"The Gulump and The Ragnag" - Nonsense Poem

How the Beatles Changed the World 2/25/14

Pages: 1 - 103
Prompt: Which character do you like best? Why?

     This book tells about how the Beatles affected modern society. There are chapters focused on changes that involved the Beatles. Some chapters are about things that changed the Beatles, for example, "How Hamburg Changed the Beatles". There are also chapters about how the Beatles changed things, for example, "How the Beatles Changed the Movies." They support this by saying all the Beatles firsts. some big ones were the first group to use a sitar, harmonica and electric keyboards and synthesizers in songs, they were the first to sell more then a million copies of a record before its release, first band to play in a stadium, first band to have its drummer sit highest, first band to use sound effects in a song, and the first band to designate a lead guitarist.

     There are four main characters in this book. They are the members of the Beatles for most of their career. Ringo Starr, the drummer for the band, is one of these characters. He was in a different band that often performed at the same club as the Beatles. When the previous drummer was fired he was asked to join the band. He had heard how they played and liked their style so he quickly accepted. George Harrison is the lead guitarist for the band. He joined the band when it was just starting and he was 14. When they were starting their career by performing in nightclubs they he was deported back to England because he was only 17. A year later they went back and kept performing.

     John Lennon, one of the two main singers and song writers. He started the band and recruited the others. He was serious and often worked on songs with Paul McCartney. Paul McCartney is the other main singer and song writer. He was cheerful and optimistic and made up for what Lennon lacked. He would often write half a song and Lennon would finish it. They would also get in competitions to do better then the other resulting in better music. My favorite character is John Lennon because he started the band and he had an amazing music career even after the Beatles split up. All of the Beatles did this, but he did it the best.

Reflection on Blogging

     I have improved a lot since I started blogging. My word choice has improved a lot by blogging. For example in my first blog on 10/1/14 I wrote, "A character that I would like to meet is Carver Young. He is the main character." I used dull word choice and was not very descriptive. In a more recent blog, on 2/5/14, I wrote, "In the Candy Bomber Gail Halvorsen brings candy to starving children in West Berlin." I have used better word choice when describing things now then when I started blogging. This has made me a better writer because I can describe things better.

     Another thing I have done is become able to do is write more about a subject. In a blog on 10/24/13 I wrote 219 words. I was not very descriptive in this blog. In a later blog on 2/5/14 with the same prompt I wrote 623 words. This blog was very descriptive. This has made me a better writer because It has made me more descriptive which makes it easier to understand.

     My favorite blog is "Candy Bomber: 2/5/14". I like this blog because it is very descriptive and I liked the book. I think I was descriptive because I wrote things like, "The only way to get to Berlin was to fly food in. They had to feed over 2 million people this way." This was improved by practice. My word choice and practice writing more about a subject helped me do this. I also wrote "900 pounds of twine and 1,100 yards of linen were donated and school children made them into parachutes and stamped 'This candy is sent to you from the school children of America.'" Both of these things were very descriptive because of all the practice I have writing blogs. I can definitely say blogs have made me a better writer.

Shooting The Moon 2/19/14

Prompt: Describe the main characters.

Pages: 101 - end

     The main character is Jamie. Her brother TJ volunteered for the army and is in Vietnam. She receives pictures in the mail from him and learns to develop them. She enjoys playing rummy with Pvt. Hollister a soldier posted at the rec. center. When she hears that he may be sent to Vietnam she asks her dad to not send him because his brother already died there. Her dad is a colonel in the army and she loves to pretend she is a soldier. She would always play army games with TJ. That is why she was so upset when TJ goes missing in action.

     Another major character is the Colonel. He is Jamie and TJ's dad. He is very serious and raised his children to respect service to their country. Even though he did this he does not want TJ to volunteer in the army. He thinks that TJ should go to collage instead of volunteer in the army. He tries to convince him to change his mind. When he cannot he talks to a higher ranking officer to try to keep him out of Vietnam. The officer got upset with him out for being selfish. He also helped Jamie's friend Pvt. Hollister keep out of Vietnam because his brother had already died there. He is very upset when TJ goes missing in Vietnam.

     A final main character is Pvt. Hollister. He is a soldier posted at the rec. center who always plays rummy with Jamie. His brother died in Vietnam and there is a possibility be will be sent to Vietnam too. He and Jamie play a rummy tournament over the entire summer. When he hears that he could be sent to Vietnam he tells Jamie. She says she will try to help keep him out of Vietnam by talking to her dad. His commanding officer tells him that the colonel signed all the papers to send off the men but his. He is very glad and personally thanks the colonel.

