Voki

KONY 2012 Opinions

Maybe I was wrong to think “KONY 2012” was too good to be true. Before I watched the video and knew very little about it, I was thinking that it’s just another moving story about the poor lives of Africans and that all they needed was heaps of money. And though eventually that is what Jason Russell (the guy who wants to make this all happen) asks of you, he made the video in such a way I almost felt like doing what he says was what I needed to be doing. I understand that news is spreading that it’s all a scam but considering about 85 million people have seen this video the chances of nobody questioning it is impossible.

The more I think about it the more it drives me insane. There is always a chance that all Jason Russell wants is money and popularity. Yet the way he crafted that movie reeled me into the cause. He was close friends with one of the victims of Joseph Kony, he sounded like he was a trust-worthy man and he had a little kid to top it off. By the end of the end of the video all I could remember was the name Kony and the prices of the wrist-bands.

Looking back on all I’ve said, I think I have managed to convince myself the campaign is bad. And it doesn’t help that I now know Jason Russell was caught on a drunken rampage in the nude. But of course another thing has changed my mind. http://www.kony2012.com/ has a list of what they call “The Culturemakers.” They are people whose voice and opinions count. Celebrities, put simply. And a lot of them I know. People like Ellen DeGeneres and Mark Zuckerberg. People who have only made my life better and I really doubt these people would sign up for scams. KONY 2012 has made my mind crowded with confusion and I’m going to settle on one decision…

KONY 2012 is a good, legitimate campaign and Jason Russell has merely crumbled a bit with the pressure of millions.      

Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer - Review

Death Bringer is the sixth book in a series wrote by an Irish man named Derek Landly. The series is unique and very enjoyable. It follows two main characters; Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain. Skulduggery is technically dead, though his life as a walking and talking skeleton is still rich with excitement. He can also do magic (and is very good at it). His role in the story is being awesome and fighting crimes. Valkyrie is a sorcerer and detective with mysterious ancestry and incredible power. She is Skulduggery’s partner in crime-fighting and has only recently been introduced to magic.

Death Bringer has somehow introduced a new way for Valkyrie and Skulduggery to save the world from utter terror. It focuses on necromancy (death magic). Necromancers believe that someone with ultimate power can rid the earth of death, meaning immortality for everyone. This person is called The Death Bringer. The Death Bringer’s job is simple… kill millions of people all at the same time.

I loved this book. It was anything I could have asked for in a book. Derek Landly’s style of writing is incredible, in my opinion. His book usually make me laugh incredibly (this one still did) but it got serious awfully fast. From the first chapter this book is awesome. There is rarely a boring part in any of his books and I have often lost track of time while reading them. Death Bringer was fast paced, with lots of action, humour and twist. I can happily say that the romance in the book is not silly or cliche and there isn’t much of it at all, which is great.  The end, I liked especially. It’s not the only time Derek has left readers with a cliff-hanger. I’d recommend this book to anyone who really wants to have a good time reading. Maybe nine is the minimum I would say to start reading the series. But if you want to read Death Bringer maybe eleven is the minimum; because I do recall a fair amount of violence and the book isn't small. But I guess it depends on who the reader is. 

Wordle

Some pictures of my french toast.

How to Make French Toast

Ingredients:
 -1 large egg
 -1\2 cup of milk
 -pinch of cinnamon
 -pinch of nutmeg

Method:
 -mix all ingredients together with a fork
 -Take a slice of bread and lay it in the batter. Turn slice over to cover other side. Remove from batter. You want the bread slices to be coated in the french bread mix, but not so soggy that the slices are falling apart.
 -Once battering bread, place on hot pan coated with butter. brown on each side.
 -Serve tast with maple syrup and fruit :)

Makes enough for one or two.

