Thursday, October 30, 2014

Week 9 Entry

Flash Fiction


Robbery

Smash! The glass case crumbles; I reach my hand in grabbing whatever I can. There’s so much adrenaline running through my body I cannot feel the glass penetrating my hand as I reach in. Red blood instantly covers the snow-white display.
“Stop him!” Yells the clerk in panic. I take off.
The security guard’s chasing me down the stairs of the Avalon Mall, my heart is beating out of my chest. “AJ, AJ, come on, run faster!” Yells Steve from the entrance. I can’t catch up to him, he runs out the front door. He hops in the rusted stolen car waiting for us out front. I sprint toward the door, the getaway car right in front of me. Thump! I’m tackled to the ground by the mall security guard.
“Drop it, DROP IT,” he screams in my ear.
The diamond ring slips out of my hand and falls on the cold mall floor.
“Put your hands behind your back, anything you say can or will be used against you in the court of law.”
I keep my mouth shut. I can hear the sirens outside the mall. I’m scared. The police rush in and grab me, dragging me across the mall floor through the crowd of spectators that I have drawn. The officer grabs the cruiser door handle and tosses me in the back of the police car.

Friday, October 24, 2014

Week 8 Entry


Funny Letter

Dear Moldy Cheese,
Did you have to hide in the back of the fridge for months where no one could see you? Were you just waiting for an innocent person like me to find you? I didn’t see your beautiful green colour through the plastic container. I was not paying attention when I took a large bite out of your once beautiful orange side, which was now half green with mold. It would have been nice if you could have given me a heads up, about your new moldy friend. Your newest addition didn’t taste or look as good as the rest of you. It may have been the worst possible thing I’ve ever tasted. In fact you were so bad that you came out through my esophagus faster then you went down. I was surprised the toilet didn’t throw you back at me because you were that foul tasting. I guess it was my own fault for trying to eat you, but you’re so hard to resist… you did a good job turning me off from loving you.
Sincerely,
Your ex lover,
AJ

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Week 6 Entry


Toronto Maple ‘Laughs’ Newest Addition                                                                             October 7, 2014                                  
                                                         By AJ ROONEY  Sports Reporter

Leafs sign Justin Bieber
(George Pimental/ Getty Images)
Toronto, Ontario—The unexpected announcement came with shock and disappointment to many Toronto Maple Leaf fans today. The club signed 20 year-old forward Justin Bieber to a 5-year contract.  The high profile music sensation is going to make his first appearance in a Leaf’s uniform at practice today. Many of the Leaf’s players spoke out against the signing in a media conference following the signing. Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf said, “This is an embarrassment to the sport, let alone our team.”

Now if the team wasn’t embarrassed enough from being one of the worst teams in the league, then they would be after the signing of Bieber. Most of the Leaf’s players have quit out of protest and due to embarrassment to the organization, or requested trades. The only remaining player is assistant captain Phil Kessel, and the rumor has it this is due to a secret crush he has on Bieber. We caught up with Bieber following the signing for a few words, “Yeah man, I heard a few of the players quit. Yeah they’re all haters. Me and Kessel are really gonna have a fun year.”

The Leafs were having trouble recruiting players to replace the ones who quit. The GM of the organization said, “It’s been tough to find players willing to play with Bieber for opening night tomorrow, but I’ve think we found some.” The Leafs have called up 15 players from the girls Toronto Peewee “A” team, who were ecstatic, not to play with the leafs, but to be able to play with Bieber.

The Leafs square off against the Canadians tomorrow night at 7:30 E.T. on TSN.

Friday, September 26, 2014

Week 4 Entry

The Unstoppable Range Rover Sport




2011 Range Rover Sport Supercharged 
The 2011 Range Rover Sport Supercharged is one of the most luxurious SUV’s on the market today, and also has impeccable off-road capability. Although there’s not much new for the 2011 model it still comes equipped with all the bells and whistles from the previous year. Although this vehicle is well suited for urban driving it’s best performance comes through quick acceleration and near perfect off- road skills. The range rover sport offers full time four-wheel drive, all around great city driving, or for the adventurous driver seeking a little more thrill with top notch off road skills.

V8 supercharged engine
            The performance of this supercharged model is astonishing. It comes equipped with a 5.0-litre V8 engine, cranking out 510 horsepower and 461 lb-ft of torque and can tow up to 7,700 pounds. This model is equipped with terrain response and has a dynamic mode option. The terrain response system is what makes this a great off road vehicle. The option offers increased traction in snow, gravel, rocks, sand, grass, and mud as it optimizes powertrain and suspension.

Terrain response and dynamic mode

            
The supercharged model offers many great safety features including front and side airbags, traction and stability control with rollover protection. This model also comes with Brembo breaks; these are known to be the fastest stopping breaks in the automotive industry. The safety feature that really blew me out of the water was the adaptive cruise control. This feature uses radar to sense other cars in front of you while in cruise control, and can slow you down if you come to close to the vehicle in front of you. In emergency cases if the vehicle senses that the vehicle in front stops suddenly it will stop the Range Rover for you. This option makes this vehicle one of the safest SUV’s on the road.



