Vocab #6

Beatitude-Supreme blessedness
Gods first beatitude is for the less fortunate.
Bete noire- A detested person
Her reputation for starting constant drama made her the bete noire of the school.
Bode-Be an omen of a particular outcome.
There argument did not bode well for there future together.
Dank-Disagreeably damp,musty, and typically cold
The abandoned house was extremely dank inside.
Ecumenical-promoting or relating to unity among the worlds Christian churches
Ecumenical pilgrimage now must also be between churches which are in mission together.

Fervid-Intensely enthusiastic or passionate

The speakers fervid speech oppsed to racism.

beatitude- Supreme blessedness
-Christ's first beatitude is to the poor in spirit.
bete noire- a detested person (disliked or avoided)
-It's gas-guzzling reputation had made it the bête noire of environmental Activicts.
bode- Be an omen of a particular outcome
-Their argument did not bode well for the future.
dank- Disagreeably damp, musty, and typically cold
-In the cellars we were sheltered from the tornado, but they were very dank and gloomy.
ecumenical- Promoting or relating to unity among the world's Christian churches
-Ecumenical pilgrimage now must also be between churches which are in mission together
fervid- Intensely enthusiastic or passionate
-His fervid speech opposed to child labor, touched the hearts of the listeners
fetid- Smelling extremely unpleasant
-His fetid odor made the entire class move to the other side of the classroom.
gargantuan- of great mass
-The giant almost flattened the travelers with his gargantuan foot as he walked through the forest
heyday- The period of a person's or thing's greatest success or popularity
-In later life, Elvis was overweight and drug addicted, but in his heyday he was healthy, talented and hugely popular
incubus- A cause of distress or anxiety like a nightmare
-The guilt attacked her during her sleepless night like a relentlessincubus.
infrastructure- The basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation
-The infrastructure of a school consists of teachers, administration, and a school board.
inveigle- Persuade (someone) to do something by means of deception or flattery
-The pretty woman was able to inveiglethe drunken man into buying her some chocolates and a free drink
kudos- Praise and honor received for an achievement-My mom gave kudos to my sister for her job well done.
lagniappe- Something given as a bonus or extra gift
-When going out to dinner, surprising her with a ring islagniappe. 
prolix- Using or containing too many words; tediously lengthy
-All the cases give lengthy extracts from the judgments which, at first sight, may appear to be somewhat prolix.
protege- a person who receives support and protection from an influential patron who furthers the protege's career
-The young scientist had done very well. He had been a protege of no less a person than Albert Einstein.
prototype- A first or preliminary model of something, esp. a machine, from which other forms are developed or copied
-The inventor displayed his prototype to the potential buyers.
sycophant-  A person who acts obsequiously toward someone in order to gain advantage; a servile flatterer 
-Hoping to get the best grade in class, thesycophant flattered his teacher with gifts and nice comments at every opportunity
tautology- The saying of the same thing twice in different words
-Avoid tautology which is the needless repetition of the same idea.
truckle- Submit or behave obsequiously
-When you're having doubts, don'ttruckle to walk away.

