Big Question

I would like to know one of two things. The first is, how does the human brain store memory and how does it work. The second would be, how does a black hole work, how can something as small as a piece of dust, destroy a planet and everything around it.

Vocabulary: Fall List #10

Pedagogue: a strict teacher

Cavernous : vast in shape or atmosphere, cave

Coquettish: flirtatious women

Tête-à-tête: confidential   

Suffice: sufficient 

Amorous: in love

Vocabulary: Fall List #8

Flout: Openly disregard (a rule, law or convention)

Caveat: A warning or proviso of specific stipulations, conditions, or limitations.

Blazon: Display prominently or vividly.

filch: Pilfer or steal (something, esp. a thing of small value) in a casual way

fractious: Easily irritated; bad-tempered

Equitable: Fair and impartial

autonomy: A self-governing country or region

addendum: An item of additional material, typically omissions, added at the end of a book or other publication.

Amnesty: An official pardon for people who have been convicted of political offenses.

Axiomatic: Self-evident or unquestionable.

Extricate: Free (someone or something) from a constraint or difficulty.

Soporific: Tending to induce drowsiness or sleep.

Scathing: Witheringly scornful; severely critical

Unwieldy Difficult to carry or move because of its size, shape, or weight

Vapid: Offering nothing that is stimulating or challenging

Prognosticate: Foretell or prophesy.

Sepulchral: Of or relating to a tomb or interment

Salutary: Producing good effects; beneficial.

Straitlaced: priggish: exaggeratedly proper

Scourge: A whip used as an instrument of punishment

Precept: A general rule intended to regulate behavior or thought

Transient: Lasting only for a short time; impermanent

Vocabulary: Fall List #7

ad infinitum- endless.

bona fide- authentic

buoyant- not easily depressed; cheerful

clique- a small exclusive group of people

concede- to acknowledge as true

congenial- agreeable, suitable, or pleasing in nature or character

 lofty- extending high in the air; of imposing height; towering

migration- the movement of persons from one country or locality to another.

perceive- Become aware or conscious of (something); come to realize or understand.

 perverse- Showing a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable

 prelude- An action or event serving as an introduction to something more important.

 rancid- Smelling or tasting unpleasant as a result of being old and stale.

 rustic- Having a simplicity and charm that is considered typical of the countryside.

sever- Divide by cutting or slicing, esp. suddenly and forcibly.

sordid- Involving ignoble actions and motives; arousing moral distaste and contempt.

untenable- Not able to be maintained or defended against attack or objection

versatile- Able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities

vindicate- Show or prove to be right, reasonable, or justified..

wane- Have a progressively smaller part of its visible surface illuminated, so that it appears to decrease in size.

 contemporary - A person or thing living or existing at the same time as another.

predominate- Be the strongest or main element; be greater in number or amount

transcendent- Beyond or above the range of normal or merely physical human experience

benefactor- A person who gives money or other help to a person or cause.

conformity- Compliance with standards, rules, or laws

aversion- A strong dislike or disinclination

suffrage- The right to vote in political elections; A series of intercessory prayers or petitions

inaudible- Unable to be heard.

Thoreau's Walden In Class Notes

First Paragraph

• He went to the woods to live a simple life and see what he would learn from it
• Wanted to discover his purpose in life
• Wanted to live life the way it was meant to be lived without distractions because life is precious.
• Wanted to make the best out of his life
• To live life with the basic essentials
• Experience all the right of things and really understand them
• He expects to be enlightened
• Nobody knows the purpose of their life

Second Paragraph

• We walk blindly but together, wanting to stay strong.
• As our fable(life) went on we grew stronger and smarter
• We try to be "bigger" people to get a better view of life
• It's mistake after mistake no matter what method we try

LAQ'S #1

General

    1. The plot of "Cruise Control" is about a boy named Paul who is in high school and he has a bad temper but he is one of the best if not the best athlete at his school. His brother, Shawn on the other hand is not so fortunate. He is mentally disabled, in a wheel chair,can't do anything on his own and he has seizures that get worse and worse and on top of that, his father left them when they were about 5 years old. Throughout the story he has to go through the mental torment of seeing his father coming to his home every once in a while to try and make things better but Paul wants nothing to do with it

    2. The theme of this story is that no matter how bad things are right now, you have to find the will to get through it and keep on moving forward.

    3. The author's tone is both fearful and hatred. One example that shows fearfulness is when Paul having a terrible seizure with drool all over, he calls his mom because Paul sees that Shawn's face is purple and he is afraid to lose his brother. Another example is when Paul starts to think about collage and starts to realize that he may not be able to go to collage because he has to stay and take care of his brother. One example of hatred is when Paul realizes that he can't go to collage because of his father, if his father wouldn't have left them, he would be able to go to collage while his dad takes care of Shawn.

    4.
         1. Direct characterization/ "My only brother is a veg. Yep, a full-fledged, drooling, fourteen-year-old idiot."
         2. Mood/ "Like i said, I've got a bad temper. It's so bad, it makes me sick sometimes."
         3. Conflict/ "When i pull up to our house, my dad's car is here. Damn! I consider rolling right on by, killing time until he leaves..."
         4. Third person/ "I pull up to my regular parking spot and cut the engine."
         5.
         6.
         7.
         8.
         9.
        10.

