Tag Archives: book-review

Misha and the Wolves (2021)

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January 26

My favorite type of documentary is the ones that have a story that it tells you that is totally unbelievable, but it is true. Previous docs that I loved in this manner included Tickled, The Imposter, Three Identical Strangers, and The Jinx. There is a new doc that shocks you with its twists and turns among this harrowing story of a young girl surviving the Holocaust by living with the wolves.

According to IMDB, “Misha and the Wolves is the dramatic tale of a woman whose holocaust memoir took the world by storm, but a fallout with her publisher – who turned detective – revealed an audacious deception created to hide a darker truth.“

I don’t want to spoil much of this tale, so all I will say is that the story told by Misha in her memoir, which became a huge selling book, is compelling enough, and what happened following its release is even more so.

This doc is well told, with some excellent editing and design. It grabs you with the story immediately and then expertly weaves through what remains for the run time.

There are some questions left at the end which made me want to know more, but the doc is truly surprising.

Misha and the Wolves is available to stream on Netflix.

Battlestar Galactica S4 E7, E8, E9

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Spoilers

“Guess What’s Coming to Dinner?”

“Sine Qua Non”

“The Hub”

Big things happening in the world of Battlestar Galactica. Everything is amping up for this series’ push to its finale.

  • Lee Adama gets himself appointed interim president after Roslin disappears on the Cylon baseship.
  • Admiral Adama resigns as head of Galactica in order to search for Roslin. Appointed Sol Tigh, one of the Final Five Cylons, in his place.
  • The Hybrid jumped the ship multiple times, on its way to the Hub. The Galactica crew planned on capturing Number 3 (D’anna) and destroying the Hub.
  • They do succeed and destroy the Hub, meaning that there would be no more Cylon resurrections.
  • Baltar is severely wounded and Roslin thinks about letting him die for his punishment. Baltar’s drugged out mind confessed his sins from the start. Roslin saves him.
  • D’anna refuses to give out the names of the Final Five to Roslin. It is her only bargaining chip and she wants to be safe.
  • Roslin is reunited with Adama at the end of The Hub episode and tells him that she loves him. He says “About time.”

Three very impactful episodes. Still not sure how things are going to go. It sure seems as if both sides are ready and willing to stab each other in the back, but the uneasy alliance could lead to a positive result.

Still wondering whom that fifth Cylon is. When D’anna told Roslin that she was one of the five, she did it as a joke, but I am not unsure that it was. Who knows at this point. The number of potential choices are not large and I would think that it is not Starbuck, at this point.

Battlestar Galactica S4 E4, E5, E6

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Spoilers

“Escape Velocity”

“The Road Less Traveled”

“Faith”

Battlestar Galactica continues with its final season as some of these characters are going through some serious issues, especially those we have learned are Cylons.

Chief Tyrol went through it hard after Cally’s death. He was angry and responding violently. Part was the grief over his wife’s death and part of it was his continued confusion over his own truth.

Sol was having internal struggles as well. He would go down to question Six in the brig, looking for answers to his own self-image questions.

Kara has been acting crazy as captain of this mission to head to try and find earth. The stress and anxiety played havoc with his behavior and the support of the crew that went with her. However, picking up Leoben, who claimed there was a Cylon Civil War going on. Starbuck took a few of her crew (after a very tense mutiny) to the Cylon base ship looking for an alliance.

She found out from the Cylon Hybrid that “Thus shall it come to pass. The dying leader will know the truth of the opera house. The missing three will give you the five who have come from the home of the thirteenth. You are the harbinger of death, Kara Thrace. You will lead them all to their end. End of line.“

Baltar is another character going through it in this run of episodes. He had become a religious leader, speaking about a different, single God. Many of the people aboard Galactica would be listening to him. He had some trouble with Tyrol too.

Roslin’s cancer is moving forward, but she had a conversation with another patient dying of cancer that allowed her to refocus her ideas. Roslin has been a character that has felt inconsistent this season, but I do like the relationship between Roslin and Adama.

Kara seemed to be back in control after a successful trip to the baseship. I’m not sure how this is going to go over with Galactica.

Silo S2 E10

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Spoilers

“Into the Fire”

The ending of Silo season two made me think of the ending of LOST season 3, where Jack said “We have to go back!” That moment was such a mind-f that no one was expecting it. That is how I felt when suddenly, the end of Silo seemed to be in a different time before the silos were built.

It led to us seeing where the Pez dispenser came from. It was such an unexpected twist that it was wild.

Both sides of the storyline this year came together in some great scenes.

  • I was right about Walker and the others setting up Bernard, although, I have to admit, mid way through the episode, I was not sure if I was right. Loved the scene between Walker and Bernard that confirmed the plan.
  • Juliette coming over the hill as the whole of silo 18 was preparing for force their way outside was as dramatic as it could be. It was one of the best moments of the show.
  • Again, it may just be me, but Juliette writing “Not Safe. Don’t come out” and showing it on screen as she did reminded me of “Not Penny’s Boat” by Charlie on LOST. Yeah, I know I have LOST on the brain.
  • The Algorithm is strange. It said that Camille could stay but Sims and his son had to leave. Why? Solo kept saying that his mom did not come back when they went to deal with the Safeguard. Is this tied together?
  • The scene where Juliette let Audrey have it for her treatment of Eater, whom we learn has a named- Hope. This was awesome because I have thought Audrey has had something shoved up her butt since the minute we met her.

Last week I believe I stated that ep. 9 was my favorite of the season. That is no longer accurate as episode 10 was just completely awesome from the beginning to the weird flashback at the end. The fire that seemingly consumed Juliette and Bernard, the rebellion’s ‘end’, and everything else.

