Stiff: Section 1

I have started to read this book, Stiff for my ap bio class. We had a list of books to choose from to read for the assignment. There are four different papers we are supposed to write. The first three are splitting the book into thirds to read and the last one is an overall view. This is over the first section of the book that I read.

When I went to Barnes and Noble to pick out a book, I had a couple in mind. I had to ask the ladies there to help me find some of the books and they ended up finding Stiff and Survival of the Fittest. I talked a little bit with some of the ladies there that helped me to see what one would be better to read. One of the ladies told me that Stiff was quite funny and clever. She thought it would be more interesting to read, so that’s the book I went with.

As I first started reading the book Stiff, I did not expect it to be too exciting or funny. When I started to get more into the book, it became more and more interesting. The author did a very nice job of really putting her personality and humor into the reading. When she would describe different work with cadavers it was always her observations of what others did and how they felt about it. She herself would put her own experiences in there too, but it was not all just her own feelings she shared.

Cadavers were used as practice heads for students at school. These students would practice facial reconstruction like face lifts. Cadavers are great study bodies for students to learn from before they start working with people whose lives are in their hands. Back in older times when using cadavers was not really allowed, anatomists would either use the bodies of criminals that were put to death, or they dug up the graves of those that had died. This led to a business of grave robbing. People would dig up graves at night and sell them to anatomists for a good profit.

Another thing cadavers go through is being embalmed. This is also practiced in school, usually for the poorer people who can't afford it. Some scientist would use dead bodies to see how the body decays. They would set out bodies to see exactly what parts of the body go first and what happens to the innards. These help know when a body actually dies. The book is very interesting to learn all the different ways cadavers are used. You would never know how many ways there actually are.

Ratatouille

The other day I went over to a friends house to hang out. We ended up finding this cute movie to watch on T.V. My friend had watched it and loved seeing it so I was really excited to see it too. I had already seen some of the previews so I knew what the movie was about, but once I started watching it the movie was just so easy to enjoy. It felt like one of those movies that anyone of any age would like.


As the movie started off I noticed that the graphics and animation were very good. Movies just keep getting better and better in that field. I liked how they still kept a little cartoon character feel rather than trying to make it as realistic as possible. The plot is such an easy one to follow and it is great to see the relationship between the rat, remy, and Linguini.

Remy is a rat that wants to be a French chef. He dreams of it and has studied to perfect his desire. Linguini has gotten a job at this restaurant and has no idea how to cook, but he is trying to prove himself to keep his job. In many turns of events Remy is discovered by Linguini when he tries to help him perfect a dish that has turned into a disaster. Linguini ends up saving Remy’s life when he is discovered by the head chef. You watch as their relationship grows and develops. There is still that uneasy feeling between them at first. Remy doesn’t know if Linguini will just end up killing him and Linguini doesn’t know if Remy just wants food and then he will leave him in the end. The movie portrays their feelings that they go through very well on their faces and you start to see them trust each other more and more.

To cook decadent dishes you need the right skills and the right knowledge. Linguini does not even have the slightest hint of these skills when he meets Remy. Slowly though they learn how to work together using Linguini’s body which Remy controls by pulling his hair. They train to perfect their skills so Linguini can have a successful career and Remy can fulfill his desire to cook and eat all the food he can get.

There are certain instances that test their relationship that they have built with each other and the head cook is always on the lookout to discover Linguini’s secret as to why he is cooking so well. There is an even greater turn of events that change the whole restaurant. This movie was a very cute, enjoyable movie. All ages could watch this movie and laugh along with the delightful story.

Nobody's Princess

As I picked up this book, I realized it would be set in the roman times. I started to read the book, as it began with the intro of Helen of Troy as a young girl. You start to get the point of view from the author as to how she grew up. She had very independent views and didn't want to be told what to do. She wanted to make her own life and own decisions without being checked up on. This leads her through troubles of doing what everyone else wants her to do and doing what her heart wants to do.

