Poem - valentines

A Valentine is nothing like
A chocolate or a rose.
For in a week these shall be gone,
But Valentines remain.

If love were always sweet to tongue
Or fragrant to the nose,
Each day would be like Valentine's,
And we would go insane.

A Valentine just hangs around
Waiting to be kissed
Long after special days have passed
And every days are here.

So one is wise to choose one well
And chocolates to resist.
For in the midst of mania
It's nice to have one near.

Deception Point - Dan Brown

Intelligence Analyst Rachel Sexton is in her mid-thirties, is single, and works for the NRO (National Reconnaissance Office). Her father, Senator Sedgwick Sexton, is a popular presidential candidate surpassing the incumbent President of the United States Zachary Herney. The President sends her to the Arctic as part of a team of experts to confirm and authenticate findings made by NASA deep within the Milne Ice Shelf. NASA's new Earth Observation System (EOS,) a collection of satellites constantly monitoring the globe for signs of large-scale change has found an extremely dense spot in the Milne Ice Shelf. NASA discovers a very dense meteorite. In it are fossils of bugs very similar to--but not the same as--species on earth. NASA claims this as proof of extraterrestrial life. This find is something NASA needs desperately, as the agency’s success rate on other fronts has put it in a bad light. Senator Sexton uses this as an example of government overspending and failure to further his campaign. Meanwhile, a Delta Force team is observing the discovery, monitoring the NASA staff for an unknown commander. When one of the four civilian scientists observes an irregularity with the pit the meteorite was found in, the Delta Force team 'takes him out' using their miniature spy bot, leaving his body in the pit far below the water where he will not be discovered. When another civilian scientist sees the irregularity, he shares it with his friends Corky and Rachel. They report it to Norah, who confirms that there is seawater in what should be a closed area with only fresh water. The four go outside to scan the ice from a distance. The scan shows Ming's body and a frozen section of ice where the meteorite was drilled up into the shaft, and seawater sealed the gap. Upon discovering this, the four are attacked by the Delta Force team. Norah is killed, shown as an accident. Before they are killed, Rachel, Mike and Corky escape and are picked up by the Navy submarine USS Charlotte. The Delta Force team believes them to be dead, leaving them a chance to tell the President's advisor and Rachel's boss at the NRO about their discovery, Ming and Norah's deaths and about the attempt on their lives. Rachel's boss, William Pickering, has them airlifted form the sub to a chopper, which escorts them away from the meteorite discovery site. A group of four civilian scientists have already been studying the find and have confirmed NASA's claims. It is only hours before the President and NASA plan to go public with the discovery.

I think this book was the best book i have read. It had a lot of action for a book of its size and it showed what people can do to others when they are wanting to keep things a secret from the society of humans.

Shawshank Redemption

I enjoyed the movie because mainly it had a happy ending. I enjoy movies with happy endings where a person has succeeded in triumphing over their goal. In this instance, Andy, who is free man, gets caught for a double murder he did not commit. Andy is then sent to Shawshank prison because he had been accused of being guilty with evidence that was incorrect. The movie started off with a confusing storyline, untold and unexplained. It had been a bit misleading because i thought he would be guilty. It turns out he was not, when the real murderer was in another jail. The falsely accused man (Andy) had heard of this when a young guy had been sent to Shaw shank for more than one crime. Andy sees the warden and tells him what really happened but the warden tries to convince the prisoner that he is being misled. The warden was so scared of what he just heard, that he went outside and got a guard to kill the young guy because of what the young guy said to Andy. The warden didn't want Andy to leave Shawshank because he was arranging the wardens and the guards tax accounts. i thought this was unfair in some cases because Andy was being used so much that he may have never been able to leave Shawshank. The only way he knew, was to break out...

I liked the part where he is shown in his cell, the night he was to escape. It made us think, what is his next move. Then, the next morning, he was to wake up as normal and stand in front of his cell, but he never stepped out. His cell was empty and the commanding officers showed the warden and the warden was speechless. He had to find him because the warden was scared that if he were to escape, then the warden would be framed. The warden brings in the escaped prisoners friend (Red) from prison and asks him where his friend has gone. He said he doesn't know. In frustration and a scared emotion, the warden throws chess pieces from the escaped prisoners room at Red and also at the picture he had hung up on the wall of the cell. It tore through the paper and fell down a hole the prisoner had made to escape. It shows us later on in the movie how he escaped. That was my favourite part of the movie as it shows an awesome climax to the movie.

The character that remained in my mind, even after the movie, was Red because he had served a life sentence in jail for far to long and he was the only black man in jail to escape a free man and feel redeemed from what had happened in his past. He always felt regret for what he had done but inside he was to walk in the footsteps of his past life and make up for his mistakes. By making a new friend, he has found a true place in the real world.

Rugby and League

Superman

Superman is a fictional comic book superhero widely considered to be one of the most famous and popular of such characters and an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective Comics, Inc. in 1938, the character first appeared in Action Comics #1 (June 30th 1938) and subsequently appeared in various radio serials, television programs, films, newspaper strips, and video games. With the success of his adventures, Superman helped to create the superhero genre and establish its primacy within the American comic book.

