Final Reflection

1.) Of the many pieces of work that I have written in the class, the stories of Rico and his friends are the ones that I think I will look back on. Starting on the first day we created our blog I know I had something special with Rico Sanchez. The story got good on the first day with the origin story of Rico and got better as Riley, Daniel, and I slowly added to his story arc. It was nice to see him develop into a deep and relate-able charter that I knew my readers could relate too. Some of my most memorable stories of Rico is when he robbed a bank, took a cruise with Jason Seagull, and his short time as a cop. I immensely enjoyed the time spent writing these stories and hope to build off of them in the future.

2.) During the course of this class I have read a lot of interesting material on and off my classmates blogs. Some of the most memorable stories my classmates have written are Rip Eric by Daniel Johns and Halloween Night by Riley Brown. These pieces were my favorite because they seemed the most original and stood out among the other more orthodox story lines that my other classmates were writing. Outside of this class I read several books by Kurt Vonnegut including Slaughterhouse Five, Breakfast of Champions, and Cat's Cradle. These books opened up another world of reading to me and offered a new look on the world through a satirical analysis.

3.) Originally I was against creating a blog, but I grew to like writing different post and publishing them. After completing this class, I do not think I would have as much fun without this blog. I originally came up with the name DawgWithABlog because of the Disney Show Dog with A Blog and was inspired to come up with a better name, and I think I accomplished that. People that I think will want to read this are people with the same kind of humor that I have and who can enjoy stupid, but funny story lines that make not sense. These are the type of people that I appeal to and are my target audience. Although, I enjoyed my time posting to this blog during class I figure that I will not continue to do so down the road. I do not plan on having a lot of spare time, so Rico will have to take the back seat for a couple of months. Maybe during the summer I can revisit this topic and once again cherish my readers with wonderful stories of awesome people.

4.) Journalizing was another part of this class that I enjoyed. Even though I did not complete every assignment in my journal, I had a lot of fun doing the stuff that I did. Most of the pages that are filled in this journal are of torn out pages from older books, that create new and different stories. I found this to be very enjoyable and could do this anytime even when I did not fell like writing. It was also very easy to fill up pages this way, which is a plus. I will most likely not continue to journalize in the future because it felt more like work than a piece of creative thought. However, if I ever decide to write in a journal I would most likely wrtie about my daily life and the events that take place.

5.) If There is an Answer, He Will Find it There- The day came when Rico was no longer accepted as one of the fellow tribe members. To old and too wise for these school boys to play around with, Rico knew it was time to go. So he left his family behind in Africa and started a new life in another part of Africa. Here he would look for answer to life interments questions. Contemplating for days question that dealt with physics and time travel. Rico found himself unbound to the space time continuum. HE could travel hack and forth through time by trotting at super sonic speeds.

6.) I wasn’t always like this though. I come from glorious giraffe beginnings. I was born and raised a safari man. From an early age I sought out the answers to life. I considered myself a student of Socrates, a book being written by the passages of time and read by the all-knowing lizard people. Nothing is meant to live forever though. After my stent as a philosopher I decided to become a cop. I joined the force. I thought it was my way out, my saving grace. Mom and Pop were proud. I’d never felt such joy in my giraffe legs before this moment. After I joined the force I was partnered with Owl Pichino. He was a real owl, always sticking to the books and busting my marbles, but dang was he a HOOT. After a night of patrol, me and Pichino head over to the bar, it was a real Boston joint, lots of jersey guys. After a few too many drinks Pichino opened up to me. He was in the war. I’m not sure, but during that conversation I could have sworn I saw a tear in his eye. I looked at him and he looked at me, after that it was an unspoken friendship, even though owls and giraffes are sworn enemies.
7.) Looking into the future, I do not plan on doing much creative writing. From writing creatively in this class I have found a way to express my imagination and it has been freeing. It has also been nice to write about something that is not purely academic, because I do so much of that in Creative Writing. 
8.) Keep on keeping on

Ben out

Christmas Gift Haiku

Who you gonna call

Santa, because he is cool

He knows how to dance

The holidays man

What a time to be alive

Christmas and Kwanzaa

Candy canes are good

Striped with white and red lines

Mysterious things

The jingle bells ring

A ding-aling along ding

that is how they go

Snow is on the ground

I think I need a jacket

Man is it cold now

Revision #3

Rico Sanchez: Punting the Sweet Fantastic

                I walk up to Carl and ask for drugs. He says no. I say yes. I pull a knife on that bean bag and neck swoop his cripple legs out from under him. I put the knife to his neck, just close enough to make his spots bleed. His eyes are bulging, he is afraid, but I don’t stop. I need those drugs Carl. Carl died. I still need drugs though. My name is Rico Sanchez and I am a giraffe. This is my story.

                I wasn’t always like this though. I come from glorious giraffe beginnings. I was born and raised a safari man. From an early age I sought out the answers to life. I considered myself a student of Socrates, a book being written by the passages of time and read by the all-knowing lizard people. Nothing is meant to live forever though. After my stent as a philosopher I decided to become a cop. I joined the force. I thought it was my way out, my saving grace. Mom and Pop were proud. I’d never felt such joy in my giraffe legs before this moment. After I joined the force I was partnered with Owl Pichino. He was a real owl, always sticking to the books and busting my marbles, but dang was he a HOOT. After a night of patrol, me and Pichino head over to the bar, it was a real Boston joint, lots of jersey guys. After a few too many drinks Pichino opened up to me. He was in the war. I’m not sure, but during that conversation I could have sworn I saw a tear in his eye. I looked at him and he looked at me, after that it was an unspoken friendship, even though owls and giraffes are sworn enemies.

