TY.. Reflection

Hi There..

Well... I have to say, this year was a pretty amazing experience. In third year, I wasn't even thinking of doing TY, and only decided to do it once I went to the meeting about TY during 3rd year. I have to say, i definetly made the right choice!

This year has given me so much. Work experience is something that i will never forget. Trips and activities such as Carlingford, Social Development Day, Retreat, etc. were really good experiences and also going to competitions such as scifest, getting to regionals in the F1 in schools competition and Getting to the Mini Company 'Get Up And Go' were amazing opportunities.

We got to try different subjects, such as technology, art and home ec. that i have never done before. And I have to say, I have started to develop a liking for technology which i didn't think would happen. We also did fun projects such as making things in technology, designing clothes in Home Ec. and doing a cookery project on India! And if it wasn't for TY, i probably wouldn't be blogging :P

Im so glad i did TY, as if i had gone straight to 5th year, i dont think i would have liked it as my subject options have changed. In third Year, i wanted to do Biology, Chemistry and Music. This Year I have Chosen Physics, Business and Music! What a difference!

I have also gotten on well with so many people in my year that i didnt know before!

I loved this year, getting the chance to do new things and meeting new people... I would definetly reccomend it!

Brooklyn - Key Scenes.

The key scenes of Brooklyn.

Opening Scene:
In the Opening Scene, we meet Eilís Lacey, a young girl from County Wexford. Eilís lives with her mother and her older sister, Rose. Recently, Ms. Kelly, a local shop owner, asks Eilís' mother to send Eilís down to the shop. Ms. Kelly, who is known in the village to run the shop quite expensively. Ms. Kelly hires Eilís for shop work every sunday, but doesnt pay her much. Also, when Ms. Kelly finds out Eilís is going to look for work in Brooklyn, Ms.Kelly dismisses her immediatly. This scene shows that Ms. Kelly doesnt care much about the people she employs as she is also constantly giving out about another worker in her shop, Mary.

Scene 2:
When Eilís leaves for Brooklyn, she realises that her sister, Rose, is sacrificing a lot for letting her go. Rose knows that she will now have to stay at home for the rest of her life to look after her mother as if Rose left, her mother will have no one at home. Eilís can't believe that Rose would sacrifice so much for her. This shows Rose's love for Eilís. It is also my favourite scene of the book.

Scene 3:
Eilís goes to the beach with Tony, a man whom Eilís falls in love with. They spend the whole day on the beach, going from between the sand and the sea. Tony keeps trying to hold Eilís close to him while they are in the sea, while Eilís messes with him and keeps swimming away from him. Eilís feels comfortable with him. This scene shows their affection for each other.

Scene 4:
While in Brooklyn, Eilís receives a message to say that her sister, Rose, has passed away in her sleep back at home. This comes to Eilís as a huge shock as, to Eilís' knowledge, Rose was healthy.But Rose wasn't well, and was told to take it easy. But Rose didn't listen and lived live as usual. Eilís' family are distraught. Eilís goes home then from Brooklyn to stay with her mother for a while, and leaves Tony in Brooklyn. Before she leaves, Tony asks her to marry him. This shows Eilís love for her family, and also Tony's love for Eilís.

Ending Scene:
After being back in Wexford for a few weeks, she finally decides to tell her mother, who doesnt yet know that Eilís is married, she is married. Her mother is silent at first, but then tells her to go back to Brooklyn to her husband. This shows that her mother loves her enought to let her go back... knowing that she will be left alone again.


I really liked this book as i found the whole book really interesting. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Brooklyn - Plot, Cultural Context

In the Novel 'Brooklyn' by Colm Tóibín, the plot is quite straightforward, but also really interesting and gripping.

