Creative Hour

Your goal is to create a minimum of 300 words in one hour on one of the following topics. You may use a dictionary or thesaurus. You must do your best with the time you have! Hand in what you have finished after exactly one hour. Write with the highest level of diction and creativity that you can!

2. Take the first line of a nursery rhyme to start your story

 "Mary, Mary, quite contrary". He argued. "Obviously Santa isn't real. It would be physically impossible for him to make his way around to all the millions of children on this Earth in one night. That guy in the mall is just there to fool dumb kids like you, he's just some guy."

"No way, Drake! Santa is so real!" I replied.

My older brother was just trying to bother me, he had to be. What would I do if Santa wasn't..? First off, my parents would have been lying to me for six years, but if he was real then Drake would be lying to me right now. It's as if I have to choose between believing my parents, or my brother.

That's it, I decided. I'm going to figure out if Santa actually exists. I am going to start by writing letters to him, asking for proof of his existence, then I am going to go to the mall and visit him personally.

That night, I wrote a letter to Santa.

Dear Santa.

My name is Mary Elizabeth Janns and I am six years old. I am having a really difficult time right now. I realize that I have already mailed you a letter already containing my Christmas list, but I have one last thing that I would like to ask  you.. My brother, Drake says that you don't exist, but my parents said that you do. So I really am lost. I don't know who to believe now. I know that you are busy during this time of the year, but i would really appreciate if you could write me a letter back with your signature and a photo of yourself.

Thank you Santa (if that is your name)

From,

Mary Elizabeth Janns.

I decided that I was tired after writing the letter so I would mail it on the way to the mall tomorrow, and I went to bed.

Then next morning I woke up, and opened up my pink curtains to look out the window of my bedroom. There was fresh snow on the ground and I wanted oh so badly to go out and make a snowman or a snow angel. But I couldn't. I had a mission today, so the snow would have to wait. I got dressed and put on my winter coat, my mittens, my scarf, hat, and my snow boots, all ready to go to the mall. When I walked downstairs I noticed that my Mum had cooked up some pancakes with bananas and chocolate chips, and they are my favorite, so I took off all my winter clothing and had some breakfast.

Once I was done I got dressed up again and had my Mum take me to the mall to go and visit Santa. I waited for a long time in the line up then it was my turn. I sat down on Santa's lap.

"Have you been a good girl this year?" He asked me.

"Yes. Are you really Santa?" I asked.

"What would you like for Christmas?" He asked me.

I didn't get why he kept ignoring my question, so i asked again. "Are you really Santa?"

Then Santa replied, "Of course I am, I get asked this every year by little girls and boys just as curious as you. Sometimes I'm not the one to deliver presents to your house and fill your stocking because I am such a busy man. I call your parents some years and ask them to do me the favour of putting your presents under the tree for me, not because I don't want to visit your house, but because I want to make sure that every boy and girl in the world gets at least one visit from me in their lifetime. So yes, I am Santa."

"Thank-you Santa." I answered. Then I got my photo taken with him by the photographer and walked away with my Mum.

Then I remembered that I still had a letter to send to Santa, but decided that I wouldn't because now i know for sure that he is real. And i don't want to have to send him a letter and make him even busier.

When I went home, I went up to Drake and explained to him what Santa had explained to me.

I had the best Christmas ever, knowing that Santa truely does care.

 

Comments

Visit three classmates' blogs and read either their "The Creative Hour" or their novel journal (if they read the same book as you) or their "Top 3" entry. Leave a comment that offers suggestions as to the strengths of the article. It is not good enough to just say "well done" or "good job." You must refer to TWO SPECIFIC aspects of their writing. It may be the introduction, the diction, the imagery, the ideas... It's also not good enough to just say 'Nice diction" or "good ideas." What made the imagery effective? What specifically did you like about the introduction? As well, leave one suggestion for improvement. I will read comments that are posted as well as your blogs. Both will contribute to your blog mark.

1. Mitch Walton - To The Over-Users of Facebook
2. Zac Thompson - The 3 A's Of Awesome
3. Lindsay Hack - Creative Hour

AWESOME

Watch the 17 minute video titled "The 3 A's of Awesome" (link in the sidebar). If you like you may also browse (for a limited time at the moment) the "1000 awesome things" blog.

Your task is to then think of two small pleasures in life that are truly "awesome" and describe them in detail. This means you will have 2 good sized paragraphs (minimum) in your blog.

AWESOME!!!