Silo has done a tremendous job of providing specific details and answers to mysteries while keeping plenty of them active to keep the audience guessing. Rebecca Ferguson and Tim Robbins were outstanding all season long with a special shout out to Steve Zahn’s Solo who may have been the best character we have met so far. Zahn’s performance was special and his bond with Juliette was incredible.

Season three looks to have a ton of surprises in store, and I cannot wait to see where this sci-fi series takes me. Apple TV + has yet another epic series on its hands.

The Roomers

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The Roomers

By Dr Smart

 I have blood cancer and I’ve had it since I was a baby. I’ve had treatments and I’m doing well right now. I have 3 amazing friends who have helped me this whole time. Currently, I’m at a basketball game that they dragged me to. I’ve always wanted to join but because of my blood cancer, I can’t I have no time and my body can’t handle it yet. I’m determined to overcome this and fulfill my dreams. 

“Rosa…” 

I won’t let anything stop me! 

“Rosa”

… from doing what I want or living my life the way I want to… not even my cancer! 

“Rosa!”

“Sorry Tom wait what happened”

“Oh, Rosa, when will you get out of your head? You can’t live in a dream world forever…”

That’s Tom. He’s one of my friends. Tom continued with his Lexshier for ten more minutes with no breaks. Tom has a short buzzcut and brown hair that he dies and lets grow out. By the end of the year, it’s so long it goes to his shoulder, and he repeats the process every year. It’s his look, you could say.

“HEY GUYS!!!”

That girl screaming and running over to me and Tom is my other friend Bella She is sweet and has short blond hair and she is the shortest in our friend group so we help her reach stuff all the time  

“Hey Bella,” I say

  “Hi Bella we saved you a sit. Rosa and I know you’re never on time. you know that’s a bad habit you should have come earlier you always come late to everything. Also, did you see Mary?” Tom says

“Oh no I sadly didn’t see Mary I thought she was with you guys,”

 Bella says as she sits down on the bleachers next to me and Tom.

A few minutes after when all 3 of us were watching the basketball game Mary scars Tom and sits down next to him.

“MARY!” Tom screams 

“Hehe hi, guys sorry I’m late,” 

Mary says as she snickers and looks at us. Mary loves scarring Tom and only Tom for some reason won’t tell us why. we’ve asked before and she only laughs at the question like we should know why already and it’s a silly question. Marry has long well-taken care of black hair almost like a horse she is cold and silly at the same time she is also smart and Marry is my bff she’s also the smartest in the class. As the others talk and mess around all I can think about is how badly I wish I could play too but all I can do is watch the basketball game. I suddenly felt like something was over me and as I looked up I saw it was Gavin, Becka, and Regina. then Gavin pours his water bottle on me and I hear Becka and Regina giggle as I run to the bathroom to clean myself off once I get into the bathroom shortly after Tom’ Bella and Mary follow. Tom sits outside the bathroom to keep watch for them again, but also because he’s a boy and can’t come in.

“Hey, are you ok?” Bella says

“…” I respond with nothing

“Rosa don’t let them get to you they’re losers,” says Mary

“How do you think I feel and does it look like I’m ok how do you expect me to just be fine with this and not let it get to me just leave!” I say in a fit of anger

 “Ok we’ll leave but when you’re ready we’ll be waiting outside the bathroom for you,” Mary says 

“Just leave now!” I say as Mary and Bella both leave. Mary has always been good with handly emotions and her own too she always knows what to do and how to help and Bella is the same way she helps by being there and with her bubbly personality. As I leave the bathroom I see that they are still here Tom, Mary, and Bella sitting outside the bathroom and waiting for me

“Hey I see you decided to come out,” Tom says happily

“Let’s forget about this bad day and all get home I’ll see you guys Monday,” Mary says

“Hey now let’s not end the day bad! let’s get some ice cream at the new place in town and then go home!” Bella says

“Bella I know you are trying to help but it’s best if we go home it’s already so late,” Mary says

“Ok let’s go home,” Tom says

As we all walk out of the school I can’t help but feel like I wish I never had to return. We all walk our separate ways to go home. “Hey Mom I’m back from the game where Dad,” I say

“Your dad’s in the living room dinner will be done soon” 

“Hey Dad I’m back”

“Oh hey there Rosa you snuck up on me,” Dad says

“I’m going up to my room I’m way to tired from watching the game”

  After that Monday the gang hung out one time after the basketball game.

I woke up and did my routine and as I was doing my makeup and about to leave for school my elbo hurt every time I moved then I felt like I couldn’t get up it was like I was too weak to move Mom came running into my room and then it goes black I open my eyes to a hospital room I’m used to them from the mounts ive spent in them and the doctor comes in and tells my mom that my blood cancer achaly got worse and not beter like they thought and i would have to leave school for a few days for testing and other stuff and someone from my school would have to bring me my work. The person I chose to get me my work was Mary she would come every Monday with the work for that week she always came after school at 4:30 like clockwork I was slowly falling behind in school I couldn’t keep up with all the testing the hospital was doing and schooling so my parents got me a tour and it was tom and then Bella came with both of them sometimes

I was starting to czech up on school becus of them but I didn’t start getting better

Soon i was stuck in my hospital bed and could only move arond a little Tom came to help tour me one time with Mary and Bella and we were working and then

“Hey Rosa where all worried about you,” Tom said out of the blue

 “Have the doctors said anything about you getting better soon?” Bella said

“No, they said it didn’t look like I was going to get any better”

“How long do you have,” Mary said

‘MARY!” Tom yelled

“Mary dont go asking those questions…” bellas said

“This is not something you can’t be cold about you can’t act like you did last time when we found out she got cancer”

“Bella stop”

“Huh?” Bella said

“I don’t have very long i only have 2 more days i was trying to hide it from you the doctors told me a week after I got in here that I didn’t have much time”

