I’m back

Hey guys!

I’m back on the blog thanks to Poogue Master. He fixed a few login errors I had and it works now! I’m glad to be back.

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Fundraiser!

WCI is having a fundraiser with a magazine sale! 40% of the money raised by you buying magazines will go directly to WCI, and it will also bring lots of reading and fun into the household!

Click here to buy or browse through hundreds of magazines.

Thank You,
David Xie

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Book Review- The View From Saturday

The View From Saturday is a great, funny, but intelligent book, with complex dialogue, which tells the story of four six graders whose lives are twisted together by their paraplegic teacher who needs them for the Academic Bowl as a team. The story of their get-togethers, histories, and other facts let the book be a must-read.

This book is comprised of four short stories about the four members of the Academic Bowl teams’ histories and how they met each other, with small episodes of the Academic Bowl finals between them, each with a question referring to one of thiers’ past. For example, Nadia, whose godmother and faster are turtle experts, gets asked a question about the species of turtle around the area. As the Bowl comes to the intermission, another chapter of events come as the teacher has a story about her choosing the team, which the friends had more reasons for.

This book used many great writing techniques, as the author, E.L.Konigsburg, had written every short story in first person with each character’s own unique voice. She also had very good transitions between each story. Her voices ranged from freelancing to hard and serious. Sadly, some of her events were very confusing, as each story had very similar characters with similar names, and some carried over to other stories.

Rating: 7/10 :razz: for
Pros: Excellent technique, story
Cons: Too many characters

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Book Review: If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late

This strange and intruiging title gives for its equally unique plot, as this wonderful book is a real reading experience.

Summary

Starting from the drop-off of this books prequel, THE NAME OF THIS BOOK IS SECRET, this story describes the adventures of Cassandra and Max-Ernest as they search for the mystical homunculus and ultimately defeating the evil Ms. Mauvais and Dr. L from the Midnight Sun Alchemists Group.

Cassandra and Max-Ernest are best friends, and the previous book explains their exploit with the Mednight Sun Alchemists Group(MS), where the MS was trying to find the philosopher’s stone that could turn tin to gold. In that adventure, they also meet the Anti-MS, the people of the Magic Museum(MM), whose leader is the twin of Dr. L.

The story starts as Cass and Max-Ernest go to a new school, and find out about a field trip to the beach they’d be having soon. When the field trip comes, they find themselves trapped in the Pirate Ship of the MS after a secret note telling them to go on the boat was proved a fake. But on the boat they acqure the Sound Prism, a magical ball that allows the user to hear things far away. While on the boat, Cass also experiences a dream with a mysterious song alike to the song of the Sound Prism when it was idle.

By the time they escape from the ship, the heroes immediately recieve detention and a grounding when they find themselves far too late to be hanging around. During Detention, they meet Yo-Yoji, a student who strives to be a rockstar. Cass learns he has perfect pitch, and he says the song of her dream spells CABBAGEFACE.

Cass learns that Cabbage Face is then name of a homunculus, the 500 year old creation of an alchemist named Lord Pharoah, or King King. The MS wanted the Sound Prism because it was the only way to call the Homunculus, which would lead them to Lord Pharoah. Lord Pharoah supposedly found the secret to eternal life, but died before he could apply it to himself. The Homulculus, who hated Lord Pharoah, buried his with all his creations and notes and memories, which contained the secret of immortality.

Cass, Max-Ernest and Yo-Yoji find Cabbage Face on a camping trip by using the Sound Prism and find that he is cannibalistic, but only eats villains. Cass stuffs him into a backpack and they race to the Magic Museum. Unfortunately, Cabbage Face eats himself out of the backpack before the group could present it to the MM.

Somehow, they find themselves at a concert where the MS were singing the song of the Sound Prism to lure Cabbage Face there, and succeed in capturing it and forcing it to lead them to Lord Pharoah’s tomb. They trek into snowy moutains where they find the tomb, but just before they open it, the MM come to stop the MS. Then as an avalanche smashes the Homunculus and the tomb deep into the ground, Cass, Max-Ernest, and Yo-Yoji save the day and the MM fly away on their helicopter.

