Current Connection 2.1

In a recent article titled "Que. Boy, 12, Pleads Guilty To Hacking Government Websites" posted at Toronto Sun, Michael Nguyen informs readers that a 12-year-old boy hacked government websites.

According to Nguyen, "A 12-year-old Quebec boy is responsible for hacking several government and police websites during the student uprising in spring 2012, creating computer havoc and causing $60,000 damage..." I just wonder how a 12-year-old managed to hack such websites. Although I know nothing about hacking, using a computer to gain unauthorized access to data in a system, a morally wrong decision, I am sure that the task is difficult, especially when dealing with government websites.

Nguyen stated, "He pleaded guilty to three charges related to the hacking of the websites, including those of Montreal police, the Quebec Institute of Public Health, Chilean government and some non-public sites." Those are series charges, but at least the boy confessed to what he did instead of denying his actions. He will face the consequences of his actions; he made the decision to hack those websites, and he made the decision to plead guilty. 

The author claims, "The Grade 5 student from the Montreal suburb of Notre-Dame-de-Grace, whose actions were not politically motivated, traded pirated information to Anonymous for video games, court was told." Anonymous is a snake, sly and deceptive. The mischievous group bribed the boy with video games, and the boy accepted the bribe. The boy, desiring video games, did something he should not have done.

This article connects to the world because with the right amount of skill, almost anyone can become a hacker, and anyone can join Anonymous. Hacking government websites is wrong, and I just do not understand why anyone hacks them.

A 12-year-old Canadian boy pleaded guilty to hacking several government websites.

                                               
Work Cited

Nguyen, Michael. "Que. Boy, 12, Pleads Guilty To Hacking Government Websites." Toronto Sun.                   25 Oct. 2013. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
                                                



Appositives
Compound sentence
Metaphor; Extended metaphor
Participial phrase

Current Connection: 1.2

In a recent article by Kathy Kristof titled "Fake Student Loan Site Steals Identities," Kristof informs readers about fake Sallie Mae accounts that attempt to steal student identities.

Kristof states, "However, students who attempt to be among the first 150,000 to take the bogus sites up on the offer are asked to provide personal information, such as birth dates and Social Security Numbers, allowing the sites to steal their identities, according to Scambook." This is one reason that everyone should be very careful about giving out their information. Scambook, a website that detects bogus sites and warns consumers about using them, is a way for consumers to make sure they are not giving their information to identity thieves.

The author claims, "The fake Sallie sites have a timely and attractive pitch: Due to the government shutdown, indebted graduates can apply for a loan 'forgiveness' program that would wipe away their debt." Their pitch seems plausible, but everyone should be careful about who they give their information to. People should be skeptical about what they read on the internet; therefore, if they see something on the internet that seems too good to be true, it probably is.

According to Kristof, "Another option is for people to start monitoring their credit report at annualcreditreport.com. This site provides one free credit report from each of the three credit bureaus each year. That gives you access to three reports each year (one from each bureau)." Monitoring your credit report is a good idea. Doing so will help ensure that there are no mistakes or purchases the consumer did not make.

This article connects to the world because identity theft is a global issue. One in ten Americans have their identities stolen each year. Identity theft, a bother that can ruin a person's credit, needs to be stopped.

Fake Sallie Mae sites have been stealing students' identities by claiming to wipe away student loan debts and asking for personal information.

Current Connection 1.1

In a recent article by Lateef Mungin, titled "LA School Officials Accused In Plot To Steal Thousands Of Textbooks," Mungin informs readers about how some Los Angeles County employees stole textbooks so they could sell them.

The author states, "The employees were paid from $600 up to $47,000 to steal textbooks in literature, language arts, economics, physics, anatomy, and physiology, prosecutors said." I guess some people will do anything for money. Stealing textbooks from schools is depriving lots of children the opportunity to learn, a necessity for avoiding ignorance, and that is wrong.

The author claims, "Twelve Los Angeles County employees stole thousands of textbooks from school districts to supply them to a buyer, who paid them in bribes, court records show." This is the same as stealing from children, only this could be worse than stealing material possessions... this is stealing their education. Every child deserves a good education.

According to Mungin, "Twelve of the 13 suspects have pleaded not guilty, authorities said." I hope that the court makes the right decision and finds the suspects guilty. They deserve to be put in jail.

This article connects to the book Till Death Us Do Part because one of the characters in the book, Alan, was charged with embezzlement. But, unfortunately, the character in the book got away with his crime. Hopefully that will not happen in this case.

Thirteen L.A. school officials stole at least 7,000 textbooks and were paid $200,000 in bribes.

Dog Description

The vanilla colored dog, splattered with swatches of mocha, wagging his tail excitedly when he saw his master, romped happily through the lush green grass, tongue hanging out of his mouth, to anticipate the daily pat on the head that he got every day when his master arrived home.

Narrative Techniques

My English teacher has assigned me to write a short story.


Creating the main character has been the easiest part of writing my short story so far. This is because I have already had some ideas in my head for this character for some time, and so all I really had to do was work out the details about how is supposed to look and act.

I think that coming up with the setting has been the most frustrating. I do not have much of an imagination, so it is really hard for me to think up imaginary settings, and I am not a very good writer to begin with.

My main character's name is Dani. With an elaborate tattoo of an octopus on his arm, partially obscured by the scars of an old life, he resembles one of those dangerous boys that look like they have just got done serving in the army; the ones that do not want to be messed with. However, his eyes, a peculiar shade of green, always shine brightly, disarming his intimidating looks.

Although writing some of my short story has been very frustrating, I am sure that in the end, it will be rewarding. I am hoping that maybe writing this will make me a better writer, and that I will become better at showing characters.

