Haha...

So I'm watching Phantom of the Opera, and whenever it gets to the dramatic music and symbol crashes it keeps reminding me of the scream I did in band last year when we played it. The jumps I got from people were priceless. Oh well, that's randomness for you.

Pictures

Hey! These look a lot nicer if you click on them!!!

The Grey Wolf

The Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) is an endangered species that lives mostly in North America, Canada, Mexico, some of Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Russia, with subspecies of the wolf living in those same countries also.

The grey wolf is commonly confused with its relative the coyote. It is the largest member of its family and its color is anywhere from a grizzled gray, black to all-white. Females tend to be smaller than the average male. They have broad faces with a big muzzle, round short ears shaped like triangles with paws approximately 4 by 5 inches. They are also said to have a lower and long sounding growl. Males are 26 to 32 inches at the shoulders and are around 55 to 115 pounds. They give birth to litters of four to seven pups in April and May, with a general gestation period of about 2-3 months.

Wolves travel in packs (which is another variation from coyotes). They travel under the Alpha Male and Female, which are the only members of the pack that can mate. The Alpha Male and Female positions are chosen by who’s the best fighter. The subdominant wolves are forced to show their position by crouching and lowering their tails, while the dominant wolf can prance around, and play with them as they please.

The Grey Wolves habitats are tundra’s, forests, deserts, plains and mountains. This is reason why Alaska, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Wisconsin and Wyoming are the ideal spots from them.

Wolves are carnivores (they eat only meat). They tend to usually thrive on larger animals, but will eat smaller animals if needed. Wolves usually kill and eat the animals that are the easiest to capture, therefore weeding out the weak parts in herds, making them stronger. This relationship with the prey is the most evident when Wolves were taken out of Yellowstone National Park. The elk and moose population along with coyotes and other animals started to grow out of control, the bighorn sheep’s pink eye disease was spreading, and food sources were rapidly depleted, however when they returned the wolves to the environment, things eventually snapped back into place for the rest of Yellowstone.

For years wolves were poached. At some times they were poached for their pelts, game, and due to them eating livestock. They were cruelly punished for this crime. Not only were they shot, they were trapped, or trapped then would have gasoline poured on them and then set fire to. Bounties were sent forth to try to get more people to hunt them. This started for the Grey Wolves (other wolf bounties for other species were or could have been set earlier or later) in 1630 in Massachusetts, and later the Unites States paid Indians with 3 quarts of wine or a bushel of corn, for one wolf that was turned in. By 1818 there was a “War of Extermination Order” for bears and wolves and slowly by 1884 bounties were set in at the least 9 states. By 1950 it was app
Finally this became too much! In 1973 the Endangered Species Act was put into order and the wolf was put on the list that August. Efforts slowly started back once more to try to get the wolf population to survive. Not all were successful though, in 1974 four wolves were introduced into an area in Michigan, but do to humans killing them the plan failed. In 1975 the first wolf reproduction (documented) pack was started since the 1950’s, bringing hope and ideas to others that wished for the wolves’ survival. Slowly, after many years the wolf population started to increase and become healthy once more, even after dips in this trend and shooting. In 2004 a hearing was held to once again remove the Grey Wolves from this list due to the fact that in 4 areas where the wolves were reintroduced the population was approximately 3,819 wolves. However in 2005 this plan was ruled against in court. Then finally on 03/12/2007 the Minnesota Grey Wolf was taken off the Endangered Species list. Unfortunately, there was no happily ever after, at least for the Rocky Mountain Grey Wolf that was delisted in April 2009. The wolves were being killed off so quickly that the healthy population formed was no longer substantial and have now been put back on the endangered species list once more. However, more people still and will continue to fight the issue.

Literary Analysis of Great Expectations

Great Expectations is a novel written in 1861 by the master of all classics, Charles Dickens, who has written other highly appreciated novels like well known, The Christmas Carol, The Pickwick Papers and many more. One of the amazing things about Charles Dickens is that he always manages to incorporate many themes that can be invisible to some people, and obvious to others. Throughout this whole book it reeks with the theme of revenge and yet, the theme that I would really like to discuss is the passage which represents the importance of humility, not getting caught in unimportant things, and being willing to change.

“Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before- more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle. If I had cried before, I should have had Joe with me then.” (Great Expectations, p. 153)

This passage is towards the end of Pip’s first expectations, where he is leaving his family. Throughout the first stage of his expectations, Pip has slowly become ashamed of his family, believing them to be too common for his Estella to love and would make her hate him. Then he gets his expectations, the chance to become a gentleman, and in a state of pride separates himself from his family and treats them coldly as he leaves. Joe, his brother-in-law who is more of a father, offers to take him to meet the coach, but Pip instead chose not to have him come, as he no longer needs him. Until he actually gets there, and realizes his heart really does belong with his family. Slowly, as the book unravels, Pip begins to realize how much happier he could have been if he had been kinder to those who loved him most, his family.

The “Rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts.” Using this imagery Pip describes that crying is alright, that showing emotion is sometimes the only thing that makes us feel better, and recognize reality. The blinding dust of reality is the things that get in our way, that block our image of the import things making us believe that they are the actual items of importance. The rain is our emotion, a true feeling, and by showing true feeling and emotion we settle that dust and put it back into its place on the ground where it can be trod on, then in the air where it becomes of matter of importance and where we can breathe it in.

When I read this passage I guess it makes me think of someone looking back on what they’ve gone through, and in a gentle way telling a person the subtle truths of life. Teaching them what they should not be afraid to be themselves, to be humble, and to not think that they can do everything on their own.

“More sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gently. If I had cried before, I should have had Joe with me then.” If Pip had only looked, cried before, realized, examined himself, wouldn’t he have recognized his pride, would he have realized Joe was someone who he truly loved? Who truly loved him? In the end Pip after many tries comes back to Joe, who had always been there for him, had always wanted him. However, he realized it how much later? After he had been through harrowing trials and had hurt himself. If he had been humble, he wouldn’t have had to “scrape his knees” to learn that truth and his life would have been so much happier.

“Heaven knows I should never be afraid of my tears.” I should never be afraid of changing, of being penitent. It may be painful then but it is more than worth it in the end. Be humble, recognize the need for a change and be willing to go through it.

Romeo and Juliet

I am the one,
Oh, Romeo’s fair love
As sweet as the eastern sun
Our fate was matched on stars above,
Yes, the cruelest stars, did match our innocent love.
Our fathers hate did seal our fate,
And sent me early to my untimely grave.
I saw my love but once,
Till we were bound in lovers vow,
Though to another’s love I was to be bound
I am the one,
Whose love never ends,
Faithful as the Heavens’ above.
And though my cousin’s blood shed,
With swords, and violence, and revenge’s bitter love,
Who stole my love to a distant land.
And I fearing yet a second vow,
untrue to my man
Drank my first sweet death
A hidden one.
My love, my love, oh my Godly man,
The man who knew no darkness, who knew nothing but love.
God, oh dear God, why did thou take him from my side,
To be cruelly reunited with my lover’s corpse?
My husband, oh forbid me pain, of knowing
That thou fearing me dead
Took thine own soul to join mine
In paradise’s unending glory.
I am the one
To seal the final fate,
With the fatal bliss of love.



I loved a girl,
A girl fairer then any sun.
I loved a girl,
And killed her with my love.
Had I not crossed
Fair reasons line,
Had I not mourned
For sweet Rosaline.
Would you know this fate?
Would you lie here?
With thy hair thy gleaming halo,
Thy lips a faded berry,
Thy cheeks an ending blush.
Thy breath my dreamed existence?
Would you have entered into death’s own door?
He, the only one who could take thou from me.
My love is an endless well,
Oh that thou had drank from it more.
I killed a girl,
I killed with my love.
With my impulse, hate and sword.
With bitter revenge’s love.
Did I seal deaths door.
I his man, his very thief.
I sealed the door of death for her cousin.
I sealed the door of death for her groom.
I sealed the door of death for her.
And now I seal the door of death
For her murderer,
For me.


West Side Story

“Some shall be pardoned, and some punished; for never was there a story of more woe than this of Maria and her Anton.” But can the modern adaptation, West Side Story, be as emotional as William Shakespeare’s famed play Romeo and Juliet? The movie was made in 1961, but is also a popular Broadway play. It takes off of Romeo and Juliet with the Montague’s and the Capulet’s being two opposing gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, who are both of opposing racial groups, too. Maria would be considered Juliet, and Tony, would be Romeo. Perhaps the most emotional moment, even more so than in the original Shakespearean play, would be the final scene.

