Block Dude

So I think that we have all been there. Well, as long as you had/have a TI calculator you've seen or played the everlasting Block Dude. I personally don't have a TI 84 to play Block Dude, but many friends of  mine have played it during math class or in their free time. I had this one friend that was addicted to it and started making a project on it for her computer's class. Not that it's a bad thing, but it's a revolutionary thing in my opinion. To have video games going on through class, some teachers have noticed and some just plain ol' don't care.

For some people that don't know what Block Dude is, it's a game you can play on the TI 84 calculator, which is a graphing calculator most middle and high schoolers use. This "program" is you are playing "dude" a guy who is trying to escape by moving blocks around to get to the door on the other side of whatever. You use the arrow keys to move up, left, and right, then you press the bottom key to pick up and put down blocks to the places that is most ideal for your journey to the door.

I have decided to download the app on my ipod touch to try it out, since everyone I know is always playing it and being very selfish "block dudes". I've only passed the first two levels and I'm already bored. It got me thinking then, so if you just keep doing this where is the fun? Realization dawned on me that the addiction some might say is sneaking behind teacher's back and pretending like they are calculating tough, can't be solved mentally equations and such, not the true game it's self.

Then there are some people I know that play whenever and for just the fun of it. I know I'm not one to judge because no one is one to judge, but playing Block Dude is not my idea of fun. There is an excitement though of playing video games on a calculator that makes it interesting to students. Just my thoughts on Block Dude and feel free to leave comments if you'd like.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green Review

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Publication date: 1/10/2012

Pages: 336
Age range: 14 - 17 Years
Product dimensions: 5.84 (w) x 8.54 (h) x 1.14 (d)

Summary

Hazel Grace has cancer in her lungs, so it's very hard for her to breathe. She walks around with an oxygen tank that pumps gasps of what you would expect to be oxygen. Hazel has to go to a cancer group in The Literal Heart of Jesus at a church because the church is shaped like a cross and they meet in the basement where the two lines meet. The main character Hazel meets charming and incredibly handsome Augustus Waters who had cancer at the cancer group. They meet and talk with Hazel's friend that has eye cancer. Most of the time cancer support group will be a terror and act of boredom for them, but since Hazel meets Augustus he starts to change Hazel's opinions about dying and cancer. Augustus is a high schooler who has an amputated leg which caused major distress on his basketball team. He acts as if he knows it all and what he doesn't know is what will happen to him by meeting Hazel. They bond over the same book that Hazel recommends An Imperial Affliction by Peter van Houten. As a cancer perk Hazel and Augustus set off to find out the answers where the book leaves off in Switzerland. 


I just have to get this out first, this book is the best book I have read in a loooonnng time. I have never laughed or cried so much while reading this book and I just could not put it down. I think I fell in love with Augustus somewhere in all the mess of the book and it was terribly difficult when the story end. I will always refer to this book if someone says to me that fictional characters don't mean anything. Having said that, you might guess that this book has taken me far out of my comfort zone. I've never read a "sad" book or the "cancer" books in my life and this was a good place to start. I'm kind of mad at John Green now because no book will match up to the expectations from reading this novel. I've also learned quiet a lot about... a lot of things by reading this book. I knew that this book was very hyped up and it did meet my expectations and I will love to read another book written by the incredible genius that is John Green.

April Books!

So April is here and we are in to the book reviews once again. This month I'll review:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part -Time Indian by
Sherman Alexie

The Fault in Our Stars by
John Green

Ship Breaker by
Paolo Bacigalupi

The Name of the Star by
Maureen Johnson

Clockwork Angel by
Cassandra Clare

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter to those who who celebrate Easter I hope that you have a great day and spend lots of fun time with your loved ones. I personally don't celebrate Easter, but when almost everyone around you does it's hard not to ignore it.

I have never done a blog post about a holiday before and I'll tell you the truth that I had no idea why I chose Easter. While you have your Easter egg hunts and fancy foods I'll go shopping for the best deals because the American way is to shop when you don't got.

I've created this sort of story of the day and would like to share it with my readers if you'd like. It's not religious at all and it's just about the thoughts I have lately.

Wear All My Chains Tonight
As you walk down the street you see cigarette buds, cups from the local fast food, and the trash bag of the drug store flying from a mile away. I've heard the same song they play at the outlet mall and the air is cleaner than the new channel said it will be. A bakery with the line paralleling the first Harry Potter movie gets all the attention of shoppers strolling by with the fresh smell of coffee being brewed constantly. Unlike the dogs that lie lazily in the spring's sun mothers cradle their babies to quiet their desperate cries to be noticed.

Taking my time to my destination I walk pass the location the first time and find myself at the directory with eyes dotting every way, like the crazy dog that Atticus killed in To Kill a Mockingbird. All was well until a flock of birds flew by and a dropping landed an inch away from my opened toed shoe. An older man with his lovely backs away from me and walked away from what they need to find a grandchild.

Oh what I'd give for the winds to spin and the trees to swim; they would all dance toward the opposite hemisphere if it was to get any better. Then all the kids would dance their way to the water fountains in their summer shorts and the parents worried of a cold stirring in the air and a bandage faced down on the concrete. Oh what I'd give.

