Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton is the only non-president to be on the US. currency.  Thomas Jefferson and James Madison opposed Hamilton.  It is probably because he was chief/staff for General Washington.  He was Secretary of the treasury, which is probably how he got addicted to money.  He was born January 11, 1755, and he served in the American Revolutionary War.  He died on July 12, 1804.  Burr killed him in a duel.

Two Bookers, and their similarities and differences

Quite some time ago, there were two men, named "Booker."  Booker T. Washington and Booker Wright both strove to lift the black race in order to make them equals in the American society.  They were both black people in tough times for the blacks.  Black men were not allowed to have as many rights as the white children.  Both the Bookers fought to prevent their children from going through what they experienced.

Booker T. Washington and Booker Wright were able to express their feelings about the treatment of the black race to several people.  Booker T. Washington expressed his thoughts in a public building, but Booker Wright expressed himself on TV.  Both of them owned a public building to spread joy and education to other people.  Could you keep a smile and be nice to everyone after going through what they did?

Booker T. Washington  got a good education at the Hampton Institute, but Booker Wright didn't even learn how to read.  Instead, he had to recite the menu!  Booker T. Washington owned a big school, but Booker Wright just owned a little place.  Booker T. Washington went to Europe, but Booker Wright never got a special trip like that.  But finally, and most importantly, they both fought to bring up the black race.

Silas Marner (Book Review)

Silas Marner starts as a  member of the chapel in the city of Lantern Yard.  But he is then falsely accused for a murder and robbery.  He decides to go away in the country after his loved one doesn't want him anymore.  He owns a hoard of gold after working as a weaver.  But then he is robbed.  An orphan girl named Eppie comes to him on a cold and fateful night.  Eppie gives Silas love and happiness throughout his life.

 I think it was a touching story.  Everybody thinks Silas is a bit creepy, or bad because he's a weaver with bad eye-sight.  But a little girl named Eppie gives Silas's life meaning.  It's just the kind of book  I think was a good experience reading.  You should read it too.

Opossums

Opposums are nature's vacuum cleaners. They will eat anything they can find.  They'll eat fruits, nuts, birds, worms, frogs, garbage, and even dead animals.  They will eat dirt, wrappers, and packaging.  Imagine if your kid ate like an opposum.  You could save a lot of money!

Opposum's "Playing opposum" trick is a safe, yet disgusting way to stay alive when a predator attacks!  The opposum first shows all of its teeth to frighten the foe.  If this does not work, it will play dead.  An opposum can play dead from about four minutes to four hours. It will  build up saliva, then release snot from its blush pink nose, and it will even fart a disgusting smelly green fluid fom its butt.  The predator will probably be disgusted out by then and leave.
 
Opossums are also good at climbing.  Their small tails are prehensile,  meaning they can wrap around things.  Opposums have thumbs on thier feet, called halluxes.  This special toe helps them climb.  They are specially built for tree climbing.  Opposums are definitely more than meets the eye.

Birth of the Chess Queen

(The book by Marilyn Yolum is reviewed by Emperor)

A very good book indeed. Jolly good book. I'd rate it as 10 out of 10 .  The pictures are good and the book was thought over, perfect.

Some things that I have learned from the book:

Chess is beleived to have originated in India, sixteenth century.  The Queen used to be called a vizier.  No one wanted or thought of a female being on the chess board.  It was thought a trait of wisdom to play chess.  Nobles and knights usually played chess.  Females used to play chess a lot more back three to ten centuries ago. 

The church banned chess because people would bet on the outcome.  But chess was kept alive.  Eventually the church had accepted chess again, and chess was a popular game again.  Chessboards were great gifts; they were usually made of ivory.

Chess has been known as a love game, so chess romance scenes were everywhere.  The King and Queen were in these scenes, as the lovers.  These "Scenes" were on coins, mirrors, on windows, and all through out Valentines day,they were everywhere. 

Both men and women were connected to chess.  Kings and Queens were also connected to themselves.  When mixed sexes played, the man was often dazzeled by his female opponent, thus he would lose the game.  But I don't get distracted when I play girls.

In 1831 somewhere, a laborer dug up the most intricate chess peices.  They were called the "Lewis Chessman".  There were 128 peiees altogether. Today there are only 93 pieces.  82 in the British museum, and 11 in the national museums in Scotland.

Buy it is my suggestion.  Just go to www.Amazon.com to buy it!

My mom forced me to write this post about friendship

Friendship is important in a household with six children.  Today I got in a fist-fight with one of my brothers.  It ended when my oldest brother split us up.  And later my mom settled the fight in long-term punishment style.  The lesson is; don't fight with your brother or you'll get what you deserve.  And always remember, when moms are mad, they give worse punishments.

The "Space Race."

The Russians and Americans were in the "Cold War" at the time, and they were very afraid of each other.  Some people would aim their telescopes for the heavens and see parts of the final frontier, space.  Once rockets were invented, humans could safely travel through outer space.  Of course people have tried firing other humans into space by large cannons.  It didn't work because it takes an extreme force to pull from the earth's gravity.

Yuri Gagarin was the very first human in space.  Before him, people would send animals and sputniks up into space.  But no one really knew what it was like.  Gagarin flew at a speed of about 16,000 miles per hour and flew for about 108 minutes!  Gagarin actually didn't go the entire way flying.  He was supposed to stay in the capsule, but he used his parachute because the ship would've crashed to fast.  No one dis-counted his flight, though.  People will never forget  April 12, 1961, the day he set off.