Disney Amusement Park Ride

Dear Disney Amusement Parks Co. executives,

These are my very educated thoughts on your next amusement ride.  Vanellope Von Schweetz, the little girl from Wreck it Ralph, is cute and sweet, with a touch of sassiness.  She is the perfect character to guide a simulator ride for Wreck It Ralph.   The ride should be full of colors, just like the movie, and should have sweet smells because kids will enjoy them.  There will be green mints falling into the chocolate lava, and the carts should be sloppily made with candy, just like in the movie.  The videos should all be clips from the movie.  The screen for the videos should be in front and stretch above the riders’ heads.  There should be rooms for the riders to walk into, with a person instructing each party where to go.  It should have lots of different lines for riders to wait in that lead to sets of waiting rooms.  Different Wreck it Ralph clips are playing in the waiting rooms to make the wait time go faster.

The simulator will include some slightly sudden movements upward and forward, when the cart glitches for some excitement. The ride will include 3d videos of the scene when Ralph and Vanellope escape through the secret passageways.  “Shut up and Drive,” will be playing the whole time so riders can recall the scene.  In the movie, Ralph tries to teach Vanellope how to drive the car, but she keeps hitting Ralph with it.  In the ride, the cars will go backwards and forwards and repeatedly hit Ralph, as the car had in the movie.  This will create some laughs.  After this, the riders will “get the hang of it”, and they will drive rapidly around the pathway many times.  The riders will then drive off the path, and onto the unfinished road with Vanellope.  Her head will touch the mints, and she will exclaim, “Hold on, guys!  Whoa!”  The cars will fly up and riders will have their heads hit the hologram mints at the top of the cave.  Mints will fall down behind them, and there will be small explosions in the soda lava, causing the kart to rumble.  The kart will, then, drop back down onto the path.  

All kids will love the fun stimulator ride because it will not include anything scary.  It will not include any large drops or loops, because kids who watch Wreck It Ralph are probably very young, and would be scared of large drops and loops.  The ride will include lots of kid-friendly photos/videos as well.  All of it would be made up of clips from the movie, with some extra lines in it, like, “Hold on, guys!  Whoa!”  The little girl will say that when their heads “hit” the mints.The ride would only consist of fun, kid-friendly clips.  Because kids will love this ride, it will be one more thing to add on their list of rides they want to go on again.  They will convince their parents to visit Disney World more often in the future, because they enjoyed this ride.  They might also take their own families to Disney World when they grow up.  When their families come back in the future, Disney Amusement Park Co. will make more money!

The Wreck It Ralph ride will be similar to The Simpsons ride in Universal Studios, because they will both be simulators with convincing graphics.  The Wreck It Ralph Simulator should be slightly more kid-friendly, though.  The Simpsons Simulator is very exciting, but includes some scary parts.  Even though the kart is just rumbling, with the high-tech videos, I feel like I am actually there, seeing the evil man and being eaten by the baby.  For your Wreck It Ralph Ride, the videos should be high tech, but less scary.  This will appeal to a broader audience.  In the Simpsons Ride, the goal is to run away from an evil man, but the goal in the Wreck It Ralph Ride, should be to win a race, instead.

I look forward to meeting up with you and building the ride.  I have a complicated map written out for the ride already.  I will be charging you ten million dollars for the making of this ride which was my idea.  I have hired some construction workers and they are ready to build the ride.  Send me a letter back when you are ready to schedule a meeting.

Sincerely,

Angie, Specialist for Amusement Park Rides

So we got a kitten... and I wrote a contract for him

I, ____________________, do solemnly swear to provide our cat, Gus Gus, with love, comfort, and attention for his entire lifetime.  I promise to fill all of his basic needs.

I promise to:

• Provide my cat with toys.
• Play with him.
• Give him food that he likes, including canned tuna.
• Make sure that he has clean water to drink.
• Clean out the litter box.
• Allow him to roam around in our home.
• Invite him to sleep wherever he wants.  He’ll have his own bed but can also sleep with us if he’s lonely.
• Give him kind and gentle care.
• Coordinate preventative medical care, as well as treatment if he is sick.

