Call Of The Wild Personal Response And Summary

       I recently read The Call Of The Wild by Jack London, it is about a dog named Buck whose owner tragically died. Shortly after Buck is captured and taken to a camp where he is beaten and malnourished by 'The Man In The Red Sweater'. After being there for some time he is purchased by two men by the names of Francois and Perrault to attend their sled team. During his time on the sled team Buck experiences more malnourishment and is constantly pestered by Spitz, the tight-fisted alpha dog known for murdering some of the team members. Buck later kills Spitz by breaking both of his legs and then finishing him off in an epic fight for leadership over the team. Soon after the incident Francois sells the sled team to brothers Hal and Charles and  Charles' Wife, Mercedes.  All of them tragically die when crossing an ice patch leaving the starving dogs behind. Buck wanders off and finally is discovered by John Thornton, he took Buck in and nursed him back to health. As Buck is laying peacefully he heard sounds coming from the forest, he had an urge to runaway but in loyalty to Thornton he stayed at the camp. Buck gets presented to the town and the towns people offer John ridiculous amounts of money after seeing Bucks abilities of pulling extreme amounts of weight but the offers are denied. On Bucks first journey with John Thornton, Buck wanders for a short period of time only to come back to his team dead along with Thornton and his crew all found pierced with Yeehat Indian darts. Buck tracked down the Yeehats and with flooding anger killed their chief. Shortly after Buck meets up with an old friend, a wolf and runs away with the pack.
      I thought this book was quite morbid it has a very compelling story to follow and depicts Bucks'  Loyalty, strength and friendship no matter what happened to him.

The Middle Ages Suck Part 3

     In the Middle Ages the religion was supposedly Christianity, I say otherwise. If the people truly followed Christianity feudalism would have been outlawed. Well, how would they do that? The church was the ultimate ruler of the land. True Christians would most likely be against feudalism. So if the church has power over the land and are supposedly Christians, wouldn't they rule out feudalism? Another fact is that the church excommunicates you from the church if you committed a crime. Wouldn't you want to help those people throughout the church so they wouldn't commit crimes anymore? Plus, they should be excommunicating? Don't get me wrong there are some people that you just can't help, but at least make the effort.

The Middle Ages Suck: The Domesday Book

     Remember Day One? We explored the stupidity of feudalism. Now we will explore the fuel of feudalism, The Domesday (Doomsday) Book. When William the First conquered England he conducted a survey of the land and census and wrote it all down. Under the thinking of the Normans this information benefited the military and the defense of King William. The information consisted of who owned land and what people's assets were. This powerful information afforded William a way to levy taxes on the English securing his control.

       The system of feudalism works on the power of making private information public. This information  is then vetted through the legal system where laws are made to control the populous. The information and the laws become intertwined and makes it easy for those in power to abuse the people, by using the guise of 'protection' from outside invaders or  'government programs' to better the revenue flow of the economy.

The Fairy Tales Of The Real World Part 3

      In this lecture the author describes science and how some people perceive it as boring or not interesting, and then explored the depths of science facts and explained that they are interesting But, sometimes there is more to a statement that meets the eye. For example coral are not that interesting at first but when you explore how they work a whole new world is opened to you. The author also describes nature in a anthropomorphic way, such as, clothing it with real meaning and love and truths. It is also explained that there is a purpose and place for everything in the universe even the most bland or simple things.

The Fairy-Land Of Science Lecture Two

      The author talked about the sun often in this lecture, She explained the journey of a ray of sunlight to earth and how critical it is that we have the sun. It was also explained how prisms work, first sunlight hits the prism and it breaks the invisible ray into smaller beams of light that appear as a rainbow of colors. The author also mentioned how important the sun is to earth, if there was no sun there would not be any plants and if there are not any plants there aren't livestock or any other herbivores and then the carnivores would not have anything to eat as well. So in conclusion, the earth needs the sun to thrive and go through a daily procedure.

The Fairy Tale Land Of Science Lecture 4

      In this lecture the author talked about the wonders of water and how it travels to and from out atmosphere back to earth again in different shapes sizes and forms. The journey of water is amazing if you think about it, It travels on a never-ending cycle. Water can return to earth in three different forms, vapor, liquid, and ice. Water goes through not one but two cycles one between the sky and earth and the other erosion, It slowly eats away at the earth. This is how the Grand Canyon was made, I suspect it was the great flood back in bible time that formed or started this miraculous land form.

Escaping The Middle Ages

      At the end of the Middle Ages the Renaissance started. Renaissance being the French word for rebirth was the new age of art, music and wealth. Around 1400-1500 many Europeans were wealthy. Art, Science, and political thinking became more popular. But there is a dark side to this brighter age, The Bubonic plague or Black Death arrived and wiped out half the population of Europe, among most of them peasants had the highest death rates. Not only did the plague kill people it decreased business income. However ,in the fifteen hundreds the population started to climb resulting in the rise of Europe.

The Renaissance

     The Renaissance started in 1350, Business was doing very well this lead to art becoming a popular merchandise in Italy. One of the residence of Italy in the Renaissance was Francesco Petrarch, He was often called "Father Of Humanisim" He was a scholar and poet and his ideas inspired many across Europe as the Renaissance spread. New ideas quickly spread hence starting the Renaissance. A popular painting subject was the human body. A famous painter and inventor from that time was Leonardo De Vinci, He was accepted into Painters Guild Of Florence at twenty years of age.

