Connor: Weekly Blog #2

    It all started in 2355 when European scientists decided to build a deity.  The lab was soon cluttered with plans for the god's name and powers, unfortunately no one could figure out if they were making a god or a goddess.  Due to arguing between the scientists the deity was never finished until two centuries later.  That was when the Goddess of Yoga appeared to a young Frenchman named Louis.  Louis taught the goddess to speak French, and the goddess later learned more languages on her own.
   Louis had chosen to name the goddess Geneva.  Geneva was named for a group of war laws called the Geneva conventions.  This goddess, however, changed her name to a word that no human could possibly pronounce.  Her new name sounded like a combination of Krypton and Sodium, but people just called her "Queen of Yoga."  The goddess was almost always meditating and knew no such thing as violence, but she was a lonely deity and needed friends.
     So the goddess went to work to create more deities.  The next eleven deities to come out of the machine named themselves Aqua, Doom, Past, Future, Present, Inertia, Pain, Combat, Terra, Pyronus, Flower.  Aqua loved the ocean and treated sailors to bountiful sea food feasts.  She also liked to throw hurricanes and large waves at those who polluted her kingdom.  Past and his sister Future loved to write prophecies together, for history repeats itself and they both had interesting stories to tell.  Pain, Combat and I occasionally hung around to decide the fates of the humans, like who would die when and while doing what.  I was Doom and I would transport into bed rooms and buildings to take away those who should pass away. Inertia and I rarely spoke to each other and when we did she would soon leave.
     Suddenly we were all called to a meeting by Queen of Yoga.  During the meeting Pain was picking on Flower and Pyronus was setting fire to anything in sight.  When Queen of Yoga spoke everything ceased, our jobs, time and all else just froze.  No one died, no one moved, no one caused someone else pain.  Queen Yoga said "We shall be more responsible with our power or the humans will overthrow us!  If they stop believing that we exist there is little we can do!"
       Meanwhile on Earth, directly below our meeting hall the humans were making plans when time froze.  When time unfroze the humans had unanimously decided to go to war with the gods.  Present caught wind of their plans first and warned the rest of us.  Future told us of possible outcomes and very few of them seemed good for either side.  Combat put on his armor, I grabbed my scimitar and a lot of armor and transported into battle.
     My fury was the most powerful weapon on either side of the war.  The mortals knew that if they convinced me that my own allies would turn on me I'd fight alongside them.  I wouldn't allow myself to be trick by the mortals and as such I slew each soldier with my godly weapon.  I looked across the battlefield and saw Inertia get stabbed from behind.  She died and soon most of the gods were dead as well.  It was just Pain, Combat, and I fighting against the mortals.  I killed several more and then it was only Pain, Combat  and I the only mortals left alive knew better than to mess with the gods.  Pain and Combat looked at the areas in which each deity had fallen.  Combat stood longest over the area where Aqua died and cried for hours.  Pain and I made tombstone for those who were killed by the mortals and for the mortals we killed.  We put each deities body into the graves and mourned the losses.
      Suddenly Combat walked up and glared at me "This is all your fault!  Doom if you hadn't been carrying people to their graves this wouldn't have happened.  Besides I don't think you liked any of them!"  I snarled at him and drew my scimitar.  He grinned "I don't have anything to live for anymore.  So I'll indulge in a little revenge for the woman I loved!" He shouted again.  I ran at him and the sword went through his chest and came out the other side.  I had killed one of my only friends, but it didn't matter.  If I didn't kill him he would have died anyway.
     Pain and I looked over the many graves and sighed, we were the last of our kind.  We had been alone for weeks now and it was starting to seem like all to much for Pain to take.  Pain looked at me and said "Doom I want one last duel, no armor and the battle ends when I give the word."  I agreed and we picked up our weapons and ran at each other.  I felt a sharp katana in my chest poking out my back.  As I died I watched him bury me next to Inertia.  I smiled as I died, he understood everything as a friend should.  After that Pain killed himself and his body disappeared.

7/30/12 Weekly Blog Post #2

Wow.  Uh... I don't.  I don't even know what's going on in that picture.

