Physics 1 End-of-year Project

Here is my school group's project covering the topics of work, power, and energy as we learned this year in our AP Physics 1 class.

Book Review: Bird Box by Josh Malerman

It is a gloomy, thundery day, so I figured I write this book review while the time fits the genre. I have to admit, this book was not my typical read - horror - but I'm glad I read it. This week was also a period of time filled with rainy weather, and with nothing entertaining to do inside the house, I read Bird Box by Josh Malerman in less than 24 hours. I heard wonderful reviews of this book, and I must say, it is not exactly what I expected.

Yes, this book was Malerman's debut novel, and for being a musician, I applaud his work. However, I was not entirely convinced by his writing.

The plot was genius: the story revolves around Malorie, a young woman who struggles to survive with her two children in a desolate post-apocalyptic world.. The story follows two time lines, one when Malorie was pregnant and encounters the other survivors, and the other when she tries to escape her current situation with the children. In this new world, there are "creatures" that roam around, but nobody knows what they look like. Apparently, if a person sees these creatures, they turn mad and kill themselves. Because of this, Malorie and the other survivors live cautiously, covering all of the windows and never going outside without a blindfold.

Despite being a grappling story, Malerman did not satisfy me with the connection of the reader to the characters. I was never really "pulled in" to the book, and I felt like the vague descriptions of the setting left a little too much to the reader's imagination. The writing style was blunt, and although this type of writing suits certain novels or authors (such as Camus), I felt like this writing did not match some of the scenes. I expected more description of the characters and their personalities, but was disappointed when all the author provided was dialogue or indistinct emotion. Nevertheless, I did experience intended moments of suspense and terror.

Also, maybe this is a coincidence, but the day after I finished reading this book, I went to the cinema to see John Krasinski's A Quiet Place for the first time. I was astonished to find the similarity between Bird Box and this new popular movie. Much like the setting in Bird Box, A Quiet Place also takes place in post-apocalyptic America and centers around a family that struggle to survive. There are creatures in this world that hunt by sound, which forces the family to live in silence. While the medium of survival in this movie is sound, the characters in Bird Box have to restrict their sight to survive. To my surprise, Bird Box is also being made into a movie that will supposedly release at the end of this year. Looks like apocalyptic movies with mysterious creatures are in high demand!

Book Review: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

One day as I was watching TV, I came across the Starz channel and saw a commercial for the new season of a show called "Outlander." I did not think much of it, except for the faint resemblance of the commercial to The Pirates of the Caribbean. I later learned that this was the commercial for the third season of Outlander, for the beginning of the show is about as close to ocean traveling as chalk is to cheese. A few months down the road, I was conversing with my Godmother over the phone when she suddenly remembered her urgency to turn on the TV. "The last episode of season three of Outlander airs TONIGHT, I can't miss it!" She abruptly hung up the phone, leaving me in the middle of my saying "Alright."
Hmmm...Outlander. I had heard that name before. I searched it on my phone, and found that it was the same show I had seen previews for on the TV. What the heck was it about? As I began reading the page on Wikipedia, I immediately picked up that it was definitely not about pirates. Finding the beginning story plot interesting, I decided to begin watching the show...And I fell head over heels in love. In love with the scenery of the filming, in love with the acting, the plot, and most of all, with the character of Jamie Fraser. It was no surprise to me when I finished the entire three seasons of Outlander. In less than two weeks. When I should have been studying for the SAT. Oh, well. 'Living life with no regrets,' is it?
As summer approached, I found myself having somewhat more time to kill. While cleaning my Godmother's house, I found her copy of Outlander, the book from which the first season of the highly popularized show was based on. It was thicker than any of the books I had read in a long time (high school gets in the way of such pleasures as reading for fun), but I decided to give it a try. Evidently, I had loved the show, and I needed to see for myself how similar the book was to its Hollywood companion. So here are some words about Diana Gabaldon's renowned book. Simply put, these seemingly-wordy 850 pages were 850 pages of pure bliss.