Eilís, a young girl from Wexford, leaves her home to go to Brooklyn, America, In search of work. She finds work in Bartocci's in Brooklyn. While in Brooklyn, She finds the opportunity to educate herself in night courses after work. She is staying with Ms. Kehoe, along with other girls from Ireland also in Brooklyn looking for work. While in Brooklyn, Eilís falls in love with an Italian-American, Tony. But then, tragedy strikes when Eilís gets news from home, her sister, Rose, had passed away. Just before Eilís leaves Brooklyn to go back to Ireland, Tony proposes to her. Eilís accepts. When back at home, she see's her mother and friends, and also begins to get on very well with a neighbour, Jim Farrell. She has not told her mother that she is married, but then soon, tells her. In the end, her mother tells her to go back to Brooklyn to Tony.

I learnt from this book from the cultural context that in the world in the book, 1950's, things seem much simpler, but they also seem to relate to this world now as Eilís is emigrating to find job opportunities. Many people in Ireland now face emigration in search of work as there is not much work in Ireland. The way of communication is also very simple as in the book, they write letters to each other, which in today's world, is actually quite rare as many people today communicate by phone, email or social networking. Eilís had to travel to Brooklyn by boat transfers, which indicates that planes weren't very common in the 1950's. I would like to live back in this world as life seems much simpler and easier, although facing emigration for work is a hard thing to do. They have no phones or email, which makes things seem much more simpler. I think that the 1950;s would be a good time to live in.

Brooklyn - Main Theme and My Favourite Loving Relationship

For my English Class, I have read the book 'Brooklyn' by Colm Tóibín. There were Many themes in the book, but my favourite theme, and also the main theme of the novel, is the theme of Love. The book is set in the 1950's. Eilís, the main character, moves from Dublin to Brooklyn, in search of better job opportunities. She shows love towards both her family and people whom she has grown close to in Brooklyn, Especially Tony, an Italian-American living in Brooklyn who Eilís has fallen in love with.

My favourite loving relationship in this novel is Eilís' Relationship with her mother. Eilís and her mother seem to have a loving relationship, although, at times, her and her mother don't seem to talk. A scene where this is evident is when, after being home from Brooklyn a couple of weeks, Eilís only tells her then that she is married. She hadn't told her mother, even by letter, about the man whom she was to marry.When Eilís' mother heard the news, she was silent, but then told Eilís that she should go back to Brooklyn to be with her husband. It shows that there is a lack of communication between them both, but it also shows a loving connection between them both as Eilís' mother tells him to go back to Brooklyn to be her husband, even though now her mother will be left with no family at home, but, as she loves Eilís, she wants her to be happy.

Geography Project: Linkin Park - Post 6

Post 6:

Linkin Park have designed T - shirts in March 2011 for the Tsunami Crisis in Japan. On one of the t-shirts, they have printed the Words 'Not Alone' with the colours of the Japanese flag behind it, And on the other, they have put an origami image of a butterfly, to symbolise rebirth.

Japan is located in East Asia, and is a island nation. It has a estimated population of 127.960 million people.

Japan has temperate climate, but the climate varies greatly from north to south Japan. It is divided into 6 principal climate zones:

Hokkaido: Temperate Climate with cool summers and long cold winters, light precipitation, and develops deep snow banks during the winter.

Sea of Japan: Heavy Snowfall in the winter, Sometimes get very hot summers.

Central Highland: Large temperature difference between summer and winter. Light Precipitation.

Seto Inland Sea: Mild climate all year long as it is sheltered by the mountains of the Chugoku and Shikoku regions.

Pacific Ocean: Has Cold Winters with little snow and hot summers because of the southeast seasonal wind.

RyuKyu Islands: Subtropical Climate with warm winters and summers. Very Heavy Precipitation.

On the 11th March 2011, the East of Japan had a Great Earthquake, which measured a shocking 9.0 on the rictor scale.The earthquake triggered an extremely destructive tsunami, with waves up to 128ft. and travelling up to 10km inland. 14,981 people were killed, 5,279 were injured, and 9,880 were reported missing. The Japan Great Earthquake is one of the top 5 most powerful earthquakes since 1900.

Similar to the Haiti disaster, many countries and sending donations and aid to Japan.

