The Hook of Danger

Author's Note: This is my prediction piece on the story of the golden hook. I hope this illustrates my understanding of creating an alternate ending.

Cody was about to melt the claw to pure gold when he noticed something.  On the piece of gold that gripped his arm the was a hidden note. The not read,"If you sell my gold you will make money but with a price."  Cody being his greedy self didn't care at all and went along with melting the hook. 

The next day when Cody went to town to sell the gold he thought about what is like to be haunted, but then he remembered ghosts aren't real.  When he got his $200 dollars from the jewelry vendor he started the walk back home.  Once he got back home he started having bad luck. First his campfire just goes out.  Next  he starts hearing mumbling voices in his head. Finally he starts seeing things. He couldn't take the pressure of being haunted.  When someone from town went to check on Cody he was gone. The mysterious and greedy Cody was never seen again.

Art of Change

Authors Note: This is character development piece about how Robert Langdon From The Da Vinci Code changes throughout the book.

Mark Brown did a beautiful job of having Robert Langdon, the main character, develop through the story of The Da Vinci Code.  The main storyline idea is that when an organization wants to get their hands on the holy grail. Of course Robert had to face mainly challenges along the way. Also he changed immensely throughout the book in many ways.

Self Doubt was just one feeling that was expressed was when  Robert got dragged into an investigation he could care less about.  It was even stated on page 27 that he thought about what he could be doing on a Sunday morning instead.   This feeling changed in Robert later once he had an option to stop, but he continued the adventure.

Although caring about something is important self doubt is even more necessary.  Towards the beginning of the book he feels like he can’t solve the puzzle.  During the end of the book expressed on page 395 he is solving mysteries left and right.  This affected the story because it seemed to progress faster at the end when Robert was solving problems quicker.

Both of these factors are important in the change of Robert throughout the story.  Self doubt changing in a character reminded me of the Alex Rider series.  Alex got introduced to being a spy after his uncle died.  At the beginning of the book Alex didn’t think he should be a spy, and didn’t believe in himself. Towards the end of the book and even into the next book Alex had a choice to stop being a spy.  When he chose to continue it demonstrated that he had enough confidence in himself.  This related to The Da Vinci Code in the fact that Robert was trying to solve the puzzles more than anybody at the end of the book.

Both of these reasons are examples of Robert Langdon changed as the book progressed.   In every book there is always characters changing and these were just a few of the many examples of how he changed.

Cause of Demons

Authors Note: This is my cause and effect piece. I hope that readers can learn that there is cause and effect in every book.

In the book Angels and Demons written by Dan Brown is a thrilling action packed story. A collage professor goes on an adventure to stop the Vatican from blowing up from an ancient organization.  This and more combine to make up an amazing story full of twists and turns.

First of all I believe that Max director for C.E.R.N., a multi million dollar company, caused Robert to see the branded body that caused the main rising actions of the story.  This helped form the rest of the story because  it attracted Robert to go to Rome and find the other bodies.

Another example of cause and effect is at the  end of the book Max gives Robert a disk that proves that Max is innocent.   That caused Robert to find out who the real villain was.  If Max didn’t give Robert the disk  the whole outcome of the book would have changed.

These causes reminded me an awful lot of Jack from Warrior Heir. Jack got caught in an adventure that was forced upon him when he was born with a heart disorder. This reminds me of Angels and Demons because everybody including Jack thinks that the white rose, and organization that wants war, is the enemy.  Later this  accusation turned around in their face.

In every book there is one or more cause and effects in it. In Angels and Demons there were many examples of cause and effect; I only looked into two of them though.  Looking at cause and effects in a book is really important while reading story.

Angel of writing

Author's Note: This is my retelling piece.  I hope that readers will understand that you should never judge a book by its title.

Angels and Demons written by Mark Brown is the a book for anybody. Following the murder of a scientist, a Harvard professor gets caught in an adventure involving an ancient brotherhood, the Illuminati. Clues lead them all around Rome trying to stop a ticking bomb and saving religious cardinals from certain death.

The Hero that is George Washington

Authors Note: This is my Patriots Pen essay focused on George Washington.

