Dear Readers (Mrs. Hayes),
The first quarter blog is finally finished, and I can't say I was overjoyed about my grade. The Amimoto grade was good, but I would have liked to have done better on the blog grade. I believe I received a 78% overall on the blog and a 100% on the Amimoto. Although I don't have the final graded project in front of me at the moment, if I remember correctly I lost points mostly based on the brevity and lack of critical thought in my follow and respond segment. I believe I also lost a couple points for my picture blog, based on the fact that I recreated the plot of the first chapter through pictures instead of sticking to the prompt and using pictures of the overall themes and moods of the book. I was surprised to see points deducted from my picture blog, as I thought it was my strongest overall post, but I did stray a small bit from the given directions, so I'll have to make sure not to do that again. As for the follow and respond, I agree that the comments were too short, and had even thought about revising it, but didn't know it would end up being as big of a point deduction as it was. Although I wasn't quite sure how these flaws translated into a 78, I could see the overall reasoning behind the deduction of points for those two things, and the number of those points is an issue of the past.
Now on to the future; I can already see my blog for this quarter being much better than the first. For one, the book I chose for this quarter is much more relatable than my book for the first quarter. It was a bit of a problem trying to come up with topics of discussions in my blog posts when I couldn't really relate or get into the book, but I'll get into more depth about that momentarily. Things I plan to improve upon are the length of my posts (seeing as how I lost points for the comments being too short) and stricter interpretation of the directions (based on my feedback for the picture blog). Speaking of feedback, I also plan to consult my teacher, Mrs. Hayes about each week's blog post, that way I'll know more of what I need to change and have an opportunity to get it fixed, so the final grade won't come as as much of a shock.
Back to the book for this quarter; I chose The Great Gatsby, another classic. This book is a bit more modern than my previous book, Around the World in 80 Days, which I found to be a bit dry. I believe that "Gatsby" has aged a bit better than "Around the World" has, and only 20 pages in, I already look forward to reading more. I feel like I can really get into this book, so hopefully my blog posts of the future will demonstrate that.
Regards,
Brandon Blewett
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
World's Greatest Preview
Here is a wonderful little preview of what you will experience if you choose to read this book. Just a taste, but a tasty taste.
Vlog Schmog
Right, so here is my Vlog... apologies for it being above the links, but I finished the links first and can't figure out how to switch them, so please do excuse the minor formatting error.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The weakest links (side note: these links are not necessarily all weak, that was just an attempt at a witty title. And now here I am rambling on just to defend my dumb title. In fact, this is definitely the weakest part of this blog post, therefore the links themselves are not truly weak at all).
1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne
Jules Verne is the author of the book. He is a highly well known author, and this gives plenty of information about his life and famous works.
2) http://www.online-literature.com/verne/
Wikipedia is a great source, but it's not for everyone. If you're a Wikipedia skeptic, here's an article about Verne's life and works from a different website.
3) http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/pictures/110208-jules-verne-google-doodle-183rd-birthday-anniversary/#/jules-verne-inventions-nautilus-submarine_32040_600x450.jpg
This is just awesome. Jules Verne was primarily a science fiction writer, and here's an article about the "crazy future inventions" he predicted that actually came true. Maybe someday there will be an article like this for George Lucas.. dear god I hope so..
4) http://epguides.com/djk/JulesVerne/works.shtml
This is a list of most of the works of Jules Verne. It contains the famous ones as well as the less known of his works.
5) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327437/
Here's a link to the most recent movie depiction of Around the World in 80 Days. I really have no idea how they decided to cast Jackie Chan as Passepartout, Fogg's friendly French follower (a little alliteration to brighten your day, you are welcome).
6) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048960/
Although the newer adaptation is entertaining, I personally prefer the classic (with Mexican actor, Cantinflas playing Passepartout; marginally more believable). Apparently the critics would agree, as you can see if you click the links and check the ratings.
7) http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2RkRwF/www.youtube.com/watch%253Fv%253DfEqkeNTLrcM
Pretty self explanatory. Here's a trailer for the original movie adaptation of the book.
8) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Around_the_World_in_Eighty_Days
Wikipedia page of the book. Gives a good plot summary as well as background and other interesting information.
9) http://www.teachushistory.org/detocqueville-visit-united-states/articles/historical-background-traveling-early-19th-century
This article explains the methods of transportation that were available in the time of the book being written. In the book, Fogg mainly uses steamers and trains to make his journey around the world.
10) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Around_the_World_in_Eighty_Days_map.png
This link contains a map of Phileas Fogg's journey around the world. Below I've posted links with more information on all the locations visited in the book, along with brief summaries of their importance in the story.
11) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London
London is the home of the protagonist, Phileas Fogg. It is also the beginning and end of his trip around the world.
12) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez
The next destination on Fogg's agenda is Suez. He takes trains to Suez and then proceeds by steamer. Here's some background into this location.
13) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai
Next, Fogg's journey takes him to Bombay, India. If you want to know more about this location, the link above should be more than proficient.
14) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sati_%28practice%29
On the next leg of Fogg's journey, the train runs out of track, and the hero is forced to hire a guide and ride an elephant through the wilderness. The group comes across a procession of priests attempting to perform the practice of sati on an unwilling widow. They decide to save her, and thanks to Passepartout's heroics, they succeed.
15) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong
After the detours in India, Fogg and his companions arrive in Hong Kong. They actually miss their steamer and have to take a different boat. Information about Hong Kong is found in the link above.
16) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokohama
After the hangup in Hong Kong, Fogg manages to reach his next destination, Yokohama. Yokohama is located in Japan and today is the second largest city in the country behind Tokyo.
17) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco
After taking a steamer from Yokohama, Fogg and friends finally reach America. San Francisco, to be exact. More information about SF is just a click away.
18) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City
Next, Fogg takes a train from San Francisco to New York, encountering several hangups along the way, including a herd of Buffalo blocking the tracks and the train being overrun by a tribe of Sioux Indians. He eventually reaches New York, however, and from there proceeds back to London to narrowly meet his quota. Everyone knows all about New York, but if you're looking for more information about this destination there is a link above.
19) http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1Yu7i8/www.luminous-lint.com/app/vexhibit/_LOCATION_Around_The_World_in_Eighty_Days_01/5/0/0/
I found this source very interesting. It shows pictures from around the world in the time period of the book, so these are authentic sights the characters would have experienced. It really helps in visualizing the scenes of the book.
20) http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2Q20qX/laughingsquid.com/royal-de-luxe-parade-in-nantes/
Article about a parade in France commemorating the 100th anniversary of the book. There are some pretty cool pictures, especially of the mechanical elephant.
There you have it. 20 links for better understanding of the book, Around the World in 80 Days. Hours of reading. Hours of fun. Enjoy.
Jules Verne is the author of the book. He is a highly well known author, and this gives plenty of information about his life and famous works.
2) http://www.online-literature.com/verne/
Wikipedia is a great source, but it's not for everyone. If you're a Wikipedia skeptic, here's an article about Verne's life and works from a different website.
3) http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/pictures/110208-jules-verne-google-doodle-183rd-birthday-anniversary/#/jules-verne-inventions-nautilus-submarine_32040_600x450.jpg
This is just awesome. Jules Verne was primarily a science fiction writer, and here's an article about the "crazy future inventions" he predicted that actually came true. Maybe someday there will be an article like this for George Lucas.. dear god I hope so..
4) http://epguides.com/djk/JulesVerne/works.shtml
This is a list of most of the works of Jules Verne. It contains the famous ones as well as the less known of his works.
5) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327437/
Here's a link to the most recent movie depiction of Around the World in 80 Days. I really have no idea how they decided to cast Jackie Chan as Passepartout, Fogg's friendly French follower (a little alliteration to brighten your day, you are welcome).
6) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048960/
Although the newer adaptation is entertaining, I personally prefer the classic (with Mexican actor, Cantinflas playing Passepartout; marginally more believable). Apparently the critics would agree, as you can see if you click the links and check the ratings.
7) http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2RkRwF/www.youtube.com/watch%253Fv%253DfEqkeNTLrcM
Pretty self explanatory. Here's a trailer for the original movie adaptation of the book.
8) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Around_the_World_in_Eighty_Days
Wikipedia page of the book. Gives a good plot summary as well as background and other interesting information.
9) http://www.teachushistory.org/detocqueville-visit-united-states/articles/historical-background-traveling-early-19th-century
This article explains the methods of transportation that were available in the time of the book being written. In the book, Fogg mainly uses steamers and trains to make his journey around the world.
10) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Around_the_World_in_Eighty_Days_map.png
This link contains a map of Phileas Fogg's journey around the world. Below I've posted links with more information on all the locations visited in the book, along with brief summaries of their importance in the story.
11) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London
London is the home of the protagonist, Phileas Fogg. It is also the beginning and end of his trip around the world.
12) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez
The next destination on Fogg's agenda is Suez. He takes trains to Suez and then proceeds by steamer. Here's some background into this location.
13) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai
Next, Fogg's journey takes him to Bombay, India. If you want to know more about this location, the link above should be more than proficient.
14) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sati_%28practice%29
On the next leg of Fogg's journey, the train runs out of track, and the hero is forced to hire a guide and ride an elephant through the wilderness. The group comes across a procession of priests attempting to perform the practice of sati on an unwilling widow. They decide to save her, and thanks to Passepartout's heroics, they succeed.
15) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong
After the detours in India, Fogg and his companions arrive in Hong Kong. They actually miss their steamer and have to take a different boat. Information about Hong Kong is found in the link above.
16) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokohama
After the hangup in Hong Kong, Fogg manages to reach his next destination, Yokohama. Yokohama is located in Japan and today is the second largest city in the country behind Tokyo.
17) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco
After taking a steamer from Yokohama, Fogg and friends finally reach America. San Francisco, to be exact. More information about SF is just a click away.
18) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City
Next, Fogg takes a train from San Francisco to New York, encountering several hangups along the way, including a herd of Buffalo blocking the tracks and the train being overrun by a tribe of Sioux Indians. He eventually reaches New York, however, and from there proceeds back to London to narrowly meet his quota. Everyone knows all about New York, but if you're looking for more information about this destination there is a link above.
19) http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1Yu7i8/www.luminous-lint.com/app/vexhibit/_LOCATION_Around_The_World_in_Eighty_Days_01/5/0/0/
I found this source very interesting. It shows pictures from around the world in the time period of the book, so these are authentic sights the characters would have experienced. It really helps in visualizing the scenes of the book.
20) http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2Q20qX/laughingsquid.com/royal-de-luxe-parade-in-nantes/
Article about a parade in France commemorating the 100th anniversary of the book. There are some pretty cool pictures, especially of the mechanical elephant.
There you have it. 20 links for better understanding of the book, Around the World in 80 Days. Hours of reading. Hours of fun. Enjoy.
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