Tricks

These tricks are brought to you by the video “10 bets you’ll always win” by Quirkology on YouTube. He has a few of these videos.

Here are a few of my favorite bets he shows that you can always win, I have gathered my favorites from a few different videos of his. (I like to think of it as easy money)

1. Bet someone to put a straw horizontally on the top (the cap) of a bottle. Ask them to move the straw without touching the straw. Once they can’t figure out how to do it show them how it’s done. To do it before putting the straw on the cap rub it on your shirt to gain static electricity so that when you put your finger close to the straw it will gravitate toward your finger and follow it around the bottle.

2. Challenge a friend to put one straw inside a glass of liquid and another outside the glass. Have them put both in their mouth and tell them to suck the liquid out of the glass. They won’t be able to as long as one straw is outside of the glass.

3. Challenge someone to clasp there hand together into a fist and keep the ring fingers up and pressed together. Put a coin between the ring fingers. Tell them if they can pull the ring fingers apart without releasing the fist then them can keep the coin. Thing is, it’s impossible!

4. Place two glasses apart on a table. Challenge a friend to put a piece of paper across the two glasses and using only the paper keep a glass standing on the paper. When they give up, fold the paper tightly into an accordion type way, unfold a little and it will be more stable.

5. Put an ice cube into a drink. Ask someone to get the ice cube out with only using a string. To actually do it you have to lay a section of the string on the ice cube and pour salt onto this area. After a minute you can pull the ice cube out because the salt makes the ice stick to the string.

6. Put 4 matches into an “X” shape with all the ends touching. Challenge someone to move only one match and make a square. The answer is actually quite simple. To make a square move one match so it’s not touching in the center to make a tiny square were all the ends aren’t touching.

7. Have three boxes of matches on the table. Shake one with your left hand and show them that there are matches in the box because it rattles. Then shake the other two boxes with your right hand and they don’t rattle. Have them watch the boxes as you flip them around and change spots as they are watching. Have them choose which box has the matches. They will always be wrong because they are all empty, the rattling actually comes from the hidden box of matches that’s in your sleeve (wrapped around your wrist by a rubber band).

Hope you try some of these out! (525)

Angel eyes

I think the song “angel eyes” by Love and Thief is just such a cute song. It’s the kind of song that everyone can sing along to. They are singing words that a lot of people may think about the person they are in a relationship with.

There’s a little bit of devil in her angel eyes

 She’s a little bit of heaven with a wild side

 Got a rebel heart a country mile wide

 There’s a little bit of devil in her angel eyes

 A little bit of devil in her angel eyes

               I can’t help looking at these words without smiling! The tune of this song definitely has a country flair to it, but not overly country so that I think everyone would still enjoy it. This songs pretty cool because I could see dancing to it, but I could also see just relaxing in the pool listening to it too. It’s got that beat that is calming and upbeat at the same time that is very unique.

Saturday night she’s rockin’ out by the bonfire

 Flirting from that tail gate and crankin’ up the dial

 Come Sunday mornin’ she’ll be singing with the choir

 Drivin’ me crazy with that kiss me smile

               This part of the song portrays the curtness of the song. It’s just a good old fashioned love song, done in such a cute way. And there’s nothing wrong with that! (237)

Salads are not just for dieting!

When people first think of a healthy food what do you suppose it is that they think about? I bet most of the people think about a salad. But to me a salad isn’t just a healthy meal, it is also very tasty and it has a lot of different varieties. My personal favorite is a salad with fruit. I love apples and cranberries on my salads with a little bit of raspberry vinaigrette to top it off. The combination of the sweet with the more biter spinach is wonderful.

               Salads don’t have to be boring; they can be made to fit any person’s personal favorites. Whether you like nuts, celery, carrots, raspberries, sunflower seeds, blue berries, blue cheese or peppers on your salad, you can make it however you would like. That’s why I think salads don’t get enough credit because they really can be just as delectable as any other meal.

               Another plus about salads is that they taste so good with any type of meat on top. Steak, chicken, or even tuna are very good. And you can add a lot or just a little, again, it all depends on your liking. 

               The dressing is usually were people go wrong. People take a completely healthy and nutritional salad and shove that all down the drain because they cover it in piles of dressing. You shouldn’t even use a lot of fat free dressing because dressing is meant to add a little extra taste, not to sop every inch of the salad with it.

