The Best thing about Let Me off At the Top

If any of you have been following my blog you would know that I have a difficult time selecting books. In one of my previous blogs I made a checklist to narrow down books. I figured out exactly what type. As we all have heard, "Life is not perfect." Well I guess we can say the same about books. The book Let Me off At The Top is not one that checks all the boxes. It is a book which does leave me laughing. If I want a smile this is my go to place. We all know about the hilarious Ron Burgundy from the Anchorman series. As this is a biography of Ron Burgundy, the legendary anchorman, it has many different aspects. It contains many comparisons out of which almost all have made me fall on the floor laughing. If you know me well you would know that it takes a very funny joke for me to do that.  Even though this book is not perfect, nothing is, so I think this is closest thing to it. Atleast for me. Even though it does not have anything to do with sports, it is a great book. So the overall best thing in this book is the way it puts a smile on my face. It never fails to make me laugh. The comedy is so good.

My conversation with Ron Burgundy

Although I wish I could meet Ron Burgundy it remains a dream. I am still not sure if he is real but I still want to talk to him. Our conversation would probably go a little like,



"Hi Ron, my name is Rishi"
"Give me your pen"
"Huh?"
"You want an autograph right."
"I will take one but I am here to tell you that I loved your book."
"It was pretty great, almost as great as my hair but we all know that is not possible."
"Who's we, I am the only one here."
"Well the paparazzi is always after me so you never know when a camera pops up"
"Ok, so let's talk about your book now."
"I like your mustache"
"What, I have no mustache."
"I was talking to the guy behind you"
"There is no one behind me."
"Is this magic, do it again Reeses, do it again."
"My name is Rishi"
"Are you sure, you look more like Reeses."
"How can someone look like candy Ron, come on, focus."
"Sometimes Baxter looks like a candy dog."



This is a little on how our conversation would go. As you can see Ron get's off topic a lot. As you can also see he thinks he is better than everyone, and is super popular. Ron is full of himself and always think's his views are more important. He will say whatever comes to his mind. He also thinks that everything he does is the best even when he writes a book. If this conversation went on Ron would continue talking about himself, and all his opinions.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWHFQ4t9wYI
This is a link to a video from Run Burgundy about his book. In this video you can see how Ron Burgundy often get's off topic, and start's talking about himself and how he is very good at thing's like writing books.

A Letter to Ron Burgundy

Dear Mr. Ron Burgundy,


Your book Let me Off At The Top is one of my favorite books. I was not always sure if you were real or not but because you wrote this book I guess you are. Your book is definitely amusing as you said on the cover. Every single time I need a laugh I read a little more. There is only one bad thing about your book. I do not want to hate, but I can't help but let you know about this. You have had such an adventurous life that sometimes I get confused whether you are being sarcastic or serious. Don't get me wrong here. This is probably the funniest book I have read (and I have read all the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, just kidding I have not read the most recent one) and I love that about it. It is just that I get confused sometimes. If someone else wrote it I would understand how it is sarcastic, but I have seen one of your movies and can totally see you doing those things. For example you say," I sat motionless for about an hour and then went back inside." If someone else wrote this book I would immediately know it is a hyperbole, but you wrote it and I can totally see you doing this. That is all I have to say. Just make your jokes a little more clear that they are jokes, so no one takes it seriously as it could lead to confusion. However, overall I love your book. Thanks for writing such a great book.





Sincerely,


Rishi Ambani

Answer to the Voice Questions

Question 3

The piece Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson was the piece which I viewed created the most intricate sensory experience. One line which I viewed as an intricate sensory experience from Speak was, "My contact folds in half under my eyelid. Tears well in my right eye." This really gives me something to picture in my head, and there are many other great examples of imagery in Speak. 

 

Question 6

In the first passage there are actually 2 types of tones. One is playfulness as in the beginning all the kids are messing around and having a good time. The second one is shown more towards the end of the piece, and it is harsh. Towards the end of the story the new teacher is very harsh to the students causing all the students to follow exactly what she says.

In the second passage the tone is anxious. Throughout the whole passage the main character is feeling anxious as she has nowhere to go. She is inside the bathroom with a girl who is threatening her and she can't even leave as outside her teacher his monitoring the hallways and she skipped that teacher's class. Due to her having nowhere to go she is stuck and very anxious.

