100 BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU DIE

HEY: THIS LIST IS NOT YET FINISHED. THE 100 BOOKS HAS NOT YET REACHED 100 BOOKS. ONE DAY IT WILL BE FINISHED, BUT OBVIOUSLY NOT NOW. BOOKS NOT PLACED IN ORDER OF FAVORITE, OR IN ANY PARTICULAR ORDER AT ALL, REALLY.

1. The Da Vinci Code by dan brown
2. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by ishmael beah
3. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by john boyne
4. The Book Thief by markus zusak
5. The Giver by lois lowry
6. Firegirl by tony abbott
7. Gathering Blue by lois lowry
8. Sun Moon Stars Rain by jan cheripko
9. Pieces of Georgia by jen bryant
10.Kira-Kira by cynthia kadohata
11.A Walk to Remember by nicholas sparks
12.Go Ask Alice by anonymous
13.Thirteen Reasons Why by jay asher
14.Angels and Demons by dan brown
15.P.S., I Love You by cecelia ahern
16.Skellig by david almond
17.So B. It by sarah weeks
18.Star Girl by jerry spinelli
19.The Outsiders by s.e. hinton
20.Schuyler's Monster by robert rummel-hudson
21.Crossing Jordan by adrian fogelin
22.Sort of Forever by sally warner
23.Define "Normal" by julie anne peters
24.Olive's Ocean by kevin henks
25.Chinese Cinderella by adeline yen mah
26.Surviving Antarctica by andrea white
27.Noughts and Crosses by malorie blackman

Renaissance Fashion

Hey guys I had to write this for a writing project so don't think I'm weird. Please? Trust me I am Normal.

Renaissance fashion played an important part in the cultural life of the Europeans as it was a symbol of their social status and influenced modern fashion.
Styles varied throughout the years, but some styles remained similar throughout the Renaissance. For example, men wore panty hose, trunk hose or pantaloons, and doublets in all eras of style, and women could always be seen in dresses with fitted bodices and full skirts that put emphasized small waists.
Men’s clothing was stuffed for extra fullness, but this was usually only the sleeves and pants. The rest was very tight. Women’s dresses were embroidered, trimmed with lace and covered in gilt ornaments. The sleeves of their dresses were could be large and open, puffed in circles to the wrist, or tight and fitted to their arms.
Women’s fashion was considered to be at its “fullest”. Their skirts were large with the help of petticoats and later the farthingale. They concealed the wearer’s feet in the early ages of the Renaissance but later started to lift and show the newly styled, high-heeled shoes of the woman. Popular fabrics were silks, brocades, velvets, and laces, all covered in precious stones. The colors of the fabrics would change with the styles, but the people of the Renaissance would never let go of their passion for jewels.
The history of Renaissance fashion is divided up into about three time periods. Each time period had a style from a different country. Probably the most influential styles were from the Italians, the Germans, and the Spanish.
The Italian style lasted from about 1480 to 1510. The fabric that clothing was made of was patterned rather than solidly colored. The hemline of men’s clothing became shorter as the women’s skirts grew longer.
In the year 1510, the Italian fashion gave way to Germanic dress. Men would wear hose or breeches with a brief, wide gown, giving them a short, square look. Women’s skirts remained full and extravagant, but now they were pleated or had a pleated apron on top.
The Germanic influence evolved into Spanish fashions around the year 1550. Men wore doublets that were made rigid by stuffing horsehair, whalebone, or cardboard into them. Women also stiffened the bodices of their dresses. The Spanish favored geometrically shaped clothing made of dark cloth to better accentuate the jewels that adorned it. During this time, the skirt of a woman’s dress added another element to its full and layered fashion. A farthingale, which is a series of hoops that circle a woman’s lower body from the waist, was worn under the skirt to reach enormous size. The French farthingale was shaped more like a drum.
Other accessories that were worn by people were ruffs. Ruffs were collars that were made of linen, tulle, or lace and held in place by wire. They
started out small but grew larger as the Renaissance wore on. Hats were also worn during the time, such as biggins (worn by children), bonnets, and linen caps which curved over the hair.
Hair wasn’t visible until the late Renaissance due to a law that had stated that headwear must have been worn when out in public or else the violator would have to pay a fine. Hairstyles varied mostly only among women. Hair was large, big, and sometimes frizzy. The hairline was plucked to create a larger forehead and hair, which was usually ornate, was covered in jewels.
However, elaborate clothing was only for the wealthy. Sumptuary laws were enforced to stop peasants from wearing nice clothing and jewels. Peasants wore a simple easy jerkin with a large cloak and simple shoes and hats. The law also told certain people what to wear. For example, public penitents wore pure white robes and prostitutes had to wear red skirts. It was in these ways that clothing and fashion defined a person’s social status, and it still does today.
Clothing during the Renaissance was a great, powerful thing. It defined social status and changed dramatically throughout the entire Renaissance. It was now decorative instead of merely functional. It also influenced many of the fashions we see everywhere today. In fact, it was during this time that fashion really started to change from the Dark Age styles to modern day styles. A more closely fitted and tight style came into view. Dresses hung
less loosely and shoes were less flat-soled with the invention of the high heel. The Renaissance was about art and literature, but it was about clothing, too, and was the beginning of the importance of fashion in culture.

