Feb 11
Feb 05
Being over-confident is a disadvantage. In my past experiences over-confidence hasn’t helped me. For instance, in volleyball, when our team is playing a weaker team we will stoop to their level of playing. The team that I play on is the Spartans. Playing sloppy and lazy is evidence of overconfidence. When my team would play hard and play to our full potential instead of becoming over-confident we would’ve won more games. In sports over-confidence is a problem. My hockey team was winning 5-3 at the end of the second period and we came out of the 2nd intermission very confident and lost the game 6-5 because we thought we had it, “In the bag.” I think this a big problem with even the greatest of teams.
In the NHL the number one teams play like they’re is no competition. Underdogs are all about being humble and staying composed. The underdog team takes advantage of overconfident teams. Its suppressing battling a team that you assumed were terrible but were very competitive. Teams can always improve and I think teams forget that. The Oilers are having struggles lately and play there best games against the number one teams. If the Oilers play defense and play offense they should come finish the game with a positive result. I think the Oilers play so well against the number one teams because they don’t want to be embarrassed so badly.
There are also advantages to being confident. People become over-confident, and it seems they become unstoppable. Some players like to be over confident. Alex Ovechkin is unstoppable right now in the NHL. Alex is a force and his shot is lethal! Ovechkin’s confidence is through the roof and he isn’t afraid to show it. Alex is by far the most exciting player to watch in the NHL. Every play he’s involved with is a scoring chance. With his over confidence I think soon he will run out of gas. Ovechkin can’t keep up this insane pace, and eventually he will slow down and become less valuable.
Before the 2010 winter olympics the press had predicted that the Team Canada was going to come out on top. On paper Team Canada had the strongest team. Canada’s second game against the Swiss team wasn’t what Canada wanted. The Swiss came out flying and played amazing defense and goaltending. Although Canada won the game in a shootout thanks to Sidney Crosby they weren’t happy with the overall game. In the previous winter olympics Canada had a similar game against Switzerland. The Swiss team blanked Canada 2-0 because of the overconfident team Canada. This year Team Canada will have to have heart, have determination, and have to have energy if they want to win gold in 2010.
My dad always tells me, “Boy, don’t be over confident, play hard every game, and try your best. If you have an attitude that your going to win without a challenge, you got another thing coming.” Thanks to my dad, I definitely try to stay focused and try to play the game without getting too “cocky.” I’ll admit it is a challenge staying humble when your on top but if you do you’ll come out a winner no matter what.
May 29
Dominic is a short, young boy, who has big dreams and the courage of a lion. Dominic loved climbing. The reason for his obsession of scaling walls came from his father’s love of the skill and the constant competition between Dom and his older brother Chris. Dominic valued and appreciated Chris’ experience and wisdom about climbing, but always felt like he had Chris’ shadow on him. Chris had always been a better mountaineer that Dom because Chris was taller and stronger. But, Dominic’s will to never give up gave him the greatest experience that he had ever known.
Dominic reminds me of myself, although I don’t have the courage that Gordon Korman describes Dominic with, I understand where he’s coming from. I have always been short in stature and I always have to put that second effort into everything because of my disadvantage. The pro about being short is that I can fit in smaller places and in Dominic’s case he gets out of some difficult situations because of his short stature. In the series of Everest Dominic decided to compete in a mountaineering competition. The top four competitors would eventually have the chance to summit the mighty Mount Everest. 
I’ve never experience quite an exciting competition, but every October hockey season starts and I decide to try out for the strongest team every year. I know most years I won’t make the better team but I put in the effort and try to be noticed by the scouts. Dominic did the same thing by taking every possible challenge. Dom wouldn’t sleep until he has figured out the puzzle. Another thing this author wrote about was that the people training and scouting Dom decided to give him a second chance to prove himself worthy. Dominic’s team captain Cap Cicero loved Dom’s determination and how quickly he got things done. I had to smile when I read this because that quality of getting things done thoroughly but quickly is something Dominic and I share. We are both asking what is next, what else can we do to help?
