Hey guys! Today we're talking about ThinkGeek. It's an AWESOME site! ThinkGeek is an online retailer that caters to computer enthusiasts and other geeky social groups. Their merchandise includes clothes, electronic and scientific gadgets, unusual computer accessories, office toys, pet toys, child toys, and caffeinated drinks and candy. ThinkGeek was founded in 1999 and is based in Virginia. A majority of the products sold on ThinkGeek are heavily related to Internet culture. Some t-shirt designs include a ROFLCOPTER (an ASCII drawing of a helicopter made of internet slang), the Intel Pentium Processor logo with Geek instead of Intel, and a pixelated 1Up Mushroom from the Super Mario Bros. game series. ThinkGeek runs a points-for-reward system called Geek Points, in which customers can earn rewards for buying products. On April 1st every year, the company puts on a fake homepage with fake products. For example, in 2007 it advertised "Surge Stix", cigarette-like high potency caffeine delivery systems that, when snapped like a glowstick, supposedly deliver as much caffeine as five cans of Coke. Some of the April Fools Day merchandise has been so popular with customers that they've been made into real products, such as the 8-Bit Tie, the Personal Soundtrack t-shirt, the Tauntaun sleeping bag and the iCade. Think Geek items are usually based on other franchises, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Doctor Who, The Big Bang Theory, bacon, Minecraft, zombies, LEGO, iPhone, iPad, Portal, etc. Think Geek also has a mascot in the form of a monkey, named Timmy.
Check it out right here! : http://www.thinkgeek.com/
Happy weekend!
Maria.
In this short post, I offer my condolences to the families of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. This is a horrible event that should never happen again ever. I hope that the suspects get caught as quickly as possible so this problem gets solved fast. R.I.P to the ones who were killed in the bombings.
Happy weekend!
Maria.
Hey! Today we're discussing "Because of Winn-Dixie". Because of Winn-Dixie is a children's novel by Kate DiCamillo published in 2000 and winner of a Newbery Honor distinction the following year. It also won the 2000 Josette Frank Award and 2003 Mark Twain Award. It has been adapted as a 2005 family film, directed by Wayne Wang, produced by Walden Media and Twentieth Century Fox. Here's the plot:
India Opal Buloni is a 10-year-old girl who has just moved to a trailer park in the small town of Naomi, Florida, with her itinerant preacher father. While in the Winn-Dixie supermarket, she encounters a scruffy dog wreaking havoc. She claims the dog is hers to save it from going to the pound and names it Winn-Dixie. Winn-Dixie's first act of inspiration on Opal is for her to challenge her father to name ten things about her mother, who abandoned them years before when she became an alcoholic. Opal also befriends the very wealthy librarian Miss Franny Block, who shares great stories about her past, including a tale about her great-grandfather, whose family members died while he fought for the South in the Civil War. Grief-stricken after his return from battle, he decided he wanted to live the remainder of his life filled with sweetness. Thus, he invented Littmus Lozenge candies that tasted like a combination of rootbeer and strawberry with a secret ingredient mixed in—sorrow. In Because of Winn-Dixie, these candies symbolize that even though life sometimes deals people a bit of sadness, there is always so much to appreciate. She also encounters Gloria Dump, a woman whom children think is a witch. She also meets a man named Otis. Otis is the pet shop manager in the town of Naomi. He is shy and upset because he was in jail for playing his guitar on the street, so now he plays for the pet shop animals and a parrot named Gertrude who is Otis' favorite.
I made this post about "Because of Winn-Dixie" because that's what we're reading right now in English class. I recommend the book for ages 7+ because nearing the end of the book, it gets a little bit sad. It's a REALLY good book.... It's AWESOME!
Happy weekend!
Maria.
Hey! Today, we're talking about The Croods. I saw it last Thursday and it was AWESOME!!!!! The Croods is a 2013 American 3D computer-animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It features the voices of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke, and Cloris Leachman. The film is set in a prehistoric era know as The Croodaceous, A period which contains fantastical creatures, when a man's position as a "Leader of the Hunt" is threatened by the arrival of a prehistoric genius who comes up with revolutionary new inventions, like fire, as they trek through a dangerous but exotic land in search of a new home.
This is the cast:
Nicolas Cage as Grug Crood, a caveman who is the well-meaning, overprotective but old-fashioned patriarch of the Croods family.
Emma Stone as Eep Crood, a cavegirl who is Grug and Ugga's oldest daughter and is filled with curiosity and a desire for adventure. She has a crush on Guy.
Ryan Reynolds as Guy, a nomadic caveboy who is not as strong as the Croods, but prefers using his brain and comes up with various ideas and inventions. He is accompanied by a sloth named Belt and is Eep's love interest.