               Try experimenting with salads. You would be surprised how good so many things taste in a salad!

Here are some interesting facts about salads brought to you by http://www.makemoreofsalad.com/:

.In ancient Egypt, lettuce was sacred to the fertility god Min and considered to be a powerful aphrodisiac. The first representation of salad appeared in paintings on Egyptian tombs in 4500 BC.

.Lettuce was first eaten by the ancient kings of Persia 2,500 years ago. The ancient Greeks and Romans thought it helped you to have a good night’s sleep.

.The lettuce we see today actually started out as a weed around the Mediterranean basin.

.Leonardo da Vinci was the first artist to depict salad in his paintings. In the Leda, 1504, a child, standing next to the goddess of fertility, poses with a bouquet of lamb’s lettuce.

.Salad comes from the Latin word “herba salta” or “salted herbs,” so called because such greens were usually seasoned with dressings containing lots of salt.

.Southern Chinese chew watercress to cure sore gums. The term ‘Salad Days’, commonly used in the English language, means carefree days of one's youth and comes from Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra.

.The name Lamb’s Lettuce was given to the leaf because of its resemblance to the size and shape of a lambs tongue. There is also a belief that it was so named because it is the favorite food of lambs (apparently in nature the first crop appeared around lambing time). (500)

It must be love

“It must be love” by Alan Jackson is a song I has been drilled into my brain known since I was born because it was constantly playing on our cd player. Alan Jackson is my favorite artist of all time, he has been since I can remember and he will continue to be until die. A lot of kids my age have no idea who he is, but that’s ok, he will be my special artist that I’m the only person that is obsessed with him.

Here’s the chorus:

It must be love, it must be love.

 I fall like a sparrow and fly like a dove.

 You must be the dream I been dreaming of,

 oh what a feeling, it must be love!

               These words always make me happy. They remind me of my childhood so much. These words bring my mom and dad’s voice to my memory of them singing this. I love how pure Alan Jacksons voice is. He doesn’t add any “weirdness” to his voice (like riffs), he just simply sings the notes. He doesn’t try to sound to country, he just has the perfect tone that makes his songs so easy to listen to and enjoy.

First I get cold and hot

 think I'm on fire, but I'm not.

 Oh, what a pain I've got,

 it must be love!

 There's nothing I can do,

 all that I want is you.

 Look what I'm going through,

 it must be love!

This is the beginning of the song. These words make the song very cute because you can tell by the lyrics and the way that he sings it that he really is in love. The simplicity of the song makes the song a good one in my eyes because everyone can relate and it’s just a charming song that you can easily dance to or sing along to. It’s what I like to call “a good feeling” song because it makes you feel happy just to listen to it. (334)

I'm ready for summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the time of the year when all the kids of the United States don’t pay attention to anything at school because all we care about is summer! At this point sometimes it seems so close till summer and other times it seems too far away to even bear! Everything I see in stores I try to imagine wearing it in the summer and if I can see it in that perfect picture of me in summer then I buy it. I doubt I’m not the only one that does that!

               Something that always happens to me is I say to myself, “ok, self, this is all the stuff you’re going to do this summer” and I end up doing about 10 percent of the stuff I say I’m going to do. I’m pretty sure that happens to mostly everyone too. This summer I have some big plans and a lot of small plans, but my favorite days are just the days when my friends and neighbors come over and we swim all day long and end the day with a bonfire. In my eyes no day could be more perfect then that!

A way of making sure that you’re never bored in the summer is make a “bucket list” for the summer with your friends. Include some little things as well as some actual big plans and a few in between. That way you can look at the list and decide how big of an adventure you want to go on that particular day.