The origin story of Superman relates that he was born Kal-El on the planet Krypton, before being rocketed to Earth as an infant by his scientist father moments before the planet's destruction. Adopted and raised by a Kansas farmer and his wife, the child is raised as Clark Kent, and imbued with a strong moral compass. Very early he started to display superhuman abilities, which upon reaching maturity he resolved to use for the benefit of humanity.

While referred to less flatteringly as "the big blue Boy Scout" by some of his fellow superheroes, the general public within the comics hails Superman as “The Man of Steel,” “The Man of Tomorrow, and The Last Son of Krypton. As Clark Kent, Superman lives among humans as a "mild-mannered reporter" for the Metropolis newspaper The Daily Planet (the Daily Star in original stories). There he works alongside reporter Lois Lane, with whom he is romantically linked. This relationship has been consummated by marriage on numerous occasions across varying media, and the union is now firmly established within the current mainstream comics continuity.

The character's supporting cast, powers, and trappings have slowly expanded throughout the years. Superman's back-story was altered to allow for adventures as Super boy, and other survivors of Krypton were created, including Super girl and Krypto the Super dog. In addition, Superman has been licensed and adapted into a variety of media, from radio to television and film. The motion picture Superman Returns was released in 2006, with a performance at the international box office, which exceeded expectations. In the seven decades since Superman's debut, the character has been revamped and updated several times.

A significant overhaul occurred in 1986, when John Byrne recreated the character, reducing Superman's powers and erasing several characters from the canon, in a move that attracted media attention. Press coverage was again garnered in the 1990s with The Death of Superman, a storyline which saw the character killed and later restored to life.

Da Vinci Code

The interpretation of hidden messages in Leonardo's famous works, (which relate to the concept of the sacred feminine) including the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, figure prominently in the solution to the mystery.

The novel has several concurrent subplots interweaving the lives of different characters; eventually all the characters are brought together and the subplots resolved in the denouement. The unravelling of the mystery requires the solution to a series of brain-teasers, including anagrams and number puzzles. The ultimate solution is found to be intimately connected with the possible location of the Holy Grail and to a mysterious society called the Priory of Sion, as well as to the Knights Templars. The story also involves the Roman Catholic organization Opus Dei.

The novel is the second book by Brown in which Robert Langdon is the main character. The previous book, Angels & Demons, took place in Rome and concerned the Illuminati. Although Angels & Demons is centred on the same character, the plots are not dependent upon each other. The next book is tentatively scheduled for release in 2008. Its title is The Solomon Key and it is reported to concern

Christopher Columbus =- August 3rd

On August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus set out on his first voyage to what came to be known as the New World. With three ships and a crew of ninety, Columbus hoped to find a western route to the Far East. Instead, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria landed in the Bahaman Islands.

Christopher Columbus set sail in an era of maritime advances, charting his route with the aid of a mariner's compass, an astrolabe, a cross-staff, and a quadrant. The most popular map for mariners at the time was Ptolemy's Geography or Cosmography, printed in 1482 but originally compiled by the Alexandrian geographer, astronomer, and mathematician Claudius Ptolemy in the second century A.D.

Rough Ride For Cruise Ship

A cruise ship on which dozens of passengers were injured when it struck stormy seas off New Zealand on Wednesday will leave Auckland today.

The Pacific Sun was expected to sail late in the evening, after further bad weather forced the ship to delay its departure and stay in Auckland overnight.

The vessel will visit the New Caledonian ports of Noumea and Isle of Pines as part of a seven day voyage catching up on the delays caused by the weather.

The ship was on its way from the Pacific Islands to Auckland when it rolled in seven metre swells several hundred kilometres north of New Zealand.

About 40 of more than 1700 passengers and 671 crew needed to be treated for injuries suffered in the incident.

A safety inspection was carried out yesterday both by an MNZ representative and surveyors representing the United Kingdom-registered vessel's own maritime authorities.

Sixty passengers who had booked for the 10-day holiday cancelled their bookings and will be given full refunds.

Michael Cullen doubts labour

Finance Minister Michael Cullen is dismissing National's claim it can offer two more rounds of tax cuts, without borrowing to fund them.

Party leader John Key told National's election year conference in Wellington yesterday that his party would bring in a second round of tax cuts in April next year and a third in April 2010.

Dr Cullen says National is trying to have it both ways by pretending any extra Government borrowing would only be for infrastructure. He says nobody believes that.

All Blacks

They are the World Cup holders and finally, after a decade of despairing deficiency, the Springboks were able to claim a victory against the All Blacks in New Zealand.

They deserved the victory and would have left yesterday for their next Tri-Nations task against the Wallabies in Perth, feeling extremely relieved they did not blow this Carisbrook test. It was close though and it required a moment of inspiration from halfback Ricky Januarie to dust off the demons.

The smallest player on the park nearly inspired the Boks to win at the same venue three years ago when test rugby was last hosted in Dunedin. That time the Boks succumbed when All Blacks hooker Keven Mealamu scored four minutes from time.

