Photoshop Lesson #1

"See How Easy It Is to Fool A King"

     One Sunday at the church in Santo Domingo, a Friar named Antonio de Montesinos gave a sermon. His sermon was about the cruelty and abuse that the Tainos had suffered. He brought up points such as that they were in danger of going to hell and that they were going against the bible. After giving his sermon, he walked out with his head held high back to the house of the Dominican Friars. The men in the church who listened to his sermon were mad about what he had said and followed him back to the house so they could demand he take back what he said. When they got there, a different Friar opened the door and at first did not let them through, but then allowed them to pass. The men told Friar Montesinos that his sermon was a scandal and an insult to their whole way of life. They demanded that he take back what he said, or they would, "take action against him." The other Friar said that it wouldn't make any difference to them, and they were not the ones in danger of going to hell. The Friar agreed to give another sermon next week, but said the same thing as the last one. The men were very mad and rote a letter to the king saying what he said and how he insulted him. The king ordered the head of the Dominicans in Spain to come to him. The last line of this story was, "You see how easy it is to fool a king..."
     What I first believed that the last line of this story meant was that the Friar's tricked the King into sending them back to Spain. As it was said in the story, the Friars only had  "rough clothes" and a blanket. If they were to do something that they knew would make the people of the town upset, the Friars knew that they would be sent back to Spain. There, they would have more wealth and happiness.
      Another meaning of the line, "You see how easy it is to fool a king" is that nothing could have happened to the Friars. They were only doing what was right and couldn't have been punished in any way.  They were the ones who would end up going to heaven, whereas the people who believed that the sermon the Friar gave was an insult, would be going to hell. Since nothing bad could have happened to the Friars, they decided to give their sermon and be truthful to what they believed. I liked the ending of this story because it made me think a lot about it. There are many different ways to interpret the last line, and I think it was clever of the author to leave it brief.
   

Encyclopedia of the Ordinary Life Entries #3

Tea

Tea is a big part of my life. I have to have at least one cup every single morning, otherwise I don't feel right. My favorite type of tea to drink is Tazo Awake Tea, but in the mornings, any black tea will work. I used to drink green tea, but one morning after drinking it I found oatmeal in the bottom of the cup and haven't had it ever since. When I drink tea at night I have zingers like raspberry or lemon. I also like peppermint tea, but I don't like the taste or smell of camomile tea. My brother, however, does like camomile and drinks that in the mornings. I think that I get this tea obsession from my mom, because it is not unusual for her to drink five cups in one day.

Calendars

I think calendars are really helpful because they remind me when something is coming up and what day it is. Sometimes I forget to mark the days that have passed and end up marking a week in one day. I get World Wildlife Fund calendars and the animals on the pages are really cute. September's picture is of a mother and baby orangutan hanging off of a tree. Last year for November it was a picture of a panda which is lucky because Hazel's birthday is November first and her favorite animal is a panda. I always get excited when it's December because I can start counting down to Christmas!

Two Voices Poem

By Hazel Talkington and Sophie Roberts

	Two Worlds Combined
Morning Girl	Together	Columbus
I see strange men in a square canoe		I see a girl in the water
	We see a stranger
I wish to have a sister		I wish to have gold and precious stones
	We wish to have something we don’t
I believe I can speak to spirits		I believe in God
	We believe in a higher power
I gave the visitors parrots, cotton thread, javelins, and many other things		I gave the Indians red caps, glass beads and many other things of small value
	We gave many gifts to people we encountered
I taste the milk of a fresh coconut		I taste sea salt in the air
	We taste the tropics
I come from a society of equality		I come from a society where people are separated by class
	We come from societies in which we want to be treated well
I feel that I must protect my family		I feel that I must succeed in the mission granted to me
	We feel that we are needed

Free Response To Morning Girl

The book, Morning Girl, was cleverly written because instead of being in Columbus's perspective, it was from the Taino's point of view. The author, Michael Dorris, had a great way of describing things. For example, Dorris wrote, "... the world fits together so tightly, the pieces like pebbles and shells sunk into the sand after the tide has gone out, before anyone has walked on the beach and left footprints." I think that the book was sad in the end because the epilogue said that Columbus had made the Taino people his slaves. I wonder what happened after Morning Girl went to get her parents? I like how the book switched every chapter from being in Morning Girl's perspective to Star Boy's. I can connect with Morning Girl because we are around the same age and both have brothers. I had the same opinions about many things that she said. For example, she wanted to know what other's saw when they looked at her and I do too. Another way we are similar is that we both don't seem to notice things unless they are not how they should be. Also, Morning Girl cares about her brother the same way I do. A question this book brought up for me was whether I would be happier in a world with no technology, or the way I live now? Though I am perfectly content with the life I have, I wonder if it would be better to not have things like social media and television? I would probably be much more productive without technology, but I also depend on the internet for many things.