Reflection and Conclusion on Project:

I really enjoyed doing my geography project on Linkin Park. I learned more information about Linkin Park that i hadn't known before, aswell as geography that I hadn't known on Agoura Hills, Phoenix, Barcelona, Philadelphia, Haiti and Japan. I enjoyed finding out information on things that the band had done and places that they had visited. I have learnt that Linkin Park are a very genuine and charitable band, and I really admire them. I have really enjoyed this project :)

Geography Project: Linkin Park - Post 5

Post 5

Linkin Park released their Song, 'Not Alone' for the Haiti Earthquake Crisis on the 19th of January 2010. Money from the downloads of 'Not Alone' was donated to Haiti to help them recover from the earthquake.

Haiti is a Caribbean Country, on the Western Side of the island of Hispanola. Haiti is a Republic and has an estimated population of 9.720 million people.

Haiti is the third largest county in the Caribbean, with Cuba being the largest and the Dominican Repuclic being the second largest.

Haiti was once an extremely lush country, with 60% of the country covered in forest back in 1925. Since then, 98% of its original forest was cut down to be used for fuel. By cutting down the forest, the farmland fertile soil was destroyed, and this has now contributed to desertification in Haiti. Also, in addition to soil erosion in Haiti, deforestation had led to flooding, which in 2005, killed over 3,000 people.

Haiti has suffered from many natural disasters over the last few years, from Hurricanes, to tropical storms, to Earth Quakes.

On the 12th of January 2010, Haiti suffered from a very large earthquake, measuring 7.0 on the rictor scale. By January 24th of that year, a further 52 aftershocks, measuring 4.5 or greater on the rictor scale had been recorded. Haiti was destroyed, with many 250,000 residential and 30,000 commercial buildings destroyed, 316,000 people killed, and between 1.5 - 1.8 million people left homeless. The Epicenter was near the town of Léogane. Since the earthquake, many countries all over the world have offered their support and help.

By July 9th 2010, 1.3 billion had been raised to help Haiti, and even to this date, donations are still being given.

Since Linkin Park's Song for Haiti, They released an album in August 2010, 'A Thousand Suns'. Again, the music on the album is slightely different to their original sound. So far, they have released four singles from the album, which have all been very sucessful. Their fourth single, 'Iridescent' is being used on the Soundtrack for the Film 'Transformers:Dark Of The Moon' which is the third movie being released in the Transformers Franchise.

Many of their songs have reached the Billboard top 50 over the last few years, and their song, 'In the End' from their first album 'Hybrid Theory', remains in the top 10 rock songs of the 20th Century to this date.

Linkin Park have designed t-shirts recently, with all proceeds going to Japan, who had suffered from a tsunami in March 2011

Geography Project: Linkin Park - Post 4

Post 4:

The 'Live 8' Concert was held outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pensilvania, USA, On 2nd July 2005.

Philadelphia City has a population of 1.526 million people, while the Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan area has a population of 6.1 million people, making it the 5th Largest Metropolitan Area in the Country. Philadelphia is 130km southwest of New York City.

Philadelphia has a humid subtropical climate. In this climate, Summers are usually very hot, Autumn and Spring usually have quite mild weather, and Winters are very cold also. Philadelphia usually get snow during their winters, sometimes very light, and then at other times very heavy. Major Snowstorms have hit Philadelphia during the winters in the past. Philadelphia had the snowiest winter in the 2009 - 2010 winter season. Snow had fallen to a massive 78.7 inches from the ground. Philadelphia has had both very high and very low temperatures, with the highest at 41 degrees celcius and the lowest temperature recorded at minus 24 degrees celcius.

There are many rivers, creeks and streams that run through Philadelphia. These are the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, Cobbs Creek, Wissahickon Creek and Pennypack Creek.

The Delaware river is 484km long. It runs from the west branch of Schoharie County to Delaware Bay.

The Schuylkill River is 217km long. It runs from East Branch Schuylkill County into the Delaware River.

Cobbs Creek is 19km long. Its a tributary of Darby Creek in Delaware County.

Wissahickon Creek is a 37km long stream. It runs from Mountgomery County, Pensilvania and then empties into the Schuykill River in Philadelphia.

Pennypack Creek is a 36.4km creek which runs through Montgomery County, lower Bucks County and the northeast section of Philadelphia before finally emptying into the Delaware River.