Characterization

    1. :Direct characterization/ "My only brother is a veg. Yep, a full-fledged, drooling, fourteen-year-old idiot."
       :Direct characterization/ "My name is Paul, but don't call me Pauly. I mean never."
    2. The author uses diction when he is talking about Paul and when Paul speaks. A lot of it is exaggerated
    3. Paul is a static character because he doesn't change much
    4. When i finished the book i felt like i knew Paul very well, i felt alot of emotion, and i felt what Paul would feel in the situations he was in

A Dream Within A Dream

In the first paragraph i think man is talking about how he is kissing his loved one (maybe a girlfriend) goodbye and he is saying that he didn't leave because of her, he left because of himself. On the second paragraph the man is crying and regretting his disition about leaving her.

Vocabulary: Fall List #6

Adroit: skillful/ It wasn't as adroit as last week's best-ever episode, but it was a solid follow up.

 Amicable: characterized by or showing goodwill; friendly/ Contrary to other meetings you may have experienced recently, ours will be amicable.

 Averse: having a strong feeling of opposition/ He's remarkably averse to conflict, pruning the toxic people from his life

 Belligerent: of warlike character/ Have students discuss whether it is reasonable to disarm a former enemy belligerent.

 Benevolent: characterized by or expressing goodwill or kindly feelings/ When things go swimmingly, few people seem to mind being run by benevolent autocrats.

 Cursory: going rapidly over something, without noticing details/ And even a cursory look at his gallery of work makes its stealth and subversiveness abundantly clear.

 Duplicity: deceitfulness in speech or conduct/ Its pattern of duplicity extended into the instant proceeding.

 Extol: to praise highly/ Occidentalists extol soul or spirit but despise intellectuals and intellectual life.

 Feasible: capable of being done/ Labour rates must be at financially feasible levels.

 Grimace: a facial expression, often ugly or contorted, that indicates disapproval, pain, etc./ The intensity of his concentration was clear in his grimace.

 Holocaust: a great or complete devastation or destruction, especially by fire./ Many people lost their lives in a holocaust.

 Impervious: not permitting penetration or passage/ Sam did not feel the punches or kicks, completely impervious to pain.

 Impetus: a moving force; impulse; stimulus/ Creating more time is the impetus behind many new technologies that allow listeners to pick up the pace.

 Jeopardy: hazard or risk of or exposure to loss, harm, death, or injury/ For a moment his life was in jeopardy.

 Meticulous: taking or showing extreme care about minute details/ A meticulous craftsman; meticulous personal appearance.

 Nostalgia: a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life/ As you can imagine, the combined might of the property's legacy and personal nostalgia tends to complicate matters significantly.

 Quintessence: the most perfect embodiment of something./ The formulation of harmonic quintessence and a fundamental energy equivalence equation.

 Retrogress: to go backward into an earlier and usually worse condition/Fluctuations can cause cut-off date movement to slow, stop, or even retrogress.

 Scrutinize: to examine in detail with careful or critical attention./ Consumers are advised to closely scrutinize any lock agreement and ask their mortgage company to explain the terms of the lock.

 Tepid: moderately warm/ The reception is familiar: tepid applause from an audience that seems resigned rather than enthusiastic.

Journal September 12, 2012

            While i was writing the essay, I noticed that i had to think a lot more as i went on because i didn't finish the story. For me I didn't think that it was impossible but it was challenging because I didn't have as much information as someone who finished reading the story and i had to stretch some things out. What i learned from this that I will use later on in school and in life is to always be prepared to work on an assignment no matter what it may be because if you are not prepared, your work will suffer for it.

Vocabulary: Fall List #4

Melancholy: Sadness or depression of the spirits; gloomy/ He had no formal education, and suffered from depression and melancholy all his life.

Exemplary: Worthy of imitation; commendable/The quality has varied, form exemplary to star-chamber.

Peculiar: Strange; uncommon; odd; unusual/ They promise an unprecedented look at the history of these peculiar structures in both birds and non-avian dinosaurs.

Dread: To fear greatly/ I dreaded the thought of being dead.

Bough: A branch of a tree/ The hummingbird feeder hanged form its lowest bough.

Pious: Having or showing a dutiful spirit of reverence for God or and earnest wish to fulfill religious obligations/ Twain was righteous without being pious, and angry for all the right reasons and funny in all the right ways.

Communion: A group of persons having a common religious faith/ The whole communion got together to search for the meteor the crash landed.

Auditor: A person appointed and authorized to examine accounts and accounting records/ When an auditor departs, the investors deserve to know why.

Multitude: A great number of people gathered together/ A multitude of people gathered around the boy who had talent.

Eloquence: The practice or art of using language with fluency and aptness/ His word are remembered for their eloquence and honestly and his actions reflect the strength of his convictions.

Despair: Loss of hope/ The man felt a when he lost his family.

Hoary: Gray or white with age/ The tips of many hairs are white, giving and overall frosted, hoary appearance.