But that's what's going to make this blog post fun!  Because YOU get to decide what's going on there.

For today's post, I want you to write a mythological story.  In other words, a story about ancient gods, ancient times or ancient heroes.  You know what a myth is.  But here's the deal-- it CAN'T be about a real mythological set of gods.  So no stories about the Greek gods, the Norse gods or the Hindu gods.  It has to be about a pantheon of gods that you make up yourself.

Your story should be at least four paragraphs and should be relevant to the picture above.

7/30/12 Weekly Blog Post #1

Okay, for those of you that saw the opening ceremonies for the London 2012 Olympics-- I know that it was really boring and sucked.  But that being said, London is one of the largest, most densely populated cities in the entire world.  And it's really cool and full of British people with awesome accents!

For today's blog post, I want you to do some online research about London and write a short report on it.  You don't have to do a history of London (but you can if you want)-- instead you can pick a cool aspect of the city and just write about that.  For example- is there some cool event that occurs in London every year?  Is there a section of London that's famous for having a certain type of people or market or something like that?  You can even choose to write about a famous landmark in London (there's a ton of them).

Your report should be at least four paragraphs long.

Gabe: My Blog

Please go check out my blog. It is called Gabe and Nature . I will post on it every day about nature and thing we do in nature.

Marney: Weekly Blog Post #2

Christo and Jeanne

By Marney

      Christo and Jeanne were famous artists.  They were trying to come up with an idea for their next public art work.  Christo could not think of anything, but Jeanne thought of a perfect idea.  She said, "Christo, I know what we should do."
      Christo was sleeping because he stayed up all night trying to think of an idea.  Jeanne went over to Christo and shook him until he woke up.  Then Jeanne said " Christo I know what we have to do."
     Then Christo said "What?"
     Then Jeanne said "We need to make three Chinese men that are 15 stories high in the middle of Austin."  Then Jeanne got out a piece of paper and started drawing a picture of what it would look like.
     Christo looked at it when she was done and he said "Why are there three men, why not just two?"                                                  
     "Because I like three."  So they both got out of their chairs and ran outside and pictured it in their yard.  They went back inside their house and made a list of things they would need for their big Chinese men.  Here is what their list looked like

1. Wood 
2. Sheets of fabric 
3. Metal
4. Three cars 
5. Stairs 
6. Windows

     They firured out that, that was all they really needed for the men that were going to be 15 stories high.  Christo went to the store that they always get stuff at because they don't need normal things, they need giant things like 15 feet high planks of wood and things like that.  He got everything that they needed and went to the main part of Austin.  He got out his cell phone and called Jeanne and said that she should go to Austin now because he was there.  Jeanne got out of the house and ran to her car and drove to Austin.

2 hours later

     Jeanne got to Austin, got out of her car and started building the men.  Christo went to random cars and put keys in them and parked them where the men's feet were going to be.  He got out of one of the cars and Jeanne was done making the people.  So they both went home.  They thought that the giant men were normal and they were not going to do anything so they went back to their home and went to bed.  

     Then in the middle of the night one of the men moved its arm and its eyes were flashing bright red. It started to walk around the city.  It smashed a lot of houses and killed over 2,000 people.  When the second one started to walk, the third one fell over and smashed all of the cars.  Then the last one got up and went to their house and killed them.  Everyone kept saying that Godzilla was finally here.    

Mommio: Art Class- Open Spaces

A lot of the modern art we have been studying in our Artistic Pursuits class has involved working with open spaces and abstract forms.  Today the kids had fun making their own free form fish sculptures.  First they mixed up some plaster of paris and poured it into a quart size plastic bag, tying it closed but leaving a little space to move the plaster around.

After about 10 minutes the plaster had hardened enough that the kids could start giving their sculpture more form by squeezing the bag with their fingers to create eyes, mouth, fins and a general shape.

Thirty minutes later the plaster was completely hard and they removed the plastic bag.  They used knives to trim away any unwanted parts and to clear around the eye area while it was still damp.

When the surface was dry they painted their fish with tempera paints.  

Here is our school of abstract fish!