"Voices" Found Poetry

     At the beginning it says, "huddled in sleep" which shows that this poem is about a person having a bad dream. It starts with animals barking at the main character "The animals growled fiercely" Then smoke and lights attract his attention "lights and smoke attract the attention of the man." Finally spirits catch up to him. The tone of this poem is menacing. It includes words like, "growled fiercely" and "smoke" when put together in this order give it a menacing tone. I chose to write this poem because I read the first paragraph and noticed a lot of words that seemed similar. I then found more similar words in the rest of the page.

"Island Sunrise" Spine Poetry

     This poem is about a sunrise on an island. It describes what the sunrise looks like saying, "First Light, Between Shades of Gray It then tells three islands that the sun is rising on. The tone is joyful because sunrises and islands have positive connotations. I was inspired to write this poem because I was skiing it was cold and snowy. Didn't exactly love this weather so I was thinking that warm places were like paradise. When I noticed a lot of books about islands I decided to write this poem.

Shooting the Moon 2/13/14

Pages: 0-101
Prompt: Two voice poem.

Jamie (sister of TJ)           (children of army colonel)          TJ (serving as medic in Vietnam)
I wish I could go to Vietnam,

I wish I had thought before enlisting,

I want to serve my country

I don't understand why you sent me a roll of film,

I wanted you to see what it is like,

Why didn't you send me a letter,

I don't have time to write,

Nothing is simple,

I don't know how to develop this film,

I never knew how good we have it in America,

I must learn,

Why did you send me these pictures of the moon,

I have never looked up at the moon,

It is beautiful,

I have no one to play with here,

I don't know any of my fellow solders,

I am making new friends,

I enjoy developing your pictures,

I love taking these pictures,

I find new things to do,

The pictures of wounded solders are horrible,

I must help my fellow solders become strong again,

A medic's job is important,

I feel like I should help,

I hate losing patients,

But there is nothing I can do,

I enjoy working at the rec. center,

I must do my best to help my comrades,

I feel like my job is important,

I feel like I should show people your pictures,

I want to tell people about what is happening here,

I have a responsibility.

Where I'm From

Candy Bomber: 2/5/14

Pages: 1 - End
Prompt: Describe a character that you would like to meet (which doesn’t mean that you think you would like the character, but that you think the character would be

interesting). List 4 questions that you would ask.

     In the Candy Bomber Gail Halvorsen brings candy to starving children in West Berlin. Berlin was deep in the Russian area of Germany but all the Allies Split it up. The communist Russia had allied with Germany early in the war but were betrayed and only sided with the allies, who were democracies, because the Germans had betrayed them. They did not like the allies very much. They cut of any trains cars, trucks, or boats to the city to try to get the allies to give it up to them. The only way to get to Berlin was to fly food in. They had to feed over 2 million people this way. Flights were three minutes apart from the allies Rhein to Berlin. Planes flew at 5 different altitudes to avoid interference and planes at the same altitude were 15 minutes apart. This was called Operation Vittles, the German word for food, by the Americans.

     During a break Gail Halvorsen went on a sightseeing trip in Berlin. He sees about 30 kids wearing ragged clothes at the end of the runway. He talks to them and they tell him what the Soviets are doing to the people in east Berlin. They tell him the Soviet occupation is worse than the war. They told him they could live with very little as long as they kept the freedoms the allies gave them. Halvorsen said goodbye and started to walk away. He had heard that kids in other parts of the world beg soilders for candy but these kids hadn't even asked. He had two pieces of gum in his pocket. He broke them in half and gave them to the kids. The kids who grabbed the gum kept it and the other kids ripped the paper into strips and smelled the minty freshness. When he saw their excitement he told them that if they shared he would drop more candy the next time he came. The didn't know how they would recognize him so he told them he would wiggle his wings when he was over them. When he told his crew his plan they immediately agreed to give him their candy rations. He made three packages attached to handkerchiefs and dropped them on his next flight. 

     He didn't tell his commanding officer about his plan because he thought they wouldn't allow it but he almost hit a reporter with a parachute. The reporter discovered from the kids what was happening and published the story across England. He called it Operation Little Vittles. His commanding officer loved the idea, gave him silk parachutes and told him he was invited to a international press conference. He wrote a message in German to return the parachute. He also got more candy ration donations and some candy shipments from the U.S. He went to a polio hospital with a new shipment of gum and some chocolate. He taught them how to blow bubbles and for the next few days that was everyones favorite pastime. He received mounds of fan mail and was given two secretaries to handle all of it. 900 pounds of twine and 1,100 yards of linen were donated and school children made them into parachutes and stamped "This candy is sent to you from the school children of America." A few weeks before Christmas he received 6,500 pounds of candy. They had several big parties and gave all the candy away. One girl even gave him the teddy bear that had comforted he all through the war. He sometimes dropped thousands of parachutes in a day with all the other pilots that helped him. She even met a girl who had saved a letter she had received from him with some candy attached.