Phantom... Baby and a Greedy Panda

A giant panda at the Chengdu Breeding Research Center in China named Aj Hin was starting to show signs of pregnancy. The staff at the Research Center planned to film the first ever live broadcast of a panda giving birth. But before the birth could be filmed, the whole project was cancelled due to the fact that the panda was never really pregnant in the first place. Aj Hin was experiencing phantom pregnancy and probably faked the whole thing just to get attention and more food. Once a panda shows symptoms of pregnancy, they are moved to a room with air conditioning and are given more food. Aj Hin's behavior returned to normal after two months of observation. Phantom pregnancy is common among bears that are endangered. They want special treatment that other bears get when they are pregnant. This reminds me of how kids envy their friends or siblings when they are sick. They get special treatment just like a pregnant panda does. The mother will carry a tray to their room and the sick child doesn't have to go to school. Therefore some kids probably pretend to be sick sometimes. I've done it before and most kids probably have. The Munchausen syndrome is when someone will fake illnesses for attention and sympathy.

Phantom Limb

Phantom limb syndrome occurs when an amputee senses and feels their limb that isn't really there. Even when the limb isn't real, the amputee will still feel pain from their "phantom limb". Although phantom limb syndrome only happens to amputee's, a group of researchers discovered how to let non-amputees feel this sensation of having an "extra limb". They hope that this will lead to better understanding of phantom limb syndrome and find a way to prevent it. The scientists experimented by making a person put one hand on one side of the table, cover it in a way so that the person cannot see their hand. Next two paintbrushes are used to stroke the covered hand and to stroke the "invisible hand". This gave the sensation that the person had another hand. When the stroking stopped, a knife was raised and was swung around at the "invisible hand". By measuring sweat, scientists were able to know that the people really felt the "invisible hand". But when a person did not have a phantom hand, they did not feel as stressed when the knife was waved around. I am reading a book by William Sleator called the Phantom Limb. I won't reveal much of the story, but I will say that the main character discovers a mirror box. A mirror box is used in mirror therapy to help with phantom limb syndrome. When the amputee is feeling pain they insert their hand in the box. There is a mirror in the middle of the box that reflects their one existing arm and hand. Because their arm and hand is reflected, it looks like they have both arms. If they unclench their hand, it looks as though the other hand unclenched as well, the "phantom hand". This was invented by Vilayanur S. Ramachandran. I thought that this was very cool. I want to try it out, but it is kind of creepy as well. If a non amputee were to stick their hands in the box and move their left hand the mirror will show the right hand moving as well even though the person isn't actually moving their hand. I think that this would feel really cool.

Hey! I'm Back!

Hey I'm back to write some more. I was in San Francisco for a week. It was GREAT!

Perfect Pitch

I didn't know I was perfect pitch until I was in 5th grade. My sister and I were just playing around the piano, tapping keys and I just blurted out the notes she was playing without looking. She stopped and looked at me. She claimed that I was perfect pitch and that I had the ability to hear a tone and tell what note it is. I had thought all along that anybody was able to do it, because I was able to do it all my life, and so when my sister couldn't do it, I was rather surprised. Only 1 in 10,000 people have perfect pitch. That's amazing. I never knew that and I feel quite proud of myself now, for being the 1 in 10,000 people that has perfect pitch. Perfect pitch is usually acquired at the age of 4-6 which makes kind of sense since I started learning piano at the age of 5. But study shows that a pill used as a mood stabilizer also allows people to recognize notes better. The name of the drug is Valproate. Not only does this drug allow you to become better at recognizing notes, it also helps people learn a second language. Learning a second language or being perfect pitch all starts when you are young, but the drug Valproate restores the plasticity of an adult brain to a juvenile state. Making adults to be able to do things that kids can do. Even though this drug can do good for other people, although this sounds selfish, it kind of makes me sad that now that all the things I can do, are now becoming something that anybody can do.

