Monday, April 29, 2013

Good Books

Here are some really good books to read:

Lord of the Rings
The Hobbit
The Hiding Place
The books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The original Sherlock Holmes
The Little White Horse 

More coming!
Bell

S.A.U.- Ch. 12

The building of the Panama Canal alarmed the french and other Europeans. They thought that the canal would let the currents go through, and that it would erase the Gulf Stream's warmth, causing colder winters. It did not do that, but the ocean currents do effect the weather. The Gulf Stream (like a warm water tap) brings warm water to Europe, while the two cold currents (like cold water taps) mix with it to bring down the heat.(The Atlantic is the bathtub.) The Gulf Stream is sometimes warmer than on previous years, meaning less snow and ice for Europe.

The ocean is a heat regulator. The ocean currents and the winds together distribute the heat and cold over the whole globe, making up in this way for the fact that the Sun heats the Earth unevenly.

The ocean and the air work together, and they have a lot of influence over each other. The atmosphere warms or cools the ocean, and gets the vapor from the ocean when it evaporates. The weight of the air determines how high the ocean is. The moving air, winds, make some of the waves.

The ocean has even more influence over the air. It gives back the heat given to it by the air with interest. By doing this, the ocean directs storms. How? The air gets heavier when cold, and lighter when warm. And that means that the pressure changes too. Cold air, high pressure, warm air, low pressure. 

More later,
Bell

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

A Good Cookbook

My favorite cookbook is "How to Cook Everything." Of course, it does not have everything, but it has a fair amount. One of my favorites is Salmon in Red Wine, but I use chicken stock or broth instead. There is an app for Apple that has the recipes.

Bell

M.A.A.N. Act 4 sn.1

Claudio unwisely tells everyone that Hero has wronged him, instead of asking her about it privately and finding out all. Hero fainted, and Claudio, Don Pedro and Don John leave. The Friar saw some things in Hero's manner that showed him that there was and error somewhere. He ells the grief-stricken father to say that Hero died. Benedick and Beatrice tell each other of their love. Benedick goes to challenge Claudio to a duel.

More later,
Bell 

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Popsicle recipes

Popsicles are a good summer treat, as well as being easy to make. We used self-picked strawberries. You cut the tops of some strawberries, at least 1 cup, and blend them up with some honey. Then you can use molds or take an ice cube tray, and pour it in there. Cover it with plastic wrap for the ice tray, and put them in the freezer. Freeze over night. When you take them out, for the ice tray, stick toothpicks or Popsicle sticks in for the handles. Special molds have handles already.

Bell

Titus Flamininus

Titus fought a war against Nabius, a Spartan tyrant. He does not capture or kill him, but makes peace. He did this when he foresaw that destroying Nabius would have ruined many, many Spartans. So he forbear, saving those people.

The Greeks had many Roman slaves, taken in the war with Hannibal(a general for the Greeks). They were dispersed about the country, but the Achaeans, paying five pounds a man, got them, and they were returned to Titus, who was very pleased. He had taken none from their owners by force, though he had opportunities to do so.
Titus had a splendid Triumph. The freed Romans marched behind him, wearing the dress of freed slaves. Titus really likes to have honor and recognition, and this could cause problems later. 

More later,
Bell

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Sneak Peak: What happens next?

Claudio denounces Hero in front of everyone, shaming her and her father. She did not talk with a man out of her chamber window, that was Margret. This is a plot to rid them of happiness.

The whole story later!
Bell  

M.A.A.N. Act 3 Sns. 4-5

Sn. 4
Hero gets ready for the wedding, and disputes with Margret over what dress to wear. Beatrice enters, suffering from a bad cold. Margret makes several witty speeches, (probably the longest in the book) about being in love with Benedick.

Sn. 5

Trouble is coming fast. The Master watchman and his assistant try to tell Leonato about the arrest of Borachio, but he can't understand what they are saying. He sends them away.

More Later,

Bell

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Old T.V. shows

Did you know that those old T.V. shows like Marvin the Martin and Bugs Bunny are on YouTube? If you are looking for fun entertainment, these are great! Roadrunner and Duck Dodgers are out there as well.

Bell

Titus Flamininus

Titus set about freeing the Greek cities at once, thereby keeping his promise to the Greeks. He reconciled Greek to Greek, and exhorted them to follow the laws, and to be just and friendly towards each other. That is a bit surprising coming from a Roman. In some ways, Titus was more Greek than the Greeks. (This is a Paradox.)

Rome and Titus both gained fame and honor from their kind treatment of the Greeks. It is important to Titus to have honor and to gain more. Many nations, kings, and cities asked for Rome's protection. This was often granted, and in this way the Romans had most of the world as they knew it doing homage to them.
Titus thought more of the liberation of Greece than of any of his other actions.

More later,
Bell

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

New endings

Would you like to make a new ending for a Shakespeare play? Just make a new ending from some point in the story, and then post it in a comment. Thanks!

