Well, lately I've noticed that there are a ton of really cool looking games coming out, and for this entry, I think that I'll just talk about them a little.

For each of the following questions, describe what went well and what you could improve in the area of BODY LANGUAGE. Write two complete sentences for each question.

Did you stand up straight but stay relaxed?
Yes, I stood up straight, but I didn't really stay relaxed.

Did you pause for a moment before you began your speech?
Yes, I paused before beginning.

Did you look at your audience?
Yes, I maintained eye contact.

Did you let your facial expressions naturally reflect what you were saying?
Not really. I looked sort of constipated when I was talking.

Did you use your hands?
Yes, and no. I used them for some slides, but, for others, I was like a wooden board.

For each of the following questions, describe what went well and what you could improve in the area of VOICE. Write two complete sentences for each question.

Did you speak loudly enough so that everyone could hear you?
My vocal level was good. It felt like I was talking a little louder than was needed, but that's what the advice book said to do.

Did you change your tone to show how you felt (upset, excited) about an idea or to emphasize a point?
Yes, I emphasized the answers to my questions when I was giving the presentation.

Was your speed of delivery too fast, too slow or just right?
I felt that I might have been a little fast in speaking.

General questions:
Write two complete sentences for each question.

Did you practice your speech at home before giving it?
No, I didn't practice my speech. I didn't practice because I was very busy with sports and other things.
What did you notice that you did well in your speech?
One thing that I noticed that I did well was that I spoke loudly. The other thing that I did was make eye contact with the audience.
Describe one aspect of public speaking you will work to improve
I will try to improve my hand gestures. I will also try to improve the speed at which I speak. I felt that I was rushing a little.

You'd better watch out and do your work, or Mr. B will get you.

Okay, here's a picture of some random guy I found on Google Images.



Eyes – His eyes are the ripples in warm milk.
Ears - His ears are a half moon.
Mouth - His mouth is a very skinny banana.
Nose - His nose is a giant strawberry.
Forehead - His forehead is a smooth plate.
Hair - His hair is hair on a brush
Cheeks - His cheeks are wrinkled dough
Teeth - His teeth are a crooked fence.
Lips - His lips are monkey lips.
Skin - His skin is white as a ghost's.

What attracted you to this project?
It was very interesting and I think that I would like to do it personally (we watched a video about it in class).

What hobbies and interests do you have? My hobbies are baseball. My interests are baseball and books and a little video games.

What image do you have of pioneer living?
I think that it would be very hard to do. I don't know if I could handle it.

What's the most challenging thing you and your family (or group) have experienced?
I haven't done it yet. If I did, I'd have to say that the whole idea of not being able to take a shower or anything would probably be the hardest.

If you were chosen what do you think you would most miss about modern life?
The technology, the showers, friends, food.

What qualities do you and your family have that make you suited to this experience?
I think that my family would have determination.

What skills do you have that may help you?
I can throw a baseball well, so, maybe I could kill rabbits or something for my family to eat.

What would you hope to get out of the experience?
To not become dependent on modern things to get me through hard times.

What do you think will be the most difficult challenge of pioneer life?
Getting through the winter.

What skills would you like to learn from the experience?
I would like to learn how to take care of animals.

We'd like you to tell us:
What interests you about this project?
Nothing much, except about maybe chopping hay and taking care of the animals.

Do you have any concerns about your participation?
Nope.

How much do you know about your family history -- do you have pioneer roots?
We are pioneers from Tennessee, I THINK. I'm not positive!

How did you hear about Frontier House?
Mr. Bergquist showed it to us. I thought that it looked very challenging, but maybe fun, as well.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!!!!
Well, for those of you who don't know, there is this game called Killzone 2. It came out February 27, 2009, and it is a pretty big game. I'm going to give you my feelings towards this game, because I've been playing it for awhile. So, the story. The Helghast, an evil group of aliens, led by the Emperor Visari, attempted to take over earth. The humans, however, thwarted them. The Helghast, unable to advance further, retreated to their home planet, Helgan. The humans then decide to evade the Helghast's planet, and to wipe them out, permanently. You play as a Sergeant named "Sev." The game starts out with Sev waking up and getting ready for battle. The graphics for Killzone are incredible. The whole game feels like one big long cinematic. You'll be in a cinematic, and then you'll start playing, and there's no decrease in graphics at all. The amazing thing is that the game doesn't even need to install, like most hi-end games need to, to run smoothly. Killzone 2 has an amazing amount of swearing and blood, and the rating "M" suits it perfectly. The enemy AI is very good. The Helghast are very formidable opponents, and will follow you around corners, peek out from behind structures, and throw grenades and shoot rockets with amazing accuracy. Basically, the object of the game is to locate Visari and kill him. After fighting a boss who teleports, and whose name I forget, you finally get to confront Visari. Visari says that, if you kill him, the entire Helghast order will fall apart. But, one of your teammates, named Rico, loses his temper and kills Visari. Then, the game ends, leaving the feeling that the Helghast will be very mad that their ruler is dead, and will want revenge. I definitely think that there'll be a Killzone 3. So, that's my review.

