Vocabulary #2

accoutrements: the equipment, excluding weapons and clothing, of a soldier. Personal clothing.
Her doll came with tiny accoutrements to play with.
apogee: the highest or most distant point; climax.
The ball was hit at its apogee, for maximum strength and efficiency.
apropos: opportunely; opportune.
Her shirt was apropos to the theme of the party.
bicker: to engage in petulant or peevish argument; to glitter.
They always seemed to bicker about their differences.
coalesce: to blend or come together.
The two water drops eventually coalesced into one giant blob of water.
contretemps: an embarrassing mischance.
Her contretemps proved how much of a klutz she was.
convolution: a rolled up or coiled condition.
The burrito was a convolution of flavors.
cull: to choose; select; pick.
She had to cull which wedding dress she wanted.
disparate: distinct in kind; essentially different.
The colors of their skin were disparate, but they were still equal.

dogmatic: asserting opinions in a doctrinaire or arrogant manner; opinionated. 

Her opinions were dogmatic and no one appreciated them.

licentious: going beyond customary or proper bounds or limits; disregarding rules.

His licentious way of ignoring him really made him angry.

mete: to distribute or apportion by measure; allot.

He meted out his family's dinner plate by plate.

noxious: harmful or injurious to health or physical well-being.
The noxious fumes were engulfing the house.
polemic: a person who argues in opposition to another.
He was a polemic when he disagreed with his sister.
populous: jammed or crowded with people.
There's no more populous place than Times Square on New Year's Eve.
probity: integrity and uprightness; honesty.
Her probity shone through when she told her mother how she broke her favorite plate.
repartee: a quick, witty reply.
Her repartee was so fast that her dad didn't know what to say.
supervene: to take place or occur as something additional or extraneous. To ensue.
Arthritis soon supervened, and her she couldn't play tennis anymore.
truncate: to cut short.
She truncated his speech very rudely.
unimpeachable: impossible to discredit.
She had unimpeachable motives to ruin her enemy's life.

beowulf comprehension questions

Prologue:
1. Shield was once an orphan adopted by king of Danes. At his funeral, he was laid on a ship with treasures and gold. Shield is Hrothgar's great grandpa.

Heorot is attacked:
1. Hrothgar undertook the job of building Heorot. Heorot was attacked by Grendel for a consecutive 12 years and killed tons of men during it. The Danes lost hope in his God and started praying to the Devil to rid of Grendel.

The Hero Comes to Heorot:
1. Beowulf takes many men to sail to the Danish nation after he hears of Hrothgar's problems.
2. The Geats met the sea-guard of Danes. The sea-guard warned Beowulf not to attack Danes, but Beowulf told him that he was there to help Hrothgar rid of Grendel.
3. Wulfgar was Hrothgar's Herald and he told Beowulf and the soldiers that he had never met such brave strangers. Wulfgar told Hrothgar to talk to Beowulf because he was so full of with bravery. Hrothgar told him to bring Beowulf to him. I'm surprised that Hrothgar knew about Beowulf.
4. Beowulf told Hrothgar that he would kill Grendel if Hrothgar provided his soldiers with food and a place to stay. Hrothgar paid off Beowulf's father's feuds and killing Grendel was his way of trying to return the favor.

Feast at Heorot:
1. Unferth accused Beowulf of arrogance and losing to Breca in a contest. Beowulf told him he was busy defeating nine sea monsters. This episode is relevant to the poem because it proves that Beowulf is hauteur about his strength. Beowulf accused Unferth of killing his family.
2. Queen Wealhtheow greeted everyone and thanked God for transporting him to Denmark.

The Fight with Grendel:
1. Beowulf was different from other heroes because he got undressed, not dressed.
2. When Grendel entered the hall, he saw that they were all asleep and started to attack. He ate one man, then went to grab Beowulf. Grendel realized that he was not prepared to win and tried to leave, but was stopped by Higlac's people. Beowulf fought Grendel by binding his claws. Grendel's arm was torn off and he left.

