My At.oow

       

              

               You probably don't know what an at.oow is, and I don't blame you for that. I didn't know what an at.oow was too until in my English class, we learned about Tlingit Native Americans. The Tlingit Indians are original people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. They live in southern Alaska and in British Columbia and the Yukon in Canada. An at.oow is basically a small mat that represents you or your family. In the Tlingit tribe, at.oows also represented their clan. The at.oow is the most prized possession of the entire clan. It is passed from generation to generation. Clan crests and spirit designs are socially and spiritually important to the Tlingit. For example, an at.oow might have an eagle for the clan because the clan might have had really good eyesight. Since our class was reading a novel called, Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen, which is related to the Tlingit tribe, my teacher decided to assign us with an interesting project. The project was to make our own at.oow, based on the book we were reading. My at.oow here represents me. My at.oow actually turned out to look really nice!                                                                            

My At.oow

               My at.oow is very colorful and the background is a rainbow for a reason. As you might know, I am usually really cheerful. The rainbow background represents how happy I am. You don’t need to impress me too much to make me happy. Some things I get happy for include Fridays, days with no homework, and even little things like it my favorite breakfast! Happiness is the essence of life! If one person is really happy, they pass on their happiness. The two doves on both sides of the crest represent the amount of peace and love I have. Well, what do I mean by peace and love? In many parts of the world, war is raging on and on. It would be great if the entire world had peace among each other… that would be a perfect world. But, we all know nothing is perfect. Still, I do believe in world peace. The crest is also colored red and black because it shows how bold and brave I am….also shows that I am in Gryffindor :)!!! The crest is even on both sides. That signifies the balance I try to keep between work and fun I have in myself. I try to follow the saying “Work while you work, play while you play”. That way I can finish all my work and have some free time too. The lion on the top symbolizes strength and power. On the top left hand corner, there is a book and a pencil writing on a paper. The book represents how much I enjoy reading. The pencil and paper symbolizes schoolwork and my brains ;). On the next corner to the right, a palette is there to show how much I adore art and painting. Art is my hobby and I can do it for days and days in a row. The music notes on the bottom indicate my love towards music and the eight years I’ve been playing the piano. The bottom left corner, has a computer which stands for the use of technology that I have, and how much I love working with technology. The four leaf clover is for the good luck that I have. I usually never get caught (not that I do anything that bad) but, I really do have good luck. When we are supposed to run the mile in P.E, (which I don’t like), and I really do not want to do it that day, sometimes it rains really hard. That leads to skipping the mile! The jar filled with coins is for the hard work I do. I really don’t give up easily on things and for some reason I just have to finish what I started, no matter how boring it is. The wolf paws on the bottom, symbolizes that I never get distracted and I advance towards my goal. On the bottom right corner, the maze-like symbol indicates the unity I have. I can get along with people very easily. Finally, the two hearts combined together shows friendship. My at.oow signifies my characteristics and qualities. The at.oow shows my real personality and how distinctive it is from other personalities. My at.oow is one of a kind and only represents me. The at.oow is like an “all-about-me” poster. At the same time, it’s a traditional Tlingit Native American tradition.

 







The Future in a Glance

   Have you ever wondered, how would life be twenty years from now? How different would 2030 be from 2013? It's always interesting to think about the different technologies and life we would have in 2030. Now, I'm still not sure that flying cars will be invented by then, but I'm positive that many new technologies will help in our future daily lives in 2030.                                                                           

    It would be amazingly cool if there were refrigerators that would automatically recognize what food was inside it. Then, the refrigerator, would tell us whether to buy more milk or other food items. The 2030 refrigerators would also tell you if some food items were close to being expired. That way you will be told to restock your fridge or to finish eating something before it's too late!

