the supernaturalist

my free reading book is "The Supernaturalist" by Eoin Colfer. it takes place in the furture and the main character is named Cosmo. Cosmo is an orphane in an orphanage with other orphaned boys. the boys test new and dangerous expierements and they are not cared for. cosmo finally gets the chance to bust out, will he get caught or we he finally be free. read to find out.

O.Henry

   1.   O.Henry's real name is William Sydney Porter born in 1862 and died in 1910

2. known for his ironic plot twists and surprise endings

3. Born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina
4. O.Henry dropped out of school at 15 to work in his uncle's drugstore
5. In his 20's O.Henry moved to texas to work as a bank teller and a clerk for over 10 years.

6. O.Henry started writing professionally in his mid 30's, he sold some stories to the Detroit Free Press and the Houston Daily Post

7. In 1894 he had a weekly position creating humor magazine for The Rolling Stones

8. "In 1896 O. Henry was charged with embezzling funds from the First National Bank of Austin, Texas"

9. "The amount of money was small and might have been an accounting error; however, he chose to flee to Honduras rather than stand trial. Learning that his wife was dying, he returned to Texas in 1897 and, after her death, turned himself in to authorities. He served three years of a five-year sentence at the federal penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio, where he first began to write short stories and use the pseudonym O. Henry."

10. After released from prison O. Henry moved to New York City in 1901 and began writing full time.

masque of the red death essay

Brad Paszkiewicz

Yellows

November 3, 2010

Mrs. Zurkowski

“Masque of the Red Death”

My color is green. This room was the third in the set of seven in the story in the story “Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe. Green resembles adolescent, maturing, growing, summer, or morning. People from the ages of about 11-20 will fit in this category. While they are still young, morning or summer, meaning a new beginning or brightness. When people are born it is the start of a new life and the start of a new year, a new day. There is so much ahead of them.

Green is the third of seven steps in life. The first being blue meaning serene, birth, start, happiness spring, dawn on a new day. Next, purple representing love, childhood, fun, learning, energetic, fun, spring, morning, people being from toddlers to 10.  Green meaning adolescent, maturing, growing, summer, or morning. People from the ages of 11 to 20 will fit in this category. Then, orange meaning vibrant, lively, a lust for life, autumn, mid-life crisis, noon. Middle aged about 20 to 50 years. Next, white meaning, aging, wisdom, or early afternoon. People anywhere from 50 to 70 years. Later, violet which symbolizes pain, dull, reminds that pain is near winter, evening. People between the ages of 70 to 90 finally, black with red window resembles death, winter, night.

The color green which again resembles: adolescents, maturing, or growing. In symbolic terms, summer or morning. I am 14 so I fit the age span 11 to 20. I am still growing and learning. Green is a somewhat vibrant color and summer is bright and warm and just good stuff. Morning is the beginning of the day and getting brighter. Opposing the black room which is death, winter or night. Depressing and sadness. This color is important in “Masque of the Red Death” just like any other room it completes the other rooms. You cannot have dark without the light.

edgar allan poe webquest

1. born January 19th 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. died in baltimore 1849

2. his dad left when he was young and mom died of turberculosis

3. heart problems, alcohol, diabetits, rabbies, murder
4. virginia
5. people think the maryland is consedered edgar allen poes home
6. U.S. military west point
7. 13 year old cousin virginia clem.
8. marriage was consedered normal back then but i think 13 is still a little young
9. he made the first detective story ever
10. both stories written and published in 1843

masque of the red death vocab. and answers

1.        Pestilence - any epidemic disease with a high death rate

2.       Eccentric - conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual

3.      Embellishment - elaboration of an interpretation by the use of decorative

4.      Phantasm - a ghostly appearing figure

5.      Gaunt - very thin especially from disease or hunger or cold

6.      Visage - the appearance conveyed by a person's face

7.      Vesture - something that covers or cloaks like a garment

8.      decorum - propriety in manners and conduct

9.      Convulse - be overcome with laughter

10.  Blasphemous - grossly irreverent toward what is held to be sacred

11.  Robust - physically strong

12.  Profuse - produced or growing in extreme abundance

13.  Contagion - any disease easily transmitted by contact a contagion

14.  Pervaded -

15.  Sagacious - acutely insightful and wise

16.  Tremulous - quivering as from weakness or fear

17.  Impetuous - characterized by undue haste and lack of thought or deliberation

18.  Tangible - perceptible by the senses especially the sense of touch

19.  Emanating –

20.  Masque - a party of guests wearing costumes and masks

1.      The story takes place in a country devastated by the plague.  How do Prince Prospero and his friends try to escape?  Explain their lifestyle. A prince blocked himself off in a castle with 1000 people. “a strong and lofty wall girdled it in. this wall had gates of iron”. No one can get in or out