Catherine Keener as Ugga Crood, a cavewoman who is Grug's wife. She is more open-minded than Grug, but also finds it difficult to keep her family safe.
Clark Duke as Thunk Crood, a caveboy who is Grug and Ugga's son. Thunk is the 6-foot-9, 320 pound, 9-year-old middle child, who is not very bright and has bad coordination but has a good heart. He gets a crocopup named Douglas for a pet.
Cloris Leachman as Gran, a very old and ferocious cavewoman who is the mother-in-law of Grug and the mother of Ugga.
Chris Sanders as Belt, Guy's pet sloth.
Randy Thom as Sandy Crood, Grug and Ugga's ferocious baby daughter who still bites and growls instead of speaking. Thom created her voice with creature noises.
There is also a videogame based on "The Croods" called The Croods: Prehistoric Party! for the Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U and Nintendo DS. Overall, I totally recommend the movie.... It is, again, A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!!
Happy weekend!!!
Maria.
Hey! Today is Good Friday so we're going to be discussing that. Good Friday is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of Passover. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Black Friday, or Easter Friday, though the latter properly refers to the Friday in Easter Week. Based on the details of the Canonical Gospels, the Crucifixion of Jesus was most likely to have been on a Friday (the day before the Sabbath). The estimated year of the Crucifixion is AD 33, by two different groups, and originally as AD 34 by Isaac Newton via the differences between the Biblical and Julian calendars and the crescent of the moon. A third method, using a completely different astronomical approach based on a lunar Crucifixion darkness and eclipse model (consistent with Apostle Peter's reference to a "moon of blood" in Acts 2:20), points to Friday, 3 April AD 33. According to the accounts in the Gospels, the Temple Guards, guided by Jesus' disciple Judas, arrested Jesus in Gethsemane. Judas received money (30 pieces of silver) for betraying Jesus and told the guards that whomever he kisses is the one they are to arrest. Following his arrest, Jesus was brought to the house of Annas, the father-in-law of the high priest, Caiphas. There he was interrogated with little result and sent bound to Caiaphas the high priest where the Sanhedrin had assembled. Conflicting testimony against Jesus was brought forth by many witnesses, to which Jesus answered nothing. Finally the high priest adjured Jesus to respond under solemn oath, saying "I adjure you, by the Living God, to tell us, are you the Anointed One, the Son of God?" Jesus testified ambiguously, "You have said it, and in time you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty, coming on the clouds of Heaven." The high priest condemned Jesus for blasphemy, and the Sanhedrin concurred his sentence of death. Peter, waiting in the courtyard, also denied Jesus three times to bystanders while the interrogations were proceeding just as Jesus had predicted. Coming before the crowd one last time, Pilate declared Jesus innocent and washed his own hands in water to show he has no part in this condemnation. Nevertheless, Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified in order to forestall a riot and ultimately to keep his job. The sentence written was "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." Jesus carried his cross to the site of execution (assisted by Simon of Cyrene), called the place of the Skull, or "Golgotha" in Hebrew and in Latin "Calvary". There he was crucified along with two criminals. Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus' body, wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, and placed it in his own new tomb that had been carved in the rock in a garden near the site of crucifixion. Nicodemus also brought 75 pounds of myrrh andaloes, and placed them in the linen with the body, in keeping with Jewish burial customs. They rolled a large rock over the entrance of the tomb. Then they returned home and rested, because Shabbat had begun at sunset. On the third day, Sunday, which is now known as Easter Sunday (or Pascha), Jesus rose from the dead.
Happy Easter weekend!
Maria.
Hey! Yesterday, I went to my official 5th grade field trip to La Cueva Del Indio in Las Piedras Puerto Rico and the Humacao Wildlife Reserve in Humacao, Puerto Rico. We went on a charter bus, which meant we had reclinable seats (ahhhh), a bathroom and air conditioning. We first went to La Cueva del Indio where we walked through a really dark tunnel, a natural cave, and saw Taino Indian sites. We then went to a local mall's food court and ate lunch and stayed for one hour. We goofed around the food court and hit the little quarter and 50 cent candy and toy machines... I got a ring! We then went to the reserve where I bought a book about hurricanes in the gift shop. We hiked along trails to the beach from where we saw Monkey Island and Vieques Island. We went back to the bus to have a snack and then we returned to school. Yesterday was also my last day of school before Easter Break so the teacher chose a very good day for the field trip! It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy weekend!
Maria.