Creative Writing

It was the dead of the night. Helen Curious was walking out of the shop when she was checking what she had grabbed. She had done well. The store she had just robbed was stocked with brilliant jewellery and money. The ski mask she was wearing was irritating her; though she made a mental note to not take it off. She was in a shopping mall. There are always cameras… and alarms. But after a small panic attack she remembered she had disabled most of them. And just as the thought crossed her mind a screech came from an undetectable place. She had done something wrong. A security guard came running at her. She had done well avoiding them so far. Helen began to run. This task is unfortunately difficult task for Helen. Helen is 93 years old.   

Eventually a young man charged at her. He was unarmed but the force of his tackle injured Helen. The young security guard hadn’t realised how old Helen was when he was chasing her. It was too dark to see anything. Helen wondered whether he would have treated her differently if he knew just how old she was. She was thinking about a lot. She only just realised the pool of blood by her left ear when she died. She was too weak to live, far too fragile. She knew she would die. A hit like that would kill any old lady, master thief or not.

A strong pull captured her. She was rising. But when she looked down she could still see her crumpled dead body. Also, she could see the traumatised young security guard who just realised he had killed someone. She was almost about to pass through the ceiling when she fell. She fell so rapidly that she had no time to be scared about crashing into the earth. Yet she continued falling. Falling was something Helen hated. When she stopped, which took far too long in Helens opinion, she felt dizzy and hovered. Helen was very confused. She had no idea what to even call herself. She was hardly a body, for she could see no arms or legs. She had decided she was some sort of spirit. Waiting for something to happen was hard for Helen; she likes things done quickly. And then a man came out. At least it looked like a man, it was hard to tell.

He approached her. It was only now that Helen could see his face. It was scared, dark and rough. His eyes were small and the darkest red. His lips stayed perfectly still, giving Helen no idea how evil this man is. “Hello, Helen.” And only now does he grin. “I have been watching you, very carefully,” he says. His voice is deep and hollow. “You have incredible sneakiness and wit and I would be so very grateful if you could do be a small favour.” She nods, indicating him to continue. “You see, I have always been on the lookout for someone like you. You have incredible talent, did you know, Miss Curious.” Helen tries to open her mouth to reply but she can’t. The form she is in must restrict her to only being able to view things. The man chuckles and waves his hand. She begins to feel blood run through her again. She has hands on her new arms, fingers on those hands.

Before she can speak, though, the man hands her a small mirror and her hair is long and blonde. Like it was when she was young. Her wrinkles that use to cover her face are gone. The strange man has granted her youth. But before she is flattered, she realises that this man is going to be asking for a large favour. “You are dead,” he tells her “I am merely covering your death. You are an imitation of life.” Helen is still shocked. “Who are you?” she asks. “That is irrelevant.” the strange man said “Though I have summoned you here for a reason. Like I said earlier, you are talented. I want to make you live again.” Helen smiled. “If you wanted me to die, why didn’t you kill me?” “I don’t have that kind of control” he replied. “All you have to do is go up to the surface and kill whoever I ask. You are still dead. I just can talk to the dead. So you needed to die to help me.”

Helen wanted more explanation but before she could ask another question, he held out his hand. Helen knew that shaking that hand would mean that she would be his slave. That she was obliged to do as he says. She’d have to kill. She isn’t that kind of criminal. But she could be. She knew she could. Helen Curious: The un-dead assassin. She loved the sound of it. She smiled slightly, and shook the hand of the man with the dark red eyes. 

My Holiday

My holiday was a rather unproductive one. But some of the more exciting things included movies, friends and swimming. Though the only movie I saw at the cinemas was "We Bought a Zoo" because my friends mum thought it sounded awesome. But my friend and I just spent more of the time eating popcorn; so it really didn't bother me much. And I got plenty of burns from staying out in the sun too much. I also managed to sit on a triangle.
Well, a large amount of my holidays was camping at a place called Orere Point My family and I spent about two weeks there. We left a few days after Christmas, did exciting things while it rained, and left about a week after new years. A few things i did there were swimming, wandering and the dishes. And when I wasn't doing those things, I was at home reading or watching TV.