Journal 31: Compare and Contrast Dogs

Gary Paulsen describes his dogs as a team and also as individuals. Think for a moment about the dogs (or other animals) you have known. Do you agree that no two dogs are ever alike in personality, even those that have been raised together? Choose two animals you have known to compare (choose specific individuals). If you like, make a Venn diagram for the two animals to help you think of how they are alike and how different. Avoid obvious similarities like “They both have fur.” Try to focus on personality traits.

I've never had any pets and I've always been quite afraid of animals ever since I was very small. So, I'm going to compare two of the homeless animals who are always wondering around in our community. One of them is a really, really cute white cat that always hang around in our front yard. The other one is a really dirty and a mean-looking, and one of my neighbors said she's been chased by it before. The dog is pretty fierce and doesn't like human. Whenever someone goes near him, he barks loudly and bares his teeth. I always try to avoid it when I walk home when I was younger. The kitten is very different though. It's very sweet and likes coming near people, and my sister always try feeding it water and some bread. The kitten is very curious and likes to stand by  our window and watch us and sometimes even watch TV with us! The dog is very mean and tough, but it's very smart too. It knows that it must avoid cars and it's actually quite good at crossing the road! I think the kitten is still young and naive so it is still very cute and friendly, but the dog has already experienced a lot and knows humans are not always kind, so it knows it must protect itself first. Those animals are kind of like humans, all of them have human feelings and they all learn from their experiences and mistakes.

Journal Entry 30: Thanksgiving

What are you thankful for?

Today is Thanksgiving, it's the day people think about things they should be thankful of, be happy for what they have and how the Indians helped the Americans survive. Actually, people should always be thankful no matter what day it is, because we should all appreciate everything that we have right now, after all, life is short, right? I'm thankful that my family is not very poor and they care for me, even though they are sometimes a little annoying (no offence, Sis!) and likes to yell too much (Mom, Dad, it's true...). If I was born in a poorer family, I might not be able to go to PAS and attend a good college in the future, and I might not have money to spend on learning this and that and shopping (ahhh, that's torture!). I'm also thankful to the person that invented holidays and weekends. Or else, I guess I'd be dead because of all the days I have to go to school  and all the homework I'll have to ride! I'm also thankful that I'm born in the 21st century, because if I wasn't, then I probably can't go to school and I might not have as much freedom as I have now. Not to mention I probably wouldn't have internet and Skype and Facebook and Youtube and... Anyways, I'm very thankful for many, many things, and I will try to appreciate all the things I have.

Journal Entry 29: Heroes Revisited

Last quarter you wrote several journal entries about heroes. Now you have a more concrete reason for thinking about the definition of what a hero is: your Outsiders essay. For this journal entry, find at least two dictionary definitions of a hero and copy them into your journal (make sure to tell which dictionaries you got them from). How are they different? How are they alike? Do you prefer one over the other? Is there anything you would add to the dictionary definitions? Anything you would take away? What would you add or subtract and why? Note: do not count the copied definitions as part of your 200-word limit.

"a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act, is regarded as a model or ideal, or a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities or one who shows great courage" - Merriam Webster

"A person with courage, honesty, bravery, selflessness, and the will to try. The definition of heroism changes with the context and time. Heroes of the past are not necessarily heroes of present time and vise versa." - Dictionary.com

The meanings from Dictionary.com and Merriam Webster are both very similar, but I think Dictionary.com's definition is better than Merriam Webster's, because the meaning of hero I found there is more detailed than the one I found on Merriam Webster. Both definitions says that a hero is someone that shows great courage and has "heroic qualities"  or has "performed a heroic act". Dictionary.com gives a definition that is more in-depths, and it explains what are the "heroic qualities" a hero should have and how the definition of heroes change overtime. I think heroes also should have a unique quality that not many people have, but the quality does not have to be magical or anything, like Spider Man's webs or The Incredibles' super powers, it just has to be something a quality not everyone has. I also don't think that heroes need to be noticed by others in order to be a hero, because hero is something you are on the inside, you don't need others' approval at all. Even if you're not well-known or admired by many people, you can still be a hero, like some generous people who donates lots of money to poor people and travel to poor countries to help the starving citizens there. They can still be heroes!