On Saturday, as 29,136 spectators watched test rugby return to the same venue, Januarie reversed the fortunes with his snipe, chip and regather routine for a superb late solo try, converted by Francois Steyn.

It was a superb piece of individual brilliance from the Springbok halfback to counter the sinbinning of his captain Victor Matfield a few minutes earlier.

That decision by the erratic referee Matt Goddard, looked to have consigned the Boks to the beaten ranks in New Zealand like every other Bok side which has visited since 1998.

With an extra man the All Blacks led 28-23 and appeared to have survived the onslaught.

Then, from a ruck, Januarie speared past replacement forwards Mealamu and Neemia Tialata, chipped another replacement Leon MacDonald, regathered and flung himself across the line in an exultant swandive.

The Boks were the better team in this test but made extra hard work of their surge to victory.

They outscored their hosts two tries to one but conceded 23 points to Daniel Carter's boot as referee Goddard discovered all sorts of misdemeanours, especially in the staccato first half, until he calmed down a shade.

When Goddard blew time, new Bok supremo Peter de Villiers bashed his coaching bench to show the relief the Springboks felt in finally erasing their shabby record in New Zealand in the last decade. It had been close, the Boks had almost handed the match to the All Blacks before Januarie retrieved the result.

This was an All Black side ready for the taking, shorn of so much experience that when senior lock Ali Williams wandered off with blurred vision to be replaced on debut by Kevin O'Neill, five members of the pack totalled 19 caps among them.

They coped fairly well, the scrum was still more potent than the visitors', they had twice the ruck possession and forced the Boks into double the All Black tackle count.

But the Boks dominated the lineouts where they nicked a third of the All Black throws, had a better scrambling defence, mauled strongly and made more of their attacking chances.

In my opinion. If the all blacks had been to the breakdown of each maul or ruck fast and drove over then there wouldnt have been a problem with our game play but our forwards wernt fast enough and the south african team dominated. we couldve made it easier for ourselves by doing the hard yards before the end of the game but it showed on the score board that we had not been at the top of our game. maybe the absence of some of our top players was the result of our loss also

Freyas Trip! Part 2

As she flew over to England after spending 3weeks in Italy, she had planned to look at the sights that surrounded the city of london. Her friends parents looked after her giving her accomidaion and taking her out shopping and looking at sights all over the city. While they were there for the week, she went to scotland and saw the many things there were to see. she also went shopping in scotland to search for a ball dress for the balls she going to back in New Zealand. she went back to london the day before she was due to go to holland and she went out and spent the day with her cousin travis before she left. She had enjoyed herself every step of the trip. She had been waiting to see her friends in holland. The two friends Freya was going to see were in New Zealand 2 years ago but moved back to holland because of the lifestyle. So off Freya went on a plane to Holland, saying goodbye to her mums friends in London.

Prince Caspian

While standing on a railway station in 1941, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are magically whisked away to a beach near an old and ruined castle. After Susan discovers a chess knight, Peter soon realizes that they are in Cair Paravel, where they once ruled as the Kings and Queens of Narnia, and convinces the others of the same. They explore downstairs and find Susan’s bow and arrows and Lucy’s bottle of magical cordial. The horn that can call Aslan is not there, however, for Susan left it in the woods the day they returned to England after their first visit to Narnia. Peter finds his shield and royal sword Rhindon. Although only a year has passed in their world, 1300 years have passed in Narnia. Edmund figures out the time problem, suggesting that Narnian time operates differently from earth time and that hundreds of years of Narnian could well have passed since the one year of England time had elapsed.

Then they hear a boat coming down the river with two soldiers and a bundle that moves. Susan strikes one of the soldiers on the helmet with an arrow, and both jump into the water and head for the far shore. Peter and Susan plunge into the water and rescue the boat and its bundle. It is a Dwarf called Trumpkin. After offering him some apples, they listen to his story. He tells the legend of ghosts in the ruins of Cair Paravel, explaining why the two soldiers fled. Then they exchange stories. The Dwarf is a messenger of King Caspian the Tenth. During their absence, a race of men called Telmarines have invaded Narnia, driving the Talking Beasts into the wilderness and pushing even their memory underground. Narnia now is ruled by King Miraz, a cruel despot, with his wife Queen Prunaprismia.

Miraz is also an usurper, having killed his brother, King Caspian IX, to take the throne. His nephew, Prince Caspian, is initially ignorant of his uncle’s evil deeds, but eventually learns the truth. He also learns about Old (pre-Telmarine) Narnia, first from his Nurse and later from Doctor Cornelius, his tutor. Unknown to Miraz, Cornelius is part Dwarf and part human and also tells the stories of old Narnia to Caspian. He especially tells much of the story in the middle of the night, on the roof of the Great Tower, when the planets Tarva and Alambil pass within one degree of each other. Cornelius tells Caspian that the story about ghosts at Cair Paravel was invented by the Telmarines because they fear the sea, never forgetting that Aslan came from over the sea in all the stories.