2.      List the colors of the seven rooms and list any objects found in each.  What might each color represent in a stage of a person’s life?  According to scholars,“Man has seven ages.”  How do these colored rooms represent seven stages in a person’s life? The colors of the seven rooms are blue, purple, green, orange, white, violet, and black with a scarlet window.

3.      Who or what is the uninvited guest?  What does his arrival in Prince Prospero’s world symbolize? The univinted guest is someone that has the disease, the arrival symbolizes death.

4.      In the paragraph that describes the masquerade, find words and phrases that suggest nightmare or madness.    

5.      Select at least seven vocabulary words from the list above and describe the tone of those definitions (why you think the author chose those particular words to create imagery and what sort of mood those words project in this story.  Phantasm- a ghostly appearing figure gives a creepy tone that makes the mood of the readers’ suspense.  Pestilence - any epidemic disease with a high death rate, again gives the readers suspense and adrenaline. Edgar Allen Poe was very good at that. Eccentric - conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual. Embellishment - elaboration of an interpretation by the use of decorative. Gaunt - very thin especially from disease or hunger or cold. Visage - the appearance conveyed by a person's face. Vesture - something that covers or cloaks like a garment. All of these words were carefully chosen to make Edgar’s story rise up to his past stories. As most people know he was famous for his words of descriptive imagery.

6.      What is the overall theme(s) of the story? The theme is you can’t run from death. And your time is shorter than you think that you have on earth.

beginning of the 2nd quarter

this up coming Friday marks the end of the 1st quarter of my freshman year. it went by so fast. we are getting into a unit where we will be reading Edgar Allen Poe stories and Shakespeare. i read a few short stories of edgar allen poe last year in english but not a lot. from what i remember about Edgar Allen Poe is that he had a way with words. i do recall readingany shakespearebut i dont think it will be bad.

Brad P

Research Paper

           The reason why the percentage of brain disorders has increased in the past 40 years is because America has advanced in technology so that we can correctly diagnose children. Children with brain damage cannot pretend to be disabled because our technology has advanced so much that the tests will show if they really are or not. According to the Education Department, 2.5 million children, or approximately 6% of the nation's students in kindergarten through 12th grade, were identified as learning disabled in 1995 and enrolled in federally supported programs that give such students specialized help in learning to read, write and do math.

 In more current times, scientists have been able to use state-of-the-art techniques, known as functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to look at the brains of patients with learning disabilities, brain damages, or just checking if everything is alright. They didn’t have an MRI 40 year ago, so how could they come close to diagnosing kids back then they what we can now. Specific genes may be partly responsible for the vast majority of learning disabilities involving reading. Some scientists are hopeful that the discovery of such genes could eventually lead to blood tests that parents could use to screen their children for reading disabilities at a very early age.

It is proven that doctors have either misdiagnosed or not diagnosed children at all in the past 40 years. So it cannot just be that out of nowhere kids are just coming out disabled. They did not have the right technology to tell if someone was disabled or not. Many students, performed poorly in certain academic areas even while excelling at others.    Students who had more noticeable troubles in learning were often misclassified as brain damaged, visually handicapped or mentally retarded. Public schools considered such students to be uneducable, and until the early 1970s courts generally upheld the right of school districts to separate them from the rest of the class. Without other educational opportunities, learning-disabled students were often forced to stay at home or, alternatively, sent to residential institutions known as supplemental schools. There, all sorts of students who at the time were considered “deficient" and impossible to teach, including the physically and mentally handicapped and delinquent youths. Now the law requires schools, including colleges and universities, to provide "reasonable accommodation" to students who are diagnosed with learning disabilities. IDEA, students who are diagnosed with disabilities must be placed on individualized education plans. "If we do not identify children early, by the end of second grade," says Lyon, "the majority of them will have difficulty reading for the rest of their lives.”