Question7
The voice in my creative non-fiction piece is used to inform the readers on my view of the topic. It also allows the reader something to relate to and some things to laugh at. Some purposeful choices which I have made to my piece include personal experiences. These allow the reader with something to relate though. Another thing is humor, this makes the reader went to read my piece more. Overall I think this is adding strength to my article.

Column Mimic

Rishi Ambani

Mrs.Cronin

Column Mimic

05 May 2014

A Message to my Fellow Ballers

In the style of, “Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on young.”

I know most of us can’t wait to get on stage wearing the hat of your favorite basketball team. The realization that you have gotten drafted is unreal, that’s because for most of us it is. For those of you though who plan to get drafted, I have some advice. I know most of my fellow, so called, “Ballers,” are often found saying, “Yo, I am going to be the next LeBron.” Well for you so called, “Ballers,” I have a couple words of advice.

Sunscreen.

If you do ever go pro you need to look good for the camera. What do most NBA players have?  No, they don’t have skill. They are just kids who have an excessive amount of tattoos and people who think they look good. To help you look good you need to use your sunscreen. You might spend a couple of hours working on your jump shot, and you don’t want to get darker and darker.  Wear sunscreen and keep your radiant complexion in-tact. I can’t help you with the tattoo thing, but just wear your sunscreen. Even if you miss the game winning layup, you will keep on getting fans and money, as long as your skin shines as bright as your Ferrari.

Flopping Skills.

Everyone wants to be the king, and what is he known for? No, he is not known for his game winning buzzer beaters.  If you ever go and watch a Miami Heat game you will see the king go to work by flopping, flopping, and oh yeah did I mention flopping?  It has an uncanny resemblance to fish out of water. If you do go to the game, don’t forget to take your fishing poll. You might be able to catch the 200+ pound, 6’9 LeBron fish.  Don’t forget your frying pan, if the fish is caught, fish sticks could be served to everyone in the arena.

Confidence.

LeBron is almost as good as me in basketball, so I can honestly tell you that the most important thing needed to be like him is confidence. Do this. Look in the mirror, tell yourself this, “You are the most handsome guy ever, you have so much skill, you are practically the Beyoncé of basketball.” Tell yourself that for 30 minutes straight every day for a year. Trust me; the skill will just come to you. I tried this drill and now I can dunk on a 7’5 hoop. Thinking that I am 4’11 with tiny arms, I am pretty sure I got the LeBron vertical down.

If you so called, “Ballers,” out there read this to hopefully become the next LeBron. I can’t guarantee anything except for the fact that you wasted about 5 minutes of your life reading this. Instead you could have gone outside and worked on your jump shot. I am not saying this is not helpful advice, I am just saying your dream is bad. No, no, don’t get me wrong here. It’s not bad that you want to be a great basketball player; in fact I support you all the way. It is bad that you are chasing the dream of becoming the next LeBron James, and that is not possible. You can have as much skill as you need but you will not become the next LeBron James, you will stay who you are. If you are Billy Bob, boy I could win a million dollars on the bet that you will remain Billy Bob even after you become the best basketball player ever. Don’t chase after the hopes to be someone you will never be, chase your dream to be the best at whatever you want to be.

 

Blog Reflection

In the beginning I struggled with a couple of things, specifically evidence. Whenever I would have a good thing to write about I would always steam to struggle with providing evidence. I kept on trying hard to put more evidence in my blogs but every time I would always fall short of my own expectations. I kept on doing a little more of what I thought would make my blog post solid. When I reached the end of my ideas I got another check by the teacher. I was finally successful.  I felt as successful as a lion does when it catches its prey. This journey was not that easy. Every time I would sit there with my book, thinking for a while on what evidence I could use. I kept on trying hard to find as much as I could and to be super specific. I had finally achieved success. After almost 8 weeks of wonders and thoughts. 