Vocabulary #5

acumen -The ability to make good judgments and quick decisions
-The employee showed remarkable business acumen throughout his career
adjudicate -to settle or determine
- Since the ruling was indecisive, a third party was assigned to adjudicate  the opposing claims. 
anachronism -at the wrong place in the wrong time
- Dressing up as Santa Claus for Halloween is an anachronism.
apocryphal -Of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true
- Her excuse of her dog eating her homework was apocryphal, but later the truth was discovered
disparity -A great difference
- There will always be disparity of wealth within this society
dissimulate -Conceal or disguise (one's thoughts, feelings, or character)
- The police couldn't find the fugitive because he was dissimulated within a crowd of people
empirical -Based on an observation or experience
- Decision making should be empirical
flamboyant -Tending to attract attention because confidence/stylishness
- Her flamboyant dress caught the attention of the entire party.
fulsome - flattering to an excessive degree / of large size or quantity; generous
- Having entered the ball, Stephanie realized that her dress might have been a little fulsome compared to the flamboyant attire everyone else had on.
immolate -Kill or offer as a sacrifice
- One must immolate sleep, time and energy to obtain success.
imperceptible - very slight, gradual
-The incline of the hill was veryimperceptible, I had to gradually press the brakes
lackey -A servant
- Every evil villain seems to have a equally evil lackey that supports him
liaison -A person who acts as a link to assist communication or cooperation between groups of people
- Working as a liaison requires one to intervene with the U.S and Afghanistan
monolithic -consisting of one piece/ unbroken
- The monolithic had all the heroic 9/11 firefighters names engraved. 
mot juste -The exact, appropriate word.
- Boring is the mot juste for the long business meetings.
nihilism -The rejection of all religious and moral principles
- Hitler's nihilism led to the Holocaust
patrician - an aristocrat or nobleman
- Romney is all for patricians opposed to the middle class.
propitiate -Regain the favor of someone by doing something that pleases them
- The father predictable propitiated his daughter in order for her to get a job
sic -Used in brackets after a copied or quoted word that appears odd or erroneous to show that the word is quoted exactly as it stands
- 
sublimate-to divert the energy of (a sexual or other biological impulse) from its immediate goal to one of a more acceptable social, moral, or aesthetic nature or use
-By sublimating her emotions, she was able to hide her true feelings from the crowd

Vocab Fall List #4

Apostate- a person who leaves behind his religious or political beliefs.
- The man was an apostate in that he left behind his Jewish beliefs.
Effusive-something or someone showing unrestrained emotion or thankfulness
-After the lady won the lottery she began screaming effusively.
Impass-something from which there is no escape or solution
-Math is an impass to me.
Euphoria-describes a feeling of well-being and great happiness.
-When my little brother was born I saw my mom enter a state of euphoria.
Lugubrious-describes someone who looks very sad,depressed, or long in the face
-I know when my sister is sad by the lugubrious look on her face.
Consensus- An agreement made by a group
-The teacher had to get a consensus from the class before she chose a study date.
Dichotomy-a share division of things or ideas into two contradictory parts.
-There is always a dichtomy of votes when it comes to deciding on what we want for dinner in my family.
Bravado-behavior by a scared person that shows courage.
-Her false bravado during the fight was foolin noone.
Constrict-cause to contract or shrink
-The dogs collar was on so tight that it began to constrict the dogs neck.
Gothic-related to medieval style or the horrir and mystery depicted in fiction about the 18th and 19th centuries.
-the gothic style building had flying creatures on it.
Punctilio- precise observance of petty formalities
-The photographer was very punctilious about every detail of every picture.
Metamorphosis- a profound change in form from one stage to the next in the history of an organism
-The caterpillar metamorphasized into a butterfly.
Ranconteur- a person who is skilled in relating stories and anecdotes interestingly.
-She was ranconteur in the she could turn any boring story into a funny one.
Sin qua non- an indespensable condition
- His presence was the sin qua non of every social event.
Quixotic- romantic behavior or following beliefs eventhough they are foolish and unreachable goals
-Some may think inspiring musicians are quixotic since its hard to make it in the music business.

Vocabulary Fall List #3

Accolade- something given to a person in order to praise or recognize the person or his accomplishment.
-The cashier was awarded the well earned accolade of employee of the month.

Acerbity- sourness of taste, character, or tone.
-My moms tone of voice had a sense of acerbity to it.

Attrition- wearing down or wasting away
-The old womans teeth started to rot due to natural attrition.

Bromide- a trite saying, platitude
-The teacher gave an example of a bromide

Chauvinist- unreasoning devotion to ones race,sex etc. with superiority over other races,sex, etc.
-Many people perceive other races to be chauvinist.