 People argue that learning disabilities are indiscriminately diagnosed and that too many underachieving or simply lazy students are using dubious diagnoses of "learning disabled" as excuses for their academic shortcomings. In other words, kids are taking advantage of doctors being generous diagnosing children with brain disorders. They contend that the rise in the number of learning-disabled students merely indicates a better understanding of learning disorders and an improved ability to identify, diagnose, and accommodate them than ever before.  They also defend accommodations as a way to break down educational barriers and to expand opportunities for students who are born with life-long learning disabilities. There has also been talk about how parents are to blame for the rise in brain disorders because they deny the fact that their kids have not risen up to their expectations because they just can’t. They think there has to be something wrong for them to under achieve. They are concerned that coddling learning-disabled students by setting lower academic standards, especially at the college level, is unfair to other students and will poorly prepare learning-disabled students for life in the real work world. Parents had been organizing only since the early 1960s to highlight what they called "hidden disabilities."  Prodded by parents' groups, Congress officially recognized learning disabilities in 1968, but IDEA proved to be the most important step in helping to recognize such disorders as a distinct class of disabilities that required specialized attention. Because America’s technology has advanced so much we now understand the brain and diagnosing brain disabilities.

Work Cited

<http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=K12-Reference&prodId=SUIC&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CA179242075&mode=view>

http://ea.grolier.com/article?id=0084340-00&docKey=Li4vLi4vc2VhcmNoL2NvbnRlbnQvZWE0L3RleHQvMDI4LzAwODQzNDAtMDAuaHRtbEBnbzI*&queryText=%3Clang%2Fen%3Ecerebral+palsy&queryParser=Grolier_en>

"Learning Disabilities." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 4 Apr. 2003.  Web. 24 Sept. 2010. <http://www.2facts.com/article/i0300260>.

3rd article for research paper

1. Brain damage can affect muscle movement, speech or even hearing

2.  probably more than half a million cases of cerebral palsy in the United States

3. Each year there are six new cases for every 100,000 people. Of these six, roughly two suffer from mental retardation and four have normal intelligence. Of these four, one is mildly affected, two are moderately affected, and one is severely affected.
4. The less affected people should carry on with everyday life.

5. The forms of cerebral palsy are classified according to the associated disability. About 70% of all patients exhibit at least a partial spastic weakness of one or more extremities. In this condition, known as spastic cerebral palsy, the muscles are under a continuous state of tension, with increased reflex activity

6. About 20% of patients have athetoid cerebral palsy, with disorganized spontaneous muscular movements. In these persons the extremities move involuntarily in many different directions.

7. Ataxic cerebral palsy, which occurs in about 10% of patients, is manifested as a disturbance in balance while walking or standing. These patients may fall often and frequently cannot move about without assistance. Many patients suffer from a combination of cerebral palsy syndromes, in most cases the spastic and athetoid conditions

8. Each type of cerebral palsy is caused by damage to a different area of the brain. Damage to the motor regions of the cerebral cortex results in the spastic type, while damage to the basal ganglia (special masses of gray matter at the base of the brain) produces the athetoid type. The ataxic type is caused by damage to the cerebellum. Associated difficulties in speech, hearing, or vision are usually due to damage of the brain centers governing these functions. Similarly, mental retardation results when areas of the cerebral cortex concerned with intelligence and other higher functions are affected
9. Causes of brain damage may vary from child birth, to diseases, to head injuries
10. The treatments can be physical therapy, speech therapy, drugs surgeries to reach the goal of at least improveing progression in the persons life.

<http://ea.grolier.com/article?id=0084340-00&docKey=Li4vLi4vc2VhcmNoL2NvbnRlbnQvZWE0L3RleHQvMDI4LzAwODQzNDAtMDAuaHRtbEBnbzI*&queryText=%3Clang%2Fen%3Ecerebral+palsy&queryParser=Grolier_en

2nd article for research project

1. 6% of the nation's students in kindergarten through 12th grade, were identified as learning disabled in 1995

2. 215% increase in the number of children in learning disabled programs since 1977
3. there is little agreement over how to diagnose, treat and accommodate
4. Are children who aren't good at math, short attention span or difficulty understanding understandable jokes retarded? Or do they just want an excuse for being lazy? Or is it we just advanced in diagnosing
5. Should mentally retarded people have they option to have a tutor, tape recorder or unlimited time on a test?
6. Before the 1960's doctors misdiagnosed children that were more challenged than others to be mentally retarded, seeing impaired, or rain damaged
7. In the 60's Kids with disabilities were forced to stay at home or go to supplement school because of lack of knowledge on learning disabilities
8.  Nearly 10% of students are classified as learning disabled in  Massachusetts, while the figure is less than 3% in Georgia
9. Given the right help early enough kids can pass for average
10. Money is being donated to help studies of brain disorders

"Learning Disabilities." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 4 Apr. 2003.  Web. 24 Sept. 2010. <http://www.2facts.com/article/i0300260>.