Though I struggled with finding evidence, there were other things which I was good at. One thing which I was solid on was symbolism. One day I decided to pick up a challenge so I decided to do the prompt in which I had to compare tangible things to the characters based on their characteristics. The first thing I did was make a list of all the characters and then I thought and thought. Suddenly some ideas started rolling to me and I had an excellent blog post. The teacher told me she really liked my comparison of a chameleon and Hartwell.  

Over this course of time there have been many new books released and many books which have already been written. Out of all these books it tends to get difficult to find the best fit. One thing that helped me was, “Goodreads.” This is a great website to give me some recommendations based on previous books which I have read. This actually showed me a great book called Swagger. I read this book and I loved it, it is one of the best books that I have ever read.

My quality of writing has improved immensely over time. Over time I have come out of the plain type of writing and have upgraded to a more professional style. One big thing I improved on was how I started my post. I noticed that usually I got right to the point fairly quickly, making it a little confusing, but upon elaborating the reader would understand it more. For example

In one of my older blog posts: In my book "Swagger," Jonas Dolan is currently trying to help Levi (his new friend) receive a good grade in his classes.

If the reader did not read the title they would not understand what I am talking about so I decided to elaborate more. An example is

In one of my newer blog posts: There are many different characters in the book and they all can be represented by something. They all have a symbol for themselves. These are some symbols for the characters I have encountered so far.

This gives the reader a better insight on what I am talking about, without them having to read the title.

Another thing which I changed was how specific I was, for this example I will use the same 2 posts.

In one of my older blog posts: When Jonas explained to Levi what the important things were, Levi was very surprised and shocked that Jonas knew what was important.

In this sentence I had to be more specific because you don’t understand it. I should have said that Levi was writing down everything that the teacher was saying even when it was about her personal life so he never had anything important to study.

In one of my newer blog posts: He is like water because he is pure and his thoughts are clean like water. One thing that supports this is that he did not drink beer or watch any inappropriate movies at the party. He did not think that it would be okay, instead he just walked out.

This does a better job of being specific so the reader knows everything to be able to understand it, so based on this example a reader could know why Levi is thought of as a clean and pure guy.

Blogging has been a great way to improve my writing skills. Commenting on other posts gave me many opportunities to learn different ways of setting up blogs. One idea from Ruth’s blog was how to separate old and new examples. Overall it has increased my writing skills.

What wil come after "Swagger"

When I finished reading "Swagger," I knew that I have to look for another good book just like this one. I knew that I was going to be like a lion and all the good books my prey, but before I went hunting I figured that I should deperate the weak from the healthy. So I need to think of  books which don't really fit the types of books I like to read. Lets go through the list...
Action :)
Adventure:)
Comedy:)
Crime:(
Erotica:(
Faction:(
Fantasy:)
Historical:(
Horror:(
Mistory:(
Paranoid:(
Political:(
Romance:(
Saga:(
Satire:(
Science Fiction:)
Slice of Life:)
Speculative:(
Thriller:)
Urban:(
Though sports is not on there that is one of my favorite type of books. So basically if I summarize this it is basically a comedy about sports with maybe some fiction or fantasy. If I think about I could also read a biography about a athlete who is funny. Maybe even some one like Kevin Hart because he is hilarious and pretty good at basketball.

What the Author of "Swagger," Thinks About how we Act

Carl Deuker the author of "Swagger" has a lot to say about us. Not only about how we look but how we act. He points out many things people have in common through out this book. One thing which he said was that we are all transparent people who will always try to blend in to the surrounding. Carl points this out by showing how Hartwell's characteristics changed based on where he was. In the beginning when he was helping Jona sand Levi as an unofficial coach he was very serious and strict. Later when he held a party he became a fun loving guy trying to get all the kids to enjoy the party even if it was not right. Later when he actually became a teacher in their school he was harsh but caring. All these changes are only because of the surroundings and the situation. Carl also shows this by how some people change even in a game based on where they are. I can actually personally relate to this. When I was first trying out for my soccer team I was trying so hard pulling of some moves I never tried before and giving it my all, but later when I got into the team during practices I did not have the same intensity. Even though I worked hard it was not as intense as the tryouts and this is the same which was done by Jonas Dolan. Jonas want's to make the team thus was working hard but when he made the team he kept on playing hard but just not as hard. But Carl also goes on to say that if you eventually are not trying it will fire back on you and you will have to work hard to get back. This is the same thing done by Jonas Dolan after he made the team he slacked off a little and got himself on the bench but after that he worked hard again and made the line up.