“Well lets make thous two days the best ever well bring you stuff from your hospodal bed and will do anything to make you happy one last time,” Mary said

By the time they were done, it was night so they all went home that same night I went to bed like usual and I never woke up again I was dead a ghost I saw what everyone did the next morning Mom was crying by me in bed and dad was also crying next to here and when tom Bella and mary saw me they all started to cry too many ran out the room and said it wasn’t real that it was all in her head and Bella ran after her and tom he froze up he didn’t know what to do he just cried 

“This isn’t real,” Mary said 

“Mary it’s ok let’s just go home first let’s get Tom,” Bella said

“This isnt fair they could have done more to save her we were all just talking last night she was fine we were going to go all do something to make her happy one last time,” Tom said

I wanted to hug him and tell him it was fine and just forget about me and keep living without me but I felt I was a ghost

“Let’s just go come on guys”

Later on, Mary became a schoolteacher

Tom became a doctor

And Bella became a scientists

And Mom and Dad lived out their life without me happy 

This was the good ending I wanted for them after my death but I wish I could be there for them still…       

Friendship & Volleyball

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Friendship & Volleyball

By: Billie Hale

This is going to be about friendship and volleyball. My friend and I were at volleyball practice and the coach said that we made it to state. We were all so excited. Later that day I went to my friend’s house and we had a party. Half of the school came. We all had a blast. It was so fun. My friend Millie got mad at me because I have a boyfriend. Millie and I have been bestfriends for a long time so she was a little mad and we joked about being married. We are so close that we tell each other everything.

“Let’s go see your boyfriend” said Millie 

“Ok,” I said

So we went and saw Wyatt, who is my boyfriend. On the way we talked about volleyball and food. When we got there I talked to his mom. She is so sweet. Then we played basketball and volleyball. And then we left to go to volleyball practice. Volleyball practice was interesting. We had normal practice and then we did a lot of conditioning. We were so sore after that.  

“Let’s go to McDonalds” said Millie  

“Ok let’s go” I said 

After that she came to my house we layed in my bed and were talking about volleyball. We were prank calling people and eating our McDonalds. The next day we had school and school was fun. We did nothing in most of our classes because we had a lot of celebrations that day. Later we went to Wyatt’s house and Millie’s crush asked her out  and she said yes. We have been planning this for days. It was so hard not to tell her but I made it through.  Later when we went back to my house she couldn’t stop talking about it.

“How could you keep that from me?” Millie said jokingly.  

“It was really hard not to tell you” I said

So a few days later we did a double date and it was so fun. We went to the movies, got some dinner and hung out at my house. The next day we all hung out again and we had a blast. We played basketball and volleyball. A few days later state volleyball came and we did so well. I ended up injuring myself and I was in a brace for a month. It was not fun, but I did like riding the elevator every day. Every night I get a text from Millie saying can I ride with you in the elevator. I texted back saying yes to go inside and to go to our first class. My boyfriend rides with me, not her. A few days later Millie and I went shopping for volleyball. We found one that we liked and bought it. When we got to her house we ate food because we are big backs. 

“What’s your man up to?” Millie asked

“Going to his dads.” I said, “What’s your man up to Millie?” I asked 

So later when Wyatt got to his dads we facetimed and Millie and Wyatt yelled at each other pretty much the whole time.It was so funny. A few days later we had school. School was boring and I had volleyball practice after school. It was normal there was no conditioning, thank goddess. And then Millie betrayed me and was cheating on her boyfriend with my boyfriend. So i called her boyfriend and said Mille is cheating on you with Wyatt so do you want to get together and make them regret it. 

Riet said “ Ok lets do it”

“Ok bet” I said 

So the next day when  we had school Riet and I came to school together. He picked me up in his blue lamborghini. When we got to school he opened the door for me and we held hands while waking in. Right inside the door was Millie and Wyatt, their jaws dropped. 

“What are you guys doing”Millie yelled 

We smiled at each other and just kept walking past. It was finally time for school to start. Riet and I had the first class together and it was Excel. We sat in the same booth and we were talking the whole time. Millie also was in there and she sat and stared at us the whole time. 

It was the end of the day and Riet took me home. My parents are friends with Riets parent so we grew up together. So our parents are very excited we are together. When we got to my house, Riets parents were there talking with my parents and were enjoying it. They saw us walk in holding hands and they were screaming in excitement. They talked to us the rest of the night and told us how happy they were that we are together. 

It was 11 pm and Riets family went home and before Riet left him and his parents gave us hugs. That was the happiest night of my life. 

Will I Find Her?

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 Will I Find Her?

Author: Kannie Kj

On September 1st in Miami Florida Maria and Sasha, two best friends, are so excited to start school volleyball. They have been playing with each other for years now, and this is their Junior year of highschool. Tryouts start after school today, Maria is feeling good about tryouts and sure she will make it to varsity like every other year, but Sasha on the other hand wasn’t feeling so good about tryouts this year.

 Maria tries making her feel better, “hey, are you feeling any better about tryouts after school,” said Maria.

 “Not really,” said Sasha.

 “I don’t know why your so worried, we always make it on the team,”

“ I know Maria, but this year just feels different and there’s so many more girls this year that i might not make it.” 

“Oh, come on you can’t think like that just be the confident person like you always are.” 

Sasha Nodded her head and gave Maria a smile that looked faked, then she left for her last class of the day.                                 

The last class of the day was coming to an end and Maria was so happy to finally be on the court after the summer break that felt so long to her,  she rushed to the locker room to put on her shoes, knee pads etc. She waits in the locker room for Sasha. It’s been some time and all the other girls are in the gym by now and it was only her in the locker room so she decided to go without sasha. Tryouts started and there were a lot of people, a lot more than last year. The tryouts start with serving and Maria tries to find Sasha but no luck, She’s starting to think she didn’t come at all. The volleyball coach already knows Maria since she was on the team previous years. The coach already knew Maria would make it, but she is worried about why Sasha isn’t there.

