Invertebrates Biology Writing Lab

..Hello? Is this thing on?
Ah, okay. Good.

Hello everyone and welcome back to another blog post! A couple weeks ago I told you all about vertebrates. You know, organisms that have those weird things called backbones? Yeah, those guys.
Pfft. Weirdos. Who needs backbones nowadays anyway.

Well anyway, today we're going to be talking about their relatives that don't have backbones, the invertebrates!

In case you haven't caught on at this point, an invertebrate is the exact opposite of a vertebrate. Meaning they lack backbones. Invertebrates outnumber vertebrates by a staggering number (see my vertebrates post for more information), but they mostly consist of insects.
Creepy crawleys.
Pests.
The things that keep your hand out of that suspicious hole in the ground.
Yeah, those guys.

Along with insects there are also mollusks (including clams, octopi and squids), crabs, worms and jellyfish. Granted jellyfish don't have any bones, let alone backbones, but you get the idea.

If I were to pick my favorite invertebrate however, it'd have to be the Blanket Octopus.
Yes, you heard me correctly. I actually think I did a post on these guys once...
Anyway, Blanket Octopi are a type of octopus (der) that lives in the open water of the Indian Ocean, which is uncommon for an octopus. This is because Blanket Octopi look like, well, blankets. Or floating debris. Their 8 arms have multiple layers of skin connecting them to each other, allowing the Blanket Octopus to look like a large leaf floating in the ocean, or debris, or some random blanket. This is very effective at confusing predators. But if their disguise doesn't work, they can simply detach a bit of their webbing to distract a predator.
Furthermore, if THAT doesn't work, they can still shoot ink out in defense like any other octopus.
Not to mention they're a beautiful shade of red! What's not to love!

Well, that just about wraps up my blog post on invertebrates. I hope you learned something today, and I shall see you all in the next post. Buh-Bye!

American Timeline analysis, section 5: 1542

Hello once again people who read this blog!
So you all know the drill by now..
Title,
date,
topic,
something humorous,
yada yada. On with the post!

1542, date unknown. Hernando de Soto discovers the Mississippi River.

Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador. He was born in October of 1496 and always dreamed of becoming a great explorer. Well in around 18 years time, he would get that wish granted.
When it was finally Hernandos time to shine, he decided to host an expedition to North America. His main reason? To search for gold, and a passage to China. What else.
He didn't find China though, sadly. Instead he found the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Georgia, Alamaba, and Mississippi. Upon further exploring these strange locations, he founded the Mississippi River. He was also the first European to cross it. Good for him, he deserves a cookie.
Upon returning to Spain, the Spanish were quite happy to hear of his finds. The Mississippi River allowed the Spanish to further strengthen their claims to the interior of North America.
Hernando ended up dying on the coast of the Mighty Mississippi at the age of 45, due to natural causes.

Well that's all for today. I hope you learned something new, and I'll see you all on Monday. Peace.

American Timeline analysis, section 1: 1513, Juan Ponce De Leon.

Hello once again people who read this blog! So I'm gonna be honest. I hate history. A lot. I think all the important things are neat, but my old history assignment has lots of little bits of info that I didn't even need to know and will probably never use. So mom decided to change my class. Instead, I will be posting American timeline analysis's on this blog. Starting way back in 1513 with the man who discovered the state I live in (Florida), Juan Ponce De Leon.

Juan Ponce De Leon discovered Florida in 1513 on March 27th.
The End.

...If only it were that easy.
So. As mentioned above, he discovered Florida at that time frame because I'm too lazy to repeat it. Now I shall tell you some interesting facts about J.P.D.L.

J.P.D.L actually has 2 people named directly after him, his grandson J.P.D.L II and his great-grandson, Juan Ponce De Leon y Loayza. Like J.P.D.L the First, they all became governors or Puerto Rico. Like father, like...grandson.

J.P.D.L first decided to venture towards Florida after hearing stories of a strange island(s) to the North. It's believed he arrived in St. Augustine, but we're not 100% sure.

