wiki 5 -  20/20- Glad you got on here for this one. Gates isn't the most impressive speaker but his rep as a business genius makes you want to listen to him.

Wiki 5..i think

Bill Gates Speech (part 1)    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP5VIhbJwFs

         In the begining of this speech, he adresses to whom he is speaking, which is to the presidents of Harvard University.  He starts off seeming nervous, but as his jokes were good, and people laughed at them, he loosened up.  He spoke about his college life, and how microsoft was built upon nothing.  He started telling his story with confidence, and continued it this way.  He is a good public speaker, but he should have probably memmorised his notes a little better.  He was constantly looking down to remember his ideas and thoughts.  Overall, this was a good opening to his speech.  He did a good job describing his college thoughts and ambhitions.  I think he would be an excellent public speaker, with a little bit more practice.

wiki 4 - 0/20-  No post for the week ending Oct. 30th.

wiki 3 - 0/20 - No post for the week ending Oct. 23rd.

wiki 2 - 20/20 - good comments... you're right, Mr. Stec keeps everyone alert!

-=  Public Speaking - Mr. Stec  =-

          Mr. Stec is a confident public speaker.  In his chapel on Friday, his presentation didnt work, but he still made the speech fun.  He has his crazy arm movements, and paces around the room as he talks.  It can be distracting sometimes, but it is certainly better than some of the boring speakers.  When the students come to chapel, they are already tired, the lights are low, theres quietness, it is the perfect condition to sleep. When the boring slow speakers that read as they talk, present, its hard NOT to fall asleep.  Mr. Stec keeps me awake every time he presents. He speaks with confidence, is funny, and he makes his points very obvious.  He is a good public speaker.

     His movements include; shaking of the arms, pacing in the room, switching his stance.  For most people this would not work in good speeches, but it works for him.  i like his style of speaking. It is powerful and sticks in your mind. 

Public Speaking wiki 1 0/20 - Be Sure to show up here every Friday.

Remembering the Best Days

            I can remember when things were much simpler.  We would ride our bicycles to ‘Mr. Poplan’s Candy Store,’ where we would buy our fifty-cents worth of sugar for the day.  We would play in the lake down the hill.  I specifically remember this one rope swing – it was made of brown rope, and hung below an overhanging tree into the lake.  We made many memories that would last a lifetime near that lake, like this time where Jimmy slipped running up to the swing and slid into the lake, it was hilarious.  We would play for hours, swimming, playing baseball, football, or any game that came to mind really.  We were never bored, we would all play after school, our parents always knew where to find us.  All of us were good kids, and we were never in trouble. Those were the careless days.  We were on top of the world; everyday was a new adventure for us.

            It is a terrible thing, wanting those days to return, knowing they can never come back.  As we grew up, our experiences on that lake did too.  We grew stronger, bolder, more careless, and smarter – at least it was to my knowledge.  We got into trouble a few times here and there, but nothing real major.  We used to have fun drinking at night, playing on the swing, smoking around bonfires, relaxing and talking.  I wish those days would return.

            I remember Jimmy always knocking on my window waking me up, holding the case in the light. He was always looking for a good time, he made everything fun.  He saw the best in every situation. He was an uplifting, joyful kid with the world in front of him.  He didn’t care what anyone thought of him, he would live how he wanted, do what he wanted.  He was his own man; he saw the world as a playground.  He would always say, “God didn’t put us here to sulk, he didn’t put us here to work, he doesn’t want us to be just content. No, he put this world in front of us to experience, to explore, to investigate.”

            That is how he thought, and this made him a happy person.  He was okay with his flaws, he recognized them, and they didn’t stop him from being him.  “Have no regrets,” he would think.

            It’s a damn shame he had to go like he did.  He was a good kid.  Why did I make him sit next to me in the mint-green convertible?  I regret it now, and I will always regret it.  His funeral was the worst thing that ever happened to me, seeing his casket, knowing that it was my fault, my fault.  I hated the way his loved ones looked at me, how his parents cried at me, it made me cry to see what I had done to the people I held dearest to me.  You could never forget the look that his mother gave me.  It wasn’t a look of hate, or a look of betrayal. It was the look of pity, she pitied my decisions, my ignorance. 