Dreaming

The subject of dreaming automatically brings up the thought of my favorite movie of all time; Inception. (If you haven't watched that movie, you should, because it is the best movie ever!) Anyway, when I first learned that it was possible to control your dreams, I was really excited. I read about it in a book and I wanted to try it. Although there were many different steps and things you needed to do the control your dream, they never really worked out to well for me. Controlling your dream is called: lucid dreaming. But really, it's not controlling your dream, it's about controlling yourself and recognizing that you are in a dream while you are dreaming. 58% of people claim that they have lucid dreamed at least once. I really want to lucid dream because then, anything is possible because I no longer think that the dream is real, I know that I can do whatever I want because it's my dream! Soldiers from the military that have "military dreams" are unable to pull the trigger of their gun in the face of danger, but soldiers who have played video games to help out with nightmares were able to shoot back at the enemy. Robert Waggoner, an author of a book called Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self, said, "The sailor does not control the sea, and neither does the lucid dreamer control their dream." I really wish that I would one day be able to lucid dream.

Rube Goldberg

Brett Doar has a peculiar job; create intricately designed Rube Goldberg machines. For those of you that don't know, a Rube Goldberg machine is a contraption that is overly complex and has many components that lead to something very simple. Brett Doar creates these machines for companies that use them for advertisements. Rube Goldberg machines remind me of GBC's or Great Ball Contraption, which is similar to a Rube Goldberg machine. A GBC is a cycle where you can throw balls into the start of a contraption and they go through different parts of the machine and eventually comeback to the beginning. Here is an example:

I used to really think that these machines were really cool and so I tried to make my own versions and I made new contraptions. It's a fun thing to do. I really like small, compact, and simple mechanical contraptions. They are fun to make and really neat if they have a cool design. A Rube Golberg machine takes a bunch of those and puts them together to create a big contrapion that does something. I think making Rube Goldberg machines would be a fun but painstakingly difficult job.

Woodpeckers!

 You would think that slamming your head against a tree repeatedly at 16 mph would cause you to get a headache or maybe even worse. So then you ask yourself, "Can a woodpecker get brain damage?".
This was the question psychiatrist Philip May asked to his fellow colleagues at UCLA.
Shock absorbers are springy mechanical creations used in cars to make your drive a little more smoother, hence the name, "shock absorber". Similarly a woodpecker has a spongy patch of bone around the front of its skull that scientists believe act as a shock absorber. Woodpeckers also have a bone called a hyoid that wraps around the woodpecker's head and brain. The UCLA team also discovered that the woodpecker's brain is packed tightly unlike the human brain. Compared to a normal bird, the woodpecker's skull is more stronger and dense. After doing research, when Philip May published his research about the woodpecker in 1979, a neurologist claimed to have seen a woodpecker slam into his window and die several hours later from cerebral trauma. I think that a woodpecker is a really cool creature. Shaking your head back and forth at 16 mph is pretty amazing. The average human can run about 6-7 miles per hour!
. 

Monster Chess!

My favorite "toy" Lego's and my favorite "game" Chess. But, a Lego chess set that moves? That's crazy! A Lego robot designer named Steve Hassenplug built a Lego giant chess set that was said to be inspired by Harry Potter's wizard chess. The set took over 100,000 pieces. Steve Hassenplug's friends that helped him build the chess set included Ron McRae who created a working Lego ATM before. Each square on the chess board has a small 4 color square that each piece can see with it's color sensor. This will show where the pieces are and help the pieces no where to go. A touchscreen PC will direct all the pieces will go. I thought this project was really cool. The idea was brilliant and just the fact that this project was a success amazes me. I would really love to try and play chess with this creation. I think that Lego isn't just a child's plaything. But it can be a tool to create mechanical and technological creations that you design.

Perovskites

Solar panels are useful sources of energy but rather costly. But scientists have recently discovered a new mineral that can be used to manufacture cheap and efficient solar panels. This mineral is called Perovskite. These are crystalline minerals that can produce solar power. The efficiency of using lab-grown Perovskite minerals to create energy from sunlight has went from 3.8 percent to 20 percent in just five years. Compared to silicon solar panels that took 3 decades to get to the same level, it is an amazing feat. Perovskite is both cheap and easy to manufacture, two qualities that silicon solar panels don't have. The problems are that 1. the most efficient type of Perovskite use lead, which is poisonous. As a solution, scientists used tin as a replacement. Although tin is less efficient, it is more safe. 2. Water will dissolve the crystal. Although weatherproofing each and every individual cell would work, it would add to the cost. 3. Since these cells were recently discovered we do not know yet if they will last a long time. I personally think that using solar panels and other forms of electricity in general is a great idea. I never knew that solar panels were so expensive. Upon researching this subject, I learned that an average solar panel system for the home of a person can be a little over $10,000! The power inverter for the solar panel can cost from about $1,000 - $3,000. That's a lot of money. But this newly developed mineral can cut down the price to less than half! I think that solar panels are more healthy for the planet rather than conventional coal-fired power plants. Another type of electricity to consider is nuclear fusion reactors. Fusion power plants can efficiently produce more electricity than a fission power plant. They are more safer but is still in its prototype stage. I hope that the world's leading scientists can create the most efficient way of producing energy without harming the earth. And maybe that scientist will be me!