The Turks and Caicos

      Turks and Caicos are a string of islands in the Atlantic Ocean near Cuba, the islands were inhabited by the Taino and Lucayan Indians for roughly seven hundred years. They were known for their farming skills and colorful culture. When the natives daily work was finished the villagers would gather in teams of twenty to thirty people and play a game commonly known as 'batey'. Batey was hosted in the middle of the village where there was a court with stone walls and petroglyphs painted on them. The game was very similar to soccer but instead of just a game batey was used to help tribes resolve disputes. Occasionally, there would be a game between the married and singles, the married team would wear a cloak while the singles played nude!  Lucayan villages were very beautiful, they had circular huts surrounded by greenery, semi-accurate models have been recreated in Cuba. The natives Maipurean language originated words such as; Caicos, meaning string of islands and the word 'canoe'.  

      Turks and Caicos have forty islands, only eight of which are inhabited. The current population is 33,098 people. The capital city is Cockburn Town. The motto is "Beautiful by nature". The Flag is the British flag with the Turks and Caicos coat of arms which contains a conch shell, lobster and cactus. The government is controlled by the British after they took leadership from Jamaica in 1959. Salt farming, conch exportation and tourism make up most of the economy for the residence and they are a zero tax community!
         A few unique facts about the islands are: They are home to the one and only conch farm in the world. In 1962, after orbiting the earth three times in his space capsule John Glen landed in the ocean and was retrieved at Grand Turks Island. Also, there is a shipwreck from the 1500's that was found in the Molasses Reef that was thought to have been the Pinta. It was later discovered that it was a lesser known ship, but also the oldest shipwreck find in the western hemisphere.

       
  I have recently traveled to the islands and I must say it certainly lives up to it's motto (see second paragraph) I stayed at Beaches Resort along with fifteen other family members. The sand at the beach was white as snow and the ocean was a light sapphire blue. I was luckily able to go horse riding on the beach through Provo Ponies and it was very fun and memorable. My horses' name was Limbo, he was dark colored and was the leader of the herd. I distinctly remember going through a narrow path which I found exotic, it had all types of tropical plants along the sides and the trail was dusted with sand, when we finally got to the ocean I realized that it was very different from the beach at the resort, the water wasn't as clear and there was seaweed everywhere, none the less, it was still very beautiful. We went fairly deep about three feet in the water. it was a bit of a bumpy ride on the way back to the corral. Afterwards, we headed in a taxi back to the resort and left for the airport the next day.

Reasons Black Friday Isn't Worth it

 
   I have never been 'Black Friday' shopping but from watching Youtube videos and hearing stories I can already tell that these 'great deals' are not worth your time. You would not believe what people do to keep their place in line! A woman at a Best Buy was waiting, oh so patiently, in line to purchase her items. An employee received a complaint of a pile of feces in a dryer which was proven to be the incoherent woman who supposedly was waiting patiently in line. Another exploit was made by a man that left his girlfriends two year old child in the car in search for a swanky TV only to be called by the police from home to pick up the infant. This next story is pure expediency. A woman shopping at Toys-R-Us when the original Furby came out deliberately pushed a worker to the ground, jumped on a pile of people proceeded to kick one of them in the face, grabbing the coveted Furby, stuffed it down her shirt and walked out the door in hopes of taking the merchandise home for free.
      Only once have I heard of a good outcome happening on this widely treasured day. A woman standing in a line outside of Best Buy was asked by the store staff what she would like to purchase so a hold could be placed by her name. She asked for a two hundred ninety-nine dollar laptop and the clerk explains they only have the four hundred ninety-nine dollar laptops left. The lady begins to cry because she is starting night school and cannot afford the more expensive laptop, then a man walks up to her and says, "I knew I brought so much cash for a reason," and gave her two hundred dollars and walked away.
        Sadly, the last story was an anomaly if more people had the same mindset as the the anonymous man, Black Friday would be a more reasonable holiday shopping experience, but for now it will remain a mob mentality, nut-case packed holiday for average and below average Americans to enjoy.

The Artful Tree

The Artful tree 

By: Alexandra Brown

To change an atmosphere 

The branches as your canvas 

and twinkling ornaments as an artistic tool

along with strands of lights and ribbon on a spool

In the midst of transformation

The room shimmers and twinkles

Wrapping paper is spread about

A mess has been made 

The lights have been laid

But a masterpiece awaits

The presents have been stowed

The tree Glimmers

The stockings are up

You take a sip from your hot cocoa cup 

Your work here is done...

Anger

Anger

By: Alexandra Brown

Anger is a loud roar across the world that turns the heart to flames and spreads to others

It's not all fun and games

The most foul of language is spat 

A storm of hate progresses 

A verbal army in the midst of attack which angers you so you strike back

An endless fight it may be 

I hope it does not take over me

Woof, Meow

Woof, Meow

By: Alexandra Brown

Dogs are full of love and play

Cats would rather stay away

Dogs love to be pet

When petting cats, their claws you fret

Dogs run up to greet you 

Cats would rather not meet you

Dogs do tricks for treats

Cats only want to eat

In the yard doggy doo gets spread on your socks

But cats prefer to go in a box

Dogs like to jump and bark

A cats purr comforts you in the dark

While dogs chase pheasants 

Cats bring you presents

Cats knead you and you need them 

Which furry friend will you choose?

I can't decide can you?

The Fairy Land Of Science Lecture 3

      In this lecture the author compared humans and the earth we live on to fish in the sea. If we were to be taken up to space we would gasp and die as a fish out of water would do. Referred to as the aerial ocean in which we live, the earth and it's atmosphere are also described. The book also depicts some interesting experiments such as the following: Take a piece of paper or a card, fill a cup with water and put the card on top, then firmly hold the card on top and turn the cup over, then gently remove your hand from the card. The card will not fall as you would expect but, it will stay in the air with the cup and water.

