Kiley's Blog!

Just Listen (#6)

2009-05-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

This week i finished the book and things really started to come together and get better for Annabel. With all that has happened within the last year, she learns that people like Clarke and Emily, never hated her and that even after walking out on Owen at the concert, he still cares about her. When Emily has an experience with Will just like she did at another party, Emily goes to the police and makes it a case that everyone is talking about at school. Annabel realizes that she should have told someone about what happened to her and that Emily took action where she should have too. Emily comes to her during the week at school to talk to her about this, Emily finds her in the Library and gives her the card of her attorney if she will come and talk to the court about Will. Clarke is another person who comes to Annabel when she needs someone. One day when Clarke sees her in the bathroom, she asks her if she is okay and says that Owen is really worried about her. Clarke and Annabel talk for a while and Clarke says that she never hated Annabel, that she was just really mad and hurt. Clarke hands her number in case she ever needs anyone to talk to and leaves. Later Annabel sees Owen and works things out with him. When she sees him she cannot get herself to tell him everything that happened to her and why she walked out on him at the concert. On Sunday while she is listening to his radio show, she realizes how much she needs to tell him and work things out when she tells him he really listens and helps her to go to the court with the case against Will. Annabels social and family life are getting better and things look better than they have all year for her.

Just Listen (#5)

2009-05-19T17:01:00.000-07:00

In this section of the book you learn a lot about what happened between Sophie, Annabel, and Emily and why they aren't friends. It starts with talking about the end-of-year party on the last day of school. Sophie and her boyfriend, Will were having problems and Sophie was sulking about how horrible her summer was going to be as Annabel and Emily try to cheer her up. Annabel and Emily find a couple of guys from one of their classes and when they find out that one is drunk, she goes to get a water for one of them. When Annabel gets the water she comes back upstairs and can't find Nick, there is a door to one of the bedrooms open and thinking that Nick went in there, she goes in too. The room is pitch black and when she gets in there and starts talking she realizes that it isn't Nick. The person in the room tells her to be quiet and faster than she can do anything, she is being raped and she doesn't know who it is. She is helpless when trying to get away. Until someone barely opens the door and she can see that it is Will, her best friends boyfriend. Automatically Sophie sees Annabel first and the blame goes on her before it goes to Will. Will also makes it seem like it was Annabel's fault that all of this happened, Annabel was so shocked and hurt that she couldn't get herself to say anything.

Just Listen (#4)

2009-05-12T15:21:00.000-07:00

In this section of Just Listen, a lot has happened in the book. During this section at the beginning Annabel is listening to Owens radio show and he plays a pop song that would not usually be on there and he addresses it to her. When the show is over she calls the station and the both laugh about it and he tells her that he is leaving soon and asks her if she wants to go out to breakfast with him. The go to a little breakfast diner and when he drops her off at her house after he asks her to go a concert with her. She says yes even though it is all music that she really doesn't like. While Annabel's parents are gone, Whitney and Annabel actually spend some time together even though Whitney is so quiet. While Whitney is getting better from her eating disorder, she is getting more fun to be around they are taking small steps but they make dinner together and talk which they both really enjoy. When they have eaten and cleaned up, Annabel goes over to Owens and is surprised when Malory opens the door all dressed up with a ton of make-up on. Annabel quickly finds out that she is having a photo shoot with her friends and it looks like a really big production is going on. Malory is so excited that she is there and automatically brings her into the photo shoot and explains to her what is going on. Annabel sees all the different parts and helps them get ready to go, but none of them listen to her suggestions when she suggest less make-up or not so fancy. But when she sees Owen he is really surprised to see her. Throughout the time she is there she really gets to know Owen better and they kiss when she is leaving. Annabel and Owen are becoming better friends and hers and Whitney's relationship is improving too.

Just Listen (#3)

2009-05-05T15:03:00.000-07:00

I almost half way done with my book and a lot has happened already. During this section, Annabel has her lakeview models calendar shoot. During this shoot Owens sister, Malory and Malory makes a big deal about seeing her there and her mom embarrasses her in front of Annabel. Emily cannot believe that her brother actually knows her and is obsessed with Annabel. After the weekend, on Monday Annabel sees Owen at school and they talk about Owens show. Annabel hated the show and does not know how to tell Owen that she didn't like it. She finally tells him that she didn't like any of the music and the style of music she didn't like either. She tells him once she tries to say it nicely and is really surprised to find that Owen doesn't care that she didn't like it. After school that day, Annabel sees Owen walking home and since he gave her a ride home, she asks him if he wants a ride home too. During their ride home, they talk a lot about how Owen is in anger management and about the kind of music they like. Owen says that anger management helps him to control and say what he really feels. During their discussion, music comes up and Owen tells her that he will give her some Cd's to listen to so that she can see if she likes anything. He gives her 10 Cd's of his favorite music. When she starts listening to them she hates all the music on them. Once the weekend comes Annabel's mom finally gives her some freedom and leaves her and Whitney home alone for the weekend. Whitney cannot wait for the freedom and Annabel is excited for her mom not to pressure her about modeling.

Just Listen (#2)

2009-04-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

"some people think they like music but have no idea what it's really about. They're kidding themselves. Then there are people who feel strongly about music, but just aren't listening to the right stuff. They're misguided. And then there are people like me."
This quote is from Owen Wilson who is a boy that Annabel goes to school with. He says this after Annabel and her former friend Sophie get into a big fight and Annabel needs a ride home. When they are riding in the car, Owen has all this weird music that she had never heard. He asks her if she like music and she yes says and then he tells her that not everybody really likes music which is where this quote comes in. This quote relates back to the title of the book because they both have something to do with just listening to the music and really understanding if you like music or not. Owen has his own radio show where he plays music that he says most people don't appreciate if they don't really like music. He plays what he thinks is the music that everyone should listen to and what he calls "real" music. This quote really explains what Owen thinks of the music taste of the people who just think that hey like music.

Just Listen (#1)

2009-04-22T05:50:00.000-07:00

This week i read the first section of Just Listen by Sarah Dessen and it has been really good so far. It is about a girl named Annabel Greene who is a model for Lakeside Models and so are her two older sisters. On camera she looks like she has everything but in really life there are so many things which she wishes she had. Her two sisters are Whitney and Kirsten and are both totally opposite personalities. Whitney is the quiet one and Kirsten is the really outgoing one. When a new girl moves into the neighborhood, she is really mean and thinks that she is so much better than Annabel. The new girl follows her sister Kirsten around all summer, everyday at the beach she sits right next to her and is a brat to Annabel. When Kirsten is tired of her following her around and never leaving her and her friends alone, she tells Annabel and Emily [her best friend] to go and talk to the new girl, Sophie. When Annabel tries to be nice and talk to her Sophie laughs out loud at her and tells her that she would never hang out with her. Kirsten hears this and walks over and tells her who she is and Sophie runs home and forgets her stuff. Annabel and Emily bring it to her and they become friends. Now that the school year is starting with the three of them getting into a fight over the summer and not being friends anymore, Annabel is more worried than ever. During the school day Sophie has been glaring at her all day and Annabel doesnt know what she is going to do. Other than school, Annabels grandmother just died and her mom is just finally starting to get into a better mood lately. Her mom has been taking her and her sisters to more auditions and things are getting better at home just as they are getting worse at school and between her and her former best friends.

Just Listen

2009-04-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

I chose to read Just Listen by Sarah Dessen for my outside reading book because it looked like a really interesting book. I have other books by Sarah Dessen and really enjoyed reading them. I wanted to read this book because it looked like many other books that I have read and enjoyed and it is about a girl around my age which seemed like something entertaining to read. It also has something to do with music which I really like and thought would be interesting to read about. Overall I think that this book will be really interesting and i will really enjoy reading it.

Overcoming Odds (#15)

2009-03-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

I am reading Twilight and in this book Edward and Bella have to overcome many odds with Edward being a vampire and Bella being just a normal girl. Bella moves into the same town as Edward and the first time Edward sees her he does not know what is so different about her from everyone else. He cannot read her mind the same way that he can read others and cannot look at her when they sit next to each other in biology. Bella does not know what is wrong with him when he is next to her. As the book goes on, they start to really like each other and Bella has to figure out what is so different about Edward. When Bella figures out that Edward is a vampire is when their real obstacles start coming. Bella does not know how to act around him and Edward is so attracted to her blood that he is afraid that he will kill her. They make it through though and Edward has to control himself when he saves her life because if he took anymore blood she would have died. Edward and Bella find a way to overcome their obstacles in their relationship even when all the odds were against them.
Meyer, Stephanie. Twilight. New York City: Time Warner Book Group, 2005.