        For once in my life I was happy, but just like everything I had to go and screw it up.  The first time saw her I knew I had to have her. She was a real fox. Literally, but she was sworn to another man. Her name was Foxy Pichino. Forces inside me battled each other, my heart of hearts wanted to be loyal to Owl, but my second heart, or giraffe heart, lured me to Foxy. We had an affair. The guilt was unbearable, my prison was my shame. My love for Foxy consumed me and I went through some dark times. Peter Parker Spiderman 3 darkness does not compare. I tried to hang myself, but my neck was just too dang long. Eventually, I decided the only way out of this prison was to kill Owl, my partner, my friend, my brother.

One fateful night I finally couldn’t handle the guilt any longer. I planned to do it while we were on patrol in the south side. I was going to frame it to look like a thug raccoon killed Owl. I drove up to the spot and led him like a lamb to slaughter. I didn’t have the marbles to kill him to his face, so I closed my eyes and started swinging my neck. With a tear rolling down my neck I slapped Owl into oncoming traffic and he died. I guess that why they called him the night owl.

 Ironically, as I got out of one prison I entered another. They booked me, two life sentences back to back. Luckily, no one in the judicial system knew how to jail a giraffe. I was out in three years, but during my time in the slammer I learned valuable skills. This is when my life took a turn for the worse.

End of Girafft One

Revision

Rico Sanchez: Punting the Sweet Fantastic

                I walk up to Carl and ask for drugs. He says no. I say yes. I pull a knife on that bean bag and neck swoop his cripple legs out from under him. I put the knife to his neck, just close enough to make his spots bleed. His eyes are bulging, he is afraid, but I don’t stop. I need those drugs Carl. Carl died. I still need drugs though. My name is Rico Sanchez and I am a giraffe. This is my story.

                I wasn’t always like this though. I come from glorious giraffe beginnings. I was born and raised a safari man. From an early age I sought out the answers to life. I considered myself a student of Socrates, a book being written by the passages of time and read by the all-knowing lizard people. Nothing is meant to live forever though. After my stent as a philosopher I decided to become a cop. I joined the force. I thought it was my way out, my saving grace. Mom and Pop were proud. I’d never felt such joy in my giraffe legs before this moment. After I joined the force I was partnered with Owl Pichino. He was a real owl, always sticking to the books and busting my marbles, but dang was he a HOOT. After a night of patrol, me and Pichino head over to the bar, it was a real Boston joint, lots of jersey guys. After a few too many drinks Pichino opened up to me. He was in the war. I’m not sure, but during that conversation I could have sworn I saw a tear in his eye. I looked at him and he looked at me, after that it was an unspoken friendship, even though owls and giraffes are sworn enemies.

        For once in my life I was happy, but just like everything I had to go and screw it up.  The first time saw her I knew I had to have her. She was a real fox. Literally, but she was sworn to another man. Her name was Foxy Pichino. Forces inside me battled each other, my heart of hearts wanted to be loyal to Owl, but my second heart, or giraffe heart, lured me to Foxy. We had an affair. The guilt was unbearable, my prison was my shame. My love for Foxy consumed me and I went through some dark times. Peter Parker Spiderman 3 darkness does not compare. I tried to hang myself, but my neck was just too dang long. Eventually, I decided the only way out of this prison was to kill Owl, my partner, my friend, my brother.

One fateful night I finally couldn’t handle the guilt any longer. I planned to do it while we were on patrol in the south side. I was going to frame it to look like a thug raccoon killed Owl. I drove up to the spot and led him like a lamb to slaughter. I didn’t have the marbles to kill him to his face, so I closed my eyes and started swinging my neck. With a tear rolling down my neck I slapped Owl into oncoming traffic and he died. I guess that why they called him the night owl.

 Ironically, as I got out of one prison I entered another. They booked me, two life sentences back to back. Luckily, no one in the judicial system knew how to jail a giraffe. I was out in three years, but during my time in the slammer I learned valuable skills. These skills rocketed me forward in my career as a businessman. I delved into the world of business and it changed me for the better. I took my negotiating skills from prison and translated them to the real world. I was a master negotiator and quickly rose through the ranks of car salesmanship. I had found my calling. It was cars. It was my playground of fun and lead me to a happier life. In my new life, business and numbers had replaced drugs and I found myself no longer tempted by the sweet sweet smell of crack cacaine. My new drugs were sales. This is how I lived the rest of my a and it was great. I found a wife settled down, and have been living off the commission of my car sales for 20 years now.

Revision #2

The end is near. Some would say its Christmas time, Rico would disagree. One study has shown that food is good for you, Rico would disagree. Rico is a food critic and is on his way to the top. Ever since he was first introduced into the food culture, he was blown away. From an early age Rico was one of the best chefs in his chef class. He shined like no star before him. Making dishes no one had seen before, such as the dinner plate, lunch plate, and breakfast plate. His teacher started to notices Rico's raw talent and saw something special in him. They began one on one lesson and soon the student became the master. Not long after learning how to cook, Rico was the best in the biz. No longer confined to his old cooking class, Rico left home in search of better and tastier food. He looked far and wide, but alas Rico could not find a place to settle down. For the rest of his years Rico traveled was a nomad. He traveled with the animals and lived off the land. Cooking insane dishes and fixing up meals for the other animals. He was loved wherever he went and more importantly, he made mad dishes. 