I wish that I had been the one who died, that it was me laying in silence under that heavy pile of earth.  Maybe that’s selfish of me, to make him lose a close friend – no, a best friend.  One who was always there for you, always encouraging you, always lifting you up when you needed, always knocking you down when you needed it.  He was the best friend a guy could have; he knew just how to make everybody happy.  I wonder if it’s a sin to wish my own death instead of his. 

            I shouldn’t have been driving that night.  I shouldn’t have stolen those keys. I shouldn’t have snuck into that room.  I shouldn’t have bought that case.  So many things I did wrong that night.  I think, every night, of how he would have grown, going through college, being a father, being a grandfather like me.  He had the ingredients to be a great person, a famous actor, a simple factory worker.  He could have been anything he wanted.  He had dreams, he had goals.           

 I torture myself every night I lay awake with the thoughts of how great he would be. I am haunted inside, knowing that my stupidity and my ignorance caused his death.  I cut his dreams short. I denied his goals, my best friend’s goals.  I look back now, remorseful of him.  Everyday has been death for me.  I am constantly reminded of him.  I can see parts of him in me. I hear something he says on the radio, on the television set, in quotes from my wife, my children, my grandchildren too. 

I sometimes visit the lake, and remember those simpler days.  I wish the days that were always sunny and the days that were not clouded by the next chore and the next duty and the next early morning and the next long day of work and the next late night.  The careless days will never return.  That is what saddens me the most.  I took away those days for good, those glorious days of fun and energy.  I took away the long nights of bonfires, and having a good time. 

I’m in the hospital now, the doctor says I have a brain tumor; I only got a little while left.  I am content.  Actually, I think the best part of living is dying now.  I find myself chuckling at night, crying tears of remembrance at times.  My heart tingles when I think to myself about all the stupid pointless things I’ve done in my life.  I have time to remember ‘Mr. Poplan’s Candy Store’ and that rope swing.  I have time to look through the clouds of missing Jimmy, and the painful memories without him.  I can see now, what Jimmy must have meant “Have no regrets.”  My whole life I have been regretting many things that I had done.  Now I realize that they have made me who I was.  My regrets made me unhappy; they made me want to run from myself.  They ran my life.  But now, missing Jimmy only makes the memories we shared more fruitful.  I am relieved that I will be soon reunited with my lost friend.  If Jimmy has taught me one thing, it’s to enjoy life.  I have seen my life as a sad narrative; I always thought the worst in every situation.  People will think I never relieved myself of the pain of Jimmy’s passing, but I will know differently.

Most people will never know what it is like to lay on your deathbed, remembering a long lost friend and good times by the lake.  I am now not regretting killing Jimmy because if I hadn’t lost him, I would never have known how much he meant to me.  Living without my best buddy, I remembered every time by the lake more vividly. 

It’s been too long since I’ve seen him.  I wonder how he’s changed.  I have lots to tell him.

-=  A and P  =-

     I thought it was a very good story. It seemed like he was talking to us because he didn't use long words and confusing style.  He was very upfront about the boys feelings and he displayed the story very well.  However, i didn't know the story would be that in depth like we discussed in class on Friday.   I thought he was just looking to make a good time with the girls.  I enjoyed this story and give it a two thumbs up.

-=  The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky  =-

     I thought the beginning of this book was confusing and kinda boring, but as it went on the story got a little more interesting.  When Scratchy was introduced i didn't think he would kill Potter.  I didn't think they would kill off the main character and leave his wife alone.  I think Scratchy was just bored of his life. He had done everything, and he was just looking for some excitement.  He didn't actually want to kill Potter, just to have potter chase him around town.  I didn't like this book very much because of the complicated language. If it was written more like "A and P" style, it would have been awesome.