The Fairy Tales Of The Real World Post 2

      I have read the rest of Lecture One and it explains the sun and how its' rays travel to earth and soak up the rain. The author mentions their four year old niece wondering about the dew trickling down the window; since the authors niece is foreign she barley knows the English language. After discovering her nieces interest she wiped the window clean and breathed on it several times as an example of how water in the air lands on the window. The author also explains how snow flakes form in the clouds and the concept of solid, liquid, and gas.

Fairy Tales Of The Real World

      I am reading The Fairy Land Of Science for school and I think it is clever and interesting because the author is putting nature in the context of a fairy tale. She uses analogies to explain Science such as; a frozen pond is compared to Sleeping Beauty and the sun rays act as the Prince who awakens the pond with his warmth. In my opinion, this fact book will be very poetic as we will also explore the wonders of nature.  To me this book is very observant of God's creations. Also I think this book has educational and creative values because as I scrolled through the text I began thinking about the facts given and the fairy tale comparison. I have only read part of a lecture but, I look forward to the next.

The Crusades

     The Crusades were a series of Holy Wars started by the Christian states in Europe against the Moslems. There was a total of nine crusades, the first four were seen as more important than the others. Crusaders came from upper and lower classes, usually in the middle ages people were grouped in upper and lower classes that were separate. There was one particular crusade that was called The Children's Crusade, The preacher of the Children's Crusade was a twelve year old boy named Stephen. Stephen had been convinced that God had instructed him to rescue the Holy Sepulcher. The rest of this odd group was made mostly of boys twelve and under, however there were many girls as well.

Children by:unknown

The Middle Ages Suck Part Two: The Battle Of Hastings

    In Part One of The Middle Ages Suck, you discovered the stupidity of feudalism, now we are going to reveal how feudalism was brought to England. King Harold of England led his army out to battle with the Viking invaders in 1066. The invaders ambushed the coast of England. When King Harold's army arrived they defeated the Viking invaders. Soon after that the King had to march his army back to the south side of England to defeat the Norman invaders. The English were winning the battle when the Normans decided to change their battle technique, instead of aiming their bows for the bodies of the soldiers, the Normans aimed for the heads of the soldiers. As a result, King Harold is shot in the eye. Later on the English get the idea that the Normans are retreating, so the give up their high battle position and chase after them which didn't end in good results, the English lost the battle to King William The First.

NOTE:  For clarification the Normans came from France.

The Viking Voyage: Day 6

     I woke up in the morning to the smell of schnitzel grease "That's odd I haven't hired any cooks and I watered down the fire," I got up from my cot and followed the smell. Lo and behold I saw one of the men that helped me move my ship yesterday! Believe it or not he was cooking schnitzel! Before I emerged from my ship I thought to myself, "I could use this kind of talent in my business!" Then, I rushed down to their camp and blurted, "I couldn't help but follow the scent of that delicious schnitzel! Have you boys raided me restaurant stock?!?" They all glanced at me in disbelief.
     "No I have not raided your restaurant stock! Thats for barbarians and viking savages!"He said.
     I jumped back, He just called me a savage! I replied angrily, "HOW DARE YOU CALL ME SAVAGE!" He stared back at me in disbelief.
     Finally, The man making the schnitzel proudly stated "I didn't call you a savage I called those barbaric vikings savages!"
     I was shocked! He just said that to a real vikings face, my face! "Well there is a viking presence here, I know it!" I shot back. The man didn't seem worried.
     "Are you sure? We would have heard their poor little boo, boo cries by now." He retorted.
     This is when the anger started to rise, I towered over him and yelled "OH YEAH? YOU DON'T SEE ME CRYING DO YA? YOUR FACE TO FACE WITH A REAL VIKING AND SHE'S ANGRY!" He stared in terror, I yanked the schnitzel out of his hand and ate it in one bite, Then the unbelievable happened, My taste buds were shocked like a ship being hit by a cannon. I tried to stop myself but the words rolled off my lips, "How would you like to work for me?"

The Middle Ages Suck

    I am reading about the Middle Ages and I found out that it wasn't that pleasant for the peasants also called serfs. There was the Feudalism Pyramid which always had the towns people on the bottom. The towns people had to work the land and the crops every day for a Lord and not themselves and only had eight weeks out of the year that were completely free from work. They got the holidays off but still! On top of that there was tax collectors that bilked the money out of them. What if a villager got sick? Would they have the money for medicine? To sum it up, you wouldn't want to live in the Middle Ages if you were an average joe.