I accept responsibility for these daily chores:

1. litter box

2. food

3. water

I agree to do my assigned chore each week.  I understand that other responsibilities may be needed, including brushing hair, trimming nails, and vet visits.  I understand there will be penalties for not doing my job, because of the importance of these jobs to Gus Gus.

Little sister- no Ipad for a day, Dad - 10 push ups, Older sister- (I won’t forget anyway) clean my room

* Punishment only applies if job was forgotten and substitute was not requested.  

x___________________________ ____________________________

Baldness project vs Malaria project

I was given a prompt about whether I should fund for baldness which would give me money or fund for malaria, a deadly disease killing off millions. Here goes nothing.

I might fund baldness, because I could become rich.  I could be a millionare, like Taylor Swift!  Actually, I won’t be like Taylor Swift, because she is a multi-millionare.  But still, I would make lots of money out of this, which I could spend on clothes, and expensive stuff.  I could buy as many Taylor Swift concert tickets as I wanted (I love Taylor Swift).  Maybe the baldness project won’t give me so much money, but I would still be rich!  Funding the baldness project will help me gain money that will help me buy things I want.

            I want that money, but, on the other hand, funding for malaria may save lives.  Funding the malaria project will not get me any money.  Although this is the case, I have enough money to survive, and being rich won’t solve all my problems.  Money is important, but people’s lives are more important than money.  If I help others survive malaria, I will be a better person by saving people’s lives.  If I fund for a baldness cure, I won’t save anyone’s lives, unless someone who was bald did suicide.  Some people might hate being bald, and they would really want hair.  They would want it so much, they would kill themselves! 

            Still, if I fund for malaria, a deadly disease, I could save lots more people than by helping stop baldness.  Not many bald people would do suicide, just because they wanted hair—only a few people would.  Many more people would die from malaria.  Malaria kills 1.2 million people each year on average.  That’s a lot more than 1 or 2 people who would die from baldness.  Funding malaria will help stop the large numbers of dead people each year.

            If someone killed themselves, because they were bald, that would have been their own decision.  People don’t choose if they want to die from malaria or not.  In fact, I bet that almost one hundred percent of people with malaria didn’t want to die.  People bald would kill themselves by choice, but people with malaria would die against their own will.

            If I fund for malaria, it might get sponsors.  The malaria project may get sponsors to help support them, if the malaria project gets popular.  If I fund the project, that would be one step closer to getting sponsors.  The sponsors will help fund money for the project.  They may even advertise the malaria project, so more people fund it.  Malaria will stop killing people, if the project gets enough funds.  This would save millions of people over the years!  I should fund the malaria project, because sponsors will help the malaria project, if it gets popular.

            I will fund for the malaria project, because funding for baldness may give me money, but won’t make me a better person; if I help save people’s lives by funding for malaria, I have become a better person.  Saving others is more important than making me rich and spoiled.  Maybe, in the future, I will fund for baldness.  As of now, the malaria is killing at least a million people each year, so I will fund to stop the big numbers of people dying from malaria.

Octarchy vs monarchy/presidency

               A country ruled by an octarchy, a government of eight people, would be a stronger government than a country ruled by a monarchy or a presidency, because they will less likely make mistakes, and can make people listen better.  A country ruled by and octarchy would make fewer mistakes.  If a few of the eight people in the government might want to do something wrong, the others could tell them about their way of thinking, and they would make the right decision together as a group.  If a country is ruled by one person, that person is more likely to make a mistake, because he might have his own way of thinking and might want to do things the way the citizens would not.  For example, the government might be deciding if the citizens of the country should get involved in a war or not.  If the problem that caused the war is big enough, like a need for oil, or other resources, then the government will probably make a good decision and fight for resources.  Octarchies will make a choice that is right for the citizens, because octarchies have more people discussing the subject.  Eight people will discuss the matter.  They will all have different point of views, so they will discuss the matter and come up with a decision that is right for the country.  One person ruling could end up with the ruler making a decision that is not reasonable.  A president might have had a life in war as a child and thought it was too dangerous.  If the issue is that we need resources, then he might decide that we will not join in the war, even though it is important.  More countries should be ruled by octarchies, a smarter, more logical government, because octarchies are a lot less likely to make serious mistakes.

