Blog #3

Heating your home can get more expensive by the year. The cost of oil continues to rise because of the competitive companies that try to sell oil. All of the companies are trying to keep prices at a competitive rate, as the cost of oil increases per barrel, the price of each oil company will increase because of the profit margin that must be met, for the company to make a profit and have a payroll. Also the North Eastern part of the united States has the most oil consumed, because only six percent of homes use oil as their primary source of heating.
   Propane is one of the most widely used in over 6.5 million home from 2005-6, at a cost of about 2,386 dollars. Also this depends on the region because of the cost of the fuel; For example if someone in the Midwest the average cost is 1,534 dollars. In Maine it is easier to heat with propane because it is cheaper to use than oil.
Electric heat is one of the more cheaper and newer ways of heating, approximatly one third of all U.S. homes rely on electric heat as a primary source of heating. Complaints have been filed because of the alleged in-effectiveness of being able to sustain a regulated temperature. The cost is just over 1,300 dollars a year so it is cheaper than oil and propane.
 Natural gas is on of the most environmentally safe ways of heating because the gas comes from the earth. It comes in around 1,024 dollars a year, but in order to use natural gas as a heating source, there has to be a source of it and they have to drill. This is one of the most expensive  parts but using natural gas in the cheapest form of home heating that is currently available.
I believe that if natural gas is available for use then it is one of the best ways for home heating because it burns clean. A mixture of electric heat and oil or propane will also limit the cost and make the supply of oil in a home cheaper and more affordable. Also propane would be my last choice because it is not the cleanest burning fuel, and oil is more affordable depending on the area you live in.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2012/1207/Cheapest-way-to-heat-your-home-Four-fuels-  compared/Heating-oil-2-526

Macbeth Essay

A. Lady Macbeth: "What thou art promised. Yet do I fear they nature; it is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great, art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it." (1.5.14).

B. What this quote is saying is that Lady Macbeth she is revealing that she is willing to do anything in order to put Macbeth into power so that she can have more power and keep it. She was trying to drive him towards the actions that would lead to his crowning. She was devious in her planning of how to remove Duncan from the throne. Lady Macbeth was the mastermind behind the killing of Duncan and Framing the guards in order to remove suspicion from Macbeth, but she would not kill Duncan but she was conniving enough to conjure the plan to make him king. She proved that she could be malicious here by being the driver behind this plot to shift the balance of power in their favor.
C. The movie amplifies Lady Macbeth’s true intentions by having her stand alone in the room to show that her kind ways aren’t the only thing on her mind. She is standing in a room and the light is half on her and half of her body is in the shadow to reveal that she is secretive and seems to be a kind person but also has malicious intentions that is showed by the various angles that the camera is using on this scene. The camera angles keep her head and bod out of the frame but by combining it with previous shots there was enough of Lady Macbeth shown.

D. The way that this quote was used in the book was to get the reader to think that it wasn’t only Macbeth who wold be responsible for fulfilling the prophecy, because when she first learned that the witches told Macbeth that he was destined to be king she wanted to do take it into their hands and make him king. She was trying to drive Macbeth into making this happen because the witches foretold that Macbeth would be king but not how it would happen or when, so they took it into their hands to make the prophecy a reality, but was it the witches who were putting their plan into place by having Macbeth come into power and ruling the land.



“Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead are like pictures, nothing more only the eye of a child's fears, a painted evil Duncan is bleeding.” Lady Macbeth (2.2.64 )

B. The significance of this quote is that, Macbeth had just killed the guards and returned to lady Macbeth with the daggers that he killed the king with and was supposed to smear the blood on the sleeping guards to frame them for the murder. Lady Macbeth had taken the daggers from him and smeared the blood onto the guards and plant the daggers. from the beginning of the play it was lady Macbeth who was pushing for Macbeth to kill Duncan so that she could have more power. Lady Macbeth began to crave power after she had learned about the prophecy and she was the one who conducted the plan to kill Duncan and then frame the guards. As time passed Macbeth began to grow in insanity and began to have people killed which began to eat away at her and she then killed herself because she was being haunted by the deeds that were done and the fact that Macbeth was going insane to try and do everything in his power to keep his throne.