Viking Voyage: Day 5

  Oh, that man with his clever ways. I got so caught up in the argument that I forgot to finagle that book! I distracted myself from the book and thought "This little puppy needs a name!" I stared at the wistful little puppy. Finally, it hit me! "You're going to be the Icon and mascot of Grunka's Sea Saloon! Your cute little face will have the customers eating out of my hand! You are little and innocent but, your puppy eyes will take control of the people like a god."  Then my cogwheels were really turning! "Your name should be Odie after the god Odin! I will take over the schnitzel industries for sure, but not out here on the open seas!" I must go back to Eagle Point. I rowed and rowed until my little dingy made it to German shores where I stayed. Let me explain to you.
    It all started when I saw a near by ship having trouble. A wave had pushed their ship too far into the shore, the crew members worked hard to get it free. I realized that I didn't have enough money to buy a stand in the town, so I decided to get my ship stuck on shore and set up shop. I went over to the ship stuck on the shore and asked for a few men to help me. After my ship was properly placed I cut a doorway in the hull and started setting up barrels and benches. Satisfied, I looked down at Odie and said "Odie, you're going to make it work for me ok?"
     With my sign hanging proudly on the upper hull of my ship I went to bed satisfied

The Viking Voyage: Day 4

     I paddled like a berserker warrior, my arms felt like lead but looked pumped with the iron of Thors hammer! Leif would be proud if I could just catch up to him. Aye! His crew paddles hard while I have no crew at all except for me new dog that howls at the stern. Njorours' winds were on my side for I caught up to Leif's boat but how would I flag it down with my little dingy floating upon the side of a real warrior ship!
     "HALO? BOYS!? DO YOU STRONG, BURLY MEN WVANT SOME SCHNITZEL…….ON A SCHTIK?" I yelled as loud as a chief viking ordering his men to battle.
     "HALOOOOO?" What is it with these men can't they hear?
     I was in a pickle, how was I going to get their attention. Then the idea struck me like lightning. I shall schtuff the schnitzel in me old handy dandy marketing cannon along with coupons for "Grunka's Sea Saloon Half Off A Schnitz N' Fritz" so I packed and I jammed all the schnitzel I had made for the day into the cannon then I paused, "Oh dear what have I done! Whvat a waste!"  after more thought I finally concluded that this was for Leif! (and sales purposes) so I decided to let it blow anyways.                                  
      "LUNCH LAUNCH NUMBER VONE……… FIYA (fire!)"  Oh what a beautiful golden schnitzel ball, it was raining down crispy, porky heaven on their deck. I heard shouts of terror turned to joy and then silence as I knew my delectable message made its target. Finally Leif peered over the boat happy and full, still gnawing on a schnitzel schtick.
     "Grunka….you know the way to a mans heart." He jumped down onto my boat with a bang, me heart jumped as he stepped near me "Grunka, I have fallen in love with your schnitzel… and you!" Suddenly I snapped out of my daydream due to the grease dripping from Leifs mighty beard onto my forehead. Crumple frumps! What he really said was, "Grunka you're slowing my voyage down by the minute, what do you want?!" Before I missed him again I shrieked, "I NEED YOUR BOOK OF CREATURES!"  He peered at me in disbelief, "For that little thing?" He said pointing to my dog, " It's a Schnauzer puppy."
     " I STILL NEED YOUR BOOK TO READ ABOUT THIS 'SCHNAUZER' AS YOU CALL IT."
     "It came from Eagle Point, Germany what more do you need to know?" Leif replied.
      I stood in my boat in awe, "I WHVAS IN GERMANY?"
Leif stared at me in disbelief and snickered, " You didn't know where you were?… HA."
     "I DON'T HAVE A MAP!" I retorted.
      "If you don't have a map what are you doing on the seas? You're surely not a sailor!" He laughed again.
     "THAT'S RIGHT I'M NOT A SAILOR, I SELL THE BEST SCHNITZEL ON A SCHTICK ON THE SEAS!" I fumed.
     "And the ONLY Schnitzel seller on the seas." Leif said.
     Oh that man he's clever, but I'm better! "Well, You're eatin' it! I can tell you like it because you got bits of it in your beard for later, you can't get enough! If you want more you know where to find me, TOOTALOO BOYS!"

The Viking Voyage: Day 3

      I craned my neck to get one more look at the head spinner Leif, as I stepped out of the dainty little shop I stumbled over a round basket and almost spilled my schnitzel! As I was dusting off my skirts an adorable tiny dog sat front and center on the last step of the shop behind it. I looked up and saw a carved wood sign that read 'The Cat Caboodle' I picked up that little scrumptious ball of fur and my heart jumped once again, oh how I wanted to take that puppy on my little dingy. "Oh, but I have no room," I thought. As I was setting the puppy down to say good bye, the doggy licked my cheek, and that's when I knew I couldn't live without it.

     I strode into the store and asked "How much is this little pooch?" the store clerk looked puzzled "I have never seen such a dog before, we only sell cat's here. You can take it for free."  it must have been fate for me to trip into a cat store, find a dog, and become it's owner for free! I was curious as to what kind it was it had a little beard, and floppy ears, the cutest little sausage of a tail, and a fluffy belly. "I know who could help me!" Leif Ericson has a large book of all kinds of creatures, surely he would have a description of this dog. I scooped up the little creature and ran as fast as my legs could carry me so I could catch Leif before his ship set sail. Now my heart was pumping triple time as I saw Leif on the mast of his ship, I should have a doctor check me heart before my voyage continues. "LEIF!!!!!!" He turned and his good looks almost slayed me! Oh, me eyes! I lifted up the little dog as I was standing on the dock and said, " I NEED TO KNOW WHAT THIS CREATURE IS!"  He looked at me with a confused stare " It's a DOG!"  I couldn't hear him, his voice was too soft against the waves. "WHVVATT?" this conversation went back and forth five times before I vigorously pointed for him to come down, but his ship set sail. The distance between us was frustrating, I must know what type of dog this is!