Her family gives thanks and believes in Gods and Goddesses. The main one her father and mother give thanks to is Aphrodite. In one of the opening passages, there is a ceremony to give thanks to her. Helen says that her mother is as pretty if not prettier than Aphrodite herself. This gets her in trouble, since no human can be prettier than a Goddess like Aphrodite.

She is born as a twin and since she came out of her mother's womb first she is the heir to the throne. She grows up in a life of luxury while her sister, Clytemnestra, despises everything that is given to Helen. She grows up the center of attention and is watched carefully by all, while her sister loathes Helens beauty and future that gets her all the attention and importance. Soon though, Clytemnestra is set up with her own arranged marriage to another kingdom. This brings her to the limelight and all the focus is set on her, and getting her prepared for the life of a Queen in another kingdom.

As Helen grows up, she has a mind of her own. This ends up taking her to do what she wants instead of doing what a girl who is the heir to the throne should do. Since everyone starts to focus on Clytemnestra and her soon to be marriage, it becomes easier for Helen to focus on her wants. She ends up sneaking out and training with her two older brothers, Castor and Polydueces, in fighting. Their training master, Glaucus, challenges Helen several different times. She still pulls through and meets those challenges so she can continue learning how to fight.

Soon Clytemnestra is on her way to the other kingdom and Castor, Polydueces, and Helen go along. Helen convinces her father that Clytemnestra needs someone to be there for her to make the transition in the unknown land. Castor and Polydueces are there for protection also. This arranged marriage is supposed to keep peace between the kingdoms. Soon after arriving though the King tries to get another one of his sons married off to Helen herself. She is afraid of offending him and starting a war, but soon there is trouble in their mothers original homeland that they use as an excuse to get away.

There is a wild boar in their mother's homeland that is destroying land and animals. There is a hunt being organized to try and kill it. Here Helen meets Atalanta. She can't believe she finds a girl who is all she wants to be, and has all the freedom she longs for. Soon she sneaks out to watch Atalanta ride her horse and train, but she is a good warrior and discovers Helens hiding spot in the trees. Helen gets rough training in riding from Atalanta, but it consumes her life. On the wild boar hunt she sneaks in and finds Atalanta. There she helps her spear the boar using her crafty thinking, but it is Helens relative that ends up killing it, therefore getting credit for it. This aggravates Helen, because she knows Atalanta weakened the boar enough, but she didn't finish him off in time.

As Helen struggles with wanting a warriors lifestyle and independence, she tries to cope with the fact that things don't always appear to be the way they are told. She soon plays her brothers and kingdom to go off on a voyage where maybe she can have that adventure to herself, but from a boys point of view, rather than the princess of Sparta.

My Life Be Like

Grits are two people I haven't usually seen in the music industry much. They haven't seemed to have many top songs yet but they seem to be on their way with this new hit. They did have a hit song in 1999 called "Grammatical Revolution". They don't just talk about change, they help change through being involved in community-building causes. They have also been artists helping in raising awareness about racism.

My Life Be Like (ooh ahh) - Grits

This song has been a new hit for me. It was used in the movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. It fit great in the movie, showing how their lives revolve around driving these cars. The song talks about the struggles in life and getting through to the next day. The people shown in the movie live their life from sunrise to sunset dedicated to driving those cars. There are endeavors and conqests they are faced with. It is all part of who they are. They lyrics that Grits put in their song are real messages. They have a great way of combining rap with an positive message. They do seem to have a christian rap message, without really feeling like you have strayed to much from solid rap.

Anatomy of a Boyfriend

Reading this book became one of those random finds for me. I picked it up randomly off the shelf because of the picture as a joke for a good book i thought a friend should read. After she started reading it she found out it was actually really good so I decided to go get the book and read it for myself. I'm glad I did.

Anatomy of a Boyfriend is written by Daria Snadowsky. It is a book about this girl named Dominique but most people call her Dommie or Dom. She is always reading a Grey's Anatomy book and playing the game Operation. Since she was a little girl she has always wanted to be in the doctor field. Now that she's getting older she is starting to second guess herself.