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Techniques

The author, Pseudonomous Bosch, made the book fun and casual by adding lots of quirky footnotes and using a great deal of foreshadowing. She also messed up basic components of the book, like reversing the order of the Chapters, starting with Ch. 32 and ending with Ch. 1, supposedly like a countdown. She used her own voice in the story too, as she makes coversation with the reader frequently in the story. But she could have made the vocabulary more advanced, as the words were too simple for such a complex plot and constanly ceased to describe “Like a painting”.

Rating: 8/10 :wink: for
Pros: Casual and Fun as well as rewarding, and
Cons: Basic Vocabulary for Complex Plot

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The First Day of Seventh Grade!

Yesterday was the first day of the new school year! With new friends and teachers as well as old friends from years before, this year is one that I am sure will be filled with more fun and more challenges.

Before class, I met with many of my friends on the way to their classes. We shared our schedules, and compared our classes. Though some had almost identical teachers and classes, some were remotely different than my schedule. I also chatted to them about our wonderful summer vacations. While they explained their cruise to Alaska or their backpacking trip to Oregon, I talked about camping on Mt. Diablo and the wonderful Grandparents that I have who was coming for a couple months from China. It was one of those times when you wish that you were them, yet you know that they are wishing it to you as well.

Then, as the bell rung and school started, I saw more and more friends. During each class, I saw friends from fifth, sixth, and even a new friend that I had acquainted on that day. Meeting teachers was fun too. I first had Core (English+Social Studies) with Mrs. Linton. Everyone said that she was a real pain in the neck, and but I thought that she was okay, just a little outward. She would meet everyone at the beginning of the day with a super smile, showing every single one of her pearly whites. Then after introducing herself, she let us work together in small groups to create a political map of the world to get to know each other better. After laughs and lots of trying out different continent positions, the Five Minute Bell rang and I packed up, walking out the door.

My Science teacher was considered “The Pain” by almost everyone I had met. In fact the first bunch of words that rolled off her tounge when she approached the classroom was, “Get on the Wall and line up QUIETLY right NOW!!” She had such a loud voice! And while she murmured to herself while everyone filed in to the class along the back wall as she had ordered, I got a worse and worse impression of her. She gave a very long speech explaining how she was naturally LOUD and how she was going to be a little bit more STRICT than the other teachers, but I still felt that she might be a little better along the year. Anyways, a class of thirty could be a pretty hard time for one teacher.

Pre-algebra 7 was great though, an awesome ending to an awesome day. My teacher was Mrs. Torkelson, very fun and super nice. She explained the class, and appeared to be a prolific artist, with great stick-figures to entertain us during the extra time that the class gave. With a couple of laughs and a great deal of clapping, I left WCI with a very good feeling.

WCI will always be a place fo effort and challenge, though also fun and entertaining. I will strive to be my best and BE AWESOME!

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Goldfish

In my house, there lies a 20-gallon fishtank. And in the 20-gallon fishtank there lives three fishies. Yay fishies! As the fish flip and turn and actively swim, three humans walk near the fishtank.
A small female says: “Hi, Golfish Fireball! He’s so cute, isn’t he, David?”
A medium-sized male, David, responds, “I think the Koi, Tiger, is cuter.”
Then, the large female says: “Emily, David, they are all cute, both the Goldfish Fireball, the Goldfish Sunset, and the Koi Tiger are all cute. Now, it is time to feed them!”

Little flakes fall from a hand, and the fish spring into action. Fireball and Sunset swim immediately to the top of the tank, as Tiger stays on the floor, a natural bottom-feeder.
“Wow, I still think that the bold solid orange of Fireball is beautiful!”, says Emily.
“But Tiger’s kaledioscope of gold, black, yellow and orange is truly amazing!”, says David.
“What’s kaledio-”
“Everybody! Stop fighting! The bold orange of Fireball, and the Half-and-half orange and white of Sunset, and the colors of Tiger are all equally lustrous!” says the Large Female Human, Mom.