     The viking spirit of determination welled up within my heart, before I knew it I was running towards my 'Battle Dingy' as soon as I reached it I leaped on board and went through my usual departure procedure in lightning speed and finally pushed off, "WHVVVAAAAT?" IM NOT MOVING! SCHNITZEN FRIKS, I KNEW THIS SHIP WOULD FAIL ME SOMEDAY!" I retraced my steps, mumbling under my breath (occasionally kicking the ship) as my new pet stared at me in wonderment, when I noticed the rope still attached to the dock! I pulled out my best schnitzel knife and cut it immediately. I let out a viking victory grunt only to see my ship was sailing away with out me! I dove in and swam after the ship, when I got back on board I looked as if I had been drowned in a sewer, my poor little pet was terrified. Bedraggled and wet I took my oars and rowed fearlessly, "I WILL FIND OUT, I'M COMING FOR YOU LEIF!"

Viking Voyage: Day 2

     It was a good day on the Sea Saloon. I caught wind of a gentlemen named Leif Ericson, he is on a journey to find land but his supplies are low so he is going to meet me at the Eagle Point Stop N, Shop. I am on my way to this well known destination. Finally, I arrived at the wonderful village of Eagle Point, the shops were filled with prizes and wonders, the tackle and the bait alone would make your head swim. I brought myself to find the Stop N, Shop, I couldn't keep myself away from the store fronts. Right then and there I saw the most brutal, handsome, raider of a viking. His large behemoth muscles and prize animal skins had raided the inner chambers of my heart and left the scars of a battle axe. Grunka like!
     I immediately strode over to ask about his rock chiseled biceps when he turned around with a big gleaming smile and said "Im Leif,"that's when my heart flopped like a fish, I almost Schnitzeled! Let me tell ya, I was floundering for my words, "SCHNITZEN," I blubbered out. In reply he said "It must be hard being named after battered meat, believe me, I was named after a plant." That's when I realized my error, I probably appeared to have the I.Q of a starfish! "Oh no, no, no, no, My name is Grunka!"  I was so embarrassed, I had just corrected the almighty Leif Ericson.

     Oh that man with his charms, we got to wheeling and a dealing over the supplies I was going to provide him, when we got to the seal meat part of the deal he almost bamboozled me on the cost! I was so preoccupied with his sea kissed sun burns, I almost gave him the seal meat for a sand dollar! Im telling ya, if I keep meeting brutally handsome heartslayers, like Leif, Grunka's Sea Saloon is sunk! 

The Elizabet Ney Museum

    I visited the Elizabet Ney Museum for a homeschool art field trip. The museum is located on Forty-Fourth Street and Avenue H in downtown Austin. The museum is a limestone structure that was originally designed by Elizabet Ney to be her residence. The house was very striking and even has a bank of windows that would allow her to open up the back wall of her main room studio so she could move large objects into the area. What surprised me was that Elizabet focused her house on art more than living purposes. For instance, she refused to have factory made furniture in her house so she had a group of carpenters piece together minimal furnishings. One interesting part of the home was a skinny flight of steps that lead to the top of the tower where Elizabets husband had his writing studio. Another interesting fact about her whimsical nature involved the creek behind the home, she had it dammed up in order to create her own personal lake to be a backdrop for the entertaining of her many guests and clients.

Elizabet Ney
Photo By: Chandra Brown

Edmund Montgomery
Photo By: Chandra Brown

     When I first walked into the studio the middle of the room showcased the self portrait of Elizabet Ney and her husband, Edmund Montgomery, in the medium she was best known for, sculpting marble.  What intrigued me about her self portrait was that she waited until she was older to begin this piece which is a depiction of her younger self. She toted around a plaster cast of herself for years as she traveled from Germany, Portugal and Italy before she came to Texas where she sculpted the piece. I also liked the sculpture of her husband because of the amazing detail she displayed in his hair and sideburns.

     Elizabet did many portraits of historical people such as King Ludwig II of Bavaria. It has been noted that Ludwig did not like to sit for long periods of time, as a result Ludwigs sculpture was less detailed than most of the other pieces. She had also sculpted a portrait of Jesus which I thought was outstanding. The fact that her house was built strategically next to the city brought many politicians to her residence for their sculptures and interesting discussions. Some well known historical Texas figures in her repertoire include Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin. She was excellent at depicting the details of anatomy in the human hand. While I was studying her work I realized how accurately she had chiseled them to look like the real thing, this made me think that her sculptures of her human subjects were a very close rendition of what they really looked like.

'Jesus Christ'
Photo By: Chandra Brown

      When I visited the museum I spotted a picture of Elizabet standing in front of her house, the house as you may realize is beautiful, however, the landscape was very bland as it is today. I can see why the keepers of the museum would want to keep it as original as possible but I do suggest a magnificent garden graced with a commissioned sculpture of Eizabet Ney to make the area more appealing in order to attract more visitors. Also, it has been said that Elizabet had her own personal lake, I think if they take advantage of that fact and get the lake up and running again, add some picnic tables and a lakeside bench it would make the museum more of a destination.
     I was fascinated to find an amazing female sculptist and painter who could have chosen any place in the world to live here in Texas, I wish she could have lived longer so she could add to her collection of amazing sculptures for the publics enjoyment. If you love art and are visiting Austin, Texas it's worth venturing off the beaten path to peruse the Elizabet Ney Museum.

Art Field Trip
Elizabet Ney Museum
Photo By: Chandra Brown

The Viking Voyage: Day 1

    Life on the seas is hard, nobody was buying my Wienerschnitzel and the fish are stinking up the hull of my Battle Dingy! I knew I shouldn't have gone to sea on my own, I probably wouldn't have gotten lost and forced to sell wienerschnitzel, fermented fish and more at Grunka's Sea Saloon. I was supposed to set up shop in Germany. I know we haven't conquered Germany yet but it is the weinerschnitzel capital of the world! It has always been my dream to not only conquer the country but its schnitzel industries in order to be Queen Schnitzen of Schnitzels! But alas my sales are poor so my dreams will have to wait another day.

