Journal #33 reaction to whitman's Self

The author's article mentions how Walt Whitman is oftentimes egotistical in his writings. I can believe this because Whitman seems to make references to himself in many of his poems. The article also discusses how Whitman is inspired by true self, and not the kind of self that is unreliable or fake. True self is self that is the true meaning and character of a human being. Fake self is the kind of self that cannot be true or is not true. The author also describes how Whitman oftentimes has multiple personalities and style when it comes to his writings. He can be very egotistical in one piece of writing, and possibly more humble in the next. In some of his poems he compares life and death from a more death oriented perspective, and then in his next piece of literature, he may focus more on the life aspect. He even uses many religious examples and references from the bible often when he writes poems. I believe personally that religion is very important in defining self because religion helps to define a person's character. Character is very important in self because it is how you act and live. Religion aids in character because it effects how a person acts. Life and death are also very important in his writings. These he describes in many different forms, especially in his leaves of grass poems. In one poem titled, "As I Watch'd the Plowman Ploughing" he describes life and death through the raising and harvesting of crops. The planting of the crops represents the birth and life of a person. The harvesting of the crops represents the death of a person. The plants are ripped out of the ground, just as a persons soul is ripped out of their body when they die. Life and death are important in Self because they tie into religion and being true to your self. Religion factors into the way you live, and sometimes, the way you die and this helps to define a persons true self.

Journal # 32, war reporting

If I was a reporter reporting on a war and was in the trenches on the front lines I would most likely report to the best of my ability. I would be respectable to the troops. It seems like most news reporters never insult the troops directly but will still bash them when they get the chance. They even make it look like our soldiers are evil, and the enemy as good.

I would interview many of the troops to get the general mood of the soldiers. I would even allow them to tell their stories oe why they signed up to join the army. Then, I would follow them into combat and show the true side of the war i was reporting on. Yes, it would be brutal and most likely not appropriate for all audiences. It would show both sides of the war and get down to the very core of why the troops are fighting.

The majority of my filming would rotating between combat and interviewing the troops. Unlike major broadcasting networks such as cnn, I would not bias my information in order to go with popular support. I would make it as realistic as possible.

Being in the trenches would not be an easy thing for me to do because i am in the same danger as the troops. I would have to be as brave as possible, especially if I wanted to accomplish my work.
However, i am not trained for war like the troops would be and I would not be issued a weapon to defend myself with. Carrying around the camera and equipment with my crew would be an extra burden in a high tension zone where combat could begin any moment.

If combat was to begin I would not be able to hide from it. i would need to be brave and keep a cool head. Filming and reporting on the events taking place would be top priority. Hopefully my side would win but if not I would need to be ready for the worst. Showing fear would not be a good thing to do for morale. Without a weapon I would need to keep a level head and do what needs tobe done to accomplish my task and stay alive.

Journal #31 Persuading someone to do what I want

Whenever I need to have something done, but don't want to do it myself, I just lay on the the Jace Vaninger charm and whatever I need gets accomplished. You know, its really simple to persuade people. I like to lay on the personal, emotional, and logical appeal to my audience. This concept was invented by Aristotle (Maybe it was Socrates???), and then magnificently re-taught to students by Mr. Langley.

One time I was hungry so I yelled for my mom and told her to make me some. She did, and it was tasty. I didn't want to get up because I was watching TV and the sun was shining just right on the couch so I was about to take a nap.

Every week I make my little brother bring the trash cans and recycle bins down. Not to sound lazy but this is simply because i don't want to do it. I have enough responsibility while he has none, so whenever i can i place it on other people.


This event has happened recently to me. It was today, Friday january 15, 2010. I sit by all girls and usually when the estrogen levels get to high I get tired of listening to their strange stories i move over by my friend Matthew. Well, Mr. Langley was not here today and the antagonist of this scary event was naturally taking advantage of the lack of authority present in the room. Bless our sub's heart, she tried her bets, she just wasn't prepared for what was happening.

It was now my time to move away from the rowdy females (mostly buchman). However, Hallie (the antagonist) took this moment to strike. She took the seat next to matthew and cut me off. She then began to violate Matthew with verbal attacks and quizzical glances. I was not about to back down because I had no where else to go, I could not go back, because Buchman was still there, and things were getting out of control. I was especially not going to back down to a woman. I decided to stand my ground, and approached with my skills in talking to a hostile audience. I came in peace and tried to work it out, but she would not have anything to do with being nice.

She hit me several times with sharp weapons that she had concealed in her over sized purse, which was clearly a violation of the purse standard. Fortunately, I am a ninja and was able to fight her off. rendering her attacks useless. When the combat was through, I initiated the three keys to a successful speech. I appealed to her emotions and and what little intelligence she had. This was ineffective so my last resort was the personal appeal, I like to call this, the Jace Vaninger charm. I'm not sure how but this wasn't 100% effective. It was only 99% effective.

I did not give up, I knew what Mr. Langley had taught me, to never back down, to never quit, and to trust in my heart. It worked! She left! But she was pissed off! Ill probably be hearing about this for a long time... not to mention the car ride home... I then took my seat and Matthew and i wrote this blogg side by side, makeing them synonymous with each other.

As I sit here wondering what Hallie will do to get revenge, I cannot but smile at how Mr. Langley will be proud of me for upholding the law in his class. I am sure that he will award with some kind of medal and a promising amount of extra credit. This blog was based on true events, which may have been tweaked a bit...