    Another cool invention would be "The Automatic Bed Maker". I know it sounds lame, but it would be pretty useful. I mean, who likes making their bed every single morning? Nobody does. This bed maker would stand 3.5 feet tall. This robot will have four arms and after you get out of bed, you have to press a button on the robot and Voila!!! Your personal robot will automatically make your bed. :)
    Since the price of gasoline gets higher and higher, I bet in 2030 the price will be really expensive. That's why there should be a car that runs not on gas, but salt water.Why salt water? Well, salt water is not use for many things. We have an abundant supply of salt water. Just fill up the car with salt water and you'll be on the road!
     Not only will there be cool inventions, but also global warming will have its effects in 2030. To keep the effects limited, we should have items preventing flooding from glaciers and other stuff. One idea is to make more future buildings use solar panels. Solar panels will make the world a better place. Solar panels are clean and renewable resources. Why don't many people buy solar panels today? Solar panels are waayyyyyy to expensive. In the future, it would be great if solar panels cost less. That way more people will buy them and make the world a better place, one panel at a time:P. Another big problem of global warming is because there is too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Why? Factories are polluting way too much, but at the same time, we need factories because they make us stuff we use in every day life. That's why they should build factories that consume less space and are surrounded by trees. If there are lot of trees and pollution, it balances out!!! I hope 2030 will be more earth-friendlier.
      Another cool thing would be to have a moon hotel. Once in three months a space shuttle would take passengers to a two night stay at the moon hotel! This hotel on the moon would have all the supplies of oxygen, food, and other supplies needed for the people. Every three months, astronauts would refill the supplies. As you are inside the hotel, you would be able to view the blue marble, Earth. Other attractions at the moon hotel, will be space walking and collecting moon rocks.
     To see the real 2030, we just have to wait...wait and see. Will any of my predictions come true? Will we have more technology? What effects will global warming have on us? To find out all these, just let curiosity wait. Hope you liked my post and please comment on some ideas or predictions you might have for 2030. Thanks!!
                                              

                                                  

The Story Behind Candy Canes

I wake up to find that the Christmas spirit is in the air. Bells are ringing, many Christmas trees and decorations are put up. I hear christmas carols. Everyone is shopping, I see cars with Christmas trees on their roofs. One popular Christmas tree ornament is candy canes. ...But how did candy canes come to be? How did candy canes become part of the Christmas tradition? These questions led me to some research. It all began in the 17th century when the European-Christians started the Christmas tree tradition. They used food including candy and cookies as their ornaments. One type of candy on the trees were sugar stick candy. Sugar stick candy was these white sticks of sugar candy. Then, in 1670, a new tradition started during Christmastime. A choirmaster from a church started giving out sugar stick candy that were bent like the shape of our candy canes. The choirmaster bent them out that shape to represent the shape of a shepherd's staff. Soon, the candy canes made its way to America. It was still white but, the candy canes now had decorations including sugar roses. Only after the 1800s were the famous red and white stripes on the candy canes. Soon, the traditional peppermint flavor was added. Many people think that the candy canes are shaped like a "J" as in Jesus's name. Now, the candy cane is a symbol for Christmas.
Recently, candy canes are in many different flavors, colors, and sizes. There are cherry, wintergreen, peppermint and many more flavors. Many candy camea are now branded with a candy company, including "jelly belly" candy canes, "smarties" candy canes, and even "sour patch" candy canes. Personally, I dislike peppermint but I love cherry candy canes. Just looking at the bright colors of the candy canes make me feel so happy and in the holiday mood! Candy canes are a real treat and a remainder for Christmas!

 

Wreck it Ralph

"Wreck it Ralph", a movie rated PG that just came out on November 2, 2012, was a big hit for children of all ages. Ralph, the bad guy of the game, Fix it Felix Jr.,  wants to be a good guy. Ralph is fed up of seeing the glory going to Fix it Felix, so he decides to become a good guy. He is not respected in his game because his job is to be a villain. Even though Ralph has an important job in the game, he has absolutely no recognition. So, Ralph decides that he will become a good guy. Then, he will earn respect from the citizens from his game. Ralph sets off on a game-hopping journey to win a good guy medal. On his way he meets Vanellope von Schweetz, a charming, nine year old girl from the game Sugar Rush. Soon Vanellope wins Ralph's heart and they both become good friends. "Wreck it Ralph" teaches a very important lesson to kids, you should respect everyone no matter what. This movie is about Ralph's journey to become a good guy of the game. This movie also emphasis on the friendship of Ralph and Vanellope that becomes stronger.

"Wreck it Ralph" is a Disney movie produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. This film was directed by Rich Moore, who also has directed many of "The Simpsons" episodes. The cast of this movie include John C. Reilly, who gave the voice for Wreck it Ralph, and Sarah Silverman who gave the voice for Vanellope von Schweetz. This movie included characters from other video games. Bowser from the Mario series and even Pac-Man from the game Pac-Man are in the movie, " Wreck it Ralph".

A very interesting fact that many people don't know is that "Wreck it Ralph" was originally scheduled to release on March 22, 2013. Since it was ahead of its schedule, it was released on November 22, 2012. The very first trailer for "Wreck it Ralph" was released on June 6, 2012. To make this amazing movie it took a whopping $165 million. The movie made $49.1 million in the opening weekend of the movie across 3,752 theaters. This movie beat the 2010 film, "Tangled" which made $48.8 million in its first weekend. I recommend this fantastic movie to all ages! "Wreck it Ralph" is a must see movie!!! Bottom-line, "Wreck it Ralph" is a delightful entertainment for the entire family!