Tuesday, 3 September 2013

Flood Stories


8-30-13                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Sidneynature1  HS

The Bible Vs. The Epic
2 Accounts of The Flood

There one was the earth and the people of the earth where a creative species. The people of the earth where artisans and storytellers. One of these stories, told by many cultures and religions is the flood story. Two famous accounts of this event are: Noah and The Ark and The Epic of Gilgamesh. These two accounts have many important differences.

The first major difference is the reason for the worldwide flood. In The Epic of Gilgamesh the pagan gods were in a rebellious mood and decided to destroy the worlds creatures for entertainment. However the Bible has a fair, just reason for the flood: Earths people had rebelled and grown wicked and corrupt. God wanted to start over with a new beginning.

Second, the warning and the preparation in the two accounts are different. In the Bible, God comes to Noah and tells the exact dimensions and materials to use. God calls the animals and God Himself closed the door to seal Noah and his family safe inside.
In The Epic of Gilgamesh Ea, one of the gods, has to sneak off and tell Utnapishtim about the plans to destroy the earth. Ea was scared and powerless as he told Utnapishtim to build a boat out of the boards of his house. Ea then stood by and watched.

Last, the timeline described is vastly different. In The Epic of Gilgamesh Ea warns Utnapishtim, Utnapishtim finds someone to build the boat, the animals come, it rains for 7 days, the waters go down, he sees dead bodies on the beach, he sends out a bunch of birds and they find land, the boat land, everyone gets out and repopulate the earth. In the Bible account, God tells Noah to build an ark, Noah and his sons build the ark over a few years, and a week after completion the animals cease coming to the ark and God closes the ark. The rains begin, 40 days later the earth is covered and the water begins to go down. 150 days later the ark rests on Mt. Ararat, the second dove to be sent out finds that the earth is safe; God makes a promise never to flood the entire earth again.

There are such vast differences in these two stories. We just have to look to see witch one is reasonable. 

Friday, 16 August 2013

Is There a God?

I just started high school and have decided to publish my essays on the blog. Here is my second essay of the year(I will post my first later)

8-16-13                                                                 by Sidneynature1     
Freshman In HS

Is there a God?


Our world is an amazingly complex, beautiful, life supporting, and unique creation. “The watch must have a maker…” [1] If a watch, a simple human tool must have a maker, how much more does our complex earth need a creator.

The creatures in our world are so varied and adept.
Compare a mouse, a small mammal that lives in the grasslands, and a giant squid, a giant fish that lives in the depths of the ocean.
How could two very different and complex creatures evolve from a single celled glob of random chance? Only God our ingenious creator could lovingly create the beautiful creatures we see on the earth today,

Humans need someone to look up to; something to look forward to. If there is no God and no Heaven where do you go when you die? You live a live of fear, waiting for the nothingness to come. However with God and Heaven to look forward to you can live a life for Him, not worrying about death.  God is a good companion in hard times. Knowing that God loves you and cares for you gives you a light in the dark world we live in.

If countries, states and cities did not have laws think of the chaos there would be. The president, governors, mayors and church leaders are just mere humans so they miss the important details and needs of our communities. God is perfect and misses nothing. We are very luck to have His perfect Word to live by.

Our fearfully made world needs a loving creator: “The watch must have a maker; that there must have been at some time and at some place or other, an artificer or artificers, who formed it for the purpose which we find it actually to answer; who comprehended its construction, and designed its uses.” – William Paley [2]


[1] William Paley, Natural Teleology: or Evidences of the Attributes of the Deity, collected from the Appearances of Nature, 1972   St. Thomas Press, Huston, Texas, 3. 
[2] William Paley, Natural Theology: or Evidences of the Attributes of the Deity, collected from the Appearances of Nature, 1972   St. Thomas Press, Huston, Texas, 3.
 

Saturday, 11 August 2012

Wish me luck!



