book about a German World War I veteran telling about the horrors of war and the detacthment soldiers felt after returning to Germany. This book sounds really great because it is told from a german soldiers point of view. This pov will provide a whole new look at WWI and I believe it can enlighten me on looking at the war in a whole new way and will let me see the Germans side of things. I am really looking forward to reading this book and I dont think I will be dissapointed.

The World Series

Wow. How dissapointing. First Scott Kazmir. Unbelievable last game. Getting pulled in the fifth??? What the heck. This not the juggernaut pitcher we saw during the regular season. Walk after walk he struggled, while being able to maintain the phillies two run lead he still was a huge dissapointment. Secondly, Evan Longoria??!! Ranked in the top twenty players in the MLB, and going 0-16 coming into this game!!! What is he thinking. I know every baseball player, all ages, goes into slumps because I am one of them. But in the most important series of games of your life?? Ahh I dont think thats the best time, sorry Longoria, whether its changing your socks, rutine, or changing your bathroom schedule, you better think seriously about changing your current way of playing, and fast. No better was Carlos Pena. He's been at the top of the lineup for the whole year and is part of the backbone of the team and he as well has gone hitless in this world series. UNBELIEVABLE! I have never ever seen a team with this much talent and potential go into the seven most important games of their life and play like this. Now for those of you reading this dont get me wrong, I am still a huge rays fan and have been cheering for them the whole season but I among the other many rays fans, am very frusterated in their playing. I just think Joe Maddon better get his players in shape for this next game and better pump them up and get them situated more than ever before. This game is a must win and I have faith in the rays, I always have. So good luck rays and lets beat THOSE PHILLIES!!!!!

Rays win.

Alright. I know a lot of people have been saying that anybody who wanted the rays to win is just jumping on the bandwagon. BUT I AM NOT. Ha but seriously. I still cannot believe they won the game and the series. After watching them lose in the first game to the sox 2-0 I was absolutely extatic when I watched them absolutely inialate them three games in a row. I know it may sound cruel but it made my two days to see redsox fans on the verge of tears when they were defeated 9-1 and 13-4!! It was unbelievable, something I dont think anyone saw coming. After those two games my heart was actually up in my throat October 19th after the sox had just won two straight. The sox definitly had the momentum coming into game 7 and hopes for the rays were definitly not up for most rays fans. It was the first inning and Dustin Pedroia stepped up to the plate. With a 1-2 count Pedroia blasted a fastball delivered by Matt Garza to deep left field. It was only the first inning and the rays were already in the whole. But as the game progressed Matt Garza just shut down in a total of seven innings pitched he had 9 k's, only 1 ER, and only allowed two hits. He seemed unstoppable. He wasnt the only one though holding up the team, with scores in the 4th and 5th inning and a homerun from Willy Aybar off of Jonathon Lester the rays had taken all pre game momentum from the sox and transfered onto their team. Its the ninth inning and all the rays had to do was get three solid outs, and Price did just that. He closed the game out to give the rays a very solid win to win a very tough played ALCS.

No Country for Old Men

I am currently reading no country for old men for my outside reading book report. It became widely known after the Coen Brothers made a movie based on the book. Its a story about a low income couple living in Texas, Llewelyn Moss and Carla Jean. One day while hunting Llewelyn comes across a very disturbing and astonishing site. Their are ford pickups everywhere shot up and a handful of dogs and men lying dead. When he walks up to the scene he discovers loads of heroine, and two million dollars. Not really knowing what to do or where to go, Llewelyn does what he will later regret, he takes the money. But it doesnt stop there. The money and heroine belong to one of the most dangerous drug dealing psychopaths ever known to man kind. He is a ruthless killer who will stop at nothing to get his money and drugs back. Llewelyn takes his wife to go stay with her mother and Llewelyn is on the road running for more than just his safety, now its his life thats on the line.
No Country takes many unexpected twists and turns with constant action. Cormac McCarthy does a great job of portraing each character and not letting you want to set it down. It is a must read for anyone interested in gun fighting, high speed action, mystery, or just looking for a great novel.