 She calls Maria to ask why Sasha didn’t make it to tryouts, “Maria! Come over here,”said coach Gabby.

Maria runs over quickly, “yes coach gabby,” Said Maria.

“Where is Sasha, she’s not the type of girl to be late to tryouts,”

“Uh, I’m not sure, she didn’t tell me anything about what she is doing after school.”

“Oh don’t pull that with me, you to are like glued together and always know where the other one is”

“I don’t know where she is,” said Maria “i’m telling you the truth”

Coach replies “Are you covering for her?” “did she doing something bad”

  “Nope’

“Hmm okay just go back to tryouts”

She returns to tryouts while Coach Gabby gives Sasha’s mom a call. Sasha’s mom, Vannessa, answered. Coach Gabby asks if Sasha was going to come to tryouts, Vanessa said she thought she was already there…

After coach and Sasha talk about what they are going to do Coach hangs up the phone. She tells the girls that are still playing volleyball that she will be right back, Maria is guessing it’s about Sasha. Coach Gabby rushes to the office to ask if anyone is still in the school, The office lady replies, 

“Nope just the girls for volleyball tryouts, why is something wrong?” 

Coach Gabby says,

 “We might have a student missing.”

 The office lady panics and Coach tells her who the student is and they start making phone calls. Meanwhile in the gym, all Maria can think about is how she is gonna have to be on a team for the first time without her best friend Sasha, and now she will have to find a new partner for warm-ups. Coach Gabby finds out that Vannessa and Sasha’s dad are divorced and Sasha doesn’t  see her dad at all anymore. They do some more research and find out Her mom has full custody of Sasha because the dad did some jail time for unknown reasons. Coach Gabby’s heart sinks at the thought of what she thinks happens, she tells the front office lady to check the cameras to see if Sasha left with anyone. Coach returns to the gym shortly after. Maria looks at the way coach gabby is entering the room, she looks like she doesn’t have a thought going on in her head and looks like she is about to throw up. 

It was time to dismiss the girls from tryouts, “Ok girls, good job i’ll tell you who made the teams tomorrow morning. All the girls leave, at Maria’s house she calls Sasha  hoping for an answer but no one does, she’s starting to get worried about her. A couples hours latter Maria gets a notification on her phone, she reads 

“Amber alert for Sasha williams”

Her eyes widen as she keeps reading. It says her dad stole her from school and the car that she took her in is an old worn down jeep” she runs to go tell her mom and they both break down in tears. Maria can’t believe her best friend is kidnapped and if she’s ever gonna be found or what her cruel dad will do to her and how scared she is. After she calms down a little she thinks back at school, she thinks about how she was acting at school and how she was so anxious. Maria wonders if she knew something like this was going to happen. Maria calls Vanessa, Sasha’s mom, to see how she is doing. 

“Hey Vanessa, how are you doing,” said Maria’s mom. 

“As best as I can,” said Sasha’s mom”

A couple weeks go by and no new news and Maria makes a lot of new friends but she still thinks about Sasha dailey and wonders where she’s at or even if she’s still alive. Coach Gabby can see that Maria’s volleyball performance has not been like she usually plays and thinks that because of Sasha’s disappearance. A year or so goes b y and on the news a car crash is found with 2 dead in divalus that are reported to be Sasha and her dad… With a note that looks like Sasha’s handwriting that said 

“Sorry mom and Maria” 

No one knows why she was sorry. They had her funeral and Sasha’s mom moved away. 

Gone Before the Game

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Gone Before The Game 

                                               By: DingleHopper The OpperBopper

“Cleo, are you excited for my birthday party?” Violet asked. 

“Yea I am, but who all is going to the party?”  I said.

“Sarah, Keara, Tova, you, and I. But my twin brother Asaiah is also having a sleepover with his friends. I’ll make him and his friends leave us alone.”                           

Ding ding ding

 “Well I have to go to class but have a good day.”

“Ya you too.” said Violet.

I went to my 7th period class of the day, it was different because I got my schedule changed. I just hope my class is not with Anna. Anna and I were friends in third grade but after sixth grade my and she started getting farther apart and stopped talking to each other after she made rumors about me. She made a rumor about me saying I had a crush on a kid Kyle. Because we were really good friends at the time and our parents were friends, we had a lot of classes together. We had a lot of classes together because we were able to choose our classes and me and her chose the same classes. 

I got to my class and it was a study period and I was happy about that, and I saw my friend Keara there. 

“Hi Keara.” I said. 

“Heyyy Cleo. I thought you had literacy in the first period? “said Keara.”

“ I got my classes switched.” 

“Oh ok”

Ring ring ring 

“That’s the announcement guys be quiet so we can hear it.” Mrs. Smith said 

“Whoever wants to go out for basketball please go to the gym” the voice over the intercom said.

“Cleo, are you going out for basketball?” said Keara

“Ya you?” I asked.

“Ya I am. Wanna walk together?” 

“Sure, I just hope Asaiah, Sarah, Keara, Tova, you, and I All get on the same team.”

“Ya me too.”

I got down to the gym with my friend Keara. When I went inside the gym I saw Anna was talking to my crush Asaiah. Maybe they’re just friends? Oh no Anna is walking over here.

“Yo Cleo, did you hear?” asked Anna

          “Here what?” I asked 

  “Asaiah and I are dating.”  Anna smirks.

“Ok????” 

“Why so defensive? Do you like him or something?”

