wiki 5 - 0/20 no post for 11/6

wiki 4 - 0/20 - no posting this week of Oct. 30

wiki 3 - 10/23  - 20/20 - good posting and thanks for remembering to post the link.

week 3- week of 10/19

Glenn Beck's speech at the 2008 NRA Member's Meeting was inspirational. He used pauses very effectively to get his point across. The volume of his voice added drama to the speech. His voice was steady. He pronounced everything correctly and seemed very confident. He dressed up for the occasion and his posture was a little bit slouched over but not too much. His facial expressions showed how much he cared about his topic and they added to the meaning of the speech. He looked down at his paper a lot, but sometimes he was reading quotes. He moved around a lot and kept waving his finger at the audience. He still managed to have some eye contact with his audience and kept them very interested. He connected with his audience by speaking about a topic they felt strongly about- gun rights at an NRA meeting. He spoke very clearly and made sure that everyone listening understood him. He used terms that his audience would understand him. He even explained the quote he used. He was very enthusiastic about his topic because he had a point to prove. He seemed very organized and mainly used his notes to quote people who related to his topic. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMKAEfrORj0)

wiki 2 - 10/16  - 0/20  No ENTRY!

wiki 1 - 20/20 - good response! I appreciate you going to find a famous speech! Very few people did, but the responses have all been interesting.

week 9 10-9-09 wiki 1 public speaking

Reagan - A Time for Choosing

The speech he gave was very moving I would rate it an 8 on a 1 to 10 scale he only paused to look down at his material. He had a little inflection when he was trying to make a point and his pitch was right where it needed to be his quality of voice was outstanding because he drove to point home he messed up a little on his pronunciation but his articulation was good he appeared confident and his posture was like a general on a battle field he did not have much facial expressions because I think he was trying to get the point across his eye contact was on his paper the most but when he looked up it was at the people he did not move from his spot a lot and he kept his hands on the podium most of the time. He appeared very confident and he tried to seam like he was a leader he stayed most of the time on his papers. He connected with the listeners very well and used words they would understand. He was looking at his paper most of the time. He was very good with his language and his gestures. Was very in to what he was talking about. Used very good grammar and seemed to be well organized used his notes a lot through the speech. Was very prepared and had credible content. He left you thinking about what he said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvg7lRsCVJ8

The Game of Life

The round splashed against his chest. They flowed all around us; some were ours and some were their rounds. It was like a chess game, but we played our own game. We were the kings and the pawns. We moved around the board which was the world. The player was power and we where just pawns in a game. A game some win and most loose, but we will all win one day.

    In the end, there will be no more rounds, no more mines, no more death- just peace. But for now it's what we do. It was our motto, "Death before dishonor". We lived it. We lived what we said. We walked and talked the "walk and talk". When we fought we took it to them all the way. At the time we had never lost a fight. Yes, there were a few and most of the time we would be outgunned and outnumbered, but even then we never lost.

    We would come back. That was our trophy- our win- because we came back. We were out in the FOB- for those of you who can't think, that stands for "Forward Operations Base". We were out there a two days walk away from anything. We had helicopters send us food and ammunition, not much more than that.  The night before we got our new arms we called them, which meant our new guys got hit bad real bad- two dead, one MIA. 

    Dave Stand and I were going on patrol. Stand was from Denver. He got in when he was 17- right out of school. Wanted to be the best, the top. He and I came from the same place. We were best fiends from the start- killing buds.  He and I would be the only ones to go out. We each knew what the other was thinking, so we worked good, real good, being SF (Special Forces) you need to know what to do when you get in the muck. 

    When we got out there it was about six-six-thirty. We walked down the hill we called Hill Number 17.  We were up there for an overlook-  looking for anything new anything that moved. When we got off the hill we got into the thick nasty jungle. Wet, hot, muddy, death hung over the air thick with humidity.  We would joke about how we could drink the air if we ever ran out of water. We knew where they would be. He was a sniper and tracker. I was heavy weapons and counter Intel.

    We had walked about six or seven clicks in when we first saw them, a small group of five to ten grunts. They didn't have much, just AKs and green shirts. We were out for the big game. We watched them for about an hour or two before they drifted off into the dark like a mist. By then it was getting too late to see, so we set up a perimeter around us of mines and flares. It would keep the pigs out and the enemy, we did not like either of them.

    At around 1:00 it started. Pow pow pow, clack clack clack. There was a pause and then pow pow pow pow. It was close- very close. I looked up. It was the real deal- VC from the far north. Their training and weapons were good- real good. We wondered what they were gunning down. We knew there were Merc's in the area but we hadn't see them in a long time. I popped up to just take a quick look. We were in really tall grass and I couldn't see a thing. I could just see the gun flashes of their AKs. I jumped up and just went off, first with the mines and then with the big guns- the M60 then the M2. It ripped them up piece by piece, arm by arm, leg by leg.

