The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Most peoples autobiographies are highly insignificant and definitely not worth reading, so what makes Benjamin Franklins autobiography worth our time? The answer is simple, Benjamin Franklin is one of the founding fathers of America, and he is truly inspirational. Franklin was very ambitious and focused on becoming morally perfect. He did the best he could to fallow his 13 virtues, in hopes of shaping himself to becoming a morally perfect man. His dedication and immense work is very influential. I admire his work ethic and his strong desire to succeed in what he aims to do. He aspired to live a meaningful life starting from a very young age, which is quite rare. Throughout the autobiography, Franklins tone was descriptive, informative, and practical. I enjoyed reading his autobiography, I now know the story about the man on the hundred dollar bill.

The Motherland

Armenia is one of the best countries ever. I don't care if it is a third world country, or if the government is corrupt, or if the people are so called "backwards". I have had the best memories of my life there. Yes, if you visit Armenia and go sight seeing like a lame old tourist, chances are you wont have much fun. Every time I visit Armenia, I stay at my moms best friends house, which is Yerevan. I live like the people there, everyday I would be outside hanging out with all the kids, who were also my neighbors. From morning to night, we would talk, walk to stores, eat "bonchik's", sunflower seeds, and play cards, anything really. Since we all lived in the same place, it was normal to be at eachother's houses all the time, even if it was 2:00 am.  The people there did not spend all day watching television or browsing the internet, like we do here in America, they would actually go outside and hangout. Besides the great friends I have made there, Armenia as a country is stunning. Nothing beats the fresh Armenia air when you step out of the city. I feel at home when I go there, its the place my mom, my moms mom, and all of my ancestors reaching up to 3,000 years ago have lived. It has historic churches, ruins of castles, beautiful mountains and greenery. I recommend that everyone visits Armenia, even if they are not Armenian, it is the best!

The Constitutional Convention

In 1787, Benjamin Franklin gave one of the most memorable persuasive speeches of all time during the constitutional convention. As he spoke. his tone remained calm, logical,  and reasonable and he asked many rhetorical questions to his audience, which were the colonial representatives of all 13 colonies of America. The purpose of his speech was to unify all thirteen colonies of America and have them associate under one central government and to pass the constitution. In order to convince the representatives and grab their attentions, Franklin compares them to instruments, which means that when they return home they need to spread the news. This speech marked the beginning of a united America.

I Scream for Rocky Road Ice Cream

Without  a single doubt, the greatest ice cream to have ever been created is "The Rocky Road". Yes, there are an unbelievable amount of great tasting ice creams, and you're probably wondering why the rocky road is the best, and here is why... What started out to be a simple home made recipe to add more flavor to a simple chocolate ice cream in 1929, ended up being one of the greatest creations of all time. The rocky road is the perfect blend of chocolate ice cream mixed with small marshmallows and nuts, which amounts to an excellent combination. This ice cream has a variety of tastes so you can never get bored! Every time I have a spoon full, my taste buds tingle, I close my eyes, and I imagine I am in a wonderful chocolaty heaven which can only exist in my wildest dreams. The chocolate melts in my mouth as I chew those appetizing nuts and marshmallows. If I can eat it all day, I would, matter of fact I wish I had not just a bowl, but a carton full of rocky road ice cream in front of me right now. If you're feeling extra spontaneous, just dab on some classic Hershey's chocolate syrup and you will be sure to have a party in you're mouth. It is truly a chocolate lovers fantasy.

                

 You know you want it.

Mission Update

"Mission Update" is a blog written by Steven Squyers, directly from space in the year 2006. Not only do we have the ability to travel to space, but now we can even blog from there! Squyers explained to us the landing of "opportunity" on Victoria Crater. The purpose of his blog was to inform people throughout the entire world his experience on Mars and how he felt. His tone of voice was very exciting and informative. I enjoyed reading his blog and i feel appreciative and grateful that i am able to receive this information.

The upside to being 'poor' in America

You would think that being poor meant living in a cardboard box and begging for money, but recent discoveries prove otherwise. Though there are approximately 46.2 million poor americans today, which is the highest number yet, being poor is not so bad after all... Using the census bereau information, Robert Rector and Robert Sheffield examined the actual living conditions of poor American people. 42% of poor Americans own their own homes, 40% live in apartments, and 10% live in mobile homes or trailers, which leaves only 8% of poor people actually living on the streets. 96% parents said their children were never hungry because they were able to afford food. 80% of the poor house holds have air conditioning, 30% had plasma TV's, 70% had a VCR and two thirds have satellite//cable. The two also found that half of the poor households have at least one computer, and half of those who had children had video games. I guess being poor is not so bad after all in America.

"A Journey Through Texas"

"A Journey Through Texas" is a short story written by Alvar Munez Cabeza de Vaca during 1528. Cabeza de Vaca and his group of Spanish explorers Traversed all through Texas in order to find land to settle in. At first, they came across a group of Native Americans, who thought they were powerful and almost godlike. The Spanish pretended to be angry with them so the Indians would work harder to please them. Many of the Native Americans began to die because of diseases and starvation. Later on, they come across a new group of Native Americans whom they settle with for a short period of time. The Native's warned them that if they were to travel up north, they would be very likely to starve, but the Spanish decided to take the risk anyway. As they traveled upstream, the found food and water and permanently resided there. The purpose of this story was to inform the reader's and the King and queen of Spain about the Americas. The Tone of the story was informative and descriptive.

News Article

"9 killed in a small plane crash in Bolivia", an article found on yahoo! news states that on Tuesday, September 6, The Aerocon Fairchild SA227-DC disappeared while on its way to Trinidad, Bolivia. Bolivia's defense minister, Cecilia Chacon, said a helicopter crew spotted the plane completely damaged in the country's difficult to reach amazon region. There were a total of nine people in the plane, two of which were crew and the rest were passengers. None of the people on the air plane survived the deadly crash. After reading this article I felt very sarrowful for the people who lost their lives and their families who lost their loved ones.

My Favorite Book

The Stranger, written by Albert Camus, is probably one of the best books I have ever read. The story is unlike any other. The novel begins by Monsieur Meursault, the main character, casually stating that his mother died today. Though he did love his mother, he was not sad, nor happy, rather indifferent towards the whole situation and everyone around him. Meursault was completely detached from society. He did not live up to the moral standards of his community, nor did he aim to. Instead, he lived up to his own standards, which was strictly to please himself and live his life only for his pleasures and comfort. His characteristics made him a threat and a stranger to society. Unfortunately, his narcissism and carelessness towards others was the reason he was found guilty for murder in court, not for the fact that he took the life of an innocent man. Towards the end of the novel, before his execution, Meursault realizes that he was happy about the way he lived his life. He realized that the world was indifferent like him. People did not matter, all human beings were insignificant and did not possess any meaning to the world, and he was okay with it. That is why I love this book so much, it allows me to look at life in an existentialists point of view, and because Monsieur Meursault was not sentanced to death for killing a man, but for being a stranger to society.