I decided to enter the H-E-B read. Write. Win. scholarship contest! The prompt is: "Looking back at Texas history since Texas became a state in 1845, who in your opinion has been the most influential Texan? why?" The results will be anounced aroun august 31st. I really hope I win! If I do I will Get a 'html'><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="background-color: transparent;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5457223397679627" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5457223397679627" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I decided to enter the H-E-B read. Write. Win. scholarship contest! The prompt is: "Looking back at Texas history since Texas became a state in 1845, who in your opinion has been the most influential Texan? why?" The results will be anounced aroun august 31st. I really hope I win! If I do I will Get a $15,000 scholarship.</span></b><br /><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5457223397679627" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5457223397679627" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lady Bird Johnson</span></b></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5457223397679627" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Still influencing Texas</span></b><br /><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Sidney </span></b></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5457223397679627" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5457223397679627" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lady Bird Johnson greatly influenced Texas with her awareness of the environment and her media projects. Lady Bird was born in 1912, with the name Claudia Alta Taylor, to parents, Minnie and T.J. Taylor, in Karnack, Texas. She was given the nickname, “Lady Bird” when an African-American nurse declared she was “purty as a ladybird.” She visited Texas often when serving as First Lady to her husband, President Lyndon Baines Johnson. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After three miscarriages she gave birth to two girls--Lynda Bird, the eldest and Luci Baines, the youngest. Lyndon B. Johnson shared his wife’s love for the land and used his political power to help her pursue her dreams to beautify America which led to her focus on Texas highways.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 1943, Austin was a small town with only two radio stations: KTBC and KNOW. Mr and Mrs. Johnson bought KTBC and Lady Bird was put in charge. KTBC was not running smoothly with only 250 watts of signal; but the control center was even worse. There were papers strewn everywhere and dust and grime covered all the surfaces. Beautification was Lady Bird’s life</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">so she could not stand this. Lady Bird went right to work paying bills and cleaning the floors.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I spent one day myself with a bucket full of soap and rags and whatever suitable things there were, washing the windows while some of them (employees) just stood there with their mouths open thinking, ‘what kind of person have we got here?’ ” She also upgraded the signal to 1,000 watts. Soon the station was worth half a million dollars. Today the station is called KLBJ and is broadcasted on 93.7 FM and 590 AM.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From the Eisenhower presidency through the Johnson presidency, highways running through Texas were being destroyed, strewn with abandoned cars and illegal junkyards.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Businesses were taking advantage of the long stretches of space, filling the roadsides with billboards. The once beautiful Texas Hill Country and grasslands were disappearing at a frightening pace. The small roadside committees and garden clubs tried their best to keep things under control, but were quickly losing hope. Lady Bird and other authorities who saw the issue worked vigorously to pass laws to control the use of billboards in non-commercial areas. Lots of Texans were against the idea, but because of Lady Bird’s popularity and political influence, they were moved to vote with her. After the bill passed, there wasn’t much obvious movement toward beautiful highways, but soon reports came saying that 2,300 junkyards had been removed or screened off and 1,055 more illegal ones removed. However, there were still 11,000 that required attention. Lady Bird’s Highway Beautification Act brought awareness to the importance of preserving the natural beauty of Texas.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 1971, when Lady Bird was in London, she stayed in the same hotel as Austin’s Mayor Rob Butler and his wife, Ann. They stood on one of the balconies that looked down at the beautiful Thames Path that runs along 184 miles of England’s most famous river, the Thames River. Lady Bird wondered if they could make a similar path on Austin’s Town Lake. At the time the lake was run down and ruined--the trees running along the banks were crushed from too many floods, and the shore line was strewn with litter and weeds. Mrs. Butler turned to her husband for support, and they created the Town Lake Beautification Committee. To beautify the area and make it more attractive and useful as a public place the committee raised funds to plant hundreds of trees along the banks of the lake. They spent two years beautifying the trails. When people in Austin wanted to rename it Lady Bird Lake, she declined the offer, but after she died, it was named Lady Bird Lake anyway! Texans and visitors still enjoy jogging the beautiful trails.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Town Lake Beautification Committee’s largest fundraiser was held at the LBJ ranch.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The LBJ ranch is the beautiful homestead that belonged to Lady Bird and Lyndon B. Johnson. While getting the place ready to call home, Lady Bird spread seventy-five pounds of bluebonnet seeds on either side of the Pedernales River that ran through the property. Soon, the house was a lovely place to hold parties, barbecues, and political events. On August 27, 2008 the ranch officially opened to the public.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When her husband died in 1973, Lady Bird Found herself needing a new project. She found a perfect one in the National Wildflower Center; Lady Bird donated $125,000 and sixty acres of land to build a center in Austin, Texas. Lots of impactful research poured in and out of the center every year. Part of the research showed that in Spring when wildflowers grow, not only do they make highways beautiful to look at, but their presence decreases the need to mow; less mowing decreases the pollution from lawn mowers. Once the center got too small for further research, Lady Bird came to the rescue again. She located a new plot of land and they were able to expand the project. One of the many things the center did was to repopulate and relocate rare and dying flowers. Texas is well known for our wildflowers and without Lady Bird and her Wildflower Center, many flowers may have been lost completely.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 1993 her health began to fail; she suffered strokes and became blind. She died August 11, 2007 at home of natural causes, surrounded by friends--a Catholic priest(Father Robert Scott), her daughters Luci and Lynda. Luci later remarked that one week before her death, Lady Bird made a public appearance, and visited the Blanton Museum of art. “It was a scene, Mother was on IV, oxygen tube, and a feeding tube. It looked like a mobile hospital. But she had a wonderful time.” Lady Bird Johnson was a truly inspiring woman. Her actions will influence people for years to come.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> &nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Resources used:</span><br /><a href="http://www.wikipedia.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.wikipedia.com</span></a><br /><a href="http://www.townlaketrail.org/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.townlaketrail.org</span></a><br /><a href="http://www.nps.gov/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.nps.gov</span></a><br /><a href="http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.nationaltrail.co.uk</span></a><br /><a href="http://www.tab.org/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.tab.org</span></a><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gould, Lewis L. Lady Bird Johnson, Our Environmental First Lady. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1988.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Appelt, Kathi.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> &nbsp;Miss Lady Bird’s Wildflowers, How a First Lady Changed America. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">HarperCollins 2005.</span></b></div></div>5,000 scholarship.