The characters in the Everest series are very comparable to the characters in the Harry Potter series. The main character is very determined to solve his problem. Whether it is finding and killing, the Dark Lord Voldemort or Summiting the most Deadly Mountain on Earth, Everest, Harry and Dominic share the passion to know the answers and will do anything to find them. Gordon Korman doesn’t use difficult words in he writings. Gordon Korman can describe places and people very well, but J.K. Rowling has the ability to set a scene in your head, while describing the characters and the place. I’ve read many books, but the Everest series are the best books for their situations. The books are easy to relate to because I enjoy physical activity and I can understand what Dominic is going through. I have read another Gordon Korman series called Island. The Island series isn’t as interesting as Everest because the events and situations aren’t as extreme as the one’s in Everest.
The Everest series reminds me of the troubles people have trying to achieve their goals. There are many obstacles in our ways to reach these goals and Dominic’s obstacle is his height and his age. The media attacked his climbing team and especially Dom. The media pressured the team to quit because of Dominic’s obstacles. The climbing team stuck together and continued the climb. Dominic had to meet many different people. It’s hard to meet new people if the people are ignorant and don’t care about anything except themselves. Dominic had to put up with one of the team members Tilt Crowley. Tilt was a tank and could climb twice as fast as Dom, but was very selfish, and he was jealous of Dominic. Dom was the youngest of the team and if he summited Everest he would obtain the title. Tilt couldn’t give up his title and decided to sabotage Dominic’s air tank. Gordon Korman describes the Mountain officials to be very uninvolved. In the real world there would be no way the officials would let a 13 year old boy climb Mount Everest with a 15 year old boy without a trained guide. It takes courage to climb over obstacles and when I play volleyball I go around the obstacle by playing a position that doesn’t require height. I don’t need to be big or tall, if I can make myself look big. To make myself big I needed practice to make my position easy to accomplish.
Dominic’s decisions in Everest change his perspective. Dominic’s journey to the top of the world changed his values, and beliefs about life. Dom started to appreciate the little things because of his disadvantages. Dominic fought though the tough journey and achieved his goal. The media pressured Dominic to fail and quit but with his determination nothing would get in his way.
May 28
The end of last January my dad returned home from the Canada west equipment dealers meeting and announced that he had tickets for the Oilers game coming up on February 4th against the Calgary flames. These weren’t just any tickets. At the meeting, my dad, along with another dealer from Camrose had bid on the right to the use of the number one skybox at Rexall place. Cal Nichols, the former CEO of the Oilers had generously donated the use of the skybox. The proceeds of the auction went to the education foundation for the Canada west equipment dealers association. Included in the package were tickets for several people plus $1000 worth of food and refreshments.
On February 4th my dad and his partners and several of their children including me drove to Edmonton for the game. When we arrived at the rink we got to park within meters of the stadium in the VIP parking lot and took the elevator up to the top skybox level. My cousin Ben and several of the people from Camrose were die hard Calgary fans so there was lots of friendly bickering before the game began. While we were waiting for the game to start my brothers and I wandered around the top of Rexall. Upstairs there is a dining hall, and 15 other skyboxes. On the lower level there are 39 smaller suites. Rexall place can hold over 17,000 people.
In the skybox there were photos of every Oilers team from the past. There was a bar and snacks put out before the game, there was also a TV so we could watch what else was happening in hockey that day. One thing I really liked was we had our own bathroom so we didn’t have to wait in line and miss much of the game. This was really appreciated by the adults who were drinking beer.
The first period started, and the Oil were off to a great start. The Oilers were playing a very physical game with the help of Curtis Glencross. There were two goals scored in the first. One by Fernando Pisani and one by Dustin Penner. There was also a fight between Dion Phaneuf and Ethan Moreau. During the first intermission supper was served. There was Boston pizza, hotdogs, wings, burgers, and other finger foods such as delicious Chinese dumplings. At the end of the second the score was 3-0 because Ales Hemsky scored.