Miraz is childless and is thus willing for Caspian to be his heir, but when the Queen has a son, Cornelius warns Caspian that his life is now in danger. Before he leaves, Cornelius gives Caspian Queen Susan’s horn with instructions to use it only at the point of his greatest need. Caspian escapes on his horse Destrier. After a long ride and a long sleep, Caspian begins to ride again. The weather gets stormy, and Destrier bolts. Caspian hits his head on a branch and is knocked unconscious. He awakes in the den of a badger, Trufflehunter, and two dwarfs, Nikabrik and Trumpkin. Nikabrik wants to kill Caspian, but the other two won’t allow it. Caspian tells them his story, and they want him as their king.

The badger and Dwarfs take Caspian to meet many creatures of Old Narnia. They first meet the Three Bulgy Bears, Pattertwig the squirrel, then the Seven Brothers of the Shuddering Wood (Dwarfs work a smithy; they give Caspian a mail shirt, helmet, and sword), and the five Black Dwarfs. They inform them of a council at midnight three nights ahead on Dancing Lawn. Pattertwig takes the message to many others. Then they meet Glenstorm, the Centaur (also a prophet and a star gazer, like in most literature), and his three sons, who suggest that the council at Dancing Lawn must be a council of war. Next they meet Reepicheep the foot tall mouse and receive his assurance of the help of twelve mice. They also meet Clodsley the Mole, the three Hardbiters (badgers), Camillo the Hare, and Hogglestock the Hedgehog. They dream about waking up the trees, but the Dryads and Naiads have sunk into a deep sleep. Finally they meet fauns, dozens of them, including Mentius and Obentinus, Dumnus, Voluns and Voltinus, Girbius and Nimienus, and Nausas and Oscuns, all sent by Pattertwig.

They gather for the council, when Camillo says there is a Man coming. It turns out to be Doctor Cornelius, who had used magic to find them. He says that King Miraz is coming with his army and they should flee to Aslan’s How and the Great Woods near Cair Paravel. But Miraz arrives there shortly after they do, and various skirmishes characterize the next few days with Caspian's forces gradually losing. In another council inside Aslan’s How, which had been built over the Stone Table in years past, they discuss whether or not to use Queen Susan's horn. Cornelius thinks it more likely to bring King Peter and company than to bring Aslan. Then they dispatch Pattertwig to Lantern Waste and Trumpkin to Cair Paravel to discover the results of the blowing of the horn.

The children realize that the horn summoned them the day before. Trumpkin tells how he was caught, trying to take a shortcut to Cair Paravel to discover whom the horn might have brought. He is a bit disappointed, having expected to meet the adult Kings and Queens of the past, not teenagers. So, after they outfit the Dwarf in mail and weapons, they challenge him to a sword fight and a bow and arrow contest. The Dwarf loses the first contest to Edmund and the second to Susan. His estimation of the four children improves greatly thereafter. Having heard the story, the true Kings and Queens of Narnia try to make their way to the battlefield.

They decide to save time by traveling by water and going up Glasswater Creek. Unable to sleep that night, Lucy tries to talk to the trees. They rustle but do not awaken. Finally she goes to sleep. The next morning they begin again. A grey bear attacks, after again surprising Lucy with its lack of talking ability. Forced to kill the apparently wild bear with arrows, they take some of the meat to eat later. After some time, they realize they are lost. They decide to go down the ravine until it meets the river and then travel up the river. Lucy sees Aslan and wants to continue in his direction, but they ignore her. But the journey is long and hard, and the children lose their way.

Finally they reach the Great River. Suddenly arrows whiz past them, and they fall to the ground and crawl away. They have to return up the gorge from whence they came. After some distance, they light a fire and cook the bear meat. Then they sleep. In the night Aslan calls Lucy. She sees the trees moving and then she sees Aslan. He tells her that it was her fault for the detour. He instructs her to go back, awaken the others, and insist that they follow her, who would be following Aslan. She does.

They finally agree to follow Lucy in the middle of the night, and gradually, as they obey, they begin to see Aslan's shadow, then Aslan himself. Susan apologizes in another moment of confession. Aslan finally stops, and the others catch up. Aslan says: “And now, where is this little Dwarf, this famous swordsman and archer, who doesn’t believe in lions?” Aslan gives Trumpkin a toss in the air and a shake. Peter, Edmund, and Trumpkin are to head to the mound. The girls see the woods come alive and dance with Aslan, including Bacchus and Silenus.

Peter, Edmund, and Trumpkin enter Aslan’s How and decide to listen at the door to the conversation. Nikabrik has brought two friends, one a Hag and the other a Werewolf, trying to convince Caspian, Cornelius, and Trufflehunter to ally themselves with the powers of evil against Miraz. A fight ensues, and Nikabrik and his two friends are slain.

Peter decides to send a challenge to fight Miraz in single combat to decide which army shall be considered victorious in the war. Edmund, with Glenstorm and the giant along, delivers the challenge. Miraz accepts, even though he has a stronger army and thus has more to lose by reducing it to a single combat, in part because his two lords, Glozelle and Sopespian, egg him on. Peter picks his Marshals of the List for the fight — a Bulgy Bear, Giant Wimbleweather, and the Centaur Glenstorm.