Connor: Sir Sinister: A Short Story

    There I stood gazing at the ground.  I saw the gigantic puddle of blood underneath the body.  I frowned, for I knew the victim, my best friend had been murdered.  I felt as though the blood were on my hands as well as the criminal's.  Still I stood there, the end of my cane was beginning to get drenched in blood.  I moved my gaze from the body toward the city.  I knew the killer would be there, I had spoken with him before.
        Meanwhile, in a seemingly abandoned factory in downtown the murderer sat waiting.  His name was Nathan, he owned the local pawnshop.  Nathan sat at his desk rummaging through his cash register to find his money.  He kept more in that register than cash, sometimes he stored stolen items in there so the cops wouldn't catch him.  Suddenly the door opened and in walked Zelda, the mayor and a frequent customer at the pawnshop.  Zelda had been searching for some unusual items, namely rifles and shotguns.  It just so happened that Nathan had such items, although wasn't legally allowed to sell them.
    I was now in my house preparing to take revenge.  I reached behind myself and grabbed my cloak, hood, and stabbing weapon.  I was known by two names, my real name Tiberius and Sir Sinister.  By day I seemed like an average guy, but by night I was the shadiest criminal the city ever knew.  No one knew my secret identity nor my previous work as a hero.  I and I alone knew why I had switched to a life of crime and murder.  I walked out the door with my motive in mind and broadsword in my hand.
      As I walked into the pawnshop Nathan stared dumbfounded.  "You're Sir Sinister!  Please spare me I beseech you?!"  I glowered at him, he could only see my eyes, and raised the sword.  "Sir Sinister you will be arrested for your crimes!" Nathan cried as he sidled toward the phone and attempted to dial the local police.  I grabbed a throwing knife out of my pocket and threw it directly at Nathan.  I missed him, but hit my target.  I cut the phone line before he could contact the cops.
       Nathan grabbed one of his many rifles and attempted to shoot me.  "Sorry Nathan." I said in a deep voice "Unfortunately I know you committed a murder without my permission.  You know the terror I am capable of Nathan, you wretched buffoon, yet you still raise a rifle and try to shoot me.  I am greatly offended by this gesture of disobedience!"  I moved closer to him and cut his left hand off, he was holding the rifle in his left hand.  Then I walked closer and said "You have angered me Nathan.  That is a mistake that no one ever makes twice!"  With that I decapitated him and left the pawnshop after taking all the money in the register.  After that I went on to commit even more heinous crimes all over the city and was eventually hung in town square.

Marney: Weekly Blog Post #1

June

By Marney Reese Jones

June is the 6 month of the year 

You can swim in the lake

People hate the heat it is their fear

it is when you get to dance and shake

It is when you can harvest you food

People have pool parties 

it is when there are not Christmas trees

And when things are in good moods

People use their umbrellas

it is when there are a bunch of blue jays 

it is a month to celebrate flag day

and there are much more cars on the highways  

Avery: Weekly Blog #2

The Giants

By Avery Jones

       One Tuesday afternoon a tall, skinny man named Jeff was in his apartment studying for a test in kung fu. He had to have his kicks and punches perfect for the test.  Jeff didn't normally practice so much for a test. But this time his Aunt Martha was going to be there to watch him.  Martha used to be his kung fu teacher when he was three years old.

        When it came to the day to preform at his test he got a letter in the mail.  He looked at who it was from. He recognized the name from somewhere, but couldn't remember at the moment.  It said to meet them at the Chinese men.  Jeff had no idea what the letter was talking about, but he knew it was important.  He got in his car and looked for the Chinese men.

          He stopped at the visitors center to ask about it. Before he asked he saw a picture of a giant statue of Chinese men.  That had to be what the person in the letter was talking about.  He took the poster and looked for it again.  He stopped near a Mc Donalds and saw the statue.  He found a ladder on the side of it and climbed up.

        At the top there was a short man with blue eyes and short hair dyed purple.  He walked up to Jeff and looked into his eyes with an evil stare.  He said his name was Dave Fielder.  He was Jeff's bully in high school.  He pushed Jeff to the edge of the giants and waited for him to fight back.  Jeff knew he was only allowed to use kung fu as self defense.  Dave shoved him and he almost  fell off the giants.  Jeff hit him back and ran jumped down ten feet onto the nose of one the statues.  Dave followed and kept trying to hurt him. But Jeff just kept running and throwing back random items from his pockets.