In the movie, Maria’s best friend is attacked by the Jets while trying to bring a message to Tony as Maria’s had been detained. Upset and angry, she leaves the message that Maria is dead, that Chino (who would be Paris) had found out about their love, and had shot her. In an emotional haze, Tony runs out into the open screaming for Chino to come and shoot him, but is instead met by Maria. Running to each others arms, Tony is shot by Chino, and with members of both gangs watching, dies in her arms. In the actual play written by Shakespeare, Romeo sees Juliet’s dead body and then kills himself, she wakes up and then kills herself. However in West Side Story Maria does not die. This is what I think made the movie even more emotional then the play. Both gangs start to leave the area, to leave Maria to herself. Instead, she yells at them to stop, she then takes the gun from Chino and points it at different members of the gang. She then says the moral of the play, “All of you! You all killed him! And my brother, and Riff. Not with bullets, or guns, with hate. Well now I can kill, too, because now I have hate!” She then drops the gun and falls to knees until the police officer comes, at which time she throws herself over Toni’s body, screaming not to touch him until she comes to her senses. Then both groups come together to carry her love’s body away as she kneels next to it. With a hardened face she looks down where he died, when another member of the gang puts her black scarf back on her, giving her the look of a morning widow. She then stands, and walks away with a grim determination. By the fact that “Juliet” did not die, I think it brought far more power to the piece then killing her. The audience, or at least me, hangs in dreaded anticipation when she picks of the gun, the suspense is awful, her tears are heart wrenching, and to see her walk away, leaves a greater lesson, then to have her die.

To make this scene as tragic as it was the directors used many techniques. The most prominent of these that I noted was the fact that Maria was always in shot, and she was always in character until she walked out of the gates. They also have each gang on one side of Toni’s body, where they will eventually come together to carry his dead body. As he lies dying in her arms they relive past dreams, she promises him that they will still be able to live their dreams together. One acting technique that really brought drama into the scene was that Tony was in pain, and seemed desperate like a little child, and was sweating, as with a lot of the other members of the gang. Overall, everyone except Maria had a pretty dingy and grimy look. With opposing hands clasped together she sings, voice cracking, their previous refrain, knowing that he will die, stopping when he does. The camera gets closer and shows him take last breath, his face still contorted in agony. The lighting continuously throughout the film is red and dark, as with this scene. The location of this takes place on the gang’s territory, which they make familiar through out the whole film. The music is the love theme, quieter and in a more minor key. As she leaves, there is a heavy bass drum, in a constant beat that gives a dangerous, determined and upset feel to the ending. The movie ends by pulling the camera out and away as the members of the gangs move away.

By leaving one of the lover’s alive, and having an audience (the gangs, who used to be the opposing sides) present to watch her grief, the directors provide a more heart ripping and emotional scene, then to have two lovers in an emotionally blind state kill themselves, which is almost too hurried and frantic. It leaves a question with you, would you rather love and not have it work out, then to have never loved at all. Also, by doing this the moral of the story, the power of hate, was brought out in a more apparent and beautiful way.

Sonnet for English...And More stuff that's random!!!

Yes, I did take this... My sister's are more amazing, I honestly think the fish jump just for her to take their picture.

This cat and I have the same attitude... Away from the camera, well until we feel like it.


Ho me, mercy be, would that I a God may be.
A God may give and a God may take,
And if I so be the gift our love would my fee.
Our star-crossed love, oh, what a lonely thing.
For I fear our love must take it's shadowed leave,
and the pain of the heart concealed as one,
everlasting and traitorous, to whom I must cleave,
lest by our death our forbearance be won.
But to die for love, what an ignorant bliss,
and, oh, yet such a tragic end.
To slay one's love with a holy kiss.
May God's heart be able to lend,
Yet to our days, and with His grace,
Where to each others arms soon may we race.