The fight begins around two o’clock. They fight for a while and then take a rest. Miraz gets the advantage and Peter’s left wrist is sprained, so they bind it tightly. Peter does better in the next fight until Miraz trips on a tussock. Peter steps back, waiting for him to rise, but the Lords Glozelle and Sopespian stab Miraz, claiming treachery by the Narnians, and initiate a full scale fight. After a short time, the Wood enters the fight and end it soon. Early that morning Aslan, Lucy, and Susan had freed the river-god from the bridge at Beruna, children from school, a boy from a man who was beating him, and others, including Caspian’s old nurse, who had been ill and near death. They come by a schoolhouse where a girl is forced to teach several fat, rude, mean, pig-like boys. Aslan and company frighten the fat boys and they run, and it is implied they turn into pigs for their greed.

When Aslan arrives at the battle, the Telmarine soldiers surrender. Lucy uses her cordial bottle to heal Reepicheep, and Aslan restores Reepicheep's tail, in payment for the mice having eaten away the cords that had bound him on the stone table long ago. The Telmarines are locked up at Beruna. Aslan and company celebrate. The next day messengers go throughout the country with an offer to allow people to go to another home if they do not wish to follow Caspian as King and live in a Narnia on equal terms with Talking Beasts and Dwarfs and Dryads and Fauns. Aslan tells the Telmarines of their true origin, from the world of men, where their ancestors were pirates in the South Seas who fell through a gap between worlds. About half of them accept the offer and arrive at the Ford of Beruna on the fifth day.

Aslan has set up two stakes of wood with a third piece uniting them on top. Peter, Aslan, and Caspian stand in front of the "door". Peter and Susan are told by Aslan that they will never return to Narnia. Peter tells the others he can cope with this as "it's all a bit different from what I thought". Although fearful that the doorway is a way of execution, one of the Telmarine soldiers advances and goes through the door and disappears. Then, to allay fears, Peter and the rest of the children go through the doorway, knowing that Peter and Susan will not be allowed to return to Narnia again. They arrive back at the railway station, Edmund without his new torch, which he left in Narnia.

i have seen the movie to this well known book and from what i have seen to what i have read, the book and the movie seem quite similar but the movie has edited some stuff that should not have been edited to understand the storyline. From working at the movies i have asked other people about what they thought about the movie and people say it was alot better then the lion the witch and the wardrobe.

Kung Fu Panda

Po is a panda who works in a noodle restaurant owned by his goose father Mr. Ping. He is a kung fu fanatic with secret dreams of becoming a great master in the discipline, however his weight and clumsiness seem to make his goal unattainable; Mr. Ping hopes instead that Po will one day take over the restaurant, and waits for the perfect opportunity to disclose the secret ingredient to his family's noodle recipe.

The tortoise Master Oogway has a premonition that the evil warrior Tai Lung , the former student of his own protégé, the Master Shifu , will escape from prison and return to threaten the Valley of Peace. While Shifu sends Zeng, a messenger goose, to Chorh-Gom Prison to have the security increased, Oogway orders a formal ceremony to choose the mighty Dragon Warrior who can defeat Tai Lung. Everyone assumes that one of the Furious Five — Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper, and Crane — a quintet of supremely skilled martial artists trained by Shifu, will be chosen for this honor.

While the Five demonstrate their skills at the ceremony, Po arrives too late and finds himself locked outside the walled palace square. As a last-ditch attempt to get in, he ties several fireworks to a chair and ignites them, which sends him crashing into the center of the arena. Inspired by this sudden appearance, the old master tortoise designates Po the Dragon Warrior to everyone's shock. Despite Po's protests and Shifu's pleas to reconsider, Oogway stands by his decision.

Revolted at having Po under his tutelage, Shifu attempts to make him quit by berating and humiliating him. The Five similarly dismiss Po as a worthless interloper. Although he becomes aware of Shifu's true intentions and is deeply hurt by his heroes' disdain for him, Po endures their abuse willingly for the dream to become something more than the failure he thinks he is. Master Oogway, still certain that Po is the right choice, gives him sage advice to believe in himself. Eventually, Po endears himself to the Five (except for Tigress) with his tenacity, good cooking, and sense of humor. At this time Tigress reveals to Po how Tai Lung came to be so evil. Shifu raised him from a cub and treated him like a son. When Oogway refused to make Tai Lung the Dragon Warrior, he became enraged and turned on his master. Tigress ends her story by saying that Shifu loved Tai Lung like he never had before, or since.

Meanwhile, Zeng's errand backfires when a tour of the prison given to him by the overly confident head of security, Commander Vachir, inadvertently enables Tai Lung to escape. Tai Lung orders Zeng to send word of his arrival to Shifu. In the Valley of Peace, Oogway passes away and ascends to the heavens, leaving his final wish that Shifu train Po. However, upon learning of Tai Lung's return, and realizing that he has to face the evil warrior, Po attempts to flee. Shifu stops the panda and promises to train him if he is truly destined to be the Dragon Warrior. When Po confesses his deep self-loathing due to his obesity and his belief that he may never be a match for Tai Lung, Shifu is at a loss for a solution. Overhearing this argument between Po and Shifu, Tigress takes it upon herself to intercept Tai Lung, and the rest of The Five follow her to assist. The following morning, Shifu discovers that Po is capable of impressive physical feats when motivated by food. Shifu leads Po to the countryside for an intensive training regime in which Po is offered food as a reward for learning his lessons. As Shifu hopes, Po excels and swiftly becomes a skilled combatant.

