quintissence...maybelline "great lash"

we have to describe a "quintissential" item...meaning the epitome of that item, and i chose mascara because everyone knows there is only one mascara that stands above all, and that's maybelline's great lash.

if you're looking for the quintissential mascara, and i know all you guys are, i would have to say to go with maybelline great lash. know for it's neon great cover and hot, yet soft pink bottle color with pitch black "GREAT LASH" letters written across the bottle, maybelline's great lash was the first modern mascara ever made, created in 1913 by a chemist named t.l. williams for his sister mabel. he worked for maybelline. it was, and still is made from coal dust mixed with vaseline petroleum jelly. the first mascara ever made in this world was developed in the 19th century by eugene rimmel, and in france and italy, people still call mascara "rimmel" after the person who came up with the idea. maybelline's great lash is also known for it's huge success, making the thinnest eyelashes into thick, long, beautiful lashes full of life--i would know from experience. there are never any clumps or blobs left on your eyelash, sticking out like a fly, but the perfect brush with the perfect formula gets smoothly applied every time, even if the applier isn't very experienced. the mascara not only says that it's the quintissential mascara, being named "great lash" or seeing how it was the first modern mascara and it's still around, it shows accurate, consistent results. and this is why maybelline great lash mascara really is the most quintissential of all.

that's all...em...♥

it had to stop somewhere...

so, i kept up my character analyzing, and i'm glad i did, because i feel that in many ways, every character kind of stopped growing in exodus. or, more than in the previous books anyways...

ORLEANNA-she was someone i really admired and looked up to, and she still is in exodus. even though sometimes she seems not as strong as before, i think it took a lot of courage and faith to leave nathan to kinda of start over. i see growth because now i feel that she's doing what she wants to do, which shows that shes a strong enough person to do what she wants now, not just what nathan wants her to do. i give her major props for doing this.

RACHEL-this book made me hate rachel even more. i think she's spoiled and conceited. she thinks the world revolves around her, and it doesn't. i really didn't appreciate what she said about leah's children. i mean, they're her nephews for crying out loud. and all she says about them is that she doesn't know how leah can love them if they're half black. that is so, so rude to me. i really don't like that she would say something like that--especially about her little sister. she's very immature and i don't think she should be so successful.

LEAH-leah disappointed me this book. she's the one i've seen constant growth in throughout the whole entire book, and this book, i didn't feel nearly half the amount of growth that i've been feeling from her. like brent said, i really feel that her passages were repetitive. i'm very glad her and anatole are happy together with four sons, but i don't really see her learning things any more. and now she has this kind of lost feeling because she lives in africa and she's pretty much the only white one there. i feel that she belonged better when she was in the congo with her family. it really disappointed me...

ADAH-adah somewhat disappointed me in this book, too. like i said in class, i'm very happy that she found a way to fix her limp and is very successful in life. i'm glad she's happy about fixing her physical disability, too. but, at one point, she mentions how along with losing her physical disability, she's lost her "ada" or palindrome-ness. and, this makes me really sad, and somewhat makes me think that all this growth she's gone through during the story and even before it has been for nothing. this is how i always thought of adah. she was always the genius with cool palindromes and she always kept me guessing. i couldn't wait to hear what she would say about a certain situation because i love how she looks at things. but, this book she lost that, and that makes me sad.

that's it...can't wait to see what happens next book...
em...♥

even more growth?

for the bel and the serpent, i did more character analyzing. so here it is:

ORLEANNA-she's such a strong person, mother, and wife. it's tough to lose a child, especially since ruth may was her baby. i think she handled her death in the most impressive way any mother could. personally, i don't know how i would have lived if that happened to me. she kept herself very contained and she didn't complain or make anyone feel sorry for her, and that gives me a lot of respect for her--even more than i had before. she didn't deserve this, and she proved that.

NATHAN-i still don't like nathan that much. but, after i was informed that nathan was planning to baptize ruth may with the congolese children, i felt a little bad for him. ruth may's his baby too, and he was going to baptize her with the congolese children and he had the best intentions for that. even though he doesn't get that the congolese people don't really want him there, he still tries so hard to win them over, so i have to give him at least some credit, right?