Yeti or Not, Here We Come!

Lausanne Museum and Oxford University's team of researchers studied plans to study hair samples from different institutes around world claimed to be hairs from the mysterious legend, the Yeti, also known as Sasquatch or Bigfoot. In 1976 a photo of a abnormally footprint was taken in the Himalaya's. The footprint was claimed to be Yeti's. Yeti is known as a cryptid, or an animal whose existence has never been proven. The Loch-Ness monster is another well known cryptid. Although there are multiple "sightings" of these creatures, nobody knows if they're real yet. The study of these creatures is called cryptozoology. A co-leader of this project is Bryan Sykes who says that "DNA will tell the truth". I don't believe in these strange creatures that people tend to see from time to time. I think that most cryptids aren't real but just parts of somebody's imagination that go widespread. Although I don't believe in them I think they are very cool. I am currently reading a series called Cryptid Hunters. Hence the title, it is about two kids, their uncle and how they hunt for cryptids. I think the reason why people make these strange legends about mysterious creatures is for entertainment. Although I doubt these animals' existences they may be real and they may no longer become a cryptid, bud a real animal one day.

Spiders!

Spider silk is a very important and incredible material of nature. It can help cure Alzheimer's because it's structure resembles the structure of the amyloid fibrils in the brain of a person with Alzheimer's. This allows scientists to understand better how Alzheimer works and they may be able to create a solution. Spider silk is stronger than steel and yet it is still very light. This reminds me of Spider-Man and the web shooters he used in the Amazing Spider-man. The webs he use are extremely strong and flexible like spider silk. It made me think, what if someone used real spider silk and made web shooters from them? Possibly a real
Spider-Man? Although I don't think we have the technology to make these, I think that it is a really cool idea that will be beneficial to the world. Although the web shooters from Spider-Man were used to fight crime, I think spider silk can used for other things as well. You may be able to use them to create strong and flexible objects. And also to satisfy all Spider-Man fans, a way to swing around New York City. Although it is only an idea right now, it may become more than just an idea in the future.

Computers Too?

During 1960s MIT created a chatbot called Eliza. In 1977 a super chess computer from IBM called Deep Blue defeated Chess Champion Garry Kasparov. In 2011 IBM introduced Watson, that beat humans in Jeopardy!
Sure robots are really smart, but can a human fall in love with a robot? In 2013, the movie Her, was released. The movie was about a man falling in love with a software. Although it seems impossible, researchers say it is possible for a person to fall in love with a computer. Softwares and programs created by people can reply with more "interesting" replies to questions or statements that are asked to them. In a movie called Transcendence, a scientist was killed from a poison bullet. His wife tried to keep him alive by using his consciousness and putting it in a robot. She couldn't realize that the robot might not be him but nothing more than a robot. Studies have shown that computers can coax people into being more polite. I think it is because machines are perfect, have no mistakes, and cannot become angry. It's easy to fall in love with someone if they always agree with you and are an angel to you all the time. Even though this is possible, I think it is a ridiculous idea to fall in love with a robot.

Ebola Treatment

You've probably heard of Ebola by now, it was on the news not too long ago. It is a deadly disease that can spread among many people. Countries such as Liberia and Nigeria had Ebola outbreaks and doctors have volunteered to help out. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol got sick with Ebola while volunteering in a Ebola clinic. Brantly and Writebol were both sent to America for treatment. But before either of them left they were injected with experimental, untested drugs. I think that it is indeed necessary to use experimental vaccines for life threatening situations. It could save somebody's life although it could go wrong and kill them instead. I think it is worth risking.
When I first heard of Ebola I thought about parasites. Therefore Ebola absolutely terrified me. I have a fear of parasitic creatures. The thought of them makes me cringe. I have a trauma from a movie I watched a long time ago along with a cartoon I saw about parasitic creatures and they both left a bad impression on me. Even though Ebola is not a parasite, I find Ebola just as scary. An entire population can possibly die because of it. Contagious diseases can spread and kill thousands of people. I think taking risks like untested drugs can sometimes be needed.

