http://duncanbms.edublogs.org Another excellent Edublogs.org weblog Mon, 30 Mar 2009 03:16:23 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en "You mean 'chill out'. No. I mean 'be more chill. As per rap slash hip-hop." This quote describes Jeremy Heere's problem - he wants to be "Cool". He is not. Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini describes the unspoken struggle of teenagers to be “Cool'. The main character of Be More Chill ... http://duncanbms.edublogs.org/2009/03/29/be-more-chill-review/ 10,000 feet and dropping. 9,500. 9,000. The altimeter is whirling now, spinning so fast I can't discern my height. The sparkling ice is rushing up to meet me rapidly. If only I had listened. "No, you can"t make it!" the critics told me. "You won't be able to cross the ... http://duncanbms.edublogs.org/2009/03/28/the-pole/       Half a century ago we thought discrimination was acceptable. Our nation was fine with the belief that white and black children shouldn't be taught in the same schools. Less than 50 years ago we said they couldn't marry. The Supreme Court overruled this, stating that "separate is not equal". ... http://duncanbms.edublogs.org/2008/12/11/where-freedom-dies/ “Did you kill someone?” The question is much too common. As always, our veterans will sigh and look away; their hearts know the truth. They vividly remember the pain and suffering of their friends and allies, whether they were in Iwo Jima or Germany; Vietnam or the Middle East. They ... http://duncanbms.edublogs.org/2008/11/20/every-veteran-is-another-person/ This quarter I read three very interesting books, all from the Artemis Fowl series, by Eoin Colfer. First, I read The Eternity Code. In this book, the young criminal mastermind and main character, Artemis Fowl, creates a mini supercomputer from fairy (yes, fairy) technology. He proceeds to get it stolen, ... http://duncanbms.edublogs.org/2008/10/16/artemis-fowl-series-review/ "What?! We're not going?!" I sputter, my face livid. "Why not?!" "Gotcha!" laughs my dad. "We're driving up in 20 minutes." "Yess!" We are going to the famed Table Mountain, in the Cape of Good Hope on the tip of Africa. I have only been there once before, when I was 7; ... http://duncanbms.edublogs.org/2008/10/16/the-great-mountain/ Aaaah! Sharks! Swimming all around us, the smell of blood in the water, ready to attack! Alastair, Dad, cousin Chad, cousin Kayla, and I are on a shark cage diving boat on a hot summer day in the middle of December. Grandpa, Dad's dad, has a friend (he is friends ... http://duncanbms.edublogs.org/2008/10/16/blood-in-the-water/ Push! Puuush! Kicking up sand, the tyres spin but get us nowhere. Stranded. Kilometres away from anyone or any help. I really don't want to walk all the way back to Grandpa's house. And what about the little kids? Natalie and Robert? I know they would not be able to ... http://duncanbms.edublogs.org/2008/10/16/beach-braai-gone-wrong/ All alone, I carefully trod my way, barefoot, down the jagged, dirty, broken crags of rocks to the deep teal pool. It has an odor like the ocean: salty but clean. In the shadows hide the small rock dragons and other creatures of the water's edge. I dip my feet into ... http://duncanbms.edublogs.org/2008/10/16/dark-depths/   Gathering Blue, by Lois Lowry, is about a crippled girl with a gimp leg, named Kira, who is a peaceful weaver within a violent and primitive society limited to a small village. She is orphaned when her mother dies abruptly and she is chosen to recreate a beautiful, amazing coat ... http://duncanbms.edublogs.org/2008/10/02/gathering-blue/