Rico had finally found his niche. He was home. From then on, he honed his cooking skills until he was the best in the world. At this time he decided how he compared to the other competition, he went to Las Vegas and competed in Iron Chef. He worked his way though the competition and eventually made it to the finale competition. The only people left were him and Guy Fiere. The two best chefs in the world. It was a cook off that would set the tone for the rest of Rico's life. Guy Fiere won and Rico was destroyed. Rico fell into depression and drugs and that is that.

Revision

The end is near. Some would say its Christmas time, Rico would disagree. One study has shown that food is good for you, Rico would disagree. Rico is a food critic and is on his way to the top. Ever since he was first introduced into the food culture, he was blown away. From an early age Rico was one of the best chefs in his chef class. He shined like no star before him. Making dishes no one had seen before, such as the dinner plate, lunch plate, and breakfast plate. His teacher started to notices Rico's raw talent and saw something special in him. They began one on one lesson and soon the student became the master. Not long after learning how to cook, Rico was the best in the biz. No longer confined to his old cooking class, Rico left home in search of better and tastier food. He looked far and wide, but alas Rico could not find a place to settle down. For the rest of his years Rico traveled was a nomad. He traveled with the animals and lived off the land. Cooking insane dishes and fixing up meals for the other animals. He was loved wherever he went and more importantly, he made mad dishes. 

Rico had finally found his niche. He was home. From then on, he honed his cooking skills until he was the best in the world. At this time he decided how he compared to the other competition, he went to Las Vegas and competed in Iron Chef. He worked his way though the competition and eventually made it to the finale competition. The only people left were him and Guy Fiere. The two best chefs in the world. It was a cook off that would set the tone for the rest of Rico's life. Guy Fiere won and Rico was destroyed. Rico fell into depression and drugs and that is that. Or was it.

After his dreams were crushed Rico was never the same again. His food no longer tasted good and people complained that it tasted like sadness. That was because Rico was sad. Never before had Rico felt sadness quite like this. This was a new level of sadness. Rico would not get over this any time soon. Guy had changed him for better or worse and it definitely was not better. While in this rut of sadness Rico got really fat. He fell in love with food and ate a lot of chocolate. Some say Rico should have died from his food consumption, others praised him for his efforts. Either way, Rico became so overweight he passed out and has been hibernating for the past 20 years. Many people have gone looking for him, but none have yet to find him.

Revision #1

The day came when Rico was no longer accepted as one of his fellow tribe members. To old and too wise for these school boys to play around with, Rico knew it was time to go. So he left his family behind in Africa and started his new life in another part of Africa. Here he would be free to pursue his passions and look for an answer to life’s innermost questions. Contemplating for days questions that deal with time, space, and the final frontier. Rico found himself unbound to the space time continuum. He could travel back and forth through time by trotting at supersonic speeds. This allowed Rico to finally take some time off and get back to the real stuff. With all of this time on his hands he did not know what to do with himself. He realized that he was unique and needed to use his time travel abilities in a way to help others. So, he formed a plan. Rico traveled so far back in time that he was walking with dinosaurs, it had always been a dream of his to see a velociraptor.  Although, he did not know it at the time, those dinosaurs are not good friends. He still tried his hardest and after time he had talked his way into a herd of these animals. At last Rico was one with his kind. He roamed the earth, doing as he pleased with his dinosaur brethren at his side. It seemed Rico was finally happy, it nothing last forever. One day as he was chowing on some leaves, he looked up at the sky, and to his horror, he saw a giant meteor. Right then he knew it was time to leave this time, but he knew he was abandoning all of his fellow dinosaurs. With a heavy heart, he went back home and never looked back. Some say Rico is an animal for what he did, they would be right. He is a giraffe.

Revision #1

The day came when Rico was no longer accepted as one of his fellow tribe members. To old and too wise for these school boys to play around with, Rico knew it was time to go. So he left his family behind in Africa and started his new life in another part of Africa. Here he would be free to pursue his passions and look for an answer to life’s innermost questions. Contemplating for days questions that deal with time, space, and the final frontier. Rico found himself unbound to the space time continuum. He could travel back and forth through time by trotting at supersonic speeds. This allowed Rico to finally take some time off and get back to the real stuff. With all of this time on his hands he did not know what to do with himself. He realized that he was unique and needed to use his time travel abilities in a way to help others. So, he formed a plan. Rico traveled so far back in time that he was walking with dinosaurs, it had always been a dream of his to see a velociraptor.  Although, he did not know it at the time, those dinosaurs are not good friends. He still tried his hardest and after time he had talked his way into a herd of these animals. At last Rico was one with his kind. He roamed the earth, doing as he pleased with his dinosaur brethren at his side. It seemed Rico was finally happy, it nothing last forever. One day as he was chowing on some leaves, he looked up at the sky, and to his horror, he saw a giant meteor. Right then he knew it was time to leave this time, but he knew he was abandoning all of his fellow dinosaurs. With a heavy heart, he went back home and never looked back. Some say Rico is an animal for what he did, they would be right. He is a giraffe.
Once Rico got home he was never the same, people treated him as a king, but he knew he did not deserve the attention. Rico got it in his head that he was a loser and as a loser he could not be a ruler. He left home for the second and last time in his life. Knowing that when he left he would never come back. He left a note to his village and left. Rico was bound for freedom, bound for the US of A. He was going to make it big time on the local comedy circuit. He knew he was funny but man was this guy good. He started a local clubs and became a usual, just like old Seinfield, except better. Rico was the best and still is today. Some say he is still telling jokes today in the deepest parts of New York City.

