I N C E P T I O N

BY CHRISTOPHER NOLAN

YOUR MIND IS THE SCENE OF THE CRIME

If this picture does not make you say to yourself, "OMG i need to like read this book/see this movie like today cuz it looks so freaking like totally awesome," then you are a boring person who should stick to reading books about pale, unattractive vampires and warewolves who do not know how to put on shirts.

From the mind of Christopher Nolan, acclaimed director/writer of blockbusters such as "The Dark Knight" and "Batman Begins" and mind-bending thrillers like "Memento" and "The Prestige" comes "Inception," a surreal actioner set within the architecture of the mind. Oh, you don't know what that sentence means? I see. In that case, it's a story about spinning tops, trains, Mombasa, dreams within dreams within dreams, limbo (no, not the party game), and one really angry dead wife.

O' Henry, I Have Something to Tell You

http://www.online-literature.com/o_henry/

• Was born in 1862
• Often writes story with ironic/dramatic endings.
• Left school at 15
• Was married in 1882.
• Was convicted in 1897 of embezzling money.
• Was sent to prison in 1898.
• Wrote storys in prison to support his daughter Margaret.
• Changed his name after he was released from prison in 1901.
• Moved to New York in 1902.
• Divorced his second wife in 1910 after an unhappy 3-year marriage.

The Dead Poe Society

1. Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston. He died on October 7, 1849.
4. Poe called Massachusetts his home.
6. Poe was expelled from the US military academy.
7. Poe married Virginia Clemm, and she was 13 years old.
10. "The Tell-Tale Heart" was written in 1845 and "The Black Cat" was written in 1843.

11. "The Raven" was published in 1845.

12. See attached picture.

13. http://poestories.com/discuss.php?article=4411f7fc6a55a

14. http://poestories.com/guestbook.php

17. The Poe Toaster is the mysterious figure who brings a tribute to Poe's grave on his birthday.





Salutations for the Second Time This Year Friends

Good morning, afternoon, evening, or whatever time of day it is in which you are reading this blog post. My name is Daniel, as you should know by now.



In Honors English class, we spent most of the first quarter raising and nurturing our research papers until they were a fully formed butterfly of persuasive prose. Unfortunately, I found most of this unit to be somewhat anticlimactic and monotonous. However, I have high hopes for the second quarter, as we will be covering topics such as short storys, Shakespeare, and various grammar topics, all of which have much more appeal to me.


In the near future, we will be covering the works of Edgar Allan Poe, who is without a doubt one of my favorite poets/short story authors of all time. Some of my favorite of his works are "The Black Cat," "The Telltale Heart," and "Hop Frog" to name a few.


In conclusion, as the leaves fall and the holidays approach, I hope that the second quarter of Language Arts is an extremely enjoyable experience, and I can't wait to see what is in store.

You Have the Right to Remain Silent

Pryor, Douglas W. "Juvenile Delinquency." Grolier Mulimedia Encyclopedia. Grolier Online. 22        September 2010. Web.

• Consists of two types of offenses: acts that are illegal for minors and adults and acts that are illegal until adulthood.
• Provisions exist that allow minors to be tried as adults depending on the seriousness of the crime.
• 
  
   Most minors are caught generally for burglary.
• 
  
  Minors often commit crimes in gangs (youth gangs).
• 
  
  Juvenile violence more likely to occur in urban areas.
• 
  
  Cases involving minors are taken to Juvenile Court
• 
  
  Juveniles have the same rights as adults.
• 
  
  One proposed explanation for youth crime is that "....youths who face limited economic oppritunities or experience low status among peers..." commit crimes out of hopelessness or despiration.
• 
  
  The death penalty "...is not constitutionally prohobited for juveniles aged 16 or 17."
• 
  
  "Youths are more likely to commit homicide with a firearm."

Letter to Jude

703 East Churchville Road

Bel Air, Maryland 21014

9-8-10

Dear Jude,

My name is Daniel. I am fourteen years old and am a freshman at the John Carroll School in Bel Air, Maryland. It was great being able to read about your experiences over the past years in the book by Kate Morgenroth. Being that you were in prison for five long years, I’m assuming you did not get out very much. I, on the other hand, traveled all along the eastern seaboard this past summer and vacationed in places like Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Buffalo, New York with my brother’s baseball team. It was extremely fun for me, but I could not help feeling sorry for you, sitting alone in solitary confinement.

Overall, reading Kate Morgenroth’s book about you was an enjoyable experience. I felt that she described your experiences very well, and the story seemed to flow exceptionally for the first three quarters of the book. However, the final quarter seemed relatively lacking compared to the other three. The pacing was suddenly slowed to a crawl, and I started having to push myself to continue reading. However, when I did finish the book, it left an impact on me.

On a different level, I felt that Kate Morgenroth did an exceptional job conveying your character. Every line of dialogue your character spoke seemed extremely realistic and exactly what you would think a teenager would say in a situation. Most authors have trouble doing this, and the fact that Kate Morgenroth did it perfectly greatly enhance the reading experience.

I only have a few questions. What exactly happened with you and your mom in the end?  Are you two still getting along? Why didn’t you answer the phone when she called? It seems puzzling to me that you would simply ignore her since the whole point of the book is that you are trying to redeem yourself to your mother and repair your relationship. With Harry being sent to jail and her losing the mayor election, her life isn’t going very well. Sorry to drop a guilt bomb on you, but in my opinion, you should be there for her in a time where she would otherwise be alone.

