::Chew on This:: - Response 3

Reading this book Chew on This, has been a great learning experience for me. I have learned so much from it, even stuff that I kind of didn’t really want to know since I was quite disgusted by some of things discussed in the book like how pink, red, and purple artificial coloring is made from a six-legged bug. Ew. Gross. Another thing was how the cows, chickens, and pigs are fed fattening foods and live in unhealthy and cramped spaces and are slaughtered in the most repulsive way. Speaking of the slaughter of cows, chickens, and pigs, that brings me to my topic. My two sub-topics are, how cows and chickens are slaughtered, and how the dirty working conditions in the slaughterhouse affect our health.
For research, I’m finding it a bit hard to get at least one book, sine so many people are doing this project, all the books on this topic, which aren’t a lot, at the library are all checked out. Especially Fast Food Nation, I hope that I can find at least one book to help me in my research, but now, it seems highly unlikely. Now the only things I can use are articles and things like that from the library’s electronic library.

::Chew on This:: - Response 2

We finished reading The Secret of the Fires chapter in the book Chew on This. I think that it is really disrespectful of the McDonald’s companies to have lied to the Jains like that. They completely defied their religion, and even when they asked if there was any beef in the French fries, the McDonald’s business men still lied to the Jains. I just think that it was really disrespectful and not very thoughtful of the people running the company. Another topic that was discussed in the chapter was how pink food coloring was made. Even though I already read that section of the book before, I still thought that it was pretty disgusting. The food coloring came from a bug called Dactylopius coccus costa. It is used to make a chemical called carmine, which is the typical pink food coloring. Yesh. Quite disgusting.

Another topic was how babies acquired their taste from their mother/parents quite young…even before they were born. I didn’t know that they could acquire their favorite tastes when they were still in their mother’s womb. One of the formulas that scientists made babies taste was cereal mixed in carrot juice. Personally, since I have never tasted carrot juice in my life, and since I usually eat my cereal with milk, I think it’s a bit gross. That is an example of acquired tastes.

We read a different chapter before, and one of the subtopics was called mcunions. It talked about these two boys trying to fight for their right to be able to be paid the right amount of money that they worked hard to earn for by working at McDonalds. At McDonalds, your salary is based on your work evaluation. Pascal had worked very very hard, and was often praised by the managers. Yet he still received an average grade, so he wasn’t paid as much as he was supposed to be paid. When he formed a union, at the last minute, the McDonalds that he worked at suddenly hired another 24 people, making the signatures for the union invalid. In order to form a full work union, you need to get at least more than half of worker’s signatures. That last minute addition of workers was unfair, and after a long process, Pascal and his friend Maxime, finally won out their cause.

-the following is not part of the blog=
-Ms. Orlando, in science we are starting to read the “Meat” chapter in Chew on This. Can we also talk about what we read in science as part of our blog? Or can we only write things on what we read in language arts?

::Chew on This:: - Response 1

I actually really wanted to talk about my own topic that I am doing for Chew on This, but we can only talk about what we read during class before….so im going to have to talk about that. The main topics that we hav read about in class, are The Pioneers, The Youngster Business, and McJobs. After reading The Youngster Business, I actually wasn’t that much surprised by how the business people aim for young kids to advertise to. I remember that one of the days that we were reading that topic, Mr. Cellini came in. After listening to us read for a few pages, he said something to us. He said that if you went inside a store, and bent down to about a five year-old’s point of view, see what types of things would be put there. I didn’t really know that at first, until Mr. Cellini told me.

In the topic of The Pioneers, it mentioned the main people that helped the general idea of fast food, particularly McDonald’s. The few important people who were mentioned, were people like Ray Kroc, and Richard and Maurice McDonald. The person who invented the hamburger, was a person named Charlie Nagreen. Harland Sanders started KFC, and he is on the buckets of chicken and many things that are associated with the fast food chain KFC.