Rico Sanchez: The Food is Served

The end is near. Some would say its Christmas time, Rico would disagree. One study has shown that food is good for you, Rico would disagree. Rico is a food critic and is on his way to the top. Ever since he was first introduced into the food culture, he was blown away. From an early age Rico was one of the best chefs in his chef class. He shined like no star before him. Making dishes no one had seen before, such as the dinner plate, lunch plate, and breakfast plate. His teacher started to notices Rico's raw talent and saw something special in him. They began one on one lesson and soon the student became the master. Not long after learning how to cook, Rico was the best in the biz. No longer confined to his old cooking class, Rico left home in search of better and tastier food. He looked far and wide, but alas Rico could not find a place to settle down. For the rest of his years Rico traveled was a nomad. He traveled with the animals and lived off the land. Cooking insane dishes and fixing up meals for the other animals. He was loved wherever he went and more importantly, he made mad dishes. 

Rico had finally found his niche. He was home. From then on, he honed his cooking skills until he was the best in the world. At this time he decided how he compared to the other competition, he went to Las Vegas and competed in Iron Chef. He worked his way though the competition and eventually made it to the finale competition. The only people left were him and Guy Fiere. The two best chefs in the world. It was a cook off that would set the tone for the rest of Rico's life. Guy Fiere won and Rico was destroyed. Rico fell into depression and drugs and that is that.

Look at this photograph, every time it makes me laugh.

This is
me and my pals
having a good time
on an MSU field trip
throwing care to the wind
and taking a picture with clowns
This is having fun on a day off
and talking a quality picture.
This a couple of clowns

This is
me bonding
with some of my pals
and a few strangers.
This is me preparing for the future
and getting ever closer to college.

Rico Sanchez: Meeting Vlad

This day started just like any other. Rico had found himself once again stranded in the upper territory of Canada. Rico spent much time in Canada where it was the people or the food, something drew him to that place. It was very mysterious but Rico was a cool guy and new how to handle himself in a fight. At least he thought so until he met Vlad. One day while Rico was hiking he ran into a strange and shirtless man. At first Rico was in shock because he was not expecting to see anyone else, but soon he became curious and walked up to the man. As it turns out he is a rather strange fellow, haling from the motherland, Russia. We talked some game for a while and we are both extremely violent people that like to fight so we decided to have a show down. Rico proposed a wager, if he won he would get Russia and if Vlad won he would receive some money. Of course Vlad excepted and they prepared the fighting arena. The fight would consist of two rounds of sword play followed by a light-saber fight.

The fight begun half-past two and ended early the next day. When day broke only one man remained standing, flippin Rico. He did it. He was now the proud owner of Russia and their rightful ruler. No longer a simple man, Rico flew to Russia where he spent the rest of his days ruling his new country.

Rico Sanchez: A Date With Destiny

Long before I knew Rico he was wasting his life away in the slums of Toronto. He lived a simpler life then, no drugs, no women, and certainly no friends. However, he recently started online dating and had found this killer app called Tinder. One day as he was swiping his life away he finally found someone that he actually liked. Here name was Destiny and they were going on a date this Saturday. Nothing crazy but Rico knew how to treat a women right. He planned the date so that he could play a little skee-ball just before their seven o’clock reservation. Rico had always been a fan of arcade games, but this one was different. Skee-ball had something to offer to everyone, there was the competitive spirit, the academic aspect, and the physical attraction between Rico and the ticket. He really wanted that ticket.

Sooner rather than later, Saturday crept up on Rico and he was getting ready for his date before he knew it. He decide to go with simple giraffe attire, just a pair of casual hooves, my spots, and of course his toupee, and no it was not his birthday. It was date night. Right left a quarter till six to pick up Destiny. She lived on the other side of town so it would take him awhile to get there on his moped. After he picked her up they drove to the restaurant. On the way there they had a very nice conversation about how awkward it was that she did not know he was a giraffe. She was verbally upset but Rico knew how to handle the situation. He turned his giraffe charm to level 10 and played it on cool. The rest of the night went over quite well and they are going on a date next week.

