I was in class and all my assignments are complete. I have done the descriptive writing, current issues, and the movie reviews of "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Twilight". Its 12.06 Pm on Monday May 11, 2009

Twilight Movie Review

Based on the book with the same title by Stephenie Meyer, Twilight tells the story of 17-year-old Bella Swan who moves to the small town of Forks, Washington to live with her father, and becomes drawn to Edward Cullen, a pale, mysterious classmate who seems determined to push her away. But neither can deny the attraction that pulls them together...even when Edward confides that he and his family are vampires. Their unorthodox romance puts her in physical danger when Edward's nemesis comes to town and sets his sights on Bella.

When Bella shows up for her first day at school, she's instantly and mutually attracted to a strangely handsome boy, Edward Cullen, in a mad crush at first sight encounter. Edward is part of the peculiar, outcast Cullen clan of sibling foster kids who occupy a separate nook of the school cafeteria, and seem to be shockingly dating each other. Infatuation soon turns to obsession, and eventually Bella figures out that Edward is a descendant of the undead.

I enjoyed watching the movie but I have to admit, not for the muscularly-inclined, that "macho-esque" thinking. Its basically the movie Blade spiffed up to appeal to the new generation which they termed "tweens." In other words, think horror without the horror and with romance. Its very popular, proven by the gross amount it has made in the movie box office and they have started shooting the sequeal, I'm just not into watching these kind of movies. I'm missing all the gore and the suspense. It is about vampires after all. One upside is that the baseball scenes were quite amusing.

Slumdog Millionarie Movie Review

Slumdog Millionaire is about Jamal, an 18-year-old Indian orphan who has spent his life scavenging on the streets, lands as a contestant on the Hindi version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and he wins big, 20 million rupees big.

Growing up in the slums of India, he grows up to be a "chaiwalla" or teaboy at a call center in downtown Mumbai. He then gets the chance to be a contestant in the Hindi version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and wins. A framing device has Jamal being interrogated by Mumbai cops who want him to confess how he won the show, believing that he cheated. To let us know how he won, the film keeps flashing back from Jamal's stint on Millionaire to scenes of his life growing up.

Orphaned during a riot, where his mother got killed, the young Jamal skips around India with his older brother, Salim, the two boys scrambling to survive in a bustling, hothouse landscape of exploitative treachery. They're detained, along with a bunch of other orphans, by a vile crook who doesn't just use them as beggars; he likes to blind his orphans by pouring boiling liquid into their eyes, because then they'll earn more sympathy from passersby.

The two escape, along with a girl, Latika, whom Jamal falls for and keeps trying to rescue. But just as we're reeling from this close encounter with evil, the movie reveals its true, happy design: This episode, and others like it, provides Jamal with the precise piece of information — in this case, a song title — he'll draw on, years later, to answer the questions on Millionaire. The inventor of the revolver, the figure on a $100 bill (he learns that one while scamming U.S. tourists at the Taj Mahal)— all the knowledge he'll need is offered by his life of hardship.

At the end, Jamal is able to convince the police that he didn't cheat and is able to keep his winnings, all 20 million rupees, and even though they were separated, him and Latika get together once again to put the finishing touches to a very well-made and enjoyable movie. It portrays the underdog achieving greatness when all odds are against them.

swine flu - nothing to do with swines

The current event that I want to talk about is the global pandemic that has everyone in the midst of chaos- Swine Flu.

The confirmed cases by country:
Mexico - 99
United States - 115
Canada - 27
Spain - 13
United Kingdom - 8
New Zealand - 3
Germany - 3
Israel - 2
Costa Rica - 2
Switzerland - 1
Peru - 1
Austria - 1
Ireland - 1
Netherlands - 1

Basically what I want to talk about is the use of the term "swine flu." As many believe that it was caused by swine, it has been found that that wasn't the case. Though laboratory testing has shown similarities to flu viruses found in pigs, it is completely different. It is very contagious and has spread worldwide at a rapid rate. The first confirmed case was in Southern California, close to Mexico, where the outbreak is predominantly targeting. The CDC has renamed the virus as the Influenza A H1N1 virus. If you notice, when you click on the link to the information on the virus on the CDC website, it says www.cdc.gov/swineflu but then changes to www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu. It has been found that it had nothing to do with pigs and testing has proven that no pigs have been infected with the virus. Though it is a global pandemic that has caused severe sickness and now even deaths to those infected, it is socially right to be able to term something as such with the correct data. I think it is great that they have now renamed the virus but it will now forever be known as "swine flu."

Descriptive Writing

I like the saying that goes with this photo. I think that giving up doesn't always mean that you are weak. It tells something about the person when they are able to admit defeat. I think it tells people that you are you make mistakes, just like any other human, and are able to cope and move on. I think that if you are able to admit to yourself above others, then that's not giving up at all. It just says that you have the strength to admit short-comings and are strong enough to let go. Its more than what most people are capable of. Being true to yourself and your capabilities help you reveal to yourself what is "true" which only you can determine. I believe its trying to say that if its not meant to be, its just not meant to be. There are other things that you may succeed in and you have not just found it yet. Take the opportunity to open up your eyes, mind, and heart to new things and you might just find that one opportunity that you are looking for to finally say "I have achieved something!" Believe you can achieve greatness, one short-coming at a time. I live by this motto and that's why I chose this picture to depict what I believe it is. Though not your usual "descriptive writing," being able to put into words the thoughts is what I believe to be "descriptive."