Black Beauty Theme

         I read 'Black Beauty' by Anna Sewell, this book depicts a horses life, the theme is set on kindness, respect and proper treatment of animals. It shows the relationship between animals and humans. The book mentions bearing reins to hold the horse's head high for looks and show. Although this looks regal, it causes pain in the animal. This autocratic practice for the pleasure of humans is one example of improper treatment.  On the other hand, the book describes the kindness Black Beauty experienced  while under the care of the Gordon's through compassionate caregivers and a loving family.

Black Beauty Book Report: 3 Paragraphs

Black Beauty
Photo By: ktylerconk

     I read 'Black Beauty' by Anna Sewell. This book was written from a horses' point of view and also depicts the relationship between animals and humans. In the book, Black Beauty meets two other horses named Ginger and Merry-legs. Ginger was mad at Beauty for taking her prized stable, however, Merry-Legs warmed up to Beauty quickly. This interaction between animals showed the struggle Beauty had with his own kind. After a while Beauty was sold again and again due to issues outside of his control. During his time with with different owners Black Beauty experienced the ramifications  of relationships with humans.
     At one point in the book a man named Rueben Smith drank too much and took Beauty out to ride, the results where fatal, Reuben had fallen off and died. Beauty ended up with ruined knees, a split hoof and a missing shoe. After this horrible event Black Beauty was taken care of by a nice young man called Joe Green whom he knew from his past. As soon as Beauty was healthy again things started going uphill.
      One of the strongest themes in this book is how good and bad behaviors effect the people and animals around us. When Anna Sewell died, her mother respected her daughters wishes by requesting that the horses pulling Anna's hearse did not wear bearing reins due the strenuous load it inflicts on the necks of the horses. Anna wrote about this practice and how awful it must have felt in her famous book. The fact her mother honored her daughter by eliminating this brutal, customary practice shows that Anna was successful in her writing endeavor at educating her readers in how to behave towards animals.

The Small Tales Of Chester P. Wibbles

Chapter One: Professor P. And Gerbil Hyde

CHESTER SEARCHES FOR A NEW DIG

     Chester P. Wibbles; the European hamster, was sitting in his little, dumpy apartment sipping  imported tea and reading his favorite newspaper, The Daily Mix Gazette, when he stumbled upon a luxurious apartment advertisement. "Oh how delightful that would be, quite pleasant I would say."
     Chester immediately grabbed the scissors and cut out the address, made his way hastily out of his apartment into his Austin Healey Sprite and drove off.
     "Oh dear!" he said as he stepped out of his "Frog eye buggy". He rushed up to a fine looking gentleman, a Jird of a sort, "Are you by chance the manager?" asked Chester.  He was looking for an apartment of course.
     "Yes sir," the Jird replied in an odd voice.
     "Crickey boy, you must present yourself!" Chester yelled. Chester let out a deep breath and then said, "Please excuse me in my manner, eh. Show me my room will you?"
     "Umm, well this way sir," hesitated the Jird.
     "I hate when animals call me things of this sort," thought Chester as he quietly said "Sir,"under his breath. "Oh please, just call me Professor P.  It's British."
     Finally, we arrived at a rather nicely cut apartment when the manager explained what I was in for. "Sir… er, Professor P. this is your apartment it comes with a cozy personal lounge complete with Nest's newest 1,000 thread count sheets, a chrome plate sturdy food storage and kitchen with a 20 gallon glass water tank, a pleasant excrament tub and cleaning pond, the rotating saucer 5,000 good for chilling while having a drink or getting exercise, a luxury wool carpet, and last but not least your own personal butler, Handz.  So what do you think Professor P?" asked Jerry the manager.
     "It's just splendid! I can..." Chester began, "I say… sniff, sniff,  somebody puffed!" I can't believe my nose, what is that smell?" thought Chester.
     "Oh, that must be the next door neighbors, they're a bunch of teen gerbils, sorry about that I will have Handsa, the other butler take care of that." Jerry promised.

CHESTER MOVES IN

     I could not get a wink the next few days. Those gerbils are driving me knackered! I'm a stout, short, British private detective with a mildly cheeky attitude, I don't belong in this neighborhood! The house is rather astonishing but the neighbors… barmy! They're always chin wagging in the middle of the day while I'm trying to sleep! Just as I was about to talk to Jerry my manager about moving I heard the most startling sound, a monstrosity to my ears! I looked over to the gerbils cage and found the monster causing the monstrosity… it was amazing! It was huge! It was maddening! It was gerdzilla! The giant gerbil burst out of the apartment and rampaged towards town.
      I strode over to the wreck. Mr. Jerry my manager tried to persuade me out of it but I refused, "This is my job for crying out loud!" I stepped into the mess and had found a small vile,  "Bob's my Uncle! I've found it!" retorted Chester.
     "What is it?" Jerry cried.
     "The vile that held the serum that made the gerbil so monstrous," Chester P. exclaimed.
   
Stay Tuned For The Ongoing Adventure of Chester P. in Chapter Two….

The Art Of Begging 101

Begging 101: Extracting Food From Your Owner

By: Professor Odie 

Endowed Professor Odie 

   

Introduction

Hello, welcome to Begging Class. This is a world wide known art used to coax food from its original consumer to your chops. This amazing act is usually a dogs profession which is my case but in some scenarios a cat will perform this feat.