Love (#14)

2009-03-17T15:32:00.000-07:00

I am reading an A-List novel where Sam is trying to win back the one she loves and Anna is trying to work things out with Ben. Sam is trying to win back Eduardo and will do anything that she can. She loves him so much that she has left him tons of messages and sent tons of things to his room to hopefully win him back with something. One of the craziest things she does because she is so in love with him is that she goes and buys 100 phones from her cell phone severs and has them program them all so that they can only call her number, so whenever he tries to call someone else after they are delivered to his room it automatically goes to her number. In the end Eduardo comes back to Sam and they work out all their problems. Then there is Ben and Anna, their relationship was going really well and then Ben started acting all weird for no apparent reason. He won't tell her what is going on and seems to avoid the question by saying everything is fine anytime she asks. As the book goes on they go up and down in their relationship. By the end of the book Anna finds out what was going and they move past it and end up in a strong relationship.
Dean, Zoey. American Beauty (The A-List Series #7). Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2006.

War (#13)

2009-03-15T12:28:00.000-07:00

I read an article about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The two wars have already lasted longer than World War II and have taken more troops and money than the government ever expected. These wars have the pentagon thinking about what they are going to do because the old doctrine may not work for much longer with these wars. The wars have taken already more than 170,00 troops which are having to stay longer than expected and cause the government to keep pouring more money into these places. The pentagon is thinking of having to make a new plan for budgeting, planning, and buying weapons with the effects the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have caused. The Bush administration put into effect a new plan which prevented terrorists from obtaining biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons and defends the American population. The two wars that the US is fighting are causing new strains and problems within our government and have the pentagon seriously searching for a new plan of action to keep our military going.
Shanker, Thom. "Pentagon Rethinking Old Doctrine on 2 Wars." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 14 Mar. 2009. The New York Times. 15 Mar. 2009 .

Imperialism/Colonization (#12)

2009-03-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

I read an article about how for the earth to last for the predicted number of years, we must colonize on mars within 46 years from 1993. 14 years after this prediction came out, there had still been no progress to the thought of living on mars. J. RIchard Gott II predicted this period of time based on scientific methods and has a 95 percent chance of being correct on his time frame. He says that since we have colonized all over one planet, why not move to the next and do something on that planet to keep our world around longer. The colonization of mars needs to be up and running by 2039 according to Dr. Gott and he does not think that this task is too far out of our range. The colonization of mars should not be too difficult because according to him we have colonized our whole world, so why can't we move on to something outside of out planet into the world. We only have a small time period once a rocket is built to get back up to mars and back, so colonizing and building a life up there will be more difficult than many think. Colonization on mars is one that will hopefully come soon and could change the outcome for our planet greatly.
Tierney, John. "A Survival Imperative for Space Colonization." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 17 July 2007. The New York Times. 10 Mar. 2009 .

Global Issue (#11)

2009-03-08T14:40:00.000-07:00

THe global issue that i read about was about deforestation and logging. This issue started first in Sumatra and has recently spread to all around the world. WHen people go around and cut down trees, they are destroying habitat and are one of the leading causes in the green house effect. THis issue is ruining our planet and many people still take this job as what they do and don't stop cutting down trees even when they know the consuquences it is putting on our planet. Sumatra began this trend and lost many of their forests which led to people who used to have jobs losing their jobs because of the derostation ruining the habitat. People are buying land just so that they can use the trees to make palm oil or paper. This process is killing our planet. During deforestation carbon is released into the air which accounts for 20 percent ofo the world's greenhouse emissions. THis issue is one which needs to be adressed and is becoming too popular in our world to not do something about.
Gelling, Peter. "Forest Loss in Sumatra Becomes a Global Issue." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 6 Dec. 2007. The New York Times. 8 Mar. 2009 .

Holidays (#10)

2009-02-22T11:48:00.000-08:00

I read an article about how many people see valentine's gifts as how much you can spend or what you can get your loved one, not about what it really means to a person. The article was in perspective of a former jeweler who always hated the valentines day sales. Many people would come in and buy something just ordinary for their loved one, and really had no meaning to the person they were giving it too. Some would buy gold earings or even a small pearl necklace, which is an expensive gift nonetheless but nothing that they could have gotten from anyone else. Most people take the thought away from valentines day when they just buy something ordinary, the gifts that really count are the ones that the person has to think about and it may not be the most expensive thing in the store but it what the person puts into it that coutns the most. As a former jeweler, he says that the best gifts he ever sold were the ones that had a reason behind them, like something htat they have been talking baout or something that thier mother had. Valentine's Day is about being with your loved one and showing them how much you care, not how much you can spend on them.
Martin, Clancy. "The New York Times Log In." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 14 Feb. 2009. The new york times. 22 Feb. 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/14/opinion/14martin.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/14/opinion/14martin.html.

Bollywood (#9)

2009-02-21T16:23:00.000-08:00

I read about a very famous bollywood producer and what a tru bollywood film is like. Many of their films are very wholesome and down-to-earth, what it would really be like in India. Yash Chopra, who is a veteran in the film industry in India is currently working on another one of his amazing films. He has won many awards for his films in his country and has set many of the staples in Bollywood films to what they are today. Some things which most of their films have in them are romantic plots, lavish costumes and sets, and catchy songs sung in exotic locales. Yash has produced many of his films as wholesome films with the two main characters falling in love and never kissing eachother until their wedding day and having to win over the approval of their parents for their marriage so that his films can be true to the culture in India. Bollywood films are always over the top and are very fun and entertaining to watch with all of the fun and over-the-top costumes and designs that the producers put into their films.
Mehta, Suketu. "Welcome to Bollywood." National Geographic Magazine. 2005. National Geographic. 21 Feb. 2009 .

Culture (#8)

2009-02-21T15:08:00.000-08:00

I read an article about American culture and how people's hectic lives have become revolved around fast food and how fast you can get things done. Many mornings for working class people consist of maybe dropping the kids off at school, then paying bills online and calling in Starbucks orders, and many other tasks electronically all before they are even into their work. Our culture has turned us away from the home-cooked meals from the fifties and the means of appreciating a good meal. The slow drift away from the home meals that the mom would make from have been going ever since the TV was invented and TV dinners came when families would sit and watch TV instead of having a conversation amongst themselves. With eating out all the time people are not getting the nutrients they need and are loosing the cooking skills that were present years ago. As cooking shows lean towards cooking healthy and making home-made meals again, it could start to slowly shift our culture back to more healthy eating habits.
"Fast Food and American Culture - Associated Content." Associated Content - associatedcontent.com. 1 Feb. 2007. Health and Wellness. 21 Feb. 2009 .

Change (#7)

2009-02-21T11:49:00.000-08:00

I read an article about the climate change and global warming. The cause of global warming has changed from humans only "likely" being the cause of the cause to humans being "very likely" the reason for global warming. The simple word, very, has changed everything in the world of science from bringing them to think that their could be other factors to the main factor now is very likely to be humans. The green house effect is the main reason that scientist are pin-pointing to the rise in temperatures over the years. The green house effect was necesary for the world to work out like it has because in the begining it brought up the temperature to be one that we could survive in and not freeze. Now that the temperature has risen almost three times the average from the 20th century, the green house effect is not doing us as much good as it used too. The effect lets the sun reach us without all of the heat coming to us. The slight change in the scientific world on research of global warming has changed many people outlooks on what is actually causing global warming in our world.
"Global Warming- Science - The New York Times." Times Topics. 3 Feb. 2007. The New York Times. 21 Feb. 2009 .

Hope (#6)

2009-02-16T08:38:00.001-08:00

I read an article about how the Grammy's were hoping for the best with all their performances, nominations, and the risks that are always involved in their shows. One of the big things that they were hoping would work out well was M.I.A who was on stage 9 months pregnant. They had a golf cart ready to take her off stage and out of the huge building if she started going into labor up on stage. Another thing that they were hoping to go well was the nominations. They were very surprised with how many people agreed with their nominations compared to other years when many people don't agree with who they nominate for their awards. One person who was a standout in their award was Lil' Wayne who was up for eight awards with Coldplay right behind them with seven nominations. With all award shows they must hope for the best to happen even in the worst of situations. The Grammy's have to take many risks with what to do in emergency situations. The risks involved with these shows many times play out with the luck of what happens during the show. The Grammy's had to have a lot of hope for their show to go as well as it did.
Sisario, Ben. "The New York Times Log In." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 5 Feb. 2009. The New York Times. 16 Feb. 2009 .

