Monday, May 4, 2009

Nonet

Seven seconds left, the game is still tied
Rondo brings the ball up the court
He passes to pierce, steps in
Drives, two seconds left
Steps back, one second
Shoots and swishes
The Celtics
Win

Thursday, April 2, 2009

The rough ocean

The ocean can be a rough place for a lone, old fisherman. It can test your physical health as well as your mental health. In the story the old man and the sea the main character Santiago is tested both mentally and physically. Santiago is also faced with some tough decisions over the course of the story. A decision that Santiago made in the story was to chase the marlin out into the middle of the ocean with out Manolin with very few supplies.
When Santiago saw the marlin I knew that he would not ever give up until he caught his prize fish. So when Santiago chased the noble fish half way across the Gulf of Mexico I was not surprised. Some consequences for this decision were he going so far out and for so long he lost many of the supplies he was already very low on. This really affected his physical and mental health. “What kind of hand is that,” He said. “Cramp then if you want. Make yourself into a claw. It will do you no good.” Pg. Santiago started to become physically and mentally ill. His physical problems started with the hand cramp and continued to starvation. His mental issues were less severe but he did a lot of talking to himself and talking to things that could not understand him just like his hand.

Another part of Santiago’s decision to go so far out into the ocean had major consequences. When he left without Manolin it was very easy to see that he would regret this decision. There were many times when Santiago had wished the boy came with him on this journey. “I wish the boy was here,” he said aloud. But you haven’t got the boy, he thought. You have only yourself and you had better work back to the last line now, in the dark or not in the dark, and cut it away and hook up the two reserve coils.” Santiago needs Manolin to help with some of the physical aspects of the catch. Santiago realizes he needs the boy when he is getting a hand cramp because that is when his fatigue starts to kick in. The boy also could have rubbed his cramp to help him loosen it. Also Santiago needs the boy to keep him mentally stable throughout the journey. If Santiago had brought the boy with him on his journey he would have been able to converse with someone who could understand what he was talking about and distress himself.

Santiago also paid consequences for not packing sufficient supplies for the journey he went on. He did not bring the correct amount of food that would satisfy his hunger through out the journey. So instead of just popping a snack out his basket or making a sandwich Santiago had to make an extra physical effort to catch the albacore he eats. He also did not bring the proper dressings for the food he did catch. AS Santiago east a raw tuna he caught with his gaff; “Chew it well, he thought, and get all the juices. It would not be bad to eat with a little lime or lemon with salt.” If Santiago had packed the dressing for the food before he left then the raw tuna may not have upset his stomach and he could have ate enough to soothe his cramp.

In the rough environment our lone fisherman Santiago made the decision to leave home without Manolin or packing properly first to chase the glorious marlin out into the Gulf of Mexico. For these decisions he paid the consequences. He took physical and mental tolls from each of these decisions. They all had a snowball effect on each other. He got the cramp from going far out, he could not relieve because he did not have the proper nourishment to do so or the boy to rub it so it would loosen.

Friday, January 30, 2009

The Glacier

It was noon and Gary was waiting interminably for Larry in the skiff. Their skiff was a different kind of skiff. It had a tall roof and motorized ores.the boat had all the sustanance for survival. The skiff had to leave by 12:30 for the maritime journey to conquer something.The two were zealot about this mission.
Finally Larry was thrown out of a cab going way over the speed limit. Gary was cracking up as he watched him tumble for a few feet, get up and run to get on the skiff before he left with out him.
“Hello Larry, you are almost late.” Gary said in a dark tone.
“Are you kidding me Gary you are so damn critical of everyone.” Hollered Larry from his part of the skiff.
With that little squabble they were off to find a place that even they could conquer. As the two sailors approached the North Atlantic Ocean they got hungry noticed a massive albacore swim under their skiff. So quickly Gary got up and took out his gaff. He ran to the gunwhale of the small rowboat and poked the albacore ferociously. He had caught the albacore.
“Oh hell no you are going to be our dinner and like it!” Gary yelled at the albacore flopping on the deck of the skiff. “I will not allow you to thwart my plans for a big dinner tonight you delicious tasting fish.” Gary exclaimed in a stern voice.
As Gary was ranting about stopping the rather large fish from flopping all over the skiff Larry saw a large glacier in the dark. It was night before Gary got the fish to get calmed down and ready to eat.
“Hey Gary today I saw a massive glacier that we should conquer.” Larry explained to Gary
“Really, was the snow accumulation good enough for our purposes?” Questioned Gary.
“Hell yes, the snow was deep powder with some runs that aren’t that steep perfect to build jib parks.” Larry explained.
“If this is true this is the island we are going to conquer. Larry you know now you’re supposed to get up and set us on course for that island.” Said Gary in a happy voice.
Through the night the small boat crawled over the water and under the cumulus clouds towards the glacier. By daybreak they were at the shores of the island. Because the boat was a skiff it had a flat bottom so it could still float in very shoal water. Another customization of the boat is wheels can come out to get it onto the shore and out of the water.
Gary woke in the morning and said “ Larry go into the storage compartment and get our snow stuff.”
“Ok I got it.” Larry answered in an annoyed tone.
So they gathered their stuff and ventured off onto the seemingly deserted island’s backcountry terrain. There were amazing hits and great gaps already built out of natural terrain. It was paradise; it was what the tow conquerors had been searching for, for their whole lives. As Gary and Larry came down the mountain Slashing powder everywhere they heard a booming voice.
“Who are you and what are you doing on my island?” Questioned a very benevolant looking man.
“We are Gary and Larry and we are here to transform this island into the ultimate snowboarding experience.” Explained Gary in his most intimidating voice.
“You shall not even begin this project under my watch.” Screamed Captain Scar in an extremely angry voice.
“Ok then I will complete my project without you on this island!” Hollered Gary.
The two made a bet that whoever did the best trick off the big air jump that Larry built got to have control of the island. The rules of the bet were a best of 3 run format. Whoever did the best run in three runs got to keep the island. It was Gary’s first run and he threw a switch backside 1080. Then Captain Scar threw a double rodeo 1080. The contest was heating up threw the second run and so was the trash talk.
The wind was whipping in Gary’s face as he dropped down the run towards the jump under the cirrus clouds. As Gary approached the take off he started to rotate his shoulders around. He hit the lip and threw his body around like a screwdriver in the air. He landed the trick right in the sweet spot of the landing. He threw a trick the world had never seen before; a back flip 1440. So after seeing that trick Captain Scar just gave up.
So now larry and Gary have now conquered and emancipated the island from captain scar.Then they purported the island as a giant terrain park. The two conquerors transformed the island into a perfect jib park. They also had a few extremely good jump lines. So Gary and Larry lived and rode on the island until the day they died.