1st article for research paper

Cerebral palsy occurs in early childhood

Any brain damage can affect muscle movement and thinking process

No cure to any brain damage. It is permanent. Treatments are physical and occupational therapy, speech therapy, drugs to control seizures, relax muscle spasms, and alleviate pain; surgery to correct anatomical abnormalities or release tight muscles

There are different levels to severity of brain damage

One child might be unable to walk and talk and need constant help while a mild case might just some help here or there but still can come close to a near normal life.

Doctors are researching to find ways to prevent brain damage before and after birth.

It is estimated that 8 million people sustain brain injuries each year in the United States. At least 2 million of those injured will be permanently impaired.

 After a brain injury, things that once were easy and familiar become strange and difficult. The injured party often becomes less efficient at their job and their livelihood is jeopardized.

Brain damages can effect emotional behaviors as well. People that have overcome serious injuries may have a different personalitity

Brain damages can be caused by bacteria as well.

3 questions about cerebral palsy

1. What causes cerebral palsy?

2.How to do treat cerebral palsy?

3.What is the life expectancy of  someone with cerebral palsy?

http://bagpipeonline.com/uploads/2009/01/cerebralpalsy.jpg

summer reading issue

brad p.
 mrs.zurkowski
yellows
september 17, 2010

book: Cruise Control by Terry Trueman

search terms:

Cerebral Palsy Symptoms

Cerebral Palsy Life Expectancy

Statistics of Cerebral Palsy

Definition of Cerebral Palsy

National Cerebral Palsy

Signs of Cerebral Palsy

Famous People with Cerebral Palsy

                       

           cerbral palsy

       The main issue in Cruise Control  by Terry Trueman was the main characters little brother had cerebral palsy. which is a brain disorder which means  he cant walk, talk and he has random siezures. this accures from any where from pregnancy to the age of 3 where a child may develop this disorder.This can really affect a family becuase someone always has to be on gaurd at all times for him. there is yet to be a cure for cerebral palsy but doctors have addressed this issue. there is treatments such as physical theropy and speech theropy. i think doctors should continue to research and find better ways to approach this disorder.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy#Treatment



Dear Paul McDaniel,


My name is Brad P, and I enjoyed reading your story over the summer. I am a student at John Carroll, and I read your book for an assignment. That’s not the only thing I did this summer. I did a lot of basketball camps. Since you play basketball too, I was interested in your book and read the whole thing in one day driving to Hershey Park with my family. I went on a cruise to Alaska with my sister, my aunt, and two of my aunt’s friends. It was really fun. Then I went on a family vacation down in North Carolina.

I thought the novel was very good. I like how you’re protective of Shawn and how you can get focused when you need to be. When you by beat up that bodybuilder in the red Mustang, I thought you should’ve handled that differently. Even though it may be hard with your anger problem. I have an anger problem too. I get mad very easily. The guy almost did hit the girl and the dog but you didn’t need to call him names and beat him up. I like how at the end of the story you were talking to your little brother before you left for the big game. Maybe he understood you, maybe he didn’t, but I thought it was nice how you told him what happened and how you felt and how you felt after. That you loved him and that game was going to be for him.

As the story moved on and unfolded, I do think the author Terry Trueman had a great writing style. He had a way of keeping you reading and reading and not wanting to put the book down. Your character was very realistic to the reader. Not that many readers could connect to the fact that their little brother had cerebral palsy and couldn’t get out of a wheel chair to walk or talk. The family issues or the teenage athletics would be pretty common for most people.

I do have a question for you though. Why did you let the guys put a lighter under your brother’s chin? You knew it was going to happen and you could’ve taken them on. But you didn’t. A part of you wanted Shawn to die because he didn’t have an ideal life. He probably didn’t know that he would never be like anyone else having those seizures all the time, but you shouldn’t want him to die. You love your brother and I love my brothers and sister too, even though we fight a lot we’re a family and nothing can put a closer bond on two people than being a family.