Religion/Spirituality/Belief/Non-Belief (#5)

2009-02-14T07:24:00.000-08:00

The article i read is about how religous beliefs and ethical issues come together when countries are trying to research new medical breakthroughs. In India they are researching a stem cell project and it is very much against their religious beliefs and what their country believes in. In south Korea they are trying to make this research sound like it is okay and that it goes along with their beliefs. One scientist has said that by doing cem cell research he is recycling the life just like the belief that reincarnation does. These medical advances in these countries are things that many people believe in their own countries but many times go agains their religous and ethical beliefs. The trading and donating of organs in India remains a big contraversy in their country because this is going against what they believe even though it will help them in many ways with things that the people in this country need. The contraversy in India comes down to more than just what they want to do with medical advances but also with what they think is more important to them; medical advances or ethical and religious beliefs.
Mishira, Pankaj. "The New York Times Log In." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 21 Aug. 2005. The New York Times. 14 Feb. 2009 .

Gender Roles in soceity (#4)

2009-02-10T21:07:00.000-08:00

This week I read an article about the treatment of women in immigration centers. The women staying in these centers are treated horribly and many result in sickness or bad health and the officials deny medical help. These women do not deserve to be treated so terribly and the government is trying to step in to help the women in these centers. This kind of treatment is not right and is not fair to people who should be treated just as any other person would. A law has been passed to improve the conditions but will not be put into affect until 2010 which will be too long for many women. In one specific case a women had been in the center for months with horrible stomach pain was told to escercise and watch her diet from theh staff at the center she was at. When she got out after alsmost six months, she was taken to a hospital where they found a cyst the size of a five-month-old fetus and the center did not do anything to help her with this treatment. Another case that they studied was a women who was six months pregnant. They put her on a top bunk and denied help or a sonogram for five weeks that she was there. These detention centers for women are not treating the women they get with any respect or fairness and the new rules in 2010 will hopefully start to change the ways that they are treated.
Frosch, Dan. "The New York Times Log In." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 21 Jan. 2009. The New York Times. 10 Feb. 2009 .

Different Cultures (#3)

2009-02-08T19:11:00.000-08:00

I read an article about a West African culture and how they rely on the price and productivity of rice to earn their living. Already this year they are not planting over 500,000 acres of land and people do not have the money to put into producing the rice on that land. The price of rice has already dropped eight dollars this year and nobody knows what will happen next year with how unpredictable the market is. If people don't sell enough rice this year than there is a likely chance that they will not plant next year and then their market could get even worse. The people in this village don't know what will happen with their money they can either make a lot of money or lose their whole fortune over how much rice they sell. This culture is very different from our culture because of what they rely on to make a living where as we rely on office jobs and modern technology to make our money they rely on farming and stuff that not many people have practiced for year.
Polgreen, Lydia. "The New York Times Log In." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 25 Jan. 2009. The New York Times. 8 Feb. 2009 .

Overcoming Obstacles (#2)

2009-02-03T19:46:00.000-08:00

In the city of Akiachak, Alaska they have many struggles withing their city and have to deal with the amazingly high prices and the thought of paying for things on the same tight budget as the rest of the wolrd. They pay eight dolars for a box of cereal while we can sometimes get it for close to two dollars. These people have to live with some of them not even being connected to water and havng to deal with that and not having a sewage system. because of the extremely high cost of livng many have had to abandon their homes becuase they can no longer afford to live there. The people j this community live by three simple ways of living: respect for elders, keep the languange and culture, and do not waste food. One important food to them is salmon wilhich they as careful not to waste. Even with all of these struggles the ones still livng here find a way to manage and make do with what tuey have. Even wih all that is happening in their community they still manage to go to school and amid it throug with their everyday lives. This community is one with very strong people left and ones who will fight for what they believe in and what they want done wig their community. These are people who will always try to see the best and show us what it really means to vercome struggles up matter how hard you have to try or what you have to do.
Barry, Dan. "Remote and Struggling but Still a Bit of America." New York Times. 5 October 2008. 2 February 2009.

Natural Disasters (Blog #1)

2009-02-01T17:40:00.000-08:00

This week i am reading The Problem with Pardsise. In this book they have to overcome a huge hurricane as their natural disaster. They are on vacation with their dad on an island where they are the only house on it for the whole summer while their mom gets to stay at home all summer. While they are on the island a hurricane comes in unexpectdadly and their dad and neighbors are on the neighboring island while they are stuck home alone in their house. They have to wait in the basement emergency room while they wait for the storm to pass over. The storm lasts for days and their houses are ripped up and the whole island is torn apart. They have to clean up the island and find out if everyone is okay before they can go to the main island to get their brothers broken arm fixed. Their boat got blown away and their neighbors roof was blown off their house and there was so much damage that had to be fixed before they could go back to having a normal day on the island again.
Dahl, Lesley. The Problem with Paradise. New York: Yearling, 2008.

Just Listen Part 2

2009-01-11T17:35:00.000-08:00

I am still reading Just Listen this week. Since my last post Annabel has made a new friend or boyfriend, they are not calling themselves anything yet. She met Owen at lunch one day and they have been hanging out a lot in and out of school. Her sister, Whitney has also gone to rehab and wouldn't come out of her room forever after she got out of rehab. Their parents have not given her any freedom and she feels like she is locked up in her own house. When her parents start giving her some freedom, she starts showing up around the house more and is not always in her room. Annabel has also been doing more modeling lately and made it into the Kopf's fashion show at the mall. Lately things have been looking up for Annabel and her life has been getting better even with Sophie.

Just Listen

2009-01-08T13:50:00.000-08:00

The book that I am reading this week is called Just Listen by Sarah Dessen. It is about a girl named Annabel Greene and hwo her life seems so picture perfect on the outside but when you really see what is going on, it is anything but perfect. Annabel is a model for one of the biggest modeling agencies and is in high school at her local school. What people don't know is that her sister has a serious eating disorder and no one is realizing except for her other sister, even her family doesn't know. They finally see what is happening when she collapses and the ambulance has to come and get her because her body couldn't handle it anymore. Annabel's sister, Whitney is going the be staying with them for a while until her parents let her go back to LA. Annabel has also recently lost her best friend, Sophie. Annabel and Sophie had been the best of friends forever and becuase of Sophie Annabel is no longer friends with Clarke anymore either. Annabel is slowly coming to realize who she is and what high school is going to be like for her, and so far it hasn't been good.

114-year-old woman to be the oldest

2009-01-04T17:19:00.000-08:00

Gertrude Baines is 114 years old and is currently living in a California nursing home. Baines was first born to a family of slaves in a little town south of Atlanta in 1984. She spent most of her long life in Ohio as a house mom at a university and eventually moved to Los Angelos to retire after her divorce. She has no reason to why she has lived for so long other than that god wanted her to. She is living happily and seems cheerful and talkative. Baines did have one child, who died at 18 from typhoid fever. She has not yet been given the title or worlds oldest but will be soon after further investigation. The current oldest women just died on November 26,2008 and lived to be 115 years, 220 days old when she died. Gertrude Baines is a happy women in California who will soon be named the worlds oldest women.

Paris Hilton robbed

2008-12-19T21:08:00.000-08:00

The article i read today was about a robbery at Paris Hilton's house on friday morning. A man broke into her house and stole an estimated $2 million dollars worth in jewelry and other things from her room. Hilton was not home at the time of the break in and was spared the chance at being harmed. Police are still investigating the security tapes and are not sure who broke in. Because of the security cameras they will probaly not have a hard time identifying the person/people who broke in. A benefit of having the kind of money that she has is that the police will work on her case very quickly and shortly after the crime have it figured out. This kind of a crime with so much stuff at stake and from a celebrity is probaly going to be solved quickly. With being a celebrity and having a lot of money, one can get answers the things quicker and the police will put this crime as a high priority on their list.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,470264,00.html

Twilight

2008-12-17T19:54:00.000-08:00

The book that i finished this week is Twilight. This book is about how a girl, Emma falls in love with a vampire, Edward. They meet eachother when Emma moves to live with her dad and on the first day of her in that school, she sits next to Edward and he cannot read her mind like he can everyone else there and there is something different about her that Edward really likes. He acts really weird around her at first but then after a while comes around and they become a couple and Emma cannot figure out what is so different about him. She researches about his family and what he is from and finds out that he is a vampire. This does not scare her that much, she takes it and deals with it. Once she knows what he really is she can understand him more than before. They become really close and Emma gets in danger when other vampires find out that she is human. She gets taken to the hospital because of what happens with other vampires. In the end they go to the dance and fall in love.