Another reason he found Florida (however, this is merely a rumor) was because he was searching for the Fountain of Youth. When he heard about these mysterious islands, he must've thought they were so magical sounding that it MUST be there.
Then upon arrival a little boy kicked him off the ship, then an alligator ate him. That kids is where the story of Peter Pan originated from.
Kidding, however that would be awesome.

Well folks, that's all I have on J.P.D.L today. I hope you learned at least something new, I sure did. If you'd like to discover the whole timeline, you can visit Wikipedia.com
The End.

Book Review for The Hunger Games book one

Hello once again people who read this blog! So for the last few weeks I've been reading one of the more, um, "popular" books. Can you guess it? Yup, it's the Hunger Games. I'm assuming you know where I'm going with this, the whole "mom wanted me to do a book report on said book" thing. And you'd be correct! So, lets get on with the show. So the book is based sometime in the near future where America is no longer America, it's Panem. And also all the other countries apparently don't exist. The states have now been jumbled up and divided into things called "Districts", 12 each. There used to be 13, but we won't go into that. Every year the leaders/dictators of the country, which don't live in a District, organize an event known as the Hunger Games. They will choose 2 children, ages ranging from 12 to 18, from each District and they will be sent to a massive arena to fight eachother to the death. For the 74th annual Hunger Games, the main character (Katniss Everdeen) gets her younger sister Prim, who's only 12, voted into the Hunger Games. Devastated, Katniss offers to take Prim's place in the Hunger Games. She then steps up onto the stage, and her fellow male tribute Peeta Malarkey steps up to join her. Peeta actually saved Katniss's life years before when they were close to starving and he threw her some bread. For the next few days they spend their time fighting and grieving as they make their way to the Capitol. Once they reach it, they train for several more days to prepare for the Games. Oh yeah, and Katniss shoots an arrow at the judges pig. Good job! However, she surprisingly got a score of 11 despite her aggression. The day of the Games comes along, but if you haven't read the book I'll leave what happens next for you. I personally think it was a great book, however my mother begs to differ. It does have a dark and somewhat disgusting story line, but it's a good read none the less. If I had to pick a favorite character it would probably have to be Peeta, because he's smart and witty. I also felt a lot of pity for him. Poor guy. But all around it's a great book and I highly recommend it. The movie however, don't even bother. Well that's my report on the Hunger Games book 1. If you haven't read it then you really should, you might get a good kick out of it. Either that or you'll hate it. Opinions vary. I will see you all in the next blog post, so goodbye! End

My Summer Vacation

Hello once again people who read this blog! It sure has been awhile sense I've done one of these, and today I'm gonna go over something very amazing and fun: my Summer Vacation!

So my Summer Vacation started in May. School had just "ended", but I was shortly greeted by the bitter fact that I still have to do school over the Summer. If Math weren't involved, it wouldn't have been so bad. For most of June we pretty much just hung out around the house, did school, and occasionally went to Church on Sundays. Mostly on Wednesdays. At the end of June, however, I left from June 31st through July 4th to go to a Christian Camp known as Camp Anderson. At this camp not only did I get launched in the air by a big balloon called "The Blob", but I also made some new friends and I got Saved. When I got back from Camp it was my 14th birthday, and I enjoyed a nice evening with my family. We went to Applebees, I drank mango tea, and then we went to watch fireworks. Mango tea though. It's so good. For the rest of July we did everyday things. Luckily though, we didn't have any school in July. Or August. It was beautiful. Once August came along we went to the Springs every Wednesday. We went to Poe Springs, Blue Springs and Fanning Springs twice. Blue Springs was my personal favorite though. The water was so clear and the boil was really deep. That picture is of me jumping off the dock at Blue Springs. Look at those ultra manly pink goggles. And for the last week, my Grandpa has been here and we've gone all over the place. We went to Saint Augustine, Blue Springs, Dairy Queen, Hobo's, and hung out at the house. I also got a really cool new game called Destiny, which is better then anything I have ever played. Now I'm back in school, and this is my first writing assignment.

Well, that pretty much sums up my Summer Vacation. I hope everyone else had a great one as well, and I will see you all in the next post!