         They both ended up in their cars chasing after each other.  Suddenly Jeff noticed why Dave was so mad at him.  When they were in college Dave thought Jeff killed his mother.  He didn't hurt anyone, he never did.  But he was in the building at the wrong time.  When the cops arrived at Dave's mother's house they saw Jeff sitting next to his mother.  She really died from a heart attack.  But Dave is very stubborn and would never change his mind about Jeff.  He wanted him dead.
        Jeff saw him pull out a gun.  He started shooting at the car.  He popped one of the wheels of Jeff's car. Dave got out of his car and pointed the gun at Jeff.  Jeff closed his eyes and stood still outside of the car.  He quickly kicked the gun out of Dave's hand and then kicked it under the car.  Dave started running and Jeff darted after him.  Suddenly the cops appeared and had them both stand still.  They were taken into the station.
        When all the truth was told, Dave was sent to jail for 3 years for trying to kill an innocent person.  Jeff walked out of the building happy and started to hear a ticking noise.  It sounded like a bomb.  He ran as fast as he could and then the cop station exploded.

THE END

Avery: Weekly Blog #1

November

By Avery Jones

I chose November because it is nice.

and we make piles from leaves

It's so cold we don't need ice

That is the month we get out the long sleeves.

The dogs will play outside

It's not too hot for the dog

But gets too humid when there is fog

But in the yard there are no rules applied.

It is my favorite

I love how falls looks

The beautiful trees

you can't even describe in books.

7/23/12 Weekly Blog Post #2

What the heck is that giant thing?  Do you see how big it (or maybe "they") are?  Those cars look like toys at their feet.  For today's blog post, I want you to write a four paragraph action story.  You know what an action story is-- lots of exciting activity and... well.. lots of action.  Have fun with it.

7/23/12 Weekly Blog Post #1

By popular request, today we're going to practice writing with different types of rhyme schemes.  I'll take it easy on you, though, and give you only the rhyme scheme, the actual length or syllables in each line is up to you.  So it's basically a free-form poetry, as long as you stick to the rhyme scheme.

For today's post, pick a month of the year and then write three stanzas about that month (or a day that occurs in that month, or what the weather is like, etcetera).  Each stanza has to be exactly four lines long.  The rhyme scheme of the first stanza must be ABAB.  The rhyme scheme of the second stanza must be ABBA.  And the rhyme scheme of the third stanza must be ABCB.

Mommio: Art Class- Christo and Jeanne Claude

Friday in our Artistic Pursuits class we installed our environmental sculptures that were inspired by our study of Christo and Jeanne Claude.  The kids all quickly learned that when you get out in the environment to start your art project there are often changes that need to be made and adjustments to the plan.  This was a little frustrating at first, but then they worked together in their teams to come up with new plans that they were all very happy with.  

"Walking Up Trees"

By Avery, Marney and Mason

"The Spoon Forest"

By Connor, Gabe and Kiki

Gabe: Weekly Blog Post #2

     One day there was a deer and a fox.  The fox was a very rude animal.  The deer was a very, very nice animal.  The fox was walking by Ms. Ladybug's house and she said "Could you help me fix my bike?"  The fox said, "No.  Why would I ever do something like that?"  Then the deer was walking by Ms. Ladybug's house and she said "Can you help me fix my bike?"  The deer said, "That would be great!"  Later, the deer said "Can I have help repairing my car?"  Then the fox said, "Can I have help repiaring my roof?"  Then everyone went to help the deer.

Moral- The memory of a good deed lives.

Gabe: Weekly Blog Post 3.

Sleep    

By Gabe Jones

     It was a normal day for Anne Coonie.  She had just gotten home from her working at Dairy Queen.  She lives in San Diego.  She lives with her two youger brothers, her older sister, her mom and dad and her boyfriend.  She had just gotten home and was ready to go to bed.

