Its that time again...Animoto time that is!

http://animoto.com/play/7Op3y3RSi09modSE1YDnMA
Animoto for you created by yours truly.

Dear Diary,

For the next blog I wanted to do something a little different than what I did last quarter, so I came up with the idea of a journal entry. I will write the entry from the point of view of the main character as she struggles with the obstacles in her life. The main character of Please Ignore Vera Dietz is Vera and here is "her" diary entry.

        Dear Diary,

Charlie won't leave me long! And he's dead, how is that even possible? I know I need to go to the police with the information I have, but I can't, at least not yet. I'm still mad at him, I'm not ready to face it. I'm still mad at my dad. I can't believe how controlling he's being. I understand he doesn't want me to turn out like him, but I know what I'm doing. I don't want his future, but sometimes I need to let out some steam. I will admit that my drinking has gotten me into some difficult situations, but I'm completely stressed out! That doesn't make me an alcoholic, at least not in my eyes. The christmas party was a disaster and I now know I need to cut back, but the pain is still there. My best friend died for gosh sake, what am I suppose to do?! Charlie keeps "haunting" me. I'm in the car with James and bam! 5000 Charlies. Why? Why can't you let me do this on my own time? I'm working on getting to the point of being able to face what has happened. I'm still mad at him for ignoring me, treating me like crap, and sending me to the pet store so I could witness the terror. Honestly the list could go on and on. I know I need to face the facts and set Charlie free. I could really like James, James is a good guy, who cares about age? Why can't my dad see that? He hasn't even met him, he just assumes he's bad for me because of the age difference. I mean do we even need to talk about his love life? Mom left us and he still loves her. He won't let go and he won't face the fact that she's gone. Her clothes are still in the closet... His advice for my boy problems is to work more. Dad, I don't think thats going to help. Oh, and he got my work schedule changed so that James and I don't work together anymore. James is a good guy, honestly. On a more honest note, even after everything Charlie put me through and even after how horribly he treated me after meeting the "detention heads", I still love him. I imagine a part of me always will and thats something that is hard to face. I know I should make it right but there's so many secrets...so many questions...so many memories. I almost forgot about my vocab words, so here is me using covenant in a sentence. Charlie and I are not in covenant about when or even if I will tell the truth about that terrible night. I'm not even sure if thats right, but the sentence is true. Well it's time to shower and go to bed, I had a full day of delivering pizzas. Goodnight diary.
--Vera

Here I Am Again...To Vlog!

http://youtu.be/z0fkbPOOspc

Here is a link to view the vlog I did with Melinda Cox...I'm sorry its so cropped.

"Letters About Literature"

Dear Ms. King,

Hello, I’m a junior at Carbondale Community High School. I recently read your book, Please Ignore Vera Dietz, and let me start by saying how much I truly enjoyed the book. It was humorous yet very real and sad at the same time. As I was starting to get to know Vera better throughout the book and her relationship with Charlie, I kept wanting him to be alive. You could see that actually he was a good guy that just simply got mixed up with the wrong crowd. Obviously from the beginning you know Charlie is dead but whenever there was a flash back, I was wishing he was still alive. I wanted him and Vera to have a chance to truly be together, especially after he said, “I love you, Vera. I always will”. Now I know that it defeats the purpose of the story if he were to still be alive, but I still hoped. I liked the way the story was told. I liked that the chapters skipped back and forth between present day and memories. You got to see what triggered her memories and why certain events had the effect they did. I haven’t read many stories that are written in that form and I thought it was very creative.

I felt that Vera was a very easy character to relate with. While I can’t exactly compare events in my life to events in Vera’s life, she was very real. She was the underdog that you wanted to cheer for. I truly wanted Vera to find her happiness. I wanted her to find a way to release Charlie’s secret. I’ll be honest and say that the book started off a little slow for me, but it was a constant page-turner as it began to pick up. My absolute favorite part was the connection Vera and her father have at the end. They have both been to counseling and they have realized that the main problem is Vera’s mom leaving. I feel Ken, Vera’s dad, has never left go of Vera’s mom to be able to move on. I thought it was really interesting when Vera and Ken make the signs to wear that have something written about them on the sign. Then while they are driving in the car on their road trip, Ken’s sign flies off. Its very symbolic of him letting go therefore the label no longer fits. I really did love that part. Vera and her father found a new connection at the end of the book that I feel they did not have at the beginning. The story wasn’t just about Vera finding her way through her guilt; it was also about Ken finding a way to accept the truth of Vera’s mother leaving. It was a powerful story that I would read again and again. And in the end I’m glad Vera and her father were able to find peace. Once again, I truly enjoyed the book.