George Washington, was simply one of the greatest founders of the world. He got the colonists to work together together and formed one of the proudest nations ever.  If I where to meet George Washington I would thank him for everything he has done to us.  

When most people think of George Washington they think he's just the 1st President of the United States. When I think about him I think of one of the many soldiers and leaders who gave us our freedom. He fought for us as the first President, as well as a Commander in the American revolution. He fought in the war from 1775-1783 in which he fought in countless battles.

Although fighting for us was important making laws was just as important,  in 1787 George Washington was one of many significant people to sign the Constitution.  Two years later in 1789 he became the first president of The United States of America. Once he became president he fought Europe just for our freedom.

George Washington was by far one of the greatest men to help form the society as we know it   If we didn't have George Washington we might be slaves under the British rule.  Just think George Washington is only one of the many founding Fathers. 

the bomb of conflict

Angels in Demons is a book with many important conflicts between many different people.

Angels and Demons written by Dan Brown is a dramatic adventure full of twists.  The main characters try to stop the Illuminati from blowing up the Vatican City.   The main conflict in this book is the two main characters against the Illuminati.   This conflict is a person vs. group conflict. Although there are other minor conflicts this is definitely the biggest conflict.

This conflict happened when the Illuminati killed the bomb maker and took the bomb.  This helps get resolved when the main character finds clues that leads to the location of the bomb.  Once they find where the bomb is the Illuminati won’t give up without a fight

My First Shot

Author's Note: This is my personal narrative piece. I hope that it demonstrates that I can include dialog in my writing.

Squeak, squeak, squeak the shoes were making one of the most repetitive noises possible on the light green grass on a wet Saturday morning in late August. Slowly my dad and I walked down a small but exquisite nine hole golf course Menomonee Falls. Although it was only two weeks after my first golf lessons I've ever had, I still wanted to go out to a gold course jut because it was my first time golfing with my dad. Finally we were readying up for the first hole, and I was ready for my first shot. 

When we first got the course it was surprising that there was nobody there, but when we walked in the lady at the desk said the course had just opened five minutes ago.  After my dad and I got our cart we drove up to the first tee.  The first hole was a simple par three with a pond a third of the way through the hole.  Since my dad hits farther he tees up at the back tees.  Then after a few practice swings he was ready to drive."Ready for a perfect drive," he said.  "Whatever you say," I replied back doubtfully.  I was expecting a decent drive from him, considering he hasn't  golfed since February,  when we were in Florida. As he stepped  up to the tee I was still doubtful, but as soon as he hit the ball of my doubts vanished.  The drive was perfect right smack in the middle of the fairway.  Now it was time for the kid that had never even been on a legitimate golf course.
    

Since it was my first year golfing I didn't have my own clubs yet, so I pulled out the shiny silver driver that I was borrowing from my Grandma. After I took some practice swings and was ready to hit I started to get butterflies in my stomach, the first shot was right over a little pond.  If I didn’t  make it over it would land in the pond.Soon after I remembered I was only golfing with my dad. That thought completely erased any nervousness I still had.  Then I got my stance ready to shoot.  My backswing was perfect, but I got under the ball too much.  The white Nike ball went sailing just barely making it over the pond.   

Although my first shot was easily the most memorable shot, that day in general was one of my favorite.  From now on I will respect golfing much more than I used to.  Whenever I go golfing with my dad again, I will always remember my first shot.

The City of Steel

Seeing all of the major league stadiums has always been a dream of mine.  Pittsburgh is definitely going to be one of my favorite stadiums.  My trip to Pittsburgh was one of the best trips I've ever gone on.   

38,000 people gathering in one place could only mean one thing, a baseball game in the beautiful city of Pittsburgh. The struggling Milwaukee Brewers were playing a thriving Pittsburgh Pirates team on a cloudy day in the three river city.  It was a perfect day for a baseball game that I will always remember.

When my dad and I got our tickets checked by the men standing at the entrance they told us a little bit about the stadium.  For instance it holds the second least amount of people out of all the 32 major league teams,  and that isn't very good for being opened in 2001. Once you walk into the beautiful stadium you immediately notice how different it is from Miller Park, because PNC Park feels more open compared to the closed dome of Miller Park. Later after a little walking we noticed little terraces on the side of  each and every concession stand looking out towards the city. After walking around for so long we were getting a little tired, and decided to look for somewhere to sit down.