Ghost story

               As we huddled around a campfire, Vivi said to us, “A few campers, just like us, were camping out in the woods on a dare.  On a dark and stormy night, a hoot echoed through the woods”— in my mind, the hooting created a vivid image of an owl.  Nothing to be worried about, just an owl, I thought. 

               “These campers shivered in the cold.  They huddled together around the campfire, which would soon go out if they didn’t keep regenerating it with wood.  The campers reviewed the amount of hours they had left until the dare was over and they could return home.  One of their friends had dared them to stay a whole five hours outside.  They had approximately three hours left.  It was seven o’clock, and they came into the woods at five.  The rules of the dare were that they couldn’t bring anything like tents, microwaves, or telephones.  Since there was no rule that they couldn’t bring telescopes, they each brought one, and they looked at the stars and the moon.  That got boring though, so to keep them vivacious, the friends sang some lively songs.  They sang them in a monotone, because they were not happy in their wet clothes and shivering bodies.”

               “‘Argh!’ the sound pierced the night.

               “Many people ran around and nobody knew what was going on.  Some people ran to exit the woods.  Others tried, unsuccessfully to calm everyone down, assuring them that everything would be fine.    There was a blur of people running and yelling, but then, one camper noticed a ghost.  Nobody seemed to notice the ghost, except him.  Everyone was too panicked.  Some people were even running through the ghost without noticing.”

               “The camper looking at the ghost saw that he was in pain. The wailing sound was probably from when he got hurt.  Blood dripped from his leg.  The drops of blood singed the grass when they fell to the ground.  Even though the boy could see the ghost so clearly, no one else seemed to notice.  All the confusion scared the camper, causing him to feel as though he was passing out.  He thought to himself, why am I the only one who can see this ghost?  Is there something wrong with me—am I hallucinating?”

               I blinked my eyes.  Everybody stared at me like I was crazy.  I noticed that my arms were up in a shielding position, and I was on one leg.  I sat back down.  As I sat down, I realized that I had just imagined all the chaos and confusion.  I was just visualizing Vivi’s story as she told it.  We were really just camping and sitting around the campfire.  There was no dark sky, or storm.

               Vivi continued, “And everybody, including the young camper, disappeared when the ghost fell to the ground.”

               Vivi’s mom shouted from inside the cabin, “I’ve got everything we need to make s’mores!”  Everybody ran excitedly to get the first serving.

Innovation

               Innovation can be beneficial to the future of the human race, just as in the past; because new, creative innovations, can make the world more organized, give people more entertainment, and help them have a better education.  The world can be more organized when people plan cities, instead of just putting buildings in random places.  They can use an innovation such as graph paper, and folders can organize the papers.  New innovations will also give the human race more entertainment.  An innovation may be an invention such the television, the iPad, and many other products which entertain the human race.  People will also have better education, because many people like to think outside of the box, so they will become smart and make inventions for others to be smart, too.  Somebody must have thought of the world as a sphere, instead of being flat, even though that was considered weird in the past.  Eventually everybody found out that person was right, and the world is a sphere.  Now, everybody knows the world is a sphere.  In the future, many new innovations will help the world by keeping it organized, entertaining the human race, and educating people.

Galileo

               When Galileo published his discovery that the solar system was helio-centric, the society should not have a right from the truth being known.  The society is coming into direct conflict with the citizens, because they want to know the truths.  At the time, everybody thought the world was geo-centric, Earth centered, because the previous philosophers had all thought that.  The people wanted to know if the world was geo-centric or helio-centric.  Teachers would want to know whether the universe was geo-centric or helio-centric, based on the latest information discovered by Galileo, so they could teach their students the correct information.  The students needed the correct information, so when they took tests and exams, they would fill in the correct information.  Scientists also needed to know what Galileo thought, because they need to know whether or not they needed to keep studying it.  They need to know if they are done studying the topic of whether the universe is geo-centric or helio-centric.  When Galileo discovered the solar system was helio-centric, the society should not have had the right to hide the truth from the citizens.  