The Five battle Tai Lung but are eventually hit with a specialized nerve-striking technique, which overpowers them, and they retreat to the valley in defeat. When they return, Shifu decides Po is ready to face the villain and gives him the sacred Dragon Scroll, which promises great power to the possessor. When Po opens it, he finds nothing but a blank reflective surface. Stricken with despair at the scroll's apparent worthlessness, Shifu orders his students to lead the villagers to safety while he stays to delay Tai Lung for as long as he can.

As Po participates in the evacuation, he meets his father, who tries to cheer him up by telling him the secret ingredient of the family's noodle soup: nothing. Things become special, he explains, because people believe them to be special. Realizing that is the very point of the Dragon Scroll, Po rushes off to help Shifu. At this time, Tai Lung arrives at the palace and attacks Shifu and berates him for not granting him the title of Dragon Warrior just because Master Oogway did not choose him. For his part, Shifu is crippled by his profound feelings of guilt and responsibility for his former protégé, whom he loved and raised like a son, turning to darkness.

When Tai Lung discovers that the Dragon Scroll is gone, he attempts to kill Shifu in his anger. But before he can, Po finally arrives and challenges him. Although Tai Lung scoffs at Po's abilities, the ensuing fight proves Po to be a formidable opponent. Despite Po's skill, Tai Lung temporarily stuns him and gains the Dragon Scroll, but is unable to understand its symbolism. Po tries to explain the wisdom of the scroll to Tai Lung, but the frustrated leopard tries to subdue Po with his nerve strikes. The attack proves useless on the panda, as his nerves are difficult to find due to his body fat. Emboldened, Po counter-attacks with an improvised combat style that takes advantage of his girth to absorb and deflect the force from Tai Lung's attacks back at him. In the end, Po uses the Wuxi Finger Hold on Tai Lung (which he claims to have "figured out" on his own), and defeats him in an explosion of light that ripples through the valley.

The Five return to the valley to investigate and find a slightly dazed but triumphant Po. Deeply impressed at Po's victory, Tigress leads the Five to acknowledge the panda as a Kung Fu master. The villagers, including Po's father, follow suit and hail Po as a hero. Po suddenly remembers that his teacher is badly wounded, and rushes back to Shifu. At first the master appears to be dying, and Po panics. But it turns out that he is only resting after such a terrible battle with Tai Lung. Po, deeply relieved, rests on the floor with Shifu. After a few seconds, Po suggests that they get something to eat and Shifu agrees.

As i Work at the movies, i think this is a great movie fot the family. ive asked people as they come out of the movies whether they liked the movie and they say it is very enjoyable for all ages. Kung fu panda is a comedy which shows a clear storyline throughout the movie. it has funny parts sad parts and evrything in between but all in all it is a great film to watch.

Freyas Trip! Part 1

My girlfriend went on a trip to Europe, Travelling throughout many of the countries that are situated in europe. She started her trip on the 31st of May heading on a plane transferring in dubai to head over to italy. She landed in Fiumicino International Airport, in rome, on the 1st of June. She headed off to a hostel and stayed there for a few nights while going on an open tour in rome visiting the colosseum, Trevi fountain and much more. Once she spent her nigts in rome, she headed up to pisa and saw the Leaning Tower, then headed up further to lucca on a tour and visiting a school following the guidelines within the school. She moved on up even further to visit firnze florence to see many more sights that it had to offer. After sailing past the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, the resort, the boat arrives in Murano, known throughout the world for its glass manufacturing industry. Here we stop for around 40 minutes to visit one of the factories. The second stop is at the picturesque island of Burano, famous not only for its lace but also for the fishermen's houses painted in bright colours. The stop will last about 30 minutes. Then after a short cruise, we reach Torcello, the earliest centre of civilization in the estuary. Only the Cathedral with its magnificent mosaics and the church of Santa Fosca remain as testimony of its former glory. The stop will be for about 30 minutes then we return to St. Marks Square. She spent the time there touring then when she had finished her time in venice it was time to head over to England.

