Comic Connection

When I first saw this comic I had an immediate connection. The point of this blog was to make a connection from this comic and this one I feel has the strongest connection to me. Ever since kindergarten I have had the same best friend, Marc duMoulin. Marc and I have always clicked and we have been hanging out with each other thousands of times over the years. But this isn't how I made the connection, I made the connection to the comic through the things me and Marc do together. When Marc and I get together we do some pretty stupid stuff and over the years we have racked up our fair share of injuries from these and have barely lived to tell the tale from. Well that's an exaggeration but in a way it’s not at all. With Marc at my side we have done crazy things that include scaling a running waterfall and walking down a river until we got to the end than walking the six miles back to school. Together Marc and I have also racked up a large sum of injuries. I was there when Marc tore a ligament in his knee playing wiffle ball. We actually weren't doing anything stupid at that time but he still tore a ligament in his knee, a pretty serious injury. Marc was also there when I was riding my bike and I then got close lined by a branch and dot flipped of my bike and literally almost decapitated myself. I only ended up with a nasty looking abrasion on my neck from that but it took a few trips to the chiropractor to fix that one. So really when I saw this comic I made an immediate connection. Because in the comic it shows two boys know that something is a terrible idea and still doing it. This comic is very similar to Marc and me in real life though. Even though we know that something is a terrible idea we still do it and have great memories from them.

Turn “can do” into “can did”

For this blog assignment we had to choose a "pep talk" that has appeared on a Halls cough drop wrapper and then write about how that "pep talk" relates to our life. For my "pep talk" I chose Turn “can do” into “can did." I chose this "pep talk" because I feel it has a connection to something that is coming up in my life. 
 During the spring season I run track for Guilderland. I did this last year and am planning on doing it again this year. Now track is most definitely not my favorite sport. There is something about running in circles that just gets to me. But even with my dislike of running in circle I still manage to have fun with track and enjoy myself during the season. During track I really only run one event, the 1600 or mile. I occasionally run the 800 but my main event is the 1600. Last season I started of the season by running a 5:45 mile. This was huge for me. I had never broken a six minute mile before and it was really exciting to break it. Now I look back and think about running my fastest and getting a 5:45. These days I am running a 5:45 mile split when I run a timed two mile. This shows how much faster I have gotten but that is not the point of this blog. The reason is chose the "pep talk" Turn “can do” into “can did” for this blog is because this year for track my goal is to break five minutes in the mile. This is a huge goal for me and I really want to achieve it and I believe that I can achieve it. Last year I ended track with a 5:17 mile time and this year I am a much faster runner.  I fully believe that I will be able to break five easily but I have some doubts. But anyways I have been told by many people that I will break five this track season and I am nervous. I really want to break five and I know that I am capable of doing it I am just worried if I will break it. So that is why I chose this "pep talk." Because I really want to break five but the only way I will be able to break it will be to Turn “can do” into “can did."

TU Tuesday

Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

Pull out - from the article - THREE examples of figurative language.  Label the examples with their appropriate term, define them, and analyze the overall role of figurative language within the text in a response paragraph that uses text quoted directly from your article and put in quotation marks.

 http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Dowd-Real-spine-counters-stump-spin-2889921.php

" 'I just want to tell you, this guy's got a backbone like a ramrod,' the vice president assured House Democrats last week at a retreat in Cambridge, Md." = Metaphor: a comparison of two unlike things in which no words of comparison are used

"Newt Gingrich wants a colony on the moon, but Obama had to make the toughest call of his presidency based on the moon." = Antithesis: is an opposition, or contrast, of ideas

"Biden, the only pol in town who can be more revealing on the record than off."= Hyperbole: and exaggeration or overstatement

The article Real Spine Counters Stumps Spin talks about Joe Biden our vice president backing our president Barack Obama. In the article Maureen Dowd uses figurative language to make the article more interesting. Dowd uses a quote by Biden saying how Obama has a backbone like a ramrod. This is an obvious metaphor and it really adds to the article by making think that Obama is tough. Dowd then goes on to use another form of figurative language, antithesis. Dowd says how Gingrich want moon colonies while Obama's hardest decision as a president was about the moon. This shows contrast and opposition between Obama and Gingrich. While Obama shut down the moon program Gingrich wants it back. Dowd also uses hyperbole, another form of figurative language. She says that Biden is the only person who can be more reveling on the record than off. This is obviously an overstatement because there is definitely more politicians who are just like this as well.