Confessions of a Teen Nanny Part 2

2008-12-14T19:56:00.000-08:00

I finished the book Confessions of a Teen Nanny this week and with Adrienne and Cameron becoming such good friends, they have been hanging out a lot and Cameron is showing Adrienne what it is like to live in her life. Cameron brings Adrienne to Bergdorf's and gets her all of these clothes for "free" as she says it, which in the end Mrs. Warner ends up paying for. Cameron ends upo throwing parties with Adrienne and it really feels like they are going to be good friends. With this friendship though, Adrienne is falling away from her old friends and just keeps getting more and more behind in school. Adrienne also has her nanny job for 2 more months and it is seeming to her as though the other nanny is never coming, and this was all their plan to get her to say. As Adrienne sees how Cameron is going behind hers and Liz's back, she just can't stand it anymore and finally has to confront her. When she does this it seems as though everything that they have done together seems to come back to Adriennes fault and she just can't take this right now. While all this is happening it has given her the chance to make her friendships better with her old friends from before she got the job as Emma's nanny. Adrienne has seen what it's like to live like Cameron and she would much rather have her old and happy life back where things like what brand your wearing and what your house is like doesn't matter.

Reading Minute

2008-12-11T08:20:00.000-08:00

The article I read for reading minute is titles "Employers: No Layoffs Here." This article is about even with the economy getting worse; some companies are still sticking to promises of not laying off employers. This week alone about 40,000 jobs have already been cut and some companies are not letting their employers fear and are not taking job cuts. Many companies have a no-layoff policy or practice that they are going to stick to, which gives many working people no reason to worry. I think that this is a really good and helpful idea for companies to use, because they can still save money by making salaries a little less because with how many people they have a little less in their salaries can add up to a lot in the end. Companies with the no-layoff policy tend to have loyal and hard-working employees.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/09/news/economy/no_layoffs/index.htm?postversion=2008121105

Confessions of A teenage Nanny

2008-12-11T08:15:00.000-08:00

I am currently reading Confessions of a Teen Nanny by Victoria Ashton. This book is about how a girl, Adrienne gets a job to be a nanny at one of the highest people is society in her neighborhood. In this book, she has to nanny for this little 8 year old genious, Emma who has gotten 4 nannies fired already and she has to find a way to make this girl happy and keep her job. Emma also has a sister the same age as Adrienne , Cameron who is one of the most popular girls in her school. Throughout working there she becomes friends with Cameron and so does Adriennes best friend, Liz who nannies for the neighbors of the Warners. Adrienne is overwhelmed with how much they are making her work and how far behind she is getting in school. With all this work and never getting caught up, it is becoming hard to handle.

Tall Cool One

2008-12-07T17:48:00.000-08:00

The book Tall cool One by Zoey Dean is the fourth book is the A-List series. This book is about a trip that Anna and Sam take to get away everything. Anna goes to a resort to get away and when Sam can't take her life with her dad getting married to someone who she hates and her stepmom picking Dee as her 'daughter' to stay at their house and always be there when she needs her, Sam needs to get away and decides to surprise Anna by showing up there too. When they get there they meet a guy which is the one thing that they didn't want to happen. They take a night out and go shopping and out to dinner and have a really good time but need to be back at the hotel by five and when they do not return the hotel and their parents begin to worry. They go to a restaurant and get a really strong drink that they can't handle they miss their car when it comes to get them and throw their phones into the desert. Sam's dad flies to the hotel to get them to come home so that he can stop worrying while Anna's dad waits at the airport. Anna is so mad at her dad for not going as far as Sam's dad did to get them safe and Sam and her dad work out their problems while Anna is mad at her dad for not 'caring' enough.

Blonde Ambition Part 1

2008-12-07T17:38:00.000-08:00

The book I am currently reading is called Blonde Ambition by Zoey Dean. This book is the third book in the A-List series after Girls on Film. It has the same characters of Anna Percy, Sam Sharpe, Cammie Shepard, Ben Birnbaum, and Dee. In the book Anna and Ben have just gotten back together since he came to the spa at the end of the last book, Anna and Sam presented their film in class and told their classmates about a new film that they are producing, and Cammie is feeling really out of their group lately. Anna has had an internship with her dad's girlfriends company and is on the edge of getting fired from it because of the incident with Susan. When she goes in to talk to Margaret, she gets fired from her but gets hired from the head of the whole company. Susan decides to go back to rehab so that she won't seem like such a screw up to herself and repairs her relationship with her dad. Since she has gone back Anna's family life has gotten a lot better with her dad and she got a spot on Melrose Place because of her new internship. Cammie is feeling really out of it lately because Sam and Adam are together and Sam never told her and Dee has a new boyfriend that she never told her about either. Cammie is stuck having to hang out with her new brat of a stepsister who steals her clothes and never leaves her alone. That is where I left off for now.

Girls On Film Part 2

2008-12-03T05:40:00.000-08:00

Anna and Sam have decided that they will shoot their video at an exclusive spa and that Anna will write the script while Sam will shoot and direct the film. When they get to the spa it ends up that Cammie and Dee are there along with Anna's sister, Susan. Anna is not very happy to see Cammie and Dee there because it never works out well when the two of them show up.Anna spends most of the time in her suite writing and revising while the others are out having a good time at the spa. While she is in her suite, Cammie and Susan are becoming better friends than she ever imagined. On the day of filming, they are filming in the sauna and in the middle of a scene in walks Ben, which creates even more problems. Anna could not believe that he would show up at the spa, with their arguing and talking, it turns out to be a really entertaining film with Anna and Ben as the stars of the show. In the end Anna and Ben get back together and their film goes over well.

The A-List Part 2

2008-11-29T07:39:00.000-08:00

In the second half of The A-List, Ben and Anna go to the wedding together and Sam, Cammie, and Dee can not believe that Ben came with someone to the wedding. Anna soon finds out that Cammie and Ben used to be a thing which puts tension between them. At the wedding Anna is about ready to leave with how mean they all are. After the wedding, they all go the after party which Ben and Anna leave from and he asks her to celebrate New Years with him. She says yes and on New Years they go out and are having a really good time until Sam, Cammie, and Dee come and split them up for half the night. They decide to leave the party and go out to Ben's boat. When they are out there while Anna is asleep Ben wakes her up and tells her that it is time to leave. Ben tells Anna to wait there while he goes to get the car. She waits on the boat for over an hour before she realizes how long he has been gone. When she walks to the parking lot, his car is gone and he hasn't even called her. Anna calls her dad's driver and asks him to bring her home. The next day Ben has called her tons of times and she won't answer even when he tries to explain himself. While all this is happening, Anna's sister is just getting out of rehab and doesn't want to come home to their distant father. Their mom also flies in from Paris and stays at their dad's house while they figure out what is going on with her sister, Susan. When she finally gets out of rehab, she doesn't come home to California; she leaves and doesn't tell anyone where she is going.

Girls On Film Part 1

2008-11-23T20:01:00.000-08:00

The book that I am reading this week is called Girls On Film by Zoey Dean. This book is about how two girls; Anna Percy and Sam Sharpe have to make a video together for a class they are taking. At the beginning they plan on filming a Hollywood party at Sam's house with no script and just doing it on the spot. When the party falls through because of renovations Sam's stepmom is having done with her house, they decide to go to an exclusive spa where only the rich and famous go to film. Anna also thinks that just making it up on the spot isn't a good idea and they need to make a script to follow. At the part that I am at now, Anna wants to take control of the script while Sam can film and direct. The two of them are arguing over what the script should be like and how they should set up their film.

The A-List Part 1

2008-11-11T18:26:00.000-08:00

The book that I am currently reading is The A-List. This book is about a girl named Anna and her friend, Sam and their lives. Anna is trying to not be so herself, a prep school girl with perfect grades and a practically perfect life. She goes on a trip and meets a guy, Ben who she feels that she can be more adventurous and not so herself with. Anna meets him on the plane and he saves her from sitting next to this really weird guy who she doesn't like. They land in LA and are talking about what they are going to do. Ben invites her to a wedding of a star. When they land, she is ready to go and see her dad who she has not seen for months. When the car comes to pick her up at the airport, her dad isn't in the car, it’s his driver, Django. He explains how her dad had to work and that he couldn't make it but would be at their lunch. Anna goes to lunch and waits for her dad to come and he never shows up, when she gets back to his house she finds him laying in the gazebo drunk and doesn't realize what is going on around him. She is so mad at him and can't wait for the wedding that night; little does she know that the daughter of the star is crushing on him too.