Rugby

I prepare to walk onto a rugby field, shaking with the breeze of the wind, sweeping under my shirt and up my back. We started walking onto the field an suddenly a storm of rain swept in from the south end of the field. The team had felt the chill, but play had to continue. The ball was kicked high in the air and our team mate was under the ball to catch it, losing sight in some cases due to the rain but his hands and his sight came out on top, catching the ball and running into the opposition team. He went down, securing the ball and rolling it out of the ruck. the half back in our team gathered the ball and passed it to the first five, the first five chipped the ball over the oppositions heads and our players on the outside of the first five chased the ball towards the opposition goal line. Their full back collected the ball and instantly getting tackled and pulled over his own goal line. Our team gained a five metre scrum, five metres outside the oposition goal line. Our forward pack got ready for the referee to call, Hold, touch, pause, engage! when engaged had been called, the two forward packs impacted on one another, holding in that position until the half back in our team put the ball in. He put the ball into the middle of the scrum, telling our side of the forward pack to start pushing. we rucked the ball to our side of the scrum and we spread the ball out to our centre. He ran and then cut with the wing, the opposition play got confused and left a gap we found and scored from. we were cheering and running up to celebrate the achievement. the first five had the ball awaiting the T that was used to kick the ball through the posts. He lined up the ball facing the seem of the ball towards the far post, then taking six steps back and four steps to the left. He stands there with a wide stance looking at the ball and where he wants to kick. He slowly paces himself towards the ball and kicks it. It heads towards the posts, Is It Through?.....

The magicians nephew

This story begins in London around 1885, when two children, Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer, meet. One day, while exploring the attic shared by all the adjoining houses in their terrace, they take the wrong door and surprise Digory's Uncle Andrew in his study. Uncle Andrew, a bumbling yet malevolent self-taught magician, tricks Polly into touching a magic ring (yellow ring), which causes her to disappear. Andrew then blackmails Digory into following her by using another ring, promising him that he will be able to bring Polly back with a different type of magic ring (green ring). The rings transport the children into a wood with many pools of water. Initially, the pools appear to be just shallow puddles but, in a parallel to the attic common to the houses on their street, the children discover that when the correct ring is worn, jumping into different pools will transport the ring's wearer to different universes. Digory convinces Polly to come and explore through some of the other pools with him, expecting his uncle to confiscate the rings upon their return.

After having marked the pool which leads back to Earth, the children enter another pool, and find that they have arrived in the midst of an enormous crumbling palace in the ruins of the ancient capital city of that world, called Charn. The children discover a hall filled with images of all former rulers of Charn, in chronological order. The first faces are fair and wise, but as they progress down the hall, the faces become prouder and crueler. There are still several empty rows, implying a premature end to the kingdom. There they find a bell, as well as a sign which at once dares one to ring the bell and also warns not to ring it. Digory falls for the taunt and rings the bell, against Polly's wishes. It awakens the last of the statues, that of the evil Queen Jadis.

The Queen tells them how she and her sister had waged the final and ruinous war of that world. After many bloody years her own defeat seemed certain, and in order to prevail she had spoken the Deplorable Word. This curse destroyed all life on Charn but that of Jadis, and even she would sit dormant in the Great Hall until someone came to ring the bell. The children, upon learning of Jadis's evil, try to escape back to the Wood but Jadis is able to travel back with them by grabbing hold of Polly's hair, and from the Wood Between the Worlds, to London. Digory and Polly are finally successful in retrieving Jadis, but they bring along not only Jadis, but also Uncle Andrew, a cab driver named Frank, and his horse, named Strawberry.

Digory draws the whole group into the nearest pool, thinking it leads to Charn. This pool, however, leads to a world which appears to be completely dark and empty. Jadis quickly recognises it as a world that has yet to be made. Soon, however, they hear singing which seems to cause the stars to begin to shine and the sun to rise. The visitors can now see the singer for what he is, Aslan, the great Lion, and they continue to watch as he breathes life into the world so that animals, plants, and the world itself are created from nothing. Jadis attacks Aslan with an iron bar she had ripped off a lamp post in London, but as this fails to even attract his attention, she flees, while the iron bar grows into a lamp post in the young Narnian soil. Aslan selects some animals to become intelligent talking beasts, giving them authority over the dumb beasts.

Aslan next sends Digory on a journey to get the apple of youth to protect Narnia, and to atone for bringing the evil witch Jadis into the new world of Narnia. Polly, Digory, and the horse from our world (turned by Aslan into a winged horse and renamed Fledge) fly to a far-away mountain to get the apple from a walled garden. Right as Digory takes an apple and prepares to leave, he sees Jadis, who arrived before him. She tempts Digory to either eat the apple and gain eternal youth, or else secretly transport himself back to London and use it to cure his dying mother. Jadis herself has eaten an apple, thus becoming immortal and proving the power of the fruit. Although tormented by the temptation to steal an apple to save his mother's life, Digory believes that his mother herself would tell him not to steal. He keeps his promise to Aslan and travels back to Narnia to give him the apple.

Aslan tells Digory that he has done well and instructs him to plant the apple in the ground. He then holds a ceremony to crown the king and queen of Narnia (Frank the cab driver and his wife, Helen, whom Aslan magically transported to Narnia). Meanwhile, a new tree grows from the apple Digory planted. Aslan explains that this tree will protect Narnia from the Witch: since she stole an apple from the original tree in a selfish way, its fruit is now abhorrent to her, and Narnia will thus enjoy an innocent Eden-like period. Aslan tells Digory that a stolen apple would have cured his mother, but that the day would have come later when she would have rather died in her illness. Aslan then gives Digory an apple from the tree of protection to take to his mother to save her, and sends the children and Uncle Andrew back to the Wood between the Worlds, whence they return to London. Digory gives the apple to his mother, who is healed, and buries the apple core in his back yard. He also buries the magic rings, which Aslan has instructed him to safeguard to prevent future misuse.