Chronic- something that lasts for a long time, keeps coming back or continues to happen.
-Asthma is a chronic disease that affects many people.

Expound-to explain further or in more detail
-When telling a story people tend to expound the topic to make it more realistic.

Factionalism- factional dissension, affiliations with a faction
-A school with factionalism within will not prevail as a number one school

Imprecation-the act for calling for evil or a curse on someone
-Witches are known for there imprecation.

Ineluctable-describes something that will definitely happen
-Although going to school is not something I ever want to do, it is an ineluctable act and cannot be avoided.

Mercurial-having qualities suggestive of the God Mercury
-Humans can be mercurial one minute calm the next minute crazy.

Palliate-make something less painful or unpleasant, to calm fears.
-Medicine is meant to paliate the sick body.

Protocol- rules and customs of a group or standard procedure
-At work we must follow the company's protocol.

Resplendent- full of splendor or dazzling
-The nail polish was resplendent .

Stigmatize-to make something seem bad or disgraceful
-We tend to stigmatize people for being different from others.

Sub rosa- secretly, privately, confidentially
-I asked students what they thought the meaning of sub rosa was.

Vainglory-extreme self-pride and boastfulness, vanity
-His vainglory about being quarter back on the football team made him unaware of his annoyace toward others.

Vestige-small amount of something or the last remaining part of something that no longer exists.
-The vestige amount of ice cream was fought over.

Volition-the act of using your will to make a conscious decision.
- Volition is something we should all try to practice.

Beowulf Questions

1. It was unusual because Shield was a small abandoned child and became a powerful character.  His funeral was sad because they put his belongings in a boat and sent them out to sea. The relation of Hrothgar and Shield is that Hrothgar is a father figure to Shield. 
2. Hrothgar undertook building the hall Heorot. Grendel attacked it killing thirty men. The Dane’s responses are terrified and they try to stay away from the hall.
3. When Beowulf hears of this he creats an army to go help Hrothgar defeat Grendel.
4. The Geats first meet a nameless watcher who was guarding the shore.
5.     Hrothgar’s Herald is the guard mentioned in number 4 and he tells them the arrival of the Geats and that he should let them visit. Hrothgar responds by agreeing. I'm not surprised because he knows his father. 
6.  Beowulf tells Hrothgar that he plans to fight Grendel. Hrothgar protected him after he killed a man.
7. Unfirth accuses Beowulf of losing a swimming contest.Beowulf responds by telling him that he lost because he ran into sea monsters and had to kill them. It's relevant to the story because it shows that Beowulf has courage. Beowulf accuses Unfirth of being weak.
8. During the feasting Queen Wealhtheow is saluting the warriors, and offering them a goblet to drink from.
9. His preparations are different because he takes off all of his armor.
10. When Grendel enters he attacks a warrior and drinks his blood. Beowulf fights him just using himself and no weapons. When Grendel tries to leave Beowulf tears his arm off. Grendel finally leaves, and leaves his arm.
11.They're similar because Sigemund was a dragon slayer and Beowuld just beat a monster. He's not like Heremod because he was a coward.
12. Hrothgar responds to the deed by adopting him and Unfirth has nothing to say about that action.
13.In general the Danes lost a fight to the Finn's and after they realize their defeat they offer a truce. Using a woman to unite the tribes shows wisdom because it causes a common ground for both tribes. 

14. Wealhtheow asks Hrothgar to not have Beowulf be the heir.

15.   The necklace was later stolen from his corpse. Wealhtheow asks Beowuld to protect her son. 

16.  The men stay at the beer hall to sleep because they want to protect Hrothgar and their land. This was a mistake because Grendel could come and burst in again at any moment.

17.  Grendel’s mother came to Heorot as revenge for her sons death which is not the same reason as Grendel's.

18.  Hrothgar’s response is grief and pain because she killed one of his close friend's.

19.  The mere is a terrible place where monsters live.

20.  Beowulf tells Hrothgar that he should fight in vengeance instead of sadness. 

21.  Before Beowulf enters the mere, he sees and sea monster and kills it.

22. Beowulf prepares by putting on his chain-mail armor, his golden helmet, and takes out his sword that was given to him by Unfirth.