But soon a boy no taller than an inch or two came his way over and asked me if he could help at all. He wore a formal uniform from the fanciest restaurant in town. Patrick, he told me was his name and escorted me to a bar stool.

"So what are you doing in this part of town?" he questioned while cleaning some drinks that were left from happy hour.

I cleared my throat and said," Chasing down the nearest Uncle Sam."

He looked at me queer for a minute and smiled like nothing was wrong," I suppose you expect me to show you around town?"

"I'd preferred if you'd tell me why you led me here."

"Is there anything I could get you then, sweetheart? Beside the closest Uncle Sam, I think he left a few months ago to vacation in Howie."

"No. Well, yes. Tell me, how do you work here? You don't look old enough to drink any of the things you make."

He raised his eye brows in question," Are you saying I look like a fifteen year old boy lost in the outlet mall and happened to fill in for an I don't know older "brother" so he won't get fired? Well, then in that case yes. YES!!"

"Good to know," I told him and he started to make a drink for a woman in her thirties who looked like she's heartbroken.

Patrick and I talked for a while and when he couldn't I talked to the woman. She wasn't that heartbroken she explained, but I couldn't here her beat in her voice. I did this for I don't know how long, till the restaurant closed, or when smoke started filling up in the kitchen and the firemen started evacuating. Patrick looked indifferent, so I assumed this was normal. Everything's normal if you think about it long enough.

I'm back!!

Hey people of the interworld. I know I have been gone for quite sometime and this past month has been a roller coaster ride. At some point I was like ahhh never mind let me just delete this blog and when it was time for me to do it, I couldn't. I was attached to this blog believe it or not and I felt like I was deleting some part of me if I shut it down.

I will further say that, my weekly review will return on every Tuesday and the next review will be on The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky Review

Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky 

Reading level: Ages 12 and up

Hardcover: 320 pages

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; First Edition edition (May 23, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0547371489

ISBN-13: 978-0547371481

Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches

Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces

Summary

Maddie lives in a world where everyone is on the computer. Everyone's life is spent on the computer. If it's school, socializing, or playing sports it's all on the computer. Maddie's mom is the only one she knows that still writes long hand and Maddie doesn't understand the use of it or books, especially when her mother gives her a blank book where she is suppose to write all her thoughts down. When Maddie meets up with a boy she has been tutoring on the computer, she meets a whole group of people she didn't know existed. As Maddie is on probation for selling her father's information to people who believe digital school (DS) should be illegal her father has trust issues and sends people to follow her with Justin. 

My mind has been slightly blown from the future that can be just a decade or two away for us. Maddie is an easy character to relate with in my opinion. She is insecure and watching her discover the past-our present- is just amazing. I find myself at awe at what we have on a daily basis that might get lost in the future. While I went along with Maddie's point of view I got so absorbed at the world they live in. Trains are the basic ways to get around and cars can not be seen for weeks. Justin-a little older than Maddie- takes all of our present day luxuries we don't find necessary and thrust them at us like a bone to a dog. Coming up short, this novel can be read in a few hours if I really wanted to, but instead I cut myself off after a few hours a day to keep a steady pace.

All in all I would recommend someone this book. I tip my hat off to you and see you next Tuesday. 

Uglies by David Westerfield Review

Uglies by David Westerfield

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse (February 8, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689865384
• ISBN-13: 978-0689865381
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces

Summary

Tally lives in this dystopian world were you are 'ugly', until you turn sixteen and become 'pretty'. The technology in this world is extremely advance. It takes place centuries after the current time. They look back at us like we were extremely dumb, but that just happens after a few centuries because humans learn from their mistakes. As Tally has lost her best friend when he turned pretty, she meets Shay. Shay has the same birthday as Tally,so Tally would expect that she would want to be turned pretty together. Not at all. Instead Shay is the exact opposite. She's claiming that there is a better place outside the little 'ugly' town they have grown up all there lives. A place where there are people that ran away from turning 'pretty'. Shay's the rebel that will not rest or care if she gets caught, because honestly they wouldn't do anything to her. Tally on the other hand has waited for years, like every other 'pretty' has. She doesn't see anything wrong with the government because it has been like that for years. You turn 'pretty' on your sixteenth birthday and you won't have to do anything the rest of your life, except have fun at parties every night and day.

I personally love the world Scott Westerfield builds through out the novel and I just feel like there are so many endless possibilities that he could add. At first glance I was very hesitant with reading this book. The idea of 'pretties' and 'uglies' caught me, bewildered. Though it was tough in the beginning, I grew with the book as I progressed through it. The suspense did not keep me up much and Tally's character was hard for me to mold my mind and thoughts around to go through this journey with her. My favorite part of this book was mostly the dystopian points of the advanced technologies like hoverboards. How they described change 'pretties' freaked me out and I think about the actions they take. For example the flawless skin, stretching bones, and putting plastic inside your nose and checks, instead of cartilage was the opposite of the pretty fluffy stuff in paranormal young adults.

Wrapped up all in one I did not enjoy this book as I would like. I guess I have learned my lesson of not believing the hype. I might review Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky next week. Until then, I tip my hat off to you.