October Book Blog

    This month I read a non-fiction book called Space Launch Disaster: When Liftoff Goes Wrong,by Michael D. Cole. This book had the facts about the Apollo 1 fire, Apollo 12 disaster, and the Soviet Unions first disaster. The Apollo 12 disaster happened in the sky. The space shuttle was hit by lightning. The Apollo 1 fire was started by an o-ring that was not sealed completely. The Soviet Union disaster was when liftoff went wrong. They had other disasters in space, but those were the main ones. To me this book was boring. I hate non-fiction books. They have no exciting action. The facts especially make it boring. I prefer fiction. A wide variety of genres in the fiction section really. This book was helpful to me though because it had many facts about the Apollo 1 fire, which relates to my NHD project. Though boring this book was helpful.

To keep or not to keep "The Star-Spangled Banner"?

              Yes we should keep "The Star-Spangled Banner" as our national anthem. In a blog post about keeping or not keeping our anthem the same, I found this sentence. " In times of crisis, the Star-Spangled Banner is a rock for us, a symbol of our grace under pressure and our determination to succeed no matter the odds"(" The Case Against The Star-Spangled Banner"). The evidence above explains everything. So many people use this song as a song of strength. People all over the U.S. hear this song and think about how wonderful the U.S. is. It shows us strength and courage. If we get rid of it and use another song, then there is a chance that people will lose their belief that the U.S. is a strong, independent nation. We can't take that hope away from people." In times of revelry, the anthem is a celebration of the fruits of the labors powered by these values"( "The Case Against The Star-Spangled Banner").When we are at war or we are just facing small political problems, this song, when sung, resembles a celebration like we have already won. This builds our soldiers strength and courage in the U.S.This keeps them fighting for our freedom, their families, their friends, and everyone else in the U.S. If we are facing bankruptcy, then this song tells us to get going to not fall down in grief.This song helps everyone in their own way. We should not get rid of the national anthem.

NY Times Quickwrite 10/19

1. Media people are taking pictures of a historic house. They are covered and everything else is covered so that nothing can be touched.

2.In the top left corner, the chandelier is bagged up. Behind the media people on the top right, there is a wall of plastic. On the bottom half of the picture, the media people are wearing jump suits.

3.I find it interesting that there is so many people taking pictures of this house. I wonder what is significant about it.

NY Times Quickwrite 10/5

1. The runner is tired and wanted to use the Segway, but the man on it wouldn't let him have it.

2. The man with the orange vest is falling off.(middle of the picture) The runner is on top of the Segway. (left side of the picture) The runner looks relieved to have a break from running.(runners face at the top of the picture)(New York Times Learning Network Blog)

3.The runner has taken his shoes off. There is a towel hanging on the runners neck. The top of the Segway looks like there is a lot of radio equipment on it.