Poseur: the Good, the Fab, and the Ugly Part 2

2008-11-09T18:29:00.001-08:00

In Poseur: the Good, the Fab, and the Ugly, they find out that it wasn't Nikki who wrote on all the tags. Nikki finds a tag at an art showing from a man who found one on the street. Petra, Janie, and Nikki finally design a bag that all of them agree on and have elements from all of their designs on it. They are planning to show it at the town meeting. When the town meeting comes around, the bag is missing and they don't know what to do. It is the night of halloween and they can't figure out who took it. When Petra's sister gets home, she has the bag around her wrist. They are relieved to have the bag back and then the man who owns the big department store in their town comes to her door. He gives them a buisness card and tells them to have their parents call him. Later Janie's mom calls and they get their bag and other designs in his department store.

Poseur: The good,the fab, and the ugly part 1

2008-10-26T19:47:00.000-07:00

Poseur: the good, the fab, and the ugly by rachel maude is about three girls who have to design a new bag for halloween and find out who messed with their label name. Petra, Janie, and Nikki all are designing a bag for halloween called the trick-or-treater and all of them think that their design is the best. They all came up with different designs and can't decide which of theirs is the best. They are also trying to figure out who messed with their labels for their brand. When they had their opening party for their label, they didn't have a name yet, so the people at the party had to suggest names and then they would choose one which they liked. Someone at the party went and changed all the labels to say "Poseur." Pera thinks that it is Nikki that did it and has a good argument for it but Nikki is denying it and her friends are turning against her as she tells them that it wasn't her.

Heroes in a Box Bubble Map

2008-10-26T17:22:00.000-07:00

While is was finding hero artifacts, I discovered things that a true hero should have in them to be called a hero. One thing which I discovered was that all heroes have lived through something that makes them a better person and someone to look up to and have respect for. With the heroes from 9/11, they have lived through or witnessed something that made history and will make them a better and more caring person. Also, to be a hero you have to have confidence in yourself and what you are doing is right. In the 9/11 survivors, they either went with their group of people and got out of their safe or one man went the opposite way of his group and ended up being to only one who survived in his group. Another classification of a hero that I discovered was a hero is someone who helps someone else and is not just worried about themselves. A hero needs to be confident in themself, but cannot only use their good for themselves, they need to do something for someone else to truly become a hero. Another thing that makes a person a hero is being strong enough to get through the hard times and situations that they have to go through to get to where they are now. A hero does not give up or let other people tell them things that they don't think are right or don't let situations bring them down too much. Those are things which i think classify a hero.

9/11 Heroes

2008-10-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

This picture shows how all the firefighters who went into the collapsing building are heroes. It shows them with their heads down and sad respecting all the firefighters who died when they went in to save people. Even the firefighters who died are still heroes in this situation because they showed courage and put their lives at risk to save someone elses. This picture shows the significance of firefighters to the event of 9/11. This firefighters are a first-hand survivor of the attack. I chose this photo because it showed the affect the attack had on firefighters.

This picture shows surviving firemen putting up the flag after the attack at ground zero. They are covered in dust and debree and are giving respect to the country and all the people still trapped in the towers. These firemen are heroes because they survived the attack and have saved many other lives in the process of going into the collapsing towers and risking their lives. I chose this photo because it shows the respect these firefighters have.

This picture shows a note that someone wrote to a firefighter who went in and died. This picture shows how much these firefighters meant to people and that many had families and other people in their lives to worry about too. These firefighters were truly heroes with how strong and courageous they were when they stepped into that building. I chose this picture because I think that it shows really well how much these heroes meant to people and that they had other people in their lives and they were so selfless when they walked into that building.

http://www.9-11heroes.us/
tho those who died when the towers crashed down
A deep memorial in our hearts,
of pain, of shame, of love, of blame,
In these mixed feelings we must admit.
Thou know none who's gone in vain.
Though people think they died in vain,
yet their legacy still lives today.
Of valour, of peace, of love, of courage,
These men gave their lives to serve and save.
This poem shows how other people perceive the heroes of 9/11. This gives us a better understanding of what the heroes did to help the country on September 11,2001. This poem tells people how much the people in the tower had to go through to help others in need. This shows the characteristic of selflessness and courage that many heroes possess. I chose this poem because I really liked what it says and the message it portrays.
A Hero
A charity song for children who lost
a firefighter/police parent in the 911 attack.
The morning froze in silence
as the terror filled our hearts
we stared in disbelief at what we saw.
Through the dust we felt so helpless,
wishing that we could have known.
We hold our families close, as we watched them fall.

Some people didn't waiver, they had a job to do.
There was nothing that could keep them away...

Oh, it's a special kind of hero
who would sacrifice themselves - so I could spend another day with you.
And for all the fallen heroes who saved a life that day
your courage unites a nation, and we'll remember you.

So many people crying, walking in a daze
holding pictures of their loved ones
through an empty haze.
Our Heroes didn't falter, they held out a helping hand
remembering their own children, as they rushed inside again.

They didn't waiver, they had a job to do
and some never made it home that day.

Oooh well remember you. We honor you, salute,
respect and cherish you.
Not many people can do the duty that
you knew on that cold September day.
He knows his dad was a hero; seven survivors of the World Trade Center came forward to say the young lawyer saved their lives at the expense of his own.

Has it been seven years? Not for everyone. It's been 6 1/2 years for Jason Zucker, born a few months after his dad, Andrew, disappeared in the South Tower's inferno. He knows his dad was a hero; seven survivors of the World Trade Center came forward to say the young lawyer saved their lives at the expense of his own. But stories are one thing and having no father to kiss is another. Now the boy will have a Torah to kiss, a new Torah with his father's name inscribed on the velvet.

In Riverdale Jewish Center completed the writing of a new Torah scroll in honor of Zucker, the local hero. It was read for the first time on Sept. 11, 2006, a Monday, and was read for the first time on a Shabbat later that week on the actual yahrtzeit, Elul 23. An Israeli silversmith has crafted silver rimonim (pomegranates), a stylized evocation of the two towers, to adorn the scroll's two wooden handles.

Erica Zucker, Andrew's widow and Jason's mom, said: "Andrew was very connected to the shul, and we still are. I like the idea of something tangible, for something of Andrew to be there; something for Jason to see and touch as he grows up, to see the community's love for Andrew. I can always tell Jason about Andrew and how amazing and supportive the community was and is, but this is also a chance for Jason to see it -- the community writing a Torah in memory of his father."

It is Elul, the season of visiting cemeteries before the New Year. Student groups that fly to Poland to see death camps can now take a subway to Chambers Street. There is a messianic legend that when the Third Temple is built it will descend instantly, whole and complete from Heaven. Now we have a new apocalyptic legend -- a death camp that descended on New York; klieg lights suddenly glaring through the a pale, smokey night haze; noses sensing a stench that couldn't quite be placed; soldiers rolling by on lorries; the sense of souls piled upon souls beneath ash and palsied metal.

On Beekman Street, a few blocks from the hallowed ground, Rabbi Meyer Hager, spiritual leader of the Wall Street Synagogue, anticipates the return of that most haunted day. He takes a black hat down from its shelf, the hat he wore on that morning five years ago. The hat is splotchy with an odd pale soot. As if pointing to an object on the Seder plate, he says: "This is the debris. I shook it off but then I caught myself. I thought, maybe I should keep it the way it is, so someone can see and learn what it holds for the future."
This song is really meaningful and thoughtful and really makes you look at what the heroes had to go through and what the survivors and families had to go through to get through this tragic event. This song really hits the spot at what happened to the people who had to live through the attack. This song will really comfort kids who have lost a firefighter/police parent when they went into save others over their own lives. This song shows the characteristic of a hero that they are caring. The heroes cared for their families and were always there for them. I chose this song because it was really thoughtful and was really nice to help kids who have lost someone close to them.

This video gives tribute to those who suffered from the 9/11 attack and shows the impact that the attack had on New York City. This video shows it up close with pictures and clips from people who saw it right there when it was happening. This video shows the characteristic of a hero that they are respected by others. The heroes of 9/11 had enough people who respect them to do this video for them. I chose this video because it is eye opening and gives you a real insight into what happened on September 11Th.

This video shows another view at what happened at 9/11. This shows what the heroes of 9/11 had to go through to do their job. The firefighters and police officers had to do something that many of them probably never thought that they would be involved in. This shows the characteristic of courage and always being ready for anything. I chose this video because I thought that it was a good one and really showed what the heroes had to go through to just do their job.

