云语 (2004)

30/5/2004 Sunday

 

Last week we went to New Orleans, LA, because dad had to go to the 104^th General Meeting about microbiology. We arrived last Sunday (May 23) and spent the rest of the day in the Ambassador, our hotel, watching cartoons.

 

On Monday, when dad left for the meeting, mom took my sister and me to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and the Entergy IMAX theatre. The aquarium was very interesting with lots of sea creatures. At the gift shop, I bought a purple tiger eye necklace, two turtle toys, and a sticker book for my sister’s friend, Maggie. We watched a movie called “Mysteries of Egypt” at the IMAX theatre. The movie was about the discovery of King Tutankhanan’s tomb and riches.

 

On Tuesday, we went shopping at the Riverwalk Mall and Canal Street. At Riverwalk, I purchased a personalized bracelet with my name and a Capricorn rivet on it. We also went to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum. There were many gruesome things in the museum.

 

On Wednesday, we rode the Natchez Steamboat, which was very expensive because lunch was served on the boat. My favorite part of the cruise was when we went in front of the paddle and were sprayed with water.

 

On Thursday, we went back to the Entergy IMAX theatre to watch a 3D movie called “Ocean’s Wonderland”. I liked this movie because the fish kept popping out of the screen. I thought it wasn’t as good as “Mysteries of Egypt”.

 

On Friday, we came back home via Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi, and Hattiesburg. While at Bay St. Louis, we played on the white sand beach. We also got lots of pens because the people at dad’s meetings handed them out. I really enjoyed this trip as we visited a lot of places in New Orleans. It was really fun.

  

 

19/6/04 Saturday

 

Once I read a book called "Say Cheese, Medusa", by Kate McMullan.  This story starts when Hades' wife, Persephone, left for EArth so she could make the crops grow.  She gave Hades a good-bye present, a wallet that can take up anything, no matter how big it is.  One day, Po invited Zeus and Hades to go to Athena's temple for a picnic.  They invited the Gorgons as well.  Back then, the Gorgons were beautiful with silky hair.  Athena found them in her temple and turned the Gorgons really ugly.  She put a spell on Medusa, that whoever looks at her face will be turned to stone.  The Gorgons were put in a special rehab center so no one could look at them.  Perseus, one of Zeus's mortal sons, wanted to chop off Medusa's head because he wanted to save his mother from marrying the king.  The Grogons escaped to an island, but Perseus found them.  He saw Medusa and got turned to stone.  Athena turned good and used her magic powers to turn Perseus back.  She was successful and also turned the Gorgons beautiful again.  They gave her a potion as well, and all lived happily ever after.

 

 

5/7/04 Monday

 

Yesterday we went to Tupelo to do some shopping.  We took a look at Books-A-Million and I bought three books:  The Ghost Hunter's Handbook, and two flip-over books.  I have already read The ghost Hunter's handbook, and I thought it was really intersting.  This book is about how to find ghots and track them down.  It also tells about different types of ghosts (Mischief Makers, Avengers, Message Bringers, and Haunters), famous ghosts (Anne Boleyn, the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, the Ghost of the Polish Airman, and George Washington's ghost).  The most famous haunted house is America is the Whie House because Abraham Lincoln's ghost has been seen there.  To know if a ghost is near you, the temperature will dorp because ghosts rely on the sun's energy to be seen and heard.  If you ahve a compass, the needle will fly everywhere because magnetic fields are in the North and South Poles.  When a ghostis near, it will mess up the magnetic fields.  Most ghosts haunt the places they died because they have a strong emotional connection to it.  There was more to the book but since it was so short, my diary entry will be too.

 

 

18/7/04 Sunday

 

Last week I made a website called "Hogwarts Online".  This site is like a Harry Potter fansite where people can go to school and take classes.  They can work at the Ministry of Magic, where they get paid wizard money, Galleons, Sichles, and Knuts.

 

Students can get sorted into the four Hogwarts houses:  Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff.  They can go to Gringotts BAnk and sign up for a vault where they keep all their money.  The also have a Student Inventory where the their purchased items are kept.  They can go to wizarding villages:  Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, where they can go to the Flourish and Blott's bookshop to buy books to read.  They can visit the honeydukes sweetshop, where they can buy all sorts of wizarding candy, the Quality Quidditch Suppllies shop to buy broomsticks and Quidditch supplies, the Eeylop's Owl Emporium, where they can buy owls and all sorts of other pets, and lots of other shops. 

 

Students can be on the Quidditch team and play against each other and the winner takes the Quidditch Cup.  There are many places you can visit inside Hogwarts, including the Great Hall, the bathrooms, the Owlery, the library, Detention, and many other places. 

 

Here is a description of what the layout of Hogwarts Online looks like:  The background is black, and the ofrums are in shades of black and dark blues.  At the very top, there is a sign in Harry Potter scar letters:  "Hogwarts Online School of Wizardry and Witchcraft".  Below that is a News Fader, where workds or pictures fade and others appear.  Under that is where all the forums are.  AT the bottom of the screen, there is a little box that displays the number of guests and users online, and the total nubmer of members.  So far I have 18 members, not including myself.  My goal is to rcruit as many members as another Hogwarts role play that has more than 500 members, but I know it would take me a long, long time before I get just 100 members.  When school starts in August, I'll advertise Hogwarts, and hopefully I'll get more members.

 

 

1/8/04 Sunday

 

Yesterday I read a book called "Zel", by Donna Jo Napoli.  This book is about a girl named Zel.  One day, she and her mother went to town to buy things to eat.  While at the smithy, Zel met the Count's son, Konrad.  Zel helped take a tick out of his horse's hear, so he told her that she could have a reward.  zel chose a fertilized goose egg for her goose.  When Konrad came back with the egg, Zel was gone.  He gave the egg to the smith and told him to give it to Zel when she returned.  She did.

 

Later, Zel's mother told her that Zel had an enemy who wanted to kill her.  So Mother locked Zel up in a high tower and left.  Everyday, Mother climbed up the tower by climbing up Zel's hair to give her food.  This time was called "Mother's Hour".

 

One day, Konrad went to look for Zel, and he found her in the tower.  He hid behind a bush and Zel's mother came.  She chanted some words and Zel let down her hair.  After Mother left, Konrad chanted the same words and she let her hair down again.  Zeld told him about Mother locking her up and Konrad said the next time he came here, he would bring a dagger to cut her hair off, a peg to put out the wall for the hair to be tied to, and a mallet to push the peg into the wall.

 

When Mother came back, she found out that Konrad had come.  She pulled out all Zel's hair and when he came back, he thought the hair was still on its owner, and when he came up the tower, Mother let the hair go and Konrad fell into a big bush of nettles.  He got blind beacuse the thorns scratched his eyes.  Konrad went searching for Zel because she had escaped.

 

After many years, he fould her, and her tears on his eyes made him see again.  The got married and Zel's hair became long again.