Quick Read

For my quick read I choose to read an article on the new movie Twilight. Twilight was originally a book written by Stephanie Meyer and it is the first in a four book series. It came out in theaters on Thursday night at midnight. About 70.6 million dollars worth of tickets have been sold so far and it has broken all the predictions about the profits it would make. It took about 60 million dollars to make and market and it made more than that within the first three days of the premiere. It has been said that New Moon, the second book is already underway as a movie but it hasn't been said yet when it will come to theaters. 

Yesterday, I read an article I found in the fashion section of the online New York Times. The article I read was called A Goodbye Kiss for Paris and it was written by Cathy Horyn. The article was essentially a review of the Paris fashion week. It summed up the weeks shows with highlights from Marc Jacobs, Alber Elbaz, Azzedine Alaia, Alexander McQueen and John Galliano. Many of these collections were inspired by natural or earthly tones. There was lots of neutral colors as well as animal prints used all throughout the collections. Another common theme in several of the collections was the layering of different textures. This was called one of the most artistic weeks in history. It was a successful week in Paris despite the fear of the negative effect the economy might have on the fashion industry. So far it hasn't shown to slow down too much and the creativity has never been better. 

Female Athlete Heroes

In my study of heroes, I specifically focused on Female Athlete Heroes. These heroes are women that had an impact on the sport they competed in by bringing something unique to the game. As I learned more about Female Athlete Heroes, I realized that there are so many different sports that women compete in and and have impacted but a natural way to categorize the athletes would be to divide them into two categories; individual competitors and team competitors. The Female Athletes who compete individually are involved with golf, tennis, track and field, gymnastics, swimming, etc. The team competitors are apart of soccer, basketball, hockey, softball etc. The media portrays female athletes through pictures, videos and quotes published. These forms of evidence help portray women athletes as dedicated, hard working and motivated. They have changed the meaning of being a female athlete.

Individual Competitors:

These are women who compete on their own, not with a team. Individual competitors include athletes from track and field, tennis, golf, swimming and several other sports.

This video is a collection of pictures of track runners. The pictures capture the pain these athletes endure and the glory they achieve at the end of their race. I thought it was important to include this video because I think it accurately portrays what each athlete goes through to achieve their goal of success and the glory they receive from it.

This is a picture of Nancy Lopez who is arguably the best female golfer ever. In 1987 she had the most outstanding season ever for an LPGA rookie and she is the third youngest player inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame. Nancy is a woman that accomplished many things in golf and she is credited to have helped popularize golf among women. I think this was an important picture because it symbolizes a woman who excelled in a "man's" sport and paved the way for future female golfers.

This is a video of Sonja Henie in the 1932 Olympics. Sonja dominated figure skating with 10 consecutive world championships and 3 Olympic gold medals. This video is important because it shows the product of her relentless work ethic and it shows her femininity despite fierce competition.

This is a picture of Bonnie Blair speed skating in the 1994 Olympics. As far as individual Olympians go, Bonnie Blair was the most gilded woman in U.S. history. She won consecutive golds in the 500 at the 1988 and 1992 games. Blair is a woman that skated because it was her passion and she is a good example of someone who is successful because they love what they are doing.

Team Competitors:

These are women who train, compete, win and loose with a team. They depend on each other for their success. Team competitors include athletes of soccer, basketball, hockey and several other sports.

This is a photo of the United States Women's National soccer team all warming up together. I think this picture is really important when discussing team competitors because it shows the joy they have for what they are doing together. A team is like a family with a common goal for success. The video below is also about the Women's National soccer team and it summarizes all of their accomplishments and their goals for the future. It also demonstrates what it means to be apart of a team. The effort to win is for the team. Everything is for the team, not the individuals.

This is a picture of Cammi Granato who was the all time leading scorer in U.S. national team history. She is a female athlete who was a team competitor but by being an individual competitor, she was able to impact each team she was on. She is an important Female Athlete Hero because she is said to be the best hockey player the US has ever produced.

This artifact is a picture of Diana Taurasi who was named the 2006 USA Basketball Female Athlete Of The Year. She was honored because of her leadership during the USA's run at the bronze medal in 2006. This is an important picture because it represents a woman who embraces her team and is selfless in basketball, the team comes first.

"Playing for USA basketball and representing our country is, alone, a real privilege," said Taurasi. "I love the process of coming together to pursue the gold with such a talented group of women. An award like this, to be chosen within that group, is an incredible honor." -Diana Taurasi

This is a quote directly from the Athlete of the Year. Diana is a role model that demonstrates what it really means to be apart of a team.