1. Coffee In Bed
On a cold winter morning the best feeling in the world is getting a coffee brought to you when you wake up. My Mum has a habit of making cappuccinos every morning and when she comes to wake me up she will bring me one with a heart drawn in the foam with caramel. She places it on my bedside table so it's the first thing that I see. The smell of fresh coffee is so relaxing and is such a feel good smell. Rather than focusing on how cold it is, or the fact that it's seven in the morning and i have to wake up for a full day at school, I'll smile at the sweet thought of my Mum bringing me coffee. It is such a nice start to the day to smile.It gets me going with a positive thought from my waking moment.


2. Ginormous Puddles
I grew up on a 115 acre farm. One of the fondest memories that i can recall is after a big rainstorm on the property my father would have my brother, sister, and I pile into our 4 wheel drive truck and drive as fast as possible through the puddles. As i started growing up and wanting to leave my childhood behind to become a lady, I stopped getting in the truck to go through the puddles. I started straightening my hair and putting on makeup everyday. Now, I wish I still was a child. During September, after a big rain storm, my sister and myself went up to a bumpy street near our house, and went puddle jumping. It was fantastic. Then, about a month after that, when my Dad had picked me up from school after it was raining, and we were driving to our new house, which is unfortunately not a farm, he saw a giant puddle again. He started picking up speed, and went right through it, water going everywhere. I will never let my inner child get lost again.

Macbeth

Option 1:

This blog entry is based on what you have taken from the first act of "Macbeth."

There are three parts to this blog. In part one you must summarize in your own words what has happened so far in the play (7-10 key points). In part two you need to describe the character of Macbeth, and be sure to support your description of him with evidence from the play. 
Finally you need to change the setting or the genre of the play and describe how (if you were a film director)you would stage the play, and how you would present key scenes(the battle, the witches, Macbeth having visions of the dagger etc.)You can be as creative as you want, and change the play into any genre (science fiction, soap-opera, action, western etc.)that you want.You just have to stay true to the general actions and motivations of the characters.


Summary
After reading and analyzing Act I in Macbeth I have gotten an understanding of the piece and the first impression of the main characters and how each mind works. Macbeth starts out as the Thane of Glamis and he is on a battle field with his good friend Banquo. On their journey they run into Three Witches whom they had never met before. These witches chant "Hail Macbeth, Thane of Glamis! Hail Macbeth, Thane of Cawdor! Hail Macbeth, who shall be King soon after!" They had also predicted that Banquo will be great but not as great as Macbeth, although his children will be King. Macbeth and Banquo blew it off because it was just some crazy witches saying crazy things. Later that day the King announced that Macbeth would be promoted to Thane of Cawdor because the Thane that was, had been executed for treason. Macbeth had it set in his mind that he would then be King, he went right away and wrote a letter to his wife, Lady Macbeth explaining everything that had happened in the last short while. Lady Macbeth was just as persistent as Macbeth, if not more so. The King soon after had announced the Prince of Cumberland as his son. Macbeth was extremely angry because this was his one chance to become King. Shortly after that the King is announced to stay at the Macbeth's home as a guest. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth decide that they will welcome him to their greatest ability while planning his death. They decide that for Macbeth to be King, King Duncan must be killed. Macbeth changes his mind because King Duncan was their house guest, he was a genuinely nice man, and he was their King, but Lady Macbeth will have nothing to do with it. She basically forces Macbeth to change his mind and they stick with their decision to murder King Duncan. The very end of Act I, Lady Macbeth outlines her plan to kill King Duncan in his sleep.


Characters
King Duncan- Loyal, Friendly, Fair (Thoughtfully gave Macbeth the title of Thane Of Cawdor for his hard work and positive attitude.)
Macbeth- Persistent, Easily-angered, Motivated (Once King is set into his mind, he is persistent to become King and will do anything to become.)
Lady Macbeth- Persistent, Convincing, Rebellious (When her husband had changed his mind about murdering King Duncan, she successfully convinced him that it was the right thing to do and if he didn't he wasn't a true man.)
Banquo- Good friend, Loyal, Not as easily convinced (When the witches made their predictions, Banquo just joked it off and didn't give much of a second thought about the situation)
Three Witches- Sly, Evil (If they hadn't told Macbeth what they predicted, would he be in the mind set to kill his King to become one?)


Genre
If I were the director of Macbeth and I could change the genre and setting to anything I could possibly imagine, I would choose it to be a space theme and it would be set on a far away planet. Macbeth would be an astronaut whom had landed on this unknown planet as a space mission, sent out by King Duncan. As he was at this planet Three Aliens had approached him and his friend Banquo. Their language was strange but with the help of his Iphone which had a fantastic 3g network and internet connection he understood what they were telling him. They told him he would go from being Captain Glamis to Captain Cawdor and soon after he would be King of the universe. Once he teleported home to his crater on one of the moons of Saturn he was informed Duncan, King of the Universe would be staying with him. Him and his Wife decided they would murder the King of the Universe to have Macbeth take his title. Lady Macbeth then makes a speech about how she wants to become alien to her feminem beauty so that she has the strength to kill with no regret.