Step By Step Method

The first step is simple. You must sit beside the chair that holds the consumer of food. Then you make your eyes big and sad, act as if you haven't eaten in a month. Cock your head to one side, then the other, this step is optional but it does make the process faster. If all of the above seem to fail, lightly put your head on the consumers lap, this gets their attention and also appears to be very cute to them. When the unsuspecting consumer turns around to face you, perk your ears up while eyeing the food. By this time your hungry human will realize what you want. If they reject this entreaty you will move on to Plan B. For 'Plan B' you will wag your tail and make a small whining sound and/or make a gesture that indicates you are hungry but never lead the human or consumer to your dog bowl. This will just lead you back to square one. The objective is to trigger happiness in the owner so they reward you with a scrap from their 5 star meal. To trigger happiness you must be happy yourself.

Etiquette

DO NOT                                                               

-Lead the human to your food bowl
-Scratch or bite the human
-Make loud obnoxious noises
- Break wind
-Drool
-Eliminate waste at the foot of the table
-Growl or bark
-Pant

DO'S

-Wag your tail (lightly)
-Roll over (make sure to show your belly)
-Whine softly
-Nudge the humans hand
-Use puppy eyes
-Perk up your ears when food is visible
-Do tricks for free

Technique

As a Professor in my degree (also a Valadogtorian) I have some very useful techniques that are helpful to most students. I have even invented a famous move the 'Turn Around Touch The Ground' is a trick that most of the time rewards you with a treat. You simply put one paw on your owner, the other held up gracefully, then toss your head while turning around and then touch the ground. Then look back at your owner with your ears up this indicates you want something. Another way to get fine food is to do a half roll on the floor and show your belly  to the owners, this is a sign of submission and it also shows you want attention.


Testing

Begging 101 Testing relies on evidence. We require you take a video and bring it to next class along with the prize to  share with your Professor. Your grade will be based on whether you accomplished your task, the size of the piece, and the type of food.

The Professor At Her Work
Photo by: Chandra Brown

Narc At The Museum: Post # 8

POST # 8: RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT

Critic Explanation: As seen on the left, there is a clearly smart toddler in a woman's hands. If you look in the lower section of the painting, you will notice the toddler's legs are facing the opposite direction of its torso. Therefore, we have named it, 'The Twisted Sister'.

Below, we are seeing a woman holding, yet again, another small person but is it a toddler or a midget? The size ratio in this painting does not correlate with real life. A baby would be too small to stand in her hands but a toddler would not be the size of the creature in the painting. Therefore, we have named it, ' Sister Mary and little Midge'. Look at the cherub babies in the corner, they are the same size as our 'Midge'.

Narc At The Museum: Post # 7

POST # 7: ART?

Critic Explanation: If you can believe it, this is real art at a real museum. Really? Really?!? An unfinished floor and two solid, painted canvasses. Thats art? Need I say more?

Narc At The Museum: Post # 6

POST # 6: CHUNKY BA-DUNK-A-DUNK


Critic Explanation:  Two words, SMACK IT! I know it is a world wide rule that you cannot touch the art, BUTT she makes you want to smack it too. Enough said.

Narc At the Museum: Post # 5

 POST # 5: MAKE IT STOP!

Critic Explanation: Scritch, screech, scratch. Apparently this angel needs violin lessons because this poor hostage's face tells it all, it is as if he is saying "Please, make it stop, I'll do anything!" The last hostage, seen below under the book, foreshadows what is going to happen next.

Narc At The Museum: Post # 4

POST # 4: BUTT BLUNDERS

Critic Explanation: You can clearly see that a rag of some sort is stuck to the child's (seen front and center) behind. What is this? Perhaps this is ancient cosplay? Bathroom accident? Or maybe he has just ripped his pants. We may never know the real reason why the artist added this detail. Or maybe it was the artist's older brother wielding his sense of humor on his siblings masterpiece.

Narc At The Museum: Post # 3

POST #3: THE PIDDLING POSER

Critic Explanation: As you can see a nice painting but an unpleasant subject, there is nothing much to say but sour puss! Then you notice the odd piece laying centered on her forehead. What is that? It almost looks like she has mistaken the proper way to put a headband on her head or someone marked the painting with a permanent black sharpie pen. At least the artist tried to spruce her up a little with the glitter sparkles above her head or maybe that's just dandruff!


Art History:
This piece is called the "Portrait of A Widow' circa 1640 by Carlos Ceresa. The clasp that is on her forehead represents widowhood.

Narc At The Museum: Post # 2

POST # 2: THE RABBIT OF CAERBANNOG CAVE

Critic Explanation: I did a double take, is that bunny ears behind that man's head? Watch out you silly sod! Run away before the Killer Rabbit bites your head off. The look of terror was captured perfectly by this painter, now we know where Monty Python got his inspiration.

Narc At The Museum: Post #1

My mom and I went on a field trip for homeschool to the Blanton Museum of Art. She told me my assignment was to choose one or two pieces of art to write my opinion about and do a little background research on the artists. Well, we both went in with best intentions to be sophisticated art purviewers but this is what we came out with instead.

The following 'Narc At The Museum' posts come with a warning; all art history and individual artists renditions have NOT been taken into consideration and our quirky critique may offend those who have very little sense of humor. Proceed at own risk.

 POST #1: PLEASE DON'T FART

Critic Explanation: A wonderful master piece at first sight but (or should I say butt) as you may see, a small child's face in the center of the art (or should I say fart) depicting a stance of distress as his father in the lower right corner pleads with the angel not to let one blow on his beloved child.