The apple core grows into a tree, and years later it is blown down in a storm. Digory can't bear to have the tree cut up into firewood so he has it made into a wardrobe, linking the end of the narrative to the next story chronologically in the series, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The "old professor" in that story is Digory, where he lives in an old country house which he had inherited from his father, who in turn had inherited it from his great-uncle, just after the retirement from his services in India, as described at the end of the book.

English

English is a West Germanic language that originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Britain by Germanic settlers and Roman auxiliary troops from various parts of what is now northwest Germany and the Northern Netherlands. Initially, Old English was a diverse group of dialects, reflecting the varied origins of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of England. One of these dialects, Late West Saxon, eventually came to dominate. The original Old English language was then influenced by two waves of invasion. The first was by language speakers of the Scandinavian branch of the Germanic family; they conquered and colonized parts of Britain in the 8th and 9th centuries. The second was the Normans in the 11th century, who spoke Old Norman and ultimately developed an English variety of this called Anglo-Norman. These two invasions caused English to become "mixed" to some degree (though it was never a truly mixed language in the strict linguistic sense of the word; mixed languages arise from the cohabitation of speakers of different languages, who develop a hybrid tongue for basic communication).

Cohabitation with the Scandinavians resulted in a significant grammatical simplification and lexical supplementation of the Anglo-Frisian core of English; the later Norman occupation led to the grafting onto that Germanic core of a more elaborate layer of words from the Italic branch of the European languages. This Norman influence entered English largely through the courts and government. Thus, English developed into a "borrowing" language of great flexibility and with a huge vocabulary.

Rugby

We are Whangaparaoa colleges 3rd grade rugby team. We started off at the begginning of the year with a pre season match against Canada. We had a win. We then had a couple of games against kingsway college winning against them also. Then our season started, winning against Kristin and Long Bay college. We then had a loss against kingsway, after they brought in some new players from Henderson to help them win. We lost another game to Rosmini college who are at the top of the table. Our game picked up after that winning against Kaipara college 34-5 last weekend. we are doing well so far. improving as we go and hoping for another win next weekend.

Book Review

The story takes place during three years of the Great Depression in the fictional "tired old town" of Maycomb, Alabama. The narrator, six-year-old Scout Finch, lives with her older brother Jem and their widowed father Atticus, a middle-aged lawyer. Jem and Scout befriend a boy named Dill who visits Maycomb to stay with his aunt for the summer. The three children are terrified by, and fascinated with, their neighbour, the reclusive "Boo" Radley. The adults of Maycomb are hesitant to talk about Boo and for many years, few have seen him. The children feed each other's imaginations with rampant rumours about his grotesque appearance and his reasons for remaining hidden, and they dream of ways to get him to come out of his house. Following two summers of friendship with Dill, Scout and Jem find that someone is leaving them small gifts in a tree outside the Radley place. Several times, the mysterious Boo makes gestures of affection to the children, but, to their disappointment, never appears in person.

Atticus is assigned to defend a black man named Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a young white woman. Although many of Maycomb's citizens disapprove, Atticus agrees to defend Tom to the best of his ability. Scout is subjected to other children taunting Atticus, calling him a "nigger-lover", and she is tempted to stand up for her father's honour by fighting, even though he has told her not to. For his part, Atticus faces a group of men intent on lynching Tom, but this danger is averted when Scout, Jem, and Dill shame the mob into dispersing by forcing them to view the situation from Atticus' and Tom's points of view.

Because Atticus does not want them to be present at Tom Robinson's trial, Scout, Jem, and Dill watch in secret from the coloured balcony. Atticus establishes that the accusers – Mayella and her father, Bob Ewell, the town drunk – are lying. It also becomes clear that the friendless Mayella was making sexual advances towards Tom and that her father caught her in the act. Despite significant evidence of Tom's innocence, he is convicted. Jem's faith in justice is badly shaken, as is Atticus', when a hopeless Tom is shot and killed while trying to escape from prison.

Bob Ewell is humiliated by the trial and vows revenge. He spits in Atticus' face on the street, tries to break into the judge's house, and menaces Tom Robinson's widow. Finally, he attacks the defenceless Jem and Scout as they walk home from a Halloween pageant at their school. Jem's arm is broken in the struggle, but, amid the confusion, someone comes to his rescue. The mysterious man carries Jem home, where Scout eventually recognizes him as the reclusive Boo Radley.

Maycomb's sheriff arrives and discovers that Bob Ewell has been killed. The sheriff argues with Atticus about the prudence and ethics of holding Jem or Boo responsible. Atticus eventually accepts the sheriff's story that Ewell simply fell on his own knife. Boo asks Scout to walk him home, and after she says goodbye to him at his front door, he disappears again. While standing on the Radley porch, Scout imagines life from Boo's perspective and regrets that they never repaid him for the gifts he had given them.