Conclusion:

Throughout my research of Female Athlete Heroes, I learned a lot about what it means to be a competitor. I've learned that for different athletes, there are different qualities that one must have in order to be successful in their pursuit of their goals. The natural division for Female Athlete Heroes is between individual competitors and team competitors. An individual competitor needs a certain swagger that enables them to be the best they can be when in competition. They do not have teammates who encourage them to get better, that motivation needs to come from within an individual competitor. In contrast, a team competitor has a team of athletes supporting them and pushing them to be better. Despite the outside encouragement, these athletes need that motivation from within themselves. Female Athletes have changed the meaning the competition. They have influenced athletics in just about every aspect. The Female Athlete Heroes have paved the way for the future of female athletics and they have demonstrated the power of a female in sports.

Today, I read a really interesting article about European soccer. The article was called Spain, the New Brazil and it was written by John Doyle. The article was about the rise of the Spanish team and their recent game against Belgium. Spain's past isn't very impressive when compared to the best teams but with their new coach this year, things seem to be different. They have won the past 3 games without even giving up a goal. They are viewed as a cock group of people but now they seem to have the talent to back it up. In the first 7 minutes of their game against Belgium, they were scored on and taken by surprise.  Spain then came back with a goal to tie it up and the rest of the match was hard fought. In the 88th minute of the game, like champions, Spain scored again. They held on to the match and won 2-1. Spain plays with unique speed and rhythm. They are on the rise and it is said that they have become the new Brazil.  

Today, I read a great article about one of my teammates that was in the Edina Sun Current and was written by John Sherman. The article was called Soccer Star Sierks Credits her teammates for her Success and it was about the Julie and our soccer team's success this season. The girls' varsity soccer team this year was undefeated in the regular season and lost in the Section Finals against Eden Prairie in a shoot out. Julie was a key player on the team this year with 27 goals and 10 assists. In the article she was very modest with all of her success and was very complimentary of all her teammates. The Hornets were the first team in Edina's (soccer) history to go through their main season being completely undefeated. Last year, the team had immense success taking second in state against Lakeville South and were able to rematch them this year in a Blaine soccer tournament. The Hornets won in the rematch 5 to 0. Overall the soccer team had a very successful year but were disappointed to lose before state.  

For my reading this week, I found an article on UsaToday.com about the destructive wild fires in California. The article is called Thousands Flee as Wild Winds Fan California Wildfires and is was written by Shaya Tayefe Mohajer. The article summarized the the horrible conditions they are experiencing in California. They have been battling not only the ferocious wildfires but also the high winds. In southern California, the fire's size practically doubled throughout the night and it has destroyed many homes. In San Diego County, over 1,000 homes were evacuated and so far the fire has killed 2 people; one by the flames and the other died in a car crash because of flames on the highway. The winds have gotten up to 50 mph and the firefighters are working extremely hard to put this fire out. I was really rattled when I read this article and I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to have to leave my home to evacuate for a fire coming for my home.  

Today I read an article on The New York Times website. This article was called Dangerous Fruit and it was written by Lisa Sanders. This article was about a man who had strange symptoms of diabetes for being diabetes-free and very healthy for his middle age. He experienced dizziness (almost fainting), sweating, lack of concentration and extremely low blood sugar levels. At one point, his blood sugar was as low as 27, which is low enough to kill a person. He finally talked to his doctor and his doctor ran many tests which all came up clean. After a trip to the emergency room due to his low blood sugar, the doctors found the cause. A fruit he had eaten on a trip to Jamaica and Canada caused all of his suffering. The Ackee fruit, when picked before it is completely ripe can cripple the body's ability to successfully regulate its blood sugar. Ackee is illegal in the United States because many people have died from this fruit. 

I just recently was looking at the New York Times online and I came across a really interesting article about a spot called parkour. It involves gymnastics and the spiritual part of martial arts. Parkour was started in France 18 years ago and is developing in the United States. The sport itself looks like climbing and jumping over and around city structures (railings, cement walls etc.) and keeping your movements fluid. Currently, parkour is composed of mostly men with only some women. This sport brings out the different strengths in men and women. Men generally have more upper body strength whereas more of a woman's strength is in her legs. These differences allow the athlete in parkour to tailor their movements. Some of the athletes have said that it is more effective for them to strengthen their bodies with their own weight so doing push ups and sit ups are better for them. Also, flexibility throughout the whole body is very important.  This article is called Climbing Walls Because They Are There and I found it on the New York Times website (nytimes.com). 