C. There is only light being shined on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth it seems like it is from the waist up and all the scenery is black to symbolize the deed that had just been done , in Macbeth killing Duncan. There was a close up on Lady Macbeth while she was returning from smearing the blood on the guards to frame them for the murder. The lighting was focuses around her waist to focus om the smeared blood and until she came back into focus her face seemed to be blurry and out of focus except the blood on her clothes and her chest you could see the blood.
D. After reading and then hearing the quote in the movie I thought that the movie did a better job of displaying the quote because it of the lighting that was used to amplify the darkness around the hall and showed that it was Lady Macbeth who was the driving force to kill Duncan and put Macbeth into power. In the film she was acting like it had to be done as soon as possible so that they could each have power and control over everyone. As the film went on, however their mental health began to decline and became paranoid of everyone and that is why Macbeth had Banquo killed and sent murderers to kill Macduff’s family to show everyone he would kill anyone who opposes him. Lady Macbeth finished what she had planned for Macbeth to do but he seemed to be distressed and in a state of mental distress from killing Duncan and she ripped the daggers out of his hands and smeared the blood on the guards and returned seeming like nothing had happened.


A. First Apparition: "Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff; Beware the thane of Fife," (4.1.78-79).

B. Macbeth was told that he couldn’t be harmed by any man born of woman and here he was being warned of Macbeth but he questioned the witches because there were warning him to fear Macduff. Macduff was suspicious after the death of Duncan and did not think it was his sons but Macbeth because he was the man who was put into power. Macbeth had sent assassins to Macduff’s castle to kill his family because he wanted to show him that whoever went against him or questioned him would be removed.

C. In the operating room the three witches had three bodies covered by a sheet of wax paper over the bodies and the room was light with a bright light flashed, like a flood light flashed on and there was a close up on all three of the witches. Then they touched one of the corpses and it was said to be their master, and he rose up and their was a bright flash of light and it looked like the camera was at a lower angle to get a better view of the man rising. Macbeth went over to hear one of the men speak and the lights flashed very bright from a high angle. The camera angles were coming from the side to give a better view of what was going on, and how this was a very important scene because it was foreshadowing what would be the final showdown and decide the future of the kingdom.
D. The way that this quote was portrayed in the movie was very dramatic and I believe that it was meant to be like this because he was told in the beginning that no man born of woman could harm him, but now he is receiving a strong warning from the witches about Macduff but Macbeth was questioning them because of what he heard during their first encounter. Also that this is important because it can put doubt into his head about the prophecy because it is the opposite of the first statement stating that no man born of woman can harm him.



A. Macduff “Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb Untimely ripped.”(5.8.19)

B. Macbeth was told by the three witches that no man born of woman can harm him so he believed that there was no man who could kill him, but what Macbeth was unaware of was that Macduff was born through a cesarean section which meant that he would be the end of the rule of Macbeth. Macbeth had wanted to get revenge on macduff for questioning him and having doubt about the guards killing Duncan. Also because Macduff wanted to personally take care of Macbeth because he is the reason that his family id dead and according to the witches the only man who can kill Macbeth.

C. During the storming of the castle Macduff rushes to find Macbeth and have his revenge, Macduff enters the great hall and sees Macbeth eating and drinking, there seemed to be a low angle of the camera because it was like looking up on the actors. Macbeth’s face was covered in shadow and the light in the scene was coming from behind Macduff to fore tell the deeds that were going to happen. Macduff gets shot by Macbeth but he doesn’t die from it, he tells Macbeth he wasn’t born he was ripped from his mother’s womb. Macduff cuts his head off and returns it to the men.

D. This quote is well portrayed better in the film than the play because the actor was able to put more emotion into these lines and parts of the movie and because of the way that it was said. I my opinion this was one of the most important parts of the play because this was the climax of the film and the novel, resolving the conflict and this eds Macbeth’s era and starts a new one under Malcolm.

Oedipus test

1. If fate was to be Factor in controlling an individuals life there would be no surprises and no need to want to control their own life, but they would have to embrace what they wanted and make it what they want. Many people believe in fate
With no fate and free will being a power for all people to make the life that they want to build and add to at will, people would have more power to make mistakes with their own mistakes and learn from these experiences. Building a future is more important then following one that is made for you. Choosing the path can be just as important as the journey itself because there is room. Anyone can just take a car that's a free gift, and someone an go out and find a car they want and then go buy it.
The world around us can be mostly governed by free will but fate can play a large part in many different fields and maybe in the presidential election, maybe it was fate that Obama was elected and put into office. Some things that happen like if you lose money or give it away then you’ll find money and there is no way that will be predicted or made to happen. Events like this makes me a strong believer in good things happen to good people. The revolutionaries were bound to beat the British and gained the independence that many take for granted today.