Celebration at Heorot: 
1. Beowulf is like Sigmund because he is a famous hero. He is not like Heremond because Heremond did not protect his people, instead he turned against them.
2. Hrothgar offered treasure to Beowulf. He also confessed he adopted Beowulf as a son in his heart. Once Unferth saw Grendel's barbed iron arm, he realized that he was wrong about Beowulf.
3. It is a story of how the Danes lost a battle, but the kings sister was married to the king of another tribe, so the other tribe helped out. A woman is able to persuade her husband's decisions greatly, like when she persuades her husband to treat members of both tribes equally.
4. Wealhtheow asked her husband not to cause harm to her children because she wanted them to be protected after he died.
5. Beowulf gave the torque to Hygelac before he passed. Wealhtheow asks
Beowulf to protect her children after her husband died.
6. They fell asleep in the hall because they felt safe now that Grendel was somewhat out of the picture. But the hall wasn't safe- Grendel's mother was prepared to attack.

Another Attack:
1. Grendel's mom came to get Grendel's arm and get her revenge.
2. Hrothgar asked Beowulf to kill Grendel's mother, bc she had killed Aeschere.
3. The mere is Grendel's watery home. Not even animals like it.

Beowulf Fights Grendel’s Mother: 
1.  Beowulf told Hrothgar that they should embrace each other as brothers and have faith in each other.
2.  Beowulf told the people that before he enters the mere that he will go alone and that he will return, but they need to wait for his return.
3.  Beowulf goes into battle with an iron sword given to him by his men that has never failed in battle.
4.  When Beowulf goes into the mere he is attacked by supernatural serpents that are seemingly invincible. What is surprising about where Grendel and his mother live is that it is a waterless cave within the mere and has both weapons and gold strewn across it.
5.  Unferth’s sword proves to be completely useless in the battle against Grendel’s mother because it can’t penetrate her skin.
6.  He grabs her hair and shoulder and pulls on her until she falls to floor so that he could escape.
7.  Beowulf beheads Grendel’s mother with a magical sword crafted by giants and once she is dead the serpents that had attacked him and the spells that cursed him while in the lair disappeared. As a trophy for his great victory, he takes her head with him to the surface.
8.  Hrothgar and his men eventually lost faith in their hero and left for their homes, but the Geatish earls all waited for their lord, Beowulf. So when Beowulf returns to the surface he is both pleased to see that the Geats waited for him, but disappointed that Hrothgar and his men had so little hope. 

Further Celebration at Heorot: 
1.  Beowulf told Hrothgar and his men how he defeated the monster mother and gave him the golden hilt of the sword bc that was all that was left.
2.  After hearing Beowulf’s boasting, Hrothgar told him the story of the evil Danish King, Heremod, who killed everyone at his table, because Heremod was also very boastful and because of what he did, he was banished.
3.  Beowulf gave Unferth his own sword bc Hrunting was destroyed in the mere.

Beowulf Returns Home: 
1. Hrothgar told Beowulf that if his lineage does not survive and Beowulf still lives, he may rule the Danes.
2. Queen Hygd is the queen of King Hygelac and is the opposite of Modthryth because she has killed many men and only changes when she marries Offa.
3. Hrothgar wants Freawaru to marry Ingeld so that there will be permanent peace between the Heathobard and the Danes, but Beowulf fears it will warrant war. This shows the more strategic side of Beowulf because we all know that Beowulf is more than just brawn.
4.  Beowulf reports on nearly every detail of his adventures and does so pretty accurately.
5. Beowulf shows all the gifts from Hrothgar and then Hygelac gave him a sword, land, and made him lord. 

UGH. ALMOST DONE. KILL ME. 
 

My Opinion Isn't (A) Right!

To me, the right to our opinion is acceptable. The only issue I have is when someone tries to use it when they have no more factual evidence to back up their argument. If you lose the argument, you lose. Lose gracefully, and with dignity. Don't try to plop a, "Whatever, I'm entitled to my opinion", on the end. It's ridiculously annoying and I cannot stress it enough.