    We could hear them scream in fear and in pain. Their legs were gone, their heads split open, the fluids pouring out like jugs of fruit punch. They never knew we were there. We walked up to the ones who where left lying on the ground, missing parts. We never cared. We were gone. We would sometimes walk up to them and pour salt on them just to hear them cry in pain, like so many of our pawns had died. When they would cry for their lives we would put our hands over their mouth and let them pass on. We were animals. We lived for the hunt and starved for the kill and never thought it was wrong.

    After that we headed back to the FOB. It was early morning by the time we got back. It was nice out- a rare cool night. We slept under a world of stars and got up at about six. We got moving by seven. It was a hot humid day, warmer than normal. We were told it was going to rain that night so we got a lot of bug spray and extra water. We made it down to the river by two and crossed the river. On the other side was Laos.

    Laos was a hot, wet, nasty place. We hated going in, too, because that's where the NVC where the strongest. The place was ripe with mines and snakes and everything from hell, but like always we made it. We were about ten clicks in when we got our first hit. It was about three hundred yards out. He was an NVC commander. We knew him all too well. He was the one who set a bounty on our head. We were that good. We would joke about how they could never get us.  We watched him for two days. Every move he made- we knew about it.

    The third day we made our shot six hundred yards out. One to the head. The shot rang out like church bells on Sunday. They never knew. He never knew. The bullet hit him before the sound did, and it hit good. Ripped the head off, pumped the blood out- like a person on their death bed knowing their time is up. Laying there bleeding out everywhere like so many people before him. We killed. We were animals. We loved the blood- it meant we did a good job. He was laying there with his blood pooling all around him. It was a sweet smell- like pie, sweet dripping pie.

We loved it. We wanted it. We needed the thrill of the hunt. When we killed him, the jungle lit up as if a star had exploded. There were rounds everywhere. Death was everywhere. It was amazing how much power they put down and how little we did to kill them all. A mine here, a grenade there, it was no sweat for us. We lived for this. The rounds keep flying and the enemy kept dying. We made it back over the border. We were happy. It was simple over here. We were the ones with the power over here. It was us that controlled the steps.

    We did not know how wrong we were. They said it was from a thousand yards that the round hit him, right in the heart. He never had time to react. The sniper watched us for days. I say that because we would only take that way every once in a blue moon. But this time it did not matter. I tried so hard to stop the blood, but it was everywhere. It would not stop- it was like when you drain someone of their blood before you put them in the ground. It was like he was swimming in it. The smell was not like the same we had smelled before that was like pie- it was like death, hard iron death. Like he was encased in a blood coffin and i could not help. He was dead.

    I had just let him die. In reality I could not have done anything to save him. It hit his heart and latterly tore it apart. There was no way he would live, even if he was back at HQ he would have needed a new heart. All i could do was bag and tag. I called in a chopper and they came and got him, all of him. He did not suffer, I told myself to make it feel better, but I wanted him back. If i could not have him then I would take the person who took him. I did.

    I waited and waited and I finally saw him in the bush. When I came out from the FOB one day, I stacked him like a monster stacking the pray he was about to devour. I got right by him. He was tall, but not very skinny. Not heavy. Either way, he was not normal but I did not care. He had to be killed, so I did i killed him. Like an animal, I came from behind, smelling his fear. I grabbed his head and slit his neck, more like ripped it off. He tried to yell but it was way too late- we were drowning him in his own blood.

    Bubbles came from around his neck where the blood was pouring out, but I didn't care. I got him. In my mind it was what i wanted, but my I still felt empty. I left him there to die. I grabbed his gun and left him there. I got back to the FOB. I still miss Dave Stand, now and always. It will be 40 years down the road and I will still miss him. He was like family- more than family, a part of me. It's just a game; some lose and some win but in the end we all end up the same: dead.

week of august 17

1. I am curious why you think he entitled it "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky"...and speaking of the Bride.. if she's important enough to be part of the title, why doesn't Crane even bother to tell us her name? Why do you think he chose to do that?!

Crane made a big deal about the fact that she came to Yellow Sky because her being there kind of ruined Jack Potter and Scratchy's fun that they always used to have. If she hadn't married Potter and come to town then the action of this story never would have happened. If she wasn't there he could have had a gun fight and had a good time. Now he has to act like a grown up and be mature and take care of his wife. Scratchy knows that his buddy is gone cause he's married now. The title indicates that the bride's presesnce in the town will be significant.

2. Was Sammy a "winner" or a "loser" for making the choice he made in the story?

He's a loser because he didn't fully think through his decision to quit his job. He thought he was going to be a hero for the girls but they didn't even care. The girls in the swimsuits distracted everyone in the store and lowered productivity. He was trying to impress the girls even though he had been checking them out the whole time they were in the store. His boss told the girls to wear more clothes and I think at least part of the reason Sammy reacted the way he did was because he wanted the girls to get off easy so they'd come back to the store dressed like that so he could look at them some more.