Zack Stortini and Robyn Regehr fought as soon as the puck dropped in the third. It was a good tilt but Regehr had the upper hand. Halfway through the third Eric Godard bowled over Oilers goalie Mathieu Garon. Meanwhile, in his frustration with his team’s poor performance, Curtis Joseph skated the length of the ice to challenge Garon, but the linesmen interfered right away. The result was that Edmonton had a 7-minute powerplay. The Oilers capitalized on the powerplay twice. Once from Steve Staios and once from Sam Gagner. The final score was 5-0 Oilers
All together the night was awesome. Everyone enjoyed the experience, even the flames fans despite that humiliating loss. My favorite team shut out there biggest rivals. It was an intense game that we got to see in style thanks to the generosity of Cal Nichols. I couldn’t imagine a better experience. What a game! What a night!
May 27
Poetry can be displayed in many ways but the way my class displays it is on each of our blogs. We each have many assignments that involve poetry, and poems. One of the assignments is we have two write about one of our fellow students’ poem and we have to write about our own poem.
Dillon’s poem The Triple Decker, isn’t a serious poem, its quite humorous and I get a kick out of it every time I read eat. When I read his poem I am reminded of Homer Simpson and his obsession with fast food and junk food. I could just see homer bite into another artery clogger. Dillon uses great description and great detail, in this poem. He starts off the poem with a build up stanza;
And then, there it was
Shining in the magnificent sunlight
Leaving everyone in shock
It seemed to be to good to be true
It was the all new, exclusive, expensive
Triple Decker Cheeseburger
His last line of the stanza can really catch someone off guard which is pretty funny.
My favorite poem I created was the poem I Have Rage. I don’t really have rage, but when I saw the images in my head I surprised myself. I found words and phrases that I wouldn’t have used if I didn’t do such a random exercise. The stanza that really jumped out at me was the last one. It has a question at the end of it which really makes you think.
There is so much pain
People are oblivious
My life is peaceful
But yours may not
May 27
In the time of Caesar, there were two types of people. There were the Epicurean people, who believed in material, and thought that the things we see today were here from a long time ago. The Epicureans were optimistic, they were very positive and loved life.
The Epicureans thought that the reason there were structures and buildings, rocks, and mountains is because things collide with each other and they connect.A good example is Lego blocks, they are always Lego blocks but you can make unlimited shapes and structures. Another thing the Epicureans thought was that they were all made up of molecules, and they loved to make their molecules excited with alcohol, parties, parades, and many other things that would excite their molecules. One of the big events that the Epicureans like to celebrate it the Feast of Lupercal. This feast included young men to run naked in the streets of Rome and lash girls that were old enough to bear a child with goat skin. The Epicurean girls loved this ceremony not just because it excited there molecules but because it supposedly helped their fertility. Caesar was an Epicurean and he believed in chance and change, he didn’t believe in a god, and he thought that his soul was not immortal.
The second type of people were the Stoics. The Stoics were simple people who believed in god or gods. The Stoics believed that everything came from something, that everything was created. The Stoics were not partiers like the Epicurean’s, and they knew why there felt good, or felt sad, unlike the molecule crazy Epicureans. Pompey was the main Stoic leader. He thought there must be a reason for origin. The reason for origin was god. The Stoics also believe that man has an immortal soul, but man has no free will. A majority of the Stoics were pessimist, there were very negative, they didn’t like having fun. The focus question I used was, “What do optimistic and pessimistic mean? How do they apply to one’s view of life?”
There is four questions that each of these people ask, and they are;
Can something come from nothing?
Does God exist?
Do we have immortal souls?
Do we have free will?