What Characters in Swagger are like

There are many different characters in the book and they all can be represented by something. They all have a symbol for themselves. These are some symbols for the characters I have encountered so far.

Jonas Dolan: He is the main character in, "Swagger." He is a guy who will follow people's advice without a big ego coming his way. Thus I have given him the symbol of a ball. I chose this symbol because as a ball is round which symbolizes how Jonas is not pointy or in simpler terms not stubborn. Many facts from the story can prove this; one is that he listened to his coach when his coach persuaded him to go to college. He wasn't stubborn and did not argue about how he could get a job at the place where his dad works. He also listened to his friend Lisa when she tried to help him improve his grades. He did not say anything like I can do it on my own, instead he toke her help. Another way in which he is like a ball is that he follows whatever path he is on, like a ball will follow any path you put it on. A fact that proves this is Jonas’s attitude of going with the flow when he was forced to move during the time of graduation.

Levi: Levi is Jonas's new friend in Seattle. He is like water because he is pure and his thoughts are clean like water. One thing that supports this is that he did not drink beer or watch any inappropriate movies at the party. He did not think that it would be okay, instead he just walked out.

Hartwell: Hartwell is a guy who Jonas and Levi met in the gym when playing basketball, but later got a job in their school as the assistant basketball coach and as a history teacher. Hartwell is like a chameleon because he changes characteristics based on the situation just like a chameleon changes colors based on situations. Evidence for this is that during summer when Levi and Jonas were playing basket ball, he was like a teacher who was kind and very helpful. Later when he held a party he was a very fun loving person who was doing whatever he could to help people enjoy the party. When he became a teacher he was afraid of the principle finding out about the party and losing his job.

Lisa: Lisa is Jonas's friend from California who is helping Jonas keep his grades up so he could get into Monitor College. Lisa is like a tree because a tree gives us so much like shade but never asks for anything back. That is just like Lisa as she gave Jonas so many tips to improve his grade but never asked for anything back.

                                                                                                                                                                            

Update on Swagger, and why I am enjoying Romeo and Juliet

In my book "Swagger," Jonas Dolan is currently trying to help Levi (his new friend) receive a good grade in his classes. After a lot of thought, Jonas decided to try to tutor Levi. Jonas made this decision when he saw Levi trying to write down everything the teacher said. He also noticed that he was not doing well in school. Levi was struggling with understanding what the important concepts were to study for tests. When Levi told Jonas that he could not play after school basketball because his grades were low Jonas decided to tutor him. During their tutoring session, Jonas noticed Levi take out 3 pages of notes with nothing important written on them to study. When Jonas explained to Levi what the important things were, Levi was very surprised and shocked that Jonas knew what was important.



Romeo and Juliet:


What I am enjoying in Romeo and Juliet is the occasional rhyming. I also love the suspense that is built up. I really want to know what will happen because Romeo loves Juliet, but the two families hate each other. When Tybalt saw Romeo in their house he wanted to kill him, but if Tybalt did kill Romeo he would be killed, because both the families were threatened by the prince that if they ever fought the families would be killed. So I can’t wait to see what will happen to the 2 families and Romeo and Juliet’s relationship.

The worst thing about "Swagger"

The worst thing about "Swagger" is how each chapter is so short. I don't like it because it is always so interesting and then it just leaves you hanging. Like at one point he is talking about how he could get into this college and when he gets the phone call from it the author ends the chapter. I honestly believe that it would have been better if he just had the whole part of the story in one chapter. I think that it gets very confusing if you seperate them. For example one thime the author was talking about the coach and then he ends it and starts talking about him after another 2 chapters, this left me confused because I didn't understand what the coach was saying. Another example of how he brakes up the story is that one time the author is talking about the coach, then he starts talking about a game on the next chapter, then he starts talikng about how his dad could lose his job and then he starts talking about the coach again. This left me totally confused when it came back to the story of the coach. To me this was the only down side as I absoloutly love this book and would highly suggest it to anyone looking for a great sports book.