“Noo that’s Violet’s twin brother!”  Omg I can’t stand her, why won’t she leave me alone.. You may be wondering why Anna and I split ways. In 6th grade I had a best friend, her name was Bridget. She moved in 5th to my school, I got called down to the office to help her and show her to her classes. After that we started to hang out and we became best friends. Then one day I introduced her to Anna. Then they became best friends and stopped including me in things. Eventually they stopped including me in everything. So in classes I ignored them. Eventually Bridget moved away to her old school. Anna came and tried to talk to me and ask to go to my house. But I ended up just ignoring her because I knew that she would ditch me again for someone different. Then she told me that she doesn’t want to be friends anymore, I knew that it was going to end up happening in the end. And that’s why we are not friends anymore. 

“Hey Cleo, what time are you coming to my party?” Violet asked.

“Probably around 5pm because I have travel ball and I have to ride the bus home today.” I said

“Ok sounds good.”

Ding ding ding

“Ok you guys can head to your 8th period now. If you have travel basketball, head to the girls locker room and get ready for the game. ” Coach said.
“Are you in travel basketball Violet?” I asked.

“Ya I am. I hope we’re on the same team.” Violet said. 

“Ya me too. Let’s gooo.” While we were on the way to the locker room I got tripped by Anna. I couldn’t move my leg! “VIOLET I CAN’T FEEL MY LEG!”

“Ok just uh um stay right there i’ll get the nurse.”“Is the nurse here?!” Violet asked.

“No, she’s not here at the moment. Is there anything I could do for you?” Mrs. Collins, one of the secretaries asked.

“Yes, call an ambulance please!”

“First I need to know what happened.”

“CLE -CLE -CLEO GOT TRIPPED BY ANNA AND SHE CAN’T FEEL HER LEG!” Violet stuttered.

“Ok Mrs. Williams will call an ambulance. Where is Cleo at?”  Mrs. Collins asked.

“She is by the girls locker room.” Violet said. 

“Ok why don’t you stay here and Mrs. Williams will give you her locker number and code. Once you get into her locker get her stuff and bring it down here ok.” 

“Ok” 

“Violet’s  locker number  is 412 and her combo is 13-30-08” Mrs. Williams said.

“Ok, got it.” Violet said. 13 30 08, 13 30 08, 13 30 08. Come on open COME ON OPEN ALREADY. 

“Violet, why are you running?” Mr. Smith asked

 “Can’t talk right now. Ok I got her stuff.” Violet said. 

“Ok thank you Violet, Why don’t you sit down for now. Mrs.Williams said. 

“Ok” 

Ring ring ring

“Hello this is 911. What’s your emergency?” the 911 operator said.

“A kid tripped and can’t feel her leg.” Mrs. Williams said. 

“Ok where are you located? 

“Brookside Middle School.”

“Ok we have an ambulance on the way.” 

“I have to tell the mom so I was wondering if I could let you go because she is stable and an ambulance is on the way?”

“Yes, that’s ok as long as she is stable.”

“Ok.”

Ring ring ring

“Hello this is Mrs. Williams, am I speaking to Cleo Smith’s mom?” Mrs. Williams asked.

Yes this is she. How can I help you?” Cleo’s mom asked. 

“Your daughter fell down and she can’t feel her leg.” 

“Well is she okay?” 

We don’t know but there is an ambulance rushing her to the hospital.” 

“Ok I’m on my way.” Cleo’s mom said.

1 hour later…

“Hello, are you Cleo Smith’s mom?” one of the doctor’s asked. 

“Yes I am.” Cleo’s mom said

“Why don’t you sit down.”

“Ok what happened ?”

“Cleo went into cardiac arrest. And she did not make it.” 

“What no,  she was fine this morning.”

Five Olympic Rings: One Cross Country Team

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Five Olympic Rings One Cross Country Team     

By: Tater Tot The Smart Goober

Sarah Konalie was a 5 ‘8 , sixteen year old girl who had deep blue eyes, curly brown hair and skin that stayed tan all year around. Sarah was a very talented cross country runner who was ranked number one in  her conference. Sarah Konalia was born in Boston Massachusetts, but at the age of four, she moved to a small town in Iowa. The same year Sarah moved she started running to help take off some of the stress of joining a new school and having to make new friends. Sarah went undefeated last cross country season even going on to win state.

 Just when Sarah thought her season was over she got a call from the Olympic Cross Country team head coach Bertha Johanson. 

“Sarah I am so glad I was able to get a hold of you, you accomplished great last season, and I am excited to inform you that a spot on our Olympic team has opened up, and I would like to personally invite you to come to the meet where we will choose who our next member will be,” said Bertha

 Sarah said, “Thank you so much for this opportunity! This is a dream come true, I can’t wait!”

Bertha Johanson sighed over the phone and then said, “Sarah, I am happy to know you are excited, but you will be going against people that are almost double your age, and have been training for this their whole life. Now that being said, you do have the best time out of all of these people, but you still need to train hard and keep improving.”

“I completely understand, and, if you don’t mind me asking, who has the next best time behind me?” Sarah said.

“That is a great question and it is actually someone that is your age, and you have gone against often this past season,” Bertha said. 

“Oh, do I know them personally?” Sarah asked.

“Umm yeah you actually know them very well. It is your teammate Karen Shoop.” Bertha said.

“Oh, Karen, as in the one that in our last meet I only beat by a couple seconds?” Sarah said in a worried tone.

Betha Johanson then said, “Yes, I thought it would be a great competition, and motivation to challenge the both of you. I was talking to your coach and she said the two of you really pushed each other during the season.”

Sarah was too stunned to speak but then got the words out, “Uhh yeah something like that.”

Coach Bertha then said, “This isn’t a problem for you is it?”

“No, not at all!” Sarah quickly said.

“All right, good, I look forward to seeing you two weeks from now on Saturday.” Bertha Johanson said.