Good work on wk. 1 - I enjoyed reading your comments. You may be right about Sammy's motives! :-)

week of august 24

1. I think the next scene of Charles after the ending would be that the kid's mother would come home and sit down with him and ask him why he was lying. The boy would probably explain that he thought his mom would be mad and maybe tell her that he's lonely and doesn't have anybody to talk to or relate to. His mother wouldn't really understand though. He just wants attention. His mom used to be all his but now he's feeling left out because he has to share. He's probably also scared to start kindergarten and he doesn't know how to deal with it.

2. The short story I am writing for my project is set in the Vietnam War times. It is about these two guys who are on a mission to hunt out Vietnamese top military people. They go out into the jungle and get caught in a fire fight and they kill a lot of people. They explain to their unit the brutality of war and what it is like to kill a person and how horrible war is. It is set in first person but after the war, like the guys are telling a story. One guy dies and the other becomes the narrator, telling the story to future generations. I am really excited to finish the story and I think it will be really good.

Good work on wiki 2! Your story idea sounds fascinating. Have you ever read "The Things they Carried?" It's a novel of loosely connected story-like chapters set during Vietnam...you'd probably enjoy it!

no week 3 entries :-( bummer....0/20

week of september 7

1. Can a 14 yr old school dropout reasonably expect success much less the respect of those around him?

Back in the the 50's and 60's it could have been possibly to drop out of school and make something of your self but in today's world you would have a very hard time doing that because you need at least a high school diploma to get a job in most places. Especially if you don't have the knowledge to guide people or show them what to do. The 14 yr old dropout should probably not expect a lot of respect because in this day and age if you don't go to college or have a degree or diploma you are looked down on. Most people judge others based off of if they have a degree or nor or what kind of schooling you have, not if you know what to do at your job or if you are a born leader. People think that with a degree of some schooling you are a leader but that's not true some of are great leaders never had a diploma not even a high school diploma. Its sad really how backward things are now, its all aprearances, no one takes the time to get to know someone anymore like they used too. In the old days people would try and get to know you or at least test you to see what you are made of now we give you a slip of paper and depending on how well you answer and how much schooing you have or how many degrees you have you may get a job. Its not even sure even if you have the schooling that you will be successful.

2. When you think about people being "Displaced", what other types of people in contemporary times could that include? How do we in mainstream society generally deal with these people?

When i think of displaced people i think of the pople in Darfore and in Tabet and also in North Korea.  i also think of groups of poeple like tamil people and the monks in tebet. These people did not chose to be where they are they where put there forced to live either underground lives and religous beliefs and have to hide form people that want to kill them and hurt there familys. In the United States we dont have to worry about that but in other parts of the world thats there lives they are in fear of whats to come and what is. I think the out side world eather trys to cover it up or seem like they care. The UN trys to make it look like it sends help but most of the time either the food they send to the people gets takeing by the bad guys and sold on the black market or like when we send guns to the people to help lead a revolution where do they go? No one knows, do we really help?. Some times we do but other times we just cause more harm then we do help. We in mainstream society make a comercel or try to make awarness about it but we try to let it go because it looks bad and we dont like things that look bad in are homes and in are society. We try to sweep it under the rug so to speek and we will let the people die because if there is no people then there is nothing bad to see.

week 5

1.my bucket list before i pass away

1.  spend my last few days with my dad in the shop

2. spend time with my mom diving

3. go fight over seas agens the terrorist

4. shoot a NTW20 agen

5. Go to Moscow Russia and go to lenens tumb

6. Go to the world biges libreary

7. Go shooting with my little cousin agen

8. Jump out a plane with the 101 air born

9. Sail around the world in my own home made boat

10. Ride a train around the world

Thats my bucket list for what i would like to do before i die

2. Would YOU want to live in a family that kept "secrets" from one another the way the Hawley family did?

I would never want to live in a family like that. A family that would keep big secrets from you even small secrets are bad.  when my family was still tigether my mom would always keep stuff from my dad like when my mom spent 300+ on cloths to go out with her friends, and she stayed home all the time she was a stay at home mom. i probably kept secrets from my  mom but not like my mom did from me, she took it to a high level thats why i dont trust people very well and why my mom and dad got a divorce. Its difrent now i love that i can say what i want to my parents and that i know they dont keep stuff from me, when you do that it just starts drama and when that happends it can only go down hill form there. comeing form bouth sides i would say its better to tell the person the truth and get it out, then it is to hide something from someone.

wiki 5 - good job on these posts... your list is interesting and your personal experiences with "secrets" is very honest!!