2. Lying to other people is never really am OK thing to do because the people your lying to will lose trust and won’t believe the things that you saying. The truth is always the best thing no matter what has happened it is always better and easier to deal with the consequences before someone else is involved. Lying even to protect someone is never right because when an authority figure finds out there can be severe consequences fir both parties involved for hiding the truth.
One of my friends was caught stealing from and elderly couples car and denied everything and he was asking around for advise and I would not help him because he stole and wasn’t man enough to say he did what he did. He left but then he was caught and answered for what he had done. We never spoke again but people can and go in life and if he couldn't’t forgive me his loss.
When I found out that my grandfather was in the hospital I wish someone had told me he was fine because he is a big influence and a large part of my life. Sometimes hearing what you want to hear may make things better for a little while but the truth no matter how hard it is to hear but it needs to be said and lying to make someone feel better is only temporary until they learn the truth for themselves. People should not lie for any reason, not telling people what they want to hear but telling them the truth or what needs to be said.
3. Sigmund Freud’s complex is that he believes every male child has a desire to kill their father and then sleep with their mother. In his play, Oedipus, it was foretold that he was destined and desired to kill his father and to sleep with his mother. I think that think that this is true because he said that the age when boys had these feeling were between 7 and 12 which seems like a very unlikely age for boys to develop feelings like these.
The mother would not have feelings of this kind for her young child because even though most mothers breast feed their children and with Freud’s statement this makes the child want to sleep with his mother and when this bond is eventually broken, when they are older maybe they want to remake this bond and feel it again. When the children are this young they won’t experience these desires and won’t know how to kill a man.
The development of these feelings takes time and won’t happen to a boy of these ages it takes time for sexual feelings to develop later in their lives. This theory may have some reason behind it because when the child is separated from his mother the bond is broken and he may seek to make the bond again.

4. In Antigone. Antigone is willing to go break the law in order to protect her brother and doesn’t want his to be dishonored and to protect him. She is trying to protect him. Antigone is showing a large amount courage because she is willing to risk so much in order to protect her brother. she was being a good sister a good sister to her brother. Like the old saying, sometimes doing the right thing isn’t doing the right thing.
The laws that we follow today are meant to be followed and upheld by the police and by the courts , but they can be bent if the situation was not threatening a life can be overlooked. Whenever I go fishing with my dad I always obey the speed limit on the river, follow the no wake zone and for common courtesy slow done when I see someone fishing. When there is no one around I can get away with going right through the no wake zone but if i get caught there is a fine to pay.
A fair law is one that is meant to protect the people and keep everyone safe, like drinking and driving which claims to many lives because people drink to much and then are stupid and go drive. The police are doing a good job but if people were smarter and know their limits less people would die. An unfair law is something that is based or forced upon a certain group and mainly on them.

Siddhartha comes to America

  Siddhartha Comes to America

It was a warm summer evening and Siddhartha and I were on our way to Red Cliff Canoe club  to take him on a tour of the river and give him a quiet, secluded beach where he can meditate and relax with the whole experience of the river.  My dad twists and turns the trailer down the curved ramp and there is a very calm splash while Siddhartha just looks at the stars shimmering on the water before the roar of the engine breaks the glass of the water, we begin our journey.(pg 13, Strange dreams floated in his eyes) Siddhartha was dreaming with his eyes open taking in the wonders of the river, his eyes closed as the sounds of the river were beginning to grow louder as the sun begins to rise and illuminates the wonders of the river.

Siddhartha said. “How much longer will it take?”

I said “We will get there when we get there it depends on a lot of things for the arrival time.”

    We had just gone past the route 9 bridge and came up upon a small cove across from and old windmill covered in an army of vines. I took over navigation and guided the boat onto a small beach that was secluded from the main channel which would give Siddhartha a good place to meditate and for me a great place to fish and cool off and enjoy a day with family and friends.  The eagles were soaring high above our heads and the fish were jumping but eluding me from catching them.
    Siddhartha came over and said “The sand is so hot and the waters cool and makes concentration hard but it calms the mind so well.”
    I replied “I’m glad old friend.”