“See you in two weeks,” said sarah. “Oh and thank you so much for this opportunity!”

After the phone call ended Sarah couldn’t help but worry about Karen being at the race. Although Sarah had always beaten Karen, recently Karen had been getting closer and closer to beating Sarah. Even to the point of Sarah only winning by two seconds at their last meet.

That was not the only problem Sarah had with Karen. Although they would always treat each other with respect, in the second grade, Sarah’s boyfriend at the time, Mike who she had been dating since kindergarten, was playing at recess with Karen, and did not come over by Sarah when she walked outside. This was something he did everyday, so when he did not it really hurt Sarah’s feelings. After that day Sarah and Mike broke up and shortly after he started dating Karen. 

Sarah knew she needed to start training immediately to improve her time, as well as give her body some time to heal. The race was only two weeks away which is not a lot of time for her to improve her time as well as give her body the amount of rest it will need to perform at it’s best of abilities. There was no way Sarah was going to let that boyfriend stealing witch get in the way of her making the Olympic team. 

Sarah decided to make a schedule for her training. On Mondays she would run four miles at her race pace, eat a good meal, and then do arms at the gym. On Tuesdays she would do five easy miles, and then go straight to the gym where she will do legs. On Wednesday Sarah would go for a walk, and then go to a yoga class. On Thursday Sarah was going to do integrals, sprint half a mile, walk a fourth a mile, sprint a mile, walk a half mile. Sarah would do that a total of three times. On Friday Sarah is going to go on a seven mile long run, then go to the pool to relax. On Saturday Sarah will go to the gym and do a full body workout followed by yoga afterwards. On Sunday Sarah will clean, and do stuff around the house, but no workout.

Now that Sarah had already created her schedule for training, she started right away wasting no time at all. It was Saturday so that meant Sarah needed to go to the gym and do a full body workout accompanied by some yoga after words.

Sarah got dressed in her workout clothes and headed out the door to the gym. When Sarah arrived she stretched, and proceeded to grab the 20 pound weights to start with arms. Sarah did 10 shoulder presses, rest, 10 bicep curls, rest, for a total of three rounds.  

After arms, Sarah did abs because as a runner it was super important for Sarah to have a strong core. Sarah did 10 crunches, 10 sit ups, rest for 30 seconds, one minute plank, rest for 30 seconds, 15 leg raises, and repeated three times.

All that was left for Sarah to do at the gym was legs. Sarah did 10 squats, 10 left leg split squats, 10 right leg split squats, and repeated it for three rounds.

After the gym Sarah was a little sore so she was excited to go to yoga and stretch. 

When Sarah arrived at yoga she grabbed one of the mats and started stretching before the teacher arrived. When the teacher walked into the dimly lit, lavender-scented yoga room they all started to stretch together. Throughout the yoga class they proceeded to stretch, and hold poses that helped work on flexibility. Sarah loved yoga because it helped her get longer strides, and made her body feel refreshed.

After yoga, Sarah went home and prepared a steak, with potatoes, and five cut up strawberries. While Sarah was going to sit down to eat, she got a call, a very unexpected call, from Karen. Sarah answered the phone with a sweet, welcoming tone, “Hi Karen it has been so long since I have talked to you! How have you been?”

“I am doing great, I actually wanted to call and tell you that I got a call from the Olympic head coach, Bertha Johanson saying that she wants me to go to the Olympic Cross Country team tryouts, and that I have a really good chance of making the team. There is only one person with better times than me. Can you believe it? This is a dream come true!” Karen said with an excited but also arrogant tone.

“Oh, that’s great Karen, I am so happy for you!” Sarah said with excitement, even though in her head she was annoyed with the fact that Karen had called her to brag about her accomplishment.

“Oh I am glad you feel that way because I was actually calling you to ask for your help. I was wondering if you know who the person that has a better time than me could be? Coach Bertha told me that they were my age but I was too scared to ask her who,” Karen said.

Sarah smiled over the phone, barely able to keep in her excitement about how Karen was going to react when Sarah told her that the person with better times is actually her. Sarah took a deep breath and then said, “I actually do know who you are talking about, and I know them very well.”

“Oh really, that’s great Sarah! I am so happy we are able to put our past behind us, and you are willing to help me out.” Karen said excitedly. 

“Yeah no problem at all, and you actually know them too. In fact you are speaking to them over the phone right now.” Sarah said smugly. 

Karen, after being too stunned to speak, finally managed to say, “Oh that is great, I am so happy for you.”

“Yeah I am happy for you too, well I have to let you go and get back to training, and I am sure you have to do the same. So see you in two weeks!” Sarah said

“See you in two weeks.” Karen said still in shock from finding out that Sarah was going to be at the Olympic tryouts too.

After the phone call with Karen, Sarah worked hard for the next two weeks of training. During the two weeks of training there was only one problem Sarah encountered. She kept replaying the race that Karen was so close to beating her over and over in her head. Sarah would replay this moment and then get in her head and not focus on her breathing and strides. 

This problem caused Sarah to only improve her time by five seconds, opposed to the ten seconds she was planning. Although five seconds is a really good improvement in cross country, the ten seconds would have given Sarah more reassurance to be able to beat Karen.

The day of the race quickly occurred. and it was time to see if all of Sarah’s hard work was going to pay off. Before the race started Sarah stretched and then went on a slow one mile run to get her body moving. After the run Sarah stretched again and took her box at the starting line where she did stride outs.

With only one minute till the race would start. Sarah walked to her box and got ready to start. Just as the starting guy was walking to the stand, he shot his fake pistol from to signal the take off of the runners, Sarah looked to her far right and saw Karen Shoop. 