The Curse Of Macbeth

Today's assignment is to do a little research into topics associated with "Macbeth". Your paragraph must have a clear and engaging introduction, followed by 7-10 facts of information, and finished up with a powerful conclusion. Please remember that this paragraph must be completely in your own words.

5. The Curse of Macbeth

The Scottish play is a euphemism for Shakespeare's play, Macbeth. This theatrical superstition has been in play(ha!) since the premier night when an actor was stabbed and killed on stage because the prop dagger had been mistakenly replaced with a real dagger. It is believed that if one is to speak the name 'Macbeth' during practices and directly before the show, it will be cursed. Because the play is very bloody and crimson, the bacstage is very hectic and fast paced. Leaving plenty of room for disaster to happen.  It has been reported that there have been numerous accidents after saying 'Macbeth' many including deaths and serious injuries. According to the many superstitions related to the Scottish play, it is said that Shakespeare, when writing the play, had placed in lines for the Three Witches from an actual coven of witches, the witches watched the play and were tremendously offended. Another belief includes that a prop master couldn't find a proper cauldron for the show, so he took one from a witch coven, the witches cursed him for such a theft. One more superstition appends that Shakespeare himself had gotten witches to curse the play so that he could be the only director to succeed with this work. Knowing that only he would be able to understand the key to keep the play from failing and hitting rock bottom.

Journal Numbero Uno: The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time

I am only assigning 1 journal entry for the novel unit, and I usually find this one of the most interesting assignments as I get to have a bit of a dialogue with you about your novel. Please keep the following in mind when it comes to journal writing:

1. Writing in response to reading without a goal of deeper understanding is a waste of time (yours and mine)
2. Your goals are to:a) personalize the story (make it more meaningful for you) b) gain insights about characters c) see the world in a different way
3. The main point of journal writing is to clarify your thoughts by committing your thinking to paper. Please choose a quote or a passage from your novel (include page number) and explain the connection you have made to it. How does the connection you have made help you understand more about the book?

Today you need to post your own journal entry, and respond to one other people in your LIT circle group. As always, proper grammar, spelling, punctuation etc. applies. Finally, make sure you are linked to everyone else who is reading the same novel.

Please include your novel title in your blog title. Example: Journal #1: The Hunger Games

"My name is Christopher John Francis Boone. I know all the countries of the world and I know all of their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,057." The book 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time' is an extremely interesting book about a 15 year old boy with autism. It explains the everyday thoughts of Christopher, along with his troubles and the things that bring joy to his life. I am absolutely enthralled into this book and I find it very compelling. One of my step-sister's best friends has a slight form of autism and when I was younger I would always got really confused when she would get into fases that she wouldn't talk to anyone or she would run and hide and scream. As I grew older I realized the disease that she has and I learned how to deal with it properly. I always knew that she was especially smart for her age group and that she was a really nice girl. After reading this novel I now understand (somewhat!) what goes through the minds of people with autism. They think of things completely different than the average person. The perspectives that they think of is so amazing, and in some cases I wish I could have thought to look at things that way. Of course, at the same time I am glad that I don't because of the everday struggles it places on you aswell as your family. I find this novel a really good read because it isn't the basic story line that most novels have. It really makes you think differently about the most basic everyday encounters.

2. List 10 simple pleasures. Describe one of them in detail.
1. Waking up to coffee in bed
2. A sunny day after a week of rain
3. The smell of apple pie being baked
4. Finding the pair of shoes you wanted on sale
5. Finishing a book that you were really into
6. Taking the perfect photo of lightning 
7. Learning how to drive stick shift
8. Being up to date on all homework
9. Pedicures
10. Getting all your foul shots in during a tightly scored basketball game


Taking the perfect photo of lightning
Whenever there is a huge lightning storm and it's really bright, I find it so magnificent. That static electricity can light up the entire sky. Also, that such a shock can burn a tree to the ground and start humongous fires and other problems. Whenever I am at home or not otherwise preoccupied I like to bring out my camera and try to snap a photo of the lightning. It's extremely difficult to get a perfect photo of the lightning when it's fully streamed because one bolt of lightning goes so quickly. You basically have to guess when the next lightning will strike. When I got the nicest photo of lightning I was so stoked, it really was a highlight of my photography.