Book Review #2

"There were extenuating circumstances in their case--they were married, they had a child. Although it is not as if they reside in this outpost, far from home, by their own choice. We were banished here, the three of us--the four of us, I should say; Alec was just a squalling baby when we left the Glass City. They can return to Idris on official business only, and then only for short times. I can never return. I will never see the Glass City again."This is a quote from City Of Bones, book one of The Mortal Instruments series, by Cassandra Clare. This book captured me with its strong characters and continually twisting plot.

A theme of this book is to not believe everything you hear. Clary Fray spent all her life thinking that she was an average, normal teenage girl, but she was wrong. She finds out that she really is a Shadowhunter, which is a warrior that hunts demons. Her mother, who is also a Shadowhunter, lied to her all of her life so that she would never find out that they were Shadowhunters. Clary finds this out after meeting Jace, Alec, and Isabelle Lightwood at the Pandemonium Club, and it rocks her world. This book is full of lies and deceit. Clary's mother also lied to her about her father and her brother being dead. Another way that this book is full of deceit is that Alec is gay and in love with Jace, but he doesn't tell anyone, although Clary discovers the truth by the way he looked at Jace.

I really like Cassandra Clare's use of imagery and detail. It makes me want to continue reading the book and never put it down. An example of when she has used imagery when describing a character is "The girl was gorgeous, the kind of girl Clary would have liked to draw--tall and ribbon-slim, with a long spill of black hair." The girl being described is Isabelle another Shadowhunter. Another example of her use of imagery when describing characters is "The man blocking the doorway was as tall and thin as a rail, his hair a crown of dense black spikes. Clary guessed from the curve of his sleepy eyes and the gold tone of his evenly tanned skin that he was part Asian. He wore jeans and a black shirt covered with dozens of metal buckles. His eyes were crusted with a raccoon mask of charcoal glittter, his lips painted a dark shade of blue." This is a description of Magnus Bane, the eccentric, gay, High Warlock of Brooklyn. He does not do favors for people without charging them, and he can be a jerk. Another example of when Cassandra Clare used imagery and detail when describing the setting is "Colored lights played over the dance floor, turning it into a multicolored fairyland of blues and acid greens, hot pinks and golds."

The scene is New York, where Clary, her mother, and Luke, her mother's boyfriend, live. It is also where the Lightwoods live. The scene is important because if Clary, her mother, and Luke lived somewhere else, then Clary may never have realized that she was a Shadowhunter. Everything would be different. The book says "'No. I mean, if there were other people around, but you were the only one who could see something. As if it were invisible to everyone but you.'" If Clary and her family lived somewhere else, she may have never seen Jace, Isabelle, or Alec. Clary's mother would continue to lie to her, and Clary would be in danger her whole life, because she would not know how to protect herself from demons. On page twelve of the book, Jace says "A mundie girl. And she can see us." What he means by this is that Clary is a mundane, a human, yet she can see the Lightwoods. This is strange because they were using glamour, which makes them invisible to human eyes. If Clary had not gone to the Pandemonium Club in New York, she never would have seen them, and never would have realized that she had the Sight, which is something that only Shadowhunters have. The book says "'No!' Terror scraped Jocelyn's voice raw. 'Don't come home! Do you understand me, Clary? Don't you dare come home. Go to Simon's. Go straight to Simon's house and stay there until I can--' A noise in the background interrupted her: the sound of something falling, shattering, something heavy striking the floor--" in chapter three. If they had not been in New York, perhaps Jocelyn, Clary's mother, would not have been attacked. But she was, and this also led to Clary finding out that she and her mother are Shadowhunters, and that Luke used to be.

My best friend recommended City Of Bones to me, and I recommend the book for anyone who is interested in fantasy, romance, and suspense. The book is fantastic and leaves you wanting more and more.

CC#4: How Did Woman's Body Come To Be In L.A. Hotel Water Tank?

In a recent article by Alan Duke, titled "How Did Woman's Body Come To Be In L.A. Hotel Water Tank?", the author informs readers about a body that was found in a Los Angeles hotel water tank.

The article states "The decomposing body of Elisa Lam floated inside a water tank on the roof of the Cecil Hotel while guests brushed their teeth, bathed, and drank with water from it for as long as 19 days." That is really disgusting. Just imagine drinking a glass of water and then later finding out that a dead body had been floating in it. That is sickening. And how someone could bring themselves to do something like that, I have no idea.

The article also states "A maintenance worker, checking on complaints about the hotel's water, found the 21-year-old Canadian tourist inside one of four water cisterns Tuesday morning, Los Angeles Police Sgt. Rudy Lopez said." It must have been quite a shock for the maintenance worker; when he woke up that morning, I bet he was not expecting to come across a dead body. That must have been terrible.

The article states "But for a week, they never complained. 'We never thought anything of it,' she said, 'We thought it was just the way it was here.'" That is what Sabina Baugh, who had been staying at the hotel, said. When she turned on the tap, the water would be black for the first few seconds, and then it would go back to normal. I would be worried if I saw black water coming out of the tap, and I would probably complain at the first sight of it, too.

I would say that the article connects to me. This is because I like books and movies that are about murders and mysteries. Do not get me wrong, I think what happened to this girl is awful. The police do not know who killed her, and say "Falling into a covered water tank behind a locked door on top of a roof would be an unusual accident."

Elisa Lam, a Canadian tourist staying in a Los Angeles hotel was murdered and her body was put into a water tank. The police are unsure as to what she died of and who killed her. It was an international case, and because of this, may have gotten more attention than most of the several thousand missing person reports made in Los Angeles each year.