Destiny is on the Left

Picture Post

This is a picture of the soccer fields and it reminds me of all the memories I had playing soccer for Kickapoo. It was a good time.
#Soccer

This is a picture of the outlet located near the lost and found. It looks like a face kinda, which makes this photo more interesting.
#Socket

This is a picture of Daniel climbing a tree outside of Kickapoo.  It reminds me of nature and when I had to climb a tree as a freshman to get a soccer ball.
#Neature

This is a picture of me and Daniel writing a hand-written letter. It reminds me of all the times that I had to write in my classes at school.
#School

This is a picture of me getting shoved into a locker. This reminds me of all the times that I have seen people get bullied in the hallways of Kickapoo.
#Happyday

This is a picture of me and Daniel at MSU on a field trip. It reminds me of all the field trips I have taken over the years and how much fun I have had.
#Clowns 

This is a picture of Daniel trying to decide which book to pick. It reminds me of all the times I have been in the library and different memories.
#Books

This is a picture of Daniel hugging a storm trooper. It reminds me of star wars and all the carzy things that have happened at Kickapoo.
#Star #Wars

This is a picture of me and Daniel posing with some plants. It reminds me of all the plants located around Kickapoo and nature.
#Nature

This a picture of me and Daniel posing with the Dinosaur in the Science wing. It reminds me of all the science classes I have taken and what I have learned.
#Science

This is a picture of Daniel who is disgusted with the findings in this experiment. This reminds me of all the experiments that I performed in science.
#school

This is a picture of me getting water posing next to a round trashcan. It reminds me of all the trash I have thrown away at Kickapoo.
#Trash

This is a picture of me and Riley posing with a sign in the hallway. It reminds me of freshman year when I did not know how to get around the school.
#Hallway

This is a picture of Daniel posing with a man in a turtleneck next to the lunch line. It reminds me of all the times that I have eaten lunch at Kickapoo.
#Lunch

This is a picture of me and Daniel posing with a vending machine. It reminds me of all the food I have gotten from the vending machines over the years.
#Food

Rico Sanchez: Scare Tactics

The air was like ice, cold and damp just like the Amazon. Rico woke up not knowing where he was or what he was doing in this strange place. What bothered him the most was the eerie sound coming from behind the locked door.  As he put his giraffe head to the door a loud bang sounded off and startled him raw. Rico scrambled back into the corner, hiding in the dark from whatever had made that noise. He was scared for the first time in his life, never before had he encountered a situation such as this. 

After several days passed Rico’s situation still had not changed and was starting to get hungry. Everyone knows that a giraffe can only live a week without food and that date was speedily approaching. In order to survive Rico had to devise a plan for his escape. Within hours Rico had something that he thought would work. Using his mad prison knowledge and awareness of his surroundings, he had created a plan so genius that it had to work. At once he got started. Taking the lamp that had once illuminated the room, Rico throws it at the barricaded wooden door and smashes it into pieces. Casually he walks out of the room like nothing happened. However, the next room he walks into is the same as the last. “How can this be” Rico proclaims. Is this a dream or real life? Maybe both, but only time will tell.

Depressed that he was so close to freedom, Rico contemplates what to do next. Food is still an issues and he does not have many choices. As a last resort he submits to his animal instincts and eats the broken door that he had just busted. It goes down rough but it hits the SPOT. No longer hungry, Rico finally has time to relax. He cleans up his prison and sweeps the floor to make things look nice. He encounters a few ghosts and rats while cleaning, so he captures them and takes them as his prisoners. After hours of interrogation he gets the information that he has initially after. He knows where he is being held captive, and according to one ghost he is one where in North Dakota. Outraged by this atrocity, Rico screams at the top of his lungs. It takes him a while to calm down, but after he does things go back to normal. Rico and his prisoner play some card games to pass the time, nothing too serious just some Gold Fish and Slapjack. Of course Rico wins all the games because he is a master of the dark arts and card games. Rico eventually gets bored of playing card games and kills his prisoners. Alone once again Rico decides to make one final attempt at escape. He looks around the room and notices a ladder leading up to another room. As he climbs he notices something familiar about the place that he is in. It is as if he has been there before, and as it turns out he was in his basement all the time.

Comment Summary

These are the comments I posted on Riley's blog:

Hello there, 
Nice job of this piece Riley! I like how you personified the lights and gave them there own unique personality. It helped lighten up your story and added a little humor at the same time. Keep up the good work!-Ben

Hello there, 
Well done Riley. This story is was very entertaining and it was nice to finally find out how Owl Pichino came to be himself. The sick owl puns also helped keep the reader interested. I also liked the star wars references you threw in there. I especially liked the line, "I'm not talking Star Wars, although I was a Sith Lord for a little later on down this rocky road we call life, I'm talking police force." Nice work and keep it up man.
-Ben

Hello there,
I really liked this article. It had a little something for everyone. It was really nice to see so many characters come together in one story. It was truly riveting. There were so many twist and turns that I did not know what was going to happen next. Anytime the my attention started to fade you brought in a new character or setting which helped keep me interested and made this story that much better. I hope to see more of this in the future. Good work!
-Ben

These are the comments I posted on Riley's blog:

Hello there,
Good work of this post! It was very entertaining and your responses seemed very thoughtful. I liked how you said, "My best hiding spots as a kid were in really small spaces like cabinets under the sink because I was really small." I also remember doing that as a kid and how fun it was to play. Your post was very relatable and helped for a connection between the author and the reader. Nice Job!
-Ben

Hello there, 
Nice work as usual. It is so nice to see another fan of Toby McGuire. He was a close second to who I would want to play me in a movie. In addition, I agree with what you said about how you could not pick you favorite movie because there are so many. I also find this hard because there are so many good movies to chose from. Nice work.
-Ben

Hello there,
I thought you raised some good questions and would also be interested in how much a typical author makes off of a children's book. I would also agree that life never turns out how we plan and we just have to make do with what we have. You gave good and meaningful advice. Keep it up!
-Ben

These are the comments I posted on Josh's blog:

Hello there, 
I liked how creative your post was. It was spooky and the plot of your story was very interesting. I also thought that the specific potion and details you listed really added to the Halloween spirit.
-Ben

Hello there,
Nick job on this post! I also agree that "movies that keep the viewer wondering what could possibly happen next and ones that make you think about how it could have gone any better or worse for the characters" are the best movies around. In addition I also like to have a comfy seat when I am watching movies. Keep up the good work.
-Ben

Hello there,

Nice Job! I enjoyed this piece quite a bit. I can relate to climbing trees as a child because I also used to do that. Overall, a very good post and keep up the good work.