Dear golf ball,

Why can't you just freakin' go in the hole,
And not try to dodge, to juke, or to roll?
When I hit you right at the green,
Why must you avoid it?
Why are you so mean?
I'll hit you away,
With perfect form,
And off you'll go,
Into the storm,
Landing in the swamp
You mess up my game,
You make me look lame,
You set my head
Aflame
You ruin my chance,
Of fortune and fame!
It's always the same,
You are the bringer of shame,
That's you!

I'm sorry for drilling you in the face
I really didn't mean to,
The ball just suddenly became like soap!
It was a very bad thing to do
I'm sorry for nailing you in the face,
My mortal enemy
I really really really really
Hope you can forgive me!

I have hair like a rag doll,
I can be hard or soft, depending on the weather,
When I'm seasoned and ripened, I become better,
I will break, when hard,
I will bend, when soft,

What am I?

Highlight below for answer:
Pasta

What if people were as small as germs
Would we be where we are today?
Would we have technology, only to a smaller scale?
Would amoebas hunt us down, like a hawk hunts a swallow?
Would the inside of a bubble be as is the sky to us?
Would a blade of grass look like Mount Everest?

MY DRAWING

KAREENA'S DRAWING

Topic Sentence: My description is about a monster that I made, whose name is Mr. Nice Guy. The name is ironic, however. I will describe my monster from top to bottom.

Body Paragraph: Mr. Nice Guy's head is like an egg. The upper half of his head is colored red, while the lower half is colored blue. My character has a tentacle protruding from his left shoulder, with a gun mounted at the end. The gun is like an upside down ice cream cone. The pointy end of the ice cream cone like gun is connected to the tentacle, leaving the broad side the firing side. My monsters right arm is colored blue. At the end of his arm, where his hands should be, there are six tentacles with three three fingered hands at the end of each tentacle. There is a spike protruding from my monsters right elbow, which is colored red. My monsters left arm is also colored blue. There is also a spike sticking out of his elbow on his left arm. On either side of his left arm, there are spikes sticking out, going down towards his hands. These spikes are colored red. His hand on his left arm is not really a hand, but a clump of five blades. My monsters body is like a fat board, in that it has no indentations what so ever. His body is a mix of colors; Light and dark blue. The colors alternate in diagonal lines slanting downwards from his right shoulder to his left. My monster does not have legs. Instead, he an type of upside down saucer, with little holes like exhaust pipes that propel my monster off of the ground. The background color for my monster is a light yellow.

Closing Sentence: My monster's color stays from light blue to dark blue to red. He is pretty crazy looking. I will be surprised if anyone is able to draw an accurate picture of him.

Well, this isn't a very original post, but...what do you expect? Christmas came and went, and most everyone I know is talking about it. It's my favorite time of the year, and I couldn't not talk about it. So... Bare with me, and let me explain all about it. To start off with, I got the new iPod Nano. It's very cool, with the built in Genius effect and the accelerometer. The Genius effect allows you shake the iPod, and it will randomly switch to a different song under the same Genre. It automatically analyzes what songs you listen to and, when shaken, will switch to similar songs. It is a 16GB, so it can hold a lot of music. It also holds movies, which is nice. I also got a new set of golf clubs, with two hybrids, which are like mini woods. I also got a 460 driver, which is the largest legally allowed driver. I also got the Dark Knight, on Blu-Ray. Heath Ledger, I thought, did a crazy good job as the Joker. I also got Call Of Duty 5 for my ps3. Some of you will know about the COD franchise, and how the games are as big, if not bigger, that the Halo franchise. It's a lot more intense than COD4. It's made very well, and the history is sort of accurate. I also got Mortal Kombat vs. DC universe (purposely spelt with a K), which is a fighting game, where the Super Heroes of the DC universe go hand-in-hand against the villains of Mortal Kombat. The game is fun and creative, and I like it. My favorite character to play as is the Flash, because he runs soooooooooo fast. So, that's my Christmas. I hope all of yours were as enjoyable.