Voices join 9/11 artifacts
Survivors share their stories for planned museum
NEW YORK - The artifacts awaiting their place in the Sept. 11 museum sit in storage -- crushed emergency vehicles, dust-covered purses, a giant steel column covered with victims' pictures. Now, voices will bring them to life.
There's the recorded voice of FDNY retiree Peter Bondy, who put Sept. 11 firefighter Jonathan Ielpi's picture on the 62-ton "last column" at the ruined World Trade Center site in 2002.

And John Abruzzo, a quadriplegic, telling how he was carried down 69 stories of the north tower by his colleagues in a special wheelchair.

And Michele and John Cartier, siblings talking about how they found each other in the chaos before the towers fell, and about their brother, James, who did not make it out.

These are among hundreds of Sept. 11 stories -- taped remembrances, even podcasts playing on the Internet -- being collected by museum planners who want to connect physical relics of the nation's worst terrorist attack to memory.

They hope the multimedia library -- already containing more than 800 oral histories -- will have special meaning in what has already become one of the most exhaustively documented events ever.

"This is a story that one-third of the world's population lived through in real time," museum director Alice Greenwald says. "We can't tell people what they already know. There are so many living witnesses."

When the museum opens -- by 2012 at the earliest -- visitors may be able to listen to a fire fighter's account of removing the memento-covered steel column while looking at it. There will be a library in the museum where visitors can find stories by computer and listen.

Some survivors waited years to tell their stories and then spent several hours, leaving no detail out, chief curator Jan Ramirez says. Their stories often focus on sense memories: the smell in the air, the struggle to see through smoke. One woman saw glass popping from one of the huge trade center towers and likened it to a run quickly forming on a stocking.

Michele Cartier told her story a month ago. She and her brother, James, each worked in a trade center tower. Her building, the north tower, was hit by a hijacked plane first. Cartier, an administrative coordinator at an investment brokerage, began walking 40 flights down. She tried calling James and couldn't get through. It was hot, a little smoky.

"We just kept going down. I don't even remember where we exited," she says.

On the street -- Church Street, on the east side of the trade center -- she saw another brother, John. She had no idea why he was there. James had called him and told him to find Michele and he came on his motorcycle. Before a plane hit his building.

They looked and looked for their brother.

"We waited in the crowd trying to find him, praying. Anyone that looked similar to James, I'd scream out his name," she said.

The south tower collapsed, and the siblings ran, tearing John's T-shirt to form small masks to breathe through the sooty air.

Seven years later, Cartier, now 37, thinks James somehow is responsible for John finding her in the crowd and helping her to survive.

"The chances of me finding John in a crowd of thousands was just an act of God," she said. "John was there to help me and James was the instrument that got John there."

James Cartier, 26, was trying to evacuate from the 105Th floor of the south tower when it collapsed.
This article is about how survivors are all telling their stories about a museum from the artifacts of September 11. This shows how the heroes and survivors of this attach want to show others more than they could ever see from just watching what happened on TV. This shows the characteristic of helping others heroes portray. These heroes want to help others understand the true impact of the attack on peoples lives. I chose this article because it shows how the heroes are really giving back.

Personal accounts from people in the building
110TH FLOOR
Steven Jacobson, victim
WPIX
Portraits of Grief: A Transmitter Marvel

Steven Jacobson was a transmitter engineer for WPIX-TV and had an office on the 110th floor of the north tower, just below the station's rooftop antenna. When the first plane hit that tower, a friend and colleague at WPIX, Victor J. Arnone, called twice from the station to see how he was doing. This is his account:

I punched in his extension. I said, "Steve are you O.K.?" I was shocked the phone lines were still working. He said,`` It's getting hot up here. What happened?'' I told him to get one of the one air packs we had. After the 1993 bombing, we got these air packs. They're the same kind that the coal miners use when they need air while they wait to be rescued. They give you like five hours of air.

The second conversation was just after the second plane hit. I said ``They're terrorists. They hit the other tower. Try to get to the roof.'' But he said, ``It's too hot to leave the room. Get me out of here. Send help.'' And then the line went dead.

106TH FLOOR
Hagay Shefi, victim
Gold Tier Technologies
Portraits of Grief: A True Partnership

Hagay Shefi was the founder of Gold Tier Technologies and he was attending the Risk Waters Group conference at Windows on the World on the 106th floor of the north tower. At 9:04, he called his wife, Sigal. Friends have described Mr. Shefi as an eternal optimist but his wife said she could tell right away that he was very concerned, and that it was very serious.

``He told me there was a bomb and there is a lot of smoke,'' she said. ``He was very calm, but I got the feeling that he knows it was very severe conditions. He knows he will not get out. The way he was talking. He was very heavy. He was like saying goodbye.''

105TH FLOOR
Mike Pelletier, victim
Cantor Fitzgerald
Portraits of Grief: Private Language

After the impact he phoned his wife, Sophie, at 8:51 a.m., according to cell records, and a mutual friend reached him at 9:24 a.m. His wife recounted those conversations.

He went by Mike. He's French Canadian. I'm French French. He was a commodities broker.

He's only been at Cantor almost a year. He sort of switched around a lot.

He took the 6:04 train from Greenwich, Conn. That's the time he went in that morning. He was at his desk by 7, 7:10 every morning.

He kissed me goodbye. I have a two-and-a-half year old daughter. And our son is 11 months. And he was 3 months at the time.

That morning was a blur. I remember him kissing me goodbye.

It was our daughter's first day of nursery school. I videotaped it. I drove to her nursery school and I parked in the parking lot.

I was just getting Sydney out of her car seat when the car phone rang.

I picked up. And it was him. And he was just in a panic.

He just said, ``Soph, an airplane just went through the building. I don't know what we're going to do.'' He said he loved me.

And it took me a second to just realize what was happening. I said, ``Oh my God, is there help?'' He said, ``We don't know. We don't know. We can't tell.''

I said should I call 911. He said, ``Yeah, yeah, yeah. Call 911.'' That was it. He told me he loved me.

I called 911 from my cellphone and ended up getting Connecticutt 911. They were laughing. They hadn't heard. They said, ``Oh yeah, we'll make sure we pass along the message.''

His friend got through to him on his cellphone. Randy. He said, ``Thank God, Randy, thank God it's you. It's bad.''

Randy told him it was a terrorist attack. Mike started swearing. Mike was relaying information to everyone. Randy could hear him relaying information to everyone. He could hear people in the background.

Mike just said, ``We're not injured, we're just a little bit disoriented because of the smoke. Because we're getting air through the window.''

He said, ``Don't hang up. Don't hang up. You need to get an engineer on another line who knows the building to tell us how to get out. Because we don't know how to get out.''

They died alone. No one was there to help them. No one was there to hold their hand. But they were brave. They did everything they could to get out and they fought with their heart and soul and there was just no way out, and that was torture.
These three dialogues are of people who survived the crash and are telling about their conversations with people who were important to them. This shows the characteristic of caring and courage that a hero has. These people were caring to talk to their loved ones up until the crash came and were courageous by living through the collapse and sharing their stories with others. I chose these dialogues because it shows how the crash impacted people personally.

Survivor who ignored advice
By BBC News Online's Chris Horrie
A New York survivor has told BBC News Online how he was advised to get off the street and go to his desk in South Tower of the World Trade Centre minutes before it burst into flames.

His decision to ignore the advice and run saved his life.

American Express worker Richard Wadja's decision to enjoy a leisurely walk on a "beautiful, calm" late summer morning made him a fateful few minutes late for work at his desk in the Center's South Tower.

"For me it was a normal day. Everything was calm. Then I was walking right outside the building about to enter when I heard an explosion - I had no idea it was a plane - it was a huge explosion, a strange sound.

'Nothing but flames'

"I looked up and saw nothing but flames and fire in the first tower, right above me - and things are falling down from the building.

"People were just standing around and looking up - I got hit on the head and I started to run across the street. People were running and screaming as though it was an earthquake."

"When I got across the street I looked back and five or six storeys were in flames."

Mr Wadja immediately phoned his office in the still unaffected North Tower and was told by a receptionist: "It was a plane... they just made an announcement on the loudspeaker."

Canary Wharf

"She told me 'get over here - we are OK'."

Mr Wadja does not know if the "stay put" announcement was made throughout the building, or just in his own office.

This is the worst fire I've ever seen - I'm going home - and you'd better out of there

Richard Wadja
After the first plane hit the World Trade Center it is likely that many others in the South Tower were likewise told to stay put - making them sitting ducks for the second plane, already making its turn to attack.

The advice to stay inside - to avoid the deadly rain of debris already falling from the North Tower - was not necessarily unusual.