RACHEL-she's still wanting so hard to go home, and i don't blame her. their situation isn't exactly the brightest situation, but the other members of the family have learned to make the most of it, and rachel's the only one who hasn't. and since she hasn't, she kind of deserves to be the most unhappy one. i mean, that sounds bad, but since she looks at the situation negatively, she should be the one that gets the negativity, right? maybe not, but i believe in karma and bachi, so she kind of asked for it by not making an effort to be optimistic.

LEAH-she's still growing and growing to me. every book, she gets more and more wise and successful. she knows how to get along in the congo. she knows what to do in certain situations when other people wouldn't know what to do. she really thinks about things a lot, especially about adah and everything that has happened. i like leah and leah more and more each and every book just because she keeps growing and learning...and, teaching. she teaches the reader things, she teaches the congolese things, and she teaches her family things. she's a natural teacher.

ADAH-she's still so wise and practical. she may be disabled, but she's one of my favorite characters because of what she makes of the situations handed to her. she makes decisions that nobody else would make, because she's so smart. everything has a funny way of working out for adah, but this is kind of a karma and bachi thing, too. because adah's the one who deserves the best luck out of everyone. she's asks for it, and cleverly asks for it. she knows what she's doing, and everyone else knows it.

RUTH MAY-ruth may dying caught me off guard. i mean, i had a feeling someone was going to die in this book, but the person being ruth may didn't really make sense to me, to be exact...i mean, she's the only one who gives the reader straight out facts. and, those are vital to the story. nobody else gives the reader the facts straight out. they all are old enough to have their own opinions and stick to them. they don't agree with both their parents and they don't point things so flat out and bluntly. i liked ruth may. and, she somewhat seemed the most genuine to me. she wasn't afraid to talk to the congolese children in the beginning, when everyone else was. she wasn't afraid to play with them. or bluntly state how fat their stomachs were. she was so innocent and willing. so young.

okay, more later.
em...♥

procrastination's a bitch

so, today in class, mr. watson asked the class how many of us felt behind on our blog entries this cycle, and many people raised their hands, including me. when i think about it, i forgot about one of them, but the other two i was just waiting until 11.30 tonight to start them. and, our blogs entries are due at midnight tonight. haha...

and, when i think about it, i procrastinated and it's supposed to end up teaching me a lesson because i'm supposed to stress out because i have no more time. but really, this is my only homework tonight because i did the rest at school today. so, procrastinating wasn't that bad in this situation, but it would have been pretty freaking cool if i had absolutely no homework tonight, right? but, that can't be fixed now, 'cause it's in the past.

so, i'm just about the world's best procrastinator ever...and i mean ever. so, this is what i do. i do my easy homework at school. the math and asian homework, sometimes reading poisonwood bible. and, i don't so this at school because i'm a good student, i do this at school so i won't have to take home the books! haha...plus, i don't have a math book so i can't it at home. oh, and asian is my 7.30 class and math is my 8.30 class. so, i never have a chance to do that homework before the class on the day it's due.

now english on the other hand...i'm not so hot at english, and it takes some thinking. you don't just copy a problem and punch some numbers into a calculator then get the answer...or read a passage in the asian binder and answer questions the text can answer for you. no, english actually has some genuine thinking involved...which isn't my favorite thing in the world, 'cause i'm actually quite a lazy ass person!

so, i procrastinate. and, basically, i shouldn't, but i do. it's hurt me before, but i always end up fixing it somehow...i don't know how, so don't ask me, but it always ends up okay for me.

...which indirectly sucks because i know it will come back and bite me right in the ass one day...damn
em...♥

essay...again

so, we had to do another sat practice essay...and it was about moral choices and social issues.

most of our schools are not facing up to their responsibilities. we must begin to ask ourselves whether educators should help students address the critical moral choices and social issues of our time. schools have responsibilities beyond training people for jobs and getting students into college.
-svi shapiro

should schools help students understand the moral choices and social issues?

yes, i think that schools should help students understand moral choices and social issues. they shouldn't decide the choices we make, but they should show both sides of every situation, and then let the students decide for themselves.

for example, sex, drugs, and alcohol are all big choices that students face these days. i don't think the school should say, "go out and do all these things!" but i don't think the school should say, "don't do these things!" students are old enough to make their own decisions, and i'm sorry mentors (including parents) but, no matter how much you tell your student not to do something, there's a good chance they will anyway. so, your best bet is to give them all the options.