     She had slept all night and when she woke up lying next to her was her boyfriend with his head cut off. She immediately ran downstairs and called her mom, her mom was at work.  When her mom answered,  Anne just started crying and her mom said "It's okay, call the cops."
     When she called the cops they came and said "You guys can stay in the house but we will be outside at all times."
     She went to bed that night crying and hoping everything will be better.  When she woke up she was lying on the floor.  She got up and went to her mom's room and her dad was dead on the floor with no legs.  So the cops put cameras in their house to figure out who is killing them.
     She didn't go to work that day because she was sad.  That night she went to bed hoping everything would get better.  When she woke up she had one leg but she was alive.  The cops looked over the tape and it turns out that Anne was sleep killing.  They arrested her for ten years.

Avery: Weekly Blog #3

   Sad Story

By Avery Jones    

     It was a rainy day and I, Haley Morgan, was sitting in my room doing nothing.  I never did nothing, even if there was a blizzard I would try something creative.  My nothingness had something to do with the weather.  The rain, I found it depressing.  I never liked rain, smells bad, makes my cat hide under the couch. I found it very annoying.. 

        I got up and went down to the kitchen to make a bagel.  My parents were out for lunch.  My dad just got back from the military.  They wanted to celebrate, but not with me for some reason.  I walked into the living room and sat on the couch, trying to calm my cat, Snickerdoodle.

        Suddenly I got a call from my mom.  Most likely she was going to ask what I wanted her to bring home for me.  I answered and she did ask.  I told her to bring me back chili fries and rootbeer.  She sounded worried.  She said nothing was wrong, but in her voice I could tell something was happening.  I told her I was going to meet them at the restaurant.

         When I got there I had to look around for them.  I found them sitting in the back.  I sat down next to my dad and across from my mom.  They didn't say anything.  I asked what was wrong and they just stared at me.  I looked down at myself and nothing seemed wrong with my clothes.  They said they wanted me to wait in the car.  They needed to talk about things I couldn't hear about.  I got very worried about my mom.

         I went back to the front desk and asked for my own table near them.  They couldn't see me, but I could slightly hear them.  They said something about my cat and Grandma.  I walked back to their table and they came to a complete silence.  I left the restaurant and called Grandma.  She didn't answer, so I called my aunt who lives next to her.  Grandma needed someone to take her places, she wasn't allowed to drive.  She didn't answer either.  I got a call from my friend, Nichole, right after I hung up.
       "Did you see the news this morning?!"  she asked with terror in her voice.

       "No, my electricity is out.  What happened?"

       "Your grandmother...," I interrupted her.

       "My grandmother what?!  You don't even live near her.  How did you see the news?  The electricity is out all over town."

       "She died.  Someone murdered her last night.  No one knows who, but we are looking for clues and answers."
       Tears started running down my face. "She was like my best friend.  The only person that would do pinterest projects with me."
       "Hey!  I did some with you once.  But it was only because I needed to pass art class.  But it still counts!"
       I hung up and went to my room.  When I walked I found my grandmothers wig sitting on my bed.

THE END

Kiki: Weekly Blog #3

The Crying Lady

By Kiki Jones

One day a girl named Molly was talking on her phone and she heard a big crash.  She went to go see what it was.  She saw that her best friend was in big car crash and she went to see if she was ok, and she was dead. She went back inside and she went to sleep.  The next day she had to go her friend's funeral.  When she got to her funeral she stared to cry, she was so, so sad.  A week later she saw that her dad was in the hospital. She went to go see her dad in the hospital and she talked to her dad about how she is.  She said she was upset.  She went home and tried to sleep but she couldn't, so she called one of her friends and talked to her all night.  The next day she went to go see her dad but she couldn't because her dad had died.  She went home and stared crying again.

Connor: Weekly Blog #2

The Canine and the Serpent

By Connor M. Jones

           There once was a serpent and a canine.  They were the best of friends, always chasing each other and playing in the park.  Serpent had been a nice and often harmless fellow.  Although Serpent did occasionally lose his temper.  One day Serpent and Canine were playing tag in the park.  Canine was running like crazy to avoid being tagged.  When Canine went through a door Serpent was upset.  Serpent could not go through doors, lacking arms and legs.  He told Canine that he gave up.  Canine exited the area in which he had hid and asked Serpent what was wrong.  Serpent said "I can't slither through that door."  Canine looked back at the door and noticed the door had no room for Serpent to slither through.  Serpent, angry because he thought Canine had cheated, struck at Canine with his fangs.  Canine whimpered in pain and said he did not want to see Serpent again.  Every time Canine sees Serpent he just walks away and ignores his old friend.