May 20
A long, long time ago, actually only four years ago, I got my iPod 30 gb. At that time it was $290, which was pretty cheap for a 30 gb. My iPod was a white video iPod. I have over 1100 songs on it and over 40 videos. It is a great gadget to use. I use it on long road trips, when I’m working out and when I bored. I also have a FM transmitter so I can listen to my iPod in my truck.
I use the words long long time ago because this technology is so old compared to the new gadgets people have today. On the new iPods you can play unlimited games, watch unlimited movies and search the web in a matter of seconds. Some iPods don’t even need headphones. My iPod is pretty basic. It has four games which are; Parachute, Solitaire, Brick, and Music Trivia. The new iPods have motion sensors, which allow you to play all kinds of games and the sensor will even help you to level shelves.
Technology has change so much thought these past five years. Most of all electronic media players and cell phones can be hooked up to bluetooth audio. My family car can connect to my mom and dad’s phones with them touching a button. All I have to do if I want to listen to my music is press one button on the steering wheel and say, “Play, The Day That Never Comes,” and the car will respond with, “Playing track, The Day that Never Comes, by Metallica.” It is so awesome and convenient.
Most of the kids my age have a cell phone, only a few in my class don’t have one. I’m sure if I did have a cell phone I’d write about how easy it is to talk to friends but if I need to talk to them I’ll go on facebook. My iPod isn’t the best piece of technology every made but it is sure nice to have on those long trips. An iPod is one of the best pieces of technology, with its flexibility and compatibility with everything. I chose the focus question, What are our most significant technological achievements?
May 14
On October 5th, 2006, writer and actor Will Ferrell and producer Adam Mckay released Talladea Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. The Film is one hour and forty minutes. This movie is considered a Comedy and is rated PG-13. The main cast includes;
Ricky Bobby: Will Ferrell
Cal Naughton Jr.: John C. Reilly
Jean Girard: Sacha Baron Cohen
Ever since Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) was a little boy he always wanted to go fast. In a matter of minutes Ricky went from being a pit boy to a professional NASCAR racer. The sensation of Ricky driving made him the best in the sport and he could win with the help of his best bud, Cal Naughton Jr . Ricky and his best friend Cal Naughton Jr. (John C. Reilly) pull some of the strangest tactics in the NASCAR world; one of there move was called the slingshot. The two hot shots would win 1st and 2nd with the famous move every race. They had a famous hand shake; they called it, “Shake and Bake.” One of the quotes the two stated was, “If you smell a delicious, crispy smell after the race, it’s not your tailpipe. It’s just a little of Shake…and Bake!”
Ricky is challenged by a homosexual, french Formula One racer, Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen) who threatens to steal his title. All Ricky had to get Jean to leave America and go back to French Land was say, “I love crepes”. Ricky had to much American pride to say it and Jean broken Ricky’s arm. Ricky was too cocky to give up and decided to race. This brings me to my focus question “What moves us to action?,” because of Ricky’s cocky American spirit he wouldn’t give up, he wanted to win. With a broken arm Ricky lost the race and was banned from NASCAR. With the help mom and his two young sons Walker, and Texas Ranger(T.R. for short) Ricky found a way back into NASCAR. (Get his balls back)
This movie is one of the greatest Sports comedies I ever seen. From the same crew that wrote “40-Year Old Virgin” and “Anchorman”. If your looking a laugh watch Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
“Best Movie Ever Made” Quote-Ricky Bobby
May 06
May 05
He was trapped
He was lost
How could he find his way
Nobody in site
It was dark
Unusually dark for 3 p.m.
All he sees is trunks
Brush and thickets at his feet
His heart pumping
His hands shaking
His mind racing
This place looked familiar somehow
The shapes and shades
The scenery was similar
He knew he wasn’t dreaming
The sounds were very clear
The smell was good
Butter in the air
He wasn’t lost
He was watching it
He could hear whispers
Loud music in the background
He was still searching
Searching for something
The screen
The big screen
He had popcorn in his hand
A Pepsi in the other
