My Diary 18:

                      Dear Diary, I finally finished the anime me and my sister started almost a month ago. Why is that an accomplishment? Because the anime is only 16 episodes, each episode is 20 minutes including the opening and closing song! The anime is called "Baccano!", it is not about a specific character, but a bunch of people connected by three incidents: An Alchemists assembly in a boat on year 1817, a fight between two mafia familys on year 1930, and a terrorist attack on a train on the year 1931. The characters are divided in groups: There are the terrorists, the assassins  the robbers, the mafias, the gangs, the newspaper informants, and last but not least, those who work alone. The anime is very violent, but absolutely AWESOME! In the first episode a man had his three fingers cut off, someone got his teeth knocked out, two friends got shot full of holes by machine guns, one guy was torturing another with a pair of scissors, a kid got his head shot off his shoulders, a guy was found thrown out of the train with barely enough flesh on his arm, and those are just the main characters getting tortured and slaughtered for no good reason! That was just the introduction!! There was a part where me and my sister screamed our heads off!! The "Monster" on the train was pressing a person (later we found out it was a kid) against the trains track WHILE IN MOTION and then asked a girl who was sneaking on board and saw the whole thing something that made her scream and run away. I'm so sad it ended, I love all the characters except for an old guy and an idiot brother of a rich lady. The Three psychos and the pair of robbers are may favorite. Not to mention a charismatic mafioso.

 most of the characters, but not all

 the three psychos: Vino (the red head), Ladd (the blond with the cigar), and Graham (the blond at the back)

 the pair of cosplaying robbers; Isaac & Miria

 Firo, the charismatic mafioso (blond)

 the monster on board the train "Rail Tracer"

First episode occurence

                                        Our Basement

Our stair way

     Ever since we moved to our house when we I was six, the basement has been our "the kids" territory. It was where we spent hours and hours playing and imagining things that were never there. We weren't allowed to to sit with the grown ups when they were talking, so we were always dismissed to the basement. It has been and always be my favorite part of our house.

     It didn't always look the way it does now. When you walk down the narrow stairs, white walls and our house's signature green staircase greet you. A storeroom at the left is where we store food, pots and other things comes after the stairs. After the storeroom there is a space where we keep our toys, toy house, TV & VCR and our tent. The left side i the most spacious part of the entire house. It is where we play tag and football with our relatives. There is a skylight at the end of the basement, where it has a window to the backyard above.

     When our parents tried to turn it into a library, we started to avoid it. The spacious part was divided with a wall. My dad's old documents  were stored in the new room and our toys were boxed and transported our room instead. The TV & VCR were moved as well as everything that belonged to us. We became detached from our once beloved basement. It just didn't feel the same.

     We decided its time to renovate the basement to our liking and make it row like we did. The first step was to take down the pesty wall that limited our space. We painted the walls red and beige  Not to mention our own drawings in the middle of the biggest wall, the symbol of our territory. On the opposite wall, we put up ceiling to floor mirrors with the plan of getting a matching sound system to complete our soon to be dance studio. Last but not least, we put a couch and TV where we used to keep our toys and toy house. Not to exclude our art corner.

     Our basement had always been a part of my childhood, and now its becoming a part of my everyday life.

Me and my sisters go down almost daily to sketch and draw in our corner. It is where we talk about school  and such. We also have our family movie night almost every weekend. We would have turns choosing a movie and bond as a family. We use the basement as a hangout when we invite friends over as well. Its almost the same as we were kids, when my mom would have to force us out of the basement. It feels nostalgic yet different in a way.

 Our Besement

 the right side

 our soon to be dance studio

 our drawing

 our art table

our art corner

"Our Basement" Outline: Subjective essay.

Introduction:

Thesis: It has been and always be my favorite part of our house.

Paragraph 1:

TS:  It didn't always look the way it is now.

SP: It used to have white walls.

SP: storeroom.

SP: toys and TV.

SP: the spacious side.

Paragraph 2:

TS: When our parents tried to make it into a library, we started to avoid it.

SP: a wall was built.

SP: our toys were stored and removed.

SP: our TV was moved.

SP:it didn't feel the same

Paragraph 3:

TS: We decided its time to renovate the basement and make it grow like we did.

SP: we took down the wall.

SP: we painted the walls red and beige.

SP: had a wall of mirrors.

SP: we had a TV and couch.

Conclusion:

TS: The basement has always been a part of my childhood, and now its becoming a part of my daily life.

SP: me and my sisters draw and sketch.

SP: we have our family movie night almost every week.

SP: we have our friends over.

SP: just like we were kids. 

our art corner

My Diary 17:

                      Dear Diary, this has been an eventful week for me. The weather is fantastic and it had a great effect on my mood, everything just looks ten times lovelier than it did under the scorching sun. I am done with my final project (thank goodness) and it went great!! Everyone loved it and it just made it worth the effort to see everyone absorbed in our theme. I watched the funniest video in history and I cant get it out of my head. The video is called "Dumb Ways to Die", my favorite was the guy who sold both his kidneys on the internet! Priceless!! I attended a Hamlet play in our collage and it was AWESOME!! I knew the girl who played Hamlet, so it was really cool seeing her perform. I screamed my head off and cheered as loud as I could in hopes of maybe they would kick me out, so I could scream "HAMLET RULES!" like a crazed fan in a rock concert. Apparently, I wasn't loud enough... Now that I'm listing this weeks events, its not so eventful after all... Oh, well. Something is better than nothing * shrugs*.