23. When Beowulf enters the mere he tries to find Grendel's mother. It's surprising where they live because there's no water.

24. The sword melted.   

25.  Beowulf is protected by Grendel's mother because he's wearing his chain mail. 

26.  Beowulf uses the sword to decapitate Grendel’s mother. When she dies he sees Grendel's body and then cuts his head off too. His sword soon melts away after he kills him. 

27.When   Beowulf returns to the surface his men were waiting at the top for him surprised to see him because they expected him to have been defeated.

28.  Beowulf gives Hrothgar the hilt of the sword.

29.  Hrothgar tells Beowulf that he was brave and courageous for what he did and told him not to be like Heremod. He reminds Beowulf that everybody dies because God is in charge.

30. Beowulf gives Unferth the sword.

31.  Hrothgar predicts that Beowulf will come back as a ruler.

32.  Hygd is kind and not like Modthryth because Modthryth who have people imprisoned just for looking at her.

33.  Hrothgar hopes that the marriage will end the hate between the Danes and Heathobards.  Beowulf believes it will do nothing to benefit the families. This is a new side of him because he never thinks through situations like this.

34.  Beowulf reports his adventures by telling them in stories where he tells of his success.

35.  Beowulf gives his treasure to Hygelac, who in return gives him a sword, hides, land, a hall and a throne.

36.  Part 2 takes place 50 years later and King Hygelac dies and Heardred. A dragon was awakened.

37.  The dragon is angry because he was awakened. The man took the cup because he was poor and wanted to give it to his master. The treasure was there in the first place because someone had treasure but had no one to leave it to so the dragon guarded it.  

38.The dragon that evening destroyed the Geatlands due to his anger.

39. Beowulf believes his home has been burnt because he has offended the gods in some way. He orders a new iron shield so he can protect himself from the dragon’s flames. Beowulf believes this will be his last battle and it does end up being his last.

40. Hygelac died during the battle. Beowulf swam to safety along with thirty battle dresses. Beowulf declines the seat of king because he believes Headred should have it.

41. Headred ended up dying in battle. This is because he took in exiled Swedes who were King Onela’s brothers. King Onela attacked Geatlands in order to kill his brothers and Headred died in the mix up. Beowulf avenges Headred by killing King Onela.

42. Twelve men accompany Beowulf as he goes to slay the dragon.

43. Herebeald was shot with an arrow by his brother Haethcyn while hunting. King Hrethel was overwhelmed with the death of his son and died of grief. This left the kingdom to Haethcyn and Hygelac. After Hrethel died the Swedes and Geats kept on fighting. This resulted in Haethcyn and Hygelac’s death. Beowulf avenges them by killing Dayraven.

44. Beowulf tells his men to wait outside and to not attack.

45. When Beowulf starts fighting the dragon he is barely able to pierce through the dragon’s tough skin. Beowulf retreats with the dragon in pursuit. All his men flee in fear except Wiglaf. Wiglaf tells the men to stand in fight because Beowulf has put his trust in them. Wiglaf is the only one that help Beowulf

46. On the second encounter Beowulf’s sword breaks when he tries to pierce the dragon’s neck leaving him wide open. Wiglaf stabs the dragon in the stomach giving Beowulf the opportunity to stack the dragon in the neck with his knife and killing it.

47. Beowulf asks Wiglaf to bring back some of the treasure so he can see it before he dies. When he sees the gold he thankful because now he can give the treasure to his people. Beowulf wants to be buried in a tower that is built by the sea.

48. When the companions return they see Wiglaf burying Beowulf. Wiglaf blames them for abandoning Beowulf when he needed them most. Wiglaf believes the Geatlands will be attacked in the future by other kingdoms.