Vandalism

               Vandalism is a horrible crime, and should never be done.  Vandalism is when people destroy or ruin other people’s property. Many people would get mad if their house was destroyed, because they bought it with money which is valuable and precious.  Because people will get mad, Congress decided to make a law against vandalism.  Although the law is set, and nobody should break it, some criminals do.  An act of vandalism could be done secretively, with nobody knowing about it, or it could be done egregiously, with barely any secrecy.  If the act of vandalism was done egregiously many people would know about it, and the police could catch the criminals faster.  Egregious means flagrant, easily noticeable.  The people around the area of the scene would easily notice the criminal’s act of vandalism.  They would be able to report to the police fast.  The police would be able to go to the scene of crime and arrest the criminals there.  Even if they didn’t get there in time, the witnesses would be able to tell the police what the criminals looked like, so the police would be able to find them faster.  If an act of vandalism was committed in stealth and secrecy, the act would still be quite outrageous, because the person who owned the items would be mad.  But unlike an egregious act, a secretive act would be concealed.  The criminals probably wouldn’t be caught on the scene.  If the act was done secretively, nobody would know who did it, and the police could spend months looking for the criminal.  They are both equally atrocious, but if the criminals went about the act egregiously, they are just asking to be caught, and the cops will then be able to catch them easily.  Therefore, vandalism is better done egregiously, than secretively.

Avoiding someone

               I avoided talking to my friend by staying away from her, ignoring her, and getting help from my closest, trusted friends.  My friend was following me around too much, so I decided I did not want her to follow me around as much.  I tried to keep her from following me by asking her nicely if she could try not to follow me around as much.  She said she would try, but over the next few days, I noticed her following me again.  I decided I should just avoid her by using three subterfuges.  First, I stayed away from her as much as possible.  I wasn’t in most of her classes, so I rarely saw her.  When I saw her in the hallways or homeroom, I ignored her.  When she tried to make conversation, I didn’t say anything, as though I couldn’t hear her.  When she frantically kept saying my name, I made an excuse not to talk to her.  When she still clung to me, I desperately asked my closest friends for some help.  They stuck with me more at lunch, and played with me at recess.  Soon, my friend took the hint and stayed away from me.  A few days later, I played with her at recess so that I didn’t hurt her feelings.  I still did not hang out with her much, but we found that we could get along well.  Staying away, ignoring, and getting help from a few trusted friends can help me avoid people.

Audiophiles vs bibliophiles

               An audiophile has a richer, more fulfilling life than a bibliophile.  An audiophile loves to listen to music, while a bibliophile loves to read.  An audiophile listens to music, and listening to music won’t damage anything in a body.  Reading, on the other hand, can hurt the eyes, so a bibliophile can get damaged eyes.  While listening to music, an audiophile can take a shower, do chores, and exercise.  While reading a book, a bibliophile will have to focus on the book and won’t be able to do other things.  An audiophile will be less socially awkward than a bibliophile.  If someone always sticks their head in a book, they most likely will not have many friends; they won’t talk to anyone because they are always reading a book.  By talking to others, people can become friends.  If someone always listens to music, most likely they will have many friends, because they talk to people about artists and song lyrics.  An audiophile has a much better life, listening to music, than a bibliophile.