(pg 24, I have no desire to walk on water.)  Siddhartha waded into the shallow channel and began to meditate will sitting in the shallow water, it was almost like he was starting to lose himself and wanted to grow in mental health and experience a new way of life and embrace it and learn from it.
    As the fun started to increase it was time to head back to the club, or we were going to be late for the steak bake, we packed everything and headed back, it took us about an hour to get back to the club, the steaks were ready so we all dug in had a good laugh and we headed home and we had left early because early the next morning we had a flight to catch, because we were headed to the one the only Las Vegas.
    I woke him up and we were headed to the airport, we left and then he slept on the plane and i just stared out the window looking at the sky. Three hours later we landed I woke Siddhartha up and told him we got so much to do and so little time.(pg 45, All this, colored and in a thousand forms had always been there.) We were both amazed at the lights and sounds of the city as we drove through the center. Our first stop was the Gold and Silver Pawn shop. Lets see he bought a musket and I bought a Flintlock Musketoon and a samuri sword, then we went to the gun range and had a blast.
    Siddhartha picked the next destination, the Flamingo casino, we were both in shock from the lights and the other casinos, the showgirls came up to greet us and we went in for a Taylor Swift concert, and it was absolutely epic. Dana White can up to us and offered us cage side seats and V.I.P access to UFC 131 and we had a blast with the fighters, all good people and so nice to us.  We left, but my friend seemed sad,
    I said, “whats wrong?”
    His reply was, “i don’t feel like myself, I want to go home, it’s not you I have had the time of my life thank you so, so much.”
(pg 100, These thoughts passed through his mind. Smiling he listened to his stomach, listened thankfully to a humming bee.)
    We parted paths and said our goodbyes, we left it at that.

A light shines to the future

a. This essay rose to the top because this is what i want to do with my life and how I want to go about making my dream come to life, also because Bridgewater is my top choice of the schools I visited over the summer.
b. One thing that I feel that this essay does well is that it maps out my life and what I want from my life and how I'll achieve it by studying at Bridgewater, and why I chose the profession that I wish to pursue. It stands out from the essay I have written for Salem state which is more personal because the topic is writing about and influencial person, but for me this one seems to stand out more because it is my life and goals for after high school.
c. One thing that I think needs work is the conclusion.
d. Does the introduction work for the topic and makes the reader want to read on and see what it's about.

Ideas, interests, success all start with one simple asking yourself the big questions, who are you and what do you want from your life, changes in personality or something happens personally I was always interested in culinary arts and now my goal is to open up a gym and study Athletic training.

            It seemed like everybody had a plan for me but choosing the path that I will forge my future from is my decision, family and friends may shed ideas but trusting yourself is the key to success because who knows someone better then themselves.  Following a path that someone sets for themselves is the key to not only success but to happiness.

            Trainers, strength coaches, personal trainers all study in the same fields of Sports Medicine/Athletic training all study at schools because they have goals set to train and help people, more and more trainers are needed because it is one of the fastest rising careers in the past several years.  This has been a growing interest for me ever since I started playing baseball, but then I switched to tennis because I felt that there are fewer trainers for tennis because it is not as popular as it once was, just like wrestling is. The first person that helped me with this decision was my father’s friend Bob, who, at the time, was working with a strength trainer and showed me many different exercises and programs that would help me in this field that I wish to focus on and pursue mo matter where I go I will help people.

            In my future I see myself owning a gym, walk in the door see wrestling mats, free wights, machines and everything else that people would want in a gym, which has a program to help and keep kids off of the streets and help them stay safe and give them an outlet for whatever reason if they need one. The hard part is getting the kids to come in the door, no matter who they are or what they have done, I want to help kids, everyone deserves a chance to do something with their life and a second chance to turn it around.  The more kids I help the more that may come in the door, I will help all the people that I can to give them a chance to have a good shot at staying clean and going to college, even at first if the kids don’t come in the door as long as there is one kid brave enough to come in on his own and asks for my help, that will make what I want to do worth it.

            Bridgewater is a great fit for me because the trainer at my school, I have visited the campus and absolutely loved it, the people were friendly and it has been a top choice since I have been looking at colleges. People I know that went there loved it and I loved it as soon as I started wandering the campus, and it is filled with great people and the environment is friendly and welcoming.

           

Summer reading responses

Patrick Counter   
13 September 2011
Mr. B.G.

                Summer Reading Responses
                Kite Running in West Texas
    1. My reaction to the story is that it seems like Alex took his time to incorporate both The Kite Runner and Friday Night Lights into one very well formatted essay.  My reaction to the story was that I thought it was very well done because Alex was able to create a picture in my head of every person in the town cheering in the stands for the home team and seeing the crowds go wild. What I remember from reading the story is that Mike, the quarterback, seeing the new kid, Amir, and going over to him and talking to Amir and asking him what position he is going to try out for. Amir he said receiver, then they got to talking because Mike was the quarterback and they were discussing plays that they would do.  This story made me think about the start of college football and the NFL’s opening game.
    2. What was best described was the opening paragraph because it was an awesome way to describe the start of football season, where there was also a solid description of the end of summer and describing football like it was about one book. “In the eyes of our town, football is the only sport.”  I though this line was well done because it was a nicely done transition to the second paragraph from the first.
    3. The conversation that the two characters had seemed that it could very likely happen in real life because they were both going to be on the same football team and it was the main character of one story talking to another character and it seemed like a well done dialogue. Also it was Incorporated into a well placed spot in the story.
    4.  One thing that I thought could have been better was that after reading the story was after I was beginning to read the second paragraph because i thought it would be about a big home football game, but after reading it it all came together in the end.