I’m ready to feel the heat on my neck. I’m ready to eat 4 popsicles a day. I’m ready to wear swimming suits ad cute summer clothes. I’m ready to eat fresh fruit. I’m ready to wear cute sun glasses. I’m ready to work more and get more money since I don’t have to go to school. I’m ready to paint more with my free time. I’m ready to get to know my friends more. I’m ready to swim anytime that I want to. I’m ready for no home work. I’m ready to get to know new people. I’m ready to watch the stars appear into the sky. I’m ready to sing at the top of my lungs and dance so crazy in the warm summer air. I’m ready for sleeping at least until 8 every morning. I’m ready to do random stuff like be in a band with my friends, I’m ready to have scary movie marathons, I’m ready to volunteer at the animal shelter more, I’m  ready to spend more time with my family, I’m ready to express myself and be crazy. I’m ready for summer and summer could not come soon enough! Come on summer! Why you gotta be so far away? (462)

Your Noble Cleanliness

1                   For I am a janitor

2                   My nostrils stained with the scent of ammonia and urinal blocks.

3                   My hands wrinkled by damp plastic gloves.

4                   My Windex is like my sword.

5                   With it I fight my battles against uncleanliness.

6                   Clean the windows, clean the counters, clean the toilets.

7                   Clean it all.

8                   With my squire of supplies by my noble side no fight against filth is lost.

9                   Empowered, I grab the black bags from the roll

10                 and fill the emptied trash cans with a fresh layer.

11                 I make the old look new,

12                 it is all in a day’s work

13                 of such an influential cavalier like me.

14                The door knobs holler “disinfect us!”

15                And the floor bellows “make me shine!”

16                And I, such a gallant night, run quickly to the needy.

17                As anyone could see,

18                without my prodigious courage

19                the world would be a dirtier place to live.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.      Line number 2 and 3 show imagery:

I did this right of the bat to grab the attention and kind of make the audience think that being a janitor really can be fascination. I did this by adding a lot of words that evoke senses.

 

2.      Line 4 is a simile:

It is a simile because I use “like” to compare Windex and a sword. I do this to set the poem up for my overall analogy. (See number 7.)

 

3.      Lines 6 and 7 show anaphora:

It is anaphora because I repeat the word “clean” after every comma. I did this to show the vast amount of thing I clean. On the last time I use “clean” I made it a short sentence to put emphasis on the fact that I clean everything and that’s why I am so powerful like a knight would be.

 

4.      Line 8 shows archaic diction:

I use words that would be used long ago like “squire and noble”. The way this particular line is written is not necessarily Shakespearean language, but my whole poem does have a hint of this type of diction (I have a few learned and popular words like prodigious and cavalier).

 

5.      Line 9 is inversion

I use the word empowered to begin the sentence. I did this to put emphasis on the job that I have in hand.

 

6.      Lines 14 and 15 show personification

Personification was shown because the inanimate objects (being the door knobs and the floor) are screaming to me. I did this to make it seem like my noble deeds were more influential because I was doing things for people like objects in need.

 

7.      My whole poem was an analogy:

The analogy was that being a janitor is like being a noble knight. I did this to give my poem an overall tone of mythical. I also did this because I thought it was funny because being a janitor is like the opposite of being a knight so I though saying the two were like would be interesting.

 

 

Banana Pancakes

Banana pancakes by jack Johnson is a very relaxing song. This song is perfect for Sunday morning when your…well making pancakes! Rainy days are perfect for this song because it makes you just love the idea of staying inside and enjoying time with your family or loved ones. The guitar in this song is very simple but still somehow a very unique sound because the strumming consists of sharper stokes of the strings which give a very distinct beat and rhythm to the song.

But, baby, you hardly even notice

 When I try to show you this

 Song is meant to keep you

 From doing what you're supposed to.

 Waking up too early

 Maybe we can sleep in

 Make you banana pancakes

 Pretend like it's the weekend now

               I think it’s really cool how the whole song revolves around jack saying “hey girl just put everything down for a second, relax and don’t worry for a little.” The song is called banana pancakes because it goes with the concept that he wants them to just having a simple day like an easy going weekend, making simple food and enjoying simple time together.

Something that jack Johnson does often is sing random words to form rambling sentences in his songs. Here’s were he does it in this song:

But just maybe, like a ukulele

 Momma made a baby

 Really don't mind the practice

 'cause you're my little lady

 Lady, lady, love me

 'cause I love to lay here lazy

 We could close the curtains

 Pretend like there's no world outside

               The text really doesn’t make perfectly clear sense but it gives a really unique twist to the song because it makes it something different from what another artist would do.