Hey guys! Today, we're gonna be talking about sports, and by sports I mean baseball... The 2013 World Baseball Classic is an international baseball competition. The main tournament is being held from March 2 to March 19. For the first time, a qualifying round was played during the second half of 2012. It expanded tournament participation from 16 to 28 teams. Japan entered as the defending champion. It had won the prior two World Baseball Classics, in 2006 and 2009. Although the 2006 and 2009 editions of the World Baseball Classic were contested by the same pre-selected field of 16 teams, for the 2013 tournament only the 12 teams that won at least one game in 2009 were guaranteed a berth in the main tournament. The automatic qualifiers were Australia, China, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, South Korea, the United States, and Venezuela. The other four teams from the 2009 tournament (Canada, Taiwan, Panama, and South Africa) contested a qualifying round in late 2012, along with 12 additional teams invited by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). The qualifying round was organized as four independent modified double-elimination tournaments. The modification was that the final game was winner-take-all, even if won by the team emerging from the loser's bracket. Although this modified double-elimination format was used in some rounds of the 2009 World Baseball Classic, in that tournament the final game was only for seeding and never for elimination. As practiced in the 2013 qualifiers, the team emerging from the winner's bracket might be eliminated from the tournament despite losing only one game (as, in fact, happened to Israel in Qualifier 1). The composition of the qualifying pools was determined based on geographical location, competitive balance, and regional rivalries. In Qualifier 1, South Africa took on France, Israel, and Spain, with the games taking place in Jupiter, Florida, United States. In Qualifier 2, Canada took on the Czech Republic, Germany, and Great Britain, with the games taking place in Regensburg, Germany. In Qualifier 3, Panama took on Brazil, Colombia, and Nicaragua, with the games taking place in Panama City, Panama. In Qualifier 4, Taiwan took on New Zealand, the Philippines, and Thailand, with the games taking place in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Canada and Taiwan dominated Qualifiers 2 and 4 (respectively) to advance easily. In Qualifier 1, South Africa was eliminated in the second round, and Spain narrowly defeated Israel to advance to the main tournament. In Qualifier 3, Brazil narrowly defeated Panama to earn the final berth in the main tournament. Pool A games were held in the Fukuoka Dome, in Japan. Pool B games were held in the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, in Taiwan. Pool C games were held in the Hiram Bithorn Stadium, in Puerto Rico. The Pool D games were held in Chase Field, and in Salt River Fields, both in Arizona. The Pool 1 games were held at the Tokyo Dome, in Japan. The Pool 2 games were held in the Marlins Park, in Miami. And the Finals will be held in the AT&T Park in San Francisco.
Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D
Japan South Korea Venezuela United States
China Netherlands Puerto Rico Mexico
Cuba Australia Dominican Republic Italy
Brazil Chinese Taipei Spain Canada
So far, the games to qualify for the finals have been:
Italy 4 - 5 Dominican Rep. (WINNER)
Puerto Rico 1 - 7 USA (WINNER)
Italy 3 - 4 Puerto Rico (WINNER)
Dominican Rep. (WINNER) 3 - 1 USA
Puerto Rico (WINNER) 4 - 3 USA
Puerto Rico - Dominican Rep.
It's gonna be a really, really, REALLY good game! Hope you guys liked this post! Go Puerto Rico!
Happy weekend!
Maria.
Hey guys! Today we're talking about ThinkGeek. It's an AWESOME site! ThinkGeek is an online retailer that caters to computer enthusiasts and other geeky social groups. Their merchandise includes clothes, electronic and scientific gadgets, unusual computer accessories, office toys, pet toys, child toys, and caffeinated drinks and candy. ThinkGeek was founded in 1999 and is based in Virginia. A majority of the products sold on ThinkGeek are heavily related to Internet culture. Some t-shirt designs include a ROFLCOPTER (an ASCII drawing of a helicopter made of internet slang), the Intel Pentium Processor logo with Geek instead of Intel, and a pixelated 1Up Mushroom from the Super Mario Bros. game series. ThinkGeek runs a points-for-reward system called Geek Points, in which customers can earn rewards for buying products. On April 1st every year, the company puts on a fake homepage with fake products. For example, in 2007 it advertised "Surge Stix", cigarette-like high potency caffeine delivery systems that, when snapped like a glowstick, supposedly deliver as much caffeine as five cans of Coke. Some of the April Fools Day merchandise has been so popular with customers that they've been made into real products, such as the 8-Bit Tie, the Personal Soundtrack t-shirt, the Tauntaun sleeping bag and the iCade. Think Geek items are usually based on other franchises, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Doctor Who, The Big Bang Theory, bacon, Minecraft, zombies, LEGO, iPhone, iPad, Portal, etc. Think Geek also has a mascot in the form of a monkey, named Timmy.