Her best friend is Amy, who goes to a larger school, is really into boys. At one of Amy's track meets, Dom meets a boy who helps her when she has an accident. Wes is shy and sweet, and says he has noticed Dom for a while at the track meets. That night Dom takes a risk that Amy convinced her to, and emails Wes. They soon become boyfriend and girlfriend. Dom is very occupies with her boyfriend now instead of becoming a doctor. Over their high school relationship they have many firsts together. They even spend the night together on prom night.

Soon it is time for both of them to go to college. Dom has to make the decision to take a scholarship to one college, but away from her boyfriend, or go to the big college in New York with her boyfriend. She feels like she might intrude in her boyfriends life in college and takes the scholarship to the college far away. This ends up testing their relationship. Dom is told that she will break up with her boyfriend within the first year. Dom doesn't want to believe it and thinks that her and Wes will hold strong. She finds out after a while that that person was right. Wes starts to act weird and chooses to hang out with other people before her when they're only with each other for a short amount of time. This is confusing to Dom at first. After a while she gets fed up with it and tries to force the reason out of him, as to why he seems to be ignoring her. This end up with the two of them breaking up and trying to move their separate ways.

I thought this book was very enjoyable. Daria Snadowsky has a very clever way of writing and you always feel like you are there experiencing her real feelings as she's going through them. The experiences Dom goes through are new and carried by her curiosity and insecurities. You watch her go through her first boyfriend, her first prom, and her first love. This book is an easy and great read meant for any curious girl.

Party Starter

Will Smith has done it all from making music to staring in movies. His recent movies have been Hancock, Lakeview Terrace, and I Am Legend. In the mid-80's he started to go as the Fresh Prince. By 1990 he started the show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He has launched many songs that have been hits like "Parents just don't understand," "Just the two of us," and "Miami."

Party Starter- Will Smith

This song I have just recently heard. It was released back in 2005 on his album Lost and Found. It was not as big of a song as "Switch" was but many fans liked it. I think this song has a good "party" beat. It really makes me want to dance to the music and have a good time. Will Smith has a way of making the kind of music that appeals to a wider range of people. The music video for this song is very innovative. It uses a lot of the new technology to change up screens and make it feel like really neat things are happening because of him. Will Smith does seem to be the life of the party when he wants to be. He just has that personality that draws people to him. Party Starter just talks about having a good time but working hard to make it happen. It kind of has an indian feel to the music, mainly when it starts then that tune just stays in the background.

Some people think that Will Smith singing career has declined and his songs are not as good. I think he has had many great music contributions. I love the songs he makes, which seem to fit his personality. He still seems to be able to make it to my recently listened playlist every now and then.

Wild Horses

There are many artists that I love to listen to but there are not many artists from my age of music that my dad loves to listen to. I think it is a sign of a great artist if we can both really agree on something. My dad loves the classics of his time and thinks that most of the music created these days will never stick around for as long as his music has. Yet he loves to listen to Natasha Bedingfield.

Wild Horses - Natasha Bedingfield

Natasha Bedingfield has a way of singing so purely. Her style and UK accent are my favorite. This song feels like an expression from the heart. It is more on the lines of a slow song then an upbeat one. Most of the songs she has written lately have been more on the lines of a happier mood. This song still kind of has that feeling, but it seems more vulnerable and that she is hoping to be free to love. Every song of hers seems to have a great expression and thought put into it. The songs seem worth listening to, and are easily songs you could listen to over and over again. Maybe this is why my dad loves listening to her music so much.

I am also a big horse fan so this song seems very pretty without being tacky. Her style of how she sings and what she sings about never ceases to be less than perfect. She never has to swear or be unreal to what she wants to say it feels like. She keeps everything clean and simple yet it really gets to the emotion she wants people to feel from her songs. I think the songs she creates will be timeless, at least to me.

Forbidden Boy

Recently I read the book Forbidden Boy by Hailey Abbott. I have read some of the other books by her which is why I decided to read this one. She wrote a series of books starting with Summer Boys. She has also written numerous amounts of other book. She grew up in Southern California, which you can see where she gets her ideas from.