Reading Helps Us Learn...

http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/genetics/a/aa990517.htm
Throughout the book Vera's dad is constantly worrying that Vera will become an alcoholic, because at a early age he became an alcoholic as well as his father. He is aware of how being an alcoholic ruined his life and he doesn't want that for Vera. This website talks about if alcoholism can be inherited from your parents.

http://www.saveadog.org/
Vera loves animals and its her dream to work at the local pet store in town, but she's too young, so she has to volunteer first. Her dad doesn't exactly approve of her volunteering, but she loves it. Exploring this website can give you an idea of why Vera loved it so much. There are pictures of animals that are in shelters and success stories of animals who were mistreated. I think Vera would love this website.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1c4d5kSX6c
This website is a video trailer for the book, Please Ignore Vera Dietz. It allows you to get a summary but it doesn't give away the ending. This trailer can really hook you on the book.

http://helpguide.org/mental/grief_loss.htm
This website is advice with how to cope with grief and loss. Vera has lost her best friend Charlie and even though she doesn't want to accept it yet, she's having a hard time dealing with it. I think this website would be very helpful for Vera and the reader.

http://www.as-king.com/html/vera.php
Here is a website about the book and author. It gives you a preview to what the book is about and information on the author.

http://www.thefrisky.com/2011-05-02/girl-talk-growing-up-without-a-mother/
Vera's mother leaves her at a very young age and for most of her life she has had to grow up without a mom. Her mom hasn't been in communication with Vera basically at all, its just been Vera and her dad. This article is about a girl who, like Vera, was without a mom at the age of 13. You can relate the real live experience of the article to Vera's experience in the book to understand why Vera feels a certain way.

http://www.cbn.com/family/youth/why-teens-seek-wrong-crowd-gregston.aspx
This website explains why teenagers with fall into the wrong crowds, like Charlie did. The website breaks it down to the deeper reason of why children go looking for trouble.

http://www.as-king.info/
This is A.S. King's blogspot. The blog is very interesting and gives you a perspective of who she is and a little more about the book.

http://www.goodreads.com/videos/show/12091-please-ignore-vera-dietz-book-trailer
This is a video trailer for the book that I really enjoyed. If you aren't hooked before watching this, you will be after.

http://askpari.wordpress.com/page/6/
If you scroll down just a little bit on this website you will find a picture and a description of a pagoda. The town that Vera lives in has a pagoda not to far from Vera's house that she visits a lot. A lot of main conflicts happen at the pagoda, and before I looked up a picture, I was unsure of what a pagoda looked like. Having a picture in my head helped a lot with picturing the story.

http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/teacozy/2011/02/17/review-vera-dietz/
I would recommend reading this review after reading the book. I know the point of these websites are to read before, but I think this is better read after. I really like the way this reviewer talks about the way the book is set up and the story line. It was something I had never thought of.

http://www.helium.com/items/1218216-self-deception
Vera's father is having a hard time facing the facts of what has happened to their family. He doesn't want to accept that Vera's mom left and that he deep down still loves her. Its something that bothers Vera throughout the book, and this site explains maybe why he acts the way he does.

http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/emotions/someone_died.html
This website gives information on teens who may be dealing with a close one dying and the grief they may feel. I feel this is very important to understand to even begin to understand what Vera is going through.

http://www.medicinenet.com/alcohol_and_teens/article.htm
This is information about teen alcohol abuse. Vera's father was an alcoholic by the time he was a teenager and he is scared that Vera will become one too. Vera is drinking only because of stress and this website gives information as to why.

http://www.firsteagle.com/tdd.htm
Vera repeatedly drives after drinking thinking that it is ok. Vera's father is scared for her and is completely against this. This website gives information and teens drinking and driving.

Advice? Help? Criticism?...Here's What I Think...

My post on Melinda Cox's blog.


Melinda--
We have very similar feelings as far as blogging goes. I felt that my first quarter grade could have been better just like you. We also need to improve in the same areas. I had trouble with the length of my response just like you. I think the main important thing in achieving the appropriate length is to really take the time to think about what your going to say. I sit there with you while blogging and I know we are both guilty of opening a new post and starting to write without even thinking it through. Sometimes this can be good and sometimes this can cause you to run out of things to say rather quickly. I know that if you really take the time to think responses out you will have a better outcome. We are also reading the same book this quarter. I'm excited that Mrs. Hayes has given us the option to do a couple group blogs. I think it would be interesting if we could put our thoughts together in a vlog and describe both of our feelings for the book. This way the reader could get two different opinions and views of the same book. I think if we put the right amount of time into the thought process we could get a good outcome. I look forward to working with you and seeing your advancements. Good luck!
--Simone

Here is a post that I posted on the ning. It was on the blog post about the book Stotan posted by Connor Helsdingen.