               The very beginning of this song is my favorite part vocally for him because usually he does more of a talking singing where he doesn’t really have much of a pitch to his voice but in this particular song he does have more of a singing voice in the beginning. I also love the guitar in the very beginning because the pauses of the strumming are also unique. If you have never heard this song I really suggest listening to it because it’s so soothing! (374)

She will be loved

The song “she will be loved” by Maroon 5 just gets me every time. If you’re a maroon 5 fan then you will for sure know this song by heart, and mostly likely even if you aren’t a big fan or maroon 5 you will still recognize this song. I love the way Adam Levine has such a great upper range when he sings and the soft, sweetness of the tone of his voice is perfect for this song.

My favorite part of the song is:

I don't mind spending every day

 Out on your corner in the pouring rain

 Look for the girl with the broken smile

 Ask her if she wants to stay awhile

 And she will be loved

 And she will be loved

This part is the chorus and this part gets stuck in my head often! I especially love when he sings “look for the girl with the broken smile” because I think this part can relate to a lot of relationships that started by somebody trying to help someone who is broken inside and then it turned into a more intimate relationship.

I love all maroon 5 songs but I especially love this one because it has such tenderness to it. I also think this song would be great to sing in a lot of different octaves because you really can’t go wrong with the cords of this song because they aren’t super complex.

Another great part is:

Tap on my window, knock on my door

 I want to make you feel beautiful

 I know I tend to get so insecure

 It doesn't matter anymore

This part standout because this part appeals to the teenage girls that are obsessed with Adam Levine because when he sing the part “I want to make you feel beautiful” it makes hearts melt everywhere!

This song just has such a great tone that communicates what he really is trying to get across with his words, sound and just overall effect. (331)

Dancing through the decades

Have you ever realized how the dance moves have changed so much through the generations. I mean, it started off with practically a swaying back and forth with your partner to now contorting your body around in such strange ways and shaking your bum while you are upside down on a wall! whhhaaaat? I know, just a little weird to think about.

   Something that really crakes me up is to try and explain dance moves for example, the wobble.... just listen, because it sounds so strange. First you bend your knees slightly and bend your back. Then you dangle your arms behind you and shake them like your arms are having a seizure while the rest of your body kind of just sways and jiggles slightly. You can also lean your head back and shake it a little too. Just hearing this makes sense why old people say kids these days are so....well stupid.

     The forty’s was a time of mostly all partner dances like the jive and the jitter bug. The music was innocent, as well as the dancing. The partners never got to close and the music was never super-fast, although it was upbeat dancing. To do the jive and the jitter bug you really had to stay on your toes and be quick with your feet.

The 50's dances were mostly partner dances like the forties were. The most popular dances were swing and the stroll. But 50’s were the first time rock came out so the dance moves changed dramatically in this decade to more of one person dances toward the end of the decade like the bop.

The 60's contained a lot of crazier looking dances like the pony, the swim, the monkey, and the twist. They used a lot of simpler steps but just got really wild while they did them. The dances in the 60’s were very high energy and dances practically anyone could learn within a minute or two.

The 70’s were full of lots of groovy step touches and a lot of hip and arm movement. For example the hustle and YMCA. In the seventies the songs had changed to more of a “boogie music”. The disco was also popular and could be danced to practically any 70’s song.

80’s was all about goofing around.  When the 80’s began the music was very differ than what anyone had ever heard. The most popular dance moves were dorkey ones like stir the pot and the sprinkler.

As the 80’s ended and 90’s appeared aerobics was very popular so a lot of the dances were used as exercise. Some of the dances in the 90 have included the running man, the Macarena, and kid in play.

The 20^th century was widely known as the “new school” era were more songs contained rap, as well as more upbeat songs. Some well-known dances are krump, jerk and the dougie.

I can’t believe how different dance moves are from when my parents were young, and especially from when my grandparents were young. I think all of these dance moves are fun to experiment with, and it is fun to try and make a dance routine that has a little bit of dances from all of the decades. Next time you go to your grandparents have them show you their favorite dances from when they were a teen. It’s so interesting to compare their dances with the ones you dance now. (575)

Moving away

When a family member moves away it is one of the hardest times in our lives. But when the family member is your best friend it's even harder. I couldn't imagine my life without my aunt Jennifer she is my friend, my aunt,  my fashion consultant, my life consultant, and one of the main people in my life that I couldn’t imagine doing without. I will truly miss her more than I have ever missed someone when they have moved away. She is always there for me, and I will miss her support in my daily life.

