"The Autobiography"

     "The Autobiography", which obviously is an autobiography, was written by Benjamin Franklin himself. The provided information introduces us of a seventeen-year-old Benjamin during 1723. Whoever has a chance to read his words will be informed about his life. Franklin's autobiography focuses on his duty to accomplish and reach moral perfection. Everyone has their own priorities and opinions of perfection. By reading this autobiography, one will get to understand Benjamin Franklin's ideas of moral perfection. He presents his thoughts in an informative, descriptive, and practical manner. 

     In his autobiography, he thoroughly explains each idea of moral perfection. Some examples would be silence, sincerity, frugality, cleanliness, tranquility, and so on. Silence is my favorite simply because of my enjoyment of anything that is quiet and peaceful. Sometimes it can be bothersome to hear nonsense that is useful for absolutely nothing. The quote "think before you speak", also fits perfectly in this category. Benjamin Franklin presents his daily schedule, in which helps him to be notified of his mistakes in order to become morally perfect. However, we learn that it can be a difficult task to accomplish due to his failure of multitasking. 

Amo l'Italia

     There are many places in this world which one considers spectacular. However, Italy should be recognized as the best location to visit. For starters, Italy is best known for its beauty, and of course, for its amazingly delicious foods. Who would not like to witness such beautiful sights? More importantly, who would reject such an experience to have the ability to consume foods that leave you impatient in wanting more after every bite? I have not visited Italy, but from the information and opinions I have received, the thought of the country makes me want to pack my bags and leave America as soon as possible.
     People who have lived in one specific area for several years tend to get tired of seeing the same faces and places with every sunrise. If those people do not already live in Italy, my suggestion would be to give Italy a chance, without having any doubts. A good way to catch attention to Italy would be by introducing their famous macarons. Macarons, in my context, are these outrageously delicious desserts that one simply cannot resist. The look of this dessert already puts a person in consideration of tasting the remarkable treat. So, having said that, Italy is simply amazing, Italy is simply perfection. Italy, as agreed with most, is one of the best countries to visit--the best country to visit.

"Speech in the Convention"

     A popular speech called "Speech in the Convention", was written and orally performed by Benjamin Franklin. His speech took place in the Constitutional Convention during the year of 1787. It is said that his performance was rather calm and reasonable. The reason why he gave this speech was to persuade his audience. His audience present during his speech were the colonial representatives. However, his audience can also be referred to as the reader. By giving a persuasive speech, one needs to grab the audience's attention, and Benjamin Franklin accomplished this factor well.

     In his speech, Benjamin Franklin presents his thoughts about the Constitution to his audience. From his experiences, the older a person grows, the more they start questioning people. He had mentioned how one needs to do things because it is right, and not let everything but money become a blur. Metaphorically, he compares the people to instruments, by telling us that we, "the instruments", have the ability to echo his information. In order to do so correctly, one must follow the laws. He also had the idea of unity, and believed that it would be a major factor which can pass the Constitution. By using rhetorical questions, he gained attention from the colonial representatives, and opened up doors for the audience to think of his spoken thoughts. 

My Favorite Ice Cream Flavor

     There are many reasons why ice cream can brighten up almost anyone's day. By just looking at such an awesome dessert, it is impossible to resist this wonderful treat. Yes, it may contain sugars and other unhealthy ingredients, but it will not affect one dramatically. Unless one tends to eat more than the usual, then there would be two paths to take. Either one can exercise to burn fat gained from what they have eaten, or one can simply continue enjoying their ice cream, like most of us do. If one is lucky to have a fast metabolism, and it is difficult for them to gain weight, then they are simply lucky to intake all the ice cream they wish, without having to worry much. Who would not wish to have such an ability? To be able to consume all the ice cream without gaining fat--without gaining fat, is simply a joyous dream that some can live through. 

     There are various flavors of ice cream which can be identified as my favorite. The most popular favorites overall are vanilla, chocolate, butter pecan, strawberry, and so on. They all sound great to my ears, and of course, taste even better. Personally, my favorite flavor of ice cream would be caramel. It is also fun pronouncing the name of this particular flavor with different accents. This is how this flavor makes it even more joyous. Who does not want a fulfillment of happiness while enjoying such a mouth-watering luxury? My mind says "I do!", and so should everyone else's. Another reason why this flavor is satisfying? Caramel ice cream can be advanced with a topping of Hershey's Syrup. How does that sound? According to my assumptions, we are on the same page. 

"Mission Update"

The short story that had made me even more interested about the galaxy was "Mission Update". The author of this story is Steven Squyers. It has been written during 2006, on Mars. Steven Squyers, an astronaut, thought of a fascinating way to interest and inform people throughout the web. He had landed on Mars with the crater Oppurtunity. Throughout the story, the reader can sense the excitement that Steven had experienced. By expressing one's feelings through writing, it can help others fit themselves in the author's shoes. This is also a way to astray the reader from boredom. 