Ways you could possibly raise awareness about the issue in the story is to focus a little more on Shawn and how he has to deal with those problems and how other people have to deal with his problems. I think people will be thinking about this after they read the story because it almost leaves in impression on you. This is a big issue that needs to be addressed and people should start thinking about it and trying to find a way to fix it to the best of their ability.

Thank you for reading me letter and good luck to you in the future at George Town University or Gonzaga . The only advice I can give you is to do good in school work on your anger management problem keep up the good work in basketball and other than that keep doing what you’re doing.



Brad P

the introduction of my book "Cruise Control" by Terry TruemanThe main character of “Cruise Control” is a bad tempered senior high school student named Paul McDaniel. Paul has a tough personality. He never backs down from a fight and is very protective especially of his 14-year-old brother named Shawn. Shawn has cerebral palsy, which means Shawn sits in a wheelchair all day unable to care for himself. Paul is quite focused on schoolwork, football, baseball or the current season, basketball. He is trying to get athletic scholarships from either Georgetown University or Gonzaga College.The beginning of the story it introduces Paul, his sister Cindy, his mom Lindy and his brother Shawn. Their father, Sydney, walked out on them a while ago. As the story progresses Paul’s dad comes into play when he wrote a poem about Shawn and his condition. Which lead to Sydney winning a Pulitzer Prize. Paul is not happy that his dad trying to get back into the family. Lindy explains to Paul that his dad did not abandon them. Instead, she had kicked him due to the lack of support she needed to care for Sean. Paul decides to make peace with his dad and his basketball team wins the championship.Based on the characters experiences I think what the author is trying to say about life are, do not dwell on the past, live in the now. As it may be hard for Paul to forgive his father for leaving, he can let that affect his life. I also think what the author is trying to say about life is enjoy it while your young. When you grow up you have so many responsibilities and stress for the future you need to enjoy being a kid.The main issue in this story is Shawn’s condition and how it affects each member in his family. Lindy was left to raise three kids, one with cerebral palsy, alone. Paul feels obligated to take on a lot of responsibility for Shawn. Seeing how he is the man of the house and oldest sibling. Cindy also feels a little responsibility for Shawn. Her mom really needs her help and Paul is not around. Sydney is affected not only by Shawn’s illness but also by the anger Paul has for him. In the end of the story, the reader finds out Lindy kicked Sydney. Sydney was forced to leave because he could not give the support Lindy needed to raise Shawn. Shawn is most affected because he is the one that has to live his whole life with cerebral palsy. Unable to sit up, Sean spends his day in a wheel chair all day drooling and unable to walk or talk. Though he may not know that he is not like everyone else, Sean lives a difficult life.There is one particular event in the book that makes it seem real and important. Paul finally had enough of his father. They have a huge big fight. Saying hurtful things to his father. Words and feelings that had been built up for years inside of Paul and he was ready to let his dad have it. It is real because all teenagers fight with their parents and it is important because it made Paul realize he is not mad, he is sad and he needs to fix it. His feelings affect his game and his team really needs him to pull through and do his best. Another event that made the book seem real or important is because of Shawn’s condition he has random seizures, at one point he had a terrible episode when Paul and he’s friend Tim are playing basketball and it makes the family afraid that Shawn’s condition is getting worse. This could all really happen and people have to deal with this. There is a lesson and it is learn to deal with what god gives you.
this is a really good book i recomened this book to anyone

image site:http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Cruise-Control-Terry-Trueman/?isbn=9780064473774

my unique profile

                                                                     My unique profile

I used to walk the halls of Fallston middle but I decided to come to JC and leave all my friends behind even though I see some once in a while to play basketball or kick some butt in Call of Duty on Xbox live. I like basketball and hopefully I can make the JV team this year. I am getting confirmed this at saint marks church so I volunteer as much as possible. Since I was in the NJHS last year I did volunteer work for that. Sometimes at church I ran a booth at the Harford County farm fair. My favorite band is Metallica and my favorite song by them is For Whom the Bell tolls. But I also like many hip-hop/rap artists as well. I have an older sister who is almost 17and is a senior this year at Fallston high. I have two older half-brothers that are 32 and 30 but we like to call each other all real brothers and sister. The eldest lives in Minnesota and the other in New Jersey. Each one is married and has a child. The older currently has an 8 month old boy named Vince. And the other has a 1 year old girl named Paige. I have two dogs at home. One is a 5 year old boy yorkie named mojo and a mini schnauzer who is almost 2 we recently adopted, a beautiful girl named Jada.