Vikes Pull It Out

It was there second monday night game this season. They were 1-3 and Gus wasn't playing all that bad, he just really didn't have anyone to work with except for running backs Chestor Taylor and Adrian Peterson. Ten minutes before gametime the espn guys took their picks on who was going to win the game. The Vikings recieved all but six votes; seven people had voted. So if you could do some rocket science here that left us with a grand total of one vote. Well as the bible says, "the first shall be last and the last shall be first", I doubt anyone had a ton of faith that the Vikes would win the game. But anyways, four minutes into the game Drew Brees rifled a pass to wide reciever Deverie Henderson in the endzone to put the saints up on the board. It seemed that all hope was lost until at about six minutes left in the first quarter Antoine Winfield shows gave some light to what seemed to be a dark turn out. As the Vikings defensive line got their hands up and blocked the field goal attempt the ball flew backwards right into the hands of Winfield to give the Vikings their first score of the game. But neither the Vikings nor Winfield was about to let down now.
The second quarter had just started and the saints had the ball. Brees dropped back into the pocket but Winfield had his number ever since the snap, Antoine bolted outside the saints tight end coming around and pummeling Brees. You can call what happened next luck but I think the football gods were watching down on Antoine that day because when he sacked Brees the ball just sorta rolled right into the hands of Winfield once again. Winfields big play lead to another score for the Vikings putting them on the board once again. The rest of the Second quarter just resulted in big play after big play. From Chad Greenways missed facemask call on Reggie Bush resulting in a turnover, to Ben Lebers amazing interception. The Vikings definitly had the upperhand going into the second half.
But not all hope was lost for the saints, it was demonstrated with three minutes left in the third quarter. Reggie Bush was back for the punt return, he recieved the ball and just booked it down the field dodging everything the Vikings put out for him, Bush hit a top speed of TWENTY ONE MILES PER HOUR, it was olympic like speeds. And just like that the saints were back in it.
The fourth quarter came with many surprises and poor play calling. The Vikings were forced to punt once again with Reggie once again back to recieve it. Now this is where the poor play calling comes in. What Childress should have had Longwell do is just boot the ball as far as humanly possible and give the saints a touchback, but no they decided to kick it right into the hands of Bush, and boy did he capitalize on it. Bush litterally jumped through and over defenders to plow his way to another SIXTY FOUR YARD TD! He became the first guy since nineteen eighty four to have two punt returns in the same game. This punched a huge hole into the Vikings level of moral. But they werent about to give up yet.
With seven minutes left to play in the game Feorotte dropped back and launched one down the field to what at first appeared to be an incomplete pass, but Bernard Berrian somehow worked some magic and came up with the ball for a score to tie the game at twenty seven a piece. Then with a missed field goal by the saints the Vikings had one last shot to give it all they had to try and get a huge "W" on the board. After a huge mistake on the saints part by recieving a pass interference penalty on Bernard Berrian the Vikes saw the opportunity to prove everyone wrong. Longwell got the snap and kicked the field goal to score the final points of the game, a huge win for the Vikings.

White Sox Tigers Game

Ugh yesterday at four o'clock I entered the schwappach household, booked it to the living room and turned on the tv to channel twenty two. My heart sank as I looked at the scoreboard and the sox were up one nothing. But when I looked to the right I saw that it was only the second inning so my heart returned to its normal position in my body. As the game continued the tigers began to restore some hope back into my head by scoring two really solid runs against this first place powerhouse team. It was the bottom of the sixth inning and the tigers were beggining to show some signs of laziness and fatigue. With an error, and two wild pitches the bases were loaded up. Alexi Ramirez stepped up the the plate. There was one out and an 0-0 count when the pitcher threw a fastball just off the plate. Alexi showed true skill and maturity by capitalizing on this rare pitch and smashing it to deep left field for a grand slam. I screamed so loud I think my neighbors three houses down heard me. I was mad at alexi, I was mad at the pitcher, I was mad at the world as a whole. Now I know Yogi Berra's old saying of, "It aint over, till its over" but right then I knew the sox had done it and the Twins would be playing game number one hundred and sixty three tomorow. My prediction was correct. After the sixth inning everything just went downhill for the tigers. Constant errors led to more scored runs which eventually led to a final score of 8-2. I will never ever like Alexi Ramirez again for what he did but I have every once of fail contained in my body that the Twins can pull it out and make their first playoff appearance in two years. GO TWINS!!!!!