Lady Bird Johnson
Still influencing Texas
By Sidney

Lady Bird Johnson greatly influenced Texas with her awareness of the environment and her media projects. Lady Bird was born in 1912, with the name Claudia Alta Taylor, to parents, Minnie and T.J. Taylor, in Karnack, Texas. She was given the nickname, “Lady Bird” when an African-American nurse declared she was “purty as a ladybird.” She visited Texas often when serving as First Lady to her husband, President Lyndon Baines Johnson.
After three miscarriages she gave birth to two girls--Lynda Bird, the eldest and Luci Baines, the youngest. Lyndon B. Johnson shared his wife’s love for the land and used his political power to help her pursue her dreams to beautify America which led to her focus on Texas highways.

In 1943, Austin was a small town with only two radio stations: KTBC and KNOW. Mr and Mrs. Johnson bought KTBC and Lady Bird was put in charge. KTBC was not running smoothly with only 250 watts of signal; but the control center was even worse. There were papers strewn everywhere and dust and grime covered all the surfaces. Beautification was Lady Bird’s life
so she could not stand this. Lady Bird went right to work paying bills and cleaning the floors.
“I spent one day myself with a bucket full of soap and rags and whatever suitable things there were, washing the windows while some of them (employees) just stood there with their mouths open thinking, ‘what kind of person have we got here?’ ” She also upgraded the signal to 1,000 watts. Soon the station was worth half a million dollars. Today the station is called KLBJ and is broadcasted on 93.7 FM and 590 AM.