Hey i'm Simone Corpora from Carbondale Community High School.  I saw your blog post and the book cover caught my attention. I've been swimming since I was six and just recently quit due to a shoulder injury. Swimming books have always been my favorite because they its easy to find a way to relate to the characters, but I've never read this book. I know that you can share such strong bonds with the people that are on your team. You go through gruesome workouts and you don't think your going to be able to make it, but your friend next to you in the lane is there to push you on. It's an incredible bond and I can't imagine what kind of connection you would share after going through what the boys in the book went through. I really enjoyed reading your blog, it has encouraged me to go and read this book. I'm really curious as to how they learned about life and swimming through a week of military style training. I can't even begin to imagine 4 hours of practice every day for a week. Once again, great blog!
-Simone

Here is a post I made on Arielle's blog.

  Dear Arielle,
I agree with your thoughts towards sparknotes. I feel that only reading a summary of a classic book takes away from the reason to why it is a classic. But where I disagree with you is that sometimes with classic books the writing can be a little tricky to understand. I think sparknotes can be helpful to read along with the book. For example, while reading Othello I found I had a difficult time understanding what the characters were trying to say. I would read the assigned reading, and then after go onto sparknotes to read more about the parts I didn't understand. So no I don't think sparknotes is completely off limits, but just needs to be used in the correct way. That way you understand the book and are ready to write the research paper. I am enjoying your blog very much, keep it up!
--Simone

Reflecting On the Previous Posts

      Honestly I was not happy with my first quarter blog grade. I felt that I put an adequate amount of time and effort into my blog to not get a very good outcome. Regardless, I'm here to reflect, not mob about the grade I received. Lets start with the things that I need to improve so that we can finish on a good note. First, I need to improve the length of my responses. When responding to other classmate's posts I felt that it was better to get to the point than ramble on. I need to work on my critiquing ability. I can sometimes be too nice, but it's fine to give criticism in a respectful way. This is something I've always known, but have never been good at executing. My responses in general need to be longer. Mrs. Hayes kept underlining the word "analysis", and I'm not exactly sure what that means. I mean, I know what the word analysis means, but I'm not sure what she is exactly wanting from me. That's something to take up with her though. My final mistake was when doing the animoto and photo blog I simply had pictures to explain the plot. I need to expand the variety and add pictures to represent theme and symbols that are presented throughout the book.  Now that's enough with my mistakes, let's move onto things I did well. First, I received good feedback on my link up. I spent a lot of time looking for sites that would give a better understanding of my book, and I guess it paid off. One of the assignments was to create a vlog. This was the first time I had ever vlogged in my life. I rambled and probably talked too much, but I spent about 3 hours trying to complete it. Unfortunately, my teacher was unable to view the vlog and so it did not get graded. I'm not very good with technology and I'm not sure where the break down was, but oh well. Even though the vlog was not graded I felt it was something I did well on none the less.
      Goals. Goals are very important to make any advancements in life, so it would only be appropriate to set them for blogging as well. Goal number one is to strive for a better grade, but I think that's obvious. My next goal is to really take this blog in my own direction. This will be an easy goal to achieve because this time around Mrs. Hayes has given us more freedom to make the blog more personal. My next goal is to improve on the areas that I had trouble with in the first quarter. I need to stop worrying about my grade for blogging. For spanish and math I need to worry to keep those grades high, but that's not the case with blogging. I need to relax and not be mainly concentrated on word by word what we are suppose to do to achieve the grade I want. I think blogging will then become more natural and in the end I could end up with a better grade. I would think that blogging would be a difficult item to grade. Since blogging is such a personal thing every person in the class will have a different type blog, and I think that would be hard to grade. It's time to let the grade part of blogging go, and well, just blog.
        My opinion towards blogging is slowly changing. At first I was really excited because it was a new thing that I had never tried before. Then in the middle of blogging I kind of hit a slump and seeing my grade didn't help that either. Now that Mrs. Hayes is letting us take the blog which ever direction we want, I'm excited again. I have lots of ideas for possible blog prompts. For example, making a playlist that the main character would make to get them through a problem they are facing. Then explain why each song was chosen, and why the playlist title was chosen. I also liked the assignment that Mrs. Hayes gave us to find pictures that describe the book. This time I'll promise to do more than just the plot summary. My final idea I will share with you is to write one blog entry as if I was the main character and describe what is going on in their life and their feelings on the subject. I'm really excited to make this my own.
         My second quarter book is called, Please Ignore Vera Dietz. So far I've only read a few pages but the book immediately starts with a funeral. It's sometimes hard for me to read books that start off slow, but I love that this book just jumps right in. Stevie Dailey, a classmate, read this book last quarter and she strongly recommended it. I read her blog and her pictures and sites made me really interested in this book. Vera the same age as me and, for me at least, it's much easier to get hooked on a book when I can relate to the character. I also am looking forward to how this book gives the view point of a few different characters and not just one like most books. Over all, I think this quarter will be much better than the last. The last quarter was a warm up. Now this is the real deal.