So I just watched West Side Story for the first time! It was amazing... the second time. The first time it was almost to cheesy, but when I went back over it I realized how amazing it is, and how much I really like it!!! The dancing was amazing, the ending is incredible, and most of the music is exhilarating. As cliche as it sounds my favorite song was probably, Maria. But I like others like Keep it Cool (I'm pretty sure that's not the name, but anyways...) The part I really liked that made it wonderful, was the very end where Maria is crying over Tony and in the end walks away, I'm not going to pontificate so those of you who haven't seen it don't get the ending spoiled. Anyways, where my sister was home, the girls had a movie night and went and saw the movie Tangled! It was so cute, and I absolutely loved it! It was hilarious, and funny, and cute, and goofy, etc.

Does it ever seem that the world is falling to pieces? With the whole middle east conflict still going on, and on top of that the earthquake in Japan with the Nuclear Plant problems? It's unnerving and depressing, and scarily enough we'll probably have it happen here. I know we can't sit around waiting for it, but just to know it will happen, and then change everything... eykes!!! (= (ugh...the smiley face is not working!!!) It's amazing though that so much is happening in our life time though. It is weird to think that history is being made.

Congratulations if you made it to the end of this post. It is weird and very random, but I thought it was more entertaining then my dad's idea of writing about breakfast cereal. Something more exciting will definitely be posted next week!!!... Hopefully!!!

More Biology

When Darwin was developing his theory of evolution there were five main points that he focused on. They are the fossil record, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology, comparative biochemistry, and geographic distribution. Through developing and comparing results of his studies of these areas he eventually went on to write book on evolution called On the Origin of Species.

The fossil record is “The collective record of biological development that is reflected in the fossilized remains of organisms through geological history; The record of preserved evidence for a single species or taxon”- en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fossil_record. By looking at the fossil record Darwin found similar traits that were carried through a species, but also different ones as well. These types of traits are called Derived Traits and Ancestral Traits. Derived traits are the ones that differ, the slowly progress. An example of this would be feathers. Ancestral traits however are the opposite of this. Ancestral traits pass from generation to generation, with examples being teeth and tails. The fossils that slowly progress to the next stage and slowly evolve into the newer generations are called transitional fossils. This leads us to our next point, which is comparative anatomy.

Comparative Anatomy is just that, comparing the anatomy of a species, most likely over longs periods of time. There are three basic structures that are used for comparing the anatomy; these are Homologous, Vestigial, and Analogous Structures. Homologous structures are structures that seem to have been passed down from a common source but may now have a different use depending on the structure. To more successfully define this- “Each limb is adapted for different uses, but they all have similar bones.”- Glencoe Science: Biology. Vestigial structures are functional in some species but not for others who are typically closely related. A kiwi bird, for example, has wings but they are too small to be functional. A vestigial structure can also be and are most likely, if not almost always homologous structures. Wings are an example of an Analogous structure; they are used in the same way but are not always from a common ancestor. To find whether or not a similar ancestor was shared scientist can use form of comparative embryology, comparative biochemistry, and geographic distribution.

Comparative embryology is as self-explanatory as Comparative Anatomy. It is the comparing of embryos which are found in the pre-birth stage of an organism. By comparing the similar parts of the embryos it suggests that there has been a common ancestor as well. Comparative Biochemistry compares the biochemistry of an organism. By checking this scientists have found similar DNA, RNA and other chemicals and enzymes that suggest that there have been common ancestors that these traits have derived from. Geographic is the distribution of a species and then the further evolution or adaptation of a species. Darwin studied the finches in South America and observed the differences in a certain species because they live in a different habitat or in this case island. The study of the plants and animals around the globe is now called biogeography. Finally one last thing that can cause an evolutionary change is an organism’s ability to adapt.

Adaptation is the evolutionary process whereby a population becomes better suited to its habitat. This process takes place over many generations, and is one of the basic phenomena of biology. - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation. However not all adaptations are helpful, “some are the consequences of a previous adaptation” Glencoe Science: Biology. Some forms of adaptations are called fitness, camouflage, and mimicry. Fitness is what the organism gives back to the species with its passed down traits. Camouflage is the ability to look like an organism’s environment, and finally mimicry it the ability of a species to mimic or act like a more dangerous species. An example of this would be the California kingsnake acting like the poisonous Western Coral Snake. These mimicries can be patterns on the animal so it looks alike or even certain types of movements.