Julianne lives with her dad and sister, Chloe. Her mom died earlier in her life, yet she still tries to keep the memory of her alive. Her mother was a big artist who created many put together paintings. Julianne gets all of her creative skills from her mother. Yet her kind of art is more with photos and experimenting with out of the ordinary.

She goes to a beach party with her sister to scout out some new boys for summer. There she meets a boy named Remi. She wonders if she will ever see him again. They keep randomly bumping into each other after that night. Julianne starts to think he is the ideal, perfect guy for her. She soon finds out that he is part of the family that moved into the giant glass house next door, which is trying to take over the beach and their families property. She is torn between loyalty to fight for her family and the love she is starting to feel for Remi.

Trying to tear herself away from him becomes difficult when he shows up at her summer job as a manager to a house construction site. Julianne is there to use her artistic skills to create designs in the house. She can't help but follow her heart, but she tries to keep her relationship secret from her family. When Chloe catches the two of them kissing at work, she is devastated and angry at Julianne. Julianne can't seem to continue her relationship with Remi, since she feels she has been disloyal to her family.

She talks to her dad and tells him how she has betrayed her family. She is surprised though when her dad feels she has done nothing wrong. Julianne and Chloe have been associating Remi's parent's decisions to Remi. Her dad makes her see that what he is not his parents and he would have as much loyalty to his families decisions as she would to her own.

This book had a sweet romantic story line. Julianne seems confused and easily influenced by her sister's ideas. It was a nice story of confusing love and fighting for her tight-knit family. This is a nice summer read, especially for the creative mind.

Please Don't Stop the MUSIC!

Music revolves around me all the time. If i'm not listening to it on my ipod or in my car, i'm either singing it or have it going through my head. I am always trying to find new music that I like to listen to. There are some songs I have found that I recently love to keep on a playlist on my ipod.

Help Me - Chris Brown

Chris Brown first came into the music scene with his first song "Run It!" He has followed up with other songs "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)", "Without You", "No Air", and "Forever." This song has been on my ipod for a while but I didn't even know it was there until someone asked me if I had heard it. Once I listened to the song I loved the rhythm, which was so upbeat. Then again I love anything Chris Brown sings. The way his music is put together with the different kinds of beats just appeal to what I like to listen to. He has a wonderful voice and knows how to use it along with his amazing dance skills, and good looks. All these things have given him an advantage in building his career so quickly. He also has a recent song out called "Dreamer." This song was for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. It sounds just as inspirational and a great song to get pumped up to. He continues to release songs that make it big with his fans. Another song I like on his new album is "I Wanna Be." It seems to be so sweet and sincere like he is really singing it from the bottom of his heart. He has a very good connection with his audience, which is probably why so many fans support him in his music career. I am one of them that can not wait to hear what he will come out with next.

Eagle Eye

This past week I saw the movie Eagle Eye in theatres. I did not really see many commercials for this movie or hear about other reviews from people. When the movie started out I was not even sure where it was going to go. As things unraveled, it was a very interesting movie. When "Jerry Shaw", Shia Labeouf, is pinpointed as a terrorist by the FBI he has to find ways to get through their security and escape. He tries to learn the game he has to follow from all the orders he's getting from this women on the phone. Along with Jerry there is another woman, Rachel, who is getting orders from the same woman on the phone.

From your first point of view it seems that Jerry and Rachel are being forced to help this terrorist organization that is controlling their future to live. As the movie gets more in depth you start to put the pieces together and see that it is a computer the government created that has tried to take over. It is on the lines of technology taking over. This computer takes over because it think the people that are supposed to protect the country are starting to hurt it and the computer has to fix those in control. It pretty much sets up murders for government leaders.

It really makes you think through out the movie. The movie had very interesting twists and turns. There are so many ways that the movie could go in different directions that make it difficult to predict what the outcome will be. You are worried for the woman and her son most of the time and wondering if Jerry will follow all the orders or keep trying to rebel. In the end when it all kind of clicks how everything is connected, it still doesn't let the action die. You are still wondering if everything is going to work out all right and how they're going to fix the problem. Overall I thought the movie was a pretty decent, action packed film for a mind that likes the different conspiracy theories.