This was not good. Sarah started thinking about the race that they were neck and neck, and could not help feeling that this time it was going to be different. Before Sarah could replay that moment in her head for a second time she got interrupted by the starting guy counting down. 

“On your marks! Get set Go!” The pistol went off and so did the runners. 

Sarah was off to a great start. She was feeling the wind in her face, and she had a great adrenaline rush. Sarah had a pretty decent gap in between her and the group of people behind her, but when she looked back to double check she noticed that there was a person getting closer to her. That person was Karen. 

This time instead of letting Karen get in her head Sarah embraced the freeing feeling she got when she ran and ignored Karen behind her.

Sarah had just finished mile one of the race and her time clocked in at five minutes to be exact. This was good, but for mile two Sarah has to pick up the pace a little and try for a four minutes and fifty five seconds mile.

Sarah focussed on her breathing and strides for mile two. When Sarah finished mile two she was still feeling good and was able to run that mile at a four minute and forty five second mile pace. At the two mile marker Sarah looked behind her to see Karen holding her pace and only a few feet behind.

Sarah knew that for mile three she would have to give it all that she had left. Sarah slowly started picking her pace up and widened the gap between her and Karen. Sarah was feeling good about herself and started to focus on the trail ahead. 

After a minute Sarah looked behind her to see that Karen had gotten really close, maybe five feet behind her. Sarah knew that with only three quarters of a mile to go she would have to widen the gap before the final stretch. Karen was a great sprinter so when it came down to the final stretch between the two, Karen would have been able to sprint right past Sarah to win. 

Sarah picked up her pace even more, and with only a half mile left Karen was still behind her so close that Sarah could hear her breathing.

That’s when Sarah decided to pick up the pace. Sarah started to practically sprint; she was bound and determined to beat Karen. Sarah practically sprinted for a fourth of a mile and that gave a huge gap between her and Karen, there was at least fifteen feet between the two of them. Since Sarah was practically sprinting, she used a lot of her energy, and now she had to hold a good steady fast pace while also leaving energy for when she sprinted at the end.

Sarah was able to see the finish line now. There was still a good ten feet gap between Sarah and Karen, but Sarah knew she had to pick up the pace because when Karen started sprinting that gap would shorten drastically. Sarah took off and now there was only fifteen feet between her and the finish line, but there was also only ten feet between Sarah and Karen.

Even though Sarah was in pain she sprinted as fast as she could and that’s when she heard people cheering. They were cheering for her. Sarah had done it! She had made the Olympic Cross Country team! A dream she had since she was just a little girl. Sarah had run the best race of her life. Her old personal record was 15:55, and she ran a 15:30! 

Sarah was happy she made the Olympic team and not only that, she was happy to have learned a new lesson that she has never forgotten, and used it for the rest of her running career and everyday in her life since. Sarah learned that no one can stop you from reaching your goals except for you, and your own mindset. Not even a boyfriend-snatching, evil, backstabbing, witch!

Have You Seen Andy? (2007)

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January 14

Today’s documentary in the 2025 Genre-ary was a tough one to watch.

According to IMDB, “”Have You Seen Andy?” is the personal story of a childhood friendship abruptly ended by the tragic abduction of a young boy. On a hot summer day in August 1976, ten year-old Andy Puglisi was playing along with dozens of other children at the Higgins Memorial Pool in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Then suddenly, he disappeared. Twenty-two years later, filmmaker Melanie Perkins, Andy’s childhood friend, begins her search for answers in this feature-length documentary.”

For someone who has spent most of his adult life working with kids, this doc about the missing 10-year old boy dealt with the possibility that he was taken by and killed by a pedophile who had been stalking kids for some time. Using a story of needing help finding his missing dog, Wayne Chapman would be the predator that the doc’s filmmaker, Melanie Perkins believed was at fault.

Shocking events that seemed to occur all helped prevent this case to be solved. The story of a bloody sock that was found in Chapman’s car that matched the sock that Andy had been wearing were taken for evidence and lost. There is no knowledge of where the sock went. There are unbelievable moments such as this that are littered through the doc.

There were also leads that turned into disappointments that piled up with this case. All the while being made all the worse with some of the beautiful pictures and home movies of Andy and his happy life.

Honestly, this doc was a labor of love from a friend looking for closure. Sadly, it has never come. Chapman died in 2021, after being released from prison.

I have a pit in my gut after watching this film. It was a painful story that is just too common in our world.

Dexter: Original Sin S1 E6

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Spoilers

“The Joy of Killing”

I have been disappointed with the new Dexter show since the first couple episodes. This new one, episode six, was the best one since the first two.

The show limited the amount of silly Dexter action, though there was some of that as he was getting his first blow job. Still, it was kept to a minimum and the cases were compelling.

The captain’s son was snatched much like the judge’s son earlier in the season. We met the captain’s son recently as he spoke with Dexter. That made this more powerful than just a kid who we had never met. The tension of the cop shop during this episode was at an all-time high.

I am not in love with the flashbacks, but these were fairly significant. We see the birth of Debra and Harry’s wife told him no more affair. Another awkward moment.

Dexter set himself up as a serial killer (officially killing his third victim). The alligator dumping was not going to work any longer as the police have discovered the arm floating in the swamp that we saw a few episodes ago. I figured that was coming back, and I am glad it made it.

Of course, Dexter is not going to be caught or even implicated because we know he does not get caught or implicated for years. The dangers of a prequel.

I hope the remainder of this season is able to match this quality more than it has been lately.

Battlestar Galactica S3 E19, E20, S4 E1, E2

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Spoilers

“Crossover Part 1”

“Crossover Part 2”

“He That Believeth in Me”

“Six of One”

The finale two episodes of Battlestar Galactica season three and the first two episodes of season four were wild.