From the Eisenhower presidency through the Johnson presidency, highways running through Texas were being destroyed, strewn with abandoned cars and illegal junkyards.
Businesses were taking advantage of the long stretches of space, filling the roadsides with billboards. The once beautiful Texas Hill Country and grasslands were disappearing at a frightening pace. The small roadside committees and garden clubs tried their best to keep things under control, but were quickly losing hope. Lady Bird and other authorities who saw the issue worked vigorously to pass laws to control the use of billboards in non-commercial areas. Lots of Texans were against the idea, but because of Lady Bird’s popularity and political influence, they were moved to vote with her. After the bill passed, there wasn’t much obvious movement toward beautiful highways, but soon reports came saying that 2,300 junkyards had been removed or screened off and 1,055 more illegal ones removed. However, there were still 11,000 that required attention. Lady Bird’s Highway Beautification Act brought awareness to the importance of preserving the natural beauty of Texas.

In 1971, when Lady Bird was in London, she stayed in the same hotel as Austin’s Mayor Rob Butler and his wife, Ann. They stood on one of the balconies that looked down at the beautiful Thames Path that runs along 184 miles of England’s most famous river, the Thames River. Lady Bird wondered if they could make a similar path on Austin’s Town Lake. At the time the lake was run down and ruined--the trees running along the banks were crushed from too many floods, and the shore line was strewn with litter and weeds. Mrs. Butler turned to her husband for support, and they created the Town Lake Beautification Committee. To beautify the area and make it more attractive and useful as a public place the committee raised funds to plant hundreds of trees along the banks of the lake. They spent two years beautifying the trails. When people in Austin wanted to rename it Lady Bird Lake, she declined the offer, but after she died, it was named Lady Bird Lake anyway! Texans and visitors still enjoy jogging the beautiful trails.

The Town Lake Beautification Committee’s largest fundraiser was held at the LBJ ranch.
The LBJ ranch is the beautiful homestead that belonged to Lady Bird and Lyndon B. Johnson. While getting the place ready to call home, Lady Bird spread seventy-five pounds of bluebonnet seeds on either side of the Pedernales River that ran through the property. Soon, the house was a lovely place to hold parties, barbecues, and political events. On August 27, 2008 the ranch officially opened to the public.