Journal Entry 28: Great, Old Knowledge

In the story “In Trouble” by Gary Paulsen, Paulsen concludes by saying of the dogs that “they had great, old knowledge; they had something we had lost.” What do you think he means by this? What is “old knowledge”? Why is it “great”? What kinds of knowledge do you think humans may have lost, and why do you think we lost it?

I think the great knowledge that we humans have lost, unlike the animals is the love of nature, and they don't take more than they need. Animals always take what they need, like eating just enough to be full, not like humans who sometimes hunt for fun and that resulted in many animals' instinct. Humans are also a little too competitive and we all want power. Now, everyone wants to be the best, the controller, and in the end we're just hurting others and ourselves (sometimes, too). Sometimes, we even betray our loved ones and back-stab each other, I bet animals don't do that. Animals have a much simpler life and they just plain fight when they have a disagreement, unlike humans who bury their hatred deep within them and plot revenge, or use nuclear weapons to harm not only the ones they hate but also other innocent people. Humans have really contaminated the Earth, and yet, we're still wasting a lot of electricity and all the resources. Animals who have done nothing (at least a lot less than humans) to cause global warming and all kinds of disasters the Earth is "going through" because of the humans, have to sacrifice and share the same fate as us, which is totally unfair.

Journal Entry 27: Human v Animal

Are humans and animals all that different? Think about how some animals seem to act as if they are human. What animal behaviors of this kind have you observed? What situations have you encountered animals in, for example a zoo, your home, a farm, or some natural setting? What kinds of animals did you encounter? What were they doing? What qualities did you see that were similar to human qualities? Do animals have personalities? Do they have feelings? Explain what you think about this.

When people ask me about the difference between humans and animals, the first things that come to my mind are that humans have feelings, thoughts, and has the ability to communicate with each other. But, after I think about it carefully, I realized that some animals actually are quite similar to humans. For example, everyone must have heard of stories of how dogs and cats have their own emotions and how they are loyal to their owners and save them from fire and so on. And, some animals do communicate, like bees (by flying in a particular pattern) or insects like ants (who gives off a smell or some kind of trail for others to follow), but I just automatically assumed that they don't have any ability to communicate just because I can't understand their "language" and that there are no names for their languages. I have encountered many animals in my life, mostly from zoos and ocean parks. I've seen about every animal you can see in zoos, from the most common to the most rare and ridiculous ones. I've always loved the sea animals, dolphins in particular (I've even done a research paper on dolphins when I was 8). I thought they were cute and I knew they were very smart because of all those cool tricks they can do and how friendly they are. I guess animals and humans aren't really that different from one another, because we all have our own feelings and thoughts even though ours might be a bit more complicated than theirs. Maybe the only difference is that humans are the ones that are ruining the Earth (with global warming), and the other animals have to pay for it dearly even though it's the humans that are hurting the environment.

Journal Entry 26: Game Character

You’ve got a time and place for your game, and you’ve got a conflict for your game, now you need a character for your game. Of course the real character is the person playing the game, but what character does he or she adopt? Is he a hungry happy face like in Pacman? A soldier? A chicken? Describe the character. Go beyond what is seen in the actual game and give your character a history—a “backstory.” Then describe him or her (or it) physically—what does he/she/it look, smell, sound, taste, and feel like? What feelings does he/she/it have? What is his/her/its motivation in the game?

My game has a very cute and delicious "backstory" (writing it makes me hungry, seriously). Once upon a time, in Candy Land, there lived a happy Candy Man who is strawberry and vanilla flavored (yum!). One day, poor Candy Man was captured by a cruel, cruel human who happened to appear on the Sugar Shore of Candy Land with a huge, huge boat. The human was a sailor whose boat got stuck in a horrific storm and all of his crew is dead or gone except for him, who ended up in Candy Land. When the Candy-Landians hear of the scary candy-eating human, they all hid in their homes made of cookies and frosting. Unfortunately, Candy Man didn't hear about the scary human because he was out hunting chocolate bunnies in the "Forest of Mint Ice Cream Trees". He was captured by the human and the human wants to bring the Candy Man back to the human world for all the other humans to see. While Candy Man was on the human's ship, he sneaked out the window while the human was sleeping, but falls into the ocean. He must escape before he dissolves in the sea water (water dissolves sugar) and has to avoid all the monsters under the sea who wants to eat him, after all, monsters also like sweets. Lucky for the Candy Man, there is a special door under sea that is rumored to be connected to Candy Land, because many of the candy adventurers have gone through that door to explore the human world. What the Candy Man doesn't know is, the doors just lead to another world and he has to go through fifteen doors in order to get back to his Candy Land (and that is the levels in my game).