“Do you remember when we bought our fish? We almost couldn’t buy Tiger because the salesman insisted that Koi are for ponds! Of course, we’ll be feeding it to the cat as food if like that!”
“But why?”
“Do you know how big they will be when they grow up? A foot, at least! They won’t even have turning space!”
“Well, okay. Because I was thinking of having a tank full of goldfish. Maybe not.”

“It’s time to go swimming, so peel your eyes of the fish and put them on the equipment!”

As the humans walk away, the fish let out a deep sigh, and once again, take out the balloons, stereo, and confetti to resume their party.

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The English Language

A funny little email that someone sent to me:

We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
Then shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen?
If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn’t the plural of booth be called beeth?
Then one may be that, and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!
Let’s face it - English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger;
neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren’t invented in England.
We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes,
we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square,
and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing,
grocers don’t groce and hammers don’t ham?
Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend.
If you have a bunch of odds and ends
and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking English
should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.
In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?
We ship by truck but send cargo by ship.
We have noses that run and feet that smell.
We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.
And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same,
while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language
in which your house can burn up as it burns down,
in which you fill in a form by filling it out,
and in which an alarm goes off by going on.
And, in closing, if Father is Pop, how come Mother’s not Mop?

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Report

Please read why swearing is bad and leave a comment saying if you did what the article asked of you.

Don’t worry, I promise if you say you didn’t I will still not hold it against you. I am certainly not trying to offend your beliefs.

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12 years old!

I am finally 12 years old! After many months (12, to be exact) of being 11 years old and undergoing many ridiculations of people who stood tall above me, I now have the ability to grow into the 12-year-old stature and become a likeness of those who once I considered giants. And while they grow taller, as I, I will eat and exersize and sleep and do anything it takes to grow taller and bigger and stronger than those heedless monsteres towering above. Beware!

And certainly the wisdom and knowledge. With age comes wisdom, so I must be sure to read and learn and let my brain GROW and GROW just as fast as my body, so I will alter the annoying A-
’s and make them A’s. To do that, I must listen to the teacher and learn the homework and do whatever I can do, use my highest effort.

The particular day was important, too, because I only get have them for (1/365.25) of my life, and this one was quite a bit more special, mainly because of the fact that my grandparents came from all the way to CHINA to witness it. They added quite a punch to the spectacular day. I also watched a fantastic movie, one that attracted even more people than Harry Potter, G-FORCE. IT was a very happy and laughable day and the story will stay on this blog until the blog is closed, which I hope won’t ever be.

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Visit Stamford, UK

Stamford is a unique town with all traditions kept intact. It is regarded as “the finest stone town in England”, where almost all of its buildings were built with stones.

Stamford

The bridge leading to Stamford, with St Mary’s church greeting visitors.

The town is so small that one can easily walk around, along the narrow stone/brick roads. A small river flows by the south of the town, and on the other side of town, lies expansive town meadow where kids are running and playing. From the town meadow, you can see the Stamford Skyline with 5 churches (St. Mary’s, St. George’s, All Saints, St. Martin’s and St. John’s), not very tall, but outstanding among the other ancient stone buildings.

The famous estate around Stamford is the Burghley House, which is just outside the town across the river.
Hurghley House

In the background, that is what privileged people call a house!

It was Lord Burghley’s house, a really grand 16th-century English country house, an Elizabethan architecture. Many movies were filmed there, such as “Da Vinci Code”, “Pride & Prejudice” and “Elizabeth The Golden Age”. The Burghley park is so large that the palace would look small if you take a long walk in the park. I guess the Burgley house/park is even larger than the entire Stamford town. Burghley family was the dominant political family in Stamford for 400-500 years, so practically speaking, the family owned everything there.

In the Burghley park, there is an area for herds of deers, maybe thousands of deers. Not sure if that was the hunting ground for the Royal or Noble families. I took several photos of close-up on deers.

Deers

The deers in the Burghley’s backyard.

I will post some photos of the Stamford town and Burghley House soon.

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