This was, for example, exactly what people were told to do in London's Canary Wharf tower when it was hit by an IRA bomb attack in 1996. It was seen as much safer for people to stay inside than expose themselves to the danger of flying or falling glass in the streets.

Canary Wharf: people told to stay put

Adamant

Ignoring the pleas of his office Mr Wadja said he was not going to come into the building - mainly because the streets surrounding the base of the Center were already full of burning debris following the first plane attack.

"Standing there, I then saw a body fall from one of the windows up way high on the North Tower and of course it didn't look like one at first because you are in shock - but it was a body."

He told the receptionist: "this is the worst fire I've ever seen - I'm going home - and you'd better out of there".

Second Crash

Instead of heading for the "safety" of his own office, Mr Wadja - now in a state of deep shock - phoned his mother who advised him to "just run, run, run - get out of there".

"I'm glad I listened to her because otherwise I might have just stood their watching, stunned and not knowing that it was going to get worse."

Mr Wadja had started to run away from the scene when the second plane crashed into the South Tower, housing the office to which he had been directed only minutes before.

I said to everyone - we can't stay in this park. We are too close to the United Nations. If they hit the Pentagon they are definitely going to hit that

Richard Wadja
"People started running in every direction as though it was from a horror film.

"They ran so fast that I got knocked over - somebody actually stepped on me. And then somebody else helped me get up. I kept running and I kept thinking to myself 'why did I stop to look - I wasted minutes'."

Collapse

But many others, Mr Wadja remembers, stood stunned and staring with amazement. They are likely to have been among the victims crushed when the towers collapsed half an hour later.

Just before that time Mr Wadja and other survivors had made it to the relative safety of a park several blocks away.

By now, news of the attacks on the Pentagon and attempted attacks on other buildings had convinced many in the traumatised crowd that other suicide planes were on the way.

"I said to everyone - we can't stay in this park. We are too close to the United Nations. If they hit the Pentagon they are definitely going to hit that."

As Mr Wadja was saying this the South Tower began to collapse.

"Don't walk - run!"

"The sound was one I can't even describe. We couldn't believe it. We were in denial."

Victims then began heading towards the 59th Street bridge convinced that they must get off Manhattan island and out of the centre of the city.

When Mr Wadja reached the bridge hysteria was such that people were shouting "don't walk - run. Who knows - the bridge might be a target too."

Pain

It took him six hours to reach the home of his babysitter on the outskirts of the city, driven on by the idea he had to get his baby child out of a city which, he believed, was being subject to an all-out military attack.

"The next day I was in agony but at the time I didn't feel the pain - I was just numb".

At the time Mr Wadja spoke to us, many of his colleagues at American Express were still unaccounted for.

"The ones that thought nothing was going to happen were the ones that perished," he says.

"That's the way it is."
This article shows how one man didn't go with what everybody else was saying and had enough confidence in himself to go his own way and get out of there on his own. This man showed the characteristic of confidence in himself by going his own way and getting out of there safely. I chose this article because I think that it shows how just not following the rest of the group can benefit you in many ways.

A Firefighters Account From inside the world trade center
he south tower of the World Trade Center has just collapsed. I am helping my friends at Ladder Company 16, and the firefighters have commandeered a crowded 67th Street crosstown bus. We go without stopping from Lexington Avenue to the staging center on Amsterdam. We don't talk much. Not one of the passengers complains.

At Amsterdam we board another bus. The quiet is broken by a lieutenant: "We'll see things today we shouldn't have to see, but listen up, we'll do it together. We'll be together, and we'll all come back together." He opens a box of dust masks and gives two to each of us.

We walk down West Street and report to the chief in command. He stands ankle-deep in mud. His predecessor chief earlier in the day is already missing, along with the command center itself, which is somewhere beneath mountains of cracked concrete and bent steel caused by the second collapse, of the north tower.

Now several hundred firefighters are milling about. There is not much for us to do except pull hose from one place to another as a pumper and ladder truck are repositioned. It is quiet: no sirens, no helicopters. Just the sound of two hoses watering a hotel on West Street — the six stories that remain. The low crackle of department radios fades into air. The danger now is the burning 47-story building before us. The command chief has taken the firefighters out.

I leave the hoses and trucks and walk through the World Financial Center. There has been a complete evacuation; I move through the hallways alone. It seems the building has been abandoned for decades, as there are inches of dust on the floors. The large and beautiful atrium with its palm trees is in ruins.

Outside, because of the pervasive gray dusting, I cannot read the street signs as I make my way back. There is a lone fire company down a narrow street wetting down a smoldering pile. The mountains of debris in every direction are 50 and 60 feet high, and it is only now that I realize the silence I notice is the silence of thousands of people buried around me.

On the West Street side the chiefs begin to push us back toward the Hudson. Entire companies are unaccounted for. The department's elite rescue squads are not heard from. Just last week I talked with a group of Rescue 1 firefighters about the difficult requirements for joining these companies. I remember thinking then that these were truly unusual men, smart and thoughtful.

I know the captain of Rescue 1, Terry Hatten. He is universally loved and respected on the job. I think about Terry, and about Brian Hickey, the captain of Rescue 4, who just last month survived the blast of the Astoria fire that killed three firefighters, including two of his men. He was working today.

I am pulling a heavy six-inch hose through the muck when I see Mike Carter, the vice-president of the firefighters union, on the hose just before me. He's a good friend, and we barely say hello to each other. I see Kevin Gallagher, the union president, who is looking for his missing firefighter son. Someone calls to me. It is Jimmy Boyle, the retired president of the union. "I can't find Michael," he says. Michael Boyle was with Engine 33, and the whole company is missing. I can't say anything to Jimmy, but just throw my arms around him. The last thing I see is Kevin Gallagher kissing a firefighter — his son.
This article tells the story of one heroes quest to get out of the crash. It shows how others dealt with it and what people did to get through it. This shows the characteristic of caring in a hero. It shows people what heroes do for other people before themselves. I chose this article because I think that it is insightful and really interesting.

Conclusion
What I found while researching heroes I found two types of heroes from September 11,2001, people who were actually in it and are survivors from it and people who witnessed it or news reports. The people who are survivors are the strongest heroes there are from this event because they had to go through that day and live their life after it. These survivors are the people who can give the most real and personal stories of this day. Survivors were heroes in ways that not many others can say. They lived through this, they helped others while getting out, they cared for others in the building, and are respected by others in our country. While researching the people who lived, most of what I found were stories or dialogue from 9/11. The dialogue and stories that these people told to others are amazing to read and it really shows a person how much they lost and gained while having to live through something like that. Survivors are truly heroes from this day and will always have their story to tell someone. The other kind of heroes from this event are people who witnessed it and the news reports that people sent in.The people that witnessed this event give others who weren't there a story of what it was really like to stand there and see the towers collapse right in front of them. The witnesses are stronger people from seeing this event. Families of the people inside the tower were also witnesses of this event. These families had to see the towers collapse on their loved ones if they couldn't get out. Families are heroes of this event becuase they are respected by others, helped others standing and watching, and cared for others who were there and who lost someone else in their families. The news reports from this day gave people all around the country a sight at what was going on in New York. Without the news reports and pictures and videos that people sent in, people all around the country would have never known what was going on. The news reports were heroes to many people all around the country by giving them insight on what was happening where they couldn't see. All these things that go along with this event are heroes in their own ways. The survivors, the witnesses, the families, and the news reports all did something to help others in all different ways. Many of things give others who weren't there an insight on what happened and helps them better understand what others had to go through. In finding these artifacts, it really shows how much a hero can do for a country and how much it can change the way which people look at something/someone.

How to be Popular By: Meg Cabot

2008-10-22T16:17:00.000-07:00

A book that I have read recently is How to be Popular by Meg Cabot. This book is about how Steph [the main character] thinks that being popular will make her happy and give her everything she could ever want in high school. She finds an old book of her friends grandmas, titled How to be Popular. It is a book of lists of things to do to become popular. She thinks that all she has to do is follow the directions in the book and it will just come to her. What she doesn't realize is how much she will lose while trying to become popular and how fast she gets there, but how long can she stay there. Steph is slowly drifting away from her friends and they are getting mad and frustrated with her and don't understand why it matters to her so much to become popular. While she is becoming popular she can't wait to get there and thinks that it will solve all of her problems. Once she is there, she sees that it isn't all she thought it would be and finally realizes how much she has lost. Even with the popularity she has obtained, she is losing her best friends and finds it harder to be popular than to be happy where she was. This book shows how being popular is not all that matters and to just be happy with what you have.