Vocabulary references used:

• interdependence: Dependence on everything else besides just yourself.
• limbic: Emotional parts of us in an argument.
• schema: a diagram or plan.

Vocabulary #1

1. Adumbrate: to outline. To adumbrate this homework assignment for you, we are supposed to write sentences on this list of vocabulary words.
2.  Apotheosis: an epitome. A perfect apotheosis of this assignment was exemplified during class today by Dr. Preston.
3. Ascetic: Very abstinent or austere. My grandmother is very ascetic when it comes to her religious choices.
4. Bauble: a trinket of little value. Her jewelry box was filled with many trinkets and baubles that were important to her.
5. Beguile: to influence by trickery or flattery. He beguiled her into thinking he actually liked her, but really he just wanted her money.
6. Burgeon: to flourish. Her garden was burgeoning.
7.  Complement: something that completes or makes perfect. The salt in the soup really complemented the sweet tomatoes.
8. Contumacious: stubbornly rebellious. Her contumacious acts of refusing to be on time got the student sent to the principal's office.
9. Curmudgeon: a bad-tempered, difficult person. She was a curmudgeon because she did not want to do the same things as the rest of her family.
10. Didactic: teaching a moral lesson. One must be didactic to be teaching such difficult classes.
11. Disingenuous: lacking sincerity and candor. Her apology was quite disingenuous.
12. Exculpate: to free from blame. She tried to exculpate herself by blaming it on her sister.
13. Faux pas: A slip in conduct. He apologized for his faux pas, and continued to eat dinner.
14. Fulminate: to explode with a loud noise. The firework fulminated, creating loud noises and sparks.
15. Fustian: a stout fabric of cotton and flax or inflated language of writing or speaking. Her dress was made out of fustian fabric.
16. Hauteur: arrogance. The soccer player's hauteur almost cost her team the game.
17. Inhibit: to restrain or arrest. The drug dealer was then inhibited by the officer until further notice.
18. Jeremiad: a prolonged lamentation or mournful complaint. His jeremiad about his new coach was ignored, considering she was the best coach the team had ever had.
19. Opportunist: taking advantage of opportunities; a person who adapts to his actions. She was an opportunist in the way that she stole the base, and ended up winning the softball game.
20. Unconscionable: not guided by conscience. She decided to be unconscionable and get into the car with the creepy man, anyways.
    

Reflections on Week 1

1. There shouldn't be any problems with access for me. My mom does work from home though as an accountant, so she is practically always on the computer trying to get things done before their required deadlines. And the laptop magically stopped working over this summer, so there shouldn't be any problems, but if there is, I think I can handle them. I also have my iPhone, so I should be good with wifi connectivity and all that jazz. There is no problem with transportation, thank goodness. My schedule is a little hectic during the beginning of the year every year, though. With varsity tennis practices and matches, as well as private practices and individual tournaments. I'm usually very good at getting my work done on-time, unless there's a really big situation. No need to worry about me!

2. I know this isn't the best way to have an amazing realization, but I changed once when I got into trouble. I guess it is effective in some ways, learning from my mistakes. But anyways, a few years ago I got into trouble with my parents for pretty much just being a brat who was a tad too mean to my sisters and brother. My parents confiscated my cell phone, my Facebook was deactivated, I couldn't watch TV, and I wasn't allowed to go places or hang out with anyone. Life was basically a day where the sun rose and fell again- not much to it. Eventually, I started going to youth group again, read books because I had nothing better to do, and practiced tennis a lot more because that was the only way I could be social.
From this experience, I learned a lot from my tennis coach (who happened to also be my youth pastor) about how to be a more caring person. He also taught me more about how to improve my game at the same time, which was really helpful. It was the best season I've ever had, and I was learning to be a kinder person. Reading books became my favorite pastime, which worked out well for me in the long run, looking at how many books I've read in the past few years.
The gist of it is that, I stopped taking so many things for granted. I still wish I was a little more patient with my siblings, though.