I Wonder: How Are Crayons Made

Hello once again people who read this blog! Mom came up with a new idea the other day, and for once, its one I actually look forward to doing. She wants us (I believe every Friday) to write a report on something that we've always wondered. Now there's a lot that I've always wondered. A LOT. But if I were to write a paper on such a thing you'd be able to stretch it around the Earth 10 times. I also don't think anyone wants to read a blog post that long. So I had to choose one (BOOO!). So today I chose something that I've wondered for a while: How are crayons made? The reason I've always wondered that is because when you're a little kid, you watch a lot of little kid TV shows. A lot of those TV shows show little kids using crayons, markers, chalk, etc. Sometimes there will be episodes on how crayons are made. Like dipping them in juice, stuff like that. But I always wondered what the true way to make crayons was. Now I know, and its actually pretty interesting. Video should be down below here, unless Blogspot is being stupid again. Thats all I got today, I'll see you next time I post something.

The Legend of Orphan and The Riku: Part lll

Welcome back everyone! This is it, part three of the Legend of Orphan and The Riku! Hope you all enjoy it!


- 3 years later -

It's been 10 years now sense what happened at Magnolia, and Orphan and John Louis are drawing close to the leveled city. They both know what lies ahead of them. One way or another their adventure was about to end very soon. As they rode on Marigold towards Orphan's demolished house, they take great caution in their surroundings. They both know that the Riku's den is a small 5 miles away from the wreck. That's plenty close enough for the Riku to smell them coming. If they're not careful, and fast at the same time, they'll be killed before they even reach their destination. Coming out of the dense forest they spot a chilling sight: The destroyed city of Magnolia. There was no way around it, they had to ride through it. As they rode through the tragic scene that was once a great city they couldn't help but notice a few things. For example, there were people living there! Living in the destroyed, grey, ash filled homes were poor people as far as the eye can see. Some looked hungrry, some looked angry, but all of them looked sad. "Poor lads. Must be horrible living here, knowing that at anytime the Riku could come back and if they left it would pick them off." said John. That made them wonder. If the Riku won't let anyone leave, why did it let THEM in? Was it expecting them, or was it off somewhere? They'd find out soon enough. They rode through town on Marigold at full speed, jumped over the fence surrounding the city, and headed up the hill to Orphans house. When they made it to the house they were greeted by a pile huge pile of ash and wood. They wondered how the ashes had remained here all these years. John hopped off of Marigold and began looking through the rubble for Dragonsbane. As he was searching, Orphan just sat on Marigold staring blankly at the sight. Horrible memories were flooding back into his brain: The dragon blasting the roof off, his parents telling him to run, his parents obliteration... They were coming back so fast that they made his head hurt. He wanted to cry. But he couldn't. He couldn't grieve over old memories, not now. Now was the time for action. He hopped off of Marigold, wiped the tears from his eyes, and joined John in the search. Five minutes into looking though they heard screams coming from the destroyed town of Magnolia. Horrified screams. Orphan and John stopped to see what they were screaming about, even though they already knew. The Riku was flying over the decimated city, and they noticed two things. 1: It was coming in the opposite direction of its den. And 2: It was heading straight for them! They began to look faster, but the Riku was closing in. 4 miles away...3 miles away...2... Right before it reached them they found the sword, lying in a pile of ash with the bone remnants of a human hand. They ran back to Marigold, hopped on, and began riding. They turned around and rode towards the Riku. But they couldn't fight it, not while it was in midair. They rode towards the destroyed city of Magnolia. As they rode in John kept screaming "Run everyone! Into the safest places you can find, NOW!" The Riku was momentarily confused at where they had gone, but it shortly spotted them. The Riku flew at the city full speed, and Orphan and John hopped off of Marigold. "Go find a safe place girl. We'll be fine." Orphan said to Marigold. She obeyed, and trotted off into the grey buildings. Halfway at the city the Riku got smart. It flew down to the ground, and started to stalk them. It's silver, dagger like scales allowing it to blend in with the buildings. Orphan and John looked everywhere for it, but they couldn't find it. John pulled out his tiny dagger and Orphan uncapped Dragonsbane. Then it happened. The