I can’t wait until we finish reading this book in class. It’s got to be sometime before May 13….but at this rate…I’m not that sure about finishing the book by then…
Well, if we read both in Science and Language Arts from now on…I guess we will be okay =3. Plus, when we finish the book, and we have another blog, then I can talk about my topic xD. Well, with all this fast food business going on, I hope it can be resolved soon, and not have so much bad and unhealthy stuff about it. Help the world, and the people >ahem< us humans, and even animals, live healthier lives. =)

::Ender's Game::by Orson Scott Card-Respnse 1

The book Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is a well written book that has won many awards like the Nebula Award. The novel is well written and it displays images clearly into your head. The setting is in the in the future and mostly at the Battle School grounds. The main character of this book, is Alexander Wiggins, more commonly called, Ender. Ender was always being picked on at school just because he was a Third, an illegal third child in the family. At the young age of six, he was transferred to Battle School to become a soldier.

After reading the first few chapters of the novel, I decided that I really liked Ender as a character. He was really kind, but he always was outcasted and bullied. He had this brother, who was the complete opposite of him, and a loving sister. He never resorted to violence unless it was a life-or-death situation. In the middle of the book, I felt that the "teachers" were nt being very fair. They promoted Ender to an army when he was barely even seven. The usual age that a boy/girl would be promoted was around 8. Then he was made commander when he was only eight, and the usual age was 12.

I think that the title really fits the book's content. The book is basically about most of Ender's life, and describes how in Battle School he played the battle game. The game was something that helped the "teachers" sort out who was a better soldier, and who wasn't as good. Ender had played the battle game over a million times, and his standings were always at the top. His whole life is basically a game for the "teachers" because they are basically manipulating him through battle school.

This novel is probably best to be read by teens ages 12+ because of some mature content. But other than that, this book is really well written because the author clearly describes the hardships and good times that the main character has to go through in order to survive.

::Peregrine:: by Joan Elizabeth Goodman-Theme

The theme of Peregrine is Lady Edith learning to let go of her worries and fears and starting a new life. Lady Edith embarks on a journey not only because she wanted to escape a marriage with Sir Runcival, but also to clear out her mind over her sorrows due to the death of her husband and baby. Edith is constantly thinking of her baby girl, and weeps often over her sorrow. When she sees Christ and his child at a church, her horrors come rushing through her and she just can not let go of her baby girl. Luckily, with her wise words, Rhiannon reassures Lady Edith, and helps her let go of her baby. Her sorrow is lifted and she steps out from her little corner in the dark.

A sub-theme is when Lady Edith is desperately trying to escape from Sir Runcival. The main reason for Lady Edith’s journey to the Holy City, is to escape from him. Edith kept on having nightmares about him coming and taking her to become his wife. She thought that since he came to visit quite often after her husband had died, that he wanted her to marry him. She did not want to. I also think that this kind of says that, occasionally, you have to fight for what you want or believe in, or else everyone just makes the choice for you.

::Peregrine:: by Joan Elizabeth Goodman-Plot

In Peregrine, the exposition is when Lady Edith prepares to go on a journey to travel to Jerusalem, the Holy City. She chooses to go to Jerusalem because she does not want to marry Sir Runcival while she constantly thought of her dead baby and husband. So she goes on the journey with a handful of companions. Then, on the way, Lady Edith meets Rhiannon.

The rising action is when Lady Edith allows Rhiannon to join the company traveling and even gives Rhiannon her lovely blue dress that her husband had given her. At the beginning, Dame Joan [Old Wobbly Chins :P] is always protesting against Edith’s actions of kindness towards Rhiannon. She also finds her brother Simon, and a group of monks with him, and the join on the journey to Jerusalem.

The climax, is when Lady Edith finally reaches Jerusalem, the Holy City she had been longing to reach. At the Holy City, Edith is always worrying over her dead husband and child, and Sir Runcival. She also meets the pope and Queen Melisende during her stay.

The falling action is when Rhiannon finally reveals that she is a princess who ran away from a terrible plan was being plotted, using her against her own family. Also, Lady Edith goes into a church and sees Christ with his child, and her emotions come rushing into her as she remembers her own dead child. Rhiannon goes and comforts Edith, saying that it was time for her to let go of her baby; time to go on with her life. Lady Edith heeds her words and lets her little baby go with a whisper, “Alice”.

The resolution is that Lady Edith learns to choose, not be chosen. She definitely did not want to marry Sir Runcival, and she longed to marry her old childhood friend Will Belet. In the end, she frees herself from all the sorrows over her dead husband and child that left her in the dark. She went towards the light.