Conclussion/ Summary Post

   For my last post I would like to write about the things I like and disliked about this quarter of blogging which deals with everything and not just my book. First, although I was not one of the ones in the front row Skyping with the other school I still found it very interesting that we as a class were able to talk to a completely different class that was no where near us. Although this was really cool to me I was disappointed when Mrs. Hayes told us that we were only going to be able to do maybe a total of two or three times with that class because of a certain schedule that they have. Second... I really have to learn to not procrastinate. Although I might have been out of class one or two blog days, what I had to put my self through the past day or two was ridiculous. These blogs are a very big deal in Mrs. Hayes class because they count as a whole quarter writing assignment so they are worth a lot of points that would probably not be good to lose. So basically I have to start spending the time that I am given throughout the quarter in class on my blogs instead of messing around, for this last quarter.
   All in all my book, From Baghdad, With Love,  was a very enjoyable book. It was questionable at first whether i was going to like it or not but that changed quickly. Since I am a dog person and I actually have a soul my heart was warmed by the little puppy that was described in the book so I kept wanting to turn the page to find out was was going to happen to him next. Also I did enjoy the ending which I keep wanting to tell you about. But that wouldn't be any fun for you now would it? Anyway another thing that caught my interest in the book was all the fighting that would take place. I mean what guy does not like big guns and explosions? But there was one thing that I didn't necessarily like and that was that the book was kind of written like a journal. Now it might only seem that way because he was narrating in first person so there might not have been anything he could do about it. Anyway this was a very good read, I don't regret picking it up at the start of the quarter and choosing it, and recommend this book to anyone who likes war and puppies... but especially puppies...

Music link!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2JSUXaY-tw&ob=av3n

   The piece of music that I picked to go along with my book was "You're My Best Friend" by Queen. It seemed like a good song to relate to the book because of how Lava becomes Jay's best friend. I wasn't sure if I was going to use this song or not because it is about a guy being in love with a girl and how they are so in love that she is his best friend. But this song is also almost perfect in describing the Marine and his dog's relationship. In the book, From Baghdad, With Love, Lt. Jay Kopelman falls in love with this dog named Lava and wants to do what ever is necessary to get him back to the U.S.
   A line in the song that I thought related to the book was actually the first line of the song "Ooh you make me live, whatever this world can give to me" It is Lava that gives the Lt. more hope to go on while fighting in the war and Lava gives all those soldiers something to look forward to doing and taking care of when they get back to there housing complex. Also it relates to "whatever this world can give to me" because when you are out in war you don't have much of anything so in this case you can say that the world gave the Lt. the dog. Another line that I thought could relate was "You're the first one,when things turn out bad, you know I'll never be lonely, you're my only one, and I love the things, I really love the things that you do, you're my best friend." This section of the song can relate to the relationship between the man and dog because when things get bad out at war the Lt. comes back and has Lava who is basically is best friend, and since he and the other troops have Lava they will never be lonely. In the song when it says I love the things you do, that can relate to the Marines loving the little cute things Lava did while he was still a pup.

Animotoooo

http://animoto.com/play/A7Pm98Qp6NoqLvvCZF8lgg

This is a vlog i made with the pictures i already had or just took recently. It summarizes the book a little bit and tells what might have to happen but there is only so much you can do with 30 seconds while trying to make a trailer for a movie that seemed like a journal. But I had fun making it and there were some misspellings but that was because you can only use a limited amount of characters on Animoto so I had to put a couple words together, but oh well I hope you enjoy it!

Video of Author and Lava

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLIzyAM5qrQ

    This is a very good video if you want to find out about what the author and the dog are doing post-war. I will warn you it spoils the book, just encase you were wanting to read it. But I feel like it is possible to understand the author's point of view better now and I also really enjoyed finding out about what they were doing post war. It's not a very recent video because it was posted in 2006 and the book takes place during 2004 and 2005 so I am not very sure what this dynamic duo are up to now but I'm sure Lava is happy! But if you haven't read the book already and you don't care about finding out what happens to Lava and Jay through the book then this is an excellent video to watch!

From Baghdad, With Love

   This quarter my Read for a Life Time book of choice was From Baghdad with Love  by Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman with Melinda Roth. I wasn't so sure about getting this book at first because I could see how it might be boring or not as cool as some of the other books. But I have enjoyed it a lot since I have started reading it because I myself am a dog person. I have both a dog and a cat at home and I like both of them but I really couldn't see there being a book about a cat in the military... anyway. I highly suggest reading this book because it has been very intriguing and actually kind of funny what the dog does. There are some sad parts in this book of course but it does have a happy ending.
   This book is about a dog named Lava and a Lieutenant named Jay Kopelman and his military team. As they walk down a hall way in a housing facilities where the U.S. Marines are staying they hear an unusual noise, when they go and check it out they are still a little wired from there day of fighting and patrolling and all of the sudden they see this little ball of fur that is a little puppy. They name the puppy Lava off of the military group in Hawaii named the Lava Dogs. As time goes on and they continue to break the rules of having a pet in the facility, Jay and everyone else becomes really attached to Lava and wants to make sure he gets back to the U.S. This mission is a very hard one because it is a dog they have found in Iraq that they are not even supposed to have in the first place. Does Lava get to return home with Jay or will they be forced to part when Jay goes home? You will just have to read the book and find out!