-Ben

Rico Sanchez: If There is an Answer, He Will Find It

The day came when Rico was no longer accepted as one of his fellow tribe members. To old and too wise for these school boys to play around with, Rico knew it was time to go. So he left his family behind in Africa and started his new life in another part of Africa. Here he would be free to pursue his passions and look for an answer to life’s innermost questions. Contemplating for days questions that deal with time, space, and the final frontier. Rico found himself unbound to the space time continuum. He could travel back and forth through time by trotting at supersonic speeds. This allowed Rico to finally take some time off and get back to the real stuff. With all of this time on his hands he did not know what to do with himself. He realized that he was unique and needed to use his time travel abilities in a way to help others. So, he formed a plan. Rico traveled so far back in time that he was walking with dinosaurs, it had always been a dream of his to see a velociraptor.  Although, he did not know it at the time, those dinosaurs are not good friends. He still tried his hardest and after time he had talked his way into a herd of these animals. At last Rico was one with his kind. He roamed the earth, doing as he pleased with his dinosaur brethren at his side. It seemed Rico was finally happy, it nothing last forever. One day as he was chowing on some leaves, he looked up at the sky, and to his horror, he saw a giant meteor. Right then he knew it was time to leave this time, but he knew he was abandoning all of his fellow dinosaurs. With a heavy heart, he went back home and never looked back. Some say Rico is an animal for what he did, they would be right. He is a giraffe.

Rico Sanchez: A Rico Sanchez Halloween

On Halloween night, while trick-or-treating we passed the cemetery. Suddenly we all felt a cold and spooky wind, imagine my tongue in your mouth. That’s what it was like. Kermit, Rico, and Chip all had their equal share of candy that night. Man were they jazzed. We of course are not talking about real candy, we are talking about the sweet sweet taste of crack cocaine. Perched on top of Rico, Kermit and Chip ride that spotted beast bareback as they jam out to Monster Mash. As we stumble through the graveyard, we make our way to our boy, Jason Seagull’s grave. Can we just add a few sentences on Jason Seagull real quick? Is he a Muppet or a man? I will tell you, he is somewhere in-between. This is the essence of the Seagull, he flies by his own rules riding on the wind of destiny. Not bound by the mortality of man, but sadly he passed away five years ago in a freak Seadoo accident. No one loved their Seadoo like Seagull, he went down doing what he loved, just like Paul Walker.  Oh it’s been a long day without you my friend. I will tell you all about it when I Seagull you again. Back to the story.

I’m not usually one for wet faces, but mine was like a flippin rain storm, pitter-patter pitter-patter. The sound of my pain echoes in my brain. Rico and gang were surrounding Seagulls grave now mourning the loss of a great man. In the corner of their eye they see a giant frog king, nothing too crazy. But don’t get me wrong, it was crazy. He was performing an ancient ceremony only know to the frog people. He drew a 100 emoji on an unmarked grave with the blood of his enemies. I felt witchcraft in the air, and then I saw the corpse of my once good friend Owl Pacino rise from the huna emoji. He was wearing a black robe and a red light saber. He could only be one thing, a Sith Lord. There back baby, and were are not talking Star wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. We are talking about real Sith, original trilogy bro. Luckily, we double jumped away in the wrong direction with Frog King in tail. Again we were left alone with Jason. Why Jason?

They were after us. Owl’s vengeance was like that of an angry old man. Crazy but stern like a ship. Starship, Star Wars. Yeah baby! As they levitated off the ground, no more than three maybe four inches. They force lighting Chip in the back. He was dead. It’s okay though, no one really knew why he was there. He just kind of showed up, did he even know Jason? Idk man. Honestly, the less weight on my back the better. He always talked up his pool game, newsflash buddy squirrels can’t play pool. One thing lead to another and we were on the Titanic, couldn’t tell you how, maybe Jason, I know you’re out there somewhere. As it turns out Leo was on this same departure. No one could fill the void that Jason left, but Leo did a pretty good job. I dreamt of him. Inception. Now back to the story.