When her husband died in 1973, Lady Bird Found herself needing a new project. She found a perfect one in the National Wildflower Center; Lady Bird donated 'html'><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="background-color: transparent;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5457223397679627" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5457223397679627" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I decided to enter the H-E-B read. Write. Win. scholarship contest! The prompt is: "Looking back at Texas history since Texas became a state in 1845, who in your opinion has been the most influential Texan? why?" The results will be anounced aroun august 31st. I really hope I win! If I do I will Get a $15,000 scholarship.</span></b><br /><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5457223397679627" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5457223397679627" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lady Bird Johnson</span></b></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5457223397679627" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Still influencing Texas</span></b><br /><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Sidney </span></b></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5457223397679627" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5457223397679627" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lady Bird Johnson greatly influenced Texas with her awareness of the environment and her media projects. Lady Bird was born in 1912, with the name Claudia Alta Taylor, to parents, Minnie and T.J. Taylor, in Karnack, Texas. She was given the nickname, “Lady Bird” when an African-American nurse declared she was “purty as a ladybird.” She visited Texas often when serving as First Lady to her husband, President Lyndon Baines Johnson. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After three miscarriages she gave birth to two girls--Lynda Bird, the eldest and Luci Baines, the youngest. Lyndon B. Johnson shared his wife’s love for the land and used his political power to help her pursue her dreams to beautify America which led to her focus on Texas highways.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 1943, Austin was a small town with only two radio stations: KTBC and KNOW. Mr and Mrs. Johnson bought KTBC and Lady Bird was put in charge. KTBC was not running smoothly with only 250 watts of signal; but the control center was even worse. There were papers strewn everywhere and dust and grime covered all the surfaces. Beautification was Lady Bird’s life</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">so she could not stand this. Lady Bird went right to work paying bills and cleaning the floors.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I spent one day myself with a bucket full of soap and rags and whatever suitable things there were, washing the windows while some of them (employees) just stood there with their mouths open thinking, ‘what kind of person have we got here?’ ” She also upgraded the signal to 1,000 watts. Soon the station was worth half a million dollars. Today the station is called KLBJ and is broadcasted on 93.7 FM and 590 AM.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From the Eisenhower presidency through the Johnson presidency, highways running through Texas were being destroyed, strewn with abandoned cars and illegal junkyards.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Businesses were taking advantage of the long stretches of space, filling the roadsides with billboards. The once beautiful Texas Hill Country and grasslands were disappearing at a frightening pace. The small roadside committees and garden clubs tried their best to keep things under control, but were quickly losing hope. Lady Bird and other authorities who saw the issue worked vigorously to pass laws to control the use of billboards in non-commercial areas. Lots of Texans were against the idea, but because of Lady Bird’s popularity and political influence, they were moved to vote with her. After the bill passed, there wasn’t much obvious movement toward beautiful highways, but soon reports came saying that 2,300 junkyards had been removed or screened off and 1,055 more illegal ones removed. However, there were still 11,000 that required attention. Lady Bird’s Highway Beautification Act brought awareness to the importance of preserving the natural beauty of Texas.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 1971, when Lady Bird was in London, she stayed in the same hotel as Austin’s Mayor Rob Butler and his wife, Ann. They stood on one of the balconies that looked down at the beautiful Thames Path that runs along 184 miles of England’s most famous river, the Thames River. Lady Bird wondered if they could make a similar path on Austin’s Town Lake. At the time the lake was run down and ruined--the trees running along the banks were crushed from too many floods, and the shore line was strewn with litter and weeds. Mrs. Butler turned to her husband for support, and they created the Town Lake Beautification Committee. To beautify the area and make it more attractive and useful as a public place the committee raised funds to plant hundreds of trees along the banks of the lake. They spent two years beautifying the trails. When people in Austin wanted to rename it Lady Bird Lake, she declined the offer, but after she died, it was named Lady Bird Lake anyway! Texans and visitors still enjoy jogging the beautiful trails.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Town Lake Beautification Committee’s largest fundraiser was held at the LBJ ranch.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The LBJ ranch is the beautiful homestead that belonged to Lady Bird and Lyndon B. Johnson. While getting the place ready to call home, Lady Bird spread seventy-five pounds of bluebonnet seeds on either side of the Pedernales River that ran through the property. Soon, the house was a lovely place to hold parties, barbecues, and political events. On August 27, 2008 the ranch officially opened to the public.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When her husband died in 1973, Lady Bird Found herself needing a new project. She found a perfect one in the National Wildflower Center; Lady Bird donated $125,000 and sixty acres of land to build a center in Austin, Texas. Lots of impactful research poured in and out of the center every year. Part of the research showed that in Spring when wildflowers grow, not only do they make highways beautiful to look at, but their presence decreases the need to mow; less mowing decreases the pollution from lawn mowers. Once the center got too small for further research, Lady Bird came to the rescue again. She located a new plot of land and they were able to expand the project. One of the many things the center did was to repopulate and relocate rare and dying flowers. Texas is well known for our wildflowers and without Lady Bird and her Wildflower Center, many flowers may have been lost completely.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 1993 her health began to fail; she suffered strokes and became blind. She died August 11, 2007 at home of natural causes, surrounded by friends--a Catholic priest(Father Robert Scott), her daughters Luci and Lynda. Luci later remarked that one week before her death, Lady Bird made a public appearance, and visited the Blanton Museum of art. “It was a scene, Mother was on IV, oxygen tube, and a feeding tube. It looked like a mobile hospital. But she had a wonderful time.” Lady Bird Johnson was a truly inspiring woman. Her actions will influence people for years to come.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> &nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Resources used:</span><br /><a href="http://www.wikipedia.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.wikipedia.com</span></a><br /><a href="http://www.townlaketrail.org/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.townlaketrail.org</span></a><br /><a href="http://www.nps.gov/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.nps.gov</span></a><br /><a href="http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.nationaltrail.co.uk</span></a><br /><a href="http://www.tab.org/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.tab.org</span></a><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gould, Lewis L. Lady Bird Johnson, Our Environmental First Lady. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1988.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Appelt, Kathi.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> &nbsp;Miss Lady Bird’s Wildflowers, How a First Lady Changed America. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">HarperCollins 2005.</span></b></div></div>25,000 and sixty acres of land to build a center in Austin, Texas. Lots of impactful research poured in and out of the center every year. Part of the research showed that in Spring when wildflowers grow, not only do they make highways beautiful to look at, but their presence decreases the need to mow; less mowing decreases the pollution from lawn mowers. Once the center got too small for further research, Lady Bird came to the rescue again. She located a new plot of land and they were able to expand the project. One of the many things the center did was to repopulate and relocate rare and dying flowers. Texas is well known for our wildflowers and without Lady Bird and her Wildflower Center, many flowers may have been lost completely.