                Into the Hindu Kush
    1. This story was one of the best student essays that I have read in my three plus years of high school it was a very well crafted short story. Props to Nate.  After reading it I wish there was more to the story because I really like it.  What I remember is that Yuri had only accepted the mission because he wanted to get paid the two million U.S. dollars and he had to go to Afghanistan to rescue Amir.  When he was talking to a man he was told that he is as good as dead because the Taliban were still in the hill around the camp. Also Yuri Tush in the snow at the base of the mountain reminding him of Russia.  The concepts in my head were a search and rescue mission.  The story made me think about the movie Behind Enemy Lines.
    2. The best description in the sort story was all of the attention to detail that was in it throughout the whole story. Nate used the strongest description in the first and second paragraphs. “They were drawn together by an unbelievable fate, from completely different worlds, there wasn’t much to talk.”
I liked this line because it shows even though Yuri saved Amir’s life they were from two very different worlds and they knew nothing of the life of the other only drawn together by fate.
    3. The conversation between the characters was believable because maybe Amir wanted to learn about the man that had saved his life, also it was a good because it started off between two different characters and finished with Yuri and Amir.  The characters seemed natural because of the situation that was being described in the story and the first part of the dialogue seemed the most realistic because it set the course of the story
    4.  Something That I thought could have been better in the story is that there could have been a better transition from the paragraphs to the dialogue and then back to the essay.

Strangers in a Car

Pat Counter

September 6, 2011

Mr. B.G                              

Accel 12         

                                                Strangers in a Car (The Bean Trees and The

            Two characters from two very different worlds living on the same planet meet in one of the most unlikely places on Earth Kentucky and then she travels cross country and finally settles in Arizona.  Taylor Greer is a very caring person even though it isn’t shown in the beginning of the novel, but she begins to show a more sensitive side when she faces the person tragedy of her friends and helps to take care of them.  The other is Amir who feels that there could be a deep emotional connection between him and his father but there is nothing to show that in their relationship.

            Two strangers meet on a train in rural Kentucky that is bound for people who want a new beginning in Arizona.  Two unique individuals from two very different worlds meet traveling at a gas station where there is a young man who seems to be in need of help, Taylor goes over to the man and asks him “hey is everything okay young man?”

            “No, I am afraid that I have missed my bus.”

            “Where are you headed?” Taylor replied.

            “To Arizona.” He replied.

            “I am on my way to California so if you aren’t trouble I can give you a ride.” She said out of pity.

            “Thank you very much, my name is Amir.”  It doesn’t matter if we only go as far as Arizona just the fact that you are helping me means to much for me to even say Taylor. “Thank you it means so much that I will be able to see my family again.”

            “Your very welcome,” as the drive continued a cloud of silence fell upon the driver the passenger and the silent baby sleeping in the backseat.  They has just left Kentucky and were still making there way to Arizona, Amir had fallen asleep in the passengers seat, and with the weather finally cleared they were able to reach Arizona by mid day the next day.  They had finally arrived in Tucson Arizona, journey complete.  Taylor had first woken up her daughter, Turtle and got her all ready to go find there new home and told Amir. “far as I take you the rest is up to you my friend.”

            “Thanks you Taylor” he replied. “I don’t know how I could ever repay you for your kindness towards a complete stranger; maybe I could buy you a cup of coffee sometime?”

He told her because he felt like he had a debt to repay to her. 

            “There is a small shop by where I love, plus I could go for a cup right now, how about you?”       

            “Let’s go, do you want to walk or drive.” he asked her while they were standing wile the sun was beginning to settle on the horizon.

            Unfortunately, the sun had departed for the night and the stars in the night sky were beginning and they had agreed to meet at the coffee shop for a morning cup of coffee, the next morning when the each papered at the shops doors, “how’s your family Amir?”

            “Good, I came to see my son and wife because they need me in his life.”

            They each ordered a black coffee and a blueberry muffin and then left the way they cam each disappearing into the sunset back to the places where they were each drown to.

           

Summer reading Essay