My Nature Name

When I think about the things that I find most beautiful or interesting in nature, I think of springs, raspberries, willow trees, indonesian flowers, baby turtles and succulents. I love all of these things because I think its amazing that they were naturally made the way that they are! If I had to choose one of those pieces of nature that I love best, it would have to be Indonesian flowers. One specific flower that I think is really pretty is called "jepun" in Indonesian. In Hawaii it is called Plumeria. I think I would be called "Blooming Japun." I am blooming because I am still growing and learning.

Encyclopedia Entries 2

Meerkats

Meerkats are on of my favorite animals. I think they are really cute and fuzzy. In The Lion King 11/2, it's funny and cute how they all work together to build tunnels! I'm not sure if they actually do that, but I think it would be funny if they did. When I see pictures of meerkat there's always pictures of at least five meerkats all looking at the camera. It reminds me of a family portrait. 

Pencils

I have always like using #2 Pencils the best. They work well and have good erasers. I like mechanical pencils too, but they sometimes squeak and that gets annoying. They also break easily. Some pencils have really bad erasers and when i try to use them, they make marks all over the paper. I wonder why #2 Pencils aren't called #1 Pencils if they are supposed to be the best?

Coming Home

I had woken up at 4:30 that morning and jumped in a lake with my friends. Then hiked seven miles to get picked up from camp, and left the summit by nine AM. Needless to say, I was tired. I hadn’t slept on a bed in two weeks, but instead the hard ground and I was very excited to see my bed. I fell asleep in the car, but woke as we drove over my bumpy dirt road. Though I hadn’t been gone long, it seemed as though I was reunited with an old friend as I opened the car door. My tired legs dragged me along my old, paved path to the front porch. The smell of my neighbor’s barbecue traveled into my nose and I could taste his juicy, tender ribs that he so often cooked.

As I walked into my room, the bright turquoise walls greeted me with cheerfulness. My jackets hanging on the coat hanger brushed against me and suddenly I felt grateful for the pieces that made up my room. I touched the wooden desk leaning against my wall, sat in the bright pink chair that rested on my pink furry carpet, and stared at my purple dresser that oozed unfolded clothes. When I fell onto my full-size bed with a white comforter covered in hearts, it was like the bed had swallowed me. I felt cozy like a warm fuzzy blanket and picked up my acoustic guitar that hung against my wall. It sang beautifully as I strummed its nylon strings and looked out my glass door that painted the picture of my deck and trampoline in my backyard. My guitar lay next to me as I stared up at my white ceiling and listened to my brother practice guitar. The sound of his guitar hypnotized me into a deep sleep and I slept better in my own, comfortable bed.

Encyclopedia of the Ordinary Life

Good Mood, Bad Mood

I sit on the swing and look at the slide when my friend asks, "Sophie, are you mad?"

"No, why?"

"You just seem mad today."

Well I wasn't, until now.

Hammock

Hammocks are so much fun to play on. The long white ones that are supported by a pole are my favorite type of hammock. Me and Hazel used to play on my hammock that I got for Christmas and pretend we were flying an airplane. We fell off a lot, but that was part of the excitement! I hope I can have one again someday

Sophia 

Sophia is a Greek name that means wise. I like way my name sounds and since it starts with S, I can make my signature starts with a Treble Clef because they look alike. I also like that it means wise because it reminds of the monkey, Rafiki from the Lion King because he's wise. My friend, Amelia's mom is named Sophia and my mom really liked that name, so I was named after her.

Toes

Many of my friends don't like toes, but I don't mind them. Two of my toes are connected and some people think that it's weird, but I don't really care and call them heart-toes because they somewhat look like a heart. When I was little, I used to draw on them with red marker to make them look like a heart.