In 1993 her health began to fail; she suffered strokes and became blind. She died August 11, 2007 at home of natural causes, surrounded by friends--a Catholic priest(Father Robert Scott), her daughters Luci and Lynda. Luci later remarked that one week before her death, Lady Bird made a public appearance, and visited the Blanton Museum of art. “It was a scene, Mother was on IV, oxygen tube, and a feeding tube. It looked like a mobile hospital. But she had a wonderful time.” Lady Bird Johnson was a truly inspiring woman. Her actions will influence people for years to come.





Resources used:
www.wikipedia.com
www.townlaketrail.org
www.nps.gov
www.nationaltrail.co.uk
www.tab.org
Gould, Lewis L. Lady Bird Johnson, Our Environmental First Lady. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1988.
Appelt, Kathi. Miss Lady Bird’s Wildflowers, How a First Lady Changed America. HarperCollins 2005.
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Saturday, 31 March 2012

A religious acrostic poem.


  Sidney    2/10      Psalms 66            

  
God show us your power.
Oh shout to God with joy!
Dear God you have put us to the test.
They sing praise to your name.
He has not held His love back from me.
Everyone on earth bows down to you.
For we should love Him with all our heart, mind and soul.
And He has listened. He has heard our prayer.
The people of Israel passed through the waters on foot.
He turned the red sea into dry land.
Eternal Father we LOVE You.
Ready to serve you.
                                  Amen.

Friday, 30 March 2012

Jilliana and Lilliana


Here are two characters that I created in a writing class that I took:

Mini bio #1

Name: Jilliana
5 years old she loves princesses and ponies
her goal in life is to collect miniature figures of all the princesses in the world.
Her mom is against the idea. She has long white hair with pink highlights.
(her mom is a hair stylist) She wears dresses most of the time but she likes
skirts too. She hates her brother who thinks she is a petty pest.
her dad runs a hot dog stand so she is very chubby.
she has a boyfriend named Jamesly who is a sissy and petty as well


Mini bio #2

Lilliana
Jilliana’s mother. Runs a hair salon and works a night shift at at the local pub.
She is a cheapskate but somehow manages to spoil both children.
She is always trying to sell Jilliana’s toys for more money.
She has long white hair with black streaks.
She wears jeans, a tank top with a corset on top, and heavy jewelry.
She is totally goth but kind of punk as well.
She has a closet full of high high top converse and tall black boots a lot of them have chain or locks on them
 

Thursday, 5 January 2012

Dying Love written by me and a friend

my friend      me  .