Journal #30 Finding Myself

Who am I? That is an excellent question. Yet, I have an excellent answer, for every excellent question. I am Jace Vaninger. Yes, that sounds right to me. indeed it does. jace vaninger is who I am. how do I know? Another excellent question... and I will counter with another answer. I know this because thats what it says on my birth certificate, my drivers license, and its what I have been called my entire life. Some people go through life only knowing their names, not who they really are. they put up fake personas and build walls to hide themselves from everyone else. This is because they are scared, or embarrassed to be themselves.

I'm not afraid. Nothing scares me. Here are some fast facts about me.

1. ive been called the Michaelangelo of my generation as an artist, inventor, and scholar.
2. im a perfet gentlemen.
3. I am notorious on Martlin luther king St. for my basketball skills.

These are just a few of the many descriptions of me.

Back to the point, I am Jace vaninger and iam not afraid to be a hero. i have lived a good life up to my seventeen years so far. Learning from my experiences hashelped me to develop into a better man, and im fast on my way to creating my own legend as an American hero. ive experienced many things in my seventeen years that most people will not experience in their whole lives.

I have danced with the wolves under the dark mid-night moon. Hunted fierce tigers and other beasts with the Native American tribesmen. I once sent time educating the youth of America in the ways of the world. Some might call me the best storyteller ever to have tread on earth's wonderful surface, this is proven by my excellent track record in speech class. Such as when I shook audiences with my powerful ghost story and Rattled the foundations of Farmingdale Elementary school with my interpretation of the Shoemaker and the Elves.

I could go on forever with my accomplishments but i have never been one to brag. You will find that I have many sides to me, this is because i am Jace Vaninger. Jace Vaninger will extend his hand in friendship, but if you become hostile, he will strike you down with a bolt of lightening. Always willing to lend a hand in assistance to anyone, unless he is sitting down and feels he is too tired to move.

So, you asked me who I am. And hopefully I have helped clear that up with you.

Journal #29 tested by nature

nature is seen by many people as harmless and full of beauty. They do not understand that nature can be a powerful force to be reckoned with. It was a few years ago that this event happened, although I was fortunate enough to not have to take part in this. It is a tragic event that has scarred everyone there. We were playing kick the can at the craven's house because they have a large pasture perfect for hiding, and oddly enough, cougar breeding.

The game was kick the can. anyone fortunate enough to live in a neighborhood with plenty of kids their age has probably played this game at one point or another. It is an American classic. In fact, my grandpa told me that he used to play it when he was a kid. Our game was set up at David Craven's house and this seemingly harmless game was about to take an unfortunate twist.

The round had been going on for some time no, I recall that Blake Martin and my little brother were "it" and I had one goal, to hide from them. I was behind the cars, skillfully hidden like a ninja in the shadows. The jail was empty up to this point, Im guessing that because Blake was never very good at being "it," in fact, it was always somewhat of a joke when he was.

Out of nowhere, I heard a loud crash! people began extracting themselves from their hiding spots, I took my time as to not give away my position, caution is always best. We went to the back of the house and saw that the tree house had fallen from the tree. I was standing next to my good friend and colleague Matthew Tomaw. The two of us began to laugh and when everyone else arrived on the scene they too began laughing. Joe Craven, who arrived last, was speechless.

The laughter continued another ten seconds when we were shocked to see Andrew Tomaw crawl out from the wreckage. We were in dis-beliefe... Andrew lifted up another piece of debris and Cale George, another classmate of mine crawled out to safety. Both of them were ok, but as it turned out, it was Blake's fault (of course) the house fell.

Donald Craven, a legend among men, and former NBA superstar, did not notice the wreckage for another two weeks. Somehow, he and mrs craven had not heard the ear splitting crash of the destruction. So, when he noticed it had collapsed, Joe blamed it on one of the storms that had recently passed through the area. They bought it...

Journal #28 Christmas Break

I enjoyed my Christmas Break more than I thought i would. It was perfect because i did not have much home work to do. mr. Scropos gave us alot of work but since it was only in one class it was ok. I blew it off to the last 3 or 4 days and then decided i should work... i did not finish but thats ok, I'll get to it eventually. The good news is i read "he Jungle' by Upton Sinclair in 4 days. i consider that an accomplishment because it took forever and it was 422 pages of depressing descriptions of a Lithuanian family of immigrants. I now have to type a five to seven page paper on it and the good news is i have over three pages done. I also read all of Chapter fifteen in our history book, which was on the Civil War. I got most of the packet for chapter fifteen done so I'm not too far behind. However, I could have capitalized on my two week break. Oh well.

I slept alot over my Christmas break. it felt wonderful to not have to get up at six thirty in the morning to go to school. Nobody likes to do that... especially not me. So, instead, I went to bed at two every morning and woke up around noon. My car also broke down on me one day while I was driving home. I was just returning from running a few errands and was on the home stretch of my journey. I had just passed the intersection of old bradfordton road and Old jacksonville road traveling down old jack. My steering locked up and since it was snowy and icy I felt for a moment that I was going to die. Well, I almost did die but was able to force the wheel to a hard left. Luckily for me there were no cars in the other lane, but there was a big semi driving behind me probably wondering what I was planning. I didn't have many options so I kinda just forced the wheel straight again and accelerated a tad bit to get me near frey subdivision which acted as my safe haven for the time being. Fortunately for me I am not dead... and now my car is fixed.