outside reading #2

Jacob is moving up the ranks in the circus from where i left off. In the previous chapters he was a maitenence man, but now he is on staff for a certain venue. Before the show jacob peeks into the big tent, and sees large show animals. He sees tigers, horses,monkies, and girafees. He is perplexed at the reason why there is no elephant in the show. He then sees the horse trainer, who he is immediatley attracted to.when his exhibit starts it is pure chaos. His exhibit is the bearded lady exhibit, and jacob leads the people to it and helps keep order. When men and women want their refundsa fight breaks out between jacob's boss, and a man who is angry. Jacob jumps in to defend hsi boss and puts the man in a headlock, drags him away from the exhibit, and throws him on the ground. Seconds later the circus security takes the man away for his actions. Jacob gained positive recognition from his boss for defending his life. He promises Jacob a more secure position in the show. I believe Jacob will gain a tight relationship with the horse trainer, and she will help Jacob succeed in the circus. Jacob is gaining an identity in the circus and will become a large part in the future shows hopefully.

chapters 1-3

I just started water for elephants and it is already a page turner. A 90 year old man named Jacob Jankowski has a flashback on his past life in the circus. It starts when he is around 20 and is attending Cornell in order to become a vet. During preperation for his finals Jacob is notified that his parents had both died in a car accident. Jacob is so shaken by this news that he can't prepare for his test. On the day of the final Jacob sits and looks at his test for forty five minutes and then turns it in. He is basically blinded by his parents death and he just needs to get away. He walks for a few hours down the train tracks just looking to get away. He finds a train, and he has no money so he jumps on it. He finally gets in the car, only to find strange looking men who are work crew on the ringling Brothers circus. Jacob is shoked by this and is welcomed in. He starts his work as a muscle man who packs and un-packs the cars. Jacob was so overwhelmed by his parents deaths that he needed to get away. This blind movement led Jacon to this life in the circus. I think he will find sanctuary in the circus becasue they are closely knit, and it is a job to distract him. Hopefully Jacob's ivy league education will give him a higher status in teh circus world.
Gruen, Sara " Water for Elephants" Algonwuin books. 2007. April 21 2009.

Outside reading

I chose to read the book water for elephants because of the great reviews i have heard about it. My friends have requested it to me becasue it is supposed to be a fast read. The book is by Sarah Gruen, who is supposed to be a great author. I read the inside of the cover and I became instantly intrested in the book. I mainly chose to read this because of my friends around me telling me to read it. I am very excited to read the book.

post 15

Kevin Everett who was a tight end for the bufflao bills had a serious paralyzing spinal injury that ended his football career. His doctors told him that there would be around 5% chance he would be able to walk again after the surgery. Three months after the surgery Kevin is walking with the assistance of a person, and doing rehabilitation. Kevin is now living a normal life, but wiht no physical games or running. Kevin is one of the greatest stories in the NFL, because his injury shook the world. He speaks about what happened then, and all he remembers is waking up in a hospital with his mother by his side. this story is one of the greatest in history because Kevin overcame all odds to be able to walk again. Hopefully he will be able to keep this going for him becasue he is on the fast track to becoming a fully healed man. He was able to overcome all of the doubts in the world to show people that recovery form that injury can be done.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/magazine/12/11/everett1217/index.html
Layden, TIm "The Road Back". S.I. Magazine. december11 2007. 22 March 2009

True Love?

James Mason a 70 year old man who was janitor/ ex-military man. He married Chris three years ago. Chris was born a boy, but 6 years ago chris had a sexchange operation. Chris and James married soon after. When they married James was 70 and Chris was 30. Chris was swimming in a pool, then she pulled her frail husband(who had a serious heart condition) into the pool and forced him to do 2 hours of stressful work. The next day James was put on life support, Chris then pulled him off and James shortly after died. Chris was accused of killing her husband for his retirement benefits. Chris was lately sentenced to 4 years in prison for reckless homicide. This is a chilling tale of two very weird men, Chris went to large extents to just recieve a retirement check. This makes me question if this was true love, or just a scam to recieve benefits.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/us/22killing.html?_r=1&ref=us
Associated, Press"Woman gets prison in husband's death". N.Y Times. 21 MArch 2009. 22 March 2009

post 13

The U.S. nation has a policy of fighting one war at a time, as of right now the U.S. has 170,000 troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. These two countries have strained U.S. supplies an dhas been longer than World War 2. The pentagon is reviewing stratigies right now on what the future plans of war should be. Many senior advisors for the war are advising a smarter strategy by the president and his aids. These useless conflicts have been going on for 6 years, and all they have done is ruined American families and has been an endless pit for American money. The role of " Defender of the world" is coming to and end for the U.S.. This poor economy is also shaping inot the decision of the future plans of these conflicts. The U.S> should be devising a plan that will be able to pull all of the troops out of the danger area for many years to come.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/washington/15military.html?_r=1&ref=worldspecial
Shanker, Tom " Pentagon Rethinking old doctrine on 2 wars". N.Y times. 14 March 2009. 15 March 2009.

blog 12 colonialism

At the turn of the 20th century Africa was a cake filled with many treasures up for the taking. The Europeans were in a race for the most dominate power, and their imperialist ways started the scrammble for Africa. In 1884 the Berlin Confrence was held in order to split up the provinces of Africa. The europeans "took" what they wanted and moved in. The imperialistic nations tried to colonize in these areas, but they were already inhabitited with the indegenous tribes. With the European's superior weapons and technology they were able to move in, and force the indegenous out. This trend of Europeans moving in and the indegenous having to leave was also seen int eh colonization of America. The people of Africa were ravaged by the incomin g Europeans and had to migrate elsewhere or suffer great casualties. A theme for European colonization can be linked to that when they move in they have intentions of total control, with the domination of foreign markets.
3 pages
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scramble_for_Africa
Wikipedia. " Scramble for Africa". Wikipedia Online database. March 6 2009. March 10 2009