The Vikings Game

Over the weekend after I had finished caddying I was able catch most of the vikings game on sunday. It was a game against the carolina panthers and the panthers had just gotten steve smith back. The panthers had also just come off of two big wins and had some strong motivation on their side, so with a new quarterback, an 0-2 record, the vikings didnt have the odds in their favor by any means. But as the game progressed and Gus Frerotte was able to get warmed up the Vikings were able to put up a very strong and surprising fight against the 2-0 panthers. Upon being a non-tavaris jackson fan I was excited to see Gus Frerotte back in the starting spot and was ready for some change the current failing game style of the Vikings. But when the Vikings' Antoine Winfield recovered the fumble and returned it for a TD my hopes for a good game to a wild turn and I was back to a optimistic thinking fan. As the final seconds ticked down in the fourth quarter of the game I was very satisfied at how the Vikings had played the game and was happy for Gus Frerotte on winning in his first appearance of the season. I hope to see more of these well played games and I hope we keep on winning.

How I Feel About Siddhartha

I feel that Siddhartha could be a very good character, with his ability to meditate and connect with the gods and his very mature personality he has the potential to be a very good person who could teach others and learn a lot from others. But instead of him being good he's kind of ignorant and selfish. I understand how he wants to try to find his inner self and get away from the lazy, selfish, brahim ancestors but there is another way of doing so. He doesnt have to run from it, he can learn from it and change his and others ways of doing things. When he joins samanas he learns a lot about transfering his soul to others and learning to concentrate hard on "trying to not be hungry" or , "when he's thirsty, he'll try to wait until he's not thirsty" but if he really wants to find his inner self he needs to use what he has been given by god which are the graces of being good looking, his ability to connect to the gods, his meditation skills, and his good friendship he could be a very significant figure in his society and contribute his many gifts but instead he tries to starve himself and give away his soul to other beings. He needs a kick in the head to get his wheels back on the road.

Something Viewed

Over the weekend while I was surfing the channels for something worth while to watch I turned to espn, on it was dirt bike competitions. There were competitors flying throught the air doing backflips, side flips, 360's, and much much more. I thought to myself "wow this sport isnt really that great and isnt that interesting." But as I thought more about it I realized how much science, physics, and skill it really does take to fly through the air doing backflips, and side flips, and being able to land perfectly on dirt ramp after you have succesfully executed your trick. I also realized that it was a sport of measurment. The slightest slip up in the air could result in instant death, if the bike accidentally tilts even an inch to the side you could land wrong on the ramp and the bike could come crashing down ontop of you resulting in serious injury and/or death. So overall I learned not to judge something on how it looks, but how it really is behind the curtains.

A Journey I intend to Take

A journey I intend to take is where I will or would want to go to college. Right now I am clueless on where I would like to go but this year is when I will start to explore. This year will also be the year where I will really buckle down on all my school work and start to really concentrate on being an overachiever on everything I do. I will do all my school work to the best of my ability so that I will recieve the highest grade possible. This will really pay off for the future to ensure that I will be able to get into a college that is good and that I enjoy.

Alex is Awesome

My name is alex. This is my super cool blog, which i will personalize and make my own ( but not post pics of myself on or use my last neame on). I will always use appropriate language on my school blog and follow the conventions of the English language. the expectation for thes assignment is that I post on my blog once a week for the remainder of the school year. I am expected to comment on texts that I am viewing in the world around me. These might include, but are not limited too: books, magazines, movies, internet articles, television shows, trips to museums, etc. Each post should be at least 200 words. Each weekly post is due by 8am on that wednesday. Therefore, Q1 due dates are: 9/17, 9/24, 10/1, 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, and 10/29. That makes for a total of 7 posts this frirst quarter. I understand that blogging is a significant component of my quarter grade. By the way what I have just typed is only 196 words! Now it is 200!