Thursday, January 16, 2014
Profile in Courage
My first impression of the movie was that wheelchair rugby looks difficult. I also immediately knew that nothing could stop these guys. They can drive, go to the grocery stores, dress themselves, they even would fight if they had to. One of the things that one of them said was, "you want to hit a kid in a wheel chair? Go ahead I'll hit you back". That was humorous and he was stating that just because he was in a wheel chair doesn't mean you can fuck with him and he won't fuck with you back.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Vocabulary: Spring #2
accouterments - additional items of dress or equipment, or other times carried or worn by a person or used for a particular activity
On the hike this morning, John's countless accouterments slowed us all down.
apogee - the highest point of development of something
After reviewing my essay I feel that the apogee for it has been met.
apropos - with reference to; concerning
I watched the New Years fireworks in the Colorado Rockies at the beginning of the year; apropos, what did you do on New Years?
bicker - argue about petty and trivial matters
When my brothers were smaller, it seemed like they were constantly bickering about pointless things.
coalesce - come together and form one mass or whole
After it had rained, the puddles outside had coalesced and formed a much larger puddle.
contretemps - an unexpected and unfortunate occurrence
When leaving the gym the student had a bad contretemps with a fellow student and it escalated to a fight.
convolution - a thing that is complex and difficult to follow
There are a lot of convolutions of math for me and there always has been growing up.
cull - select from a large quantity
When you cull cattle you must select the thickest one to slaughter.
disparate - essentially different in kind; not allowing compassion
The two students were too disparate to be friends.
dogmatic - inclined to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true
Without being dogmatic, he tried to assert his opinion.
licentious - disregarding accepted rules or conventions, esp. in grammar or literary style
The report was so licentious that it was nearly impossible to read.
mete - dispense or allot justice, a punishment, or harsh treatment
There are many accounts of harsh sentences meted out for crimes that should call for no more than a caution.
noxious - harmful, poisonous, or very unpleasant
Many people have noxious conversations every day.
polemic - a strong verbal or written attack on someone or something
Polemic against politicians is common.
populous - having a large population; densly populated
The island of Malaysia has a very low populous.
probity - the quality of having strong moral principles; honesty and decency
Politicians try to have probity but it often never seems that way.
repartee - conversation or speech characterized by quick, witty comments or replies
Courtney could easily exchange repartee against at least a dozen at once.
supervene - occur later than a specified or implied event or action
The fair had to be supervened due to rain
truncate - shorten by cutting off the top or the end
Gangrene has caused many people to have to truncate their limbs.
unimpeachable - not able to be doubted
The president's speech was so unimpeachable that the entire crowd was moved by it.
Monday, January 13, 2014
The Choice
Keep the dog, or send it to its death? That was the decision I was faced with when I was a freshman. We had been wanting a dog for some time now and we had finally found him. He was a purebred rottweiler and we decided to name him Franklin.
He was an about twelve week old puppy when we got him. He was really cute, as most puppies are and he was larger than most full grown dogs. After the first week we obviously had a couple accidents like him peeing on the floor, chewing up pillows, and digging in the trash, normal puppy things. At the time that we got him we were also fostering kittens so the messes the puppy was making were a bit much to handle but we did it and we managed.
After about three weeks with the puppy my parents were pretty much fed up with it. My littlest brother really wanted to keep it so he practically begged my parents to keep it. They agreed in hopes that it would get trained and break its bad habits. About a week after this we went to the beach and when we returned we found our pet rabbit dead lying at the foot of our stairs. We immediately knew who had done it. My mom started crying and wanted to get rid of the dog that second. We had the rabbit for quite a long time and we all really liked him. It was an awful sight to see. That night we decided to take a vote on whether or not we keep the dog.