I also think your prosecution was a real mess. An issue nowadays that’s rapidly becoming more and more significant is the teenage justice system. As far as my stand on this issue, I haven’t really made up my mind. Yes, teenagers are not adults and thus should not be tried as one, but the law is the law. If you break it, you take the responsibility of the consequences. However, that’s just my opinion. We need to get more people to take a stand on this issue, because most people don’t think much about it. Your book conveys this issue beautifully, leaving room for the reader to form their own opinion on it without any bias from the author, so it seems a perfectly plausible example to share with others. Hopefully it would shake them out of their apathy for the issue and cause them to form their opinion and stick to it.

Well, it was great to read about your experiences, and I hope we can talk together again in the near future. Oh, and just a little advice— talk to your mom!

Your friend,

Daniel

Summer Reading: "Jude" by Kate Morgenroth; Questions

JUDE

by Kate Morgenroth

Social Issues: Mother and Son relationship; teenagers in prison; juvenile justice system

The Book

          

1.     The main character is Jude, a teenage boy who, throughout the book, develops a determination, fearlessness, and loyalty that become the cornerstones of his personality.

2.     In the beginning, Jude’s previous life is completely turned around when he moves in with his real mother, no-nonsense District Attorney Anna Grady, and her boyfriend, Harry; Jude gets back into the drug dealing business at his new school, but an accidental lethal overdose by a customer sparks turmoil in his new family just as his mother is beginning her anti-drug campaign for her run for mayor. The middle begins when Harry learns of Jude’s affiliation with the accident and devises a plan to save Anna’s reputation and ensure her win in the election; this plan entails Jude going to jail for several years, where he learns that Harry didn’t keep his end of the bargain and that he will remain in jail for his full sentence. The end of the book is Jude’s effort to find evidence to expose Harry’s betrayal to his mother, in which he ultimately succeeds, but not without the price of damaging his existing relationships.

3.      I think the author is trying to convey how Jude’s determination is a main pillar of his personality. If it weren’t for his determination in the issues that he faces in his life— Jude trying not to be like his father, Jude trying to expose Harry’s betrayal to his entire family — then he would just be pushed around by everyone who crosses his path.

The Issues

1.     I think that one of the most obvious social issues in this book, teenagers in prison, affects three important characters in the story— Jude, Anna Grady, and Jude’s friend Davis; Jude is obviously the most affected by being in prison, because his time in prison did what prison is intended to do to anyone— straighten them out; Jude shied away from the personality traits he inherited from his father as well as matured and formed a well-rounded personality for himself. Davis was indirectly affected by Jude’s time in prison, but in a negative way; he was hesitant in helping Jude at first because of his reputation and thus was afraid to form a foundation of trust with him, and this ultimately led to his betrayal. Anna’s boyfriend, Harry was also affected by Jude in prison; what Harry didn’t think about when betraying Jude was that Jude would have time to find himself and form the determination to expose him, and his reputation was eventually ruined because he was foolish enough to think that Jude was just a puppet.

2.     There are two events in this book that make all three of the social issues seem real and important; one being the moment Jude is sentenced to five years in prison and the other being  when Jude and Harry reveal their original intentions to Anna. The author does this by having these events emotionally inflict all the main characters with the cold reality of the social issues in the book.

image from: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6695744-jude

Social Issue Research

I will be researching the social issue of the juvenile justice system. Seven search terms that I found helpful when researching this topic were: “juvenile delinquency,” “juvenile detention center,” “US court laws,” “juvenile crimes,” “minors in court,” “juvenile justice system,” and “prison sentencing”. The book I read over the summer, “Jude” by Kate Morgenroth, focused mainly on the issue of the juvenile justice system. The main character, Jude, often found himself in frightening situations regarding the court’s handling of minors. I know that this topic is a big problem these days. Specifically, I know that the American juvenile justice system was introduced in 1868 in Chicago to keep children away from the influence of adult prisoners. I also know that a large number of juvenile crimes are actually not documented and that youth are more likely to be caught committing a crime then adults are. I am very happy with this topic, because being a juvenile myself, I can identify with the emotional turmoil that goes into this type of issue.  

Sites used: http://www.lawyershop.com/practice-areas/criminal-law/juvenile-law/crimes/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_juvenile_justice_system, http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_M3TzUemSx8U/SuSk5JaHOCI/AAAAAAAACF0/r5TQ4toUPm0/s400/Handcuffs.bmp

Me, Myself, and I Am Cool

When you see me somewhere, the first thing that probably pops into your mind is “hey, look at that guy,” followed by several other comments until you eventually say to yourself, “I wonder what he likes to do.” Well, now you’ll never have to ask that question, because I’m going to tell you. Since my height may be slightly over average, you might ask, “Does he play basketball?” The answer to this question is no. I run cross country in the fall and occasionally in the off-season, but other than that, I’m not a big sports person. What I do like to do with my free time is be involved with everything “cinema-wise”, meaning, I like movies and everything about them. Watching them, making them (yes, I make them), how they are made professionally, which ones are good, which ones are terrible, all that stuff. That’s really my main thing. Other smaller things I enjoy doing is playing video games (like Halo, Call of Duty, Need for Speed, and so forth), watching TV (shows like SNL, Pawn Stars, and Whose Line Is It Anyway?), and drinking Vanilla Coke (Dr. Pepper is also one of my favorites). Some goals I have for high school are getting straight A’s every semester, meeting new people, and taking less than three times to unlock my locker. So, there you have it— me.