Crime

It's not just once in a while that I hear about an innocent man coming out of jail for a long period of time. These people haven't done anything except be in the wrong place at the wrong time. This reminds me of the time when I was wrongly accused of "bullying" a younger child when I did not do anything. At the time, the only proof that the vice principal had that my friend and I had bullied this child was from the child's mouth. The child claimed to have been bullied by me and my friend multiple times, although we barely even knew this kid. The vice principal, didn't even listen to what we had to say, and the next thing we knew, we were in big trouble. Although jail, and just getting in trouble, has a very big difference, I don't think that it's that different. People can be sentenced to death innocently. John McCormick is a 63 year old man who was shot and killed July 26, 1978. The prime suspect was Santae Tribble, a seventeen year old boy. An FBI agent matched his hair with some of the hair found at the scene of the crime. He was sentenced to 23 years of prison. But in 2003 it was proved that the hairs in the crime scene were not even close to Santae Tribble's hair. In fact, some of the hairs, were dog hairs. Sloppy forensics, can lead to innocent deaths and innocent people being wrongly accused. The crime lab of St. Paul, Minnesota was revealed to use dirty equipment, have operators who did not know much science at all, and had illegible reports. Although things are slowly getting better, I hope that the police will be able to save innocent lives quickly, because I know how it feels to be wrongly accused.

Vision

When I was little I didn't really understand that my sister was not able to see things well without her glasses. She could open her eyes and look around and see things just like me when she was younger. But after a while her vision got worse and worse until, she had to wear glasses. Although she isn't blind, without her glasses, she can only see things clearly around a 6 inch radius, everything farther than about 6 inches is just a blur to her. She isn't blind or unable to see, but without glasses, she can't do anything. Yet when she takes her glasses off, she can recognize things, even if they are blurry. On the other hand, Mike May is a 60 year old man, who is perfectly normal just like us. But when he was three, a chemical explosion caused him to lose sight. But after 43 years of total darkness for him, he was able to see through a surgery operation. But even though he was able to see clearly and well, he couldn't tell what all the colors and shapes meant. Although he could see, he didn't have the sense of vision. Because he hadn't seen things for 43 years, he could not interpret the shapes and color. I thought this was interesting. Because although, after a while, Mike was able to see, when he was first able to see, he was not able to see anything. This means that after not using a part of your brain for a really long time, you will no longer be able to use it even though you have the ability to do so. But with practice, you can eventually use it once more. Even if a blind person is able to locate anything in their room, and be able to walk around without bumping into everything, they will not be able to draw a 3D map or view of their room because they cannot see, and if you cannot see 3D you won't understand it. They only know 2D because they haven't seen the actually room, they can only feel it. I think that in order to cure someone of a disability they had for a long time. You must not only make them able to do something again, but you have to teach them the concept of the ability that they have never been able to do. Since a blind person, cannot see anything, and cannot understand the concept of seeing at all. Then in order to restore their vision, you need to start early on, you need to input images in their head. This is probably not possible with the technology right now, in the future, I hope that people will discover a way to cure these kinds of "sense" disabilities. But still even just allowing people to be able to see is an amazing feat.

Childhood Amnesia

Do you remember that one time when you ate that dead ant? No, not really. What about those times when you ate a cricket. No, not really, not at all.

It always saddens me that I cannot remember anything from when I was a small baby. Although some of my friends claim that they remember being born and times from when they were very young, I never could. I try to remember something, anything, from when I was 3 or 2 years old. But I can't remember a single thing. It got me thinking that I had bad memory. So when I first read an article about memory loss, I was pretty curious myself. It turns out that I'm not the only one. Scientists call forgetting your memories from when you are a baby, "childhood-amnesia". Before scientists began to research memory more seriously, people assumed that the part of your brain that "records" your memories didn't start to work until you were three or four. I always just assumed that the reason why I couldn't remember things was because I don't have a long term memory, and that my range of remembering lasts for only several years, so the older I get, the more things I forget.