3. I am the most excited about three things: Reading my choice of books, learning in new ways, and the teacher. I absolutely love to read, and I've never been a fan of reading books that I am forced to read. I've always made a point to read my own books, not favoring any that a teacher assigned us. Of course, I still read them, but I didn't enjoy doing it. I actually liked Pride and Prejudice though...
Anyways, I am excited to learn about writing. I like to write. Not essays, though. I like to write about the ideas I come up with. I think it can help me to be more open with myself, and with other people. It should also help me with my essay writing for the class, and the AP test.

1987 AP Exam... Why.

This test to me was actually a little difficult, maybe I'm rusty on test-taking? Then again, I never have been good at test taking, anyways. But some words were hard for me to understand, and I really needed to look into what each question was before I answered it. I hate tests!!!!! I feel like I get so worn out reading each question, trying to look into each and every answer. And then the essays make me feel like I don't know what I'm talking about towards the end; almost like I trail off into an oblivion that is a short answer. I'm sorry, I've never been fond of these practice tests, to be honest. Not my forte.

1. B
2. E
3. C
4. E
5. D
6. D
7. B
8. A
9. D
10. C
11. A
12. C?
 13. A?
14. E
15. E
16. B
17. D
18. D
19. D?
20. B?
21. A
22. D?
23. D
24. E
25. E
26. E?
27. D
28. B?
29. A?
30. E
31. A
32. D?
47. B
48. A
49. B?
50. D
51. A
52. C
53. D
54. B
55. C
56. B
57. C?
58. D?
59. A
60. D
61. A?

Q. 1:

     George Elliot describes in her writing that "old leisure" is now gone in the modern times. There is not a sign of it in society and to her, it is very disappointing. She has very high standards about the subject and expresses her point describing what the different between her time and the present is.
     In this passage, she uses personification of the word "leisure" and gives a detailed description by describing a formal, simple and pleasant living. She uses words such as stout, gentlemen, contemplative, and innocent of leaders. She expresses that modern times is different and that there are too many unnecessary things. Things are too complicated and people are too concentrated on innovation and change, while her time was more simple and calm, people only "read one newspaper" and "lived chiefly in the country."

Q. 2:

     In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, the story focuses on the Joads family who are driven away from their home because of a drought, economic hardship, and changes in financial and agricultural industries.
    For the Joad family, they have depended on their farm and agricultural innovation for a living. Now they are caught in the midst of the Dust Bowl and must move to California along with a whole population of "Okies." In California, they have hard times to find a job, find a proper home for everyone and except the changes happening in the era. Although they maintain to earn a fair wage, their are conflicts in the workers class and people are asking for more change such as, less working hours, more money, the end of child labor, which leads to the creations of labor unions. The characters forced to move into a new environment and society are eager to find a way of living and strong dignity for a brighter future.

Montaigne/Austen Essay

 Montaigne Verses Austen

As stated in David Foster Wallace's "Good Old Neon", what bubbles up inside of us is far too complex to even try to explain; there's just too much to try to reason with. Montaigne is on the same page as Foster. By reading through Montaigne, you can easily tell that his mind just jumps all over the page with topics unfathomable, sometimes. Jane Austen, however, has a completely different style of writing than Montaigne.

It seems as though Montaigne's ideas connect with Foster's. Foster believes that it is almost impossible to discuss what crazy notions go on inside a human's mind. "What goes on inside is just too fast and huge and all interconnected for words...". The way that Montaigne presents himself is also like this because his ideas are all over the place. Montaigne's style is a "window", so to say, because as you read, you see through his ideas, and come up with your own based off of what you are reading. It is quite interesting when you think about these things because it is like he is a trigger for the imagination. Everything that goes on in our minds is triggered by what we are reading as our eyes scan the pages of Montaigne's most inner, scattered thoughts.