Anthropologists

               There is an important anthropologist, someone who studies mankind, named John Smith. He knows what type of animal each bone or fossil came from just by examining it.   Today, his crew and he are looking for Neanderthal fossils.  Neanderthals are closely related to humans, which is why Mr. Smith is going to study the bones in the cave.  He is a bit cuckoo in the head, though.  As John Smith’s crew starts digging for fossils, he examines his nails, and barks at people.  He shouts things like, “I will not dismiss you until you finish this the right way,” or “you call that succeeding at your task!  Hah!  That hole doesn’t seem like an ant could fit in it.  You say you have proceeded, well, to me, it looks like your hole got smaller!”  When somebody finds a fossil, Smith reports in a bellow that it was a fossil of a bear, or of a fish, but not Neanderthal bones.  Suddenly, one of the members of the crew exclaims, “I think this could be it, master!”  He holds up a white, oddly shaped bone.  The edges look like they had been chewed on by some other animal.  John Smith declares that the fossil is indeed Neanderthal, and a bear probably lived in the cave that ate fish and Neanderthals.  He says his job is done, and leaves without another word.  John Smith is important, because he can tell whether or not a bone is one of a Neanderthal or not just by taking a quick look.

Impressing people

               Acting magnanimous in order to impress people is worse than acting pusillanimous.  Acting magnanimous would mean that someone was acting kind and generous.  Acting magnanimous would make people think someone is nice, even when they are not.  People would be deceived by the acts of generosity and kindness from a person seeming magnanimous.  A person being pusillanimous would not deceive people about their personality, so others will know the person’s real personality.  If the person was truly nice, then others would be his or her friend.  Acting pusillanimous would be better than magnanimous, because acting magnanimous will deceive people, while acting pusillanimous would show people the person’s true personality.

Acropolis

               The word acropolis has many meanings, such as a city with high walls surrounding it, a city with a high population, or a Greek city.  “Acro” means high, and “polis” means city.  An acropolis could be a city with high walls surrounding it.  It could be a city with a high population.  An acropolis might be a city where the houses are made high, like skyscrapers.  The word is heard in Greek stories, so it might mean a Greek city with high walls surrounding it.  Many Greeks put high walls around their cities, to protect themselves from others.  The acropolis could mean many things, but the true Acropolis is an ancient citadel on a rocky hill above Athens. 

New Kid

On the first day of, I walked into the loud, crowded bus.  People were talking loudly and yelling.  The aisle was packed and gave no personal space.  I remembered the first rush of nervousness and excitement, as I walked down the aisle and looked around for an empty seat.  Many people were pushing in the line, trying to get into a seat as soon as possible.  When I walked down to nearly the last seat, a patrol told me to sit in a seat with two other children.  I sat down quietly, trying to make myself smaller, so that the two other students wouldn’t be squished and annoyed with me.  They must have been friends, because they were chatting away.  I felt left out and very nervous at first.  The two friends started talking to me.  They included me in their conversation, and soon I was a lot less nervous as I realized how kind the students could be.  I just hoped the other students and teachers were understanding and nice like them. 

Soon, we arrived at school.  Many questions started forming in my head, as I walked into the big school—only making me more nervous.  “Will my teacher be nice?  Will I make any friends?  Will I fit in, or stay the ‘new kid’?  Will I be able to find my classroom?”  They kept echoing in my head, even though I told them to go away.    I had heard that many people got lost, so I paid careful attention to all the turns in the hallway.  Even though I did this, I still couldn’t find my classroom.  I reached my classroom after searching for several minutes. 

I realized the students were very helpful and not in the least bit mean.  They guided me around the school, and they told me what to do.  I also realized the teachers were nice and understanding.  The teacher let the new kids introduce themselves.  After that, I felt as though I had been officially declared a Floris student—not just some new kid.  They explained how everything worked, and told me about the daily routines.  Soon, I learned what WFLO was, and how to work the SmartBoard. 

Then, it was time for lunch.  I didn’t know where to sit.  Many people invited me over.  It felt special.  Many people wanted to be with me—maybe even be friends.  I felt special.  I took a seat with some kids who seemed pretty eager to sit with me.  Lunch went by in a flash, and it was time for recess!  Many groups of children formed, so I joined one of them.  They kindly invited me to play with them.  Recess went by even faster than lunch, and it was time to pack up sooner than I had expected.  The day had just seemed to start, when it ended. 

Over the next few days, I got used to the daily routines, and the expectations.  They became a part of my life.  I made new friends, and soon, I was no longer the “new kid.”