Fortunately for us, Karen Tustin and Harlene Hayne, two memory researchers from the University of Tago, began to study kids in order figure out what the answer of this puzzling question was.Turns out that even three year old's can remember things from there past. Although there is no unclear answer, scientists think the reason why your memory just fades away as you get older, is because we didn't have a language when we were small. All we can remember is pictures, and sounds, and smells, but not any words. the brain has a harder time remembering things that aren't words with meaning but just images.

I guess this explains why my sister could remember memories of my childhood better than I could, when I was a baby, she could speak a language. It kind of made me jealous.

After reading this article it made me think about all my bad memories or trauma's I had. What if there was a way to only forget memories you wish to forget and not the ones that might have been good. Dr. Mauro Costa-Mattioli, an assistant professor of neuroscience at BCM says that researchers have found an enzyme called PKR that can be used to enhance somebody's memory. They tested this pill on mice and found that it enhanced memories. But even though it's these kind of pills or medicines that can cure Alzheimer or other memory diseases such as amnesia, I think there can be a bad side to these for normal people. It will enhance all memories, including bad and good ones. Although remembering good memories is good, all my bad memories of pain or horror, will be enhanced as well. I personally think that memory is something that should be left alone and not be muddled with. 

Cyberbullying: Isolation, But Not Prevention

Sources: Popular Science (magazine)

YouTube, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram are all social network websites that people can go on. But they are all also ways cyber-bullies can bully other people. Bullying is something on the
Web that is growing and becoming a bigger problem. An anti-bullying charity called Ditch the Label organized a survey and came out with the results that bullying is twice as likely to happen on Facebook than any other site. A blog on Tumblr, called Vancouver Taddler, was introduced to the public last March. It was said to be based on a TV show called, Gossip Girl. It was basically a way to get revenge on other people, or in other words, the perfect way to cyber-bully anonymously. Fortunately, local authorities were able to find out who the culprit was and they stopped the blog from running. To try to tone down the bullying as much as possible, Facebook, created a Bullying Prevention Hub last November. It taught users how to block and report bully. Then, Facebook Admins, would warn or remove offenders. Many of the social network sites on the Web have similar systems. Taking these steps to stop cyber-bullying is good but, they can only stop the bullies after they have already harassed someone. Not before. Microsoft have tried to cut down bullying by using an algorithm in the Microsoft system to label players according to the number of times they have been muted or blocked by other players. If a player is "bad", they will be labeled with a red color, if a player "needs work" they have a yellow color, and finally "good" or "satisfactory" players are marked with a green color. Bullies that have a red color, will lose privileges and will have less people willing to play games with them online. If a player's credit worsens, they'll be matched up with other people who have bad reputations and will not be able to play with "good" gamers. Reddit also has a karma ranking system that shows you what posts are worth reading and what posts are not.
I personally think these systems and ideas are great for not only the gaming world but for everyone, who uses any social networking sites or plays games. 25% of all teens call themselves victim of cyber-bullying. I think that people cyberbully because they think that they are concealed and because they can be anonymous, nobody will know who did it, but because of the power to be incognito, people think they can do whatever they want. I guess, it's not possible now to completely prevent cyber-bullying. But I definitely think that even isolating these bullies is a good start.  

Hoot (spoilers)

Hoot
Carl Hiaasen
Summary: Roy Eberhardt is an ordinary kid that attends Trace Middle School, but one day when he sees a strange bare-footed boy running while he is on the bus, the boy captures his interest, and Roy decides to find out who he is. Even when he told to not look for the boy by Beatrice "the bear", a tough eight grade girl who everybody seems to be scared of, he doesn't stop. On the other side of town is Officer Delinko, who is questioned for falling a sleep while on post to stop somebody from vandalizing the construction site of Mother Paula's Pancake house. But when one thing leads to another, Roy finds himself in the middle of everything!
1. friendship
2. Friends are what keep you through your hardest times, without them, you have no motivation.
3. Roy Eberhardt: kind, confused, smart
4. The most memorable part of the story in my opinion was when Roy allowed Beatrice to sleep in his room because things at her house weren't going to well. He acted like a true friend by helping her out. It was very kind of him. He even offered to let her sleep on the bed while he slept on the floor but she disagreed.
5.  The author is trying to tell us that you shouldn't "judge a book by a cover". Although Beatrice was very tough and she looked like a rather rough and dangerous person, she had a kind heart and was a good friend once Roy got to know her. It shows that outward appearances aren't what they seem to be. Also, it tells you that you can make friends with anyone. And that includes mullet-fingers, the mysterious brother of Beatrice that seems to come and go, but turned out to be more friendly than he seemed at first.
6. I would rate this book a 8/10 because it was well written, and it had a good plot. I didn't really like the general story idea. Still, it was a good book to read.
7.
Beginning: Roy sees the mysterious running boy while he is on the bus.