It is 1945, and Claire Randall, a former combat nurse for the British Army in World War II, is enjoying a second honeymoon with her husband, Frank. Frank's historian-type mind led him to take his wife to the Scottish Highlands for their trip. While Claire does not mind much for Frank's search for historical accounts on his British ancestors while on the vacation, Claire finds solace in her growing interest in botany. After watching a group of Scottish women perform a traditional dance around the stone circle of Craigh na Dun one day with her husband, Claire returns the next morning in search of a plant. This next part is the game-changer: she places her hands on one of the standing stones, and miraculously ends up in the year 1743.
While still trying to understand where she is, Claire gets taken by a band of Scotsmen after being almost raped by -- coincidentally? her husband's sinister six-times great-grandfather, Captain Jonathan Randall of the British Eighth Dragoons. Because she is an Englishwoman, Claire is immediately dubbed as "Sassenach," or outlander, in the clan community. However regarded with high suspicion, Claire is welcomed to Castle Leoch, where she engages into the role of a healer for the clan MacKenzie. After a series of complications, Claire, to keep out of the hands of Captain Randall, is forced to marry Jamie Fraser, a young and attractive Scotsman who happens to be an outlaw due to his tough history with the cruel British army. Despite her attempts to reach Craigh na Dun to return to her time, Claire makes the decision to stay in the eighteenth century after realizing her genuine love for Jamie (it's pretty much inevitable to fall in love with Jamie - he's charming, strong, kind, a natural leader, and not to mention an amazing lover). The rest of the book is a complete emotional roller coaster: filled with vivid imagery of passionate as well as torturous moments that really touch the heart, I cried a total of five times while reading this book.

The way Diana Gabaldon creates this novel is truly amazing. Each one of her characters are crafted with incredible detail. The story itself is astonishing. Many times, I was left gawking, wondering how in the heck Gabaldon was able to write with such historical accuracy, covering a large range of subjects (war, medicine, eighteenth-century lifestyle, etc.), while using only the most impressive vocabulary and syntax. Gabaldon translated the emotions of the characters such that it got me, the reader, emotionally invested to the story line. I held authentic laughter, anxiety, and joy all while reading through the striking scenes. I fostered a new obsession, as I'm sure many Outlander fans have, of Scotland and their historic culture. I completely TORE APART during the scene when Claire broke into Wentworth prison to save her poor husband from grievances of Captain Randall, and Jamie ransoms his life for the sparing of her's. Jamie reassures Claire, despite his horrid condition, as Gabaldon writes, "He drew me close again, kissed me gently and whispered in Gaelic, 'He will let you go because he thinks you are helpless. I know you are not.' Releasing me, he said in English, 'I love you. Go now' (722)." I broke down. Claire had been an outlander to this time period, and even more so to the Scottish culture she had married into. Earlier in the book, she expressed her frustrations with not knowing Gaelic. However, at this crucial point in the book, Claire understands the language that is native to her husband, once foreign to her. Gaelic, in this situation, is used by Jamie to communicate to her from his heart while preventing Captain Randall to pick up on his last sentence to his wife.

Overall, I enjoyed this book very much. As much as the rest of the series is compelling to read, I have many other books on my reading list that I ought to begin. However, knowing myself, I will probably get around to them.

Thanks for reading!
xx

How to Knit a Bunny from a Square

Following another StudioKnit video, I made a bunny from a garter-stitch square. I love how fun and easy this was, and it made a really cute stuffed animal for this precious girl.

How to Knit a Heart Shape

I found the PERFECT, FUN, and CUTE mini knit project!
Thank you to StudioKnit, a Youtube channel dedicated to creative step-by-step knitting tutorials. Following this video, I knit this pattern to make lots of little puffy hearts. Before stitching the two sides of the heart together, I placed synthetic stuffing with some lavender seeds inside to make it a useful and nice-smelling gift. Later, I stitched on initials to make it more personalized and pretty:)

Simple Little Blanket...perfect for pets!

Hi All,
Recently I have picked up knitting again. I took a knitting course a long time ago, and frankly, I've forgotten how much fun it can be! It is even more fun when you're making something with the intent of giving it to someone else. In this case, my gift receiver was my best friend's dog, Ike.

I made a square by started with fourteen stitches and alternating knit stitched rows and purl stitched rows. 

This is what the back looks like. 

I made a total of nine squares and arranged them how I wanted them for the final product.

I used a thick stitching needle to piece together the squares with the extra yarn strands on each square. 

Finally, I embroidered Ike's name with thread. 

A happy dog:)