Where Is My Gift, Santa???

            Hey everyone! Guess what time of the year it is? Gift time! Just kidding :). But, it is the time to come closer with your family and enjoy each others company. After a busy, hard-worked year, now is the time for your well deserved break from all chaos around you. It is also the moment to step away and reflect on the past year. Just step outside to feel the merry spirit around you. The sweet fragrance of baked treats, sounds of tinkling bells, and the lights and decorative embellishments are sure to put you in a festive mood. Also, three major holidays take place during this time of the year: Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Three religions celebrate their importance and come together as one. Then there is New Years' Eve. A time to make new promises, habits, and goals. This year I am going to India to visit my family and visit my other home. What are you going to do during the holidays? From baking cookies to traveling, let me know what you plan on doing. I'll be waiting on the other side of the globe for my gift, Santa! *cough* Mom. :)

Boring to Exciting Books

              You are in a classroom and the teacher is assigning books to read as a class. Your classmates and you want interesting and exciting books to read which you will look forward to reading every day. Instead, your teacher hands you a book that you have never seen before and even the cover doesn't look inviting to read. That is how it usually is multiple times a year. Students like me have to read a boring novel with little excitement and then answer numerous questions and write an RTL. Why can't we read an entertaining, appealing book?

               At school in our language arts classes, we read novels in class to discuss and write about. In my opinion, most of the books we read are somewhat uninteresting and I usually don't want to know what happens to the characters because I didn't enjoy it. The plot also doesn't have any action and the characters go through dull events. Some of the books, like the one I read in fourth grade, was really sad and then in the end, the character died of leukemia. It upset many people so why did we have to read it?   Or the book we read as a class where a girl gets stuck all alone on an island when her tribe leaves her behind. This book had many events, but most of them didn't have much action. The teachers even have to read the same book over and over each year in every class. Wouldn't it be more exciting for even the teachers to read a new book each year instead of the same old one?

               I think as a class, more students would pay more attention and be encouraged to try harder on the questions and essays for the book if teachers chose an exciting novel the majority of the class wanted to read. The teachers could still choose a few new, fun books that the class could vote for and then the most wanted book could be the one to read as a class. And for the issue of buying a new set of books every year for a class, everyone could buy their own copy. In my opinion that would solve the issue of students sleeping in class and being discouraged to read books because of the novels we read as a class.

New Books!

            Hey guess what everyone! The third book of the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan has come out! :) I can't wait to read The Mark of Athena. Also, recently I read a new book called A Map of the Known World and it was a really great book! The novel was a little sad,  but had a great plot and the character had a range of emotions since she was going through rough times. I think you all should read it!

Presidential Election 2012

           
           The Presidential Election is coming up soon and Americans are getting ready to vote. The two candidates running for president are Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney. President Barack Obama is running for a second term with vice president Joe Biden. Mitt Romney has chosen Paul Ryan as his vice president. The two parties are challenging each other to produce the best ideas for our future.

             

            The Democrats and Barack Obama are trying their hardest to overcome the challenges in the United States. Their party is represented by the donkey and the color blue. The Democratic convention just passed a few days ago and they talked about the future of our country and why President barack Obama should be re-elected. A few speakers who spoke at the convention are former president Bill Clinton, First Lady Michelle Obama, and President Barack Obama. Michelle Obama spoke about how your values are important and that they guide you through tough decisions and also President Obama should serve a second term and is a better president because he understands common people. President Obama said, "Yes, our road is longer -- but we travel it together. We don't turn back. We leave no one behind. We pull each other up." Also, if Obama were to return to office, he would create more jobs, advance our education system and make college more affordable, keep health care, develop clean energy, strengthen the middle class, and create the lasting economy we need. He also wants to increase tax for the rich (if you earn more than 250,000).

              The Republicans and Mitt Romney show a different approach to help the economy. This party is represented by the color red and the elephant. They aim to expand education, discontinue Obama health care, stop illegal immigration, and try getting the economy back on track. He will also reduce tax for small businesses and the rich, because he believes that it will give them more money to generate jobs which will then help the economy.

            I believe that Barack Obama should be re-elected as president and serve his second term. He has good ideas to help out our suffering economy and has already been experiencing it for his first four years in office. Also, Romney and the rest of the Republican party are more focused on making Obama look bad then telling voters what they will do to make the economy better. I have seen this in all of their websites. The biggest headline would be "Obama's Failure" or "How Obama Failed to Make this Happen." I think instead of insulting the President, they should give their ways to do it better than he did. Also, Obama has better interests in our education and developing cleaner energy for our future and for reducing Global Warming. Overall, I think if you should vote for the Democrat ticket (If you can :D). And, I am also looking forward to learning more from their debates in October.