Vocabulary: Fall List #3

1. Encomium:  Glowing and warmly enthusiastic praise/ Bruce Lee was encomiumed for the way he thought and the way he fought.

2. Coherent:  Having clarity or intelligibility/ He proposed the most coherent plan to improve the schools.

3. Belabor:  To attack verbally, to explain or insist on excessively/ Her habit of belaboring the obvious makes her a very boring speaker.

4. Eschew:  To avoid habitually especially on moral or practical grounds/ They now eschew the violence of their past.

5. Acquisitive: Strongly desirous of acquiring and possessing/ Acquisitive developers are trying to tear down the historic home and build a shopping mall.

6. Emulate: To strive to equal or excel/ She grew up emulating her sports heros.

7. Arrogate: To claim or seize without justification/ They’ve arrogated to themselves the power to change the rules arbitrarily.

8. Banal: Lacking originality/ He made some banal remarks about the weather.

9. Excoriation: To wear off the skin of/ He was excoriated as a racist.

10. Congeal: To change from a fluid to a solid state by or as if by cold/ The gravy began to congeal in the pan.

11. Carping: Marked by or inclined to querulous and often perverse criticism/ I was carped by many people.

12. Substantiate: To establish by proof or competent evidence/ Mr. MacGregor couldn’t substantiate that it was Peter, and not some other rabbit.

13. Temporize: To act to suit the time or occasion: yield to current or dominant opinion/ Pressured by voters on both sides of the issue, the congressmen temporized.

14. Largesse: Liberal giving (as of money) to or as if to an inferior/ He relied on the largesse of friends after he lost his job.

15. Tenable: Capable of being held, maintained, or defended/ The soldiers’ encampment on the open plain was not tenable, so they retreated to higher ground.

16. Insatiable: Incapable of being satisfied/ Her desire for knowledge was insatiable.

17. Reconnaissance: A preliminary survey to gain information; especially: an exploratory military survey of enemy territory/ There are two helicopters available for reconnaissance.

18. Germane: Being at once relevant and appropriate/ My personal opinion isn’t germane to our discussion of the facts of the case.

19. Ramify: To split up into branches or constituent parts/ The rise of cable television ramified the audience.

20. Intransigent: Characterized by refusal to compromise or to abandon an extreme position or attitude/ He has remained intransigent in his opposition to the proposal.

21. Taciturn: Temperamentally disinclined to talk/ A somewhat taciturn young man.

22. Invidious: Tending to cause discontent, animosity, or envy/ The boss made invidious distinctions between employees.

VOCABULARY: FALL LIST #2

 1. Intercede: To plead on another's behalf.
 2. Hackneyed:  Used so often as to be trite, dull, and stereotyped.

 3. Approbation: An expression of warm approval; praise.
 4. Innuendo: An indirect or subtle, usually derogatory implication in expression; an insinuation.
 5. Coalition: An alliance, especially a temporary one, of people, factions, parties, or nations.
 6. Elicit: To bring or draw out (something latent); educe.
 7. Hiatus: A gap or interruption in space, time, or continuity; a break.
 8. Assuage:  To make (something burdensome or painful) less intense or severe.
 9. Decadence:  A process, condition, or period of deterioration or decline, as in morals or art; decay.
 10. Expostulate: To reason earnestly with someone in an effort to dissuade or correct; remonstrate.
 11. Simulate: To have or take on the appearance, form, or sound of; imitate.
 12. Jaded: Worn out; wearied
 13. Umbrage: Offense; resentment
 14. Prerogative: An exclusive right or privilege held by a person or group, especially a hereditary or official right.
 15. Lurid: Causing shock or horror; gruesome.
 16. Transcend: To pass beyond the limits of.
 17. Provincial: Of or characteristic of people from the provinces; not fashionable or sophisticated.
 18. Petulant:  Unreasonably irritable or ill-tempered; peevish.
 19. Unctuous:  Characterized by affected, exaggerated, or insincere earnestness.

 20. Meritorious: Deserving reward or praise; having merit.

Young Goodman Brown Questions

·        When the author wrote, "Then God bless youe!" said Faith, with the pink ribbons..." why did the author just write only about those pink ribbons at that time, do they indicate how beautiful she is, are they a symbol for the chief's wife or are they just a fashion statement. 

·        Why is the chief, her wife and possibly the rest of the village so obsessed with angels, demons, spirits, and other things like that? They talk about them a lot.  Did they ever encounter a supernatural phenomenon before, or where they told about the supernatural by their ancestors and now believe what they believed.

·         Who was the traveler, who were his family members, what was his past like.

Vocab Quiz

     Some of my reasons for taking this course are to burgeon my English skills and to obtain more information. I adumbrate that this school year will be difficult but i need to be more ascetic about school and my academic life. Another reason I chose this course was to see how helpful is this new blog work going to workout. To try out this new way of presenting my material.
   
     This year I am excited about beguiling on the blog because I have never used or had a blog before and it seems like fun.  And I want to complement people on their blogs.  I am nervous of being bauble to others, my goal this year is to not be contumacious.
   
     Throughout this course I want to be didactic by my instructor and to expand my knowledge beyond what I already know, and to help out the kids that are curmudgen.