Riku barged through a building, thankfully with no people inside, and lunged at them at lightning speed. Orphan and John barely had enough time to dodge its huge mouth, but quickly recovered their footing. The Riku slammed into a building, dizzying itself, but quickly recovered. It turned around to face its makers. This was it, the battle that would settle it all. Orphan and Louis charged the beast, and the Riku charged at them. The Riku was strong, but they were quick. John rolled around it, quickly stabbing it in the feet and legs every chance it got. While John distracted it, Orphan stalked around it in a circle waiting for the perfect opportunity. John hit it in a weak spot, stumbling it. "NOW!" yelled John. Orphan ran in as fast as he could, Dragonsbane in hand, and stabbed right at the Rikus head! But something went horribly wrong. It bounced off of its hide! Stunned, confused, and horrified, Orphan and Louis had no idea what to do next. The Riku did though. It quickly swung its tail around at them and, sense they had no armor, sent them flying into a collapsed building. Orphan seemed fine, with only a huge bruise on his leg. John, not so lucky. He had a bump on his head, a piece of wood sticking out of his side, and he was holding his chest. His ribs were broken! The Riku got up and slowly walked towards them, triumphantly. The Riku leaned over them, and Orphan noticed something. It had a huge scar over its eye, made by Orphans father 10 years ago. Orphan began to cry. Why didn't Dragonsbane work? Why? It began to charge up a fireball in its throat, and they knew they had lost. They were going to be turned to dust just like Orphans parents. It was the end. The Riku fired, but out of nowhere Marigold came racing in. She took the hit for them! Marigold collapsed a few feet away from them, a huge burn mark in her side. She was still breathing, but barely. "MARIGOOOLD!" Orphan yelled. The Riku took its eyes off of them for a second and began to close in on the horse. Orphan was angry now. He was angry at himself for failing. He was angry at Marigold for disobeying. But most of all he was angry at the Riku for every horrible thing it had ever done. Orphan stood up, and he noticed something. Dragonsbane was now glowing in his hands! Similar to the way it did 10 years ago. The Riku was now leaning over Marigold now, charging up another fireball. Orphan had to act fast. He was desperate, so he did something any panicking person would do. He threw a rock at it. It hit the Riku in the eye, and caught its attention. The Riku, enraged, charged straight towards Orphan. But Orphan dodged, and grabbed onto the Rikus tail. He climbed up its tail, and onto its back. The Riku was shaking around furiously, and Orphan had to be careful not to thrown off or cut by one of the scales. He climbed up even farther, and sliced the Rikus wings off! They cut clean through like tissue paper. The Riku fell to the ground, and Orphan was thrown off. It got back up and walked towards Orphan. It attempted to step on him, but he rolled out of the way. He kept stomping at him, but Orphan kept rolling. The Riku tried one more time, but Orphan reacted and stuck Dragonsbane straight up. It disintegrated the Riku's foot on contact! The Riku fell to the ground, and Orphan walked up to it. He walked up to its one working eye, and stared into its soul. It looked angry, very angry. Orphan raised Dragonsbane and with one final swing jammed it straight into the Riku's eye! The Riku let out one last painful roar before exploding into silver dust. Orphan had done it. He killed the Riku! He looked around and saw people coming out of their hiding spots. They were smiling, crying, and everything in between. These people were free now! He turned around to find Marigold somehow back on her feet, and John Louis leaning on her. They shared a huge smile. For the next 20 years Orphan, John, and Marigold worked with the poor people of Old Magnolia to rebuild the fallen city, and it became even bigger and better then before. To this day you can still visit the city of New Magnolia, and you may even see the statue of Orphan and John on top of Marigold, Dragonsbane in hand.

The End.

My First Blog Post

Actually my mom is making this post, and laying down the rules. My name is DJ, I am a 9 yr old boy, living in N Florida. I homeschool, and I wanted a blog for my writing assignment, for fourth grade. My mom will pick the topics, except on free days, when I can write about cars, animals, photography, and other things I love.

This is an adventure for me, and will not be perfect, I am after all only 9. My focus will be to stay on the topic, improve punctation, and use good spelling. I will also be starting to learn about paragraphs, and simple outlines, in the 4th grade.

My mom will monitor all comments, and visitors to this blog. I am not allowed to post, or share any personal information with anyone.

I hope you will join me on this adventure, in homeschool blogging.