~Rajee

Rajee's Reading Corner

        Hey everyone. Summer is on the verge of ending and I was thinking of all the good books I have read in the past year. I tried all sorts of genres and levels of difficulty. Here are some of my favorites:

The Wednesday Wars: by Gary D Schmidt               
             This book is a historical fiction book based in the year 1967 during the Vietnam War. It's a story about how the main character Holling Hoodhood survives through 7th grade. He learns the values of Shakespeare during his Wednesday alone time with his teacher while his classmates are at church. I really liked this book and thought it had a good story line. Even the authors message was valid and was strongly used throughout the story.

Dark Life: by Kat Falls              
            The book Dark Life tells a story about how humans came to live underwater instead of the crowded surface and how it affected their community. Ty, the main character in these series (the second book is Rip Tide, but I don't find that book as good) lives with his family underwater, but problems arise and it's up to him and his new friend Gemma to figure them out. This book has a good sense of adventure with a little bit of mystery. I really liked how the author had the setting in a unique place, underwater.

11 Birthdays: by Wendy Mass               
            11 Birthdays tell a story of Amanda and Leo. Ever since they were born, they have celebrated their birthday together until their 10th. During their birthday that year, Leo said some mean things to Amanda and ever since they haven't spoken to each other. Then, on their 11th birthday, things started to become weird and their birthdays seemed to repeat over and over again. And, Leo and Amanda were the only ones who noticed. This book had many cliffhangers and I couldn't stop reading it. Also, if you liked this book, the "sequel" to this is the book Finally and then 13 Gifts. Those two books are also really great and will add new characters throughout the stories

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life: by Wendy Mass
           
           This book has many great lessons like to never give up and to be motivated. When Jeremy's 13 birthday comes around the corner, a package comes to him, but without the keys it cannot be opened. Jeremy and his best friend Lizzy try to figure out how to get those keys back. The box seems to lead the two of them to a huge adventure. And, the box is a gift from his dead father to open on his 13th birthday. This book is full of adventure and still moving and you will from not want to stop reading. Another book just like this one is called Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur.

As Small As an Elephant: by Jennifer Richard Jacobson             
           This book is about a kid named Jack who loves elephants. He has an unpredictable mom who leaves him at a camping trip they went on. Jack is alone in a different state and has nowhere to go to. He then decides to go find his mom and is helped by some people he comes across. Jack then realises he can’t find his mother and changes his mission to go find an elephant named Lydia. This story expresses the idea of determination and love. I really enjoyed reading this book.

Some other good reads:

Getting Air by Dan Gutman
Pendragon by D. J. Machale
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass
Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan

There are also many other good books, but unfortunatley I forgot most of them...
Have a great time reading!

-Rajee

Summertime into Study Time

 V.S.

   

         Hey everyone, summer is almost over and there are only a few weeks until school starts. I had lots of fun during my time off from school and did many activities. As you know, summer is usually a time to have fun and take a break. At least for those of us who get a vacation... Over summer break, I still studied and also took a few classes. Some of them were at the Microsoft store. They offered free classes and taught us about how to create a  video game, digital movies, and digital arts. I learned information about those programs for three weeks. I liked the digital art week the best and it was incredible to see the many apps you could use to edit a single photo. I also took a photography class later on which taught me a little more about how to use my DSLR camera and what each little button and adjustment does. It was a very interesting class and I learned a lot from that experience.
       
          On September 5th, we saw the rover Curiosity land on Mars on a big screen at NASA. It was one of the few times they have successfully landed a rover on Mars. It is a very complicated process and can fail if even one small mistake occurs. The time space between the take-off from the ISS and the landing on Mars is more than seven months. These scientists have been planning this mission for the last 10 years  to enjoy a favorable outcome. For me, I can't even plan a day in advance! If the mission fails, they would lose 2.5 billion dollars. There is also the seven minutes of terror which is the time it takes the rover to enter the atmosphere and to land on the surface of Mars. During those crucial seven minutes, the scientists would get no reception from the rover. For good luck, the tradition is to eat peanuts. The custom started when NASA's JPL ( jet propulsion laboratory) attempted outer space missions and when they finally succeeded, they coincidentally had been eating peanuts. I guess now I should eat peanuts before I take a test. In the end, Curiosity landed successfully.
         