Journal Entry 25: EMERGENCY!!!

Everyone has seen or heard of emergencies. TV, newspapers, and many other media sources are full of stories of people going through terrifying and life threatening ordeals. Have you ever been in a dangerous or emergency situation, such as a natural disaster, car crash, or a medical emergency? If so, what was the situation? How did it make you feel? If you have never been in an emergency situation yourself, how do you think you would react? Would you be able to control the fear and act effectively, or do you think you would panic? Would you freeze up, or run around in circles screaming? Or would you calmly take control and know just what to do? How can you prepare for emergencies? Do you think being prepared can help a person avoid panicking?

I've never been in a really serious emergencies in my life, but there was once a really long earthquake when I was in fifth grade that really scared me. That one time, we were in school and we were having a Chinese class (if I remember correctly). I was dozing off (shhh!!), and watch the teacher's mouth moving and moving, but I can't seem to hear what she was saying at all. Suddenly, I felt like the whole ground was trembling, and I thought I was dreaming again, but I realized that all the other students have also stopped paying attention and are all looking at each other quizzically. The trembling gradually turned into shaking, and we all stared at each other with fear and horror in our eyes. My stomach was filled with butterflies and I felt nauseated and wanted to cry, scream, yell and run all at the same time. "Everyone hide under your tables," the teacher said calmly, even though I can see that she, too, was very scared. After about three minutes (which seemed like hours to me), the quaking slowly stopped. Even though no one was hurt, we were all scared pretty badly, after all, we've all heard of the famous 921 Earthquake that killed thousands and millions of people. Now that I think about it, I am quite impressed by my Chinese teacher. I was really impressed by how calm she acted and how she handled the situation. She must have known that if she had shown any fear, then that would only make us kids even more scared.

Journal Entry 24: Setting In Art

Look at the picture on pp. 234-235 in your text book. What do you see in it? Describe forms, shapes, images, colors, and so on. What kinds of sounds, smells, tastes, or feelings does it make you think of? How would you describe the setting? Where is it? How do you know? When is it? Why do you think so? Can you describe the mood of the painting? What kind of feelings does it generate? What kind of world—realistic, scary, dream-like, fantastic, etc.—do you think it is? Why?

I think that the whole picture is about three giants and their pregnant cow pet going to visit a midget village. From the picture, I can tell that it's very cold and it's snowing outside, and all around the giants are small little cute houses. The giants had huge smiles on their faces and there's a weird little bucket in front of the cow, and it looks like its full of garbage. Also, I realized something quite uncomfortable about the picture, and that is that the cow is pregnant with a bird, which is very freaky. And, there are also outlines of faces in the sky and there's a huge tree in the sky too. I'm guessing that the cow is a monster and its the giants' monster pet, and the giants are probably visiting their midget relative in the Midget Village. I think altogether, the picture looks very heart-warming, because the giants look very happy and seemed very nice, and all the village seemed cute and "fairy-land-like". Honestly, I can't help but feel like Tinker Bell is going to suddenly come out of the small village and sprinkle her magic dusts all over the giants. I guess the snow and the houses just made everything seem so magical and sweet!

Journal Entry 23: Game Conflict

For a story to be interesting, it has to have a conflict. The same is true for a game. The players have to have some kind of goal, and it has to be difficult to achieve. For example, in basketball the player has to throw the ball through the hoop. There also need to be complications to make it even more interesting. In basketball complications include not being able to carry the ball and run with it, as well as having other players trying to stop you. For this journal entry, write about the conflict that your game will have. What is the goal? What makes it difficult for the player to achieve the goal? What complications are there?