Yesterday I read an article about pandas in China being fed chicken soup. The article I read was called "Pandas at China Zoo Fed Chicken Soup for Health" and I found it on CNN.com. The article talked about how just regular, homemade chicken soup can help boost the health of pandas. The Wuhan Zoo in central China started feeding their two pandas chicken soup on the national holiday which is their peak in travel season and the busiest time at their zoo. The pandas were fatigued, having not gotten enough sleep and also were in shock with all of their visitors. The pandas loved the soup right away and it was shown to boost their health. 

For this week's reading assignment, I read the a couple chapters in the novel I'm reading. Currently, I'm reading New Moon, written by Stephenie Meyer. It is the second book in the Twilight that I began reading this summer. The most recent part of the book I read was about Bella, the main character trying to figure out how to keep herself distracted enough so that she won't think about Edward. (Edward is the boy/vampire that she is in love with but cannot be with). She had been spending lots of time with Jacob, her new best and really only friend. Her real intentions for being with him is to do dangerous things that might provoke Edward to talk to her. In the last chapter I read, Bella and Jacob had decided to take out their dirt bikes (which they had been working on for a while) and they had a lot of fun learning how to ride them. With all the excitement of their new bikes, Bella got a little too excited and fell off hers and got hurt.  

Animal Dreams

I think my favorite quote so far in Animal Dreams is "Mom says she'll break your face if you don't come over for breakfast." Emelina's son,  John Tucker said this to Codi one morning. I love this quote because first of all I think its funny. Second of all, I think it really captures the quirky relationship between Emelina and Codi. Emelina knows that Codi would be reluctant to come over for breakfast but Emelina is a natural mother and insists that she feed Codi. 

My favorite character in the book so far is without a doubt, Loyd. I really enjoy Loyd's presence in the book because he is very unpredictable to me. It seems like he keeps revealing more of himself as he becomes closer to Codi. At the beginning of the story, Codi portrays him as being unreliable and a lady's man but as we get farther in the book, we learn that he is really more thoughtful and is ready to be comitted. 

Animal Dreams, I think is filled with  many important scenes and moments that contribute greatly to the developing plot. So far, I think one of the most important parts in the book is when Codi reads her letter from Hallie. This letter has a blunt feeling. Hallie is writting in response to Codi's letter about how amazing she is that she is saving the world and how Codi just isn't capable of doing something so great like that. I think this scene is important because I think it is a turning point for Codi. This letter reinforces the comments from Emelina that Codi was always the leader when they were growing up and that Hallie has always looked up to her, even though Codi strongly believes that Hallie was always the independent one. I think this letter really changes Codi's perspective on herself and what she is doing with her life.  

  

What I Recently Read

This past weekend I read a really interesting article from the New York Times Sunday Magazine. I picked up this article after my mom had told me how interesting it was. This article I read was about a little boy who was about 10 years old living with Bipolar Disorder. It talked about his family and what it was like to live with someone like that. I thought this article was really interesting because I had never heard of such a young person struggling with this disease. My reaction to my reading was sadness for this little boy and his family. I think it would be extremely difficult to try and cope with having this disease or having a brother who could be so unpredictable and so angry. I think this article did a really good job with illustrating what this situation is like for everyone involved. 

My favorite book

I would have to say my favorite book I've ever read is "Twilight", written by Stephanie Meyer. Twilight is about a young girl named Bella Swan who for most of her life had 

lived in the big and sunny city of Phoenix, Arizona. She had lived with her mother and when her mom got close to her new boyfriend, Bella felt out of place and decided to go live with her father in the small town of Forks, Washington. When she arrived in town, it seemed like everyone knew who she was, being the daughter of the chief of the police force. At first, she hated the weather and had a hard time adjusting to everything new in her life. At school, she made friends and quickly became interested in a boy named Edward Cullen. After several strange encounters with him, he told her his secret. Bella learned that he is a vampire. Throughout the book, Bella and Edward become very close but his presence in Bella's life becomes dangerous. I loved reading this book because I personally thought it was quite unpredictable. The author did a really great job with all the details and I felt like I always knew what Bella was thinking. 

This is a bubble map comparison of Codi and Hallie.