           And, a few days ago, I took a class with a few of my friends where the teacher taught us about DNA and how to extract it. We took a few squishy plants and created a mush, then added laundry detergent, salt, and water which created a visible DNA strand. I have even seen my DNA by using saliva instead of berry mush. In addition, I had quite a few more fun and enjoyable days with my friends and family. When my moms friend came here from London, we hung out with her and her two daughters. We went to Great America with them and had a blast. As usual, I loved all the roller coasters and even the lines were shorter than most times. I especially liked Flight Deck, one of the rides they have. We also rode on this water ride down a river in a raft and all of us got drenched from head to toe.

           Although, I have to say, much of my time these few months was spent reading new books. I went to the library constantly and even did the summer reading program. Watching the Olympics on t.v. was something to look forward to each day at prime time. My family and I cheered on team U.S.A for every sport. Now, school is starting which is something to look forward to, but I will also miss summer break and I will be waiting until my next holiday. With new classes and teachers, I will have a whole other experience from summer. And the best part... becoming a sevie from a pixie!


-Rajee

Climbing the Outdoors

       
         What place do you go to that takes 30 minutes of endless windy roads up a mountain? For me, it's rock climbing. This week, my brother and I took a class to learn how to climb a naturally formed rock outdoors. Unlike the indoor rock climbing venues, the outdoors are full of surprises. We had two instructors who helped us throughout the day and five other companions. To get to the cliff we were going to climb, we had to hike through the woods for a mile and restlessly push through the wilderness.  The hike was full of steep declines and rough pathways. We also made sure to stay away from poison ivy and other surreal looking plants. When we reached to the top, we saw the cliff we were going to climb and how far we were from the ground. The scenery around us was breathtaking and in the far distance, we could see Monterey. There were many trees below us and they were becoming lighter as they became farther away from us. Even the sun was peeking out at us from the stringy clouds. When we sat down to rest, one of our instructors climbed the cliff called Goat Rock and attached the ropes to which we would climb and would keep us from falling if we slipped. There were two spots where we could climb on opposite sides of the rock. In between us was another group of people also climbing. Both paths were exhausting and hard to climb. The foot holds were hard to get to and the face of the rock was mostly flat. Eventually, I got to the top of both of both climbs and successfully came down. I also learned how to tie a knot which saved my life multiple times. At the end of the two brutal climbs, we stopped and had lunch. Next on our adventure was jumping of a cliff. Well, not exactly, but close enough. We hiked to another part of the woods until we came to another place called The Falls. On the way there, we came across a tree which is nicknamed the refrigerator tree. All of us were hugging it because of its cold bark compared to the terrible heat beating down on us. When we got to The Falls, our instructor tied a rope to the poles of the wooden platform and the a tree. Underneath us was a small waterfall, a stream, and a flat rock face with a 80 ft drop. From there, we would slowly let our selves down by giving away the rope slowly, which was tied to us. I was the first one to try it and I have to admit, I was scared to do it at first. Then it became really fun letting myself down. There, the scenery was also gorgeous and the view was incredible. Then, I had to climb back up, but because of the very flat rock, I couldn't go up. So, my instructor had to help me while I used the rope to climb up. We were almost at the end of our day. We were hot, sweaty, dirty, and very tired, but still I felt really good that I accomplished so much. It was a really awesome experience and I would really like to do it again. I also encourage all of you to try it and i'm sure you will like it as much as I did. Though I have to warn you... you may be very sore the next day like I was, but still was totally worth it.

Games of the XXX Olympiad: London 2012 Olympics

       

         Hey everyone! Most of you have heard of the London Summer Olympics coming up and have wondered what events they have, who is competing, and who will win... right? Well so am I. I am really excited about watching the Games and I thought you might want to know a little more about them.
         Originally, the Olympics started in ancient Greece around 776 BCE and was a competition between men from different city-states and was held in honor of Zeus. Today, we replicate these ancient games into what we have now, the Olympics. Although it has been changed throughout history, including the many sports (like chariot racing), some of it is still the same.
         In London, there are 26 sports and about 200 different countries are participating with about 10,500 athletes. In the U.S. alone, there are 530 athletes competing. Their motto is to "Inspire a Generation" and the two mascots are Wenlock and Mandeville. The Opening Ceremony is on July 27 even though there are a few events that take place a day before.
         The Opening Ceremony this year, marks the beginning of the 30th Olympic Games. Even though the real Opening Ceremony schedule might be out there, this is what I think should happen. In the beginning, it would be entertaining if soldiers marched in and did a few stunts. Then maybe a few dancers and actors could somehow act out the British conquest all over the world and the King and Queen could walk in. Although, it would be truly incredible if the cast of Harry Potter flew in and acted out a scene. After all, the books do take place in London.
          During the actual Olympic Games, my favorite sport to watch is gymnastics. As many of you know, I used to do competitive gymnastics and I still really enjoy watching the sport. The many flips, turns, jumps, and twists thrill me. It's an incredible sport to watch. Also, swimming is a delightful sport which can be very tense when swimmers are really close to the finish line and are side-by-side. This year, I think the U.S. has a great team of swimmers and gymnast. The women's gymnastic team has five great gymnasts who all aced the championships. Even with some questionable injuries, both men and women U.S.A. gymnastic teams are strong and determined to win the gold. This year, the U.S. swim team, also has some fierce swimmers. Everyone knows Michael Phelps, the man who has won the most Olympic gold medals in the world. Also on the team are some veterans, like Natalie Coughlin, Brendan Hansen, Matt Grevers, and Ryan Lochte, but there are many newbies as well. Make sure you tune into your t.v. to watch these incredible athletes perform.
           As you can see, the Olympics are a worldwide tournament where the best of each sport in every country compete against each other for the honor to win. Over 4 billion people are expected to watch this spectacular event and hopefully you will be one of them. GO TEAM U.S.A.!!!