The Ancient Geeks:Mindless Myths

     The Greeks in past time were not so bright. For instance, Icarus and Daedalus, what were they thinking? Making wings is artistic but attaching them to yourself with wax (something that is heavy) and trying to fly, thats stupid! Now if they used Leather rope that might have been a different story. Wait a minute… Trying to fly with fake wings is retarded anyways! So much for the wise Greeks.
     Another mindless myth is the tale of Theseus, he was a good guy, he defeated the monster of evil King Minos and came out of the beasts maze alive. After this amazing feat a wise man told him to change his ships' sails from black to white, for black was a sign of death. In his excitement of defeating the beast he completely forgot about the sails, that's when things got screwy. Theseus, although a beast slaying good guy, failed to use his listening skills which brought his demise.  Theseus' dad was waiting on a high rock for his son's return but when he saw the black sails he thought Theseus was dead, so overwhelmed with grief Theseus' dad fell from the rock. Sad story, we know. Dumb Theseus! Of course when Theseus found out his father was dead he became an old crotchety man himself. After a while the people of Athens got sick of all the crap he was throwing at them and had a private meeting with the king to be "Theseus's escort" and when he got the best chance to kill ol' Theseus…do it! One day when they were walking on a large cliff the king took advantage of the height and pushed Theseus over the cliff. You would think that the people of Athens would be happy about this, right? Well as soon as they heard this news they regretted killing Theseus because he did such good in his young days. Stupid, right? You know what they did next? They buried him and called him a god. What are their thoughts, these Athenians?
"Another one died."
"One more God? We already have fifty."
Gee all this unnecessary tragedy due to bad communication skills... or this tale was told by a drunk story teller!
     Here's another crazy story for you, the story of Oedipus. An oracle came and told the King that his wife would have a son that would kill his father and marry his mother, Stupid right? Well the queen had a baby boy, and they decided it would be a wonderful idea to kill him so this prophecy will not be fulfilled. Of course these people still had a heart (kind of) so… They let a servant kill the baby! Jerks… apparently the servant had half a heart too and tied the baby to a tree by it's ankles! The cries of the baby caught attention to a passing shepherd and when they came to find the child the shepherd took the baby to the King of Corinth. The King did not have any children so he gladly adopted the boy and named him Oedipus which means "swollen footed" due to the rope which was used to tie him to the tree. One day Oedipus went to a festival and an oracle told him "Oedipus beware! You are doomed to kill your father, marry your mother and bring destruction upon your native city!" Sure that the King of Corinth was his father he left. He came across a path and on it he found an old man in a chariot when this old man said "step aside chump, I the great and powerful master of Thebes is making way to my throne." Not used to being treated like a peasant for he was raised as a prince, Oedipus did not budge. At this act of stubbornness the old kook raised his staff for a royal blow and that is when Oedipus made the decision to raise his sword and kill the old man along with his servants that attacked as well. Oedipus not knowing this old man in the chariot was his real dad, Laius King of Thebes, had fulfilled the first part of the prophecy.  Somehow Oedipus knew there was a city near by, so he headed down a path and finally arrived. When he arrived at the city there was a frightened crowd of people talking of a Sphinx, a lion with a women's head and it ate every person that failed to answer her riddle. Oedipus strong and brave went to this sphinx and listened to her riddle, he guessed the right answer after some deep thought, The sphinx whom had now lost her powers tried to run away but Oedipus backed her onto a cliff and she fell onto a spiked rock. In return the people of Thebes gave him the the throne which meant he married his mother AKA the Queen of Thebes. Prophecy fulfilled.
     A story similar to this, though it does not take place in Greece, is still a greek myth. It is the story of Paris. Paris' mom had a dream that a brand lay in the cradle where the baby was, it set the cradle on fire and then the whole palace was on fire. Finally, an oracle told his mom that Paris would bring misfortune to his hometown, so she took her baby into the woods to die. These Idiot Greeks, they did this before and look how it turned out, lots of people died! What do you know, they didn't' learn their lesson. After Queen Idiotus left her child to die the poor baby cried so much a near-by hunter heard him. The hunters thought, "Darn them Greks. Keep on dumping them babies out n, these woods, screwin up my hunt." The hunter took in the baby and raised him as his own. Thats something different! The hunter gets the baby this time. Anyway, when Paris was older he was very talented so he went to Troy, his hometown, to join the athletic games (the Olympics in other words)  he easily won all the prizes and received the crown of wild olive leaves. When he went up to claim this crown everybody thought he looked like he could be from the royal family. Paris' sister Cassandra told the future, she said that Paris was the son of the king and queen and he was going to destroy Troy blah, blah, blah… The King and Queen didn't give a crap, they get rid of their kid in fear and now they aren't even afraid of the matter?!?
     These Idiot Greeks. Did they ever think about how dumb they made themselves look by writing down these 'myths' as moral learning tales, the moral I realized from these stories was be glad you are not from a Greek family. Oh the disfunction! It's almost as if these Greeks have a billion year old case of writers block. The writers conversation at the time was similar to this, "Billy, I'm outta myths!" "Umm, uh, just take some old myth we wrote n' tweak it a lil' bit, no one will suspect, right?"
     At the very least these mindless myths were entertaining but in my opinion a total waste of time. If you choose to read these tales, be warned of the idiosyncrasies found in Greek mythology. I will give them credit, I laughed a lot.

Icarus and Daedalus