Holocaust bystander / up stander

In my Lit class, we have been reading about some holocaust bystanders and up standers. I have learned so far that people have risked their lives for others and some even died helping. There was a man named Schindler and what he did was amazing because he saved many lives during the Holocaust. Also some of the jews were even resisting to do whatever the nazi police would tell them to do. They would riot and create armed groups. Thats when they have guns and what not. Then there were bystanders. They wouldn't do anything to help because they didn't want to be involved in the killing. They didn't want to risk their lives either. They also thought that it didn't even effect them in any way. I would have done the same because i would have been scared for my life. I don't like talking to strangers and I don't think I can keep things hidden for awhile. I wouldn't even know what to do when the time came.  I would have stayed home and live my life as it is. I'm scared of just thinking of death. Why on Earth would i want to do something so risky that it could end my life. I really don't think I am going to stand up for anything in life. I'm just going to stick to what ever I have to do.

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

I have gotten a new book called "The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod" by Heather Brewer and what i have read so far is that there was a man looking for Vlad. He was chasing a man down in the woods because he wanted to know where he was. Since the guy being chased did't tell him he was killed. Vlad is also a vampire. He was in his car driving and then a man from the back grabs his shoulder and says "I know you secret." I would have freaked out if that had happened to me. Then the man in the back says to him "I know that you a vampire. Thats really the main parts right now nothing super exciting is happening really. It's just him getting tracked down by a weird man that is also a vampire. This is a good book to read and I'm almost finished.

Sweatshops

              I read an article called "Fight for fair treatment of workers: Don't buy Nike" and it was about how the workers in Nike sweatshops are getting treated unfairly. Sweatshops are factories with workers who don't get paid a lot and they are not treated good. The article was talking about the harsh conditions of workers for example, they are getting shoes thrown at them when they do something wrong, they get forced to stand outside when it is very hot, they have to run around the factory, and if they want to keep themselves clean for the night the have to starve until the next day. I think that this is just horrible because I would want to stay clean and eat too, but they can't. Also why doesn't anyone step up and say something. This could be like Caesar Chavez all over again and every one can be happy and work in a nice environment. Some people die or get really sick because of the fumes they have to breath in. I pass by a man smoking and i hold my breath. If i don't like breathing fumes, I can't imagine how the workers feel. I think it's just weird how the people who work there are still going even though they are risking their lives for just $1.25 a day and living in a 8-by-8-foot on-room apartment. Thats as big as my room is right now. It's just horrible. 

             I also read a poem that a worker wrote. It was about how her life was working in a sweatshop. How she can't get washed up without eating, and how she breaths the fumes within the factory. Also all the struggles of her life of living on low income money.  This can really change your perspectives because unlike the article, it gave you feelings. I think that the poem is better because you can feel how she felt. You don't just get information of it where you have to read 4 paragraphs, no you get to read emotions and just say "wow, this changes everything. This changes the meaning because in the article is talking about what happens to the workers in sweatshops and in the poem she talks about what happens in her life outside of work because of how much she gets paid.  I think that they poem is better than the article.

So far in the book "The Islanders"

I got a new book called "The Islanders" by John Rowe Townsend. What I have read so far is that there is a couple of people living on an island called Halcyon. They don't know anyone out of the island. Halcyon was a place that a lot more people used to live in back in the day. They used to get things from outside the island. Now it's only a few people and they all know each other and they are all friends. Later in the book there was a ship with two kids that crashed along the shore. They went to go help them and they were hurt. No one new the two kids and they wanted to know who they were. That was where I left off of. I abandoned the book because it got pretty boring because it was just about some stuff that was going on in the island. I didn't want to wait till the end of the book for the good stuff to start. Also one of my friends ruined the ending for me so theres no point in reading it anymore. I think I wouldn't like it anyways because I feel that it was going to be too confusing later on. hi

"Call of Duty"

I read a article called "Call of Duty" and I really liked it because it is about a man named Jose Armenta in the army that has a dog named Zenith that helps him find bombs that are planted in the ground. They were one day searching for bombs in Afghanistan and then they found some bombs. They were finding many but the worst things possible happened, he stepped on one and it blew up. He was worrying about his dog the most instead of his own health. He lost a leg and he was sent home. He didn't get to keep his dog and he was really sad because he really wanted to see his dog. The dog was reassigned to another man in the army. He wanted his dog back so he would do anything to get him back. What he did was fill out so much paper work and this took forever. Finally after about a year he finally got to go to the army base in California and get his dog back. He was the happiest man on Earth because of that.     I can really relate to this because one time  was living in a regular house and then one day i found out we had to move to an apartment and there were no animals aloud. I was devastated and we had to give him away to one of my dads friends. Then 1 year later we were going somewhere but didn't know where and it turned out we were going to his friends house to get our dog back because we were moving to a house again because I could finally see my dog again. I wonder how the dog felt after not seeing him again, like did Zenith really miss him or was he just like "oh who are you?" This still keeps me wondering how Jose can live with a fake leg. Can he run around with Zenith or is Zenith just chase a ball and give it to Jose. Anyways i think Jose is a real caring man because he worried about his dog instead of his self. 

Summary about "Other Worlds"

The book that I finished reading is called "Other Worlds" by Jon scieszka. This book is a mixture of mini stories that different authors wrote. Jon just put them all together to make one whole big story. The book was ok but I thought it was going to be better. Some of the mini stories were boring and some of the were kinda interesting. The stories were just made up stories. They were also about different genres like medieval times or like someone made one that is called "Percy Jackson and the Singer of Apollo."Some of the stories are silly because it's just a change of topic. If I was told to make a project then I couldn't make one because it isn't about one topic. I also really didn't understand a lot of things that are from the book.
I would recommend this to people who like to read short stories but, if you are told to make a project then don't get this book. I think that this is like a side book that you read whenever you would like. This isn't such a hard book but it is confusing. It changes every single time. It's kinda like chapters but not really.

Lemon Brown

Greg Ridley was an everyday kid, not listening to his dad lectures. He wants to go play with public basketball team but his dad said no, only if he doesn't fail one class. Then his dad gets a letter saying that if he doesn't study for the math test he will fail the class. Then his dad got real mad and Greg just went out. He went into a house that was abandoned and he hears things. It was a homeless man that lives there. He talks to Greg and tells him name is Lemon Brown. Greg learns about his past and his treasure. Lemon brown tells Greg about his son and how he used to be a blues performer. As soon as Greg is getting back to his house he is thinking about all the lectures and was smiling about the next one. This means that lemon brown is one good man that can change the way you see things.