~Rajee
         

The Movie: The Amazing Spider-Man

        

           Hey everyone! On Saturday, I watched the new movie, The Amazing Spider-Man, which is based on the Marvel comic hero. This film was directed by Marc Webb and Spider-Man/Peter Parker is portrayed by actor Andrew Garfield. The movie starts off with a young Peter Parker with his family, but when his father's office is broken into, he is taken to his aunt and uncle's house. He still lives with them during his high school years, but Peter wants to learn more about his mother and father and what happened to them. He finds out that a close colleague to his father was a man named Dr. Curt Connors and tries to visit him by acting as an intern. While he is exploring the area, he comes across a lab with thousands of genetically modified spiders and accidentally gets bit. He gets turned into Spider-Man and has the powers of shooting webs and sticking to walls. Peter uses these new powers to try to stop crimes, but eventually gets into trouble. Once, when he was sent to the principals office for destroying a basketball backboard, his Uncle Ben has to change work shifts and Peter is ordered to pick up his Aunt May. Peter forgets and later storms off when he receives a scolding from his uncle. His uncle follows him but then accidentally gets shot by  a robber with a gun and dies in Peter's arms. Meanwhile, Dr. Connors uses the drug formula on himself to recreate his arm. The formula, which had lizard DNA in it turns Connors into a full grown human-lizard. Connors uses the drug on himself many more times and thinks the drug was the solution to human problems. He plans to turn everyone in the city into lizards, but Spider-man tries to stop him. If you want to watch the whole thrilling tale, you should definitely watch the movie. The film was very well made and the animation parts fit well into the parts. All the climbing, webs, and fighting was very realistic and the actors played their parts well. Even the human-lizard somehow made the film come alive. The set the actors acted on was well made and especially the  sewer scene. I really liked how Spider-Man shot the webs into each hole and how the web bounced every time something moved on it. It was a well created scene and it was used scientifically. The storyline also fit together well and detailedly described the important scenes. In the end, there weren't many questions that I thought should have been answered besides "What happens next?", the usual one (there is a sequel). Also, this film was rated PG-13, but I think younger kids can also watch this movie. The little fighting they have towards the end is not at all gory or brutal. There is a little blood and killing but it isn't gruesome. Over all, this movie is great and I strongly recommend it to all. 

-Rajee

Book Review: Heroes of Olympus

          The series, Heroes of Olympus, is one of my personal favorites that I really enjoy! Rick Riordan made the book fast paced, intense and adventurous. The main characters in the first two books are: in book one the heroes are Jason, Leo, and Piper while in book two, Percy, Frank, and Hazel save the world. The series continues off another of Riordan’s books, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The six demigods, from separate groups (Greek and Roman), work together without the knowledge of the others. You should definitely read these books if you haven’t already read them. I really thought Riordan did a good job describing the scenes and what was going on elsewhere. He also wrote the books from a the different points of view from the main characters. Reading the Heroes of Olympus can even educate readers about Greek and Roman mythology and how the gods from ancient times were worshiped and thought of. The themes of friendship and loyalty also stand out and is shown throughout the books. Oh, and the third book, The Mark of Athena, is coming out in Fall 2012. Can’t wait!

Welcome to my Blog

         Thank you for visiting my blog! Although you may not think everything on this page is very informative or fun, hopefully you might become a little more interested in the same things I am. You will probably find a lot about books and other hobbies of mine. So have an enjoyable time browsing through my blog and have a great day!