 

            She recently decided to move to Belize. We all know that this decision was right for her but we are going to miss her so much. I found out that if you just thought how much better her life will be when she moves then it makes everything seem so much better. It really eases my mind knowing that her life is going to be greatly better because she has such a good plan for herself in Belize. In Belize she has such a great plan for her life and I can see by the glow that she carries within herself that she really is exited to start out brand new in a different place and in different circumstances. I can already tell that this trip will be great for her, everything is perfect, except for one thing, the pain of watching her leave. The pain will be worth it when I know she is happy and finally finding her true inner self and figuring exactly what she is all about and what she loves to do.

 

            Sometimes you just need to take a chance to try something new. And this is her chance to try something new and to try to make something different of herself, and hopefully this will make her enjoy life more. All of the memories I've had with her are here in Iowa but now I just now that the rest of the memories that we are going to make are just going to be in a different place. This doesn't make them any better or worse, all that matters is that I'm going to be with her. It just won’t be as often.

 

            I always tell my parents my grandparents that I'm never going to move away but I have now realized you never know for sure what's going to happen. You just have to know what's right for you and when is right for you. If your decision is to move then life may be a little bit harder at first but your family will still be there with for you, just farther away. No matter where you go or you are you can never be forgotten. (462)

City or country?

 

 

 

Are you a country person of a big town person? When I ask myself if I would rather live in a big town or in the country I can never decide. I made a list of advantages of each to compare them both. Here is the list!

 

Advantages of living in the country:

 

.you know everyone around you so better friendships can be made

.beautiful landscape

.fresh air/less pollution

.no traffic

.lots of space to roam around

.You can have a lot of animals

.you can have fresh food more often

.you can have a bigger family

.you can be closer to your family

.There is a lot less noise (less noise of traffic and just in general)

.There are bigger yards and you can own more land

.There are more adventures during the day

 

 

Advantages of living in a big city:

.There are more places to see and to go

.There is more daily excitement

.The businesses are bigger and there is usually a better economy

.There are always plays and shows to see

.You have the ability to make more money

.There are more adventures at night

.There are more places to shop at

. There are more people to meet.

 

As you can see both groups have a lot of advantages but you just have to find the ones that fit you better. I think it is interesting how some people know for sure that they are a city person or a country person but some people are just really flexible and would like to live anywhere. Also with my personality I like to see the beauty in everything so I think both the county and city are absolutely gorgeous, just in completely different ways. I think it mostly comes down to if you like a lot of commotion and big exiting things (a big city) or if you like the small wonderful things in life and more physical and mental freedom to do what you want (the country). (332)

Lady bugs

 

If you asked me when I was little what my favorite animal was I would say lady bugs. Now I know that technically ladybugs are not animals but I loved to think they were when I was young. I don’t know why I had such a fascination with them when I was young. Maybe it was there color, a blend of red and orange which is my favorite color. i had lady bug dresses and jewelry, my mom would even paint my nails to look like a lady bug just to please me.

 

            I would play with the lady bugs weather I found them inside or outside. I would lert them crawl up and down my arms. I would pet them as if they were a dog. I would rub my fingers along there stiff, crunchy back.

            I named every single one I ever came in context with. I bet there were about 200 lady bugs with the name Dorothy because their backs reminded me of Dorothy’s red ruby shoes.

            The wings also fascinated me. It seemed like they had three layers of wings. In the deep, deep inside was a very thin, fragile wing that was practically see through with a thicker wing layering that one and on the very top, of course was the thickest wing that covered the surface of the whole lady bugs body. I loved watching the ladybugs fly because the layers of tiny wings resembled a fan because with the speed of the wings flapping the movement made a full unfolded paper fan shape.

            I remember throughout my childhood my grandma would just hate the ladybugs that invaded her house. She would become so weary that the lady bugs were running her carpet and furniture as they crawled everywhere, toppling over each other to form small piles of lady bugs. Right as she was about to vacuum them up I would scream “wait!” “I got them under control grandma!” And I would take each ladybug outside one by one. Sometimes it would take me close to an hour because there were so many lady bugs that really loved the comfort of her house. Once I got all of the lady bugs gone a few more would be back inside by then and the process started all over again. As you can now tell I was dedicated to those ladybugs.

            Ever since I can remember I have just liked them, who knows why for sure. But lady bugs are still my favorite “animal” because they remind me of my childhood, and how great it was. (430)