Steven Squyres wrote all his information on a blog from space. This by itself can help catch the reader's attention. By doing the unusual, people become more curious about the topic one is talking about. His intention in this case, is to provide this information with the world, since it is displayed on the internet. By writing about personal experiences about Mars, readers may have the urge to do more research about Mars and the galaxy overall. His blog entry was written in chronological order, which makes one want to know what happens next. Throughout the blog entry, Squyers kept his tone exciting and amusing. Overall, this story made me want to do more research about the galaxy.

News Article #2

"Father accused of throwing son overboard charged with child abuse" had caught my attention on the Los Angeles Times website. The creator of this article is Paloma Esquivel. A father who had gone on a trip with his son and his girlfriend was experiencing difficulties. It is said that he was having a big argument with his girlfriend on the harbor cruise. His seven year old son, had ran after his father, and was melodramatically cyring. His father had been drunk, therefore he was not thinking straight. His anger lead to threatening his seven year old son. If his son were to not shut up, he would throw him overboard.
Eventually, the father had slapped his son repeatedly, and had thrown him overboard. Thankfully, there was a boat moving towards the boy, who had saved him from drowning. The father had later jumped to sea to go after his son, but the boat had already saved him. The boat could have caused physical damage to the boy, if he were to be run over. Sloan Steven Briles, the 35 year old father from Irvine, has been arrested by the Orange County Sheriff's Department. He had been dragged from the cruise ship due to the refusal of getting off on his own. Later on, Briles explained that there was nothing serious about the situation that had taken place. In his words, Briles and his son were just "having fun". He also denied his physical abuse towards his son.

"A Journey Through Texas"

"A Journey Through Texas" is a short story written by Cabeza de Vaca, which takes place in Texas during 1528. The purpose of his creation was to earn money from the king by submitting this story, in order to have the ability to explore. The reader is informed about the narrator's thoughts and emotions, as this story is written in first point of view. Cabeza de Vaca has a change in his vibe throughout the story, as he experiences anger in the beginning, but is later delighted with his success. The detailed structure of this story also helps the reader understand the events taking place in chronological order.
In this journey, the Spaniards began to gain control by putting fear in the people of the tribes. This triggered the people's minds to be careful, and to astray the Spaniards from becoming angry. The narrator portrays the importance of God, which can help him earn more money from the king, in order to prepare for his exploration. The people of the tribes, according to the narrator, lived in permanent huts, and ate squash, beans, and maize. The mention of the Indians' everyday behavior can introduce the reader to their life style and customs. The Spaniards have a goal to be on a mission for seventeen days, and are warned about not having enough food on their way. They do so anyway and become successful in the end by finding permanent houses and harvested maize.

News Article

The following information can be found on CNN, written by Emanuella Grinberg. "Arkansas man found dead in tub 'easily influenced', family says" is an evidently interesting topic to be read. It is not surprising to hear about a death from an overdose intake of a certain toxicity. A naked dead body was found in a hot tub on a Monday morning at a man named Christopher Barbour's house in Little Rock, Arkansas. Barbour was in shock to find his friend, Dexter Paul Williams, dead, with what seemed to be a collar around his neck. Williams' was described as having a purple and blue face, with a chain around his neck. Sleeping next to Dexter's body was a 33 year old meteorologist named Brett Cummins.
The three men, Dexter Paul Williams, Christopher Barbour, and Brett Cummins had drank and had snorted illegal drugs on Sunday night. The drugs however, have not been identified. Around 10:00 P.M., Brett and Williams had sat in the hot tub, and were later joined by Barbour. They had all been continuously drinking, until Barbour had fallen asleep around 11:00 P.M. The discovery of Dexter's death occurred when Cummins had awoke to the snoring of Barbour. He had strongly reacted to this tragedy and had vomited near the couch in the living room. The men reported the coldness of Williams' face, and how his skin was discolored when he was found dead. The police had found a pill bottle next to a pair of shorts on a storage couch. This investigation is to be continued.

My Favorite Book

There are several books I would love to call "my favorite", but since I have a choice of one, 13 Reasons Why written by Jay Asher, would be the best out of the rest. The novel had captivated my mind in many ways. Each page could lead the reader anxious and impatient to figure out the outcome of the complications taking place in the story. By reading this book, it was very easy to put myself in the main character's shoes, due to the descriptive text the author had presented. The story begins with a boy named Clay, who receives an anonymous package filled with several cassette tapes. Being curious, he begins to slowly listen to the recordings, with voices running through his ears. A girl named Hannah, whom he had a crush on, had committed suicide two weeks before receiving the package. The recordings were the voice of Hannah, explaining thirteen reasons why she wanted to commit suicide. Knowing that Clay could be one of those reasons made him fall into deep thoughts, as he listened to the cassette tapes one by one. The story portrays how abuse, bullying, teasing, and misunderstanding had lead a teenage girl to commit suicide. When I reached the final page, it made me think about all the things in life I would like to achieve today, because tommorow could be too late. I would consider this my favorite also because it can have an impact towards the reader and get them to think more about their lives.