Finally after what seemed like forever my dad and I found a place to sit down at a table; then another man sat down at a table near us with a sandwich that looked amazing. After a long debate I finally convinced my dad that we should go figure out where the man got the sandwich from.Finally we found the sandwich only resturant, it was called Primanti Bros. According to many local brochures Primanti Bros had the best sandwiches in town, and it was easy to tell by looking at everyone eating it around us.  My dad and I just had to try it. I decided to order a grilled chicken with cheese, ketchup, tomatoes, and of course their famous fries piled on top of it. The sandwich was on of the best I've ever had, if I ever went back to Pittsburgh it would be a must eat. After eating we walked around the stadium and noticed a lot of people walking around on the warning track of the field. We decided to go see what was happening down on the field.

Eventually we got down to field level and tried to figure out what was happening.  The workers down there said we could come on the field and meet the players. I was super excited one of my favorite players is on the Pirates,the center fielder Andrew McCutchen. He is a two time all-star in 2011 and 2012, and won gold glove in 2012. To add to that he even has bridge named after him in Pittsburgh.  After waiting 15 minutes in line I finally got to meet him. One of the questions that stuck with me was what was his inspiration, Andrew replied with "Roberto Clemente." I wasn't really surprised, Roberto was the best center fielders to play the game. Especially for his time period. Sadly we weren't allowed to take pictures with any of the players.  Afterwards we went back to our seats for the game.  Sadly the Brewers lost 5-1, but after the game something amazing was about to happen.

My dad and I decided to take a walk on the river after the game until after the traffic cleared out.  Once we got down by the river they announced that there was going to be a firework show.  Eventually we found a nice hill to lay on to watch the fireworks.  They were spectacular!  They were better than some 4th of July fireworks. When it came time for the grand finale there was about a two minute pause so we knew it was going to be amazing.  My dad and I guessed right the finale was spectacular,  every kind of firework you can imagine.  They were by far the best fireworks I've ever seen.

My trip to Pittsburgh was great with going to the zoo, Falling Water, and just walking around the city.  But if I had one choice on what to do if I went to Pittsburgh again it would easily be going to see a baseball game.  That day was definitely the perfect day for baseball.

Life of a planet

Animals can be found all over the world anywhere you go.  Animals can live anywhere in the sea or on land.  They can even fly in the air.  People love to see animals be going to the zoo or going outside in the wildlife.  Every person has a favorite animal.  For example my favorite animal is a turtle.  Within each animal there can be different kinds as well.  For instance there are sea turtles and turtles that live inland.  But when a species gets hunted enough they can become endangered.  If they keep getting hunted they can become extinct.  Then they  don't even exist on the planet any more.  No matter what happens to animals they should be respected.

Fuel of Life

Everybody needs food to survive.  If you don't have food for a long enough you will eventually die.  Some people love food and others think its just okay.  Some countries even have certain foods that represent their countries.  For Example Italy is famous for pizza.  Or Mexico is famous tacos.  Also America is famous for its fast food hamburgers.  Food is what makes people happy and can wreck your life from eating way too much.If you like food or not it is the fuel of life.

Semantic Devices

Semantic Devices

Oil Can Wreck the World

Authors Note:  People can get influenced by oil, but this amount of oil isn't worth drilling.

Six months, that’s how long we could last on Alaska’s oil according to source one. Six months of oil isn’t long enough to drill somewhere that the US has been preserving for years.  As well as Drilling in Alaska would barely change the price of gas.  Wildlife that is part of the ANWR would get destroyed.  Do the positives out way the negatives of drilling in Alaska? No, the US shouldn’t drill in Alaska, it would destroy the environment and only give us six months of oil.