Climax: Mullet-fingers, the mysterious boy, Roy, and Beatrice prepare to stop the construction of the Mother Paula's pancake house due to the small burrowing owls that live underneath the site, by telling to people to help them protest.

Ending: Roy, Beatrice, and Mullet-fingers save the owls from death.

The Shakespeare Stealer (Spoilers! Duh!)

The Shakespeare Stealer
By: Gary Blackwood

Summary: Widge is an orphaned child who is the apprentice of Dr. Bright. One day a strange man came to Dr. Bright's door and payed money for Widge. This strange man, Falconer, who was a worker of Simon Bass, orders Widge to steal the play Hamlet from Shakespeare. Widge now has no choice but to follow his orders. But when Widge is caught while attempting to steal the play, instead of reporting him to the police or worse, the theater members take him in as a part of the family. Now Widge is in a predicament, now he had an even greater chance to steal the play Hamlet, should he steal it? or should he stay with the kind people from the theater that made him their family?

1. friendship, trust

2. Friends and family is greater than wealth and fame.

3.
Widge: kind, confused, clever

4. The most memorable part of the story was when even when Sanders learned about the original purpose of why Widge came to the theater, he still trusted him and believed that Widge had stopped trying to steal the play a long time back and that he truly did want to become one of the theater players.

5. The author is trying to tell you that family and friends are most important than other things. Widge realized that this was his only chance to have a family who treated him as an equal and so he risked his life to protect his family/friends.

6. I would rate this book a 10/10. I really enjoyed reading this book. It was very interesting to read and it was suspenseful as well. There was no major factors that lead to me disliking the book. It was well written and I liked the character development of Widge. At first, you wouldn't know what choice he would take.

7.
Beginning: Widge is sold to Simon Bass/Falconer


Climax: Widge is caught at the theater and joins them.


Ending: Widge becomes official part of the family and does not complete his task of stealing a play.

Messenger: Book Review (Spoilers)

After reviewing, the Giver by Lois Lowry, I think it's right that I should review the next book in the series; Messenger.
The Messenger
By Lois Lowry
Main Characters: Matty
Matty lives in Village with a blind old man called the Seer. Village had welcomed Matty six years ago when he came as a young child, but now things are changing. People began to vote to close the Village to outsiders and turn their backs on those in need. Matty wishes to earn his true name as Messenger because of his job as the messenger of Village. But now the Forest that surrounds Village that once let Matty easily pass through, is starting to close. Matty discovers that he has an extraordinary power that he can use. Matty has one last important mission as messenger; bring the Seer's daughter Kira to the Village before the Village closes, Matty must complete the dangerous mission before it is too late.
1. utopia
2. Joy is brought by people and people only.

3.
Matty: brave, trustworthy, smart

4. The most memorable part of the story was when Kira refuses to be have her crippled leg healed by Matty. This shows her pride, boldness and confidence in herself. It also shows that she cares about Matty and that is why she did not allow him to heal her.

5. The author is trying to tell you that everything being perfect is not perfect at all. Joy brought by man-made objects is fake. In the future, everything is perfect in the story. But really, it's better off being not perfect.

6. I would rate this book a 10/10 because I enjoyed reading this book and it had me thinking for a while. it has an interesting plot and well relates with the Giver if you really think about it. Great read all in all.

7. Beginning:
Matty learns to use his power of healing people and animals.

Climax: Matty goes to the Trade Market and finds out about the dark secrets of Village.

Ending: Matty goes on the journey to find Kira and brings her back with the help of Leader.

The Kane Chronicles: The Red Pyramid (no spoilers)

Genre: Fantasy
Author: Rick Riordan

If I were to be completely honest with you, I would say that the Kane Chronicles is basically an Egyptian Percy Jackson, and if you don't know what Percy Jackson is, its a Greek Kane Chronicles.