Leather interior 
            The interior comes equipped with leather seats, dashboard and armrests and is accented with your choice of wood.  Almost everything on this vehicle is customizable whether it is red interior or proximity cameras surrounding your new 2011 Range Rover Sport Supercharged, making this one of the top SUV’s on the market. Along with the smooth ride, luxurious interior, and unbeatable off-road capabilities this vehicle comes with a hefty MRSP starting at $80,000 and will run up to $115,000 depending on the options.


What autoweek reviews had to say:

“… Breaking power is substantial, whether clamping down from speed or merely stopping short in boxed-in traffic. Excellent control.” – Bob Gritzinger

 “It's a beautiful place to be, with soft leather-wrapped surfaces and comfortable seats.” – Jonathan Wong


Photo's by: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Week 3 Entry


Photo 1: Let's Play Ball!

I hope nobody reading this blog post thinks that I took this photograph, considering it is over 50 years old. Honestly I have no idea who may have taken this, but it looks like it was professionally taken considering cameras weren’t popular for people to have like they are today. You might be wondering, “What’s the point of putting some old baseball team photo in his blog?” Let me explain. 

If you’re looking at the photograph to the left, the first row far right is my grandfather Rooney, (the one holding his glove up). He passed away in 1965, long before I was born. This photograph means a lot to me because it is one of the few pictures I have of my grandfather, and he’s playing sports. It’s not hard to tell the love of sports runs in my family… 



Photo 2: No Goal

This picture to the left is of me playing the sport I love, hockey. Hockey is by far my favorite sport, pastime, and hobby. My position… well I’m the goalie, the guy who stands in front of the 3x1 inch round black rubber puck. So if you’re looking at the image I’m the guy in the white jersey diving across the net. I started skating when I was three and started playing hockey when I was five and started playing goalie when I was about seven, and have played the position ever since.


Obviously I didn’t take this picture either, but JP Photography took it using a camera that was placed in a plexiglass box inside the net. Although hockey is not something I plan on making a career out of, it’s something I love to do and that is why I wanted to share it with you on my blog.

Oh, and just incase you were wondering… the puck never went in the net.









Friday, September 12, 2014

Week 2 Entry

"Hey There Delilah"- Plain White T's 


                         LYRICS: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/plainwhitets/heytheredelilah.html


“Hey There Delilah”, by Plain White T’s is one of my favorite songs, but today was the first time I understood the deeper meanings that lay within. Listening closely and reading the lyrics, the song contains many poetic devices. When looking at the lyrics to the song, the verses contain a main rhyme scheme ABCBDDD.


 For Example:
“Hey there Delilah (A)
What's it like in New York City? (B)
I'm a thousand miles away (C)
But girl, tonight you look so pretty (B)
Yes you do (D)
Times Square can't shine as bright as you (D)
I swear it's true” (D)

A refrain in poetry is something that is repeated. In the song the chorus is repeated 3 times throughout, making it the refrain.
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
What you do to me.”

When it comes to stanza organization, every verse had a similar layout and almost identical meter (syllable count). When analyzed, the layout of songwriting has a similar layout as poetry.

The speaker of the song is a person (songwriter) who’s singing to another person (Delilah) who is in a long distance relationship talking about their future plans. Listen to the song and you can tell they’re distanced from each other by the second line, “What’s it like in New York City?” The tone of the song is romantic, but sad at the same time. The song conveys emotion and feeling as the songwriter writes about Delilah, who’s moved away, but wants her love. Towards the end of the song, the listener realizes that maybe Delilah isn’t as in love as the songwriter is, when the song states, “The world will never ever be the same, / And you're to blame.” Other examples of figurative language in the song include personification, metaphor and imagery. An example of personification from the song is, “I’ll pay the bills with this guitar.” This example is considered personification because the guitar is given human characteristics, as a guitar is unable to pay the bills itself. Secondly, is the use of  a metaphor. When the lyrics state, “Listen to my voice, it’s my disguise,” it compares two unlike things without using the words “like” or “as”. The songwriter compares the voice to a disguise making it a metaphor. Another literary device found in the song would be alliteration. This was easy to spot in the phrase “We can do Whatever We Want.” With a close listen and paying attention to detail in the lyrics, it doesn’t take long to realize the complexity of the song and the figurative language used to create imagery in it.


The content of “Hey There Delilah” is a love song wrote to Delilah. The purpose of the song was to be romantic and draw the connection between the songwriter and Delilah and convince her to keep faith and keep their love strong. A social implication that may arise within the song is it really a guy writing the song to a girl, as it could be a guy to guy or girl to girl. On a social aspect, we assume it’s a guy writing to a girl. The reason I like this song so much is the “catch” it has. The rhyme and rhythm that the songwriter used makes the lyrics stuck in my head every time I hear it. In my opinion it would be near impossible for another artist to cover this song, and make it as powerful and the Plain White T’s made it. The message would still be the same, as a romantic love song, but there’s only one person writing to Delilah and that was wrote by the Plain White T’s.