49. The messenger announces that Beowulf is dead. Ongentheow makes fun of the Geats in Ravenwood. Hygelac comes the next morning and kills Ongentheow. The messenger says the gold is cursed and that no one should possess it. The final image is a dragon.

50. Wiglaf tells the crowd how heroic Beowulf was. He tells them he was a great warrior and a great king and that he will never be forgotten.

51. The dragon was pushed off a cliff into the ocean. It wasn’t given a burial because it was believed to be evil.

52. After the funeral people cried and sang.

53. The Geats describe Beowulf as a memorable, kind, and beloved hero. To use the word kind to describe someone who fought a dragon and killed many men seems weird to me. You wouldn’t describe Rambo as a kind man.

Decision Fatigue

1. I think decision fatigue is a physiological condition. I know as the day goes on and as I start to get more and more tired I tend to put things off. I am very good and convincing myself that "ill do that assignment later tonight." I think that when I actually take the time to focus on something I do great but when i slack and take my time I don't do my best work. Sometimes I feel like i just need to take a 30 minute nap to refresh my brain because I feel that when my body isn't so drained and tired I have more energy to focus. There have been many times when I fall asleep on my homework, literally on my homework. I noticed however; when I wake up in the middle of the night and I realize I haven't finished it I am more determined and focused to work and get my work done right. Technology is definitely beneficial to help you research and find information but on the other hand in my case especially it is so distracting. I can't go more than 15 minutes without receiving a text or having to check Instagram or facebook. I in some way feel like I should be tested for like phone addiction or something because I go crazy without my phone. When I get grounded thats the one device my parents go for everytime because they know i'll clean up my act real fast just because I am so determined to get my phone back.

2. I would say I am at like a 4 on a scale of 1-10. In situations that I am not interested in I really try to focus but eventually I find myself playing on my phone or drifting off in a daze thinking about something that I find more interesting.

3. I know I can concentrate much more than I believe but the work that will be put into it just seems so difficult and time consuming. I can take baby steps into trying to make my lack of concentration more effective.

4. After reading the article I did what they said in the very beginning. I closed all my other tabs and set my phone down to try to concentrate and stay focused so I could get the full understanding of what point they were trying to get across. I found myself actually somewhat interested in what facts they were proving and then I realized i was more than a third of the way done with the article before I even realized I hadn't touched my phone. I feel that if I would just try to work at avoiding distractions that are right in front of me that my concentration capacity will start to develop stronger.

Reflections on Week 1

1. Are there any factors that you think are going to affect your participation or experience in this class? (Access to a computer, cell phone, transportation? Family that can help or hassle? Friends that can help or hassle? Scheduling factors that can help or hassle?) 
2. Think of an awesome (or the best ever) learning experience (or an experience where you changed) What was it you learned? [call it X] Where were you? What happened? Who else was there? Did it teach you anything about how you learn (or pay attention... or ?) How did you know what was happening? 
3. What are you most [excited/concerned] about in this class? What do you look forward to in learning?  How do you think it can/will make a practical difference in your life?

I don't think there will be to many factors that will affect my participation or experience in this class. I'm still trying to figure out how to work this blog but once I get it down I'll be good to go. I do work and that will probably take away some of the time that I could definitely use to focus on this class but this just means I will have to work that much harder.

The best learning experience where I changed would probably have to be all of juniour year. I learned alot about people and it had a positive affect on my life. Pointless highschool drama taught me to let go of those who were holding me back and hold on to those who bring positive energy into my life. This experience definitely taught me that I need to take notice to the little things and when things or people start bringing me down I either need to fix it or let the dead weight go.

I am excited about the blogs and how different the are but they also concern me becuase I am not 100% comfortable with them yet. I look forward to this new experience, it isn't everyday that all your peers get together and communicate as a group. I think this will prepare us for the real world and it may even open new doors for us, this whole project widens our ability to try new things.