Main Characters: Carter Kane, Sadie Kane
Summary:
Carter Kane and Sadie Kane are siblings that live separately. Carter lives with their dad, Julius Kane, and Sadie lives with their grandparents, because their mom is deceased. One day, the kids' dad starts acting strangely he takes the two kids to a museum in Egypt to see the Rosetta Stone, but something extremely crazy happens that changes their lives. Now their dad is trapped inside a giant golden coffin and its up to them to save him, but now they reach a predicament, save the world or save their dad?

1. decisions

2. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices.

3.
Sadie: smart, quick-thinking, clever
Carter: athletic, courageous, smart

4. A memorable scene was when Sadie admitted that even though she valued her father's life, she would give him up if if meant saving the world.

5.The author is telling you that sometimes you have to give things up to accomplish things that are big..

6. I would rate this book a 7 because it is just a fantasy book that I only read for enjoyment.

SPOILERS

7.
Beginning: Sadie and Carter's dad is captured


Climax: Sadie and Carter discover their powers


End: Sadie and Carter save the world but are now on a journey to stop Apophis.

Being there and Not There

When you are born, you are brought to life. To a world, where things can happen. Before that, you are in your mother's stomach. And before that... you are not there. That concept always terrified me. The fact that a person is just not there at all. You can't think. You can't think at all, you are merely, nothing. You don't exist and nobody knows you. Everybody that knows you now, didn't know who you were before. You were nothing to them. They can't even think about you and say that you are there, because you aren't. It's confusing. But I always think about it. You start as this -->     <-- did you see that? Nothing. Then you go from that to a life. It is so weird to think about.

The Face Maker Part 1

Prologue:

Do you think he'll make it? 

I don't know. Maybe yes maybe no. It all depends on his choice.

Yeah, but noticed his hand. Why is it all wrapped in cloth?

Probably to prevent blood.

Blood?

...

Chapter 1. Redneck

     The man in the grey suit walked across the room officially. He had a pale face and he looked very nervous. He sat down at the table and waited. After about 3 minutes or so, four other men came in the room. One of the four pulled out a suitcase. One side was empty, the other had the parts of a gun along with bullets. The man in the grey suit pulled out his own suitcase and rubbed his neck. It was red. In the suitcase was a high-tech already-built gun. He reached inside for the gun. Just then, another of the four men grabbed the redneck's hand and pulled out the high-tech gun.
"Where's the money?"
The redneck man stared blankly and grinned, showing his teeth.
"I'm sorry."
"What? I didn't hear you."
The redneck pulled something out of his pocket and clicked. Just then, the shortest of the four men pointed his gun at the camera half concealed by a small book.
"Nice try. Redneck." He spat and pulled the trigger.
The camera was just in time to hear the explosion.
     It was all over the news. Exerta was really excited when he heard about the explosion. Something to investigate. He sneaked inside the building from the back secretly. He made sure nobody saw him and entered the room where the explosives were, and then the room the five men were in. He examined the remains of the wall where Redneck had concealed his camera. The men with the guns were too late though, the camera had probably already sent a signal down back to his computer or something. Exerta pulled out his watch and checked the time; 3:42. The event occurred about 2 hours ago, meaning the signal was transmitted.


to be continued...in the future.................................

39 Clues: Book 3: The Sword Thief (No SpoilerS)

WARNING: Read the two reviews below this to understand.

Main Characters: Amy and Dan Cahill

Summary: When the third clue lead the Cahill siblings, Amy and Dan to Japan they know they have nowhere to turn except to their Uncle Alistair who already betrayed them before. After they form an unsteady alliance, the kids and their Uncle are greeted by Ian and Natalie Kabra, who are known to be very sneaky. But all seems well when they all form an alliance. Should Amy and Dan trust Ian and Natalie, or will they be betrayed by everyone like they were once betrayed.

1.trust

2. Never let your guard down and let somebody manipulate you.

3.
Amy: shy, intelligent, caring

Dan: outgoing, energetic, creative

4. I think the most memorable part was when Ian actually looked at Amy with legitimate care. It showed the side of him that wasn't a cold blooded, traitor who manipulated people with money and intelligence.

5. The author is trying to tell  you that you should never depend on someone or expect them to catch you when you fall, because they will move out of the way.

6.
I would rate this book a 8 because the series is decent and fun to read, but it doesn't have much meaning to it.

SPOILER ALERT!

7.
Beginning: Dan and Amy go to Japan



Climax: Dan, Amy, Alistair, Ian, and Natalie form an alliance.