When we put it to a vote it was only my brothers and I. My littlest brother was upset about the dog killing our rabbit but he voted to keep the dog because he has wanted one for a long time. My second youngest brother voted to get rid of the dog because he never wanted it from the beginning so the killing of the rabbit was like icing on the cake for him. Finally it was my decision to either vote yes, keep the dog or no, get rid of it. I was torn but mostly because I was the deciding vote. I knew we would either put the dog in a shelter or "send it away to a farm" if I voted no. If I voted yes, however, we would keep the dog but it could potentially do more damage and cause more heartbreak. The decision was tough but I ultimately decided to get rid of the dog. I really loved the rabbit and it was getting frustrating cleaning up the messes he would make. I didn't want a dog in the first place but he was cute so I figured that would help him get adopted if he went to a shelter.
I know we shouldn't have taken the killing of our rabbit personally because it was only instinct but we felt that he wasn't the dog for us. He also should have known better because we introduced him to all of our animals before hand in hopes that something like that wouldn't have happened. I think I made the right decision because Franklin wasn't the dog for us but there is someone out there that he would be perfect for. It was a tough choice but I felt I made the right one.
He was an about twelve week old puppy when we got him. He was really cute, as most puppies are and he was larger than most full grown dogs. After the first week we obviously had a couple accidents like him peeing on the floor, chewing up pillows, and digging in the trash, normal puppy things. At the time that we got him we were also fostering kittens so the messes the puppy was making were a bit much to handle but we did it and we managed.
After about three weeks with the puppy my parents were pretty much fed up with it. My littlest brother really wanted to keep it so he practically begged my parents to keep it. They agreed in hopes that it would get trained and break its bad habits. About a week after this we went to the beach and when we returned we found our pet rabbit dead lying at the foot of our stairs. We immediately knew who had done it. My mom started crying and wanted to get rid of the dog that second. We had the rabbit for quite a long time and we all really liked him. It was an awful sight to see. That night we decided to take a vote on whether or not we keep the dog.
When we put it to a vote it was only my brothers and I. My littlest brother was upset about the dog killing our rabbit but he voted to keep the dog because he has wanted one for a long time. My second youngest brother voted to get rid of the dog because he never wanted it from the beginning so the killing of the rabbit was like icing on the cake for him. Finally it was my decision to either vote yes, keep the dog or no, get rid of it. I was torn but mostly because I was the deciding vote. I knew we would either put the dog in a shelter or "send it away to a farm" if I voted no. If I voted yes, however, we would keep the dog but it could potentially do more damage and cause more heartbreak. The decision was tough but I ultimately decided to get rid of the dog. I really loved the rabbit and it was getting frustrating cleaning up the messes he would make. I didn't want a dog in the first place but he was cute so I figured that would help him get adopted if he went to a shelter.
I know we shouldn't have taken the killing of our rabbit personally because it was only instinct but we felt that he wasn't the dog for us. He also should have known better because we introduced him to all of our animals before hand in hopes that something like that wouldn't have happened. I think I made the right decision because Franklin wasn't the dog for us but there is someone out there that he would be perfect for. It was a tough choice but I felt I made the right one.
Vocab #1 Performance Review
I got a ten out of ten on the vocabulary quiz that we took today. I know that this is a reflection on how well I studied the material. I didn't study it nonstop but I did study for about 10-30 minutes on Saturday and Sunday and that was how long I needed to memorize the definitions for each word.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Vocabulary: Spring #1
adumbrate - report or represent in outline
Sherlock Holmes adumbrated the crime scene and handed it over to the police chief.
apotheosis - the highest point in the development of something; culmination or climax
Playing Khan in the new Star Trek movie was Benedict Cumberbatch's apotheosis of his career.
ascetic - characterized by or suggesting the practice of severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons
People who are part of religions that make them fast live ascetic lives.
bauble - something that is superficially attractive but useless or worthless
Some people go out of their way to find baubles when all they are really doing is wasting their time.
beguile - charm or enchant (someone) sometimes in a deceptive way
Some are still beguiled by Houdini's magic tricks.
burgeon - begin to grow or increase rapidly; flourish
When plants are given the correct kind of fertilizer it seems like they begin to burgeon.
complement - a thing that completes or brings to perfection
Just by adding a dash of salt, it complemented the mash potatoes in such a way that it made the entire dish that much more divine.
contumacious - stubbornly or willingly disobedient to authority
The teenager was contumacious towards the teacher.
curmudgeon - a bad-tempered or surly person
The old man that lives down the street is curmudgeon especially when you go on his lawn.
didactic - intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive
The book was intended to be didactic in that it teaches that everyone is equal.