Sith Lord AquaPacino flew in to see it set sail. As the gang made their maiden voyage, Owl had his own plans. Calling forth all spirit animals of the deep in both dimensions, he was attempting to sink the Titanic for the second time. Little did he know one guy claimed it was unsinkable.   Owl didn’t care. Like a pine in the winter, Kermit was still green. Any hoot, a lot of sea creatures started fondling the boat, I think I even saw the Kraken. I was awakened from my dream of Leo by moans of the deep. It could only be one thing. Owl had finally found us. Luckily we had recruited the Jack Sparrow and he had been following us the whole time in the black pearl. Jack Sparrow and crew suddenly board our ship, eager to engage in ballroom dancing. Prior to getting on the Titanic, everyone agreed to have a formal before the final battle royale. I put on my best suit and so did Kermit, and we went just as friend’s maybe more. We will see how the night goes. Everyone was there, Kraken on Piano and as the stand-up comedian. Boy was he Kraken everyone up. Our eyes locked as Owl entered the room, looking as suave as ever. Dang could the talons fit in a pair of nice oxfords. We decide to dance. We were once close partners, but this would be the last time we were partners.  We requested “Forever Young” and hit the floor.  Swaying to and fro I realized I missed the old times.  I think I saw a tear in his eye. I knew he felt it too.  After the dramatic finale of that great song Owl took off his white glove and slapped me across the face with it.  “I trusted you,” he said, “and you betrayed me.  See you on the battlefield bub.” With that he exited and the party died down a little after that.  Me and Kermit went back to the room and got a good night sleep before the big fight.

The morning was the first time we realized how screwed we were. Man. It was literally just me and Kermit and Captain Jack against Owl and the creatures of the deep.  Luckily we had made an ally during the dance.  His name was Jim he was a pretty cool guy.  Once the battle started Cap Jack shot at the titanic attempting to hit the Kraken, but he punctured the hull and hit Jim.  Direct impact, I’ve never seen anything like it.  A little embarrassed Captain Jack sailed away, and we were alone.  Backed in to a corner on a sinking ship we thought it was over. But behold, the Seagull lives.

Riding on the back of a giant Seagull, Jason flew into our rescue, and took us away from the troubles of the world.  Like he always does. Force throwing his light saber he executes the kill command, dealing 10 damage directly to Owl Pacino. Death upon impact. Not a tragedy. The light saber returned to Jason’s hand with the blood of many, he killed the entire ship without leaving the seagull. This is why I love him. When the hammer fell, Jason and gang stood resolute. He keeps me safe. . .

. . . After we came off the drugs we realized it was all just a dream.  That cocaine was laced with something man.  We came to in a bath tub with a titanic toy.  I and Kermit were okay, but Chip drowned, he wasn’t a strong swimmer.  Jason was the one to come and drain the bath and give us a towel.  Jason Seagull is my boy.

Written in part by Ben, Brown, and that other guy(DAN).

Dan In Real Life Questions

17.) Describe your perfect day.
Answer: My perfect day would start with me waking up at exactly 10:30. From there I would go out to breakfast and enjoy the morning. Next, I would read for a little while and maybe take a nap on my hammock outside. After my mid-morning nap I would wake up well rested and ready for the rest of the day. Then I would head back inside and make myself some lunch. Nothing fancy, probably just a sandwich and some chips. Then I would go hang out with my pals and have an all around good time. From there, we would hangout till dinner-time. I would go back home and eat dinner with my family. later that night I would watch some television and just relax. Going to bed at 11:00 on the dot.

18.) What are some good pick up lines you have heard?
Answer: Some of the best pick up lines I have heard over the years are: Do you live in a corn field, cause I'm stalking you. Are you a banana? Because I find you a-peeling. Are you from Tennessee? Because you're the only ten I see! Are you lost ma'am? Because heaven is a long way from here. Are you Jewish? Cause you ISRAELI HOT. If I could rearrange the alphabet, I would put 'U' and 'I' together. You're so hot, that if you ate a piece of bread, you'd poop out toast! You must be Jamaican, because Jamaican me crazy.

29.) Where would you like to have a vacation or getaway home like the one Dan's family has? What would the place be like?
Answer:If I were to have a vacation home anywhere in the world it would have to somewhere near the mountains in Colorado. I have been skiing and snowboarding many times, but having a house in this region would allow me to go more often. In addition, it would also be a nice climate change from Missouri. Where I live now we do not get much snow, but my vacation would get quite a bit. I love the snow and huddling around a fire when it is snowing outside. In the summer having a house would also allow me to go white water rafting and biking in the mountain. This would be the perfect vacation house for me.

30.) Are you a good bowler?
Answer: I would say that I am a below average bowler. My professional bowling career started and tragically ended in the fourth grade. That was the year I participated in the bowling club at my elementary school. The team consisted of me Cole, and Logan. Three of the most average bowlers around. We did okay throughout the system but lost the majority of our games, probably because of me. Even though we did not win a trophy at the end of the year. We all had a good time and I have been bowling several times since. Every time I go there is noticeable improvement in my skills as a pro bowler.

Movie Quotes

Real Life

My favorite movie has to be Rise of The Scorpion King: Rise of a Warrior, specifically on blu-ray. That movie has a little something for everyone, action, adventure, mystery, and a little romance. Some of the movies that I generally do not care for are horror movies. I like to go to the movies to enjoy myself and escape from the world, and horror movies just make me anxious and I get no pleasure out of watching them. I do not go out to the movies very often, but when I do it is probable once a month at Campbell 16. I watch most of the movies at my house because it is more comfortable and enjoyable. In order for me to have the proper movie going experience I need a few things. The room must be dark, providing the optimal viewing experience, I must have popcorn and something to drink throughout the movie, and people can not be talking or else the movie is ruined. These are the conditions in which a movie going experience is best for me. I go to Campbell 16 the most mainly because it is closest to my house and is easy to access. I can quickly go there and catch a movie within 15 minutes, which is nice if I have nothing to do on a Saturday. After taking the survey, it revealed several facts about my movie going self. It said that I watch movies manly for escapism and I would have to agree with that. I like to watch movies that capture my attention, which allow me to loose myself in the movie.  If my life were a movie I would be played by the fantastic Tom Cruise. They would make up a ton of stuff about my life and make it seem action packed. Tom Cruise would swoop in and save the day, but would be tragically killed at the end.  Everyone loves a good tearjerker. That would be a good movie if you ask me.

