The Mary Celeste

            Have you heard of the Mary Celeste, the ship that’s crew disappeared? It’s considered the greatest maritime mystery of all time. In my opinion, it’s for a good reason.

            The Mary Celeste was discovered on December 4, 1872 without the crew and passengers. It appeared to be abandoned. The weather was fine, and the crew was able seamen, so no one could figure out why the crew had gone missing. The ship had been at sea for one month, and still had six months worth of food on the ship. All the cargo and personal possessions of the crew were untouched. The crew was never heard from again.

            People have been trying to figure out this mystery for centuries, and there are no clear answers. There have been theories including alcoholic fumes, underwater earthquakes, waterspouts, sea monsters, and aliens.  They are possible, but not likely.

            Although this is considered one of the most interesting mysteries of the sea, the world probably wouldn’t have known or cared if not for Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle, a man struggling to establish himself as a writer. The story has grown and been changed. So, who really knows what happened to the Mary Celeste?  I’d have to say no one.

The Real Dracula

            I’m sure you’ve heard of Dracula. He’s the bloodsucking vampire in Bram Stoker’s novel. But, did you know that there was a real Dracula. No, he wasn’t a vampire, but his history is at least as bloody as Bram Stoker’s vampire.

            His name was Vlad the Third, Prince of Wallachia. Vlad is usually referred to as Vlad the Impaler or just Dracula. His father’s name was Vlad Dracul. Dracul means dragon. So, Vlad the Impaler would be called Dracula. It means little dragon, or little devil, which is very appropriate.

            Vlad betrayed basically every alliance he ever had. All he cared about was keeping his throne when he finally became king. He betrayed the Transylvanian Saxons, the Turks, and the Roman Catholic Church. Vlad really did only care about his own power. He had many nobles killed to ensure he wouldn’t be challenge.

            Vlad really did cause a lot of blood. He created a forest of impaled. Thousand of people were impaled on sticks and put outside to rot. It is actually said that he once feasted with the impaled corpses around him. Vlad worked peasants to death. His form of torture was a horse attached to each of the victim’s limbs, and then slowly forcing a stake into their body. Can you honestly say you wouldn’t rather be bitten by a vampire than be left to rot on a stick? I think that I’d much rather face Bram Stoker’s monster. At least it’s less messy.

CCSA: Middle School Musical (April Fools)

         Lights! Camera! Action! Warner Bros. is making a movie called CCSA: Middle School Musical and it is going to be amazing! It comes to theaters on April 25, 2012. We owe this all to our very own seventh graders, who wrote forty seven letters to the Kevin Tsujihara, the President of Warner Bros. He took an interest in her descriptions of our school, and chose Chase Lurito, a brand new talent, to direct CCSA: Middle School Musical.

         Mr. Lurito has never directed a movie before but, critics call him “a directing prodigy,” and, “a mad genius,” Mr. Lurito promises that the movie will be fabulous. It better be. We want our school to be represented properly.

         Chase Lurito graduated from Movie Making Universities in 2008. MMU is a special school for future directors. Each student is given a private tutor that they can talk to over the Internet. Chase was tutored by Tim Burton, creator of Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman Returns, and Edward Scissorhands. It’s no wonder that Lurito is called a prodigy.

         It’s really exciting that Cab Calloway is going to be in a movie. I’m sure that Mr. Lurito will do a wonderful job on the movie, and we should all go out and see it when it comes out.

Toondoo

           Have you been on toondoo.com? It is a website where anyone can create a comic. You can make a single comic, or a strip. You can also make comic books. It’s an interesting website and you should check it out.

          Many people visit toondoo and create comics, but you don’t have to make them. Anyone can go and look at the creations of others. You can be entertained for quite awhile. It’s an interesting experience for visual artists to see different styles of art.

          Oh, you don’t have to use the comic characters they provide for you to use. You can design your own using parts or draw your own. It can be easier to create a character similar to a real person when you upload a photo for reference.

          This website is easy and entertaining when you’re bored. You might like it. So, why not try it?  

Death Whispers in My Ear

By: Rebecca Davis

Death whispers in my ear.

I face him,

With no fear.

We both know it’s time to go.

I look back,

To say goodbye,

And then we leave,

Death and I.

I don’t feel sad.

There is no need.

I don’t feel mad.

Just cold numbness.

I promise you it’s not a lie.

And then we go,

Death and I.

I love you all.

You know it’s true.

But everyone, answers to Death’s call.

Oh well, I guess,

This is goodbye.

And then we depart,

Death and I.

Did you know...

20: Cockroaches can live for 10 days without their heads.

19: Three hundred and fifteen entries in the 1996 Webster’s Dictionary were misspelled.

18: There are as many chickens on the earth as humans.

17: About 75 acres of pizza are eaten in the U. S. everyday.

6: If you eat too many carrots you turn orange.

15: Sherlock Holmes never said “Elementary, my dear Watson.”

14: If you put a drop of liquor on a scorpion, it will go mad and sting itself to death.

13: Bats always turn left when exiting out of a cave.

12: Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

11: Honey is bee vomit.

10: After you die your hair still grows for a couple of months.

9: A Neanderthal’s brain is bigger than yours.

8: If a snake is born with two heads, they will fight each other for food.

7: The human heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood 30 feet.

6:  A law in Kansas states that any person walking across the highway at night needs to wear tail lights.

5: Usually people fear spiders more than death.

4: Most lipstick contains fish scales.

3: A snail can sleep for three years.

2: Paper money is actually made from cotton.

1: Crocodiles swallow stones to dive deeper.