Ending: Amy and Dan are betrayed by both

Kane?

I finished reading Book Three and Four of the 39 Clues series, so I'm going to be posting those soon, in like a couple of minutes. Currently, I am taking a break from reading this series. so I could also begin to read The Red Pyramid, Book 1 to the Kane series. It's about Egyptian gods and stuff. I'll make sure to review it when I'm done. todllerasd

39 Clues: One False Note (Review)no spoilers)

This is a legitimate review. WARNING: Extremely dangerous. Not for children due to possible spoilers.

WARNING: MAKE SURE TO Read the one below this first. It explains the first book!


Main Characters: Amy and Dan Cahill

Summary: The Cahills all race to find the 2nd clue of the mysterious competition known as the 39 Clues. Once the orphans, Amy and Dan realize they are in the lead of the race, they  begin to work together and use brainpower to find the second clue.They are betrayed multiple times by their own cousins and relatives, but never by their babysitter, or so called, "Au pair", Nellie. Amy and Dan go through dark catacombs, secret passageways, and are chased through the waterways of Venice. Will they survive and find the 2nd clue, or will they die a helpless death? Read to find out.

 (Author's note: Okay. I lied, no spoilers. Even though its in the title.)

1. trust

2. Sometimes you have to let go of the past

3. Amy: shy, knowledgeable, realistic
Dan: energetic, outgoing, clever,

4. The most memorable part in the second book of the series was when Nellie, the kids' au pair, didn't leave them and waited even after the time they said they would come back. She did everything she can for them because she really loved them.

5. The author is trying to tell you that sometimes sacrifices have to be made. For example, Dan gave up the only pictures he had of his parents to save his sister and Nellie, even though it was the only connection he had to his lost past. Sometimes you have to let go of the past.


6. I would rate this 8/10 because I am liking this series and I like how each book is written by a different author. I personally like Gordon Korman's writing style.

(SPOILER ALERT)

7.
Beginning: Amy and Dan lose the diary with important info.

Climax: Amy and Dan regain it and learn that they need to go to Venice.

Ending: They figure out what the clue is and find out they need to go to Japan after finding a tungsten Samurai sword.

2014!!!!! and another Book Review: 39 Clues: Maze of Bones (No spoilers this time!)

It has been 7 months since I've posted a post on this blog. Thanks for the non-existent feedback guys! Here I am, continuing this review series.Well enjoy!

First things, first, I want to say that I finally read the Maze of Bones, the first book to the famous series, the 39 clues. I guess it was decent. I started the second already and I find it that I am looking forward to reading my favorite authors' books in this series. Because as you know, each book is written by a different person.
Anyway, here I begin;

Main characters: Amy and Dan Cahill

Summary: Amy and Dan Cahill are orphans. The only relatives they keep in touch with is their Grandma Grace and Aunt Beatrice. Aunt Beatrice is their guardian even though Amy and Dan both like Grace better. When Grace dies, they lose the only person they can ever trust. Amy and Dan learn about the surprising history of the Cahill's and how they were the most influential family of all time. From Benjamin Franklin to Issac Newton, almost everybody they know, alive or dead turns out to be a Cahill. But when Grace leaves a strange will concerning a life threatening challenge, Amy and Dan take the challenge. Now they are stuck in the middle of a dangerous journey to become the most powerful people in the world. There are 39 clues that lead to one treasure. Amy and Dan face many challenges as well as many of their relatives. Will Amy and Dan survive, or will they die in the clutches of their own relatives.

1. trust
2. Trust is key to survival
3. Amy: shy, knowledgeable, realistic
Dan: energetic, clever, courageous

4. I think the most memorable scene in the story was when Amy sacrificed the small vial containing a very important clue to the Kabras to save her brother. Although Dan wasn't even danger and she had been tricked into giving Ian Kabra the vial, Amy still had given up something very important to save her brother. The vial was something that took them a very long time to find.

5. The author was trying to teach you that trust is something very important and that you shouldn't give anyone your complete trust unless you love them very much.

6. I would rate this book a 7. It was a fun, and interesting read. I like the series, but I don't personally think it is one of "those" books that make you go, "ahah!".

7.
Beginning: Amy and Dan accept the challenge of the 39 Clues.


Climax: Amy and Dan are being targeted by everybody in the challenge


Ending: Amy and Dan proceed to the next clue.

To be continued...