Sports are usually in some shape or form on my mind. Right about now, it's March Madness that is consuming my mind and filling out my bracket, picking the right upsets and just watching the most exciting tournament in sports. That's not to mention the fact that I could win some serious money if I get lucky, so that makes it so much more exciting and I will cheer for teams in games that I would normally not care about. Money makes everything more exciting- I can definitely see how some people get addicted to the rush of gambling, because it really is some rush when you win, and even when you lose there's a rush too. This year I have Memphis going all the way, beating Tennessee in the championship game in San Antonio. I think they were clearly the best team throughout the regular season, so I think they have the best chance of winning it all, although there are plenty of teams that are capable of beating them. I chose some upsets like Purdue beating Xavier and Duke, and Kansas State with Michael Beasley overtaking O.J. Mayo and USC and Wisconsin and making it to the sweet 16. I also chose Georgetown over Kansas, Tennessee over UNC, and Villanova I have going to the sweet 16.
There is also another sport on my mind this time of year, and that is baseball. We have just started practicing in the Community Center and I'm definitely getting pumped for the season and for the Spring Trip to Florida with the team. I'm dissapointed that I can't go to Mexico, but playing baseball in Disney's very nice facilities and hanging out in hot weather sounds like a good time to me. The team is looking good this year, and I think we have a good chance at winning the conference championship. We've got a good amount of returning varsity players as well as good young players and solid players who are seniors that played j.v. last year.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Poetry Critique
http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/walter_de_la_mare/poems/1956.html
Tom's Little Dog by Walter de la Mare
Tom told his dog called Tim to beg,
And up at once he sat, His two clear amber eyes fixed fast,
His haunches on his mat. Tom poised a lump of sugar on
His nose; then, "Trust!" says he;
Stiff as a guardsman sat his Tim;
Never a hair stirred he.
"Paid for!" says Tom; and in a trice
Up jerked that moist black nose;
A snap of teeth, a crunch, a munch,
And down the sugar goes!
2. I chose this poem because I have two small Westies and I can relate to what he is talking about. I don't really feed them straight sugar and they can’t catch food off of their noses but everything else is about the same.
3. The title is very simple and is just explaining the main character: Tom’s Little Dog.
4. In the fifth line of the first stanza there is a simile referring to how the little dog Tim is sitting very straight and stiff: “Stiff as a guardsman sat his Tim”. I think this simile makes you visualize a small dog that is so stiff and all he cares about is getting that food. There is also consonance when he says “sat” in one line and then “mat” in the next line. I think the author wants the audience to focus on these words because it’s describing the action and where the dog is.
5. The tone of this poem is happy and simple. Throughout the poem Walter just talks about a dog and how he’s going to get food and then at the end he gets the food, so there is a happy ending.
Tom's Little Dog by Walter de la Mare
Tom told his dog called Tim to beg,
And up at once he sat, His two clear amber eyes fixed fast,
His haunches on his mat. Tom poised a lump of sugar on
His nose; then, "Trust!" says he;
Stiff as a guardsman sat his Tim;
Never a hair stirred he.
"Paid for!" says Tom; and in a trice
Up jerked that moist black nose;
A snap of teeth, a crunch, a munch,
And down the sugar goes!
2. I chose this poem because I have two small Westies and I can relate to what he is talking about. I don't really feed them straight sugar and they can’t catch food off of their noses but everything else is about the same.
3. The title is very simple and is just explaining the main character: Tom’s Little Dog.
4. In the fifth line of the first stanza there is a simile referring to how the little dog Tim is sitting very straight and stiff: “Stiff as a guardsman sat his Tim”. I think this simile makes you visualize a small dog that is so stiff and all he cares about is getting that food. There is also consonance when he says “sat” in one line and then “mat” in the next line. I think the author wants the audience to focus on these words because it’s describing the action and where the dog is.
5. The tone of this poem is happy and simple. Throughout the poem Walter just talks about a dog and how he’s going to get food and then at the end he gets the food, so there is a happy ending.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Writing Territories
I like to mostly read things that are either suspenseful, comical or have something to do with sports. The only reading that I do outside of school is usually just reading the sports page in the newspaper. I don't think I've ever read poetry or read a play in my life outside of school but writing a play wasn't too bad of an expierence. What I like to write most, though, are short stories involving suspense. I very rarely write when it's not a school assignment except when I'm playing hangman when I'm bored in class or when I'm writing down directions to places. The topics that most intrigue me when I'm writing are either writing about a funny situation or writing about something suspenseful.
Sometimes during a summer day there's nothing to do and it's so nice outside but I'm not really in the mood to run around too much. Frisbee golf is perfect for just relaxing and hanging out with friends while having a good time competing with them. At first it wasn't very much fun and people had to force me to come play with them, but after I got the hang of it and learned how to throw the frisbee properly I slowly got more and more addicted to the sport. I'm still not that good in some areas like putting but I'm improving on that. My strength is definitely on midrange approach shots and I have a pretty decent drive as well. There are some downsides to the sport like waiting for a group of fifteen guys to go in front of you or when it gets really windy it can be difficult to make even the simplest of puts. Critics argue that it's just an easy way out for those people who are bad at real golf and have no hand-eye coordination, but I counter by saying that my hand-eye skills are perfectly fine, and are necessary for playing baseball and best of all, frisbee golf is free.
Sometimes during a summer day there's nothing to do and it's so nice outside but I'm not really in the mood to run around too much. Frisbee golf is perfect for just relaxing and hanging out with friends while having a good time competing with them. At first it wasn't very much fun and people had to force me to come play with them, but after I got the hang of it and learned how to throw the frisbee properly I slowly got more and more addicted to the sport. I'm still not that good in some areas like putting but I'm improving on that. My strength is definitely on midrange approach shots and I have a pretty decent drive as well. There are some downsides to the sport like waiting for a group of fifteen guys to go in front of you or when it gets really windy it can be difficult to make even the simplest of puts. Critics argue that it's just an easy way out for those people who are bad at real golf and have no hand-eye coordination, but I counter by saying that my hand-eye skills are perfectly fine, and are necessary for playing baseball and best of all, frisbee golf is free.
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