Bell

M.A.A.N. Act 3, Sn. 3

The mast constable of the city, that night told the night watchmen to watch Leonato's house. By the way, the master constable was not of the smartest, and was not exactly clear what he wanted the watch to do. The watchmen set off. Soon after, Borachio and his companion came and were overheard talking about how they have deceived Claudio and Don Pedro into thinking that Hero is unfaithful, by Borachio talking with Margret, dressed in Hero's clothes, out of her window.

More later,
Bell

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

A Joke

Why did the pizza have to go to his room?

Because he was being saucy!!

Bell

Titus Flamininus

The Roman Senate wanted to free all the Greek Cities except for a few important ones. Hearing this, the Aetolians spread the word, and stirred up the Greeks. They said that Rome had "unshackled the feet of Greece, to tie her by the neck." It vexed Titus also. He talked with the Senate, and finally got the Senate to un-garrison all the towns. At some of the Greek Games, a crier came and announced it to the people. They yelled so loud that birds fell from the sky! So all of Greece was set free, and in debt to Titus.

I think that Titus sees things this way: That if they help the Greeks back to where they were, back on their feet, and watch them like a big brother, it will be better for Greece and Rome.

More later,
Bell

Friday, April 5, 2013

A Joke

Knock, knock
Who's there?
Tank.
Tank who?
Tank you!!
 (Like thank you!)

Bell

M.A.A.N.- Act 3, Sns. 1-2

Sn. 1
Hero sends Margret, one of her waiting-maids, to get Beatrice to go to the same bower where Benedick was tricked. Hero and her other maid talk behind it, all bout how Benedick loves Beatrice, but that Beatrice would turn this most excellent man aside in scorn if she knew. They then go inside to look at Hero's wedding things.

Sn. 2
Don John ('John the Bastard') tells Don Pedro and Claudio that Hero is unfaithful, and that they will see so tonight if they watch with him. Benedick appears, with his beard cut, and his face washed. He is much cleaner, a sign of being in love, for he took more car with his appearance. 

More Later,
Bell

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

An April Fool's Trick

We received a pizza from some friends, and it turned out to be a cake. You bake a round vanilla cake, and then you frost it with pink frosting (red tastes terrible), and grate white chocolate on top. It looks real! For pepperoni, cut a Fig Roll-up into circles.

Bell

Titus Flamininus

They (the Romans and Greeks) killed no less than 8 thousand, and about 5,000 prisoners. The Aetolians were blamed as the main reason that Philip himself got safely off. For while the Romans were chasing people, they plundered the camp so well that there was nothing left for anyone else. There were quarrels about this and hard words too. Then the Aetolians claimed most of the credit. A lot of songs were written about the victory. Here is one:
"Naked and tombless see, O passer-by,
The 30,000 men of Thessaly,
Slain by the Aetolians and the Latin band,
That came with Titus from Italia's land:
Alas for might Macedon! that day,
Swift as a roe, king Philip fled away."

This was written by Alcaeus to mock Philip. He exaggerated the number of the dead. It really got on Titus' nerves, even more than it annoyed Philip. Titus just wrote a couple verses of his own:
"Naked and leafless see, O passer-by,
The cross that shall Alcaeus crucify."

But he paid little attention to the Aetolians, so they got mad at him Then Titus told them about how he was trying to make peace, and here they saw a chance for revenge. They told everyone how Titus was not going to go on and finish off Macedon once and for all. (The Greeks were under him, so they wanted him gone. They also wanted to kill all the Macedonians.) But then Philip asked for peace, and Titus gave him peace. But Philip had to pay 1,000 talents, and get rid of all but 10 of his ships, and send his son to Rome. It was well that Titus did this, for Hannibal (See 'Life of Fabius' for more on his battles) was planning on joining Philip, along with another warlike king. It might have been really bad for Rome had Hannibal carried out his plan, for he was a good general.

The peace conditions given to Philip are like the ones given to the Germans after W.W.1. I thought that was interesting.

Bell 

Monday, April 1, 2013

A Joke

Here is a joke:
What did the young tater want to be when it grew up?

A commen-tater!

Bell

The S.A.U.

The currents of the oceans are amazing. They are a study  all by themselves. One of the first things that impressed the author  is their permananance. Their primary driving power is the wind, and the modifying forces are the sun, the revolving of the earth ever towards the east, and the obstructing masses of the continents.

The surface of the sea is heated by the sun unequally, the warmer water expands and becomes lighter, while the cold water becomes heavier and more dense. Probably this brings about a slow exchange of water between the Poles and the equator.

The currents can be quite strong. Take the Gulf Stream, for example. A Spanish ship with the trade winds at her back was pushed back when in the current. The Rode Island merchant ships knew this current, so they got back faster than the English mail ships, who did not know where it was, or how to make headway against it. Benjamin Franklin, when he was postmaster, received a complaint about this speed difference between the ships, and so, perplexed, he asked a Nantucket sea captain. The sea captain told Franklin the reason (the difference of knowledge above), and Franklin asked him to mark the current on a map.

If you ever wonder why the water is so cold at some seaside resorts, remember that the water of the Labrador current is between you and the Gulf Stream.

Bell