Then there is Jane Austen. She is the epitome of a very organized, structured writer who understands how to prioritize her thoughts much differently than Montaigne. Of course, her novel was much less complicated than Montaigne's. One cannot even begin to compare any piece of writing with the ideas that flowed so abruptly throughout Montaigne's. Austen had the style that required old-fashioned ideas based on the lifestyle and time period her novel was taken from. Montaigne's ideas are timeless, churning new ideas in fresh minds every time someone else bites off a piece. As scattered and disconnected as Montaigne's thoughts were, they do serve a bigger purpose, to me, than Austen's novel that held its plot.

Overall, the ideas behind David Foster Wallace's and Montaigne's are extremely alike. They are connected in ways different and the same. Austen and Montaigne, however, are day and night. Organized plot verses messy ideas is as opposite as you can get! But Foster's statement gets me thinking, will it ever be possible to manage all the thoughts we conjure up inside of us?

Poetry #1

1. The commercial steals the poem The Laughing Heart, by Charles Bukowski.
2. This poem within this commercial is extremely ironic because what the corporation is trying to do is make you buy their jeans, but why should you? "Your life is your life"- you shouldn't let anyone tell you what to do. You shouldn't let society influence what you wear. (Heck, I don't wear Levi's and this commercial sure as hell isn't going to make me!)
3. Charles Bukowski, apparently, was a drunkard, a hypocrite, and a racist. I don't know for sure, because I've obviously never met him, and the internet can only spill so many truths. But if that opinion of him is right, then I think the poem does, somehow, reflect Bukowski's reputation.
Bukowski was said to show up drunk to every interview and reading. Drunks are most often than not lost in their dark minds, thinking that drowning themselves in alcohol will somehow solve all their problems.
"Don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
Be on the watch.
There are ways out.
There is light somewhere.
It may not be much light but
It beats the darkness."
This portion speaks to me because to me, it conveys the meaning that you can do whatever you want with yourself, based on what you want to do as a person. But being drunk all the time isn't freedom, it's stupidity.
4. For questions #1 and #3, I looked up the first few lines of the poem, which brought me to the page . Then, I searched "reputation of Charles Bukowski", and clicked on the first link being . The previous link was a rant against Bukowski by a Timothy Green.

Essay #1

One can only take so much of life without the comfort of home. The Poisonwood Bible is a perfect example for this statement. Nathan Price, a Baptist with much pride, takes his family of five women along with him to adventure out to Kilanga to help the African villagers. Little does he know what he is getting into while trying to assist the villagers of Kilanga. But while her is busy helping them, Nathan's wife, Orleanna is trying to cope with the situation of being cut-off from her home.

As the mother of four girls, Orleanna has the responsibility of staying sane to set an example for her children. Being isolated from her comfort zone took a large toll over her life. She got to such a point that she was so homesick, she was on bed rest for many weeks. Her children were forced to fend for themselves, as well for her, while their father was busy tending to the African villagers. Breaking down is the worst possible thing that could happen to someone who is separated from somewhere so familiar. As the days went on though, Orleanna found a way to overcome her mind's separation anxiety and face the music. The once passive and fearful Orleanna turned into a strong-willed woman with determination to get her daughters out of Kilanga. She no longer felt the need to be afraid of what was to come; her mind had morphed into a more courageous version of herself. Physically, she did everything she could think of to escape from Africa with her daughters. Unfortunately, it took her youngest daughter's death for Orleanna to have her final revelation that they did not belong there, and that it was up to her to extract them from the village. This experience the Orleanna dealt with created a new mind set for both her, and her daughters.

The overall experience that the Price family went through was life-changing. Orleanna found herself, and learned how not to take anything for granted. The loss of her youngest daughter caused her to live in guilt after her return home. Orleanna gained many things on her journey, both good and bad. But overall, it made her a stronger person.

Big Question

My friends have always thought I was weird because my mind has been blown by this for quite some time...
Have you ever thought about how it's impossible to make another color? No matter what you do or how hard you think about it, you can never create a brand new color. I go psycho over this idea.
According to the color spectrum, it is impossible to create a new color, because it is all based on that ROYGBIV thing you learned about in junior high.
This frustrates me. How can I be creative if I can't even make my own colors. The world is so limiting sometimes.