Sherlock Holmes adumbrated the crime scene and handed it over to the police chief.
apotheosis - the highest point in the development of something; culmination or climax
Playing Khan in the new Star Trek movie was Benedict Cumberbatch's apotheosis of his career.
ascetic - characterized by or suggesting the practice of severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons
People who are part of religions that make them fast live ascetic lives.
bauble - something that is superficially attractive but useless or worthless
Some people go out of their way to find baubles when all they are really doing is wasting their time.
beguile - charm or enchant (someone) sometimes in a deceptive way
Some are still beguiled by Houdini's magic tricks.
burgeon - begin to grow or increase rapidly; flourish
When plants are given the correct kind of fertilizer it seems like they begin to burgeon.
complement - a thing that completes or brings to perfection
Just by adding a dash of salt, it complemented the mash potatoes in such a way that it made the entire dish that much more divine.
contumacious - stubbornly or willingly disobedient to authority
The teenager was contumacious towards the teacher.
curmudgeon - a bad-tempered or surly person
The old man that lives down the street is curmudgeon especially when you go on his lawn.
didactic - intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive
The book was intended to be didactic in that it teaches that everyone is equal.
The Choice (First post of 2014)
1.) The choice has to do with the girl and whether or not she wants to take the poison herself or have it shoved down her throat.
2.) It is a real choice because she literally has to choose between two different things. They both have the same result but she has a choice on whether or not it's done violently.
3.) The author uses the word poison in the first line because it has similar effects that poison does.
4.) The child wants to play with a toy that is intended for older kids because even she knows she might not make it to the certain age so she might as well play with the toy now. I do agree because the child seems like they are smart and would know not to use the toy in a wrong way if they already knew what might be a possibility.
5.) If I thought I wasn't going to live until the age of thirty I would finish school and even go to college for however long I needed to all while spending as much time with my girlfriend and family as possible. I would have a job but I would always be saving up money to take my girlfriend to new places and have new experiences. I wouldn't change a lot but I would want to be happy for as long as I could be.
6.) This circumstance is a good of example of why it makes sense but only if everyone involved has agreed that it is for the greater good.
7.) I think that yes suffering is a necessary condition of life and love because it makes you appreciate love so much more and reminds you that not everything's perfect.
8.) We empathize with the author because we can all imagine a loved one being in the situation and what it would be like if that happened to them.
2.) It is a real choice because she literally has to choose between two different things. They both have the same result but she has a choice on whether or not it's done violently.
3.) The author uses the word poison in the first line because it has similar effects that poison does.
4.) The child wants to play with a toy that is intended for older kids because even she knows she might not make it to the certain age so she might as well play with the toy now. I do agree because the child seems like they are smart and would know not to use the toy in a wrong way if they already knew what might be a possibility.
5.) If I thought I wasn't going to live until the age of thirty I would finish school and even go to college for however long I needed to all while spending as much time with my girlfriend and family as possible. I would have a job but I would always be saving up money to take my girlfriend to new places and have new experiences. I wouldn't change a lot but I would want to be happy for as long as I could be.
6.) This circumstance is a good of example of why it makes sense but only if everyone involved has agreed that it is for the greater good.
7.) I think that yes suffering is a necessary condition of life and love because it makes you appreciate love so much more and reminds you that not everything's perfect.
8.) We empathize with the author because we can all imagine a loved one being in the situation and what it would be like if that happened to them.
Friday, November 8, 2013
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