Environments can get destroyed no legitimate reason.  Helpless animals can die; Sights that will never be seen again can get destroyed all for one reason.  When people want things they will do almost anything to get them.  People want to drill in Alaska, but we need more people to understand why we shouldn’t.  In source two they mention the Inupiat people who live there,  they’ve been living there for generations .  What if you were at your house and someone came in your home and destroyed everything around you that you have been living on for as long as you can remember,  that’s would could happen in Alaska.

           
Money is the main reason people want to drill.  Prices are already rising steadily, and drilling for oil would only give us 6 months of oil which isn’t enough to change prices.  Money is what changes people’s minds, and once people figure out that drilling would barely change prices no one should want to drill in Alaska.  America wants to lower prices but destroying the place we have been fighting to preserve for years isn’t the solution.

              
America has been trying to preserve Alaska.  Since Alaska is one of America’s last untouched wildernesses  we should put up a fight before the government attempt to destroy it. Once anyone take a trip up there they can see that Alaska deserves to stay the same.  The wilderness is protected by the ANWR.  The ANWR was created to protect Alaska and now we are threatening to destroy it. According to source three Eagles, polar bears, seals, and elk all live in Alaska. 

            
Bottom line the US shouldn’t drill for oil in Alaska.  Instead we should invent alternative sources of energy.   According to source one the US only produces 3% of oil in the world and we use 30 %. The US needs to use less and make more but Alaska isn’t the way to do it.  Oil can wreck the world but it shouldn't destroy Alaska.

1: Document C: Courtesy of the Arctic Wildlife Organization, Washington, DC, 2004.

2: Document D: Jacob Adams, an Inupiat Eskimo, in an open letter to Congress, Barrow, Alaska, June, 1995
3: "Alaska's Animals, Alaska Department of Fish and Game." Home Page, Alaska Department of Fish and Game. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=animals.main>.

Water of Life

 Authors  Note:  Life lessons are a very important aspect of life that should be appreciated.  Pendragon Black Water by D.J.  MacHale  is excellent example of this.   
 
What if you were magically teleported to a jungle world full of vicious lizards with nothing but yourself.  In the book Pendragon Black Water written by D.J. MacHale is a great fiction book.  There are a ton of life lessons that can be learned just from reading this book


One of the life lessons to be learned  is that just because some people don’t play the rules doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t fallow the rules too.  An example of this is in Pendragon Black Water is when the Saint Dane breaks the rules and encourages the good character to break the rules too.  This lesson can be followed in real life when you see someone else doing something wrong, so you decide to copy them and you end up being wrong as well.


While breaking the rules is important if you think of situations before they happen you can be prepared.  In real life during the presidential race you can predict the result of each candidate to decide who you’re going to vote for.  in this book the main character needs to predict what the bad guy will do so that he is prepared.  Preparing is a huge skill in school because if you don't prepare for a test you could easily fail.


Being prepared is helpful but you also need to adapt to situations.  Adapting to events is probably the best lesson to be learned because if you can’t figure out the rules or predict the unexpected you can only survive as long as you know happening.  If the human civilization couldn’t adapt we might not have anything we have today.  


Lessons are a key part of life,  who knows where we’d be without them.  Since life lessons play such an important role in Pendragon Black Water, the book should be considered an amazing book to read.

War of a Lifetime

Authors Note:  Pendragon the Never War is an amazing example of a book in the middle of a series that preps for the next book and comes of the first one even better.
 
The book Pendragon the Never War  written by D.J. MacHale is and excellent combination of historical fiction and scientific fiction.  Along with all of the life lessons that can be learned.  The author did an amazing job at connecting the Never War to the rest of the books in the series.  
The author, D.J.MacHale seems to never run out of ideas for his books.  Every book has a different environment  that the main character explores.    

For example In the Never War is based on the Hindenburg airship disaster in 1937.  The giant airship known as the Hindenburg was an airship that traveled from Germany  to the US that crashed in New Jersey.  Nobody knows exactly why it crashed but there are a ton of guesses out in the world.   All of the theories combine to make an amazing book.  
   
The Hindenburg crash is an excellent example of what life can throw at you.  Two life lessons include to never give up on your goal and you have to look at the good side of things. An example of never giving up is when the main character is trapped inside a burning building tie to a rope with almost no chance of survival, but he doesn’t give up.  As well as that things aren’t going to well for the main character, Bobby Pendragon, but that doesn’t matter when his friends teach him how to look on the good side of things.  
   