                             Moral: Injury is never forgotten in the presence of he who caused the injury.

Connor: Weekly Blog #3

The Murderer's Woe

By Connor M. Jones

     It was but an average day in the life of Janet Adams.  She had finished her assigned project on time and was about to return to her office.  She worked in a big building, in London across the street from Sherlock's place of occupation.  Sherlock was her best friend and a rather tall man as well.  He was named for a fictional and very famous detective, although he chose to work as a playwright.  Unfortunately something had occurred an hour prior to Janet's showing up to work.  There was blood in the alley way next to the building and no one was in the office.  This was strange because lunch had finished an hour ago and no one got any breaks aside from lunch.

     Exactly an hour before hand Sherlock stood in the alley, his orange silk suit stained with blood.  He looked down upon his victim, a man of about twenty nine with blue eyes.  Sherlock said in a dark tone "No one came to save you.  You're death shall be in vain."  The man's eyes shut tight the corpse was already starting to reek.  Sherlock walked out toward Janet's humble abode where he stashed the bloody gloves and the murder weapon.  He then walked off to avoid being caught with the red blood stain on his suit.  Sherlock stopped in his house to wash the suit.

     The victim was Janet's boss, a hateful man who was abusive of all his employees.  Janet looked out through the window in her office and saw the body.  She was flabbergasted at the sight of it.  She despised her boss, but never attempted to kill him.  Janet looked in the paper and saw the police were calling this the Devil Murder.  Janet was stunned, it was obviously a human crime not a supernatural one.  She went home to try and relax, only to find out that the police just found murder evidence.  Unfortunately the evidence was found in her home and she was a prime suspect.

        She grabbed her phone and called her friends and family.  She told them she was going to be arrested for a crime she didn't commit.  She had a trial, but the evidence stacked against her and Sherlock even testified against her.  As she held the phone she cried, they couldn't take the phone from her during the trial, it would have made things worse.  The judge announced the sentence, she was to be hanged for her crime of murder.

        As they tied the noose to the wooden beam Sherlock grinned and thought to himself "They think she's the Devil Murderer!  Just as well I want to remain in this century for a while.  I should wait until later to go back to hell."  Janet stood still paralyzed with fear, knowing that she didn't commit the murder and was dying for something she didn't do.  As the noose was placed around her neck Sherlock was standing next to her, the rope in his hand.  He whispered to her "I had fun with this.  The killing was simply to DIE for.  See you in hell, and say 'Hi' to my master for me."  With that Sherlock pulled the rope down and once she was hanging he connected it to a nail on the back of the stand.  He hid his smirk of satisfaction as he walked past the chief of police.

Connor: Madagascar

       Madagascar is an island off the coast of Africa.  The first settlers of the island were most likely from the country of Borneo.  The animals at this time included the giant fossa, which was bigger than a modern fossa.  It was also home to the Madagascan Hippopotamus, which was almost exactly the same as a regular hippo. Unfortunately these animals were probably hunted and, in the case of the giant lemur, went extinct.
      Eventually Portuguese sailors had landed on the island.  The French had some trading posts on the island as well.  The island off the coast of Madagascar is thought to have been a pirate utopia.  Although anywhere that pirates have complete control would be a distopia.  Many sailors had been shipwrecked on the Madagascan coast.  Then came the kingdom of Madagascar, which existed until 1897. At that point the french took over the entire island, after starting their invasion in 1883.
      The island was the sole property of France until 1960.  Until that point it was treated as a colony, kind of like how the British treated America.  Malagasy troops fought for the French in world war one.  In world war two the Nazi's thought of sending the prisoners to Madagascar, where they would have been tortured no doubt.  There was also an important, but lesser known battle of world war two fought in Madagascar.