In my game, the player is supposedly forced underwater to find a treasure for the pirates. He/She is supposed to find a very rare pearl and as soon as the player finds it, they win. The faster they find it, the higher their score will be. They must also finish their task under a limited amount of time, or else they'll run out of air and suffocate to death. There are also monsters all around and by battling them, the player loses air. The whole place is maze-like and it's easy to get lost, but there are shortcuts and portals everywhere. There are also bombs scattered around the place and if u touch them, it's game over. The player can also gain some are, which is also some time, by catching bubbles. Players can also find a few special food in places full of monsters and obstacles. There is the freezing potion which stops the time, the monster killer which gets rid of a monster for you without wasting your energy, life savers which gives you an extra life, and the speed booster which can help you move faster so you can finish your task on time.

Journal Entry 22: Game Setting

Soon you will be creating a video game in your computer class. In order to make a good game, you need to create a setting for it to take place in. Your setting can be in any time or place. Ancient Egypt, or a thousand years in the future in a distant galaxy, either way you should use your imagination. Think of how the setting could affect the game. If it is very hot or cold, could that affect the game? Is there gravity? Oxygen? Is it on the ground, in the air, or under water? Are there monsters? Machines? Is it a race, or are characters fighting each other? Remember to include things from all five senses. Of course a computer game cannot create smell, taste, or touch, but if you include flowers, that implies a smell. If there are flames or ice, that implies a feeling. The presence of food items implies taste. You may be able to include sound in your game, but what kind of images would imply sounds? Write a description of the setting of your game.

My game is going to be underwater. The story of my game is that the main character is stuck underwater, and he /she must find the key to escape. He/she must escape in 3 minutes, and if he or she runs out of air, the game's over too. The whole place is a little bit like a maze, with spikes and stones an sharks the player must avoid, or else the player will lose air and that will cause them to be out of air faster. Along the way, there are some food, some, like chocolate bars and hamburgers are the good ones and they can help you gain more time, but it you touch the poison, then you will lose 20 seconds of your time and if you touch a bomb, then, "BOOM!!!", end of game. Also, if you touch the black poison, you will be blind by dirt for 10 seconds and you can't see anything. You can also add air by touching bubbles produced by clams and fish around you. There are also some treasures like pearls and diamonds or gems form sunken pirate ships and by getting those, you can gain lives so if you run out of air, you can restart, so it's actually like an oxygen bag. 

Journal Entry 21: Describe a Place You Know

Write a brief descriptive essay about a place you know very well. Help your readers visualize the place by including details that help them see the setting, smell it, hear it, and perhaps taste it and touch it. Open your description with a topic statement that tells your readers what place you are going to describe and how you feel about it. Then use an organizational scheme for the description: top to bottom, left to right, big to small, most to least important, or least to most important. Whatever scheme you choose, stick to it throughout the description.

The smell of steak and soup makes my mouth water as I hear my mom yelling, "Dinner's ready!". I ran to the dining room and sat on one of the white velvet chairs that are set around a rectangle black table and a crystal chandelier hanging above the table. As I sat down, I realized how cool the room was and found out that the air conditioner was on. The table was empty, and I realized that dinner wasn't ready yet, it was just ALMOST ready. I went into the living room and lay down on the huge, soft, white leather sofa and grabbed the remote control from a small table next to the the sofa. I turned on our TV (which is also quite big) and almost jumped out of the sofa because the speaker next to me almost made me deaf because the sound was so loud (must've bee another one of my sister's jokes). Finally, dinners ready, and my stomach was growling.

Journal Entry 20: The Influence of Setting

How can setting influence the events (or the plot) of a story? What effect can setting have on the conflict, or complications? Think about stories you have read or heard (true or fictional), and look for ways that the setting played a role. What about your setting? Describe the setting where your own “story” takes place. How does your setting affect the “plot” of your life?

The setting can influence a story in lots of ways. The setting can influence the story's plot and outcome and ending and even the conflict! For example, if the story was set a long time ago in an unknown place, wild things that may not happen in the real world might happen in the story, because then, who could prove the author wrong? Also if it's set in the future and is far far away, no one can prove the author wrong either. The setting can totally affect the conflict, because if the setting was in a desert or at North Pole, then the character will have to fight to stay alive and either try to not freeze to death, or find water and food.  My setting takes place in the 21st Century and in Taiwan. My life setting affects my life because if I was born a long, long time ago, and in a land far, far away, I probably won't need to go to school and I might be a princess! ;) If my setting was in the future, who knows what might be different? And, if I wasn't born in Taiwan, and was born in Africa or somewhere poor, I wouldn't be living the life I'm living right now.