All of life lessons put together with the realism of the book makes it feel like the author was actually there.   In 1937 there were a lot of things going on that people didn’t know about.  There were gangsters everywhere, the Germans plotting for World War 2, and all of the advancements happening.    The war didn’t start until 1939, but all of the main strings started falling in 1937 with the Hindenburg crashing.  
   
Pendragon The Never War, by D.J. MacHale is an amazing example of the historical events that happened in 1937.  Life lessons can be learned almost anywhere and are excellent examples of what is important in life.

What pictures can mean

Authors Note:Note just quotes have meanings.  Pictures can have meanings too.

If someone saw this in real life they would be amazed to see such a big animal have the ability to jump out of the water.  If you only see the picture though you can look at it in a whole new way.  When the whales are in midair they turn, and if you see it that way its like turning a new leaf or starting over.  Whales don’t always jump though sometimes they just come up for air which they need to survive.  That meaning could be that Even if you don’t do something amazing it could lead to something better.

A Famous quote

Authors Note: You can look at a quote any way possible.  

“Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear but forgetting where you heard it.”
Laurence J. Peter

This quote proves that just because you think something is your idea.  People tend to remember what they hear and call it their own idea. Everybody should be inspired to make something new, but considering how much there already is it’s much easier just to innovate in stead of inventing.   Originality should be recognized more because there is probably something like it. For instance if you make a waffle maker with additions, its not original because someone has already invented the waffle maker. Just if you think something is new doesn’t mean it is.  

Challenges in Life

Authors Note: Pictures have meanings some mean more than others.  This picture means a lot to me.

Most people would look at this picture and assume that there is a tough road ahead. That thought is right but not in the way you would think. What I see in this picture is much different. I see that life in the future is going to be much harder. The fact that on the sign the road twists from being straight probably means that something unexpected is going to happen that could cause a delay. Every picture has a meaning this picture just has a little clearer meaning to me.

Oregon Pride

Authors Note:   The point of view of objects can be one of the hardest point of view to create.  Since Oregon isn't respected enough they deserve more than they get now.  

I’m an Oregon sweatshirt ordered online that got shipped to a small town in Wisconsin named Pewaukee.  Since I’m so warm i can be worn almost anywhere and meet all of my rival teams.  
    

My owner, a young 12 year old boy, wears me a ton.  He wears me in school, outside if it’s warm enough, and anywhere that he can support Oregon.  Although I don’t get supported everywhere I go my owner wheres me anyway.  
    

When I get worn around I can see all of my rival teams and remember how much better I think Oregon is.  I see Wisconsin a lot because my owner lives in Wisconsin.  It gets really cold up here in Wisconsin, but that’s why I’m extra warm on the inside. 

One of the best moments that I was being worn was on January 2nd, 2012.  That day was The Rose Bowl.  I got worn to some strangers house with people full of badgers clothes on and I was the only Oregon thing in the house.  Even though i felt left out when we one it didn’t matter.  
    

The Oregon Ducks may not be the most loved team ever but when I got un-wrapped by this kid on Christmas I knew that he would wear me.  Whenever I see someone that doesn’t like me  it doesn’t matter because I am loved.

Summer Day Fun

Authors Note:  Every kid at some point in their life deserves a chance to enjoy summer doing whatever they want.

Summer is when every kid doesn’t have to go to school or when kids can do whatever they want.  Since there is no school you can stay up as late as you want and get up late in the morning.  Summer is the time when most sports are played.  You can be with your friends or stay home by yourself.  Even if its not sunny out its still a summer day that anybody can have fun on and enjoy.

Sports Dreams

Authors  Note:  Every kid deserves a chance to play sports.  You may not want to try a new sport, but who knows you may like it.  
  
 Almost every kid has a dream of being a professional sports player at one time in their life.  There are so many so many sports to chose from.  Almost any sport that you can play has a professional version of it.  Certain sports require more  physical action than others though.  Since there are so many sports to choose from it’s not that hard to find a sport to play.