Believe the Hype!

• So everybody Dr. Preston wasn't kidding when he said that we were usually only a few degrees of seperation from somebody important. This weekend at a family party I brought up the masterpiece somehow and my Aunt's boyfriend mentioned his sister. Nancy Perez, she was a physical therapist in Okinowa and was offered to do physical therapy for the military (Black Ops) but she turned it down. I messaged her and her brother assured me that he would get in touch with her!

My Super Group

• I've already tried to contact these people but it is nearly impossible!
• Jordan Burroughs- Olympic Gold Medalist
• Jake Varner- Olympic Gold Medalist
• Jay Robinson- Minnesota Wrestling Coach for last 30+ years
• James Collins- San Diego Charger's Athletic Trainer
• Kyle Dake- 4x NCAA champion at 4 different weights

Resource of Monday...

DON OLSON
- I've known Coach Olson since I was a kid. He has always tried to guide to the correct path and offer me assistance with what I've needed. He is a distinguished wresting coach up in Lemoore and has a wrestling tournament named for him. He approached me at Cal Poly about a month ago offering me a spot on his wrestling team and I have been considering it lately. He runs a tight shift up at West Hills so he would be a perfect fit for an interview.

Decisions Decisions....

• So congrats to everybody admitted to a UC campus! I wasn't, but I still have options, I'm torn between Sonoma State, Northern Arizona, and West Hills Jr college. The two universities are really nice and I would have no problem attending either it's just the fact that West Hills offered me a spot on their wrestling team and would pay for most of my stay up in Lemoore. They're all good schools I just can't decide.

Change of Plans

• Instead of that speech for Macbeth I wanted to know if I could recite one by Rocky but I'm not sure if it should be longer.
• Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!

Welcome to the Jungle

• Hey yall! If your checking out my blog sorry for mess, I just recently started posting after a long hiatus. Im working to get all my stuff together so please excuse the lack of work available. Also if anybody knows how to add the follow widget to the blog that would be appreciated. Thanks guys!

Benchmark Update Blah Blah Blah

•  So over the past couple of weeks I've been trying to contact any wrestler or athletic trainer that has ever accomplished anything. Then it hit me, when I was in the midst of post season I completely shut everybody off and this is what I figure everybody is busy doing their own thing. So I have yet to hear back from anybody yet but I am pretty set on people to interview. I have two friends, Luke Wilson and Andrew Ibarra, who have placed in our state tournament so they are shoo ins. Our athletic trainer has agreed to an interview as long as she isn't on camera. I want to actually have somebody who is an athletic trainer for a college team or professional team so if you know one please let me know.

Lit Terms Mash ( very over due)

• Allegory- a tale/ story written to make a point about an idea or event
• Alliteration- repetition of similar sounds in a group of words
• Allusion- reference to a person, place, event... etc
• Ambiguity- something uncertain as to interpretation
• Anachronism- something that shows up in the wrong place or time 
• Analogy- comparison between things for emphasis
• Analysis- dividing and scrutinizing a work or idea
• Aphorism- a pointed statement expressing a wise observation on life
• Apologia- justification or defense for a piece of writing; apology
• Apostrophe- when a dead person or inanimate object is addressed directly
• Argument(ation)- convincing a reader by proving the truth or falsifying another
• Assumption- taken for granted; act of assuming
• Audience- intended readers, viewers, etc...
• Characterization- the way an author reveals a character's personality 
• Circumlocution- using many words when few could have been used
• Cliché-  over used phrase or situation
• Climax- decisive point of a novel; usually most intense/ interesting part
• Colloquialism- informal language 
• Comedy- descriptive word used to portray amusing/funny events
• Conflict- problem within the novel that creates stress
• Connotation- wordy definition
• Contrast- opposing elements used together for emphasis
• Denotation- simple definition; book definition
• Denouement- conclusion of a novel
• Dialect- the language specific to a group of people or region
• Dichotomy- break between two opposing things
• Diction- choice and use of words
• Epic- narrative poem; hero usually on a quest 
• Epigram- witty aphorism
• Epitaph- brief inscription on a tombstone
• Euphemism- placing a mild word in place of an offensive one
• Evocative- calling forth sensations or memories usually through descriptive language
• Exposition- introduction of a story
• Fable- short story with fictional characters used to teach life lessons
• Fallacy- a  false, misleading notion/argument
• Falling Action- everything after the climax in a novel
• Farce- ridiculous comedy
• Figurative language- colorful language using many similes and metaphors
• Flashback- when author "flashes" back to past events
• Foil- a person/thing that when compared makes another seem better
• Folk tale- story passed on by mouth
• Foreshadow- hinting at what is to come but not giving it away completely
• Free Verse- poem with an irregular pattern and no rhyming scheme
• Genre- a category or class of literature with a specific form, technique or language
• Hyperbole- exaggerated statement used to make a point
• Imagery- vivid description; usually coveys images through different senses
• Inference- conclusion made with out complete evidence
• Irony- contrast between what is said and what is actually meant
• Juxtaposition- intentionally placing a word or phase near another to contrast one another
• Lyric- poem with musical qualities
• Metaphor- comparing two different things imaginatively
• Mode of Discourse- argument, persuasion, narration, description
• Motif- reoccurring feature in a novel
• Myth- fictional story told to explain mysterious that could not be explained
• Narrative- story/ description of events
• Narrator- one who tells a story
• Novella- short story
• Omniscient POV- all knowing narrator
• Oxymoron- two contradicting words/phrases put together to create an effective paradox
• Pacing- tempo
• Parody- imitation or mockery of something well known
• Pathos- appeal to emotion (sadness, pity, etc...)
• Personification- giving non human things human like qualities
• Plot- the structure to the story; the "story" of the story
• Point Of View- the view that the audience has on a piece of literature
• Pun- a play on words
• Purpose- the end result that the author wanted
• Refrain- chorus
• Requiem- a song, chant.... etc. meant for the dead
• Resolution- see denouement
• Repetition- an idea restated 
• Rhetoric- use of language in order to persuade
• Rhetorical Question- question asked to get the reader thinking, never actually requires an answer
• Satire- similar to a parody but deals with wrongdoings 
• Setting- time and/or place of the story, novel, etc
• Simile- comparison between two different things using a specific word of comparison
• Soliloquy- an extended speech given by a character alone with his thoughts
• Spiritual- a religious folk song
• Speaker- narrator
• Stereotype- a cliche; an over generalization
• Suspension of Disbelief- not believing in something in order to enjoy it completely
• Symbol- something that stands for something else, usually an object
• Synesthesia- using one sense to convey another
• Synecdoche- name changing
• Syntax- word usage and arrangement in a sentence
• Theme- a story's message; its main idea
• Thesis- the main idea that is presented by an author and is argued for or against
• Tone- the atmosphere and mood of the work
• Tongue in Cheek- "dry" humor
• Tragedy- a theme that is taken to the end of the novel and had some fatal/lasting conclusion
• Understatement- saying less than you mean for emphasis
• Vernacular- everyday speech
• Zeitgeist- feeling of a particular part of history
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