i work for a health center, and we put on plays about smoking tobacco and sex for various middle schools and high schools. in both plays we give the audience (which is always students) all the options. in the play about sex we show them two situations: one couple choosing to be abstinent, and another couple having unprotected sex. we show how nothing happens if you're abstinent, and we also show what can happen if you have unprotected sex. we say that nothing can happen, which is true, but we show the girl getting pregnant and getting an std because her boyfriend has been cheating on her. so then we talk about all the contraception methods you can use-including abstinence. we also give the options if you're pregnant: parenting, adoption, or abortion. we let the audience know that this doesn't always happen, but it can, and we just want them to know all the options and want them to take their decisions for themselves and by themselves.

this is what we should do in school. we can encourage a certain one (my health center encourages abstinence and condom use) but we should definitely give all the options and consequences so students know the situation. after the educating, the ultimate decision should be up to the student. and if the student ends up in a bad situation, at least they'll know what to do because they learned correctly about it. but, the educators should always be willing to help, too.

so, yes, i do think schools should help students understand moral choices and social issues. they shouldn't make their decisions for them, but they should give them all the options. we have to remember that no matter what, students will do what they do. but, if they're educated, at least they'll know everything about the situation. and then they might even become more comfortable talking to people about it. and the more you talk to people, the more you learn.

okay! there you go!
em...♥

more growth?

so, here's my lit. circle post for this cycle: more about the growth of the characters.

NATHAN-he seems to not be growing at all. he's still set on his stubborn idea to help the congolese people even though they obviously don't want his help. i do see him caring a little for his family when he helps rachel out of the marriage situation, though. and i appreciate that, because if he had just sat back and watched what happened with rachel and tata ndu, i would have been very disappointed as him being a father.

ORLEANNA-i think that she hasn't necessarily grown throughout this book, but unlike nathan's case, it's not a bad thing. i don't think orleanna really needs as much growth as some of the other characters. she continues to be a good mother and loyal wife, even though she could have a much better life without nathan. she pulls through for everyone, even when she's not feeling well. and she teaches all her daughters useful information-from practical to motherly.

RACHEL-i still see hardly any growth in rachel. but, in this book you do start feeling bad for her because of her situation. being the oldest daughter, she's expected to take care of the other daughters and is asked to marry tat ndu. and, she doesn't handle the situation in the best way possible, but she handles it all right. she should always be taking care of her younger sisters, but since she doesn't, to change completely because her mother's sick is quite a task to fulfill. and, she does it. which makes me have a little more respect for her. but, i'd like to see a little more growth from rachel

LEAH-i am still seeing growth in leah. i love seeing growth in her character because fascinating to see her straying from nathan a little more each book. she's now teaching the boys anatole teaches, and even though they don't give her their full attention, she keeps teaching them. she's constantly asking people (but mostly anatole) questions, which makes her smarter and smarter as each day goes by. the end is the part i see the most growth in her, though. during the awful night (the night of the ants) she realizes she's left adah behind. and there she goes again thinking about if she'd left adah behind before.

ADAH-to me, adah is constantly growing. she's so smart and she just learns from everything. she could be the most suicidal person in the world, and people would give her special attention because of her disability, but she doesn't do that. she does things for herself, and she makes her own decisions (like choosing not to talk--not not being able to talk). she's a very wise girl, and many people know that.

RUTH MAY-i didn't see much growth in ruth may this book, but that's because ruth may hardly says anything in this book. she stays sick pretty much the whole book. and in the ladder part of the book, we find out why she's sick. since she has hidden all her malaria pills and not been taking them, it shows how young and immature ruth may really is. she didn't take them simply because she didn't like them. it's a very childish explanation. if she had known she would have gotten sick, her mind set might have changed, and she might have taken all her pills. but, we really never know.

okay, that's it for now.
em...♥

parallels

so, we watched this movie the mosquito cost (i think that's what it was called) and had to draw parallels between that movie and pwb (poisonwood bible). so here they are:

*both families trying to help people of a completely different race in a far away place

*both families the father was behind the main idea

*both families had twins (lame, but still a parallel)

*both families were trying very hard to stick it out because the father wanted to stay

*both fathers make wrong decisions

*both fathers seem to care more about their mission than their family

*both fathers become more and more hated as the story goes on

*both stories have a local man helping the family along the way (mr. hattie and anatole/nelson)

that's about all i can think of right now, but i think there will be more after we finish pwb, yes?
em...♥