They revealed four of the Final Five Cylons and I found it difficult to believe. Sam, Chief Tyrol, Tory Foster and, of all people, Colonel Tigh were revealed to be Cylons in disguise. They were understandably confused, but seemed to have more free will than I thought they would.

Of course, that leaves one more Cylon of the five and the show is trying to make us think that it is Kara. Kara, who showed back up, not dead, came back with a story of finding earth. I do not think she turns out to be the Cylon. I think she is a red herring. I think there are some other possible suspects at this time:

Baltar: Another one what feels too obvious. With all of the interaction with Cylons, Baltar feels wrong. Plus, he is really buying into the one person/one god thing and the worshiping that the One-God crew was giving him.

Laura Roslin: With the cancer returning, I think this would be the shock that the show may be going for. She also has a connection to Number six through these visions. She shot at Starbuck at close range and missed. Maybe she can’t harm one of her own (or at least in his mind).

Admiral Adama: I think he has been really inconsistent as a character recently. He is up and down all over the place and this could explain that. It could also be that shock moment.

I am not sure what Lee Adama’s exit from Galactica meant this episode. Did he just leave the series or is he on a new arc into the political world?

Entering into the final season of the show, I expect things to be on a high level as the season progresses. I have questioned how uncertain I am of any of these characters, yet it feels very compelling.

Bates Motel S5 E7, E8

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“Inseparable”

“The Body”

So much for Chick being the author of the novel Psycho was based on. One bullet to the head from Alex Romero took care of that.

I really do not remember how this is resolved, so I cannot begin to know where this is heading. I just have two more episodes left for the season and it is thrilling. I’m sure I watched this when it was released on A & E, but I legit do not remember much of this.

These two episodes had so many massive moments that it took my breath away.

The whole scene where Norman, as Norma, attacked Dylan and Norman prevented his other side from stabbing him was insane. I was telling Dylan to get out of there, I was so worried about him. Dylan is the conscience of the story, the heart of this family. His loyalty to his brother, despite all, is amazing. I do not remember Dylan’s fate, but I really do not want him to die. I want him to go back to Seattle with Emma and raise their baby girl, Katie. I feel a foreboding that those thoughts are pipe dreams.

Alex Romero is another character that I do not want to see come to an end. I think he is going to end up dying, but his will to come back for vengeance against Norman is downright Shakespearian. Alex is so damaged that you could see the pain constantly. The look on his face as Chick was telling him about what Norman had done (digging up Norma’s body and building a ‘mausoleum’ for her int he basement freezer) was very telling. There was one shot where his face looked to be like death itself, pale and conflicted.

I kind of loved watching Norma take over control of the body of Norman only to be thwarted by the new sheriff. ‘Norma’ thought she had everything handled, but surprises kept coming.

The police discovered the body of Emma’s mother in the lake alongside the guy Romero sent to try and kill Norman.

Just two more to go…

Yellowjackets S2 E1

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“Friends, Romans, Countrymen”

The second season of Yellowjackets is underway and the winter has started to take its toll. There also appears to be some mental breakdowns starting to creep into the survivors (I say ‘starting’ although this is probably a mad rush). Shauna eating the ear of Jackie, who had died two months earlier, but not buried (I assume because the ground is too frozen to do so). Shauna has spent much of the last two months since her friend’s death talking to the frozen corpse in the food storage area (unsanitary). Of course, Jackie would talk back to her too, as they got into discussion of Shauna and Jeff’s affair. Tiassa continuing her own crazy behavior, which will continue into the present day. And there is Lottie who is some kind of self-help cult leader and the person who had Natalie kidnapped at the end of season one. Don’t worry Nat, cause Misty is on the case.

Present day, I would think that Shauna would have been better about concealing a crime by this point in her life. Burning Adam’s license and things in her barbeque was just a silly way to get rid of evidence. Then, the art studio caper made no sense either. They can’t control their passions? Shauna and Jeff have sex and leave all kinds of DNA evidence around. And did they just use paint remover to ruin all the painting of her they found? Um… that is not a good choice.

Natalie and Lottie coming face to face at the end of the episode as her cult were burying an old naked man alive was weird, and probably not the best choice by Natalie, but she is a very impulsive character so I can believe that she would see her old teammate and head right forward to her.

A couple of strange choices were made this episode, including some new survivors in the wilderness (I assume they were the background characters in season one and now have more importance… aka Nikki and Paolo from LOST. We know what their fate turned out to be).

Grotesquerie S1 E9

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“Episode 9”

An intense episode that, once again, really throws my understanding of what is going on into a confused state… and I loved that.

It felt as if Lois was on a crusade to put things to rest before she moved down to Florida. She saw Marshall and gave him divorce papers (and he was downright cruel at this point), she saw her daughter for one final slap, and she continued dream therapy.

It was here where things started to go weird once more. It was suggested that Lois’s dream, specifically about the Burnside family, which had no connection to her own life, was Lois seeing the future.

Of course, Megan was arriving at a murder scene exactly like the Burnside murder in reality. Right down to the mystery contents of the boiling pot on the stove, which feels as if it is a secret that we will be getting in the finale.

Reality? Hm, I wonder.

When Lois met Megan at the hotel, Lois had her cut her arm so she could see her blood. That was supposed to be how Lois proved to herself that this was real… and then the most surreal thing happened, with Megan’s abusive boyfriend showing up and attacking her. Lois held a gun on him but he did not stop. He tormented Lois about being the dream woman and that she knew she couldn’t kill him. He went so far as to put the barrel of the gun Lois held into his own mouth.

And then she shot him.

That was an awesome moment. A-hole got what he deserved. However, I worry for Lois.

Still, I am not convinced that everything here is real life. The background TVs kept talking about the fires that were spreading, much like the final sections of Lois’s dreams, and I feel there may be something “biblical” going down.