There once was a girl. And her name was Maria. Maria was a amazing baker well known for her cake. Her cake was a delicious chocolate butter cream recipe.
The secret? Jalapeno. Everyone loved and bought it.
When they brought it home to their families, they would eat it and say “Oh this cake is so good, but sooooo spicy!!!”  But then, there was one person who ate it.
It was a particularly bad batch of cake, but Maria served it. The man spat it out.
Salt and jalapeno delight, tamale! But the people of the village kept telling him to go back and try again. So he went. He sat down in the large wire chair made out of wire, duct tape and cookies. He said to the waitress, “I’ll have a piece,” This time Maria herself brought  the cake out to him.
It was love at first sight. Maria had put in a little less jalapeno this time, and so it wasn’t too spicy. The man asked Maria to come to the park with him but Maria replied with a sharp “No thank you,”. She knew he wanted the recipe. She used 3 super spicy jalapenos, nine hot peppers, wire and the rest of a normal cake recipe. And she baked a cupcake so hot and so dangerous. And she hurled it straight at his horrible face. But he dodged it and ran out of the shop. How ever this man did not want the recipe, he wanted her love so he wrote her address on his hand and sent her a note that said the following:  

“Dearest Maria,  My love for you blazes in my heart, bringing a glacier to a steaming boil. Will you take my hand in marriage? Jacob”

“Oh this is useless” he cried. And slowly, carefully folded the note and placed it carefully under his pillow.But then he realized he must send it. So he put it into a envelope, and wrote her address, then pushed it into the outgoing mail slot. And waited.
but the next day the postman knocked on his door and said, ”Excuse me sir, but you didn’t put a return address on this envelope” So Jacob went back inside to put his address on the back but it had rained the night so the letter was sopping wet. he wrote a new note and it said:

Hey girl,
You are very pretty and I just want to get to know you.
So could you please just go out with me?

 - Jacob

 Then he wrote another note to compare. It read:

“My gorgeous Maria,
Will you marry me?
All my love,
Jacob”

P.S. I don’t know you at all so this is just a joke :)

Then he put the proper postage and address and sent it away.
Maria ran to Jacob and kissed him. “Oh Jacob,” she said, “Marry me.”
But as it turns out it was all just Jacob’s dream.
What really happened was, Maria opened it and read the two notes and shouted and cried and ran to her mother and said ”Oh mother, why would someone DO this to me? I’m nice, and oh, mother!” Her mother read the note and exclaimed,
”Oh, dear, this is a compliment! he wants to
Court you!
Meanwhile, Jacob went to Maria’s house and looked at it. Oh, what have I done? Maria is scarcely 15, and I’m over 30!
But Maria only looked like she was 15, she really was 21.
she picked up her pen and ink and wrote:

 Yes Jacob I will go to the park with you.
However there shall be NO talk about baking, or cooking for that matter.
I will see you at the park at 5:30 on Friday.

      -Maria

Just to be nice she also added


Oh hideous Jacob,
I absolutely HATE you! Please do not speak to me ever again.

-The lady who threw a cupcake at you
P.S. I have never met you so I can not say this in truth, so this to is a joke!

***
At the park, at exactly 5:30, she walked to the park gate.
Almost 20 minutes later, Jacob showed up. She was silent. He chattered away. “... and so, BLAH BLAH BLAH, BLAH BLAH!”. Eventually, Maria had had enough, so she said “Jacob, I need to get home, Good night,” and turned on her heel.
“Wait!” Jacob cried out.”I need to tell you something.”
“OK, fine” Maria sighed.”what is it?”
“Well, Maria, I think that I love you.” he exclaimed.
”Well the problem is, I don’t love you Jacob!” Maria huffed and ran off.
Jacob walked to her house. He took a single, dead red rose and laid it at the door of her house. Attached was a note, reading

“Maria, I’m sorry. Don’t forgive me. This is my love for you represented in this rose.
-Jacob”

Maria was shocked by the note and flower. She hadn’t meant that she would never love him, she just said that she was not ready yet. Jacob decided to forget about her. He moved on eventually, and married a woman named Didi. Maria moved on too. She stopped worrying about how she hurt Jacob feelings. She married her love of baking and stayed single forever.


The
End 


                
Note from me (Sidney)
You may have seen the battle of will between me and my friend. 
I had to fight a lot to keep this from becoming a soap opera. 
and she had to fight to keep me from changing her Ideas!

No offense to my friend I thought she did a great job!