My Diary 16:

                      Dear Diary, it's Thursday and its time to deal with the aftermath of wearing heels and an uncomfortable dress for too long. It i also the time to gather as a family and have the official after-wedding gossiping session which includes everything from the wedding hall, food, bride and bride's family to the no-bodys who show up for the heck of it. Waking up late is a must, who wouldn't after the stressful and sleep deprived night we had last nigh? Any way, I have work up till here *points to her neck*, but I'm bailing and going to my BFF's house. I only have one life, might as well live it. I'm too lazy to undo my hair, so I'm thinking of going there the way I am. Sarah signing off.

             The Tell-Tale Heart & The Cask of Amontillado

       "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Cask of Amontillado" are two of the best short horror stories I have read. They are both written by Edgar Allen Poe and are written from the murderer's perspective. The unique style of Poe adds a quirkiness that pulls the reader's interest. Although the two stories share a lot of characteristic  the characters, atmosphere and tone are very different.

       The main characters in the two stories (the narrator & Montressor) effect the way you look at the story. In "The Tell-Tale Heart", the narrator (the caretaker) is nervous and irrational, unlike Montressor in "The Cask of Amontillado" who is confidant and arrogant. These characteristic effect the two stories outcome and  the characters credibility. The narrator is telling the story to prove his sanity to the listener. On the other hand, Montressor is relating the events in a conversational manner and to prove a point or an argument. The narrator's effort in proving his sanity gives the opposite effect, while Montressor's conversation proves his point precisely. The narrator's motives are illogical; his reason to kill the old man was because of his eye. In contrast to Montressor who expresses "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge". The fact that Montressor never explains the nature of the insult however, make us doubt his logic as well. What both characters do share is that they both have obvious psychological problems. 

       The setting and mood in the two stories are one of the most significant aspects in the story's development.  In "The Tell-Tale Heart" the murder occurs in the old man's house, while In "the Cask of Amontillado" the murder takes place in Montresso's pallazo. The murder scene is symbolic of the murder's nature. The narrator attacks the old man in his house and bedroom symbolizing the innocence of the old man and his trust to his caretaker by not locking his bedroom door. Meanwhile, Montressor murders Fortunato in his own house and in his own terms in his catacombs. They both chose a late hour at night to execute their plan. The narrator though, was waiting for the eye's appearance for he did not have the heart to kill the man, he just wanted to kill the evil eye. Monterssor on the other hand, strategically chooses a carnival night, so no one wold notice i someone was missing. "The Tell-Tale Heart" is full of superstitious ideas of the evil eye that it makes the entire murder ridiculous and unfair. The major thoughts in "The Cask of Amontillado" are thoughts of sweet vengeance and triumph. Both stories raise the readers anticipation when they state from the beginning of the story that they have murdered someone. They only state how the murdered in the end of their tale, making i a nerve wrecking experience for the readers.

        The murder plan and success rate are both stories highlights. The narrator in"The Tell-Tale Heart" waits an entire week to plan proceed with his murder. In contrast to Montressor, who seemingly just had to make his resolve and execute his vow for vengeance in one night. The narrator stalks the old man every night and puts a dull light on the evil eye waiting in silence and patience to end its being. Montressor on the other hand, psychologically lures Fortunato into following him with his own will to his own doom with the confidence of a king. The narrator flips the old mans bed over him which kills him instantly. The he disemberes him brutally to hide him under the loose floorboards in pieces. Montressor chains his friend in a stone chamber in his catacombs, walls him up and leaves him to his death. The narrator gets himself caught when he screams that he can still hear the old man's heart beat under the floorboards in the presence of the police, which leads us to believe that he is in some sort of asylum. In contrast to Montressor, Who tells the story fifty years after it's occurrence and proudly boasts that no one ever found out about it.

        "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Cask of Amontillado" are both psychological horror stories about two cold blooded murderers who tell the story without an ounce of regret. The stories both main characters show kindness to the ones the murdered before murdering them. They both share the same theme of murder and suspense. "The Cask of Amontillado" is more frighting in my opinion because of the unsettling thought that the murder was never discovered. Montressor's arrogance and boasting of the success of his plans almost makes the murder right and that alone is gruesome.

"The Tell-Tale Heart" & "The Cask of Amontillado" outline:

Introduction:

Thesis statement: Although the two stories share a lot of characteristic  the characters  atmosphere and tone are very different.

1st Paragraph:

TS: The main characters in the two stories (the narrator & Montressor) effect the way you look at the story.

SP: "TTH" the narrator is nervous/ "CA" Montressor is confidant.

SP: The narrator is proving his sanity/ Montresser is conversing with someone.

SP: Has no logical reason/ has a more logical reason.

SP: they both have obvious psychological problems.

2nd Paragraph: 

TS: The setting and mood in the two stories are one of the most significant aspects in the story's development.

SP: in the old mans house/ in his pallazo in the catacombs.

SP: Both are in a late hour at night.

SP: full of superstitious thoughts/ full of sweet vengeance glee.

SP: they both state the murder in the beginning of the story.

3rd Paragraph:

TS: The murder plan and success rate are both stories highlights.

SP:  "TTH" plan takes a week/ "CA" in one night".

SP: stalks his prey every night/ psychologically lures him to his own doom.

SP: brutally kills and dismember him/ walls him up and leaves him to his death.

SP: is caught "asylum"/ not caught.

Conclusion:

TS: "TTH" and "CA" are both psychological horror stories about two cold blooded murderers who tell the story without an ounce of regret.
SP: both were kind to the ones they murdered before murdering them. 

SP: share the same theme.

SP: "CA" is more frighting.