America Ferrera, Seventeen Magazine

2008-10-22T16:04:00.000-07:00

An article I have read recently was about America Ferrera in Seventeen magazine. This article showed how real and down to earth she is outside of her movies [The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants] and show [Ugly Betty]. Even though she always looks perfect and so made up and poised to TV and the big screen, she is really down to earth and not perfect. This article showed that she doesn't always like to be in the Hollywood scene and would rather be at home with her family and close friends. She talked about how hard it is to find really good friends with all the things that girls say about each other and how much can go on in high school. She also talked about how people judge others more than they really should. By not judging someone else before you meet them, you would be surprised at how much you can learn about someone and what you actually think of them if you don't judge them so quickly.

The Clique Summer Collection: Massie

2008-10-22T15:53:00.000-07:00

A book that I have read recently is from the series The Clique Summer Collection, it is the first book: Massie by Lisi Harrison. This book is about Massie's [the main character] summer. She is a spoiled girl from Westchester who, at the beginning of summer gets kicked out of the exclusive horseback riding camp she was at. She glued a girl to a saddle so that she couldn't fall off. Massie thinks that her parents will be understanding and just send her somewhere else with one of her other friends for the summer, but instead they make her get a job. She has never had a job before and thinks that it is torture until she gets a job with Be Pretty, a cosmetics brand. She is a sales rep and gets to go around and give makeovers to "people in need." Massie loves this job and especially loves telling girls how much they need the help of one of her makeovers. She thinks that the cosmetic line is all about just giving people makeovers. What Massie doesn’t realize is that this cosmetic line wants people to be pretty inside and out and feel good about themselves. This book shows how Massie changed from getting a summer job and realized that being pretty means being pretty on the inside and out.

The Best Girl By: Emma Harrison

2008-10-12T19:33:00.001-07:00

The Best Girl by Emma Harrison is a book about how one girls spends her Christmas Break. This book is about a girl, Farrah/Jane, goes to her brothers wedding in Colorado for 2 weeks and she meets a guy, but he doesn't really know who the real her is. Farrah uses the name Jane because she doesn't want him to know that she is with the families from the wedding because Connor complained about them and how high maintenance they were. So when he found out that she knew them, she needed a story to cover this up. Her solution to the problem was to tell Connor that she was a nanny for the families, because then he wouldn't think she was part of their families. She starts going out with this guy but he still doesn't know who she really is and he starts to really like her, but only for who he thinks she is. "Connor hadn't picked me, Farrah Morris. He'd picked nanny Jane (Harrison 86)." This quote show one time when she was thinking about what she had gotten herself into. She thinks that he won't find out who she really is, but what is going to happen when the wedding comes around and he sees her as the Maid of Honor, how is she going to get past that one.

Poseur

2008-10-07T18:32:00.000-07:00

Poseur by Rachel Maude is about how two girls in high school are both into fashion but come from two different worlds. There is no club for fashion, so both of them go about in two different ways and pitch two different ideas to the priciple and end up with an extra-curricular group for fashion. The two girls hate each other and are forced to work with eachother when their ideas bang heads and end up with a fashion class. Charlotte and Janie, both get into this group and have to work with eachother no matter what their feelings for eachother were. They both are fighting to win over a guy that Charlotte has at the moment and Janie cannot get over, even when she knows that it will never happen because she and Charlotte already have enough problems. Even with all of their problems between eachother, the two realize in the end that to get anything done and get their fashion design out there, they have to get along and work together. This book shows how learning more about someone and trying to make a friendship work can make it work in the end and they eventually work it out and get what they needed done, done.

All Access By: Randi Reistad

2008-10-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

All Access by Randi Reistad is about Jacey Chandliss, a hollywood starlet who is trying to keep her good girl image and her good career path. Jacey is helping out with charity work to keep her image good to get into the good movies and not do anything to ruin her reputation. with the way things are going lately, she is having problems keeping her image and a good career. She had a major slip-up while judging on a big TV show, Generation Next, a show to find the next hollywood star. Jacey also had a movie come out that was totally panned in the reviews and left people without anything to say about it. She decides to go a children's shelter to help kids to get her reputation up. Jacey decides to go to help at a place called Shelter Rock, "It's a temporary shelter for kids who can't stay with their parents - sometimes their folks are in jail, or they were abusive. Shelter Rock keeps the kids there." Helping out at Shelter Rock makes Jacey feel good about what she is doing and shows that she is good and is willing to help others instead of just doing things for herself.

Secrets of my Hollywood Life: Family Affairs

2008-09-30T19:10:00.000-07:00

Secrets of my Hollywood Life: Family Affairs by Jen Calonita is about a hollywood "it" girl and her life during a year when the show that she has been with for almost her whole life is going to stop taping. This book shows how a TV and movie star lives. Kaitlin Burke, the main character who is a big-time movie star has pressure you could not believe to star in big movies with the big producers of Hollywood. When she gets a new boyfriend, who in the end is only there to use her to get her into a private film with his friend, she realizes that there are other producers and other things to do in her acting career. Kaitlin and her co-star [Sky Hamilton] in the TV show, Family Affairs do not get along well, but don't realize it yet, but will need eachother when a new girl comes onto the cast and tries to take over their roles. The new girl, Alex is trying to take over the show and break up the family, and as she tries to promomte herself, she tries to downsize the others that have been on the cast for years while she has only been on the cast for a couple of weeks. This book shows how you can become friends with someone you never would have expected depending on the situation. This book shows how if you stand up what for what you want and believe things can work out in the end even if it isn't always the funnest along the way.

Bubble Map!

2008-09-20T08:45:00.001-07:00

Haters by:Alisa Valdez-Rodriguez

2008-09-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

A book that i have read recently was Haters by Alisa Valdez-Rodriguez. This book was about how a new girl moves into a high-society neighborhood and how she fits in there. When she first moves in, nobody gives her the time of day except for the most popular girl in school 's boyfriend and her geeky neighbors. She tries to keep her head just on fitting in and biking, the girls at school just won't give her a break. She tries to stay out of their way and when that doesn't work, she decides to do something about it. She makes new friends and starts to not let the other girls get to her. By the end of the book, she has a new boyfriend, good friends, and people respect her. The theme of this book is treat others how you want to be treated. This book shows a good example of this by showing that when the most popular girls in school are mean to her, she comes out on top by not letting them get to her and making her own friends. I agree with the theme that the author portrays in the book. I really liked this book and would recomend it to anyone else looking for a book to read.

Hallie and Codi

2008-09-20T08:07:00.000-07:00

Hallie and Codi have many things is common, even with all the things that they have that are different from one another. Hallie is determined, selfless, and adventurous. She is very determined to make Nicaragua a better place for the people living in it. She is not going to leave there until it is cleaned up and people will be able to live better than when she came. Hallie is also selfless. She puts others ahead of herself. She will put animals ahead of her own safety, like she has done before and she will also put humans ahead of herself, by going to Nicaragua and helping the people there before thinking of herself or what she could have if she came back to where she was from. Then there is Codi who is lost, afraid, and curious. She is lost with who she is. She keeps running from a place whenever she thinks that she has to she doesn't know where she fits in or who she is or where she needs/wants to be. Codi also very afraid. She is afraid to get comfortable anywhere than where she is running off to next. She keeps moving because she is afraid that she won't ever find a home when it is right in front of her, where she is right now. Codi is also very curious. She is curious to find out where she is from and what secrets her family has in it. She has been asking her dad questions all about their past family ever since she saw that grave with Emelina. She is curious to find out where she will go next and to find who she really is. Even with how much they have apart, they have a lot in common too. Both Codi and Hallie are caring, tall, humane, and intelligent. They both care for other people and the animals around them. They will help anyone in need before helping themselves first. They are both really tall. They are around 6 feet tall and it led to them being spotted out in school along with their orthopedic shoes and made them feel different from everyone else. They are both humane. They both care for animals and would do anything to save animals. When they were little kids, they tried to save baby coyotes from the river and almost risked their lives. They are both also very intelligent. Codi went to medical school and Hallie had her own hotline for plants. They both use their intelligence to help others in need. Codi and Hallie both have amazing characteristics to them and it what makes their characters so interesting and easy to read about.

Adjective Paragraph

2008-09-14T15:16:00.000-07:00

If i had to choose one word to describe myself i would say that i am athletic. I dance, play volleyball and basketball. I do competition dance and dance a lot every week. I have danced for a while and i love it. I also play volleyball. I have played volleyball for a long time in the edina house league. I also play basketball. I have played basketball for a long time and it is really fun. I love to dance and play sports which is what makes me an athletic person.