Since the Live 8 Concert, Linkin Park Released a third album in 2007, 'Minutes to Midnight'. In this album, there is evidence that their music style began to change slightely. They had 5 singles from Minutes to Midnight.

In 2009, the band had released a song that was to be on the soundtrack of Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen. The Song, New Divide, was a huge hit.

On January 19th 2010, a new song, Not Alone, was released in Support of the Haiti Earthquake Crisis.

The Earthquake happened in Haiti on the 12th January 2010

Geography Project: Linkin Park - Post 3

Post 3:

The MTV Europe Music Awards of 2002 were held in Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain. Linkin Park won Best Group Award and Best Hard Rock.

Barcelona is located in the North East of Spain, and has a popualtion of 1.621 million people.

Barcelona is also located beside the river Llobregat. The River Llobregat is the 2nd longest river in Catalonia, Spain, at a length of 170km. It runs near Barcelona and then ends in the Mediteranean Sea.

Barcelona has a Mediteranean Climate. It has Mild, dry Summers due to this Climate. It is mainly Sunny in Barcelona City.

Barcelona Belongs to the Catalonia Community in Spain. It is one of the four provinces of Catalonia. The Four Provinces are Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona.

Since the 2002 MTV Europe Music Awards, Linkin Park made another Album called 'Meteora' In 2003. They had 5 Singles from this Album. Linkin Park also Collaborated with Jay-Z in 2004, and their song 'Numb/Encore was a hit.

On the 2nd July 2005, Linkin Park and many other bands and musicians performed in the 'Live 8' Concert in Philadelphia. The event was organized by ONE Campaign, a non-profit organisation which try to increase government funding for international aid programs.

The Concert was held outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pensilvania

Geography Project: Linkin Park - Post 2

Post 2:

Chester Bennington, Lead Singer of Linkin Park, was born in Phoenix, Arizona.

Phoenix is located in the Salt River Valley in the South of North America. It is also in the Northern Reaches of the Sonoran Desert.

The Salt River is Sourced in the White Mountains in Arizona, and runs as to the South Western edge of Phoenix, where it joins with the Gila River to form the Gila and Salt River Meridian. The River runs for 322km.

The Area is Surrounded by the McDowell Mountains which are north of Phoenix, the White Tank Mountains which are located to the west, The Superstition mountains which are to the east, and the Sierra Estrella which are to the South-West of Phoenix.

Phoenix are the Nation's 6th most popular City with a population of 1.44 million.

When Chester joined the band in 1999, they released their first album, Hybrid Theory in 2000. Their Album was a huge sucess, and they were nominated for many awards.

In 2002, they won Best Group and Best Hard Rock in the MTV Europe Music Awards in Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona

Geography Project: Linkin Park - Post 1

Hello

I have recently done my Geography Project on Linkin Park. This Is my first post. Hope you enjoy my project :)

Linkin Park is an American Rock Band. The Band was formed in 1996. The Members of the Band are:

• Chester Bennington - Lead Vocalist
• Mike Shinoda - vocals, keyboard, piano, guitar
  
• Brad Delson - Lead Guitar
• Dave 'Phoenix' Farrell - Bassist
• Joe Hahn - Turntables
• Rob Bourdon - Drums

Mark Wakefield was the original lead vocalist of the group when they were known as Xero, but he left the band in 1998 as Xero had failed to reach success and had not yet received a record deal. In 1999, they landed a record deal with Warner Brother Records

The Majority of Linkin Park's Band Members are from Agoura Hills.This is where the band was founded in 1996.

Agoura Hills is located in the Conejo Valley, between the Simi Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains, in the West of North America.

The City is Unofficially divided into a few districts. These districts are Downtown, Old Agoura, East Agoura, South End, Forest Cove and Malibu Junction.

Agoura Hills is also called the 'Gateway to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area'. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area contains many preserves and individual parks.

Linkin Park was Originally known as Xero. The Lead Singer, Chester Bennington joined the band in 1999. The band changed their name then to Hybrid Theory and then finally to Linkin Park.

Chester Bennington was from Phoenix, Arizona.