Future Responses

Two interesting ideas that Mr. Odom talked about on Monday was how difficult it is to publish a book and how effective a critique group can be to your writing.  I never realized how hard it would be to publish a book and that writing it would be easy compared to selling it to an agent or publisher. In addition, the information he shared about critique groups was very helpful to anyone who hopes to become a writer or who go into a career related to writing. One questioned posed to Mr. Odom yesterday asked him about his writing style and he shared that there is no right or wrong way to go about it, just write however you are most comfortable with.

In 1 year I hope to be completing my first year of college, in 5 years I plan on having an introductory job in my career or still in college, in 10 years I hope to have a steady job and a family, in 50 years I hope to be retired and living life to its fullest.

Rico Sanchez: A Night Out

This tale beings just like any other, with Rico Sanchez. The man of the hour. The unstoppable and lovable Giraffe that has broken the hearts and souls of every person or animal he has ever met. We find him this week in a special NECK of the woods. He has gotten himself into trouble yet again. Oh Rico, what are we going to do with you.

FLASHBACK!

The year 2010. Rico 10/10. He is looking great today. His skin is illuminated by his habitual use of skin lotion. He takes care of himself. That is beside the point though. Today for breakfast Rico has decided to venture down to the local diner. He has not been there since he was thrown out last time for eating their shrubbery. This time will be different he tells himself, after years of therapy and meditation Rico has converted to being a carnivore. As he enters the diner the staff seems to have forgotten the incident so he trots over to the bar and takes a seat. He orders some chicken-fried steak, a delicacy from his homeland. While he waits for his food he sneak out the back to take care of some unfinished business. He goes down to the bank on fourth and scouts the lobby. Years of research and careful planning have lead up to this exact moment. I place boom box on the ground and start playing, “Born to be Wild” and put my plan into action. I start prancing around and swinging my neck like never before. I hit a few people with my neck swoops before security starts to shoot. They’re too late though, you cannot stop Rico once he has begun dancing. In prison they called it the helicopter of doom, and it got me out of a lot of sticky situations. Within minutes the room was cleared and the vault was wide open. I open my money pouches to receive they well deserved money. I walk out of the bank, clean as a whistle. As I walk down the street I here sirens and play it cool. They fly by and I can see them stopping at the bank, they don’t suspect a thing. I stroll in back to the dinner and my food has just been served, it is still hot, just like Rico. I eat my steak with dignity and reach into my pouches for the money I just robbed. It is just enough to cover the bill, I scored big today. Rico out.

-Written in Cahoots with Kermit

Michelangelo Poems

Pieta for Vittoria Colonna

Hey man stop that,

why cant we just be friends and have a nice chat

its seems like everyone is trying to be a cool cat.

Hey man stop that,

come kneel down on my prayer mat

we can have a good time and talk about Pat

Hey man stop that,

don't wear that straw hat

you look like a naked mole rat
that is never a good thing.

The Conversion of Saul

As a beam of light comes down he all stare in awe

where does it come from, should we question the law

I think I've got it, aha!

We all clap and yell hurrah

The day is saved, now we must withdraw.

We go about the day as normal, but we know what we saw

lets take the rest of the day off and go to the spa

we need to escape from the devils' claw

never must we speak of this, not even a blah
the rest is history, there is no flaw.

Art Walk: Rico Sanchez

If there is one thing that Rico enjoys in life, it would be flowers. Boy does he love a good flower. If there is anything to say about Rico and his flowers is that he loves them very much. He has become an avid gardener producing many flowers on a daily basis. On the weekdays he tends to his flower, but on the weekends he goes on crazy adventures in search on new flowers. To sum up Rico's love for flowers in one word would be impossible. Even though there is no natural connection between a flower and a giraffe, Rico has created one. He plans to grow old with his flowers. They give him comfort and a piece of mind. Without them he would be lost in time and wouldn't be able to live. All in all, the Rico and flowers mean one thing, goodness.

At an early age Rico showed a keen ability to like flowers. Instead of eating vegetation like his fellow giraffes, he encouraged it to grow. He started with dandelions and graduated his way to roses. Throughout his childhood, he enjoyed the flower way of life. Eventually, he grew up and his love for flowers only grew. He join clubs and associations about flowers and the rest is histoy.

Artist Profile: Michelangelo

One of the most famous artist of the renaissance period and a prominent figure among turtles, Michelangelo is considered among the greatest sculptors and painters of all time. He was born on March 6, 1475 in what is now considered Tuscany, Italy and died at the age of 88 on February 18, 1564. He had a rough childhood.  His mother died when he was only six years old and his father lost his job. After a few years, he found some apprenticeships and found his footing in the art community. He would later go on to create famous works such as The Statue of David, The Last Judgment, and Pieta.