Free Kibble dot com

I read an article about this girl in People magazine. This twelve-year-old girl has loved animals all her life and has created two websites: freekibble.com and freekibblekat.com. Each day there is a trivia question, and whether you get it wrong or right doesn't matter- just answer the question and donate ten pieces of kibble to help feed a stray animal. Here is a banner that you can click on to bring you automatically to Freekibble.com.








And to Freekibblekat.com

TV Shows-- the Cheesy Kind

These days kiddie television shows are made on the foundations of bad acting and cheesy music- much like Hannah Montana and the High School Musical movies. All of them.

The other day I was watching the Disney Channel (a.k.a cheesy TV central) and there was a trailer for some show called "Imagination Movers".

a. the word "Movers" is obviously not the right term for what they mean. When I think of a "Mover" I think of extremely ripped men in muscle shirts hauling furniture into a huge van. I think that by "Movers" they meant like, dancing and stuff. You'd never guess that. You'd think they meant people who wished they were Mr. Universe Clones.

b. What is UP with mouse puppets?

c. They ALL smile and do bad, stupid dance moves.

d. HELLO??? There is a reason most grownups don't act like children!!!

And don't get me started on Barney. If I could meet the creator of Barney, these are the questions I would ask him.

• Um, why purple?
• Have you ever noticed how fake Barney looks?
• Why aren't those kids scared when their toy dinosaur comes to life and starts singing? I know I would be.

But to tell the truth, I have no objection to Sesame Street. That show is a work of art. But all the others: SHAME ON YOU!!! And now I will end this the same way cheesy television shows end: Everyone becomes friends, we all sing a song about our day, and then the credits show while a mouse puppet plays the xylophone.

An Inconvenient Truth: Homework or Whatever

Between play rehearsals, family, my dog, and everything good in life, homework doesn't really fit in that well. And then teachers are all like, "Do it by next class typed and four pages long and if it's not perfect you fail!" Which, of course, makes me cry.

I have two days to do my homework, but with the amount of homework which is piled up on my each night, who cares? Two days isn't enough! Don't they realize that I have a life I have to attend to? One which isn't centered around the crap they expect me to complete in two days. On almost every day of the week I have play rehearsals from 4:00 to 6:00 pm, and I have to do all my homework in between lines.

Then there are the teachers who don't realize, or simply don't care or pretend to notice, this fact, and they decide to give you a test which you have only two days to study for. So now, on top of the homework, memorizing my lines, my dog, and my general life... *sharp intake of breath*... I have to study for a test on a summer reading book I read in June.

So do they simply refuse to understand the burden they bestow upon us? Or are they really deaf to the cries of children, weak under the weight of their backpacks?

Well, guess what? I'M HOME SICK TODAY! Yup, I stay up until nine o'clock to finish all of my homework, and now I don't even have to turn it in!

Not that I'm not glad for a day off school, seeing as how bad I felt yesterday. I have a science test tomorrow and I have all day to study. But still... my life sucks.

Like right after today, I have a test. YIPEE. I get to spend my one free day from school STUDYING! Seriously, what's the difference? I might as well go to school.