Good job on wk.1 - I get the point that you liked Updike's language style and wish Crane would have written more like him.

-=  The Moustache  =-    

     Reading The Mustache, I thought about my grandparents.  They always look so happy together, and i wondered about all of their past; if they fought, were unhappy with eachother.  None of my grandparents are this senile yet, but i'd imagine if they were i wouldn't want to see them like that.  Just him having to see his grandmother in the state she was in, seeing invisible birds, and forgetting names.  When she thought he was her husband, i bet he felt really wierd.  If i were Mike, i would have probably said that i wasn't her husband as soon as she said it.  I don't think any 17 year old should have a moustache anyways.

-=  Charles  =-

     I think the short story Charles was enjoyable and an easy read.  In the begining of the story, it was very obvious that there really was no charles.  It was Laurie who was causeing all the trouble in the schoolroom all along.  I thought it was comic how the parents couldn't find out who charles was, and failed to see that it was their own son.  At the meeting in the end, it was funny how the mother askes the teacher who charles was and the teacher said there was no charles, and that hewr son was causing all the trouble.  The mom didn't want to believe it was her son, because no mother wants to believe their son is the troublemaker of all the kids.  Overall it was a funny, and consise short story that i enjoyed reading very much.

Good job on Wiki 2! Great personal insights this week. I enjoyed your thoughts! The last comment on the "moustache" made me laugh out loud!

-=  There Will Come Soft Rains  =-

     I think it is pretty cool how bradbury made the house talk and interact with the people in the year 2026, how he knew that wouold be the capabilities of that time.  The house cooked, cleaned, read, and even filled the bath water for its residents.  The house reminds me of an old man who has lost his wife and still goes on as if she is still with him, because he is so sorowful.  Hopefully this will never happen, the nuclear armageddon.  And in my opinion, technology like this makes people so much lazier and less cultured. 

     I also hope that the technology like this won't become affordable - its already available - for the middleclass.  I don't think people should be so lazy as to have a house that does everything.  These kids will probably never learn how to clean, cook, and grow up. Interesting thoughts - good insight!

-=  Sniper  =-

     This story was tragic in my opinion.  He shot his own brother.  It was pretty smart what the main character did to trick the enemy sniper.  I don't know how i would feel if i killed my brother, seeing as though i havn't, but i would imagine that it would be horrible.  I wonder what the main character would tell his mom when he got home. He was killed in action? I killed him and didn't know it was him?  It would be hard to live as yourself if you had killed your own brother.  In my opinion, the enemy sniper got the better end of this deal.Great job on wiki 3!

The Wiki #5

-=  The New Kid  =-

     I think this story showed typical adolescent behavior.  Kids always want to be the most liked and will do almost anything to get there.  In this case, the boys wouldn't let Marty play, and he was upset because of it.  So he got a new kid to join also, to keep the teams even.  Marty missed and struk out and the other boys ganged up on him, and made fun of him.  The new kid didn't join in though.  He was not concerned whether the boys liked him or not.  When the new boy struck out, Marty harassed him and made fun of him to be cool.  This story happens daily in playgrounds at every elementary schools, and is very true and real.  It was overall a good story, though a bit of a slow reader.

-=  From Mother With Love  =-

     This story was long and boring.  Although the father may have made the wrong decision in hiding his wife's terminal sickness from his wife and his daughter alike, you cant really blame him.  Think if you knew you were gonna lose something dear to you, would you want your last moments together to be sad, depressing?  I would assume no.  I feel bad for the daughter, but not for the reason you would expect.  I pity her for not having the guts to tell her dad that she is gone, they need to move on.  She will have a miserable incomplete life always wondering whether it would be so much different with her mom still around.  I would tell my dad to move on. You had fun, and now its over.  It might sound cold, but its better to move on then revolve around something you will never have.

wiki 5- good work... wow... talk about TOUGH... you cut no one any slack in these stories! (which is interesting, to say the least) No one came across quite as 'move forward' or "get over it" as you did!